Oh Say Can You Say

When I first joined my critique group, there was a little questionnaire that my group leader sent around so we could fill it out and get to know each other a bit.  One of the questions asked what our writing strengths were and one of them asked for our weaknesses.  My exact answer for my strengths was "Not really sure I have any strengths unless an unlimited imagination counts."

Ever since I filled that out at the end of January '15, I've been wondering if I have any strengths as a writer.  This stays in the back of my head whenever I'm writing or reviewing someone else's work.  I'm consistently jealous of other peoples abilities to flesh out characters.  I was recently reading Marissa Meyer's book, Scarlet, the second book in the Lunar Chronicles.  She has so many characters going in her series but they're different, interesting, realistic, and so much fun! Even though there are some things about her writing I don't care for as much, I was really impressed with her character development.  I'm already planning to reread them to get some pointers.

As I've been critiquing other people's work, I've discovered that a lot of people have difficulty writing realistic dialogue.  There's too much back and forth a lot of times and I've read more than one piece of work where the characters trail off onto mundane, unhelpful filler conversation which doesn't get the reader anywhere.  Dialogue is probably one of the longest things I've been working on as a writer.  Even before I knew what paragraphs were or how to use a comma (the last one is still a bit iffy).  Realistic dialogue was really important, even to my twelve year old self.  If only I'd cared as much about my character development.  I'd be much better off today.

Here are some examples of different types of dialogue from my books.  You'll get to see the evolution of my writing and possibility get a good laugh.  Hopefully only when you're supposed to.

June 2012 - A story about two sisters having to move on after their parents death.

“Last box!” Amanda announced triumphantly, plopping the box, which I could only hope didn’t have anything fragile inside, down on top of a stack of already taped and ready boxes.  Her normally perfect hair was a bit fuzzy, revealing her naturally curly hair which she was always trying to tame, and she had a smudge of dirt on her face.

“I can’t believe we’ve finished!”  Angela, a girl with an energetic personality and bright red hair to match dropped down onto the couch next to me.  I laid my head back gratefully, my sore muscles glad for the rest. 

                “A few hours she says-“ I said but was cut off when Amanda tossed me a roll of tape, giving me a raised eyebrow. 

                “Hey, just be grateful we had help or else it would have taken twice as long!”
                The front door opened and a blast of hot summer air swept in, accompanied by a groan from Angela.  She was hot, even when it was ten degrees outside so summer was really not her favorite time of year.  If it was possible, she would walk around in an air conditioning bubble 24/7.
                “Good timing Danny,” Amanda said to the tall blond, gesturing toward the stack of boxes.  “These are the last.”

                “Got it,” He said, grabbing three of the heavy boxes at once and taking them almost effortlessly out to the moving truck.

May 2014 - A story about a girl who's family is forced by the government to house an alien from another planet.

The vibrating in my pocket interrupted my pity party and I pulled the device from my pocket, keying in the password. I missed my old smartphone every day I had to use the BFFT phone and figure out some of its many complexities. Of course, it wouldn’t look good for a government worker to be using a ‘common’ phone like the others.

Mom’s face appeared in bright HD as if she was standing right in front of me, the worry lines that hadn’t appeared until last year more apparent by the day.

“Rose.”

She didn’t have to say anything else for me to know she’d been told. After a deep breath, I forced a smile. “How was your day Mom?”

Mom looked like she wanted to launch straight into her worries but she attempted to keep calm. “We had our mandatory inspection today.”

“Today?” If this was Mom’s idea of small talk, I was not looking forward to hearing her real concerns. “Everything went well?”

“They said everything was in good order.” Her eyes shifted a little.

“But?”

“Mitch caused a bit of a problem.”

I swallowed. “How much is a bit?”

“One of the inspectors gave him a warning.”

“And?”

She continued to avoid eye contact. “And a bloody nose.”

June 2014 - A story about a reluctant, self conscious model for a makeup company and the son of the rival company.

“Zane.” It sounded slightly less dry than I’d been feelin. Why of all people…

“You recognize me?” I couldn’t tell if his surprise was genuine or not. Seeing him up close, I wished I could've made fun of his photoshopped posters as much as mine but I couldn't.  His hair had perfect volume and not a hair was brushing against his forehead.  His skin was even, his jaw square.  I didn't even want to start how good his silver suit looked on him.

“Are you here for the food?” He gestured at the table, his eyes still flitting between me and the poster.

Say something say.

“You’ve gotten taller.”

Oomph. Genius.

He raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t.”

My smile froze. Your arrogant jerkiness has grown with you. Who do you think you are to—

“I read you and your brother are working hard on fall line. C&Z will take on a whole new meaning with you guys taking so much hands on responsibilities.”

He nodded. “You read?”

At least I can.

I dug my ring into my hand a little harder, trying to stop my snarky train of thoughts before it derailed in the direction of my mouth. “When I get a chance to.”

August 2014 - Story about a girl having to take care of her grandmother in assisted living.

The hallway was quiet except for a few staff making the rounds with pills and checkups. Violet got to the elevator before she was out of breath and leaned on the wall for support. The drugstore was close but maybe not close enough.

“Whoa, you’re up early. So much for seven thirty P.M. being the only seven thirty in a day.”

Violet’s stomach clenched with her hand. Why him?

“Yeah, well, some days I have to make an exception.”

Chris stepped back as he got the full view of her face. “Whoa.”

“That’s the second time you’ve used that word in the last two sentences.”

“What’s wrong?”

Violet rolled her eyes. “What do you think is wrong with me? What’s wrong with every old person in this complex?”

“You caught it?” His bouncy tone had quieted a little and he searched her face carefully.

I’m living with a woman who won’t even go to the bathroom by herself when she’s sick. Of course I caught it! “Yeah, looks that way.”

“Do you have to get some medicine?”

“No, just some juice.”

He frowned. “Juice?”

“Grandma won’t take her pills without it and we’re out.”

“So…you’re getting it.”

“She’s too dizzy to.”

He blinked, his jaw tightening. “And you’ve been throwing up all night.”

Violet looked at him defensively as the elevator binged open in front of them. “How did you know I was throwing up all night?”

“You obviously haven’t looked in the mirror yet today.”

“Thanks.” Violet stepped into the elevator, hoping he’d be too grossed out to get in with a sick person.

Current (2015) - Queen of Time

“You almost done, Gwen?” Claire appeared at my side.  Her rhinestone glasses perched on the end of her nose and a sloppy stack of self-defense books filled her arms.

“Light reading?” I shoved at my bangs only to have them slid down again a minute later.

 “Did you read this one?” She angled one of the books my way, the cover depicting a girl going at a punching bag in full makeup.

“Not worth it.  Ever chapter has an advertisement for some gadget to protect yourself.”

“Huh.” She tapped the cover.  “Guess she doesn’t go for the whole ‘the body is a weapon’ thing.”

“The average women carries more weapons than she might think.  Car keys, a purse, heels.” I pointed at Claire’s square pumps which completed the tailored pants and blousy top she wore.  She had the preppy librarian thing on point.

“Mom wants me to learn self-defense.  She’s sure working at the library isn’t safe.”

“It’s good she cares.”  I restarted the computer and it came to life with no evidence Parker’s report ever existed.  I smothered a sigh.

“Gwen.” Claire sat in the chair next to me.  “How are things at home?  Is Bill treating you well?”

“It’s fine.” I opened a new document and set my font preference.

“It’s fine is Gwen code for everything.  Good is fine, bad is fine, fine is fine.”

“Mandy likes him.” Or his steady income.  I liked to think the first.

“Mandy liked Jacob too.”

I flinched.  Claire muttered something under her breath before taking my hand.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

The computer curser blinked restlessly at me. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.”

“You don’t need to be involved.” I pulled away.  “Bill isn’t Jacob.”

“Gwen, you’re a bright girl.  Probably brilliant.” She leaned in.  “But you have to know your own limits.  It’s not a weakness to ask for help.”

It is when it’s not your problem.

“I have to get this finished.  Parker’s going to be here in a few minutes to collect it.”

On cue, my phone beeped.  I flipped it open and scanned the text twice before snapping it shut again. 

“That’s not Parker, is it?”

I shrugged. 

“Let me guess, he wants you to totally change the whole paper.”

I cleared my throat.  “Actually, no.  He’s running short on time and wants me to drop it off for him.”

Claire tapped her purple nails against the desk.  “Where?”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Gwen—”

“I’ve got this,” I said in the same way I’d been telling myself for days.  “It’s just this last thing and then I’m done.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Really.”

She patted my shoulder.  “Gwen, you’re smarter than almost any girl I know.  Do you really think that’s true?”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she slipped away, leaving me with the dusty computer and a stress headache. 

Dialogue is something I usually feel confident and comfortable writing.  As long as I know what information needs to happen in a scene, I can usually find a way to make it work.  I do much better when I'm writing sarcastic characters dialogue.  It's probably why I've hard such a hard time with writing Gwen.

Anyway, all this to say, if I were to tell someone my strong point as a reader, I would tell them I'm most confident in my dialogue.  I don't know, I guess my readers are my best judges.

-Anna Leigh

The Past is the Past...or is it?

I can't clearly remember what day it was I decided I wanted to be a writer.  I don't know if it was rainy or sunny, warm or cold.  I don't remember when I went from wanting to write to wanting to have my work acknowledged by more than just myself.  Or when writing started to be so much a part of me, it felt wrong if a day passed and I didn't write something.

My first completed novel was called Ordinary People and centered around a girl named Sharon Smith.  It was written in third person.  Sharon's working a summer job and when she's returning papers to an office, she overhears her boss talking about something suspicious.  She's found out and runs away - conveniently running right into a guy who helps her out.  The guy is none other than the charming (and of course good looking) Johnny McKenna.  For those curious, this novel started at that ripe, mature age of fourteen.  And her name became Sharon far after I started.  Her name was originally Anna.  Johnny was the proud owner of...nope...wait for it...his own spaceship.  It was a small little thing with an interestingly lit interior and parts held together with duct tape.  Sharon ends up on a big spaceship (not the one Johnny owns) after walking through an unassuming doorway in an office Johnny took her too.  This ship was run by a rather unfriendly captain who informed Sharon of her reasons for being chosen to come aboard, reasons I can't remember but would probably cringe at if I dug through the graveyard of notebooks under my bed and unearthed the one with that story.

I had the trilogy planned.  The first book involved her finding her father who was the true captain of the spaceship.  The second would involve her training to become an agent with hopes that Johnny would join the crew. He was a freelancer with his own spaceship who didn't really want to be a part of the main ship after his initial helpfulness in bringing Sharon aboard.  At the end of the second book, Johnny was set to "die", thus leaving the heroine in a tough spot where she had to harden and get past the shock.  The third book, of course, would follow his miraculous recover and his memory loss.

I'm sure you've felt enlightened knowing all about this past book which exists only in notebook pages and which will never make a miraculous comeback Johnny style.  I'm bringing it up as an example to show a bit more about where I am now.  Johnny had some serious Doctor Who like aspects, Sharon was far too brave and yet too dumb for the circumstances, there was no good explanation as to why her dad was hanging out in a seedy part of town and had never contacted her, and biggest of all, no real reason why Sharon was worth anything more than the daughter of Echo-Star's captain (yes, that was the name.  Now stop laughing).  Just like my books started out as rewritings of Peter Pan and Robin Hood, my work was a bad rip off of things I'd watched and read.

Only Human started as a sproutling of an idea.  A question I'd read online about which super power I'd choose if I'd have a chance.  It made me start wondering about how bad it would be to have an ability that couldn't be controlled.  That would be a curse, not a blessing.  My first attempt was in a book about a girl named Alex who was dragged into a back alley and given drugs so she had super human strength.  That gem didn't make it past the first chapter.  I moved on to a new project; one about a girl named Abby Lee who had the ability to read minds.  That one did get past the first chapter.

If I'm being totally honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Only Human.  The story itself is fine but the characters read a bit flat and I'm always looking for a way to change that.  I've put several major edits into it and yet, I'm sure there will be more in the future.  Even so, I learned so much on that book and tried so many things that failed.  One of the things I liked the most about it was its originality.  Not that there aren't other books out there like it but that I came up with the ideas and figured out the story on my own.

It's a little harder to hold my head up about my current manuscript.  I did a lot to step away from the heavy influence of other books and movies for Only Human.  I read two books in two years while I was writing Only Human so I could keep the voices of other writers out of my head.  After coming all that way, I'm now taking someone else's story again.  I know that the King Arthur legend is open for interpretation and open for anyone to use but I can't help this little part of me that keeps saying its not my story.  That I'm twenty years old and still copying off someone else.  Maybe that's why this book is so important to me.  I want to get it right and I want to prove to myself that I've moved on from my Peter Pan days.

-Anna Leigh

Writing A Legend (Part II)

I've written a few times about the extreme fear that sets in whenever I get to parts of my story involving Arthur Pendragon.  Considering I've gotten into the meaty middle parts of my manuscript, those ugly fears are rearing their heads quite often.  Sometimes I'll be writing along okay and then it hits me I've had three lines of dialogue from Arthur and I'm not even sweating.

Good for me.  Learning to face one's fears is the first step to getting over them.

The legend of King Arthur means a lot of different things to different people.  Sure, it's a legend with very little basis in fact but it's been the root material for dozens of other legends, movies, books, and TV shows.  I even remember as a little kid listening to Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet singing the parts for the Camelot musical.

Little did I know, ten years later, I'd be taking it on as a book.

I've attempted to write this story for about five years now, even longer than Only Human was in the works.  It was around the time I first started watching Doctor Who (can't believe it's been that long!) that I considered time travel and all the elements it could add to my story(s).  Of course it meant a trip down memory lane to my favorite childhood stories and the idea that I could rewrite them with a modern twist.

I remember starting the Queen of Time for the first time.  I knew I wanted the girl's name to be Gwen and that through some magical or scientific explanation, I wanted her to end up in Camelot.  It's a bit fuzzy since it was five years ago but I'm pretty sure she followed some mysterious guy into the backwoods and stepped through some strange doorway to get to Camelot.  I was always an inventive teen :)

Gwen got to Camelot and then I had the terrifying realization that I'd have to actually write Arthur.  He wouldn't just appear in his kingly element with his perfect words and complete my story.  I couldn't borrow him from a movie or book.  I had to make his character.

My book never went further.  The notebook joined the graveyard under my bed of ideas from long ago (my first novel about a girl named Anna whose Dad lived in a spaceship) and I decided some day, when I was a good writer, I'd make it work.

Funnily enough, good writing doesn't just happen.  It takes hours of dedication and a love for stories and words that only the craziest have.  I've had the file on my computer for a while, complete with the name for almost that long.  I didn't know how I wanted it to end.  I didn't even know how I wanted the middle to go.  I just knew it had to happen.

And now it's really happening.  Probably part of the reason I can't stop the cold sweats and anxiety.

What if it's not good enough? What if the perfect idea in my mind falls flat on paper? I'm not a professional writer.  I barely know the legend.  I didn't even know what language they spoke until January '15.

The big question is, who is Arthur? A warrior? A hero straight out of a romance novel? An arrogant prince?  (Hint: my Arthur isn't the guy on the left. He's not Bradley James either.)

I have to throw away what anyone's done before me.  He's mine now.  I have the right to make him blue eyed, brown eyed, tall, short, warrior, poet, villain.

Every time I sit down, I have to remind myself.  He's mine.  I can do what I want.

Arthur is young in my story, barely into his twenties.  He's an aspiring king, always afraid to let his father and ultimately, his people down.  Unlike the legends, my story relies heavily on a mistake his grandfather or great grandfather made (I still don't have a hard timeline).  Because of that mistake, he lives in fear of letting his people down again.  He has an expectation of himself that he needs to be a king who'll not only make up for the mistakes his ancestors made but never make any himself. Despite the instability in the land resulting from his ancestors mistakes, he's mostly on an even keel in his life.  That is, until a girl from the 21st century shows up.

Gwen embodies the mistakes Arthur is trying to fix.

I've never been expected to rule a kingdom or fix my grandparents mistakes.  I don't get that kind of pressure.  The thing is, this is the kind of pressure Arthur lives with every day.  So I have to remember the balance.  Arthur expects a lot of himself but in the end, he's still a twenty-two year old guy.  He's lost his Mom, he doesn't really have any close friends due to his position, and his dad treats him like a project more than a son.  The guy has a lot of empty spots in his life even if he doesn't know it.

From a certain aspect, he could easily be an injured lonely prince but I don't want to go to far in that direction.  It can turn into a cheesy romance real fast.  Arthur's strong.  He has to be.  Gwen's got a lot of issues at the beginning of the book and he needs to have a background that can handle her.

Arthur's not an additional character.  He's as much of a main as Gwen even though the reader is never in his mind.

Interactions between Gwen and Arthur are easier as the book goes on.  It's not difficult for me to write newly developed friendships but starting them is like pulling teeth.  How would the future king react when a girl from the 21st century shows up? How would a girl from the 21st century react when she meets a legendary king who she thought never existed?

As a character, Arthur has to have some defining points.  In my first draft, Arthur is pretty blunt.  He asks tough questions and he's not afraid to offend people.  He's watched his father be a tough king and even though he wants to be kind to the people, he doesn't want to be soft like his grandfather, the man who let the evil ones in.

In QoT, Arthur has several difficult decisions to make, aside from how he's going to deal with 21st century girl.  He has an impending marriage, failing friendships, dangerous beasts, and a heavy crown which will soon be his.  He'll either have to step up in a big way or go home.

As the writer of his character, I have to do the same thing.

Until next time,

Anna Leigh

Short Stories and Flash Fiction

A while back, I suggested to my family members and a few friends that it might be fun to write some short stories.  I've participated and watched various competitions involving them and the idea to write something short but with a punch intrigues me.  I'm long winded (or worded) enough that once I start writing, that baby isn't going to be done until I've hit about 80,000 words or more. Probably the reason why I've only finished one novel in the nine years I've been writing.

But I digress.

A short story can range anywhere from 1,000 to 20,000 words.  20,000 may sound like a lot in theory but my current WIP which has just hit the middle portion, is sitting at fifty-eight odd thousand words.  So yeah, it's not very much to me.  I wrote a novella two winters back and was super happy with it.  I went back to do edits, started adding to the story, and promptly left it half finished.  Sweetheart Bakery is still sitting in my "To Be Edited" folder.  I got back to it a few months ago and realized I never saved the original and all my messy edits were muddying the book.  My final word count sat around 30,000 words.

My short story idea I suggested to my family was to find a picture and base a 3,000 word story off it.  The deadline is May 31st though it's subject to change.  I finished mine today but some trimming will be necessary to bring it down from 4,000 words. I did something with it I've never done before.  I gave it an open ending.  I don't like reading open endings but when I have to fit my great big story idea into a few pages, a tidy ending was almost the first sacrifice.

Recently, I've been reading about flash fiction.  Flash fiction purists want a story under 100 or even sometimes, 75 words!   More mainstream flash fiction writers tend to allow up to 1,000 words, still quite a small amount.  A few weeks ago I entered a little competition at Go Teen Writers for showing exhaustion in 100 words or less.  It was almost the hardest thing I've ever written.  One of the fascinating things about it is how every word counts.  Even deleting a three word dialogue tag would give me enough space to show something else.

Hopefully everyone has had time to work on their short stories.  I already pushed the deadline back from April 30.

The picture thing was much harder than I expected.  I started a secret board on Pinterest and looked under fantasy/fairy tale genres to find something I wanted.  My secret dream is to write fairy tales.  I don't even read fairy tales but looking at all the fun pictures made me want to write them so bad!

After we all submit  our stories, I'll post mine up on the blog under the short story tab.  If any of my family/friends are okay with it, I'll post theirs as well.  For any curious, the pictures on the side are a few I almost went with but that didn't end up making the cut.



-Anna Leigh

Back In The Swing Of Things

After a two week break of all things writing (and the summer cold that inspired it), I'm back in and more inspired than ever! I haven't gotten back to OH or HN yet but I'm pounding out some words on a private book of mine. I say private because I'm writing it for my own sake and it will probably never see the light of day. Sometimes I have stories going around in my head that feel too stupid to put out there with my name on them. There's a freeing feeling about writing a book where I don't have to worry about what other people think. It's interesting because I never thought I considered my readers that much but apparently I do!

I haven't been reading too much lately but I have been watching a fair amount of Korean TV shows/variety shows which probably is what inspired my latest book. Mostly, I've been itching for a while to take on the subject of boy bands and I'm taking my chance. It will be filled with my usual sarcasm and wit :)

I've probably mentioned it before but I used to be terrified to write guys. I mean terrified! The few that managed to squeak their way into my stories were only given the shortest lines of dialogue imaginable and they were very uninteresting. I've not only gotten over my fears of writing guys (ish), but I've begun to enjoy it. It's a challenge for me to do my best at making a guy believable. The main male character of my Human series is a smart guy with a lot of responsibility who also happens to have a quirky sense of humor. In some ways, he's a bit like me in his humor and lightness of life's matters in general but in other ways, he's a lot different. He takes charge where I'd be afraid and is made up of bits and pieces of guys I know and have seen in movies. He's just as much a part of me as Abby, just hopefully in a more masculine way :)

In HN, there's a new character introduced whose name is Logan. He's not really the antagonist but he's not really a good guy. Out for what he wants and not caring who gets hurt in the process. It's hard for me to write him as a selfish character who isn't necessarily evil but isn't really good either. I have to learn something new every day.

I worked an election two weeks back and it never ceases to amaze me what kind of material I can collect from spending a day working with strangers. Granted, most of them were a lot older than me (The youngest would have been old to be my mom and the rest would've been my grandparents), but I saw a lot of different personalities, different ways people had lived their lives, and different ways people respond to pressure. Most of them mainly brought the problem to the most responsible person which, that day, happened to me. Sometimes I wish my parents hadn't raised me to be responsible but that feeling only last for half a second before reality kicks in.

I'll write again soon, hopefully before the weather breaks and we're back to cold weather :(

-Anna Leigh

Ever Evolving Ideas

So, I have a commitment problem.

Not the commitment problem most people would think from reading that sentence. I have a problem committing to one book for longer than three months. And when I say three months, I'm being generous.

My mind is in the constant motion of coming up with new book ideas. Even when I'm not even thinking about my books, I'll be watching a basketball game and the conversation from fans behind me will make four different ideas pop up in my head. Just the other day, I was at an ice cream stand, enjoying my frozen custard with family when I noticed a girl standing near the front. She wasn't stunning but pretty, wearing a short leperd print dress with a bright belt. She was dressed to impress and obviously waiting for someone. Halfway through my chocolate/vanilla twist, I noticed she was still there and kept checking her phone. Crunching down my cone, her face had definitely fallen and she kept looking around self-consciously. She stayed there up until I drove out of the parking lot and then I saw her in line by herself, eating a large cone with a dejected look. Not one hundred percent sure but I'm just gonna say; her date stood her up.

I notice things like that all the time and point them out to select people. If I told everyone, they'd realize what a nut I really am and wouldn't be friends with me anymore. Thankfully, my oldest sister at home likes hearing my crazy ideas, even though she gives me funny looks sometimes when I suggest our lack of water pressure might be because alien sabotaged the lines as a first step to invasion. I never said all my ideas were best sellers :)

I have ideas for multiple different books that over time have to be combined to make one full length book. An example of this is a book I started two years ago about the two sons of a CEO and the daughter of a CEO of a company merging with theirs. At seventeen, my ideas for the book were undeveloped and very vague as to what the company was or what work they did. I had ideas about the plot but was a bit lost as to world building. 

A few months ago, I got inspired to pick the brother angle back up. As long as things don't descend into soap operas, I like brother plot lines where you get to explore the similarities and differences in families. I've also always wanted to write a book where the female MC started out liking someone different than she ended up with. I thought it'd be a good idea to combine these plots and last month, the two brothers got names and a company. And instead of a merging company, the female MC is the daughter of a rival company. Both companies deal in cosmetics and FMC spends a lot of time feeling inferior to the better looking, polished rivals. 

Adding details to characters includes the fact Aria (FMC) loves ice cream, hates makeup, and has panic attacks. Being that she's the eighteen year old daughter of a famous company about to start coming to work, panic attacks have to stay off radar and hating makeup is awkward when it's your business. I've only written a little - because I know I should be editing OH and writing HN - but she is fun! Pretty, witty, full of money, and about to get dumped into a world she isn't prepared for, I can't wait to get into her character. The brothers are fun to since one is friendly and quiet while the other is bombastic and outgoing. 

I've wanted to write out my version of Peter Pan for as long as I've written books and just three weeks ago, I woke up with the most brilliant idea. Unfortunately, for the sake of my unwritten book, I can't really share too many of my brilliant ideas but I can say I'm going for a sciency Dr. Who angle as opposed to a magical land. Can't wait!

I started a book several months back about a struggling book writer (wonder where I got my inspiration? :) who loses a bet to her over confident, published rival and has to write a sappy book following the lines of Korean drama. In order to ensure historical accuracy, she employs the help of a genuine first generation Korean and ends up in a mess of trouble, trying to write her book, not let her rival get on her nerves, and deal with a guy who doesn't even want to help her.

Human Nature is on its third draft, off to a more promising start than the last two. I've found it's very hard to erase previous writings from my head and focus on what I'm doing. Doing editing on OH at the same time does give me different inspiration for writing the sequel though and I am getting excited to getting into Abby's braver side and back to Connor who is always fun to write!

I'll write again soon!

-Anna Leigh 

Future Projects

It's been an even crazier month than I thought it would be last time I wrote over a month ago. Reading back over my previous posts, I remembered I'd posted some of my character blurbs to a story that's, well, been kind of thrown away.

It was a difficult decision to get rid of six chapters worth of work but seemed to be the best choice in the end. I've since started over but am having a hard time being motivated which means Human Nature is getting shelved for three weeks until I can get my head back in the game. The good news is, shelving my sequel gives me the time I've really wanted to work on all the other books I've started in the last year, namely four that have been calling my name. Since I'm writing today about my other books, I thought it'd be interesting to do a bullet point of all the books I've started writing and a brief description. Names in descriptions are subject to change, as well as POVs.

• Walking Among Us (WT) 2014: Rose's family is forced by the government to have an alien from DA1 live with them for three months. Rose's father would never have allowed such a thing but it's been several years that he's been imprisoned, leaving her as head of the household. The clash of cultures is evident and Rose is curious as to how an alien can look, talk, and occasionally act like a human. Is the government she's working for really telling her the whole story? (First person)
• Younger Brother (WT) 2014: Ali was only a little girl when her father brought boy, small and with a mysterious tattoo, into their house and declared him one of the family. Ali felt protective of the younger boy and did her best to take care of him until he was sent away to learn the inner workings of their business. Now eighteen, he's returned to the house to participate in a competition her father set up, a fight between her two biological brothers and him over who will get the business. In the middle of the only three people she really cares about, Ali has to make a decision that will change her future. (First person)
• Penalty (WT) 2014: Lana is beautiful and talented in many areas - except the one place she really wants. Lana's dream is to become a writer. After losing a bet to her published boss, she is forced to write the sort of story she hates: a romance set in another country. Not only does she have to write it but she also has to obtain a critique from a renowned magazine, one with a critic who is famous for his bad reviews, and get him to love it. Following a friends advice, she hires a native from the country, only to find he's more of a handful than her boss. Will she succeed with her mission or will her dream to become a published writer remain unreachable? (First person)
• The Outcast (WT) 2012: Jenny wants nothing more than to blend in but her father's fame makes it difficult. She's been in love with Calvin St. Clair since she was twelve years old, only to recently discover he's avoiding her like the plague and his normally cheerful demeanor seems forced. With public events coming to introduce her into the business and the probability of Calvin's engagement to another girl coming up, Jenny's outlook on life is bleak. To make matters worse, Calvin's younger brother, obnoxious and brutally honest Johnny, is constantly calling her out on what she wants in her life. Her eighteenth year is sure to be unforgettable, if she makes it out. (First person, possibly switched to third)
• Assisted Dying (WT) 2014: Violet is a teen girl living a hectic life. With both grandfathers dead, both of her grandmothers are living in the same assisted living and filling her days with their very different problems. Grandma Jane is anxious worrier, only interested in her life and the things that affect her. Grandma Anne is a sickly women who hates the burden she is to her granddaughter and wants her to get out more. Violet's life is rapidly spiraling out of control and the resident do-gooder, a endlessly cheerful guy who visits residents without families, seems to think she's cynical. With everything that's happened in her young life, shouldn't she have the right to feel sorry for herself once in a while? There's no way a cheerful smile and endless optimism of a guy without a care in the world would change that. (Third person)
• Makeover (WT) 2014: Carrie is fine living off the profits of her father's construction business - until he sends her out to a remote location to have her help remodel an old cabin. The workers couldn't care less who she is or if she has to break a nail to help out. It's either buck up or get laughed at for the girl who loves order and cleanliness. (First person, possibly third)
• Vanity (2014): In a society where no one is less than perfect and beautiful lives Aria Mason, an all natural plain girl. If it weren't for her parents connections, they would have been banished from Cumulus as soon as her plainness became evident. Her coming out year has arrived too soon for her liking and everyone is treating her like she has a disease, including her match who only makes evident he isn't interested. When Aria runs into a talented performer, she's unwillingly dragged into the gossip that surrounds him. Things get even more out of hand when they are trapped on a salvage shuttle headed toward Earth, the place that doesn't know of their existence. Will Aria be able to find her way back without the humans finding out who she is or is their life doomed to be discovered? (First person)
• Fame (2012): Lexi is probably the only girl on Earth who remembers Jackson Park, a one hit wonder who was famous the same year her parents were killed. Moving to a new city with her older sister and determined to have a fresh start, she gets a shock when she runs into a delivery boy with a striking resemblance to the singer who helped her through the hard times and who goes by the name Jack... (First person, possibly third)
• First Impressions (2014): Carla Marcus lived a normal life until her sister and brother-in-law were killed in a car accident. Left with Taylor, their six month old baby, she is forced to endure the judgmental stares and harsh words from strangers who think she's a teen mother. An innocent day out shopping lands them in a bank being held up. Her and the baby are kidnapped by men with mixed intentions and with police hot on their tails, Carla worries for the safety of herself and the baby she promised to protect. (First person, present tense)
• Heart (2013): Bare bones outline. A girl who's lived her whole life with a defective heart gets a transplant. Things have only been good since then, leaving her to live the full life she always dreamed of. Every time something bad threatens to happen, it's taken care of and she is continuously protected. After a mugger tries to stab her and is stopped by a guy who seems to know her name, she begins to wonder about all the other things in her life that've been mysteriously taken care of. Maybe she has a guardian angel after all... (Idea only, have never written the story)
• Older Sister (WT) 2014: Mia and her family have been having a hard time financially, forcing her to rely on the kindness of the local makeup artist to employ a girl who hasn't even attended beauty school. In a strange twist of events, Mia has to work as a temporary makeup artist for EBOS, a boy band traveling through their city. When a murder occurs and the place is locked down to prevent the killer from leaving, Mia is forced to make unlikely allies as she does her best to protect the people she loves - before the killer chose her as the next target. (First person)
• Books I Didn't Mention: Loyalty (Historical Fiction), A trilogy of retold classics: Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Camelot, Drifting (Contemporary Mystery), Bodyguard (Action/Adventure), 9 (Story about an a girl assistant coach on a men's team), Beaten (Contemporary, a story about a boy whose father beats him and a girl who wants to protect him).

So, I have started a lot of books! I've finished two, a novel and a novella, and am hoping to get back to a lot of these at some points. Several are just a Microsoft Word document with a few facts scribbled in them. Loyalty was one I started a month ago but didn't take the time to write the plot down for. I really have no idea what I was thinking of and have only one page to reference :( A few might be broken down and turned into one book since they are similar to others I have and wouldn't make a strong enough story on their own. I had a genius idea for my Peter Pan remake and my fingers are itching to get back to it. I have way too many in the works to do so right now but I'm still young...

On the interesting discoveries for this month, I have to mention Natural Reader. It's a great program that turns text to speech and has made a world of difference in my editing process. It's so much easier to edit when it's being read to you and computers don't read over miss-spellings or bad punctuation which makes it more accurate than a human.The free version only includes computer sounding voices but the paid version has some very natural voices. I put up with the computer sound since it works find for editing though sometimes the lack of emotions gets to me.

I'll write again when I get a chance about some of the things I've been learning in my editing journey recently. I've read so many different accounts of ways to edit and decided to throw them all at my novella and see how it turned out. With everything new I learn, I look at Only Human and can't wait to get my hands back on it. It gets more embarrassing by the day with some of the things I let go in the editing process!

Anna Leigh

Prequel's and Other Works

My older brother came running  out of the basement yesterday to tell me his most recent genius marketing plan: writing a prequel to Only Human I can put up for free. Needless to say, in the middle of planning and attempting to write my sequel and doing my best to avoid working on three other books I want to work on, it wasn't really what I wanted to hear.

Truth is, he's probably right.

Free generates downloads and downloads generate money for the rest of the series if you can spark someones interest. While I don't want to put the three years of work that is Only Human up for free, putting a little prequel to hopefully spark some interest in it is somewhat easier.

My writing has changed a bit since I was sixteen and started Only Human. While I gave it some definite changes, the writing is definitely my younger self and not the person now writing the sequel. As I sat staring at the blank page in a Microsoft Word document labeled 'Prequel', I pondered what would  happen if people liked it, paid for Only Human, and felt gypped because I wrote it at a younger age. Whatever, I can only second guess myself so much.

I wrote it in under an hour though my brother seems to have had more than three pages envisioned. Oh well, after he reads it I'll see what he says. It wasn't too bad to write except that I didn't want to spoil to much about OH in the process. I managed to tie in a character that doesn't come until the second book with the prequel which I was proud of and will hopefully keep even through whatever overhaul it will probably get.

I've started two other stories in the last few months, one that'll probably be a novella and one that's a stand alone novel. The stand alone novel is about the daughter of a man who runs a sort of mafia, making his two biological sons and one adopted son fight for who will control it. She is in the middle of it, not wanting any of her brothers to fight each other and trying to ward off the hostility her two older brothers have toward their younger adopted brother who's grown up on the street. It was inspired by a few different things, mostly the fact that I wanted to write about a girl in a dangerous, powerful family. We'll see how it goes, it might just be too cheesy to finish like a lot of my stories. I've gotten a lot better at fixing ideas recently instead of just scrapping them though.

My other book is one I don't want to say too much about since I think I might really like it or think it's too embarrassing to show anyone. I wanted to put my Korean knowledge to use and found a way I think it might work, mainly making fun of a lot of the dramas and cliches of Korean dramas that I watch. It's not set in Korea or really about Koreans but about a girl who loses a bet to a rival and has to write a book that's like a k-drama, much to her chagrin. She's an upcoming writer and is afraid of pleasing her most difficult critic - a reviewer on a website she frequents. It's quite fun to write since her character is a lot like mine and her sarcasm can be quite funny at times, even to me. I suspect she's going to lost a fair amount in edits since I don't want her - or me - to look like total cynics :)

I don't know if I mentioned before but one of my goals in my writing career (if I ever have one) is to write books in a whole bunch of different genres. I'm used to the authors I like in contemporary, the authors I like in sci fi, and the authors I like in whatever else I'm reading but I think it would be fun to have my name in a whole bunch of different categories. I already have science fiction (thank you Only Human) but I'd like to do a proper, nerdy science fiction one too like aliens, spaceships, the whole thing. Not that it's really up my alley but I might as well try. I guess I'd have to go for a dystopian one at some point too though I really don't care for those.

After finishing yesterday's post I remembered another guy whose character I liked in the book. Dan Wells Partials series is a really good series, one I just finished reading this month and Samm is a great main. I suspect I like him because he was actually written by a man so he doesn't feel like the cheesy contrived hunk that most heroes usually feel. I also liked Ginny Aiken's Shop-Til-U-Drop series and her hero. He starts out seeming like a stupid character, a 'lunkhead' as the heroine describes him at one point but I liked him a lot.

Write again at the beginning of the week,

Anna Leigh