Rewriting from scratch - how it is going...

Wednesday I talked about how I was considering rewriting my novel, changing the perspective from 1st to 3rd person. Well... I have now officially begun the process. 

I'm not gonna lie - it is hard work. And even harder when I found out how different my story, world and characters are going to be. 

First of all the story - The plot at its core has not changed. It is still a post-apocalyptic novel, however... whereas that was the drive point... it has now changed into a bit of a Sci-Fi/PA novel... maybe there's also some dystopian in there somewhere, I don't know. But so much has changed in the story that it has been necessary writing a utterly new outline.

World - Something I noticed while reading through the 2nd draft of the original novel, was that the world was VERY empty. So empty it was unrealistic. There were no people, no buildings - which was so stupid since it took place in Central Europe. Also there were some plot-holes that I can't comment too much on here, but trust me: Some people would read it and ask themselves "how is that even possible?" because it wasn't. When I first wrote the book there were certain things I didn't take into account... which is why I have created this new - and better, world.

Characters - Some of them I've kept... but that is mostly by their name. They have brand new personalities... there are overall new characters, who will be playing big parts. But most importantly: This version will have much deeper and better relationships and developments. 

So how far am I? Well... I have written the prologue and the first chapter. Now I am working on the outline for the rest of the book. The reason I didn't do the outline first was because I wanted to see how different the story would be from the original. Now that I know, I will have an easier time figuring out what is going to happen. I'm almost - if not - done with the outline for chapter 8. I still don't know how many chapters I will end up with, but hopefully I can update you all on that on Wednesday.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna. 

Dilemma as an apsiring author...

As many of you know I wrote a novel in November 2013 during the NaNoWriMo. After which I edited it and wrote the 2nd draft. Now I am currently reading it through before handing it out to beta-readers. Everything seems to be going well, right? ... not exactly...

It all happened a couple of days ago. I was writing a story for a writing competition I'm participating in. That story is written in 3rd person limited. Actually... most of what I write is in 3rd person limited. Except for my current novel. This one is in 1st person. And I thought it worked really well when I first wrote it. But then, as I was reading it through, I realised something: My world is so empty.

Because it is in 1st person, there is no reason for the characters to talk about what happened to the world and therefore it is hard as a reader to understand why things are as they are. Beside that I found that writing description is so much easier in 3rd person limited than 1st person, because in 1st person you can only describe what the character sees. That is not a problem in 3rd person limited; here I could describe the world as much as I liked without breaking the viewpoint. That option I currently do not have.

On top of the fact that I write better in 3rd person limited, I have also found that I enjoy reading in that perspective more as well. It's kinda stupid, but I feel like, when reading 1st person, that the author is telling me what to do. I know... I'm a freak. 

So this is kind of a dilemma. I have already finished the 2nd draft in 1st person, so wouldn't it be kind of a waste throwing that away just to write it all over in 3rd person... well no. I know it will be much better in 3rd person, or at least I hope so. I'll write the 1st chapter in 3rd person later tonight just to get a feel of where the story could go in that perspective. 

So yes. I will probably have to rewrite the entire novel once again, but it is okay. It just means that I am dedicated to my work and want it to be the best possible thing I can craft at the current moment in time.

Now I understand how it can take years for authors to write their books. 

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

Review: "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell

A short summary

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life - and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mom leaving

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now the two sisters are starting college, and Wren doesn't want to be Cath's roommate. Cath has to deal with an entirely new environment alone and deserted from her sister. With classes, love, family and her online life, the question is: Can she do it? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand?

The good

... everything. Okay, let me be more specific for you. Rainbow Rowell is amazing. She isn't an adult who tries to remember what it was like being a teenager. She remembers what it was like. Her writing is so adorable, and describes every situation the way it is. Everything about her stories is so realistic that I some times forget it is a book. A work of fiction.

The characters are great. I especially loved the development that went on with Cath's character. But I have to say that out of all the characters Levi was my favorite. I wish I had a Levi... He is like... perfect! But not in the sense that he is unrealistically perfect. No. I  know people who act like he does, but he just do it in a more... OMG that's so sweet.... way.

I have to say I am so jealous of all Rainbow's female characters. Park in "Eleanor and Park" is like my favorite character of recent time. So adorable! But Levi is just more... long term material, I think. Maybe because he is older.

Anyway! I'm rambling!

Another thing I really love about Rainbow Rowell's writing, and this isn't just in Fangirl, is her pacing. She doesn't have the big thing happen right away. No. She builds it up, so it feels natural when it actually happens. From the beginning of the book I had an idea of where Cath and Levi was going to end up, but I loved seeing the development in their relationship. Same with Eleanor and Park. Rowell just know how to build good and lovable relationships.

The bad

I wanted more. That is really all. I wanted to see how Cath did for the rest of the semester. I wanted to see what happened after freshman year was over. But at the same time, I felt like the story had to end, where it ended. It felt natural. 

Anyway, I gave "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell 5 stars on Goodreads. Defiently check it out if you're into cute contemporary books about an extreme introvert overcoming her freshman year of college. 

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

Update on stuff...and things...

Because a lot has been going on.

Since my last post I have finished reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin. And I have got to say... it was AH-mazing! At first it was a bit hard to get through because it has been a while since I last read a book in english. Therefore, I had to get used to the structure of the book. Once I had it down everything started going so fast. I was reading over 100 pages a day and before I new of it, I was done. I personally loved all the characters - who's perspective we got to read from - with the exception of Sansa. Omg... she was so annoying throughout the entire book... and Joffrey was such a brat! Everytime he opened his mouth I wanted to punch him. In the face. With a chair... no... with a chainsaw. A plugged-in chainsaw. And it would need to be turned on of course. Can't have him surviving. Anyway! I came to looooove Dany! She is probably my favorite character so far. Especially loved her ending for the 1st book! SO GOOD!

Now that I am done with the first book in "A song of ice and fire" I am watching season 1 of the HBO tv show before reading the 2nd book. This way I will be 100% prepared for "A Clash of Kings" when the time comes to it. So far I... like the tv-show. I am addicted to the opening theme. Again: SO GOOD. But... I think the show is too fast paced compared to the book. I know that is to captivate viewers, but it just goes TOO fast in my opinion. Also certain events happens at completely different times than they do in the book. I was looking forward to the Jon and Tyrion scene, because it was SO GOOD in the book... but in the tv show... I don't know... it fell kinda flat for me. I still like the show and will continue watching it, though.

On Monday I received a package. With two books. "Eleanor and Park" and "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell. I started reading and finished "Eleanor and Park" that same day. Park has become my favorite male-book-character. Like ever. He is adorable. Now I am currently 100 pages into "Fangirl" and I'm loving it, can totally relate to Cath. And I love Levi. He's good fun.

Okay so that was my "reading update". Now onto the writing!

I finally finished the 2nd draft of my novel! Yeeees! It's done! 103k went down to 68.707 words. But I am way more happy with this result than the previous. It took way longer than I had originally expected, but now that it is done, I feel so relieved. Now what I need to do is read it aloud to myself to see which sentences needs extra work, and then I have to find beta-readers. The only problem is that I do not trust people. I am so scared giving it to people online... what if they steal the book and publish it under their name?! I know I would win in court, but still... and I cannot trust my friends or family to give feedback, because they are supposed to say good things about it. Then who do I have left? My writing teacher, who is a published author herself. But is she enough? For now... she's all I got... and a few friends who I will force to give me their honest opinion. Or else...

Anyway... so that is what I have been up to. This Friday I am coloring my hair for the first time ever! That is gonna be great...

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna. 

"Bite me" - Chapter 3: Change - by Nanna Andersen

Josh sat at his desk in his class at Palamont City's High School. Sat with a stack of papers that he had no idea what to do with. He wanted to help these kids expand there knowledge, but if they had no interest in what he had to offer, what was the point then?

The door to his class opened and Josh turned his head to see Amber step in; head bended towards the floor, arms tucked around the books they used in his class. She didn't even look at him, instead she rushed to her seat at the back of the classroom. 

Josh kept on following her movement with his eyes. It had been the same on the bus earlier this morning. Usually she would look up at him, smile and say a quick "Hallo professor Fields." but not today. Josh tried telling himself it was just the Friday morning flue: when the kids were all exhausted form a whole week of school and really just wanted to welcome the weekend with open arms. But that hadn't been it. Something else was different about his straight A student. He just couldn't put his finger on what. 

Amber opened her text book, the one about the 21th century's literature. Josh had picked out that book himself. He still remembered the argument he had had with the other teachers about his choice. 

Miss Jenkins was, what Josh would call, conservative. When he told her that he wanted to get new books for his classes, she had met him with a hoarse laugther. Saying, they had always taught english literature from the 19th century. Her argument had, in Josh's eyes, been invalid. In her opinion they needed to give the future rulers of their country an understanding of where their roots lay. Josh had looked at her with a lifted eyebrow, but only halfway. He had never been able to do a perfect eyebrow-lift. Then he had looked at her, deep into her old, wise eyes and whispered "Why linger in the past, when it is the future they will rule?"

Josh smiled just by the thought of it. That had made her shut up. And he had gotten his text books. Of course literature from the good old times were important, but to him it was just as important to live in the now as knowing of the past.

Amber brushed her bangs behind her ear exposing the small silver ring in her earflip. She looked so concentrated, so at peace with herself. Josh got out of his seat and walked to her desk. He knocked on the desk and Amber jumped in her chair. She hurried up closing the book and smiled up at him. 

He pointed at the book. "How do you like it?"

She shrugged and stroke the cover wrapped in old newspapers. "It's... different." she said avoiding his eyes at any cost.

Josh braided his fingers together on his lap. "Well," he said, nodding towards the book. "Some times different is better."

Amber snorted. "Or some times different is a freak."

Josh stood up and walked back to his desk in front of the blackboard. At the halfway point, he turned back to face Amber. "I think different," he said. Amber's eyes rose to meet his. "is exactly what this city needs." out the corner of his eye, he caught half of a smile from his student.

As the bell rang to lunch all his students rushed to the door. "Mr. Davids," Josh yelled to overpower the screaming of over a hundred students running to the cafeteria. Matthew Davids stopped in the door, other students pushed him back into the classroom. 

"What's up mr. F?" he said as he leaned his ass on the edge of one of the front desks. 

Josh crossed his arms over his chest. "To you, it is professor Fields." the brat rolled his eyes and chewed his gum a little harder opening his mouth to share the leftovers of his breakfast. His teeth had with certainty not seen the shadow of toothpaste, therefore the gum.

For a moment the two of them just stood. Awaiting each other's next move. Then Matthew rubbed his hands together. "If that's all, can I go?"

Josh stood up and walked to the door, closing it. "No," he said. "No, you cannot."

"Am I in trouble?" he asked without a care in the world. Josh watched him. He kept looking at the door as though he had to be somewhere else. His hands were shaking. When Matthew saw Josh staring at his hands, he shoved them into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"You tell me." Matthew didn't seem to understand, so Josh sat back onto his desk. He pulled a clean paper out of his bag and handed it to the student in front of him. "Here." 

Matthew took it without a word, so Josh continued. "You go home right after school, and then you write me that essay."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you give me no choice but to give you a F."

Matthew didn't answer. For a second Josh thought he saw a hint of fear in the eyes of the fried brain in front of him. He did not like that little brat, but everyone deserved a second chance. Josh could give him that. Matthew stuffed the paper in his bag and headed for the door, leaving Josh alone with his thoughts.

And he did think. All the way down to the teacher's office. And those thoughts pointed towards one single target. A young beauty called Jasmine. Josh did not even know of her last name. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know much about her. Her name was Jasmine, Jazz for short... she was new in town... her eyes were green... what else? He couldn't think of anything. And yet he had felt the urge to ask her out. Two things had played in to that. First of all, Arrow had bit her, and he feared for his K-9. The other reason was Jasmine herself. She was different, and as he had told Amber, maybe different was exactly what this town needed. Maybe it was what he needed.

Josh opened the door to the teacher's office and was met by the smiles of the rest of the staff.

"Ah! Professor Fields!" Principal Roberts rushed to him. With him he had...

"Jasmine?" Josh burst, sqeezing his eyes together to make sure what he saw was real. It really was her. In all her beauty. 

"I see you already known miss Smith." Roberts said clapping his hands together in excitement. "That's good. Miss Smith is our new intern. She is currently studying english at Palamont City's University, but you probably already know that," Josh did not know that. "Anyway, she is going to be here part time until she has taken her final exam. While here, she will be helping you out with your classes."

"Is that so?" Josh couldn't hide a smile. He offered Jasmine his hand and she took it. Her hand was just as warm as the other day. He studied it. Small scars showed where Arrow had buried her teeth. All of a sudden his stomach tied a knot. His eyes moved to her's. "I'm looking forward to our future teamwork, miss Smith."

Jasmine tightened her grib around his hand. And for the first time since their goodbye at his house, she spoke. "I can only say the same thing, professor Fields."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So this is the part where I would usually write "To be continued" but due to being able to copy the text from this site, there will be no more parts of the story on here. I made this decision from the start "a prologue + 3 sample chapters" and that is what I have given you. 

I hope you have found some enjoyment in this story, and if you wish to continue reading it, I will post a link at the end of each of my Saturday-posts to the story. 

I still haven't decided wether or not I will give this a try in the "real world" but I might.

For now...

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

"Bite me" - Chapter 2: The first time - by Nanna Andersen

"I'm sorry about just barging in," Jasmine said while exposing her ear from the chestnut brown hair. "but I'm new to this city and don't really know anyone." she sqeezed her eyes together.

Josh wasn't really sure why he said what he said, but he ended up saying it anyway. "Well, you do now. My name is Josh Fields." Arrow howled behind him and rubbed her snout against his thigh. He tripped forward and look over his shoulder. "And this is Arrow." he added, stepping aside to introduce the white and dark grey siberian husky of eight years of age. 

Jasmine squatted down and streched her arm out towards Arrow, but stopped at the midway point. "May I?" she asked and looked up at Josh. He did an approving hand gesture and told Arrow to come out from behind him. She was reluctant at first, but as Jasmine's hand came closer, Arrow took in the smell and suddenly Josh witnessed something he never before had seen:

Jasmine screamed as Arrow's teeth ingraved themselves into her skin. Time moved in slowmotion. It was as though Josh watched himself from the outside and he saw everything like it was. Saw himself try hard to get Arrow away from Jasmine. He saw the fear in the newcomer's eyes as Arrow tightened her grib and shook its head form side to side. Jasmine's armedmoved accordingly to Arrow's movement like a slave. Josh's other self resorted to the last thing he thought he would ever find himself doing. He hit his dog. 

Arrow, who in all her eight years had never experienced the fury of her master, whimpered under the force of his hand and with that she let go of Jasmine's hand. Josh pushed Arrow outside in the yard and hurried Jasmine inside to see to her wound. As the door closed behind him, time moved normally and he was within himself once again. 

"I'm so sorry!" he said desperately as he moved with Jasmine to the sink. "She doesn't act like that normally! I don't know what's with her..."

Jasmine's eyes were closed and her head bended backwards. "How bad is it?" she said. Josh sent a look to her hand and examined the damaged caused by Arrow's teeth. He bid his lip and didn't answer his guest, which worried her. Instead he opened for the waterflow.

"Here," he said and drenched a cloth in the warm water. He twined it around her hand. "Hold it there." she did as he said and he bowed down under the sink to find the first-aid kit. 

Outside the endless howling from Arrow speared through his heart. She had always been able to behave herself. Never had he had any trouble with raising her to be the best dog possible. When he bought her the saleslady had warned him that the siberian husky was one of the more aggressive breeds. However, he had never seen that in arrow. Now he feared what he would have to do with her. 

He had heard horror tales about owners who were forced to put their dogs to sleep because of assault on another human. He didn't want to lose Arrow, even if she had acted in the wrongs. There had to be a way for him to convince Jazz to not press charges. There had to be. 

"Find anything down there?" Jasmine asked and by the suprise of her words, Josh hammered his head into one of the sink pipes. He cursed and stood up with the first-aid kit.

Jasmine had lowered her head and was now looking directly at him. She wasn't scared anymore. Didn't even look mad. Josh was happy. That had to be a good thing. He opened the kit and took the bandages. Jasmine removed the cloth and the disgust was painted on her face. The cloth had removed most of the blood, which left her with four deep holes in her hand. Josh could not even begin to think of all the bacterium hidden on Arrow's teeth. Hopefully Jasmine would not suffer an infection. 

He began wrapping her hand in the white bandages. She didn't say anything. It worried Josh. He needed her to understand. To go away from here with a smile instead of heading to the police office.

"You know," he began. "Arrow usually doesn't act that way." 

Jasmine shrugged. "I guess she doesn't like me then." Josh saw the disappointment in her eyes. She looked up at him. The mint green eyes shining like they had done outside. "I'd hoped she would. But I'm probably more of a cat person." 

That still didn't explain Arrow's behavior. She had seen cats before. Hell, she even played with them from time to time whenever one dared to enter the yard. They knew what they were getting into; A brawling match with the unbeaten champion. But doing one of these matched she had never hurt the cats. All she ever did was push them around until they got tired of her and walked away. She would follow them to the fence and stand up to watch they walk off into the sunset. When she then came back into the house she would lay her head on Josh's thigh and look at him with her eyes shining from the victory. And he would rubb her head and call her a good dog.

He decided to not tell Jasmine about Arrow's love for cats. He didn't want her thinking Arrow had something personal against her. So he just agreed with her and said that had to be the reason. He tied the bandages in a bow to seal it off and Jasmine twisted her wrist to test the mobility of her hand. It looked perfectly fine. 

"Well..." Jasmine said, but didn't continue. She rubbed her hands against each other and looked everywhere but at Josh.

A scratching could be heard on the door and Josh peeped over Jasmine's shoulder. He bit his lip. It hurted as Arrow's wining got louder. He couldn't keep it out. 

Josh shook his head and tried to say something, but Jasmine held up her hand to stop him. "It's okay." she said and stroke his shoulder. Her touch was warm. Like honey in a cup of tea on a winter afternoon. "I'll see you around, I guess." she turned away from him and her long hair hit his chest in the turn.

"Jazz?" he cried as her fingers closed around the doorknob. Her gorgeous face turned to see him. "I want to make it up to you. Would you allow me to take you out for coffee some time?" his heart was pounding, and he was sure it would burst out of his chest in a minute. He couldn't believe himself. It wasn't in his nature to act so direct. Maybe he thought that all hope had already went out of the window, so he had nothing else to lose.

Jasmine opened the door and stepped aside while Arrow rushed in and hit behind Josh's legs. He didn't pay her any attention, his eyes locked on the beauty at his door. She stepped over the doorstep. "I like my coffee with caramel cream and whipped cream on top." she closed the door behind her, leaving Josh alone with Arrow, who had never looked smaller.

To be continued...

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

2nd NaNoWriMo within a year?!

... Naaah, not exactly.

So, for those of you unaware, I participated in JanNoWriMo. This was not an official event, but something that me and other people did on Facebook, just for fun. You set a goal for yourself and throughout the month we were going to try to achieve that. 

Though the month is still not over, I would like to share my results, since Saturday is story-time!

My goal for the month of January was to do the 2nd draft of my current novel.

So I had things going great for me at the start of the month. Had the first 10k down within the first week, which is slower than what I managed in November, but still good. And from there things moved on in a steady pace. However... When I hit about 25k I slowed down. I was scared that I had deleted too much in my revising process and that my novel would end up being less than 50k words long. So I did not feel motivated to write at all.

I felt hopeless and actually had a minor depression. Didn't wanna do anything at all. And having trouble in my Social Science class only made things worse. And I didn't have anyone to turn to. I don't know about you all, but I am not a very touchy-feely person, and I hate sharing how I feel with others. When I have a problem, I like that problem to stay with me. Because of this I felt alone.

Writing is not as easy as some people may think. It takes dedication. And a heck of a lot of it. When you have school, writing classes, a social life and free time writing interferring with each other... things get kind of crazy. 

So for a while I couldn't even rewrite a whole chapter in a day, which was really slow progress for me. However, then something amazing happened to me. I went online and found a website where I found out that some of my favorite authors' books weren't even that long in wordcount terms. If we take Cathy Hopkins as an example; Her series "Mates, dates and..." has 12 books. Some of those books aren't even over 30k words. 

This brought back my desire to write. I thought to myself "If she could get published with that wordcount, so can I. And I'm not even done yet!"

That ended up working out for me, and by now I have a little over 52k on my 2nd draft. What does this mean? Well it means that I basically did my 2nd NaNoWriMo within a year. My 2nd draft is still not done, and I think it will be around 60-80k words... maybe 75k. Something like that. 

Now this wasn't as dificult to achieve as the goal in November, since I already had everything written down this time around and all I really had to do was type it into the computer. But that process was way more time consuming than I expected when I set the goal for myself.

I can't wait for this draft to be done. Then all I need to do is read it through, send it off to beta-readers, get their feedback, imply their feedback and then send it off. I don't even care if I get rejected. All I care is to know that I have what it takes to put this much work in one project. And I am proud of myself for that.

Keep Calm and Write on.

- Nanna

"Bite me" - Prologue - by Nanna Andersen

He screamed.

Screamed again.

Then again, this time a little louder and more like the sound of a creacking door. His chin touched his chest. Burried itself in the thick, sticky hair flooded in sweat.

He tried looking at her but failed. The deep, brown, bloodshot eyes were just as heavy as the chains holding him up. Having failed his attempt he instead focused on the tiles underneath him. Red. Painted red with blood. His blood. The smell stung in his nostrils, made him dizzy. It would be so easy throwing up. Letting it out, but the easy way out wasn't necessarily the best. And he knew this. Therefore, he held it in. Swallowed the lump of fluid and leftovers from last night's dinner.

"You know," she said while sharpening the knife. After all this time it had gotten a bit dull. Even with her back towards him, he could sense the smile widening on her lips, showing the fairytale white teeth. She held the knife in front of her face and caressed it. Still with the knife pressed against her cheek in a lovely manner, she turned to face him.

He had been right. The smile was certainly there. She continued in a rusty voice while walking towards him. "It didn't have to go down this way."

Her cold fingers took a grib around his cheeks, squishing them up against his nose. She caught his eyes with her own. He could no longer run. Forced to stare into the madness he had caused. But he refused to fall victum. So he didn't.

He gathered up saliva and sent it off in her direction. She closed her eyes as it exploded on her face. "Bite me." he hissed.

She smiled. "Oh..." laughed. "Oh, you actually did that." with her free hand, she whiped the spit off and opened her eyes. Her black, velvet eyes. Black like the night sky. No, darker. Darker than the blackness from a dreamless night.

Her eyes. They were the true darkness. The darkness from which all evil climbed. Climbed into the closet, under the bed and into the human mind. Here it hid. Waiting for the right moment. Because a real hunter knows when to strike.

And so did she.

She pulled an eyelash upwards, lifting his eyelid. He saw it coming before it happened. Saw her tigthening her grib around the knife. Saw the knife rise towards his eye. Felt it carve into the thin skin.

He screamed. Kept on screaming. Even when she lowered the knife and showed him the cut off eyelid, the screaming didn't stop.

She rolled her eyes and threw the eyelid away. Then she lifted the knife to his face. He closed his eyes. But no more pain were felt. Instead he heard the screech when the knife hammered into the space between two of the bricks behind him. For a moment he felt relieved. But when he saw the smile on her face that feeling was long gone.

Her face approached his in a drastic speed and then her lips engulfted his. They tasted dark. Dark like her eyes. Like his worst nightmare. He wanted to break free but couldn't.

All he could do was watch as her finger ascended up his cheek and stopped as they reached his unprotected eye.

Still with her tongue exploring his mouth, she tuck her fingernail in behind his eye and digged it out. He screamed, but it was as though her tongue absorbed the sound.

She pulled away from him and looked at the eyeball in her palm. Then she looked at him. She smiled. "You wanted me to bite you," licked her mouth. "Right?"

She placed the eyeball between her teeth and pressed them together. One half of the eyeball went into her chewing mouth and the other fell on the bloody tiles.

To be continued...

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

Let's talk about inspiration...

Because right now, I am lacking some of it...

Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that suddenly the muse strikes and then BAM! BOOK, BLOGPOST, WHATEVER! No. I think that you need to seek the inspiration yourself.

What I tend to do when lacking inspiration is watch interviews with authors who made it in the business. Also watching the writing lessons by Brandon Sanderson, which are available on youtube, helps getting me going.

However, some times these things just doesn't help. Then what do you do? For me? I would love to say that I sit and stare at a blank paper and force myself to write, but instead I tend to go on tumblr (which I have now! Check it out! http://n-andersen.tumblr.com/) and do everything I shouldn't do. That's called procrastination. What a nice word.

Also one of the reasons why I can't really focus is because I just came home from an interview. An interview that is going to decide whether or not I am going to Canada for a month. The sponsors got a lot of applications and I was selected along with 5 other people to get the interview. Later tonight they are going to make a decision on who is going to be the 1 person that will get this amazing experience. So I have a 1 in 5 chance... which is not a lot. 

I start thinking; "Why choose me over someone else? What makes me more interesting? Why have I deserved this more than someone else?"

This doesn't just apply to the Canada trip, but also to my writing. Remember how I talked about a few posts ago how I was afraid my book was going to be too short? Well, now I am having more doubts. 

What if I'm not good enough? What if people just tell me "Oh this is awesome! You should send this in!" because they want to be nice? I shouldn't fear that, I know, but... Do you ever have those doubts? 

I am usually a really confident person. I have always been the one who tell my friends to go pursue their dreams and screw the fear, but it is so much easier said than done. Especially when I have this stupid thing about being the best. I have it whenever we hand in an essay and someone gets a beter grade than me... it just pisses me off... you know what I mean? It's like this: They don't plan on making a living from the stories they tell... so why do they have to be better than me? 

It's stupid I know, but we all have those feelings from time to time. I know that my best friend gets pissed at me some times for getting a better grade than her, and I'm okay with it. 

Wow... that escalated quickly... So moral of this blogpost? I'm a jealous for the wrong reasons! Nah... more like; everyone have times when the inspiration seems so far away that it is out of reach. But it gets better. When I am done with this post I will do the rest of my homework and then get back to writing. Because that is what I want to do. What I need to do.

These stories doesn't tell themselves.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

The "7 deadly sins" tag..

I recently started reading more, I why not celebrate that by doing a fun little book tag! This tag was created by BookishlyMalyza. Check out her video, and don't forget to subscribe: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm0c56gcbsE

1. Greed

What is your most inexpensive book? What is your most expensive book?

My most inexpensive book has to be "Daughter of smoke and bone" by Laini Taylor. The book is amazing, but I got if for only like 50 DKK, which... is like nothing for this kind of quality book.

My most expensive book... this is kind of hard, since most of my books I have received as gifts, so I am not sure of their exact prices. But if I had to make a guess, it would probably be "Edgar Allan Poe's completed works part 1". I think this book was 299 DKK. 

2. Wrath

What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Stephanie Meyer. The thing is; I think she is a great author, and I like her writing style, but I just really hate her books. Especially Twilight. She makes love seem like it's all about looks and that just annoys the living hell out of me.... also... Breaking Dawn sucked. No one talks it out... just give us the fight already!

3. Glottony

What book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

"Djævelens Læring" by Kenneth Bøgh Andersen. A danish book. I love this one. It is the first book in a four-book-series, and I come back to it whenever I want to laugh, cry or just experience a really good story.

4. Sloth

What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

"Harry Potter and the deadly hollows" by J.K. Rowling. I have actually never finished the Harry Potter series, but I really want to... however... it's been a while since I read the books, and it is such a long series to dedicate myself to, and I don't really feel like doing so. Maybe I'll get to it... maybe I won't. I already know how it ends anyway...

5. Pride

What book do you most talk about to sound like a very interllectual reader?

Probably "Edgar Allan Poe's completed works part 1". I mean... he is the father of horror, so I like saying I've read his stories. Makes me sound so fiiiine.

6. Lust

What attributes do you find most attractive in male/female characters?

So for me to fall in love with a character, he needs to be very active. Not just stand by and let others do stuff for him. Also he needs to be funny. Humor is attractive, what can I say? I don't really care if he is a villain or a hero, if he is active and has a great personality, I will love him. 

7. Envy (- I changed it to my own liking)

What book do you wish you had written?

"The Bartimeaus Trilogy" by Jonathan Stroud. Do I even need to explain this one? These books are funny, exciting, sad and just... magical! I love all the characters! And it was my first time ever reading anything with multiple POVs, and I was so amused by it that it added to the experience. The ending of the third book made me cry. My first time ever crying over a book. That was how big of an impact these books had on me.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

Kill your darlings...

... But what if I don't want to?

So for those not aware, I take writing classes and have been doing so since late August 2013. I have known since the very beginning of the course that I would have to write a short story, which would get published along with everyone else's from the writing classes in a short story collection. Now... This is cool. Infact, I am really excited! By Spring I will be a "published"-ish author. But there is one problem... short stories is not my specialty... 

It's not that I don't like writing them, trust me I do, but whenever I do write one I am really proud of it.

Especially the one I have written for the short story collection. It has a very simple plot, but then again it is very mysterious and I love that. Not a lot happens, and that is okay. Or so I thought. 

Apparently it doesn't quiet fit under the theme that my writing teacher gave my class... She loves my story, but says that not enough happens in it.

So here I sit. I have rewritten it, but I am just not happy with the new result. I think it is stupid, and sounds really unnatural and I have to say... I am a bit disgusted by the language. I can usually write really well, but when I am forced to write a way that will make other people happy that talent falls flat.

My teacher told me to "kill my darlings", but I don't think she understands how hard that is to do in a short story... whenever I write a novel I cut away like a crazy person! In my current novel I think I have cut away maybe... 20k words? SO FAR. And I am actually scared that my 103k first draft will become less than 50k words... so as you can see I can easily kill my darlings. But those are the darlings, that I just used as filling. With this short story I really poured my heart into it and made it as perfect as possible, but because it doesn't fit the theme, I had to change almost everything...

That hurts...

I don't know about you guys, but I will:

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

JanNoWriMo and outlining a fantasy trilogy...

January is going to be a pretty busy month for me...

JanNoWriMo

So I don't remember if I've told you, but I am currently doing JanNoWriMo, which is pretty much the same as NaNoWriMo with the only difference being that this one takes place in January. I am not going to be starting something new, but instead doing the 2nd draft of my current novel. I am about 15k in, and I'm starting to worry that I might have cut too much out. But I need to remember, that it will be longer in book form than in a word document. 

It's funny. Before I started the 2nd draft I was scared that my chapters would be too long. Now I'm scared they are too short. However, I do know that it isn't the case. Some of my chapters are only 800 words, but an average book page is 250 words. That means the 800 words chapter is about 4 pages, which is not a bad length for a chapter. I personally hate when chapters go on for too long. This was one of my problems with Harry Potter. If I'm not mistaken some of the chapters wereover 30 pages. I could be wrong, but I think I remember hating reading those chapters. 

So what am I worrying about? Nothing really. Short chapters should not be a making or breaking point when it comes to publication. Even if the publisher says that the chapters are too short, it can easily be fixed in the final edits before the release date... which I'm going to get. Of course. That's one of my NYRs.

Outlining a Fantasy Trilogy

So a few posts ago I talked about my worldbuilding. Well, that worldbuilding has turned into outlines for the first 2 books in a Fantasy Trilogy. It's the first trilogy I'm going to write, and I am currently loving my story line! My favorite thing about it is probably that you don't need to read the 2nd book once the 1st book is read. Every book is going to have its own ending and own storyline. Of course you will understand it better if you read all three books, but I have followed Brandon Sanderson's advice and created a fantasy trilogy with three standalone books with sequel potentiel. 

I really can't wait to write it. Though I still haven't decided if I'll be writing all 3 books and then revise them together or if I'll write one book at a time and edit them individually. However, before I even start writing, I need the outline for the 3rd book, which I already have the plot for.

The first book is going to be about the 65-ish chapters

The second book is 54 chapters

And I think the third book is going to be anywhere between 50-60 chapters.

So it is a more hefty fantasy trilogy, but that's the way I want to do it. And I'm going to make it awesome.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

New Year Resolutions...

It's 2014! Wow! And I who thought 2012 had just started. Crazy how time fly.

So another year has ended, and what a year it was! I look back on it and for the most part all I can do is smile. Now every year has its downers, and I've had a fair share of my own, but that didn't stop me from having an awesome year.

One of my biggest accomplisments in 2013 was probably finishing 1st year of Gymnasium. The first year is always the hardest, and now that is it over I'm having a blast with 2nd year. And as of today I only have 1½ year left before I'm graduating and then going to university! 

Another amazing thing 2013 brought me was NaNoWriMo 2013. I've talked a lot about NaNo here on this blog, but this year was especially good for me. I was able to write 50k words in one week, and even better, I had a 100k novel finished in twenty days. Not only did I finish it, I also began the rough edits. I took out my yellow marker and marked those words up!

But the thing I am most excited about is probably beginning the early work on a fantasy trilogy, which I'll be writing in 2014. I have finished the outline for book 1 and is now working on the outline for book 2. On top of that I also know the plotline of book 3. But I won't be writing it until my current novel is sent off to a publisher.

Which brings me to 2014. What are my plans? 

Well, I have a few New Year Resolutions that I plan on actually achieving this year.

1. Stop the nail biting! It is disgusting and I should not be doing it. So stop it girl.
2. Complete the final draft of current novel and send it off to a publisher.
3. While waiting for the inevitable rejection letter, I will start working on my fantasy trilogy.
4. Whether or not I get a rejection letter or a contract for my book, I will get a novel published in 2014.
5. Say yes to more things.
6. Passing my exams.
7. Win NaNoWriMo 2014.

So these are my goals for the coming year. They seem achievable, right? I think so. I hope so.

Do you have any NYR? If so tell me about them!

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

My writing process...

Everyone have their own way of structure. This is mine.

Pre-writing phase

In this step what I do is gather information. If my story is going to be somewhat realistic (like the one I am currently editing) I need to get my facts down. You can't have a nurse do surgery. Some people may not know the difference between a nurse and a surgeon, but the ones who does will get annoyed and will probably put the book down. In my current novel I had a lot of astronomy themed research to do. It was very important for me to get it just right, and I actually spend an entire summer doing this.

I guess outlining would also go under this step, since you aren't writing the actual story yet. So I do that. I make a very brief description of the world and characters, and then I do my chapter-by-chapter outline. What I do is I write everything that is going to happen within the given scenes in a chapter.

First drafting phase

This is where I write the actual novel. For NaNoWriMo this year it took me 20 days to finish this step, but last year it took me 44 days. I am not sure how I feel about the first drafting phase yet. I love to write and get the story down, but then again it feels so much better to have written than to write. Doing this phase I tend to follow my outline pretty strict. However, things do change. In my current novel I intended to kill off a pair of brothers, but when writing that part I decided to have one of them live. Because of this I had to change my entire outline so it would fit with this new stream of events. 

Revising phase

When the first draft is done and you've put down the lovely words "the end" it is time to revise, revise, revise! What I like to do is first make a one-sentence summary of every scene within a chapter so I can get a better understanding of what my book is about. After this I print out my chapters and go through them with a yellow marker. I mark every sentence or paragraph that needs to be changed and write the changes down on a notepad. I cross out everything that needs to be taken out of the book, which sometimes is a lot. 

Second drafting phase

Now I am still currently at the revising phase with my current novel, but this is how I plan on structuring the rest of my editing.

In the second draft I will start on a blank page and write the story from beginning to end while implying the changes I made in the revising phase.  Having already written the story and all the changes this step should not take more than half a month. Hopefully. 

Beta-reading phase

Once my second draft is done I should be comfortable enough with my book to give it to a beta-reader. So far all I have is my writing teacher and my best friend, but I will probably ask others. I plan to ask them to write down the emotional impact the book had on them; where they were bored, happy, sad, confused, etc. Things that I can take into account when doing my third (and hopefully) final draft.

Third drafting phase

Same process as the second drafting phase, however, this time I imply the feedback I got from my beta-readers, assuming the feedback was valid and usuable. If they said something like "You should have" I won't listen. This is not their book and therefore I will only listen to feedback build on the emotions felt throughout the reading of my book. In this phase I also make sure to correct all grammatical errors that may have sneaked into my book so it is ready to be sent off to a publisher.

Publication phase

Now this one is not guarenteed, but I this phase also includes the "sending the manuscript off into the sunset- phase". While I am waiting for a response from the publisher, I will start something new. That way if I get a rejection letter I will have something new to send in. At some point they will get so annoyed with me that they'll have to publish me. Simple as that.

If you write, do you have a specific process? Or do you just write for fun and see where it goes?

In any case:

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

Do you know your plot...?

I have been watching way too many Stephen King interviews. I will continue saying this; That man is a genius. And now I want all his books for christmas.

NaNoWriMo day #14 - wordgoal: 23333 -

So do you know your plot? Because I thought I did. Turns out I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Well...kind of. My plot arch has changed. This resolved in me having to kill off a character a little earlier than originally planned. He was a secondary main character, and only child. I had to kill him while his own brother was watching. It was a very emotional ride for me, and I even had to stand up and walk away for a moment. Hopefully I will cry, when I read the chapter in revision.

NaNoWriMo day #15 - wordgoal: 25000 -

Only half a month left! If you are still behind, I am sorry to do this, but here's a kick in your butt! It is defiently possible for you to win, but you need to get yourself together. I hate yelling at you, but writing is disciplin, and since you committed to NaNoWriMo, you have to go through with it! I don't care if you are lying in bed with a cold...we all sit on the computer anyway when we are sick, so you might aswell be writing.

But on a happier note! I hit 80k! And then I continued to 82k, which means over the course of week 2 I have written 30k words. It is not as much as in week one in which I wrote 52k words, but I am still proud of the amount I have managed!

NaNoWriMo day #16 - wordgoal: 26667 -

I have come to the realisation that after chapter 22, which I intend to finish within the next few hours, I will only have 3 chapters left of my novel to write; the build up - the fight - the ending. Yes I am that close to the end of it. I don't think it has hit me yet. This is what I mean, when I talk about knowing your plot! I thought I had 29 chapters, but no! Apparently I only have 25, which I don't really mind. If I still had 7 chapters to write, I think I would be kind of intimidated. 3 more chapters seems more reasonable, and if I had to make an assumption I would say that my novel is going to be about 95-100k words.

GRAF-TIME:

As you can see I am not too far from the 90k mark! Really exciting!

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.