Keeping that blogging mojo strong.

I will be honest - in part, I'm writing this to give myself a kick up the arse because with uni and all blogging keeps tending to fall by the wayside for days that turn into weeks. So I thought I'd have a bit of a think, and share some ideas for keeping your blog regularly updated - some of these are things I do, some are things I'd like to try.

Start a series.
If you start a series of posts and it something you know you'll always have something to say about, that's an easy fix, especially if you can make it a regular thing. For me, Photo Fridays are great. I have years of photography and modelling to dip into and talk about if for some reason I have no new stuff I always have old stuff to share! However, irregular series can be just as good - like my "loliable shops" posts. It's not something I talk about often, but it's something I can pick up if I'm drawing a blank on what to post about. Some ideas for regular weekly series I can think of just randomly are MakeUp Mondays, where you could discuss cosmetics or maybe Fiction Fridays, where you talk about books. With something broad like those topics [and they are also alliterative, which is awesome] it would be pretty easy to come up with a pretty unique post each week. For sporadically posted series it's even easier to come up with ideas - just pick something that interests you that you think you will be able to make more than one post out of. My "things I don't have in my wardrobe" series started when I read one of those advice blogs about the things a woman should have in her wardrobe and realising that I had very few of their totally, uberly, essential basics. And also that I disagreed that one should have such things.

Schedule in advance.
If you read nothing else here, read this. Scheduled posting is like, the totally best thing ever. For people like me, who can be forgetful and then grumpy when I remember I forgot things, posting on time would become quite a difficult thing. But with scheduled posting that's not a problem,and what's more, I could write a whole month's worth of posts [and sometimes do, at least the Photo Friday posts] all at once when I'm feeling inspired and then the blog just takes care of itself.

Join a blogging circle thing.
Groups such as the Lolita Blog Carnival can be really helpful. Not only does joining such a group give you something to write about on the days when inspiration is thin on the ground, in the LBC at least participating in the group's topics can lead to increased blog traffic in the link sharing to everyone's posts. Now, despite the fact I think it could be really helpful for a blogger things like this aren't really my cup of tea, though I do occasionally pick up LBC topics after the fact. I just don't like sticking to other people's schedules ^__^

React to the latest news.
There's not too much to elaborate on here - if you're looking for something to blog about, post up your thoughts on the latest goings on. By news I don't necessarily mean on the tv and in the papers news [though that's certainly an option!] but news that interests you. Some examples I can think of are new fashion releases, shows and lookbooks, news about books, movies or tv shows, updates on games, fancy new technology [new camera lenses...drool...] or anything at all.

Do something big, and post about it step by step.
I have to say, I love progress posts. The first one that pops to mind at the moment is Make Lovely's wardrobe overhaul series, which I'm greatly enjoying so far. I don't know what it is, but there's something cool about people sharing their progress on a big project, whether is overhauling your wardrobe, making a costume, learning to bake, training for a marathon, anything really! So if you're stuck for a blogging topic, maybe consider sharing your progress on whatever your next project happens to be. And another great thing about posting up progress is that you can get away with doing smaller posts sometimes, just a photo and a few lines. Just something to let your readers know you're still active ^__^

Round stuff up, y'all.
Round up posts are an easy way to post something on your blog without having to come up with your own content. At the moment, I consider them a bit of a cheat, but they are still a good thing to keep your readers interested [provided, of course, you are linking to content that suits your readership] when you don't have much original content to share.

So there you have it. My current thoughts on how to keep the posts coming on your blog. Do you have any favourite methods to keep to blogging mojo strong?

And, this is kind of a unrelated but kind of related side note... try and write good [yes, that was deliberately bad writing to make my point in a humorous manner. Comment at your peril.] and by that I mean try to use normal grammar, paragraphing, spelling and the like. It makes your posts much more readable. They way I see it is that if you write well, provided you aren't using stupidly big words or super fancy sentences, anyone can read your posts. But if you keep getting your and you're confused, are inconsistent with paragraphing, and make your blog hard to read by virtue of being incorrectly written, chances are I'll unfollow you. Nothing personal, but I don't want to struggle to read someone's posts ^__^

Lolita Wardrobe Building

This is a theme that has been posted about many a time [to me, the best one has always been Caro-chan's and if you haven't read it, go do so now] and generally the consensus is the same. Get your basics in colours that will suit the sub-style you want to get into, and slowly build from there. The quality vs quantity debate is also something commonly discussed in online lolita circles, and though there's less of a consensus there seems to be more of a leaning towards building a wardrobe of good quality items rather than a mass of lesser quality ones. However, my thoughts on that are a different post entirely...

Anyhow, I thought I'd relate my own experience and give my current two cents on the topic of building a lolita wardrobe. I'm still a relative newbie to the fashion, and I'm sure that if I stick with lolita for a few more years my opinions will change at least a little bit. But at this point my attitude is really very simple; provided it's not going to mean you can't buy food or fuel, build up your wardrobe in whatever manner will make you happiest.

For myself, I was lucky enough that my awesome man bought em a pretty complete wardrobe right off the bat and it's been fantastic. However, the only downside of being able to get a fair bit of gear straight off is you can make some bad choices because, as always when buying clothes online, you aren't going to know how things are going to look and what you're going to like until you have it, and if you buy five dresses at once straight away, chances are they might not all work for you. So my advice on that front is to take it slow, even if you do have the means to buy your complete starting wardrobe all at once. Buy one complete outfit, perhaps with a few variables such a different socks or blouses see what works for you in it, and then go on from there.

When I sit down and think about it, things like budget and personal taste aside, I think there are three golden rules to keep in mind when building your lolita wardrobe.

Basics really are that important.
Everyone says it, and now I'm saying it. Lolita needs a petticoat. Without a petti, you just have a very cute outfit that's not quite lolita. However, I'm going to go against common wisdom and say that, right at the beginning, you don't necessarily need a great petti. My first one was a Leg Avenue tutu, and it was alright, and it was a good $30 cheaper than my Classical Puppets one. Unless you absolutely know for sure you want to wear lolita, and I'm very impressed if you do and I'd also like to ask you for next week's lottery numbers, as cheaper petticoat will be good enough for you to test the lolita fashion waters with.

It's fluffy enough ^__^

To me basics also covers more than just petticoat - it means shoes, socks and something to put on your head. Knee high socks, mary janes and a headbow of some kind are such typically lolita accessories that they should be part of your first outfit. There will be time to get experimental later.

Now, you may be wondering why I haven't mentioned bloomers as a basic wardrobe item. Though I know modesty is a lolita virtue, to me bloomers are underwear, and I think I have no right to tell anyone what underwear they should wear. Yes, bloomers protect you in the case of winds from having people see your panties, but they aren't essential.

Hear that bloomers?

Avoid things you hate.
I have never been able to wear big things on my head. Small clips, fancy hair ties, plain headbands, little bows and full size hats have always been fine. Then I enter the lolita scene and everything is headeating bows. So I try headeating bows, and feel uncomfortable and look it. The lesson in that is simple. If you don't like something normally, or something doesn't look good on your normally, you probably won't like it any more and it won't look any better just by virtue of being part of a lolita coord.

Fortunately, the reverse is also true! If you look great in blue normally, you're going to look great in that colour in lolita. As long as you adhere to the lolita aesthetic and silhouette, I tihnk its most important to wear things that are flattering and make you feel comfortable. Lolita is a fashion, not a costume, and you should never wear anything that makes you feel like it's a costume, and whatever that is is personal. For me, it's headeating bows ^__^

Find the right blouse.

This may be an odd bit of advice, but its one I've found works for me. Discover your perfect blouse...and then get five of it! Well, it doesn't have to be five exactly, but once you find a blouse that looks good and feels comfortable, try and get it in as many colours as you'd use, and perhaps buy two in whatever colour you'd use most, like white or black. A flattering blouse is important - you can have lots of lovely skirts and JSKs but without the right blouse you don't have the right outfit.

This may sound like it will be limiting your outfits by wearing the same style blouse frequently, so all I will do it point you to the tumblr of a wonderful sweet lolita, Cadney. If you browse through her outfit photos you'll notice that she has the Bodyline L364 in several colours, and she uses it very well in range of different outfits in a variety of colours.

Of course, I'm not saying stick to only one blouse, but I do suggest that when you find one that works well for you that you do get a few of it if that's at all possible. If I'm being totally honest, my next Bodyline order I'm saving for is going to be just that - repeats of the blouses I have found I like best ^__^

Now, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you'd have seen my hypothetical wardrobe posts where I build imaginary lolita wardrobes in the various style and substyles. However, this post and those are different kettles of fish. Those are my thoughts on how you could build a specific wardrobe, on a budget, to fit a particular style. This is about my thoughts on building a lolita wardrobe in general, and, since this article is already long enough, I shall end it here ^__^

Books that really, really, really should be made into movies.

Have you ever had that moment when you're reading an awesome book and you can just see the scenes and characters play out in your head, sometimes complete with epic soundtrack? Yup. These are some of the books that do that to me, and that I seriously cannot believe haven't been snatched up for movie production.

Sabriel by Garth Nix.
When I was I think eleven years old, one of the librarians misplaced this book in the children's section and thus began my love affair with fantasy. It's a great book and a fairly easy read and I would love to see a movie version...provided it's done well. It has zombies and a courageous heroine in a fantasy world with crossovers to a version of the early 20th century... and aren't those sort of blockbuster keywords at the moment? There's a small amount of phenomenal fanart of the book [and it's two sequels] out there, including an almost steampunkesque rendition by this artist, but personally I've always found the work of Laura Tolton to be true to what I see when I read this book.

Sabriel in the river of Death, by Laura Tolton.

Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey.
Okay, okay, so this is a series and not an individual book. Shoot me. But as well as the resurgence in fantasy, there seems to be a rise in period pieces and a growing interest in fairytale retellings. So how is modified versions of fairytales set in Victorian and Edwardian London [and one in San Francisco] where Elemental Magic exists in both good and evil forms not a major win? I adore this book series, they are all fun, light reads that are always less predictable than you think they are gong to be. And I really think they'd make for equally fun movies.

The Tortall Books by Tamora Pierce.
Yes, stop glaring at me, I know it's another series. In fact, it's a series of series's because I couldn't pick which one would be the best to adapt to the screen. And speaking of which, these books would probably be best suited to being made into a televisions series like with Game of Thrones, perhaps a twelve episode series for a quartet of books, rather than a movie. These are young adult fantasy books, and as I've already said, fantasy is the in thing at the moment and seeing any Tamora Pierce works adapted for the teenage audience would be a refreshing change from all the paranormal bullshit that's floating around. These are good, solid fantasies that are really simple in the best sense of the word - there's a lot of depth and likeable characters, but no necessary complication for the sake of complication. Even though I'm older than the intended age bracket, I would watch with enthusiasm anything made from Tamora Pierce's works, and probably buy the matching t-shirt.

Other books I can think of that I think would make rad movies [or tv shows] include A Confusion of Princes [Garth Nix again, sensing a theme yet?], The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers [it would have to be a tv series though, a very surreal tv series] and The Wind on Fire series by William Nicholoson, which were some of my favourites books as a kid... they always seemed colourful, somehow.

Is there anything you'd love to see in cinematic form?

Microsoft strikes again.

I know I'm late to this discussion, but I had no reason to be involved until now. My James has a theory, which I tend to agree with, that Microsoft releases versions of Windows in the following order - it's great, it sucks, it's great, it sucks. And after Windows 7, Windows 8... well, it sucks. And as we thought it would suck, we didn't plan on upgrading from Windows 7 until my laptop died and James bought us a new one... and every single laptop came with Windows 8, and not a single alternative was given.

A word of warning; there be ranting ahead. I do know it's kind of pointless to talk about it because who knows if Microsoft ever even listens, but if anyone knows of a customer service email or something where I could possible politely tell Microsoft my thoughts on the new operating system that would be nice ^__^

So my first impression was not too bad, really. I wasn't a fan of the start screen replacing the start menu but I got used to it fairly quickly and as you could still access the desktop as per usual it seemed fine. Nothing too fancy going on, it seemed, so I was willing to forgive the existence of the start screen.

Until one day at uni I tried to open a PDF.

Fullscreen apps. No minimise button [praise be for alt-tab, am I right?], no "view in window option" and no exit button. I had to google how to close the damn reader, and I'm not a total dumb-ass when it comes to computers. This revelation was shortly followed by my noticing that Window 8 treats your desktop as an app as well, regardless of how many programs you have running from the desktop.

How is this interface user friendly? When using the laptop at uni I need to click between course outlines and readers in PDF format to the Word documents I'm using to take notes, and maybe clarify a few things online at the same time. The new system of apps does not make that an efficient process for me. I hate having things in fullscreen and it really peeves me that Microsoft has decided I am not allowed to choose how big or small I want to view something.

The thing that I really don't get is that Windows has had a great thing going on for a very long time. It's a familiar interface and we know how to make it work and really, did anyone actually have major issues with Windows 7? At all?

The thing is, I don't want my apps to all be running in the background. I want to see and control what is open and what is closed. I get where Microsoft is coming from, I really do, and I think the system would be great for mobile and tablet devices. But it's not great for PCs. I use my PC to multi-task on various productive tasks, so we're going to whip out one of the spare copies of Windows 7 and wipe the little laptop clean.

The Minecraft Sandbox.

In my teenage years I was never much of a gamer - I just loved Age of Mythology and was addicted to FarmVille. No, I was a late bloomer and I'm still pretty limited in the games that I play. I tend to get obsessive over a very few games, and one of them is Minecraft.

I never really played with Lego as a child, but to me Minecraft is kind of like the adult version of playing with Lego. You can make stuff. You can make anything you want with what you have. It's getting those things that's difficult You will trek from biome to biome searching for the right type of wood, mine into lava and zombie filled caverns to get diamonds, and traverse the jungles to find enough mossy cobblestones in temples to build a castle on a cliff.

 One of James and my earliest Minecraft homes. 

I'm not even quite sure what this post is. It's not a review, because it's pretty much impossible to review a game that has deliberately simplistic graphics and no real story line. It's a fun or as boring as you make it. New features are being added regularly - in the time I've played things like trading with villagers, temples and chests in minecarts in mine shafts have been introduced. And though every new feature of note has it's fans and it's haters [and a healthy dose of people who don't care too much either way] the game is undeniably continually developing. So this is not a review.

Looking down at a desert village during a night of exploring.

Nor is it a player guide, though it's a game that doesn't come with instructions. You spawn in a blocky world - maybe it's snowing, maybe you're among towering trees, maybe a desert surrounds you - and there is no map and no objectives. The Minecraft Wiki is a friend and ally here, so I don't need to mention that really, the first thing you should do it punch a tree then punch whatever animal is closest.

Another village, full of ripe crops. Crops make me happy.

No, I think in the end this is just me adding my voice to hundreds of others saying that Minecraft is awesome. It's not everyone's cup of tea, and I've wanted to rage quit many times when a creeper blows up my stuff [again]. I've taken month long breaks before returning to the Minecraft fold. But my rage subsides and I do return, because it makes my nerdy heart happy to destroy and create in this eight-bit world.

New layout!

Just a quick post because in case you haven't noticed, I've changed my blog layout! Just a bit, mostly the background change [bye-bye purple stripes, hello macro flower photo I took years ago], font changes and the addition of a few widgets, most importantly the blog list on the side. I follow a whole lot of different blogs.

The biggest change was probably my switch from LinkWithin to nRelate. Why? Because LinkWithin tended to only like promoting about a third of my posts, and I wanted something that gave links to posts that are more similar to whatever you just read. LinkWithin was a great basic add-on but I wanted something I could control a bit more. I'm not going to ramble too much about it; a simple google of "LinkWithin or nRelate" will bring up lots of articles that outline the differences between these two and I don't feel much need to add my voice particularly loudly.

I've gotta say, I'm having a lot of fun with this whole blogging thing. I may become on of those people who changes layouts every month. Ah well, only time will tell... ^__^

The shame of asking.

I just finished watching Amanda Palmer's TED talk, and if you haven't watched it I really suggest you do. Here's a nice handy link to it.

Not sure who to credit for this photo, if anyone knows please tell me!

Watched it? Finished taking a few minutes to process it? Grabbed a nice hot beverage to get yourself through my not-entirely-coherent rambling?

Good.

There was one thing that really stood out to me in this talk. If you strip away all the background about music and how trust and asking is important for musicians and artists you are left with a really stark and simple message; frequently, we are ashamed to ask for help. And that sucks.

I know there's a thousand reasons why we don't ask, and sometimes it's hard to overcome whatever barriers we all have set up inside that stop us from asking. I'm in a very loving, honest and trusting relationship and I still sometimes have to remind myself that it's okay to ask for things. "Could you hang out the laundry?" shouldn't be a hard thing for me to ask my James, but sometimes it is and if it's hard for me in that intimate relationship I have to wonder how hard it must be for so many people in other situations.

But that got me to thinking to a step further and I feel that to some extent we may be hesitant to ask because in Western societies as a whole, we feel an obligation to answer an ask to the affirmative. "Yes." Think for a second to when the last time is you said no when someone asked for something, and how it made you feel. I don't think I'm the odd one out when I feel guilty, like I've let someone down, when I say "no" instead of "yes". James will say "Any chance of a cup of tea" and sometimes it's hard to say "No" even to such a simple request from a loved person.

The thing I don't think people realise is that when "no" is the right answer for you to give it's really harmful to say "yes" regardless. Take the cup of tea example for a moment  and what would happened if I were to say "yes" when I wanted to say "no". Let's say I was reading a book and was up to a really interesting scene and didn't want to put it down when James asked, but did anyway out of a sense of obligation or something like that. Would I be doing it because I was happy and willing to do a simple task to make my boyfriend's day a bit easier and happier? Of course not, and perhaps I'd start feeling a little grumpy or resentful because of it. And is that helpful to our relationship? Not at all. Perhaps this was a bit rambly [even by my standards] but my point is that even if you feel like you are obligated to help when asked, if you are unable or unwilling to do so for whatever reason, you shouldn't and you shouldn't feel bad about it.

However, this brings me to a third thought. Think back again to that last time you refused a request for help. How did the asker react? I find that I'm frequently met with a snide comment, an affronted "Oh, okay then" or some passive-aggressive comment or even the silent treatment [though not ever from James, I should clarify. He's always nice]. Even offering a compromise; "I can give you a lift, but in an hour when I was already planning on going out that way" is often met with that kind of response. So that's not encouraging me to be honest and say no when I need to, so there may be a build-up of resentment, which leads to nicely strained relationships all around. Not much fun. And due to my grumpiness about feeling obliged to give other people what they want I in turn may react badly when someone turns down my request.

What I'm trying to say is that not only do we need to realise that there is no shame in asking for help, but that there is also no need to be ashamed of saying no if that's the right answer, and if you ask and are denied that is okay. Sometimes the person asked is unable to give the help and support the asker wants, and the asker has to respect that. What's really awesome, even if no help is given, is that by asking and answering honestly, you've started or deepened a relationship with a fellow human. And that, to me, is pretty damn important and also a really awesome thing.

Obviously Amanda was talking about asking on a larger scale, but I find that in this as in many things the same principles hold true despite the scale. Mostly it comes down to honesty.

"I need this, can you give it to me?"
"I'm sorry, I can't right now."
"That's okay, thank you for answering me honestly."
"And thank you, for reaching out to me when you needed help."

Oppa steampunk style.

Op-op-op-op-op oppa steampunk style.
</pointless Ganganm Style reference>

I have a confession: steampunk makes me drool. It's a perfect mix of elegance and grunge, ranging from scantily clad gunslingers to head-to-toe circa 1800 style regalia. Steampunk photoshoots are so much fun, and I have photos to prove it. But such an over the top, prop and accessory heavy style can sometimes be hard to work into an everyday wardrobe without looking like you are wearing a costume. So here are my thoughts and ramblings on how to best steampunk your life, or at least, the fashion side of your life.


Feel Your Fabrics:

Picture yourself on the streets of London, 1889. What fabrics are the people wearing? The labourers  the housewives  the merchants, the militia, the servants of lords, the lords and their ladies? All their clothes would have been made from cotton, linen, wool, silk and leather - there had been experimentation with man made fibres since 1855, but synthetics were not yet prevalent by any stretch of the imagination. However, a variety of natural and chemical dyes were available so despite the trend in steampunk to stick to a neutral, earth toned palette that would not have been the case, especially amongst the wealthy.

So if you want to bring a bit of steampunk into your normal wardrobe, try to wear clothes in natural fabrics. And don't just see the word "cotton" and think of the normal, boring thin stuff you get in fabric stores. Moleskin, poplin, tarlatan and even velvet are made of cotton. Or bring a bit of good old tweed into your wardrobe. It can look a lot better than it sounds!


Steampunk Your Shirt:

T-shirts are like flags. They are a way of declaring your allegiance; be it to Team Edward, Metallica or Hello Kitty. And as steampunk continues its march into our fashion consciousness, steampunk tees are becoming increasingly easier to find. Wear them with jeans for a really simple look, or maybe for a bit more of a steampunk vibe try to use some more old style fabrics with the rest of your outfit like that tweed I mentioned earlier.

That's the wings on the back of my "Steampunk Angel" shirt. Pretty funky, aye? If your local shops don't stock enough steampunk goodness, try Threadless. They have many, many cool shirts in all different styles.


Adorn With Accessories:

One of the key things that turns simple Neo Victorian into fully fledge steampunk is how you accessorise an outfit. The top hat, goggles, skeleton keys, brassy octopus iconography, unique purses, fancy cravats, cogs turned into jewellery, maybe even a little handgun or a vintage spanner strapped to your airship mechanic belt. Even if you can't wear a fully steampunk outfit you can bring a little bit of steam into your normal outfits with the right accessories.

My favourite piece of steampunk jewellery is this necklace James made for me for a steampunk party we went to. He had a matching octopus tie pin. It was fun.


Hold Onto Your Hat:

A bit of a lead on from the previous point, this idea is quite a simple one - put something on your head! Headgear is not such a huge deal in mainstream fashion, but a top hat, bowler hat, tweed cap, or bonnet can really add steampunk flair to an outfit. Obviously this only works with certain wardrobe choices - a straw half bonnet [perhaps with brocade lining and a decorative skeleton key arrangement in lieu of flowers] would look sweet with a summer dress, but ridiculous with daisy dukes and a tank top. For the gents a simple cap in a period appropriate fabric could make even jeans and a collared shirt seem a bit less off the rack and more steamy.


Almost All Out:

The final option kind of flies in the face of my previous suggestions. They were all about incorporating smaller elements of steampunk fashion into a more conventional wardrobe. Now I'm saying that another way to wear steampunk without it looking like a costume is to do the reverse - put together a proper steampunk outfit, and then peel back the accessories and features that make it more "costume"-y. Keep the corset and long skirt, but ditch the parasol, the period appropriate bonnet and the cephalopod motifs. Keep the trews, neat shirt, suspenders and waistcoat, but leave off the top hat, the goggles and the cane.


Feeling ready to bring some steampunk into your everyday? Go forth and steampunk!

Oppa steampunk style!