Sweet Survival

Hey, guys!

Just a short update on how I'm doing at college... Well, I'm here. And I love it. It's been a crazy ride, but I'm just diving into my first weekend after a full week of classes, and life is sweet. College life is stressful and hectic--what with homework, lectures, work-study, and trying to keep up with the folks at home, I've been struggling to get enough sleep at night. Learning new things, being challenged in different ways, and affirming the things I believe as I explore my faith in this great community. It's been a blast so far, but there's definitely one thing missing: writing time.

I just got a big package in the mail, and inside along with snacks and gum was an empty journal. It made me think of my characters, and my stories, and how the flow of words has just about stopped for now. It's sad to think that I'll be squeezing in writing on weekends or between classes, but it's also kind of exciting, because now that it's not something I can do whenever I want, it will be sweeter when I actually sit down with a pen and paper. I'm looking forward to it.

So, yeah. That's life right now, and I'm loving it. I'm sure my optimistic freshman attitude will come back to haunt me when finals roll around, but for now I'm enjoying my blissful credulity.

What about you? How has your writing been going as school begins?

God Bless~

Elisabeth

Tomorrow?

That's all I can think today--all I've been able to think for the past several weeks. My thought process goes something like this:

Not tomorrow, not the next day, not the next day, not the next day, but the next day...

When large events pop up in my life, I count down. Every day I wake up and figure out how many days there are until THE day. Sometimes I do it with a sense of dread--Oh, good, I still have eight days until that conference I didn't want to go to. Other times, I check off the days with wild excitement--Yes! Only four days until we get to see that film and my life is complete! (Have I actually thought this? Sadly, yeah).

This is the first time I'm not exactly sure what to feel. Do I count down the days fitfully, pushing back as time rolls callously over my pathetic self? Or do I welcome change with open arms and a grateful heart?

I've always been able to categorize things: this is good, and I want to do it, so I'm excited. This is bad, and I don't want to do it, so I'm resentful. This time around, the categorizing doesn't work. I'm excited, but sad. I'm gleeful, but afraid. It's as if every emotion I've ever felt has decided to attend a party thrown by my over-analyzing brain.

I can't say I like living this way; I can't say I hate it. I feel tired and sick, but also alert and acutely aware of how excited I really am.

It's confusing and frightening, but also perfectly clear at the same time that this is normal.

Today I saw a girl and her mom in a store, shopping for college. I walked past and listened to a snippet of their conversation, thinking all along That's me! I'm going to college tomorrow. There are others out there who are feeling exactly what I am!

Not being alone is a comfort, but definitely not a cure. I think that the only cure for the college blues is to just go ahead--leave home tomorrow, move into the dorm, say goodbye to my family and not be afraid to show how I feel after they leave, pray, take a deep breath, and move on. Every other event I've ever counted down to has passed, even the largest, ugliest, scariest ones I thought I couldn't survive.

So this is the last blog post I'll make before college. Sorry it's short and kind of all over the place; so am I (except I'm not short, according to my doctor, who says I'm in the 79th percentile where height is concerned).

I'll try to update Something Solid Out of Air as often as I can. Fear not; my writing comes with me, stashed away on my laptop, on a flash drive, in notebooks, and in my mind. I just hope I can find the time to do what I love.

Okay. Well... here we go!

Signing off,

Elisabeth ~

Quickie Update

This is life right now =)

So. College is 3 weeks away. This coming week, we're going back to our lovely camp for the week. Next week, I'm working like crazy to save up that last extra cash for college, and I'm going to spend all my free time with my dear friends. And then... it's off to Georgia.

It's crazy.

I've been packing up my characters, trying to get my things organized and my ideas all put on paper before the whirlwind begins. It's really, really hard to write in a situation like this, when nerves are frayed and emotions are churning. I try to pick up my pen and scribble down ideas, talk to my characters in my head, and just keep in touch with the writer in me as school comes bearing down.

This won't be the last post before college. I've updated some of the tabs at the top of the blog, and I'm going to write something for you before I'm actually at college--that I'm determined to do!

 I can say for sure that this blog will stay, whether it's idle or updated every week. I honestly don't know how college will affect my writing. I truly want to keep it up and keep posting whatever comes into my mind on the blog, and I will try. But I can't make any promises =)

For now, that's all. And after that? Who knows!

~God Bless
Elisabeth

In which I philosophize at much too late an hour

Horton and the unidentified clover.

 So. There's this great movie (actually, it was a book first, but it's also a really good movie) called Horton Hears a Who. It's a delightful tale of an elephant (I like elephants) and a clover (I'm also rather fond of clovers, though I can't say why). The elephant is named Horton, and the clover doesn't have a name, because the clover really isn't a big player in this story. It's the little tiny people living on the clover who are important.

Bear with me, people. This really does have something to do with writing.

I feel philosophical, and so I chose the deep and thought-provoking story of Horton and the Whos to unleash a torrent of philosophical...philosophy.

I am Horton (though I'm not really, because whenever people who are being philosophical say that they are something, they never really mean it. That wouldn't be philosophy. Also, I'm not an elephant, just to clear everything up). And my darlings are the Whos (by my darlings, I mean the horde of characters living in my head and eating my sanity for breakfast. They're so cute). In the story of the non-philosophical Horton, the Whos must move heaven and earth (which, in their case, is a very small heaven and earth) to make themselves heard. Seriously. They stand in the middle of town and shout and bang pots and stuff.

In the case of the philosphical Horton (as in, me) a similar story is unfolding. There are these characters inside my mind and my books who are constantly shouting (and I mean constantly). They pop up in my mind every time I sit down, every time I see something that reminds me of their story, every time I have a spare moment. They're down there in their little town square in my mind, clapping and shouting and singing and making a lot of noise. Theoretically, I should hear them. Realistically, I usually don't.

Yes, in case you haven't guessed, it's another one of THOSE posts. The posts where authors (like me) admit that they've been neglecting their characters, necessitating a huge "Occupy Author" character riot which nearly drives them insane. They're marching around shouting "WE ARE HERE", and I'm on my blog making a post.

My characters--they aren't too pleased about that.

To make a [very] long story short, this post is something of a pep talk I needed to give myself. Just comparing my darlings to little fuzzy people has already made me more aware of how much I miss writing about them. So, the obvious solution is to write about them. A lot. Like, every day. And I have been, most days. It's been crazy these past three weeks: I graduated, I turned 18, and I got a second job. I have a month to go before I leave for college, and I'm basically a nervous wreck. At college, my writing life probably isn't going to get much better than it could be now, and so now is the time to work.

Actually, right now is the time to sleep. But meh.

Sorry about the long hiatus. It was mostly unintentional, and I regretted it when I logged on and found about 50 blog posts to read. Ah. I love you guys.


~Elisabeth

Ps. If anyone would like to be a philosophical version of the slightly mad but still adorable Katie, she's still up for grabs ;)



Gotta love that fuzzy face. And look! Another unidentified clover.

Okay.

Time for bed.

Something to Nibble On

{v.i.a.}

Hello, blog-world friends! Exciting news!
 I finally have something for you guys to read which, for once, is the product of my very own sweat, tears, blood and insanity. SUCCESS! 'Tis very sweet.

This is chapter one of a book I've been plotting all year for my graphic novel class. I'm really pleased with where it's at right now, even though I have just over three chapters done and we're going to bind our books in two weeks. Noooo stress.
But anyway, this is chapter one of The Thirteen Tales of Solomon Wise (yes, that random book with a title totally unrelated to the subject matter). Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One: Solomon



I am cold and shivering, lying in a puddle of light with my face upturned to the sky and my hands clenched to my chest. I feel perplexed and exposed, as if I am a newborn child just meeting the world for the first time. There is blood; I can taste it on my tongue and smell it on my skin. Is it mine? Slowly, very slowly, I raise a trembling finger and dip it into the fresh blood trickling down my forehead.

            I sit up. I can see the blood on my hand, on my legs, on my chest. My heartbeat—a painful pounding in my ears—begins to quicken. The blood continues flowing; it drips down my forehead and splashes on my motionless hand.

            Funny, I think. I don’t know if I’m dying or coming to life.

            I blink through the blood, tearing my eyes away from my hand and trying to peer into the darkness around me. There is nothing but black shapes, silent and untouched by the light which engulfs me. Is the light my protection or my prison? I reach out my hand and watch it as it slowly fades into the dark beyond me. When I pull it back, it is unharmed, save for the numerous cuts and scrapes I notice running up its length. The blood from these wounds has dried, leaving my arm stiff and tender. I look at my other arm; my legs; my chest and torso. My clothes are shredded and my entire body is bruised and aching.

            What could have happened? I wonder.

            And then I realize it.

            I can’t remember.

            The terror which takes me is sudden. At first I try to remember my name. That is easy; I am Solomon; Solomon Wise. My age is harder to find—I am either twenty-three or twenty-four. After that, there is nothing; no snatches of memory, no remnants of my life save for an overwhelming sensation of light, heat, and a feeling of empty sorrow. I am a hollow being, devoid of any memories, robbed of any remembrance of the world I seem to know so well. I reach up to my forehead and touch the wound again; the blood slowly stopped, and I can now feel that the cut is both wide and deep. Have my memories somehow escaped through this crack in my consciousness? Did they flee while I was asleep, leaving me to wake up empty?

            Calm down, I tell myself—whoever I may be. You have to be someone. It wouldn’t make any sense if you were nobody.

            I begin to search; I search my clothes, the boundaries of the light still shining down on me and, finally, I begin to search the darkness. I find leaves and thorns and thistles; I feel trees and smell whiffs of smoke when the wind shifts in through the branches. It has grown warmer, and the pale light which is my first and only memory begins to spread through the trees, becoming rosy as it goes. Birds begin to sing; I can see their tiny bodies flitting over me as they observe me from their perches. I keep looking, though. What for I don’t know. But somehow I know that I will find it, and eventually I do.

            It’s a piece of paper—no more than a scrap, really. It is singed and blackened and badly creased, but I can read a section of it. Frantically I lift it up to the light and drink in the words:

Indiana 1910-1930

1910 Francis Miller Warlock

1912 John Evans Jamestown

1913 Helena Weiss Kingsbury

1914 Frederick Maple Thatcher Bend

1915 Gregory Mills Hopetown

1916 Eugenia Dill Quincy

1917 Elizabeth Jones Fairfield

1918 Theodore Schwarz Blackwood

1919 Elmer Dae Gilmore

1920 Josephine Grey Mercer

Names and numbers. There is nothing else. I read the list over and over again; I say the names out loud until my voice is hoarse. None of the numbers make any sense; none of the names sound familiar. This is no code or clue. I don’t even know if it belongs to me. Dejected, I fold it and slip it into what is left of my shirt pocket. It may be nothing, but it is still my only possession; my only means of identification. I will keep it.

The light has become warm. The black shapes around me have become trees, tall and grand and ancient. It is morning.

I begin to find my way back to the place where I first awoke. Perhaps I missed something in the weak light of last night or in my haste to find an object of mine to anchor me to reality. It isn’t much, but right now, it’s the only thing I can do. As I walk I notice that I am limping, and my first sensation of pain stuns me as my right leg begins to buckle.

Funny, I think again, this time with gritted teeth. I didn’t notice this before.

I struggle on until I recognize the spot where I lay; the leaves are compressed and there is a slick coating of blood on the ground. I feel the warmth of the sun on my back, and I look up.

And I stop, astonished.

The trees above me have been demolished, their branches broken and hanging loosely or lying on the ground. And the ground… The leaves around the spot where I first awoke have been blown away, and the ground is scorched and crisscrossed by ruts.

I stare, unbelieving. This is what I failed to see last night.  This is how the other half of my paper was almost burned out of existence. I look down at my arms; at the scratches and bruises which bear an uncanny resemblance to the furrowed earth. Could it be that this is how I came to be here?

I look around, peering through the dense forest.

And where exactly am I?

Eventually the forest has to end and something else has to begin.

Slowly, I begin to walk.

Beautiful People-Lillee in April [er, May]

I have yet another reason to love Beautiful People: it resurrects my sorry blog and gives all of you something writing-ish to read. Thank you, BP.

Anywho... crazy few weeks. School, choir, writing, Sharpies and college decisions were high on my list. I'm guessing you don't really want to know about any of those except maybe college decisions. So--here it is: I'll be an incoming freshman at Covenant College this August. WHOOT! I'm really thankful for God's guidance in this matter and for my family's support. You can expect my blog to dwindle during the first few months of the school year, but I am by no means abandoning it. In fact, I plan to use it even more since I'll be an English major with a concentration in writing. So...yeah. Writing-ish stuff should come here.

All right--on to the main purpose of this blog post. This month I'll be focusing on Lillee Dae, a core character in one of my newest ideas. You may remember her and Sol from last month.

1. What is their favourite type of shoes?

{via}

Voila! Classic 1920's style ladies' shoes. Lillee doesn't own any (her mother thinks they're scandalous) but these are the first shoes she'd buy if she had the money and her mother's permission.

2. Do they journal?
Not too often. Lillee is a reader, not a writer. Every now and then she'll try her hand at writing poetry, but she is always frustrated at how pitiful her verses sound compared to the gleaming poetry she's been reading all her life. She doesn't record her life in diaries, either, thinking it boring (until Sol shows up).

3. What’s their favorite animal?
Lillee enjoys the company of cats, but she is allergic and can't be near them long. So she settles for her small budgie named Milton.

4. What does their average day look like?
Wake early, read. Eat breakfast, attempt to start a conversation with her mother, fail, read some more. Go out, usually to the library in the summertime or to her favorite spot under a tree outside of town to read some more. Paints or sketches at home often; visits in town, helps clean the house. Eats supper with her mother. Reads some more. Retires early and sporadically cries herself to sleep.

5. Night owl or morning person? (Optional: What time do they usually wake up? Go to bed?)
Morning person. Lillee loves to rise at a ridiculously early hour (usually about 4 AM in summer, earlier during the schoolyear). She finds that the world is much more peaceful before the little town begins to stir.

6. Do they have a sweet tooth?
Lillee loves fruit above all else. She has never encountered a fruit she didn't like, and often stops in town to see if any new fruits had been delivered to the grocer's. She enjoys peppermints, as they last a long time and are good for sucking while she's engrossed in a book.

7. What colors are their bedroom?
A pale, white-yellow color with sheer  white curtains on the windows. When she was little, she would often wrap herself in the curtains and pretend she was a bride.

8. Can they cook?
Lillee is afraid of the stove, fire, knives, and just about everything else in the kitchen. However, she does like to help their cook in the kitchen as it is one of the only times she can talk to someone.

9. What is their favorite household chore?
Dusting. She likes to use the feather duster and go through all the closed-up rooms in the house, making gigantic dust storms and dancing around while no one is watching.
10. Favorite kind of tea?
Green tea, lots of sugar and steaming hot.


If you have never tried BP, I highly recommend it. It really does help you get to know your characters, especially if you're like me and don't have enough time to devote to them on a daily basis =)

God Bless

~Elisabeth

New Ideas, Old Ideas, { and not enough brain space}

This post is a sort of comanion to this post, made by my fellow author Danielle. We both have a lot of Avaria homework to do, and I also haven't posted much about my writing on SSOoA recently, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and follow up my last mini-update with a major-update.

First things first: COLLEGE SEARCH. Bottom line: Covenant's campus preview weekend was amazing, I loved it, but I'm still not sure if Covenant is where God wants me. There: easy to explain, not so easy to decide. Oh well. I'll keep you posted.

On to writingness!

Avaria homework: basically my homework was to go through the entire series and make a list of absolutely essential characters. The others may or may not get cut. To be perfectly honest, this is kind of killing me. One of the best things about writing Avaria was creating characters. I think I took it to an extreme. There are a LOT of characters in Avaria. Most of them are underdeveloped; a few of them lot of them are just unnecessary. I've grown fond of them, however, and cutting some of the minor characters is going to be tough. But with every character I cut, Avaria's story gets stronger and more concrete. It's a labor of love; the "kill your darlings" kind of love (in reality, I think it kills the author more than the darlings, but that's just my own opinion).

In other news: The Thirteen Tales of Solomon Wise is petering along. I'm plotting right now, trying to sure up some weaker parts of the story while exploring my new characters' different stories and motives. I'm also trying to wrap my mind around the idea of time travel. It's pretty hard when even the concept of time zones doesn't make sense to me. I'm trying really hard not to mess it up or get lazy and settle for a mediocre explanation. I'm also trying to figure out just how time travel will work in a Biblical worldview; can people go back in time to right wrongs they did and be the masters of their own destinies? I don't think so, and  that's certainly not how I'm planning to portray my take on time travel, but there's going to be a very fine line I'll have to walk when I finally start writing. Still, it's exciting to be working on a new idea.


And finally (speaking of new ideas) I've really been playing around with a dystopian idea lately. I'm not exactly sure where it's going, but I'm relying heavily on the concept of Farenheit 451 (which I have yet to read). I, for one, can't imagine living in a place without books which are free to the public, and I think it would be interesting to create a world where this is reality, and explore what it would mean to the society in which the characters function. Also, one of the things I loved most about The Hunger Games was the huge influence Collins showed the a corrupt government can have, even to the point of making children slaughter each other while facing very little resistance from the general population. In The Hunger Games, the Capitol was a very real and vicious villian, having the face of President Snow but consisting of something much larger and more deadly. I'd like to explore a sort of "government villian" for this idea without suggesting anarchy or anything extreme as an alternative. Again, another fine line to walk. Gah.

That's about all I have for you, though I did write a short poem I figured I tack on to the end of this post (since technically this is a writing blog and this will be the first piece of writing I've posted in a few months). I hope you enjoy and I also hope you had a blessed Easter with family, friends and the breathtaking reality that WE have come to life through Christ's rising from the dead!

~Elisabeth

Blue

Come swimming, come swimming

Come swimming in blue

For I’m still your true love

And have searched far for you

I went sailing, went sailing

Went sailing on blue

And I said I’d be back

Said I’d be back for you

It was storming, was storming

It was storming deep blue

On the night that I died

Died thinking of you

I was floating, was floating

Was floating in blue

In celestial light

Where the soft seaweed grew

Now I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming

I dream all in blue

But I’m still your true love

And dream only of you.

Mini-Update

I wish I had more time for this post, but I really don't, and so I'll have to make due. I'm about to leave for the weekend and experience Covenant College's Campus Preview Weekend. This will be my first time every being at Covenant (or in Georgia, for that matter). I'm pretty excited.

In other news, I wrote a bunch of poems, worked on my Solomon Wise idea, drew said character in manga style, chatted with Danielle about where Avaria goes from here, watched Paths of Glory, got super-cool sandals, started reading Frankenstein for Brit Lit class, and have been sneezing my head off because of allergy season. It's been fun [except the sneezing part].

Anyway--keep me in your prayers, and I apologize for the lack of anything mildly interesting on my blog. It's going to change someday, I promise =3


Oh, and if anyone's willing to babysit my characters while I'm gone, that'd be awesome. Right now they're kind of making war on my brain because they know I have a few days free to write. Joy.

~Elisabeth

Marching Forth with Beautiful People

Yikes. Long time no post. Sorry about that. Anyway. Not much going on... School is eating me alive [but that's normal].
To keep my blog alive and busy, here's Beautiful People-The March edition. This one was particularly fascinating, because it deals with more than one character at the same time, and because it involves relationships (and not just romantic relationships). Who doesn't find relationships fascinating?
Anywho...
I answered the questions using Sol and Lillee from my newest idea The Thirteen Tales of Solomon Wise. The title has nothing to do with the plot, so that's a problem. Actually, the book's more about time travel. It's an interesting study for me, because I generally don't go near any more sci-fi fantasy stuff like that. But the story is really engaging me, and I hope you find Sol and Lillee engaging, too :3


1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?
Time travel, for one, because Sol is a time traveller and Lillee is learning more about her deceased father's hand in the time travelling world every day. At first she was skeptical, but the chaotic events which occur when Sol comes to town imply that something bigger is going on.

2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort?
Lillee is tough; she dislikes being seen as helpless or in need of assistance. However, deep inside, the idea of being swept off her feet by a knight out of one of her many books fascinates her. Sol, though he suffers from some memory loss at the beginning of the story, is very committed to protecting Lillee and anyone else who is in danger due to his presence.

3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...)
Lillee lives in her books. She is well-versed in many genres and knows most of her favorites by heart. She often concerns the townsfolk by walking down streets or in front of cars with a book held up in front of her face. Sol, since he is a stranger in the town and the time, feels out of place and is almost never comfortable unless he is completely alone.

4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having?
Sol is a time traveller. I haven't exactly figured out what he does, or why, or how, or anything. But that is his occupation, and he is an expert in his field. However, a bad accident landed him in 1919 from an unspecified future time and robbed him of a substantial part of his memory. There is probably a lot of corruption and conspiracy going on back at Time Travel Headquarters, and I'm still trying to figure out if there's someone higher up who is out to get Sol because of something he knows, or because of something he is trying to learn.
Lillee, though she's only 17, has made herself quite the scholar. She haunts the library and has more than once mentioned her desire to work there. She is also an artist, though she does not devote half as much time to painting as she does to reading.

5. Describe their current place of residence.
Sol stays at a boarding house while he's in Indiana. He rooms alone, but he has trouble paying for his room and has been threatened with eviction by the home's usually gracious matron.
Lillee lives with her estranged mother in a classic home on the edge of town. Her father bought the house for its character; it is a large house, furnished with ornate carpets and sofas from around the world. Professor Dae (her father) was known as "modestly wealthy" by the townsfolk, and left a substantial amount of money to help pay for the upkeep of the home. Most of the rooms stand empty, though, as Widow Dae refuses to change anything from the way her husband left the house.

6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it?
Sol reminds Lillee of her father, whom she dearly loved. She wants to invest everything in him, help him in any way she can--after all, this is the first time she's really lived every since her father died and she buried herself in books. Sol, however, knows that not only will he need to leave 1919 before he overstays his welcome but also that there are certain persons searching for him who want to make sure he never leaves. Unwilling to put Lillee in danger and unsure of his own past, Sol rejects her help almost as forcefully as she offers it. Both are high-strung and offended after the fact, but the dire situations they encounter along the way force them to come up with a new strategy.

7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be?
I see Sol in a classic car, probably German and with a nice loud engine. Lillee would probably go for a brightly-colored buggy.

8. How do they deal with change?
Lillee recoils from it, ignores it, overlooks it, as though it never happened. Sol fights it, always unsure as to where another change might land him.

9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose?
Sol would cut off his hand, as he uses his feet quite often for running and getting from place to another.
Lillee, on the other hand [no pun intended] would rather amputate her leg than lose one of her delicate, overworked hands--and her ability to turn pages quickly and wield a paintbrush.

10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop?
Lillee would go for something tall and cold, like an iced coffee. Sol, though it surprises most people, is more of a hot cocoa guy.

Bonus Quezzies!
1. How did they meet?
Sol landed himself in 1919 Indiana after a massive accident. He is disoriented when he meets Lillee; he is looking for her father, Professor Dae, who was a distinguished time traveller before he died in the Great War. Since Dae was the only person who could have helped him, Lillee takes it upon herself to find a way to get Sol back to his own time.

2. How do these two deal with conflict?
Mostly by sulking or screaming it out--it depends on how hot the conflict is. Lillee will rarely dissolve into tears, but when she does, it's a veritable flood. Sol is more likely to stalk off and frown at the wall--or punch it.

3. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place?
Lillee often quotes her father. Sol whistles a lot when he's working.

4. What kind of things do they like to do together?
Although the two don't have much free time together, they both enjoy reading and do so to a great extent. One of the thing that endears Sol to Lillee is that he has read Paradise Lost and knows parts of it by heart. Paradise Lost was Professor Dae's favorite story and he read it Lillee when she was only three or four years old.

5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words or less.
Confusing. Multifaceted. Endearing.

That's all for now! Enjoying the spring weather,

~Elisabeth

And there it was.

{via}

You know how people always ask you "that question" on your birthday? You know the one. "How do you feel now that you're *insert any number from 3-25*?" I've always been mildly annoyed by those questions. It doesn't feel any different. It's just another day in the life. Turning 17 isn't what makes you feel 17; all the awesome and not-so-awesome things you experience when you're 17 are what make you feel a year older. And by the time you feel that way, you're 18, and the cycle starts over again.

I got asked a similar question recently. I was sitting there, holding it in my hands, staring down at page 32 with a slightly dazed expression on my face and a pure cloud of golden joy fogging up my vision. "So," my dad asked. "How does it feel to be published?"

The answer?

Not that much different. It feels great, don't get me wrong. I don't think I'll ever forget the feeling I felt when I tore away that envelope and saw the magazine hiding inside, or the feeling I felt when I saw my story printed on a crisp white page, one of those shiny expensive magazine pages and not the flimsy computer paper pages my stories have lived on for so long. I couldn't stop smiling. But I didn't feel all that different. I have a theory. Getting published the kind of experience that totally exhausts you and makes you terribly happy and is often followed by a burst of applause from friends and family. Then when it's all over, you sit back, read your story a few times, and tap your fingers on the table.

That was fun, you think. Now let's do it again.

And I'm already planning to.

Ps. Getting published could also be just like doing a gigantic face-smash into a delicious chocolate cake. I haven't quite decided yet.

February Favorite: Scrivener

Hi guys! I just wanted to share with you a cool little writing tool I found via the interwebz this past week. It's called Scrivener.

When it comes to writing, I'm a very organized person [Unfortunately, my organizational skills don't extend into the real world, much to my mother's chagrin]. I love to have little folders on my laptop for each book, then subfolders for each character, then sub-sub-folders for every quirk my character has. In short, I love to organize my ideas, my characters, their personalities, their favorite foods, places they've been... I'm a veritable maniac when it comes to character analysis.

That said, I use Microsoft Word for my books. It's great--it has all the tools I need to get a story down on paper. The problem comes when I'm trying to file away characters, scenes, information about my worlds, etc. I can never find the folder I need, the character I'm seeking, the specific picture of a tree I've stashed away. And just as a note: NEVER put all your characters into one Word document. The results aren't pretty.

I've often wanted a better way to keep my characters filed, but I didn't know that way actually existed until I found Scrivener.

Scrivener is a computer program specifically for writers; it's geared towards better organizing your stories, your characters, even your scenes, places and creatures. The opportunities are endless... once you get the hang of the program. But that doesn't take long. After you've explored, it's time to stash. Scrivener has a unique corkboard background, on which you can place an infinite number of virtual 3 x 5 cards. Each card serves as a snippet of the massive document it represents--you can make long character pages without taking up pages and pages of space in a Word Document, and when you're done, all you see on the main page is a little card with your character's name. Same for cards representing scenes, places, interesting facts, etc. It's COOL. I'm having so much fun.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you this. You guessed right if you thought Scrivener is expensive--it costs $40. I'm still debating on whether or not to buy it.

I'll let you wonder how I can have it without buying it for a moment :3

Okay, ready? This program is availible for a free, non-consecutive 30 day trial. It's super easy to download, and if you decide you don't want to make the investment when the 30 days are up, you can export all your information so you don't lose anything. I'm having a blast with those little 3 x 5 cards. I think you will, too.

So go check it out! You can find more information about the program and the opportunity to start your own 30 day trial at:
 http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

I highly recommend this program. Now does anyone have an extra forty bucks I can borrow to have it forever? 8D

Beautiful People-February

Hello, lovelies! It's been a while since I did my share of Beautiful People, hosted by Sky at Further Up and Further In and Georgianna at Before My Penn Has Gleaned. So I decided that now is better than never ^_^
 I'm doing these questions for Anna, one of my main characters from Avaria, because I've recently dusted off her book and started plotting again [finally]. So here we go.

1. If your character could be played by any actor, who would it be?
Eh. I'm not exactly sure. I don't watch enough movies to know any actresses around her age who would make the cut. Maybe... No. I just don't know xD
2. Does your character have a specific theme song?
I almost feel like it should be Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen or something melancholy like that. But maybe that's just the guilt for all the horrible things I've put her through getting to me ;_;
3. What’s their worst childhood memory?
Her dad leaving when she was about ten years old. She's sixteen, and she hasn't seen him since. It scarred her badly--I don't even know how badly, and I've been writing her story for about five years o_o
4. If your character had a superpower, what would it be?
She'd probably be able to fly or something cool like that. Though she's fast, so maybe she'll be Flash 2. Or Flash Jr.
5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how would your character help the group survive?
Not by having a mental breakdown, that's for sure. She'd probably do a good job of masking her fear, organizing the survivors, and being all rough and tumble; then she'd have her breakdown after rescue.
6. Are they married? If not, do they someday wish to be?
She's not married; she'd like to be, but she's terrified of having her marriage end the same way her parents' did. I think she could do it, though, if the right guy walked along. Which he did. In book three. But she doesn't know that. So SHHH.
7. What is a cause they would die for?
A good cause? Saving a friend, because she hasn't had many. A bad one? Getting revenge. She's an unstoppable monster where revenge is involved. It could be her undoing.
8. Would they rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home?
She'd prefer to die quietly. But she's not afraid of fighting. She's been fighting herself all her life.
9. If someone walked up to them and told them they were the child of the prophecy, would they believe them?
You know what, that's funny, because that actually happened. As I remember it, she fainted. Or laughed. Or both. But she ended up being a pretty good child of the prophecy, if I do say so myself.
10. Do they prefer the country or the city?
The city. She grew up in New York, and she despises the small Virginia town her mom's job took them to. *sigh* I guess she can't be perfect.

Okay, that was fun! Every time I finish one of these, I realize that I need to do them more often =D Try one for yourself--you won't regret it!

YOU just got tagged [Yes, you]

So Jeanette at Capricious Scribblings and Christina at Parenthetically Bizarre  gave me a reason to get back on my blog and actually post something for you to read by tagging me =D Here we go. Warning: this post is gonna be MILES long. I'm just glad I didn't get tagged three times :P

The Rules
1) post these rules.
2) post 11 random things about yourself.
3) answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4) create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5) go to their blog and tell them they've been tagged.
6) no cop-outs in the tagging section like “if you are reading this/follow me,” blah blah blah. you have to legitimately tag people.

11 Random Things About Myself
1. I love to listen to classic Irish love songs. One of my favorite singing groups of all time is The Irish Tenors.
2. I'm a skiier. I've skiied for about six or seven years [maybe longer]. I don't ski with poles, which gets me some weird looks, but I have braved black and double black diamonds and survived.
3. I am a major WWII history buff. One of my favorite things to do is read historical nonfiction about the war and the damage done to the entire world.
4. I've been co-writing a YA fantasy series about unicorns for about six years now.
5. I'm innately afraid of tight spaces--once I got stuck in a box maze and ran over several people to get to the exit. I have no regrets.
6. I fail majorly at cooking. I can bake, but the only thing I can make is zucchini bread. It's pretty good, but my family gets sick of it after about four loaves.
7. I once took a spill off a hyper pony and busted my hip. I limped around for a month afterwards and was lovingly referred to as "the crippled lamb" by my friends. Why they equated me to a lamb I shall never know.
8. One of my favorite foods in the whole world is potatoes. I'll eat them any way I find them--mashed, baked, scalloped, you name it. However, I do not like sweet potatoes, and avoid them like the plague.
9. I'm a bad gamer. I rarely win at any game I play. One of my favorite games is Mario Party, which my dear friend Danielle forced upon me ^^
10. I have two little brothers who were adopted about a year ago. I'm so thankful that God put them in my life.
11.  I'd rather live in a perpetual summertime than a perpetual wintertime. ^^

Jeanette's Lovely Quezzies:

1. What is your favorite book and why?
Oh my. WHY. I don't have a favorite books--I love way too many of them. Some of my favorite books are:
The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit
All four books in the Auralia's Colors series
Great Expectations
Jane Eyre
The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment
The Chronicles of Narnia
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

And quite a few more =D

2. What is your favorite movie and why?
Again with the favorites! I really like movies, so I have a lot of favorites. But my biggest favorites are:
Judgment at Nuremburg--It's a courtroom drama with the best actors I've ever seen and an excellent storyline.
Schindler's List--A poignant portrayal of one man's fight against the hated which existed everywhere around him during the Holocaust.
It's a Wonderful Life--Come on. It's just...the best movie out there.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas--A really shocking movie with a powerful message.
Tangled--Long hair, chamelons, glowing lanterns and a cute love song. What's not to like?

3. Who or what inspires you?
Jesus, for His unconditional love and His perfect example.
My parents, because they put up with me for seventeen years 8D
My friends, because of the way they make me laugh even when I'm pretty unlikable.
My characters, because even though I gave them life, they're original and independent, and they make their stories that much better.

4. What is the last book you read? Did you like it?
The last book I read was: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Did I like it? I thought it was sad, rushed, and a little sloppy, but still well-written and a total psychological thriller.

5. Are you looking forward to The Hunger Games film?
YES. I am so looking forward to it ^^ The book's very visual, and so I can't wait to see how the story is on the big screen!

6. Have you ever gotten your friends obsessed with something?
Yup--Les Miserables. I did that.
And also, I got Danielle on the DragonKeeper forum. My greatest work ^^

7. What is your favorite novel genre? Why?
I think fantasy is just the best thing ever. It's creative, but it can also pack a true-to-life punch. You can send a message without sounding like a preacher; you can create worlds, new creatures, and have a blast writing.
And also it's fun to read, too ;-;

8. What is your favorite period of history? Why?
MUHAHAHA.
I love the 1930's-1940's. I became obsessed with WWII era and never looked back. It's an amazing time in history, when a seemingly advanced and cultured world either murdered millions or stood by and watched. I am shocked that something like the Holocaust could have happened [though not surprised, given the sinful nature of man]. The tortures people all over the world endured should never be forgotten. I'd like to play a small part in making sure they never will be.

9. American accents or Irish?
IRISH! Oh yes please!

10. What is one of your favorite quotes?
Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it, or something like that. I think it's a great warning, because we see history repeated every day. Nothing new is under the sun.

11. Jane Austen or Charles Dickens? xD
Hmm. I think Dickens. I LOVED A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. But I also liked Pride and Prejudice--I just don't buy into the whole romance thing as much xD

Pippin's Spectacular Quezzies:

1. Have a hilarious cooking story? Pray do share. Bonus points if involves unintentional fire.
Hmm. Once my mom and I were making potatoes, and the oven caught on fire and my mom turned all fire-lady and put it out with BAKING SODA 8D I was about five, and she was my hero forever.

2. How do you feel about strawberry chapstick?
I don't know. I've never met it before. I think I'd like it.

3. Hot air balloons or helicopters?
I'll go with the hot air balloons. Anything that flies really fast intimidates me xD

4. How do you feel about the craze for SillyBanz a short year ago?
I was neutral. I actually have a couple... unicorns ;-; They're so cute ^^

5. Have you ever tasted tiramisu? Tell me what it tastes like, cuz I haven’t. Points for most obscure descriptions.
Hmm. I think it tastes kind of like sushi, because it sort of rhymes. Also, it probably has sprinkles on top, because it ends with a "u". And I think it's fried.

6. TY Beanie babies? Remember them? Have they gone to the dogs, in your opinion?
Oh my yes! I have hundreds of them upstairs. If the world ever needs to be replenished, come to me. When I say hundreds, I mean HUNDREDS.

7. Favorite character from Percy Jackson in three . . . two . . . one . . . go!
....
I've never read Percy Jackson ._.
So... I guess nobody? *ducks*

8. Who’s your favorite American President?
It's a tie between Lincoln and John Adams.

9. What was the last paper you wrote about for school?
It was a huge poetry assignment that almost killed me xD

10.    Toy Story 1, 2, or 3?
Meh. I like the second one ^^

11. When was the last time you blew bubbles?
This past summer. Bubbles are awesome!


That was fun ^^

Here are my eleven questions for you.

1. Have a favorite book or movie character? Who is it, and what do you like about him/her?
2. What's your favorite type of music to listen to?
3. Ever created a dream cast for your favorite book/play/own original book?
4. Do you like potatoes (answer carefully)?
5. What's your favorite place to visit?
6. Ever ridden a dragon?
7. What qualities would you like to see in your characters? If you don't have characters, what qualities would you like to see in yourself?
8. College, or no college?
9. If you had all the money in the world, what would be the one thing you'd buy first?
10. What sports do you play [if any] and what musical instruments do you/have you learned?
11. Favorite song ever, and why?

Okay, I tag everyone who's reading this, excepting Christina and Jeanette [because I don't think I can re-tag]! You're officially tagged; no use trying to get out of it. Yes. Because I'm that lazy xD

That was fun! I shall make a note of the joy it brought to me.

TTFN,

My Life on Repeat

Here's the thing. I had this lovely little post all typed out and ready to go to the presses when my genius computer suddenly realized that I was signed into my college Google account, and not my personal Google account. Therefore, it kicked me out of my blog and nommed my entire post before I could even say "cheesecake".

I despise technology.

That said, all I really wanted to say was that
a). Yes, I'm still alive and yes, this blog is still running [though very slowly, it seems]
b). I'm still stuck in the perpetual rut of writer's block. In fact, I think I'll just build a nice summer cottage and stay.
and
c). My short story isn't published yet, but I sent it off to the publisher and it should be in his hands even as I type.

But, with all the trouble I'm having with technology today, I think I might send him an email just to make sure.

'Til next time,

Elisabeth <3

NEWS.

Like, really big news!

Well, first off, I didn't get that big scholarship I'd wanted. I came home from skiing yesterday, exhausted yet excited because I knew that I'd soon find out whether or not I'd be invited to go down to Georgia for scholarship weekend. The phone call wouldn't have let me know that I GOT the scholarship, but it would bring me one step closer to being able to attend the college I'm being pulled towards right now. Anyway, I got a call from my Admissions Rep. She was so sweet, apologizing that I hand't gotten invited even though it wasn't her fault. That made the news easier, somehow.

But today, I was really feeling the weight of not being awarded all that money. College is EXPENSIVE, people. If you don't have a job, get one and start saving, because all that hard-earned money is going to go a long way if you save wisely. I'm looking into other scholarships outside of the school, but they require more work and time that I don't have. So I was stressing out.

Tonight, I came home a little depressed. I sit down at my computer and what do I see (besides my amazing War Horse Background)?

An email.

No, not from Fozzy (although I always loooove to hear from her). Not from the college, telling me there's been a horrible mistake and would I please come and accept a wad of cash (though that would be nice, too).

It was an email from a Christian writers' magazine that I'd mentioned a while back, right after the writer's conference 2011.

They want my short story.

As in, to publish.

On paper.

Maybe with an illustration.

In only a couple months.


God is so amazing in His timing! I was feeling so let down, and yet here's something to pick me back up--something I've been working towards and praying for and dreaming about for... well, years.

[potential, but it looks like it really is happening] PUBLICATION.

I just had to share that with you. I'm so grateful, scared, and beside myself with excitement. Please pray that I don't send the publishers a really hyper email, singing something about rainbows and unicorns bursting from the clouds, and scare them out of wanting to publish me. That would be bad.


Thanking God [and putting my editing cap on!]~

Elisabeth