Making Book Covers

Making Book Covers

Posted by Raven M on 5:08 PM in

Whenever I need to take a step back from my WIP and think through a scene, I do one of two things: look through the Pinterest board I made for it or make a book cover. Both of these things allows me to take a break from writing without actually taking a break from the story if that makes any sense.

Book covers are important to me, mostly because having one helps keeps me focused on the story and it gives me something to work towards. I don't write with the intention of being published (although it would be awesome to see some of my stories in a bookstore one day) but there is something about cover art that screams 'finished product'. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to finish writing my first novel if I didn't decide to do some pretty cover art for it.

Most will look at this as a waste of time or another way to procrastinate but I find it very therapeutic and I talk myself through scene/plot points while I'm making them so I am somewhat productive in my procrastination.

I don't know how to use Photoshop so I use Lunapic and/or Pixlr. Both are free and super easy to use if you're interested in making your own covers.

Here is the cover for my current project:

Does anyone else make book covers for their WIPs before they finish writing them?

Continue Reading

On writing and studying for the LSAT

On writing and studying for the LSAT

Posted by Raven M on 5:37 PM in lsat, ready. set. write!, studying, writing,

Doing both.

At the same time.

Is HARD.

I understand that many people raise families and go to work full-time and still manage to crank out manuscript after manuscript but when I say my brain is fried, I mean my brain feels like it was left cooking on the stove for the past week and a half since I implemented a 'rigorous' study schedule. I study for a total of three and a half hours a day, which isn't that bad when I'm actually doing it but after I'm done? The amount of information and problems I've worked on hits me out of nowhere. 

Needless to say, studying for the LSAT has not been a walk in the park and while I do take breaks, writing doesn't come easily in the moments when I do allow my brain to relax. I can't seem to get back into the groove of it, which stinks because I wanted this summer to be the summer that I finished Unfair. 

I'm hoping that studying will become less of an energy drainer the more I do it and that I can, somehow, get back to writing before I go back to school and all chances of me writing anything that isn't school-related are thrown out the window. 

Good luck to everyone who is still going strong in Ready. Set. Write! I am still rooting everyone on and I hope that if, by some miracle, I do write something I can get back to participating before it's over. 

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Continue Reading

RSW: 1st Check In!

RSW: 1st Check In!

Posted by Raven M on 7:35 AM in ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

Hey everyone!

How's it going?

I hope everyone met their goals for last week!

Here's how I did:

1. I didn't finish the chapter that I'm working on but I got really REALLY close. Hopefully I can finish it this week.

2. I managed to write every day and I managed to write a little over 100 words today which I'm excited about.


My goals for this week: 

Get this chapter written and move on to the next one. I know what happens I just need to get the scenes out of my head and turn them into words.

A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

The magic that she came into this world with was calling to her; calling to her the way it had done many times bef0re - in a quiet hum that matched every beat of her heart.

The biggest challenge that I faced this week:

Finding time to write. I managed to get some words in everyday but it was hard because I'm studying for the LSATs and going to work and trying to workout and find time to sleep and I know doing all of that and writing is possible. It's just difficult.

Something I love about my WIP

I took some time to wordbuild because I have been reading a lot of fantasy books lately mainly the Throne of Glass series. I finished Heir of Fire recently which I LOVED and it inspired me to delve deeper into Unfair's world and I learned so much about the culture in different parts of the world my story is set in, different religions, and myths that are important. I love just being able to use my imagination. It makes me feel like a kid again.

Okay, enough about me. How'd you guys do?

I'll get to everyone's posts when I get home from work.

Thanks for reading! 

Continue Reading

Ready. Set. Write!: Goals

Ready. Set. Write!: Goals

Posted by Raven M on 4:06 PM in goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

It's that time of the year again!

Ready. Set. Write! is a summer writing intensive that lasts from now until August 31st. If you have a shiny new idea or a WIP that you want to work on this summer, this intensive is definitely for you. If you're interested in learning more, click this link. :)

This week's post is all about setting goals for both the summer and the week.

Here are mine:

GOALS FOR THE WEEK

• Finish the chapter I'm working on 
• Try to write at least 100 (this number will increase each week) words each day

GOALS FOR THE SUMMER 

• Change what I have written of my wip so far from first to third person. That's like 30K words so...yeesh. 
• Finish 14 chapters before I go back to school. It would be great if I can get more finished but between studying for the LSAT/my internship, getting that many chapters written might be a challenge. I'm up for it though! :)
• Reward myself with reading whenever I meet a goal. I have a lot of books on my Kindle that I haven't gotten around to reading so this will help me get through my TBR list and it'll be a great way to rest my brain when I need a break from writing. 

I hope everyone is as excited as I am about Ready. Set. Write! starting back up again. What are your goals for the week/summer?

Thanks for reading! 

Continue Reading

Why Diverse Stories Aren't Only Important For Readers of Color

Why Diverse Stories Aren't Only Important For Readers of Color

Posted by Raven M on 9:49 AM in diversity, unfair, writing,

Toni Morrison once said "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” That quote has been with me ever since I first read it years ago and while I am well past my teens and getting ever closer to being twenty one, I still have this desire to see myself in a story. Granted there have been black main characters in books but they're often about the struggles of being black or stories that aren't as diverse in plot as many books with white protagonists are. 

Where are the black Katnisses of the YA world? Must black characters always be Rues or Threshes? I know that the answer is, no, they don't and there have been more and more books where black characters aren't defined by their 'circumstances' but it's not enough and it should never be enough. This belief is what inspired my current wip. 

Unfair, if you don't know, is a YA (possibly NA) Epic Fantasy retelling of Snow White. It's not told from Snow White's POV and it takes place in a world that is geographically similar to our own. When I was first thinking this story up, it was natural for me to want to include other regions of the world but I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't admit that this incorporation was also intentional. I think it's important for everyone to see themselves in a story and while I grew up reading books with white protagonists who I could relate to, I think it's important for children to grow up reading characters that look like them. 

Not many children of color do. 

I didn't.

But this isn't the only reason why I am writing Unfair with such a diverse cast.

I'm a Sociology major, so many of the courses I have taken deal with race. I have had great professors but the most meaningful education that I have received did not always come from the instructors themselves but the white students in the class. Many of them have never encountered someone who wasn't white before coming to college. Many of them had preconceived ideas of what a person of color should act like from media and from what friends and family have told them. 

The amount of POCs in this country has been increasing but there is still not many opportunities for white children to interact with people of color. I grew up with seeing white actors on television. Most of my teachers and professors and classmates have been white. Because of that, I am able to see the person and not the stereotypes that sometimes gets perpetuated through media.

There are many people out there who teach their kids not to see color and while I can't tell anyone how to raise their children,  I can say that that kind of thinking does more harm than good. I want people to see my color because I refuse to pretend that I don't see theirs. It's not something that is consciously in my head when I first meet someone but before you talk to someone the first thing you see is their appearance. Skin color makes up that appearance, so it is impossible not to notice it. Besides, color isn't bad. It's beautiful, in my opinion. The perceptions or the way a certain color has been portrayed to us is what can be bad, especially if that perception or portrayal is negative and is based on a stereotype instead of the individual.

The narratives of black teens that get told are not diverse. The same can be said for the stories of other teens of color. Again, I am aware of the fact that there are more books with main characters of color out but that just isn't enough for me. There needs to be an equal amount of representation in books, especially in books for children, teens, and college-aged adults.

That is the time when exposure to diversity is the most important.

So I will write Unfair with all of the readers in color in mind because I know how important it is to see someone who looks like you saving the world but I will also write it for white readers as well. We all need exposure to people who we think are different than us because it is then that we are forced to realize how similar we truly are.

Continue Reading

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 3:25 PM in music, the girl of fire and thorns, unfair, what's up wednesday, writing,

I love this so much!

WHAT I'M READING

I am still mentally reading The Bitter Kingdom. I finished it last week but I have been thinking about it ever since I read the last page. It was just THAT good.  If you haven't read The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, I highly recommend it. Especially if you like adventure, new twists on old tropes, swoony romance, and diverse characters. I have a million other books to choose from, so we'll see what I pick up next.

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

I am still working on Unfair. I'm not sure if I'll finish it anytime soon but it would be great if this was the year that I finished writing another book. I love this story a lot because it's something I want to read. I'm not sure if I will ever query it or if I'll be brave enough to let someone else read it but, for now, it feels good writing something without limitations.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

 

I love music. It's one of the things I love just as much as I love reading and writing. But, unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort for me to listen to it whenever I write because I tend to sing along and if it's a song I really like, then more singing off-key happens than actual writing. The only exception is when the music fits the story that I'm trying to tell. It doesn't have to be the entire song. It can just be one line or the guitar solo or even just the singer's voice. I have had Hozier's debut album on repeat because, not only am I extremely in love with his voice and him, but it has inspired me to be more creative and more daring with my writing. It also got me to churn out 4.5K, which is a lot for me considering it's the first time in months that I have written anything that wasn't school related.

 

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

1. I made it through last semester with all As and one B, which is surprising because I was certain I would fail at least two of my classes. That may or may not be an exaggeration but I still wasn't expecting to do as well as I did.
2. I go back to school (after being on vacation for three weeks) on Saturday. I'm going to miss being home but I am excited that junior year is halfway over.
3. I have decided that I'm going to work writing into my schedule for this semester. I suck at time management but someone tweeted (can't remember who) that if you really want to write, you'll make time for it and while I can whine and say it's impossible to write while in college...there are people with kids and careers who still find time to write books.

 

 

That's it from me.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday and thanks for reading! :)

 

Continue Reading

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 8)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 8)

Posted by Raven M on 2:57 AM in goals, love in the time of comic con, ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
In my last RSW post I said I was going to try my best to make myself write and last week...I wrote! I didn't get a lot done because I was busy packing for school but I did get some words written for both Unfair and Love in the Time of Comic Con, which I'm happy about. I hope I can get a lot more wordage written this week.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Write, write, write!

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED
Relationships. Particularly family and friend relationships. Both play a very important role in my wips, so the dynamics of both have been fun to play around with. It's also nice that my MC in Unfair has a guy friend that is just a friend. Often times, I read stories where the guy best friend turns into a love interest and, while I don't mind when that happens, I do want to see more stories where the guy friend is just a friend because those kinds of relationships do exist.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK
It isn't really a *challenge* but I kept coming up with a lot of SNIs. If I were the same writer a year ago, I probably would've dropped everything and started working on it but I simply just jotted them down and moved on. Inspiration is a wonderful thing but sometimes, when I get inspired, I just want to write ALL THE THINGS.

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP
I love that I can let my imagination run wild. Because that's pretty much what I'm doing with Unfair. I don't really outline, so most of what is going in the first draft is from the top of my head. That's how I wrote stories as a kid, so it feels good to be writing that way now.

I hope everyone had a productive week. Good luck with this one!

Continue Reading