Wednesday, November 16, 2011

geeking out {rachel}

{via pinterest}
i never write fangirl blog posts. not about handsome celebrities or the next great thing in music, with the one-time exclusion of Owl City.

but tonight, i feel the need to go just a bit crazy.

because Chris Baty just replied to me on Twitter. twice.

this checks off item no. 46 on my bucket list.

i am fully aware that i sound a bit like a frantic schoolgirl. i do wish you could have seen me, leaping around the house and dancing.

11:46pm, 11-15-2011. 
@ChrisBaty: "Seriously, right?"

{this tweet was in response to the technique of starting each day's writing on a fresh document to avoid spasmodically erasing the previous's days disasters.}

please forgive me this childish rant. but i must admit, this has given me quite the boost in my writing. 

33,163 words. 

i am overwhelmed and overjoyed. 

forgive this rant? i've consumed a great deal of caffeine and raspberry chocolate, and so i feel that it may have been inevitable. 

oh, my glorious God knew i needed this. desperately. 

excuse me for a moment...i'm going to go dance for my ultimate Hero.  

the Lover and Restorer of my weary soul.








Friday, November 11, 2011

expectations cut loose {rachel}

{via pinterest}
today's word over at The Gypsy Mama was "unexpected."

while this is not technically an entry into "five minute Friday," it is indeed a snapshot of my literary moments of shock, chagrin, and confused delights.

this week in the world of writing has been the epitome of unexpected developments.

my entire plotline changed overnight. it was remarkable to watch, and almost frightening to realize that i had much less control over this storyline that i originally thought.

Cut Loose has lived up to its title.

it had found its wings -- dragon wings, even.

it has grown so much larger, so much greater,  than i ever could have anticipated.

i am terrified and overwhelmed with joy.

22,646 words.
ten days of writing.

my hands shook as i wrote the above numbers. does that even make sense?

curious as to the changes made? first, take a peak at this post, written by me right around the end of October. read the post, take in my original synopsis.

and then read this -- my new and "improved" synopsis, which is located on the NaNoWriMo page itself.

what do you think?
are you a fan of the changes? 

i'm living in the land of the unexpected. my anticipations regarding this novel have found their own wings. 

i'm cutting loose. 

-blessings abound,
rachel 




Thursday, November 3, 2011

day three {at the close -- rachel}

{via pinterest}
it's day three. almost the end of the day, actually.

and i'm at 11,048 words.

i'm not sure if i should break into cheers or copious sobs.

being this far ahead is incredibly frightening for me. my first year, i wrote 50,056 words. 20,000 of them were written in the last four days of November. last year, i barely scraped 30,000 in a month's time.

and now, i'm so far ahead in less than 72 hours.

and i'm elated. 
and petrified. 

in three days, Cut Loose has changed more than i ever imaged possible.

my lead character's name has changed from Caitlyn to Naimh.

what was once a magic-less story now has a complicated weaving of mages and a complete magical system revolving around the Elements and colour.

government has arisen and a monetary system has been invented. there are maps and geography where once there was blank paper.

it's a prism of light, an ever-changing thing.

at this point in  your novel, is it turning out the way you want it to? i suppose so. i'm honestly not sure; i didn't have a whole lot planned in the beginning, so i'm letting my characters run the show a bit for now. 


have your characters had any big turning points yet? definitely! Niamh's character has been tested three times now; her love has now been ripped away from her, and she is about to be married off to a man who is more deadly than she knows just yet. i'm scared for her, actually. she's strong, though, thank God.  



{via pinterest}
have any characters met their significant other in the book yet? oh, yes. they were together from the beginning of the book! 



what are your future goals for your novel this month (besides word goals)? i think it'd be very nice if my characters would start behaving themselves just a bit. i've let them run the show, yes, but even they need to reign it in just a bit. magic is dangerous, and Fire is the most dangerous element of all. 

current playlist: a combination of Howard Shore and Regina Spektor stations on Pandora, as well as a steady stream of Gilmore Girls on the DVD player. 

caffeine intake: high. extremely high. M&Ms and Dr. Pepper rank high on the list

latest night thus far: midnight, so far. but i'm pretty sure that a 2am bedtime will be down the road shortly. 

any emotional breakdowns: does crying count? and having to get up and leave the computer a lot to avoid editing? then yes. 

curious as to how the poet in me is handling this journey? then check out my two most recent personal blogposts here and here

-blessings abound,
rachel