Working on Writer's Block

As you may be well aware I am suffering from writer's block. In an attempt to ease this obvious annoyance I sat down at my computer and began typing away at a simple idea that was lodged in my brain. The desired effect is that it will help to ease my annoying writer's block and allow me to continue to work on my novel. And while I am still struggling to get past this hump, here is the end result of my attempt to ease the stupidity that is writer's block! Enjoy

What was she to do? Elizabeth’s mind was awhirl as she hastily made her way towards the exit of the Wilkinson center. Her date for the dance, Steven Lawrence, had quite abandoned her, in favor of a pretty brunette he recognized from his Organic Chemistry class. The two had struck up a conversation and, she had been quite forgotten. However, this was not the reason for her hasty, and frantic, search for a means of escape. No, indeed, Elizabeth sought reprieve from the constant gaze and unfriendly advances of a certain Alexander Collins. The man was positively repulsive with his grease slicked hair and this spattering of brow sweat. Elizabeth inwardly shuddered at the last meeting they had shared. Out of kindness she had accepted his invitation to dance. The end result of said dance was the slimy feeling that remained on her hands and the bruised her toes suffered from his constant oafishness. And since that time, Alexander had developed an unhealthy fascination with her. More than once he professed his undying attraction to her and hopes that they could one day enter into a fortuitous union together. As kindly as she could, she tried to dissuade such advances, but the poor man seemed quite determined in his regard for her.


And tonight was no different. He had noticed her entrance and had more than once sought to obtain a dance request from her. Thankfully, her date had initially claimed her attention for the first hour, until his eyes had come across the beautiful brunette. It was then that Elizabeth was left alone to fend for herself, and Alexander knew it. More than once she spied him trying to make his way across the crowded room towards, her. Mercifully she was able to avoid him on several occasions, without it appearing as though she was deliberately running from the poor guy. However, after several successful attempts at avoiding the odious man, he seemed to have caught onto her game and was now planning his moves around hers. He was certain to catch up to Elizabeth in the next few dances. She needed to make her escape and make it now. Edging slowly towards the door, her eyes never stopped scanning the room, always wary of Alexander’s whereabouts. She didn’t want to alert him of her intention of abandon the merriment, lest he follow her to the much more secluded parking lot.

However, it was in this desperate searching for any signs of her dreaded beau, that Elizabeth bumped into a very solid form. Nearly losing her balance, a pair of arms encircled her waist and steadied her. A blush of mortification lit her cheeks as she looked up to her savior. She had to refrain from allowing her jaw to drop in amazement, for before her stood one of the most good looking men she had ever come across. He was tall with a strong muscular build. Dark ebony locks gently rested upon a pale brow and large green eyes glittered back at her. Their depths portrayed amusement and obvious annoyance at her rather clumsy greeting.

“I-I’m so sorry,” She stammered pushing herself away from his strong arms, “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and I-well I’m sorry for that.”

The man raised an eyebrow at her, “Yes I could see that from your obvious lack of attention to the objects that were directly in front of you. However, it did seem rather odd that you were gazing behind you as you were moving. Tell me, are you avoiding anyone here perchance?” He smirked at her, his eyes dancing.

The blush on Elizabeth’s cheeks deepened, “I, uh, well…” she trailed off unsure of how to answer the question without completely embarrassing herself. The man only laughed at her discomfort.

“It is as I thought then?” He chuckled and his smirk developed into a full blown grin. Elizabeth felt incredibly stupid, and annoyed at his obvious amusement at her expense.

“Yes well it doesn’t really matter,” she huffed, “It’s not like it’s any of your business anyway.” She sent him a glare.

The man’s grin returned to the former smirk, “Yes well however true that may be, it is still unfair for a young woman to run into someone and not have any explanation as to why they were so reckless and rude.”

Elizabeth’s eye twitched in annoyance, “I wasn’t trying to be rude!” she ground out, her eyes narrowing in annoyance, “I just didn’t think I had to explain myself to you.”

“Well more often than not, people would consider that quite a rude gesture, especially since we both know that you were in the process of avoiding someone,” The man’s eyes narrowed at her, “It would seem that you are rude in more than one way tonight.”

Anger bubbled inside of Elizabeth. How dare he! The insufferably conceited and rude man! She took a deep breath to calm her building annoyance, lest she say something truly unkind to this complete stranger.

“Well as enjoyable as this conversation has been, I’m afraid that I must be going,” She retorted moving past him. He did not try to stop her, but stood watching as she walked by.

“There you are Elizabeth!” the sweaty hand of Alexander latched onto her wrist, “I thought I’d never find you!”

Elizabeth’s heart started pounding and a surge of fear coursed through her veins. She had been caught! How was she going to get away now!

“Uh, hello Alexander,” she murmured, not meeting his gaze. In truth she was afraid of what she would find there, “I was actually just going to uh-“

“She was just going to use the restroom.”He

Elizabeth’s eyes widened in shock and she gazed back towards the man, who only a moment ago, had ridiculed her behavior towards him. He stood, his gaze fixed on Alexander, a clear look of disdain coloring his features.

“Elizabeth you know Will?” Alexander remarked, clearly stunned.

Elizabeth returned her gaze to her nemesis and noted and he clearly looked uncomfortable. A new sheen of sweat was encasing his brow and he seemed a few shades paler than before.

“Yes,” was Will’s clipped reply. “We’ve known each other for quite some time now and I happened to bump into her here tonight. We got to talking, until Elizabeth excused herself to use to the restroom.” He sent Alexander a hard look, and the grip on Elizabeth’s wrist loosened.

“Oh uh sorry for that Elizabeth I didn’t mean to distract you from making your way to the restroom,” Alexander murmured gazing at her apologetically. Then his eyes glittered with a desperate hope, “Perhaps when you get back you might be willing to share the next dance with me?”

Dread flooded Elizabeth. Now that she was standing before him, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to his face. She’d have to accept his offer.

“Actually she promised me the next few dances Alex,” Will remarked coolly. Once again Elizabeth was stunned at the man’s forward behavior. But Elizabeth did not question his motives at the moment. Instead she readily agreed with Will’s remark.

“Yes I did agree to that. I’m sorry Alexander,” She mumbled quietly.

Alexander appeared completely dejected and a little angry at the turn of events. He huffed in annoyance and gave Elizabeth a hard look, though he refrained from making eye contact with Will. “Well maybe I’ll see you around and we’ll be able to dance then?”

“Uh, sure Alex,” Elizabeth replied. With a curt nod, Alexander hastily retreated from the two. Elizabeth stared in complete shock and confusion after his retreating form. What had just happened.

A chuckled resounded from behind her and she turned to face Will, “If I had known that it was Alex that you were trying to avoid I would have never have been so harsh on you before,” he remarked sending her his familiar smirk.

Elizabeth was puzzled, “How, how do you two know each other?” she questioned, “And why did you help me?”

Will’s gazed hardened again, “Our acquaintance, I’m afraid isn’t the most pleasant one. But, I do not wish to discuss that with you. Perhaps one day we might.” He countenance then lightened. He smiled at her, “And as for my motives for helping you? Well, let’s say it is partially pity and partially for my own selfish purposes.”

“Oh?” She remarked still quite confused, “What reasons are those?”

Will’s grin widened, “Well I just secured myself a date for the next few minutes did I not? And a rather pretty one at that.”

The blush returned to Elizabeth’s cheeks, but she couldn’t help but smile in return, “Indeed you did.” She replied shaking her head, “But may I know with whom I will be spending the next little while with?”

“Did you not hear Alex? My name is Will,” he laughed, and his emerald eyes danced in amusement.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes in response to this statement, “I meant your full name you dunce!”

“It’s William Darcy actually,” he chuckled smiling at her, “And you might be?”

“Elizabeth Bennett,” was her simply reply.

A Unique Discovery

I admit that I am slow to get my chapter up and running. I am struggling with my writer's block currently and it is aggravating. But, while watching "Prince of Perisa" tonight I have come to a discovery: my theory of time travel in my novel is actually one that is not unique. In fact it is quite an intelligent theory that I've concoted for my story; one that even Stephen Hawking was theorizing! How amazing is that!

My theory for my novel is that despite the fact that Adam can travel back in time, he cannot alter the events of the past. He cannot change the course because it is already set in stone. He is merely a spectator in the events of the whole span of history; living it but never really participating, in a way.

So, I started to do some research on the "Grandfather Paradox" and the "Predestination Paradox" as they are called and came upon some great information. Here is the link to Wikipedia that explains my theory a little better and far more intelligent than I can!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_paradox

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox

After reading and investigating my theory in great detail, I can gradually feel my writer's block slipping and inspiration taking root again. My mind is now abuzz with many thoughts and theories and ideas to add to my novel. It is inspiring and a great relief to be able to see the thoughts and ideas that have been stewing in my head come together, especially since I've been struggling to piece together the difficult passages and thoughts that have been swirling around in my head.

Now, my next task will be to finish this blasted chapter before it literally rips my thoughts to shreds with it's incessant pounding on my imagination, begging me to release  it onto paper! Wish me the best of luck my dear readers, whoever you are!

I'm Working On It!

Alright, I admit I've been sort of a slacker lately. I haven't written much in chapter 6, though the thoughts are neatly tucked inside my head. I really do need to sit down and start to write more on this chapter. And I promise you that I will set a deadline for myself to finish this chapter and maybe half of the next one by the end of this coming week! That is, if there is anyone that actually reads this blog...sometimes I wonder about that...

Anyway, I do have thoughts running through my head and I need to do some major character development to post to you guys to give you a better understanding of what is happening in my novel. If there is anyone who would like to read it in it's entire glory (or at least what I've managed to write thus far) please feel free to e-mail me your address and I will add you to my google documents list.

Well that's all for now. I know this isn't a real post or a very valid excuse for not having a post, but it's all I've got!

-The Novice Novelist

Snippet of Chapter 5

Well I finally finished chapter 5 of my novel. Yay! Right? Well once again I must note that when I specify that I've completed something I really mean that I've completed the bare bones of the chapter. And I'm not going to go back and enhance the chapter until I am able to get the full novel out on paper. Or at least that's what I intend to do.

Something I realized that I need to work on is developing more of the inner monologue that Jenna has. I know I've put a lot of conversation in there because I've felt that I don't want to get too boringingly descriptive with everything. But now I realize that maybe I need to add more description and inner dialogue. And that's sort of what happened to this chapter, and it kind of makes me happy to write it. I think I prefer to write Jenna's thoughts more so than her actual interactions with the world around her. And something else that I've noticed is that when I'm able to figure out Jenna's thoughts, the conversations between her and Adam, seem to flow out much easier.

But anyway, here's a little piece from chapter 5. A little background to make things a little less confusing. Adam refuses to leave Jenna alone and is walking her to class...

“Jenna wait up!” I froze, suppressing a groan of aggravation, as a voice rang out from my left. Turning hesitantly, I spotted Andrea making a beeline towards me, her perfectly styled hair bouncing as she clamored through the crowds of people.



Coming up to me she gave me one of her winning smiles, “Hey Jenna! I didn’t see you yesterday at work. I hope you’re feeling better!” She chirped happily. I watched her sneak a peek behind me at Adam, who stood clutching my book bag. Her eyebrow rose in surprise at my companion and her smile grew larger.


“Uh yeah, sorry about missing work,” I murmured awkwardly trying to ignore her obvious interest in Adam’s presence, “I sort of had a rough day yesterday and was ordered to stay home and rest.” I made a face. I sounded pathetically stupid right now.


“Oh that’s too bad, I’m glad you’re feeling better though!” Andrea remarked lightly, her eyes still glued to the figure standing behind me. I turned slightly so that I was facing both of them. Her actions made it quite obvious that she care a great deal about my health and well-being, especially when attractive men were following me around. I bit back the sarcastic remark that was on the tip of my tongue. Andrea merely continued to stare flirtatiously at Adam, completely ignoring my presence. Adam returned her smile with a cheeky one of his own.


“Actually the fault was entirely mine about yesterday. You see I sort of caused an accident here on campus with my rude behavior and I ended up giving Jenna a rather nasty concussion,” Adam addressed Andrea. I wanted to die.


“Oh!” She replied, a dreamy look crossed her face. I wanted to gag, “Well I’m glad you’re making sure she’s okay now. What a noble thing to do.”


“I feel a deep obligation to the situation and Jenna has been so gracious about the whole situation,” He remarked sending her a winning smile. I heard her give a quiet dreamy sigh and vaguely wondered if Adam had heard her. I suppressed a giggle at that reaction.


I quickly checked my watch and noticed that it was getting rather late. I needed to be at class within the next ten minutes to make it on time. I glanced at Adam and Andrea. Neither was saying anything, but both had smiles on their faces. Andrea looked love struck; Adam looked merely polite.


“Uh well, I guess I’ll see you around Andrea, I really need to get to class,” I muttered after a moment of silence. I didn’t want give Andrea a chance to get too acquainted with Adam. Andrea’s gaze snapped back to me and she smiled again, but there was amusement and questioning in her gaze.


“Oh yeah of course!” She giggled, “I’ll see you around Jenna,” she turned to Adam, “And I guess that I’ll see you around too…?”


“Adam,” He remarked drily, “And I hope to have the opportunity to meet you again, especially since you seem to be a dear friend of Jenna’s.”


“Oh yes of course! Jenna and I are like best friends! We even work together. It’s great. You should totally come by sometime and have lunch or something!” She babbled on, clearly dazzled by Adam’s smooth talking antics.


“I’d like that very much,” he murmured in response, “Jenna has been anxious to introduce me to all her work friends.”


If I could have crawled under a rock at that moment I would have. Here Adam was openly flirting with Andrea, giving her the impression that he and I were far more than what we appeared! And what we appeared was even further from the reality of what our relationship actually entailed. Ugh the stupid insufferable conceited man!


I silently fumed as Andrea giggled coyly in return and scurried away, but not before sending me a meaningful glance. It clearly stated ‘I want details!’ and I knew that I’d have some explaining to do at work tonight. But how could I explain that there was literally nothing going on between Adam and I? More importantly would she even believe me, or would she think that I was downplaying the whole situation in order to keep some privacy I my relationships? Either way, my life was now more complicated than I wished it to be and it was all due to Adam’s continual presence. I huffed in annoyance as I moved towards my class again, Adam following faithfully behind me, chuckles rumbling in his chest at my situation.


“Do you even care that you’re completely screwing with my life right now?” I muttered darkly, moving at a rapid pace up the stairs towards my classroom, “Now she thinks that we’re either together, or that I have a new hot guy friend that I want to introduce her to.”


“Ah so you admit that I’m good looking then,” Adam remarked. I stopped and sent him a glare, my cheeks igniting.


“No I believe you’re an idiot sent to torment me. Can’t you just find someone else to be creepy around?”


“I’m afraid not my dear,” He whispered stepping closer. Handing me my bag he brushed his fingers across mine. I jerked away and my eyes narrowed at his forward behavior. He only chuckled at my response, “I’ll see you after class darlin’.”


He turned swiftly on his heel and headed back down the stairs. I felt the stares of my fellow classmates as they headed past me into the classroom. I simply stood there, watching Adam descend the steps and walk out the door.


“I’ll definitely have to start avoiding him,” I murmured shaking my head. Turning towards my classroom, I quietly walked in and took a seat in back, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Sorry~

Here's a quick little note of apology for not posting anything recently. I have been working on my novel, as promised, however, life has been rather hectic lately and I find that my time seems to fly by faster than I can get everything done that I need to! There have also been some moments of great stress for me lately that have messed with my emotions and I've found it hard to stay motivated for more than a little while without going completely crazy! Just know that I am working on things and getting a chapter neared the completed phase, which makes me feel scads better about life right now. And I will post another little snippet when I get this chapter finished.

Whoever you may be that is reading this blog, I understand that things may be confusing with the bits and pieces that I post, but you must realize that I'm afraid to give too much away with what I post. It is a difficult task to undertake and I take full responsibility if my posts aren't coming across as very understandable. I will try to do better. But, I would love to hear from you to learn what you think of my writing style, or the pieces of the story that you understand and enjoy, or don't enjoy...or anything really!

But until I post an actual snippet, I shall bid you Adieu!

-The Novice Novelist

An update of sorts...

Here's a little snippet from chapter 4 of my novel...I hope that I can get around to explaining how this whole story goes so you poor readers aren't completely confused! But it may take just as long to explain it as it does to write the entire thing! Hehe...I'll work on it to the best of my ability, but until then I hope you enjoy your little piece of my novel.

-The Novel Novice

“Ugh!” I growled at my ceiling. All this thinking was making my headache worse. I was not relaxed in the slightest. I needed to relax and soon, or my headache would compound and then I’d be even more upset and angry. That wouldn’t work well for me if I was going to function tomorrow at school and work.



“Just forget about everything Jenna,” I murmured quietly closing my eyes once more, striving to even my breathing, “Just take deep breaths and forget everything.”


I continued to chant that mantra in my head blocking all other thoughts from creeping up to the forefront of my mind. If I could keep my mind blank I’d be okay.


After a few moments of refusing to think, I felt the tension in my body melt away. Once I was aware of this I turned my focus to the pleasant feeling of simply relaxing, something I hadn’t done in a long time. I had to admit that it felt good. And as the pain in my head slowly eased, I felt myself relax further, and the need to chant my mantra slowly ceased. I realized I was falling asleep, but by this time I was too far gone to prevent it.


“I’m so sorry Ann. I should have protected you better. I should have protected our family. Jenna. I love you both so much” my father murmured from the driver’s seat of the car. I couldn’t see his face, but he pain was evident in his voice. He was anguished.


“Don’t be sorry Jeremy,” my mother murmured in what appeared to be a resigned sigh, “I knew the risks and I stayed because I love you. It’s not your fault.”


Something was tickling the back of my mind; warning signals were blaring, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was going to happen.


“Stay hidden Jenna, and whatever happens, don’t make a sound,” my mother whispered lovingly, a sob choking her words. She looked terrified and her green eyes were clouded with tears, “I love you baby. I always will.”


I wanted to protest to their requests, but my mouth wouldn’t work. Dread flooded through me. Something bad was going to happen.


Before my brain could process what was happening, two loud shots rang out and my mother’s strangled cry echoed in my head.


“Jenna!”


I shot up from the bed with a strangled gasp, panting heavily. Beads of sweat were running down my face, my heart was pounding wildly. I fought furiously to close the memories behind the wall in my mind, willing myself to forget. I needed stay calm.


“Are you alright Jenna? What happened? I couldn’t wake you.” I jumped at the sudden questions. Adam was kneeling next to my bed worry etched on his face. I had forgotten he was in my house.


“Y-yeah,” I nodded my head and stuttered a reply still trying to calm my thundering heart. He didn’t look convinced, “Just a bad dream.” I continued, suppressing a snort. That had to be the understatement of the century.


Adam still didn’t seem to buy my story instead he looked strangely sympathetic. However, rather than question me further, he quickly changed the subject and sent me a grin, “Well it seems as though you’re doing a bit better. A stupid concussion can’t seem to keep you down.”


I sent him a glare, “Yes indeed I am oh grand and gracious stalker, now would you mind leaving my bedroom and give me some privacy? Weren’t you ever taught that it’s rude to invade someone’s personal space?”


I knew I was being a little harsh on him. He was only doing what he had promised. Plus he was trying to lighten the obviously tense mood, but I couldn’t shake the heart-stopping fear that my dream had caused to wrap around my mind. He’d never understand that. I needed him to leave quickly. I needed some space.

A Slight Case of Writer's Block

Alright so the next chapter that I'm working on is taking a whole heck of a lot longer than I wanted. Perosnally I blame it on writer's block. It's not that I don't have the ideas in my head waiting to be composed and taken out of my brain, but the problem lies with the fact that I can't seem to get the right wording out. My chapter seems a bit boring, though I know where I want to take the plot. it's just difficult to get everything organized and settled into place.

Anyway I needed to post something for you guys who read this delightful little blog. So I thought that since many of you may be confused with what exactly is going on, I thought I could post some character descriptions to give you guys a better idea of what exactly some of the story entails. Then when I do post snippets, there won't be as much confusion.

So here is the first character sketch I have for you! It is of course Jenna. Enjoy!

Jenna Elizabeth Matheson:



1. Middle name was after her grandmother


2. Parents Names: Jeremy and Ann Matheson.


3. Junior at Cornel University studying History and Literature


4. Lives alone


5. Parents died when she was sixteen, and she witnessed it and consequently suffers from post traumatic stress.


6. Struggles to sleep because she suffers from nightmares revolving around the deaths of her parents.


7. Socially withdrawn and has a hard time making and keeping friends. Though she prefers it this way. The less people know, the less they can hurt her.


8. Doesn’t trust anyone with her personal life. Prefers her solitude


9. Auburn hair and green eyes. Fairly tall 5’ 5”. Slender and fair skinned. Faint freckles on her nose and cheeks.