Sunday, May 24, 2015

Just A Little Reminder, As Well As Plans For The Future

 Hello again! In case you haven't seen my newer blog:
 My current project with book 4 (G4:O) is coming along great! After being unable to resist the urge to write the next book, I decided against taking a break, reading a book, or fixing up G3:DF and just went right into writing the next book. 
 By going to that book's writing blog at http://writinglog-g4o-jenniferfulk.blogspot.com/ , you'll see that I changed the way I log. I made it more interesting, making sure I write something at least a little interesting. A little about my life with current or past things or a little about what obstacles I have to face. The 'chart'? I threw it out the window. Since Blogger doesn't give me the option to make a real chart, I had so much trouble trying to make a makeshift one, I ultimately decide to change the way I log. Sometimes it didn't come out right for some reason. Very frustrating. So, now that it looks better and is easier to do, I'm more at ease when I'm sharing my writing journey with you! Hooray!
 For those of you who miss the chart, I might make it on the bottom of each post for at the end of each month. Let me know by either leaving a comment below or on Twitter @Jennifer_Fulk and I'll be sure to do that. I might make it anyway, but if I don't, just remind me and ask for it, and I'll be glad to make the chart.
 When will I start revising, editing, and proofreading G3:DF? I'm not sure, yet. What I think might happen is I'll finish writing G4:O and then be unable to resist the urge to start writing book 5. BUT! I'm afraid that once I finish writing it, I'll go into that stage of feeling like the whole series is finished. So, what I will most likely do is stop at the end of G4:O and finally start writing book 1. 
 In case you don't remember from a past post, I skipped past book 1 and 2 because I planned out the whole 5-book series in my head years ago and didn't want to forget all of what happens in the latter books. 
 It was also because I was about halfway through G3:DF when tragedy struck my life and I lost all my writing, my notes, and most everything I ever owned. I felt empty without G3:DF, left with a scar I couldn't bear to have, so I felt it was most important to write book 3 first in order to not feel that way anymore. And it was cured! It was an amazing, beautiful, and relieving feeling when I finally wrote past the part where I left off. After I finished it, I felt a lot better about writing the rest of the series.
 Even now, I'm compelled to write book 1, but it would be disastrous if I stopped in the middle of writing G4:O. So many key events happen in it. It's more important than G3:DF. It's when a lot of questions start coming together. Not entirely, though. There's a good mixture of questions that are answered, others that get closer to the truth, and still others that are answered and yet trigger bigger questions. Very exciting. Fun, and yet challenging to write (It's also coming along slower than G3:DF because I have a job and can't write all night anymore.).
 Anyway, be sure to subscribe and read the http://writinglog-g4o-jenniferfulk.blogspot.com/ blog! Thanks for being part of my journey! <3


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

BIG NEWS: I'm Starting Book 4

  I know! I know! It wasn't an easy matter of changing my mind, nor was it a plot to make people go bonkers and scream, "But you just spent so much time trying to decide, you even wrote a whole post debating the decision!!!" I merely couldn't control myself. And maybe that's a good thing.
   When I was writing G3:DF, only one or two times did I actually have a real problem with writers' block. I'd just fix it by taking a little break, do other things, [eat,] daydream [events in the book], and read a few or more pages before where I got stuck (I do this whenever I sit down to write, too).
  Otherwise, when I write, I'm always thinking ahead: I daydream one or more steps ahead, then it sort of plays out in my mind as I'm writing. You can say that I tend to come up with things on the spot after I give my imagination a little push. Who's inside my head when I'm pushing I have no idea, but somehow it works. Maybe that's the way highly productive, published writers poop out their books, but if you ask me, I think it's hard no matter what. Because us writers, like the average human beings, have the same puckered-lips-shaped anuses which therefore makes it hard to pass through books. Books are hard, too. Not very soft, and very dry.
  *Pardon my weirdness in this post. I'm sitting in the hot sun, too lazy to move to the shade, and so the heat is frying my brain. It's always these reasons why I may say or write wild/crazy/creative things: Overheated, dehydrated, tired, it's late at night, or I'm feeling hyper and talkative.*
  Anyway, so... I'm going to take a little break.

Minutes later...

...Alright! The new blog for book 4 is up!
Check it out: http://writinglog-g4o-jenniferfulk.blogspot.com/

I'll still update this writing log when I eventually sit down to revise, edit, and proofread book 3.

Monday, July 14, 2014

I FINISHED IT!!!!

  After a year and almost a month of writing, I've finally finished this book. WOW. From June 20th, 2013 til July 14th, 2014 I have been writing day and [mostly] night, and now I am finished.
  But! Now I need to revise, edit, and proofread. Fun? Sure, but the writing process was more fun. I don't know how long it will take for me to do it but I have a darned feeling that I'll be starting on the 4th book before I do that. I don't know.
  My original plan was to read an entire book, but I might surprise myself. (I've had reader's block for four years ever since I hatched from writers' block and I have yet to see if I'm going to break from it.)
  My options:

  • Read a book(s)
  • Revise, edit, proofread G3:DF
  • Start writing G4:O
  • All of the above (or two)
Why read a book(s):

  1. I'm ashamed to admit that I really haven't read too many books. Most of the ones I recall reading are children's books, which is funny (and not) because here I am 22 and... uh, so yeah. *Ahem* It's kind of a miracle that I got so much better at writing (I was terrible at it when I was 13) within two years. I guess it's because I've always kind of had it in me, being a big daydreamer and having wild "sleepdreams" and all.
  2. The only big names in fantasy I've read really are just Paolini and Nix.
  3. I have not read the Harry Potter series. Shame on me. I plan on reading them all.
  4. I want to read a book.
Why revise, edit, and proofread "G3:DF":

  1. It would almost be better to do that than get distracted with another story, as then I'd lose the feel of G3:DF and keep thinking about the other story.
  2. I want to do this. There are things I really, really, really want to fix/do, first.
Why start "G4:O":
  1. Since I ended "G3:DF", I know what happens next. ("G4:O" begins straight off the ending of "G3:DF".)
  2. I'm excited and impatient, which is probably not the best thing.
  Okay! I've decided! (Haha, you just saw the way I make decisions when I'm not compulsive and without a computer. I make my best decisions in this way.) I'll read a book AND revise, etc. I'm not sure how that'll play out, but I'll do both at different times of the day and/or on different days. 
  
  Lol You should have seen my happy dance when I finished the book today. Too bad my camera got destroyed when my mom fell in a 3-foot hole full of water and seaweed [at the beach] last week or I would've recorded it for you. Oh well. 
  Party time! This is what I was happy-dancing to:
http://youtu.be/ircIECJ-NyM








Thursday, July 3, 2014

July 2014

  Woohoo!
  No, I haven't finished it yet. It looks like I'm getting a job at a library as a Children's Page!
Blah. I don't know what to put here, still. I'm eating pound cake (July 12th) right now. My friend made it, and it's delicious! Still hot from the oven.
  Okay, I'm going through a lazy moment right now, which means it's probably not the best time to write the beginning of this post right now. Hee hee!
  Awesome news! I think I'm about 2-4 chapters away from finishing this book! When I'm done, my original plan was to read a book and take a break from my stories, but I don't think that'll work (as you can see, I'm very passionate about it!), so I think I'll read a book and work on revising, editing, and proofreading. Although I'm not as good an editor so as to become one, I can still do a lot to fix writing up pretty well. So, that's what I'm going to do. I'll blog that part, too, as I'll be taking unneeded stuff out and adding some in. I'll let you know when I finish it, though! Thanks for being part of this!



Words Written    (Difference f/           Words              Date          Time Stopped           Day
Each Day               Last)
_______________________________________________________________________
2,594                    (+776)                 393,105               1               3:49 AM                193
528                       (-2,066)               396,633               2               1:22 AM                194
3,223                    (+2,695)              399,856              [2]              8:20 PM               [194]
1,132                    (-2,091)               400,988               3               1:01 PM                 195
1,284                    (+152)                 402,272               4               2:07 AM                 196
4,017                    (+2,733)              406,289               5               11:59 PM                197
820                       (-3,197)               407,109               6               1:43 AM                 198
2,682                    (+1,862)               409,791              7                3:21 AM                 199
1,081                    (-1,601)                410,872             [7]              3:06 PM                 [199]
                                                                                     8               11:59 PM                 200
3,821                    (+2,740)               414,693               9               1:50 AM                  201
2,210                    (-1,611)                416,903              11              4:30 PM                  202
2,116                    (-94)                     419,019              12              1:45 AM                  203
2,194                    (+78)                    421,213              [12]            9:50 PM                 [203]
1,374                    (-820)                   422,587               14             7:00 PM                  204



O_O I finished it. I... really finished it.



Tuesday, June 10, 2014

June 2014

  Woo hoo! I'm almost done! June 20th, 2013 was when I started writing this book, so let's see if I finish by our little anniversary, shall we? But it's not really my goal. If I finish before or after, it won't matter much to me. There are those who try to write by a goal date and end up making their written pieces feel very rushed by the end, and I'm not one of them. When I rush myself, I don't do my best work. Not for writing, anyway.
  You can imagine what I was like in school: Feeling constantly stressed and disgusted for being expected to make things so darned perfect by a certain time. Yuck. I'm so glad that's all over. I did better when I was home-schooled, when I learned at my own pace and - well, actually LEARNED.
  But, anyways....
  Just to say: Part of this month's writing might end up looking a little scattered (I don't know yet, really). Why?
  Get this: My Auntie Ann's birthday is June 10th (age 62), my little sister's birthday is June 11th (age 17), and mine is June 12th (age 22). Yes, it is crazy. Very exhausting, too. Imagine this: Having a birthday party for my sister, with her very noisy mentally disabled friends (my sister is autistic) over on one day. On another day, celebrating our "triple birthdays" at a restaurant with our auntie, her kids (older than me), and our grandma. On another day: Calling our Auntie Ann with the annoyingly repetitive Happy Birthday song. The next day, celebrating my sister's birthday with our immediate family. And the day after that: My birthday, likewise. And sometime after that (or before), my birthday party with friends. All this results in utter exhaustion, an ugly dent in people's wallets, some gained weight (which is why I'm having a single cupcake in place of a birthday cake, this time!), and everyone (or is it just me?) being tired of birthdays. Seriously, by the time June 12th comes, I'm begging for it to end.
  But, overall, I tolerate it.
  It's good it's in June, because then it's an even 6 months away (and after) Christmas. Also, it was pretty awesome to meet my newly-born sister on my 5th birthday. I got to hold her on my lap. But, boy, was she heavy! I was sitting on the couch, and I had to have our brother hold her heavy head up. I remember the whole thing. She was my best birthday gift ever. Funny thing: She, myself, and our mom were all 8 lbs. 11 oz. when we were born.
  Oh, yes. The writing log!
  Hey, so 180 days is approximately 6 months, so...
  WEE!!! I LOVE WRITING!!!
  Sorry. Just had to shout that out. :)

Words Written      Difference f/         Words           Date        Time              Day
Each Day              Last                                                          Stopped
___________________________________________________________________
131                       (-2,362)              362,271          5            5:30? PM       178
1,211                    (+1,080)             363,482          6            2:40 AM         179
2,692                    (+1,481)             366,174         [6]          11:30? PM      [179]
1,184                    (-1,508)              367,358          7            4:15 AM         180
1,377                    (+193)                368,735          9            3:26 AM         181
812                       (-565)                 369,547         10           4:06 AM         182
3,277                    (+2,465)             372,824         17           11:08 PM        183
1,101                    (-2,176)              373,925         18           2:48 AM         184
690                       (-411)                 374,615        [18]          8:41 PM         [184]
4,324                    (+3,634)             378,939          20*         5:45 PM         185
629                       (-3695)               379,568          23           1:40 AM         186
1,160                    (+531)                380,728          25           2:29 AM         187
1,112                    (-48)                   381,840          26           3:02 AM         188
697                       (-415)                 382,537         [26]         4:20? PM        [188]
2,140                    (+1,443)             384,677           27          11:59 PM        189
2,100                    (-40)                   386,777           28          3:59 AM          190
707                       (-1,393)              387,484          [28]        11:59 PM         [190]
1,209                    (+502)                388,693           29**      3:18 AM           191
1,1818                  (+609)                390,511           30          3:55 AM           192          


*YAY!!!! Exactly one year ago, I started writing this book. It was a week after graduation from high school that I started. (After my evil aunt refused to give up my home school proof to the public school system, I had to redo it all over again. She always told me I was a dumb@$$, would never graduate, and that I'd end up flipping burgers somewhere. I'm proving her wrong every day. Hint: Library page job interview coming up!) It was on a Friday, and I had the Natasha Bedingfield song, Unwritten, on my mind. Thanks to my Auditory Processing Disorder (basically, dyslexic ears. To understand, I found a great link that describes me perfectly: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/701.html), I always thought the line went like: "Tuesday is when your book begins." So, I had the idea to start writing my book that next Tuesday. But then, I was too excited. I was like, "Heck with it! I'm starting NOW!" It was on a Friday, but due to my writing tendencies and inability to write around a lot of noise (my family always talks, etc.), I probably started sometime past midnight.

**Hi! Here I am! Still writing. :D I'm writing during the daytime when I can, which explains why there's a lot of PM ending times.


Thursday, May 29, 2014

*temporary pause button inserted*

  So, Memorial Day weekend was fun and... eventful. I went to the Folklife Festival in Seattle on Saturday and Sunday (my first year) with some friends. We didn't expect the suffocating numbers of people smoking weed. Hahaha. It kind of got to me Saturday night, making me ultra tired when we got back. I was thankful that the constant rain the next day dampened it.
  Unfortunately, the rain made it not so fun walking around in. Tired after about 4 hours, we decided to head back.
  On the way, though... let's just say that something traumatic happened which left me a little... shaken. Don't worry. We're okay.
  Unable to give the details, I'll say this much more: Due to my adrenal glands getting a heavy beating, I'll be taking a short break from writing. It'll be about anywhere from a couple of days to a week, I think. It's just I'm about to hit a spot in my book where it will be a bit too emotionally hard to tackle right now, but I assure you I'll be fine, soon.
  Don't worry. I feel sad, too. Every time I feel like writing, I remember what I have to face, and then a squirming knot in my belly says, "Nope! Can't you see this meter is on low??" I need to wait for my steel butterflies to starve and rot into a soft mush before I even attempt to unravel this knot and reinstall my nearly unbreakable wall.
  Uhh, shoot. You probably don't know what in the world I just said. Hahaha! Here I am talking like my characters again! That sometimes slips out.
  Let me re-phrase it: Every time I feel like writing, I remember where I am in the book (the emotionally hard part I'm about to write that will no doubt overwhelm me to the point of taking a break instead of typically just shedding some tears). Then, when I remember it, I get a feeling like being overwhelmed but not quite (which I've learned is a warning), and I get butterflies in the stomach so bad it makes me feel kind of sick. I feel like I have to wait for my adrenal glands to take a rest and get re-filled after the traumatic experience, which drained me. This isn't me normally, as I've learned to simplify my thoughts and emotions to nearly nothing at will, after having a very rocky childhood.
  Wow, that was a mouthful. You can see why I've made a funny way of talking for certain characters of mine. Anyhow....
  Oh, by the way: Fun fact: Paramedics can be quite funny, especially when one keeps threatening to sit on you from the lack of room in the ambulance.
  P.S. Again, I'm okay. *takes a little ibuprofen* ;)


Friday, May 2, 2014

May 2014

  Almost there! Whew! It's hard to drive a story. Not to say that I'm in a race with a specially-built vehicle that looks like a book, but that it is hard to keep a story focused on one track. That is to say: Having ADHD makes it worse, but when you come up with idea after idea, you tend to make the story go a little off-topic and lengthy.
  It's much how I talk in real life (excluding my slight stuttering, my pausing in between words and phrases as I think in bits at a time, and my sometimes forgetting what I was JUST talking about). But at least it keeps my mind creative, whether in the written word or in speech.
  Yes, I did say I'm almost there. I'm also getting to the good, exciting part! The action. The strong emotions the characters feel. The conclusion. Such are my favorite parts when writing. But then, that's a common reader's favorite part of a book, as well.
  If you ever happen to notice I'm not on the internet as often, especially lately and from now on (@Jennifer_Fulk on Twitter, [I now have a Facebook Author Page I'm starting up] Jennifer Cocoa Fulk on Facebook [Author Page], main Facebook [for those of you whom are my private friends and family], Pinterest, and Google+), I'm probably doing any of these things: Job-hunting (Yes, I took a break after high school just so I could write. But I kind of need to help my mom out now.), writing like crazy, running errands for my mom, going on adventures with friends, or catching some rays because I'm really pale right now.
  Uhh, yeah. Two major downfalls I've come across from writing: Pale skin = sunburns in the summer. Sitting down too much = getting a tad chubby in places and a tad skinny in other places.
  > Okay, something weird and cool just happened: My cat, Sweetie, whom I've sort of taught how to say "hello" and "num-num" (since cats can't pronounce "food" very easily), just said "num-num" out of nowhere. Now, being a weirdo cat for always having to ask me permission to eat even though there's always food in her bowl and she has the full freedom to just go and eat, I thought she was doing just that. But when I told her to eat, she just stared at me and didn't move a muscle. Wondering why she said "num-num", I thought for a moment... and realized I had forgotten my toast in the toaster. "Oh! My toast! I forgot! Thanks, Sweetie!"
  I thank God for Sweetie. He works through even the smallest things to help us out. :3
  Little fact: I'd rather have cats than kids (if I ever decide to be in a relationship). Preferably two cats. There's just so much I want to do in life, I don't want a whole bunch of responsibility. Top that off with the health issues that run in my family (Asperger's syndrome, ADHD, APD, Bipolar Disorder, diabetes, depression, colon cancer, heart attack, Alzheimer's Disease, food and airborne allergies, asthma, etc.). I don't want to have kids that suffer from living everyday. Also, since Asperger's runs strongly through the blood (high chances of having Aspergian kids if someone close to you in relation have it), and since both my siblings have it, I especially don't want to risk it.
  Better to write, drink tea, adventure around, talk to cats, turn hobbies into dreams, daydream, and just live. Besides, writing this series and other stories will take up most of my lifetime, anyway.
  Speaking of which: I wonder if I'll finish writing this book by June 20th (the day I started writing it last year)? O_O  8)
*epic organ music playing*


*fingers prepare to dance on keyboard*
*no, not that kind of keyboard*



Words written           (Diff. from             Words             Date          Time                  Day
each day                    Last)                                                              Stopped
__________________________________________________________________________
1,313                        (-180)                  332,946             1              2:39 AM          163
1,376                        (+63)                   334,322              2             4:03 AM          164     
1,882                        (+506)                 336,204             4*            4:17 AM          165    
689                           (-1,193)               336,893             7              4:25 PM          166 
                                                                                    8**          12:34 AM         167
3,424                        (+2,735)              340,317             9             12:04 AM         168
5,003                        (+1,579)              345,320            10             3:52 AM          169
2,701                        (-2,302)               348,021            11             3:47 AM          170
297                           (-2,404)               348,318           [11]           4:58 PM          [170]
1,795                        (+1,498)              350,113            12             4:52 AM           171
3,224                        (+1,498)              353,337            14             2:31 AM           172
197                           (-3,027)               353,534            16             2:11 AM           173
857                           (+660)                 354,391           [16]            4:28 AM          [173]
629                           (-228)                  355,020            17             3:56 PM            174
2,083***                  (+1,454)              357,103            20             3:44 AM            175
2,544                        (+461)                 359,647            21             3:57 AM            176
2,493                        (-51)                    362,140            31****     3:04 AM            177



*I got the flu for a whole week. So miserable. The battery display on my Chromebook was seemingly malfunctioning. We all thought the battery was going to die soon, but now it's charging properly again. I could have used it when I was sick, but at least I got to write a bunch at the tail end of it. I'm still dry coughing, though. (Today's May 13th) Hopefully it'll go away soon. I got my mom sick, too, but at least today she sounds better than yesterday. It's so weird, because I hardly ever get the flu. It's been so many years, I forgot what it was like. Mostly it's just the cold, and even then I don't get sick very often at all. Of the "sick season", I got sick with a cold last fall, but that's it. I finally had my flu shot in January, but still I got the flu. Is it me, or is this messed up?

**Oops. Forgot to log. But I was sick, anyways.

***Oh? A sudden spike! I wonder what that could mean? ;D One word: War. *so excited*

****What happened to me? Ten days without writing?? In the middle of a war? You'd think I'd be crazy for stopping for that long, but I had a good reason. I got injured from a pretty bad accident (I wasn't driving and never will), and I was mentally/emotionally unable to sit down and write. But don't worry, the injuries weren't bad. I'm recovering nicely. And, as you can see, I'm back to writing again. :)