Last Breaths

I struggled to suck in my last breaths while lying under the rubble of my dilapidated home.  The debri crushed my ribs, burying my my body into the ground.  Every breath I took sent agonizing pain through my entire being, bringing a cry from my lips.  I desired to die in that moment, to leave the cruel pain, moving into a new realm.  But then an image suddenly entered my mind, sending every ounce of energy I had left to survive.  I can’t leave Johnny behind!  I thought.

  My sweet gullible little brother could never survive losing his older sister.  I inhaled long breaths, attempting to stay alive, but it only brought terrible pain and unclean air into my lungs.  The thought of leaving Johnny was more painful than the debri that crushed and jabbed into my flesh at that moment.  But something told me to let go.  So I did.  I knew my friends and loved ones would look after him.  

  The Saviour would help him through my death, he would support Johnny through years without his crazed parents, and protective sister.  Then I suddenly slipped into death, and I stood face to face with my Creator.  

Twelve Dawns Rise

I am in the process of creating a story titled, Twelve Dawns Rise at the moment.  It's of a fifteen year old teenager who's name is Darrilynn Barker.  Well, her real name is Darrilynn of Flame, but she doesn't know this.  Because she was taken away from the world she was born into, and thrown into our world as a tiny baby.  She lives here for fifteen years living with her adoptive mom in Sedona, Arizona.  Then one day, she travels back to the world she never knew, and begins her adventure on the Elemental Island.
   The spark for this story appeared in my mind  a year ago.  I practically forced the story onto myself, because I had just received a new pen and notebook, and I desired to use them badly.  When it did come to me, it was much different then it is now.  It was supposed to begin with an event a little like the Hunger Games.  The Elemental Island started out as an invisible island in the Atlantic ocean of this world, and Darrilynn lived all her life on the Elemental Island.  In fact, her name was not Darrilynn in the beginning.  Originally Twelve Dawns Rise was going to be made into a ten paged story, but evolved into over a hundred pages.
   On the Elemental Island there are seven clans, one of them is extinct.  The clan which is extinct is Shades Forest.  It is dark and overgrown, and muddy, it's a cold and eery place.  And I was very excited when I was able to go into this place.  I was able to go into the Shades Forest last Sunday night.  I did not realize this at first glance, but when I did I became very ecstatic.  I have gone into there many times through the past years, and I never noticed how much it resembled till now.  I could almost hear the Shadows coming from behind me, but they probably were just the nutrea and cougars which were out there.
   I have enjoyed creating this story, and I hope you will enjoy when I give future updates on it.

Young Authors

Until this past year, I was certain I was the one of the only teen writer out there, along with possibly a handful of others.  I thought becoming a published author was extremely rare, and astonishing as a teen, but I was still determined to succeed.  At times I would feel a small tug of loneliness, thinking I was the only teen writer, who had a great passion to write stories.  Then I found the blog, Go Teen Writers, where I discovered many teen writers, who were published!  I have chosen to share with you a few I have discovered, I have not read any of their books (yet), but I am very excited to find other teens with a great passion to write, such as I do.

Gillian Bronte Adams was born with a pen in her hand, a sword at her side, and a saddle beneath her feet.  As a speculative fiction writer from the great state of Texas, she delights in combining epic adventure and fantasy with themes that point to the greatest story of all- or, as she refers to it, writing to the echoes of eternity.  During the day, she works as the equine Director of a Christian youth camp, while at night, she kicks of her boots and spurs and transforms into a novelist.

Amanda Barrat is a historical romance author with two novellas soon to be published.  The first "A Bride for a Bargain" will release May, 2015 as a part of Barbour's "The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection."  The second, "The Substitue Wife" will debut July, 2015 as a part of "The Convenient Bride Collection," also by Barbour.  She had won several awards for her work and enjoys writing about eras such as Regency and Victorian England, and the Gilded Age. 

Rachel Coker resides in Virginia with her parents and two sisters.  She has a passion for great books, and has been surrounded by them all her life.  Her gift for writing became apparent at the age of eleven, at which time her parents signed her up for a year of lessons with a professional writing coach.  Rachel also has a deep love for classical music and old black-and-white movies.  When she is not writing or playing the piano, Rachel enjoys spending time with her family and friends and serving her Lord and Saviour.

Tessa Emily Hall is a 19 year old author of Purple Moon, her YA Christian fiction novel to be published, Spetember 2013 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.  She is also a freelance writer, the editor over the faith department for Temperance Magazine, a column writer for Whole Magazine, a contributing writer for More To Be, as well as the PR for God of Moses Entertainment.  Other than writing, Tessa enjoys acting, music, Starbucks, and her imperial Shih Tzu- who is named Brewer after a character in her book, as well as her love for coffee.

Abigail Hartman is a Christian, which she hopes colors everything else about her; she also just happens to be a sixteen year old writer of historical fiction and fantasy, a homeschool almost graduate, and author of the historical novel The Soldier's Cross.  On her blog, Scribbles and Ink Stains, she posts about writing, literature, and the odd cup of tea.

Rachelle Rea plots her novels while driving around the little town she’s lived in all her life in her dream car, a pick-up truck. As a freelance editor, she enjoys mentoring fellow authors in the craft. A homeschool graduate and retired gymnast, she wrote The Sounds of Diamonds the summer after her sophomore year of college.

Gabriella Skory is 15 years old and has been homeschooled her entire life, along with three other siblings. Reading, writing, and performing are her three passions and what she spends the majority of her time doing. If she’s not doing one of those three things, you will usually find her babysitting, hanging out with friends or playing the piano.

Phillipians 4:6

At the moment I am working on three writing projects.  Some beg for more time then others, and it can sometimes be hard to balance writing, reading, school, and everyday life.  After all, you have only twelve hours in a day to cram all of these important things.  Before I begin, I must make it clear that my school is challenging (it’s called Challenge A for a reason) and long.  I enjoy it, and am fascinated by the things I am learning this year, but it is very long.  So cramming in other projects can be tough, and time-consuming, I usually receive from six o’clock to eleven o’clock to write or read, and even then, I occasionally have math or other school.  I often feel as if I do not get any writing done, so I have tried several times to create schedules.  

      When I first began to create a schedule, I knew I had to give up a few projects.  Before I had three projects, I had seven.  I was outlining three stories, writing a book, and writing for three separate blogs.  I was aware of the fact, that I simply could not do it.  Thus, I forced myself to give up one of my blogs, and the three stories I was outlining.  Of course, the first thing on my schedule was school, I have to complete my school for the day first, usually I finish at around three o’clock.  By then, I would be exhausted with my school, and I have to rest my mind for an hour before my dad gets home to help me correct my math (in the midst of all of this, I am also trying to catch up in my math).  After the corrections, it is usually five o’clock, and our family’s dinner is being served.  

  Dinner and chores typically last for an hour, then I finally am allowed to sit and write for one of my blogs.  To help myself determine how often I need to write for these blogs, I have created this small layout.

  The Author’s Plot- I am trying to write out a post for every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday of every week.  This helps me tremendously to know what I need to get done by what time.  

  3Girlz4God-  Of course, there is the blog which my friend, sister, and I manage.  Now being the writer of the group, I seemed to automatically become the main author for 3G4G, thus whenever I receive an interesting topic, I follow it into a quick post.

  Although, that is then followed by the fourty-five minutes of reading my family does together.  By eight fourty-five, I am in my room, pulling out my laptop, or the remaining school I have left.  On Tuesday nights, I always have a little math to catch up on, or I’m rushing on Monday nights to finish the next literature book my class is required to read.  If I do not have any school, or blog posts to catch up on, I will begin to write my novel-in-progress, Twelve Dawns Rise.  I write until I can hardly keep my eyes open, my brain can not work out one more sentence, or until I feel I have made great progress.  Then I will hide away my laptop, and thank God the whole world is not one giant computer screen, then bury myself under the warm covers of my cozy bed.  

  I will end by reading a couple chapters of whichever book I am in the middle of, then my bible.  Then I will turn the bright light off, seal my eyes shut, and fall into a dreamless sleep at approximately twelve o’clock.  That was the schedule I ended with, and I was determined to stick with it.  

  But I didn’t.

  There would be days where unexpected events took place, where my school load would become twice as heavy, I would take a longer break then I first intended, I would not be able to keep my eyes and brain working long enough to write late into the night, or, simply, nothing went my way.  I have realized that I cannot let myself worry about getting my deadline met, and I have learned that pushing myself to the limit is not good for my writing.  I can’t meet every single goal I set for myself, and I definitely cannot wait until the late night to do my devotion.  

  I have now decided that I will do my best.  I will complete my school, and set goals for myself.  But if I can’t do every single thing, that is okay.  I should not have to worry, and procrastinate whenever something does not get done.  When I first realized this reality, I was in class, and my teacher was reading a chapter in a biology book, as we drew and labeled the heart.  Did you know that it is not healthy, for your heart, to worry?  It is very unhealthy for the heart when you worry, and can cause damage.  I guess God was really looking out for us, when He commanded us not to worry.  

  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Phillipians 4:6

Giving Character to an Inanimate Object

One of my favorites elements in a story is when the author gives an inanimate object character.  I never even realized this until recently, so now I will be entering it into my stories.  It really is very simple to place character to an inanimate object, you just have to incorporate it into your story.  Now,  how do you do this?  It is very simple.  For an example, I will be using my home s the inainmate object. 
   1.  What are some characteristics of your home?
Inside my home, there are many different characteristics.  But one example, is the flooring of my room.  When you take your first steps inside the room, it creaks terribly loud.  This is what I would like to call, character to an inanimate object.  What are a few characteristics in your home?
   2.   Create a home for your character, and give it features
The home of your character is very important to know.  You do not need to map out a home, but I sometimes will search home layouts on the internet, to scan down an idea of my home's design.  Next you need to give it characterisitics, you can succeed in this by copying the one's from your home, or create new ones. 
   3.  How can you weave the features into your plot?
You do not need to always weave these features into the plot of your story, but it can be useful.  If you are writing a mystery, or adventure story, this could be an interesting and sued to find informatiuon or an escape.  Or there are times where they use the characterisitc of an object, to express their sadness.  Ex.  Vicki stared at the rubble, which use to be her trailer.  She hated that thing, but she couldn't help feeling sad.  She remembered how she had memorized which boards to place her feet on, to sneak out quietly.  (The example was from the Left Behind Kids series; however, it wasn't completely correct because I do not hjave the book in my possesion at this moment). 

A Chapter in my Plot

Since I have just recently began this blog, I thought it was especially appropriate to begin the first few posts with a story of how I came to be a writer.  One chapter in the plot of my life which the Author has created.

  It began when I was five years old.  I remember the day very clearly, each little set-up of the house, and watching my friend’s hand, as she traced large letters onto the yellow paper.  First of all, I am homeschooled, I have been for all my life.  It was one day in school, when my mom approached me, and announced she was going to demonstrate how to create a mini book.  She carefully presented how to fold several bright yellow pages into one book.  I immediately became escatic, and after school was over, I ran across the sidewalk, to the six year old’s house who had just recently moved in (she is now one of my very best friends).

  When she stepped outside, with the intention to play games and discuss her long day of school, I began to beg her to write a story with me.  It did not take much convincing, and we soon were sitting in the driveway of my home, and began to write in the small blank book I was so proud of.  Now, since I had just started school, I was still learning how to read and write, therefore my friend had to pen down our story.  Being that it was autumn, and our cul-de-sac is surrounded by high Oak trees, we quickly came to the conclusion our subject would be acorns.  My friend and I began describing what acorns were like, and we came up with the most absurd sentences.  Such as:  I love acorns so much I could kiss them.  

  After an hour, we completed the small book, and we were beaming in pride.  At that moment, while staring at the completed book I had created with my new friend, I knew that someday I would be an author.     

My Fantasy Worlds

My favorite genre- to read and write- is fantasy.  Right now, I am in the middle of writing a fantasy story titled, Twelve Dawns Rise.  Early on, when I first invented the idea, I created a map of my unique world.  I called it the Elemental Island.  I just recently was searching for some school, when I came across the map, and I had inspiration for this post.  I will show you my process on how I make a map.  Now, before I begin this, I believe it is only fair to tell that, I am not an artist.  I have NEVER had a talent for drawing, and a real huge desire to either.  Therefore, the pictures you are about to see, are not the best in the world.  But to the best to my ability.

1. I choose a country/state/continents-

In my school this year, we have been tracing and labeling all the continents, countries, states, provinces, and their capitals, so it was pretty easy for me to obtain a map.  For the Elemental Island, I chose the state of Alaska.  

    2.  I trace the country/state/province and study it-

For the next step, I will trace my desired location, so that I earn a feeling for the place.  Then I study my map, and- in my head- I will mark out all the small spaces I will not want in my world, add a few special tweaks, and decide the size of my world.

    3.  I draw my desired world-

Next, I will begin to draw, on normal white paper, my world.  I will use the feel I had while tracing the continent, or in this case state, putting my own tweaks on it, until I am done.  Now I have the outline of my map.

    4.  Put in kingdom/country borders-

Whatever you would like to call them (I call mine, clans), you begin to make your borders.  Whenever I’m doing this I don’t draw out straight lines, creating boxes, I try to squiggle the borders, or twist them, giving them character.  Then I go on the name the kingdoms/countries/clans.

    5.  Decide the features then draw-

This is where I decide if I would like large mountains, or nothing but forests.  Lakes?  Or no lakes?  Is there a castle here?  The Elemental Island mostly is formed of forests, but a few select areas have mountains and lakes.  There is one place that has not much forest, because it has a castle and marketplace, along with a few other features (a volcano!).  With the Elemental Island, I had to be careful on where there was more forest than other places.  

    6.  My sister draws it-

Now, as I have mentioned, I am not an artist, but my sister is.  She has a gigantic sketch pad, which she draws a more detailed version of my world on.  Her Elemental Island turned out much more detailed than mine, and much more beautiful (although she only used a pencil).

So, without further ado, here is the map (The top one I drew, my sister drew the second).  Please excuse the blurriness of the photos.

(By the way, the middle, is not called Meeting Central, it’s called, Imperium.  Also, some of the clan names have changed, such as, the Shocking Empire, and Cloud Valley)

This next map is of another world I have been inventing for awhile.  I drew it from the outline of Asia, and the smaller part is (kind of) the United States.  My sister has not drawn a copy of it yet.

The Author's Plot

Emma persevered up the hill, she was in sight of her destination which stood a couple of yards ahead of her.  She continued to place one foot in front of the other, refusing to back down.  She gulped in refreshing breaths, then exhaled out.  Emma thanked God for the refreshing wind which blew against her sweaty flesh.  She hiked up a couple more yards, strengthening the muscles in her legs, which were weak from the trip up.  Finally, she arrived at the tip of her destination, and stared out at the other beautiful hills, some towering even higher then she was now.  The bare hills rose high above her, and the camp which lay below.  

  Few juniper trees grew on the hills, and she stood on a small boulder protruding from the ground.  Dead grass buried the hills behind it, along with dry bushes and tumbleweeds.  Emma gulped in the fresh air, and listened to the gentle breeze blowing her blonde hair behind her.  She wondered at the Author’s amazing handiwork, and of the many people who had scaled this hill.  Many people who hiked this small hill, and many others surrounding it, who all had a special play in the Author’s Plot. 

(This isn't the actual view I saw, this is a different hill)

My name is Emma, and I am a writer.  I have started this blog to keep up with my writing, and to share some lessons I've learned about writing so far in my thirteen years.  Also, to discuss the things I have learned about the Author of my life, and of the world.