ODE to the Early Works

Todays random post is inspired by Julie at the rosewood pencil box and her fun post oh, the early work: a contest/blogfest. Here she shares her first creative stories of dinosaurs and wolfs... aren't you intrigued? Head over there and check it out and join the fun of posting about your early work. You could win cool prizes and plus its always fun to see where everyone starts this intoxicating journey of writing.

My early works started when I was four. I had this built in desk in my front room that my mother stung a long curtain from one side to the other so she could use it for storage and hid boxes under it. Well I would push the boxes out and make a fort under there. To this day I swear it was like a secret porthole or something because it took me to this exciting imaginary world (it kind of sounds like Narnia now that I think of it... haha). Any who, this is where I can physically remember stories starting to develop in my head. It was so magical back then *giant smiles*!!

Once I was old enough to go to school my priorities kind of changed. I was still a VERY creative kid but started to express it in drawings that more or less told a stories themselves.... 

Chubby Dino People in Love
(Yes I drew them, don't make fun of me... :) )

I know I wrote quite a few little stories for school but I have no idea what they were about... probably chubby dino people falling in love.  :)


My first "real" story I remember writing was about a boy named Ethan who was listening to his.... get this.... Diskman (wow that makes me feel old) in his room when he sees a person dressed all in black walk into his neighbors backyard with a duffle bag. The person comes back, without the bag and picks a yellow flower from the front yard and gets into a car and drives away. Come to find out the night before the local back was robbed and one of the suspects in his neighbor who lives in the same house he saw the person with the duffle bag. I named it "The Yellow Flower". I thought I was being so cool... hahaha!


After that I really got into writing pomes. I thought I was being sneaky by expressing my feelings about people with out coming right out and saying it. Let me tell you.... I just read them like ten minutes ago, Tristyn and you weren't fooling anyone. I have to laugh at this one too because I HONESTLY thought no one knew who I was talking about.  :)


So there you have it some of my early days in the life of a writer. The crazy thing about all of this is when I wrote "The Yellow Flower" I knew that some day this would be my passion, to write and create 
new worlds were a part of me could live in.

Join me in Juliemybird's awesome blogfest/contest and share your early works with other aspiring writers. 


What were some of your early works? Where they as random as mine?

Writing Tip: #3 Dreams

So.... todays post on writing isn't going to be very long but it's powerful and strong!

**....DREAMS....**

DON'T IGNOR THEM!!! 

Just after my body has slipped out of deep sleep and right before waking up is where I get the BEST and most vivid dreams. This is one thing I take to heart when I'm writing. It has really made my writing full of feeling, emotion, and very descriptive scenery. You could say that a dream is like a picture.... it's worth a thousand words but I like to say that its worth a million words because the feelings you get in a dream you can't totally comprehend in a picture.

So there you have it. Write down your dreams, as crazy as they might be I promise you won't regret it.

My Secret Charm has Arrived!!!

One of my first posts was about a creative contest I entered hosted by Beth Revis on her fabulous blog to win a signed ARC of A Million Suns. Although I didn't win she was kind enough to give all of the contestants a secret charm that would represent something big in her upcoming book. If you didn't get a chance to check out what I entered for the contest check it out HERE.

LOOK what I got in the mail today!!!!!! 

Beth Revis sent me a Thank You card, a signed book plate, two charms
and a sleek black business card (I bought the book).

Two charms: One is a lotus blossom and the
other is a koi fish.

On the back of the envelope was this really cool sticker of
Amy that I had to show you.

If you haven't read Across the Universe by Beth Revis I TOTALLY recommend that you do. The sequel to ATU, A Million Suns, comes out  01.10.12  so mark your calendars!

Writing Tip: #2 Index Cards

Todays writing tip is one of my favorites.... using index cards. I have found this so helpful because I am a very visual kind of person. I have to see what I'm up against and where I need to go. That being said here is my Wednesday writing tip.....

First off grab yourself a stack of index cards and at the top of  the first one label it "Chapter 1" in pencil. On the next write "Chapter 2" and so forth until you have 25 index cards labeled. You can make more or less cards depending on how many chapters you think you will need to finish your book. I like to use 25 because it give me some flexibility.

22 left to go.... :)

Now take that tacky blue stuff you can put on your wall and hang all of the note cards on the wall in chronological order. Next get a stack of sticky notes and write down one of your main ideas on one sticky note. Do the same for the rest of your main ideas and then stick them on the chapter you think the idea will best fit.

I only did 1-10 so you  could see....

Now that you have it all laid out you can see where you need to add a few things.... chapter 2 & 3 might need a little thinking through or what not. You can also move the sticky notes around if later on you think it needs to go somewhere else.

This helps me see how much I still need to get done or how much I have already accomplished. Once I have completed a chapter I take off the sticky note and write on the index card with pencil the main points that happened in that chapter. You can always go back through and add a chapter here or there or take out chapters and this way it's super easy to see what you have going on.

Have you tried doing something like this? If so do share... :)

Writing Tip: #1 Idea List

I know I'm not a New York Times Best Selling Author or even have a piece of work published but I do have a few tips that have helped me on my journey to finish writing my first YA novel. Todays tip is about ideas..... I know that to even start writing you must have an "idea" but I think it would be appropriate to put a 's' on the word idea and say "ideas" because the more ideas you have the more involved your story will be and the more interesting the story line.

The first thing I do when I want to write a new story is write a list off all of the wild ideas that come to my head. I know.... I know....write a list.... duh! right? Well next I wait. I wait for more ideas to come flooding in. This could take a day, a week, or even a month. During this time I keep writing the new ideas onto the same piece of paper and watch my story evolve. Some of my ideas at the beginning my have been a little underdeveloped or immature but thats ok! Thats part of getting the creative juice flowing.

When I'm ready to commit to a few ideas I like best I start to think about how they will eventually fit together. You don't have to have a whole story planned out, if you're someone that likes to fly by the seat of their pants as you write, but you do need to have a vague idea or how are you going to start? All you have to do now is put your fingers to the keys or pen to paper and let that story come out.

I find if I have a trouble spot in my story and I need something extra, I do this little idea exercise.

1. Find a scrap piece of paper
2. Get a PEN!!! Don't use a pencil because you might be tempted to erase something.
3. Give yourself 5 minutes to write down as many ideas as possible on that paper. The crazier the better!
4. After 5 minutes are up, mix and match your ideas to come up with one GREAT idea.
5. Now try and finish writing that trouble spot with your new GREAT idea.

Have you tried doing something like this when writing?

More Ovaltine PLEASE!!! :P

So I had this old Ovaltine canister that I didn't want to throw away because you know me... "I can make something out of this," I said, so I kept it. Well I finally got it all JAZZED up.

Things I used to make my creation :)

My JAZZED up Ovaltine can :)

I think this could make a cute button holder for all of those random buttons laying around the house or maybe even a cool pencil holder for your desk. I don't know what I'm going to use it for but I sure do like the looks of it. :)

Have you made anything fun out of Mod Podge lately?

Across the Universe Art

I recently entered an art piece into a creative contest hosted by one of my favorite authors Beth Revis. The grand prize was a signed ARC of her new book that comes out in January 2012 called A Million Suns and a custom made charm bracelet that fits with the theme of her first book Across the Universe. Everyone that entered got there name put in for the grand prize and guess what?....... I didn't win :'( I was sad but super stoked when she said that all of the people that entered would get a secret charm mailed to them that could be put on a necklace or bracelet of your own because she LOVED all of the entries. She also explained how the charm played a big roll in her new book so we will see what it is when it gets here in the mail. I'll post some pictures when I get it. But any who.... here is what I entered:

ATU "Tristyn" interpretation :)

Close up of Amy's Red Star.

Close up on Elder's Blue Star.

If you haven't read Across the Universe I recommend you pick it up at your local library. 

Here is a synopsis of ATU that Goodreads has posted on their website:

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Have you entered any cool book contests lately?

10 Things I Love about Goodreads

1. I love how you can keep track of every single book you read.
2. I love how you can rate each book from 0-5 with cute little stars.
3. I love how you can enter to win FREE books.
4. I love how you can keep tabs on your favorite authors.
5. I love how you can post reviews on the books you read (I haven't done this yet but I plan on it).
6. I love how you can take fun quizzes on the books you read.
7. I love how there is a new quote of the day every single day to inspire you.
8. I love how you can see what your friends are reading.
9. I love how it's FREE to sign up.
10. And most of all I LOVE that you can find new book to read every time you log in.

Are you on Goodreads? If not, go over there and check out how cool it is.... here.... I promise you won't regret it. And while you're there look for me so we can be friends. :)

Do you remember my "Guilty Pleasure"?

So today I was at the library with little-G and while we were playing with puppets I realized how unorganized all of the toys were, not to mention the fact that crayons littered the ground from corner to corner of the small play area too. Being the organizer I am I couldn't not pick up all of the crayons, dinosaurs, puppets, felt board cut outs, paper, random books, and play dishes.... oh yeah I also made sure all of the chairs were pushed in too.  :) I know it's a little compulsive but I couldn't help myself. I can only imagine what the lady at one of the little round tables was thinking as I busily stuffed puppets into a tote. "CRAZY!" Oh well, at least I left it cleaner than when I got there. +2 points for me! Wahoo!

What drives you crazy when you go out in public? 

First Blog = First post.... (go figure)

I've been thinking a lot about starting a bog but kept telling myself that it wasn't for me....needless to say the thought kept knocking on my brain and here I am, right here in the infamous blog world typing my first words. *sigh*  Has the dark side taken hold of me or am I in a wonderful world of frosted cupcakes and a new pack of  96 count crayons with the sharpener on the back? I hoping for the crayons to tell you the truth...

... oh how I love crayons....

Sorry, back to what I was saying... blogging... right, well as for my first post I think it would be appropriate for me to let you in on a little secret *shhhhh...* I DONT KNOW WHAT I'M DOING?! On that note... I think I should start with a little about myself:

• I love doing anything creative:  crafts, writing, sewing (the little I can do), and making art pieces with anything I can get my hands on.
• I have a guilty pleasure of organizing things.
• Im obsessed with reading which is weird because I hated it when I was a kid.
• I finished writing my first YA novel in February and secretly wish for it to be published.
• I love the rain.
• Im in love with nautical things.

So there you have it, my first post on my first blog. What was your first post about?