Writing Update! NaNo & More

Oh, disappeared there for a while. Been working hard on the first draft of Knight. I'm seven chapters (give or take) away from the end of the first draft. My goal is to finish by December 9th, because then life gets hectic as I head to NJ for the holidays and I don't want to potentially leave two or three chapters unwritten for a month.

So, I won NaNo! Sort of, I mean, by there definition maybe not so much, since it was not a brand new idea that I started and completed in 50,000 words. But I did write 50,000 words, most for Knight. But I also started planning the next book I want to work on, as well as Book 2 in the Mist Walkers series. And I also wrote a bunch of little snippets from future books, new story ideas, just for fun, etc.

It was a great experience, especially having my writing buddy to act as cheerleader while she worked on her own NaNo (she also won!).

That's basically what I've been working on, that and eagerly awaiting new episodes of One Piece and Once Upon a Time.

It's so great to see the Strawhats all back together again! Just goes to show how great a writer Oda is (in my opinion), where for 2 years (literally and in the story), we were exclusively following Luffy and only got a handful of scenes to update us on the other characters! Now, I started watching One Piece over the summer, so I didn't actually have a two year wait to see the reunion, and you can bet there were several arcs, the Marineford arc the most recent, that my boy and I watched in marathon runs over several weekends. I was actually the one making us slow down during the Marine/Whitebeard war since I knew we'd soon catch up to the real schedule! And man, does it hurt having to wait a week for one new episode when you're used to sitting down a watching eight episodes over a weekend. Ouch!

Luckily, Castle has picked up it's pace and is back to be the wonderful show it is! I wasn't completely upset with the opening episodes to the season, they were just soo dark, and there were several scenes I knew I was giggling at that I wasn't supposed to, and I just wanted to see classic Castle goodness. Surprisingly, one of the last episodes I've seen was a dramatic one, and wow! Amazing! The way they shot it was perfect. So I know Castle can do great dramatic episodes, I just don't want that to be dragging over several episodes at a time. Castle, at its heart, is comedy first. Maybe that's just me.

Also, Once Upon a Time has been so much fun. I forget the name of the actor playing Rumplestiltskin - and am too lazy to check right now - but he is fantastic! Creepy, and mysterious, and a little crazy, just awesome. And it's been a lot of fun seeing new character unveiled, and getting fairy tale backstories. I'm not sure how it will last more than one season, but that's something to worry about later. Right now it's fun just watching things unfold.

And now that I've talked more about TV than writing, I'm jumping into the next chapter. I would love to finish three today, but I'll be happy with two. I've been stewing on them all week!

NaNoWriMo Update!

So, I've fallen a little behind with my NaNo word count. It happened on Friday that we went out and ended up meeting up with some friends, and then continuing the small party in our apartment (and by party, I mean we bought a bunch of candy to chow down on and played Mario Kart). It was a very fun time, but it meant I didn't write a single word.

To make matter worse, Saturday was a "down day." You know the type - where every word you write is the worst word in the whole world, and every sentence is terrible, and why did I ever think anyone would find my idea interesting? So I wrote what I could because not only was I behind on NaNo but I also had a chapter due to my writing buddy the next day. Then I played some Final Fantasy X-2.

But Sunday, wow, did I make up for it. I wrote almost 5,000 words, which I think is pretty good, considering the most I normally write a day (during NaNo) is 2,000. And now I'm still a little behind, but it's no longer by an overwhelming amount.

For all of you participating in NaNo, I hope you're still on schedule! And if you're not, well, maybe you'll have a Sunday like I did.

One thing I did do on Saturday was start drawing very silly pictures of my characters. They're very silly, rough pictures, and I gathered them all together so you can see them below. If I ever make any more detailed ones, I'll post them too. (I am not an artist, by the way, but I do find silly drawings like this fun, helpful, and relaxing)

Do you ever draw your characters? Let me know!

NaNoWriMo Update!

Well it's Day 2 of this year's NaNoWriMo!

I'm happy to say that I'm on schedule. I've come up with my own little system to see me through this challenge. Basically, I split the work into three, 600 word parts for each day. After I reach 600 words I take a little break - watch an episode of my latest Korean Drama Boys Over Flowers, or play some Final Fantasy X-2 (so many things about this game that are just wrong, but I love the leveling system), or read from the latest book I'm tackling (focused on Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman).

I am surprised to find that I'm jumping around a lot more than I expected to, and not in what story I'm writing. I initially planned to use NaNoWriMo to speed up how I was writing my next major book, Knight, start mapping a completely different type of book, a YA post-apocalyptic piece tentatively titled The Wandering Shadow, and work on a short story idea. I figured I'd probably use each section to work on each project, but instead I've mostly been devoting it to Knight.


However, I've been jumping around Knight, writing snippets of scenes for later chapter, or even later books (Knight is the first book in a three of four book series). Just before starting this post I wrote the last scene for book three. Luckily, between yesterday and today I've also worked on the next two chapters that I need to actually write, so I'm not that worried. It's just I've been working hard at keeping myself focused on the first book of my series. In high school and undergrad I remember starting so many books that were going to be the first of an epic series. I'd burn myself out trying to juggle so many ideas. It wasn't until I sat down to write The Eternal Queen, a stand-alone novel, that I finally completed a book and not a short story.

Do you ever find yourself doing that?

But it is my dream to write a few series, starting with Mist Walkers, of which Knight is Book One. I want to see how I grow characters when they have several books to experience things and struggle through the ups and downs of living in a world surrounded by a suffocating fog concealing Monsters and Dragons. And treasures, if you know where to look, as Gaspar would say.

To everyone participating in NaNoWriMo, how are you doing? Are you on schedule? Don't worry if you're not, you have time to make up for a slow start, and most of all, it's all about having fun and writing.

Life is Random

Random Update 1:

NaNoWriMo is literally just around the corner, or the midnight bell toll. I don't think I'll be able to last until midnight for the hour-long Kick-Off Party, but for anyone that manages it, power to you! You rock.

Random Update 2:

I think I'm going to hammer out a regular sort of posting schedule. A lot of great bloggers I follow have a schedule, and it totally seems to work.

Random Update 3:

I got new glasses recently. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm very picky about my glasses. I'm also very nervous that I'll pick something I think I like, and hate a week later. It leads to something like this.

Writing Update: Developing Characters, The Misleading Concept of 'Good vs. Bad Traits'

I think I've posted more about reading and TV than actual writing, which is rather sad. So here's something about writing!

I've been thinking a lot about character development. Probably because I've started a new book, so naturally I'm creating new characters to fill the world. But as I talked over some Tex-Mex Egg Rolls with my boyfriend about the motivations and personalities of some of my characters, it eventually turned into a discussion of why we love certain characters over others, or, why some characters feel more developed (real) than others.

For a long time as a writer I always gravitated towards this concept that a character, in order to be fully developed, needs good and bad traits. But I think that's misleading. It's not that a characters needs good and bad traits, it's that a character's traits need to be fully embraced. This is an idea I'm much better at rambling about out loud than on the page, oddly enough, but let's see if I can explain:

It's not that a character is both lazy and loyal. Those two characteristics are not the character. It's that those two characteristics can be words used to describe the actions/thoughts/etc. of the character. And both traits are rounded in their own ways – lazy is often thought of as a bad trait, and loyalty a good trait, but both traits have their own spectrum of “good and bad.”

A loyal person can be someone who always sticks up for a friend. But they can also be someone who too stubborn to recognize that being loyal doesn't mean mindlessly following and agreeing with everything that a friend says/does/believes, etc. Good and bad, and much more. Good and bad are just a part of the full spectrum.

I feel like a lot of writers (and I've done this as well), feel like traits need to be divided. A “good” character gets the “good” half of loyalty, while a “bad character” gets the “bad” half of loyalty. And it's when writers do that, that a character falls flat.

Let me see if I can show some examples, both literary and not, to help expand on my thoughts.

JK Rowling's Ron Weasley is a character who is both lazy and loyal. He's also short-tempered and funny, impulsive and caring, envious and strategic, and more. These traits are not who he is. He is a person with the whole spectrum of those traits feeding his personality and making him logically react certain ways in a situation.

When Draco Malfoy calls Hermione Granger a Mudblood, his impulsiveness, loyalty, short-temperedness, and caring all made him immediately jump into fight mode.

Just because Ron's loyal, doesn't mean that he always sticks by the decisions his friends make.

4^th Year, and during the 7^th book's Horcrux hunt being some big examples.

And just because he left his friends during those moments doesn't mean, at those times, he wasn't a “loyal” person.

Sorry if that was a spoiler.

His impulsiveness made it so he sometimes never thought before acting, and made him quick to jump into fights, but it also fed into his strategic thinking and made him passionate. Being impulsive will lead you to doing “good” and “bad” things.

It's really all how we writers look at our characters, I think. We, more than anyone else, should be looking at them as if the traits are describing a person vs. defining them.

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the anime One Piece, is probably the greatest person I have ever seen at creating characters that always feel more than just the traits you could describe them as.

His character Luffy is rude, short-tempered, and violent. But the same traits that make him that also make him passionate and inspiring. The Straw Hats pirates, and Luffy especially, ALWAYS inspire me, and they're always growing as characters, taking those initial defining traits and naturally developing as they experience new events that test them as both individual people and a crew.

And no Straw Hat has developed more than Usopp.

Self-defined as a liar, coward, and weak fighter (obvious self-confidence and worth issues feed into these thoughts), Usopp can't see what we the audience (and the other Straw Hats) already know. Usopp may be cowardly, but that only means he runs from danger long enough to work out a plan. And while he may be scared, he never lets that part of himself get in the way of his devotion to his friends. He may be weak, but only physically – Usopp's genius and inventions and long-range sniper abilities has time and again saved the crew. He may be a liar, but it means that he is a great story-teller who often inspires his crew during tough moments. He's not one half of anything, he's everything these traits could make a person, and more. And as they've experienced one harrowing fight after another, Usopp's traits have evolved naturally as he's grown as a person, and the greatest hurdle he needed to overcome – his low self-worth – culminated in one of the most tear-jerking confrontations and character growth moments in the show.

And that's saying a lot, considering how chock-full of moments like that One Piece is.

If you ever find yourself saying,

“My character is too perfect, I need to give them faults,”

Then I don't think you've created a character with traits – you've shoved traits together in an attempt to make a character, and most likely you've cut those traits in half.

'Don't cut traits in half,' is my new mantra.

If I've got a character I would describe as stubborn, I'm going to look at that trait from every angle when my character is making a decision, or saying a line, or deciding what they think about another person. And then I'll probably watch One Piece, or read a well-loved book, to remind myself that a character is so much more than a line of adjectives.

What do you think is the best way of developing a character? Did my rambling about traits make sense? Let me know in the comments!

National Novel Writing Month

We're so close to November, and you know what that means - National Novel Writing Month.

I've tried to participate in NaNoWriMo several times, and I failed several time. It was always one thing or another - November is a busy month, especially when you're in undergrad. However, in 2009 I competed with two writing buddies and we all finished! It was actually perfect timing, since I had been stewing on the Eternal Queen for half a year (at that time I was calling it The Red Queen), had just graduated from school into unemployment, and just moved to Chicago. So it was a great time for fresh starts.

Naturally, I've been editing the Eternal Queen off and on since, finally finishing edits (well, you never really finish edits) and now I'm querying. But, this year I think I'm going to try NaNoWriMo again for my new book, Knight: Book One in the Mist Walkers series. Or I'll try it just to have a guaranteed word count per day to shoot for, haha.

I've got at least one writing buddy already lined up to compete as well, and a wonderful support group of friends and family. And a boyfriend who will shake his head disapprovingly if I try to weasel my way out my word counts, -_-. Nothing like the threat of a STARE OF DOOM to keep your fingers on the keyboard.

To anyone thinking of participating, good luck! And, if NaNoWriMo ever finishes the writing buddies feature, I'll post my sn on the right sidebar (at the very top) and you should add me! I've literally found that writing becomes a lot more fun and productive when you've got a writing buddy to toss ideas with and to act as a cheerleader.

TV Review: ABC's Once Upon a Time

I've realized that I'm not very 'official' with my blog. So I feel like I should first start off with a bit of an apology - I do try to make sure I've caught any grammar/spelling mistakes, but I'm sure I'm not very good at it  -_- . But I try my best.

Anyway! That's not the point of this post. This post is about ABC's new show, 'Once Upon a Time'. I was tentatively excited when I heard about this show, because I LOVE fractured fairy tales. My first novel (currently querying for an agent), is a dark, subverted, very loose re-telling of Red Riding Hood.

'Once Upon a Time' stars Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan (Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter), Laura Parrilla as the Evil Step-Mother/Regina Mills, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard, Joshua Dallas as Prince Charming/John Doe, & Jared Gilmore as Henry, Emma's son given up for adoption ten years ago. And many more...

It aired last night (Sunday October 23) at 7:00pm central time, not that I watched it then. I watch everything on Hulu since I don't have TV.

I guess what I'm going to do is split this review up in a couple of different sections, because that's how I review things in my head.

EXPECTATIONS:
As mentioned above, I was tentatively excited about this. The concept was something I immediately loved, especially since I was so disappointed when the quirky, fairy-tale-like 'Pushing Daisies' was cancelled. However, anything shooting to have so many quirks, switch between a fairy tale world, graphics, etc. has high potential to crash and burn and fail with the crowd (and be cancelled because of that). The writing for something like this, in my humble opinion, needs to be flexible and willing to take the idea and go all the way with it. It should be a little dark, a lot of quirky, and yet balanced. I'm not sure how else to explain my fears, so let's move on...

FIRST THOUGHTS:
I finished the episode and just... smiled. I was SO happy that it had met, and exceeded, my expectations. I love Morrison as Emma. She feels like a real person, and that someone like her would react the way they did if their 10-year-old child (put up for adoption) suddenly appeared on their doorstep on the night of their 28th birthday.

Jared Gilmore plays young Henry with just the right mix of child-like innocence & precocious wit. I'm... not very fond of kids (or every character in a show) talking back and forth with these witty one-liners that build on top of each other, unless it's done with a level of humor, or the show itself is so quirky that you'd expect them to speak like that (once again, Pushing Daisies).

The fairy tale characters were fun to watch, in both the fairy tale world flashbacks, and picking them out (if possible) in the real world of Storybrooke. The fairy tale world flashbacks were a little cheesy, but I still loved them. However, this episode really builds up Emma and Henry, more than any of the others, because the fairy tale characters are a little flat to start out. They act like you'd expect them to act in the flashbacks, and they're only just being developed in their real-world counterparts.

WHAT I LOVED:
Morrison's performance as Emma, Gilmore's performance as Henry, and switching between the two story lines/worlds. Whatever budget they've been given for the fairy tale world, wow, I think they're really done great things with it.

WHAT I DISLIKED:
Nothing really, at least not right now.

WHAT I'M A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT:
Naturally, how the fairy tale characters will be developed in their real-world counterparts. I want to see them do unexpected things with the characters and concepts.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you can't tell, I really liked the pilot. I'm looking forward to the second episode, a lot, and I hope it only gets better. And that it doesn't get cancelled, haha.

If you're on the fence about watching it, I think you should give it a chance. You might be just as pleasantly surprised as I was.

October 2011 Read-A-Thon Summary

Well, I lasted 14 hours or so. Last night a friend came over that we haven't seen in a while, and then I had a drink (when I knew I shouldn't, if I'm not in the mood to really drink than normally one drink is enough to guarantee I go to bed early, haha), so by 10:30 I called it quits and we just talked and watched Commando with Arnold. Personally, I think it's his best movie, haha. If you liked Arnold movies and have not seen Commando, do yourself a favor, grab some friends and popcorn and watch that flick right now! Go, no, don't even worry about the rest of the post, it will still be here.

Anyway...

The Read-A-Thon was a GREAT experience though, and I look forward to the next one. I'll definitely be a little more prepared, and if anyone comes over I'll barricade myself in the bedroom with my books!

To sum up what I got through:
1. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
2. Mogworld - Yahtzee Croshaw(the second half; read the first half a couple of days ago)
3. Still Missing - Chevy Stevens
4. Several short stories by Kelly Link, and one short story by Haruki Murakami

First two parts of Hunters, Herders and Hamburgers by Richard Bulliet, and the first section of the Aeneid by Virgil. I slowed down a bit by the end, since those last three books aren't my normal reading material. It was, however, a nice break from the YA fiction I've been reading. I've read a fiction book by Bulliet (Kicked in the Head by a Camel), and I was pleased to find his voice works just as well in non-fiction (his typical field). The Aeneid kept tripping me up - I know the gods and goddesses much more by their Greek counterparts, haha, so I kept doing mental translations in my head. And Chevy Steven's Still Missing is a book I'll talk about in my next post, definitely.

As for Link and Murakami's short stories - LOVED them as always. Even when I feel the message went over my head, haha.

To everyone who participated and cheered on others, it was great! Let's do it again some time.

Read-A-Thon Update, 1pm-8pm(ish)

For some reasons these last few hours have felt longer, but probably because I'm jumping between three books - all genres I don't normally read. Unlike Mogworld and Artemis Fowl, which felt quick, these are a bit tougher.

I'm jumping between Richard Bulliet's Hunters, Herders and Hamburgers, Virgil's Aeneid, and Chevy Stevens Still Missing.

Hunters, Herders and Hamburgers is a pretty fascinating look at our relationship with animals through history, and therefore food, and how it's all connected to a lot of different things about our lives.

Aeneid is just throwing me off. I'm not used to reading the Romanized names of the gods and goddesses, and sometimes I don't notice in time whether speech has stopped or not.

I'm also reading (much quicker than the other two), Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. It's... well, it's an absolutely horrifying read when you see what protagonist Annie has to go through. She was abducted for a year by a man who forced her to live with him in a secluded cabin in the woods, and faces everything you'd expect her to face in that situation. I'm not a fan of the gimmick - Annie's talking to her shrink the entire book, so it's cut up into flash backs and events she's telling the shrink directly. I don't think I'd mind as much if it was in third person, or if the shrink got to talk at all, but I don't like the first person feeling that the protagonist is breaking the wall between reader and story, like they're talking to you. I don't know why, and I've read exceptions that I've enjoyed. Also, the ending is shaping up to be not quite what I hoped, but, I'll save final words for when I finish it.

I'm still hanging in there! Taking a small break to make myself a cup of hot chocolate. Yum!

Read-A-Thon Update 7am - 1pm

So I'm - does some mental math - six hours into the 24 hour Read-a-Thon.

That being said, my progress so far: I've finished Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer & Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw.

Artemis Fowl:

LOVED the Fairy World in this book. It was hysterical, especially the Dwarf, Mulch Diggums. The way Dwarves create tunnels in this universe is horrifying with its grossness factors, but I still giggle like a five-year-old when it comes to fart jokes and potty humor so I loved it. Colfer created a great system, merging a modern setting and technology without losing the magical touch of the fairy realm, and Artemis is certainly a scheming twelve old with gold on the brain instead of in his heart, but all the same, you definitely get the feeling the story is about Artemis growing up, and it's a ride I hope to continue by eventually hunting down the sequels. I started this at page 1, having only ever read the first chapter before this morning.

Mogworld:

I started reading Mogworld a few days ago, and so I was already halfway through it when I picked it up after Artemis. I was wondering whether or not Yahtzee's humor would translate well into book form - his reviews are fairly short and if he's written longer articles I've unfortunately never read them - but I needn't have been worried. Mogworld's snarky, undead protagonist Jim, is a joy to follow. His attempt at not connecting with much always backfires - sometimes in expected ways, sometimes not - leading him to take a much grander adventure than he ever wanted. He races to the end of the book as body parts fall off and are replaced, gathering a small group of friends - Jim would say, "acquaintances" - to help him along the way. I would recommend it to anyone who likes some snarky and tongue-in-cheek humor, unique and odd characters, and video game humor (though the last is not a requirement).
Did I get all the jokes? Maybe not, but it certainly didn't limit my enjoyment of the story.

I'm occasionally checking in with other blogs, like Literary Lindsey, to see how others are fairing. I also sometimes stop on the main site of the event. I found this little meme and figure I might as well be semi-official about things (though really, I'm not official at all):

1) Where are you reading from today?
- Chicago

2) Three random facts about me…
- I'm obsessed with curry, I want cup cakes and peanut m&ms at my future wedding, and if I had to rank which is scariest out of dinosaurs, sharks, and crocodiles... I'd pick crocodiles.

3) How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
- About 20. I don't expect to get through them all, and at least two are collections of short stories. Some are also very long.

4) Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
- Just keeping reading until I reach 7am again. Or until I fall asleep with my face in a book.

5) If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
- I'm new to this, but it's been a lot of fun so far. I mean, I'm reading great books!

Well, enough of blogging, it's back to the books! I think my next step will something a bit different. Going to dive into Richard Bulliet's Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers.

October 22, 2011 Read-A-Thon Start

Oh dear, I didn't remember how nasty it can feel waking up an hour earlier than normal. Like those 60 minutes you gave up is where all the energy for the new day is stored, and since you sacrificed it you're saying it's ok to function like a zombie with extra terrible morning breath for most of the day (or at least the first two hours).

But in about twenty minutes I'll be cozying up on my couch with Artemis Fowl - I could not even begin to fathom reading something not light and fluffy right now - and kicking off the Read-a-Thon. As mentioned, I won't be blogging much about it today, but I'll probably be poking around twitter a lot.

For all you readers out there attempting the task as well, good luck! And for all of you who aren't, even if it's just the back of a cereal box, read something today for the spirit of the things. ^_^

October 22, 2011 Read-A-Thon

So, I was catching up on Literary Lindsey posts, and I noticed her talking about a "Read-A-Thon."

Now, how can I ignore something like that?

So I googled October 2011 Read-A-Thon (instead of just clicking the link on Lindsey's page >.<) and found a challenge to end all challenges (except maybe writing a novel in a month for NaNoWriMo) - A 24-hr read-a-thon.

So, the officialness of the read-a-thon is something I'll probably pass on this year. For one thing, I'm finding out about it the day before it starts so I haven't read much pass "reading for 24 hours." I think you can sign up and maybe get prizes, or something, and sign-up to do it for charity, all things I'm sure the official site talks about in detail so you should head there if you're curious.

I'm going on the info I've gotten from Lindsey's blog and the schedule I found on the Read-A-Thon blog. The schedule for Chicago timezone people is = Begins 7am, Ends 7am.

Whew - early, but not too bad.

I'll probably blog at regular intervals, 7am Start, and then maybe every two to three hours. But, I'll probably tweet about it a lot (Oh my gosh! A reason to use my dust covered twitter account?) I'll add my twitter feed to this blog so it can be viewed here.

For anyone interested in reading, I suggest attempting this, or, making your own, smaller schedule for the day. If 24-hours is way too intense, shoot for 12, or even 4 or 2. Maybe just finally finish that book you started a month ago and is beginning to fuzz in your memory.

I'm going to take another page from Literary Lindsey and post some pictures of some of the books I have lined up for tomorrow. Having a selection that you're prepared to cycle through in case one book turns out not to be your cup of tea - or brand of hot chocolate, yum! - is a great idea, so thank you Lindsey!

Small Explanation:

Some of these books I've been waiting for time to read, some I've read before and have been meaning to read again, some are short story collections where I've only read some of them and would like to read more, and some are books that have been recommended to me but I've never gotten around to.

Other Books Waiting in the Wings but Not Pictured:

Mogworld, Yahtzee Croshaw

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Haruki Murakami

Five Flavors of Dumb, by Antony John

Leviathon, by Scott Westerfield

Sabriel, Garth Nix

The Folk Keeper, by Franny Billingsley

Pinocchio in Venice, Robert Coover

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake

Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris

{Oh, goodness, I hope I've spelled everything correctly...}

Well, I think this post is long enough! For more information you can head to the Read-A-Thon main site, or, check out Literary Lindsey! She writes great book reviews and is darn more consistent than me!

Writing Update: Pesky Characters

Listening: Storm, by the Yoshida Brothers

Do you ever have a character you absolutely love, and you've enjoyed showing small glimpses of in scenes, but the second you need to sit down to write their first big chapter your mind goes blank and the character refuses to talk?

Yeah...

While I send out queries for my first novel, The Eternal Queen, I've started working on my next book, Mist Walkers: Book One - Knight. I'm very excited about my new novel, and I feel I've written a strong opening. So far, I've written three chapters. Technically four. The story is going to be told through three point-of-views: the antagonist, Erin (the main protagonist), and Matthew (the second protagonist). I had a lot of fun with the first chapter told from the antagonist's point-of-view, and after some rewrites and stern conversations, Erin has proven to be more fun than I planned - I was worried she was going to turn into a dark, little, rain cloud. But Matthew, dear Matthew...

Matthew has had some great scenes. But he's been very peripheral. He's only now becoming a part of the story. But he refuses to cooperate. I suppose it fits his character, but still, -_-. I've got a deadline to meet.

That's my writing update. I've heard back from two agents, both rejections, and I know I'll get many more. I'm taking my time researching who to send too, and getting up-to-date with the publishing world. I admit, I haven't read nearly as many books the past few years as I should. That's another perk of reading these new publisher/agents/writer blogs I've found - being introduced to great new fiction to read!

I recently read Malinda Lo's Ash, an amazing retelling of Cinderella. It was gentle, and somber, and poignant, and many many other things. I don't want to give away too much, but I'm hoping I'll write up a slightly more detailed review this weekend.

My last update for this post is that I've joined TheNextBigWriter.com with a reviewer profile (for now). So far, I've reviewed one chapter for an urban, paranormal story. I figured if I use the site consistently, I might upgrade my account and start posting my short stories. It would be nice to get some feedback. Does anyone else post there?

PS - Good job, Castle. The end of Ryan's episode was much better than the beginning. But that doesn't mean you can take it easy. I expect a really funny episode next week!

Query Update

My first rejection letter. It was very polite, and probably a standard format, but even if it is a standard format I'm going to take the words to heart.

A lot of agent/author blogs I read talk about how it's a matter of catching that agent who will be do more than like your work - you want someone just as enthusiastic in your writing as you are. You want an agent who cries at all the moments you cried, and laughed at all the moments you laughed.

So agents who reject my letter without expanding on reasons why the letter itself wasn't that great, I'm going to hope it means they liked my work, but just weren't as enthusiastic as they could have been. And that's ok. It's part of the business. I'm not going to panic because of rejection letters. But I am going to take any advice that's even hinted at in those letters and follow it.

But at least for these first couple of batches of agents, I'm sticking with my current query. Not to say I won't be editing it to see if I can make one that's stronger, because editing and tweaking and making sure the words I've chosen reflect my novel the best, well, that's part of the business too.

A Girl Loves her Lists

List #1 :


The Next Ten Books I Plan to Read {And Maybe One Day Review}

1. Rogue (Book 2 of the 'Shifters' Series) - Rachel Vincent
• I disliked the first book, 'Stray' until 3/4 the way through the novel when finally the women's lib and 'boy crisis' took a back seat to some nail-biting action and suspense. This one started off with action so I already like it better than the first. Recommended to me by a friend. I agreed to read the first two books without passing a final judgment.
• Currently Reading
2. Eclipse (Book 3 of the 'Twilight' Saga) - Stephanie Meyer
• I read the first two, with very mixed feelings. With all three of my sisters recommending the series, and the promise of a werewolf/vampire fight, I am slowly making my through this one. Very slowly.
• Currently Reading
3. American Gods - Neil Gaimen
• I love Neil Gaimen's works. He's truly one of my favorite authors. I'm enjoying the book, though it feels long - which it is, compared to many of his others - and because of that I think it feels slower paced than it really is. I love the concept and the main character, Shadow, is a delight to follow on his adventure with Gods of old and Gods of new. 
• Currently Reading
4. The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb
• Positively adored her novel 'A Certain Slant of Light.' Utterly adored. I reread it at least every four months since I first read it several years ago. Some people dig the werewolf and vampire lit, I dig ghost lit. This one is about a Fetch, or ghost who ferries souls, that falls in love with Anastasia during the Russian Revolution. What doesn't sound awesome about that?
5. The Five Flavors of Dumb - Antony John
• Sounds like it will be a welcome break from the many werewolf/vampire books I've been recommended and/or have agreed to read. About a deaf, or almost deaf, girl managing a band. Except there's so much more than that. Really, read the description on Amazon.com.
6. Heat Wave - Richard Castle
• I love the show, Castle, and have been dying to read this since I found out they actually decided to publish the Nikki Heat books. A good old-fashioned murder/mystery. Nice.
7. Incarceron - Catherine Fisher
• Sounds like a very 'plot-twisty' fantasy mystery, where two characters discover keys that allow them to communicate over distance, and they're both trying to make a daring escape {one from her father and an arranged marriage, one from a prison}. Sounds like a nice, easy, fun read.
8. Mogworld - Yahtzee Croshaw
• Sounds silly and fun and entertaining, along the same vein as Terry Pratchett. Plus, I love Yahtzee's video game reviews, so how can I pass up the opportunity?
9. Catching Fire {Book 2 of 'the Hunger Games'} - Suzanne Collins
• I enjoyed the first book. Maybe not as much as many fans, but enough to want to eventually read the whole trilogy. Plus, with the movies being made I'm worried if I don't pick up the pace I'll stumble upon a lot of spoilers for the trilogy.
10. Dead Until Dark {A 'Sookie Stackhouse' Novel} - Charlaine Harris
• Another series recommended by several of my family members and friends. I've agreed to at least read this book. Can you tell I'm rather apathetic about werewolf/vampire fiction, but keep agreeing to read books about them?