Naming My Babies...

As many of you might know, I’m in the deep clutches of revision. Seriously, I’m drowning in the sea of confusion and crazy. Have you seen my tweets lately? 

This is totally normal and I love every moment of it because it means I’m doing something right. (At least thats what I keep telling myself to actually sleep at night) But all of this is beside the point. 

A few weeks ago, while I was on a writing break, I decided to put together a few ideas about my newest. This Shiny Shenanigans is a story thats going to be very different for me to write. It’s like nothing I’ve written before and I’m super excited. So I’m sitting at work (it was surprisingly quiet) and thinking of drafting my ideas, which I never do. I realized a long time ago I’m not much of an outliner. I’m more of a floater, pantser, randomly writing things down and then putting them together like a puzzle kind of a writer. What I also realized is that I can’t even write a sentence without having my characters named. Is that weird? 

Seriously though, I HAVE to name my babies before I can start anything. So I pulled up a few baby name websites and went to work. It took me a few hours before I could narrow down the names, and it was hard. I literally stood up and took a poll with my coworkers! I feel like if my babies are going to have a life, then they should be name before they start their journey (just like in real life). I got some awesome names by the way and I can’t wait to start on their little adventure. 

But for now, I’m crawling back into my revision cave. Bye Shiny Shenanigans!

Anyway, anyone else do this? Or do you name your characters after you’ve written some things? 

Much love, 

Valia 

I'm ALIVE! and Scriver Moment of Panic

Forgive me for being gone my sweets! There has been alot of things going on recently that have taken me away from personal family stuff to WRITING!

Yes you have heard it correctly everyone. I have been writing--quite up a storm actually. I still am going through a rough patch with it but the more I punch through it, the easier it seems to get. I am past the dreaded middle, except for a few scenes, and onto the big reveal. There is alot of information going on in this part so I have to make it a tad more upbeat in the revision but so far so good.

Currently I have a few incentives going on to keep me going. My sister is begging to read it ever since she read the "first chapter" so she came up with a deal for me to write 2k words a day for 5 days a week and she would make me dinner and if I didn't, I had to make her dinner...wearing a terrible wig...for the blog...Yeah, not pleasant.

The next incentive was given to me yesterday that I had to write 14k words by Saturday and if I did, my friend would send me a surprise present. If I didn't, then I had to send him one...Yes it is a very long shot but if I do succeed then I could be a gal with some new awesome toy or coal...he did mention coal. If it is coal I'll trace him back by his return address and kick his lil butt.

So since I did the good of things, I might as well speak about the bad. Last night at 12:30ish pm I had the scare of my entire life. I returned home from seeing some friends to do a lil' writing before bed. I open my computer to see that it crashed. A small bit of worry but nothing to crazy when it loaded fine. I did some system checks while I clicked on my novel project in Scrivner. A pop up "THIS FILE IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THIS VERSION OF SCRIVNER" and I almost fainted. The blood left my face and I may have went for the Home Alone scream face.





Panic punched me in the gut and I ran as fast as I could to the Tech forums to look for a fix. I realized there was some bug with the new update but it wasn't pertaining to my problem since I hadn't updated anything yet that I knew of. I looked around more and didn't find much. I did a broad Google search of the problem and to my luck I found a post a guy made about the exact same problem.

Come to find out with that version of Scrivner there is a bug that if your computer crashes it causes this monsterous disaster of doom--or at least that is how I saw it when I was half crying on the floor.

1. Open up your project folder. The one that has the .scriv REMEMBER TO SAVE IT TO A FLASH      DRIVE FIRST!!!
2. Open Files
3. Open Version which is a txt doc. If there is anything inside there, delete it and replace it with 16 which is the magic number for this Version. 
4. Then Save and Exit. 
5. Open your project and it should open with ease. 

Now I am not sure if this works with everyone but it sure did bring me jumping with joy when it did open. I do save my files often but I should look into alternatives for when this does happen and I can't fix it. I'll be looking more into the compile feature too. I'm new to Scrivner since I've only had it a few months so I don't know all the Ins and Outs. So lovelies I am happy to say that Thank God it worked. Here is the original link that I read in case my explanation wasn't clear enough: Michael Coorlim Scrivner Bug Fix. Hope that helped someone like it did me!

I promise to be back in the loop with things now that some issues were taken care of. I'm making this whole writing thing the first on my list right now. I need to focus on it and the writing world included. If you know of some great writing blogs or blogs in general please pass them onto me. I need things to do during my timed writing breaks :P Until next time!

NOVA OUT!

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

 

Hey all, sorry I've been lax.  This single/divorced parent thing is kicking my butt lately and I am barely keeping up.  Think I got a hold of it now though.  In some of my time, I did manage to get a few books read.  Here's the latest:

Like many reviewers, the gorgeous cover of Matched pulled me in. I've had quite a few students say they kind of, sort of liked the book but that it was slow. Still, I had to read it. 

Personally, I enjoyed the book very much. The Society fascinated me and the energy and spirit of Cassia inspired me as well. The concept of choices and being led to believe that your life is ideal when you don't have to make them is curious. How many times have we all felt that way when we were overwhelmed and exasperated? Condie's use of that feeling to build a Society where you get exactly that is unique and well done.

In the beginning, I was so upset with Casia's grandfather for planting the seed of doubt about the Society in her happy, young mind. What really makes him any different from the Society--manipulating her thoughts and feelings through suggestion? 

When you step back and look at the interactions between all the characters and Cassia, you begin to think about our own society--how "free" are we really? Are our thoughts and actions truly a result of free will, or are we all unknowingly "going gently"? 

The love triangle is compelling (using a bit of the law of "bad boy" attraction that so many women understand). I haven't yet decided if I'm team Ky or team Xander. 

Well done Ally Condie. You have definitely made me think while entertaining me as well!!

When you do that thing you do..

Hello lovelies, 

As usual, it’s Friday and I have nothing to talk about. Well, I’m sure I have something to talk about but it always seems like everything has already been said so why am I even trying right? Wrong! 

This is what we’re talking about today. 

People often ask me “Where do you get your ideas?” and I tell them “The ideas hat!” Not really, but wouldn’t it be cool if there was an ideas hat? Like one of those Mad Hatter hats. Stick your hand in, and out comes an idea. The thing about ideas is that there is nothing new under the sun. Because of that, ideas can be found anywhere. A crack in the sidewalk - enter the postapocolyptic battle: Man vs Machine. A leaf falling off a tree - enter autumn in old Victorian era: The Girl Who Doesn’t Want to Get Married.  A loud car horn - enter an artist in NY looking for her way in the world: This Time I Will Sell My Work, Memoirs of a Starving Artist. 

As a writer I get ideas all the time. I really mean that, all the time. But the truth is, probably all of those ideas are just that, ideas. True, I’ve never tried, but I don’t think I can successfully write an epic fantasy. While I adore dragons, that is just not my way of writing. That thing that makes an idea a book is the voice of a writer. And a whole load of perseverance. I know I’ve talked about that one before, but it’s important to remember that work is a constant companion to any writer. My best friend told me last night: “Even the simple things are not easy the first time.” You do, you learn, you grow, and you get better. 

The point of this babbling is just to remind you to find your voice first and then you can stick your hand into the idea hat. Because whatever you pull out of there will be amazing, if you write it. It’s that thing you do, so do it well! 

Much love, 

Valia 

I'm busy, how about you?

Hello dears,
How are you this fine Friday? Have you any plans for the weekend? I, sadly, don't, because everyone's Friday is actually my Monday. I know, how sad is that?
Honestly, I have no idea what to say to ya'll today. For the last three days I've done nothing but prep for Simplicity Blog Tour (which starts this Sunday, btw). I'm so super duper excited about it, it's insane!

Seriously people. Seriously.
You know what's funny though? I've been giving myself this "break" from writing to kind of recharge my batteries, but I've done nothing but write in the last week. I've written reviews, guest posts, blog posts, whatever else you can think of posts.
I never truly realized how much networking I do until that's all I do.
I  have a huge work thing coming up in two weeks, so after the tour, I'll be swamped with studying and memorizing things.
Can I just say I need an actual break from everything? Like a real vacation, where I don't do anything, but watch movies and hang out in the pool. Doesn't that sound nice?
But the reality is, life goes on and there is a bunch of things that need to be done daily. I don't exactly know why I'm babbling about my crazy schedule but I just thought I'd share. :) What do you guys have going on? Anything exciting I should know about?
Now, in the spirit of Fridays (and work Mondays), I have some laughter to share with you. :-)


Seriously, how can you not laugh at that? Also, here is some cuteness for you!  
I know, your day is complete now isn't it?
Anyway, I really hope you come stop by my blog tour this week. It starts with an intro post on my blog (http://wordsareinnermusic.blogspot.com) tomorrow morning. There's a sweet giveaway and everything. 
Have a wonderful weekend everyone while I go save lives!
Much love, 
Valia 

What I do When I'm Not Writing...

Hello there lovelies,


Happy Friday! So you all know, or maybe you don't, but I'm taking a writing break. I have lots of things coming up in the next weeks so I've been trying to catch up and such. The blog tour is taking up a lot of time, and I'm still queries my newest, but I'm still taking some time for me. Which is how I came upon this particular obsession. Smash Books.
I'm an artistic person. I adore photography & art to pieces but lately I have been neglecting those part of my life for work and writing. So during my "break" I decided to start journaling a little & pick up a bit more of my photography again. So I found this, and I'm in love.




It's like scrapbooking, but not.
I'm calling it Pinterest in real life (and you know how much I adore pinterest). So yes, that's my de-stresser at the moment. 


What are some of the things you do in your spare time? 


Oh and by the way, have you seen my pretty author copies? 

Have I mentioned how excited I am for the blog tour to start? HUGS!


Much love, 
Valia 

Cover Reveal: The Collector by Victoria Scott

Guys!
I'm so excited to share this awesome cover with you! I know you'll probably be seeing it all over the internet today but I'm more than excited for this book so whatever. Just deal with it! ;-D (love you)


Ta-Da!!

Synopsis:
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag. Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment: Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days. Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.


www.DanteWalker.com

About Victoria:
Victoria Scott is a YA writer with a die-hard affection for the dark and humorous books. Her work is represented by the fabulous Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada literary agency. She has a master's degree in marketing, and is a member of the Writer's League of Texas and Teen Shiver.


Her first YA book, The COLLECTOR, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2013. And her short story, FOUR HOUSES, is available now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 


She currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Ryan.

Connect with Victoria:

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

Add The Collector to your TBR pile on Goodreads! 

So seriously guys, what do you think? Because I kind of love it...A LOT! ;-D

Hugs, 

Valia