Hello, y'all - just a little note to say that I finally caved and got a Twitter.
I will be using it to post writing updates and author / book related things, as well as some stuff about my everyday life. So it's supposed to be my professional side of social media.
If you want to know a secret, though, up until a month ago I was anti-Twitter. But then, my favorite girl on The Voice got kicked off by Adam Levine and I was so brokenhearted I decided I needed a way to keep up with her music career. Thus, twitter.
Check out my Twitter here: https://twitter.com/red_ellyn
P.S. Keep an eye out more posts now that I'm out of school for the summer - pending topics include why not to burn your old novels and why to re-read books.
- Ellyn
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Accumulating Adventures
I'm sorry for extended leave of absence! Amidst the flurry of my normal teenage life, I lost the spirit for teaching and telling others about writing for a while. Though I do love it, I simply had nothing to say.
However, even time spent not writing is valuable for a writer, since every memory and every experience is something I have to use in future works! I've been having countless adventures lately.
I plan on posting again over the summer, at least until I leave for school out of state the beginning of September.
Updates
- I'm graduating high school this spring! It's hard to believe I am so old. I confess I've been using my writing talents more in factual papers than novels lately.
- Seaspear is still in the third draft process and I just recently got excited about it again. I find the longer I separate myself from a book, the less I believe in it. I need to change priorities and get it back near the top.
- I did a January version of Nanowrimo this year, and completed a 50,000 word novel called Holly & Gray Go to London, alternate title The Void Society in 30 days. It concerned two girls searching for the purpose in life,and I labeled it "psychological chick lit" as it was supposed to be a very witty, dry, yet poetic work. Well, that failed. But it definitely has potential for the future and I want to pick it up again after Seaspear is done!
- I started an art journal where I can put down bits and pieces of poetry when they come to me. Below you can see a sample.
I'm going to get some work done on that novel and hope to post again soon!
- Ellyn
However, even time spent not writing is valuable for a writer, since every memory and every experience is something I have to use in future works! I've been having countless adventures lately.
I plan on posting again over the summer, at least until I leave for school out of state the beginning of September.
Updates
- I'm graduating high school this spring! It's hard to believe I am so old. I confess I've been using my writing talents more in factual papers than novels lately.
- Seaspear is still in the third draft process and I just recently got excited about it again. I find the longer I separate myself from a book, the less I believe in it. I need to change priorities and get it back near the top.
- I did a January version of Nanowrimo this year, and completed a 50,000 word novel called Holly & Gray Go to London, alternate title The Void Society in 30 days. It concerned two girls searching for the purpose in life,and I labeled it "psychological chick lit" as it was supposed to be a very witty, dry, yet poetic work. Well, that failed. But it definitely has potential for the future and I want to pick it up again after Seaspear is done!
- I started an art journal where I can put down bits and pieces of poetry when they come to me. Below you can see a sample.
I'm going to get some work done on that novel and hope to post again soon!
- Ellyn
Friday, November 9, 2012
Love is a Verb
It doesn't matter if you're married, engaged, single and happy, single and hopeful, or a hermit, you have probably heard this cliche:
Love is a verb.
Well, maybe I'm exaggerating - a hermit might not have, but that's another debate for another time. Cliches are cliches for a reason, and though most of us have heard the phrase "love is a verb" over and over, its much easier to repeat it parrot-style than actually put it into practice. If you truly love somebody, you won't just stick around for the warm fuzzy hot-chocolate-and-mittens feelings. You'll stay with that person through annoyances, disagreements, and full-out fights. (Pay attention, Taylor Swift.)
It turns out that this phrase also relates to writing.
When is the last time you said, "I love writing?" Honestly, I haven't said that out loud for quite a while, because I was beginning to feel like it wasn't true. I can't remember the last time I really wanted to sit down and write and fully enjoyed it. June, maybe? It makes me think I'm not a real writer at all.
However, I'm slowly realizing that I'm missing the point of writing, which has to do with the cliche phrase that relationship experts have beaten into our heads for generations. "I love writing" doesn't mean "I love the rush of adrenaline that comes when I sit down and start connecting with my plot and characters" or "I have a crush on my protagonist." Granted, those things are part of it and can be a lot of fun, but that's not what "I love writing" means.
"I love writing" means that you're working as hard as you can at writing because you know inside it's important to you, even when you don't feel that way. It also means that you're willing to direct that hard work and time toward writing, even though some days you might not even manage one hundred words.
Love is the most powerful verb there is. Do you love writing?
I'm working on it.
Love is a verb.
Well, maybe I'm exaggerating - a hermit might not have, but that's another debate for another time. Cliches are cliches for a reason, and though most of us have heard the phrase "love is a verb" over and over, its much easier to repeat it parrot-style than actually put it into practice. If you truly love somebody, you won't just stick around for the warm fuzzy hot-chocolate-and-mittens feelings. You'll stay with that person through annoyances, disagreements, and full-out fights. (Pay attention, Taylor Swift.)
It turns out that this phrase also relates to writing.
When is the last time you said, "I love writing?" Honestly, I haven't said that out loud for quite a while, because I was beginning to feel like it wasn't true. I can't remember the last time I really wanted to sit down and write and fully enjoyed it. June, maybe? It makes me think I'm not a real writer at all.
However, I'm slowly realizing that I'm missing the point of writing, which has to do with the cliche phrase that relationship experts have beaten into our heads for generations. "I love writing" doesn't mean "I love the rush of adrenaline that comes when I sit down and start connecting with my plot and characters" or "I have a crush on my protagonist." Granted, those things are part of it and can be a lot of fun, but that's not what "I love writing" means.
"I love writing" means that you're working as hard as you can at writing because you know inside it's important to you, even when you don't feel that way. It also means that you're willing to direct that hard work and time toward writing, even though some days you might not even manage one hundred words.
Love is the most powerful verb there is. Do you love writing?
I'm working on it.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Updates: Vlog Edition
- Vlog Removed 11/5/12 -
I'm sorry for neglecting you!
But you can go make yourself a hot drink to savor while you watch my vlog, in which I talk about...
- The 100 for 100 challenge
- Seaspear
- Books I'm reading (including a romance about a photographer and a British classic...)
P.S. On the subject of hot drinks, check out what I did to my coffee cup at school today. It got smeared because I had to carry it out to the car while it was sleeting... but I think it still looks cute...
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Seaspear Update 9.9.12 / 100 for 100 Challenge
Usually I'm not the spontaneous sort of person - I think and rethink stuff until it ends up harming me more than helping. But last week, I was sitting in the school library passing time between classes and I found the 100 for 100 challenge on Go Teen Writers, which, by the way, is a fantastic support site for writers of all ages.
What is the 100 for 100 challenge? This challenge runs September 10 (tomorrow) to December 19, and the idea is that you write at least 100 words for each of 100 days.
This challenge struck a ray of spontaneity in me and I signed up almost immediately! It sounded like too much fun to miss out on, and I knew I needed motivation to keep editing Seaspear.
Seaspear is progressing very slowly. But you can't rush art! Yeah. I'll go with that. I'm doing chapter by chapter editing and my process for completing a chapter goes something like this:
Before I start
- Get tea
- Get music
- Sit down in chair with manuscript
- Read over some of what's already finished so I know where I am
- Look at the post-it note that says what I'm supposed to be doing for draft three
- Poise fingers over keyboard, ready to type
- Realize I'm cold and get up for a sweatshirt
- Sit back down, realize the chair is uncomfortable and I want a pillow for my back
- Poise fingers over keyboard, ready to type
- Realize the current song playing is too loud / quiet / modern / boring / etc. for writing and find another one
- Decide to "quickly" check Facebook
When I finally do get going, this is what happens. Keep in mind that the next list takes several days to complete.
Chapter Editing Process
- Read through chapter
- Read through chapter and mark up with red pen
- Move to the computer and implement red pen changes, as well as add more description, switch scenes and dialogue around, show-not-tell, other various things to fix writing in general. This takes the longest.
- Print out copy of new and improved chapter
- Read through new and improved chapter with a red pen
- Implement final changes on computer
- Done!
I'm currently on Chapter 5, which is pretty pathetic considering that I had a whole social-media free month in August. Of course, I did have other stuff to do. So, hopefully the 100 for 100 challenge will help me out! If you think it sounds like good motivation for you, you still have time (though not much) to sign up! Go here and then tell me you're on board so we can cheer each other on. Good luck.
 |
| via |
What is the 100 for 100 challenge? This challenge runs September 10 (tomorrow) to December 19, and the idea is that you write at least 100 words for each of 100 days.
This challenge struck a ray of spontaneity in me and I signed up almost immediately! It sounded like too much fun to miss out on, and I knew I needed motivation to keep editing Seaspear.
Seaspear is progressing very slowly. But you can't rush art! Yeah. I'll go with that. I'm doing chapter by chapter editing and my process for completing a chapter goes something like this:
Before I start
- Get tea
- Get music
- Sit down in chair with manuscript
- Read over some of what's already finished so I know where I am
- Look at the post-it note that says what I'm supposed to be doing for draft three
- Poise fingers over keyboard, ready to type
- Realize I'm cold and get up for a sweatshirt
- Sit back down, realize the chair is uncomfortable and I want a pillow for my back
- Poise fingers over keyboard, ready to type
- Realize the current song playing is too loud / quiet / modern / boring / etc. for writing and find another one
- Decide to "quickly" check Facebook
When I finally do get going, this is what happens. Keep in mind that the next list takes several days to complete.
Chapter Editing Process
- Read through chapter
- Read through chapter and mark up with red pen
- Move to the computer and implement red pen changes, as well as add more description, switch scenes and dialogue around, show-not-tell, other various things to fix writing in general. This takes the longest.
- Print out copy of new and improved chapter
- Read through new and improved chapter with a red pen
- Implement final changes on computer
- Done!
I'm currently on Chapter 5, which is pretty pathetic considering that I had a whole social-media free month in August. Of course, I did have other stuff to do. So, hopefully the 100 for 100 challenge will help me out! If you think it sounds like good motivation for you, you still have time (though not much) to sign up! Go here and then tell me you're on board so we can cheer each other on. Good luck.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Cuneiform
Imagine a place with no billboards, road signs, poetry, novels, autobiographies, or instruction manuals. Then take out newspapers, blogs, and the ability to keep a journal. Oh, and that infernal texting business. Are you having a hard time conjuring this hypothetical place up in your mind? I may call it hypothetical, but at one point, it was real.
In school, I'm studying art history and just learned about cuneiform. If you don't know what cuneiform is (I didn't until I read about it), it was the very first type of writing, done with a fresh-cut reed on a clay tablet.
Just think about that for a moment. It was the first type of writing. The first. The very act of writing did not exist before the Sumerians invented it around 3500 B.C. What did people do? I can't even imagine a time when writing did not exist. Most likely, if someone wanted to tell a story, he had to make it right up as he went along. Perhaps he drew pictures to go along with it.
Even when cuneiform was invented, it wasn't as if people started writing books and poems right away. The purpose of the first writing was to record things like how many shells Jiha owed Dak, or how many sheep Dak kept with Lira's herd. Can you imagine the excitement people must have felt when they finally learned that they could use words to create beauty? The wonder of, as James A. Michener puts it, "the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions"? I wonder who discovered that words can make art.
Writing is magic we often take for granted.
Don't forget - that magic did not always exist.
In school, I'm studying art history and just learned about cuneiform. If you don't know what cuneiform is (I didn't until I read about it), it was the very first type of writing, done with a fresh-cut reed on a clay tablet.
 |
| via |
Just think about that for a moment. It was the first type of writing. The first. The very act of writing did not exist before the Sumerians invented it around 3500 B.C. What did people do? I can't even imagine a time when writing did not exist. Most likely, if someone wanted to tell a story, he had to make it right up as he went along. Perhaps he drew pictures to go along with it.
Even when cuneiform was invented, it wasn't as if people started writing books and poems right away. The purpose of the first writing was to record things like how many shells Jiha owed Dak, or how many sheep Dak kept with Lira's herd. Can you imagine the excitement people must have felt when they finally learned that they could use words to create beauty? The wonder of, as James A. Michener puts it, "the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions"? I wonder who discovered that words can make art.
Writing is magic we often take for granted.
Don't forget - that magic did not always exist.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Reading Up
One night last week I was lying in bed in the dark trying to sleep, with my little electric fan blaring in my face. (This fan is my most loyal companion during the summer and I can't fall asleep without it.) Anyway, I had just entered that odd stage of half-sleep, where thoughts aren't quite uncontrolled enough to be called dreams, when I had a sudden thought that jerked me wide awake.
I am now a year older than Jacha Simyrna, my heroine from Torn Heart.
The one word that describes how I felt was "weird." It made me realize how long ago I wrote that little book, and I don't like being older than my heroines or heroes, whether I'm writing or reading about them. Through observation, I've learned that most other young readers are the same way. In my creative writing for children class last semester, my professor called this concept "reading up," and said that most children tend to "read up" by about two years. That means a fourteen-year-old will probably prefer books about sixteen-year-olds like Jacha, and a twelve-year-old will like books about fourteen-year-olds. And so on.
Why do we like reading up? Here are my own personal reasons.
- In a main character, I want someone to look up to, someone to be my role model and example to follow. This someone might become an imaginary older brother or sister, who will inspire me without being preachy or pushy about it.
- When I'm reading about a main character, I like to feel as if I can still attain everything they did, and if they're younger than me I feel like I've run out of time. I want to be inspired, not discouraged. I know that doesn't make sense, but it's how my brain works.
- So many amazing, vivid adventures take place within the pages of a book, and the main character is the one who is caught up in this storm of activity. If the main character is older than I am, it adds to the magic because it helps a tiny part of me believe that everything that happened to him (or her) could still happen to me.
As you're deciding how old to make your main character and who you want the audience of your book to be, keep this 'reading up' concept in mind. It can also help you make your main character stronger, as you know what readers will subconsciously be searching for.
Do you find this 'reading up' to be true with you personally? I'd also love to hear any additional reasons you have for why you enjoy an older main character.
I am now a year older than Jacha Simyrna, my heroine from Torn Heart.
The one word that describes how I felt was "weird." It made me realize how long ago I wrote that little book, and I don't like being older than my heroines or heroes, whether I'm writing or reading about them. Through observation, I've learned that most other young readers are the same way. In my creative writing for children class last semester, my professor called this concept "reading up," and said that most children tend to "read up" by about two years. That means a fourteen-year-old will probably prefer books about sixteen-year-olds like Jacha, and a twelve-year-old will like books about fourteen-year-olds. And so on.
 |
| via |
Why do we like reading up? Here are my own personal reasons.
- In a main character, I want someone to look up to, someone to be my role model and example to follow. This someone might become an imaginary older brother or sister, who will inspire me without being preachy or pushy about it.
- When I'm reading about a main character, I like to feel as if I can still attain everything they did, and if they're younger than me I feel like I've run out of time. I want to be inspired, not discouraged. I know that doesn't make sense, but it's how my brain works.
- So many amazing, vivid adventures take place within the pages of a book, and the main character is the one who is caught up in this storm of activity. If the main character is older than I am, it adds to the magic because it helps a tiny part of me believe that everything that happened to him (or her) could still happen to me.
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Do you find this 'reading up' to be true with you personally? I'd also love to hear any additional reasons you have for why you enjoy an older main character.
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