Chapter 24

I haven't updated in such a long time.  This is probably because I hadn't written anymore of Shadow in such a long time.  School got in the way, then NaNoWriMo did too.  As much as I want to finish the novel/novella I started for NaNoWriMo, Shadow and its sequels take precedence.

Here's what has happened:

• The series went from a trilogy to a quartet.  It's sort of begging to be a quintet now, but I think I can rearrange some of the events to keep it a quartet.  I'd rather not drag out this series for too long.
• The question of how to solve a particular problem had been plaguing me for awhile and I finally had an epiphany about it.
• I've realized that some characters who seemed inconsequential are actual indispensable.
• I wrote Chapters 20-23.
• I plan to finish the first draft in the next couple of days.

It's wonderful how, even when a story is planned out and you have an idea of where it's going and who it's getting there, something can happen to surprise you.  Your story may end up taking a completely different path, but is better for it. 

DONE with Chapter Nineteen!

I think this chapter was especially hard for me to write for many reasons. My first isn't writing-related. I had to prepare to get back to school. Other than, however, this was the first chapter in Part Three and I had such a clear image of Chapter Nineteen that actually getting it out the way I had imagined was extremely difficult. I didn't get it out exactly the way I'd imagined either - I had to do some tweaking. I managed to get it out, however, and since I had vaguely planned out how Part Three is going to be, I need to finish plotting that out.

I'm shaking now, though, with the realization that I'm really almost done with this story. I can't believe it. Now that I'm so close, I really want to plunge into it and just finish. I have to study, of course. That is kind of important. But I'm going to make sure I write at least five pages everyday - more if I'm inspired.

I'm going to finish a novel.

This will honestly be the second full-length story I've ever finished in my life. The first one was when I was a freshman in high school. I'm not kidding.

Okay, maybe instead of writing about this story, I should actually go and write it!

I Don't Know Why I Avoided Reading Memoirs of a Geisha

It's a fantastic book in every way - there's a reason why it's so famous and why it was included on the BBC's Top 100 Book List (of which they believe the average person has only read 6.  As I very random side note, I've read 34 and am on my way to 35).

More than anything, it made me remember that writing is an art.  All his descriptions, similes, metaphors...everything was beautifully written and unique.  There was such life to this book that in the late nights I spent devouring every word on every page, I began to imagine I was actually Sayuri.

It's good - it makes me want to go back and comb through Shadow to make it just as alive as Memoirs of a Geisha.

Finished Chapter 17 AND 18!!!

I had just been aiming to finish Chapter Seventeen last night, but I managed to finish Chapter Eighteen as well!  Of course it isn't all that much of a feat since I sliced off part of what was originally supposed to be Chapter Seventeen and made it into the next chapter.  It was just getting so ridiculously long - over 50 pages.

I'm excited to start the main story again - get from the past to the present and into the thick of things.

Chapter Nineteen, here I come!

I Stand by the Last Post I Reblogged (on Tumblr)

Meaning the post here.

The best ideas really do come in the shower.  I just took a shower (my first time taking a shower at 7 a.m. in a long, long, long time, I might add) and I was struck with brilliant epiphanies for Shadow.  I literally haven't thought about this story since the Thursday before last.  I've felt guilty about it, but I haven't taken the time to think about it.

And now I'm inspired, motivated, and ready to get crackin'!  It's hard not to hate your WIP sometimes for being so draining, but when you get an idea that you're so excited about, it's backing to loving it.  I've never been so enthusiastic about any of my WIPs.  That's probably why they haven't ever made it past a few chapters.

But Shadow - it not only is quite close to being completely planned out, but a sequel is also in the works.  Of course, it would be smart to finish actually writing this one before getting to the sequel.

Still, I can't wait!

300 Pages!!

Yes!  It's finally happened!  I've hit 300 pages - 75,812 words!  I'm so tired of Chapter 17.  I want to finish and be done with Part 2 haha.  Then I can move along to Part 3 and back to the main action.  The faster I finish Chapter 17, the sooner I can get to Part 3, right?

Chapter 17

When I'm finished with this chapter, I'll be done with Part 2!  So exciting.  Then it's back to the main action.  I've always enjoyed writing, but for the first time it really feels like work - and that's okay.  I love it - I really feel like I'm accomplishing something.  297 pages and counting.  Of course, I'm going to be revising like crazy, rearranging stuff, cutting stuff out.  For right now, however, I'm just going to watch as my word count and my page count build up.

Recap: First Week of Summer

This past week I:

• Went to Great America
• Started summer classes
• Started a writing date tradition
• Went to lunch with friends
• Saw fireworks
• Played tennis
• Got a Facebook wall post comment from Ilich Guardiola

Recap: 200+ Pages!

I know this is a day late, but here's last week's recap:

• Finished Air TV
• Finished Witch Hunter Robin
• Finished Ghost Stories
• Signed up for summer classes, including a creative writing one that I'm very excited to take!
• Had my FINAL ochem lab
• Reached 200 pages in Shadow!
• Finished Ch. 13!  It was originally going to be longer, but I decided to cut it and make the rest of Ch. 13 the new Ch. 14.
• Ordered the FullMetal Alchemist OVAs which are coming out in August!
• Introduced my best friend to FullMetal Alchemist
• Tried to take pictures in a photobooth at the mall, but ended up with two 100 Yen coins instead
• Finished Skip Beat!  (You can legally watch Skip Beat! here)
• Downloaded some iTunes U lectures - I'm excited to listen to them at the gym
• Had a short message exchange with Monica Rial
• Went to Fresh Choice for lunch with my best friend and some friends I hadn't seen in awhile
• Had Thai for dinner the next day
• Went to Red Robin for lunch the day after that

Hmm this makes it seem like all I did was watch videos and eat out...maybe that's true.  My excuse is that it's almost finals week.  Sucks...why does school get out so late? :(

Milestone #1

I finished Chapter Eleven.  This means I've also finished Part One!!  This is so exciting!  I feel like writing really does require blood, sweat, and tears.  Even though this is still a really, really, really rough draft and I still have a ways to go, it's still really meaningful.

Current Stats

Part: Part One, complete

Chapter:  Chapter Eleven, complete

Pages:  148

Words:  38,486

Recap: Super Con!

Let's see... what happened this past week:

• I had a midterm in ochem.
• We identified the smells of esters in ochem lab - that was fun:  we smelled banana, peach, raspberry, nail polish remover, and wintergreen (that one was my favorite).
• I finished Ch. 9!!!
• We ate quiche and did origami in French class.  Fun :)
• I finished Ch. 10!!!
• I went to Super Con...
• I met Vic Mignogna!!!!
• I met Crispin Freeman!!!!

Awesome week :)

Music and the Arts

Music is the purest form of expression.  Yes, music with lyrics as well, but I'm referring more specifically to instrumental music or music with only nonsensical vocalization.  The tantalizing melody can gently caress your ears and fill your soul or a steady, fast rhythm can quicken your heartbeat and excite you.  It can sadden you until you feel the ache of unshed tears heavy on your chest or inundate you with joy that so potent and yet light that you could just rise into the air.

I find it absolutely amazing how a work of art can inspire another in another medium even.  Many different things inspire me to write - movies, photographs, nature, paintings, but nothing more than instrumental music that manages to convey emotion so sincerely and with such depth.  In the face of such artistry, words sometimes feel contrived and unnecessary.  

Nevertheless, writing is my medium and form of expression.  I immerse myself in a playlist of these beautifully composed masterpieces and attempt to transfigure myself into the emotion I emanating from this song.  I soak it in through my skin like a plant lapping up the light of the sun; I breathe it in and let it filter into my bloodstream, clinging to molecules of oxygen.

It's only then that I feel I can cut the proverbial vein and bleed onto the page.  Only then do I feel able to create the appropriate atmosphere in my writing.

Character Profile Worksheets

Now that my ochem midterm is over and done with (YAY!) I can finally work on my story some more!  This is exciting :)

Right now, I'm taking a brief hiatus to write some Character Profile Worksheets.  I just want to make sure that I get my characterization right.  There are so many important characters in this story that I want to make sure they all have clear, three-dimensional personalities and such.

I'll probably do the two main characters' profiles tonight and then write a little bit of Chapter Nine before I go to bed!

Recap: 100+ Pages!

Here's what happened last week:

• Was the Jokemaster at Toastmasters.  I read out this joke.
• Made silver mirrors in Ochem Lab.
• Had three midterms - Managed to swing an A- on my French one!
• Reached the 100 Page mark for Phantom!
• Finished Chapter 8 and started Chapter 9!
• Spent $78 on a Mother's Day present for my mom (yikes!) but she loved it :) Speaking of which - Happy Mother's Day!
• Watched the new episode of JONAS (Yes, I do have to include that here haha).

P.S. Today is Human Kindness Day.  Do a kind deed :) And maybe start making everyday Human Kindness Day.  Then the world would be a much better place.

Reading 1- and 2-Star Reviews of Books

Well, as the title of this post suggests, I've been reading 1- and 2-Star reviews of novels - ones that I've actually read that are in the same genre I'm writing in.  I have to admit, they're pretty entertaining.  But other than that, I like reading them because they point out problems in other novels that I should make sure to overcome in my own.  I should keep these in mind, maybe even make a list of "What Not To Do When Writing a Novel."  Haha.

100 Pages!

YAY!  I hit the 100-page mark and finished Chapter 8 yesterday!  Super exciting!  I can't wait to start working on Chapter 9.  This is going to be a fun one to write.  I can't wait for it to be read either.

Speaking of reading, I'm reading Jonah Lehrer's Proust was a Neuroscientist.  It's absolutely fascinating.  I'm learning so much and thinking of both art and science in a new ways.  This is definitely a must-read for anyone who likes art, science, psychology, and/or philosophy.  It's brilliant.

Recap: Chapter Seven is DONE!

All righty, here are the highlights of last week:

• I finished yet another chem lab (I really, really don't like those)
• I started working out before going to class in the morning.  It's much harder than it sounds :P
• I finally bought my Super Con ticket.  I really can't wait!!!
• I finished writing Chapter Seven on Thursday night!!!!!!!!!!  That's probably the biggest highlight.  Unfortunately, Chapter Eight will be on a very, very brief hiatus because I have two midterms this week - one in philosophy, one in French (in two parts - Grammaire et Litterature)

The Merits of a Graphic Novel

I never, ever really considered reading a graphic novel until...well...I started to read one.  This goes back to Fruits Basket again.  I watched the anime, but I was totally unsatisfied with the ending, so I decided to read the manga, even though I've never been into that (then again, to be fair, I've never been into anime until recently either).

[As an unrelated note, Fruits Basket is about a high school girl (Tohru Honda) who loses her mother and lives by herself in a tent in the woods until a boy in her class (Yuki Sohma) and his cousin (Shigure Sohma) find her and invite her to stay with them.  They are later joined by Kyo Sohma.  Tohru finds out that the Sohma family is under a curse and that some of the members are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac.]

I'm not sure if it's just Fruits Basket or all manga/graphic novels in general, but characters' thoughts and motivations are so clearly shown.  It makes the reader really understand the character and makes the character three-dimensional and believable.

I already knew how important it is for characters to be realistic, but this made me realize how something simple like a character's thoughts and memories can make them real.  It's easier in a graphic novel because no matter how many different characters there are, thoughts can be written in first person.  I guess they can be like that in a traditional novel too, but in a traditional novel, it seems kind of gimmick-y.  In any case, it's still possible to include the characters thoughts, memories, etc. in and thanks to Fruits Basket, I realized I definitely need to do that in this project I'm currently working on.

So that's what I've started to do now.  I'll have to go back and fix what I already did before, but that'll happen when the time comes :)

Hello, There :)

I decided to start a blog, basically just because I felt like it.

Let's see - I'm a writer above anything else, working on a major project right now.  I'll probably discuss it here, especially when I'm trying to gather my thoughts.  Other than that, I'll also discuss other random things I feel like talking about :)

Hopefully I'll remember to make posts.  We'll see what happens!