Authors Note addition

Hello! I recently added an Authors Note to my book that explains why I formatted languages the way I did. It also gives shout-outs to a few people who have helped me this far into the process. In addition, it gives a little more detail about what I am doing with the printing presses in the story.

I am editing my book now, after adding the 6th chapter. Due to new information about presses, entire chapters are going to be overhauled. Mainly chapters 4-6. I am reading my entire story first, again, then I am going to edit as I go. When I'm done I'm printing my book again and having my mother edit it.

I don't anticipate this book being complete for a while. But please continue to support by reviewing, sending e-mails, and leaving comments. Also, share with your friends! I want feedback and opinions. I may not use all of them, but I want to be able to try and adjust the book as needed.

I am also planning on making a new group on Facebook to discuss the book. It would be privet. I also have a Tumblr dedicated to my book called WhenTheSkyCaughtFire. Please go follow that.

--
Sam

Printing Presses and Dystopian Writing

As you know, there are different sized printing presses. Modern day ones are large and used for newspapers/books. A printer could be considered a printing press. However, I have noticed a flaw with writing a dystopian story with old printing presses.

I have to become a designer.

This wouldn't be considered a problem for most people, but I like to have all the facts before I design. I want to design a more portable printing press for the Rebels in my book. I have run into a problem. What is that, you ask? I'll tell you.

I am stuck between having them use Titanium and plastic. If they use Titanium then it could be only slightly less heavy. Where would they get the Titanium? If they use plastic, can they find a heavy enough plastic so that way the machine can work? How long would the machine last? They could never buy spare parts.

This is where I need help. I need help researching how much a titanium machine would weigh as compared to a Cast Iron machine would weigh. Then I need to find out what the plastic would do when created in the likeness of one of these machines. And I mean both big and small machines.

This is my current dilemma. Ugh.

Inauguration, writing, college

Hello!

For the past week I have been doing several things:
1. Editing and writing my book
2. Starting another book (A prequel)
3. Attending college
4. Doing homework
5. And watching the Inauguration.

Let's start with number 1. I almost have enough edited to put up chapter two of my book. I am on page 43 and I told myself that after I doubled the pages I did I would put it up. So, the next 22 pages are almost ready.

Number 2. I have started to write another book called "When the Roads Ran Red" and it is a prequel to When the Sky Caught Fire. It's basically about how it all began. The title is tentative but I'm fairly certain that will be the title.

Number 3. This year I have 7 classes that I'm taking at my college. The majority of them are my ASL classes and 3 of them are general courses. I am hoping to finish my homework tonight and tomorrow so I won't have to worry about it during the week.

Number 4. I have been doing homework for the past few days and expect to finish it tomorrow. Thankfully, since it was the first week, I don't have a lot of homework. If I can learn to keep on top of it now it won't be as hard later in the semester.

Number 5. Friday I watched part of the Inauguration. I must say, I did like Mrs. Obama as a first lady. She was very classy. I do want to see how the Trump presidency will go. I am not optimistic about it but I would like to see if he turns out to be good for the economy.

Thanks for reading!
Sam

College, writing, postcrossing

Hello!

Today I've started to get ready to go back to college. I've been gathering info about SAT tests (transferring), checking to make sure that my application for graduation went through, getting my transcripts sent to my colleges of choice, and next week I'm getting my books for the college I'm attending now.

For writing I plan on editing my book at some point. I am on page 27 and still editing. Changing back to third person is very difficult, it causes the story to morph once again. I hope that it turns out in a way that I can like. (Either that or I end up scrapping complete paragraphs).

And finally, postcrossing. I love postcrossing because you get mail from all over the world. Just yesterday I got two postcards from France and one from PA (USA). I currently have 6 postcards travelling and hope to get a few more out before I'm too busy with college.

Have a great weekend!
Sam

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

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.

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

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

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