Maybe some day I'll finish my vacation blogs.
I participated in National Novel Writing Month again this year. Every time I do it's different. Each story has its own way of coming into being. Each month has its own real life events interfere with the writing.
This year, interference was run primarily by The Day Job. My manager left the company about half way through November and it had a much bigger impact on my daily tasks than I expected. I didn't get to write on my breaks; half the time I didn't even get my breaks!
I fell farther behind in word count than in any of the previous eight times I actually made 50K.
So what's a NaNo veteran to do? Buckle down and write!
My characters cooperated. I owe them chocolate or booze or something.
The final Friday of November I wrote 6111 words. Saturday 6202. Sunday, Nov 29, another 5472 to bring my word count to 50002! 17785 words in three days is a personal record, one I hope not to approach again while still working full time.
(I had to finish on Sunday because the Monday after Thanksgiving is probably the busiest day of the year at work for me and my team. That meant no NaNo words would happen.)
When I validated, the lovely NaNo Word Count Bots gave me an additional 215 words gratis. If I haven't said it before, I now declare my love for the NaNo Word Count Bots.
If you want to see a graphic representation of my November, it's HERE. It's a graph! Like Science!
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
02 December 2015
30 November 2014
29 November 2014
NaNoWriMo is still going
My word count is just a tad north of 45K. Finishing today will be a challenge. I'll try, but no guarantees.
I'm attempting a space opera this year. I went into it with a ludicrously abysmal level of world building. Which means basically there wasn't any. This type of story requires the creation of planets and cultures and non-human sentient species and technology and ... and ... and thinking the story would happen without all those things was, in hindsight, just the kind of craziness NaNo is all about.
This story has more [bracket info needed] than anything I've ever written before. I've even given up on naming characters! [person name] [character name needed] [somebody] are far too common in this document!
I suspect my future self will have some succinct, unprintable-type words for my present self.
BUT
Cover! That's a first for me, having a cover. Over Thanksgiving dinner, my daughter, her roommate and I were discussing the story and came up with a pulp science fiction magazine type cover idea. One of those with Strong Man Holding Weapon in one hand with other arm wrapped around Woman With Arms Raised and Mouth Open to Scream and an especially Menacing Tentacle wrapping both of them.
I really liked it.
And whileprocrastinating thinking about the story, I googled pulp SF covers and discovered this AMAZING website where you can make your own cover! Of course, that image already in my head wasn't available. C'est la vie, n'est pas?
There then passed a mumbly mumbly amount of time. But I has cover! (Several actually, but I think this one is the best.)
I'm attempting a space opera this year. I went into it with a ludicrously abysmal level of world building. Which means basically there wasn't any. This type of story requires the creation of planets and cultures and non-human sentient species and technology and ... and ... and thinking the story would happen without all those things was, in hindsight, just the kind of craziness NaNo is all about.
This story has more [bracket info needed] than anything I've ever written before. I've even given up on naming characters! [person name] [character name needed] [somebody] are far too common in this document!
I suspect my future self will have some succinct, unprintable-type words for my present self.
BUT
Cover! That's a first for me, having a cover. Over Thanksgiving dinner, my daughter, her roommate and I were discussing the story and came up with a pulp science fiction magazine type cover idea. One of those with Strong Man Holding Weapon in one hand with other arm wrapped around Woman With Arms Raised and Mouth Open to Scream and an especially Menacing Tentacle wrapping both of them.
I really liked it.
And while
There then passed a mumbly mumbly amount of time. But I has cover! (Several actually, but I think this one is the best.)
So now I must finish writing the story.
(The phrase "unrealistically sexy" is homage to Shadow Unit and its unrealistically sexy FBI agents.)
30 October 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014
Yep, I'm doing it again.
They say you don't learn to write novels, you learn to write this novel. They say every novel comes to the writer in a somewhat different way.
In my limited experience, this is true.
My last novel had strong characters that were easy for me to write, but there were times I couldn't see what happened beyond the scene I was working on.
This novel I'll be starting in two days? I have a strong sense of the over-arching plot, large vistas, the big picture stuff. What I don't have is characters! This is scary for me. You can't tell a story without characters.
First drafts suck. This is another thing they say that is true. They also say a first draft is the writer telling herself a story. Subsequent drafts are the writer telling others the story. What that means is I can start with a major info dump of all these big vistas, describe the plot as I currently see it. Start with the panorama view, then zoom in.
And that's when those characters better start waving at me to tell their stories!
Got my fingers crossed and my stash of coffee.
They say you don't learn to write novels, you learn to write this novel. They say every novel comes to the writer in a somewhat different way.
In my limited experience, this is true.
My last novel had strong characters that were easy for me to write, but there were times I couldn't see what happened beyond the scene I was working on.
This novel I'll be starting in two days? I have a strong sense of the over-arching plot, large vistas, the big picture stuff. What I don't have is characters! This is scary for me. You can't tell a story without characters.
First drafts suck. This is another thing they say that is true. They also say a first draft is the writer telling herself a story. Subsequent drafts are the writer telling others the story. What that means is I can start with a major info dump of all these big vistas, describe the plot as I currently see it. Start with the panorama view, then zoom in.
And that's when those characters better start waving at me to tell their stories!
Got my fingers crossed and my stash of coffee.
04 November 2013
New Camera
I bought my daughter a Nikon CoolPix camera when she was in high school. When she got a job after college and bought herself a camera, she gave me the CoolPix. It took great pictures (see my blog posts from Alaska - I've included the tag - all those pix were taken with that little camera), but technology has advanced since then. My phone takes sharper pictures!
So - I picked up a NEW CoolPix (the S9500) and took it for a trial run today at the local botanic garden.
So - I picked up a NEW CoolPix (the S9500) and took it for a trial run today at the local botanic garden.
We're into serious fall here in the midwest. It was partly cloudy today, more clouds than sun. Also quite windy. The camera is almost completely automatic, so I was pleased to see there's great depth of field in this picture.
Close-up came out far better than I expected! Didn't notice the lighting effect when I snapped it. And it's focused in spite of the wind.
Yep. Fall in the midwest.
One outing and I'm liking the camera. The main issue will be teaching myself not to rest a finger of my left hand on the top where the flash pops up! I'm practicing ...
Oh, and that NaNo thing I'm doing? The writer portion of my brain seems to be filled with flutter and fluff. No focus. No follow through. I've written some thumbnails and one scene spread; no stories completed yet. I will keep flinging words at the page until a story happens. And then another one ... and so on until the end of the month.
31 October 2013
Tomorrow It Will Be November!
November first means the start of National Novel Writing Month. I have two tiny seeds for short stories. I plan to start with a thumbnail sketch then expand out into the story itself. Whatever story occurs to me when I get up in the morning will be first.
I've mentioned before that I'm a pantser. That generated the first story seed. Auto spell check keeps trying to change "pantser" to "panther." So at least one story will have a panther. I haven't decided if it will be an animal or human panther. Or perhaps both.
Update on my tech fail:
The zombie modem has been retired. :-(( It was a good little modem that also has wireless capabilities. Now I have two boxes (modem and router) where there used to be one.
I have new earbuds. Music is in stereo again.
The iPod is hanging in there. Not sure when I'll have time to pick up another one.
Good luck to everybody starting the adventure that is NaNo. Keep in touch! I'll try to do that, too.
20 October 2013
That Writing Time of Year
November will be here in twelve days! And that means National Novel Writing Month. It's what November is FOR after all. Right?
This will be my ninth year participating and my fourth year rebelling. I'll be writing short stories AND ignoring word count. (I want to focus on practicing the new stuff from the workshop and not be distracted by that pesky word count.) I've made no plans beyond that. Totally winging it.
My NaNo signature this year: "When you break rules, break 'em good and hard." (Spoken by Nanny Ogg in Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.)
Why do I keep doing this? It's a wonderful way to improve your writing. I consider it a marathon of a writing practice. No matter what the word count on that first morning of December, I have a story that didn't exist on Halloween. I also had the pleasure of writing along with others from all over the world.
Many of the folks who read my blog are WriMo veterans. If you're one of the people who isn't and have considered writing a novel "some day," perhaps this is the year you try. Come join us!
This will be my ninth year participating and my fourth year rebelling. I'll be writing short stories AND ignoring word count. (I want to focus on practicing the new stuff from the workshop and not be distracted by that pesky word count.) I've made no plans beyond that. Totally winging it.
My NaNo signature this year: "When you break rules, break 'em good and hard." (Spoken by Nanny Ogg in Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.)
Why do I keep doing this? It's a wonderful way to improve your writing. I consider it a marathon of a writing practice. No matter what the word count on that first morning of December, I have a story that didn't exist on Halloween. I also had the pleasure of writing along with others from all over the world.
Many of the folks who read my blog are WriMo veterans. If you're one of the people who isn't and have considered writing a novel "some day," perhaps this is the year you try. Come join us!
26 August 2013
Writing, Short and Long
The Asylum (on-line writing group I'm in) met this evening. We didn't cover anything important; it was a chat kind of meeting. November is coming up fast. For us that means National Novel Writing Month. I considered not participating this year, but my buddies won't hear of it. So I'll be a rebel and work on short stories, because ...
For eight weeks, starting in September, I'll be taking Mary Robinette Kowal's Writing on the Fast Track short story workshop. I'm excited and a bit scared. We already have our first assignment! When the workshop's over I plan on practicing what I learn. It would be foolish to turn around and write a novel instead.
I will be busy. Don't know if blog posts will happen very often. But I'll be thinking about ya' ;-)
01 March 2013
The Inkwell
Starting in December of 2009, my friend Cindy and I co-wrote a novel. We didn't plan to. We were having fun creating a story with some very cooperative characters and it sort of got out of hand. Initially we thought we'd do it for about a month. It ended up keeping us busy for more like four months.
We were posting on line as we wrote, in a thread in the National Novel Writing Month forums called The Smoking Pen. That thread is set up for cooperative writing, and in the beginning other people were contributing as well. When the story grabbed us and wouldn't let go, Cindy (who is known as Dixiegirl in NaNoLand), started a separate thread called The Inkwell.
In 2012, Cindy set up a writing group consisting of folks who met doing NaNoWriMo (The Asylum: you don't have to be crazy, just committed). On several occasions, The Inkwell has come up in conversations as an example of this or that. Many in the group hadn't read it. I'd say I should post that some time.
Well, that time has come.
I'm posting it.
That's why there's a new tab at the top here on my blog. The Inkwell tab will always take you to the initial background post, whether there's a new entry or not. On the right, under Archive, is the list of entries. They're numbered sequentially and each is roughly 2000 words long. Thanks to the magic of cookies, after you've read one the color should change and that can help you keep track of what you've seen.
I think the total length is about 70,000 words, so this will take a while. I posted a lot in the last few days, but I'll slow down now, to probably just one entry per day.
I hope you enjoy our story. We certainly had a lot of fun writing it.
We were posting on line as we wrote, in a thread in the National Novel Writing Month forums called The Smoking Pen. That thread is set up for cooperative writing, and in the beginning other people were contributing as well. When the story grabbed us and wouldn't let go, Cindy (who is known as Dixiegirl in NaNoLand), started a separate thread called The Inkwell.
In 2012, Cindy set up a writing group consisting of folks who met doing NaNoWriMo (The Asylum: you don't have to be crazy, just committed). On several occasions, The Inkwell has come up in conversations as an example of this or that. Many in the group hadn't read it. I'd say I should post that some time.
Well, that time has come.
I'm posting it.
That's why there's a new tab at the top here on my blog. The Inkwell tab will always take you to the initial background post, whether there's a new entry or not. On the right, under Archive, is the list of entries. They're numbered sequentially and each is roughly 2000 words long. Thanks to the magic of cookies, after you've read one the color should change and that can help you keep track of what you've seen.
I think the total length is about 70,000 words, so this will take a while. I posted a lot in the last few days, but I'll slow down now, to probably just one entry per day.
I hope you enjoy our story. We certainly had a lot of fun writing it.
02 December 2012
NaNoWriMo 2012 Wrap Up
I've participated in National Novel Writing Month eight times. I've made 50,000 words seven of those times. It boggles my mind, it does. Here's how NaNo has gone for me over the years. I put this together back in October, when several other people were posting their NaNo histories.
2002: Signed up 10/31, daughter talked me into it. Managed about 12K of fantasy but it was horrid.
2003: Another attempt at previous year's story. Made 50K but basic conflict didn't hold up.
2007: Third try on same story, pushed time line back about ten years. Best effort to that point, but was an editing nightmare.
2008: Rebel year. Total rewrite of 2007 novel from the beginning. It's decent now, and as soon as I figure out the ending I'll pull it all together.
2009: Rebel year. Three pieces of various lengths; all MCs (Main Characters) telepathic
2010: High fantasy with dragon, dwarf and wizard
2011: Urban science fiction adventure/romance
2012: Rebel year. Sixteen short stories (SF/F, lit fic). Theme - the human condition (yes, anything can fit under that umbrella)
The first four NaNo's were basically me floundering around learning how to write a novel.
My rebellion this year encompassed writing a new ending for last year's novel (over 19K right there) and the beginnings of a bunch of short stories. Four of those are currently around 3K to 5K each. Only one has an ending. The shortest "story" is 120 words - didn't get that one off the ground.
First I think I'll edit the short piece that is the December homework for one of the writing groups I attend. It's currently 670 words. I need to get it down to 500 or less.
After that I just don't know. Maybe I'll take a break from the writing and spend December reading. Oooh, books!
2002: Signed up 10/31, daughter talked me into it. Managed about 12K of fantasy but it was horrid.
2003: Another attempt at previous year's story. Made 50K but basic conflict didn't hold up.
2007: Third try on same story, pushed time line back about ten years. Best effort to that point, but was an editing nightmare.
2008: Rebel year. Total rewrite of 2007 novel from the beginning. It's decent now, and as soon as I figure out the ending I'll pull it all together.
2009: Rebel year. Three pieces of various lengths; all MCs (Main Characters) telepathic
2010: High fantasy with dragon, dwarf and wizard
2011: Urban science fiction adventure/romance
2012: Rebel year. Sixteen short stories (SF/F, lit fic). Theme - the human condition (yes, anything can fit under that umbrella)
The first four NaNo's were basically me floundering around learning how to write a novel.
My rebellion this year encompassed writing a new ending for last year's novel (over 19K right there) and the beginnings of a bunch of short stories. Four of those are currently around 3K to 5K each. Only one has an ending. The shortest "story" is 120 words - didn't get that one off the ground.
First I think I'll edit the short piece that is the December homework for one of the writing groups I attend. It's currently 670 words. I need to get it down to 500 or less.
After that I just don't know. Maybe I'll take a break from the writing and spend December reading. Oooh, books!
29 November 2012
NaNoWriMo Update, Day 29
Tradition upheld. Reached 50K on the 29th.
My software (AppleWorks) said I was at 50045; NaNo word counting bots gave me 50483. Sweet.
28 November 2012
NaNoWriMo Update, Day 28
Traditionally I take the last two days of November off from work. I request December first, too, if I remember. This year I remembered!
I worked Monday (my regular day off) and my generous boss suggested I take today off as a replacement. I'm happy. My word count is happy - 47160. And I don't have to go back to work until next Tuesday!
I have a few errands to run and plans for this evening, but there's no writing pressure because I've already passed today's minimum (46676).
Another tradition of mine is reaching 50K on the 29th. I've done that four of the past five years. Last year I cleared it on the 27th and ended with a personal high of 53154. (Yes, I have a spreadsheet!)
Tonight I'll get a critique on the opening of one of the short stories I wrote this month. Ideas from that will fuel the writing tomorrow. Three thousand words shouldn't be too hard ... and there's tradition to uphold.
Congratulations to all my NaNo buddies who've already reached 50K and have their purple Winner bars.
Commiseration to my buddies who couldn't make it this year. Life happens and sometimes overrides the writing. It can happen to anyone; some year that will be me.
Encouragement (and buckets of words carried by plot bunnies) to my buddies still in the race. Hope you get purple bars, too.
I worked Monday (my regular day off) and my generous boss suggested I take today off as a replacement. I'm happy. My word count is happy - 47160. And I don't have to go back to work until next Tuesday!
I have a few errands to run and plans for this evening, but there's no writing pressure because I've already passed today's minimum (46676).
Another tradition of mine is reaching 50K on the 29th. I've done that four of the past five years. Last year I cleared it on the 27th and ended with a personal high of 53154. (Yes, I have a spreadsheet!)
Tonight I'll get a critique on the opening of one of the short stories I wrote this month. Ideas from that will fuel the writing tomorrow. Three thousand words shouldn't be too hard ... and there's tradition to uphold.
Congratulations to all my NaNo buddies who've already reached 50K and have their purple Winner bars.
Commiseration to my buddies who couldn't make it this year. Life happens and sometimes overrides the writing. It can happen to anyone; some year that will be me.
Encouragement (and buckets of words carried by plot bunnies) to my buddies still in the race. Hope you get purple bars, too.
18 November 2012
NaNoWriMo Update, Day 18
Good morning, internets. I’m still catching up. My word count last night was 25719. Should have been at 28339. That puts me 2620 words behind.
If I write 4300 words today I will be caught up (today’s words plus that deficit). I’ve done 4K days in the past. Not yet this year, but I think I’m in a place where it might be possible. I have a dozen stories going. This past week I’ve focused on expanding what I rushed at the end of Rising Tide. Oh, boy, did I rush! What was one paragraph is now three single spaced pages. *looks down, shuffles feet* And the ending is changing again ... I think I’ve figured out a way to get that big confrontation in after all.
The other ongoing stories in my NaNo have been resting all week. Should be time for them to burst out with new directions ...
Daughter and I are going to a write-in at a coffee shop this afternoon. It runs from 3:30 until 8. Don’t think we’ll stay that long, but it will hopefully be good for both our word counts.
Meanwhile, the coffee pot has stopped gurgling. I’m off to make my first mocha of the day and get to work.
If you're doing NaNo, too, best of luck and may your word count soar!
If I write 4300 words today I will be caught up (today’s words plus that deficit). I’ve done 4K days in the past. Not yet this year, but I think I’m in a place where it might be possible. I have a dozen stories going. This past week I’ve focused on expanding what I rushed at the end of Rising Tide. Oh, boy, did I rush! What was one paragraph is now three single spaced pages. *looks down, shuffles feet* And the ending is changing again ... I think I’ve figured out a way to get that big confrontation in after all.
The other ongoing stories in my NaNo have been resting all week. Should be time for them to burst out with new directions ...
Daughter and I are going to a write-in at a coffee shop this afternoon. It runs from 3:30 until 8. Don’t think we’ll stay that long, but it will hopefully be good for both our word counts.
Meanwhile, the coffee pot has stopped gurgling. I’m off to make my first mocha of the day and get to work.
If you're doing NaNo, too, best of luck and may your word count soar!
10 November 2012
NaNoWriMo Update, Day 10
It's 10pm and I have ZERO words for today toward NaNo. It was a work day for me, but still. That is pathetic. My second zero day for the week. I am currently at 13034.
My accomplishment today was making ring tones for my new iPhone. Oooh. Ring Tones!! If you call me, "People Got a Lot of Nerve" by Neko Case will let me know. At least for now. I have eight to choose from so far and I suspect I will rotate them fairly frequently.
I will now start writing. I only need about 3500 words by midnight to be on track ... looks like tomorrow and Monday will be major catch up days.
My accomplishment today was making ring tones for my new iPhone. Oooh. Ring Tones!! If you call me, "People Got a Lot of Nerve" by Neko Case will let me know. At least for now. I have eight to choose from so far and I suspect I will rotate them fairly frequently.
I will now start writing. I only need about 3500 words by midnight to be on track ... looks like tomorrow and Monday will be major catch up days.
02 November 2012
NaNo and Work
It’s Day 2 of NaNoWriMo. We are crazy busy at work.
Our section dropped from five to three people (attrition), one of the remaining three went to second shift. The two of us on day shift now have two newbies to train while keeping up with the four person workload. AND the other trainer was off three days this week. Yesterday surely set a record for the number of times I was interrupted. I’d be focused on the project I was reviewing, a newbie would come by with a question. Pull mind from project, get a focus on newbie’s project, figure out problem and give answer. Return to my project, just get focused again - and someone else needed something. All. Day. Long. Today had fewer interruptions but an added project of timing (with a stopwatch) each step I do in LIMS (the software we use to manage data) and recording all relevant info for a special IT study.
My brain is a bit fried.
I wrote about 800 words today and am amazed I got that much!
Last year I made word count almost every day and it even felt easy; that was aberrant. Unprecedented for me. This year is shaping up to be more like what I call normal. I know two days of data isn’t reliable for statistical purposes, but trust me here. Normal used to be: lucky if I got 800 or 1000 words on work days. That made Saturday catch-up day, even if it meant 4000 words or more. Sunday was write a cushion day, with a minimum of 4000 words.
My schedule is different now. So this month, Sundays are catch-up day and Mondays are write the cushion day. Probable minimum of 4K each day. Don’t even ask what I’m going to do on the 11th when noon to 6 pm is tied up going to a play with friends. Not ready to deal with that one yet.
Write on!
Our section dropped from five to three people (attrition), one of the remaining three went to second shift. The two of us on day shift now have two newbies to train while keeping up with the four person workload. AND the other trainer was off three days this week. Yesterday surely set a record for the number of times I was interrupted. I’d be focused on the project I was reviewing, a newbie would come by with a question. Pull mind from project, get a focus on newbie’s project, figure out problem and give answer. Return to my project, just get focused again - and someone else needed something. All. Day. Long. Today had fewer interruptions but an added project of timing (with a stopwatch) each step I do in LIMS (the software we use to manage data) and recording all relevant info for a special IT study.
My brain is a bit fried.
I wrote about 800 words today and am amazed I got that much!
Last year I made word count almost every day and it even felt easy; that was aberrant. Unprecedented for me. This year is shaping up to be more like what I call normal. I know two days of data isn’t reliable for statistical purposes, but trust me here. Normal used to be: lucky if I got 800 or 1000 words on work days. That made Saturday catch-up day, even if it meant 4000 words or more. Sunday was write a cushion day, with a minimum of 4000 words.
My schedule is different now. So this month, Sundays are catch-up day and Mondays are write the cushion day. Probable minimum of 4K each day. Don’t even ask what I’m going to do on the 11th when noon to 6 pm is tied up going to a play with friends. Not ready to deal with that one yet.
Write on!
26 October 2012
NaNoWriMo Prep
What little planning I’m doing for NaNo is moving along. I have more than fifty prompts for stories but only hazy ideas for characters. That bit’s a little worrisome. Back when I wrote lit fic short stories, I could start with anything. Over the last four years or so - when I’ve focused on novels - it seems I need a character before I can start writing. I’d love to get back to starting with anything. Maybe that ability will return in November.
My daughter is doing NaNo this year. She’s far more organized than I am, with pages of notes. She writes faster, too. Good writing, let me tell you, and that’s not just because I’m her mom!
Elizabeth Bear’s new short story collection, Shoggoths In Bloom, arrived at my door Wednesday. I plan to devour it. Several of the stories included are among my favorites (“Tideline” and “Cryptic Coloration”) and I’m sure I’ll have a few more favorites by the time I finish the book.
I’m also half way through another anthology, Dragon Lords and Warrior Women, edited by Phyllis Irene Radford. Maybe I’ll get that one done before November 1 as well.
See, it’s all part of the NaNo prep. If I want to write short stories, I need to read them!
Happy reading, everyone!
My daughter is doing NaNo this year. She’s far more organized than I am, with pages of notes. She writes faster, too. Good writing, let me tell you, and that’s not just because I’m her mom!
Elizabeth Bear’s new short story collection, Shoggoths In Bloom, arrived at my door Wednesday. I plan to devour it. Several of the stories included are among my favorites (“Tideline” and “Cryptic Coloration”) and I’m sure I’ll have a few more favorites by the time I finish the book.
I’m also half way through another anthology, Dragon Lords and Warrior Women, edited by Phyllis Irene Radford. Maybe I’ll get that one done before November 1 as well.
See, it’s all part of the NaNo prep. If I want to write short stories, I need to read them!
Happy reading, everyone!
16 October 2012
First Line Meme
Sometimes ideas converge in a way that amazes me. I'm planning on being a rebel this year for National Novel Writing Month. Not doing a novel; hoping to get 50K of short stories.
Our homework for November in the Library Writing Group I attend is to make a list of all our unfinished writing projects.
This reminded me of the first line meme I'd seen on some author blogs. Quoting Elizabeth Bear: "For those who haven't encountered this before, the idea is that somehow magically listing all projects under construction will alert the brain to finish a few of them. Sometimes, it even works."
I've already done my homework, guys! (This makes two months in a row. I think that's unprecedented.) Some of the short stories on this list were written more than a decade ago. They were the best I could do then. Because of my plans for NaNoWriMo, I figured I'd list them and maybe the characters will reemerge during November with bright, shiny new stories.
Novels
“Are they dead?” I swirled the flask, hoping to see some cloudiness in the pale media.
On a Rising Tide
Rahila strode comfortably along the animal track winding through waist-high turkey grass, her soft deerskin wrap pale against her bronze skin, thick brown sun-bleached braids swaying on either side of her bearskin pack.
Shadows Dancing With the Wind
The passageway that led down to the dragon’s lair erupted with smoke and an acrid smell.
Affairs of Dragons
Short Stories
Orchid sat cross-legged on the oak storage chest under her open window trimming her nails.
“The Weavings of Orchid”
Amanda found the black carnival mask propped between boxed incense and a vase of peacock feathers in a tiny shop on Montegut Street twenty-five years ago.
“Masks”
The indigo flashes darting to sudden stops, hovering, then zooming off toward the vegetation reminded Martin of hummingbirds back home.
"Mr Exobiologist" (working title; probably won't last long)
“Hey, what’cha drinking? Latte? Espresso?” Brewster shouted across the parking lot.
“Otter and Brewster”
Uncle Biggie brought home a camel.
“Uncle Biggie and the Camel”
According to the NIMBY orthodoxy, the townspeople should have loudly and repeatedly objected to the county placing a landfill here. We didn’t.
“The Trout”
I woke up when Mom came in from the bar.
“Pirates”
The naked philologist felt he would come unhinged because of the outlandish itch.
“Nigel and Lady Ashton”
I collect hats. They hang on a wall in my living room with scarves, bead necklaces, and silk flowers as filler.
“Dreams of the Past”
Most dragons preferred gold. This one wanted electronics.
“The Electronic Dragon”
Our homework for November in the Library Writing Group I attend is to make a list of all our unfinished writing projects.
This reminded me of the first line meme I'd seen on some author blogs. Quoting Elizabeth Bear: "For those who haven't encountered this before, the idea is that somehow magically listing all projects under construction will alert the brain to finish a few of them. Sometimes, it even works."
I've already done my homework, guys! (This makes two months in a row. I think that's unprecedented.) Some of the short stories on this list were written more than a decade ago. They were the best I could do then. Because of my plans for NaNoWriMo, I figured I'd list them and maybe the characters will reemerge during November with bright, shiny new stories.
Novels
“Are they dead?” I swirled the flask, hoping to see some cloudiness in the pale media.
On a Rising Tide
Rahila strode comfortably along the animal track winding through waist-high turkey grass, her soft deerskin wrap pale against her bronze skin, thick brown sun-bleached braids swaying on either side of her bearskin pack.
Shadows Dancing With the Wind
The passageway that led down to the dragon’s lair erupted with smoke and an acrid smell.
Affairs of Dragons
Short Stories
Orchid sat cross-legged on the oak storage chest under her open window trimming her nails.
“The Weavings of Orchid”
Amanda found the black carnival mask propped between boxed incense and a vase of peacock feathers in a tiny shop on Montegut Street twenty-five years ago.
“Masks”
The indigo flashes darting to sudden stops, hovering, then zooming off toward the vegetation reminded Martin of hummingbirds back home.
"Mr Exobiologist" (working title; probably won't last long)
“Hey, what’cha drinking? Latte? Espresso?” Brewster shouted across the parking lot.
“Otter and Brewster”
Uncle Biggie brought home a camel.
“Uncle Biggie and the Camel”
According to the NIMBY orthodoxy, the townspeople should have loudly and repeatedly objected to the county placing a landfill here. We didn’t.
“The Trout”
I woke up when Mom came in from the bar.
“Pirates”
The naked philologist felt he would come unhinged because of the outlandish itch.
“Nigel and Lady Ashton”
I collect hats. They hang on a wall in my living room with scarves, bead necklaces, and silk flowers as filler.
“Dreams of the Past”
Most dragons preferred gold. This one wanted electronics.
“The Electronic Dragon”
27 September 2012
NaNo Meanderings
I mentioned that I bought a raffle ticket in Skagway from a couple of firemen. The drawing was Friday (Sept 21). I haven’t received a phone call; guess that means I didn’t win anything. Well, I donated to a good cause: Alaska Firefighters.
It’s officially Fall. October is just around the corner. That means it’s time to start thinking about National Novel Writing Month . That’s what November is FOR, after all. Right?
(Edit: the new icons have arrived!)
I don’t do much planning; I wing my NaNoNovels. I do like to have an idea of the world I’ll be writing in, some characters fleshed out and an opening conflict. An ending is nice, too. I expect my characters to take over the story before I reach 10,000 words; they usually do. I really need that this year. My fiction mind is still on vacation after the big edit of Rising Tide.
So far I have no ideas for a novel. I’m considering doing 50K of short stories. If all the stories are linked somehow - same characters, same location(s), or some other way - it would qualify. I tried that in 2009. It was ... interesting (in that sarcastic, not-really-sure-what-it-was sense). I ended up with one partial short story, a bunch of scenes for the previous year’s novel that wasn’t finished (still isn’t), and a novella of a biography for a character that stepped in and took over. Telepathy was a common thread in all three so it qualified under the NaNo rules.
I’d really rather not repeat that.
I have over a month to come up with something. Maybe I'll hear back from my Beta Readers and, based on their input, do the next version of Rising Tide. Maybe I'll use one line of song lyrics as the opening for each short story (an idea I'm toying with). Maybe something totally unexpected will occur to me before October 31.
For sure I will do something. If you enjoy writing, have considered writing a novel "some day," come try NaNoWriMo. It's a great way to stretch your writer self and meet many nice folks doing the same.
It’s officially Fall. October is just around the corner. That means it’s time to start thinking about National Novel Writing Month . That’s what November is FOR, after all. Right?
(Edit: the new icons have arrived!)
I don’t do much planning; I wing my NaNoNovels. I do like to have an idea of the world I’ll be writing in, some characters fleshed out and an opening conflict. An ending is nice, too. I expect my characters to take over the story before I reach 10,000 words; they usually do. I really need that this year. My fiction mind is still on vacation after the big edit of Rising Tide.
So far I have no ideas for a novel. I’m considering doing 50K of short stories. If all the stories are linked somehow - same characters, same location(s), or some other way - it would qualify. I tried that in 2009. It was ... interesting (in that sarcastic, not-really-sure-what-it-was sense). I ended up with one partial short story, a bunch of scenes for the previous year’s novel that wasn’t finished (still isn’t), and a novella of a biography for a character that stepped in and took over. Telepathy was a common thread in all three so it qualified under the NaNo rules.
I’d really rather not repeat that.
I have over a month to come up with something. Maybe I'll hear back from my Beta Readers and, based on their input, do the next version of Rising Tide. Maybe I'll use one line of song lyrics as the opening for each short story (an idea I'm toying with). Maybe something totally unexpected will occur to me before October 31.
For sure I will do something. If you enjoy writing, have considered writing a novel "some day," come try NaNoWriMo. It's a great way to stretch your writer self and meet many nice folks doing the same.
01 December 2011
Thoughts on NaNo 2011
Another National Novel Writing Month has come to a close.
It was a good year for me. I reached a personal best word count of 53,454. I completed the first draft of my novel, meaning I wrote to an ending. Knowing how editing works, this might not stay the ending, but it is there and it works for me at the moment. This is the first time I’ve had an ending for one of my novels.
Many of my friends reached 50K. (Special shout out to Matt, who’s the only other person among all the folks in the two writing groups I attend who also did NaNo this year. He reached 50K as well.)
I’m in withdrawal We had a rousing virtual TGIO party last night on line in a place called The Smoking Pen Bar and Grill, a thread in the NaNo forums as well as a newly formed FB group. As an indication of how much I am into this: I have avoided FB completely up to now. I joined just to be a part of the Pen FB group.
{Aside #1: TGIO = Thank Goodness It’s Over. There are many local TGIO parties celebrating the end of NaNo, usually held the first weekend of December. Although one of my NaNo buddies said in her region they held it LAST weekend, on Nov 27! Seems a travesty.}
{Aside #2: The Smoking Pen was created by NaNoer Kopiluwak a number of years ago. The name comes from the rapid pace writing of NaNo, so fast the pen smokes...)
During November I was writing on my breaks at work. Today was my first day back after the Thanksgiving holiday. I wrote on my break! Had an idea for a better description of something in the novel, and wrote it out. Came home, pulled that sheet of paper from my purse and typed it in. The same process I’d followed all through November.
I have had a tab permanently open for the NaNoWriMo website since September. I can’t yet bring myself to close it, even though I have a bookmark for the site. Not ready to call it quits on this one yet!
Oh, that final line of my novel?
“Wherever this cruise is headed, sailor, count me in.”
It was a good year for me. I reached a personal best word count of 53,454. I completed the first draft of my novel, meaning I wrote to an ending. Knowing how editing works, this might not stay the ending, but it is there and it works for me at the moment. This is the first time I’ve had an ending for one of my novels.
Many of my friends reached 50K. (Special shout out to Matt, who’s the only other person among all the folks in the two writing groups I attend who also did NaNo this year. He reached 50K as well.)
I’m in withdrawal We had a rousing virtual TGIO party last night on line in a place called The Smoking Pen Bar and Grill, a thread in the NaNo forums as well as a newly formed FB group. As an indication of how much I am into this: I have avoided FB completely up to now. I joined just to be a part of the Pen FB group.
{Aside #1: TGIO = Thank Goodness It’s Over. There are many local TGIO parties celebrating the end of NaNo, usually held the first weekend of December. Although one of my NaNo buddies said in her region they held it LAST weekend, on Nov 27! Seems a travesty.}
{Aside #2: The Smoking Pen was created by NaNoer Kopiluwak a number of years ago. The name comes from the rapid pace writing of NaNo, so fast the pen smokes...)
During November I was writing on my breaks at work. Today was my first day back after the Thanksgiving holiday. I wrote on my break! Had an idea for a better description of something in the novel, and wrote it out. Came home, pulled that sheet of paper from my purse and typed it in. The same process I’d followed all through November.
I have had a tab permanently open for the NaNoWriMo website since September. I can’t yet bring myself to close it, even though I have a bookmark for the site. Not ready to call it quits on this one yet!
Oh, that final line of my novel?
“Wherever this cruise is headed, sailor, count me in.”
27 November 2011
NaNo 2011, 50K day
I have made 50K in the wonderful craziness that is NaNoWriMo for the sixth time.
There is still a bit of my story to write to get to the actual ending. I plan on doing that before the 30th, so I can add that milestone: having an end to the story in November. Never achieved that before, and this year is my best shot at it ever. My characters have been very cooperative, even though there were many times I couldn't see farther ahead than the scene I was writing. I'm at one of those spots now. Although I know only one or two more scenes are needed, I can't see what they'll be.
Best of luck to those of you still striving for the goal.
Thanks for reading; comments welcome.
There is still a bit of my story to write to get to the actual ending. I plan on doing that before the 30th, so I can add that milestone: having an end to the story in November. Never achieved that before, and this year is my best shot at it ever. My characters have been very cooperative, even though there were many times I couldn't see farther ahead than the scene I was writing. I'm at one of those spots now. Although I know only one or two more scenes are needed, I can't see what they'll be.
Best of luck to those of you still striving for the goal.
Thanks for reading; comments welcome.
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