Friday, August 26, 2011

Slacker!!

Yes, this week was Back to Campus week for me.  I have to tell you I have successfully completed my first week back to college.  It was interesting to say the least, I am taking two really awesome classes and three other so-so classes.  But what all this means is that I have been SLACKING on my writing.  Also I have been slacking on my posts!  Oh No!  Anyways now that my schedule is organized and down to a new rhythm I will be picking back up my lucky pen, and I will be back too it!  Thank you very much for those of you that have been patient with me during this last week.  If you had been there with me you would know how hectic it has been! 

So I would like to introduce you to my main character.  Emory meet my followers, Followers meet Emory.  There you have it the big reveal!  My main characters name is Emory!  I will be back tomorrow!  It is off to the notebook!

Happy Reading!  (During this hectic week I managed to re-read Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and I started re-reading Kissed By and Angel!  Talk about priorities ;))
Kelley Lee

Thursday, August 18, 2011

All YA Heroine's Look Alike

Is it just my opinion or do all characters in YA books look the same?  I feel that they are always the girl next door type.  They have soft delicate features, with a sweet face and big round eyes.  They can be fierce and determined, never giving up on what they love or believe in.  I am not hating on this image they portray I myself even resemble the homey girl next door.  I just want to be sure I am developing my character correctly.  I want my character to be fierce, beautiful, graceful but dangerous.  That dangerous side I want to be evident not in the intimidating way but in the way that makes people notice and sort of stand in awh. 

I do not want her to be cruel by any means or make people think that by her having a more severe look to her but I do not want to fall into the traditional route of her being the innocent girl next door. 

A lot to think about :)

Looking Away From the Girl Next Door!
Kelley lee

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Remember Everything?

I know what you are thinking...But sadly we are not elephants...okay so maybe you were not thinking that.  Anyways my point today is that you cannot remember everything.  Elephants have one of the greatest minds of all mammals, you know the saying "an Elephant never forgets"  well it is true, but again I say 'sadly we are not elephants.'

What does this have to do with writing, elephants, memory??  The answer...when writing there is no way to remember everything, it is impossible.  I take a lot of notes, whenever an idea pops into my head I write it down.  I like to bring a notebook with me everywhere I go just in case my 'Inspiration Mood' Kicks in! 

So yesterday I was at work from 8:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon and I had a little spare time so I just got out a piece of paper and began writing.  That one piece of paper became 10!  If I had not decided to write my idea down I would probably forgotten it and then never gotten that whole 10 pages of thoughts.  Believe me it is worth it to carry around more stuff.

Bring your Paper and Pens Everywhere!
Kelley Lee

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Inspiration Mood

Yesterday was all about Inspiration for me.  I wanted to absorb my last round of ideas before I get started in heavily in my writing.  I spent the day, well at work, but I also did things I enjoy for example; I played basketball, I llistened to music, I read A LOT and I drank a lot of liquid <-- that one may sound weird to you but I always feel like it literally gets my juices flowing and makes me think better!

All of these little things I did really helped me take one last breath before I dive into the deep end (today).  I need half of this day to finish and solidify my final outline (with room for surprises I may cross along the way), and the rest of the day will be for me to write.  I am hoping to get at least my first chapter done by tomorrow (yelps for joy)!! 

A quote that I really love: "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."
E.L. 

I love this quote so much because it really speaks to how I feel about writing, I can be prepared and scheduled but I cannot expect myself to know every single page before I even start writing.  As long as I keep moving towards my destination I will complete my goals.  If you are interested in the music I listened to yesterday for inspiration, here is a list:
The Good Life-Chiddy Bang
Superbass-Nicki Minaj
Tonight Is Your Night-Jesse McCartney
Blow Up-Pill
You Ain't No DJ-Big Boi ft. Yelawolf
Last Chance-Nicki Minaj
Dream Chasin-Chiddy Bang
Too Fake-Big Sean ft. Chiddy Bang
Heatwave-Chiddy Bang
Right Through Me-Nicki Minaj
Sure Thing-Miguel
How Many Times-K Michelle

Hope you all have an Inspired Day!
Kelley Lee

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sticky Notes

Yesterday was STICKY NOTE SUNDAY!!!! I went over all of my scenes, my plot and most importantly my outline, but I did it with sticky notes.  Did you know that sticky notes were originally intended for siding of a boat, I am glad they figured it out before they took that boat out to sea.  Anyways back to my post, I wrote everything important about my book, the scenes Emory is taken through and each step throughout the book.  I put them all down in the order that I thought I wanted them and then, I completely ignored my book for the whole afternoon.  I read, I ATE :) but most importantly I let my mind breath for awhile.  So when I looked at it later I had fresh eyes and a well rested brain.  I found that some things went better and sounded smoother if I reversed some of my scenes and it all really felt like everything was falling into place. 

Late last night I also had a talk with my friend and we discussed in detail my idea about my book.  I think this is a great practice because not only does it make your story more real, but it generates ideas as you are bouncing the topic off another person.

Today I have to work from 8:30 to 4:30 but I will be going STICKYtastic on my break and when I get off!

For those of you readers out there Happy Reading and for those of you that don't read....well Happy Day :)

Kelley Lee

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Structure Is The Key

The first step is structure, and you can never have too much.  I started by writing stream of consciousness, for those of you that do not know what that is, it is when you write down everything that comes into your head until you have formed a solid idea.  Now it is time to add structure to the chaos. 

Who are your characters?  What makes them tick?  I went online and found some great sites that provide you with character outlines, and the more detailed they were the better.  I started filling them out and as I did my mind kept rolling on little scenes for my book.  So now that I have my idea and my character outlines, the next step is too create your minor events that lead up to your major events.  This was easy and hard in its own way for me.  I say it was hard because as I kept creating my minor events I kept having this thought...your book is not going to be long enough!!!! Ahhh! Oh NO.  Now what?  Well i reeled in my panic and kept making lists of my minor events.  Then I broke down each of those events into scenes, with detailed descriptions of who is involved, where they were, what exactly is happening, and why this is important to get me to my next step.

All very interesting right?  Yes I would say August 13th was beneficial for Emory and the rest of my books cast.  I still have panic in my bones about it ending up not long enough but I still have more work to do on my scenes.  So I am trusting myself to figure it out!

Until tomorrow!
Kelley Lee

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Writing Your Own Book

Writing is hard work.  I have attempted many times only to give up 60 pages in.  So I am creating this blog as a way to keep myself up to date on my current writing project.  To keep myself motivated and to stay positive or Stay Up. 

Mainly I will be posting what I have done that day as far as writing.  Maybe I will post about what I have read recently.  What my current inspiration is coming from, whether it be music, movies, or just from what I see everyday.  If this site helps me then hopefully you will see my book published and sold in stores all over the world.  If not it was at least fun to try!

Wish me luck!
Kelley Lee