Entry 3

What I have to say this week is simple: don't give up. I mean it! When I started writing, I was only in fifth grade. Let me tell you: it sucked. Seriously, I was really into it. I made the mistake of putting myself in each character's place and asking "What would I do?", which made them all me. The plot was cheesy, and the descriptions were not very imaginative. After a while, I looked back and saw how terrible it was. I started over. That too, sucked. I was really frustrated. I was stuck in a place of cliché. A mysterious-stranger-really-rebellious-princess at an inn joins the orphan-main-character-who-lives-with-their-aunt-and-uncle, who goes out to save the world. I was in despair, but I was too attached to dump it. Though I knew better, I stayed with it. Believe it or not, that writing is part of my book today. Only recently did I cut out the whole inn sequence and gave the main character parents (that was a relief). My problem had been that I wanting so badly to write I didn't care how terrible it was. I ignored my inner smartness and continued. And I can't believe where it took me. I sometimes wonder what had happened if I had started over again. It may have changed my current plot more than I know. So, no matter how bad you think it is, go through it. You can always go back and make it more logical, original, high-quality, etc. That's how I got from shy, trusting Lapé to bold, scared Spenfalla. Sometime I'll have to show you some changes I made. But that's all for now.

Leara