Siúil a Rún

First of all, here's a pretty song I found recently, called Siúil a Rún.

The video isn't very good, but it had the best quality sound. According to Wikipedia, it's a traditional Irish song about a girl who's love has decided to go to war, and though she doesn't want him to, she's supporting his decision. If you want to read more about it, go here.

Anyway, I'm just editing The Inferiors lately.

It needs a lot of work. Luckily, it's like 25,000 words less than From the Ashes so hopefully it won't take as long. And the first draft of From the Ashes was absolutely terrifying, which isn't quite the case with The Inferiors.

So yup, that's what I've been up to.

My goal is to get from page 109 (where I am right now) to page 180 by the end of the week. Think I can do it? I'll tell you on Friday :)

What are your goals for the week?

--Jess

Uploaded.

Dear fellow bloggers,

Please excuse my absence from the blogosphere yesterday, I got pretty much nothing done. As far as school work, and stuff other that writing goes.

So yeah, yesterday was quite busy for me.

Why?

I uploaded From the Ashes to CreateSpace.

Yes.

I did.

But it took quite a long time because I had to fill out a TON of information about my book, which is actually much harder than it sounds. For some reason, when it comes to talking about my own story, I get all tongue tied. Or keyboard tied, since I actually had to type it all out.

Then again, I get to talk on the phone again to the people at CreateSpace about my answers and other stuff… yeah haha I'm not quite sure what to expect. I'm just such an awkward speaker. That's kinda why I'm a writer.

Anyway, I'm really excited to see how things turn out!

How are you guys doing?

--Jess

IWSG~ Publishing

Um, yeah.

I'm very insecure about publishing.

Only a few weeks ago, publishing From the Ashes was a dream far off in the distance. Actually reaching it was a silly fantasy I had, not really believing the day would ever come where I'd have to worry about that rough, rocky shore of publishing.

Now that I've considerably closed the distance between me and that "rocky shore," I'm realizing it looks much more difficult to navigate than it did from far off.

Maybe I'd be a little more comfortable if I'd secured a publisher. At least I would feel like I'd been "accepted" by editors, and other people because they liked my story.

See, my mom has read my story like… ten thousand times for me. Okay, not ten thousand but probably around ten times. She's helped me edit it each time, and she always tells me it's really good, and it's getting a lot better and all the stuff a mom has to say. She's very critical, don't get me wrong.

As I'm reading through it one last time (as a reader, not an editor), I haven't found a single gramatical error. And I'm already on page 200.

Now maybe I'm just blind. But I have found a lot of stuff to reword, to make things flow better.

Anyway my biggest insecurity is… what will everyone else think about it?

I know some of you have read through it for me as beta readers and such, but that was the first few drafts.

(Very embarrassing that I actually let you read such a rough draft… I know…)

But what if you don't like the final version? What if no one likes it?

That'd be really awkward.

Anyway, what are you guys insecure about?

--Jess

Sometime in 2013

Due to hurricane Sandy, Halloween was "rescheduled" in our neighborhood from October 31st to November 4th.

The one problem with this is that now I'm VERY confused about what day it is, unless I click on the time display on my computer every few minutes to remind myself that today ISN'T Friday, November 2nd.

So if any of my posts are quite confusing, please note that I may have forgotten the date.

I've been writing quite a lot lately, but not the things I should be. Mostly flash fiction and some Star Wars fanfic now and then. I know I should start writing Book 3 in my trilogy soon, but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. Maybe it's because I know I'll be sad when I finish it.

I'll probably start it once From the Ashes is published.

Oh, SPEAKING of From the Ashes being published, I will "officially" be a published author in early 2013!

Yeah, I won't be in 2012. So, I am really hoping the world doesn't end ;)

--Jess

I Actually Have to TALK?

Well, it looks like I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year. I really wanted to, and I made a last effort to prepare for it on October 31st, but I wrote absolutely nothing yesterday. Sure, I have today to catch up, but that'd mean a TON of work.

I have a story idea.

Not a storyline, or a plot, or characters.

Just an idea.

And I like to have things planned out before I write it, otherwise I get lost halfway through the draft.

So, yes, this is my explanation for not being able to do NaNo this year. I feel like I'm betraying all of you who are joining in. This is the first year I haven't participated since I started writing novels.

I'm pretty sad about it.

Secondly, I have some exciting (or scary, either way works) news. I have to talk to a Senior Publishing Consultant at CreateSpace today.

OH. MY. GOD.

What scares me the most is that I have to really talk. Not email, or IM.

I have to USE MY VOICE BOX and talk on the TELEPHONE.

You see, I'm not a very good talker. I have a writing voice, not a speaking voice. Of course, it's all right once I'm talking to friends, but my "writing voice" is still much better.  My speaking vocabulary is filled with an overuse of teen words like "like," and "cool," and "totally."

Worst of all, I say "um" a LOT. Especially when I get excited.

Another thing is, I'm not sure if these people know I'm only 16. I'd kind of like to see how long it takes them to figure it out. Oh well. They'll probably realize that today after listening to my limited vocabulary, lol :)

I'm really scared.

Wish me luck, guys!

--Jess

The Biggest News in the Galaxy!

Yes, you heard me!

Okay. I know a lot of people weren't happy with Star Wars I, II, and III, but honestly I loved them. So, you can't blame me when I say I'm OVERLY EXCITED about Star Wars VII, scheduled to come out in 2015.

Apparently George Lucas handed over Lucas Films to Disney. And they're planning not only a Star Wars VII, but a Star Wars VIII and IX.

So yeah.

I'm totally freaking out!

Of course, I can't help being a little nervous. Like, I'm a huge nerd. So I've read a lot of the books (before and after the original stories), and I'm really hoping the movies are just as good.

Not that they would, but I really hope they don't change the casting for The Clone Wars TV series, because Matt Lanter is Anakin Skywalker's voice, and he's such a great actor! (Not so bad on the eyes, either…)

Okay, enough said. I'll let George do the rest of the explaining.

Am I really that nerdy, or are you guys a little excited too? What do you think? Did you like the prequel trilogy? Are you excited for the new ones? 

--Jess

starwars.com has more info.

Oh, also, Happy Halloween! Trick or Treating was moved to Sunday, here, because of hurricane Sandy. It's been raining for three days straight now. Luckily, I wasn't going trick-or-treating anyway, so my mom just bought me a big bag of candy :)

Who's ready for NaNoWriMo tomorrow?