my future Oscar nom and current manuscript

I'm applying for grad school...English and Creative Writing. I'm wicked excited about it. I'll learn the fundamentals of English and Creative Writing obviously, but also will get an education in publishing, editing, and wait for it...screenwriting. Woo-hoo! I can see it now...me at the Oscars...bumping into Hollywood's elite! Do you think Tom Hardy will be there?

Sorry. Got a little carried away there.

I have to prepare a sample of my work for the application process. I've been growing frustrated with my current manuscript. I had completely lost interest in it lately. It's like reading the same book over and over again for a year. I just want to finish it and start the next one.

Well, I decided to go over the first few pages of it in order to submit it. I haven't read the beginning in a while, and it's like I fell in love all over again. I finally remembered why I started writing it in the first place. I feel so renewed right now!

Thought I'd share.

Russian AND Scottish accent

I've been immersing myself in my writing. I want to be at a 50k word count by March 1st, so every day I push myself to write, write, write.

Who cares if the scenes don't flow. I'll piece it together when I edit and revise. You know I'll be chopping it up anyways.

I'm writing a romance novel. Gotta start somewhere. It's fun and short and makes me happy.

Certain things help keep me focused and inspired. One of them being music. Everyone knows music can inspire and move people. Certain songs evoke certain feelings and I find myself at my computer typing away.

However, when I am actually writing I can't listen to music with words. I start focusing on the words and get distracted. Next thing you know, I'm on pinterest. Ooh! That site gets me every time!

I really like writing with music from movie soundtracks playing in the background. The more intense, the better. Sometimes I find myself constructing an intense shooting scene or car bombing and realize I've been listening to Bourne Supremacy.  My music choices have influenced my writing and taken away from the romantic aspect of my book. I like it anyways.

I love Pirates of the Caribbean because it has a nice rhythm. I find myself typing to the rhythm. If the music gets slow and sad, I begin to get slow and sad.

Another trick I've learned is to act out my dialogue. They say it keeps your dialogue believable. So here I am  home alone listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean and acting out my scenes.

Let me just add that one of my characters is an old Greek woman. My accent needs much work and sounds more Russian mixed with Scottish, if you can imagine.

I'm struggling to come up with words she might use. Slang words or authentic Greek words that make her character believable. If anyone's got any ideas I'd love to hear them.

Wright the Writer, ha cheesy!

Lately, I've been working on my novel. It's zapping me of all my creative energy. I've felt guilty for not paying more attention to my blog.

Most of my time is spent writing. I joined a writer's group and stated my goals in order to be held accountable. So I figured I'd do the same here. My first goal is to have my manuscript finished by March 1st. I am so excited that it's almost finished. I just need people to keep me focused. And knowing that I've told all of you will keep me accountable.

I've heard from other writers and read in articles that publishers look to see if you have an audience in place (ie, blog or website). Who knew I was ahead of things? I know I have some faithful readers...even when I haven't been so faithful of a writer. So share my blog. Follow my blog. Do whatever you've got to do :)  I promise I'll write more for you, maybe even give you an excerpt from my book!

Love you all, and so grateful to have so many wonderful readers!