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