Oh no!

Current Mood: MAD
Currently Listening to: NOT IMPORTANT
OH NO!
The Assassin fell! After being at 28 for three weeks! I'm so mad right now, I can't  even....

AGH!!!

This isn't happening!!!

But it is.

Oregon Trail

Current Mood: tired
Currently Listening to: "Our Song" by Taylor Swift.
Writing is a little bit like the game Oregon Trail. Come one, who remembers it? And no, remembering it does not make you old.
But writing is like Oregon Trail. Both are a journey. Sometimes you lose characters that you weren't planning to lose. Sometimes the plot takes an unexpected twist, goes down a different road, or get to your destination in a way you never thought possible.

But why is that? Is it because too often as writers we let our story tell us what happens instead of the opposite way? I think that having our story take over is something that all writers have at least once in their writing career. It happened to me, the first time I wrote Secrets Revealed. 
Cassie found her true love in this book, whether I realized it or not. And he was just supposed to be a character that appeared once. But as I wrote some more (remember, I hand write everything first, I'm working on the seventh book now.) I realized that this guy kept popping up, and despite ruining all my plans, I liked him.
Why is that?
Maybe it's just a thing that happens to writers, but I know that it sure can surprise you.
So, what are your "Oregon Trail" story?

OMG!! AP English, you suck!

Current Mood: exhausted
Currently Listening to: "Little White Church" by Little Big Town
Okay, don't blame me, blame AP English and algebra 2.
More details coming tomorrow on my crazy first week as an upperclassman and why I hate Henry Flemming.
I promise.
Tomorrow morning.
Off to go watch Investigation Discovery.

Chapter Two is Done!

Current Mood: Happy!

Currently Listening to: "Sometimes You Leave" by Carrie Underwood.

I'm happy to announce that I've finished chapter two, and Secrets Revealed might go public tonight if I can get another 2,000 words done between now and bedtime. I think I can do it. I'll be sure to let you know if it goes public!

What the heck happened?!?!

Dude, there's these white spots on the bottom and top of the page! They weren't there before! AHHH! WHY?!?!

EDIT: The third column is coming back!

School & Changes

Yes, I changed it again, but I won't get to for a long time. I've got a hard first semester. And, I actually made it this time! I'll post credits later.

Chapter One is Done!

I'm happy to announce that I've finished Chapter one of Secrets Revealed. Except you can't see it because I need 6000 more words to make it public on inkpop! By Sunday it'll be public. I promise!

Click on the page Links!

I dare you! Because...
GUESS WHAT I FIXED!

It works now! Took a while, but I figured it out :D

Musicals, Interviews, and WHY WON'T THIS WORK!?!?!?

Oh gosh, Big: The Musical is finally done. Summer is now officially almost at an end. In one week, I'll be coming home from my first day of school...
Scary thought.
Junior year I am so not ready for you. At all. I haven't even wrapped my mind around the fact that you're knocking on my doorstep.
Why do you have to come so soon? Why?
But....
My first author interview!!! :D
Click here to read it. L Renee S did a wonderful job with her questions. Be sure to follow her blog. I'm going to add a new page for interviews and you can read it on here too!
Also, I was reading Kevin and Amanda today and found a cool tutorial on how to make each page a different background for Lala Land. So I did it.
It didn't work. So, if anyone has used this tutorial and knows why it won't work, I'd love you if you could help me! Until next time...

It Just Doesn't Work

What do you do when a book just doesn't work?
Do you force it to work until it does?
Or, do you just end it and never look back?
Oh geez, I sound like I'm writing a poem now. But the reason I'm asking is because I've shelved Revenge of the Rossetts. There's something wrong with it and I don't know what. I felt like writing it was a chore to be done; something I dreaded.
So I gave it a quick ending and have now started book three, Secrets Revealed. This is one of my favorite books in the whole series, Cassie learns a lot about herself.

It all began with those strange letters Cassie got in the mail. But these aren't death threats, there letters written by her mother before she died, and these letters suggest hat Cassie's dad just might be out there and just might not be Brent Rossett. The letters prompt Cassie to take a DNA test, but that's the last thing on her mind. Her lying, cheating ex-boyfriend, Alex, has gotten involved with a British guy and they're planning to take down the two governments and take the Assassin down for revenge. Cassie is running across the ocean more than she's staying in one place, trying to stop these two from causing a catastrophe, and is way too busy to pay attention to Connor, the guy she stumbles into while trying to save the world, her family, and her sanity.

I think that at the moment, this is a better idea because I honestly had no idea where to go with the story.
Book review coming tomorrow!

Zac, Stick to Musicals, Please.

So, yesterday with my friend, I saw Charlie St. Cloud. Yeah, not worth the four bucks I paid to see it.
This is one of the things that I worry about as an author. What if my book is the total bomb like that?
The previews show a promising story about a boy who lost his brother.
The movie shows a story of a guy who has totally lost it.
Two totally different things. So, here's one request,
Zac, please stick to musicals. Please, it's just better for everyone.
Anyone else see it, and if so, what did you think?

Back to School...

Two weeks. Well, at this ate, I should just say one week, six days, eleven hours and thirty minutes.
Until school starts.
And school shopping has already started because we went school shopping today. For shoes, and they didn't even have the shoes I wanted in my size. *sad face* But I ordered them online, so it's all good.
There is one thing I want for school, and writing, that I have to get with my own money. I just have to work seven birthday parties!

A laptop. All of my writing buddies from inkpop have laptops and I'm stuck on this old desktop that sucks. So, I want a laptop so I can write late at night when I feel all my creative juices flowing.
So, how many of you use laptops to do your writing? And what laptop do you use? *cue Evie running around screaming "MAC!!!!"*

Book Review: Insatiable

Book review time! This time it's Insatiable by Meg Cabot.
Page Count: 448, I believe. Can't look because I had to turn it back in.
First thoughts: I'm not so sure, but Meg Cabot hasn't failed me yet, so I'll give it a try.
Setting: New York. Most of her books take place here.
Characters: There's three main characters, two men and a girl. It was interesting how it all played out between Meena and her vampire boyfriend who was being stalked by the vampire hunter who found himself falling for Meena. Yeah, it's that complicated.
Writing Style: Cabot took a turn with this book by moving to third person. Basically all of her other books have been 1st person. While I'm not a fan of third, this was actually a really good way to tackle the story.
Cover: While at first it seems rather strange, I like how they incorporated so much symbolism into the cover. Very clever design. And I'm digging the red dress.
Plot: Pretty good. A lot of "OMG! THAT HAPPENED?!?!" moments but it kept the book moving. At first, it seemed to drag on, but once the vampire and the girl met in front of the church, it seemed to pick up.
Dislikes: THE ENDING!!! But, there's supposed to be a sequel, so I hope that I get my ending!!!!
Final thoughts: Worth a read, but beware, this is an adult book, so if you haven't ventured into that age category, this might not be for you.
I apologize for the weird font down below, I'm still trying to figure out how to fix it.

setting:*** characters: ****   writing:*** cover:***** plot:****   final rating: ****  

Books to Big Screen

This was supposed to be a post two weeks ago, but I've been so busy it had to wait.
 Two weeks ago, I went and saw Romona & Beezus; which is a cute movie. But, it seems like more than not movies that started out as books don't work as movies.
I've decided that if I ever get published, I don't think I could let someone turn The Assassin into a movie. I'd be horrified if they ruined it, because I'm one of those people who always has to compare the movie to the books. It's usually not a good comparison.
For instance, take The Other Boleyn Girl. Philippa Gregory took a wonderful story, spruced it up a bit to make a 600 some odd page book that became a hit. It's wonderfully crafted in the way she wrote, and there were a number of books that followed it.
The movie, not so much. There was very little in common with the book. The plot lagged and because it was so condesnsed, it missed a lot of the details that made the book so great.
So, what's your take on the big screen snapping up books? Would you let someone take your book and make it a movie?

Just a Quick Note

I'm not going to even mention it.
But, I've deleted a few pages that were just clogging up the site and we got a new comment system. It's kinda cool.
TONIGHT IS OPENING NIGHT FOR MY SHOW!!!
I can't wait. I'll tell you more tomorrow. :D

Site Updates

Please note that Lala Land will be down for the next day or so for some updates.

On The Go

But don't hate me, please!
Anyways, I'm in total swing back from my pink eye, I hope, and here I go.
Over the weekend, on the inkpop forums, someone brought up the topic of writing on your iPod touch. They were talking about this app called My Writing Nook. It's basically this web app that you can sync with your iTouch. I bought the app, but the thought of writing a book on my iTouch holds little appeal.

These are pictures I grabbed off the site about the iTouch app. Has anyone else used it or even heard of it? Or do you use another app if you have an iTouch? I'm not a big fan, like I mentioned before, I'm more of hand writing person.
Oh, by the way, thanks guys for making the "Handwriting Vs. Typing" post my most popular post yet. Seven comments? I feel superdy duper special.
No song of the day because I don't have time to go look for one.