Inspired by the purse meme that has been making the rounds, I gathered together my purses for a couple of group shots:





The green one made its blog debut last April. It's a little out of shape now but no less loved. I never actually did the 30-Hour Famine, but I did do the fundraising for it and got sick at the last minute, so I gave my funds to my friend (who was also doing 30-Hour Famine) and we agreed to split the prizes (hence the purse with the big REFUSE on it). The purse of many colours is actually from a tiny village in Thailand, where it was made by hand. The other ones are no less spectacular: I was lucky enough to get them as presents over time. The silky one has yet to go out on the town.

Little did I realize when I photographed my purses that the truly fascinating part would be what lies within.

( Are you ready for this? )

What about you? What's in your purse?

citycatinwindow tagged me with the letter "G". Now I get to list eight things that I like which begin with the letter "G". If you want to play, too, comment and I'll give you a letter!

1. Geisha
2. Garden State
3. Green Day
4. Geri Halliwell
5. Garret Freymann-Weyr's book Stay With Me
6. Gilmore Girls
7. Galleries (of art)
8. Gaelic

goadingthepen tagged me for the 8 Things Meme. I think the rules are pretty well known now, so I shan't post them. What follows are eight facts about my life, acting themed ... in other words, the various characters I have played.

1. Susan - Susan is the main character of Girl in the Mirror, a play about a 17-year-old girl who suffers from depression and attempts to commit suicide. Whether she succeeds or not is left up to the audience, as the play ends on an ambiguous note. Despite the fact that I only played her for one scene in a workshop performance and that she's totally angsty, she is one of my favourite characters to date. I would love to play her in the full-length play some day.

2. Coach - The Coach is a role in the one-act comedy Baby. In our version, the role of the Coach was split into three, but it was still an awesome character to get into. I was a very gung ho, whistle blowing, water squirting, coachy coach for Baby.

3. Nate - Nate was a tomboyish girl who experimented with various scandalous things. Her grandma thought she was performing witchcraft in the attic, when really she was getting up to something else entirely ... with someone else. Also, this role was completely improvised, as it was part of a weekly soap opera we kept up for four or five weeks running. All improv.

4. Carrie - I've mentioned Carrie McAllister here before. She's my interpretation of Keating's ally in Dead Poets Society. I wrote her a past from scratch, which was barely mentioned onstage but really helped me get into her character. She once wanted to be a stage actress, but had to take a more practical job teaching French at Welton Academy to support her family. She loves languages like she loves the stage, so it wasn't a total loss, but she yearned for the theatre. She ends up directing Midsummer Night's Dream (the play within a play within a play). She and Susan are my two favourite characters thus far.

5. Tourist - This role holds a special place in my heart because it was my first role on stage. I played a touristy tourist from the States in the Mouse That Roared, complete with old fashioned camera (that I often forgot to remove the lens cap from ... me as the actress, not the character). When I took a picture on stage, I sorta started to do this movement which apparently became known as "The Tori" backstage ... a bit of a hip twitch or something. What my fellow castmate never let me forget was how, when I first heard of the play, I didn't want to do it because I thought we would have to run around and squeak.

6. Stevie - Stevie was the rugby player I played during the party scene of Dead Poets Society. She was a learning experience, that's for sure: I learned to play drinking games, punch like a boy, and fall over drunk.

7. Starveling/Moonshine - On the same night that we had the workshop performance where I performed the final scene from Girl in the Mirror, I was also in the rehearsal scene from Midsummer Night's Dream. I wasn't a huge fan of Shakespearean language then, so I found it difficult and hard to get into. I'd love to have a redo some day.

8. Various Flowers for Algernon characters - We performed about 3/4 of Flowers for Algernon, and switched up parts in almost every scene so that we got a chance to experiment with different characters. I had a lot of lines, because I kept volunteering for more. (Erin and I were the best memorizers.) The variety of characters I got to play was so worth the confusion and extra lines. :)

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I tag anyone who wants to play.

I got tagged by mindiscott to do the eight things meme. I have done this meme before, yes, but I'm extremely self-centred, so I gladly decided to do it again. *big grin*

( Rules, Eight Facts, etc. )

I have been tagged by Lindsey. The rules are as follows:

- Write about the top five writing projects you want to do. Books, short stories, whatever.
- Post the rules and the link to where you got the Meme from in the first place.
- Tag people.

1) An upper-YA/adult contemporary novel about a guy/girl duo (best friends, eventually more) in university.

2) A contemporary novel (a trilogy, actually) about a trio of friends. Dani and Jack have been friends since elementary school; Michelle meets them only as the first book begins. I actually already have the first book partially outlined (Believe It -- I've mentioned it here before) and an important part of it is early onset Alzheimer's, something that my Gram, who recently passed away, may very well have had. (Although not early onset in her case). The second and third books of the trilogy send them in different directions. One of them goes to university overseas. Amidst the struggles and joys of freelancing, another of the trio takes off for Europe, a journey that leads him down paths he never thought possible ... and down paths that he never thought he would tread again. The third one ... well. That's the fuzzy one. But the plan is to have each book be a dual-viewpoint book, having 1/3 one viewpoint, 2/3 the other. Right now, I'm leaning towards Dani/Michelle, Michelle/Jack, Jack/Dani.

3) A short story about the magic of theatre and the meaning of forever.

4) A historical fiction novel about a courtesan.

5) A supernatural thriller, inspired by a few eerie dreams I had ... and that's all I'll say about that. ;)

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I tag ... any writer who needs a break from their WIP, however brief. Let me know if you do this meme! I'd love to read it. :)

p.s. You are all my witnesses: I just blogged my predictions for Harry Potter #7 in a private post. The minute I finish reading the book, I will unlock the post and link back to it, and we'll see how I did! ^_^

I have been tagged by ravelda! Yay! I think this is the first time someone has actually specifically tagged me. *Snoopy dance* Here are the "rules":

• Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. Motorcyclists with black leather jackets and rough and tumble facial hair once gave me a fluffy teddy bear, with a burgandy sweater, named Frederick. He still sits on our couch!

2. I cannot, and have never been able to, turn a cartwheel. I always either fall over or my legs go all floppy.

3. Geography is not my strong suit. It cannot even be called my weak suit.

4. Snakes terrify me ... except for the basilisk in the second Harry Potter movie. 'nuff said.

5. I like to dance and sing like a chipmunk. On purpose.

6. I have seen Independence Day. I remember the alien crashing through the glass. I haven't watched it since.

7. I sing alto. (Badly).

8. For weeks after watching Twister, I had one of those huge cylindrical popcorn tins in the trunk of our car. In parking lots, I used to pretend there was a tornado coming and activate the thingy-ma-bob.

I tag anyone who has time/needs a break/is procrastinating/likes memes/likes kittens. That is all.

Pick three characters from one or more of your books or WIPs and go to http://babynames.com or the baby name site of your choice to look up the meanings of their names. Copy and paste the meanings and your characters' names into your blog, and tell us if the meanings fit.

Gina, the protagonist of Good Night, Odile -- 'Gina' is apparently of Italian origin. It is derived from 'Regina' and means 'Queen'. Quite honestly, Gina isn't very queenly. She's a loner. However, she will sacrifice a lot for people that she cares about and people in her charge, so in that sense she is sort of regal.

Michelle, one of the protagonists of Believe It -- 'Michelle' is of French origin and means 'Who is like God?' I'm not quite sure how to interpret that.

Candace, an important supporting character in Good Night, Odile -- 'Candace' means 'Queen of Ethiopia' and is of English origin. Candace is more queenly than Gina, particularly in temperament, so I would agree with this. Although I can't honestly say that I agree with the Ethiopian part, mainly because I don't know exactly how to interpret that, either. :)

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I like doing memes. They are perfect procrastination devices.

Usually I don't have a problem with clutter. My eyes sort of glaze over and I just don't see it. Today, though, as I was attempting to make some sense of things, I suddenly saw the clutter on my desk, and believe me when I say that it wasn't pretty. I muttered to myself as I swept things to the floor and retrieved lost scrunchies from beneath the desk. I carted miscellaneous notes and textbooks to my room. Now I can see my desk again and so I can get some schoolwork done.

Wait, is that a dustbunny?

I think this is my favourite memegirls's meme so far.

Copy the questions into your blog and answer them. Then tag five other writers to do the same!

1. Do you outline?

Not really. I do a freewrite synopsis with absolutely no regard for punctuation or repitition whatsoever.

2. Do you write straight through a book, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?

Out of order. I write a few scenes that I'm really passionate about at the time, then tackle a few "annoying" ones so that they won't be left until last, and so on and so forth.

3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?

Computer most of the time, unless I'm blocked, in which case I write by hand in a bright blue Hilroy notebook (or ... see #4).

4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?

Third, unless I'm blocked, in which case I write in first person (or ... see #3).

5. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, do you create a playlist, listen randomly, or pick a single song that fits the book?

Heck yes. If it's a contemporary story, I stay far away from anything fantastical, like Within Temptation or the Star Wars and LotR soundtracks. If it's fantasy, I listen to the aforementioned fantastical music for sweeping, tragic scenes, and something like Nickelback, Evanescence, or Linkin Park for the more down-to-earth nitty gritty character angst stuff.

6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?

I usually know what letter I want the name to start with, so I go to a name generator or a site with meanings of names and look under that letter. Usually one strikes me as fitting their personality. Either that, or sometimes I will look at various assessments (i.e. numerological). For example, the numerological interpretation of Gina means, "a woman who wants to be able to follow her own path". It also suggests that she is independent, afraid of being alone and yet pushes to be alone; shuts herself away from worldly distractions; and is very creative.

7. When you're writing, do you ever imagine your book as a television show or movie?

I have the entire cast of Good Night, Odile picked out, with Franka Potente in the lead role of Gina.

8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?

Definitely. Sam and Gina never cease rapping me with carnival hammers until I tell it their way, because, of course, they were there.

9. Do you know how a book is going to end when you start it?

Not really. I put off writing the end of Good Night, Odile until I was near the end of the rewrites.

10. Where do you write?

At my computer desk; beside my bed; on my bed; at Starbucks; at the table; on the couch; in between scenes during a rehearsal.

11. What do you do when you get writer's block?

Either switch to first person and write by hand rather than on the computer; sometimes I do both.

12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the book as a whole)?

It fluctuates.

13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?

One rough draft that never got finished. Rough draft #2 several years later. A half-hearted attempt at a rewrite. A full rewrite. Next up are the final edits. So depending on how you count it up, either five drafts or three.

14. Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a draft?

Andrew was originally Jake. Heather was originally Anna.

15. Do you let anyone read your book while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?

Yes and no. Before I realized I needed to do a rewrite, I gave Good Night, Odile to my best friend to read while I edited it. She and one of my other best friends (Hi Matt! Hi Erin!) have been waiting patiently to read the entire thing for over a year now. I haven't given them any status updates or given them the link to this blog, as I want them to be totally surprised when I give it to them as a gift. :) Besides that, though, I'm now at the point where I wait until I'm done a draft before I give it to someone.

16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft?

Eat nachos and ice cream. Watch the Bourne movies. Drool over grocery store cashiers (oh, wait, I do that all the time ...)

17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?

One at a time up until this point. Now that the rewrites are done on Good Night, Odile, I'm going to be working on the rough draft of a new story at the same time that I edit and submit Good Night, Odile.

18. Do your books grow or shrink in revision?

Grow. I never put in enough colour.

19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?

2skippingstones and ravelda.

20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?

I like rough drafts and editing. I do NOT. LIKE. REWRITES.

...

Well, wasn't that a cheerful note to end on? :-) I tag any writers who haven't done this meme and want an excuse to put off writing.

I think I may be one of the only people in LJ-Land that hasn't done this meme yet, which is a riot because every time I see one, which is often, I start to think of all the things I could say. So here, at long last, is the "Five Things You Don't Know About Tori" meme.

1. Babies are fair game to me for the infamous, "Let's make Baby smile!" game. Whether they're in a teahouse, grocery store, or in the street, I'll make goofy grins at them and try to make them do something other than goggle at me (although that in and of itself is cute). The trick is to do it when the parents aren't watching. I lay in wait until Mummy or Daddy is occupied, and then I pounce.

2. When I get amused at something, I squinch my face. You know, the kind of face you make when something smells bad, like your nose wrinkles and you get a line or two in your forehead. This is a recent discovery of mine, and now I am forced to wonder how long I have been doing this, and WHY NO ONE HAS TOLD ME.

3. One of my feet is an inch longer than the other, which makes buying shoes very difficult. I usually try to whine, snarl, and growl my way out of it -- which never works, by the way -- and end up whining, snarling, and growling in my head at whoever is unlucky enough to "wait" on me. This has me convinced that I am lopsided, which may explain my crooked view of life.

4. I detest science fairs. The two years I was at a lockers-and-classrooms school, the science fair was mandatory. I came up with ideas that I was convinced were brilliant, when it turned out that (both years, in fact) they were merely surveys, not actual scientific experiments. The fact that my best friend built a working piano (all right, part of a piano, but still) sent the concept of science fair through the roof. It was a really cool piano, too. And one good thing did come out of my "Which is the best bubblegum" project in grade eight. It produced the only picture I have of ... ahem. One of my testers.

5. I can't get a stupid pool stick to hit a stupid pool ball more than a wee stupid centimetre.

And there you have it. Now that wasn't so bad, was it? Okay, the rules of this meme are:

"Each participant shares five little-known facts about themselves. Those tagged are asked to do the same as well as reiterate this guideline. Each select five folks to be tagged and list their names. (Leave a comment letting them know that you've tagged them and that they may see your blog as an example.)"

I tag 2skippingstones and anyone who hasn't done this yet.

I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate, particularly when it involves chile powder a la Chocolat.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Depended on the present. Big-ticket items, so to speak, like Barbie mini-vans, were carefully situated under the tree so as to be immediately noticed upon gallumphing into the room. However, the year that he returned Penny, my sweet little blue doll, she was wrapped with string and brown paper.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Both. I like white lights outside, coloured lights inside and on the tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Only in my dreams. ;)

5. When do you put your decorations up?
I don't think we've ever put them up at the same time every year, but my grandparents always put the tree up on December 18th, in honour of my great-aunt.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I worship mashed potatoes.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, literally surrounded by sugar cookies.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
'Truth'? What 'truth'? Santa is real! *cries*

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Delayed gratification. Works every time.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
With beautiful angels, collected over the years by my Mum, preschool ornaments, and various other homespun, delicate, or just plain awesome ornaments. Oh, and lights. Lots of pretty lights. And blue tinsel. And on Christmas morning, it would magically be home to a plethora of candy canes.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
SNOW!!!!!!!!!! I want more.

12. Can you ice skate?
I can skate, yes. It's stopping that has me stymied.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
They're all special because of the thought that went into them, but I think getting Penny back -- who I lost down in the States on a roadtrip -- was pretty darn awesome.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Enjoying it with everyone I care about and reconnecting with people.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
It's candy moreso than dessert -- Sidekicks! Chewy nougat and graham cracker and chocolate, all in one neat package.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Watching over people open their gifts, checking my stocking, playing 'Santa' and handing gifts around to people.

17. What tops your tree?
An angel that plugs into the wall and lights up beautifully.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving, but I find joy in receiving, too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Jingle Bells.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
I like savoury rather than minty or sweet, but when I'm in the mood for one, I like them just fine!

If you haven't done it already, scurry on back and try this for yourself. :)

Snagged from telynor.



I particularly like the 'Twelve tragic characters drawing' ... I can't help picturing Willoughby with a little sketchbook perched on his knee.