Tiffany Rambles

The lovely picture to the left belongs to Suspense Magazine. You should really check it out!

If I've befriended you on Facebook, you already know that I've finished my play. I've put up about three stats about it, all phrased differently but saying the same thing. I've also already blogged about it.

After this, my general writing focus will go back to scholarships. I got into IUB! Now I have to worry about paying for it. :(

Anyway, back to the play. It's about an overachieving perfectionist who doesn't question anything about her life until a runaway named Wyatt asks her to. It's 20 pages on paper, so it'll be about 17-18 pages when I type it up. I'm thinking about calling it "Bottle Empty," Since Wyatt compares her to an empty bottle just waiting to be filled up.

Yes, the play takes a lot from my life. At one point, I faced that problem myself. There was this feeling that I did everything for others and very little for myself. It's not to the extreme that Christine's symptoms are, but I always exaggerate or understate issues in my writing, definitely if said issues pertain/once pertained/will pertain to me.

So, that's all! See you thursday, if I still have internet access.

Of course, I am sick again. This is due to the weather changes and frustrations. Not that that's important to this blog post at all, but I thought I'd mention it, since an odd part of me thinks you wanna know about how I can't get my nose to stop running. >.<

Usually, on Tuesdays, I don't have anything in particular to blog about because I've been focused more on SotD (which is going along VERY well) than on any writing projects outside of it. I actually do have something now.

Surprise, surprise! I'm entering into a playwriting contest.

In the 8th grade, I attempted to write a small script. I vaguely remember abandoning the idea a quarter of the way through. So, with that in mind, I don't know why I jumped to compete in a creative form I know so little about. Sure, my best friend is an actress, and I talk to the actors in the APA (Academy of Performing Arts), and I've had theatre class. Still, I never paid attention to the actual play format. Yesterday, I did some research on the format. Today I started writing the play.

If I hadn't spent two hours on a fifty question homework assignment, I could have finished scene 1 at least.

The play doesn't have a name yet. I'm thinking about calling it Wanderer, though. The story is about Christine, a perfectionist who lives her life solely the way society wants her to, and a homeless wanderer named Wyatt who wants her to understand just how much of an empty shell she really is.

This is a stark contrast to the novel I've been writing for five years, where Alecia (the FMC) is an ex-junkie prostitute who needs to cope with being framed as a serial killer and her title as the powerful Savior of the Damned.

Wish me luck! :D

If the picture and the title of the blog isn't obvious, today I feel accomplished. Now, I know it's too soon to be saying that, and I'll probably be eating my words in a couple of days (or minutes), but I do feel accomplished.

These last couple of days have been pretty frustrating. My internet got cut off, and most of my plans also got cut off. For the first time, I haven't blogged both tuesday and thursday. However, that also resulted in me getting a lot of writing done. I not only finished Chapter 36: Officer Clayton, but I added more to my Mind Realm concept. By Mid December or the beginning of January, my novel should definitely be ready for agents and publishers!

Then I received two very great e-mails, one from the Suspense Magazine editor about the December issue, which will have the critique of my story by the wonderful Starr and some of my reviews; the other came from Dakota with the notification that I'll soon be recieving a free, signed copy of Sacrifice in the mail. I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting free, signed copies of books. J.S. Chancellor was the first to do so for me, and I intend to pay them both back dearly with reviews galore and word of mouth (this hints at an author program I'd really like to put in effect, but that's for another day...)

What put the topping on the cake was the e-mail from IUB telling me that I got in! Now, I know it's not safe to be too excited. They gave me the early e-mail before the letter, and the letter will really solidify it for me. But still! Now all I have to worry about is...the money.

Oh dear. I might as well be poor. >.<

Speaking of scenes, check out what Darcy Pattison is doing on Facebook for scenes this month! It's really helpful. I signed up to be a part of the event, though I don't think I'm quite following it right. I haven't put up a blog post daily about scenes -- I only update on Tuesdays and Thursdays -- and I certaintly haven't written an entirely new scene every day. However, I have been keeping up with the event page, as well as diligently working on my new 36th chapter for SotD.

I don't know the specifics of what makes a scene, but I do know for sure that each chapter is made up of scenes. Since I am now in the midst of having Alecia, my FMC, hide from the cops that are chasing her, I do at least feel like I'm participating somewhat. I've been working on the chapter for three days. The first two days I had to get the writing bug back, but now the paragraphs are pouring out fairly well.

Aside from writing that chapter, I've also been listing elements I'll have to flesh out and research. Five edits in and I still need to better develop my concepts: Character Sub-Plot Chart, Capitalized Terms, Romance and Death Chart, Archfiend Exploration, and Location Maps.

Oh, the fun! (I say this both sarcastically and literally).

<<< Mind you, I am not familiar with this magazine. I'll check it out some other time. There are at least 15 authors I know of who were published when they were 19 or younger, and that brings up the question that has been haunting me ever since I started seriously writing in the 8th grade: Can I get published before I'm 19? Am I skilled enough, devoted enough, to be published before I graduate high school? I have a LOT of thoughts on this whole being published as a teen thing. I'm not exactly sure how to organize my thoughts for this blog post, so I'll list my thoughts as they reoccur to me.

• Age is not important. Yes, I know my age shouldn't be of value when it comes to writing. Writing =/= age. Still, it's always been a goal I've promised myself, and I've broken SO many promises to myself...I figure that's mainly why I'm holding on to this. Yes, I've been rewriting and researching and revamping SotD for five years, but does that mean anything? J.K. Rowling spent five years just developing Harry Potter. Tolkien spent about 30 or more years working on LotR.
• Just because THOSE authors were published young, they're not exactly quality. And just because some authors were published well into adulthood, they're not exactly quality. Age and experience CAN play a large part in skill, but there's always exceptions. Plus, I shouldn't be concerned about what others are doing. Writing is pretty competitive, but I'm now at a stage where I need to worry about me and the story itself.
• I shouldn't stress myself out about it. I want my story to be the best I can get it, and I shouldn't compromise that for something as trivial as my age. Plus, I think it's hindering the progress of my novel.

I don't feel particularly special. I don't feel any better than anyone else around me, which sobers me as much as it makes me sad. Selfishly, I DO want to feel special, like I'm the exception for someone, though it's rather whiny of me. But quality is more important than that.
Still...do you think I could pull it off? Do you think I could publish this before I graduate?