Tag Archives: amwriting

WIP Wednesday: Where I Belong #1

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So the first evening of NaNoWriMo this past year, I started to write Where I Belong from scratch, but realized I was too invested in the story, so I chucked that idea out the window and pantsed a new novel (read about that decision here).

I finally reopened the draft of Where I Belong that I started, and have decided to share the first chapter with you all, uncut and unedited.

It’s a little long, so I posted it on my Wattpad account. But upon realizing that you must have an account to view, I also decided to publish my G-docs document. The formatting is wonky on G-docs to me, but maybe that’s just my large computer screen making me feel that way.

Here’s a taste, and if you want to continue reading, follow one of the links at the bottom. If you have Wattpad (or want to create an account), select Wattpad. If not, select Google Docs. 🙂 Continue reading →

Monday Musings #6

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Outback

On Screenwriting:

A couple bloggers that I follow have been posting recently about trying their hand at screenwriting. Which I, for one, think is AWESOME.

While I was in college – well, let me explain a little more detail about my college. I went to a liberal arts university (great experience, ouch on the wallet though) that ran a 4-1-4 schedule. The 1 was a separate term in January.

The January term (aptly called J-Term), was where students could either do a trip abroad, do a month-long internship, or you could take one seminar.

So, while I was in college, I used my J-Terms to just take classes. I had 2 jobs to work, thus no time for an internship or trip abroad.

Each year, I pretty much took a different variation of the same class – something that involved creative writing AND screenwriting.

Freshman year was called Flash: Short Forms of Literature and Film
Sophomore year was called Double Trouble: Texts and Films
Junior year was called Next Episode: TV as a Narrative Text
Senior year (my favorite) was called Writing the TV Sitcom

Sense a trend? LOL Continue reading →

How (Not) to Write the Next NY Times Bestseller

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  1. Don’t watch Food Network as “research” That Thursday-night marathon of Chopped will most likely not help you. (If you’re writing Food Network fanfiction, disregard this tip)
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  2. Also, do not do dangerous stunts as “research” For real, just because you’re planning on being a bestseller and making moolah, medical bills suck. I’m sure someone else has made that mistake. Watch endless Youtube videos of them doing it instead. (If you live in a country where ER visits are not hundreds of thousands of dollars, disregard this tip)
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  3. Don’t try typing the entire novel with your eyes closed. Sure, it may sound like a great idea to write as you envision the story in your head. But I guarantee that at some point, your fingers will end up on the wrong keys. And you will be sorely disappointed when you start reading a bovel qgwew tiue dingers qwew off. (If you are blind, disregard this tip)
    1.    Continue reading →

Good Things Come From Sleep Deprivation

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caffeine-addiction.png

You know, I was going to start this post off with an image from Google Images via a search of the term ‘sleep deprivation.’ And you know what?

They’re all negative!

Now, I completely understand why the majority of people feel that way. Consistently not getting enough sleep is eventually going to screw you up. But I think a lot of writers don’t quite see it as being super negative. Not all writers, of course. Some of you weirdos (lol) are early risers. Get your best words in while the sun is still coming up.

That is not me, though. Me? I do my best writing when it’s way past my bedtime. And yes, unfortunately my day job means I need a bedtime. Sigh.

Continue reading →

Afterlife

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maxresdefault.jpgMy main character is not dead.

I have no interest in this novel being an “Oh btw I’ve been dead this whole time!” story. Nothing against novels that do that of course! It’s just not what I want this one to be.

So really, my MC is in limbo.

Now I’m a pretty devout Christian and my beliefs are in Heaven and Hell. But my MC is not a Christian, and she’s also still not dead.

Maybe I’ve read too many versions of the “I visited Jesus while I was clinically dead” stories and now I’m having a hard time imagining a good way to go about this limbo thing.

Part of me imagines it as being like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, where the MC is guided through her past, present and future and has to make the ultimate decision at the end. But I feel like

  1. That’s too ‘been there, done that’,
  2. I don’t need this section to compromise a majority of my novel, which it probably would,
  3. and I don’t really need her to make a decision or to change her life drastically. I just need her to realize some things.

These issues are why I tend to stick to contemporary, super realistic ideas. Because I have a hard time imagining things of this nature. But I’m trying to ditch my comfort zone for a little while. I’m just struggling.

Should she have a ‘limbo’ guide? Should it just be her? How does she come to these necessary realizations? Does she travel through time? Or just to different locations in the present?

I guess I should answer these questions.

I imagine it’s just her, travelling in the present, learning of the consequences of her actions. Seeing peoples’ lives fundamentally changed because of her.

See, I’m answering my own questions. These are things that blogging is good for! I’m off to attempt to write this.

In the meantime, if you have good examples of ‘limbo’ type stories/novels/poems, etc. send them my way!

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