Dreaming Up Realities

Lemme just crawl out from the rock I've been living under

2011-07-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It seems like it's been months and months since I last posted...oh wait, it has!

The truth is, life is chaotic. Obviously not just chaotic for me, but in general. And those pesky little chaotic chunks are taking over my life. It's been very difficult getting time to even write, let alone do blog posts, but my schedule has become normal, which means I'm no longer the living dead when changing from waking up at noon everyday to walking up at 7am Monday thru Friday.

Meaning...

*cue single ray of sunshine and angel singing*

I have time to write, which translates roughly to, "I can catch up on some blog posts."

But let's not get out of hand. I'm balancing 40+ work weeks with an attempt at a social life on the weekends and writing for 1-2 hours before dinner, shower, bedtime. How people deal with a family on top of that will remain one of the greatest mysteries in the world, because I'll tell you--I have to avoid my pillow like the plague or all hope is lost. In my past, there used to be this thing called "time" and I used to have a lot of it. Now it's elusive and majestic...like a unicorn.

I can promise one blog post will be coming up, and unlike my usual posts, it will be utterly, completely, 100% serious, emotional, and close to my heart. And probably tear-stricken, because after July 15th rolls around, I'll probably be catatonic for a while.

If July 15th didn't clue you in, I'm indeed meaning the end of the Harry Potter movie franchise. It's a post I was intending to do after part one, but I felt it would be better suited for when the series is officially over--book and movie-wise.

A dedication post for the series that truly did change my life, but that'll all be explained in that post. You know what they say: spoilers.

Another reason why I love Photoshop...

2010-11-28T02:50:00.001-08:00

...because I can go from randomly discovering cool Google pictures to cropping, blending, and merging something into a cover in 10 minutes.

Of course, this is nothing like how I want my cover to be, but I saw the picture and thought it was pretty neat for my book. I really want to get back into Photoshop now that NaNo is done and I can go back to writing at a leisurely pace rather than frantic.

But back to covers. The idea I have for my cover would be kind of similar to this, only my two male MCs would be in it. Shaggy, blond-haired Cole on the right and slightly forward, and spiky, brown-haired Morgan on the left and just behind him. In Cole's hand, not hovering, would be holding an orb like this between himself and Morgan, casting the light over their faces. Cole wears his typical mischievous smirk, Morgan makes a "y so srs" face. What's funny is this cover seems like it's all detailed when really, it only came to me today when I found the picture of the orb randomly browsing Google images.

I think I'll set myself to work on a project to make an awesomesauce book cover, or at the very least, keep training myself on various photoshop techniques because I really do have a lot of fun working on them, even if they are as simple as the one I just made.

This just in...

2010-11-27T18:52:00.000-08:00

...I'm awesome. And amazing. And really proud of myself. Because it is currently November 27th, 2010 and I just finished writing 50 thousand words in 27 days for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

So I will bask in my awesomeness. Pass out. Get some decent sleep. Stop eating so much writerly snack food. Then finish the rest of my novel.

One of the more hilarious conversations...

2010-11-16T00:07:00.000-08:00

Usually every Monday night, due to getting out of class late, I crash at my friends' apartment. Two computer guys--friends from high school--and one of my two closest friends share the three bedroom apartment. I like to call them my future roommates because once their lease is up at the end of January, I'll be joining their move into a four bedroom house.

The guys are, more often than not, hilarious. Tonight happened to be one of those times that I stumbled into an awesome conversation about Harry Potter and Twilight. It first started off when I mentioned that our group of eight (including them) were going to see Harry Potter 7 at the big 22-screen theater.

This is how the conversation went with the guys.

Me: So, you guys excited for Harry Potter?! I know you are, D. Kaitlyn was just thrilled when you woke her up at 3am thinking last Thursday was premiere night.

D: I read that it was the premiere last Thursday!

Me: That was in London...

D:...it was still a premiere.

Me: Well, it's THIS Thursday. And we'll be at Edwards Theater.

D: Why that theater? Why not the closer one with no people?

Me: Because we'll miss all the people dressed up as slutty and/or nerdy Hogwarts students.

M: We'll need to dress up then. I'll go as Edward.

D: I'll go as Cedric.

M: Dead Cedric.

D: Then we'll both be dead.

M: No, I'll be undead. You'll just be dead dead.

D: And I'll still be a better actor.

M: You do less sparkling.

D: And still be more entertaining.

I love my future roommates.

NaNoWriMo and Beyond

2010-11-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo Day 4

The trek through the perilous Forest of Wordage is beginning to take its toll. I'm 6700 words in, perfectly on course, but I keep finding myself falling victim to the Distraction Traps. Twitter, Facebook, and Absolute Write page refreshes lie in my future, overreacting characters in my past. I take comfort in knowing that it's all behind me and the move forward is beginning to form more of a defined path, less of a thick mass of seemingly unending forest.

At least the rations are plentiful. My journey isn't without the necessities: coffee, chocolate--just what I need to survive the sleepless nights. The looming threat of the next day's word count is like an invisible monster hot on my heels. If I don't move faster, I'm sure to be crushed under the monster's weight.

I've run into others on my quest. They tell tales of two, friends from distant lands crossing the ten thousandth threshold. They're rumored to be named Sage and Becca. Chances of meeting them through the thicket are low, but I refuse to not make an attempt.

Tomorrow is a new day and the next days after it are wide open. I plan on doubling my pace with each new day; change speeds from meandering along to pushing myself further. What new word counts will I see? 3000? 4000? Could I possibly see 5000? The idea seems foolish, yet the coffee running through my veins might just be enough to make me believe.

My short rest is almost over. Night time approaches, and the Distraction Traps become fewer and farther between. It's my chance to act, to take that chance and get ahead. Maybe the Word Count beast will cease its chase, allow me to not look over my shoulder. Maybe I can catch up with the quick-moving Sage and Becca someday.

Only the speed of my typing and the quickness of my imagination will tell.

The Prep for NaNoWriMo

2010-10-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have returned. Back from the fiery depths of a place called School and an equally fiery place called Work.

October is passing with a flash thanks to the mounds of papers and studying as well as those lovely 6am work shifts that leave me too exhausted to do anything afterwards but sleep.

While it seems that I've disappeared off the face of the writing community, the truth is--I've been sooper sekretly busy...it just comes in spurts. Writing a bit on the computer here, writing a bit on the notebook there. Characters, plots, story lines have permanently wedged themselves into my skull so even when I'm not doing my sooper sekret writing, I can't stop thinking about all my characters.

In all reality, I've been prepping for NaNoWriMo, which for those of you who haven't heard of this strange word, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. Long story short: 30 days to write 50,000 words. Sound easy? Think again. That's almost 1700 words a day to form ideas into sentences. I failed it last year, coming up at only 30k words with some flipping between which story to write.

This year, I'm prepared.

How am I preparing, you ask? Oh, let me tell you.

Step One: Think up a story

Preferably something that will be longer than 50k words...

Or in my case, decide which of the seemingly billions of ideas I want to pursue. But that's all they are: ideas. Nothing concrete, just brief snippets of story that I want to turn into full-length epic novels. It's tough. I have a lot of promising ideas, I think, and I'd like to create the plot for them someday, but for the sake of my sanity, I'm deciding now, before November, which story I am putting all of my effort towards. But to decide that, I needed to go into step two, and that is...

Step Two: Plot, Detail, Outline

Some people dig outlines, others don't. For me, It's not so much a detailed outline as a poster board with a bunch of thoughts jotted down and circled in a bubble. Sometimes there is a timeline of events, sometimes I have arrows from one bubbled thought pointing to another to show that they are linked in some way. Sometimes I just want to bang my head against the closest hard surface, but in no way does that help my progression. The most I hope to achieve in the second step is a general plot.

"This story is about a boy who does [this]. He and [this person] are bitter enemies but they must team up to stop [this] from happening. Along the way, he meets [a person] and [another person] who help him on his journey."

Something like this, but more awesome.

Step Three: o hai characters.

For me, sometimes this step and step two get switched around. I tend to think up characters and then revolve stories around them, but sometimes the story writes them. With the case of my NaNoWriMo WIP, it was the characters first, story second. But every so often, it's story first, characters second.

With every story, I like to have well-rounded characters. It's hard for me to write them as bland and then go back once I'm finished to tidy them up, so I like to have them as 3D as I can make them. Considering there are only 30 days to write a full urban fantasy novel, character development will help me move way faster.

Characters created--Check!

Characters named--Check!

Characters described--Check!

Hello MC boys. You're looking very makey-outey (props to those who know what that line is from)

Step Four: Determine the Point of View and tense

WHY WAS THIS STEP SO HARD?! For me personally, this step is STILL driving me insane as to how I want to actually write the story. As much as I ADORE first person PoV (both past and present), this book is screaming to be written in 3rd person because of the jumps between characters. And considering there are five characters with huge roles and three that are actual MCs, that would be very tricky. Still considering it, but not likely.

3rd person is safe for the plot, but no I have to decide whether to make it past or present. Present would be the safest for this story, but I'm feeling more and more comfortable with present tense.

UGH DILEMMAS!

For the time being, I've decided to do 3rd person present. Tenses worry me less when I have to go back and change them.

Step Five: Combine steps 1-4 in a large bowl...

Feeling comfortable with my decisions, I mix everything together to create a decently detailed plot with developed characters, those pesky plot twists, and an ending.

Again, this is me being overzealous. After not actually being ready for NaNo, I vowed to make this year better. This year...I WILL finish a book in a month.

Oh, I almost forgot Step Six: Buy munchies...lots of munchies

Because NaNoWriMo also means "lets gain 10 lbs from snackage and lack of sleep!"

So...Did I miss any steps?

In which I fangirl...

2010-10-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing inspires my writing on like TV shows with amazing moments. So if you haven't seen the tv show Castle with the amazing Nathan Fillion, you better get on it. No words can describe the look on his face at the end. My WIP couples are just ITCHING to be written.

Writing for the sake of writing.

2010-09-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

Guys.

Guys!

......I finally have time to write.

Seems like ages since I sat down at Starbucks and cranked out some words. Other than school, friends, and work, it's taken me a lot of plotting, coffee, and scribbling on notebooks to get to where I am now, which is about to work on a new idea.

Yeah I know, I know. Not sure how many times I've said THAT before, but I'm hoping this will be different. Why?--because something clicked in my head: I'm done playing by the rules. I've spent so much time worrying about what agents will think, why publishing houses would never buy this story. In all the stress and worry and frustration, I forgot that writing was my passion. I forgot that writing was what made me happy. So I'm falling back to my roots. Some of what I've written is too tangled in the worries I had before, and I'm tired of trying to fix it at this moment in time. Maybe some day I'll tend to the messy WIP folders I have, but until then, I'm starting over. Writing just what I want to write because that is my passion. If it's good--wonderful. But it doesn't matter to me so much anymore.

I just miss writing for the sake of writing.

As it is, I'm adventuring into the lands of male PoVs. Wish me luck.

Just a little update

2010-08-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Mostly because I feel AWFUL about the blog abuse, and mostly because I needed to vent about the build up of life that is really restricting writing time.

Reason 1.) I am a slave to work. Work. work. wokr. owrk. As the days go by, my brain turns to mush. It was like a game of How Many Hours Can We Cram Into Leah's Week. And let me tell you, they done good.

Reason 2.) I am a slave to school. Hour and a half commute to Fresno, class, hour and a half commute home, sleep. Rinse and repeat. How I pass the time on that drive? I blast A Day to Remember, Four Year Strong, and Saosin--which incidentally are all CDs that fit awesomely with the new Concealed story.

Reason 3.) I am a slave to my animals. My parents are off to help the needy children in Haiti for a week and a half. It's wonderful and caring and noble of them, but mixing reason 1 and 2 with tending to the three dogs, 2 cats, fish, and lawn care have left me a bit exhausted. So when I'm not doing 1 and 2, I'm doing 3.

And social life? At this point, non-existent. Friends moved to Fresno, Leah stays home...at least, only for a few months until I move down to Fresno too. At this point, the writing output will spike. I had never written so much in my life when I lived in my last apartment in Fresno. For some reason, having my own place with my own stuff was like a kick in the ass to my muse. 67k on my first book in two months...while going to school 5 days a week...and working...and still being able to read books and play video games.

I just keep telling myself that all this stuff I'm doing will end well. I'll have money for my apartment from all the hours at work. I'll learn more about writing through my English classes to further my writing style more than its already come. And I'm only taking care of the animals for another few days, so I'll have more time then.

Until then, I'm just counting down the days until I move out. It'll be "So much writing, so little time."

I haz a contest!

2010-08-02T01:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's just a little one...a test drive, if you will, but hey--gotta start somewhere, right?!

I be hosting mah first contest over at The GotYA blog.

So...you know...you all should go check it out :)

And while you're here, you might as well enjoy Music Monday--since I've been neglecting it.

This week's Music Monday is...*drum roll*...Crossfire by Brandon Flowers.

One word: A-freaking-dorable. This music video owns MY SOUL.

Enjoy :)

Music Monday

2010-07-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

Albeit, late on Monday, I felt the need to do one--as it's a PERFECT song for my MC to her past love interest. I love it. And I shall make you all love it. Muahahahaha!

Anyways, this week's Music Monday is Even I by Vedera

Enjoy!

Teaser Tuesday

2010-06-29T00:33:00.001-07:00

Decided to participate in this week's TT because I've been busy working on my untitled dark contemporary WIP sitting pretty at 3400 words (for now).

A brief premise is about the MC, Lexie--a spoiled Queen Bee who is put at blame in the suicide note of a boy she used and teased.

In this scene, Lexie runs away from the boy's funeral and into Emilia--Jared's (the boy) best and only friend.

I love the complexity of these characters and their dynamics. I hope it comes out clear that in one minute, you can go from hating Lexie and thinking she's terrible, to feeling pity for her in the next.

**********

Snipped. Thanks for reading!

Mmm...ice cream

2010-06-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Borrowed from the lovely Veronica Roth, who borrowed it from YAHighway. Mostly something to just make my blog look prettier because I've been neglecting everything lately. Writing, reading, blogger...even Twitter has been sad without my massive TPD (tweets per day). I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing. Guess I just need to keep waiting for my muse to come back from vacation? Anyways, fun little quiz incoming!

Leah's Result: Pint of Ben and Jerry’s. And a spoon.

on quiz: What Kind of Writerly Snack Are You?

Who: Thrill-seekers and riders on the emotional roller coaster.

When: Just after OMG TOTALLY AMAZING NEWS!!!!! comes or just
after omgthissucksmycareerisoverbeforeitbegansob! News.

Why: It’s cool. It’s creamy. It’s fatty and science tells us
we love fat. It’s a throwback to birthdays of our childhood and celebrations
with confetti and streamers. Or it’s comfort, a cuddle, the body settling in
for the metaphorical cold, dreary onslaught of publishing winter. And because
it comes in a convenient single serving size. Adorable! Right?

Quiz Maker

Take this quiz & get your result

What Kind of Writerly Snack Are You? » online testing

Trailer and contest

2010-06-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, seems like a weird combination, but both are fitting into this post.

First off, if you haven't seen the new trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader...Go.Watch.It.NOW!

I'll be honest and say that I may or may not have shrieked like a banshee when I saw that William Moseley was in this one too, him being the perfect choice for my male MC, Adarin, in Concealed. The trailer itself was good, nothing special--even for a teaser trailer. I expected better but again--Peter was in it, so I pretty much fangirled.

I'm still very excited for this movie, as I definitely LOVE the books. It's going to be such a great winter movie season, what with Narnia coming out and Harry Potter part one (which if you haven't seen that trailer yet, I don't think I can speak to you). I'm on the verge of exploding with that one. While I love Narnia to death, I didn't actually read them until after the first movie came out. I still remember being in 5th grade and looking at the cover of this book with a picture of a lion on it and a really loooong title, and thinking, "I'll come back to this." But it never happened and I kinda regret not reading them sooner.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, is something that I completely grew up with. I started reading them when I was in 6th grade, 2 years after the first book had come out. I was so obsessed. I read all of them instantly and because so sad when I realized I had to wait for the next books to come out. It's been 11 freakin' years since I first started reading them and even to this day, I've never been more excited for something to come out. The movies, while not being all that great, are still little pieces that remind me the series isn't quite over yet. I like having the buildup of wait and anticipation. Me and Sarah used to play the waiting game with the Lord of the Rings movies, so once HP movies are out and on DVD, it'll be a sad reminder that there will be no more waiting in line for 10 hours in 105 degree heat with friends at the midnight premiere.

We'll have to find another book-to-movie to ogle. I'm hoping that next one will be The Hunger Games.

Anyways, enough with my sadness of the HP series ending (it just means I'll have to save up money to visit the HP theme park *winkwink*). The next bit of news is Sumayyah is having a contest over at her blog. I pretty much adore her AND her contests, so you should definitely check it out. Her prizers are fantastic! :D

You can find her contest here.

Music Monday

2010-06-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

And yet another Music Monday--where I pretty much post songs from my WIP.

This weeks song is Folllow and Feel by Saosin

I think this song is perfect for one of my MC, Leo, in Time Lost. Poor guy, always on the sidelines.

Anywho. Enjoy!

New layout

2010-06-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Everyone bear with me here as I get my shiny new domain up and running. Trying to get everything up from scratch.

Music Monday

2010-06-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't done this in a few weeks. Or posted anything in a while. I know, bad blogger. I'm not at a loss of creativity for writing, but I am for blog topics. Nothing seems to be wanting to come to me.

Anyways, thanks to the OPWFT thread and Sarah, I have yet another song stuck in my song--One that I normally wouldn't listen to.

So I present B.o.b Ft Hayley Williams Airplanes

Stupid song and its ability to get stuck in my head...

Because my blog has been quiet...

2010-05-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

...and I'm such a fan of LOST...

This makes me DIE ROFLING.

In all honesty, I loved LOST. All the characters were so amazing and the same for the actors. Loved Jack. Loved Kate. Loved Sawyer. Love, love, love.

Just because I make fun of something, doesn't mean I don't heart it :)

Teaserly Tuesday

2010-05-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

Posting more of Time Lost. Another makeshift-hospital scene where Sierra recovers from an almost-fatal stab wound.

I'm very excited that it's now summer, which means all I have to do is balance work with reading, writing, and friends. My hope is to have Time Lost written, edited, beta'd, and ready for querying by the end of summer. It's a big goal, considering I already am seeing a LARGE amount of edits to do, but I think it's also a reasonable goal.

**********

Snipped. Thanks for reading!

Another Tease.

2010-05-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Another snippet from my WIP Time Lost. Still loving the story, still loving the characters...especially Leo. *snuggles*

**********

Snipped

Teaser Tuesday

2010-05-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Another snippet from my WIP, Time Lost, which is an Urban Fantasy 5-book series about a girl, Sierra, who discovers she was born into an eternal society of time watchers who protect the lives and timelines of world-changing people and events (i.e. making sure things happen how they are supposed to happen).

I'm super excited about this series, having abandoned my others temporarily to pursue this one. I'm a good chunk into it, working my way to the scene that I posted part of last night in Friday Night Write (sorry if you read it already. I just kind of love it.)

Basically, it's Sierra--waking from a nearly-fatal wound--and Leo--one of Sierra's best friends--watching over her as she recovers. These two kind of own my heart right now.

**********

Snipped

Music Monday

2010-05-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

So, I've been a very bad blogger this past couple weeks. Finals, work, studying, blahblahblah--it's all taking up my time. But I only have another week and a half before finals are done and I'm into summer!

In the meantime, this week's Music Monday is A Sight to Behold by Eisley--a kickass group of girls who rock indie. This song in particular I have running through my head for my WIP Feral. I think it's rather perfect for YA complicated romances.

Also, sorry about the quality. I actually was making a video for this song with just music and lyrics, but alas, my Movie Maker hates me and kept freezing.

Music Monday

2010-05-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

I think I'll start posting one of these every Monday because these are my inspirations. Music plays a huge part in my writing. I can't even do a paragraph without some sort of tune playing in the background.

Besides, this song wedged itself into my head. Thanks a lot, Sarah.

This weeks Music Monday song is This Body Pays the Bill$ by Four Year Strong.

Oh alternative rock, how I love you.

P.S. BEST. CD COVER. EVER!

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-04-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well since it's been ages since I've done one, but mah blogs been looking a little post lonely, so why not?

Decided to post a very short snip, fresh off the ~~press~~ Microsoft word document from my new WIP, The Catalyst, which is still a working title. The idea stemmed from a single UF book to a five part series, which I definitely was not expecting. I have many awesomesauce ideas, so we'll see how it turns out.

Also, if you haven't visited Vee's Fantastical Blog of Wonder, do it now! She's having the best contest EVER. Ahh, the havoc I can cause with a Marshmallow Gun...

P.S. This is very rough. Just ignore the typos/grammatical errors that you find :)

**********

Snipped

Flashback Friday: Movies That Rocked My Socks Off

2010-04-23T01:27:00.000-07:00

See. No socks. --------------------------------------->

So there's this little thing called The GotYA. And this little thing is doing something called Flashback Friday. What is Flashback Friday you ask? It's a trip down memory lane where each Friday we visit everything past--from music, to books, to bad hair.

So for our Week Two, it's Movies That Shaped Our Generation, or as my title says, Movies That Rocked My Socks Off.

Writing inspiration comes from many outlets. The most crazy/exciting/warped ideas can spur from anything. TV, music, books--you name it, because the imagination is not picky. It inspires who it wants to inspire, creates what it wants to create. One of the biggest sources, for me, is movies.

Now my inspiration is all about the 2000s. At the turn of the century, I was 12; the verge of the teenage years. Half the movies that shaped my creativity were from books.

One of the first movies that really had an impact was X-Men.

Now, comic books have been made into movies before, but X-Men's release in 2000 was a big kick in the film industry's bum. Remakes and life action movies exploded. Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk (the :D version), HULK (the D: version), Batman, Superman, Ironman. They've taken over with no intention of stopping any time soon, especially with more sequels coming out and all new ones like the Avengers, Captain America, and the Green Lantern. It's definitely a boom from the older comics-turned-movie.

Of course, comics weren't the only books being made into movies. Lord of the Rings anyone?

These movies are legendary. Having read the series myself, I deemed it the best book-to-movie film made. As with any movie created from a novel, there were pieces missing, pieces added, lines changes, but still--you really can't get closer than this. It also opened up to fantastic elements in the film industry, taking special effects to a completely different level, a level that I don't think the world has seen since Star Wars. Every animatronic, city overview, and creature looked real, moved like real.

Lastly, no list is complete without some sort of reference to Harry Potter.

This is a big one for me. These were the books I grew up with. I discovered them shortly after the second book came out. They were drugs for children. And I'm ridiculously happy about that. The movie didn't come out too long after and at that point, MG and YA got a nice boost. Harry Potter really helped to open up the impossible in creativity. Where as MG and YA have always been there, now they were getting noticed. The movies made kids WANT to read, something that wasn't seen very often in kids. I was pretty sure my school was broken up into percentages for those who wanted to read, and those who didn't. I was in that 10% who liked it. The movies changed that though, and I'm thankful.

Of course, there are a ton more movies that really affected the industry and myself, but that would be a very looooooong list. These are the ones that really stick out...

And, because I can:

Hey! You there!

2010-04-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

That is all.

Fanfiction: an 11-year-old's heroin

2010-04-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

For me, one word: Fanfiction.

A few months back, Roadtrip Wed at the YA Highway asked to see our teen writing--and not our writing about teens, but our writing when we WERE teens. I got a lot of lol's and people telling me how awesome I was for writing in the world of Harry Potter and World of Warcraft.

Now, my love for writing and books extends WAY before Harry Potter. I've been reading since I was six, running up to my mom when I read the word 'The' (no joke!) all by myself. I memorized this dinosaur pop-up book from making my mom read it to me every night. I have no idea where that book is now (though I have my suspicions that it may have been involved in voodoo rituals and lots of fire...Just kidding, Mom. Kinda) but since I was just a tiny little thing, I loved books.

(Little like this)

So naturally, it was only a matter of time before my love for reading evolved into a love of writing.

I remember the first story I had ever created. After reading Hero with a Thousand Faces at the age of 10, I wanted to write my own story, and even back then, I was a little fangirl for fantasy. Epic fantasy to be exact. The story I conjured was about a mistreated girl who was the daughter of a king. She wasn't a princess however because she had inherited magic from her mother who was a sorceress, and in her father's kingdom, magic was outlawed. But when her sister falls ill and the only cure comes from the petals of a Fire Rose several lands away, only she has the ability to save her. Insert mentor to nudge her on the right path, a cute sidekick with the ability to control the elements, and an evil wizard plotting to stop the MCs quest so that her sister's death would cause a war between nations, and you've got a MG book on your hands. See, I was such a rockstar at 10.

But I never got around to writing it. Something else popped up that had be in a hype. It was called fanfiction, and it was heroin to my 11-year-old brain. Harry Potter was the one to get me started. During the withdrawls (AKA time between HP books), I had to find some other way to lessen the pain, which lead me to the site Fiction Alley. I read them, I wrote them, I virtually stalked fanartists--the site was the Disneyland of HP fanfiction. Even famous authors wrote there, like Cassandra Clare, who was known by every HP fanfic fan around the world.

It took me 8 years of reading and writing fanfiction to realize what my fantasy career would be, thanks to Sarah. I haven't read/written anything in a long time, since I realized my own goals, but every so often I skip away to an easier place where settings and characters are already developed, and rainbows, unicorns, and harps speckle the area...

So what about you. When did YOU realize your love of writing? What was the first idea you had and how old?

Why writing in Starbucks on Friday nights is bad

2010-04-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I can't write at home. The internet is all shiny and distracting what with games, tv/movies, and random pictures like lolcats and Failblog. So lately, I've been coming to Starbucks. I find that whenever I leave my house--regardless of where I go--whether it be Sarah's or even back in my old apartment, I just write. My muse senses that I'm out of my house and realizes that havoc is about to ensue with my characters.

But there is a dark side, a looming evil that cannot be destroyed: customers. For the most part, they are harmless. They come in for their drinks and leave. But there are those that stay, the ones that linger in the area for one reason or another. Those are the ones to watch out for.

Luckily, there are signs. How to tell when it's time for you to leave peacefully or flee the premises in a fit of terror.

Situation 1. A couple sits down next to your table and starts eating face.

And I'm not talking about love pecks, I'm talking about sloshing noises and his mouth jammed against her neck. These are sure indicators that something is about to go down, and trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near that.

What to do: Flee. ASAP. Scurry away to the furthest table, preferably one with a display stand to hide your view of them.

What not to do: Do not sit there and pretend they don't exist. This DOES NOT WORK. Just because you're sitting a foot away from them mauling each other does not mean that they realize you are there. The slurping noises will eventually drive you mad. Remember, what has been heard cannot be unheard. If you do nothing, it'll only progress to hearing them talk about getting naked and at that moment, your brain implodes.

Situation 2. A family of eleven enters the building.

Here, all hell breaks lose. Screaming. Crying. Running. They're jumping off chairs, pulling things off the shelves, tripping customers with their frolicking mayhem. At this point, the store has single-handedly broken the sound barrier. Along with your sanity.

What to do: Headphones. Get onto your hands and knees and pray to the creator of headphones. Bless him/her with a long, happy life because he/she just brought peace over your surroundings. Headphones - check! Music - check! Making sure your muse hasn't committed suicide - check!

What not to do: Generally speaking, hitting children is frowned upon in society...and also illegal, so I would recommend not doing that. While you'd get away from them, I don't think they'll let you write in prison.

And if you didn't bring any headphones then politely excuse yourself from the building so that the baristas don't have to clean up the mess from your head imploding...again.

Situation 3: Young, attractive guy walks in and sits next to you. He pulls out Twilight and turns to the last few chapters of the book.

What ~~to do~~ NOT to do: I'm just skipping ahead here, because NO GOOD WILL COME FROM THIS! The words, "It's a trap," should be ringing loud and clear. Oh yeah, cute guy...reads Twilight...looks up at you from the corner of his eye...goes back to his book. Everything seems perfect. And then you talk to the barista, or in this case, the best friend. What? The last time he was in here he was reading Breaking Dawn? He's already read the series just a few weeks ago? You're on to him now. His attempts at smoldering are getting him NOWHERE! You sparkle? Well I punch people in the face. Let's see which one knocks the other off their feet first...

Situation 4: Old grouchy men are talking politics.

Another conversation reaches your ears from a few tables away. Two old-fashioned men are talking about how women should never be aloud in offices and how they'll never vote for them. This takes you on the opposite end of the spectrum. You've gone from going insane to getting pissed off. You've already had to endure face-eating, rampant children, and the pretty trap. The last thing you want to hear is how some old farts are being old farts. Get with the times, grandpa. This isn't the 20s anymore.

What to do: Violence doesn't solve anything...but at this point you've gone way over your Stupid People quota for the day and your self control is shot. What do you do? You pop those suckers in the face, grab your compie and make the dramatic exit that you've always wanted, complete with the glare from over your shoulder and your hair tossing in the breeze that comes from out of no where. Then you march away.

And that kids, is how Starbucks on a Friday night gets you arrested.

Epic Board 'O Stickies - Part two

2010-04-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

This represents my inner lolcat editor. I'm 7k words into my rewrite of a rewrite intro and already I'm seeing problems. Naturally, I'm on the verge of picking up the closest pointy object and jamming it into my screen, but alas, it won't help.

While I love epicness (hence why I'm writing urban FANTASY) I've come to realize that epic stories can be too epic...and too unbelievable. Okay, I mean, I'm writing a UF/dystopian novel--something that tends to be a bit on the extreme end of realism--but with Neira having insane amounts of badassery, I'm thinking that it'll be difficult with people to connect with her. Of course, I adore her, but she isn't super woman and she IS a teenager with teenager problems mixing in with the dystopian life she lives in.

The tricky part? Trying to not be my perfectionist self and just write. The urge to go back and rewrite the intro FOR THE FOURTH TIME is tempting, but at this rate, I will NEVER FINISH. I just need to write and not look back...at least, not until I finish.

So for the time being, I'm restarting my "Epic Board 'O Stickies" on my wall and making clear and precise notes about what I want. Starting now, I'm going to try to get past that little nagging thought in my head telling me to make it perfect NOW rather than later, and just start writing my characters, plots, and scenes the way I want. It's one of my biggest problems. The way I see things in my head almost NEVER come out onto paper that way. Frustrated? Definitely.

D-bag guys: Are they a turn off?

2010-04-01T23:10:00.001-07:00

I would say Patrick Bateman from American Psycho doesn't think so, but his vote doesn't count, because he is--in fact--a d-bag.

As I sit here contemplating Feral, my new WIP dystopian, I can't help but wonder if my MC guy Jeremy is coming off too strong. Not only does it switch perspective between my MC Anna and Jeremy, his character is pretty sleazy. It's a first person perspective, changing every 2-3 chapters between them to give a glimpse of how the other changes.

For Jeremy, he's a rich, spoiled, 22-year-old playboy who thinks his life is perfect. Until he meets 17-year-old Anna, a rogue citizen who, as punishment for treason, is turned into a slave and sent to Jeremy as a 22nd b-day gift. From the first time they meet, there is a burning hatred. He thinks she's beneath him, therefore doesn't interact much except for giving her orders. She loathes him and tries to make everything more difficult.

This is where I become hesitant to continue. As I said, it switches between Anna and Jeremy's perspective, so I worry about how strong Jeremy comes off. The first paragraph of his POV starts off as:

They were sitting at the bar. Their skimpy miniskirts were barely covering anything, certainly not their long legs, crossed at the knees. The irony that they were sitting lady-like while wearing thin scraps of nothing. Still, I appreciated the view.

Jeremy is a d-bag. There's no questioning it. But that's exactly why I'm in love with his character. For the first half of the book, he remains this way--arrogant, spoiled, sleazy. The last half of the book, on the other hand...well, let's just say that his eyes open. The world he lives in isn't so perfect. Of course, no one would change their ways of thinking instantly. He's not going to turn into Prince Charming and sweep Anna away, but he does change. The decisions he makes, the way he speaks to people--it's all a part of a dawning realization.

But is it worth reading to get to that part. Selling a guy's POV is hard enough. Girl's relate better to girls, can put themselves in the MCs place. Right from the start, you know he's an asshole. What you don't know is if that will change. Of course, I've said it on here so everyone reading this knows he'll find some sort of redemption, if not fully, but as an unbiased reader, would you still be inclined to read a guy's POV novel KNOWING he wasn't the best of people?

It's something that's been picking at my head. I really do love Jeremy's character. He's complex, mysterious, intuitive. To plot out how he changes in his thinking and reactions is exciting to me, but I can't go through another Concealed mishap where I change everything over and over again. I'm at the point where I need to decide whether to keep this plan of having his POV included, or scrapping it before I get too far in. It doesn't affect the plot; I'll still be able to portray everything I want to, but getting into Jeremy's head would be fun.

So what would YOU think about reading a book with a d-bag main character? Input/discussion/criticism is completely welcome. I'd love to see what others think.

It's spring break, and that means...

2010-03-26T01:29:00.000-07:00

...I'm more or less doing something like this:

This next week, while I'll also been drowning in that which we call "presentations" and "tests" the week I get back, meaning there will be studying, I do know that I'm not working the entire week. Translation: MOAR WRITING!!!1

Seeing as how our breaks are the same week, me and Sarah have plans to drink ungodly amounts of coffee, drown our ears in Two Steps from Hell, and ~~generally cause chaos and confusion in the human world~~ type away on Lappies. Well, she'll be betaing novels, I'll be writing, but the coffee and music will indeed happen.

As a little side note, just because I'm all sorts of happy, I got an invite to join the group blog GotYA which will be debuting early April. I'm really excited to work with all the rockstar writers again. Their awesomeness...it's limitless.

As a final update, I have (maybe) decided to work on Feral, my dystiopian novel rather than Concealed. While Concealed is still my baby, I feel a bit burnt out on it having written it, partially revised, rewrote it, then started revising again. I'm a decent 55k in, but the beginning now doesn't add up with the rest of the book, nor do I think I want to keep the rest of the book the same. Always-changing ideas and character advancements. Someday soon, I will finish it, but for the time being, I need to set it aside. After focusing for 3 years on these characters, the stress of trying to get it the way I see it is overwhelming. So this Spring Break is dedicated to Feral, which I intend to write lots of. I'm hoping to get at least 1/3 of the way through, if not more. I have an entire week of nothing but writing (with tidbits of studying and getting together with my group for a presentation) and I plan to fully use all of that time.

Teaser Tuesday

2010-03-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

So I decided to do a TT today because my blog has been a bit vacant of posts. Between a painful toothache, soreness from work, and a broken car, I haven't exactly been in the mood to write, but I have written a new intro to Feral.

And with that, I decided to post it. Here's the intro. I'm working out the kinks, so it'll have more of a hook next time around.

**********

*snipped*

Music Monday

2010-03-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

I decidedly and not-so-secretly stole this from Sarah. I think it's a great idea for the Monday timeslot, and since I'm working on my own daily post schedule, I thought it would add a nice touch. Music is always a huge part of my music. So many songs that I hear are perfect for certain scenes, trailer music, characters, etc...

This Monday's pick is:

NJ Legion Iced Tea by A Day to Remember (cause I'm obsessed with this band)

I adore this song. In so many ways, it just fits into my book Concealed. It's almost a second theme song, or possibly book one's theme song, since my trilogy theme song position has already been filled.

For any that know my Urban Fantasy/dystopian of magic and evil dudes with the jobs of killing the unnatural, this song is perfect. It's like Neira's thoughts to Morrison, or what she thinks, but doesn't say. Either way, its fantastic.

No-Teaser Tuesday

2010-03-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Yup, you heard me. No, I'm not being anti-TT, I just didn't get enough time to write/edit up a piece, especially since I'm conflicted still.

Mainly because of my History 11 class, which is American History until 1877. Normally this class is my sleep aid, but lately, since I've been into the creative mood, it's my Godsend. I can't count the number of times that I'm listening to lecture and suddenly space out thinking, "Oh man, what if this happened instead." or "I wonder what this would be like if it happened now."

Long story short: I have the missing piece of Feral--my YA dystopian. I don't want to give away any details yet, because it's still in the planning process (Ok, I have a general plot, but I don't know how said plot gets to said scenes in my head :P)

Me thinks I need a break from Concealed and the problems I always have with it. The more I try to write it, the more I end up changing it because it's always getting better. With Feral, I'm planning it as a stand-alone. It'll make my brain less fried doing a solo novel.

Sunshine Award/Teaser Tuesday

2010-03-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Awe, I feel all rockstar-ish. The lovely Maddi tossed a little sunshine my way with an award. Of course, I haven't been the best blogger lately, which I've been meaning to fix, but I appreciate it. Tis my first award and I'm all sorts of happy. Thank you for the love!

As a side note, this'll be a loooooong post as I'll be posting a Teaser this week from my new intro to Concealed. I'll be sure to get to everyone's after my next class. Promise!

So here it goes, my picks. And if you've gotten one already, I don't care. You deserve another :)

The rules of this award are as follows:

1. Put the logo within your post or on your sidebar.
2. Share the love and pass the award to 12 other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees inside of your post.
4. Comment on the nominees' blogs to let them know you've just given them props. :)
5. Give a shout-out to the person who nominated, and post a link to his/her blog as well.

Kate: Your blog is ridiculously entertaining. Hilarious pics, helpful tips, and interesting news. I love passing the time browsing.

Kristin: First of all, you = amazing. The fact that whenever one of us feels the need to spam OPWFT with pictures, we almost always appear in the thread saying, "I smell pic spams!!!" Your blog posts are never dull, I lol many times.

Sushi (AKA Sumayyah): I don't need to tell you how awesome you are, but I will. Your sense of humor is amazing to read in your posts and your teasers are to die for.

Amna: Your posts and teasers are so fun. I find myself laughing at one thing or another. I know you've already gotten this award, but here, have another.

Becca: I know you are on a hiatus at the moment, but I'm still giving you an award dammit! :) Your writing is wonderful and you have an amazing personality to top it.

Karla: You are such a doll. Your posts are always interesting and you are always kind to everyone, showering them with compliments and just making them feel good. You deserve the same :)

Jamie: I told you this a while back when you got your agent, but I'm so happy for you. You totally deserve it. Your posts are quite amusing and random, which is why I love them so much.

Laurie: I.Love.Your.Writing. Your guys are always damn sexy and drool-worthy. I'm indeed envious of your sexual tension between characters.

Corey: We have the same TV addictions, which makes you incredibly awesome. Love bantering with you about them and reading your posts, which I can relate to at times.

Inkspatters: You have to get bored of me saying this, but you have an incredible and unique writing style that I just adore with intriguing story lines to accompany it.

Annie: I get a bunch of reading material from you, which is awesome because with all the choices, it's nice to hear opinions of them :)

And lastly:

Sarah: One word: rockstar. I wish my blog was half as entertaining as yours (though we're both bad bloggers :P). I don't need to tell you how much I love your book/characters/smexiness, but being the best friend, I'll tell it all to you again. I also know that you got this award already, but I demand you get another!

And that's mah list. I only did 11 more because of lack of time between writing this and class, but every one of them are amazing writers and people. If you haven't read their blogs, you best do it!

Okay, now onto part two. I decided to do a teaser of the first chapter of my WIP Concealed, which is being rewritten.

**********

*snipped*

oh hai

2010-02-22T00:27:00.001-08:00

I know, I've been a bad blogger. I won't bore with the details of work and school, but I figured that I would do a quick update. I promise to post something more interesting when I have time.

First of all, I'll start by saying, "My Muse is back from vacation." At least, that's where I liked to think she went. For the last couple of weeks, I've been in a writing funk. The exciting intro rewrite that I had planned for Concealed took a turn for the worse. For some reason, it started out as dark and dreary, and moved onto lame and cheesy. Not sure what happened exactly. But as I was taking a look at deleting a section and trying to point it in a different direction, I came across ANOTHER idea. Yes, you heard me, yet another intro idea.

So what did I decide to do? Start over of course. I plotted it out better this time: adding in smaller details, giving good reasons for why Neira is doing what she's doing. I even have dialogue down. And best of all, I'm introducing my villain into the first chapter. Out of everything I have in my book, the relationship between my antagonist and protagonist is my favorite all around. It's amazing to write, to picture, to create. The more I thought about their characters, the more details started popping up for the second book.

I know, I know--I'm not even done with the first, why am I thinking about the second? Because the second is not only going to be absolutely fantastic, it's also important to the first book. I'm not a one-book-at-a-time writer. I look at the big picture, the jumbled up puzzle being put together throughout three books.

In all honesty, as much as I hated not writing for several weeks due to lack of motivation, I never stopped thinking about ~~wanting to disappear into my own head and party with my characters~~ my book and my characters and my story. The longer I took a break, the better my ideas were becoming. They were stewing, simmering inside. I know I always say I'm excited for this new idea or this new chapter, but this time, I think this is it. I think this is the start I've been aiming for. This time, I'm not stopping. I'm going to write this new intro, mesh it with the 50k I wrote before, and finished the last 20k. It's going to take a lot of work, but I'm done letting my Muse slack off. This story has gone through a full 2 drafts and almost 3 years. I'm too excited to stop now.

As a last side note, the awesome folks over at YA Highway have posted this lovely link to Publishers Weekly about dystopian novels. I wouldn't be a good little dystopian/urban fantasy writer if I didn't relink it. It's a great article that makes me very happy seeing as it tells of dystopian novels growing quickly in popularity and numbers. I can't wait to read some of them.

Off the beaten track

2010-02-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

My writing, for the most part, revolves around young adult. It's a genre that my heart belongs too. Emotions, hormones, coming-of-age--it really wasn't so long ago that I was smack dab in the middle of acne and angst. I relate very well to YA. I'm only 21. I'm still in the middle of my coming-of-age story. We, as new adults, are still finding our way. We're in college or looking for careers, searching for love, contemplating our futures.

We're also at an in between. No longer teens, not quite adults. Sure, we're over 18, but does age really determine what makes us adult? The stories, emotions, and thoughts in teens are so different from adults. But early to mid 20s are so different from teens and from late 20s/early 30s. We are our own genre. We're the transition. There's still maturing to be done.

I think this post came to be from a new novel idea. While I haven't even written anything of it yet, I did type up a brief summary. The SNI (shiny new idea) came to me a couple of months ago. I have no idea what random thought/image/sound stirred it up inside, but suddenly this idea was here and it wouldn't go away. For the most part, I pushed it aside. YA was the genre I loved writing for and this new idea, it was adult. BLASPHEMY! I had other SNIs waiting. Feral, Ultimatum, Inescapable--not to mention the book I am actually writing now, Concealed. No, this new idea would have to wait.

But the more it sat in my head, the more it grew. I didn't even consciously think about it. These scenes just started moving into my head, dropping off their suitcases at the door and making themselves at home. I pointedly (and mentally) stared and politely asked them to leave. Now was not a good time for company when I already had all these other scenes visiting me as it was. They refused and continued to simmer...until tonight.

There was no more shuffling it to the back. It made a home inside my head and it was not leaving. Finally, I wrote something down. I plotted, mapped, contemplated the major plot and sitting back and looking at it now, I'm quite proud. I guess the real question is, after Concealed, do I pursue 100 Lives, or do I work on my others? My best friend and lovely writer, Sarah, had suggested that I work on Ultimatum (working title) which is a YA contemp-turned-suspense. She really enjoyed the idea, and so did I, but if I keep getting bombarded with 100 Lives scenes, I'm not sure I can resist the urge to write it. It holds a very special place in my heart and tells stories that I hope will be moving, beautiful, and chalk full 'o messages. It's emotionally and spiritually intense and I just hope I can portray that as well as I can in my head.

I love making graphics

2010-02-08T23:31:00.000-08:00

Because even if others don't like them, at least I do.

Curious about the broken-8 tattoo? You should be.

TV is invading my head

2010-02-02T16:48:00.001-08:00

I love Netflix. Not only am I having DVDs sent to my house every 3-4 days, I can also stream some online. Since I started my subscription, I've been finding all these treasures that I never knew about before. My parents stopped the cable bill and me and Sarah never paid for TV at our apartment, so I never got into many TV shows other than the ones I was obsessed with before like Lost, Scrubs, Family Guy, etc...

Now I'm finding a plethora of amazing TV shows--each one inspiring me to write. My head is buzzing with ideas, and I finally realized the HUGE plot point for the second book. I mean, in the second book I had this kid that my MC Neira has to protect. Sadly, I didn't have the reason why. I knew he was important to Neira because he was important to the Initiative--the branch of the government who hunted down people with magical abilities. I didn't know why he was so wanted though because he doesn't have powers, he isn't a Drifter, but Morrison (Leader of the Initiative) wanted him, so Neira had to get to him first.

Well thanks to the buzzing in my head from the new shows I've been watching, the reason came to me and really, I like it a lot. It fits in perfectly with the idea I had.

Not only that, these shows are helping me to form characters that were lacking. Adarin comes to mind when I think of that. His character is very difficult for me to nail down, though I'm not sure why. I think it might have something to do with the fact that there aren't many guys in my book to divide all of the character traits that I like. Adarin can't be a d-bag, charming, nice, brave, playfully arrogant, actually arrogant all in one. It's choosing which traits that I want him to have the most. I think I'm starting to realize which ones he should have.

I think I give thanks to Darken Rahl and Richard from Legend of the Seeker, and Doctor Who for character development. These two shows are the ones stirring thing up in my head. Both are simply epic, bigger-than-life shows. These are the kinds I really enjoy.

(This screenshot...is hawt.)

(o hai thur!)

TV has even been invading my dreams. Like last night, when I had a dream about me and Sarah having a casual conversations about our books--while doing hand-to-hand combat. Not intentional, but rather practicing. I blame Legend for that. Those fight scenes are so ridiculously epic that my mind has to dream about it.

Let's not forget about the dream I had about zipping around the galaxy with Doctor Who a few weeks back. Nuff said.

Anyone have a TV show that really gets your mind spinning? Do your dreams ever involve them?

Dark and edgy: Can it go too far?

2010-01-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

As of late, my writing has been revolving around a rewrite in the beginning. I haven't yet finished the whole story, but this rewrite was plaguing me. Not only is it more interesting, intense, and edgy, it will help straighten out the plot in the long run.

I spoke to my best friend and fellow writer Sarah about the new idea and we both came to the conclusion that it would be awesome if it was dark and edgy. So I went to work. I wrote out the first chapter and sent it to Sarah just to see if it was a good way to start. Consensus? She liked it.

I kept writing, eager to get it onto paper. More ideas spun off of this one, changing plot points and character intros, but it was a good change--a better one.

3500 words into the rewrite and I realized that it had gotten dark. Very dark. So dark that I asked Sarah about it. I had her read a section that tugged at my own heartstrings. Mostly because it involved a child in pain. At the same time, I love the section because it shows that in this Dystopian world, no age is safe. But a part of me worries that it might be too depressing for readers.

Here is the excerpt in question, taken from Concealed. The context here is my main character, Neira, broke into a prison to rescue those inside. This is what she sees.

**********

My hands fumbled with the key card in hand, hurrying to open the section two cells.

Pain tore at my insides when the doors swung open and I saw them shivering in the corner of their concrete boxes. They all looked up at me with those sunken, glassy eyes and disheveled hair, licking their colorless lips. Some of them were standing there waiting, hearing the commotion from beyond the walls. Others were too fragile to move, every curve of their bones and joints visible under the taut skin. I always tripped over trays of uneaten food in these rooms. It was the resistance—the last strike against the guards. The only thing of their life they could control.

The next cell opened and the Drifter next to me strode over to the person in the corner. He was just a kid, no older than ten. Mussed bronze hair fell to his shoulders and green eyes grew to the size of a quarter when the Drifter knelt down next to him.

He smiled at the boy. “My name’s James,” he soothed. “What’s yours?”

The boy trembled, whether from excitement or cold, I couldn’t tell. All that came out of his mouth was a mousy croak. “David.”

“I’m here to help you, David,” James replied, holding out a hand..

**********

Even though I have no kids of my own, the motherly instinct in me loathes thinking about children being hurt or scared, which I hope shows in this and earlier parts of the rewrite where Neira often reflects on how much she wants to help them, but before she can, she must make it safe for their escape by ignoring them. It kills her to just walk past them, but if it all works out, they'll be free.

My book is heavily based on morals and doing the right thing versus doing the easy way. Because of this, pain is evident throughout the book. My question is, would depressing, dark scenes turn readers away. With New Moon, most people hated it the most, what with Bella being in a depression the entire time and the love of her life about to commit suicide.

While I say I'm unsure of the response, I'm not all that worried that my book would become this. I have faith in myself as a writer to be able to balance the good with the bad. I really think the only moment to really upset people would be the end, which despite most books, does not have a happy ending. It actually rather sucks, but at the same time, I kind of like that. I like how not everything ends happily every after, and even though my MC is put into this bad situation, she reflects on the the good things she had done and accepts what her life is about to become.

So to my readers, what are you opinions? Do you have moments of doubts with edginess? Would you be more inclined to read a book with a happy ending than a sad ending? I would love to know your thoughts.

Kissing Inspiration

2010-01-24T17:07:00.000-08:00

I'm not even entirely sure how I got to this point last night, but as I was searching around youtube, I came across some videos about the "Top Ten Best TV Kisses" and "Top Ten Best Movie Kisses". Something that bothered me about these lists were half of the ten were from one show and half were from another. And all of them were based around the romantic crack ones: One Tree Hill, The OC, Gilmore Girls, Smallville. Not saying I have a problem with these shows, but they aren't something that interest me. I'm all about SciFi, fantasy, action, etc. I like those romances that burst onto the scene in desperate moments. These always inspire me to write and have an influence in how I write as well.

So I'm making a list of some memorable movie and/or TV smooches, complete with videos and in no particular order...well, except for the last one. Some of these, due to the fact that I can't find them on youtube, are not my favorites, but they are indeed memorable.

5.) Kate and Sawyer - LOST

So to anyone that knows me well, they know that I am completely, 100% in love with LOST. I've been watching it religiously since the beginning. The tension, the romance, the confusing yet intriguing storyline. I love it all. And since the beginning, I've been doe-eyed for Sawyer and Kate. It's no surprise that to my friends and family that this would make one of my favorite kissing (among other things) scene. Steamy, sexy, and dirty--literally. But it doesn't matter if they were rolling around in mud, it's still way hot.

4.) Lara and Terry - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

Reason: Angelina Jolie and Gerard Butler. I think that should be enough said, but I'd like to go into further detail. Since I couldn't find the extremely steamy kissing scene all on it's own, I left a fanvid with a mix of different Lara/Terry clips. This couple has such a fun, dark, interesting chemistry, which makes their relationship all the better. Yeah the actual movie had some pretty cheesy parts, but the characters made up for that.

3.) Jack and Elizabeth - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I had to add this one on here because I must say, I love all of the events surrounding it. The kiss that wasn't actually romantic, the lure, the mischievous smile--there's no actual romance, more of infatuation. Where as the lure of the kiss could have gone one way, like panic or disbelief, they chose to keep it tense yet calm. The eeriness of the entire scene is really great.

2.) The Doctor and Rose - Doctor Who

Oh man, I can't even begin to explain this one. Well, I guess I'll start with the fact that I only started watching this show recently, as in about a two weeks ago, and it quickly escalated into a favorite. I adored all the characters, namely the Rose and the Doctor. The season two finally really struck a chord with me, so much that it put me in a funk (my uber nerd side is showing). With the season four finally, there was a bit of resolution (though not for the Doctor *tear*). I love the emotions of this show; they seem almost too real.

And lastly is a favorite of mine. I honestly can't tell you what makes me love it so much, but I do. So many elements mixed into the story that just can't deter me. I present to you:

1.) Tristan and Yvaine - Stardust

When I had seen the movie Stardust in theaters with Sarah, we were literally the loudest in the theater. There wasn't many people in there, but we were practically doubled over. The movie is a combination of fantasy, action, romance, and humor. The plot is so good and interesting. Big name actors, small name actors--it doesn't matter. They combine to make the movie fantastic. And the kiss is one of the best ones I've seen in a movie in my opinion. Not sure what it is, maybe the blissful smile on Yvaine's face or the boyish charm on Tristan's. Whatever it is, it was what was playing in the background during my emotional kiss scenes. While it doesn't fit for the desperate ones, it's still stuck in my mind. Kudos.

And that's my list. Of course, most of these are not actually my favorites, but they're all ones I do like. If I had my way with youtube, there would be others on here like the Mal/Saffron kiss in Firefly, Brangelina in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Fifth Element kiss, Rick and Evie in The Mummy, and more. But seeing as fangirls have put up a ridiculous amount of fan vids (50% of which being sibling with sibling at which I went to the bathroom to hurl) I took what I could get of the scenes.

What about everyone else? Do you have a favorite kiss scene from either TV or movie? Inspiration is inspiration :)

Dreams: Epic Inspiration

2010-01-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

I actually wasn't planning on posting on this topic until a bit later since it seems to be floating around, but seeing as my dreams keep getting plagued with insane plots, fantastical worlds, and hidden meanings, I figured that it was time to stop avoiding it.

For me, dreams play a huge role in my writing. They play out like a movie, like I'm watching it through a TV screen. Never is my life have I had first person dreams, only third. People tell me that they must be less scary or less intense since I'm not watching them from my own eyes, but movies generate the same response, the same emotions. I quite like watching them this way. My dreams are very vivid. Colors are bright, sounds are clear, and more often than not, there is a general plot. I've even had dreams about my characters. The first one one was about a month ago. It was the first in almost three years of development. That dream went something like this:

I was in a half-finished skyscraper with my MC boy, Adarin. Someone was chasing us--the man who owned the building wanted me. He was using these flying creatures to track us down and eventually they got me. From here, it focused on Adarin, who found me trapped by the owner. He had my hands handcuffed behind my back and treated me like a welcome guest at the same time--feeding me an expensive, gourmet meal. Adarin saved me and we ran. Then I woke up, but I remembered the sinister owner perfectly. An attractive face with soulless eyes. A gleaming smile, hiding a rabid dog. He became Charles Morrison, my villain. The 36 year old lead Tracker of the Initiative has quickly become one of my favorite characters. Because of that dream, he is one of the most developed people I've created. I'm not sure I could get him and his motives any clearer in my head.

Of course, not all my dreams are about my book, some of them could be possible future ideas if I could fine tune them. Like I said, they usually have a plot, but for the most part, I remember only the middle. This next dream was eerie and fantastic.

I have hazel eyes and so does my friend Kaitlyn. I say this because in the dream, people with hazel eyes had a 95% resistance to a disease that was circulating the world. It was painful--a slow process turning humans into zombie-like creatures. They were angry--furious that people with hazel eyes had some sort of immunity. So they captured us, hoping that that 5% would work. If they were going to go down in agony, so were we.

I love my dreams, I really do. Of course, the ones about snakes and spiders coming out from underneath the furniture in an infinite amount I could live without.

The ones that I've described above are always fun to relay to my friends and family. I get the same reaction everytime: oh no. My dreams do often have a tendency to be completely and utterly random. Something about talking dogs, an alligator, and riding a bike up a steep slope with bare feet. But the ones that are just filled with nothing but epicness...those are the ones I can't wait to have.

So what about everyone else? Any dreams come to you that inspired ideas? What about characters. Have you ever had a dream with them in it or the base of character?

Seriously, Muse...

2010-01-13T02:11:00.000-08:00

...this coming up with massive, plot-changing ideas at 2am really needs to stop. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for this new, intense beginning and overall ideas of betrayal, rebellion, torture, but really--2am?

Actually, this calls for the good news/bad news.

Good news: I'm tying together loose and/or flaky plot pieces. Some things that I was never really happy with--that would be changed when I finished writing anyways--definitely have a new way of happening. For example, when Dayne and Adarin meet Neira and Kali, it isn't in some boring Hey-who-are-you chapter. It's ridiculously dark and almost sad. When the reader is introduced to Neira and Kali, it isn't when they're breaking into a house to raid the food and valuables--it's better. So much better. If I can write it correctly, of course. A lot of the attention is going to the corruption of Morrison and his men, and how Neira and the others live--which is rather terribly.

Bad news: I have so much more to rewrite. Because I've decided to add in these HUGE ideas, this requires a rewrite of half of what I've written, which translates into about a quarter of my novel. In a way, it might not be so bad. I was planning on just condensing all of the stuff I had written already into a less wordy, less boring version. I was never happy with the beginning anyways.

I guess it leads to more good news, which is the new start for characters that I was going to amp up anyways. Character like James and Andrea--who were going to have pretty big roles towards the end--lacked in the beginning. I was going to add more to them. Adarin was very plain, writing him coming out nothing like how I have him in my head. This is his opportunity to shine.

All in all, I'm pretty bummed that I don't get an chance to do actual editing until much later than I thought, but the good overrides the bad. If I can make this new idea as epic as it's playing out in my head, then it'll all be worth it in the end.

Roadtrip Wed/Fanfiction memories

2010-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

This week's post at YA Highway is about the real YA--the things you wrote back when you were actually YA. While I don't have a diary from back then, I do have fanfiction. It just so happened to be one of my obsessions--the reason I became addicted to writing. The only thing I wrote for? Harry Potter. Sure I've browsed a few Twilight ones a few years back, not to mention the World of Warcraft one that I started writing about a sexy blood elf named Kael'thas--mainly out of humor at my guy friend's reactions--but my first fanfic love was Harry Potter.

This week I dug through my fanfic folder to scavenge up a piece from the past, just so happening to be a Ginny POV version of John Tucker Must Die, only, exchange John Tucker for Draco Malfoy. Completely untouched. *blows dust off*

I am such a nerd. Don't judge me :P

****************

It had been three months into the school year. I had finally gotten the hang of being a waitress and had I been paying attention to where I was going, I would have thought that I no longer looked like a new employee, but that was if I had been paying attention. One nasty turn around a corner and I had smacked directly into a tall stranger. The food on the tray I had been carrying toppled to the ground and I let out a gasp of surprise as I looked up at the stranger, preparing to apologize profusely. I met gorgeous gray eyes and the lightest sliver-blond hair. I may not like him, but every girl had to admit that his presence made them weak in the knees.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I stuttered for words. “I—I’m—uh.”

Draco Malfoy did not smile, but at the same time, didn’t seem aggravated. In fact, he was neutral.

“I’m sorry,” he stated blandly.

Did he even know who I was? Who ever thought that Draco Malfoy would apologize to anyone, let alone to a Weasley?

Still at a loss for words, I simply nodded and bent down to pick up the mess on the floor. I watched as he stepped around me to continue walking. I checked over my shoulder to see if he was watching me, but he strode forward without a backwards glance.

I huffed indignantly. Didn’t I deserve more than a weak apology for the embarrassment I now had to deal with?

My manager, Gina, marched over. She enlightened me about the mess I had caused and the damage I made to the dishes. I only vaguely paid attention to what she was saying. I was too busy thinking about Malfoy and what an arrogant git he was. Was I really that upset about a mess that I had made a million times before?

It was soon taken care of and I continued doing what I had been doing before. It was only until I came to the table in the very back corner of the room that I noticed who the occupants were. Draco Malfoy was the first one I noticed. The butterflies returned and wished that I had a bug zapper in there. The next person, however startled me. It was none other than Cho Chang.

I guess I couldn’t really be surprised. Once Malfoy had been "redeemed" by joining the Order, girls of all ages and types flocked to him like vultures to a carcass.

I accidentally dropped the menus in surprise and bent down to retrieve them. They stared at me for a moment as I struggled to find my voice.

“Hi,” was the most that would come out and probably the stupidest.

Cho gave me the fake smile and looked over to Draco, who had one eyebrow raised handsomely so.

I blinked several times and cleared my head. “Hello, I’m Ginny and I’ll be your waitress. Is there anything I can start you off with?”

Draco looked down the menu and ordered something instantly. “We’ll have the prawns and calamari to start, followed by two steaks—medium rare—and the Soup of the Day.”

Cho looked offended. “Draco, I can’t eat anything like that. I’ll get fat!”

Draco put his hand on hers. “I think you’re beautiful no matter what you look like.”

That was the correct answer because at the moment he said the word beautiful, Cho had decided to, for lack of a better term, maul Draco over the table.

It was the most awkward moments of my life and I quietly and slowly backed away, using the menus to shield my eyes.

“I’ll be right back with that,” muttered to the snogging couple, though I doubt I got a word in.

No Kiss Blogfest

2010-01-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

So it was yesterday, but better late than never :)

Nothing really out of context here other than the fact that they HAD kissed before when my MC thought she was about to die. She tries to avoid him after they escape alive, but he doesn't make it easy...

*******************

*snipped*

Concealed's theme song? Yes...

2010-01-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

I pretty much fursploded with excitement when I realized that this song--in every possible way--is perfect for my novel Concealed. It's like Neira's perspective on life. It's metal, catchy, epic, and fits the plot.

I also can't stop rocking out to it.

Avatar and contest

2010-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

Because it must be said...

One of the best movies I have ever seen. It was beautiful, intense, heartwarming, heartbreaking, epic--everything I could ever ask for in a movie. I adored it and I just couldn't get over how brilliant everything was. Unreal and perfect.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, Sumayyah is having a shiny, new contest over at her blog which is an amazing idea! Think your novel deserves a book cover or your blog--a header--,but you just can't work with those darn web graphics yourself? Never fear! Winner gets their own beautiful book cover AND header made. Second places gets a choice of cover or header. Still, her graphics are lovely! Hop on over and check it out!

Epic Book Survey - 2009

2009-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well, instead of my original plan to post up a 2009 New Years post, I decided to go with YA Highways EPIC BOOK SURVEY 2009. Not only do I love surveys, but I loved Graceling by Kristin Cashore. A random winner gets Fire, the kind-of prequel.

Alrighty, lets see if I can fill them all in. It's going to be tricky; I'm having trouble remembering which books I read this year...which actually wasn't many at all. Stupid broke college studentness...

I really need to start reading again. Too bad I didn't get a chance to read the three books I got for Christmas. I'm sure I'd have a ton to add to this list. Oh wells.

**********

BOOKS
Most imaginative: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Funniest: The Bro Code by Barney Stinson
Edgiest contemporary: Wake by Lisa McMann (though it's contemp with magical realism)
Creepiest SF/dystopia: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

SCENES
Most hilarious: When Katsa shouts Po's name in Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Most disturbing: Janie's dreams of Cabel's past in Wake by Lisa McMann
Steamiest: Do non-agented friends count? Jordan/Adrian in Luminous by Sarah Harian
Most exciting: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Biggest tear-jerker: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Best plot twist/revelation (no spoilers!!) : Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

CHARACTERS
Best couple: Katniss and Peeta from Catching Fire
Who you'd want as your best friend: Wanda in The Host by Stephenie Meyer (heck yeah, alien for a best friend!)
Who you fell in love with: Peeta from Catching Fire
Worst (best?) villain: The Capital in Catching Fire
Best character twist (who you loved, then hated, or vice versa): Ian from The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Favorite all-around kickass female: Katniss from Catching Fire
Favorite all-around kickass male: Po from Graceling

MISCELLANEOUS
Best book cover: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Best title: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Most memorable voice: Clay from Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Most memorable first line: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Best setting: Prettytown in Uglies
Most beautiful writing: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
Will any of the books you've read in 2009 make your life list of Favorite Books?

The Hunger Games trilogy will definitely be at my top favorites, battling for number one with Harry Potter. While I'm pretty must done with the Twilight hype, being annoyed into disliking them my all of the obsessive fangirls, I really adored The Host, mainly for the character of Ian, who quickly went from hating to loving. Also, Thirteen Reasons Why struck a chord with me. It's at the top as well.

**********

Wow, I have about six books playing around on a loop. Goes to show how good my memory is at remembering books for an entire year...

It's also obvious how much I love Catching Fire...I'm pretty sure it dominated the rest.

Brain, I love you!

2009-12-27T02:56:00.001-08:00

There are certain days where everything just seems to fall into place. The fog rolls away, the world seems brighter...and you become best friends with your own brain.

It seems that this happens a lot lately--mostly at 3am and after four shots of espresso--but it is still a raucous, overwhelming joy, mixed with a smidge of your heart trying to leap through your chest. And honestly, I can't get enough.

I'm proud of myself for how much I was able to write today, catching up with the days that I missed during the holidays and pulling ahead to complete 40k words, up from 35. It wasn't only the fact that I, astonishingly, reached my goal and brought myself to just under halfway finished, but I created an entirely new and more exciting plot twist for the chapters I was working on. An added bonus to completing my goal, which I set above my actual expectations in hopes of the elated feeling I'm having right now.

Of course, the worst part of finding my muse at 3am is I have no one to blab it to in person. Back when I lived in my last apartment, I would barge into Sarah's room, awake or asleep, and babble on about my exciting new discovery. Poor girl.

Now, however, I must keep it to myself, hide it away until tomorrow, where I will proceed to babble on to Sarah about my exciting new discovery. Again, poor girl :P

At least I have you, Blogger *hugs* You might prevent me from fursploding from excitement. No promises.

Almost done...

2009-12-26T00:17:00.001-08:00

With the year, not with Concealed. While I'll admit that I've slacked (and felt terribly lazy for it) on writing with the Christmas holidays, I'm happy to say that I'll be back to it tomorrow. After a gift card for iTunes store, Forever 21, various trinkets, and a ton of food, I'm more than ready to get back onto that horse again. It was a much needed break after the constant rush of writing, but now I'm just eager for it to be done. I'm just worried that if I can't make it go the right direction, I'm going to end up writing myself into a hole.

I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

In other news, a big congrats to my favorite little writer *coughandbestfriendcough*, Sarah, who will be finishing her manuscript this next week...again. Same characters, same plot points, same length--different focus, dealing with bigger issues like morals and making difficult decisions. I think it's going to be wonderful, as is her writing, but I know that I can't wait to tear it to pieces--err--beta read it :D Much love, hun. You have me completely excited!

As a last little update, I have at least decided to get to 35k words before the night ends, which really doesn't mean anything since I've been at 34,870 for 3 days now. It's just more of bragging rights.

Anyways, Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope it was cheerful :)

Teaser Tuesday/Late Official Kissing Day

2009-12-22T01:30:00.000-08:00

I must have missed the memo, too involved with writing to check the blog updates for the day. Well, at least I am posting now :) Here and ready to bask in the Official Kissing Day loooove. On with the show! Teaser Tuesday featuring Kissing Day!

**********

*snipped*

i can haz riting tyme?

2009-12-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

Another late night up writing. It seems that lately this is the best time for me to write, uninterrupted and peaceful, my brain still buzzing with the days events. As mentioned in a previous post, this is when my muse is most active, it seems. After not being able to write anything in three days, then to come back and pick up at 11pm for a hurried 1k words in less than an hour...I have to say, I love nighttime.

With Christmas season approaching, I'm surprised how much I've had to limit my writing output for shopping, friends and family, work, and a wedding. I was able to write tonight, and it came out nice.

However, I am falling behind on my own novel goal with the delays, not sure if I'll be able to finish in 50k words in 3 weeks plus a week of revisions. The goal was set to finish my WIP before my friend departs for Scotland for six months.

I wanted to finish around January 15th, 11 days before she left so that I would have time to revise and fix things, but that's not going to happen the way I imagined. I'll have to go till later and cut down the revision time from 11 days to 7 days or less. I have so many plot holes or points that need to be spruced up (as seen in my last post). I figured that it's a 10 hour flight with two layovers...she might want something to entertain her, assuming that it's entertaining of course :-S

If I can reach my goal, I'll not only make my friend (hopefully) happy, but I'll be ready to settle down and revise, revise, revise and query, query, query. Depending on how well Concealed goes, I'll either be working on a YA contempt/mystery/thriller-ish SNI that came to mind a week or so back. It's not an epic, world-building, magic trilogy with kickass characters, but it's still pretty epic. I'm pretty excited to write it, even if it does mean putting Feral and Concealed aside. I hope that one day Concealed will find a home, even if it means trying to sell another idea and coming back to that one. Don't worry Neira, Kalina, Adarin, and Dayne; I will never forget about you guys!

If the miraculous does happen and I'm able to finish 50k, there shall be a party.

Current word count: 32,246

Chapters: on 17

Pages: 127 Word/137 preferred text format

Words per day to reach goal: 1657

By golly, I think I can do it. It'll be difficult, but I guess since work has slowed waaaay down, leaving no events until January, I have much more time to dedicate to writing. Let's see how I do :)

Writing: fixing plot holes--complete with pictures!

2009-12-17T00:10:00.000-08:00

When I started seriously writing almost two years ago, the barest essentials were all I had. Being a broke college student, it basically translated to: Ramen Noodles, the weekly Starbucks coffee from Sarah, and my computer. For the most part, it was the two of us, sitting on opposite couches, drinking French-pressed coffee, and listening to Two Steps From Hell or Transformers soundtrack. Nothing was more fun that that--the incessant giggling as we realized what was coming, or funny lines that we put in there.

Today, not much has changed. You can still find us sitting in her room, compies on our laps, coffee nearby, music playing from the speakers, still laughing at our own creative geniuses.

But I do use other things that actually really help when I'm struggling. For example: plot holes. Those dreaded little crinkles in your plans, clashing together like hot pink and red. With help from me and Sarah's inside joke, I present:

(Let's pretend my room is this neat)

That's right, me and Sarah's "Epic Board 'O Stickies' or 'Epic Board 'O Plot Holes' as I also like to call it. Of course, not all of these pretty little squares are holes. Some of them are future references, sections I would like to make better, or info on things like people or societies.

But I won't lie, 2/3 are plot holes.

I've also realized just how mean/demanding/snooty my inner editor can be. I do believe one of the stickies on the board reads in regard to a certain scene, "Too boring! Get more action in there." "So, is Dayne ageless? Might want to fix that." "Trackers come before branding, not after." Alright already! I'll fix it when I'm finished writing, sheesh!"

Of course, not only has the "Epic Board" helped me out, but so have these two fabulous items:

(They really do make a wonderful couple)

I've already mentioned coffee once, so I'll just say, 'God Bless!' and move on to notebooks.

Now, I'm really not one to be writing in notebooks--unless of course, I'm sitting in a three hour Econ class that I would always leave half way through every class because the professor was so monotone that I could barely keep my eyes open. Not sure how I ended up with a B-, but I just went with it.

Anyways, yes, I have written in a notebook before. I actually had a good...hmm...I dunno--50 pages of my old draft in misc notebooks scattered around my apartment. While I preferred my computer, I couldn't deny the appreciation I would give notebooks on those days when I had to wait some where for a doctors app or vet trip.

Recently, I decided to map out my thoughts, tidying up everything in my mind, straightening out the clutter.

(Again, let's pretend my room is this clean)

For the most part, there was a lot of scratching things out, smushing words into a corner, drawing a bunch of arrows. Had I not made it blurry, you'd be able to see the pure chaos going on here. The funny thing is, it completely worked. Brain unblocked! Clutter removal attempt: Successful!

Some days just don't go as smoothly. After attempting to write a decent, fairly emotional scene, I found myself making things worse. Not only was I repeating words within the same sentence, it took me forever to spell everything correctly. I was constantly backspacing words and retyping them once, twice--three times even. At that point, I gave up. No writing that night. It was just souring my mood.

Instead, I decided to work on something I haven't done in a long time: a puzzle. I'm not sure entirely what it is, but for the life of me, I swear puzzles are cat-magnets. The moment I had set it on my bed and grabbed up a small table, she was there, gnawing on my mini masterpieces.

(I was missing one piece when I finished the puzzle. I wasn't thrilled...)

Not sure how many times I had to shoo he away (which didn't work. She got grumpy, I got grumpy) but eventually, I managed to work around her. I had forgotten how A.) good I was at puzzles and B.) how long it kept me preoccupied. I had started at around 10pm, and when I looked at the clock after being 2/3 of the way done, it was 4am. Oops. I set it aside, went to bed, and finished the rest of it within the hour. It was a nice break.

After finishing it, I hopped on the computer where I started writing, getting a nice chunk done in FNW. I had to stop eventually because of an approaching plot twist, but it was nice to blow past the 30k mark, and even the 31k mark. I'm currently sitting pretty at 31,178 words, a plot hole free in my head (as far as I can tell. There's a lot crammed in there) and a maybe-query which I'll send Sarah's way. I'm pretty sure it's crap, because I don't like it, but I like her opinion.

So what's your helpful tools? Any other programs, methods and/or items that help get you out of trenches and holes?

29k? I'll take it!

2009-12-14T03:31:00.000-08:00

I've just passed the 1/3 mark for my story, which I'm very happy about. I really only started cranking down on writing a little over 2 weeks ago and I'm nearing the 30k mark. This also makes me a tad sad, realizing that I could have easily done NaNo had I not switched stories in between. This is okay though. No use fussing about it now. This new idea is better than anything I had written before. Better idea, insane plot twists, hopefully gut-wrenching emotional scenes, and heartfelt family bonds. I'm pleased with the comments I've been receiving on snippets, even though the drafts are so raw, most of which aren't even read through before I post it. So naturally, I'm having plot holes galore right now. It's thrilling, watching my Epic Board 'O Stickies turn into an Epic Wall 'O Stickies. I'll hit that mark soon, but that's the problem with writing and suddenly changing your mind/coming up with a better twist/conflicting plot twists etc...All a part of the writing package.

I currently stand at 29k on the fifteen chapter, 114 Word Pages.

At this rate, I'll be to my goal by the end of January, which is what I'm hoping for so I can give my friend Kaitlyn the manuscript to keep her entertained while she leaves for a missionary program to Scotland. I wanted to be able to write and do one set of revisions to fill in the holes before I give it to her, so writing, writing, and more writing is in store.

As a last little humorous note, I decided to post the screenshot I took after I updated Twitter. I use the web program Google Chrome, finding it more useful than Mozilla and Internet Explorer, but I've come to realize that it likes to imitate Microsoft Word and correct misspellings for me.

Or in this case read minds:

Taylor "Tautness". Yeah, I pretty much fursploded while reading it. It catchy and it applies.

Sexy Baddies and Road Trip Wed

2009-12-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

This post was spurred by a convo between me and Kristin and our love for dangerous guys.

What is it about the sexy villain--the guy we KNOW is evil--that just pulls us in further? When it comes to attractive, mysterious, subtly evil male villains, it's like we swallowed a huge magnet, pulling us unwillingly towards towards him. So what is it?

I like to think that girls are attracted to evil, handsome guys because of the redemption factor, the What-if-I-could-save-him-and-turn-him-good-again. But when he's actually good, we lose a bit of interest. It's the bait they offer, the thrill of the chase.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with the good guy. Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games is a freaking doll--hands down my favorite male book character. But nice characters, with me, sometimes get the shaft when a brooding, charming villain is introduced. Take Draco Malfoy for example. For the most part, I was obsessed. The dark, sisister, and angsty aura that followed around him was like a freakin drug. Cue reading fanfiction, cue browsing fanart, cue writing fanfiction. I stumbled upon Cassandra Clare's Draco Trilogy years and years ago before she even had an agent, fell in love with her characters, plots, descriptions. She managed to capture Draco in a sense that I think would fit him. We never really got a good look at his character, never delved inside his head, but it was always fun to imagine.

I'll cut it short here and move onto Road Trip Wed so I don't bore everyone...or make it insanely long :D

What are the three best books you've read this year?

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I have to put this one on my list, being that this is my favorite book series tied with Harry Potter. Peeta was adorable, Katniss was brilliant, mean cliffie ending--I loved it all!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. One of the most beautifully written, tear-jerking, adorable books I've ever read. There was laughing, tears, anger--everything. After the last roadtrip Wed, I had to *facepaw* myself for forgetting another crush on the list: Clay. The more I read about his inner dialogue or how he felt about a certain person or people, I more I loved his character.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. At the encouragement of my best friend, Sarah, I finally caved and bought the series. While I am stile finishing Pretties (because I've been more obsessed with writing than reading, which I suppose it good :D) I fell instantly in love with the first of the trilogy. The title is deceiving, showing no signs of the epicness and action that lay between the covers. I was pleasantly impressed with everything about it

If you could meet one author (living or dead), who would it be?

I know these are going to sound completely generic, but it's a toss up between J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkein. I honestly can't choose who because these two authors are responsible for so much. Harry Potter was the reason that I loved to read. I picked up the first book in sixth grade, 11 years ago, a year after the first book was published. This was a series that I literally grew up with. It got me started on reading and writing fanfiction--helping me to decide that I loved to write.

J.R.R. Tolkein taught me to create a world bigger than my own, to conjure up stories of magic and good triumphing over evil.

Without these two authors, I wouldn't be where I am today. They literally changed my life.

What book are you most looking forward to in 2010?

Hunger Games (Book 3) is a given, so I'll post another one, which is Kody Keplinger's The DUFF. I'm very excited for her and to read her book. She's an amazing writer and I can't wait for her book to hit the shelves.

Well, I suppose that should wrap up this long blog post. Guess I'm just making up for lack of blog postage :D

Nighttime: My Muse's Muse

2009-12-05T01:16:00.000-08:00

It's one of the unexplainable phenomenons , like Stonehenge and Jello.

It's late. Lying in the bed of your cave (or bedroom. Whatever normal people call it.), you close your eyes, attempting to shut down your mind, only to suddenly snap awake. You scramble out of bed and to your roommate's door, knocking quickly because the world will just end if you don't tell them what is so important. Without waiting for an answer, you burst in, waking them from sleep.

"What?" they ask, grumpy from fatigue and being scared half to death from the door slamming against the wall.

"I just had an epiphany!"

Blank stare.

"I know how this section of the story is going to end."

You close the door just as the pillow hits, a smile on your face.

Nighttime writing: the most amazing gift I've ever received. I don't know what it is about the darkness, the quiet, and the growing fatigue that makes my mind race with ideas. I've already laid out my hours of operation, which is mostly from 11am or noon to 3am, leaving me a nice 8-9 hour sleep. A part of me doesn't like feeling that I waste my entire morning, the other half is calling me and idiot because it knows I like the nighttime better. My insulting half won.

Of course, the above story never actually happened...at least not that way. When I lived with Sarah, there was no pillow throwing, irritated voices, or blank stars (*snickers* Okay, there were those). Mostly it was calling me a nerd and laughing as I closed the door and went back into my room to reflect on my own brilliance.

For the most part, I'm curious if anyone else is like me--valuing the ideas that nighttime gives, or perhaps you have their more inspirational moments in the morning after you first wake up. Maybe it's in the middle of the day.

Most inspired time to write. Go!

Shiny new contest!

2009-12-03T13:23:00.001-08:00

The wonderful peeps over at YA Highway are having a contest! Very excited one at that. Go check it out. Go ogle books and bookshelves. Enjoy! :)

Crushcrushcrush

2009-12-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

And no I don't mean the super catchy Paramore song.
YA Highway asked the question, "Who are your fictional crushes?" and because I love a question to rant about my loves, this post is dedicated to all those nerdy, mysterious, I-just-want-to-pounce-on-you dream boys from YA novels. The type of oh-so-adorable guys who could make my heart melt in one minute and then explode from frustrating/irritating/so damn cute it's almost nauseating moments. Prepare yourselves for this :)

*WARNING* There's a few spoilers here. Just a heads up for those who don't want some of the books ruined.
**********

1.) Peeta Mellark - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Blond, cunning, and willing to do anything to protect the girl. What is not to like?! I grew an immediate attachment from the moment Katniss recalls how he had given her the strength to keep living with just a simple loaf of bread. The bruise and the reprimanding didn't steer him away from his need to help her then, it certainly didn't throughout the rest of the book. He remains a knight in shining armor without the leading lady even realizing that he meant every word he had ever spoken and all moves he had ever made.

It was bad enough trying to see through the hearts pounding in my eyes every time I read about him; I can only imagine how worse it will get once the movie (Screenplay written by Suzanne Collins herself! *squeeeeeee*) comes out in 2011.

Quote: "Maybe not that long," says Peeta. "What was that you were saying just before the food arrieved? Something about me...no competition...best thing that ever happened to you..."

"I don't remember that last part," I say, hoping it's too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush.

"Oh, that's right. That's what I was thinking," he says. "Scoot over, I'm freezing."

2.) Ian O'Shea - The Host by Stephenie Meyer

So I know that it's technically an adult novel, but for some reason, my brain reads YA. Maybe because the MC-host Melanie, in the flashbacks, is 17. A crush is a crush right?

What's funny about this crush, is he tried to kill the MC-alien--which I take as a symbol of love. He wasn't just choking the life from her, he was doing it with love and compassion. In all honestly, he quickly became my favorite character in the book, and most likely the series with SM finishes the next two books. Fear can make people do strange things, like attempt to strangle the half-alien, but only acceptance can make him love her. The book had a lot of messages, good messages about sacrificing anything for the ones you love, accepting and understanding what you are afraid of, and admitting that you were wrong. This book has it all, and so does Ian. To watch his character turn from an asshat to the most sincere person in the entire camp is a fun transition. I find that every time I read The Host, I crush even more.

Quote:He nuzzled his face against mine until he found my lips, then he kissed me, slow and gentle, the flow of molten rock swelling languidly in the dark at the center of the earth, until my shaking slowed.

3.) Ron Weasley/Draco Malfoy - Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

This decision was too difficult. I adore Ron, who has always been a fictional crush since the middle of the first book. The comic relief, awkward schoolboy, and has "the emotional range of a teaspoon," his personality had me dying to read more. There were so many moments when I just wanted to smack him over the head, wanted to *facepalm* at some of the things he did, but all the same, I couldn't ever hate him, or stay mad for long. Just a cute redhead with a boyishness charm.

Quote: "...from now on, I don't care if my tea leaves spell 'die, Ron, die.' I'm chucking them in the bin where they belong."

On the other hand, despite all of the cruelty and taunting he gives, there is something about Draco Malfoy that just grabs me, reeling me in. Completely mysterious, dark, and brooding--we all see him joining the Death Eaters. But wait! Do I see redemption in the future? Is my psycho fangirl crush not completely psycho after all? We never really get a deep look into his character, which is a shame in my opinion, but we do see this unexpected side of him in the sixth and seventh book. Angsty and proud with a hint of sarcasm and insecurity. Don't worry, I'd be happy to take him under my wing ;)

Quote: "Azkaban - the wizard's prison, Goyle. Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backwards."

4.) Cabel Strumheller - Wake by Lisa McMann

What's hot about a nerd-gone-popular who is actually still a nerd? Everything. There were many things I enjoyed about Wake like the language, which captured teenagers very well. The premise was interesting, the first-person present was bearable. But those things didn't keep me reading. It was definitely the secretly attractive Cabel. Mysterious, intriguing, heartbreaking--you got it all with him. You also got his caring, his compassion, his understanding. While Janie struggles with a life she never asked for, in a world she believes really doesn't care, her path wanders into that of Cabel, the person who will love her unconditionally, who--without even knowing what was going on--sheltered her, held her numb hands, shooed away anyone who was curious.
Plus, he ends up being an undercover cop. *fans self* 'Nuff said :)

Quote: She feels like crying, and she does, a little. She closes her eyes and doesn't move. Can't move. The tears leak out. Cabel wipes her cheeks gently with his thumb.
That makes her cry harder.

**********

And that, ladies and gents, is my fangirl crushes, in order of my favorites. *sighs dreamily* And I can go visit them any day that I want.

New layout.

2009-12-01T16:14:00.001-08:00

Like it. Love it. Snuggle it.

That's what I did :D

Teased!

2009-12-01T00:09:00.001-08:00

Why yes, I have started Teaser Tuesdays again with the lovely ladies at AW. I must say, it feels excellent. A seriously brief update first followed by a section of Concealed that I really like as an unofficial query.

Words: 12446

Chapters: 7

Pages: 46

Not too bad. It's going by quickly. Well, only the teaser :)

*************************

*snipped*

So. Much. Better!

2009-11-29T00:51:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would give a brief update about how my writing is going. As the title says, it is going so well! I currently just finished chapter three, which I'll admit was a tad boring in the beginning, but got better in the middle. In fact, the first two and a half chapters are not spectacular. It's interesting, I will say that, but I feel that I delivered an amazing intro paragraph, and from there, it's blah. Then there is the third chapter, where you get to unofficially meet the famous Seducer. The fifth or sixth chapter is when my favorite Healer appears. That is what I cannot wait to write. Hopefully me and Sarah get our Write-a-thon tomorrow, allowing me to get to chapter five or six where the fun begins. Excited!

Anyways, here are my stats so far, if you haven't read the Progress Bar:

Words: 7635

Chapters: Starting 5th

Pages (using Hunger Games font): 32.4 book pages/28 Word pages

It's a bit slow writing-and-book-wise, but it is starting to pick up and get more entertaining with the more characters I introduce. As of now, it is only Neira (MC) and her older sister Kali, who is also an MC, just not from her perspective.

I have decided that I do indeed have a dark mind. The direction of this book is edgy, angst, dark, but it is also giddy (at least I think so), heartwarming, occasionally sad. There are thing that I added into this book that weren't in the last, and there were things I took out of this book that were in the last. Some of it I regret not adding in, but mostly, I'm just happy with how this is turning out. I really feel like this will go over well with agents, if I don't get rejected immediately for a X-Men or Heroes wannabe plot. I don't suppose begging them to read it so they understand that it is definitely not X-Men or Heroes is out of the question? *shrug* Guess I'll just need to query it right when the time comes...

Where to start....

2009-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

No, really, where do I start. I'm actually ready to start writing my new and improved idea (mostly because Neira, Kali, Adarin, and Dayne and threatening to beat me up if I don't write them into something) but I find the beginnings so hard. We as writers have to make it interesting. We have to capture our reader. If you character is sitting in a chair studying, that won't do much for people. If she is studying and suddenly a car crashes into her room, that's a little more intense. To me, beginning is everything when it comes to writing. Doesn't matter how awesome your story gets or how rockin' your characters are, if they can't get past the beginning, it's over.

I suppose all I can hope to do is grab a cup of tea, put on some epic music, and sit my butt down.

Let's do this.

poof

2009-10-03T03:18:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I seem to do that every now and again. *poof* in *poof* out. I could give the big ol' speech about being busy, but every one has heard it.

What has changed from the last time I blogged, however, is this: NaNoWriMo. It didn't take much convincing from Sarah for me to do this. More along the lines of:

Sarah: Hey, I'm doing NaNoWriMo challenge. Will you do it with me?

Me: What is it?

Sarah: It's National Novel Writing Month.

Me: Okay...but what is it.

Sarah: You write 50k words in a month.

Me: I need to write anyways. Okay, I'll do it.

Fascinating, yeah?

Anyways, I won't be taking my computer up to Idaho because I hate carrying it around the airport and my dad has no internet (You made me laugh about that "Oh God, no computer?!?" comment, Sarah.) I dunno, I kinda like writing it down by hand. It's...old school. Who knows, maybe it'll get me to think up some new edit ideas for JP while I'm writing The Catalyst, which is the new idea.

Well, I suppose that's all from my end. Add me on NaNoWriMo. I'll be sure to add you back when I return.

Teaser Tuesday 11

2009-08-18T01:23:00.000-07:00

Eleven weeks without fail of TT. I'm pretty proud of it, actually.

Anyways, here is the first page of a short story I wrote a few weeks back entitled Silver. Thank you to the lovely Sarah for help editing. I keep forgetting to send it out to try and get published in a literary magazine.

Read it while it lasts. I'll be taking it down before I start sending it off :)

*******************

*snipped*

Teaser Tuesday 10

2009-08-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

So, I feel that I've already posted this snippet, but for the life of me, I can't find where. I really love it as it shows Adarin's playful personality and Neira's unwillingness to play along. It's just one of my favorite fun moments between the two. So here it goes, another exerpt from JP

***********************

*snipped*

It feels so nice to read again...

2009-08-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

As the title says, it feels amazing to be able to buy a book, pick it up, and read. Having gone for several months unemployed and attempting to skirt by in my apartment (Gotta love broke college life and parents that want to make sure their daughter doesn't end up eating the furniture due to lack of groceries), it's a relief to have a job and money to spend. Of course, there are also other expenses, which definitely narrows how often I can buy a book, but that's alright. A book here and there is perfectly fine with me.

The lovely Sarah has been nagging me to read a lot books (and I'm so glad you did). Between posts for OPWFT group blog and browsing the Absolute Write forums, we've picked up several recommendations for books. So far, they've all been fantastic.

Wake by Lise McMann was a quick, enjoyable read that I was able to finish in roughly 3 and a half hours. While the third person present tense bothered me a bit, I fell in love were her characters, mainly Cabel, who I couldn't hate no matter how much I tried. There was just something about him that made me want to like him, that, despite Janie's anger towards him, made him compelling. The language was amazing, as it wasn't made up of Mary Sue stuff that you always see. The perfect characters who can do no wrong. Teenagers are not like that. I don't know a single teenager that acts perfect like that. There was cussing, there was sex, drugs, violence...this is a part of average, normal, everyday life.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher couldn't be more different. Where as Wake was on the rough and ragged side, Thirteen Reasons Why was brilliance and beauty. I'm not sure if I could love another character more than I loved Clay (Well, besides my own characters :D). I don't know how many times I got teary eyed when he spoke in between her lines, how many times I "awe!"ed at a certain scene, or laughed at one of his more amusing lines. He was adorable and caring and kind, and as you see in the book and in real life, people like him are so hard to find.

I find that I respect these authors and novels because they show (in my opinion) more of young adults than most YA books I read. They are closer to what we all have experienced: highschool, drama...moments that destroy us and make us stronger.

I loved reading these two books, which I was able to easily read in two days. They were completely captivating and inspiring, which just makes me want to find more books like them. Days off like this make me happy.

Yet another Teaser Tuesday...9!

2009-08-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, nine straight weeks of teasers. I'm going to have to post something else soon. I think I've given away most of my beginning rewritten chapters. Bad Leah!

Anyways, this is something new. I decided to skip ahead on the rewrite and do a snippet from a completely new idea. There was a chunk of about 3 chapters that are getting cut completely and replaced by a different idea. This is the other idea, designed for my MCs now-younger age. It's long, but it reads easily.

******************************

*snipped*

Teaser Tuesday 8 :D

2009-07-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been a bad AWer. Been so busy with work, family, and friends that I haven't been able to hop on except once in a blue moon. I won't, however, stop posting Teasers for as long as I can help it. That and the group blog are really my only links to AW.

I apologize that I won't be able to read everyone's teasers until late, late, late tonight or tomorrow. Trying to squeeze in as much writing and blogging and lurking as I can get between work.

Anyways, here is an exerpt from Jaded Portal.

*********************************

*snipped*

I have to post this because I couldn't stop laughing.

2009-07-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I have a thing for taking online quizzes. They're just plain fun, albeit completely ridiculous.

So here I am, browsing Twitter, checking out the Trending Topics and I see the phrase "Who's Your Fantasy." Of course I'm looking at this with a raised eyebrow, but I cave in and take a look. It's a quiz. Who's your fantasy boyfriend? Oh no, not another one, I think. But I click the link anyways. Just a mere eight questions asking me about my dream guy. Where would I want him to take me on a date? Beach? Sounds great! What do you want him to have? Facial hair--duh! My mouse clicks around the screen in frantic anticipation to see the results. I don't do it to see what the answer is, but rather what the results say. More often than not, the results are hilarious.

I was not disappointed!

"Your result is....Harry Potter." I proceeded to snort into my cup of juice.

"We don't need to read your tea leaves to know that you are meant to be with the 'Boy Who Lived.'" I snort again.

"Harry makes you feel like you are under a magic spell, and he doesn't have to shout any Latin words to do it." The best mental image of him shouting Latin on a date floats into my mind...

"No matter how many lives your boy wizard saves, he never lets it go to his head." Lol my boy wizard? That's funny.

"He doesn't want to be adored--he just wants to hold your hand at a Quidditch game or take you to Hogsmeade for a warm butterbeer." When has he done that--ever?

"Even when he acts like a regular boyfriend though, you never forget how magical he is." He's going to make me magically vomit rainbows.

"Aww...give his lightning bolt scar a kiss for us." You all have some weird fetishes...really.

Well...that was awesome for a good laugh. I'm curious at what the other quizzes are. Everyone should go here and post their results in their blog. I need some more good laughs :P

Nooo! Why oh why do I have to miss this?!

2009-07-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow July 24th at 5pm Willow Bridge Bookstore in my hometown of Oakhurst, CA will be hosting an event. Appearances include:

Jay Asher--author of Thirteen Reasons Why

Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Elizabeth Wales--Owner of Wales Literary Agency and

Stacy Hague-Hill--a Science Fiction/Fantasy editor for Tor Books...

And what am I doing? Working. ARGH!

I would give ANYTHING to be able to attend this event, but having just started my job during its busiest season...yeah, enough said. I am going to try to ask my boss to come into work two hours late, but I'm not sure that will fly.

The event, which continues in Madera, CA on Saturday is a no-go as well as I already promised my step-sister that I would be attending her birthday party at the lake.

It would be so fantastic to meet those people, especially considering the group blog I am involved with, Old People Writing For Teens, has done an Agent Spotlight with Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown and an interview with Jay Asher. I would love to add to those spotlights with information from Elizabeth Wales and Stacy Hague-Hill.

They all sound completely wonderful, which only makes me more sad that I have to miss this!

Teaser Tuesday 7

2009-07-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I decided to post from Jaded Portals this time, but this scene will actually no longer be in the book. There is a scene in the book that takes up three to four chapters that is getting completely cut. I need to write it for a younger age, and in this teaser, they're 21. Doesn't work anymore now that they are 17, but I enjoy tension, so I thought I would throw this out there.

But I am glad that I am getting rid of those chapters. I honestly can say that I never really liked them except for a few parts. This snippet is alright. Its some of my old writing, so its not very well written. Guess that's what rewrites are for, eh?

************************

*snipped*

Teaser Tuesday 6/Harry Potter 6 thoughts (No Spoilers)

2009-07-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

Due to spending 10 hours in line for Harry Potter 6, this Teaser Tuesday post is a bit late. I didn't get a chance to hop onto the lappy.

Before the post, I must say that HP6 was completely fantastic. It was hilarious, epic, very close to the book...it was by far the best one made yet! I was blown away. Normally after seeing an HP movie, I'm not sure if I like it. I'll have to watch it another time to decide. This one didn't even make me pause to think. I need to see it again because it was too amazing, not because I need to decide if it was good. Brilliance. Pure brilliance! 10 hours waiting in the hot sun, $30 spent on tickets and food, a work orientation at 1pm tomorrow...all completely worth it. If you are a fan of the book, I don't think this will disappoint!

Anyways, here's a post from Feral, my second WIP. Sorry I haven't read any teasers yet. I'll get around to it after work :)

By the way, all typos on the word 'elevator' are intentional. It's a little joke with my MC, Samara, who doesn't know what the word is and refers to it differently each time she thinks/speaks it.

**********************

*snipped*

OPWFT Blog Post

2009-07-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

You heard right. We have the Old People Writing For Teens blog up and running. It just so happens that tomorrow is my day. I won't say what I'm writing about on here, but it's relevant to what I'm doing currently. If I'm doing it, why not suggest other people do it as well. Every little bit of writing helps, right?

Now, I know that I'm not old (me and Sarah being the youngest in the thread at 21 and 20) but the people there are just too amazing. I don't fit into the teens anymore and it just feels more comfortable there. I'm very happy to be a part of this group. They can't be more awesome if they tried :D

Anyways, be sure to check out the blog. It's only been up for under two weeks and we've gotten a decent bit of attention. Let's keep it going!

EDIT: The post is now up under the Writing Tips section. I think it'll fit in there okay...

Teaser Tuesday 5!

2009-07-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, you know what day it is. Teaser Tuesday is in full swing. I decided to do another JP teaser, because I don't want to post too much of Feral. I'm only 5500+ words in. Definitely want to save the humor, tension, and intensity for later

Anyways, here is an teaser from JP revised chapter two. I'm pretty proud of the outcome...

***********************

*snipped*

Another successful NW

2009-07-03T01:12:00.001-07:00

Good news: I'm finally starting my new job tomorrow and Saturday.

Bad news: I miss two night writes.

I must say, I think I'm having major success with Feral. The change of perspective coupled with her sarcasm (which is somehow unexplainably different from Neira's) makes it very refreshing. I've been having really good success with The Jaded Portal and I am in no way not making it my priority, but the burnout from rewriting it has me down a bit. It'll take me a bit to finish the rewrite, and then I have to start the editing process, which is going to be just as big of a pain in the ass. As soon as I finish the rewrite, however, I'll be trekking into Query Letter Hell, a perilous journey into the untamed forests of agencies. It's about as much fun as sticking your hand in a blender...

Anyways, I would say QLH starts in roughly two months, maybe more, maybe less--it depends on how much of JP rewrite I have left to do (which is quite a lot, I believe) and how burnt out I get.

I guess I can only wait and see.

5638 words for Feral and growing.

Jaded Portal has, astonishingly, grown larger with this rewrite. I don't know the exact word count, but I would probably say closer to 103k words over the original 102k. I don't even know how that happened...

Do you ever...

2009-07-01T22:51:00.001-07:00

...have one of those moments where you hear a song and a novel or short story pops into your head? It just happened for me again.

Wine Red by The Hush Sound caused me to spur a short story that I'm quite proud of. I have Sarah reading over it. I'm hoping she'll like it. Then again, I like it. I suppose that's all that matters.

It could use some work, but it's not bad for typing it out in two hours, briefly editing, then sending it to her. If I get a good review on it, I think I'll edit it more and then send it to some literary magazines. Hopefully I could get it published. Not looking to Query Letter Hell. Just an FYI.

Okay, going back to the short story entitled Silver, Sarah loved it, which has gotten me all sorts of excited. Her input means a lot to me, not to mention, she's better with all of the literary stuff, having taken several classes for it. Having her like it is the icing on the cake. Next step is editing, and then sending it off.

I might die if it does, just because then I could say, "Hey, I'm technically a published writer." :D

Teaser Tuesday 4!

2009-06-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

My new favorite day of the week! While I appreciated the amazing support of Feral last week, I'm gonna have to go back to Jaded Portal. I've been informed that I need to read Uglies, Pretties, and Specials by Scott Westerfeld because my teaser was looking strikingly familiar to it, and I've never even read a summary of the books. I guess I just have an imagination that is in sync with his...

This is a teaser from my chapter two rewrite, which is coming along amazingly. I was very happy with this, but I think some bits that I've written are incredibly intense and gorey. I'm not sure how that would settle with people, so if I could get some feedback on that, I would love you all forever!

Here it goes, from the newest rewrite of the Jaded Portal. I apologize for the length. There wasn't really a good part to cut it off at:

**********

*snipped*

FNW---Pure awesomeness

2009-06-27T00:31:00.000-07:00

I don't think it's even possible for this night to get better. I'm going to have to agree with Sarah on all counts.

Friday Night Writes on AW was more fun that I had even imagined. I had been bouncing up and down in my seat for the last six days waiting for this night. Apparently, it had been done on different nights as well, though I had been busy all previous ones. It was so insane that it took the better part of the hour just reading and reviewing everyone else's work. Then there was a good 20-30 mins dedicated to your own writing. It was perfect though! I can FINALLY say that I am finished with the rewrite for chapter one, which was the entire reason for my writer's block. I needed to make it interesting, something worthwhile, suspenseful. I'm hoping I pulled that off well. All the compliments were wonderful and had me grinning ear-to-ear most of the night. I am happy to say that I personally find the changes I've made a complete turn-around from what I had written a year ago, which was terrible. The second chapter is moving along smoothly as well. I'm excited to start writing that tomorrow...err...later today. All I have left to rewrite is the first 1/3 of my book...sigh. But hey, it's progress.

I second Sarah's next comment on Steve Jablonsky. What would I do without your epic/beautiful/dramatic/tramatic music. I will always, for the rest of my life, look back and remember the ideas that had come to me on the fateful trip to Oregon with Arrival to Earth playing on a constant loop in the background.

The same goes for you, Sarah. I don't think it's possible for me to have a more amazing best friend. One who will take the babble that comes from my mouth when I get too excited about a certain part. Who will sit on the couch opposite of me with coffee in hand, listening to Two Steps From Hell and Transformers soundtrack. Who, when I get really, really emo about writing, can still manage to make my stubborn self feel better. And lastly for just being there for the game of "Hey Cow," which was in fact, a llama. Ahh, the joke that ensued afterwards about us driving back and seeing a llama dead from cardiac arrest. I heart you!

Again, thanks for making this night really fun and progressive! All of you are incredible!

Teaser Tuesday 3!

2009-06-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

It's technically Tuesday and everyone at AW knows what that means!....We all get a lovely round of teasers! I'm very excited to keep reading. Everyone has such amazing ideas and writing styles and humor...I can't get enough! I'm happy to post something new, instead of JP excerpts. Don't get me wrong, JP is my baby, but I'm tired of never having new characters, new plot, new settings. Today is an exerpt from Feral, the new YA Urban fiction. I apologize for grammatical errors and the like, I didn't really edit. It's fresh off the computer :D 2860 words written today alone on Feral. I even did a good 500 words for the JP rewrite. So proud!

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*snipped*

A tad late Teaser Tuesday...

2009-06-17T01:49:00.001-07:00

Work, work, work...

I know I'm a tad late, only about 2 hours, but still. Worked the closing shift, so naturally I didn't get out of work until midnight. Blasted random bands that I hadn't heard in forever, like Aqua. That was fun. Called Sarah. Waited in traffic at midnight for 20 minutes. That wasn't fun. Made it home thoroughly saddened that I missed, yet again, another party with friends. Sometime I'll actually be able to hang out with someone for longer than a few hours...

Anyways, enough with my ranting. On to the (slightly late) Teaser...

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*snipped*

Teaser Tuesday!

2009-06-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

New blogroll for AW Young Adult forum. Teaser Tuesday is basically sharing sections from your book. Most are longer than the ones I already post, so I'll just have to find a long section to post with this one. I think that I'll probably stop posting teasers except on Tuesday, that way I'll have more things to post and won't run out of sections that I want. These Tuesday posts will be longer to make up for not posting any other time during the week.

Here we go! Teaser taken from The Jaded Portal:

*snipped*

Well what do ya know...

2009-05-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here I was, minding my own business when an idea appeared out of no where. It had been a while since any idea had visited me, so I wasn't at all expecting it, but I welcomed it warmly. The small talk ensued immediately.

"Hello Idea," I said politely. "It's been a while since you last visited me."

"It's been too long," Idea chirped. "I decided to stop by and see if you needed anything from me."

I pondered that, but only briefly. "I do think I could use some assistance," I said with a smile. "I'm can't seem to put all my pieces together. Any concepts you could throw in for me in my struggle to right the first book."

Idea frowned. "I think I've helped you enough in that section. You can definitely finish the rest of your first book. Just use your head. You are so close!"

I mimicked his frown and nodded, defeated.

"But," he continued, "I have a gift for you."

My ears perked up. "A gift? What is it?"

The gift was better than I imagined; it was the plot of my second book laid out before me. The minor details would, of course, come to me as I wrote, but the overall picture hit me in the face like a dodgeball to a nerdy kid.

It's moments like these that I feel like I'm invincible.

The return...

2009-05-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year since I began this blog. The first thing I did was post once, and then proceeded to forget entirely that I had made one. There had only been one post, an introduction really, but this is where the good stuff starts.

The mysterious and miraculous powers of the Absolute Write forums have gotten me back into my writing, slowly, but surely. That isn't to say that I'm still stuck on my editing. I've managed to complete twenty five chapters and 353 Microsoft word pages and all I can seem to do is give myself a headache attempting to think about how to tie it all up. Changing ideas after I had finished the frame was better than changing it during the writing process, but that still leaves me with the fact that I changed ideas, and there is one key point missing that will wrap up the package I have here with a pretty little bow. What the plot point is, I haven't the faintest clue, but it's there; it's taunting me. I'll discover it soon enough, most likely when I'm lying in bed, ready for sleep. That seems to be one of my more brilliant times for creativity. I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

On a second note, I'm almost done with moving out. Thursday is my last day in my apartment, and while I'll miss living on my own, I won't miss this place. Sure I've had good memories, but the yelling, the music, the children rolling a soccer ball-sized rock down the concrete steps, the man hacking up a lung across from us...they outweigh the good. It will be a relief to actually sit in an air conditioned room in the quiet woods with my family. I think I need this though. I'm not looking forward to commuting an hour to work two or three times a week, but I'll still be saving money and hopefully not worrying about the stresses of having none. Of course, I won't actually have much money for the first month or two. I have too many things that need to be fixed. My car for one is looking like it might go to that big garage in the sky. I'm sure it still has a few more years, but the noises make me worried. It's long past due for an oil change and tire rotation. I need to refill the air conditioning...it has a leak and the air doesn't blow out as cold as it should be. The list just keeps growing, but soon enough, I'll be able to let that wave of relief rush over me when I can say that my list of things to do is gone.