Why I Haven't Been Writing

To say that I've been busy would definitely be an understatement. I've had an idea tickling at my brain for months, but I didn't get a chance to work on it at all until just recently. There were many reasons why I didn't write, and some of them could have been helped by writing.

1. I had a lot of homework. It was my last semester this past April, and I had the two toughest classes I'd ever had my entire bachelor's degree. A lot of things slid to the side. Writing was, sadly, one of them.
2. I had a lot of personal issues come up. Everyone except me, my husband, and my daughter ended up losing their mind. Some of them impacted us personally, and some of them should have been more of a side impact and weren't.
3. I've had a lot of stress going on. These personal issues and homework caused a lot of stress, and being a wife and mother added more stress on top of that. Stress on top of stress causes more stress, which only caused more stress. My stress is usually relieved by writing, but I felt too stressed to write.
4. I've been depressed. All of the above sent me into a deep, dark hole I didn't feel like I had the strength to get out of. Writing will usually combat this, but what little time I did have was immediately dashed aside by homework or personal issues or husband or daughter. So, I stayed in my hole.
5. I had a LOT of homework. I know I already mentioned this, but I really feel that this needs to be stressed. Homework is always in my life, but this homework was by far the most I've ever had. It was tough, and it was a lot. I hated it.

So, as you can see, I had a lot on my plate for these past few months, and I've just recently gotten back into the writing groove. So, expect more blog updates and more writing stuff.

How to Avoid Writing in 5 Ways or Less

So, lately I've been really wanting to write. My brain is filled with the desire to put words to the page. My body (and non-creative brain parts), however, is doing everything it can to keep me from this desire. So, here are five ways (or less) that my body and non-creative brain pieces are distracting me:

1. The cat box needs to be cleaned. This is usually a chore that I save for the end of the day before bed so that the cats can do whatever they like in it all night long without doing their business in other places of my home. I did this about 30 minutes ago.
2. The calendar needs to be updated. Okay, it really did need updating, but it didn't need to be updated right that second. It's a dry-erase calendar that sticks to my fridge, and the weeks are separated. All you have to do is pick up the old week and move it to the bottom of the calendar, erase it, and fill it in. Should be easy to do once a week, right? Well, I still had most of December still listed and hardly anything of January. I did that about 15 minutes ago (but it did have to be done!).
3. I needed coffee. Now, this one right here kind of went with the track of getting myself in the writing grove. I wish I could say that my Prescription Coffee Cup and Vanilla Caramel coffee led to more words being written, but alas, it did not. Not in the creative sense, anyway.
4. Dragon Age Origins is far more interesting than my novel. Yes, it is true. Why? Because it's already a written story! All I have to do is create my character, make a couple of choices, and the game pieces together a story for me. Wouldn't it be great if all stories could be written like this? Sadly, I still want to play more Dragon Age Origins.
5. I could write a blog post about how my body and non-creative brain parts are distracting me. Hey, wouldn't you know it! I'm doing that one right now.

Usually, to combat the writing blues, I'll play a little music, sit down with some coffee, and write in a way that's different from how I usually do it. For example, if I've been doing a lot of typing, I'll write by hand instead. If I've been doing a lot of handwriting, I'll type instead. So, I put on some music, got myself some coffee, opened a notebook, uncapped an awesome Papermate InkJoy 100 purple pen and wrote hardly anything at all. Perhaps it's because I went to bed at 2:30 and woke at 6 and had coffee, or maybe I'm just making excuses for myself. Either way, I'm going to have to buckle down and get some words written sooner or later. I've got people I need to answer to, especially if I want to earn certain prizes from a certain fellow writer.

It has begun!

What has begun? Why, NaNoWriMo, of course! I know, this post is late. I blame that on last-minute school items to complete. Let's just say I'm looking at some pretty sturdy B's for this last semester. :) I was rocking it. I took notes like a madman, I read that textbook like it was the most amazing piece of writing I've ever had the chance to write, I worked on those big projects as if my very life depended on it! But I'm getting distracted.

So, no writing done on Day 1 of NaNoWriMo, but I have a whopping 5,200 words from yesterday to add to! Go me! Is it the idea I had planned for myself that I wrote about on October 12? No, no, no... This is an old idea from 2010's NaNoWriMo that is being rewritten. The entire idea has been reread, rejected, and revised! With that said, I shall return to my writing, but rest assured, I will have a bunch of updates for you all to read soon!

A Series of Novellas

My co-author, Alicia, and I are parting ways this November regarding our writing. Well, sort of. You see, Alicia and I had a lot of fun writing a novel together this June, and we've decided to do something similar for November NaNoWriMo. However, instead of taking turns working on the same novel, we're going to write a series of novellas. You see, Alicia and I don't just write for NaNoWriMo. We also spend our free time writing on a site known as The Black Hole, created by us.

A quick explanation is as such: I have one character, and Alicia has another. Through a series of crazy plot twists and bizarre ideas that we take turns coming up with, we each write a paragraph or more from only our character. Alicia is responsible for writing a response to what my character says; I cannot write her character's response. In this way, we often don't know what's going to happen, and it makes everything unexpected. This isn't how we wrote our novel, and it's not how we're planning to write our novellas.

No. You see, over time, Alicia and I have accumulated several dozen characters doing stories in this fashion, and sometimes we will recycle the same characters and stories using different plot twists, reactions, etc. For November's 2012 NaNoWriMo, we are planning to each take a story that is part of a larger story we like to call "The House."

I will be working on the story of two misfits--Kelsey and Mac. You can read more about their story here. Using what Alicia and I have already written as a guide, I will be adjusting the plot and characters as I see fit. Some pieces of the original story will be removed, like Dr. Xavier's school for mutants since we don't own that. Other things will remain. Alicia, however, will be working on the story of two other misfits--Aiden and Alex. You can read more about them here. Like me, Alicia will be using the original story as only a guide.

Eventually, we hope to do this with several other characters' stories on the same website, and they will all eventually connect into a longer novella called "The House." For more details regarding the House, please visit this website.

Published Novel

My co-author and I have published our first novel. Here are the two links:

Paperback

Kindle version

We get more money if you buy the Kindle version so use your Kindle app or your Kindle.

Novel Excerpt for Day 1

First, a word count update! Alicia and I are at over 6,000 words just for today alone. Take that, you doubters and naysayers! Now, for an excerpt:

"We regret to inform you that, while your application was flawless, we must deny it." A heavy sigh slipped out of Sarina's lips at the 45th rejection letter she'd received in two months. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned back in her chair. She had no idea what she was doing wrong to warrant such heavy rejection. Her grades in high school had been above average, if not outstanding. She had applied to her first-choice college, hoping it would come through. When that had failed, she'd started down the list.

Cover for "Tales of SFU"

Fabulous cover drawn and colored by me!

So, this is the cover of my novel Tales of SFU that I am co-authoring with Alicia. The school is called Singularis Facultas University, which roughly translates to "unique powers." It's Latin, by the way, in case you wanted to know. Underneath is the motto which is "Cum magna potentia venit tanti." According to Google Translator, it means "with great power comes great responsibility," which is what I wanted it to say. According to one of the four young women in the cabin with Alicia and I, it actually translates to "with great power comes much." Oh, well! It's close enough.

Not-so-awesome starter sketch

This cover was drawn by hand by me, and then I scanned it into my computer and colored it using my Wacom tablet and Corel Painter Essentials 4 after a very helpful Aland tech helped me correct a bizarre crashing issue. Here's the original sketch for those interested.