Goodbye!

I can't really say that I've thought a lot about this decision.  It has really just sort of come to me.  I will no longer be posting on this blog.  If you would like to continue reading from me, feel free to look at sistersbypen.blogspot.com   This blog was a lot of fun to write on, but I realized that I wasn't doing too much of that.  I believe that if I can not worry about this blog, but more about my own writing, I might be able to realize my dream of being a published writer.

As always, I hope you all have a great day.  Goodbye Writing Teen!  It was nice knowing you! :)

Christmas Time!

  I just have to say that I love this time of year.  It is true that is is not snowing . . . yet.  I'm sort of bummed out about it, but my parents are coming to get me later this week, and I don't want them driving in the snow.  Anyway, a lot has happened with writing this year.
   I started a new writing regime that did wonders.  It was awesome!  I wrote a total of six books this year!  Talk about hardcore.  I recently finished my eighth book this year and it was my first sequel.  I was hoping to finish off the trilogy this year and write a Christmas story for this season, but alas, college had other ideas.
   My plan is to get home and help my parents move into a new house and then set up writing central.  I really want to write a Christmas story this year, an idea for which has been keeping me up at nights.  Next year, I am hoping that the emotions that come with the new year will help me keep my schedule of writing every day.  The problem with this past year was that it was a bunch of firsts.  It was difficult for me to get anything done if I didn't have a straight schedule.
   True, college is keeping life crazy, but now that I know more of how that life will go, I believe that it will be much easier for me to keep up with a deadline.

So, in other news, I am a very strong member of the Traditional Publishing party.  . . . . you know the elections are coming up, so I thought I would try and be funny and patriotic at the same time. I guess it didn't work . . .  anyway.
I believe that traditional publishing is the way to go.  Ally Carter author of the New York Times Bestselling Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series says that it is the difference with being a professional baseball player and someone who makes their own uniform to look professional.  I happen to agree.  However, I recently read about a woman names Amanda Hockings.  She started to self-publish her novels as ebooks.  She has sold over 1,000,000 copies of her books and recently her newest series has been through a bidding war where the rumored payout was over $2,000,000.

Take THAT traditional publishing.

The point is that in the end, it is up to you as the writer which route you want to go.  Keep in mind that with traditional publishing you give up the rights to your book (read: baby), must do your own promoting, and simply write.  But also remember that in self-publishing, everything is on your shoulders.  You must create a cover that would attract others and convince them to read the book in the first place.  You are responsible for editing the book into perfection.  They both have pros and cons.

My suggestion?  Try traditional publishing.  If agents aren't chomping at the bait, then maybe after a few years of real experience with traditional publishing it might be safe to do it al on your own.  Your choice.

I just know that I want to give my books the best .  I want to edit them the best and do all in my power to see that they get the proper treatment they deserve.

Have a great day!

Bex

NaNoWriMo

At an average of 5,000 words a day, a writer can finish a 50,000 word novel in 10 days.  Oh, yeah, I got this.  :)

NaNoWriMo, you are going DOWN!!!

Dear NaNoWriMo,

How are you doing?  I haven't seen you for an entire year.  You know a lot of people are really scared of you, but I don't know why.  In reality, you are  not real.  .  .  Let me rephrase that.  You are real because people know and acknowledge that you exist, but you are not living nor breathing.
Instead, you are a contest.  You convince people that writing a 50,000 word book in a month is possible, and I applaud you for that.  It is good that people can realize that the book inside of them is only a few (OK a lot of) keystrokes away.  It is not easy to write a book.  Nobody would contest that, but it is possible.
Yes, it is draining and hard to have that kind of discipline everyday to write.  But in the end it is so worth it. But now, I will brag just a little.
When I write a book, and I mean really write, I will write 5,000 words a day.  Do the math.  I write a 50,000 word novel in 10 days.  Not weeks or months, days.  :)  I know, I'm cool.  (OK, that was really self-righteous, but I'm just in that kind of mood)
I love writing so much that it should be illegal.  This is what I want to do with my life, and I look forward to doing just that.  So, NaNoWriMo, I could complete your quest in my sleep, and that is probably what will happen.  See you in five days.

Bex

Writing, Writing, and Writing

So, I've realized, that if I'm going to do this Teen Writing business right, I can technically only to it for one more year.  :(  But who's going to stop me??  Ha!  Anyway, I guess I could still be a 'teen' writer by simply because I write YA.  Yeah, we will go with that.  Anyway, I have begun writing again and am grateful by how much fun I have while doing it.  I'm writing the second in a series right now, and there will be four.  Hopefully, I will finish them all by the end of this year.  Then I have a Christmas story I came up with while it was snowing, and am really excited to write it.  :)  all for now!

Bex

Gagging Reflex

I have come to realize in my teen years that I have an acute gag reflex.   I have a dog: Rosie, and she is the cutest little thing in the entire world.  However when she has stomach problems which result in throw up or diarrhea, I have major problems.  I've found that if I do it quickly and don't breath then it goes by much easier.  But I still feel like I am fighting the urge to throw up every two seconds,

Now having said that, I took a Forensic Science class in High School and we had to do 'autopsy' on a piglet.  That did not bother me one little bit.  I found that ability quite amazing and was not used to it at all.  There was blood that had been doormat for some time that leaked out of the pig, but did that bother me?  No.

But for the past few months I realized that I have strong gag reflex when I do something else, something I do twice a day without fail.  Brush my teeth.

Ok, that might sound strange, but it's true.  I found out a year ago or so that bad breath comes from bacteria on the tongue.  It wasn't as if before finding out this vital piece of information that I never brushed my tongue, but it was exactly on my top priorities, but now I brush it with a fever that frightens me.  Anyway, no matter how hard I try, whenever I brush my tongue, I will, without fail, start gagging like I am about to throw up like there is no tomorrow.  Oh well, I suppose that it is an OK side effect if my breath doesn't stink.

I think it will be OK as long as my friends don't think I am having seizures while in the bathroom.  That would be plain embarrassing.

Have a great weekend!

Bex    

Life

Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that certain things are not going to happen.

Sometimes that is when you realize you will never be a Professional Basketball player or never be as good as Michael Phelps. Maybe it's when you realize you will never be quite as skinny (or buff, for my male readers) or pretty (or studdly(SC?)) as your friend. But once you do accept it as a fact of life, I think you will find that you can be so much happier with yourself.

When you realize that you are not perfect, it seems as if the world is a much better and peaceful place.

For about three months, I had a schedule down for when I would write. I got up at 4:00 A.M. every morning, got ready for school for a half hour, then wrote for an hour and a half (Usually finishing a chapter) before I went to a youth group morning bible study. After I got back from school, I sat at my computer and proceeded to type out another chapter. I wrote at least 5,000 words a day, no questions asked. I wrote a new YA book every 3 weeks. Not years or months, but weeks.

It was an amazing feeling. My first book had taken 9 months to complete. My second (a short story) took a month and the third took 7 months.

Books 4-7 took three weeks each.

But then, while I was still on a schedule to write book six, I got the inspiration to write what became book seven. The only problem was that I pushed out two books in three weeks. Big mistake.

I felt exhausted for writing two books in the time I normally did one. I stopped writing altogether. I told myself that i would start again the next week and then the next. Weeks turned into months and I still didn't write (at least not more than a few paragraphs). My Muse had disapeared. It was early this morning that I realized exaclty why.

(Taken from here)

My schedule had pulled so much writing out of me that I forgot that sometimes, it isn't the right time. For whatever reason, I also forgot that as a writer, I am not a machine. As Neil Gaiman said,

"And life is a good thing for a writer. It's where we get our raw material, for a start. We quite like to stop and watch it." (This quote is hanging over my laptop.)

I knew that life happens, but I forgot that sometimes, when something upsets you it's easy to get discouraged in all areas of your life. The art of being a writer is to continue writing no matter what, even if you have a few months where you just can't write what you want to.

(Taken from here)

I'm not saying you have to fart out half of your novel a week (First: That's disgusting, Second: If you do manage to fart it out, I have a few people I would like you to see. . .), but you should write everyday if you want to be a writer. It doesn't even have to be a part of your book. It could be in a journal or a blog. Just something to keep your brain active, moving, and working.

Do I think my schedule worked for me? Oh Yeah! It was great, and had me thinking and writing more than I ever had. Will it work for everyone? No. Should you try it? Maybe.

I just happened to have found the system that seems to work for me. However, I need to also remember and understand that I can't work myself too hard. I need to find more of a balance.

If I have an idea strike me, I will need to decide if I want to put it on the back burner for later or move my current project to the back of my mind.

And, I have to always remember that no matter what I decide, it will be OK. yeah, I might have to reschedule something, change things up a bit, but that's OK. Change is a part of life, and I have to go with it.

And so do you. . . no matter is it's for writing or school, or any other aspect of your life. It's OK. Even if you can't seem to get any words out, just let your imagination flow. It will come back because you are a writer and . . . well, writers write.

(Taken from here)