Milk Wood Renewed

Milk Wood was founded by Harriet Gausman in 2007 and is the home of the Virtual Writers group in Second Life.

It has been my writing home since 2012, when I started writing on a regular basis after my Real Life took a tumble.

We all know how impermanent Second Life is. However, twelve years later, Milk Wood is very much alive and kicking.

Daily writing sessions, classes, get-togethers and the occasional party, not to mention the participation in Camp NaNoWriMo (in April and June) and NaNoWriMo (in November) during which there are a lot of workshops, writing sprints and scrimmages (word wars).

At the moment, we have several daily writing sessions (at 1am, 6am, 8am, 6pm), a weekly poetry writing session (Saturdays at 9am), and a weekly class on Speculative Writing (Thursdays at 2pm). All times are SLT.

The sim was recently upgraded from a homestead to a full sim. That meant that it could be fully revamped. Harriet worked very hard, for more than a month, to turn it into an even more amazing place than it was before.

When we stroll around, it is very clear that the sim was created by someone who writes as well. Every little detail is a resource we can use for our writing, every sound, every color, every shape.

Apart from the different social areas, where anyone can sit down and write or simply chat, there are a number of houses, cottages, huts that we can rent to help support the sim. As Harriet states in the Rental Covenant notecard, "We do not seek to profit by Milk Wood, but are obliged to cover the high sim costs through rentals."

And last Sunday, we had the relaunch party! It was a lot of fun to see familiar faces and new faces as well. Great music, great people, lots of smiles and fireworks.

Now, back to work!

Feel free to drop by for a visit. Milk Wood is open to all. Walk around and explore the different social areas and, why not, grab a seat with us and do a bit of writing!

Weather Aliens

Asalia House

An army of clouds traveled fast over a gray sky. Fat drops splashed on the mossy tiles and created a stream of water that flowed determined towards the end of the terrace. It was impossible to predict when the rain would finally stop. 

He hated the rain. He couldn't stand the dampness. He especially loathed having to struggled not to fall as he crossed the terrace. That terrace had been a disaster for him several times. The slippery floor looked rather nice, shiny. However, he hated it wholeheartedly. 

Then the rain stopped and hot temperatures took over. It was great at the beginning. People felt like they were on an eternal vacation. 

However, constant cuts in the water flow, restrictions on watering gardens and lawns, the long lines to get water from the local fire brigade trucks, all this made him wish he had the rain back, that dreaded rain he had cursed so often. 

But the rain never returned. 

Scientists tried artificial clouds, weather changing techniques, micro-management of weather systems, but nothing changed. 

Everyone hated the sun. Everyone hated the heat. Everyone hated the blue sky, that beautiful blue sky. 

When the aliens arrived, no one noticed it at first. Their ships were silent and none of them uttered a single sound. 

Then, people thought that was the last thing they needed. Were they being invaded? Were they going to become slaves and work in alien mines? Were they going to die? 

The aliens took a huge piece of some unknown mineral and placed it in the middle of the desert (one of the deserts). The mineral looked like a giant menhir and it pulsated, shining a green glow around it. It pulsated for 4 days. 

And then, a few clouds appeared. Everyone cheered. 

More clouds appeared, traveling faster over the blue sky, turning it into a light gray tone. 

And after two weeks of expectation, the first drops of rain. 

The terrace became slippery again. And he was happy. 

As a matter of fact, he never thought he'd be this happy. The tour of duty was almost over. This was his 5th. The perks were good and he had volunteered four times. The first time was always compulsory for everyone. It was a tour of adjustment. Most of them would do several tours if they could accommodate to the local ways. 

He had to admit that, at first, it was rather perplexing, but as time flew by, he had fun and even started taking part in the local activities. 

After the 3rd tour, he decided he had enough. He was tired. He wanted to go back home. 

But that's when the problems started back then, the constant rain, the flooding, the destruction of the environment. It was driving him crazy. 

Nevertheless, he was told to stay on for a bit longer. The plan was for him to stay a week or two. Then, the plan changed, and he had to stay for 3 months. Then, everything changed again and he was told to stay indefinitely. 

He hid the processor well. At least, he tried to. The damn thing became problematic when it started to interfere with the Internet connections of his neighbors. 

A new processor, more updated, was to arrive quickly. It never did. So he had to hide his processor in the middle of the local forest, away from everything and everyone. 

Some kids almost found it one day. He had just buried it when the kids appeared. He hid behind a slope nearby. He didn't want to get arrested for being some sort of freak wandering about alone in the forest, or worse spying on kids. He threw a few stones in the direction of the road. The kids' curiosity was too big and they followed the noise. At some point, they lost interest, as kids do, and walked away. He had to dig the damn thing up and walk deeper into the forest to hide it. 

When the aliens appeared, the processor was in his pocket and no one, in a radius of a km, had Internet. It was a small price to pay for the rain, he thought. 

When the aliens packed up their gear and left, as silently as they had arrived, he was left in charge of the green standing stone. 

Yet, he still managed to slip a message to the unit captain. 

“GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

2016 in a Nutshell

Home

• 100 Word Stories (drabbles) - 52 weeks, 52 stories
• Short Story "The Toy Maker"
• About Writing
• What to Expect of a Writing Session
• When You Just Don’t Feel Like It
• At a Writing Session - Double Do’s
• The Dynamics of a Writing Session
• Builder's Brewery Art Festival for Relay for Life (poetry)
• Continued the novel "The Unspoken Footnote" started at the NaNoWriMo 2015
• CampWriMo April (continued novel started at the NaNoWriMo 2015)
• CampWriMo July (concluded novel started at the NaNoWriMo 2015)
• Started editing/revising "The Unspoken Footnote"
• 2016 NaNoWriMo Pep-Talk for the Virtual Writers' blog (I didn't participate in the NaNoWriMo this year)
• About SL "Turning a Box into a Home"
• For 3 years I hosted a writing session at Milk Wood, the 500 Word Snatch. Several circumstances, personal mostly, dictated the end of this cycle at the end of September.
• Erotica (unpublished)

Being willing to experiment is, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of being a writer. I have tried my hand at several different genres and, as a result, I found myself dabbling with erotica. We'll see what happens.

Finally, I was rather surprised, not to say shocked, when I realized the total number of words written in 2016 (most of them unpublished) was a whooping 457857.

More in 2017.

"Study the past, if you would divine the future."

Confucius

500 Word Snatch Writing Sessions End

Home

The Monday-Friday 2am SLT and the Saturday 12noon SLT writing sessions, started in 2013 and hosted by me at Milk Wood, come to an end. New writing adventures will no doubt come by. Keep on writing.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2016 Participant

Camp NaNoWriMo started in 2011. It took place in July and August. In 2012, it moved to June and August to finally settle for April and July since 2013.

2013 was the year I started taking part in the NaNoWriMo, actually. I had heard about Camp, but the hubbahubba was far less intense, so I never really considered taking up the challenge.

However, as it always happens when you belong to a community of writers, I heard about others' experiences and was rather curious to check deeper into the possible advantages of Camp NaNoWriMo.

Cabins

An interesting feature it offers is the fact that we belong to a cabin. A cabin is composed of 11 writers and the communication channel allows for a much closer support than what we have with the general list of contacts at the NaNoWriMo.

I'm happy to say that, for the first time, The Virtual Writers community has its own cabin at the Camp NaNoWriMo website and I'm thrilled to have been invited to join it.

Plus, there is an added element of fun in this endeavor. Milk Wood has a real camp. Well, virtually real! I'll refrain from explaining too much because Katjamez has done it already and much better than I would. So, for a comprehensive look into Milk Wood's virtual camp site, do check KatJamez's wonderful blog post here. 

Screenshot from Kat's blog post

Tip: Check the rest of the blog too! In her blog Mirror Rim, Seeking the Muse, Kat wrote a series of posts titled Camp Survival Kit that I find particularly insightful.

Establishing Goals

Another engaging feature of Camp NaNoWriMo is the fact that we can not only establish our own goals but also choose the type of project we would like to work on, meaning, the challenge is not confined to the limits of fiction/non-fiction writing. As a matter of fact, many participants revise/edit or take on non-noveling projects such as writing scripts.

Tip: To determine how to establish word count for editing/research and scrips/graphic novels, click here. For the FAQs, click here.

Adjusting The Needs to the Challenge

The whole idea of the NaNoWriMo challenge is to push people to write, to encourage them to be productive in whichever project they might embrace.

Having accomplished the 50.000-word mark last November (and having surpassed it largely by almost 10.000 words) I didn't, however, manage to finish the novel. The Unspoken Footnote became a far lengthier text than I had first anticipated.

Long story short, it's time to finally tackle the last few chapters (seven) and finish the darn thing! I have established a goal of 10.000 words, 334 word per day.

Considering that I host the morning Snatches at Milk Wood, and that each session lasts 30 minutes having a goal of 500 words, I think this is totally doable. As a matter of fact, I do think I'll write more than the 10K, but I prefer to be conservative and reach the goal. Real Life does tend to throw a few unexpected obstacles my way every now and then.

Tip: The 500 Word Snatches I host take place Mon-Fri at 2am SLT (10am PRT/UK) and Sat 12noon SLT (8pm PRT/UK). On week days, we have two 30-minute sessions and on Saturdays we have one. For more information on other schedules, click here.

Sooooo!

Here I go. A new adventure begins tomorrow. Yep, I'll just follow the squirrels!

Wish me luck! *wink*

2015 in a Nutshell

Kats Beach

As it happened in 2014, I started the year of 2015 with a commitment, to write 500 words a day. Establishing a writing routine proved to be extremely important in terms of creating a solid body of work.

The difference between 2015 and the previous years is the fact that, more and more, my writing is becoming less visible. As I move forth towards long fiction and spend more time doing research and plotting, the amount of stories I post in my blog becomes smaller, resulting in the impression that less is being done. That is not true.

So, what happened in 2015?

*For the Virtual Writers Inc. website, A Story Waiting to Happen (monthly non-fiction articles with suggestions for stories and virtual inspiration drawn from sims in Second Life)

1. Kats Beach

2. Roche

3. Hestium

4. StoryBrooke Gardens

*100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge (fiction drabbles; this challenge continues to be an invaluable creative opportunity that pushes me to think about the micro-world of a sentence and the value of each word)

*500 Word Stories (fiction)

*I ventured into writing an Erotica short-story. It’s now at 11.396 words, but miserably unfinished and unpublished.

*A short-story called "Sonya Electrified" (fiction)

*Writing resources for my own blog (non-fiction about the writing process)

*An opinion article about Second Life’s SL12B, “So, What’s the Problem?”

*I took these MOOC to collect information that would eventually help me with character building:

1. May 11 - June 7 - Heart Health (University of Reading) - a Beginner's Guide to Cardiovascular Disease
2. April 20 - May 31 - Psychology and Mental Health (University of Liverpool) - How a psychological understanding of emotions and behavior provides new ways to improve mental health and well-being
3. April 20 - June 14 - Introduction to Cyber Security (The Open University) - Essential cyber security knowledge and skills
4. April 13 - May 15 - Forensic Science and Criminal Justice (University of Leicester) - The use of science in criminal investigations and its role in the criminal justice system
5. March 9 - 27 - How to Succeed at Interviews (The University of Sheffield) - Tools to succeed at interviews and land a dream job or course place
6. March 2 - April 10 - Dysphagia: Swallowing Difficulties and Medicines (University of East Anglia) - The administration of medicines to patients with dysphagia
7. March 2 - 20 - Introduction to Dutch (University of Groningen) – Introductory
8. January 5 - February 13 - Introduction to Forensic Science (University of Strathclyde) - Methods and scientific underpinning of forensic science, from crime scene investigation to reporting evidential value within a case

* I continued to host the weekly write-in in the virtual world of Second Life within the context of the 500 Word Writing Challenge, Saturdays at noon SLT/8pm Lisbon PT - 30 minutes of writing.

* In July, I started hosting a daily write-in, Monday-Thursday at 2am SLT/10am Lisbon PT because a few participants of the weekly writing sessions were interested in having a daily schedule. After a pause for summer vacation, it is interesting to observe that a fairly stable group of writers now attends the morning events on a regular basis – 2x 30 minutes of writing.

*Throughout November, I hosted the morning write-in daily, Monday-Sunday at 2am SLT/10am Lisbon PT– 2x 30 minutes of writing.

*The novel The Unspoken Footnote written during the NaNoWriMo (fiction, mystery, to be completed and revised). I spent more time plotting the story and it ended up becoming longer than the planned 50k words (at the end of the year, 74.913 words and about five or six chapters from conclusion). It will be fun to revise it.

*Writing Workshop “Boost Your Writing Using Second Life”. I hosted this event in the first week of November as part of the events organized by the Virtual Writers. It was my first experience of this type in Second Life. Those who attended enjoyed and found it useful.

*NaNoWriMo Pep Talk for the Virtual Writers website and in-world group, Week 3.

Of the 182.500 word target for this year (500 words X 365 days), I managed to write 163.284. I was 38 days short of reaching the goal. This average increased (from 29 days in 2014), which means I wrote less than in last year. Yet, considering that there are 104 weekend days in the year, I think I still did a pretty good job.

Looking back, I realize I achieved the major goals I had established for 2015 – writing a novel in a more structured way, continuing to write short-fiction - a great learning sandbox for higher flights, and motivating and helping other writers.

I feel I didn’t achieve my goal of writing more short-stories.

One aspect I failed miserably in once again was in revising last year's NaNoWriMo novel. I now have TWO novels to revise and ONE to finish and revise before November.

The advantage of being an active member of a writing community is the fact that everyone pushes for everyone else. As a result, the Virtual Writers are planning to organize the necessary logistical settings for anyone who wishes to take part in the Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July.

For this event, writers set their own goals, writing or revising/editing. I’m choosing the latter which means that I must have The Unspoken Footnote ready by April. My goal is to finally be successful in revising/editing one of the three novels I will have written by then.

All in all, it was a good year. And I’m happy to say that, more and more, I volunteer and rely on peer support. Routine, perseverance and peer support are vital. These were the most valuable lessons I have learned this year.

"Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens.” 

Ray Bradbury

Boost Your Writing Using Second Life

Milk Wood

NaNoWriMo is a demanding challenge and getting stuck is not an option.

I'll host a workshop, Thursday, November 5, at noon SLT (8pm Portugal/UK time) about simple solutions you can use to turn Second Life, or any virtual world, into your NaNoWriMo backup plan.

This event will be held at Milk Wood and it'll be in voice. Join me.

Workshop Notes, click here.

Sonya Electrified, Part 6/6

Avatar Games

Then, a catastrophe happened. As quickly as he had appeared in her life, the man disappeared. He sold his house for two-pence and ran away.

What had she done wrong? Why did they all leave her?

Sonya was lost in her thoughts when the phone rang. It was the guy.

“You still didn’t learn the lesson, did you?”

She hung up, furious. She hung up the phone. She hung up her life, her job, her family; she hung up on everyone and everything.

When she turned the TV on, her face was on the news again and not for the best of reasons, not for being the courageous woman who overcame pain and abandonment. She was on the news for being the silly old bat that would never learn her lesson.

She grabbed her dogs, got in the car and drove away. No one ever heard of her again.

Each year that went by, the ex-friends and boyfriends and contacts, real and virtual, got together at the Electric Chair Café. They told Sonya’s story over and over again, and laugh, as they did many years ago.

No one would mention Sonya again in the media, except for that one time when they did a special on online relationships and the dangers of believing that there is happiness right around the corner. The title was “Sonya Electrified”. It wasn’t the most original or refined of titles, one must admit, however the message was there, for everyone to see, forever and ever, as it happens with each footprint we leave online.

As to the unnamed guy, the one Sonya considered a good friend, he shall remain unnamed. He was just a shadow.

“I wish I could take that back,” he mumbled, sneering. “Well, not really.”

When he sold the Café, he added a notch to his favorite table. No one ever noticed those notches. He was retiring. Mary, Louise, Anne, Theresa, so many. He couldn’t remember them all. And now Sonya. She was the jewel in his crown, the last to be broken. He’d remember her for a long time; perhaps he’d even include her in his upcoming book, he thought, closing his laptop. Who knows?

The End

Part 1

Sonya Electrified, Part 5/6

Kats Beach

When the login was complete, she opened her list of friends.

“There must be a glitch…”

Sonya closed the viewer and re-entered the password. She waited. Then she opened her list of friends again.

It was empty. There was no one there.

For some reason, she felt compelled to open her list of friends in the different social media she subscribed to. Much to her horror, all her hundreds of friends had disappeared. There was no one in those lists, no one.

She was alone, completely alone. Those she had relied on had abandoned her, everyone, except that guy. He was still there.

She decided to send him an IM. He didn’t reply, although he was online. She sent him another IM, this time slightly more anguished. He didn’t reply.

Over the next following weeks, Sonya sent him dozens of messages, some more aggressive, others showing him how sanctimonious she was and that she needed no one. He never answered back.

This unimaginable situation became news when an anonymous tip sent the story to the media. One day, they were at her doorstep, dozens of them. “What do you feel? Can you give us any details? When did you find out? Do you know who that man is? Where he lives?” A million questions, a million arrows, stabbings to her heart, but mostly to her pride. 

Sonya was now known all over the world for being the epitome of abandonment and betrayal. Television stations from all over the world featured her story. A channel, in particular, offered her an impressive amount of money to roll a 2-hour long documentary featuring her comfortable life and her dogs. “At least, I’ll have the dogs,” she thought, but she never said it on camera. That would’ve been too ridiculous. It would’ve made her look like a country girl and she wanted to look like a country girl, yes, but sophisticated, not a simplistic moron.

With the money, she bought a house by the sea. It was not big, but it was very nice. She was happy. Amidst the whole tragedy, she had, once more, managed to come out of it triumphant, she thought. And money does tend to attract people, so she would make new friends.

And she did. There was this one man especially. He lived in one the beach houses near hers. He was a middle-aged man, as sophisticated as her, as interesting as her, as available as her.

They started dating. He was all she had ever wanted. She didn’t need social media or virtual worlds. She had him. She was his. She belonged to him unconditionally. She had learned her lesson. No more strangers in her life. Her family was happy; she was happy.

Part 6

Part 1

November is Coming!

Milk Wood

One of the most valuable aspects of being a writer in Second Life® is the possibility of becoming part of a writing community. I've been told a few times, however, that the expression "writing community" may scare away those who prefer to avoid specific questions about their work in progress or about their Real Life identity. That's understandable.

So, let's just say we are a group of people who meet at Milk Wood to write. No pressure. Unconditional support. Peer-to-peer motivation.

The writing sessions start at 2am SLT, 10am PRT/UK, Monday to Thursday. Friday will be added to our schedule throughout November. After the initial 30 minutes, we take a 15-minute break. Then, we resume for another 30 minutes. Saturdays, the write-in takes place at noon SLT, 8pm PRT/UK and we write for 30 minutes.

These sessions are open to all sorts of projects - plotting, writing fiction, blog posts, academic work, revising and editing.

Only two weeks away from NaNoWriMo (and alternative events such as The NoteBook Project), it's important to:

• Create a writing routine
• Increase your writing pace
• Prepare an outline (even if vague) of your writing path for November
• Gather writing resources
• Establish a solid net of support and motivation.

That's exactly what happens at the 500 Word Snatch writing sessions.

Plenty of good reasons to join us, wouldn't you say? :)

Sonya Electrified, Part 4/6

Hazardous

When her eyes got used to the bright light, the harsh reality sank in. One after the other, familiar faces lined up clapping and laughing in an incomprehensible mockery. Faces from the past, school friends especially; friends from the present, many she had never met in person but with whom she chatted online every day. 

She couldn’t understand why they were there or why they were clapping. Distorted smiles filled with excessive laughter had her confusing the apparent joy with applause, actual applause.

Perhaps they are celebrating my life, my achievements, my generosity, my friendship.

It was when the champagne rained over her head, messing up her hairdo and making her mascara leak all over her face that she finally accepted that that was no celebration at all.

As she tried to fight her way out of the Café, someone grabbed her arm.

“At your own risk,” said the man. “And nevertheless you came. Don’t you ever learn?”

He was… Oh… She had talked to him over a few weeks. The beginning of a virtual relationship had developed rather quickly, to her joy. She opened up to him completely, shared some of the most inner feelings and fears. She felt reborn with his virtual presence and she knew he felt the same about her.

It lasted a very short period of time. He shied away from her. She didn’t want to go back to mulling over the whys and the hows of the sudden separation. But, yes, that was him, right there in front of her.

“I don’t understand,” she stuttered.

“This is how much I know about you. I had never met you face-to-face and yet I know all this about your life.” He moved his hand in a semi-circle, pointing at the room.

The familiar faces were staring at her.

“But these are my friends…”

“No. They are nothing to you. They are strangers you decided to think of as your friends. They are shadows, nothing but shadows. And I decided to bring those shadows to you.”

The crowd looked at her in silence, a mocking sneer about to explode in a wave of uncontrollable laughter.

“Why?” she asked.

After taking a good look at her, laughing and patting one another’s backs, they exited the Café, happy with the result of this project, as she heard someone call it. And there she stood, alone, once again, in the dark grim Electric Chair Café.

The waiter went back to cleaning wine glasses with that dirty rag. The barman turned to the game on TV.

Sonya was so emotionally drained that she sought comfort in her virtual world of choice. She entered her username and password, and waited. Everything would be ok.

Part 5

Part 1

Sonya Electrified, Part 3/6

Ten Pages

Nighttime came quickly. She walked inside the café, unsure of whether she was feeling exhilarated or fearful.

A few people sat at the bar. One or two tables were taken by a few couples. She chose a table and waved discreetly to order a drink. The waiter stood leisurely at the bar, cleaning wine glasses with a dirty rag, and he took his time to serve her.

Sonya waited for her date. She waited for an hour. She thought about what her life had been till then. In her late 50s, single, no children, she had focused on her job and her hobbies.

She waited for two hours. She went to every class reunion. She stayed in touch with school friends and old neighbors through the social media. She went to any gathering she could. She met so many people, hoping, always hoping, to have some sort of companionship. She even went into virtual worlds, exploring new possibilities.

She waited for three hours and no one showed up. Perhaps it was a prank. Perhaps someone she actually knew had sent her that private message. Perhaps they were waiting, spider-like in their little cobwebs, to see her squirm online, complaining about human nature being oh so miserable. Being as self-righteous and self-centered as she was, they knew she would be extremely vocal about what happened to her. No detail, of course, but the message would be there.

Deep inside, she knew she would do just that. Somehow, she had to have her petty little revenge. That little something that would make her feel at peace with herself. She had been tricked, yes, but she would let the world know that she wasn’t the sweet lady everyone said she was.

Her anger grew steadily as she thought about those wasted three hours. She had even done her hair right and added the bit of extra make-up.

As she was preparing to leave, the dark ambiance of the Café lit up with a blinding light. For a fraction of a second, she thought it was some sort of religious epiphany she was experiencing.

Part 4

Part 1

Blogged

The "Take 5! Writing in a Virtual World" series was featured in the NaNoWriMo @ Second Life blog.

The aim of these posts is to motivate writers to use virtual worlds, in this case Second Life®, as a very useful writing resource.

Sonya Electrified, Part 2/6

Gehena Vampire Clan

She didn’t like that place. It freaked her out, but she agreed to meet him. After all, he could be the love of her life.

Right before she got in the car, she decided to check her messages again, just in case. There were several more, complimenting her photo. But there was one from that same guy, the one she was about to meet. The message said “At your own risk.” That was it.

She just sat there, behind the wheel, for a long time, wondering what that meant. Was it a warning? Was it a way to discourage her? After much thought, she decided that it was a message sent to her by mistake. That message was meant to someone else. That was it.

The 15-minute drive seemed like it took an hour. She had the feeling that she shouldn’t be doing this. However, she was determined to find someone. She was determined to leave this terrifying loneliness behind.

Sonya had her faith. True. The church people had been so nurturing in her times of intense pain and depression. They called in on her to make sure she didn’t need any food or anything done for her. They dropped by and offered to clean the house a bit, do some laundry, and iron a few things. She had always refused. She was proud. She would make it. Alone.

What she really needed were not people to do her chores. What she needed was a man, a man to hold her, a man to hug her, to protect her, a man who would whisper in her ear how much he loved her. And, despite the fact that her gut-feeling told her to stay away from this blind date, her gut also told her that this was the one.

Sonya didn’t tell anyone she was going to the Electric Chair Café.

Although her family was supportive and her friends were constantly trying to get her to go out, they were also weary of her trustfulness. Behind that front of apparent toughness, there was a very fragile and insecure person. And let’s face it, the Electric Chair Café was not exactly the safest place to meet strangers. No place was, but this Café in particular had the reputation of being sleazy and dark. Many thought that a generous flow of drug trafficking and other illegal businesses were a constant there. Many of the women sitting at the bar were hookers and the men in the reserved tables at the back spent their nights playing poker with bets that amounted to the hundreds of thousands.

She didn’t care. She was on a quest to find love. She was on a quest to find the love of her life.

Many had been a part of that path. Some had left her behind, no second thoughts, no guilty conscience. Most of them didn’t stand the insistence and the uncomfortable feeling that a web was being woven around them, tighter and tighter so that, one day, it would be impossible to get free. In many ways, what had attracted them to her in the first place would become exactly what would drive them away. 

An ordinary mourning period ensued where she tried to empower herself, convincing herself that she didn’t really need anyone to be happy. After all, she was a strong woman, wasn’t she?

Then, something like this completely unexpected meeting would happen and there she was, open to any situation, to anyone, anywhere.

Part 3

Part 1

Sonya Electrified, Part 1/6

Milk Wood

“Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness.”

Stephen King

Oblivious to the fact that she was being tracked down online, Sonya happily continued to share her life with anyone who wished to follow it.

The photos, the quotes, the links, each piece of the puzzle building a portrait she felt comfortable with. This was the image she wanted people to have of her – powerful, but sensitive, and a friend, especially a good protective friend to those she cared for.

And she cared for many, the known and the unknown, the ones she thought she knew well and the ones she wished she did.

The one thing she didn't want anyone to think about her was that she was gullible, a simple mind wrapped in painful feelings of abandonment and an almost childish need to be loved.

With every fragment of her life shown to the world, she covered her own image with a layer of an astonishing lack of caution.

Sonya didn't care. She had no time to waste. She jumped from one online relationship to the next, clinging so much to men that she scared them away in only a few months.

But she would not stop; she would never stop, because Sonya’s goal was to be loved no matter what, no matter by whom.

The day she decided to finally post a photo of herself online – so far she had been coy and hesitant about doing it – she received 3 private IMs, praising her. That was good, she thought.

One was from a guy she hadn't talked to in years, but whom she just couldn't drive herself to delete from her friends’ list – to be honest, she never deleted anyone from her friends’ list, just in case they needed her. The guy threw in a nonchalant “Wow!” with an avalanche of smileys waving, winking, high-fiving and clapping. She thought that was cute.

The second was from a friend who had left her hanging one night in the chat room she visited every Saturday for a bit of company. The chat room was called “Mature, Single and Looking”. She called him a friend, but he was far from being an acquaintance, let alone a friend. However, she liked saying “my friend this… my friend that” at the office. It made her look very social. His IM had a “thumbs-up” and a “kiss” smiley. That was nice. See, he was a friend after all, she thought.

The last IM was from someone she couldn’t identify. She didn’t recall his name and he was not in her friends’ list either. She didn’t recognize the name, she didn’t recognize the person on the photo, she didn’t recognize the profile and they didn’t have any friends in common. The IM said “Hot and sexy! We have a lot to talk about. Meet me tomorrow. 9pm. Electric Chair Café.”

Part 2

Take 5! Writing in a Virtual World

Take 5! is a series of short info lists on how a Virtual World is a remarkable resource for writers. My experience derives from being a resident in Second Life®.

I'll address the following:

5 Common Misconceptions about Virtual Worlds

5 Reasons Why Writing in a Virtual World Is a Good Idea

5 Easy Steps to Start Writing in a Virtual World

5 Simple Ways to Make the Best of Writing in a Virtual World

5 Things Virtual Reality Can Teach you About Writing

Blogged

A few days ago, the morning 500 Word Snatches were featured in the NaNoWriMo @ Second Life blog!

These write-ins take place at Milk Wood in the virtual world of Second Life®.

For more information, click here.