I Did It!

I finished 50,000 words in the month of November!!!

I got that for winning, along with certificates and such. I am so happy!
Now, I'm going to reward myself with something I haven't gotten much of lately: sleep.
Oh, and by the way, I did it!
Hannah Renea

Thanksgiving!

Here in America, today is our Thanksgiving Day. It's a holiday where we celebrate everything we have to be thankful for. I'm going to dedicate this blog post to just a few of the things I am thankful for. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. I'm thankful for my family. My parents are awesome, my sisters, Mackenzee and Gracee are my best friends. Then we go on to cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. I have a lot of extended family, which makes weddings and reunions very interesting. I love having a big family, there's never a bored moment and it's always fun. Of course, I can't rank anyone, but I'd like to say I'm especially thankful for my cousin Dodge, and his parents, Lacey and Brian. They inspire me.
2. I'm thankful for my Pawpaw's letters. A couple of months ago, my Pawpaw (or my paternal grandfather) and I started getting into the practice of writing letters. One may say it's a lost art, but I think that's what makes it special. I've been hurrying to the mailbox often to see if I got a new letter. It's one of my favorite things to do.
3. I'm thankful for Thayer. Shoutout to her. Life would be so much more boring without Thayer. Seriously, she's awesome.
4. I'm thankful for Kailey. My Southern-Bell type friend who's got an eye for design and a big heart. Seriously, I don't think it's possible for Kailey to be negative in any way.
5. I'm thankful for Madison. Madison is my Canadian from America. In the nearly three years since she moved, we've kept in touch through Skype, and our friendship hasn't changed one bit.
6. On that note, I'd like to say I'm thankful for modern technology. Without it, I'd never be able to communicate with one of my best friends or share this post. Technology is truly an incredible thing. It can change lives, spread awareness, give someone a chance to share an opinion.
7. I'm thankful for Andrés, Shawn, Josh, and all other guy friends. The only reason I'm not sharing names is because I might not necessarily have permission to share their names. I always make sure to ask permission before giving out names. I'm so thankful for my guy friends, their awesome. Less drama, more chilling. In fact, most of the people I hang out with are guys. It's awesome.
8. I'm thankful for that one guy in particular. This would be my crush. I'm going to say up-front that I've never mentioned him on this blog before. Anyway, he's practically perfect in my eyes, and I think he likes me back. Hopefully he does, but either way, I'm thankful to have the privilege of knowing this guy.
9. I'm thankful for Scribblers. This would be my Thursday writing group, which has recently grown a lot. We're all a little crazy, even the quieter writers. I think I'd say that Thursdays are my favorite days of the week because of Scribblers. Everyone there just makes the entire thing so much more fun. I'd like to mention Sarah in particular, who's pretty much the greatest writing mentor ever. She helped me figure out the organization in my story. Now, if only she'd finish her book, because I'll tell you, I'll be waiting in line for my copy at the bookstore.
10. I'm thankful for my stories. Even though I am extremely behind on my word count, I still would say that I'm thankful for NaNoWriMo because it helps me get motivated to write. My stories are something I'm truly passionate about, and I swear I'll get Assignment finished and published soon. Resistance, however, is definitely more exciting, I'll tell you that.
11. I'm thankful for my cello. Another source of my passion. I love my cello so much. It's a beautiful instrument if I do say so myself. I keep it in good condition and I recently got new sheet music. My cello is also the source of inspiration for one of my favorite characters in my story.
12. I'm thankful for music. It pretty much rules my life. Music is the greatest thing ever in my opinion. In some songs, I'm convinced that there truly is some higher than us humans, and we are blessed to have access to the divine thing that is music.
13. I'm thankful for my room. My room is the best. When we first moved into this house, my parents let me design this room. That was several years ago, yet I still think this is one of the best places ever. Eleven-year-old me had good taste.
14. I'm thankful for Disney. Where would I be without Disney? I'm not talking about Disney Channel either. I'm talking about the old cartoons, stuff dating back to the 1920s. Mickey and Oswald, the original characters. Also, all of the classics. The Disney Princesses. Walt Disney inspires me.
15. I'm thankful for Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Again, where would I be without these two? Not to mention I grew up with Percy. Besides, you pretty much grow up with the characters throughout the series.
16. I'm thankful for anyone who reads and promotes this blog because that truly is what motivates me to update it as much as I can. You guys are all awesome!
17. Finally, I'm thankful for Westlake Academy. I am so thankful for my school. The teachers are awesome, my classmates are great, and overall I love school. It's one of my favorite places in the world. It's home. It's the reason I have this blog. I think some people take it for granted, but I certainly do not. School is such an amazing thing, and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go to an outstanding school that is Westlake Academy.

So those are some of the things that I'm thankful for. I know, it's a long post. It could be longer. I just love life.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Hannah Renea

Falling Behind....

I'm falling behind with my novel. It's not good. I'm supposed to finish 23,333 words by today alone, and I've only got 18,621. That's 4,712 words. I think the most I've ever done in one day was about that much, so I know it's possible. I just need to get inspired.

After a bit of soul-searching, I've realized the type of writer I am. You see, writer's don't just come in all shapes and sizes, they come in styles too, and I don't just mean genres.

1. Planners vs. Pantsers: before writing a story, you've got to have an idea, right? Well, there are two forms of preparations. The planners will usually create outlines and completely flesh out their characters before starting. They've got files and folders for everything and they're very organized. The pantsers ride by the seat of their pants. They have ideas in their heads, but those ideas won't be written out until the novel actually forms. The ideas are normally the big major scenes, pantsers haven't come up the details until they put pen to paper (or, finger to keyboard if you wish). My creative writing style is definitely a pantser method.
2. Pace Setters vs. Burst Writers: this refers to the actual writing part. The pace setters set goals every day. Their the ones going, "I'm going to write exactly 1,667 words every day, maybe extra." Again, lots of organization. The burst writers, on the other hand, will write at a daily rate of maybe 500 words. It's not a lot, but then the burst writer will become extremely inspired, scream, "Eureka!" and end up with 4,000 words within a couple of hours. I'm a burst writer.
3. Keep Going vs. Go Back: writers who keep going are those that just keep pushing forwards and don't look back until the novel is finished and they're ready to edit. Writers who go back are moving forward, but if they hit a brief writer's block, they'll just enter in a quick "enter epic fight scene here" and move on for the time being. Then, they're halfway through the next chapter and they get a quick idea. They return to where they entered the side note and fill I the blanks. Honestly, I don't think anybody is completely a keep-going writer or a go-back writer. I think everyone's a bit of both.

So yeah, that's a bit of my brain for today. Now I need to get back to work.
Hannah Renea

Destino

Destino is a short film that was originally created by Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí in 1946. It wasn't completed until 2003, 58 years after originally being put into production. The reason it wasn't completed in 1946 was because Walt Disney was all about quality, and money was short due to World War II. Only fifteen seconds of the footage was created before the film production was shut down and forgotten by most.

In 2003, Roy Disney (Walt's brother) was inspired to finish the film after completing Fantasia/2000. Destino finally got a chance to show the world its beauty and art.

You may be wondering, Hannah, why do we care about forgotten Disney short films? I think the answer is simple. It was a short that Walt Disney worked on, therefore it is very much a part of the Disney legacy. I think the forgotten stuff should be recognised. That theme of remembrance will carry out to a post I'll be working on featuring my favorite rabbit, Oswald. I'll finally discuss why I love that little guy so much.

Now, without further adieu, I present to you, Destino:

And here are the lyrics:

Now I can smile and say
Destino
My heart was sad and lonely
In knowing that you only
Could bring my love to me

Destino
This heart of mine is thrilled now
My empty arms are filled now
As they were meant to be

For you came along
Out of a dream I recall
Yes you came along
To answer my call

I know now
That you are my destino
We'll be as one for we know
Our destiny of love.

Yeah, I know, it's sappy. I love it though, I think it's a masterpiece.
Don't stop believin',
Hannah Renea

P.S. if you're on a mobile device and the video above is not working, here's a hyperlink to YouTube.

I'm Back on Track

I made it to 10,000 words, finally catching up to my required word count. My statistical data says I have written exactly 4,132 words just today. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. It's late. I want to go to bed.

Official word count: 10,005 words.
Words written today: 4,132 words.
Average words per day: 1,667 words.
Words remaining: 39,995 words.
Words written per day to finish on time: 1,600.
At this rate I will finish on November 29th, 2012.

I feel so proud,
Hannah Renea

Look What I Made!

My NaNoWriMo novel is behind, but today was still a productive day. I got my entire biology project laid out, I filled out two forms for Science Fair, and I completed my English homework.

Let's talk about that last one. In English, we are focusing on flash fictions, which are miniature stories. They're 750 words at most. Honestly, that's not that much. We had to revise some stories we wrote about a week ago. And now, I present, a sample of my writing.

Darren walked cautiously through the forest. He was running away from Town, a place where the only true noise was spoken word. Darren left because he discovered something: music. It was like words, but different. Longer, sweeter, like honey. In Town, "music" was blasphemy, they'd burn your ears if you fell under it's spell. Darren left not only fearing the punishment, but thirsting for more of this forbidden fruit.

Something startled him. Darren glanced towards the direction of the sharp sound. A twig at his feet was in two pieces. The twigs in Town snapped with barely audible thuds. He was fascinated, and stepped on several more. Each made a slightly different sound. Pop, click, snap! After a while, he kept moving. He had to put as much distance between him and Town as possible.

There was a strange rumbling. Darren's heart pounded. He hesitantly looked where the noise came from, only to find water. He'd never seen nor heard water like this before. It was stretched long, left and right, in a shallow ditch. It made a lot of noise, and Darren just stared at it in awe. There were odd little creatures in the trees. They were a roundish shape, and they made beautiful, high pitched little sounds. All together, the twigs, the water, the creatures, they made a unique symphony. Then there was a new sound. It was like words, but longer and sweeter, and just like honey. It was music.

He looked everywhere for the source of the thing he longed for, but all he saw was another boy. The boy looked fifteen, the same as Darren. The melody seemed to come from the boy, though he had no speakers nor devices. Was the boy actually making the music?

The boy noticed Darren, "oh, hello. Sorry, I didn't see you there." The music stopped as the boy spoke. Darren took a step back and the boy spoke again, "did you escape Town? I left a while ago." Darren remembered the disappearances that started happening several months ago.

"I'm Jon," the boy smiled, "are you looking for music?" Darren nodded. "You can go ahead and cross the river if you want, it's really shallow today. What's your name?"

"I'm Darren," he said as he crossed the strange, yet beautiful water.

"Come with me," Jon said, "I'll show you where the music is."

Ta-da! It's only about 370 words. I'm quite proud of it. I think it could classify as a dystopian, which are my favorite types of books to write.

What do you think? Leave a comment. ☺
Hannah Renea

I can't fall behind...Not yet....

Previously, on I.B. Bloggin': from NaNoWriMo Ideas: Knights and Wings: "NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place every November, and it's basically a challenge to write 50,000 words in one month. You're not allowed to cheat and start early, but you are allowed to prepare for it." Also, from: NaNoWriMo Ideas: Scratch That!: I found a way to not only write something amazing for NaNoWriMo, but finish my no-named story as well.

Last night, I stayed up very late finishing my word count quota. Yesterday's goal was 3,333 words. I got to 3,708 words. Today, however, I've not worked on it [yet]. I need to reach 5,000 words today.

The main reason I haven't done anything is that I've been completelty out of it, not able to focus on anything for more than fifteen minutes without spacing out. For example, I started this blog post at around nine in the morning. It's past five. Yeah.

I need sleep.
Hannah Renea