Weekly Muse #17: 5 Christmas Songs

In honor of Christmas, I'm going to do this list. And I'm hijacking Alex's post. Sorry, Alex, but Christmas is Christmas. And I have to do this before the week ends! 

Best Christmas songs. Read below the cut to know more about this strange post.

First of all, have you ever thought of writing a Christmas story/novel/poem? Well, I haven't. Because I'm sort of busy writing a novel before the year ends (good luck to me!). I know Alex is, so she is perhaps the person who should be writing this post, but I have to get this out of my head before I write my chapters of Welcome to the Dark Side. (It is YA Contemporary). 

Our Journey So Far #15: Plot Bunnies

Hello, me. Hello, you. So, if you looked at my "Penelope Grace" page, you would see a bunch of writings already completed. (There is a much more detailed page on my Tumblr). 

Does anyone want to play "guess how many plot bunnies does she have" game?

Advice For Writers #16: Two or too? The Icky Thing About Grammar

Raise your hand if you hate grammar. I think half of us really hate grammar and the other half are probably Grammar Nazis. Just kidding. I'm sure I can create a poll to gather the correct data and statistics and everything, form the right conclusion, analyze the data...

Alright. Now, I'm going to tell how this: you seriously need to let it go about grammar. Just write. Don't get down because of a spelling error.

Weekly Muse #16: So... Inspirational Authors, anyone?

Here we go! Well, we all love to read, right? And I sure love to read the occasional book. Sometimes, I might reread books only to find an inner depth and surprising meaning. (Plus, Alex Steele is currently rereading the entire Harry Potter series, so... Might as well do this!) 

Alright, here we go. Top five in an meaningless order.

Our Journey So Far #14: Penelope Grace

Wow. I had an insane week. And I'm still trying to rest. I had a little crazy thing (syncope aka fainting and possible head damage) a few days ago (which is like December 1, but it seems to be a while back since then because we are always scheduling our posts 2+ weeks ahead of time). So for me, today is December the Fourth. While you all are somewhere in the future. 

So I hoped you all had a wonderful time with NaNoWriMo and enjoyed my first chapter (and unedited) excerpt of The Black Queen. (The link is in the "Our Works" page). 

Weekly Muse #14: Let's Dance

Penelope Grace again. I want to talk about the songs that inspire you to move. I know that it is a bit weird, because I'm talking about songs that inspire you to move around rather than songs that inspire you to do some writing. 

But dancing always helps shake off the Writer's block, so yes, I'm going here. 

Our Journey So Far #12: Penelope Grace

NaNoWriMo. So it is over. I know I had at least three meltdowns during the entire thing. I was most certainly insane throughout the entire thing. So if you see any random sequences like (jsoidfjiojasiofjsiodjfs) on my blog, Twitter, Tumblr, or anything else, you know I was taking it out on my keyboard. 

A Wordy Gift #3: NaNoWriMo Excerpt

Third month, guys! And we are going strong here at Grace & Steele. So awesome. And because of this awesome anniversary (by months), I'm going to be sending you all a wonderful excerpt from the NaNoWriMo novel I was working on. For 2014. And yes, this is TBQ (The Black Queen) aka the first book I wrote for NaNoWriMo. 

Here we go! First chapter. Please note that this is an unedited version of it, so it is a bit crazy. And weird. I fixed it up in a hour (I know, so lazy of me), and I had Alex look over it a bit. But this it what I got.

Advice For Writers #13: How To Lie

Now, I'm not trying to teach you how to lie. Whoops! That was a lie. 

Anyway, Penelope Grace is here. I'm going to tell you what excuses you can tell to your family when you are trying to hide the fact that you are writing like a maniac/insane person. Quite honestly, I'm going to tell you that if my family knew I was participating in NaNoWriMo and writing 100K+ words in a single month, they would send me to an institution. Or therapy, at least. Or rehab.

Either way, it is icky. 

Weekly Muse #12: Romantic Songs

Hey guys! Penelope Grace, here. And don't you love romantic songs? After writing The Black Queen (which may or may not be romantic), I'm suddenly in the search of romantic songs. I hear them on the radio, read about them in newspapers, and listen to my friends babble on about this new song from Taylor Swift. I do have to agree that Sean O'Pry looks hot in her music video, "Blank Space." 

Our Journey So Far #10: A Few Queries

Oh... Wow. Last week, I  posted about all the queries I sent to literary agencies. Well, not all of them. I sent a few more after that crazy Halloween spree. (For The Lost Princess)

But this is what happened so far.

Our Journey So Far #9: What I'm Doing

On October 31, I sent out five queries. It is so scary, especially for the first one. I was like... "Oh, my goodness. Should I crack a joke? Or maybe I should add in some details! Maybe the agent won't like it. Oh, crap... It is time to send!" 

Advice For Writers #10: How To Win NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo. National November Writing Month. The craziest acronym I have ever seen. With the exception of Misha Collins' scavenger hunt's acronym. Remember that one? GISHWHES. "The ugliest acronym the world has ever seen" as stated by Misha Collins somewhere. I agree. 

Wholeheartedly, of course.

But how do you win NaNoWriMo? I think it is safe to say that everyone wants to write a novel by the end of the month. Or at least a novella. 

Weekly Muse #10: Lovey Dovey Couples

Don't we all love those lovebirds? Eh... Not always, but you are sometimes moved by the very power of their love and their... Ahh... I'm getting into it now. Okay, I'll start listing, alright?

In no particular order, here goes the five fictional couples... With the most powerful and amazing love. Yes, with amazing love stories.

Halloween: What The Heck Happened To Us?

Ohhh... Penelope Grace here. Just woke up from a throbbing headache. In a weird place I don't recognize. And there is this supernatural hunter with a broken arm. After dropping me home, she went off to hunt some ghosts and plot bunnies. 

But I think the worse is this: our blog. Alex's blog. My blog. It is all chaos and insane. I mean, just look at it: 

And I was totally like... What happened? So I started reading and I was all... Oh, my goodness. Pro-Lucifer...? What... How...

Anyway, I'm totally going to put it all back together again. Before those demons... Princess of Thrones or whatever she is... come back. 

Sooo...Alex Steele here. My story isn't as horrific as Grace's. You see I just woke up in my bed, a cat leering over my head, to find out I'd been sleeping all month...

My head is pounding and my mouth dry, the last thing I remember is discussing whether or not Destiel is canon with Grace... four weeks ago!

I'm gonna let Grace handle repairs to the blog as I'm feeling quite nauseous at the moment.

A Halloween Nightmare and Exorcism 

-Grace & Steele

Our Journey So Far #7: Where I Started And Where I'm Now

And now, it is back to me! It is almost NaNoWriMo, but that doesn't matter very much to me. I have one day to ignore the panic. And the anxiety. The eagerness. 

Breathe, breathe, breathe.

I didn't write a "Our Journey So Far" post like last, last week, because I was very busy with the Contract (which is here and longer than the U.S. Constitution). 

Weekly Muse #8: Love Songs

Penelope Grace. Again. Oh, don't moan and groan. I'm pretty sure that I'm not hideous at all. Of course, that is up to the eye of the beholder.

Love songs. I have done songs before, but this time I'm doing the songs for romance. Romance, love, whatever you call it. This is going to be about being in love and... in a dreamy state. Somewhere beautiful and magnificent. Or pining love. Unrequited love.

Really, I'm being very vague. Off the top of my head (with some little help), I'm listing love songs. Five of them.

So in any order...

Advice For Writers #7: Outlining

I'm getting all worked up now. Outlining! One of my favorite things to do when writing a book! Other than writing the book itself, of course. 

An outline is basically a guide, a blueprint to your book. It tells you how to build it and makes sure you don't go off-topic. I'm going to tell you the different ways of how I outline. And yes, it is going to be very interesting. You can most definitely use my ways or not. Outlines saved me many times. Sometimes, I get lost or at a loss for words. Outlining gives answers to where you have questions or bumps in the road.

Short Story #1: Dead, Dead, and Undead

Before we share this story with you, we'd like to announce that it is our debut as co-authors! We wrote this short story together, Grace wrote the beginning and I ended it. We had so much fun and we hope to work together more in the future!(wink, wink. nudge, nudge)

We'd also like to thank "The Author" @ To Write Or Not To Write, for giving us the prompt of "death scene" and posting this story on her blog!

The Contract For Your Soul

As a courtesy to all parties involved with this Contract, Grace & Steele is willing to provide extensive written details on the exact terms of the soul-exchange. As servants under the Overlord Lucifer, Grace & Steele is pleased to obtain your soul along with some minor obligations and rules. State, US, international laws do not apply, though spiritual laws of Hell do. 

Weekly Muse #6: Awesome Pictures of Objects

Hi! Penelope Grace, again. So this is the sixth Weekly Muse of the Grace & Steele blog. I'm going to go on and on about good pictures. Inspiring pictures. Of objects. You might think me as insane, but I like it. I like what I'm going to talk about. So ignore me all you like or view the following pictures, if you want.

It is going to be a total of four pictures. Of objects. Or things. Already, I can tell that this post is going to be more than interesting. It is weird. Straightly weird. With a lot of metaphors. I'll stop stalling.

My Friendly Letter To The Devil Overlord

Dear Lucifer,

This is Penelope Grace, a fan of your work and your forked tongue. As your servant, the Princess of Thrones, would you be so kind to send us more minions and demons? I feel like we are losing too many of them to salt and exorcisms. They go back to Hell, but they refuse to come back to us. We have Dean Winchester on our side as the Knight of Hell, but Sam Winchester keeps on torturing and killing our numbers. And that crossroad demon, Crowley, keeps on claiming himself as the King of Hell.

Due to the very respectful tone of mine, would you kindly send us a thousand demonic souls? We are buying up as many souls as we can, but we still need more power. Thank you, Overlord.

Also, I wouldn't mind selling a few souls so I can publish my books. Thank you, Our Overlord. Please, note that I myself do not have a soul. I sold it long ago to have that ability to write awesomely.

Your humble servant, 

Penelope Grace, the Princess of Thrones

Our Journey So Far #5: Penelope Grace

Hey, guys! It is Penelope Grace here. Obviously. And this is our fifth "Our Journey So Far" post. I think this is perhaps my third, but I can't remember it quite correctly. The numbers are quite low.

Okay, I'll stop monologuing. It is simply too irritating to be talking amongst myself and possibly seeming insane and psychologically incapable of normal "social habits and conversation." And this is the last of it. I swear on...

Advice For Writers #5: Let's Write

Yoohoo. It is Penelope Grace again. It looks like Alex took over Week Four completely. (Grace & Steele's brand new week always starts on Friday. If I had the control over the entire world, the new week starts on Friday).

We all know know writing is hard. We are constantly being plagued by irritating things like Writer's block (the kryptonite), ourselves (self-doubt/low self-confidence), our mothers (who tells us that we should be washing laundry instead of spending long hours typing out plot bunnies), and our (fictional) boyfriends (who always demand more attention to themselves, but we know that they can't have everything they want!). 

2014 Halloween

In anticipation of Halloween, The Grace & Steele blog has changed to a more demonic design. If you aren't one of us yet, join us. We have blood. 

We will be sure to celebrate the rise of the darkest times of the year. We'll make sure to invite the Four Horsemen along with everyone from Lucifer to Belial. After all, it is the darkest times of the year. (Be on the lookout for an open letter to Lucifer).

Muhahahaha! Muahahaha! Muahahaha! Muahahaha! 

-Penelope Grace, Princess of Thrones (and also confused at what her fellow Princess of Hell, Alex Steele, is). 

P.s. Alex Steele will now be known as Alex Steele, Blood Princess.

A Wordy Gift #1: Dragon Lady (New Terra # 0.1)

This is the short story before The Lost Princess. It is only 600-700 words, so it is bearable. For at least the first hundred. I hope.

Advice For Writers #4: How To Be Original

Let's admit it. There are tons of wannabe copies of Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. Some of them are quite distinctive enough, that most people wouldn't consider them copies. But long-time readers like me could see the similarities easily. In fact, I would probably know it in an instant and wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Shall I name a few of those copycats? 

Our Journey So Far #3: Penelope Grace

I was reading Alex's Overview. I heard about Swoon Reads before. I considered entering my 2013 November NaNoWriMo, but I felt that my book (Daffodils) would be too confusing for readers. The deadline for 2013 NaNoWriMo novels was September 20, 2013. Too late now. Oh, well. I can always post this story on Wattpad or other social media sites.

Last week, you heard about the first book (The Lost Princess) in the New Terra Series. Now, I'm going to discuss the final book, which may sound strange to many of you. Okay, it is more than strange. It is crazy.

But I'll explain.

Advice For Writers #3: Distractions Called Life

Life brings a lot of things. Joy, sorrow, tears, happiness, new babies, and of course, the eventual fate, the infamous and endless reaper, death. Those are just a few examples of distractions life brings. The trouble is finding a balance. Should we spend more time writing? Should we spend more time with our mothers? Mother-in-laws? Well, we definitely don't want to spend time with future mother-in-laws or current mother-in-laws. They are certainly a chore.

And yes, I do realize that I posted last week's "Advice for Writers." Well, I'm taking over it for Week 3. Alex Steele will be back next week. I myself do not know what advice she will be giving to you, fellow writers and awesome readers. 

Note: This post is more serious than the other posts I've written. I'm aiming for sentimental. But I'll accept serious.

Weekly Muse #3: Swoonworthy Male Celebs

On the first week, I did songs. Alex Steele listed quotes (and I so love the quote from The Fault in Our Stars). This week, I'm taking over again and listing the celebs from all times. Male celebs. That means I can pull up a youthful pic of some dead celeb. And list it. 

These five guys are in no particular order, but all of them inspire me in some way or another.

Advice For Writers #2: Get Over That Writer's Block!

Ah. Writer's block. They are the bane of our existence. They are the kryptonite to our Superman and yes, Supergirl. Writer's block is caused by one reason and one reason only. Actually, two. But I'll pay more attention to the former than the latter. 

Our Journey So Far #1: Penelope's Path/Overview

Hey, guys! It is Penelope Grace. This is the first post for Mondays' "Our Journey So Far." This is from my point of view. 

Where I am right now: The Lost Princess is currently being edited and input into the computer. Then I will send it off to my fellow authors (Alex Steele, and some others) before I start editing again (I edit a lot) and then sending it off to the literary agencies. Writing is an amazing process that needs a lot of work, determination, and love. Yes, love. It sound amusing, doesn't it?

Weekly Muse #1: The Inspirational Songs

Penelope here. Alright, I'm going to compose a list of all those songs that just makes you write. It might look a bit weird (especially for the first time!). These songs are in no particular order. 

1. "Cosmic Love" by Florence + the Machine.

I know, I know. I couldn't resist. "Comic Love" is just one of those songs that make you feel like you are anywhere else but here. This song is especially good for those authors writing Fantasy or Love. It is hauntingly beautiful, dark, and gritty. Plus, the way Florence sings it gives you the sugars, right? Come on! You have to agree with me on that. Anyway, this song is pure inspirational, totally Muse material. You don't need a guy to make you write (though you are more likely to be distracted if you have one).