Monday, October 29, 2012

Up-coming event and out-lining

Oh my, last week was great. I had been called in for a interview and most likely got a job at one of my favorite art stores. I should be getting a call soon after the background check has finished, but in the mean while this week I am focusing solely on writing. Why?


National Novel Writing Month  http://www.nanowrimo.org/

This is an event dedicated for novel writing. The goal? 50,000 words in 30 days. Of course there isn't just one winner, everyone who finishes is deemed a winner. There are prizes of course and a chance to win a free novel cover. It's a great event and will be my third year doing this event. Not only is it helpful but its fun! Lots of kind, understanding people are willing to chat and help you. I've met some awesome people through it and hope to met more this year.

I'm a lot more organized this year though. I have a basic out-line (Which I'll talk about in a bit) and a firm plot with an ending all planned out. I originally did the same novel for last year but switched and rewrote my first novel instead. Now that I've fixed the glitches in the plot and redid the characters just a bit, I think I'm ready to get this bad boy going. I'm hoping for at least 70-80k. That's over the 50k. Even though I'll be working I still want to aim higher. I want to get this novel published to jump start my career. As well as start on my high fantasy/steampunk novel.

So that leads me into my next topic. Out-lining. I've mentioned out-lining before. It's important for me to stay organized while writing this novel. There are some pretty important twists that I need to remember in order to reveal them later on so I have to write them down. I normally use a simple out-line for writing out chapters. I've written this before but I'll write it again so no one has to dig through all my posts.

Chapter_____

Main Events

Notes
Word count
Page count


Pretty simple. Keeps me from ranting on and on and on.....oh you get the point. Anyway. I'll be posting another post when NANOWRIMO starts. Hope everyone is ready for it, it's going to be a blast.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Good things to come

Do you remember my last post? Talking about how I am going to try harder to find a job? I had my very first interview! I went out to see Silent Hill with my fiance, a movie I have been wanting to see for a while. When we got home my mom came rushing out screaming "The art store just called! She really wants to interview you. TONIGHT " I am so happy I had put in that app the other day. I called her back and she set up a interview with me that night. We drove over and it only took five minutes. It happened so quickly!She was so kind and eager learn about me. In the end it seems I'll be part time in sales. What is better than getting a part-time job at a art store! I feel so happy. My family is so happy even my brother who normally could care less about me. I just feel so over joyed. Finally things are turning around. I can start planning my life and learn new things, work hard and spoil my parents. 

They are doing the background check on me right now and after that I'll be called and we'll set up a time for me to start working. She said it'll be the Sunday after this Sunday. This is so wonderful I truly cannot wait. Once it is confirmed and I've been officially hired I can announce my wedding date! My fiance and I talked it over a bit in the car on the way there and we're pretty firm on it being on the date with first started going out (April 27th) it'll be our seventh year together. 

This way it'll give us time to save up for the wedding and save up for an apartment too. Although now I'm going to have wedding on the brain. I can't wait! So many things have been going wrong and now having all this wonderful news...it's like a dream. 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Hard times

Things are going to get hard for my family (not going to list the reason why.) instead of being a brat and being disappointed about not getting x-mas gifts or about the lack of heat or food, I'm going to use this to push me towards getting a job and working to get my novel finished. It's been a hard couple of weeks for me but I can't allow myself to stop and focus on what is going wrong. I've been down that road before and only heart heart came from it. Plus everyone is healthy (No cancer or serious issues that can't be helped with meds). I now see x-mas as a day to sit in front of the fire place and drink some coffee watching the flickering lights cast by the fire. Simple things are fine with me. My dad grew up with very little. I want to be tough like him. I'm going to stay strong. Money, items, gifts, I really don't care about any of it. Things will be tough I won't lie but they could be worse. I'm going to work hard on finding a job. Call up hiring managers, ask questions, visit the job guy for new tips and leads, apply for as many jobs as I can each week. Besides that I'm going to work on my novel. Push myself to stop being lazy and get the sucker done with. If I got published I could not only help push my life forward (And my dream would come true) but I could help out a lot more at home while I still live here. There is a lot to be done. It's going to be a long and cold winter but hey, I don't like when it's too hot and at least the evil stove wont be turned on downstairs. I can manage. I'm going to start by working on my novel during the evenings and working on job hunting during the day. Maybe I'll be lucky and find myself a job soon.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A fresh start

It's a new beginning for me. All the stress has washed away (For the most part) For the first time in a while I'm able to smile at nothing. I wont go into details to protect names and such but I finally spoke my mind on a matter that has long bothered me and during that conversation a friend from high school asked me if I was okay and her kindness made me realize I do have friends that care. While she helped me and we will be helping each other with our Sakura-con projects, we invited her to stay with us during the con. I'm really excited because she is a lot like me. Plus our interests are very similar. I'm finally excited about this. It's like someone had pushed open one window and let in some fresh air. I feel ready to take off down this path and keep my eyes on the prize. No more stress, no more drama. I feel great now.


After a fuss you think I would feel stressed, unable to focus but I feel the opposite. I'm ready to face more fears and prove to myself I can do what I what. Feeling refreshed I'm more motivated than ever to reach towards my dreams and complete my goals. First off, I'm going to focus on getting myself a part time or full time job. I'm pretty close, I just need to call about my apps. Hopefully by sticking my neck out there I can hook myself a interview. Once I have a job I can really have a lot of fun. That means my fiance and I can get married and start our lives as a family. Besides that I can focus more on cosplay and creating the pieces I have in mind and planned for our next con. Life will be so much better. And that stress will go away on it's own.


For now I am going to focus on writing. Getting my novel up to date, finishing the short synopsis for National Novel Writing Month and out lining the chapters in my sparkly new journal dedicated for this novel I'm working on. If you are having a hard time too, just try to surround yourself with what matters, what makes you smile. Whether it's a pet or a close friend. Keep your head up because things can get better! Don't back down.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The long awaited book reviews + The Romanovs

Since I lost my template these book reviews wont be as fancy and organized as I had hoped but fear not! That will not stop me from reviewing some news worthy novels! I have decided to do two to start with. One will be a young adult novel and a novel of choice.

Since I write young adult, there will always be at least one YA novel I review per month (Depends on how many I read and how many inspire me enough to review it.) Now when I say "review" I mean...


  • A quick summary
  • 3 likes and 3 dislikes
  • My thoughts on the plot, characters, and novel cover
  • Small paragraph about the author
  • And much more....


The 3 dislikes will be hard and some times I might not be able to list 3. I am pretty strict on what I read (I don't like oh-la-la I'm a teen in love, he's an angel.) junk. I'm pretty picky. These, as above may change. The first two novels are....


  • The Replacement- Brenna Yovanoff (Young Adult)

The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery- Greg King (Nonfiction-Russian royals-Romanovs) 


Wait what? A nonfiction book about a royal family long dead? Oh yes. You see I have a hidden passion. History. I can sit at my computer for hours (When not writing) researching royals. It's a hobby of mine. And my favorite family is the Romanovs. But wait?....Who are the Romanovs? Oh come you should know this....


The story about a orphaned Russian girl who goes into Saint Petersburg to find out who she is and where she came from. With only a pretty little necklace for a clue she finds herself and a cute stray dog in the abandoned palace. Years ago the royal family had been cursed and killed. The youngest daughter had escaped with her grandmama, only to fall off a train and bump her head. Leaving her with no memories that she is the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Inside the palace she finds two men. They are scam artist looking for a girl to pose as the Grand Duchess to travel to Paris in order to claim the money offered by the Empress in return for her granddaughter. But on their way they soon realize this girl is the real deal. They find a way for her to meet her grandmother and reunite the family. In the end she leaves the life she was born into and runs off with her love, the man who realized she was the true duchess. 

But that sweet dreamy, romantic story isn't the truth. When I was young I thought it was. When I found out the dark truth behind the deaths of this loving family I cried. The story didn't end then and there. I became interested in the royals as I started researching the lives of these people. 


This beautiful but haunting pictures is of the true Grand Duchess Anastasia. Born as the fourth daughter of Alexandra and Nicolas the second, she wasn't exactly what her parents wanted. With three other daughters they were hoping for a male heir. But instead they got this beautiful, spunky, sassy girl who has become a legend.  

Around the age of 13/14

As little girl

(Left to right. Romanov sisters)
Maria(Middle), Tatiana (Second eldest), Anastasia (Youngest), Olga (Oldest)

The family together.

Anastasia's last known picture.


Anastasia and her family were very close. Her father was known for saying he wanted to be a farmer. The children were not spoiled, they slept on hard camp beds, bathed in cold water, and volunteered their time to the needy and sick. These girls and their little brother were born into a life of wealth and royalty and because of that they were doomed for an early death. Their deaths were meaningless. But because they born into this life they were seen as a threat. As their golden life crashed around them they were whisked off as captives, taken from their beloved palace. 
The Alexander palace

Being taken away from their home didn't make them break down. Instead they enjoyed every minute of life. They changed their ways and adapted. They were fine as long as they could stay together as a family. But that didn't last long. Soon their father and mother and the middle daughter Maria were taken away. The Romanov children stayed with trusted allies, who had been working with the Romanovs since most of the children were young, they gladly followed them without pay. They were reunited at The House of Special Purpose. It would be where they spent their last days as a family at. The guards were cruel and rude, they loved to make fun of the Empress because of her German birth. Their things were taken into the shed for "safe keeping" They had to ask before getting something out. They later realized the guards were stealing things out of their luggage. 

Sewn inside the daughter's corsets were the famous Romanov jewels. These jewels later acted as bullet proof vests. Ont he night of   July 17 1918, just weeks away from Anastasia's birthday, the family was awoken in the night and taken downstairs, the guards had told them they were in danger and the basement would keep them safe until everything was over. But it had been a lie. So they got dressed, with her dog in her arms Anastasia walked with her family down into the basement. She would never return. 

  
One of the last pictures of the daughters taken. 

They never expected a thing. They waited hours, quietly hoping to return to bed. Then the doors opened and men entered. Guns in hand, they told them:


Nikolai Aleksandrovich, in view of the fact that your relatives are continuing their attack on Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee has decided to execute you...

"What? What?" Was all he could say as the men started to shoot.

The room where they were killed.

Some died quickly. Others were not so lucky. The jewels sewn into the corsets stopped the bullets from hitting their chests. But they did not live. The ones who survived were stabbed over and over with bayonets until they were dead, laying in a pool of blood. The jewels were later found and torn from the garments. The family was later stripped, some burnt, and thrown down a mine. But after some of the guards bragged about the location they moved their bodies in the night to their final grave. 

In 2007 they finally found the last remaining bodies. One of a daughter (Either Maria or Anastasia) And that of the ill son, Alexi. Finally the family could rest together in peace. But the sad fact of the matter is the last two bodies have yet to be buried along side of their parents and siblings. Some doubt the DNA tests. Some want to believe that one or both of the missing children survived. 


The sad truth is they died that night with their family. 



I have learned a lot about the history of Russia and England through this family. My interests have grown into other royal branches such as the famous Marie Antoinette. It's a hobby of mine that never gets old. There is so much to look up. Portraits, jewelry, clothing and life styles. There is always something to be learned. I may post more about this family later on, there is no shortage of pictures to post of them, that's for sure. I suggest you look into it more yourself. Maybe you'll find yourself interested too.


Sites:









 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Update-10/15

This won't be a big post. Just a little update. There isn't much that has been done. I have about one or two more paragraphs until the first chapter is fully rewritten. It's been a lot harder than I thought to rewrite the novel. I guess I'm still upset about losing the file. Not a lot of people understand how irritating and disappointing it is to lose your hard work. So remember to save your novel. A LOT. I do it every time I update it now. I don't trust computers. Especially my Frankenstein-computer. That's all I can really write about otherwise this post would wind up being negative and all about stress. 


Ta-Ta for now.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Frustration

I'm finding it very hard to rewrite what was lost. I'm not being as positive as I had hoped I'd be about rewriting. Although don't get me wrong. I'm not giving up or anything. I suppose I'm just frustrated that the ending of chapter one is gone too. I can't remember how I had ended it nor had I saved it onto my Kindle. It sucks. I'm pushing through it, knowing I can't give up or quit. That isn't apart of my dream. Keeping myself inspired is a bit tricky since I can't really go anywhere to sit and relax and let go of all my stress and worries. I just applied for a job and I hope I can get it so all my stress can fly through the window. And maybe that's why it's hard to get into writing. I'm too stressed. Working on a side story for the fun of it helps as well as watching movies and openly talking about my novel and the ideas I have for it.

But all this stress is like a huge wall blocking my creativity. The only thing that can cure it is a job. For three years I've been looking for work. And still I haven't been able to even get called back or had a interview. It's frustrating watching as my friends on FB get called in for interviews and get job after job. I have gotten help through a GoodWill career center in the hopes of getting a job there but applying twice has gotten me no where and they guy knows how badly I need a job. I did just apply for a assistant pet groomer and I had forgotten to up-date my only phone number on the app so I have a good excuse to call the place next week and talk to the person in charge of hiring. I'm sort of glad I did make that mistake. Maybe it was fate. I sure would love that job.

Why stress? You get to sleep in. You get to play video games all day. You get to laze around in Pjs all day. You can do what you want when you want. Your parents aren't going to kick you out. So why would I be stressing?

Getting a job means...


  • Marriage
~ The biggest reason for getting a job. I've been engaged to my high school sweetheart for three years now. I want to be his wife so badly it hurts. We both want to start our lives, start a family and get a King Charles puppy!


  • Move out!
~ My parents will never kick me out. But that doesn't mean I want to stay living there. I'm engaged (See above) and am ready to start my life as an adult. Plus my parents are dealing with so much not having to pay for me would be so helpful and I really want them to be stress free too since it seems my older brother will not be moving out any time soon....(Seriously, come on you are twenty three(Or four) and have a high paying job. GET A LIFE. He doesn't even know how to do his laundry!!!!)


  • Did I mention a puppy?
~ My fiance and I have already talked it over and he's decided for a wedding gift he's going to buy me my dream dog, a king Charles spaniel! We already found a wonderful breeder in WA that isn't far and has the values I'd want from a breeder. The only animal (Besides my hamster and fish) that I'd be bringing with me when I move out is my beloved cat Maggie. So having a puppy would be amazing!



  • No more stress!
~ 'Nuff said.


I have a lot to work towards. And keeping my mind on these I feel much better. My future will be unknown but knowing these events are in it I feel at ease. My dream to become published will be up to me if it ever gets accomplished. And I will make it happen. I just have to focus on what makes me happy and not sad.


That's enough of that for today.

What's coming next on this blog?


  • Post about National Anti-bulling month.
  • Inspirational pictures
  • Book review 


 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Writing with dyslexia- A quick rant

I had four days where I was unable to write the novel I am working on now and let me tell you my dyslexia has gotten out of control. I grew up with numerous learning disabilities, such as having issues with math, remembering numbers and doing math inside my head. When I was young I also had issues with writing, believe it or not. But I grew out of that. I didn't really have confirmed dyslexia until my senior year. It wasn't too surprising for me since both my parents show signs of having it as well.

Now dyslexia is not something is life threatening. With some practice it can be easily managed. It's not like depression or anxiety (Yup, got that too.) It can be frustrating and annoying and can't be treated with a pill or go away for ever. 

The fun thing is I started writing this as a rant to express my frustration with it since I hadn't written in a while but now I see what I'm writing and it's turning positive. I don't want people to think having something like dyslexia can ruin or prevent you from having a career as an author. After all haven't you heard that really smart people can have dyslexia? Think of it has a gift. This way we can work harder, push our selves farther than those who are given things or try the very minimum. 

So instead of ranting I'm going to post this and say...


Keeping pushing yourself. Maybe you have something that gets in your way but don't let that stop you or even slow you down. Keep your dream alive. You really are the only person (Besides the evil computers that randomly like to crash) to keep you from achieving your dream. Keep your head up. Have a folder of inspirational things (Quotes, pictures, ect.)  Keep your favorite books nearby. Do what you need to do in order to keep yourself going. I'm trying to do this too. It's one step at a time. Go at your own speed. 



Chapter two and the dying mouse

For those who don't know or didn't read my last few posts, I lost my updated novel file because my hard drive crashed. I do have the first chapter or most of it. So I am starting the work of finishing the end of the first chapter and start the second chapter again. I'm really going to try my hardest to make it much better than it had been before so in the end it was worth losing the work.


In other news my computer mouse is dying! Goodness....I hadn't had it that long. Two-three years. A computer mouse should last way longer than that. The left clicker is all out of whack. It sucks and makes writing tricky. I've been scanning the web for a new mouse and I just so happened to find one of my latest love...


                                                                   


Cute, huh? I've fallen in love with San-X. Which makes me wonder why did it take so long when I go to a lot of cons and see San-X stuff almost every time. But I adore the little bear and his friends and was so happy when I found out this....






Since it's fairly priced (28USD) the same price as the mouse I have I think I'll (Hopefully) get this one! I also got my hubby to say yes to someday buying the bedding set! Of course I told him I'd let him have Star wars sheets. (Yeah right!) XD













Hopefully my mouse stays strong few a little bit longer!






Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Update and out-lining.

Sad news today. All recovered files of my novel turned out to be corrupted so I have to rewrite the ending of chapter one as well as chapter two. But I'm trying to stay positive and turning my focus on to working towards making what has been lost even better than before.  For now I am saving my work every time I am finished for the day. No computer will ruin my writing again! XD

So right now I am out-lining the important events for each chapter. Since I feel so behind I needed a way to organize all my thoughts. It's really helping me remember what I had written in the lost chapter and what I wanted to write in the next.

I'm not doing anything over the top or fancy.

---------------

Chapter One- (Name)    ((I like to name my chapters))

Main events


Notes

--------------

Pretty simple right? I hate writing huge paragraphs for out-lining. I always get lost and write too many little details that I always wind up changing anyway. So keeping it short and simple helps me remember what I need to write (I always like to switch of the amount of main events) and this way I can out-line numerous chapters in just a few hours and can start writing the next day.

I'll be keeping more updates as I go on. I won't start rewriting until tomorrow so my mind is fresh. 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

So empty...

My computer is depressing. It's so empty and dreary. But I'm slowly bringing it back to life. I have a new wallpaper so it has some personality to it again. I'm starting on finding some of my more important bookmarks and saving them. I think I will get a small notebook and write down sites for now on just in case this happens again. I really don't trust this computer right now.

Since I cannot write my novel right now (My fiance is trying to recover the missing part) so I am focusing on filling out a character profile so I can work on the fine details of my two main characters. I'm going to need a lot to do in order to keep me sane so I'm going to be...


  • Working on Character profiles
  • Out-lining.
  • Bring one of my Fanfics back to life
  • Finally write up my first book review (The template was lost.)
  • Inspiration 


So expect a lot happening on this blog in the next few weeks.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

The bad and the good.


My computer's hard drive had crashed. I lost EVERYTHING. I had saved my novels on my USB but all my new work on The Unnaturals has been lost. There is a slim chance I can get back all the work I've lost and my fiance is sure he can find it but I'm very doubtful I'll be able to get it back. While the loss of all my pictures and bookmarks is a very upsetting I am glad I have my finished novel saved and the novel I'm working on partly saved. At this way I don't have to start over from scratch.


On a more positive side I just got Scrivener which is a program for creative writers. It looked awesome, filled with templates and all sorts of stuff to help you stay organized. I have yet to use it since it was just installed onto my very bare computer but I will be sure to post a little review of it later on.

Hopefully I get back my full file of my novel and I can start writing again.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Up-coming event, name change

Are you ready for National Novel Writing Month?

Well if that answer is no, don't worry you still have one month left before NANOWRIMO. So take a deep breath and relax. You still have time for plotting, out lining and getting those novels ready to be written! Whether you are writing your first novel or sixth, this event is for everyone. They just updated the site for 2012 and it seems there will be some new updates and add ons. I'm excited to see just what they've added. This will be my third year entering NANOWRIMO. Although I am already working on a novel (The same one I'll be entering) I can't wait to meet new people and maybe (hopefully) make some new friends!

I'll be entering The Unnaturals since I am already working on it and I learned from last year working on two different projects doesn't work for me. Although if you are planning to do that, I say go for it. Make sure you give yourself a break so you can switch into the second project smoothly.


So make sure you have your coffee stock restocked, your mugs shined and washed and your playlists created. Once you start NANOWRIMO you'll be hooked. The people are friendly and supportive and the words just seem to flow when you use the helpful tracker. So give it a try and make sure you friend me.

My username is VictorianMess just like on here. I use that username on all sites I go on so if you see me, don't be afraid to add me!


I'm currently working on writing up my short synopsis for the event. But I'm also thinking of renaming the novel. Just to give it more of an edge.

The Unnaturals is what I call it now. But now I'm thinking of these options. If anyone thinks one is better than the other please tell me.


  • The Unnaturals
  • The Unnaturals: Calling all monsters
  • Isadora's Rules