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!
Showing posts with label Heheh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heheh. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I Need a Map
I'm having trouble properly writing the Chronicles and I know what the problem is.
I need a map.
Some of you might remember the map I posted a while back, declaring that it was the map for the Chronicles. Yeah. Not so much. As the story changed so did the idea of what the world looked like and so that entitled a new map. So I started on another one but wasn't satisfied with it and so I fiddled around with another one. But no. I can't find the right place.
Perhaps it's because nothing is truly matching the world I have in mind. It just isn't it you know? But I honestly don't think I'll be able to find anything that will match up and I'm just going to have to stick with one. It probably seems like I should just not do a map at all at this point but with a map, it could easily supply tons of information just by being there. Once I decide the place where my MC lives I could instantly know what the climate is like, if it's near a mountain, next to a river. . . And I can have a head start on what the places and people will be like in any other city because I'll know the surroundings.
So. . . I need a map. Call it procrastination or whatever but I call it planning and world building. The only problem will be finding the map. . .
Oh! I'd like to say yay! for Tahereh getting a book deal! That's totally awesome and I can't wait for it to come out!
And with the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, I'd just like to say I pray that they recover from it, and for all those who lost friends and family due to the disaster. And I hope that the nuclear power plant gets under control soon, and that those who are trying to do just that will be safe as possible.
I need a map.
Some of you might remember the map I posted a while back, declaring that it was the map for the Chronicles. Yeah. Not so much. As the story changed so did the idea of what the world looked like and so that entitled a new map. So I started on another one but wasn't satisfied with it and so I fiddled around with another one. But no. I can't find the right place.
Perhaps it's because nothing is truly matching the world I have in mind. It just isn't it you know? But I honestly don't think I'll be able to find anything that will match up and I'm just going to have to stick with one. It probably seems like I should just not do a map at all at this point but with a map, it could easily supply tons of information just by being there. Once I decide the place where my MC lives I could instantly know what the climate is like, if it's near a mountain, next to a river. . . And I can have a head start on what the places and people will be like in any other city because I'll know the surroundings.
So. . . I need a map. Call it procrastination or whatever but I call it planning and world building. The only problem will be finding the map. . .
Oh! I'd like to say yay! for Tahereh getting a book deal! That's totally awesome and I can't wait for it to come out!
And with the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, I'd just like to say I pray that they recover from it, and for all those who lost friends and family due to the disaster. And I hope that the nuclear power plant gets under control soon, and that those who are trying to do just that will be safe as possible.
(by pinkandroid on deviantart.com)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Don't Give Up
The first time I ever decided to write for pleasure and not because I had to was four or five years ago. What was it that made me decide to write? It was a book I had just read. This book was Eragon by Christopher Paolini and I loved it so much. I mean, there were dragons in there! That could be ridden! What could be more awesome than that?
I loved this story so much, loved the idea of riding dragons so much that I wished I could be in the book and that dragons were real and I had my own dragon that I could ride and talk to and how awesome it would be to have my own quest to save the world and everything. But since none of that was real and I didn't foresee any world saving quest coming my way I decided to do the next best thing.
I bought my very first journal for writing stories in and created a character and my own dragons and my own world.
Now, looking back on it, it wasn't very good, at all, but back then it was so awesome! It was so fun! I had a character, her name had changed many times, I think at first it was Esmeralda or something and by the end it had become Arza, my dragons were modeled after the Chinese dragons with manes and horns and everything. I drew a map, there were elves, and there was a country that was the dragons, there was an evil empire ruled by an evil dragon king and no one knew he was a dragon, a couple animal species that had human intelligence and speaking ability, and there was magic, of course.
Much of my first story was modeled heavily from Eragon, but even so there were some good original bits in it, though not many. And going back to read that stuff, it makes me cringe. Not just because of the story itself but the writing in general.
When I started writing I didn't even know I should put quotation marks around whatever my characters said. I didn't know where paragraphs should begin and end. And I'm pretty sure I didn't have a firm grasp on when to use a comma.
And even back then I knew I was doing something wrong. When I realized I didn't know how to start or end a paragraph, or even why a paragraph existed, really, I picked up some of my favorite books and reread them until I knew what a paragraph was. I realized I needed to put quotation marks around what my character say, I learned when to use a comma, I learned how to write by reading and it was probably the best thing I could have done to teach myself how to write. Picking up some book about grammar or something would have done little for me.
After awhile though, I started to come up with my own original ideas. It's funny that I can't recall what my first original idea might have been, I don't really remember when I started coming up with my own ideas. It seems like something I should remember. Perhaps I have it written down in one of my old journals somewhere.
So, in short, I was a terrible plagiarizing writer when I first started that didn't really have a clue how to write. But it was fun and I learned how to write by reading my favorite books. And now, I'm aiming to be an author.
So never be discouraged to write just because you're unsure how to write. Just do it anyway and you'll learn what you need to know. If you don't have original ideas at first, don't worry, they will come. You just have to pay a bit more attention to you're thoughts and daydreams.
Good Wednesday everyone!
I loved this story so much, loved the idea of riding dragons so much that I wished I could be in the book and that dragons were real and I had my own dragon that I could ride and talk to and how awesome it would be to have my own quest to save the world and everything. But since none of that was real and I didn't foresee any world saving quest coming my way I decided to do the next best thing.
I bought my very first journal for writing stories in and created a character and my own dragons and my own world.
Now, looking back on it, it wasn't very good, at all, but back then it was so awesome! It was so fun! I had a character, her name had changed many times, I think at first it was Esmeralda or something and by the end it had become Arza, my dragons were modeled after the Chinese dragons with manes and horns and everything. I drew a map, there were elves, and there was a country that was the dragons, there was an evil empire ruled by an evil dragon king and no one knew he was a dragon, a couple animal species that had human intelligence and speaking ability, and there was magic, of course.
Much of my first story was modeled heavily from Eragon, but even so there were some good original bits in it, though not many. And going back to read that stuff, it makes me cringe. Not just because of the story itself but the writing in general.
When I started writing I didn't even know I should put quotation marks around whatever my characters said. I didn't know where paragraphs should begin and end. And I'm pretty sure I didn't have a firm grasp on when to use a comma.
And even back then I knew I was doing something wrong. When I realized I didn't know how to start or end a paragraph, or even why a paragraph existed, really, I picked up some of my favorite books and reread them until I knew what a paragraph was. I realized I needed to put quotation marks around what my character say, I learned when to use a comma, I learned how to write by reading and it was probably the best thing I could have done to teach myself how to write. Picking up some book about grammar or something would have done little for me.
After awhile though, I started to come up with my own original ideas. It's funny that I can't recall what my first original idea might have been, I don't really remember when I started coming up with my own ideas. It seems like something I should remember. Perhaps I have it written down in one of my old journals somewhere.
So, in short, I was a terrible plagiarizing writer when I first started that didn't really have a clue how to write. But it was fun and I learned how to write by reading my favorite books. And now, I'm aiming to be an author.
So never be discouraged to write just because you're unsure how to write. Just do it anyway and you'll learn what you need to know. If you don't have original ideas at first, don't worry, they will come. You just have to pay a bit more attention to you're thoughts and daydreams.
Good Wednesday everyone!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Working on Two WIPs
Last night I saw my partially written manuscript, The Journalist, laying on the table and decided to flip through it. Perhaps a mistake. Now when I say partially written manuscript that makes it sound long, it's only 35 pages long, and I read it all last night, and was taken over by the idea again. As I read more ideas came up on how to fix this or that and how to make it more complete and stuff and. . . well, today I find myself writing The Journalist instead of The Chronicles.
I feel like I should keep myself focused solely on The Chronicles and not give into the temptation to write The Journalist but why should I do that, really? Why should I waste this onslaught of inspiration? It's not like I'm going to abandon The Chronicles, I'll just work on them both at the same time.
But I still feel a bit guilty. I don't think I should though. I mean, what if this book will get me published? Quicker than The Chronicles could have? And that's quite possible with The Journalist being only one book long, while The Chronicles shall be three.
So now I find I'm going to be working on two WIP's at the same time.
Would you guys do this? Or would you work only on you're main project. Or just let the new (or old) idea sweep you away and only write it?
I hope everyone writer luck!
I feel like I should keep myself focused solely on The Chronicles and not give into the temptation to write The Journalist but why should I do that, really? Why should I waste this onslaught of inspiration? It's not like I'm going to abandon The Chronicles, I'll just work on them both at the same time.
But I still feel a bit guilty. I don't think I should though. I mean, what if this book will get me published? Quicker than The Chronicles could have? And that's quite possible with The Journalist being only one book long, while The Chronicles shall be three.
So now I find I'm going to be working on two WIP's at the same time.
Would you guys do this? Or would you work only on you're main project. Or just let the new (or old) idea sweep you away and only write it?
I hope everyone writer luck!
(Does this not give you inspiration?)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Irresistible ;D
Wow, I have been given a blog award.
It appears that I'm sweet.
Irresistibly sweet.
And now I want cake.
The award was given to me by Claudie A. Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoy my blog!
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. (look up ;)
2. Share four guilty pleasures that you have.
3. Pass the award on to six other blogs.
So. Guilty pleasures.
1. Fanfiction. Usually of the Harry Potter nature. I can be very obsessive when it comes to this, ignoring my writing, my towering in-the-middle-of-reading pile and the general things in life. I will stay in my room for days at a time if I've found a particularly awesome and long fanfic. Like I said, obsessive.
2. Liking the evil guys in fiction/movies. May not sound like a guilty pleasure, but when it makes someone give you a nervous or weirded out look that makes it so much fun! I like to play it up sometimes, eliciting even stranger expressions. The look my older cousin gave me once = priceless :D
3. Honey cinnamon toast. Oh yes, butter, drizzled honey and sprinkled cinnamon on toasted bread. . . I could eat that stuff ALL day!
4. Books. Maybe this shouldn't count, but I think it does. I spend copious amount of money on books, making me feel immeasurably guilty (thus guilty pleasure). I also hate getting second hand books unless they are in prime condition, so just about every book I get is brand new. And also, if I had the money, I would buy some old tome a couple centuries old in a heartbeat. Even if it was in another language and I hadn't a clue what it said.
And to pass on the SWEETNESS:
Margo Bendersen at Writing at High Altitude!
Misha at My First Book!
Jaime Reed at Write-or-Die !
Claire Legrand at Builder of Worlds!
Hyperbole and a Half!
And Sara at her three blogs In Shades of Scarlet, Fiction Fusion and The Random Life of Sara H.!
I enjoy all of these bloggers and encourage everyone to check out their awesomeness!
Have a wonderful Friday everyone!
It appears that I'm sweet.
Irresistibly sweet.
And now I want cake.
The award was given to me by Claudie A. Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoy my blog!
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. (look up ;)
2. Share four guilty pleasures that you have.
3. Pass the award on to six other blogs.
So. Guilty pleasures.
1. Fanfiction. Usually of the Harry Potter nature. I can be very obsessive when it comes to this, ignoring my writing, my towering in-the-middle-of-reading pile and the general things in life. I will stay in my room for days at a time if I've found a particularly awesome and long fanfic. Like I said, obsessive.
2. Liking the evil guys in fiction/movies. May not sound like a guilty pleasure, but when it makes someone give you a nervous or weirded out look that makes it so much fun! I like to play it up sometimes, eliciting even stranger expressions. The look my older cousin gave me once = priceless :D
3. Honey cinnamon toast. Oh yes, butter, drizzled honey and sprinkled cinnamon on toasted bread. . . I could eat that stuff ALL day!
4. Books. Maybe this shouldn't count, but I think it does. I spend copious amount of money on books, making me feel immeasurably guilty (thus guilty pleasure). I also hate getting second hand books unless they are in prime condition, so just about every book I get is brand new. And also, if I had the money, I would buy some old tome a couple centuries old in a heartbeat. Even if it was in another language and I hadn't a clue what it said.
And to pass on the SWEETNESS:
Margo Bendersen at Writing at High Altitude!
Misha at My First Book!
Jaime Reed at Write-or-Die !
Claire Legrand at Builder of Worlds!
Hyperbole and a Half!
And Sara at her three blogs In Shades of Scarlet, Fiction Fusion and The Random Life of Sara H.!
I enjoy all of these bloggers and encourage everyone to check out their awesomeness!
Have a wonderful Friday everyone!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Troll
Inspiration for stories is strange. I mean, it can come from anywhere. Or nowhere. Half the time I've no idea where an idea actually originated from, cause it's just so strange or something it just makes me go 'O.O?' Other times I see this tv show or movie and an idea strikes. But most the time, I don't have a clue what my brain is doing.
It's like there's some kind highly unintelligent troll in my head that just grabs random things and squishes them together. Then just chucks these blobs of randomness at me, expecting me and my muse to do something with it.
I usually write most of these unusable ideas down, just in case.
And then the troll goes back to work.
The troll seems to work best when you're being entertained by a good book or show, using the information it's being presented with to put together some of the more usable blobs. And those ideas that kind of seem pointless. . . Well, he just couldn't find much material for use at the moment.
But those rare strikes of genius, the ones us writers live for, it's as if the troll had been working on a masterpiece, and sometimes this only occurs once in the trolls life. The troll isn't usually apt for genius.
The troll is more commonly known for throwing together some vaguely recongnizeable blobs, sending it to you and then passing on to the muse who tries to get something out of it, and convinces you to write on it for awhile before you both realize the troll has fooled you.
And he's laughing at you.
But even though the troll is a small, dim, sometimes unsavory fellow he works really hard, doing the dirty work by putting together the base of a story idea, before giving it to you and your muse to work on. Without him, there'd be NO stories.
And even if he's laughing at you, it was still an idea that you learned from, and something he can use for better material.
Perhaps for that masterpiece he's working on in the basement.
Happy Thursday
:)
It's like there's some kind highly unintelligent troll in my head that just grabs random things and squishes them together. Then just chucks these blobs of randomness at me, expecting me and my muse to do something with it.
(The Troll)
And then the troll goes back to work.
The troll seems to work best when you're being entertained by a good book or show, using the information it's being presented with to put together some of the more usable blobs. And those ideas that kind of seem pointless. . . Well, he just couldn't find much material for use at the moment.
But those rare strikes of genius, the ones us writers live for, it's as if the troll had been working on a masterpiece, and sometimes this only occurs once in the trolls life. The troll isn't usually apt for genius.
The troll is more commonly known for throwing together some vaguely recongnizeable blobs, sending it to you and then passing on to the muse who tries to get something out of it, and convinces you to write on it for awhile before you both realize the troll has fooled you.
And he's laughing at you.
But even though the troll is a small, dim, sometimes unsavory fellow he works really hard, doing the dirty work by putting together the base of a story idea, before giving it to you and your muse to work on. Without him, there'd be NO stories.
And even if he's laughing at you, it was still an idea that you learned from, and something he can use for better material.
Perhaps for that masterpiece he's working on in the basement.
Happy Thursday
:)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Other Side
I found this cool blog post over at Write-or-Die that talks about the antagonist of the story and how important they are because they're what's really driving the story by giving the protagonist something to do. And she had a cool idea.
Somehow it had never really occurred to me to really get into what my antagonist is doing while the story goes on centered on the protagonist. I mean, I have vague ideas on what my villain is doing behind the scenes, but most of the time it's really blurry. The stories not centered on the villain so why bother, right?
I'm starting to rethink this. Outlining what the villain is doing throughout the story could bring up some good stuff that I hadn't realized before, and could add more depth to the story when I know precisely what's going on with both sides. Not to mention it could be downright interesting. And fun.
I wouldn't let this take over into a book of it's own (try not to, anyway) cause it would only be for reference on what's going on over there.
So what do you guys think of this? Writing about what's going on on the other side, what they're doing to get at the protagonist, how they're planning they're stuff and just general stuff like that? Only to know what they're doing throughout the book while your protagonist is doing his/her thing?
Somehow it had never really occurred to me to really get into what my antagonist is doing while the story goes on centered on the protagonist. I mean, I have vague ideas on what my villain is doing behind the scenes, but most of the time it's really blurry. The stories not centered on the villain so why bother, right?
I'm starting to rethink this. Outlining what the villain is doing throughout the story could bring up some good stuff that I hadn't realized before, and could add more depth to the story when I know precisely what's going on with both sides. Not to mention it could be downright interesting. And fun.
I wouldn't let this take over into a book of it's own (try not to, anyway) cause it would only be for reference on what's going on over there.
So what do you guys think of this? Writing about what's going on on the other side, what they're doing to get at the protagonist, how they're planning they're stuff and just general stuff like that? Only to know what they're doing throughout the book while your protagonist is doing his/her thing?
Monday, February 21, 2011
Just Writing
I have been terribly sidetracked from writing by some other hobbies. Thus, my writing is progressing slowly. I can only wonder how long my interest in this stuff will last before I return solely to writing again.
But, despite this, I have written nearly 5k so far, have three different versions of the prologue, and the first chapter. I'll soon be re-writing the first chapter to fit with the prologue I've chosen, though.
I'm really excited about writing this, I love writing it and wonder when this feeling will go away. Will it be like Nanowrimo, and three weeks into this I'll be all like 'Oh no! What have I done?! It's horrible!!!! D:' I sure hope not.
But, I don't think that will happen. Since, this time around, I'm not just focusing on quantity, but quality as well, giving into that inner editor some. It's really quite pleasant to actually think about the words I'm about to write before I start spitting them out. And going back through to reread and fix errors when I see them, satisfying and stress free. Well, mostly stress free. Lets not get into the actual plotting and planning.
And you know what makes me really happy? When I write a chapter and realize it was in the wrong POV or needs to be written in a future time frame or whatever, and I rewrite it, it all still counts towards my word count for the year and it's what I want! It's a win-win!
So in conclusion, while I dearly love Nanowrimo for the deadline and excitement and all, it's just been so wonderful to write without deadline or word count only in mind.
Do you guys feel the same way?
But, despite this, I have written nearly 5k so far, have three different versions of the prologue, and the first chapter. I'll soon be re-writing the first chapter to fit with the prologue I've chosen, though.
I'm really excited about writing this, I love writing it and wonder when this feeling will go away. Will it be like Nanowrimo, and three weeks into this I'll be all like 'Oh no! What have I done?! It's horrible!!!! D:' I sure hope not.
But, I don't think that will happen. Since, this time around, I'm not just focusing on quantity, but quality as well, giving into that inner editor some. It's really quite pleasant to actually think about the words I'm about to write before I start spitting them out. And going back through to reread and fix errors when I see them, satisfying and stress free. Well, mostly stress free. Lets not get into the actual plotting and planning.
And you know what makes me really happy? When I write a chapter and realize it was in the wrong POV or needs to be written in a future time frame or whatever, and I rewrite it, it all still counts towards my word count for the year and it's what I want! It's a win-win!
So in conclusion, while I dearly love Nanowrimo for the deadline and excitement and all, it's just been so wonderful to write without deadline or word count only in mind.
Do you guys feel the same way?
Friday, February 18, 2011
The Mission of a Chapter
Something should happen in every single chapter to further the plot.
Now, I already knew this before, but it's quite easy to slip your mind when you're actually writing a story. You get caught up in your character, the world, the story and just the general awesomeness of writing your book, and totally forget that this chapter is supposed to have something important in it. Happens to me all the time, happened to me earlier today. I was writing along and then was all like "Oh, wait. What's furthering the plot here?"
Now, I went to one of my most favorite books of all time to scan through the chapters and see does something very important happen every single chapter. I went through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And something important does happen every single chapter. Something that furthers the plot. Now, when I was writing earlier I was pretty much just thinking, "Okay, introduce characters, setting etc. until I get to the first twist, however many chapters that takes."
I can't do that though. I can't have chapters there just to be there. They have to do something for the plot. I can't have a chapter in my book just because it's interesting or funny, unless it furthers the plot. It's a bit frustrating for me but at the same time it makes things easier cause I know that each chapter has their own individual mission of getting the plot a bit further, instead of just acting as separators within the book.
When I forget this kind of stuff it makes me feel a lot like this:
Good day!
Now, I already knew this before, but it's quite easy to slip your mind when you're actually writing a story. You get caught up in your character, the world, the story and just the general awesomeness of writing your book, and totally forget that this chapter is supposed to have something important in it. Happens to me all the time, happened to me earlier today. I was writing along and then was all like "Oh, wait. What's furthering the plot here?"
Now, I went to one of my most favorite books of all time to scan through the chapters and see does something very important happen every single chapter. I went through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And something important does happen every single chapter. Something that furthers the plot. Now, when I was writing earlier I was pretty much just thinking, "Okay, introduce characters, setting etc. until I get to the first twist, however many chapters that takes."
I can't do that though. I can't have chapters there just to be there. They have to do something for the plot. I can't have a chapter in my book just because it's interesting or funny, unless it furthers the plot. It's a bit frustrating for me but at the same time it makes things easier cause I know that each chapter has their own individual mission of getting the plot a bit further, instead of just acting as separators within the book.
When I forget this kind of stuff it makes me feel a lot like this:
Good day!
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