With this blog I hope to inspire people to live out their full authentic selves, no matter what other people might tell them is or is not appropriate. Follow me for noveling helps and articles about how to live your life freely and openly.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My Christmas Gifts

Ah... starbucks. I feel like I'm back in the land of the living!

I got a nook for Christmas and two writing books (don't look for them as nookbooks, you won't find them... these are BOOK books!)

1) The Novelist's Bootcamp by Todd A Stone
2) Make a Scene by Jordan E Rosenfeld

I'll post book reviews as soon as I finish reading them.

As far as the Nook goes (yes, we're back to that already!) I have to say that I enjoy reading on it more then I enjoy reading a regular book. Maybe it's beacuse my eyes are so bad. Who knows!

Right now the song "Raise your Glass" by P!nk is stuck in my head - a good, upbeat song. Check out the clean version.

I guess I don't have that much to say for this post. I did however want everyone to know that I'm alive and well!

Cheers!
L Finch

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Dear Lord,

Dear Lord,
It all seems so hopeless now, tonight. Thinking of the 0ne-in-a-million chance that I will EVER be published. Yet still, I press on.
Is it for the love of the written word? Is it for the thought that maybe one day I might change a life?
No, it's beacuse I have a gift, a gift from You. A rough gift, though, it may be, it is still a gift. And the soul-purpose of a gift is to be used for Your glory. I understand that, now. If one day I change a life, it will not be "me" that changes the life, but rather You. If one day I become published, it will not be "me" who becomes published, but rather You. All glory, all honor, must be given to You. Without You, I am truly nothing.

The sooner I grasp onto this truth, the better off I will be. The sooner we are writers grasp onto this truth, the better off we will be.
It is not others we write for, it is not ourselves we write for, but rather the One Higher Power. The One Above All.

Remember to focus on Him whom we should give all honor and glory to this holiday season.

Cheers!!!
L Finch

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Insane Giveaway!!!

Check out this insane book giveaway! Teen pack and adult pack giveaway!

:)

L Finch

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Wendsday Top Blog Picks

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Need Ideas!

Manipulation, or Kindness? You judge!
My dear hubby, bless his heart, is one of the most encouraging men I've ever met. Usually though, he complains about my writing if I do it while he's around. "I want to spend time with you!" he begs. Too cute right?

Well, I found out an easy solution to quiet the begging. This might work for you too with your significant others!

I simply let him read my novel as I work on it, being sure to leave quite a few cliff-hangers for him to get excited over. Now he can't wait for me to write more, and is always asking, "have you written anymore on your novel?"! Success!! Now I get kindly nudged to write more, and I have *one* devoted fan! Actually I have more then one fan, I would be remiss if I did not mention my dear friend Ellie H, who is also reading my novel as I write it.

Lessons from Lord of the Rings
I'm not going to deny it, Lord of the Rings was the first fantasy book that I ever read, and is still my favorite. I've read very little other fantasy (more on that in a minute), but I feel that such a timeless classic has a lot to teach us on how to write well.
The thing that I'm learning tonight as I watch the movie (I know, I know, you don't have to remind me that it's not as good as the books!) can be summed up in one word: tension. Just when you think everything is going to be resolved, it's not. There's tension between the characters (Gollum turning Frodo against Sam, Eowyn silently loving Aragron) and there's tension between the good and the evil (duh, I know!). Every single scene has a purpose that moves the book forward. My problem is that every single scene shoots the book forward at an alarming rate. My book is moving very fast right now, and I can't deside if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess I don't have to worry about it too much until it comes time to revise and edit, right?

Advice Needed!
I need to start reading more books, especially more fantasy, as that is my chosen genre. Can someone give me some book ideas, especially in the YA area? Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you!

Cheers!
L Finch

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Hate 'um, hate 'um

I hate New Years resolutions! They are rarely kept (by me, at least) and mostly serve as a haunting reminder come July that "I should have been doing X by now", or, if not a haunting reminder then, it's probably only because I've forgotten about them entirely! With that being said, I want to make a few short resolutions of my own, lasting a week only (that's about how long I can keep things in my head!). This week I plan to:

1) Write 10,000 words (that's ABOUT 1428.5 words a day!)
a)Writing in public whenever possible (Library)
b) Doing more Word Wars (Did my first one last night and had a blast!)
2) Run 3x (Start training for running a 5k)
3) Spend time with my Lord every morning


So what are YOUR weekly goals? Maybe you'd rather start them on a Monday? I'd love to hear them!

On the writing side of things...
I had a very detailed outline written for this novel. VERY detailed. The most work I've ever put into an outline type of thing. And now it's totally changing. Sure, most of the elements are still there, but most of it has majorly changed.

DOES THIS HAPPEN TO YOU???

Cheers!
L Finch

Friday, December 10, 2010

Eight days later...

Today rocked. My husband was an amazing man today and bought me a new journal AND Josh Groban's new CD, which, by the way, I am LOVING.

On the writing front I wrote a little over 2,000 words today which is an amazing day for me. Remember my writing goals?
Work day: 500-1000 wds
Off day: 1000 - 1500 wds

I missed writing 2 days this week, but I am back with a vengeance!

Writing is like my Prozac. This is beacuse I don't currently (or ever have) taken Prozac, so instead I write.
Writing is very therapeutic for me. It's the way that I figure out what's going on in my head, and vent to the paper about what's going on. I have all these stories going on in my head that need a place to get out. It's very normal for me to be at work and be working on a conversation in my novel while I'm in the back getting shoes.

So on another train of thought, I'm looking at going back to school full time soon. Hopefully I can get a good job and save up during the spring and summer enough money to go back. Looks like tuition is 2,640 for a year. That's not bad. My major? English, with a teaching emphasis!

Well, I'm off to bed.

Cheers!
L Finch

Thursday, December 2, 2010

On my Bookshelf

Currently I'm reading "The Right to Write" by Julia Cameron. I'm very impressed so far. Each segment (or chapter, call it what you will) has an exercise so that writers can apply what they just learned. So far these, too, have proved to be helpful in finding out my personal "right to write".
One thing that she said that really rang true with me is how she says that writing is a gift given to us by the "gods". Mind you, I believe in one God with a big G, but the concept remains the same - those of us who write write beacuse we are given the gift of writing.

I've always felt that I had a gift for writing. Now, this isn't to say that I'm simply marvelous at writing, or that I know everything there is to know about writing, and I'm not trying to blow my own horn.
Rather, I believe that myself, and many other people, were born with the "burning desire" to write, and that nothing can shut us up. We can be held down, we can be beaten down, we can be discouraged, but we won't stop writing.

Let me be quite clear though, when I speak of this "gift" I do not mean to say that some people cannot write. Anyone can write, anyone can accept the gift. Only the bravest of the brave will open the gift though, beacuse as Julia points out, writing is scary! Putting part of you soul out there for open criticism is hard to do. Some budding authors never recover from the first harsh word they received about their writing.

I'd recommend this book for budding authors, or authors who feel themselves blocked and need a way to express themselves freely.

Cheers!
L Finch

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Exciting News!

Yes, it's true, I asked for the Evenstar Pendent for Christmas! And it sounds like I might get it! Which, of course, makes me very excited. But what makes me even more excited is -
I figured out the beginning to my novel!!! I was stuck for so long beacuse the way that I thought I should open it up (Ava being in detention) wasn't exciting enough for me. So as it turns out, we actually follow her mother as she escapes her father's reign. Ava dreams this segment though, so you didn't hear anything from me, right? :) I will post it very soon online, message me at his dot writer at gmail dot com if you'd like to read it before I post it online.

I'm experimenting with some new styles and points of view in my novel. Well, new to me at least. I still have a lot to learn in this whole writing thing, but I'm getting there!! It'll probably involve taking some classes too, does anyone have any classes they recommend?

Cheers!
L Finch

Monday, November 29, 2010

Did I mention...

That I would also be using this blog for a little bit of brainstorming? So here it goes!

1) I have the outline all mapped out fully. With around 80 cards, I'm right on count for about a 40 chapter book.
2) I have no fears that this book will get written.
3) I do, however, fear for the quality of writing contained in this book. And this blog, for that matter
4) I think fear of this is holding me back from some real writing
5) Is anyone even reading this? lol
6) I'm afraid that 2-3 captures and dramatic rescues might be too much for one book. Boo!!!
7) I need to get a firmer grasp on my two main people groups, the Pixies and the Cahal.
8) I think a Lord of the Rings Marathon might help with the whole writing process... that theory remains to be untested... lol. And on that note, if you want to get me anything for xmas - get this. And you think I'm joking don't you. No, I'm so serious.
9) I need to finish my James Patterson book before it's due at the library.
10) And it's off to work I go!

Cheers!
L Finch

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Debating...

If I want to take a run this morning. I think NOT. At least, not right now. Has any of you people's heard of The Artist's Way? It's a very interesting idea. The goal is to write three pages of long hand each morning before you start your actual writing for the day. It's a way to be honest with yourself and verbalize what's been troubling you, or what's been making you happy. It's also a way to silence your inner critic. The author points out that it's also a way to solve your problems, beacuse you can only whine so long on paper about your problems before you decide to take action. I would also like to point out that it looks like the author is a new-age-guru, so exercise caution when reading her website please.

Cheers!
L Finch

Monday, November 22, 2010

Pilot Post

I'm sitting in the Barnes and Noble cafe blasting Daugherty and thinking about why exactly I wanted to start (another) blog. I need a place where I can be creative, be free, and think for myself. So often I let other people think for me. Once again, I'm making another resolution that this is NO MORE... but like I said, it is "one again"...
I'm crazy over this new novel. It's everything I've ever wanted to do, and the exact story I want to tell. It's crazy, right? Crazy that I'm so crazy over this one idea, this one novel.
It's all I can think about. It's all I can write about. I take breaks at work just to write these ideas down. A simple plot has gone into a more complicated plot, and so on and so forth.

But with all this craziness comes the fear - the fear of sharing this idea for fear that people will judge, people will say it's not good, people will say that it's not moral enough for them.
Does it matter what people think?
I am a people pleaser, so yes, to me it matters a lot. The funny thing is, you can be so scared of rejection, and then after it happens it feels freeing. For example, recently through a series of circumstances, I had someone reject me. I didn't do anything wrong, yet she rejected me. We went from "best friends" to never speaking overnight. What she did to me was the best thing in the world. Now I've been slapped in the face with the truth -

Rejection is not your fault
If someone rejects you, that is THEIR choice, and if you have not wronged them, then it is not your fault. Ever. Please remember that.

My Novel Idea
So what I want to do is I want to take real life a merge it into fantasy. My main character is a suicidal cutter by the name of Ava. What she doesn't know is that her mother is a runaway pixie from Ireland. This makes her part pixie by birth. Her uncle, Finn, finds her and tells her mother to tell her the truth of who she is. This throws her into the battle between the pixies and the Cahal (could go into a lot more detail on them, but won't for the purposes of this short essay), as she is really royalty. She will learn why cutting makes her feel good, but will also feel the consequences of choosing a lifestyle like that.
Is it going to be dark? Yes, yes, it will be. Cutting is a very dark subject, but it's an issue that needs to be addressed. Jesus didn't hang out with the religious, he hung out with the sinners. I don't need to write a happy christian book, there are enough of those. But are there books that reach out and offer hope, help, and encouragement to people who deal with the dark demons of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
I've been there, done that, and I wish that when I was going though it there was a book I could read to give me insight and wisdom.

Feedback is not necessary unless you have something positive to say. Remember in the movie Bambi what Thumper's mother said? "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all!".

Cheers!
L Finch

Our Issues

Today was a good day. I got most of the outline story-boarded and completed. I then proceeded to write about a paragraph out of the middle that I plan to go add more onto after I finish here. I’m also compiling (in my head) songs that pertain to my MC, or songs that she would listen to. Pretty depressing if you ask me, I had to haul out Linkin Park for a couple of songs. Poor girl, she’s pretty messed up, and she will be messed up for the majority of the book.

Aren’t we all messed up in some way or another though? We have our addictions, (money, cutting, shopping, sex), we live through our lies, crave approval, shun those who really care, and curse the one who died for us. The only thing that separates us is if we embrace our failures and try to change, or if we lie to ourselves and run away from who we really are.

As Christians we hopefully have embraced the knowledge of at least most of our sin, the lying, the stealing, the anger, the fear. But what if we don’t embrace it? What if we deny it’s existence?

The only thing that comes from this is more pain to yourself and pain to others, sometimes physical, sometimes mental. Unfortunately, it’s going to be real-life for my heroine as she chooses to learn the hard way time and time again.

But isn’t that real life for most of us? Instead of trusting those who love us, instead of focusing on how we can grow, change, even adapt, we focus on others and point the finger. “He shouldn’t shut me out of his life,” she snaps, “She shouldn’t spend so much money” he growls.

The worst is when we think our problem helps us. We think that ripping movies off the Internet is a “okay because I don’t have money for the movie” and that being anorexic is “okay because I need to be pretty for the guys” and “I need to cut to feel alive”. Or even “sex before marriage makes me feel good, so it’s okay”. We think that our problems help us. My heroine, Ava, (working name) has to learn that her cutting not only ultimately hurts herself, but also hurts others, and just like in the real world, her cutting has some serious consequences.

Just like Ava’s addiction, our sin carries with it serious consequences.

So that’s a little bit of what I’ve been working on for the past few months.

Cheers!