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?

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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! 

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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! 

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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! 

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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.

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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! :)

 

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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!

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 4:04 AM in college, inspiration, penn state, what's up wednesday, writing,

WHAT I'M READING

Nothing at the moment. I haven't read anything in about a week or two and I don't know why. I have such a long TBR list to get through before I go back to school.

WHAT I'M WRITING

I haven't written anything since Monday. I didn't even attempt to work on any of my WIPs. I'm hoping this is a different story by next Monday. All of this lack of writerly productivity sucks!

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

Well, in case I haven't mentioned this before, I have to go to a different campus to finish out my degree because my old one didn't offer my major (Sociology). I was a little nervous about switching and while I am going to miss my old campus a lot, finding out that I get to live in the best (from what I've heard) residence hall on campus is making me really excited to move in. It was designed by the same architect who did Harvard's dorms (once upon a time I wanted to go to Harvard for law school, so I think that's freakin' awesome), it's walking distance from most of my classes, and it's EXTREMELY GORGEOUS. I might not get much time to write next semester but if I do I'm inspired just by the thought of being able to write surrounded by such beautiful scenery.

 

 

This picture doesn't really do it much justice but it's really pretty in person.

 



WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

Aside from gushing over where I'm living next year, I've been preparing for next semester since it's literally around the corner. I am going shopping this week for school supplies. I honestly hate this part of the going-back-to-school process. It involves shopping; my least favorite thing to do.

 

In other news, I HAVE AN INTERNSHIP! I keep wanting to shout that from every rooftop haha. I know that it's going to be a challenge juggling my schoolwork and an internship but I welcome that challenge with open arms.

 

 

Enough about me, what's going on with you guys?

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Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 7)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 7)

Posted by Raven M on 2:47 AM in carpe juvenis, college, goals, love in the time of comic con, ready. set. write!, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
I worked on Love in the Time of Comic Con. I didn't get much done because other things came up but it's better than nothing. I also finished writing this week's article for Carpe Juvenis (the online publication that I write for), so I was partially productive this week.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Try to write more because, really, trying is the only thing I can do at this point. I have less than 35 days until I go back to school, so I'm going to try my best to make these last days of my summer vacation count.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED

This is from LitToCC:

Sometimes people are too blind to see what’s right in front of them. Sometimes they just need for someone to peel open their eyelids and show them the big picture. But I didn’t want to have to be that person for my parents. I’m their daughter not their freakin’ marriage counselor.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK
The fact that I had other things to do last week. Even though I do have about a month until I go back to school, this time of year is always a little hectic in terms of preparation.


SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP
It's letting me be as nerdy as I want to be. My friends don't watch the same shows that I watch and they definitely don't understand my love for Doctor Who (I know...one day I'll get them to watch it) so this story is like my nerdy outlet. I don't have to worry about it giving me the blank stares my friends sometimes give me when I make references to TV shows that I like hehe.

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

 

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 12:05 AM in inspiration, love in the time of comic con, unfair, what's up wednesday, working on my fitness, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

I haven't been doing a lot of reading, which isn't a good thing. I want to take some time to do that this week, especially since I won't have to do it once school starts back up. I go back next month!

 

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

I'm still working on Unfair although I might take a break from it sometime this week to work on my side project, Love in the Time of Comic Con. It's a YA Contemporary Romance that is about 5K so far. I love my main character, Jet. She's so much fun to write and she's a nerd like me, which is something I really like. I've never been to Comic Con (I'm going to go one of these days!) so working on this story gives me an excuse to watch all of the Comic Con related videos on YouTube and pin pictures from the convention on Pinterest. Not that I don't do that every year anyways hehe.

 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

This post on anger. Camellia, the main character of Unfair, is very angry. While it doesn't show all the time, because she does a great job of hiding it, it's really interesting to think about the different ways to show anger without actually using the word. It's a great post and I think it will help make my writing a lot stronger.

 

 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

I worked out a lot during the school year but once summer vacation came around, I got really lazy. I have been working out on and off but lately I have decided that I want to try to be more consistent with my routine so, when school starts, I can keep at it. So far, it's going really good. It's kicking my butt but I know it'll be worth it in the long run.

I also revamped the blog! It took awhile for me to find a template that I liked but I settled on this one because I LOVE the birds, for reasons that are probably obvious lol

 

 

So...how's your week going so far?

 

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Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 6)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 6)

Posted by Raven M on 7:51 AM in goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
I added another 500 words to what I wrote last week. Plus, I also caved and wrote a kissing scene that's is not supposed to happen anytime soon. I actually really like the way the scene turned out so I can't wait to get to that point, officially.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Finish up the new beginning to the story and tie it into what I already have written of Unfair.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED
(From the kissing scene I wasn't supposed to write yet, No kissing in this line but it's one of my favorites.)

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone my name," The Huntsman said, face half in moonlight, half in shadow.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK
Not feeling like writing. There were times when I had the opportunity to write but I just didn't feel like it.
  

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP

The Huntsman! I know a lot about him from the few random scenes with him in it that I've written and I like his character. He's not one of the good guys but he's not necessarily bad either. He has his reasons for doing what he's doing and that's been really fun to play around with. I also like being able to make up a backstory for character we don't learn much about in the original Snow White story.

 

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

 

 

 

 

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 2:22 AM in deliver us from evil, inspiration, Pittsburgh, shadow & bone, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

 

WHAT I'M READING

Shadow & Bone still. I stopped reading to focus on my writing for a bit. I realize that at this rate, it'll take a million years to get to Ruin & Rising but I'm not in any rush to get to the end. I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye to this series just yet.

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

I added 1K since Monday, which makes me really happy. This means that I have about 27K words in all. The idea that I'm so close to 30,000 excites me. I know that I am nowhere near finished with this story but I get one word closer to my goal each day and that's all that matters.

 

It's a little rough and it might change in the next draft but here's some of what I wrote:

We’ve been through so much together so it wasn’t fair for me to pretend like he hadn’t lost as much as I have or that he didn’t hate the queen just as much. But because Wynn was stronger than I was; because he could bury his pain and anger without the help of the sun gods or sangria, I forgot that deep down he was just like me. We both had a shred of darkness in us. He just was better at making his darkness look like light.

I also partially figured out how I wanted Unfair to end. It might change once I get to that point but it feels good to have a scene to work towards.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 
My main character. She's so different than I am and the things that she says/the choices that she makes always surprises me. I guess some people would say that I'm the one making up the things she's doing and saying but, sometimes, it just doesn't feel like that.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

I stayed with a friend over the weekend. We've known each other since freshman year and it already feels like we've been friends for years. I guess it's true what they say about the people you meet in college being life-long friends? Well, anyways, I had blast. We had a few adventures that were worthy of a YA novel and we also went downtown to see the fireworks for the Fourth of July. Needless to say, once we got down there for the festivities, we didn't see the fireworks because we got distracted BUT I was able to take pictures. Okay, I only took two but they remind me of just how much I love my city. I have always wanted to write a novel set in Pittsburgh so I hope, one day, I get the chance.

Oops! That guy wasn't supposed to be there lol

 

We also went to go to see Deliver Us From Evil. We got to the theater late so we missed some of the movie but aside from drooling over Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez we were surprised at how much we liked it, considering that our scary movie standards are pretty high. My friends and I will go see just about any horror flick. We went through just about every scary film on Netflix when we weren't studying or doing homework. Some of them were extremely corny, others were so disturbing that we couldn't sleep afterwards. Deliver Us From Evil was far from corny and it wasn't really disturbing but it was...scary. I may or may not have screamed a few times. So, if you're into films like that, I highly recommend it.

 

 

How's your week going so far? 



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Ready. Set. Write! (Goal for Week 5)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goal for Week 5)

Posted by Raven M on 2:50 AM in goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, worldbuilding, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
I wrote! And I actually met my writing goal of 500 words. I wrote a little bit more than that but I am so excited! Especially since I wasn't home for a few days and haven't really been writing that much lately. This is definitely a step up from the three sentences I wrote last week.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Unfair is currently about 26,000 words in all. So right now I'm just working on fixing the beginning and, more importantly, the pacing. The majority of the book takes place over the course of one day which wasn't my intention so I want to work on changing that but right now my goal for this week is to fix the beginning.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED

Here's the new and improved first line: "Kneeling beside Queen Rowena's massive left foot, it took everything in me not to launch a stone at her cold, expressionless face."

 

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK

Not being home was a challenge (I'll talk more about this on Wednesday) but the biggest challenge would have to be getting reacquainted with my main character's voice. I figured out part of the reason why I haven't been writing had to do with me not remembering how Camellia sounded. So, to remedy that, I reread parts of my wip to get a feel for her voice again and that seemed to do the trick. 

 

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP

The languages! Okay, I'll admit. I haven't really came up with my own languages for the world Unfair is set in yet. Shadow & Bone and The Girl of Fire and Thorns are both books that do a great job of using existing languages and twisting them around a bit to fit their world. I haven't gotten to that stage so, as of now, I'm just using the actual language as a placeholder. Since Solterra (the place where my main character is from) is based off of Cape Verde (geographically not culturally), I wanted the people that lived there to speak Portuguese or at least a version of it. And in Casselein, another place in my story, the characters speak 'German' (this is mostly a nod to the Brothers Grimm since they are from Germany and this is a Snow White retelling). I hope, in later drafts, I can make the languages more unique but it has been fun incorporating them so far.

 

 

 

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

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 12:01 AM in carpe juvenis, college, inspiration, shadow & bone, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

 

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

 

 

I am still re-reading Shadow & Bone. It's going really slow but it feels good to revisit this world again. And, is it bad that I still really like the Darkling even after I know about all the things that he's done? I'm going to assume the answer to my question is yes.

 

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

Well I wrote three sentences! I know that's not a lot but it's a step up from not having anything at all. I'm really excited about getting back into the story and to be done with notes. Also, remember in my Ready. Set. Write! post when I said my flash drive was broke? Well, it's still broke BUT I was able to retrieve the updated file of my wip as well as some other files. I write mostly in Scrivener because I don't have Microsoft Word on my new laptop. I knew about the backup feature that Scrivener has but, I guess, in my frustration, I forgot about it. So, after remembering it existed and a few minutes of searching, I found the backup folders. Yay! And I do use Dropbox and OneDrive but I didn't think to save the files in one of those places (I know I know) instead of my flash drive. I have learned my lesson now. I won't be relying too much on flash drives anymore. I'm just glad I got some of my writing back! Thanks for all of the tips everyone. I think on top of saving my writing to Dropbox and OneDrive, I'll email them to myself too. :)

 

 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

The worldbuilding in Shadow & Bone. I like how it's complex but not too complicated. I just really love this book and the series and the more I read, the more it inspires me to want to get my own YA Fantasy written.

 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

I got some exciting school/internship related things in my inbox yesterday. My first article over at Carpe Juvenis also went up (which I was pretty excited about!!!), so the first day of July started off pretty good for me. I hope that it's a sign that this will be a great month.

 

 

How's your week going so far? I hope July started off wonderful for you guys!

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Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 4!)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 4!)

Posted by Raven M on 7:07 AM in college life, goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
I didn't do too well or too bad. While I didn't write, I did figure out a part of my story that I couldn't quite piece together. So, I think for now, I'm finished with forming the backstory. Unfortunately, my flash drive with Unfair saved on it decided to stop working all of sudden so it. I have another copy saved to my computer but the other one on my flash drive was more up to date and while I'm glad I didn't lose all of my writing, I spent more time trying to figure out how to fix it (because I don't think it's broke) than writing. Technology has not been my friend this week.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Try to get back the lost time. While I'm bummed about my flash drive, hopefully I can get back on track and if I fix it, that's great, if not then at least the majority of Unfair is still saved on my laptop and I can go from there. I'm going to go stay with a friend for few days because I haven't seen her since school let out, so we'll see how much I can get done before I leave. I'm going to set the goal word count at 500.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED

"The snow kept falling to the earth in clusters, and though it looked beautiful; like a million little white crystals, there was something about it that just didn’t seem right." (Since I didn't write, this sums up what I want to write more of in the future.)

 

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK

Aside from my flash drive, I'd say the biggest challenge was the fact that my mind was elsewhere for most of the week. Since my internship fell through for the summer and I couldn't find one to replace it, I have been looking through the ones provided by the school that I can do for the fall term. I found three that I want to apply to so I mostly spent the week fixing up my resume and working on cover letters. I've also been researching more law schools because ten isn't enough lol I really need to work on shortening the list but, as you can see, my mind was elsewhere this week. While I was still productive, I really wish most of the productivity could've been used for my writing.

 

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP

It's always there, in the back of my mind. There are some stories that I have started that I have unfortunately left behind once a shiny new idea came my way but Unfair is different. Even after months of not working on it, I still want to write this story, and even when I'm not writing, I still think about it and the characters. I am constantly taking notes in my head and thinking up scenes that even if I don't jot down right away, I remember them later. Unfair is the kind of story that I know won't go away anytime soon and I like to think that, even if it takes me a long time to draft it, it'll get written.

 

 

 

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

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 11:47 AM in carpe juvenis, inspiration, shadow & bone, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I want to reread S&B and S&S before I buy Ruin and Rising. I keep hearing everyone talk about how amazing it is on Twitter so I can't wait until I can get to it.

 

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

Well I'm still working on Unfair. I just haven't done a lot of writing lately. I have jotted down a few sentences here and there but nothing big. I really want to get back into the swing of writing but this week isn't really going well in that department. I'm not giving up hope though! I will be sure to update you guys on my progress on Monday!

 

 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

I think it's amazing that people can start off with one scene in their head and then turn into a book. Writing is such a wonderful thing and I'm not saying that because I'm a writer. As a reader, I am in awe of every book I read - good or bad. And it's mostly because, at one point, every book we see at the bookstore was just a draft or an idea that stemmed from a dream or something the author saw or heard or felt or whatever inspired them to sit down and turn their idea into a novel. The book-writing process is painful and hard and sometimes it makes me want to cry and rip my hair out but there's no denying that it's amazing, life-changing, and extremely inspiring.

 

 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

I recently became a contributing writer for Carpe Juvenis, an online publication that's all about, well, seizing your youth. You can learn more about it here. I'm really excited about being apart of the team and I already have a few ideas for articles I want to write, so I'm going to be mostly working on that this week. It feels great to be doing something productive with my summer especially since looking for a job and/or internship didn't go too well. I can't wait to tell you guys more about it. :)

 

 

Thanks for reading guys! I hope everyone is having a productive week. 

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Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 3)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 3)

Posted by Raven M on 12:52 PM in goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, worldbuilding, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
Not as good as I wanted to. I did do some writing, which is always good, but I didn't really pay much attention to my wip this week partly because I spent some time out of the house, reading, and at times just didn't feel like working on Unfair.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK
Get back in the groove of writing. I remember last summer I couldn't stop working on Unfair and that resulted in me pushing out 25K. I want to get back to that. I also need to make up for last week's lack of productivity and finish note-taking. It's the pantser in me. I'd much rather continue on without an outline or anything but I know that if I don't try to make sense of the story before I get farther in, things will just get more tangled up than they need to be.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED

Genoveva could see it when she looked into her eyes. Though once blue, they were now black with desire and want; a craving that neither food or drink could sate. (This is two lines, I know, but one couldn't be shared without the other)

 

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK

Doubt. It's everything from doubting that I can tell this story to doubting my ability to write. I hope that these feelings will pass because I don't want them to get in the way of my writing.

 

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP

I love that I get to experiment with this idea. I'm letting my imagination run wild with Unfair and I'm finding that even if this a retelling of Snow White, I do have a lot of freedom in the worldbuilding department.

 

 

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

 

 

 

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 11:04 AM in birthday, college life, goals, inspiration, love in the time of comic con, reading, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

WHAT I'M READING

 

I finished reading On the Fence by Kasie West a few days ago (it might've been Monday but I'm not sure lol) and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND  IT (yes, the caps were necessary). It was such a sweet book and it's a perfect read for the summer. I only wish that I was able to sit on the beach and read it but that's the reality of living in Pennsylvania. It may be considered 'east coast' but I don't actually live on the coast. So no beaches for me. Either way, On the Fence was a great book to read curled up on the couch and I'm sure it would be great to read in other places too. I hope you guys check it out when it releases in July.

As of now I'm still reading The Swan and the Jackal by J. A. Redmerski. It's taking me forever to read because I keep getting distracted by other books. And Ruin & Rising just released so I know that in order for me to get it, I must finish this first. Otherwise, I'll kick it to the curb because I've been waiting for R&R for what feels like a very long time.

 

 

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

I did get some writing done but it wasn't Unfair-related. I was doing some reading up on how to handle those pesky shiny new ideas and most people have been saying that if you spend some time getting it 'out of your system' then you should be okay. I gave myself a day to work on Love in the Time of Comic Con, a YA Contemp idea (you can find out more about it here) that's been bugging me for a few days now and I ended up writing about 5K for it. It's at a point where I feel comfortable enough to leave it alone but I know that if I ever need a break from Unfair, I'll set a timer, work on it for maybe an hour, and then once that time is up, I'll go back to working on my main project. I don't feel the urge to work on any SNIs, surprisingly, so I'm really excited about getting back to Unfair (maybe that mini break was exactly what I needed). I don't know how much I'll get done today since I'm going out with my mom later, so we'll see.

 

 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

I'm going to have to say storytelling. I have had that song Rude by MAGIC! stuck in my head for a few days now and so I decided to listen to it because strangely that's what helps me get a song out of my head. Anyways, I found an acoustic version on YouTube and the lead singer was talking about how the story behind the song was made up and that none of them have actually experienced any of what the guy in the music video/song was going through. Him saying that reminded me a lot of how I feel about writing. I usually write stories that have nothing to do with me. My main characters aren't anything like me and I do that on purpose. In my opinion, storytelling isn't storytelling if you don't challenge yourself to tell a story that isn't your own. In other words, I don't want to write an autobiography. Maybe there are elements of my life that I use as a basis for my characters but being able to use those elements to create a character that is their own person is what I love so much about storytelling.

 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

My birthday (excluding today) is in three days! I went out for lunch to celebrate with my mom and two of my cousins yesterday since my mom works on weekends and my birthday unfortunately falls on Saturday this year. I'll most likely spend the day reading Ruin & Rising because I don't really do much on my actual birthday anyway. But my mom and I are going out for dinner later on, which I'm really excited about. These last few days being a teenager weren't as scary as I thought they would be, only because I know I'm still going to be the same kid when I'm twenty. I mean, just because you get older, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to grow up completely.

 

I've been worried about not having enough money for next year since I'm changing campuses and the one I'm going to is a little bit more expensive. But I got an email saying to check my financial aid and thankfully the university has given me a scholarship and a grant which pretty much took care of the rest of my tuition. That was some much-needed good news because I've been bummed about not being able to find a job (started looking for one in the beginning of May) because I'm in college. That's the answer I've been getting a lot, which sucks, but it's a relief to know that at least my tuition is taken care of.

 

Thanks for reading! 

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Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 2)

Ready. Set. Write! (Goals for Week 2)

Posted by Raven M on 12:25 AM in diversity, goals, ready. set. write!, unfair, writing,

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS

I figured out the backstory and it helped me figure out some things in the main plot. I also did a bit of writing just to get the creative juices flowing. I still have more planning to do and some things to figure out before I officially start writing again but it feels good to have gotten what I wanted to do last week, finished (for the most part).

 

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK

Finish my note-taking. Answer any of the remaining questions I have about characters, plot etc. I also want to start thinking about how I want this story to end. I think that having an ending scene to work towards will motivate me to finish this even more.

 

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY OR ONE WORD/PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE/REVISED

"Before the night is out," she whispered, watching as one of the royal servants helped her father's new bride out of the carriage. "I'll have another heart for you, mother."

 

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK



Staying focused. I've been getting a lot of SNIs lately (because this always happens when I try to stick to one WIP). I'm really trying my hardest not to let myself get distracted so hopefully I'll be able to fight off any new character that pops into my head.

 

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP

The diversity. When I decided to write this story, I wanted it to reflect our world culturally. While the places in the story that are inspired by different countries and continents don't match our map (and it's a whole lot smaller), I like being able to piece together different parts of our world to make up a new one.

 

 

 

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

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What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

Posted by Raven M on 9:57 AM in inspiration, reading, supernatural, 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, you can click on either one of the links.

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

The Swan and the Jackal by R. A. Redmerski. I started it about a week and a half ago and it usually only takes me a few days (or one, depending on the book) to read something. However, I've been more preoccupied with my own story which sucks but hopefully I will be able to get back to reading this week. I also received an ARC of On the Fence by Kasie West a few days ago, and I'm excited to read it because it's on my TBR list and it's YA Contemporary, which is something I haven't read in a really long time.

 

WHAT I'M WRITING

 

Unfair has always had a prologue but after reading over the old one, I decided that it didn't fit the story that I wanted to tell so I scraped it and wrote a few sentences in Snow White's POV instead. Before it was told from the Prince's POV about his first encounter with Snow White, and it just didn't seem to do anything for the story. Even though my WIP isn't about Snow White, she does play a major role in main plot so it only seems right to start there. I also took some notes on the world-building, backstory, and the relationships each of the characters have with each other. So this week, so far, has been surprisingly productive. I can't wait to see what I have done by next week's RSW check-in.

 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

 

A number of things have been inspiring me this week:

 

For one, Thistle and Weeds by Mumford & Sons has been on repeat ever since I first heard it on YouTube yesterday. I was always aware of this band but I've never actually listened to their music. Then I listened to White Blank Page and the rest was history. I really love this particular song because it fits my story so perfectly. It just doesn't tell the story of one character either, which is what I love about it. I hear it and I think about each of my character's individual stories and it's truly an awesome thing when you find a song that allows you to do that.





 

 

The original Snow White story is always an inspiration for me because even though this is a retelling, I do want to make sure that my story keeps the dark elements of the original tale. While I like Disney, their version of the tale written by the Grimm Brothers doesn't really intrigue me like the original does. I also have a fairytale book (didn't know I had it until I found it the other day) with a translation of the original Snow White in it, so I've been reading over that a lot lately.

 

 

When I was first coming up with the idea for the story, one of the questions I asked (after figuring out who Snow White was and what she would do) was: how does her actions affect the rest of the world? So coming up with the backstory and trying to piece together my own world by using our world as a blueprint has been very interesting. I want to draw a map so I can visualize where I want everything to be but...my drawing skills aren't that great when it comes to map-making haha.

 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

 

We're most likely moving before the end of the summer so I've been helping my mom pack up some of the things we don't need out anymore and throwing away old stuff. I found some of my old stories from when I was in high school and the years before that. It's always interesting to see what kind of writer I was back then and even more than that - what kind of person. I'm a much different person now than I was then but I am also still the same in some ways. So looking back on my younger self was a lot like saying hello to an old friend and that was nice, especially since I'll be hitting another milestone in ten days. My birthday is on the 21st and I will be the big 2-0. Haha, okay. Maybe it's not that big of a deal but I can't wait to see what my twenties has in store for me.

 

I've also been re-watching Supernatural obsessively. So far, I have watched it every summer since I've started college so it's sorta kinda like an obsession tradition. Not only does it make me wish I had a sibling to go on a 'road trip' and fight monsters with but it's also teaching me a lot about character development. Since I'm an only child and don't know much about sibling relationships, accept for what I read/see in real life or on TV, Sam/Dean's relationship is really helping me with the dynamics of my MC's relationship with her sister. There are people who don't like Supernatural (and I just look at those people like: O.O) but even if you're one of those people, there is no denying that all of the main characters have grown throughout each season and it's a wonderful thing to watch and to learn from.

 

Thanks for reading! :)

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