Every time a new year rolls around, I make a list of Big, Fun, Scary Adventures I want to have in the upcoming weeks and months. This was started by the good folks at NaNoWriMo, and since I like it better than making ordinary resolutions, I've made it a tradition.
Last year's adventures did not all happen the way I'd hoped, but I had many great experiences anyway. The biggest, "funnest", and scariest adventure of last year? College. Yup, I started college. (I'll have another blog post about that later.)
This year, I've got quite a list of adventures. Some of them are bigger than others. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Build a treehouse
When my brother and I got home from break this year, we decided it was time to finally build that treehouse we've always wanted. Now that we're older, we can actually do it right. We're starting out with a goal of constructing a simple and sturdy platform aloft.
2. Cut my hair
I haven't cut my hair since.... middle school, I think. I was going to cut it last year, but I never got around to it. Time for a new look. (And possibly some extra cash if I can manage to sell it!)
3. Edit The Shadow of Rebellion
I wrote this sci-fi novel way back in 2008, and I've tried several times to edit it. This time, I'm actually going to push through all 100,000 words and get it polished up.
4. Go to London
Yes! If all goes as planned, I'll be in London over spring break! I've always wanted to visit there, and since I have a novel set in London, I'm excited to see it in person.
5. Finish setting up my Etsy shop
One of last year's adventures that I never completed, my Etsy shop needs some finishing touches. I'm hoping to sell handmade bags to start with, made from "upcycled" materials such as t-shirts and blue jeans.
6. Plan and script a webcomic
This is something I've wanted to do for years now, and never really got up the courage to try. I love to read webcomics, and I've got a bunch of stories that would look amazing in a visual format like a graphic novel. My goal is to write the script, design the characters, work out a style for the comic, and build up a buffer of pages before I start releasing it online, hopefully next January.
These are my Big, Fun, Scary Adventures for 2012! What are you hoping to do this year?
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Webcomics
Over the last two years, I've become increasingly interested in the art of telling a story through pictures. I've always loved books with lavish illustrations (such as the Dinotopia books by James Gurney), and I've read a few printed graphic novels (such as Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale). Then I discovered the online world of webcomics.
Webcomics are unique in that anyone can make one and put it up for the world to read. They don't need to get accepted for publication by Marvel or any of the other big-name publishers. That means that the author(s) can experiment and tell their unique story without anyone breathing down their neck. And usually, they're completely free to read. The drawback is this: webcomics are usually updated one to three times a week, so once you catch up to the most recent page, you must waaaait.
I'm a visual person. Many of my characters and story concepts come to me in pictures. When I found out about webcomics, I was immediately drawn to the idea of making my own someday, but I knew I would need to focus on improving my drawing skills. Since January, that's exactly what I've been doing, and I rediscovered how much I love art. I start college next week as an art major!
Not only have I been practicing my art, I've also absorbed lots of great webcomics. I thought I'd share my reading list, in case any of you are also interested in comics or visual storytelling. Some of the following may have certain elements that I don't like or agree with, but there's something special in each one that kept me reading.
Favorites:
Winters in Lavelle - Fantasy
The Dreamer - Time travel/Historical/Romance
Inverloch - Fantasy (this one's complete!)
Others I like for one reason or another:
The Silver Eye - Fantasy.
Dreamless - Romance/Mystery/WW2/Defies genre... Warning: It's intense. (But it's complete!)
The Phoenix Requiem - Fantasy/Romance. Warning: Rather violent and dark. (also complete)
Between Places - Fantasy. The story is confusing at points, but the art is beautiful.
Girl Genius - Steampunk. Warning: Violence, and some skimpy outfits.
Bardsworth - Fantasy/Humor.
Seed - Fantasy.
One Question - Fantasy.
Earthsong - Fantasy.
... I just realized, there is a lot of "fantasy" in that list.
Do any of you read webcomics? What are your favorites? Have you ever considered making a comic or graphic novel?
Webcomics are unique in that anyone can make one and put it up for the world to read. They don't need to get accepted for publication by Marvel or any of the other big-name publishers. That means that the author(s) can experiment and tell their unique story without anyone breathing down their neck. And usually, they're completely free to read. The drawback is this: webcomics are usually updated one to three times a week, so once you catch up to the most recent page, you must waaaait.
I'm a visual person. Many of my characters and story concepts come to me in pictures. When I found out about webcomics, I was immediately drawn to the idea of making my own someday, but I knew I would need to focus on improving my drawing skills. Since January, that's exactly what I've been doing, and I rediscovered how much I love art. I start college next week as an art major!
Not only have I been practicing my art, I've also absorbed lots of great webcomics. I thought I'd share my reading list, in case any of you are also interested in comics or visual storytelling. Some of the following may have certain elements that I don't like or agree with, but there's something special in each one that kept me reading.
Favorites:
Winters in Lavelle - Fantasy
The Dreamer - Time travel/Historical/Romance
Inverloch - Fantasy (this one's complete!)
Others I like for one reason or another:
The Silver Eye - Fantasy.
Dreamless - Romance/Mystery/WW2/Defies genre... Warning: It's intense. (But it's complete!)
The Phoenix Requiem - Fantasy/Romance. Warning: Rather violent and dark. (also complete)
Between Places - Fantasy. The story is confusing at points, but the art is beautiful.
Girl Genius - Steampunk. Warning: Violence, and some skimpy outfits.
Bardsworth - Fantasy/Humor.
Seed - Fantasy.
One Question - Fantasy.
Earthsong - Fantasy.
... I just realized, there is a lot of "fantasy" in that list.
Do any of you read webcomics? What are your favorites? Have you ever considered making a comic or graphic novel?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Adventures in Storytelling
This is an essay I recently wrote for a scholarship application. The prompt was open-ended, so I chose to write about my passion for storytelling. I discovered some interesting things about myself as I wrote, such as the fact that I don't love "Writing," I love "Story." It isn't the field of English that I love - it's the basic elements of an entertaining plot and engaging characters in a unique setting, well depicted. And, as a side-note, even though I don't say so in the essay, my ultimate goal is to glorify God through any form of storytelling I choose to implement.
Enjoy!
(Note: Please do not copy or re-post without permission.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story.
That’s what I’m all about.
I get excited about writing, art, photography, music, and film because they all offer opportunities for telling an expressive story. The media may change. Paint or pixels, sentences or sound waves, it doesn’t matter. They can all be used to convey emotion and imagination, and that’s what I love.
Ever since I was first learning to read, and allowed myself to get swallowed up by the adventures of The Boxcar Children, I could sense that stories had a certain magic about them, namely, the power to captivate, entrance, and draw eager listeners into another world. I knew I wanted to be a part of that process almost from the very beginning.
My brother and I made up a magical land, and acted out epic adventures with our stuffed animals. As we grew older, that imaginative play became the springboard for writing stories about our Beanie Babies.
It wasn’t long before I was writing full-length novels. I self-published a science fiction book as a teenager, and sold paperback copies to family and friends. Since I was home schooled, my parents encouraged these kinds of self-directed projects, and provided resources that would help me to learn and grow.
But writing alone wasn’t enough. I discovered my passion for photography when I got my first digital camera at age fifteen. Since then, I’ve taken over 17,000 pictures, many of which have won awards through 4-H and other venues. I love to look at things from a new angle, and capture entire stories in one wordless moment.
Lately, I’ve experienced a renewed interest in art and filmmaking. Each of these has incredible potential for a storyteller like me. I’m eager to delve into these subjects more in college.
I also hope to discover new opportunities for interaction and collaboration between all of these different areas of study. With the internet and other emerging technologies, there could be possibilities for artistic expression we haven’t even thought of yet, and I want to be on the forefront of that fast-growing field.
I’m ready to take the next step and go to college, where I hope to purposefully expand my experiences and gain valuable skills that will help me make an impact on the world and propel me into a lifetime of learning.
This isn’t the end of my story. This is only the beginning.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Accomplishments and Adventures
I'm back! I dropped off the face of the blogosphere for over a month, and I'm sorry that I haven't been posting or commenting on other people's blogs. I've been so busy lately that I had to let my blog hibernate for a while.
It is that time of year again! I've been working on my list of Big, Fun, Scary Adventures for 2011. (These are akin to New Year's Resolutions, but Bigger, Funner, and Scarier... and more Adventurous!) Last year, I had these four:
1. Attend my first writers conference
Last March, I went all the way down to Florida for the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I had a great experience and learned a lot. You can read my summary of the trip HERE.
2. Get my driver's license
I completed this one just in time! Just a few days after Christmas, I passed my driving exam and got my license. Unfortunately, I don't have a car, so it doesn't help me much.
3. Write a song every month
This is the one goal that kind of flopped. I wrote lots of pieces and parts of songs, but I didn't finish any of them. Oh well.
4. Start a photography blog
I did start a photography blog, which you can visit HERE.
My list of Adventures for 2011:
1. Write 250,000 words
2. Set up an Etsy shop and sell stuff
3. Make a short film with my brother
4. Go to college
5. Cut my hair
Every single one of those goals is Big, Fun, and Scary. At least, for me.
The first one, about writing all those words, may best be broken down into monthly goals. So I started a list of writing goals from January through May:
January
-Write Nanooks in Trench Coats (this is goofy, crazy, 4-day novel writing race to 50,000 words with my brother. I already won, by the way.)
-Type out Greenheart, my NaNoWriMo novel that I wrote mostly by hand
-Plan and outline my 2YN novel (an online writing course I'm doing)
February
-Start writing my 2YN novel, and get at least 40,000 words into it
March (National Novel Editing Month!)
-Finish editing The Shadow of Rebellion, my sci-fi novel
April (Script Frenzy!)
-Finish writing my screenplay "The Twin Confessions of Melody & Harmony"
-Write a steampunk short film script (yes, this ties in with Adventure #3 above!)
May
-Finish my 2YN novel (it's a young adult novel, so it'll probably end up around 75-90,000 words)
I haven't decided what my writing goals will be from June forward, because I may have new story ideas by then.
I make goals like this and write them down so that I'll have something to work toward, and when I come to the end of the year, I can look back and see how far I've come. It's both a motivator and an encouragement.
What are some of the big, fun, and scary adventures that you will have in the year 2011?
It is that time of year again! I've been working on my list of Big, Fun, Scary Adventures for 2011. (These are akin to New Year's Resolutions, but Bigger, Funner, and Scarier... and more Adventurous!) Last year, I had these four:
1. Attend my first writers conference
Last March, I went all the way down to Florida for the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I had a great experience and learned a lot. You can read my summary of the trip HERE.
2. Get my driver's license
I completed this one just in time! Just a few days after Christmas, I passed my driving exam and got my license. Unfortunately, I don't have a car, so it doesn't help me much.
3. Write a song every month
This is the one goal that kind of flopped. I wrote lots of pieces and parts of songs, but I didn't finish any of them. Oh well.
4. Start a photography blog
I did start a photography blog, which you can visit HERE.
My list of Adventures for 2011:
1. Write 250,000 words
2. Set up an Etsy shop and sell stuff
3. Make a short film with my brother
4. Go to college
5. Cut my hair
Every single one of those goals is Big, Fun, and Scary. At least, for me.
The first one, about writing all those words, may best be broken down into monthly goals. So I started a list of writing goals from January through May:
January
-Write Nanooks in Trench Coats (this is goofy, crazy, 4-day novel writing race to 50,000 words with my brother. I already won, by the way.)
-Type out Greenheart, my NaNoWriMo novel that I wrote mostly by hand
-Plan and outline my 2YN novel (an online writing course I'm doing)
February
-Start writing my 2YN novel, and get at least 40,000 words into it
March (National Novel Editing Month!)
-Finish editing The Shadow of Rebellion, my sci-fi novel
April (Script Frenzy!)
-Finish writing my screenplay "The Twin Confessions of Melody & Harmony"
-Write a steampunk short film script (yes, this ties in with Adventure #3 above!)
May
-Finish my 2YN novel (it's a young adult novel, so it'll probably end up around 75-90,000 words)
I haven't decided what my writing goals will be from June forward, because I may have new story ideas by then.
I make goals like this and write them down so that I'll have something to work toward, and when I come to the end of the year, I can look back and see how far I've come. It's both a motivator and an encouragement.
What are some of the big, fun, and scary adventures that you will have in the year 2011?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Good News
My computer is fixed! Yay! Hopefully I can do some more blogging now that I have it back.
Other news:
- I finally bought myself a recurve bow, and I'll be competing in the Renaissance Festival as well as the 4-H State Shoot in September! It's much harder to pull back than the 4-H bows I used, but I love it.
- We brought my younger brother to college about a week ago. It's weird to have him gone, but it sounds like he's having a great time.
- I've been starting to apply to colleges. Yes, me. I've been realizing lately that I do indeed want to go to college, especially now that my brother is away at college. :) More on this in the coming weeks...
- Next Sunday is my Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary party, and right afterwards we have to race to the State Fairgrounds for our 4-H judging. (I'm going to be performing my piano solo, and I'm rather nervous)
- Finally, I'm thinking about revamping my blog(s). This will probably take some time for me to get straightened out, but I'm brainstorming for a better title (Evergreena's Journal just doesn't cut it anymore), and I'm thinking about making the focus more clear. I'm also thinking about combining my photography blog with this one. These are all just random thoughts for now, but keep an eye out for changes in the future.
Other news:
- I finally bought myself a recurve bow, and I'll be competing in the Renaissance Festival as well as the 4-H State Shoot in September! It's much harder to pull back than the 4-H bows I used, but I love it.
- We brought my younger brother to college about a week ago. It's weird to have him gone, but it sounds like he's having a great time.
- I've been starting to apply to colleges. Yes, me. I've been realizing lately that I do indeed want to go to college, especially now that my brother is away at college. :) More on this in the coming weeks...
- Next Sunday is my Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary party, and right afterwards we have to race to the State Fairgrounds for our 4-H judging. (I'm going to be performing my piano solo, and I'm rather nervous)
- Finally, I'm thinking about revamping my blog(s). This will probably take some time for me to get straightened out, but I'm brainstorming for a better title (Evergreena's Journal just doesn't cut it anymore), and I'm thinking about making the focus more clear. I'm also thinking about combining my photography blog with this one. These are all just random thoughts for now, but keep an eye out for changes in the future.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Before I die...
Aaah! I realize that I've REALLY been neglecting my blogs! My life is always so busy in the spring. Here's a quick post of the things I want to do before I die.
This first list is from way back in 2008:
1. Someday, I want to make a movie.
2. Someday, I want to go body flying.
3. Someday, I want to go to Antarctica.
4. Someday, I want to go to college and see what they know.
5. Someday, I want to go on a missions trip.
6. Someday, I want to join a writing group.
7. Someday, I want to go sailing on an old-fashioned ship.
8. Someday, I want to build a treehouse.
9. Someday, I want to go downhill skiing.
10. Someday, I want to memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Someday, I want to read through the entire encyclopedia.
12. Someday, I want to learn how to sword-fight.
It was fun to go back and look at my dreams from two years ago. Some of these things are exactly the same on the list I wrote today. It's freaky. Without having seen this list for two years, I used some of the same wording! And a few of these things mysteriously dropped off the new list. (I guess I just forget them in some cases, and in the case of the movie and sword-fighting, I've done that somewhat already!)
The new list:
1. Build a treehouse.
2. Finish reading the encyclopedia.
3. Get published.
4. Visit the South Pole Station (or McMurdo Station) in Antarctica.
5. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
6. Go winter camping in the Boundary Waters.
7. See the migrating raptors at Hawk Ridge in Duluth.
8. Go to college and see what they know.
9. Take a road trip from Alaska to Argentina.
10. Memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Learn Quenya. (I've started already)
12. Run through the hills of Austria while singing. :)
13. Gallop bareback on the seashore.
14. Get my driver's license.
15. Sail on a tall ship on open seas.
16. Write 50,000 words in 24 hours. (The most I've done is 12,000)
17. Go on a missions trip.
18. Start a trend. :)
Not necessarily in that order! So, what do YOU want to do before you die?
This first list is from way back in 2008:
1. Someday, I want to make a movie.
2. Someday, I want to go body flying.
3. Someday, I want to go to Antarctica.
4. Someday, I want to go to college and see what they know.
5. Someday, I want to go on a missions trip.
6. Someday, I want to join a writing group.
7. Someday, I want to go sailing on an old-fashioned ship.
8. Someday, I want to build a treehouse.
9. Someday, I want to go downhill skiing.
10. Someday, I want to memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Someday, I want to read through the entire encyclopedia.
12. Someday, I want to learn how to sword-fight.
It was fun to go back and look at my dreams from two years ago. Some of these things are exactly the same on the list I wrote today. It's freaky. Without having seen this list for two years, I used some of the same wording! And a few of these things mysteriously dropped off the new list. (I guess I just forget them in some cases, and in the case of the movie and sword-fighting, I've done that somewhat already!)
The new list:
1. Build a treehouse.
2. Finish reading the encyclopedia.
3. Get published.
4. Visit the South Pole Station (or McMurdo Station) in Antarctica.
5. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
6. Go winter camping in the Boundary Waters.
7. See the migrating raptors at Hawk Ridge in Duluth.
8. Go to college and see what they know.
9. Take a road trip from Alaska to Argentina.
10. Memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Learn Quenya. (I've started already)
12. Run through the hills of Austria while singing. :)
13. Gallop bareback on the seashore.
14. Get my driver's license.
15. Sail on a tall ship on open seas.
16. Write 50,000 words in 24 hours. (The most I've done is 12,000)
17. Go on a missions trip.
18. Start a trend. :)
Not necessarily in that order! So, what do YOU want to do before you die?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I'm Editing Right Now
You can read last year's post about it here. Last year I failed. I didn't make it to the goal of 50 hours, even though I did make quite a bit of progress in my plot. This year I'm working on The Shadow of Rebellion 2-4 hours every day.
Anyway, I should get back to editing now. I just thought I'd let you all know what I'm up to.
Cheerio!
Friday, January 8, 2010
My 2010 Reading List
Last year I read 36 books, from hilarious graphic novels (Rapunzel's Revenge) to non-fiction (Self-Editing for Fiction Writers) to awesome fantasy (Princess Academy, All My Holy Mountain and Curse of the Spider King, to name just a few).
Most of the books I read were children's books, with a few YA and one or two books from the adult section. I've decided that IN GENERAL, children's books are all-around best. They're mostly clean, vivid, fun, and full of action.
Here's the whole list from last year, in the order that I read them:
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (5 books)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
"Hook" novelization by Terry Brooks
Land of Elyon series by Patrik Carmen (3 books)
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (read it twice)
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
The Restorer books by Sharon Hink (3 books)
IronHeart by Victoria Kasten
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis (audiobook)
All My Holy Mountain by L.B. Graham
The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
The Candlestone by Bryan Davis (audiobook)
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Operation: Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (audiobook)
On the Run series by Gordon Korman (6 books)
Auralia's Colors by Jeffery Overstreet
Chosen by Ted Dekker
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper
Night Flying by Rita Murphy
These are just the books I read cover-to-cover, not including unfinished books.
And here's my tentative reading list for 2010:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (Re-read)
Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enright (re-read)
The Melendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright
The Seems by John Hulme and Michael Wexler
Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson
100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (re-read)
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (re-read)
The Simarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson
The Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen (she goes to my uncle's church)
Enna Burning and River Secrets by Shannon Hale
And I'd like to finish reading:
The Bones of Makaidos by Bryan Davis
Getting into Character by Brandilyn Collins
The Swords of the Six by Scott Appleton
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas
Volume A of the World Book Encyclopedia
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, my pastor.
I will probably pick up more books along the way, but these are the ones that have caught my attention. I may post reviews for some of them, too. Which ones have you read?
Cheerio!
Most of the books I read were children's books, with a few YA and one or two books from the adult section. I've decided that IN GENERAL, children's books are all-around best. They're mostly clean, vivid, fun, and full of action.
Here's the whole list from last year, in the order that I read them:
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (5 books)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
"Hook" novelization by Terry Brooks
Land of Elyon series by Patrik Carmen (3 books)
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (read it twice)
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
The Restorer books by Sharon Hink (3 books)
IronHeart by Victoria Kasten
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis (audiobook)
All My Holy Mountain by L.B. Graham
The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
The Candlestone by Bryan Davis (audiobook)
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Operation: Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (audiobook)
On the Run series by Gordon Korman (6 books)
Auralia's Colors by Jeffery Overstreet
Chosen by Ted Dekker
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper
Night Flying by Rita Murphy
These are just the books I read cover-to-cover, not including unfinished books.
And here's my tentative reading list for 2010:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (Re-read)
Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enright (re-read)
The Melendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright
The Seems by John Hulme and Michael Wexler
Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson
100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (re-read)
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (re-read)
The Simarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson
The Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen (she goes to my uncle's church)
Enna Burning and River Secrets by Shannon Hale
And I'd like to finish reading:
The Bones of Makaidos by Bryan Davis
Getting into Character by Brandilyn Collins
The Swords of the Six by Scott Appleton
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas
Volume A of the World Book Encyclopedia
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, my pastor.
I will probably pick up more books along the way, but these are the ones that have caught my attention. I may post reviews for some of them, too. Which ones have you read?
Cheerio!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Hello, New Decade!
My 50th post, and the first of the year 2010! It's also the beginning of a new decade! Huzzah!
I'm looking both behind and ahead. 2009 was a pretty good year, even though I didn't accomplish many of my original goals. Let's review my "Big, Fun, Scary Adventures" list from the beginning of last year...
1. Read the encyclopedia
2. Build a treehouse
3. Edit my novel
4. Memorize Fighter Verses
5. Finish geometry
6. Get a driver's license
7. Start a card-making/altered book business
So... The only thing on my list that I actually accomplished was number 5= I did finish geometry. *joy upon joy*
However, I did memorize most of the fighter verses for 2009, and I read half a volume of letter "A" of the encyclopedia. And I did edit some of my novel, just not all of it.
Even though I didn't really finish all my goals, I did have a few unexpected highlights. For example:
-I graduated from high school
-My family drove down to the Grand Canyon on an epic road trip
-We made an award-winning movie
-I took first place in archery
-I wrote another novel, this time by hand.
And now, my goals for 2010, also known as Big, Fun, Scary Adventures!
1. Attend my first writers conference!
I am all signed up for the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I'm excited and nervous about it. My mom and I are going together, and I'll be doing the Teen Track with Bryan Davis, the author of the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series. I encourage any of you who are interested in writing to come! I don't think it's too late to sign up.
2. Get my driver's license!
I've been putting this off for too long.
3. Write at least one song every month!
Ever since I got my keyboard, my interest in songwriting has grown, and now I've recorded a few short pieces. If I can figure out how to post them, I will.
4. Start a photography blog!
This is a last-minute idea I got from Hannah. I'm not yet sure what form my new blog will take, but I love photography, and she has inspired me to step out and try something new. I'll let you know more as this gets started up.
So these are my goals, my dreams, my adventures for the year 2010. I continually dedicate my life to Jesus my Savior, and I give all the glory to him. Soli Deo Gloria!
In honor of all my blog followers, I'm giving away this award to all of you. The "Good Times" Award! I made it especially for you wonderful people.
I'm looking both behind and ahead. 2009 was a pretty good year, even though I didn't accomplish many of my original goals. Let's review my "Big, Fun, Scary Adventures" list from the beginning of last year...
1. Read the encyclopedia
2. Build a treehouse
3. Edit my novel
4. Memorize Fighter Verses
5. Finish geometry
6. Get a driver's license
7. Start a card-making/altered book business
So... The only thing on my list that I actually accomplished was number 5= I did finish geometry. *joy upon joy*
However, I did memorize most of the fighter verses for 2009, and I read half a volume of letter "A" of the encyclopedia. And I did edit some of my novel, just not all of it.
Even though I didn't really finish all my goals, I did have a few unexpected highlights. For example:
-I graduated from high school
-My family drove down to the Grand Canyon on an epic road trip
-We made an award-winning movie
-I took first place in archery
-I wrote another novel, this time by hand.
And now, my goals for 2010, also known as Big, Fun, Scary Adventures!
1. Attend my first writers conference!
I am all signed up for the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I'm excited and nervous about it. My mom and I are going together, and I'll be doing the Teen Track with Bryan Davis, the author of the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series. I encourage any of you who are interested in writing to come! I don't think it's too late to sign up.
2. Get my driver's license!
I've been putting this off for too long.
3. Write at least one song every month!
Ever since I got my keyboard, my interest in songwriting has grown, and now I've recorded a few short pieces. If I can figure out how to post them, I will.
4. Start a photography blog!
This is a last-minute idea I got from Hannah. I'm not yet sure what form my new blog will take, but I love photography, and she has inspired me to step out and try something new. I'll let you know more as this gets started up.
So these are my goals, my dreams, my adventures for the year 2010. I continually dedicate my life to Jesus my Savior, and I give all the glory to him. Soli Deo Gloria!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
County Fair Project #2- Photography
I turned in all my open class pictures today. *Gulp* It was a lot of work to select, print, mat, and enter all 29 photographs. And the fair registration website wasn't working right, so I had to fill out almost all the entry labels at the fairgrounds! But it was worth it, because I love it so much.
I'm only entering one picture in 4-H. It's of some seed-pods that grew by our pond. Here it is:
I'm hoping to go to the State Fair with photography this year, but there's a LOT of competition. I'll have to wait to see if I get picked. In previous years I've gone to State with performing arts (piano), self-determined (a display about writing a novel), and fine arts (a large-scale digital collage I made in Photoshop). Now I'm shooting for photography.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
More Math
I finally finished reading that horrid article about Algebra, and then I moved to Algeria.
I'd love to dive into some of my other projects (like editing my novel, building a treehouse,altered booking, making a movie, etc...) but since I'm apparently graduating this year, my mom has proclaimed that I need to finish Geometry. *gulp*
Since it is on my list of Big, Fun, Scary Adventures for 2009, I really can't complain. I just need to change the deadline from the end of the year to the end of June. Bother. It's not impossible --I only have ten lessons left-- but it means I can't do much else.
Once I finish Geometry, I'll be free to study what I'm interested in, and though my high school days will officially be over, I'll continue learning till the day I die. But not in college.
But that's another story...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Big Ideas, Big Books
Early in the year, I mentioned my big, fun, scary adventures for 2009, but now I think it's time for an update. They're all pretty big goals, and I haven't completed any of them. Yet.
Ahem.
The first one on my list is READ THE ENCYCLOPEDIA. Most people ask me, "What? Are you crazy?"
Yup.
It was really fun for the first few months. I took notes on interesting subjects that started with "A," and I Amazed my family with my Astoundingly Accurate knowledge of Articles from Aardvarks to Alfalfa. Unfortunately, then I hit Algebra. Ouch.
But I'm still working on it, and though I don't think I'll finish reading the entire set of volumes in four years, I'm optimistic that I can do it in at least twenty. Maybe twenty-five years. Fifty, max.
Meanwhile, maybe you can help me solve for a.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Script Frenzy!
The funny thing is, I wasn't planning on writing a script in April. I have no idea what I'm doing. I always thought it would be cool to do Script Frenzy, another of those crazy Office of Letters and Light programs (like NaNoWriMo, for example), but I didn't think I would do it THIS year. It just happened that I recently found out about a short film contest that Minnesota libraries are having, and I decided that I wanted to enter.
The only problem was, I didn't have a script.
So, I decided to take the leap and do Script Frenzy. I'm starting with a "practice" script, a crazy, seat-of-the-pants adventure about an 18-year-old girl who is named, strangely enough, Author Gal. *cough* I'm learning how to format a screenplay, and waiting until I have more information about the contest before I start my REAL project-- "Secrets at the Library." More on this later...
Monday, February 16, 2009
NaNoEdMo: March 1-31
But now I have a hefty rough draft waiting around--the sequel, The Shadow of Rebellion, and I know that this book will require a lot more attention... yeah. It's almost frightening to read the thing.
That's why I put "Edit my novel" on my Big, Fun, Scary Adventures list for 2009. I know it's important to learn how to self-edit, so right now I'm reading a very helpful book titled Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print, by Renni Browne and Dave King. I plan to use the checklists at the end of each chapter as I'm going through my draft in March.
This is all very new to me, but I'm eager to learn as much as I can through this project. Self-editing is one of the "courses" that I need to take in order to become a successful, published author, and I'm ready to start learning.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Big, Fun, Scary...
What are Big, Fun, Scary Adventures? It's basically the same thing as New Year's Resolutions, but it sounds more exciting. It got started on the NaNoWriMo forums, where hundreds of people post their big, fun, and scary goals for the year, support each other, and share helpful resources. I participated last year, and the adventures I accomplished were starting this blog, getting my driver's permit, and finishing biology.
So what are my adventures for this year? I was only going to have 3 things, but others came along and the list just had to get longer. Anyway, here they are:
1. READ THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
I plan to read the entire World Book encyclopedia over 4 years. That's 22 volumes, so I should read half a volume every month! I'm at "Adjective" right now. (More on this later)
2. BUILD A TREEHOUSE
I've always wanted a treehouse, and this year I'm going to build one, even if it has to be a simple platform. I've never built anything before, so I'll probably make some mistakes... but that's what makes it Big, Fun, and Scary!
3. EDIT MY NOVEL
I plan to get going on this one after I finish reading the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, one of my Christmas presents.
4. MEMORIZE FIGHTER VERSES
5. FINISH GEOMETRY
This one is awfully scary for me... *shudder* But I AM going to do it. I just need to get it over with!
6. GET MY DRIVER'S LICENSE
Even scarier! I just don't like driving, but I need to do it.
7. START A CARD-MAKING or ALTERED BOOK BUSINESS
This is a pretty recent development. I'll probably post more on this one, too.
That's it! 2009, here I come!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
On to Bigger Things...
On November 30th, at 11:58 pm, I wrote THE END. I finished the first draft of my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel with a hefty 103,396 words. Whew! It turned out to be the longest thing I've ever written in my life! So far, that is. :)
I'm going to take a break from my novel for awhile. I need to let my brain rest. I might pick it up again in January to begin editing and rewriting, because it still needs a lot of work before I let anybody read it, even my family. I skipped whole sections when I was writing it, because I knew that they needed time and effort that I was unable to provide during NaNoWriMo. I'm happy with the way my novel turned out, despite the many gaping holes and mistakes in it. I love writing.
So, now, in December, I'm going to try to get back to a few of the things that I've neglected lately, such as my altered book, schoolwork, and my blog, of course. I have a few posts waiting in the wings, and I've still got the feeling that I need to be writing, even though my novel is finished. I feel like I need to go on to bigger things, now that I have time to spare. I'll be thinking about what's next on my agenda...
Before I go, here's a picture of my novel cover, featuring my main character, Kimble Haansvoy.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Storytelling in My Blood
My biggest interest is not altering old books, but writing new ones. I have so many ideas for stories that I don't think I'll ever be able to write them all. I've participated in National Novel Writing Month for three years now, and each time I produced a first draft that was over 50,000 words long. I love writing.
My brother and I have created our own competition (just between the two of us) that we have done for two years now. It's an event we like to call "Nanooks in Pajamas," or NIP for short. It's a race to the 50,000-word mark, and whoever gets there first is the winner. We both write a novel with the same title, same main characters, and when it's over we compare them. We write about our Beanie Baby husky dogs (R. Nanook and D. Nanook), because when we were little, we played many unusual adventures with them. Last year we both finished in 6 days, and this year (with the title "Nanooks in Tuxedos") we both finished in 5 days. It's a little crazy and a ton of fun. Also, we developed writing, typing, and quick-thinking skills. Most of NIP consists of a never-ending game of 20 Questions.
I don't just write silly, typo-riddled stories. I have finished one other novel, a science-fiction/action-adventure story called The Shadow of Greed. It's my second attempt at writing a novel, and probably the best thing I ever wrote. I planned out the plot in one week, wrote the first draft in 30 days, and spent a month editing and polishing it before submitting it to Lulu.com for self-publication. If you want to know more about The Shadow of Greed and Lulu.com, check out the sidebar or click here.
My big goal is to get something published before I'm twenty-one. (I did have a poem published in a kids' creative writing magazine, but I didn't get paid for it, so that doesn't really count).
However, I don't want to just write anything and get it published. The publishing world of fiction has run amuck with ungodly, evil books, even for teens and young children. What disgusts me the most is that many of these are on the top of the bestsellers list. Some appear to be innocent and well-written stories on the surface, but underneath is an insidious pulse of anti-God and pro-evil mentality. Some lure unsuspecting readers in with engaging characters, plot, and style, but there is an ulterior motive to teach them atheism and worldly attitudes. And a few are obviously evil through and through. Sometimes I can't understand how today's children are reading such disgusting things.
So my goal is to write and publish fun, clean, exciting books for children and young adults. I want to create characters who have or learn good morals in a unique way. I will try to grab my readers' attention with a clean and well-crafted story that engages the imagination and subtly show them what a godly life might look like in an interesting setting and plot.
If this is what God is calling me to do, I will give it all my energy and with His strength, write fiction to the glory of God.
My brother and I have created our own competition (just between the two of us) that we have done for two years now. It's an event we like to call "Nanooks in Pajamas," or NIP for short. It's a race to the 50,000-word mark, and whoever gets there first is the winner. We both write a novel with the same title, same main characters, and when it's over we compare them. We write about our Beanie Baby husky dogs (R. Nanook and D. Nanook), because when we were little, we played many unusual adventures with them. Last year we both finished in 6 days, and this year (with the title "Nanooks in Tuxedos") we both finished in 5 days. It's a little crazy and a ton of fun. Also, we developed writing, typing, and quick-thinking skills. Most of NIP consists of a never-ending game of 20 Questions.
I don't just write silly, typo-riddled stories. I have finished one other novel, a science-fiction/action-adventure story called The Shadow of Greed. It's my second attempt at writing a novel, and probably the best thing I ever wrote. I planned out the plot in one week, wrote the first draft in 30 days, and spent a month editing and polishing it before submitting it to Lulu.com for self-publication. If you want to know more about The Shadow of Greed and Lulu.com, check out the sidebar or click here.
My big goal is to get something published before I'm twenty-one. (I did have a poem published in a kids' creative writing magazine, but I didn't get paid for it, so that doesn't really count).
However, I don't want to just write anything and get it published. The publishing world of fiction has run amuck with ungodly, evil books, even for teens and young children. What disgusts me the most is that many of these are on the top of the bestsellers list. Some appear to be innocent and well-written stories on the surface, but underneath is an insidious pulse of anti-God and pro-evil mentality. Some lure unsuspecting readers in with engaging characters, plot, and style, but there is an ulterior motive to teach them atheism and worldly attitudes. And a few are obviously evil through and through. Sometimes I can't understand how today's children are reading such disgusting things.
So my goal is to write and publish fun, clean, exciting books for children and young adults. I want to create characters who have or learn good morals in a unique way. I will try to grab my readers' attention with a clean and well-crafted story that engages the imagination and subtly show them what a godly life might look like in an interesting setting and plot.
If this is what God is calling me to do, I will give it all my energy and with His strength, write fiction to the glory of God.
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