I finally hit 150 pages! Feels like it took forever to write those 50 pages after 100, but it really wasn't that long. Just felt like it dragged on and on. Anyway, I've been racking my brain trying to think of something that I could post to celebrate without giving too much away or anything like that. I went through a lot of stupid ideas, but I finally came up with something that I feel is different but still fun and can put some ideas about my book in your head. I just hope they aren't too silly. ;)
First, I'll add a couple pics of different creatures and monsters that have been encountered or will be encountered soon in the book.
These are called Drow, or Dark Elves.
These are Druids with their animal familiars.
These are called Mind Flayers, or Illithids. The top two are Mind Flayer Sorcerers.
For the second part of the celebratory sneak peek (Since I've been on a music kick lately...), I will post a song that matches perfectly or nearly perfectly with something that happens in the book. I'll just let you wonder what happens. :)
I've been thinking a lot about what inspires me lately, and thought I would share some of the inspiration behind my book. Pictures, music, and other books are the three biggest inspiring factors that have influenced and guided me in my writing.
Here are some of the pictures that inspire me:
(LOVE this one. One of my favs. One of the main characters in my book, which I created before I found this, looks a lot like this.)
"Suddenly, It's Magic"
(Another great pic. Inspired a scene in my book. This is my computer background at the moment.)
(Fantastic work by Chris Cold I believe his name is. Absolutely love it.)
"Hungry"
(I really love the name of this one. The pic and the name really tell so much. Very inspiring for attacks and such.)
"They Came Without Warning"
(Some collages with more awesome, inspiring pics...)
So, those are some of the pictures that inspire me when I'm writing. There are so many more that I have seen that were amazing, and some are on another blog post on my other blog here. Those are really awesome pictures of dragons, so go check them out. Most of the pictures are found on a computer background site: http://wall.alphacoders.com/index.php?s=Fantasy.
Music also inspires me. As I said in another blog post on my other blog, I love what I call "epic music", which is the music that is in movie trailers and soundtracks - instrumental stuff. I use it for writing a lot, and listen to it at work while I think about my book and what I want to have happen next in it. The music on this blog and my other blog are the type of music I listen to while writing. I posted a couple of my favs on the other blog, here. Here are a couple more examples:
"Eventide" by Brand X Music
"Ironwing" by Two Steps From Hell
"Black Blade" by Two Steps From Hell
"Fire Nation" by Two Steps From Hell
Those are some of the songs that inspire me. Such great music.
As for inspiring books:
Fablehaven
The Inheritance Cycle
The Hunger Games
Harry Potter
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and Eona: The Last Dragoneye
Artemis Fowl
The Dragon Codices
Just some examples. There are SO many more. Pretty much every book inspires me, but these are some of my favs.
Inspiration is such a great thing! Without it, I wouldn't be writing my book right now. I'm so thankful for these pictures, songs, and books. Inspiration is the backbone of everything, if you really think about it. Take a minute and consider: What inspires YOU?
If you are wondering why I am so interested in dragons and writing a book series about them, I posted something about it in my other blog, and you should go check it out! http://christinastrang616.blogspot.com/ And make sure you become a follower so you can get updates and see when I post things on that blog as well! (When I say 'become a follower', I mean click the thing at the top that says 'follow' or on the right side bar there is a button to become a follower.) I'm always eager for more followers! ;) The post on the other blog has some sweet pics of dragons too. Go check it out! This is the link to the actual post on my blog http://christinastrang616.blogspot.com/2012/02/obsessions.html
My very first 100 pages are DONE! Woot, time to celebrate! I am now finally to a part in the story where the main adventure/journey begins! This means...even more dragons! The main character is about to embark on a journey to visit each color of dragon (Black, Copper, Green, Bronze, White, Brass, Blue, Gold, and Red). This journey is going to teach him all about each color of dragon, and he will learn lessons about things he never dreamed of seeing or knowing. I'm so excited to start this next part! This first book is going to have at least one if not two of the different dragons' parts. He will definitely visit the Black Dragons in this first book, and if I feel it needs to be longer, I may do the Coppers as well. It all depends on how much I write, basically. We will see! I am very happy and excited to have the first 100 pages under my belt. They still need to be edited, of course, and probably more than once, but at least the first draft has been completed. I hope you will keep reading my posts and stay excited with me! Soon, my book will be finished and hopefully published and then you will see how all this hard work turns out! I'll include a couple of awesome pics of Black and Copper Dragons just for fun as a sort of celebration for this mile marker. :)
The 25,000 word milestone was finally just hit! I now have exactly 25,000 words (78 pages) written on my book! (This is pre-edited of course, but still...) I am very excited to have already written this many words, and can't wait to get more done. This book is going to be kind of a long book I think, because I'm really not very far into it. A lot of exciting things have already happened, but it is still just the beginning of the story. Even more exciting parts are coming up, and I cannot wait to get to them! Right now, I kind of need to take a little time to really think about what I want to happen next and work out a few more details. I sure hate my job normally, but today, I am a little thankful for the chance to just zone out and think about my book while I clean. I will also try to think of something special for those who actually read this blog. Keep an eye out for that!
If you hadn't noticed, I removed the Extra Special Sneak Peek post because only those who really follow my blog get to see things like that. So, if you got to see it, you got to see an exclusive sneak peek that was only there for a limited time! haha I also don't want someone to steal my work and make it their own, so I can't be TOO revealing. ;)
It has been a while since I have posted anything on here so I thought maybe it was time for an update. My book is coming along great! I haven't been working as much on it as I should be, but I have been working on it, at least. I'm at almost 22,000 words! Holy cow that's a lot of words! I am typing my story in Novel Formatting in Microsoft Word, meaning it basically looks the way it would look as a book (Side by side pages, etc.). I am on page 68 right now! So, it's going great! I actually bought a few books to help with my research when I need it. Before, I just checked them out from the library and wrote down key points, but its SOO much easier just having the book in front of me to flip through. I bought Practical Guide to Dragons and Practical Guide to Dragon Riding and I checked out Practical Guide to Dragon Magic back out of the library so I could just keep it handy. Eventually, I want to buy all of the Practical Guide books, but those were the first two I bought. I haven't even read Practical Guide to Dragon Riding yet, so I'm excited for that one to finally come in the mail. I'll probably post another update (maybe another sneak peek) when I hit 25,000 words, so keep a lookout. :)
Holy Crap! I just finished the rough hashing out of the story-line!!! Oh my goodness I can't believe I'm finally finished with that part! It took a million bazillion questions to my husband, much talking and working things out verbally, and a lot of frustrated banging of my head and pulling of my hair, but I've got it figured out! I can't believe how much work I got done today though! I feel good! I also feel like I'm going to pass out right here and now. If I don't go climb in bed now, I will wake up still in front of the computer with keyboard impressions on my forehead. So, celebration sneak peek post tomorrow? Who wants another sneak peek? :)
