What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 1:08 AM in inspiration, reading, ready. set. write!, siege and storm, teaser, unfair, what's up wednesday, writing,

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk where writers post about what's up by answering four questions. If you want to participate go here.

WHAT I'M READING 

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo! FINALLY. I have been waiting to read this book for a very long time, and boy was the wait worth it. I'm not too far in but I am enjoying it. Also, Sturmhond is my new favorite character.






WHAT I'M WRITING

I reached (and surpassed) 20K!!! Last week Unfair was at 18, 560 words, this week I was able to bump that up to 21, 597 words. That's 3,037 words written for those of you who like numbers. Since I didn't share a teaser last week, I'll post one today. Keep in mind that this is the first draft.

Background: Camellia (my MC) is on a ship that appears out of thin air and carries goods collected from different parts of the kingdom. The Queen gave the merchants who sail the ship reign over the sea, but no one knows where they came from. In this scene, Camellia is talking to one of the merchants. (Spoiler: The merchants are sirens. Also, her sword is made out of pure gold. A strange woman gave it to her in an earlier scene.)


         “You have a sharp tongue,” he said, and I could hear a semblance of a smile in his voice. Only I couldn’t be sure. One look and he’ll drive me mad. The chuckle that resonates in his throat sounds empty, as if he had pulled it out of a soul that hadn’t been there for many years.

“My tongue isn’t the only thing that's sharp.” I held up my sword. “What could I buy with this?”

“Half of this ship if you wanted.”

“I need iron.”

“I tell you that you can buy half of this ship, and you want to waste this gold on iron?”

I turn to face him, staring at his chest to keep from meeting his cerulean gaze. “Don’t question what I came here to buy. It’s none of your concern.”

His hand moved up to touch my chin. Fingers grazed the skin there, ever so gently. I would’ve cut each one of them off, if a wave of calm didn’t wash over me in that moment. “Look into my eyes.” That is when I could hear it. The voices. The singing. It replaced every thought that I ever had. It was both beautiful and horrible. It shook me to my core, and it would’ve driven me to madness if there wasn’t something inside of me fighting back.When I finally met his blue-green gaze, his power had no affect on me.

The merchant withdrew his hand. “Impossible,” he whispered.

My Ready. Set. Write! goals for the week? I'm going to keep it small. I want to see if I can write around 1-2K. Will try for more but we'll see.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

I have been writing for more than a decade (started writing when I was five) and I don't necessarily worry about ever being published. One day I would love to query and share my stories with other people but for now I am content with writing for me. There are a lot of people who write because they want to be bestselling authors one day, and while it's okay to have dreams, don't let that dream be the only reason you want to write.

I think it's good to remember that you're always going to be a writer. If you don't have an agent or a book deal it doesn't make you less of a writer, and even if you do have those things, it doesn't make you more of a writer. Once you commit yourself to writing a story; once you write that first word and never stop then, from that moment on, you are a writer for life. It doesn't matter if you get paid to do it or not. As long as you're writing for yourself first, nothing else matters.

I don't want to ramble but just having the ability to think up stories, build worlds, and create different characters inspires me every day. Storytelling is what has gotten me through childhood, high school, and my approaching adulthood. Being a writer is awesome, so whenever you're feeling down, remember that. Always remember that.


WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

I'm an Executive Scholar for a non-profit organization in Pittsburgh that gives out scholarships to kids who do well in high school and attend Pittsburgh public schools from kindgergarten up.

To celebrate getting through the first year of college, the organization gave me and other Executive Scholars free tickets to the game and we got to meet the players, hang out in the VIP suite, and to make a long story short, I had a blast, and the Pirates won!!!! They beat the Cardinals 9 - 1.  It was a great game and an AMAZING day overall. I'm really glad I went.



Top Left: View from the suite, Top Right: A really cute bowl shaped like a baseball cap (I kept it), Bottom Left: View from the Roberto Clemente bridge (that boat just happened to be passing by), Bottom Right: Me walking across the Roberto Clemente bridge after the game (it's a little blurry but I like it).

 I hope everyone had a great writing week!

Thanks for reading. :)