Happy New Year!

Hello and happy new year!

I hope 2017 will be a better year than this year. I hope to be finished editing my story by March but maybe those are high hopes. (=  I'm doing well though! I am on page 25 of my editing and my page count keeps going down. My margins were too big in my story so editing that as well has been cutting down on the size of the book.

Maybe I can get my story done by 2018? *Laughs hysterically* Lets shoot for 2020 and if I get it done before then it'll be a pleasant surprise.

So, thanks for reading!
Sam

Writing Disabilities

Today I am talking about how to write disabilities. I am obviously no expert, but I think some of these things could help other authors with writing. (Published or unpublished)

I have two disabilities I have written before (unpublished/fanfiction) and I think there is always something to be learned about writing it.

1. Blindness.
You need to be very careful with how you depict any person with a disability. It can become very easy to offend people by acting like they are unable to do things. (Driving is a given but even some legally blind people can, technically, drive.)
The first thing you need to do is get educated on the subject. If you aren't informed you will come off the wrong way.
The second thing you should do is get to know the people. Go out of your way to meet blind people. Be transparent about what you're doing. Being honest is the best way to go.
The third thing you should do is read literature (fiction) that focuses on blindness. It will give you a general idea on how to write it.

2. Deafness
Again, you need to be extremely careful with how you depict any group of people. This applies for deafness as well.
The first thing you need to do with this is take some ASL courses and/or a Deaf culture class. This will help you become mildly educated on the subject. I would also suggest reading a variety of books on the subject.
One such book is called: Inside Deaf Culture. This particular book brings you back to the eighteen hundreds and earlier (if I remember right) and details Deaf culture from that point forward. I am currently a little more than halfway through it.
The second thing you should do is go meet some Deaf people. Take an Interpreter with you if you know you won't be able to understand. Be transparent about what you are doing, they will appreciate your honesty.
And the third thing is read literature that focuses on it. I haven't read much literature with Deaf people in it, unfortunately, but there is a Manga called A Silent Voice and is an excellent manga. I am very picky about what type of Manga I will read but that particular one is and always will be one of my favorites. I have read the first three and will soon have more on hold at my Library.

Thanks for reading. This just scratches the tip of the iceberg but I hope it can be of some help.

Sam

Editing

Greetings!

Today I am editing my story. I have started on it and have made it one page in, so that is good. So I'm now on page 19 instead of 18. I imagine if I stopped procrastinating I could go further. 

Anyways, lets move on. 

Today I got on Postcrossing and saw I could send more postcards! I swear, the post office is going to hate me for the mail but love me for the money. Today I used my last two overseas stamps so I'm going to have to purchase more. I think I should check my bank funds before I go making anymore purchases. 

Lately I've been thinking about photography. Why, you ask? Because I want to make a good cover for my own book. The only problem is then I'd need to edit it to fit the thing on Inkitt. Which is hard enough as it is. Especially since it seems nearly impossible to find a good editing tool that won't cost an arm and a leg. If you know of a good one (without a monthly subscription) please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear it. (=

Thank you for reading!

Sam

Editing update

Hello!

I have been editing over the past few days but got distracted today because of some things I had to catch up on. I had to finish editing my essay for college today so I did that and added it to my application. I'm still trying to light a fire under my current college's butt so I can transfer with ease. Which isn't turning out well since I'm an introvert.

I was sad to find out that Carrie Fischer passed away this morning. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this wonderful actress. When my father told me we both broke down into tears. I didn't actually expect her to die. I was convinced that she would live.

I have been disturbed to see people saying that, as Christians, we should not say "Rest in Peace" because she was an agnostic. What am I supposed to say? I am expressing my sorrow and grief of a human life gone. As Christians we are supposed to weep with those who weep. Right now her family is weeping after losing a wife, mother, friend.
It is nothing short of cruel to deny people the right to extend condolences.

So, Rest in peace Carrie Fischer.

Sam

Unpublished story on Inkitt

Hello again!

I have decided to unpublished my story until future notice. I still have it up in my editing area but it currently cannot be read. I want it in top shape for people to read. You can read my fanfiction on there or my prequel to the story (or what I have of it).

The reason I made this decision was because I've been having trouble with editing it recently. Tonight I plan on editing it and tomorrow (hopefully).

I am sorry if this causes problems. I hope y'all have a blessed Christmas!  I will be getting the story up soon.

Sam

Updates

Greetings!

A few days ago I joined Goodreads so that way I could get personalized reading lists. I'm going away at the beginning of January so I wanted to be able to borrow books from the library that would entertain me.

I am hoping that after my book is published I can get it on that website. Then I can have an author profile. (=   Dreams, wishes. Possibly not a reality. But it would be fun, right?

Today I went through my entire backpack so I could figure out what I needed after the school year. I discovered most of the books I had were ASL (as a rule I like to keep those) and the other books are either lost in my house or for sale at my Dad's bookstore.

So, that's what's going on. Stay tuned for my book. (=

College, Writing, Editing

Hello! I have not been on very much and for that I apologize. My baby sister was born and then life went crazy. I had projects almost every day that I had to do and presentations in ASL. I was not able to work on my story until now. I will get as much done as possible before the Spring semester.

I am currently editing my story. I put it into a word document and discovered that it was 87 pages and a little over 30,000 words. This shocked me! I am not even halfway done. I printed the document and gave it to my mother so she can edit it. I am hoping that with the extra help it won't take as long.

I apologize again for my absence but I hope to be buckling down within the next few weeks.

Recent Election

In light of the recent election and the protests happening after the election I have decided to touch on it. I hope you can keep with me as I try and articulate my thoughts.

My baby sister was born on Monday; the next day we went out and voted. Who did I vote for? I did not pick the lesser of two turds. I wrote somebody in. Did I go rioting in the streets when my candidate wasn't elected? No. Why?  It is ridiculous. All you are doing is embarrassing yourself and others.

When I got to school I opened my student e-mail and saw that the college was offering consoling for people who were "triggered" by the election. Excuse me? Triggered? By what? The fact that the person you voted for lost? I'm sorry but I am unable to understand the reasoning behind that. I feel like it is because that they don't want you to think. "Oh, you're having strong feels? We have some medicine for that."

I am sorry if you were triggered by the election. Yes, it is traumatizing but there is nothing that can be done now. Rioting doesn't do anything but get people hurt and have property destroyed. I saw a video where a man was beat up for voting for Trump.

Listen, that is assault and that man could vote for who he wanted to. I have a lot of friends who voted for Trump. While I don't agree with them I'm not going to beat them up for it. Now, people didn't die for the right for us to vote, however, you could argue that people died for the right to vote for who we want to.  

In light of the election I am going to be careful with how I am writing my novel. I am editing it currently to make it more readable and while I am doing that I am going to be careful with how I word some things.

Thank you for reading
Sam

College, Postcrossing, and writing

Greetings!  For the past month or so I have not been doing anything with my book. I am a little ashamed by my lack of motivation. But today I'm going to give you an update with what I've been doing.

College:  I have been attending six classes at my local college (18 credits) and my first tests are coming up pretty quickly. I haven't had the foresight nor time to create flashcards and now I'm on crunch time. Maybe on the weekends I can make the flashcards; that way I won't be completely in the dark.

I am also attending three ASL classes this semester. One is ASL 5 (Intermediate) and is more vocabulary and signing skills. There is also quite a bit of turning ASL into English and back again. My second ASL class is Introduction to Interpreting. This class is taught completely in English but I am thankful for that. If it were not taught in English I think it would go over my head.
The third and final ASL class is Linguistics. This is also taught in English but it is mostly self taught. A lot of my classmates seem to really hate this class; but I love it. I grew up learning in a self-taught manner and I have been in my element

My other three classes are Ethics, Intro Sociology, and Math. In the spring I'll be done with math and my focus will be mainly ASL.

For those who do not know what ASL is it is American Sign Language. It is used with the Deaf and the Deaf-Blind. People who can hear also use American Sign Language to communicate and/or interpret.

PostCrossing: For those of you who don't know what this is; it is a place where you can send postcards to anyone in the world. It is randomized. I have gotten one person from Germany and one person from Russia so far; so two American postcards will be being sent.

Writing: I haven't done much writing lately. I was planning on doing some today but I have homework and work stuff to do. I am hoping to get my 5th chapter out by December. Please keep reading my story and please send feedback on it. Until then, here is a quote from the 5th chapter to keep y'all waiting and happy:

"I grabbed the guy’s wrist the next time he came after me and twisted it until I felt it crack. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. I’m sure it wasn’t silent, I’m sure it was bone chilling, but my lack of hearing helped with that."

Abe:
"My brother passed out before I could ask how much it hurt. Which was a really stupid question anyways; if your eyes are unfocused as much as his were you wouldn’t have been able to tell what I was signing either."

5th chapter

Hello! My last post was so short, I apologize. I know I have no followers and very few views, but I enjoy pretending like more people look at my stuff. (=

Today I started working more on the 5th chapter which is from Moses's point of view. I'll probably have at least three points of view in this chapter.

"I grabbed the guy's wrist the next time he came after me and twisted it until I felt it crack. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. I'm sure it wasn't silent, I'm sure it was bone chilling, but my lack of hearing helped with that."

So, with college starting up it isn't likely that I will get the next chapter out until sometime in September. I hope to be writing a little in my free time after all my schoolwork is done. I also hope to gain a better perspective of Deaf culture so I can effectively write my Deaf character. 

Thanks for reading!
Sam

Finished editing

Hello, I have some great news! I've finally finished editing before college started back up!  *Throws confetti in the air*

So now I can start writing the 5th chapter. Please feel free to go read it here and tell me what you think.

Thanks!
Sam

Editing and writing

Hello, it's me again!

For the past few weeks/month I have been editing my story on Inkitt. I have been working very hard to get the entire book on the same line. I hope to have it done sometime this week or at least before school starts back up. (So, this week)

Inkitt is having a contest right now, I believe I've mentioned it before. My story is not entered in the contest as it does not match the criteria. I also wouldn't submit my story until it's done. (=

Feel free to go on Inkitt's site and read the wonderful stories in the contest. I've already read two that are there. I plan on taking a deeper look into that so I can support more authors.

Have a great week!
Sam

Editing story

Today I am editing my story. It came to my attention from a friend that I kept switching to different viewpoints. (1st person, 3rd person, ect...) So, starting with the 1st chapter I am switching viewpoints. You can watch this process if you wish because I won't be unpublishing the story to make this change.

Because of the change there will be new information added and some information removed. Feel free to read as we go.

Also Inkitt is having a contest that I encourage you to participate in. Instead of voting the books will be picked based on how many reads it has/how many copies were read. Follow the link to go to the page. Please support these writers and help them get published. There can be 3 winners. (=

Thanks!
Samantha

Thoughts

Today's update isn't really about my story, although it may come into play later. I'm addressing modesty. How far do we have to go with modesty?

As a Christian young women I believe modesty is a very important aspect of life. We don't want to cause our Christian brothers to stumble but where is the medium? Sometimes in our obsession with being modest we forget to dress like young ladies and not old maids.

I have a tendency to dress like an old maid, which is why I believe this is important. Growing up I wanted to dress like an old maid because it felt safe. If I looked like my grandma no guy would ever look at me twice, because chances are, I look like their grandma as well.

Now that I'm an adult my parents are starting to get concerned, so much so that I now hear about how I look like an old lady. I've been taking steps since I turned eighteen to look less like a grandma. Now that I'm twenty-one I think I've figured it out. People expect girls to dress very immodestly while other groups expect very modest.

This blog post isn't very organized today. Here's what brought these thoughts forward:
I decided to dress nicely today in a blouse, blue jeans, and a nice pair of earrings. I'm not one for selfies but I took a picture of myself with my computer and for once I was surprised.

Surprised? Why? You might ask that, but I don't often think of myself as beautiful. Because that would be vain. (=   But I was surprised to see that if I try not to look like a grandma I can look like a young lady.

Today in writing I will try and edit/write more in my book. I hope to have a chapter up by the second or third week in August.

Thanks for reading my rambles!
Sam

Chapter Four

Hello, I'm happy to announce that Chapter Four  is now up to be read. In this chapter our characters are finally freed from the cabin they have been stuck in, they meet Shadow and crew, and finally they face the demons of their past.

Unfortunately there is a problem with formatting right now that the Tech team is working on, so I apologize for that inconvenience. I hope it doesn't hurt your reading too much. I hope you enjoy the story. Chapter five is going to be a little more depressing, so I apologize in advance.

Thanks!
Sam

New Chapter

Hello everyone! I am proud to announce I finally posted my 3rd chapter for my story. Feel free to follow the link and read it. I am now working on my fourth chapter and I don't expect to get it done for a couple weeks.

Here are a couple quotes from the book:

Moses hesitated then wrote, I was still isolated. In a world where you can't hear, can't speak, and can't lip read you have very little opportunity. Besides, you can still hear a little. I literally hear nothing.

"Oh great. The last thing we need is Ross being able to swear at people without them knowing it," Storm covered her face with both her hands, muttering, "What is my life?"

Current writing

Today I am trying to write more in my story while running a bookstore, cleaning, and finishing up my homework. While this is very difficult for me, I hope to sludge  through this by doing a little at a time.

Homework: I am having to analyze literature and I am having trouble keeping my story out of my analysis. When I'm writing I feel more creative and like to have that freedom. When I'm doing homework it's hard to keep my mind inside the confines of the parameters given to me.

Bookstore: I am cleaning up the back room in our family bookstore to make it easier to move around.

This is my last post for the weekend, so all I have to say is have a blessed day! Enjoy your weekend.

My life and my Writing

Hello, so I thought it might be interesting to give a little background on my life and my writing. I originally started getting the idea to write from my sister. My sister started writing little stories when she was between 8 and 10 years old. I watched her do this and she could write pretty good mystery stories as a kid. I wanted to do it because I was a year younger than her and anything she did was cool. 

So what did I do? I copied her. Gasp, plagiarism right? No, don't worry, neither of us have published a story. Now I get permission to use her characters. Storm? Yeah, she was my sister's. Sometimes she asks me to use certain characters because I write them better. 

The first ones I tried were crappy romances. And mine were really crappy, whenever I find one I throw them away. I also tried Sci-Fi and I was really bad at that. And by Sci-Fi I mean Star Trek and Star Wars type things. Then I tried Fantasy, which I am okay at. I'm trying my hand at it again and I think I've a better idea of what I want to do with it. 

So, I tried a lot of stuff, even non-fiction. I tried to write a book about the life of an Evangelists kid, the life of a Pastor's kid, the life of a Home-schooler. Yeah, I've tried a lot. I love writing Dystopian because everyone has that little What If thing in the back of their minds. "What if ___ happened?"   "What if a Monarchy took over the states?" 

What is happening in my life right now? I'm writing a book (duh), attending college, volunteering at a bookstore, and trying to keep up with my sewing and knitting. I am not attending college for English, I am attending for American Sign Language and plan to transfer so I can become an Interpreter. 

I hope this has been informative! 
Sam

Editing, compiling, writing woes.

Today I managed to compile almost ten chapters into two for my story because I realized if it were made into a book the text wouldn't be enough for one chapter. So I used a word document to figure out how many pages I needed. So my book of ten chapters went to a book of two. 

Now I am trying to figure out how to make my story so it will slow down a little bit so it doesn't seem like ten chapters passed in only two. Which seems to have happened in an unfortunate event. 

This story is difficult to write, but I'm determined to get through it. I think the most difficult thing for me right now is describing the surroundings of my characters and having character development. 

Thank you for reading today. I hope I can give another update sometime next week.  (=

Welcome and Cookie/Cache information for UK

Welcome to my blog! I am unsure if a UK visitor will be able to see this, but Google sometimes has "cookies" or "cache" on their stuff. I am not personally trying to slow down your computer with this nonsense, but alas, I am inclined to inform you. 

Because being sued for slowing a computer down isn't on my agenda. 

I am making this blogspot because I want to talk about the story I am writing. It is called "When the Sky Caught Fire" I have been working on this story for a couple years now but it's being updated on a website known as Inkkit. 

The prequel is also up and it's called "A Free America". 

I hope you enjoy my writing woes and updates!

Samantha