Hi guys! I'm not back to blogging just yet, I'm still in the middle of finals... just a quick post to spread the word about a giveaway over at Malinda Lo's blog. The deadline to enter is today, December 1, so hurry if you want to enter! I swear I didn't wait until the last minute to do this haha, I only found out about this because I follow Malinda on Twitter, and I sporadically check Twitter, so when I was waiting for the bus today I was scrolling through Twitter on my phone and I came across it then. I was really excited, since I have been dying to read Huntress ever since I heard it would came out--I'm just too poor to afford it! Woe is me. Being a student sucks sometimes.

Anyway. Head on over to her blog if you want to enter the giveaway--you have the chance to win one of ten hardcover (and signed!) hardcover copies of her second book, Huntress, as well as three three paperback editions of the same book, three paperback editions of her first book, Ash, and some Ash posters. Once again, here is the link to her blog--now go and enter! You know you want to.

Back to studying now. (Last math test of the semester, how relieved am I?!)

 Hello! This is not really writing related, but it's Monday, and who doesn't love Music Monday?

I was making tea when I realised it was still Monday so I decided to type up a quick entry, since I neglect this poor little blog. Anyway, lately I've been all about female singers--The Gossip (Beth Ditto ♥), Florence and the Machine, Imogen Heap, and Sarah Brightman, to name a few, but a new name (to me, at least) is Adele.

This one's off her second album, 21. I first discovered her through the fashion community (a fatshion blog whose name escapes me at the moment), and I lovedlovedloved this song, so I immediately bought her album. Also, I realised that this song in particular is produced by Paul Epworth, who produces one of my favourite bands EVER, Bloc Party, and that just makes it all the better.

So I kinda missed the resolution train that was leaving on the 1st of January, but since I had a fever that night (lovely, right?) I'll post my resolutions... later. Tomorrow, maybe. Today, I'm posting a list of 26 books, the A-Z challenge I saw around a few blogs, since it's easier than the 100 book challenge. I don't spend that much time reading books for fun when I'm in school, so 26 is a decent number that I'm sure I can surpass. Better aim low and way surpass my goal than aim high and totally miss it! For now, I'll keep this at the top of my page and cross it out when I am finished. Reviews are also to come after these, an extra challenge I am setting myself, because I need to blog more. And I've become too superstitious to be blogging about my writing at the moment, to the point where I don't want to post this entry because of that last line.

Any of these books are subject to change depending on my mood/taste/likes. And dislikes.

A: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
B: Bitterblue, The (release month April 2011)
C:
D:
E:
F: False Princess, The by Eilis O'Neal (release date January 25 2011)
G: Goose Girl, The by Shannon Hale
H: Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The by N.K. Jemisin
I: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
J:
K:
L: Lirael by
M: Matched by Allie Condie
N:
O:
P: Plain Kate by Erin Bow
Q:
R: Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (review posthaste)
S: Stardust by Neil Gaimain
T: Tithe by Holly Black
U: Unwind by Neil Shusterman
V:
W: War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
X:
Y:
Z:

I was totally going to fill this all out, but since I can't think of anymore titles, I'll come back and ETA this entry later. It'll be up at the top of the page anyway.

When life catches up with me, I always seem to drop one or two or three important things without revisiting them for a while.

In this case: the internet, books and writing substitued for a job, moving, and college. This summer, I started going on the internet less and less, and when I started my summer job I stopped going on the internet almost entirely. Besides catching up with my flist on the weekends, and Facebooking and Twittering on the Blackberry whenever I could, I didn't go on the internet at all. I didn't read books. I didn't write. It made me realise that while I don't really need the internet as much as I think, I do need books and writing.

After a while, I was tired of not reading, so I picked up FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C. Andrews. It was one of those purchases I made on a book-shopping spree back in May/June. Since it was such a thick volume (about eight-hundred pages, as it included its sequel), I figured it would keep me occupied for a while. It was shelved, of course, once I started working. And since I hadn't read in a while, one night when I was supposed to go to bed I picked it up.

Bad idea. I wasn't able to stop reading. I must have read at least fifty or so pages before I settled in to sleep... and then I couldn't sleep because I wanted to read more. I'd been so starved for a good book that I couldn't stop thinking about it. Between rides to work, lunch breaks, rides home and the odd hours of free time I tore through it, unable to stop reading. I realised, when I reluctantly had to put down the book to go back to work, how much I missed and loved and needed to read. Reading makes me happy, it nurtures my soul and my writing, it refreshes the well of ideas when I'm all out. That sounds really cheesy, but it's true.

And this brought me back to writing. I have a difficult relationship with writing. I love it, but it's hard, as anything rewarding should be. I hadn't written since I started my job. Full stop. But during my long, boring hours, ideas sprang to my head and I thought on them. I didn't come up with any new ideas--rather, I polished and refined ideas I already had. I made myself excited to get back into them.

Right as I was about to start writing and end my summer job, school started. I moved to Montreal--I had to pack my life up from my house in the country and move it to the city so I could attend college. I started college days after I finished my summer job and moved in, and that took over my life. I've been in school for three weeks now.

Once I got used to the schedule (or lack thereof) I started writing again. So far, going well. It has its difficulties, like any novel, but I'm excited about it. I don't want to write too much about it until I'm well into it, though, so for now all I will say is that I am finally back to writing.

All that to say that I'm back, and that while college keeps me busy I'll try to resume blogging where I left off.

EDITED to fix typos and such, but also to thank Laura (lewardle ) for the nudge she sent me a while ago. Thank you! That made me realise how I hadn't blogged in forever, and how I've been meaning to for a while now, though I haven't been sure how to go about it. I wrote today's entry spontaneously--I just logged in and saw the POST link in the upright left corner and figured I should update.

I blame school. In the past week I survived my last few days of school (and the tearful/joyful good-byes), graduated from said school (with some unexpected awards), and started on exams (no comment). My first one is Friday, and my last one is next Wednesday. I am simultaneously dreading the exams and just wanting to get them over with already. Then I’ll finally be able to say I’m done with high school. Well, okay, I technically have to wait until the end of June to receive my official diploma after the exam results are in, but the end of exams marks the end for me.

I also blame the new WIP. Yes, I finally decided what to write! And it was not one of my original ideas. The idea popped into my mind last week, and after brainstorming and plotting and outling, I started writing it almost immediately. It’s going well so far—still in the honeymoon stages. For the record, I really love it right now. (Note to self: reread this entry when you hit the middle, AKA the Invisible Wall.)

To this end, finishing the WIP by the end of the summer is one of my goals for Kaz’s Summer Camp of which kaz_mahoney is the host. If you didn’t sign up, you missed your chance. I would have posted about it sooner, but like I said, life was a little too hectic to settle down and write a blog post. (Actually, that was more out of laziness and neglect, but hey.)

My goals for the summer are (as copy and pasted from the sign-up thread):


1. Finish the new novel. If I finish, and this is a big if, start on another. See number 2.
2. Write at least 500 words every day, though I would like to challenge myself by aiming for 1000 everyday.
3. Challenge myself to complete at least one poem, one short story, and one essay, separate from my second goal.
4. Clean up all files and organise them nicely for transfer to new laptop. My writing files, and files in general, are an absolute mess.
5. Never give up.


The beginning of the week was not productive, since I still had no idea what to write and school was busy, busy, but I’ve been writing 500 words every day since the 5th. I have an idea for the poem I want to write, since I was feeling reallllllly nostalgic for France today, but I’m going to wait a little bit to write it. So, that’s all for now, I s’pose. See you guys on the other side of my math exam. Crossing my fingers it’ll all go well.

Also, it’s not Music Monday, but I can’t stop listening to Time to Say Goodbye. The other day I was frustrated with trying to beat Yaag Rosch after he healed one million HP, and by that I mean ALL his HP, so I turned off Final Fantasy XIII without saving. Anyway, I flipped to the Classics channel, this awesome channel that pretty much plays classic movies, music, opera, ballet, plays, etc. nonstop. Did I mention its awesomeness? Anyway. This song started playing and I remembered hearing it from somewhere but I couldn’t remember where from and it got stuck in my head so I’ve been playing it nonstop all day. As soon as it’s over I’m flipping on the Classics channel while I finish my writing for the night.

Okay, so, I’m finished with the WIP. It’s at 40k and desperately underwritten, but I also desperately hate it. There’s just something that irks me about the whole thing. It’s a straight up retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen, so there was no need to outline, but my problem was not doing enough worldbuilding. I went in those woods blindly and came back out with scratches, cuts, and bruises. If I’ve learned anything from this WIP, it’s that I need to flesh out my world more. Like, uh, make a map and not lose it. I have a knack at losing important papers, only to find them a year later when clearing out old schoolwork.

Now I want to start a new WIP. The problem? (Because there is always something...)

I have no idea what to write! It’s not a lack of ideas so much as an excess of ideas. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be complaining. The well of ideas isn’t dry, but overflowing, and to some people, that’s good. Certainly not while you’re in the middle of your WIP and they flood your brain, but at the end of a WIP, it’s a Good Thing. Really.

Only, for me, it isn’t, because I can’t pick one idea. Every day I cycle through, Oh, I like this idea! But I don’t start writing yet because I know what’s coming: Oh this idea would work so well too! And, inevitably, Hm, I don’t know what to write... guess I’ll wait it out until tomorrow....

And then I don’t write. I don’t choose. I can’t decide between fairies, werewolves, necromancers, dystopian, or scifi. All very different story ideas, all with their individual appeal, and I can’t pick one. I hedge, don’t make a commitment to one or the other because... because I’m scared of it not working out, I think, like so many WIPs before them. I have so many wonderful ideas and I know once on paper they won’t appear so wonderful. Some of them do—I wrote a first chapter of the fiary story and absolutely love it. I absolutely loathe the dystopian’s beginnings. Some don’t have beginnings. All five clamouring to be written.

When you don’t know what to write—or when you don’t know which idea to pick—what do you do? Do you wait it out? Do you go out on a limb and pick whichever one sings to you most? (Actually, they all sing with equal talent at the moment. Devious plots and characters, they are.) Do you take a walk, sleep on it, let go of writing for a few days? I’ve done all these things and I’m still unsure. I know you guys can’t tell me which of the five to pick—that’s something I must do myself—but what do you do in this situation?

Should I eeny-meeny-miney-mo it? Flip a coin, best of three? Draw straws? Because right now I am drawing a blank. Ha, ha. (I love a lame pun, and today is especially good for one.) And most importantly: Am I just being over-dramatic? (I am. I know it.)

So, I've seen a couple of people do this, and because I was so entertained, I had to do it myself. I took an excerpt from THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER, a scifi/alt history short I've been working on, and translated from English into (traditional) Chinese, then back into English again.

The results?

Priceless. Have a look. This scene is from the beginning, where Jackie getting her dad a glass of water after he stumbled in, drunk. You can sort of infer it from reading the translated text, but it's been so butchered it's hard to glean much info.

ETA: The original text is now under the Babel Fish'd excerpt, divided by a dash. It's a very, very rough verson, so don't judge too harshly, haha

You know the midafternoon slump—the one described by some queen, prompting teatime to take place in the middle of the afternoon? The midafternoon slump that I, too, always remedy with caffeine? Well, it also applies to novels. Only it’s the midway slump. (Hmm, not sure where I’m going with this comparison.)

Lack of sleep + exams = a very tired, nonsensical me.

But I’m sure you guys know what I’m talking about. It is, unfortunately, an inevitable part of writing a novel. Last week I reached the midpoint of my WIP. I went past it, actually.

...And then came the dreaded slump.

It killed my drive in the past week. I’m not abandoning my WIP, of course; not only would I be breaking my promise to myself, but it would be completely stupid thing to do so when I am so close to the finish line. I just need to give myself a little push (or shove) in the right direction and it should all be downhill from there. I only have the few final scenes left to write—including the black moment, the climax, and the dénouement—as I am at 33,000 words. I’m estimating it’s going to end at 50,000 words aaand according to my calculator that means I’m 66% done.... oh wait. I could’ve easily calculated that without the help of a tool. Again, exhaustion and exams does that to a person. (Head, meet desk.)

So I have only 16,000 words left to write. YAY. But I can’t get myself to write. UGHUGHUGHUGH.

Why do I build things up so much? Seriously, I freak out over the most minute things.

Case in point: English exam this morning.

I don’t know if it’s in my nature as a writer, or perhaps as a person, to always build up things to be worse than they are. I mostly am an optimistic person, but I can be a bit of a pessimist at times. This morning, before my English exam, I was freaking out, frantically thinking of what I would write, trying to memorise the structure of a text, and just making things to be way worse than they were...

My friend, of course, brought me back down: “You—? The English geek, you, are freaking out?” And she laughed.

I gave her an embarrassed shrug, but I knew she was right. The exam wasn’t all that bad. It was the anticipation that was killing me. It’s the same with my novel. I can’t have written more than 2,000 words this week because of the fear. I am making things much, much worse than they are. The fear of opening the document heightened as the week went on and I wrote less and less each day.

How do you get through this? It’s the stage in the game where I always quit. But I guess you just have to keep on writing and not be afraid of opening the document.

It doesn't help that I stumbled upon a shelved WIP that I hated before and swore off after failing three drafts... and I found, after browsing quickly through, that I still love it. Kind of. I’m not exaggerating when I say the beginning sucked. It sucked so much that my faith in it was obliterated by the time I was 10,000 words into it. It also sucked my drive to write. You get the idea. But my characters... I kind of love them. They have so much potential. It’s strange. That WIP was my first “real” attempt at a novel, ever. I started it last June. I feel as if I’m coming full circle by going back to it.

ALSO, LOKI IS IN IT. Holy hell do I love writing him. And as soon as I finished reading, Sympathy for the Devil started playing, reminding me of Loki. Sigh. Stones, I love you, but go away. Please? I don't need you right now. (Oh, who am I kidding? I feel like listening to nothing but them right now.)

Okay, no, really, I will listen to my Coldplay/Jonsi playlist, as that’s what has been playing in a on loop ever since I started my WIP. Yes. ((I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction is playing right now. No comment on how appropriate it is right now. Okay, turning playlist on now... now... oh, hello, Start Me Up. Maybe you could start up my writing drive?)

I know you guys have been dying to read what I’ve been up to lately. (Or not. Heh.) But I haven’t blogged about my own writing in forever, so those of you who did not follow my old blog will have no idea what I’m talking about.

A [not so] quick recap: I started writing my first “real” novel last June, that is to say, the first novel I hoped I would finish. Shelved it in September to work on a new novel. Kept this up until November, when I was hit by a truckload of ideas that spilled into my brain. Abandoned WIP and started working on one of those ideas. Crashed into the Invisible Brick Wall after driving at breakneck speed right into it. Burned out from writing. Didn’t write for a long, long time (see: a few days). Slowly started a new idea after spark of inspiration. Gave up. Started a new one after another spark of insipiration. Dropped it all to go on my grad trip to France and didn’t write anything but journal entries for two weeks in the only time I could write: in the morning, on the bus to whatever destination we were headed to. My friend and I the only ones awake enough to put a pen to paper (though coffee helped immensely to keep me from nodding off; the one morning I didn't have it I was asleep the minute I got on the bus). Got back, lost interest in WIP. Got very, very frustrated with my writing. Considered giving up. Started new WIP.

And here I am.

That is a very concise summary of what I’ve been up to, I know, and I haven’t written a blog post in forever. I confess I’ve typed post upon post about how frustrated I was with writing over these last few months, how close I was to giving up, but I scrapped them all. In the end, I couldn’t really give up writing. I always go back to it.

My journey so far has brought me a lot of grief, but it’s also brought me a lot of joy. Nearly one year ago I started writing seriously, and I’ve come a long way when I look back to where I first started--though I still have a long trek ahead. I came to many realisations in this time, chief among them to never give up, and to never abandon a WIP for another one.

I’ve done this with too many novels. I knew I shouldn’t, but I did it anyway. Only recently did I realise I would never, ever finish anything if I didn’t commit. And I did. I committed to my novel.

And it’s going well. I am so happy with it right now, despite some bumps along the road. Okay, so maybe this happiness is also induced by my satisfaction with life at the moment (getting into my chosen college program, birthday, summer on the horizon, etc. can do that to you), but this adds layers to my happiness. It feels right. Like things have clicked into place, in a way, though I’m still scrabbling at the rest of the puzzle.

There are ups and there are downs downs. Sometimes, I am really happy, and sometimes, I am really frustrated, but I work through that. It’s the only way keep moving forward. I am taking things slower, and not beating myself up for my failures.

So what is this WIP of mine?

You’ll have to stick around to find out.

Hi, welcome to my blog! Though I created this blog a white ago, I’ve neglected to make a proper post until now, and I figure it’s due time.

A long time ago, or so it seems, I started a writing blog, updated it frequently, and it seemed to go hand-in-hand with my own novel writing. After a while, though, I burned out from writing, and the blog suffered from it; I stopped updating altogether. However, now that I’ve recovered from writer’s burnout and I am back to writing every day, I hope to maintain my blog as I did before. I’ve really missed the world of blogging, even if I still keep up with my flist and occasional comments. School is slowly winding down, which should give me ample time to get the ball rolling.

Either way, I’m back to blogging, because I want to share my writing journey with you. It’s much more fun than celebrating all by myself with only a coffee cup as accompany, since I tend to write in solitary confinement (to this end, I am known to kick anyone out of the room who is invading my breathing space). I love reading author’s blogs, following their journeys, and I hope you’ll like reading mine.

Of course, it isn’t all about me. I plan on writing, among other things, book reviews; posts on fairy tales and mythology; sharing my favourite music; posts on places I would love to travel to; and, of course, any random musings that I’d like to share.