We'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.
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:
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.
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.
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
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 little 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.
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.
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. :)

     Gearing up for another crazy month of writing...
          Liz

I'm baaaack (again)

Wow, so it's been a long 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 something, 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.
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, always 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.
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.
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 Wattpad once they're done. And yes, I will be posting on here to give a heads up that they're there.
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):

• How seven words can make a difference
• A few book reviews (I haven't forgotten about those....I just need to finish the books first...)
• A little more detail on a few of my current projects
• A different kind of blog hop
• A letter from me to you

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.

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.
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. :)

     Always writing (even if in my head)...
          -Liz

July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Summary

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

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

July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week One

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

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

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

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

     Excited to see everything coming together!
          -Liz

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

Prepping for July

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

     Prepping for the madness...
          -Liz

Re-learning how to prioritize...

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

          -Liz

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

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

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.