What I Always Say

Every year, without fail, I have ideas for novels. Why? Because I aspire to be an author and my imagination sometimes runs wild. Especially at night.
And every time I sit down to write a novel, I say to myself, "I'm finishing this one, no matter what."
Obviously, I still have yet to finish a novel.

Not surprisingly, I've had an idea recently. And so I sat down and wrote three pages this morning, and that little voice in my head started nagging at me again. "You aren't really going to finish this novel. It'll just end up being thirty pages of crap that you never look at again and just sits there taking up more space on your computer."
And more than likely, that's probably true.

But after reading countless articles on how to stay interested in writing a novel and how to actually FINISH, I think I've come to a conclusion.

My first novel is going to suck.

In fact, it's going to suck so bad that when it's over, I'll probably revise it thirty or so times. And still hate it.

But my goal is this: Finish the damn novel. No matter how bad it might be at the end.

Every writer improves on their writing skills with the more they write.
If I can finish one, then the next one will be easier. I just have to find my system.

Last year when NaNoWriMo came around, I was filled with the idea that I would be finally finishing a novel.
Boy, was I wrong.
I did all the steps. My entire chalkboard wall was filled with my cramped writing and post-it notes. I had the entire outline staring at me for weeks. And it sucked. And I hated it. And I tossed it aside.

So, for the current wanna-be novel that I'm writing, I vow to have a routine.
From now on, Monday through Thursday, I'm writing. FOR  AT LEAST two hours a day.
I just have to grit my teeth, crack my knuckles and fight my way through my first novel.
I've got to realize that it's going to suck horribly.

Peace, Love, and Junk Food,
Sara

Current Song I'm In Love With: 2 Atoms In a Molecule- Noah and the Whale

Can't wait

Fellow readers and bloggers, I am excited about 2012.
There are several reasons to be excited, but I'll just tell you a few of them :)

1. In March, I'll get my drivers license. Know what that means? It means me and Paige can go on spontaneous trips to Gigi's cupcakes for no reason. (Other than eating their awesome cupcakes of course) :)
2.  I'm so far into this novel that I actually want to know how it turns out. Last night, I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about the scenes I would get to write today. I hope that this year, I'll be able to finish my story, and start on another one :)
3. The Hunger Games movie. No further explanation needed. 
4. I'm running the half marathon again! And guess who might run it with me? Paige! I'm so excited about that!
5. I have an entirely new style for this year. To the crapper with generic Aeropostal t-shirts and boring blue jeans. I've decided to embrace a style that is uniquely Sara. It includes a whole lot of tights, combat boots, more converse shoes, blazers and bombers, etc. I can't wait to get back to school with my my new edginess :D haha
6. My 16th birthday is going to be awesome. I'm going to have a huge bonfire out in my field with a ton of my friends. After the party? Camp out. No boys allowed (because that's how I roll). 
7. Books by authors I love are coming out this summer!!!

8. I'm just excited to have a whole new beginning. I'm getting rid of all the things holding me back. It's time to not care what anyone else thinks, and be myself more than ever. I've decided to channel the honey badger, and just not care.

Peace, love, and combat boots,
                                                 Sara

Great News

Well, it seems as if I have some awesome news to share with you guys :D
As of now, I'm going to be guest writing for Miss Unlimited! It's a website for teenage girls that talks about really anything. And I love it!
You can look for my first post on February 10th :)
And I already know exactly what I'm going to write about, but guess what? I'm not telling any of you.
Yep, because that's how I roll.
I'm especially excited because, not only is this an awesome opportunity to get my message out to more readers, but it's also a way to make more connections in the blogger community.
Also, G-fish (author of The Life of a Goldfish Lover) is going to be a guest writer too! If you haven't read her blog, you definitely should. She's funny, and I always end up laughing at her posts.
Yep, that is the awesome news I had to share with all of you. I got asked to be a guest writer on an actual website. To me, that's a pretty big deal. :)
Because you all know how much I love to write, you know how opinionated I am, and you know how I love to talk to other bloggers like me! MAN! THAT WAS A REALLY LONG SENTENCE!
Sorry for not using my inside voice, but I hear the sound of a Gigi's cupcake calling my name downstairs.
OH! And before I forget, tomorrow is Say Sara, Saturday! And I need questions :) So send them in! I won't publish the post until reallly late tomorrow, so you have plenty of time.

Happy early New Year's everyone!

Peace, love, and crap loads of frosting,
                                                            Sara

And now, I'm happy

Finally, on the day after Christmas, I'm feeling great. And know what the funny thing is? I think one of the reasons I was feeling all messed up had to do with my relatives that were visiting. I love them to death, but after a few days, I just want to have the house back to normal.

Today, I feel excited for a few good reasons :)
One: I have a great new Nikon camera and I'm heading into Nashville later. What does that mean? Pictures of total strangers, that's what. One thing I really love is urban photography. I have plenty of nature to take pictures of around here, but what I really want to experiment more with, is photos of people in the city.
Two: I have combat boots, something I've wanted for a while!
Three: I can now play the ukulele, and it's great! I've already written a song with it :)
Four: I'm just in an awesome mood!

If you read my last post, then you might be confused by my seemingly fast mood swing.
But hey, that's just how I am. I doubt anyone in my family even noticed anything different.

Well, I'm getting off because, I have one last reason adding to my amazing mood.
I've now written so much more on a story that I had previously stored away to write later.
I know all of you have seen me start stories, get so excited about them, and then give up. But this time, I think I'm just going to finish it no matter how much it makes me mad.
I feel connected to these characters more than any of the characters I've written in the past, and I really want to see them through until the end.
If you click on the "Songs" page, you can see the playlist for the novel I'm working on. But I encourage you to wait until later tonight, because I'm going to edit it quite a bit.
Because, since I've been revising the original idea, the plot has changed.

Peace, love, and Word Processor,
                                                        Sara

Block

I've never lacked inspiration. Whether in writing, photography, or music. I just never have. There's always been one more idea waiting at the back of my mind to be written down. Sometimes I feel like I'm sick of ideas.
Too many characters to keep up with at any one time.
But these days, I've just had one idea stuck in my head. The idea for the novel I'm currently fighting to finish.
I didn't reach the NaNoWriMo word count goal, but I figured I wouldn't be able to anyways. And I'm not the slightest bit disappointed. Because I have an idea that I really want to see through to the end.
I looked back over a few of the stories that I had started but never finished earlier, and it made me angry with myself. Some of those stories had the potential to be good books. But because I will never think that what I'm writing is good enough, they all got tossed in the trash.
And this time is no different. It isn't really a wall that I've hit in writing this story, but more of a big canyon that I have to figure out how to cross.
I know what's going to happen in this story, I have since the very start of writing it.
But sometimes, when I sit down to write a few scenes, I realize that there are holes in the plot.
Somehow, I just have to figure out how to fill them up.
And I don't want some stupid mediocre story that anyone could have thought up. I don't want a story that has been told a million times over. I especially don't want a cheesy love story with a bunch of useless drama.
Which is why I take so much time in everything that I write. I want my characters to have substance. I want them to be both easy to understand, and difficult to side with at the same time. I hope that made sense to someone.
I really just want to write a story that sticks with people. I don't want to be the next J.K. Rowling, I just want to write something that touches someone.
And going from the advice of my favorite author, Maggie Stiefvater, when you come to a place when your story isn't making much sense anymore, you should backtrack. Go back to the place in the story where you still had the right idea, and fix it. Even if it means going back to the very begging.
But don't give up.
And so that's what I'll do with this story. I'll keep the parts that make perfect sense, and I'll take out all of the useless information. All of the scenes that really had no impact on the plot as a whole.
That woman is an amazing role model, I swear. If it wasn't for her, I would have given up on this story a long time ago.

Peace, love, and canyons,
                                          Sara

A quote that never fails to inspire me.

 I found a quote the other day that really made me happy.
I love writing stories, writing songs, pretty much writing anything. I have ever since I learned to write. Because that's part of me. All of the characters that live inside my brain all day, all of the lyrics that buzz around until I give in and write them down, they're part of what makes me who I am. Could it be part insanity? Of course it can. But then, most great authors, poet, and musicians have been mad. That didn't stop them from doing what they loved.
What scares me most about loving to write, loving to just create, is not living up to my own expectations. Not creating the ideal story that gets across every theme that I intended. When people read or hear what I write, I hope they feel what I feel when I write it. I hope they see all of the same things as I did when I wrote it. Which is why I was really inspired by this quote.

"If you find yourself asking yourself, 'Am I really a writer?
Am I really an artist?' Chances are, you are.
The counterfeit innovator is wildly self confident.
The real one is scared to death." Steven Pressfield- The War of Art 

And that is why it really inspired me. Because it's the truth. All this time I've been thinking to myself, If I can't finish a novel because I'm too scared of messing up, why do I keep trying? Why do I love something so much if I can never accomplish it? But when I read that quote, I felt good about myself. I had confidence in myself for once. I am a writer. I will write something that moves people. Those words are my new mantra.

~Sara

Two more minutes...

This morning as my alarm went off on my cell phone, I pretty much hated the world. I'm more of a morning person, but I absolutely hate getting up at 5:45 every single morning for school. So I squinted at my phone and turned the alarm off. Then I did probably the one mistake that everyone makes multiple times a year. I told myself I'd only sleep for two more minutes. Which is why I was shocked to be woken up exactly twenty-seven minutes later than I had planned. Which is why I'm writing to you now at a time when I should be in school. I just skipped today and took a much needed breather. We weren't doing anything important today anyways, I just wanted to be home. My mom also left for Savanna, GA today and I wanted to be here to tell her bye.

Great news! It's the second day of November which means....It's the second day of NaNoWriMo! I'm super excited because I've never done this before. The object of NaNoWriMo, for those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, is to write 50,000 words on a novel by the end of the month. At the moment, I have about 3,000 words so far. I'm very disappointed that I haven't had as much time as I would like, to just plaster myself to the computer screen and write. So instead I've been hand writing some of it any chance I get and then coming home and typing it all into the computer. It takes twice the amount of time, but when I feel like writing, I write. Which half the time is at school.

Ready for November

So things didn't work out with that guy, like I knew it wouldn't. Am I upset? Nope. Not a bit. Why? Because I'm used to this! I start liking someone and then I find out they don't like me back then I start thinking, You know Sara, you really are an idiot when it comes to boys. And then I do it all over again. But at least this time, the guy had the decency to not blow the whole thing out of proportion.

In other more important news, NaNoWriMo is coming up November first, so if any of you are up for writing a 50,000 or more word novel in one month, get to outlining! I just finished outlining the entire plot for the story that I'm going to write and the waiting is killing me! I keep writing random scenes, re writing them, and then tossing them in the trash. When I'm not doing that, I'm researching :) This book has the potential to be really good and I really hope I can write it well enough :)

Story time! :) Today in school we had to take our pre ACT test. Fun, right? Nope. It was stupid on so many levels. Especially since I won't take any of my core classes until next semester. So on the science part of the test, I was just randomly choosing answers. It doesn't help that the devil incarnate is our guidance counselor. Ha! Like I would tell that woman anything. I swear she's the most hateful woman I've ever had to be around.
Me and Tristan kept pretend crossing ourselves and acted like we were sprinkling Holy water in the cafeteria. :)

It was over all a pretty okay day :)

peace, love, and exorcisms,
                                           ~Sara

Life's too short to even care at all oh
I'm coming up now coming up now out of the blue
These zombies in the park they're looking for my heart
Oh oh oh oh
A dark world aches for a splash of the sun oh oh ~ Young the Giant: Cough Syrup

Lazy Friday

I know I've not been blogging nearly as much as I wish I could, I just haven't had much time. I took the day off from school today because I wasn't really feeling like going this morning. I mean, in all honesty, the only classes I like going to are second block and fourth block. That's just three hours out of the whole school day that I find myself actually doing something productive. So instead of going to school, I spent the early part of the day watching The Pianist which was an amazing movie about the holocaust. One of my favorite actors, Adrien Brody, played the lead in the movie and I absolutely loved it. Maybe I'm sort of biased considering that I belong to the one percent of Americans that actually find Adrien Brody attractive. :)  I remember watching The village, King Kong, and the Darjeeling Limited when I was in elementary school. :)
Anyways, I decided after eating the better part of a spinach pizza, that today was the perfect day to just write. It's rainy outside, sort of chilly, and I've always been more inspired to be more creative on days like this.
Which is why I'm up here now, writing to all of you about how I'm a lazy teenager that is happier on gloomy days. I swear, sometimes I think I'd feel right at home living in Seattle or somewhere like that where it rained a lot.
I know I told you, or at least I think I told you, about how we're re doing my room. It's going to be such a job... But I guess that's okay, it'll be really pretty once it's done :) I'll make sure to post pictures when I have everything settled :)

I got to thinking the other day, this blog is meant to be a long term thing. I want it to follow me through college, to New York, to my first job out of college. I want it to stay with me as long as it can, because that way, I can look back to the very first time I ever started it.
You know, it's funny really. With every post I put on here, a little more of my life story get's told for anyone to read. And I've never even been able to keep a diary updated for more than a week or two. There's just something about blogging that makes it seem more important :) I love how I can write anything and people still read it. Now I know most of you don't really read my whole posts or any of them at all. You just followed me so that I'd follow you. But I do read your entries :) Which is why I'm thanking anyone who ever read a single post that I put up.

          Peace, love, and spinach pizza,
                                                          ~Sara

Story excerpts

I know I haven't been posting near as much as I should and I'm sorry, but I promise I haven't given up on blogging. In fact, the reason I haven't been posting as much is because I'm writing a pretty lengthy post at the moment. It's more like a long essay and I should be done with it by next weekend. It shouldn't be boring, just sort of a perspective thing. So for now, I'll post a few excerpts from novels that I have worked on in the past, and an excerpt from my newest story :)
Comment and let me know which one you liked the most :) I love feedback from readers! All I'm asking is that I get to keep my own ideas. I know it must sound silly, but it's happened to me before and i didn't appreciate it at all. I don't care if they inspire you, but they are my ideas alone. So don't steal!

Excerpt #1

“Let’s go, sis.” she forces a smile and takes his hand. He hauls her to her feet and for a faction of a moment, we just stand there looking at each other. This could be the last time any of us see one another. At any moment during the run, one of us could die. 
We have a rule that has only been brought up once: Every person for themselves.
I don’t know how true that would hold in the event that something were to actually happen to one of us. I know that Mason will always try to save Harper, even if it means risking his own life in the process. 
No one will die to save me. 
I nod once and look towards the thick dark forest directly in front of us. Behind us, steadily creeping overhead, is the craft. “Time to run.”


Excerpt #2

The thing bared it’s teeth and I stared in horror at their serrated edges.
It would not take long to finish me off.
The creature began to moves towards me, seemingly silent besides the sloshing of the water that had now risen to almost half way up my shins if I was standing. It covered my lap completely and I wondered if I could swim with a broken leg.
Gray light filtered down through the leaf covered netting above and glimmered dully against the dirty water.
Leaves, dirt, and blood covered my once pure white dress and I wondered absently how much washing it would take to get it clean again. It was just like me, I thought, to be more worried about my dirty gown than the fact that my life was seconds from being over.
I wouldn’t have time to wash it.
The creature’s coarse black hair was wet as well and it was shaking. I could see all of it’s ribs pressed against it’s skin. It’s spine stood out on it’s back. It was starved. And I was dinner. It started to move towards me, white teeth standing out against it’s dark black coat.
When it was about a foot or so from me and I could feel it’s breath against my face, I noticed the creature’s eyes.
They were undeniably human. 

Excerpt #3  * Probably one of my favorite stories that I've ever written, I know I'll come back to it eventually :) It is definitely one of my most creative ones considering that I had to create an entirely different dystopian society. My favorite thing to write about are corrupt societies after all :) 

Something green grasps my attention and I stop paving. “Look, Petra!” From a tiny crack in the concrete to my left, sprouts a tiny sprig of bright green grass. It is the first time I’ve seen grass in almost a year and a half. She smiles and watches as I crouch down to touch the small thing that to anyone outside of Toam is insignificant. To me, it means the world. It reminds me of a feather as I barely touch my calloused finger to it. My dry lips feel like they might split open as I grin. For the first time in so long, I have something to hope for. This single blade of grass surrounded by barriers, symbolizes my life in Toam. 

The life that with any luck, will change soon. 

Excerpt #4 This excerpt occurs in two parts because this story is told from two different points of view. You've probably seen the first one on here once before, but not many of you have seen the second one. 

Mallorie: The strange boy hummed a song softly. The melody was more melancholy than sweet and it filled the silent night air with music. I was starting to become more aware of my surroundings. We were still in the forest, but I could hear the sounds of a highway; maybe we were close to town. Somewhere in the woods, a coyote howled. The sound was high pitched and lonely. It blended perfectly with this boy’s song.

Zane: She made no sound as she cried, I think that was what truly made it the saddest. She was clearly in pain, but she didn't express it in the ways that I had seen so many times before. 

She held a hand over her mouth, as if trying to hold in a scream growing inside her. The tears fell freely from her eyes. Tiny crystals in the light from the rainy day. Even when she cried, she was beautiful. Beautiful in the way that a burning building is in the rain. A quiet chaos. 

Excerpt #5  This same exact story line must be written five different ways on my laptop, two different ways on the Monster upstairs, and once on the family laptop. It's just one of those ideas that sticks with you but you have no idea how to best say what you're trying to convey. Does anyone else know what I mean by that? 

 “I have decided that you have to choices, Mr. Whitmore. We can kill him, or we can abandon him. He is of no use to us anymore.” Mr. Whitmore hung his head. “Then the choice is easy. We kill him.” The other men shook their heads. “No, he has promised not to do anything else…reckless. We owe him a second chance.” Mr. Whitmore laughed a strained laugh and looked at the other men. “You see that’s the thing Howard.” He said in the direction of Mr. Roland. “I’m not a fan of second chances.” He pulled out a shiny black object from his pocket and held it up to the other men. “Thank you for your service.” He said before he shot either of the men in the head. The gun made a tiny sound and Hannah reasoned that it had a silencer, but Hannah was too afraid to reason much, especially as Mr. Whitmore lowered the gun and shot at the crumpled form. There was no noise after that, except for the small sound of Mr. Whitmore’s shoes quietly hitting the stone ground beneath. 

Excerpt #6 I really love this story :) Although I hit a stump and never made it past the fourth or fifth chapter, I really loved both characters. I'd love to finish this one day. Actually, the same idea of the "x" has been a recurring one. It shows up in several of the stories that I've mentioned above. 

A slight popping sound came from his left, the side nearest to the tree itself. The smell of burning sulfur filled his nostrils and he fought the urge to cough.

A skeletal man with a long wooden pipe looked at him and smiled. A wicked, toothless smile that did nothing to change the appearance of his hollowed out face. “Time’s ticking son. Do you want to be here when it runs out?” the man rasped in a voice that sounded like the wind blowing across fallen dead leaves on a grave.

The man laughed a soft, crackling laugh that sent chills up his spine. Delano’s eyes, or rather, where his eyes should be, glowed softly. The empty eye sockets seemed to be lit by some inner fire that Aidan could not comprehend. The branch began to creak under the weight of the two men and Aidan became worried. More so than before. 

“That’s my cue, son,” said Delano looking down at the girl who now had the boy’s shirt on, “You know the rules.” Delano bent to where his toothless mouth was next to Aidan’s ear and he pressed a bony hand on the back of his neck. “Please don’t…I don’t have to be…I can do this…” Aidan stammered, unable to contain the bile rising in his throat. “It has to be done child.” whispered Delano, holding up a skeletal index finger and tracing a long X into the skin on the back of Aidan’s neck. The bone burned into his neck and he clenched his teeth. He would not show weakness. He knew everything that the mark meant. Everything that it allowed. 

Excerpt #7

“I need you to give this to someone.” He said, holding out the paper again. It was yellowed with age. A large tear ran along the side where it appeared to have been folded a few too many times. She adjusted her apron as she waited for him to continue. 

“It’s very important that you pay attention Claire.” The waitress snapped her head up. She felt for her name tag. There wasn’t one. She remembered that she had lost it yesterday. She was suppose to have Dan, the manager, replace it. 

“Good. There is a boy, not much younger than you, that comes here every Wednesday night. His name is Asher Byrne. When he comes here tonight, give him this letter. Remind him that summer starts next week. He’ll understand.” Claire inched back a step. Everything about this man gave her the creeps. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m not really suppose to do that. The post office is just around the corner if you need something mailed.” Anger flashed in the man’s eyes. 

Excerpt #8

“Corvina.” Delano hissed into the darkness opposite the porch. A shadow seemed to step out of the trees to join him. “You called?” said the raspy voice of a woman who was hidden beneath a long black cloak that seemed to reflect what moonlight was visible through the thick clouds. “I did.” replied Delano. 

She stepped further from the trees and he gasped as she lowered her hood. Her skin was as pale as the moon and her eyes seemed to be as black as the night sky. She had no irises. Only pupils made up her eyes. Her black hair spilled around her shoulders in loose curls and under her arm she carried an empty basket.

“You know the price?” He nodded gesturing to Samson’s dead body lying at the foot of the wooden steps.

“Taken care of.” 

she smiled and revealed two rows of pointed teeth that looked as sharp as knives.

“Well then we should finish this then.” she said eyeing Samson’s corpse again. “We won’t be finished for awhile. This is only the start.” She nodded grimly and carefully stepped over the body in her flats.

Excerpt #9  

I was kneeling in front of a rusted toilet. The lid was up and I held my hair back with my left hand. My right hand pushed against the wall in a futile effort to keep me steady. The nauseous feeling that nagged at me everyday was worse today. 

I gagged and vomited into the toilet and then gagged more. 

“Oh bless your heart, I’m sorry Mallorie, I’m just…I broke up with James and I haven’t been myself all day. Forgive me?” I rolled my eyes. She was lying. James had dumped her last night because he caught her making out with his best friend Mark behind the dumpsters of  the Jones Diner. I knew exactly how it had gone down. It had been on an endless loop in Amy’s head for two days now. 

I knew what had happened word for word. 

I stared straight ahead at the pale yellow concrete wall and tried to catch my breath. My mouth tasted horrible and I just wanted to go home. Anywhere but here was preferable. 

It was the first day of our Senior year. What a wonderful way to kick it off. “Yeah I forgive you Amy, just go on to class. I’m going to the nurse.” I lied, but she would never know. 

She hesitated a moment longer, not because she was torn between staying by my side and going to class, but because she was stuffing her bra with more paper towels. 

I waited until the sound of her heels clicking on the linoleum was far enough down the hallway before I curled into a ball and leaned heavily against the wall. At that point, I didn’t care what kinds of bacteria and diseases could be lurking on the floor, I just cared about having something solid behind me and underneath me for support.

Excerpt #10  Here's an excerpt from the current story I'm working on :) Definetly my favorite story I've ever written :) I know that some of the terminology is confusing considering that when I create a new society for a story, I have to create the slang terms as well. Tell me what you think! 

Someone is in the alley with me. At first, I don’t turn around because for all I know the person might be a milkeye and if they are, they won’t hesitate to jump me. So I keep walking. My black sneakers slap cross the wet pavement softly.  The person follows silently, but the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. My fingers twitch towards my knife, but I clench them into a fist. Always keep a low profile. That lesson is true even here, in this dark alley where I’m being pursued by only one person. Rain clatters noisily from a rusted gutter and pull my hood lower over my eyes. I’m almost to the little door when I hear a small cough from behind me. I freeze. 

Every muscle in my body tenses, ready to either run for my life to the little black door that symbolizes everything I value most, or turn and fight. 

“Sonah,” I put my hand on the knife resting in my coat pocket, “they’ll find you. You can’t keep running to every Site club in the city like this.” I knew that voice all too well.  I should have known. I bite my bottom lip until the taste of copper fills my mouth. “How long you been following me, Nite?” I say his name quickly, as if I’m trying to get rid of it. 

I focus on the corroded door handle. The rain is letting up some, but it’s still enough to make me wish for an umbrella. “Since you killed that milkeye.” That had been this morning. By now, his blood is dry beneath my finger nails. 

Out of the sixty or so stories on my laptop and the twenty or more on the Monster, I hope you liked these ten. :) 

The story I need to tell

In the summer before eighth grade, I had an idea for a story. I know, I have ideas all the time, but this one has stayed with me ever since. I fell in love with the characters and the story that they were telling. I'm not sure how it would have ended, I never actually thought that far into it. I do know that one day, I need to get around to rewriting it. The very beginning of it was a prologue that was somewhat lengthy, but overall I think it sets the story up exactly right. So here's what I've been thinking. Since I love the main characters so much, but don't really like the setting and a few other big plot points, I'm going to start it over. I think that it's about time that I finish a story don't you? Unless it's total crap, I'm going to finish this one. As added incentive to finish, I'm making up a deadline and posting the countdown on this blog. That way, I can pretend like I have a time limit that I have to stick to. Also, I will be posting a few excerpts on here, but no lengthy ones. I sort of want to keep this under wraps until I know I'm going to finish it :) 

~Sara

A few changes to the blog

I decided not to put many exerpts at all onto the Novel Project page because when my friends read it, I want it all to be a surprise. Which is why the page will now just be used for news on the progress :) (I'm more than 10% done...haha). And I'm making a new page for my short stories :) Even though I've never finished one of them :) I will though :)
So...that's about it :)

~Sara

On the bright side :)

My last post wasn't really negative but it wasn't positive either, so I felt like I had to balance it out with this post :)
On the bright side, my novel is coming along great and I hope to have several excerpts up by at least tonight. It's been a few days since I've last written, but that's mainly because I'm waiting to get my mom's opinion on one of the main events in the book :)

A few things about the book: The main character's name is Tawny Dornan. The novel is set in the future in an extremely dystopian society. If you know me, you know that I love a good dystopian story, so it was a no brainer that my favorite story idea so far is a dystopian. :)
That was only two things.. but you'd understand how long it would take me to explain if you read the spiral notebook dedicated to keeping the story flowing :)

So I love you guys and I hope you keep reading!

~ Sara

The new story!!!!!!!! :D

So, I know that no one's noticed, but I haven't been talking about writing lately. No, I haven't stopped writing. That's ridiculous :) I've started working on an old story! :D
I really really love it!
I'm writing four hours a day during the week, and eight hours a day on the weekends :)
I'm GOING to finish this one!!! :D I'll post a few excerpts later :)

~Sara