Young Writers Society

It's amazing what you can learn about character development when you let your MCs just ramble. Out of sheer boredom I've been allowing them to do just that. Marc Beauregard has been babbling nonstop during English class (and no wonder - we're reviewing grammar) and entertaining me with her particular brand of sarcasm. What's scary is that I'm beginning to think like her. I thought of several Marc-esque comebacks when our newspaper editor was being a butthead.

As far as my novel is going, I'm actually surprised at how much I like it this time around. My first draft recently got lost in the black hole that is my computer, but I decided that's not a bad thing. The few pages I did recover were awful.

I decided on a title finally: Firebrand. I looked up as many "fire" words as possible and found that one in the dictionary. The double meanings are absolutely perfect.

I also worked out a lot of the kinks in the plotline. It helped to just write out a list of questions and answer them in as many ways as possible. As it turns out I'm a lot more creative than I thought.

So yeah; that's my update. Go check out Firebrand if you're in the mood for a sarcastic, obnoxious heroine and some very weird plot twists.

That's a really interesting idea. I'll definetely try it out some time!

If your story is really like you tell it, I'll be hitting my computer with a hammer and getting a psychotic grammar tutor within the next week.

I talk to my characters quite often...they get angry that I make them come to school with me, but hey-I can plan their horrific deaths if I want to. All of them have their weird quirks, and when I just let them talk to me I find out quite a lot about them.

Update of the week:

First of all, I just created the most exciting writing activity ever. Go to www.newfaces.com or some other actor/model search and find people that look like your MCs. It sounds lame, but it kept me entertained for hours. Really.

Marc:

(oh yeah, she's hardcore)

Jake:

(haha, i love it! he even looks clueless)

Vanessa:

(cuter than cute, sweeter than sweet...that's definitely Nessie)

Ian:

(my sister was drooling, so I assume I casted him pretty well)



Secondly, I decided to be safe and take my novel Firebrand out of the fantasy section in case a company saw that as publishing it. :( I'm so sorry. I appreciated the feedback so much, but I'd really love to publish Firebrand someday, and I don't want to take the risk.

And finally, Marc is being rebellious again - although I suppose that's not news. She is implanting scenes from the sequel into my brain when I'm still editing chapter 2 of the first book. *glares at Marc* I hope you're happy.

You know you are a nerd when...you create a playlist for your novel. Oh my gosh.

1. "Weathered" - Creed
2. "Move" - Thousand Foot Krutch
3. "Going Under" - Evanescence
4. "First Time" - Lifehouse
5. "Wake Me Up Inside" - Evanescence
6. "Savin' Me" - Nickelback
7. "Energy" - Skillet
8. "The Wait is Over" - Disciple


*Sigh* We can make it official - there is absolutely no hope of me ever being cool. Let us all take a moment to mourn.

So, I've come to a tiny bit of writer's block - I rewrote the first paragraph of the fifth chapter about ten times - but I'm pushing past it. Also, my fourteen-year-old sister is reading Firebrand, which means I must be doing something right. She NEVER reads anything I write unless she develops a minor crush on a character.

Anyway, I'd love to here from anyone about how your own writing is going! Ttfn!

~Sunny

Victory! *does happy dance*

Writer's block is defeated! Goodness has triumphed! Dull sentences and storylines have died and disintegrated into dust!

It took a lot of pacing and yoga and staring at the computer, but it finally worked. Chapter five is rolling.

Yay me.

Yay Marc.

Thank God for muses. I was afraid mine walked out on me.

I find it really depressing that I am the only one commenting on this thread, and I'm the author. Is my obsession really that boring?

Well, anyway, I wrote Chapter 5 in a frenzied burst of creative energy last Sunday, and now I'm coasting downhill on Chapter 6. I've decided this is my "comic relief" chapter, since up until now everything has been intense and a confusing and scary, and now Marc's back in high school being a butthead to everyone who gets in her way. It's entertaining.

I also started a creative writing group at my school, and our second meeting is tomorrow morning. I'm incredibly excited. We discovered that one of our teachers is actually writing a novel, so she's going to bring it and give us pointers on our own work. Hopefully it'll be really fun.

Thank you for reading...if anybody actually is reading lol.
Over and out,
~Sunny

I'm reading! Heh, I know how that is, you're thinking, Am I really *this* boring??

That newfaces site is really good! So, thankly much for saying about it, as I'd never heard about it before. And now, you're not lame about the playlist. Other people do it as well - including moi.

*singsong voice*
I GOT A LAPTOP! I GOT A LAPTOP! WOOHOO!!

Needless to say I've been writing almost nonstop since Christmas - partly because I am inspired and partly because I just love playing with my new computer. :D

I've also just discovered that my finished second draft of Firebrand may very well be twice as long as the first draft. I am not exactly sure if that's good or bad. It could be good - it could mean I'm adding more dialogue and details. But it could also be bad because I'm adding more dialogue and details.

I'm still searching for the happy medium, I think.

Also, I discovered a much more Marc-ish Marc on one of my random internet-surfing excursions:



Ah, the joys of technology.

Yes, listening to the voices is helpful.

I myself only have one. He occasionally bursts out sarcastically for me to kill someone - as he sees it as his duty as nonexistent disembodied delusion - but neither he nor I take these requests seriously.

He IS vaguely helpful, though. Not for coming up with ideas so much as refining new-found ones. In exchange, I have to make him the main character in a future series - which works out because he fits perfectly anyway.

*nods sympathetically*
I feel your pain. Although Marcella usually shouts snide remarks at idiotic boys.


And thank you for commenting! I was beginning to think I was abandoned!

*creeps in and whispers*

I've been lurking around, too.

Sometime in the past three weeks or so I've sort of acquired a fan club.

Well, maybe not fans, but readers anyway. It began when I finally got sick and tired of hiding the fact that I am an obsessive compulsive grammar geek who is writing a novel. I hid it because I was quite sure that everyone I knew would think I was insane. I finally came out of the closet because pretending Marc and Brand didn't exist was kind of like pretending the sky is orange.

The strange thing is that nobody thought I was insane. And almost everybody asked to read my story.

So now I have... (*counts quickly*) about five or six people reading or waiting to read Firebrand, which I am very excited about. My boyfriend has demanded that he be the first to read every new chapter though. :)

By the way, does anybody know if titles can be copyrighted? I mean, I've heard that "Firebrand" is also the name of like a tv show and several other books, but is that a problem? I just don't know.

Thanks to all my silent readers! :D

~Sunny

I wish I could make friends with the voices in my head. XD

I tend to just *beep* them off more if I approach them. But yeah, good with all of your characters! LOL!