Outlining 08/06/2009
 
I was never really a fan of outlining, but when I found the outlining feature on Word I decided to try it.
Outlining has saved me!!!!
I, of course, outlined Lily's Tree.  It wasn't until I got to the ending that I realized I had no idea what order the events of the ending of the book went in, which made the outline very good.  I can now consult the outline whenever I'm writing, and know what has happened, what is about to happen, and what order it happens in.
The outline is also nice, because I'm basically telling the whole story without backstory.  I don't need to explain anything in the outline because I understand the whole thing.
I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at midnight!  It was wonderful.  Here's a video:
 
What's going on 04/26/2009
 

Since I have last spoken to you I have done my History Fair Project (probably failed), got my first kiss (OMG!), got a boyfriend (that was okay), lost a boyfriend (he's a loser anyway), and (most importantly) SEEN THE FINAL HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE TRAILER!!!!  IT WAS AMAZING!!!

Seriously though, the latest trailer was pretty awesome.  It's definitely the best trailer so far and I loved the fact that they included Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape in it more than they previously have especially since (spoilers!) Snape is one of the most important characters in the whole book.

I have had writers block for who knows how long, but I've slowly been coming out of it.  I have wrote a few things that have been in the mind for a while and the first part of my book is finally coming together.  The second part has lots to go before it's done.

My cousin is getting confirmed today.  For those of you who don't know, it pretty much means she's becoming an adult in the church.  I did this back in December, so I know what she's going through.  I'm also her sponsor, which is an honor that is normally reserved for those over the age of eighteen, but since I'm awesome, they let me be her sponsor.  Sponsor pretty much means I have to take her up to the Bishop, hand him the card with her saints name on it, and smile!

Although smiling wasn't techincally part of the job, I just think it's a nice touch.

I'll update again when I finsih the chapter of Lilys Tree I'm attempting to finish.  So you'll probably hear from me in a few months, but hopefully you'll hear from me in a few weeks.

 
A New Idea 01/28/2009
 

I have not written a blog entry in a while, but perhaps that is because nobody reads this blog...but whatever!

So I came up with a new idea.  I'll tell you what it is when I follow through with it, because it's a bit of a surprise.

I've been practicing guitar more, after cleaning my room.  I also rearranged my room.  Now I have chairs and a table.  And my bed is in a different spot.  And I also have no more room for books, which take up every knook and cranny of my room.  The windowsills are full, the bookshelves are overfilled, books are in the drawers, and stacked in the corners.

I've got nothing else to say right now, so bye.

 
In 2009, I will 12/31/2008
 

Thanks to Kaleb Nation (mentioned him again!) for this idea.

In 2008, I didn't do much, actually.  I went on my third Disney Cruise, I entered High School, and I came up with another brilliant idea for a book, one that I think will go far.  After the slow events of 2008, I'm ready for an increase in pace.  I'm ready to finish my book.

As I mentioned before, my new years resolution is to write 3-5 pages a day.  This is a lot more than it might sound to you non-writers, but it's quite a lot on any days you might have writers block, but sometimes not enough on days you are flowing with ideas.

I made a video that lists everything I will do in 2009, and here it is:

 
 

Last night I came up with a New Year's resolution.  It wasn't until just now that I realized it could be for New Year's, though.  I'm going to try to write three to five pages everyday.  Three pages if I'm typing and five pages if I'm handwriting.  Hopefully if I do this, I'll have at least one manuscript finished by the end of 2009.  Obviously, there are going to be days that I will be incapable of writing, such as when I will be on a cruise ship in the middle of the Bahamas or when I am obsessively watching Kaleb Nation on BlogTV.

It was because of Kaleb Nation that I came up with this goal.  While I was watching his live show last night, my dad and my sister told me that I need to become famous, like him.  They told me I need to write a book, and write fast, because I'm getting older and losing my cuteness factor.  Hopefully I'll follow my new resolution, which I will be starting today, and I will get a book published before I leave High School.  Or, at least, on it's way to being published.

On the topic of Kaleb Nation, I came up with this picture.  It's a spoof of his book.

Some people in the chat during his BlogTV were asking why he named his character Bran and they said it sounded like Raisin Bran.  So, of course, I immediately went and made this.

I talk about Kaleb Nation a lot, don't I?  Julie and I have a joke that we can't go a day without mentioning him in a conversation.  It's almost true.  We talk about him a lot.  He is one of my idol's.  I plan on writing him a letter and sending it to his P.O. box.

That's all for now.  I'll try to update before I leave for my Disney Cruise and I loose internet connection (I'm going to die!).  I'll tell you how my goal of three to five pages is coming.

 
NaNoWriMo 11/26/2008
 

I just wrote an amazing entry, a whole page long, then Internet Explorer shut down before I could post it.  So I'm going to try to recreate it.

I saw Twilight this weekend.  It was really cool, but I felt that something was missing.  There wasn't enough romance.  Mike was funny, though.

My flight to Chicago is tonight.  After we land, we'll be driving to Iowa, to my Grandma's house.  On Thanksgiving, all of my Dad's side of the family will be at her house and we'll have our big Thanksgiving meal at lunch and open presents after that.  We open presents because we celebrate Christmas with that side of the family on Thanksgiving.

It's a bit late to tell you, but I joined NaNoWriMo.  NaNoWriMo is where you try to write a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and November 30th.  I'm at about 25,000 words, so I need to write 25,000 more in the next four days.  Great...  I'm going to try really hard to finish it, even though I'll be on vacation.

I haven't been writing my main book, Lily's Tree, because of my NaNo novel.  My NaNo novel is called ShadowDancer and, in case anyone is interested, you can moniter the rest of my progress here.

I'll see if I can update from Iowa and tell you about my Thanksgiving.

-Shannie

 
Three chapters 10/18/2008
 

So I decided to add three chapters to the beginning of my book.  Each chapter is going to focus on one of the three main characters over the course of one day.  It will hold all the contents of the first chapter spread out through three chapters.  I think this is going to better display the characters personalities.

That's all that I have to say at the moment.  Other than the fact that I am assistant director of the school play, Midsummer Night's Dream.

Anywho...Bye,
Shannie

 
Back briefly 09/09/2008
 

Sorry for the lack of updates.  I started high school last week and I've had lots of stress and overload of projects.

I added new pictures of my friend Julie and I as well as a video starring Julie and my other friend Olivia.  It's called the Gooey Substance and it was made at a perfect moment when we found a strange unkown gooey substance on the sidewalk when I had my camera handy.  So we made this video quickly.

That's all for now,
Shannen

 
 

I have joined a Trock band.

For those of you who don't know, Trock means Time Lord Rock.  It's similar to Wrock (Wizard Rock), except it is fan music about Doctor Who.

If you don't know what Doctor Who is then stop reading this blog and type "Doctor Who" into google.  Read, learn.

My Trock band is called The Girls in the fireplace, like the episode in series three.  You can find a link to our myspace in the links section.

That's really all I have to say for now.

Love to the TARDIS,

Shannie

 
Some videos 08/13/2008
 

I got a hair cut today and it's awesome!!!!

So, I made some videos today.  The first one is about my birthday party and the Breaking Dawn party.

The second one is about my new hair cut!

You can check them both out in the film section.

-Shannie