On the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, the ability to move onward.

All the edits have been completed and for the most part I'm pretty happy with them. There are a few that still need a bit of work to get them the way I want, but the majority of the chapters are pretty good. These last two chapters I finished are in a way a reflection of the whole process. The first was okay and I edited it and still felt like what I wanted to achieve with it came up a bit short. And the second was pretty good to start with, but after going over it I think I did a fantastic job of bringing out what I needed to.

My editor will be back in town soon and I got some computer paper yesterday so I suppose I'll spend the rest of the day printing out the chapters so that I can hand them over to her. Yay!

Mizrat:

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A mizrat is a type of rat that is fluffy and comes in various shades of grey. They tend to live in forests and large cities where there is plenty for them to eat. Although they may seem cute they can be very vicious creatures and when scared they can release a dander that shouldn't be inhaled because it can cause a person to feel gloomy for a couple of days.

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I guess my next step is to start hand writing the next few chapters. I think the next three or four need to be done and then I may type them up. After that I'll be in "first handwritten draft" mode for a while until I finish the last third of my book. I don't know when I'm going to start this though since the holidays are almost here, but I wont put it off for too long.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, a confidence in my ability to create characters with heart.

Another edit done and I'm happy with it. This was the chapter I praised so highly in a couple past posts. It still seems to live up to my standards. There didn't seem to be anything too major that needed changing, just some grammar and little things here and there, but it's was a fairly easy read and correct chapter. No agonizing over how to reword things or add in stuff to make the plot make more sense.

The thing that stands out for me anyways is the situation that I put one of the main characters in. It's not anything out of the ordinary or unique, but it's a situation that I think shows him in a different light and gives a bit more heart to the story as a whole, because I think it's hard to care for a story if you can't care for the protagonists. 

I am left with only two more chapters to finish and I think I'll try and get them done today at some point. Or at least one of the chapters. Each of them are only about six pages long so it shouldn't take me too long to edit them.

I think I'll skip the story info for right now and probably stick something in with my post later. Until then I bid all who are reading this farewell.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, a lack of printing paper

One more chapter has been edited and the fourteen days of Christmas are coming close to being over. I decided to print out the last few chapters I critiqued and ran out of paper. I didn't realize that they were so long. Most of the chapters were at least eight pages with the largest being twelve. I guess I'll have to put buying paper on my agenda tomorrow.

With only three more chapters to edit I'm feeling ready to get a move on with other aspects of my book that don't concern the second third. I think the rewrites drained a lot of the fun behind them because I recall enjoying them up until that point. Oh well, a bit of time away from them and I'm sure I'll be happy to come back to them in later drafts.

Falcon Post

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Falcon Post is a postal service in Prizmara. They have many post offices set up on the different islands and use falcons to delivery letters to location on their respective islands or to ships that are in the island's vicinity. If a letter needs to be delivered to another island they will have a falcon to deliver it to a postal ship for an extra fee. They are a business after all.

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Okay, so I'm going to say goodnight now. I'm not sure if I'll work on more editing tonight, probably will though.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, the need for sleep.

I stayed up to finish editing another chapter and finished it. Only four more to go! I plan to work more on them tomorrow and hopefully I can finish them if I can put in the time an effort I put into them today.

Well I'm going to go to sleep now so I can continue editing tomorrow.

On the Eighth and Ninth Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, the ability to catch up.

Since my last post earlier today I finished editing two more chapters which now leaves me five more to do. I plan to try and get some more done tonight, but it probably wont happen until a bit later. I'll brew myself a nice big pot of black coffee and get to work on finishing these edits so I can print them off, give them to my editor and get to work handwriting the last third of the first book.

It's been a while since I've added some information about my books so today I will do just that.
Galale Roses:

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Galale Roses are a very common breed of rose in Prizmara. They come in different colors, but what makes them unique is that they are multicolored. So red galale roses will have a red bud like a regular red rose, but when it blooms the petals are all different shades of red. Galale roses are also used to make perfume because of their strong fragrance. The perfumes range in price by the rarity of the rose and the sent that they have. The most expensive perfume comes from the ice blue galale rose which only grows in cold climates.

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Well, I'm off now. I'll post an update tomorrow.

On the Sixth and Seventh Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, the realization that I need to finish them quickly.

I've edited two more chapters and have seven more to go, but I'm realizing now that I only have a few more days left to get them done. Thus my goal for today is to get through as many chapters as possible. I also plan to make that my goal for tomorrow as well. I think I've been behind a bit here with all the crazy cleaning I've been up to, but I think I've had enough of that and will now focus on getting these done before Christmas.

Okay, off I go to edit like never before.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

My chapter critiques gave to me, the joy of a job well done.

Wow! I can't believe I just finished the chapter. Two in one day isn't too shabby. I think what helped a lot was the fact that the chapter was so good. There didn't seem to be that many errors in its eleven pages or at least no much that I found. I was also impressed by how entertaining the chapter was. Sometimes when I'm reading them over again I feel a bit bored, but with this chapter I was enjoying it quite a lot.

It was raining like crazy here today, it was wonderful. Maybe that's why I made so much progress today. Here's hoping for more rain to come over the next weeks.

Well, I don't think I'll start editing the next chapter tonight, but I'll get on it tomorrow. Until then I will say goodbye.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

My chapter critiques gave to me, the realization that the first draft doesn't have to be perfect.

With the next critique done I fell good that I only have ten more to do, but a bit aggravated by the fact that I still feel this chapter needs some work. I know that I can't expect them to come out perfect, but the thought of having to come back later to fix them is a bit daunting. Although, there's plenty of parts that are really good and I'm sure after some time passes and my editor has looked over them they'll turn out just fine. I guess that's what makes a first draft great. It's pretty much the first step, after planning, so the only thing that you really need to accomplish with it is to get your ideas down in a rough form, hence the term rough draft. I'm sure there will be plenty more drafts to help it along.

Anyways, it's still early today and I think I'll start on the next chapter. I'm hoping to get them done within the next week, but we'll see how that pans out.

On the Second and Third Days of Christmas...

My chapter critiques gave to me, the importance of reading out loud.

Two more critiques down and as with the previous chapter I've noticed that after going over the chapters two times each I catch quite a bit more. I think a lot of what was caught the second time around was due to the fact that I read the chapters aloud. I think it allows me to catch more errors because I'm listening to what is there so my mind doesn't subconsciously fix the errors as I read.

Today was kind of cold, which is normally okay with me. I'll usually make a hot beverage and curl up in soft blanket and just write, but for some reason today I was still...cold. I'm thinking I should get slippers seeing as how my feet seem to be the coldest part of me right now. I probably would have been okay if it had rained today like the weather report had said it would. There's something calming about the rain that allows me to concentrate better. I don't so much get the same effect from cold toes.

Well I'm off to continue critiquing my chapters. I just thought I'd update now having finished two. If I get another done I'll post that later.

On the First Day of Christmas...

My chapter critiques gave to me, a sense of pride wrapped in an cloak of uncertainty.

My first critique is finished and I am surprised at how much a little spit and shine followed by a bit of polishing can turn something so "blah" into something "wow". I read the chapter through once and found so many things wrong with it. There were horrible spelling errors, terrible grammar and an abundance of awkwardness. The entire time I corrected it I felt like I was wasting my time, like if this chapter is any indication of my writing skill then I might as well give up my pen and uninstall my word document; however, once I finished I put my computer away and picked the chapter up the following morning. I was about to print the it out to give it to my editor when I decided to read it over one more time, aloud. I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. Most of it sounded really nice and the parts that didn't I simply edited, making my overall feel of the chapter wonderful. I don't even care that I had to rewrite it because I know that the way it is now is better than any other version of it I've done. It's nice to get a vote of confidence from yourself, after all we're our toughest critics.

Today was nice, it snowed in the hills leaving them a beautiful shimmery white. The air was very crisp and cold and the smell of burning firewood wafted through the sky while I stared at them. It was a nice way to see that winter is almost here. It's too bad that feeling didn't last long. I had a bit of a tussle with my printer today. Since I updated my system to Windows 7 it's decided not to allow me to print anything, which is sad since this is the only problem I've had with the new system. Oh well, I'll just have to print them from another computer.

Well I'm going to head of to bed probably, but I'll try and edit the next chapter tomorrow, or rather later today, so that I can hopefully get them ready before Christmas. Night, or Morning depending on how you look at it.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Today I finished typing up the last chapter I had written by hand bringing me to an empty page in my notebook. I must say that that empty page was the best thing I've seen in a while. I actually feel like I'm making progress again. The chapter I wrote was pretty good. It needs a bit of work, but overall I think it turned out okay. It's nice writing a chapter that I don't have to compare to an earlier version.

Starting tomorrow I'll probably start critiquing the fourteen I just typed. I'm sort of looking forward to it since it'll be something different. I'm also excited about improving the chapters so that I can hopefully get that nagging feeling out of the back of my head. The one that says "these chapters aren't as good as the first ones". So hopefully they'll all turn out okay.

So I'm done for the night and I'll get to work on those chapters tomorrow.

Progress:


First Draft Typed: 68%

Chapter Rewrites Are Finished!!!!!!!!!

That's right! All chapter rewrites are done and saved away so they can never be lost again. It feels wonderful to finally have them done. It's been such a long process and frankly I'm a bit surprised at myself for being able to force my attention span to sit through it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing a lot, it's what I want to do for the rest of my life, but to have to write the chapters once by hand, then on the computer and once more on the computer was a bit of a pain. I suppose the hardest part was the feeling that I wasn't doing a good job the second time around. I've always been like that, I think I'm always better my first time though something. It's like I've got very good beginners luck on my side, but after a once over I try to change the way I do things and loose a bit of what I started with, or something. Anyways, I'm done! Yay!

This final chapter was sadly not the best rewrite I've done. It needs a lot of work when I go to critique the chapters, which I'll probably start soon. I have one more chapter to type up, I didn't get a chance to finish it the first time through, which I'm sort of happy about now, and then I'll probably read them over and try to make them much better.

Prant:

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A prant is a type of fruit found in Prizmara. It's orange with green spots and has a very sweet taste to it. Prants are usually used to make pies, but are also used in many other desserts.

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So I plan to start the next chapter soon, perhaps tonight if I get the time, and then I'll get to work on those critiques.

Progress:


First Draft Typed: 65%

12 Down and 1 Miscounted Chapter to Go

I just finished the next chapter and I'm a little surprised at how quickly I did it. Two days isn't too bad. I now have only one chapter left to finish as far as these rewrites go, which fills me with relief. Once these chapters are finished I can start worrying about other things.

The chapter I finished was the same as the one I refer to on 8-7-09. I'm not sure if this time around it's as good. I don't fully remember the other chapter, but I know the characters still come across very well and I think my writing is pretty nice. I like the chapter a lot, but I don't get the same feeling I did finishing the chapter this time around; although, that could be because I'm just tired. I think most of what carries this chapter though is the emotion behind it. The emotion in this chapter is very vivid I feel.

So I'll start the last chapter rewrite tomorrow probably, but I don't know when I'll have it done. Probably soon since I seem to be doing the quickly lately and I also want to get these rewrites over with.

Garblar:

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A garblar is a small creature who's body secrets an orange colored slime that covers them completely. Because of this slime no one has ever seen the actual body of a garblar. Garblars usually live in big cities where there's plenty of trash for them to feed on. They have a strong stench and leave behind a trail of slime. It's for this reason that people have resorted to using their name as an insult for people who are a nuisance or just plain disgusting.

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Alright so I'm going to finish this up and get to bed so that I can start work on the final rewrite tomorrow. It feels wonderful to say that.


Progress:


First Draft Typed: 63%

11 Down 1 to Go and 1 More After That

I just finished the next chapter rewrite which leaves me with only one chapter left...well not exactly. When I saw where this chapter ended I was surprised because I though it went on longer, but it doesn't, there's another chapter I seemed to have missed when I counted how many chapters I had to rewrite. So I have one chapter to rewrite and then one more chapter. Yeah, it kinda stinks, but It'd nothing to get dismayed about. I'm actually starting to like rewriting these chapters, a little anyways, so one more is no big deal. Right?

Anyways, the chapter I wrote turned out very nice. I like it a lot, which is good because my first time through I remember liking it a lot as well. So I don't feel like I've fallen short or anything. It was also pretty long, around nine pages and about eight of those I wrote within the last 24 hours, finishing at about 3:00am. Yay for coffee!

If I'm feeling up for it after I'm done posting this I may start the next chapter, but I'm making no promises on that seeing as how that little feeling called tiredness is creeping up on me. Hopefully the next chapter will get finished soon. I've kind of been in the writing mood lately so I'll try and use that to my advantage.

Islands:

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Islands play a large part in the story seeing as how the majority of Prizmara is made up of water. Basically all the landmass on Prizmara is islands and with there being so many islands the common mode of transportation is ships and the like. The main island is Prism Island which is actually quite large and all the other islands surround it in the different seas. In the first book alone over seven islands are seen or mentioned, but there is plenty more than that.

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Well I'm done with the post for today so I'll be off to either write or sleep and will try and be back soon to make another post.

Progress:


First Draft Typed: 60%

10 Down 2 to Go

The next chapter rewrite is finished which means I only have 2 more left. Yay! I got this chapter done mostly in the last few days, probably due to the fact that I was house sitting again. It's so nice to write there, it's out in the country and the weather was so nice. It was rainy and windy and cool and crisp and I had a fire going. I love it when it's cold and rainy, I always feel so inspired by it. Anyways the chapter turned out well maybe not as good as the past two chapters, but it's not bad. A little spit and polish will bring it right up there so I'm not too worried about it.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll start the next chapter. I'm feeling excited since I only have 2 more left to do. It's a good feeling. It's a pretty long chapter if I remember correctly so don't be surprised if the next update will be in a little while.

Venus Root:

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Venus Root is a substance in Prizmara that is gathered from a plant that grown inside certain rocks. The root is usually used in spells that involve love since the root effects people's pheromones. Granted it's not just for spells that will make someone fall in love, but out of love as well.

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Well I'm going to go now seeing as how it's late and I'm kind of tired. So I bid everyone who's reading this out there, goodnight.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 58%

9 Down 3 to Go

I just finished the next chapter, which bring me down to only having to rewrite three more chapters. Victory is so close I can taste it and it kinda' tastes like brownies...Anyways the chapter was a long one and I think I did very well with the rewrite. It's definitely better than my hand written copy and I think it's better the my first typed version, from what I can remember of it.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to start the next chapter tonight, but who knows. It's not a very long chapter so assuming I don't add in something unexpected I should finish with if pretty soon.

The Teal Sea:

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The Teal Sea is a one of the five seas that split up the ocean of Prizmara and gets its name from its bright bluish-green water. It's fairly calm with very few storms and in most places its water is fairly warm. Many merchant ships can also be found in the Teal Sea because of the large traffic it gets.

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So I'm off to go make dinner now and I'll try to post again soon.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 55%

8 Down 4 to Go

I just finished the chapter I've been working on for a while. It's not a very long chapter, I just rarely worked on it over the past weeks. I haven't felt a lot of dive to write lately, but it is nice to know I have only four more chapters left to rewrite. I think that the chapter turned out okay, I don't feel that any of it is particularly bad. I do; however, think that it needs some polishing, but overall it's one of the better chapters I've rewritten.

I'll probably start the next chapter today, but I think I'll be the same with this one as I've been with the others lately, doing little bits at a time.

Well, I'll go off now and start the next chapter. Hopefully my next post wont be too far along.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 53%

7 Down 5 to Go

I just finished the next chapter. It took me a while, but I've been pacing myself and writing about two to three pages a day. It's a long chapter and it feels nice to have gotten it out of the way (for the second time). As far as how it turned out I think that I improved many things over the original and I think there are some weak points to it, but I think that those are things that needed work even with my first write.

I'll probably start the next chapter tomorrow, but I plan on doing it like I did this one. I'll put in some work each day to make the load lighter and put more effort into smaller sections. It seems to be working well since I didn't get that disgusted/depressed feeling when I finished the chapter this time so yay.

Today's story info: The Color Guard

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The Color Guard are knights that serve under the royal family, each with a color designating them. Each knight has a brigade they command and a region that they patrol and keep the order of. The Color Guard play a prominent role in the story since they are the main force of order for Prizmara.

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Alright, so I'm going to end this for tonight. I'm not sure when I'll post again probably when the next chapter is finished, but if anything interesting happens between then and now I guess it could be sooner.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 50%

6 Down 6 to Go

I'm finally half way done with my rewrites now. It's taken a while, but soon I'll be finished with them. The chapter I just finished was a little shaky at the beginning and needs quite a bit of work, but the ending turned out pretty good I think, which is really good because I remember being dissatisfied with it the first time I wrote it.

I might start the next chapter today or possibly tomorrow, but I'll probably take my time with it like I did the last one. I'm not sure if I'm not feeling motivated lately or if other things are just getting in the way, but I just seem to only be able to write in small doses lately. Maybe it's a little of both. Hopefully when I start this chapter I'll become inspired.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 47%

5 Down 7 to Go

I finished the the chapter yesterday and it ended up being eleven pages long. It's okay for now, I think I've gotten it close to the original so when I go through it again to spruce it up I'll make it better than the original. I didn't feel like I had enough creative juices left in me last night to start the next chapter and it was pretty late so I plan on starting that one today. It's going to be fairly long, but I'll try to put in a lot of time into it today.

Today's story information: The Rainbow Ferry

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The Rainbow Ferry is the ship Kree and Lon used to travel around to the islands of Prizmara. It's not a very large ship, but it has certain features that make it useful such as cannons that fire out giant beams of light or bedrooms that appear smaller from the outside, but are huge inside.

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Well I'm off to go rewrite the next chapter. I can't wait until I can stop saying "rewrite" and just say "write" again.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 45%

Pancakes: Fool Me Once Shame on Me, Fool Me Twice and I'll Put You in the Garbage Disposal

I know it's a little late for my post, but I was hoping I could finish the chapter before I posted today, turns out that's not going to happen for a bit. Don't get me wrong, I've done seven pages on it already, it's just a long chapter. Basically that's the extend of my progress, but I'm liking the way this chapter is turning out. I'll probably finish it tonight and try and start the next one which is a long chapter too, but not as long.

Today I made pancakes from scratch, granted it's not the first time I've done so, but the recipe I used to use was on my other computer and was lost when it died. So I had to get a new recipe today, one that doesn't need milk or eggs because there were none in the house. The first batch turned out horrible. I realized that I shouldn't have used buckwheat flour and that the recipe called for far too much water. The pancakes turned out all runny. However, I decided to alter the recipe and try again and the second batch turned out very nice. They were fluffy and sweet and not runny at all. If you'd like the recipe I'll post it below.

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Pancakes, Sans the Milk and Eggs

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 to 1 cup water (or soymilk)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla
• A dash of cinnamon

-Pretty much just mix all the ingredients together until you have a fairly thick consistency.
-Preheat your pan (it's ready if you flick a little water on it and it bounces around a little)
-Pour the batter into the pan with a spoon until it's the size you want and flip them once it gets all bubbly on top.
-Once the other side has browned you're done!

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For story information today I'll go over an animal. Fruit Slugs!

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Fruit Slugs are bright slugs that come in many different colors. They're called fruit slugs because each color is named after a fruit they look like i.e. red slugs are called cherry slugs, green slugs are kiwi slugs and so on. Basically there is no functional use for them. They're slow and leave a bright colorful trail of slime behind them.

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Alright, that's it for today's post. I'll go work on finishing that chapter now.

4 Down 8 to Go

Sadly I was feeling lazy and distracted yesterday, so I only did a page of the chapter I had planned to finish, but I spent this morning working on it and I just finished. I think it turned out pretty good or at least most of it and I think it's probably better than the others I've rewritten so far. I still have to go back at some point and put in a section I had taken out since I decided I didn't like what I had written already, but I have to figure out something knew to put there so that may take a while.

But yay, I now have a third of my rewrites done and I've made backups of them so there's no fear of completely loosing them again. Or rather very little fear (I don't want to temp fate again).

As for today, I think I'll start work on the next chapter, but I'm not sure if I'll finish it today or not. I'll have to see how it goes. I'm starting to get that lazy feeling again.

For story information today I think I'll choose to go over a place. Andria

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Andria is a huge library on the Island of Knowledge that looks more like a giant castle. It houses a copy of just about every book, scroll, or manuscript in all of Prizmara. Andria is run by a Lybrarian who makes sure that the information it houses is accurate and easily accessible to those who need it and is also in charge of any research studies that go on there. There are also other people that work there called Researchers. Researchers help look up information for guests and studies that are taking place by the Philosophers that stay there. They are also responsible the maintenance and upkeep of the library.

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So I'm going to go now and see if I can't get over my laziness. I'll report back tomorrow.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 43%

3 Down 9 to Go

Both chapters got finished yesterday and although they're pretty rough at least they're typed and can be edited later. It feels good to have a fourth of my rewrites done already. I like the idea that I only need to do what I've done so far only three more times.

My plan for today is to rewrite the next chapter. I'm not sure if I can do much more than that, but hopefully I'll be able to start the one after it. It's a bit noisy around here today because the people I'm house sitting for are having their deck rebuilt, but I brought headphones so I'll listen to music as I write.

Today I figured I'd give a little information about the other main protagonist in my book. Lon.

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Lon is the main male protagonist of the story. He lives a normal life on earth until he meets Kree and goes to Prizmara to help her save it from the Onyx Witch. Lon is a very good judge of character and goes with his gut when it comes to trusting people. He's also quick footed and resourceful in battle. Just about everything in Prizmara is knew for Lon and he has to make an effort to appear as though he's not from another world, which can be hard to do when faced with an eight foot tall bugbear.

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So I am going to go start work on the next chapter and inform you how it's going tomorrow.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 40%

1 Down 11 to Go

I did well yesterday and finished retyping the first of the twelve chapters I lost. There are definitely parts that I'm very proud of, but most if it needs a lot more work. I plan on saving all editing of these chapters for later though, once I've rewritten them all.

Today I plan on starting and finishing the next two chapters which I think i can manage. I'm house sitting again, out in the country and the peaceful atmosphere is getting the creative juices flowing. I think the sun is much more majestic when its shining on grass and tree and flowers rather than asphalt and concrete.

Today I thought that I'd start giving out a little information on certain things in my book. So today I thought I'd tell you a little about one of the main characters. Kree.

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Kree is the main female protagonist in this story. She comes from a world called Prizmara looking for someone to help save it from impending doom. Kree is very beautiful and has a very nurturing nature. She cares very much for her comrades and values friendship highly. Although she can be a little hesitant to break rules she has no problem getting her hands dirty or jumping into a fray if it'll help her friends or her homeland. Her sense of duty is strong, but her charisma even stronger.

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Okay well I should probably go work on those chapters so I'll say goodbye for now and I'll probably post my progress tomorrow.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 35%

Time to Cheer Up Bucko!

I have spent more than enough time dreading the rewrite of the twelve chapters I lost when my computer died, but now I say no more. I am going to tough it out. The files could not be retrieved from my old hard drive and there's really no point in sulking about it longer, that just prolongs the book and I'd rather not do that.

I've gotten a shiny new computer which I've spent the last month getting used to and just the other day I started work on the first chapter of the ones that vanished into the technological abyss where most deleted files go. I am happy to say that it's turning out better this time around. I plan on taking my time with these chapters this time so I can really get them the way I want. I think when I'm done they'll be top notch.

Disheartened

My laptop has died along with the last 12 chapters that I've written and stupidly didn't back up. I have no idea what to do with my story right now. I don't want to quit writing it, but I don't know if I have it in me to rewrite it at the moment. I think I'm going to have to take a step back from my story and remove my mind from it for a while. Just some time to clear the stress and the annoyance I feel at myself so that I can start refreshed again and just redo what I've written. Luckily I have my hand written draft so I haven't lost the chapters completely, just the changes I've made on them. It's sad, yes, but not the end of the world as I felt it way yesterday.

Well, I guess there's not much else to say at this point, except I will be back in a little while with hopefully a new more inspiring post, but I don't know right now. Laptops are just too expensive and a hassle.

I have my Birthday to look forward to on Wednesday so I'll try to enjoy it and not think to much about this mess. Sorry to bring about this delay. Maybe I can work on some conceptual stuff for other stories I have planned in the mean time. I'll type to you later.

Coffee Night Planned

I did much better yesterday then I thought I would. I finished Chapter 26 and got a good start on chapter 27 so I just have to finish that chapter and I'll been finished with what I have written up right now. I don't think that it'll take me too long to finish the chapter so after I finish I'll probably go over the chapters I just typed up and correct them and add in things here and there to fine tune them.

I'm not sure when I'll have the time to write chapter 27, things are a bit distracting around here today, but maybe later tonight I could put in some time. I think I'll probably drink a lot of coffee tonight to keep me up. As for the correcting I don't have an estimate for when I'll have that done, but I'm hopping it wont take longer than a month, but we'll see. I would like to get it done fast so that I can start writing the final part of my book before this month ends so we'll see.

I'll post the next time I have made some progress so until then I'll type to you later.

Pancakes and Boysenberry Syrup

I'm sitting at my computer and eating pancakes with boysenberry syrup, which if you haven't tried you really should because it can make the worst pancakes taste good. Anyways, today I plan to do more typing on my first draft so I think I'll set my goal to start and finish chapter 26 today. If I miraculously get it done early I'll probably start on chapter 27 after that, but I'm thinking that that wont be a terribly realistic goal to set for myself so I'll stick with chapter 26 today and see what happens.

I'm also hoping that today will not be full of blunders like yesterday was. I can not understand how one person can manage to spill so much food all over themselves. In a period of 24 hours I managed to spill ice-cream all over my pants, soda, salsa and some odd sticky yellow goo that I have no idea where it came from. If I can manage to get through today without so much as half that many things spilling on me I will call it a successful day.

Alright, so I will go finish my pancakes and then get started on typing and inform you all how I did tomorrow.
I'll type to you later.

A New Beginning

I was just reading over my blog and I have to say I'm a little ashamed of myself for what I've posted. I think that If I were: first, not me and second, stumbled across this blog and began to read it, I don't think I'd stay very long. There's nothing in it that reflects me, as a person. I was simply stating progress, which is important, but not always a very good read by itself. If I intend to be a writer then I need to stop hesitating to put myself into what I write because words without passion are just a string of odd looking lines. If I want my writing to reflect who I am I don't want people to see a bunch of useless words, I want them to see someone that they can believe is a person, someone alive with heart that beats with a rhythm not unlike their own.

So, I will try and divulge more of myself to you, the reader. I will break down this ridiculous wall that I seem to have created to keep myself from getting attached to this blog for fear of failure. Bear with me and I will try my hardest not to disappoint.

My Best Chapter Yet

I just finished a chapter that I'm very proud of. I think my writing was topnotch and I think the emotions I was trying to achieve were achieved. The characters gained more depth then I originally intended making the chapter and I guess in turn the book better I think. I'd say that this is probably the best chapter I've written so far. I've never gotten this good of a feeling after finishing any of the other chapters and I think I'll take it as a good sign. Granted I think the others are still quite good, they just need more tweaking to get them up to this standard.

I've been house sitting for a friend who lives out in the countryside and I think the atmosphere has really helped me to concentrate on my book quite a bit I've done a lot of chapters since I've been here and I don't feel any stress about them. Maybe it's the llamas. Maybe llamas decrees stress. Someone should do a study on that, Llama's, the Stress Killers.

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 63% - Now that is what I call progress

Cleanliness is Next to Productiveness

Since I've finished the planning I've been working on my first draft (typed) and I've been flying through it finishing five chapters already. Having hand written these chapters already has made this step extremely easy since I don't have to think too much, all I have to do is change things that I realize don't work so well the second time around.

I cleaned my house today, vacuumed the carpet and such and I've noticed that I feel more relaxed with out all the dirt to worry about. I'm sure that it's helping me because I've been writing for the past four hours and I haven't felt the urge to take a break yet. Hurray for clean houses!!!

Progress:

First Draft Typed: 45% - Almost half way!

Planning Is Now Complete

I finished the planning for the first book today and it feels good to have it done. After looking at my last post it looks like I miscaculated how much I had left to plan since that 2% seemed to take a week to finish. Which is why it's probably a good thing I'm not giving a total percentage of the book. Anyways, I can now focus on the first drafts now (both handwritten and typed). Hopefully they will go by quickly now that I know what I have to write and now that I have my computer back. It's a little hard to type with out a keyboard, it's also unproductive.

Well I guess that's about all the status updates I have for now. Hopefully the next post wont be so far off.

Planning Almost Finished

I worked a lot on planning yesterday and go quite a bit finished with it. Most of the ending has been completed and I probably would have finished it all, but the sound of fireworks got distracting and I decided to go watch them.

Given how much I've done I'd say I'm about 97% done with 1% more until I'll be finished with the planning entirely. The other 2% will be dividing that everything into chapters and tweaking it to add little things here and there.

It's nice to know that I pretty much know what's going to happen with my book all the way to the end. I think when this step is done the rest of my story will fall into place quickly (although, I could be wrong).

My Current Progress

As you know I'm working on the first book of a six book series. I thought that before I get into telling you about my day to day progress it'd be a good idea to tell you how much I've done so far. I wont give an overall percentage because it's hard to gauge how many drafts I'll be making. But there shouldn't be any harm in giving a draft by draft percentage.

OK Here we go!!!

Title - A confusing Mess that will haunt me until I choose one.
Percentage: 50% (I know, sad)

Planning - This is where I think I shine. For the most part planning comes easily to me.
Percentage: 92% (Almost there!)

First Draft Hand Written - I'm not doing to bad in this department. It takes a while and my wrists start to ache after a while, but I know it'll get better when I type it up.
Percentage: 67% (Yay! over half way!)

First Draft Typed - Sadly not terribly far on this step. My computer has been out of commission for a while now and I have not gotten it back form the shop, but I expect to have have it by next week sometime.
Percentage: 32% (Not great, but almost a third! That's good! Right?)

Second Draft Typed - I do my second draft after my editor has had a chance to read the first draft over and help me with the usual editor type stuff. Like "this makes no sense" or "you're missing this". Very helpful stuff.
Percentage: 15% (I know, it's low, but it's started)

So that's about all for now. It looks a lot more complete when I see it set up like this. Hurray. Well now that I've done this I can simply post regular updates now. Hurray!

Info On My Current Novel

I'm currently working on a series that I predict will take approximately six volumes to tell. I am in the middle of writing the first book and haven't decided on a title for the series yet, but I have a few in mind.

The story is basically about saving a world (and in turn the entire universe) from a cold-hearted woman called the Onyx Witch who has infiltrated the Royal Family of a world called Prizmara. In an attempt to stop the Onyx Witch a girl named Kree travels to earth to find a boy named Lon whom she believes is "he who is true of heart". Together the two must travel around Prizmara looking for a way to stop the Onyx Witch.

I know it may not seem like the most original concept, but I feel a solid base is the best place for creativity to spring from.

Welcome

Welcome to Dane's Novel Blog where you can find regular posts on the progress of novels I am currently working on, release dates and other pertinent news. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts I make, your feedback is welcomed. Thank your for your time and look forward to future posts.