Moving into act 4

Okay well my failure isn't totally failed. I finished a very rough draft of chapter 16 and act 3 in general. It's terrible. It is genuinely awful and I already have so many ideas for how I want to edit it. But I refrain. I know all authors have moments of crippling self-doubt and it's not that I think I can't do it. Sometimes it's just really hard to actually do it. The words just aren't there all the time. I even struggle to write this blog. But I'm glad I squeezed out enough to justify it being a full act. As I often say, something awful is something to edit and that's better than having nothing. And now I have something to edit.

So Elsie has just returned home from France and the war is coming to a close. The story will also be ending soon. I am now in act 4, which i think is shorter than the others. I might be bittersweet to finish it but it's not like I won't be spending time with her. As I said, I have a lot of editing to do. 

I finished chapter 17 this week and started chapter 18 yesterday. I haven't written at all today for the sake of sanity and because I'm watching Star Trek on account of Leonard Nimoy's passing. It's sad to see such a legend die and he was a legend. He certainly lived long and prospered. 

So I was watching early Star Trek and there was some underlying sexism, which is unsurprising given that it was filmed during the 60s. But I think I can talk about sexism during WWI and remain on topic. So people thought women were inadequate, belonged in the household, and existed to get married and have babies. The only reason they got jobs was because the men were off in the war. But! Their effort in the war is the reason that Woodrow Wilson changed his mind on giving women the vote. Prior to the US's entrance into the war, Wilson believed women had no reason to vote. But afterwards, he said it was only fair to include them. As he said, "we have made partners of the women in this war...Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?" Talk about character development. 

Thank you again for tolerating my whining enough to read this, my 2 viewers. Live long and prosper. And rest in peace, Mr. Nimoy.

Deliverable 4

I have accepted that I am a failure. I did not complete my deliverable in time. I got 5 out of 6 chapters written. I attribute this failure to the fact that I had 3 weeks to get a full act done. Even with trying to get ahead by starting on it early, I was unable to complete the full thing. I intend on finishing it this weekend. 

I will now talk about my birthday because I am writing this blog and can therefore talk about whatever I want. But I'll be reasonable. February 18th, I turned 17. As for relevant gifts, I got a Stephen King book about writing and some really cute Merlin bookmarks to accompany it. I intend on reading the book, obviously. Hopefully, it will give me the knowledge to be a better writer. 

So I talk about writing a lot. But this project has never been about just writing. It's about history and French too. So while I'm trial and erring with writing, I'm also learning history and French. Those two are probably easier to study. For French, I take French 3 at school so I learn something new every day and have to go fix something in the novel. It can be frustrating but it's educational. The history is different. I have an American history class but considering we spent about a week on WWI before having a little quiz on the information, I don't depend on school for the details.

Instead of using just the one chapter from a relatively generalized textbook, I keep Google handy and use it quite often. I use it for the major events of the war to the little details of individual people. I have a lot of books for reference: WWI books, fashion books, battle books. I have so many resources that help me learn every day. 

Well I'm supposed to include a picture that proves i completed my deliverable. Since I didn't actually do that, I'm gonna take a rain check. 

Thanks for reading. Wish me luck. 

Chapter 14

I've really got to make sure my blog posts are actually posting. New goal.

I had the best burst of inspiration this week. I finished chapter 14, which has to be my favorite chapter probably in the entire book (at least of what I've written so far). It's a very epic chapter where many things happen and lots of secrets come out. From now until the end of the act, there's a lot of tension and intensity.

The beginning of chapter 15 has been a struggle. I feel like it's there but I don't have any time to sit down and pull it out. So hopefully this weekend I can crack down. I'm so close to finishing this act, which is good because my deliverable is due next Friday. I totally forgot about that until now. I guess I will definitely be cracking down this weekend. Thanks for reminding me. 

But my birthday is this Wednesday so that'll be a fun obstacle to work around as I finish these last two chapters. I suppose professionals do it all the time so I'll have to do it too. As the phrase goes, a professional writer is an amateur that didn't quit. I'll be seventeen. But that's not important because this isn't a diary. 

So how about time for another snippet? This one will have a little bit of character development. At the beginning of the novel, Elsie was feeling really hopeful about finding a purpose by serving the war and by now, her steam is running out.

Where was that other me, less than a year younger than the present one? Where was the young woman longing for adventure and purpose and freedom in a colorless world? I supposed she’d grown up and realized the reality of the world was far different from what she’d imagined. Heroes aren’t filled with glory, but with tragedy. They aren’t heroes for their triumphs but for the sorrow they endure to achieve them.

 Deep, I know.
Well, that's all for now. Since I'm having to post this late, happy Valentine's Day. I'm spending mine by writing a riveting love story and then later with Dean Winchester of Supernatural.

Thanks again for reading.

Update on act 3

Okay so I had this awesome deliverable for last week and it didn't publish! So I had to publish it today in addition to the one I'm supposed to post this week. Yay you get two in one day. 

So last night I finished chapter 13 of the novel. Let's just say Elsie is having an interesting time in France. Life is also about to get really rough for her. But if I told you why, it would ruin all surprises and someone could steal my idea and my life would be ruined and we can't have that. 

Instead, I'll talk about my own struggle because, let me tell you, it is real. Sometimes the things you think will be really good ideas are not that good. Sometimes they are but they aren't good enough. For me, I write out my outlines for chapters but once executed, they aren't long enough. I've had to do a lot of research on this really snazzy chateau in France, Azay-le-Rideau, where most of this act is set. 

Here, have a picture. 

I told you it's snazzy. More pictures are available on my Pinterest storyboard, found in the links section of my blog. 

Not enough material is one issue. Writers block is another. Usually, I write through my writers block and go back and spiff up what I've written once I've got inspiration. This makes the chapters longer, solving two problems at once. 

Tonight, I'll be starting chapter 14, where things actually get intense. I'm excited. You should be too. 

Anyway that's all for now. Thanks again for reading.