Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime!

Yes, I graded my final essay for my online classes and e-mailed all the graded essays and transcript forms to the high school students in my Shakespeare Literary Analysis course on Friday, and now I have time to WRITE!!

Since January, my schedule has been crazy. Besides home schooling three teen boys in grades 7, 10, and 12, I've taught two co-op writing classes for high school students with a total of 16 students since September. Meeting on average twice each month for a total of 18 classes, the students basically turn in ten expository essays each plus an MLA style research essay which takes eight weeks from start to finish (not counting my grading time) and also do an informal oral presentation on their research project for the class.

Then since January, I've taught quite a few online classes: a 4-week grammar family workshop, a 4-week intensive literary analysis course on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, a 4-week poetry writing family workshop, a 4-week Shakespeare family workshop, and a 4-week intensive literary analysis course on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. During this same time, I also put together most of a grammar e-book based on the grammar familyworkshop course and helped to proofread/edit a 10-month language arts curriculum textbook on "partnership writing" written by my boss.

But now it's summertime!!! And I'll have more time to write!! I still can't believe that since January I've only written a prologue and three chapters on my new story, Only by Moonlight. The good news is that I'm 2500-words into Chapter 4 and hope to complete the rough draft in the next day or two before sending it off to my two amazing pre-readers, ladylibre on FFn and EmmyDana on Wattpad. I'm really hoping to return to my weekly chapter postings so that I can move this story along. It's been difficult writing it because with so much on my mind and so much time between writing chapters, I'm not keeping it simmering on the backburner of my mind like the rest of my stories.

I hope also to pick up a few of my already-started but unfinished stories, excerpts of a few of which I've posted here on this blog. We'll see; I'd love to have a writing-intensive summer!! However, I am teaching one summer class: Fan Fiction!! I taught it for the first time last summer, but since I was designing and writing the class as I was teaching it, the class was quite time-intensive. But with the class all prepared and ready to go, I shouldn't have to use too much of my time on it this summer.

The Fan Fiction class is designed for students ages 12-18, and we'll define and discuss the genre of fan fiction, study and critique a few fan fiction stories, then write three chapters/stories (not necessarily all from the same fandom): a 500-1000 word flash fan fiction chapter/story, a 1000-2500 word chapter/story, and then a 2500-5000 word chapter/story. We'll also discuss how to deal with writer's block and how to finish one's story. With two completed novel-length stories under my belt plus several shorter stories (one shots), coming up on 3 million reads/hits on my works between FanFiction.net and Wattpad.com, and teaching writing for over 20 years at the elementary, junior high, high school, and university levels, I feel confident in teaching a fun and productive course. Here's the link to the registration page if anyone's interested in signing up; the class is 4 weeks long and begins July 8: Brave Writer Online Fan Fiction Class.   

But I am planning to work on Only by Moonlight as much as possible during this summer, especially before September comes when I'll be teaching two overlapping classes: a 4-week intensive literary analysis class on American poetry and the 6-week MLA research essay course. After I return the final research essays, I'll be teaching another intensive 4-week literary analysis course on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (and hoping the new movie will be out on DVD in time for us to watch and discuss it for our class).  So I will definitely have a busy fall ahead of me, but perhaps I can write ahead enough to keep the chapters coming even while I'm teaching in the fall.

I am planning to join Camp NaNoWriMo and write a lot of chapters during July, perhaps enough to keep me posting well into the fall despite my busy teaching schedule. I guess we;ll have to see. ;) I got a great deal of Pinned but Fluttering done during NaNoWriMo 2012 and I completed Evening Star during NaNoWriMo 2011, so I do plan to keep going with NaNoWriMo in November. There's nothing like writing 50,000 words in one month to keep a writer on her toes. ;)

So these are my summer plans, and I hope that I get a lot accomplished so that you may all enjoy Only by Moonlight; I'm so excited about the plot, and I hope that you'll all like it, too. :)

Writing with you, my friends,

~Cassandra :)
xxxooo

Making the Top Ten...and the New Story

I am thrilled to announce that Pinned but Fluttering was voted into the Top Ten Completed Fics for January at TwiFanFictionRecs!! Thank you to all of you who voted; I was ecstatic to find out that Pinned but Fluttering came in at #8!!

In addition, TwiFanFictionRecs featured Pinned but Fluttering earlier this week with its own post right here! 

And in further good news, Pinned but Fluttering passed the 1.5 million reads (hits) mark on Wattpad this week! It's also received more than 10,000 votes. The total number of hits on all of my Twilight fan fiction stories at both Wattpad and FanFiction.net combined surpasses 2.6 million. 

That number simply boggles my mind.   


I also found out this week that I am to be published in an arts journal called Ruminate under my real name. Thanks to a dear poet friend, I have a subscription to this wonderful journal, and in one of their e-mails, they asked for reader notes (125 words max) on the topic of "glimpses." I scribbled something out and e-mailed it in, and this week they contacted me to say that mine is among those they've chosen to publish in the spring issue coming out later this month. 


What a way to celebrate my birthday this week!! 

In addition, I drafted the first chapter of my new story (still debating the name) last weekend, and then sent it to the lovely and immensely-talented ladylibre for pre-reading. She gave me some excellent advice, and the chapter is ready to post. However, I still need to:

• name the story (we've been tossing around titles, but I'm still undecided)
• create a Wattpad/FFN book cover
• decide whether to write/post a prologue

But I feel really good about where the story is going. I may slow down my posting schedule to once every two weeks rather than weekly, but we'll see. This year has been so incredibly busy so far that my head is still spinning. However, I missed writing these past months, and it feels wonderful to be writing for you all again. 

And thank you for the lovely birthday messages, both on Facebook and on Wattpad. You all are simply delightful, and I wouldn't be writing without your kind support of my work. 

So off to work on the new story...and I think I'll probably write the prologue after all. ;)

Thanks for everything!! xxxooo

~Cassandra :)

Twilight and Jane Eyre

Even though I've been wrapped up in teaching my fan fiction class and writing Pinned but Fluttering, I have had a few story ideas floating around.


I've written parts of some, and others remain stuck on a Post-It in my writing journal. 


But my first non-Twilight fan fic idea came to me the other night. Lately I've been reading some pretty darn angsty fan fics with Edward in some rather sad and anxiety-provoking situations (like The Blessing and the Curse by The Black Arrow, The Diva Diaries by KivaRaven, An Angry Man by katinki, etc.), I thought about his literary predecessors, including another angst-ridden Edward: Edward Fairfax Rochester. 


So I'm seriously considering expanding my Twilight fan fiction repertoire with a one-shot of Edward Rochester awaking to find Jane gone on the day after their almost-wedding. 


I can almost place a Robert Pattinson, aged by 15 years, in the role of this Edward, one equally haunted by his past sins and tied to a dark mystery in which he drags a young, innocent girl into because of the depth of his love. Only Edward Cullen leaves his Bella while Jane leaves Rochester...but both for what they believe is the "right" reason.


Jane and Bella, and their stories, definitely parallel each other. Both raised in unusual circumstances, Jane an orphan and Bella parenting her own parents, Jane and Bella are rather strong-minded in some ways, yet their teenaged romanticism colors their world greatly. They're young, innocent, trusting girls who are drawn to dark, angsty men who conceal dangerous secrets and checquered pasts. After a climatic event in the story line, a separation ensues during which both women discover another possible love interest, Jane with St. John Rivers and Bella with Jacob Black. Both women's lives are in danger because of this relationship as Jane could easily die on the missionary fields of India where St. John intends for her to join him while Bella learns to love a werewolf. 


Supernatural forces (Jane hearing Rochester call for her, and Bella learning of Alice's vision of Edward's suicide attempt with the Volturi) bring the couples back together, Jane to a blinded and contrite Rochester, Bella to a contrite and apologetic Edward. Choices must be made regarding which love interest the women will choose, and of course they choose their angsty guys, marry them, and live happily ever after, children and all. 


And the two Edwards are so similar. They both possess sinful pasts that they are reluctant to share with their innocent teenaged loves, and both have a deep-seated self-hatred based on those pasts and on their perceived danger to their women. Once restored to their loves, both are appropriate contrite although Rochester has truly changed during the separation from Jane while Edward Cullen changed more before the separation. 


Both men are loners to an extent, have past romantic interests in Blanche Ingram and Tanya in Denali, neither truly worthy of the angsty guys, who inspire jealousy in their teenaged loves. Both men are altered greatly by the introduction of these pure, idealistic women who look past the ugliness in the men's lives (Rochester's physical ugliness and the ugliness of who Edward is as a vampire) and love them not only despite the men's flaws but perhaps because of them.  


As many parallels exist between Jane Eyre and the Twilight Saga, it seems a natural place to go, fan fiction-wise, to write from Rochester's POV when he discovers Jane gone, the pearls and other valuables left behind, and "right to prevail." Angst will heavily color Edward Rochester's thoughts as he realizes that Jane, friendless in their world, has left with nothing. 


So let's see if I can clear the time to write this one-shot soon, shall we? And yes, I hope to keep writing the Twilight stories I've started or jotted down the basic plot ideas in my notebook. So keep your eyes peeled....


On another quick note, on Wattpad Pinned but Fluttering passed 700,000 reads this week, and Evening Star passed 650,000 reads; in addition, my vote count for all of my works on Wattpad has passed 8000! So thank you to my wonderful readers--you are the reason I write and keep writing!!


With love and thanks,
~Cassandra :)  

Lotsa Stuff!!

Didn't you all LURVE the new Breaking Dawn Part II teaser trailer?? I declare, November cannot come too soon!! 


I'm also pleased to note that Evening Star passed 600,000 reads and Pinned but Fluttering 500,000 reads on Wattpad.com earlier this month!! Cool, eh? I just posted Chapter 37 of Pinned but Fluttering yesterday, and I hope to get the next chapter up very soon--Sunday or Monday. I hate leaving my readers dangling from a nasty cliffie, especially when I've rather developed a habit of doing so. But then, I haven't categorized this story on Wattpad as a "Thriller" for nothing...and in the Thriller category on Wattpad, Pinned but Fluttering is ranked #1! Yay!! 


But the BEST NEWS: I'M FREE!!!! Yes, I'm done homeschooling until late August, and I'm off work until July 1. I start a new position at the same company I've taught online classes with for the past decade, so I'm taking this week and next week to REST!!! And to write.... 


I have a couple of ideas for one-shots/short stories, plus I have that weird EPOV story I started over a year ago that I'd like to work on. (I posted the beginning of it earlier on my blog; here's the link if you're interested: "Two New One-Shots" ) It could actually tease out to a full-length fic, so I don't want to cut it too short. I'm still pondering that one.... 


I hope that this summer will be productive--a chance to really spread my wings and FLY with my writing!! I do want to eventually write some original fiction which would be really cool (and which my husband is encouraging me to do as it can actually make some $$). I am very much looking forward to the four-week fan fiction writing class I'll be teaching to students ages 13-18 on Brave Writer starting July 9. But I'll post more on that later.... :) 


So this summer will involve work and teaching for Brave Writer, but no homeschooling, no co-op teaching or grading, and probably little if any online grading. So out of my four jobs, I'll only have one going... ...which should give me plenty of time to WRITE!!!! As far as reading, I've been rather obsessed with the complete works of the following writers on FanFiction.net:


katinki
pattyrose
LadyGwynedd
ladylibre 


The latter only has one story, but it's terrific; the other three have loads of excellent stories to read, so do an author search on FanFiction.net to locate and enjoy their wonderful work!! 


Okay, it's nearly one in the morning and I'm driving up to Riverside and back tomorrow, so I'd better get to bed (where I am rereading AEGiggle's "The Wisdom Seekers," the only Twilight/Harry Potter crossover series I've found worth reading). 


 See you soon! 


~Cassandra :)

The Middle-of-the-Night Jottings on Christmas-Themed Post-Its....

The last two weeks I've found my mind still in Pinned but Fluttering mode when I get ready for bed after posting the new chapter late. Last week some tings I wanted to address in the next chapter came to mind, so I grabbed the ever-present Christmas-themed pad of Post-It notes and, in minuscule penmanship, jotted down five Post-Its of ideas.


After getting up the next morning, I unstuck them from the bathroom mirror, brought them downstairs, and stuck them to a blank page in my "Scribblings" journal--a place in which I jot chapter ideas, points not to forget, elements to bring back in, and rough drafts of many a failed poem.


So there they are (pictured above): the basis for Chapter 28 of Pinned but Fluttering.


And this morning was no different. Going to bed at nearly 5:00 AM (when normal people are getting up, of course) after staying up all night to ready my new online classroom for the teaching of Little Women, the opening lines for Chapter 29 came to me. So again I reached for the pad of Christmas-themed Post-Its and jotted down the opening lines (subject to later revision, of course).


Here is what I wrote:

"What did I do?" I asked weakly, the room still reverberating from the sheer force of Edward's dramatic exit.

Alice seemed completely unperturbed. "Oh, it was nothing you did, Bella," she said, waving a hand toward me airily. Then she flashed me a wide grin, a "cat-just-ate-the-canary" kind of grin. Refusing to say another word, she returned to watching Downton Abbey. I tried to join her, but as engrossing as the Crawley family and household staff were, they were the furthest topic from my thoughts....

So there we are!! Now that my speaking engagements are over (although I was asked back to do the Journaling Workshop again in May), I have more time to breathe...and perhaps even write! Of course, I'm not even thinking about my "normal life" of teaching two online courses this week (teaching one is more than enough!!), homeschooling the boybarians, and just living.


But I'm still hoping to get some writing done before the weekend so I don't have to stay up so late (and keep my Wattpad readers up so late, too) posting the next chapter. I also want to write an EPOV Outtake...and after Edward's rather dramatic exit at the end of Chapter 28, perhaps now is the time. Could I do both this week? I seriously doubt it...but who knows?


And guess what? On Wattpad yesterday, Pinned but Fluttering reached a quarter of a million reads!!! 250,000!!! And last night, Evening Star reached half a million reads--that's 500,000 reads!! WOW!!!! I love my readers sooooooo much!!! :) :) :)


Okay, getting back to my real life of juggling home education with teaching outside classes....


Writing for you,
--Cassandra :)

Wattpad's Valentine's Special

Last night when I logged into Wattpad, I noticed something interesting. My reading stats for Evening Star had taken a huge jump upward, going from 192,000 reads yesterday morning to passing 200,000 reads last night. I jumped and hoorayed and generally annoyed my family to no end. Because this is big news, right?


So this morning I was even more surprised to see the reader stats for Evening Star jump to nearly 214,000 reads. While I pondered this extremely welcome but rather confusing state of my long-finished story, I received this rather intriguing e-mail:

Hey!

Just wanted to let you know that your story has been selected for inclusion on our Valentine's Special on Wattpad's mobile apps. If you want to check it out, log into your Wattpad app on your mobile device. The story will be listed under "Valentine's Special". Please let me know if you have any questions.

We're really excited about featuring you. Thanks for your wonderful work :)

All the best,
Maria

Maria Cootauco
Community Engagement Manager

Although they don't mention which story was included in their "Valentine's Special," I'm making the assumption that it's Evening Star. ;)


That's sooooo cool!!! :)


In addition, voting begins TODAY and finishes on SUNDAY for the Hidden Star Awards!! Click here to vote for both Evening Star as "Best Story/Rising Star Award" and Pinned but Fluttering as "Best Vamp."


I'll post another reminder to vote tomorrow!!


Flying high today,
Cassandra :)

I Am Nominated!!

Yay!!!!


My dear friend Natalia Mazaur e-mailed me tonight to let me know that she discovered our nominations for The Hidden Star Awards!! This award is for those of us slaving away on our keyboards, writing quality stories yet not quite breaking into the big time.


Evening Star is nominated for "Best All-Around Story" (Rising Star Award) and Pinned but Fluttering is nominated for "Best Vamp."


And the lovely and talented Natalia Mazaur is nominated for "Best Author" (Rising Star Award).


You may view the List of Nominees here.

Voting is this weekend, February 10-12, so please do vote for myself and Natalia. I'll be sure to remind you to vote again come the 10th!

Love,
Cassandra :)

Readers, Beloved Readers

I still pinch myself every time I log onto Wattpad and view my profile. I simply can't believe the enthusiasm and support I receive from my readers on a daily basis.


This week Evening Star topped 150,000 reads, and Pinned but Fluttering is a mere 25 reads from passing 70,000 reads...which will happen within the next hour or two.


My total vote count for all of my works (two stories and four poems) has passed 3,000. My comments are very nearly to that point.


Each time I post a new chapter to Pinned but Fluttering, I have to spend a few hours responding to the fans who comment. It's wonderful that they do comment--but replying to fifty-some comments twice a week can take up a great deal of time...time I could spend writing.


I had to abandon my twice-weekly updating schedule this weekend because of Christmas, but I will return to posting new chapters of Pinned but Fluttering on Wednesdays and Saturdays this week. I post to FanFiction.net as well as to Wattpad, and I finally passed the 100 review-mark for Pinned but Fluttering last week. Yay!


I'm already working on Chapter 19 and will jot down a little more before bed tonight.


And I hope you like the updates to my blog--inspiration provided by That One Nerdy Girl who walked me through some Blogger upgrades I was unaware of. Thank you, my dear!!


So off to writing I go....


--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