(Yes, you're reading that correctly, I'm sorry this is a week late...it's been a crazy week. Please keep in mind as you read that this is all from the perspective of the end of week two.)
I suppose you could say this week was sort of up and down-ish. But mostly up, I’m glad to say. Heh, so much for the two week slump. Although, as far as what to say, yes, there was a bit of a slump. But word count, well…read on for yourself…Here are my stats so far.
My week two stats are as follows:
Day Eight: 0 total word count
Day Nine: 1,546 total word count
Day Ten: 338 total word count
Day Eleven: 0 total word count
Day Twelve: 935 total word count
Day Thirteen: 1,025 total word count
Day Fourteen: 0 total word count
Week Two: 4,604 total word count
So yeah…after the first day of week two, I had a better week, at least when compared to week one. It's been a little rough as far as trying to get out of the slump of the beginning of the story. I think I finally decided to just skip ahead a bit and try to gauge when I would get to the main part of the story. But since I'm Pantsing this year, that's a little bit difficult to do.
I did find out two very exciting things about my potential that I never knew before. I'm still psyched about it too! Within the last 15-20 minutes before midnight on day 12, I wrote 639 words in a rush to up my count a little bit before the clock struck midnight and my novel turned into a pumpkin...wait...
Anyway, I had known before then that I could write 500 words in 30 minutes, but I didn't realize the potential hidden inside me. I didn't know that until I went searching for it. And you know what? It's a fantastic feeling and is still doing wonders for my confidence knowing what I'm capable of. But just wait, I'm not done yet...keep reading...
I further found out my potential that I never knew about in all my years of writing. @NaNoWordSprints on Twitter has been having #1k30min sprints throughout the month, meaning they were challenging WriMo's to write a thousand words in 30 minutes. Having found out that I could write almost that much in less than 20 minutes, I wanted to stretch myself further than I ever had before and just see if I could do it. Any boy did I. My fingers were flying across the keyboard like they never have before. And I. Made. It!! I wasn't sure if I could in the last few minutes, but I was close. But by the time the clock hit zero, I managed to crank out 1,025 words!
I think I've about decided to make December my month to focus on all the short stories I've been wanting to post on Wattpad/Booksie. I want to try to finish or edit them in hopes of beginning posting them either late December, or in January. I feel like that would be a pretty great way to start off the new year though, to do what I promised so long ago and post all of the shorts I've been working on. I wish I could've gotten around to it a long time ago, but every time I think about it again and realize all over again how much time has gone by since the last time I said "soon", I'm usually in the middle of some crazy day/week/month...etc. But I think I'm going to just make a stand against myself now and just decide to set aside some time just for those stories that have been so neglected. I feel like they've waited long enough to be read.
I've made quite a few new WriMo friends in the NaNoWriMo chat rooms this year too. I've actually kind of searched out a few rooms to see who all else was awake-at 3 or 4am. I'm glad I did too, there's some pretty cool WriMos out there. A couple of them are awesome enough to make a slight error in type just plain epic! For those who aren't as familiar with NaNoWriMo and it's inner workings, there are these chat rooms where we can interact with each other and share in the madness that is our chosen hobby/profession/whatever you may call it. In these chat rooms, we can arrange little word wars where we sort of compete against each other to see who can write the most words in a given amount of time-15 minutes is usually the most popular. Whether or not any of us consider it a true competition, it's still a great way to get more words written and get that much closer to that goal of 50,000 words by the time the clock hits midnight on the last day of November. Another type of war that can be held is a chain war, where a selected number of word wars are held back to back with a short break in between, as opposed to one war with however long of a break you wish.
Whew...now then, how, you may ask, did a couple of girls make this thing called a chain war into something epic? Remember the typo? I'm not sure what the original number was supposed to be, but it ended up being 300 10 minute wars back to back. One of them figured it out and it was going to be three days straight of the same war. All thanks to a typo. And now, since that one ended, there's one set up to continue til the end of the month. Pretty convenient when the chat rooms are quiet, or there's no one in the chat rooms, but you still want to war. It can be pretty motivating to war with yourself too. Try to beat your previous best enough, and who knows? You might just up your writing speed. Or discover a hidden potential you never knew existed. :)
To make things even more epic, there's now talk of creating a chain war at the start of next year's NaNoWriMo and have it run the entire month. Yeah, that's right, you read correctly. It's going to be so awesomely epic and I can't wait! If any other WriMos are interested, I'll share a little more detail on it the closer it gets...just don't let me forget, lol.
Too much excitement to contain...
-Liz
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014: Week One
Week one has been full of stress, interruptions or distractions and feeling discouraged from low counts. Also major computer complications. Brace yourself, my total count so far is pretty rough, and low. Here are my stats so far.
My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 49 total word count
Day Two: 648 total word count
Day Three: 0 total word count
Day Four: 63 total word count
Day Five: 0 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Day Seven: 0 total word count
Week One: 760 total word count
Needless to say, my NaNo this year has been really rough. All of those things mentioned at the top of the post have really taxing on me. Several days I didn't get any writing only because I was having major computer issues. I'm still sorting that out, it comes and goes.
Anyway though, I really wish I could say I had a much higher word count at the end of week one than I do, but it's just been a long, tiring week full of distractions or interruptions. If there wasn't some distraction around and I was actually able to get a moment to begin writing with some kind of focus, here came an interruption. Quite annoying when you're as far behind as I am. But I think I've decided to have two or three days (probably three by now) writathons with 5k goals. That should get me caught up...if I can sit and write with focus for long enough.
But that's another thing I've learned this year-well two things. I've always been a Planner through all NaNo experiences, and it's worked for me. I like having my plot planned out, having a guide from chapter to chapter. But this year, I decided to just try throwing the rule book out the window and being a Pantser just once, to see if I could do it (plus I just really want to get a first draft done already). What I learned: It does not work for me. At all. This year has been the most difficult to write even when I do get time to write because I only have a rough plan like the one I've had since I started this novel years ago. The plot hasn't changed much, but the beginning is feeling a lot harder because I'm trying to just make it to the main part of the plot without boring anyone-myself included. I'm glad this is only a draft and I can do a lot of editing to the beginning once I get it done. I know it could be so much better.
The second thing is how much it helps to learn how to turn off the inner editor. Granted, I'm still learning, but I have a start on it anyway. A lot of what's helping is using the website ilys.com. Once you set a word count goal, it forces you to write until you get to your goal and you cannot edit until you meet that goal. A little frustrating depending on how many typos you make. Oh, and you can only see one letter while you're typing. There is a preview button so you can see everything you've written-if you can handle not being able to edit your mistakes, that is. I know what you're thinking, "that's maddening, and you're crazy."And maybe I am. Wait, yes. I most definitely am. Hey, I'm a writer, it comes with the territory. But trust me on this, it takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it could really help if you're behind (like I am) on word counts because it forces you to not edit. And if you're like me and write using that during a sprint or a word war, then copy and paste it over to Word (or whatever program you're using) and only tweak the writing so it makes sense, you'd be amazed at what a difference it makes in your total word counts per day. I found out this summer when I was introduced to the program that I apparently have the potential to write 500 words in 30 minutes. I never knew that before. I'm still working on my WPM speed to get it up so I can type faster, but I'm happy with my current speed too. :)
Hopefully next week I can report higher word counts and say that I'm caught up. A friend of mine told me just a couple of days ago that you share your talent with others. You can use it to entertain others, and make it about them and their enjoyment. Thinking about my writing in that way, I hope it will help my word count go up. I tend to think more about all the little details that goes into my writing-which is good, up to a point. But allowing the writing to take control in a bad way and quite possibly hinder the actual writing is something I'm realizing and need to learn how to kind of block that out. Whenever I get to the point of the novel where it takes over and begins to write itself (as I've heard so many others experience), I feel like it will be both thrilling because I'll feel more like a real writer, and the tiniest bit terrifying, but only a little bit. I'll just be so excited whenever I can finally say I have a finished draft. So here's hoping that will still be able to happen this month.
Desperately wanting to catch up...
-Liz
My week one stats are as follows:
Day One: 49 total word count
Day Two: 648 total word count
Day Three: 0 total word count
Day Four: 63 total word count
Day Five: 0 total word count
Day Six: 0 total word count
Day Seven: 0 total word count
Week One: 760 total word count
Needless to say, my NaNo this year has been really rough. All of those things mentioned at the top of the post have really taxing on me. Several days I didn't get any writing only because I was having major computer issues. I'm still sorting that out, it comes and goes.
Anyway though, I really wish I could say I had a much higher word count at the end of week one than I do, but it's just been a long, tiring week full of distractions or interruptions. If there wasn't some distraction around and I was actually able to get a moment to begin writing with some kind of focus, here came an interruption. Quite annoying when you're as far behind as I am. But I think I've decided to have two or three days (probably three by now) writathons with 5k goals. That should get me caught up...if I can sit and write with focus for long enough.
But that's another thing I've learned this year-well two things. I've always been a Planner through all NaNo experiences, and it's worked for me. I like having my plot planned out, having a guide from chapter to chapter. But this year, I decided to just try throwing the rule book out the window and being a Pantser just once, to see if I could do it (plus I just really want to get a first draft done already). What I learned: It does not work for me. At all. This year has been the most difficult to write even when I do get time to write because I only have a rough plan like the one I've had since I started this novel years ago. The plot hasn't changed much, but the beginning is feeling a lot harder because I'm trying to just make it to the main part of the plot without boring anyone-myself included. I'm glad this is only a draft and I can do a lot of editing to the beginning once I get it done. I know it could be so much better.
The second thing is how much it helps to learn how to turn off the inner editor. Granted, I'm still learning, but I have a start on it anyway. A lot of what's helping is using the website ilys.com. Once you set a word count goal, it forces you to write until you get to your goal and you cannot edit until you meet that goal. A little frustrating depending on how many typos you make. Oh, and you can only see one letter while you're typing. There is a preview button so you can see everything you've written-if you can handle not being able to edit your mistakes, that is. I know what you're thinking, "that's maddening, and you're crazy."
Hopefully next week I can report higher word counts and say that I'm caught up. A friend of mine told me just a couple of days ago that you share your talent with others. You can use it to entertain others, and make it about them and their enjoyment. Thinking about my writing in that way, I hope it will help my word count go up. I tend to think more about all the little details that goes into my writing-which is good, up to a point. But allowing the writing to take control in a bad way and quite possibly hinder the actual writing is something I'm realizing and need to learn how to kind of block that out. Whenever I get to the point of the novel where it takes over and begins to write itself (as I've heard so many others experience), I feel like it will be both thrilling because I'll feel more like a real writer, and the tiniest bit terrifying, but only a little bit. I'll just be so excited whenever I can finally say I have a finished draft. So here's hoping that will still be able to happen this month.
Desperately wanting to catch up...
-Liz
Thursday, August 1, 2013
July Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Summary
So I realize that I have been very MIA this month, and sadly that's not due to massive writing sessions. There have been a lot of unexpected personal things come up this month. One right after the other. There have been some ups and some downs, the ups generally being really good, unfortunately the downs being rather upsetting. I won't bore anyone with the details, but rest assured, I am doing much better now in all areas.
Lately I have been organizing pre-written scenes for my work in progress. It seems to be doing rather well with getting those creative wheels turning. And I am having to exercise some deal of self control to not jump to the more exciting scenes and write them first, because I realize that if I do that, the build up scenes will seem to drag on, and that would just further delay the publication date.
I won't go through posting all of my word counts for the month, but there were some ok days, although sadly more bad days than good. More often than not, I couldn't seem to focus enough to get any word count done.
The second week was better in terms of flow in ideas and word crafting though. The weeks after, it became more common to have days with zero word count. My total right now is over 13k, and I'm working hard to get that number steadily moving up.
I'm starting to see a pattern in NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo seasons. I definitely seem to get more done during the month of November, as opposed to whatever months the camp sessions may be in. I'm thinking it has something to do with more writer participation and general craziness in November than during camps. Something about NaNoWriMo that just sparks more creativity and higher daily numbers than any other time.
I am still trying for my goal of having my novel finished and published before NaNoWriMo, so that I can work on one of two novels. I'm not entirely sure yet which one I will do. Most likely the sequel since that's the one that comes next.
Anyway, I know all of this is not quite as well organized or flows as well as my usual blogging style, but I suppose half of my brain is still elsewhere. If you find it, please be gentle and return it in one piece? It's not much good to me otherwise, lol.
Trying to de-scramble my thought train...
-Liz
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
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Prepping for July
So the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts in just 2 days! Normally I would say that now is the time to panic because maybe I wasn't quite as prepared as I should be. However, I do have a plan! Since I was unable to finish in April, I will be continuing until I finish in July. And then, whenever I hopefully finish the first novel, I will just go straight into the sequel and go until I finish.
My hope is to finish the first draft of the first novel by the end of July or August, get edits, work on any revisions, and try to get it self published by sometime this fall, or winter at the latest. And perhaps, if everything else goes accordingly, have the sequel also self published sometime within the next year.
The past month has gone well in terms of brainstorming and in general prepping for July though. I've been getting tons of ideas for the sequel lately and I cannot wait to get to those scenes! I so wish I could share more details about that now, but be patient, dear readers...the day will soon come when I will probably be sharing an excerpt from the sequel. Although, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I should probably finish the first novel before I start thinking about what excerpt I would share from the sequel.
Overall, I am just so excited to be steadily moving forward to finally being able to share this story with you. I guess excitement over the written word and fictional lands is all part of what truly makes me a writer. And I do know that this is what I was meant to do. I thank you all for sharing this journey with me. :)
Prepping for the madness...
-Liz
My hope is to finish the first draft of the first novel by the end of July or August, get edits, work on any revisions, and try to get it self published by sometime this fall, or winter at the latest. And perhaps, if everything else goes accordingly, have the sequel also self published sometime within the next year.
The past month has gone well in terms of brainstorming and in general prepping for July though. I've been getting tons of ideas for the sequel lately and I cannot wait to get to those scenes! I so wish I could share more details about that now, but be patient, dear readers...the day will soon come when I will probably be sharing an excerpt from the sequel. Although, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I should probably finish the first novel before I start thinking about what excerpt I would share from the sequel.
Overall, I am just so excited to be steadily moving forward to finally being able to share this story with you. I guess excitement over the written word and fictional lands is all part of what truly makes me a writer. And I do know that this is what I was meant to do. I thank you all for sharing this journey with me. :)
Prepping for the madness...
-Liz
Monday, June 24, 2013
Coming Soon: Book Reviews
So I've said it before when I first started this blog that I would eventually be doing some book reviews. Well, dear readers, that time has finally come. I find it sad that I don't seem to have as much time to read as I did when I was growing up. Back then, there was rarely a time when you would not see this one with a book in her hand. To this day, I love reading! I think that's something that will never change. But as I just said, I just don't seem to have as much time to read as I used to. Although lately I seem to have a little more time to read, which makes me very happy!
Soo...very soon, I will begin posting the occasional book review. I hope to post one either once a month, or once every other month. It depends on how much time I have for reading. I do have a short list started of novels I will be reviewing by the end of the year.
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
Seizing Darkness (coming August 2013) by Mariana Thorn
pRevealing Hamilton by Sarah Jayne Carr
Eighth Empire (coming December 2013) by Andrew Gaeta
Hopefully, as the year goes on, I'll get a break now and then to sit down and read. And I'll have more to review! Eventually, I hope to own a set of the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell. I love pretty much anything dragon, and I watch every week with my family as a new episode of the tv series spin-off comes on. But I'm getting a little off topic.
Anywho, so there you have my short list of novels I know of so far that I plan to read and review by the end of the year. My plan is to review the content (cover to cover, whilst trying to avoid any spoilers), including a brief synopsis of the novel, as well as possible comments on cover art and character personalities. I'll be making notes on the author's writing style and what audience may be best suited for the various adventures.
I promise it won't be the drag that it may sound like. I shall do my best to keep it light and fun. However, I make no promise if I'm reviewing an intense thriller or anything intense, really. It's kind of hard to keep it light and fun if the characters are constantly on the run from some crazy thing or another. Unless you have a cruel sense of humor and enjoy poking fun at said characters only because it's not you in that situation, ha ha.
Anyway though, tonight, I sign off with a very fitting quote for right now. I hope you enjoy the weeks to come as I share little pieces of one writer's life.
"So many books, so little time." -Frank Zappa
-Liz
Soo...very soon, I will begin posting the occasional book review. I hope to post one either once a month, or once every other month. It depends on how much time I have for reading. I do have a short list started of novels I will be reviewing by the end of the year.
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
Seizing Darkness (coming August 2013) by Mariana Thorn
pRevealing Hamilton by Sarah Jayne Carr
Eighth Empire (coming December 2013) by Andrew Gaeta
Hopefully, as the year goes on, I'll get a break now and then to sit down and read. And I'll have more to review! Eventually, I hope to own a set of the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell. I love pretty much anything dragon, and I watch every week with my family as a new episode of the tv series spin-off comes on. But I'm getting a little off topic.
Anywho, so there you have my short list of novels I know of so far that I plan to read and review by the end of the year. My plan is to review the content (cover to cover, whilst trying to avoid any spoilers), including a brief synopsis of the novel, as well as possible comments on cover art and character personalities. I'll be making notes on the author's writing style and what audience may be best suited for the various adventures.
I promise it won't be the drag that it may sound like. I shall do my best to keep it light and fun. However, I make no promise if I'm reviewing an intense thriller or anything intense, really. It's kind of hard to keep it light and fun if the characters are constantly on the run from some crazy thing or another. Unless you have a cruel sense of humor and enjoy poking fun at said characters only because it's not you in that situation, ha ha.
Anyway though, tonight, I sign off with a very fitting quote for right now. I hope you enjoy the weeks to come as I share little pieces of one writer's life.
"So many books, so little time." -Frank Zappa
-Liz
Thursday, June 6, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Four
Ok, so week four could definitely have gone better in the writing area. Unfortunately, there is no "but" to follow that statement. It just could have been better. Brace yourself, this may sting a little...
Here are my stats from week four.
My week four stats are as follows:
Day Twenty-Two: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Three: 214 total word count
Day Twenty-Four: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Five: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Six: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Seven: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Eight: 0 total word count
Day Twenty-Nine: 0 total word count
Day Thirty: 0 total word count
Week Four (and total for the month): 10,006 total word count
So yes, my month definitely could have gone better writing wise. However, the final week of April NaNo was not a complete loss. In fact, I think I gained a little more than a loss of a few thousand words. I got to spend more quality time with my amazing boyfriend that whole week. And I know I haven't mentioned him a whole lot before, but this is a time when I really don't mind sharing more about him. I mean, if anyone should get to brag on the man, it should be me, right? ;)
Anyway, so the final week in April was what's known as TWIRP around here, it stands for The Woman Is Required to Pay (and ask, actually). So I of course asked him to be my date for the week, and I gladly paid for the various events. He well knows that I would rather him not spend every penny on me, and I do not mind one bit actually paying for things every now and then. I actually told him that I think it should be a monthly thing from now on to have a TWIRP date, just as a little thank you from me for all that he does for me. He smiled sweetly when I told him this, and didn't argue, lol.
The week started off with a zombie themed scavenger hunt around the local college campus. It was so much fun, even though I didn't last very long. He got tagged not long after me, so when we caught up, we just walked around a little. It was a moonlit night, and there was a fountain nearby, so we just sat and talked for a while, which was so nice. Although slightly comical because you could still hear the shrieks in the distance from those who were still in the game being chased by "zombies".
We decided to skip the next night, which was trivia night, since we both had some work that needed to be done. This is where I got in those 214 words, and finally got out of the second chapter, and into the third. It's going ok now, I just need to pick up the pace a little more.
Since we skipped trivia night, I decided to take him to Portico for burger night. I swear, they have like the best burgers there! Afterward, we went back to his family's house to watch Psych with his younger brother. It's kind of become a semi-regular thing with all three of us to watch it together. :)
The next night was the dance, which was probably the highlight of both of our weeks. I'd never slow danced before, and I'm glad I got to share that with him. I think we slow danced about four different times the whole night, and it was just..great. Actually, that's kind of an understatement, but I'm not really sure what word to use here. It was definitely more than great though. And we survived the night without stepping on each others toes too! lol.
The final night of the week, was dinner and a movie night. I was a bit giddy this night because there was a specific place in town that he'd been wanting to go to for weeks on a date, and we just hadn't made it yet. So I started plotting that if we didn't make it before TWIRP week, I was going to take him myself. Bonus point? Pretty much his favorite place in town! I think he was a tiny bit thrilled when he realized where I was taking him, as I kept it a complete surprise. We managed to sit for a while, and take our time before we had to leave for the movie, which I had forgotten was a double feature. We sat and enjoyed The Princess Bride, which is fastly becoming one of his favorite movies. It is a pretty great movie though, easily in my top 5, and so quotable too! The second movie was Back to The Future, although it was getting late and we weren't able to stay and watch.
Nonetheless, the week ended well. I'm glad I had the week to spend with him. It's nice to be able to slow down and just have fun for a while...get away from the stresses of school and such.
Anywho, I'm sorry this is so beyond delayed...but I do have quite a few drafts I'm working on to be posted in the next couple of weeks, as well as a few for July. Here's hoping I can pick up the blogging and noveling pace. :)
-Liz
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
Friday, May 31, 2013
Re-learning how to prioritize...
So at this current time in my life, I seem to be re-learning how to prioritize. It also seems that at times during the month of May, everyone in the world suddenly remembers this really important thing they need done by me like yesterday...or at least, that's how it seems in my head.
Since earlier this year, I have had quite a bit going-more than I have in a long time. Perhaps part of that is simply because I took a long hiatus from writing all together for what seems a year or two. Since around October of last year, I really decided to jump on the ball and get back to writing already! And I had indeed forgotten just how much I enjoyed it. Although my first NaNoWriMo was back in 2011, and I had attempted my first novel in 30 days challenge-in other words, it had not been a year or two since I wrote something, it just felt like it in my head. I sadly have not had a really consistent writing life since perhaps late high school. I couldn't get enough of it then, I was constantly writing. It's sad how that's changed slightly for me. However, I am trying my best to get back into the swing of things, writing-wise and all.
For my first NaNoWrimo, I attempted with a romance novel that, well, crashed and burned. I may one day tweak it a bit and bring it back. But as of right now, I am not quite sure on that just yet.
After that first attempt, I began brainstorming once again with my various projects I had filed back for a while. And after a while, I knew what I wanted to do with my second go around-a long distance romance that, well, also sort of crashed and burned. It did last a little longer than the first novel, however. And I do intend on finishing it one day soon. In between NaNo seasons, perhaps I can pick it up again and finish it.
And thus, we finally get around to the point of the prioritizing...I participated in my first Camp session of NaNoWriMo in April with The Unknown (working title), my fantasy novel I've had in the works since I was 15. April was in general an up and down month for me, and I was not able to finish my novel. However, I am still writing on it and am hoping to finish it before the July session, in which I plan on writing the sequel. If I am not able to finish The Unknown before July, then my plan is to go on ahead and finish, then halfway through the month, or whenever it is that I should finish, begin writing the sequel. Just flow from one book to the other. And then take a few month breather before the real NaNoWriMo fun begins.
Anywho, so that's just my own noveling life craziness going on there. And it's not nearly everything I have going on in my life right now. I am also still helping to edit a fellow NaNo-er's novel, which is quite intriguing and I simply must demand that everyone go out and get it once it's up for grabs. I wish I could reveal a little more about it now, but alas, I cannot. However...I plan on giving a full review once done. I am also going to read and review Revealing Hamilton by Sarah Carr sometime soon as well.
While I'd love to have all the time in the world and the ability to do all of the above things at once, I am but one person, with one mind, and two hands...I unfortunately am simply not able to do such a thing. And while I do not like to, I am left no choice but to prioritize the various things on my list. Anything else will just have to find some possible way to be fit in, or simply be left out for the time being. This is sadly the reason why I have been neglecting my Wattpad and Booksie accounts for a while now. I simply have not had the time to write any more short stories, novellas, or side project novels for anyone to just read right now. This is another thing I am hoping to be able to get back to in between NaNo seasons.
That, along with picking a new image for my NKB short story. I look forward to next year's blogfest...I think I already know what I want to write then...but my dear readers, you'll just have to try to be patient for that one. And hopefully, I can get my novel finished and published by the end of the year. I would so love that. I really can't wait to share this story with all of you. :)
-Liz
Since earlier this year, I have had quite a bit going-more than I have in a long time. Perhaps part of that is simply because I took a long hiatus from writing all together for what seems a year or two. Since around October of last year, I really decided to jump on the ball and get back to writing already! And I had indeed forgotten just how much I enjoyed it. Although my first NaNoWriMo was back in 2011, and I had attempted my first novel in 30 days challenge-in other words, it had not been a year or two since I wrote something, it just felt like it in my head. I sadly have not had a really consistent writing life since perhaps late high school. I couldn't get enough of it then, I was constantly writing. It's sad how that's changed slightly for me. However, I am trying my best to get back into the swing of things, writing-wise and all.
For my first NaNoWrimo, I attempted with a romance novel that, well, crashed and burned. I may one day tweak it a bit and bring it back. But as of right now, I am not quite sure on that just yet.
After that first attempt, I began brainstorming once again with my various projects I had filed back for a while. And after a while, I knew what I wanted to do with my second go around-a long distance romance that, well, also sort of crashed and burned. It did last a little longer than the first novel, however. And I do intend on finishing it one day soon. In between NaNo seasons, perhaps I can pick it up again and finish it.
And thus, we finally get around to the point of the prioritizing...I participated in my first Camp session of NaNoWriMo in April with The Unknown (working title), my fantasy novel I've had in the works since I was 15. April was in general an up and down month for me, and I was not able to finish my novel. However, I am still writing on it and am hoping to finish it before the July session, in which I plan on writing the sequel. If I am not able to finish The Unknown before July, then my plan is to go on ahead and finish, then halfway through the month, or whenever it is that I should finish, begin writing the sequel. Just flow from one book to the other. And then take a few month breather before the real NaNoWriMo fun begins.
Anywho, so that's just my own noveling life craziness going on there. And it's not nearly everything I have going on in my life right now. I am also still helping to edit a fellow NaNo-er's novel, which is quite intriguing and I simply must demand that everyone go out and get it once it's up for grabs. I wish I could reveal a little more about it now, but alas, I cannot. However...I plan on giving a full review once done. I am also going to read and review Revealing Hamilton by Sarah Carr sometime soon as well.
While I'd love to have all the time in the world and the ability to do all of the above things at once, I am but one person, with one mind, and two hands...I unfortunately am simply not able to do such a thing. And while I do not like to, I am left no choice but to prioritize the various things on my list. Anything else will just have to find some possible way to be fit in, or simply be left out for the time being. This is sadly the reason why I have been neglecting my Wattpad and Booksie accounts for a while now. I simply have not had the time to write any more short stories, novellas, or side project novels for anyone to just read right now. This is another thing I am hoping to be able to get back to in between NaNo seasons.
That, along with picking a new image for my NKB short story. I look forward to next year's blogfest...I think I already know what I want to write then...but my dear readers, you'll just have to try to be patient for that one. And hopefully, I can get my novel finished and published by the end of the year. I would so love that. I really can't wait to share this story with all of you. :)
-Liz
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Apologies
So I know I haven’t been very consistent with my blogging this month, and I’d like to take a moment to explain why.
At first, it wasn’t so bad, I had a couple of draft posts saved, intending on finishing them and posting them. But then I had an unbelievably busy week, and right in the middle of an already hectic week, my Grandmother nearly had a stroke and was put in the hospital for about two weeks, so the whole family was kinda busy with that. She’s doing a little better now, but still has a ways to go until she’s doing a whole lot better.
Anyway, then there’s my other set of grandparents-my Pap-paw and Granny. My mom told me just recently that they’re not doing so good. Of course, she’s been telling me this for a long time now, but it’s only just now sinking in. I’ve only ever had one Pap-paw. My other granddad passed away when I was about 12, and I never really knew him that well. I’m really close with my Pap-paw though, I always have been. He’s really special to me, and it’s kinda rough to suddenly realize that he may not actually be here for much longer. He’s been sick and it’s apparently taking a bit longer than it should for him to get better. I know it’s going to be really hard whenever it may be.
So, for the most part, it’s been a bunch of family stuff come up all at once that’s kept me away from my writing. That, and the other millions of things on my mind lately. I feel like I really need a break from everything, but at the same time, I feel like I don’t even have time for a break! It’s really crazy, and I’m trying my best to just relax and tackle one thing at a time.
Of course, my boyfriend is pretty good at keeping me relaxed too. If I’m really stressed, all I have to do is just be around him, and everything seems better, brighter and easier to tackle.
So bear with me for a while, dear readers…I’m still around, and definitely still writing. It just may be longer in between blog posts than I would like. On the upside, however, I do have a couple of more ideas for posts! So I should have roughly 4 or 5 rough drafts I can be working on for blog posts to be posted the next time I get a chance to breathe. :)
“In tru nose…out tru mouth…”
-Liz
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
April Camp NaNoWriMo 2013: Week Three
*Note: Yes, I am very aware of how delayed this is...I've just been really busy...anywho, here's how week three went last month...
Alright, so week three could definitely have been better, but I still like that 1,085 mark I hit on day fifteen. :) Here are my stats so far.
My week three stats are as follows:
Day Fifteen: 1,085 total word count
Day Sixteen: 66 total word count
Day Seventeen: 0 total word count
Day Eighteen: 0 total word count
Day Nineteen: 0 total word count
Day Twenty: 800 total word count
Day Twenty-One: 43 total word count
Week Three: 9,362 total word count
So I know I said last week that I would have already hit 10k by now....yeah....that didn't really work out well, as you can see. I'm not far from that 10k mark though, and I will be hitting it before this last week's up. I know saying I'll hit that 50k mark before the month's up now, is a bit of a stretch, but I'm still going to see how far I can get, and take my novel past the end of April in order to finish it. My plan is to write the sequel in July, so I'll need to know exactly where I'm going in order for that to work. I've had a couple of ideas for the past few years, but I'll need more of a solid plot line and know what I'm doing so I can make sure that sequel gets done.
My lack of wordage on multiple days this past week is due to, really and honestly, lack of"want to". Wait, no, make that "willing to". I've been wanting for a long time to sit down and finish my novel. But it seems that my will to cooperate with the ways of Camp NaNoWriMo are less than my will to cooperate with the ways of NaNoWriMo (and yes, there's a bit of difference here). I think for one, my crazy Wrimo's, Angi and Mal, who I've known since I first started NaNoWriMo a few years ago are sadly not participating in April's Camp NaNo. However, they are possibly considering the July session, so it's quite debatable to expect better word counts then. My craziness can better bounce off of said Wrimo's then, and perhaps my word counts will be kept up to speed with the daily goals.
The boyfriend is still steadily encouraging me to finish, which I will. It just probably won't be in time for the end of April, sadly. But hopefully I can have it finished by the middle of May. :) In any case, it will be finished. That much I can promise you. :) And it might possibly get finished before May is up...lol, he's given me that deadline that it better be done by then. Of course, I kinda think perhaps part of it is just his excitement to finally read the rest of my novel. Especially since he know very little about it. But then again...maybe in reality, he's actually giving me the kick in the pants I've needed to really get moving on my novel. I mean, that's NaNoWriMo's motto...I think...except for the life of me, I can't seem to find it...my bad. But I know I've seen it somewhere, lol.
But anywho, maybe him giving me a deadline to finish is what I need. I mean, I'll give my own self the occasional deadline, but mine seem to be more flexible...and something tells me his deadline won't be quite so flexible. :P
As far as the actual writing goes, I think what I need to do now is just power through the scenes I'm in now and get to the good part already. It's just felt for a while like it's just draaaaaaaging on, which is less fun for the writer than it is for the reader, I'm sure. I have a plan for the next several chapters, up until chapter eleven or twelve, so I know where I'm going more specifically for now. Past that point, I still have my basic plot line to follow. First things first though...I just have to get past that chapter two plateau...
Powering through chapter two...
-Liz
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
Monday, February 18, 2013
Reasons for being MIA
Alright everyone, so my sincerest apologies for being gone so much the past few weeks! But I have good reasons, I promise.
So my college group is going on a mission trip to Denver, CO over spring break, and every spring we do a mission trip fundraiser. It's a musical of sorts where we take different Broadway songs and perform them. In years past, there has also been a Disney montage that was pretty awesome if you ask me. Only this year was a little different because the theme was country. So there was no Broadway, and no Disney. But it was so great! It always is anyway, and the audience reacted so well to everything! :)
I've been going to rehearsals since early January, up until show time this past weekend, so that's where my brain's been the past few weeks. Sadly, this means I've gotten very little writing done. But now that all of the musical theater stuff is done, my schedule's opened wide up. At least for the next week, then my brain will be on the mission trip. I'm taking a blank notebook with me to hopefully get some writing done on the 18-hour drive up there-yes, we are driving. I kinda prefer it that way too. It gives me more time to get some potential writing or editing done.
And then when I get back, my brain will be back on writing, and hopefully I'll be able to post more short stories and chapters to Clue. So that's what I'll be up to for the month of March. And then come April (dun-dun-dunnn) CAMP NANOWRIMO TIME!!! :D Hoping I can finally finish my novel I've been working on since I was 15.
Overall, I'm hoping this will be a good year for writing, and I have a pretty good feeling it will be. I do, after all, have plans to finish two to three novels this year. :)
But anywho, it's really late where I am now. But I did want to finally explain my absence for so long. I'm going to try my best to get back in the blogging swing of things. Unfortunately, it seems rather easy to fall out of habit, and for that I am truly sorry. Maybe finishing my first novel will make up for it? :)
Finally breathing after the madness...
-Liz
PS. To those who have been hinting, or just outright bugging me to get back to blogging...here it is, finally. Happy now? Hehe. :)
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. :)
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Calling all fantasy lovers...
So I had a pretty fantastic night Thursday night. I was unexpectedly able to go see The Hobbit premiere due to a friend of mine having an extra ticket (in 3D) and they really didn't want it to go to waste. I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet, but I definitely will now. I was especially excited to find out that there's a freaking dragon in The Hobbit! Someone forgot to mention this to me. I love dragons!
Anyway, when the movie was over I stayed with my other friend I wound up sitting with, and we waited until all 10-15 minutes of credits played, only to find out that there was not in fact, an end credits scene. But to pass the time, I was explaining to him that I really want to eventually write a dragon book but I'm not sure what to do about it since nearly everything's been done before. He quickly corrected me saying, "Not necessarily."
So I asked him to give me a few examples. His first idea was simply put, brilliant. I so wish I could give spoilers and share the amazingness of this idea. However, it states it in the title: "spoilers". So alas, I cannot share details at this time, but I am super, super excited about writing this. It may not happen for another year or two. But rest assured-it will happen. And my awesome friend has already been promised to be in the acknowledgements page, and he will be getting an autographed copy because he's just that awesome, haha. And I fully intend on keeping my promise.
A main reason of why it may take longer to get around to writing this is because it's in an area of fantasy in which I am not that experienced. Thankfully, I have two pretty beastly writer friends who both know their way around pretty well with the fantasy genre. It could be because that's pretty much all they write. But then, I never heard anyone complain about too much fantasy either. So because they are so good at what they write, I will be going to them for many, many brainstorming sessions. So chances are, they too will get mentions on the acknowledgements page. But the guy who gave me this brilliant idea comes first, hehehe.
So needless to say, I am so freaking excited about this! And to sweeten the deal just a little bit more, I am going to do my best to work out at least one fictional language, preferably two for this upcoming novel. EEEHH!! Looking forward to getting to work on this!!
Believing dragons truly existed (no, seriously),
-Liz
Anyway, when the movie was over I stayed with my other friend I wound up sitting with, and we waited until all 10-15 minutes of credits played, only to find out that there was not in fact, an end credits scene. But to pass the time, I was explaining to him that I really want to eventually write a dragon book but I'm not sure what to do about it since nearly everything's been done before. He quickly corrected me saying, "Not necessarily."
So I asked him to give me a few examples. His first idea was simply put, brilliant. I so wish I could give spoilers and share the amazingness of this idea. However, it states it in the title: "spoilers". So alas, I cannot share details at this time, but I am super, super excited about writing this. It may not happen for another year or two. But rest assured-it will happen. And my awesome friend has already been promised to be in the acknowledgements page, and he will be getting an autographed copy because he's just that awesome, haha. And I fully intend on keeping my promise.
A main reason of why it may take longer to get around to writing this is because it's in an area of fantasy in which I am not that experienced. Thankfully, I have two pretty beastly writer friends who both know their way around pretty well with the fantasy genre. It could be because that's pretty much all they write. But then, I never heard anyone complain about too much fantasy either. So because they are so good at what they write, I will be going to them for many, many brainstorming sessions. So chances are, they too will get mentions on the acknowledgements page. But the guy who gave me this brilliant idea comes first, hehehe.
So needless to say, I am so freaking excited about this! And to sweeten the deal just a little bit more, I am going to do my best to work out at least one fictional language, preferably two for this upcoming novel. EEEHH!! Looking forward to getting to work on this!!
Believing dragons truly existed (no, seriously),
-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.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
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
-Liz
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Random Celebratory Post!!
Ok, so this isn't exactly random. I have a point to make here. I have somehow seriously underestimated any number of potential fans of my writing. I know that because this morning, I am transferring some stories from an old writing account to the new one. On the portfolio page, it has your story's title, what genre it is, how many pages, read count, and comment count.
Anyway, I just happen to glance toward the middle of the page to see that ohmygosh, I have over 1,000 reads on one story alone! It's a "short" story (I put short in quotations because my brain insists that short is never below 1,000 words), but still, I'll take the 1,090 reads! It still hasn't sunk in that this has actually happened. It's just...amazing, really. I'm speechless. And I'm a girl! We always have things to say, haha.
But before I go off ranting, there's one person I should thank the most for. And I can never thank them enough for this. I want to thank my God for just being awesome every day. For being there for me when I needed Him most, and for giving me this great talent to share with everyone. I hope any future fame will never go to my head. This 1,090 reads just gives me a mere taste of what that might be like. And I couldn't feel more humbled that that many people enjoy my writing. Thank you everyone, for either reading what I write, or supporting me all along the way in some way. You'll never know how much you mean to me, and how grateful I am for you to be in my life. :)
Thank You God!
-Liz
Anyway, I just happen to glance toward the middle of the page to see that ohmygosh, I have over 1,000 reads on one story alone! It's a "short" story (I put short in quotations because my brain insists that short is never below 1,000 words), but still, I'll take the 1,090 reads! It still hasn't sunk in that this has actually happened. It's just...amazing, really. I'm speechless. And I'm a girl! We always have things to say, haha.
But before I go off ranting, there's one person I should thank the most for. And I can never thank them enough for this. I want to thank my God for just being awesome every day. For being there for me when I needed Him most, and for giving me this great talent to share with everyone. I hope any future fame will never go to my head. This 1,090 reads just gives me a mere taste of what that might be like. And I couldn't feel more humbled that that many people enjoy my writing. Thank you everyone, for either reading what I write, or supporting me all along the way in some way. You'll never know how much you mean to me, and how grateful I am for you to be in my life. :)
Thank You God!
-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. :)
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
Monday, November 26, 2012
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.
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.
A Burst of Genius!
Ok, so I'm a bit OCD on posting my drafts in order, but right now, I'll forgive myself. The side project (Clue: A Modern Tale) book I've been brainstorming over for the past few months looks like it might see the light of day really, really soon! As in, by the end of the day! What was originally the prologue, I changed to the first chapter. I knew what I wanted to do for the new prologue, I just needed to think of a great first line. I've started being more hard on myself about writing a first line that immediately grabs the reader's attention and immerses them into the story. I think this one does just that, and keeps attention for the remainder of the prologue. It's only a paragraph long, but some of my better work, I believe.
Anyway, I just had to let some of the excitement out before I go to bed (yes, just now going to bed. Night owl here, remember?). I'm excited to share the prologue with you later today! It will be posted on my Wattpad and Booksie accounts. Look for my next post sharing the links!
-Liz
Anyway, I just had to let some of the excitement out before I go to bed (yes, just now going to bed. Night owl here, remember?). I'm excited to share the prologue with you later today! It will be posted on my Wattpad and Booksie accounts. Look for my next post sharing the links!
-Liz
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