New Music, Much Ado About A Lighter, & A 10 Day Book Update!

So earlier tonight I got a new mp3 player - it's nothing fancy, but it works, and it has a screen, and good sound quality, and honestly? It's just nice to have something to listen to again. My old ipod broke months ago. Of course I loaded it up with the new albums from Demi Lovato, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Selena Gomez. I'm so obsessed with pop right now, it's weird, considering I'm usually more into indie or punk. but whatever, it's a nice change of pace, I'll take it.

The other day I walked over an hour to buy a lighter and the woman at the gas station wouldn't sell my one. I'm nineteen, so I'm a legal adult here, and I have all the privileges that come with it - drinking, buying tobacco products, buying lighters, et cet - but I don't have an ID and I don't always look my age depending on what my hair and skin are doing, what I'm wearing, if I have my glasses . . . any number of things. so sometimes I get away with stuff and sometimes I don't. This time I didn't. My parents brought my home a new lighter that night anyway, but I needed one earlier, and it was kind of annoying.

As far as Shadows goes, I have one more final chapter to write tonight and then I'm done for the day - and thank god, 'cause I'm about to collapse. I know I already gave you guys a quote today, but here is another one:

Write a Book in Ten Days Update 2

As far as Shadows is going, I have an updated outline (I added in 5 new chapters last night) so it's a higher work load, but it will pay off. I also have an updated schedule, so let's hope that I keep it. More on that tomorrow since I'm in a rush to get a few thousand more words in tonight. Here's today's quote:

Write a Book in Ten Days

So. I'm writing a book in ten days. Well, not a book. A draft of a book. So basically a book. Why? Because; productivity, and innovation. And I really want to finish this book before NaNoWriMo starts, so I can work on ADSD during that.

The book is called Shadows, it's set in my home city, Saint John, New Brunswick, and it's about a race of modern witches called Charmers living among us. And other creatures. It's set in what I call the Menagerie world - it's bursting with paranormal creatures and different breeds of magik.

I'm estimating that it will be about 55,000 words when complete, and right now I'm at 17,553. So how am I going about it? Easy, I've got a polished, streamlined outline, a set pace, and a set of tools to get me into the writing mood, including Pinterest boards and playlists.

Here's a sneak peek at my Scrivener doc:

My schedule is chapter-based, with a set number of chapters to write each day. Today is the 24th, so today and onwards my schedule is:

The 24th: have up to chapter ten finished.

The 25th: have up to chapter thirteen finished.

The 26th: have up to chapter sixteen finished.

The 27th: have up to chapter eighteen finished.

The 28th: have up to the last chapter finished.

As far as writing, I'm using Rachel Aaron's 2k to 10k method, which means I'm outlining extensively each day (jotting a more detailed scene outline in a notebook before writing it) and setting aside certain times to write. To get in the mood to put words on paper I have a pinterest board: Shadows on Pinterest! And set paranormal romance playlists on 8tracks that I've been loving. I'm also listening to the new Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato albums on repeat. As far as inspirations go, I feel like this is influenced by books like Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and Ink by Amanda Sun.

I'll be posting updates daily with updated manuscript wordcounts and quotes from the draft! If you're interested in seeing how this little experiment turns out and catching a look at the world and characters before the book is published, it will be a fairly interesting glimpse into my creative process!

Today's Quote:

Something started to spill from his open hand, like dark blood dripping from a wound. But it wasn’t liquid — it was like smoke, except that it was evaporating; the edges of its form licking the air like tongues of black flame. It grew. The darkness twisted and writhed in the air like a living thing, and began to pool on the ground between Jackson and the blonde guy.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stared at the thing taking shape there, sure that at any second I would snap upright in bed, panting, out of the nightmare.

Except this wasn’t a dream. I wasn’t waking up.