Recommitting...Again.

I am going to write at least one word a day on Frozen for the rest of the year. Setting the bar really high, am I not?

I know, I know. It doesn't sound like much, but it'd be more than I've been doing recently.

New Story on the Horizon!

I spent the whole of the spring 2012 university at Troy University working on a story for my Science Fiction Creative Writing class, and it's taken on a life of its own.
So, I've decided to give it its own Tumblr, and I'm posting it there chapter-by-chapter. The story has gone through a lot of changes since it was conceived in January 2011. I hope it goes well.

Check it out.

College-Induced Hiatus

I know. I've been gone for a pretty long time. I cringe when I think about it. I feel guilty. But I have a good excuse. Honest.

COLLEGE IS EATING MY LIFE (AND MY SOUL)!

I'm so exhausted/uninspired. There's so much to do, and I'm sitting here staring at the wall. I'm overwhelmed and dumbstruck. How am I supposed to be a student and a writer at the same time? I feel like the creative part of me is shriveling up and dying.

Words of wisdom? Sympathy? Anything?

Anybody?

Fun Idea to Help Conquer Writer's Block

Ever heard of the game Apples to Apples?

I happen to be in love with it, and I've found some really great ways that it helps me get the creative juices flowing.

There are a couple of ways you can play with this.

1. First, shuffle the decks, pick five red apple cards at random, choose the one that inspires you most, and run with it!

OR

2. Choose a green apple card at random (or roll the green apple die if you have the Mod version), write down the first adjective you draw (or think of if you're using the die), pull five red apple cards at rancom and find a way to use the adjective with each noun you've drawn. There should be at least one sentence per noun.

I'm fairly certain that I will come up with more variations on this, and I'm open to any ideas you all have.

Let me know what you think.

I Write Like...for I've Never Loved

I recently started a romance novel called I've Never Loved. I submitted the following chapter to I Write Like.

“I don’t care what excuses they’re offering, we’re finalizing the takeover.” Chase Rutherford’s face was entirely indifferent as he responded to the message his assistant, Lucy Bartlett, had brought him. Smart and Sweet was going under, and trying to weasel out of the business negotiations they’d begun. The chain of bakeries needed a serious overhaul, and Chase needed a tax break.

Lucy nodded. “Yes, sir; I’ll call and tell the owner that he doesn’t want to risk bringing lawyers into this business.”

A cold smirk twisted Chase’s lips and Lucy forced herself not to shudder. He had a dangerously sensual mouth, and Lucy was very careful not to think about it too often. “That’s what I like about you, as an executive assistant, you’re eloquent and to the point.”

The petite brunette gave him a polite nod. “Thank you, Mr. Rutherford.”

Chase’s gray eyes darkened like an approaching thunderhead, and Lucy had to steel herself to hold eye contact. His irises were almost black, and it sent a shiver of apprehension down Lucy’s spine. A sense of dismay made her stomach clench. She knew that Chase didn’t miss the fear creeping into her wide, innocent baby blue eyes. “Lucy, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and he sighed.

“You’ve been working as my executive assistant for three years; don’t you think it’s time you outgrew calling me ‘sir’ and ‘Mr. Rutherford’?”

Shock registered on Lucy’s graceful features, and a blush crept up her high cheekbones. “I’m sorry.” She lowered her dark lashes and made a point of studying the tips of her black sling-backs intently. “I thought you’d consider it to be impertinent and unprofessional for me to call you by your first name.”

Chase chuckled and ran a hand through his golden curls. “I would prefer it if you called me Chase when you address me. There’s no need for such formality when you’ve been working for me this long.” Lucy gave another nod, hugging an appointment ledger to her chest. Chase’s hawkish features hardened as he frowned. “Look at me, Lucy. Why are you so uncomfortable?”

“It’s a long story.” Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, wondering why they were so dry all of a sudden. His piercing eyes glared out at her from the golden tan of Chase’s face. This is like being interrogated by a Grecian god, she thought.

“Tell me.” Panic flooded through Lucy. She didn’t want Chase to know about her past, afraid that it would ruin the dynamic of their professional relationship. He was attempting to open Pandora’s box, and she was determined to keep it shut.

By some miracle, his phone rang before she could answer. Lucy could feel Chase’s eyes boring into her. “We’ll talk about this later.” She realized that it was an order, not a suggestion, and her heart sank. How am I going to get out of this? She retreated to her desk in the reception area as he picked up the phone and collapsed into her leather computer chair.

I Write Like told me that, in this piece of my work:

I write like
Jane Austen

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Some Books That Have Helped Me Get Going

I thought I'd review some of the books that have helped me get back on track with my writing career. Working has been difficult for me because of my depression. It makes it hard to focus, but since I got medicated things have been somewhat easier. I recently invested in several books to help me get organized and stay on track.

First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner has been a huge help with the challenge of organization. Usually, the information for my novels is scattered to the four winds. In the past, I've habitually had to write and re-write story ideas because I've misplaced the information I came up with for it before. This book has made it simple for me to organize the information I need to actually get things done with my novels-in-progress, as well as my new ideas.

From First Draft to Finished Novel is Karen S. Wiesner's companion book to First Draft in 30 Days, and it continues the quest to create a cohesive manuscript. It helps the author lay out the manuscript in such a way that it makes it easy to see where you need to make changes before you send your work to an agent or a publisher.

Bullies, Bastards & Bitches by Jessica Page Morrell has helped me create more complex, believable antagonists for my stories. Rather than having two-dimensional, cartoon-esque villains, I now have three-dimensional characters with interesting and believable motivations.

Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld has been interesting, thus far. I think it would have been useful when I was taking Introduction to Creative Writing last semester. It includes a lot of tips that my professor, Jim Davis, also gave me. I like having it around as an easy reference guide for when I am crafting the actual scenes in my novels and short stories.

Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb is full of key information about avoiding common pitfalls both in writing and in seeking publication. I have not gotten as far in it as I have in the others, but I believe it will be infinitely helpful in my quest to finish my first novel and get it published.

The Everything Guide to Writing A Novel by Joyce and Jim Lavene has been incredibly helpful with some of the finer points concerning writing and publication. Before I started reading it, I was unsure of what word count actually qualifies a book as a novel, as opposed to a novella or a short story.

I am in love with The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, edited by Meg Leder, Jack Heffron, and the editors of Writer's Digest. It includes interviews with and articles by a multitude of authors and others involved in the writing and publishing business. It's well-organized and has easy-to-find sections concerning every aspect you could hope to encounter as an aspiring author.

The Craft and Business of Writing, from the editors of Writer's Digest Books, has useful tabs concerning the general business and different genres of writing.

I've also been using the Writer's Digest Writing Kit from the editors of Writer's Digest Books. I love the idea sparkers. They're a lot of fun to work with!

I also adore The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction from the staff of Fresh Boiled Peanuts. The prompts are quirky and hilarious, as well as thoroughly inspiring.

Intentions for the Future

Where do I start?

Well...I intend to pursue a career in writing. I have changed my major. I am no longer seeking an English/Language Arts Education degree at Troy. I've switched to an English Major with a Business Administration Minor. I intend to find a job in the publishing business, as well as continuing to write.

My ultimate goal is to be able to afford writing full-time.

I am currently in the process of completing the outlining process for Poisoned Apples, and intend to begin work on the first draft of the manuscript some time this year.

Here's Hoping,

Chelsea L. Clemmons

Creative Writing Prompts taken from The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction #3

Prompt of the Day: "You know, it doesn't take a detective to see that you've been screwing around behind her back."

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"You know, it doesn't take a detective to see that you've been screwing around behind her back."

Andrew looked his accuser over and sneered. "Let me guess, because you are a detective, you had me pegged from the beginning. Is that right, Beauchene?"

"Something like that. I'm going to tell Diane the truth about you, Mr. Russell." Marcus Beauchene's eyes had a steely, unforgiving look about them. The look clearly stated that he meant business.

Unfortunately for him, Andrew Russell chose to ignore the gravity of Marcus' statement. He scoffed, laughing at the detective. "Go ahead and tell her! Diane will never believe it. It's your word against mine."

Marcus decided not to burst the arrogant businessman's bubble. So, he left with nothing more than a cryptic smile at Mr. Russell. There was no need to warn the man that he was in possession of photographic evidence that could prove Marcus' accusation to be correct. Marcus had plenty of evidence, as a matter of fact, two copies of every photo, to be exact. One set was for Diane, and he was going to keep the backup set, just in case.

Creative Writing Prompts taken from The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction #2

Prompt of the Day: Tears run down the face of an old pirate as he sits at a table, surrounded by treasure. In one hand, he holds the sketched portrait of a woman.

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A scrawny cabin boy, clad in little more than tatters, knocked warily on the door to the captain's quarters. "You wanted to see me, captain?" The boy, whose name was Elijah, wondered what could be wrong. Had he done something to displease the captain? Was he going to be beaten? Discharged from Captain Burns' crew? Elijah had no idea how much his fortune was about to change for the better.

"Enter." Captain Burns did not bother to hide the raw pain in his voice.

Elijah swung the door open, his brow knotted with worry at the unfamiliar sound in the captain's voice. "Is there something amiss, captain? Are you wounded? Your voice...it sounded as if something was paining you." The treasure crowding almost every corner of the room and piled upon the table had not even registered in his mind; his focus was consumed by the captain's face. It was wet with tears and contorted with anguish.

Captain Burns laughed, and it had an ironic sound to it. "My wounds are not physical, Eli. I sent for you because I knew I could trust you to honor my wishes. Shut the door and sit down."

Creative Writing Prompts taken from The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction #1

Prompt of the Day: "Look...I'm making eggs. There's no deeper meaning to anything I'm doing here. It's breakfast. Plain and simple."

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"Look...I'm making eggs. There's no deeper meaning to anything I'm doing here. It's breakfast. Plain and simple."

"And it's going to burn if you don't watch it."

When and how did my mother get here? And since when has she started drinking mimosas before ten in the morning? A part of me wants to chuck the skillet, eggs and all, at her for being a smart-ass. The rest of me is really glad to see her, even if she has managed to drop in on me during the most frustrating situation I can EVER remember experiencing.

"Mom? Could you finish up these eggs, please? I need to look up an exterminator for the pest who's sprawled out on my couch."

"Maggie! Is there a particular reason you're being so openly hostile to your guest, or are you just PMSing?" Mom arches a challenging brow at me, and the urge to fling the skillet at her is returning. Go figure. I move the eggs to an eye that isn't on and turn the stove off, glaring at my mother and the cop lounging on my couch. He's supposed to be protecting me, but if he doesn't stop attempting to flirt with me, he'll be the one who needs protection.

Creative Writing Prompts taken from The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction

Okay, so...I feel like starting a fun little creative writing game for my friends, fans, and partners in crime.

This is how it's going to work. I'm going to put up a different prompt from Creative Writing Prompts taken from The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction every day. There are different kinds of prompts in the book, if you need one explained, just ask. Basically, I'll put up the prompt, be it dialogue, situation...whatever. Then, you respond with the piece of creative writing that the "match" (prompt) ignited. Only post as much as you can come up with in a single sitting. When you hit a creative wall, stop and post it.

If you're posting a response to the prompt, indicate that in the first line of your post. If you're commenting on someone else's response, indicate that in the first line of your post, etc. State your intentions in the first line, and then have at it!

I look forward to working out my creative muscles with you all!

♥ Chelsea ♥

Prompt: Write a mini-story that begins with the words "They had nothing to say to each other."

They had nothing to say to each other. It was a strange thought, that they were married and they had absolutely no common ground on which to start a conversation. The whole thing was the result of errors in judgment, or a complete lack of judgment in general. Actually, it had quite a lot to do with their friends Jack, Jim, and Evan, followed by brief encounters with Jose and the Captain.

They were friends, in a way. They wrote letters to one another when he was in boot camp because he was friends with her boyfriend, at the time, and didn't have many people to correspond with. He had beautiful handwriting. It was neat, legible, and controlled. There was nothing controlled about the circumstances surrounding the commencement of their marriage, however.

They were just supposed to be hanging out, catching up since she was no longer involved with their "mutual friend." But he was a Marine, and they were out with other Marines. So, of course, drinks became involved and everyone had a few too many. She didn't remember anything after 10:30 that Saturday evening, and she'd awakened the next day in bed at home, with a wedding band on and a message on MySpace that read "Hey, wifey. Do me a favor and give me a call about the annulment." It would have been a great plan, only she'd misplaced the small scrap of paper with his phone number on it. So, she'd had to wait for him to call her.

And now, on an early Monday morning, they were on their way to the courthouse to undo what they'd done at a cheap 24-hour wedding chapel across the Florida state line.

Journal Entries

So...I have to do journal entries for my Writing Across the Curriculum class, and I thought, why not post them here, too?

Our first journal is supposed to be our personal reflections on an issue of Pediatrics (Vol. 113 No. 4 April 2004, pp. 708-713) titled "Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children," as well as the "Baby College" broadcast of This American Life. So...here is my first journal entry.

As is probably obvious, I am new to education-oriented classes. I am also relatively new to the decision to become a teacher, though my mother has told me for years that I should do it. I’m not going to lie and tell you that my first sitting in your [referring to Dr. Waters, my professor] class was not intimidating. It was nothing less than nerve-wracking. I have not yet been accepted into the TEP, and no one told me about the test or the interview, so I was a little shaken when I left. Still, I’ve decided to give things a shot, and continue with your course, intimidating though it may be. So, I have done the first journal assignment, as you asked. I must say that while I believe that both the Pediatrics article and the “Baby College” broadcast of This American Life have certain relevant points, I also believe that one can be over-zealous with programs and articles such as these.

I had questions concerning the data in the Pediatrics article. What sort of shows were the children who turned out to have attention deficit disorders at age seven watching? Were they educational shows geared toward toddlers, or were they watching daytime talk shows, etc.? Is there a significant difference between them in the results? Was the experiment single blind or double blind? How thorough were the researchers? Is it as unbiased as they would have us believe? It seemed to me that they were looking for a specific outcome, and they found it. I would have to see more specific data before I believe that all kinds of television are detrimental to the attention spans of young children. I know that my own capability to stay on task depends largely on whether or not I am genuinely interested and engaged in a task. I can stay at a task tirelessly, for hours on end, if I enjoy it and if I am truly interested in seeing results. If I do not like the task at hand, however, I will find reasons to avoid doing it until it must be done. One must also ask whether or not the children being studied were genetically predisposed to attention deficit disorders, as individuals. That could have a distinct bearing on the outcome of the study. For myself, I can say that attention span breaks down to 15% genetics, 10% behavioral training, and 75% sheer will to complete a task without being sidetracked. Personally, I believe that attention span comes down to a conscious choice to stay on task, unless a medical condition such as ADD or ADHD gets in the way of a child’s ability to choose between staying on track or being distracted.

As for the “Baby College” broadcast, I agreed with most of it, but I found some parts to be difficult to swallow. I vehemently agree with how vitally important they believe it is to introduce young children to language, communication, and reading. My parents helped prime me for learning well by talking and reading to me regularly when I was young. They sent me to preschool, too. I firmly believe that I would not have been as successful in school as I have thus far, were it not for their emphasis on reading and communication. On the point of corporal punishment, my opinion differs from theirs. Time-outs can work for most children a large percentage of the time. I am not dismissing its merits. However, I feel that corporal punishment can be a necessary evil on certain occasions. My parents used both for me when I was a child, and while spankings were very rare, they were effective. I will also add that they tended to hurt my pride worse than my bottom, and I earned every spanking I ever got. In our house, spanking was a last resort, and oftentimes we did not have to go there. Still, there were times when I was being completely unreasonable and no other form of communication could get through to me. Spankings worked when nothing else did. Though I believe that its place in modern society is very small, corporal punishment is not obsolete or ineffective.