Weekly Wrap-Up #11

Week 2 of NaNoWriMo has happened, and my word count is sitting at 16,055. I made some very taxing mistakes this past week.

1. I watched “The Voice” on Monday night. I ditched my writing [I had only written a few hundred words] to go watch my favorite TV show. That was the main reason I got behind on my word count. Needless to say, I didn’t watch it on Tuesday or Wednesday because I decided to be disciplined.
2. I acquired writer’s block. I’m not using this as an excuse. But this week, my story seemed less fun and more work. My ideas were not working and I lost interest. I made a Pinterest board about my novel, though, to get inspiration, and one image actually inspired a scene! So that’s good.
3. On Thursday and Friday I wrote virtually nothing. On Thursday I. Just. Didn’t. Write. And on Friday, I watched “Catching Fire” with my mom because MOCKINGJAY P.1 COMES OUT NEXT WEEK!!! sorry; I’ll be calm now.
4. If you read my post earlier, “A Rant,” you know that my computer shut down this morning and I couldn’t find my flash drive and then I did find it and I hate my computer. >:( I missed at least an hour of writing time because my computer shut down, I was looking for my flash drive, and I was sulking. So yeah. That sucked.

But that is all in the past. I am determined to get to 20,000 words today. Because if I don’t, I will be SO BEHIND YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. ahem. [Does anyone know how to change the size and color of the text in a post?]

Did I mention: I updated my blog, as you can see. Unless you’re blind or reading this on your email. [I feel like bloggers are the only ones who check their email any more. All my friends just text and stuff, while I’m like, oh, what’s your email? and they give me “the look.” I don’t understand why people don’t email. It’s like a text, but easier to send and you can add long stuff.] But yeah, I got an upgrade for it [Thanks, Mom and Dad!] to make it prettier. I assume I can change the size and color of the text in a post but I DON’T KNOW HOW; SOMEONE HELP ME!

I am spastic this morning right now. See? I even forgot that it is technically the afternoon.

This week I will have three excerpts. They are all ships, OTPs, whatev.

He cracked a smile, and before I could take another breath, he swept me off my feet and kissed me, his breath hot on my lips.

“I love you,” Dean murmured into my mouth.

“Good,” I said. “I hate love triangles.”

He laughed lightly and kissed me again. We held each other close. Moonlight glinted off his pale face.

The thoughts that had run through my head only minutes before dissipated. But Dean’s muscles were still taught against my torso, like he was nervous. He leaned out of the kiss and I bit my lip. His beautiful blue eyes were set on me, only me.

I pulled him closer to me, until his forehead was resting on mine.

“Tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me what you’re not saying.”

There was something unsaid, a dark secret. There was more to the story than his supposed commitment issues. I saw it on his eyes. They were jaded and sorrowful, brimming with regret and secrets.

Dean worked his jaw nervously.

“I—I have to go,” he said suddenly.

“No,” I insisted. “Tell me.”

He pushed away from me. “You don’t deserve a boy like me, Cait; I don’t want to hurt you.”

Then he walked off, leaving me on the steps.

That is the Cait x Dean ship.

“Yeah,” Belle agreed. “You aren’t worth her time.”

Amanda turned around in her seat in the front. “But I know someone who is,” she said suggestively and wiggled her eyebrows. So someone else had noticed…

I grinned at Amanda and Belle and Jaz just looked confusingly back and forth between us.

“Wow, you’re clueless,” I said in exasperation, sighing. “Since my relationship didn’t work out, let me be a matchmaker.”

They were already seated next to each other. All it took was one little shove of Belle, who was closest to me, and they collided.

“Now, kiss,” I commanded. “C’mon, make the car steamy.”

Amanda giggled.

And they kissed. Belle made the first move, of course. But Jaz kissed her back. Then I looked away to give them some privacy. Amanda was practically dying of laughter.

“Finally!” she exclaimed. “I thought it would never happen. Except now Kai’s gonna be pissed off.”

“Oh, fuck,” Belle cursed. “I thought he knew Jaz was lesbian.”

I slapped my face. “Darling,” I said gently, “he’s trying to hit on you.”

We all erupted into giggles, and Jaz kissed Belle again. They were really adorable together. And maybe now the bickering would stop.

I realized I was now destined to be a third wheel. Crap.

[Sorry about the language. It is YA, after all.]

That is Belle x Jaz.

“Girl! If he’s making you like this, you need to stop caring about him so much. Oh, Goddammit, Kai wants to chat. Gotta go, sweetie. Just remember that you’re amazing.”

“I will,” I replied, smiling. “And tell that effing Kai ‘hi’ for me.”

Belle grinned, and the video chat ended. I knew she liked Kai, but he didn’t give her any trouble like Dean did for me. Kai was perfectly sweet and simple. We still analyzed him, though.

---

“Really?” Belle screeched. “We’re gonna freeze to death because it looks pretty?” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “I’m going inside.”

“While you’re in there,” Kai called after her, “will you take the trash?”

“Why don’t you?” she snarled before opening the Starbucks doors and disappearing inside.

Kai looked hurt as he gazed after her, as if in a trance. “Trash run!” He collected the trash and ran after Belle.

And that was Belle x Kai.

Which ship is your favorite? Tell me in the comments below.

My Writing Process, Procrastination, and Perseverence

At first this post was just going to be about my process, but I decided that during the process, I procrastinate, and end up persevering. I want to share with you how ideas come to me, when I write, how I get through the dreaded WB (Writer’s Block), and other things like that. Let’s get started!

So I usually start writing at night before I go to bed. I’ll turn on my computer, and if it’s a school night, I will most likely check my email and then blog. Then I will open up Microsoft Word, and decide to write my novel, usually thinking of a crazy word goal for the end of the night (i.e., 1,000 words). I have about one hour before I go to bed, after homework and such, so for me, 1,000 words is an unrealistic word goal. Some of you may be thinking, It’s only a thousand words. I can get that done in less than an hour! And I probably could, too, if the internet didn’t exist. Unfortunately/fortunately, the World Wide Web exists, and it literally hates me.

I will decide to write. Then I will, against my will, go on the internet and fool around on it for twenty-odd minutes, before realizing that I am procrastinating and I need to write NOW. Discipline is very important for a writer. And unless you’re in a writing class with required homework, it is going to be hard to discipline yourself. To help all of you writers out, here are some ways I get myself to write, and some ways I thought of that I don’t use but might work for you.

1. Set a word goal for the end of the night or day or week or month or whatever. I do this a lot. I’ll say, okay, Chloe, get from 54, 356 words to 54, 765 words by the end of the night or something like that. Or a goal for the end of the week. Stick to your goal.
2. Give yourself a reward. For example, give yourself a little chocolate if you meet your word count goal. Something like that.
3. NaNoWriMoing. I know, NaNoWriMo only happens three months per year. But you can make your own NaNo! Start on the first of a month, and just write, like you do for regular NaNo. Then make a word document with your word count goal, how many words you wrote that day, and then use a calculator to figure out how many words you have to write per day to reach your word goal!

Next, I have decided to talk about distractions when you try to write. We all get distracted, may it be email or texting or Twitter–whatever. Here are some ways to not get sidetracked.

• Social media and/or email: Turn off your internet!
• Your phone: Put it in another room and hope you’re too lazy to go and get it. Or too dedicated. [I have a friend that does this to get her homework done, and it works for her.]
• A really good book: Put it out of your sight.
• Music from radio/iPod/etc.: Turn it down, turn it off, or unplug it.

I understand if you don’t want to disconnect from your internet for research reasons, so here’s another idea: Email/text/direct message/etc. that you cannot be contacted between the times a and b. Then you don’t have to worry about getting messages. If you get email updates from blogs like I do, just save them for later as a reward.

Writer’s block. WB, as I will be calling it, is a virus. A virus that gets only writers, and we do not know how it is transmitted, Some symptoms are, but are not limited to, a lessened creativity flow, mind block, staring at computer screen/paper, or a wandering mind while attempting to write. The thing about WB is this: It can be beaten. But only if you try really hard. If you’re stuck, just push through. Even if it’s the crappiest paragraph you’ve ever written, just build the bridge between the good writing and where you want it to go.

I find it helpful to just double-enter and start the next exciting scene. You know in books they might enter it multiple times, and in that part, time passes? Do that. Then, maybe later, add in a scene to string them together, or leave it as is.

So concludes Part 1 of this lovely piece of blogging. Stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon!

How I Know I’m Not Normal (If Normal Exists)

Hey peoples. I know this is my second post today, but hang tight, ‘kay? I have writer’s block, my brain’s a little fried, and I’m back to living in a house. I’m a little messed up!

On the bus back from camp, everyone (except someone–guess who) was writing down their Instagram and Kik usernames for each other. And guess what I was writing down? A list of books to read from my counselor. Go bookworms! It was a little depressing, because I do not have Instagram or Kik, but also kind of cool to be able to identify myself as a book lover. Like, over-the-top-with-no-social-media-life booklover.

When I was packing, I could barely zip my bag because of two things: a book (Stargirl) and my binder full of paper to write. Whoop whoop! That’s a writer and reader for you.

Does anyone else have this problem? Tell me in the comments below!