Writerly Thoughts and Half-thoughts

2011 Reading Roundup

2012-01-10T16:34:00.001-06:00

Writing Status: Procrastinating.

I read a ton of books in 2011. Since our public library reopened, I've been trying to catch up.

My favorites, offhand, were:

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
I love smart characters. This story looks a little incredulous at first, but it was real and heartfelt. Definitely a fave.

The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy by Clare Dunkle
Now one of my all-time favorite book series. I even got the first one for Christmas.

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
I have a huge crush on Artemis, I'll admit.

Airman by Eoin Colfer
I am naming my first son Conor Broekhart.

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
I finally got around to reading these. They were awesome, kickbutt, and funny.

The Thief Lord and Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
These definitely go on my all-time favorites list.

Gods of Manhattan by Scott Meebus
I'm a history and a fantasy buff. This married the two perfectly.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I want this book. I really do. The characters are great, and the writing is just as good.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Because who didn't love it?

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
I liked this because it combined science and fantasy beautifully.

Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott
I read the back of this book like a cheater, but still wanted to read the whole thing through. That is a good book, imo.

Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman
Lots of Douglas Adams references. What more could you want?

Honorable Mentions:

Need by Carrie Jones
I'm waiting to see whether Zara ends up with Astley to deliver judgement on this series.

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
She's an awesome writer and I stalk her agent, Kristen Nelson.

The Maze Runner by James Dashnell
I loved it for four-fifths of the book, but I couldn't get into the way he ended it. It just didn't make sense to me. Should've been a stand-alone. No Scorch, please.

Across the Universe by Beth Nevis
This book was too much of a psych-out for the favorites list, but I can't wait to read the sequel.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
It made me smile.

Wolven by Di Toft
ditto.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, etc., by Rick Riordan
I liked the books a lot better than the movie.

Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
I got this for Christmas and I've read four times already. I think it's on its way to being a favorite.

Also, I developed a taste for graphic novels of all things (I know, the horror). I blame Ultimate Spider-man and the Artemis Fowl graphic novels. And all the superhero movies that came out last year. (We bought three of them.) And this is nowhere near all the books I read, but I didn't want the list getting too long.

FREAK

2011-10-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

For 2011 I will do Nanowrimo for the FIFTH time (can you believe it?) Anyway, I think I'm decently prepared. My story is about a dragon prince living in a 1970s circus full of disguised fantasy creatures.

I still have to try and find time to complete another story. The story I chose I now hate. Hate, hate, hate. The ending I have is terrible. So now I have to choose another one, finish it by spring, and query it out.

Need some more chocolate and maybe dinner.

Later.
:D SD

Revision Pains Etc

2011-03-08T16:48:00.004-06:00

I have been revising Dark Falcon for the past week or so. I'm overwhelmed now. I really, really want to finish this revision by the end of the month. That was going pretty well, but the past couple days have been gunk. Maybe it's allergies... but my head just won't work. Not the best time to edit, you know?

I'm optimistic about Dark Falcon, but I need a beta reader. Trouble is, I'm not actually sure how to get my manuscript off my internet-less Windows 98 and onto this one (a Vista).

I've also been writing a short story I've tentatively entitled "The Goblin Queen". It's my own take on goblins, Faye, and Otherworld, so that's always fun.

My interest in Twitter has been revived as I now have more opportunities to sneak on.

I'm not really big on writing scripts, but I may collab with my brother again for ScriptFrenzy. He gets to mess with the formatting that way.

My 18th birthday is coming up (yay!) This may sound weird, but I want to head out to the zoo and practice my photography for the occasion.

:D SD

P.S. I have discovered I am a geek: This summer's superhero movie lineup has me freaking out. ...And Cowboys & Aliens.

Finished Draft Woes and Longhand Binges

2011-01-29T17:45:00.004-06:00

So I finished Dark Falcon with I think it was 73K. Have read through it a couple times since November. There are a few issues. It needs expansion in some places, and a lot of (rather difficult) research in others. Somewhat overwhelming amount of supporting characters. Can't think of any major revisions to the story though, and it's been bugging me whether or not that's a good thing. I spent so much time planning the story out in September and October, that I may have actually gotten it right in November.

Of course, I hope this isn't the wrong intuition.

While I work out this small conundrum, I have been writing another story (August 16th) longhand. It's made great progress, but I'm still sorting through any multitude of options for the story. (I always hated Choose Your Own Adventure stories. There would be pages I just could never find. Not that this story is one. Just feels that way.) Spent all of the last three days working on it.

Have to say, because I'm writing in time-coded sections, writing longhand has been easier for August 16th. I did once have this crazy idea about making it anchronological, a whim since abandoned.

Hope everyone is having a great 2011, and does anyone else find some stories just flow better in longhand?

Researching for Nanowrimo

2010-10-23T12:09:00.003-05:00

How tall would a wall have to be to break Humpty-Dumpty?

It's not easy. You've got to sit down an think about all the vague exploits and hijinks that will happen, character details that you often forget to pay attention to, and all the while, you're sure that there's something that you haven't remembered.

Wikipedia's always a good place to start, but it's not a story-solver. After that, there's the Reference Desk on the Nano forums. People are more than willing to share their wisdom. Only problem is pretty much every other person on Nanowrimo is asking questions too. At that point, you might try wading through the different forum posts, which very often does turn up useful information.

Of course, if you've some VERY specific inquiries to make, you have to take on the Google beast or the labyrinth of your library. This is not for the faint of heart. In 2008, I was writing about a woman who had sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. I wanted to know what her chances of recovery were from different specific scenarios. It wasn't easy. A lot of the information I needed was locked away on websites that required $800+ dollars a year for access to their articles. So I spent the first half of October piecing together the information for myself using diagrams of brains and TBI patient resource sites.

You can make an inquiry with a specialist, or perhaps someone on Nano, but usually you're in a hurry. Come November, you realize what it was you really needed to research back in October. You're falling behind on word count, and no one's answering your Reference Desk post. None of scientific/medical lingo really makes any sense to your literary mind anyway.

In the end, you might even find you wind up leaving this information out all together. Your story might no longer make sense, but that's what revision's for, right?

Of course, when you do get the information you need, it can put your story together or break it to pieces. But even then, it's hard to be completely sure your story is believable.

It must have been a writer deluged in this sort of exhaustive research who first said: "Write what you know."

Not that, I think, anyone ever takes this advice for more than five minutes together.

Nano!

2010-10-12T09:39:00.006-05:00

So Nanowrimo's around the corner again. I've been doing quite a bit of planning. I now have my own (albeit Jurassic) computer to work on. Yay! There's a tiny snare this year. That's that we're moving. I'm keeping myself convinced that it's no big deal (Denial is a powerful thing). My sister's even signed up to do it with me this year. That's kind of cool. She's writing a mystery-suspense, think.

I'm writing urban fantasy-- but it's superheroes! I've decided to call it Dark Falcon.

I've a synopsis posted here http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/209666

And here's a better view of my book cover

(kind of an awesome winged ninja) :D

So for the next few weeks I'll be haunting my Twitter and Nano forums.

How's everyone else doing this pre-Nano season?

A Melodramatic, Exaggerated Breakdown

2010-03-09T07:12:00.004-06:00

I love irony. I really do. I try to put it in my stories, I look for it in movies, news, life,etc.

Sometimes irony is just plain frustrating.

You see, whenever my mother tells someone that I write, she nearly always adds that I'm too shy to let anyone see my work.

I then reply it's not ready. I'd b willing to show off a polished manuscript, but I've yet to get there.

However, I have semi-polished several chapters of The Restored. I need my mother's input, as the library critique group is not meeting as the library caved in last year. So I asked her to read a few chapters. When she didn't have time for that, I tired discussing some issues I was having with her, but she wasn't listening to me.

Frankly, I'm frustrated and concerned. I mean, how much do they really believe in me? They think I'm too shy to have life, I guess. I know I can write stories. But just because I'm not sending out my rough-hewn, unfinished manuscripts to be deleted by every agent and editor in the hemisphere doesn't mean I don't want to be published!

Write a Book, then Write It Again... And Again.

2010-03-02T06:19:00.008-06:00

You have a story idea. Maybe something inspires, maybe you had this amazing dream. Maybe you just love a particular concept and have built upon it.

What are you going to do with it?

There are plenty of options. A screenplay, a comic book or strip, poetry, your alter ego, a novel. Maybe even inspiration for a painting. Still, most people do nothing.

Assuming you're a writer too, you went the fiction route (and probably the alter ego).

I believe I first attempted to write a book when I was seven or eight years old. My story wasn't bad in the premise. It reflected my own life, books I'd read, and recent news events.

Unfortunately my effort was abandoned for one major reason: I had no clue how to write. I believed that all paragraphs had to be exactly 4-6 sentences long. And I'd never heard of margins or the fact you could leave off dialogue tags.

When I discovered how to format, maybe a year or two later, my stories finally escaped being mere doodles on notebook paper and became words. (Notebook paper remains my favorite media.)

I won't pretend to have been a prodigy. My first efforts were probably much like everyone's. You should know the problems.

As I wrote my ideas began to develop and became better. They would change so quickly that often I would just have to start the story over. (They were innately long. I still struggle to write short stories. Or just finish a work at all.)

After that, there's actually not a lot. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote. In between, I read mounds of books and drew character art. I never went to a workshop and my only book on writing was my grammar book. Other novels formed my style, etc.

Now, I consider myself born a story-weaver and dreamer, but I only call myself a writer because I've devoted myself to an unknown quantity of fiction. (I've probably passed the Million Words mark).

These past two and a half years, I've learned a lot about maturing my stories from the internet and Nanowrimo. Literary agents, other publishing people, and experienced creative writers have blogs that all have given me advice I desperately needed.

What remains is to create a polished manuscript and eventually find someone willing to publish it.

So how about you? Where have you come from as a writer?

P.S. This is my first attempt at this kind of writing post. Please feel free to give advice on where I have failed.

Thanks to Write a Better Novel for inspiring this post.

In other news...

2009-12-29T16:59:00.004-06:00

I'm rather stuffy in my eras and nose right now. It makes me a little cranky. So while everyone else is playing the Wii sports that my grandparents bought us for Christmas, I am writing this to complain about how awful I feel. I did get a fancy fountain pen with several different ink cartridges in it. As well as a fluffy robe that I love. It's a bright blue color, the same shade as its accompanying throw blanket and the leather journal my aunt and uncle bought for me.

Weather keeps doing snow flurries, like it's teasing us. I wish that it would finally get cold enough for it to snow and stick, instead a all this almost-but-not-quite-enough. To switch subjects, I love spiced tea and could drink it all day long (come to think of it, I do). And I like watching The Pretender on Hulu a lot, even though the reality of his situation can get really depressing if I let myself think about it.

In writing news, with the exception of a blip of a mermaid short story idea, I can't think of anything to write. It's the quasi-cold, I think. Maybe I need to watch Narnia or something to get ideas flowing. Also, my wrist is feeling much better after resting. I've been working on a picture to celebrate that.

S.D.

Busted

2009-12-15T17:08:00.003-06:00

I did in fact manage to finish Nanowrimo just over 50K (yay me!). Since then however I have been experiencing several issues with my right wrist, namely it's more or less strained/busted. Therefore, I have strict (and, unfortunately, well-founded) instructions from my mother to write or draw, at least with that hand. I'm slightly ambidextrous, but I write so much more slowly with my left hand that it's never more than a page or two a day. Sigh. I did make a photo-manipulation for my other blog inspired by a story I can't really work on right now. And I have such great new ideas! I'm writing those down though. Hopefully, my wrist won't be strained like this come Christmas. I was hoping for some fancy pens and ink. Maybe a journal too :D.

2009-11-29T09:27:00.002-06:00

Almost finished with Nanowrimo. I had originally intended to write 75K, and it looked like I would for awhile, but I started to get a little behind, but figured I would be able to make it up later. Then I got sick and couldn't write very much at all for a little while. When I finally did get started again, I knew I wouldn't be able to get the 75K and so started working with the 50K goal. My word padding I built up there went into holidays, and a few days ago, I started having issues with my wrists so that I don't write as fast as I was. Right now, I'm just under 47.5K. I was tempted to just quit, but by then I was over 40K, and that wasn't acceptable. So... given that I don't hit 49,999 words at midnight tomorrow, it's looking like I'm still going to win even though I didn't think I would make it for a couple days there.

It has been different, but I'm glad that I tried and that it's paid off. I'll see you at the finish line? S.D.

I'm Just As Stubborn

2009-07-19T10:16:00.005-05:00

I'm sitting here at the computer desk. I've been up three hours and have about three paragraphs to show for it. I'm tired, bored, and uninspired. I know what I want to write in the next chapter, but I've got to get them there first. The writer's block just isn't going away.
Got up to make a new copy and started wondering: Is this story any good? If it is, would anyone ever buy it? I've got other stories I could be working on, so why stick with this series? We both know it'll probably just wind up on a memory stick my sock drawer.

My only answer to this dilemma? I'm passionate. I love these stories and these characters. I can't expect it to be any good on the first try, or even the second. Sure it might be epic fantasy, not very original, and too short; but it's mine. I'll keep writing and resist the urge to open another document. And I just might finish for once.

So I'm still here. And I'm going to get to writing. And I'll pull myself out of this funk I'm stuck in.
Maybe, just maybe, the Chinese chicken leftovers will survive.

See? I'll show the writer's I'm just as mule-headed as it is.
:P S.D.

2009-07-12T06:39:00.003-05:00

The other night I couldn't sleep at all. Which is pretty miserable, but it turned out for the better. I was wide awake at 6:00 a.m. and able to get up to write. (I have been sleeping past noon, as my dad works nights so I stay up with my mom.)
But anyway, it's nice to be working on The Restored again. Even more nice is to be able to blog something on here.
I have been working on a faerie story longhand, sacrificing my fountain ink pens for a noble cause. I just about thought I'd fallen in love with the blue one LOL.

Question: Do you like it when there's a prologue setting the story's conflict up, or do you prefer when it's explained later?

Still Learning

2009-06-23T17:29:00.003-05:00

Recently, I reread some of my older writings.
In particular, two versions of a story since abandoned and two versions of a story in the making.
And I noticed something: I've gotten better.
My writing has come a very long way in just a few years, which makes me wonder what it will be be like five years from now.

But I did try and decide some things I could specifically improve. That was descriptions and pulling the plot together.
Still... it's nice to know I'm better than I was. I'd hate to be stuck in a rut.

Super Powers

2009-06-16T19:32:00.004-05:00

Did I mention I've been writing longhand lately? It's not too much fun (read hand cramps). I was noticing that I seem to revise much better if I've got the first version right next to me and I'm rewriting on a different paper/document.

Haven't been on the pc too much lately (for the same reason I'm writing longhand).

My story is set a few decades into the future (somewhere between 2040 and 2060) and is a spin-off of some superheroes stories I've worked on before (set in present day).
Anyway, the idea is that the superhero organization mentioned in the other stories has collapsed and given rise to new ones. The new ones are corrupt, bureaucratic, and competitive with each other. They also focus more on treaties with equally corrupt governments and political parties than vanquishing villains (that's become a side job). The public's unaware of all this since the media is their pawn.
The protagonist is a teenager whom the dominant organization has labeled a serious threat to themselves; she hides with a small group of supers who've been blackballed as "antiheroes" because of their noncompliance w/ the hero organizations.

That's the set up but I'm not sure beyond that.

Space Trilogy & Current Status

2009-05-19T20:42:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. I really enjoyed Out of the Silent Planet, and Perelandra was breath-taking and insightful. That Hideous Strength was hard to read and I felt it was something of a departure from the other books. By itself, it was a complex and interesting yarn. The character Ransom was great. In fact the only thing I didn't like about That Hideous Strength was that I kept waiting for Ransom to show up. And when he did, a lot of time was still spent on N.I.C.E. and Mark (by the way, I keep wanting to say N.I.C.E. like the the town in France, not the adjective).

But I started reading the first two over again. I told my brother he should read Out of the Silent Planet, because Ransom reminded me a little of his own character. I don't know if he will though.

I did write down a couple of story ideas I had been pondering. The first one has been in my mind for over a year. It's about a girl who can shape-shift into a dog, and infiltrates a supervillian's home by posing as a pet. The other is a little more recent. It's about a greyscale world where a few precious things are in color. I haven't gotten much farther than that though because my mom wants me to "rejoin" the world or something. If I hadn't gotten the fine off my library card so I could get books, I might have gone insane by now. Reality is too prosaic for me. I kind of feel like Belle in Beauty & the Beast in that way.

And I have to write an end of the year paper for school. I decided to write about C. S. Lewis. I started working on it today, but my brain kept shutting down on me, unfortunately.

After I write this paper, school will be over for me, thank heaven. I'm still sticking to my goal of finishing The Restored by the end of it, even though I haven't done any work on it for nearly two weeks, compliments of my mother. (Yes, I'm venting. There.)

S.D.

Beatnik Rutabagas

2009-05-12T23:58:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars by Quentin Dodd. Again. I've probably read it, oh say, about two dozen times already.

It's a really funny book. Dodd has a comical way of writing that I love. The voices behind his characters are great.
I haven't read it in awhile and when I did this time, I really paid attention to how he wrote (where he put the adverbs, etc.).

He's probably my fourth favorite writer, after Caroline B. Cooney, C.S. Lewis, and Margaret Peterson Haddix.

But back to the book, Walter is a boy who has rented the most sci-fi movies on Earth. This doesn't seem to like much of an accomplishment to anyone but the Lirgonians--who recruit him to be their general in their war against the Wotwots. And the Wotwots recruit Yselle Meridian, who watches sci-fi movies with him, to be their general.
The war between the Wotwots and the Lirgonians isn't much of one. Each armada has a fleet of one, and they're in it for the gloating rights of beating the other.

And then they run into eachother and get their spaceships stolen by Space Mice from Galaxy Four, mysterious little blue creatures who take all sorts of junk from all over the universe. Not to give the rest of it away, but there is a plot to take over the universe they have to stop.

It's worth a read.
S.D.

Get a Grip

2009-05-05T07:35:00.005-05:00

Currently Listening: Crystal Clear by Jaci Velasquez

Since ScriptFrenzy is over and was a success at 101 pages. I'm wanting my Nano but know I have to get The Restored done. At 18,000 words currently and summer ahead, I think I'll be able to do it.
Today I was informed via tweet if I wanted to generate more blog traffic, I must post more. It was one of those Duh! moments, but I really don't have much of interest to talk about.

The one topic I can thinking of (that's not smart quotes vs plain quotes) is character development. I made a lot of progress in that way yesterday. Might as well share some of my revelations.

I was really trying to get a handle on my character Lindsai. Lindsai, I'm thinking, is relying far too much on herself. She thinks she has to be a support for everyone else to the point of neglecting her own feelings and emotions.

My character Brenneth is a cynic. This was quite a shock to me. I hadn't a clue. In fact, he was on the the brink of insubordinance yesterday. Also, not expected. I love it when my characters surprise me though because now he's a much stronger character.

Oh, and I got to introduce my character Emerelda too. Goodness, that girl reminds me of my sister, except her threats aren't empty--they got a pitchfork behind 'em. I was half-afraid she was going to shishkebab Will before the the story was a third way through. I know, however, that it's just a front. Em is half-human, half-woyd. That means the humans are actively seeking to kill her and the Macians shun her. She's not going to be friendly to anyone she suspects might turn her in. Once she trusts Will, she'll improve.

That's about it for me. I must get to the actual writing now,
S.D.

Story Artwork

2009-05-01T07:40:00.007-05:00

I love drawing character art for my stories. As of late, I've been drawing the characters for the novel I'm trying to finish, The Restored.

Oh, and I got my mom signed up and on deviantArt, so if you're on there, go look up M2S4J2.

Art for my Characters:

L indsai lle

Will

Bhari

Emerelda

Cherapha

I had best get to writing now :D Catch Ya Later! S.D.

I am NOT Romance Material

2009-04-28T07:23:00.003-05:00

I must say I'm angry with my sister. She's twelve years old and has developed a fascination with romance stories. She also prefers to create fictitious adaptions of family members as opposed the original (human) characters.
Can you see where this is going?

Yes, my twelve year old sister is writing a Romance about ME! (As a much-older person, from what I gather, but that only makes it worse)
I might be able to forgive her if she was writing, say, an adventure. Yeah, sure, okay. But I find a romance story very intrusive.

This might have something to do with her obsessive-compulsive need to plan in ways that aren't hers to plan. But I draw the line at inventing a future husband for me. And she plans to do a story for our brother as well.

She's not going to let me read the thing either.

I so knew not to answer her questions about what I liked in a guy or kids' names.

This might be a juvenile rant, but I don't know what else to do. My dad won't do anything. He just said, "It's an okay story" (He's read it).

If only my sister was one of those rational people you could sit down and talk things out with :-(

Out of My Mind

2009-04-17T07:59:00.006-05:00

I have been getting this strange feeling lately: I am (completely out of the blue) compelled to finish, edit, and polish The Restored. I get this feeling that I need to finish it. The Restored is supposed to be the first book in a series about a fantasy world.
But this is a strange feeling for me. I think I'm going to go mad if I don't get it finished. I've only felt this way during Nano, and still, that was only getting to "The End."

I'm going to have to throw myself into this to save my mind.

Signing off, S.D.

POV Troubles

2009-04-13T10:19:00.003-05:00

I don't really like first person anymore. At least when I'm struggling with the character. See, my character Meredith and I are having problems. I'm ready to blame it all on her, but I'll be bigger and admit it's partially my fault her character is not coming across on paper well.

It could have something to do with the fact I'm writing longhand. It's all kind of messy on binder paper, so I feel disorganized. Anyway, I just can't find a voice for her. It's very annoying. I think I'll give it a go on the computer if I can ever get the time. It's tempting to stop writing S.T. and work on Meredith instead (on the computer), but I can't let myself do that.

Off to face the sludge, S.D.

April 5th

2009-04-05T09:01:00.003-05:00

So my brother an I supposedly have 19 pages. I'm not so sure about that, but if he says that each line is a page then...

We have short pages.

Anyway, I finally talked him out having the protagonist and SC swallowed alive by an elephant. And a gory scene where tigers kill a baby elephant. Pheww! I was Not looking forward to writing that.

But instead now, we have a scene where the MC falls into a fungi pit and meets the SC there. Okay, that works for me. It IS his story after all, and a conceivable idea.

However, I am still working on my own projects. That is, S.T. and another story called Meredith that gave me writer's cramp last night. I now remember why I like writing on the computer so much better thanks to Mer.

I need to get more sleep. But not for now. Right now, I believe I has a heart-wrenching explanation by my MC to write for S.T.

P.S. I have had my suspicions confirmed about scripts. It's a lot like writing an outline--very dry. I hate writing outlines. Synopses and outlines are my bane.

And so it begins

2009-04-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

This year, I am in fact doing ScriptFrenzy. Only I'm doing it as my brother's writing partner.
See he has this idea called Coconut Island that he was trying to turn into a novel, but I have always told him it should be a graphic novel. And I also advised he use ScriptFrenzy to accomplish said graphic novel.

But I got to thinking and now I'm helping him write it. He's in charge of coming up with it all, and I have my input as well. He'll come up with what we're writing and then we'll get it all down. We did that this morning and I found it worked rather well, in spite of (or perhaps because of), my semi-comatose state.

Anyway, we have nine pages, and I'm on ScriptFrenzy as AravisGirl and he is Corin_ThunderFist. I drew his profile picture. Rather snazzy, huh?

Letting Go

2009-03-29T10:36:00.002-05:00

I was working on a story named "S.T." for now. And I've been working on it for awhile now. This would be my third or fourth draft actually. It's one of the few stories I believe I mostly finished before I moved onto the rewrite or something else. Anyway, I wrote about 11 pages on the computer and this incredible thing happened-- I wanted my mom to read it. And then I ave it to my dad. Drew the line at my brother (he the caricature of the dorky obnoxious teenage boy) though. So it's obvious my story had entered the stage where I was able to share it with the outside world. And my parents really liked it. My dad even said that he knew I had the dedication to be a writer but now he knew I had the talent (*internal teary-eyes*).
Anyway I was glad I let them read it. I had let go of the story, having put what I had into it.
The one downer is now they want me to finish it!

P.S. Also I was not a nervous wreck about it, as i have been before. Could it be I'm more confident? 0_o

The Wait

2009-03-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

So I was watching the screensaver, which is set to display photos, and I saw this picture. And then I had a poem

The Wait by S.D.

Across lonely hills I wander
Along darkened seas I slumber
The sound, the noise
Will signal new rejoice
Yet silence ensues
And forevermore continues

Perhaps a bit short, but I rather like it.
S.D.

:)

2009-02-17T07:35:00.002-06:00

I watched that TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert on recommendation. It was great. Philosophically, I didn't agree with some of the particulars, but totally Understood. It was really nice to be reminded that the story was a collaborative effort. As far as creative genius in itself, I think it's something God created. I don't pretend to understand it. But I do know it's not simple like people try to make it out to be. It's some ineffable thing. It Exists in a way that makes writers and other artists look insane to the plebeians.

I was trying to explain it to my dad with this new material, but he wasn't understanding. Call it a force, a genii, a whatever, I know there's a complexity here. Unfortunately, he wasn't understanding, just inserting the "Moral of the Story."

I know God gave me Creativity. But could it be possible that Creativity is something in itself? Absolutely. Am I ever going to get anyone to understand that? Probably not.

Dare I say its centered in myself without going mad? I think I'll abstain.

Self-Promotion?

2009-02-16T08:07:00.003-06:00

I've encountered quite a few writing how-to blogs lately that stress the importance of self-promotion. I know a lot of writers in the past would have killed to have half my chance to put their stuff out there. Unfortunately, a lot of the reason why I write as much as I do is because I'm not very eloquent. Novelling through the voice of my characters has become my way of speaking. The thought of writing a synopsis for my stories terrify me. Pitches are even worse. But going out there and making people want to buy my book? *Runs and hides in terror*

And that's pretty much how I feel.

And it's a feeling I'm apparently going to have to conquer unless I win the million-dollar jackpot and can hire my own promo agent. Unfortuantely, I'm not even 16 yet, so the lottery is out of the question leaving me with only one option: Self-promote.

I'm planning on being finished with Across the Stars by April. That's when I suppose I'll start. I should be done with Title Page by June. Selling two little novels off Amazon doesn't sound easy, exactly, but I'll put on a good attitude. Optimism and all that.

Curse the cynicism I got from my mother!

And I'm rambling. I can feel it. If you made any sense of the above, could you give some tips if you have any?

Time Management? (plus art)

2009-02-09T06:33:00.004-06:00

I have no ability to manage my time whatsoever. I have an attention problem, I suppose. I'd rather be mindlessly doodling than doing my English and scribbling down a new story idea than math.
And lately I'd rather be searching for and manipulating photographs than writing my stories.
I swear that deviantArt is the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. I can't stay off of the place. Especially after one of my photographs became a top pic (in the last three days) for its subcategory thingy. Yeah, it's that picture on the left.

I haven't really been blogging on here lately or commenting much, but like I said, my time management is around zip.

Anyway, if you want to look at my art gallery, it's at the bottom of the page (the little SitBack thing).

bleep

2009-01-27T07:08:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I know a lot of people don't have these issues, but I do. That is, when my characters start cussing, I am at a loss as to what to do with them. I'm torn between making them clean out their mouths or letting them say what they mean.

As it is, they're only allowed occasional exclamations of h**l, d**n, or sometimes s**t. Which are pretty commonplace words, but my parents consider, butt, shut up, and heck to be bad words. Especially my dad. My mom has been known to let out such (the former) interjections every once and awhile.

I'm not even allowed to say cr@p until I'm 20, so should my older, worldly characters do so? Because when I just go %#@$, it looks like I'm saying something else, like f***, which I'm ardently opposed to. Because using a word that has its meaning is just embarrassing!

So it's a dilemma for me. I might go ahead and just withstand the lectures, etc, and the embarrassment of my siblings peering over my shoulders and harassing me about why I would use such a word, OR let some of the poignancy be lost by removing the. OR leaving the little $%&# and ____ there and let people just have dirty minds.

Thoughts appreciated.

Politics in Writing?

2009-01-20T07:32:00.004-06:00

In light of the occasion, I thought I'd discuss politics in writing.

Should we put them in our writing unless it's clearly a political book? Or even at all?
Well, I know I do.
Title Page will hopefully eventually become a controversial look at the practices of the FDA and medical industry.
Across the Stars is more of a look into government corruption. And then, Identity Crisis has a political tone about corporate crime, etc.
In fact, a lot of political messages probably find their way into my stories since I have have such strong, controversial ones (in other words, I thought Ron Paul ROCKED). I should have been a man around 1790 in my views in how government should be. So... It's kind of inevitable, especially since no one's going to discuss them with a hot-headed fifteen year old. Gotta vent somewhere and save my poor family.

Across the Stars

2009-01-18T06:33:00.007-06:00

So I wrote Across the Stars for Nano in 2007. Finished lacking contractions and generally with every kind of word I thought I could separate, separated, but I got 50K and I proved to myself I could do it. It is worth mentioning I finished several days early. But anyway, I haven't really looked at it since then.

Now I am editing it, largely on the motivation of a free proof copy which it has to be ready for in only a couple of months.

I've made good progress, I think. I opened a file for revision and have worked two days on it, this being my third.

I am, however, having issues with the storyline, or rather the fact that I started out without one. And they one that follows is rather unclear... Just a look into my fourteen year old pysche explaining/excusing a character who turned into an intergalactic assassin as a sort of public avenger. I'm not sure why I felt the need to.

I have art posted along the sides. The first is the working cover, which I plan to modify, the next is of Midia Dezsenee, whose spirit and soul are tragically crushed so that she is 'heartbroken.'
I also have one of Hannah, who is the driving protagonist in all of this (I could have written it form her POV and it still be good; Midia, not so much). I need to redraw Hannah, so I won't post the picture. I did get a deviantArt as QueenAravis, so you can come look at that if you want.

Planning and Goals

2009-01-14T07:47:00.005-06:00

I really need to do something, I've realized: I need to put my writing out there. Submit it to a few online magazines. Send a poem I wrote to some different places as well.
Write a few short stories (which is really hard for me... but I know I can do it), maybe that sort of thing. If I start collecting rejections now, then I'll be in good shape for later on.
It suddenly seems important. I'm not sure how, but it does.

So I'll get to writing and I hope ya'll have a great week!

P.S. I opened a deviantART account under the name QueenAravis

Hmm

2009-01-11T07:45:00.005-06:00

I haven't had the time to blog lately... Did I mention my mom was being stingy about computer time? No? Well, she is. All of two hours to pound out fiction and blog seriously about it? Hah!

Anyway, I've migrated back to my superhero stories. I wrote Miki before... I think I got to almost fourth draft/version of it actually. Skipped what was supposed to be the second book, Maddie, and then got to work on Ruth, a story which has always pulled my attention away from Maddie and finishing Miki where it should be.

The idea is that, about three years after when the book Maddie occurs, Lorrie Mehlan's* niece, Ruth Barynes comes to live with her as her mother has died several years before and all she has left is an abusive stepfather, her real (superhero) father having died years before (years after her parents' divorce).

Now, Ruth's not supposed to be able to have powers. Her father's exposure to the radiation that eventually led to his death through cancer was supposed to have inhibited that. So therefore, she was never told anything about this until she was nearly seventeen and Lorrie did so.

Anyway, the doctors were wrong of course. I think they are a lot, so it's not a hard stretch for me to say that. Ruth does in fact have powers. Huge, enormous powers in their potential. But that's okay. She's pretty decent and Lorrie's helping her learn how to use them once Ruth tells her (that is, she waits to after she realizes she has them).

But there's another threat lurking, waiting to strike....

*****SPOILER ALERT******

And it's Ruth's own sister, who ranaway when Ruth was eleven. She's mad at the world, gone pyschotic, with the resources and power capacity to strike out at superheroes and everyone else.
Rachel really gets to me, which I always enjoy in a villian. Especially supervillains.

*****SPOILER OVER******

*Now, from the previous stories, you automatically know that Lorrie is a Mission Deployer for the ISA (International Superhero Affiliation.... kind of corny, but it was what popped in my head).
Lorrie's superpower makes her especially adept for the job, as she never sleeps, having an unlimited amount of energy. Of course, I still say it as not everyone reads the previous books in a series.

Anyway, I've been working on this story instead of the ones I should be; I am comfortable with my oddities now, as I have an entire novel to qualify me as a writer, even if it's not published... I really need that proof copy. Anyway, soon the only people who will mock my insanity are my siblings, and that's really kind of their jobs, even if they're the real whack jobs.

Year 16 (I turn 16 in March) is promising! And I'm coping with my cynicism. Searching out exceptions in the world has helped. So I sound unusually optimistic right now. It's a high. I'll come back down to earth, but what can I say? I was born to fly!

2008-12-26T07:50:00.003-06:00

Got in zip writing yesterday, but I did draw a pretty sketch and read Jane Eyre in its entirety.
Printed out my novel Christmas Eve, and I was right about it giving the hands-on feel I need to edit it w/out having to retype the entire thing.
I can't type anymore, it would seem. My fingers feel so clumsy. It might be because I'm not looking at the keyboard most of the time unless I make myself. I guess that means I'm doing better, but I still can't help but think of that mess I once typed out on the electric typewriter. On binder paper no less. That was actually the first draft on The Exiled. It was so different then!
Well, I should get to writing.

P.S. It was a good thing St. John Rivers was a SuperChristian, or he would have been a horrible person indeed. I always want to throw the book across the room when he tries to get Jane to marry him. I really think, Calvinist or not, his behavior was inexcusable. Telling her that God made her for labour, not love? Beastly!

The Exiled (Prologue included)

2008-12-11T08:38:00.006-06:00

The story of a banished princess.
Kind of interesting, but it's been there, done that. Right?
What the heck, I'll give it a shot.

Now maybe three years later, I have made huge discoveries in that story. Never really thought it would go this far.
And I've decided it's unique in it's mish-mashing. I've taken several cliches and set them on puree in the story blender.

For instance, the princess is tortured. And she was affected by it psychologically. Don't see that in too many fairy tales (I mean, when you do, they're usually out of their minds, and she's not).
Then of course is the plot twist that shocked me for a month. But just in case this thing ever makes it to the library shelves, I won't go into that. Seriously, it's a big one though...

I really like my characters, Aby and Trina. Trina is rather aloof, and I think she sometimes comes across as cold and unreachable, but that's what she wants. I gave her some exposed moments, but right now the story's in its skeletal frame stage. I'll flesh it out later and put that in there.

But this is problem the third, no, fourth revision. It's on the right track and everything. Of course, that's only the beginning of the story that's on it's fourth revision. But I daresay the Prologue for the story is the Best thing I've ever written.

Prologue
The chains around her wrists and ankles must have been heavy, but she stood tall. And her long, dark hair had matted over the last months, yet it was still somehow glorious. She wore a simple dress, barely deserving of the word, so old, torn, and filthy it was, though she wore it with full regality.
So that now as she faced her cousin, she looked every bit the princess she was. A fact that drove him to the end of himself.
Her pale lavender eyes gazed steadfastly into his own dark, evil ones, which refused to meet hers. But he hid it extremely well.
“Face it,” he almost oozed, “I have triumphed. Surrender now while you still can!”
She made no answer; her calm, steady nerve never faltering. Rogan was irritated by this, and his frustrations were rapidly increasing. He would have to act before he did something regrettable.
“No? Well then, I’m going to have to eliminate you.”
“Do you honestly think you can kill me? At least without the grave consequences of which the poets sing?”
“Why, my dear cousin, do you not know that there are many ways to eradicate an obstacle without technically destroying it?” When she did not answer, he sparked into the circle of stones between them.
It was a Magic fire, for it burn without fuel, hovering a few inches away from the stones. It was also unmistakably Evil. For its flames were a blue and red, and they filled the room with a decidedly sinister air, though they produced no traditional smoke.
Rogan, practiced in his Dark crafts, began to chant. The flames heightened and shot in different shapes. Rogan, with well-placed sweeps of the hand, formed them into a circle which swirled towards the center.
He spoke again and she felt her chains drop off, and Rogan was suddenly behind her, pushing her through the circle.
She landed oddly with a thud on damp grass as the vortex closed up above her. She dazedly realized what had happened. She had been sent to her grandfather’s world. To a place called Earth.

Distancing Myself & the Evolution of a Story.

2008-12-05T08:35:00.004-06:00

So I've finished the first draft of my novel. I now have to emotionally detach myself so I can make painful edits need be.
So I'm writing something else. Or rather, transcribing it mostly. At least on the computer. It's called The Restored. And I'd like to talk about it right now.
The Restored was originally a tale of two half-sisters/cousins cast into the world of their mothers. They are connected to our world via a chat window on a laptop. It was then changed into cousins, then second cousins. It also went through phases of character details.

Em/Emerelda/Will:

was orginally a nerdy, half-human, reclusive girl
then she became a future Queen
I made her father a horrible man
and I gave her a stutter and made her more run-of-the-mill
then I made her a nineteen year old pregnant widow
then I nixed the pregnancy. I used that in another story.
I got rid of the father. She was now completely woyd.
After a couple rewrites, Em became a boy named Will.
And I replaced the gold necklace with golden hair as the birthright somewhere in there
There is now another character named Emerelda, a half-human girl who lives in Macia.
Worth noting, I kept the stutter, though it's not as bad.

Lindsai/Lindsaiana/Lindsaille:

Was orginally a loose teen who was destroying herself.
I made her a more grounded teen
At the same time, I made her blind
I then wondered why she was blind
I worked on that for a couple versions, but eventually I discovered she was the Justice of Tayrrhea and all Macia
And I changed her name from Lindsaiana to Lindsaille
Made her actaully born in Macia

Aly/Alylina/Cher/Cherapha

Has alway been a centuar
I changed her name to Cherapha bc I had another character named Alyssa caleld Aly.

There is other stuff I changed to, but these are the most interesting evolutions to me. I am now dealing with a twenty-one year old blind woman and an eighteen year old boy. They are second cousins. And this feels Right. I have finally understood what was going on.

I Finished My Novel... Now What?

2008-11-29T08:29:00.002-06:00

I painfully typed those last words. It all came so suddenly. Much more so than I ever anticipated. But my novel is now weighing in as a completed manuscript. Huge gaps in the shoddily constructed plot, but it's over.
*Looking Around* Now What?
The only answer in my mind is "Write a sequel."
Not "Go back and Edit"
No, "Write a Sequel"
Granted this sequel has been nagging ever since Ria became a main character, but still- So Soon?
"You know you want to write it."
And I do.
Okay!
So I guess I better put together a mock title like "Title Page Two."

P.S. I have decided to put my ending here.

Annelie breezed down the road south. She’d stopped at the hotel, got her stuff, checked out, and got on the road she was now. The dawn was coming, illuminating the wide road that was ahead of her, and the city was quickly falling behind her.
She would see where it took her. That was all anyone could do. The title page of her life turned, and the story began.

Magic (of Writing) clashes with Reality (of Writing)

2008-11-26T06:57:00.003-06:00

Note the clarification in title.
So I hit 50K yesterday. I was all like "Whoop, Whoop!" But then I remembered with a good amount of zeal I still had 10K+ to go before my story was actually over. No problem there, right? Still got 5 days left for NaNoWriMo. Heck, I wrote an extra 1,000 words yesterday even.
Then I woke up this morning. I tell you, that was hard. I used to ignore every excuse in the book, but this morning I had new leverage to get more sleep.
So I told myself, "No, you're not really at 50K. You might as well be at 40K." That seemed to help, but my sister's intrusion was the ultimate motivation. Told her to make me a coffee and she... That's another story.
So I put up the winner's icon and all, but I'll see you the 30th at 60K. And ordering my free proof copy (teehee)

48K (plus rant)

2008-11-24T09:36:00.003-06:00

That's my count: 48K. Only 2,000 little words from winning. I still have 12,000 to go overall, but still. It's euphoria being so close to winning. And that brings to mind the age-old question: What do you win? (!!!!!) That is a dumbfounding question to me. What we win is a sense of superiority over everyone who asks. Plus a manuscript. We win that too. Plus the certificate. But that;s the best thing. Freaking people out. Awe-inspiring them with the sheer creative ability you possess. And they are faced with their own inferiority in a way that they feel unqualified to question any of your strange tendencies. Of course, there's always the chance they'll be like "Oh, I could do that if I wanted."
Which is why I am looking forward to my free proof copy.

And that brings to mind another age-old quote when you say you are a writer: "Have you published anything?"
*HEAD TO DESK*
I hate that question. It's like you can't really be a writer if you aren't in print and on the shelf of Barnes & Nobles. Which is why Nanowrimo is also great. Because they don't question your status as an author.

I'm not sure this rant was coherent. But I hope you understood it.

New Cover

2008-11-21T12:14:00.004-06:00

This is my new cover for my nanowrimo novel I'll include the banner too. What do you think?

Yesterday & Today

2008-11-14T07:16:00.004-06:00

Yesterday. I wrote even though I had no clue what to write. Eventually, I just let it sit and came to it later. Actually, more accurately, I took a hot shower and kicked my character's butt into gear. She just wanted to sit around the house and sulk. I'm not going to put up with much. Especially from a manically depressed protagonist who doesn't have her medication at the moment.

Anywho, I'm shooting for 28K today. Wish me Luck. I'm gonna need it.

Week Two

2008-11-11T08:10:00.003-06:00

This is the crucial hour of NaNoWriMo;. Not for the faint of heart. And here I am procrastinating. Don't worry, I'll get my word count in today. But I have decided that my SC is pregnant with twins, which her mother (who is VERY controlling) has offered to adopt. My MC no longer had to die. We've worked that out. Still looking to see where this thing will take me.
Anyway, if I don't come out alive, I hope they burn my stuff and permanently delete my writing. Don't want to be like Emily Dickinson, Especially since most of my stuff isn't finished

The Grand Hijack

2008-11-08T08:17:00.005-06:00

So my characters have done it again: Insisted on their own way. Ria wasn't suppose to be an important character, then next thing I know she's a playing character, and HINTING AT A SEQUEL ABOUT HER! Not only that, but there is strong evidence suggesting that my beloved MC, Annelie, will not come out of this story alive. She's been insisting on this, but I have dismissed this depression previously. Not to mention that yesterday Ellen revealed herself as an antagonist. Perhaps not the Main one, but still it is a brutal betrayal. I don't know what to do. I have a reputation in my family for my dead characters, butI have defended myself by never killing my protagonist. Now it looks like I may have to. The Voices are demanding it.

Research or Not to Research

2008-11-07T10:42:00.002-06:00

Researching is one of those things that I personally love. I find it addictive. I can never stare at a Wiki entry long enough.
But it can be annoying.
I know this.
So I use it sparingly.
But just how sparingly?
I dunno. I use intuition in my stories. I'm actually pretty good at writing stuff which I later find to be pretty darn similar to the facts.
This use to scare me, but now I know it is just my characters telling me.
Of course, they don't usually put it in a way that I can write authoritatively.
Just my thoughts. Got to get back to Nanoing!

4K= 2K til 6K

2008-11-03T07:20:00.002-06:00

Behind on Word Count if I want to write 60,000 words. Must keep going or I'll never catch up! More tomorrow...

About to Embark on Day Two- Completely Random

2008-11-02T05:54:00.002-06:00

I am about start writing for Day Two of Nanowrimo.

And last night, I at least begun to find my plot! Still not sure who my antagonist is, but I am beginning to think it has something to do w/ her father. Whether he's alive or dead and an active part remains in the question. But the book on poisons I picked up proved gold. Now I have a hairdresser in on it, hopefully.
Now I need to research the FDA. And MAO antidepressants.

Oh and I love Twitter. I have TwitterFox. It's great. I can stalk everyone with actually needing to open up the webpage. Just the browser.

Today's going to be a Coffee Day. Going on like 5 1/2 hours of sleep from tonight. More like 4 from the night before. just enough to make me slouch and sigh.

Got new wrist braces that are actually good for typing. My other ones were too stiff and my sister made one smell like bad-scented lotion.

Not going to Nano Forums unless I have to. *Yeah, yeah, sure. Only if the site's broken*

Think I can make 5K? I hope so.

My grandparents are coming over though, so I may not getting as much writing time

Also got a mysterious message presumably from my mother that read "NO IM & who is
[EDITED 4 PRIVACY]?"
What?! From the mother that sat there while I first met her. And then said I could IM with Nanoers...????? Maybe it was my dad. But I am sorely disappointed. I found my Word War yesterday most productive *sighs deeply*

And I use the word "sigh" too much. I'm censoring from my writing lest I wind up with a novel where "sigh" is found every three spaces.

Getting upset about contradicting statements now. And this spellcheck on FireFox is bwroke (Misspelling intended). What, do we have it set to recognize German or something?

2K

2008-11-01T10:05:00.002-05:00

I reacked 2,003 wordso NaNoWriMo Suddeenly I'm asking myself, Where do I go from here? I've practiced so hard for the past year only to write sketally in form my story is suddenly reaching the middle of the beginning when I have the impression I could make I longer.

Cramps in my Stomach

2008-10-31T07:48:00.003-05:00

Nanowrimo is in less than 16 hours... And I'm panicking, I'm panicking. There's like a total lack of plot here.
Anyway, I had thought about introspecting about my character's clothing here today, but now I can't. I'm so nervous I'm practically maniacal.
Catchya later! Maybe even December later..... That is if I'm alive.

Annelie the Protagonist

2008-10-29T06:43:00.006-05:00

Finding the Protagonist:
I first met Annelie.... Well I can't remember when and where. I may have been washing dishes. But that doesn't really matter because suddenly I was sitting in a apartment. I was her. Sort of. Rather, she had pulled me in. I knew the apartment was in Paris. It was light and airy. The TV was playing, but nothing more than a white noise to her.

I immediately knew I connected with her. She was so sad, broken, alone, and lifeless. Something had happened.

Her daughter had been murdered. She nearly was. And she woke up from coma.

This story was mine to tell. It had to be.

She deserved it.

And her name was Annelie.

Naming the Protagonist:
Annelie. Yeah that's the name of my protagonist. At least what she goes by. Her full name is Nadine Annelie Rivers. The last name is subject to change, but I've yet to come up with.... Hey what about DeMarco? I like it. All right her name is Nadine Annelie DeMarco. And Nadine may now change to Sabine. We'll see. You know what? Sabine works now. Nadine Marcus can be an assumed name. Or maybe Sabine Marcus is her assumed name and Nadine is her real name. Hey wait... myabe DeMarco is the assumed name and Marcus is the real one. Sabine Marcus. Annelie Marcus. Sabine Annelie Marcus- It lacks pizazz. I like it. It's a name that works. One you might find in the telephone. Inflicted by an imaginative mother or grandmother and a mundanely surnamed father. It also has reference to the fact that Annelie was supposed to be first. Mother always loved that name from childhood. father insisted that that be her middle name so she didn't have to carry around something so unusual. But the daughter preferred Annelie to Sabine. Figures.

Oh and how does N.D. Rivers sounds as a pen name? I think it will work for now.

Let's just work with "Annelie" for now. And you pronounce it an-nuh-lee, so yeah.

Giving the Protagonist a Face:
Even with no actual illustrations or overly descriptive passages, Annelie had a face. She had a style (or lack thereof) She was so high and weighed so much. She had habits and speaking patterns. I didn't invent theses things. They were already there. They came with her. It was up to me to get that face down on paper and fill in the rest.

Giving the Protagonist a Life:
This was the hard part. The part she was reluctant to reveal. The part she wanted to forget. As she tells her brother: "My life died without me."
I knew this from the start. And I accepted the challenge.
I know now that Annelie is a best-selling writer and an investigative reporter. She adopted a toddler from Ukraine. A little girl called Niki. Who was dead.
But why?
A shadow of a stranger passed over the window. A loud noise came followed immediately by a shattering sensation in her head...
Obviously a GSW. To the brain.
Yet still, why?
The only clue either of us has is the title page. Only she's not giving me a clear answer on what it says. It's a love-hate relationship. As far as communications go.

Giving the Protagonist a Purpose:
Obviously she has to do something in the novel. What? Well, she's an investigative journalist. The murder case is cold. So what does she do? She investigates.
But that can't be it. She's a TBI patient. Her life and her brain is shattered.
So putting together the pieces and moving on is the Idea. Grounding her again is The Thing.

Rules, Essays, and Expectations

2008-10-28T05:59:00.006-05:00

I have a paper to write. An Essay. I hate that word. Essays have no muse. I needs muses to write. And "muse" is that person who literally lives in my head telling me what in the world to write. But when it comes to essays they are disturbingly silent.

Well NaNoWriMo has a podcast up and it's about over. Oh well. I still am figuring out what to put into the side module here. It will come soon.

The great thing about this blog is that I have no pressure. I mean, there's like a standard when people know who you are. At least quasi-know. "Nope! Can't write that! Too weird!" The only rules on here are the ones I've set for myself and those are
1) Writerly-related topics only
2) No expletives

Really simple, huh? Oh and I don't plan to directly introduce my family to this blog. My mom likes to lurk my sites to see what I'm up to and I really don't want her to know that I believe I can have actual conversations with my characters or actually BE them. Strike that, I don't believe that, I pretty close to know that. And the fact that I have the back right side of my brain diagrammed into three different worlds in which my characters live probably would go over really well.

But with you, unfortunate reader, there is no "go over" so I can write as I please. YIPPEE!!!!!!
Brings such warmth to my heart, but now I've got to scoot!

Nano & My Characters

2008-10-27T06:44:00.002-05:00

I'm on NaNoWriMo.org which is a one-month novelling challenge. I did it last year and won win a sf called Across the Stars (which I learned only yesterday was a song from Star Wars. Oh well)
Anyway I signed up for this CreateSpace site which offers self-publishing on Amazon.com and honestly feel pretty stressed about it. I did it mostly for the proof copy, but I think I may go ahead and self-publish at least this book. Trouble there is that it isn't anywhere near done. Oh well...

Now we get to this year. I still need my actual plot. Not sure if I'll have one in time. I got a good idea though, but I have to left off quite abruptly in my outlines, causing for a story crisis that tempts me to change my story to an easier one. But I shall rise to the challenge and conquer. I think my protagonist has issues with my going around with other characters. Very much a tentative union. I tell her she's failed to capture my mind, she replies that she need someone who'll stick to her alone and not go on flings with my other characters.

Have I scared you off yet? If not, then I like you. Chances are, you even understand what I'm talking about. The creation of a story. Put into relationship metaphors. Lately, my characters are more and more real and independent from me. And since I started this blog to talk straight, instead of them just invading me they are now invading my world. I can just barely not see them. And the conversations we have! All of them demanding my attention. My focus. All thirty+ of them (and honestly, I don't know the real numbers, but there's someone new up to twice a week. Sometimes more. A lot are forgotten)

You may be gone by now. I don't blame you. A lot of people like my stories but don't want to understand how they come into being. They just annoy me about publishing them.

Off now, SD

First

2008-10-27T06:36:00.001-05:00

So I've started this blog to gush about all my different stories I've created. I really kinda felt like I needed a place to.