Inkblots Blog

Hello, wonderful followers!

It's me.  In case you haven't noticed.

I'm just popping on here to say that my Inkblots writing club went and got a blog a few days ago, to help us be motivated to write.  So if you'd like to become a virtual member of the club, please read the two intro posts and leave us a comment.

(You can also see a picture of me with a very famous author.  Like world wide famous.  Tempting...?)

Here's the link: http://inkblotswritinglog.blogspot.com

Also, I'm doing Nanowrimo this year (FIRST TIME), so here's the link to my account.

I hope you're having a wonderful fall season.

- Ellyn

Lérowen's Challenge - Day 10 (Importantest Thing)

Day 10: What is the most important thing I should know about writing?

I only had to think for a few minutes this time, and then I remembered what happened a week or so ago.  That was the terrible day I forced myself to open my "seaspear2.5" document for the first time in a while and sat staring blankly at it for a few moments.  Tears came to my eyes as all plot structure and character plans flew my mind.  I felt like everything was gone, and everything was terrible.

I minimized my document and fled upstairs, breathing hard (a little melodramatically), fearing I would lose all writing skill and knowing that I had to write something.  I remembered some advice from a few favorite authors - when you don't know what to write, say so.  I grabbed my notebook and a pen, and started scribbling.  When I was finished, I felt a little better, having gotten almost a whole page of ranting out of my system.

Here's a small summary of that rant that I put as my Facebook status.


Ellyn Gibbs 
is so mad at her book that she can hardly even manage to spit out its name. Why, why, why can't I WRITE? Why can't I love my characters like other authors do, much less feel somewhat attached to them? Why do I feel incompetent every single time I try to describe something on paper? I am in the DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.




I'm very thankful to my writing friend Sarah, who, after seeing this pitiful status, called me right up and gave me loads of encouragement to write.  I promised her I'd work on "seaspear2.5" that night, and I did, even though it was late when after watching Tangled with the family.  (Grailyn came out suspiciously like one Flynn Rider).  After that, I kept steadily plugging on, day by day, and I think my writer's block is gone.


My point with this - and I'm sorry if you thought it was a pity party - is to tell you that if you want to be a writer, don't expect a walk in the park.


You ain't gonna get one.

During another instance, some old friends we hadn't seen in a while asked me a question about my writing process.  I said, "Um....", thought for a moment, and then said, with a passion that I think they found amusing, "Don't ever become a writer.  Just don't."

Being a writer is not an easy thing - think of the mood swings a hormonal teenager has and make them five times worse.  (Okay, maybe only three times worse.)

When you don't have ideas, you may be frustrated to the point of tears, and when you do have ideas, they'll wake you up in the middle of the night.  Your characters will refuse to change, refuse to say what you want them to say, refuse to fall in love with the right people, maybe even refuse to use the name you've chosen for them.

If all you want to do is write, you'll get nothing else done, resulting in bad grades, a messy house, unfinished jobs, et cetera.  If all you want to do is avoid writing, your manuscript will suffer and you'll feel guilty all the time because you're ignoring your "baby."

One of my friends hit her computer during Nanowrimo, showing you how exasperating deadlines can be.

And, sometimes even when you have writer friends, you have to bear all these burdens alone.

Here's the bottom line: the most important thing you can know about writing is that writing is extremely hard.  


My advice for storms in the writing process? Go do something like this.

Are you sitting there shellshocked? Or can you completely relate? Tell me your experiences with writing.


- Ellyn

Lérowen's Challenge - Days 4, 5, 6, and 7

Sorry, Lérowen, that I'm getting so ahead of the game! I won't be home tomorrow, and I don't blog on Sundays.


Day 4: A novel or author that has inspired something in your writing style.

My weakness as a writer is setting and description.  Some writers glory in taking a page or two to describe a sunset, but me? It would be easier for me to stare at a blank page for an hour.  I've grown to appreciate description more, and I'm trying to use it more in my writing, but the book that jumpstarted that was:

Just from the beautiful cover, you can tell that this is one flowery book.  But the description was actually interesting to read, which was a first for me.  I was won over, and after I finished reading the book, I spent some time working on description in my notebook, vowing to become more like Patricia McKillip.    

You can read the first line of the book, along with my review, here.

Day 5: The least favorite character you have written.

I've thought about this question for a day or so already, and I have still not come up with the decided answer.  

It might be Queen Livia from Torn Heart, because she seems like a cliche antagonist.

But I did have trouble with Perrus from Hearts Unbroken.  For those who don't know, Hearts Unbroken is a story (temporary title) I am co-writing with my friend Whisper.  Co-writing is fun, but also difficult at times.  At first, neither of us really knew what Perrus's personality was.  And then, we both started writing him different ways, which is bad.  I was writing him as a flirting, rather foolish young ladies' man, because has lots of younger sisters. But Whisper made him much more responsible (seeing as he has all those younger sisters), a family man.  While still having a touch of a flirt to his personality, he is much more serious and admirable than he was before.  I love you very much now, Perrus.

Day 6: One thing on your bucket list that has to do with writing.

Get traditionally published and go on a book tour.  I have a feeling this won't happen until I'm older and can travel around by myself... my whole family is made up of homebodies.  Besides, I wouldn't want to be separated from them for that long, and it would be too expensive to take everybody.  

Day 7: Your favorite genre to write.

Fantasy without a lot of confusing magic.  But....lately, I've found myself wanting to experiment with steampunk / alternate history.  And I've been reading a lot of realistic fiction.  Could I be...heaven forbid...changing?

'Til Monday, friends!

Ellyn

Lérowen's Challenge - Day 3 (My First Story)

Day 3: Your first attempt at writing.

Most writers start young.  I'm no exception.  I wrote before I could read, and I learned to read pretty fast.  Later, when I did know how to read, I wrote in a "mirror" style, meaning - all backwards.  My dad says that when he wanted to read something I'd written at age four / five, he'd just hold it up to the mirror.

Incidentally, Leonardo di Vinci wrote the same way.  Just sayin'.

Anyway, today I'm going to share with you my very first story.  I believe I wrote it in Kindergarten or 1st grade.  Sorry the last page is sideways! Computer got cranky... And you can read it in plain print under each page.

Characters: Maxgold (a worm king), and Underbeaty (his wife).

I have no idea how I came up with the name Underbeaty.

 Once there was a little worm.  And he was king of all the.  Land oh boy how his crown Shimmered in the sun

his wife underbeaty got mad and said, oh. maxgold don't you know that your crown is mixing me to a very mad mood.  your...

...crown shines more than mine she said throu the window.  underbeaty began to cry then she sigde (sighed) and said I suppose all the...

...qeens (queens) are like that she Looked for her husband but he was gone
the ligts (lights) were out and it was nigttime.  Everywone was gone

While she slept maxgold slipped to the store he bouht (bought) a new shiny crown WOW it was cristmas EVe and surprised when.

the Qeen. woke! By her Bed was a Shiny new crown. she loved it. and there was a baby the qeen had a baby

- THE END -

Lérowen's Challenge - Day 1 (And Pinterest)

Lérowen from Eat...Sleep...Write is hosting a fifteen day writer's challenge, and I've decided to join in for hopefully most of it!

Day 1: Who is your favorite character you've written?

Hmm...
I've written many characters and I think I will have to give you two - a boy and a girl.

The favorite boy is definitely Grailyn.  He's so analytical and exacting, and in the new rewrite of Seaspear, he's going to be so much more mysterious.  You met him here, as well as the other Seaspear characters.

The favorite girl is a little harder to choose, but after some dithering, I choose Haiven from Hearts Unbroken.  I've been told I write her really well, and I find her fun because she's just so sweet.  Sweet, naive, and organized, yet smarter than what everyone takes her for.  Haiven is sixteen years old, and small for her age, which results in everyone treating her like a kid.

via - no, her hair is not this red.

Any strange questions about my characters? Ask away, please!

P.S.  This is random, but does anyone else have a Pinterest account? It was raining today and I spent oodles of time on my new account.  Let me know so I can follow!


 - Ellyn

Worldbuilding Tips

Worldbuilding - what is it?

Building a world.  Duh.

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Usually, fantasy novels take place in a different country, land, or universe.  But what is the point of that if the country / land / universe is exactly the same as Earth? This is where authors can take advantage of a whole, new clean page and just....create.

Beware, though - it's not always a picnic.  What's involved in this worldbuilding thing?

Here is the 3S list that I made up.  The three s's are Setting, Sociality, and Structure.

Setting:
Terrain
Living quarters
Style of Architecture
Climate
Geography
Overall description of surroundings

Sociality:
People relationships (foreigners to natives, etc.)
People description
Accepted etiquette, ethics, and customs
Religion
Superstitions
Fashion
Language
Food
Education
Crime system
Waging war
Imports / Exports
Relations with other countries / planets / tribes
Magic

Structure:
Dating system
Keeping time
Years, months, weeks
Holidays

That's a lot, right? I know - but it's meant to get you thinking and blossoming out into categories of your own.  There are many creative ways to worldbuild - drawing maps, cooking up a gourmet meal typical in court, sewing clothes, testing fighting techniques live, whatever.
I myself don't like worldbuilding that much and tend to insert random pieces into my manuscript whenever I need it.  That's muffing Tip 1, below.

via

Tip 1:  The writer should know more than the reader.
A writer I know loves building her world even more than she does writing her story.  She knows everything about her world, she has pictures of outfits, maps of cities, diagrams, you name it.

But do readers really want to get bogged down in all this while they are trying to follow the story? No.  That's why I believe the number one rule of worldbuilding is this - the writer should know a lot more about their world than they let slip to the reader.

Why is this? First of all, the more you know about something, the more confident you can be in writing about it, which means what you write will be pretty believable.  You won't sound shaky or unsure.  And if you happen to need extra details, you have them right there to snatch up.


Tip 2: Don't overbuild.

On the flip side, you don't want your worldbuilding to get in the way of writing your story.  Don't worry about the little details that don't add to what you're putting into your manuscript.  Act like you know them.  Your reader will believe you, and you'll be a lot more productive.

Worldbuilding can turn into procrastination.


Tip 3: Be realistic.

Even if your world may not hold to the laws of gravity, you can still make things realistic.  To help with this, try thinking of disadvantages of not having laws of gravity.  How do they get around these disadvantages? This will make your readers think, and make you look like you know what you're doing.

A friend of mine who created a world where it never stops raining.  She shared this in our Inkblots writing club, and another member said, "So...where does all this water go?"
That's a prime example of questions to think of when trying to be realistic.

via

If you've got any questions or ideas for future writing tip posts, let me know in a comment.  I'd also love to hear about the world you may have created.

I hope this post about worldbuilding educated you and helped you somehow with your novel - I hope you also appreciate a bit more the power that fantasy authors have, as opposed to some others.  Heh, heh, heh.

Not that I'm biased or anything....


- Ellyn

Dirty Work

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Usually after finishing a novel and reading it for the first time, a writer is seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.  Or at least seeing his book that way.  It has so much potential, it could be a NY Times bestseller with a few grammar tweaks, and oh, that one line of dialogue is so funny that it gets the writer in stitches every time.

But after a while of this, the rose-colored glasses get uncomfortable, the lenses fall out, and then that one line of dialogue seems dumb and incredibly shallow.

Creativity makes a good writer a good writer, but when I - oops, I mean, a writer - is thinking about his manuscript, it can turn out to be a bad thing.  Creativity balloons problems to twice their normal size so I - sigh, I mean the writer - can't get in and figure out what really is a problem.

*frustrated frown*

So, you can probably guess where I am with Seaspear right now.  Of course I'm very happy that the first draft is done.  And there are several things that I'm very pleased with - like the way Prince Cyrus's character turned out, and a certain pirate captain.  But my dad took off my rose-colored glasses and brought several things to light that need a lot of work.

I'll keep working.  The first draft is only the beginning.

"Writing the first draft of a story is like giving a wall its first coat of paint.  You always hope that the wall won't need another coat, just as you always hope your first draft won't need many revisions.  But just like with that coat of paint, you're always wrong." - Me


- Ellyn

I'll Be Brave...And Give You Snippets

My dad gave me a quote once from some famous author that said something like, You should only publish your third novel.  I went searching for it, but I couldn't find out who said it.  Anyway, for me....

It's true.

I have two novels (one's more of a novella) that I wrote and completed before Torn Heart.  Sometimes I find myself thinking of them both as a total waste of time, but I have to catch myself and say, "NO!"

I may blush furiously when I read them now, but without them I probably would not have Torn Heart in book format today.  Those two "learner" novels helped make me the writer that I am.  

---

"Hello?" Christine sounded as cheerful as ever.

"Hi, Christine.  This is Donna.  I'm at work."  The bitter tone in Donna's voice gave away that something was going on.  There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"All right, what did he do this time - burn down the store?"

Donna almost smiled.  "We-ell, part of it."  She waited for Christine's astonishment.

"What! Donna, that was a joke."

"That may have been some sort of joke, but I'm not joking now."  Donna kicked a piece of metal for emphasis.  It made a loud clanking sound.

"What'd he burn, then?"

"The right half of the storerooms."

Christine sighed in frustration.  "I wish I could come and see! It sounds so exciting over there, compared with here.  I won't be able to come home until tomorrow."

Donna grinned.  "And even then, you won't be able to come to work."  She heard Christine groan.

"You bet I will! I'll be there even earlier than Liz."

Donna laughed, said goodbye, and hung up.  She ran back to the shopping area.  Carol was just arriving, and someone had evidently told her about the fire.  Her usually neat hair was tousled, and her face was red with anger.  She stormed inside and picked up the phone on her desk.  

"That's it.  I'm calling the police."

"Stealthy Schemes and Tricky Plots" (yes, you may laugh) is a sixty-page book that I wrote when I was eleven / twelve.  It was more of a forced kind of writing, as I did it through my school.  If you find yourself needing motivation for your writing, stuck on grammar, spelling, and shallow characters, I totally recommend How to Write the Novel Way.  By the end of the school year, you'll have your own finished novel.  You'll have finished it because you had to, which is both a good and a bad thing, depending on what kind of writer and person you are.  :)  As I type this, I have SSTP in front of me on the computer desk.  It's self-published, meaning that my mom went and got it printed herself, then cut the paper to size and brought it in to Kinko's to have it bound.  It doesn't look professional by any means.  But right now I feel an odd and strong affection for my first little book.

----

"Don't forget: I'll be there with my crutches, just as I promised!" Adam shouted.  There were so many more things he wanted to say.  His insides were crawling like a nest of ants.  So many things could go wrong! What if he never spoke to Thorn again? Or Austine, for that matter? But Robin was tugging at his arm.

"Come on," she said eagerly.  "Let's get a good spot as near as we can."

"Yeah.  Ross is helping the general so he'll join us later."

They made their way to the front of the Harthian army, grouped on one side of the fighting square.  The Braunjillian officer who had been chosen as speaker stepped proudly onto a block behind the fighting square.  "I am pleased to call the Braunjillian champion to the square," he bellowed with a voice like a buffalo's.

All the Braunjillian soldiers took off their caps and cheered, as if the combat was already won.

Adam held his breath as a pair of lithe legs strode to the fighting square.  A pair of shiny black boots clicked together.  Adam's eyes traveled upward.  The agile body of the General Kilian bent to the crowd.  Adam didn't mean to meet the general's gaze, but he did, and Kilian's eyes smirked into his with a flash of ice-blue confidence.  The general's eyes moved along the row, and then narrowed with puzzlement.

Adam tensed.  Did Kilian realize his daughter was missing?

For the Love of Harth.

My dearest love and my first actual novel.  I still love it dearly, but it embarrasses me now, and that's why I feel like it was so much a waste sometimes.  I was always so excited to work on it every day, and my dad and I went through it countless times editing and improving.  (The first/second drafts were a combination of Prince Caspian and Star Wars.) And the characters! I wrote this when I was into the Warriors series, so I named my second male lead "Thornclaw" and shortened it to "Thorn", cause obviously the former is not a name fit for a human when cats with names of that sort are all the rage.  Austine!! My little Mary-Sue is audacious, small, and dark-haired, all things I wasn't and still am not.  So, in a sentence: this story was my intro to the real life of an author - writing's more than just putting words down on paper.  It's about choosing the right words and molding them into different plot twists.  It's about not making your characters perfect ideals about what you'd like to be - cause that shows, and it can be embarrassing.  :)

Make that a few sentences.

I feel like I could talk forever about Harth.  *sighs*  I keep the finished draft in a binder with a cover art that says, "coming, winter 2008."  Didn't happen.

That's okay.

---

"I am a fool, fool, fool!" The words beat out in time to Jacha's pounding footsteps.  She hissed them to herself as she rushed through the complicated maze of passage ways, which wound underneath the main level of the queen's castle like so many noodles in a plate of spaghetti.  Jacha knew her way much better than her pursuers did, and a herd of clumsy of Queen's Guards in full uniform seemed no match for the slight, wiry shadow of a girl as she pivoted on her toes to bolt ahead of them.

All the same, Jacha was furious with herself.  The expensive pin that had caught her eye had caused her to take a chance that turned out to be all too slim.  Its cold, gold weight rested in her clenched hand now, but it had not been worth the dangerous train of shouting men who ran at her heels.

"Get back here, little piece of vermin!" An arrow whizzed past Jacha's ear.  She thinned her lips with determination and gathered all her energy to sprint around the approaching twist in the passageway.

"Stop, thief!"

The call almost made Jacha laugh.  It was so pointless - what thief would stop at those words? No matter how assertive the men sounded, she was going to keep on running.  Jacha burst around the corner, her dark hair whisking against the wall.

A flash of black ahead alerted the running girl, and she skidded to a horrified stop.

TORN HEART! I'll save my extensive composition about how, when, and why it was written for several other posts.  Sorry about any typos you may catch - I didn't copy-paste this excerpt.  I just copied it out from my book - cause I could! (But notice - it's my third finished novel.  :)    

----

 Haiven squinched her eyes shut.  She could not let those guards hear her cry, though a valley of sleeping prisoners was not a silent place.  Heavy breathing filled the air, mingled with snores, sharp cries from some, and spontaneous moans from others.  But all the same, she cringed as a wrenching sob broke through her lips.

A cool touch on her shoulder made her uncurl from her shivering ball of misery, and when she looked up, she saw the black-haired girl who had spoken with the general that day chained beside her.

“Haiven?” whispered the girl, her silvery eyes shadowed in the darkness.

Haiven furrowed her brow, distracted for a moment.  “How do you know me?”

“Our fathers were friends.  I remember you from when we were both younger.  I’m Celene.”

“Mmm.  Yes,” murmured Haiven faintly, her brow furrowing even deeper.  There had been so many children of her father’s friends that she could not keep them all straight.  But even so, it was comforting for them both to have a friendly face in the huge mob of strangers, and Haiven huddled down at Celene’s back, still unhappy, but feeling braver and ready to take on more Cliffhangers at break of dawn.

Hearts Unbroken (temporary title) is a story I'm writing with Whisper.  We have 90 pages and six main characters.  And we take turns writing chapters, sometimes both sharing in on one.  I was writing when this when Torn Heart "attacked" me and I had to write it.  But this one's still plugging along.  It's gonna be great! When we get some more plot threads woven in there.

----

There may be spoilers here.  Sorry.

Ren looked at Grailyn with a sinking feeling in her stomach.  She hadn’t remembered that they had no proof of their claims.  That was a grim blunder that made light of something very serious. 

            

“We can give you proof,” Grailyn said.  “We know where they meet.  Remember the number on that old house at all, Ren?”

        

 She shook her head, cringing at the prince’s skeptical look and wishing with all her heart that she had written it down somewhere.  If the prince didn’t believe them, they really would be hung.  She had heard that hanging didn’t hurt at all, but she wasn’t sure if she believed it.  After all, who could come back from the dead to give the truth?   

          

But one look at Grailyn and she swallowed her fright.  He wasn’t about to give up and she shouldn’t either. 

“And all this about my Merriam being a spy,” Cyrus began.  “It’s wrong, I say, just burning wrong.  Imagine such a beauty put on a ship with leering, stealing ruffians like pirates.”  He spat on the stone floor.  “Climbing riggings and swabbing decks – bah!”

“I don’t believe she swabbed any decks,” said Grailyn.  “But she wanted something for her father, that’s sure.” He leaned forward, nose to nose with the prince.  “Listen, Highness.  We can give you proof that Shiloh’s in the wrong.  And we won’t try to escape.”

We won’t? Ren poked him hard, but he went on without seeming to notice.

“What do you say, Highness? Do you want to see the truth?”

Prince Cyrus was silent.  He seemed to be contemplating whether to risk his life to Shiloh’s magic, or risk the escape of two dangerous criminals.  He turned to look Grailyn and Ren full in the face, his decision made.  Ren’s heart constricted and she clenched her fingers around a handful of soft pillow.

“No,” said Prince Cyrus, and stalked out of the jail, with the parchment crumpled in one fist.

Coming in an unestimatible amount of time: Seaspear! I love this story - it's turning out just how I hoped it would! I'm around 90 pages with this one too.  :)

I hope you enjoyed my (very long) writing history, friends!  Congrats to anyone who read the whole thing :) I'd love to hear more about your own writing history, if you're "willin' ", as Mr.  Barkis of David Copperfield would say.

- Ellyn

Pirate Love

I finally saw The Curse of the Black Pearl! Ah, Pirates.  Love them.  If there was an all-good aspect of being a pirate, I'd totally be a pirate.  But then...pirates wouldn't be pirates, would they? ;)  

Lt. Gillette: This ship cannot be crewed by two men.  You'll never make it out of the bay!

Jack: Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.  Savvy?

"I practice three hours a day...so that when I meet a pirate...I can kill it!"

Will: You...cheated!

Jack *nods*: Pirate.

---

This has definitely got me psyched for Seaspear! I love my characters right now....I changed the pirate captain's name from Shiloh to Chambers, and his first mate is now Valenci (val-ench'-ee).  I can't wait to actually begin writing, but I've got a science report and the Corday project both on the line.  For any of you who are writing ship stories, I found a terrific book called Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution.  It has tactics, terms, and diagrams.  I was enjoying it at the library, and the librarian asked me if I was doing homework.  I said, "No..." ;)

Also, I take the PSAT test tomorrow, so your prayers would greatly be appreciated! To put it in two words, I'm terrified. 

Hint on what's coming up: I plan to do a series on the Parelli seven games.  Stick around! 

Also, how do you like my new design?

Love always,

 Ellyn 

The Corday Project

I had a new story idea yesterday when I was watching a history video.  It won't be a novel - just a historical fiction short story :)  I call it, "The Corday Project."  (Not the real title, of course.)  I'm hoping it doesn't die.

So, I present to you....


A fanatical pressman who lusts for blood....

And his murderer.

These are real people.  

That's all you get! 

Adieu, mon ami.  *wink wink*

P.S. This is my 100th post! 

Character Organization

Thanks for all your comments on the last post! I was too excited to show you the organizing method, so I'm not going to wait until tomorrow.  :) My friend Sarah gave me this.  (She wrote a book about a blog, but she doesn't have a blog.)

Basically, you just give your characters labels.  A character can be more than one of these, too.  I'll give you the list and then explain the hard ones.

- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Conscience
- Tempter
- Buddy
- Gamepiece (I added this one)
- Skeptic
- Emotionalistic
- Rationalist


Ok, so you have your basic ones at the top, and then after that is the conscience.  The conscience is like the person who makes the protagonist really think about what he/she's about to do.
The tempter is someone who tempts the protagonist. (duh.)  Sometimes it's the protagonist him/herself. The buddy is the best friend...I'd say that the buddy is usually a static character who doesn't change through the story, but I've seen books which don't have that.  Just an opinion there.
Gamepiece is the person who gets taken advantage of for the profit of the antagonist. (usually)

Here we come to the three that Sarah deems the most interesting.  They are also the three that I found hardest to understand.  The skeptic is the sarcastic person who questions what he/she observes.  The emotionalistic person just jumps right into things without thinking about them.  Goes by the "emotions", get it? :) The rationalist is the person who always has a well-thought out reason for what he/she does.

I'm getting really sick of saying he/she......

Anyway, I'll give you my lists for both stories.

Torn Heart

Protagonist: Jacha
Antagonist: Queen Livia, Lark, Vorrda
Conscience: Mala
Tempter: Jacha
Buddy: Violet
Gamepiece: None...Jacha, sort of....
Skeptic: Kiann
Emotionalistic: Jacha
Rationalist: Oren

New Story (Seaspear)

Protagonist: Ren
Antagonist: Captain Shiloh, SAMA
Conscience: Grailyn
Tempter: Captain Shiloh
Buddy: Grailyn
Gamepiece:  Merriam
Skeptic:  Grailyn
Emotionalistic:  Sahmo
Rationalist:  Grailyn

You can kind of tell which characters are more developed, can't you? :P But really, this is so much fun.  It makes me want to pull out my favorite books and classify all the characters.  So, hop to it, fellow writers! I'd love to hear what character classifications you do for your stories, if you'd like to share.  :)

Love,

Ellyn

On the Write Again

Well, it's been a few months since I finished Torn Heart, so you may know what time it is: new story time! If you followed my old blog, you might have seen my "potential story ideas" page.  If you have, I'm going with the ship story.  For all the rest of you...no more information given on the plot.  :D

I've always wanted to write a ship story with pirates!!! So excited.  I started writing back when I took my trip to PA, because when you're in a car for ten hours...you get tired of reading.  So I wrote.  Despite the ten hours there and back, I only finished about two chapters.  And they're short ones.  But that's because I really wasn't sure of the plot.  However, now I have it almost completely under control.  Right now, I'm doing my version of "outlining", which most people would call...well, a conglomeration of character sketches, drawings, and snippets.  Here's an example of how I'm planning my plot threads out this time.  Remember - JUST EXAMPLES.  :)

Conflict 1 (Action): Porridge is too hot for three bears -- They leave -- Goldilocks comes and eats it -- Bears come back and find her -- She escapes


Conflict 2 (Character Development): Goldilocks angry at parents -- Runs away -- Gets caught by bears --Realizes her parents just want to keep her safe -- She goes home and they make up

See? This actually works pretty well in that I don't feel confused at all about my plot so far.  Now all I have to do is write the story by intertwining all of my plot points (four), like braiding a rope.

Here's a list of "outlining" I have to do before I start writing again.  (I have already done the crossed out things.)


- Finish worldbuilding questions (you can use the same ones here) 
- Find picture of Merriam online (minor female)
- Polish Merriam's character sketch
- Finish Grailyn's character sketch (lead male)
- Research guns/cannons (This is the first book I've tried to write with firearms - should be interesting.)
- Write Sahmo a character sketch (minor male)
- Develop SAMAn group
- Research John Paul Jones (Maybe.  Don't ask.)
- Watch Pirates of the Carribean (Yay! I have an excuse to watch it! Hopefully my dad will let me...is there anything bad in it?)
- Find theme verse and maybe song for story (I did this for Torn Heart - my theme verse was Matthew 6:24, and my theme song was Half of What We Know, by Crooked Still.)

I'm having lots of fun with this part of the book - it's like the icing on the cake, especially since I love organizing and putting things in their proper places.  But soon I'll have the icing all licked up and I'll have to start on the actual cake part: writing.
Ah, well.  I'll just try to make the cake a chocolate one.  :)

Oh...do you want to know my theme verse and song? :)
Verses: Proverbs 18:15, and Matthew 7:1
Song: Sometimes in this Country, Crooked Still (Have you noticed I like them? :P)


P.S. Next time, I'll post a way to organize your characters.  It's really cool, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Ellyn

Publicizing Your Self-Published Book

Self-publishing is becoming more and more popular these days.  One teen publisher - I think it was called Flux - was actually trying to persuade authors to come to them instead of self-publishing.  If persuasion is needed, you know that self-publishing has some benefits that publishers don't.  Here are some ways you can publicize your book if you don't have a publisher to do it for you.

If you want to sell your book on Amazon, or anything like that, you'll need to get an ISBN number.  This is a thirteen-digit number that goes on the back of the book next to the barcode, and it is used to identify your book and you.  Unfortunately, getting ISBN's aren't as easy as a click of the computer mouse.  Morris Publishing, the company we're going to use, says,

Morris Publishing cannot apply for you since we are the printer, not the publisher. Use caution – some companies offer "discounted" ISBNs; however, they will be listed as the publisher, not you.

Filing for a single ISBN can be done at www.myidentifiers.com for $125. Create an account so you can manage all your ISBNs. When you file for a single ISBN, you will receive it right away and can then assign book information that will automatically be filed with Books in Print, the main directory used by bookstores, retailers, and libraries.

1.  Okay, I don't know if this still goes on, but the Panera Bread chain used to have a deal where first-time authors could come in and advertise their books.  I really don't know all the details, and I looked for a hint of anything like that on their website....but no luck.  I think if you want to pursue this you'd have to contact them personally.

2.  Local bookstores - especially small chains.  My dad already talked to the lady at our small, local bookstore, and it sounds promising.  They just want to see the book before consenting to let me sell it there (probably for a modest slice of profit) to make sure it's not something I stapled together at home.  :P

3.  Coffee shops.  You can always ask! Never know what kind of opportunities could turn up.

4.  Book fairs.  If all goes well, I hope to sell my book at MACHE, the annual homeschool conference in our state.

5.  Amazon.  Go to the very bottom and click, "Sell Items".  (Well, duh.)  They do charge a selling fee.  Of course.  I'm not sure if I'll do this yet.

6.  Blogging! All of you know almost all about my book, and hopefully I'll sell a few copies through that.  No pressure... ;)

Well, all till next time! Tell me if you have any questions or anything and I'll try to find out for you.

----

P.S. I've been meaning to post this for a long time, but my friends Bethany and Elianna have started a wedding blog HERE! I'm sure it would make their day if you became a follower.

Thanks for reading,

Ellyn

Another Alternative to Publishing

I would absolutely love to be published.  In fact, I dream and hope that it will happen one day.  And I know you have to take a chance sometime.  But...

It takes so LONG! Usually one to three months to get a query reply - a query is a letter you send to the publisher asking if they'd be interested - and then the next step is sending your manuscript.  To get a reply to that is usually three to six months.  And even if you get approved after that, it usually takes a year for your book to be actually released into the big wide world.

And I'm thinking, "By that time, little ol' Torn Heart won't be my best! I'll have moved on and I won't be proud of selling it or talking about it anymore." I'm pumped up about it now, and so is my family.  So we've decided on self-publishing.  

-- My Pros For Self-Publishing --

1. Speed.  As I said before. 

2.  Control.  We'll have a lot more control over how we want the format of the book, what the cover looks like, etc.  

3.  Advertising.  I'll be the one advertising my book!  Some people would view this as a con, and in a way it is... but I think it will be way more fun to sell my book myself.  Of course, we'll have to buy the copies and work to make up what we spent, but I think we can do it. 

-- My Big Con for Self-Publishing -- 

1.  Less Publicity.  This is what I don't like at all.  Advertising myself may be more fun, but I can't go everywhere.  In fact, I probably won't leave my state, which means...difficulties.  There's a slight chance that my book might be picked up by a publisher-connected person, but that's a very slight one.  Like...very slight.  The author of the Inheritance series (Eragon) spend a whole year traveling around the U.S. promoting his novel.  Yeah, I'm the oldest of five children - that's not going to happen.  And since my barely-57,00-words-novel is not in style like the big, chunky, multiple book series are...*sniffs* (That's a pretty sensitive subject with me - the length of Torn Heart.  I just can't get over wishing it would be longer and trying to figure out how many pages it will be and how thick it will be once it is in book form.)  

That's why I'd like your prayers for this whole operation.  Please pray that I'll stop fretting and start working, and that everything will work out okay.  Also pray that if its God's will, I'll find some connections to help promote my book somewhere.  

Thanks so much! Next time I'll write a little bit about the promoting schemes I've learned for self-publishers.  

Now.  I probably shouldn't just leave you hanging about the poll in my sidebar.  I live...

Yep, that's right! I love where I live, too.  :) I'll probably always stay here.  

    

I Write Like...

Thanks, Hannah from "My Nutty Life" for this cool quiz thingy.  :) I'm not sure if I actually do write like this, but... *shrug*...I'm happy with my answer as I actually recognized the name I got.  :)

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

The Writer's Tag

Tagged by a fellow writer!

The Writer's Tag

What do you write your stories on?
My stories? Our Apple Macintosh computer. My snippets/poems/random? My ever-treasured notebook.

What is your favorite kind of character?

When writing, I tend to like girls who are really audacious, distrustful, and wild. (Who usually reform by the end.) But when reading, I like more girly characters who aren't afraid to fall in love or wear pretty dresses ;)


When you're asked what your story is about, what is your usual reaction?
Wait - this is a trick question to find out what my story is about, isn't it? Isn't it?

I usually say, "Oh, it's a fantasy without magic....and change the subject."

What is your biggest writing pet peeve?
Globby pens. Especially when you rest your hand on the paper and smear the globby ink all over the paper. I also don't like how the spell check marks your characters' names in red. :P

What is the biggest turn-off for you when reading a book?

Long, boring descriptions, infodumps, and zero romance.

Your favorite era in history?
I love learning about the American Revolution, cause it's such a great story about great people working together. Almost as exciting as a novel! ;) I like the Middle Ages, but in a vague sort of way...they've been so glamorized by time, so I prefer the times in the country I made up.

How many words on average do you punch out in one sitting?
I don't really count. Around 1,000, I'd guess, but sometimes more, sometimes less.

Are you a fast typist?
Yeah!

What do you do for inspiration?
I listen to inspiring music like the Narnia soundtrack. I also take walks outside and pretend I'm the character in my story - talking to myself, making the expressions, etc. Sounds embarrassing, but it works.

The truest writing quote you've ever heard:
"The story is always better than your ability to write it." - Robin McKinley

Do you outline your stories?

Not at first - after I'm a few chapters into the story I usually start thinking about it.

Is there someone in your life who shares your love of writing and whom you could spend hours talking about that very subject with?

My dad, first and foremost. Then, my writing club, the Inkblots, and also Margaret Rowena :)

I tag all the writers following me! But you can't just fill this out - you've got to add two of your OWN questions at the end! :) Have fun, and I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a comment saying you'll do the tag :)

- Ellyn

I Wanna Write Something!

Have you ever had fingers itching to pick up a pen and start writing some fabulous piece of adventure and mystery?

And then have you thought, "But I won't be able to do anything with it. It'll just waste my time."

WRONG! The more you write, the better you write, so don't feel bad about writing little snippets with characters spirited up at the last moment.

But maybe you know this already, and you want to try and think of snippets to whet your imagination. Sometimes a novel seems like too much. I finished my novel, Torn Heart, and wrote the two chapters of my next one, Seaspear. But I don't feel ready to take that one farther yet. At any rate, here are some interesting writing projects for you to think about.

- Write a song about something that inspires you or how you feel and why. You don't have to show it to anybody - but sometimes its a good way to let your feelings out.

- Write a scene or a short story that's based on a song. Have you ever wished you had the big picture of a song you heard? Write it! I tried writing a story for "I'm Troubled", and it started out okay, but then it didn't seem to have the right feel to it. Maybe I'll take it farther, maybe I won't.

- Write a story based on a favorite Bible story. These are sooo much fun. I wrote one on Noah's Ark, and it helped me see the traditional tale in a way that I had never seen it before. Explore little details that you hadn't paid much attention to, and always go back to read the original story from the Bible. You may think you remember it, but most likely, there's something you've left out.

- Write a story based on a favorite fairy tale. Again, these are super fun. I did one on Sleeping Beauty that had a Christian/redemption theme twist to it.

- Write a poem. If you look out the window and have your breath taken awayby a gently waving field, or a smooth, unbroken layer of snow, capture the moment.

If you have any other fun writing things, please comment about them! I would also love to hear about the projects you're already working on. :)

Oh, and here's a picture of me on the Olympia. :)

Plot Lists

I’ve discovered that if you’re a “list-person”, it will help out your writing quite a bit. Whether you’re doing an essay, report, short story, or novel, let me repeat – lists do help. If you’re not an outliner, maybe your a list-er. If you’re a writer, you’ll know what I mean about outlines, but that’s a different post for a different time.

I am very much a list person. When I was younger, I’d make lists of my “top-five” favorite horses, names, places, etc. I find it much easier to think and talk on paper. Why? There are lines on paper to keep your thoughts straight and even. Paper is also smooth and flat so you don’t stumble over words quite as often. When you’re writing, you can pause for as long as you want while thinking of the right adjective or adverb, and when you write it down there is still the same amount of space between your words. But when you’re talking out loud and you pause…and pause…you’ll get some pretty irritated looks. I prefer writing to talking because its usually easier to understand and organize. You can’t erase spoken words, and that makes them more dangerous.

Well. If you need to know the definition of a rabbit trail, read the above. I’m really here to talk about lists. So anyway.

I have made tons of lists for my current novel during the writing and editing process. Whenever I am frustrated and stuck on some important plot hole or detail, I’ll write it down. I usually write down the question I’m trying to figure out:

(Example) Why would Character X be so suspicious of Character Y?

Then I might write down what I’ve already put in the story.

-Y was absent during _____, Y acted strange at _______.

Then, I’ll write down ideas for more ways of how I could make Y more suspicious to X. Or maybe after my list, I discover that I don’t need more signs after all.

A very important rule about lists like these is don’t refuse to write something down just because you think you already know it. This never fails me – if I start diagramming out the stuff I think I already know; even the stuff I really do know – I’ll stumble upon some hidden plot hole that needs to be mended or I’ll think of some brilliant plan to fix what I’m diagramming.

I’m trying to make the big fight at the end of my book more difficult, so I started a list. I titled this list,

Army Problems

Next, I wrote down the problems the good army has and filled in how those could be fixed. I’ll give you the problems, but not the answers. Those have to be my secrets

– Not enough weapons

–Lack of armor

^ Light bulb! Right here is where I got a great idea for making the fight longer.

–Lack of the surprise tactic

–Lack of knowing the “terrain” they’ll be fighting in.

Sounds hopeless for my poor little army, doesn’t it? Actually, it sounds worse than it really is when you don’t know what’s going on.
But with the help of this list, I was able to fill in the answers and get everything straight in my head.

‘Cause really – if you don’t have it straight in your head, how will you get it straight in your book?

P.ost S.cript ~ I’ve also found out that a handicap is great for exploding the growth of your writing life. I twisted/sprained my ankle on Saturday and since then, I’ve been writing up a storm because there is almost nothing else to do. The third draft of Torn Heart is almost finished!! All the same – I hope my ankle recovers sometime soon. Poor Indy is going to get lazy.

May 25, 2010

Getting Unstuck

I am working on incorporating a whole new sub-plot into Torn Heart and the tangled plot was driving me nuts. I got scared that I would lose my character personalities while I was obsessing over outline organization. I ended up writing down all the questions in my head and answering them through the characters. This makes me laugh because six good guys and one bad guy are in a councilroom together discussing what they’re going to do. Yeah, I know it’s outnumbered, but my other bad guys would not cooperate in that situation.
I’ve posted it here just for fun….understand that it is just for fun and its not going in the book.
————————————————————————

Jacha looked around the circle. “Why wouldn’t Lark try to kill me? He’s supposed to be cruel, right?”
Lark chuckled. “I don’t believe you should be the one asking that question, sweetheart. It sounds quite odd.”

“Well, I escape, so…”

“The way I see it,” Kiann interrupted, “Is that he’d be too levelheaded to think about killing you. He’d kidnap you, maybe, but why would he dirty a clean sword blade while cutting off your head like a crazy person?” He paused and glanced at the gaunt figure across the table. “Isn’t that right, Lark?”

“Hit the nail on the head, young man.” Lark gave an engaging smile. “Now if only you didn’t have to come along and rescue her, the story would be almost perfect.”

Kiann’s jaw clenched. He stood up and jabbed a finger in Lark’s direction. “I don’t care if you do drop bundles of swords at our doorstep, you can just – “

“All right, let’s stick to the outline.” Michach slapped his hand down on the ink-stained sheet of paper before him.

Jacha fidgeted on the hard-backed chair. She didn’t want to be stuck in this cramped room discussing plans for the future. She wanted to go out and ride. “Why does Kiann have to rescue me?” she muttered. “Couldn’t I just dodge Lark by myself?”

“It won’t be just Kiann, Jacha. Michach and Oren will be there as well.” Mala laid a soothing hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“But – ”

“Enough!” Michach boomed. “Jacha, you know you learn to like him eventually, so just go along with it.”

Mala laughed at her husband’s words, but Jacha glared at Kiann and he stared coolly back.

Blonde Silke took charge. “Next on the agenda, everyone. I think we should bring food to Greenlodge before Jacha is admitted into our cell group instead of after. That way our kindness can be established and it can serve as a test to see if she’s loyal.” She surveyed them with serious blue eyes. “All in agreement, give a show of right hands.”

Suprisingly, everyone raised their right hand.

Next, Lark stood to address them. His gaunt figure loomed over the table, and just for a moment Jacha felt a flash of fear. What if things didn’t go as planned and he did try to kill her, instead of just kidnapping?

“When am I exchanging messages with Jacha?” he asked.

Michach consulted his papers. “It says here in the outline you’re doing that after Jacha confesses to us.”

Lark shook his head. “Let’s move it up, somewhere before I save her from Vorrda and consult with him.”

“Why?” Jacha demanded.

“Because I believe it fits better there, sweetheart.”

Jacha jumped to her feet. “Would you stop calling me that? You do it in the book too, and it makes me mad.”

“That’s my point, dear one. Is everybody in agreement with my little switch?”

No one objected, so approval was taken as a given.

Oren’s left eye was graced with a sudden spark of mischief. “Shall we elaborate on the scene where Silke and I kiss? The kiss itself only gets one line in the book…”

Michach’s eyes went from his blushing daughter to grinning Oren and he lifted his eyebrows. “I believe it’s fine just how it is,” he said drily.

Everyone laughed, including Silke, though she tried to pinch Oren’s arm under the table.

“Say, where’d Kiann go?” Jacha asked. She had realized that the red-headed boy’s seat was empty.

The others sprang up from the round table and pushed their way to the door.

“Really, him being out in the sunshine while we’re locked up in this dusty councilroom. Come on!” Jacha burst out and took a breath of fresh air.

“I doubt you’d be able to bring him back even if you tried,” said Michach.

“I’m up for a try,” said Jacha, laughing.

Behind them all, the smudged outline fluttered to the floor.
March 11, 2010