Storymakers

LDStorymakers was amazing this year. And I'm not just saying that because this is the first year I've been. I learned so much and met a lot of really awesome people. I had a great chat with Cindy M. Hogan. I had just finally been able to read her first book Watched, Thursday night. I had tried to get it before then and for some reason my purchase on Barnes and Noble didn't go through on my computer. So I bought it straight onto my Nook and read straight through. Of course, then I had to find out what happened next! So at about midnight, I bought her second book, Protected, as well and read that until almost 4:30 in the morning! I was a bit tired the next day, but it was totally worth it!
I also got to meet Dan Wells, who has been one of my top favorite authors for a couple years. I had met him before, but this time I actually got to talk with him for a little while. If you haven't read his books, I suggest you remedy that situation as soon as possible. They are all awesome! I especially love the John Cleaver series: I Am Not A Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You (which won the Whitney award Saturday night for best novel of 2011! Congrats Dan!). The psychological aspect of them fascinate me. And A Night of Blacker Darkness just made me laugh the entire time. It is a thoroughly ridiculous book, and absolutely a blast to read!
I also met Karen E. Hoover, who I have to admit (Sorry Karen) I hadn't heard of before. But I did spend a good half an hour just chatting with her, and we hit it off really well. I bought one of her books from the book store and she was kind enough to sign it for me. I look forward to reading it when I have a chance! (I can't stay up until 4:30am reading every day, as much as I would like to, my work schedule would kill me!)
Over the course of the next couple of days, I'm going to put my notes from the classes I was able to take up on here and my thoughts on those classes as well. If any of you were able to go to any classes that I wasn't, I would love to get your notes and thoughts as well!

Bipolar and Writing

Last October, I was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder. I actually diagnosed myself, went to my doctor, and told him what I thought. He agreed and put me on medication.

It's helping A LOT! It's actually amazing how well it's helping. It's not, however, doing everything. What do I do to supplement my medication?

I write.

I actually talked to another author about this who is also bipolar. She says that writing helps because you have to use both sides of your brain to do it. The creative side to come up with the story, and the logical side to organize it.

My life suddenly made sense.

All my life, I couldn't tell if I was "right brained" or "left brained". I figured I was left brained, since I was really good at math, but couldn't draw a picture to save my life. But at the same time, I was more imaginative than almost anyone I knew, thinking of things that no one would ever think of and coming up with solutions to problems that are unlikely to occur.

I'm bipolar. And it all makes sense.

It's interesting how one revelation can change your life. I'm not going to put this author's name up, as I don't know that she'd want me to, but I have a feeling that she will never know just how grateful I am that she said those things that day. She went through several years where she didn't write at all and it just about destroyed her. I'm amazed. I can't go through more than a few weeks.

I suppose you could say that we're addicted to writing.

I'm okay with that.

Crazy Writers

Writers are crazy people. Or maybe it's just me. But I would like some really weird things to happen to me, just so I know how to write about them. A part of me would like to be shot, so so I know what it feels like (as long as it doesn't kill me). I don't drink, but a part of me would like to get drunk, just once, in case I ever need one of my characters to do so. Maybe I'll just stick to watching other people on that one. Is it really weird that I'd rather be shot than get drunk?
On the other hand, I'd really like to do some normal, if different things as well. I would like to jump out of an airplane some day. Not sure if that will ever happen, since it's expensive and SCARY! Yes, I'm a bit scared of heights. And bugs. One thing I would never want to have happen to me is to have bugs crawl all over me. I could barely watch that section of Hunger Games! Gave me the heebie jeebies.
So, am I just crazy, or am I not the only one who feels like that?

My Writing Group

   Oh the revising! I'm now working on rewriting chapter 4. Only about 18 to go! Plus however many I randomly decide that I need to add in the "rewriting my entire story" process. I kept the first chapter and half the second, although those are now the second chapter and half the third, since I added a chapter at the beginning as per the suggestion of my writing group.
   Anyone writing a story who doesn't have a writing group, I highly suggest that you get one. Mine consists of my two best friends, which normally wouldn't be a good idea, but we have one person who always keeps on track. We have set rules for ourselves that include not being on the internet if it doesn't have anything to do with the book we are currently working on, never get offended by anything that is said, and bring your own treats (although we generally share). Obviously, you can write your own rules for your group; no group is the same. I love my group because I know that they will tell me everything they think of the book, good or bad. And I know that no matter what, even if one of says this is the stupidest line that was ever written, we won't get offended. Because it is never meant as an offense. It is meant to make the book the best it can be. And no matter how awesome you are, your story will never be as amazing if you don't take anyone else's advice. That's something that I had to learn the hard way.

Rewriting

I must say, I hate revising and rewriting, even though I know I will like the results better than what's currently on the page. That's probably why I'm stalling so badly. Anyone have any ideas on how to keep yourself motivated? I've always been really bad at that, but I'm working on being better.

I have been reading a lot lately, though, which is so nice. Work has been really busy and it's always great to curl up on my bed and read a good book. Unfortunately, it's getting difficult to find one that I haven't already read that looks good. Suggestions?

I need to start writing my next book, which is currently title Dimensions, though it might not stay that way. My mom loves the story idea and has been bugging me to write it. I just have to work out the plot the rest of the way in my head.

Anyway, that is the random rantings of Jae Randall today. Pretty short, but then, my brain isn't up for much more right now.

The Two Little Boys and the Big Bad Mess

Just a random story I wrote one night to get one of the pages for my writing group.

            Once upon a time, there were two little boys. They were brothers, and were both very silly little boys. One day, they were playing at their grandmother’s house. They had strewn Legos and books and train tracks and car tracks all over the floor of the family room. But when it was time to go home, they didn’t want to pick them up!

            “You better clean up,” their dad said, “or something weird might happen.”

            But the two little boys didn’t believe him. Which is silly, when you think about it, since their daddy had never lied to them.

            And so they decided not to clean up.

            So the next day when they came over, the mess was still there, as their grandmother had been too busy to clean it up for them.

            So they played and played and made an even bigger mess than they had before. And again, when it was time to go, they didn’t want to clean up.

            “You’d better clean up,” their dad said again, “or something weird might happen.”

            But nothing weird had happened the day before, so they didn’t think it would happen this time either. So they left without cleaning up.

            The next day, the mess was still there, because their grandma was too busy to clean it up for them. Besides, she hadn’t made the mess.

            So they played and they played and they made an even bigger mess than before. And when it was time to go, they didn’t want to clean up.

            “You’d better clean up,” their dad said, “or something weird might happen.”

            And the boys didn’t believe him. After all, nothing had happened the first day, and nothing had happened the second day. Nothing weird was going to happen.

            But then, something weird did happen. The mess came to life! A hand made out of Legos grabbed the older boy’s leg and started dragging him away from his dad. The trains all forced the younger boy away from his mom.

            “What do we do?” The boys cried.

            “Clean up.” Their dad stated. He had been in this situation before, and he had tried to warn them.

            So the boys started throwing everything into the bins that they belonged to. All of the Legos went into the Lego bucket. All of the train tracks and car tracks went into the Tupperware bin they belonged in. They could move on their own again! They quickly put the books on the bookshelf and ran out to their parents.

            “We’ll never leave things a mess again!” They resolved, clinging to their parents’ legs.

            “We’re sure you won’t.” Their mother said kindly, and then led them out to the car to head home.

Protagonists and antagonists annoyances

I hate it when my characters won't do what I want them to. I tell my protagonist to be mad enough at one of my antagonists to want to wipe them all out, and all I get is "Why?". Well, obviously, because they're evil.

My character doesn't really care about that, because she already has my other antagonist to be mad at. And she definitely has good reason to be mad at them, considering they are the reasons for her family all being dead. That's pretty harsh.

But the antagonist that I need her to also be mad at, to wipe out, hasn't ever hurt her. In fact, they are effectively wiping out the guys she already hates. So what's a writer to do?

The only thing I can really think of is to have the first bad guys (the ones she already mad at), threaten her to get rid of the other bad guys. I just don't know if that's a good enough motivation. If anyone who reads this has any suggestions (if anyone reads this at all), I'd be open to anything.

Children in the Room

            You could tell there had been children in the room. If the Legos strewn haphazardly across the floor wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the tiny shoes lying on their sides five feet apart would be the next clue. Cardboard books littered the ground, mixed in between the Legos. A doll and a toddler sized rocking chair joined the chaos.

            But the biggest clue was the screaming of the two little boys who were, in fact, still in the room, and the slightly crazed look in their mother’s eyes. The younger boy, nearly one year old, had a slight cold, and was suspected of having yet another ear infection. The older boy, two and a half years old, had been sound asleep when he had first gotten to his grandmother’s house, but the mess that covered the family room only appeared after he awoke.

            The boys’ aunt, who was supposed to be writing, was distracted by how cute, but loud these two were. She carefully disconnected the clingy younger one from his mother’s arms during dinner, so the mother would have a chance to eat in piece. This ended in her arm becoming sore after a while because the only way to keep him happy while away from his mother was to bounce him around and swing him upside down. She couldn’t help but laugh, though, as he became fascinated at one point, with moving her head up and down. He would push up on her chin and then giggle incessantly when she dropped her head back in place, each time pulling a funny face. His giggle was contagious and she soon couldn’t stop herself from laughing in pure joy every time she heard it.

            If the younger one was clingy and giggling, the older one could only be described as difficult. He wanted cookies, but he wanted to go into the pantry to get them himself. He wanted to play with his younger brother, but his idea of playing with him was to hit him in the chest and grab the front of his clothes. The adults all knew that he was just getting out of hand, but that didn’t stop them from getting upset with him.

            At the same time, he was doing such crazy things, and saying such silly things, that they couldn’t be mad at him for too long.

            “Do you want some cookies?”

            “Cookies? Okay.”

            “Are you hungry?”

            “Hungry? Okay.”

            Everything was ‘okay’. That was, apparently, his way of saying yes.

            Perhaps the most hilarious part of the evening, however, was when the younger brother stole a ball that the older brother had.

            “Hey! Give that back!”

            The older brother retrieved his ball back without too much effort, and went back to playing unperturbed. It probably shouldn’t have been as funny as it was, but the older brother stole things from the younger one so often that this particular payback struck us all as amusing.

            Eventually, the aunt was able to get back to writing, although the distractions still made it difficult to truly concentrate. She couldn’t blame her nephews, however. She knew it wasn’t their fault they were just so darn cute!