Day 22

I had a bit of a slow morning, writing-wise. I thought I could get the last 5k under my belt but instead I did a little over 2k and now I'm stuck at another 2k or so until I win... so, tomorrow will probably do it.

Other than slowness in general, I think I know why it's taking so long. I'm stalling. Yes, my brain is trying to keep me from finishing the book. It's too afraid, especially since I'm about to dive into the climax, and things are about to start HAPPENING.

*SCREAM*

My subconscious is worried for the characters. I am worried for the characters. I haven't freaked out this much about characters since... well, the last book I wrote, and honestly I freaked out more so for that book than for this one.

But still.

Cross yer fingers!

~Silvermist

Days 14, 15, and 16

I've been slacking, I'm sorry! But here's how it went:

Day 14: Struggle struggle struggle struggle, EXHALE die.

Day 15: I CAN DO THIS I CAN DO THIS I can't do this die.

Day 16: I DID IT WOO HOOOOOOOO!

So I  reached 50,000 words this morning, but seeing as my set goal is 65,000, I have quite a bit more work to do.

Off to do it!

Silvermist

Day 8

Welcome back after we skipped Sunday! It's day 8 and I speed-wrote about 4,000 words this morning.

That's quite a lot, in case you were wondering.

But I breached 30,000 words! I'm so happy, but so very, very sad at the same time. See, the 30-k mark is my weakest point... it's where I have to carry the story over and get the rising action started without actually plunging into the climax too soon. (The climax comes usually at 45,000 words, but in this case I'm running for a 65,000-word goal, so it shouldn't come until 55k or later). I usually fight the Monster of Dullness throughout this time period.

Off I go to draw!

~Silvermist

Day 6

Tomorrow marks the end of week one for Camp NaNo. Since I can't post tomorrow, I'm recapping the first week now.

So where am I?

Well, the conflict is present now, in the 25,000+ words I have accumulated this first week. The conflict that will set the main character and his posse of friends spiraling into a downward journey of destruction, horror, and DEATH.

I am going to like writing the climax. Or am I going to hate it? Either or, it's going to be climatic. The villain is fairly strong, although it's not really clear why he's a villain yet. (MeheheheheHEHEHEEHEHEHEHE!)

The characterization is freaking amazing. I love everyone so much I'm going to run away with them all and hide them in a pit where no one will find them but they might drown if it rains. Oops. Still! They're taking everything in stride, and soon enough they'll each be called on to assist the main character.

Or
will
THEY?

*DUN DUN*

Crazed,
Silvermist

Camp NaNoWriMo

Well, most of us are used to seeing the words 'Camp NaNoWriMo' and thinking 'YES! I can do this because there's finally no school in the way!'

Unfortunately, this year it's in April. We still have school, and although I have the month off work, I am a senior this year and have to graduate several weeks early. A tad stressful. Just a tad.

So to make sure I don't die of stress, I'm going to make even less time for myself and be sure to make (or try to make) one blog post a day to keep basic track on... stuff. So yeah. It might be a very, very short post once a day, either tracking my word count or my frustration as a writer put through a 65,000-word count goal in less than 30 days.

(It's always less than 30 days in my house. Nobody's going to just let me write every single day. *sigh*).

SO! If anybody reads this, you get to watch me transform from an insane writer to a super-insane-and-on-the-verge-of-breakdown writer. Have fun watching me lose it!

~Silvermist

Short Stories, CICADA, and Pre-NaNo Craze

So it's September again. Nearing the end, albeit, but still September. The summer is over and everyone has settled back into school, watching the leaves turn (and the wind blow said leaves to afar).

With September's come, for me, at least, there is also a rise in time to be on the computer. (Ah joy to online school). This means I have more time to write during my breaks, since I have an excuse to stay where I am. I've been using this time on the computer to write, edit, and prepare a short story for publishing in Cicada Magazine.

It's really quite interesting, that mini journey that short stories take us on. As if reading (and understanding) one was hard enough, writing (and understanding) one is exceptionally harder. Anyone who has ever been annoyed by having to pick apart a meaningful short story in English class should really try writing one as such. English class is nothing to complain about. (Although to be fair, writing is much more desirable in general).

Cicada, a magazine that publishes work by teens and young adults, has rejected me before. No biggie - it was a terrible story anyway. All action and no plot. Quite silly and frivolous now that I look back on it. The story that I have now is definitely better. I took quite a lot of time editing the first draft, had it proofread by three people (one of whom is my English teacher), and then edited it again. Now I finally have the finished product. I'll look at it once or twice more before I submit, but from there, I hope things go well. And by well, I mean "I hope I get published." One more good thing to list on a query.

That said, let's look to the not-so-far future.

NaNoWriMo!

My NaNo plans are, so far, quite jerky and seem almost as if they are being sabotaged. I've sort-of settled on a plot centered around Hades' kidanpping and falling-in-love-with Persephone, which means I'll finally get a chance to write from the POV of all those ridiculously animated Greek gods. Oh boy!
On the other hand... it almost seems like a fanfiction. I want whatever I write to be original... but does this count? I am very torn.
The other three or so ideas are just as readily available to be written, but they're either "not right" or it's "not time yet"... It's a very tough Muse vs. Writer battle. And it's been ongoing. ...I need cookies...

Anyway, it's an interesting world out there. So much to do just by writing. I'll make my mark on it one way or another!

Hopefully famous one day,
~Silvermist

P.S. Check out some of my recent art! (Now all of this is original).

The Truth

The Truth

Check out the three new updates for my post-by-post novel, The Truth.
All part of building my online fanbase! (If it exists).

~Silvermist

The End of Camp

Camp NaNoWriMo June... has ended!

But my novel hasn't. 72,000 words into it, and the main villain still needs to at least come close to completing his quest, the Captain still has to face off with the General, my warriors need to regroup, and above all, the huge amazing plot twist has to take effect!
Then, of course, the big battle at the end.

It seems there's so much left to do... but at least I know it'll be as big as its prequel

---

Speaking of camps... how about August 'WriMo? I've planned my novel called 'The Truth' over at the site, and although it's not my usual cup of tea (genre-wise) I'm going to experiment with it a little. And I'll be experimenting again in April when I attempt a sci-fi comedy... wow.

Still! The Truth is probably going to be the deepest, thickest, most meaningful book I've ever written, and although it's a newbie cast, I still can't wait to dive it... so much to anticipate! x_x

~Silvermist

Art

I don't have much art for this post.

I'm just posting under the title 'art' merely to inform you that as a writer (and artist), I understandably want to draw my characters, scenes, and stories. It's an urge I can't squash (like a lot of urges I get when it comes to stories) and every so often I'll crack out my sketchbook, sharpen my pencils, and set out the ink pens.

It's time to draw manga style!

I have Mark Crilley to thank for my skills in drawing manga-style so far, and you can check him out on YouTube under the highly creative username 'markcrilley' (I LINKED THAT THERE). Ahem. He's awesome, funny, and most importantly of all, informative (somebody remind me to purchase the 3rd Brody's Ghost!!!)

Second of all, I'd like to point out that I didn't start out like I am now. It took me about two years, loads of practice, and I'm still nowhere NEAR as good as Kubo Tite (y'know, the artist for Bleach?) To any aspiring but discouraged artists out there - You're not supposed to st

art out perfect! Nobody does! It takes practice!

Anyhoo. That said, here's a little comparison:

February 2011

April 2012

As you can see, there's definitely a certain amount of difference between the two pictures The first is unfinished, sketchy, the people are skinny, it's- I could go on. The second one... well, speaks for itself. (and yes, that IS Rozar Altair kissing a mystery girl.... who I didn't draw wings for DRAT. Anyhoo).

It takes practice, practice, practice! And after that, much more practice!

Of course, I didn't just rely on my skills. To have a beautifully crafted, clear, fine, easy-to-see picture, you have to invest in good materials. I got my sketchbook(s) as gifts, but I am satsified with the quality of the paper because it's thick enough not to see through, but thin enough to be flexible. You'll want to make sure the grain is smooth, for pencil drawings, and rougher for paintings or pastels (fine grain for chalk pastels).

Also, although I don't generally use expensive pencils, I do tend to stick with the mechanical pencils because they don't need to be sharpened. Since I almost always go back over my sketches with an ink pen, I like having thin, light lines that are easy to erase once the ink dries.

The pens themselves I did splurge a little on. I have a pack of Sakura Pigma pens, which have nearly run out now (*sad* those are the best pens ever for manga drawing because they're thick and felt-y), a pack of Micron pens which were surprisingly cheap but leave thick lines that tend to blot (but I love anyway) and a pack of scarily expensive PrismaColor black ink pens, which are the haven of this world and I can't replace for a while. I think I have a nice array to last me a while.

Also, I happen to have the fortune of a loving grandma (who is a professional artist), who bought me an awesome pack of PrismaColor colored pencils (like whoa), and I'm being very careful with how much I use and how I keep them. They make for very nice coloring tools, although I could probably do better with them, and I keep them in the same place every day so I don't lose them.

Artistic tip of the day: TAKE CARE OF YOUR SUPPLIES

Anyway, that's probably enough from me. I have to go write a bunch more today if I want to finish this novel by the end of April. So, with all this done, you can probably expect more artwork in the near future, because I'm now in the artistic mood! Hope you all benefited from this post. (Anybody up for a drawing tutorial?)

~Silvermist

20,000 words, and 75 pages.

Here is a link to my Screnzy page

http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/eng/user/610428

You can see that I am collaborating this time around, and more importantly, we've got 75 pages (probably more by the time you read this post) [if you read this post], and we're not planning to stop until we're done done!

In regards to the novel, I just hit 20,000 words and feel like a turtle. I dunno if it's because I've spent most of the days on the play or because the characters are too spread out, but it's going a little slow. I miss the team-ness of the original Flight. *sad* Still, I get two characters out of the mix- the siblings Sky and Demeter - and they're epic.

Anyway - MY JUNE NOVEL WILL ROCK THE SOCKS OFF... WHOEVER IS IN RANGE! I am SO excited...

~Silvermist

Quickest Blog Post of All Time

13,000+ words of my novel!

~'Mist

Thanks for readin'.

Going Crazy With Inspiration

I am having so many crazy ideas for my novels coming up I think I'm going to blow up or explode even though those mean the same thing!

*blow up and explode*

That said, you may be wondering... 'why is she so excited?' Let me tell you. Because I am having so many crazy awesome epic amazing ideas for three novels I'm planning to write over the summer and April.

Novel 1: Sequel to "Flight" (pic at bottom of blog). I wrote "Flight" last year, and so far I think this one is going to be called "Mind". Either that or "Fall". Which would be ironic. Heh. Anyway, it's the middle book of a trilogy, and we all know how hard it is to write middle books... Still, the characters are awesome, I'm adding new peeps, and I think overall, it's going to be one of the most epic books every written.

Novel 2: I think this one is going to be called "Flame" or something of the like. It's a sequel to my NaNoWriMo '11 novel "Jinxed", (in a way) and is going to be entirely epic in such an epic way you'll never see it coming. It's a love story, you should know, but that's ok. I'm .... fairly good with love stories. EXPECT WEREWOLVES TO APPEAR! 8D (June 'WriMo)

Novel 3: My August 'WriMo project! This is going to be the sequel to the sequel of Jinxed, so it's going to be a sort of 'threequel' if you wanna put it that way. It goes back in time and is kinda the in-between book for the present day chapters I'm doing and Rozar's past outlined in Jinxed (you remember Rozar, right?) So... it's going to be a bit... if-ish, because I think there's a scene where the bad guy is revealed... in a certain way... Heh...

Anyway, there's that thing thar that I'm going through that I think is labeled 'Writer Craziness' because honestly... I'm a crazy writer right now. I have SO many awesome scenes planned for all the three novels above, including big explosions, werewolf attack-fights, flying action scenes, and ROMANCE.

Of course.

That said, I must go collab crazily before nine.

~Silvermist

Band Comic #2

My attempts to put together a band from my characters are not in vain! I discover an unlikely winner for my vocal lead:

I hope you can click on it to enlarge.... and sorry the bottom was cut off! (drned paper is too big for scanners).

~Silvermist

Writing. Writing! WRITING!

I had a recent round of the Writer's Block, and this time it took me hard. I didn't write for a while and I literally started to feel unwell as a result. I had the blues and possibly the blacks (if you catch my meaning) and Thursday night it got so bad I knew I had to do something or I'd end up in a strained condition, most likely hunched over the sink and hurling.

So when I realized not writing could hurt that bad, I got a little scared, and went 'zomg I must write or the world will end'. Lo and behold, I wrote nearly 4,000 words Friday morning, released my pent-up tension, blew out my stress, and even got in a few laughs. It was such a relief to know I still had it in me.

~Silvermist

What I Do In My Free Time (wait, I have free time???)

Writers aren't always writing.





Ok, well it's a rare thing, but you can still find writers doing other things than writing. On occasion. Every once in a while.


At any rate, I have some things I do or turn to when I'm not writing (which is uncommon).


As you might have guessed, each thing I do is either creative, or gives me ideas/inspiration in its own way.

• Piano - I am a self-taught player and have played for almost 3 years (almost). My youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/DistractedFirefly?feature=mhee so feel free to stop by and check out my mostly Evanescence-oriented piano pieces, some odds and ends from Linkin Park/Cryoshell/a recent one by Clint Mansell. There may be an original piece, but it's not supposed to be in there...
  


• Bleach - the manga, not Clorox. I read it every Thursday or so as the updates roll out, and I tell you it's addicting. O_O I'm a Bleach addict! Help! ...aaanyway, sometimes that's a good thing, because Kubo Tite, the author, is extremely talented at coming up with interesting, moving characters. Like Riruka. Where does she get off being awesome?
  


• Baking - cakes, cookies, pies, pastries, cupcakes, brownies... *go on long list*
  


• Reading - occasional, yes, but I do find time to read my friend's stories, school-assigned novels, and the spare other book every once in a while.
  



• Blog - obviously.
  

What do you guys do, if anything other than write?


Anyway, I must run now if I am to write before school. It is necessary to survival for us writers! *runs for Word document*







~Silvermist

NaNo's dead, and Christmas is coming

NaNoWriMo has died along with the rest of November, but if you're like me, then your novel is still bursting with life, waiting to be read.

Waiting to be edited.

*dun dun*

Sadly, my epic novel "Jinxed" isn't going to be edited because 82,404 words is hard to edit. Needless to say, I'm going to instead turn to editing last year's 70k novel that will in turn be published if I can get it so. But that aside, I'm focusing on little projects for Christmas.

Merry Christmas from Silvermist and Rozar!

Here at Ebony Castle things are lighting up (literally) because of Razor's epic mage powers and how awesome they are at setting torches on fire. They look like Christmas lights. And yay for William, the literal newest addition to the "Guard", and congrats to Draco, the proud adopted dad of our lil dragon. We hope you have as fun a Christmas as us (because we still need a tree!!!)

At any rate, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Bright Jugor's Day, on Jester's planet. (Jester is a character of mine). Let's just say Happy Holidays!

~Silvermist

Checklist

I saw my friend LE make a writing checklist/schedule on her blog, http://farfetchedandbeyond.blogspot.com/ and I decided that since it looked organizational, I cold try it too. Think about it. Makes sense. So here you are. My checklist:

Finish NaNoWriMo: Uncomplete. (Getting there though!)

Edit last year's NaNo: Incomplete. I must get it done before January, if I want to do the ABNA contest again.

Publish last year's NaNo: Incomplete but GETTING THERE!

Beginning planning for/write/complete plans for a 'Flight' sequel: In progress. (Planning well underway).

Begin my DS series, which stars my epic family of epic warriors in an epic land: Begun and semi-complete. Book one complete and book four almost complete. (I do these out of order... heh).

And then...?

Well that's the beauty of the last one. My schedule is full up until NaNo of next year, but then, it's time for a new novel! FUN!

~Silvermist