WOW It's been a while

So, I haven't posted in eons, but I have been posting in my other blog on Livejournal, so you should probably go and follow that.

Basically the latest news on me and my book is this:

It's October. I love October. And cider. So I'm having a blast this month.

Two people have finished my book.

I have a ton of editing to do.

My writing teacher offered to read the first chapter of my book. (SQEE)

It's raining.

I'm reading Dan Brown's new book.

I'm finally telling people what I really did this summer: I wrote a book.

I'll be printing my manuscript in its entirety next Friday. Two copies of it.

***

Well, that's about it for now. Again, follow my other blog, because it's quickly becoming the prominent one.

Peace out! Enjoy October!

AAHH School!

Alright, so I got back to campus on Monday night, and since then, life has been a pleasant blur. I have work tonight, and the rest of the week, including the majority of Saturday :(

But the good news is that people have begun to finish the book. Everyone has read chapter ten, and I have my first writing date this year! I'm heading to Kafein this Sunday, at which time I'll hopefully begin to really buckle down on the editing. Once Miles reads through the end, and then Brittny, I'll have to go back and rework the whole book, sprucing it up where it needs action, cutting out occasional overshares and infodumps, and adding in necessary character traits/interactions.

It's gonna be a bitch. But I'll survive.

So if you haven't noticed, posting has become somewhat sparse. I've set it up so each blog gets a post once a week. So I'll try to update this one every Tuesday, and my livejournal one every Friday (which is my designated book day). Sound good?

Giving Up

Prior to writing a book... well... VERY prior to writing a book, I was a music major. Most, if not all of my readers know this. They also know that it was a hard decision that hit me in the worst way.

Because I'd love to be great at everything I love, but often that is not the case. The truth is I didn't have the passion, the dedication, or the skill to be a full time musician. And if you're my mom and you're thinking "but you're amazing, and you had all of that," or if you're my grandma and you're nodding your head, there's one thing that I did have; patience.

Ok, all of you are about to call bullshit, but it's so true. Not to toot my own horn here, but I did finish a book. And now editing it, I'm reminded of the good ol' days when I holed myself into practice rooms that slightly (ok more than slightly) resembled jail cells and played the same song over, and over, and over, and over, and over until it was on repeat in my head every. single. day.

The songs I tried to learn would play as I sat in music theory, when I tried to eat dinner, when I perused facebook, even while I dreamed. I couldn't get it out of my head even with the musical stylings of Linkin Park, even though I tried (sorry freshman roomie).

To play a song when you've been listening to it for the past several weeks straight, well, that takes patience.

To edit a book when you've been listening to the same characters bitch about the same things for over a year straight, well, that takes immense patience (not going to lie, I almost put alcohol instead of patience, but that wouldn't be true. It would just sound more appropriate).

I'm having problems keeping it fresh while trying to scrap together whatever good parts there are in this monstrosity, because really, how many times can you write about a girl's shocking fear before the whole process gets shockingly boring?

But I still love it. I still love the story, and my characters, and even though I cringe when I read over some of the earlier chapters (I think my writing has improved tenfold since I started this book), I still hold on to the hope that someday, somewhere, people I've never met will read my book and genuinely enjoy it.

Every author's dream. Right there.

Off to do some more editing...

Starbucks is God

Alright, maybe Starbucks isn't God, but for me, it's damn close. For some reason that isn't altogether unknown to me, coffee shops are catalysts for productivity, creating writing where there once was blank space.

Magic, I promise.

I dragged my sorry self to Starbucks yesterday, and finished the Epilogue, as well as edited the final two chapters of my book enough that I feel alright having my awesome readers look over them.

Overall, it was a very productive day, and it gave me an idea. I have no class on Fridays this quarter, so why not take advantage of them instead of becoming a thirsty Thursday fan? I could head to Kafein every Friday after lunch, and come back for dinner, or better yet have dinner somewhere in Evanston. I know it may not work out, but I'd like to try it, to devote a solid amount of my week to this book, because I really want it to work out.

24 Hours

I went a little crazy yesterday; I'm surprised I didn't tell strangers that I finished a book... I know, that SOUNDS egotistic, but... hmm...

Ok, I can't think of an analogy, BUT I can assure you that I'm not .... THAT... egotistic. I'm just really really REALLY excited.

Really.

Now I'm trying to gather my wits and reconnect with reality. I have to do mondo editing, I have another two to four books in the series planned (vaguely, at best) and I'm about to plunge into the least fun part of the writing business; querying.

From the blogs I've been reading, and all you have to do is click on my profile to see how many writing blogs I follow, I've gathered that querying is hell. It requires persistence and patience. I was persistent and patient enough to write a book, but those two qualities have been sorely lacking in every other part of my life. I dunno if I'm patient enough to get past the twenty or so rejection letters (average number of rejections received before requests... by my own guesstimation...), especially considering how hard I was hit when I didn't get into the creative writing program here. Especially how personally I take things.

I started looking at the second book (yeah, the three or so pages I have of it...), and I'm really nervous, because I haven't had to plan out a book since last summer. It was hard, by the way. Just making up events out of thin air. Fun, but hard.

Ok, that all sounded like a conceited rant, didn't it? Sorry. I'm just, a really awkward combination of terrified, excited, accomplished and full of self doubt all at the same time. It really doesn't make for a coherent blog post...

The end of the beginning and the beginning of a... nother beginning?

93,987 words.

That is how long the first draft of my manuscript is.

Yes, you read that right. It's six in the morning, and I've just finished the first draft of my book!

What I'm feeling now is... indescribable. I know tons of people finish books, and thousands go unpublished, and there's a chance that mine will never see the light of day, but... Just knowing that I've finished something so monumentally huge is... insane.

I have faith in myself again, faith that the things I dropped in the past weren't because I'm a lazy person. I can finish huge projects, I can show commitment and passion about something in my life, and work my ass off until it's done.

I feel like I can do anything now, that if I put my mind to it, jump in head first with as much passion and enthusiasm as I can muster, I can do it.

Does that sound cheesy?

Oh well.

I FINISHED A BOOK!

Aw crap. Now I have to edit it. And find an agent! And then get it published. And then go do book signings.

Someday :D

Check out the rest of my journey here:

http://kirabell89.livejournal.com/

I'll still be posting on here, but I decided that this blog is a little too personal. I want to be a professional writer, so the above link is my professional blog, or at least as professional as I'm capable of being :)

Adieu! Until we meet again!

Now, to edit!

Wait what?

What is this nonsense about me writing a book?

Oh. Right.

That bs AKA thirty pages of crap sitting on my desktop. That's the ending? Uh... ha... 

Haha... 

Right. 

Tee hee.

*Backs away slowly*

TOOTLES!

UPDATE: I am NOT done with the book!!!!! STILL HAVE MORE TO DO!