It's a Monday! The start of a new week, the start of a new month, and the start of a new writing series! If you didn't already see my post about the two readathons I'm going to attempt this month, one of the readathon's I'm taking on is #MakeYourMythTaker. This readathon encourages participants to follow one (or more) character paths, each with four book prompts. Well, part of the fun of this particular readathon is that the creators are encouraging participants to have fun with their characters and think about things like backstory, character details, and whatever else we'd like to think up as we participate in the readathon, making it fun for all of us! In the spirit of making the most of this readathon experience, I thought I'd use my Writing Monday posts to be about my character. Each week, I plan to write a bit of a character story and share it here! This week, I've decided to create a character profile or character sheet to get a better idea of where my future character stories will go. Character Path Chosen: Goddess, sub of the Sorcerer class
Name: Oprette Goddess of: Muses and Art Familiar: Tiger, Theadosia Weaknesses: Earthly pleasures, specifically food. Thrives on: Creation and Innovation Seeks: For all to find expression Mythic Origin: Norse/Scandinavian Strengths: Inspiring others, all things art, emotions and expression Favorite things: Color: Turquoise Food: Cheesecake with fresh fruit Place: Fjords overlooking the ocean Hobby: Used to be hanging out with the humans and making music, artwork, or creating new inventions, but now the closest she gets is watching them and trying to send inspiration their way Person: Mother, Sif Animal: Cats Activity (outside of arts): swimming and cliff diving Hates: Creativity Blocks Pet Peeve: Oppression Appearance: 5'9" Alabaster skin Light Auburn Hair with flecks of gold throughout, runs down to waist with slight waves Small bust, large hips
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Hello! How's it goin'? Living your best quarantine life? All joking aside, I hope you are taking time to take care of yourself. I know this is a stressful time for so many of us, and I pray for peace and tranquility for you. Personally, I'm kind of thriving. My Enneagram number is 5, so I love time on my own and not having obligations to go out and socialize or do anything. Though, I'm also learning how much I really do miss people, especially my church family. Today, I’m bringing you a writing update on Project Serenity! Here we go: Camp NaNo: I'm not doing well on my original plans…When I wrote my Camp NaNo goals, I was definitely not expecting what would be happening in the world throughout this month. You'd think that would mean that I'd get more writing done because all my weekend plans got cancelled throughout the month, and I’m working from home a few days a week…well, actually I've become a lot less motivated right now (I'm surely not the only one…). So all those things I planned to do? I didn't get around to most of it. BUT, I'm making progress! I've added a few thousand words to my project. I've started taking down a few of my sticky notes on my storyboard, and I'm over halfway through. Moving ForwardI've kind of hit a point in the book that is moving kind of slow. It's really important. It's the first "Pinch Point" with the main part of the story's conflict, and I'm trying to take care and make sure that I'm giving enough information, but not too much. Once I pass this point, I think it'll flow pretty quickly into the second pinch point. That might go a little slower as well, but then I really think it will gain some momentum and just roll to the end. I'm excited how the story is taking shape and fitting together. Especially with three points of view in the story, I'm impressed with how well it's fitting together and flowing from one point to the next. Fun MomentsSo, right before I went to write and post this today, I finished a section of the story, and I had a really fun moment.
This novel is a romance, with a strong basis in religion as well. But I just wrote one of the cheesiest romance lines ever. I definitely let out a laugh as I wrote it, and I had to make my down-to-earth and fun main character make fun of her romantic interest for saying it, of course! It's moments like these that I really wish I would write even more, because I love it when my characters come to life and surprise me. Though I don't think I'll reach my goal and finish Project Serenity by the end of April, I still hope to finish it here in the first half of 2020. I'm starting to pick up momentum again, and I can't wait to see how the story turns out. Let me know if you want more updates as I go…this is a fun process, and it's nice to share (and keep myself a little more accountable) on how I'm doing! Happy Monday! Week two or so for many of us in quarantine, so I hope you all are staying healthy and not going insane by being stuck at home more than normal. I know it can be difficult, but let's all try to remember what we have to be thankful for during these tougher times, and that we are fortunate, since there are many people who can work from home and keep in contact with other people even without being in the same room or building as them. Today, I thought I'd bring you some prep for Camp NaNo that starts this week! I know I don't always do well at these NaNo and other writing and reading challenges, but with the world the way it is right now, it might be slightly easier to? (Yet, my husband and I are also in process of buying a house, so if we close in April we will be moving and remodeling and…yeah, April is going to get busy…) The point is, I want to continue pushing myself to write, and having challenges like NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNo helps me to keep moving forward on Project Serenity. One of my goals is to finish the first draft of Project Serenity in the first half of this year, and I have about 30,000 words or so. I know that I can do it, but I have to give myself time to write a few times a week, if not every single day. I'm about halfway through in terms of the plotlines, and I don't feel like it's falling apart like the first try at Project Serenity when I had it set in high school for the characters, and I called it As It Seems. So I truly believe I can finish this by July, and then I'd like to move forward on edits and research on publishing. So: my project for Camp NaNoWriMo is to FINISH DRAFT 1. You heard it here, folks. I'm going to really try to finish Draft 1 of Project Serenity. I would say that it will take me about 30,000 more words or so, but maybe less…closer to 20,000 depending on how fast the next few plot sections go. How I'm going to help myself accomplish this goal:
As we move forward, I'm going to stick to these guidelines, and if I do, I will be able to accomplish my goal! I'm getting into some of the more intense parts of the book, so I'm also hoping that the writing process will move along more quickly than some of the other portions of the book. Who knows? All I know is that I am ready to FINALLY finish a project that I started and had the idea for SO LONG AGO. It has evolved a ton over the last couple of years, but I think I'm finally at the point that it is on the right track and ready to be finished! Are you participating in Camp NaNo this April? What is your project? Are you trying to finish up a WIP or are you just getting started?? Let me know in the comments below!! Have you Ever wondered why the Beast of Beauty and the Beast was so vain and mean? Is evil born, or is it made?Prince Adam was among the bookshelves when he heard his dad stumbling past the library door. An angry yell mixed with a crash as he ran into something in the hall, whether it was a vase, a table, or one of the many sets of armor in the hall, Adam didn't know. The loud noise made him cower, even before the slurred, "Adam! Clean up this mess!" He waited until he could no longer hear his father in the hall, and then ventured out.
Slowly, Adam made his way out of the library and into the hallway to see what he needed to clean. When he got to the glass vase pieces that scattered the ground, he saw that Ms. Chante had already started to clean. Silently, she handed him a broom to sweep and she started picking up the bigger pieces off the ground and depositing them into her apron. They cleaned in silence, knowing the slightest sound might rouse the beast that was King Marcus. When they finished, the only thing that would hint at the fact that anything had happened was the clean ring on the floor surrounded by dust where the vase had been. In the safety of the servants' kitchen, Ms. Chante gave Adam a couple of fresh cookies while she went to change out of her apron and grimy clothes from cleaning. While munching on the cookies, Adam thought of the gift he was planning to give Ms. Chante for her birthday. It was a beautiful painting of roses. She always loved to take him on walks through the rose garden. And that is where Prince Adam fell in love with her, though he hadn't told her that. Yet. He knew what she would say. That he was too young, that he was too powerful to love a servant like her. But she had been the only constant in his 12 years of life. With a dead mother and a father that blamed him for the death of his queen, and then the loss of so many of the servants throughout the castle when his father began to drink and gamble away all of the funds he had, Adam had never had much comfort in his life, despite living in a castle. But Ms. Chante was so nice to him. She fed him, took care of him, read with him, took walks with him. She tutored him in language, math, and so much more. And for that, he loved her. She had been gone for a while, and Adam had finished his cookies, plus another two he snuck off the tray while he was waiting. Since she hadn't yet come back, he decided to go and find her to see if she would like to take a walk. It was always nice to get out of the house for a while when his dad was in one of his moods. Prince Adam walked down the halls toward Ms. Chante's room. He was just about to sneak past his father's room when he heard talking inside. He paused to listen. The more he heard, the more his stomach churned. Because inside were the only other two people in the castle: his father and Ms. Chante. And she was explaining to him that there was no way that she would give up her child. Though he was reminding her that it was his as well and he was king and her master. She had to do what he said. Adam was almost knocked backwards when the door flew open. With tears streaming down her face, Ms. Chante went running down the hall. The prince felt tiny and numb, and he didn't even notice the tears of his own streaming down his face. I'm still trying to catch up and actually do some writing, more consistent blogging, etc. But for some reason, I'm in a slump and can't quite get productive in my creativities right now. However, I was struck by a muse a week or so ago, and these poems are the result. Enjoy! *Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a poet. I love to write, would go as far to say that I'm a writer. But poetry is not my forte. These are just my own feelings and ideas written down.* EmotionTears stream I scream But inside I have to hide Emotions pour I want to roar Sitting still I let them fill Overflowing Pouring out No controlling They're all about Yet I'm numb I'm struck dumb Can't stop I pop Let them go Overflow They’ve run I'm drained, done. Watching YouWatching you Smiling, laughing My world spins. Watching you Sad and crying My world slows. Watching you Eating, working My world shines Watching you, Just be you My world stand still. ColorsColors shining all around.
They spin, they dance across the ground. Reflecting all the joys of life, Even through the greys of strife. So when you find yourself falling down, Don't keep that frown. Watch the colors fly, Let them fill up the sky. Once upon a time, there was a seamstress who was known to make the most extravagant and beautiful dresses in the entire kingdom. The seamstress created dresses for her majesty, the queen, and all of the ladies in waiting for the various feasts, balls, and celebrations throughout the year. No one understood how the seamstress accomplished her designs because no one ever saw her at work. Each time a woman would stop in to pick up a dress, the seamstress would be waiting, dress in hand, at the door of her shop. No one EVER caught her by surprise, and the dresses were ALWAYS done on time (and often even early).
The dresses were created to best suit the woman who was to wear it. The measurements were always flawless, the colors would emphasize their best features like hair or their eyes, the shape was always flattering no matter the woman's shape. The seamstress was also known for her specially designed gowns. For one particular ball, all of the women came to the seamstress with requests of the most difficult caliber: one asked for the dress to make her look like a mermaid, and the slim dress with an iridescent effect made her look like she swam through the crowd of dancers. Another asked to be as regal as a lion with a mane to boot, and the seamstress created a gorgeous tan dress, soft as a cat with a lining around the neck to give the effect of a mane. No one knew how she accomplished the giant feats, but no one cared as long as she kept producing the quality products they purchased from her. One day, the Queen brought her daughter, Princess Sylvi to the seamstress. The princess silently stood next to her mom, watching the ground as the Queen described the beautiful silver and blush ball gown, studded with jewels that she wanted the seamstress to make for Princess Sylvi's 14th birthday. The entire time the Queen was describing the dress, the seamstress made no notes. Instead, she watched the downcast princess. After assuring the Queen that the dress would be done by the deadline in three days' time, the princess followed her mother out the door. "Miss Kotta?" came a small voice from the inner room of the shop. "Yes, dear," the seamstress replied, walking back to the working room where many small creatures were working. The little elves looked like children, but with large, pointy ears and large, beautiful eyes. The one who had called for her stood near the door, looking up at her. "Miss Kotta, would you like me to start on the Princess's dress? With almost no time, and such large demands for the dress, we should really start right away." The little elf's ears twitched when she talked, one of the many adorable things Kotta loved about her elves. "You're right, love, we do need to start on the Princess's dress. But…" the elf had turned around, ready to go to work, but stopped in her tracks when Kotta continued, "We aren't making the dress the queen described." The elf's eyes got wide, and the other working elves around the room all paused and turned to watch Kotta. "We're going to create the dress Princess Sylvi wants," she said to them all with a smile. When the Queen and Princess returned just two days later instead of the three they had agreed on, the dress was done. Kotta and the elves knew that the Queen always expected her dresses done early. "Go on and try the dress, Sylvi. I'll wait here." The queen stood and watched out the window while Kotta led Princess Sylvi to the dressing room. When Kotta took the cover off the hanger to show the dress, the princess's downcast eyes widened and a large smile spread across her face. "I hope this is alright with you, Princess. I took a few…liberties…with your dress. I just had a feeling that this would pair so much better for you." The smile did not fade as the Princess examined the gorgeous burnt orange dress with a high neckline going into a halter strap, much different than the pink sweetheart ball gown her mother had asked for. There wasn't an once of tulle on the A-line dress, and a simple jeweled belt would accentuate the Princess's narrow waist. "But, my mother…" she started to look worried. "This isn't what she wants." "But my dear- Princess, I mean - It's what YOU want." Kotta helped Princess Sylvi into the dress and then opened the door for her to walk out. "Mama," Princess Sylvi said quietly to get the Queen's attention. When she turned from the window and saw her daughter in the dress, she gaped. Kotta bowed low, "My queen, I apologize for being so brash as to not follow your instructions. But I hoped that you have been pleased with enough of my creations that you'd allow me this liberty to create the dress that your daughter will shine in." The queen turned her startled face to Kotta. "Never," she breathed. Kotta was beginning to get nervous now. She had hoped when the Queen saw her daughter admiring herself in the dress that she would know Kotta had done this for Princess Sylvi. "Never did I think I'd be so pleased with someone not following my directions!" Kotta and Princess Sylvi both breathed a sigh of relief. "You really like it, Mama?" "As long as you do, my dear." Princess Sylvi ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. The Queen looked shocked, as if she and the Princess rarely came in contact like that. When the two royals left, Kotta slumped into a chair in the workroom amongst her working elves. "Miss Kotta, did she like it??" "Oh yes, loves. They both loved it. Thank you for trusting me and helping me accomplish making our royal Princess the happiest birthday girl." What if the world had no color? Everything was just shades of grey, black, and white. It would be difficult to see. Things would blend together. The only thing really setting anything apart was size and shape. Then one day the world was suddenly drenched in color. Everyone's eyes would painfully protest to the new bright contrasts and hues. Yet your eyes would adjust. And you'd be able to enjoy the beautiful wonder of the gorgeous and breathtaking world around you. You never know what your missing until something changes. That change can definitely be painful at first. But the end result can be so wonderful! Do not fear change. Be prepared for it to happen. Learn to push through it, closing your eyes for a moment if need be, and then allow yourself to adjust and see what you've been missing. Good afternoon, lovelies!
Today on this Monday before Christmas, I'm going to an end-of-year update on Project Serenity, the book I've been *hoping* to finish all year. First of all: I haven't finished it. (And yes I know that there are only 8 days left of the year.) You see, I had made a resolution to write 2,000 words per week. I did not get even close to that I don't know if I really wrote all that much outside of NaNoWriMo in November. If you've read my NaNoWriMo Wrapup, you already know that I changed my original plan for my novel. On Day 1, I had a problem: I realized that my draft so far was super disjointed and that the characters seemed to have thoughts that were wayyyy too mature for high school students. Now, before you attack me, I know that some high schoolers can be mature. But ALL of my characters were too mature. I knew that I wasn't on the right track, so I did a last-minute plotting session and ended up with a whole new storyline. The super zoomed-out idea and overarching theme stayed the same, as well as my character's personalities, I just ended up placing them in a college setting instead, making them more independent and mature. Currently, I have written approximately 28,000 words. Based on my plotting, I'd say I'm about halfway through, or maybe just a little over (which is right in line with a "typical" novel that comes in around 50,000 words). Needless to say, I'm not sure I'll hit 50k words, or the end for that matter. But, I do have the end part of the week off, and my husband has to work. So, I'm *hoping* that I can get some words done! It would be SO COOL to be at the end or very close and end this year with a huge bang! So, by the actual end of the year, I'd like to get in another 5k-10k words and get myself closer to 35k-40k total words before 2020. Then, I'd like to finish the novel in the first month or two of 2020 so that I can start on edits! I'm excited about where the novel is now that I got a better start on a slightly different path, and I think I can do it. Scratch that. I KNOW I can do it. Now just let me prove it to you… On December 1st, my husband turned to me randomly and said, "So, it's December." "Yeah…" I responded, really confused as to why he was reminding me what day it was. "November is over," he continued. "…yeah…" I had no idea where he was going with this. "How'd your month of writing go?" Ohhhhhh, okay. That's where he was going with all this. I proceeded to tell him that my goals were to…
"So, in other words, I didn't accomplish any of my goals," I end. However, even though I may not have succeeded in what I set out to do originally, I still feel extremely accomplished with what I did do this year, and let me tell you why: Finishing my novelMy goal for the entire year has been to finish As it Seems. It was a story that I came up with a long time (read: about 5 years) ago, started fleshing out 3 years ago, and finally started really writing last year during NaNoWriMo. I already had about 20,000 or so words, so I thought it would be great for me just to continue on with it during NaNo this year, and then I could finish. Well, I woke up bright and early on November 1st, grabbed a cup of tea, turned on a writing playlist (which I soon learned I didn't like and turned off), and started working on it. I got a good 600 or so words done before work, leaving another 1,000+ needed to start off on the right track. When I got home from work that night and sat down with my book around 6:30 p.m., I was getting nowhere. I was stuck. Day 1. 600 words in. Very stuck. I was almost in tears because I didn't know what to do! My characters seemed way too mature for high schoolers, which is where I had envisioned them at the beginning. But everything I was writing seemed like these high schoolers already had more experience in life than most, and I wasn't sure how to fix that. I was sending my husband messages all night: What do I do?? I already have x number of words, but this is NOT going well! Do I go back and edit to make it work? Do I just keep going and go back later? Do I start over completely? Okay, I'm going to just start totally fresh. Aaaannnddddddd….I did. I kept my general character outlines, characteristics, and ideas, but I transferred them to a college setting. Using sticky notes, I used the 9-step plot dot plotting method to lay out what I wanted my four main characters to go through throughout the story, and I stuck them up on the wall right next to my writing desk. I started writing with a fresh perspective and completely blank, and ended the day with 1,920 words right off the bat. The rest of the month of writing went so much better than it started. I just felt like I was on a better track for the book, and it was meant to be for college YA rather than high school. Even though I didn't finish my book (yet), I got SUCH a good start on it! The storyline flowed pretty easily once I got a fresh start, and I didn't have too many moments where I sat staring at the page wondering "where the heck is this going?" I think that I took too many haituses from writing before that I just lost track of the storyline and went down a few different rabbit trails along the way. Now, the draft is much more focused. Oh, and the name is no longer As it Seems. With a new path, I decided that it no longer fits. Currently I'm just calling it Project Serenity until I get further along and a name finally starts jumping out at me. Writing Every DayWriting every day is hard. Let me say that one more time, a little louder for the people in the back. Writing. Every. Day. Is. Hard. I'm already busy:
So, I didn't have a ton of time to write, to say in the least. When Corgan was home a couple of weekends, I felt bad for shunning him so I could concentrate, so I'd do a short 5-10 minute writing sprint before bed instead of committing an hour or two to write. Working over 60 hours a week also doesn't lend much time to writing. The only thing that helped me was the fact that the kids went to bed at 8:30, so I was able to get in at least an hour or two of writing before my evening gig was over. Overall, I'm proud that even on many of the days I didn't feel like writing, I'd force myself to do a short writing sprint just to get a few more words on the page. That still helps me move toward my other goals. Then on a few days, I was able to be super productive and spend two or three hours on Project Serenity, giving me a few 3,000+ word days. And if I can continue to spend even a half hour or hour each day on Project Serenity, I'll still be able to finish by the end of the year and still reach that New Year's goal I made for myself in January! Word CountI may not have hit 50,000 words, but I am so happy with the progress that I made regardless. Like I've been saying, it was great to finally hit a point where the story was flowing well again and I wasn't stuck every half hour trying to decide how to loop the story back to where I wanted it to be. I hit over half of the 50,000 word goal, and I improved from last year. I'll go ahead and accept that, working toward the 50,000 words for the end of the year! In summary, I didn't hit any of my goals. But I still feel very successful in my progress. I know that there were moments where I could have spent more time writing instead of choosing to do other things, but I also know that I needed a break once in a while, especially with everything else I was doing in November.
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Author Not only do I love reading, but I also love to write. Writing is like any sport. You have to work out and practice. One way to do that is by reading, another is to just write. Here are some short stories that I've been writing to "exercise." Archives
April 2020
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