8-13-2011

Just finished Chapter XIV at fourteen pages, interestingly enough. I’m now at 86,418 words. I’m a bit nervous at the rising word count. I’m now certain that the finished draft will be over 100,000 words. A huge difference from the 71,000 words of the first draft. I’m just hoping to keep it under 112,000 now. I’ll just have to wait and see. And I’m really glad to have gotten the chapter finished! November will be the two year mark for the start of the book.

                I decided to change the name of the realm from The Realm Beyond to Royaume-delà, the French term that translates to The Realm Beyond, but means afterlife kingdom. I’m still in awe over that. But I really like the sound of Royaume-delà. Now I just have to learn how to pronounce the word.

                School starts in two days! Well it’s 10:30 pm right now, so in an hour and a half I can say that school starts tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it, but I hope that I can get the FA situation figured out. If I don’t get the money, I’ll have to drop out for the semester, and I’ll lose my Medi-Cal. Don’t want that to happen!

8-12-2011

Did a bit of work on some previous chapters tonight. I’ve decided to make Argent and Whisker meet Ixion instead of Pothandas in the portal. I also cut out Pothandas from the prologue. I figured he was in on the action too soon after being kidnapped by The Shadow Kingdom. I still have a long way to go, including moving forth from where I am now, and going back again for more tweaking.

                I’ve been doing some plotting for the final battle. Haven’t worked it all out yet, though. I am really thinking about bringing Juanita into the action. I think it would add a bit of humor (at least, what I have planned certainly would). My idea is to make her pose as a soothsayer in order to distract either Ixion or Jeremiah. Not sure which, yet. Or maybe it will be a good portion of the army.

                Also thinking more about how to involve Tanner more into the storyline. I’ll think of something eventually.

                Thinking about it, it’s funny how many names other people have helped me come up with. Tanner was one of them, chosen by an old classmate. Sarah came up with a lot of them, including Alevus, Airmid’s last child, and Pothandas. And a few others have thrown some in. Well, at least I can take the glory for most of them. I love coming up with names – but not nearly as much as I love writing about the characters! If I ever get this finished, it will be the first novel that I have completed through and through (because single drafts of other works don’t really count). I’m more enthused about this one than I have ever been about any others.

                Oh, yeah! Avery is pregnant! I was hoping she’d hold out until I got her spayed, but Oliver just never could let her be. I hope she takes care of them – our cats have a tendency to abandon their kittens (but that’s usually the grey ones who do that). I hope she gets through the pregnancy and birthing okay. She is a runt, so she’s awfully small. Best of luck to my baby.

8-6-2011

School begins in ten days. I had been dropped from one of my classes (due to missing prerequisites), but luckily was able to register for two gym classes and am now back up to full time.

                I wrote an “orchestral symphony” using the Stringed Instruments feature on the keyboard. It’s not too shabby. I’m calling it “After the Battle” and it is dedicated to my book.

                As for my writing progress, I’ve jotted down a few words here and there, but Sarah has had my computer the last few days, so I haven’t been writing too much. I’m extremely bored with this scene. I cannot wait to get the second Augment scene finished up so I can move onto the events after the Vithar Mountain Range, as I have already finished VMR scene and a few scenes even before that. All in all, I’m going to have a lot on my plate soon. I sure hope I can get into Math 50 so I can get back to taking needed classes – I don’t need gym to graduate. Oh well, it’s a healthy class. 

8-1-2011

                Not too far into the chapter yet. About four or five pages. I’m approximately 83,000 words into the edit. Still quite a way to go yet. I just hope that the plot isn’t too much all over the place. I want to make it interesting without going over the top.

                Airmid is going to get pregnant at the end of the second book, and the trilogy will end with the birth of Alevus Eleanor Petrelli, a golden-haired baby. Alevus got her golden curls from her grandfather – Airmid and Leben's father. After the series is complete, I’ll start work on the book about Leben. I’m also working on an entirely different middle-grade book right now, and am struggling to keep up with both. I just want to get the first book completely finished by the end of the year – wish me luck with that.

                Ahaha! I just looked back at one of my other journal entries – it says I want to be finished by 90,000 words! At the rate I’m going, I think it will be over 100,000! I sure hope not!

7-21-2011

Been thinking a lot about finishing up and getting published lately. Uncle Ed told me to write a letter to Oprah, asking her to review my novel. If she agreed to do this, and if I had my novel available for sell on Amazon.com, I may just be able to sell a few copies. We’ll see what happens. I’m still on Chapter XIII, and I finally figured out what will happen. Amyr makes up with them and tells them to go to a town called Atara’s Peak, where they will find a mage named Paradox, who is a genius with riddles.

                Well, much to my surprise, Atara’s Peak ended up being a town based around the old west. My initial plan was to make it a mountain range, but the trio is already scheduled to travel to The Vithar Mountain Range, and I don’t want too much of the same thing. The trouble with a western setting is that I have very little knowledge on the time period. I’m just sort of winging it for now – utilizing the bits I picked up from all those Gunsmoke episodes I watched with my grandpa when I was twelve. It’s not much to go on, but better than nothing.

                My grandma was taken to the hospital yesterday. She’s not doing too well at all. I hope everything works out and she can come home soon. All I can do is wait and see.

                College begins in less than a month. I’m stoked. Can’t wait. And I feel much better about getting rides from Uncle Pete now that he has agreed to let me help pay for the gas I use. 

7-15-2011

I have now reached a few hundred words over 78,000. I can’t believe that this draft is already 7,000 words longer than the first draft, and I’m just over halfway finished with it. I’m still working on XIII. And I’m finding it amazing how much you can learn from your characters. I think I learned a lot about, not only Leaf’s character in this chapter, but about people in general. I’m still debating on how to go forward from here on out. I don’t want to make things too convenient for them, but I also don’t want to send them on a run-around. So I have look for some balance in between the two. I’m not quite sure what I’ll go with, so I’ll mention more when I figure it out.

                Two days ago Sarah wrote the first FanFic for my book. It was severely OOC in almost every sense, but it was entertaining and humorous. Now I’m wondering if it can really be called a FanFic, if the person writing it knows so little about the book that everything is OOC. Oh well, I think there are only two or three people in the world so far who know more about what will happen than Sarah does. Those are either people who’ve already read the first draft, or the people who politely sat through the my tedious recap of everything that happens. 

7-12-2011

This morning I received an email from a man named Thomas Pitock. I almost deleted the email because I didn’t recognize the sender and the subject line said “keys?” and nothing more. I don’t know what made me change my mind, but I opened it, and to my surprise, this Tom Pitock had found my missing keys and flashdrive! I’m still in awe that anyone managed to find them. My gratitude is greater than I can express. I lost those darn things eight months ago! J

                So I’m now working on Chapter XIII. I never like writing the thirteenth chapter of any book. It makes me nervous, as it is my unlucky number. Hopefully I’ll finish it soon and get on to the Kingdom of the Condemned scene. I’m hoping to finish this draft, another light edit, and order my first editing proof by the end of the year. After research of several different online printing companies, I decided to use Createspace, which I believe is also a POD publisher through Amazon. But they’re prices are decent, so I’ll have them print my editing proofs. It will cost about $70.00 for ten proofs. Another site I looked into would have cost me $400.00 for the same number of proofs!

                I’ve been having a lot of self-doubt about my writing lately. I just feel as if it will never be good enough for the general public, let alone the publishers. I know I’m really going to have to improve my skill if I ever want to get anywhere. I’m mostly worrying about character motive and credibility right now. I suppose it would just be best for me to finish the current draft before I try to start smoothing things over again.

                I got Nichole a puppy for a late birthday present. I brought her home on Saturday, the 9^th. Nichole named her Mika, and I’m stuck puppysitting the darn thing until Nichole gets back from her vacation!

6-21-2011

It is the first day of summer today – and extremely hot! Not to mention that we don’t have any water. I guess something is wrong with the motor, and the uncles say it may be a couple weeks before we get it fixed. I swear, I’ll go to the pool and pay three bucks to take a shower.

                I’ve been working on Chapter XII lately. I’m pretty far into it now, just about ready to fire up the main event of Oren. I can’t wait to get the next trial done and move on to the third. Plus, I have the scene before that written already, so it will be easy when I get there, just insert it into the main document. I’m now about 73,000 words into the draft. I’m probably going to send it to an online press and order an editing copy (I probably already mentioned that). I think I’m going to use Book Patch, because I like their formatting better than lulu .

                Sarah made up a song about my book yesterday, using the tune of Fireflies by Owl City. I don’t remember all of it, but I remember something along the lines of the following:

                “Argent didn’t have a daddy, so she called on Leaf and asked what she should do. Leaf said “f**k off,” and they began to wonder aimlessly in the woods. Then Leaf looked up and said “there’s Whisker.” Then he looked up again and saw Whisker in a new light. He got all flimsy and weak, then he kissed her on the cheek, and they got married and had kids named (the names were so off-the-wall I can’t remember them).”

                Anyhow, by the end of the song, Leaf was in prison for sexual assault and abuse, and Argent so kindly pointed out that she could not love Leaf because he was supposed to die the following week. I hope it is obvious that my sister has never actually read the book, but simply knows the names and genders of the characters (however, at one point, she mention Galtero and Leben).

                I redrew the map – again! It looks pretty good so far, but not done yet.

                Well, my toe is still numb – going on two weeks now – so I shall make an appointment to get checked out. Some of our cats might have rabies. 

6-14-2011

Although this will likely end up typed in a word document, the original copy was composed on my typewriter (which Uncle Pete and Sarah gave me for my high school graduation). I haven’t had much chance to use it as of yet, so I thought I’d mess with it for a while – after all, I’ve had it since then and now I’m going to be a sophomore in college in two and a half months. Sarah has been borrowing my laptop, so I really have little other typing options, unless I use her desktop, which doesn’t contain a copy of my journal. I’m having fun, anyhow.

                So, I have reached 71,000 words today. I am currently working on Chapter XII. XI went extremely well and very quickly. I am about six or seven pages into XII, and will hopefully get more done tonight. I added a new scene, which takes place in a town called Oren, a secluded town in The Eber. So far it’s just a bunch of events leading up to the main event in the town.

                My favorite character from this new scene is an old man named Lester. He is the senile character with the glasses, and who continuously repeats himself. There are a few other new characters, including Myles, who is 100% on Argent’s side. He helps them out quite a bit, as does his friend Garm. Then there is Amyr, who is less than friendly. He is te one who initially gets Argent and her friends into trouble. He isn’t necessarily a “bad guy”, he just has certain ideals and a culture to which I myself cannot even relate.

                In other news, half of my toe is numb, and it is really bothering me. And now my foot is falling asleep. My toe has been numb for just about a week now, Maybe I should make an inquiry to the doctor. That, I will be able to do once I receive my Medi-Cal card.

                Two days ago I gutted a catfish for the first time in my life. It was gruesome – I had to use my bare hands, and I accidentally squished her liver. She was fat eggs, and I got those all over my clothes. Yesterday Sarah and I went swimming in the pond. Tomorrow I am going to send a random letter to a random address that I have selected from the phone book. 

6-2-2011

I really need to get some work done on my book – but since I haven’t today, I think I might as well mention that my little sister graduated from eighth grade tonight. It was amazing. She is so gorgeous. I only wish that my father would have permitted her to hug Sarah and I, or at least speak to us. How I miss her so, and my other little brothers and sisters. One day.

If it wasn’t for Brandy, I may not have ever started writing, or at least I wouldn’t have started so young. When I was eight and she was five, I wanted to frighten her during naptime, so I composed my first poem by the title of “Monsters.” I still have not forgotten it, and never will. My mother overheard me reciting it to my sister, and praised me for my skill. Since then, I could always be found with a pencil and a sheet of paper. I wish I could be found with one now, but the most recent bit of my book is on Sarah’s computer, and she is playing The Sims right now, so I can’t get the darn file. Else, I’d be working on Chapter XI right now.

I did dream about my book last night, though. Well, it was mostly about my book. Leben was there, but Sarah was Argent and I was Whisker. Sarah had Feoras and I was supposed to meet her at Subway, at the address of 1800, where we would escape to UC Davis college. Oh, and Xavier wasn’t the Stone of Virtue, some Davis student named Cecile Fernado was instead. She had gone missing from the school. My father was some bad guy who was trying to destroy the world. Oh, and I’m not sure how he fit it, but John Waite was there too. But he wasn’t a singer, he was a ventriloquist…and he accidently shot his brother. I gotta stop eating Cap’n Crunch before bed….

Sarah just threw a gumball at me…  

6-1-2011

The power is out right now. It was been since a bit before seven, and it is 7:47 right now. The only reason I’m able to write in my journal is that I charged my laptop all day.  It still has about 70% life left. Well, PG&E said that they’ll either have the power on or have an update by 9:45. That’s still about two hours away! I’m losing my mind, sitting here in the dark.  A pole must have gotten struck by the lightning.

On another note, today is my best friend Zena’s birthday. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her! J

Got some work (about six pages) done for Chapter XI. Still have a way to go until the draft is complete. Well, gotta save battery, so until next time…

5-29-2011

I almost cannot believe it, but I finished Chapter X! I resolved my Writer’s Block about two days ago, when I decided to take Dharma from the second book and introduce her in the first one. She is, so far, exactly as I imagined her to be. In Chapter XI Dharma will take them to the Yellow Sea (or rather a town near it) and they will proceed to search for the second Augment. After they obtain that, they will head towards The Kingdom of the Condemned, where I will insert the broken bow scene. Argent will head out to get the final Augments, and everything will unfold from there. It won’t be much longer now. I’m currently at 60,000 words, and will probably be finished by 90,000. Hopefully no sooner than that, because I want to make sure that everything doesn’t happen too quickly. I’m just glad to have gotten the chapter finished. I’ve been stalemated for a long time. I’ll try to write more tomorrow, but now it’s time for bed. 

5-25-2011

There are tornadoes all over right now! Unusual for California. So far there have been five known, one of which I just saw form, Live on Channel 3 News. Looks like another one. We are only an hour or so away from where they’re touching down, and there is nary a cloud in the blue sky. It’s moving away from us, anyhow. But I still worry for those who are in its line of fire. Looks like rotation is dissipating a bit. It’s 7:28. The warning is supposed to end in two minutes, and it has been in effect since just after five. This is quite interesting. I just thought I would mention it because I’ve never seen a tornado live – on TV or no.

                In other news, I finished another scene from later on in the book (in fact, it’s from after the last battle). I also reedited the Broken Bow scene. I’m suffering from serious Writer’s Block right now – at least for the chapter on which I am currently working. It hardly makes sense that I am having Writer’s Block during edits. This should be the easiest part. But no, it is much more difficult than the first draft. I think it is because I am, every day, improving my skill, so I can better pick out what won’t work and have to work harder to make everything fit nicely. I’m nearly two-hundred pages into the edit, and about 58,000+ words.

                The question I am pondering now, is what can happen in a well? Maybe I should simply cut that part out? I don’t know. I’m quite stumped right now. I may end up having to do more work from scenes later on in the book. I just want to get the edit finished, because I am eager to get to the second book!

                Oh! Warning is gone now and hasn’t been renewed, and the rotation has dissipated! 

5-20-2011

The world is supposed to end tomorrow at 6:00 pm. Hmmm. That means that in three quarters of an hour it will end in New Zealand. I suppose we’ll see when it gets here. Kind of reminds me of Y2K and the whole issue with the computers shutting down.

Oh well, I got some more work done on Chapter X. Stayed up half the night thinking about my book, then stayed up the other half having crazy dreams about Albert’s father being a villain from a book. What did I eat before I went to bed last night?