Anniversary Post (Heartlake Novels)

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Heartlake, novel, Playgirl, playgirl's secret diaries, romance, Secret Diaries, teen, teen fiction, teen romance

Today is National Cheesecake Day! At least according to Twitter. But that’s not exactly the reason why I felt the need to write a post today.

You see, a year ago, I was seated in our dining table, using the laptop while waiting for dinner. Who would’ve thought that that very ordinary setup would have such a huge impact to me and my life? It was on that uneventful night when I went in front of a computer and started writing the prologue of what I first called “Hellos and Goodbyes” which became “A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries” and then currently “Secret Diaries”. Apparently, I have the tendency to change my mind when it comes to titles. But don’t worry. I think I am going to stick with “Secret Diaries” for a long while. 🙂

I can still remember exactly what the first line of that book was: “I really don’t know how to begin.”

I may have said that in one of my previous posts but let me just say it again. That sentence was exactly what I felt when I first stared at the blank Microsoft Word page. Who would have thought that it would result to more than 200 pages of Teen Fiction? Well, I certainly did not. Even more surprising to me is that I finished this book on April 18, 2012–more or less nine months after I started writing it.

Now, I am glad to say that I have started a sequel for it, called Love Letter. It has recurring characters and to be honest, my writing style now have improved in multitudes. If not for Secret Diaries, I probably wouldn’t have known that I tend to change tenses within a story and that it bothers and confuses some of my readers.

In all truth, Secret Diaries has taught me not only about writing but more so about myself. And well, I’m happy to look back one year from now and realize just how far I’ve come. 

And so,

Happy Anniversary to me, Rachelle and Heartlake City!

That being said, perhaps you might want to check and read it? Here’s a link:

https://mythoughtprocesses.wordpress.com/raine-the-writer/a-playgirls-secret-diaries/

Now here’s some slices of cheesecake for you:

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Done!

Tags

behind the novel, book, fiction, playgirl's secret diaries, rhea lorenzo, writing attempts

This is going to be really short. I just really, really wanted to commemorate the date I managed to finish the first really rough draft of a writing project I’ve been doing in the past nine months. *throws confetti on self*

Anyway, After 73, 702 words, A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries has finally been concluded. Wish the number of words can be converted to cash, though.

So there.

Here’s a photo I took just this morning via Instagram

 

P.S.

Just like most writers who finished a manuscript, I do wish to get at least one of my works to be published but since I lack experience, I doubt this one would be it. But one thing’s for sure. This particular story holds a special place in my heart. It took several years to be written down after all. =)

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 6

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behind the novel, book, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, my dream, novel, playgirl's secret diaries, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

*sobs*

There’s a huge chance that this may be the last set of ‘trivia’ for you guys. ='(

*suddenly cheers up*

On a good note, this practically means I’m less than five chapters away from the ending of A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries!

*throws confetti*

Anyway, let me focus on dates for this last set.

1. I started writing this story on July 31, 2011. I have it posted here on my blog. As some of my earliest readers probably know, it was originally titled ‘Hellos and Goodbyes’ and then I changed my mind.

If you take a look at the first sentence of the prologue (excluding the diary entries), Rachelle was saying, “I don’t really know how to begin”. It was exactly the way I felt at that time when I was staring at the blank page in front of me. Basically, writing this story was impulsive of me. I wrote the prologue before I wrote the outline. Yeah! 😀

2. The first date you ever see for the diary entries is December 1, 2001. December 1 is my birthday. So, where’s my gift? LOLJK. Yeah, I’m a bit uncreative about it. I used my own birthday and declared Rachelle’s birthday to be December 2. Believe me, it makes things a lot easier to remember. 😛

3. The date I finished A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries is April 18, 2012. Yay!! 🙂

Remember how Rachelle seems to love cheesecakes? Here’s one of the best ones I’ve ever tasted. 😀

Do visit my profile in Wattpad to get updates for this story. You don’t want to miss the ending! 😉

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 5

Tags

behind the novel, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, my dream, novel. book, playgirl's secret diaries, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

Hello there! It feels so good to be writing another part of this series of blog posts. 🙂 It honestly encourages me because it reminds me that I’m slowly getting to the end of my manuscript. You know, it gives off a sense of achievement.

Anyway, this is probably the second or third to the last “Behind the Playgirl” post. 🙂 To be completely honest, it gets harder for me to think of trivia to put mostly because I didn’t really want to be too much of a spoiler. Gah. I have no one else to tell all these secrets to and that’s why I am always so tempted to tell everyone about it. LOL

So here goes the next three hopefully interesting stuff:

1. The names of the establishments in Heartlake City are thought of based on whatever it is that suddenly pops into my mind. Say for example, I thought of RCL Tower because some buildings I know of were merely initials. Then I told myself, “Oh, my dad’s initials sound good as a name of a condominium/office building”. So there. Koizora was a film I was researching on while writing Chapter 25 and so it ended up a restaurant name. Random, I know. 😉

2. As of this moment, my favorite APSD character is Matt Harlow. Don’t ask. 😉

3. I intend for a total of four (five?) Heartlake novels. I guess it will be quite easy to guess who the characters would be.:D

Drawing by Krizcia Valente. How I wish I can draw like that and create a visual of my characters. XD

NOTICE

Tags

book, fiction, merman's tale, my dream, notice, novel, playgirl's secret diaries, rainelorenzo, rhea lorenzo, writing attempts

Now, now. Please don’t panic because of the title. I have just given it much thought in the past few days and I’ve finally decided to push through with the idea.

I will no longer post snippets/previews of the stories I write (A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries & A Merman’s Tale) here in my blog. I will also change the visibility setting of the previously published chapters into private (starting today until you can no longer see them). I’ll probably keep the prologue and the first few chapters though. 🙂

There is no need to worry though, I shall continue to make the stories available through wattpad or inkpop with the same every other week schedule as I have been doing in the past few months. I decided to do this mostly because I thought it rather redundant to be leading my readers from one link to another instead of simply just giving you guys one place to check things through. Check the pages/tabs I’ve made with the synopsis and the links to where you can read the stories. 🙂

mythoughtprocesses.wordpress.com will remain my personal blog though. Most of the time you will see me posting my thoughts on various stuff such as movies, dramas (mostly asian) and hopefully, books. I will also continue posting some personal stories so I hope you continue supporting this blog. 🙂

Lots of love,

Raine

Behind The “Playgirl”: Part 4

Tags

behind the novel, drama, fiction, my dream, novel. book, playgirl's secret diaries, rainelorenzo, rhea lorenzo, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

Hello everyone! Allow me a super duper mega late greeting:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

If you haven’t noticed yet, I wasn’t able to post updates on my stories in the past 2 (3?) weeks. We had events and visitors, and the Christmas season had been crazy so no set time to write. We were always out of the house and I could only use my iPod Touch to access the net. =(

Anyway, let me break my short hiatus by sharing three more tidbits about APSD. 😉

1. The parents’ names: Vivian and Ian Harlow, as well as Julia and Hubert Cleveland were all thought of spontaneously. That was one part I didn’t bother to plan beforehand so the first ‘suitable’ names that entered my mind were used. Not even a day had passed when I thought of changing Ian’s name to Richard.  However, I decided not to change it anymore, thinking that ‘Ian and Vivian’ sort of match better. Don’t you think? 🙂

2. The diary entries are stuff I thought of myself. They serve as my writing prompts for the story and I try my best that each entry somehow relates to the chapter even if the date was supposedly years ago. My favorite was the one from Chapter Three. 😉

3. Ian will make an appearance in the story, I promise (pinky swear, even). It might turn out to be short, but I’ll do my best to make it as special as I could. =)

Because I just realized that I haven’t posted the temporary cover of APSD here yet. The photo was from inkpop.com mostly because I have no graphic talent. It will still change, don’t worry. =)

P.S.

Happy birthday to one of my best friends, Graceline Leonido!!! I love you, Mami! =)

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 3

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behind the novel, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, my dream, novel. book, playgirl's secret diaries, rhea lorenzo, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

Whoa! I’m almost, almost done with half of A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries! How cool is that? Anyway, since I’ve posted chapter 15 already, that means another set of trivia.*so sorry if you thought Chapter 15 was a bit short*

Anyway, here are three more tidbits about the story I’m writing:

1. The novel is set for 33 chapters excluding the prologue. I write with a tendency to change my mind so there’s a possibility that this might not come true.

2. I’ve been thinking about the ending ever since I finished the story outline and up until now, I still can’t decide whether to put an epilogue or not. I’ll let you guys decide for me once I’ve posted the ending. 😀

3. Rachelle will be ‘attacked’ for a third time and I really hope you watch out for it since it is bound to reveal a lot. And I mean a lot. 🙂

This is supposedly Nick's car. I originally put in Audi TTS Coupe but apparently, I should have put in 'TT RS Coupe'. So sorry.

Anyway guys, I was browsing over the net and found this 10 Most Bizarrely Shaped Lakes and Rivers. So there really are some heart-shaped lakes. One’s supposedly from Korea and the other is found in India. 🙂

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 2

Tags

behind the novel, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, my dream, novel. book, playgirl's secret diaries, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

Oh yeah! This post means I’ve finished Chapter 10!!! Hurrah!!!

I think my Wattpad readers are not aware of this particular set of posts and that’s why I made sure to post this is my message board and Twitter account. I also noted it at the end of Chapter 10… 🙂

The fact that you’re reading this definitely meant that you’ve seen my links somewhere. Haha!

And so, without further ado, here are three more trivia about my first-ever major writing project:

1. The setting of the story is originally Inglewood, California and London, England. Apparently, I changed my mind–mostly because I’ve never been to either and I really don’t want to describe places I’ve never even seen. 🙂

2. I fear making technical mistakes about descriptions of places and that made me decide to put my characters in a make-believe setting. I thought of Heartlake City during a brainstorming session by the dining table.

3. Rachelle’s diary supposedly had a name. That was back when the story still had five chapters. She called it ‘Mimi’. I decided not to pursue the ‘named diary’ concept because I felt that it’s too childish and definitely not Rachelle-ish. 🙂

This is the Porsche-Cayman-S-- Liam's car as mentioned in APSD's Chapter 10.

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 1

An Interview with Rachelle Harlow

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book, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, interview, my dream, novel, playgirl's secret diaries, Rachelle Harlow, rhea lorenzo, teen romance, wattpad, writing attempts

Okay. So I’ve been exploring stuff in wattpad and found one user in the clubs asking to interview a character from a story. Everyone’s invited to share and I kind of found it fun so I posted. Here’s the short interview:

A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries: http://www.wattpad.com/1986227-a-playgirl%27s-secret-diaries

What is your name?

Rachelle Harlow. Rach, for close friends and relatives. =)

Age?

18 and fabulous! =)))

What is your favorite hobby?

Hmmm… I work as a model so no time for much hobbies but I do love to cook. I also write stuff in my journal. And of course, Shopping! Oh and don’t tell him but I love hanging out with my best friend, Nick and the rest of Quarter to Five…

Well…then what’s your life about?

I still think of myself as a normal teenager but I guess my life’s all about hanging out with friends, going out on dates, school (school? LOL) and of course, modeling. =)

Your personality?

I’d call myself a happy-go-lucky person though not many girls would think that way. I’m more popularly considered a playgirl but don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT a bad person. Maybe misunderstood? Oh heck. Maybe you should go and ask Nick to describe me. Sometimes, I think he knows me better than I know myself. Haha!

Let’s wrap it up! What is your goal you want to accomplish?

*Suddenly turns serious* I want to find that one person I can fall in love with for the rest of my life. =)

*********

It’s kind of nice to turn into someone else without worrying about whether or not it’s suitable for the plot I’m writing. Hehe.. 🙂

Behind The “Playgirl”: Part 1

Tags

behind the novel, drama, fiction, hellos and goodbyes, my dream, novel. book, playgirl's secret diaries, secrets, teen romance, trivia, writing attempts

Yay! If you’re reading this, then it means you’ve finished Chapter 5 of my current writing project, A Playgirl’s Secret Diaries. So, what’s this particular set of blog posts?

First off, it’s my way of celebrating the fact that I’ve written five chapters of my book (I originally planned to do this when I finish Chapter 10 but apparently, I can’t wait that long :D). Second, it’s my way of sharing more about Rachelle, Nick and Grace to you, my faithful readers.

Through this series of posts, I am going to share with you some background about the novel–things that would have remained unknown had I decided not to reveal these ‘secrets’.

I would be putting up three ‘secrets’ and maybe a photo every five chapters so I hope you continue reading. 🙂

Here’s the first set:

1. I first came up with this story when I was a third year high school student. It originally has a mere 5 chapters and was supposed to be written like a real script. Since then, there have been a lot of changes about the entire story.

2. I have a writing notebook where I write my ideas for the stories I come up with. It was supposed to be my Science and Technology notebook in high school but the size was wrong so I ended up using it for totally different purpose.

My official writing notebook. I guess I really didn't have that much passion for the sciences. Hehe.

3. The original names of the characters have drastically changed except for Matt and one other character I am yet to reveal.

Rachelle=Razielle
Grace=Greizce
Nick=Newell

As I've mentioned before, the story was originally called, "The Diaries", and those are the original names.

I have an obsession with unique and complicated names back then. Haha!

I can’t wait to write three more when I get to Chapter 10 so let’s all hope and pray that I manage to write as quickly as I could. I hope you enjoyed part 1. 😀

P.S.

Sorry if the photos aren’t as high-quality as we all would have liked.

Behind the “Playgirl”: Part 2