Hardest part of writing

After that last post I made hopefully you can stop laughing to pay attention to this sudden change of a post that is serious.

A lot of people debate about what's the hardest part of writing.  I think there are a lot of factors, but today I just want you to think of one.  What is something that you struggle with when you're writing?  How do you get past it?

For me I would have to say battle scenes.  It's already hard enough in books where it is combat fighting; when people are wielding weapons.  Battle scenes are really difficult for me because in my books they are usually magical battle scenes.  It's all so hard to imagine and then it's even more difficult to write out in the right way.
Sometimes I don't understand how I manage.... I admit I stare at a blank Word document for minutes upon minutes before the right words come to me.

What about you?  Are you facing the same problem or do you have a different one?

Maybe chapter 18 today????

I feel as if I have been saying I'll finish chapter 18 for days upon days upon days --though in truth that is not the case-- but I do assure you I mean to finish and upload it when I am able to.  I am still behind with book swaps and I'm trying to catch up with comments, PMs, and everything else in between.
Besides that, I'm just trying to make sure that I don't make chapter 18 happen all too soon.  That doesn't make sense.  Um, what I'm trying to say is that events that happen in chapter 18 are essential to the story and I have to write them the correct way.

About other projects.... I am to have the cover of New Life soon up once it is finished.  I do not know exactly will that will be, but I am hoping soon.  Curtis, who did the cover for Cursed with Power, is also making the cover for New Life so expect something great.
A new cover for Certain Fate is being made by my friend, Gabby, who also made the cover for Dark Romance.  Unfortunately I do not know when she will make the cover, since she actually draws the covers instead of using a program.  She has a life like everybody else, so when she draws the cover and scans it over to me I'll let you know and of course post about it.
Innocent & Young should eventually be in the Teen Inkst magazine one of these lovely days.... Again, something else I also do not know the date of.

Have you read this post? Why not?

The Teen Inkst Magazine is uploading stories in today, thus I think later I'll be back and giving you the links.  The new short stories of mine that are going up will be Innocent & Young and Sketching a Fashionable Future.

It is finally Friday! Honestly sometimes I feel like the week drags on and on and on, but at last Friday is here!

Since last night it was too late for me to give details about chapter 17 of Cursed with Power, I figure I probably should now before I return to typing up chapter 18.
It all happened so soon....
Chapter 17: Another Journey...................
In chapter seventeen Celestria is faced with having to travel somewhere else.  Now her mission seems clear to her, but can it really be as simple as she is thinking?  And what about all the troubles that she ponders about when all is silent?  How is this going to end for Celestria?  Well, both you and her are coming up on the end with every new chapter you read.


Coming up is..................
What I sadly cannot give away too much about.  As I come closer to reaching the end with this book it appears I'll have less and less that I can tell you.  Sorry; but you know what you can do to ease your curiosity. 


The author is looking forward to.................
What am I looking forward to?  Hmm, I think focusing more on the struggles Celestria is now going to face.  I mean, she's already been through a great deal of battling and betrayal and etc. but there's still more she has to face before she reaches the ending to her story, as she mentioned in her letter to Adam.  Whatever ending she has will lead readers into the next book.  I'll be curious for reactions when readers do discover how it all ends.


For now I believe this is all I have to say.  I'm not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, but I did not win in the "Love is Hell" contest.  At least there are still more contests that always go up, right?
To end this post I'll just say that now I've got to get back to Cursed with Power and perhaps if you should read the first and second chapter of the book on IP you can help me determine how to add in more about Dyanna at the beginning.
You can read the story by clicking here.

Gotta write and while I'm doing that....

Today when I logging onto blogger and looked at the other blogs I'm following, I realized that it seems like everyone has something exciting going on over at their blogs.  And I can't help but to wonder if you guys ever get bored on mine, despite how hard I try to keep matters interesting.
Today I'm hopefully going to finish up chapter 17.  While I'm doing that I may try to make some kind of presentation for you guys so you'll be excited about it and have something to look forward to.

MAGIC. IS. DANGEROUS. READ. ABOUT. IT. HERE.
You know, one of these days I'm hoping I find a better way to be like "Here's where you can read my book" but until then I'll keep playing around with different ideas.
As for what my next presentation will be about for you....?  Well, that's something you'll have to find out when I have it finished and post it up.

Writing more for Cursed with Power and OMG!!!!!!!!

Today I'll be writing more for Cursed with Power.  I really wanted to get back to work on it yesterday but I ended up working on dialog in my journal to get the chapter I'm working on right now to flow easier.  I think I also lost a supporter  for Cursed with Power today:(  I'm trying to find out who took the book off their pick list so I can inquire why they did so.

And besides that I have some other news....
First off, I found out there's a writing group going on this Friday so I am really hoping I can go.  You guys already know that the other one isn't till September, thus this one being sooner is great.  I'm not sure yet what I have to bring --if anything--and if we can bring our stories... Oh crap, I'll really have to work on The Magic of Light.  I mean, it's not like I haven't already edited it to death, but I think it still needs more editing.  A lot more.

Also, because I entered Dark Romance into the new contest on IP more people have began viewing it than anyone did for the several long months it's been up on IP.  And you know what everyone is telling me?  They're saying I should turn it into a book one day.  Oh boy, there's another thing I'll have to do.  Obviously I don't have to, but I mean I was considering it and now I'm figuring that eventually I should since so many people seem to think that's a good idea.

I dared to look over --glance would be the correct word to use, actually--Certain Fate two days ago... Oh, it's needs editing!  Even if I finished Cursed with Power and then can return to Certain Fate and get it up to 10,000 words there is no way I'm making it public until I polish it up.  It's just a disaster.  Dialog is too long, narration is confusing, paragraphs are extremely long, etc etc.  Well, I'll just have to fret over it when I return to it one day...

Chapter sixteen has been UPLOADED

Quite honestly it's hard to believe that I managed to get through chapter sixteen.  Some of you who are interested in whatever I happen to blog may ask, "Why?"  Well, when I first began this chapter I wasn't sure where to go with it.  I mean, at the beginning I knew what was going to happen but then after I finished with that I stared at the page on Word and thought, "What's next?"
While I have the ending outlined --and what leads to the ending--it's just not time for the story to end yet.  Obviously at 16 chapters there is more that needs to go into the book.  So what did I do?  Well, I thought about it and thought about it.  And then, my fellow followers, writers, viewers, and whatnot, I came up with a crazy and dare I say fantastic idea.  Unfortunately I cannot give you the details because that would give something away!

Chapter 16: Lost, Not Forgotten..........................
In this chapter Celestria comes to make a vital decision; one that not only affects her life, but also another's.  After having made this decision, Celestria is haunted by memories and also new images she's never seen before.... How? Why? Is it really possible?  Take a step into the river and find out... Read the story here.

Coming next.....................................
Celestria next must decide if what she has experienced was real or imaginary.  Would someone pull such a dirty trick on her?  And if so, how could they have done it?
As the ending comes closer and closer.... more gets added in!


The author's excited about...........................
I'm looking forward to adding in more supernatural kind of events into the story that will make both the reader and Celestria question what is really happening.


Hopefully you'll consider taking the time to read the story if you have the chance to; if not, you may just have to be happy with what little I let you in on.  And I promise that soon Lala's interview will be up.  I've been working so much on Cursed with Power that I just haven't found the time to post it up yet.  (Sorry)!

Chapter fifteen has been UPLOADED

Chapter fifteen has been finished and uploaded onto IP for you to read.  To get you interested I'll let you in on a little surprise that enters into this chapter....
Celestria,
I have sent this message because it is vital that you return in haste.  I will not say much for now but I will tell you that there is something within the diamond you left....


And that's all of the message that you can read for now.  If you want to read the rest and find out what Celestria does afterwards you know what you'll have to do. 
Read it here. Review it.  Leave a comment. Add it.


Now I'm going to work on chapter 16.  You can expect to hear more from me later on once another chapter is finished.  Soon I will be posting up Lala's interview.

In order to write a series you will need...

While I am still distracted from writing more for Cursed with Power I have decided to give you my honest opinion about the most important factors you must have figured out before you consider writing a series.

I know a lot of you who are already writing a series so this is nothing new for you, but perhaps you can just find that you agree with what I say.

As always I just want to note that this is my personal opinion and nothing I say here is what you have to live by.  An opinion is an opinion and we'll leave it at that; now maybe when I'm published I'll not say that this could be totally incorrect but for now I'll just cover myself.

What you'll need to write a series:

1. A colorful cast of characters
2. A well developed storyline
3. Time to look at what's ahead

So let me know explain why I say you'll need the following things and let's go in order, shall we?

A colorful cast of characters is important for every project you write, but with series this is really essential because if you cannot find your characters interesting or make them that way then it is unlikely that the readers will either.  You should be able to connect to characters and have a narration for the story that also lets the readers connect with them as well.  Have a favorite and someone you hate?  Make sure that the readers will also have characters that they feel this way towards.  Let's face it, if you can't stand your characters your book will be a failure.  Characters make the story; it's not the other way around.

A well developed storyline is something you can't do without for a series.  If your story is something that could have been ended in one book, why are you continuing it on?  Some stories do not need to continue on, so please keep the readers interests in mind.  The ending of the first book should probably arise new questions and leave the readers wanting more, thus the next book occurs  In each book you'll be answering more questions while at the same time adding in more, and some may not come to an end until the very last book in the series.  Make sure you know what your storyline is and that it is strong enough to live through a series of books.

Time to look ahead.  By this I mean simply that you should be thinking about the next book in the series and gathering new ideas for that while you are working on the current book in the series.  If you don't know what you want the next book to focus on, how will you know where to end the current book?

If you are writing a series as I am feel free to leave a comment on whether you have found that the three components I mentioned in this post are essential.  If you'd like to mention something else you find that is important, I encourage you as always to share your thoughts.

LReneeS is currently working on the Magicians series, a five part series.  The series focuses on five Dark magicians; each story told from a different point of view.  

She has also written a trilogy for The Magic of Light, though only the first book has been finished and the second one is in the progress of being written.

Writing a novel doesn't happen in a day

I know a lot of writers who are working on novels and then I know a lot who are seemingly avoiding that path.  I thought today I would just share with you something I've come to accept and get over when it comes to writing novels.
You cannot write a novel in a day.
Short stories and poems sometimes you can finish in one day if you really work all day on them, but novels, on the other hand, are a complete different story.  Literally.
When you are writing a novel you cannot really expect to finish it at any particular date.  (Of course, this does not apply if you working on something for Nano).  Novels can take months and months and even years to finish.  And that's just to finish it; it could be another several months or years before your work is all it can be.
How do I know, you ask?  Well, I was looking over my work last night and luckily for you I have brought you proof of the facts that I am stating.
Everblue-- started February 10th; it is now August.  6 MONTHS


Certain Fate-- started May 23rd; it is now August. ABOUT 3 MONTHS


Cursed with Power-- started June 27th; it is now August. ALMOST A MONTH
Keep in mind that everything I've used as an example above are novels that I've only been working on for several months and they are all still unfinished.  I didn't bring the examples of my other novels that are finished or are still unfinished and have remained so for several years.
My advice to you if you are writing or are considering writing a novel?  Be dedicated.  Be ready to forth a lot of focus, patience, and more focus towards this novel.
Hopefully this post has somewhat helped or inspired my fellow writers who are following or viewing this blog.  Just remember that when you're writing your novel you have to get comfortable and be ready for a long journey ahead of you.

Love is Hell contest

Just wanted to stop in to say that I'll be entering into the Love is Hell contest.  You also can enter here.

I'll be writing something new up for this contest, but I'm also trying to find out if Dark Romance could be allowed for this contest.  Hunter isn't exactly a demon, but he does have a dark power...
I won't be posting about the new story I'm writing up for this until after I write it, and because I'm working on enough novels as it is I'm going to write a short story to save myself time and confusion.
And I just have to get it all finished before August 19th.

News update

Sadly it does not look like I'll have chapter 13 of Cursed with Power finished this evening because I've been reviewing the whole book and I was also preparing myself for once I start working on New Life.
Of course by doing that I did manage to get myself somewhat distracted because for a while I was debating over two different summaries for New Life.  At last, though, I was successful in deciding which one I liked best that would keep the interest of my readers.

And though this is not for sure... I think I may be writing Innocent & Young for Nanowrimo.  Again, it's not set in stone yet though, so there may still be a chance I change my mind come November.  For me it's a really big deal because as I've said I want to pick a book that I will follow and write my heart out to through the 30 days of the contest.

A writer's group at last!

I thought I would never find a free writer's group to go to that was nearby where I live, but at last I was successful.  This post is actually a little late because I found the writer's group several hours ago.  Anyways, I just felt like blogging about this because as you can imagine I'm excited!


In the writer's group everyone comes with copies of their novels, poems, short stories, articles, or etc. and then everyone shares and critiques.  I will not be going to the group until a month from now, but I think that I obviously have to take the first two chapters of The Magic of Light with me for critique.  (But I can tell you right now that I need to polish that book up some more).  So perhaps I will try to edit some or edit a lot before the September is here.

Anyways, I am thrilled about that and I'm glad to hear you guys liked the interview with Julie Musil.  Another interview is soon to come with Lala from Lala Land.  Hope you'll come to read that one as well.
And now it's back to work on Cursed with Power, though I might be back because I keep checking in with the wonderful things they are doing at WriteOnCon.  If you are a writer and you are not at that conference --PLEASE go there.  It is really fun and really helpful.
I'll be posting my query letter soon. Please consider critiquing it, won't you?  Pretty please?

Querying

I just felt like posting something because I just emailed a query to another agent.  Once again, however, this is an agency that is only going to respond if they are actually interested.
Wish me luck?

Writeoncon: Why aren't you there?

Even though this is my first year on writeoncon, I am already really enjoying it and if you are a writer like me I think you will also.
My advice to you is to go there and read the posts and ask those questions you've been dying to ask.  I myself just asked three major questions to literary agent Michelle Wolfson and she did answer every single one in response.
If you have publishing questions, writing questions, agency questions, or anything else in general I really do suggest you go there and ask away.  Tomorrow I believe there will also be some live chats with agents going on, so you will really be bettering yourself by going to this.
It's free and it's worth your time.  Both you and your book will be helped.

Writing the prologue of your story

Writing a prologue

I do not know how many of you have prologues in your stories, but I think whether you've wrote one before or not will still make this post relevant to you.

First off I just want to point out that you do not need a prologue.  There are plenty of authors who do not start out their story with a prologue.  However, if you chose to have a prologue in your story then it is more likely you can draw the readers in before even really beginning with the start of the story.  In other words, a prologue is a great way to get the readers interested and wanting to know how something ends or why something happened.

So with this post we're going to assume that you want to put a prologue in your story but you're just not sure where to start.  You do not know what to put in the prologue because perhaps you barely even know how you want to start the book.  My advice to you is to think over major events that are going to occur in the book for certain.  The easiest thing to do is to pick one of the events that will leave the readers wanting more, even though they probably know very little about the characters and the plot of your book.  I've read prologues where a character dies, where people are put into a dangerous situation, when people are in a massive fight (physical fight, that is), or even a dream that is so bizarre and mysterious that you hardly believe it any more than the main character.

Before you write your prologue you should consider the following:

• What is a major turning point in the story or something that really affects several characters and/or the main character?
• Who are key characters that should be in the prologue?
• How much or how little detail do I want to go into right now?
• Is the ending of the prologue exciting, mysterious, interesting, or etc?  (Does it leave the reader with some kind of feeling at the end)?
• Will the reader be more likely to read further because of the event(s) in the prologue?

If your not sure you can answer all of those questions then I would say you certainly have a lot to think over.  Obviously if you lose your reader at the prologue that's not going to be good.

And just one last thing before I end this post, prologues should be brief and stay to the point.  I can't think of any books I've read where the prologue was longer than one of the chapters, and in my opinion it should be because it's just supposed to be something that happens quickly, leaving the readers with interest and questions.

When you leave your readers with mysteries hidden they will want to solve them.

For now that's all.  Hopefully that helped any of you who are writing prologues or helped those of you like me who are already have.  I'll try to come up with another writing post for a later time.

Interview coming soon and etc

I just wanted to stop in to tell you guys that I'll be attempting to post the interview with Julie Musil again today.  I am really going to try my best to make it so it's on today eventually.  And if you are a writer and would be interested in being interview, please just comment and let me know.

Also I have to make major changes to chapter one of Cursed with Power for reasons I shall explain later today.  For now you can just read what I have here.  Maybe if you check in again later today I'll even give a little hint as to what exactly will now be going into the first chapter.

Later expect also a post about writing a prologue, which I already have posted on Write Here's blog.
That's all I can say for now.

An important THANK YOU

Hello my fellow bloggers, writers, friends, followers, viewers, and whatever else have you.
This post is dedicated to everyone I emailed this summer with my "writing update" emails.

Today I want to post a very important thank you, which I am hoping I will be able to type up in a timely fashion because at the moment the computer and I are not getting along too well.

This summer I emailed my friends, writing "buddies" (as I like to call them), and overall just a group of people who have always cared for me and continue to do so.
What all of these people probably don't realize is that this was my first summer in which I ever sent out so many emails and was actually enjoying myself while doing that.  (Now I know that makes me sound so nerdy)...  Instead of spending my summer emailing agency after agency, as I probably should have now that I think about it, I emailed my closest friends and so forth to keep them on track with my progress in my writing.
So to everyone who received those emails...
I do not know if you guys read my emails, and I think it's probably best I never know what you did with them.  For all I know you might have gotten tired of seeing my name in your inbox so often and put the emails straight into the trash can.  However, I happen to know all of you and I doubt you would be so harsh to do such a thing.  (But again, I really don't think I want to know if you did or did not).
I know that my emails have been both long and seemingly endless, yet here it is already August and before you know it summer will be over.  Whether you guys realize this or not, you were my inspiration this summer. You all in some way or another made me feel a kind of confidence that I never felt before.  I kept on writing and the more I wrote the better I felt because for the first time ever I felt as if  I were sharing my progress with the whole world.  (Even though in truth I know if was only with all of you).
You came along with me by reading those emails or replying to them and joined my long journey with Cursed with Power and those lovely rejection letters I got from agencies and publishers.  You were there to tell me my ideas were good and interesting and I felt as if you were there for Celestria as well because by following how her story moved along it was almost as if you were with her during her travels and adventures.  When she was battling and you feared the worst there you were again, hoping everything would end well for her while at the same time questioning how much you should like her character.  And believe me when I say that I am forever grateful you did care about her and the characters in my story.
As you guys know, I never did anything like this when I was writing The Magic of Light.  I do not think then I realized that I have a rather large group --okay not that large, but decent sized--I could keep informed.  It was great that you all kept letting me send you emails, as well, because I remember at the beginning I warned you that my emails are sometimes long --because you know how I go off rambling if I start on the topic of writing--and could possibly be boring.  Nonetheless, I thankfully never received a reply in which one of you were requesting I not email you about the story and my progress anymore.
There are not enough "thank you" images I can put into this post to fully express how thankfully I am to every single one of you.  I just hope that one day I can support you as much as you have supported me.  Being a writer isn't something anybody said was going to be easy, but with my friends and all of these people who care about me I feel confident.
Before I end this I want you guys just to realize two things.  One, I haven't finished Cursed with Power yet, which leads to... Two, I think your days of long emails from me might not be over.  (Sorry)!  But i have really enjoyed emailing you guys and telling you what I thought I would not have anybody to tell.  Hopefully there were emails that you liked reading, even if you could not reply to them.  (I did try to make the subjects interesting)...
And who knows.... maybe all of this will just give us all something to talk about and laugh over one day.
Thank you.  Your endless support and comfort is something I can not thank in enough words, but let these words be enough...
I will always be grateful for what you have said and done -even the simple things--because you are the ones who probably would have stood at the edge of a cliff with me. (Why we would be on the edge of a cliff in the first place is beyond me... Let's stay with that being more like a figure of speech).

Don't care too much what others may think

Such a tip on writing came from the famous writer Stephen King, who you probably know best for his work on such books as It and Storm of the Century.  You can read Stephen King's seven tips on becoming a better writer online here.  I found what he said to be very truthful and to the point.  I discovered his advise rather long ago, but I wanted to bring up his #5 today because I think we can all relate to it.
Don't care too much what others may think.
No matter how hard you work and how much effort you put into your writing there is no way you can escape the people who just won't like your work at all.  You know as well as I do, we writers cannot please everyone.  There are going to be people who tell you that they absolutely love your book, and then, just as Mr. King has realized over the years, there will be people who have no respect for what you do at all.
But you will continue to write because you are a dedicated person.  It is hard for all of us when we see critique that is so harsh on our story, but is it really any different from the stack of rejections you have?  I have faith in all of us that we can keep going.  Accept now that not everyone will adore your work, but continue to write what you are.  There is always somebody out there who is willing to read.  If you're ever feeling like your writing is just going nowhere at all, go to your friends or someone else very close and ask them to look at your work.  We all know our friends can be very bias about our writing, but in times when you feel yours is not good enough that does not matter.
All the writers who are published now went through just as much as we are now.
Keep writing, my fellow writers, because for as long as we are those stories are slowly making their way to the public.  The longer you work at it, the more people will take note of how serious you are about what you want to do.
So I wish you all the very best of luck in your writing, and know that I am in the very same position as you.

What's new?

Well, I'm glad you asked because I can actually tell you several things.  Whether you want to read this or no I'll leave for you to decide.
I lied when I said that I am now reading Bourne Objective.  I am actually reading Magic Under Glass because I discovered this book at the library and it sounded really good.  I am only into the fourth chapter now, but already is has my full attention.  If you want to read a story with romance, mystery, and perhaps, yes, even some magic this is definitely the book!  Seeing as I like it so much already, I may very well post up a review about it when I'm finished.
Cursed with Power went up to 967 in ranking.  While I'm a bit devastated to see it go up in ranking again, I have not lost all hope.  After all, I am not even finished with the book yet so I have a ways to go before I start really getting everyone to read it.

In case you didn't see, I added music to the blog.  I know it seems like a lot of the songs are by male artists, but please know that I did not do this on purpose.  It just so happens that I was trying to think of some of my very favorite songs to share with you, and a lot of them are ones I have listened to recently.

And I am returning to book swaps.  (Sort of)... It is just taking me forever, I realize, because I want so badly to just work on my book instead.  Of course, if I never do the book swaps then I'll never hear back from others, so I am forcing myself along very slowly.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I did start chapter 13 yesterday.  I feel like I have not been working on Cursed with Power in a really long time, and I think because of that feeling I am going to read back a lot of it to myself so I can refresh my memory.
And for now that's about all...

After another critique...

I just received another comment on Cursed with Power and while I am always grateful for comments and the fact that people will read my work, there was something in this comment that surprised me.
Perhaps it was because it was so unexpected...
While I cannot disagree with the grammar mistakes --because I know there are probably several and they do need to eventually be fixed at some point or another--I could not help but disagree with the statement that the first chapter of the story seems to go nowhere.  Actually, I was told in exact words that, "The plot seems to be going nowhere at the moment."
I do not wish to rant on about why I don't necessarily agree with that, but it's just that I can't believe I'm hearing this about the first chapter.  However, it's only one person who has told me this, so perhaps I really should not be worrying about it.  I mean, let's face it... We cannot always please everyone.
A part of me feels bad because everyone is saying this and that which can be fixed and yet I'm working towards the future of the book.  I guess I'm really just trying to get the whole story down before I completely lose it, which I would absolutely hate to have happen.
In case you did not see, Cursed with Power went up to 967 ranking points today.  (That's not good).  However, the book is not finished so really it's probably good that it is not flying through the rankings like there is no tomorrow.  Besides, I'm not anybody like Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. My writing is not to that amazing point yet, and none of us will ever really be like another writer.  I think in all truth we writers are all very different and that is what makes our stories unique.

But anyhow... That's pretty much it.  Hopefully those of you who are also reading Cursed with Power aren't bored with the book already.  (I mean, if the author is not yet then surely she can keep her readers there with her, right)?
However, I cannot let some comment that pretty much shows that someone does not like my work phase me.  So, nonetheless, I'll keep writing the story and working on it.