Saturday, October 26, 2013

NaNoWriMo

It's official! I'm participating this year in NaNoWriMo! My amazing sister-in-law has participated in it before, and I was inspired by the fact that she was able to complete it. I'm very excited and will be using it to get the word count I need for my novel. Fifty-thousand words in one month... Goodness.

I am nervous about being able to complete it, but I love a challenge and I'm very competitive, even if it's only with myself, so I'm looking forward to it. I've been doing as much preparation as I can by filling out my character development sheets and working on my plot structure. It's coming along! I already have about six chapters of my novel written, but I'll just start doing the word count from what I start writing in my book on November 1st.

Is anyone else participating or has anyone participated before? What kinds of things are you doing to prepare? I'm finding myself feeling more comfortable the more I flesh out my plot, so we'll see how it goes. For those that are also doing NaNo, I'll hopefully be able to post some encouragement on my blog to help get us through the process. Good luck everyone!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Pumpkin Carving

Happy Saturday, everyone!

So last night my husband and I had a ton of fun carving our first pumpkin together! The last time I did any pumpkin carving was when I was about nine years old and I did it with my sister, mother, and aunt. It wasn't as difficult a process as I remember it being. I guess because I was younger. But the crafting was very successful, so I decided to post some pictures of our creation!

Here are some pictures of our work-in-progress.






Here is our final product!!! My husband did a great job carving out the guide drawings I penciled onto the pumpkin. We decided to go with a moon and stars theme because we don't really celebrate Halloween and we thought it would be pretty to make it more of a fall decoration that would be nice to look at off our bedroom deck.


It was really a lot of fun! I highly recommend going out and picking a pumpkin or even just going out to the store to get one. It only took us about an hour and a half I think from start to finish. We just put a little tea  light in it and it looks beautiful.

Have fun being creative this fall! Take all the opportunities you can.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Character Development Questions

Hello readers!

I thought I'd post the questions I use to help develop my characters. I did not come up with these questions on my own. I found a bunch of great questions from a website a while ago, but of course, I can't remember from where. I changed some of them and got rid of a few and added a few. They have really helped me out. I'm still going to try and complete one of these character sheets for almost every character in my book if I can. Let me know if you can think of some other good ones and I'll add them to the list! Have fun developing your characters!

Character Name

Does the character have a nickname?

What is your characters hair color? Eye color?

What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have?

Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it? What about scars? How did he get them?

Who are your characters friends and family? Who does he surround himself with? Who are the people your character is closest to? Who does he wish he were closest to?

Where was your character born? Where has he lived since then? Where does he call home?

Where does your character go when he’s angry?

Does he have a secret?

What makes your character laugh out loud?

When has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?

What is in your characters kitchen right now? On his bedroom floor? On his nightstand?

When your character thinks of his childhood kitchen, what smell does he associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Why is that smell so resonant for him?

It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing? Give details. If he’s eating breakfast, what exactly does he eat? If he’s stretching out in her backyard to sun, what kind of blanket or towel does he lie on?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

What is your favorite occupation?

What is your most treasured possession?

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

What has been your favorite journey?

What is your most marked characteristic?

When and where were you the happiest?

What is it that you most dislike?

Which living person do you most despise?

Which talent would you most like to have?

What is the quality you most like in a man?

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

What do you most value in your friends?

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Whose are your heroes in real life?

Which person in your life do you most admire?

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

On what occasions do you lie?

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

How would you like to die?

What is your goal?

What/Who stands in your way? (Why can’t you reach your goal from where you are standing? What do you need in order to get there?)

What do you do for a living? Do you like it? Are you good at it?

What is your secret dream?

What does your home look like? Where do you live?

What is your education?

What are you secretly embarrassed by?

What are your hobbies?

What was your family like growing up?

What is your biggest fear?

What is your best strength?

What do people like about you?

What are you most proud of?

What event changed you/your life the most?

What are your talents?

How do you react to adversity?

What music do you like?

What is your religion?


How do you feel about love?

Hope these help. Have a great day!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Just a Little Update

Ideas to give more depth to my book have been coming to me constantly! It's the best feeling, and I only wish I could write faster. Lately, I've been creating more back story for my character's other than my main characters. I find that it is easier to write about how they would react in interactions with my main characters to know where they have been in life, even if my main character doesn't know it.

Besides writing, I am really looking forward to next week. My husband and I are buying a Canon Rebel t4i camera!! I am so excited to get back into my photography addiction!! I'll finally be able to take pictures of our first apartment together and take creative pictures. I'm excited to start adding photography to my blog, so expect some photos in the future.

A little side note, a friend of mine has a wonderful blog where she talks about beauty, cosmetics, and being a person who loves themselves and makes the most of life. She gives some great encouragement. Check it out!

Belle Fleur's Blog: Be Empowered

Be creative today!