An Intimate Betrayal*

I have changed the name of my current WIP (again?) yep, again. The last time I talked about it, I had just finished the draft and was ready to dive into edits.

Wrong.

At first, I was eager to edit it, scrawling in red pen across the pages, but as the pages became drenched in red, I grew disheartened. It started to take me days, nearly weeks, just to get through editing one scene. So, instead of forcing myself to continue on, I put the book down and walked away.

Not for good, but just long enough that when I picked it back up a few days ago, I grew excited all over again.

Now,  I've edited everything! What's next? Applying the edits to the official doc, then adding a few scenes and chapters that I think will help progress the work along.

After that?

Another round of edits.

Then FINALLY.

I'll send it off to a few betas and get some feedback.

OMG. This is really happening. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless.

Updates! Updates! Updates!

  So I have officially finished the first draft of my manuscript.
(Cue the doves, and the trumpets, ooh, maybe some balloons?)

  Now of course I am quite happy about this. Why? Because I get to edit! I get to scrawl across this bad boy with a magic red pen and making it go from total suckness to awesomeness.

  Wait. Did you just say it sucked?

  Well of course. All first drafts are supposed to suck, at least that's what one of my favorite authors said. Which, that statement made me feel a lot happier, just in case of course, my manuscript does indeed suck.

  So what are my plans at this point? Edit. Edit. Edit.

  Side note: I wrote the first chapter for book two just a few hours ago. I don't know, it just came to me as I was editing, so why not go ahead and pen it?

  Side note 2: I joined Camp NanoWrimo. After not doing anything for November's NanoWrimo, I thought it was only right to get back in the writing gods good graces. So yea. I've been using my current WIP as my word count.

Is anyone participating?

Oh and for your viewing pleasure...

BAM!

-Ash

Hello! Hello! Hello!

I feel like it has been ages since I've done a proper post. (Perhaps a bit over a year) and to be honest, I know why.
 
  I often see bloggers say they don't know why, time just flies by, but for me, I wasn't in the right place as far as my writing is concerned.
 
  What I mean by that is, I would start on a story, but it would never go anywhere. I would come up with a great plot (in my opinion), amazing characters, and the works, but every single time, I got stuck at some point or another while writing it.

 If I didn't get stuck, an idea for another story would pop into my mind and I would want to start on that one because it seemed like a better idea at the time.

 That's how it has been for the last three years or so, but now I feel as though I have found my muse. I am currently working on a piece and I'm a little over 30,000 words in--the most I have ever written for a single WIP--and I know exactly where I'm going with it. For the first time, I feel as though I'm actually going to finish a draft. I am beyond ecstatic about that.

 I'm not saying that I don't get ideas for other stories as I'm writing--I've already come up with a concept for book two and a spin off for two of the minor characters--but it isn't distracting me from my current WIP.
 
 What does this mean for me???

  I'm back with a brand new blog and I even tried my hand at Photoshop and made a banner. (Isn't it purdy?) I can't wait to get back in the groove of posting and things. I've missed it feverishly.


  My muse has come home!

-Ash

Contractions

It's been so long since I have blogged! However, I have a viable excuse. Would you like to hear it? .......Of course you do. As some may know, I am a student and it takes a lot of work to juggle writing, classes, and blogging. So to make my life easier, I stopped blogging for a bit, but now I'm back and ready for the summer. I really need a break from college life.

Anywho...

A few updates... I have paused writing Neacel and Jess' story to focus on my original WIP for Aiden and Elle. I have to be fair. They were here first.

I tanked the last version of their story (I've had about five different ones) and am currently working with a combination of the ones I have. It has made it much better to my surprise. (Why didn't I think of this two years ago?) I am a solid 8K into the new draft. ^_^

Now on to today's topic....

I speak for myself when I say contractions are a part of everyday speech, unless I'm writing a term paper where it is informal to write that way.

Since I write YA, I try to stick with how I remember teens speaking when I was growing up. (I'm only 19 heh) No one spoke "properly" because that was considered lame. Plus contractions are just more fun.

But when does it get to the point where you are using too many contractions in your work?

I have lost count how many contractions I have used thus far in my current WIP. I don't know whether to think this is good or bad.

My female lead, since it is in 1st person, constantly speaks in contractions. The gods, Greek mythology, never speak in contractions. Did I do that on purpose? Yes. I want to differentiate between the older and the younger, but when does it become too much.

I'm trying to keep a fine line between going overboard, but I don't want to change my lead's voice, but I also don't want it to become distracting for the reader.

What are your thoughts on contractions in YA?

-AshMash

Oh and for your viewing pleasure....

(Google)

Neacel's Background.

Anyone following my blog knows that majority of my characters are from different parts of the world. Why do i do this? Because honestly, I think it adds an extra bit of 'umph' to a story, especially if the dialect is correct.

For my current WIP, based around Neacel and Jessie, I am interweaving different cultures all through out the story. The differences are subtle, but they are there if you look for them.

Take Neacel for example. He is from a place that I think is rich in culture, but I rarely see it in any YA novels.

 (Google)

Besides the fact that this is James Mcavoy, I chose this picture because he's wearing a kilt. If you still don't know the place I mean, I am referring to Scotland.

I have never been to Scotland, but I really want to go. The landscape, the architecture, from what I have seen in pictures, it is gorgeous there.

Because of what Neacel is (don't want to spoil anything), I think it is great to set his background in Scotland.

It is a bit difficult to write with a Scottish accent, considering I have never been there, but research is key to achieving a good tone in the story. I don't plan to over do it, where words are commonly misspelled to achieve the accent I want, but I want it there so the readers get a grasp of what the accent is supposed to sound like.

Anyway, I'm running back to my writing cave and will return soon...

Thanks for reading,

-Ash

**Do you use accents in your novels?

New Story

I think I've gotten better with blogging, trying to do a couple posts a week at least. Now, enough with the introduction, let's get going.

So I'm currently working on a new WIP. (YAY!) And instead of just writing like I normally do, I decided to write out the entire first book. Pretty much like a summary.

It took me 6 pages single typed to write out the entire thing and it's about 3,500 words long. Of course I didn't include every itty bitty detail, but I basically have the heart of the story. My next step is to outline.

(Google)

I wasn't a really big fan of outlining, but now I know that it is an essential part of my novel writing process. Once I know what direction I'm going in, it's easy for me to write.

So here I am, in stage two of the writing process and I'm getting excited.

:)

-Ash

Character Names

I care about what I name my characters. I don't know about other writers, but there is so much in a name that I have to meticulously choose each one. Most of the time, my characters name themselves. I know that may sound like I contradicted myself, but let me explain.

When I begin a new story, the first thing I start on is the characters. Who they are, what they like to do, and what their story is.

In discovering who they are, I often start with a name.

(Google)

I am American. Not that this is a bad thing, but if my character is Australian or British, I know I am probably not spelling the name how it would be in other countries. That's when the meticulous searching of names comes in. I search for alternate spellings and what the names mean in other countries, that way I will be able to ...

A) Not offend anyone because I'm making an Aussie seem American.

B) Stay true to the art of good writing.

-Ash