Writing update: Chapter Six

So, I've decided to enter a writing contest. The reason is because this is the last year that I'll ever be able to enter this certain contest. The deadline is August 15. I'm writing this post in between 'Self Word Wars'. To say the least, I'm burning out on writing, which is a first for me. Then again, writing five chapters in general is a first for me. Yes, I have written five chapters. Number six is in progress.

Chapter Four: This one is still kind of partial, I haven't quite finished a few scenes. . . AKA I've left time holes that I need to finish before I can officially call it all the way written.

Chapter Five: This chapter is the first chapter where I pretty much sat down and wrote all twelve pages of it in one night. Within about four hours with stops for supper and helping my mom when she asked for me too, I'd finished writing it. I'm not sure how I did it, but I did.

Chapter Six: I'm in big burnout mode right now. I've written bits of scenes here and there. I've written close to a thousand words in total of those bits and pieces. I'm currently feeling rather lost as to some of the scenes, mainly because they have to do with a lot of pain, hardship, sorrow, all-of-those-things-that-I-detest-but-will-make-my-story-better-if-I-add-them stuff. I can write it. I can write it. I can write it.

Over all, I've added a character I didn't know I needed, possibly will be throwing some out, have found out a few surprises that I hope will work in my story, and I've almost reached the halfway point.

Chapter Four Word Count: 2,330

Chapter Five Word Count: 2,264

Chapter Six (unofficial) Word count: 1,123

Total so far: 11,966

Character Mondays: Brennan

Starting this week, if you have a question for a character to answer please leave it in a comment below with the character's name and I'll have a group session of my characters answering questions once a month. 

Me: I'm sure you have not heard of this character as he does not yet have an important role to play in my current writing in progress, but I've decided to pull him out for a change because he will have a larger role to play in the sequel of my WIP.

Brennan: Do I have to do this?

Me: Why are my characters such rebels?

Brennan: Maybe because the ones you keep on interviewing are from a novel where rebelling is the thing to do.

Me: Good point.

Brennan: Thank you.

Me: I think we should start off with the typical age question. How old are you Brennan?

Brennan: I am 19.

Me: Are you related to anyone in my WIP?

Brennan: That information is classified.

Me: Wait, why is that classified, but not your age?

Brennan: Because anyone can look up how old I am online, but my relations are top secret.

Me: That's. . . Umm. . . Okay. Fine. I'm not sure what to ask now.

Brennan: That's fine with me. I like turtles, and the colors gray and black. Those are other basic first questions, if I remember your past interrogations correctly.

Me: WHY HAVE YOU BEEN GOING THROUGH MY STORY STORAGE?!?!?!

Brennan: It's my specialty.

Me: You are a pain.

Character Monday: Kallie and Mystery Character

(Sorry I haven't done these in a while. . .)

Me: Hello Kallie. Who's that with you today?

Kallie: I don't know her name. . .

Mystery character: You can call me Mysty.

Me: Okay Mysty. . . How did you and Kallie meet?

Mysty: Well, we were at-

Kallie: We can't say. You should know better than that, if we told you we'd be giving away a bit of the story! Where's the fun in that?

Mysty: That would be kind of fun though. . .

Kallie: Would not.

Mysty: People would be mad and upset at us. They might even throw rotten vegetation at us!

Kallie: I knew you where weird.

Me: *chokes* So, um, how old are you Mysty?

Mysty: I'm 22 years old and proud of it.

Me: Why are you proud of being 22?

Mysty: Because I am. Is there a problem with being proud of how old you are?

Me: . . .

Mysty: I didn't think so.

Me: . . . I'm not sure if I've asked Kallie how old she is. . . just for the record, how old are you Kallie?

Kallie: I'm 17, almost 18. Can we be done now?

Me: Okay okay. Fine. But I have tons more to ask you and at least one other person who isn't a mystery character. Good night. :)

Update: Shadow Wings Chapter Three

FINALLY

An Update

After much ado over college and putting aside very small amounts of time for writing, I have 'kind of' finished Chapter Three. Okay, all of the chapters are kind of in the first draft, but I intentionally left scene gaps because I simply didn't know what to write. Another trick I learned from Go Teen Writers (you should really read that book, I learned things that now seem so sensible I don't know why I failed in not realizing that first). I'm currently working on figuring out the basic outline for chapter four as that chapter is full of loose details and no where to go.

Chapter Four, HERE I COME!

Another update: I hope to start posting a book review once a month. . . Hopefully starting in August. I'm not sure how I'll do with keeping it up afterwards, but it's a goal to aim for!

Word Count: 2,141

Total Word Count: 6,249

College is coming up. . .

And So Is My Writing Deadline. 

Sad to say, I'm going to have to push my deadline for my completed manuscript back to the end of December. I'm still going to work as fast and hard as I can on it, but by reading Go Teen Writers I've been finding out that I do not have everything organized or thought out enough. I'll be working on organizing in physical format all of my outlines in a binder, so that hopefully by next week I'll be able to start writing again.

College, I've been accepted, FAFSA is done, and there's only a few quirks to work out before I'm signed up for classes. I'll be heading over to Northland International University on August 26. I'm super excited and very scared on how I'll be paying for at the same time (the glitches I'm running into has to do with the financial aid and paying for college. . . ). I'm so excited that I'm starting to work on packing already!

Before I leave you again, I'll quickly post a poem that I wrote the day before I left the writing workshop I had gone to last month. I don't have a title for it yet:

Such sorrow when,

A brand new friend, 

Must now say farewell. 

Such tears will fall, 

Good times with all, 

Shall ring like clear bells. 

Such sorrow when, 

A brand new friend,

Must now say farewell. 

I must admit it isn't my best work (I haven't written poems in a while). . . If anyone who's reading this and has critiqued poetry before, please look at it and comment on something I can do to make it better! Thanks a million.

God Bless,
Joy

Languages & Cultures & Wars, Oh My!

I love world building. 

I love the histories I can make, the cultures and races, the architecture and religions. I can give you documents upon documents where I have spent many hours of my teen life creating different sci fi and fantasy worlds. But I had a problem. An unprescribed disease, most commonly known as the World Building Bug. I didn't even know back than that I had it! Not until very recently.

It all started with the writing workshop I went to a few weeks back. Jill Williamson, one of the speakers and a good speculative fiction author, told the story of how she began her first published novel (By Darkness Hid) which later turned into the first book of a trilogy, she had begun with the idea of a tree. That spread into a full blown map, including geography, cities, etc. That turned into other details that took up six months of her life (I have spent about two years in the past on one world. . .) . All she did was create and explore this world that she was going to write about. The key word to remember is going to. All of this helped her with her writing, it is true, but it also stalled her writing.

How do you find a cure for this disease? I don't think there is a cure. At least not for us world first novelists. The closest thing to a cure (or at least as close as I can find) is accountability. Mrs. Williamson's accountablilty turned out to be her husband pushing her to do more than work on a world. For me, it's currently my deadline for the end of July (which is really creeping up on me).

No matter what kind of novelist you are, (world first, character first, plot first) how do you handle accountability?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!

I will really, really, really try hard to post something in the next few days. Things have been pretty crazy lately. But, seeing as I haven't posted anything in weeks, I shall quickly post something that happened to me tonight. 

Random character that I don't even know popped into my head while washing dishes tonight, and exclaimed "And THAT is how I saved the world at the age of three years. Or, at least, so I've been told." O.O

I might actually use this odd character someday. . . Whoever this is. 

Has anything like this ever happen to you? Will you possibly use this unknown person in a future writing project?