Day 67 Sinking deeper into tissues and blankets.

Okay, so I am still sick and I have two dumb stories I want to write about tonight.
First: Saturday night (at least I think it was Saturday night) I tried to take an Advil cold and sinus pill and because of all the mucus it got stuck in my throat. I could still breath, but it was super uncomfortable. So I looked up online to see what to do (it was three o'clock in the morning and everyone was asleep). Nothing I tried worked. They said eating things like bread, salsa, honey and ginger, hot water, vitamin C, along with other odd ideas should loosen and free the pill. I tried them all but none of them worked, and I could feel the pill start to move down my throat but then it would move back up to where it was before. So I finally gave up. I went upstairs to re-brush my teeth and as soon as I had put tooth paste on my tooth brush I puked in the sink. The stupid pill had moved and triggered my gag reflex, it was gross. I managed to get to the toilet and finish puking there, but once everything was out I could still feel the pill in my throat. And to make things worse the sink is a piece of crap and clogs easily soooo skipping to the point, it clogged. I finally climbed in bed at four thirty with the pill still stuck in my throat, but on the bright side the sink is clean and because of the ludicrous amount of Drain-O I poured in it drains a little better than before...sort of. Today I learned (By accident) that if your throat is covered in mucus soda (Ginger Ale) helps clear it off a little bit. So when the Advil got stuck again today I got out a can of Ginger Ale and it went down beautifully. Much better than Saturday.

Story two: So this "morning" (I was up late with a headache and slept in till about 12:30 ish) I got in the shower before going down stairs. I was almost done when suddenly I felt dizzy and nauseous, and I could feel my vision getting narrower. My vision soon was grainy as if things were turned to low resolution. I was leaning against the cold shower wall trying not to pass out. So it doesn't go completely away but I'm able to finish. I get out wrap my towel around me and I can feel the room tipping side to side so I grab the counter and slowly sit down with my back against the cabinet. I'm not sure how long I sat there waiting for the nausea and dizziness to go away. But I'm just relieved that it did go back to normal, and it didn't happen again today. It was kind of scary.

Cold adventures aren't fun. I hope I get better soon. Plus the sooner I'm better the sooner I can really hit my book hard. I really struggle to stay awake at the computer when I'm sick.


Day 67

Day 66

Saturday! still sick and I slept in really late....I'm starting to feel a little depressed. I just wanna be better all ready! :(

Day 66

Day 65

Sorry for the late post. Last week was crazy.

So my cold was still pretty awful Friday so I didn't do much.



Day 65 Minecraft & Frasier

64

Hi! So I forgot to write on here last night. I was up late writing again. :)
So things are going pretty well I'm writing hard and writing fast, and trying not to get hung up on editing.
Well I'd like to type more but I have more writing to do!

Day 64

Day 63: Take that!

Today I'm happy to report that I am almost better! Although my throat is still really sore. I highly recommend not getting a cold. It's not fun.

Any-a-who I have a confession. So I should be nearing the end of the middle, but since I only had a week to work on the beginning it really sucked. I forgot who I was as a writer, and I got caught up in this whole challenge crap. I needed a schedule and deadlines but I ended up trying to force myself to write in a way that wasn't me. I can't write random scenes to use eventually, I can't just write a little bit (I have to keep going until my hunger is satisfied), and I cannot keep going back and forth between parts. I found myself and realized why everything has come to a halt. I realized what my road block was. This is not me. I love the way I write and although it has taken a little bit of time I found myself once more. I have officially started my book over and right now I have the first couple of scenes. I had some of my family to listen to my story and so far I think they like it, although I have made a rule they are not allowed to read it. When my family reads a story they turn into English professors, and go crazy about grammar, punctuation and drive me nuts about things making sense. So until I am ready to edit they cannot under any circumstances read my writings. I know it's late to be starting over but things happen, and I intend to finish by the 90 days and I don't mean just writing my book I mean editing too.
I will have a full and completed manuscript of my entire book and be working on getting it published by the 91st day. Nothing is going to stop me, because I have made up my mind.


Day 63

Kaylee Ray Destroyer of Blank Pages.

Day 62: Sick Day

Still sick.


So Tuesday sucked too. I wasn't loopy but I still felt like crap.


Day 62 gone forever oh well :) It'll be okay.

Day 61: Sick Day

Sick day!
So Monday I was so sick and loopy that I didn't dare get on here and blog...Let alone work on my story. (who knows what may have happened to my poor characters?!)

So Day 61 passed and is gone. Stay healthy everyone!

Day 60 Assignment 27 Part 2: Climax

HI!



day 60 Completed....hahaha

Day 59 Assignment 27 Part 2: Climax

Today I didn't get much writing done, but I did work on contradictions and smoothing things out.

It was fun. I also Painted a little bit today! It's in oil paint and it going to be this really cool dragon...at least I hope it turns out cool. :)


Day 59 completed

Day 58 Assignment 27 Part 1: Climax

Hey so um I know this is super late again. today was kind of busy, and since my stomach is hurting and I have to get up early tomorrow I'm not able to write as much as I would have liked on here so I'm apologizing now for my lameness.



Day 58 completed :P





Day 57 was also completed I just didn't have access to a computer :(

Day 56 Assignment 27 Part 1: Climax

This week only has two assignments (just so you know) and well what ever.

So I realize I'm pretty boring, and I don't blog very much and everything ends up really short. Haha it's a good thing my book is more interesting and longer than my blogging. :)


and on that note goodnight!

Day 56 completed



P.S. look forward to more interesting blog posts. I'm going to start writing earlier and perhaps talk more about other things besides the assignment and writing. I think that would be more interesting for anyone who reads this and for me.



I really struggled today to focus on writing I found myself distracted by the sitcom 'Frasier' and playing the game 'Minecraft'. It is so much fun! I love creating things in Minecraft it is a whole world of just blocks and you can build anything! I have wasted many hours playing that cursed game! But I love it. Sometime I'll put some pictures up of what I've created and am working on...could that have sounded any more nerdy? It also doesn't help that the computer that has Minecraft on it is in the same room that has the tv...sooo I guess you could say I've been practicing my multitasking skills by playing Mincraft and watching Frasier at the same time......I'm amazed that I'm not a fat lump of bleh yet...just oozing in a puddle of lazy flesh on the ground.

I used to go bike riding every morning but the people I would go with aren't able to go anymore. Plus it has gotten freezing cold outside, and I have a hard time exercising inside it is so boring. Personally I miss biking fourteen miles everyday, it was fun.

I also miss living in my own apartment. Although I am enjoying living at home while I can, because I know that this isn't going to last forever and I may never get the chance to spend this much time with my family again. Sooner or later life is going to find me and I'll be married and have a family of my own before I know it. I really hope that happens someday soon (I'm getting tired of awful dates...I'll have to tell you about some of them someday). But anyway it's a lot of fun living with my family again even if it's just for a little while. I love them very much.

Day 55 Assignment 27 Part 1: Climax

Well I kind of took a break from Sarah Domet today. Instead I was reading and taking the advice of an amazing writer James Scott Bell who wrote 'The Art of War for Writers'. If you ever need help writing a book don't just use one use a couple. Mr. Bell is one of my favorite his book talks a lot about getting published, but he also focuses on helping make your book better. He says "Write hard, write fast, and the fire of creation will be yours". that was the inspiration of my writing today. I just wrote and let things spin out as they wanted. I use my outline as that, an outline. A guide to where the story goes, but how the characters get there is up to them. :)



Day 55 completed

Day 54 Assignment 27 Part 1: Climax

Still working on the climax...

supposed to ask myself questions like:
what is the character feeling? is the emotion deep enough?
What in the character's past makes this scene more significant and important?
How does the character react to the climax?
Is the climax powerful or important enough to effect the character?



Day 54 completed

Day 53 Assignment 27 Part 1: Climax

Sorry! I promise I did this on Saturday. I was so tired I just kind of crashed and I don't like to blog (or get on my computer on Sundays...), but anyway I did it. :)


This is working on the climax you want to make sure it is important and significant. I.E. Luke Skywalker finding out that Darth Vader is his Father. That was a the climax of that "episode" in the Star Wars Series.

So the climax needs to affect the main character in some way or another. My climax has to do with someone important dying and him giving in to his dark side...although more than that happens to spin him down into the depths of despair.





Day 53 completed

Day 52 Assignment 26 Part 3: Foreshadowing

So this assignment was basically Foreshadowing. How can I as a writer and story teller set up something in one scene and have it happen or come into effect later?

Here is an example of Foreshadow:

He glanced at the knife on the counter, but instead of putting it away he went and stretched out on the couch .
-A Scene or Two Later-
The deranged serial killer silently took the sharp knife from the counter and slowly approached the man sleeping on the couch.

as you can see I didn't spend too much time on the knife. Foreshadowing is sometimes a character's after thought, meaning it doesn't have to stand out too much. Foreshadowing can be simple or it could be more complex like Sherlock Holmes and the breathing apparatus or a student leaving their homework on the table as they leave for school.

:) so much for going to bed earlier.

Day 52 completed.

Day 51 Assignment 26 Part 3:

Happy Halloween! so I didn't get any writing done today...oops. But I plan on doing extra tomorrow soo ha!

it's late so Good Night!

Day 51 Completed
Assignment 26 part 3 to be continued.

Day 50 Assignment 26 Part 2: Talking it out

For this one I was supposed to analyze whether or not a scene would work better with verbal communication or body language.

I found that some scenes needed an actual dialogue while others worked better with just physical reactions.
For example:
Body Language: the little boy cried silently as he ran toward his mother's turned back. He grabbed ahold of the back of her shirt, but she spun around slapping his hands. She glared angrily down at him as if blaming him for her failed marriage. He stepped back his eyes wide with surprise and shock. Silently with his hands at his sides he watched her walk angrily away.

Dialogue: "Mommy!" he screamed, and chased after her with his hands stretched out. She turned angrily and grabbed his hands "I Don't Love You."
"But" the little boy whimpered
"I hate you" she snarled, pushing him away.
As he watched her get into the taxi he softly whispered "but I love you".

I'll let you decide which one works better for this scene, Body Language or Dialogue? :)
(also I know my dialogue isn't very strong. I didn't put a lot of work into that example...I'm super tired. But that is what happened in Aaron's past...needless to say he had a hard childhood) :(

Also a good thing to do is to make sure your dialogue doesn't sound corny (like a movie where the acting is awful and the dialogue feels forced or fake). So read it out loud, can you see or hear a real person saying it?


Good NIght

Day 50 completed

Day 49 Assignment 26 Part 1: Action

So I did this one yesterday, but I fell asleep while I was writing.
This assignment was about how to approach action scenes. You want the reader to be sucked in and forget they are sitting on the edge of their couch but instead dragging a man out of a car crash. The trick is to keep it short (detail wise), use descriptive or colorful words (explain exactly what you mean in as few words as possible), keep things moving (if your character is too focused on the crows or broken glass on the ground you may lose an important element), make sure you aren't leaving anything important out.

An action scene needs to leave the reader wanting resolve (calmness or peace) it's up to you whether they get it or not.


Day 49 completed (but blogged a bit late) ;)

Day 48 Assignment 26 Part 1:

Wooo so this one is super late! 0///0 haha ooops.
Anyways I'll write more about this one tomorrow since I'm gonna need two days for it.


I'm so tired so I'm gonna hit the hay okay? night :)

day 48 completed
assignment 26 part 1 to be continued.

Day 47 Assignment 25 Part 4: Theme

Okay well somehow I've gotten ahead again...the next assignment is supposed to start on day 50...Well I guess that is okay. But that doesn't mean I can take a day off.

Anyway theme has been fun to work on, because you have the few things you see but other people can take other parts of your story in a whole new way. Just because I purposely use one theme doesn't mean it is the only one. Often times there will be several themes you aren't even aware of until later.

But I don't think worrying about your theme is super important. I think what is more important is what you take away from the story so if your theme gives to your readers keep it, and make it stronger.


Night all!

Day 47 completed

Day 46 Assignment 25 Part 4: Theme

...I'm so tired! Sorry this one is going to be short. ;)
Just like me haha

anyways this was the last assignment for this week so I'm kept working on it and (I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say...) it's done.
see you all tomorrow!


GOODNIGHT!


Day 46 completed....

Day 45 Assignment 25 Part 4: Theme

Theme! So if it's greed don't just flat out say the theme is greed allude to it embed it in everything. Subtle is you friend on this one.

Goodness it is so late! I didn't realize how late it was...I've been writing all night. :)

I'm really struggling to stay awake so goodnight!

day 45 completed ^0^

Day 44 Assignment 25 Part 3: emotion

For this one I was supposed to show emotion in a scene not tell you what he is feeling.

For example:
Telling-- He was angry.
Showing-- (3rd Person) his ears and neck burned as he clenched his fists and jaw in anger.
                  (1st Person) A terrible ringing noise filled my ears, and a hot tingling sensation shot across my face. I am so angry I feel like punching the wall and screaming, but I don't. I just stand silent faking a sweet happy smile, but inside I'm fuming.



Emotion is important so don't let it fall flat.

Day 44 Completed.

Day 43 Assignment 25 Part 2: Beginning of the middle

For this assignment I was supposed to make sure I was using setting to help reveal my main character's emotions, mood, and thoughts/inner desires. Today was tough to find time to write since I woke up late, took my car to have the windshield replaced, and had the ward Halloween/fall party. It was a fun day, but not too fulfilling. I'm hoping and planning on tomorrow being a better day for writing and life in general.
I'm starting to fall back out of shape....I hate  it. I feel fat and chunky, and I can't tell other people how I am feeling because they immediately deny it. Not that anyone has ever seen me naked and can honestly say "you aren't pudgy at all" pft that is something only I can say. people are dumb. They are so concerned about feelings that they don't tell you the truth. They could at least acknowledge how you are feeling and support you. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and say "I love who I am, I love how I look, and I honestly love my body". (I can say the first two but I want to be able to say  the last one. Honestly.) Maybe I'll make a new blog soon for that...Since it seems to be helping me stay on track with my writing. :)

I'm not fat, and I don't hate myself or my body. But I don't love my body, and that is something I want to change.

...Not sure how I got so sidetracked...haha as you can see I'm a little more open with my thoughts and feelings when I am tired.

I'm having trouble focusing so Goodnight! ;)

Day 43 Completed

Day 42 Assignment 25 Part 1: Beginning of the middle

For this assignment I was supposed to start with the last plot point of the beginning and write a scene where the main character is interacting with a minor character. Not too difficult and kind of fun. :)

I find myself deviating from the 90 day challenge's assignments and doing things my way...according to my mother I have been doing that since I was two, so not a shocker there.
Don't get me wrong I'm having a lot of fun writing and developing my story it's just that Sarah bless her heart goes super slow and keeps repeating things. I'm getting a little frustrated. I really needed her help though to stick to a schedule, and the book is really helping with that. Plus I do believe there is always something to be learned, for example I learned how to compose a character sketch. Which is something no one ever taught me, but I did make up my own character sketch process/outline before reading her book...what I learned was faster and a little easier.

I realize I don't write much....but I don't have much to say I mean I'm not talking to anyone in specific and I don't know if anyone actually reads this. Sorry I'm kind of lame. ;)

Have a good night!

Day 42 Completed

Day 41 Assignment 24 Part 3: middle of the beginning

So I realized that I am two days ahead of where I should be so I took another day to work on the beginning. I was having trouble so I went back and have been reworking things so that it flows better.
sorry I haven't been posting the process I've been busy so it's been hard to blog very much.


Day 41 completed

Day 40 Assignment 24 Part 3: middle of the beginning

Haha so this assignment I didn't realize that it was supposed to take three day...I thought I was behind, but that really helps because I needed the extra day.

So the speaker we went and listened to was Donald Davis. He talk about memories and when we want to remember something that happened the best way is to think of the place, then everything that happened there comes flooding back. He also talked about how writing is our first foreign language, and that writing can be tricky because you don't have the same advantages you have when you are telling a story in person.

Best advice I ever got was to keep learning, it is naïve to assume you know it all and can't continue to improve. (not sure who said it though) :)

Still working on the beginning, but up next....the Middle! :)

Goodnight!

Day 40 completed.

Day 39 Assignment 24 Part 3: middle of the beginning

Hey so I'm actually not quite done with this one, but I'm going to keep moving forward. Nothing is set in stone so if I don't like what I have later I can always fix it or even change it.
So I'm going to this storytelling/writing workshop it is so much fun, the guy who spoke today was funny and an amazing story teller. I'm so excited to hear him speak tomorrow too!

anyways good night, and I'll write more about the workshop tomorrow when it isn't so late. :)

Day 39 completed!

Day 38 Assignment 24 Part 3: middle of the beginning

so this one is going to take a little bit longer since this one is writing from the beginning of the book to the end of the beginning.
This part of the story should be setting up what is going to happen.

Well I'm still working on it so talk to you all later!

sorry I don't post very much...truth is I don't talk very much. I had a job over the summer in a call center and that was probably the most I have talked in a few years. It was a tough job for me and very out of my comfort zone, but I met some amazing people and make new friends. So I'm really glad I got to work there.


Day 38 Completed
Assignment 24 part 3 to be continued!

Day 37 Assignment 24 Part 2: Scene One

Sorry for the super late post today has been crazy. On the upside my room is now clean!
Anyways tonight's post is going to be short I'm really tired.

In the first scene or two you will want to introduce your main character, where he is, what year it is (if that is relevant), what kind of world it is (magic, knights, space), hint/flat out say what he wants, and hint/flat out say what is keeping him from getting it.


I'm starting to doze off, so good night!

Day 37 Completed :)

Day 36 Assignment 24 Part 1: The Hook, and the beginning

Hallelujah chorus! (by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

Today I got to work on the first couple of pages of my book! The main focus was the opening line. The first line is very important since that is what draws a reader in it "hooks" their attention.

I am so happy and excited to finally be working on my book! Haha if you couldn't tell by the Hallelujah chorus :)
Finally things are starting to look up and move along!


Day 36 COMPLETED!

Day 35 Assignment 23 Part 5: Eye Balling it, POV

So the Assignment today was to work on Point of View...again. Once more I am being asked to make sure the story is being told from the correct point of view.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am ripping out my hair! PLEASE JUST LET ME WORK ON MY BOOK AND STORY! I just wanna write. bleh!


Goodnight!

And a special message to Dani.... Alfalfa says thank you. Your purse made for a perfect meal.
Mwahahahahahahahahaha!

Day 35 Completed.

Day 34 Assignment 23 Part 4: Mind Reading

A life in the day of Aaron R. Mon-Fri
Alarm clock goes off. Wakes up. Unplugs alarm clock. Rolls over. Phone alarm goes off. takes battery out of phone. puts pillow over his head. cat climbs up on dresser. jumps out of bed to Avoid cat jumping on him with claws out. gets cat food. bathroom & shower. pour cereal. Eat while getting dressed. Avoid Stan and Frankie two of his more nosy neighbors. Run down three flights of stairs. Gets in his red car and speeds to the upper part of the city. College. Two O'clock drives home. climbs three flights of stairs. (showers if he didn't have time that morning). Eats lunch. Studies. Plays with cat...Torments cat. Five O'clock. Avoids neighbors. runs down three flights of stairs. Walks to work. One am. Walks home. Eats a snack (cereal most likely). Sets alarm and phone alarm. Studies, and cat curls up next to or on him. Bed.

Saturday and Sunday no work and no school. Studies. Sleeps. Relaxes. Goes for a walk through the city. Hangs out with friends (Gregory webbs, kid two flights down, or the guy at the end of the hall).


Aaron hates life, but he is determined to find something worth living for. There has to be something out there some reason for why he was born. He was brought into this world with a job and failed. He has been told that he does not deserve to be happy and that he took away all the happiness in his own home when he was born. He has no purpose, and he doesn't need to exist. The world would be better off without him. He doesn't want to believe it. He can't believe it. His Father must be wrong. There must be a way for him to find happiness, and reason for his existence.

That kind of describes what is going on inside of him. Outside he appears to be reserved, calm, distant, disconnected, doesn't seem to care about anything, hard, cold, serious, and unresponsive.

So in the end make sure you know your character's:
Physical Description
Physical State & Condition
Physical Strengths & Weaknesses
Mental State & Condition
Mental Strengths & Weaknesses
Emotional State & Condition
Emotional Strengths & Weaknesses
Views on life & Why
Background & History
Friends & Family
Important life experiences
Influences (Positive and Negative)
Likes & Dislikes
Habits (good & bad)
Love Interests
Love or Lust
Are they the Protector or the one being protected?
Positive/Negative
Attacker/Defender
Problem maker, Peace maker, or Passive?

Day 34 Completed.

Day 33 Assignment 23 Part 4: Mind Reading

So the assignment for today and tomorrow is to get inside your character's head. Become come the character. During the assignment you are not supposed to be yourself but your main character instead.

Some questions to answer as your character:
How do you sit? (do you have to move you leg or your fingers? do you cross your legs? what are you doing with your arms?)
What are you thinking about?
How do you see other people?
What is your opinion on life?
What is your default face? (What does your face look like when you space out or aren't making a face on purpose? For example my friend's is Angry, and mine is Bored)
If a crime were to happen in front of you (theft, harassment, etc.) what would you do?
Depending on how you were raised and your life experiences how do you behave? (around friends, family, and strangers)
How do you stand? (are your shoulders hunched? do you stand tall as if at attention? etc.)

these are just a few of the questions I came up with. I think with this one it's important to get creative.
Also I feel like this should have been with the earlier assignments for creating your characters and learning more about them.

Day 33 Completed.

Day 32 Assignment 23 Part 3: Background Checks

...

Yet another step backwards...I feel like I have already done this assignment.

In this Assignment you need to know the minor characters backgrounds and histories. You also need to make sure you know enough about your main characters.

I'm Bored.

Day 32 Completed.

Day 31 Assignment 23 Part 2: Sharply Particular Characters

So today's assignment was to practice introducing characters. No person is exactly the same, and it goes for characters too. If all your characters sound the same and act the same they will seem fake and the story will feel flat and boring.

To introduce a character:

• Make it feel real
• Make it believable. Make the reader believe that if they went to that Family Restaurant, or book store down the street they would meet your character.
• Don't spend too much time describing the character. That is boring.
• Make the character memorable. Maybe his eyes were dark and hateful, perhaps she had hair that looked like spaghetti. Either way make sure there is something that you can identify that specific character with that is worth remembering.
• Make sure the character isn't too perfect, imperfections are easier to identify with than perfection.

Tip: Think of a time you met someone new. What was it like? What happened? Memories are awesome material to draw from. No experience you have is worthless.

Day 31 Completed.

Day 30 Assignment 23 Part 1: You Are How You Look

In this one you revisit Assignment 10 and re evaluate what you wrote. Did you characters have new features that were "discovered"?
The assignment is to take each feature that was described and to write what that says about your character's personality or disposition.

For example:
Calloused Fingers: Plays Guitar, Plays often and for long periods of time, probably enjoys it, most likely has gotten pretty good at sight-reading or playing by ear, has a sense for beat and rhythm, stubborn, determined, doesn't like to fail, hates to lose, doesn't admit defeat easily.

You can kind of see what I'm saying.

So can I just say this feels like a step backwards. I was always taught to create a timeline and an outline (sometimes the outline was first) then to create a rough draft, then you go through you fix all the kinks and fix the flow. Then you pay attention to what makes is plausible and human reactions meaning would someone really react like this? Second draft-more editing and fixing up. Then possibly a third and fourth draft, but eventually you have a final draft....I don't get this whole do all this running around work before you even start writing a rough draft....
It's a different way to approach writing a novel, but I wish this assignment had been by assignment ten. Actually I wish all the assignments that had to do with each other had been put either in the same one or next to each other. It feels like I start to make progress and then turn around and go back to the beginning. I'm really starting to get tired of this method.


Day 30 Completed.

Day 29 Assignment 22 Part 4: Researching Your Fictional World

Wooo! So technically I'm not done with researching my world every time I think I'm almost done I think of more questions. I'm marking this one as done though since I have enough to be able to continue working on my story. This has been my favorite assignment. I love creating new worlds! :)

The LDS General Conference was AWESOME today, and I am so excited for tomorrow's sessions! :D

Days 27, 28, & 29 Completed!
Assignment 22 Parts 1-4 Completed.

Day 28 Assignment 22 Part 4: Researching Your Fictional World

Sorry I lost track of time, unfortunately I'm still working on researching more of my world. There is a lot that I had not thought of yet, and I want to make sure I'm being thorough enough. I don't want to hit a road block later because I failed to fill a hole in creating a world for my characters to exist in.

Day 27 & 28 To be continued.

Day 27 Assignment 22 Part 4: Researching Your Fictional World

Research! Every world fictional or non-fictional has a history. A few years ago I went to a youth writing conference they had the Authors of several popular books like Fable Haven come and give seminars on writing, and talk about important things they have learned. Paul Genesse (he wrote the Golden Cord) was my favorite speaker. He talked about how every world has their own superstitions and beliefs. You need to know what is happening politically, spiritually, and geographically to the people your character is apart of. The key to creating a world that is believable and plausible is knowing their beliefs, their fears, and the secrets of their worlds.

Some good questions to answer are:

• Is it a city, suburbs, or in the middle of nowhere?
• What is the year? 1700s or 3029?
• What kind of clothes do they wear? Corsets or perhaps Space Suits?
• What sort of environment is their city in? Mountains or by the Sea? Jungle or Dessert?
• What kind of Technology do they have? Floating lights and flying cars or peddle powered cars and torches?
• What kind of rules exist in their world/society?
• What do they believe in?
• What are their superstitions?
• What do they fear? Sea monsters or maybe the Vikings that live across the lake? The Vampire living next door with his skeleton cat?
• What are the dangers of their world? Are they terrorized by Dragons or is their city overrun with diseased zombie like humans?
• Has their country or people ever been in a war? Who was it with and why?
• Have their people ever been enslaved or enslaved others?
• What kind of planet is it?
• Does it have a moon? Does it have more than one moon?
• Does it have an ocean?
• What kind of animals are on the planet if it is different from Earth?
• Are there any other cities or people living on the planet?
• Are the people at the top of the food chain or are they hunted?
• What is the food like? Dragon meat or Hot dogs?
• Do your people believe in God?

You can see what I'm getting at if you "world" is different from Earth in any way you need to know How it is different, Why it is different, and What is different. You should know your fictional world as well as you know the world you live in.

Well this assignment is supposed to take two days so I'm going to keep working on it and keep asking questions until I know everything possible about Aaron's world.

See you all tomorrow! Good Night! :)

Day 26 Assignment 22 Part 3: Assessing Narrative Arch

Alright so I've finished Part three.

the book recommends looking at certain points: (I summarized things quite a bit and added a few of my own)

In the beginning:

• Does it start in the correct place?
• Is where you are starting interesting and important?
• Do you get a feel for who the main character is in the first couple of scenes?
• Do you know what motivates him and why?
• What does he want?
• Will the reader connect with the main character? Why should they connect with him?
• By the second or third scene can you see or start to see any obvious or inconspicuous conflicts starting to arise?
• Is my beginning interesting enough to make someone want to keep reading?
• When we reach the middle does my main character act on his own or is he forced to act?

Middle:

• What is keeping the main character from his goal?
• Is the conflict strong enough?
• Does the character's motivation make sense?
• where could you add more complications for the main character to make things more interesting?
• How do the events change him? Emotionally, Mentally, Physically, what changes him and why?
• How does his background and beliefs affect how he reacts to different things?
• What is the climax of the novel?
• What is his defining moment, his moment of truth?

End:

• Have any parts of the story been left unresolved?
• Do any minor characters need to be included in the end, do they need more explanation?
• Does your outline have enough material in it?
• Can you see how your main character has changed from beginning to end? (you should be able to see this in the outline before you finish the actual book)
• What kind of ending does your main character meet? Happy, sad, unresolved?
• Is the ending something you are going to be happy with?
• Do you plan on a sequel?

So this assignment really gets you thinking, and it was good to sit down and evaluate the story as a whole.
Also sorry for yesterdays um irritable post...It was a long day. ;)

Day 25 & 26 Completed

Day 25 Assignment 22 Part 3: Assessing Narrative Arch

I'm still working on it I'll post things soon. I'm running late; Deal with it.

Day 24 Assignment 22 Part 2: Assessing Scene Variety

Well my hands are now stained many different colors. I had to redo my timeline in a way that it would make more sense to me. Once that made more sense I was able to see how each character affected the story and my main character. Then I went through my outline to see which scenes worked better as internal or external. It needs a little more work, but so far I think I have a pretty good mix of both types.
This kind of took forever, because I didn't suck it up and do it this way in the first place. I really didn't need to make a new timeline but I was struggling to keep everything and everyone straight. My room is a disaster now. I have markers, papers, and a huge graph laying on my floor. The graph has each important character and what is going on in their life. It helps because now I can see where things line up, and where my characters cross paths.

I highly recommend an Outline and a Timeline. They are both really helpful.
Day 23&24 Completed

Day 23 Assignment 22 Part 2: Assessing Scene Variety

In this one you go through each of your scenes and decide if it is an Internal Scene or an External Scene.
Internal=what is happing within the character and reveling things about him.
External=Dialogue, Action scenes, things that happen to the character.

So this one takes two days to complete, so look forward to a continuation on this one Monday.

Today was crazy busy I have only read the assignment in the book. I'm going to start writing once my brain has some time to let things sink in. Today I went with my Mom and Sister to the Woman's Conference (Woman's Session of General Conference) in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was fun spending time with them, and the Conference was awesome. I love hearing the Prophet speak, and I am so excited for General Conference next weekend!

well good night cyberspace! sorry I realize I'm really not that interesting, but that's okay I don't need a ton of people to like me. Because I like myself. I love who I am, and I'm not ashamed of what I am.

I am KayleeRay a Person from the Milky way galaxy, from the planet Earth, from the North American Continent, From the country America, From Utah. I am a person who is kind, smart, important, people watching, smart, constantly learning, story telling, beautifully cute, art doing, child teaching, laughing, woman, and I am a Daughter of God.

Song of the day: Bob Marley, Three Little Birds

Never give up. It is going to be hard, but I believe in you. You can do it.
Day 23 To Be Continued.

Day 22 Assignment 22 Part 1: Assessing Scene Worth

So from this point on each of the assignments are going to take a week. However each assignment is going to have several different sections, i.e. this week has four parts.

 

For this assignment I had to number each of my scenes, and read through my outline. The book gives this list of questions to ask for every scene you write.

·         What is the purpose of this scene?

·         How is this scene related to the scene immediately before or after?

·         What characters are involved in this scene?

·         What is the setting?

·         What is at stake for the protagonist in this scene?

·         What is the conflict in this scene?

·         How does this scene further develop my novel’s point?

·         (90 Days To Your Novel, Sarah Domet, pg 135)

I’ll still keep posting everyday, but you guys I AM SO EXCITED! This is where all the fun begins! :D

Today was pretty busy, and I feel like I need to apologize for my posts being so boring lately. I’ll try to keep them more interesting from now on.

 

So since I’m keeping things interesting I’m going to post two songs on here, they both make me smile and I love writing to them (and dancing to them).

Akeboshi, Wind

 

Awolnation, Sail

 

Day 21 Assignment 21: outline

So today I worked more on the outline, but I hit some snags and it is going to take a little longer to finish.

Today I'm in a weird mood. I don't want to post today. I just want to work on my story. Haha, but I do have a story to tell you all!

so today was the relief society activity, we had a service auction. For those of you who aren't LDS (Mormons) Relief Society is for the women in the neighborhood (mothers and young women who are 18 & up) to get together and socialize with each other at an activity. So after everything was over the three of us who were left went around the church building turning off the lights and making sure the doors were locked. I got this really creepy feeling that we weren't the only ones in the building, and as we all parted ways and headed to the doors closest to our cars we noticed light coming out of the gym. No one had seen anyone else in the building, and the light had been off just a few minutes ago. Turns out it was just two guys who wanted to play basket ball in the gym...

It scared me so bad! especially since I had just freaked myself out and had convinced myself that I was just being paranoid, but guess what? I wasn't imagining things.


well that's everything tonight. I'm really irritated...but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I have this headache that wont go away...or maybe today just sucked. BLEH!

day 20 & 21 Completed>>>for the most part<BLEH!

Day 20 Assignment 20: OUTLINE

Alright so today's assignment was to start the outline, but it won't be complete until day 21. So since I'm in the middle of working on this one I'll post more about it tomorrow.

Finally the outline! This is what I have been waiting anxiously for since starting! :)
I'll let you all know how things are going tomorrow, but I can say this for sure....I'm having so much FUN! I know I'm super weird, but I really love writing and this is so much fun.

well until tomorrow...

Day 20 To be continued!

Day 19 Assignment 19: Write a synopsis of your book.

So I actually had to look this one up, because I’ve never written one before.

The sites I used are these:

• http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml
• How to write a synopsis
• http://www.explorewriting.co.uk/what-synopsis-how-write-one.html
• What is a synopsis
• http://www.charlottedillon.com/synopsis.html
• Help writing a synopsis & other important documents used for submitting your story to an editor.

What I learned about it is this:

• Tells your story from start to finish
• Is two to eleven pages (depends on what the publisher requires)
• Double spaced (unless they say otherwise), 12pt font, white paper
• Write/print on one side of paper

I needed a little help so I wrote everything out like this:

Beginning

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Middle

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

End

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Each section (beginning, middle, end) should have at least three main parts in it.You should have a paragraph (at least 5 sentences) for each part, because something important should be happening in each part. The synopsis should follow your main plot and should include your key points and the ending. The Synopsis is what sells your book to an editor or publisher (or agent) so it needs to be as good as your book, it is in a way your “movie” Preview.

So in the end you should have two to eleven pages that look kind of like this:

Name  ----Never double space your information.
Phone Number
Email Address

(Book Title) Synopsis

            Once Long ago in a galaxy not so far away....This part must catch the reader’s attention. Introduce the Main characters and include any background information a reader who will not be reading the whole book may need to understand the synopsis.

            A synopsis isn’t for anyone & everyone to read, because it goes through the main plot from start to finish. You leave nothing important out that you need, but remember keep it simple and enticing.

 

This one was kind of hard especially since I'm home sick today...It has been really hard to focus, so I apologize if anything doesn't really make sense. ;)

Day 19 Completed.

Day 18 Assignment 18: Create (brainstorm) a list of words that you associate with each word. (i.e. adjectives, verbs, and nouns). Next print out a scene you have already written and circle/highlight anything that helps set the tone of the scene. Next select a song for the “soundtrack” of this scene. (i.e. if the scene had theme/background music what would it sound like? What song would it be?) Lastly write two scenes where the main character discovers something one must be positive and the other negative.

So this assignment teaches tone. The book/scene’s tone is affected by the background, words you use, and the way your character sees the world. It was a good way of showing how tone can affect your story but personally I prefer to think of it this way:

 If your character is paranoid he isn’t going to walk through the park and hear lovely birds chirping and see a beautiful azure blue sky. That would ruin the feel of the book. Your book would literally fall out of character and would lose the audience’s attention. If the character is paranoid the book its self must have the feel of paranoia. Meaning the background, descriptions, words used by the character, and especially the way he sees other characters should reflect a level of paranoia.

 

	Ominous	Upbeat	Quirky	Manipulative	Mysterious	Obsessive
Adjectives (descriptive) Sort of…	Dark, gloomy, dangerous,  black, gray	Bright, happy, sunshine, yellow, pink, excited	Odd, strange, likeable, out there, unusual, funny	Harsh, alone, fearful, down, gray, red, strong, vicious	Mist, morning, evening, unknown, far away, not all there, reserved, tall, dark, handsome	Fat, lustful, needy, lonely, more, want, sickening
Verbs (action) …	Follow, Stalk, Sneak, Tie, glare, scowl, silent, creep mean	Bouncy, skip, walk, dance, laugh, talk, giggle, smile, kind	Stand tall, don’t care, kind, mean, stare, silly	Passive aggressive, violent, controlling, mean, in charge, pushy	Reserved, quiet, laid back, calm, aloof	Needy, clingy, wanting, lusting, demanding, fighting, exercise
Nouns (person, place, or thing) Please don’t ask.	(door to door) salesmen park, city, guard dogs, dark stair wells, woods, ocean, police	Waiters, mechanics, park, city, music store, investigators, friends	People, Las Vegas, Utah, parents, siblings, friends, animals	Men, Women, parents, friends, coworkers, boss, teachers, bullies, school, work	Men, women, mountains, the unknown, forest, city	Men, women, animals, food, library, gym, studio

 

Please don’t ask…it said to use my imagination so this is what I ended up with… bleh.

Part 2:

What is happening in the scene: It is a cold rainy night, and he is on the roof watching the cars drive away. The main character is miserable and is contemplating living and dying. He is horrified by the idea of dying but things have gotten so bad that it has become tempting. He accidently ends up in a situation where he could die, but he chooses to live. Once he is safe he decides not to give up just yet.

The song is “Headlights” by Bruce Aisher, Richard Salmon

Since I’ve promised not to give away anything from my story I won’t be posting the positive and negative scenes. I apologize for that, but I really don’t want anyone reading it until it has been perfected and completed.

So I just feel like writing or talking for a moment. You know I actually have to turn my internet/Wi-Fi off when I'm writing...I get distracted easily. I didn't realize how much this book was a teaching you how to write your novel as well as getting it written in 90 days...it's great but I am really starting to get anxious about working on my book.

I like reading books on writing I believe that you can always learn more. There isn't a limit on what your brain can contain...at least I hope there isn't. Haha anyways good night and hopefully tomorrow's assignment will be more interesting. :)

Day 18 CoMpLeTeD!

Day 17 Assignment 17: Write a scene that took place in your main character’s past. Then write a scene that takes place in the present using the “past” scene as a back flash.

So a flash back can be one sentence or a couple of sentences. The hard part is not overwhelming the present scene (as the Author Sarah Domet said). In other words a successful flash back gives you important information without drawing too much attention to it. If you stay in the flash back too long the reader can forget what’s happening in the actual story or even get annoyed and stop reading.

This one wasn't too hard, especially if you have ever had a lot of practice quoting things in papers. In papers you use the quote to support your argument. Flash backs are similar because they support your characters and give a little more depth to the situation. Without flash backs the story would probably still makes sense but you would miss out on learning more about the character's personality and who they were in the past.

An example of a brief flash back: (this one I used in a previous assignment Justin's POV) 'Sheepishly he reached out and shook Aaron’s hand he didn’t know what to say. Habitually he recited what he had often said in high school whenever the principal had forced him to apologize to the boys he beat up, even if they had started it. Sorry I guess I let my anger get ahead of me.'
A flash back doesn't have to be long and it doesn't have to be too in depth. with this flash back alone you learn a few things about Justin

• he fought in high school, 
• he was always the one who had to apologize even if he hadn't started the fight,
• he must have had to say those words often to be able to recite them when he was flustered,
• he most likely has a bad temper if he was fighting so much in high school,
• the principal must have either had a close relationship to Justin or Justin must have respected him or feared him (someone with so much fighting spirit wouldn't have given in and simply apologized if it wasn't his fault),
• since he fought often he probably didn't back off unless he knew fighting wouldn't work or benefit him (doesn't back down easily)

Sorry I'm not posting the scene I wrote today, it turned out better than I thought it would and since it would give some exciting things away I'm not going to share it. ;)
Mwahaha!
Have a great weekend!

Day 17 Completed!

Day 16 Assignment 16: Finish your time line, and write 20 closing lines for your novel.

Today wasn't too different from the last two days. I'm not quite done with my time line there are still some things I would like to fix and revise. Over all today was a pretty good day. The ending lines have been the hardest, because that is the last thing your reader is going to read. It either has to leave people satisfied and happy with the ending, or leave everyone yearning to find out what happens next. It is just as important as the opening line. well I would love to write more here and on my story but I'm being called back to real life. haha that sounded dumb. Anyway until tomorrow!


p.s. Sorry there isn't much for this post. Also if anyone out there has any questions or suggestions please feel free to ask/suggest away. :)


Day 16 Completed.

Day 15 Assignment 15: Create a Time line for the beginning and middle of your story. Then write a short synopsis of what happens in the middle.

WOOO!!! Working on my actual STORY!!! If you can't tell I'm super excited. I have been writing for about four hours and if my eyes weren't freaking out and seeing little letters and black lines everywhere I'd keep writing. So today I had to write a time line of what happens from the beginning to the end of the middle. It was super fun. I'm really liking what I have so far and I can't wait to work more on it. Alas I have important things to attend to today and cannot work on it more. :(
I feel really lame for actually being sad about not being able to write more. Haha I hope that is a good sign.

So for my timeline I used a graph instead of an actual line with points on it. I don't like timelines and using a graph made it feel less tedious and less like a string of events. This is kind of what it looked like:  (only it had a lot more detail on what happened, sorry I really don't want to give much away )

Start. Beginning>>>	1. Main character is hit on by coworker	2. Main character (at work) is Confronted by her boyfriend, but they manage to talk things out without making too much of a scene or fighting
3. Angry his coworker  tells the same lie to her brother	4. the brother gets his friends to go teach Main character a lesson	5. Main character is cornered in an alley by a group of mean people.

Alright so that was just an example, I went off of what I posted for the Point Of View assignment. I am not actually taking the story in this direction. I don't like having her be the first significant event that happens to my Main character. especially since she doesn't resurface later in the story. maybe if I can some how get her to show up later it would work to some degree...but this isn't some story about love and some jealous girl getting revenge on a guy because he didn't like her.
anyways, today was a good writing day.

Never give up on what you want to do! :)


Day 15 Completed!

Day 14 Assignment 14: Brainstorming the beginning scenes. Write 20 Opening lines that grab the attention of the reader. Next write a list of 5 scene summaries that may be included in the beginning of the book.

Alright so I’m not going to post too much of my actual book. It’s not that I don’t trust the entire universe that has access to my blog. It’s just that I want my book to be amazing and I don’t want to give away too much. So I apologize in advance that I will not be posting many excerpts of my story.

So for this exercise I had to write 20 opening lines. In 10^th grade my English teacher taught us that every good paper or story must have a “hook”, meaning an opening line that would draw your readers in. This was fun to work on since I haven’t found an opening line/scene that I like yet. I have quite a few that I like now. I also had to write 5 scene summaries (i.e. hit by bus, sent to hospital, meets long lost mother who is a nurse) that example has nothing to do with my story by the way. This part was interesting since the scene didn’t have to be the opening scene and could be any scene in the beginning of the book.

Anyways this assignment was a lot of fun.
Two of the many things I brainstormed today.
line opening:
He stared out the window, and watched nervously as a man in a black coat disappeared around the corner

Scene Summary:
Grabbed by muggers(?) robbed, beaten and left for dead

Day 14 Completed.

Day 13 Assignment 13: Narrative Summary. Practice rewriting a previous scene using Narrative Summary.

So Narrative Summary is used to take you from one scene to the next, but it can also help move things along in a scene. You don’t have to explain everything that is happening that is where the Summary comes in. (that is my interpretation of what the Author in the book said…she used three or four pages to explain it). Admittedly I didn’t read it all. There were too many examples and it lost my attention. Ironic huh?

Anyway I’m going to try rewriting one of my scenes using Narrative Summary. I don’t think I really have a problem putting too much detail in and drawing scenes out. I like to keep things moving along or I lose interest and if I’m losing interest there is no way it will keep someone else’s attention.

But it is part of the ninety day challenge so I have to do it anyways…I’m really procrastinating this.

Alright well this isn’t working. So we are going to feign a scene.

Scene One No Narrative Summary. (obnoxious).

Anger bubbled up in me as I ran to the door in my socks, and quickly pulled on my rain boots. I struggled with the sticky dead bolt and twisted the brass door handle pulling hard to get the door open. Finally the old wooden and metal door jerked open and I fell on my butt. I stepped outside, took a deep breath and slammed the door shut behind me. I then proceeded to stomp down the front steps angrily.

Scene One Narrative Summary. (tolerable) So this would be cutting out the parts of the story that make it difficult to read.

Angrily, I stalked to the front door and pulled on my rain boots. I unlocked the sticky dead bolt and pulled on the heavy door until it jerked open tossing me back onto my butt. Embarrassed I slammed the door behind me and stomped down the steps.

Scene Two NO Narrative Summary (obnoxious)

The egg shell colored Kitchen felt tense as he stared at his daughter. She stood next to the oak breakfast table that was covered in delicious food for a healthy and wonderful breakfast. She clenched her trembling dainty hands with anger causing the ring on her small finger to dig into her palm, and forcing the little freckle on her finger to stand out. He slammed his right fist into the oak wood and refused to look at her. Instead he stared out the window at a cat resting under their picnic table staying dry from the persistent rain (which had been falling for the last week).

Scene Two Narrative Summary (tolerable) this would be how you would open your scene, every chapter or paragraph needs a transitional phrase (something I learned in 10^th grade) Narrative Summary is kind of like that. It sets up the scene and keeps the story flowing in a way that makes sense.

Tension filled the kitchen as she stared at her father. He stood silently on the other side of the heavily laden breakfast table. She clenched her trembling hands trying to control her anger. Her father suddenly slammed his fist on the table and refused to look at her. Instead he stared out the window at the persistent rain.

I know I switched from first person to third person, but you can kind of see how the two scenes would connect and flow together.

The result is this:
Tension filled the kitchen as she stared at her father. He stood silently on the other side of the heavily laden breakfast table. She clenched her trembling hands trying to control her anger. Her father suddenly slammed his fist on the table and refused to look at her. Instead he stared out the window at the persistent rain. Angrily, she stalked to the front door and pulled on her rain boots. She unlocked the sticky dead bolt and pulled on the heavy door until it jerked open tossing her back onto her butt. Embarrassed she slammed the door behind her and stomped down the steps into the rain.

I don't know if I did that well or not I was kind of irritated with this assignment and frustrated so I am just going to stick with this.

Day 13 Completed. X_X