Saturday, September 14, 2013

Dragonfest is coming!!


I am excited to help announce that after months of planning, the first ever Dragonfest will be held in just a couple of weeks! AHH! So excited! I've been planning like a mad....uh....woman over here and I think I have my short all planned out now. I can't wait to share it with everyone! I've started writing it out some, and it's a bit of a slow process right now, but I want to get everything just right. Between myself, my mom, and a couple of close friends who are also dragon fanatics (hehe), we've developed some very interesting things to come. I can't wait to start on my actual dragon novel, however, I realize that I need to be patient for just a little while longer so I can really develop the lands, languages, and anything else I might need. I need to create a vivid picture of my fantasy world in my mind before I can describe it to anyone else.
Anywho, my Dragonfest short will be posted here as soon as the festivities are underway, which will be September 27th, and 28th. If you'd like to join in, or read all of the entries, you can find it here. But please, feel free to join in on all the fun! Personally, I would love to read more dragon shorts! Or, if you ever want to just nerd out about dragons, that's cool too, hehe.

     Just another dragon nerd here...
          -Liz

PS: I'm sorry for being so MIA, but hopefully I can get back on a more regular blogging schedule again. I have been hard at work on all things dragons as of late, so hopefully that will make up for some of the MIA-ness.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Summary

So I realize that I have been very MIA this month, and sadly that's not due to massive writing sessions. There have been a lot of unexpected personal things come up this month. One right after the other. There have been some ups and some downs, the ups generally being really good, unfortunately the downs being rather upsetting. I won't bore anyone with the details, but rest assured, I am doing much better now in all areas.
Lately I have been organizing pre-written scenes for my work in progress. It seems to be doing rather well with getting those creative wheels turning. And I am having to exercise some deal of self control to not jump to the more exciting scenes and write them first, because I realize that if I do that, the build up scenes will seem to drag on, and that would just further delay the publication date.
I won't go through posting all of my word counts for the month, but there were some ok days, although sadly more bad days than good. More often than not, I couldn't seem to focus enough to get any word count done.
The second week was better in terms of flow in ideas and word crafting though. The weeks after, it became more common to have days with zero word count. My total right now is over 13k, and I'm working hard to get that number steadily moving up.
I'm starting to see a pattern in NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo seasons. I definitely seem to get more done during the month of November, as opposed to whatever months the camp sessions may be in. I'm thinking it has something to do with more writer participation and general craziness in November than during camps. Something about NaNoWriMo that just sparks more creativity and higher daily numbers than any other time.
I am still trying for my goal of having my novel finished and published before NaNoWriMo, so that I can work on one of two novels. I'm not entirely sure yet which one I will do. Most likely the sequel since that's the one that comes next.
Anyway, I know all of this is not quite as well organized or flows as well as my usual blogging style, but I suppose half of my brain is still elsewhere. If you find it, please be gentle and return it in one piece? It's not much good to me otherwise, lol.

     Trying to de-scramble my thought train...
          -Liz

Sunday, July 14, 2013

July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week One

So week one didn't exactly go as planned, at all. It started off ok as far as blog and website revisions. Although, the end of the week could have gone better. But I'll get to that later.
Here are my week stats so far.

My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 0 total word count
Day Two: 0 total word count
Day Three: 29 total word count
Day Four: 301 total word count
Day Five: 0 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Say Seven: 0 total word count

Week One: 12,374 total word count (left over from April Camp NaNo)

I know, I know...week one didn't exactly go as planned, but bear with me, it's getting better and a little easier. I just seemed to stay stuck in writer's block for this one scene for the longest. I finally had to sit myself down and visualize how I wanted the scene to play out, and then things slowly got a little easier.
Day one could have gone better in terms of actual novel writing. However, I am working on a couple of new treats for everyone! I have two new short stories in the works to be posted vera, vera soon (I hope). If all goes well, I may be able to post them before the month is up. If not, I will definitely do my best to post them asap post Camp NaNoWriMo.
Really, the first two days were spend updating my blog and website for all of you, since I knew Andrew was posting a brand new author spotlight series, highlighting yours truly first, along with a few other select authors for the rest of the month. I was truly touched when I read the kind words he had to say about me and my writing. If you want to check it out, please do! There's also a hashtag going around as #askglasgow if you have any questions on either Twitter or Facebook. :)
Really, the rest of the week was a bit of a struggle to get back into the writing swing of things. I took a day off last Friday (5th) to go see Despicable Me 2 with my boyfriend, and his younger brother. Later, he (boyfriend) fixed some homemade rice vermicelli, which was great! I love it when he cooks, he's pretty good at it. :)
Unfortunately, my weekend took an unexpected turn after that and it's been hard to get back into the writing mood. Although things have gotten a good bit better, and I feel like noveling again now. I'm just trying to let the words flow out of me instead of trying to force them out. I've found that letting the words flow onto the page almost always works out better than forcing something onto the page.
Anywho, so I'm trying hard to finish my novel within the next month in hopes of having it published by this fall. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted on the progress, and of course, I will be keeping my progress bar off to the side updated regularly so y'all can keep an eye on that too, if you so wish. :)

     Excited to see everything coming together!
          -Liz

PS: I'm so sorry this is so delayed. But hey...at least it isn't a month late. :P

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Prepping for July

So the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts in just 2 days! Normally I would say that now is the time to panic because maybe I wasn't quite as prepared as I should be. However, I do have a plan! Since I was unable to finish in April, I will be continuing until I finish in July. And then, whenever I hopefully finish the first novel, I will just go straight into the sequel and go until I finish.
My hope is to finish the first draft of the first novel by the end of July or August, get edits, work on any revisions, and try to get it self published by sometime this fall, or winter at the latest. And perhaps, if everything else goes accordingly, have the sequel also self published sometime within the next year.
The past month has gone well in terms of brainstorming and in general prepping for July though. I've been getting tons of ideas for the sequel lately and I cannot wait to get to those scenes! I so wish I could share more details about that now, but be patient, dear readers...the day will soon come when I will probably be sharing an excerpt from the sequel. Although, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I should probably finish the first novel before I start thinking about what excerpt I would share from the sequel.
Overall, I am just so excited to be steadily moving forward to finally being able to share this story with you. I guess excitement over the written word and fictional lands is all part of what truly makes me a writer. And I do know that this is what I was meant to do. I thank you all for sharing this journey with me. :)

     Prepping for the madness...
          -Liz

Monday, June 24, 2013

Coming Soon: Book Reviews

So I've said it before when I first started this blog that I would eventually be doing some book reviews. Well, dear readers, that time has finally come. I find it sad that I don't seem to have as much time to read as I did when I was growing up. Back then, there was rarely a time when you would not see this one with a book in her hand. To this day, I love reading! I think that's something that will never change. But as I just said, I just don't seem to have as much time to read as I used to. Although lately I seem to have a little more time to read, which makes me very happy!
Soo...very soon, I will begin posting the occasional book review. I hope to post one either once a month, or once every other month. It depends on how much time I have for reading. I do have a short list started of novels I will be reviewing by the end of the year.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

Seizing Darkness (coming August 2013) by Mariana Thorn

pRevealing Hamilton by Sarah Jayne Carr

Eighth Empire (coming December 2013) by Andrew Gaeta

Hopefully, as the year goes on, I'll get a break now and then to sit down and read. And I'll have more to review! Eventually, I hope to own a set of the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell. I love pretty much anything dragon, and I watch every week with my family as a new episode of the tv series spin-off comes on. But I'm getting a little off topic.
Anywho, so there you have my short list of novels I know of so far that I plan to read and review by the end of the year. My plan is to review the content (cover to cover, whilst trying to avoid any spoilers), including a brief synopsis of the novel, as well as possible comments on cover art and character personalities. I'll be making notes on the author's writing style and what audience may be best suited for the various adventures.
I promise it won't be the drag that it may sound like. I shall do my best to keep it light and fun. However, I make no promise if I'm reviewing an intense thriller or anything intense, really. It's kind of hard to keep it light and fun if the characters are constantly on the run from some crazy thing or another. Unless you have a cruel sense of humor and enjoy poking fun at said characters only because it's not you in that situation, ha ha.
Anyway though, tonight, I sign off with a very fitting quote for right now. I hope you enjoy the weeks to come as I share little pieces of one writer's life.

     "So many books, so little time." -Frank Zappa
          -Liz

Thursday, June 6, 2013

April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Four

Ok, so week four could definitely have gone better in the writing area. Unfortunately, there is no "but" to follow that statement. It just could have been better. Brace yourself, this may sting a little...
Here are my stats from week four.

My week four stats are as follows:
Day Twenty-Two: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Three: 214 total word count
Day Twenty-Four: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Five: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Six: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Seven: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Eight: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Nine: 0 total word count
Day Thirty: 0 total word count

Week Four (and total for the month): 10,006 total word count

So yes, my month definitely could have gone better writing wise. However, the final week of April NaNo was not a complete loss. In fact, I think I gained a little more than a loss of a few thousand words. I got to spend more quality time with my amazing boyfriend that whole week. And I know I haven't mentioned him a whole lot before, but this is a time when I really don't mind sharing more about him. I mean, if anyone should get to brag on the man, it should be me, right? ;)
Anyway, so the final week in April was what's known as TWIRP around here, it stands for The Woman Is Required to Pay (and ask, actually). So I of course asked him to be my date for the week, and I gladly paid for the various events. He well knows that I would rather him not spend every penny on me, and I do not mind one bit actually paying for things every now and then. I actually told him that I think it should be a monthly thing from now on to have a TWIRP date, just as a little thank you from me for all that he does for me. He smiled sweetly when I told him this, and didn't argue, lol.
The week started off with a zombie themed scavenger hunt around the local college campus. It was so much fun, even though I didn't last very long. He got tagged not long after me, so when we caught up, we just walked around a little. It was a moonlit night, and there was a fountain nearby, so we just sat and talked for a while, which was so nice. Although slightly comical because you could still hear the shrieks in the distance from those who were still in the game being chased by "zombies".
We decided to skip the next night, which was trivia night, since we both had some work that needed to be done. This is where I got in those 214 words, and finally got out of the second chapter, and into the third. It's going ok now, I just need to pick up the pace a little more.
Since we skipped trivia night, I decided to take him to Portico for burger night. I swear, they have like the best burgers there! Afterward, we went back to his family's house to watch Psych with his younger brother. It's kind of become a semi-regular thing with all three of us to watch it together. :)
The next night was the dance, which was probably the highlight of both of our weeks. I'd never slow danced before, and I'm glad I got to share that with him. I think we slow danced about four different times the whole night, and it was just..great. Actually, that's kind of an understatement, but I'm not really sure what word to use here. It was definitely more than great though. And we survived the night without stepping on each others toes too! lol.
The final night of the week, was dinner and a movie night. I was a bit giddy this night because there was a specific place in town that he'd been wanting to go to for weeks on a date, and we just hadn't made it yet. So I started plotting that if we didn't make it before TWIRP week, I was going to take him myself. Bonus point? Pretty much his favorite place in town! I think he was a tiny bit thrilled when he realized where I was taking him, as I kept it a complete surprise. We managed to sit for a while, and take our time before we had to leave for the movie, which I had forgotten was a double feature. We sat and enjoyed The Princess Bride, which is fastly becoming one of his favorite movies. It is a pretty great movie though, easily in my top 5, and so quotable too! The second movie was Back to The Future, although it was getting late and we weren't able to stay and watch.
Nonetheless, the week ended well. I'm glad I had the week to spend with him. It's nice to be able to slow down and just have fun for a while...get away from the stresses of school and such.
Anywho, I'm sorry this is so beyond delayed...but I do have quite a few drafts I'm working on to be posted in the next couple of weeks, as well as a few for July. Here's hoping I can pick up the blogging and noveling pace. :)

          -Liz

Friday, May 31, 2013

Re-learning how to prioritize...

So at this current time in my life, I seem to be re-learning how to prioritize. It also seems that at times during the month of May, everyone in the world suddenly remembers this really important thing they need done by me like yesterday...or at least, that's how it seems in my head.
Since earlier this year, I have had quite a bit going-more than I have in a long time. Perhaps part of that is simply because I took a long hiatus from writing all together for what seems a year or two. Since around October of last year, I really decided to jump on the ball and get back to writing already! And I had indeed forgotten just how much I enjoyed it. Although my first NaNoWriMo was back in 2011, and I had attempted my first novel in 30 days challenge-in other words, it had not been a year or two since I wrote something, it just felt like it in my head. I sadly have not had a really consistent writing life since perhaps late high school. I couldn't get enough of it then, I was constantly writing. It's sad how that's changed slightly for me. However, I am trying my best to get back into the swing of things, writing-wise and all.
For my first NaNoWrimo, I attempted with a romance novel that, well, crashed and burned. I may one day tweak it a bit and bring it back. But as of right now, I am not quite sure on that just yet.
After that first attempt, I began brainstorming once again with my various projects I had filed back for a while. And after a while, I knew what I wanted to do with my second go around-a long distance romance that, well, also sort of crashed and burned. It did last a little longer than the first novel, however. And I do intend on finishing it one day soon. In between NaNo seasons, perhaps I can pick it up again and finish it.
And thus, we finally get around to the point of the prioritizing...I participated in my first Camp session of NaNoWriMo in April with The Unknown (working title), my fantasy novel I've had in the works since I was 15. April was in general an up and down month for me, and I was not able to finish my novel. However, I am still writing on it and am hoping to finish it before the July session, in which I plan on writing the sequel. If I am not able to finish The Unknown before July, then my plan is to go on ahead and finish, then halfway through the month, or whenever it is that I should finish, begin writing the sequel. Just flow from one book to the other. And then take a few month breather before the real NaNoWriMo fun begins.
Anywho, so that's just my own noveling life craziness going on there. And it's not nearly everything I have going on in my life right now. I am also still helping to edit a fellow NaNo-er's novel, which is quite intriguing and I simply must demand that everyone go out and get it once it's up for grabs. I wish I could reveal a little more about it now, but alas, I cannot. However...I plan on giving a full review once done. I am also going to read and review Revealing Hamilton by Sarah Carr sometime soon as well.
While I'd love to have all the time in the world and the ability to do all of the above things at once, I am but one person, with one mind, and two hands...I unfortunately am simply not able to do such a thing. And while I do not like to, I am left no choice but to prioritize the various things on my list. Anything else will just have to find some possible way to be fit in, or simply be left out for the time being. This is sadly the reason why I have been neglecting my Wattpad and Booksie accounts for a while now. I simply have not had the time to write any more short stories, novellas, or side project novels for anyone to just read right now. This is another thing I am hoping to be able to get back to in between NaNo seasons.
That, along with picking a new image for my NKB short story. I look forward to next year's blogfest...I think I already know what I want to write then...but my dear readers, you'll just have to try to be patient for that one. And hopefully, I can get my novel finished and published by the end of the year. I would so love that. I really can't wait to share this story with all of you. :)

          -Liz

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Apologies


So I know I haven’t been very consistent with my blogging this month, and I’d like to take a moment to explain why.
At first, it wasn’t so bad, I had a couple of draft posts saved, intending on finishing them and posting them. But then I had an unbelievably busy week, and right in the middle of an already hectic week, my Grandmother nearly had a stroke and was put in the hospital for about two weeks, so the whole family was kinda busy with that. She’s doing a little better now, but still has a ways to go until she’s doing a whole lot better.
Anyway, then there’s my other set of grandparents-my Pap-paw and Granny. My mom told me just recently that they’re not doing so good. Of course, she’s been telling me this for a long time now, but it’s only just now sinking in. I’ve only ever had one Pap-paw. My other granddad passed away when I was about 12, and I never really knew him that well. I’m really close with my Pap-paw though, I always have been. He’s really special to me, and it’s kinda rough to suddenly realize that he may not actually be here for much longer. He’s been sick and it’s apparently taking a bit longer than it should for him to get better. I know it’s going to be really hard whenever it may be.
So, for the most part, it’s been a bunch of family stuff come up all at once that’s kept me away from my writing. That, and the other millions of things on my mind lately. I feel like I really need a break from everything, but at the same time, I feel like I don’t even have time for a break! It’s really crazy, and I’m trying my best to just relax and tackle one thing at a time.
Of course, my boyfriend is pretty good at keeping me relaxed too. If I’m really stressed, all I have to do is just be around him, and everything seems better, brighter and easier to tackle.
So bear with me for a while, dear readers…I’m still around, and definitely still writing. It just may be longer in between blog posts than I would like. On the upside, however, I do have a couple of more ideas for posts! So I should have roughly 4 or 5 rough drafts I can be working on for blog posts to be posted the next time I get a chance to breathe. :)

     “In tru nose…out tru mouth…”
          -Liz

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Three

*Note: Yes, I am very aware of how delayed this is...I've just been really busy...anywho, here's how week three went last month...

Alright, so week three could definitely have been better, but I still like that 1,085 mark I hit on day fifteen. :) 
Here are my stats so far.


My week three stats are as follows:
Day Fifteen: 1,085 total word count
Day Sixteen: 66 total word count
Day Seventeen: 0 total word count
Day Eighteen: 0 total word count
Day Nineteen: 0 total word count
Day Twenty: 800 total word count
Day Twenty-One: 43 total word count

Week Three: 9,362 total word count

So I know I said last week that I would have already hit 10k by now....yeah....that didn't really work out well, as you can see. I'm not far from that 10k mark though, and I will be hitting it before this last week's up. I know saying I'll hit that 50k mark before the month's up now, is a bit of a stretch, but I'm still going to see how far I can get, and take my novel past the end of April in order to finish it. My plan is to write the sequel in July, so I'll need to know exactly where I'm going in order for that to work. I've had a couple of ideas for the past few years, but I'll need more of a solid plot line and know what I'm doing so I can make sure that sequel gets done.
My lack of wordage on multiple days this past week is due to, really and honestly, lack of "want to". Wait, no, make that "willing to". I've been wanting for a long time to sit down and finish my novel. But it seems that my will to cooperate with the ways of Camp NaNoWriMo are less than my will to cooperate with the ways of NaNoWriMo (and yes, there's a bit of difference here). I think for one, my crazy Wrimo's, Angi and Mal, who I've known since I first started NaNoWriMo a few years ago are sadly not participating in April's Camp NaNo. However, they are possibly considering the July session, so it's quite debatable to expect better word counts then. My craziness can better bounce off of said Wrimo's then, and perhaps my word counts will be kept up to speed with the daily goals.

The boyfriend is still steadily encouraging me to finish, which I will. It just probably won't be in time for the end of April, sadly. But hopefully I can have it finished by the middle of May. :) In any case, it will be finished. That much I can promise you. :) And it might possibly get finished before May is up...lol, he's given me that deadline that it better be done by then. Of course, I kinda think perhaps part of it is just his excitement to finally read the rest of my novel. Especially since he know very little about it. But then again...maybe in reality, he's actually giving me the kick in the pants I've needed to really get moving on my novel. I mean, that's NaNoWriMo's motto...I think...except for the life of me, I can't seem to find it...my bad. But I know I've seen it somewhere, lol.
But anywho, maybe him giving me a deadline to finish is what I need. I mean, I'll give my own self the occasional deadline, but mine seem to be more flexible...and something tells me his deadline won't be quite so flexible. :P
As far as the actual writing goes, I think what I need to do now is just power through the scenes I'm in now and get to the good part already. It's just felt for a while like it's just draaaaaaaging on, which is less fun for the writer than it is for the reader, I'm sure. I have a plan for the next several chapters, up until chapter eleven or twelve, so I know where I'm going more specifically for now. Past that point, I still have my basic plot line to follow. First things first though...I just have to get past that chapter two plateau...


     Powering through chapter two...
          -Liz

Monday, April 15, 2013

April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Two

So week two could have been better, but I'd say it picked up considerably in the past couple of days. ^_^ Here are my stats so far.

My week two stats are as follows:

Day Eight: 242 total word count
Day Nine: 0 total word count
Day Ten: 97 total word count
Day Eleven: 198 total word count
Day Twelve: 285 total word count
Day Thirteen: 288 total word count
Day Fourteen: 891 total word count

Week Two: 7,368 total word count


So I may have sort of fibbed a little last week when I said I'd be starting on the second chapter....I've only started on the second chapter since Saturday (13th). Although, I am now well into it at a nice total word count of (so far) 7,984. I have promised myself that I will get to 8k, then go to bed. And I am shooting for a total count of 10k for the day. I figured it up, and since I'm a bit behind, I can shoot for 2.6k a day and still have my 50k at the end of the month. If I shoot a little higher for a few days and hit 3k instead, I can finish a tad early. 

At any rate, I'm just happy that it's still do-able. I mean, I was going to finish my novel anyway, but it's a certain sense of accomplishment to be able to say to some random stranger, "Hey random stranger, guess what? I'm a novelist, and I finished it in 30 days! Yep, you heard me right, I wrote 50k in thirty days. I'm one of those crazy writers you hear about." One could say while smiling to oneself and walking off quietly while the poor stranger stands there, scratching their head and saying to themself, "These kids these days....." Hehe.
Anywho, so once again, you may notice a lack of wordage on one particular day. And no, I am not blaming the boyfriend or any of his wonderful family this time. In fact, I'd like to have a little shoutout to my super smart boyfriend, as he helped me out of some crazy writer's frustration quite easily. A few rounds of Q&A and I had one of my characters better figured out that I had neglected to take the necessary time to get to know prior to Camp NaNo. But said character is now figured out on why they are the way they are, and what chain of events has caused them to be this way. Also what they're likely to do in the future. But my dear readers, you shall get to meet this character soon enough. I am so excited to be able to share this story with you finally, after 6 long years of writing and re-writing, as well as editing and re-editing. It's been a long process, but an exciting and eventful one to say the least.
Oh, and as an update to last week's post, this week has gone much better as far as words coming to me much easier. Especially in the past few days. I had told the boyfriend, who's debatably more excited than me for the novel to finally be finished....even though he wasn't exactly around for the first 5 years of the novel, lol. Anywho, I had told him that once I got past the first chapter, the words would be coming to me much easier. But because I am re-writing my early chapters completely, I wasn't sure what I was doing in the first chapter. Plus, my characters have been doing very well at taking me into an entirely new direction than I had planned. But I love it! I love it when my characters show me some new direction I didn't even see before, or in a case like earlier tonight, they show me they have a certain spunk, and much more of it than I had originally thought too, lol.
But anyway, it's really late...or maybe it's early...something like that. In any case, it's well after 3am, nearly 4am, and I still have just over 100 more words to go before I'll allow myself to go to bed already! Here's hoping I can make it to 10k later today! I hope, I hope! :)

     Just along for the ride....just don't tell my characters they're driving....

          -Liz

Monday, April 8, 2013

April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week One

So week one has gone alright so far. It definitely could have been better, but here are my stats so far.

My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 4,091 total word count (Pre-written prologue and part of first chapter)
Day Two: 301 total word count
Day Three: 329 total word count
Day Four: 182 total word count
Day Five: 161 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Day Seven: 304 total word count

Week One: 5,367 total word count

And all of this for the prologue and first chapter. I start on the second chapter on the first day of the second week (today). I'm really hoping those creative juices will start flowing more and I can pick up the pace a good bit. Mind you, I am now roughly 8k behind (today included), but with the words coming easier and writing a little over each day's goal, I should be able to catch up. I'm still a little optimistic about my outcome this month seeing as most of the month is still ahead of me. And I have nothing to do tomorrow but to write, write, and write some more, so hopefully I can get a chunk of that 8k taken care of. We'll see.
Tuesday, my boyfriend is supposed to help me some with this ridiculous writer's block...well, no, it's not so much writer's block as I suppose maybe...writer's frustration, as one of my best friends used to call it. It's where you have the ideas, you know what you want to happen, but either the narration or dialogue just will not come to you. But thankfully, there's room for a spark of creative genius to hit you, which is what I'm hoping will happen to me. As of right now, I know what I want to happen, but the dialogue won't come to me. I'll play with various conversations tomorrow (or rather, later today), and see what I can come up with.
Meanwhile, I did actually talk to said best friend on the phone today, and I read to her what I have so far, and she really liked it, which made me happy. It's definitely better than my old chapters, so that's good. But then, my writing style has also improved greatly since I was 15, so I would hope it sounded much better.
And if you're wondering, "Hey lady, y no wordage on day six??" well random person who speaks in Meme....that would be because I spent the day at a Scottish festival with my boyfriend and his younger brother. My family has gone every year almost since they started it, and it was my chance to include the boyfriend and his brother. I think they enjoyed it too; all three of us tried the knife and tomahawk throw. I think I managed to hit the stump with a knife, and it bounced off....everything else missed all together, I aimed too high. Meanwhile the boyfriend stuck his tomahawk, which I have photographic evidence of. I was quite proud of him. :)
So yeah, that's how my week went. Hopefully this week will go much better. I feel like once I get past the first chapter, it'll all come easier to me. I've explained before that it's moving so slowly because I'm fully re-writing the beginning chapters, so I have less of a clue of what's going on. But I do still have my old chapters that I'm using as a guideline, so that's helping. I can't wait to finish this and do my happy dance around the room and to finally share this story with you. :)

     Dreaming of happy dances...
          -Liz

Sunday, March 31, 2013

It's the final countdown...

Here we are in the final hours before the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts, and I am so excited!! For the past couple of days, I've been so giddy about finally getting to finish my novel! And I have a bit of a confession to make...I once again "broke the rules" and wrote a little early. My prologue I had already written a couple of years ago, but this is the first chapter. See, I had this breakthrough moment the other night, and after some serious debating, I finally decided to just go on ahead and write the short scene I had come up with.
Overall, I am now a little over 4,000 words ahead of schedule. So basically, that means I'm easily 2 days ahead already, and the month hasn't even started yet! And as soon as that clock hits midnight, I'll probably be writing some more and be that much more ahead. I can't wait to really get going on this novel and to finally finish it after 6 long years! Camp NaNoWriMo won't know what hit it once that clock hits midnight. Haha.
And of course, once April is over, the editing process will begin, my beta readers will enjoy a hopefully non-cheesy story, and then once I get some critique back the (::insert fanfare::) publishing process will begin!!! :D I hope to possibly publish this novel sometime this fall. And I am so excited to finally share this story with y'all!! Oh, and I should be back to blogging this month at least. Ironic, I know, but I'll actually have stuff to blog about. I'm going to try to keep y'all updated on how it's going, and what my current word count is out of the 50k. I also have a word counter widget in the sidebar where it will be consistantly updated with where I am in my novel.
I am just so excited, I feel like it's just bubbling out of me. I'm trying to not freak out some random stranger in public though. I mean, I don't want anyone to think I'm crazy or anything... ;) But such is the life of a writer, and I do love it so.

     Off to see the wizard...and camp buddies...
          -Liz

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Decisions, decisions...

Ever since I started daydreaming about becoming a published writer, I always envisioned being signed with a publishing house, and (hopefully) being mentioned in the New York Times Bestsellers list at least once. But now that seems to be changing slightly. I'm starting to really consider self publishing at least my first novel. And who knows? Maybe I'll get picked up by someone after then. The idea of self publishing is still very new, and only slightly intimidating to me. But I do have a couple of pretty great people I know who have helped me out.
One being Sir Andrew Gaeta, my newest writer friend I met through NaNoWriMo 2012. See, he's already been self published twice (see his novels here), and is currently working on getting a third published, if I'm not mistaken. Haha, seems like he's always writing, which is good. He's sort of given me the kick in the pants I needed to quit ho-humming around and finish my projects already.
Of course, my amazing and ever so supportive boyfriend is a huge help too. He's easily my biggest fan, and I love that he's always so enthusiastic about my writing. It's a little bit funny though when I hint about something I'm planning for later in my novel, but won't share it with him. Unfortunately, he doesn't always get special treatment. ;) He does get to read my works eventually, but I also want him to get the full effect with twists and turns and whatnot. Haha, he's rather impatient right now to read The Unknown as I write it next month. I assured him that he will get to read it as soon as I'm done editing it-I don't let anyone, not even my mom or best friend to see my rough drafts. He's also a writer, and a fantastic one at that! I look forward to the day when I get to share his debut novel with all of you. :) I'm definitely the proud girlfriend there.
In my debates with myself on self-publishing, I created a couple of accounts to play with and I am having so much fun with it! I'm getting even more excited about finishing my first novel next month and getting that much closer to publishing it. I can't wait to share my stories with you. :)

          -Liz

Friday, March 8, 2013

The adorableness of a child's logic...

So the other day, my mom directed my attention to this ridiculously adorable moment on this author's Facebook page that she follows...the conversation went as follows...

Breeana Puttroff:
My daughter, finder of plot holes at age five:

Little Goose: "I'm thinking of putting Lilly in a class where she can learn how to speak." (Lilly is her favorite stuffed animal dog.)
Me: "That sounds like fun. Is Martha Speaks going to be the teacher?"
LG: "Mom, Martha Speaks is not real."
Me: "Oh. Okay." (Still *trying* to play along.) "Are they going to eat alphabet soup?" (Alphabet soup is how Martha on the show becomes a talking dog.)
LG: "Alphabet soup is not real."
Me: "Yes it is."
LG: "I mean, it's not alive." (There's a "duh" sound in her voice at this point.)
Me: "Well, no soup is alive."
LG: (exasperated sigh) "I MEAN, since it's not alive, it can't travel to Lilly's brain and make her speak."
Me: "Oh." (Of course. How could I be so obtuse?)
LG: "And if it DID travel to her brain, it would be stuck there, and then, because it's soup, it would get rotten up there, and she would die."

And there you have it...a moment of adorableness in a child's logic...
In the meantime, I am hard at work on finishing the interviews with Kelsey and Derek, and hopefully they will be up within the next week. :)
I am also doing so much brain storming and planning ahead for my April Camp NaNoWriMo next month!!! EEEEHHHH!!!! I'm so excited!!! I'm really hoping they will post some word count widgets so I can post one on here. In the meantime, I have a link set up in the sidebar if you'd like to check out my novel I'll be working on. Right now, all there is to see is the synopsis, but as soon as April starts, I will be posting an excerpt to see as well. I feel like this will be a successful attempt for my novel-finally!! :D I can't wait to see that finished manuscript, and be that much closer to publishing it! And then writing and finishing the sequel this summer! AHH!! I think this is going to be a great year for my writing. :)

     Always thankful for any and all readers (of blog or stories)!
          -Liz

Monday, February 25, 2013

Interview in Progress...

So I thought I might should drop y'all a little note explaining in advance how I sadly will not be posting during spring break. I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Denver, CO on a mission trip with my college group, so alas, I will yet again be MIA for a bit. However, since we are driving up there-yes...we are driving. And I actually prefer that instead of riding a plane seeing as how I have never flown on a plane and am terrified of them.
Anywho, so since we are driving the 18 hours there and back, I am taking a couple of short stories with me, as well as Clue to work on, and will hopefully get some considerable work done on them. I'm going to do my best to try to get at least one of the short stories finished though, if not two of them.
But the point of this post is to say that I am taking about 110 interview questions to narrow down, and I will be interviewing Kelsey and Derek from The Unknown (April Camp NaNoWriMo), and those interviews will be posted here when I get back. I'm thinking there will be between 15 and 20 questions per person. So be looking for that!

     Interviewer mode: on
          -Liz

Monday, February 18, 2013

Reasons for being MIA

Alright everyone, so my sincerest apologies for being gone so much the past few weeks! But I have good reasons, I promise.
So my college group is going on a mission trip to Denver, CO over spring break, and every spring we do a mission trip fundraiser. It's a musical of sorts where we take different Broadway songs and perform them. In years past, there has also been a Disney montage that was pretty awesome if you ask me. Only this year was a little different because the theme was country. So there was no Broadway, and no Disney. But it was so great! It always is anyway, and the audience reacted so well to everything! :)
I've been going to rehearsals since early January, up until show time this past weekend, so that's where my brain's been the past few weeks. Sadly, this means I've gotten very little writing done. But now that all of the musical theater stuff is done, my schedule's opened wide up. At least for the next week, then my brain will be on the mission trip. I'm taking a blank notebook with me to hopefully get some writing done on the 18-hour drive up there-yes, we are driving. I kinda prefer it that way too. It gives me more time to get some potential writing or editing done.
And then when I get back,  my brain will be back on writing, and hopefully I'll be able to post more short stories and chapters to Clue. So that's what I'll be up to for the month of March. And then come April (dun-dun-dunnn) CAMP NANOWRIMO TIME!!! :D Hoping I can finally finish my novel I've been working on since I was 15.
Overall, I'm hoping this will be a good year for writing, and I have a pretty good feeling it will be. I do, after all, have plans to finish two to three novels this year. :)
But anywho, it's really late where I am now. But I did want to finally explain my absence for so long. I'm going to try my best to get back in the blogging swing of things. Unfortunately, it seems rather easy to fall out of habit, and for that I am truly sorry. Maybe finishing my first novel will make up for it? :)

     Finally breathing after the madness...
          -Liz

PS. To those who have been hinting, or just outright bugging me to get back to blogging...here it is, finally. Happy now? Hehe. :)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Blog Hop 2013

So I've heard about this thing going around called a Blog Hop. I look at it as sort of an interview about a work in progress that you're working on. It's just ten questions all about what your novel is about, where you got your inspiration, who might play your characters in a film version, etc.
Anywho, it sounded like fun, so I figured I'd give it a shot. :)
I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop as much as I enjoyed it, and that you discover some new writers along the way! Enjoy!

Blog Hop Tour Answers – about my book in the works

1. What is the title of your working book?
The Unknown

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was just playing with an idea when I was 15, having fun with my overactive imagination and finally decided that I was having so much fun just planning out what events might take place that I decided to just run with it. And not long after, I had a book in the works with ideas coming to me all of the time. And they're still coming.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Fantasy. :)

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Well as for right now, I have a few people picked. Unfortunately, by the time this would ever be made into a movie, the actors would be too old for the roles, I think.
However, for the purpose of the game, I'll share anyway.
I picture Sophia Melon for Kelsey, I'm thinking Lorraine Nicholson for Shea, Lucas Till for Chris, I still haven't found anyone for Derek, I'm still looking for Ang as well, I think Shailene Woodley (curly/wavy hair) would make a nice Rebecca. And that's all that I can really think of right now...

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After having been broken up with her ex-boyfriend for several months, Kelsey realizes that she isn't quite as over him as she thought. And she soon realizes that he isn't quite who he said he was either. There were a few details he forgot to mention. Like how there's a whole other world of people living amongst everyone she ever knew. And he's just one of them.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to be represented by an agency, but I am still researching for just the right one.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Well it's not quite done yet, that's why it's called a work in progress. I plan to finish the first draft of the manuscript in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. I will probably be keeping a word counter widget in the sidebar during the month.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Well that's a toughy, because I can think of a few, however, all of the ones I would mention involve spoilers. And I am trying to not include any spoilers too early. Or I suppose really at all.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I guess maybe my love of fantasy would have to be a big part of it. A few key people who are constantly encouraging me are also a huge help. They help to keep me well grounded and also encouraged that my dream is actually possible! :) Especially this one friend of mine who just recently told me that I underestimate my writing ability. Or something really close to that. Little things like that mean more than they could ever know.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I feel like there’s bound to be something there, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything right now. Plus, if I mentioned what I have thought of, again, it would involve spoilers.
Although, I can say that I am seriously considering re-writing this at a later date from the opposite main character's point of view. There is a lot of new material from his life that I can use that the reader would not see otherwise.


I know I wasn't able to answer every question, but I hope that I answered enough to get any interest going. And again, I will be working on finishing this manuscript in April. 50,000 words, here I come, lol. Since I have been working on this since 15, I have a little bit of a head start and am currently in the eighth or ninth chapter. However, I will continue writing in April until the full story has been told and my character's tell me it's done! Until April, I will be working on my various side projects, Clue included. And I will be trying to hold off on writing any more on The Unknown until Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on doing as much brainstorming as possible between now and then as well.
Next week, please visit my blogging and writer friend (below) for the next stop on this blog hop book tour! This guy has been a huge encouragement to me ever since I met him during NaNoWriMo 2012. And he’s quite the writer himself.


Andrew Gaeta: The Excursions of the Split-Personality Author

          -Liz

Monday, January 21, 2013

Hello again...

So it turns out that a week without blogging is too easy to stay out of habit. I have had one busy month! I'm glad to have a break now. The first full week of the month, I was out every night of the week at rehearsals for a show I'm participating in next month. It's down to all day Saturday now, so I have a break for a few days.
Rest assured, the wheels have not stopped turning in my head though. I am still planning out my various projects. I'm still working on more chapters for Clue, as well as making more plans for Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July.
So far, my plan-which is pretty safe to say is solid at this point-for both sessions of Camp NaNoWriMo is to first, in April, complete my manuscript for The Unknown. And then in July, write its sequel. I'm playing with the idea of re-writing The Unknown in November, but from a different major character's point of view.
And then of course, I still have a few short stories left to be finished and posted. So there will be a fairly regular stream of stories coming as soon as I get them finished. :)
That's about it for now, hopefully this will get me back into the swing of posting to my blog. I have missed it.

          -Liz

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Oh...so close...

Alright, here it is! My No Kiss Blogfest scene! I hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! And please feel free to leave any comments about your thoughts on it. :)
And don't forget to check out some of the other scenes here.


     “Stop it, Riley! I’m serious, quit it!” I couldn’t help but giggle a little. Riley continued to shove me sideways with his elbow.
     “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, grin showing in his voice.
     “You’re just mad because this will be my third round in a row to win. I’m just so sorry, Ri, but I’m just that good. I hate that you had to find out this way.”
     As if on cue, Mrs. Parker passed by the door and poked her head inside, “Riley, you’re not letting Alexis beat you too badly, are you?” She asked teasingly.
     “No ma’am, I don’t really have to try that hard to beat him.” I replied with a teasing smile.
     “Oh, trust me, I am perfectly aware of that.” She replied with a wink.
     Riley turned to look at his mom for a moment to mock shock that she would say such a thing. It was a well-known fact that his family was always like this though. The first time I ever came over to his house, I learned this right away and jumped right in. I loved spending time with his family. It had become like a second home for me. In no time at all, Riley and I were inseparable best friends. We had a rather unusual friendship too. Everyone anywhere always thought we were dating because we were always invading each other’s personal bubbles. Or we would be if we had one. Even though we had been best friends for years, his brothers and sisters were still suspicious about us having a secret relationship this whole time. Or that we were just in denial that there was anything there. We finally just decided that we knew the truth, and people could think what they wanted because we weren’t changing how we acted around each other.
     I took my chance while Riley was briefly distracted and sent the turtle shell I’d been holding onto for the longest, aimed at his cart, and let it fly. I bounced up and down on the end of the bed in a happy dance as I passed his wrecked cart and went through the finish line.
     “Yes! Winner and still champion, in your face!” I taunted.
     Mrs. Parker just grinned and shook her head while walking away.
     Riley turned the game off, “Ok, then, something else.” He looked at me sideways, and then suddenly pounced on me. “One, t-”
     I quickly countered and flipped him over, ending up on top of him, pinning him to the bed. “I’m sorry, what was it you were saying? I win?” I asked, grinning widely. As much as he wanted to pretend to hate it, I knew he secretly enjoyed our games. We never really wrestled, we would just occasionally pin each other to the floor for some random reason.
     Suddenly a voice came from the open door, “At least close the door if you’re going to be like that.”
     Riley craned his neck around to look at his younger brother, “Shut up, Jordan!”
     Jordan just rolled his eyes in slight disgust and walked off. He was probably the most convinced that there was something more going on with Riley and I.
     He looked back at me and just shook his head, “That kid can be such a brat.”
     I rolled my eyes in response, then I got an idea and smirked at Riley.
     “What?” He asked suspiciously.
     I leaned down and quickly licked the side of his face to show triumph that I still had him pinned.
     “Ew! Yuck! What was that for?” He asked in bewilderment while heavily wiping the side of his face.
     I laughed while I got off of him and climbed to the head of the bed to sit and lean against the wall. “It’s a moose kiss.” I giggled.
     “Oh, really now? Well then maybe you should get one too.” He said with a teasing look in his eyes.
     I squealed slightly, “No!” I argued as he grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me hostage as he tried to lick my face back. When I wouldn’t let him, he settled for tickling me.
     “Ok, ok, I give, I give!” I cried between gasps and giggles.
     Riley finally backed off a little, and just looked at me with a victorious grin spread across his face.
     I sat back up against the wall and tried to catch my breath. After a moment, I jerked suddenly, causing Riley to stare at me, “What was that?”
     “I just got a sudden chill.” I replied, folding my arms and hugging myself.
     “Oh, well I can take care of that.” He stated simply, while putting his arms around me, rubbing my arms. “Is that better?”
     “Oh, thanks.” I said while snuggling into him slightly. Riley was always warm, even on the coldest day of the year, he was guaranteed to still be warm.
     I felt tiny goose bumps slowly creep down my arms, and I could tell the hairs were rising on the back of my neck. I looked up at him only to find that he was already staring at me. But it was a different look than I had ever seen on his face-at least when looking at me. I had seen that look a time or two when he was looking into the eyes of someone he truly liked.
     But that couldn’t be right… I argued with myself. And yet, somehow I felt drawn to him. Before I knew it, we were slowly moving toward each other as if some internal gravitational pull were controlling us. And neither one of us seemed to have a problem with that.
     He slowly raised his arm and gently placed his hand on my face. He drew me closer to him until we were mere inches apart. I could feel the heat coming off of his chest. I felt my heart beat quicken to the speed where it was pounding against my chest and I was sure he could hear it. If he did, he didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare into my eyes. And I was suddenly very aware of how much I was breathing into his face. My breath had quickened as well, and I seemed to be taking short deep breaths.
     We stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours, when suddenly, his gaze moved from my eyes to my lips. I knew it was coming then; any second now. If it were even possible, my heart beat felt faster. Without even realizing it, I held my breath then let it out in one long, slow breath. I stared at his eyes, then his lips, then back again to his eyes. I couldn’t help but stare at his lips though. His full lips that looked so kissable. And now barely an inch away.
     It would be so easy to just kiss him already. I’d barely have to move at all.
     So easy, and yet I didn’t dare move. I felt frozen in place.
     Finally, he began to move the last half inch to kiss me, when, “RILEY!!!”
     He let out a heavy sigh, and hung his head, “That would be Lauren. I’m supposed to go tuck her in tonight.”
     “Oh, uh, right. Yeah, go tuck your little sister in. It’s fine.” I replied, feeling like I just tripped over my own words for speaking too fast.
     Riley gave me a barely readable expression that I took for apologetic. Then he left to go see his baby sister. I did love the girl though, cutest little three-year-old.
     As soon as he had left the room, I collapsed on the bed, What just happened?

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed it! And again, feel free to leave a comment below! I look forward to seeing what everyone's thoughts are on it!

          -Liz







Happy New Year

So I wanted to start this year off by wishing everyone a happy new year. And I hope y'all have just wonderfully fantastic years ahead of you!
I am going to do my absolute best to do better this year on my writing. I can tell in just the past month or two that my writing style has definitely improved. I feel like more of a writer now.
On the note of doing more writing this year, I'd like to share a little heads up on what to expect in the weeks to come.
First of all, there's still Clue: A Modern Tale that I'm working on. The plot summary is simply that when six friends go to a murder mystery show, they discover that it's not so much of a show, and more real than they ever imagined. A fun night has turned into someone's twisted game. I'm really excited about this story. Be watching my Wattpad or Booksie page for updates!
Other than that, there are around four short stories that I'm working on, if not more. Among them are Curiosity, The Candle, and The Missing Clue. There are others, but they have yet to be titled. I have a rough schedule planned for getting three projects hopefully tackled and posted. I'm focusing more on Clue first-after, of course, my No Kiss Blogfest scene is posted. After the next chapter of Clue is up, I'll be working on the previously mentioned short stories a bit and try to get one or two finished, then go back to Clue for another chapter. And somewhere among the craziness, try to finish my NaNoWriMo novel, 3,000 Miles Away. Because as I've said before, I have three friends who will never let me forget it if I don't finish it, haha.
So, that's the crazy year I have ahead of me. But I'm so looking forward to it! And besides, being a bit crazy sort of comes with the territory of being a writer. Not that I mind, of course. ;)
Check back later today for my No Kiss Blogfest scene! I hope y'all like it!

          -Liz