Chapter 51 of Evening Star Posted!

Evening Star cover created by Fusiee on Wattpad

A very kind Wattpad fan created two new covers for Evening Star this week--isn't she a dear thing? I've posted my favorite of the two above. So many thanks go to Fusiee (Rachel) on Wattpad--thank you, sweetie!! :)

Last night I posted Chapter 51 of Evening Star. Over the weekend, I completed Chapter 51 and roughed out most of Chapter 52. Now that I'm nearing the end of the story, I think I'll end up with 55 chapters total.


I'm also incorporating elements of another story within Chapter 52. With the kind permission of FanFiction.net author AllTheOtherNamesAreUsed, I am weaving in some poetry from "Bella's favorite poet" as revealed in her story Midnight Sun Bridge. I am quoting a short portion of dialogue and will be working in a poem by "Bella's favorite poet" into a future chapter...when it will be extremely poignant (I hope!).


I think I have the overall picture worked out for the conclusion of Evening Star, so much so that I'm planning to devote the first few days of NaNoWriMo to completing Evening Star before I start drafting Chapter 8 of Pinned but Fluttering. I know that I'm not quite following NaNoWriMo's rules, but hey--as long as I write 50,000 words by November 30, I shall consider myself successful.


Currently my goal is to complete Evening Star by November 15. I have entered the story in the Wattys (the annual contest on Wattpad.com), but although I have a loyal fan base, I doubt it will win anything. I'd just love to place third or something. Ah, well.


I remind myself that I'm not writing to win prizes or a popularity contest; I'm writing because I love to write and because my readers on Wattpad (and two or three on FanFiction.net) are demanding more chapters and a sequel to Evening Star. I'll think about that prospect after I've completed this story and have a good deal of Pinned but Fluttering written.


I'm teaching a new literature class online starting today, so I'd better return to my "real" job, LOL! How I wish I could just write fiction all day...and that's a very odd desire coming from ME, the non-fiction writer before NaNOWriMo and fan fiction came along....


Have a wonderful week, all!! Love you!! Mwhaa!


--Cassandra :)

Chapter 7 of Pinned but Fluttering Now Posted

New Pinned but Fluttering cover designed on Wattpad by ExxIce

Yes, I updated Pinned but Fluttering early this morning, posting my longest chapter thus far. It's already racing up the lists on Wattpad, reaching #2 in the Thriller category and #8 (a new high) in the Fan Fiction category.


A couple of days ago, Chapter 50 of Evening Star reached a new high, #9 in the Fan Fiction category; currently it's ranked at #16.


I'm gearing up for NaNoWriMo, with the Prologue of Pinned but Fluttering posted. Somehow I need to complete Evening Star before the end of November. I'm thinking about having a marathon writing session this weekend try try to complete it. I really only need three more chapters, perhaps four. I might just be able to pull it off and finish with a bang.

And isn't the new cover for Pinned but Fluttering amazing? A sweet fan on Wattpad just e-mailed it to me out of the blue. ExxIce did a lovely job of picking up the pathos of the story. I love it. And another friend on Wattpad offered today to design new covers for both books! I told her that I already had covers, so she should perhaps design for people who didn't, but she likes to design for her favorite stories, so I gave her the "go ahead," if she'd like. I'll post them when I receive them....


So that's the current news. I'm up far later than I should be, but essays must get graded and homeschooling must happen. And addictive fan fics must be read, of course....


Have a wonderful rest of your week!


--Cassandra

Chapter Fifty of Evening Star Now Posted!

Tonight I posted Chapter Fifty of Evening Star on both Wattpad.com and FanFiction.net. See sidebar for links to both sites.


I can't believe that I've posted fifty chapters in just over eleven months. I started posting Evening Star on November 17, 2010 on Wattpad, adding it to Fan Fiction a little over a month later.


And soon we'll be entering New Moon territory where the story will end. I think I've figured out a way for Edward to tell his side of the story without quoting too much from New Moon. I know that I'll have to quote some dialog here and there, but I really want to keep it to a minimum while still showing Edward's reaction to the early events in Meyer's second book of the quadrilogy. (Is "quadrilogy" really a word?)


I also wish to direct your attention to the lovely new cover for Pinned but Fluttering at the top of the sidebar, created by Wattpad fan Exxlce. I never asked for a cover--she just made one out of the blue because she liked the story so much. Isn't she a gem? It's lovely and haunting and everything I would want in a cover. It's a vast improvement over my quickie five-minute job sans PhotoShop.


I'm still taken in by solosintwilight's In Your World because I have had a crush on the Amish lifestyle since I was eight years old and my dad brought me a sunbonnet from Amish country in Ohio where he grew up.


And I'm positively addicted to CaraNo's River which updates in snippets several times a day.


So those are the two WIPs I'm following avidly, along with Nolebucgrl's Words with Friends (BPOV) and Words with Strangers (EPOV) which will both update on Wednesday. I'm counting the hours until she updates....


Have a lovely week!!


--Cassandra

Entering a Poetry Contest on Wattpad




Screen Shot of Wattpad Profile Page

 
Through another fan fiction writer on Wattpad, I read about a poetry contest on Wattpad that closes in four days. We were to write and post a "Manifesto Poem" which I did, along with another poem.

Both "Tone-Deaf?" and "Trailing Fingertips" ended up tonight ranked in the top poems, the former at #16 and the latter at #48.


I was also surprised to see both poems on Wattpad's "What's Hot" list today, "Tone-Deaf?," which I entered in the contest, at #232 and "Trailing Fingertips," which I also posted on FanFiction.net, in #644.


I posted the latter as an AU from BPOV set a century after her marriage to Edward and transformation into a vampire. I thought I'd post it here for you as well:

Trailing Her Fingertips...

"True love lasts forever,"
she said,
trailing her fingertips
through their years.

Theirs had been the tale often told:
love entwining,
twisting time
into binding cords,
cutting her delicately
if she struggled--
the scars unseen.

Unless, of course,
one gently gauged
the depths of her eyes....

But no one did.

Copyright Cassandra Lowery/SMB
All Rights Reserved


So I'm hoping to bring more attention to my poetry and perhaps win a contest at Wattpad, and also bolster my FanFiction.net postings.


I've received some really great comments today which is nicely encouraging, considering I'm still sick in bed after being down with a flu bug all week....

And some Pinned but Fluttering news.... It's remained at #1 on Wattpad's Thriller category and now edged into the Top Ten Fan Fictions at #10, also a new record.

Wow.

Just....WOW.

I think I'm pinching myself...again.


--Cassandra

Wow--Another Wattpad Milestone!

I am so thrilled...literally!


Pinned but Fluttering reached #1 in the Thriller category on Wattpad. Wow!


I've written here before about why I think my stories do better on Wattpad than on FanFiction.net. Wattpad deals with stories in many genres, not merely fan fiction, plus Wattpad has a younger audience and thus my stories, which are more like PG/PG-13 level, do well there.


Don't get me wrong--I would *love* to have a following on FanFiction.net too, but right now it isn't happening. There are just soooo many fan fics there and I don't have time to do stuff in their forums or on Twilighted to spread the word.


But right now I'm quite happy with my Wattpad fans, and my two or three consistent reviewers on FF.net. And I am so happy to reach #1 in the Thriller category! Pinned but Fluttering also passed the 10,000 reads mark this week as well, plus I also surpassed 250 fans now, so I'm very happy about these milestones as well.


Over the weekend I'll be writing and posting Chapter 50 of Evening Star as I wind down that story in order to complete it by November 30 to enter the Wattys. the annual story awards at Wattpad. I may finish Evening Star for NaNoWriMo first, then proceed to writing chapters for Pinned but Fluttering.


Next goal: #1 in the Fan Fiction category on Wattpad; right now Pinned but Fluttering is at #13 and the high has been #12.


Have a wonderful evening all!


Keep writing bravely,

--Cassandra

Chapter 49 of Evening Star Is Posted!

I just posted Chapter 49 of Evening Star on both Wattpad and FanFiction.net--links for this story on both sites can be found in the sidebar.


I can't believe that I've written almost fifty chapters for Evening Star. I've composed this story the same way I tackle stories for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo): completely off-the-cuff, with no outlining and just a Post-It note reminder of a plot twist here and there. I mull over the next chapter during the course of the week, and then I sit down and write it, usually in a short sitting or two. Then I revise a couple of times, expanding some areas and editing others (but usually adding material), and I post. That's it.


I have approximately five chapters left in order to complete Evening Star, and most of it will be occurring within the context of Meyer's New Moon. I must finish Evening Star by November 30 in order to qualify for the Watty Awards on Wattpad, and I think I'll make the deadline fairly easily. I definitely want to complete it before Breaking Dawn Part 1 hits the theaters.


Speaking of NaNoWriMo, I'm planning to write the rough draft of Pinned but Fluttering during the month of November, or at least 50,000 words of it. With Evening Star approaching 115,000 words, I may not complete Pinned but Fluttering. But I will get a good portion of it roughed out during NaNoWriMo. I have at least three former students joining me at NaNoWriMo and possibly one new student trying it as well.


I love doing NaNoWriMo with students; I've done it in the past with current students as "friends" so that we can compete against each other in finishing our 50,000 words. So that's my plan for getting a good bit of Pinned but Fluttering in rough draft form at least. I still hope to post 3-4 chapters before the start of NaNoWriMo; in fact, I'm going to get started on Chapter Five right now. :)


Speaking of Pinned but Fluttering, I was quite pleased with its ranking on Wattpad this week after I posted Chapter 4 on Tuesday: #2 on the Thrillers list, #8 on the Fan Fiction list, and #161 on What's Hot, which encompasses all of the stories in all genres posted on Wattpad. Those are some impressive numbers!


And I think I may have figured out one reason why my stories do so much better on Wattpad versus FanFiction.net. The popular stories on the latter site tend to be rated "M" (Mature) and contain truly "mature" content--as in sex. The stories on Wattpad, however, tend to be a little more innocent. And the old proverb "Sex Sells" seems to apply as much to fan fiction as it does to advertising. I don't necessarily have a problem with the steamier stories; I just don't care to write them. I'd rather imply than describe in detail, and I appreciate those stories that do the same. It's one theory, anyway, as to why my stories are quite popular on one site and are barely noticed on another.


So, I'm off to write start another chapter of Pinned but Fluttering now that Evening Star is properly updated.


Have a wonderful week, everyone!


--Cassandra

Chapter 4 of Pinned but Fluttering Is Up!

I've been buried for the past five days. My online research essay class submitted their rough drafts on Friday, and I've had to go through all the essays, commenting on formatting, language usage, and content. It's been exhausting, spending between three and six hours per essay.

 So, needless to say, I didn't get much writing done over the weekend. I did finally get Chapter 4 of Pinned but Fluttering up on both FanFiction.net and Wattpad (see sidebar for links to both stories on both sites). This story seems more popular than Evening Star; it is more creatively based and has more of a "what's-gonna-happen-next" feel to it, so perhaps these factors explain its popularity. I looked back on Wattpad today and noted that I had 51 comments there! Now, a lot of those are mine as I responded to the commenters, but still--that's a lot of comments for me, anyway.


My class ends on Friday, and then I have ten days to do a final grading and return the essays to my class. Then I'm not teaching again until October 31 when I begin a Literary Analysis class on Anne of Green Gables. That should be fun!


Thanks for hanging out here and reading my blatherings! And go read Chapter 4 of Pinned but Fluttering if you haven't already, okay?


--Cassandra