“The Mirror Project”

Hello all! I decided to check in today to update you on something very exciting. My newest project. Since my Track & Field season ended yesterday (yeah!) and school will be ending in under 2 weeks, I have decided to release what I will be working on for the summer of 2012.

Ah! I can not even appropriately express my level of excitement for this project! it’s actually gotten to the point at which I am so bottled up with said excitement that I might actually explode. So… I don’t like giving details away, but I can’t help myself  so I’m going to anyway.

To begin I would ask you to press play on the (current) theme song of my novel (the newest remake of “Windmills of Your Mind” by Eva Mendes)CLICK:

 

*shivers* The mood of the above song is so spot on. It’s insane. *clears throat*. As is per-usual I do not have a title yet for the novel, but from now on I am going to be calling it “The Mirror Project”. I’m hoping this doesn’t sound anti-climatic, because I’m so high on ‘new novel’ that I won’t be able to tell.

Anyway, I don’t won’t to give too much away ( you all will have to wait for the teasers for that). So, just to give you a taste I will tell you some of the things The Mirror Project contains:

It contains a desert, and in that desert, there is a girl with one brown eye, and one blue.

 There is a boy in this desert too, a sad broken boy, who may or may not want to kill everyone the girl loves.

 And most importantly… there is a mother. A mother with more blood on her hands then she will ever admit. A mother who believes that her cause is worth every scarlet drop.

And that is all I’m saying.

Now I’m off to go work on plotting. My official start date for this is in two weeks. *bites nails*. Nervous, but excited. This can NOT get screwed up, but it will. That’s what drafting is for.

What have you all been up to as of late? Any new projects (writing or otherwise) for you?

 

A Prompt: Nightmare Shards + A HINT

Hey I’m here again with another original prompt on Novel Ideas. Please don’t hesitate to join in the fun and participate. (Be sure to comment or ping-back your response!) And stay tuned for a Hint about BTE ( Draft 2)!

Today’s prompt:

Dreams can tell us a lot about what’s going on in our characters subconscious. What they’re most scared of, what they feel even when they won’t reveal it themselves. Write a reoccurring dream that your character has, it can be a good dream, or a nightmare, just make sure to reveal something about your characters inner most feelings/thoughts.

Today I’ll be using my character Violet (again name change soon to be en-acted ha-ha)

I am running. I am always running in this dream. My feet pound inside the metal grooves of the tunnel floor. My breath is heavy, burning in my lungs. I don’t know where they are. I can feel the panic in my stomach rising into my throat, hot and acidic.

I need to find them, I have to, or else… I don’t know what will happen. That makes me run even faster. I feel the echo of my foot steps buzz off the concrete walls. The sound is bouncing off in all directions. I am consumed by the darkness of the tunnel stretching forever into blackness.

Suddenly all I am is that blackness. I can no longer feel the metal below my feet. I can’t hear the smooth whoosh of air that moves past my ears as I run. There is nothing, and the panic rises, sending bile shooting up my wind pipe. Where are they? Where is my brother Marcus?

Then, in the distance, I see something. A white dot, like a ghost in the blackness.

Rania comes into focus. She is all white and colorless. Her pale skin neon against the dark velvet of the tunnels. Platinum wisps’ of hair  are floating around her, strange against her cloudy blue eyes.

“Where is my brother?” I yell, but my voice is empty and distorted, as if I’ve yelled it underwater.

Raina smiles her thin lips opening into a gaping maw. Sharp teeth jut out of her mouth, and suddenly she is not Raina, but a giant white cave fish, cloudy eyes fixed hungrily on me, “You will not find him…” she hisses, and then she chargers at me. Mouth open. I scream.

The dream shatters around me, like broken glass, the shards falling around me as I cry out into darkness, trying to ward the falling pieces away, but they cut into my flesh; horrid and fresh, like always. Each piece of the dream coming back to me, broken, but there. I see the images flash across my mind, and whimper, my stomach feeling hollow. Marcus is here, he’s safe, I tell myself. We are all safe…. I hope.

I hope you enjoyed today’s prompt. On another topic, I’ve decided to do “hints” for BTE (D2) by showing you all a picture that either (Literally or metaphorically has something to do with the book). Enjoy today’s pic! And I hope to see your prompt responses soon!

Hint #1:

Nice view huh? haha

Current Music: Rainy Girl by Pete RG

A Prompt: Free and Trapped

Hi all, I am back with another character prompt today. This one courtesy of myself (please hold all applause till the end lol) Today’s prompt is another for character developement since that is what I am working on in editing. I hope you all participate, and again do not hesitate to reply via the comments below or on your own blog where I would be über grateful to receive a ping-back so I can see what you’ve come up with.

Here we go:

What is the most beautiful thing your character has ever seen? Use a flashback or have  them think about it, Why was it so beautiful to them? What made it stick with them?

 I’ll be using my MC Skye for this one.

Again for those of you feeling in the mood here is the theme music for this prompt:

Skyler turned the corner, the slick gray rain, drizzling now, turning every crumbling wall into a smooth blur. She’d been wondering for hours… still nothing. After being turned out of the Orph she’d looked for food, or a dry house, but all the buildings with intact roofing had been inhabited by grungy looking people who ran her of their steps spitting and cursing about the “little theiven’ orphie” that dared amble up their decrepit stairs.

Stumbling now, she came to a square in the city, long forgotten. The tiles jutting up at all corners, densely packed rubble piled up around most of the open area. Then she saw it, there, in the middle of the square was a green crumbling structure. She took a step forward approaching the mass cautiously.

As she came closer she realized what it was…. a statue. Her eyes widened at the delicate carving of a woman that sat upon a bronze base. It had turned green with age and weather, but it was beautiful.

The most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

It wasn’t that the woman was beautiful, she wasn’t. Her face and hands were weathered down to smooth hills, her eyes were to small for her face, and she was too skinny to be healthy, but there was something about the expression on her face. The way she knelt down on the block hands thrown out wide, reaching for the clouds. Her upturned face smiled, as if shed been frozen in mid-laugh. Laughing at the sky, laughing at the world because she could…

Skye had never felt like that.  Never been free, like that. That’s why the woman was beautiful…

She was free.

Hungry Parasites

I need to start writing again. I’ve taken my week off, and my fingers are itching to type, I’ve been trying so hard to resist though :/ I need to flush BTE fully out of my system before starting CARVE, but I can wait no longer! ERRR. CARVE is just eating away at my insides like a hungry parasite (too graphic? haha) I have the first scene so perfectly entangled in my consciousness that I sware if I close my eyes thinking about it, I’ll open to find myself there. O and the beginning is just SO good in my head, not sure if it will be as good on paper… but nothing ever is.

I’ve been forcing myself to at least scribble a bit of plot in my notebook, it’s killing my not just to pants it. I feel like I’m forcing myself to touch a hot iron or something! It’s terrible! Planning just feels so “un-fun” when looking at a brand new book idea it’s a fun sucker! I just want to sit down and type, even though I know it will be a lot cleaner if I pre-plan.

Though,  Ally gets at least a few points, because I do know the ending for this one. Can’t say the same for BTE, I had no idea where that was going, and it is ever so apparent in the writing.

So to stave off the hunger of starting CARVE I’ve been occupying myself with playlist making (it’s going quite well thank you) and reading. I’ve found CARVE’S theme song it’s called “Near To You” it’s by A Fine Frenzy. Feel free to google. Right now I’m reading The Picture of Dorian Grey, it’s a really old book, written in 1891 or something crazy like that, but I’m telling you it’s pretty much amazing so far. If nothing else the premise is enough to keep me reading!

Anyway, I mostly did this post to tell you all that CARVE is beginning tomorrow, after tennis (ahhh how I love tennis and CARVE!) I can’t wait to write that opening scene, which also happens to be the “last scene” of the book too. I’m writing backwards That’s right, Ally has big plans for this one! haha

So, since I’ve been gone how are you’re writerly ventures going? Anything new?

CURRENT MUSIC: Falling Slowly – Kris Allen

 

A Manuscript’s Soul: Music

Music is one of those things I can’t write without. I have to have something filling my ears so that my writing comes out clear. Music has a way of putting me on auto-pilot if you know what I mean. As soon as the earphones are on, the world goes out and then *snap* I’m zoned in!

So today I wanted to spend a little time talking about how I find music for writing, and why it’s important to me as a writer and just as a person.

First of all, I think (as I’m sure many of you would agree) that all “arts” are based upon each other like the limbs of a tree, they all share the same trunk. I think that the connection of music, literature, and the physical (draw, sculpted, etc.) arts is very strong and that intermingling of any of them is almost effortless if you know what you’re doing.

For me it seems natural to channel emotions or ideas from music into what I write. The absence of that music seems to make my writing fall flat. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I kind of view my music as the “soul” of my work.

That is what I like to start with in my writing “The Soul” what makes the piece tick, what is the emotion that drives these characters, and that’s when I pick music that lets me channel that “soul” or “emotion” or what have you, for that piece.

So that brings us to the how. How to find music that not only fits your piece but music that is easily accessible.

To find music for my “manuscripts” first I like to find a single song that I think expresses the general mood of the piece, in BTE’s case I chose “The Call” by Regina Spektor. The song had a sullen mood, with a hopeful undertone, and seemed to have a nice flow to it, and I thought the lyrics pretty well suited the book (as it stood then).

Next I use pandora.com , or more recently jango.com (which will probably be what I use for CARVE’s soundtrack) to find “similar” songs,  or sometimes artists, I feel will pull the piece in the direction I want. For instance, I’m pretty positive that the bands SEETHER, and ANGELS AND AIRWAVES will be playing a part in CARVE’s music.

After I figure out “songs” and “artists” I want on the track, I pull up my favorite site in the world: playlist.com. Here I label a playlist with the manuscripts name, and begin to add my sound tracks preferably in chronological order (This all depends on how well my plot has been outlined, and how well I know the manuscript before beginning).

And there you have it! A “Soul” for you manuscript!

I usually heavily revise my playlist after first draft editing has been done (as BTE’s will be before I start writing draft 2). My playlist evolves as the manuscript does, changing a little with each draft.

So, go on out and do some soul searching! Check these sites out:

www.pandora.com

www.jango.com

www.playlist.com

UPDATE:

Inspired by Maggie Stiefvater’s blog I am adding a “Current music” blurb at the end of every post, so you guys can keep up with my musical craziness

Juan’s blog “These Immortal Words” has finally been added to my blog roll! A long over due addition, check it out!

SNEAK PEEK ;)

I don’t do this often but I’ve decided to share a little snippet of BTE with you all, seeing as I’m getting down to the wire with the first draft, and am feeling pretty darn good about the project as a whole. So, I give you a sneak peek of BEFORE THIS ENDS, as it now lies. (Forgive any nasty “Make your eyes bleed” typos or general gross prose, as this is first draft material)

Que Mood music:

And… action:

Irona is so much bigger than I remember. Sharper somehow, like my childhood has been stripped off its towers, leaving them bare and trembling in the air. The buildings sharper and harder, the soft edges of innocence suddenly gone. I haven’t been back since that day we were taken, a day when the sky was dark and open. Empty. A day when the towers seemed squashed under the oppression of the clouds, and the screams of my Mother and Alec.

We are on the city’s very edge now. The curling ends of blacktop marking it’s beginning. My end.

Jett seems uneasy, shifting with the slightest blow of the wind, which has become stronger now, while Samson strides far ahead of us, almost in opposition to Jett’s unease. I feel as if I’m tethered to him, yanked along behind him without consent.

The simple brush of his arms, and fingers; trails of warmth I’d taken for granted only a few days ago have been swept away with a new coldness, an indifference that radiates off him like heat off asphalt.

Suddenly I realize that I miss him, as if I ever had him, I think almost choking on a laugh that squeezes up between a tight throat. I am bitter with this new void in my heart that he has created. A hole carved out just long enough to hurt me before this ends.

I hope you all enjoyed that! Wish me luck on my writing binge that is scheduled to go down at 6:30 tonight! Hope your manuscripts, and general writerly endeavors are going well.

A Pep Talk

Que Motivational Music:

I am going to write BTE tonight! I’m going to write the crap out of it and I’m going to finish it this week.

I don’t care that I should go run my mile, or finish that library book, or wash my dog, or put on actually day clothes instead of running around in my PJ’s all week!

BTE is GOING DOWN. Down like a lead balloon! Down like Justin Beibers career when he finally hits puberty (… if that ever happens.)!

I am going to kick my Muse’s butt. My Muse is just a mean ol’ nightmare. A mire figment of my imagination. I am stronger than my muse! I mean I ran a 400 sprint without passing out. A few thousand words is a piece of cake compared to that!

When BTE is done imagine all the things I can do! I can start CARVE! I can throw myself a party gosh darn it! Heck I can take a whole week off and throw glitter in the air and smile at people I don’t know and play my music really loud… and, and FREAK OUT!

But none of this can happen until I go out there and FINISH BTE!

Now go and drive that manuscript into the ground!

BREAK!

Now you go work on your manuscript too! That’s right YOU! I mean it go!
HAHA. Wish me luck, pile driving BTE into the ground!

LOL Writers BLOK Music Video! Seriously, you must see this!

If you are a writer you must see this. Just click play, there is no explaining:

‘Nuff said right?

haha, Jackson Pearce (a fabulous YA author who wrote Sisters Red, and As you Wish among other things) made this video!

Thats all I got for you now readers. I should be posting more soon. Meanwhile check out Jackson’s writing blog/vlog here:

http://www.jackson-pearce.com/

Update On Snow and Such

Hey people can only check in for a moment since I should be writing right now! Yes, there was more snow, and yes there was no school again. HAHA. It’s all white and gray out there today so I’ll be getting back with writing here.

I just wanted to share with you a little Music video that I discovered. It describes the state of the tri-state area here perfectly. If I have time I will post something useful and informative later, but that’s only if I get stuck on writing. So let’s just hope you here nothing!

Here’s the video:

Hope you enjoyed it. Post again soon.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

If anyone would like to do a guest blog post this month I would appreciate hearing from you! Leave a comment with contact info if you would like to.

Preview of THE Playlist

Lucky me, it is snowing in the greater Cincinnati area, and of course this means complete and total panic and spazzing from the majority of the population. In light of this I am off school. Snow day, which translates to: writing all day. Since I have a little extra time I’m going to try to do some back-log blog posts and of course deliver the promised “playlist” for my current WIP.

As I said before I am a little bit of a music freak so these are not all the songs in the current playlist which, of course is not done, because I am always swapping songs in and out and finding new ones to add. Instead of boring you and making your eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen too long, I have decided to list the top 10 “most important” songs from my playlist here they are people (with a little explanation):

1. Never Bloom Again – The Perishers
2. When I Look at You – Miley Cyrus
3. 9 Crimes – Damien Rice
4. We are Broken- Paramore
5. Cath… – Death Cab for Cutie
6. One Thing – Finger Eleven
7. Gravity - Sarah Bareilles*
8. Set the Fire to the Third Bar – Snow Patrol
9. Everything You Want – Vertical Horizon**
10. Drops of Jupiter – Train***

NOTE: These were in no particular order.

* Gravity is the main song that I play when writing interactions between my protagonist and her love interest. It does a beautiful job of describing there relationship.

** Everything You Want is the song I used at the beginning of the book when my protagonist meets her love interest, and it continues to be the “theme song” for the entire book.

***Drops of Jupiter is the song I’m using for my Epilogue. I used it because every time I here it I just go AWWWW I LOVE THIS! It’s happy and very end like… if that makes sense HAHA.

I hope you guys enjoy the links: D

I’ll probably have more for you soon on account of the snow. If you guys have any good “writing songs” leave them in the comments I’m always looking for new music!