The Liebster (Again)

I have once again received the Liebster, this time from Robyn @ Spiral-Bound. Thanks, Robyn!

Here are the rules:
Thank and link back to the person who nominated you. (See above.)
List 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.
Ask them 11 questions.
Let them know about the nomination.

Facts:

1. I have a guest-post live on Inklined! Check it out here.  
2. My sister and I are taking an e-textile class at our library this week. 
3. That means we're making clothes and stuff that light up/make noise. 
4. Today I'll make a shirt with blinking LEDs which I'll embroider around to look like fireflies, to go with the song Fireflies by Owl City, which I've programmed into a microprocessor. 
5. Today is my dad's birthday.
6. I've been working on the goals/motivations of my villain in Noxumbra, and have confirmed my suspicion that I'll be rewriting the end. Again. 
7. My mom recently took pictures of me, so I'll be updating that photo of me on my sidebar.
8. That photo is three years old. It's time it got updated.
9. I'm writing this post on the family computer, so at the bottom of this post it says that my mom wrote it, when in fact I just used a different computer and didn't bother to sign her out and sign me in.
10.  I just knocked the mouse of the desk. 
11. As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm going to fold wash and continue listening to the audiobook of The Monuments Men (which is awesome and you should totally read it.)

Now for the questions:
1. Do you prefer Winter or Summer? Summer. I tolerate heat better than I do cold.
2. What is your favorite section of the bookstore? YA/Fantasy and Sale. Or, if it's a used book store, vintage/antique books. I have a little collection now of old books.
3. What is the most interesting non-fiction book you’ve read? Definitely The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter. I haven't finished it yet, but OH. MY. GOSH. The stories are amazing. Plus I'm learning more about WWII than I ever did in school.
4. What is the best writing prompt you’ve ever used? Ooh. That's a hard one. I once wrote a short story off the prompt "I have coated my left hand in magical ink" which I got off the Writing Excuses website. That was fun.
5. The farthest you’ve ever been from home (you don’t have to say where you live)? Philadelphia. My mom and I went there for an early 18th birthday trip and I had SO much fun. Would definitely go back and spend a month there.
6.  What do you do to keep yourself from being bored on long car trips? I don't get bored easily, but I generally bring books to read. Though often my family will just talk. When my sister and I were little, long car trips meant we would listen to any Hank the Cow Dog book by John R. Ericson. They're narrated by the author and fantastic. So funny and enjoyable for all ages. They really are best listened to, because he sings all the songs and stuff.
7. If you could go back in time, what time would you visit and why? Ooh. Hmm. Perhaps Victorian or Regency England, because I have a thing for period dramas that take place right about then.
8. On that note, would you consider yourself a Whovian? If so, favorite episode of Doctor Who? Definitely a Whovian. My favorite episode is Blink, though I love pretty much any episode from Season 4 (the Donna season).
9. Favorite board game? Least favorite? I've had a great deal of fun playing Risk, and I can't think of one that I really dislike.
10. What is the longest book you’ve ever read and about how many pages long was it? I think Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, which is 800+ pages long.
11. Which famous author (living or dead) would you want to read your books and give you feedback? I truly have no idea. One who is good at giving feedback.

My questions:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be? 
2. What is a job you have absolutely no interest in having? 
3. You are a character in the last book you read. Who are you? 
4. If you could be a side character in any book ever, which would you choose?
5. If you found buried treasure, what would you do with it?
6. What is your favorite smell? 
7. You are suddenly given the opportunity and power to dictate that one item of clothing or accessory is popular. What do you choose? 
8. If you had the ability to transform into any animal you wanted, which would you choose?
9. What are some of your favorite words?
10. Have you ever broken a bone?
11. What's a song or piece of music you really like right now?

And that's that.

I nominate Krissy/Weaselbee @ Words in My Soul. It is my great pleasure to give her her very first blog award. 

And she's the only one I'm nominating. Once again, if you want this award, I hereby give it to you. 

Kirk out.

Fun with Notes

When I finished my second draft of Noxumbra, I had 300+ pages, and 800+ comment bubbles.

Yes, you read those numbers correctly.

I'm not an edit-as-you-go type, but apparently I am a leave-notes-about-everything-for-the-next-draft type. And rereading those notes has been a blast. Here are some of my favorites:

"Do pirates send thank you notes?"

"Edus spare us. You’re such a drama queen, Wycliff."

"GAH, YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD.  YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MEET YOUR SON! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT’S GOING TO DO TO HIM?

No, of course you don’t, because you’re GOING TO FREAKING DIE OF A WEAK HEART.

That is such a perfect metaphor.

I kind of hate you right now, Wycliff. This is why you’re an antagonist."

"Okay, A) not only did you steal my phrase “think on this,” B) YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE THIS DECISION AND IT’S GOING TO KILL MY READERS. WHICH IS A GOOD THING, BUT STILL." 

"DUDES. I JUST FOUND AN EBOOK ONLINE PUBLISHED IN 1922 ABOUT CROP ROTATIONS.

This is so cool.

It doesn’t have a whole lot about woad, but it mentions a crop rotation in France circa 1750. (At least I think 1750 is a date, not something else.) This is what it says:

Main crop woad: 1, wheat; 2, millet; 3, woad; 4, grass, allowed to grow for several years; sometimes two successive crops of woad were taken."

"Dude, at some point I need to mention how the cotton they got from Delly is bad. Maybe that can happen when Gwen is working in the felids. Felid is a word. That should have said field. What is a felid? *Does Google search.* It is a member of the family Felidae! Better known as felines! Cool." 

"*In Russian accent.* TRANSITION!"

"I have no idea why the Latin for Sunflower was the first word to come to mind here."

"And by the start of the next book, he’s dead! Mwahahaha."

"Transition required on isle 183."

There is a note titled "GIANT NOTE OF DOOM." 

"Okay, this may be sappy, but between the time (holy cow it’s 2AM. When did that happen?), the “OMG I’m at the end” feels and “Epilogue” from the Frozen score, I’m kinda teary." 

"IT IS TWO ELEVEN AM ON MARCH THIRTY FIRST TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN AND I HAVE FINISHED DRAFT TWO! 83165 WORDS.

I am crying. I am so happy. And tired. Really, really tired.

But we must go post on Facebook.

I am so obviously from the Internet generation.

Gah, I love the Frozen score.

Oh, yeah, and “Epilogue” from said score is THE PERFECT MUSIC FOR THIS MOMENT. I think I’m just going to play the last three songs on repeat until I go to bed. Which should really be soon if I want to do well on math tomorrow.

Oh, and I have to figure out a plot for book two ‘cause Camp NaNo starts…TOMORROW WHAT THE HECK." 

There you have it! Apparently I have a thing for caps lock. Rereading old brainstorming docs is fun too because sometimes there'll suddenly be "Why are my indents screwy?" or "Why did my music stop?" in the middle of a discussion of government structure or emotional reactions. 

What are some funny notes you've found in/about your writing?

Social media pics

This is not a real post. It is an experiment. This is me playing around and trying to figure out how to get my social media links working. That's why there are typewriter key things below. Hopefully I'll figure out how to put those in my sidebar.

The Liebster

It's been a long time since anyone's given me a blog award, but this week Sarah of Inklined gave me the Liebster! Thanks, Sarah! 

Here are the rules:
Thank and link back to the person who nominated you. (See above.)
List 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.
Ask them 11 questions.
Let them know about the nomination.

 Facts about me:

1. I currently sport the second worst bout of poison ivy I've ever had. 
2. I am taking an online mystery writing class.
3. I will be going to college in the fall.
4. I don't know what I'm going to study yet.
5. Top three choices are chemical technology, biotechnology, and radiology.
6. I got typewriter key jewelry this weekend and IT IS AWESOME.
7. I started listening to audiobooks whilst doing chores like weeding the garden or washing dishes. Chores have never been so much fun.
8. My favorite audiobook narrator is Katherine Kellgren. She's amazing. 
9. I've been listening to a lot of Terry Pratchett recently. 
10. Despite our best efforts, my family has not found a good ship name for Moist von Lipwig and Adora Belle Dearheart. Lipheart? Dearwig? Moira Belle? Adoist?
11. I finally figured out why my computer acts slow sometimes. There is an update that's been failing since June of last year, and my dad and I have yet to figure out how to make it update successfully.

Sarah's questions:

1. Favorite drink? Favorite soft drink? Hot chocolate. The dark stuff. With lots of whipped cream. Yum. I don't have soft drinks very often, so my favorite varies. Right now it's probably the cream soda my family bought in a dinky little grocery store after the car broke down.

2. Which bloggers would you most like to meet in person? Sarah, S. Alex Martin (whose blog I don't actually read but I beta read for him last year and he's awesome), Liam, Head Phil, and Robyn Hoode (who JUST got a blog. Go check it out!)

3. What are some of your favorite YouTube Channels? The Piano Guys, Blimey Cow, and The Vlogbrothers.

4. If you could resurrect one fictional character, (who died in the novel) who would it be? Ooh. Since my answer is spoilerific, I'll make you highlight it to see it. Don't read if you haven't finished the Harry Potter series. Tonks and Lupin. Or Fred. Their deaths hurt. Or maybe these guys from Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn books. Again, spoilers: Vin and Elend. I adored them so much, and I didn't see their deaths coming. Though I do admit, their deaths were really well done.

5. Favorite ice cream flavor/ concoction? (Cone, milkshake, ice cream cake, ect.) Anything with chocolate, or raspberry. As for concoction, it's a toss up between a sundae and ice cream cake.

6. If you could instantly master one hobby besides blogging and writing, what would it be? Archery. I've never taken archery classes or anything like that, but I've wanted to try it for a while now.

7. How do you like your eggs cooked? Scrambled or in an omelet with onions, garlic, mushrooms, arugula, and LOTS of cheese.

8. What is one crazy thing you'd one day like to do? I want to crash my friend Scalex's (the S. Alex mentioned above) first book signing. I'd like to get the four of his beta readers together and surprise him by showing up. (No small feat since we're spread all over the country.)

9. What fandoms are you a member of? A lot. Harry Potter, Mistborn, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, White Collar, Psych, Lark Rise to Candleford, Elizabeth Gaskell, Warehouse 13, Owl City, The Piano Guys.... There are many more but I'll stop there.

10. What social media sites are you on? Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads are the ones I'm on the most. I also have Twitter and Google+ accounts, but I almost never log on to those sites.

11. What writing projects are you currently working on? I just started a new round of revisions for Noxumbra. I'd also like to play around with Adventures in Editing, but I'm not sure when I'll get to that.

As for nominations, I nominate anyone who reads this. I don't feel like selecting a bunch of blogs, so if you want to have this award, I hereby give it to you. Enjoy!

In Which I Write a Prologue

So, after reading a blog post about some part of the writing process in some corner of the internet (yes, specificity is something I strive for here on my blog, thank you for noticing) I decided to write a prologue for Noxumbra. So I did. And I reeeaaaaally like it. So I'm going to share it with you. It's short. Just over 100 words long.

Wycliff Copperstone was dead. Taken below the sea with the others aboard The Cayla on its final voyage.

Henley Sayer sat in Wycliff’s study, staring at the newspaper on the desk. There was Wycliff’s name on the list of the dead; a terrifying jolt of familiarity on an inventory of tragedies. The first time the man’s name had been in the news in over a decade.

What would this mean for Noxumbra? And the people in it?

Things were going to change. There was no escaping that.

This had been coming, of course. All men died. Wycliff hadn’t been an exception. But did he have to prove his mortality so soon? Couldn’t he have waited another ten to thirty years?

Henley sighed. Things were going to change. For better or worse.

Probably worse.

I just love this.  There's a chance I won't keep it, but it is interesting and the story beginning on Chapter 1 starts kinda slow. So, either I'll speed it up or keep this or something else altogether. Only time will tell.