Coban, Guatemala

Hey Guys! Merry Christmas. I hope you had an awesome time with your loved ones and ate lots of candies. I went on a trip for the holydays. It’s a place called Cobán, here in Guatemala. The reason I went there is because my dad is a military officer and had military service for Christmas. When we found out about this me and my brothers were very upset. I hate when he can’t spend the Holydays with us. I was already picturing my Christmas back home, sitting in front of the T.V. watching extremely tacky Christmas movies and falling asleep before midnight because there is nothing to do.

One day, my mom sits down at the table with us, her smile is so big that It seemed It was too big  for her face. “Your dad has a House for us where he works” She says “We’re going to go spend Christmas with him”.

And we did. I just had a good Christmas, I spent midnight singing Karaoke with the Commandant’s daughters and other officers, we had champagne, we ate a lot and laughed at other people singing, I even got my parents to sing, they were so nervous. I came here con 24^th in the morning, it was a four hour trip in which I couldn’t sleep because I was copilot and I didn’t want my mom to fall asleep too. It was tiring and I caught the flu. But you tell me If this view isn’t awesome.

You know, I live In a very green area but it’s different, this is a town, and there is something about the cold, It’s not a windy cold like the city, It’s more like a dry cold, I love it.

I would definitely come back here. 

GERMANY!

Guess what? I'm traveling. 

Guess where? 

Yeah.

So this guy went to talk to me and my classmates at school. He informed us about this volunteering, and also this Au Pair Program. I was initially interested in the volunteering but I ended up applying for an Au Pair Program. You probably haven't heard about this therm.

Au Pair: A domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a Host Family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use. Au pair schemes are subject to government restrictions which specify an age range usually from late teens to mid to late twenties. In Europe, where the concept originated, au pairs only work part-time, and they often also study part-time, generally focusing on the language of the host country. 

The title comes from the French term au pair, meaning "on a par" or "equal to", indicating that the relationship is intended to be one of equals: the au pair is intended to become a member of the family, albeit a temporary one, rather than a traditional domestic worker.

So, yeah, that's what I'm doing next year. And the best of it: I will be able to edit my book. I'm leaving in 8 days to Münich, Germany. 

Eight days. 

I'm still processing it. 

VOTE!

Hey guys, I just signed in to tell you this.

Vote for this video please.

December Reading List

Hey guys, I finished my book, and I am allowing myself a month of recess before editing because I'm in no rush. In order to refresh my mind I am reading a lot this month. And by a lot, I mean a lot.

These are the books I still have to read:

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
If Wishes Were Horses - Robert Barclay
The Autobiograpy Of Miss Jane Pittman - Ernest J. Gaines
Put Your Dream To the Test - John C. Maxwell
Percy Jackson and The Olympians (The Whole five books) - Rick Riordan

 I have already read Divergent by the second time and finally finished Insurgent. They are awesome! But there's still a lot to read.

Why? Because I need to distract myself, get new ideas and forget about my book. This month I will take notes while reading and when I finally decide to start editing I will be able to see my book with critic eyes, and take notes of what's wrong.

This is my whole month then. That, and hanging out with someone :)

A Cactus?

I'm gonna be quick right now. Meet my Cactus.

Its name is Tauro. 

Tauro is the first earth sign, the most stable and the strongest. Taurus are known for their stubborn nature and their unwillingness to change. Since Cactus are plants that might survive in the hottest of places I decided this name was perfect. Now, I asked how to take care of them but I don't remember what he said. Or if he said anything.

Does anyone know how to take care of a Cactus?

Writing Tip #7 - Draw

Hey guys! You probably know I wrote a book, finished NaNoWriMo and so. Yeah, I know I talk a lot about his, haha.

So, this week I remembered that meanwhile my writing I had a really blurry idea if how my characters looked. I even forgot it and whenever I had to mention someone's semblance, I invented another one instead of going back because I had no time. It was a really messy first draft.

In order to put this problem down I tried this. I drew them. It doesn't matter If you can draw or your drawing looks like a 3 year old's. We're not trying to be Picasso here, we write. That's what we're good at. I have never read about this working for writers but you know, every writer is different, you have to keep trying new things that might work for you.

To me, this works because It makes them real. Now, my characters are not just a bunch of ideas in my head, they have a face, expressions, flaws and differences. So this is my advice.

Draw. You might discover new things about them.For example, these are my main characters:

Abril Becker:

Small, short red hair usually messy, freckled, gray eyes.

André Franco:

Tall, tan, brown hair, red cheeks and stunning eyes. (Still, haven't decided what color because in my first draft he has three different colors). I can't draw smiles, but he's always smiling.

Tito Ferrati:

Slim, tall, blond long hair, blue eyes and he never shaves properly His torso is filled with tattoos.

Writing Tip #6 - Character Crafting.

Hey there. Most of writers know about this, and It's very logical. You can't tell how people is if you don't know them. You can't write about a character without knowing who she/he is. If your character is a guy how is rude to everyone you don't want to find him comforting someone he doesn't care about, you don't want him to magically change his temper. You need to know who he is, the reason he's like that and why is it important in your story.

For this, I will post some pictures that were very useful to me. I do not owe them, I found them in Tumblr.

Here they are.

Writing Tip #5 - Noveling Music

Hey guys, meet my noveling playlist for the book I just wrote. 

Okay, so you probably have heard about this. Some writers have what they call "Noveling Music" this is a playlist, a genre of music or a band that inspires them to write. It doesn't work for everyone, some rather silence, some others rather a person as inspiration.

Personally, I rather a playlist. 

How does this work?

If you're really into music, you know a song has a personality. Music has a melody, lyrics and voice. It has a message.

Now, you happen to have a book, your book has a plot, characters and feelings. It has a message. By instance, your book also has a personality.

Find the type of music that matches the personality you want your book to have.

If you're writing a romance novel then go get the most cheesy album you know.

Know what I mean?

I hope you do, this is not very easy to explain.

Writing Tip #4 - Writing Events

Hey guys, I recently finished NaNoWriMo, for those who haven't read about it (which, might be difficult, because NaNoWriMo is practically all I write about) its a writing event. So, I decided to give you guys a tip.

Sign up for writing events.

I'm serious, this is the best thing that has ever happened to me as a writer. It's a nice experience, you get to know more writers, how they write and you also get emails of writers, but the most important thing is:

They really encourage you to finish it. That's all those events want, they want literature to expand. You  don't win a thing but hey. For a writer; what could be better to have a finished novel by the end of the month?

Here are some Writing events:

Script Frenzy

Camp NaNoWriMo

NaNoWrimo

NaNoWriMo - Day 26

Check this out!

I WON! aksjdfkjasasdfasj. Sorry, I just can't right now.

Today I woke up, knowing I still had to write five thousand more words, I had breakfast, fed my dog and watched a movie. I did the same thing of yesterday. I sat in my living room at two in the afternoon an never left, only to go to the bathroom or eat. I was possessed by my story. It was begging me to write it. To finish it. But I was so obsessed with the word count that decided to paste a little Post-It so i couldn't see it. The last three thousand words went faster.

Now, I'm done with it. My eyes are sore, my back is killing me and let's not talk about my butt. I've been sitting in a damn chair for ten hours! But you know what?

I don't care. I freakin won this thing.

I used to do gymnastics. At the end, that leaves you nothing more than one thing.

It doesn't matter how much something hurts, If you truly want it.

So, here it is:

This is my novel.

I owe this to Tumblr, because I found NaNoWriMo there and The Office Of Letters and Light.

I looooooove NaNoWriMo. Thank you NaNoWriMo!

NaNoWriMo - Day 25

Today I woke up on a bad mood. My eyes were sore because of late writing, and all I wanted was some more sleep. But instead, I helped my mom doing the grocery and some other mom stuff.

Later, we watched a movie and then I took some rest. I began writing after lunch and I haven't even stopped. My story is so about to end that it hurts.

Waaaaait. Where did this month go?

When this NaNo thing began, I was so exited, and scared. Because I've never been able of finishing a draft.

NEVER.

And now, well my story is about to end. I can't believe there's only 5,402 words waiting to be written.

5,402 words to go. 

5, 402 words!

Writing Tip #3 - Believe in Yourself.

Yeah, I know what you´re going to say. "Are you serious? Now, that's a dumb tip". 

Hey, I'm serious here!

Writing is not easy, it takes mental effort, concentration, inspiration, and hard work. Every writer deals with some issues, sometimes we are told that we're weird, or that we'll not make any money out of that, that we're crazy for doing this. Yeah, that's normal. People talk.

The dangerous part are your thoughts. For example, me. I was never able to finish a draft the past 5 years, because right in the middle of it I was like "This is dumb." "I'm wasting my time" "This story is not exiting". Then I developed a few steps to clear that away.


Step one: Tell yourself you're not doing something stupid. 
Either if you're writing about a talking bread or not. You created something, respect it.

Step two: Take your story seriously. 
Whenever you write a story, a world rises in your head. It has a plot, characters, good times, hard times, fun and love (Probably). It is something important, something big, because a month ago, it wasn't there.

Step Three: Tell yourself you are a writer. 
Have you ever written something? A fairytale, a short story, a novel? Even when writing two pages, you better start calling yourself a writer because you are. Say it, until you believe it.

Step four: Keep the writing going!
Yeah, you don't need an explanation for that.

NaNoWriMo - Day 20

Yesterday night, I was writing in my living room. Everything was calm, my mom and dad were watching T.V., my brothers were asleep, my dog was finally quiet!

Yeah, until we received that phone call.

My great grandmother died.

She was 91 years old, she was the most spoiled person I know and everyone loved her. She was sweet and  she had a long happy life, and I'm glad she left this world in peace.

Now, the writing.

Let's just say I'm not in the mood :( my grandma and mom are totally torn and nothing gets me more sad than those lovely women's tears, and I was doing some research because I wanted to go to Oxford, to study Creative Writing. I was reading the Introduction and realized that Creative Writing is a Master In Studies. Not and Undergraduate course. Earth to Gabs! Did you seriously thought it was going to be that easy?

I'm just frustrated. Because I've been visiting the Creative Writing page for months, and haven't done a deep research until today. I was just fooling myself. But I really want to study something that has to do with writing.

Because I am a writer, I don't picture myself doing anything else! I just can't.

Back to the writing, for me begins now, guys. It's 21st in Guatemala already, 12:09AM.

Writing Tip #2 - Stay away from Social Networks!

I remember when I was in High School (Yeah, two months ago?) I loved Tumblr.  I used to scroll, read posts, repost some of them and write posts for four whole hours.Tumblr was I did until I had to go to bed. When I went, I was tired. My  eyes where heavy, but not as heavy as my head, I looked like a zombie, my back hurt and all I wanted to do was sleep.

So I went and laid down in my bed, my eyes were closing, the last thing I saw was my backpack.

Wait a minute, my backpack! I had homework!

Stay away from social networks. "Oh, I'm stuck. Let's go on Twitter for a minute or two while my mind develops this idea a little more...." No.

"Maybe I could post something about..." Just, no.


Writing is hard work. Don't get distracted by other stuff. I don't know about you, but social networks distract me. So make sure you are not logged into any.

NaNoWriMo - Day 15

Good morning/afternoon/night wherever you guys are, I hope you're okay, because I'm not. Yesterday I took Luna (my dog) for a walk and damn It was cold! After that I went to my friend's house to watch Harry Potter's movies, but her window was open, and I had no sweater. So, today I woke up with the flu. Yeah, I know you're sorry for me, thanks for worrying, haha.

For those who don't know what this picture is, these are my NaNoWriMo stats. Yeah, I didn't wrote a word yesterday. But I wanted to show this to you guys. Because this is the reason we're all doing NaNo. Because we all want to reach the goal.

50,000 words.

So, today is the middle of the month, and yesterday I couldn't *cough* didn't felt like *cough* write, I have to write 2,772 words for today, so I'm in total lockdown at home today, I have to focus.

Still, I'm surprised how much I wrote so far.

Writing Tip #1 - Get Informed. Or get Experienced.

Hey everyone! I'm a NaNoWriMo Participant?

Yeahhh. Today's goal was 18,333 so i was planning on writing all day long. Because It's sunday guys. You don't leave your house on a sunday, It's not normal. But again, us writers are defined by many words: creative, distracted, loner, nuts... but normal? nope.

I went to a party yesterday, and got there late because I decided to stop at a Café and write until my laptop had no batery. I left my main character in a underground room, learning how to handle a gun, because she's a badass and that's what badasses do. She had to learn many names of guns and their parts.

Guess what? I don't know a thing about guns. 

So, the tip is: Get properly informed. 

If your character is in a car race, learn all about races. Learn the parts of the car and how do a race car looks. because, you can't say your character opened the door of the car. Race cars don't have any! Or, if you have a super smart character (Smarter than yourself) then hang out with a friend that says smart things of have him explain about certain topics.

Because if you don't, you'll find yourself watching YouTube tutorials at the middle of the night, just like me. But still, there are some things you can't make up. I need a real feeling in this part of my manuscript, it's kinda like an important moment.

So, tomorrow I will learn how to shoot. Me. I will shoot a real gun with real bullets.

Because writing is not just sitting and typing. Is an adventure. 

Live your manuscripts guys. At least, that's what I do.

NaNoWriMo - Day 11

Hey everyone, I hope you're well. You know, I was supposed to post every five day but yesterday I was kinda busy so I couldn't. 

Today i woke up and my brother came to my room, he told me his friend gave him a puppy and we had to go get it. My mom hates puppies and we all know it, so the plan was lying to her, pretend to go to the market to get bubble gum and get back home with this one month old Husky. 

But she realized we were lying, she made us tell the truth, she panicked. She got mad, but she allowed us to go anyway. 

My fam told me I should name her because I was a writer and I'm good with names. I wanted to name her Pandora, Venus or Hera. Then I thought of Asia or Africa, I also thought of River, Rain or Winter.

After all, I named her Luna, after J.K. Rowling's Luna Lovegood. And I think her name is perfect.

So Luna is part of the family now. 

Wait! Wasn't this post about NaNoWriMo? Sorry guys, I just like writing, about anything. Today I had a busy day with Luna, and my mom made us watch old movies. We're watching Armagedon right now, it's awesome. I guess I´ll have to write later. 

But the point is, to never stop writing any day. 

Wish me luck!

Writing buddies? Anyone?

Hey everyone! this is my very first year in NaNo and I only have two writing buddies. Yeah, my life is sad. I would like to meet more writers, read a synopsis or two. Make friends.

I know I'm not good at that, but this is me being friendly,

So here is my Author info and synopsis. Yeah, It´s also in spanish because I´m from Guatemala (remember that movie, 2012? The one where the world ended and Mayans said it? Yeah I live there.) If something's wrong with spelling let me know.

See ya.

NaNoWriMo - Day 5

10,000 words is my goal today guys.

I am so glad for this NaNo thing. It's the best thing for a writer. Because as writers we make no pressure on us, (at least not me) and we never get to finish a novel (again, me!) I feel that his month I will.

I WILL win this thing.

And you know what? This is the best contest ever, because the ones who win aren't the ones with the best story, but the ones that reach the goal.

50,000 Words! Let's go!

NaNoWriMo - Day 1

Its timeeeeee!

Today It's my first day in NaNoWriMo, I waited in my laptop until was 12:01 AM and I started it. It just went on and I already have my first 1600 words! Serously, this is the best thing It could happen to me in the year! I just had a lame halloween and my best friend told me we were done with the "friends" stuff and to go our own ways so, ouch.

But the Writing has done good to me, Wish me luck!

And If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, click here 

NaNoWriMo!

Hey everyone, I know I really don't post much but since now I will.

Yesterday I was bored at the point of death, going on Twitter, drawing nonsense doodles and well, I thought I was gonna die from boredom.

Until, I went on Tumblr and, Thank God I went there. Because I found  this post of something called National Novel Writing Month. You guys gotta check this out! Click here to learn more about it.

And hurry! Because It begins tomorrow!

This is gonna be awesome.

Hey there!

Look, I really have no idea if someone is reading this but I just wanted to tell you that you are awesome.

Good bye.

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