The End and The Beginning

Today was the end as well as the beginning. I wrote The End on my first draft of my novel. It has been a long process but I've never felt more rewarded in my life. I've had this story swimming around in my head for years but never focused on it as much as I have in the last couple.

I've never written a novel before this one. The most I ever wrote on one thing was a essay my senior year in High School. I had no idea where to even start or what to even do. I've always been great at teaching myself things and I figured that this was something I could teach myself to do or at the least teach myself the creative and discipline parts. 

I have loads of work to do ahead of me. It very much is your typical first draft with notes in the middle of sentences and gaps in time but it is mine...my baby. I got it all out and now it is time to feed it and help it grow. 

Now onto the next challenge to learn.

And this is how I currently feel <3

My Writing Tools Part 1

Run on over to the lovely YA WAREHOUSE for my post on writing tools. This is part 1 of two so come back next week for the second installment lovelies!

Happy Dance! 

Don't Let Go

This weeks Blog Challenge! Hope you all enjoy! 

New Moon Wallpaper by Averii

I teetered, peering over the edge with only the untrusting grip of my bare feet on the wet rocks. The waves crashed violently into the spiked rocks below, sending vibrations up through my body. I closed my eyes and let the rain pelt my skin and mix with my tears. Everything that I knew was gone. Who I was is gone.

I stretched out my arms into the breeze and let it covered over me like a blanket. It could be so easy. One single step and the burning pain would be gone. I would no longer feel anything the moment I hit the rocks. The water would take me off without a sound or a cry. I closed my eyes and let out a single breath. The weight of my body leaned over the edge.

Then two hands wrapped around me and jerked me back. I stumbled over the uneven ground, trying to stead myself. He was here. How did he find me? He tightened his grip around my body and didn’t say a word and neither did I. Where would I even start? How could I explain? It was obvious what I was considering. I wasn’t fooling either of us but it all seemed crazy now.

I let him hold me in the death grip. Was he afraid that if he let me go I would run and jump? That idea was already gone the moment he touched me. 

His arms felt safe against my body. I grabbed onto his soggy jeans and held back sobs. My life was forever changing and forever a danger. 

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I wanted to open this up to everyone as well. If you would like to leave your interpretation of the photo/art every week with me, leave it in the comments. I would love to see what you get from the art! Join me in the fun!  

Daughter--Landfill

This is my first post for my Music on Mondays. If you have been following my blog at all you kinda know that music is pretty important to my writing process. It tends to stem creativity as I write and aid in producing scenes in my head. I'm from a film background and I think of writing/reading like a movie. Each character has a set type of music that plays when they come on screen or mood music for the scene itself. I tend to pick those out for my books. I have whole playlists mapped out in itunes and play them over and over. I even replay some songs on a continuous loop because it grasps that moment for me as I write. Also I tend to write to mellow type music with a toe in the pool of Folk. I do listen to heavy music from time to time but only when it is natural for that writing moment. It is hard for me to listen to that kind of sound since I feel it pulls me out of what I am doing and I loose focus. So with stating all of that I introduce to you my first song for Music on Monday! 

(I do not own the music nor the pictures in this video.)

I follow a few music blogs trying to find cool new indie music to listen to. I fell across Daughter while on one of those blogs. See, I listen to alot of Florence + the Machine and Daughter has a deep emotional feel like Florence does. I fell in love with the band and this is one of my favorites.  

This plays for my main character through most of the book. These lyrics mirror her emotions every time she sees "the boy." She definitely has strong mixed feelings towards him and these lyrics really hit home for her. 

Lyrics: 

Cos' this is torturous electricity

Between both of us and this is 

Dangerous cos' I want you so much 

But I hate your guts

I hate you

I hope you fall in love with Daughter as much as I have. At some point in ones life, I think we all go through this exact feeling. So turn the lights down low and relax to Daughters brilliant lyrics! 

The Burning Man

The Burning Man

Wildfire by Iribel

The morning sun was eclipsed by the blackest of smoke; flames licking the sky.  The pastel skyline peeked through the flames. It was too early to warn them all. Half the kingdom would perish at my own hands. At my own gift. I could still feel the burning in my hands from where the sparks were born.

I never made a mistake this great. The memory played over in my head as I let my feet carry me, cutting a trail through the tall field of grass.  I saw him shrouded in shadow with his hands around her waist, pushing her against the stone wall. She gasped, not out of pleasure, but out of exasperation.

"No!"she screamed over and over as rage blew through me with every repeat. The man didn’t give and I couldn’t contain the surge that burned through me. Even with all the practice Avery pushed upon me to teach me self-control; it was all lost in this single moment, as if I never learned it at all.

The man tore at her corset as the flames rippled through me, starting at my hands until it filled all around me. I pulled back my aim in the nick of time, shooting a searing ball of fire in their direction but luckily hitting the canvas shop awning behind them. The girl let out a shrill scream, scrambling from her attacker and the flames that consumed the shack near her. I was frozen in shock. The fire took on a life of its own; moving fast through the village. Wooden shingle roofs caught fire in the blink of an eye and before I could move my feet, a whole row of houses and shops were ablaze. This would be moment that stemmed my name for eternity. It was my own version of punishment. 

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I hope you all enjoyed this first challenge post. I found this first one a tad difficult to get right but I think it turned out pretty decent. Mind you, these are practices and are in no way finished pieces. This one in particular is 305 words. If you have any photos that you wish to give me a crack at, leave them in the comments and I'll add them to the list. Until next time! 

Naughty Me

I know it has been far too long since I have posted here. I have been absorbed in writing #classifiednovel and writing over at YA Warehouse, which you should be checking out! We are crazy fun over that way.

I wanted to do more blog posts like I outlined before but it seems it was a bit more to take on than I planned. So we are going to make things a bit more simpler for the time being until I get the hang of things. I have been reading quite a few blogs and they have given me some awesome ideas for some of my own projects. I realize that posting about writing on a constant basis is out of the question because honestly, there is only so much you can say about it before you are beating a dead horse.

So, I would like to introduce some easier topics not only for you all, but to challenge myself. On Mondays I would like to post about music that inspires me. I tend to write while listening to music more than having the TV on. If a TV is playing, I don't seem to focus on what I am doing. I usually write to something mellow but that also depends on my mood and the current scene. I use music to get me into a certain frame of mind while I write. I also tend to play songs on repeat. Most of the time this is because it is the perfect song for the moment I am trying to grasp, while it also drowns out background noise inside my head or the room. I really want to share some of my favorites with everyone.

I am also introducing a new topic every week, probably on Wednesdays, that I am very very excited about. I recently tried out this site that gives you a single word to write about for 60 seconds. I found it quite interesting. Although I found the time constraint a bit difficult, it was pretty fun. I want to try something on here but instead of a word, I will write about a picture and instead of a writing time, I will write 250-500 words on it. I think this will help flow some creative juices and inspire some new stories to boil in this crazy head of mine. I think the challenge will be very rewarding in the long run.

I still want to do random posts on my writing as I go and things that I find on the web that are inspiring and helpful. Since taking some time away from my regular work to focus on writing, I will be able to keep up with this. I even find myself busting with excitement! So follow me along on this crazy life of mine.

Ok I won't Off With Your Heads. I'm really not that mean I swear   O:)

The Shiny

So currently I am fighting the urge to put classified novel on the shelf for a bit.  I feel as if something is just not coming together.  A part of me is trying to work through it but another part is worried that the story will suffer for it.  I'm not sure if it has to do with a new idea that recently slammed itself into my life.  This idea is shiny and new and has the possibly of being a really great new story.  It is something I haven't seen done yet in YA right now and that makes me want to jump on it.

Since coming up with this idea randomly while painting my new writing desk, it has kinda taken over my thoughts.  I find myself thinking about it without realizing I am.  Certain scenes are falling into place and I'm starting to see the character more and more clearly.  This would be vastly different from the book I am writing right now including the fact it would be told by a male lead where as Classified Novel is mostly told from my female lead.  This makes me nervous.  I have tons of guy friends but I am not sure if I can write from a guys POV.  I would definitely find it as a challenge to myself and would be proud when I conquered it but am I ready for that yet?

How do you try to stay away from "the shiny" while you finish "the right now?"