(Re)designing Audrey Bluewillow

Audrey is the main character in my fantasy novel, Bluewillow. Ultimately, my dream is to create a full-length comic based on the story, but that's still a long ways off. First, I'm just focusing on the first chapter - which will be about 8 pages in comic form. I'm still in the process of designing the characters. About a year ago, I came up with this turnaround for Audrey:

While this is a fairly decent design, I've learned so much more about character design and drawing in general since then. I started doing a bunch of sketches of Audrey (along with her lovable sidekick, Corridor Green), and I realized that my previous design wasn't quite adequate to represent her character fully.

Also, I realized that I wanted her design to be more focused on circles and spirals, not straight lines like in my original turnaround drawings. So I attempted to push those aspects some more, and I came up with this:

I'll still be refining her design, but I think I'm heading in a much better direction for this particular character. I may tone down the exaggerated eyes, for one thing, but I think I have a clearer idea of what I want her to look like.

What do you think of this new direction for Audrey? Could you see her as the main character in a graphic novel or webcomic?

A sneak peek at my current project

Now that I'm on Christmas Break from school, I've returned to one of my personal projects: a short comic based on the first chapter of my fantasy novel, Bluewillow. (Read an excerpt)  I've been working on the thumbnails/layouts for each page and designing the characters. Here's a work-in-progress of one of the panels I've been working on.

(Click to view larger)

NaNoWriMo... AGAIN!

So, it's November.

You know what that means, right?

NaNoWriMo! 
(aka National Novel Writing Month)

Yup, I'm writing another novel. I don't know when I'll find the time to squeeze it in around work and college and work and more college... Yeah.

But I do have some secret weapons:

-M&Ms
-Write or Die
-Fingerless gloves
-Friends who are also writing!
-My Snowflake document 
-A NaNo playlist full of soundtrack music that fits my story
-A Pinterest pinboard full of images that make me excited to write
-My sketchbook

My novel this year is fantasy with strong elements of steampunk. It's set in Victorian London. I've been doing a lot of research in the last year or so getting ready for this, and I STILL don't feel qualified to write about a real time and place. So I'm just going to toss all my nonfiction books about Victorian London out the window and write the dang story first.

Title: Twyndyllyng

The story revolves around a young inventor named Alexander "Phoenix" Gaffney, the son of two ornithologists. He's working on a revolutionary invention that could change history forever if successful - the world's first flying machine. His only problem: ever since boyhood he has been cursed with a degenerative disease that will kill him if a cure is not found.

His mother, who gave him his mythical nickname when he was first diagnosed, raised him on fanciful stories of a powerful being called the Twyndyllyng, the magical link between humans and birds. If anyone could help him, the Twyndyllyng could. However, the Twyndyllyng has not been seen for over a century, and for Phoenix, time is running out. And if by some miracle, he can find the Twyndyllyng, he may find that she's not at all what he expected.


That's it, folks! What are YOU doing this November?

Lost in a Patch of Melancholy Wildwood

(Written while walking by the lake at my college)

Why does walking in the woods make me feel melancholy? Why do I feel sadness at the trees and birds and dirt and leaves?

The humid air can't be the reason, because I feel the same way in the fresh morning stillness and in early spring's snowy slumber.

Wild raspberries
Cattails at the lake's edge
Oaks near the sky
Wind rustling leaves all around me
Distant road noise
Ferns on my left in feathery whorls rising to my hip.
Why the bittersweet longing?
Why the deep sighs?
Why the film of water over my eyes?

Mud, packed hard beneath my shod feet.
One dead yellow leaf.
One sick red leaf, still attached to the stalk.

More ferns, an oak rising from their midst. Steadfast and older than my house.
The hill behind looms like a buried wall mossed over by time. Baby birches try to win each patch of sunlight dappled on the slope.

Crack.
I step on a gnarled twig and wish I didn't have to wear shoes. Shoes are for people who conform to society - to a city life.
I may be in St. Paul, but I'm lost in a patch of melancholy wildwood.
Well, not exactly lost - since I have yet to stray more than a few feet from the hard-packed mud path.

The breeze stirs the water into tiny ripples, dozens upon dozens of neat little lines swarming toward me on the bank. But a net of reeds stops them, surrounding my hidden spot of shade with inch-deep, still pools where a blue damselfly hovers. He comes close to see my shoe, his wings invisible until he comes to rest on a green frond. His bulbous eyes regard me even as I regard him.
Splash.
What was that? Are there fish in this little lake? The ripples grow, then diminish again.

Now a fallen tree, split lengthwise down the trunk, forgotten by the others who still stand tall, piled over with dead branches and fungi.

A board by the lakeside, covered with moss on one half. What is it from? A quarter-sized shard of bright blue plastic rests on top. The husk of a fallen wasp nest shares the clearing, as well as a diet coke bottle, missing its label.

Now I can see a giant crane across the lake, a marvel of metal and cable looming over the full crown of a mature tree in someone's backyard.
I return to the path.

Orange collars around doomed trees and the stump of one already taken. A pink flag half-buried in the sandy soil says "wetland delineation" I think.

Mud puddles in the tire tracks.

Hey! There's another path branching off. Should I take it? It goes up the hill and disappears. But my feet are tired, and the flat path I'm on goes around a bend. I can't alter course now. Onward!

A red-painted stake labeled OAK
Some questionable red-orange berries.
Stinging nettles!

I hear an animal in the ferns. Probably a chipmunk. But no! I see now that it is a gray squirrel. I should have known. The campus here is overrun with the cheeky little blighters.

With all this humidity, it smells like Como Conservatory. I can almost imagine I'm in Florida. I hear the tropical sounds of a chittering woodpecker and the sweet warble of a curious oriole. They must think I'm odd, trying to write while I walk. I stumble over a bump and stand still, hearing more birdsong mingled with the beeping sound of a vehicle backing up somewhere. A robin scolds me, for standing too close to her nest, I suppose. Very well, Mrs. Robin. I shall continue my hike.

At last I come to the place where a stream empties into the the lake, after tumbling over some rocks.

Packing peanuts and Styrofoam coffee lids? Tut-tut.

I sit down by the mini waterfall and inspect the rocks. These look man-made. Yes, I believe they are. Someone has poured concrete over the little rocks on either side of the rapids, perhaps to control erosion. The water smells brown. Crusty foam eddies up into the crevices by my feet. If I was feeling more adventurous, I'd hop across on the damp rocks to the other side. What interesting sights and smells lie over there?

But I have a bag full of sketchbooks and my Wacom tablet, so maybe that wouldn't be a wise endeavor for today.

People wade in the shallows upstream. Talking, but I cannot understand them from here. I pick out the word "slimy" and that's it.

And now I reach the end of the path. As I step out into the empty parking lot, the hot sun instantly causes my neck to prickle with sweat. Ah. The enchanted walk is over. The melancholy has evaporated. Life is back to normal.

Time for a snack.

Big, Fun, Scary Adventures

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?

Another Round of Novel Writing

Yes.
It's that time of year again. November is, after all, National Novel Writing Month.

This will be my 7th year participating in NaNoWriMo, and hopefully the 7th time I "win," ending the month with another 50,000-word novel. I'm preparing to block myself from Facebook, lock myself in my dorm room, attempt to avoid any and all distractions, and write like there's no tomorrow.

Call me crazy, but this is my favorite activity of the year. This year I'm doing something totally new: I'm trying the seat-of-the-pants approach. No outline, no extensive worldbuilding, no research. Whee!

So what am I writing? Having been thoroughly inspired by books such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Airborn, and Leviathan, I'm going all-out Steampunk!

Y'know, like this:

Or like this:

Even though I don't have an outline, I do have a general idea of where I'll be heading with the plot. Here's a short teaser for Silver Sky:

"In an imaginary world where all compasses point to the Queen's palace, an awkward, bookish young woman named Sylvianna is shocked to find that her rich family is actually made up of feuding sky pirates. She's kidnapped by the worst of them all, a man named Sean Fletcher... her long-lost father.



As she reels with this discovery, she struggles against her family history, social expectations, and her own secret desires for adventure. But eventually, she realizes that she must become what she most hates -a pirate- to stop the empire from destroying itself."

Want to join the writing fun? Head on over to the NaNoWriMo website and get yourself signed up!

Creative Activities, Contests, and the County Fair

Hey, everybody!

Summer is always a busy time for me. In the last few weeks:

-I wrote a Wild West retelling of "Rumplestiltskin" and won a writing contest! My story will be published in an ebook collection. I will give more details once it's out.

-I applied for several scholarships.

-I participated in our County Fair, winning several ribbons in photography and art. 

-I started a personal exercise program, and stuck to it (so far). My secret weapon is audio books-- I can only listen to them while I'm riding my bike, walking the dog, etc.

-I read plenty of books (currently reading Firebird, by Kathy Tyers).

-I wrote a couple thousand more words in my steampunk/fantasy novel.

-I did a digital painting for a contest hosted by the Paper Wings Podcast. You can vote for me! I would greatly appreciate it if you went to this link and clicked "like" on the sidebar. That's it. The entry with the most "likes" in each category will win a Wacom Intuos tablet. The Grand Prize of all the entries will get a live critique of their work with the hosts of the podcast, Disney artist Chris Oatley and Lora Innes, creator of the webcomic "The Dreamer," of which I'm a big fan. Voting is only open for one week!

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.

The "Aha!" Moment

I’ve been thinking a lot about short stories and short films and their structure.

They are so much harder to write than novels. You have such a short time to introduce characters and make them compelling, set up a plot of some kind, and tie it up with a resonant punch line.

I think that’s the key. It all has to build towards a powerful “punch line” of some kind. It doesn’t have to be a joke, it just has to make the audience experience an “Oh!” or “Aha!” moment.

An example: In Pixar’s awesome short film “Geri’s Game”, an old man is sitting in a park playing an intense game of chess with his alter ego. That introduces an interesting character and a humorous plot… but it all becomes memorable when the game is won- and the object of the duel is revealed. That’s the “aha!” moment.

Another example, from a short film titled “INSiDE.” 

(This paragraph contains spoilers). A man suffering from multiple personality disorder is being questioned by his doctor, who is trying to get him to claim his true name again. It builds to a noisy climax, and he finally says his name. But then the another doctor enters, and we learn the surprising truth: The first doctor was one of his figments all along. “Aha!”

The "Aha!" moment ties everything together, and makes the short story/film worth remembering. It's usually a twist on the expected, it carries some emotive punch, and it has to take place in a short amount of time (duh).

I’m currently brainstorming for a short film my family is going to make this summer. Already we’re leaning toward the epic side of things— possibly two airships, a sky pirate attack, a lost city of treasure, a mysterious device… and that’s enough fodder for an entire full-length novel! As the official scriptwriter, I’m trying to find a way to condense that into a 10-15 minute film steeped in the epic steampunk adventure feel, yet keep it short, simple, and powerful. How do I come up with that perfect “Aha!” moment? 

First, I think I have to figure out the theme or "tone" of the story (is it romantic? Wry? Mysterious? Heart-warming? Humorous? Stark?). Once we have that root theme in place, we can decide what plot elements accord with that theme, and then find a way to twist the expected resolution.

Any thoughts? I'd appreciate input, because I'm still pretty baffled by writing shorts. Anyone have any questions (or advice!) about writing short films and stories?

One last random musing: Short films are often most powerful when the story is told without a scrap of dialogue.

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?

In honor of turkeys everywhere...

I was planning to post this on Thanksgiving, but I forgot.  This is an essay that I wrote several years ago, but I thought I'd re-post it for all of my newer followers. It's a true story. Enjoy!

Meal or Menace?

First they attacked my aunt.

She was strolling down a deserted gravel road with her sister-in-law, hoping to enjoy the nature and maybe catch a glimpse of the wildlife that lives on the 200-acre farm. Neither of them knew that they were being trailed. The stalkers prowled on stealthy legs through the nearby rye field, their savage eyes never leaving the two walkers. They snaked their way through the swaying rye and at last darted in front of the startled women. With a scream my aunt and her sister-in-law turned and dashed back up the road toward the safety of the farmhouse. One of the group still pursued them, and his powerful legs kicked up a small sandstorm behind him. He only halted when they had reached my grandparents’ mailbox near the house. With a cluck of satisfaction and a rustle of feathers, he sauntered away.

Who were these attackers? Thugs? Gangsters? Robbers? No. My aunt was attacked by wild turkeys.

These once-rare birds had first been spotted the previous Thanksgiving, when we all gathered at my grandparents’ house for the traditional family feast. The turkeys lay low in the woods, only daring to make their appearance after we had filled our stomachs with one of their unlucky cousins. Nobody knows where they came from or why they suddenly appeared.

My grandma, delighted with the huge birds, adopted them as her feral pets (to join the bunnies and the deer). She dotes on them with corn and birdseed, and she worries about them when it gets cold. Plenty of hopeful hunters have come up to ask if they could hunt on the property, but my grandma won’t allow it. “No one is going to shoot them!” she says fiercely. “My poor babies! Mommy’s looking out for you!”

However, since she started feeding them, they’ve come back every day looking for more. And they’ve gotten pushy about it, too. If you don’t have any food, they chase you. If you don’t come outside, they peck at the house and peer in the kitchen window. Many times my grandma has been startled by a “peeping tom.”

The turkeys’ appearance alone can intimidate a wildcat or send a Rottweiler running off with his tail between his legs. Their heads look like they were dipped in lard, then stuck crudely on their scrawny pink necks. Most of the males have “beards” in the middle of their chests, which they puff out while they strut about, giving the impression of a pompous judge or a wealthy businessman. I don’t know why my grandma keeps feeding those fat old vultures.

Ever since that first incident with my aunt, the turkeys have chased everyone from the mailman to the meter reader. Whenever someone comes over to my grandparents’ house, my grandpa tells them, “Watch out for those turkeys.” Oh, and I would like to add some of my own advice: don’t hang around in your car too long. The bloodthirsty birds will attack your vehicle.

However, there are some advantages to having these crazy birds around. The turkeys keep away trespassers, door-to-door salespeople, and other unwelcome intruders. When I’m safe in my bed, I can sleep peacefully knowing that a rafter of wild turkeys is patrolling the block. I almost feel sorry for any prowlers out there. Almost. I have to say I would love to see those vandals who break the windows of my grandpa’s barn screaming in fear as they run from a pack of man-eating turkeys.

© Rachel H.

Sorry! I'm writing a novel at the moment! Please leave a message and I'll get back to you in December.

It's National Novel Writing Month! (aka NaNoWriMo)

So, you probably won't see much of me for awhile. I do this every year (hopefully, this will be my sixth "win"), and I absolutely love it. If you've ever considered writing a novel, you might want to check this out.

I'm writing a YA Christian fantasy novel again. The title is Greenheart, and it's the prequel to last year's novel, Bluewillow. I'm writing by hand, so I haven't had any time to type up any excerpts yet, but I'll be sure to do that... in December. :)

Here's a (rather lengthy) one-sentence summary:
A curious orphan who talks to trees learns that he is one of the Flickerfew, and struggles to master his strange talents to save his world from genetically engineered wild beasts and the evil that controls them.

At the librarians' request, I made a display about NaNoWriMo at my local library, which you can see in this picture (go ahead, you can click it if you want to):

And of course I couldn't resist making a web banner for my novel:

That's all for now, folks! See you in December!

Some Autumn Poetry

I tend to write more poetry in the spring and fall than during any other time of the year. Here are some of the songs and poems that I came up with these past couple of months.

Dancing
Let go
Spin away from the others
Let them follow
Together twirling
To the rhythm of the wind.
Pirouette with me
A whirling cyclone
Faster
Faster
Sail along the ground
Never touching it
Until...
The wind slows
     and drifts away
My friends whisper farewell
     and settle down to sleep
Only I remain
     carried by the echoes
Far from the tree
from which I fell.


Untitled
Jumbled thoughts
can steal the day
When your mind is lost
Imagination will play
But it won't get you anywhere
Until you let go
Of the thought of controlling air
And follow the flow...

chorus:
Soar with the butterflies
Through the ever-changing skies
Drop down sparks of inspiration
The world needs to catch some imagination.

A bit of fun
can banish the pain
When your heart is broken
See the sun through the rain
You can get about anywhere
If you let go
Of the thought of controlling air
And follow the flow...

When one spark finds a home
      in an open hand
When a free and roaming
      wandering band
With a shout the rising sound
      will command
A movement beyond that which you
      can imagine...

(chorus)

Follow the flow
Let the air currents hold you
The stars all aglow
Let the melody mold you

Soar with the butterflies
Through the ever-changing skies
Drop down sparks of inspiration
And the whole world will catch some
Imagination.



I wrote this last one while we were driving through Illinois farmland, and thinking about our own family's farm back home, as the soybeans were getting harvested. (I'll put some pictures of the harvest on my photo blog as soon as I get a chance)

Harvest Song
Flat, flat farmland
Stretchin' to tomorrow
The beans are gettin' combined
I know that this land is mine
The dirt is turned
The sky is clear
No rain until next week I hear
Gotta get the crops in store
I only got one field more
And I'll be ready for winter's roar.

Bits 'n' Pieces of Random Poetry

My computer is sick.
*sob*
I'm taking it in to the Apple Store this evening. Hopefully they can fix it (cheaply and quickly!)

Anyway...
I thought I'd share some of the poetry and song lyrics I've been writing lately. A lot of it is about strange topics, like Antarctica and flipping pencils. Some of these are incomplete. Some of them have tunes that I'm in the process of composing. All of them are random.

First of all, a rumination on poetry itself:

Poetry is what pours forth from your head, your heart, your hand as you sprawl on a window-seat and watch the world change colors and live, live like a sunflower and age as a stone and laugh like a toddler who has found a Daddy Longlegs in a crack in the wall, flow like clouds in a sunset or maybe it's a sunrise but it doesn't really matter, who cares, because your poetry belongs to you, not the library, not uncle, not the public unless you shout it from the rooftops in bold letters earning the right to call yourself
poet.

The Dancer
I lift my hands to the sky
Around and around I fly
My bare feet in the flowers
As my shadow cowers
But I am free,
Free, free.

My eyes are raised to the sun
As I twirl around and run
My heart soars as I leap
Though my shadow fear will keep
But I am alive
Alive, alive.

Kicking up Dust
On a summer Sunday -afternoon-
When I was only six years old
My mother sent me out to play
I went peacefully
But when I got outside
-and this was a sunny day-
I went out to the driveway...

Chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my bare feet
Kicking up dust
   as I danced in the heat
Kicking up dust
I played and had lots of fun
Kicking up dust
   and dirt and sand in the sun.

I was very dusty -it covered me-
Of course I had to have a bath
My mother sent me to the tub
I went peacefully
But when I got all dry
I dashed right back out the door
To the driveway for some more...

(Chorus)

Now that I am older -all grown up-
I know that I should not kick dust
My mother will not clean me up
I walk peacefully
But when I see a dirt road
'specially when it's sunny
I suddenly get all funny...

Final chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my shod feet
Kicking up dust
   as I dance in the heat
Kicking up dust
I play and have lots of fun
Kicking up dust
   and dirt and sand in the sun.

South Pole Dreaming
Waiting for the sun to go to sleep
As I watch with bleary eyes
I think I'll be counting sheep
For a really long time, I realize
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It'll last for months, it seems
How I love Antarctic dreams

Stars above in the velvet sky
Time to sit and wonder why?
The sun has gone on his vacation
And I'm here at the South Pole Station
Dreaming of you...
In my everlasting Antarctic dreams.

It'll be a long, cold summer without you
Cooped up in this building with no room to run
I really don't know what I'll do
I really need to see the sun
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It's lasting for centuries, it seems
How I loathe Antarctic dreams.

Pencil
I walk into the classroom
Take a seat in the back
Wish I could hide in the bathroom
But then I see the guy in a black
   t-shirt in the front row
Showing off how his pencil can fly
Around his fingers
And then I really have to try...

Flippin' it around
It hits the ground
   again and again
What's the use of being prehensile
if I can't flip a pencil?

Stickers
When you're having a bad day
and the world gets you down
I take a smiley-face sticker
And turn that frown around

Stickers, stickers everywhere
On my wall and in my hair
I gotta have those tacky little pictures
I live in a world of stickers

It's just a small piece of life
To brighten the day and cheer the night
Stickers wait in my drawer
And whenever you're feeling poor
I break out my stickers

I've got 'em for every personality
They come from every nationality
To bring some whimsicality...

Stickers, stickers everywhere

On my wall and in my hair

I gotta have those tacky little pictures

I live in a world of stickers.

Midnight

Writing songs at midnight

You prob'ly think I'm crazy, right?

But when inspiration blows in

On the evening wind

And I hear the inklings of a song

I know, here I belong.

Whispers of lyrics chime in my head

How could I think of going to bed?

Now is the time for my ink to run

And my eyes both glint with imagination

As I feel the rumblings of a song

I know, here I belong.

This is the time when the world is alive

When the bullfrogs thrum

   and the junebugs hum

   and the sound of the wind on

   the flagpole clanking

And a lonely dog across the lake

I know I was meant to make

   music tonight...

At midnight.

All poems © 2010 Rachel H. Please don't copy or re-post without permission.

Summer Reading

After another long interval between my infamous sporadic posts, I present you with my summer reading piles.

Yes, piles.

First we have my in-progress pile. These are all books that I'm currently reading. I tend to read a lot of books at once. That way, if I get tired of one book, I can put it down and pick up in the middle of another book. I'm a migratory reader.

Starting from the bottom of the pile:
The Life of the Forest, by Jack McCormick - I'm reading this non-fiction book as research for my next novel, Greenheart, which will mostly take place in a temperate rainforest. I want it to feel real, and this book is very helpful and interesting.

Digital Art Revolution, by Scott Ligon - I picked this book up because I love creating digital art with Photoshop, and I'd love to do more with it. It's got tons of weird artwork in it, but it teaches some great techniques and tricks with Photoshop.

Getting Into Character, by Brandilyn Collins - This book on creating three-dimensional characters requires a lot of thought, because each new thing presented is so unique and revolutionary. It's taking me a long time to read it, because I'm trying to fully understand each concept before I move on. I think it will definitely help my writing down the road.

Writing Fiction for Dummies, by Randy Ingermanson - The ingenious "Snowflake Guy" wrote this awesome book for writers of all ages and experience levels. Everything is laid out, clear and concise. Even though I've read almost a dozen books on writing, this one offers some questions and exercises that have made me think about my writing from a different angle. I recommend it!

The Restorer, by Sharon Hinck - I'm re-reading this one because I like it so much. An ordinary mom gets sucked into a fantasy world on the brink of war, and she's expected to become some warrior hero? What's not to like? (Besides, I think Kieran is one of the best characters of all time.)

Emma, by Jane Austen - I've seen several different movie versions of this classic story, but this is the first time I've actually read it. It took me awhile to get into it, because I just didn't like the heroine, Emma. But then I realized that you just can't take her too seriously, and I began to really enjoy it. It's a lighthearted, comedic romance story.

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel - I bought this book used at my library for about 10 cents. I knew nothing about it. It's amazing! It's an alternate version of history set at the height of airship travel, with sky pirates, mysterious flying mammals, and lots of swashbuckling adventures in the clouds. I love it so far! (I'm really starting to like the "Steampunk" genre)

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are, by Alex and Brett Harris - This is a sequel to the awesome book Do Hard Things. It's full of encouragement, ideas, and practical advice for teens who wish to break free of the low expectations placed on young people today. Teens have raised money to build wells in Africa, sailed solo around the world, made award-winning movies... what will you do? And more importantly, why are you doing it?

As soon as I finish reading all of those books, I'll move on to my to-read pile:

100 Cupboards, by N. D. Wilson

The Unicorn Chronicles book 4: The Last Hunt, by Bruce Coville

Brightly Woven, by Alexandra Bracken

Stravaganza: City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman

Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper

Heartless, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book

By Darkness Hid, by Jill Williamson (not pictured)

And that's just a fraction of the books I'd like to read. *sigh* So many books, so little time. What have you been reading? Have you read any of these books?

Also, I seem to have forgotten to announce the arrival of my free paperback copy of my novel, Bluewillow, from CreateSpace. Here's a picture:

I made the cover, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. My sister agreed to pose as my main character (I turned her hair blue in Photoshop). Sorry that my flash sorta washed things out. It looks better in person.

Now my family is reading it together in the evenings. *gasp* So many people listening to my writing at once! Aaaaahh! Panic attack!! *ahem*

That's all for now, folks!

Script Frenzy Elevator Pitch!

Check out my *first* YouTube video, featuring the plot of one of my screenplays, "Merrily!" For more info, see this post.







Ha, I just realized how dorky the preview picture is. *slaps forehead*

Diving into Script Frenzy!

Sorry I haven't posted sooner. I've been back for over a week now, but things have been so crazy!  And I now have 40 followers! Thanks, Margaret Rowena! :)

I'm right in the thick of Script Frenzy right now. It's a fun challenge to write 100 pages of a script during the month of April. I did it last year, and loved it, so this year I'm doing it again, this time with a goal of TWO screenplays! Heh. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Here's a brief summary of my two projects:

Project #1
"The Twin Confessions of Melody and Harmony"
A screenplay, teen/family (and a hint of comedy)

Melody is a friendly girl with an academic mind, a gift with people, and a love for the great outdoors...  and she's clumsy.

Harmony is a solitary girl with her own ways of doing things, usually with her computer or a paintbrush, but she's socially awkward.

They’re both stubborn, creative, competitive... and they each have their secrets.

Filmmakers. Rivals. Twins.

Project #2

"Merrily"

Another screenplay. This one's a humorous fantasy action thriller. *grin* The kind that makes you want to eat Milk Duds while watching.

Merrily is a girl with a secret. She’s on the run from the FBI and a group of maniacal killers, even though she’s completely innocent. But that’s not her secret. 

Phoenix is a boy with a secret. His adoptive father works for the FBI, and his own inventions are sometimes purchased by the government. But that's not his secret.

They can fly.

When Phoenix is sent across the country on a mission to catch Merrily, he discovers that she's a whole lot more than anyone could have imagined. Together they search for the truth, and along the way, find that they're part of a much larger plan.

Ha! I finally have a plot! Yay! *ahem*

So, what do you think?  Can you picture these two ideas as movies?

I'm Editing Right Now

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately-- I'm right in the thick of National Novel Editing Month, a.k.a. NaNoEdMo. It's inspired by NaNoWriMo, but instead of writing a novel... you edit one.

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!

My Adventures in Florida

Now that I've had a chance to finally unpack and get some sleep, here's my post about my experiences at the Florida Christian Writers Conference!

I took the Greyhound bus with my mom from Minneapolis to Ocala, Florida. 36 hours. Not fun. (If there's a next time, I'll probably take a plane, even though it's more expensive.) Anyway, when I finally got to the Lake Yale conference center, I just wanted to collapse on a bed and sleep. I'm glad we got there a day early, because then I could relax a little before the conference started. The location was beautiful, right by the lake.

The conference was amazing. Bryan Davis (who wrote Dragons in Our Midst) taught the Teen Track, and it was so much fun to interact with him and the other teens.

If I had to pick my favorite part about the conference, it would be the late-night critique sessions with the Teen Track. Each person had a chance to have their work-in-progress put up on the projector, and then the other teens would have a chance to give suggestions and ask questions. Then Bryan Davis would go through line-by-line and work with it, and helped the writer see how to improve it. These sessions were so much fun, and I learned a lot. 

Here's a picture of the entire teen track, including Sam the Hippo :)

I met so many cool people at the conference. Aside from the teen track, I met Jesse Florea (the editor of Clubhouse Magazine), talked with Torry Martin (the awesome creator of the character Wooton Bassett from Adventures in Odyssey!), and took several workshops taught by Jeff Gerke (who started the Christian Speculative Fiction publishing company Marcher Lord Press). By the end of the week, my head was swimming just trying to remember all the names of the people I'd met!

For me, the most unbelievable part of the conference was when I won the award for "Best work for a first-time conferee." At first I thought that someone had made a mistake. I was so overwhelmed. I felt like God was telling me that I'm on the right track.

After the long bus trip home, I had to sleep for a week. But the conference was such a great experience that I'd love to go again next year, even though I don't know if it would be possible. Anyway, I'm glad to be home, and I'm excited to be working on my writing projects again!

Florida Christian Writers Conference!

Yup, I'm going!

My mom and I will board a Greyhound bus at one in the morning (Tuesday), and we'll travel more than 1,500 miles to get to Ocala, Florida, where we'll rent a car and drive the rest of the way to the conference at the Lake Yale conference center. I'll be doing the Teen Track with Bryan Davis, author of the Dragons in Our Midst series and other cool books. I've never gone to a writers conference before, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm excited all the same. Here are my goals for the conference:

-First of all, to learn. I want to learn as much as I can about the craft of writing and editing, so I can improve my craft and better prepare my manuscripts for publication.

-To step out of my comfort zone and meet other writers. I'm not a networker, and talking to people in person has always been hard for me, but I want to overcome that. I'm looking forward to the teen critique sessions, where we can interact and help each another while working on our manuscripts.

-To explore the publishing world, which I know almost nothing about so far. I'm not ready to submit query letters, or anything like that yet, but I want to keep my eyes and ears open and see how the industry works, and which publishers might be a good choice for me in the future.

While I'm at the conference, my mom will spend a relaxing time resting and scrapbooking.  :)

It would be great if you could pray for me this week. I'd really appreciate it. Please pray for safe travel both ways, health for me and my mom, that this conference would be a positive experience, and that I would not be afraid to approach people and make friends.

I've got to go pack now! I'll be back on Monday the 8th.