Camp NaNo and Writing Hell!

So, tomorrow not only starts the monthly Writing Hell hosted here, but also Camp NaNoWriMo.

But, I shall first say this: as of today, I have finished another year of high school and am now on summer break! Only one more night of driver's ed, then my first behind the wheel, and I get to write all day.

Tomorrow, I will begin my work on completing Sever.  I'll be starting Camp NaNo at 20033 words, and will hopefully be adding another 60k (the 60k will be for NaNo, not the 20k I'm starting with).  I'll also have 10k for The Girl of Eternal Fire, but that isn't as important.

And for Writing Hell, I don't know whether or not I want to include Sever, or the The Reborn idea.  This month, it'll be for ten days, and I plan to write 5k per day.  The Reborn will most likely be the choice then.

Lot's of writing for me this month!  I hope to get to editing Rush, Nightland, or Sever (if plan goes well) in July. I hope more of you guys join in on either Camp NaNo, or Writing Hell!

Well, I think that's all for today.  Go get some writing done! 

Camp NaNoWriMo?

This year, I'm going to be a part of the Camp NaNoWriMo in both June and August.  For the past two years, I've tried NaNoWriMo, but I get too busy and lazy that I just can't do it.  And it doesn't help that this year, I'll have two AP classes plus marching band plus all of my Honors classes.  So, unless I can slack of in Honors Spanish 3 (Spanish, for the past two years, has been my slack-off period), I may be able to do it.

Anyways, after that lovely rant...

Last year, I wrote a novel in three weeks time.  For those of you from inkpop, you may know my project, Rush (or Deception).  Well, this year, I plan to write another novel (or maybe to).  I plan on completing Sever, and if I can get to it, either edit Rush or work on my idea I'm currently calling RUT.

Oh! And I have the pitches for Sever.  Look:

Sora has spent the last six years toughening up after the disappearance of her older brothers. No matter what, she wants them back. When she hears word of her elder brother, now the Lord of the land of Cura, all of her training and courage is put to the test. She must travel across two unfamiliar lands in order to find her brother—all the while remaining undetected.

With the help of Eli, everything seems a little more possible. His past is filled with knowledge of the lands, and how to get around without being caught. A promise made in magic binds Eli in Sora’s debt until she finds her brother, assuring his help until the end.

But a revolution is starting in the land of Cura. The only chance Sora has at keeping her brother alive is if she can convince him to step down from power. It’s only a slight bump in the path to what she’s always wanted: her family whole again.

Even then, speaking to him doesn’t mean everything is closer to normal.

(I do not own the image used in the cover.)

So, now that I can update that one page...

For those of you who're going to participate in Camp NaNo, let me know! Maybe we can be cabin mates, or just message each other.

You can find me here.

Have a fun summer guys!  I've only got three more days left.  Oh, and those of you who're American: Happy Memorial Day and I hope you guys enjoy your three day weekend!

Ta-ta!

Back From the Dead, Ye Come

First off, I want to say that it's rather weird that over 80% of my recent viewers are in Russia. Just a wee bit weird.

Last night, I had the urge to edit either one of my two completed first draft manuscripts, Nightland and Rush.  Of course, right after I had that thought, I decided to go clean out my desk, which resulted in a mess of my room.

Anyways, I decided to, first off, reformat Nightland so it was double spaced and in black font. Took a while, so now I can get to reading over that.  And the same goes for Rush, though I may save that for a few weeks longer.

And because all of the other pitches for Nightland are horrendous, I shall type a new one just for you:

Berlin has only ever visited Nightland in her dreams--or so she thought. Upon arriving in this land of dark, she's pulled off the streets and sent into hiding with friends she doesn't remember. Turns out, the evil ruler of the land is after her, for reasons no one knows.

She is quickly shepherded across the land, searching for an appropriate hiding place so she can learn the ways of the land. There isn't much time for her to learn anything as the ruler's minions scour the land, growing closer and closer to find her.

All Berlin wants is to go home and leave this mess behind, but in order to do that, she needs power doesn't have--yet.

Yeah, very lovely.  Nightland is a YA fantasy with aspects of romance at over 81k.  First novel I ever finished writing.  It was even finished one year ago, this month.  And needs a lot of work.

Now I shall be off to go make people (characters) nice and what not.

Why oh why...

So, with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award coming very soon, I've decided that I will join.

But, I only have a week. And that's a maybe.

I am giving myself about a week to polish up Rush and write it a new pitch. Which really will be difficult, do to the little time I have at home.  Hopefully I can take my laptop to the hospital when I visit for the next week.  Hopefully I don't have whole lot of homework this week.

Starting today, I plan to enter ABNA.  Wish me luck, 'cause I'm definitely going to need it.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?

So, last year I wanted to enter, but I didn't have a completed manuscript. This year, I have two (Nightland and Rush). The problem is not only deciding between the two, but they both need editing. One doesn't even have a second draft. The other's second draft is far from completion. So what will I do?

Work my butt off one the one without a second draft. I don't want to enter the other one just because I really really want to work on that one more. And it has been, oh, at least six months since I've gone through it.

The first thing I should do is probably read through and fix stuff. A lot of stuff, like the opening. It doesn't really have a good one. Good thing I've got over a month, and winter break starts in a week. I hope I have the time. The other thing will be the motivation.

And, another thing would be some peer critics. (I don't really know what to do to find people.) I have a feeling I'll have to resort to inkpoppers to get some critiques, which is the opposite of a plan of mine. *sigh*

If you don't know what the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is, click here. And if anyone would like to work with me, I'd love to help out with your manuscripts! My critiques on inkpop are rather in-depth, and I won't be afraid to point out things, or help with grammar. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you're interest!

What are your opinions on the ABNA?

You poor little thing

It's been a while, if you hadn't noticed. But school, band, and writing have all overcome me. Kind of.

On Monday, I have an essay on Macbeth due. On Saturday, I'm going to be out of town for our last marching competition. And then I'm trying to get lots of writing done for Rush and my new idea, Smolder.

But, come Monday, I won't have to be at school until the regular time, and will start posting Writing Tips. The book I just finished and the book I'm currently reading have sparked a series of tips that I believe will help aspiring authors.

And that's my little update. See y'all on Monday!

It's been quite a while...

Marching band + school + history homework + writing = busy Kelly

My blog is being neglected, which isn't surprising when I get up at 5:50 in the morning  (Monday-Friday), then come home around 4pm, do my homework until 5pm, (on Mondays) go back to school from 6-9pm, and then try to get some sort of writing done before my self-set bedtime of 9pm. Lots of things for me to do during the week. I even have homework on the weekends.

But enough about the majority of that equation, let's talking about my latest projects!

The first thing would be that Rush is now titled Deception. I find that this new title fits much better. Another fact about Deception is that it's being completely rewritten and is currently ranked at 7 on inkpop. Unless it goes up two more ranks this month, it'll be hitting the Top 5 in October, which means I need to finish my rewrites for the story. So far, only the first chapter is rewritten, and I'm finding that I like this version better.

Next is the two ideas I've written pitches to. The first is a dystopia set during the events that lead to the dystopic world. The other is a paranormal that might have some romance.

Day One

The world will fall, but God will save it.

Olive is blamed for the end of the world after reading a single sentence.   No one knows she did it, except for a group of teens following a young man calling himself “God”.  His plans for the United States involve Olive, leaving her to choose between the chaotic streets or his side.

Around her, she watches the world crumble, not knowing what to do.  Only one solution comes to mind: do whatever God tells her.  She fears her position in this new monarchy, believing that the divine right excuse won’t last long.

A few weeks pass before her threat appears—a single man who leads a group of rioters, ones who know the lies for what they are.   

Hitting inkpop on October 1st, 2011

Fright Nights

Once the night sets in, the real games begin.

Alex and her friends are the jokesters in Amity Heights.  But when their recent joke results with an outbreak between human and monster, there reason something’s wrong.

 

The humans and monsters lived years with each other, the humans always knowing that the man they walk alongside could be a werewolf when the full moon comes out. A peace once rested among these people, but when outbreaks of dead humans rattle the city, attention lands on the creatures of the night.

 

Alex, her distant cousin Troy, and her five-hundred-year-old vampire friend, James, are only three pawns in the wars to come.  Both humans and creatures turn against each other, waiting for the others to fall.

 

With no one to trust, the trio of friends relies on the help of each other more than ever. Until one of them changes sides.

Might hit inkpop on January 15th, 2012

I've also got another idea, but it doesn't have a pitch just yet. It's mostly likely that this project (entitled Trapped) will be my NaNoWriMo project. 

And now that I've typed this up, I believe I shall return to rewriting Deception. I want it completely rewritten before the end of the month, just in case it slips into the Top 5 and stays there. Plus, it'd be nice to just be able to edit for next month, instead of rewrite and then edit.

Hope you all have a lovely day!

Are you in a rush this summer?

I am, in a way. This summer, I plan to write a whole novel and edit both the novel I'm writing in a month, along with one that I finished in May. My New Year's resolution this year is to write three novels. So far, I have written one. But I do believe I know what the other two novels I'm going to write are.

The one I'm writing now is as follows:

Run, run, you can't catch me,

I'm the guinea pig of a scientist man.

Everette is a fifteen-year-old guinea pig in the eyes on the American government. For the past five years, she lived a meaningless life filled with bloodshed and death. She only sees two people throughout the day: the scientist assigned to her and a guard to keep her in line. But she's ready to fight back against the men who took her life away, ready to break free from the cell.

Once freedom hits, she runs. She, along with the eight others used as guinea pigs by the government, hides from these men--the people who want their pets back. This group of teens is done with the government, especially after the side effects that riddle their youthful bodies. Now they want the cure, one found in men and women who have these lab rats' new powers naturally.

This cure equals life for the teens, but with the governments' eyes always on them, always searching, there's no way in leaving the States to look for the cure, much less their San Diegan home.

All they ever wanted was freedom. Now a disease ties them all down, even with the beloved fruit close to their lips. Ever's job is to bring these two strange groups together, hopefully in time to find the cure.

Only time will tell, either taking their lives or granting them just enough time to find the cure.

That is the pitch for Rush, which will appear on inkpop.com on July 28th. Time will tell, on inkpop, if Rush deserves to be read by a Harper Collins editor.

Well, I just wanted to make a post. If you like the story idea, feel free to leave a comment!

-Dylan