So the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts in just 2 days! Normally I would say that now is the time to panic because maybe I wasn't quite as prepared as I should be. However, I do have a plan! Since I was unable to finish in April, I will be continuing until I finish in July. And then, whenever I hopefully finish the first novel, I will just go straight into the sequel and go until I finish.
My hope is to finish the first draft of the first novel by the end of July or August, get edits, work on any revisions, and try to get it self published by sometime this fall, or winter at the latest. And perhaps, if everything else goes accordingly, have the sequel also self published sometime within the next year.
The past month has gone well in terms of brainstorming and in general prepping for July though. I've been getting tons of ideas for the sequel lately and I cannot wait to get to those scenes! I so wish I could share more details about that now, but be patient, dear readers...the day will soon come when I will probably be sharing an excerpt from the sequel. Although, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I should probably finish the first novel before I start thinking about what excerpt I would share from the sequel.
Overall, I am just so excited to be steadily moving forward to finally being able to share this story with you. I guess excitement over the written word and fictional lands is all part of what truly makes me a writer. And I do know that this is what I was meant to do. I thank you all for sharing this journey with me. :)
Prepping for the madness...
-Liz
Showing posts with label Derek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek. Show all posts
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Four
Ok, so week four could definitely have gone better in the writing area. Unfortunately, there is no "but" to follow that statement. It just could have been better. Brace yourself, this may sting a little...
Here are my stats from week four.
My week four stats are as follows:
Day Twenty-Two: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Three: 214 total word count
Day Twenty-Four: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Five: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Six: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Seven: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Eight: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Nine: 0 total word count
Day Thirty: 0 total word count
Week Four (and total for the month): 10,006 total word count
So yes, my month definitely could have gone better writing wise. However, the final week of April NaNo was not a complete loss. In fact, I think I gained a little more than a loss of a few thousand words. I got to spend more quality time with my amazing boyfriend that whole week. And I know I haven't mentioned him a whole lot before, but this is a time when I really don't mind sharing more about him. I mean, if anyone should get to brag on the man, it should be me, right? ;)
Anyway, so the final week in April was what's known as TWIRP around here, it stands for The Woman Is Required to Pay (and ask, actually). So I of course asked him to be my date for the week, and I gladly paid for the various events. He well knows that I would rather him not spend every penny on me, and I do not mind one bit actually paying for things every now and then. I actually told him that I think it should be a monthly thing from now on to have a TWIRP date, just as a little thank you from me for all that he does for me. He smiled sweetly when I told him this, and didn't argue, lol.
The week started off with a zombie themed scavenger hunt around the local college campus. It was so much fun, even though I didn't last very long. He got tagged not long after me, so when we caught up, we just walked around a little. It was a moonlit night, and there was a fountain nearby, so we just sat and talked for a while, which was so nice. Although slightly comical because you could still hear the shrieks in the distance from those who were still in the game being chased by "zombies".
We decided to skip the next night, which was trivia night, since we both had some work that needed to be done. This is where I got in those 214 words, and finally got out of the second chapter, and into the third. It's going ok now, I just need to pick up the pace a little more.
Since we skipped trivia night, I decided to take him to Portico for burger night. I swear, they have like the best burgers there! Afterward, we went back to his family's house to watch Psych with his younger brother. It's kind of become a semi-regular thing with all three of us to watch it together. :)
The next night was the dance, which was probably the highlight of both of our weeks. I'd never slow danced before, and I'm glad I got to share that with him. I think we slow danced about four different times the whole night, and it was just..great. Actually, that's kind of an understatement, but I'm not really sure what word to use here. It was definitely more than great though. And we survived the night without stepping on each others toes too! lol.
The final night of the week, was dinner and a movie night. I was a bit giddy this night because there was a specific place in town that he'd been wanting to go to for weeks on a date, and we just hadn't made it yet. So I started plotting that if we didn't make it before TWIRP week, I was going to take him myself. Bonus point? Pretty much his favorite place in town! I think he was a tiny bit thrilled when he realized where I was taking him, as I kept it a complete surprise. We managed to sit for a while, and take our time before we had to leave for the movie, which I had forgotten was a double feature. We sat and enjoyed The Princess Bride, which is fastly becoming one of his favorite movies. It is a pretty great movie though, easily in my top 5, and so quotable too! The second movie was Back to The Future, although it was getting late and we weren't able to stay and watch.
Nonetheless, the week ended well. I'm glad I had the week to spend with him. It's nice to be able to slow down and just have fun for a while...get away from the stresses of school and such.
Anywho, I'm sorry this is so beyond delayed...but I do have quite a few drafts I'm working on to be posted in the next couple of weeks, as well as a few for July. Here's hoping I can pick up the blogging and noveling pace. :)
-Liz
Here are my stats from week four.
My week four stats are as follows:
Day Twenty-Two: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Three: 214 total word count
Day Twenty-Four: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Five: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Six: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Seven: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Eight: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Nine: 0 total word count
Day Thirty: 0 total word count
Week Four (and total for the month): 10,006 total word count
So yes, my month definitely could have gone better writing wise. However, the final week of April NaNo was not a complete loss. In fact, I think I gained a little more than a loss of a few thousand words. I got to spend more quality time with my amazing boyfriend that whole week. And I know I haven't mentioned him a whole lot before, but this is a time when I really don't mind sharing more about him. I mean, if anyone should get to brag on the man, it should be me, right? ;)
Anyway, so the final week in April was what's known as TWIRP around here, it stands for The Woman Is Required to Pay (and ask, actually). So I of course asked him to be my date for the week, and I gladly paid for the various events. He well knows that I would rather him not spend every penny on me, and I do not mind one bit actually paying for things every now and then. I actually told him that I think it should be a monthly thing from now on to have a TWIRP date, just as a little thank you from me for all that he does for me. He smiled sweetly when I told him this, and didn't argue, lol.
The week started off with a zombie themed scavenger hunt around the local college campus. It was so much fun, even though I didn't last very long. He got tagged not long after me, so when we caught up, we just walked around a little. It was a moonlit night, and there was a fountain nearby, so we just sat and talked for a while, which was so nice. Although slightly comical because you could still hear the shrieks in the distance from those who were still in the game being chased by "zombies".
We decided to skip the next night, which was trivia night, since we both had some work that needed to be done. This is where I got in those 214 words, and finally got out of the second chapter, and into the third. It's going ok now, I just need to pick up the pace a little more.
Since we skipped trivia night, I decided to take him to Portico for burger night. I swear, they have like the best burgers there! Afterward, we went back to his family's house to watch Psych with his younger brother. It's kind of become a semi-regular thing with all three of us to watch it together. :)
The next night was the dance, which was probably the highlight of both of our weeks. I'd never slow danced before, and I'm glad I got to share that with him. I think we slow danced about four different times the whole night, and it was just..
The final night of the week, was dinner and a movie night. I was a bit giddy this night because there was a specific place in town that he'd been wanting to go to for weeks on a date, and we just hadn't made it yet. So I started plotting that if we didn't make it before TWIRP week, I was going to take him myself. Bonus point? Pretty much his favorite place in town! I think he was a tiny bit thrilled when he realized where I was taking him, as I kept it a complete surprise. We managed to sit for a while, and take our time before we had to leave for the movie, which I had forgotten was a double feature. We sat and enjoyed The Princess Bride, which is fastly becoming one of his favorite movies. It is a pretty great movie though, easily in my top 5, and so quotable too! The second movie was Back to The Future, although it was getting late and we weren't able to stay and watch.
Nonetheless, the week ended well. I'm glad I had the week to spend with him. It's nice to be able to slow down and just have fun for a while...get away from the stresses of school and such.
Anywho, I'm sorry this is so beyond delayed...but I do have quite a few drafts I'm working on to be posted in the next couple of weeks, as well as a few for July. Here's hoping I can pick up the blogging and noveling pace. :)
-Liz
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Three
*Note: Yes, I am very aware of how delayed this is...I've just been really busy...anywho, here's how week three went last month...
Alright, so week three could definitely have been better, but I still like that 1,085 mark I hit on day fifteen. :) Here are my stats so far.
My week three stats are as follows:
Day Fifteen: 1,085 total word count
Day Sixteen: 66 total word count
Day Seventeen: 0 total word count
Day Eighteen: 0 total word count
Day Nineteen: 0 total word count
Day Twenty: 800 total word count
Day Twenty-One: 43 total word count
Week Three: 9,362 total word count
So I know I said last week that I would have already hit 10k by now....yeah....that didn't really work out well, as you can see. I'm not far from that 10k mark though, and I will be hitting it before this last week's up. I know saying I'll hit that 50k mark before the month's up now, is a bit of a stretch, but I'm still going to see how far I can get, and take my novel past the end of April in order to finish it. My plan is to write the sequel in July, so I'll need to know exactly where I'm going in order for that to work. I've had a couple of ideas for the past few years, but I'll need more of a solid plot line and know what I'm doing so I can make sure that sequel gets done.
My lack of wordage on multiple days this past week is due to, really and honestly, lack of"want to". Wait, no, make that "willing to". I've been wanting for a long time to sit down and finish my novel. But it seems that my will to cooperate with the ways of Camp NaNoWriMo are less than my will to cooperate with the ways of NaNoWriMo (and yes, there's a bit of difference here). I think for one, my crazy Wrimo's, Angi and Mal, who I've known since I first started NaNoWriMo a few years ago are sadly not participating in April's Camp NaNo. However, they are possibly considering the July session, so it's quite debatable to expect better word counts then. My craziness can better bounce off of said Wrimo's then, and perhaps my word counts will be kept up to speed with the daily goals.
The boyfriend is still steadily encouraging me to finish, which I will. It just probably won't be in time for the end of April, sadly. But hopefully I can have it finished by the middle of May. :) In any case, it will be finished. That much I can promise you. :) And it might possibly get finished before May is up...lol, he's given me that deadline that it better be done by then. Of course, I kinda think perhaps part of it is just his excitement to finally read the rest of my novel. Especially since he know very little about it. But then again...maybe in reality, he's actually giving me the kick in the pants I've needed to really get moving on my novel. I mean, that's NaNoWriMo's motto...I think...except for the life of me, I can't seem to find it...my bad. But I know I've seen it somewhere, lol.
But anywho, maybe him giving me a deadline to finish is what I need. I mean, I'll give my own self the occasional deadline, but mine seem to be more flexible...and something tells me his deadline won't be quite so flexible. :P
As far as the actual writing goes, I think what I need to do now is just power through the scenes I'm in now and get to the good part already. It's just felt for a while like it's just draaaaaaaging on, which is less fun for the writer than it is for the reader, I'm sure. I have a plan for the next several chapters, up until chapter eleven or twelve, so I know where I'm going more specifically for now. Past that point, I still have my basic plot line to follow. First things first though...I just have to get past that chapter two plateau...
Powering through chapter two...
-Liz
Alright, so week three could definitely have been better, but I still like that 1,085 mark I hit on day fifteen. :) Here are my stats so far.
My week three stats are as follows:
Day Fifteen: 1,085 total word count
Day Sixteen: 66 total word count
Day Seventeen: 0 total word count
Day Eighteen: 0 total word count
Day Nineteen: 0 total word count
Day Twenty: 800 total word count
Day Twenty-One: 43 total word count
Week Three: 9,362 total word count
So I know I said last week that I would have already hit 10k by now....yeah....that didn't really work out well, as you can see. I'm not far from that 10k mark though, and I will be hitting it before this last week's up. I know saying I'll hit that 50k mark before the month's up now, is a bit of a stretch, but I'm still going to see how far I can get, and take my novel past the end of April in order to finish it. My plan is to write the sequel in July, so I'll need to know exactly where I'm going in order for that to work. I've had a couple of ideas for the past few years, but I'll need more of a solid plot line and know what I'm doing so I can make sure that sequel gets done.
My lack of wordage on multiple days this past week is due to, really and honestly, lack of
The boyfriend is still steadily encouraging me to finish, which I will. It just probably won't be in time for the end of April, sadly. But hopefully I can have it finished by the middle of May. :) In any case, it will be finished. That much I can promise you. :) And it might possibly get finished before May is up...lol, he's given me that deadline that it better be done by then. Of course, I kinda think perhaps part of it is just his excitement to finally read the rest of my novel. Especially since he know very little about it. But then again...maybe in reality, he's actually giving me the kick in the pants I've needed to really get moving on my novel. I mean, that's NaNoWriMo's motto...I think...except for the life of me, I can't seem to find it...my bad. But I know I've seen it somewhere, lol.
But anywho, maybe him giving me a deadline to finish is what I need. I mean, I'll give my own self the occasional deadline, but mine seem to be more flexible...and something tells me his deadline won't be quite so flexible. :P
As far as the actual writing goes, I think what I need to do now is just power through the scenes I'm in now and get to the good part already. It's just felt for a while like it's just draaaaaaaging on, which is less fun for the writer than it is for the reader, I'm sure. I have a plan for the next several chapters, up until chapter eleven or twelve, so I know where I'm going more specifically for now. Past that point, I still have my basic plot line to follow. First things first though...I just have to get past that chapter two plateau...
Powering through chapter two...
-Liz
Monday, April 15, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Two
So week two could have been better, but I'd say it picked up considerably in the past couple of days. ^_^ Here are my stats so far.
My week two stats are as follows:
Day Eight: 242 total word count
Day Nine: 0 total word count
Day Ten: 97 total word count
Day Eleven: 198 total word count
Day Twelve: 285 total word count
Day Thirteen: 288 total word count
Day Fourteen: 891 total word count
Week Two: 7,368 total word count
So I may have sort of fibbed a little last week when I said I'd be starting on the second chapter....I've only started on the second chapter since Saturday (13th). Although, I am now well into it at a nice total word count of (so far) 7,984. I have promised myself that I will get to 8k, then go to bed. And I am shooting for a total count of 10k for the day. I figured it up, and since I'm a bit behind, I can shoot for 2.6k a day and still have my 50k at the end of the month. If I shoot a little higher for a few days and hit 3k instead, I can finish a tad early.
At any rate, I'm just happy that it's still do-able. I mean, I was going to finish my novel anyway, but it's a certain sense of accomplishment to be able to say to some random stranger, "Hey random stranger, guess what? I'm a novelist, and I finished it in 30 days! Yep, you heard me right, I wrote 50k in thirty days. I'm one of those crazy writers you hear about." One could say while smiling to oneself and walking off quietly while the poor stranger stands there, scratching their head and saying to themself, "These kids these days....." Hehe.
Anywho, so once again, you may notice a lack of wordage on one particular day. And no, I am not blaming the boyfriend or any of his wonderful family this time. In fact, I'd like to have a little shoutout to my super smart boyfriend, as he helped me out of some crazy writer's frustration quite easily. A few rounds of Q&A and I had one of my characters better figured out that I had neglected to take the necessary time to get to know prior to Camp NaNo. But said character is now figured out on why they are the way they are, and what chain of events has caused them to be this way. Also what they're likely to do in the future. But my dear readers, you shall get to meet this character soon enough. I am so excited to be able to share this story with you finally, after 6 long years of writing and re-writing, as well as editing and re-editing. It's been a long process, but an exciting and eventful one to say the least.
Oh, and as an update to last week's post, this week has gone much better as far as words coming to me much easier. Especially in the past few days. I had told the boyfriend, who's debatably more excited than me for the novel to finally be finished....even though he wasn't exactly around for the first 5 years of the novel, lol. Anywho, I had told him that once I got past the first chapter, the words would be coming to me much easier. But because I am re-writing my early chapters completely, I wasn't sure what I was doing in the first chapter. Plus, my characters have been doing very well at taking me into an entirely new direction than I had planned. But I love it! I love it when my characters show me some new direction I didn't even see before, or in a case like earlier tonight, they show me they have a certain spunk, and much more of it than I had originally thought too, lol.
But anyway, it's really late...or maybe it's early...something like that. In any case, it's well after 3am, nearly 4am, and I still have just over 100 more words to go before I'll allow myself to go to bed already! Here's hoping I can make it to 10k later today! I hope, I hope! :)
Just along for the ride....just don't tell my characters they're driving....
-Liz
My week two stats are as follows:
Day Eight: 242 total word count
Day Nine: 0 total word count
Day Ten: 97 total word count
Day Eleven: 198 total word count
Day Twelve: 285 total word count
Day Thirteen: 288 total word count
Day Fourteen: 891 total word count
Week Two: 7,368 total word count
So I may have sort of fibbed a little last week when I said I'd be starting on the second chapter....I've only started on the second chapter since Saturday (13th). Although, I am now well into it at a nice total word count of (so far) 7,984. I have promised myself that I will get to 8k, then go to bed. And I am shooting for a total count of 10k for the day. I figured it up, and since I'm a bit behind, I can shoot for 2.6k a day and still have my 50k at the end of the month. If I shoot a little higher for a few days and hit 3k instead, I can finish a tad early.
At any rate, I'm just happy that it's still do-able. I mean, I was going to finish my novel anyway, but it's a certain sense of accomplishment to be able to say to some random stranger, "Hey random stranger, guess what? I'm a novelist, and I finished it in 30 days! Yep, you heard me right, I wrote 50k in thirty days. I'm one of those crazy writers you hear about." One could say while smiling to oneself and walking off quietly while the poor stranger stands there, scratching their head and saying to themself, "These kids these days....." Hehe.
Anywho, so once again, you may notice a lack of wordage on one particular day. And no, I am not blaming the boyfriend or any of his wonderful family this time. In fact, I'd like to have a little shoutout to my super smart boyfriend, as he helped me out of some crazy writer's frustration quite easily. A few rounds of Q&A and I had one of my characters better figured out that I had neglected to take the necessary time to get to know prior to Camp NaNo. But said character is now figured out on why they are the way they are, and what chain of events has caused them to be this way. Also what they're likely to do in the future. But my dear readers, you shall get to meet this character soon enough. I am so excited to be able to share this story with you finally, after 6 long years of writing and re-writing, as well as editing and re-editing. It's been a long process, but an exciting and eventful one to say the least.
Oh, and as an update to last week's post, this week has gone much better as far as words coming to me much easier. Especially in the past few days. I had told the boyfriend, who's debatably more excited than me for the novel to finally be finished....even though he wasn't exactly around for the first 5 years of the novel, lol. Anywho, I had told him that once I got past the first chapter, the words would be coming to me much easier. But because I am re-writing my early chapters completely, I wasn't sure what I was doing in the first chapter. Plus, my characters have been doing very well at taking me into an entirely new direction than I had planned. But I love it! I love it when my characters show me some new direction I didn't even see before, or in a case like earlier tonight, they show me they have a certain spunk, and much more of it than I had originally thought too, lol.
But anyway, it's really late...or maybe it's early...something like that. In any case, it's well after 3am, nearly 4am, and I still have just over 100 more words to go before I'll allow myself to go to bed already! Here's hoping I can make it to 10k later today! I hope, I hope! :)
Just along for the ride....just don't tell my characters they're driving....
-Liz
Monday, April 8, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week One
So week one has gone alright so far. It definitely could have been better, but here are my stats so far.
My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 4,091 total word count (Pre-written prologue and part of first chapter)
Day Two: 301 total word count
Day Three: 329 total word count
Day Four: 182 total word count
Day Five: 161 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Day Seven: 304 total word count
Week One: 5,367 total word count
And all of this for the prologue and first chapter. I start on the second chapter on the first day of the second week (today). I'm really hoping those creative juices will start flowing more and I can pick up the pace a good bit. Mind you, I am now roughly 8k behind (today included), but with the words coming easier and writing a little over each day's goal, I should be able to catch up. I'm still a little optimistic about my outcome this month seeing as most of the month is still ahead of me. And I have nothing to do tomorrow but to write, write, and write some more, so hopefully I can get a chunk of that 8k taken care of. We'll see.
Tuesday, my boyfriend is supposed to help me some with this ridiculous writer's block...well, no, it's not so much writer's block as I suppose maybe...writer's frustration, as one of my best friends used to call it. It's where you have the ideas, you know what you want to happen, but either the narration or dialogue just will not come to you. But thankfully, there's room for a spark of creative genius to hit you, which is what I'm hoping will happen to me. As of right now, I know what I want to happen, but the dialogue won't come to me. I'll play with various conversations tomorrow (or rather, later today), and see what I can come up with.
Meanwhile, I did actually talk to said best friend on the phone today, and I read to her what I have so far, and she really liked it, which made me happy. It's definitely better than my old chapters, so that's good. But then, my writing style has also improved greatly since I was 15, so I would hope it sounded much better.
And if you're wondering, "Hey lady, y no wordage on day six??" well random person who speaks in Meme....that would be because I spent the day at a Scottish festival with my boyfriend and his younger brother. My family has gone every year almost since they started it, and it was my chance to include the boyfriend and his brother. I think they enjoyed it too; all three of us tried the knife and tomahawk throw. I think I managed to hit the stump with a knife, and it bounced off....everything else missed all together, I aimed too high. Meanwhile the boyfriend stuck his tomahawk, which I have photographic evidence of. I was quite proud of him. :)
So yeah, that's how my week went. Hopefully this week will go much better. I feel like once I get past the first chapter, it'll all come easier to me. I've explained before that it's moving so slowly because I'm fully re-writing the beginning chapters, so I have less of a clue of what's going on. But I do still have my old chapters that I'm using as a guideline, so that's helping. I can't wait to finish this and do my happy dance around the room and to finally share this story with you. :)
Dreaming of happy dances...
-Liz
My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 4,091 total word count (Pre-written prologue and part of first chapter)
Day Two: 301 total word count
Day Three: 329 total word count
Day Four: 182 total word count
Day Five: 161 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Day Seven: 304 total word count
Week One: 5,367 total word count
And all of this for the prologue and first chapter. I start on the second chapter on the first day of the second week (today). I'm really hoping those creative juices will start flowing more and I can pick up the pace a good bit. Mind you, I am now roughly 8k behind (today included), but with the words coming easier and writing a little over each day's goal, I should be able to catch up. I'm still a little optimistic about my outcome this month seeing as most of the month is still ahead of me. And I have nothing to do tomorrow but to write, write, and write some more, so hopefully I can get a chunk of that 8k taken care of. We'll see.
Tuesday, my boyfriend is supposed to help me some with this ridiculous writer's block...well, no, it's not so much writer's block as I suppose maybe...writer's frustration, as one of my best friends used to call it. It's where you have the ideas, you know what you want to happen, but either the narration or dialogue just will not come to you. But thankfully, there's room for a spark of creative genius to hit you, which is what I'm hoping will happen to me. As of right now, I know what I want to happen, but the dialogue won't come to me. I'll play with various conversations tomorrow (or rather, later today), and see what I can come up with.
Meanwhile, I did actually talk to said best friend on the phone today, and I read to her what I have so far, and she really liked it, which made me happy. It's definitely better than my old chapters, so that's good. But then, my writing style has also improved greatly since I was 15, so I would hope it sounded much better.
And if you're wondering, "Hey lady, y no wordage on day six??" well random person who speaks in Meme....that would be because I spent the day at a Scottish festival with my boyfriend and his younger brother. My family has gone every year almost since they started it, and it was my chance to include the boyfriend and his brother. I think they enjoyed it too; all three of us tried the knife and tomahawk throw. I think I managed to hit the stump with a knife, and it bounced off....everything else missed all together, I aimed too high. Meanwhile the boyfriend stuck his tomahawk, which I have photographic evidence of. I was quite proud of him. :)
So yeah, that's how my week went. Hopefully this week will go much better. I feel like once I get past the first chapter, it'll all come easier to me. I've explained before that it's moving so slowly because I'm fully re-writing the beginning chapters, so I have less of a clue of what's going on. But I do still have my old chapters that I'm using as a guideline, so that's helping. I can't wait to finish this and do my happy dance around the room and to finally share this story with you. :)
Dreaming of happy dances...
-Liz
Sunday, March 31, 2013
It's the final countdown...
Here we are in the final hours before the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts, and I am so excited!! For the past couple of days, I've been so giddy about finally getting to finish my novel! And I have a bit of a confession to make...I once again "broke the rules" and wrote a little early. My prologue I had already written a couple of years ago, but this is the first chapter. See, I had this breakthrough moment the other night, and after some serious debating, I finally decided to just go on ahead and write the short scene I had come up with.
Overall, I am now a little over 4,000 words ahead of schedule. So basically, that means I'm easily 2 days ahead already, and the month hasn't even started yet! And as soon as that clock hits midnight, I'll probably be writing some more and be that much more ahead. I can't wait to really get going on this novel and to finally finish it after 6 long years! Camp NaNoWriMo won't know what hit it once that clock hits midnight. Haha.
And of course, once April is over, the editing process will begin, my beta readers will enjoy a hopefully non-cheesy story, and then once I get some critique back the (::insert fanfare::) publishing process will begin!!! :D I hope to possibly publish this novel sometime this fall. And I am so excited to finally share this story with y'all!! Oh, and I should be back to blogging this month at least. Ironic, I know, but I'll actually have stuff to blog about. I'm going to try to keep y'all updated on how it's going, and what my current word count is out of the 50k. I also have a word counter widget in the sidebar where it will be consistantly updated with where I am in my novel.
I am just so excited, I feel like it's just bubbling out of me. I'm trying to not freak out some random stranger in public though. I mean, I don't want anyone to think I'm crazy or anything... ;) But such is the life of a writer, and I do love it so.
Off to see the wizard...and camp buddies...
-Liz
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
Friday, March 8, 2013
The adorableness of a child's logic...
So the other day, my mom directed my attention to this ridiculously adorable moment on this author's Facebook page that she follows...the conversation went as follows...
Breeana Puttroff:
My daughter, finder of plot holes at age five:
Little Goose: "I'm thinking of putting Lilly in a class where she can learn how to speak." (Lilly is her favorite stuffed animal dog.)
Me: "That sounds like fun. Is Martha Speaks going to be the teacher?"
LG: "Mom, Martha Speaks is not real."
Me: "Oh. Okay." (Still *trying* to play along.) "Are they going to eat alphabet soup?" (Alphabet soup is how Martha on the show becomes a talking dog.)
LG: "Alphabet soup is not real."
Me: "Yes it is."
LG: "I mean, it's not alive." (There's a "duh" sound in her voice at this point.)
Me: "Well, no soup is alive."
LG: (exasperated sigh) "I MEAN, since it's not alive, it can't travel to Lilly's brain and make her speak."
Me: "Oh." (Of course. How could I be so obtuse?)
LG: "And if it DID travel to her brain, it would be stuck there, and then, because it's soup, it would get rotten up there, and she would die."
And there you have it...a moment of adorableness in a child's logic...
In the meantime, I am hard at work on finishing the interviews with Kelsey and Derek, and hopefully they will be up within the next week. :)
I am also doing so much brain storming and planning ahead for my April Camp NaNoWriMo next month!!! EEEEHHHH!!!! I'm so excited!!! I'm really hoping they will post some word count widgets so I can post one on here. In the meantime, I have a link set up in the sidebar if you'd like to check out my novel I'll be working on. Right now, all there is to see is the synopsis, but as soon as April starts, I will be posting an excerpt to see as well. I feel like this will be a successful attempt for my novel-finally!! :D I can't wait to see that finished manuscript, and be that much closer to publishing it! And then writing and finishing the sequel this summer! AHH!! I think this is going to be a great year for my writing. :)
Always thankful for any and all readers (of blog or stories)!
-Liz
Breeana Puttroff:
My daughter, finder of plot holes at age five:
Little Goose: "I'm thinking of putting Lilly in a class where she can learn how to speak." (Lilly is her favorite stuffed animal dog.)
Me: "That sounds like fun. Is Martha Speaks going to be the teacher?"
LG: "Mom, Martha Speaks is not real."
Me: "Oh. Okay." (Still *trying* to play along.) "Are they going to eat alphabet soup?" (Alphabet soup is how Martha on the show becomes a talking dog.)
LG: "Alphabet soup is not real."
Me: "Yes it is."
LG: "I mean, it's not alive." (There's a "duh" sound in her voice at this point.)
Me: "Well, no soup is alive."
LG: (exasperated sigh) "I MEAN, since it's not alive, it can't travel to Lilly's brain and make her speak."
Me: "Oh." (Of course. How could I be so obtuse?)
LG: "And if it DID travel to her brain, it would be stuck there, and then, because it's soup, it would get rotten up there, and she would die."
And there you have it...a moment of adorableness in a child's logic...
In the meantime, I am hard at work on finishing the interviews with Kelsey and Derek, and hopefully they will be up within the next week. :)
I am also doing so much brain storming and planning ahead for my April Camp NaNoWriMo next month!!! EEEEHHHH!!!! I'm so excited!!! I'm really hoping they will post some word count widgets so I can post one on here. In the meantime, I have a link set up in the sidebar if you'd like to check out my novel I'll be working on. Right now, all there is to see is the synopsis, but as soon as April starts, I will be posting an excerpt to see as well. I feel like this will be a successful attempt for my novel-finally!! :D I can't wait to see that finished manuscript, and be that much closer to publishing it! And then writing and finishing the sequel this summer! AHH!! I think this is going to be a great year for my writing. :)
Always thankful for any and all readers (of blog or stories)!
-Liz
Monday, February 25, 2013
Interview in Progress...
So I thought I might should drop y'all a little note explaining in advance how I sadly will not be posting during spring break. I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Denver, CO on a mission trip with my college group, so alas, I will yet again be MIA for a bit. However, since we are driving up there-yes...we are driving. And I actually prefer that instead of riding a plane seeing as how I have never flown on a plane and am terrified of them.
Anywho, so since we are driving the 18 hours there and back, I am taking a couple of short stories with me, as well as Clue to work on, and will hopefully get some considerable work done on them. I'm going to do my best to try to get at least one of the short stories finished though, if not two of them.
But the point of this post is to say that I am taking about 110 interview questions to narrow down, and I will be interviewing Kelsey and Derek from The Unknown (April Camp NaNoWriMo), and those interviews will be posted here when I get back. I'm thinking there will be between 15 and 20 questions per person. So be looking for that!
Interviewer mode: on
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
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Blog Hop 2013
So I've heard about this thing going around called a Blog Hop. I look at it as sort of an interview about a work in progress that you're working on. It's just ten questions all about what your novel is about, where you got your inspiration, who might play your characters in a film version, etc.
Anywho, it sounded like fun, so I figured I'd give it a shot. :)
I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop as much as I enjoyed it, and that you discover some new writers along the way! Enjoy!
Blog Hop Tour Answers – about my book in the works
1. What is the title of your working book?
The Unknown
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was just playing with an idea when I was 15, having fun with my overactive imagination and finally decided that I was having so much fun just planning out what events might take place that I decided to just run with it. And not long after, I had a book in the works with ideas coming to me all of the time. And they're still coming.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Fantasy. :)
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Well as for right now, I have a few people picked. Unfortunately, by the time this would ever be made into a movie, the actors would be too old for the roles, I think.
However, for the purpose of the game, I'll share anyway.
I picture Sophia Melon for Kelsey, I'm thinking Lorraine Nicholson for Shea, Lucas Till for Chris, I still haven't found anyone for Derek, I'm still looking for Ang as well, I think Shailene Woodley (curly/wavy hair) would make a nice Rebecca. And that's all that I can really think of right now...
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After having been broken up with her ex-boyfriend for several months, Kelsey realizes that she isn't quite as over him as she thought. And she soon realizes that he isn't quite who he said he was either. There were a few details he forgot to mention. Like how there's a whole other world of people living amongst everyone she ever knew. And he's just one of them.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to be represented by an agency, but I am still researching for just the right one.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Well it's not quite done yet, that's why it's called a work in progress. I plan to finish the first draft of the manuscript in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. I will probably be keeping a word counter widget in the sidebar during the month.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Well that's a toughy, because I can think of a few, however, all of the ones I would mention involve spoilers. And I am trying to not include any spoilers too early. Or I suppose really at all.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I guess maybe my love of fantasy would have to be a big part of it. A few key people who are constantly encouraging me are also a huge help. They help to keep me well grounded and also encouraged that my dream is actually possible! :) Especially this one friend of mine who just recently told me that I underestimate my writing ability. Or something really close to that. Little things like that mean more than they could ever know.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I feel like there’s bound to be something there, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything right now. Plus, if I mentioned what I have thought of, again, it would involve spoilers.
Although, I can say that I am seriously considering re-writing this at a later date from the opposite main character's point of view. There is a lot of new material from his life that I can use that the reader would not see otherwise.
I know I wasn't able to answer every question, but I hope that I answered enough to get any interest going. And again, I will be working on finishing this manuscript in April. 50,000 words, here I come, lol. Since I have been working on this since 15, I have a little bit of a head start and am currently in the eighth or ninth chapter. However, I will continue writing in April until the full story has been told and my character's tell me it's done! Until April, I will be working on my various side projects, Clue included. And I will be trying to hold off on writing any more on The Unknown until Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on doing as much brainstorming as possible between now and then as well.
Next week, please visit my blogging and writer friend (below) for the next stop on this blog hop book tour! This guy has been a huge encouragement to me ever since I met him during NaNoWriMo 2012. And he’s quite the writer himself.
Andrew Gaeta: The Excursions of the Split-Personality Author
-Liz
Anywho, it sounded like fun, so I figured I'd give it a shot. :)
I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop as much as I enjoyed it, and that you discover some new writers along the way! Enjoy!
Blog Hop Tour Answers – about my book in the works
1. What is the title of your working book?
The Unknown
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was just playing with an idea when I was 15, having fun with my overactive imagination and finally decided that I was having so much fun just planning out what events might take place that I decided to just run with it. And not long after, I had a book in the works with ideas coming to me all of the time. And they're still coming.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Fantasy. :)
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Well as for right now, I have a few people picked. Unfortunately, by the time this would ever be made into a movie, the actors would be too old for the roles, I think.
However, for the purpose of the game, I'll share anyway.
I picture Sophia Melon for Kelsey, I'm thinking Lorraine Nicholson for Shea, Lucas Till for Chris, I still haven't found anyone for Derek, I'm still looking for Ang as well, I think Shailene Woodley (curly/wavy hair) would make a nice Rebecca. And that's all that I can really think of right now...
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After having been broken up with her ex-boyfriend for several months, Kelsey realizes that she isn't quite as over him as she thought. And she soon realizes that he isn't quite who he said he was either. There were a few details he forgot to mention. Like how there's a whole other world of people living amongst everyone she ever knew. And he's just one of them.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to be represented by an agency, but I am still researching for just the right one.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Well it's not quite done yet, that's why it's called a work in progress. I plan to finish the first draft of the manuscript in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. I will probably be keeping a word counter widget in the sidebar during the month.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Well that's a toughy, because I can think of a few, however, all of the ones I would mention involve spoilers. And I am trying to not include any spoilers too early. Or I suppose really at all.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I guess maybe my love of fantasy would have to be a big part of it. A few key people who are constantly encouraging me are also a huge help. They help to keep me well grounded and also encouraged that my dream is actually possible! :) Especially this one friend of mine who just recently told me that I underestimate my writing ability. Or something really close to that. Little things like that mean more than they could ever know.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I feel like there’s bound to be something there, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything right now. Plus, if I mentioned what I have thought of, again, it would involve spoilers.
Although, I can say that I am seriously considering re-writing this at a later date from the opposite main character's point of view. There is a lot of new material from his life that I can use that the reader would not see otherwise.
I know I wasn't able to answer every question, but I hope that I answered enough to get any interest going. And again, I will be working on finishing this manuscript in April. 50,000 words, here I come, lol. Since I have been working on this since 15, I have a little bit of a head start and am currently in the eighth or ninth chapter. However, I will continue writing in April until the full story has been told and my character's tell me it's done! Until April, I will be working on my various side projects, Clue included. And I will be trying to hold off on writing any more on The Unknown until Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on doing as much brainstorming as possible between now and then as well.
Next week, please visit my blogging and writer friend (below) for the next stop on this blog hop book tour! This guy has been a huge encouragement to me ever since I met him during NaNoWriMo 2012. And he’s quite the writer himself.
Andrew Gaeta: The Excursions of the Split-Personality Author
-Liz
Monday, January 21, 2013
Hello again...
So it turns out that a week without blogging is too easy to stay out of habit. I have had one busy month! I'm glad to have a break now. The first full week of the month, I was out every night of the week at rehearsals for a show I'm participating in next month. It's down to all day Saturday now, so I have a break for a few days.
Rest assured, the wheels have not stopped turning in my head though. I am still planning out my various projects. I'm still working on more chapters for Clue, as well as making more plans for Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July.
So far, my plan-which is pretty safe to say is solid at this point-for both sessions of Camp NaNoWriMo is to first, in April, complete my manuscript for The Unknown. And then in July, write its sequel. I'm playing with the idea of re-writing The Unknown in November, but from a different major character's point of view.
And then of course, I still have a few short stories left to be finished and posted. So there will be a fairly regular stream of stories coming as soon as I get them finished. :)
That's about it for now, hopefully this will get me back into the swing of posting to my blog. I have missed it.
-Liz
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
Saturday, December 8, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
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. :)
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
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