Yuki's Writing and NaNo Blog:

Drowning

2011-10-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

It seems like the muses have conspired with the rain. Fall is inspiration time for me. When the rain pours down, I get inspired to write. Well, the rain is falling and distracting me from my work on Bonds of Freedom. I keep trying to trudge through and edit, but I don't. I finally posted a piece of my polished prologue on CleanPlace. My muse kept begging me to. I hope to receive feedback on it, but we shall see!

Hopefully I can pick up the pace on this novel!

Adventures in Editing

2011-10-04T15:54:00.001-07:00

It has been almost three years since I completed the lengthiest novel of my career. Coming in at over 200,000 words on October 11th, I had no idea what I would do with the manuscript. For the past three years, I've edited small portions of the story, never really digging into the depths of its adventure. About five months ago, I decided to really attack the story.

And since then, I've found myself on a new, exciting adventure! I always knew that the easy part of the journey of an author was writing a novel. Although I have a lot of stories that provided me with characters that induced headaches and fights, the true struggle lies within editing. I'll admit that it probably isn't the best idea to tackle a 200,000+ word novel and try to condense its contents into about half of what it used to be. However, it's the idea I feel most urgent to pursue.

Whether or not it's in my best interest sanity-wise has yet to be proven. My characters in this novel fought tooth and nail while writing it. Bonds of Freedom is the novel I'm most attached to because of the effort I put into it. That seems crazy, considering most of it was written within the span of a month (on very little sleep too), but it's true. This story is the one I always come back to, always look at, and always compare my other works to.

It's the first story that had deeper meaning than just "another novel." It became the start of a realization that I do not want to write for the sake of writing. I want to write because of some deeper meaning and reason. I want to inspire others with my stories.

With all of that being said, it has turned my life upside down. Now, as I rip apart the bad verbage, hilarious typos, glaring mistakes, I find just as much suffering as I did when I first wrote the novel. It would be easier if I just abandoned the project, but I can't. It won't let me; and frankly, I don't want to give up on it either.

It is the beginning of an adventure that I am making up as I go along, but one that I am all too happy to take. Cheers to this new adventure!

NaNo, AAP, What am I going to do with thee?

2010-11-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

So far, my writing has been crashing and burning. I'm behind on NaNo with little time to write in between school and work. I haven't even started my AAP, which I should get on soon. There's just so much that I need to do! There's not enough time.

I think there should be an extra twelve hours added to each day. Then I could write and get sleep as needed. Not be a zombie and walking around like I am unsure of what I'm supposed to do.

Ah well, life happens. I'm sure my writing will pick up soon. In the mean time! I have made a new blog. Check it out!

http://songsofencouragement.blogspot.com/

NaNo 2010

2010-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time again and I am proud to say that I am participating once again in the 30 day frenzy that is NaNoWriMo. I started four years ago, and have only failed to complete NaNo once. There have been several crazy nights involved, but all of them worth it.

So how have I done so far on the first day? I have nothing written. I plan on writing my fingers to an oblivion later in the day.

Good luck to all you fellow Wrimos!

Discovering the Story I Was Meant to Write

2010-09-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

During the summer, I participated in SuNo. It was a very tough story to write because I discovered very quickly that I was not writing the story that I was meant to write. I was writing the one I wanted to. It's very hard to write a story that I want when I know it's not the one I'm meant to. It sounds crazy to have an disagreement with yourself over the direction of the story (but those of you who write know what I'm talking about).

People know that making a story takes time and effort. They know about the characters, the plot, the setting, the genre, and all the other things that are daunting. However, they rarely think that they will get in the way of the story they want to tell. I've mentioned before that your story will turn out different sometimes and that's all right! However, just make sure you don't stand in your own way.

Recently, I was looking over my trilogy and thinking of The Second Rebellion and what I should do with them. I am going to have to rewrite them again. I'm not disappointed that this will be the third time I've started them again. I'm just glad that I'm getting closer to what I'm supposed to be writing. It just means that my story is going to be that much better when I finally finish it. I can't wait!

Stories Take Their Own Course

2010-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Over the past eight or so years of my writing, I have found that things do not always turn out the way we envision them. I can spend numerous hours plotting out every detail of this important scene and nit-pick at the dialogue. It's hard to let certain things go, especially when you feel that it has to be included in the story or else your story won't come together properly. I know that I've wrestled with this many times and I get caught up in not wanting to let my story change course that I forget what I'm writing it for.

Now, there is the complete opposite mindset. Where the writer doesn't want to inhibit anything that comes to them and doesn't set up a plot or a structure. I tell you, both of those types of novels tend to end in frustration for the authors. I've tried it both ways. Both are quite the adventure, yes. However, it is not a pleasant one.

When writing Bonds of Freedom, I had to learn to let go a lot of my plot ideas. Oh yes, I fought with myself over the thought of leaving them behind. I also fought with my characters over how a scene will go (anyone who is an author can understand this one. However, to the rest of the world, you just sound like a lunatic). In the end, it didn't matter how much I had planned out or how little I had planned out.

It was a journey, no matter what I did. There were ups and downs, of course. There were times where I felt like giving up on everything. However, that's what made it a wonderful journey. I also learned through it all that stories will take their own course. You can have the map to the end of your story or you could have no map and are awaiting inspiration and the words to come to you. Or you could land in between.

It doesn't matter how it comes about though, your story is still going to take its own course. I've written several stories and have had the plots written out, but failed to take into account the development of my characters, the plot twists thrown in, and the adventure that I would be taken on as well. It's one of the most fascinating things that I've experienced and enjoy it more and more every time I sit down to write.

So, my post today is to encourage you to let go of what you may have. It may be what's holding you back. Let yourself take the adventure and discover what your characters and your story have in store for you. Writing a novel is just not beneficial for your reader, it's beneficial for you too.

SuNo!

2010-09-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! So I totally forgot to talk about the summer project I did on CleanPlace! This year, we did another hearty round of SuNo. Our mission was 50K in the month of July. I must say that the journey was not an easy one for me. I had started out really well and wrote up to 23K in the first three days. Then I stopped and realized that I disliked the story immensely and pretty much spent the rest of the month debating whether or not I should continue on with the story.

I realized that it was not the story that I was supposed to be writing and was once again getting in the way of the message. On the day before the last day. I decided that I would once again take up the story just to win the t-shirt. :P Of the course of the month, I had written up to 25K, so I wrote the rest of it in the last two days.

The story that I composed in that month will never be seen by anyone as it is horrid and blown to ridiculous porportions. However, in spite of that, it was fun to write. Especially since I was so sleep deprived that I was pretty much writing whatever came to mind. It made for some rather interesting dialogue between my characters that will remain unmentioned because I dislike blackmail material. :P

Moral of the story: Do NOT attempt to write 25K in the span of two days. Not unless you have a giant chocolate cake to support you through the nights.

The Journey Continues

2010-08-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today marks the (obscure number) month of my journey in editing Bonds of Freedom! So far, half of the novel is edited and only one chapter is revised. I've changed one major aspect about the story. I've finally changed my story from the setting of England to my own world. I did this mainly because I was not comfortable that I had depicted the time frame accurately and so I decided that it would be best for me to set it in my own world to avoid all that mess.

Along this journey, I've found some interesting typos and hilarious moments where I had to stop and think what happened to my poor story. There were no easy answers. All I blame it on is writing late hours and being so sleep deprived that everything made sense. I have also found that I am not completely displeased with my work. My ending needs a major overhaul, but mostly because I rushed it. I also realized that I need to insert more thoughts and characteristics in my story that I left out.

It's quite fascinating to see how everything's weaving together. I've also enjoyed rediscovering my story and comparing it to where I wanted it to go and how it ended up. Oh yes, it has turned quite far from the original path, but that's the magic and mystery of stories. You never know where they're going, you just let them take you along for the ride.

Inspiration gone

2010-04-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

So, these past few months have been a real struggle for me. I've had health issues that have yet to be addressed and I lost my job. My inspiration has slipped out of the window and so all my projects have been fairly unmoving. While I have not written, I have done a lot of planning. I managed to come up with three new story lines that I want to work on, but they still need a lot of fleshing out. One of those stories however, is going to be a script. That's right, I'm going to delve into script writing more.

This, of course, is a new element that I don't know a lot about. So I'm going to be doing a lot of research and trying to get comfortable with writing scripts. I think that I could do the dialogue well. However, I think writing all the directions and descriptions is where I would have a hard time. So, it should be interesting. The vision I have for each script is hard to put into brief summaries. Maybe I'll be like the one playwright who spent a number of pages writing description (his name escapes me...).

Anyway, that's the belated update. I'm trying really hard to get back in the writing mood. It's not working so well.

New Year!

2010-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

It's 2010! I know that I'm a little late in posting this, but better late than never. I haven't started editing Bonds of Freedom yet. I need to fix that soon. :P On the other hand, I am right on track for my goal every week. I made it my silent goal to write four chapters a week. It doesn't matter what story as long as I write.

Hopefully my writing habits and editing habits get better!

Post-NaNo

2009-12-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it's more than halfway through December. What have I done since then? Not much. I went through my NaNo and decided what parts I'm going to keep when I try to rewrite this story again. I also went through the first draft that I wrote over two years ago and decided to keep some parts. However, I'm still going to rewrite them.

I also started to edit the first few chapters of my SuNo, Bonds of Freedom. As I'm reading through, I realized that there was a lot wrong with my placement in cities and I did not adquately do research for 1) scientific advances 2) geography and 3)history of the time period. This is a great insult to myself because I wanted to make the story as accurate as possible.

Instead, I went into SuNo without any thought about that. So when I'm going back and editing, I will have to look up that information. I remember once thinking that writing a story in your own country was hard, but it's even harder when you're trying to write a story in another one. Anyway, enough about that.

I don't know how many of you remember way back at the beginning of the year when I set up a crazy goal for myself to write six novels this year. I just wanted to inform you all that I failed. :P It wasn't really shocking though. At least, to me it wasn't. Out of the six novels I had planned, I started four of them. One was finished, the other three are either being scrapped (NaNo) or are still in the works. In the next year, I have set more realistic goals for me.

Goals for 2010:

-Finish editing Bonds of Freedom (my SuNo)
-Rewrite the beginning of The Jewel of the Ancients
-Write the first half of The Best of the Best
-Write the first half of The Second Rebellion

This does not include NaNo for next year as well as what July Extra Credit Project that I will more than likely be doing on CleanPlace.

Enjoy your holidays!

NaNo, Oh, NaNo

2009-11-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the 30th. I have to be honest, ever since I pushed past 50,000 words I haven't written a lick on my NaNo. Quite honestly, my vision for this NaNo was to have it go better and far smoother than the last time I tried to write this story. Sadly, that did not happen and I am left with another pile of junk that needs to be sorted through before decided most of it's fate. There are a few things in what I wrote that I am going to keep. However, for the most part, I am going to scrap it. I hope you all did well on your novels and those of you still frantically writing, good luck!

Day Sixteen

2009-11-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we've passed the halfway point in the month. Sadly, I have yet to pass my halfway point in my novel. I hope to get there soon though. Of course, the last time I said this, my halfway point ended up not being until really late in the novel. Oh well, that's life. :P I reached a lovely 40,000 words last night thanks to word wars. I also wrote 1300 more this morning while waiting for a family member to finish their eye exam. So, I feel as though I'm on a good track.

We'll see how the rest of the day pans out! Good luck to you all!

Day Fourteen

2009-11-14T11:22:00.001-08:00

Well, it's day fourteen here in NaNo land. I must say that everyone is doing awesome. Your word counts are quite lovely and even if you are behind, I'm sure that you will catch up. You all have the determination to win and I'm sure that it will prove quite exhausting. However, you'll wake up on December first going "I'm done? Really?" Don't worry though, you can edit in that time. :P

As for me, my NaNo adventures have been sort of short and brief as I have had little time to write this past week or so. I've been suffering from major headaches, which hinders my thought process quite severely and thus rendering me incapible of working on my NaNo effectivly. Still, I am at a nice 35,000 words. I'm behind almost ten thousand words to meet my word goal for this month. However, I have the feeling that I will be among those who pull it off, even if I am word warring until the last minute. :P

Keep writing everyone!

Day Two of NaNo

2009-11-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

Today is day two and I admit that I got a little frustrated earlier with my NaNo because I felt that it wasn't moving fast enough for my taste. However, now that I've killed one of my characters, I feel much better. I know that sounds quite odd, but most of you should be used to it by now. :P I finished my writing day at 14,100. I think I'm making good progress this month and I should finish early with my novel. Ha! That's if I don't take any vacation days near the middle of the month and I don't have headaches for a week straight. We'll see.

Everyone, keep writing! You're all doing great!

First Day of NaNo

2009-11-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the kickoff to NaNo and I have a decent lead at 7,003. While it's not as comfortable as I would like to be, it's good. I hope you all are doing well. Don't be discouraged, have fun! :)

SuNo: Finished

2009-10-11T15:10:00.001-07:00

Today, I finished typing my SuNo at 3:00 pm. The final word count for my novel is 207,065. I don't even want to think about editing at this point because I know it's going to be brutal yet hilarious. So I'm happy that I have finished that chapter and can now move on with NaNo! :D

*dances with joy*

Yuki

Finishing My SuNo

2009-10-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make a resolution that I'm going to stick to. I have decided that if I do not finish my SuNo, I will not participate in NaNo. I'm hoping this will help me finish one novel this year. I really need to do so. I'm so close to the end too. So that is my goal for the month, we'll see how everything works out for me.

If I do finish my SuNo, I am going to be rewriting my fantasy trilogy for NaNo. I'm hoping that it will turn out better than the first attempt. There are very few people ho read it all the way through and those who did could tell you that it needed a lot of work. :P I have furthered my resolution to never leave off in mid-thought because of that. I will not have a repeat of that disaster. Huzzah for me. :P

Gearing up for NaNo

2009-10-03T00:05:00.000-07:00

It's almost November again. My goodness, the time sure goes fast. I have finally decided on my plot for NaNoWriMo this year. I will be rewriting The Jewel of the Ancient. This time, I'm definately excited to get this up and going. Quite honestly because it's about time. Plus, I need to get my trilogy out of the way. :P I have lots of planning to do though. We'll see how everything goes! :D NaNo's coming soon!

160,000 words

2009-07-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, just wow. I'm amazed, again. I never thought that I would be able to do it, but here I am. I pushed myself even more and there are more words than I know what to do with. Heh, I know amazing, right? I'm trying to work to wrap up my plot. I should be done between 14,000-20,000 more words and I hope that I get to type the infamous words "the end" for the first time in a long time. I am super excited to near the end of this journey and I cannot believe that time has gone by this quickly. Feels like yesterday that I was at 1K and going "My goodness, what have I gotten myself into?"

Keep writing to the very end!

Life will forever be the whisper in the wind

2009-07-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Somewhat of a poetic title, ne? I decided to name this post that because I am a little frustrated, upset, hurt, shocked, angry, and tired. I know, it's hard to imagine someone feeling those emotions all at once. Even though today is more mellow than yesterday, I am still...I don't even know how to describe my state right now. I was given a very unexpected call yesterday and I just don't know how I'm going to accomplish the task. Life is forever calling me and I have duties outside of writing (this I know, but it's been very hard). I don't want to go into details, just ask for a lot of prayer.

As for my SuNo, I'm a little disappointed that I'm not as far as I would like. I ended up missing my goal by about 4K last night, but I can't control everything. I'm thinking of aiming for 140K today, after I do what need to be done first. Depending on how I feel, I might go for more, but I just want to make that mile stone at least. I don't know whether I will make it past 180K (my secret goal) at this point. We'll see, it's all up to God and what He wants me to do.

I'll just keep trusting Him as I continue down this path. I have nowhere else to go, but with Him.

Keep writing, you all are doing great! :)

Yuki

120,000!

2009-07-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

I reached 120,000 words recently and I don't know how to react. I'm shocked, excited, and questioning my sanity all at the same time. So, I'm going to up my word goal, of course. I have to see how much more I can manage to write in this month! I wonder who will be kind enough to pick me up off the floor after this month.

Keep writing! :D

I exceed my expectaions again

2009-07-18T00:40:00.001-07:00

So today (well, yesterday if you want to get picky), I wrote a total of 14K. Do you know how hard it is to write that much without your brain melting? Mine's gone so don't ask for it. Anyway, because of that, I am now at 102,000. I am...shocked. My characters are finally starting to decide that getting to the halfway point would be a good idea. <_< This will end up being longer than what my NaNo is currently at. I have so ideas as to which scenes I can cut out though. I'm off to rest my melted brain, please let me rest in peace. :P

Day Seventeen

2009-07-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am still stunned that I am so far in such a short amount of time. I'm currently at 90,000 words and...I don't even know what to say any more! I am just shocked to even make it this far. It's...amazing! :D

God has really been pushing me to get this done and I've been pushing myself because I want the message to be done. I'm a little worried that I might not complete the novel in the month's time because of how long it's taking me to get to my halfway point. I guess that's more motivation for me though. I hope that I do get it done.

Keep writing and don't let anyone tell you that you're doing horrible. You're all great! :D

Day Twelve of SuNo

2009-07-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm quite proud of myself so far. I have reached sixty thousand words in just twelve days. Wow! I mean seriously, for me that's amazing. I can't believe that I even have that much written in such amount of time. I'm trying to make sure that I stay on track with my SuNo. I have my major plot points planned out and I'm going to make sure I reach them on time. I feel like God is pushing to get this novel finished in this month because of how much character development goes on in the story. I put my characters through several situations that may be uncomfortable for them, but the necessay for their development. My main character, Aveline, is especially fragile and is none too happy at what I've done with her.

Oh well, she'll soon find out that everything is better on th ohter side and that she won't know how she lived her life before. It's amazing what God's doing in my novel and how He is working in it. I am so blown away at everything that is happening and how everything is taking shape according to His plan.

Everyone is doing great on their SuNos. No one should ever feel bad because they aren't as far as some of us are and they should be proud of the words that they've gotten. I hope you all aren't comparing yourself to me or any of the other speedy people because that is unfair to yourself.

Keep going and have a blessed day!

July 10th!

2009-07-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's ten days into July and it's time for me to take a mini-break. I know that sounds lazy of me, but today is a some-what special day for me and several friends that I know. So I'm not going to be writing today, or if I do, it will be a small amount. I'm pretty proud of my word count right now because of all the hard work that I've put into this. I feel like there's still a long journey for me ahead with writing this and God has put the message on my heart. He's guiding my words and I'm so thankful that He is on my side. I hope that this novel will touch many and help them realize what I've come to realize: You are never alone. Even when you feel as though you've isolated yourself, you are never alone. Whether it be with friends, family, or God, you are not abandoned and you are love.

*hugs everyone* I love you all and keep writing!

Day Eight

2009-07-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

So my Suno is progressing very well, I'm techincally way ahead where I'm supposed to be, but that's all right. I like being ahead. I'm working on my way to 40,000, well I will be as soon I get some other writing done. I can't believe that it's the eighth all ready. Where have my days gone? *panic* I feel them slipping away. Anyway, everyone is doing great on their SuNos. I can't wait to read some of them.

Keep up the awesome work all!

Day Four and Five Update

2009-07-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

So I have been pushing myself for the past few days to get caught up, stay caught up, and working hard for my goal. So far, I'm right on track and surprisingly slightly ahead (or at least I was). I'm all set to make my way to 24k today. I don't have much planned for the day so it should be spent writing, writing, and writing. If things go well, I may think of upping my goal of 120,000 to something different. However, that's if everything goes well today. I think it shall though because it's raining outside. YOu have no idea how much easier it is to write with rain in comparison to sweltering heat. :P (Hey, I'm from the Northwest, I'm used to rain.)

Anyway, keep going on your SuNo's! :D

Day Three of SuNo

2009-07-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought about giving up on my SuNo, but decided against it. Instead I have added some to the beginning and am a little bit happier with how everything is going. ^^ I did word wars with several people today which was such a great motivation. I realize now how much my characters love to bait each other. :P I guess I like writing them like that. They take jibes at each other and then make up in the end.

Anyway, I'm about 4k behind where I want to be. However, I hope to catch up soon.

Keep writing, you're all awesome! ^^

Day Two of SuNo

2009-07-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, SuNo started yesterday. I stayed up until midnight in anticipation for the start of it. While waiting, I watched several people start theirs, which dismayed me a little. I played cheerleader for those who had started. This year, I'm not only focusing on my novel, but I want others to get theirs done as well. :) I very much enjoy helping other people out with their plots. However, I feel like it's draining me a little.

My writing, I feel is going too fast for my taste so I'm going to spend a lot of time added some things to the four thousand I have written. I like my plot and am constantly coming up with ideas, but I'm just concerned that it won't be enough material for my word goal.

Keep writing everyone and look for more updates in the future!

Yuki

SuNo-SuNo-SuNoWriMo!

2009-06-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, excuse the title. I'm a little estatic about July. For the month of July CleanPlace will be doing another SuNoWriMo! Woot! I'm so excited. The last time this happened was in July of 2007, so two years ago. The novel which came out of that is "finished" but in dire need of editing. Yes, SuNo of '07 produced an on-going trilogy, which is in deperate need of finishing. The Kiona Jewel Trilogy has been placed on a temporary hiatus until...I figure out everything.

This year for my SuNo, I am looking at two plots that I am very interested in writing. The first one involves forgiveness and the other is trust and being satisfied with you're at in your life. I want to write both of them, so whatever one I don't to for SuNo will end up being my NaNo. I've just got to figure out which one I'm going to work on. Oh the perils of having plots abound. :P Anyway, wish me luck!

Curveballs

2009-05-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

For the past five months, I've been shown that my plans are not as important as God's. My 6+6 project is at a standstill because of several things in my life that have taken priority. I don't know when I'll be able to get back on track (or if I'll even be able to). Right now I'm really tired and not 100%. There's something going on with me physically and it's taking a huge toll on my body. I hardly have any stamina and I'm hoping to get out of that soon.

On the back of that, I am going to be participating in the second CleanPlace vlogging project. Basically, there will be a number of various members posting videos all about a certain topic. I can't wait to get started. My first vlog will be up next Friday. :D

Taking every day one step at a time,
Yuki

Update

2009-01-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, my 6+6 project is going. I decided to finish writing Last One Standing and get that out of the way. I needed to do so and that way I'll feel better about this whole thing. *coughs* But I did start another novel. So far it's on hold. I want to write on it but I'm having a hard time getting into them. My characters feel the same to me. Maybe I should change their personalities up a little. We'll see though!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's offcial. I'm on the clock for my 6+6 project. I'm going to be embarking on one of the toughest journies ever in my writing career. But I think I'm going to be okay. So I claim. I found out that I'm going to be writing a novel during finals week for this quarter at school That's something that will be an interesting task because the last time I tried to do that (NaNo 2007), I failed. So we'll see. Happy new year to you all! Please pray for me as I work on this task.

I'm praying for all of you. At midnight, I opened the new year with prayer. I gave my writing to Him. I'm interested to see where He'll take me. :)

Hold fast,
Yuki

Six More Days

2008-12-25T19:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, my 2009 project is that close. I'm nervous but mostly excited about...everything. I came up with ideas for my last two stories. One of them is the fantasy story that I agonized over for several weeks. I decided to do a rewirte of one of my older stories. I wrote out a lot of the detail and plot line this time so it's more...prepared. When I first came up with this idea for a story, I ws at school, and this was about 4 years ago. I'm keeping the title the same, but I'm renaming most of the characters. I'm actually going to try and make my character's names mean something.

Anyway, the other idea that I came up with was for my future NaNo (I know, I've planned that far ahead). This idea came from a video game this time. I know, kind of weird. But the plot and ideas are all forming in my head. I'm going to write this all down before I forgot and I don't want to do that. :P

Well, I hope that you're all having a fantastic holiday! I'm counting down the days until I must resign and stop working on Last One Standing. Though I might cheat and finish. Well, enjoy the rest of your time off!

Yuki

Woot!

2008-12-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

I am currently at 105,079 words and guess what? I finally reached my halfway point in the novel! Woot! I'm so excited. Yesterday, I broke 100,000 and pushed my way here today. So I'm happy and going to take the rest of the night off so I can formulate more ideas in my head. :ninja: Actually, I need to do some planning and editing. :6:

HALF OF MY STORY LEFT!! :D

Special Announcment!

2008-12-15T00:32:00.000-08:00

Good tidings I bring!

Tonight (even though this post is techincally morning), my little sister finished her first novel. I'm so proud of her and her work! :D Congrats to you, sis! I hope to be there soon as well

Also, I broke my record of how much I wrote in one day. My previous record was eight thousand words in a day. Now it's ten thousand. My little fingers are a little tired but my brain even more so. :P

Time for bed.

Yuki

My Past, How I Started Writing (2)

2008-12-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

Part Two:

In my previous post, I talked about how I ran paper routes for most of my childhood and left off at getting a new house in 2001 and quitting the routes. By then I was a little into my eigth grade year. I just started Algebra one, and struggled through that course. I also took my third year of band, where I became the second best clairnet player in the group (my teacher said so). I even had two close friends that I spent a lot of time with. Maybe I should tell about that one too. In my first year of band, I met a flute player, "M", she and I start just talking and we ended up becoming friends.

However, in my seventh grade year, talked to this other flute player, "L", and we also became friends. I couldn't have been happier. I used to consider my outcast back in those days so having two friends was a blessing to me. In my 7th grade days, I also wanted to get closer to the Lord. Though our youth minister at the time did nothing to make me feel welcome or special in the youth group, I still wanted a relationship with Christ. I talked this over with L and she told me about her salvation. I didn't become a Christian right then. I knew that I needed to pray about this more. Around that time, jealousy ensued. M didn't want me to hang out with L because she felt like I was giving more time to her. I didn't care either way and continued to divide my time. Then it all stopped.

Ah, I forgot to mention a very important happenening in our first year at our school. My mom became a part of the Parent Advisory Team, a group of parents who helped decide where money should be spent, classes, and other things. Though she wasn't qualified (because you had to have been at the school for a year), she got on anyway. That began another chapter in our crazy lives. Don't get me wrong, we liked being busy but sometimes you need a break. Also in my seventh grade, I started talking to another girl. She was new and I wanted her to feel welcome. I took a creative writing class with a really nice teacher. However, trouble ensued on the final project of the class, a video project. The boys had enough members to have one team while the girls split into two. I had a lot of people I knew on mine. However, things went wrong from the very start. We couldn't get our video equipment to work and couldn't borrow the school's because they only had one camera, used by the boys.

When the unveiling of our project came about, we had about two minutes of our work. That was it. We were humiliated and the boys make jabs at us. We left that class in tears. I told my mom, who told the principle. I dropped the class. However, the new girl that I was talking to was joining the next part of that class. I was talking to her about our schedules and was telling her how good the class was, even though I had a bad experience. The teacher thought I was bad mouthing him and got angry at me. He claimed that he never heard the comments from the boys and that I was a horrible person. That added more to my hurt. (Later he got fired for throwing objects at students.)

Now in the seventh grade, I was thirteen. I had already started to write my first story (which no one will ever read) called Saraki's Big Adventure. I was so proud of that work as well. Of course no one ever read a the few pages I had written because I didn't want them to know about it. So I continued writing and started another peace called Planet Ice-Cream (every bit as horrorfying as it sounds). I also had two songs written. One called "She Didn't Go There" and another "Where R U Going?". As I mentioned before, my songs were very much influenced by the first CDs my parents bought us (us being my older sister and I). The first three that we owned were "WOW Hits 2003", Steven Curtis Chapan's "Declaration", and Zoegirl's "Life". Those were our lifelines at the time and our first exposure to "Christian" music. All of what we played before was in band.

Seventh grade turned into eighth and I talked to more people. My mom quit her job as a warehouse manager and could actually be involved in our lives more. We were all excited at this. However, our cars broke down. We got a purple van to preplace our old one. We repaired our Ford and it got better gas mileage than before. At that time, my older sister skipped her Algebra assignments and ended up with a severe punishment for doing so. I was horrified and the lessons I skipped, I went right ahead and made them up. At that point, I didn't write as much as I would've liked. But that didn't matter. When I was in that grade, some demons started to attack me. This happened around the same time as my youth minister left our church for being involved in an affair with another member (both of them married). Even though I didn't know the minister that well, I was still impacted.

That began the tipping point in my life. I still knew about God and His existence, yes. However, I hated church. I never wanted to go but would. Sometimes I would feign illness to get out of going. Headaches for me became very common along with migraines. So I used those to get out of church. I admit that I shouldn't have, but I did. I'm ashamed of that part of my past. I also was teased about my weight. I wasn't heavy, in fact I looked anorexic. Even though I was super skinny, I ate like a pig. I could eat and eat and never gain an ounce. However, M, who was a little on the heavy side, delievered the most teasing. I hated myself. I hated causing pain to my friend because she wasn't as light as me. I cut my hip. I knew about cutting and that if you cut your wrists, people would notice. I had no way to disguise that so I cut a less obvious spot. Never once did the blade cut real deep. However, I still cut myself. I began to fall into a deep depression that no one knew. My life became a facade. No one could tell that I was unhappy.

End Part Two

My Past, How I Started Writing

2008-12-02T20:43:00.001-08:00

Hey all, I hope you read this post because I wanted to share my history and how I started writing. I know I usually use this blog for writing purposes only but I thought that this would be interesting. This will probably become a two or three part post, depending on how much I want to get into.

Part One: Introductions

Hello, my name is Yukioh Monozuki, or at least that's my online name. I started writing at the tender age of tweleve. I don't remember all of the circumstances that got me to the point where I started to put my thoughts on paper, but I did. At first though, I didn't want to share or open up my work and when my older sister read a piece of it out loud and called what I wrote "stupid" I almost gave up. But I didn't I kept on writing because I wanted to prove her wrong. My stories were childish at the time, yes, but you have to start somewhere. At that age, I was just adjusting to an unfamiliar setting. In my younger years, my mother completely homeschooled us. Also, we just moved to our first house. Needless to say, a lot of changes happened in that short amount of time.

I think in that transition of a new found freedom helped me a little. My first works were songs, inspired by new CDs that our parents gave us for Christmas. But before I get to that, I need to explain the life that we lived beforehand. At a very young age, we moved from the east coast to the northwest. I don't remember everything that happened but I do remember staying at my aunt's house for a while while we looked for a house. My dad just got out of the navy and was looking for employment. While doing that, my mom took a job at Toys 'R Us to help support me and my three sibliings. My older sister and I went to school with my cousins while my younger siblings stayed home.

At that time, I remember some good times and bad. We were pressed for space with a total of ten people sharing a trailer. However we made the best of everything. Eventually, we rented a two story duplex near where my dad got employment. This became the first remarkable event in our lives. We got to move into our own place! I mean, we lived in a house on the east coast, but we got to live on our own again. This excited us. However, we couldn't live on my dad's salary alone. My mom took up a paper route to help make ends meet. And at that time, my older sis (age ten) and I (age eight) helped her. We woke up in the middle of the night to help bag, fold, and run these routes. At one point we had up to three. We were homeschooled at this point so most of our schooling took place in the late morning/afternoons.

My older sister and I would alternate days, except on Sunday's. My dad helped out then and we would split the route in two. We attended church when we could, but most of the time we were took exhausted to go. Still, we made ends meet and got to spend time knowing God. Now, while this seems like a terrible experience I learned a lot though it all. I got to spend some good time with my mom and dad (as I would go with him on Sunday's because I knew my way around :P). I grew close to them and we had a strong bond. I must say that through the "harsh" times, we pull through by God's grace. As a result of the route, our cars started to break down and we couldn't afford to fix them at the time. Yet God provided. It was clear that even though we couldn't go to church every week, His hand was upon us. I will never forget the kindess and grace He showed.

Being tight on money, we always had to sort out what we wanted and what we needed. My older sister and I had a good sense of this but as my younger siblings grew older, they didn't understand quite as well. When we started to get into a better financial situation, we could afford more items. Though we still ran the routes, we were not complaining. This was an experience we would never forget. I remember my mom had surgery to remove a galstone. I got scared because I thought I was losing my mom (mind you, I was young). She lived, I'm glad to say. :P In that time, my grandparents came out to help us with the routes. My mom sent me to teach them because I knew them quite well (my older sis wasn't awake at 11pm-3am). They said we were insane, but hey, we lived.

In 2000, our landlord said that he wouldn't renew our lease. We had been fighting him for years over the land because it leaked raw sewage, had a mouse problem, and people stole our items. Our family decided to take a new step. We moved into our first house in September. I remember the excitment we all felt when we stepped inside. We were in awe. I think we kind of got used to the idea that we would always be in one spot. Thanks to the help of a Real Estate agent at our church, we got this house and he even helped us pay for new carpet. God blessed us immensly. However, we still ran routes. My mom talked about starting a new school when I was entering 6th grade. We would be going to a parent co-op center, which was just as exciting. We still juggled the routes and managed to get up for 8:30 classes. I became interested in band at that point and started my first year on the clarinet Somewhere in my 8th grade year, my mom took a manager's position and my older sis and I didn't have to run routes anymore.

We were excited at the news. However, even though we quit, it took a long time to get used to not waking up in the middle of the night. I will never forget the routes. They hold so many memories for me. They range from being chased by creepy people, to ordering out at Jack-In-the-Box (a rare treat mind you), checking out our groceries at QFC (the night crew was so nice to me), my dad getting bit by a dog, talking to my parents about everything, and listening to old radio shows on Saturday mornings.

End Part One

NaNoWriMo won and over, now what?

2008-11-30T23:04:00.000-08:00

Well, amazingly enough I made my goal of 70,000 words for the month of November. I'm quite happy with my goal and what I've written. However, even though NaNoWriMo is over with, my novel is not. At this stage, I have not reached my halfway point (at least what I consider that to be) so you could argue that I'm...well there goes that train of thought. :P I plan on continuing the story as well as coming up with plots for next year!

Anyway, I'm extending anothe congratulations to all who finished NaNoWriMo this year. Everyone is awesome! You deserve a hug so *hugs*!

<3 Yuki

6+6=12: Project Update!

2008-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

Here is my first offcial project update. I have decided to announce one of the plot ideas for my stories in the next year. The reason I'm able to do this is because this is the most well formed and thought out one. Plus! You all have something to look forward to and it makes me look like I'm going through with the project. :P I would never intentionally abandon a project (for the record). Also, I'm already thinking ahead to 2010 (now that's scary). Anyway, I shall no long delay and give you the information!

6+6=12: 2009 Project
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Word Goal: 65,000 words (2,097 words a day)
Title: Begin Again
Description:
For ten years of his life, he never had the best role models. His parents believed that taking care of their child meant that they just had to keep food in the house, sometimes he did without. His life took skill to survive in. Not only did he have to fend for himself, but Jason also dealt with severe abuse. Some days, he couldn’t even move. One day, one of his relatives saves him from his home. However, it seems a bit too late. He is convinced that his aunt and uncle are putting on a façade to impress the judge so they can have custody. He won’t fall for anymore lies. Will they be able to prove to him that they care for him? And can they save him before he makes the wrong choices that could lead to the end of his life?

I'm done!

2008-11-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

Well, here it's day 16 and I've already finished meeting the NaNoWriMo requirments! :pom: I'm not even halfway done with my story so there is still plenty to write! I'm planning on writing out the rest of my novel during the rest of the month. So, my unspoken goal is 70k by the end of the month. We'll see how everything works out though!

Congratualations to those who've finished! Keep writing on and on!

Now, time to get some sleep. :P

Yuki

Day Fourteen In this Journey

2008-11-14T20:14:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am almost halfway into this journey of NaNo. Every year is a new expereince and I am excited to find out where each novel will head. This time around is no exception. My characters are always surprising me. These past few days are some of the more interesting in my writing this November. There are events that I never planned on happening, yet they are in my novel.

Over the past few days people have asked me how I work on a Novel. My advice is nothing special but I'm willing to share it:

1) The less you have planned, the further you'll get. Trust me, it works.
2) When you encounter writer's block, keep writing. Even if everything is gibberish, you'll probably edit it later.
3) Let the words flow. Don't try stop and pound yourself into thinking of you can word something better. WRITE!
4) Let the unplanned events happen! They will probably add something important to your story anyway.
5) Let loose! Don't be afraid of anything! This your story, anything can happen!

That's all I have to share.

Keep writing!

Yuki

Day Eleven

2008-11-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

Haha, and it didn't take me long to forget that I even have a blog. :P It's day eleven here in the month of November. I'm coming along quite well on my NaNo. Today is the first day I've suffered from writer's block. Though very minor, it set me back a little. However, I am back on track and working toward 30k. So far, my NaNo is full of surprises. Every time I open my document, I am amazed. Here's to surprises and writing! HUZZAH!

Keep writing!

Yuki

Day Eight!

2008-11-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am at day eight and going "Wow, I've been writing my brains out." You know what though? I like getting a nice lead on my NaNo though. I think that this has been my best year thus far. Probably because I'm not suffering from any cases of writer's block (just headaches). I'm sure that will all change though. I set my personal goal for 18k today and came out with 20k, so I'm happy with myself. Tomorrow, I want to be able to get a good chuck done. The story took another surprising twist and I must say that it's rather, interesting thus far. I realized that I need to do more research for the sake of the story but oh well. Right now I can get by on vague details. :P

Keep writing!

Yuki

Catching Up on Updates

2008-11-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hey all,here is my update on my NaNo. I am pretty happy with the direction the story is going in thus far. I am liking my main character a lot, she's tough but not overbearing. I passed 15k yesterday, I'm a little behind on my personal count but that's due to headaches and other things. I'm planning on writing a ton more when my head stops throbbing and I can write sense. Anyway, keep going with your goals! I hope to see every one at the finish line.

Yuki ^^

Day Three

2008-11-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope your day three is going well. ^^ I got a lot of writing done today and I'm comfortable as to where I'm at. I'm really liking my story thus far. Also, some events happened that I did not count on and they made the story a bit more interesting. Anyway, now I'm trying to update my word count on the NaNo site.

8,420 words for today!

Keep going!

Yuki

Day Two

2008-11-03T00:45:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know it's technically day three. Day two went okay for me. I met a small goal of 3,500. I should've written more but oh well. However, as you can probably guess, I stayed up late to make up for it. Well, I'm getting off before my fingers stop working.

Yuki

6+6=12: My 2009 Project

2008-11-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's time to post my upcoming project! Here's the details as I have them:

6+6=12: Yukioh’s 2009 Writing Project

It’s time to unveil my 2009 writing project, or should I say projects? Well, now that I’ve decided to let the cat out of the bag, I’m going to tell you more about what I am planning on doing for the entire year of 2009. Indeed, I’m going to use the whole year. Call it my New Year’s resolution if you will. Come January 1st, I will be embarking on a long journey of writing. My goal? to write 6 novels and edit them in during 2009.I will take one month to write each novel and one month to edit them. Hence I will spend 6 months writing and 6 months editing. The format will look like this:
January- Write
February- Edit
March- Write
April- Edit
May- Write
June- Edit
July- Write
August- Edit
September- Write
October- Edit
November- Write
December- Edit

I have decided that each novel will be a minimum of 50,000 words, to keep in line with NaNoWriMo guidelines. Also, my novel for November will double for my NaNo. I don’t expect any of these stories to need extensive editing (as some of my other ones do *coughs*). This is more of a project to keep me writing throughout most of the year and learning how to catch more of my mistakes as I write. I will also try and explore different genres for these. There are a few genres that I will not include for the sake of I don’t like them. I know that's rude of me.

Some of you may be wondering if I’ll be participating in CP projects, I plan on adding those to my writing load. I know, seems like a lot to take on but I’m looking forward to doing so.I am determined to stick to this project throughout the year as a test. Also, I will be asking for others to help edit as I would like several people to look over these novels. I will not set deadlines for editing these novels and how much feedback you want to give on these is up to you. If you want to be an editor, you do not have to commit to doing all six novels. After NaNo 2008 is over, I am planning on sitting down and coming up with different plots so I won’t be jumping into the New Year without an idea of what I’m going to write. I will be using this thread to inform you of each novel and how the progress is going, as well as my blog. Well, there is my plan thus far. ^^ Feedback? Comments?

Day One of NaNoWriMo

2008-11-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that crazy time of year again! I am enjoying NaNo already. In my last post, I stated that I wouldn't stay up late for NaNo's sake but ended up staying anyway. However, not because of starting to write but because I was discussing some other things with a friend. It just happened to be one in the morning when we stopped talking so I wrote for a good hour afterward and a nice section written. I am working on NaNo even now as I type this. I'm liking the way my story is turning out already! :D More to come soon,

Yuki

GO NANO-ers!

Counting down

2008-10-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, there are just a few hours left to go before NaNo starts! I will not be one of those crazy people who stays up until midnight just to type their first words. Frankly because I like sleep, I believe in sleep, and have been suffering from headaches these past few nights. If by any chance I can't fall asleep, then I might get up and write but I doubt I will do so. :P I have the entire morning and most of the afternoon to write. Let me repharse that, I have the rest of the day to write! :P I'm getting more and more excited as the hours close in. Only 7 hours to go! *pom*

Four days until the journey

2008-10-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! :D

Well, I'm pretty much writing this because it's four days out until November 1st! (I can't believe how soon this endeavour is coming.) I'm still, of course, excited for this year's NaNo to come. I feel that this year my plot is solid enough to pull through a lengthy novel, which I hope will need little editing. However, after NaNo is done I will work on it as I work on my secret project.

Speaking of my secret project, I will announce what I am planning to do November 2nd on my blog and CleanPlace. I'm going to go ahead and hint that I will need your support in this project because it's a huge one and I'm eager to work on it. With all of that said, I'm excited and waiting for NaNo and the announcement of my project to come. I hope that everyone else is doing will with their plotting and is as excited as I am! :D

Yuki

Character Profile: Loraine Anderson

2008-10-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

Character Profile Info Sheet

Basic Statistics

Name: Loraine Anderson

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Birthdate: October 5th, 1981

Hometown: Bellingham, WA

Current Residence: Seattle, WA

Occupation: Lawyer

Talents/Skills: She possess the secret talent of being able to string together an argument, even if it’s not what she believes. She is a good cook and can sew.

Salary: Depends on the client but on average she makes under a million a year

Birth order: Oldest of two.

Family Relationships: (spouse, siblings, parents, etc.) Her parents and younger sister are all deceased. They died in a car crash while heading toward her school play. They were killed by a drunk driver who never saw justice and that alone is the reason why she wanted to be a lawyer. She wants to bring justice to everyone and give them what they deserve.

Physical Characteristics:

Height: 5.7

Weight: 133, mostly in muscle. She works out 4-6 times a week, somehow.

Race: Human

Eye Color: Hazel

Hair Color: Blonde

Skin color: Ivory

Shape of Face: Heart

Distinguishing features: She has a scar over her eye, a memorabilia of when she fell off the stage during her school play after learning of her parent’s death.

How does he/she dress? Modest but with more business style than anything else, she wears a blouse with a skirt or slacks.

Mannerisms: Laid back but sharp.

Habits: (bites nails, twirls hair, smokes, etc.) When she is annoyed she taps her fingers loudly.

Health: Excellent, she rarely gets sick but when she does it’s bad.

Hobbies: She likes to sew, read, and draw

Disabilities: None

Greatest flaw: She can rarely say no

Best quality: She is caring and honest

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes & Attitudes

Educational Background: She attended and graduated from Harvard School of Law within the top one percent of her class.

Intelligence Level: 142

Life Learning Experiences: She learned that you can’t carry everything on your own and that has helped her through many times. She tries to make herself an available person so that she can be their strength when needed.

Short-term goals in life: To win her current case.

Long-term goals in life: To settle down and have children.

How does Character see himself/herself? She sees herself as a nice person but sometimes feels like she’s hiding too many things.

How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? She thinks that they don’t trust her because there are some things in her life that she’s not ready to talk about yet.

How self-confident is the character? She is always self-confident. Very few things shake her up.

Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or a combination of both? Logic in most cases, emotion when things become personal.

What would most embarrass this character? To be made a laughing stock in the industry. She’s worked hard to be where she’s at and she doesn’t want to give everything up. She will survive.

Emotional Characteristics

Strengths: She won’t give up despite the odds

Weaknesses: She is kind and that could lead to her downfall

Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert, she’s not afraid to share her opinion.

How does the character deal with anger? She deals with anger in her own way. She hardly raises her voice because she knows how little that solves. There is no point on yelling if nothing good comes out of it.

With sadness/conflict/change/loss? She handles sadness as well as disappointment, she’s not set back by it. Conflict means that she’s ruffled someone’s feathers and is about to find out the truth. She doesn’t mind change. Loss is another story, she feels confused and lost when someone dies. That’s why she wants justice, so that they can rest in peace. Or rather, so she has a peace in mind.

What does the character want out of life? She wants to feel satisfied that she helped bring peace to families. It helps her come to terms with her past.

What would the character like to change in his/her life? She would like to be a more open person, even though she already is.

What motivates this character? The satisfaction of a job well done and to see the families finally being able to put their past aside so they can heal from whatever happened to them.

What frightens this character? In a sense, her own past because she finds refuge in her work so if she can’t find satisfaction in her work then she can’t be happy.

What makes this character happy? The smile on other people’s faces when they’ve gotten the compensation they deserve.

Is the character judgmental of others? As a lawyer, she analyzes their character based on how they act, sort of her way of telling if they’re lying or not.

Is the character generous or stingy? Neither, she gives when she feels but doesn’t feel the need to hoard her money. She spends a fair amount of money paying to have private policemen protect high society clients who are likely to get killed.

Is the character generally polite or rude? Polite except when it comes to people hitting on her.

Spiritual Characteristics

Does the character believe in God? No.

What are the character's spiritual beliefs? She believes that there is good and evil in the world and she is going to do her best not to walk the path of evil, even though she isn't saved herself.

Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Kind of, her parents were devout believers so some of her personality is influenced by her upbringing.

If so, what role does it play? It plays a major role in how she handles herself and her firm belief that she will get to the top her own way and will do it the right way.

How the Character is Involved in the Story

Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): Loraine is the main character that is vital to the plot. She is going to be the one that most of the unwanted and wanted attention will be focused on. Because of this, she will also be the target of a man who she intends on never going out with because she thinks of him as a sleeze-ball. Scene where character first appears: The first scene in the courtroom, where she gets the final verdict on her latest case.

Relationships with other characters:(Name each character and describe relationships and changes to relationship over the course of the story.)

Shasta is her best friend, they went to school together and Shasta moved in with her when her parents disowned her.

Richard is the lawyer who is trying to seduce her to keep her off of their scent. He’s scum, that’s all she cares to know about him

As for her clients, they trust her with a deep respect, they tell her everything she needs to know.

As for in the courtroom, the judges are cold to her, they don’t care as long as they make a few thousand on the side and she doesn’t pay off.

And with the elite in the law firm, they’ve always been nice to her but they start to get a little cold.

How is the character different at the end of the novel from when the novel began?: (This is one of the most important things to nail down. A story that invokes change in a character will be more interesting and appealing to your reader.)

She starts out as just another citizen who goes about their normal routine without thinking about things too much. However, with her last four cases shot, she can’t sit back anymore. Things demand action and she wants to be the one who changes them. During the book we see her turn from a passive individual to a active person.Additional Notes on this Character: Loraine’s personality is sort of based off of how disgusted I am with the way things are going in the country, at least toward the end of the novel. She dislikes how everyone is willing to turn their heads and pretend that nothing’s ever happened and how easily they can look away. She knows she can’t solve everything but she can start by getting her points across, if people start to listen to her then she can start to influence their lives

Closer...

2008-10-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

We are getting closer and closer to November and I'm just getting more and more excited by the day! :D As I've said several times now, I can't wait to get started on my novel! In fact, I'm having a hard time not writing on it. I've halted working on plot and characters because of that. So I can wait for the few days left in October. Anyway, I'm also going to be unveiling my new project for 2009 soon. So keep on a look out for that! :D

Yuki

Counting Down

2008-10-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Link:http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q276/Yukioh2021/Photoshop/heh2copy.jpg

Yes, I'm counting down the days until National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins. I'm hyped up about the whole thing and can barely wait to start typing. I've got my plot almost ready to go and call me...impatient but I've made a book cover. My plot this year is in the mystery/suspense category. This idea started out as a piece of dialogue between myself. Basically, I talked between two characters and then the idea hit me! I thought about making this a movie first but decided against that. So this is my NaNo, as per the rules, nothing is written on the story, save for my plots. I'm planning on doing a more detailed plot in the near future. On November 1st, look for me posting the plot on the blog and keep track of my work in progress! Can't wait to get started and looking forward to adventuring with you all! :)

Yuki

What? Me posting?

2008-10-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

Haha, I know how it is. I am once again making an appearance after a long break from this site. I've started another project which will not yet be unveiled. :P Anyhow, I'm gearing up for NaNo again. You know what this means? PLOTS!! All these plots going in and out of my head. I can't seem to shut down my brain until about midnight each night because I'm always thinking. Anyway, I have come down to the two most likely choices for my plots. I'm defiantely leaning toward one over the other.

However, I'm sure that you are kind of curious (maybe) about my stories. The Second Rebellion has been placed on hold in favor of editng The Kiona Jewel Trilogy. So that's all I have to update really. I'll post the links for my cover ideas when I get on again. (har har) Anyways, that's all I have to report.

Yuki

Update!!!

2008-08-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I've certainly neglected this site yet again. :P

Time for another update. I finished Snapshots on CleanPlace and ended up winning (yay!) along with 13 other writers! Congratulations to all of you!

Though I don't know how many of you actually bother to read my babblings and updates on my projects. :P I am again focusing my attention back on the Kiona Jewel Trilogy and The Second Rebellion. I am pleased with the outcome of both so far but not the progress. I am going to be working on them whenever I can so that I may complete something. I am currently rewriting one section of The Kiona Jewel Trilogy: The Brewing of War (part two of the series). I wanted to drag out the tension between one of my character's and another for a while longer yet. I expect that to be resolved nearer to the end of the book. I know that there will be an intense encounter between the two characters somewhere in the middle.

As for The Second Rebellion, I have written more on paper that needs to be typed up. In fact, I'm going to do that as soon as I get off of here (because I've run out of things to procrastinate on). I like the direction of the story thus far but I need to add in a few details to make things clear. However, that won't take much.

Until next time,

Yuki

Far behind...

2008-07-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am seven days behind in my Snapshots. I thought that I could balance everything but I guess I was wrong. =P Wait, what's there to balance? No, I am going to post at least two scenes today. I am working on typing up one that I finished last night and then I'm going to work on the one I started. I liked the way that my tenth scene turned out because it's just mysterious. However, I think I'm going to have to cut out about three hundred words. We'll see though. i hope I didn't write that much. =P Anyways, I'm off to type,

ttyl

Yuki

Day Three

2008-07-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well today I actually felt way better about my Snapshots scene. For one thing, my younger sis went through and edited my scene for punctuation and other minor errors (thanks Raine). Also, I like how so far all of the character's lives are somehow related to Rai's. It gives the story a sense of common ground even though each character is struggling with their own lives. Today I wrote about Aiko. Aiko's father left her and her mother two weeks ago and since then, she hasn't been allowed to do anything. Her mother is being over protective because she doesn't want Aiko to leave as well. In the end she realizes this and ends up apologizing. Aiko's dad walks in and apologizes as well. I think that the end of the story is very nice. I would love to wrap up the story with Rai's point of view again but it's not allowed. =P Oh well, I can write my own ending to the story.

Anyways, I'm going to try and type a little on the next scene before the night is over so that I can enjoy the holiday with my family. :)

Happy 4th of July!

Yuki

Day Two of Snapshots: CleanPlace Extra Credit Project

2008-07-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Good evening everyone! It's currently 11 pm and I'm here going to talk more about Snapshots. I felt really bad because I didn't get to post my scene until past ten (sorry Elraen!). I wanted to post it earlier but I couldn't think of how to begin. Well, there's more to the story though. I went with my older sis to get some stuff and we ended up getting lost for a good hour and a half. Then it was about 1:45 when we went to get lunch and then we eventually got home at... 2:40? It was a fun day, I think. I'm still trying to decide on that, lol. My second scene involves a guy named Kane, who has a huge crush on Rai. However, he doesn't know what to think about her being pregnant and all. I wanted to save this for the end but I couldn't. So it ended up as my second scene for the story. I think this one is a little weaker than the one before but I still like the story. However, now I am going to bed because I'm really tired and am having a hard time typing this post. Until tomorrow,

Yuki

Day One of Snapshots

2008-07-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well I made it through day one! I think that my scene turned out pretty well. I'm kind of nervous about the feedback though (of course I'll always be nervous about it). My first scene is about a fifteen year old girl who's name is Rai (meaning trust in Japanese). She got too involved with her boyfriend and is now regrettingg the choice she made. She is pregnant and feels like she can't talk to anyone about it. Her best friend, Kaede proves her wrong with her statement that true friends will always stick around until the end. The main event of the story will be Rai's pregnancy but I will explore 29 other views in this story. We'll see how this all turns out, I'm hoping that it will be good. :P

Yuki

New Upcoming Projects

2008-06-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's been a while, huh? Well I just wanted to give you all an update of this upcoming month. I am going to be very busy with various writing projects. I plan on working more on The Kiona Jewel Trilogy so I can get that all squared away. I kind of stopped working on... everything until I was done with school. Then I started working on a new challenge with Raine and Eclipse, we're writing novels in an extended amount of time. I'm not too clear on the details. So I started that about halfway through June and am at 13,000 words currently. I'm hoping to make that 15,000 for the end of the month. Tomorrow, I start a wonderful new ECP on CleanPlace called Snapshots. I'm kind of nervous about that one because I don't have a plan for any of it. I only finished filling out my town profile two days ago. Even still, I'm going to revise it and think of different situations that I can torture... I mean, use for my main characters.

I am going to continue editing The Kiona Jewel Trilogy but we'll see how much I get done during these projects. I am going to post a brief description about my latest WIP now.

Possible Title: The Second Rebellion

Main Character(s): Ky, Eidren, Alanchio, and a biologist

Description: Over five hundred years ago, Eidren and Saven started a Rebellion that ultimately failed. Eidren went into hiding for that time.... Ky, a young student, hears about the Rebellion in history class and makes up his mind to start a Rebellion, thinking that Eidren might be alive, he goes to find her, with success. Together they start another Rebellion and through their adventures, find out secrets that prove vital to their success.

The story goes on but I tried to cut it down for you guys. :P Well, I'll post more during July. Until then,

Yuki

P.S. I changed my word count from NaNo to the word count for The Second Rebellion.

More on the Trilogy

2008-03-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. The Kiona Jewel Trilogy is on it's way, slowly but surely. I've been working on editing the first part of the story more than the second recently due to the fact that the first part needs more work than the second. This process it tiring and hard to work on because all I'm doing is fixing my (many) mistakes. I'm working hard though in trying to polish the piece up for publishing. The piece I want to fix the most though would be the last 30-40 pages or so. I rushed the ending horribly and didn't draw connections in my story. The offcial title for the book is still pending but I have two names in mind.

"The Jewel of the Ancient" or
"The Jewel of the Beginning"

So I'm trying to narrow it down so that I can think of a cover idea. Who knew that this would be so hard? =P Editing has slowed down a bit because I'm being visited by relatives at this time so I'm busy spending all the time I can with them. I'm going to type up the second chapter of the first book now, it's all edited and ready to be added to the first edited chapter. Until we meet again, farewell.

Yuki

Oh, has it been that long?

2008-02-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been three months since NaNo and I suppose I should provide an update since then. I never finished Second Chances, I only got to abou 35k or so before school just totally took over my life. I wish I could've finished though because I really needed to finish something else that year. Currently I'm working on Second Chances and I like the direction it's going. The book doesn't need a lot of edits, mostly grammar and expanding certain things which I can now do in my own free time (as if I know what that is anymore). I took some time off from writing and CP because I needed to focus more on my family and my walk. It was a while before I returned but now that I'm back, I feel great. I'm not just going to use this for my NaNo updates but all my writing things. So we'll see how often I post. :P

Day... I lost track

2007-11-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

So here I am, way behind my word goal but I think I am offcially giving up on my intended goal. Competion is just way too hot right now and so I am just... bleh. Plus, tension is running very high right now and it makes me upset/unsettled. I need peace in the house and when there isn't any I get thrown off. Kind of weird I know. I must say though, my plot is taking a really different turn! I never expected it to come out this way! I introduced Jake's father a lot earlier than planned and I think it's going to be just fine. I am totally hyped up still on NaNo and wished I had more time to write.

Enough of my ramblings, keep writing!

Yuki

Huzzah!

2007-11-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

I can see that my feelow friends are moving along quite nicely in their words counts, congratulations to you all! :D I finally updated my word count to the correct count. Yes, I'm up to 21k, I'm supposed to be at 25k but I'm not so... :6: I guess it's time to talk about my plot. So far I've introduce my two characters and am putting them in situations where they get to work together. Most of this novel will take place at school so I'm having them work together on a history project. So yeah, they are working together on that sort of. Right now I just put in a scary scene that takes place at school. I think that I am going to revise it later. Can't tell you to what though. :P

More later,

Yuki

Um yeah

2007-11-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

So I didn't update my word count for two days. I am currently at 17,900 words for this month and only 158 behind. I got lazy over the past few days and so... I ignored my blog. I am hoping to write a lot more at school today and during choir/band so we will see. :ninja: More later,

Yuki

Whew!

2007-11-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

After going to school and stuff like that I came home feeling totally drained so I could only come up with a little over 2,300 words to spare. I'm exhausted and ready to call it a night. Just need to do a couple of things first. Hopefully tomorrow will go better. :zz:

More later,

Yuki

P.S. Keep going strong

Wooohoooo!!

2007-11-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am so glad that I chose to do NaNo again! I had an amazing day, my word count is now 11,056 words and I'm still itching to write more but I figured that I should get my chores done while I have some free time. :) In other news, I burned my finger today while taking a pizza out of the oven and it still burns. :oops: So maybe loading the dishwasher might not be the best idea... without gloves at least. Go fellow NaNo-er's and friends! :))

Well!

2007-11-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

I did more than I dreamed of today, thanks to a little timed writing. I wrote a few hundred over my goal for today which makes me happy! I decided to keep track of my progess via excel spreadsheet. :) So, you can see my word count for yourself in my nifty word counter. I'm so excited for this month and hope to get some writing done one weekend. I just want one day where all I can do is write!

More later,

Yuki

End of Day 2

2007-11-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

It's the end of day two and I'm to 4,700 words. I would write more but there are some other people who want to the computer to type as well. Competition for the computer is hot this year because there are two other people this year doing NaNo in my house. Keep going strong!

Yuki

First day and...

2007-11-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the first day of NaNo! And I muse say that was totally hyped when I went to school. I'm up to over 2,000 words but I feel very good about my NaNo. There are a few things that I would like to fix but... I'm turning off my inner editor... someday, eventually though. :P Hope your word counts are rolling along nicely!

More later,

Yuki

Less than 12 hours to go!

2007-10-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I'm totally excited to start my latest adventure into the noveling world! I will try and keep you all informed daily of my progress and goals for the day. I'm hoping (this may be a bit far-fetched :6:) to reach 50,000 words by the middle of November instead of November 30th. The rest of the time will be spent adding more to my novel. What is my overall goal for this year? Well, last year I reached a little over 50,000. I reached for every word until I almost died (creative wise). SuNoWriMo (a spin-off of NaNo) was only 30,000 words but I decided to go above and beyond, I reached 60,000 words with more ideas to continue on. This year I am hoping to reach 70,000 words by the end of this month. We'll see if I meet this goal because of how little free time I have (okay, I have lots but it doesn't seem like much).

More later,

Yuki- totally excited for NaNoWriMo!

3 more days until NaNo!

2007-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!!!!!!! I can not express my excitement in this post. I am incredibly happy for NaNo to start, I will actually get something done and it will give me something to look forward each day as I sit at school, not liking my class (enough said). Just the very thought lately makes me jump with excitement. As mentioned in my title, NaNo is 3 days away and it's still too far. I want to start NaNo now. :P I look forward to a month of craziness of writing and I'm very much hoping that this novel will come easily and I will not have to do much editing. I conteplated staying up until midnight on the 31st but decided against it since I have to get up at 6:30 the next day. :P

My plot idea is very formed and ready to take shape in my writing! I wrote a very basic outline but that very basic outline will keep me on target. I would post the outline but it will give away my ending... which I can't do. Have I mentioned that NaNo is only 3 more days away? :oops:

More later,

Yuki!

Working On My Plot

2007-10-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'm working on expanding my plot. I have a pretty good idea of everything but I want to make sure that all my ideas get written down so come time for NaNo to actually start I won't be like: "My goodness, what did I think of that would fit so perfectly here?" I'm sure most people know what I'm talking about, one of those frustrations that can't be avoided and makes you want to rip out your hair because you didn't write down those ideas. So I'm going to expand my plot and write a very loose outline so there's lots of room to expand in the future.

I wish all my fellow NaNo-er's luck with their plots!

More later,

Yuki

9 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

:P 9 more days until NaNo and I'm going to have competition for the computer. I can't wait to get started, in fact I had a dream about my plot last night. It was kind of strange that I dreamt about it but now my plot has definatly taken form and I know where I want to go with the story. The only thing I don't know is if... wait can't tell you because I might spoil the ending if I decide to go with it. :P Well, that's all for now, NaNo is upon us. Will you reach your goal? I hope so!

Only 16 more days to go...

2007-10-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Time is going by really slow. I am totally ready for NaNo to start but it won't come until November. :( However, I will gratefully wait because I need to time to get my act together and finish my character profiles. I should also come up with some nice plot twists. I have quite a few ideas in my head, it's time to write them down and keep them in a safe spot so I know where to find them come November (heh). More to come later!

Yuki

Character Profile Sheet: Alisha

2007-10-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Character Profile Info Sheet

Basic Statistics
Name: Alisha Reynolds
Age: 17
Birthday: 04/12/1990
Gender: Female
Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Current Residence: Marysville, Washington
Occupation: Part-Time Courtesy Clerk
Talents/Skills: Writes poetry
Salary: $8.03/per hour
Birth order: Only childFamily
Relationships: She lives with her father, who is an abusive drunk. Her mother killed herself several years ago and tried to kill Alisha as well to save her from her father’s wrath. Alisha bears the deep scars from when her mother slit her wrists.

Physical Characteristics:
Height: 5.5
Weight: 120
Race: Human
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Skin color: Pale white
Shape of Face: Oval
Distinguishing features: Scars all over her body, each scar is linked to a specific memory
How does he/she dress? Long sleeves, through all the seasons paired with jeans. Usually, she wears nicer clothes for work but still long sleeves.
Mannerisms: Shy, secluded
Habits: Rocks herself back and forth to comfort herself
Health: Generally good, she often is covered with cuts but manages to keep them from getting infected. The only times she gets sick is in the fall and winter
Hobbies: None, she is too busy working and going to school or staying at home, suffering abuse from her father
Disabilities: None
Greatest flaw: Her heart, she doesn’t want to turn her father in so she just suffers the abuse.
Best quality: Her heart, she’s also very forgiving of others.

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes & Attitudes
Educational Background: She’s gone to school since Kindergarten and continuing on with her education, now she’s a junior in High School
Intelligence Level: 104, she’s a little above average
Life Learning Experiences: Anger doesn’t do you any good, it will only prolong your suffering
Short-term goals in life: To graduate and move
Long-term goals in life: Get married, though she doesn’t think of herself as beautiful
How does Character see himself/herself? Not beautiful, standoff-ish
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Ugly, weird
How self-confident is the character? She shines in the areas that she is most comfortable with but retracts when thrown into an awkward situation. She isn’t self-confident in herself outside of her comfort zone.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or a combination of both? She is often ruled by logic and very rarely emotion. Through the “tough” times, she found that acting in retaliation is only makes things worse.What would most embarrass this character? For people to find out about her dad, she loves him but not the things that he does to her.

Emotional Characteristics
Strengths: She relies on God to get her through.
Weaknesses: She keeps her problems to herself, leaving her with only one friend
Introvert or Extrovert? Very Introvert, she keeps quiet in fear that something might slip.
Because of this and the way she dresses, people think that she is weird and standoffish
How does the character deal with anger? Pretty well, considering she is abused constantly. She learned to accept it, now she must learn not to accept it and stand up for herself
With sadness/conflict/change/loss? She keeps a lot to herself, her closest friend doesn’t even know the extent of the damage
What does the character want out of life? Not much, she wants to get out and get married but thinks that it will be impossible at times.
What would the character like to change in his/her life? Everything but isn’t making much effort to change it.
What motivates this character? A change from her lifestyle
What frightens this character? That she will be the same forever
What makes this character happy? Not much, knowing that someone loves her is enough.
Is the character judgmental of others? Yes and no, she judges people who try to get to know her better as “pushy” but unless they talk to her directly she doesn’t really care about them.
Is the character generous or stingy? Just about every penny she earns is to pay rent for the apartment, to buy food, and to pay for her father’s alcohol.
Is the character generally polite or rude? Rude at first, if people took time to break down the barriers then she wouldn’t care.

Spiritual Characteristics
Does the character believe in God? Yes, her faith gets her through the days.
What does the Character believe? She believes that God is the Creator of the universe, that through the blood of Christ people are saved, and that life will get better
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Yes
If so, what role does it play? It plays a huge part in her life, through her faith she saves others but her gentle spirit. People are often drawn to her because of her spirit but she pushes them away.
How the Character is Involved in the Story Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): Alisha is the primary main character in the novel, she eventually falls in love with Jake
Scene where character first appears: The very first chapter, the scene opens with her father beating her.

Relationships with other characters:

Jake- At first she doesn’t like him because he asks too many personal questions (about her family) but she eventually becomes friends with him and falls in love with him

Mark- Her father, she doesn’t hate him but she doesn’t approve of his actions. She wants him to change but fears this will never happen

Tabitha- Her mom, she committed suicide when Alisha was only 9 years old in effort to be rid of her father’s abusiveness. Tabitha also tried to kill Alisha so that her father doesn’t abuse her.

Lori- Alisha’s only friend at school (until Jake comes along), she is often kept in the dark about much of Alisha’s life but she is always there for her. Eventually, Alisha tells about her dark past.

How is the character different at the end of the novel from when the novel began?: (This is one of the most important things to nail down. A story that invokes change in a character will be more interesting and appealing to your reader.) She is more open and uses her experiences to help others. Also, she realizes that she is not alone in the world. She views her suffering as God's way of telling her that she's doing something wrong and that she's the only one going through this. When in fact, Satan is the one who is trying to ruin families and pull them apart

Additional Notes on this Character: She is a very kind person at heart but doesn’t really know what she wants to do and that is her downfall right there.

My Plot for NaNo

2007-10-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

This is my idea for NaNo, if you notice, I made the setting a town in WA because I've always heard: "When you don't know what to write about, write what you know." So I did, I know a bit about the town so I decided that that would be the best location. I'm going to expand on this in the future. Also, look for character profiles in the coming days. Please do not steal this plot and let me know what you think.

Title: Second Chances

Characters: Alisha, Jake, Mark (Alisha’s father), Cherri (Alisha’s co-worker), Olvia (Jake’s mom), Henri (Jake’s dad), Tabitha (Alisha’s mother), Lori (Alisha’s school friend)

Setting: Present day, Marysville, WA.

Scenes may include: An apartment, a school, a hospital, a restaurant, and a house

Themes: Love, faith, hope, peace

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Christian

Basic Plot:
Alisha lives alone with her father in a cramped apartment on the shady side of Marysville. Her father is a drunk, who doesn’t work and beats her constantly. Mark (her father), often times brings over his drinking buddies and then she isn’t just subjected to Mark’s wrath. Sometimes her father’s beatings go to the extreme and she ends up missing school and work due to injuries. When she attends school, she is teased and picked on there because of her shyness and the way she dresses. A guy by the name of Jake, takes interest in her and wants to know more about her. Alisha pushes Jake away because she is slightly afraid of guys and he asks too many questions. He persists and eventually she opens up her life to him, including what happens when she isn’t working. He becomes furious and demands that she goes to the state with the matter, she refuses. She wants to do her best to influence her father for the good before she leaves the house.
Amazed, Jake asks her where she gets her peace from. She says from God and after a couple of months of studying together, Jake accepts Christ and falls in love with Alisha. Because of missing work, Alisha works overtime and Jake waits for her shift to end to walk her home. Mark sees her walking home with Jake one evening and chases Jake off the property. Alisha ends up staying home from school for two days. Jake leaves her flowers on her doorstep to give her encouragement. When she comes back, Jake confesses his feelings for her. She admits to having the same attraction to him and they decide to become “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”. Mark finds out about their secret relationship and Alisha suffers greatly at his hand, the next day when Alisha doesn’t show up at school, Jake decides to investigate. He finds Alisha one the floor, nearly dead. To save her life, he calls Henri (his father who is a physician) and they get her to the hospital. Her life now hangs in the balance and love may be the only thing that can save her….

Updating My Blog

2007-10-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am updating my blog. As you may notice, I am adding my fellow CPeeps' blogs and I even figured out how to put a word count at the top. I will use that to keep you all informed as to my word count. :) More later...

Yuki

NaNo 2007?

2007-10-02T13:11:00.001-07:00

Hey all, it's time to start thinking about NaNo again. I'm really looking forward to doing this again. :) This year I've spent a lot of time plotting and as a result I've got one plot really developed in my head. I finally wrote it out on paper the other day. The nice thing about this plot is that it's really developed and I know where I want to go with the story. Plus, it's got a Christian theme running throughout the book. It's been a while since I've written a Christian novel and I'm looking forward to it. :) Anyways, I'm hoping to finish my novel again but if school demands my attention then I will give my attention to school. Last year, I had a lot of free time but this year I'm a little bit more tight schedule-wise. I look forward to the challenge of balancing school and NaNo.

I hope to see some more CPeeps this year.

Done!!

2006-11-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

I'm done! Finally, after several agonizing hours and only 1 case of writer's block I am finally finished with my NaNo. Final word count: 50,050 words!!

46,000 words and counting!

2006-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Today has been a great day, 3,000 words written today so far! I'm hoping to get to at least 48,000 words today. Tomorrow I hope to finish my NaNo novel completely. I can't wait to share my novel with my fellow CPer's and my friends.

Go everyone who isn't finished yet!

41,000 words written and 3 days left...

2006-11-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

It will be a mad rush for me to finish, hopefully I'll write a whole bunch today, I want to get this done as soon as I can. But even though I want to finish it as soon as possible I want it to be up to a literary quality that I approve of.

Last week I went in for an English portfolio at my school, I showed my English teacher pieces of my novel and she said: "Wow, this is very well written, I can't wait to read more. In fact when you're finished with it I would like a copy."

I was so happy, it made me think that I do have the potential to become a good writer.

Update on my novel all together... well i'm not even sure if I'm anywhere near finishing it. I finally got my MC to her cousin's house, which I had planned for her to be there a long time ago. I'm currently on page 104 and I seem to find myself running out of ideas fast, I pretty much know how I'm going to end it. However, it's getting from point B to point C that I'm having trouble with.

But that's all I can say now, 9,000 words left to write. Will my novel be finished by then? We shall see.

Thanksgiving Day

2006-11-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day was a great day for m. Not only did I get to spend a lot of time with my family playing board games and eating a very delicious meal made (mostly) by my mom and I but I got to write over 7,000 words!!

This put me at my goal of 35,000 words for the week of Thanksgiving. By the end of today I hope to be at 40,000 or somewhere close to there. ^_^

Happy late Thanksgiving everyone!!

Getting into the writing mood

2006-11-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

Well I sort of took a break from my NaNo because of school and everything. Now I'm writing on it again, 28,000 words so far. Hopefully I'll make it close to 30,000 words by the end of the day. That's all I can really say right now.

Current number of words written: 28,058

Number of words to be written by the end of this week: 35,000

Number of words to go: 6,942

Days Left: 4

Bad day... (I wonder why I even wrote this)

2006-11-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

Not even songs can help get me back in the zippy mood I once was in right now. For some reason I've become extremely sad and angry.

I've noticed that I've been snapping at my brother a lot more lately and usually I only do that when he's done something to upset me. I'm also constantly making rude comments about him. I know this is wrong and I'm trying to fix it.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to start reading the bible on my own soon but I haven't opened it to read it. I have been praying every night when I go to bed so I think that's a step in the right direction. I keep trying to stay on the right path but I find myself wandering away more often then not.

I have no idea why I'm sad though. I find it very frustrating at the fact that I feel these emotions but I don't know why or what's causing me to feel this way.

Day 15 of NaNo

2006-11-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today was kind of a bad day for me. I managed to hit 25,000 but that's about as far as I'm going today. I think I have the beginning of a migrain so my thought process is constantly being broken so I'm just like "Whatever" about the whole NaNo thing right now.

Hopefully the migrain will pass soon.

I've also got to finish my history homework for tomorrow. If I thought writing was hard wait until I start reading. *laughs* I'm also really tired, I've been getting up around 6 a.m. everyday for the past week and now it's finally catching up to me. *Yawns* I really just want to curl up in my bed and fall alseep and not wake up until I get up on my own.

And please pray for the rain to go away, it's been really depressing lately because of all the rain we're getting. And plus it's causing a lot of flooding in areas.

Today was okay...

2006-11-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

Today was okay, I broke 23,000 words, tomorrow I plan to get to at least 25,000. I'm hoping to get to 30,000 but with church and all I don't think that's a very realistic goal.

Today I got interrupted a lot but I somehow managed to get in 3,000 words. I was so happy when my History teacher asked what I was writing on before class.

However when my older sis came home from work she was like: "Yuki, get off the computer right now because I want to play now!"

So that's how my day went...

Yesterday was an Awesome Day and I'm Going to Let My Green Beans Burn

2006-11-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Lol, I'm writing this as I'm cooking green beans for my US History class and I haven't checked on them since I put them in the pan.

Anyways, yesterday was awesome! I was ome alone so I had the laptop all to myself which enabled me to spend and entire afternoon typing on my story. You'd figure someone who had five hours to themselves would write a bunch (especially with an average of 384 words for every ten minutes) but I didn't. No, I had to focus on other things (such as Scholarly Paper and math and stuff). I ended up writing 3,000 words.

*Goes to check on green beans*

However this is pretty good because I'm over 20,00 words!! *Is so excited* And better yet my parents asked me yesterday: "So how is your NaNo coming along?" *Beams*

It made me really happy because usually my parents don't care about what I do (as long as I dont get in trouble). And then my older sister came home from work and said: "Wow, you've got a lot written. That's more than I could have ever done."

I said: "You know you could've written more if you wanted to, don't worry there's always next year."

So hopefully by doing this I'm encouraging her to give it a try...she thinks she's such a terrible writer but she's not. I love reading her stories (that aren't complete) over and over again.

That's all I have to write for now, I have to go get ready for school.

2006-11-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I did really good and wrote over 3,000 words! I was amazed to see that I kept on going despite my family making me rake leaves for an hour. I watched a movie whenever nothing was coming to me and then when inspiration hit me I would pause the movie and write until I was finished with my idea. Then I would go back and repeat the process.

I found that the movie helped me to think more than my usual music that I listen to. I think I'm going to watch movies instead of music from now on.

On Sunday I didn't do anything. One of our computers crashed so my dad was trying to fix that and so that meant I had no where to work because my dad was working on one computer, my older sis was playing on another, my mom was using her laptop, and my dad's computer doesn't have my story on it.

Forutnatly my dad fixed the computer yesterday but I still didn't get to do anything because my mom and my dad decided to play together on World of Warcraft. Which is fine by me but annoying because I lost all the ideas that I had for my story. Hopefully they'll come back to me when I sit down in front of the laptop this afternoon to work.

Well, now I'm going to go update my word count... 17,000 words!!

Week Two: Day 9

2006-11-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

A pretty good day, I broke 14,000 words. ^_^

However, I feel like I'm dragging my feet on this story and just when I'm getting ready to introduce Kash as a full-time character. :(

That's all I can really say right now...

Week 2: Day 8

2006-11-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

Not a good day, only about 200 words were written today. My mom took the laptop so I couldn't write on it very much. So far I think that my plot is developing nicely, I can't wait to introduce Kash. I got the name Kash from one of the Squabblings I wrote. I couldn't think of a name but when I was re-reading my squabbling I thought: Hey I really like this name, I think I'm going to use it again.

On the other hand I started working on Scene 7 for my ISOS...haha got about 267 words written on that. Well, I'll try and get that done over the weekend. Yeah right.

Yesterday was crazy!

2006-11-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I wrote over 4,000 words because I didn't write anything on Saturday but I think I wrote some on Friday. Anyways, this puts me up at 10,201 words. So yeah, I would write more because my plot is starting to come together but school comes first. Soon I'l be off to school, thinking about my NaNo but can't do anything on it because I'll have to leave my mom's laptop behind. *Sighs*

Go NaNo-er's!!

Woot!!

2006-11-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

5,219 words!! My NaNo is coming along great and my ideas are almost ready to be implemented. I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of this mind numbing and completly exhilerating experience!

Now that I said all that I'm going to get stuck somewhere down the road. *laughs*

^_^

On for a little bit...

2006-11-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well I've got some free time so I decided to get on and post. I'm at 3,590 words which is great!! I can't wait to continue on this wonderful trip down to who knows where. If only my word meter would work on here. *sighs*

Mangy! Your word meter is so awesome, where'd you get it?

Anyways, today I got all of my work done...unfortunatly there was no time to catch up in it because I had choir after school today. Oh well. I'm rooting for everyone who has bravely undertaken this gruesome task. When I was writing today I found out that I'm using words that I don't everyday. I should though, it would make me sound smarter. *laughs*

Good luck to all!! I'll try and post tomorrow!

A Great Start!!

2006-11-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hooray for the first day of NaNo!! It's been a great start for me, 1,935 words!!! *Beams* Today has certainly been a great day for me. I'm so glad I decided to participate. ^_^

Sorry it's taken so long...

2006-11-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Fellow NaNo-er's I apoligize at how long it's taken for me to put you all on my friends list. And I apologize for not putting you on my NaNo thing yet. (Except Mangy and Eowyn, I got you two on there before it died on me.) I thank you all for being very patient with me as I struggle with being internet savvy.

NaNo is here!!

2006-11-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Here I go into a month of craziness! So far i'm stuck. lol, I have my plot all ready but I can't decide whether to put it in first person or third person...oh well I'll overcome that soon. I hope...

So I forgot the password...

2006-10-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

The reason I didn't log on to here and haven't posted in a while is because I forgot the password to here. Oh gosh, I need to write it down before I forget again.

I'm totally excited for this even though it will be a bit of a strech for me!! I can't wait to get NaNo started!! If only I could choose a plot. Haha, well that's my post for today. ^_^