Adventures in Crafting with Words

Every day that I pull out my notebook or laptop I don't plan what goes down on the paper.  I don't know quite where my characters want to lead me yet. Sometimes it's a matter of going back and seeing, 'Oh, I'm missing this...' or 'I need to add a scene to link these chapters together. Sometimes the plot bunnies invade and I have to write a scene for a part of the story not yet started. But every day I hit my NaNoWriMo daily goal, or personal goal, or even get words down on the page, is one more day I can feel good about working on this rough draft. Today I reached the halfway mark - 25,000 words.  I have more words to add.  I have more story to develop.  I have more ideas, plot bunnies, and writing prompts to work with. And then, once this rough draft is finished, I'll introduce this new story to my beloved readers (and the world). Then the real work begins.  Editing and polishing and titling and all that. Stay tuned. Alicia

It's quickly approaching and I had to pick just one project to work on.  Do I finish the second Enchanted Forest?  The third Hastings?  The College Edition of Bookworm Next Door that is taking me forever? Do I tackle one of the other five project ideas that have appeared to me? Or the non-young adult romance that has been floating around in my cluttered brain? One particular project is prodding at me, telling me to write this one.   Character names. Plot line issues.  Motivations.  Pretty much falling into place with some exceptions. This particular project has a friend prodding me as well, but that's beside the point. So... what will the NaNoWriMo2107 project be? You'll just have to wait and see. However, want to tackle a 50,000 word lightening manuscript in a month? A month with Thanksgiving in it! Know your story.  Prep. Plot. Know your characters.  The journey might change, but regardless... Be Prepared.  And most i...

Sometimes things get frustrating over on my side of the laptop.  Keep watching reviews and determining ways to bounce back, to create better.  Watching the numbers and wondering if those handful of bad reviews are just pulling the rest of the potential readers down where they don't want to read, not even with Kindle Unlimited.  I have to watch the day by day because at the end of the month if I don't hit minimum page reads and sold books then I'm losing out. I'm running out of time.  I'm running a gamble here by wanting to be a full-time writer.  A crafter of words. But this and etsy don't always pay the bills.  They certainly aren't paying me enough to get out of my parents house. Who am I? I am a writer.  I've been a writer since the seventh grade. And Yet... It hasn't even been a year since I've started.  I really need to not lose hope. A

Is that even possible?  Can Aimee Kirkland from the Bookworm Stories Series be redeemed?  She isn't supposed to be a likable character.  She's one of the mean girls that everybody sees in real life.  That girl that believes that she deserves it all.  Did she learn anything from The Bookworm Next Door ?  Did everybody rallying around Gloria in Along the Road teach her anything about her actions?  But as I released Along the Road and got started on my next installment - what is supposed to be Jennifer's story - I started my outlines and plotting... but Aimee kept popping up.  And then her unnamed sister - now named Amanda.  So, when the Bookworm Series moves out of the high school area and into the college arena we'll see more about Aimee and Amanda and how these sisters deal with their mother's influence in their lives.  Can Aimee be redeemed?  What is going to happen to be the catalyst for this redemption?  I don't k...

Last night I crafted several steampunk inspired necklaces for the untitled steampunk/fantasy project. Did I get a single word written?  Yes, only about fifty words.  But I made pretty necklaces that are available in my (unrelated) Etsy shop. So, what do you think oh silent readers?  Steampunk?  More Steampunk Inspired? The Swarovski crystals are wrapped on gears.  My favorite is the utmost right necklace. Anyway, I was sitting there staring at my document the other day, doing Steampunk research on Pinterest and stumbled on the wrapping technique.  Ending up doing a few that I already had the supplies for and ended up going and buying more supplies yesterday.  I'm on Pinterest now btw www.pinterest.com/ajdarcywrites So...then I decided I need book boards.  Why not show what I imaged my characters as, or what they would wear (the untitled Steampunk project for example. I may have spent an hour looking at pictures. Sometimes...