The Best Feeling So Far

Finished the first draft of The Project!  I think the Epilogue turned out nicely, tied the ending together the way I wanted it to.  I've never been so emotional for the end of a project.  I felt like simultaneously doing a dance and crying at the same time, so it just ended up being a huge lump in my throat for the whole time I was writing the ending. My hands started shaking at the end.  It clocks in at 71k words (I stopped counting the 3k words that got accidentally deleted by MS word) and 256 pages double spaced Times News Roman (none of that Courier nonsense for me).

Now the serious work begins, crafting this lump of coal into a shiny diamond.  I already edited the first chapter according to the critiques I got from "1,000 Words," and it reads oh so much better.  It hurt a little to get criticism (you mean you don't think my baby is perfect?) but wow, it made a big difference.  I have to thank everybody for input.  I'm going to set the whole manuscript aside for a few days now, but I'm just itching to start editing.  What a great feeling.

So, we'll see if I can concentrate on my new projects this week to keep my mind off this one.  Nevertheless, the excitement will tide me over several days.  :-)

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Now I have definite insomnia.  I guess it is good insomnia, though? It won't be good insomnia when I finally fall sleep and drag my butt to Western Civ tomorrow morning only to keel over drooling when I get there.

Moving Onward

I am working on the very last bit of The Project with Meg.  Still untitled.  I'm hoping a good one will come to me during the editing process, but I'm steadfastly not editing until next week to give the manuscript some dead time so I can come back with a fresh eye.

Originally, my next novel was going to be a YA commercial fiction about a Chinese-American girl, very un-fantasyish and quite contemporary, currently named "Two Sides of a Hyphenated Identity."  It's been brewing in my head for a while, and I think it's time to graduate it to official "WIP" status.  I'm also working on a short story of the same nature for the literary magazine "The First Line."

However, last night, something very Stephenie Meyer-esque happened (which kind of grosses me out that I would consider it SM-esque) where a new idea appeared to me in a dream. Weird! Quite honestly, something like that has never happened to me before, and I've always been jealous of authors who've said their books began that way!  I won't complain.  I had a scene, fully formed in my head, play out before my eyes.  The first thing I thought when I woke up was, "I need to write that down for my next book, RIGHT NOW before I forget it."  So I did. And I'm rather pleased with the prologue for my new YA Fantasy, "Steam."  Main characters names included: Simeon, George, Sarah, Elladora, and Niles.

So, I'm not sure how both new projects are going to play out, but it does give a bit of variety to my writing.  They are now listed on the side of the blog for progress.  I suppose I'm involved now with Lin Wang and her blog chain.  It sounds like a great idea and if anyone is interested, her site is: http://flamesandshadows.wordpress.com.

So Close I Can Smell It Update

I have finished Chapter 23.  I have hit 70,000.  I have exactly one chapter and one epilogue left.  I'm ever so close.  I should hold off tonight and wait until tomorrow to write--it would be more polished and a lot less rushed, but I want to write the ending so badly.

I mean, I've dreamed of the ending since the novel started.  I'm so close!   I might pull a late night and just finish it.  I want to.  I want to. I have to get up early tomorrow, but who cares?  I want to write the ending, dammit!  Excuse me.  I'm just quite excited.

Oh.  Other fun news.  Tomorrow, I will be in the batch of "First 1000 Words" hosted by Authoress.  I'm thrilled to get some critiques, but also very scared!  Scared of criticism, but I know I need it.  I also happen to think the first chapter is terrible.  And too graphic for a YA. Ugh, I'll be so stressed out when I check the comments tomorrow.  

Also, the Percy Jackson tweets?  Not helping my anxiety (even though I love and need them desperately, like the addict I am).  Book comes out in little over a month.  Stop teasing me.  Rachel has a big part in the last battle.  Get out of my life, Rachel.  Seriously.  Grrr. Yeah, I'm aware nobody understands my drivel except me.  I admit that I have a problem with books.  I get super obsessed with one series for a while, and then I drop it when I find the next series to fangirl.  I'm attached to literary characters.  What can I say?

So.  Onto the end of the journey.  I love you, Meg!  I love you, Theseus!  I love you, Atalanta!  I hope you love your ending as much as I do!

Home Stretch

I'm consistently writing over 2,000 words a day now, because the end is so close in sight.  I can't wait.  I really hope I don't screw it up, because I want the ending to be super good!  Really, really only a few days left.  I'm going to treat myself to Olive Garden when it's done. Or something equally extravagant and wonderful.  Maybe shopping spree.  Good incentives for writing.  What part of the book is hardest for you to write?  The ending seems to be easier for me, but I'm treading carefully because I'm terrified of messing it up and thereby ruining the whole book.

Little Joys

I already updated my WIP section on the side of the blog, but I needed a post to celebrate too.  60,000 words!  Almost there, almost there.  Maybe 10,000 more.  It's been excruciating to write lately.  I don't know why the last chapter has been so difficult.  But I finished it!  Every little bit counts.

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SPRING BREAK!

Keep On Truckin'

I wrote 2,580 words today, on top of a cold.  Probably the second best I've ever done for this novel, excluding VWI.  With that, I finished Chapter 19, and soon, it'll be time for the third task, which I still have not figured out.  I need to work on that.  I also need to work out the laws of dead people wandering in the world of the living.  Can ghosts move things?  Can other people see them?  So much planning.

I'm pleased with Chapter 19.  I can't wait for revision time.  I guess I'm weird like that because I'm pretty sure most authors hate the revision process.  I'm just tired of the writing process (and that's probably bad), but I want to do something new.  And editing sounds more enjoyable right now.  I can't complain though, because this part of the novel is flowing great.  Only 4-5 chapters left to go.  Almost there!

Being sick sucks.  I can't wait for Spring Break.  Time to go be BFFs with Alka Selzer.

Aftermath

Final wordcount: 3,769

Wrote all of Chapter 18 and started Chapter 19.  That's not two chapters by a long shot, but I'm quite pleased with the result.  I've not written a chapter in a day since the very beginning.  I believe the first chapter is somewhere around 1,800 words.  

Everybody at VWI was funny, nice, and generally wonderful!  Much thanks to Sam Elliott for hosting.  I got a lot done, and I hope everybody else did too.

My teacher emailed me my recommendation the day the application was due.  Wow?  That is procrastination to the max.

I adore the Champaign Public Library.  I wish I could live there.  It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  It's better than Borders, and that is saying a lot.

Today, I fell in love with Theseus.  I'm glad because lately, he's been annoying me, and I don't want to be annoyed by my main male character.

This is the most incohesive post ever.

Eve of Teh Workday

Tomorrow, I will be participating in Samantha Elliott's Virtual Write-In, which pretty much means I attempt to work on my novel for 7 hours. Potential results:

1) I get a lot done.

2) I stop before I hurl on the mess that is the first draft, and fail to get a lot done.

3) I go insane.

4) Some combination of the above.

I write in 2-3 hour bursts.  7 hours is going to be, erm, quite an endeavor.  And I'm not even being official and doing the full 12 hours, because that would be a guaranteed Result #3.  Nevertheless, I am doing this because it sounds like fun (I have a scary, unhinged idea of fun, clearly), and I need moral support from other writers!  Also, I am between 18,000 and 24,000 words away from completing my first draft, and I hope to knock out a chunk of that tomorrow.  I want to get done with the FD before Spring Break so I can start revising.

Right now, I'm about to start Chapter 18.  I hate starting new chapters because I pretty much knocked out all of my ideas at the end of the last chapter.  Planning is not fun.

VWI is also a good way to keep my paranoid brain from going haywire.  I'm waiting for a teacher to email me her recommendation, so I can send off my summer internship application.  The dang thing is due Sunday.  Ahhh!  My teacher is a shameless procrastinator. It's driving me crazy with worry, even though I've emailed her reminders (as she requested) and called to confirm.  Please alleviate my stress, Ms. Nameless!

Goal for VWI: Finish two chapters.

That sounds like a shallow goal.  I know some authors can write 3,000+ words in an hour, easy.  I am markedly not one of those people.  I average about 1,000 an hour if I concentrate and avoid the internet.  One chapter for me is around 3,000 words.  Two chapters is doable if I work hard.  

I need help with figuring out what Meg's 3rd task is going to be.  It needs to be something grand, difficult, not fetching an object, and not in the underworld.  Hades is getting sick of this shenanigans.  I would be too.

Burnout

I am literally too tired to plot what's happening next, and I don't want to churn out crap on purpose, so no writing for today.

Plus, the only thing on my mind is the fact that I got a signature from Rick Riordan, and I just want to sit in bed for a few days and reread Percy Jackson.  I'm mildly embarrassed, because when I meet people I really respect or admire, I get really red and speak incoherently, so he probably thinks I'm an idiot.  I don't care.  I have his signature.  By the way, what is it with famous people having dramatically loopy signatures?  I guess you have to work on that when you become famous.  He's really nice, but most authors are. Public relations, doncha know.  Either way, very exciting stuff.

Instead, I think I'll just throw this out there for discussion.  I've been thinking (since reading Percy Jackson), about my favorite literary characters.  Percy broke my top ten list.  So, I'm going to put mine out there (in no particular order) as I give my brain a reprieve from demanding, difficult Megara.

1) Jane Eyre from "Jane Eyre"

2) Aravis from "The Chronicles of Narnia"

3) Percy Jackson from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"

4) Albus Dumbledore from "Harry Potter"

5) Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone With the Wind"

6) Ella from "Ella Enchanted"

7) Gemma from "A Great and Terrible Beauty"

8) Pan from "The Great God Pan"

9) Henry from "The Time Traveler's Wife"

10) Augustine St. Clare from "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

These are the ones I can come up with right now.  I know I'm going to think of another one two seconds after I post this.  Mind you, these are not my favorite books, necessarily.  These are characters that are charismatic and stand alone without plots.  Most of them are main characters, but a few are not.  

Honestly, I think it's a huge accomplishment when the main character (especially from first person) stands out the most, because it's easy to make them a narrator-esque person that gets lost in all of the other personalities.  Like "Twilight."  The Cullens are standouts in that series.  Bella is not interesting.  Sorry, Stephenie Meyer, but Bella doesn't catch my interest.  She's not a bad character; she's just rather bland.

Ditto with Harry Potter.  I would call it the Harry and Bella syndrome, where I find the side characters immensely more intriguing.

Let's contrast with the strongest two characters on this list, hands down: Ella and Percy.  I'm not hating on the classics, it is just enormously impressive to me when a character that narrates is the strongest character in the story.  Ella and Percy do not let others (no matter how charismatic the supporting cast is) overshadow them. They shine consistently the whole way through.  Good for them!

That's my list for now.  Like I said, I could probably think of more if I sit here for a while.  What are your favorite ten literary characters?

Awesome On A Stick In Champaign

Chapter Sixteen is going well.  Kind of slow, but with a bit of tidying up, it'll do fine.

Mainly, I saw a bit of amazing news today, and I'm mad I didn't see it earlier but--I'll take it.  Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson, is coming to Champaign!  I was struck dumb when I saw it on his blog. I mean, Champaign?  Why come to Podunk Central when you're from San Antonio?  But, then I basically passed out and looked it up to confirm, and yes.  He's going to be in the public library on Monday. Gag with joy!  Unfortunately, this news apparently went out Feb 16, and when I called to see if there were spots left, the librarian laughed at me and said, "Honey, the tickets sold out fifteen minutes after we opened the phone lines."  Oh.  Right (So like the Hannah Montana concert of the children's literary world?).  I forgot Mr. Riordan is more popular amongst children than PB&J sandwiches and roller shoes. My mistake.

But!  But, I am still allowed to go to the book signing.  He's only signing books for an hour and forty-five minutes, and the librarian warned me that there will be lots and lots of people there.  Fear not.  I will go two hours early to wait in line, after my classes are over on Monday.  You chil'uns better watch out.  I can and will elbow you out of my way to get that book signed.  I am a college student amongst you junior highers; I can and will take advantage of that.  I will wait however long necessary to get that wonderful signature. Lunch/dinner will have to wait until after I get my book signed.  Percy Jackson > food.  Obviously.  Given a choice between the two, I'd pick the former every time.  :-)

I'm so excited.  I can't believe the awesome, amazing, praise-worthy author of Percy Jackson is coming where I currently live!  I've obviously become the very definition of psycho fan, but whatever. I've never gotten a book signed by someone I remotely care about before.  I really, really, REALLY hope I get there in time.

My Submission

This is my submission to Drop the Needle.  It was #3, because I was super anal about getting it in, so I pretty much sent it in two seconds after Authoress called for it.  I used a temporary title. So far, I can't think of a name I like enough.

Megara, having recently died, drank from the Pool of Lethe (forgetfulness) along with the other spirits before being judged for her final destination. Theseus, one of the prisoners of the palace bound to a bench, argues with Hades' that she deserves Elysium (paradise). Afterward, Theseus and Megara get into an argument.


“I said thank you! What do you want from me? I’m not going to lick your feet.”

“Just. Go. Away. I’m never helping anybody else again. Stupid girl.”

I walked back to the three judges in the middle of the room, who were still waiting to escort me to my final destination. “I have a name,” I said, raising my voice so he could hear me with my back turned. “It’s Megara, and I hope you don’t forget it.”

There was a gasp from behind me. “No you’re not.”

I turned back. Theseus was gaping at me. “Yes, I am,” I said.

“But you’re so young! You were fine just two years ago. I saw the babies once—how did you die?”

He looked at me like he knew who I was. “Is she the Megara?” he said to the judges. “The Princess? Looks like her, but I haven’t seen her in years.”

“The one and only,” replied Minos grimly. “She’ll remember soon enough once we get her a draught of Mnemosyne.”

“How did she die?” Theseus whispered.

My head was spinning and spinning. “Princess? Mnemosyne? Theseus, who are you? Who am I?”

Pirithous was frowning. “Yeah, Theseus. Who is this girl? You know her?”

“Come on,” said Rhadamanthus firmly, dragging me along by my elbow. “It’s time to go.”

“But—I want to know,” I protested, but to no avail. The three judges were forcibly pulling me away now, leaving me no choice but to go along with them, out of Hades’ palace, and toward Elysium.

Dissatisfaction

I was going to write 1,000 words tonight and finish the chapter. Unfortunately, the chapter clearly ended 700 words into my writing, so I cheapskated out and stopped.  Chapter 14 isn't my best work.  It may need to undergo some surgery later.  I also kind of hate the extreme romantic angle it took.  It's necessary at some point, but I didn't pull it off very well.  I excuse myself on the basis that it's 2:50 am, and I forced myself to eek out 700 anyway.  It's an accomplishment.

And now back to studying.  Or maybe that'll wait until tomorrow morning.  Ugh, the plot must move along, and Theseus needs to stop being such a wimp!  Grrr.  I don't know what to do with him.  He's making me angry.

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I forgot, in all my frustration, that I crossed the 40k barrier, theoretically.  Practically, it's at 37k, because of the deleted chapter, but 40k sounds so much better for my self-esteem.