My life is complete.

Well not quite. It would be if I could have seen this live but I had no such luck. But I made an awesome discovery today that had made me happy beyond belief.

Are you ready for this?


Are you?

It's......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk&feature=fvw

A FUCKING HARRY POTTER MUSICAL!

If I knew how to post videos on here I would but I don't. Anyways. Check it out. Seriously. Best thing I've seen on the Internet ever.

Not to toot my own horn...

But I'm awesome. Seriously.

Okay not really, but I am having a really good night. Writing wise that is. (You thought I actually went out and got myself a life didn't ya? Sucker) Here is the list of writing accomplishments so far today.

• I finished the outline for my urban fantasy story.
• I finally thought of at least a working title for said story. Since I'm not sure I'm going to keep it, I'm not going to post it here. For now, let's just call it VDGP
  
• I started on VDGP. It's very small start but still a start
  
• I came up with a NaNo idea.
• I came up with a NaNo title- The Freshman Affair. (Don't laugh. I'm horrible at titles)
• I started an outline on The Freshman Affair.

Toot toot!

Vacation time cuts deeply into writing time.

For the past month, I've been on vacation in my hometown. Actually, I'm still on vacation so I haven't been doing very much writing at all. The only thing I really have been doing is working on an outline for an urban fantasy that I've been kicking around for a long time but hasn't ever been made into reality. Well, now that the outline is all but finished, I'm pretty damn sure that this time (which is probably about the 7th time) will be the charm.

I've never been a huge fan of outlining but I'm really glad that I decided to do it. I have a clear idea of where I want the story to go and what I want to happen. It's probably a little too detailed even but I'm hoping that if it comes between the outline and the characters I'll remember that the characters know what's best. *crosses fingers*

One thing that sucks about outlining is that I had to push myself really hard to finish the outline and just not skip right to the writing. Working on the outline made me so excited to get the actual project started that I almost abandoned the outline more than once. But I stuck to my guns and it's just a chapter away for being complete!

The whole reason I decided to post this was because while I was writing the outline I made the decision to kill off one of my favorite characters. I haven't even started to really write it yet but I'm already so attached to this character that I started to tear up a little. I'm so not excited to write that scene, but I feel like it will cause an intense emotional response from my readers (at least I hope so!) and it will motivate my main character a lot. I was not expecting to have such a strong emotional response already. It gives me a lot of hope for this story!

I still don't have a title for this WIP but I'm so excited to get it going! I can't decide if it would be best to put it off till after CFW is done or work at them both at the same time. I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it.

To apologize for not posting lately (and for the semi info-dumpness that was this post) here's a little man candy:
I usually only lust after men who are quite a bit older than I am so I think for this post I'll pick a few beautiful men who I could actually... well you know... without it being super creeping. Chace Crawford is too hot.

And I would do unspeakable things to Chad Micheal Murray. Whew.
Okay, does this surprise anyone? No matter what, I will never pass up an opportunity to drool over James McAvoy. Never.

Hallelujah

I've been struggling recently College For Witches. The story was supposed to be about the struggles of a young girl starting college and dealing with all the normal problems a girl her age has to, along with some not so normal ones that came from her unconventional upbringing as a Wicca.

What it turned into was a teen romance story. The magic element was barely even in the story and it was supposed to be a main plot point. In short, the original story had gotten lost underneath the intense amount of heat that El and Aiden felt for each other. Excluding a couple particular steamy scenes, I wasn't a fan of where the story was headed.

But tonight, after writing a little more romantic drivel, I had one of the moments I love. An "Aha!" moment. All of the sudden, something clicked into place and I knew how to get the story back on track. A character who is going to be very important in the coming chapters finally came back out of hiding and everyone started to behave according to plan.

Apparently, Elvira and Aiden just really needed to have sex. Before they were uncooperative and stubborn. Now they're content, helpful, and playing by my rules again. And I'm back to liking what I'm writing.

Hallelujah.

YA newbie

So College for Witches is my first attempt at writing something for Young Adults. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last.

There's a couple reasons for this. One of them is that I'm afraid that my main character doesn't act her age. All of the characters I've written before have always been in there 20s at least. She's 18, which is actually the same age as me. I would think that I wouldn't have trouble writing someone the same age but it's proving difficult. I don't want to dumb down the character or the story because I know that the readers would be able to tell and resent it. It also wouldn't be true to the character.

It's really hard to put my fears into words without sounding conceited. I don't think I'm better or smarter than anyone my age or anything. I'm just scared my words don't fit with a young adult person.

Another worry I have is with the sex scene I blogged about before. Now I'm fully aware that teens (since I'm still a teen myself) have sex. But again, I'm afraid that the scene I wrote doesn't fit with what is expected in YA. That's it's too put together and more experienced then most teen aged sex. Make sense?

I'm probably being stupid and not giving YA enough credit. It's just nice to be able to put my worries into words. Makes them seem a lot more manageable.

Thanks for listening to my insane ramblings all!

Here to make it up to you:

Mr. James McAvoy.


"Why yes. I do know I'm the sexiest man alive."

Pure Accomplishment.

This one is just going to be a quickie.


But I'm super proud of myself and wanted to share news. Now some of you might not see the big deal, but it's important to me.

Ready?

My WIP crossed the 40k line! I have never come close to writing something this long. I know it needs a lot of work, but for now I'm just focusing on the pure accomplishment I'm feeling at the moment.

How am I going to celebrate?


I'm going to go watch this guy beat the shit out of people and be sexy for a couple hours. With ice cream. Perfect no?

Writing Process Survey

I got this from Lori who got it from who got it from Bettie, who got it from Isaac Espriu's Place. It's orginally from the site Got Muse? A Writer-To-Write Meme.

1) Where do you write?

I write in a few different places. When I'm laptop is working (which isn't very often) I'll write in my bedroom on my bed or on the couch. I usually write in a really uncomfortable chair in the dinning room on a table surrounded by other people's crap. It's the penalty of not having my own place anymore.

2) When do you write?

That also has a tendency to vary. Usually though it's from about midnight to 2 a.m. or however long it takes me to reach my word goal. I wait until after my dad has gone to sleep so I have full use of our desktop computer. Or if I have some free time during the day (which I don't anymore since I'm taking a few internet courses) I'll write a little here and there. If I do work during the day, it's usually working on outlining.

3) Planner or Pantser?

I used to be a pantser but after C.F.W is done I'm going to try my hand at outlining. I have a feeling it will be what I do for now on. College for Witches is suffering some because I didn't plan it out enough.

4) Coffee or tea?

I'm a coffee or soda gal. I hate tea.

5) Pen and paper, or computer?

For outlining, I use pencil and paper. For the story itself, I use the computer. If my creativity is jammed I'll try switching to paper to see if it helps, which is usually does. I just wish my handwriting didn't suck so bad.

6) What gets you in the writing mood?

Listening to music and reading posts on AW about other people doing well. It makes me want to succeed. I write every day though even if I'm not in the mood. Because even if I'm not in the mood and have to force out every word, a little progress is better than none. And I know the effort is worth it because it means reaching The End is a little bit closer.

7) What pulls you out of the writing mood?

Fear mostly. The fear I'm going to fail and my writing will never amount to anything. But like I said, I write anyway. It's like pulling teeth sometimes but it will be worth it eventually. I just repeat that to myself over and over, and eventually the fear fades.

8 What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever read/heard/received?

Shut up and write. Don't bother bitching about not having time or your muse isn't around. Just put your butt in chair and write.

9) Got muse?

I do. But I don't use him as an excuse not to write. If he's on vacation, I sit down at my computer and write anyways. He usually figures out about half way through the session that I'm not giving up so he might as well help out.

10) Who is the biggest supporter of your writing?

Well sadly, I don't really get much support. My dad thinks it's a waste of time and I should give it up and focus on a real career/school. My sister and my mom are better but they never really know what to say. But they do the best they can and I love them for it. I really wish I had another writer friend who understood and kicked my ass when I'm sulking. Listening to Lori and Scarlett push each other via their blogs has really made me realize that.

11) Sound or Silence?

I need music. I don't do well in silence in any situation. Usually just putting my Ipod on shuffle is enough but sometimes I need theme music to match the scene I'm working on. I hate when other people are around when I'm trying to write. If it's unavoidable I'll put on head phones and just play music REALLY LOUD to drown out there voices. I can sometimes work with the TV on but usually only if I'm outlining and not really writing the story yet.


So there you have it.