I have nothing to write I have nothing to write...

         I've been in this state of bliss all day. Maybe it's because today is the first day in a while I've had a little smidgen of time to write, or maybe today was just a good day. School always seems to be unrealistically long but I always somehow manage by the end of the day, then run home where homework seems to take forever. It's like keeping up with my grades is the only thing I'll have time for later in the school year when things start getting harder. Actually this week has been good. I've spent a lot of time getting homework out of the way then reading and doing other things but just not writing.
       My deadline is today and I'm about 5,000 words short. I think I'm starting to see a pattern developing for my deadlines. I'm almost positive I'll be 5K short just before the last day of NaNoWriMo. It's really hard writing this little snippet because I'm basically finished my story by now, and I'm just going for word count.
       I've been doing this exercise recently where I write "I have nothing to write" over and over again until I really do have something to write. I've pumped out a few really good scenes doing this, but most of is talk about how my day went and how I'll never be able to finish this. I'm going to be totally screwed if none of my random ranting doesn't count for my word count...
       I'm actually really excited to start some editing. Editing seems like this whole new field of the craft that I haven't gotten a chance to explore yet. I've read a few things in my dummies book and the other ton of craft books I've managed to accumulate but I've never actually sat down and worked with it enough to feel comfortable. I guess feeling comfortable is the death of productivity but it would be nice to have a little knowledge on the whole process.
       Originally I was going to spend September working on short stories but I don't know if that's going to be very realistic. I mean I'll defiantly try some writing things and work on writing in general, but I just don't know if I can focus on something like learning an entire new way of writing while I'm getting use to school and everything else.
       Things seem totally hectic right now. I got this book called "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and I'm hoping it'll help me have more time to write. It's like this national best seller or something and once I've finished it and put some of the strategies to work I'll do a little review of it.
       I feel like it's going to be a good school year, a Long one, but good. :D

How School kills Kids

       First week of school is done! Thank goodness. Things have already started to settle into a nice rhythm of things. Homework sucks but I'm managing to stay on top of things. Between school, and work, and homework, and working out 5 hours a week I'm seriously not having any time to write and It's starting to get to me. 

    I've noticed I'm much more short tempered. My sister and I fight a lot about things that didn't seem to matter, I get really annoyed with people easily, and I'm having trouble keeping up the happy face I have at work. That sounds really dumb but you know what I mean, like my costumer service is basically crap now.

     I don't think I'm stressed, it's just the entire idea of having things to do is beating on me. I'm surprised I"m not having trouble sleeping with everything I've got to keep up with, but it's just that I'm so exhausted by the end of the day I just crash. It was like that when I was traveling a lot last year. I would run all day and be so exhausted by the end of it I'd just be done until morning where I run again.

     I'm also noticing I'm becoming a complete jerk. In English we had this project to color this guy and have quotes about him from our book. The people in my group wanted to worry about coloring and how we'll do the feet while I was worried about the quotes and things we would be graded on. Let's just say I don't think they'll want to be in my group ever again. It's like I'm this super productive monster that's always thinking about what needs to be done and how fast I can do it, and that's awesome! But I'm not finding time to read or write like I'd like to. 

    It's a wonder to me that I'm being so productive and doing well but I just can't seem to find time for writing. :(

A Sad thing

I managed to get through my goal of 50K before school started. I finished around 12 and was at school by seven the next morning. Right after I finished I made this video of my reaction.... SO I'm realizing how embarrassing this is but I figure this is one of those moments I'll want to remember or something like that.
    Earlier that day I made another video about how I thought I could never do it so I was pretty excited.
    I had to drop my creative writing class I was enrolled in because I need to do Journalism this year to do news paper and Lit Mag next year. I was really bummed but I guess I can always take it later on.
     Other than that I can't say to many bad things about school. I'm remembering how big my school is though. My class alone is over 900 and the whole school is around 5 thousand. I don't like the fact that I'm so busy now with work and homework and such that I haven't found enough time to write. I'm sure when my schedule settles down and when I get into the swing of things I'll manage to get more done but I don't see me getting much done in the next week or so.

School tomorrow

        I tried going to bed last night around 4am when I realized I'd be going to school the next day. Last night I had 44K and bumped out another thousand quickly before bed. Today I'm doing 5K to reach 50K and make my goal of finishing my novel before school. I'm not actually finishing it though, I'm just reaching a wonderful milestone. The week after that, The first week of school, I need to get out 15K to finish this awful word war.
      I'm going to be so tired trying to go to school tomorrow after having worked until 11 tonight and staying up to write more if I haven't reached 5K by then.
       Sorry for the short post, but I want to get writing...

Holy stinking Crap!!!!!

         So I just realized I've got three days until School starts! OMG!!! I feel like this has crept up on me because I've been so busy with working. I AM going to make my goal of finishing my manuscript before school starts. I'm currently at 43K and I want to be at 50K before Monday. I'm probably going to keep going to 65K because of the Word War I'm in until the end of August. I've also got to finish my summer assignment, and change my schedule, and to make things worse my tummy hurts :(
     I'm sure if I had just one solid day off before School starts I could get most of it done but I don't so that's not going to happen. I think I can manage all of this with Microgoals!
    Basically I'm going to set myself up goals, per hour tomorrow and the rest of the week and weekend for writing. It'll be like write 500 words this hour and such. I won't be able to work that out until I wake up in the morning because I don't know what time I'll wake up.
       This whole having a job thing is pretty much awful. Sure I like having money for a computer, and other things, but I'm having no time for writing between work and school. I guess there've been hundreds of people who had school, and work, and Writing to deal with and they still got their manuscripts done. I guess I'll use that to motivate me. I need like pep pills or something right now, I'm zonked :/

Should I be a Good Writer or a Popular Writer?

I've resorted to some plotting in the standstill of my first draft. I've heard you're really not suppose to plot to much while you're still barfing up the first draft. (I've always liked that comparison to a first draft...Barfing:P) anyway, in this plotting I'm realizing two things. One, my story is getting WAY to big. Seriously I wrote out all my plot threads and let's just say I have around twenty stories going on in this book. Second is I'm realizing I've got these massive plot holes...
       It's like I need to decide wether to have a magnifying glass on my POV character or if I want to pan out over all my characters. Honestly my POV character isn't feeling like a POV character and I'm thinking about switching to an Omniesant style of writing so I can make these extra plot threads cleaner and in a better braid.
      I think I've said this before, but I like thinking of my story as a braid. I've got all these plot threads that need to be woven together to make an amazing story. Right now my braid is looking like a frayed rope though. I'll be relieved when I'm done with this huge project. I've been thinking a lot about my first writing project and have kinda been wanting to get back into that one, which is good because come October it'll be six months sence I've finished it and I can offocially start editing.
      Editing is a whole other ball game that I haven't even stepped into yet. I'm wondering if having my first writing project being connected to the one I'm working on now is good or not. I feel like I've got a better understanding of how I want things to connect between the two books, but I'm wondering if I'm looking at this way to huge. Know what I mean? Like I don't want to make it where you HAVE to read the first to enjoy the second and the other way around. I want to finish the story for my first, then have a new story with the second that is still connected and interesting.
      Cassandra clare wrote an amazing series called the Mortal Instrument series. I loved it so much! But then she introduced her prequel, and I realized even though the setting has changed completely it's still basically the same story. Even the ending is pretty similar. I don't want to ruin the books because they are good reads, but looking at them from a writing perspective I'm finding some to Don'ts.
      It's like she has a cookie cutter plot for all her books. The lady who taught that free creative writing class told us about an author who always published books where someone's terminally ill, and they are in love and they find strength in their love and end up living. Seriously and the chick's published around ten books exactly like that.
      There comes a point where we need to decide to be good writers or popular writers. Popular writers seem to make the most money. Look at Twilight, I can a I don't think we should ever write for the sole purpose of getting an emotional response from our readers... In other words I don't want the dog to die in the end of all my books.

This sucks........

        Sometimes I feel like I'm not up to this whole writing thing. For a while there I loved it, and keeping track of my word count and everything, but recently I've been avoiding it. I'm not going to say I don't like writing anymore, It's just starting to lose the fun like it did for my first Manuscript. I think I've spent too much time in this story I'm on and I'm starting to get exhausted.
     Stephen King says first drafts of manuscripts should only take three months. That's why I've set a goal for myself to be done with this one by the 22 of August (The first day of school) That'll be around three months.
     I think it's kinda sad I've got this all planned out...but I'm finishing this manuscript this month, then I'm going to spend September getting use to my new schedule and working on some short stories, then come November it's time for NaNoWriMo. Where I'll hopefully blast through a third manuscript. I've got some running to do lists of things I want to do before NaNoWriMo or things to prepare myself. The list has things like Make an awesome Writing Playlist, and stock my mini-fridge with junk food. I'm really hoping I'll be able to get most of my writing done during the week or so off from school I have for Thanksgiving.
     I'm just really feeling like I'm at a stand still. I know I've been this way before, Hell you could run back through my old blog posts and see when this whole writing thing got hard for me and I was really close to calling it quits. This time around I know I can manage through this and I'll get it done so It's not really worrying me so much.
     I think my solution to this whole "Writing is boring" thing is to change up my routine. Right now I chill on my bed and time myself. Maybe I need a new location or new music. I guess I'll spend this week trying new things out and seeing what works.  Until next time :)

New Schedule = Headache

So I literally just got my Schedule for Sophomore year.

A Day: AP World History

Orchestra Philharmonic

Pap Algebra 2

Creative Writing(semester 1) 

Humanities(semester 2)

B Day: German 2

Orchestra Philharmonic

Pap English 2

Pap Chemistry 

I'm thinking about single blocking Orchestra so I can take a journalism class so I can be on Newspaper next year, and Dropping my Humanities class for Psychology so I can do AP psychology next year too. There's also a sociology class that sounds fun. 

     I like literature and things that study human nature because I feel it helps me with my writing. I don't know yet, every time I try thinking of my schedule or something like this I get a big headache. I kinda wish the school would just tell me what classes I should take for an English Major in College or something like that. What do ya'll think? Would Journalism and Psychology really help me as a writer? What about Humanities?

     I still have no clue how I'm going to manage everything this fall. I'm thinking about starting Piano Lessons just for some more extracurriculars, because apparently sitting in your room with a computer doesn't count as a legitimate extracurricular. I really don't want to think about college. Honestly I plan on going into the Marines after High School, then getting a GI bill and getting my college paid for. 

     It's annoying because I'm seeing all these paths that I can go down and I'm having to choose one that will affect me for the rest of my life. Ok sure a humanities class isn't going to affect my future all that much, but what if I'm able to get scholarship or something for something I did in Journalism. But if I do Journalism I'd have to single block Orchestra which I've been doing as my main elective sense sixth grade. It's all just a big jumble in my head. 

      

Liebster Blog

So one of my good Friends Fishy nominated me for this award called the Liebster Blog Award. With me being a straight a German Student who always does her homework I know that Liebe mean Love! The goal of this award is to spread the blogging love and help promote bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
    Thanks so Much to Fishy! As part of the nomination I've got to choose five blogs with less that 200 followers so here they are...

1) Velda Brotherton at On Being A Writer 
2)  Annie From The Epic, The Awesome, and the Random 
3) Ashley from Ramblings Of a Writer
4) Kelly over at Ink & Green Tea
5) Kalculator from a Ninja's Cake

So as part of the award you've got a few rules.

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

You guy's rock and I'll see ya around

Back to School

    Going back to school is starting to really suck. I'm remembering that I actually have a life other than work and Writing. I pick up my schedule Wed. and I'm really excited because I'm taking a creative writing class for a semester, plus I'm in Orchestra with a lot of my friends.
    I know I say this every new school year, but I'm going to do better than I did last year. My grades weren't that great, and I know I can do better. As far as my goals, I'm getting through my summer reading assignments, I've journaled every day for the past month, and My sleep schedule is getting there. It feels like I've got so much more to do now with school coming back up. I don't want to spend all my time watching tv or stupid things when I'm scraping for time to write.
     I feel like this year is going to be so much better than Freshman year. I've realized people don't hate Freshman, fish as we call em, we just all hate our freshman year. Next spring break I'm going to Disney World with Orchestra too which is going to be so fun. I'm also going to try and get on the Newspaper or Yearbook staff. My friend is doing this thing called Lit Crit. Meaning Literary Critique, he said it would be something I would like.
     I really don't mind school, I like coming home and feeling like I've done something with my day, I like the responsibility, and I like getting rewarded for grades and stuff. What's really sucking though is that I'm realizing I'm not a full time writer during the school year. Summer It's chill and I can write all I want, Fall is a whole different ball game.
      I think I've got carpal tunnel from writing and dipping ice cream for twenty hours a week. I've got these compression gloves things and they kinda help, but I can't really wear them while writing because They keep me from typing. That was random but anyway.
       I've never tried writing while in school. This is my first year of actually being a writer (Not even a year actually, I started in November) and I've never had to balance work, school, and writing. It's going to be tough getting my 2,00 words out per day. This year is going to be interesting.