tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40314267545326252002024-02-20T00:50:50.010-08:00The Motley Birdmusings on my musingsSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-892182643805791662017-07-02T16:56:00.001-07:002017-07-02T16:56:19.262-07:00Chasing the WindThe Kingkiller Chronicles have had a huge impact on the way I think about life, and most recently is the idea of Chasing the Wind. Basically, it's going out into the world and experiencing things you wouldn't experience regularly or in your safe bubble.<br />
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Now, I don't have the luxury (or desire) to take a year off of work and school and just <i>go</i> but I can chase the wind day to day and hopefully, after I graduate, I will get the chance to really chase the wind and maybe take a few months to experience the world.<br />
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This is a quick post, but I just wanted to let you know that this is something I'm going to be doing. Low-key, I'm considering vlogging such experiences, even if that's only for my own benefit. I'll probably blog about it here, as well.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-80336780457987511532017-06-30T11:03:00.000-07:002017-06-30T11:03:16.162-07:00Writing a Book In a New WayThe book I've been working on has been coming out in a new way for me. Normally I go into a book with a rough idea of how long I want it to be and how I want it to be set up. Often this means chapter breaks come naturally or have been thought of already. For example, with TQR, I wanted there to be ten chapters and two of those epilogue and prologue, because it went well with the theme and cadence of the book. With SaS I knew that I wanted each chapter to feature a different character's point of view, with most of them being Will because she was the main character. For LaM I wanted it all to be third person omniscient with each chapter going between the two major storylines until they met up.<br />
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But with my current project chapters have yet to enter the equation. I know roughly how long it's going to be (just shy of, or about the length of, City of Bones) because of how much story I want to fit in and how long I think it's going to take. Of course this is a fluid estimate and the book may end up being longer or shorter, depending on how much time it roughly takes. However, as I began writing I just kept creating page breaks between scenes and character pov shifts. It wasn't a conscious decision it just started happening. When I realized what was happening I thought about going back and throwing in chapter breaks but I've decided to stay away from them for now. I don't need them in a rough draft and I've also found some advantages to writing this way:<br />
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1) I can write out of order. For instance I wrote a bunch of scenes that follow each other but then got stuck on one so jumped ahead four or five scenes and then went back later.<br />
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2) I can move scenes around. I realized that one character was dominating many scenes directly following each other and I wanted to include another character's narration earlier anyway, so I just switched around the scene order. It worked out nicely and didn't change the structure any great deal.<br />
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I like writing in this way but it certainly couldn't work for just any story. Like I've said before, this is my heart-story, something that has been with me a long time and something that I know very well because of how long it has been with me. Writing in this order works so well because I don't need an outline for it I can just go with it and trust the story.<br />
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Now, back to writing.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-16477558581166842762017-06-22T08:16:00.002-07:002017-06-22T08:16:54.828-07:00Things are looking up!And I've been working on a new project. I'm keeping which one under wraps for a bit longer, but here's a hint to those who have been reading the blog for a while: it's the story of my heart. Okay, anyway, what I can say is that I'm tackling this story in a different way than I normally do. I'm approaching writing this book like it's my career. Because that's what I want it to be, after all, and why not treat it with the same respect as any other type of job?<br />
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I can't work a full day on my writing, I have too much going on, but I can push myself to work on it every day. Instead of saying "sit down from these hours to work on it as much as you can" I say "get this much writing done, no matter how long it takes" and that's been working for me pretty well. My goal is to have a complete complete version of the story (one I'd be happy to query an agent with) by the end of the year, which means writing 2.5k words a day. And, at least for the last two days, I've managed that without getting burned out.<br />
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Today, and the rest of the week, is going to be a test because I have to work. None of my shifts are longer than four hours this week so I'm hoping that helps keep my motivation going. It's nice to say "Can't sleep until this is done" but when I've actually had a full day that's a little harder to achieve. My fingers are crossed and my mind is set, so hopefully that is enough.<br />
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One thing I'm doing differently with this story, at least in this earliest draft, is that I'm not breaking it into chapters. I have breaks within the story, but I don't determine whether those are chapters or just regular breaks at this stage. I didn't really go into it thinking this was how I was going to do it, but it came naturally this way and there's no reason to cut it into chapters at this point so I'll keep going like this. I think either during the first editing phase, or during the second draft, I'll try to crack down on where I want the chapters to be, but I'm not too concerned.<br />
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Otherwise things have been going pretty well. I've had some dark days but I've also really worked on recovering from these in a healthy way and not letting it affect me for too long. Having a writing project helps in more ways than one, especially since it helps fill in extra time I normally have where I could feel lonely or sad.<br />
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Talk to you more about this project soon!Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-83439592452118037822017-05-31T13:39:00.002-07:002017-05-31T13:39:48.402-07:00What now?For the past hour and a half or so I've been having what I call a "quiet anxiety attack" because it's not as bad as they can get, and it's not completely crippling, and if you were to talk to me it would probably seem like nothing is wrong. What happened is I called work to get my schedule and they gave it to me. Nothing went wrong, I put my schedule into my calendar, and then I started having a quiet anxiety attack because immediately I went to all the ways things could go wrong.<br />
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For example: I'm not scheduled to work for the rest of the week. My thought: Does this mean the person I asked didn't see that I work this week and so told me the wrong day and now I'm going to get a call when I'm in the middle of something else and not be able to make it? And then what will happen?<br />
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It's irrational. I doubt the person misread anything. But if they did, it's at this point out of my hands; I called and got my schedule and I will be going to work for those days that I was told I was scheduled to work. Done, nothing else to do. If I get a call tomorrow I can tell them what happened and I can know it's not my fault because I have no way of knowing.<br />
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Another example: I'm schedule to go to work early and unload trucks. I haven't been schedule to do this since last summer and I don't know the etiquette. My thought: what if it isn't trucks? What if we're doing something else? What if I wear the wrong uniform? What if I get there too early.<br />
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Irrational. I keep reminding myself that I'm being irrational. Everything will work out and I have to remember that.<br />
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***</div>
But why am I telling you? Well, I think it's time we talked about work on here because my job, a part-time retail job that I rather enjoy when it's not giving me anxiety attacks.<br />
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I know it's not a permanent job and I've long planned to leave it after December of this year because, if things work out, I'll be studying abroad and won't be able to keep it while I'm abroad (I have to work once every so many weeks to stay on the payroll). Then, next summer, I can try to get an internship in publishing. It works out perfectly! Yet even though it's not permanent, and I'm more than halfway done with it, and even though I really do love working where I work, inside it's kinda constraining.<br />
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I'm not the most people person out there and I know it. Interacting with the customers drains me and by the end of a shift I don't want to do anything. It's made me realize, more than anything else, that I can't live this sort of life and I <i>have</i> to be a writer. That may sound... strange? I don't know, but it may sound sorta selfish too, perhaps. But having his job has convinced me that, in the long run, I can't be happy with this life and I need to have a life where I can write and make money on that writing.<br />
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One of the goals this summer is to really stick to writing and get things done in a large enough capacity that I feel like a real writer.<br />
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***</div>
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But to be a writer I need to have something I'm working on and right now, I don't. I mean, I do, but it's not one solid project. I've been bouncing around from project to project because it's become difficult finding something that really grabs my muse and allows me to tell a story right now.</div>
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Last night and tonight I reembarked on a television idea I had and I've begun outlining. Tonight I think I'm going to finish outlining season one and work on the script of the series. Is this the most feasible writing to begin with? Absolutely not because what am I going to do with these scripts? I can't exactly sell them and get a job that way. At least, not that I know of. But it is really fun to return to this idea that I had several years ago, tighten it up, and explore the world I had in mind. If nothing else, it's a good set of writing exercises that I can enjoy doing.</div>
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***</div>
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I haven't been super active on the blog and I know that. Things are going to pick up this summer. I want to do a weekly check in if I can manage it, talk about the projects I'm working on, and give you an idea for how things have been going.</div>
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This is partly for myself and partly because I think you all might find it interesting. I've also been considering doing a monthly vlog, starting at the beginning of the month and every time I do some major writing or need to vent about progress, taking it up with you guys and then editing and posting it all early the next month. We'll see how that goes, though. I've also considered getting an instagram again to talk about writing and reading things. Again, we'll see how it goes.</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-23218709512889425622017-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:002017-04-25T09:20:07.185-07:00I'm Stagnatingin basically everything I do. You could call it procrastination, but it's different than that. It's the feeling that I really don't have anything to work towards and that I won't achieve anything either way. It's stagnating because I can't see the future. I get little bursts of energy that will motivate me through periods of time that last from only an hour to two full weeks but then I stagnate again. Depression and anxiety and other mental and emotional health reasons surely affect it, but I don't think I should put the blame entirely on that. I think I let myself just STOP and it's started to kill some of my creative spirit and some of what makes me me.<br />
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I haven't been posting here, but I'm going to try to do that again. Though it will certainly be more tangental and just kinda on and about everything and everyone, even if it's not writing related.<br />
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With writing: TQR has been sucking something out of me. I've been working on it for too long and feeling like I'm getting nowhere and every time I sit and look at it I feel like I have to start over. That's not happening, I've decided. I don't want to start over- at least not right now- when I've put so much into it. I'm not giving up on the piece, but I'm giving myself a year, maybe more maybe less. I need to move onto more fertile ground, and I need to move onto something that feels untapped and new and limitless. Scrolling through all my ideas, all my stories, one still feels very fresh and it is nothing like TQR and that's Lamp and Mirror. So, finally, finally, I'm going to sit back and write it and we'll see where it goes.<br />
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Rough Estimate:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Rough Draft (with a month or so for planning): April-August</li>
<li>Break + Editing (aka drafts 2, 3, 4): September-February (2018)</li>
<li>Break/Alpha Readers (close friends): March-April</li>
<li>Second Draft (more like draft 5, really, but it's getting more of an overhaul than the others): May-August</li>
<li>Break/Beta Readers (close friends+a professional+others): September-November</li>
<li>Editing (aka drafts 6, 7, 8): December-April (2019)</li>
<li>Break + Final Draft (including about a month for final touch-ups): May-October</li>
</ul>
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I may be thinking too far ahead, but it gives me some perspective on how long this will really take and I need to let myself take this long with writing it because it's important. If it goes faster, great.</div>
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School: I'm stagnating here, too. Even now, as I type this, I should be working on homework. I have three essays, around 200 pages of reading, and notes to take, but I just don't want to. I don't see the reason, the need, to do it. I do understand why it's all important- that's not the problem, but my stagnation is preventing me from really and actually understanding the worth of these things.</div>
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Which relates to study abroad: I really want to go. I know that now. I know that I NEED to go because it will change my life. But I'm stagnating. This will change, tomorrow, because it needs to.</div>
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Why? Yesterday was not a great day. It wasn't awful but it was not good. I felt uncared-for, even as I went to ends to make sure others felt cared for and about. It's draining to not feel as if you're getting anything back from a relationship. An episode of yesterday: I don't have a roommate (well, I do now, but I don't actually know who they are)</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
SIDE NOTE: MY GRADES JUST CAME BACK< BUT I DON"T WANT TO LOOK???<br />Okay I looked, and I'm literally laughing because none of my professors turned in grade reports for midterms (they don't have to) so that's fine. If you're failing they have to let you know, so I'm clearly not failing.</blockquote>
because my roommate from this year is going to be living with another of our friends (which is fine and good because then things work out best for them, it was just low-key shady how they did it behind my back but that's a different story I think) and all my other friends already have roommates. Plus, as I'm studying abroad next year, I'll only be around for one ten-week term, so it's really not much time. (This is why I need to study abroad! Well, one of the reasons.) I managed to get the same suite as two of my friends (both my roommate this year and the other one, that she's rooming with) which I have mixed feelings about. I have, not necessarily in the last two weeks, but definitely this term, felt like a third wheel (they're not dating but like it still stands) when I hang out with them. Living with just them and a stranger feels... scary? But again, only ten weeks. And they were happy- and I thought they were happy for me; but it seems they were only happy for themselves. I mean, I'm happy for them (they were worried about getting two people they didn't know and now they only get one) and I'm happy for me. A few comments, though, made it clear that they weren't really aware of... me as a person as much as me as a piece, I guess. I'm tangental- and they'll look out for each other and I look out for myself.<br />
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I'm ranting and it's making me sad. But that was an episode. And surely part of it is colored through how I feel, but when I try to make it clear how I feel- When I say week's in advance that I'm super stressed about rooming next year and don't really know what to do and they get mad at me (another story) then I don't want to tell them these things anymore.<br />
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And I don't want to make them seem like bad friends. Really, they're not. I promise you, Internet, that they are really solid, really great friends and we will all stay friends for a long time and, seriously, it's not unhealthy relationships. I've been in those- I know. But right now, I'm in a place where they can't/won't reach (not just these two, but all my friends, really- different stories) and I don't want to reach from alone.<br />
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So I need to study abroad, is the bottom line.<br />
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Are you still reading this? Thank you, seriously, for sticking along I didn't really know where this was going when I started, just that I needed to let people know what was up.<br />
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Reading: This, at least, is picking up. We'll see for how long.<br />
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Summer: Holds all the potential if I can only get through this school year. Five more weeks! I know I can do it, I did it last year. Flunk day is coming up (which is both a super-stressor and also something I'm really looking forward to). I have Plans for this summer (they're not grand but they exist at least!). I got a raise (almost a whole dollar!) at work. I can do this. I know I can. I just need to stop stagnating.<br />
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And if you're still reading this: do you have any advice? How do i get out of this, dare I say, life slump? I'm sure I can google answers (and I probably will) but first-hand would be really great to hear.<br />
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That's not a good place to stop but I need to eat.<br />
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-62690928716597808432017-02-14T19:21:00.002-08:002017-02-14T19:21:29.958-08:00I'm Writing Again, Kinda + New PlansI got the urge to write pretty hard not too long ago, and while I'm not ready to set aside time each day yet and dedicate myself to a project, I did give in and start writing again. Sorta.<br />
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What I did was I started fleshing out characters for a graphic novel series I want to write. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but it's called Wonderland, and it's about high schoolers who end up in this other world. Yeah, great description, I know, but I don't want to talk to much about it yet, because it's still near and dear to my heart and it actually plays with one of my favorite fiction tropes, subverting it. But again, I don't want to say exactly what that is because it's kind of a surprise twist and spoiler for the series, if I ever do get it made.<br />
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Fleshing out the characters has been a rather nice experience. In fact, while I've had really rough versions of the characters in my head for a while I never even had names written on the page, and now that I've got more than a general direction for their independent stories I'm rather pleased.<br />
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I also took time to figure out new plans for when I want to get certain projects, writing things done. For TQR I'm going to be doing a complete rewrite of it from April through August. I decided on the complete rewrite because the words I used for the first draft just aren't salvageable at this point. The overall arc of the story and the characters isn't really changing much if at all, but the language is getting a new look from the base up. Then I'll be sending it to some people to test read in September and October, so I'll take a complete break away from looking at the book during that time. Starting in November I'll be editing the whole thing again and seeing where it goes from there.<br />
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In September I'll also take the time to start planning the "companion" to TQR.<br />
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For LAM I'm going to begin the rough draft in April, but that's going to be second priority to TQR, so I expect it to take me through the remainder of the year after that. We'll see how quickly it takes me to write it, though.<br />
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For now, that's the new plan. I may get back to blogging soon, too. Hang tight, friends.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-8174185413095918372017-01-26T20:02:00.000-08:002017-01-26T20:02:13.746-08:00It Feels Like I'm Giving Up- But I'm Moving ForwardLately- the last two weeks- things have just been hard. Too hard. It's not the sort of straightforward depression that I was dealing with over the summer. It's a trickier kind. Or at least, it feels trickier. It's been a lot of insomnia, a lot of sudden drops in emotional wellness, and a lot of feeling overwhelmed. One night it got so bad- I only had half the things I needed to finish finished, a really bad headache, and a full day the next morning so I couldn't wake up any earlier to finish things. So I decided to give up. Everything.<br />
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But not really.<br />
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I made a list of all the things I need to do weekly/daily and all the things I liked doing weekly/daily, and all the things I wanted to be able to do weekly/daily. This ranged from attend classes to coloring books. It's not a huge list, maybe half a page, and I skipped past things like sleep and eat since I would do those anyways, but I may not always go to class.<br />
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Then I highlighted, in red because why not, the things I needed to do for bare minimum functioning every day/week. That was Classes, Quiver (the literary magazine I work for on campus), Reading, Television, Bookclub, and Homework. None of those were negotiable or I would probably explode.<br />
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And then I did a sort of bracket system for the rest of the listed items to see what needed to get done first and what order to slowly implement them all in.<br />
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Let me pause and draw your attention to something important- neither Writing nor Blogging made the list of things I needed to do every day/week. Because while I love both of them, they're both stressors. I had to cut them out of my life. I had to give up on them- for now. It's not going to be a permanent end to either of these two passions, but they are going to be going on an unplanned and sad hiatus. Here's what's happening next.<br />
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My top priority is to finish applying for Study Abroad. This has been one hell of an application process and it's only part one. I put things off I shouldn't have and now they're biting me in the ass. I may not be able to go because of my procrastination and it feels horrible. Of course, my procrastination really all stems back to depression and anxiety, but knowing that doesn't make me feel any better about anything especially as I'm watching some of my friends finish up their applications with flying colors.<br />
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When I finish that I want to begin implementing going to the gym once a week. My goal was to go three times a week, but I never had time when I was balancing everything else out. The gym makes me feel healthier and it helps me get out a lot of that pent up energy that is adding to my insomnia. If I can go to the gym regularly twice I'll feel like I've improved and can move on.<br />
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Which is when I'm going to be getting back into playing Pokemon. It doesn't seem like a priority, or at least like it shouldn't be, but it's something on the list that relaxes me. I have a good time playing, I get some zen time, and I don't feel guilty for missing other things if I make it a point to put time aside for it. So, yeah, this made it higher than blogging and writing.<br />
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Once I feel life has just about settled I'm going to begin blogging again. This is, I'm ball parking, not going to happen until the end of February or early March. That's further than I'd like it to be, but I need to do this for my own health. That mostly stands for my book blog, but I think it will stand for this one as well. I might stop by this one and tell about how I've been doing, but I'm not making any promises.<br />
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Writing probably won't begin again until the end of March or early April. I hate taking a break from writing even more than I hate taking a break from blogging, but the stress of it was killing me and stopping me from enjoying the writing and doing a good job on it. I want to return to it, but I know I can't do that for a while.<br />
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There are a bunch of other goals on my list, but going through them all isn't important and it will take too much time. But these are the important ones.<br />
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And you might not hear from me for a while. Don't be worried. Shoot me a question on twitter if you want- that may be my only link to the internet world for a while so I'm going to try to be active.<br />
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:)Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-52863648479981923852016-12-29T19:30:00.000-08:002016-12-29T19:30:14.097-08:00POV Edits are Done!!!Not much else to say except that now I'm one step closer to being done with this novel.<br />
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For the rest of this week I won't really be bothering with it, I want the few days rest, but on Sunday I'm going to go through all my notes on the book and print out a physical copy to do some edits on. It should take me about two-three days to hand edit the chapters for continuity problems and with ten chapters that means I'm shooting to finish the handwritten portion by the end of January. February, then, I will focus on putting those edits onto the computer and pulling everything together in a cohesive, if still not perfect, story. And then a break as I send it out to alpha readers!<br />
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It was so nice to be able to reread the book this way, and it's actually my first time going through it all completely. I have a feeling I'll be going through it a lot during the next year.<br />
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See you all again in January!Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-57387090714995424622016-12-05T19:43:00.003-08:002016-12-05T19:43:55.975-08:00December Writing Goals & State of SamanthaI'm stealing this from the genius that is Brandon Sanderson. Every year in December he does a post where he lets people know where he's at with his many projects. Since I've talked about several this year I thought I'd bring them up and tell you where I am with each of them, since the state of them has changed throughout the year. I'm also including my goals for the month and what I achieved since last month at the bottom of the post.<div>
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<b>The Queen's Ransom</b></div>
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My main project at the moment. I have a 400 days plan, which I'll talk about in the latter half of the post. If I can't manage that I'll stick to the original plan, which involves finishing completely by either May of 2018 or April of 2019. Currently I'm finishing POV editing, which I'm hopeful will be done soon, and then move to continuity editing before sending it off to a few choice Alpha Readers. While that's with readers I'll be taking a crack at the "epic" version I've talked about. I don't know where that will lead, but you'll definitely be kept updated.</div>
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<b>Lamp and Mirror</b></div>
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Originally the idea for this story was completely different, but now it has morphed into a victorian-era vampire romance trilogy, which will probably be my next project. I plan to start writing it by June of next year, though the sooner the better. If all goes to plan I'll have the rough draft done in September.</div>
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<b>Whole New World</b></div>
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The companion novel to The Queen's Ransom (and title subject to change) will also be a project I begin in the new year. I don't think I'll get to it until the latter half of the year, which means, tentatively, October through December will be the rough draft stage of this book. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Wheel and Cog</b></div>
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This is the project of my heart and I dearly want to write it, but I don't know when I will. It means to much to mess up and while the big picture doesn't evolve the small details do slowly. I don't think I'll get to it next year but I will get to it eventually, so stay tuned.</div>
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<b>Septology Project</b></div>
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On the way back burner for right now. I don't even know if it will be written at this point because the spark has mostly died. Most likely I will take ideas from it for other projects, which I think is the best course of action for this one.</div>
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<u>Previously Unmentioned</u></div>
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There are several projects I want to work on in the new year that I've never mentioned on here before, so I thought I'd throw them in.</div>
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<b>Train Towns</b></div>
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This is a novella full of a lot of different things that I want to at least start in the new year. I want to keep it short and sweet and I'm hoping it will be good enough to submit to magazines or competitions when it's done. My plan is to start the rough draft in February.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Monsters Under Bed/Monsters in my Head</b></div>
<div>
A poem that has also been circulating in my mind for a bit. I think I will begin this in May, after it's been circulating a bit more. Again, I'm hoping it's good enough, when it'd done, to send off to competitions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>DECEMBER GOALS</u></b></div>
<div>
I'll be continuing my rewrite/POV editing this month and my plan is to also get through the continuity. However, I recently came up with a rather ambitious 400 days schedule. This means I want to finish the book and have it out there for submissions before 400 days have passed. You're wondering why 400. Well, in 400 days (less now) I'll be having my last day of work at where I work since I'll then be leaving for studying abroad and can't keep the job overseas and don't have any plans to immediately return after studying abroad. If I can have a novel up on it's own feet in that time I think it would be brilliant. Here are the next big hurdles according to my 400 days plan:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>December 15th -- finish POV editing</li>
<li>January 14th -- finish continuity editing</li>
<li>March 15th -- finish with Alpha Readers</li>
</ul>
</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-34884450472503392692016-11-18T13:14:00.002-08:002016-11-18T13:14:43.049-08:00The Writing Break I Should Have Seen ComingWith finals happening right now (I have one test tomorrow and two on Sunday) I should have been able to predict that I would be taking an (unintentional) break from writing but I didn't. It's really not a problem, but motivation has just been at a low thanks to constant studying and just being really really busy in general. I will return to writing Monday or Tuesday.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-41372440892429857322016-11-15T13:52:00.003-08:002016-11-15T13:53:01.088-08:00It's Been One Week Since the Election <div class="tr_bq">
It has indeed been one week since the fateful events that gave us President-Elect Trump. Since that time a lot has happened. For me:</div>
- I finished the extended edition Lord of the Rings movies<br />
- I finished my classes for the term<br />
- I took a trip to Davenport IA and really enjoyed it (and I'm going back)<br />
- I started getting ready for Christmas<br />
- I nearly finished planning my trip to Colorado<br />
- The sun rose<br />
- The weather got really warm, then really cold, and now it's pleasant<br />
- I got really mad at someone for not doing their job<br />
- I laughed at the Joe Biden memes<br />
- I had dialogues with people about why Trump was elected<br />
- I cried a lot in the beginning<br />
- My aunt had a baby boy (unnamed as of yet, but they're considering Chester, which I think is cute)<br />
- The Beauty and the Beast trailer came out and I loved it<br />
- New Hamilton mixtape songs dropped<br />
- I started a lifestyle blog and love it<br />
- I created a budget for winter break so I don't spend too much<br />
- I sent some letters but one of them was returned because I have no idea where the person lives now<br />
- I tried to get into contact with some friends but they are slow at responding, lol<br />
- I read some books<br />
- I bought a really pretty copy of The Once and Future King<br />
- I got to hang out with my friends a lot<br />
- I had pizza<br />
- I actually paid for something with change instead of charging it because I'm becoming more mature I think<br />
- I took some warm showers<br />
And those are just some of the things. The world goes on and I am happy.<br />
<br />
Do I still get upset when I remember that Donald Trump will be our president? Hell yeah I do. Sometimes people get cuts on their heart, things happen, and then those cuts scar. I have a few of my own and this, well, it feels kinda like how those feel. Except not really. Maybe it's just bruised my heart. It won't ever get better, it'll always be tender, but overall it will fade away bit by bit.<br />
<br />
I saw a post by someone who said the way many people felt after the election was the way they felt when they were depressed. It was a very good way to put it, because it did indeed feel that way to me.<br />
<br />
I ended my last post about the election with this<br />
<blockquote>
Is there more to say? Yes. So much. So much. too much. But not today. Today, I rest. Tomorrow I find my feet again- my strength. Take a day by a day until again we are not just walking but running. Until<br />
Soon.<br />
Don't let this stop your world. Let this reignite it.</blockquote>
and I want to comment on it.<br />
<br />
There is still so much more to say but I don't think I'm the one to say it.<br />
<br />
I did rest that day. The next day I did get back to my feet. I was sore but I did it. The day after that I may not have been running, but I was speed-walking. I was getting thing back on track and finding the road again. I did. And now I think I'm ready to run again. It is soon.<br />
<br />
The next election isn't for another four years, but I'm already ready for it. These next four years I'm going to stay up on the news, on who's running, on what the current members of the government are doing, locally and nationally, and what all the policies are. I want to be an ACTIVE member of my country. I want to make it a better country- one I would be pleased to raise kids in (yes, that's far away for me, but still). And when it gets closer I want to donate to whoever I'm backing, I want to be a part of it all. This is my plan. My re-ignition.<br />
<br />
What's your plan?Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-23374064839772412682016-11-10T18:18:00.002-08:002016-11-10T18:18:41.228-08:00A Change of Scenery?Not literally. And perhaps scenery isn't the best word. But I just finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it's got me yearning to write something epic. But I'm already writing something set in a fantasy world and I don't want to let it alone.<br />
<br />
But what if I changed the story and made it an epic fantasy? Instead of a novella?<br />
<br />
It could still be a fairytale, I think, so perhaps not so much of one. I'm not sure.<br />
<br />
It's something to seriously consider, though, because there are, suddenly, a lot of ideas that would fit into this story in this new epic scenery.<br />
<br />
So, new plan: finish editing and turning this draft from 1st person pov to 3rd. Then, rather than go through and fix all the continuity, I'm going to send it to alpha readers (though not all, just one or two I think) and see what they think of this version and also tell them what I'm thinking of for the new version, if I were to turn it to epic fantasy, or how I would fix this version and keep it fairytale. When they're finished I'd be curious to see their answers. Then, in that meantime, I think I will work on a epic fantasy version of this story, just to test out what it would look like. That's the new plan.<br />
<br />
Let's see how it goes.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-14316282498337446712016-11-09T15:03:00.002-08:002016-11-09T15:03:28.659-08:00So.I have many thoughts about this election. Too many to keep in my head and too many to write down. There are words to use but none that I feel like I can master.<br />
<br />
I am sad.<br />
<br />
Slowly, like something has been pumping in and out of my heart, not blood, is how I feel.<br />
<br />
But the sun did rise. And it is setting again. And it will rise again- tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Yesterday morning, before I knew what the results of this election would be, I started watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended edition obviously). They are my favorite movies and an eternal comfort. I chose to watch them because I was studying for finals and wanted something comforting as background noise that would neither distract me nor bore me.<br />
<br />
I did not know how much I would need them. Not during the beginning of the election, before my nerves got the best of me and I could only watch election coverage. Not this morning, when I woke up. Not now, after I've been laying in bed for a few hours.<br />
<br />
There is a message in the Lord of the Rings that is helping me get through today. And tomorrow. It is a message of hope- that even small people matter. that everyone can make a difference. we just have to stand up and try.<br />
<br />
Is there more to say? Yes. So much. So much. too much. But not today. Today, I rest. Tomorrow I find my feet again- my strength. Take a day by a day until again we are not just walking but running. Until<br />
<br />
Soon.<br />
<br />
Don't let this stop your world. Let this reignite it.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-18448924841039097262016-11-04T09:16:00.001-07:002016-11-04T09:16:13.743-07:00November Writing GoalsWell, I've gotten back into the swing of writing again, and that's been great. Part of this has to come with mastering my schedule, and the other part has to come from just sitting down and actually writing and realizing I still enjoy doing this. So yay! Also, it's Nano, and while I'm participating it's editing participating, which I don't consider as hard as writing an original novel during this time. But I'm still here to cheer everyone on!<br />
<br />
My plan is to continue the "rewrite" that I'm doing for the rest of this month, which is basically just changing everything from first person point of view to third. It's a pretty easy task and as I've been going I've been taking notes on what I want to change when it comes time to editing and some of the questions I've begun to ask myself about the story are huge plot and book changers. Which is fine, I'm not panicking (lies). I have this month and next month scheduled for this, but at this pace I might actually be able to finish it up in a quarter of that time. In which case I'll start the hard copy editing process, which will be very cool to be able to do. I'll keep you updated if that does end up happening.<br />
<br />
One more thing: I recently read On Writing, which is a phenomenal book (I strongly recommend it) and in it Stephen King says that you often stumble upon the "moral" around the time of the second draft. Well, I found it. And, let's just say, it's not what I was expecting. While writing I did see it lurking around the corners of the text, and I kind of denied it because that's not what I had set out to write and I wasn't sure that was what I wanted to write. But the book has other ideas and now I must write it. That moral is something like this:<br />
<br />
Using original fairytales to exploit what it means to have the right to live and die by your own hand.<br />
<br />
Huh. Not the story I thought it was at first but I'm not complaining. It also changes the "audience" I was originally intending for it to be written for. In early drafts it was for YA audiences. Then I realized it was a kind of universal adult/ya reading (like how most fantasy in the adult section can be seen this way). But now I'm thinking, hey, maybe it's something closer to New Adult and Adult than straight up YA/adult crossover. Of course, that's just some thoughts, but knowing who the audience I'm writing for is really helps the writing itself.<br />
<br />
Well, those are my goals, and I'm so glad to be back writing again because it's been really, really wonderful.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-44227078407108020432016-11-03T12:33:00.002-07:002016-11-03T12:34:03.260-07:00GO CUBBIESWe did it, Chicago! We just won the World Series! And yes, I am sobbing I'm so happy!<br />
<br />
History happened last night and we got to watch it!<br />
<br />
Off to go celebrate some more :)Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-44964446447138463312016-10-30T17:21:00.003-07:002016-10-30T17:21:31.807-07:00I made a bad decision and it's messed me up a bitIt wasn't something I didn't even bat an eye at doing, but I did it, and while there are no visible consequences- I'm not in trouble with anyone, I'm not losing any money or academic standing or friendships, I'm not getting hooked into something I don't want- there are some emotional ones.<br />
<br />
Hindsight is always 20/20.<br />
<br />
Some people may say the thing wasn't bad, and perhaps they're right. But for me it was a bad decision. I talked to someone I shouldn't have and had I given myself time to think instead of just rushing forward I would have laughed at myself for even seriously considering it.<br />
<br />
But after our conversation ended and we parted ways, I immediately had a sense of dread, had weird emotions rising up, and just felt adrift.<br />
<br />
All day I've felt adrift, as if I'm not on solid land anymore. I don't feel like me all the time, like I've split into two people. The person before and during the conversation, and now, me, the person after who has to clean up for that other version.<br />
<br />
It's not a sense of hating myself or feeling depressed or anxious, it's a sense of not being entirely present and easily pulled away from my regular life.<br />
<br />
As soon as I was in my right mindset I made sure that I wouldn't be talking to this person again. It shouldn't come up again, and if I ever trade words with the person they won't be the same type of words and they won't be frequent.<br />
<br />
But still.<br />
<br />
Now that I've kind of lost myself I'm looking to find myself. I've decided to step back and really figure out who I am. That doesn't mean my life is going to change, but I need to know what my priorities are and I need to know that these are what matter to me and I shouldn't jeopardize them.<br />
<br />
There's a board about wellness here at my school and I think I'm going to take it's advice. It recognizes several different types of wellness (spiritual, environmental, social, emotional, intellectual, and physical) and I want to start focusing on all of them. I think I'll be posting about this again, but I can't promise it will be anytime soon.<br />
<br />
One thing I do know: I don't want to stop writing. Writing has helped me. It's gotten me back on sound ground and I've begun to see that I'm not completely adrift, didn't completely stray from my morals, and that I can turn back. It will take a bit, but this is an experience I think I needed to have so that I can bounce back from it.<br />
<br />
I just wanted to let someone know.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-5204112461066635192016-10-28T11:00:00.001-07:002016-10-28T11:00:34.656-07:00I noticed something cool while I was editing.<div class="tr_bq">
And yes, I'm finally back to writing/editing! I've been copying over the words from my first draft into a new document and changing the pronouns and verbs so that it's a third person story. Which has been so nice because it's like a breath of fresh air to be writing again, you have no idea. But I noticed something cool about the way it was turning out, and I wanted to share it here.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Original</b></div>
<blockquote>
There are monster’s in the wood. Everyone knows that.<br /> I stand, feet bare, on the outskirt of the forest. The grass is softest here, on the edge of civilization, and I like how it feels filling the empty space between my toes. Stepmother hovers, not far away, keeping an eye on me. I am still a little girl, and she worries I might get into trouble.<br /> Above, the branches stretch out to make a thin rooftop. I see a small monster crawl across a branch. It looks like a worm, but as it moves, the bark it goes over changes to blue. Now that spring is here, the woods will discover their colors again.<br /> I do not know where Father is. I never know where he is. The village priest tells me I should love him unconditionally, as he loves me, but I do not think he loves me. If he loved me, would he leave like he does? Stepmother is a fine person, but I’ve seen how mothers are meant to act and she doesn’t understand her role.<br /> “Come along, Jocelyn,” Stepmother calls, keeping her distance still, her arms out beckoning for me. I take a step away from the woods, towards her embrace, but don’t turn away from the monsters that lurk within. If you turn away, they know you are afraid.<br /> The sound of a horse rushing through the forest nearly startles me, but mostly excites me. I run from both Stepmother and the woods and towards the sound of a visitor. This time of the year it could be anyone.<br /> Stepmother calls my name again, pulls her skirts away from her ankles, and chases after me. I am not disappointed to find the visitor has come to deliver the news. He is panting and his horse’s neck is wet. Brandon, a village boy only a year older than me, has already fetched some soap to wipe the beast down. The messenger dismounts happily and leans hard against the staff he had brought strapped across his back. He has no scroll- he’s not just any messenger but a royal one, prized for his memory.<br /> “Is there a scribe?” he calls into the town. He has stopped his journey in the middle of Waypoint’s square, and people are starting to flood into it to hear what he says.<br /> An older woman hobbles over to him. It is Meredith, the seamstress’ mother, and behind her are her three beautiful grandsons. The eldest carries a table out for her, the middle one carries a chair, and the youngest, her favorite, holds a quill pen, ink, and paper like they are gold and rubies. The messenger nods his approval as her grandchildren set up her small station, off the right and in the front row, so that she may record.<br /> “The Castle and the Crown are proud to inform their people of a competition to begin immediately! The Queen’s Ransom is not for the faint of heart. There is a monster in the mountains, hoarding treasure in the heart of the tallest and deepest mountain, and within its trove is a magic mirror. Whoever can retrieve this mirror will receive a vial of enchanted gold that will cure any curse.<br /> “Anyone can begin the journey immediately, but there are three challenges any contestant much finish before they can hope to defeat the monster in the mountain. First, they must sacrifice their reflection. Second, they must break a promise. Third, they must discover the truth.<br /> “To begin the quest you are only allowed a knife, seven loaves of bread, and whatever clothes you can fit on your back. You must sleep outdoors, under the stars, and rise and fall with the sun. You are allowed as many companions as you want. You have exactly one week to complete the quest and return the mirror to the queen. The quest ends when the mirror is returned. No sooner.”<br /> Meredith finishes and looks up. The town is loud with whispers. Stepmother has caught up to me and has her hands on my shoulders, keeping me from going anywhere. I look up and catch her eye. She is worried, I think, though I do not know why.<br /> “We can begin immediately?” the blacksmith, George, steps forward.<br /> The messenger tells him that yes, indeed, he can begin immediately, but that if these things aren’t achieved, the monster in the mountain will surely destroy the man. Then the messenger dismisses himself by mounting his horse suddenly and taking off in the direction of Outpost, the only other town among the trees. Brandon was only half done cleaning the beast and he looks crestfallen at the idea of unfinished work.<br /> “Come along, Jocelyn,” Stepmother tugs at my shoulders and I follow her steady hands. “Help me prepare supper.”<br /> I do, and wonder at what someone could do with a vial of enchanted gold.</blockquote>
Here we have a first person present point of view that indicates things are happening the split second you are reading them on the page. I was really enamored with this idea for a while, and in this go-through of editing I'm only changing things from first person to third, so that voice remains the same, which has led to an eerie quality I like.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The New</b></div>
<blockquote>
There are monster’s in the wood. Everyone knows that.<br /> She stands, feet bare, on the outskirt of the forest. The grass is softest there, on the edge of civilization, and she likes how it feels filling the empty space between her toes. Stepmother hovers, not far away, keeping an eye on her. She is still a little girl, and Stepmother worries she might get into trouble.<br /> Above, the branches stretch out to make a thin rooftop. She sees a small monster crawl across a branch. It looks like a worm, but as it moves, the bark it goes over changes to blue. Now that spring is here, the woods will discover their colors again.<br /> She does not know where Father is. She never knows where he is. The village priest tells her she should love him unconditionally, as he loves her, but she does not think he loves her. If he loved her, would he leave like he does? Stepmother is a fine person, but she’s seen how mothers are meant to act and Stepmother doesn’t understand her role.<br /> “Come along, Jocelyn,” Stepmother calls, keeping her distance still, her arms out beckoning for the girl. She takes a step away from the woods, towards Stepmother’s embrace, but doesn’t turn away from the monsters that lurk within. If you turn away, they know you are afraid.<br /> The sound of a horse rushing through the forest nearly startles her, but mostly excites her. She runs from both Stepmother and the woods and towards the sound of a visitor. This time of the year it could be anyone.<br /> Stepmother calls her name again, pulls her skirts away from her ankles, and chases after the girl. The girl is not disappointed to find the visitor has come to deliver the news. He is panting and his horse’s neck is wet. Brandon, a village boy only a year older than her, has already fetched some soap to wipe the beast down. The messenger dismounts happily and leans hard against the staff he had brought strapped across his back. He has no scroll- he’s not just any messenger but a royal one, prized for his memory.<br /> “Is there a scribe?” he calls into the town. He has stopped his journey in the middle of Waypoint’s square, and people are starting to flood into it to hear what he says.<br /> An older woman hobbles over to him. It is Meredith, the seamstress’ mother, and behind her are her three beautiful grandsons. The eldest carries a table out for her, the middle one carries a chair, and the youngest, her favorite, holds a quill pen, ink, and paper like they are gold and rubies. The messenger nods his approval as her grandchildren set up her small station, off the right and in the front row, so that she may record.<br /> “The Castle and the Crown are proud to inform their people of a competition to begin immediately! The Queen’s Ransom is not for the faint of heart. There is a monster in the mountains, hoarding treasure in the heart of the tallest and deepest mountain, and within its trove is a magic mirror. Whoever can retrieve this mirror will receive a vial of enchanted gold that will cure any curse.<br /> “Anyone can begin the journey immediately, but there are three challenges any contestant much finish before they can hope to defeat the monster in the mountain. First, they must sacrifice their reflection. Second, they must break a promise. Third, they must discover the truth.<br /> “To begin the quest you are only allowed a knife, seven loaves of bread, and whatever clothes you can fit on your back. You must sleep outdoors, under the stars, and rise and fall with the sun. You are allowed as many companions as you want. You have exactly one week to complete the quest and return the mirror to the queen. The quest ends when the mirror is returned. No sooner.”<br /> Meredith finishes and looks up. The town is loud with whispers. Stepmother has caught up to the girl and has her hands on her shoulders, keeping the girl from going anywhere. The girl looks up and catch her eye. Stepmother is worried, she thinks, though she do not know why.<br /> “We can begin immediately?” the blacksmith, George, steps forward.<br /> The messenger tells him that yes, indeed, he can begin immediately, but that if these things aren’t achieved, the monster in the mountain will surely destroy the man. Then the messenger dismisses himself by mounting his horse suddenly and taking off in the direction of Outpost, the only other town among the trees. Brandon was only half done cleaning the beast and he looks crestfallen at the idea of unfinished work.<br /> “Come along, Jocelyn,” Stepmother tugs at her shoulders and she follows her steady hands. “Help me prepare supper.”<br /> The girl does, and wonders at what someone could do with a vial of enchanted gold.</blockquote>
Now, in third person, with the remnants of the voice I was using in the original passage, things come off in a sort of ethereal quality, or at least that's what I've noticed. And I kind of like it. It's not something I could tell the whole story with, I think too much would be lost, but it is something I could still employ in the story.<br />
<br />
Since this is a world of fairytales I've wanted to include more of the fairytales in the story. There are only the two in the prologue and one in a dream sequence so far, and I think I would prefer to add more, since there are a lot more that the story could benefit from. I'm debating whether or not to just throw them in between chapters as sorts of breaks or to have the story kind of melt into them. It's something I'm going to have to play around with when I do my next round of editing before I send it out to people to look at.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-55992590799397264002016-10-16T11:29:00.002-07:002016-10-16T11:29:44.966-07:00*holds head in hands* It's been too long a.k.a. October Writing GoalsSo, I haven't posted here in a while because I haven't done a bunch of writing in a while, but I want to pull you up to speed so real quickly:<br />
<br />
I did reach my goal last month of finishing my rough draft of TQR so that's great! But I didn't start WaC and didn't write either of the posts I wanted to get to. Okay, that's fine I guess. I did change my goals a bit, and I talked about that at the end of last month. I'm going to spend even more time than I originally planned just working on TQR because it really needs my help which means WaC is being pushed back again.<br />
<br />
The goals for this month:<br />
<br />
Continue writing "around" the story. I imagine I'll be doing this for several months, but this is the month I'm choosing to focus on it.<br />
<br />
Start rewriting the original draft.<br />
<br />
That's it for goals. They're really minor, but things will probably be picking up again shortly.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-17915568204631990192016-09-23T16:44:00.001-07:002016-09-23T16:44:22.380-07:00New GoalsIs it any surprise that I'm changing around my writing goals? Good because it shouldn't be. Since finishing the rough draft of TQR I realized exactly how much more work it requires and how much time I actually have to work on it. I don't have that much time to work on it at all. So for now, every other project outside of TQR is being put on indefinite hold.<br />
<br />
For the remainder of this month and then October I'm going to be writing "around" the story. By this I mean it's sort of stuff that I could have done in a prewriting phase, but it's also something I couldn't have tackled until I had the whole story on paper. In November and December I plan to rewrite the rough draft which means by the end of the year I should be much much happier with the edition of this story that I have.<br />
<br />
Some long term goals:<br />
Jan2017/Feb-- Edit Rough Draft<br />
Mar/Apr/May-- send off to alpha readers<br />
Jun/Jul/Aug-- Write Second Draft<br />
<br />
I'm hoping it doesn't take me this long, but even if it does I plan to start on my next project (which will either be Wheel and Cog or Lamp and Mirror).Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-1359010874560867282016-09-19T19:27:00.001-07:002016-09-19T19:27:44.489-07:00I Finished My First NovelI think it's going to take some time for that to actually set in. I finished. A novel. It's over. I wrote a whole story, beginning middle and end. Wow.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm not as excited as you might think. I have a lot more left to do. And I'm not that happy with this version of the story. So, yes, I will be hardcore editing the life out of this thing. And that DOES make me excited. I'm taking a break tomorrow from TQR, but I will be starting WaC and that's also very exciting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
TQR took me much more time than I thought it would. But I do think I've grown as a storyteller. I look forward to starting the next chapter of this journey.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some quick stats:</div>
<div>
129 pages double spaced</div>
<div>
28,555 words total</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That't not very many words. That's just about a novella. And, yes, this book started as a novella, but now I want it to be a novel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So goals:</div>
<div>
Bring it up to around 50,000 words. I don't care if it's only 40,000 but I definitely want it somewhere in that range.</div>
<div>
Put into third person point of view.</div>
<div>
Spend more time on secondary characters.</div>
<div>
Describe more places and don't just have stock traveling scenes.</div>
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Do it by the end of the month.</div>
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Let's see if we can do this. (Read: nope but I can get far I think.)</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-30688082930691384752016-09-13T13:00:00.002-07:002016-09-13T13:00:25.186-07:00hmmmm.... slackingIt's a little disheartening to realize I haven't written anything in TQR since exactly one month ago. Time to turn things around. My plan is to finish the rough draft this week and finally get around to that rewrite. Time moves so quickly!<br />
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On a side note: I also plan to finally sit down and start writing WaC tonight. I honestly couldn't be more excited it's going to be a lot of fun.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-42243330355855372572016-09-06T15:33:00.001-07:002016-09-06T15:33:10.408-07:00September Writing GoalsIt's been a while since I last posted and that's not due to the fact that I've been writing furiously. Because I have not been. Because I have been bad and easily distracted. Sad face.<br />
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Before I get into my goals, can I bring your attention to the name of the Blog. It was previously called Fernweh, and while I still really like that word, I wasn't in love with it as the title of my blog. So, for now, it's going to be called The Motley Bird, based off of a very strange bird that appeared in my dream last night.<br />
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Onto the goals!<br />
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I want to finish up the first draft of The Queen's Ransom. I have a feeling it will only take me sitting down and pounding away at the keyboard for about three hours to finish this one up, and I'm both excited and saddened that it will be over. But we both know that it's not exactly tip-top shape, so I also want to get most of the way through editing/rewriting the book. It's going to take pretty much all my time this month, but it's something I'm super eager to start digging into.<br />
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It's also time to finally start writing Wheel and Cog! I want to lock down the history of the world in the book (it's more or less our history but with a few modifications) and then I want to get about a third of the way into the book before all is said and done this month.<br />
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Not writing related, there are a few blog posts here I finally want to get around to writing. I tend to start posts and then not finish them and publish them, and since I hate scheduling things here and like it to be "of-the-moment" posting, I don't often like to share what is in the works behind the scenes here. But, these are two posts I think are important to get out this month. One is about diversity in books and why it's important and my take on it. I have a lot of things to say and I've been debating how to say them every morning for a week. I also want to write about what books mean to me. There's a little bit of a sad story in there, but nothing too bad.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-15406552571242207182016-08-29T07:24:00.002-07:002016-08-29T07:24:21.304-07:00Do you remember Lamp & Mirror?I talked a little about this story (LaM) several weeks ago. It was intended to be a stress reliever story that I slowly serialized here for everyone to read and enjoy. Well, I learned pretty quickly that the plot I had for the story was very thin and not good reading and it was hard to write so I scrapped it pretty quickly. I didn't have any plans to continue it in any regard.<br />
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But last night an old idea I had rose to the front of my mind as I fell asleep. And I realized I actually really wanted to tell this little gem still, even though I haven't thought about it in a few years. My problem with this story? I didn't have the characters for it. I knew the roles for the main characters, but I didn't actually have people willing to fill it.<br />
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And then I realized= LaM was missing plot, old idea was missing characters... would it work? So I played with the idea in my head all night and GUYS IT WORKS SO WELL. So, so well. Everything fit like a puzzle and the story blossomed from a short story/novella to a full fledged trilogy and I added two new characters that didn't even exist in my head before and it's awesome.<br />
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I normally don't give out descriptions for things before I've at least begun writing them, but I'm so excited right now I just need to share at least part of this story, so I'm going to share how all the characters connect.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Alexander (Alecks) Lamp</b> is adopted by the Mirror family after his own parents, who have been faithful servants and guardians for the Mirrors for nearly a century, are killed unexpectedly. The Mirror's raise Alecks alongside their son, <b>Edward (Eddie) Mirror</b>, who is only a year younger than Alecks. One night, when the boys are nine and ten respectively, vampires (a monster everyone is aware of and is afraid of- think Dracula meets Vampire Diaries for an idea of this version of vampires) break into the house and kill nearly everyone. Alecks keeps Eddie safe during the attack, even though he takes brutal injuries himself, and they are the only two left alive in the house when Eddie's oldest sister finally arrives to save them. From that point on, Alecks promises to be Eddie's guardian and protect him from every threat.<br />The two are inseparable until the night, when crossing a bridge, Alecks tries to keep a drunk Eddie from walking along the edge to prove his bravery. Out of nowhere thugs arrive, completely human thugs whose only real threat is a knife. Alecks is able to take care of them easily, but not before Eddie is pushed into the river below, his body never found... by humans.<br /><b>Sebastian Locke</b> is handsome, wealthy, and arrogant- he's also a violent and ruthless vampire who finds Eddie and turns him into a vampire after keeping him in a stasis state for three years.<br />Meanwhile, Alecks has been miserable since that night when he seemed to lose all purpose in life. He's taken a few jobs here and there and is employed as a small-time bodyguard meant to keep vampires out of a bar when he finds a homeless girl with no memories of who she is except her name, <b>Caragh Bronwing</b>. He takes her to his home, forsaking his job. Charmed by her, he agrees to help her find out where she came from.<br />But Alecks and Caragh's journey quickly intersects with that of the city's most violent vampire and its youngest.</blockquote>
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The trilogy is planned to take place in London, I'm thinking a version of Victorian England, but that might change (certainly not modern, and not too far in the past). I plan to start writing this after I've made some headway with Wheel and Cog, and I'm so excited.<br />
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One thing about the romance- a large part of the plot for the book is actually built around romance (but I'm not saying who's with who!) and it is going to be integral to all four of the main characters during the course of the series. While it's not necessarily the driving part of the books, this series is more of a romance than the other two projects I've been working on lately. Side note: there are no love triangles.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-65439314460528909652016-08-19T17:49:00.002-07:002016-08-19T17:49:32.195-07:00The Hazards of PrewritingTwo posts in one day, that's pretty crazy!<br />
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Okay, so basically I wanted to do a bunch of prewriting and preplanning for WaC so that I could avoid continuity problems like I've run into with TQR. But WaC has been in my head so long, starting to plot it down on paper has been tough. And it feels stifling. The characters in my head are alive and reducing what they have to say to a few broad strokes that is my outline is really not working out. I got the first few chapters done, but honestly it's become not just a pain but a waste since I'm overwriting when I could just be writing.<br />
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So no more plotting/outlining for this book. I know all the major parts, and I know that they have to be hit and about when in the story they need to occur, it's just the connective tissue is missing the details. I'm sure they'll come.<br />
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I look forward to finally writing WaC, but I'm also incredibly nervous and worried that it's going to be one heck of a headache. I mean, something this close to me is going to be something I need to wrestle down. Wish me luck.<br />
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XOXOXSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4031426754532625200.post-47524794573969301302016-08-19T12:07:00.000-07:002016-08-19T12:07:02.813-07:00Good books make me want to make good booksThe book in particular, today, is The Raven King. I've just finished it not even ten minutes ago and I'm reeling. Reeling. I don't think I can put into words my feeling for this series. Saying I liked it isn't really right. Saying I loved it doesn't really capture what I mean to say. I can't capture what it is or what it means to me (which means the review is gonna be hell to write).<br />
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But it does inspire me to write. Not because Maggie Stiefvater is practically famous and her books do so well- no, because I want to see my stories on paper and I want other people to read my words and have emotions because of them.<br />
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It was good and now I want to write. So write I shall. The rest of the day, probably, will be dedicated to writing. So, thank you Mizz Stiefvater, for your beautiful inspiration.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065828205340837046noreply@blogger.com0