I'll Take a Pig Snort and a Punch in the Stomach

Who knew that you could shop for sound affects? Well, to answer myself, probably anyone who has ever made a film of any kind. For me though, there is another purpose. Those handy previews of the sounds are just right for thinking through an exact noise. Then, I'll be able to write it down better than before. Describing a sound is difficult, especially in writing when you can't use expressions like "whoosh, bang, phhhsshhhshttt" as much. It's even harder when you don't really know what it sounds like in the first place. I mean, I've never actually heard someone get cracked over the head with a baseball bat. I know a few people who I could try it out on... *ahem* maybe not.

So, my thanks goes to Donita Paul for suggesting a sound affects shop website.

Kiss Me and Run

Today, (no this is not an MLIA) I wrote a more romantic lovey-dovey scene than I've ever prepared for a book I intend to publish. I must admit, it was a bit odd. Trying to describe the emotions and thoughts associated with a very distinctly important kiss is... well, interesting. I spent a great deal of time staring out the window and imagining myself being kissed. Yes, putting yourself in the place of the protagonist does help at times. 

However, I managed to write a good paragraph on it that I was decently happy with. Now the problem is, how do you continue from there? The best place for a kiss is at the end of a chapter in my opinion. Right where you don't have to tell about the awkward happenings that follow it. Sadly, that won't work for this one. If you were just kissed, what would you say? "So what's for dessert?" Not likely.

Scattered Passions

Usually, my interests, while staying the same in the back of my mind, take their turns in being first in my thoughts. For example, during theater camp last summer, my most common interest was in musical theater. I got little or no writing done. Then the next month, I was very focused on writing and musical theater was virtually ignored. At times, cooking comes to the front, or reading, or designing. 

Oddly though, at the moment, and for the last few days, I have felt drawn to all my interests at once. I feel a great desire to cook something amazing, I want to draw new designs and copy costumes again, I have been thinking a lot about reading (although I haven't done any), I have had inspiration on a new story and enjoyed adding to it, and I have thought much about dance and musical theater since I am currently choreographing some dances and preparing for more. That was a really long sentence, but you get the picture. My focus is currently scattered liberally but equally among all my main fields of interest. That's pretty darn rare for me. I'm rather enjoying it.

The Best Feeling In the World

What is the best feeling in the world?

Wow. Is that debatable or what? But I guess I can say what my best feeling of today was. At approximately four o'clock this afternoon, I wrote the final words on my second novel. It took me until 5:30 to grammar and spell check it though. Either way, today I finished my novel. It was definitely a glorious feeling. Now pardon me while I go to a two minute victory dance in celebration.

Okay I'm back. That may have been a really cool feeling, but it gives way to not-so-cool ones. Like the thought that now I have to print it out and send it out to editors. That's not so bad since my editors are my friends. The next step is editing though, and that can be very boring. In addition, I am going to send out my first novel to more agents and companies while I'm waiting for the second to be edited. This is a dreaded job because even if I think my novel is amazing, I never feel entirely pleased with my query. However, if I ever want publication I have to keep trying until I get it. Never give up!

Of course, there's one more thing finishing one's second novel gives way to: starting the third. Luckily, I can wait a few months on that or even to the end of the year. Writing my third novel will be difficult since it is supposed to be very deep and spiritual. I think I need to grow a little more.

But all in all, it was a nice feeling. To have two completed novels before you are even 17 is awfully encouraging. But the best feeling in the world? When an agent calls to tell me they want to by my manuscript!!

The Almost-Kiss

Today I did something I had not yet done in my true novels (granted I have done more in my short stories and random chronicles). I wrote an almost-kiss. By saying I've done more, I mean I've written plenty of kisses. But those were in stories that didn't matter because no one besides me would ever read them, so I was allowed to be shallow. In my second novel, I have to be deep because I am aiming for publication.
You would never guess how hard it is to write an almost-kiss without being mushy or blatant. For example, I could go for the romance novel for adults angle and say something like, "A hungry look filled his eyes as they dropped down to gaze at her mouth. He swallowed hard and leaned intimately towards her until reality seemed to infiltrate his mind, causing him to step away."
Or I could have done the cheesy, unrealistic, this-is-a-worldly-novel-written-by-a-shallow-author take on it, like this: "He stepped closer to her and leaned down. Her heart skipped a beat; was he going to kiss her? But no, a second thought turned him away an instant later, leaving her with only a memory of the would-have-been kiss."
Is it just me, or do both of those ways seem incredibly blah. So I decided my readers are going to be smarter than I usually assume they are (I like to think everyone in the world is less perceptive than myself for some reason) and went with a simple implication. I believe it ended up something like this. "She wiped moisture from her eyes, then looked up at him. He was still staring at her; there was a sort of hunger in his eyes. He leaned towards her, paused, then stepped away, rubbing a hand over his face."
Simple, well-put (if I do say so myself) and enough for any smart girl to know that he was about to kiss her. Now, I'm not really sure about guys... but they can ask their sisters.

What's Up?

Well, I've been pretty busy lately with different activities, and that will probably continue for the next several weeks... actually until Christmas. What's taking up so much time of a homeschooled teenager? Writing is one thing. Dancing is another. My sisters and I are now starting a dance corps at our church - just in time to choreograph, teach, and rehearse three numbers for our Christmas production. But how on earth do you get three girls together to choreograph when they all have different schedules and are only home all together for a good amount of time on Sundays? Have I mentioned that our Sundays will now be taken up having rehearsals at which we must teach others our choreography? So needless to say, I'm just trying not to panic or anything. I'm sure everything will come together in time, and it will be fantastic. 

As for my other occupation, I'm doing pretty well. Or was until today. I will most likely attempt to write today. This will be the scenario: I will do everything else I need to do such as typing up some flyers for auditions, then I will open my book and stare at the page. I'll place my fingers on the keys, look at the time, and decide it's time to play some games. Once I finish with that, I will once again go to the book, stare at it, and prepare to write. Then I will decide to go try some choreography. In this way, I will probably waste all day and never get more than a paragraph written. Anyone who thinks writing is easy should have their head examined. I can't imagine what it would be like if I were under a deadline! Panic extreme!

Random Fads

I was thinking through what I've written lately, since I haven't been adding to my manuscript very much, and I found the results interesting. Two nights ago in the shower, I came up with and typed out a comedy bit for a middle-aged male comedian. That night, I wrote an introduction paragraph to a fairytale. The next night in the shower, I came up with a dialogue between two prim 1900's English ladies. What do you call that? Random? Normally, I would say yes, but I'd rather call it diversified now.

Here's why: have you noticed that lately (within the last year or so) it has become extremely popular to be random? Even before this style, it was becoming fashionable to be weird, but now it's mostly just randomness that people like to flaunt. It sort of irks me for shall we say a random reason. Most people aren't! It's so annoying when countless people advertise themselves as random teens, when in reality they hardly fit the bill. Fake! Call me weird (I don't mind since that apparently is still in style as well) but I don't like it that everyone has so readily accepted random weirdness from others and sought to mimic it. Few people are truly random.

For this reason, I think I am no longer going to call myself random or weird. If you know me, than you know why. I don't like following the crowd; I prefer to do the opposite of everyone else. So now, if anyone asks, I am special, versatile, and diversified. Not weird, not random. Just thought I'd let you know!

The Best Time to Write

11:30 on a school night, and I am in bed, the covers pulled over my head. What do you think I am doing? Sleeping right? 

Are you kidding??? What idiot sleeps at 11:30 on a school night while in bed? Ahem, well I suppose most people. Actually, it's probably me who was the idiot, but I had a moment of inspiration. And when a writer gets inspiration, she writes. So there I was, hiding underneath my covers and writing in my five-section notebook by the light of my ipod while trying not to wake up the sister in the lower bunk.

How do I go from drifting to sleep to frantically scribbling down an idea? Well, you have to understand my thought pattern I guess. Let's see if I can trace it for you.

The farthest back I can remember is when I was thinking about The Chronicles of Narnia. This led me to think about C. S. Lewis's use of mythological creatures. This led to thinking about other books that follow that same line, such as Lord of the Rings, Ella Enchanted, and Puck of Pook's Hill. This made me want to write a story about a time when fantasy took place in the form of mythological creatures. Naturally, I began coming up with the first chapter before I even considered a storyline. But I got all the way through the first paragraph, and this is what I wrote down to the light of my ipod.

I'm not going to start this story with the traditional "Once upon a time." I mean, that's so vague! It doesn't even give an estimate of what time the story is once upon. I'd rather start like this: this story happened at a time when decent rogues still fought with swords instead of just shooting each other, when women were expected to wear long gowns and be beautiful unless they were witches, and peasant was a common noun directly opposite of royalty. It is a time before mythological creatures became scared and started hiding and became endangered, hence gaining the title "myth." That is the time this story is once upon.

Anyone got an idea for the rest of the book?