Here's the list-
Other Books
on Wednesday, July 29, 2015
In my last post, I shared a picture of all the books I collected for my birthday and mentioned the bag of books I got to take from the library I volunteered at before summer began. Here's a picture of those books. I was going to take more, but was worried about having room for them all in the car on the way back to Utah at the end of the summer.
Here's the list-
Here's the list-
I'm Ba-a-ack!
on Monday, July 27, 2015
Yes, that's right! It is me! The wonderful and completely flaky Alyson who promised two blog posts a week and has maybe delivered once this whole summer. *hangs head in shame*
Thank you to my readers who are patiently waiting for me to keep posting when my time is not my own this summer. Only a few weeks left until the trek back to Utah when I'll actually be on a schedule and can keep posting regularly.
Anyway, the Road Show is over and the kids were amazing. I wish I had a video or a photo to share with you, but I don't. I was too busy. The kids chose to use Toy Story as their inspiration, and it was amazing. Out of all the groups, our was the best (obviously), but ours was definitely the hardest because we had 28 kids participating and everyone else had under 18 kids. The kids are all aged 12-18 (one of ours turned twelve last week, so she was technically 11 when it started). The hardest part was having enough parts for every kid. That's where Toy Story came in. We had a Woody, Buzz, Small Fry, Jessie, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Hamm, Aliens, Rex, Army Men, and we also used Bonnie's Toys from the 3rd movie so we had Dolly, Mr. Pricklepants, Buttercup, Trixie, Barbie, Ken, and the barrel of monkeys. It was insane.
Some other ideas people used were Guardians of the Galaxy and Inside Out. The kids had such a blast writing their script, songs, and choreography. There was also a group of kids who didn't want to be on stage so they did lights, sound, sets, and props. I'm so proud of everyone who participated.
Thank you to my readers who are patiently waiting for me to keep posting when my time is not my own this summer. Only a few weeks left until the trek back to Utah when I'll actually be on a schedule and can keep posting regularly.
Anyway, the Road Show is over and the kids were amazing. I wish I had a video or a photo to share with you, but I don't. I was too busy. The kids chose to use Toy Story as their inspiration, and it was amazing. Out of all the groups, our was the best (obviously), but ours was definitely the hardest because we had 28 kids participating and everyone else had under 18 kids. The kids are all aged 12-18 (one of ours turned twelve last week, so she was technically 11 when it started). The hardest part was having enough parts for every kid. That's where Toy Story came in. We had a Woody, Buzz, Small Fry, Jessie, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Hamm, Aliens, Rex, Army Men, and we also used Bonnie's Toys from the 3rd movie so we had Dolly, Mr. Pricklepants, Buttercup, Trixie, Barbie, Ken, and the barrel of monkeys. It was insane.
Some other ideas people used were Guardians of the Galaxy and Inside Out. The kids had such a blast writing their script, songs, and choreography. There was also a group of kids who didn't want to be on stage so they did lights, sound, sets, and props. I'm so proud of everyone who participated.
My Life This Week
on Monday, July 20, 2015
I've had a very busy past week, and I'm gearing up for another one this week. I've had ZERO time for blogging or writing, which I hate, but it is what it is.
I set a goal for myself for July, and I'm still working on fulfilling that. My goal was to write 5 chapters this month. So far I've got two and a half. I'm halfway there, so I'm making progress, but I wanted to be done with this chapter before too long. I've also been working with a few people on their novels, and I've had a few more people look into Powerful to get some feedback on my edits and my new stuff. It's been going good, and I'm happy with the feedback I've received. It helps me set up a distinct direction I need to go with my edits, and it reminds me that my book is still awesome. I'm pumped for it, as long as I have the energy and the caffeine to keep writing. I'm also excited for one of my close friends to start sending out queries on her book. It's amazing.
All of my time has disappeared from me since my last post. Since then I've been writing my butt off (I'm at 28,000 words!), and I've done my fair share of reading. I'm racing my 13 year old brother in law through the Kingdom Keepers series (which I read part of when I was his age), but I only get to do that in my spare time which is almost none.
I set a goal for myself for July, and I'm still working on fulfilling that. My goal was to write 5 chapters this month. So far I've got two and a half. I'm halfway there, so I'm making progress, but I wanted to be done with this chapter before too long. I've also been working with a few people on their novels, and I've had a few more people look into Powerful to get some feedback on my edits and my new stuff. It's been going good, and I'm happy with the feedback I've received. It helps me set up a distinct direction I need to go with my edits, and it reminds me that my book is still awesome. I'm pumped for it, as long as I have the energy and the caffeine to keep writing. I'm also excited for one of my close friends to start sending out queries on her book. It's amazing.
All of my time has disappeared from me since my last post. Since then I've been writing my butt off (I'm at 28,000 words!), and I've done my fair share of reading. I'm racing my 13 year old brother in law through the Kingdom Keepers series (which I read part of when I was his age), but I only get to do that in my spare time which is almost none.
Writer's Sketchbook 14
on Sunday, July 5, 2015
I know, a writer's sketchbook post! Something that actually has to do with my writing! Yay!
So this week I got 2 chapters done. That's right, 2. In 1 day. I'm so proud of myself. Too bad the rest of the month will be ridiculously crazy and I will be super busy. I set a goal for myself to write 3 more chapters this month so I'll have written 5 total.
Anyway, as I was working on chapter 9, I realized that I forgot one minor detail on my blog. I missed one character. He doesn't show up until chapter 9, but I stopped posting chapters on my blog so I didn't get to do a big intro for him. So here's my big intro for him.
So this week I got 2 chapters done. That's right, 2. In 1 day. I'm so proud of myself. Too bad the rest of the month will be ridiculously crazy and I will be super busy. I set a goal for myself to write 3 more chapters this month so I'll have written 5 total.
Anyway, as I was working on chapter 9, I realized that I forgot one minor detail on my blog. I missed one character. He doesn't show up until chapter 9, but I stopped posting chapters on my blog so I didn't get to do a big intro for him. So here's my big intro for him.
Burk Lon
And Now It's July!
on Thursday, July 2, 2015
I love July. July means hot days and cool pools. It means smoothies and s'mores. It says prepare for fireworks, watermelon, and ice cream. But most importantly, July means my birthday, and my birthday means a whole slew of new books! Remember last year? You can understand my excitement.
So while I'm excitedly writing and reading the days away, I figured I'd share some inspiration with you.
June's Almost Over??
on Monday, June 29, 2015
The days are moving by too fast. Some days I feel like I don't have enough time to get anything done. There are far too many things on my list to do, and I'm still not sure if I'm making progress or if I'm just staring at the blinking curser on my computer screen for hours on end.
This weekend was super busy because I spent most of it in the car driving to my cousin's wedding and reception. This cousin was my college roommate until I got married, and there was no way I was going to miss her wedding.
I also got a fitbit last week, and Husband of Mine and I are competing to see who can get more steps in a day. Whoever wins gets a dollar from the other person. We're tied right now. I've won $2 and he's won $2.
Between sitting in the car, visiting with family, crocheting, trying to get my daily steps in, and the wedding and reception, I feel like I've accomplished nothing for days. And the best part is, for the past 4 nights in a row, I haven't slept more than 4 hours a night. Yeah, I'm living off caffeine right now.
Anyway, the point of my complaining is not to be annoying. Seriously, I'm really not trying to be annoying and whiney. It's to explain why my blog posts are still barely trickling in. As I'm still working on serious edits for Powerful, I find I don't have as much time to dedicate to my blog. If I have a few hours to sit down and write, it's either going to be for my blog or for Powerful. Which one am I going to choose?
So I'm here to say that I am still alive and still writing. I've got 500 words down for chapter 8 (which is me splitting the earlier version of chapter 7 into two chapters and expanding on the big reveal at the end) which is some serious progress. Today, I'm hoping to sit down and get a ton more done. I want this chapter to be finished by tomorrow (Wednesday by the latest).
But since I already started this blog post, I figured I should at least get something down on it. So I compiled some inspiration for you.
This weekend was super busy because I spent most of it in the car driving to my cousin's wedding and reception. This cousin was my college roommate until I got married, and there was no way I was going to miss her wedding.
I also got a fitbit last week, and Husband of Mine and I are competing to see who can get more steps in a day. Whoever wins gets a dollar from the other person. We're tied right now. I've won $2 and he's won $2.
Between sitting in the car, visiting with family, crocheting, trying to get my daily steps in, and the wedding and reception, I feel like I've accomplished nothing for days. And the best part is, for the past 4 nights in a row, I haven't slept more than 4 hours a night. Yeah, I'm living off caffeine right now.
Anyway, the point of my complaining is not to be annoying. Seriously, I'm really not trying to be annoying and whiney. It's to explain why my blog posts are still barely trickling in. As I'm still working on serious edits for Powerful, I find I don't have as much time to dedicate to my blog. If I have a few hours to sit down and write, it's either going to be for my blog or for Powerful. Which one am I going to choose?
So I'm here to say that I am still alive and still writing. I've got 500 words down for chapter 8 (which is me splitting the earlier version of chapter 7 into two chapters and expanding on the big reveal at the end) which is some serious progress. Today, I'm hoping to sit down and get a ton more done. I want this chapter to be finished by tomorrow (Wednesday by the latest).
But since I already started this blog post, I figured I should at least get something down on it. So I compiled some inspiration for you.
Worldbuilding With Magic
on Tuesday, June 23, 2015
For those of you who have been reading along, my friend Elise (Magic Writer) has been doing a series on Worldbuilding, and I've been promoting for her and sharing some of my own tidbits. I really like the series she's done because I've never been able to actually put into words how I build worlds, I just do it. It's nice to have guidelines to follow to see how well I did for my writing. Sometimes I discover things I missed, and I've found myself being more assertive about making decisions because they have to be made at some point.
For example, as I was reading through some of Elise's advice, I discovered that I hadn't yet thought about the capitol cities of each kingdom. As I was going through chapter 7, it talks about how the people know Luzi so well, but no one knows Kyla. One of my readers asked how the people knew Luzi. Well, I decided that Varn and Laeto are very similar because their capitol cities (and castles) are major areas where many people go to visit. The royal families are well known and visit the general public often. Their castles are tourist attractions, and parts are open to the general public. In my last post I talked about the Varnan castle and how the center is a giant temple where many people go to pray. One of Aya's brothers is a priest there. Laeto's capital city is a market, very similar to Central City. The castle is in the center of a giant town and many people go inside the castle to meet with the royal family, give them gifts, and ask for help. Tykra and Zetalon, however, are different. Their castles are not parts of major cities, and are very isolated. The royal families rarely affiliate with their subjects. It's something that Kyla appreciated as a child, but grows to dislike. It makes sense for the story.
For example, as I was reading through some of Elise's advice, I discovered that I hadn't yet thought about the capitol cities of each kingdom. As I was going through chapter 7, it talks about how the people know Luzi so well, but no one knows Kyla. One of my readers asked how the people knew Luzi. Well, I decided that Varn and Laeto are very similar because their capitol cities (and castles) are major areas where many people go to visit. The royal families are well known and visit the general public often. Their castles are tourist attractions, and parts are open to the general public. In my last post I talked about the Varnan castle and how the center is a giant temple where many people go to pray. One of Aya's brothers is a priest there. Laeto's capital city is a market, very similar to Central City. The castle is in the center of a giant town and many people go inside the castle to meet with the royal family, give them gifts, and ask for help. Tykra and Zetalon, however, are different. Their castles are not parts of major cities, and are very isolated. The royal families rarely affiliate with their subjects. It's something that Kyla appreciated as a child, but grows to dislike. It makes sense for the story.
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