Cheating.

I'd like to get something straight. Not that anyone's accused me of this, or anything, because they haven't. But during WriMos, something that's really common is to stop using contractions, or use lots of flowery description, or switch hyphenated words into two separate words.

I don't do any of that.

Sure, I've done the occasional "Have not" instead of "haven't", but it's usually to fit the character, not to get my WC up.

The way I see it, is if I have 50K, but only 45K of actual words, once I eliminate all the "cheating", I feel like I've failed.

I want to write a novel that's got all of the right parts. I don't want to go through and have to change every "do not" into "don't"; for one, that'd get so boring, and for another, I'd hate to see the WC go down.

I don't have anything against people who do this, of course. It's just not my style.

WC of the Day:

26,687 and rising.

Halfway there.

So I did it. (: I hit the 25K.

I don't know what it is about that particular number, but hitting the halfway mark three days into the month really brought up my spirits. (: The last two thousand were torture, but I did them (I don't really remember it, but I know I wrote it, I have the proof), and I really like where the story's going.

I'd thought it would be upwards of 90,000 words, but I'm thinking it's going to be severely less than that. I just can't seem to think of a good enough subplot that'll warrant it, anymore. I thought I had more planned. Actually, I did. But unless I decide to go back and add an entire subplot, Natalie's death just isn't going to happen. Unless I decide to do it from the killer's point of view, but that's probably not going to happen, because I'd planned on keeping it completely secret until the end.

Yeah, I like mystery in my horror. :P

I guess that's it. (: All my news lately is about JulNo...

Oh! Except camp. (: But that's on the thirteenth, by which point I will be DONE, blissfully done! :D

Goodbye, lovelies!

Climbing a Mountain.

So JulNo is going really well. I've got about 22,000 words, give or take a hundred, and for three days, that's damn good.

One of the ways I've found to really motivate myself is to use this thing called the Stats Menu, on the JulNo page. Basically, everyone who's put in their wordcount for the month so far gets a rank based on said word count, and you can tell what number you are.

I've been behind a certain user for a day and a half now. Sure, others slip ahead of me, but only by a hundred or two, and I can make that up very easily. (There was a time, actually, when one user was one word ahead of me and I was like uh... Wow. Coincidence much?)

So this user (We'll call her D, though that has nothing to do with her username) has been ahead of me. Currently, she resides at the safe halfway mark of 25,000 words.

I've only got 3,000 to go, and it seems so damn hard. I don't know what it is; maybe it's a psychological thing? maybe I'm just crazy? But it seems much more difficult to do those 3,000 words than it's been to do the 22,000 I've already written.

And the 22K has been difficult. It's not been easy, no way.

I feel like I'm climbing a mountain with this. With 25K will come the halfway point of the JulNo goal (probably only a third of my actual novel, but oh well), and once I hit that, I feel it'll go much more smoothly.

It doesn't help that I'm at a point in time where my characters are all remembering their awful, awful pasts, and I hate doing that to them...

I'm going to hit 25K, though. I will. If not today, then tomorrow.

I really, really want to get it today, though. (:

(This has been a procrastination-heavy blog post by me. ;D)

JulNoWriMo

July Novel Writing Month.

Have you heard of it?

Basically, it's a time, much like National Novel Writing Month, where you write 50,000 words in a month.

No, I'm not kidding. (;

It's very very insane, and very very fun. (:

So far, I've got... 13,134 words. I hope to have 14,000 by bedtime, but I doubt that'll happen. Ah, well. I'm 6 days ahead of my schedule, currently, and I'm hoping I can get farther ahead tomorrow.

This has been a post by me; if you see excessive blogging in the next month, this explains it.

I procrastinate, what can I say? (:

Why does StumbleUpon need a category for "Left-Handed"?

Well, I got on the computer just now to read some blogs, write a bit, and edit.

I was reading one, and the author mentioned "Stumbleupon". So I, being the hapless idiot that I am, Googled it.

I'm insanely intrigued, and I've just found 100000000000000000000 more ways to procrastinate. *click* Yupp, just hit procrastinating. :D

... I have no life.

In other news, my proof shipped today. What does this mean, loyal readers? Well, now I'll finally stop talking about it. Well, once I get it, I promise I will. :D So, y'all should be excited.

... With all the times I say "y'all", you'd think I was from Texas. o.o

And now I'm all of a sudden really tired. Good night, everybody! (No, I haven't done any writing. Don't judge me.)

hey, soul sister, i don't wanna miss a single thing you do.

Well, this entry's going to be rather short. I'm short on time, as I just got back from an unscheduled Dance Company meeting. It was super easy, just ridiculously fast...

Anyway. Yesterday, as I said, I was sick. :P So I went for a walk, with my Zune playing "Back Where We Started". Over and over. (: I walked all around my neighborhood... I've never, before now, noticed just how eerie it is to be walking outside with nobody there. o.o Somewhat terrifying, so I turned it low and pretended to be texting. xD I'm such a dork. (:

In writing news, I'm steadily working on editing my novel. (: I think it should be done by around the middle of March. Or, at least, Draft 3 will. Then, I can send it in to get my CreateSpace copy! :D I'm so excited.

In sad news, I failed a Chemistry test today. ): At least, I think I did. I'm hoping I got at least a C-, so I won't be in trouble, but I doubt it. Blah. At least today was a Late Start day. :D That means that instead of getting up at 6 30, I got up at 8! It was pure loveliness. :D

I'm currently reading On Writing, by Stephen King. (Did I already mention that? Probably... Ah, well.) I like it, it's very informative and also, I'm a huge SK fan. Pretty fantabulous.

Well, I have to run for dance at my studio. I get to be a Charlie's Angel! Hell, yes. *practices spy moves*

Later, all. (:

Jasmine

i'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet. (:

Holy shit, it's been a long time since I last posted. ><>

Ignore that.

Today, I went to a bookstore. :D I got On Writing, The Stand, Firestarter, and two other horror books. (The first three are by Stephen King, for the record). It made me quite happy. (:

We also had mini cakes because it's my stepdad's- er, I mean, Dr. Wilson (from House)'s birthday. Yeah. Cake is good.

I also rediscovered my love for Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy. I finally got my Zune back (after an entire week without it), and I was listening to that lovely 'shuffle' feature, and But it's Better if You Do came on. (: That was my favorite song a while back. It made me feel old.

... Even though I'm only fifteen. You know. I can feel old, too.

I've finally discovered the cause for my headaches! Apparently, I grind my teeth. Which means that when I'm asleep, for 10 hours a night, my teeth are grinding away. Which causes headaches. Which means that what three CAT scans and an MRI couldn't figure out has been accomplished by a visit to the dentist.

Thank you, dentist. (:

I've also rekindled a love for the song "Back Where We Started" by Tina Dico. If you know it, then you're awesome, and we should be best friends. If you don't know it, then you should look it up. I'm doing my final in Choir to that song (dancing--don't ask me how that works), and I think it's doing well. (:

OH! I saw Young Frankenstein today (the musical). It was freaking amazing. (: I loved it so much, even if the 'dirty jokes' made me a bit uncomfortable, with my friends parents right by me. (:

I also saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show yesterday, but I liked that significantly less. :P I still don't 'get' it. If you can explain it, do so in a comment. (;

I don't know what else I can say... Other then that my ex boyfriend has decided that he's in love with me again. So now I have two choices: I can seduce him to get his other ex to stop thinking about him, or let him down easy. I dislike the ex, so I'm thinking of going with the first choice. (:

In other other news, I finally finished my first short story. (: It's called Somewhere, A Queen is Weeping and it takes place in Medieval London. I like it. I'm submitting it to my school's creative arts magazine.

Lastly, I've finally gotten into American Idol again. And so, to commemorate, my mother decided that she wants me to try out when they come near us this summer. Oh, joy. So instead of practicing for something (anything) dance-related, I'm working on my (mad) vocal skills. Should be fun. If I make it, I'll be sure to let y'all know. (;

I guess that's it.

Ciao, for now. (:

Jasmine

The shame, the ones who died.

-looks around- Well, isn't this nice. (: A shiny new blog.

I guess I'll tell you a bit about myself, eh?

My name is Jasmine. I'm 15 years old. My main 'hobbies' are dancing, acting, singing, and writing, though I plan to make that one less of a hobby and more of a career. I plan on being an English teacher until that happens, however. This blog will probably be one of the most poorly updated, as I tend to forget about them, but I'll never abandon it completely.

I'm doing NaNoWriMo next month, which should be fun. (: 50,000 words in a month--sounds good. :D

Music is my muse, and I've written a couple of songs. (:

I've been published before. Not a novel (yet), but I've had a few poems in books and such.

Writing is my main passion. What I'm currently working on is called Letters and Lies, and it's going to be a novel, if not expanding to a sequel.

I enjoy short stories as well, and I try to write more then one genre; I especially like humor, though.

Well... That sounds like a personal ad for someone with a writer's fetish. o.o Sorry.

I'll post more when I've got interesting things to say. (: If you'd like to read more by me, head on over to my livejournal: http://scarleteyes09.livejournal.com

(: Ciao, all. Feel free to comment.
Jasmine