Random Writer's Ramblings

It occurred to me that I'll I've been posting for the past little while is clips of animals and strange parodies. So I have decided to blog about my writing and recent happenings in my world, two of the reasons I started this blog.

First off,

Now that I finally have a laptop, I can work much faster. I've also discovered that if you move a laptop the wrong way when it's on your bed, and the connection to the plug isn't that great, your computer will automatically shut off. ARG!!! It's so annoying!!! Ah, well, I guess nobody ever got anything done complaining about it. I'm doing quite a bit more writing now, that's for certain. Getting everything on the computer is a step up. That way, everything can be done so much more quickly, and it isn't a headache to go back and change something.

Secondly,

I'm taking a writing class. Not that I haven't taken them before. I took an online one with Laura Tomas. I also took an Excellence in Writing class on a DVD. Not the greatest class I've ever taken. The guy who taught it on the DVD cared way too much about he proper formatting for a three keyword outline and whether you used all the decorations on his list (which included an ly word, the word because, etc. And he completely banned the words "said" "ate" "saw" and "thought". They spend two years teaching us not to use those words then spend two more years teaching us to use them again. Well, anyway, back to my current writing class. This class is actually taught in a classroom, for once, and I know the name of the book the teacher wrote, a young adults book called "Losing Faith", about a girl whose sister, Faith, dies. We're not that far into the course yet, but it's fun. There are no other girls in the class who like fantasy, so I got partnered up with the only boy, who loves Lord of the Rings. I have tried on numerous occasions to read that series, but I can never get through it.

Third,

Have learned something about fantasy. On a website, I found a sample query letter for the fantasy novel To Darkness Fled. Or maybe it was By Darkness Hid. Both books are by Jill Williamson. Anyway, she said she researched medieval history for three months before writing her Blood of Kings trilogy. For my next attempt at a fantasy, I'm doing the same. I'm going to do more research before I start, but I think I'll take a stab at writing the first paragraph here.

The hut sat in the middle of the woods, the golden sun beaming down through the canopy of green leaves. It was nothing to remark upon. The roof was thatch, as all roofs were. The walls were made from rough stone, as weather beaten as the rest of the cottage. The soft grass ran straight up to the building. It had grown tall over the years, although a path had been beaten to the old, rough hewed oaken door by the feet of the villagers who constantly came to visit the old man who lived there. Encircling the clearing was was a forest of tall trees that stood like old guardians, watching the cottage to ensure no harm would come to its occupants.

Let me know how you like it! That's all for now!

Adios!