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A Writer's Schizophrenia 4/16/09



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Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:44 pm
Twit says...



Lol - still it's nice to be supported by reactions, sa? And you're purple!

Congrats on the romance scene as well. I have no idea how I'm going to get through mine - any tips?
"TV makes sense. It has logic, structure, rules, and likeable leading men. In life, we have this."


#TNT
  





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Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:02 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



I am purple! *huggles username* *huggles admins*

Let's see, advice...well, my characters were really awkward to start out. It wasn't exactly a declaration of love or a moment of passion;it was all their frustrations and confusion coming out at once. Honestly, I didn't do a lot of planning for it; I just sat down and wrote what I knew they would say. They were both awkward and uncomfortable and then it turned into almost a fight...Yeah. I'm being vague because I don't want to give anything away, lol.
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:25 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



I think Firebrand is going to be just a little bit longer than 75,000 words...like, possibly closer to 85,000. I'm a little astonished at how much STUFF is going into this story, when I originally thought it was going to be pretty straightforward. There are all these subplots and characters that keep popping up out of nowhere. It's fun and highly entertaining, but I kind of just want to finish this.

Anyway, that's my ramble for today.

Over and out,
~Sunny
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:29 am
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cammie4 says...



Oh, you are so lucky things just come to you like that! I always feel like I'm forcing my stories. I've started to quit using outlines. Maybe that'll help....

Good luck on finishing! I'm sure it'll be a breeze now that you're past the climax.
  





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Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:45 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



Dear sweet merciful Lord in heaven...I just found a scrap of the first draft of "Firebrand," back when it was still called "Touch of Fire" (gag). Thank God for my dinosaur computer that swallowed the story, because Draft #1 was puke-worthy on so many levels. Brand had this weird sunny disposition that made him sound like a third grader; Marc's personality was barely developed; and Zephyr was the most sarcastic character in the bunch. Plus, I read about 13,000 words and was already halfway through the story. A very boring story.

It was Providence that caused me to lose that first draft. Sheer Providence.
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:10 pm
Twit says...



Lol, I kind of like going through first drafts. Yes, they are cringe-worthy, but it's fun seeing how much stories change.
"TV makes sense. It has logic, structure, rules, and likeable leading men. In life, we have this."


#TNT
  





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Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:48 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



So, I just hit 80,000 words last night. *does happy dance* Three cheers for my technically-adult-fiction novel!

"Word Count for first time novelist:
Adult fiction: 80,000-100,000 words.
Young Adult fiction: 40,000-60,000 words"

(according to www.agentquery.com)

Although in my mind it's still very thoroughly YA.

I'm still in the midst of an epic battle, which involves tornados, torrents of rain, and guerrilla warfare by shapeshifting creatures of darkness. It's getting pretty intense, to the point where I actually scared myself last night and I laid awake in bed with the covers tucked to my chin, listening to every little sound in my house.

Is it a good sign when you get scared by your own imagination? Or does that just make me a wuss?
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Sat Jul 26, 2008 10:35 pm
cammie4 says...



I think it's good when you scare yourself. I mean, not good, but it just shows how vivid your imagination is. If your own story keeps you up at night, then it'll probably keep someone else up too when they read it. That's a great way to look at it, I think.
  





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Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:05 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



Hi everybody! *waves* Guess what I just did?

I just stayed up until 5 a.m. finishing a 85,500 word novel that I call Firebrand.

*breaks into hysterical giggles and collapses on the couch in exhaustion*

I do not know what possessed me to pull an all-nighter, but I knew I had to finish it. It was all there in my head, and I was afraid that if I didn't vomit it onto paper in that instant, I would keep stalling and mumbling about how it wasn't good enough for another month. So I wrote 5,500 words in one night, and now it's finished.

Well...'finished' in the loosest sense of the word. It needs a lot of editing. A LOT. But I'm trying REALLY hard not to think about that right now, so as to preserve maximum happiness for at least another few days before me and my editors (a.k.a. ruthless friends who make me cry even though they have my best interests in mind) rip it to shreds.

*does insane happy dance*

*curls up under the cover to sleep for a few more hours*
Last edited by lyrical_sunshine on Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:36 pm
gamechanger10 says...



Wow, that's great to hear.

I'm happy for you! Congrats on finishing!!!


Good luck with the editing!!!
"The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." -Mark Twain
  





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Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:16 pm
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lyrical_sunshine says...



I started a livejournal to update my writing/revising/publishing news about Firebrand. The LJ is also full of little rants about books and movies, stories behind the story, and random writing tips. If anyone is interested go ahead and check it out:

http://kristin-briana.livejournal.com
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:30 pm
Twit says...



I added you as a friend on eljay... hope you don't mind.

How did I miss that uber Firebrand update? 85,500, that's like... in pages that's... and for thickness that's...

:shock:

Ai yi yi. I can only hope that Scavenger gets near that mark.

Well done. :D
"TV makes sense. It has logic, structure, rules, and likeable leading men. In life, we have this."


#TNT
  





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Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:58 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



Hooks:

('Cause they're just fun to write)

“After a swimming accident, seventeen-year-old Marcella finds herself battling darkness and insanity in a world where her worst nightmare may be her only chance of survival.”

“What would you do if your worst nightmare was the only thing that could save your life?”

“When the world of her nightmares begins to bleed into her high school, Marcella starts to realize that the choice isn’t between sleeping and waking – it is a choice between life and death.”

“Marcella Beauregard doesn’t know what is happening to her. She thought it was just an accident – a cut on her head, a short trip to the hospital for some stitches. But that cut on her head is doing strange things to her mind, and despite the doctor’s best efforts, the wound isn’t healing. Instead it is causing Marc to hallucinate and hear dark voices in the back of her mind. It is whispering prophetic words and horrible accusations. And as the wound continues to bleed, Marc continues to live in the world of her nightmares – but it may be that only her nightmares can save her life.”
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  





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Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:29 pm
romance otaku says...



lyrical_sunshine wrote: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.


wait, did you say "think like her"?? i hope you did, cus this sounds like fun.
~Did I help you? If so, please take a second to sign my website's guestbook at http://joeduncko.com/guestbook/. When it gets 100 signs, I plan to release my newest short story! Thanks!
  





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Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:10 am
lyrical_sunshine says...



Ladies and gentlemen, heeeeeere's Sunny, modeling this season's fabulous standard rejection letter. This letter is polite and refined, yet aloof, a lovely addition to any hopeful writer's inbox!

***
Dear Author:

Thank you so much for sending the Nelson Literary Agency your query.

We'd like to apologize for the impersonal nature of this standard rejection letter. Rest assured that we do read every query letter carefully and, unfortunately, this project is not right for us.

Because this business is so subjective and opinions vary widely, we recommend that you pursue other agents. After all, it just takes one "yes" to find the right match.

Good luck with all your publishing endeavors.

Sincerely,
Kristin Nelson
Sara Megibow

***

Despite the sarcastic intro, I'm really not disappointed. Kristin Nelson was kind of my last pick - she publishes mostly romance and chick lit. I was really impressed with how quickly she wrote me back, though. I only sent the query yesterday. :)

It's Firebrand's first real rejection letter. I am so excited. :D Wish me luck with the other ones I sent out!

~Sunny
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax

Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
  








When you cut pieces out of the truth to avoid looking like a fool, you end up looking like a moron instead.
— Robin Hobb