A Little Bit of Random

Photograph by Julia King 2009 (Cinque Terre)

Gina Denny recently beta'd my WIP. I'd like to thank her lots and lots for her amazing suggestions. Kristin Lynn Thetford did as well. She's the grammar girl of all grammar girls. Loved having her help in that area. Thank you girls!
I'll admit I'm stealing this blog idea from one of Gina's blog posts. I'm going to fill in the following blanks, so you can get to know me a bit better.

I am ... not a morning person. If I could, I'd sleep in until 10:30AM every day. Uh... or longer.

I can't stand ... ticking clocks or any repetitive noises. *cringe*

My idea of relaxation would be ... laying out on a beach (more specifically, a beach on the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera) reading a book and catching some rays. *sigh*

If I had an extra $50, I would ...  buy a couple books or a couple shirts. Maybe buy something good to eat. There are so many options. Maybe you can decide for me. :)

A recipe I'm dying to try is ... I don't really cook much and if I do, it's just throwing stuff together to see if it tastes good. But, the recipe I love to make is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. Numms. But I can't make them right now because I'm still going strong with my no sweets diet. Woot!

Well, now it's your turn to fill in these blanks, so I can get to know you better. Comment away, folks!

Writing. Jewels.

The Way You Speak





The other day I grabbed a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant. I zoomed into the drive-through and gave the employee my order, and then she asked me if I wanted a coke.

Instantly, I was taken aback because "coke" is not the norm for me to hear in Utah. When I want a cold refreshing drink with carbonation in it (which isn't very often), I say "Soda Pop". That's how I've always said it. Maybe it's a Utah thing or a King Family thing. Who knows? 

Anyway, I've heard people say the following when referring to this kind of beverage:

"Pop"
"Soda"
"Coke"
"Soda Pop"

Depending on where you live can contribute to how you speak, not just the accent but the slang or specific words you use. For instance, Utahns tend to drop the "t" sound when speaking. Example: Mountain sounds like Mounain or Fountain sounds like Founain. Or when a Utahn says the word For it sounds like Fur. Yes, very hickish, I know. I lived in England for a while. Every so often, I find myself calling the garbage can a rubbish bin. Don't ask me why of all the phrases I could have picked up on, rubbish bin won out. haha

My WIP is from the POV of an Irish girl. I've had to add in certain phrases or just little words here and there to make her sound authentic but not to the point that I'm going overboard. It's been fun to build my MC into a bubbly little Irish lass. Oh, she's so adorable. Just you guys wait!

Well, what do you say when referring to a nice cold carbonated beverage? What types of slang do you use or do you pronounce words differently because of where you are from? Have you ever written a character with a different accent? Do tell...

Writing. Jewels. 

Writers by Design

The past two weeks, I've taken a break from writing. It's good to take breaks, especially after a serious revision . . . at least for me. It helps me to tackle the upcoming project of writing or edits with greater motivation. Last Saturday, I started an edit of my WIP, BOUND, as per beta suggestions. It should be fun.

While I was taking my break, I not only went on vacation, read The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter, relaxed, etc., but I watched the full first season of the TV show Jane by Design. Yes, it sucked me in after 10 minutes; TV shows have the keen ability to do that to me. Ok, I'm so in love with this series that I've decided to redesign, re-envision myself through clothing. Yes, my pocketbook didn't like me for it. Sorry, bank account.

At any rate, I've taken some fashion tips from Jane to alter my outfits from that of a trendy librarian to a punky librarian. Uh... I have no idea if that makes sense at all. But, I'm liking the new me who splashes funky styles together to build a nice outfit.

This has to do with writing, too. Building a story is all about combining different elements (plot, characters, tension, setting, etc.). Some work and are beautiful, to die for. Others, not so much. Like in one episode of Jane by Design, Jane strings this rather ugly belt around her waist that definitely did not look good, and people told her, too. She quickly discarded it.

As writers, we compose a story and go back through it and have to get rid of certain parts, maybe even a full chapter(s) because it doesn't help the plot to progress. I've had to do that... my first book was about 100K when I finished the first draft. I remember one chapter that I loved so, so much. A critique partner suggested that it had to go. I dragged my feet, but eventually took the scene out. Now, the book is at 67K. Lots of deleting took place.

But with all the world-building, character development, and everything else that goes into writing a good story, it's all about designing it into something priceless, polished, gorgeous--like pulling together a fashionable ensemble of clothing.

Well, what are your thoughts on this sort of rambling post?

Writing. Jewels.

Month of May Goals

Hello, dear followers. Man-o-Man, it was a crazy April. I'm sort of exhausted with all I've done, especially writing-wise.

I'm going to start off this post with some questions up front:

So what are your Month of May Goals? How does goal setting help you when it comes to writing? What are your methods of setting goals? Do you write them down, have them in your head, or tell someone? Or maybe all of the above?

Having started to blog about my goals has been beneficial. Because I put them out there for the world to see, it gives me that extra push to ACCOMPLISH them.

Well, here's how I did with my Month of April Goals:

• Have a super awesome 30th Birthday! Check Check Check! What a fabulous day!
• Try not to get depressed for not being married by my 30th Birthday. Check. I actually feel supercool being 30! Woot!
• Finish Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver Super Check. What a super great book. Can't wait to have the cliffhanger resolved.
• Finish a revision of my book, FÉLICITÉ FOUND Check-o-my-Check. Finished it just a couple days ago. I took my time to make this revision COUNT! *BAM*
• Complete an edit of my WIP, BOUND No Check but I don't care. It was more important to work on my first book.
• Will not buy any clothing ---> I'm going to say I half accomplished this. All I bought was a supercool Doctor Who tshirt. And it is beautiful.
• Read Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon Check. An enjoyable book with a great premise. And it takes place in Ireland so it has to be good, right? Bring on the hot Irish accents.

Not half that bad, if I do say so myself.

Now on to my Month of May Goals:

• Go on a much needed vacation to Washington State with my brother's family (Time to have some quality time with my nephews and niece)
• Give myself some R&R (Say 2 weeks) before I dive back into anything related to writing
• Beta a beta's book
• Read The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
• Catch up on checking out blogs in the blogoshere (I've pretty much sucked at this in April because of revisions--Sorry guys) 

Loves to you all!

Writing. Jewels.

Month of April Goals



First of all, I need to give you the update of how my Month of March Goals panned out!

March Goals:

• Finish another round of edits/revisions of my WIP and hand it off to CP's CHECK (Went well. I'm on my way with my WIP--BOUND)
• Participate in the second I'm a Platform-Building Campaigner Challenge CHECK (This turned out to be sooooo fun. The flash fiction I wrote has actually inspired a future writing project--bring on some sci-fi. Check it out here!)
• Finish reading Forest Born by Shannon Hale CHECK (Great book!)
• Read Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Still working on it--Pretty far in though)
• Go see The Hunger Games on March 23 at 8:30PM (yes, I've already got tickets) CHECK (Loved it)
• Have a supercool St. Patrick's Day party. It's my favorite holiday. :D I'll call this one a check even though I cancelled the party due to feeling sick. Phooey!
• Not go crazy while waiting to hear back from editors as my book, FÉLICITÉ FOUND, is on submission No check... what kind of person wouldn't go crazy waiting for a pub deal? Anyone? haha

Now for my Month of April Goals:

• Have a super awesome 30th Birthday!
• Try not to get depressed for not being married by my 30th Birthday
• Finish Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
• Finish a revision of my book, FÉLICITÉ FOUND
• Complete an edit of my WIP, BOUND
• Will not buy any clothing *crossing fingers*
• Read The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

How are your goals going? What are your Month of April goals?

Writing. Jewels.

WIP Name Title Revealed

I figure it's time to reveal the name of my WIP. For some reason, I hold off on the big here's-the-name-of-my-book announcement for a while. I think it's because the project is my baby. I like to have all the books control in my hand, so I keep her hidden for a while.
Now, I've gotta be brave and let her go, at least her name. I'll for sure let the pretty princess go on submission sometime this year, though. *crossing fingers*

Until then, all you get is the name of my book...

*drum roll please*

BOUND

Yes, a simple one-syllable name with more meaning than meets the eye when it's placed in the context of what my WIP is about. I have the other names of the books in the trilogy picked out already. You'll find them out later. I can't wait to write those books, that's for sure.

How do you go about releasing the name of your book? Right off the bat? Wait for a while? Or not tell anyone until it's actually published? Do tell...

Writing. Jewels.

I've Been Tagged: Lucky 7 Meme

I was tagged by the lovely Shannon Duffy to post 7 lines from my WIP.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines-sentences or paragraphs--and post them as they're written. No cheating
4. Tag 7 authors
5. Let them know

It sort of doesn't make much sense being taken out of context but cute none-the-less. Anyway, here you have it...
______________________________________

          Before any of us could say anything, Megs ran back into the room, holding a large silver box.

          “I have to show you something, Gen!” She pushed my plate away from me. The box was plopped down in front of me with a heavy thud. “Oh, sorry, are you done with your dinner?”
          “Yes, I’m done. It was delicious, Erin.” I gazed at the beautiful mother across from me and smiled.
          “My pleasure,” she replied.
          “Back to me, now.” Megs pulled something out of the box. I was sort of scared it was gonna be a huge hairy spider or, uh, a pet turtle or something. Finally, after all the suspense and dramatics, the cute fourteen-year-old placed a bunch of DVD’s in front of me. She giggled the whole time, muttering to herself incoherently.
______________________________________
I hope you enjoyed it, friends.
And now for the tagging. I've chosen the following people to share their own lines from their WIP.

1. Kristin Lynn Thetford
2. Yelena C
3. S.B. Bowers
4. Julie Glover
5. Elise Fallson
6. Nick Wilford
7. Daniel Noyes

Happy posting!
Writing. Jewels.
PS: Here's a Happy Birthday shout out to my big brother, Jim Bob Bubba Gump (not his real name, I promise). :D

Touch Down at the Finish Line

Last week, I finished the first draft of my WIP. I took the day off work to get it it done, but the closer I got to the end (of the first book in a trilogy), the harder it was to write. I swear it was the first time during the process I had any real form of writer's block. The sad thing is I knew exactly how it was supposed to end. Yet, typing out the words felt forced. 

I finally gave up, ate some lunch, did the dishes, and thought about going at the whole writing escapade again. Nothing came as I stared at the laptop screen. Again, I gave up, throwing myself at the mercy of the couch (or on the couch rather) and flipped on HGTV. Hours and a short nap later, I pulled out the computer again. Still nothing. Argh! So ridiculous not to be able to write, especially when I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it.

I realized it was like someone running a long distance. When they're nearing the finish line, it gets harder to keep going. They start telling themselves if they just make it to the tree way off in the distance then they can stop. Once they get there, they pick another focal point to keep them running.

This is how I felt. I was so blasted close to a finished first draft of my book, but so far away. Crunching out the words became difficult. I couldn't do it even though I only had a few pages left. Yet, I somehow got there just as I was about to quit. 

At that point, I was exhausted. It felt surreal to have all the words on the pages. However, for some reason I felt empty. After contemplating my feelings, I realized I was coming off of a writing high. I'd been typing furiously for so many weeks that not having the creative force pushing me along anymore was depressing.

Now, I get to partake of my most favorite part of writing: editing. Uh, so not my favorite, but it is a necessary evil. I look forward to it, though. I can take the things I know have to be fixed (and CP's have told me as well) and make it super fantastic. 

It's rather rewarding to know I've finished a first draft of book number two. I stash it under my belt, happy I actually got here and so fast, too. I can smile for that!

How have you felt after finishing a first draft?

Writing. Jewels. 

NaNoWriMo

It’s November 1, guys, and I’m on Cloud 286 right now! I could pass out! I might just decide to run a marathon! I may very well use exclamation points at the end of every sentence in this post!

Why, you ask?

Because . . .

Today commences my very first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) experience! It means that I’m super motivated to kick some writing buttocks.

Are you participating? If not, why not? Get on the writing band wagon for heaven sakes and join forces with me, Writing Jewels (aka: Super Jules). If you don’t I will fire sparkly jewels out of my blue eyes that will definitely pinch your bum until you sign up for the challenge.

Basically, NaNoWriMo’s objective is to help you finish a book within the month of November; more specifically to write 50,000 words.

Eep! I’m about to dance around the room with the delight of knowing I’m going to do this. I AM GOING TO DO THIS WITH A HUGE SMILE PLASTERED ON MY FACE!

So, I started writing my WIP in September. My goal was to finish it in 5 months—as in be querying it by the end of the duration of that time. Well, guys with the help of NaNo and some great kick rocking writing buddies, I’m gonna do it! Quite possibly sooner than I expected as well!

Woot Woot!

Now all you need to do is follow this link to sign up to become a NaNoWriMo-ista. Become my buddy on there (just search JuliaWritingJewelsKing and you’ll find me). Let’s write up some dust!

Have you ever participated in a Nano? What has been your experience? Are you going to join forces with me in this adventure? We definitely will make up a secret handshake including an Elaine-esque type dance from Seinfeld and eat ice cream to our tummy’s content. Sigh!

Bring on the words! Bring on the motivation! Bring on tons more exclamation points!