Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Yes, I'm Alive!

I am so bad about posting on here. My apologies.

Anyway, the college semester started back. I'm taking American History II and Basic Chemistry. History is fine; chemistry... well, let's just say that I need to work on the conversion factors a little bit. Two weeks in, and I'm already preparing for the first exams of the semester. Yuck.

I've continued to work on ML, though I need to get a little more focused with it...

On the music front, things seem to be opening up left and right. However, it doesn't mean that I'll necessarily get these opportunities. As much as I'd love to, it's not guaranteed... but if they work out, I will most definitely be posting about them here. :]

I'm currently reading A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White. I haven't been able to get very far in it because of my schedule, but I'm looking forward to time to read it. I'm also finishing up Set Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy (who also co-wrote with her husband Letting God Write Your Love Story, a book that I love).

Well, now I'm off to practice piano for a few minutes before I pack up and leave the house (again!).

I'm telling you, life is crazy... but it's good. :]

Adios,
Audra E.

P.S. I've stopped the "with a chance of" post titles because they're so hard to come up with... though I may use them from time to time. But for every post, it's a little bit of a hassle.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Snowy With a Chance of Micaela

it snowed!

I just needed to announce that in big letters... :)

So anyway, on top of the fabulous snow (we actually got over an inch and it's actually stuck around for more than a day... so it's pretty spectacular), I actually got back to working on my novel tonight. Micaela is the protagonist in this aforementioned work that is often simply referred to as Micaela or ML, which stands for the book's title (which I will choose to keep disclosed at this point...)

For those of you that don't know, I started working on it when I was 13. It was October of 2006, I think. The journey in writing it has been really long. Last summer, I spent three weeks at my grandparents and would spend 8-10 hours at a time down in their basement, writing, with practically no phsyical human contact. Finishing the second draft made me supremely happy, but I came home so burnt out (and truth be told, a little depressed), I just set the book aside. My mind felt so overloaded with this story, I was just having a hard time actually writing.

So, in the past three years of writing it, I've told quite a few people, from the girl that inspired the story, to my best friends, to my mom's best friend, to my piano teacher, and so on. When I first started writing, a lot of these people asked me questions about it and I let three of my best friends read it. So, the three of them were literally harassing me about it every time I saw them, so I wrote a lot. And then... everything just got really quiet. To be honest, I was happy with this. Being asked the same question(s) over and over again got on my nerves. But lately, after a year of rest, it's like all of a sudden, people are asking questions again... and Emily, one of my best friends, came across the very first draft I had given her in her room the other day.

So, I've pretty much felt that I needed to get started on it again... Okay, seriously, I did feel that all the questions were a sign from God that I needed to get moving again and stop being so apathetic and whiny about writing it, but when Emily told me that she came across that draft... well, it also kinda scared me into action, because let me tell you... that first draft... I've read it a couple times...

It stinks.

So, I sat down at my sister's computer tonight and got to work... and it was hard at first. I usually write for 15 minutes, and then if I'm ready to quit, I quit. This way I don't overtax myself (like last summer), and I actually get something done. I spent the first hour on Facebook and chatting with (another) best friend. However, I did actually spend some time researching some ways I could plot and actually move forward with writing, and believe it or not... it actually helped. It sparked a bunch of ideas (some which I'm getting ready to work on), and within 30 minutes, I had my new and improved synopsis, as well as three or four different subplots.

So, now that I've given you the crash course on my journey in writing, what do you feel motivated to complete right now?

Over and out,
Audrey

Friday, January 1, 2010

Crisp and Clear With a Chance of a New Year...

Just a quick note to say...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am super excited about this new year and the things God has in store...
Can't wait to share the journey with you! :)

Much love,
Audrey