Update - My Hero Excerpt!

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Who has the most neglected blog on the internet, right?

I've learned that I punish myself for not writing by not allowing myself to make a blog post.

Which tells you just how long I went without writing.

But, for the past few days, I've been in a frenzy of writing productivity working on my long-overdue 2010 NaNo Novel!

Things are going very well. You would not believe how effective getting rid of Zach was.

I also changed a male character to a female character, which will make things a tiny bit tricky (you have no idea how annoying it is to have to change the masculine to feminine EVERYWHERE I've already written with this character).

I'll pause and explain WHY I did that.

I have 3 NaNoWriMo novels that are started and need to be rewritten to be finished. All three of those novels, 1) My Hero, 2) The Lion and the Frog, and 3) Leprechaun Holiday, have a 'big brother' character. This may have something to do with the fact that I don't have an older brother and have always wanted one.

Besides the 3 NaNo Novels, I have a 2-book set in my head based on the fairy tale Thumbelina, 4) Flower & Thorn, and 5) Tommelise, which will ALSO have a big brother character in it.

[Why are there too many story ideas and not enough time/energy to write them?]

So, I figured that wouldn't do. Books #2, #4, and #5 DEPEND on having a big brother character. So I'm working with what can be changed. Luckily, the fastest and easiest fix is to switch the big brother in My Hero to a big sister.

It actually makes more sense in the long run.

Yay!

Aside from those 5 potential novels, I actually have a musical in my head right now. The plot was originally from a story (obviously), but the story is about a couple who rashly decide to break their engagement off, and how they eventually learn they don't want to be with anyone else.

[WHY!?]

So, anyway, that's an update on what I'm working on.

And, to reward you for coming back to my blog after my embarrassing hiatus, I give you:

A NOVEL EXCERPT!

As usual, this is a first draft, so it may eventually be completely different, but for the time-being, its one of my favorite scenes I've written thus far. It's also one of those PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN THIS SCENE WILL COME BACK AT SOME POINT IN THE BOOK scenes.

Enjoy!

“Look out!” a voice yelped.

Peach skidded to a stop right in front of Fr. Albert Gregg, the priest from Claypool who came to Bendbridge every Sunday to say the 10 a.m. Mass. Bendbridge had no priest of its own, only the big, broken down, supposedly haunted church. . Peach realized she and Sukie were nearly to the skate park – she was standing in the shadow of the St. Flannan’s Church steeple. Without thinking, Peach took a picture of Fr. Gregg’s startled face.

He laughed. “I look that good, huh?”

“Sorry, Father!” Peach cried. “I wasn’t watching where I was going,”

“No trouble,” he said. He lifted the stack of papers he held in his hands. “I’m just here to hang these around town,” He held one of them up, and Peach read the header quickly.  

ANNOUNCEMENT:

CHURCH OF ST. FLANNAN’S TO BE CLOSED AND DEMOLISHED SPRING 2011

Peach gasped involuntarily. “Oh my gosh – really?”

Fr. Gregg nodded, looking a little crestfallen. “Unfortunately, St. Flannan’s is being closed. The bishop sees no point in trying to keep it open. It needs too many repairs and doesn’t get enough donations,”

For some reason, Peach felt like crying. She wasn’t sure why. “I don’t want it to close,” she said sadly.

Fr. Gregg raised his eyebrows. “Do you go to church every Sunday, Patricia?”

Peach blushed, and shook her head sheepishly. “My mom works a lot of Sunday’s, and she wants me to stay home and clean for our renters, and…”

Fr. Gregg held up a hand to stop her. “I don’t need a confession, Patricia, I’m just trying to make a point. Very few people in Bendbridge even come to church every Sunday. And most of the people who do attend Mass drive to Claypool instead of going here in town. No one really likes the church. They all say it’s haunted. And maybe they’re right. Sometimes I’ve gotten plenty spooked in there. Anyway, it’ll be fine, Patricia. Anyone who is still interested in attending Mass can drive to Claypool either Saturday or Sunday,”

“Peach?” Sukie called from further down the sidewalk.

“Coming!” Peach replied, waving to her friend. She looked back at Fr. Gregg. “I’m still sorry. I’d go to Mass every day to keep it open. I’m going to miss it,”

Fr. Gregg smiled at her, and made her feel very stupid by patting her helmet. “Don’t get upset about any of it, Patricia. Keep reading your bible and praying, and everything will be fine,”

He hurried away into the Church, and Peach watched him go. She always felt like Fr. Gregg didn’t take anyone in Bendbridge seriously, and that made her sad, too.

She skated quickly to catch up with Sukie at the corner. They stopped to let some cars pass, and Peach found herself staring into the cemetery behind St. Flannan’s.

“What was that all about?” Sukie asked.

Peach sighed. “The church is going to close and they’re gonna tear it down in the spring,”

“Really?” Sukie sounded surprised. “Too bad. I wonder what they’ll put here instead. They can’t exactly move the cemetery,”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Peach said. Her Grandpa Roy’s grave was in the St. Flannan Cemetary. She hoped they didn’t stick a McDonalds or anything equally disrespectful in the center of town once the Church was gone. 

Writing Update: Zach is Axed

2010 was the first year I took part in NaNoWriMo, and I had no idea what I was doing. I barely had a plot for the story I started, My Hero (it was never finished even though I reached 50k words). So a lot of random, weird things got thrown into the pot.

One of my characters was a seventeen year old boy named Zachery Green. He was supposed to be this tall, handsome Korean boy whom my protagonist was meant to fall madly in love with.

Well, that was pretty stupid. The way I wrote it, no one would have cared whether or not Zach and Peach ended up together. I DIDN'T CARE! I was going to have Zach move to another state at the end of the book, anyway. I broke his leg at one point. I said I loved him, but I think I hated him.

Part of it was that I was trying too hard not to make Zach like the guy I had a crush on. So he had no personality. He was just like this male blob who I figured I could mold into a believable character at some point.

I still don't have a handle on Zach as a character. I have no idea what makes this guy tick. And I made a promise to my boyfriend, and to myself, to finish my NaNo novels before moving on to something new. My Hero is the logical place to start, since the skeleton is 3 years old now.

So, in my efforts to rework My Hero and actually be able to write 'the end' with a smile instead of a grimace, I have officially cut the character Zach Green from the story completely.

Zach is axed.

Worse, Zach is REPLACED.

I am putting in a different male character who has yet to be given a name, but is actually based off of a guy I know. He is nothing like Zach was. His role in the story will be completely different.

And I admit I feel kind of bad about that. But Zach was never really a character...he was more of an anti-character. Because all I was doing with him was making him DIFFERENT from my crush. That made him boring and somehow very ADHD at the same time.

So, I press onward, WITHOUT Zach. Maybe I'll put him in a different story someday.

Maybe he'll actually have a personality then.

No NaNoWriMo 2013

Okay. I have opened myself up fully to the possibility of NOT doing NaNoWriMo a fourth time. And the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of not doing it.

Why?

Here is a list of just a few reasons:

1. I'm really just using NaNoWriMo as an excuse to be totally lazy, and to not write anything ever unless its NaNoWriMo.

2. I should be writing 1,000+ words EVERYDAY even when its NOT NaNoWriMo if I wish to continue calling myself an author.

3. I have 3 unfinished NaNo Novels pining for my attention already.

4. Everyone I talk to about this possibility thinks its a good idea.

5. I have already proved (three times over) that I can write a massive amount of words in 30 days, but I have yet to prove I can FINISH a book.

6. NaNoWriMo is stressful, and I don't need extra stress in my life, even though I enjoy the particular brand of stress NaNoWriMo possesses.

7. I have many much more important things to be doing in the time between now and November 1st, which I would probably otherwise spend 'prepping' for NaNoWriMo.

So. I believe it's safe to say that NaNoWriMo 2013 has been officially called off for me. I admit that I'm very disappointed by the thought of not doing it, but this list has me convinced that I am better off writing just for the sake of becoming a better writer, not for the fun/glory/rush of NaNo-Noveling.

I will still begin writing Flower and Thorn at my leisure now.

I would like to thank particularly Steve and Meg for their advice and input on this decision. I will finish something and let you read it as soon as possible, I promise.

Long-Overdue Updates

Shame on me: 2 whole weeks since I last posted!

I feel terrible for neglecting this blog the way I have. I was sitting here, trying to think of something worthwhile to post about, and I realized there are a couple things I should do some recap on.

So...

1. NaNoWriMo! I am so pumped for this year. I have officially decided that, since I have already done/won three years in a row, I am going to aim for between 70k and 80k as a personal goal. Crazy, I know, but I'm excited. Flower and Thorn has a lot of potential to be an excellent story. I have, as of right now, found 'models' for my three main characters, and finally named a very important character. Unfortunately, I realized that I have a character who I was planning on naming Todd and a character who MUST be named Tom. I have to decide whether or not I can handle having a Todd and a Tom in the same story. These kinds of things are trivial, though; what's important is that I have asked God for the grace to have this story give glory to Him.

2.  My short play! As some of you may recall, it was titled 'Favorite Color' and was about a girl trying to describe color to a blind boy. I finished it and was extremely proud of it, and sent it off to Words Players in Rochester, MN. However, the Northland Words Community Theater has been in some financial struggles for years now, and they were finally seriously considering closing the theater down entirely. This, obviously, meant my play might never even receive consideration. However, the theater has received quite a bit of financial support and enthusiastic aid to keep its doors open, and they have decided to continue, even if at a smaller scale. As of right now, the short plays festival (which my play would be part of if they chose it) has been postponed. I haven't heard anything from the theater, but I'm keeping my hopes up. I love Words Players, and it would be an honor to have them perform my play.

Thanks for coming back to my blog - I will post more updates more often now, I promise!

Hope you enjoy this new week.

God Bless.

NaNoWriMo 2013!

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I know what you're thinking:

"Great gravy, its only July! November is over three months away! And besides, you've won NaNoWriMo THREE TIMES already! What business do you have doing it a FOURTH year!?"

I answer you:

1. Its never too early to start trying to make this NaNo better than the last NaNo.

2. Winning doesn't mean I was proud of my completed project.

3. I love NaNoWriMo. I will do it every year that I possibly can for the rest of my life.


I even have an idea I'm already tossing around. My working title for it is Flower and Thorn. It's based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale Thumbelina, but it would be a modern retelling and from the perspective of Thumbelina's 'mother'. There are some odd ideas I have for this one, and my biggest concern is that it would suffer the fate of both NaNo #1 and NaNo #2: TURN INTO A SOAP OPERA. It has a lot of potential for drama, and with so much energy and emotion going into NaNoWroMo already, I tend to let a dramatic story go out of control.

Unfortunately, I also have two other ideas.

One, Crossfire, is about a battlefield nurse who loses everything and everyone she loves when she shows mercy on the enemy king. This was actually the story I intended to write last year for NaNoWriMo 2012, but I got the idea for Leprechaun Holiday and wanted to pursue that one instead. I have this story almost completely plotted out, I just don't know how it'll end, but it would definitely be the smartest story to choose for NaNo.

The other, which has no title yet, and is not exactly developed at all, would be set in the Viking era. My main character would be a mysterious young man with dark secrets. I'm really excited about several scenes in the book that I would write, especially one involving sirens (you know, those mystical monsters who lure ships to their doom?). But it would take a lot of research, and I don't think I have it fully-formed in my head yet. It's just bits and pieces right now. So that one will probably have to wait.


As anyone who reads my blog already knows, and, as I already said, I love NaNoWriMo. It is so much fun, and it really turns writing into a priority, which, unfortunately, it isn't always.

So, I would like to strongly encourage anyone whose ever even vaguely considered writing a book, to participate in NaNoWriMo 2013. You can even set your own goal! 50,000 can be too  many words for some stories, anyway. It is a lot of fun, a great challenge, and very satisfying.

I've had a lot of friends (and silblings) bail on me in previous NaNoWriMo's, so I'm also looking for a few writing buddies.

I can't wait for November!

Photo Edits: September

Turns out, I love photo editing. I discovered the site PicMonkey last year, and I've occasionally played around with it. I even made my most recent NaNoWriMo cover using some of the editing tools on PicMonkey: 

Three years ago, I first heard the song September by Daughtry, and I combined some of the lyrics with this fun picture of myself I took one cold winter night when I first got a desk lamp. There is nothing more pathetic than a fifteen year old girl with a camera. Trust me; I think I have about 500k selfies. 

Edit #1

(Three years later, I still look pretty much the same. Different glasses. That's about it.)

Anyway, I made this edit with the ancient Microsoft Word program called Paint, so I didn't even change the lighting. I just picked a plain font and put the refrain to September on it. 

This week, when I should have been doing more important things, I dug the photo back up from the deep files of my computer and decided to re-edit it. I no longer had the original picture, so I had to keep the words as they were. But I still managed, with the help of PicMonkey, to whip up three edits, each more extravagant than the last. 

Edit #2 

Fairly simple; I changed the lighting, brightened the eyes, and added some texture.

Edit #3

Here's where I went insane. This one is actually my favorite, even though its kind of ridiculous. Way too much going on here. This was the only one in which I edited the text by adding a second layer. Amazingly, I think I even found the same font!

Edit #4

I don't know what exactly happened here. I saw spiderwebs. I went with it. There are five spiderwebs layered on this edit. But I think it's cool, in a creepy kind of way. 

That's it. I am leaving for a long vacation with my family tomorrow, so we'll see how much blogging I have time to do. I will be working on some story ideas while I have an enormous lake in front of me for a whole week, which should be good for inspiration. 

Have a lovely Independence Day! 

Another NaNo Excerpt

This one is a little different. My human character accidentally finds out that the two guys she's been traveling Europe with are really an elf and a leprechaun when a somewhat mad professor corners them in Germany. It's a kind of funny and lighthearted scene, but, unfortunately, this is where I've gotten stuck. Enjoy!

Barbara was reading the pamphlet. “Oh my gosh. Do you really have an extra toe?”

Padraig blinked. He opened his mouth, glanced at Professor Bunk, and replied, “No, but I believe my sister does,”

“So that’s an uncommon trait?” the professor said, looking surprised.

“Very,” Padraig replied.

“Well…I heard once that one in every hundred human babies is born with an extra digit,” Barbara murmured. “If that makes you feel better,”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” Padraig said.

“It also says that you can… pop?” Barbara said, raising her eyebrows.

“Nope. That would also be my sister,” Padraig said. “I’ve never… erm… popped, in my life,”

“Go to the part about wishes!” Professor Bunk cried, practically crawling across the table in excitement. “Read! Read! That’s what makes Padraig special!”

Barbara’s eyes flitted back and forth as she searched for the portion the professor was talking about, and then she found it and kept reading. Her lips parted a little bit. Her eyes grew wider and wider. Finally, she frowned, and sat back, blinking. 

Padraig and Stian simultaneously took her hands, gazing at her worriedly.

Barbara slowly turned to Padraig, still blinking more rapidly than usual. “What?” she said.

David Bunk looked utterly delighted. “Wondrous, isn’t it?”

“Wait—what all did you write about me?” Padraig asked, snatching the pamphlet away from Barbara.

He read it quickly: Certain very few leprechauns have the ability to create gold. This in itself is remarkable, but what is more remarkable still is that even fewer leprechauns are sometimes born with the ability to make magic gold. This gold, when given to another, contains a small amount of magic specifically cast to grant one possible wish to the recipient. This gold does not grant a wish to leprechauns, and it is unknown if there are any other creatures who are immune to the wish magic. This magical gift is extremely rare; less than a .0001% of leprechauns, even in local legend, have possessed. It is believed that such a powerful gift has strange physical side effects; particularly that when a leprechaun should grant a wish, he should flee from the person he has granted the wish to for an indeterminate amount of time. Other side effects known to have occurred are lightheadedness, nausea, and trifling headaches.

“Hm. Surprisingly accurate, considering your stupid illustrations,” Padraig said encouragingly to the professor. 

“No, wait!” Barbara interrupted. “Wait!” She slammed her hands down on the table, rattling the china and causing half a slice of kugelkopf to bounce onto the floor.

“Stop, just stop!” she insisted. She turned and glared at Padraig. Padraig leaned away from her in terror as the full fury of a woman scorned washed over him. She just glared at him for about two minutes. “Well?” she said.

Padraig sighed heavily, and leaned back towards her. “Okay. Here you go. You want proof, Barbara Peplum? Here you go.” He showed her his right hand, than balled it into a fist. He opened his hand slowly to reveal a small, shiny gold coin that had the words DHÉANAMH MIAN printed on it.

Barbara stared down at it in shock for a moment, and looked up at Padraig’s face. “So it’s true. It’s true. You’re… you’re a leprechaun. You’re for real,”

Emily Appreciation Post

So, the lovely Emily of findingaquietcorner.tumblr.com gave me a most wondrous Christmas present. She drew little illustrations of my NaNoWriMo book characters, and here they are!!

I can't actually express how much I love these drawings. Barbara and Padraig are absolutely perfect. This is actually one of my favorite things...when people draw my book characters? Yeah. Best thing in the world. 

So yes, Emily is awesome.

NaNoWriMo 2012: Character Reveal

First December character reveal anyone?

Introducing the closest thing to a legitimate villain in my very weird, unconventional novel...Professor David Bunk!

David was made at elouai.com

Age: 37 

(this is a rough estimate, I haven't exactly calculated how old he is)

Story Role: Mysterious Stranger/Intellectual/Antagonist      

Archetype: 10. The Sage

Motto: The truth will set you free

Core desire: to find the truth.

Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world.

Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance.

Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes.

Weakness: can study details forever and never act.

Talent: wisdom, intelligence.

The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative.

Physical

Eyes: Brown    Hair:  Light brown

Height: 5”8   Build: Average

Professor David Bunk is a strange and mysterious fellow, who, for the first half of the book is believed to be a psychotic stalker who is following Padraig around Europe. As it turns out, this is pretty much true. Prof. Bunk has been trying to prove for the past 25 years that leprechauns exist, and Padraig Offaly is all the proof he needs. 

NaNoWriMo 2012: The Nineteenth Chapter

This is the entire nineteenth chapter of my NaNo Novel, Leprechaun Holiday. It is one of my favorite scenes in my novel, because its a really heartfelt piece, for both me and Padraig Offaly.
At a certain point a few days before NaNoWriMo story started, I got this idea in my head called 'The Superman Complex'.
Superman has a lot of amazing powers, but whenever he uses them, he vanishes. No one ever gets to thank the hero, and they never truly understand him.
One of the biggest plot points in my novel is that my Leprechaun grants wishes, and every time he does, he runs away. He has a Superman Complex. So this is the scene that I wrote embodying that whole idea. It is set at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It is early December.
Enjoy!

The Nineteenth Chapter

The Leprechaun and the ‘Superman Complex’

Padraig needed some fresh air. He left the apartment late during the evening, around 9:30 p.m., and walked to the Eiffel Tower. It was not something he had planned on doing, but everything had gone so completely and unexpectedly wrong, he figured it might be worth trying something completely unexpected. On his way there, he bought a tall bottle of beer.

The tower looked just like it did in all those romantic pictures of Paris at night. There was hardly a soul around for once, and Padraig went up to the left front support of the tower and sat down on the steps tiredly. A small line of people was going in at the ticket counter, but Padraig didn’t feel like going up just yet. So he just sat in the glow of the Eiffel Tower, drinking his beer, and thinking, for a long time.

He thought about what his life had been like five years ago, and before that fateful day. The day Edwin died.

As he followed his gloomy, nostalgic train of thought, for some reason he started to think about Superman.  He remembered being seven years old and thinking Superman was the greatest thing in the world. He would watch the old cartoons with his dad on Saturday mornings. But what he was really thinking about was this; I’m just like Superman. I have an incredible gift, but I’m the only one. And whenever I use it to help anyone, I have to leave. I just run away. I never let anyone thank me. I never let anyone really know me. Because I’m the only one. No one can help me. No one can show me who I am. I’m the only one with super strength and heat vision. No one will ever understand how it feels.

But every time Superman saved Lois Lane, even though he flew away and she never got to thank him, he always saw her again. Once upon a time, that had been Padraig, too. He’d grant a wish, need to run away, but he could return. All the times he’d granted Edwin one more little wish, just to help his best friend one more time. All the mornings he stuck a coin in Mrs. Walsh’s mailbox for her to find, just so she could pay the rent one more time. All the Sundays he dropped a little gold coin in the offering plate, knowing Mr. Doherty, the parish treasurer, would put it to good use.

All that had stopped after Edwin died. The Superman Complex had changed dramatically. He still ran away; but these days, he never came back.

Now, his ‘super powers’ were more like his personal kryptonite than anything else.

“Superman was really lucky,” Padraig murmured softly to himself. “I think that’s the big difference between him and me,”

But, there was one thing about Superman no one could ever deny. No matter what, he did the right thing. He kept his promises, he paid for his mistakes, and he always managed to save the day.

Padraig finished his beer, and got up to throw the bottle in a waste bin. Then he went into the ticket office, and bought a ticket to the top of the tower. He took the elevator up and just stood up there for a long time, staring out at all the glittering, golden lights of Paris. If he leaned forward and held out his arms, it was like he was flying.

At 10:45, someone came up to him and explained that the tower was closing in fifteen minutes, and he needed to head down. Padraig did, and then just sat down on the steps again. He thought about everything and everyone. He thought about poor missing Deirdre. He thought about Leal and Sandrine. He thought about Stian and his amazing magical powers. He thought about his parents; his mother who understood him too well and his father who didn’t understand him at all. He thought about Barbara Peplum, especially her huge head of curly hair and the way it bounced when she moved. He thought about Edwin. My goodness, he hadn’t thought about Edwin so long and hard in many, many years.

And he thought about Superman.

By morning, Padraig had made up his mind. It was time to be Superman. It was time to do the right thing, even if it hurt, and especially because it would mean making a sacrifice. 

NaNoWriMo 2012, FINAL DAY...

I have won. My word count is 50,048.

Is my novel done? No. I might end up with 100,000 words before this story is complete, but in spite of a violent attack of the flu, hosting an entire NET team over Thanksgiving, and moving to a new house with one week of notice, I have, by the grace of God, done it. 

The Leprechaun Holiday will continue until Padraig is safely back in Ireland and they all get a reasonably happy ending.

I love NaNoWriMo. 

NaNoWriMo Day 16: BOOK TRAILER

Well, instead of actually writing, which is what I should have been doing, I made my NaNo Novel a trailer. 

It was a lot of fun, so I figure it was worth getting a little behind on my word count to finish up. Unfortunately, I have no way of posting it to this blog, but I was able to post it to my tumblr, and here is a link for it! Feel free to watch it and tell me what you think! 

My family loves it, and my mom is pestering me to let her read the book as soon as December 1st gets here. I have agreed to this only because I need someone to edit it for me. 

My current word count is 24,329, and it should be at least 26,672, but I have a quiet house today, so I'll be working ahead, hopefully enough that I won't have to write so much during the Thanksgiving holiday, as we're having a lot of company over!

Would anyone care for an excerpt to go with their trailer? Note that 'eejit' is the Irish pronunciation of 'idiot'. Enjoy!

Finally, it was time for Padraig to be on his way. He hung the pink/red plaid duffel over his right shoulder and held his suitcase in his left hand. That was all he had, and, hopefully, all he’d need. The suitcase was heavy. His back pocket seemed even heavier, holding that bleedin’ Visa card with who-knew-how-much money just waiting for him to spend all over Europe.

Gosh, his back hurt.

He stood in front of his family’s tiny white cottage with its gray roof, surrounded by meadows where the ship grazed. He just stood there, waiting to start off down the road.

He looked at his family, who were eagerly taking pictures of him and giving last-minute advice. Ruari finally remembered to say, “Get me something everywhere you go! It doesn’t matter what, just get me something, as long as its not really made in China! Promise me!”

Padraig sighed. “I promise Ruari.” He set his duffel and suitcase down, and opened his arms up. “Come here,”

Ruari took and running start and tackled him, which was surprisingly painful considering she only weighed about thirty-six kilograms. He held his baby sister tight, his heart pounding painfully inside his chest. He was going to miss the little devil so much. She talked his ear off and made him promise all sorts of ridiculous things, but he didn’t mind. He even forgave her for sitting on him at 7:30 in the morning.

Next he hugged his dad one more time, though they said nothing to each other.

Then he hugged his mother tight, nodded at everything she said, and assured her he’d be better when he got home. Better. Maybe that was a promise he could actually keep.

Finally, he opened his arms up and smiled at Deirdre, but she just looked at him, her eyes filled with anger and worry. “Bye, Porry,” she said.

“Didi,” he said. “Don’t I get a hug?”

Reluctantly, she went to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Eejit baby brother. You better be happy when you come home. I miss the happy Porry,”
“I’ll try,” he said. She tried to pull away, and he hugged her tighter. “Deirdre,” he whispered. “Are you really okay?”

Deirdre shook her head. “No. But you’re leaving. It’s not your problem, Padraig. Go and get better. Go.”

She pushed him gently but firmly away and walked back into the house.

Padraig watched her go, than saluted weakly to his parents and Ruari. Then he picked up his bags and turned his back on Slieve Bloom. He walked quickly, listening to Aoifa call out after him and Ruari singing him The Parting Glass, but he didn’t look back once. He didn’t look back, because he knew if he did, he would start crying and he might never stop. He hadn’t cried in five years and he didn’t want to ever do it again.

He had a three day walk ahead of him and a tight schedule, and his back was killing him. 

NaNoWriMo 2012, Day 15--HALFWAY THERE!

Seriously the best thing about NaNoWriMo?

My parents are my biggest fans.

: )

NaNoWriMo Day 12: Character Reveal!

Introducing our Leading Lady, the main Female Character who is quite frankly more fabulous than I will EVER be...Barbara Peplum!

Barbara was made at http://elouai.com/

Age: 22 DOB: 2-7-1990


Story Role: Female Protagonist    

Archetype: 5. The Explorer
Motto: Don’t fence me in
Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world
Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life
Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness
Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom
Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit
Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul
The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim.


Physical
Eyes: Brown    Hair:  Curly, curly, CURLY ash brown
Height: 5”5   Build: Curvy


A little bit about Barbara: Barbara is a very talented singer and actress from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. When Padraig runs into her in London, she is going throughout Europe singing to raise money for a school for disabled children back in her hometown. She is due for a surgery on her throat when she gets home, as her voice has been overused. Barbara is an independent, confident young woman, but she is troubled by how fortunate she is when the rest of her friends and family have suffered so much.

Word Count: Currently 19,301. Padraig and Stian are about to go a little crazy in the English countryside, and there will be Deep Personal Sharing, which is like my favorite thing ever.

In other news, I just packed a whole box filled with clothes in preparation for moving out sometime in the near future (nothing definite, but its amazing how much room I have now that most of my clothes are packed away). I miss my best friend (I love you!). I read 100 pages, wrote two papers, and recited a poem today. And I just ripped seven CD's to my laptop. All while writing a 50,000 word novel.

Amen.

NaNoWriMo 2012 Day Eleven: Character Reveal!

Our next character reveal just so happens to be my favorite character of NaNoWriMo 2012....STIAN AABERG!

Stian was made at http://elouai.com/

Story Role: Best friend

Age: 19   DOB: 9-9-1993

Archetype: 11. The Magician

Motto: I make things happen.

Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe

Goal: to make dreams come true

Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences

Strategy: develop a vision and live by it

Weakness: becoming manipulative

Talent: finding win-win solutions

The Magician is also known as: The visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man.

Physical

Eyes: Blue    Hair:  Blonde

Height: 5"11"   Build: Tall

A little bit about Stian: Stian Aaberg is an elf from Honningsvåg, Norway. When he finds Padraig Offaly in London, Stian has been away from home for about six months. He ran away from his family because of a strange magical power that he has very little control over, which he believes could pose a threat to the safety of those he loves. He is a cheerful, optimistic person and is the first to befriend the holidaying leprechaun. His scarf was a gift from his grandmother and he always wears it. Padraig enjoys dragging Stian around by his scarf, especially when Stian starts to flirt with girls. 

Current word count: I got two days behind Friday and Saturday, but I am now completely caught up and my word count is 18,377!

Also, today is my younger sister Meg's birthday!

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3 NaNo's in a row, Meg. I love you so much! Happy Sweet Sixteen!!!

NaNoWriMo 2012: Day 4! And Election Day!!

I would like to say that in light of the coming presidential election, this seems kind of trivial. I am praying for our nation, that the will of God will be accomplished. My dad recommends that we pray and fast as we are able, and I will definitely be doing what I can!
Keep both presidential candidates in your prayers, too...they're running all over the nation in some last-minute campaigning. 
It kind of stings that I'm too young to vote by only about 5 weeks, but I am praying that the candidate who will best carry out God's will for our nation will be elected. 
As small as my little speed-written novel is in comparison with the fate the United States, I can't deny I am enjoying myself and trying to give glory to God in what I write. So I thought I would give a status report on my NaNo Novel!

WORD COUNT: 6,700

STORY FEELINGS: GOOD!

A FUNNY LINE TO SHARE: "An hour later, Ruari had punched Padraig in the nose, and he was curled up on a ball on the floor, attempting to get his nose to stop bleeding."

I love NaNoWriMo so much. My mom actually tells me to 'go write', which gives me the most amazing sensation of creative POWER. I've been staying up late, but I've been following my story outline like a Bible. 

How is it going so far?

Well, I think it's going well. I have, as I said, six thousand and seven hundred words. BOOM. I love writing this story; naturally, my main character has been a whiney brat all 6,700 words, but he'll improve. This is all part of the plot. Trust me. 

I would like to thank Google Earth, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me take a virtual stroll along R440 in County Offaly, Ireland. The accuracy of my book deeply appreciates it. 

I will have another character reveal soon...maybe even a novel excerpt! God bless you all! 

NaNoWriMo 2012 Day 1: MAIN CHARACTER REVEAL...

Introducing: Your main character and lovable leprechaun, PADRAIG OFFALY!

(made at http://elouai.com/)

(Recall that Padraig is a fun Gaelic name pronounced Porrick)

Story Role: Protagonist 

Age: 23  DOB: 2-7-1989

Eyes: Blue    Hair:  Black

Height: 5”   Build: Small

Archetype:  4. The Caregiver

Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself

Core desire: to protect and care for others

Goal: to help others

Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude

Strategy: doing things for others

Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited

Talent: compassion, generosity

The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter.

A little bit about Padraig: Padraig Offaly is a modern-day leprechaun who was born and raised in the Slieve Bloom Mountains of County Offaly, Ireland. He is the second of three children. His sisters are Deirdre (Deer-dra), 25, and Ruari (Rory), 17. His parents are Aengus (Angus) Offaly and Aoifa (Ee-fa) Offaly. He is the first leprechaun to ever become genuinely depressed, so his desperate family forcibly sends him off on 'holiday' for a year to help him recover. 

I am absolutely delighted to start writing his story...I promise its going to be a fantastic one!

NaNoWriMo: Another Character Reveal?

Introducing our next minor character...Deirdre Offaly!

Deirdre was created using http://elouai.com/

Age: 25 DOB: 1987

Story Role: Sister

Archetype: 6. The Outlaw
Motto: Rules are made to be broken
Core desire: revenge or revolution
Goal: to overturn what isn’t working
Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual
Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock
Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime
Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom
The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.


Physical
Eyes: Green    Hair:  Auburn
Height: 4”7   Build: Petite

A Little Bit About Deirdre: Deirdre Offaly is the eldest Offaly child. She attends Tullamore College in County Offaly where she is studying viciously to become a math teacher. She is a highly successful, dominant, and opinionated young woman who has been proposed to no less than six times. Her role in the story is complex, as she is a not entirely nice older sister to her siblings Padraig and Ruari, but has good intentions no one could imagine. 

Happy weekend, everyone! FIVE DAYS TO GO!!

9 Days till NaNoWriMo: First character reveal!

Lady's first! The first female character to appear in the story will be...RUARI OFFALY!

Ruari was made at http://elouai.com/

First of all, you might not be certain how one says Ruari's name, but this one isn't hard...in English, it would be spelled Rory, but it is pronounced the same. Her name comes from the Irish 'rua' which means 'red-headed king'. source

Story Role: Comedy relief/Sister

Age: 17 DOB: 3-4-1995

Archetype: 9. The Jester
Motto: You only live once
Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment
Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world
Greatest fear: being bored or boring others
Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny
Weakness: frivolity, wasting time
Talent: joy
The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker, practical joker or comedian.

Physical
Eyes: Green    Hair:  Red
Height: 4”8   Build: Petite

A little bit about Ruari: Ruari is the youngest member of the Offaly leprechaun family. She has two older siblings, Deirdre and Padraig. Her parents are Aengus and Aoifa Offaly. She is a minor character, but she will be very present in the story because she writes to her older brother frequently while he is on holiday. All leprechauns naturally love mischief, but she is a troublemaker.

I know some people are going to be curious as to whether or not Ruari is going to be an Irish leprechaun version of me, and the answer is: I sure hope not. It might happen naturally since we're both redheads and almost the same age. But no, I am nothing like the Ruari in my mind is; Ruari is not entirely considerate of other people, and she is far more amusing than I am.

Nine days to go, and I am bursting with excitement! I'll get another character reveal going as soon as I can, but right now I'm just trying to get the WHOLE story plotted out so all 30 days of NaNo-ing will basically be expanding one plot point at a time until we have a novel!

NaNoWriMo: 13 days to go!

I'm getting really excited! I have started creating book characters on http://elouai.com/, which is always fun. I will do some character reveals once we get closer, and I actually start writing.

One thing I'm happy to announce is I actually have a name for my main character! It comes from a minor character in a  BBC show called Ballykissangel my mother really liked for a while . It is spelled Padraig, but it is pronounced 'POOR-RICK'. I did not make this name up, just FYI. The name means 'patrician' or 'noble', which I thought was fitting for a Leprechaun.

My mom is ridiculously excited to read it when I'm done, so I'm going to strive to actually successfully write it from start to finish, which I didn't do my first two years. That was mainly because I failed to pace myself, so I'm going to write up a better story line this year, for sure.

I also have plans to sneak people I know into the book, not even as minor characters, but just as random strangers. It's going to be way too much fun.

I'm leaving for the weekend and won't have a lot of internet access, but I'm starting to do some legitimate research on Ireland so I don't look like a complete simpleton. I am Irish on both my mom and my dad's side, so I think I am up to the task!

This is going to be the best NaNoWriMo EVER.

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