My best thinking time is when I'm taking a shower. I don't know why, but my best ideas come when I'm in the shower. As a result, I tend to take 30-45 minute showers because I'm so absorbed in my own thoughts, I wash veeeeerrryy slowly.
This morning I had quite a few "aha!" moments in the shower.
One was another how-Sherlock-survived-the-fall theory. Maybe Kitty, the reporter ("You repel me" girl), had something to do with it! I mean, she had access to Moriarty and Sherlock both. What if Sherlock hired her to spy on Moriarty? That way, he would know Moriarty's plans.
I promise, no more Sherlock theorys... I just can't help it. They started filming season three two days ago. The first episode is called The Empty Hearse which I think is SO hilarious because the book where Sherlock comes back after being "dead" for three years is called The Empty House.
As well as coming up with that theory, I came up with a background and a motive for a character. Perhaps I shall someday elaborate on him because he is quite interesting.
I also did some brainstorming that I have been putting off. I had to figure out a bunch of different ways for people to do stuff. Now I have that figured out and I can go on with the planning of the third novel in my spy series (which I'm writing second because I thought it would be second... but it turns out it fits better as third).
Have I mentioned that I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo next month? You can set your word count goal for anything that you choose (within the peramiters of 10,000 and 999,999 words I think... I don't remember). I'm going to try and do another 50,000 word novel. The third book in my spy series starring Daniel and Varina. More info on that as it comes.
Yesterday I read a little bit in each book that I'm currently reading. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pride and Prejudice, The Princess Bride, and even a few pages of The Two Towers!
My library finally got in a copy of Agatha Christie's first mystery starring the detective Poirot. I'll probably start that soon too..... I can never read just one book at a time.
Tomorrow I'm going to Canada for a few days to play board games and Nintendo with my cousin. It shall be fun. But it also means I'll disappear for a few days, which is fine.
I thought I'd do something special to tide you over until whenever I do my next blog post (please note my sarchasm).
Some snippets from various works of mine! Now, since I'm still quite new to the novel-writing sphere, there won't be too many snippets from different novels.... Mostly just After the Twelfth Night and the first spy novel (which I am dreading opening... because it is so rough. I'm afraid).
Enjoy:
"I would like to go ashore as soon as possible," said Sebastian. "Seeing that the island is large and we all have families we want to get back to-"
"I don't!" Dogberry piped up. "I have my family here with me!" He patted Jamie on the shoulder; Matthias was under guard in his room.
".....Most of us have families we want to get back to-"
"I don't! I have my Sebastian right here!" Olivia said. "I'm SO glad I came on this little journey!"
"As I was saying," Sebastian continued loudly, "most of us have families we want to get back to so the sooner we start searching the ialdn for the treasure, the sooner we can get back to our families."
- After the Twelfth Night Part 2.
"Those beslubbering fat-kidneyed hugger muggers!"
- After the Twelfth Night Part 2.
In the background the second voice piped up, "Give me that!" and evidently snatched the phone away. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" demanded the younger voice which was totally unlike Caroline's sweet tones. Instead, of sweet and quiet, this girl was loud and fiery.
"I've done nothing with your sister," Daniel replied.
"What are you? A creeper? A stalker? A murderer? I could have the police there in five minutes! Or the army! How would you like the army? My sister is in the army! She could probably beat you up and kill you! Although that would probably land her in jail....."
"I-" Daniel attempted to say.
Just then Varina emerged from her room down the hall.
"Marines? No! You don't have to call in the marines!" Daniel was saying when Varina rescued him by taking the phone.
- 3rd Spy book (I admit, I wrote the first chapter back in December.)
"Please, Sebastian, introduce us to your friends and then sit down!" said the fat man.
"Of course, Uncle," Sebastian replied. He turned and gestured to Antony. "This is Antony. His father saved me from drowning in a ship wreck."
"Son of a sailor are you?" Sebastian's uncle asked.
"Yes, sir. Actually, Father was a pirat....." Jamie elbowed Antony in the ribs and he coughed. "Yes, sir."
- After the Twelfth Night part 2.
Inside the bustling airport, Daniel and Varina got their tickets and headed to their gate to wait for the plane.
"Let's stop and get something to eat first, please?" Daniel asked.
"We just had breakfast! Surely you aren't hungry again?" Varina said.
Daniel shrugged and pointed to a cafe cozily situated between the Hudson News store and a place to buy luggage.
"I think everyone has luggage here...." Daniel muttered as they past the luggage store.
"I hope so!" giggled Varina.
- You Don't Find Them, They Find You.
"Whoa!" said Antony, spotting the sword in Antonio's raised hand. "Are you planning on killing me?" he joked.
"No," replied Antonio, scowling. He started to walk away from the boy, hoping to lose him.
"Where are you going? Can I come?" asked Antony, matching Antonio's stride.
"I'm going to find a friend. And no, you can't."
- After the Twelfth Night Part 1.
The passengers grabbed their seat rests to keep from jerking about. The wind and rain played tug of war with the plane, jostling it this way and that.
"I can't believe it!" Varina yelled.
"What?" Daniel asked in a panicked voice.
"We met on a plane and now we're going to die together on one!"
"No one said anything about dying!" Daniel said in the best reassuring voice he could muster. Suddenly the plane went into a nose dive. Everyone screamed and the last thing Varina remembered before she blacked out was Daniel's hand reaching back and grabbing her's.
- You Don't Find Them, They Find You.
So what did you think? Are you interested? I'm still toying with the idea of publishing.... But people have to be interested in my writing in order for me to publish it. Finishing the books would also help. xD
Live long and prosper! Have a good weekend.
Showing posts with label Novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Novel. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
The Prologe.
Guess what? I have The Prologue done! Huzzah! And yes, I will share it with you. =)
What do you think? Do you like it? Does it all make sense? (Well, it's not all supposed to make sense yet.) Any constructive criticism?
I'm still not sure if I quite like the last half of The Prologue.... It just feels like it lacks something, but that could just be me.
Sometime in the near future I will write up a synopsis and post that as well. Perhaps I'll share a few of the characters sometime as well... But since I actually have no clue about most of them we'll see about that. (I have about eight characters - because they are from the board game - and only two of them have anything like a personality.)
Live long and prosper!
PROLOGUE
Legend had it that
on the darkest night of the month, the New Moon, Undead minions – living skeletons
in service to Varkolak, from the battles of old - entered cities and farm
communities, stealing children, unmarried women, and the elderly from their
beds, to be feasted upon.
Of course, no one
in the Realm of Valdor believed such rumors, especially since Varkolak had been
defeated over four-hundred and fifty years earlier; his army of Undead, mostly
destroyed by fire – the only way to kill them completely. Varkolak and his
remaining minions had fled into the Wilderness beyond the Dark Woods, never to
be heard of or seen again.
Yet, despite the general
disbelief of the old legends, all the doors and windows, save one, of Monarch
City – the capital of Valdor – were shut tight on the night of the New Moon.
The one window that
had been left open was set in the highest tower of the Castle, watching over
Monarch City like a worried parent.
A light breeze
drifted through the open window and ruffled the hair of an old man sitting at a
table so covered in paper and empty ink bottles, that it was hardly
recognizable as a table. He stared out into the darkness, his brow knit. Slowly
he stroked his dark gray beard with a wrinkled and weather-beaten hand. Though
the night was unusually warm for the time of year, the old man was wrapped
tightly in a dark blue cloak.
Three chairs as plain
as the table were tucked underneath it and the old man sat in the only one not
covered in paper. Off in a darkened corner an ornate wooden throne stood,
covered in a royal red robe, set aside in case the King came up for a chat.
The room itself was
rather plain. The room held no furniture, besides the table, chairs and several
large shelves which lined the walls, from floor to ceiling. Books had been crammed
the space inconceivably tightly, perhaps never to come out. The shelves groaned
under the weight and bent in the middle, threatening to break.
In the middle of
the room was a marble pedestal. On it a large, red book laid open, a scarlet bookmark
stuck in its spine. The cover, though not visible, was covered in a fancy golden
script.
The room had four
doors; three leading to bedchambers. The fourth followed a spiral staircase
down into the rest of the palace. Suddenly that door slammed open, followed by
an unladylike grunt.
“You could help
me,” the owner of the voice grumbled. The old man by the window didn’t have to
turn around to know who had entered the room; he always knew when Gwina was
nearby. Nevertheless, he did turn to watch her wade through the mess of papers,
quill pens, ink bottles, books, and other oddities which littered the floor.
Gwina was tall.
Nearly as tall as the man, something she didn’t let him forget easily. She had
long black hair and delicate swirls painted around her eyes. Her dress was red
and had slits going up just past the knees on either side. She wore a black,
sleeveless mantle that rustled when she walked.
In her hands were
several more books – to join those in the rude piles on the floor – a new ink
bottle, a number of scrolls, and on top of it all, a cake.
Gwina made her way
over to the table and, balancing her load on one hand, swept the paper from one
of the chairs to the floor and sat down with a thump. Though she tried to
carefully place her handful on the table, the cake still managed to slip. She
caught it just before it splatted to the floor.
“What is that for?”
the old man asked, raising his eyebrows and nodding towards the rescued cake.
“It’s our birthday!
I thought I’d bake us a cake in celebration. It took me a few tries… and I
nearly burned the palace down, but I finally got it right! I thought to myself,
‘Gwina, a birthday cake is the one thing that has to make Master IsenGRIM smile.’ I see I was mistaken.” Gwina
smirked as she looked on the stormy, and frowning, face of her teacher. “Surely
you haven’t forgotten our birthday?” she asked incredulously.
“On the contrary,”
said Isengrim, resuming his stare out the window, “I was contemplating our
birthday the very moment you burst in. Gwina, what day is it?”
“Why, you know that
Tutor! It is the night of the New Moon! The darkest night of the month! Which
begs the question… why is this window open? Do you want the Undead to come in
and steal us away?” Gwina laughed but Isengrim remained stolid.
“How old are we
this New Moon?” Isengrim asked.
“You know that too,
Tutor,” Gwina replied. “You are one-hundred and I am fifty…“ Realization hit
Gwina. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth hung open in a perfect ‘O.’
“What does the Old
Text say about our birthday?”
Gwina leaned back
in her chair, the smile banished from her lips. “Every fifty years, on the
night of the New Moon, a Wizard is born. He – or she – will be brought to the
palace to be trained by the current Wizard, or Wizards – that’s you and me. The
new Wizard will be taught to control his - or her - powers and defend the Realm
of Valdor against evil!” Gwina’s eyes shone. “We’ll be getting a new pupil soon!”
“I don’t think so.”
Isengrim’s eyes were full of foreboding and his physiognomy was troubled.
“What’s wrong,
tutor?” Gwina’s usual happy-go-lucky countenance assumed a worried look.
Usually, she teased Isengrim’s worries, because she knew they had no merit.
This time, however…. Something was very wrong.
“I do not think we
will be gaining a new apprentice any time soon,” Isengrim said.
Gwina gasped.
“What? How can that be? A Wizard is always born! And always brought to the
palace! It has never been otherwise, the Old Text says so! It is treason not to
bring forth a new Wizard for training! It endangers the Realm!”
Isengrim didn’t
answer, just stared out at Monarch City, slowly shaking his head. The gesture
made Gwina’s stomach do a little flop. She no longer felt hungry for the
birthday cake she had so painstakingly made. She turned to stare out the window
as well, prepared for a sleepless night, watching and waiting for the
inevitable.
***
Many miles away
from Monarch City lay Brookdale Village, surrounded by its abundant farmlands. In
one of the most isolated farms a baby was being born.
“I’m going to ride
to Brookdale Village for the surgeon,” the father said to the mother.
“No! Imradil,
please don’t leave me. It will take you hours to ride to and from the Village.
The baby will be born by then. Please stay. Besides, I’m not in much pain.”
“Yet,” muttered
Imradil, pulling a chair over to his wife’s bedside.
Despite Imradil’s apprehension, the birth was relatively
quick and easy.
“Look at our
daughter Imradil! Isn’t she beautiful?” gasped the mother.
“What’s wrong with
her, Raya?” Imradil frowned, staring at his daughter.
“Nothing is wrong with her,” Raya said, disgusted. “All
newborn babies look like this.”
“No, it isn’t like
that. She has a mark on her wrist.” Imradil carefully took the infant’s right
hand from the folds of the blanket she was wrapped in and examined it.
“It’s simply a
birthmark,” Raya said, paying it no attention.
“Birthmarks don’t
look like fancy red books with twisty writing on the front,” Imradil persisted
grimly.
Raya took the baby’s
hand from Imradil and inspected it. Sure enough, she saw a bright red book with
fancy looking gold writing on the front printed on her daughter’s wrist. “Birthmark…”
she whispered, trying to convince herself. Meanwhile, Imradil got to his feet
and slowly walked over to the door. He unlatched it and flung it open and
looked out into darkness.
“It’s New Moon,” he
said absentmindedly.
“Don’t let a draft
in!” Raya leaned protectively over her child.
Imradil turned to
his wife. “Raya, do you know what this means?”
“What does what
mean?” suddenly Raya was feeling exhausted. She just wanted to go to sleep, not
try and decipher her husband’s words.
“It’s New Moon!”
Imradil slammed the door and rushed over to the bed. “New Moon is the night
when Wizards are born! One every fifty years, is what the rumors say. They also
say the parents will always know when they have a Wizard baby by a strange mark
on their child.”
“Imradil, what are
you saying?” Raya whispered, fear in her big blue eyes.
“Raya, I think our
daughter will be the next Wizard of Valdor.”
Raya gasped and
stared down at the sleeping child in her arms. Tears replaced the fear in her
eyes. “Oh Imradil…. Oh Imradil, just think! Our baby, our little daughter, will
be raised in the palace! She will grow up in Monarch City! Imradil, she will
learn to defend the Realm! Our little daughter - a hero!”
“No,” Imradil said
quietly.
“What?” Raya asked
her husband.
“I said no,”
Imradil repeated darkly. “Our daughter will stay right here, with us.”
Raya gave her
husband a quizzical look.
“I’m not going to
give her up,” Imradil continued. “It’s stupid and unfair that those tyrants in
Monarch City can take away our daughter without our consent, just because she
was born a Wizard. I won’t let it happen, I tell you!” Imradil thundered, and
slammed his fist against the wall.
In Raya’s arms, the
baby startled awake and let out a tiny whimper.
“Look, you’ve woken
her!” Raya said in an upset tone. She gently rocked the child back to sleep. “Imradil,”
she said when she was sure the baby was sleeping soundly once more, “we have to
give our baby up. She’ll have a much better life in Monarch City than here on
the farm. And I don’t see why the King wouldn’t let us visit her every once in
awhile.”
“That’s not good
enough!” Imradil said angrily. Suddenly his idea came gushing out. “We will
keep her here, with us. No one needs to know about her. We live miles away from
anyone. We can keep her isolated…” He nodded as he spoke, as if assuring
himself that his plan was fool-proof.
“Imradil, that’s
treason!” Raya said, shocked. “Besides, living in isolation is no way for a
child to grow up!”
Imradil fixed Raya
with such an malevolent glare that she shrunk back into her pillows and put a
protective arm across her baby.
“Raya, there is no
way that our child is going to Monarch City,” he growled. “Don’t you dare argue
with me about this. Ever. Do you hear? This child will grow up in isolation. No
one will ever know about her. You won’t tell anyone, and I won’t tell anyone.”
Raya didn’t dare answer
and instead looked down, in submission, to her child. Raya gently stroked her
daughter’s pink cheeks.
I’m committing treason for you, Baby, she
thought, shaking her head slightly. Please
be worth it.
What do you think? Do you like it? Does it all make sense? (Well, it's not all supposed to make sense yet.) Any constructive criticism?
I'm still not sure if I quite like the last half of The Prologue.... It just feels like it lacks something, but that could just be me.
Sometime in the near future I will write up a synopsis and post that as well. Perhaps I'll share a few of the characters sometime as well... But since I actually have no clue about most of them we'll see about that. (I have about eight characters - because they are from the board game - and only two of them have anything like a personality.)
Live long and prosper!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
A new opening sentence.
I am re-writing The Prologue for Defenders of the Realm, even now, as we speak (okay, not now because we're not speaking and I can't type two things at once).
I'm about a third of the way done and will hopefully find time to finish it in the next day or two. Then it shall be posted here.
I am already much happier with how it is progressing. It isn't so boring now. And I've added some background information!
Here is my new opening sentence (background information and all!).
I'm about a third of the way done and will hopefully find time to finish it in the next day or two. Then it shall be posted here.
I am already much happier with how it is progressing. It isn't so boring now. And I've added some background information!
Here is my new opening sentence (background information and all!).
Legend
had it that on the darkest night of the month, the New Moon, Undead minions –
living skeletons in service to Varkolak, from the battles of old - entered cities
and farm communities, stealing children, unmarried women, and the elderly from
their beds, to be feasted upon.
What do you think?
Live long and prosper!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Writing news.
I'm stuck. I haven't even gotten past the prologue, and I'm already stuck with my Defenders of the Realm story. I'm not sure if I like the prologue which I wrote. I might scrap it and re-write it.
I've also been mulling over the fantasy genre - mostly the magic part of the fantasy genre.
That, and the stuckness issue, are forcing me to put Defenders of the Realm to the side for the time being. Hopefully it won't be too long.
On another note... I had the most brilliant idea for a plot. Actually, the core idea came two summers ago. I have been thinking about it on and off for two years and I think I may finally have a good enough plot to start coming up with characters - then I can maybe start writing.
Now I shall talk about After the Twelfth Night.
For those who don't know, I played Antonio in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night in 2009. I was upset because we never find out what happens to Antonio after the play - does he go to jail or does Sebastian come to his rescue?
In 2011 I decided to write a book about what happened to my beloved character for a novel writing class my friend's mom taught. The subsequent months consisted of much writing, re-writing, editing, and formatting.
Finally, sometime in the early fall, we ordered five copies of my book from Blurb.com (a site which I do not recommend - too difficult to format).
The experience was like no other. I had never written something so long before - I had actually written a novel!
Shortly after I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time - taking my writing to new levels entirely.
During NaNoWriMo 2011 I wrote the sequel to After the Twelfth Night.
I have been working on re-writing and editing The Sequel for about a year, now. The end is nigh... My mom and I are currently going through it fixing discrepancies, spelling and grammar mistakes, making sentences better, and taking out information that doesn't need to be in there.
Now I am debating publishing....
I have already decided to combine the first and second books into one book, separated into Part 1 and Part 2.
This not only eliminates the trouble of having to come up with another title and another cover, it allows me to edit Part/Book 1 and make it better (and maybe longer! It's only about 16,000 words. Either that or 26,000 words... I can't remember since the document was deleted off my computer). I also don't have to go through the trouble of explaining what happens in Book/Part 1 in Book/Part 2.
Back to the publishing thing....
Part 1 isn't long enough to be it's own novel - and truthfully, I don't think it's up to par with other writings out there (which is why I am glad to be editing it some more). Much of it is somewhat fantastical and historically inaccurate (it's set in 1604).
Because I didn't want to publish Book/Part 1, I hadn't planned on publishing Book/Part 2 either.
Now, though, since I am combining them, I am reconsidering.
Part 2 easily takes care of the length problem. The book (both Parts) is still somewhat fantastical and historically inaccurate... But I didn't write it to be a historical novel. It is an adventure. It focuses on the plot and the adventure and the characters. I don't want it to become a historical novel, either. It is meant to be a fun read - it isn't meant to teach about how things used to be.
Besides, who said the worlds in Shakespeare's plays were accurate? I mean, he had fairies in A Midsummer's Night Dream. And wasn't there a giant in The Tempest?
I would be self-publishing. I would probably use Lulu.com since I've heard good things about it from various sources.
If I finish editing both Parts before June, however, I might consider using the Createspace code from NaNoWriMo (given to the winners). I heard it's pretty hard to figure out, though.
Also, I heard somewhere that as well as sending you five free copies, it publishes your work on Amazon for all to see? I have no clue if that is true or not. If someone out there knows, please tell me!
Anyway, there are all my authorly plans out in the open.
Would you like to read the prologue of Defenders of the Realm even though it isn't very good? Should I self-publish? What about the possible historical inaccuracies (I know so little about Shakespeare's time, I don't even know if there are any huge inaccuracies)? Also, would you like to hear more about After the Twelfth Night? Perhaps meet some of the characters?
Answer away! I would love to hear your thoughts.
Live long and prosper!
I've also been mulling over the fantasy genre - mostly the magic part of the fantasy genre.
That, and the stuckness issue, are forcing me to put Defenders of the Realm to the side for the time being. Hopefully it won't be too long.
On another note... I had the most brilliant idea for a plot. Actually, the core idea came two summers ago. I have been thinking about it on and off for two years and I think I may finally have a good enough plot to start coming up with characters - then I can maybe start writing.
Now I shall talk about After the Twelfth Night.
For those who don't know, I played Antonio in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night in 2009. I was upset because we never find out what happens to Antonio after the play - does he go to jail or does Sebastian come to his rescue?
In 2011 I decided to write a book about what happened to my beloved character for a novel writing class my friend's mom taught. The subsequent months consisted of much writing, re-writing, editing, and formatting.
Finally, sometime in the early fall, we ordered five copies of my book from Blurb.com (a site which I do not recommend - too difficult to format).
The experience was like no other. I had never written something so long before - I had actually written a novel!
Shortly after I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time - taking my writing to new levels entirely.
During NaNoWriMo 2011 I wrote the sequel to After the Twelfth Night.
I have been working on re-writing and editing The Sequel for about a year, now. The end is nigh... My mom and I are currently going through it fixing discrepancies, spelling and grammar mistakes, making sentences better, and taking out information that doesn't need to be in there.
Now I am debating publishing....
I have already decided to combine the first and second books into one book, separated into Part 1 and Part 2.
This not only eliminates the trouble of having to come up with another title and another cover, it allows me to edit Part/Book 1 and make it better (and maybe longer! It's only about 16,000 words. Either that or 26,000 words... I can't remember since the document was deleted off my computer). I also don't have to go through the trouble of explaining what happens in Book/Part 1 in Book/Part 2.
Back to the publishing thing....
Part 1 isn't long enough to be it's own novel - and truthfully, I don't think it's up to par with other writings out there (which is why I am glad to be editing it some more). Much of it is somewhat fantastical and historically inaccurate (it's set in 1604).
Because I didn't want to publish Book/Part 1, I hadn't planned on publishing Book/Part 2 either.
Now, though, since I am combining them, I am reconsidering.
Part 2 easily takes care of the length problem. The book (both Parts) is still somewhat fantastical and historically inaccurate... But I didn't write it to be a historical novel. It is an adventure. It focuses on the plot and the adventure and the characters. I don't want it to become a historical novel, either. It is meant to be a fun read - it isn't meant to teach about how things used to be.
Besides, who said the worlds in Shakespeare's plays were accurate? I mean, he had fairies in A Midsummer's Night Dream. And wasn't there a giant in The Tempest?
I would be self-publishing. I would probably use Lulu.com since I've heard good things about it from various sources.
If I finish editing both Parts before June, however, I might consider using the Createspace code from NaNoWriMo (given to the winners). I heard it's pretty hard to figure out, though.
Also, I heard somewhere that as well as sending you five free copies, it publishes your work on Amazon for all to see? I have no clue if that is true or not. If someone out there knows, please tell me!
Anyway, there are all my authorly plans out in the open.
Would you like to read the prologue of Defenders of the Realm even though it isn't very good? Should I self-publish? What about the possible historical inaccuracies (I know so little about Shakespeare's time, I don't even know if there are any huge inaccuracies)? Also, would you like to hear more about After the Twelfth Night? Perhaps meet some of the characters?
Answer away! I would love to hear your thoughts.
Live long and prosper!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Daniel Adams and Varina Webb.
Alright, I lied. No prologue for Defenders of the Realm today. Perhaps tomorrow.
Instead, I am going to explain some of my characters names.
Daniel Adams and Varina Webb are my main characters from my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel You Don't Find Them, They Find You which is a spy novel, of sorts. Both Daniel and Varina are spies... Though the novel is more of a race.
A little bit of history on the name "Daniel" in correlation to me.
When I was little, my friend and I would play house with our Bitty Babies. We were the moms, our husbands were invisible, our children were our dolls. For awhile, my friend and I had Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby as husbands.... Then we branched out and used other names. I always had James, until my friend and I started to fight over that name. Then I changed mine to Daniel and she changed hers to Dwight. From then on, our "husbands" were always Daniel and Dwight.
So, when I came up with the idea for They Find You there was really no other name for the main male character.
Daniel's last name, Adams, has always been with him too.
Which presented a problem....
In our games of house, my name was always "Arica Adams."
Now, for my female main character, I natually named her Arica because that's a name I'm very familiar with. But I couldn't name her Arica "Adams" because she and Daniel couldn't have the same last name.
Trouble trouble trouble... At first I wanted to change Daniel's last name because I wasn't sure if "Adams" was a British last name. Then I decided to change Arica's last name... I didn't know what to change it TO, though.
Then one day I was lying on the couch watching this GREAT old cop show called Adam-12 and the name hit me.
The guy on the right is called Jim Reed in the show. I got to thinking... Arica Reed? Then the name "Webb" flashed across the screen (he's one of the producers or something). That was it! WEBB! Arica Webb!
Then we departed on our long journey to the East Coast.
We saw many many things. One of those things was the home of President Jefferson Davis (he was president of the Confederacy during the Civil War).
Before we got the tour, however, the guide told us a bit about Jefferson Davis and his family. They mentioned his wife... Varina Davis.
My heart leaped a bit. Varina was the absolute perfect name.
I was so excited that I pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote it down. It says, "Instead of Arica Webb... Varina Webb?"
Thus was born Varina Webb.
She even looks a bit like Varina Davis - the same dark, silky hair and round face.
I think that Varina is one of the prettiest names in the whole wide world. And Webb is one cool last name.
How do you name your characters?
Live long and prosper!
Instead, I am going to explain some of my characters names.
Daniel Adams and Varina Webb are my main characters from my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel You Don't Find Them, They Find You which is a spy novel, of sorts. Both Daniel and Varina are spies... Though the novel is more of a race.
A little bit of history on the name "Daniel" in correlation to me.
When I was little, my friend and I would play house with our Bitty Babies. We were the moms, our husbands were invisible, our children were our dolls. For awhile, my friend and I had Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby as husbands.... Then we branched out and used other names. I always had James, until my friend and I started to fight over that name. Then I changed mine to Daniel and she changed hers to Dwight. From then on, our "husbands" were always Daniel and Dwight.
So, when I came up with the idea for They Find You there was really no other name for the main male character.
Daniel's last name, Adams, has always been with him too.
Which presented a problem....
In our games of house, my name was always "Arica Adams."
Now, for my female main character, I natually named her Arica because that's a name I'm very familiar with. But I couldn't name her Arica "Adams" because she and Daniel couldn't have the same last name.
Trouble trouble trouble... At first I wanted to change Daniel's last name because I wasn't sure if "Adams" was a British last name. Then I decided to change Arica's last name... I didn't know what to change it TO, though.
Then one day I was lying on the couch watching this GREAT old cop show called Adam-12 and the name hit me.
The guy on the right is called Jim Reed in the show. I got to thinking... Arica Reed? Then the name "Webb" flashed across the screen (he's one of the producers or something). That was it! WEBB! Arica Webb!
Then we departed on our long journey to the East Coast.
We saw many many things. One of those things was the home of President Jefferson Davis (he was president of the Confederacy during the Civil War).
Before we got the tour, however, the guide told us a bit about Jefferson Davis and his family. They mentioned his wife... Varina Davis.
My heart leaped a bit. Varina was the absolute perfect name.
I was so excited that I pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote it down. It says, "Instead of Arica Webb... Varina Webb?"
Thus was born Varina Webb.
She even looks a bit like Varina Davis - the same dark, silky hair and round face.
I think that Varina is one of the prettiest names in the whole wide world. And Webb is one cool last name.
How do you name your characters?
Live long and prosper!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The one where "struggled" became "shruggled."
It is official. After the Twelfth Night and its Untitled Sequel are going to be one book. The first book will be "part 1" and the second book will be "part 2" because it is much easier. Plus, that means I can edit Part/Book one and make it better. It also means that I don't have to think of another title and cover!
My mom and I have been editing Part/Book 2 and I have busily typing it into the computer.... Only I think I need a break.
So far Jamie has sat down and tried to ear (instead of eat) and poor Verges shruggled to hold Dogberry's weight up.
Know what else I found out? "Two men" is basically the word "woman" except with a "T" at the beginning. I found that out trying to read my hand-edited version of the book. I'm staring at it going, "As they caught up with the fwomen they slowed their pace to remain at a distance. But that makes NO sense! They're following Dogberry and Verges! Not women! What in the world is a fwoman anyway? MOM! Can you read this--- wait a minute.... TWO MEN! That's what it is! HAHA!"
Must... push.... forward....
Also, it has been 84 years since Tintin was first written into existance! Happy Birthday Tintin!!
(My cake, from my last birthday.)
On a parting note... I know how Sherlock survived the fall!
Before hitting the ground, Sherlock fell into a portal which led to Narnia. He fell out of the sky and landed in some badly placed dragon treasure... which turned him into a fire breathing beasty (just like Eustace!).
Sherlock the Dragon then wandered - quite by accident - into another portal which led to Middle Earth.
Poor Sherlock then used his massive intellect to reason that if he became a dragon by touching treasure, he should touch MORE treasure to become his regular self again. Sherlock the Dragon wandered into the nearest treasure hoard his dragon nose detected and scared some Dwarves in the process.
Long story short, Sherlock touched the treasure and found himself still a dragon! He also found out that he was too big to fit back OUT the door! (Which is the reason no one saw him a long time.)
After sleeping for hundreds of years, Sherlock woke to find that the walls had crumbled around him and he could escape!
Unknown to him, though, the Dwarves had harbored a grudge and had come to reclaim their home. They took a very familiar looking burglar with them too....
Sherlock the Dragon was then shot unceremoniously from the sky by Bard the Bowman.
Curiously, the only thing that went through the mind of the Dragon as he fell was, "Oh no, not again." Many have speculated that if we knew exactly WHY Sherlock the Dragon had thought that, we should know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.
Since the villagers from Laketown never went near the carcass of Sherlock the Dragon, they did not see him regenerate into his original form... Sherlock Holmes!
Sadly, Sherlock was a bit jumbled from his regeneration and took to calling himself "John Harrison."
He was then beamed up to the Enterprise where he wreaked havoc all the way back to London Town where they dropped him off (and where he saved Mickey Smith's daughter).
After figuring out he wasn't actually John Harrison, Sherlock returned to 221b Baker Street and walked in with a calm, "Well that was tedious."
Whereupon, John fainted.
~A few hours later~
I finished typing in the edited Chapter 2 without much more trouble (unless you call procrastination trouble).
Then, after dinner, I started writing Defenders of the Realm.
I'm listening to the Song of the Lonely Mountain (from The Hobbit) which is really adding to the mood. I may have even felt my heart flutter a bit.
By tomorrow I should have the prologue written and then I shall share it on here in all its unedited glory (to be fair, though, I spend a considerable ammount of time perfecting my prologues for some ood reason. And since this Defenders of the Realm book will be a side project, it will most likely not need as much editing as my NaNoWriMo spit-out-the-50K novels).
Before I go back to writing, I would like to share the first sentence. First sentences are very important, because they need to draw the reader in. I'm not so sure about my first sentence.... What do you guys think?
Doors were locked up tight on the night of the new moon and the people of Monarch City slept soundly.
My mom and I have been editing Part/Book 2 and I have busily typing it into the computer.... Only I think I need a break.
So far Jamie has sat down and tried to ear (instead of eat) and poor Verges shruggled to hold Dogberry's weight up.
Know what else I found out? "Two men" is basically the word "woman" except with a "T" at the beginning. I found that out trying to read my hand-edited version of the book. I'm staring at it going, "As they caught up with the fwomen they slowed their pace to remain at a distance. But that makes NO sense! They're following Dogberry and Verges! Not women! What in the world is a fwoman anyway? MOM! Can you read this--- wait a minute.... TWO MEN! That's what it is! HAHA!"
Must... push.... forward....
Also, it has been 84 years since Tintin was first written into existance! Happy Birthday Tintin!!
(My cake, from my last birthday.)
On a parting note... I know how Sherlock survived the fall!
Before hitting the ground, Sherlock fell into a portal which led to Narnia. He fell out of the sky and landed in some badly placed dragon treasure... which turned him into a fire breathing beasty (just like Eustace!).
Sherlock the Dragon then wandered - quite by accident - into another portal which led to Middle Earth.
Poor Sherlock then used his massive intellect to reason that if he became a dragon by touching treasure, he should touch MORE treasure to become his regular self again. Sherlock the Dragon wandered into the nearest treasure hoard his dragon nose detected and scared some Dwarves in the process.
Long story short, Sherlock touched the treasure and found himself still a dragon! He also found out that he was too big to fit back OUT the door! (Which is the reason no one saw him a long time.)
After sleeping for hundreds of years, Sherlock woke to find that the walls had crumbled around him and he could escape!
Unknown to him, though, the Dwarves had harbored a grudge and had come to reclaim their home. They took a very familiar looking burglar with them too....
Sherlock the Dragon was then shot unceremoniously from the sky by Bard the Bowman.
Curiously, the only thing that went through the mind of the Dragon as he fell was, "Oh no, not again." Many have speculated that if we knew exactly WHY Sherlock the Dragon had thought that, we should know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.
Since the villagers from Laketown never went near the carcass of Sherlock the Dragon, they did not see him regenerate into his original form... Sherlock Holmes!
Sadly, Sherlock was a bit jumbled from his regeneration and took to calling himself "John Harrison."
He was then beamed up to the Enterprise where he wreaked havoc all the way back to London Town where they dropped him off (and where he saved Mickey Smith's daughter).
After figuring out he wasn't actually John Harrison, Sherlock returned to 221b Baker Street and walked in with a calm, "Well that was tedious."
Whereupon, John fainted.
~A few hours later~
I finished typing in the edited Chapter 2 without much more trouble (unless you call procrastination trouble).
Then, after dinner, I started writing Defenders of the Realm.
I'm listening to the Song of the Lonely Mountain (from The Hobbit) which is really adding to the mood. I may have even felt my heart flutter a bit.
By tomorrow I should have the prologue written and then I shall share it on here in all its unedited glory (to be fair, though, I spend a considerable ammount of time perfecting my prologues for some ood reason. And since this Defenders of the Realm book will be a side project, it will most likely not need as much editing as my NaNoWriMo spit-out-the-50K novels).
Before I go back to writing, I would like to share the first sentence. First sentences are very important, because they need to draw the reader in. I'm not so sure about my first sentence.... What do you guys think?
Doors were locked up tight on the night of the new moon and the people of Monarch City slept soundly.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year, New Plans.
Happy New Year everyone!
2012 was a particularly good year... I am reminded of a Frank Sinatra song.
When I was seventeen.... it was a very good year.... etc.etc.
2012: A Year in Review.
My mother, grandmother, and I went on a trip all the way to the East Coast and lived to tell about it.
I discovered no tonly Sherlock, but Doctor Who, two amazing British shows.
I finished writing two novels.
I went to my grandfather's funeral.
I bought my final American Girl Doll.
My studies have become very important to me, and a high priority.
I read 38 books.
Now it is 2013.
My forthcoming goals are as following...
Continue to study hard.
Write three novels (I found out that there are two more NaNoWriMo's other than the one in November - they are Camp NaNoWriMo and take place in April and July. I was so excited!)
Read at least 40 books, two more than last year.
Grow in my faith in God!
As well as goals, I have ideas for this year as well. Writing ideas.
We own a board game called Defenders of the Realm.
This board game is a cooroprotive game, meaning that all the people play together, instead of against each other. The people play heroes who have to kill minions and the four generals in charge of the minions. It is very hard to win, because there are so many ways to die.
Anyway, the game has a story-like theme and I've thought before about writing a story about it. I never knew what I wanted to do for a plot, though.
Until yesterday. Yesterday when I came up with an idea.
So now I will write this Defenders of the Realm story whenever I have the time, as a side project. It needs a lot of background information, though. (Luckily it doesn't require research - I can make it all up!)
Happy New Year and God Bless you all this year!
Live long and prosper.
2012 was a particularly good year... I am reminded of a Frank Sinatra song.
When I was seventeen.... it was a very good year.... etc.etc.
2012: A Year in Review.
My mother, grandmother, and I went on a trip all the way to the East Coast and lived to tell about it.
I discovered no tonly Sherlock, but Doctor Who, two amazing British shows.
I finished writing two novels.
I went to my grandfather's funeral.
I bought my final American Girl Doll.
My studies have become very important to me, and a high priority.
I read 38 books.
Now it is 2013.
My forthcoming goals are as following...
Continue to study hard.
Write three novels (I found out that there are two more NaNoWriMo's other than the one in November - they are Camp NaNoWriMo and take place in April and July. I was so excited!)
Read at least 40 books, two more than last year.
Grow in my faith in God!
As well as goals, I have ideas for this year as well. Writing ideas.
We own a board game called Defenders of the Realm.
This board game is a cooroprotive game, meaning that all the people play together, instead of against each other. The people play heroes who have to kill minions and the four generals in charge of the minions. It is very hard to win, because there are so many ways to die.
Anyway, the game has a story-like theme and I've thought before about writing a story about it. I never knew what I wanted to do for a plot, though.
Until yesterday. Yesterday when I came up with an idea.
So now I will write this Defenders of the Realm story whenever I have the time, as a side project. It needs a lot of background information, though. (Luckily it doesn't require research - I can make it all up!)
Happy New Year and God Bless you all this year!
Live long and prosper.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Stealing another tag from Jack.
Jack tagged all her followers again and since tags are an easy post for one on vacation... I shall take her up on her tag!
I have to answer the following questions (they are all very writerly!):
1. When did you start writing?
I have been writing since before I knew how to write.
Wait, no, that's an oxymoron.
I have been creating stories and having someone else write them down since before I knew how to write (I was four or something).
Only last year did I start writing actual, long, novels.
2. Do you have a soft spot for a particular character (come on, be honest!)?
This is such a hard question because I have a soft spot for many characters!
Antonio, just 'cause he was my first real character.
Antony because he's funny.
Varina because of her past.
And Daniel. Daniel is probably my favorite character (Antony is glaring at me). I love him because he is so much like me - a geek and a piano player. He's also a genius but I don't take that title for myself. Hee hee. :P
3. If you had to choose between reading and writing, which would you choose?
I would choose reading. There are too many good books out there that need reading! I haven't decided how seriously I want to write yet.... So for now, I'd rather read.
4. How often do you have to "rush off" to write down an idea before it evaporates?
ALL. THE. TIME! I have so many little scraps of paper with one sentence ideas ("Story where two characters are in an old rickety train station") that it isn't even funny. The worst is when I have an idea in the shower or in the middle of the night - when I can't write it down.
5. Do you plot/outline your book or wing it?
Plan, definitely. If I don't have an idea of where I'm going, I can't continue. Usually I have a brief outline of the story and I follow it. Sometimes things get changed, things get added, characters get killed, characters mysteriously make it back into the book and I'm forced to kill another in their place....
6. Are you a sucker for happy endings or do you leave your readers in misery?
Here's the thing, I hate unhappy endings, yet, more often than not, I end my novels in some sort of misery. I love torturing my (invisible) audience, but I hate having it done to me.
Of course, not everything is left in misery. Most of the characters get happy endings.
7. How protective are you of your novel?
Hee hee hee.... Every time I start something new my friend asks me, "Oooh can I see?"
I reply with a sharp, "NO!" and clutch my notebook to my chest and cast suspicious glances around.
I am so afraid of plagiarists. So yes, I am very very very very very very very very very protective over my novels and characters.
8. Plans for publishing eventually? Self-publish or traditional?
This is back to the I-don't-know-how-seriously-I-write thing. Right now writing is my hobby. I write on the side. I know I'm good at it, and that God has given me a gift with the written word, but I don't feel that he's calling me to write full-time.
If I were to publish, however, I would probably go with self-publishing - at least with the After the Twelfth Night books. Once I finish my spy series and make it as good as it can be, I might see if a traditional publisher is interested (that's far in the future, though).
9. Are you guilty of using the old cliche plot element? How are you trying to make it fresh?
I don't like cliche plot elements, or cliche characters (such as... the girly girl falls in love with the nerd because they are forced to work with each other and it all ends happily ever after). I do, however, enjoy cliches such as... spies wear trench coats and stand under lamp posts, or pirates have peglegs and eye patches. Stuff like that.
10. Tell a little about a character you are currently fleshing out.
I am so bad at character development... Either that or I can't tell when I'm doing it. I don't really flesh characters out either... I just write a brief biography (or in Varina's case, a loooong biography) or keep their personalities in my head.
I guess the two characters that I'm thinking about the most are Caroline and Jamie-Beatrice, two sisters. Caroline is 21 and Jamie-Beatrice is 14. I have decided that Caroline wants to be a writer, but I don't know what Jamie-Beatrice wants to be. She's very fiery and strong so I was thinking maybe the debate team... Or maybe she's interested in government or sports, but none of those seem to fit.
Any ideas?
11. Which is the better chocolate? White, milk, or 75% dark?
Milk. =) White chocolate is alright, I haven't really had enough of it on it's own to decide. I strongly dislike dark chocolate.
Live long and prosper!
I have to answer the following questions (they are all very writerly!):
1. When did you start writing?
I have been writing since before I knew how to write.
Wait, no, that's an oxymoron.
I have been creating stories and having someone else write them down since before I knew how to write (I was four or something).
Only last year did I start writing actual, long, novels.
2. Do you have a soft spot for a particular character (come on, be honest!)?
This is such a hard question because I have a soft spot for many characters!
Antonio, just 'cause he was my first real character.
Antony because he's funny.
Varina because of her past.
And Daniel. Daniel is probably my favorite character (Antony is glaring at me). I love him because he is so much like me - a geek and a piano player. He's also a genius but I don't take that title for myself. Hee hee. :P
3. If you had to choose between reading and writing, which would you choose?
I would choose reading. There are too many good books out there that need reading! I haven't decided how seriously I want to write yet.... So for now, I'd rather read.
4. How often do you have to "rush off" to write down an idea before it evaporates?
ALL. THE. TIME! I have so many little scraps of paper with one sentence ideas ("Story where two characters are in an old rickety train station") that it isn't even funny. The worst is when I have an idea in the shower or in the middle of the night - when I can't write it down.
5. Do you plot/outline your book or wing it?
Plan, definitely. If I don't have an idea of where I'm going, I can't continue. Usually I have a brief outline of the story and I follow it. Sometimes things get changed, things get added, characters get killed, characters mysteriously make it back into the book and I'm forced to kill another in their place....
6. Are you a sucker for happy endings or do you leave your readers in misery?
Here's the thing, I hate unhappy endings, yet, more often than not, I end my novels in some sort of misery. I love torturing my (invisible) audience, but I hate having it done to me.
Of course, not everything is left in misery. Most of the characters get happy endings.
7. How protective are you of your novel?
Hee hee hee.... Every time I start something new my friend asks me, "Oooh can I see?"
I reply with a sharp, "NO!" and clutch my notebook to my chest and cast suspicious glances around.
I am so afraid of plagiarists. So yes, I am very very very very very very very very very protective over my novels and characters.
8. Plans for publishing eventually? Self-publish or traditional?
This is back to the I-don't-know-how-seriously-I-write thing. Right now writing is my hobby. I write on the side. I know I'm good at it, and that God has given me a gift with the written word, but I don't feel that he's calling me to write full-time.
If I were to publish, however, I would probably go with self-publishing - at least with the After the Twelfth Night books. Once I finish my spy series and make it as good as it can be, I might see if a traditional publisher is interested (that's far in the future, though).
9. Are you guilty of using the old cliche plot element? How are you trying to make it fresh?
I don't like cliche plot elements, or cliche characters (such as... the girly girl falls in love with the nerd because they are forced to work with each other and it all ends happily ever after). I do, however, enjoy cliches such as... spies wear trench coats and stand under lamp posts, or pirates have peglegs and eye patches. Stuff like that.
10. Tell a little about a character you are currently fleshing out.
I am so bad at character development... Either that or I can't tell when I'm doing it. I don't really flesh characters out either... I just write a brief biography (or in Varina's case, a loooong biography) or keep their personalities in my head.
I guess the two characters that I'm thinking about the most are Caroline and Jamie-Beatrice, two sisters. Caroline is 21 and Jamie-Beatrice is 14. I have decided that Caroline wants to be a writer, but I don't know what Jamie-Beatrice wants to be. She's very fiery and strong so I was thinking maybe the debate team... Or maybe she's interested in government or sports, but none of those seem to fit.
Any ideas?
11. Which is the better chocolate? White, milk, or 75% dark?
Milk. =) White chocolate is alright, I haven't really had enough of it on it's own to decide. I strongly dislike dark chocolate.
Live long and prosper!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Reading, writing, and some random.
It is a fact universally acknowledged that if one starts a bunch of books at the same time, one will either A) Drop all the books or B) Finish all the books at the same time.
That's what happened to me. I started a bunch of books in October/November and now I'm finishing them all.
Namely, "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper. Although the book is very well written and I am coming to respect heavy description even further, it is such a looong book. Of course, it is much longer because I'm trying to finish it before the book discussion tomorrow. So far I've read about nine chapters today. I have one more chapter before the book is done.
I have been feeling very weighed down by violence lately... It is everywhere. I decided to read something innocent that would take my mind off this evil world. I chose the Doll series by Ann M. Martin, about dolls who are alive. A very good series. I am on the third book now (which I have never read).
"A Christmas Carol" and "Two Towers" are also waiting to be read.... I think I'll take Christmas Carol to Canada and read it there. Two Towers... may never get finished, I'm afraid.
As far as writing goes, I'm hoping to get a bunch of that done in Canada as well... I - with my mother's help - will get to editing After the Twelfth Night's sequel.
I'm also hoping to get some time in with my NaNoWriMo characters as well. I have two Christmas short stories planned starring Daniel and Varina and a new character.... Mwahaha.
I recently hand-wrote the first chapter of the second book. I'm planning on writing the first chapter of the third book sometime too... I'm not sure which one I was to write first. I have the basic plot for both, I just don't know which one to pursue first. Probably the third book because it was the first idea I had for the series (though I didn't know it at the time).
Have a random picture (because blog posts are much more fun with pictures than without):
Sadly we didn't have any gingerbread men come with our gingerbread house this year... Otherwise you would have seen some red shirt gingerbread men on my blog.
Instead, out house came with a gingerbread tree, which Rosey stole and ate most of. Her stomach has been making some very gurgly noises and I think she's learned her lesson.
I had my voice recital tonight. I sang "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).
I did well, if I do say so myself.
Hee hee, Nine's sneaky look as Ten open a Rose doll. I like the contrasting colors - warm and cold. Very cool.
I figured I should post something so there it is. Now I'm going to stop wasting time and I am actually going to do something productive - like finish the Mohicans. A review will be coming tomorrow or the next day.
In the near future you can also expect a review for A Christmas Carol, and some more musical preformances by Your's Truly, and at least one Christmas short story, if not two.
Live long and prosper!
That's what happened to me. I started a bunch of books in October/November and now I'm finishing them all.
Namely, "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper. Although the book is very well written and I am coming to respect heavy description even further, it is such a looong book. Of course, it is much longer because I'm trying to finish it before the book discussion tomorrow. So far I've read about nine chapters today. I have one more chapter before the book is done.
I have been feeling very weighed down by violence lately... It is everywhere. I decided to read something innocent that would take my mind off this evil world. I chose the Doll series by Ann M. Martin, about dolls who are alive. A very good series. I am on the third book now (which I have never read).
"A Christmas Carol" and "Two Towers" are also waiting to be read.... I think I'll take Christmas Carol to Canada and read it there. Two Towers... may never get finished, I'm afraid.
As far as writing goes, I'm hoping to get a bunch of that done in Canada as well... I - with my mother's help - will get to editing After the Twelfth Night's sequel.
I'm also hoping to get some time in with my NaNoWriMo characters as well. I have two Christmas short stories planned starring Daniel and Varina and a new character.... Mwahaha.
I recently hand-wrote the first chapter of the second book. I'm planning on writing the first chapter of the third book sometime too... I'm not sure which one I was to write first. I have the basic plot for both, I just don't know which one to pursue first. Probably the third book because it was the first idea I had for the series (though I didn't know it at the time).
Have a random picture (because blog posts are much more fun with pictures than without):
Sadly we didn't have any gingerbread men come with our gingerbread house this year... Otherwise you would have seen some red shirt gingerbread men on my blog.
Instead, out house came with a gingerbread tree, which Rosey stole and ate most of. Her stomach has been making some very gurgly noises and I think she's learned her lesson.
I had my voice recital tonight. I sang "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).
I did well, if I do say so myself.
Hee hee, Nine's sneaky look as Ten open a Rose doll. I like the contrasting colors - warm and cold. Very cool.
I figured I should post something so there it is. Now I'm going to stop wasting time and I am actually going to do something productive - like finish the Mohicans. A review will be coming tomorrow or the next day.
In the near future you can also expect a review for A Christmas Carol, and some more musical preformances by Your's Truly, and at least one Christmas short story, if not two.
Live long and prosper!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Woooohoooo!!!
Whiiiiirrrr...... click! Clack. Whiiiiiiirrr... ARGH! Click. Rip rip rip rip rip rip rip. Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrr.......
Tappety tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tap tappety tip. Tippety tap tap tap tip tip tap. Snicker, giggle, read-aloud. Tap tap tippety tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tippety tip tip tap tap tappety tap tap. Hum, hum, hummmm... lalala.... hmmmm.... HUM HUM HUMMM!
Flip flip flip flip. Quiet. Flip. Quiet. YEAH! Oh-ho ho ho yeah! *Insert sports team name HERE* just scored!!
Siiiiiiiigghhhh....... Click tip click tip click tip click tip. Jangle jangle jangle jangle jangle. Thump. Siiiiiigghhhhh...........
The evening sounds of my home.
Mom on her sewing machine.
Me typing furiously, trying to catch my word goal; the computer keys accompanied by George Gershwin melodies and my singing along.
Dad in the other room playing a strategy card game with himself while watching The Game on his computer.
Rosey going from one room to another, sighing depressedly while choosing which piece of furniture she would rather lie under.
Suddenly.....
FINISHED! There we go, THE END. I'm done!
I WON NANOWRIMO!!!!! =D
Now I am putting it away until mid-December or January. I'll go back to editing last year's NaNoWriMo (which I actually started editing last night - I got tired of waiting for my mom. :P)
Now I'm going because I am finished and I am relieved.
Tappety tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tap tappety tip. Tippety tap tap tap tip tip tap. Snicker, giggle, read-aloud. Tap tap tippety tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tippety tip tip tap tap tappety tap tap. Hum, hum, hummmm... lalala.... hmmmm.... HUM HUM HUMMM!
Flip flip flip flip. Quiet. Flip. Quiet. YEAH! Oh-ho ho ho yeah! *Insert sports team name HERE* just scored!!
Siiiiiiiigghhhh....... Click tip click tip click tip click tip. Jangle jangle jangle jangle jangle. Thump. Siiiiiigghhhhh...........
The evening sounds of my home.
Mom on her sewing machine.
Me typing furiously, trying to catch my word goal; the computer keys accompanied by George Gershwin melodies and my singing along.
Dad in the other room playing a strategy card game with himself while watching The Game on his computer.
Rosey going from one room to another, sighing depressedly while choosing which piece of furniture she would rather lie under.
Suddenly.....
FINISHED! There we go, THE END. I'm done!
I WON NANOWRIMO!!!!! =D
Not only did I reach my 50,000 words, I actually FINISHED my novel! Completely! Last year my novel wasn't finished until December or January (with a final word count of over 65,000 words).
This year's final word count?
51,070.
I am soooooo happy to be finished! Yet, I will miss it! I will miss my characters. Though there are plot holes (I changed a briefcase to a bowling ball bag - gasp!) and my main female characters might be a tad bit annoying... and my last sentence is about chocolate chip cookies, it is finished! And it is my novel - my baby. Now I am putting it away until mid-December or January. I'll go back to editing last year's NaNoWriMo (which I actually started editing last night - I got tired of waiting for my mom. :P)
Now I'm going because I am finished and I am relieved.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Mr. Thick and a whole lot of random.
Today I went to a lovely store called Costco which is right up there with Barnes and Nobles on my list of favorite stores.
I drove to Costco... And all the other stores Mom and I went to today. We were gone shopping all afternoon, thus I didn't have anytime to write until 7:30ish. (I also had saxophone lessons tonight which didn't help). Driving has become easier and I think I know what I'm doing now.
My word count for NaNoWriMo is at approximately 41,075 right now (:P I got 9 more words than you Jess!) and I'm hoping to get at least to 41,100 tonight, which shouldn't be that hard.
I am almost at the climax of my story. I have some denouement planned but I am doubtful that my novel will reach 50,000 words. I'm expecting it to reach 49,000 odd words because I absolutely hate any number with "9" in it because I always think it would be so east just to go to "10." Why can't they go to ten???!*
Anyway, I'm pretty much fishing for words, trying to make the novel longer and longer.
This little snippet is partly for my word count and partly because I couldn't think of anything thicker than the layer of dust on the floor at the moment.... It will (probably, most likely...) be edited out.... But I couldn't help myself.
Now I bid thee all a fond farewell for this post has been a bunch of babble and I still need to write 20 or 30 more words before I can settle back watch the BBC's production of Little Dorrit which we have borrowed from the library.
*James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (which I am supposed to be reading right now but Starcross by Philip Reeve keeps getting in the way**) was born on September 15. He died (some sixty or so years later) on September 14. I was so annoyed by that... He could live just ONE more day?? Then it would have been even! I bet I'll die on the eve of my 100th birthday. How the people who know my little pet peeve will laugh.....
**I was hanging out at the quilt store with my mom before saxophone lessons (we were early) and she was looking at the quilt books and I was reading Starcross and one of the worker ladies came up to us and said, "I just want to let you know that the store is closing in 10 minutes." My mom said thank you and then the lady asked me what I was reading and if I was enjoying it. I showed her the cover and said I was enjoying it. Her face lit up (she was an older lady - in her 50's perhaps?) and she said, "Oh I love Philip Reeve! Did you read Larklight? How about his Mortal Engines series? They are so good! I love him!"
As C.S. Lewis says.... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'"
I drove to Costco... And all the other stores Mom and I went to today. We were gone shopping all afternoon, thus I didn't have anytime to write until 7:30ish. (I also had saxophone lessons tonight which didn't help). Driving has become easier and I think I know what I'm doing now.
My word count for NaNoWriMo is at approximately 41,075 right now (:P I got 9 more words than you Jess!) and I'm hoping to get at least to 41,100 tonight, which shouldn't be that hard.
I am almost at the climax of my story. I have some denouement planned but I am doubtful that my novel will reach 50,000 words. I'm expecting it to reach 49,000 odd words because I absolutely hate any number with "9" in it because I always think it would be so east just to go to "10." Why can't they go to ten???!*
Anyway, I'm pretty much fishing for words, trying to make the novel longer and longer.
This little snippet is partly for my word count and partly because I couldn't think of anything thicker than the layer of dust on the floor at the moment.... It will (probably, most likely...) be edited out.... But I couldn't help myself.
The museum was astounding, even
in the dark. Of course, many of the exhibitions had been removed to storage and
a layer of dust thicker than Mr. Thick, Thick, Thickety Thickface from Thick
Town, Thickania (and his dad) coated the floor.
You see what the BBC and Doctor Who has reduced me to?! Moffat! 
Now I bid thee all a fond farewell for this post has been a bunch of babble and I still need to write 20 or 30 more words before I can settle back watch the BBC's production of Little Dorrit which we have borrowed from the library.
(I want to make one!)
*James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (which I am supposed to be reading right now but Starcross by Philip Reeve keeps getting in the way**) was born on September 15. He died (some sixty or so years later) on September 14. I was so annoyed by that... He could live just ONE more day?? Then it would have been even! I bet I'll die on the eve of my 100th birthday. How the people who know my little pet peeve will laugh.....
**I was hanging out at the quilt store with my mom before saxophone lessons (we were early) and she was looking at the quilt books and I was reading Starcross and one of the worker ladies came up to us and said, "I just want to let you know that the store is closing in 10 minutes." My mom said thank you and then the lady asked me what I was reading and if I was enjoying it. I showed her the cover and said I was enjoying it. Her face lit up (she was an older lady - in her 50's perhaps?) and she said, "Oh I love Philip Reeve! Did you read Larklight? How about his Mortal Engines series? They are so good! I love him!"
As C.S. Lewis says.... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'"
Monday, November 19, 2012
I should be writing.
After battling blackberries with my youth group yesterday afternoon (we were victorious!) I was so exhausted that I lay on the couch and spent countless hours stealing pictures from people's Pinterest boards (I think I got the above picture from Clair's?). I don't have Pinterest... Never let me get one. I already spend too much time on it without an account.
Anyway, I'm trying to get to 35,000 words tonight. I'm at 34,000 right now but I just wrote something positively brilliant that just has to be shared so here it is:
Cal smiled at them. “While I go
talk with Millie – she’s the innkeeper – you two are welcome to wander about
and talk with people – you can even dance if you are feelin’ brave!” Cal
pointed out a number of people to Daniel and Varina, “Over there is Justin Case
our sheriff. And over there playin’ the piano is our oldest livin’ resident,
Fun Gus!” Cal winked at Daniel. “You might enjoy talkin’ to Gus. You’re a
musical person, I can tell by your hands.” Then Cal walked away leaving Daniel
and Varina stared dumbfounded at each other.
“My…. hands?” Daniel asked while
Varina grabbed Daniel’s hands and examined them.
“How did he know that? Even I can’t
tell that…. You have it wrong Daniel. I’m not like Sherlock Holmes, he is!”
Varina exclaimed.
Live long and prosper!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Life goes on.
Contrary to popular belief, life still goes on during National Novel Writing Month. At least for me it does. I've been very busy with school.... Lots of music - about 12 hours a week.
Here is a Beethoven song on piano:
I have also been practicing essays and paragraphs to be put into essays.... Here is a paragraph I'm particularly proud of (except for the fact I used the word 'essay' a million times):
Ignorance of proper technique breeds improper essays. Treating an essay like a close friend leads to first and second person writing and words such as, "me, you, they, I, their, and your." Such words are inappropriate for essays as the point of the essay is to convince. Personification makes arguments weaker. Essays also need to pop with creative sentences and colorful descriptions. Too many words, however, may clutter the point and confuse the reader. Succinct sentences that prove points without personification take practice but pave the way to proper papers.
I have also been doing science.... We did an experiment with an egg which was very interesting. It went this way....
Take an egg and soak it in white vinegar for 24 hours (I did 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 apple cider vinegar).
The shell disolved off the egg and it was very squishy. The egg also swelled from 5 1/2 inches to 6 inches because of osmosis.
After rinsing off the egg, we put it in some syrup for 24 hours. In the morning we were pleasantly suprised with a deflated egg that measure 4 1/2 inches!
After 24 hours we rinsed the egg again and put it in a glass of distilled water for another 24 hours.
What a surprise we had!! The egg swelled to 6 1/2 inches around the middle!! It was huge!
And it bounced like a ball.
I've also been drawing.... I got the idea from Doctor Who when he said, "The doctor is in!" It made me think of The Peanuts gang.
And then.... Well.... My imagination took off.
I spy with my little eye.....
The Doctor (wibbly wobbly timey wimey! And his sonic screwdriver!)
A Cyberman with a serious problem....
Snoopy, K-9, and a Dalek.....
And of course Woodstock is nearby. (You wouldn't believe how hard he was to draw!)
And the TARDIS.
Oh yeah, and a banana. Bananas are good.
I've also been reading.... I just finished Larklight by Philip Reeve which was really good! I wasn't planning on doing a review unless someone wants me to.
And oh oh oh! I FINALLY finished the Two Towers chapter I have been reading for the past two months!
NaNoWriMo is also going well.... I'm at 28,375 words. Here is a little snippet for you:
“Are you going to stand there and collect water or are you going to come aboard?” a friendly all-American voice called from the top of the stairwell leading into the plane. Daniel and Varina exchanged a glance and then hurried up the stairs. Two towels were waiting for them at the top.
“This is an airplane, not a lake,” explained the man. He was handsome with brown hair, swoon-worthy bright blue eyes and a broad smile filled with perfect, shining teeth.
“Thanks for the towels,” Varina was saying when suddenly her face flooded with recognition and she moaned, “Oh no….”
“I take it you know who I am,” said the man, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth and a smile playing around his lips.
“No no no,” said Varina. “I refuse to go anywhere with you as our pilot! Let me off this plane right now!”
Varina turned around and tried to push her way past Daniel but, thin as he was, he blocked the door.
“Hold on Webb, who is this man? Why can’t we fly with him?” Daniel asked.
“You don’t know who he is?” Varina asked incredulously.
Daniel shrugged. “I’ve never seen him in my life.”
“He’s Tony Leslie!” Varina spouted, as if by name alone Daniel would be able to decipher who their pilot was.
“Who is Tony Leslie?” Daniel asked, his face blank.
“You haven’t heard of me in the UK?” Tony Leslie said to Daniel, his face assuming a crushed look.
“I don’t know… Maybe we have,” Daniel shrugged. “I wouldn’t know because no one will tell me who you are!”
“He’s a stunt pilot!” Varina said.
“Not just a stunt pilot, but the best stunt pilot in the United States. No, in the world! Dare I say; the universe!” Tony Leslie smiled gallantly.
“I’ve seen his stunts on TV,” Varina said. “He purposefully puts his life in danger and does these outlandish tricks… I won’t fly with a stunt pilot!”
“This is an airplane, not a lake,” explained the man. He was handsome with brown hair, swoon-worthy bright blue eyes and a broad smile filled with perfect, shining teeth.
“Thanks for the towels,” Varina was saying when suddenly her face flooded with recognition and she moaned, “Oh no….”
“I take it you know who I am,” said the man, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth and a smile playing around his lips.
“No no no,” said Varina. “I refuse to go anywhere with you as our pilot! Let me off this plane right now!”
Varina turned around and tried to push her way past Daniel but, thin as he was, he blocked the door.
“Hold on Webb, who is this man? Why can’t we fly with him?” Daniel asked.
“You don’t know who he is?” Varina asked incredulously.
Daniel shrugged. “I’ve never seen him in my life.”
“He’s Tony Leslie!” Varina spouted, as if by name alone Daniel would be able to decipher who their pilot was.
“Who is Tony Leslie?” Daniel asked, his face blank.
“You haven’t heard of me in the UK?” Tony Leslie said to Daniel, his face assuming a crushed look.
“I don’t know… Maybe we have,” Daniel shrugged. “I wouldn’t know because no one will tell me who you are!”
“He’s a stunt pilot!” Varina said.
“Not just a stunt pilot, but the best stunt pilot in the United States. No, in the world! Dare I say; the universe!” Tony Leslie smiled gallantly.
“I’ve seen his stunts on TV,” Varina said. “He purposefully puts his life in danger and does these outlandish tricks… I won’t fly with a stunt pilot!”
Don't get too attached to Tony Leslie (who looks like Captain Jack Harkness and is named after Tony Curtis who played the character The Great Leslie is one of my favorite movies). Just sayin'.
Friday, November 2, 2012
NaNoWriMo: Day 2.
My word count for today in 3,144 words... I only got about 1,000 words written today. I hope to get at least 2,000 if not 3 written tomorrow.
Today was a veeery long day. Starting with schoolwork, and then to my friend's house for literature class and then to choir, which is from 2:45-4:45. Then back to drop my friends off... Then we had to run to a number of stores. We didn't get home until about 7:40. Then was a science experiment and dinner.... So I didn't start writing until 8.
Tomorrow I will have the morning to write. Then I'm going to church until four... Then some more writing. Then saxophone lessons. Then home again. And then? DOCTOR WHO! A double episode about the Daleks... They just don't die, do they? The evil things... And the poor Doctor just loses everything to them.
By the way... Did you guys hear that Disney bought Lucasfilm (and Star Wars) from George Lucas? I am very angry at this. Perhaps I will talk more about it when I'm more awake....
Snow White and the Seven Jawas....
Live long and prosper.
Today was a veeery long day. Starting with schoolwork, and then to my friend's house for literature class and then to choir, which is from 2:45-4:45. Then back to drop my friends off... Then we had to run to a number of stores. We didn't get home until about 7:40. Then was a science experiment and dinner.... So I didn't start writing until 8.
Tomorrow I will have the morning to write. Then I'm going to church until four... Then some more writing. Then saxophone lessons. Then home again. And then? DOCTOR WHO! A double episode about the Daleks... They just don't die, do they? The evil things... And the poor Doctor just loses everything to them.
By the way... Did you guys hear that Disney bought Lucasfilm (and Star Wars) from George Lucas? I am very angry at this. Perhaps I will talk more about it when I'm more awake....
Snow White and the Seven Jawas....
Live long and prosper.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The madness begins!
Day one of NaNoWriMo... I was nervous all day, the novel and it's plot in the back of my mind all day. Finally it came time to open the document and start the novel.... The first few words which had been spinning in my head for the past number of days.... Finally, on paper!
It was a cold, crisp night in October.
Mwahahaha....
Final word count for day #1?
2,101.
I call that a success. Even though it is now 11:30 and my mother desperately wants me to go to bed.
Thus far I have murdered someone and made someone else late for their plane.
We shall see how tomorrow goes!
I must say, however... I have already procrastinated. My dad showed me a forum on BoardGameGeek.com full of funny Doctor Who pictures.
When I came across the following, I determined that it must be a sign and that I should get back to work:
How about you all, how is NaNoWriMo coming for you?
Live long and prosper!
It was a cold, crisp night in October.
Mwahahaha....
Final word count for day #1?
2,101.
I call that a success. Even though it is now 11:30 and my mother desperately wants me to go to bed.
Thus far I have murdered someone and made someone else late for their plane.
We shall see how tomorrow goes!
I must say, however... I have already procrastinated. My dad showed me a forum on BoardGameGeek.com full of funny Doctor Who pictures.
When I came across the following, I determined that it must be a sign and that I should get back to work:
How about you all, how is NaNoWriMo coming for you?
Live long and prosper!
Friday, October 26, 2012
My decision accompanied by lots of screaming.
*drumroll*
I am doing NaNoWriMo.
*takes deep breath*
Yes.
I am doing it.
MWAHAHAAA.
Last night I was brainstorming with my parents about my plot and I was saying something like, "IF I do NaNoWriMo..." and my mom interrupted and said, "Oh come on, you KNOW you are going to do it."
And so I pretty much caved.
I think I've known in my hearts of hearts for a week or two now that I will be doing NaNoWriMo. I just didn't feel up to admitting it. I still don't actually. My brain is screaming, "ABBEY: GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! YOU ARE TOOOOO BUSY!!" But my inner writer was arguing back.... So now it seems like it's won.
I am doing NaNoWriMo.
And now I'm panicking.
FIVE DAYS AND ONE HOUR UNTIL NANOWRIMO! MY PLOT IS IN SHAMBLES! ONE OF MY MAIN CHARACTER'S DOES NOT HAVE A PAST! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
At least my bad guy sort of has a motive? I know what everyone is after.... But... but... I have to do research! On rhinestones none the less! AHHHHHHH!!! Not enough time!!
Brain. On. Overload.
Like I don't have enough to think about anyway.... I'm gonna be up all night. Sigh. My brain already keeps me up thinking too late!!
One good thing: Most of my characters have names! My two main characters... their friend.... My female main character's family.... But..... but.... I need names for their boss! And the evil minions! AHHHHH!!!
Ok... Get a hold of yourself Abbey. Pull yourself together. It's only 50,000 words in a month.... AHHHHHH!!! Ok maybe not 50,000.... 40,000? 30,000? We'll see how far that gets me.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Live long.... and... prosper...?
*faints*
I am doing NaNoWriMo.
*takes deep breath*
Yes.
I am doing it.
MWAHAHAAA.
Last night I was brainstorming with my parents about my plot and I was saying something like, "IF I do NaNoWriMo..." and my mom interrupted and said, "Oh come on, you KNOW you are going to do it."
And so I pretty much caved.
I think I've known in my hearts of hearts for a week or two now that I will be doing NaNoWriMo. I just didn't feel up to admitting it. I still don't actually. My brain is screaming, "ABBEY: GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! YOU ARE TOOOOO BUSY!!" But my inner writer was arguing back.... So now it seems like it's won.
I am doing NaNoWriMo.
And now I'm panicking.
FIVE DAYS AND ONE HOUR UNTIL NANOWRIMO! MY PLOT IS IN SHAMBLES! ONE OF MY MAIN CHARACTER'S DOES NOT HAVE A PAST! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
At least my bad guy sort of has a motive? I know what everyone is after.... But... but... I have to do research! On rhinestones none the less! AHHHHHHH!!! Not enough time!!
Brain. On. Overload.
Like I don't have enough to think about anyway.... I'm gonna be up all night. Sigh. My brain already keeps me up thinking too late!!
One good thing: Most of my characters have names! My two main characters... their friend.... My female main character's family.... But..... but.... I need names for their boss! And the evil minions! AHHHHH!!!
Ok... Get a hold of yourself Abbey. Pull yourself together. It's only 50,000 words in a month.... AHHHHHH!!! Ok maybe not 50,000.... 40,000? 30,000? We'll see how far that gets me.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Live long.... and... prosper...?
*faints*
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