The Skull Juggler Journal

Double posted... I'll have to fix that when I get home!

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I'm currently waiting in the Tallahassee airport waiting for my flight, which has been delayed an hour and twenty minutes. Considering that Miami and Tally are only seven hours away, I'd really like to know what could have delayed the plane. Is it weather? We don't exactly worry about snowstorms around here. Rain? I don't know...

So I'm trying to stay calm and NOT go crazy with crash scenarios and a bumpy ride. I don't usually get nervous flying but sometimes I have a flash of something frightening before I quash it. At least it won't ( I hope) be like the two separate times
mom and I flew to New York City and we were convinced we were going to die, the turbulence was so bad. We were surprisingly calm about the whole thing, but then again we couldn't do anything about it and we had nothing to regret in life. Plus we were with each other so it helped. I'm wondering now if I'll remain calm. Pretty sure I will. In fact, I'm more worried about getting air sick since I did last time. No vomiting but my stomach definitely protested.

I'm happy about going home to see the pups and family. I just I could get the boyfriend home with me but he still has another week of finals to go. That and he needs to see his family in Colorado for the holidays. Actually, the Tally airport and the Aspen airport are about the same size. The plane only has three seats across, and it feels more like a bus than a plane. Maybe that's why the weather is such a factor.

I'm think I'll write during the flight, finish up some outlines for stories and maybe finish Lone Wolf since I wanted it to be short anyway. It'll be a good exercise... At least, it will be if my plane arrives XD

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I'm currently waiting in the Tallahassee airport waiting for my flight, which has been delayed an hour and twenty minutes. Considering that Miami and Tally are only seven hours away, I'd really like to know what could have delayed the plane. Is it weather? We don't exactly worry about snowstorms around here. Rain? I don't know...

So I'm trying to stay calm and NOT go crazy with crash scenarios and a bumpy ride. I don't usually get nervous flying but sometimes I have a flash of something frightening before I quash it. At least it won't ( I hope) be like the two separate times
mom and I flew to New York City and we were convinced we were going to die, the turbulence was so bad. We were surprisingly calm about the whole thing, but then again we couldn't do anything about it and we had nothing to regret in life. Plus we were with each other so it helped. I'm wondering now if I'll remain calm. Pretty sure I will. In fact, I'm more worried about getting air sick since I did last time. No vomiting but my stomach definitely protested.

I'm happy about going home to see the pups and family. I just I could get the boyfriend home with me but he still has another week of finals to go. That and he needs to see his family in Colorado for the holidays. Actually, the Tally airport and the Aspen airport are about the same size. The plane only has three seats across, and it feels more like a bus than a plane. Maybe that's why the weather is such a factor.

I'm think I'll write during the flight, finish up some outlines for stories and maybe finish Lone Wolf since I wanted it to be short anyway. It'll be a good exercise... At least, it will be if my plane arrives XD

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

So, since I had such a good time ranting about how angry I was a few minutes ago (yes, I feel better now), I decided to get a client of some kind that would allow me to update livejournal more often without having to enter the site itself. Semagic did wonders for me in my early LJing years, so I looked for it again. When I found out it didn't work on Macs, I was pretty annoyed. But then I saw that there's this other client called Phoenix, which I am now trying out. If it works well for me, I'll continue using it and updating my LJ more often than the... er, years between posts that I've been doing lately. :)

I am traveling. Boarding second plane. Wish me luck. And any warmth you can spare.

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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6QeZnIgLWM

NOBODY LAUGH AT ME!!!!

*blush*

 Hello all,

I've been rather busy with school stuff now that Nano is finished. I've got a great deal of essays to write (cue swirly eyes) so you can bet I'll be procrastinating allll month. So far, I've gotten one paper out of the way (turned it in today, all crisp and shiny) but I've got two more on Friday, then about five more next week. *sigh* lots of writing... and finals. Blah, fine, won't let it get me down. I'm going to finish some early so I can concentrate on doing more writing.

I have yet to figure out a writing schedule, mostly because I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the six month gap between graduating from college and applying to universities. I'd better get on that too...

 So, I took a practice GRE today. And guess what? I SUCKED. T_T Like, really bad. For those of you who don't know, the GRE has three sections (like the SAT). There's the Verbal section, the Math section, and the Essay section. The Verbal and Math sections are graded based on a 200-800 scale and the Essay portion is graded on a scale of 1-6. The exam is also on the computer so 1) you cannot write on the problem itself, 2) almost all of the questions are multiple choice (except for a couple math questions where you have to input your own answer), 3) the GRE is actually easier than the SAT (math and verbal section included).

So, I got a 400 on my math, 410 on my verbal (to my credit, I mixed up the antonym portion and thought I needed the opposite word that I chose), and I can't grade the essay I took because I need to pay someone to read it -_- sigh. BUT! My boy did a much better job on his LSAT (a 157!) so he's going to work on getting a few more right. So, my plan is to continue working hard on the math section and practicing the English section closer to the end right before I take it. I'm also going to crack down on the schools I'm going to so I can start applying.

Let's see what else. I'm also looking at what I'll do for the six months that I'll be graduated. It's possible that I'll study abroad, or maybe I'll do an internship with an literary agency or a publishing house maybe. I could also do some other work somewhere else... we'll see! :)

Work on the novel has stopped thus far - I've got to finish the last chapter for the first draft and then I'll start sending query letters to agents. :) fun times! Okay, that's enough rabbling from me.

 I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WON NANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*more exclamation marks and confetti and general insanity and incoherent sobbing, babbling, and champagne-ing*

Part of me didn't think I could do it. But I did it! I write my entire novel in ONE MONTH! I feel like I just conquered the world.

Wow... I'm still in shock. But it's DONE. It needs a hell of a lot of editing, especially in the beginning, but the first draft is DONE.

My plan now is to finish writing my book proposal and, starting December 1st, I am sending out query letters to agents. I've decided, no more waiting. If I can write a book in a month, I can do ANYTHING.

*fangirl squealing* I AM SO HAPPY!!! :D

Current word count: 44,203

I have been kicking major butt in the last week :) I've written at LEAST something every single day of the week. I have never done that before for a single project. It's such good discipline... I think I could actually do it now. I know, it sounds amazing, but I think I can! I'll be making a writing schedule now for the rest of the year so that I can finish various writing projects, probably writing something like 1,000 words AT LEAST every day. Or editing at least 30 pages, or researching for at least 2 hours, or something like that. I think I can do that :3 I'm very excited about that!

Speaking of writing projects, aliciablade  and I are going to start a livejournal community for AFTER NaNoWriMo is finished called dec_thru_oct  starting after NaNoWriMo. She and I will be speaking directly after Nano to plan out what we're going to do exactly and we're probably going to ask for feedback before the day is through but for now, just watch out for it.

As of right now, be aware that the community will include the following:

Unlike NaNoWriMo which has a set goal of at least 50,000 words, members will be able to set their own goals. These goals will also not be restricted to just writing projects like novels but also to other things associated with writing, such as finishing a book proposal, querying agents, editing a work before submission, and will of course include encouragement for all. Some ideas we've tossed around are monthly challenges for those who wish to participate as well as contests. Also, because this is going to be a creative community, fanart projects are also welcome, as well as anything else the members wish to work on. :)

Okay, let's see what else I should update on. Well, my fanfiction stories have been put on hold for NaNoWriMo but they will get cranking again afterwards. I am specifically looking at Vocare Prabia which is so very near completion that I just want to finish it. Also, as some of the fans know by now, I will be intensely editing the work and reposting it chapter by chapter. The story will not change, only the grammar, big gaps in plot, etc. I may even get rid of some characters I don't like so much... we'll just have to see what happens.

School: I can smell the papers coming to jump me a week away. Thus, I will focus my attention on finals BEFORE fanfiction starts up again. I'm also looking into graduate schools in another state (which means I will be moving sometime next year) and I am also taking the GRE in December. So, just a heads up that I'm going to be busy.

747 words in nano wars! :D

I am writing the best scene ever. It was meant as a sort of fanfiction to get out of my head... but it turned into PLOT on me @_@

Word count: 26,452

 Word count: 25,183

Me: AWESOME

Now for my 21st birthday party!!! Yay!

 http://youonyourwebsite.com/FSA_2008/Natalia.html

*blush* anyone interested in watching a little video I did for Skull Juggler in which I read part of the first chapter, go to the above link! And um, don't laugh too much please!

 Word count: 20,029

Word count for today as of midnight: 4,759 :D

I plan to bulk up my word count for the rest of the day, especially because I don't have any homework due tomorrow :3

Sunday is my 21st birthday too! Whoooo! Now to figure out how I want to celebrate ^^;;

Word count: 1,824 words

Yesssss...

Exhausted. Update tomorrow. Long day!

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 Nanowrimo Count: 7,026 words so far

I have just realized that I've been updating my other livejournal with Nano stuff and not this one! Which is crazy because this is my writing livejournal! *rolls up newspaper and smacks hand* bad Naty, bad! So I'm going to be updating here with nano stuff from now on (unless I forget, which is possible). I have to crank up my efforts and get back to writing like mad.

Speaking of writing like mad, I had my first Word War yesterday with Intention :D the idea (as I learned yesterday) is that you write as much as you can in ten minutes (stopwatch necessary) and then whoever has the most wins!

So, drum roll please!
Intention: 316 words
Me: 779 words

....

Yes, I had no mercy *guilt* I type really fast and I had the scene perfectly clear in my head so I unleashed my full power like it has never been flooded before. Also, please recall that when I write my fanfiction stories, I usually scramble to write chapters in the span of an hour so that I'll get four hours of sleep before my very early class the following day. So I've had mad practice. *hugs her* the best news is that I was in a slump and she really helped me get over it! I couldn't be scared or worried about the wording of the story, the way things didn't make sense, or how annoyed I was that my word count was low. I just wrote and some really good stuff came out! I'm probably going to cut it come editing time but I really needed to get it out!

I'm going to start posting some excerpts soon so look for them :3 I want to finish chapter 2 first though.

 I drew some cartoons a few days ago to get some of my creativity out while I (impatiently) waited for nano to start. Here are the two I did - the first is the day right before Nano, when everyone is reacted in a different way. The stories are as follows, match them if you can ;)
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Okay, back to writing ;) I still have to make up for the lack of writing I was able to do yesterday (cry).</div>

 Hello all. As some of you may now, November is right around the corner and nanowrimo is about to begin. For those of you who don't know, nanowrimo is the National Writing Month in which people gather together to encourage/compete/write intensely for the entire month of November with the goal of completing a 50,000 word document. But I'm a masochist so although this will be my first time writing in it, I have decided to up my goal to 100,000 words. This might sound impossible to some but while I was editing Skull Juggler: Disenchanted, I added 35,000 words in the span of two days. If I can do that, I'm hoping I can do more in the span of a month. I've been debating for the past few days what to write. I have an epic-length Sailor Moon fanfiction story that I'm itching to write but at the same time, I'm really being driven crazy by my inspiration for Skull Juggler: Book 2 (titled Collumbarium thus far). So I have decided that this is going to be main focus.

Skull Juggler: Collumbarium

Summary: Now that he has left his life and his kingdom behind him, Christopher journeys to the City of the Dead where he will be trained in the ways of the necromancer. Maybe he'd be more excited about all this if he didn't get lost every time he traveled to the House of Leviathan or badgered whenever he saw necromancers from other factions. As difficult as his death has become, Christopher has not seen the worst of it yet. A sinister plot to kill him for good is underway and Christopher, now vulnerable without his personal guard, has no where left to hide.

If anyone is interested in friending me on nanowrimo, my screen name is "SkullJuggler." :) I'll be posting little excerpts and teasers as I go.

 IT IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY BOOK IS ON AMAZON!!!!!!!!

GO BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!

CAPSLOCK OF HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!

:) for all fanfiction followers, expect rapid updates soon! Chapter 45 of Vocare Prabia only needs editing. YAY! GO BUY MY BOOK!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Juggler-Disenchanted-Natalia-Locatelli/dp/1933437154/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220890312&sr=8-1

GO!

Awesome news :) I just sent all of my materials to BookSurge and I shall be getting a hardcopy proof of my book in the next few weeks. Once I approve it, my book will almost immediately be up on Amazon! I'll post a link for it here and elsewhere for anyone who's interested. Also, I'm going to start a facebook community for any fans of the book so if you're there, watch for it :)

I am very excited about all of this! I even have a to-do list of what I need before my book comes out. Query letter, media page... all in the next three days. Woot, go me! :D

Edit: so I just copy/pasted this information because it's getting late and the Olympic opening ceremonies are absorbing all of my attention because it's so amazing and great and... um, pretty. *oggles*

:) something also amazing and kind of mind-boggling. I've gotten over 14,000 hits as of today and over 3,000 visitors to my fanfiction website. So... uh... wow. *blush*