My One Year Goal Plan - 2013 Edition

Every year I make New Year's resolutions and post them on my blog. Every year so far I've gone about keeping up with them in a different way. In 2011, I posted "report cards" a couple of times. In 2012, I posted updates on the first day of each month for most of the year (last update at the bottom of this post).

In 2013, starting tomorrow, I have an entirely different plan.

I have eight goals to accomplish by December 31, 2013.

1. Finish THINKING OF YOU revisions.
2. Draft all CITY IN THE SKY stories.
3. Finish THE TRUE PRINCESS revisions and edits.
4. Finish drafting and rewrite OBJECTION.
5. Replan and start rewriting THE LULLABY.
6. Draft untitled lucky genes story.
7. Finish 26 short works.
8. Reduce percentage of unread books to 10%.

To make sure I actually work toward all of these goals throughout the year, I have developed a plan with the help of Microsoft Excel: The One Year Goal Plan - 2013 Edition.

When I look at those big goals and think about trying to finish them, my heart sinks a little bit. They're not goals that can be completed quickly or easily. Hence, they're hard to keep my sights on. These feelings are what my whole plan revolves around.

Each "Year Goal" will be broken done into twelve "Month Goals." Looking at that smaller goal is better, but a month still leaves plenty of time to get distracted. So each month is split in half and each half is given its own goal. Both "Half-Month Goals" are then split into various amounts of "Mini-Goals" that are easy and far less stressful to reach.

I feel this method will keep me focused on and excited about accomplishing my goals. I've completed January's breakdowns, but will be waiting to do the other months until they roll around. This way I will be most up-to-date on each goal's progress and know for certain what might decrease or increase my writing time each month.

And, in case you were wondering how Excel helped me:

January Goals for THINKING OF YOU (drag to URL bar to embiggen)

I will be updating all of you on my progress in the style of my usual posts and with occasional snapshots of my spreadsheet.

2013 is going to be a great year!

---

2012 NYR Last Update - 1 Year

1. I will have complete THINKING OF YOU's ready for query first round of revisions. I finished small revisions on the first six chapters and conquered my fear of revising.
2. I will have two new first drafts. I finished one first draft of THE TRUE PRINCESS and got to 32,393 words on OBJECTION.
3. I will win National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo).
4. I will submit at least two short stories to two anthologies, journals, ezines, and/or contests.
5. I will read at least one hundred books. I read 57 books and made it over half-way with two others.
6. I will post at least one vlog a month. I posted one vlog in January, March, April, July, September, October, and December. I posted five in November.
7. I will exercise in some way once a week. Since the beginning of September, according to the My Fitness Pal app on my phone, I did a round of jumping jacks on six different days.

Letting Your Brain Babies Go

I started writing my first "real novel" when I was in third grade. My mother had put one of my birthday presents in her closet and forgotten about it. It was a journal. Upon discovering it two months later, she gave it to me.

Thus, it began.

This must have been around the time I was into ERAGON because I determined to write about a dragon. Her name was Diamond and she was black, hence the title BLACK DIAMOND. I dove into it without any real thought, being eight years old. I worked on it periodically now and then and slowly a bit of a plot and other dragon characters started to appear.

Years went by and I started it over about four or five times, never finishing a full draft. The "novel" evolved. Eventually, my story gained human characters.

In seventh grade, I started writing poetry and spending time on the Neopets writer forum. There I learned about NaNoWriMo.

Thus, other things began.

I finished my first draft of THE LULLABY, reveled in this first time accomplishment, then went back to my old story, now entitled RUBIES AND SILVER. I had begun to put at least some thought into my stories by then and the idea occurred to me that I could somehow connect the two novels. Later I, luckily, vetoed this idea.

More time passed and I started rewriting THE LULLABY and contemplating THINKING OF YOU. My friend of old had fallen to the wayside and this worried me. I went to great lengths to revive it, reworking major parts of the story, though keeping the same characters and main conflict. It became ROYALLY BURNED. You may remember me mentioning it.

You may also remember that I've never really, really done anything with it. Sure, I planned out a whole continent and attempted to start drafting, but that's not much, not enough. ROYALLY BURNED doesn't grasp me like my newer stories, doesn't hold the same appeal. I'm essentially beating a dead horse.

But... I'm scared to let go of my very first characters. In a way, I still love them, still smile when I occasionally think about those long-ago-written scenes.

However, it's time to let it go.

And not just ROYALLY BURNED. There are two other ideas I'm shelving, at least for the near future: FOREVER, FROG and AFTER AUSTIN.

You may remember when I started the first draft for FOREVER, FROG and failed miserably. I don't know if I've ever mentioned AFTER AUSTIN in a post, but it's been up on my Projects page. They're intended to be verse companion novels.

There are a few reasons I'm dropping them.

First, as with ROYALLY BURNED, they're just not speaking to me. They haven't in a long time. I never fleshed them out, especially AUSTIN, and that might be the source of it. However, I have too many other stories to focus on at the moment to try.

Second, I don't know if I can write a verse novel. I can write poetry, and I can write novels so I don't see why I couldn't write a combination of them. Something just feels off about it. I normally wouldn't let the challenge stop me, it's always an adventure to step out of your comfort zone, but that's a project I would need to focus all of my attention on, and I just can't do that right now.

Most importantly, I'm not ready to write about these subject matters, mainly child kidnapping/molestation and rape. I don't know why I ever thought I could tackle them. They're too big for me, especially at this stage in my life. I've been thinking perhaps I could work these stories in a different angle, away from these topics, but again, that would take time I don't have right now. Maybe in a year or two.

To make a clean break with these stories, I'm going to go through all of my writing files and find the bits and pieces that relate to them. Then I'm going to buy some grey binders, just as these novels are now displayed in grey on my Projects page, and fill them with those odds and ends. Then I'll put them away, up in my closet, though I may never completely forget about them.

Have you ever had to shelve a project, temporarily or otherwise?

Celebrating the Good Things with a Giveaway

I love New Year's because it feels like you get to start over again. All the mistakes you've made in the last year are packed in a little box and placed on a shelf labeled "Occasional Shameful Nostalgic Thoughts." There are only things to look forward to, the potential productiveness of the upcoming days not yet marred by procrastination and failure.

Blogiversaries sort of have the same implications.

These dates bring forth the possibilities of all the posts you have yet to write and all the things you'll do to have even more to write about. It makes you speculate about all the blogs you'll read, the blogs you'll discover, the people you'll meet through those blogs.

However, with this post I wanted to let speculations of what will happen rest and focus on what has already happened. It's been two years since I first posted on this blog. I've done a lot of things in that time.

I finished my first rewrite of THE LULLABY which was my main goal when I began on this Internet journey. I've completed the first drafts of THINKING OF YOU, SHADOWMAN, and GHOST SISTER plus gotten ideas for plenty of other projects. I've become a two-time winner of NaPoWriMo and wrote a short story almost every week for a year with the Chrysalis Experiment. Three pieces of my flash fiction were published in an anthology called CAMPAIGNER CHALLENGES 2011. I've experienced my first few rejections and started working on my first round of revisions.

What have you accomplished in the past year?

In celebration of these things, I'm hosting a giveaway. I went through my bookshelves and picked out three books for the occasion. They're all been read, but are still in great shape.

Girl Meets Boy edited by Kelly Milner Halls

What do guys and girls really think?

Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of he said/she said stories - he tells if from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. Stories of love and heartbreak, like the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl and the flipside of the toxic girl who never learns to be loved; a basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; and a gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen, teach that us that relationships become complicated because there are two sides to every story.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - up until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets an America Online CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook...but Facebook hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at their profiles fifteen years in the future. Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates - it's all there. But it's not what they expected. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

The List by Siobhan Vivian

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction - and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Guess This is What I Get for Calling Seven a Clique Number

I'm a firm believer that seven (and three too) is a clique number. It doesn't matter that Harry Potter is amazing or that in THINKING OF YOU each team has seven people. Seven is clique. End of story.

Which is probably the reason this meme uses seven as it's center point. -sigh-

However, I do consider the meme itself to be unique. And I've been tagged by Tara Tyler, Christopher S. Ledbetter, and Kate Coursey. Plus just everyone is doing it. So I'm going to participate.

The Rules (and at least there aren't seven of them)

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.

Since I've been tagged three times, I'm going to post three excerpts. Lucky you. (Yes, you're very punny, Brooke.)

looked like it was an effort for him not to frown. Their features were distinctly different, only their hair and eye color proved they were siblings.
           “I never knew there were so many people with violet eyes in the world,” he whispered and handed it back.
           He could sense Acorn’s hesitation before she spoke. “William, have you considered that these people might be your parents? I mean, they share your name. And how many people have eyes like that? You know, not many.”

-from THE LULLABY

going to make that happen.
           I managed to press the keypad through the denim of my pants and get inside the car. I quickly reached over and locked all the doors. Erinn was still crowing after me, yelling things that might have been curses or might have been the sweetest nursery rhyme, the words completely primal and unrecognizable.
           I should have gotten the keys out while I was still standing. It was harder to maneuver in the car, around the wheel and the console and the broken arm.

-from SHADOWMAN

light peaking through, reaching down to almost my feet. My feet shuffled across the carpet, only eight steps usually but now just one eternal one. My right hand reached out, white with fingers splayed, kind of looked like a skeleton hand. It pushed against Mom’s door, ever so slightly. In gave in easy, with just the littlest creak.
           The last time I had been in here searching for something, it was for information about Lillian, Dad’s first and only real love. And I had found what I was looking for. But I hadn’t liked it. Why did dead people always lead to me snooping through my parents’ personal stuff?

-from GHOST SISTER

So there you go. Exactly seven lines from each of my last three (so many cliques!) rough drafts completely unedited. Don't be too harsh.

And, if you're not too tired of sevens yet, here are the seven I'm passing it on to.

1. Angela Brown - I know she has more WIPs to show us and I've been enjoying her pieces for the A-Z Challenge.
2. Steph Sinkhorn - Her current manuscript is amazing. And if she can't show it to us (she has an agent!) she'll probably have something else just as amazing up her sleeve.
3. Rachel Morgan - I'm hoping to get a sneak peak at Creepy Hollow #3. ;)
4. Teralyn Pilgrim - She's an amazing blogger and I want to see a bit of one of her WIPs. Her writing has both an exciting and a soothing effect on me.
5. Ella - I want to see what her writing is like. She is slowly posting one of her stories on a nonblog website, but I haven't had time to check it out.
6. Madeline Bartos - I have the feeling she needs post topics and I want to see what she's working on. (The girl gets a lot of ideas.)
7. Nick Hight - He's a new blogging buddy and what better way to get to know a person than through their writing?

There Are Better Places for Hooks Than Fish Lips [Hook, Line, and Sinker Blogfest]

My Nana and Papa occasionally take my sister and I fishing. It's fun, but when I get a bite, I feel bad for jerking the hook through the fish's lip. However, as a writer I'll take all the bites I can get without a lick of guilt when I set the hook in my readers. At least, I really hope I set the hook in my readers! And that's what this blogfest is all about.

I want to know if my opening hooks you. You can answer with a simple yes or no, or you could answer any of the questions in the guidelines:

• Does the character have a personality I can fall into easily? This includes any dialogue exchanged.
• Is the world around them set up to compliment the character as they're introduced?
• Are there secondary characters to assist with the hook?
• Lastly, would I read more?

THINKING OF YOU

(502 words)

The Enclosure stood solitary and alone. Waving grass went on forever, broken only by the long road connecting the Enclosure to the rest of the world. A peaceful scene, but it left a nasty taste in my mouth.

"Rebbsie. Look." Tass’s voice broke through my concentration.

Her pointing finger indicated a delivery truck, the size of a small semi, puttering down the road. Most likely a food shipment. They were due for one.

My body reacted instantly, knowing the plan before I did. Ground flew under my feet as I ran. My legs stretched, the muscles pulling taut. It felt wonderful after squatting in the grass for so long. The wind felt cool and free against my skin. Strands of my dark hair flew in my face and I shook my head, trying to clear my field of vision. Without looking, I knew Tass was behind me just as, without me telling her, she knew what I was going to do. We were going to hitch a ride. And we couldn’t exactly ask for it.

The truck sped toward us. I could see the driver’s face, every detail down to the zit on his chin. He was nothing but another young hot shot who took the job to have a car. His eyes hooded, he bobbed his head to the music blaring from his speakers. He hadn’t noticed me yet, but when he did, it was going to be a problem. Might as well solve it sooner rather than later. I launched a wave at him, the pulse of it starting at the base of my skull. I couldn’t hide myself, I wasn't a senses Trol, but I could do the next best thing. [Check out that jogger. Man, she’s built. Must be from running around this huge ass field.] He peeled his eyes all the way open to stare at me. He was drooling too much to even notice Tass, the pig. My hand came up, fingers wiggling. With minds like his, it was easy to fit myself into a situation where I didn’t belong.

The old engine revved, the vibrations pounding against my skin. Before the vehicle passed me and his face disappeared from sight, I caught his smile. Oh, how impressive he thought he was. I didn’t mind. He had done exactly what I wanted him to.

The surface under my feet turned hard and inflexible when I touched concrete. Breath rasped through my throat as I raced across the asphalt after the truck, waiting for my chance. It was all about timing. The vehicle slowed. Perhaps the driver thought that would help him locate me. I leaped, my trained legs propelling me beyond normal human heights.

My knees collided with the top of the metal container and I resisted the urge to curse, biting my lip. The landing was already too much noise. My neck swiveled, searching. Tass crouched beside me, her eyes shining from the adrenaline. We were so in sync, we jumped at the same time.

*Check out the other participants here.

1, 2, 3 or I, II, III?

We all know the book title is hard, but what about the chapter names? Have you ever given any thought to them? About whether they'll be funny or short or long or interlock with the book's title or all share the same theme? Or perhaps you won't even have any. The chapter name will simply be a number. But will it be a number by itself or with the word 'chapter' in front of it? Will it be 1, 2, 3 or I, II, II? How do you decide?

• Some people base it simply off of what they like to see in books they read. This is the reason I made sure each chapter for my first two novels had a name, even if it was entirely ridiculous.
• Some people base it off of point of view. This is the reason THE LULLABY no longer has chapter names, but THINKING OF YOU does. First person is more personal and real chapter names instead of numbers go along with that.
• Some people go off the tone of their book. Look at Rick Riordan and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. His books are hilarious and so are his chapter names.
• Some people choose chapter names that will add depth to their book. In SHADOWMAN, I call my chapters 'verses' since my MC is very into music.
• Some people name their chapters on a book by book basis as I have done.

How do you name your chapters? How do you like your chapter names in books? Have any examples you would like to share, whether out of your own books or others?

Happy Dance Coming Soon to a YouTube Channel Near You

On October 4, 2011, I finished my rewrite of THE LULLABY.

And you know what, I felt nothing. Absolutely no different. But I think it's finally starting to sink in. My stomach is getting fluttery and I have this urge to grin and act silly. (This may in part also have to do with my first author signing coming up soonish and the soda I just drank.) Now would be the perfect time for a happy dance video, except I don't look so glamorous and Windows Movie Maker is being uncooperative.

I finished my second draft of THE LULLABY at 45,974 words, which is a 15,738 word increase from the first draft. Of course, I already know that I'm going to cut the first two chapters, but I'm also going to add scenes. Who knows, maybe by the end of the third draft I'll have a fairly normal sized YA novel.

Speaking of the third draft, I won't be delving into that until January. This month is for the planning of SHADOWMAN (you remember that right?) and GHOST SISTER and November is, of course, for writing them. I've also decided to focus on THINKING OF YOU during December. It could really use some love.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? How do you prioritize your projects?

*Did you see my latest post? If not, please check it out here. I could really use your help. Thanks to all of you who have already voted! I <3 you, too.

How Far I've Come

Recently, while at my great-grandmother's house, she showed me a picture book that I had written and illustrated at her house in 2005. I would have been about eight. In the timeline of my writing career, BUCK THE BAAING HORSE is displayed as the first story or 'book' I ever wrote.

Of course, it is deeply flawed. There is information given that isn't needed and information that is needed sometimes isn't thrown in until the last second. I gave my characters names but half the time still simply called them 'the frog' or 'the cat'. My tenses switched. The ending was a complete clique. (And from an illustrator's point of view, my drawings weren't very consistent.) But everyone has to start somewhere and the fact that I recognize all this now just shows how far I've come.

Why am I bringing all this up? Today is my blogiversary. Exactly a year ago today, I posted my first blog post entitled 'At the Bottom'. I discussed how writing and publishing takes time and my preparedness to work toward those goals. I talked about THE LULLABY rewrite and what my hopes for it were.

Your first step onto the mountain doesn't bring you directly to the top. The first word of a novel doesn't bring you straight to the end.

While I still may be working on that rewrite, I've come damn far in a year. I'm mere chapters away from being finished with the rewrite, I have a whole other manuscript, I've written a short story almost every week in 2011, I wrote a poem a day for a month, I've come up with plenty of new ideas, I've found critique partners, and I've gotten to almost 200 followers on this blog. Who knows where I'll be next September 18th?

How I Didn't Waste A Month

So how did it go, Brooke?

Hmmm? Oh, you're talking to me? Could you repeat the question? How did what go? Camp NaNoWrimo? Umm... yeah... about that... You all remember my goal, right? To finish my rewrite? That didn't happen. I let myself get distracted (I blame it on school) and I got very little writing done. The month, however, was by far a waste.

When I started the month, I had 22,210 words. I now have 40,026 words. I wrote 17,021 words during August, almost doubling my word count. (I know the numbering is a little off. It's because I tweaked my chapter titles. Post about that subject coming soon.) I only have four and a half scenes left to write from which I'm hoping to gain around 5k. I would have more pretty stats for you (like my average word count per day) but they already wiped the stats from the Camp NaNoWriMo site.

I will continue on with my rewrite and aim to finish in the next two weeks. At the end of which, I will do a happy dance (which you might get to see).

What would you do a happy dance for?

Two Reasons

Camp NaNoWriMo is almost half over. And guess what? Drum roll, please. I'm behind. Be-Hin-Duh. My word count is at 13,354 when it's supposed to be at 22,580. And that's fine. Because my goal wasn't to get to 50k, even if that would be awesome. My goal was to finish this rewrite.

The total count for THE LULLABY has reached 36,396 with chapter titles and 36,301 without chapter titles. These numbers are important for two reasons. The original draft of THE LULLABY was only 30,236 words and 35,000 is the halfway point to my goal of 70k.

I'm thinking I need to change my goal, however. 60k feels more appropriate for my novel and I don't think I'm even going to reach that, at least this time around. I can tell already I'm going to have to add some character development scenes for my side characters during editing.

Overall, Camp NaNo could be going better, but it could also be going worse.

What milestones have you reached lately?

First Rejection

In April, I submitted RUDE TO STARE, my first Chrysalis story, to New Writing Dundee's sixth anthology. I had been waiting (not so) patiently considering I was so supposed to hear back by the end of May. Yesterday, I felt my heart give a little jump when I saw their email in my inbox.

Hello,

I am very sorry to inform you that your work was not chosen for publication in NWD 2011. We received roughly 300 submissions this year, and narrowing this down was a very difficult task.

Please do feel free to submit to New Writing Dundee again in the future. We will be accepting submissions again in December, and keep an eye on http://www.literarydundee.co.uk/newwriting.htm for information on purchasing New Writing Dundee and various NWD events.

Thank you again for your submission and your support for New Writing Dundee.

Best wishes,

(This is where it gets weird.) I had been wondering about this day for a while now. How would I feel? Would I cry? Would I walk around in a state of depression before becoming determined to show them they were wrong? The truth? I was elated!

And (after reading this post) I sat down and wrote 2k on THE LULLABY.

NaNo In, NaNo In, Nano In August

7 days until Camp NaNoWriMo

As I have mentioned before, my rewrite of THE LULLABY is taking longer than expected. A whole year longer. I'm making progress, but it's going very slowly. I'm at 22,210 words and I'm aiming for around 70k. Which, if you do the math, means I need about 50,000 more words. Camp NaNoWriMo is the perfect solution.

Instead of being in November, Camp NaNoWriMo is held in July and August. You still have to write a 50k novel in a month, you just get to pick which month. I'm cheating by working on an already existing project, but it has to be done.

National Novel Writing Month has always driven me to write. It played a large part in the writing of both my WIPs. I've tried similar challenges, but they don't give me the same push. I'm hoping Camp NaNo will give me the determination to push through since it's an official offshoot of NaNo. (Funny how our minds work.)

You can find me on the Camp NaNoWriMo site here and feel free to be my writing buddy on the official NaNoWriMo site. My username is brooke_the_writer.

What drives you to write?

Qurious Quirks - Entry

Go here to see the rules of this blogfest.

In a wood long ago abandoned by people, there sits a castle, a castle fit for hiding princesses. On the majestic door of the castle there lies a plague of white stone. Carved into it's smooth surface is this:

"He who can answer these four questions true
Shall be ruler of this castle as is his due"

How does your character fall asleep? Do they drink warm milk, lay on their side, their back? Pass out in drunken stupors?

Cassie doesn't allow herself to fall asleep until everyone else has. She lays on her back and listens until she hears four (now five) chests rising slowly with sleep, only then will she allow herself to drop off.

How does your character sit? Do they flip chairs around, have to prop their feet up, cross their legs?

It depends on where she is. If she's at home, she'll sit cross-legged on the floor or leaned forward on a bucket or with her back against a wall. If she's at a place where she's uncomfortable, she'll sit ridged and still.

What does your character do with their feet when standing? Do they tap 'em, cross 'em, scrape 'em against the ground?

Cassie is a runner and her feet are almost never still. She will methodically tap her toes in front, to the side, to the back. The only time they aren't bouncing about is when she's actually preparing to run.

Where does your character keep their hands when walking? Do they constantly touch their face, their hair? Do they cross their arms or simply leave them at their sides?

She swings her arms when she walks. She'll slap her thighs if she's in a good mood or strut around with fists if she isn't.


You can still join in! Just leave a link to your entry in the comments.

Second Summer in the City

Summer is great. It's always hot (hence, never cold), I don't have to get up early, and even though Lizzie's gone (because she hates me!) my friends and I have plenty of fun. It's my favorite season.

Unfortunately, it's also my most unproductive one.

In the book No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, he lists lessons he has learned through his many years of NaNoWriMo. Number Two on that list states: Being Busy is Good for Your Writing (pg. 16). I am woefully not busy during the summer and it flashes by before I can get anything done.

This summer, I pledge to get things done. I pledge that this summer will not be wasted. I pledge that the following goals; Will. Be. Met.

Writing Related

1. The Lullaby rewrite will be completed.  This is a big one because this was scheduled to happen last summer. Did I mention summers are very unproductive for me?
2. Thinking of You story line revisions will be completed. Previously, I had this put off until July but I may start work on it sooner.
3. Royally Burned and the untitled princess clone story will be plotted out accordingly. I attempted to start Royally Burned this month and it just wasn't grasping me. This happened with Forever, Frog as well. All due to lack of planning. I am not going to let this happen again.

Reading Related

1. All unread books will have their status reversed. I have over one hundred books that I have yet to read. Good thing I'm a fast reader.
2. I will host two more Wonderful Weeks. For sure I will be doing one on the Left Behind series. The other is undecided, though I have a few ideas.

Nerd Related (you so saw that coming)

1. Pokemon versions FireRed, Emerald, and Platinum will be completed so I can start HeartGold. Google is your friend.
2. The Wii Fit Plus will be used as a tool to gain muscle. Simply explained, because I have none. XD

Back on My Feet

There is nothing better in the world (besides air, cats, and Lizzie) than having words spill forth effortlessly from your brain onto the page (typed or otherwise). For the past month or two, I have been experiencing a block. I won't call it writer's block because I still had the ideas, just getting the words out was like pulling teeth (and we won't even mention March's goals). The best description I can give you is a dam holding back a river. Thank God the dam burst.

I have managed to write five thousand words toward The Lullaby in the past week (though I will admit a large chunk of it is dialogue; I like dialogue...), more words than all of last month. I achieved one thousand words on last week's short story. Something that hasn't happened since Week Ten. I have stuck with NaPoWriMo and not fallen behind. I've decided on my points of view for HEIRS TO ESIO and finished assigning last names. Things are going great.

Question: Have you had any recent successes lately? Any dams that have burst?

P.S. Here's something else I've managed to accomplish this week. Let me know if you enjoy. :)

If You Give Your Muse a Makeover

That's my muse. Where? Well, right there. He stands out clear as day. You can't see him? Why, he's practically ten, fifteen times bigger than you! You need to get your eyes checked.

Okay, I give in. You're right. He's invisible, but I certainly had you fooled there for a second, didn't I? It's okay to admit it.

  

Just for you, here's a picture of him minus the invisibility factor (I want you to know, I had to call in a favor for that one, Elvis doesn't like being exposed). That's right, my muse is an invisible, flying, giant, man-eating elephant. But don't worry, I'm safe because, as my mother pointed out, he's a man-eating elephant, not a girl-eating elephant (sorry guys).

Now, for the purpose of this post (which I will get to eventually, I promise), let's say that Elvis is your muse. And you are scared stiff of him.  Every time he comes near you with an idea, you curl up into a little ball and sob uncontrollably (remember for your pride's sake that this is hypothetical).

But then one day, a miracle of miracles, you happen upon a magical being who will let you change one thing about Elvis. So you sit on a rock and ponder with your finger on your chin (looking very writerly, I might add) and decide to take away his man-eating fetish and give him green spots.

And because of this change, you finally listen to Elvis's ideas and write an awesome book and become a bestseller/millionaire.

The occasional change is good for your writing. I know from experience.

I first came upon this astounding idea while reading this blog post by Charity Bradford. Lately, I have been in my own 'rut' and I thought 'Why not?' So the next time I was at the store, I bought some new mechanical pencils.

While they felt sleek and nice in my hand, they didn't do much for me or my writing. So I went one step further. I wrote in a different notebook.

Paper, or more accurately the feel of paper, is an important factor in my reading and writing experiences. Softer paper tends to help me more than stiff. The usual notebook I write in has paper somewhere in between. Which just wasn't clicking for me. I went through my reserves and found the notebook in which I wrote parts of Thinking of You. And guess what? It's pages are super soft.

My Usual Notebook

It seemed that in no time I had written my Nature of Magic blogfest entry, totaling at nearly 800 words. Then, I brought the 'change' notebook with me to school and I finally got a beginning for Chapter Eleven that I was proud of, about 400 words. It's not a huge amount, but it's many times larger than 0.

My 'Change' Notebook

This strategy also had something to do with my NaNoWriMo success. I had just started experimenting with writing straight onto the computer when November rolled around. Previously, I had written on paper and then transferred it to a writing processor. The change allowed me to write 50,006 words in two weeks, more words than I had ever written for any one project.

I repeat: Change is good for your writing. If it can work for me, the queen of routine, it can work for you.

Now, I've got to run before Elvis notices I drew him with green spots.

The Nature of Magic

Magic - n. the art which seemingly controls foresight of natural events and forces by means of supernatural agencies. (taken from Webster's Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language)

Webster was kind enough to share with me what magic meant to him but 'magic is different for everyone'. Which is what this blogfest is all about, showing what magic means to you (or in my case, your character).

My entry explains magic from my character, Cassie's, point of view. She is one of two MCs in The Lullaby. Currently, this segment is not in my manuscript but may be included later. It is 799 words according to Word. I managed to write all of this in one day (give or take for editing). This may not sound like much of an accomplishment but it made me happy because I have been in a bit of a slump lately. I am very grateful to Laura Diamond and Tessa Conte for hosting this blogfest.

          “What is this supposed to be anyway?” Richard leaned in, casually plucking the pendant from her absent-minded fingers.

     Cassie jerked out of her thoughts. She snatched the necklace back, holding it to her chest. The raindrop clanged against the rainbow circling it, the sound of metal-on-metal traveled across the rooftop. She looked at the small painted shapes in her hand, remembering, “It’s happiness.”

     “Okay, I’m confused,” Richard admitted, watching her face.

     “Big surprise there,” Cassie smiled.

     “Hey, play nice,” he shoved her shoulder.

     She laughed, echoes bouncing back from a hundred different buildings, and pushed him back. His eyes shone bright as he grinned at her, then they became serious.

     “Really, though, what does it mean?” He wasn’t letting her squirm away that easy.

     A sigh pressed up against her lips but she suppressed it. She took a second to line up the right words, “I was little when I decided I didn’t want my mother to be my mother. The word ‘mommy’ was forbidden. Her name was Maggie, she yelled every time I tried to use it, emphasized by a slap to the face.”

     Cassie’s breath came fast as the memories resurfaced. Richard remained silent, waiting for her to go on. Her eyes closed but her voice grew stronger.

     “At the age of five, I ran away. All I packed was a patched teddy bear and a candy bar already half-eaten. As you can imagine, it didn’t last long.” Her hand drifted down to her stomach, feeling the old hunger pains.

     “The walk seemed endless. I wanted to stop but even then I was smart enough to know I couldn’t. Maggie would find me, and then she’d scream and her hands, feet would lash out, and it would hurt. But when I sat on a bench to remove a rock lodged in my shoe, I couldn’t help it, I fell asleep.”

     Richard took her hand, his face stony. The expression looked strange on him. He gave a soft squeeze.

     “Rain woke me up. It, and all the hurrying people, confused me. Vision was limited. I scrambled to my feet, soaked. With no idea what to do but get out of the rain, I ran for cover and crouched in a doorway, leaning against the door. It felt nice and sturdy.”

     Cassie laid back against the roof, staring up at the stars, and a small smile seemed to almost appear on her lips, “The world was suddenly upside down when the door opened. He looked at me and I looked at him. He was small, young, younger than me. His mouth opened and I braced for the hurtful words that were sure to come. ‘Are you happy?’ That’s exactly what he said to me. My voice floated upwards before I could stop it, ‘No’.”

     The smile was now certain, stretching her skin in a way that was becoming, “He invited me inside. And I went, because what other choice did I have? At first, I was wary, especially when I met his mother. But she, she was everything a mother should be. She fussed over me like no one ever has. Fed me till I was fit to bursting, let me stay under her roof, found me dry clothes that actually fit.”

     “Sounds nice,” Richard joked, tugging at his baggy pants.

     “Hm, it was,” she sat back up, focused directly on Richard. “While I was there, I learned what happiness is, and that everyone has a right to it. Everyone,” her words were excited now, her face glowing, “me, you, all the people in this club, everyone. That knowledge changed my whole life. It was like I was Harry Potter and someone had just handed me a wand for the first time.”

     “What does the necklace have to do with all this?” Richard asked, feeling the buoyancy of her words.

     She looked down at it again, “He gave it to me, the little boy. His lisp was so cute when he told me what it meant,” her voice changed to imitate him. “To get to the rainbow, you must first go through the rain.” She switched to normal, “I gave him my teddy bear.”

     Her eyes glazed over, her focus shifting again. She drew Richard’s hand closer, playing with his fingers. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly released them. He wished she hadn’t. “I don’t know why I told you all that. It’s not your problem.”

     “I don’t mind. What’s one more?”

     Quiet.

     “Cassie.”

     “Hm?”

     “I need you to look at me.”

     She turned her head without thinking. He was close, so close she could feel his light breath on her face. She couldn’t pull away. His eyes reeled her in, promising summer, spring, warmth.

     “You are my rainbow.”

     His lips pressed down softly on hers.

Catch Me If You Can!

And why would you want to catch me? That's what I'm here to find out. Yes, me.

This blogfest is centered around whether or not your WIP catches people's attention and makes them want to read more. And why? Or why not?

And this is why you are here (I hope). To tell me what you think works, and what you think doesn't in my first 550 words.

Oh, one more thing before we start. I'll be posting the first 550 words to both of my WIPs (cause I'm a cheater). Feel perfectly free to read just one.

The Lullaby

Chapter One: Gone

“Are you sure you can handle them, Maggie?” Rieta hovered in the doorway, “We could always stay.” Her eyes flicked to the top of the stairs where her four-year-old son had stomped to his room, angered at the thought of a baby sitter.

Her husband rolled his eyes and placed his hand on her shoulder, “They’ll be fine, dear. We’re going to be late.”

Maggie smiled and hoisted Cassie higher on her hip, “Don’t worry, Rieta, I’ll take good care of them. Go have a good time.”

Rieta sighed and gave in, “Okay, but I’m going to call when we get there.”

“That’s fine, love. Now shoo!” Maggie made the motion with her free hand then laughed.

Rieta smiled weakly and let her husband guide her, his hand around her waist, to the car. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Maggie whispering to Cassie, covering Cassie’s small hand with her big one and waving it in the air. “Bye-bye to you, too, sweetheart,” Rieta said softly as she waved back and stepped down into the car.

Rieta frowned and hit the re-dial button, pressing the phone to her ear. Her fingers drummed on the table and she turned her body away from the rest of the table. “Come on. Answer,” she whispered as the ringing stopped and became her own voice, “Hello, you’ve reached the Marks family. We’re not home-” Click. She hung up, hit re-dial again. Dial tone. “Hello, yo-”

“She’s not answering, Bill!” she whispered frantically to her husband.

Her husband dragged his eyes from the performance on stage, “Relax, I’m sure she’s just busy feeding the kids or putting Cassie down. Give her a minute to call back.”

Rieta took a deep breath. Everything was okay. Bill was right. Maggie was probably just upstairs and couldn’t hear the phone, when she saw the missed call she’d call right back.

She tried to concentrate on the stage, hoping it would distract her but the non-ringing phone clasped in her hand was a constant reminder that Maggie still hadn’t called. She gave in and hit re-dial again and this time there was no ringing, just her voice cheerfully repeating the same message over and over.

“Bill, the phone is off! We need to go home!” A cold, dreadful feeling was threatening to overwhelm her.

He sighed but flagged the waiter to ask for their check. Rieta felt awful doing this to him, she knew he’d been anticipating this night for weeks now. She almost told him never mind, that she was sure everything was fine. But she wasn’t, so she didn’t.

She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the valet to bring around their car. The car wasn’t even at a complete stop before she yanked open the door and jumped inside. She could hear Bill apologizing to the man who had been driving the car before he stepped in and took his sweet time buckling up and starting the car.

She stared out the window anxiously, the feeling of horror threatening to overtake her at any second. She consoled herself that when they got there everything would be fine and they would all laugh about it later.

The first thing she noticed when they pulled up was that Maggie’s car wasn’t parked in the (driveway anymore).

 Thinking of You

Chapter One: I'm In

The Enclosure stood solitary and alone. Waving grass went on forever, only broken by the long road connecting the Enclosure to the rest of the world. It was an almost peaceful scene but it left a nasty taste in my mouth. It was going to be extremely difficult to move across without being spotted. And they knew it. Not that I was worried about the sentries placed around the building; they were easy enough to fool. I grinned over at the watchmen closest to us. They smiled back from their Jeep. No, it was the sensors and cameras that I was worried about.

    My gaze drifted back toward the Enclosure. There had to be a way to get inside. I glanced back at the Jeep. [I wonder if…] “Look,” Tass’s voice broke through my concentration.

    My eyes followed her pointing finger. A delivery truck was coming down the road. About the size of a semi, and probably packed with food. The idiots running this place didn’t have the sense to grow their own food. [Or cover their tracks. I wonder if anyone else has ever found them by tracking their food shipments.]

    Ground flying under my feet, I started to run. My body reacted instantly, knowing the plan before I did. That truck was our way in. I needed on it. It was as simple as that.

    My legs stretched; the muscles pulling taunt. It felt wonderful after squatting in the grass for so long, trying to stay hidden. The wind felt cool and free. Dark hairs flew in my face and I shook my head, trying to clear them out of my field of vision.

    The truck sped closer. I could see the driver’s face, every detail down to the pulsing zit on his chin; he was nothing but another young hot shot who took the job to have a car. His eyes were closed as his head bobbed to the music blaring from his speakers. Even so I launched a wave at him. [Look at that jogger. Man, she’s hot.] He peeled his eyes open to stare at me. I waved. I knew exactly how minds like his worked.

    The old engine revved, the vibrations pounding through my feet, as he tried to impress me. His face disappeared from my line of sight as he zoomed down the asphalt. Which was fine by me. It was much simpler without having to deal with his greedy eyes.

    The surface under my feet turned hard as I made it to the road. My footsteps added to the clatter of the truck, making my ears pound. Breathe rasped through my throat as I ran and ran, waiting for my chance. The vehicle slowed, the driver probably craning his neck to find me, and I leaped, my legs propelling me beyond normal human heights.

    My knees fell against the metal container and I resisted the urge to curse, biting my lip. The huge boom was already too much noise. I waited for the second one, but it didn’t come. My neck swiveled, searching. Tass crouched right behind me, her eyes shining from the adrenaline.

    Reassured, I turned my attention to the cab. The music was so loud, I could hear every word, even out there. That meant nothing. The punk-ass kid in (in the front seat might have heard something).

709 Words (Exactly)

I've done it. It only took me almost three hours but I've completed my 709 words for the day. And I must say, it sucks. Majorly. Writing has been hating me lately. I have all the ideas; I know what I want to say. I just can't say it. But at least it's progress. And progress is always good, right? (Right.) And because of this (and the fact I'm evil: Mwhahahaha! -cough-), I'm going to share my mass of crap with you. So here is 709 words (exactly).

The pressed dirt felt smooth against her bare skin. It was the perfect surface for running, not too loose so she’d slide but not hard enough to hurt her feet. She curled her toes, itching to stretch her muscles, but at the same time, knowing she was asleep.

    Cassie’s gaze drifted over the flat landscape. It looked the same in every direction, empty, lifeless. Scattered stalks of green were the only spot of color. She walked up to one of the waist-high plants and ran her hand over the top. It bent easily. The texture was familiar, like grass. But grass didn’t grow this high. At least it didn’t in the city.

    As she stood contemplating the plant, a swift wind sprang up, making the dust dance. It twirled her hair playfully making her laugh. Seeming to giggle, it tugged at her clothes and hair. Come on, she could almost hear it whisper, come on. “All right, all right,” she told it smiling.

    Wind dying down to a breeze, Cassie took quick strides. It felt perfectly normal to be here. It didn’t matter that she was alone. This place just seemed safe. And she was in a dream. What could hurt her?

    Dark blotches appeared in the distance. Cassie squinted, trying to determine their authenticity. They bloomed in her vision as she grew closer. Curiosity spiked, her dreams usually started in the middle of the action. What made this one so different?

    The wind picked up again, trying to urge her to hurry. Its excitement was contagious and she started to run. It felt amazing; her muscles loosened immediately, happy for the exercise. She had missed jogging that day, for Sam. Her hair blew this way and that, making it hard to see. She ran on anyway, only stopping when it became difficult to breathe.

    Her lungs gasped, straining for oxygen. She had pushed herself too hard. The thought made her laugh which made her wheeze. How could you push yourself too hard in a dream? Where you are supposed to be able to do whatever you wanted?

    It wasn’t until after she caught her breathe that she saw her surroundings clearly. The distant spots were buildings, very tall buildings. They towered over her on either side, casting long shadows. They appeared to be ordinary houses, ordinary houses built to extraordinary proportions. She gaped up at them, astonished. Had she shrunk? She felt her body frantically, patting her chest and arms.

    Someone walked by and she stopped immediately, feeling foolish. Another person walked by, and she froze as she looked at them, really looked at them. She looked around at all the people suddenly surrounding her and realized they were all like that, all short and slightly wrinkled with long appendages and facial features. Their translucent skin was the thing that made her stare. It displayed strange colors underneath, bright colors like blue and pink and yellow, colors that shouldn’t be on the inside of a body.

    None of reacted to her; it was like they couldn’t see her, like she didn’t exist. The wind tugged at her, trying to regain her attention. She followed it, still in shock at the tiny beings surrounding her. They were everywhere, all of them busy. What she didn’t understand was why such little creatures needed such gigantic homes.

    Her head was whipped around by her hair, the wind growing tired of her indifference. She stood in front of one of the houses; its walls splashed white. She was shoved towards the steps that led to the open door. Hurry.

    Cassie rolled her eyes, tempted to stay exactly where she was. She climbed up the first step anyway. Might as well finish what she started before someone woke her up. After hauling herself up the huge stairs, she stood in the light streaming from inside and felt incredibly small.

    Through the open door, a woman sat in a chair, motionless. Her eyes were closed and her head leaned back, but Cassie could tell she was not asleep. Puffy red circles showed that she had been crying, a tear still glistened on her cheek. Waves of red hair spilled down the chair back. And upon seeing her, Cassie knew why everything was made so (large.)

The Bibliophile's POAM (Plan of Action - March)

bibliophile - n. a person who loves or collects books, especially as examples of fine or unusual printing, binding, or the like (I was reading this post when I found this.)

Guess what today is? Do you know what today is (besides Ronald Weasley's birthday)? It's March the first, the first of March. I love the first of March, the first of any month really. It feels like a fresh start (kind of like New Year's twelve times a year), a time to set new goals and think back on others, on what we accomplished and what we need to work on. Hence I have broken this post into three parts.

New Year's Resolutions

Let's go back. Say, about two months. I posted this post. Contained within that post were my resolutions for 2011, all six of them. Since it's been, as I've said, two months, I think it's about time for a progress report. And, it being the first of the month, I think now is the perfect time to do it.

1. I will write everyday. This one is going okay, I'm not perfect, but I do write something almost every day, whether that be a poem, a blog post, a piece of a blog post (lame), a new sentence for editing, or maybe even new words for The Lullaby. I'm starting to build that habit they so mysteriously speak of. A-
2. I will write a blog post or in my journal every day. Totally BOMBED. I know I've been blogging but the main point of this resolution was to get me to write in my journal. -checks journal- My last entry was January 5th: a lovely total of nine words. F
3. I will learn to vlog. This has been going slowly, but then, I didn't expect it to happen overnight. I have posted one video on my YouTube channel but it's a slideshow so technically not a vlog. I do have one planned for when I reach 500 books (only 51 more to go). Until then, I need to learn to speak naturally to my camera. C
4. I will become more organized with when and what I write (or edit). I've sort-of been working on this. As a matter of fact, this post would go towards that, as well as this one. I have a schedule that I write to every week as well: Tuesday (or Wednesday's if Biggest Loser takes over) is to write my Poetry Peak poem, Wednesday is the day to start my short story (which can take me anywhere from one to five days), any other time is for the WIPs (somehow it seems more detailed in my mind). However, I have yet to set aside specific dates and times for individual WIPs besides short term. B
5. I will become better at critiquing others work. I think I forgot about this one. Which is definitely not good. This is important. My main career choice is an editor (because I'm realistic) and an editor has to be able to do this! I can fix mechanics all day long, but I need to be able to point out plot holes and flat characters. F
6. I will not give in to peer pressure or do anything that I don't want to do (excusing homework assignments). So far, I've been lucky enough not to need it. NA

What do you think of my grades? I think this is the worst progress report I've ever gotten. What would you have given me?

February Schedule

We're zooming through time again. Imagine that we're in a little shuttle. You can even make launching noises if you want to. Now, we've landed, right smack dab on February. For February, I didn't really set goals. I gave myself more of a schedule, which I will admit I fell a little behind on. But that's okay, because I let you zoom around in a space ship, right?

• Week One: Read Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas. This took me two (or was it three?) weeks to finish. It was very informative but it was just a slow read; I didn't really expect anything else.
• Week Two: Apply changes to Thinking of You to computer document. I think I finished this one on time but my perception of time really sucks so I can't be sure. I fell behind on my goal on a few days but I pulled it together in the end.
• Week Three: Rewrite scenes written in present tense. I still haven't finished this. I mean, I've finished most of it. I only have three pieces left (which is really just one scene broken up by a few good paragraphs). I've been having issues with my writing, so the beginning was hard to start (excuses, I know, but I feel I must justify myself).
• Week Four: Plot out everything that happened. I didn't even get to start. I have a feeling though that I might not be doing this for a while.

March Goals

We've returned to the Now. Now you're sitting on the edge of your desk chair (preferably the rollie kind) with bated breath, waiting to see what genius is about to spew forth from my fingertips. Terribly sorry to disappoint. It's just me and my goals here. No genius in sight.

1. I want will get to 35,000 words on The Lullaby. This will be amazing for me because it means I'm halfway through the rewrite. It also means that I will have surpassed my original rough draft's word count. It shouldn't be that hard. I only need 21,274 words which equals to 709 words a day (today was not included in that calculation). Easy as pie.
2. I will finish the first round edits for Thinking of You and then I will set it aside until July. Bet you didn't see that one coming. The thing is, I haven't gotten that much work on The Lullaby done in a while, and this first round of edits shouldn't have taken two whole months. I have too many things going on, and I'm not getting any of them done because of it. My brain is overloading and when it does that, I find it's better to put something away and focus on one thing at a time.
3. I will finish plotting out (as much as I plot out) Royally Burned. I know that I just said I need to put something away and focus on one thing but I want to write the rough draft for Royally Burned in June for WriDaNoJu. I know I've said previously that I would use WriDaNoJu to finish The Lullaby but I don't know if my brain can do something so much like NaNo with an already existing project (it's that OCD thing).

It doesn't seem that hard, I just have to remember to focus, focus, focus (now I sound like Rebbsie XD). Do you have any goals for March? What are they?