Friday, July 1, 2011

July Writing Craze: Day 1!!!

Hello everyone!
  Welcome to July Writing Craze!  Before I get started on my first 1000-word post, let me tell you what in the heck I am doing.  I have decided to write 1000 words for every day in the month of July to keep up with my creative writing.   My goal is to add 1000 words to the same story every day in hopes that I am able to complete a full novel by July 31st.  Please feel free to give feedback on my story, ask questions about your own writing, or comment on writing in general.  I would love to answer questions, discuss writing, address plot flaws, and add in any components of a story that I might be missing.
  A few more things before I post, please answer the poll below(and look for a new one next week), check out my fashion blog, and take a look at my Youtube channel, Yammylou.  Thank you and enjoy the pandemonium of creativity!

Chapter One:  Yori
Break the Nice

            “Welcome to Camp Sing-Song, counselors.  I am Katie, the director of this camp, and the person you will all be reporting to.  In one week, the campers will be arriving and two weeks following, they will all be leaving.  For this week, prior to the campers arrival, I will be training each of you.  Now, head over to your cabins and unpack.  Then, come back for your induction ceremony.”  Turning on her black boot heel, Yori lifted her pink Kate Spade handbag and rolled her silver Michael Kors suitcase across the cracking pavement to the hill of wooden cabins.  Click-clacking her way over there, Yori could think of nothing more than the outfit Katie had been wearing.  Katie had been suited up in a tan pair of cargo shorts, a light blue polo and a chocolate brown baseball cap with the Camp Sing-Song logo printed on the bill.  Yori feared the package that that outfit came in.
            “Hi!”  a chipper voice interrupted Yori’s thoughts.  “I’m Velvet.  What’s your name?”  the voice continued.  Quickly scanning Velvet’s outfit, Yori knew exactly what kind of person Velvet was.  The green tea green T-shirt that fit easily across her top-half gave her the casual vibe, the denim cutoffs emitted a sporty sense, and the blue high tops with green laces displayed a atmosphere of no self-consciousness.  Therefore, Yori saw her as a over-the-top, sweaty, mis-matched ditz. 
            “I’m Yori,”  Yori replied, brightly shining her recently-whitened teeth and shaking Velvet’s rough hand.  “I’m a new counselor.  First time for you, too?”  Yori continued, silently congratulating herself on the Academy-award deserving niceness acting.
            “Oh, no!  This is my third time being a counselor.  Camp Sing-Song was my home-away-from-home since I was six, how old were you when you joined Camp Sing-Song?”  Velvet asked, her blonde ponytail swishing politely as she walked.
            “I never camped here.  First time being on these grounds, actually,” Yori responded, yanking her boot heel out of a crack in the sidewalk.
            “Really?  I didn’t think you could be a counselor if you never went to the camp,”  Velvet pondered, her big blue eyes, asking for an answer.
            “Oh, you can’t.  But my mom is the top sponsor of this camp, therefore I got this counselor job easy,”  Yori replied, rolling her eyes.  Camp Sing-Song was the last place Yori wanted to be that summer.
            “Why do you roll your eyes?”  Velvet asked, laughing a little.
            “Camps aren’t really my kind of thing.  I’m only here because I need something for my college app or so my mom says.  Believe me, I would rather be tanning at the beach than helping a little twerp swim across a lake.”  Yori said, tripping over a bump in the sidewalk, leaving a little slit in the top of her boot.  “Geez!  My mom being the top sponsor, you’d think she’d pay for better sidewalks!” 
            “Velvet!”  a deep voice called from a little behind the two girls.  Both Velvet and Yori turned around.  All of a sudden, Yori’s eyes grew wide and her heart started to race.  Yori flipped her black and brown highlighted hair behind her shoulder and smoothed her gray pencil skirt.  A guy with a Justin Timberlake buzz cut, almond-tan skin, and a white muscle shirt was jogging up to meet Velvet, holding down the straps to his red hiker backpack with every bound he took.
            “Brody!  It’s so good to see you!”  Velvet cried out once the Brody guy caught up with them, giving him a side hug so they could keep walking.
            “How has your year been?”  Brody asked, his low voice sending shivers down Yori’s soul.  Yori had never seen something so enchanting.  Brody was a gorgeous, muscular version of Taylor Lautner, minus the werewolf part.  He had this full, white smile that reached his eyes and his eyes were a bright green with speckles of tan—
            “Yori!”  Velvet was hollering, snapping Yori out of her reverie and into reality.  Yori looked up, startled and embarrassed. 
            “Huh?”  Yori mumbled, pretending to pick a piece of lint off her black Marc Jacobs stomach coat.
            “This is Brody.  He’s been in Camp Sing-Song as a camper and then a counselor as long as I have.  Brody, this is Yori.  She’s new to Camp Sing-Song altogether.  Her mom’s a sponsor so she was able to get in, free and easy,”  Velvet introduced the two.  Yori couldn’t help but wonder if Brody and Velvet shared a secret look when Velvet mentioned the mom- being-a-sponsor thing.
            “Hi there,”  Brody said, waving.
            “Hi,”  Yori barely muttered, sighing at Brody’s shining beauty.  Suddenly, counseling at Camp Sing-Song didn’t seem half bad for Yori and she actually started to forget about some things back at home.  Tanning at the beach didn’t seem so special anymore, drinking virgin martinis weren’t on her mind, even Yori’s boyfriend stayed in Yori’s subconscious for then.
            “What cabin are you in?”  Velvet asked.
            “Cabin 2A,”  Yori blurted out, before she realized Sporty McHappy was talking to Hunky.
            “Cabin 4B,”  Brody said.
            “Cabin…2A?  Wait, Yori aren’t you 2A?”  Velvet asked, looking at her assignment paper, confused.
            “That’s what it says,”  Yori replied, pointing with her lavender painted nail at the cabin number/letter.
            “That’s weird, why don’t you ask Katie?”  Brody asked, leaning over to take a look at the two papers.
            “You mean we’re going to walk all the way back to the main building?”  Yori complained, burning bright red once she became aware of the presence she was saying it in.
            “No,”  Brody laughed a little and taking out a little walkie-talkie kind of thing, “didn’t you get one of these?” 
            “A walkie-talkie?”  Yori asked, unzipping her Kate Spade bag to see if it was in there.
            “Everyone should have gotten one,”  Velvet commented, taking out hers, pressing a few buttons, and speaking into it.  “Katie?”  A crackle buzzed through the intercom before a broken up voice vibrated through.
            “What’s up?”  Yori continued to rummage through her stuffed handbag before she found the bulky, black device.
            “This is Velvet.  Yori and I got the same cabin assignment, 2A.”  Yori yanked out her walkie-talkie, poking herself in the arm with the antenna along the way and then waited for the crackling to break through with Katie’s voice.
            “Oh, that’s right.  I meant to tell you.  Is Yori near?”  Katie’s crackly voice came through.
            “Yes,”  Velvet answered.
            “Oh.  Then let me rephrase what I’m about to say,”  Katie started.  Yori made a face at the walkie-talkie, offended that Katie wouldn’t speak freely with her near.
            “By the time Yori applied to be a counselor, we had already picked and announced our own counselors, but her mother being our top sponsor, we were obligated to let her in.  Therefore, you and Yori will be sharing cabin 2A and all the campers in it.  Oh, I’m getting another call-in.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but Yori’s mom pays for the activity materials!”  Katie’s line then went dead and Yori felt ready to smack something.  If Katie needed to rephrase what she was originally going to say, how mean were Katie’s earlier words?
            “Well, then I guess we’re sharing, Yori!”  Velvet chirped, sliding her walkie-talkie into the belt of her cutoffs.  Already angered from Katie’s offensive message and the fact that she was an “inconvenience,”  Yori simply shrugged her shoulders.
            “Guess so.”

Okay, what do you guys think?  Am I heading somewhere? 
That was about 1100 words, so I think 1000 words a day will be just the right goal for me because it was comfortable in the beginning and middle, but a bit challenging near the end of the segment.
Remember, guys:  Writer's block will get in the way, so it's up to you to find a way to build your story around it.
ABC 123,
                 Maddie


5 comments:

  1. Rockin' blog!!! I LOVE IT. <3<3

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh My Goodness! I absolutely love this! This is a great start for a novel and I am curious to see where you take it from here!

    One thing I noticed (and I am not an author or anything) but I think you should maybe ease into the story a little slower... I just think you introduced too many characters too fast. Other than that... I'm amazed!

    I have been trying to write a book for at least a year (although I'm only 13) and I don't have the patience. I think I may try writing 1,000 words every day of July as well and see where it gets me!

    Question... Are you going to post every piece you create or are you going to get the novel published and make followers have to wait and buy the book?

    I have only seen one post and I already adore this blog! Please write me back with any tips on novel writing or leave a comment on my blog, thefoodproject101.blogspot.com Thanks for the inspiration!

    ~Mya

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Mya! Thank you so much for your feedback! Maybe when I get into my editing stage I'll slow down my introduction of the characters. Now that I look back, I see what you mean.
    I am going to post the whole novel's first draft here, so you'll be able to read the whole thing, but I'll probably go back and edit on my own once I'm finished. It would be pretty cool if I could get it published though!

    You should totally join in on my July Writing Craze! It is a great way to get started and it's not too much pressure, but just enough to keep you writing. Some advice I can give you is to just get started. Even if your idea the worst idea possible, give it a shot just to get in the mode of writing. Or...try writing prompts! Why don't I post some of my favorite writing prompts on your blog? I hope they'll help.
    Reading what you wrote really encouraged me to keep on going, so thank you so much and good luck with your writing!
    ABC 123,
    Maddie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you so much for all of those great writing prompts and great advice! It was so helpful and it seems like everything you say about writing makes me want to write... more and more and more! Thank you for the inspiration to write!

    ~Mya

    ReplyDelete
  5. No problem! I am so glad I could help. Good luck with your writing!
    ABC 123,
    Maddie
    PS If you ever write anything that you are willing to share, please show me! You can post it on my blog or yours. Have fun! :)

    ReplyDelete