I'm done!

I'm FINISHED with my first ever novel! Happy dance!
Ok, so this was only my short, fast draft and not the best, but I'll edit it a lot next year. I'm leaving tomorrow for a very long holiday and I'm kinda glad to leave this behind! Yay! My head is so sick of words right now :)

thanks SO MUCH to all of you who encouraged me and went on this 'adventure' with me :) But most of all praise to the Lord! Who has given me everything, including the strength I needed to finish this.

If God is so good, why does He let bad things happen?

One of the issues I'm dealing with (and trying to answer) in my novel is the age-old question "if God is so good, why does He let bad things happen?" I've read up on this subject, but this video of Voddie Bauchum speaking on the subject is by far the most powerful answer I've come across. When you have five minutes, watch this and be blown away.

Have a great week!

A Few Sweet Things

-“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” - Anne Lamott. (THIS quote.)


<- this song. (Shout out, Augustine of Hippo!) I've been listening to it all week and I think it's one of the best of the album. Although this is a close second.

- Also, I now have a widget to show my word count on the left at the top of this blog, so I won't be writing it manually on here anymore.

Have a good day!

Writer's Block

Ah! It's inevitable when writing a book. Writer's block. And I have it right now.
That may or may not be the reason why this post is so short.

But un/fortunately I am in the middle of NaNoWriMo, so I have to just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing. Through the cliche-ridden prose. Through the choppy dialogue.
Sometime I wonder "What do I even have to write about?" or "Do I really have what it takes to be a writer?" And I don't have an answer to those questions. You know what I found the secret is?: Write anyway.
Somedays the only reason I sit down at my computer and type my story is to achieve my desired word count for the day.
But I write anyway.
Somedays I'd rather do schoolwork than write my novel.
But I write anyway.
It took me a l-o-n-g time to learn this lesson. I've been writing for exactly half my life, and I only learnt this in the last year. So keep going, writers, the beginning is always the hardest.

Word count: 33,557
goal: 50,000
Days left: 22

NaNoWriMo

This is a blog about writers. It is November. I'm pretty sure you knew what was coming.
November is synonymous with NaNoWriMo, and guess what month it is! The month of stress! The month of writing furiously, eyes only kept open with toothpicks and living on either too little food (because you don't want to get up from your notebook), or too much food (because you want to be anywhere but your notebook). Ah, NaNoWriMo.
I found out about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, in case you didn't know) about two years ago, and I fell in love with the idea...but didn't participate because it sounded super scary and stressful. So stressful that I am alliterating here! I wasn't planning on participating this year, but I found myself yesterday- yes! Yesterday! The day before NaNo!- clicking the 'sign up' button.

But here's the thing.

I'm not your average participant. Most participants sign up and start their story on the first day. I started my novel in March of 2010 and I've been working on it, little by little, since then. But what's the harm of joining? I've got a graph to tell me my word count stats, I get to 'meet' a bunch of other writers on the boards, and I get to be apart of a secret internet club. Plus, hey, it's free and I like free stuff.
I have no doubt that this will be super stressful. There is nothing else I'd like to do but drop everything and finish my very first book, but I have to also figure out how to fit a term of school into four weeks, and get ready for a big trip soon. (OK, complaint finished.) Wish me luck!

Word count: 27,261
goal: 50,000
Days left: 29


Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? What was the biggest goal you've ever set for yourself? (In life, not just NaNo)

Rules of a Writer: Be Observant

isn't it interesting? Always be observant!

Are You a Word Nerd?

Every writer has a hidden nerd inside that secretly rejoices when they hear a rightly-placed word and dies a little when they come across someone who wR!tes lyK di$. I myself am a word nerd. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the snobby kind of person who will correct your grammar (out loud :) ) or use ambiguous words while I'm speaking, and I'm not the best at spelling, but I have a fetish for words. Some girls collect shoes or sunglasses, this girl collects words ;)
This is why I've been obsessed lately with a new website called Word Dynamo. It's a branch of the website Dictionary.com (you know, the one that makes English homework much easier) and it's one of the best things I've found. You sign up and choose your grade. The site then takes you to the beginning level of that grade and you have to take vocabulary quizzes to unlock the next levels. As you play, your vocabulary grows and a whole lot of fun words are added to your list. You can choose categories like Latin Roots, obscure words, and lingo for different situations. There are also different quizzes on topics and subjects like Art, Science, Math, and a few languages. I love this nerdy site, two thumbs up.

What about you? Are you a word nerd?

Beep...beep...beep...beeeeeeeeeeep..."I think we lost her, doctor!"

Hey readers.
Yes, I am alive! I write this shamefully,though, because it is officially two weeks past I when I said I'd blog next. At first I forgot, and then I procrastinated for the longest time. But since this late blogging thing is becoming quite a habit, I'm not going to apologize. Instead I'm going to make up a word, like blorry (the conglomerate of 'sorry' and 'blog'. Original, I know.) so you will all know when I come back after neglecting this darling little blog. I figure this will save a lot of time in the future, as well as right now.

Blorry, readers!

but I'm back (for the time being) and in my prolonged absence, I have taken pictures of Walden which I hope to share with all of you in the next week!

What have you been doing in your spare time lately?

P.S. I'm also trying to finish my novel by the end of November. I'm only halfway through! Eeps!

Hiatus

source: unknown

Hey lovely readers!
I'm going away tomorrow with some friends from church, and I'll only be back late next week. I'm so excited for a long road trip, badminton, games, chilling out, as well as getting a good chunk of reading time in (my order for The Book Thief just got in today!)
Well, I thought you should know that I'm not disappearing from the blogging world...just taking a break :)
Have a good week, friends! God bless.

Wishlist

Now again for a bookish post...
What do you use to keep your place in a book? I usually use scraps of paper or a funky magnet that my best friend bought me. (Lately, though, I've been using flashcards from school- makes me feel less guilty for getting lost in the world of Sense and Sensibility while I have a mountain of schoolwork on my desk!) This book hook would be the perfect way to keep your place, as well as keeping the spine of a book healthy.This one is definitely going on my Christmas wishlist.
(You can buy the book hook here. Found via A Cup of Jo)

National Victim's Rights Week

Alright, so I'm a day late in this, but I wanted to share this with you:
National Victim's Rights Week


"According to the South African National Calendar, September 15 through September 19 (Thursday through Monday) is “Victim's Rights Week.” I'm unsure how much media attention this will attract, but this is a great time to bring attention to the silent and forgotten VICTIMS of abortion, as well as the RIGHT TO LIFE that is denied to this group of human beings.

With this in mind, you are invited to participate in a “Victim's Rights Week Social Media Campaign” during this time. Social media, although not the only avenue for raising awareness about abortion, is a strategic one due to the large number of people active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, etc." - National Victim's Rights Social Media Campaign, hosted by Abort97

The link for the event page is https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200460950019933
and I encourage you all to participate. I've already seen the effects that it's had on people's pages, friends commenting on the abortion pictures and thoughtful updates. Even if you are not in South Africa, please feel free to join.

Stand up for life.
ABORT97. Expose it. End it.

You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

I am honored to present to you the South African summer of 2011. She is beautiful this year, isn't she, ladies and gentlemen?

(photo from my favorite tree in my front yard that is blossoming.)
I'm so glad it's warming up! I love waking up to the early-morning heat and planning my days that seem to be extended by the sunshine. It makes the world a happier place and it's the first time all year that I've been able to feel my toes! Summer is my favorite season, the season for swimming, water fights, sun-streaked hair and a few other things. Here's a few of my summer faves:
The incessant sunshine.
Sunshine spills itself everywhere, and it's the kind that I really don't mind cleaning up.
Summer music
I have a few more chances to put together the perfect playlist that will forever remind me of Summer 2011. Beach Boys, Mumford & Sons, Owl City, and Jon Foreman? Don't mind if I do...
Summer reading lists
More sunshine equals more reading time, right?

(click any of the above photos to enlarge)
What are you doing this summer? What's on your summer playlist right now?

Laziness

Every. single. time.

I just had to share this with you. It made me laugh so hard because it's so true of me :) Hope your week is going well, readers!

C.S. Lewis’s Tips on Writing

Today I came across this amazing post from the blog The Unicorn Triumphant that talks about C.S. Lewis's advice on writing. I read it twice through. Such pitch-perfect and practical advice! Below are my favorite points that C.S. Lewis gave to a seventh grader:

(1) Turn off the Radio.

(2) Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.

(3) Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.

(4) Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about…)

(6) When you give up a bit of work don’t (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think my best, is the re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier.

(8) Be sure you know the meaning (or meanings) of every word you use.’

I'm thinking of getting it printed up all fancy and hanging it up in Walden! Read the rest of the post here where C.S. Lewis gives advice to a young girl and a lady as well as the seventh grader I mentioned above. He's got some gems.

I couldn't resist sharing this music video that I came across from the blog Musings and Music (<---check it out) Now I'm kinda obsessed, the words "Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance, I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down..." are stuck in my head. WARNING: You may cry like an infant while watching this. Get them tissues.