Failsauce

I...fail at life. I believe it is exactly one month since I last blogged. Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. Okay. So, I finished NaNoWriMo at about 11:45pm November 30th with 50,005 words. After going back and taking out all the wordpadding and fluff, I was left with about 35,000 usable words. Fantastic. But there's so much I left out in an attempt to finish. Basically, I spent a week and a half of the month not writing at all because there was just so much going on and I just...forgot, essentially.

I went to Kansas for Thanksgiving with my family and couldn't write much because of my cousins and angry looks from my family. And because all my teachers decided they wanted to assign projects to be due within the last two days of November. Fantastic. I resolved not to write until I got all my work done so I wouldn't fail. I produced, in the span of three days, a powerpoint presentation for my music appreciation class, a three page paper and presentation for archaeology, a career project for psychology and memorized lines for a scene for acting. And then I wrote.

So, November 29th, my Institute teacher, Brother Ashcroft, told me to just get some sleep because I could write better when not exhausted. So I passed out on my floor that night, not attempting to write. November 30th dawned bright and early, my word count at only 25,516 words. I gave my presentation for archaeology and performed my scene with my group, got my last tech hour done for acting so I didn't fail the class, drove straight home and locked myself in my room to finish, and finish I did. In eight hours, I wrote 24,489 words. My cousin came in about every hour to make sure I hadn't fallen asleep or gone insane, even brought me a pint of ice cream and basically kept me from offing myself along with my characters. :D

Even after all of that exhausting writing, I'm still thinking about my story and the things I need to develop and change. It's still exciting, which makes me happy because I've heard that some people get really burned out after pulling sessions like that so it's all good.

I'll try and blog more frequently, especially since I'm out of school for over a month - it's fantastic. I'll be watching more Heroes since I seem to get some inspiration from that show, along with Doctor Who and Star Trek. (I admit to being a total nerd.) I'm surrounded by little kids right now because my mother decided to host a party for her rugrats at church so I don't know how much longer I can spend on the computer...I'll post more later if I survive.

Ashley the Frazzled

NaNoWriMo Day 11

I'm so far behind...it's not even funny. 5010 words behind, to be exact. This is all I'm going to write. Now back to noveling. And yelling at myself all night long. I'm fighting a losing battle. I'll leave it at that.

Ashley the Exhausted

NaNoWriMo Day 3

I am 4512 words in, grateful for all the forum posts that demanded readers to write 200 or 100 or whatever words before doing anything else. My curiosity got the best of me. Twice. So I'm doing just fine. The goal for today is 5001 and I can easily put in 489 words in about a half hour. Which is what I'm going to go do. Right now. Happy writing!

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome and Brilliant

NaNoWriMo Day 2

Okay so I totally forgot to blog yesterday, which was a monumental day because NaNoWriMo started! Yay! Except I just wasn't feeling what I was writing and was barely able to sneak by with my word count of 1670 words (only three over the target count per day) at 11:50 last night. It was no bueno. But. I figured out what was wrong - the format I'd originally decided to write in, third person, with journal entries from my main character every now and then, was just so...not me. I'd written the second book in the series in first person and Jordan (my MC) had a voice of her own and apparently didn't want me to take that away from her. I didn't scrap what I'd done yesterday and for the beginning of today, but I did start writing in first person again and things came so much easier than yesterday - I'm up to 3347 words, which is about 20 words over where I'm supposed to be, which is better than being behind. I'm probably going to take a quick nap and then start working again so I can get ahead this week, seeing as week 2 is ALWAYS the hardest, so I've been told. I know last year I didn't even write anything for weeks 2 and 3 because I just couldn't bring myself to. Well, that's not happening this year because I'm going to finish. On time or early. And start on the third book, hopefully. It's going to be a busy month and I'm so ready for it. :)

Good luck, all you NaNoers!

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome and Brilliant

I don't know what happened!

So, I was just planning, you know, making some notes about the country I created and it was only supposed to be a daily life schedule kind of thing and then this character just came out of NOWHERE, pretty much demanding to make himself known. Now...there's a backstory and a freaking COMPANION series forming! IT'S NOT EVEN NOVEMBER YET! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOU, BLAKE!? This is going to be quite interesting. :P

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome, Brilliant and friggin INSANE

NaNoWriMo in: four days!

Yay! I'm way excited about this - I've been coming up with summaries and plot synopsis's and have just been planning up a storm. My desk is clean, my inspiration board is done (post-its this time) and I'm so ready for this. Like, you have NO IDEA how ready I am for this. Oh! I also have my fingerless gloves and people to keep me on track this next month. Which I'm going to need DESPERATELY because I'm writing TWO novels - the first and the third simultaneously while editing the second. It's going to be a wicked crazy month. No lie. My friends all think I've lost my mind and am going to die this month and they probably aren't far off. But it will indeed be interesting, that much I can tell.

Until next time,

Ashley the Crazy Awesome and Brilliant

Happy day :)

It's my birthday today and I just wanted to thank my friends for being so awesome and not calling me a loser (more than necessary) for wanting to write for a living. :) Ten more days until NaNoWriMo!

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome, Brilliant, and Fantastic Nineteen year old weirdo :)

I am...Insane.

I'm just sitting in a lounge area nine minutes before my psych class starts and...I just realized what I'm actually going to be doing next month. I guess I was naive last year when doing NaNoWriMo but seriously...I'm going to be writing a book. 50,000 words. In a month. Granted, the one I turned in last year had song lyrics, the updated list of pokemon and some pretty detailed but useless dreams. I probably amassed a total of 20,000 useful words that month. And I ended up changing the plot, the characters and the intent of the story over the course of this year. I completed that work over the summer. And now I'm changing it again. So last year...useless pretty much. This year...I'm writing the first book in the series. And I know what's going to happen and who the characters REALLY are. There's no fooling around with this one. I'm writing a BOOK. And it's kind of scary. Not going to lie. But it will get done and it will be useful this year. :D And now with five minutes to get to class, I will leave you with this final note. Anyone that has read any part of the book I wrote over the summer...yeah what it is and what it will be within the next year are two completely separate things. My bad. But it's going to be a HECK of a lot better. That much I can promise. And now I really have to run.

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome, Brilliant and Ambitious

With NaNoWriMo steadily drawing closer, I can't help but think about my characters, plots and changes I need to make and I think I have finally got an idea that will work and leave behind any plot holes I have been desperately trying to fill. A synopsis has been drawn up for the first book in the series and I have an idea of how it's going to be structured and formatted. The plot will most likely come within the next few days. I hope. The book I wrote over the summer is the skeleton of the second book of the trilogy, and there are some very loose ideas about the third. Hopefully this will work!

Until next time,

Ashley the Awesome and Brilliant

Whispers...

With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, there are more and more ideas about the trilogy I'm writing that are flooding in. Ways to resolve the disaster of a story I wrote over the summer, ways to write around that story and create a saga. It's good. I'm quite pleased.

Until then,

Ashley the Brilliantly Awesome

Life as a College Kid

OH MY GOSH. My classes are too easy. No lies. I'm bored to death every day. Except in Acting. That class is by far my favorite because I'm actually doing useful stuff instead of mind-numbing notetaking and listening to dumbed down lectures. I gave up Cornell and Iona and Randolph-Macon and even UTSA for this. Heck, at least I'd be somewhat challenged at UTSA. But no. I just sit in class for 75 minutes (I only have class four days a week) and listen to lectures that are (no joke) almost verbatim from the textbook. Which I read right before my classes start. hgreioaghuareoguriopaebgiupre.

Anyways...my novel...yeah...still on that break. :) I'm enjoying myself - I actually think about ideas and stuff while in my classes, which probably isn't a good idea if you're in hard classes that you absolutely HAVE to pay attention in. But come on. It doesn't take a genius to define biological, cultural and linguistic anthropology or culture or memorize who the first real archaeologist was (Nabodinus or something close to that). Or what the most heard of subfields of psychology are (sports, research, clinical, counseling, health, I/O, consumer, neurological, and forensic). So I think I've earned the right to zone out every now and then. :D I've actually decided to write another book before I go back to the first one. Considering the first one is now going to be the second in a series (trilogy, most likely).

I am gaining support on it, actually - I'm way excited. Both my Institute teachers are interested in it - I gave the prologue to Brother Facer and he told me he wants more - he was very surprised and happy to hear that I finished it. Same with Brother Ashcroft. :) In my college success class (it's required - don't judge me) I met another writer - he's into writing fantasy fiction too and we both share some of the same favorite authors. He also wants to hear more about my story and read it - but no one's getting a copy of it until it's edited. I'm very firm on that. Except for three people who are designated critiquers.

Well, I'm off to do writerly and nonwriterly things (cross-stitch and brainstorming - which does count as working, Matthew Cowart!) so I am signing off.

Until next time,

Ashley the Great

Just Checking In

Still taking a break, enjoying life (kind of) and brainstorming for the second draft. I was with a friend of mine today and we were having a debate over whether or not I was considered 'unemployed' because I'm a writer but I'm on one of my breaks. I thought I was working since I was brainstorming but he disagreed. It was really funny just going back and forth. :D I'm going to miss him when he leaves...

Anyways, basically, I'm just getting ready for college (starts on Monday) and really just loathing the thought of not having all the time in the world to focus on my story and characters. Then again, I haven't really been able to do as much of that during the summer because I've been sick a lot. Like right now. I seriously feel like crap. It's no bueno, believe me. Such a terrible ending to a great day.

I'll do my best to keep in touch on a more regular basis (can't make any promises when school starts but whatever)

Until next time,

Ashley the Miserable

Holy Cow

I didn't realize it'd been this long since I posted! My bad! Not much has really happened other than the fact that I have been sick off and on all week. A kiddie ride at Sea World nearly got the best of me actually. It was pretty bad. Still is, actually, but I think I'll survive. Basically, I've just been redoing character charts to get to know my characters more and just hanging out, not reading my draft of suckitude (I really owe it to Chris Baty for coming up with that word lol). Yeah, it's been relaxing in the sense that I don't have to read it. I'm actually thinking about just rewriting my second draft from scratch and not even bothering to fix the first one. I admit that I'm too embarrassed to read it again. No lies. I'm probably just going to go back to bed and sleep off whatever it is that I have because my cousin is in town and I don't want to be sick the entire time he's here. And I also have a friend's party to go to tonight and I really don't want to have to miss it.

Until next time,

Ashley the ill

Stressing Out

I think the stress I've been feeling lately has really just taken a turn for the worse. I mean, I feel like I can't do anything, like I'm wasting my time and that nothing I do is worth something. I know it's not true, that I'm just in one of my moods, but I feel so...pathetic, always asking for someone to reassure me that I'm on the right track.

To be honest, I think it was the music getting lost that was the turning point. It was something so stupid, so minor but it still made me feel like I just couldn't do something right. I am just...finding little things that I need to get done that I don't think I can do, like making a new collage, fixing my excuse of a manuscript, trying to make my characters more...well, more. It just feels so overwhelming and I just can't shake the feeling that the world is crashing down on me every time I try. And it's no bueno. I mean, ice cream didn't help, talking to my friends isn't helping, even reading or trying to sketch is just...too stressful. Because every time I pick up a book, I think "Wow - I'll never be able to make my book this good" and every time I try to draw what I imagine to be the setting, it looks like a kindergarden student attacked a piece of paper with a pen. It's so frustrating and I really just have no clue what I'm doing.

I wasn't kidding when I told my cousin I didn't know what to do with my days after I finished writing, but now it feels like such a daunting task, rewriting and editing that I just don't want to do it anymore. I really just don't know what happened, because just the other day I was so excited, so ready to work and now I just want to burn it and everything related to it. :/

I think I'm just going to go to bed and sleep this depressing mood off.

Until next time,

Ashley the...burned out.

The Woes of Technology

My ipod got seriously messed up and my computer stopped reading my music so I lost everything. EVERYTHING. All my music. I had over ten thousand songs. And a specific playlist for writing and also a soundtrack for my story. All inspiration is lost. People have told me things along the lines of "Just copy the files from your computer back on! Duh!" Well, it's not that simple. It's a new computer. My old Dell laptop had all my music on it but that got a virus on it and all my music files got corrupted. And my backups are missing. My musical inspiration...gone. Now I'm left with the books and movies. Yay? lol I'm done complaining now. My cousin is coming this week and his library is pretty legit so it should compensate for my lack of music.

Until next time,

Ashley the...fantastic. (Sarcastic)

Constructive Criticism

It's a very good thing to get as a writer (and basically any other profession really). Right now, a very good friend of mine is sharing her thoughts and concerns about my story. It's so helpful to know what sucks and how to fix it because that's how you make it better. It was funny actually - she apologized beforehand for her bluntness because I told her to just go crazy in terms of what I needed to fix. Because I knew there was a lot that needed fixing. No lies. A LOT. And now I'm planning for the second draft and how to make that one better than the first. Because Ernest Hemmingway was correct. First drafts of anything are...well, crap.

I'm beginning to think that three months is a little too long to wait since I don't have that much time to kill. My parents are still a little less than pleased about my career choice and are subtly hinting at kicking me out. It's ah...an interesting home life. But I'm surviving. :) I'm also anxious to start rewriting since I have an idea of what to fix. For the first seven or so chapters, at least. But I'll hold out until the end of next week.

I think whoever said that writing the first draft of a book was hard is right. My thing was just getting the story out on paper (or the computer screen) - that's what kept me up at night, haunting me because I knew what I wanted to say, I just didn't want to write it out. Which is why quite a few chapters are so poorly written - I was just writing it to get it written. Kendall (my critiquing friend) was telling me that the dialogue for one scene was really awkward and was all "who says that?" and in my mind I was thinking "that was one of those scenes." It made me smile. But she was right. Again. :) I mean, after I had sent the manuscript out, I reread a few pages and that was one of them and I honestly cringed. I thought to myself, "I wrote that?" And not in a good way.

So. It may be hard to take criticism, but it's TOTALLY worth it. It makes you a better writer (or whatever) and knowing your weaknesses helps you to overcome them. Like, for example, I am not subtle. AT ALL. It was pointed out. In quite a few instances. And now I know what to do to fix that. Was it hard to hear? A little. But how else am I going to learn? :)

Until next time,

Ashley the neat-freak with a messy room

"This woman is about as subtle as a gun." ~ Andrew Paxton, The Proposal

New Ideas!

Picture this. It's a hot summer day, about 11:00 in the morning. The sun is shining down on your yard and you're not even halfway done mowing it but you know you have to finish or your parents will have a field day and possibly throw you out of the house. You take a swig of lukewarm water from a water bottle that sat in the fridge for almost an hour and grimace because it tastes like it went through a garbage disposal. You close your eyes as you sit in the lawn chair in the garage, basking in the shade, feeling a cool breeze blow through. You could almost fall asleep there if you really wanted to. In fact, you almost do. And then you have this monumental revelation about a scene that would totally work in your book and make things a little more interesting.

Well, that's exactly what happened to me. :D It was beautiful. But of course, if I ran inside to get my notebook, I'd never want to leave. So I keyed it into my phone. Because I'm just that awesome. Anyways. I finished the lawn and am back in the cool confines of my room. I just emailed the fourth copy of my manuscript to my friend for him to critique and I'm about to clean my room because it really needs it and I can't concentrate amongst all the clutter and...well...mess. My goal is to get a decent-sized pile of stuff to donate and then treat myself to more brainstorming for my new NaNoWriMo novel. November really needs to get here...

Until next time,

Ashley the Tired

"Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different?" ~ Davey Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean

Current theme song for my story: Little Girl by Trading Yesterday

Book Two?

So. I've been hit (slammed, more like) with ideas for another book - it's actually the prequel to the one I just finished. Apparently my characters won't leave me alone. Granted, I was toying with the idea of a sequel but that really didn't happen until the ending took a crazy twist. But a prequel...I wasn't expecting that. I do have material I can potentially use (I'd have to rewrite it all in a different POV) so it won't be like pantsing the novel during NaNoWriMo (like last year). Anyways...yeah. I dragged out a new notebook and started writing down my ideas and thoughts and I have to admit - I like what I'm seeing. It won't have the magic-based background like HTCF - it's more centered in reality this time - but I have been wanting to write something like that so it's all good. :)

Until next time,

Ashley the Bemused

"No course is lost if but one fool is left to fight" ~ Will Turner, Pirates of the Caribbean

Peer Support

You know, I took a rather nasty figurative beating last night in terms of my book. My parents are still unsupportive of my writing and it's not going to get any better probably. But my friend Tara Bennit helped me out later that night by saying that it doesn't much matter that they don't appreciate what I do - just about all my friends are dying to read even just the terrible first draft, which means a lot because it shows that they support me in the way I wish my parents would. And she was right in saying that I have enough peer support not to give up on this crazy dream of mine. She also told me that when I get published I have every right to say "I told you so." :)

So if anyone's reading this, just know that even if your parents don't approve of how you want to live your life, know that you aren't alone. It may be more difficult but it will all be worth it in the end. If I decided to give up every time my parents said I was wasting my time, I'd never have made it past the prologue. And here I am, a prologue, 19 chapters and an epilogue later with just enough drive to keep on pushing forward.

Until next time,

Ashley the Dreamer

"If I may lend a machete to your intellectual thicket." ~ Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

Just a Tip

So, when I'm writing, I always either get really really tired or really really hungry. So. To solve both of these at the same time, I made sure to always keep some form of junk food (cheez-its, reese's puffs etc.) on hand - it kept me somewhat busy so I could keep my eyes open and I wasn't quite as hungry anymore. That being said, make sure to take a break every now and then to stretch so you don't get too stiff or whatever.

The only reason I thought of mentioning this is because I just ran out of cheez-its. Not that I was writing or anything. No, I'm staying true to my resolution of not writing for the next three months - good for viewing the manuscript with fresh eyes, like I said earlier. It is true though - needing that break. For example, when I gave the prologue to my violin teacher, I didn't realize I hadn't fixed the locations in the book because I changed them a few weeks ago - I thought I did when I scanned through it, but I was so used to what it said and everything that I wasn't paying close enough attention. And believe me, I felt mighty embarrassed when she mentioned that the places I used were the places I grew up in. (I started off using my hometown and my current home as places of reference because they were what I knew best but changed it later on because it didn't work as well as I thought it would - if only I payed more attention...)

Anyways...yeah. I was just surfing the net and was hungry so I grabbed my handy box of cheez-its because it was the closest thing to me. Such inspiration.

I did end up making a list of all the movies and books I want to see/read for further inspiration - it's a pretty long list so I'll just mention a few at a time.

Movies:
The Proposal
Sherlock Holmes
Pride & Prejudice (Keira Knightley version)
Inkheart
The Corpse Bride

Books:
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott
The Luxe series by Anna Godberson
House of Night series (I focused on Tempted and Burned) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

And more to come. :)

Until next time,

Ashley the Recuperating

After the Finish

So it's recommended that after finishing a draft, an author puts it away for about three months and then looks at it with fresh eyes. Well, guess what? THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE ME CRAZY!

Lucky for me, I have other non-writing things I can do for my book. Like finish making the ultimate playlist for writing said book so that when I DO get around to editing it, I'll have background music to write to. Or I can remake the collage of inspiration. Or read all my favorite books again and highlight the parts that I REALLY liked and determine why I like them and see how I can emulate that channel of inspiration into my own work.

And then there's all the other things like cross-stitching, drawing, practicing my violin and chores that I have basically been neglecting since last November (hehe nanowrimo month, go figure).

OH! I'm also (once it gets printed out) going to give a copy to my 12th grade english teacher for her to edit and help me revise, as well as one to my private violin teacher because she's going to try and find music to fit different parts of the story. How cool is that!? Now if only my family could be this supportive lol. :D

Current theme song for my book: Hero by Skillet

Current favorite quote from story: "I can hear the lie in your voice" ~ Paul (How the Cards Fell: Chapter 4)

Until next time,

Ashley the Overworked

I'M DONE!

THE BOOK IS DONE! TWO WEEKS BEFORE SCHEDULE! I'M SO EXCITED! Hence the caps. lol I think this occasion calls for caps. And ice cream. Which I am about to go retrieve from the depths of my freezer. Oh my gosh I can't believe I did it!

Until next time,

Ashley the Tired but EXCITED!

ONE MORE TO GO!

Oh my goodness today has been eventful! I went to my friend's surprise party and played some pretty epic frisbee and ninja games - no lies, two people battled it out in the bushes and my friend Sam jumped out at me, and another friend of mine, Josh, climbed a tree to avoid getting out. The most hilarious thing to watch was him falling out of it. But then it became between the two of us and it was very tiring - like intense dancing. Wicked awesome though.

And then I came home and cranked out chapter 17 so now all I have to do is finish chapter 10! OH MY GOSH! It's almost over! And then rewrites begin. But I won't think about that just yet - my new main stresser is where I'm going to print the manuscript...it's currently at 117 pages (probably going to end up being around 120-123 pages long) so that's going to be a bit pricey at staples or kinkos...yay. Haha - some people said writing the novel was the hardest part - I beg to differ. Editing it and rewriting it seems to be the biggest complication right now. lol I'm just going to finish writing chapter 10 before I continue on this rant. I'M SO EXCITED!

Until next time,

Ashley the Overly Excited

Oh my goodness!

TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! Chapters 10 and 17 remain :D Oh my gosh it's almost done!

*ahem* Just thought I'd get that out of my system...

Until next time,

Ashley the Certifiably Crazy

The End of the Book is Nigh

With only four chapters remaining (actually a little less since I have partials of 10 and 15), I am getting more excited about this. It's a little overwhelming, knowing that I've been working on this book for almost a year now and it's finally almost finished! I have over 25,000 words and over 100 pages, which is totally amazing because there were so many times where I thought it would never get done - that it wasn't worth it or I lacked the skills and abilities to actually pull something like this off. It's definitely going to get better from here, knowing the end is just around the corner. :)

The muse is back and ready to get to work again so I better go.

Until next time,

Ashley the Ecstatic

Hurray!

Chapter 3 is complete! That brings my word count up to 25090 words and 98 pages! I'm so excited as to how it's coming along! I saw the Sorcerer's Apprentice yesterday and it was really good inspiration - so good that I agreed to see it with some friends today so I might be able to get more insight on the movie. I am just...so incredibly happy as to how everything is getting pieced together. With only seven chapters remaining, life is good.

Until next time,

Ashley the Impressed

Yesterday...

was one of the most amazing days ever. :) Complete inspiration for two of the remaining chapters of my book. I'm really happy right now. :)

I'll write more later, I promise.

Until next time,

Ashley the Spectacularly Happy

What a Day...

So I nearly died four times yesterday, all within the space of two hours, while trying to take my dad his ID's that he left at home. Way ridiculous and completely terrifying. I won't go into details but it scared me to...well, death...no pun intended. Yeah...but I got a new plot idea from it for another book, but not for the series I'm currently writing. This one will probably just be a stand-alone book. And that was my day yesterday. Basically, I was so messed up from all the near-accidents that I checked out for the rest of the day. To say the least, I was hardly "there" all day. And I'm behind on my word count again because of that because I couldn't concentrate for more than a few seconds. Good times. :/

Until next time,

Ashley the Exhausted

Only Eight More Chapters Left!

I just finished another chapter today! It's so surreal to think that this is going to get done by the end of August - I feel like I'm on top of the world as I go through these chapters. :) My word count is a little lower than I thought it would be but I can live with that because that's what rewriting and editing is all about. Adding what's necessary and taking out what's not. And when I'm not writing or having a social life now, I keep going through my favorite books and analyzing them. You know, I could actually get used to this kind of lifestyle. I really really could.

On a quick side note, I managed to take the only slot available for private instruction for the violin today - it was crazy awesome because the spot was previously taken and I managed to snag it before anyone else. So exciting! Now my parents can get off my back about taking music classes and it relieved a LOT of stress in my life because now all I need to do is get my books and pay for tuition and I'm all set. Then I can spend the rest of August happily writing the last eight chapters and not worry about school. :) And on another side note, my mom got me another SUPER rare card from the comicon convention in San Diego - a Draco Malfoy autograph card and there's currently only one on ebay and it's $300 - mine came in a package with an exclusive costume card set and a prop card from one of the Harry Potter card sets, plus the binders, mug, bag and magnets. :D All for a grand total (shipping included) $96. :D I freaked out when my mom told me I was getting the Draco card - like near heart attack moment for me because I told her I really really wanted the card. Like badly. Anyways...that was my nerd display for you.

Oh boy it's late...and I really need to get some sleep...got to get up early in the morning to water my neighbor's yard and write another chapter in between moving the sprinklers. Yay. Haha

Until next time,

Ashley the Amazed

Yay!

Just finished the pivotal chapter of my book, the one that really sets things in motion and I'm completely psyched. Eleven pages of pretty good material and some funny dialogue (if I don't say so myself) that I spent from 8:30 this morning until noon writing and (kind of) editing. To fill my word quota for the day, I just need to get a thousand more words (I've been playing catch-up for the last couple of days because I was busy) and then I'm golden. My friend just randomly picked chapter thirteen to write so I'm going to get on that. That would probably only need to be about 1000-2000 words anyway so it's perfect. :D Life is good.

Until next time,

Ashley the Excited

Pool Parties and Other Fun Stuff

So I went to a pool party with my friends and was, yet again, inspired by things that went on there. I may even rewrite a key scene to incorporate them. Way cool. :) It keeps hitting me that I am really doing this - really, actually, honest-to-goodness writing a book. And it's well on its way to being complete. I am beyond excited. Like, you have absolutely no idea. It's so amazing, like I'm really accomplishing something and it's going to be fantastic (with work) and it's going to be published (in time - hopefully). I was also flipping through some of my favorite books, re-reading my favorite scenes and figuring out why they struck a chord with me so I can get a feel for how to write my book. And I still get the chills every time I finish a chapter, even just a passage or two. It really is gratifying, knowing I am going to finish my goal. :)

Until next time,

Ashley the Amazed

Yeah, It's Late...

I just finished today's quota for my word count. I am so far totaling at 18,659/70,000 words. I wasn't intending on having an epilogue but I felt like it fit, giving more suspense for the next book to come. I'm getting more excited as each day goes by and I get closer to my goal. :) And like my good friend, Will, said, after this I get to work on something even more fun - rewrites. Yay. But those are going to wait until winter break. When I have the time to just sit and re-read my manuscript and mark what I want to change. Especially on the car trip to Florida - we're going to Disney World and Harry Potter land for Christmas! So that's what I get to work on in between car rides and meeting characters. :D

Until next time,

Ashley the Exhausted

Oh the Things I Find

So, I found a bread knife in the sink today while I was washing dishes. Except, I found it, blade sticking straight up as I reached down to grab something and found it with my wrist. Can you say hello band aid? Actually it was pretty bad so I had to get a few of them. Just imagine the look on my dad's face when he saw it and the hilariously awkward conversation that ensued. It makes it slightly difficult to type because it's pressing against my laptop and it's not exactly the most comfortable feeling in the world, but I'll survive. No pain no gain, right? :D Well, aside from that and getting a super rare (as in less than a hundred made) autograph of Barty Crouch Jr. from the fourth Harry Potter movie (exclusive San Diego Comicon Convention card), my day was pretty average. Got my quota done for writing like I previously said and yeah. But it was a good day - good for keeping my morale up. :)

Until next time,

Ashley the Accident Prone

What a Day of Accomplishment

I wrote the last chapter of my book today and it was completely different from what I thought it would be but I love it. I'm really excited to finish this because I seriously like the direction it's taking. I had to fix another chapter in order to keep everything in sequence and avoid plot holes but it's all good because I like it better the way it is now than before. It turns out that I'm actually going to make this a longer series, which is exciting because I don't think one book and a prequel will be enough to do the story justice. :)

I Hate Ruts

I am in a rut again. I realized it when I sat down today to write and couldn't focus on anything, which generally happens when I get writer's block. I kept losing my train of thought and nothing came out. Nothing. And I kept getting that feeling that what I'm doing is stupid and that I'm wasting my time. I know I need to get out of it and just push on through because August isn't getting any further away. So...with that said, Im just going to get some sleep and try again tomorrow. I will keep updating and hopefully this won't last as long as some other times - I once couldn't write for almost three months. It was horrible.

Good night and good luck,

Ashley

Another Realization

So, I've come to realize I can't write when my room or where ever I am is messy - it really messes up my thinking because I'm distracted by all the clutter. So, I'm going to make a sacrifice of my 1800 words for the day and clean my room up. It won't be perfect because I'm pressed for time, but it will be good enough for me to get back to work and write more than a couple words every ten minutes. :)

I've also realized that if I spent as much time writing as I do on facebook, I could probably be more efficient, so I'm going to limit my time on facebook to ten minutes a day. Sorry to those I would normally chat with but I really need to get this done. Then I'll respond to all your messages. I love you guys for putting up with my anti-social behavior!

Until next time,

Ashley

I Really Need to Find Some Woods

So, I've made it common knowledge that I live in Texas (aka the desert) and I've found it difficult to write certain scenes in my book because they take place in the woods, but it's supposed to be a really magical type of forest. No matter how hard I've tried, I just can't get a solid description down because even though I see it in my mind, I don't quite know how to express it to others. If I could see them in person, then yes, the task would be more feasible. One of my many weaknesses as a writer - I have to see things in order to get it right. So...I went on deviantart today and looked up a bunch of pictures of forests and woods and found over 100 that I really liked, so maybe this will help me get past this stumbling block in the road to success. Or at least finishing on time. It was pretty funny seeing how many people commented on my profile (I made a new account so my friends wouldn't think I was crazy...well, crazier) saying "Welcome to deviantart!" I didn't have the heart to tell them that I've been using the site for over two years. :) So, I guess I will go back to writing, seeing as I have a deadline to meet and a long night ahead of me.

Until next time,
Ashley

Inspiration at the Oddest Times and Something About the Story Itself

The book is fiction - fantasy fiction to be exact. Well, in the sense that there's magic. What it doesn't have are vampires (I have standards), zombies, unicorns, dragons and other mythical creatures. I say vampires because they are currently the most overused characters in teen fiction (yes, I'm writing a young adult novel) and it's getting really old and annoying. Mainly because of a certain story that starts with a "T" and ends with an "wilight." But that's neither here nor there.

My friend, Jonathan, who actually appears in my book as the character "Joe Shepard," asked me while I was at a broomball tournament for young single adults in my church, how the book was coming and I realized that my friend, Matt (Steven Carter in the book), is a seriously evil guy. It took me by surprise but also gave me something more in depth about him. Cool cool. Who knew that running on ice in sneakers, chasing a rubber ball with "brooms" could bring inspiration. That brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about.

I've found that carrying a pen and paper with me wherever I go is quite beneficial, in that you never really know when something will hit you. In my case today, it was four hockey sticks and the wall during the game today and then inspiration came while I was nursing my bruised hand. But in all seriousness, you never really know when an idea may come to you and you want to be prepared if and when it does. Take JK Rowling for example. She was stuck on a train ride when Harry Potter suddenly appeared in her head and she didn't have anything to write with. No bueno. I've lost crucial ideas because I wasn't prepared and it's nerve-wracking, wondering if that would be the idea that brought you a best-selling novel. So I make it a habit to have a composition book or a "creativity log" that I bought for a few dollars - it has parts for quotes, sketches and ideas so when inspiration hits, I'm completely prepared for whatever it may be.

So all I have to say really is to be prepared. There may be more to come in terms of my book - I have to write more first.

Until then,

Ashley

Getting Started

So I wrote a 65,000 word novel for Nanowrimo last year (I was barely able to turn everything in on time due to internet issues) and since December, I have been feverishly rewriting it, changing the plot and all the scenes I'd previously written so that it would flow better. I even set a goal to finish the book by the end of the summer so that I could have time before Nanowrimo to edit and polish it so I can find myself an agent. Unfortunately though, I keep getting bogged down, feeling as though it's not worth it and that my story is lame and I should just quit and start one of my other four pending story ideas. I then came up with the idea that if other people know what I'm doing and they expect to hear progress, it will keep me motivated enough to finish the manuscript and get it sent in for publishing. Yes, I know there's only a month and a half until school starts. Yes, I know it's practically impossible to finish since I have half the book left to write. Yes, I really am crazy for doing this, but I feel that if I can accomplish this, not only would I get the opportunity to become a published author, but I may be able to build a promising career out of it. So, this is what I need to do.

49,000 words by August 23rd

1325 words per day

Call me crazy, but there is a chance I can actually do this.

Until next time,

Ashley