NaNo 2013 Progress, Week One

Because I've yet to been able to win National Novel Writing Month in past years, I decided to put forth my efforts into it again this year.  With less distractions, I thought I could easily devote the necessary time into cranking out a daily word count.

I created a new project for NaNoWriMo.  Here is a cover prototype and a synopsis for this novel.  I drew various inspiration from a dream I had, some research I did into the Fossegrim, and a song by Of Monsters and Men.

The Yellow Light of Lethderg

The Yellow Light of Lethderg by Kelly R. Michaels

An evil spirit plagues the quiet town of Lethderg...

Women and children have gone missing in the past. Emeline, a fairly quiet and often lonely girl, finds herself in the midst of scandal once the disappearings start happening again. With the help of the huntsman Favian, Emeline seeks refuge in her beloved forest that her parents have forbidden her from entering. Emeline doesn't understand their apprehension for the forest, having seen no danger from it before.

But it is where the Grim lives, the spirit responsible for so many deaths and kidnappings.

Tensions rise in the town of Lethderg, particularly over the construction of a new mine that Emeline's new husband helps to establish. As a result, Emeline runs away from home, hiding out in the forest. It is that night she meets the yellow light of legend and discovers that he is not so evil. It turns to be quite a task to convince the townspeople of that.

But the people of Lethberg are not so open as Emeline, because they have not forgotten the death of Arabella.  And if this Grim isn't the evil spirit responsible for so many deaths, than that must mean her murderer remains at large.

Word Counts:

Day One     Day Two

1,879 words     1,796 words

(1, 879 / 1,666)     (3,674 / 3,333)

Day Three     Day Four

1,339 words     3,354 words

(5,013 / 5,000)     (8,364 / 6,666)

Day Five     Day Six

536 words     1,363 words

(8,900 / 8,333)     (10,263 / 10,000)

Day Seven

1,627 words

(11,890 / 11,666)

So, I was doing rather well for the first part of the week, enough where I could slack off towards the end and still remain marginally above my word count quota.  However, I should point out that Days 6 & 7 were spent working on Archer rewrites.  So I've been cheating, sort of.  But at least I'm putting out words, which is the entire point.  Besides, something inside of me nags when I work on anything besides finishing Archer.

Speaking of Archer, everyone is probably wondering, what's the deal with that?  Come on, Kelly.  You finished writing the book.  Then you got a cover.  And now you're rewriting it?  Give us a book already!

I know, I know. But this new version of Archer is much BETTER.  At least ten times better.  As confirmed by my editor when I sent her a preview.

I promise that I'm offering more than just empty promises for a book release (because I have had several people ask me about its release).  I've done a lot more organization as far as scene sequencing and chapter divisions.  I'd like to think there is more character and world development compared to the original.  So I promise that the wait will be worth it.

I am over 20,000 words in this new rewrite.  When completed, I will have 15 chapters, of which I am currently on  chapter number five.  So a third of the way total, but I would like to think I am halfway through the rewrite.  I'm aiming to rework the next five chapters, and after that, the last third of the book won't need any major work.  Just some touching up to account for logical fallacies of the rewrite.

Then it's off to my editor and then I shall format it for ebooks! I'm being very ambitious by wanting a December release.  I'm hoping it won't be any later than January, but we'll see how it goes.  I just want Archer to be done so I can guiltlessly work on other projects, because I have many in mind!

Review of RECKLESS REBELLION by Rinelle Grey

Today I'm going to be reviewing RECKLESS REBELLION by Rinelle Grey.  I received an ARC of this, volunteering to read her novel on the basis of an opinion that has not read the first book in the series.

First a summary of Reckless Rebellion:

With Tyris’s home planet in sight, Marlee is looking forward to exploring her new home. Only a routine medical exam to go, then they can be together on the thriving planet of Urslat.

Incredibly, the exam reveals something that shouldn’t be possible. Something that is actually illegal because of Tyris’s past. Marlee’s pregnant.

Marlee and Tyris will do everything they can to keep their secret safe. But Urslat has its own problems, forcing Marlee to choose between everyone she has ever known and the ultimate secret she carries within.

Remember to check out Rinelle Grey.  You can also purchase Reckless Rebellion on Amazon.

My review:

Please note that I am reviewing from a perspective that has not read the prequel to this novel. I was asked to give my review based on this perspective, and I also received this novel free of charge for my honest critique. 

As someone who did not read RECKLESS RESCUE, I was immediately pulled into the story of RECKLESS REBELLION and I connected to the characters, even though I did not know of them or their previous adventures.  I think that this is in part attributed to the fact that the romance between the two protagonists was already established, and so I cared about that when Rinelle shortly after pulled Tyris's wife Milandra into the mix. 

If you haven't read the first book in her barren planet romance series, you do not feel as though you're missing a large gap of information.  Obviously, there are conflicts and child-bearing/fertility problems the characters face before you enter the novel, but those are easily picked up and explained in a way that doesn't confuse you or overload you with information from the start.  The mix is interesting; Rinelle informs the reader of the problems the characters face without pumping too much information in the beginning 

The only part I was confused on for the first fifty or so pages was determining what exactly anysogen was.  The characters reference it several times, and I originally thought it was some sort of chemical that was a factor in infertility.  I was wrong of course.  Anysogen is just spaceship fuel and a valuable resource at that.  (This was reaffirmed when I went back and read some blurbs on the first and second novels).  Also, the definition of anysogen is not a spoiler; but it is a key factor in understanding what's happening.  The only other thing that gets confusing if you're going into RECKLESS REBELLION headlong first is that when the people of Marlee's home planet are brought back, you don't really know THOSE characters, stepfamily included, but it is not a detracting factor in the story either. 

Rinelle's writing is very clean and refreshing.  When you first pick it up, you blink and realize you've been sitting there for five hours and just devoured over a hundred pages.  It gets you hooked and invested right from the start.  The romance is innocent and new, even though Marlee and Tyris are not new to love, and those past relationships help develop how they handle their feelings for each other as well.  I loved Marlee.  And I also loved Kerit, and this is his debut too 

But back to the writing.  It has a simple style that makes for an enjoyable read, but you do walk away reflecting on topics that are serious, and though they are not typical problems that are present in our society (though, some cultures do have similar ones), they do beg the reader to wonder.  If not in a 'could this happen' sense but in a 'where do we draw the line' sense.  Rinelle presents problems that are very real to her characters, and they become very real to the reader. 

The science-fiction portions are not confusing.  I was heavilly interested in her huge elevator that transported people from the spaceship port to the planet.  Also, while I sense that RECKLESS RESCUE heavily portrays "primitive, frontier" society, Rinelle flips the coin and shows you an entirely different yet functioning society.  I am very interested in reading the first installment to see how she presented Marlee's life on her home planet. 

All in all, this is certainly worth the read.

Exciting News!

If you haven't heard already, I am officially a Goodreads Author.  Just check out my Goodreads Author Profile!

And now, for even more exciting news, the ebook cover for Archer of the Lake is finally here, courtesy of my new cover artist Graphicz X Designs.

I don't have an official release date for the book yet, but it's closer than ever!

Kelly's Tips for Rewriting

Doodlings can help too.

Let's all pretend I have an iota of writing sense to be able to teach people what I know on the subject.  Today's topic is about 'rewriting' because that's what I've been doing lately with Archer, RE-writing it.  I was extremely hesitant to do so because, well honestly, I'd spent a year and a half just completing it.  I'm not really a fast writer, and I want to get it published as quickly as possible.  Plus, rewriting something is just tedious work.  All the same, it needed to be done.  Not all of it, mind you, mostly the beginning and some sparse scenes throughout.  Drawing from this experience, I have compiled a list of things that I hope can help others with rewriting.  Let's be honest, I just hoped for one take and to be over with it.  When I read articles of authors talking about their "second draft", I'd always cringe a little.  But perhaps some enlightenment on the approach can make the task a little more bearable and a little less daunting

*Make bullets.
And by this, I mean to compile a list of the bare necessities of what is needed to be expressed in scene x.  Whether the list is written or mental, it doesn't matter.  You just need a grasp of what you're trying to get across--why should these bits make it into the final cut?

Also, don't forget those one-liners you were so proud of.  They were great for a reason.  It's okay to cross reference with the original draft.  It can help keep your second draft on track.  Remember, the first draft is finished, and your second draft won't be finished if you veer off wildly into the abyss.

*Start fresh.
Add new details, different dialogue, and variant actions.  Sometimes, it's hard to do this when you have so much planned and set in stone.  While rewriting the beginning of Archer, I have changed a lot of introductions--the way a scene is approached, the way a character is introduced.  You can use this opportunity to create new characters or reintroduce/re-purpose your old ones.  For example, I had a character who originally did not show up until the end.  Second draft allowed a glimpse of him in the very beginning, which can help prove you know what you're doing and that you have plans for your characters.

Create new scenes.  My protagonist had to take exams to be accepted into magic school.  Originally, I skipped over the actual exams and her first impression of the school.  Next time around, I fleshed those details out. I also had to develop my world with physical details. Following that same train of thought, you can develop your characters by adding internal dialogue.  Some people may not have problems with going into detail, but after reviewing the comments from my editors, I have found that's where I suffered.

But the biggest problem with starting fresh in the rewriting process is reworking your fixed scenes, because that can be hard.  Here's some bullet points to help with that:

• Rethink your narrator.  Can they enter a scene differently?  At a different time?  Can they meet the other characters in a different fashion?  
• Perform osmosis with a dictionary.  Look for words you are unfamiliar with and challenge yourself to use one in rewriting a scene, write around the word, and either keep it or throw it away as the need fits.  The goal is to approach a scene differently.
• Translate your writing with an online translator. (I use Google Translate)  See how your writing translates into another language.  Sometimes, the translations offer synonyms or other such suggestions.  Use those to your advantage and let them inspire you to do some more writing to fit the needs of another language.

*Transition.
Look at the order of your scenes and see if they can be logically switched around.  By doing so, obviously, observation details and introductions will have to be rearranged.  Is it possible?  Schedule characters to enter a different time.  It may work better for your story.

*Foreshadow.
By the time you rewrite your second draft, it should go without saying that you've already written the first one.  You've finished; you know, for certain, what happens (because we all know that stories can change on you while in the writing process).  So by the time you rewrite, you can sprinkle some seemingly throwaway details that will later allow your reader to go, "Oh!" when they fit the puzzle pieces together.  Foreshadowing makes you a better writer and readers appreciate that.

*Emulate the masters.
Of course, the best way to perfect writing or rewriting is to read the works of successful authors.  They made it for a reason; so research that reason.  Analyze how they approach a scene, introduce a character, express sensory or internal details.  Don't copy or plagiarize, obviously, but let it inspire you.

Appreciating All Literature

This was a speech I did for speech class. More specifically a persuasive speech. I'm transcribing it here because of a friend's Facebook status, asking, "Can you even consider 50 Shades of Grey literature?" I believe I may have answered the question, at least a single facet to the definition of literature in my speech. This garnered a bit of a response on my Facebook so I've decided to share this here. Note, it is written as a speech so there's *blocking.* And unfortunately I could not find my sources mentioned here.

I encourage discussion, or even disagreement. Questions are welcomed.

--- How many of you are familiar with this book series---?

[present picture of Twilight's book cover]

Most often, the reaction this images spurs is typically negative. Why? I can list why Twilight is a negative influence to its readers; I've written a research paper on the subject. A few examples-- anti-feminism, advertises unhealthy, abusive relationships. But that is not what I'm speaking to you about now. I'm trying to convince you of the opposite.

Few realize that even though Twilight is not usually a favorite, as a published work, it does hold literary merit.
Anna Silver writes that some problems with young adult books is that they're written by adults who usually tend to preach a moral or lesson to their audience. Silver points out that the unique thing with Twilight is that the teenage protagonist has no real didactic authority in her life--Bella's mother is childlike, Bella is represented in a way that's mature, which saves young adult readers from the sermon and continue with the story.

Meanwhile, Liesha Jones argues in a critical essay that the merit behind Twilight is its representation of a girl and her conflicted growth into a society where she grapples with womanhood, only to reject all of it for fantasy and a fantasy that she conditions. In essence, a coming of age story for the introvert teenage girl--
This easily relatable feature of Stephenie Meyer's stories are what could be argued as a key component to its success. It fuels a deeper need for fantasy in its readers and fans. Katherine Frank contests this in her book that "girl-next-door" types are deserving and eligible for tall, dark, and handsome hero types.

With this brief validation of Twilight, I'll move onto another and slightly more controversial topic.

[present picture of 50 Shades of Grey's cover]

Many people like this book, many more do not. For those of you who don't know, this was originally a "fanfiction" of Twilight called "Masters of the Universe." The author changed the names and made millions in self-publishing it as an ebook.

One reason it is not well liked is because it is a derivative work. If that is your issue with it, I submit to you these examples--Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, the Scary Movies. Or even the less obvious, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion King, Star Wars, Harry Potter, 10 Things I Hate About You. All are technically derivative works stealing something deeper than names and characters--plots.

Of course, the flashing neon sign is that the reason why many people do not like 50 Shades of Grey is because it is a budding success in the genre of erotica--erotica filled with bondage, sado-masochism, and clunky prose.

But just because it is erotica does not devaluate it as literature. Famous author Claudia Gray strongly argues that just because something is erotic does not make it 'cheap.' It is a genuine genre enjoyed by individual readers, just as fans enjoy Twilight, just I would enjoy science fiction and fantasy. Gray continues that the marvelous thing with 50 Shades of Grey is that it opens the platform for the success of other erotica genres--and not strictly the Harlequin market.

In a hypothetical scenario, if a woman were to be seen reading 50 Shades of Grey, the common response of its critics would be to ridicule her over it. This is wrong. This is the book, the story, this woman has chosen to read and expand her horizons. To ridicule her choice of reading material is ridicule her. Because it's more than just the subject matter, that woman is reading, an activity that is fast disappearing in an emerging culture of high-speed internet access and the mindless entertainment it provides. It must be understood that something we read, no matter what it is, offers a new perspective, which readers can take to help understand their own lives.

I recognize that young adult fiction and erotica may not be in everyone's taste. But when you see someone reading 50 Shades of Grey and think how utterly ridiculous they are--they may think the same of your Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, or even Harry Potter. Books are stories written to entertain their readers, not to insult them.

So here, have a picture of Sean Bean in drag.

Concerning the Editing Process

I am at a very strange part in my writing as of late.  A part where it feels like I'm doing an immense amount of work but very little to show for it.

Archer of the Lake is in the very rigorous editing stages.  I thought I would have to do a lot of cutting, but as it turns out, I am having to do a lot of adding, based on the response of my peer editors.  My system of writing dialogue was vastly flawed and confusing, but I--hopefully--have that problem solved (as well as working on Runewell's dialogue as I'm writing it).  I am going through it and correcting logical errors and plot inconsistencies.  I am fixing the amount of times Caelfel blushes.  Most importantly, I am adding more world-building details, a flaw that my more well-read editors pointed out and complained about.  The original prologue has been scrapped (which it was never really intended to be in the book itself, I wondered how people would take to it), because it would not interest prospective readers.  All in all, it was boring, and a new one has been written.

It has been emotionally draining to do this editing work, but that's because I'm too close to the product. I've spent over a year and a half working on it, and people are reading it, which was frightening to start with.  But to learn that it wasn't perfect through and through? I knew this already and it helps to have peer editors to not coddle me.  They want to make it better too.

Various sections and scenes will have to be rewritten.  I've already compiled a glossary of characters, geographical places, and terms to help readers better understand this world I've created.  I've even drafted a list of the polytheistic pantheon for the human characters.  I have gods and goddesses and they are characters too.

What's more, and probably the most exciting bit I have to report, is that I have a sequel.  I always knew there would be one, of course.  Only, I did not expect to have the prologue and the nearly-complete, fully developed working outline so soon.  (Mainly because I have other books in different universes I want to work on).  But a close friend desperately wanted to convince me to try something new with Character X.  It was a good idea, so much so that I am dangerously close to considering it.  But to have that happen would change things in this story I've spent so long planning.  There is a plan, as much as it annoys her, and each character has their own future and purpose mostly spelled out in my head.  But to change that would affect quite a bit.  In considering it, I had to reconcile myself with the decision, and I ended up developing the sequel instead of editing the original as planned.

I still do not know if I will take her suggestion.  Oddly enough, it would not affect the sequel as it stands either way so I have a while before I decide.  But the outline of this sequel is several pages long, and I think it will be much more exciting than the original.

Also, I've seen proofs of the cover from the cover artist, and I think that will be amazing too.

Happy Book Lovers' Day!

Illustration by Ghergich & Co.

On Writing Runewell:

I'm only a few chapters in, but...

1) YES, there are CHAPTERS!  Archer is in serious need of chapter-revamping, but I came prepared for Runewell.
2)  Names are cool.  Seriously.
3) From Twitter: "A perk of writing about a queen: getting to increase word count by the copious amounts of 'your majesty' AND it doesn't become redundant."
4) EVERYONE has a personality. (Duh, self)
5) Childhood is probably at least 75% of everything.  I draw inspiration on this from my second job.
6) So far, I'm making good, steady pace & progress.
7) Writing longhand sucks because of the typing.  My wrist hurts.
8) I'm going to need a new notebook.

Editing

So where are we now? What's next?

Archer of the Lake's draft is finished.  I never 'officially' shared that here, but approximately ten minutes after one in the afternoon on June the 11th, I officially completed writing my first book. That was a rather large milestone for me.  I'm still in shock.

So then I asked for people to edit, all the while spending time since then sluggishly reading through the manuscript to make my own cursory edits.  Mostly typos and basic syntax.  Yesterday I finished doing that, and last night I sent the manuscript to several peers--fifteen exactly--for them to read.  They will be looking for typos, syntax, and content. I will, hopefully if everyone participates, have the opinion of fifteen people on my book. Nerve racking. I was rather paranoid before hitting "send" when Boyfriend and Best Friend insisted I should not trust everyone I've sent it to.  They think someone will have the propensity to steal my work, so I took extra measures in case someone decides to maliciously do this. I don't think anyone will.  I hope not at least.

So now, I'm stuck in a rather odd situation.  At the moment, there's nothing for me to do with Archer.  There's no writing to be done, currently, or editing on my behalf.  There's just waiting, and that's strange because I feel as though I should be doing something.

When I do begin getting the feedback of my editors, I'll start making my gruesome edits.  And I'm hoping I won't have to dismember my baby TOO much.

Then at work I had this frightening realization. That people were actually reading my book. MY book. People are going to be reading my book and they may hate it or they may like.  They will have an opinion of it and they will know the characters I've spent the last year and a half creating.  And that's scary.  It makes me feel so exposed.

But there are plenty of other things I can busy myself with.  I've just begun drafting Runewell, and I have to say I'm relieved that Myria is turning out to be a different person than Caelfel.  (Main character in Runewell and Archer, respectively).  This is a fear I've always had.  That I would get accused of the "Mary-Sue", lookalike characters.  But I believe there's quite a bit of distinction.  So far.  I've not yet reached my first 1k word mark yet.  But it's outlined.

Then I had a dream, three days after completing Archer, and it inspired me to write another book.  I won't say much, because I don't want to promise something I won't deliver.  But this prospective story is currently titled Mute and it has a post-apocalyptic, almost steampunk setting for the scenario.  I will share a Facebook status I composed the morning after said dream:

I had a dream last night and it inspired me to write a story involving a philosophical and applicable comparison between Christianity and eastern schools of thinking.

I've made a rather basic outline for this one too, already have the names of the three most important characters down.  I feel that this will probably be the most meaningful of all my projects.  It'll be dark, rife with physical abuse and depression.  But it's important.  I really want to write it.  I don't suspect (or at least hope) that Runewell will take long.  And then there's a project after Mute, but I won't say much on that.

And now.  While there's nothing to do and I wait for Boyfriend to get home, I've suddenly found myself approaching another Phantom of the Opera kick.  The last time this happened, I watched my copy of the movie four times a week for at least eight months.  Seriously.

SOMEONE BRING ME PHANTOM.

Why Foreign Language Majors Are Better Writers

Normally, when you have any writer, prospective or professional, they chose to earn their Bachelor's degree (if they do go to college) in either English, Literature, or Creative Writing.  I was no exception, of course. My intended major was English.  I had to change it, though, just before graduation in order to have enough credits to graduate. So I earned my Associate of Art with an emphasis in Foreign Language.  Perhaps this blog post is a continuing defense of this decision (which is silly to think I need to defend a decision to graduate junior college), but it was  agonizing to not be able to present myself as an English major.  There's a certain air about English majors that automatically allows people to determine what sort of person you are.

Shortly after this decision the Boyfriend, Donobob (okay, so that's not his real name), and I had dinner with his family.  I spoke to his mom about my change to a Foreign Language, and being her usual endearing self, she turned excitedly animated about all the possible decisions open for me as Foreign Language major.  I became excited in turn, and she made a comment about how I had a penchant for languages.

And I realized she was right.

I believe the biggest problem I had with being a Foreign Language was not being an English major anymore. But in all honesty, I am damn good with languages.  I excelled in my Latin, German, and French classes.  And I slowly came to realize something.  As a scholar of foreign languages, I could become a better writer.

English majors write papers, read ancient and contemporary literature, and write more papers.  At first glance, this could seem ideal for the writer, but, what about reading and writing?  You read well-established works continually processed by students year by year.  Yeah, there was probably something special about it to make it worthy for study in the first place, but as a writer, what do you take from it?  You only learn a certain style of writing, and honestly, the only thing special about that writing style above others is the preference of one professor.  You learn recycled styles, and while useful to writing, it does not build on your individual style. Paper writing doesn't either.  You just analyze something that's been analyzed countless times before while simultaneously draining the will to write.  In turn, you lose the motivation to write creatively.

On the other hand, Foreign Language majors who are writers will typically read anyway.  Writers read, and that's just a fact.  To read you need to write.  Only, since you're not required to dedicate hours to required reading in the English classes, you have more time to read the books you want to read, not just the dry stuffiness of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (I am sorry, but I did NOT like that book).

Meanwhile, your scholarly time is devoted to something useful--the building blocks of language.

“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.”  
--Johann Wolfgang con Goethe

And Goethe's quote above is a perfect example why.  Unless you've studied foreign languages, you probably wouldn't understand what Goethe means.  I've studied three.  I'm quite fluent in the world of grammar, but to fully realize its application, one would have to be familiar with the mechanics of a language other than English.  It's important.  Becoming familiar with the structure firsthand allows for an improvement in understanding the structure of one's own writing.  I can and do attest to this.

Foreign languages also help with vocabulary, understanding the roots of words, cognates from other languages.  It helps with deciding the appropriate word.  Not only that, but if you're writing something to be translated, while you're writing and thinking of basic structure, you can train yourself to write material that is more adaptable for other languages.  There is rarely perfect translations for anything, but, as a writer, if you make the job easier to translate, it helps with widening your market for potential international readers.

Overall, it's just a good idea.  And now, back to editing.

Kelly's Writing Rules

Look! I'm doing a blog post!  I've seen countless other writers, self-published or no, come up with their own set of writing rules or reiterating ones they hail as absolute truth.  You know, Stephen King says the road to hell is paved with adverbs, right?  I wanted to come up with my own.  I'm not a fan of those type of writing rules, like the one Mr. King gives us, because I believe they're so limiting.  I suppose we'll find out when I publish Archer how well MY writing rules work.  If they don't, then feel free to taunt about how wrong I was for not listening.  I was a very stubborn child.

Anyway, I posted these on Twitter, but I'll make a collective blog post every now and then on some and explain.

1. Don't choreograph your fight scenes to Carmen's Habanera. Unless you're awesome.

Should be self-explanatory.  Habanera, while I LOVE the piece (particularly by Maria Callas), does not go well with action or climactic scenes.  I'm at the point of developing the final climax of Archer, so as I was driving home one day, my radio played Habanera and I began visualizing the scene in my head.  While interesting, it just did not fit the mood.  I think, given a different scene or situation though, the result would be awesome.

2. Showers are a good place to think on plot development. But watch that shampoo. Quarter-sized dots come quickly.

I have a LOT of hair, and I do ruminate on many things whilst in the shower, plot development included.  Since I have a lot of hair, I've always taken the recommended amount of shampoo needed on the bottles lightly.  However, pay attention when applying soap or shampoo because after blinking at the amount I poured into my hand the other night, I realized I had way too much.

3. When writing in the employee lounge, avoid eye contact with every familiar who would approach you.

This is a problem I face quite often.  A good portion of my writing is completed while on my lunch break.  To allow myself enough time to concentrate on this task, I scarf down my food in a semi-timely manner and pop in my headphones to write, trying to look as unfriendly as possible.  Sometimes, I am caught before I put my headphones on, or I look up at the wrong moment.  Then people approach me and stay however long they feel they should which either cuts into my writing time or eliminates it completely.

4. When working with sharp instruments, do not slice your thumb that would make it uncomfortable to hold a pen.

I work with sharp instruments.  I cut open a spot on my thumb yesterday, and since most of my writing is done by hand, it has been very uncomfortable to support my pen while writing.  Overall, it becomes an unnecessarily uncomfortable experience.

---

So, I would like to believe these writing rules are useful, and I've no doubt I'll come up with more as time goes by.

In the way of updates, I've created a new outline for my next project:

The Runewell Fairytale Outline

 I've purposely edited it this way so most of the text becomes unreadable.  Also, my handwriting!

Finally, if you would just look up at the list of tabs, you will see I've added new ones for my upcoming projects.  Runewell is still in the outlining process.  Under each tab you will see promotional covers, a term I've coined to mean as "viable to change."  Also, the Archer one will be ten times better, I'm sure.

The model for Archer is a friend.  I picked out the costume and I took the pictures.  I have over a hundred pictures total and I plan to use some of the amazing ones for more promotional things--banners and a book trailer.  Be excited!  More to come!

Domain Time!

I now have a domain!

Which means, if you go to the URL box and type in "www.ikellymichael.com", it will bring you here!

Why do I have this, you ask?  Here's the answer:

I see other indie authors with their own domains for their blogs, and I desperately craved one as well.  However, I thought by going ahead and purchasing one would be quite too ambitious for me.  So I waited.  I told myself I would finish my draft before I begin investing in marketing.  Then, today happened, and I was doing some searching, browsing through other indie communities and something from godaddy.com popped up and I saw that they had a marvelous sale for a .com domain for $0.99 for a year's subscription.  Compare the price to then normal $14.99 a year, and you will see it was an opportunity I could not resist.

Why the "i" before Kelly? It was the same for my Blogger username.  Mostly because "kellymichaels" is always taken.  I wanted some sort of originality: I, Kelly Michaels... My Twitter username is the same.  And it could also mean "indie" as in, I am in indie author, publishing independently.

In other news, I am very close to the end of the book.  I've begun steps for the cover design.  I've already been generally given an image for the cover and I'm in the process of discussing typography and formatting with a graphic excited.

Needless to say, I am excited!

How I Started

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who had problems falling asleep.

That girl was me.

I'm not sure if I suffered from too much caffeine consumption or childhood insomnia.  Whatever it was, it was only a phase in my childhood, because I certainly have no trouble now.  The point is, when I was younger, I would often lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling, because I could not go to sleep.  I thought perhaps I was doing it wrong, that there was some magical sequence you had to undertake in order to fall asleep.  But I was never tired and eventually it was causing a large amount of stress for my parents because my younger brother had a similar problem.  (Although, he needed to sleep with my parents nearly all the time.  I rarely slept with them, mainly because he stole away all of their attention).

Most nights, I would just wait for myself to pass out.  To do this, I would sometimes sneak back into the living room and watch television with my parents until I was too tired to keep my eyes open.  (This was how I was introduced to the movie The Mummy.  When my mom 'officially' introduced it to us, she was largely surprised that I could quote a good portion of it.  Well, mom, if you're reading this, now you know why).

When my parents knew I was having trouble sleeping, my dad would often sit up with me at night to read me stories until I was tired.  It would help if he stayed with me long enough.  Though, usually, he was running back and forth, trying to help me and my brother at the same time.  And because siblings hate each other, we couldn't be in the same room when our dad was trying to put us to sleep.

One night in particular, I noticed how exhausted and stressed my dad was as he continually peeked in my room to see if I was asleep.  I remember his disappointment when I wasn't, and went begrudgingly to do something about my brother, enlisting my mom's help in this.  It was then I realized I should no longer be dependent on my parents for sleep.  They had enough problems than to worry about me.  I would have to start helping myself for once.

So, I began telling myself stories.

I didn't read from a book, like my dad did. I began by taking bits of movies I had secretly watched with my parents and some of the stories he told me and combined them. I planned a basic plot or setting, did some mental outlining, and let the story play itself out in my head.  The mental exertion worked, rather well I might say, to make me tired enough for sleep.  I did this every night, even until I was creating my stories, my own characters instead of borrowed ones.

Around the time I was in eighth grade, I started reading Christopher Paolini's Eragon.  I quite enjoyed it and soon found out that he began writing it when he was fifteen.  Fourteen at the time, I had an epiphany.

I could write my own stories.

If Paolini was only fifteen when he started, why could I not start when I was fourteen?  It was brilliant and it made sense. I was excited.  I began writing and haven't really stopped since.

I still tell myself stories at night.  Borrowed ones, original ones, they all help my fall asleep to this very day.  I sometimes develop the ones I actually put to paper with this method.  And I think it has attributed to my many dreams of story ideas.

So I began writing to tell my own stories.  Some of these stories, from when I was younger, will never see the light of day.  Some will be adapted.  But the thrill of writing for me is making the movie reels in my head come to life, hoping they will be turned into pretty books with glossy covers.

New Ideas & Current Progress

Forgive my infrequent posting as of late.  I've got two finals left to prepare for, plus two quizzes, a video + 1,250 word paper to write in the coming few days, plus graduation on May 11th.  Safe to say, I've been a bit swarmed. 

But I'm still working and this is just to reassure any who may chance across this blog that I am.  I've reached over 76,000 words and counting on my manuscript.  All that is really left is some transitionary scenes, big CLIMAX, then the ending.  It's sort of hitting me rather hard to have over a year's work wrapping up and so close to the end now.

And of course, in the midst of stress, where I've had another night of consecutive nightmares about graduation, I had a very inspirational dream where I let simmer for half of a day before writing something down.  I'm rather pleased with the culminated result.  I believe once I finish the original manuscript for Archer I will do some work with this, perhaps publish it indepedently as a short story.  It's not a particularly long idea and it does have the idea of a fairy tale.

I've shared the small piece from the smaller, second project with a select few audiences on my personal Facebook.  I'm going to wait to see what sort of feedback it garners before doing any other sort of sharing.

But I have many other ideas--continuing with my fantasy arc, the short story fairytale, and assassins.  More on that in due time, once other projects have been completed.

I know I said I wanted to have the manuscript ready for publication for the summer, but I'm looking more at a Fall 2013 release date.  Once I finish the manuscript and some basic edits, I'll be printing (out of pocket, mind you) a few ARC types to send a few people for reviewing.  I'll take their edits and feedback into account and hopefully have a polished-enough project to self-publish.  Meanwhile, during the process, I hope to be querying some agents, to see if I do have a shot for traditional publishing.

But for now.  Finals, then graduation.  Hopefully this summer I'll be presented with many opportunities and time finish this work.

Another bit--I'm looking into commissioning a digital artist for a book cover.  I'm really quite interested in Phatpuppy Creations who did the covers for Amanda Hocking's self published works.  If anyone has any other recommendations, I'll gladly accept them!

Later, I'll be asking who would be interested in winning an Advanced Reader Copy. 

Coworkers

I was writing away at my draft, as always, on my lunch break when a coworker approached me. He asked me if I was writing in my diary, journal, secret observations I make of everything and everyone around me. I answered no, this was my notebook. Eventually, I told him I was writing a story. He asked me if it was a vampire story, and I answered him no, it was more like a Lord of the Rings story.

He saw how much I had written so far in the notebook (I probably have less than fifteen pages left in said notebook) and asked me how many pages it was. I explained it was almost three hundred pages, typed and dependent on the font and that had reached past 70,000 words.

He seemed to be getting more impressed with every answer I told him. He said, “So you’re writing a book. A novel!” He was excited and it made me feel immensely great about myself.

He wanted a first edition signed copy, that he himself would not read because he’s not a fan of reading. Then, he instructed that I should put it in audiobook form so he could enjoy it as well.

“Don’t you play flute? Or trumpet?”

“You mean clarinet?”

“Yeah! You should make a theme song for it, once it becomes a big, theatrical production!”

“Interestingly enough, I already have.”

Eventually I had to tell this friend of mine who knew nothing of the actual plot, development, or characters, “Let’s focus on finishing it first.”

---

In other news, Gabriel Beyers' new short story, The Promotion is available for FREE for Kindle right now!

Changing Majors

Often, I like to introduce myself as an English major.  This has changed, as of April 2nd.  I am expected to graduate Saturday, May 11th with an Associate of Art degree.  To stay wtih my major in English would not have allowe dme to graduate in time, a fact I've been pulling my hair out over for weeks now.  I'm not sure how to explain it, but my evaluation form told me I lacked the necessary literature courses, even though I enrolled in practically every literature course available to me--British, World, and American.  But my evaluation form told me I neeed to either take Survey of World Literature 1 or Survey of World Literature 2.

My French professor was kind enough to do a Topics of World Literature class with me, where I need to read a few Greek plays and write a paper.  But then I learned that the Topics course wouldn't satisfy my literature requirements.  So I attempted to submit a substitution form.  Then after some research on my part, I feared that the courses would not be comaptible with each other.  So I did some comparing.  I found that if I were to change my major to Foreign Language, I would have mroe than enough credits already to graduate (62 out of 60).  Remaining with English would only give me 59 out of 60.

So after much deliberating and agnozing, I become a Foreign Language major.

It is an odd feeling, because the language that helped me reach that is French, my least favorite and the one I'm most awful at.

I've not really yet considered how this will affect my future pursuits.  If I want to keep this major for my BA degree, I think I would like to focus with German and maybe Latin.  I may change it back to an English major.  Someone suggester for me to get a teacher's certificate so I will be able to teach foreign language.  I would imagine I would need more educational requirements to do that.  Besides, I think myself not sutied to teach French.

In either case, I know I will graduate in about a month with my Associates.

A Day in the Life

My days are often filled with the same, repetitive process.  And as I repeat day after day, I'm beginning to find a similar theme in all of them: work.

Monday and Wednesdays:  Arise early for Government class.  After class, small amount of time allotted to forage for food.  Successful or no, proceed to the near-hour drive to French class.  After French class, complete the same drive home, find sustenance and prepare self for job that will most likely have you staying out past ten.  When home, small amount of time allowed for eating, studying, writing, or other recreational activities.  Go to sleep.

Tuesdays:  Arise even earlier for Economics class.  About three hours devoted to eating, studying, writing or blogging (as done now).  Go to World Mythology.  Proceed to job.  Same routine at night from Mondays and Wednesdays.

Thursdays: Repeat Tuesday. After World Mythology proceed to second job that lasts until 5:00. Off the rest of the day.  Remainder of time conscious is devoted to either resting, cleaning, studying, or writing.

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays:  Sleep in until work (sleep is needed!).  Go to work for 7 - 8 hours.   Come home to rest, clean, write, or vegetate.  If one of these days are my off days or if I happen to get off before 4:00, spend time with Boyfriend, friends, or family, and run errands.  Saturday nights are booked to complete Government assignments which are due at midnight.

My writing is normally completed either when I get off, during class, between classes, or during breaks at work.  But, as you can see, I'm constantly working--be it my normal job, my second job, school work, writing work, or housework.  It feels oftentime like a neverending cycle.  Writing gets put on hold most of the time for other responsibilities I must devote time to. As a result, things like blogging or networking gets put on hold while I deal with priorities.  Not to mention how I'm constantly reminded that for every hour I'm in class, you must spend two hours outside of class to study.  I don't think I'm reaching that recommendation.

Meanwhile, other things happen.  I've had a lot of car troubles recently and work schedule issues.  When I make a B on a French test and explain to my professor of my recent stress-load, I am merely told how he expects me to still make an A in the class.  I understand, high expectations, wanting me to do well since I'm always expected to make an A, but a B is not a bad grade.  But when the adult figures in my life look at me, they expect better than a B, of which I am capable of, yes.  However other things in my life take equal precendence, and that's the truth whether they like it or not.  Even with school--when I have a 1,250 word essay due in Government and a 7 page paper due in Mythology, I will not use the time I need to write those to make sure I know French perfectly.  I'll make sure I will make nothing below a C, but I'm not going to waste that time to memorize concepts word-for-word I already understand.

Then there is also the issue of not having enough credits to graduate with my Associates this May, something I largely panicked over.  I spoke with some people, and since the class I need is not offered, my French professor will also do a Topics in World Literature class with me in order to get me the one credit hour I need.  I'm relieved, but after Spring Break, this increases my classload. 

All this stress, and then I have to worry about some spiteful, passive-agressive instructor who took a picture of my license plate because I was parked in a Staff/Faculty only parking lot.  I've been plotting my revenge for this lady on a near-constant basis.

Beyond the stress, negativity, and complaining, I am making progress though.  Each word I write is that much more closer to the end of my manuscript.  I've considered changing the title from Archer of the Lake to something else, but that's a problem for later.  I also received a dream about two nights ago and after ruminating over it for the past two days, I believe I have another book idea practically established.  I started writing the first few pages of that project, and I find the idea intriguing and motivating.  Meaningful.

But I have spent too much of my precious free time now blogging for today.  I leave you with the reassurance that I am making progress.

What Inspires Me

The current word that has peeked my interest is, in English, credit or credibility.  In Latin, the verb 'to believe' is credare, credo (to believe, I believe), or trust.  I just learned this verb in French. Croire.  It's always fascinated me, for some reason.  I wanted to turn it the Latin version into something of a statement famous from a favorite anime of mine.  However, the verb 'to give' fit better than trying to convert credare into 'to entrust' or a giving of trust, since the statement was a command.  If you're curious, the phrase in Latin is, Da Mihi Tuum Cordem.  (Give me your heart, from Princess Tutu)

Also, I have three songs for you--

Lord of the Rings Symphony (Compilation, with commentary from composer) Look for the bass clarinet!




Fiddler on a Roof -- If I Were a Rich Man





Carrie Underwood -- Blown Away





Also, in my World Mythology class, we have just finished our section on Greco-Roman mythology.  So, I thought this would be an appropriate time to make mention that my female protagonist is loosely based on a figure from Greek mythology, perhaps one of my favorite goddesses.

Side note, we begin Norse mythology today.  I'm excited for Loki.

Also, I saw the new movie Warm Bodies, twice in the past week.  I enjoyed it so much, just as I thought I would, that I was happy to see it with another friend who wanted to see it desperately.   I'm determined to eventually read the book it's based on.  But on a whole, the movie gave me a new interest on zombies, a new perspective.  The zombie genre always interested me on the survival angle-- see Amanda Hocking's Hollow series, and the Walking Dead.

Speaking of the Walking Dead, I love that show.  I have not, however, since the latest episode and I will vehemently seek anyone out who spoils the new episode for me.

Fonts

As I'm drawing nearer and nearer to the close of my manuscript, I'm beginning to spend some of my energy worrying about the fortmatting.  eBook and print.  I've found that The Book Designer is a rather helpful blog for indie publishing, and highly recommend it for fellow authors. I keep telling myself that that's an issue for a later time, but I have been going back and forth on what font to use.  I've researched most common ones and I'm undecided between the two my word processor has--Palatino Linotype and Garamond.  After a quick poll on my Facebook, it appears that the former is the favorite between the two.  If anyone is reading it, feel free to state your preference in a comment below between A & B:

Please forgive the typo--the one that is not underlined in red.  "Unconformed" is very intentional.  What you're seeing here is the very first paragraph of the entire manuscript, an opening of sorts.  I've deliberated between sharing that beginning here, but I believe I will save that surprise for later.  For now, be grateful for this first paragraph and feel free to share your feedback with it. Also, more later when I've decided on the release.

And, be sure to check back later for another 'What Inspires Me' post.

Die Hand v. Le Clavier

Die Hand is "the hand" in German, and Le Clavier is "the keyboard" in French.

Both of these items are important for any writer.  Before word processing and typewriters, there was the hand to write with and the pen, pencil, quill, odd piece of charcoal that was the instrument.  I often wonder how long it would take for an author pre-21st century to write a book. 

I came upon this article on Word Count that details a skeletal estimation of word counts for different novels and books, dependent on genre.  With Archer of the Lake, I believe it's safe to assume that it falls under a young adult fantasy.  My current word count that I've typed out is around 55,000, but I believe I've completed around 60,000 words written.

And, upon realization the other day, therein lies the issue with my slow progress.  I follow other writers and their blogs and their blogging on writing and such.  It has become suddenly and painfully obvious that how other writers seem to make faster progress with their writing and manuscripts is perhaps they sit at a computer and write by typing.  It's not a method that I can fault at all.  Typing is fater than writing words by hand, especially since my last clocked typing time was around 89 wpm (words per minute).

My normal practice of writing is during the day--be it lunch break, class break, homework break, is to write what I can or am able to in my notebook.  Side note--my preferred writing notebook is a composition notebook.  I've already filled up two composition notebooks with Archer of the Lake alone, and I'm halfway through my third notebook (which features a shot of Katniss, Hunger Games plug!)  Later, I will slowly do the grueling work of transcribing all the pages from my notebook into the computer file I have.  In retrospect, this seems like a rather inefficient method of writing.  Valuable time that could be spent on creating new on content on the manuscript is wasted on squinting at my awful handwriting and trying to decipher what I was trying to say in my hasty scrawl in order to transcribe it for digital copy.

I realized that, logically, if I want want to make better progress on this I should devote all writing to the computer.  However, my writing is done in sporadic bursts--five minutes here or thirty minutes there.  And I absolutely hate, hate writing out of order.  Say if I stopped my current progress and continued it on the computer.  I can't pick it up later, if I'm not at my computer or have my USB in hand, from my notebook because there's a large gap of story that's missing that could prove vital to continue.

Bu I must get over this if I want to at least attempt making better progress.  Here is a Typing Speed Test if you would like to try your own wpm rate.  I just took it and my speed went down by three--I'm currently at 85 wpm, which is still not bad.

Reading

I rather like this blog post I had on Wordpress, and since it's more relevant to interests here, I will repost it for this blog:

I came across this article:

“Have You Met a Writer Who Doesn’t Read”

 It’s interesting, contains a valid point, but I would have to staunchly disagree. It does not represent absolute truth.

 I have a serious problem with the superior, almost arrogant tone the blogger maintains when judging who is a writer and who should be one. Writers are not definably created out of readers. Writers can be created from non-readers, illiterates.

 Please note, this is not to say that reading isn’t important. Reading helps. Reading is important. For most, reading plays a vital role in writing. But it does not define a writer. What a writer writes, chooses to write defines a writer.

 I like reading. However, with my life as of late, I’ve little time to do so. It’s disappointing. I love books, but I do not have the energy to complete the second half of A Game of Thrones. Or, I should elaborate. I have energy, yes, that I would much prefer to utilize elsewhere. In certain times, dependent entirely on my mood, I will choose to write over reading. When you add it all up, I write more than I read in a week. As a matter of fact, I have not read a book for several weeks. But I’ve written thousands of words. Does that mean, then, by this blogger’s standards, I am not a writer because I did not invest nonexistent time into reading? I think not.

 The concept is not universally applicable. And another thing. I think the blogger mistakenly categorizes reading into a singular group: books. Books are not the only methods of reading. Goodness, no. In a week’s time, I do read, process enormous amounts of information. I read Internet articles, particularly about blogging, publishing, and writing CONSTANTLY. And really, I read articles constantly. Practically, every time I jump on the Internet, I read at least three new articles that pop up on my subscription lists. Does that not count as reading, as well? It may not be a book, but would not reading about writing be just as useful as reading the work of another writer?

 Maybe I’m just snubbed by the whole idea expressed on the post–how dare these children who hardly read want to become writers! What is wrong with them for not reading more!–the sentiment that seems to be shared is that it feels wrong for non-readers to pursue a possible dream in writing. It is not the job of writers to put down aspiring writers because they do not read as many books as they do. Encourage them to read, yes, but do not “dog” those who do not because they are part of this “younger generation” that everyone seems to feel is a generation of unintelligent, uneducated philistines who have the over-inflated ego as everyone else does.

 By the way, just about every writer has a huge ego. Some are better at masking it than others.

What Inspires Me

I've decided to write frequent or infrequent blog updates on what inspires me at the time of writing them. First, I am currently fixated on this piece of music from the Thor soundtrack:



I'm not sure what I find so appealing about it. I'm certainly found of a section that lasts about four seconds and repeatedly plays on the title menu of the DVD. Music aside, I do love this movie. Whether it's Kenneth Branagh's genius or Tom Hisddleston's, I can't be certain.  I watched the Avengers before Thor and fell in love with Loki. Then, I watched Thor and loved Loki even more when it became apparent that he wasn'u just a homicidal maniac. He was an Asgardian in pain. I can empathize. With Tom Hiddleston's performance at least.

Anyway, the obsession led to me wanting Loki memorabilia. So I set about to purchase a vinyl Loki bobblehead. I was successful in this venture and after browsing through online stores this morning, I see that you can't get one less for $100 now. I am pleased to inform you that I got mine for less than $40. Here he is:

Loki next to the shabbily-patched laptop cord

One thing led to another and I decided I wanted to be Loki for Halloween (if that's telling how long this fascination has gone on).

But that's enough of my strange fangirl fixations.  More later.

Goals for 2013

I am determined that this will be my year.  So I am setting some goals for myself this year:

* Finish draft by March
* Finish editing in April
* Market in May
* Prospective Release Date:  June 8th.  Quite liable to altering.  Note, this is for self-publishing
* Blog 2 - 4 times a month, at least
* Begin 2nd manuscript before or during August

This is quite ambitious for me.  I am determined to make it happen.

And, in the not so distant future:

* Take pictures and put them on here.