So let me just start by saying that I am currently waiting for both Coffee and my computer to restart. With that out of the way, let me also just add that I haven't really written anything in the story since then. Is it out of my mind. Not really. I've just been either stressed, busy, or just not in the mood to write. Worse yet is that I kind of feel like putting down that book and going back to my previous one, RED, and restarting it. Why? Because I have all these ideas on how to do it better and more correctly than before that will allow me to not get stuck and actually finish it.
On that note let me describe how RED current was working out to be. There was a main character who had an interesting (no, really!) past and for some reason decided to spend his life as a detective. He gets a call out from the middle of nowhere and they ask him to find their daughter. Blah blah blah blah, more characters, and next thing you know I was in a hole.
Another important part to RED was that all the characters were based around two scenarios. The first one was that they would all be considered a "color" and as such that would turn into both their name and a bit of their personality. T he second personality was based around a dance of some sort (very subtle in the story, but one could notice it if they were looking). Although I liked the characters that this created, it did not create any seen friction that could continue into a full blown story of amazing proportions. That is a skill that I can only think I have currently been able to develop. And yes, Plots are hard to make and even more complicated to make great.
So what do I want to do to RED that changes it completely and makes it possible to complete? Well, for starters, I want to base characters and the scenes they are in off of colors. In this way I can get a much more dramatic scene (as will be seen in the re-write) as well as a possible self style to the story. I'm even considering taking it to the next level and using it in the text a bit (though most likely I wont on the first version) just to really have some fun with it. The second thing I want to do is add a little bit of LA Noir. Okay, enough of RED, that's actually not even started and I just wanted to give my friends who had read what was written an idea of why I might want to restart. Trust me, its better.
Now back to the update of my life. Lets see, went back to school for my Masters of Science in Civil Engineering and a focus in Structural Engineering. I couldn't get a job without a masters because of the economy, so I went back as I promised my parents. Had my birthday back in January, it wasn't very good. Did not do much but study and work for more of February. Had a lousy Valentines Day (expected). March came around and things finally started to get better. I got out and got to hike, which caused sore legs for a few days but I think was more than worth it. I finally got a "haircut." I put that in quotes because I donated every last inch of it. 10 inches went to Locks of Love and then what remained was shaved off for St Baldrick's Day. If you'd like to see a few of the pictures or donate towards my cause, you can find them here on the St Baldrick's Day website. I'll be adding more soon. Also, the total length was 10.5 inches and I'm glad to be rid of it. It was too long.
And finally on my update, yesterday I got stood up by all of my friends to go drinking (except Wyatt, who I accidentally stood up because I was so tired I passed out, sorry!). Today I got stood up to go hiking. Sad end of the first half of the school year, but it happens. Now on to Spring Break and then to finish up my first semester as a grad student. Never thought I'd go through so much school (cause I hate it...).
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Interesting!
An entire month of writer’s block and in two days time I’m able to break past that. If I had to guess, I would say that in reading other novels I was able to find the words to write what I wanted without compromising the details. So I’ve started to move on to the next chapter.
Chapter nine is very interesting, because I gave the story this sort of momentum in the previous chapter and that’s not exactly something I wanted to lose in this one. Because of that, things are going much faster than previously described and I think my readers will find themselves glued to the book as they are forced through a tumbling feeling.
But don’t take this the wrong way, at the same time I don’t plan to skimp on the details. I feel that although in the previous chapters details were used to really pass pages, they were also used to really set the mood of the novel. Now that the mood is really there, I can move on with what I was really trying to do. So from chapter eight onwards the readers should feel like they are being pulled along a quick line of thought and a rush of feelings as the main character tries to solve the things happening around him. In other words, stuff starts happening and it doesn’t really let up from that point onward (Though my readers may disagree as to where the stuff starts to happen and the momentum begins to build).
I also feel as though one of my worries form the previous journals is being answered in this chapter. I know that to fully fulfill this worry of stopping my character from having a robotic appearance I might have to go back and change him. On the other hand, I give him a real relatable sense from this point onward that may help my friends who are reading bond with him and understand him even more. He has fears, he has hopes, and he has a goal... so to that extent he has a real human feel about him.
As for plot and story updates, there really is nothing new since I know exactly where I am taking him. This next chapter, which I actually named off of a title I thought of using for another book, will lead the main character right up and into the final place he visits for this installment. It also will lead him into what I hope will be the pace for the rest of the story.
Words this Month: 1,402
Total Words: 97,463
Chapter nine is very interesting, because I gave the story this sort of momentum in the previous chapter and that’s not exactly something I wanted to lose in this one. Because of that, things are going much faster than previously described and I think my readers will find themselves glued to the book as they are forced through a tumbling feeling.
But don’t take this the wrong way, at the same time I don’t plan to skimp on the details. I feel that although in the previous chapters details were used to really pass pages, they were also used to really set the mood of the novel. Now that the mood is really there, I can move on with what I was really trying to do. So from chapter eight onwards the readers should feel like they are being pulled along a quick line of thought and a rush of feelings as the main character tries to solve the things happening around him. In other words, stuff starts happening and it doesn’t really let up from that point onward (Though my readers may disagree as to where the stuff starts to happen and the momentum begins to build).
I also feel as though one of my worries form the previous journals is being answered in this chapter. I know that to fully fulfill this worry of stopping my character from having a robotic appearance I might have to go back and change him. On the other hand, I give him a real relatable sense from this point onward that may help my friends who are reading bond with him and understand him even more. He has fears, he has hopes, and he has a goal... so to that extent he has a real human feel about him.
As for plot and story updates, there really is nothing new since I know exactly where I am taking him. This next chapter, which I actually named off of a title I thought of using for another book, will lead the main character right up and into the final place he visits for this installment. It also will lead him into what I hope will be the pace for the rest of the story.
Words this Month: 1,402
Total Words: 97,463
Friday, December 3, 2010
Coming Up Next
So starting tomorrow (as it is still not really tomorrow for me, I haven’t slept yet to say the least) I will be starting back up the whole words per month and total words. There isn’t exactly a goal this month except to finish the book. If I don’t do so now, then I feel like all will have been lost.
A few fears I’ve been having is that the main character maybe feels a little robotic. Like, I try to make him human with fears and goals, but to a certain extent I can’t really be sure. I do know I try and at least make him act intelligently, but that only makes me wonder if he sounds more robotic. I mean, how many people actually think things through before proceeding.
It’s fears like these that make me want to just stop and move on, but I figure if I can plow through it, at least I’ll have accomplished something. I mean, of all the fears I’ve had so far putting down this book and starting another one is just a bigger fear. I want a feeling of accomplishment, that I actually did something and that someone out there thought it to be interesting. Sure, this book probably won’t be published now or any time in the near future, but it is a nice goal to set and leave open.
At any rate, normal blog will resume tomorrow and I’m going to try and shoot the number of blogs back up to 20 or more a month again. It may be a rough road ahead, just as a fair warning, and next month may be even weirder and harder. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
A few fears I’ve been having is that the main character maybe feels a little robotic. Like, I try to make him human with fears and goals, but to a certain extent I can’t really be sure. I do know I try and at least make him act intelligently, but that only makes me wonder if he sounds more robotic. I mean, how many people actually think things through before proceeding.
It’s fears like these that make me want to just stop and move on, but I figure if I can plow through it, at least I’ll have accomplished something. I mean, of all the fears I’ve had so far putting down this book and starting another one is just a bigger fear. I want a feeling of accomplishment, that I actually did something and that someone out there thought it to be interesting. Sure, this book probably won’t be published now or any time in the near future, but it is a nice goal to set and leave open.
At any rate, normal blog will resume tomorrow and I’m going to try and shoot the number of blogs back up to 20 or more a month again. It may be a rough road ahead, just as a fair warning, and next month may be even weirder and harder. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
December...
The final month of the year and I have several important announcements to start it.
First, I finally bought Microsoft Word 2010 and will now be able to actually write something more. I tried using 2003 and the Mac version of 2008 and 2011, but those versions all altered the text and got me off task. So really I needed to get 2010 just to keep writing and not get stuck on details like all the text being screwed up after I specifically worked on it a certain way. So there’s a plus towards me finishing it.
Second, I feel the need to write! I have ideas flowing through me again and I get up right before I’m asleep to jot down little things I’m afraid I might forget. This is a wonderful piece of news, which basically means I’m once again thinking and ready to make more ideas. So there is another plus...
...except I’ve been quickly jotting down ideas not on the story I’ve been working on, but another one from the past. I suddenly had this brainstorm about the other book my friend said she would kill me if I didn’t finish it and so now I really want to start rewriting it. That’s right happy campers (who aren’t actually that happy), I’ve been thinking about R.E.D. again and I’ve been coming up with a plot-line for the entire thing to include what I want. Amazingly, the plot is really twisted and good and the descriptions I would be heading for would be easy to do because of how well I can envision each scene. So this is kind of a plus and a minus.
Now I just need to refocus all my energy into writing again and then write. I think if I can pull myself out of this rut, finish the book, and move on to redoing R.E.D., well then most of my readers who follow this will actually be very much pleased. To them, sorry I didn’t actually get anywhere with R.E.D. or continue it for something of like 5 years now...
Off to think of working!
On another note, before I go that is, My granddad fell down again and I’ve been having serious insomnia. Woohoo!
First, I finally bought Microsoft Word 2010 and will now be able to actually write something more. I tried using 2003 and the Mac version of 2008 and 2011, but those versions all altered the text and got me off task. So really I needed to get 2010 just to keep writing and not get stuck on details like all the text being screwed up after I specifically worked on it a certain way. So there’s a plus towards me finishing it.
Second, I feel the need to write! I have ideas flowing through me again and I get up right before I’m asleep to jot down little things I’m afraid I might forget. This is a wonderful piece of news, which basically means I’m once again thinking and ready to make more ideas. So there is another plus...
...except I’ve been quickly jotting down ideas not on the story I’ve been working on, but another one from the past. I suddenly had this brainstorm about the other book my friend said she would kill me if I didn’t finish it and so now I really want to start rewriting it. That’s right happy campers (who aren’t actually that happy), I’ve been thinking about R.E.D. again and I’ve been coming up with a plot-line for the entire thing to include what I want. Amazingly, the plot is really twisted and good and the descriptions I would be heading for would be easy to do because of how well I can envision each scene. So this is kind of a plus and a minus.
Now I just need to refocus all my energy into writing again and then write. I think if I can pull myself out of this rut, finish the book, and move on to redoing R.E.D., well then most of my readers who follow this will actually be very much pleased. To them, sorry I didn’t actually get anywhere with R.E.D. or continue it for something of like 5 years now...
Off to think of working!
On another note, before I go that is, My granddad fell down again and I’ve been having serious insomnia. Woohoo!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
As if There wasn't Enough Distractions Already
Thanksgiving has come and gone, Black Friday has passed, and yet there is still hope as we approach the final of the triplet holidays. The final one is known as Cyber Monday and, in the only way that can make sense, happens on this upcoming Monday. So what does this mean for everyone else out there? It means that I am once again uber-distracted by all of the awesome deals coming in.
Thanks to Facebook, I’ve become an addict to the online game Millionaire City. It’s like all the other games out there on these social networking sites. You start off small with the hopes of becoming something big and you have to watching it at least once a day to really get the full benefit of the game. Thank you Farmville for starting all of this...
BUT WAIT, there is way more than just that. As if I don’t already have enough video games to distract me, the large internet based game-center (for lack of a better term) called Steam has decided to also run a huge sale. Basically each day they will be giving out games at a huge discount (50% or more, sometimes close to 99% off) and so I’ve been watching it and collecting a large library of video games now. This has also taken both time and money from me. So, I’m having the greatest of trouble trying to get back into the whole “write stuff” thing. I have ideas, a lot of them, and they are all over the place. I’m ready to write them down too... but then I see the games and go back to that.
As far as my Holiday goes, this was definitely one of the more interesting ones. I’m not going to say it was good or bad, but it was somewhere in between for sure. Anyway, how was your holiday?
Thanks to Facebook, I’ve become an addict to the online game Millionaire City. It’s like all the other games out there on these social networking sites. You start off small with the hopes of becoming something big and you have to watching it at least once a day to really get the full benefit of the game. Thank you Farmville for starting all of this...
BUT WAIT, there is way more than just that. As if I don’t already have enough video games to distract me, the large internet based game-center (for lack of a better term) called Steam has decided to also run a huge sale. Basically each day they will be giving out games at a huge discount (50% or more, sometimes close to 99% off) and so I’ve been watching it and collecting a large library of video games now. This has also taken both time and money from me. So, I’m having the greatest of trouble trying to get back into the whole “write stuff” thing. I have ideas, a lot of them, and they are all over the place. I’m ready to write them down too... but then I see the games and go back to that.
As far as my Holiday goes, this was definitely one of the more interesting ones. I’m not going to say it was good or bad, but it was somewhere in between for sure. Anyway, how was your holiday?
Monday, November 22, 2010
Fixing the Text
So I always forget that I just have these texts installed, because I like these texts. As such, the people reading my book may not get the full effect of the text on the page without a few updates. Granted, so far I’ve only used 1 text that needs to be downloaded from the web, but here I am to give it.
http://www.dafont.com/angryblue.font
That will lead to my all-time favorite text, which I think anyone that reads the manuscripts of these novels should probably have since I do use it so often. If there are any other texts I get that don’t come through, please reply to this and I’ll go hunt down their original locations. Like I said, I sometimes don’t remember getting these texts but I do I have them.
On another note, I just tried moving my file from my Windows side (where everything works) to my Mac side (where everything works... but differently) and found that I will not recommend this. I mean, seriously, my book increased in size and lost a ton of the formatting that I do to really give it that flare. So, if you are a Mac user, please switch to windows to read the novel because otherwise you will ruin all of the efforts I put into it.
Thank you for this service announcement...
http://www.dafont.com/angryblue.font
That will lead to my all-time favorite text, which I think anyone that reads the manuscripts of these novels should probably have since I do use it so often. If there are any other texts I get that don’t come through, please reply to this and I’ll go hunt down their original locations. Like I said, I sometimes don’t remember getting these texts but I do I have them.
On another note, I just tried moving my file from my Windows side (where everything works) to my Mac side (where everything works... but differently) and found that I will not recommend this. I mean, seriously, my book increased in size and lost a ton of the formatting that I do to really give it that flare. So, if you are a Mac user, please switch to windows to read the novel because otherwise you will ruin all of the efforts I put into it.
Thank you for this service announcement...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Change of Plans
Change of plans (Gasp, didn’t see that one coming), but I may not be doing the NaNoWriMo anymore. Besides the fact that I’ve been stressed to hell and thus have not been writing, I also got torn away from Colorado to go visit my Grandmother’s grave in Connecticut. I did enjoy going to Connecticut and seeing her grave, but I did so without my computer and thus greatly lost time in the NaNoWriMo as well as lost ideas/interest in the story I had.
However, I did randomly decided to start writing something else. To what effects it might be, we’ll have to see, but I’m going to send a small portion of it to one of my friends and see what she thinks. It should be weird.
However, I did randomly decided to start writing something else. To what effects it might be, we’ll have to see, but I’m going to send a small portion of it to one of my friends and see what she thinks. It should be weird.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
A New Story Now Named
So I know this is not the greatest of ways to start a new story, but it is a start. I have come to the conclusion on what the name of my story will be along with how the entire thing will be written (which is, of course, different than anything I have done before). As promised this is a comedy, though maybe darker than originally planned. At any rate, here is the name of my story for the NaNoWriMo.
The Deathly Letters of Collin Millstone
That’s right, its a book that of course has death involved. Because I plan to make this strangely legible yet easily findable on any aspect to the book, I’ve decided to throw in a “Index of Chapters” (also known as a table of contents). In this way the people that want to read my book will be able to quickly see when a new letter will appear along with what chapter it will appear in. All done by word of course (because I am lazy).
So its a small, short, very slow start, but it is a start. Also please note that I’ve changed the statistic from Total Chapters, which is very vague and hard to understand as to what I might mean to total chapters completed, which gives me a much more easy value to place there. As I finish them I will say so there (of which I currently have not done even one). It’s a start as I keep repeating.
Words for the Novel: 195 / 50,000
Total Chapters Completed: 0
The Deathly Letters of Collin Millstone
That’s right, its a book that of course has death involved. Because I plan to make this strangely legible yet easily findable on any aspect to the book, I’ve decided to throw in a “Index of Chapters” (also known as a table of contents). In this way the people that want to read my book will be able to quickly see when a new letter will appear along with what chapter it will appear in. All done by word of course (because I am lazy).
So its a small, short, very slow start, but it is a start. Also please note that I’ve changed the statistic from Total Chapters, which is very vague and hard to understand as to what I might mean to total chapters completed, which gives me a much more easy value to place there. As I finish them I will say so there (of which I currently have not done even one). It’s a start as I keep repeating.
Words for the Novel: 195 / 50,000
Total Chapters Completed: 0
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
National Novel Writing Month
So starting yesterday was the first day of the National Novel Writing Month or whatever (preferably called NaNoWriMo online, google it if you wish). Anyway, I have planned to actually try to do this challenge since it seems to be not exactly a whole lot more than what I was trying for in past months. Here’s the quick facts:
Goal: 50,000 word novel
Ends: December 1st at 12:01 AM
In other words, write a book in one month that is at least 50,000 words in length. I think I can do it and so I’ve decided to try for it. I will be putting down my other book for the time being and setting out to see if I can accomplish this task of a full book in the month’s time.
What this does not mean is that I am done with Broken Falls (the other book I’ve been working on). I made a promise that I would finish that novel by the end of the year and I plan to stick to that, with much of the final chapters works being done in the next month. So to my friends that are reading that book, do not be discouraged that it has made the shelf like anything else I have written, just know that it has been put on hold for exactly one month and then I will finish the first story in the series. Also, I don’t think I could stop writing that book since I can’t seem to get the ideas out of my head.
The rules will be much like when I started writing my other book for this new one:
Words for the Novel: 0 / 50,000
Total Chapters: 0
Also, I made one final graffiti that I thought I would post. Its kind of weird for me, but I like it. I don't know exactly what it was suppose to be either, but the main idea was like a plant and bubbles or something and it just didn't come out to look like anything except abstract artwork. Oh well.
Goal: 50,000 word novel
Ends: December 1st at 12:01 AM
In other words, write a book in one month that is at least 50,000 words in length. I think I can do it and so I’ve decided to try for it. I will be putting down my other book for the time being and setting out to see if I can accomplish this task of a full book in the month’s time.
What this does not mean is that I am done with Broken Falls (the other book I’ve been working on). I made a promise that I would finish that novel by the end of the year and I plan to stick to that, with much of the final chapters works being done in the next month. So to my friends that are reading that book, do not be discouraged that it has made the shelf like anything else I have written, just know that it has been put on hold for exactly one month and then I will finish the first story in the series. Also, I don’t think I could stop writing that book since I can’t seem to get the ideas out of my head.
The rules will be much like when I started writing my other book for this new one:
- Words only count for writing in that book
- Chapter names count towards the total word count
- Notes do not count towards the total
- Friends that ask to read it may receive the piece chapter by chapter
Words for the Novel: 0 / 50,000
Total Chapters: 0
Also, I made one final graffiti that I thought I would post. Its kind of weird for me, but I like it. I don't know exactly what it was suppose to be either, but the main idea was like a plant and bubbles or something and it just didn't come out to look like anything except abstract artwork. Oh well.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Haven't Been Feeling Good
Just a quick little update. I didn't complete last month because I was upset for the entire last week. Short explanation, my Grandma has added stress to my life. Had that same stress all of the first week of this month and it has kind of carried over and just lasted the past few days.
On the other side of the stress that never ends (mainly because there are more stressful people than just my Grandma in my life), I start to get into art. So my output has been to the facebook App Graffiti. I'll post a few of them below so everyone has an idea of what I spend maybe two or three hours on in any given day.
As You can see, I've had a bit of time to make things like these. I like how these three have come out and all of them were started with the colors I chose in mind, but with the scene out of hand. What I mean to say is that I didn't know what I was going to draw, just that I wanted to draw something. One thing led to another and I had vibrant reds coming down from the clouds and blues lighting up the background. It's stress relieving to just start using Graffiti on facebook.
As far as writing goes, I do plan to finish the book I started (since I am SO freakin close to finishing it). I am, however, in no current rush at this point because I don't have the creativity in me to write. Some would call this writers block, but it's not really a block since I know what I want to write. I just am missing that passion I had when I started writing. I will make this promise though, I'll have that book done before the end of this year. If I don't, it'll become lost in the void of my thoughts for a very long time, and feeling so close to finishing it, I really don't want that to happen.
If I make any more graffiti artwork, I'll try to remember to do a large post here with a lot of it. Until next time (and there will be a next time :D)
On the other side of the stress that never ends (mainly because there are more stressful people than just my Grandma in my life), I start to get into art. So my output has been to the facebook App Graffiti. I'll post a few of them below so everyone has an idea of what I spend maybe two or three hours on in any given day.
 |
| Twilight Woods |
 |
| Tree in the Blue |
 |
| Radiance |
As far as writing goes, I do plan to finish the book I started (since I am SO freakin close to finishing it). I am, however, in no current rush at this point because I don't have the creativity in me to write. Some would call this writers block, but it's not really a block since I know what I want to write. I just am missing that passion I had when I started writing. I will make this promise though, I'll have that book done before the end of this year. If I don't, it'll become lost in the void of my thoughts for a very long time, and feeling so close to finishing it, I really don't want that to happen.
If I make any more graffiti artwork, I'll try to remember to do a large post here with a lot of it. Until next time (and there will be a next time :D)
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