WIP Wednesday

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The Narrator: I signed up for a revision course with Creative Writing Now, and I’m going to apply what I learn to Narrator. It’s slow going but, as always, I have high hopes!

Shadows, Echoes, and Reflections: You’re probably tired of hearing me say this, but I really think I’m on track this time! Story Engineering is the best writing advice book ever. Developing a structure has really helped me figure out where to take this story from start to finish. I’ve even got some ideas for the rest of the trilogy!

Fragment of the Moon: Also working on structure for this story. Given how much it’s changed since I started, I’m not surprised it still has a lot of holes in it.

Gatekeepers: One idea I’ve commonly tried to implement in my stories is time travel – specifically, a girl from the present going back to the past. I realized yesterday that this would work so well for Gatekeepers, with the Rabbit going back to help the other Zodiacs. I just have to figure out the logistics.

And…We’re Back!

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Sorry for not posting after I got back from vacation. I’ve been running around trying to catch up on everything. But now I’m close enough I can return to the blog.

Here’s a small update / things you can look forward to:

  • My first giveaway! I want to do a survey to figure out how best to improve my blog and its content. If you answer some silly questions, you’ll be entered to win a free book!
  • A Hawaii-inspired post. A new writing method I’m trying that’s actually working. And…My Little Pony?
  • My word count for Narrator and Fragment of the Moon is slowly leaping forward. I haven’t updated my progress bars because the former is counting by chapters and the latter is hand-written. But take my word for it: I’m on fire! (slow burn, anyway)

See you on Wednesday!

A Call to Pens

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The Good News: I’ve gotten a lot more writing work done this week than I have in many weeks previous!

The Better News: I’ll have even more time to write because I’m going on vacation!!

So I’m taking requests for guest posts. If you’d like to write a guest post, go ahead and let me know. If no one does (sadly), y’all will just have a nice little break from my ramblings!

Apologies and Update

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I had a fun post for today in honor of the Royal Wedding, but that will have to wait until Monday. My sickness finally caught up with me yesterday and I spent most of the day unconcious.

When I wasn’t, however, I managed to start writing Fragment of the Moon! I’m really excited for this book. It’ll be darker than anything I’ve written so far.

I think I’ll make up a schedule where I work on Fragment during the week and Narrator on weekends. And all of this when I’m not doing homework. Well, faint heart never won fair novel. Or something like that.

Planning. Check.

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I have finished my Ultimate Beat Sheet of Doom!

I may have fudged a bit. Instead of breaking down a battle scene into when I switch points of view and who does what, I just say “throw down with X.” I haven’t decided where exactly to put certain scenes for Arianna and Pennington’s storylines, but I think once I have a better idea of the length of each quarter of my story, that will sort itself out by which needs more scenes.

And now – to the draft!

24th Birthday!

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Yesterday was my birthday! I feel the obligatory older and wiser – perhaps. But I never thought I would be quite this far after only 24 years!

I have a job I love, on a career path that makes sense for me. I’ve completely dived into my writing, and am (hopefully) improving by the day. I have a family that loves me, and good friends whose company I enjoy.

And I’d like to thank you, my reader, for sticking with me through the ups and downs of writing.

Here’s to another good year!

Weekend Update

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Narrator: Been working on revisions all weekend. The beginning doesn’t need as much work as the end, but I do need to plant a lot of new plot points.

Rumpelstiltskin: Made good progress on Friday.

Fragment of the Moon and The Gatekeepers: Since these are both Asian-based fantasies, I’m wondering if I can make them in the same world. If not, that’s cool too, but I’ve been thinking lately how I don’t have a world that is mine, like Tamora Pierce’s Tortall (and surrounding countries).

I think it would be nice to be able to create a world where I can explore all these different aspects of it. But right now my stories seem to be so disjointed, so separate from each other: time period, culture, magic, etc.

Do your stories all occur in the same world, or do you like to experiment? For those of you that have done both, which do you prefer?

Tweet Away

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Hello, dear readers. I would like to announce that I am now making the blog Twitter account (ASingleBell) my personal account as well. This way the tweets will be more than just update notifications, and hopefully I can chat with all of you there!

Back on Track

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I’ve been having trouble with Gatekeepers ever since NaNoWriMo. I just couldn’t seem to get it together.

I had forgotten one of my most important tenets: Writer’s block is a sign that you’re writing the wrong thing.

So I took another look at what I had planned. It was a quest novel, pure and simple: Lita travels around the country, joining forces with the other zodiacs so they can defeat the Big Bad. I hate quest novels.

But I did love writing in the Spirit World, as I had done with several Avatar the Last Airbender fanfics. So with a few tweaks, Gatekeepers is less questy and more urban fantasy (with a few more spirits than usual). My mind is spinning with ideas again!

Now if only I knew how to deal with Narrator…

Happy Valentine’s Day

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Happy Valentine’s Day, from the Avatar the Last Stickfigure gang!

Katara: He loves me…he loves me not…
Zuko: Ugh. Not another fangirl.

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  • Welcome

    new haircut

    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

    You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or email me at:
    jennifer.a.johnson7 at gmail dot com

  • Official Progress


    4/21 segments

    A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.

    Status: Second revision



    1,639/70,000 words
    A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.

    Status: First draft



    1,087/70,000 words
    When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?

    Status: First draft





  • All writing, unless otherwise specified, is the property of
    Jennifer Johnson © 2010