New Job!

So, today was my first day as a music copywriter for Tate Music Group. I absolutely love it! It was the biggest answer to most specific prayer request. I really needed a part time job that would give me a certain amount of money each week and that most importantly was centered around writing. Thanks to the talk my mom had with me, I was super motivated to get my resume out there. I sent it out to Tate Publishing & Enterprises on a Wednesday, got a call on Thursday to come in for an interview on Friday, and got the job right after the interview! And this job meets all the above mentioned requirements. God is so good to me, I just don't deserve it. I was also asked by the editor of Variance Magazine (which I highly recommend for ANYONE interested in music, movies, books, community, etc.) to write articles! Yes, that's right. Articles for a magazine, baby! It's surreal. I am trying to figure out how to work on my book, too. I think evenings and the Saturdays will be devoted to that. I was able to choose some names for characters and the setting, but I will wait to unleash those. Later!

WE HAVE A NAME, AND I NEED HELP!

I realize I haven't written in a week, but it's been pretty crazy around here. First off, I have an interview tomorrow at 3 PM at Tate Publishing Co. for the Music Copywriter position. It would be incredible if I could get this. I have been praying that if it's God's will that He'll open the door, and if not, to promptly close the doors. Also, I have been working very hard on this book. I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and sorted through some books. I bought "Your First Novel" and I am on chapter 4. It is excellent. Definitely more in-depth than I realized. It is helping me to really think things through more about WHY my character does this and that. I also started an outline...PRAISE GOD! Because that really needed to happen. I also made a sheet that I entitled "Information." It's basically just explaining the novel from genre (contemporary fiction, because it ain't suspense. Trust me, I did my research), to setting (which will be fictitious and in OK), to a one-sentence summary of the book (which isn't very good but so far it's "Nichole Anderson and her family are the victims of their neighbor, Looney, who stalks them, and no one will help them"), and so on and so forth. Yes, her name is Nichole Anderson. I still need names for everyone else though. No worries, I am beginning a list of characters today. And I was able to decide what Nichole's internal conflict is. Her external conflict of course is that her family is being stalked by their neighbor. Her internal conflict is that she wants to help/save her family but is limited of course because she is young and niave. In the end, however, it is only Nichole that can save them. There are other conflicts of course with the parents, families in the cul-de-sac, and so forth. I am so excited about this! Oh, and I almost forgot... HELP! I will restate the question I posted on Facebook to see if I get an answer: tell me something that makes a character seem real. For example, Indiana Jones's quest is to uncover history, yet he has a fear of snakes. So you have this hero that goes all over the world and taking huge risks, yet, he has a phobia that most of us can relate to. This makes him human and endearing to us; thus, what would make Nichole seem real to you? I have thought of many different things, and suddenly it hit me: make her a klutz. A lot of people can relate to that. Of course, in this novel, being klutzy can stop her from saving her family which is her ultimate goal (her internal conflict). So, can she overcome being klutzy? You see what I mean? What do you think would make her real?

Chapter One...DONE! (sort of)

Late last night, I started chapter one. It makes ya feel good to know that you acomplished something. Believe me, it's not done done, but hey, it's something. I also started a character analysis today on the narrator. I am planning on going to Barnes & Noble tomorrow to just have a few hours by myself to look through all the books on writing. That is really all I have to say right now. Oh, and I am changing the narrator's name to Nichole. Any ideas on last names? Thanks!

Burning a Hole In My Brain

Have you ever had so many thoughts and ideas bouncing around in your head at once that you wanted to just collapse from overload? Let me tell ya, all these thoughts and ideas are burning a big ole hole in my puny brain. I can tell my obsession with this novel is really taking effect because I was STARVING at 11:30am and every time I told myself to get away from my desk to eat, I just wouldn't do it. I didn't eat until 2pm. But that's great because as a writer, your story should haunt you. You should think about it constantly. And I do. As far as the things accomplished for today, I spent quite awhile getting my folders and whatnot on my computer and pendrives all organized and ready for the novel. I also read quite a lot in the "Everything Guide to Writing a Novel." It really is so helpful. I still want to get chapter one done, but it's so hard because I still am trying to figure out a million other things. I also decided today that my novel is NOT coming of age. It COULD be, but that would go in such a different direction; thus, I am declaring it suspense. I also talked to the oh-so talented Susan about my novel. I told her, Anna, and Ellen the whole entire story. They seemed quite engaged by the story. I really appreciate their input too because I just HAD to tell someone the whole story. Like I said, it was burning a hole in my brain. They agreed that my novel wasn't coming of age which made me feel better because I was really having a problem envisioning it that way. I mean, at first I wasn't, but once I did my research, it just wouldn't make sense as a coming of age novel. I asked another friend of mine how to describe the narrator in a first person story. She suggested having her look in the mirror, have another character describe them, notice differences or likenesses with other characters such as comparing her to her mother, father, or siblings, and so on. Also, since the narrator is 7-8 years old in this novel, but is telling the story 20 some-odd years later and looking back, she can describe herself in sort of a "back then I..." type way. If that makes sense. Well, I am going to get started on chapter one. Wish me luck.

Today: The Big Day

I must say, I definitely got a lot accomplished today. Of course, the day's not over yet. I interviewed my mom this morning about the story (remember, this is a true story so I need some facts before I go crazy with fiction), and that only took about 25 minutes. I recorded it and typed it. Later, I interviewed my dad. That, however, was close to 2 hours I'd say. It's funny how both Mom and Dad went through the same exact thing with Looney, yet, two very different sides of the story. I love getting different perspectives on things. I also managed to take a few pictures of the cul-de-sac itself this afternoon. I truly felt like a stalker while I was there, so I made sure to take the pictures quickly. I haven't written the first chapter yet (I know, I know) because I still have SO much research to do, but the first chapter doesn't really require research so shame on me. I figure once I get back from Pops tonight, I'll write the first chapter just so I feel like I've really started the novel, ya know? I also did some research on how long contemporary fiction is, and my novel should START at 100,000 words. I won't worry about that right now though; I'll just concentrate on the story. I also posted an ad on opa.com (Oklahoma Press Association) for a job. We'll see how that goes. Ciao.

So Much Info...So Little Time

I was sitting here going through some stuff--research if you will. And, I think I need a little more time before I write the novel. Maybe a week or so. I will definitely begin writing tomorrow. I want to get the first chapter done; but as far as really getting into the heart of the novel, I've got a lot more research to do. My goal is to start writing 2 hours a day, gradually working my way up to 3 hours, then turning it into an obsession by making it all day. I was thinking about taking pictures of the cul-de-sac that inspired this story and then hanging them on my bulletin board for inspiration. I'm apprehensive though because I don't want people to think I'M the stalker...but I think it'd help. I'm in Chapter 3 of The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel. I would definitely recommend it. It's easy to read, but very useful. I need to set up some interviews with people ASAP that know the cul-de-sac story. Did I mention that even though this novel is fiction (obviously) that it's really a true story? But then again, most fiction stories are quite real indeed. For my main character (the narrator), I was thinking about the name Gwen. What do you think?