Only if you Wanna but you don't Gotta

I wanted to post this real fast. If any of you want to get in touch with me, my email is authora.m.luther@gmail.com
You can write inquiries. Questions. Nicely put comments and concerns. I'm really a decent person, so if you just want to talk that's fine as well. But I prefer you use this email for anything pertaining to writing or my book or me.
Thanks doll faces!
With Love, SKW or A. M. Luther haha

There and Back

I have returned from my trip to the U.K. in one piece, which is surprising. I hit my head on almost everything over there. I hit my head on Blarney Castle, on the bus, on a church. On MANY things. And no, it did not knock any sense into me.
On my trip, I encountered many interesting parts of history that are not so far behind us. The castles still protect, the palaces still rule, and the churches still preach. There was stories of violence and valor, friendship and treachery. It was all quite interesting and has helped build a world for a future setting while giving stories that might one day be a plot line.
There are two very important things this trip has taught me above all others: 1-How to eat fast. 2-How to be alone while surrounded by people. Now the whole "eating fast" thing is hard for me. I can make one cup of coffee last four hours. So, you can imagine my discomfort when I had to chug half a Starbucks before going into Mary Kings Close. I felt sick.
Now on to the "how to be alone while surrounded by people" bit. It's not that I felt left out, but that I would have preferred to be on my own rather than forced on to people who obviously had no interest in me. It was difficult. I felt like I couldn't speak freely, because no one cared to listen or took what I said the wrong way. It got frustrating and I began to miss writing more and more. I missed my alone time and my thoughts. But I did survive the two weeks there! Even though I didn't think I would at times.
The point of this post is to admit, that it's okay to not be a socialite, to WANT to be alone because it's better than FEELING alone. Not all writers or artists need to be people persons. It's alright to be an introvert or feel awkward in social situations. Don't pay attention to misplaced importance on being at the center of conversations or events. Everyone functions differently. Everyone's creative process is different.

Be free to be your own person.

With Love, SKW

Stress Gives Me Pimples

The count down has begun until I leave for the UK June 1st. Things here are quiet. Parents are at work. Siblings are always gone and I've got no where to go until Monday. It gets sort of dull just sitting around the house with the dog watching Botched. But as the days bleed away before the trip, I feel my stomach tightening at the thought of getting on a plane for Ireland. My biggest worry is the credit card situation. What if it doesn't work? My teachers already said they aren't helping. Everyone else is worried about me losing the card or the passport, while I'm worried about what I WON'T have. *sigh* Always a pessimist.
As an update on Emerald Forest I will say that it is longer than I originally planned it to be. As of right now it is 84,000 words, give a hundred or so. I can't say that I'm not excited for its end (mostly because of the reactions I hope to elicit from people). But I am also excited for the third book, Amber Falls. Shane will get a lot more face time and his past will be opened up like a large, grotesque blister. Poor thing. I'll keep ya'll updated on that.
As of my writer friend, she is actually coming along quite well with her novel. I have full belief that when she's done she'll get traditionally published, because of how unique the plot line is (*cough* Team Tate *cough*).
I have to add that it is difficult doing what we're doing at our age. There's just too much to fit into one day. We have school and family and events. We have the struggle between reading or writing every day, because there's almost never time for both. I have a dog that climbs across my laptop whenever I whip it out and impedes my writing. Plus, vacations that stress us out (hey, it's summer and I love winter). But I will promise, this book will be out before school starts again. I'll be disappointed in myself if it isn't.
Passenger and Gabrielle Aplin calm me down. They have such beautiful voices.

Be calm and carry on.

With Love, SKW

Time Flies And I'm Trying To Catch Up

Emerald Forest is coming to it's end. I have 8,000 words to go or so I believe. It might end up being more considering I feel like I still have a lot of plot to write. All in all, I am excited. So many people are looking forward to this book and I can't wait to hear the tortured comments about the ending. Hehehe =D  They will, of course, begin to beg for the third book which is going to be an all new experience for me and my readers. I look forward to it.
But what this post/rant is really supposed to be about is the time shortage. I have exactly 35 days to finish the entire first draft of Emerald Forest. Why, my invisible audience may ask? What a wonderful question! It's because I won Nanowrimo and my five free books code expires June 1st which is the day I leave for the UK. I enjoy getting those, because it acts as a manuscript. This way I can pass out my book to my friends and they can help me correct it for the final publish ready copy. It's harder staring at a computer screen trying to find problems. And I have learned from my mistakes. Self-editing is a failure. I cannot catch my problems because I wrote it and I'll skip over the errors. This year I have three people volunteering to help me edit (only because they want an advance copy to read).
I'm super worried about the dead line though. These next few weeks are filled with projects and tests and I only really get time to write on the weekends when I'm trying to catch up on my word count. Yesterday I wrote around 1,300 words? On a good working day I can manage around 2,000, but I only have about 3 weekends left. I'm going to need to cram. Cram in school. Cram in writing. Talk about stress. I'm worried I won't make it.

Let's see... what is the lesson of this post...
How about a quote instead?

"I don't think there is any truth. There are only points of view" - Ginsberg

Good enough, right? =)

With Love, SKW

Encouragement is Food for the Writer

Around August of last year a few of my teachers wanted to read my book, so two of them bought a copy and one... kind of borrowed one...but hasn't given it back or mentioned it since. Anyways back to the point that I will eventually make. I brought a copy of my book to school today to reread some parts so as not to screw up the second installment and I guess it jogged my science teachers (she bought the book) memory, because she said, "I read your book! It was WONDERFUL!" (she gets enthusiastic sometimes and enunciates some words). She said she could not wait for the second installment... before asking if there WAS a second installment. And there is! But it just surprises me, because last week my great aunt Linda (Aunt? Great aunt? She's my grandfather's sister) brought up the subject as well. She was just as enthusiastic about it and mention another woman she knew that wrote a book and it was about her life relating to the Bible. Aunt Linda continued to say, "There are feel good books, like hers, and then there are thrilling, exciting books like yours. I personally kind of preferred the thrill."
It is encouraging to me as a writer and as a young adult to see even the fewest of people excited for my trilogy. I keep telling my mom that they're probably just being nice, but the more people who comment nice things, the more belief I have that maybe it's not so bad.
Another thing I was happy about was when I was talking to my Aunt Linda she asked how I come up with the story.
"Do you just look at people and places, just how-how do you come up with this stuff?"
If you're a fellow writer, you know how hard it is to explain yourself without sounding weird or creepy. Some people I DO look at and think, wow, that guy would be a hot fictional character. But mostly it's the "how" and the "what if" that inspire the written word. The questions are the driving force behind every story. Then again, people watching inspires me too. Haha. Way to be creepy, huh?
But I do have to give credit where it is do... Writing is a hard thing to keep up and when people get excited about your writing, it gets you excited as well.
So if you are a fellow author:
Come on! You can get it done! If you think no one will read it, you're wrong! Because I want to read it.
If you're a pedestrian:
Encourage the written word! Always compliment! If you want them to work harder, critique, but do it in a complimental way.
Together... we got this guys.

With Love, SKW

On the Way to the End

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

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