tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23220502961394996762024-02-08T00:01:21.214-06:00Lizanne GlasgowWriter Lizanne Glasgow shares life from the eyes of a writer with a slightly overactive imagination.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-81257715728835219562016-06-16T21:58:00.001-05:002016-06-16T21:58:48.966-05:00Introducing Vlogs!<p><a href="http://ift.tt/1UCcoPL"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-433" title="" src="http://ift.tt/1YvsVuK" alt="" /></a><br />
So maybe not as much of a big announcement since I’ve already teased this a few times now. But it’s official! Tomorrow will be the first Vlog! Look for it on my YouTube channel (link in the social bar), or on here in place of my usual Blogging Friday post.</p>
<p>What I can tell you right now is that this first Vlog will be a basic rundown of what I have planned over the coming months Vlog-wise. I’ve carefully thought out and planned most of them for the rest of the year. At least for the time being, my plan is to start out with one Vlog a month. Keep it simple and light sort of thing. But, you’ll have to watch my first Vlog tomorrow to get any more info.😉</p>
<p>Excited to start vlogging,</p>
<p><span id="selectionBoundary_1464611094182_46301842713728547" class="rangySelectionBoundary" style="line-height:0;display:none;"></span>Liz</p>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-1791196594918358962016-01-01T23:59:00.001-06:002016-01-01T23:59:35.868-06:00Goals for 2016<div>
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Well hello there! And welcome to the great blog adventure 2016!</div>
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I just finished going through my blog history to see if I've done this before, and as it turns out, I haven't. So I'm changing that now. I don't usually come up with New Years Resolutions-especially the get fit/eat better one since it kinda bugs me-but I believe last year or the year before (probably the latter), I made just one: to write more. And I can't quite remember how that one turned out. But I think at least for a few weeks, I did write more.<br />
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For a while now, I've wanted to get to where I can write <em>something</em> every day. It's a hard one to start and keep up. I try to remind myself that it only takes 21 days to start a new habit. So that's what I'm shooting for first: 21 days, then the year. Although, I may actually need to take it a tad bit slower than that, I'm not really sure. Oh well, it'll be an adventure at least. In fact, I think this will be quite an interesting year...I've managed to think up quite a few more resolutions than I thought I would...</div>
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• I will write something every day. Even if it's just a sentence. Baby steps here...there will be difficult days.<br />
• I will get back to and keep up Blogging Fridays. More to the point, I'll make it more of a priority.</div>
• I will read more in the genres that I write in.<br />
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• I will make time to read period. The time will not present itself.<br />
• I will finish what I didn't read in 2015, and complete the 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge (already updated over there➡).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjK8d8ZhWa4kv3iS2AP0ogv4Jjjmvfqlk9m6IX3RxQ0xm_MXH1a0rCt64hQYNRbR-fA4bd7nUXCrNrsxpfcnwXahjl1RjF4evBqqSRAdWAl2U8k0dNWd48eC9T5eEfhA_hgz39YIRIZgM/s1600/Goodreads+Reading+Challenge+2015.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjK8d8ZhWa4kv3iS2AP0ogv4Jjjmvfqlk9m6IX3RxQ0xm_MXH1a0rCt64hQYNRbR-fA4bd7nUXCrNrsxpfcnwXahjl1RjF4evBqqSRAdWAl2U8k0dNWd48eC9T5eEfhA_hgz39YIRIZgM/s400/Goodreads+Reading+Challenge+2015.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well...so much for that...</td></tr>
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• The same goes for writing. This is my career, my work, and my business. It's high time I treated it as such. I will make time to write and figure out how to write even when I may not feel like it. I will use that as a tool for something creative.<br />
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So there you have it, my goals for 2016! Yes, mostly writing and reading related. I have quite a bit of work to do there. And I have my planner all ready to be filled up to help reign in the madness. Now to figure out how to use it as a blogging planner...<br />
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I may add some things to my list as the years goes on and I settle in. I will definitely be printing out this list and putting it up on my wall where I will see it. At any rate, I look forward to seeing what this year will bring and I'm excited to be back to blogging (oh, how I've missed this)!</div>
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Let's make 2016 spectacular...<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-45487511690431564922015-06-13T01:06:00.001-05:002015-06-13T01:06:09.360-05:00We've got to stop meeting like this...The last time I blogged was about mid-April, during Camp NaNoWriMo. I wish I could say that I finished out strong and completed my project. Unfortunately, I managed about 2k before I burned out. I plan on completing it some day though. It's a story that interests me as a writer and I can see things playing out very interestingly. It will probably be just a Wattpad novel, but still, it would be nice to have at least one (if not two or three) novels just for Wattpad.<br />
And it's a bit of old-ish news now, but several months ago, I was super excited to finally get my own domain set up with this blog. I had a draft saved and then distractions left and right delayed my posting it:<br />
<em>Squeeeeaaaal!!!! I am so excited to finally be able to see my website address redirect to lizanneglasgow.com! There are a lot more changes coming, so please bear with me on that. :) I'm hoping that very soon there will be some updates coming to the whole layout here.</em><br />
I'm in the process of checking to see what sort of themes I can find so I can have a more website looking...website. That is to say, I wish to have a more professional looking author website in preparation for when I do get that novel finished and published.<br />
Another thing that I failed to mention as part of the MIA-ness in February was my mom having an emergency appendectomy. Once the craziness of dinner theater was over, things seemed to settle down briefly. I was still staying at home during the day to help take care of my mom since she was sick. Then out of the blue we found out she had early stages of appendicitis. And after an emergency appendectomy, thankfully, she was ok. She bounced back surprisingly fast too; in the next two or three days she was walking around pretty well again. I still stayed with her for most of the next few weeks to make for certain that she was ok. Now she's doing very well and is back to her old self again, with the addition of a small garden just big enough for a few things she's been wanting to grow. I've even picked out some watermelon seeds in hopes of growing some...we'll see how well that goes, lol<br />
Since it's a couple of weeks away, I'm also planning on doing the next Camp NaNoWriMo. Maybe I can finally finish my novel. In fact, I check Twitter nearly every day. So if you're reading this, and you're on there, please...bug me a <strike>little</strike> lot. Seriously, check in with me, ask how I'm doing. In the past when someone asks how my writing is going during a NaNoWriMo month, it seems to help give me that push to keep going and remind me of why I'm doing this in the first place. I have stories that need to be told, otherwise they wouldn't be pestering me to be finished. Even simply going shopping, it seems like more and more I'll see something that reminds me or somehow inspires with one project or another that I have going.<br />
I think I've decided that this time, along with #CampNaNoWriMo, my personal hashtag for the month will be #FinishThatNovel because I've been working on it for long enough, and it's high time it gets done. It deserves to be done and to be told.<br />
So that's what been going on in my life...here's hoping I can keep up with Blogging Fridays now. I've missed blogging, and I have a lot of ideas for posts saved that I can work off of. And hopefully I can share a surprise soon. It's something I've been working on for a while, trying to get everything just so before I share it. :)<br />
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Gearing up for another crazy month of writing...<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-72390120190762353502015-04-15T19:19:00.001-05:002015-04-16T17:35:25.931-05:00April Camp NaNoWriMo 2015: Week One (And Two)Since I'm so far behind on blogging, and life refuses to slow down enough for me to catch my breath lately, I thought why not simply combine my weeks one and two posts this month?<br />
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So week one went fair; it definitely could have been better, but here are my stats so far.<br />
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My week one stats are as follows:<br />
Day One: 611 total word count<br />
Day Two: 105 total word count<br />
Day Three: 586 total word count<br />
Day Four: 389 total word count<br />
Day Five: 0 total word count<br />
Day Six: 0 total word count<br />
Day Seven: 72 total word count<br />
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Week One: 1,763 total word count<br />
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Well dearies, there you have it. One thing that I love about Camp NaNoWriMo is the flexibility in your goal. Instead of having to do 50k, no questions, you have the option of having your goal be as little as 10k. Since I decided to dive in head first into this plot with little other knowledge than the bare minimum, (including barely knowing my characters), and figuring that out along the way, I decided to half my normal goal and at least give myself a fighting chance with 25k. Thankfully, a 10k Writathon was hosted this past Saturday and another this coming Saturday by <a href="http://www.getwordiesnow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Get Wordies</a>. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate this time. But more on that a little later...<br />
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<br />
So week two went a little downhill; it definitely could have been better, but here are my stats so far.<br />
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My week two stats are as follows:<br />
Day Eight: 0 total word count<br />
Day Nine: 155 total word count<br />
Day Ten: 73 total word count<br />
Day Eleven: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twelve: 0 total word count<br />
Day Thirteen: 0 total word count<br />
Day Fourteen: 0 total word count<br />
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Week Two: 1,991 total word count<br />
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Wow...did you cringe as much as me reading those numbers? *le sigh* This week was unexpectedly crazy and stressful...and...crazy stressful. As well as crazy busy. If not outwardly busy, I seemed to always be mentally busy. Which is what it seems to be most of the time now. Over the past several weeks, my mind has be going 0 to 60 with everything I need to get done. And half of it is writing related. So even when I don't show as much proof that I am writing, rest assured I am always writing something in my mind, or at the very least doing some ground work for something.<br />
But hopefully this next week will be better and I can get caught up. By now I'm sort of counting on that second 10k Writathon to help me get caught up. I don't really have any excuses not to finish this time. 25k is a lot easier to manage in a hectic life than 50k.<br />
I did manage in this week to discover a life goal and dream of my main character that was cool. Right now I have no idea where in the story it will be revealed, since I'm pretty much writing all out of order. At this point, I still have no idea what my opening chapters will be, but hey, that's what editing is for. In any case, I look forward to uncovering more of my characters and figuring out what makes them tick. It should be interesting considering the polar opposites they are...<br />
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Having fun teasing this plot... ;)<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-30094874656150518712015-02-02T08:50:00.000-06:002015-02-02T08:50:11.065-06:00Busy busy beeSo finally, I have a moment to sit down and explain why I've been MIA the past few weeks...as the title indeed suggests, I have been <em>super</em> busy the past couple of weeks. Enough that I can barely hear myself think now and it's a wonder I'm managing to keep up with my own schedule. But hey, I'm finally getting some actual use out of my calendar (both the one in my room and the ones on my phone and tablet)...and the smaller one in my purse, but that's beside the point...anywho...<br />
I know I've mentioned it before a time or two about my college group's mission trip fundraiser which traditionally consists of taking various Broadway songs and performing them. My freshmen year we even had a Disney montage which took up the entire stage-including the baptistery! We started on one end with I See The Light from Tangled; people dressed in black came from the back of the sanctuary holding the various glowing "lanterns" and moved forward until they were surrounding our Rapunzel and Flynn. :) We also had Can You Feel The Love Tonight, from The Lion King. Then there was A Whole New World in the baptistery (complete with a platform "carpet" and looping night sky scenery on the projector). Briar Rose and Prince Phillip made an appearance as they sang Once Upon A Dream. And they had the ballroom dance scene from Beauty And The Beast while someone sang Tale As Old As Time. And finally, one of the girls sang Kiss The Girl to Prince Eric and Ariel (the girl playing Sebastian did so well, my mom thought she was lip-syncing).<br />
Obviously, I could go on and on about dinner theater. It's something that I've admired for a long time. At first, it was generally meant as like a date night getaway for the parents, but eventually, they let us kids come watch too and it became more like a family thing and anyone could come. I think I got to see the last two years when I was in high school and I remember my senior year being so excited because the next year I was going to be able to participate. And so my freshman year, our theme was Dance And Romance Through The Decades. The next year it was country themed, and so there was more sassy things and a swing dance that I was able to be in with one of my guy friends. The girls got to have fun with Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me. We had nerds and cheerleaders. You can probably guess which one I was (::hint:: proud nerd, lol). And now this year, we're doing a movie theme. I'm excited to see what it all looks like when it comes together for dress rehearsal. :)<br />
So I've been super busy with constant rehearsals going on, not to mention everything else going on right now. And with all of the rehearsing, I was told to ice my knees afterward to help with the pain from an old injury-which is what I'm currently doing as I write this. It seems to be working, so that's good.<br />
I know the last thing I said on Twitter a few weeks ago was that it had been an emotional, tiring, and busy week. A lot of it had to do with the craziness of dinner theater rehearsals. What was left over had more to do with my Granny passing away...it still doesn't seem real. And it's all new to me because this is the first time I've ever lost anyone close to me. I know it will be a long process to deal with, but thankfully I have some pretty amazing friends around me right now that even though they don't say anything about it, they still let me know in their own way that they care about what I'm going through. That alone helps more than they will ever know. Plus, I know that she's no longer in pain and she's happy and healthy again. :)<br />I don't really want to dwell on the sadness a lot, or make this post more about that. But this is what the past few weeks have been like. Mostly the reason for my sudden disappearance has been because of super busy rehearsal schedules and not being able to think straight from that, along with a million and one other things on my mind. Hopefully I can find the time to continue Blogging Fridays this week, but we'll see. Almost two more weeks til showtime (ahh!). I know after all of this is done, I'll be free up again to continue Blogging Fridays, but in the meantime, it's just hard to carve out enough time to focus on blogging. Rest assured though, I haven't forgotten about it. And I do get sad when I miss even one week. I had hoped to start fresh this year and not miss a Friday. But I still have plenty of time left to make that a habit.<br />
Anywho, so that's my life for the time being...looking forward to showtime and having my schedule not be quite so chaotic anymore.<br />
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Thinking in circles...<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-60836204759878238302015-01-03T00:24:00.000-06:002015-01-03T00:24:05.681-06:00Looking for something to read?So it's officially 2015, and maybe you want to start off the new year by reading something. Well I think maybe I can help with that a little... ;)<br />
First, I would like to apologize for only now thinking of this, but hey, better late than never. I realize that I haven't ever posted anything else on here about the shorts I post on Wattpad...not anything really detailed anyway. So, I thought why not do that now? Granted, there's only a few stories posted now, but I plan on adding to the small collection very soon. A couple of them have gotten their own spotlight post before. But it's been a while since then too.<br />
So without further adu, a little something from each story currently up on Wattpad, along with links! Enjoy! :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2146829-the-little-mermaid-modernized" target="_blank">The Little Mermaid: Modernized</a><br />
This particular short was originally written for a contest over on Booksie. The idea was to take a familiar fairy tale and then re-write it with a more modern spin on it.<br />
<em>
Errik knows it's forbidden to love a human. They're dangerous, and unpredictable. Yet, he still goes up to the surface every year-once a year-to watch her. The human girl he's been watching since he was 15. He knew to wait. It wasn't time yet. But now it was. She finally reached the age of 18, and he could approach her...maybe. If he could ever get up the courage. But what would happen when he finally decided to speak to her. Would she accept him as he was? Or run away screaming, leaving him heartbroken?
Only one way to find out...</em><br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2146829-the-little-mermaid-modernized" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2146829-the-little-mermaid-modernized" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjgPcblaE12qNiyJMRzdP48JTT9czYE-aORy5fyiWAfB250NVXkaCSBZATTai8bZOXI5Qm5vt2ijxif0MGWohqyV1mYGXRS4Z_yMtEzbyR_MGxP8QBZAMHDepRE41QSWz_evwvbxJKHE/s1600/Picture.jpeg" height="320" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2352552-clue-a-modern-tale-on-hold" target="_blank">Clue</a><br />
This is a novel-in-progress that has been on hold for far too long. But I'm hoping to be able to really get it moving again soon. I'm actually a little sad-ok, so a lot sad-that it's taken the back burner for so long.<br />
<em>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.</em><br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2352552-clue-a-modern-tale-on-hold" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.wattpad.com/story/2352552-clue-a-modern-tale-on-hold" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZj4JrP52yj_su4cnVqiGhIP6zuDF0-iC995H9pXaCw94BrgVhAlnmgB3R-bP29HmXmGjPXoS_FDlnD_MajZSJ447rsQ9ly26SpQn-bnLIZrvbnG0RIz394k2Rs20-P3pZGd8et7KB-Fg/s1600/Picture+(2).jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/3262510-i-just-want-to-see-my-baby" target="_blank">I Just Want To See My Baby (Christmas Short Story)</a><br />
Is it really ever not the time for a good Christmas love story?<br />
<em>Growing up, Lindsey and Ben were inseparable. Best friends since before they could walk, they did everything together. When both were told the other had cooties, neither ran away. They stuck together through thick and thin. And eventually, Lindsey developed a crush on Ben. Right before graduation and Ben moving off to another college. Now, a year later-and still as head over heels for Ben as ever-Lindsey can’t help but wish to see him for Christmas. The only question now is, will Lindsey get her Christmas wish come true?</em><br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/3262510-i-just-want-to-see-my-baby" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.wattpad.com/story/3262510-i-just-want-to-see-my-baby" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSYY8w8W0sq-IPY6xSnKbLWGlGh6xtPPI8OY4ZATgI5iV7LRX1z1_6B2Puy4PTRXjd_F4WL_RUVcVsiVi8C0XT5SOpbQHzNn0fnI2q7IwS3B28Q9oIcVVQSFpQ10QzL1JnNBaRNWaSrM/s1600/Picture+(4).jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/3701028-oh-so-close" target="_blank">NKB Short</a><br />
This is my scene for the 4th annual No Kiss Blogfest, hosted by Frankie Diane Mallis. It's a blogfest focused on the tension of wanting a kiss so badly, and then something preventing it from happening at the last possible second.<br />
<em>Riley and Jordan are more than mere friends, they're practically family. To say that they were best friends and nothing more would be like an insult to them. They knew they were more like brother and sister and always had been. So what happens when the unthinkable happens and suddenly they don't know what they are to each other anymore?</em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CafFQfadtx2VbYCSAuxStiiPNCwGENhTmzmLkOiZ2rdTl94BwUtT_N-Cps0wmXveiFz4xytleZ2wPJEVvnQK120qS8OauIleiL_Mlfj7T0iP5l-PrO2enLqWdFG9ZsAIwh0RFLwUzVU/s1600/Picture+(5).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CafFQfadtx2VbYCSAuxStiiPNCwGENhTmzmLkOiZ2rdTl94BwUtT_N-Cps0wmXveiFz4xytleZ2wPJEVvnQK120qS8OauIleiL_Mlfj7T0iP5l-PrO2enLqWdFG9ZsAIwh0RFLwUzVU/s1600/Picture+(5).jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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So yes, this was a shameless self promotion. ;) I have plenty more in the works (more on that later), unfortunately life has been super busy and just crazy in general. But I think I'm going to stick with my New Years Resolution that I had last year and resolve to write more-and to blog more. And since I plan on keeping the Blogging Friday posts, that should definitely help. And I'm already writing a little every day with the Year of Writing thing I have going. I'm excited to see how that turns out.<br />
Be sure to keep a look out for future releases on Wattpad, as well as the continued story of Clue. :)<br />
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Happy reading...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-81283456630976384912014-12-31T05:18:00.001-06:002014-12-31T05:18:37.129-06:00A Year Of WritingFirst off, happy New Years Eve to everyone and I hope you have a fabulous year!<br />
I was on Pinterest one day, looking through a ton of different writing related things, mostly writing prompts. I've been trying to keep those creative wheels greased in post NaNoWriMo. And there are a LOT of writing prompts on Pinterest. I highly recommend you go there for creative inspiration.<br />
One of them I found was a very simple one and I think I've decided to use that one over the next year to see what comes from it. I won't put any sort of limit on myself, just let what happens happen. If it's only one sentence that gets done, well hey, that's one more sentence than I had done before. And those words add up. I'm adding these prompts to my calendar so that I'll see it every day and know which one I'm supposed to do. I'm still trying to think how I'm going to share each day's usage (which I think I've worked out now), but I would like to have a way to share my progress and such.<br />
I have started up a group on Google+ for this very thing. I'm not sure that the link works directly, but just search <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/106764747861844313722" target="_blank">A Year of Writing</a> on Google + or just go to my profile and it should be there. There are boards on there for introducing yourself and for each day's prompt to be shared. You don't have to share how you've used the prompt of the day, but I plan on doing this as a way of keeping my own self accountable so maybe I'll actually write every day. But I would love it if you wanted to join in as well, there's still plenty of time. I'm planning on starting this January first (so...tomorrow...ahh!). :)<br />
The link to the prompts list is here: <a href="http://lindajm.hubpages.com/hub/writing-prompts-for-creative-writing-inspiration" target="_blank">365 Writing Prompts for Creative Writing</a> Since some of them repeat, I'll probably be substituting some of those from my own sources. That way it will always be something fresh to inspire everyone.<br />
Have I mentioned how excited I am for this? I really do hope more writers will join me and the others already in the group. The thought sort of hit me somewhere around the middle-end of NaNoWriMo and the beginning of December. I toyed with it for a little bit and finally decided, hey...what the heck and decided to just dive in head first. Besides all that, I simply love writing communities. I've been blessed enough to be a part of several through my own close knit group of writing friends in my personal life, and then constantly meeting new writers through NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo, not to mention Twitter/Facebook also. And if any of you should be reading this, know that I love you all. :) I think really, it's that mutual love of the written word and brainstorming about the impossible worlds we can create with just a few simple words, just hearing the kind of passion one has for writing always gets me excited about writing. Which is great because it always seems to come at the right time. So please, come join in on this adventure. The more, the merrier!<br />
<br />
Feeling inspired...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-9528390942386186432014-11-22T16:56:00.000-06:002014-11-22T16:56:10.444-06:00NaNoWriMo 2014: Week Two(Yes, you're reading that correctly, I'm sorry this is a week late...it's been a crazy week. Please keep in mind as you read that this is all from the perspective of the end of week two.)<br />
I suppose you could say this week was sort of up and down-ish. But mostly up, I’m glad to say. Heh, so much for the two week slump. Although, as far as what to say, yes, there was a bit of a slump. But word count, well…read on for yourself…Here are my stats so far.<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">My week two stats are as follows:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Eight: 0 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Nine: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1,546</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Ten: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">338</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Eleven: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">0</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Twelve: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">935</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Thirteen: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1,025</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Fourteen: 0</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> total word count</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Week Two: 4,604 total word count</span><br />
<br />
<br />
So yeah…after the first day of week two, I had a better week, at least when compared to week one. It's been a little rough as far as trying to get out of the slump of the beginning of the story. I think I finally decided to just skip ahead a bit and try to gauge when I would get to the main part of the story. But since I'm Pantsing this year, that's a little bit difficult to do.<br />
I did find out two very exciting things about my potential that I never knew before. I'm still psyched about it too! Within the last 15-20 minutes before midnight on day 12, I wrote 639 words in a rush to up my count a little bit before the clock struck midnight and my novel turned into a pumpkin...wait...<br />
Anyway, I had known before then that I could write 500 words in 30 minutes, but I didn't realize the potential hidden inside me. I didn't know that until I went searching for it. And you know what? It's a fantastic feeling and is still doing wonders for my confidence knowing what I'm capable of. But just wait, I'm not done yet...keep reading...<br />
I further found out my potential that I never knew about in all my years of writing. <a href="https://twitter.com/NaNoWordSprints" target="_blank">@NaNoWordSprints</a> on Twitter has been having #1k30min sprints throughout the month, meaning they were challenging WriMo's to write a thousand words in 30 minutes. Having found out that I could write almost that much in less than 20 minutes, I wanted to stretch myself further than I ever had before and just see if I could do it. Any boy did I. My fingers were flying across the keyboard like they never have before. And I. Made. It!! I wasn't sure if I could in the last few minutes, but I was close. But by the time the clock hit zero, I managed to crank out 1,025 words!<br />
I think I've about decided to make December my month to focus on all the short stories I've been wanting to post on <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/LizanneGlasgow" target="_blank">Wattpad</a>/<a href="http://www.booksie.com/LizanneGlasgow" target="_blank">Booksie</a>. I want to try to finish or edit them in hopes of beginning posting them either late December, or in January. I feel like that would be a pretty great way to start off the new year though, to do what I promised so long ago and post all of the shorts I've been working on. I wish I could've gotten around to it a long time ago, but every time I think about it again and realize all over again how much time has gone by since the last time I said "soon", I'm usually in the middle of some crazy day/week/month...etc. But I think I'm going to just make a stand against myself now and just decide to set aside some time just for those stories that have been so neglected. I feel like they've waited long enough to be read.<br />
I've made quite a few new WriMo friends in the NaNoWriMo chat rooms this year too. I've actually kind of searched out a few rooms to see who all else was awake-at 3 or 4am. I'm glad I did too, there's some pretty cool WriMos out there. A couple of them are awesome enough to make a slight error in type just plain epic! For those who aren't as familiar with NaNoWriMo and it's inner workings, there are these chat rooms where we can interact with each other and share in the madness that is our chosen hobby/profession/whatever you may call it. In these chat rooms, we can arrange little word wars where we sort of compete against each other to see who can write the most words in a given amount of time-15 minutes is usually the most popular. Whether or not any of us consider it a true competition, it's still a great way to get more words written and get that much closer to that goal of 50,000 words by the time the clock hits midnight on the last day of November. Another type of war that can be held is a chain war, where a selected number of word wars are held back to back with a short break in between, as opposed to one war with however long of a break you wish.<br />
Whew...now then, how, you may ask, did a couple of girls make this thing called a chain war into something epic? Remember the typo? I'm not sure what the original number was supposed to be, but it ended up being 300 10 minute wars back to back. One of them figured it out and it was going to be three days straight of the same war. All thanks to a typo. And now, since that one ended, there's one set up to continue til the end of the month. Pretty convenient when the chat rooms are quiet, or there's no one in the chat rooms, but you still want to war. It can be pretty motivating to war with yourself too. Try to beat your previous best enough, and who knows? You might just up your writing speed. Or discover a hidden potential you never knew existed. :)<br />
To make things even more epic, there's now talk of creating a chain war at the start of next year's NaNoWriMo and have it run the <i>entire month</i>. Yeah, that's right, you read correctly. It's going to be so awesomely epic and I can't wait! If any other WriMos are interested, I'll share a little more detail on it the closer it gets...just don't let me forget, lol.<br />
<br />
Too much excitement to contain...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-34573123295657415132014-11-09T03:42:00.003-06:002014-11-09T03:42:27.746-06:00NaNoWriMo 2014: Week OneWeek one has been full of stress, interruptions or distractions and feeling discouraged from low counts. Also major computer complications. Brace yourself, my total count so far is pretty rough, and low. Here are my stats so far.<br />
<br />
My week one stats are as follows:<br />
Day One: 49 total word count<br />
Day Two: 648 total word count<br />
Day Three: 0 total word count<br />
Day Four: 63 total word count<br />
Day Five: 0 total word count<br />
Day Six: 0 total word count<br />
Day Seven: 0 total word count<br />
<br />
Week One: 760 total word count<br />
<br />
Needless to say, my NaNo this year has been really rough. All of those things mentioned at the top of the post have really taxing on me. Several days I didn't get any writing only because I was having major computer issues. I'm still sorting that out, it comes and goes.<br />
Anyway though, I really wish I could say I had a much higher word count at the end of week one than I do, but it's just been a long, tiring week full of distractions or interruptions. If there wasn't some distraction around and I was actually able to get a moment to begin writing with some kind of focus, here came an interruption. Quite annoying when you're as far behind as I am. But I think I've decided to have two or three days (probably three by now) writathons with 5k goals. That should get me caught up...if I can sit and write with focus for long enough.<br />
But that's another thing I've learned this year-well two things. I've always been a Planner through all NaNo experiences, and it's worked for me. I like having my plot planned out, having a guide from chapter to chapter. But this year, I decided to just try throwing the rule book out the window and being a Pantser just once, to see if I could do it (plus I just really want to get a first draft done already). What I learned: It does not work for me. At all. This year has been the most difficult to write even when I do get time to write because I only have a rough plan like the one I've had since I started this novel years ago. The plot hasn't changed much, but the beginning is feeling a lot harder because I'm trying to just make it to the main part of the plot without boring anyone-myself included. I'm glad this is only a draft and I can do a lot of editing to the beginning once I get it done. I know it could be so much better.<br />
The second thing is how much it helps to learn how to turn off the inner editor. Granted, I'm still learning, but I have a start on it anyway. A lot of what's helping is using the website <a href="http://ilys.com/">ilys.com</a>. Once you set a word count goal, it forces you to write until you get to your goal and you <i>cannot</i> edit until you meet that goal. A little frustrating depending on how many typos you make. Oh, and you can only see one letter while you're typing. There is a preview button so you can see everything you've written-if you can handle not being able to edit your mistakes, that is. I know what you're thinking, "that's maddening, and you're crazy." <strike>And maybe I am</strike>. Wait, yes. I most definitely am. Hey, I'm a writer, it comes with the territory. But trust me on this, it takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it could really help if you're behind (like I am) on word counts because it forces you to not edit. And if you're like me and write using that during a sprint or a word war, then copy and paste it over to Word (or whatever program you're using) and only tweak the writing so it makes sense, you'd be amazed at what a difference it makes in your total word counts per day. I found out this summer when I was introduced to the program that I apparently have the potential to write 500 words in 30 minutes. I never knew that before. I'm still working on my WPM speed to get it up so I can type faster, but I'm happy with my current speed too. :)<br />
Hopefully next week I can report higher word counts and say that I'm caught up. A friend of mine told me just a couple of days ago that you share your talent with <i>others.</i> You can use it to entertain others, and make it about them and their enjoyment. Thinking about my writing in that way, I hope it will help my word count go up. I tend to think more about all the little details that goes into my writing-which is good, up to a point. But allowing the writing to take control in a bad way and quite possibly hinder the actual writing is something I'm realizing and need to learn how to kind of block that out. Whenever I get to the point of the novel where it takes over and begins to write itself (as I've heard so many others experience), I feel like it will be both thrilling because I'll feel more like a real writer, and the tiniest bit terrifying, but only a little bit. I'll just be so excited whenever I can finally say I have a finished draft. So here's hoping that will still be able to happen this month.<br />
<br />
Desperately wanting to catch up...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-82730133742293003232014-10-17T22:58:00.001-05:002014-10-17T22:58:43.824-05:00Writing PromptsWith NaNoWriMo fast approaching, and me not exactly having the clearest idea of what I want to write yet, I've started looking up basically all the writing prompts I can find to get the wheels greased and going. I've already found one list of Sci-Fi prompts that do well in getting me to think outside the box. Or perhaps it's inside...it is bigger on the inside...(you're welcome fellow Whovians). I think I would rather have my "writing box" to be more like a TARDIS for that very reason, come to think of it.<br />
One of these days, I'll eventually make it through my ever growing list of writing prompts. One day. But while I was searching, I came across this picture that said to describe it without using any of the obvious things in it (beach, people, sand, etc). Basically, the same concept for Taboo. Making that connection, it got me thinking, "Of course! Why haven't I thought of that before?" One good writing exercise is just that-to describe something and forcing oneself to not use any of the obvious words. Use the senses other than sight perhaps, how a place smells, how it makes you feel. I'll go on ahead and say it right now, that would be a fantastic exercise for me to do. I need more practice doing that.<br />
And then I remembered this long (I'm talking 6 months here) writing exercise I've had since last year. I kept telling myself last fall that I would set aside the months starting from the summer, and go until the end of the year and I would complete the exercise. And according to what it says, "be a better writer". I remember it saying that you (the writer) would hate him for challenging you to do this, but in the end, you would be a better writer. I'm not really sure what or when it happened, but I've noticed lately that I am again going through another time in my life when I want to truly be a better writer. One worthy of having my stuff read. I want to be happy with what I write and be perfectly ok-content even-with the idea (and hopefully it would actually happen) of people reading what I write.<br />
Anyway, I think perhaps next week I'll do my blog post on the six month writing exercise. For now though, I still can't make up my mind on what I want to do for NaNoWriMo. So from now until the end of this month, if you want to help me decide, I'm including a poll with the three options I keep bouncing between. The first is to do the third re-write of my first novel I started. I am determined to finish it one day and hopefully publish it. I love the story, but it needs serious updating. I shudder when I remember the things 15-yr-old me wrote way back when. But it is the story that made me really want to be a writer for the first time, so it's special to me. :)<br />
The second is to start from scratch on a new story idea that I got in the past couple of months. It's not very well fleshed out at all, so I would probably end up pantsing through NaNoWriMo. A concept I'm still trying to get used to sometimes.<br />
And the final one is to just work on a bunch of short stories I've had promised to post for a long time. If I concentrated on my list of short stories, I think I could potentially get up to ten (length of each one varying) stories done and posted on my <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/LizanneGlasgow" target="_blank">Wattpad</a>. Part of me really wants to do this because I feel like I've been neglecting y'all by keeping on promising I would post a new story or chapter, and it hasn't happened yet. And I feel like I would have a sense of accomplishment seeing more short stories ready and waiting to be read.<br />
So. If you want to help me decide what I should do for NaNoWriMo, then let me know! :)<br />
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<form action="http://poll.pollcode.com/24989854" method="post">
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<b>What should I work on for NaNoWriMo?</b></div>
<input id="answer249898541" name="answer" style="float: left;" type="radio" value="1" /><label for="answer249898541" style="float: left; width: 150px;">3rd Re-write of Old Novel</label><br />
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<input id="answer249898542" name="answer" style="float: left;" type="radio" value="2" /><label for="answer249898542" style="float: left; width: 150px;">Something New</label><br />
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<input id="answer249898543" name="answer" style="float: left;" type="radio" value="3" /><label for="answer249898543" style="float: left; width: 150px;">Short Stories</label><br />
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<input id="answer249898544" name="answer" style="float: left;" type="radio" value="4" /><label for="answer249898544" style="float: left; width: 150px;">Other (Leave a Comment)</label><br />
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pollcode.com <a href="http://pollcode.com/">free polls</a> </div>
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Well, I think that's about it for this week. I'm sorry today's post is so late in the day, today's been an off day. But the important thing is the post is up now for the second Blogging Friday. Here's hoping I can manage to keep this consistant with how crazy life is, lol.<br />
<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-2019549985746580952014-10-10T13:09:00.000-05:002014-10-10T13:09:31.559-05:00The Blog LifeSo I recently went back to look over my blog history for how often I've blogged since I first started a few years ago. I know it's been extremely sporadic the past year or so, to say the least. And I want to do better about that. But life's been crazy with everything going on in the family, so it's hard to balance everything <em>and</em> keep writing, let alone blogging. Of course, I will be trying to focus on writing a lot more for NaNoWriMo. I mean, in my mind, that's my writing month. It might as well be called Writember instead of November, lol.<br />
But anyway, I realized that the first couple of weeks of this blog was pretty much just non-stop blogging. I would blog once, even twice a day for a week straight. That's definitely a lot more than I've been doing since. So I've been thinking it over, and I think I'm going to try to designate a blogging day. One day a week, I will set aside some time to update a new blog post. Hopefully over some time, this will become a habit I don't even need to think about. I would like to have maybe two a week eventually, but we'll see how this goes. I have to get one habit started first. While I'm at it, I'll probably just have a day set aside for writing as well, that way I'm more guaranteed to have at least one day out of the week to write. Right now, with things as they are, I'm getting less than that done. Maybe it's just NaNo Prep, but I've had that writing stirring inside me and on the brain a lot more than it has been. I still don't know exactly what I'll be working on come NaNoWriMo, I may very well end up trying to multi-task as I tried doing in July Camp NaNo. There's so many ideas stirring around, and I've discovered in the past year or two that if I let that energy build up, then I'll have more excitement and drive when I actually get to writing. If I jump on whatever pops in my head, then my energy and ideas run out fast. Perk of waiting: most of the ideas I have are one little piece and tend to be a bit on the obscure side, so in waiting for my idea tank to fill up, the words generally pour out more at a time. And it's better that way. I can flesh it out a little better having thought it out a little more.<br />
Chances are, once I decide on a writing day, you'll probably see posts about no interruption days or #WritingWednesday...something like that. I rather like Writing Wednesday, now that I think about it. Anyway, whenever I decide on a set day, there will more than likely be posts popping up here and there about it. Heck, I may even have a daily total at the end of Writing Wednesday (or whatever day I pick). That is...if my total word count isn't embarrassingly low, lol. Then again, anything is a step in the right direction. And it would be more than I'd have gotten done the day before. I think while I'm at it, I'll go on ahead and say I'll start today with Blogging Fridays. I'll start trying to get a new blog post out each Friday. The November posts will be the same as usual-stats at the end of each week, then it'll go back to normal posts. I rather like this designating a day thing. I'm thinking maybe I should've started that from the beginning, but back then I was blogging all the time. It'll be nice to get back to blogging more often again. Who knows? Maybe I'll even break my previous record for posts in a year (grand total of 20).<br />
So here we go, first Blogging Friday in what will hopefully be a long line of Blogging Fridays. I'll say it now, if I don't make it one week, I probably have a very good reason. And I'll announce when I finally settle on a writing day as well.<br />
One last thing...I just want to take a minute to thank anyone who's read anything of mine-whether you're a first time, or returning reader of this blog. Or maybe you're a reader on Wattpad/Booksie. Or a follower on Facebook/Twitter. Whatever it may be, I thank you, and I am flattered that anyone would take time out to read whatever it is. Lately there's been a peak in Twitter followers, and I just want to say thank you everyone! I've watched that number slowly climb since I started on Twitter, and seeing it climb higher since this summer just reminds me that my dream of writing is happening. Slowly, but surely, one day I will hold in my hands the proof copy of my debut novel. And a lot of the reason why will be because of you, dear readers. Because your support and encouragement-whether voiced or not-will be a big thing that pushes me to really go after writing. I'm getting there more each day. So thank you, everyone, <em>anyone</em> who has been there through all of this so far, and whatever may come. You mean more than you could know. :)<br />
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Love always,<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-23640688863337832342014-10-01T20:07:00.001-05:002014-10-01T20:07:51.176-05:00Gone running with the Doctor. Be back soon.Borrowed for a few adventures.<br />
<br />
The Doctor<br />
<br />
<br />
I seem to be doing a lot of apologizing for hiatus' in blogging, don't I? I had meant to keep up with blogging, even had a growing list of blog ideas to keep me going. But then I met the Doctor. That is to say, I finally got around to sitting myself down and watching this show I kept hearing so much about. I'd watched the first reboot episode a long time ago, but had yet to watch anymore up until roughly a month ago. Almost five seasons in, I am definitely a hooked Whovian now. Heck, I was a hooked Whovian before the first season was over. I think it's safe to say that until I get caught up (which should be soon-only three more seasons to go), my writing and blogging will probably suffer a little. My goal is to get caught up in plenty enough time to participate in NaNoWriMo as usual. I have two ideas I'm going back and forth between.<br />
I know I promised a summary of how the Camp NaNoWriMo session back in July went, but there isn't much to tell. Still, I'll get on that and post how it went soon. Somewhere in between all the running with the Doctor.<br />
Other than my newfound Whovian-ism, life has been a bit crazy. My mind is spinning with everything I have going on, or the things I need to get done. Plus some things going on with my grandparents for the past few months. I'm trying to get a handle on things, but it's just a lot. Please bear with me. I'm trying to get back to writing and blogging, but there's so much else lately that's grabbing my attention. Once I manage to make a decent dent in my to-do list, hopefully I'll be able to really get back to writing. But sadly, for right now, writing takes a break while I work on other things in life. But come November, rest assured one way or another, I'll be back to writing. One thing I can say about July NaNo is it gave me newfound confidence in knowing that I can hit 500 words in 30 minutes-something I never knew about myself before. Knowing even a portion of my potential does wonders for confidence for my writing in general, but more specifically in NaNoWriMo. Sadly, I have a standing record of not hitting that 50k goal all of the years I've participated. Only one year have I gotten even close. I doubt this year I'll hit it, but then you never know. One year though, I will hit that goal. And one year, I <em>will</em> be attending The Night of Writing Dangerously. Knowing me, I'll probably talk and socialize all night instead of writing like I'm supposed to, but I have no idea if I'll even get to go more than once. Although, it would be really cool to hit that 50k goal that night. I think they take your picture or give you a crown or something like that. It's been so long since I really looked at The Night of Writing Dangerously.<br />
Anyway though, just thought I'd drop a quick note saying that I'll be running with the Doctor for a little bit longer. But come November, I'll have writing on the brain again. I have actually been thinking more of writing lately, but there's just too much else going on for me to have the time right now. Once I get some of that checked off my list and off my mind, I'll be more free up to focus on writing for NaNo. :)<br />
<br />
Always running...<br />
LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-75163518292044195982014-07-16T21:50:00.000-05:002014-07-16T21:51:35.207-05:00I'm baaaack (again)Wow, so it's been a <i>long</i> time since I last blogged. I've missed this, but quite honestly, I've had an extremely rough year as far as my writing goes. No matter how badly I wanted to write <i>something</i>, it seemed that every time I sat down at my laptop, I would end up just staring at the blank screen. And that annoying blinking cursor. I'd be lucky if I got a paragraph down. But it happens. I find it hard to believe that there is a writer out there who doesn't struggle with the occasional dry spell. Or as one of my best friends calls it, writer's frustration.<br />
The years since I've started writing and working toward that lovely goal of being a published author have been very up and down as far as total word count. Sadly, with most of the years being a very low word count. But I was-and still am-always, <i>always</i> writing a story in my head. I'm always brainstorming on an element I'm trying to expand, whether it be a character's back story, or trying to figure out how they would respond to any given situation. Or even trying to plan out how my fantasy world looks for my future dragon books. That one will take several more years, probably.<br />
Anyway, my point is, even though I've had even lower world count than my usual low word count, I've been brainstorming a lot on my different projects. And I actually have several newer projects I'm working on now.<br />
Which brings me to this month: the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm using this month to try to give myself that kick in the pants I need to get a few projects done. Several short stories, and a couple of novels I'm trying to get started. You can find them on <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/LizanneGlasgow" target="_blank">Wattpad</a> once they're done. And yes, I will be posting on here to give a heads up that they're there.<br />
I'm going to try to do a weekly update as the month goes by (edit: whoops...ok, maybe an end of the month update on how the Camp session went), and I have a few other blog posts in the works too. Here's a preview of what's to come (in no particular order):<br />
<ul>
<li>How seven words can make a difference</li>
<li>A few book reviews (I haven't forgotten about those....I just need to finish the books first...)</li>
<li>A little more detail on a few of my current projects</li>
<li>A different kind of blog hop</li>
<li>A letter from me to you</li>
</ul>
<div>
So I'm just easing myself back into the writing world. I always forget how much I love to write. But when I do begin writing again, it's like a familiar feeling very much like seeing an old friend you've known your whole life, but don't get to see very often. It's that thrill and excitement of getting to see them again, and you're just giddy for a while. It sinks in, and you begin to realize just how much you've missed them.</div>
<div>
I'm not making any plans for sitting down and finishing a novel. If it comes, it comes. I'm just playing everything out by ear right now. I'm trying to finish a few short stories and getting a good start on a couple of side project novels. I'm not making any plans on if I'll try NaNoWriMo in November yet. I'll make my mind up once the month gets closer. Although, I will say that this month has really gone very differently-in a positive way-than I would have thought. It's really given me quite the boost in my will and enjoyment to write than I've felt in a long time. And truth be told, it feels really good. I'm feeling more of a sense of accomplishment than I have since I don't know when. I don't know when that first great (I hope) novel will be finished and out there. For now, I'm just enjoying working on the things I am at my own pace, steadily getting them closer to being finished. Once I get these projects done, there will be a bit of a blow up on my Wattpad page, lol.<br />
Oh yeah, and since the post previous to this one was about my dragon short...I am still working on that one. I know what I want to do with it, but my mind's been everywhere and back again for a while. Rest assured, soon enough, it will be up on my Wattpad page, and possibly on here. For now, I'm focusing on a few of my other projects and I'm making some nice progress so far. Here's hoping it continues to go that way. :)<br />
<br />
Always writing (even if in my head)...<br />
-Liz</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-43318551008724075332013-09-14T00:25:00.000-05:002013-09-14T01:53:24.477-05:00Dragonfest is coming!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdOKBaCB7LNO6dVyyr0i1ow3GXO2wOQAPJ4vmo4avaeauWmw7bSZup2hTGuylSD_UdL0w6dTSQL8r1TR4kunm_FCvrgDSdP7bnlN3n7K14pRS3BtD-SLaae2e3T1V2g7BvfkaqXv_e0g/s1600/Dragonfest+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdOKBaCB7LNO6dVyyr0i1ow3GXO2wOQAPJ4vmo4avaeauWmw7bSZup2hTGuylSD_UdL0w6dTSQL8r1TR4kunm_FCvrgDSdP7bnlN3n7K14pRS3BtD-SLaae2e3T1V2g7BvfkaqXv_e0g/s320/Dragonfest+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I am excited to help announce that after months of planning, the first ever <a href="http://agaeta.com/2013/08/28/dragonfest-2013/" target="_blank">Dragonfest</a> 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.<br />
Anywho, my Dragonfest short will be posted here as soon as the festivities are underway, which will be <u><span style="color: #990000;">September 27th, and 28th</span></u>. If you'd like to join in, or read all of the entries, you can find it <a href="http://agaeta.com/2013/08/28/dragonfest-2013/" target="_blank">here</a>. 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.<br />
<br />
Just another dragon nerd here...<br />
-Liz<br />
<br />
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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-7767190842683846672013-08-01T22:52:00.000-05:002014-07-19T07:55:34.262-05:00July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: SummarySo 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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Trying to de-scramble my thought train...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-3520106535200891952013-07-14T18:33:00.000-05:002014-07-19T07:55:16.363-05:00July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week OneSo 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.<br />
Here are my week stats so far.<br />
<br />
My week one stats are as follows:<br />
Day One: 0 total word count<br />
Day Two: 0 total word count<br />
Day Three: 29 total word count<br />
Day Four: 301 total word count<br />
Day Five: 0 total word count<br />
Day Six: 0 total word count<br />
Say Seven: 0 total word count<br />
<br />
Week One: 12,374 total word count (left over from April Camp NaNo)<br />
<br />
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.<br />
Day one could have gone better in terms of actual <i>novel</i> 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 <i>may</i> 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.<br />
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 <a href="http://agaeta.com/2013/07/03/lizanne-glasgow/" target="_blank">check it out</a>, please do! There's also a hashtag going around as #askglasgow if you have any questions on either Twitter or Facebook. :)<br />
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. :)<br />
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.<br />
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. :)<br />
<br />
Excited to see everything coming together!<br />
-Liz<br />
<br />
PS: I'm so sorry this is so delayed. But hey...at least it isn't a month late. :PAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-43054216083853158872013-06-27T23:55:00.001-05:002013-06-28T00:01:52.578-05:00Prepping for JulySo 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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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. :)<br />
<br />
Prepping for the madness...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-34692758485378944012013-06-24T00:28:00.001-05:002013-06-25T01:45:31.375-05:00Coming Soon: Book ReviewsSo 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!<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You</i> by Ally Carter<br />
<br />
<i>Seizing Darkness </i>(coming August 2013) by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarianaGThorn" target="_blank">Mariana Thorn</a><br />
<br />
<i>pRevealing Hamilton</i> by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahJCarr" target="_blank">Sarah Jayne Carr</a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Eighth Empire </i>(coming December 2013) by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dwgaeta" target="_blank">Andrew Gaeta</a><br />
<br />
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 <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> 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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
<br />
"So many books, so little time." -Frank Zappa<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-3207308862246608382013-06-06T02:43:00.000-05:002014-07-19T07:54:48.941-05:00April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week FourOk, so week four could <i>definitely</i> 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...<br />
Here are my stats from week four.<br />
<br />
My week four stats are as follows:<br />
Day Twenty-Two: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Three: 214 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Four: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Five: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Six: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Seven: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Eight: 0 total word count<br />
Day Twenty-Nine: 0 total word count<br />
Day Thirty: 0 total word count<br />
<br />
Week Four (and total for the month): 10,006 total word count<br />
<br />
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? ;)<br />
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.<br />
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".<br />
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.<br />
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. :)<br />
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..<strike>great</strike>. 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.<br />
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 <i>The Princess Bride</i>, 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 <i>Back to The Future</i>, although it was getting late and we weren't able to stay and watch.<br />
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.<br />
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 <i>and</i> noveling pace. :)<br />
<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-78329513622170207432013-05-31T02:20:00.000-05:002013-05-31T02:20:27.778-05:00Re-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.<br />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.<br />
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.<br />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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
That, along with picking a new image for my <a href="http://lizanneglasgow.blogspot.com/2013/01/ohso-close.html" target="_blank">NKB</a> 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. :)<br />
<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-5309765633560383052013-05-30T00:47:00.000-05:002013-05-30T02:31:09.638-05:00Apologies<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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. :)<br />
<br />
“In tru
nose…out tru mouth…”<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-82525678018956795912013-05-07T01:36:00.002-05:002014-07-19T07:54:18.673-05:00April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Three<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">*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...<br /><br />Alright, so week three could definitely have been better, but I still like that 1,085 mark I hit on day fifteen. :) </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Here are my stats so far.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">My week three stats are as follows:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Fifteen: 1,085 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Sixteen: 66 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Seventeen: 0 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Eighteen: 0 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Nineteen: 0 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Twenty: 800 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Twenty-One: 43 total word count</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Week Three: 9,362 total word count</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">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.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">My lack of wordage on multiple days this past week is due to, really and honestly, lack of </span><strike style="line-height: 18px;">"want to"</strike><span style="line-height: 18px;">. Wait, no, make that "willing to". I've been </span><i style="line-height: 18px;">wanting</i><span style="line-height: 18px;"> 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.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">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 <i>will</i> 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.<br />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<br />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...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> Powering through chapter two...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> -Liz</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-25868978194113291472013-04-15T03:53:00.000-05:002014-07-19T07:52:57.036-05:00April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Two<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">So week two could have been better, but I'd say it picked up considerably in the past couple of days. ^_^ </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Here are my stats so far.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">My week two stats are as follows:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Eight: 242 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Nine: 0 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Ten: 97 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Eleven: 198 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Twelve: 285 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Thirteen: 288 total word count</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Day Fourteen: 891 total word count</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Week Two: 7,368 total word count</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">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. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">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.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">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.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">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.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">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! :)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> Just along for the ride....just don't tell my characters they're driving....</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"> -Liz</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-91865113845889898782013-04-08T01:15:00.000-05:002014-07-19T07:52:34.524-05:00April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week OneSo week one has gone alright so far. It definitely could have been better, but here are my stats so far.<br />
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My week one stats are as follows:<br />
Day One: 4,091 total word count (Pre-written prologue and part of first chapter)<br />
Day Two: 301 total word count<br />
Day Three: 329 total word count<br />
Day Four: 182 total word count<br />
Day Five: 161 total word count<br />
Day Six: 0 total word count<br />
Day Seven: 304 total word count<br />
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Week One: 5,367 total word count<br />
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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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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. :)<br />
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. :)<br />
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Dreaming of happy dances...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322050296139499676.post-6660093282047437322013-03-31T12:22:00.001-05:002013-03-31T12:22:29.156-05:00It'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.<br />
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.<br />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.<br />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.<br /><br /> Off to see the wizard...and camp buddies...<br />
-LizAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06339396655102431816noreply@blogger.com0