Writing – Page 3 – FogIsBeautiful

Q&A TAG: The Debut Novel

August 22, 2017August 21, 2017 Emily

So, my good friend and fellow author, Adan Ramie, is a much better blogger than I am. She does all these cool things on her blog that I love reading, but simply can’t imagine writing myself. This, however, I think this I can do!

Niamh set the rules for this game. It’s a Q&A Tag about your debut novel, which for me is Doubt The Stars. It’s not published yet (so I hope I’m not violating any “rules” or anything), but it’s really close!

This is a Tag post, so if you’re an author yourself, check out the end of the post to see how you can get involved! Continue reading “Q&A TAG: The Debut Novel” →

Writing

“Doubt The Stars”- Book Cover Reveal!

August 17, 2017 Emily

Now, picture me running around screaming and flailing because LOOK AT IT! It’s so gorgeous!

I’ve been working with Ash K. Alexander for about a month to create this beautiful masterpiece. She’s a genius, you guys. I really am so, so pleased with these results. Seriously, from the little bit that I gave her, she came up with… THIS! And even more things too! I have headers and icons and a bookmark design! It’s way more than I ever expected to receive. Basically, if you need a book cover, I highly recommend you go check her out 🙂

doubthestarstwitterbanner — Just another really great example of Ash’s work!

So the next logical question one might ask after such a stunning reveal: when’s the release date??? Well, since this is my first book (which means I’m still learning how the publishing process works), and I’m still working with my editors, I don’t really feel comfortable giving out a hard date yet, but I think I can safely say that the book should be ready by October!

On that note, if you want to be the first to know the hard release date, and any other deals or sales that I might come up with during this process, might I suggest that you sign up for my newsletter? 🙂

Click here!

I’m only using this as a vehicle to get you the latest info the soonest regarding my novels and any deals I might have. There will be no spam (of course!) and I promise not to stuff your inbox full of useless junk. That’s what my blog is for! ;P You’ll be the first to know any important information and you won’t have to worry about missing it here on the blog.

Okay, I think that’s about it. Let me know what you guys think of the cover, I’m really excited to hear what you guys have to say!

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- July 2017

August 10, 2017August 14, 2017 Emily

Two Camp wins in a row, baby! I am on fire!

…okay, not literally on fire. Obviously. ;P Let’s get on with this.

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

Oh my goodness, I did SO MUCH last month. Let’s break it down!

Continue reading “Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- July 2017” →

Blogging, Writing

The Quarterly Writing Round Up!- Q2, 2017

July 10, 2017August 14, 2017 Emily

Welcome to Q2, y’all!

Halfway through 2017 and I’m feeling pretty good (despite what you are about to see). A lot of things are coming together, setting up the second half of the year to likely be a cascade of productivity!

Here’s a recap of my goals for the year, in case you don’t want to go back and read the original post:

Overall goals for the year: ~~Edit and~~ (Finished, Q1/Q2) Publish “The Stars Are Fire” (now titled “Doubt The Stars”); ~~Write~~ (Finished, Q2), Edit, and Post “Good Intentions”; Finish Writing “Double The Baggins, Twice The Took”; Finish Writing “Wonderland Reclaimed”; Write first draft of Tempest in Space novel (tentatively titled “Such Stuff As Dreams”)

Continue reading “The Quarterly Writing Round Up!- Q2, 2017” →

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- June 2017

July 4, 2017August 14, 2017 Emily

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow America readers! 😀

giphy — I’m having feels about the Independence Day presidential speech… but this isn’t a political blog, so I’m gonna just leave this here 🙂

This month is off to a pretty good start, so let’s jump right in!

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

Hey look! Christmas in June! ;P This was kind of a weird month and not all of it made it onto the WordKeeperAlpha graph, because not all of it involved actual words. Let’s break it down!

Continue reading “Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- June 2017” →

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- May 2017

June 8, 2017August 14, 2017 Emily

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

This was yet another pretty single-minded month. And guess what? I still didn’t finish anything!

Let’s break down my failure. Because that sounds like fun! 😀

Continue reading “Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- May 2017” →

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- April 2017

May 2, 2017August 14, 2017 Emily

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

So… yeah. I was kind of single-minded this month ;P I wrote 50,022 words, and not much else. Which I’m completely fine with. Those of you who are waiting (im)patiently for a new chapter of Double the Baggins, Twice the Took are probably not as okay with it as I am, but I’m going to try to make it up to you this month! Starting tomorrow! Really!

Continue reading “Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- April 2017” →

Blogging, Writing

The Quarterly Writing Round Up!- Q1, 2017

April 13, 2017 Emily

Reminder: For the second year in a row (go me!) I have made a set of yearly goals I would like to accomplish, and I’m breaking them down by quarter for you guys, so you can see where I am. And also so I can see where I am, because sometimes I forget? And I get distracted? So I need this reminder every few months, it’s hella important to me. I appreciate your time and attention as I reorient myself in my life 🙂

Here’s a recap of my goals for the year, in case you don’t want to go back and read the original post:

Overall goals for the year: ~~Edit and~~ (Finished, Q1) Publish “The Stars Are Fire” (now titled “Doubt The Stars”); Write, Edit, and Post “Good Intentions”; Finish Writing “Double The Baggins, Twice The Took”; Finish Writing “Wonderland Reclaimed”; Write first draft of Tempest in Space novel (tentatively titled “Such Stuff As Dreams”)

Okay, so I finished, like half of a goal this quarter. But, hey! Progress! And I did make some progress toward most of the others too, so it wasn’t a total waste 🙂

Here’s my WordKeeper Alpha graph for the year so far!

As you can see, I’ve spent the majority of my time and energy on the self-edit of my novel from November, “Doubt The Stars”, which I’m feeling pretty good about. DBTT is also coming along nicely, so that’s two of my goals I’ve made significant progress on. I wish I’d spent more time on my “Good Intentions” outline, but I am only human, after all.

Here’s the month by month breakdown!

Quarter One, 2017- Review

January– First month of NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?” months, focusing on revising and editing. TSAF- make character sketches, flesh out settings, build up the system of planets, research the tech, and figure out my themes. Dictate my brainstorming for “Good Intentions”. Post four chapters of DBTT.

Um… Some of this happened. The posting of the chapters happened! The dictating experiment was a giant pile of fail.

Apparently, I can’t words through my face, only through my fingers. I did a lot of wording with my fingers this month, so that was good. It was also the month that I admitted to myself that writing of the words was more important than the posting of the words and lowered my chapter goal from four to two. I also wasted a lot of time on a little story that no one cared about and I will probably never finish, but it was fun while it lasted 🙂

February– Second month of NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?”. Self-edit TSAF. Continue to dictate brainstorming for “Good Intentions”. Post four chapters of DBTT (possibly start dictating new words?).

Ugh. The self-edit. The self-edit that I thought was going to take a month and instead took over my life for the better part of two months.

I still managed to write the words I needed and post the chapters I needed, so that was good, but I went through a pretty terrible episode in which I was almost convinced I was never going to be finished with this book. I got out of it, but it was tough.

March– Give TSAF to a select number of readers for feedback. Translate my dictation brainstorming to a workable outline for “Good Intentions”. Post four chapters of DBTT and write 25,000 new words (possibly through dictation).

So, since I obviously wasn’t finished with edits by March, the giving to readers thing didn’t happen. I did manage to finish the edits, so I’m only a month behind where I wanted to be. The outline of “Good Intentions” happened in the most basic sense, and if you add it up, I actually wrote more than the 25,000 words I had planned to write in March. I just stretched it out over a three month period, which I am completely fine with!

I wish that I was able to post chapters faster, but I’m trying not to beat myself up over it. I just need to focus and readjust my goals for the rest of the year. Yeah, things are… fine. They’re fine. o.O

Quarter Two, 2017- Goals

So, my plan for the year has (of course) been derailed already and we’re only three months in. But that’s okay! Trying to stay positive! I can do this!

So, Quarter Two goals! Here we go:

April: Give “Doubt The Stars” to beta-readers. Write 50,000 words on “Good Intentions” for Camp NaNoWriMo. Post two chapters of “Double the Baggins, Twice the Took”.

May: Read the feedback from beta-readers, revise “Doubt The Stars”, send to editors for sample edits and decide on professional editor. Finish the first draft of “Good Intentions”, let rest for the rest of the month. Post two chapters of DBTT, write 10,000 new words.

June: Send “Doubt The Stars” to professional editor, begin search for cover designer, start working on back matter, dedications, acknowledgements, and links to include. “Good Intentions” pre-edit prep. Post two chapters of DBTT, write 10,000 new words.

Wow. That’s a lot of stuff. But actually, it all seems… very doable. Is that crazy? I feel like that’s crazy.

Thanks, John Green 🙂 Alright, you guys, I’m gonna try to do better with keeping up with the blog from now on, so stay tuned! See ya!

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- March 2017

April 10, 2017 Emily

March has come and gone, and April is well underway! Let’s take a moment to reflect…

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

…woah. Okay, let’s break that down a little bit:

Double the Baggins, Twice the Took– 2 chapters posted, 11,410 words written (also 1,414 words written on the sequel)

I got SO MUCH DONE on this story!

It’s been going so well, I’m very, very pleased! And yes, you read that right, I am working on the sequel already. I’ve actually been working on the sequel in bits and pieces for some time. It’s gone through several iterations, so I’m not even sure if this one will stick, but I had a great idea for a scene, so I had to write it down 🙂

“Doubt The Stars” Revision- Self-edit finished!

HA! Suck it, negativity! I did not let you defeat me this time! The self-edit is done, and now it is in the capable hands of my beta-readers…

Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll be fine. O.O

Good Intentions outline- 2,129 words written

Okay, I didn’t finish the outline, but I DID get a lot of things written down and worked out, so I feel pretty confident that I can proceed from here. Speaking of that, let’s talk about:

What’s Coming Up in April

Camp NaNoWriMo- Good Intentions (Age of Ultron fic) first draft

That’s right folks, it’s that time of year again!

I’ve set my Camp NaNo goal at 50,000 words this month, but my stretch goal is 80,000 words, roughly the length of the last Avengers fic I wrote, “Clarity“. I would love to have this first draft finished by the end of April, but I’m being realistic because (I’ll be honest here) I’m exhausted. Like, really really tired.

So if I get my 50k, I’ll feel good about myself. What does that say about me, that 50,000 words feels like a break…?

Post two chapters of DBTT

I’m not even going to make a writing goal for this fic in April. Because I’m crazy (see above), but I’m not that crazy. If the writing for “Good Intentions” is going well, who knows what might happen, but I’m not gonna commit myself. However, my posting schedule shouldn’t be affected (like it has been in months past), since I have several chapters in reserve that just need tweaking.

Hopefully. Barring unforeseen disaster. *crosses fingers*

And now, the real reason you all read this blog:

Fog’s Cute Animal of the Month

You might recognize this picture that got passed around the internet several years ago:

However, that is not, in fact, a baby giraffe (seriously, giraffes are huge, yo, even as babies…), that is actually a dik-dik!

The dik-dik is a tiny species of antelope (they barely grow over a foot tall!), that gets its name from the whistling call it makes when they’re upset or alarmed.

Here’s a clip (their noses extend when they whistle and it is THE CUTEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN!!!):

And look, more pictures!

doqtmolh88gy — This is a problem I need to have…

3f3af1cdc87379670b9dc6dffc4f90e0 — This picture is just begging for a meme, but I’m coming up blank…

There you go, your dose of cute (and reminder not to believe everything you see on the internet ;P). See you next time!

Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- February 2017

March 14, 2017March 26, 2017 Emily

Alright, I know I’m running behind this month, but my grandmother was in the hospital and that kind of stuff tends to sneak up on you. Try to forgive me? Let’s take a look at what I did in February!

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

Double the Baggins, Twice the Took– 2 chapters posted, 10,260 words written

This went surprisingly well! I was afraid that I was losing momentum on this story (horror of horrors!!!), but I think I’ve found my mojo again and I’m feeling really good about the things that are coming out of it. And my readers seem much happier with the results of my slightly slower posting, so that’s a great bonus!

The Stars Are Fire (now titled “Doubt Thou The Stars”) Revision- 21 scenes edited (first pass)

So, this didn’t go as well as I wanted it too. At all. I was really hoping to be completely finished with editing this book by the end of the month… Then, I was just really hoping to finish the first pass of the manuscript by the end of the month… Then, I was just hoping I would still want to look at these damn words by the end of the month. I did my best, but it was pretty pathetic. I’m still going, and I will not be defeated!

Oh, and I had to make a title change. Because a pretty famous author has recently released a book with the title “The Stars Are Fire” and I just don’t feel like trying to compete with that, you know? So I’ve changed to “Doubt Thou The Stars”, which is basically the same line of the same poem, just shifted over a couple of words ;P I like it, hopefully I can keep it this time 🙂

Good Intentions outline- 1,174 words

Hey look, I started this! I haven’t done much, but I have thoughts and ideas. I just have to somehow get them to come together into a coherent whole. This is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but I have high hopes! I’ve been looking forward to starting this for quite some time, I’m very excited!

What’s Coming Up in March

Finish Doubt Thou The Stars Revision

I am going to finish this month! I’m gonna do it! I am! Whatever otherworldly power that is trying to keep this from happening, clearly doesn’t understand who they’re dealing with here.

That’s right, Rick Roll’d sucker! Take that!

Post two chapters of DBTT, Write 10,000 new words

You know that old saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! 😀 I think I might have finally found a monthly writing goal I can live with without feeling like I’m dying (or like I’m going to kill someone else ;P), and I see no reason to tempt fate. Well, any more than I already am. I’m hoping I will only have to keep up the slow posting for a couple more months, maybe starting back to weekly in May. No promises though, I still have a lot of work to do before I can think about that.

Finish the outline for Good Intentions

I want this to be ready for Camp NaNoWriMo in April. That’s right, folks, it’s that time of year again! 😀 I’m gonna have to make some time to watch some movies which might feature heavily in the story. It’s gonna be fun! I’m really excited! 😀

And now, the real reason you all read this blog:

Fog’s Cute Animal of the Month

Behold!

Okay, so they aren’t actually tiny underwater hippos. They’re called flamboyant cuttlefish, or Metasepia pfefferi (don’t ask me to pronounce it. I’m not sure anyone can…)