Unfinished Bissuness and a Blog Award

Wow, it's been awhile. Um, I could come up with with a lot of excuses but what happened was I lost internet and therefore lost inspiration to write and then lost the inspiration to blog and then I procrastinated longer and longer even after I got internet back and therefore was more reluctant to post. So there wasn't really a reason at all. But here I am now.

It's times like this that I think that I perhaps shouldn't blog. I can't seem to keep up with it even though my life isn't really busy or anything. I do enjoy blogging but I hit these. . . blocks, where I don't blog for awhile.

But enough of that. I think I should feel you guys in about the end of Nano.

About halfway through the month, pretty much right after my last post, I changed internet providers and with the new provider my laptop, for some reason, could not get the internet. But the internet was supposed to be better and cheaper so I though I could just live with using my desktop. I was wrong. My writing inspiration went down the drain, I kept pushing off writing because I had already written way over the current goal.

Long story short I waited until the last three days to start writing again. I wrote twenty thousand words in those three days. It was hard, it was painful but I was not eager to let this be my first year to miss the goal. And I just knew I wouldn't let myself live it down if I didn't get after writing twice that last year. I won by a hair, 50,020.

I'm so happy I won! I'm so happy that I didn't give up in the end. I'm happy and satisfied with what I accomplished. :)

And another thing, long overdue. I've been given an award! I was given the same award by two people back in August (I know, I'm horrible *cowers*). Given to me by Sarah McCabe and Claudie A. (now at The Novel Experiment).


Sarah said: Taylor Roseberry has the most beautiful header and a great blog. I find myself just gazing at that header though.And Claudie A. said: I met Taylor during last NaNoWriMo. I can't recall how, but I know we ended up pushing the last days together. A bond was formed, and it so happens she has a great blog with a super shiny header. Sarah tagged her for this already, but she hasn't answered. So there. You have no choice.

Yes, talk about guilt. I soo should've posted this award before now. I totally slacked on my blogging and currently feel way undeserving of the award and all the wonderful things they had to say about me and the blog. But I'll try to get back on track.

 Anyway, it is the Liebster Blog award!



The goal of the award is to spotlight up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers.

The rules are:

   1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
   2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
   3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
   4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
   5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

S.B. Stewart-Laing at Writing the Other. Stewart has TONS of useful information and tips and advice on things you probably haven't ever thought about but probably should.


Larkindale at Fiction and Film. Her posts are amusing and interesting :)


Nicole at Write me a World. Her blog is interesting and awesome :D


Angeline Trevena. She's got a good blog! :)


Miss Cole at Miss Cole Seeks Publisher. Love her blog :)


Awesome blogs everyone! Thanks for the award Claudie and Sarah and I hope to get back into the groove of things!


Hope to be back on the blog soon!

NaNo Day 15

Wow. It has been so busy! I've had like three violin lessons in addition to my usual weekly ones in preparation for recital and then (though this is entirely my own fault) had a Harry Potter marathon which I just finished yesterday.

Actually, finishing the Harry Potter marathon and watching the last movie in my own home, it's really really hit me that Harry Potter is pretty much over. I'll always be able to read the books and watch the movies but there won't be any new movies or books to look forward to. I'm feeling sorta sad about it, I'd never thought before that I'd feel so sad about Harry Potter ending and yet. . . I'll probably watch the last movie a couple more times over the next few days. I would turn it on right now if I didn't have to wake up early tomorrow.

So I haven't written anything at all since the 10th, I think. I know, it's horrible! I've gotta catch up! My word count is currently 27,242. I've gotta get writing again!

And of course I'll be getting the video game Assassins Creed Revelations tomorrow and therefore waste more precious writing time. Why? Why did it have to come out this month? Of all the months of the year, this one?

At least there's a write in this week. Maybe I can make up a decent chunk of wordcount there?

I hope everyone is writing exciting things and that your muses are being kind to you (probably not to your characters though ;p)!

Nano Day 5

So today was great! I went to another write in and wrote about 5k words today. I've got a total of 14,441 words, 10k of them in my story Sun Touched. Things are going pretty awesomely with Sun Touched really. I didn't know how far I'd get with the idea before I got stumped but ideas are popping up like crazy and the general idea of the plot, saving the world from a dying sun, is coming along nicely.

I'm really glad I switched from the Chronicles to Sun Touched because when I had been writing the Chronicles I was getting stumped and I wasn't even 5k into it yet. With Sun Touched? Bring. It. ON!

I'll go ahead and explain a little bit more about the characters (because I can).

Dalon Av Baen is 159 years old and lost his power a century ago when the sun began to die. His outlook on life is predominantly negative and memories haunt him. He's pessimistic, sarcastic, and I like writing him :) I view him as the main character of the story even though his POV time is split with. . .

Nara Belvene. A sun-touched around 20 years old. She is rather optimistic and this irritates Dalon to no end. She thinks she might be able to save the world and drags Dalon from place to place as she tries to figure out how to do this.

I like writing about both of them because while Dalon is very negative, Nara is more positive and I like the contrast between their POV's.

Anyways, I'm getting to a part of the book that will be exciting. I think I may be getting close to the first plot point. They're about to come upon the ruins of a sorcerer city. There will be some rather nasty surprises there, and some good ones too. But for some reason I can't wait to write about the nasty ones. I almost feel bad for my characters, they have such a cruel author. *evil grin*

My grandparents are coming to visit tomorrow (Sunday) so we'll see how much writing I get in. If I wake up early I might be able to get some writing in but somehow I don't think that will happen. Seeing as I'm writing this at 1 o'clock in the morning. Cause that's how I roll.

Goodnight everyone! Have happy dreams of making things unbearably difficult for your characters! :D

The First Few Days

Augh! I was wanting to post everyday but I didn't Dx Well, here I am now so. . .

Day 1, I went to the midnight kickoff. It was a bit subdued, probably cause it was midnight or something. I got in about 2.5k before I left at about 2:30am. And then after sleeping I wrote about 2-2.5k more. So all in all a pretty good day :)

Except, well, I started out writing The Chronicles of Siron like planned and then I had a sudden plot bunny about something totally different about the sun dying and stuff and now I'm writing that instead because it has a simple but - what I think is a - compelling plot. Compared to The Chronicles which is endlessly complicated and I'm very indecisive on many points of the plot.

Day 2, I wrote about 2.5k more. (what's with all the 2.5k's?)

And then today, day 3, I wrote nothing until the write in at a coffee shop near by, where I wrote about 3k and won both 15 minute word sprints by writing more than 700 words both times. That's, like, the most I've ever written in that amount of time. I usually average at about 1k every half hour if I'm really writing, but 700 every 15 minutes? That blew my mind.

Today's write in was fun. We all laughed about milking sheep and dolphin cheese XD It's nice to write with other wrimos in real life. I can't wait to go to more!

So my total wordcount so far is 9,189, so far so good!

As for my 'new idea' I'm calling it Sun Touched and here's the synopsis:

Dalon Av Baen, former sorcerer, lost his power 98 years ago when the sun began to die. Now with winters growing long and cold, he has done his best to blend with the others and forget his former life, waiting for his death. But when he meets Nara - a sun-touched - and her foolish ideas about saving the world, he reluctantly begins to have hope.


How's everyone else doing? I hope everyone's got good inspiration. Sending writing vibes your way! :D

My Dream Writers Desk

Last post I mentioned that me and my dad had built a custom desk for me. Well, it's finally finished.

First let's take a look at the desk I had before:



This picture was taken before my desktop was completed so my 27'' monitor isn't up there with a keyboard and mouse. Now imagine how little space there was up there :-p

Building my new desk took a lot of hard work. It all started in August. My birthday was coming up and I decided that I wanted a desk. So I got drawing my dream desk, looked at some pics online of some desk styles that I might like and stuff. There wasn't much to see really. The only things I found were the average plain jane/john desks that can be bought from staples or ikea. But I eventually found this:

That's a picture of Charles Dickens desk. I couldn't really make my desk look just like it, what with having a computer and all and plus it's not much bigger than the desk I already had. But I really liked the way the top was done with distressed wood and framed out. And the color.this was enough to get my creativity going.

So with that to go on I began to draw. I knew I wanted a space for my desktop and tower, speakers, some books and still have plenty of room for papers and my laptop and drawing tablet and anything else I might need.

This is what I drew:

('Tay Tay' courtesy of my mom)

I know it looks nothing like the Charles Dickens desk but this is what I needed.

Anyways I didn't get my desk on my birthday, things were too busy and then next month we were preparing for vacation so early this month my dad taught me how to use cabinet vision to draw up my cabinet and then the next day we went up and started building it.

I don't know about you guys but when I see pieces of wood on the floor like that I just can't see a cabinet. But  we started to put them together and got this:

And my uber awesome counter top!

(My dad is there for size scale :p)

Anyway, that was day one. The next day we built the face frames and and drawers and long(er) story short this is what happened:

It actually took 3 days to build because even after we got it home we still had to touch up the counter top and stuff.

And then the stain took like 2 weeks to choose and then apply. It was horrid having to do all that work and more than once I wanted to rush it. There was so much sanding and staining and with the cabinet so massive on top of it all it took forever!

But we eventually finished it (yesterday) and here's what it looks like!

It's so awesome but it gets better. Here's a pic of it with all my stuff on it:

So there it is! My dream desk from fantasy to reality. I can't wait to really start using it come next month during Nano.

And speaking of Nano, I'm going to a Nano kickoff party tonight. It'll be the first write in I've ever gone to so we'll see how it goes :)

Four Days Till NaNo!

NaNoWriMo is almost here!! Four more days! I can't wait :D

Actually, I still don't have a scene by scene outline yet, I have to do that in the next few days, and some of the parts of my plot are still fuzzy but I still can't wait. And guess what? I'm going to have a new desk!

I don't think I've ever mentioned this but my Dad is a carpenter and owns a cabinet shop so me and him went and built me a HUGE desk. It's got paper trays and a book shelf and a place for my desktop and room for my laptop to sit up there and spread papers everywhere. It's so awesome. Me and my mom are staining it right now and it should be done before the first of November. I can't wait! Right now the counter top, knee space, drawers, adjustable shelves, and the inside of all the cabinets are stained so there isn't too much to do. I'll post pictures when it's done :)

And for the first time, I will have distractions during Nano. It's a scary thing I haven't really had to deal with before. I've got violin and guitar lessons and then have to keep up with practicing them every day. The video game Assassins Creed Revelations is coming out next month on the 17th and I know I'm going to loose 3-7 days until I win it. And then, of course, there's Thanksgiving. And I know there's something else I'm forgetting but I can't seem to remember. . .

I'm also thinking of attending write-ins for the first time. I'm thinking of going to the midnight kick off party to start with but I'm not sure. . .

Well, can't wait! I hope this year will be just as fun as the last two! :D

The Harry Potter Theme Park

Sorry for the long silence. Things got really busy leading up to leaving for vacation and it slipped my mind to post something before I left. And then, believe it or not, there was no internet at where I was staying so I couldn't post anything while there. And then when I got back, trying to get back into the swing of things I got sick and am just now coming out of it. Ugh. So. About the vacation.

It was fun. Spent like all my time at Universal. The Harry Potter park was awesome! The castle looks pretty much just like in the movie and Hogsmeade was great.

The butterbeer was pretty good. The frozen was better cause it lasted longer and wasn't quite as sweet as the cold stuff, which was good but after a few sips was sickening cause it was so sweet. They had chocolate frogs and sherbert lemons and all sorts of replicas of stuff like the time turner and deathly hallows symbol necklaces. It was awesome! The three broom sticks and hogs head was cool, I ate there and the food was good. they're both like the same place really. It's just that the Hog's Head side has a sort of bar area.

And so concludes my vacation. Condensed anyway :p I had a good time and intend to get back to regular posting now :) Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to NaNoWriMo next month!

ROW80 Update 8/31

I haven't had time to work on my story and it's frustrating! I've been busy with my music stuff and planning vacation next month and yesterday was my birthday so I didn't get to any writing then and then, believe it or not, yesterday evening the family cat, who is 19 years old, looked like she was dying. She can't really stand or walk or anything. She's still alive but still can't really move. It's so sad. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or anything but still. . .

Anyway, I'm sorta glad this didn't happen while I was out on vacation next month when she would've been alone.

Sorry to make this a sad post, so I'll leave that alone now.

So, I won't win Nano, and haven't been keeping up with my ROW80 goals the last couple of weeks. That's pretty much all I can say on that.

As for vacation next month, I can't wait! It'll be fun and probably good for me; I can't believe how boring it is around here where I live.

Find other ROW80-ers here!

ROW80 Update 8/10

Things are going great so far. I keep trying to world build and keep up with camp nano (which my wordcount is a bit behind at the moment). And I keep hitting world building snags that I need to work on like, why do they were clothes like that? And why do their houses look like that? And stuff like that.

Actually, the writing is going really good. I'm finally getting to the meat of the story where the things start to happen and I didn't rush it like I usually do when I start writing. I'm usually so anxious to get to the part where the MC goes places that I just skip the other important things. But I didn't this time.

There's still so much I have to figure out though, even though I've started writing. Like I still don't know how the magic should work, really. I mean, should they use wands or staffs? Not need those? Is it ritual like? Do they have to say certain words or no? Movement?

And then there's the laws  of the magic I have to figure out. What are the limits? I don't have a clue. But I'll just have to figure it out somehow.

I'm trying to look around at mythology and - believe it or not - science to get ideas for the magic in my books but so far I've still got nothing.

But otherwise, thing are going great. :)

To find other ROW80-ers, go here.

ROW80 Update

Things are going really good! Actually better than good. I found something that totally makes world building easier.

I made a wiki about my world.

Yep, that's right. I wiki'd it.

I got the idea from the Wicked and Tricksy blog where they recommended tiddlywiki. And while I initially liked it I began to dislike the way it looked and worked and there was no way I could find to at least changed the color of the font. So I instead found Google Sites where you can make a pretty awesome wiki. And it's easy to link from one page to another and when you're writing you can instantly create a new page right from where your writing so you can link a word, even if there's no info on the page.

And every subject gets it's own page if you want it that way. And you can keep your wiki private to just yourself or share it with a handful of people you want to share it with. And it's free. That's always a plus ;)

So, it makes it so easy to keep all the information about your world, or even your plot, all in one organized place. No longer in journals where you have to endlessly flip through things and rediscover things you've forgotten. No more piling it in one or more computer documents. It's all in one place. In your world wiki! :D (If you can't tell, I absolutely love this thing :D)

And I've been keeping up with this August's Camp Nano, except for the first day, it sort of snuck up on me and I was all amped up about the pottermore thing. Well, scratch that, I'm still amped up about the pottermore thing :D

To find other ROW80 participants:

Pottermore!

Last night the first clue for the magical quill challenge went live on pottermore.com! It was 3 in the morning (for me) and I was just about to go to bed when someone on twitter said the clue was up and I checked and it was! The clue was 'How many breeds of owls mentioned in Eeylops Owl sign x 49! Hurry!' Luckily I had the first book right next to me so I flipped to diagon alley and found the owls (there are five), got the answer and answered it.

I started to freak out a little when I was redirected to sony.com but then I realized that must be where I should be going and calmed down. Before I could register I had to click on the magical feather whilst it was floating around a bunch of other ones. Anyways, I started to register and omg it said I was magical and that was like so awesome! Then when I got to the very last step and pushed continue it said to verify the two words. There was no two words. I clicked continue again. Still no two words. I even refreshed. Nothing.

So I freaked out completely before realizing that something must not be up to date and then jumping on a different browser and doing everything over again and this time - thank goodness! - the word verification was there! So after that it said I should be receiving an email soon so I happily went to my email and found nothing there and then waited. And waited. And then I started to freak out again thinking I must have typed the email wrong and so I went through the whole verification process again and put in a different email address and went and checked that one and there was no email so I figured there was just a lot of people and waited. I waited for over half an hour with no email and I was becoming resigned to the fact that I probably didn't get in that day. But since people on twitter were still getting their emails I waited, but without much hope.

And then I got them! I got the emails and I'm registered and I totally can't wait for the beta to open!

So, I'm now SwordQuill106 and ScaleEcho47! Yee! :DD

So last night was full of excitement, overjoy, freaking out, disappointment and anticipation! And now I know I should be tired since I didn't get to bed until after 4am but I'm still excited and I think I'm only running off of adrenaline.

But at any rate, I'm glad I got in last night instead of wasting away in front of the computer for the next week and ignoring August's Camp Nano and my Row80 challenge.

So, is anyone else pumped about Pottermore and trying to get in? Or have you gotten in already? So curious friends!!

Getting More Characters/ROW80 Update

Wow. Looks like I took a bit of a break there! Well. I've no excuses.

So. . . Looks like I won't win camp nano this month. I've only written about 15k and there's no way I'm going to catch up now. But, I have been trying to keep up with my ROW80 stuff and have been plotting and planning everyday for the last couple days. I've got to admit that I didn't do a lick of planning until a couple days ago. But! It's been awesome. I've expanded my cast of characters immensely! And this is good.

You see, before, I only had the MC, his sister, his dad, his mom, and one other character. That was it. No one else. It's a bit boring only having five characters and I didn't really know where I should put another character. So yesterday I decided that I would work on a family tree. The MC's family because there wasn't any other families to be had. I've now discovered that the MC has two uncles, two aunts and three cousins on his fathers side. As well as a great aunt and uncle and a grandmother and two first cousins once removed. Almost all family on the MC's mother's side is dead except for the great grandmother, and she's nearly dead herself.

And, thank goodness, I've given my poor MC some friends! I've got parts of their families figured out but not much passed the mothers and fathers (yet anyway). I am extrememly happy with what came out of this whole family tree thing. When I first started it I didn't think much would happen but now look, family and interesting characters abound! I can't wait to write about these people! Some of them are quite strange but that just makes it more fun right?

So, I'd say things are going well, and perhaps I'll be ready for Nano next month in just a couple of days?

I'd also like to say hello to my new followers who found me through the Gearin Up to Get an Agent blogfest! I hope you like it here :)

Gearin Up to Get an Agent Blogfest Week Two

Week two of the Gearin Up to Get an Agent blogfest!

This week is a story chain! For the part before mine go here.

My assignment: Show us a serious moment
Your words are: moon, plant, fight.

The Rocky Tale of Dio Franklin

Dio could do nothing when her mother passed out while she flew towards their house. What coud she do? A slip of her concentration and they could be falling instead of flying. She just hoped that her mother would be fine. Surely she’d be fine she didn’t kill Roddern for no reason.

Her heart clenched. She’d killed him. With her own hands. She felt the blood on her hands, dry now but sticky. Her hands seemed to burn.

She remembered what Roddern had said, “Remember, I will find you again, Dio.” But she just couldn’t see how anyone could come back after that. But he wasn’t just anyone. He was Roddern and he’d come back from death already.

She quit thinking. If her thoughts kept going this way she’d brake down or something and she couldn't afford to do that right now.

She finally made it to the house. At this time the moon was already high and huge. A full moon tonight. She got into the house using the key under the potted plant and laid her mom on the couch in the living room. Her mom was still breathing and still fevered and she got a damp wash cloth and managed to get some flu medicine in her but there was nothing else she could do.

So she found the phone book and looked up the club Tony worked at and dialed the number. As she stood there, phone to her ear, she finally noticed just how miserable she felt. Her body ached her head was pounding with a head ache- she looked at her right hand which was resting on the counter, bloody. With a start she looked down at herself and saw the bloodstains all over. She looked like she’d been in a fight! But it was all Roddern’s blood. All his.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring- “Hello?”

It was Tony.



There it is! Hope you guys enjoyed it! :)

For the part after mine go here.

Gearin Up to Get an Agent Blogfest and ROW80 Round 3

Time for the Gearing Up to Get an Agent blogfest!! Find out more here.

So, for week one I'm supposed to ask the biggest, weirdest writing question I have. At first I was thinking of things like, publishing, and getting agents and stuff like that but I don't really have a question for that. Actually, the biggest question I have has to do with both writing and reading.

Why do some people seem to think that reading a 'bad' book will, like, taint you or that if you read certain books you must be just like that in real life?

Or, since you write about killers and murderers and people doing bad things then you must think about doing stuff like that in real life. Or that your just weird in head or something. You know those weirded out looks some people might give you when you tell them of something unsavory that happens in your book.

Well, I just want to know why some people do stuff like that. You remember the big thing about Harry Potter being against the bible and stuff? Well, I still know people whose parents won't let them read the books. Why?

And you know what: Why take some one else's word for how 'bad' a book is instead of investigating it yourself? In fact, you might find that the 'bad' book has some important themes in it and that it's not so 'bad' after all.

And you know that person who writes that 'dark' stuff? Well that doesn't mean they do any of it, or want to do doing any of it. It's just a book. Just a story full of made up characters that have their own personality that may be darker than yours and which tells an entertaining story for the people who enjoy it.

So. Why must some people judge us writers by what we write, or what we read? Think that reading one 'bad' book (which may not even really be 'bad') will somehow taint a person?


And now for ROW80 Round 3!

So. You guys know I'm already doing Camp Nanorwrimo, and I'll be doing it next month too so I've pretty much already got a daily wordcount goal. So, with my ROW80 goals I will:

• Work on the world building stuff for 30 minutes a day. 

• Get at least a first draft of The Chronicles this round.

 And that's it! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the world building this time around!

Camp NaNoWriMo!!

Camp NaNoWrimo! I totally forgot to post about it cause things were happening. It was my brothers birthday yesterday and the day before was spent preparing for it so I didn't find much time to post about but anyway.

I'm so excited about this! I've written about 4k words so far. I'm getting stuff done and it's awesome! Gosh I've missed this! There's people back on the forums, there's word sprints going on at twitter (though I tend to miss most of them) and the energy's great.

For me though, Campnano seems a bit more relaxed and casual then Nano in November. I don't feel the need to push myself so far above and beyond like I did last year where for the first 11 days I wrote 5k words everyday. This time around I just feel like writing at a nice pace, making sure to keep with the minimum daily goal and not pushing myself too hard. I don't know if this sort of tactic will make for a better or worse novel but whatever, I'm going with it.

Also, I've got an outline for my story! I tried using index cards. It seemed sort of cool so I started writing down little sentences representing a scene or something on an index card. The awesome part is that I can move the cards around! Oh, that person should die later in the story? Alright then *move card* it's so easy. I used to read about people doing this sort of thing and moving their scenes around and I never imagined how anyone could possibly just move a scene. But now I get it. I didn't get it until I had some of the index outline written and was all like, 'Wait a minute. That shouldn't happen yet, it wouldn't make sense!' *move*

An odd thing is that I thought my story would be written in third person limited. There's a bit more freedom that way. But as I wrote I somehow slipped into first person without even noticing! When I noticed I was just like 'It's fine. It's a first draft. Maybe first person will be better for this story.' And then, somehow I slipped back into third person limited without noticing. It's really weird. Some parts sound awesome in first person and others in third person and I automatically just switch narrative POV. I've also noticed, reading over the first person things I wrote that sometimes things are in present tense and other times in past tense. That was really, really odd for me because I haven't hardly read any books in present tense except for the Hunger Games. And one time I thought about trying to write it and couldn't really figure it out properly. So. . . That's weird.

Anyway's I'm just going to go with it at this point since I don't really know what POV to use. Hopefully one of them will stick by the time July's over.

And now, I've got to get writing! Is anyone else doing Camp NaNoWriMo?

Something Wicked blogfest: My Favoite Spec-fic!

Go here to join in the blogfest and enter a contest to win a secret box of mystery. Their totally awesome. Seriously.


1. Harry Potter

Need I say more? I know that this may be on a LOT of other people's lists but I can't not list it. It's my favorite series, so inspiring and I love it to death!






2. The Kingkiller Chronicle

Consisting of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Waiting for the third book. Well, the Kingkiller Chronicle is so awesome and real. Real as in the people, the characters, the world, it's all so real that it could exist. I mean, yeah there's 'magic' and a couple of creatures that don't really exist (the draccus, for example) but, it's just so realistic. These books are wonderfully awesome and inspiring. The level of realness these books have achieved is what I strive for in my writing and world building.

My third favorite is hard to choose. I can't think of any other books that I love as much as Harry Potter and Kingkiller, and I don't watch many TV shows but. . . There is this movie. . .


3. Pan's Labyrinth

A few months ago I saw some people talking about how awesome this movies was so I rented it and it is so awesome! It's like, a fairytale but dark and gritty and creepy and a little bit scary and so very dark and I loved it so much! It's a very inspiring movie especially if that's the sort of thing you like to write (which, I do)!




Why do I like spec-fic?

Well, I like spec-fic because of all the different worlds and ideas that can be created there that can't be in the 'real world'. And besides, I don't want to read about things that happen in the real world when I already live here. Much better to read about magic and strange lands and creatures (dragons) and magic.


Where do I see spec-fic going in the next few years?

Honestly I don't have a clue. The only thing is that perhaps spec-fic, namely sci-fi and fantasy may get a lot more popular than it is now. To me it seems like it's already getting noticed more so perhaps that notice will only grow, I don't know. *shrugs* 

Review: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

 Goodreads summary:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

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First off, I love the title of the book. I mean just look at it: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. It's just delicious! And second, the cover is absolutely amazing.

Now, from the look of it, I assumed that the book would be very creepy and haunted, or eery somehow, but it wasn't. Not to say it wasn't good, it's just not what I expected.

I thought the story was really cool. I was able to pick up on many of the clues, though I don't know if that means I've become more perceptive or if they just weren't so well hidden. The photographs in the book give the story a nice touch, it makes everything come to life in a way that couldn't happen without them. Not to mention giving the book a slightly creepy feel that the story itself doesn't possess. Altogether unforgettable.

I'm also pretty sure that this will end up being a series given how the story ended and honestly I can't wait for the next book to see what happens left. Unfortunately the ending didn't feel as satisfying cause the ending wasn't. . . closed? The ending didn't resolve everything I suppose. I felt like it left too much hanging, but that's just me.

There's also a small touch of romance, but it's very small. And sometimes a little disconcerting every time you realize who it was the girl liked before. Plus I kept thinking part of the plot would be what is part of the plot in my book. But that hasn't happened. Yet anyway. I suppose it's still possible to happen in later books.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes books with fantastical elements, cause it's awesome. And everyone please remember that this is only my opinion. Just because I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending doesn't mean you won't be :)

And this is pretty much my first time reviewing something. I usually avoid it at all costs unless it's to say "It's awesome, you should read it." I'm sure my reviews will get better the more I do them :)

Also, does anyone else think it looks like there's something peculiar in the background of the cover photo?

Do you see the creepy thing?

Pottermore! ROW80 Update 6/23

So this will be the last update until next month! I've got a little break but I feel like I will still do a bit of planning and plotting during the break so I can be more fit for writing next month. I can't wait! I think I'll accomplish much more in the next round than I did this one.

So. . . What does everyone think of the mysterious Pottermore so far? I'm still not quite sure. From what J.K. Rowling said in the video it sounds like a sort of interactive thing to accompany the books, with added content and new information about the Harry Potter world. It's still a bit hazy I think, what it's really going to be.

But even so I can't help but be excited! It sounds like it could be really cool, but I can't help but worry that it may not be as wonderful as I'm hoping.

Nevertheless, I can't wait for October. And perhaps, just maybe, I could be one of the people to get early access to Pottermore on July 31st. I'm at least going to try ;)

What is everyone else thinking about Pottermore? Are you excited about it? What do you think it'll be like?

Other ROW80ers here! Until next month!

Too Many Books!!

I can't remember whether I've already told you guys how large my to-be-read book pile is, and my in-the-middle-of-reading pile. It's monstrous and has been so for at least a year and growing by the week. Actually I didn't even know how many books there were that I haven't finished yet. I am honestly surprised.

See, I was under the impression that I only had twenty some odd books I haven't finished. (Only twenty, she says!) It seems that I have more than that. In fact, I have more than twice as many unfinished books. There are 51, 51,  books!! 25 books are in the TBR pile, 22 are in the IMR (in-the-middle-of-reading) pile! I am actively reading only 4 books.

Here's the evidence of this atrocity:

(TBR pile)

(IMR pile)

(Currently reading)

 

So, yes, I have a problem. I'm a hopeless bookaholic! You see, what happens is that I buy a book and start to read but before I finish that book I see another interesting book and then start to read that one, then before I've finished either of those I see another book that I start to read and then forget about that first one, then another and another and before I know it, it turns into this!

So, I'm going to start getting these books read! What I'm going to do is completely read at least one book a month and review it on the blog. If I finish more than one book a month I'll also review them here. I think this'll help me stop myself from buying tons more books before I've finished the others.

At one book per month I might be able to finish all these by year 2015 O.O Gosh I better get reading. I wonder if it's possible for me to finish all these by this years end?

So, what about you guys? Are your TBR/IMR piles this out of control?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Breakthroughs! ROW80 Update 6/19

Hey look, I remembered this Sunday!

This week has been important for my book, I've gotten back to reading my how-to writing books that I had stopped reading for awhile and made two major breakthroughs on the plot! Breakthrough #1 has to do with the villain and I'm super excited about it because it gives him much more depth than he had before and because it's just the sort of emotionally confusing should-I-still-hate-him? thing that I love to read! Breakthrough #2 has to do with a part of MC's character arc which I'm so glad that I thought of it! I mean, that element was already in there but before I wasn't really giving it the attention it deserved. Now I know it's one of the huge things that will evolve my MC from who he is to who he will become. Exciting stuff!

At the moment, I'm focusing less on the writing and more on the planning, so I'm not reaching my daily wordcount goal, but I feel that the plotting is more necessary at this point than the writing is. I feel that I just need to work out a few more key things before I can start writing in earnest and actually know the plot lines and how the story will progress, not having to 'pants' a huge chunk of it.

Sometimes I like pantsing, but I've come to find out that when I'm truly serious I like to know where I'm going before I start.

So, all in all I think it's been a good week for me!

Oh. And it seems that the next check in on Wednesday will be the last for round two of A Round of Words in 80 Days. Round three will start on July 4th! That'll be my first real round, seeing as I joined in round two right in the middle of it. :p

Find other ROW80ers here!

A Super Important Announcement!

Okay, I have an announcement!

Saying that just makes it seem like I shall say Very Important Things! It's kinda fun. Anyway.

As you may have noticed my posts have become few and lacking much passion. The only thing pulling me through right now is the ROW80 updates and this makes me sad. But I think I know what's wrong. Limiting myself to talking only about writing is what's doing it. Not to say I'm getting tired of writing about writing, it's just that there's only so much for me to talk about when it comes to writing. I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination so I don't feel comfortable giving out lots of writing advice, and just talking about my own writing all the time get's a bit boring.

So, I'm going to let my blog span some other subjects of interest. It won't be all about writing anymore, it'll be about other things I find interesting as well. It'll be more. . . personalized I suppose. And less limiting and constricting in the subjects I can write about because my blog will no longer be a writing only blog. It'll be a Taylor Roseberry blog.

I will still talk about my writing and stuff but not every single post will be about it.

I hope that you guys understand and I hope I don't lose any readers but in the end I think it'll be better for all of us. Cause reading a blog without any passion or interest in it isn't fun for anyone.

So, I don't know what the future will bring to my blog, but I hope that now that I have given myself the option to blog about other things, that my passion and interest for my blog will come back.

ROW80 Update 6/15

Man these Sundays just keep sneaking up on me! I've had plenty of ideas for my story and, I want to try my hand at illustrating some of the scenes I have in mind. But I wont for awhile yet cause I don't want to get too distracted form the writing itself.

Find other ROW80ers here!

And I have just discovered a very intriguing book thanks to Sommer's blog. The book's called Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. First of all, I absolutely LOVE the title. It's the kind that just catches my eye and would make me by it for that alone. And then the cover- again, I would by the book for the cover alone (I'm just like that, gotta love awesome book covers!). I mean look at this:

 

It's just so eye catching! So, for those reasons (and what I read of the summary) I've decided to buy it! After I decided to buy it I found out I could read the prologue and first three chapters of the book here and I'm hooked. I'm gonna go buy the book tomorrow so I can read the rest, I can hardly wait!

I'd tell you what it's about, give a little summary or something, but since I'm not good at that and it wouldn't be good enough I'll let his book trailer do the talking.

ROW80 Update 6/8

Hi! So. . ! Honestly, I haven't written too much, I've been busy, might have to move, those pesky real life things that always seem to get in the way. I will get back on track there just doesn't seem to be any time!

And I've gotten some books! I love the used book stores around here especially when they have what I'm looking for! I got Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the last three books of the Earthsea series by Usala K. Le Guin and Shadowmarch by Tad Williams. I'm 200 pages into Shadowmarch right now and I like it so far. I haven't started on the others yet, I'll wait until I finish Shadowmarch.

And really I don't know why I've bought these books when I still have so many I haven't finished, but that's just the way it is. Maybe I'll try and read those soon.

What books are you reading right now? And how many?

The linky for other ROW80ers!

ROW Update 6/1

Hi! For some reason I feel excited, even though I don't know why. I probably shouldn't feel this way, seeing as I totally failed May Madness last month and haven't been keeping up with my ROW80 goals like I should be. Not to mention that I'm totally behind on reading the blogs I'm following. I really don't have a reason to feel excited.

Yet I am.

And my total wordcount for May Madness was 15,791. I suppose it's more words than I would have written without the challenge.

Today, I think, I'll have to lower my daily writing goal. 2,000 words is simply too much for me. So. . . I'm moving it down to 1,000. I'm still going to work the plot, world build and stuff for thirty minutes a day but only write 1,000 words. I  think I'll make up some little progress charts for myself, that stuff usually helps me stay motivated when I can announce on the chart that 'I did it!' so, yeah.

I hope everyone is having a good day this fine June 1st, and find themselves lighthearted for no apparent reason!

:D

The linky for other ROW80ers!

ROW Update 5/29

Ugh, I totally missed Wednesday! And Friday! I'd nearly forgotten, but my cousin was getting married on Saturday and I had to find a dress and pack and everything, and then had to spend 10 hours in the car to get there (oh my gosh, it was nearly unbearable) but it was worth it. And now that I got back home (only a few hours ago) I'm so tired but relieved that I made it back without hurting someone. (Five people in a compact car is not fun. At. All.)

Anyway, I did manage to get some writing done while I was gone, only a little though, and by a little I mean less than 1k. But there wasn't much time to write, I'm a bit proud that I even found the time to do so.

I'm also switching back and forth between The Chronicles and The Journalist now. I've had some interesting ideas on how I could fix some plot holes in The Journalist and have been eager to work on it, and it gives me a break from The Chronicles when I get too frustrated with it, so it's a win-win I guess.

As for  how it's going with my goals for both of my challenge thingies I think I'm going to utterly fail the May Madness, and still have to try and keep up with the Round of Words. I admit I'm not pushing myself too hard on either challenge but I don't want to turn my writing into something that isn't. . . fun, at all. I mean I know that there will be bad times but I think it'll be more detrimental than anything else if I work myself to the point that I don't enjoy it anymore.

How do you guys feel about giving yourself a goal? Helpful or harmful? I lean towards helpful myself, but sometimes I wonder. . .

Here's the linky for other ROW80 participants.

ROW Update 5/22

Still wondering about my story, piecing things together and throwing things out. I'm also reading, gosh it's been awhile, I'm so glad I started reading again. The reason why I don't usually read while I write is cause the stuff that I read. . . rubs off on my writing. Like, if I read, say, The Name of the Wind while I write, there's a good chance that my character will suddenly become a musician, orphan guy until I realize what I'm doing - 15,000 words later. I suppose I'll just have to keep a better eye on what I'm doing while I read. It's just when I like something that I read I unintentionally write it into my story in a very plagiaristic way and sometimes, the whole story changes. Until I come to my senses anyway.

So. . . I hope that doesn't happen this time around. Does this happen to anyone else?

And here's the linky for other ROW80-ers!

May Madness Update 5/20

I think the reason I'm having trouble writing is because I'm forcing it. There's. . . something in the story that's not working. I don't know what it is yet and am trying to figure it out. This is maddening for me! I don't really want to change anything but I think I'll have to if I want the story to work.

This has to be one of the hardest parts of writing a book. Knowing that something is wrong, trying to figure out what it is, and then changing it. Especially when you are attached to what has to be changed, it feels like your killing something. Or maybe just wiping it out of existence to haunt your dreams. I don't know but I hope it won't end up like that. I feel like that hope is futile though.

So when you feel something is wrong with your book, and for the life of you don't know what, how do you figure it out?