Year: 2014

NaNoWriMo Prep: Storyboard Mind Mapping

Posted October 30, 2014 in Writing / 0 Comments

So I have this strange way of prepping for NaNoWriMo. Usually I don’t map things
out and plan more than just three or so plot points. However, this year I did things
a little differently.

Behold, The Storyboard Mind Mapping Thing

Yeah, I’m not really sure what to call it exactly. It just came out of my head like this and I went with it. The note cards and yarn have a bit of a color code as well. Green is for
locations, blue is for characters, white is for details, and bright colors are plot points.
I’m thinking about adding pictures for the characters and maybe some of the locations.

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NaNoWriMo: Preparation

Posted October 25, 2014 in Writing / 0 Comments

Here goes. Just a week from the beginning of November or the-Month-of-Insane-and-Crazy-Writing-known-as-NaNoWriMo. I should be plotting or outlining or worldbuilding or storyboarding or something besides writing this blog post. And yet here I am.

I have this problem with prepping for NaNoWriMo… I don’t really prep anything for the actual novel part. I know, I know, that just sounds wrong. But that is how I work. Anyway, on to what I do prep…

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A Little Bit About Me

Posted October 24, 2014 in Life / 0 Comments

pic of me in glacier national parkHi!

I’m Amanda and I’m Catholic (in case you couldn’t tell from the blog title). I am 23 years old.

I live in Montana, Diocese of Great Falls – Billings. What is really cool is that the site has a page with the diocesan stats. For example, the diocese is two-thirds of the whole state of Montana. That means 94,158 square miles!!

I teach small group reading and math at the local elementary (5-6) school. It is a great job and I absolutely love it. Some days can be tough, but seeing the kids’ faces when they can read a great book they never thought they could makes it all just fine.

I also teach 4th grade religious education. I have a great group of kids (about 12, but it fluctuates a bit each week). They have great questions and love looking up Bible passages. Sometimes I think we may have too much fun in class… if that’s possible.

My passions are my Catholic faith (obviously), reading, writing and organizing. I love being Catholic and I try to make sure I am living that every day. I want to be the person God created me to be.

I read a lot. When I have some time and nothing else to do (or nothing I want to do), I grab my book and read. I have a kindle* which I love. I’ve had mine for almost two years so it has been through a lot. The dents can prove it. Sometimes I wish I had the one that has a built-in light to make it easier to read in low light conditions but mine is still working just fine. I have acquired quite a collection of ebooks both from Amazon and from converting and sending web pages* to the kindle. Using that I have sent encyclicals and other sites like New Advent Encyclopedia to my kindle. So convenient. I also read a lot of physical books because they are cool. No, really, I love the smell of books.

I write when I can. This should be sort of obvious since I started a blog. I like to write poetry and sometimes fiction. I have been participating in NaNoWriMo (that’s National Novel Writing Month) since I started college. It is a great way to actually write even when you have no idea what you are writing about. Somehow it all works out in the end.

As for organizing. I am completely and totally addicted to making sure my spaces (house, classroom, ect) are organized. I love to use Thirty-One products and so I’m a consultant which does nothing to help my addiction in the least. 🙂

Anyway, that’s me. I’d love to hear from all of you. Leave comments and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. You can also email me at amanda(at)catholicamanda(dot)com.

amanda

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