These prompts come from Moxie Books, a website from the UK that's devoted to helping out writers. There's a lot of fun stuff there to look at, so I hope you check it out. Anyway, these are meant to be daily prompts (and particularly used on Instagram) but I'm using them for a single blog post!
You're highly encouraged to follow the creator of these calendars, Vicky Quinn Fraser, on Instagram -- @tinybeetlesteps. You can do the posts daily on Instagram, too! Have fun with it!
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1 - August goals
I think for August I want to rest, mostly. I am back in the United States and am in the process of reacclimating to life back home.
If I have the brainpower, I do want to finish revising Son of the Siren. And get caught up on all the anime I missed with English subtitles.
2 - Rank your snacks
Probably my #1 snack is popcorn, followed by some kind of iteration of chocolate and peanut butter. I also snack on potato chips but honestly, I usually only eat them if popcorn isn't available and I need a salt kick.
3 - Your favorite memes and gifs
I like gifs where cats are trying to jump but they underestimate the distance and fall.
I also like gifs with ducks...
especially duck butts!
As far as memes go, I like any meme made for writers...and my favorite meme overall is probably the Anakin and Padme meme.
4 - A thing in nature that fascinates you
I always thought how caterpillars change into butterflies is pretty amazing. It's something I could never quite wrap my mind around. I am also fascinated by rivers with really blue water, and trees that are very, very tall, and moss that grows on rocks and bark, covering everything in the forest.
5 - International Beer Day
I hate the taste of beer, so I do not drink it. But when I came to Japan and went to an enkai, they were serving non-alcoholic beer (Japan is a zero-tolerance country for drinking and driving) and I was totally expected to drink it, so I did to be polite. It was still awful.
6 - The last time you stayed up all night
I did this fairly recently during the prep to move out. On July 28 I had more garbage I needed to bag in the house, and it took forever. I worked on it all night until 7:30 a.m. just to get it all done, because the garbage company was going to be at the house on the 29th at 1:30 p.m., and it was my final chance to dispose of everything. And I had hidden things in every nook and cranny in existence in my apartment, so a lot of it was discovering new garbage after I had finished working on a section of the house. It was an awful experience, but I got it all done (except for the food in the pantry. I didn't finish that in time).
7 - What are you picky about?
Ohhh, I am a picky eater. In fact, I think I'm a terrible eater. I hate the taste of many things, and I can't eat anything spicy or with certain seasonings. I also think vegetables taste really, really bitter (broccoli makes me gag). I also have trouble eating fermented foods or anything with a really mushy, wet texture. As much as I love Japanese food, there were a lot of things here that I tried that I strongly disliked, and I've actually vomited from certain types of sushi as I was eating it. And I love sushi, so it was really a tragedy that I had an instant gagging reaction!
I am also very picky about my writing and creative projects. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and sort of operate on the lines of "if you want something done right, do it yourself."
8 - International Cat Day
I love cats so much! I think they are some of the cutest animals out there, and I love the sound of purring and meowing. When a cat loves you, it's one of the best feelings in the world.
9 - Book Lovers Day
I wouldn't be a writer without loving books and loving reading. And I've mentioned on the blog several times, just the sheer act of owning books and seeing them on my shelves gives me comfort. I've got a lot of books in my possession, and even more on my Kindle, so anywhere I want to read, I have the chance to!
10 - National Lazy Day
I think I excel at being lazy, or at least it's really easy for me. Right after work or on the weekends (with the exception of the times I'd write), I would just lie down on my couch bed and stream shows or movies, and stay immobile for a long time. I wonder if I'll keep this habit now that I'm back in the States.
11 - Clever or funny?
What if I think funny people are clever? I kind of feel like there's an overlap here and that I can't actually choose between one or the other because they are connected to each other, I think.
12 - 3 songs that make you want to dance
The songs I like are kind of old!! But they are goodies to me!
When I was a ballet dancer (and sometimes I do break into some ballet), I always wanted to dance to "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker. There's a certain jumping step I always do to the chorus of the song that I think fits perfectly.
Another song I like is Momoland's "Bboom Bboom." I just think it has a really great beat!
And then a classic is "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.
13 - National Prosecco Day
I had to Google prosecco because I've never heard of it. I guess it's an Italian white wine. I don't really care for wine but I've had it socially and if it's been served at a fancy dinner or banquet. I don't think I've had this particular kind of wine, though.
14 - Weirdest thing you'd do for $$$
I don't really know. It depends on the amount up for grabs. Of course, if the sum was huge I'd be more apt to do things that might shame myself, but I also have pride and have my limits.
15 - Fly or breathe underwater?
Definitely breathe underwater. I have a fear of drowning. I also am a little afraid of deep water in terms of what lives down there, so while I'd have this ability, I don't think I'd do much exploring...I just don't want to die.
And I hate flying, anyways.
16 - What's on your mind today?
I'm thinking about Son of the Siren! Just trying to figure out my next steps with it. I'm very impatient and things have been taking a long time with this book...plus I've run out of money to get beta readers again, so I'm going to take a leap of faith with this version I'm revising and call this book a done deal once I've finished working on it.
17 - National Nonprofit Day
The nonprofit I like to support is NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. My purchases through Amazon Smile go to them.
18 - Are you going on holiday?
Not now, but I sort of already did. When I landed in the US I had to fly to Washington Dulles (we had to fly back the same way we flew in), and I got to see my sister's home, which has cute farm animals! So that was a nice breather before coming to Ohio.
19 - World Photography Day
I love taking photographs. I have an Instagram filled with my best photos from Japan (sorry, it's private) and I also put some pretty photos on this blog, like of Yakushima. I'd like to keep taking photos in my spare time, but I'm not sure about where I can go in Ohio to take the types of photographs I took in Japan.
20 - Secret wishes for this month
I don't have the money to right now, but I want to reorder my BL series Caste Heaven and Therapy Game. I had to destroy them in Japan (that's a loooong story and I don't think I can share it, to be honest, for legal reasons). So I'd like to have them again.
This is not a secret, but I want to finish revising Son of the Siren this month so I can get the manuscript to the agent who wants to read it. I took a class with her and that's how she found out about the book, and she asked me more than once to see it. I felt bad having to tell her it wasn't ready yet, but she's eagerly awaiting seeing it.
21 - Poet's Day
I am the teeniest, tiniest bit of a poet. I have a couple of things published, but nothing major, and I don't consider my main writing identity to be "poet." But poetry is easy for me to write and I do enjoy doing it. I wish publications accepted rhyming poetry, though. I'm quite good at rhythm and rhyme.
22 - Do you have houseplants?
Not in the US. In Japan I tried to have flowers but I killed them all. I just kept forgetting to water them.
To be honest, I don't think I'm meant to (or good at) keeping things alive.
23 - Eating out
I felt safe doing this in Japan because social distancing was maintained and people masked everywhere, but in the US people don't do that. So I'm afraid to eat out here. I don't know when I'll be comfortable doing that again.
24 - Are you enough?
I'm not sure what this means. I don't know. I know that sometimes I've been too much for people, though, and those relationships never ended well.
25 - National Burger Day
I don't really like eating hamburgers by themselves. I love cheeseburgers, though! But I like them plain (cheese only). Remember when I said I was a picky eater? Well, I hate toppings on sandwiches, and that includes ketchup!
26 - International Dog Day
While I do seem to love cats a little more than dogs, dogs are very special. They always seem like they are happy and smiling, as far as animals go. And they say the love of a dog is steadfast.
I know there are many, many breeds of dogs and I don't know what most of them are, but I do like corgis because they are Welsh and cute. I guess I also like Shiba Inus...I didn't ever see them in the US but they are everywhere in Japan and they grew on me. I also think huskies are really pretty.
27 - Evening routine
It usually involves stretching out on a couch or in bed and streaming shows...or sometimes reading if I feel like it. I also switched from taking showers in the morning (which helps me wake up) to taking showers at night, thanks to Japan.
28 - Outdoor theatre
This is kind of big in Ohio. Tecumseh is probably the most famous outdoor show in Ohio, and my grandparents took us to see it when we were little. I also saw Trumpet in the Land in either high school or college because people I knew were in it and I wanted to support them. And then there was the experiment that was the Johnny Appleseed outdoor drama in my hometown of Mansfield. Some of my college theater friends were in it, plus it was a local show, so I saw it. I didn't really like it even though my friends did a good job. And the show was short-lived in Mansfield. I think it only lasted two seasons, and the outdoor amphitheatre has sat empty for years.
29 - Public holidays
In Japan there are 16 public holidays, while the US only has 11. This is a tragedy. I absolutely loved all of the time off I got from school in Japan, and then holidays that lined up in order to form Golden Week. I'm going to miss all the breaks I got now that I'm here in the US.
30 - Middle names
I really like my middle name, which is why I include it in my professional author name. Plus, there are other people out in the world who have my first and last name, or something really close to it, so I use my middle name to differentiate myself from them. Plus, I just like the sound of it. My mom told me that she got the name from the mother from Family Ties--she just liked it, and so I got it. I'm so grateful that my parents gave me a great name!
31 - Celebrate your month!
I plan on celebrating by eating all the foods I missed while I was in Japan, like turkey, Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Lofthouse cookies, my mom's spaghetti, and American Chinese Buffet food! Yummy!