Time to admit it. . .

I'm struggling with this blog.

Consistency.

Content.

The whole shebang.

But that wasn't my only problem.

You see, I love blogging.

I love sharing the things that I love.

Books.

Stories.

Writing.

Only I also want to share more.

I want to share about the crafts that I loves, like knitting and sewing.

I want to share about the food that I love, like cheesecake recipes and finding the perfect and refreshing summer drink.

I want to share about projects that I'm helping my family tackle, like my sister's baby nursery or my parents kitchen.

I want to share the nerdy side of myself, like TV shows, books, dragons, and all things fantasy.

So I decided that this summer I'll be easing my blogging over to a new blog.

A blog that was varied enough to allow me to share all the things that I love.

Yes Joy!

My new blog, Yes Joy!, was started only days ago so there's not much on it yet.

I'm excited by the possibilities that I'll have with the new blog.

This blog is currently scheduled to sleep by the end of August, so it's not all the way dead yet.

When it does, I'll have a whole post for it.

Otherwise, I'm planning on sharing my Camp NaNoWriMo progress in July, as well as information on my current projects still.

All that said, I am sad about all of this too.

I started this blog as a junior in high school, wanting to finish one full novel.

Which I did.

It continued from there, until now.

I'm currently a senior in college.

I'm looking into the possibilities of internships in the publishing industry.

I've completed a second book's first draft just this last semester.

I'm surrounded by creative people at college, and my fun crazy family back home.

I've been amazingly blessed.

Remember, I'm not done yet.

Keep On Writing!

God Bless,

SDG

Joy

Eyes, First draft Complete! (Camp NaNoWriMo overview)

It's official.

I'm more of a Camp NaNoWriMo person than a NaNoWriMo person.

At least right now when I'm in college.

My goal was to hit 10,000 words written by the end of the month, and I came out just over 15,000.

I now really want July to come quicker, so I can see how far I can go then!

Not only was I able to write consistently at my own pace, I completed a first draft.

I haven't done that since high school!

I'm so happy right now.

It's really hard not immediately editing it right now.

I'm just waiting until the end of the month to start the second draft. . . 

That seems like such a long time right now!

Meanwhile, my plan is to tinker with the world building and magic systems.

Hopefully that will make things come easier when I do edit it. 

As of right now, I'm planning on doing Camp NaNoWriMo in July as well.

My current plan is to write the first draft of my Printhian novel, Given Away.

It's a fairy tale retelling that I've been planning on writing for a long time.

It deserves to be written by now.

My only problem with it is that I don't have much of a plot right now.

Not even an inkling of what I want to do with what I have in my mind.

Who knows, I might end up throwing everything out and pantsing again when the time comes.

Keep on Writing!

God Bless,

SDG

Joy

Quotable Sundays

I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.

~Douglas Adams

Quotable Sundays

The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.

~Albert Einstein

Quotable Sundays

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have  to stay where we are.

~Mason Cooley

Starting from Scratch: The Magical Side

In my new story world, I'm mixing together Cyberpunk and Urban Fantasy.

Today, I'm digging into the Magical System behind it.

I haven't had the time to sit down and really dig into my new world's magic system, but I have had time to use it in my first draft.

Which means it is still pretty inconsistent, but that can be fixed with time.

Magic in this world is an element, like air or earth or water.
It exists in nature, but only people with the right kind of genes can use it.
Those people tend to be shape changers (werecats, kitsune, etc.) or elves/fae, though there are a few humans.

And that's all I have.

I do know that curses are illegal, though, and magic can be sold to nonmagic users, though I haven't figured out how yet. . .

Well, it's still in the works.
I'll figure it out eventually.

Keep on Writing!

God Bless,
SDG
Joy

Quotable Sundays

Books are a uniquely portable magic.

~Stephen King

Quotable Sundays

Keep reading. It's one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.

~Lloyd Alexander

Starting from Scratch: New Idea, New World

It is by far time for my mind to settle down on one story and stick with it for longer than a few weeks.

And I'm hoping this is the one.

A Cyberpunk and Urban Fantasy story centered around a gang rivalry between the Old City and the New City.

(Beautiful Eyes)

I'm really into it, and I think I've got the characters cemented in my mind already to the point where I'd love to start doing character chats again.

I haven't done that since High School. . .

I miss doing those, actually.

This story needs its own world though, and it's combining my two favorite genres into one, so I'm really starting for scratch in many ways.

The one thing that I'm not starting from scratch with, is the original concept that I had years ago; what if Beauty was cursed as well as the Beast? 

Everything else has changed.

The plot.

The characters.

The setting.

Not the concept that started it all, though.

And no, I'm no longer counting it as a fairy tale retelling as much as a fairy tale inspired story.

(Until my mind shows me differently, that is. . .)

Okay, hold up, wait just a minute.

What about everything else?

Heh.

Yeah.

I hit a PoV wall with Riven's Light, so I'm frustrated with it and put it on the shelf for a few weeks before I rewrite it. . .

Shadow Wings will get another run over.

Eventually.

I was thinking about doing Given Away for Camp NaNoWriMo. . . 

Maybe later in the year?

Yup.

I'll be doing a huge amount of world building super fast, which may or may not make its way onto here.

We'll see.

Keep on Writing!

God Bless,

SDG

Joy

Quotable Sundays

The universe is full of magical things. Patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

~Eden Phillpotts, 1862-1960

Quotable Sundays

"Here I sit in the presence of queens and heroes and magic. Yes, magic. It is only when we have grown too old that we fail to see that the Maker's world is swollen with magic - it hides in plain sight in music and water and even bumblebees"

Andrew Peterson, North! or Be Eaten 

Writing Wednesday

Dragon Lore

>{~}<

Once, so long ago, there was peace between the dragon race and the human race.

>{~}<

They were known for their alliances and strong friendships between groups.

>{~}<

But that peace was not to last.

>{~}<

An age came where man misconceived the intentions of their allies.

>{~}<

This dreadful mistake opened the door to the worst of the dragons to come out from the shadows.

>{~}<

After leaving destruction all about, they slowly ebbed back into the shadows, waiting.

>{~}<

They say that you can still see them in the old countries; the old cities echo with their cries and dreadful shadows.

>{~}<

But the real question is, who has survived to the current era?

>{~}<

Keep on Writing!

God Bless

SDG

Joy

Quotable Sundays

"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest."

~C. S. Lewis

Quotable Sundays

"The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon." 
~Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

Quotable Sundays

I soon realized that a sudent of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is going on in what he reads: the most conscentious student will be continually misconstruing the implications, even the meaning.

~Northrop Frye, The Great Code: The Bible and Literature

Quotable Sundays

When you write fiction you are speaking with character and action, not about character and action.

~Flannery O'Connor, "The Nature and Aim of Fiction"

Quotable Sundays

The primary job that any writer faces is to tell you a story of human experiences--I mean by that, universal mutual experiences, the anguishes and troubles and gifts of the human heart, which is universal, without regard to race or time or condition.

~William Faulkner, Faulkner at West Point

Quotable Sundays

The constructs of the imagination tell us things about human life that we don't get in any other way.

~Northrup Frye, The Educated Imagination

The Beauty of Writing and Surprise Characters

I am so thankful for writing practicums right now.

Because I have to write for fifteen minutes a day, I've been able to chisel away at my next novel.

This next novel I'm trying to write a bit differently.

As I didn't spend that much time originally planning it, I'm writing important plot scenes first, before handling the other scenes dealing with character development and side-plots.

But, as usual, I've found a flaw.

I don't know the characters nearly as well as I should.

In fact, I've stumbled upon a character that I literally know null about, didn't know I needed, and I'm having to stop and figure him out.

So I'm sharing a brief introduction to him.

I hope to interview him on here at some point this week.

Name: 

Dustin, comes from an old Norse name, Torsten, meaning Thor's Stone.

Age: 

Mid-thirties

Occupation: 

Captain of the crown prince's guard, and personal trainer to the crown prince.

Appearance: 

Sharp features on a small face, dark brown eyes and light brown hair, doesn't care too much about appearances so he's usually in pretty mussed up clothing, and prefers leather armor to the more recently developed chain mail.

Family: 

Unknown.

Well, that's all I really know for now.

Until next time!

Keep on Writing!

God Bless,

SDG,

Joy

Quotable Sundays

"The king died and then the queen died," is a story. "The king died, and then the queen died of grief," is a plot. . . If it is in a story we say "and then?" If it is in a plot we ask "why?"

~E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel

Quotable Sundays

"On the whole, my books are concerned with children tackling the problems of an adult world in which things have gone wrong.

~Joan Aiken, "Between Family and Fantasy"

Quotable Sundays

"A book begins with falling in love. You lose your heart to a place, a house, an avenue of trees, or with a character who walks in and takes sudden and complete possession of you. Imagination glows, and there is the seed of your book."

~Elizabeth Goudge, The Joy of Snow