Finishing

“Finishing a book is bittersweet. You spend days getting to know the characters. Learning their nuances, their faults, their loves, their lives. They become your friends, acquaintances, enemies. And after the story ends, you miss them. You look for them in your own life, wonder where they’ve gone, you forget that they aren’t real. You fall in love with the hero and dream of him at night. The strange girl becomes your best friend. Their heartaches become your heartaches. You laugh when they laugh. And cry when they die. Eventually you realise they aren’t a part of your world, you were just briefly visiting theirs.” ~Whimsical Enlightenment

Yes, it's a long quote, but I finished NaNoWriMo. That kind of achievement deserves a long quote.

50,000 words in 30 days. I finished last night at 9:54 PM after writing 5,755 words. The book is horrible. It's rushed, cluttered, hasty, and all my characters sound exactly the same in most of the parts. But you know what? I finished. I can go back and rewrite it if I desire. The journey in a novel is really, truly, yours. A reader will experience, but they didn't write it. They didn't know that there was a scene between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, but you removed it because your FMC refused to do it right. Or you changed the tense in an entire novel because it didn't flow right here. There's no telling what a novel will bring you.

Finishing one is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.

Kirah

In a Manner of Speaking . . .

“When someone says, “One last thing,” it never is. Unless they die right after speaking. Make sure that they do. 
Check their pulse to be certain." -Jarod Kinz

First: found my writing binder again on Monday. Proceeded to give the first three chapters away on Thursday, with no backup or hard copy. Silly, silly me.

So, I have this habit of reading books and then looking up the reviews on my Kindle and spending several hours reading them. I'll often either be agreeing with all the bad comments and saying, "They're right! Why did I ever spend eight dollars on this?" or scanning all the bad comments and saying, "Wow. How'd they get that?"

One of the complaints I see is about dialect. Usually it's not about how awful it is, though I know that there are some out there that say its too stiff and feels like you're trying to fit a beam into a blender. But I see things about how "modern" the dialect is, complaining that it doesn't fit with the era it's placed in. And yes, it does happen. It probably happens a lot. First, dialect changes with time, place, and person. But some words just weren't used in the past. Just as how "rad" and "groovy" are considered very odd and out of place now and "mates" and "bloke" is associated with Europe, every word matters.

First: look over your writing. Look for the obvious ones like "guys" and "whatever." But then consider: do you have modern day sayings hidden in there? I found one in the first line of a completely medieval story: "still as a statue." Sayings are a lot harder to find than you would think; they like to slip in and cling to the words of the story. But sometimes its fun to make up your own proverbs and such. I've made up several, and it satisfies me to be able to put something small and original in my work. I spend time thinking about it and writing it down, but I don't do overkill. Sayings are common in our lives, whether you notice it or not. And, as an aspiring author, you have to notice everything.

Have a good weekend!

Kirah

Gone, But Not Lost

"Losing would be painful, but not as painful as knowing there's something you could've done." -Joe Trippi

Ah . . . I lost my writing binder. That equals almost a hundred pages of writing, revising, and maps- gone. Hours upon hours of head-ducked, out-of-reality, feverish work- gone. What do you do? Do you break down and cry, hiding in your room in a refusal to face reality, but unable to refuge? Should you refuse to write ever again, saying that fate as intervened and you're clearly not destined to be a writer? Do you freak out and grab your friends, shouting that its gone and do they have any idea what this means?

Or do you continue to write?

A story is not just words; a story is a part of you. I can still recall certain phrases and entire scenes from my first books in fifth grade. They might make me shudder as I remember my clumsy way and form of getting my point across, but I haven't forgotten.

Never stop writing. You can do this. It doesn't matter what's gone in the physical world- there's another much more appealing reality in your head. Write what's true, write what's false, write the reality and the fiction. It doesn't matter what it is- just write. Who cares if you're crazy? At least your "I'm going to go hide in my room for three hours with my imaginary friends" crazy, and not several other negative types of crazy. Just write.

And write.

Never doubt yourself. If you do doubt yourself, please come over here and let me tell you how amazing you are.

Kirah

Themes

"When I look back over my novels what I find is that when I think I'm finished with a theme, I'm generally not. And usually themes will recur from novel to novel in odd, new guises." -Richard Russo

Themes are literally what defines our books. They are similar to the main idea, but they're not quite as jump-out-and-smack-you-in-the-face, if you know what I mean. It wriggles its way through the pages, making pointed comments and altering the plot ever so slightly to make it fit its own needs.

The theme of Hunger Games is rebellion- the idea of rising up and breaking the rules. My book, Realms, has the main theme of overcoming the past and approaching the future. (I think.)

One of my newer experiments, which I still don't have a name for, has a similar theme, but at a different angle. Its theme is something like what your home is and how it defines you. My two main characters define this well. One is an amnesic thief that can't remember anything from five years earlier, so he doesn't know where he's from or how he got to his current location. The other is from a very traditional country, where family is almost holy to them. He's asked to take on a task that will probably destroy him and his culture forces him to take it on. It makes for some interesting and different internal conflict.

I was once advised to subtly mention the theme within the first few chapters, preferably within the first. Some of my friends do this; I don't. I usually don't even realize the theme until the first few chapters are done. I just barely realized what the theme was for my newest work. But reflecting on it now, I see that the theme is just a part of the story. And that's what it is to me. Sometimes it takes some self-discovery, some thought, some work, some tears to weave your theme into it. But face it- we'd be doing that anyway. So its okay.

What's the theme in your books? How are you going to express it? How do your characters compliment or reject that theme?

Good luck!

Kirah

Angel's Fall

This poem is dedicated to my great-grandma Hazel Johns, who passed away on August 29th. I love you!

Angel's Fall

One
would've thought
That a century
Would prepare to
To die
But I guess
Its hard to let go
If you don't know
Who will catch
You
Twenty years
waiting for the frayed rope
To snap
And join her husband
Ten years
living with nurses
Instead of family
Ready for the snap
Scared for the fall
Frigtened of that moment
Of darkness
Before Light
Yet once the rope breaks
And you fall
I guess it takes a minute
to get angel's
wings.




-Kirah

Special Speaker (Writer?) Rose Winters!

My best friend Rose Winter's agreed to do this post for me. I gave her free reigns, and she decided to say this to the writing audience out there:

"Okay. So. Something I've noticed is that many teen authors skip story building. I know Kirah has talked some about world building and character development. Well, seeing how she hasn't really spent time on story building so I'm going to say it. I have seen some writers who will completely skip this story building step. This is a very important step and you cannot skip it.

So. My personal oppinion is that story building should be your first, mmm, three chapters. You have to build a life for your character. You have to show what time period, what country, the gender of your character, (OBVIOUSLY SUPER IMPORTANT) and your world building needs to happen here.

My deffinition of story building is pretty much deffining your character. Tell your readers who they are reading about. Don't just give a name and time in the story, you need to give a name, description, and everything else you NEED the readers to know. Everything necessary to the character's personality needs to be here before foreshadowing and flashbacks appear. You NEED story building in order for your story to work."

Thank you Rose!

Kirah

Camp Nanowrimo Part 2

"The reason I talk to myself is because I'm the only one whose answers I accept." -George Carlin

Not insane yet.

Kirah

Camp Nanowrimo

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ~Jack London

Welcome to August the first, aka my older sister's birthday, aka first day of Camp Nanowrimo. I'm using my dad's old laptop- thank you!- so that then I don't have to share with my computer-addicted siblings. I did Nanowrimo on the family computer last time, and this is my experience in a nutshell:

Me: typing rapidly
Sibling: Can I have a turn?

They don't understand typing crisises. I don't know how many times I tried to explain that November.

My overall opinion of camp: fun, but calmer than Nanowrimo. (And then watch me become a nervous wreck by the 5th.) Good luck to all other campers!

Kirah

How Your Mind is Set

"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." -Mark Twain


Wasn't Mark Twain a genius? I've spent a lot of time with people who "don't exist," and I think they're all fantastic. It's one of the more enjoyable schizophrenic forms of writing society. (See my "On the Roll Again" post to find the definition of schizophrenia)

I bet that none of you know that my grandpa used to teach at BYU. He taught that everybody has a certain predefined mindset from the time they were born. There are nine slots, ranging from highly logical to extremely creative. I got put in the "Creative Writer" slot- wow, fancy that!- which means that I have a little bit more logic than creativity. I can come up with great, creative, slightly ridiculous ideas, but I have enough logic to lay it all down and have it make sense.

With my characters, I have to sort them like this:

Evelyn Grace is extremely logical. She likes things to make sense. The betrayal is what really shakes her, since she has to accept something new.

Ambrr Cyrus Monstalki is orchestrated (balanced in creativy and logic). I actually do know why- they breed the guardians to be like that.

Stark Kavvenharbreis favors creativity, which is what makes him such a hopeless leader and is why he'll always be wondering "if I'd done this" and is why he always thinks that his stupid ideas will work.

I have other characters I could demonstrate- P'eter Eron Lionatus, Shretka Merimear-Detora, Zel Haiwal, Thodo of the Tenth Flame, Nae Voloni Reshancrea, Corsan Haiwal, and so on . . . Those of you that have read my previous versions of Realms may not recognize a few of the names, but it's okay, that's what this draft is for.

Camp Nanowrimo begins in August, so I'll have to try to pump up a few more words from Realms. Wish me luck!

Kirah

I've Decided

"Peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one." -Rita Mae Brown

Realms is going well- Evelyn Grace is actually turning out much better than Evan Andrews. I'm struggling a bit with the side characters in her story, but I think that they'll round out eventually. I just need to get it written down! I'm really excited to get into Ambrr and P'eter's POV. Stark, Thodo, and Acris (you knew her as Thorne, but I needed to change that for obvious reasons- Thodo and Thorne!) should be very interesting.

I've decided today that I'll write the whole trilogy- I will finish. I will! And I need to get it read by someone; I need to get it out there!

Kirah

Deus ex Machina

"When you're drowning, you don't say, 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to come and help me,' you just scream." -John Lennon

Deus ex machina is Latin for "god from the machine". It means that an unbeatable problem- person, item, or event- is suddenly fixed by a new character, event, or ability.

Examine your writing- how do they solve their ultimate problem? Is it something they can already do, something that they have to find within themselves and sacrifice for? Or is it deus ex machina? Does another character come from nowhere and rescue them?

I'm sure I used deus ex machina somewhere in my early stories. But I can't even remember how on earth my first story ended. I remember a long climax, fighting dragons and using magic, and then . . . they somehow got home. Does that count if I can't even remember exactly what happened?

Saving your characters can take away from the meaning of the story. Let them struggle, let them fight, and leave them the tools that allows them to fix their own problems in the end. Don't make it easy though. We authors are far too cruel to allow that.

Kirah

On the Roll Again

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. "~E.L. Doctorow


Schizophrenia: a mental disorder that makes it hard to tell what's real and what's not.

Today is my bragging rights day: I've written over twenty pages in the last week and a half. What I learned: Writing is easy as long as you start. Beginnings are hard. I will probably always hate my first chapter. Oh well, at least I got it done.

Kirah

Excuses, Excuses...

"I have this little litany of things they [writers] can do. And the first one, of course, is to write- every day, no excuses. It's so easy to make excuses. Even professional writers have days when they'd rather clean the toilet than do the writing." -Octavia Butler

Okay, I've hit rock bottom. I have to write, I need to write, I want to write. But I go upstairs to do so and I decide that I'll read some of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society first or listen to the Writing Excuses podcast or I'll try to beat my high score on Temple Run.

What can I say? I'm a professional procrastinator.

So instead of me talking about how to get back in the mode, why don't you guys comment and tell me how you get motivated? I want to get some ideas. It'll be fun. Please post!

Kirah

Filler

"I don't want to waste any time. And if you are not working on important things, you are wasting time." -Dean Kamen

Sometimes
you have things
in your stories
that aren't
important.
Just like the
way I've broken
these lines up,
we add things that
aren't important
or we stretch
things out
to make it look like
we've done more
than we actually have.

Don't waste time. Don't waste words.

Kirah

Interaction

"A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction into a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day." -Bill Watterson

There are a lot of ways to tell what a character's like; by his habits, routines, and internal thoughts. All of those are important, but the way they react to people and their world really defines who they are.

Orson Scott Carr said it best, so I'll paraphrase what he said: 'The more characters you have, the more interactions you have. If you just have two characters, you have two relationships: A to B and B to A. If you have three characters, you have to write about six relationships: how A reacts to B, A to C, B to A, and so on. We don't treat everyone in the exact same way.' (To see exactly what he says, look at the introduction to Speaker for the Dead.)

But how do we interact with our world? Well, some people are passionate about politics and always have an opinion on it. Others are indifferent. We have varying levels of obsession for everything, from tracking its every movement to absolute hatred. Keep that in mind. If you need to similar personalities, like two strong girls, give them different hobbies and hatreds. It can help you and your reader to keep them distinct.

Hope it helped,
Kirah

Goals

"You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures." -Charles C. Noble

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted; I've been up at BYU.
Everyone has goals, right? Some of mine are to memorize eight or ten songs and play them in front of people, to get down my serves for tennis, and to do a lot of writing this summer. A lot of best-selling books open with a character's goal, such as Katniss's goal to survive, Harry's goal to escape Dudley's torment, and Percy's goal to graduate from seventh grade without getting expelled. None of these books scream it; we get to watch the characters fulfill the goals. (That's also an excellent example of showing, not telling.) Then we get to watch the characters succeed or fail in achieving that goal. Harry escapes Dudley and goes to Hogwarts, Katniss is doomed to a violent and painful death, and Percy is expelled.

Give your character a goal. One part of my book that I enjoy writing is that every character blocks another character's objective. For example, Ambrr and P'eter want to find Evelyn, but they can't get her because Stark is sheltering her. And Evelyn wants to get home, but if P'eter and Ambrr find her, she'll never get there. And that's just the beginning.

Goals are an easy way to give your character a bit more dimension. Try to keep it consistent with their personality. Good luck!

Kirah

Odd Inspiration

"I don't believe in writer's block and neither should you. Writing is a job just like anything else. The guy at Subway isn’t allowed to get sandwich block, you shouldn’t let a word drought keep you down." -Sean Platt

I have to admit, inspiration is odd and unpredictable. But, as I have said, my writer's block finally broke, and I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. And stared out the window. For the record, that is a great way to spend an airplane ride. Plus I finished reading Shadow of the Hegemon.

But my real inspiration for writing was a book called My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. There is no other book in the universe that created such a burning desire in me to create: to show darkness and light, to rise and plummet, to change and learn, to destroy and remake. I have this continuous urge to write. I have to finish Stark's backstory before I start Realms; I don't even have to have it edited. It just has to be done. I know that much.

I have had a lot of odd inspirations. Realms came from two sources: Take Two (an easier version of Scrabble) and a picture. The picture was of a boy with black hair and wings and blue eyes that lived in the clouds. I had actually been imagining things with people like him in it before, where the plot centered around two halfbreed boys who never quite fit in. I did that quite constantly, creating characters from pictures or video games and using them in my imagination.

Then I was playing Take Two with my cousin, and we were determined to build the whole puzzle with only names. I accidently spelled Peter like Pieter. My cousin first pointed it out, and I jokingly said, "Yes, Pi-eter!" (pronounced Puh-eater) "His dad wanted a dog named Pip; and he was the compromise!"

Now, two years later, there is a character with blonde hair, blue wings, and wide blue eyes (I stole the idea of having wider eyes from my friend, who had super big eyes back then). His name is P'eter- simplified from Pi-eter to make the pronunciation consistent with the spelling. He is also a halfbreed: half human, half Realmer. His father is determined to keep P'eter quiet so that his political career can excell as far as it can, even though it's illegal to have a halfbreed son. Oh, and they live in the Third Realmhome. In the clouds.

So, is there such thing as a stupid idea? No. Just write, and enjoy what you're doing. As long as you love what you're writing, what else matters? You can go back and make it perfect later; for now, just enjoy yourself. And don't forget that.

Kirah

P.S. I will be gone Thursday-Saturday. I might not be able to do much posting during June because I'll be gone a lot.

P.P.S. Here are some writing quotes to provide you with some inspiration if you need it. I have only read a few, but I enjoy them. Tell me what you think!

http://ghostwriterdad.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Inspiring-Quotes.pdf

Worldbuilding

 "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people that are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." -Albert Einstein

Whenever I first heard of worldbuilding, I imagined building a city layer by layer, bit by bit, until it stands upright over the rest of the world. I love fake worlds that feel authentic. It takes a considerable amount of skill, but it pays off.

I was going to go into a big speech about it, but I found a link about worldbuilding that says it a lot better than I could have:

http://www.sfwriterstoolkit.com/worldbuilding/

Tell me if it helps!

Kirah

Change

"Change is inevitable- except from the vending machine." ~Robert C. Gallagher

Well, life just changed for me. It's this little thing called high schoool, ever heard of it? In three months I will be going there, and until then everything I do will be voluntary and homework-free. (Voluntary = running and weeding.) It doesn't seem real- three months! Come back to me in July and see if I've accepted this "new" reality yet. I'm really going to miss my friends.

By the way I will be vacationing from Memorial Day (Monday) to Sunday, so I won't be able to post then. Thanks!

Signing into summer,
Kirah

To the Edge and Beyond

"Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it." -Mahatama Ghandi

We ran the 5K at school today. Or I ran it; almost all my friends walked it at a seperate time. My thoughts on the 5K:

Run. Must run. Listen to the music.

It was actually pretty eventful- Mikey lost his shoe, I gave a dramatic "Go on without me!" speech and we ate popsicles even though it was only 60 degrees outside.

How this applies to writing: everyone has a limit. I have a running limit, an anger limit, a fatigue limit, and an overall This Is It Limit. As your story progresses, try to push your characters beyond anything they've ever done. Break your character. Smash him into the ground. Because character development is extremely important, and watching them change, for the better or worse, is what makes a story memorable for me. If a character truly changes, I enjoy reading a book again just to compare who he/she was at first to the finished product. So push your character. Snap them in half. Does it make me a bad person if I enjoy it?

On another subject, I've reached page 18 of Stark's backstory, and I think I'll have to rewrite the whole thing. I left out so many details! Anyone want to give me extra motivation?

Two days left of school,
Kirah

In the Mode

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward." -Victor Kiam

And boy, did I fall on my face (metaphorically speaking). I hit by biggest writer's block- I wanted to write, I needed to write, but I just couldn't.

Thankfully, I broke through that last week- I wrote 6 pages this weekend, driving my total up to 13 pages on Stark's backstory. Which, in case you're wondering, I'm writing that instead of Realms. But Stark has such a great backstory; I actually want to write Thodo's and Stark's pasts and merge it into a "Before Liarincus" sort of thing.

I'm happy to be writing again, and I will keep you posted!

Kirah

Self-Esteem

"Be yourself. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Bernard M. Baruch

Isn't it weird how all of the famous quote guys always add their middle initials? Just a thought.

Today is about self-esteem. Not your character's self-esteem. Not your sister's self-esteem. Yours. Right now, take a moment and say to anyone (including yourself): "I am a good writer. I'm writing as constantly as possible. I've got a very original plot, characters that bring the story alive, and I'm loving every word." Because let's face it: no one's writing is perfect, and because we're always fixing our work, writers can have very low self-esteem. So give yourself a pat on the back, tell yourself good job, and continue writing.

Kirah

Just For the Record

I was busy all day today so I don't have time to post much. I need to work on a Writer's Ink thing, so hopefully I'll have that done soon.

You should be proud of me; I've posted something something every day in May!

Kirah

Character Development

"Character is the real foundation of all worthwhile success." -John Hays Hammond
My dad and I were talking in the care a few weeks ago about writing. Dad said he's more of a plot writer- that's why he likes writing short stories. (I love my dad's writing, by the way. He's always been my #1 inspiration.) I said I'm more of a character writer and that's why I like writing novels.

Character development is a wonderful thing in stories; it lets you watch a character change. Sometimes they rise from the depths of mistrust and hatred and become everything we dreamed of. At other times, they plumment into a suspicious, regretful character. Either way, when characters change, it stays with us. That's what makes us, well, that's what makes me, reread books- for the shock of watching any character change once again from what they were at chapter one to what they become by chapter twenty. Character development is what makes things memorable, in my opinion.

Okay, think about the most horrible, terrible, the absolutely worst thing that's ever happened to you. After that, did you act the same for something? Did your opinion on something change? When someone says something or does something amazing/harmful, doesn't the way you treat them change?

If your characters are real to you, they will do the same. A good way to drastically change your characters/overall outcome of the story is to kill someone. Yes, it's horrible, it's bloody, but think about it. When it comes to writing, all of the best are murderers. (It counts as murder if you edit like I do.)

Hope this helped! Happy April 29!

Kirah

School

This is another poem I wrote. Hope you enjoy it!'

Oh school, I owe you so much

For destroying my imagination

For telling me I can excel

In the subjects you tell me to

I must not excel in laughter or jokes

And forget about friends!

Creativity?

Fun?

Well, does it help your math skills?

I must swallow the information

I’ve been given whole

Write stanzas, learn the classics

Write like Tolkien if you wish

But keep it three to five pages

And never

Write like yourself

Voice?

In writing?

All right, but get to the point

And don’t let too much of yourself

Shine through

Don’t express yourself

Don’t defend yourself

It makes us think, and who wants that?

You’ll leave this school

Bleached, neatly dressed

Dripping with information

Stamped with the school logo

Packaged and marked for college

And don’t ask why

Because the teacher is always right

Dead Mice and Odd Paranoias

I'm still under sock arrest. It isn't as fun as it sounds.

I forgot to mention it, but yesterday Pip walked in holding something in his mouth. Mom talked him into dropping it, and it was a dead mouse! I made some sort strangled gasp; you would've thought I'd been stabbed. The freakiness of the moment has not worn off, unfortunately. This morning I practically had a heart attack when I saw a hair clip that was in a position to look like a mouse's corpse.

I haven't had a chance to write/edit yet today, but I'm going to Brynn's soccer match soon and I might write there. This has been a very mellow day.

Kirah

Sock Arrest

Mom placed me under sock arrest after I split my heel really badly while running outside playing with cousins for four hours. I must have lotion on my feet and socks on at all times. I hate socks and shoes. I love being barefoot. And since my sock arrest two hours ago, I'm already going crazy.

My cousins were here today. It was amazing. They have eight kids, but their oldest was at college, so it was twelve of us between the ages of 17 and 2. We played Wall-Ball and Ultimate Frisbee. Seth turned on the treadmill and got locked out of the house, I got a foot injury and found my 12-year old cousin in my room, Brooke made all the decisions for us, and Ian was mad at someone the entire time. Near the end, we flash-mobbed the lemonade/popsicle stand down the street and bought almost everything there. The girls in charge of it were freaking out at all the business.

Revising chapter 2 has gone well. I've probably scribbled out more than half the chapter.

Kirah

Editing

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. ~ Oscar Wilde

It's a love-hate relationship with editing. I have to bribe myself to do it. For me, that means I go downstairs at fifteen minute intervals to sneak a snack, and I have to keep the radio on so that I'll stay in my room without sneaking downstairs to post something on my blog. But there is something supremely satisfying about making everything work just right.

On that note, whoever said a story is "cute" or "sweet" probably never saw the author viciously editing it.

Thanks to JK and Miranda for commenting on my dilemma. It actually started with Mrs. Blythe- I showed her my prologue and the first thing she said was, "And how is this relevant to the rest of the story?" when she saw 2063 years later. She also said that she hated the main character in the prologue, too because he was such a coward. I don't see how that's relevant- I kill him at the end anyway. But I still really appreciate feedback, and I need to see from every angle!

A double thanks to JK for enduring a fifteen-minute texting conversation about it. I broke the two laws of texting while doing so: 1- the texts have to be really short 2- the conversation has to be completely pointless. I hope all the phone-obsessed teenagers don't come after me!

I also owe Miranda a double thanks for emailing me about some advice on the first scene in Chapter 1. I need every piece of advice I can get!

Happy spring break,
Kirah

I Need Help

I have a question for my writing, and I'd really like some input. My story Realms (the first scene of Chapter 1 is in Writing) has a prologue. I need it to start pretty far in the past- over six generations- long enough that the species can build up a new history, get traditions, master their magic, and pretty much forget about the past. So how long should I make that time gap be between the death of one species in the prologue and the whole history of another in Chapter 1? I have 2073 years right now, but I'm worried that's too long.

Please comment with advice.

A Jump-Start for Writing

I know that a lot of us have been struggling with writing. I've been writing a lot more consistently now that I have another notebook to haul around with me. Tyler saw it and said in mild disbelief, "Another one?" I'm planning on typing it up in chapters, so that means I'll try to spend some time up in a dark corner in my room revising chapter two before I type it up tomorrow.

So this post is more about getting back into a writing funk. I need this just as much as- or more- than you two followers. So here we go:

1. Write in what interests you. How many times have we heard that? But I think it needs to be a litlte more extreme: Write about something so interesting that you can work on it for months at a time, then go back to it and still be ready to help every word.

2. Think about what's happening right now. Usually I'm really excited for the next chapter or even the end of the book; or maybe I just want to write that one line in chapter five. As a result, I feel like the current part of my book drags, completely empty of conflict. (Of course, I once got writer's block while trying to make my character jump off a horse because I wanted to get to the next chapter. Writing can be so unpredictable sometimes.) Don't spend 100% of your time plotting out for the future, like I have a tendency to do; make some conflict in the moment and make each page memorable.

3. Don't hold your characters in concrete. Do you want to know what my first version of Realms was like? No, you don't. It was still that total chaos of trying to work out writing in mind. But those moments in my first draft are what defines the storyline now. In the first book, I introduced a character, then decided two chapters later that he was a phoenix. I also added a receptionist at the desk that could grow plants at will in the first draft at book three, and he became a major character in book one. Whatever you have planned for your book can easily change. Writing is a balance of a solid plot and flexible characters. If you have to choose between the two, hand your characters the reins and brace yourself for the disaster.

4. Finish your writing. Ending the book is always a huge milestone. No one can tell you the absolutely perfect way to write; people have been trying to find it for centuries. You have to find your own style. (Though an overly preachy teenage writer's blog might be some help.)

I hope that everyone can work out their writing issues! Best of luck to all of you!

Kirah
(ps. If anyone wants me to talk about anything or post something about writing that isn't preachy, let me know! Leave a comment/email me!)

Games

I really mean to post more! But siblings + homework + procrastination (of course) + piano recitals= no time. Sorry! I'm trying. At least it's Friday; who's seeing Hunger Games over the weekend? I'm seeing it today! I don't think anyone will focus in gym; even more class time will be spent discussing it: Which boy's the cutest? How will the plot change from the book? Which boy's the cutest? How will they end it? And which boy's the cutest? (That's really all that matters to most girls.)

Now since this is a writing blog, I need to add a few things about writing that'll help everyone. Ahem. Characters, careful, rewrite, edit, do something awesome, and home. There. I'm done. I've got to do a lot of posts, and I'm taking a day off before I even start.

Hopefully my posts will be much more satisfying over the weekend!
Kirah

Procrastination

Allow me to define procrastination: 1. Evert teenager's soul mate 2. A very bad reason for not posting 3. The reason 50% of people fail junior high. Sorry for not posting for a while.

Anyway, I guess I could go all preachy about how procrastination is so bad and about how writers should never procrastinate, but the thing is, I'm a huge procrastinator. I also enjoy writing things that come in book three while I'm still in book one. What can I say? There's no such thing as perfection in writing.

I hope to finish one of my short stories by the end of this week. Please help hold me to it!

Kirah

High Expectations

This weekend is falling flat of what I wanted. I really just want a fun weekend that involves a friend, lots of writing, and freedom to play whatever piano song I desire. Is that too much to ask? No, no it's not. And I don't even care if I have to do chores.

Brooke is taking a ACT practice test which means no music. My parents have mysteriously disappeared, which means no friends. And I've written to the point where if I write more my brain will explode. Anyone else stuck in a bad Saturday that's never-ending? Please say I'm not the only one stuck here!

I have Writer's Block, Writer's Laziness, and Writer's Boredom all discussed within two weeks. (this is Writer's Boredom) We are on a roll!

Hopinh your weekend is better than mine,
Kirah

Haunted

This post is about my dog, Pip. I just gave him a bath, and the entire time- counting drying him off and brushing him out- he was shaking and whimpering. It was a mix between pathetic and adorable. Afterwards, he wouldn't look at me for at least twenty minutes (which is about two hours in dog time). When I tried to brush his fur out a little more, he tried to bite the comb- something I don't advise- and growled at me. At last he allowed me to hold him, and he was still shaking, almost saying, "That was horrible. I really hate you."

For those of you who want this post to have something other than droning on and on about my dog, I'll talk about horrifying experiences. So it ties in to the subject. Kind of. Anyway, everyone has a handful of memories that they will always be haunted by. My earliest "bad" memory was jumping off my parents' bed at five years old and hitting the laundry basket and ending up with a bleeding them. Another vivid one is rolling off of the bunk bed and practically knocking out my two front teeth when I was eight. Pip's newest hardship will be sitting on the counter while I attempted to brush out his fur. Everyone has them. You can interpret this three ways: to be corny, do No. 1: Nobody is perfect. To be a little odd, say No. 2: Whoops, spam! Wrong website! Or No. 3: Well, duh. I just got a writing lesson from her dog.

On a random note, for anyone that wants some unique music this morning, I recommend something by Jon Scmidt. This is one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgovv8jWETM&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Have a good weekend!

Kirah

Rewriting

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. The only February 29th in four years, and I miss it!

Today, I'm thinking about rewriting. For those of you who know about my Realms story, you know how often I've rewritten it. If you don't, well, I've written the first chapter at least 8 times, finished the entire book twice, and the plot has drastically changed every single time. A weekend or two ago I wrote the first chapter again longhand, and then I have to type it up again. That's going to take a while.

To make your rewriting a success: (please read this is a loud commercial voice full of smiling)

1. These rules only apply to rewriting; the first draft is just tearing through the story.
2. Read the story out loud after you've written a page or two. This will help you make it flow better.
3. Be harsh with yourself. Turn on the editor's side of your brain.
4. Don't be afraid to delete huge sections or entire scene.
5. Write only what's important to the plot. If you're like me, the first draft is full of the characters just sitting there and being like, 'Hmm, I wonder what'll happen next?'

Good luck! Have fun writing/rewriting!

Kirah

Challenge!

Sorry I can't post until now. I swear, the world's determined to keep me from having enough time to make a half-decent post. Ah, well, at least I have time. In case anyone cares, this is the last time I'll ever have every post I've ever written on a page. Yay me!

I have a writing challenge for everyone (including me) this week. By 11:59 on Friday, I want everyone to have written at least 2,000 words. This is going to be hard for me since school days aren't my best writing days. Once you reach my goal, email me and I'll post whoever gets their word count the fastest on Saturday. Good luck!

Kirah

An Outlet

To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child. -Brandon Sanderson

How do others get their emotions out?

I'm just saying that because I feel like sometimes the entire world spins around me- no one really noticing or caring; while I want to explode from all the feelings that want to push out. The thing is, a lot of the world puts emphasis on not having emotions: if you skip, you're immature; running is overeager; saying you need help makes you stupid or a wimp; expressing the anger you feel means that you can't control yourself; you can only cry if you're a girl and if something horrible has happened; and you always need to explain yourself and make perfect sense. Obviously, reality's expectations are built entirely on idealisms. Because here's the fact: we are human. And humans have emotions. If I yelled and screamed every time I felt angry, you would think I always felt angry. Which can be true. A lot.

Oh, did I tell you that I get my emotions out through writing? Speaking is my filter between emotions and logic. Followers beware!

Kirah

Perfect

This is a poem I wrote a little while ago. Hope you enjoy it!

Perfect

How could someone be perfect?
How does one join this special sect?
Imperfection is easier
Red eyes and ruddy cheeks and tears
That's what imperfection is

Perfect people never stumble
While speaking they never mumble
Maybe if I never speak at all
And stay as silent as a doll
Maybe I'll be close to perfect

Flawless ones never think badly
Of those who act quite madly
Maybe should I cease my thoughts
Anger would be rare- patience bought
Maybe I'll be close to perfect

Perfect people don't waste motion
Upon small problems or notions
So should I case to move today,
I'd sit perfectly still, they'd say
"That girl is close to perfect"

Should they build a statue of me
Standing still in serenity
Remaining high above the rest
Challenging time to its test
Maybe that statue would be perfect
But I certainly wouldn't be

Longhand and Laziness

Let me tell you, Writer's Laziness is just as hard as Writer's Block, if not worse. I wrote for hours on Saturday, and since then I've done nothing. This week hasn't been great for me writing-wise. I guess it's a good thing I have this blog, because otherwise I'd have a writing productivity of zero.

I plan to finish the chapter I wrote on Saturday and write the first scene for the chapter 2. If I fail at this, Mika, JK Archer, and Katie have full permission to yell at me. However, I'll be writing it longhand and revise it as I go along, so I could fall a little behind. Don't judge me for writing longhand- JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter longhand, and then typed it up on her typewriter (who here needs to google it to know what that is?) and wrote it a third time because she couldn't afford to make copies. I don't plan on doing that, but I this is my fourth time rewriting the chapter.

In summary: Laziness is bad, longhand is good, and I hope I can avoid being severely yelled at this weekend. One day left!

Kirah

Characters

Let's face it: as people, we have flaws. We have pet peeves. We don't get along with others all the time. We yell. We get annoyed. The human mind is a scary thing, and I rarely find an author brave or skilled enough to conquer it. Of course, it's also very hard. And, as people, we want to believe that we are all brave little heroes inside that run around with sharp objects to save the world.
Um, nope. Not me, at least. I could probably try running around with a sharp object, but I would probably trip. That would not only be messy, but also kind of embarrassing. I understand that we have to idealize people a little bit, or else all the heroes would've run away and left the damsels in distress sitting there with the villain.

There are a few things that make fictional characters a little bit more believable:
1. We aren't black and white good and evil. Actually, this usually isn't a problem with good guys, but with the antagonist.
2. Most people stumble. I happen to do this a lot more than normal people. However, if you do happen to make your characters trip, please make sure they aren't holding anything sharp.
3. At least someone hates your main character. I have a certain type of personality that grates on my nerves, and I hope I'm not the only one.
4. Everyone makes bad decisions and messes up.

In my writing, I need to improve on this, too. I have written one character that makes a lot of bad choices, and sometimes he rises to the top, but he also crashes and burns. It makes writing interesting. As for the rest of my characters, I really need to polish some of them a little bit more.
Hope this helped!

Kirah

To be or not to be?

To be or not to be; that is the question. -Shakespeare

I'll admit it: when I first heard this, I was really confused. When I was younger, I would start thinking about that and wonder what it meant. I commented about it to a friend, and she said, "It means 'To write or not to write?' is the question, not 'Am I a good writer?'" I really like that- and I've been writing nonstop to make it the best of my abilities ever since.

However, there's a second part in this that also applies to writing. "To be" words (is, are, am, seem, were, was, seemed) are a big no-no, I've learned. They do more telling than showing, so it can ruin a sentence. If you look in some popular writing today, you can probably find a few "To be" words in the text, but there won't be very many. Coincidence?

While writing, I usually keep it vaguely there in my head that I should try to avoid these, and then I go back and change them when I edit it. It made my writing a lot better, and it'll do the same for yours, too.

Next time someone says "To be or not to be; that is the question" . . . When it comes to writing, the answer is definitely Not to be!

Kirah
(Can someone count how many times I used a "To Be" word in this post?)

First and Foremost

Hello, my name's Kirah. I'm a teenage writer, and I'll be using this blog to post writing and get feedback, update my life, and hopefully get and give a lot of help for writing!

A little bit about me.... I was born in Kansas, live in Utah, and play the piano and violin (but not at the same time). I spend a lot of time writing; I mostly do fantasy. I've actually only been writing stories since fifth grade. My first story was called Hyrania, and let's be completely honest: it was horrible. I open it and laugh at my overdramatic writing and horrible dialogue. I've tried writing stories with people, but it failed because I wanted the stories to be mine and I couldn't bear to share the twists I had planned in the part with the people I was writing with, so they'd write and I'd cut in and try to change it. For some reason, the book never worked out...

My rambling aside, welcome to my blog! I hope that you enjoy it as it progresses!

Kirah