Post-NaNoWrimo 2014 Update

I managed to survive NaNo with a sizeable chunk of text to show for it. I did not make my goal of 50K, but 44,000 words and some change certainly did give me a good start to what I hope will be a good novel after some more outlining, character building, and reorganization of the major events into something more palatable for my picky inner editor. To be honest, I still have not settled on a final title for this book, which is strange for me. Normally I work directly from a title, but in this one, I started with a main character first. She is probably the only fully fleshed out character in the book. Everyone else still seems to be a placeholder in one way or another.

There is the final team project in process for the last accounting class; it is due on Saturday but I think we may be done before then. There may be one more assignment for my other class, but it is a fairly stress-free end to the semester. I know not everyone is so calm, but the rush before graduation has many feeling haggard. Dead Week should not involve assignments unless they are final projects in lieu of an exam. I think very few universities have kept up with the tradition, though, other than to cease student organization's official functions during that week and to keep the name. Professors pretty much do whatever they want in terms of workload even if it is sometimes unrealistic. Still, we all manage somehow so it must not be that unrealistic.

Kansas, per usual, can make up its mind about what season we are actually in. As long as the Blizzard waits until I am done with trudging to campus this semester, I do not really care, because I can bundle up inside with my hot cocoa, blankets, and books. I have plans to sleep until noon at least one day over the break. That is probably all I will get around this zoo that is my home.

The hubs just announced in a much more 'official statement' sort of way that he wants to move to a better house after our lease is up in this house. So, that's probably going to be part of my summer.

Start of Week 2

Despite my best intentions, I lost momentum on my NaNoWriMo project towards the end of this past week. I finally hit over the 10K hump when I should be nearer to 17K at this point. I still feel pretty confident about finishing my 50K this month despite that. I do need to work on matters of laundry and homework today, so I may treat writing as more of a reward today.

Endings are a bit of an issue both in writing and life, as I have seen lately. We have so much anxiety in our culture about failing, leaving, and quitting, which seems so counterproductive. I am looking forward to yet another interesting shift. And, yes, Herodotus mentioned this: "Illness strikes men when they are exposed to change." So the issue has been a part of Western culture for some time.

The old adage about when one door opens, another closes, tends to be thrown to a wayside, as a comfort for that "shameful" moment when something has gone wrong. But a pagan perspective has a slightly different perspective: you have to destroy to create and there is balance in the ebb and flow of fortunes. Everything you do make a mark on the universe that ultimately affects everyone within it. It is silly to think that whatever "bad" happens to you is some sort of punishment. If karma was actually about biting people in the ass or giving them rewards on the basis of actions, we would not need a legal system.

The police sirens were quite busy in our neighborhood last night. It should be interesting to read the paper tomorrow to see what happened. I do know, however, that my chaotic people are aligned within the confines of the Law, which has made for some interesting fireworks. Everything is getting ready to ignite as it shifts, burning the fabled Tower to the ground.

I Write Like....

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

Because silly tests like this are what NaNoWriMo'ers do when they are bored or avoiding their manuscript. Or, in my case, because they have been generally sleepless and decide that a quiz is a lot more fun than pressing through with a manuscript. If you are interested about the readability of your writing, check out this neat little app.

Evidently this is the week for insomnia to rear its ugly head. You would think that would make me more productive but instead of I am goofing off more than I probably should. I am also contemplating evil things to do in writing to the people who keep pissing me off in real life. That is particularly, healthy, I am sure, but better than the alternative. Trust me.

On that note, I really should be wearing this t-shirt.

Gritty Word Counts: Day 3!

Cheating has become a bit more common place about NaNoWriMo; this is not a bad thing. A good writing buddy is taking this stance because she's such a rebel. If building on a current manuscript is getting you going, if you had to start in October because you could not stand to wait anymore, or you're just trying to finish up a 100,000+ project with that last 50K, good for you!

This year, I decided to go back to being "organic" with the process. I have a brand new and characters that I barely know. They are surprising creations that seem to be moving in directions I had not anticipated. This is the joy of writing without an outline. Despite some of James Patterson's advice for the kickoff, this writer operates by the seat of her pants. (I am, however, quite adept at lying to myself.)

As I am writing this, Day 3 is nearing hour 7 in Kansas and I have been plugging at my manuscript from about an hour already this morning. I am about 900 words from today's goal and feeling fairly confident about my success this month. I was flagging last month

I also need to complete a project for my accounting class that I have been procrastinating on because this weekend has been an odd mix of stress, partying, and writing for sanity. I hope the rest of the Zombie Warhols are doing well on their word counts.

Some gritty tips for increasing your word counts early on:

• Use Chapter Titles - They help mentally set the scene and  give you a boost in the word count department. 
• Use absolutely no contractions - You get two words for the price of one. Even if it seems too formal for your character now, you can always go back and change it during the editing process. 
• Use action verbs as much as possible -  Not only will your sentences pack a punch, you may be more likely to offer better description, which leads to my next tip.
• Adjectives and adverbs are your friend - Ignore rules from high school or early college composition classes. Be as flowery as humanly possible and introduce characters with as many details as come to mind when you envision them. You likely will edit a great deal of that out later, but in the meantime, it gives you a better idea of how that person looks.
• Kick your inner editor to the curb - Never allow yourself to think that something sounds silly or ridiculous. Just write it. The editing can happen in January. (You can try to be nice and send him/her on vacation, but that rarely works.)
• Schroedinger is your saving grace - Not sure how something should happen? Write the two most likely scenarios and move on. You can decide later on how things should actually progress.

 Have a great November everyone! Feel free to post about your current projects in the comments section. I look forward to hearing from all of you. 

Sunshine the Morning After

Despite the title of my current writing project and this blog post, the morning after Halloween and the first full day of National Novel Writing Month is anything but sunshine-filled. That's just how I like it and my main character might agree what with her sloshing around in the muddy wet pasture turned music festival site in which I've stuck her. Good thing Susannah Yearout is a pluviophile. (That's someone who loves rainy weather, if you were wondering.)

Our new neighbors might be nice people but they are really noisy at night. I suppose Halloween is just another excuse to party for some people. I can't say much. My crowd is going to be tearing it up tonight in grandiose fashion. Trick-or-treaters aren't really a thing around here, but that's good since I had not bothered to buy candy by that point anyway.

It feels like the Friday that it is around the Mihulec apartment, but I need to clean because I promised a less disastrous looking abode by 5 p.m., writing or no, and there is shopping to be done today. Here's to a great start to the weekend for everyone. Keep calm and keep writing!

Let's Scrap a Cinderella

My main character in Scrapping Cinderella is half fire-demon. Her name is Ashley. I imagine most of you are used to my very bad puns at this point. (Ashley... Cinderella... get it?) She is telling the story and while no narrator is trustworthy, you're really going to be questioning what she tells you, probably as much as I have been the past eleven day.

Here is a small preview from the dirty and unedited prologue:

“Police reports indicate that area resident, Marisol Blacksmith Eldrid, has passed away from injuries related to the fire that occurred at her residence just outside of Eastwood. Investigators are still searching as to the cause of the fire.”

Everyone but Mr. Uchida wore black that day. Gray, darkening clouds, provided a dense cover of shade but the air grew heavy in the ninety-plus degree weather. My grandfather’s hands proved strong, stalwart, guides as my sister and I headed towards the family plot. My mother’s body was lowered into the dry earth by a mechanical wench system that looked more like a monster to my eight-year-old self. My older sister was twelve and seemed more aware of what was going on; she, at least, mourned properly.  Tears and gasping cries mottled her face a peculiar purplish red.

I clenched my tiny fists and silently swore death upon whoever or whatever had taken my last parent away. Father’s grave was barely a year old. Our grandfather had buried his only remaining son and his daughter-in-law over the course of a few months. I cannot imagine what he was feeling that day, but I know I was bitterly swallowing the fact that we were orphans, but perhaps fortunate orphans.

The state could not take us with grandfather around. That was enough. I remember how long we kept the funeral home staff that day as we mourned. I remember the colors and the texture of the casket spray. I could tell you every single minor detail. But I can’t remember anything about how my mother looked or who she was; memories of my parents are long since lost to me. I envy my sister that, more than anything else she has received in life. I would kill just to hold a mental image of them, rather than just what I have to try to glean from worthless photographs that can never tell me anything about the person who lived a life and gave me my own shot at existence.

When we walked away from the cemetery that day, Grandfather was once again the head of the Eldrid clan.

Rain beat a somber tattoo against the metal roof of the main house when we returned to our new home. Drunken mourning wails from the downstairs main areas kept two sisters clinging to each other’s wet skin like we were the last two lifeboats in a swelling ocean.

We’ve never been as close since that day. In fact, it would be safe enough to say that we quickly grew to hate each other after our mother's death.

 

GMAT results

Well, I managed a 510 on my GMAT which was enough to be unofficially accepted into the graduate program once I complete the summer class I am currently taking as an undergraduate. My schedule for fall is set. I am trying to set some of my prejudices aside because I get to take another class with that professor. I hope my first impression was wrong.

It has been good to be away from Emporia for a bit and I've been productive, but I am ready to go home tomorrow and get back to normal I think. I just don't do vacations very well evidently. It has been good to start my class off at a decent pace though. Right now, I'm mostly in a writing mood and trying to go with the flow for Scrapping Princess. It's been awhile since I've written in first-person but this character is pretty strong-willed and ranty, much like this blog somedays.

Camp NaNoWriMo preparation update

I definitely got behind on my world building, but I'm not surprised. It's summer. More work hours, faster paced classes,the impending GMAT, visiting friends, and the allure of a reopened pool have been daunting my plotting efforts. However, I have been jotting down some ideas here and there, which is the important thing.

I also am trying to brainstorm for a writing contest, so there is that. I have more time on the writing contest than I do for Camp NaNo, however. I'm thinking I might focus more on an outline for my novel and character development than the traditional 30 days of world building. This might be a fantasy but it's dark with a crazed serial killer mystery thrown in to the mix.

That's it for me this morning. I have to prepare to run a funeral home office in a little over an hour for another nine hour day. I really do love my job; almost as much as I love writing.

Day 7: Races & General Culture

This is an early morning post before work since my Friday evenings tend to disappear quickly before anything akin to writing or plotting can be accomplished. This is the day where I get to break away from what's going on with the "realistic" part of my modern fantasy.

There are beings which are generally lumped together as demons. More than a few of those are going to show up.  I decided to draw mostly from obscure American legends about strange creatures. I'll probably add my actual list that I was considering at a later point, but if you have some favorite creatures of urban legend, respond in comments.

Individuals who can tap into magic besides the demons (or monsters or whatever) are not uncommon in Eastwood. It's reasonable to suspect that at least some can sense the demons. They are generally seen as somewhere between humans and demons, rather than just augmented or evolved humans.

Angels/fae-like creatures are not as common, but they are not unknown to cross over through the portals and ley lines on occasion. Most missing cases in the past two hundred years of the town can be traced to such incidents.

In terms of Ashley's clan, they existed within a hierarchy (although not necessarily patriarchal) where status is often proven, if not determined, through violence and other shows of strength. However, part of what makes them different is that they are disinterested in the concept of conquest or subjugation. It seems to be more a matter of who can defend the best and who is going to represent the interests of the clan well.

Days 5-6 of World Building: Flora & Fauna

Flora

Native cottonwood trees are common throughout the state, as are various varieties of wildflowers and sunflowers. Big Bluestem grasses are native to the Flint Hills, but one can also find bottlebrush grass in a reasonable quantity. Chicory, with its blue flowers, is common in the Lyon County area. The flowering plant is of Mediterranean origin but has been naturalized. Tassel is an annoying, prickly, weed that is extremely invasive and tends to take over roadside ditches. Western horse-nettle, also known as the potato weed, puts on purple and yellow flowers. A member of the nightshade family, western horse-nettle is known to be toxic to grazing livestock, but I wouldn't recommend any humans trying sampling the flowers either.

Wheat, sorghum, corn, and soybeans are common crops with the expanse of farmland between towns and cities across the state. Organic farming is becoming more of a trend here as it is in other parts of the country, but there's still questions of GMO effects on vegetation that is supposed to be "organic" in the name of making produce resistant to pesticides.

Fauna

Kansas's indigenous mammals include the common cottontail, black-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed prairie dog, muskrat, opossum, and raccoon; the white-tailed deer is the state's only big-game animal. There are 12 native species of bat, 2 varieties of shrew and mole, and 3 types of pocket gopher. The western meadowlark is the state bird. Kansas has the largest flock of prairie chickens remaining on the North American continent. The US Fish and Wildlife Service named 123 Kansas animal species as threatened or endangered in 2003. Among these are the Indiana and gray bats, bald eagle, whooping crane, Eskimo curlew, and black-footed ferret. (source: http://www.city-data.com/states/Kansas-Flora-and-fauna.html) 

The Flint Hills are known for the dickcissel birds and upland sandpiper, both of which are seasonal birds. Bison (often mistakenly referred to as buffalo) once roamed free, but are now are limited to zoos and ranches. Regal fritilarry butterflies are exclusive to the tallgrass prairie. They may be seen during the summer months of June and July. 

Day 4 World Building: Resources

Resources:

The fictional town of Eastwood has a highly filtered water system, cleaner than most places in the country.  Kansas as a whole, however, has a great instance of pesticides and other poisons entering the water stream resulting in some small communities having unreasonably high instances of cancer amongst the population. This is a region of primarily wheat, soybean, corn, and dairy farmers. Other industries, including technology, exist but are not as prevalent. The arts and education are a massive part of the Eastwood’s culture. This has made it a favored bedroom community for more technical positions in other cities.

In terms of magical resources, there is a portal to the north that allows passage between human and demonic realms. Numerous crossroads that served as graveyards create negative fields that feed the inhuman members of the town. The humans’ unease about the economy and the state of the town in light of recent disappearances has created another source of energy. Converging ley lines fuel most of the psychics and magicians in the town as well.

For Zombie Warhols: Writing Resources

The 30 Days of World Building by Stephanie Cottrell Bryant is a good world building exercise primarily for fantasy and science fiction writers, but it works well even if you are setting in a realistic or modern world if you are creative enough with it. This is what I intend to blog for this month prior to Camp NaNoWriMo in July.

Character Building

http://writerstrust.blogspot.com/2007/10/character-development-exercises.html
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976908598
http://poewar.com/10-days-of-character-building-character-bio-sheets/


Speculative Fiction (SF, Fantasy,  Horror, etc.) 

http://www.writing-world.com/sf/

http://www.eclecticco.net/Worldbuilding.htm

Historical / Creative Nonfiction

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/5-tips-for-writing-historical-fiction
http://www.elizabethcrookbooks.com/articles/historical_fiction.htm
http://robertsharenow.com/tips-for-writing-historical-fiction/
http://digitalstorytips.wikispaces.com/Tips+for+Writing+Creative+Nonfiction

 Writing Prompts

http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises
http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/
 

Day 3 World-Building

Landmarks

Tallgrass Prairie Reserve is about 16 miles away. It is a significant remnant of the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of the state. Today, most of what exists is in the Flint Hills. There are numerous walking trails and you're likely to run into buffalo. It is also the worst place to be during a tornado. Visiting during summer is a pretty common activity around here. It would be impossible to place a story near the Flint Hills and this not be part of the world.

Red Rocks, the William Allen White house, is a major landmark here, since the publisher and his family had a great deal with the success of the town. Related is Peter Pan Park which was built for White's daughter who died from a riding accident. The park is near the Cottonwood River.

There's a small zoo that runs mostly on community donations.

As far as fictional landmarks, there will be the main house / estate in which the main character's family resides. I considered fashioning it somewhat after Red Rocks, only much larger.

Some drive-in theaters still exist, and I considered putting a fairly large one just south of the fictional town.

Days 1 & 2: World Building

With the July Camp NaNo approaching, I am taking June to do 30 days of world-building (courtesy of author Stephanie Cottrell Bryant) for my novel Scrapping Cinderella (working title). This is a double-post since I forgot to post yesterday.

Day 1: The World 

This is a modern-day fantasy set on Earth. Global technology is making the world increasingly smaller in terms of day-to-day contact with other people and other countries. Global warming is a serious issue that is having far-reaching effects on how people live and work. There's a remnant of a war in response to 9-11 that on its dying breath in the middle east. Gas prices keep rising, but widespread public transportation is limited to the smaller landmass countries. Independence, its definitions, and its applications are becoming a global concern, not just an American one. In most countries, space is a premium. Some countries have too many children born and survive each year; others, not enough to maintain half their current population. There are still mostly uninhabited parts of the world and no clear solution to the issue of overcrowded cities and countries. In short, Earth is getting more claustrophobic and hotter with each passing year creating a sure-fire recipe for violent anger in many of its residents.

Day 2: Geography

Call me crazy, but I am planning on setting the majority of S.C. in a fictional little town that mirrors the one in which I currently live (but with some interesting modifications of course). This area is part of tornado alley, although it is not uncommon to go years without a tornado hitting the town or the surrounding area. I have personally only seen two hit Emporia and I've lived in Kansas since 1989. Despite ideas to the contrary, Eastern Kansas is not flat, but we do have mostly grasslands with some trees. The nearest river is the Cottonwood River named for the trees that grow near its banks and cause allergies for residents of two counties every summer. The nearest man-made lake with a beach and fishing / camping areas is probably Melvern Lake to the north. Kansas, in general, is a fairly small state but with a great deal of wide open spaces. While Kansas does have a fault line, it is out in Western Kansas and runs near Garden City, I believe. It is still possible for any aftershocks to be felt in other parts of the state.

November Goodbyes

I cannot believe how quickly this month has flown. We've made it through Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Cyber Monday is tomorrow. And, for NaNoWriMo'ers, we are in the last week of noveling madness. I am sitting at 31,835 as of this morning. While I am a bit behind the curve (about 10k at this point), I am still going to give my best until the very end. In fact, I have a plan to indulge in a party on the last day of the month involving Java Monsters, a trip to the Java Cat most likely, and writing all the way to midnight.

I'm clearly becoming invaluable at work because I have covered the office quite a bit this month so far. This is good for me, with student loans repayments becoming part of my life in December. You know, that month where the world is supposed to end. *smiles* No, I know I'm not going to get out of paying back the federal government that easily. All in all, my undergrad was pretty inexpensive, though, so I don't think it will be that horrible to pay back. The graduate classes that I took through full sail will be another matter, but worth it.

The worst part about November is the depression that it brings in my household. We made it through Veteran's Day mostly without incident, but it is clear that John's memories of the accident are plaguing him. He's still nervous driving on the highway, but I think the worst is that he cannot shake the horrible fears about possibly losing me that day. I think the difference is that I was angry that day more than I was scared. Also, there's the issue of what his mother said the day of the accident. Now that she's suddenly wanting to "bring the family back together," it's made him feel very conflicted. I can see the troubled emotions feeding his depression and anxiety; I honestly don't know what to do.

I really am not sure what I am going to do in April when I no longer have the office hours. I probably will still get called for the occasional visitation or service. Maybe another unique job will make itself known or I might rethink going back to school. I'm tempted to go for a business degree to get more of the training that I think I need to look better for office positions in this town. I have no idea how long John's current degree program is going to take him.

But I am preparing myself to say "goodbye" to this month and allow myself to relax a little more through December.

NaNoWriMo Week 1

Normally, I post somewhere after midnight on day 1 with my (ideally) industrious word count and some sort of cheerleading to encourage other writers who are enjoying the insanity with me. A few things is that I worked about 9 hours for the first two days of NaNo. That meant that any writing I did went to the manuscript and not the blog. 

Yesterday, while helping with funeral service stuff at work, I received word that my grandmother had passed away. Her first husband, my grandfather, passed away back in the 1950's. My other grandparents died when I was in my early twenties, almost ten years ago. I'm not sure how to react now that all the grandparents and great-grandparents are gone. I've sent flowers to Florida so I hope the rest of the family enjoys them. 

I'm still helping throw a party this entire crazy weekend. I'm still writing. Because I think, if I know one thing about the dead, they don't expect the living to stop for them. Grieve, but keep moving. Personally, having something to do allows me to keep from falling into depression because of my grief. And, I'd like to think that Grandma would have gotten a kick out of NaNoWriMo, what with her editing work early on in her career. 

But yes, it's been an awkward start to NaNo. Here's hoping that Huntress is a NaNoWriMo winner by November 30th. I will try to catch up with local write-ins for week 2.

Diving In

I haven't been as loyal to updating this blog since I've been diving head first into a novel project. I'm trying to take my writing as seriously as any of my jobs in the real world, as it were, so I've been putting a lot of time into actual writing. I recommend everyone devote some of their time each day to writing; it's easy to talk about being a writer and write on occasion, but quite another to dedicate to the amount of work necessary to become an author. We know this logically, but it's easy to procrastinate.

October is a bit of a fun month because it's usually a time for brainstorming and world-building before November's NaNoWriMo rolls around. At least, that's how it's been for me during years that I wasn't in college stressing prior to midterms. We shall see what happens. I'm uncertain as to whether I will do NaNo this year or not. I might be too busy with the funeral home and my other projects.

Writers also have to remember to take time to read good fiction. Right now, I'm on a bit of a Jim Butcher kick as I work my way through both the Codex Alara and the Dresden Files serieses as well as a few other novels that I have kidnapped from friends' bookshelves.

Zombie Warhols

The Zombie Warhols are groaning and writing at the Java Cat. Five are present at the moment with two to possibly join later. Writing is going well except for those who are focusing more on discussions related to Minecraft. Brains have been offered as prizes for the most prolific writer zombies this month, so much key crunching is going on with our literary zombies. Playing with time in a fictional sense makes for interesting discussion.

Long days

Camp NaNoWriMo has started off with a bang. Right now, I'm sitting comfortably at just a little over the required minimum. I'm striving for 50,000 words written this month with the rest of you.  I've found myself lost in writing, errands, job hunting, and the company of friends.

I just made it back home from an impromptu run to the Admissions office at ESU before they closed at noon. It's a bit warm out there for my tastes. I hate getting sweaty and I'm tempted to indulge in a dip in the pool. Certain schools need to quit stalling when it comes to sending transcripts, but at least an unofficial transcript will do for now for getting my husband enrolled into the psychology program.

Saturday is an official Zombie Warhol meeting from 11 until 3 at the JavaCat for the purpose of moral support, conversation, and writing. I hope to see a few zombies there! I would recommend that if anyone is wanting to continue the meeting past 3, there probably should be an exodus to someone's house or apartment.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Some housekeeping

Okay so I'm starting with a pre-existing manuscript that currently contains 4849 words. I will be subtracting that number from my overall word county from here on out as I do my daily posts related to the August Camp NaNoWriMo (and wherever else is going on.) Actually not trying to cheat; it was more of a matter of not wanting to lose inspiration when it came. So, yes, I need to have at least 54849 words by the end of August to fairly complete the arduous task that is NaNoWriMo. I'd like to have Matagot up to 100,000 words and/or fully complete by November.

Never really thought about it before, but I'm starting to see Matagot as part of a three-four novel story arc. I'm looking forward to developing my characters, but also to torturing them.