First Loves Blogfest!

I didn't think I was going to sign up for this, but I couldn't figure out what I should post today.  So I thought I might as well!

Today is Alex J. Cavanaugh's First Loves blogfest!

It's where you post your first ever:  Movie you loved, Music you loved, Book you loved, and Person you loved.

So here I go!!


FIRST MOVIE:

Yep, you totally guessed it.  This movie made me want to be a writer.  The entire Star Wars world opened my eyes to the world of Sci-Fi and has definitely had a HUGE effect on my writing.  To this day, it's still my favorite movie :)


FIRST MUSIC:

I honestly don't know which came first.  Evanescence, or Within Temptation.  The first time I ever heard Within Temptation was when I was in 4th or 5th grade, but since I'd only heard their song Angels on Youtube, I never actually knew what the band was called or who was singing.  Currently, WT is my favorite.

Evanescence on the other hand, I found them when I was in 6th grade and listened to them throughout both 6th and 7th.

Either way, Within Temptation and Evanescence have both inspired me, and are both worthy of being granted title: first love for music.


FIRST BOOK:

Yes, don't tell me.  I know that's the movie cover.  BUT.  War of the Worlds was probably the first book I ever loved.  It was the Classics For Young Readers Edition, so I read it when I was around six years old.  It was the first real book I read besides Dr. Seuss stories and another I Can Read book about Dolphins.  But the story set my imagination on fire!


FIRST PERSON:


Okay.  Now, this is a hard one.  Sure, I've had my share of crushes.  But... none of them really count.  I'd like to say my parents, but that would probably be considered cheating.

So... first love?

I'll go with the main character of my most favorite story.

<3 <3 <3

Anakin Skywalker :)

So tragic, but so completely awesome.

Don't forget to go back to Alex's site to check out other entries!  You can still sign up to participate, too!  The linky list closes at 11:59 pm Easter Standard Time.  And by the way, my best best friend of all time just got a blog, so go HERE to check it out!  She's another writer working on her first novel, so it would mean a lot if you just stopped by and followed her or said 'hi' to show some support.  Thanks!

Have a LOVE-ly day!

--Jess

U is for Unforgiving

U is for Unforgiving

“That’s it?”  I ask.

The man nods without remorse.  “Yes.  That’s it.  Unless you’d like your punishment to be more severe.”

 “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“Sorry doesn’t buy your life back.”  He turns to the guards.  “Now get on with it.  Execute her and be done.”

The blade comes toward me, then all fades to black.

***

And here's the song What Have You Done by Within Temptation:

Very intense, I know.  It really inspired me though!  Don't know what it is about their music that I love so much!  I guess it just flows well with my train of thought.

Anyway, I'm about... 140 pages into editing my 5th draft of The Trials! Yay!

Although, that actually isn't much of my book, considering that it's an extremely long, 116,000 words (and counting.)

So, how long are your stories/novels/books?

I always feel like mine is a million pages long!  (Actually, 440 to be exact...)

Have an Uplifted day!!

--Jess

R is for Revenge

R is for Revenge

Remorse.

Burning rage in my soul.

They took her from me.  I let the enemy take her from my arms.  If I had fought harder, maybe I could have saved her.  But this was not my decision to make.

These prison bars are strong, but they don’t imprison my hate.

And when I am free, they all shall feel my wrath.

***

Okay, so this little flash fic/poem thing was written from one of my characters POV in my sequel.  She's a really fun character to write... not because she's funny (quite the opposite, actually).  But it's more because she's so passionate.  Her daughter was taken away before she was imprisoned by the enemy, and she's determined to escape and then, well, pretty much destroy them.

Now, for the music and a few random things after.  This is In The Middle of the Night by my personal fav, Within Temptation:

Um... I'm not entirely sure what that picture is about, but this clip had the best sound quality out of all the other ones. So just ignore it and enjoy the music.

I'd like to apologize for posting so late today.  Fridays are our crazy days.  Not that the rest aren't crazy.  It's just that, out of all the others, Fridays are at the top.  It's our big skating day.

Speaking of skating, go check out my sister Alyssa's blog, Life is Good. Her whole A-Z theme is skating, and she's also competing in a big competition tomorrow, so wish her luck!

And if you want to know the crazy thing that happened to me yesterday, check this out. Actually, it happened more to my mom than it did to me, but still.  I would post about it, but I try not to be too repetitive-- I already do that enough in my novels!

Hope you guys have a Relaxing rest of the day (or evening, or morning, depending on where you live.)

--Jess

P is for Procrastination

P is for Procrastination

The friend you wish you never had.

That friend that comes around when it shouldn’t, causing trouble for everyone. When it’s with me, I don’t really mind. But afterword, I wish it had left me alone. Because it just leaves more work for me.

I know this friend well.

A little too well.

***

That pretty much sums up my ol' pal, Procrastination. We go waaay back, it and I. Usually, it comes by when I should be doing homework, or playing my violin or unloading the dishwasher. But today, it came to me when I should have been writing this blog post at 7:30 in the morning.

I had no idea what to write about. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to come up with anything. There were a lot of good emotions/traits that started with P. For example:

Peaceful, Playful, Petrified, Proud, Pure,Powerful, Pained, Placid, or even Pessimistic.

but I didn't feel like using any of them.

I thought that maybe (with the encouragement of my unbelievably annoying friend mentioned above) if I just waited, something would come to me. But of course, nothing did.

Big surprise, right?

And finally, I realized that I had to stop Procrastinating and get this blog post done. And then it hit me, the lovely word Procrastination popped into my head, and I realized that it was a good word to use for today!

Now, there aren't many songs about Procrastinating. And if there are, I'm not sure I've heard one of those. But, there are songs that get me out of a Procrastinating mood.

Here's Bittersweet by Within Temptation:

Sorry, I couldn't find a video with just the album cover. Just try to listen to the song before you read the lyrics, because sometimes the lyrics distract me from the melody. (Maybe it's totally different with you, but just a suggestion, lol.)

Finally, I'd just like to say that yesterday I officially finished the first draft of my sequel!! I always print out my first drafts so that I have a hard copy of each one. I'm not kidding, I used up an entire stack of paper from the store. My mom bought it just for me, because she knew I was going to use it all.

Luckily, it's bamboo paper or something, so it's supposed to be more green. I just printed out the last page, which brings book two to a grand total of approximately 112,000 words and 418 pages!!

Have a Perfect day!

--Jess

L is for Lost

L is for Lost

The world is in darkness.

You may not see it through the cloudless skies, but the world has become dark. It’s easy to lose yourself here. It’s easy to forget what you were and accept what they’ve done. Because if you don’t, they’ll come back.

We’ve lost hope.

And I can’t remember.

I’ve lost myself.

***

I have to say, after listening to the song I'm about to give you guys, I got a ton of inspiration. A few minutes ago, I just put my playlist on shuffle, and this song that just happened to start with the letter L seemed perfect for today's flash fic.

Anyway, here is Lost by Within Temptation:

I got a huge story idea after listening to this song. (I get tons of inspiration from the music I listen to). So yeah, I'm like, jumping up and down in excitement right now!

Don't you guys just love it when you get a story idea? I think it's just about one of the most exciting things ever. The annoying thing is when you don't write it down, and then you forget it. So I'm going to make the rest of this post really short so that I don't lose it!

Also, WiP update: 94,000 words!!!!!!

I don't know if I mentioned it, but my goal has been to have 100,000 words by April 15th. I actually think I might have a chance!

Okay, so, going over to write my idea down, and hopefully I'll have time to do some bloghopping later.

Have a Lovely day!!

--Jess

J is for Joy

J is for Joy

The stars are singing.

It’s a song too quiet to hear, but just knowing makes a difference. The sun shines through the clouds. I can’t see it, but I feel the rays on my skin.

Raindrops fall, like seeds of hope.

And I smile.

For the first time, I know that everything will be okay.

***

I'm sorry, guys. I just have a really hard time writing, well... happy things. I guess that's why the end of books are the hardest for me to write. Luckily book 1 of The Trials is only book 1 so it didn't have to end that happy.

Anyway, I'm really joyful today because yesterday, I hit 85,000 words in book 2, currently titled Light of the Dark! So yeah, I'm really really excited!! Maybe it's because it's a sequel, but writing this book has been a lot easier than writing book 1. It took me 10 months to write the first one. (I'm talking first draft.)

I started this book in November. (November!) And six months later, I'm almost done. That's like a four month improvement!

Now, as for the song. I don't usually listen to Jordin Sparks. I really only listen to European music. People like Within Temptation, Epica, Krypteria, After Forever... you know.

But.

I really like this song. Mostly because it sort of reminds me of writing. I guess it could be for anything, really, but it means more to me because that's what it reminded me of. So, give it up for One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks.

Because, writing can be frustrating sometimes. But we've got to keep pushing on, even if we're not exactly sure where we're going.

Have a Joyful day! And happy writing!!

--Jess

P.S.

My sister's middle name is Joy, so go check out her blog. She's also participating in the A to Z Challenge!

I is for Ignorance

I is for Ignorance

The root of pain and suffering.

Born from the lack of knowledge and truth.

It’s a choice that we all must make; to be ignorant or to see behind the lies. Lies that we’ve set ourselves up to believe.

Many will choose ignorance. Because it’s easier.

Simpler.

But ignorance is the seed of all evil.

***

Here's another song I love to write to. And if you look up the lyrics, I think it's sorta kinda about ignorance. It's called See Who I Am by Within Temptation:

Have an Interesting day!

--Jess

F is for Forsaken

F is for Forsaken

We have been forgotten.

Alone and left for dead.

Behind your lies, I found the truth;

A truth I’ve come to dread.

The darkness closes in,

And it closes in too fast,

The world that we once had,

Is but a dream lost in the past.

This all is just a nightmare,

Yet from one we can’t awaken.

We must pay for what we’ve done,

Today, we are forsaken.

***

And here's one of the many songs I write to a lot by Within Temptation, called Forsaken...

Have a fabulous day!

--Jess

D is for Discouraging

D is for Discouraging

Your mind is dry and desolate,

Creativity long since passed,

And everything you write,

Isn’t something that will last.

It annoys you to the core,

Your scene just isn’t right,

Your eyes want to close,

You want to give up the fight.

But do not be destroyed,

In disparity don’t you moan,

We all have insecurities,

No, you are not alone.

***

Okay, maybe the poem is a little cheesy, but I couldn't think of anything to write for 'D' and for the Insecure Writers Support Group post! Anyway, here's a discouraging song (lol) called Destroyed by one of my favorite artists, Within Temptation.

Oh, and here's the A to Z Challenge linky list.

Have a Delightful day!

--Jess

P.S.
Who wants to be my 300th follower?