Camp NaNoWriMo // the final day

1 July 2017, 12:00 AM. I was sitting on a stack of cushions in front of the fireplace in our lounge room.

31 July 2017, (ALMOST) 12:00 AM. I am, once more, sitting in the exact same place and thinking philosophical thoughts.

You know actually I'm not thinking philosophical thoughts, I'm bouncing on cushions. But anyways.

July was a big month. I had my cousin staying over for the first week, I had my weekends booked with odds and ends, I had this and that and everything else on.

Plus Camp NaNo.

And yet right now after all the month is past (*glances at clock* technically it's still another little while yet, I guess. :P) I feel a sense of achievement. I feel like I lived this month. I feel like I took time to be with my younger siblings (and my older ones. :P I actually went to bed at a sane time once or twice so we could hang out before going to sleep). I feel like I did just the perfect thing that I needed to refocus my gaze and remind myself of why I spend hours at the computer everyday. Why I pour my heart and energy into words on a page.

It was a good month.


I actually have a story for you today (ironic, I know). At the end of May, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do for July Camp. I was going to write Steam Flight. I was going to have a goal of 70k. I was going to spend half of June plotting.

Haha. Ha.
Nope.

None of that actually ended up happening, but I'm so much happier with what I ended up doing. I wrote A Sprig of Green - the idea of which came into my head about three weeks before Camp. I had a goal of 40k. I started plotting three or four days before Camp, and finished with eleven hours to spare with a chapter-by-chapter plot. I then realised that my novel was actually a novella, and so I lowered my word count goal to 25k.

I had so. much. fun.

A Sprig of Green was one of the easiest books I've ever written. It was just the thing my brain needed to get out of the secret agents and criminals mode, and take a creative break to try out something else. It was an exciting adventure of writing. I finished the novella on day fifteen, at approximately 35k. And then I did something crazy.

I didn't start editing.

I meant to. I honestly planned to. But it didn't happen. And that's all cool by me. I really enjoyed being about to roll back on my insane word counts and hours of typing and delve into other things. I finished some critiquing projects (plus started and finished yet another). I learnt-ish how to do a flying jump kick (don't ask xD although if you do ask, you might get access to a secret youtube video featuring my gymnastics skills xP). I got one or two new movies to fangirl over (Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy yaaass). AND SO MUCH MORE that I won't bore you with telling. xD


At the end of one NaNo month, I automatically look toward the next. November. Actual real super duper 50k NaNoWriMo. Normally I would be starting to plan out "Ohh I'll write such-and-such project then" but right now. I have no clue at all. I don't know what'll happen between then and now. I don't know how far edits I'll be. I don't know what God has in store. But I'm excited. I'm excited to see everything that he's doing and I'm super hyped to see what he continues to do.

I have a pile of projects that are eagerly awaiting my attention, and I could do an entire blog series on what they are and what needs doing on all of them, but I'm not sure that would be terribly interesting after the first one or two. :) So currently, I'm just meandering along as God opens doors or closes them and I'm just so excited for next month. And I'm also excited to have all my wonderful blogging friends so I can bounce along and hear all the cool stuff about your life happenings too. :D

Only two minutes left. :P


What are you excited for in August?
Who's hoping to do NaNo this year??

Comparing Your Work to Others' // dealing with low confidence and fear

Do you ever feel like you’re a failure? Like you’re not as good as so-and-so? Like it doesn’t matter how hard you try, you’ll just never be enough?

Sometimes comparing our work to someone else can help. It can spur us on to work harder, strive more, learn how to be better.

But other times, it simply pulls us down.

It’s so easy to look at someone else and see their work—or even them as a person—and the compare it to your own work, your own self. The problem is that when we do this, so much of the time, we don’t measure up.

We can’t measure up.

We’re all different people, we’ve all been given different talents and gifts. Of course we can’t all be as good as each other. But we know that, and somehow it doesn’t seem to help.

So often I see people hiding back in the corner and not wanting to show their work. For some people they can pass it off as perfectionism. For others—introversion.

But I think for everyone, it’s also just that little seed of doubt.

Everyone has it. That fear that they won’t measure up. That they’re actually a failure. That, quite honestly, they’re wasting their time—and everyone else’s.

And then even worse, there’s the moments of timid bravery when the little artist (not necessarily drawing, I’m using the term in its broad definition) steps out and show some of their work. Some of the art they poured their energy and heart into. And then someone laughs. Or not even laughs, but just passes it off as ‘good’ or ‘nice.’

It hurts. It pulls down the timid hope and our little artist soul scuttles back and hides.

The problem isn’t with the person who betrayed the trust (though they are at fault—a topic I shall be rambling on next week), it’s actually with the artist.

The problem is that so often we look to man to fulfil our desires, to fulfil our identity. We look to our family, our friends, our acquaintances. But they can’t fill that role.

The One who gave us the gift in the first place can.

If you write a chapter, draw a picture, do whatever you do and look at your work and say “I’m a failure” you’re saying that God’s gift is worthless. That he gave you something that is a waste of your time. It’s a ridiculous thought.

You don’t have to measure up to so-and-so. You don’t have to be as good as anyone.

Because that’s not the point.

We need to be looking to God to find our purpose and identity, not the world around us. And when we do that, it doesn’t matter what other people think or do. It doesn’t matter if they all seem better.

Right now, God has you in a special place.

Don’t scorn it and hate it because it’s different than someone else. Accept it and embrace it because it’s a gift.

It’s not easy to accept, and the fear can still be there. But you need to go back to God over and over and over. Every. single. day. Commit it to Him.

I promise you. You won’t regret it. And it certainly won’t be a waste of your time.

#WIPjoy // A Sprig of Green

A day or two ago, Katie Grace did a #WIPjoy post all about her book Where Shadows Lie. IT WAS VERY COOL. Basically, I loved it so much that I decided to jump in and do a post of my own.

(If you don't know what #WIPjoy is, don't worry, I don't hugely either. XD Check out Katie's blog post though because she actually explains it. :P)

But loosely - it's a bunch of questions about your work-in-progress and I'm going to pick my favourites and throw some stuff around about my wee li'l novella A Sprig of Green.

Describe yourself and your WIP.

Me: an energetic, joke-teller, always looking for a laugh...Bare feet, outdoors, callouses on my left hand fingertips from musical instruments, always hungry. I don't even know how to describe myself. XD

WIP: A Sprig of Green, one young girl trying to save her father, one young man trying to save himself.


Your 1st inspiration for this WIP.

It started out because Kingdom Pen was having a Sci Fi themed month and I decided that I was actually going to submit something for once. So then in popped a random idea for a world with no plants and a girl who is looking for them. And it developed from there into a short story (which was then submitted to Kingdom Pen AND ALSO ACCEPTED and (after lots of edits) published *screams* READ IT HERE).


Would you rather: get trapped in your story for a week, or have your antagonist enter your own life for a day?

Can it be after the story is ended?? Because it has a happy ending and everything is all okay again, so I'D BE FINE WITH THAT PART. Before the story...not so much.

And antagonist in my life? No thank you, good sir.


What would your MC be like as an antagonist?

Okay so I have two MCs. Michayla -smol girl- and Braden -a young man. They are both VERY different characters.

Michayla would be the sweetest antagonist ever.

Braden would be confusing. He would have so many internal dilemmas that the hero/MC of the story just gave up and surrendered to him.
He's a fun character. (And technically is sort of an antagonist already, because 'antagonist' is the term for anyone who stands in the way of the plot, not necessarily the main villain.)


What would the antagonist be like as the MC?

VERY EVIL. He would be an exceptionally evil protagonist. XD Ruthless, willing to do anything at all (even deny his own family) to get to his goal.


A line you nailed perfectly.

I can't say that I nailed any line of this absolutely perfectly. BUT STILL. Some of the lines that I am the most proud of currently:

I am not worthy to be called a man.

- - -

Notes of paper money go fluttering everywhere like butterflies with broken wings.

- - -

There’s always another chance in the world.

- - -

“The first leaf means hope.”

Choose an ideal reading spot, food, drink, and music to go with your book.

Reading spot: outside on a warm (but not too warm) day, on the grass. Or, even better, a patch of clover.

Food: ohh this one is actually harder than I was expecting. *hums* How about honey jumbles (yes, I believe it's an Australian recipe (maybe?). Look it up and make them. You won't regret it.) because they're all happy and outdoors-adventure-y.

Drink: Chai tea. I can definitely see Michayla drinking chai.

Music: Rise, True Strength or Becoming a Legend - John Dreamer. Look them up on youtube if you've never heard them before. *hugs the music* But I'm also equally leaning toward having no music and just having the sound of birds and breeze in the background of reading because that also fits.


What's something you're still figuring out about this WIP?

A LOT OF IT.
I need to work out some details with Braden, and something *coughcough* slight spoilery detailish *cough* about him.
Also another character that I kinda ignored from about the midway point of the book. I need to work out what happens to them.
Plus a lot more, but those are the main important factors, I think. (Actually no, there's probably other super important things that I just can't remember right now. XD)


Would you rather: have tea with your antagonist, or be stuck in an elevator for 3 hours with your MC?

Tea is good. I'm not sure that having it with my antagonist would be good though. But still, I can imagine him being quite gentlemanly.
On the other hand, being stuck in an elevator with Michayla for three hours could be quite interesting. I feel like she has so many good thoughts on life and she's a very wise girl (though somehow naive at the same time?? I don't even know if that works, but she just...is.). We could get into some very deep conversations. Braden and me stuck in an elevator...hmm not so sure about that one though. :P


And there I shall leave it! :D Hope you enjoyed some random odds and ends about A Sprig of Green.

Here's the full picture of all the questions. NOW GO AND WRITE A BLOG POST. I wanna hear allll about your stories. Yes please. Even if you don't have a blog/don't feel like posting, just answer some of them in the comments because I'm a curious blueberry and I want to hear everything. :P


Would you rather have tea with your antagonist or be stuck in an elevator for three hours with your protagonist?

Are Your Words Working? // lagging behind on goals and schedules

We're onto the twenty-first day of the month. Only ten more days left before August. Are you on target? Are those words working just how you planned them to be?

For me, I have to admit that the answer is actually no.

Now, I know it sounds bizarre. "But Jane, you finished your camp nano goal aaages ago and you finished your novella and what's wrong with all that??" And all that is completely true but I had (and still have) a few other things planned for this month, and it was all nicely scheduled out on my dry erase whiteboard calendar. (seriously though, if you don't use one of these, you need to try it. It's amazing.) 

I aimed to finish writing on the 15th - tick that box.
I aimed to have at least 25k - tick, again.
I also aimed to have a teensy bit of an easier time - and I think I can check that off too.

But then we get to the second half of the month.

I hoped to finish one of my critiquing novels on the 17th.
I hoped to finish the book I'd been given for free from the author to read and review.
I hoped to dig right in and get down to editing A Sprig of Green right away.
I hoped to finish my rough edits + synopsis.
I hoped to start on a beta reading novel so I had plenty of time to finish it before the end of the month.
Not even mentioning that I really really hoped to have plenty of free time to read the Road Rules book and prepare for my driving test.

None of that went according to plan. And looking at that list, I can honestly see why. I had unrealistic expectations. There was no way I was going to be able to do all that and school and life. I'm an overachiever sometimes and I like pushing myself and giving myself challenges. A lot of the time, I also overestimate myself. I simply cannot fit that much in. And adding to that, all the random things that just pop up unexpectedly and snatch away some of that precious time that I'm desperately trying to balance.

BUT. That's not where the story ends. We're only just getting to the best part.

I'm actually okay with this. I can see that I'm not up to the level I was hoping for, but that's okay. Maybe I don't need to be. I'm right where God needs me at the moment. Because when I'm here and I'm falling behind, I can look up and know that He's got a plan and, my goodness, it's better than ANYTHING I could ever come up with.

And sometimes it's in times like right now, when I stop and look at my goals and what I had hoped and planned to get done, that I realise that it really is better this way. I didn't finish a lot of those things because I was busy.

I was busy living.

So today, I want to encourage all of you, whatever you're doing - whether you're falling behind on goals, whether your striving insanely to reach them before you run out of time, or whether you're sitting right at the top and relaxing already. Whatever place you're at, stop and take a breath.

Take time to look up to God and just smile. Smile because what He's done. What He's doing. And what He will do.

Take a moment of every day and live.


How are your goals and plans working out?
Do you have any methods for keeping on track or scheduling out your plans?

Spider-Man Homecoming // warning: much fangirling

*starts humming the spider man theme*

One week ago, my dad took me to the movies to see Spider-man Homecoming and it officially earned a place waaaay high up on my favouritest movies of all time list. I absolutely and utterly loved every moment of it. 

So of course I'm going to do a blog post solely to flail over it.
This post is spoiler-less, so don't worry if you haven't seen the movie yet, you're all safe.

My reaction basically: I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH AND HELP I CAN'T GET OVER ANY OF IT AND YEEEET.

This movie and I started off on a good foot from the very first. Spider-Man has always been my favourite superhero. I watched the 2002 Tobey Maguire version a year or so back, and before that, I'm fairly sure that I read some comics too. Not the super originals probably, but I have a recollection of Spider-Man comics and absolutely loving them. So when I saw the Spider-Man Homecoming teaser trailer- well, it happened something like this:

Me: oh hey I'll watch this trailer. it's Spider-Man after all.
Me: *watches*
Me: OH SWEET PIZZA AND PASTRY WHEN IS THIS MOVIE COMING OUT I MUST SEE IT.

And for the past two months, my family can confirm that I have been going on about Spider-man...a lot. :P I'd watched every single trailer that I could find - several times over. I even quoted the movie before it was even released. I was hyped, to say the least.

The day when I was going to see it, I was so nervous. I was worried it wouldn't be all that cool. I was desperately trying to not imagine all the awful things the movie could be like. But as soon as it started BOOM. All worries were gone.

SO GOOD.

I have always loved Spidey so much because he's just so relateable, and Homecoming has done this in a super great way. HE'S JUST A TEENAGE KID TRYING TO WORK OUT LIFE AND HELP DON'T WE ALL RELATE??? I'm sure I do, anyway. 
And another thing Peter was so dyyying to get out of school and be spider-man again. THAT WAS SO GOOD. IF I COULD BE SPIDER-MAN I'D WANT TO DO IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Like...who wouldn't?! And he's my age. Not some college-going Superman or some billionaire Batman (or even the other versions of Spider-Man). He's just a kid like me, going through similar things to me (though I'm not spider-man, and I'm not in 'school' school - yay homeschooling XD but still, it's true) and I love that so much.

I'd watched a ton of interviews that Tom Holland (the actor who plays Peter/Spider-man, for those non-geeky people :P) did and once or twice I had a flash of concern of: 'wait, if I do this, what if I can't see him as Peter, but only as actor Tom Holland' BUT NO. It wasn't like that at all. Tom was Peter and the casting of everything was just so perfect.

Have I mentioned how much I liked the characters?? Peter was amazing. Aunt May was young and I really really liked that actually. Ned and Michelle cracked me up. (Michelle though guys, a female character who wasn't the love interest?? How cool is that?) And the villain was super well done. He made so much sense and was so real but so scary at the same time. (scary in a good way)
Gosh I just loved them all. No one felt flat or unrealistic at all.

Is Spider-Man a funny superhero? Hmm, let me think. UM YES. And Homecoming captured that perfectly. Even in the super intense epic action scenes, there's humour and comedy dropped in there. And it's not forced at all. It's just realistic. Because honestly, if I was in that situation YES. I'D DO ALL OF THAT. I'd be like "WHOA THIS IS SO COOL I'M A SUPERHERO - AVENGERS HERE I COME." And it's so quoteable and memorable.
(I have had several gif conversations with a friend in which I use solely Spider-Man gifs and I'm very proud of myself. xD)

And speaking of action, I was so in the movie. I was shivering with tension some of the scenes and I'm sure my heart almost stopped for a moment there with THAT PLOT TWIST. Not to mention that I was discreetly absolutely definitely not crying nope not at all in one certain scene. I just wanted to give Peter a hug because I could relate so much.

And, like the avid fan I am, I've now seen the movie twice. First time when my Dad took me and then I dragged both my older sisters along because I liked it so much and needed some more people to get my quotes and references. IT WAS JUST AS GOOD THE SECOND TIME. *shrieks and fangirls forever*

This is BY FAR my favourite Marvel movie (granted, I haven't watched a heap (*cough*two*coughcough*), but shhh that's beside the point. Silence peasant. XD) and way high up right near the very top of my favourite all-time. It's just so epic and cool and YES.

Help. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop flailing and fangirling over this movie.
Actually no, don't bother send help. I'm quite happy right as I am. xP


Have you seen Spider-man Homecoming??
(if you did, FLAIL WITH ME, you know you want to XD)
Are there any movies that you've been flailing over before they're even released?

Camp NaNo Update // inspiration, pizza, and snippets

WHY HELLO THERE. We're almost halfway through the Camp NaNo month, and I think this is the perfect time for a midpoint update and some pizza and hopefully maybe inspire some more words?
That would be a bonus anyways.

- My Novel Stats -

Chapters written: 20
Chapters remaining: 4
Current shortest chapter: 988 words
Current longest chapter: 3,548 (I think I'll be splitting this into at least two though)
Current word count: 29,152
Estimated completed word count: 35k (give or take a thousand words or so)
Estimated completion date: 15 July

And may I just say how proud I am of my cabin?? They're all doing so well, and having a great time. Shout-out to all you wonderful people in the Fellowship of the Keyboards. Your combined effort makes it a great cabin. (I might be a superhero, but I'm not that much of one that I could keep an entire cabin alive if no one helped :P)

In more conversational tones, my story has been going pretty well (and, as you can see, I reached my camp goal of 25k with ease on day #11). It's been behaving itself fairly decently and I've been enjoying writing it, that's for sure. The style of the story has been a nice break from Rogue Escarlate and all that - what with it being 1st person, present tense and the characters...rather different than Will and Ben and their crew.

- Inspiration -

Over the past half-month, I've had some random quotes or snippets that have drifted past me completely by 'coincidence' and yet they were always the perfect thing that I needed to keep pressing on. So I thought I might share some of them with you, and just maybe they'll inspire you too.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."

"We aren't called to walk in our own strength - we're called to walk in his"

"We're all on a journey. We're all working at it. We're all falling down and climbing back up again."

- Jonathan Trout

"I laugh a lot

for no good reason

sometimes

I just catch myself doing it

and then I grin

and keep on laughing

cuz I'm happy

I'm blessed

loved

and suddenly I'm laughing

for a good reason"

- Joy, Julia Ryan

I'm so blessed to have people in my life who say these amazing things, and I'm even more blessed that I have a God who is always there encouraging me along the way.

- Snippets -

(from A Sprig of Green - my Camp NaNo novella)

Please someone help.

My limping run slows quickly, but I get far enough away from home that I don’t recognise where I am. I lift my eyes from the blurring road beneath my feet, dashing one hand across my eyes and blinking around.

There are streets and buildings and people.

Greys and browns and blacks.

Why isn’t anything green anymore?

The hot road hits my knees and I cover my face in my hands, trying to hold back the tears between my fingers. My shoulders shiver and I hunch over as Venys’s words echo around in my skull.

Get out…you wretched freak…and never come back.

- - -

I extend my arm all the way and can’t lower her any further. “Now you need to swing and jump,” I call down, trying to swing my arm inward toward the balcony.

“I can’t.” Her fingers start to loosen.

“No—don’t you dare let go.” My heart starts thundering, echoing the clouding sky above. “I’ve got you. Just swing in and jump.”

Her fingers stop sliding from mine and I feel a sort of rush as she kicks her legs out and then swings forward. I let go, but she keeps clinging to me, starting to swing back out again. I grab at her hand, the unexpected weight throwing me off balance and starting to slide forward.

Michayla starts forward again and her hand slips away from mine. I topple forward, snatching at the edge of the roof to save myself. My elbows hit the hard surface and I scrabble for grip. I jam my fingers into a tiny gap and manage to stop my fall. My pulse roars in my ears, and I heave in shuddering breaths, my body suspended over nothing by only my own strength. Michayla might trust me, but I don’t trust myself.

“Braden,” Michayla’s cry comes from below. “Swing and jump. You can do it.”

I register her words, but my entire body is frozen up, immovable even if I wanted to. I can’t do this. What was I thinking?

A heave of cold air rushes over me and then the Raining starts.

The sky cracks open and water deluges down onto me. It’s only seconds before I’m soaked to the skin, and then my grip begins to slip.

“Braden!” Michayla screams over the roar of water. “Jump.”

- - -

I close my eyes, pressing against the inside wall of the pod. It’s going to be okay. I repeat it over and over to myself. Everything is going to be okay.

A scrape of fabric brushes against the outside of the pod and I cringe lower into myself, trying to hide in the foot space but there’s no cover anywhere. Someone swings up and pauses above me and I squint up. Braden’s eyebrows are arched above his dark glasses and I sit up instantly.

“Come on,” he says, beckoning to me. “I can get you out of the landing bay but after that, you’re on your own.”

I scramble up onto the seat. “Braden,” I know I’m begging, but I don’t care. “I need your help.”

He is silent for a few moments and then tips his head away. “I can’t.”

I reach up and catch hold of his sleeve. “Please. I can’t do this alone.”

Braden freezes and looks down at my hand on his sleeve, then he slowly pulls his arm away. “Okay,” the word slips like a soft breeze through his lips and I relax, the pounding in my chest lessening instantly.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He nods, looking down for a moment before offering his hand out to help me from the pod. I slip my hand onto his palm; it’s cold and damp with sweat, but firm beneath me. I trust my weight against his grip and slide down to the ground, his hand steadying me.

“All right.” He nods his head toward the side of the huge room. “Everyone thinks I’m taking you in as a maid, so try to act like you’re old enough to work here.”

I nod, twisting my fingers together in front of me. How could anyone look at me and think I was old enough to work somewhere this important? I swallow, the back of my throat dry and scratchy. “I…I’m not sure I can do this,” I whisper.

Braden looks down at me and then shakes his head. “You have to.”

He’s right. I have to do it, for Father.

- - -

I think that in summary I can fairly well say that camp is going wonderfully for me, and I'm even getting time to chill and do other things. It's my most relaxed schedule since July last year, and I'm pretty happy that I can have a chance to do some stuff other than writing. (I should do that more often actually)


How is your writing going?
(any snippets to share?)
*hands out pizza to everyone* Keep on writing, guys!! :D

The Beauty of Poems // I bought my friend's poetry book!!!

You probably noticed in my vlog on Friday, that I read out a poem written by Julia Ryan. And not only that, but it was read out from an actual physical paperback book.

That, my friends, is because Julia Ryan has her AMAZING poetry available to buy.

Hence today you get a post with lots of beautiful photos (credit to my sister - obviously) and not very many words (I blame camp nano).

When I heard the news, I was so super insanely excited. I bought it that day. And YES, it was, like, a bit over twenty dollars (what with converting US dollars to AUD + postage) but that's the price I have to pay for about 80% of new books. And this was absolutely and definitely worth every cent.

"I laugh a lot

for no good reason

sometimes

I just catch myself doing it

and then I grin

and keep on laughing"

"her laugh

it's changed

it seems a bit more open

almost a bit more

f r e e "

 

"I thought that books were

harmless enough

but I was wrong

they aren't just a bunch of words

printed out on paper

they play with your mind

giving you a sensation

of a world

you are yet to be a part of"

Poetry is such a beautiful gift. Reading through this was so amazing and I could honestly feel the realness that was behind each poem. Every poem has a story that shows just a little bit of the author's heart. The part of them that isn't often on display for anyone to see. 

That's one of the things that I love most about poetry and about songs and about writing. It's all like a little glimpse into a deeper person.

"you have to be brave

to let people in

to trust them

with your story

and heart

and love

you can't just run away

bc you are scared"

. . .

"be brave

trust in God

and then

my dear friend

you will find beauty"

I know that with some of my artistic creations (using words, of course, because drawing/paint = nooope) I pour my time and my energy into it and there is so much of me in the stories and the characters and the words and phrases. 

To be entrusted with reading someone else's story and heart should be just as scary as telling people yours. Because we're handling something that is so close to them that it should be frightening. And for me, it is. But in a way that makes me excited and so alive.

Because we've got to be brave, even if it doesn't feel like we can be. 


Check out the lovely Julia Ryan at her blogging corner of the internet to find out more about this wonderful person - and hop over to her poetry blog for some of her amazing works!!
Blog - The Barefoot Gal
Poetry blog(!!!) - Twilight to Dawn
and don't forget to check out her 'my poetry book' page and BUY IT NOW.

Do you like reading or writing poetry?
(if the answer is yes - shoo, off you go and buy Julia's book. If the answer is no. . . off with you and do it anyways)

July Camp NaNo // I interview some cabin members

One of the things I find fun about family, is that sometimes they jokingly agree to something when thinking that I'm not serious at all. And then when they discover that I was entirely legit, they can't lower themselves to back out. (looking right at you, Jess. :P)

So today I've got a vlog for you all featuring two members of my family (and my cabin). In which they have to answer the quiz questions or I will whack them over the heads with my notebook.

I would also just like to applaud their skills of talking on camera because it was me - the one who has done four vlogs so far - who started talking backward and inside out first. The others were actually decent. *applauds them*

Also notice: I'm not wearing a t-shirt. Finally. XD (I told you I owned other shirts. :P)

Tell me a bit about what you're working on for camp??
(pretty please?)
What's three quirky things about your characters?

Wisteria Writer's Tag // apparently it's tagging time

And after ages of silence in the tagging realm SUDDENLY TWO TAGS WITHIN A WEEK OF EACH OTHER.

Boom.

This time it's the Wisteria Writer's Tag which is perfect because it's Camp NaNo and this should fit right in.

and yes I know they're Rain Lillies or something like that, not Wisteria, but shhhh. Still flowers. :P

Thank you to Brianna for tagging me! (everyone go check out her snazzy new blog)

Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Answer the ten questions asked.
3. Add ten (writing or book related) questions of your own.
4. Nominate people.

1. Why did you start writing?

Because my older sister started. And older sisters always do the cool things.
So naturally I copied her.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into.


2. What is your favorite book on writing?

Creating Character Arcs - K. M. Weiland
BECAUSE YES. GO BUY AND READ IT RIGHT NOW.
Also I won this in a giveaway and that was so cool because the giveaway hosts actually bothered to make the effort to send an actual paperback copy all the way to Australia. How cool is that??


3. Who's your favorite character to date?

How can I choose between all my precious babies??? YOU CAN'T ASK ME TO DO THIS.
I think maybe- BUT NO. I cannot do this. *curls up under a blanket and hides from the question*


4. What's your favorite way to write? (pen and paper, computer, typewriter, dictation, etc.)

Usually just computer/laptop, because that's the easiest and quickest. ALTHOUGH I do want to try a just pen-paper novel sometime because that would be super cool.

But can I just bring up that dictation is an option?? I WANT TO MEET SOMEONE WHO USES THIS METHOD. I could not possibly do that. Whenever I try tell a story out loud my brain goes on strike.


5. Plot first or Character first?

I have this thing called an obsession with theme and character arcs. Theme first. Always.
In plotting my Camp NaNo novel at last minute, I did it in the order of 
1) characters 
2) theme 
3) character arcs 
4) world building 
5) oh wait yes I also need an actual plot. 
(step five was completed 12 hours before Camp NaNo began)


6. Writing essentials? (coffee, a blanket, chocolate, etc.)

Basically the same list that I gave in my post last Monday. XD But just to change it up a little, another thing I like to have when writing (I've discovered this in the last week) is physical things. I printed out my face-claims for my main cast of characters, and it's been SO COOL. Also I did all my theme, character arcs, character profiles, world building, and plot stuff in one notebook. And that's been really good and I'm definitely doing it again.


7. Favorite quote about writing?

That has got to be one of my favourites. I think it's such an important thing to remember, and it's what I keep reminding myself as I'm writing my first drafts.

And right now I'm SURE there's some really really cool quote about writing that I have written down somewhere but I can't remember. So this'll have to do. :P


8. What's your current work-in-progress about?

OKAY YES. *grabs out handily written synopsis*
Actually no. I have no synopsis. Or pitch line. Or any of that stuff.

Basically it's a sci fi novella with hints of fairy tales, not very much green, a smol determined girl called Michayla and a stiff, logical and secretly insecure guy called Braden (who also happens to wear a suit and sunglasses constantly)
Oh yes and it's titled A Sprig of Green if I hadn't already mentioned that.


9. Music or silence?

It honestly depends on my mood. Usually I'm a very music-y person, and I've got playlists for all my characters. But then sometimes I just don't want to have music. And particularly editing, I'm not keen on having music. But again, it depends. Sometimes I like it with editing too.


10. What is the one thing you wish you'd known when you started writing?

Sometimes I think about going back in time, calmly placing my hand on my younger self's shoulder and saying: YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE PERFECT, JANE. DEAL WITH IT AND KEEP DOING THE THING. YOU'LL BE FINE.
Also maybe: JEEZ DO A BIT MORE RESEARCH.

*bows* And then my younger self would be terrified and quit writing right away. So I'm not sure there'd actually be any point at all.

Time travel makes everything complicated.


Now I get to think up questions and tag people and ack isn't it exciting?? I'm actually following the rules. *cue shocked gasps from all the readers*


1) What inspired the idea for your current WIP (work in progress), and how long have you had the idea?
2) What are you most looking forward to about this WIP?
3) Have you ever dreamed about your characters?
4) How do you go about naming your characters?
5) Do you plan out your theme?
6) Do you discover the MBTI thing of your characters? (if so, what are the types of your WIP protagonists?)
7) Have you a favourite genre to write in? (or do you like switching it up randomly)
8) What is a big inspiration for you in writing? (a person, book, quote, scenery, ect.)
9) Are you competitive in your word counts, or more chill and relaxed?
10) Do you like sharing small snippets of your work? (*hint hint* :P)


AND THE PEOPLES I AM TAGGING:
(note to said tagged peoples: if you don't want to do this that's fine by me I only spent half the day thinking up these wasted ten questions ahem)

Sarah // Novus Papilio

Clare // Clare's Spot

Quinley // Adventure Awaits

And everyone else who I didn't mention because really I just don't want to make you feel obliged to do this because you mightn't want to. If you haven't done this before, please consider yourself tagged. Like, honestly. Do. Please. I want to see your answers. DO ALL THE ANSWERING, OKAY? :P

Or else you could just answer them in the comments, because I'm a curious person.


Do you make character or story playlists?
(drop me a link if you do!!! Mine are on my youtube channel: here)
What's your's or your character's MBTI??
(as I said, I'm curious. :P)