It's the final countdown...

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

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

Decisions, decisions...

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

          -Liz

The adorableness of a child's logic...

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

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

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

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

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

Interview in Progress...

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

     Interviewer mode: on

          -Liz

Reasons for being MIA

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

     Finally breathing after the madness...
          -Liz

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

Blog Hop 2013

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

Blog Hop Tour Answers – about my book in the works

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Andrew Gaeta: The Excursions of the Split-Personality Author

          -Liz

Hello again...

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

          -Liz

Hot coffee, hot coffee...

(First off...the title sounded better in my head...)
So I have a lot of projects going on right now. Turns out just because November is over, doesn't mean I slow down much. I'm just as busy this month, and here's why...

1. I'm trying to finish my NaNoWriMo novel because I have three friends who will never let me forget it if I drop this one. (Apparently, for whatever reason, they think it's good.)
2. I have at LEAST four short stories I'm trying to finish so I can post them on Wattpad and Booksie.
3. I also have the next chapter of Clue I'm trying to finish.

So yeah, November may be over, but my schedule is still crazy busy, at the very least, mentally.
On the upside of things, as far as my novel goes, I did think of a good scene to add recently, so once I write that, I'll be sure to update my word counter off to the side here (-->). But mark my words, it will be finished eventually. I don't know when, but it will at least be finished for the sake of me actually finishing something. I'm not sure yet if I'll want to publish it though. Personally, it's not as exciting for me as it was in the planning process. But who knows? Maybe it will actually end up being half decent.
For the short stories, I'm fairly excited about those. The first that will be posted soon is a Christmas short story. The others are little short stories I've done for fun. After a little editing, they will be posted shortly. The genre's range from a couple of mystery/thrillers, to some general fiction. I make no promises that any of them will be below 1,000 words though. Because as I've said before, my brain insists that such things do not exist.
As for the Clue story, I am working on that as well. Please bear with me as this month is just as crazy as November was. Hopefully the speed of writing chapters for Clue will pick up soon.
But for now, it's back to writing I go. I'm hoping to post the Christmas short story by the end of the week. I'm also hoping that maybe my life will slow down so I can breathe soon, haha.

     Trying to remember how to breathe...
          -Liz

Contemplating Camp NaNoWriMo

Call me crazy (though it wouldn't be the first time, and I'd consider it a compliment), but I'm actually seriously considering doing both Camp NaNoWriMo's next year. If you are less familiar with Camp NaNoWriMo, allow me to enlighten you for a brief moment. Camp NaNoWriMo is pretty much exactly like November's NaNoWriMo...except for the fact that it's camp, and it's typically in the summer instead of November. And there's two of them nearly back-to-back. And I'm seriously considering tackling both next year. It's going to be in April and July this year, so I would at least have a two month break in between the madness. Two months to first relax, then plan all over again for the next camp session.
Here's my thing: I'm thinking I need to do this so I can to give myself a kick in the pants so I can finally finish my main project, and its' sequel. I mean, I've been writing on my main project since 15...it's what inspired me to really pursue this writing thing. So I kinda think I own it to myself and to my novel-in-progress to finish it, and yes, to one day publish it. I haven't decided yet if I want to make my debut with this novel, but it's at least in the top three of my picks to debut with. And I'm not sure yet how exactly the debut process works, but I'm really hoping I get a say in that. (Which, I'm pretty sure I do...) Then again, I know that also depends on what's popular at the time.
Anyway though, my point is that I'm actually really considering doing both Camp NaNoWriMo's next year. Of course, I do have to take into consideration what's left of my sanity. Then again...I have already been promised cookies if I successfully pull off both Camp NaNoWriMo's. I have to say, that's a pretty tempting offer. I wonder what might happen if I complete the first Camp session, and maybe...halfway complete the second? In any case, I'm feeling like this will be fun, and I'm not going to make a prediction that I will finish. But I will try my very best to finish this time. (Although I do have a good feeling I might actually finish this time...)

     Continuing the madness...
          -Liz

*Note: I blame procrastination issues for not posting this sooner...I'm sorry.

Daydreams

Ok, so I don't know about you, but this girl daydreams...or...I guess I should make that nightdreams to fall asleep. I usually lay there for at least an hour daydreaming about hypothetical scenarios that would probably never happen. But I like to imagine that they would. I sometimes imagine scenes from my books, if I'm trying to plan out a particular scene but can't concentrate any other time.

Or I'll sometimes take my absurd imaginings and work them into a book. I won't go into specifics because that would mean spoilers. But perhaps if persuaded-after I get a book published in the future-I might give a hint as to whether or not one of these daydreams has made it into a book yet. All I can tell you for now as far as that goes, is that when I work a nightdream into a book, it's usually a pretty good scene. But then again, I tend to be bias to my own work sometimes. And then other times, I'm my own worst critic. It just depends on what project it is. But such is the life of a writer.

     Wishing you happy nightdreaming!
          -Liz

The Unknown Stationary

So a year or two ago, one of my besties randomly made some stationary for me to use as inspiration for my characters in the main book I've been working on. I've told her almost everything there is about this book (almost...some things need to remain a surprise...even to a bestie). But she does know that Derek never fell out of love with Kelsey.
I may not ever get a chance to use the stationary, but I rather like it either way. I included a picture below of what it looks like. It starts off with "My Dearest Kelsey," and ends with "Yours Forever, Derek". And the picture used for the watermark was, at the time, the current picture I was using for the cover. It's changed since then, but I think this works much better.
Thank you, bestie, for always being supportive of my writing. :)

          -Liz

New Story!

Hey everyone! So...Clue: A Modern Tale is finally up! I have it posted on both my Wattpad and Booksie accounts now. It's just the prologue so far, and it's only a couple of paragraphs long, but I am hard at work trying to get more chapters finished, so bear with me. :)
Here are the links to Clue:

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/2352552-clue-a-modern-tale

Booksie: http://www.booksie.com/mystery_and_crime/novel/lizanneglasgow/clue:-a-modern-tale

     Thanks!
          -Liz

Note: The prologue is the only part written from this characters' point of view.

Note note: This is going to be a little different than my usual projects I write.

Hello There...

Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog. Which, by the way, I have no idea what I'm going to write about on here. So this first post is probably going to be short and sweet.
I've had other blogs before, but this is my first writing blog. I do have a couple of ideas bouncing around in this round thing I'd like to call my head. In fact, if you'll take a little looksee to the right here (-->), you'll find a poll of what I should write about on here. The ideas so far are listed as Current Books, Future Book Ideas, Teasers, Book Reviews, and Other. You have the option of selecting multiple choices if you simply can't make you're mind up because I'm awesome like that (See how I turned that around on you? Yeah...comes from being awesome. Hehe.). However, if you select Other, please just drop me a quick note via email (LizanneGlasgow@Gmail.com) and let me know your thoughts. I'll share the results as I get them, and whether or not I will consider it. If you would be so kind as to give me a name to address you with, I will even give you a little shoutout. :)
So...yeah. That's pretty much all I've got right now. But before you go, feel free to check out my brand new website, and "like" my official Facebook Page or Twitter...or both! Also feel free to follow my blog, I know it's not much yet, but hopefully I'll have some more ideas soon on what to write about. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. So go on and vote already, why are you still reading this? Go vote on the poll, then you can read the little note I left you below. Yes...it has to be in that order. Hey...don't argue with me now. (Hehe.)
Yeah....going to bed now. If you're reading this, I already love you because you were awesome enough to come visit my blog. Whether you become a fan or not anytime in the future, well, that's entirely up to you. In any case, I look forward to sharing my stories with you.

     Thank You.
          -Liz

Note: Yes, I realize at the time posted, it is fairly late. Not really for a night owl such as myself. But I did kinda promise myself that I would have my first blog post posted "today", as in, before I went to bed tonight. So here it is, I hope you enjoyed it! :)

Note note: Ok....soo maybe this wasn't quite as short and sweet as I thought. Apparently I have more to say than I realized. Or...it could just come from being a girl. Or a mix of both, I dunno. (Probably the latter, leaning more toward being a girl, hehe.)