Coffee Shop Chats - The First

Tessa at Christ Is Write has come up with this idea so that bloggers will be able to get to know each other better, and have an excuse to tell their readers about their life. I think it's a great idea, and I hope you guys will join the link-up, too! To see the rules as well as Tessa's post, go here.

What I did this week

Well, for one, I have NOT gotten any writing for NaNo done since I posted the last Beautiful Books post *hides in a corner* No, don't judge, I've been busy! 

As always, I've been doing a lot of school work. I went to my last skills lab for the CNA course on Wednesday (the 18th). We did vital signs for four hours. That was exhausting. Blood pressure is so hard to measure:p Anyway, our friends came to visit and they stayed the night. It was awesome to see them again! 

I had a phone interview with John Paul the Great Catholic University, an acting school that I've wanted to go to for a couple of years now. So that was exciting. I'm also working on the essay questions I need to turn in for my application. I'll need to take the ACT, and I'll probably do that in February. I'm getting really nervous for that, cause I took a practice test once, and - I'm not gonna expand on that. So I've been prepping for that.

Last Thursday, a family from our homeschool group brought a first class relic of Saint Maria Goretti to our church. St Maria is my confirmation saint, and it was a very blessed opportunity to be able to venerate her! I was able to pray for her intercession for some of my friends, and I'm confident that she will hear me:)

And of course, yesterday was Thanksgiving! I think it was our family's first year celebrating Thanksgiving on our own. We had a great day. We went to Mass in the morning to thank God for all of our blessings. My mom made a lot of great food, and we had a Thanksgiving lunch instead of dinner.  We watched the Dallas Cowboy football game as a family (they lost :( ), and had a nice, relaxing day.

So that was my week (and a half)!

Music I've enjoyed

This year, we have discovered a lot of great musicals. My sister and I have been listening to and singing songs from Hello, Dolly! and My Fair Lady lately, along with some random songs from musicals we've never actually seen before:)

Movies I've enjoyed

Everyone in our family except my mom and I had seen Inside Out in the theater. So we rented it the other night, and I liked it pretty well. The only thing I wanted to see more of was Riley. I know by the title the main characters were the emotions, but I wanted to see more of Riley's character because... I don't know, I just did:) It was a really creative movie, though, with a really good family theme.

Quotes I'm enjoying

"Greatly to be loved is his love who loved us so greatly." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

"How dim the earth seems when I raise my eyes to heaven!" ~ St. Ignatius de Loyola

Just to name a few!

Currently working on

I worked on a poem that I'd started a few months ago,  and I wrote a new one this week. I need to work on Christmas gifts soon. Also, my little sister's birthday is tomorrow, so I think I'm gonna work on knitting her something today. She's turning 3 years old, by the way!:)

Looking forward to

My sister's birthday tomorrow! She's the cutest thing, guys. I can't believe it's been three years since she was born. She's growing up too fast. I'm not gonna say what I'm making for her, cause I might not get it finished in time. But when I do get it done, I might post a picture.

I'm also looking forward to the March For Life. In case you've never heard of it, it's the biggest pro-life rally in the world, and it takes place every year in D.C.. My sister and I are going next year in January. It'll be our first time, and we're really excited!

1. Do you think it's okay to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving?

To be honest, I don't think so. I think it sort of takes away from Christmas day, the day Jesus was born. I mean, I don't think it's bad, but I think that it's better for us to slow down and take things as they come, and not jump ahead so far. My family celebrates Advent and we sing Christmas songs before Christmas day, and things like that, but Advent always starts after Thanksgiving. We have a family tradition to decorate our tree on Christmas Eve. And we don't stop celebrating Christmas after the 25th. We leave all of our decorations up and even give little gifts to each other throughout the 12 days of Christmas - until Epiphany. So, if you ask me, Christmas should be celebrated closer to the 25th than Thanksgiving, and longer than just the 25th:)  

2. Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? How much progress have you made? 

So, I'm currently (still) at 5,901 words in my novel Like A Writing Desk. I am in love with every thing that I have written so far, but I just don't have much time to write more this month:(

Here are my questions:

1. If you put your music on shuffle, which artist would play the most?
2. What is your favorite book that you have read this year?
3. Which genre do you write best in?

auf wiedersehen, darling

- Maddie

Beautiful Books #2: Like A Writing Desk

Here is the second round of Beautiful Books questions.


Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?

It is defying my expectations in more ways than one.

In good ways.

I know that 5,000 words is a crazy low word count for NaNo (it's like, 1/10 of the goal), but I didn't expect to write that amount of words in the first two weeks. For one, I'm super busy right now - high school, CNA course, blogging, trying to read, writing other little things here and there. The other, I didn't even make it to 2,000 words last year and I wasn't as busy then. So, even though my word count looks ridiculously low to other NaNoers, I'm happy that I've been able to start a novel I've wanted to write for a while and to get out as many words as I can.

The actual novel as in plot wise is not how I expected, either. I honestly had no character for Tabitha (The Mad Hatter) before I started writing her, but I am really in love with her character now.

What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Okay... Here's the thing. I started this novel in September, I think. But I'm only counting the words that I've written in November for my word goal, as it's only fair. So, I guess I'll give you the beginning of the actual novel + the first paragraph I've written this month.

(Note: The first paragraph needs a lot of work)

1) Once upon a time there was a little girl. Once upon a time her best friend was her pet rabbit. Once upon a time her favorite place was the large garden out at the back of the house. Once upon a time the little girl's name was Alice Young. Once upon a time that little girl was me. Once upon a time I was very different from who I am now.

2) She was silent as she thought about the first half of the year. She played with her new pet, stroking him now, and now burying her nose in his soft fur, coaxing the bunny to explore his new territory. Her mind, however, was elsewhere. She thought of the kind of boy her brother could have grown up to be, and how she would have helped her mother care for him whenever she would have allowed her to. She would gladly have changed his diapers and muddy clothes if all the while she knew that she was helping to secure his health and safety, and that the danger of his leaving was past. She did not cry as she thought of these things. Instead, she poured out her overflowing heart into the cuddles and caresses she gave her rabbit, knowing that this was what her parents had provided him for. She knew that they were taking care of each other, she and her rabbit.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?

I'm usually a pantser. The first year I did NaNo it was a total spur of the moment thing (I joined on the 4th day), and literally all I knew about the story was that my MC had red hair, brown eyes, and that her boyfriend was teaching her swordsmanship before he went off to join a war. But I actually developed the longest plot for a book that I've ever had, during that NaNo. 

I'm trying both methods at once this year. I had a basic idea of the plot and I had written a lot in Alice's character bio* prior to NaNo. But everything else I'm just sort of going with as I write, and it's going pretty well.

What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?

Ha. Ha. Ha. I don't set word goals. I write (a little), and then I take a (long) break, so that I won't be too stressed out and won't be able to get any more words out.

What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?

Sometimes, I make up my characters' names. But most of the time, I use Behind the Name. I usually have a meaning that I want to use for a character's name, so I'll look up names with that meaning in it and choose one or base one off of there.

I really can't move the story forward if I don't have a name that fits the character. I won't just name a guy character "Joe," or "Sally" for a girl until I find the right name for them. I'll usually just say "he" or "she" if I really can't find a name and I need to continue writing.

What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

The beginning is definitely my favorite. I am horrible with plotting the middle. The end I normally have an idea about. But the beginning is what I think I'm best at writing.

Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

Right now, it's Tabitha. She's an adult in a kid's body and is a boss at it. I'm not totally sure about her background, but I'm pretty sure that her parents died and she was left with the hat shop, and just kind of learned to take care of herself. There are times when she does seem like a normal child, though. Anyway, she's adorable, and I love her.

What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)

Since the characters are still in Wonderland, I haven't really researched a lot. I guess the only thing I was trying to search for, really, was a name for Alice's pet rabbit. I searched "carrot(s)" on Google Translate in almost every language, and came up with nothing that sounded like a good name. So for now, he's named Felipe, and I can't stand it because he's a bunny and Felipe makes me think of a horse every time I hear it. But he's not any big part, so it doesn't really matter. 

Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?

It really depends, I think. I can sometimes write pretty well when I'm with friends, but other times I just CANNOT think. I do better with word wars, though, because I'm actually trying to get a lot of words out and beat the other person:) 

I shared some snippets in last week's post. Most of the time, I'm really open with sharing my work. I like feedback and support;)

What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

Sorry, no picture. 

I don't really know what is meant by "writing habits" and I don't really have time to think about. So that part is going unanswered.

I don't eat while I'm writing.

What I listen to depends on my mood. This NaNo, I've been listening to some of the songs from the album "Almost Alice."

I think I write best in the afternoon.



Yay, I did it! Sorry - my answers aren't very well written because I didn't have time to polish them. Not to mention that they're not very interesting either. But I wanted to give you guys an update on my novel, and thought I'd do this. Hope this didn't bore you, and that this week goes fantastic for you!

* I may post Alice's bio soon...That's a maybe.


auf wiedersehen, darling

- Maddie

NaNoWriMo Week One: Snippets and Such

Today ends the first week of NaNo and begins the new one. I have some friends who are doing a phenomenal job on their word count, but I...Well, I'm a little behind. Meaning, I have +7,000 words to catch up to. But that's okay. *goes and cries in a corner* *returns feeling better* I wasn't expecting to win, in the first place. I just hope that I do better than my other NaNo years. I am so far, so that's good.

And now, for some snippets! Tabitha surprised me. I wasn't expecting her to be a big part of the story, but she is turning out to be a lot more so than I expected. Also, she may be my favorite character I've ever written. Maybe, I'm not sure. But take a look for yourself:)


It was wondrous and full of magic - the atmosphere of that day. The sky was blue-grey, the wind tossed about the tops of the trees, and there was something in the air that sang, "Something is going to happen." She had always been a serious child, but the wind that swept her hair that day and the sparrows that swooped so low to the ground gave her a feeling of excitement. It was unusual, for she was not a little girl who was very easily impressed. But so was every thing on this particular day.

***

Alice was very thankful that the subject had come up, for she was at a loss as to what this person wished to be called. "I am Alice Young. And, please, what would you like me to call you?"

"Oh," the girl said as she patted her mouth with a napkin. "I thought you would have known what. Everyone knows my name around here. But that is not the point. You may call me Hatter." Hatter looked down at her cup and seemed to wish to contrive a new subject before Alice inquired the next question that she did.

"That is your name - Hatter? But why such a funny name like that?"

"It's not a name," the girl who wasn't named Hatter sighed. "It is merely what everyone calls me, though they know my name. I'm not much of anyone's friend around here, I suppose. But you - if you do want to be a friend of mine - I will tell you my name." She leaned in toward Alice, an anxious look in her eyes.

***

“Stop. Stop, Tabitha, stop,” commanded Alice, the first time she’d done so to her friend. “I think maybe he’s speaking of my brother.”

“Felix, or what was his name?”

“Alexander,” Alice corrected. “And that’s not the point. I believe the...the Hare over there is talking about him. He said that someone, a child, was away from home and very young. Don’t you think, too, that it must be Alexander?”

“But Alice, my dear, how could he? He came from behind us and your brother went ahead.” The girl twirled her cane and continued in the same direction. “Really, Alice, I don’t see how-”

But the mentioned had turned back on her own and had made her way to the March Hare’s side. “How extremely rude,” the girl said aloud to herself. “I try to help her as a friend, and she goes and listens to someone she’s never even properly met. And he’s not even human, besides.” She waited, nonetheless, until the rude little child looked up to her from the conversation with the Hare, excitement shining in her eyes. At that, the hatter scoffed and rolled her eyes as adults sometimes do when their child does something that they think is adorable, but they don’t wish to show that they think so.

***

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to attempting to catch up on my word count.

Hope you enjoyed the snippets, and that your NaNo (and/or November) is going well!:)

auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

Beautiful Books - Like A Writing Desk

Guys...

I have written and am now posting my promised NaNo post! Are you surprised? I am;) I really thought it would take a longer time to finish it.

I'm going to assume that everyone who is reading this knows already what NaNoWriMo is. Go ahead and add me on the NaNo site, if you'd like!  

I found this link-up through Mirriam Neal's blog post, and thought this would give me a really good opportunity to share my NaNo novel with you. Visit Cait at Paper Fury, or Sky at Further Up and Further In to find out more about Beautiful Books.

1. How did you come up with the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

To be honest, I'm not really sure where the idea for this story came from. I think it must have been around Camp NaNo, when I noticed that two bloggers I follow were both doing Alice In Wonderland retellings. I thought that it would be a fun retelling to do, so I borrowed Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass from the library, hoping to have a better understanding of the original story (I had only seen the Disney movies before). I think the idea progressed a lot from there. While I was working on Alice's character bio, I was able to form a better idea for the story, as well.

2. Why are you excited to write this novel?

I think it's going to be hopeful. It's going to be centered at people who feel put down and who feel that no one understands them. But this story shows that you are never as alone as you feel.

3. What is your novel about, and what is the title?

Like A Writing Desk is about Alice trying to find answers. She was a whimsical child once upon a time. So when she fell down a hole at the age of eight and met eccentric people and explored a whole new world inside it, she believed it was real. After years of people telling her it was just a dream, however, she begins to face reality. Of course, now that she's twenty-one, she wouldn't have still believed it to be real, anyway. But would she have lost her imagination and love of make-believe if the words with which people ridiculed her had never been said? She writes her story now, as a way to keep the fire of imagination in her fourth grade students enkindled, and hopes that someday she'll be able to wake up from reality. What she doesn't realize is that she never lost her imagination in the first place; and, though most of her relatives treat her still as a child who has a bad head, she does have one friend who understands.

4. Sum up your characters in one word each. (Feel free to add pictures!)

Tabitha (The Hatter): Eccentric

Alice Young: Lonely

                                                            

                        

Dr. Sherman (Her Psychiatrist): Bothersome

       

Elizabeth (A Student of Hers): Encouraging

                                                                                                                                 










I can't find a picture for her cousin. He does not yet have a name, but he is a big character. There are a few other characters, but I don't really have names for them, either, and am not entirely sure which ones will actually make an appearance.

5. Which character(s) do you think will be your favourite to write? Tell us about them! 

Well, I think the parts when and after Alice and her cousin reconnect will be really fun to write. It's when things start getting happier:)

6. What is your protagonist’s goal, and what stands in the way?

Alice stands in her own way. She wants her imagination back, and wants to feel the way she did when she was that whimsical child playing pretend. Everything was so innocent back then, and hopeful. But she doesn't let herself dream. She tells herself that she's become too practical, and hates herself for it. But her students still see the magic in her, and a few other people, besides.

7. Where is your novel set? (Show us pictures if you have them!)

Right now, it's set in New York. I'm not sure if I want it to be in New York City, or just somewhere in the State. That's all I really know about it as of yet. It is possible that it could change. I guess the only certain thing is that she lives with her relatives. Meaning, her aunt, uncle, and cousins. She doesn't like them, and they don't like her.

8. What is the most important relationship your character has?

Her relationship with her cousin is the most important. Through his love and understanding, she changes by the novel's end. Which brings me to the next question...

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Alice finally sees herself as she really is, instead of the mask she's put over herself. She stops putting herself down and starts to realize all of the wonderful gifts she's had all along that she thought she'd lost. She becomes a happier person, and begins to open up to those around her. She grows more confident in herself, and begins to show friends and family her true self, even though she knows they may not always understand her fully.

10. What themes are in your book? How do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?

Self-acceptance. Don't believe what everyone tells you. You can live in reality; but don't let it ruin your imagination. Likewise, don't let your imagination overrule reality. There is always someone on your side (yes, that is partly from Into the Woods;)). 


NaNoWriMo BONUS: Tell us your 3 best pieces of advice for others trying to write a book in a month.

Ummm, well *clears throat*. I've never actually written a whole novel in a month, *says under her breath* or ever. So, don't expect me to be an expert, but here goes...

1) Stress

No, don't. Seriously. I mean, I know you have friends and family who you are spending a bunch of time away from, (and hogging the computer from, possibly), and they already think you're crazy for doing this; so if you don't come out of this as a winner, you may feel like it was all for nothing and that you've disappointed everyone. But winning is not the point (at least for me). For me, it's more of growing in my writing journey, and learning new things about myself as a writer. If you've got friends who are already at 4k on the first day and you're only at 1k, don't freak out. It's gonna be okay. The world won't be shocked and disappointed in you if you don't win. Be proud that you stuck through it and did the best you could've done. Not a terrible lot of people can write 50k in a month, let alone in a lifetime. 

2) Quality Over Quantity

If you take a look at many of the novels on the NaNoWriMo site, they will make you raise an eyebrow. You'll want to ask the author, "You really want to spend sleepless nights and tons of time away from your family and friends to write that?" I can't tell you how much I want people to realize that just because you win NaNo does not mean that you are an amazing writer. You can write the trashiest novel there is and still win NaNoWriMo. What I think is important about NaNo is that it pushes you to write an idea that you have had, but have before been too afraid to start on your own. Please, please, please, don't write something that you have no interest in other than saying you reached 50,000 words in a month. 

3) Life Goes On

Leave enough time for things other than your novel. Talk to your friends (not just to word war). Don't freak out if your family needs to borrow the computer. Get enough sleep to not be a grump, and so that you're not snapping at anyone and everyone. Pray. Don't let your novel take time away from your time with God. Writing 50k will not necessarily make you a better person, but keeping your time with God will. 



So, are you excited for NaNo? What do you think of my plans for my novel? Is there anything that you think I should consider changing? Did my advice help? Are you going to do a Beautiful Books post? Leave a link if you are!


auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie