Emerald Forest is coming along swimmingly. I am 70,000 words in and I hope to get to about 85,000. I've learned 80,000 and above is a good word count aim for people who want a small to medium sized novel. It depends the dimensions of the actual book.
Writing is a huge struggle especially at this time in my life. School takes priority and after 8 hours of it and homework, I'm too tired to get on my laptop for the 30 minutes before bed. If I cared to have a life, that would take up more time as well. Writing is a constant struggle with time and brain activity and location. I often write easier when I'm supposed to be doing something or I'm someplace different than my room.
Another struggle is finding time to read. It is a battle every day to choose between whether I should read during my free time or write. Both are important and necessary for the other. I've fallen back on reading, which is terrible since I have a stack of new books. School is for reading. Nights are for writing. And summer is for publishing and planning for the third novel.
I sometimes get bitter, because I'm stuck finishing this trilogy while other ideas keep popping up. I want to start on them or write both at once, but I can't. I have a one track mind and I know if I start on another one while trying to finish this series then I will neglect it. Have no fear though. The Dark Divides will see its end. And in the mean time maybe I can find a treat for yall and get my friend done with her novel ;)
If you guys ever want to talk, I am always up for a discussion. I just enjoy spilling my entire world to you guys and don't want to sound too much like a whiner. =)
Stay motivated.
With Love, SKW
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
A Writer's /Introverts Problems
People found out yet AGAIN in another of my classes that I have written a book. The hard part about being a writer (or for me) is that you're proud of your book, but you don't like discussing it. It was the very end of class and it became a class discussion. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm just self-conscious. I don't want to sound like a self-absorbed or arrogant person by bringing it up. I am somewhat ashamed of how it was published because to me self-publishing seems like cheating. Also, one of the main questions people ask is "how much have you made". Sometimes I want to respond with "Oh yeah! Writing is a get rich quick career move! You should try it and tell me how it goes". I don't do this for the money. People who write would be CRAZY to think they can do it for the sole purpose of getting income. It takes a miracle to become a John Green or Veronica Roth.
Back to my point... I blush like people are singing 'Happy Birthday' to me when people bring up my book, because it's like... what are you supposed to do? Smile like an idiot and give short answers or go on a rant about how amazing it is and turn the opportunity into a marketing situation. My mom is always telling me to tell them to "go read it". Maybe that is the correct answer, but I'm so unused to the attention that it feels somewhat uncomfortable.
My advice is this- Love your work, be proud of what you've done that few can do. If you're a good speaker, then great! Rock that! If you love the attention, then great! Soak it in! But remember (This is the key guys), always remember to stay humble. Know that you are still human. Know that only a few months or years before no one cared what you did with your time. Just because you get "big", does not mean you have to act the part. Keep being you even when people make you feel special. Return the favor. No one is famous without their fans and no one is famous when they treat those fans with distaste.
That one bit of advice will take you farther than you could ever imagine.
Braggers end up Baggers ;)
-With Love, SKW
Back to my point... I blush like people are singing 'Happy Birthday' to me when people bring up my book, because it's like... what are you supposed to do? Smile like an idiot and give short answers or go on a rant about how amazing it is and turn the opportunity into a marketing situation. My mom is always telling me to tell them to "go read it". Maybe that is the correct answer, but I'm so unused to the attention that it feels somewhat uncomfortable.
My advice is this- Love your work, be proud of what you've done that few can do. If you're a good speaker, then great! Rock that! If you love the attention, then great! Soak it in! But remember (This is the key guys), always remember to stay humble. Know that you are still human. Know that only a few months or years before no one cared what you did with your time. Just because you get "big", does not mean you have to act the part. Keep being you even when people make you feel special. Return the favor. No one is famous without their fans and no one is famous when they treat those fans with distaste.
That one bit of advice will take you farther than you could ever imagine.
Braggers end up Baggers ;)
-With Love, SKW
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Things and Thoughts
I am 65,000 words into my second book or, more accurately, my third. It's an adventure. Honestly, I call this trilogy my "learning trilogy". They aren't the best, but they aren't the worst and when I'm done with it I hope to have progressed into a potentially great author. This is actually a lesson for all of those who want to be an author. Know that your first book or even the second or third books are your "learning books". You're learning how to write better. You're getting practice. You're learning the publishing industry. That's why I don't just drop this series, because I DO want to get better and I DO want to learn as much as I can. Sometimes it is about failure. You learn more through failure than success.
Most days, I have come to look forward to certain events that I have written on my calendar. Life here isn't too exciting so I usually look forward to things that are out of the normal. For instance in June I will be on a plane to the UK (I honestly hate planes. They scare me to no end). While I'm there I plan to get a lot of setting ideas and maybe even a brand new plot idea from the history or sights I'll see. There is inspiration every where my friends, you must first open your eyes and to see them. People inspire ideas for characters. Small towns and large cities inspire ideas for settings. Your curiosity inspires a story.
My journey as an author, I can already tell, is going to be a long one with many struggles. But I don't mind. Sure, rejection hurts. Rejection from publishing houses hurts. Rejection from agents hurts. Rejection from OTHER authors hurts. But from each rejection, you become a step closer towards being accepted. One time this author who survived a horrible disease and was so grateful to be alive and be an author rejected me. I couldn't understand how authors who started from nothing such as me, can so easily forget that they used to be the ones begging for a chance. I don't ask them for their fame or anything. I just wanted a review or ADVICE. Yeah... starting off is the hard part. But just think of the rights that YOU"LL get when you make it. You'll get to look into a camera one day and tell everyone how no one wanted your work and now you're a New York Times Best Selling Author. Is that worth the rejection? I believe it is. One day all of our early struggles will pay off and when that day comes we won't forget where we stood when we were the "little guys".
Remember where you came from
Even if you get where you're going
-With Love, SKW
Most days, I have come to look forward to certain events that I have written on my calendar. Life here isn't too exciting so I usually look forward to things that are out of the normal. For instance in June I will be on a plane to the UK (I honestly hate planes. They scare me to no end). While I'm there I plan to get a lot of setting ideas and maybe even a brand new plot idea from the history or sights I'll see. There is inspiration every where my friends, you must first open your eyes and to see them. People inspire ideas for characters. Small towns and large cities inspire ideas for settings. Your curiosity inspires a story.
My journey as an author, I can already tell, is going to be a long one with many struggles. But I don't mind. Sure, rejection hurts. Rejection from publishing houses hurts. Rejection from agents hurts. Rejection from OTHER authors hurts. But from each rejection, you become a step closer towards being accepted. One time this author who survived a horrible disease and was so grateful to be alive and be an author rejected me. I couldn't understand how authors who started from nothing such as me, can so easily forget that they used to be the ones begging for a chance. I don't ask them for their fame or anything. I just wanted a review or ADVICE. Yeah... starting off is the hard part. But just think of the rights that YOU"LL get when you make it. You'll get to look into a camera one day and tell everyone how no one wanted your work and now you're a New York Times Best Selling Author. Is that worth the rejection? I believe it is. One day all of our early struggles will pay off and when that day comes we won't forget where we stood when we were the "little guys".
Remember where you came from
Even if you get where you're going
-With Love, SKW
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