Emergency Update: Writing

Hello everyone! I had a special post planned for today, but BIG THINGS HAPPENED!

Guess!

You don’t know?

I’ll give you a second. Don’t click the ‘Read More’ button until you’ve actually taken a guess! I’ll find you if you do and give you an earful about everything.

Still don’t know? OK, I’ll tell you. I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT OF MY NOVEL!!!!

Way too many big letters and exclamation points. 

It’s half as long as I would like it to be, but I got my plot points, characters, and random ramblings on the page! And I have my whole family to thank. Sister would sit and write with me, and we’d commiserate over slow pages, unwieldy plot points, and misbehaving characters. Mom listened to my (endless) rants about literally everything. Dad helps me so much with the messages I want to give my readers, and shares videos, articles, and opinions that he believes will help me with my writing. Thank you, Family!

I would also like to thank a couple YouTube channels (and nobody told me to say this. This is all me, I promise). Even though their creators had no idea how much they’re helping me, they have been invaluable.

iWriterly, for giving me invaluable writing information and teaching me that my books are not the exception to the rule.

Lindsey Stirling, for her incredible, fantastical, beautiful, uplifting music.

History of Middle-Earth, who show me more of the Tolkienverse and inspire me to create a world as beautiful as Middle-Earth.

NaNoWriMo, for their virtual write-ins, for their wonderful writing programs, and the inspiration they provide writers all over the world with.

Thank you!!

So, now what?

Well, before I want to edit, I am giving my story some space. I don’t think I could come back the next day after completing it and edit it without losing my sanity. So, until the first of June, I shall not look at my story. Instead, I’ll be working on a few other projects.

• I love fantasy, and I know there are different types out there. While my (now finished!) first draft is more of an epic story that will be part of a series, I am also working on another book. It’s a fairy-tale like story, about a spunky fairy princess preserved in a music box, the girl who purchases the box, and the search for the fairy’s family. It’s a very summery read, and will be a stand-alone. That’s the book I’m hoping will be my debut novel, since I would like to be a hybrid author. I know that self-publishing can be pricy if you want a quality book, but traditional publishers may not allow you to write a sequel for a book. So, this novel is currently my idea of the perfect debut. The inspiration came from two Lindsey Stirling music videos, Shatter Me and Lost Girls.
• This next idea is a more recent one. I was inspired by a book that I forgot the name of, about an inn that leads to other worlds, and also by a pin on Pinterest. The creator of the Pin was wondering, what if supernatural creatures had existed but had, over time, slowly mixed with humans? That got me thinking, and after fantasizing with Sister, I came up with the idea of a boarding school-kind of thing. NOW, I know what you’re thinking. Magic boarding schools are cliche! And if you weren’t thinking that, well, I’m no mind-reader. But, this boarding school trains the students, not in normal school subjects, but in survival skills, the history of the fantasy world that they’re guarding (did I mention the school guards the waypoint between the two worlds?), and more, in order to give these students a taste of the culture they used to be a part of. However, there’s a warp, and the two worlds converge, unleashing a fantasy apocalypse. The world as we know it is thrown out of whack, and the students are thrust into danger far before they are ready.
• In winter, we got some snow, but it was late, right before bedtime. But Mom was kind enough to let me and Sister play outside at eleven at night, in the snow. So I wanted to write a short story about that.
• Fanfiction (going to be posting some right here so you can read it!)
• The NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Flash Fiction competition.

I know this seems like a LOT, but it’s not that much, especially since I’ll be working on them kind of lazily.

So, thanks for reading my emergency update! Please tell me which of my current projects is your favorite, and which you’d like to see more of! And now, to provide the icing on the cake, an excerpt from my completed draft of my book (my two titles that are under consideration are Aliferous or Unveiling).

Skye and I were practicing swordplay. There was a faint chuckle from behind us, and we whirled around, pointing our wooden swords at the intruder. It was Adriel, sitting on the ground. We dropped our weapons. “Your rhythm is all wrong. If you fall into a rhythm, your enemy will be able to anticipate your moves. Watch.” He took my sword and stood in a ‘ready’ pose, facing Skye. She smiled slightly and matched Adriel’s pose. They lunged at each other, parrying and attacking, gracefully going back and forth, until, with an unexpected flick of his sword, Adriel twisted Skye’s sword out of her hands. “Always mix it up,” he said, gracefully catching Skye’s sword and handing it back.

OK, that’s it for real. Thanks for reading!

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