My name is Bailey, or Sam, which is short for Samurai Chai. Chai happens to be my favorite type of tea and Sam could be from Supernatural, if you’re looking at it from a fandom point of view, so it all works rather well.
I don’t know how long, exactly, I’ve been writing. I do know that my first ‘book’ was written for my uncle who was battling cancer. When he passed away in 2003, my aunt mailed the book back. It’s tattered, with tinfoil covering the front and cotton balls taped on and dotted with black marker for cows. It told the story of a cowboy who got sick and had a bed by the window where he could look out and see the cows and horses and the farmhands building a barn. And when the cowboy got better, he rode the horses and went on round ups.
It was all based on fact. My uncle was a cowboy. His bed at home looked out over his fields and in the distance he could see a barn being built.
After the cowboy’s book was done, I stopped writing for awhile. I said that it wasn’t something I liked to do anymore.
However, in 2009, I participated in my first NaNoWriMo. I decided the night before it began that it was something I wanted to do and so I did. On my old laptop (that couldn't be unplugged from the wall or it would die), I managed to scrape together a [terribly cliche] plot and wrote my heart out. I ended the month with just over 50,000 words and the first draft of a manuscript under my belt.
I wrote very little though the rest of that year. I didn't know what to write about and all of my ideas seemed to be just like the books that I read. I participated in NaNoWriMo again in 2010, rewriting the novel I wrote the previous year. It was horrible and dark, much darker than anything I had written before. There was no hope. After trying in vain to edit and remove some of the darkness, I shelved
Bending and the three sequel novels that I had planned.
2011 was when my writing really took off. I started to enjoy writing and I wrote constantly. I have notebooks upon notebooks filled with notes and little snippets of dialogue that are begging to be used in some way. The notebooks are all ink stained and most of the covers are torn or the binding are coming apart. The margins are doodled in and there are pages missing. There are lists of words and names that I like and ideas scattered everywhere. There are little outlines for short stories and some larger outlines that are waiting to be improved upon and written out into novels.
One of those little outlines became the novel I wrote over the summer. It was about a girl named Clair and she lived inside a clock. Clair was [and still is] one of my favorite characters. She's sarcastic and her sense of humor is often mistaken for rudeness. Shakespeare's words sum her up rather well in saying, "Though she is but little, she is fierce." Her story is still unfinished, waiting patiently for me in a file on my flashdrive. It's not the best story, but it's near and dear to my heart.
When November (and NaNoWriMo) came again, I was ready. It was called
Living Legends and I retold the legends of Camelot, set in New York City without magic and knights. The Knights of the Round Table were a soccer team. I honestly don't remember all the particulars, but it was fun and lighthearted. Over the next few months I intend to dust off that particular file and possibly begin a rewrite.
Amongst the fun of
Living Legends and NaNoWriMo, I developed carpal tunnel in both my wrists. Writing was put on hold yet again.
When I picked up a pen and paper (or my laptop) to write again, it was October of 2012. I plunged back into the world of words a month before I participated in my fourth National Novel Writing Month. I told the story of Alex and Addison, two thieves who were fighting for their own freedom; the freedom to make choices and to live their lies without fear. They became my babies and I love them to bits and pieces. Their story is the one I write most often, scribbling things down in notebooks when I'm away from the computer or typing away furiously into the night. NaNoWriMo 2012 was my greatest success. I met the 50,000 word goal on day 16 and ended the month with over 80,000 words. (My success was mostly due to the amazing support I had with the Tea-Spitters. They did word wars and were a huge blessing. Ya'll rock. Now go eat cupcakes.)
Alex and Addison (now renamed Ailsin) have been where my attention has been focused for the past almost four months. They keep me on my toes and never fail to surprise me with the many different layers they have. They're where I am right now. They keep me busy and I'm happy to be entertained by them.
Hugs,
Sam
