Inspired by EmilieOfNewGloom's Letters to July and the also popular Document Your Life project, I've decided that after a year of doing favorite things videos every month I'd instead try making a video-letter to the month that has just past.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Day #9070 - Onward!
Hey, you little blog of mine. Hey, you awesome readers. I've been neglecting you. Again. And I'm sorry, so here is me trying to make up for some lost time.
The last few weeks and months have been crazy for a lot reasons and in a lot of ways, most of which I am not going to share with Internet because A) not relevant and B) boundaries, people! What I can say is that at least the juices have been flowing when it comes to story ideas. Some of this has been great for output over on Stories by SaM, but a war was waging in my head between two bigger concepts that I've had for a while.
Unable to figure out which to pursue, I thought that especially since it's summer I could be ambitious and try both. What resulted was two outlines: one took me almost a week to get out, but I was less sure it was really right with each passing day. The second one I churned out in less than a day. It was six pages long and that wasn't even getting into detail. This goes along with the lists of characters I've had brewing along with a map I drew up.
Yeah, you heard me. A map. This is serious.
Needless to say, I'm going to give this story my full attention with the other one going into the proverbial drawer along with the others I've had over the years.
Now is the hard part: the actual writing it. I love and hate this part, which is pretty normal for writers. Having an outline and lists and maps is great, but I'm only a writer if I'm actually writing. So wish me luck as I venture into this one. It's a genre I've never considered writing before and an idea I never would have thought could have come out of my brain, but that fact excites me more than it scares me, which I hope is good.
Also on the calendar is the ALA Conference in Chicago Thursday thru Monday - if you will be there, let me know! I'd love to meet people =)
The last few weeks and months have been crazy for a lot reasons and in a lot of ways, most of which I am not going to share with Internet because A) not relevant and B) boundaries, people! What I can say is that at least the juices have been flowing when it comes to story ideas. Some of this has been great for output over on Stories by SaM, but a war was waging in my head between two bigger concepts that I've had for a while.
Unable to figure out which to pursue, I thought that especially since it's summer I could be ambitious and try both. What resulted was two outlines: one took me almost a week to get out, but I was less sure it was really right with each passing day. The second one I churned out in less than a day. It was six pages long and that wasn't even getting into detail. This goes along with the lists of characters I've had brewing along with a map I drew up.
Yeah, you heard me. A map. This is serious.
Needless to say, I'm going to give this story my full attention with the other one going into the proverbial drawer along with the others I've had over the years.
Now is the hard part: the actual writing it. I love and hate this part, which is pretty normal for writers. Having an outline and lists and maps is great, but I'm only a writer if I'm actually writing. So wish me luck as I venture into this one. It's a genre I've never considered writing before and an idea I never would have thought could have come out of my brain, but that fact excites me more than it scares me, which I hope is good.
Also on the calendar is the ALA Conference in Chicago Thursday thru Monday - if you will be there, let me know! I'd love to meet people =)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Day #9040 - RIP Eckert
A few weeks ago, I threw a funeral for my Halloween pumpkin, Eckert. Literally threw.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Day #9025 - Let's Go Fly a Kite
This past Easter, my grandmother gave my three young cousin kites. Even though it was freezing, there was a good breeze going so us older grandkids (we'll always be in the kids category even most of us are in our 20s) took them outside and taught the youngins how to fly a kite. I brought my camera and here's what happened.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Day #9020 - Using My Words
Life keeps drumming along, and I'm equal parts happy and sad that I've been busy and haven't had quite as much time to write about it here. Happy because it means I'm doing other things, sad because I like documenting what's going on for fear that I will forget far too soon.
Now that the play I was an assistant director for at the high school is now over, my evenings have once again opened up. This includes going back to the gym (or at least thinking about it), writing, and author events. For the first time in what feels like forever, my writing has been making progress. Though it saddens me to put my fairy tale inspired project back on hold - it's simply not ready for me yet - this sci-fi thing makes me excited and I've had fun playing around with it and doing some world building. It now has its own composition notebook where I can keep all my thoughts together and I'm hoping to do some more outlining this weekend so more actual writing can happen very soon.
But unlike past projects, I don't want to do too much too fast. I think that's been my problem - I try to get ALL THE IDEAS down ALL AT ONCE and then I get into lulls. Luckily, thanks to the author event I went to at Andeson's this week, I think I've learned how to stop doing that.
Thursday night I headed to Naperville and got to meet the lovely Lenore Appelhans (Level 2, being rereleased as The Memory of After), Lauren Morrill (Meant to Be), and Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall, The Delirium Trilogy). They were all insightful, wonderful, and fantastic and it was a great little trip in the middle of the week because I haven't been to a signing in ages. I've written a review of Meant to Be over on my book review blog and if you love Shakespeare, England, and love stories with quirky nerdy girls, then this is the book for you! As for Level 2, I have it on my Nook and can't wait to jump into this action packed tale of the afterlife.
But back to the writing part. Lauren Oliver's writing method was what struck me perhaps the most: she's currently working on three books at the same time, and she says she is able to do this 1) because she has no other hobbies so she rewards herself on a good day of writing with more writing and 2) because unlike other writers I know/have heard of who set a minimum word count for the day, she sets a limit. If she's working on one book, she'll go for 1000-1500 words a day. If she's doing two books, she'll do 750 words in one, then 500 in the other. If it's like now when she's doing three, she writes less in two and is copy editing the third.
As soon as I heard this, it was like a light went off in my head - how brilliant, right? She says that way, she's not binging on words. Even if she's in the middle of a scene and wants to keep going, she knows she'll still feel that way tomorrow and it actually makes it easier to jump back in and keep momentum. Needless to say I love this and will be trying this out in my own life.
Another writing announcement I have is that my critique partner and I have started a short story blog as a means of helping us practice skills and play with new ideas. The site is called Stories by SaM and you can check it out at http://stayradish.wordpress.com. Since May is Short Story Month, we're each taking turns writing a story a day following the daily prompt posted on StoryADay.org. We're doing this blog style so we can get comments and feedback from people, so please don't be shy!
And that, dear Internet, is what's been going on lately. For the most part. Well, it's as much as I'm willing to share with the PUBLIC for now. And since I forgot to post this last week, here's my April favorites video for you all to enjoy!
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend =)
Now that the play I was an assistant director for at the high school is now over, my evenings have once again opened up. This includes going back to the gym (or at least thinking about it), writing, and author events. For the first time in what feels like forever, my writing has been making progress. Though it saddens me to put my fairy tale inspired project back on hold - it's simply not ready for me yet - this sci-fi thing makes me excited and I've had fun playing around with it and doing some world building. It now has its own composition notebook where I can keep all my thoughts together and I'm hoping to do some more outlining this weekend so more actual writing can happen very soon.
But unlike past projects, I don't want to do too much too fast. I think that's been my problem - I try to get ALL THE IDEAS down ALL AT ONCE and then I get into lulls. Luckily, thanks to the author event I went to at Andeson's this week, I think I've learned how to stop doing that.
 |
| Lauren Morrill, me, & Lenore Applehans |
 |
| Me & Lauren Oliver |
As soon as I heard this, it was like a light went off in my head - how brilliant, right? She says that way, she's not binging on words. Even if she's in the middle of a scene and wants to keep going, she knows she'll still feel that way tomorrow and it actually makes it easier to jump back in and keep momentum. Needless to say I love this and will be trying this out in my own life.
Another writing announcement I have is that my critique partner and I have started a short story blog as a means of helping us practice skills and play with new ideas. The site is called Stories by SaM and you can check it out at http://stayradish.wordpress.com. Since May is Short Story Month, we're each taking turns writing a story a day following the daily prompt posted on StoryADay.org. We're doing this blog style so we can get comments and feedback from people, so please don't be shy!
And that, dear Internet, is what's been going on lately. For the most part. Well, it's as much as I'm willing to share with the PUBLIC for now. And since I forgot to post this last week, here's my April favorites video for you all to enjoy!
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend =)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Day #9011 - Just Jump In, Already!
When I'm feeling stuck with my writing, I like to read about writing and seek out as much advice as I can on how to make it work.
Needless to say, I do a lot more reading about writing than actual writing these days. And it comes down to one simple reason: I'm terrified. I've had very little success on this journey in the grand scheme of things, and I do so much dreaming and have so many ideas but then when I do have time to face the page, everything comes out all wrong and awful and it SUCKS.
But enough of that crap. I'm sick of being scared, so I'm taking to my writing in the same way I've had to take on other aspects of my life in the last few months: just jump on in and hope to God I figure something out along the way.
It's actually all thanks to the authors I've been lucky enough to meet. Meg Cabot signed a book for me along with a card stating that I'm the world's best librarian and suggested to start small - make it your goal to write at least one page a day and if you do that, you'll have a 60,000/200 page manuscript in 6 months, maybe less. I met my critique partner at a Maggie Stiefvater signing where the author gave the advice to write the story you've always wanted to read but haven't found on a bookshelf.
But really, the debut authors are the ones who have gotten my butt in gear. I look at my signed copy of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and remember how excited she was to be on her first tour for her first book, how cool she was and supportive and how I left believing in myself. I remember Jen Bosworth, author of Struck, who had an idea that maybe others thought was wacky but she went with it and it was incredible. And they were both so nice to me, and it meant the world.
Which is why I finally feel ready to face my latest idea. There have been two ideas duking it out in my head for the last few months while I've been terrified. One is fun, contemporary, so completely me (or at least who I've always thought writing-me is/would be) and I started writing it last summer, got 100 pages in, got stuck, recently reread it and figured out what I need to change, except I still can't get it to work the way I want it to. I mean, I know first drafts are supposed to be shitty, but I can't even get enough to work on the page to even approach shitty.
All the while, there's been this other idea that is just so not me. It's science fiction-y, dystopian-but-not, delves into a lot of social and political issues and I can't believe this idea ever came out of me. I mean, this idea is so BIG and it terrifies me because I want to do it justice. I love that this weirdness came out of me, but can I make it work? I think this could be something different, special, or maybe just completely crazy. And I want to see where it goes, so I'm just going to jump in already and let that other idea incubate for a little while longer. I have no doubt it could work someday, it just needs more time to simmer. In the meantime, I have this THING that is just SO WEIRD that I need to see where it goes.
After all, if Leigh can turn the Darkness into a villain in a world with beauty and magic and passion and all the feels and Jen can have a girl who's addicted to getting struck by lightning stuck in a battle between two warring religious cults in the middle of the apocalypse, maybe my idea isn't so crazy. Maybe it would be right at home with these other ones and this is me finally finding a voice that will be heard.
So, on the count of three. 1...2...God help me 3!
Needless to say, I do a lot more reading about writing than actual writing these days. And it comes down to one simple reason: I'm terrified. I've had very little success on this journey in the grand scheme of things, and I do so much dreaming and have so many ideas but then when I do have time to face the page, everything comes out all wrong and awful and it SUCKS.
But enough of that crap. I'm sick of being scared, so I'm taking to my writing in the same way I've had to take on other aspects of my life in the last few months: just jump on in and hope to God I figure something out along the way.
It's actually all thanks to the authors I've been lucky enough to meet. Meg Cabot signed a book for me along with a card stating that I'm the world's best librarian and suggested to start small - make it your goal to write at least one page a day and if you do that, you'll have a 60,000/200 page manuscript in 6 months, maybe less. I met my critique partner at a Maggie Stiefvater signing where the author gave the advice to write the story you've always wanted to read but haven't found on a bookshelf.
But really, the debut authors are the ones who have gotten my butt in gear. I look at my signed copy of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and remember how excited she was to be on her first tour for her first book, how cool she was and supportive and how I left believing in myself. I remember Jen Bosworth, author of Struck, who had an idea that maybe others thought was wacky but she went with it and it was incredible. And they were both so nice to me, and it meant the world.
Which is why I finally feel ready to face my latest idea. There have been two ideas duking it out in my head for the last few months while I've been terrified. One is fun, contemporary, so completely me (or at least who I've always thought writing-me is/would be) and I started writing it last summer, got 100 pages in, got stuck, recently reread it and figured out what I need to change, except I still can't get it to work the way I want it to. I mean, I know first drafts are supposed to be shitty, but I can't even get enough to work on the page to even approach shitty.
All the while, there's been this other idea that is just so not me. It's science fiction-y, dystopian-but-not, delves into a lot of social and political issues and I can't believe this idea ever came out of me. I mean, this idea is so BIG and it terrifies me because I want to do it justice. I love that this weirdness came out of me, but can I make it work? I think this could be something different, special, or maybe just completely crazy. And I want to see where it goes, so I'm just going to jump in already and let that other idea incubate for a little while longer. I have no doubt it could work someday, it just needs more time to simmer. In the meantime, I have this THING that is just SO WEIRD that I need to see where it goes.
After all, if Leigh can turn the Darkness into a villain in a world with beauty and magic and passion and all the feels and Jen can have a girl who's addicted to getting struck by lightning stuck in a battle between two warring religious cults in the middle of the apocalypse, maybe my idea isn't so crazy. Maybe it would be right at home with these other ones and this is me finally finding a voice that will be heard.
So, on the count of three. 1...2...God help me 3!
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