Yep. It's that time of year again. NaNoWriMo is upon is, and I'm happy to say I bagged my wordcount quota before lunch today.
(And let me just say I almost fell out of my chair when I finished tallying up the manual count and it came to 1687. Daaaaaaaaang. I have too much free time in the morning.)
I managed to balloon that out by 200 in the type-in, so I'm in decent standing for the first day (though my mom has me by 30 words. Hi, mom!).
Who else in the blogosphere is NaNoing? And how are you doing? Your story perking up at the whistle yet?
Best of luck to my fellow writing fiends, including those who are using the month for comics, manga, plays, and whatever other creative pursuits!
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
When Writing What You Know Isn't A Great Idea
Ever had that chapter that just refused to be written?
For me, last week, it was chapter thirteen. (Most people would consider than an omen, but I'm a 13-baby - May 13th, oh yes - and as a result I did tend to have more luck with the number than most people.)
First I tried a time skip, then realized I needed to fill stuff in. Deletion of 1600 words. (Well, not quite deletion - I saved them separately - but still, it hurt.)
I pondered and wondered and mulled and pondered over where I could go next, and then it hit me: I could finally use that age-old technique of borrowing something almost completely from life.
At my church a couple months ago, we were sitting in the sanctuary, about three minutes before the evening sevice would begin. Almost everyone was already there. The youth group was in the choir loft, ready to sing.
Then a woman stormed in and called out her daughter's name. She counted down from five and, when said daughter did not appear, she said for the whole sanctuary to hear, "Alright, you're going to foster care."
Our ministers swooped in and tried to derail her, but by the time they made it down front she had launched into a tirade about how the youth group treated her son (who had just run through the sanctuary shouting "Go to Hell" at a different girl), how said different girl was the devil, on and on. She refused to leave until she'd finished her speech, and I think the cops were called in later. The girl she'd attacked and that girl's younger sister ran out of the choir loft in tears, and we somehow managed to have the service.
It was one of those things that left a weird taste with everyone who'd seen it. Perfect, I thought, for twisting, editing, and putting in a novel. (How's that for a cold, uncaring writer?) It would fit perfectly with my story, I thought, with its neon-sign themes of the disagreements between parents and children. So I wrote it up and left the computer for a break.
And ran into a massive block. Couldn't write another word. The character I'd introduced wasn't fitting, it had ruined the mood of the story, I just didn't like it. I think it's one of the first times as a writer that I've been able to trace a blah feeling in a story back to its source, and once I got rid of it, I was able to write again.
Have you ever had a writer's intuition be totally, utterly wrong? Bleh.
For me, last week, it was chapter thirteen. (Most people would consider than an omen, but I'm a 13-baby - May 13th, oh yes - and as a result I did tend to have more luck with the number than most people.)
First I tried a time skip, then realized I needed to fill stuff in. Deletion of 1600 words. (Well, not quite deletion - I saved them separately - but still, it hurt.)
I pondered and wondered and mulled and pondered over where I could go next, and then it hit me: I could finally use that age-old technique of borrowing something almost completely from life.
At my church a couple months ago, we were sitting in the sanctuary, about three minutes before the evening sevice would begin. Almost everyone was already there. The youth group was in the choir loft, ready to sing.
Then a woman stormed in and called out her daughter's name. She counted down from five and, when said daughter did not appear, she said for the whole sanctuary to hear, "Alright, you're going to foster care."
Our ministers swooped in and tried to derail her, but by the time they made it down front she had launched into a tirade about how the youth group treated her son (who had just run through the sanctuary shouting "Go to Hell" at a different girl), how said different girl was the devil, on and on. She refused to leave until she'd finished her speech, and I think the cops were called in later. The girl she'd attacked and that girl's younger sister ran out of the choir loft in tears, and we somehow managed to have the service.
It was one of those things that left a weird taste with everyone who'd seen it. Perfect, I thought, for twisting, editing, and putting in a novel. (How's that for a cold, uncaring writer?) It would fit perfectly with my story, I thought, with its neon-sign themes of the disagreements between parents and children. So I wrote it up and left the computer for a break.
And ran into a massive block. Couldn't write another word. The character I'd introduced wasn't fitting, it had ruined the mood of the story, I just didn't like it. I think it's one of the first times as a writer that I've been able to trace a blah feeling in a story back to its source, and once I got rid of it, I was able to write again.
Have you ever had a writer's intuition be totally, utterly wrong? Bleh.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Tell the Story
As I'm sure most of you are aware, Madeleine L'Engle has left us.
She's left us a number of wonderful books.
We read A Wrinkle in Time in school in the seventh grade...maybe the sixth, but I'd already read it. That's one of the few books I can remember my mom actually reading with me; thereafter, I'd just take them and read them myself.
The middle school reread was a good chance to face things about the book that I hadn't understood as a younger child, face my "weird" feeling about it, a kind of prickly discomfort edging on scared, I think. "Weird" or not (and I think to this day that it certainly was), it was good. Better than good. It was great.
Mrs. L'Engle's thoughts on the writing process have been quoted elsewhere, but the gist of it is that the magic that happens in writing, its meaning, isn't intended.
I know that I, personally, tend to get caught up in making sure that what I'm writing has weight and depth, that it would tug at my heartstrings (or, in some cases, tear them out and stomp on the pieces) as a reader. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But when it gets in the way of me actually sitting down to write, then yes.
The very first thing any writer must do is tell a story. Depth, weight, and meaning come later. What we read for, first and foremost, is a story.
So tell the story.
She's left us a number of wonderful books.
We read A Wrinkle in Time in school in the seventh grade...maybe the sixth, but I'd already read it. That's one of the few books I can remember my mom actually reading with me; thereafter, I'd just take them and read them myself.
The middle school reread was a good chance to face things about the book that I hadn't understood as a younger child, face my "weird" feeling about it, a kind of prickly discomfort edging on scared, I think. "Weird" or not (and I think to this day that it certainly was), it was good. Better than good. It was great.
Mrs. L'Engle's thoughts on the writing process have been quoted elsewhere, but the gist of it is that the magic that happens in writing, its meaning, isn't intended.
I know that I, personally, tend to get caught up in making sure that what I'm writing has weight and depth, that it would tug at my heartstrings (or, in some cases, tear them out and stomp on the pieces) as a reader. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But when it gets in the way of me actually sitting down to write, then yes.
The very first thing any writer must do is tell a story. Depth, weight, and meaning come later. What we read for, first and foremost, is a story.
So tell the story.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Not Quite as Much Sludge
Thanks to several hours of reading from The New Writer's Handbook and pondering the conflicts of my story, my enthusiasm for the project has been rekindled and I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going. No word yet on whether I can actually pull a couple of the things off, but it's looking better. That's the good part.
The bad part is that I can think of four five scenes that I can keep. Mostly. But as two of those are my favorite scenes in the whole book (that should have been a sign) I don't mind too much.
And one of my favorite characters (who, really, was never all that important - I just liked him and wanted him to be - rookie mistake!) is getting the boot. Poor guy'll be lucky to get a cameo now. But that's as it should be.
I'm going in. (My outline is taking place in Excel this time around. Sticky notes are too easy to lose.)
Wish me luck.
The bad part is that I can think of four five scenes that I can keep. Mostly. But as two of those are my favorite scenes in the whole book (that should have been a sign) I don't mind too much.
And one of my favorite characters (who, really, was never all that important - I just liked him and wanted him to be - rookie mistake!) is getting the boot. Poor guy'll be lucky to get a cameo now. But that's as it should be.
I'm going in. (My outline is taking place in Excel this time around. Sticky notes are too easy to lose.)
Wish me luck.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Jump-Sludge
Status on the WiP:
Wordcount: 63,000 (3k of that out of sequence)
Plot threads existing: roughly 3...ish...maybe closer to 4-ish.
Plot threads tied up: None
Plot threads existing that I know how to tie up: 1...maybe...
In short: not doing so well.
I still love the idea for this story. The themes I decided to work with. The first chapter. Unfortunately, those things have become totally unconnected with the story as it stands in my mind and, I'm beginning to suspect, as it stands on paper. On the screen. Whatever.
Is it unusual to start losing faith in myself as a writer at this stage of the game? Because I feel like I've somehow abandoned the story I wanted to tell, and I really have no clue how to go back to it; I set up several incredibly ambitious situations, and when it comes time for the great reveal, I have no idea how I'll pull it off. I'm beginning to think, maybe, that I might be able to write the story I want to tell here in a few more years, after a little more experience--but right now, it's looking rather slim.
I'm going to finish this draft and see what I can do, for a number of reasons: maybe it'll look better as a whole on paper, maybe I'll be able to see more clearly what needs to be done...that, and (I say this with total confidence) if I don't, after abandoning another project (which, in all fairness, already hadn't worked once) to write this one, my mother will kill me.
Have any of you been there? How did you deal with it?
Wordcount: 63,000 (3k of that out of sequence)
Plot threads existing: roughly 3...ish...maybe closer to 4-ish.
Plot threads tied up: None
Plot threads existing that I know how to tie up: 1...maybe...
In short: not doing so well.
I still love the idea for this story. The themes I decided to work with. The first chapter. Unfortunately, those things have become totally unconnected with the story as it stands in my mind and, I'm beginning to suspect, as it stands on paper. On the screen. Whatever.
Is it unusual to start losing faith in myself as a writer at this stage of the game? Because I feel like I've somehow abandoned the story I wanted to tell, and I really have no clue how to go back to it; I set up several incredibly ambitious situations, and when it comes time for the great reveal, I have no idea how I'll pull it off. I'm beginning to think, maybe, that I might be able to write the story I want to tell here in a few more years, after a little more experience--but right now, it's looking rather slim.
I'm going to finish this draft and see what I can do, for a number of reasons: maybe it'll look better as a whole on paper, maybe I'll be able to see more clearly what needs to be done...that, and (I say this with total confidence) if I don't, after abandoning another project (which, in all fairness, already hadn't worked once) to write this one, my mother will kill me.
Have any of you been there? How did you deal with it?
Friday, July 27, 2007
What NOT To Do
I forget where I first saw this, but I just found it again and wanted to share. Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Obligatory Deathly Hallows Post
Well, I finished it. I got it from my mom at 8 PM Monday and finished at 1:25 PM Tuesday. (Yes, I did fit eight hours of sleep in there.) I'll be following the (Yay) Spoiler Free mandate, but let me just say, it was amazing. J.K. Rowling really outdid herself. A fitting end to a phenomenon, I think.
That, and it apparently switched on my writer's brain, because I pulled a chapter more or less out of a hat yesterday on my own work-in-progress. It's almost five thousand words and it doesn't make me want to die when I read it, so I'm calling it a success.
That, and it apparently switched on my writer's brain, because I pulled a chapter more or less out of a hat yesterday on my own work-in-progress. It's almost five thousand words and it doesn't make me want to die when I read it, so I'm calling it a success.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Back from Down Under
There'll be pictures as soon as I get them--I went without a digital camera and have to wait for mine to be developed, and maybe to beg some off of my fellow travelers. However, in the interest of battling the boredom that seems to settle in around this time of the year, here's an offering of bloopers, graciously lent to me by my good friend Isi over at The Spork Room and which are her intellectual property, etc., though she's more than happy to aid in the cause of spreading hilarity throughout the Wizarding community...I mean, blogosphere. (You know exactly where my mind is at the moment, right?)
So, without further ado, some of the nicest writing mistakes I've seen in quite awhile and their accompanying comments, courtesy of Isi's 2006 NaNo (which should explain a lot). Brought to you by the Foundation for Even if There's Not Somebody Worse Than You, Sometimes It Sure Looks Like It (also known as The Spork Room, come to think of it).
Well, hope y'all enjoyed some of those. Kind of puts it in perspective, yes? Isi's a really good writer, but sometimes time pressures and ungodly amounts of caffeine can have devastating effects.
So, can you remember any hilarious bloopers you've made in your rush to get words written?
And, to touch on an earlier comment of mine, what are your plans for the Harry Potter Book 7 release night?
So, without further ado, some of the nicest writing mistakes I've seen in quite awhile and their accompanying comments, courtesy of Isi's 2006 NaNo (which should explain a lot). Brought to you by the Foundation for Even if There's Not Somebody Worse Than You, Sometimes It Sure Looks Like It (also known as The Spork Room, come to think of it).
Finishing with what I think is my favorite out of the bunch (though "nifty ninja needle type thing" comes close):Yes, let us digress to things that may not become important for a number of chapters more. It begins in a different place, and quite a different time. In the past, elsewhere.
Redundant much?"I appologize for this intrusion, dear lady," he told her. "But I have come to tell you the unfortunate news that you are nothing more than a plot device."
At least he's honest.Isn't it fun that I'm using really short simple sentences?! The madness!
This book is full of authorial interruptions like that.He (or she) fought off the immortal mob. It was quite epic, but my writing is not so I can't go into details at the moment.
Yep. Authorial interruptions."Do you understand what I say?"
"I understand that you're probably trying to sell me something."
Why does that sound like I stole it from the Princess Bride?But this is sounding too much like Harry Potter. It is not supposed to be like Harry Potter. Let's see... let's brainstorm ways to make it less like Harry Potter sounding... darn, can't think of anything.
And I still don't know how to fix the resemblance to Harry Potter. ;_;
(I think we've all been there. Especially me. Especially lately. -M)She tried it again, pushing with one hand and pulling with the other in a clockwise motion, which actually means anti-clockwise to you earth audience, because clocks in this world go in the opposite direction as clocks on earth. Just a random fun fact on the world building.
How would you specify that their clocks go counterclockwise anyway?Yeah, none of this makes sense to me either, but moving on...
Yes, that is narration.They were still a ways off, so she continued walking towards them, and this was a complete waste of a sentence. Anything for word count.
No comment."Have I told you how awesomely random I thought it was that you were breaking into the calendar mechanics?" he said, sounding suspiciously American.
My characters have a problem with using modern slang when they're not supposed to.I'd just like to share that I have little idea where I'm going with this. Thank you.
Fourth wall? Where? I don't see anything.That's the general way of wizards and sorcerers and mancers and alchemists and witches and hedgewizards and magi and the like.
Polysyndeton rules! Can you tell I was behind on my wordcount?
(M: I feel I must interrupt here, as this isn't even quite as bad as one I slipped into my first NaNo in 2005:
...country, area, territory, region, kingdom, nation, empire, or any of assorted other obscure but soldier-ridden landmasses or seas...)He waited, biding his time in wait, waiting for the right moment to strike.
And then he waited some more!He swooped in, pricked him with a nifty ninja needle type thing, which is the equivalent of knocking him over the head with less brain damage.
What. The. Spork?The random large massive object of the reader's choice had not meant to contact anyone's windows when it joyously flew in the air from Fletcher's merry trebuchet, but of course it was a mistake that couldn't be remedied.
That may be the best line ever. Proud member of the Trebuchet Club!
Well, he got shot with anachronism since we don't have guns.And in icon form, courtesy of Ink Johnson:
Well, hope y'all enjoyed some of those. Kind of puts it in perspective, yes? Isi's a really good writer, but sometimes time pressures and ungodly amounts of caffeine can have devastating effects.
So, can you remember any hilarious bloopers you've made in your rush to get words written?
And, to touch on an earlier comment of mine, what are your plans for the Harry Potter Book 7 release night?
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Yo-Ho, Haul Together
Why the distinctly pirate-like title? Because I'm reading Drowned Wednesday, of course!
Okay, you know how in the post before last I mentioned that I was going to do a full-blown NaNo before June 22, when I leave for three weeks in Australia? Now, post-surgery, that's looking mightily...stupid. I'm going to work my sore little mouth off to get another 25k at absolute minimum, though. I want to get into the last third of this thing before I have to all but abandon it for three weeks. Ever get the feeling that if you drop a project it might not be there when you get back?
However, Mother Reader has posted a challenge that I can't refuse. Read books and review them on the blog for fourty-eight hours straight? For possible nifty prizes? I'm in! And with over fifty people already signed up, it's sure to be quite the energetic weekend. You'll be able to feel the reading energy swirling around in the cosmos. Personally, I'll be rereading the Harry Potter books in preparation for July's big premiers for most of that.
If you haven't signed on to Mother Reader's 48-Hour Book Challenge, and you have nothing to do this weekend, you should take a look.
Okay, you know how in the post before last I mentioned that I was going to do a full-blown NaNo before June 22, when I leave for three weeks in Australia? Now, post-surgery, that's looking mightily...stupid. I'm going to work my sore little mouth off to get another 25k at absolute minimum, though. I want to get into the last third of this thing before I have to all but abandon it for three weeks. Ever get the feeling that if you drop a project it might not be there when you get back?
However, Mother Reader has posted a challenge that I can't refuse. Read books and review them on the blog for fourty-eight hours straight? For possible nifty prizes? I'm in! And with over fifty people already signed up, it's sure to be quite the energetic weekend. You'll be able to feel the reading energy swirling around in the cosmos. Personally, I'll be rereading the Harry Potter books in preparation for July's big premiers for most of that.
If you haven't signed on to Mother Reader's 48-Hour Book Challenge, and you have nothing to do this weekend, you should take a look.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The First Deadly Sin of Writing
(Because I'm on a seven deadly sins roll lately. Blame Fullmetal Alchemist.)
But anyway. When you read the post title, what came to mind? Besides plagiarism, I mean.
I bet was something about stopping before you were finished.
As someone who started roughly 200 stories before my first NaNoWriMo in 2005, three of which made it past page 9, I know what it's like to not be able to finish something. Most of those weren't thought out at all; I just sat down and wrote until I ran out of words (which happened quite quickly), and I really didn't think anything of it. If I ever knew what to write next, it would still be there, because I never, ever, ever delete anything. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm an unrepentant packrat.
Since NaNo '05, when I first found out I really could finish something, and quickly (the first thing I ever finished was a fanfic, but we don't speak of it), I've been trying harder than ever to actually stick with stories until they're done. I haven't had a whole lot of success, but I've actually been trying.
Well, just before NaNo '06, the plot I'd had since January got, for lack of a better word, usurped by a new idea. It seemed interesting and fun to write, so I went with it.
When I was consistently dragging myself to the computer just to get the minimum of daily wordcount for the first week, I excused it as NaNo's sophomore curse. Stupid of me, I can see now. But I kept going.
I finished out the month with flying colors--71,004 words, with two days of more than 11k apiece. But I still couldn't finish the thing. I took a hard look at it and realized that my MC had no personality, and I set out writing it from a different, more involved character's perspective.
Forty-five thousand words later, I looked at the computer screen and thought, I can't do this anymore.
That night (April 28th) I couldn't sleep. I had too much bouncing around my head. Eventually (this was around 12:30, so technically April 29th), I pulled out a pad of sticky notes and wrote plot points out on them in the glow of my clock.
The next morning, I had the skeleton of a story I started a year ago and loved, all ready to go.
I took the next two days to really think about what I wanted to do, and on May 1st, I made the official switch. I'm 23,000 words into it and loving it still. I really think I can finish this one. In fact, I know I will. More than I've known that for anything before. Seriously.
So, there's my confession. I would feel guilt for committing the first deadly sin of writing...except that this story had gotten to the point where it was a writerly sin to keep writing it. I hated it that much.
Questions (because I am a nosy soul): Have you ever just flat-out refused to write another word on a certain story or project? How many stories did you start before you finished one? If this isn't your first deadly sin of writing, what is?
Also, thank you for the Mother's Day and birthday wishes.
But anyway. When you read the post title, what came to mind? Besides plagiarism, I mean.
I bet was something about stopping before you were finished.
As someone who started roughly 200 stories before my first NaNoWriMo in 2005, three of which made it past page 9, I know what it's like to not be able to finish something. Most of those weren't thought out at all; I just sat down and wrote until I ran out of words (which happened quite quickly), and I really didn't think anything of it. If I ever knew what to write next, it would still be there, because I never, ever, ever delete anything. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm an unrepentant packrat.
Since NaNo '05, when I first found out I really could finish something, and quickly (the first thing I ever finished was a fanfic, but we don't speak of it), I've been trying harder than ever to actually stick with stories until they're done. I haven't had a whole lot of success, but I've actually been trying.
Well, just before NaNo '06, the plot I'd had since January got, for lack of a better word, usurped by a new idea. It seemed interesting and fun to write, so I went with it.
When I was consistently dragging myself to the computer just to get the minimum of daily wordcount for the first week, I excused it as NaNo's sophomore curse. Stupid of me, I can see now. But I kept going.
I finished out the month with flying colors--71,004 words, with two days of more than 11k apiece. But I still couldn't finish the thing. I took a hard look at it and realized that my MC had no personality, and I set out writing it from a different, more involved character's perspective.
Forty-five thousand words later, I looked at the computer screen and thought, I can't do this anymore.
That night (April 28th) I couldn't sleep. I had too much bouncing around my head. Eventually (this was around 12:30, so technically April 29th), I pulled out a pad of sticky notes and wrote plot points out on them in the glow of my clock.
The next morning, I had the skeleton of a story I started a year ago and loved, all ready to go.
I took the next two days to really think about what I wanted to do, and on May 1st, I made the official switch. I'm 23,000 words into it and loving it still. I really think I can finish this one. In fact, I know I will. More than I've known that for anything before. Seriously.
So, there's my confession. I would feel guilt for committing the first deadly sin of writing...except that this story had gotten to the point where it was a writerly sin to keep writing it. I hated it that much.
Questions (because I am a nosy soul): Have you ever just flat-out refused to write another word on a certain story or project? How many stories did you start before you finished one? If this isn't your first deadly sin of writing, what is?
Also, thank you for the Mother's Day and birthday wishes.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Sunday Reflections
This morning my pastor preached his third or fourth message in the sermon series he's on right now, about living above our circumstances. This morning's message was about staying strong by focusing on the future, letting go of the past, and letting God and his grace take care of the rest.
I think it's a good message for everybody. Heaven knows there are things in my past that I think about and cringe, comments I really shouldn't have made that soured friendships until the friendships didn't exist anymore...feeling like I had to apologize for everything I said to my friends, starting every phone call with, "I'm so sorry to bother you..." Not letting myself be who I am, in a nutshell. Trying to conform to everyone else's ideals of what Miri should be, and getting anxious and disheartened when they figured out that they didn't like, that either.
I'm ready to let go of all that, I think. From here on out, I want to be me, the best me that I possibly can. Do you want to be you? Is there anything stopping you from doing that? Are you stopping yourself?
See, I like thinking about things like this, even though it's uncomfortable to go back through all the junk that you've been holding onto. It's the writer in me, I think: these are strong themes to work with for a character, too. I've had a lot of good themes for characters come in lately, though I'm so far into my WiP that I won't be able to use as many as I'd like...the desire to be remembered, for instance, or to have a true purpose. Between the song "Dante's Prayer" by Loreena McKennitt and a comic I read about one of my favorite television characters, Jet, called Fighting with Purpose, last night was very thoughtful for me. Might as well link to the comic, though you'll have to click on the big dark block to see it. If you're familiar with the show, so much the better, but I do think it'll stand on its own. (Just before the scene pictured, he said, "I'll be okay," and another character said with absolute certainty, "He's lying." Talk about powerful moments. That episode's been nominated for more awards than I can remember, so other people apparently feel the same.)
As for the song, there's a very nice video to it on Youtube set to clips of Legolas from Lord of the Rings (though I don't think I've actually watched the whole video...I just have it playing in the background as I'm reading other things). It starts off slow, but wait for the piano intro about a minute in. Guaranteed to put you in a pensive mood. It's absolutely beautiful.
Hmm...I had a point in there, somewhere, I think, but I seem to have lost it.
Happy Sunday.
I think it's a good message for everybody. Heaven knows there are things in my past that I think about and cringe, comments I really shouldn't have made that soured friendships until the friendships didn't exist anymore...feeling like I had to apologize for everything I said to my friends, starting every phone call with, "I'm so sorry to bother you..." Not letting myself be who I am, in a nutshell. Trying to conform to everyone else's ideals of what Miri should be, and getting anxious and disheartened when they figured out that they didn't like, that either.
I'm ready to let go of all that, I think. From here on out, I want to be me, the best me that I possibly can. Do you want to be you? Is there anything stopping you from doing that? Are you stopping yourself?
See, I like thinking about things like this, even though it's uncomfortable to go back through all the junk that you've been holding onto. It's the writer in me, I think: these are strong themes to work with for a character, too. I've had a lot of good themes for characters come in lately, though I'm so far into my WiP that I won't be able to use as many as I'd like...the desire to be remembered, for instance, or to have a true purpose. Between the song "Dante's Prayer" by Loreena McKennitt and a comic I read about one of my favorite television characters, Jet, called Fighting with Purpose, last night was very thoughtful for me. Might as well link to the comic, though you'll have to click on the big dark block to see it. If you're familiar with the show, so much the better, but I do think it'll stand on its own. (Just before the scene pictured, he said, "I'll be okay," and another character said with absolute certainty, "He's lying." Talk about powerful moments. That episode's been nominated for more awards than I can remember, so other people apparently feel the same.)
As for the song, there's a very nice video to it on Youtube set to clips of Legolas from Lord of the Rings (though I don't think I've actually watched the whole video...I just have it playing in the background as I'm reading other things). It starts off slow, but wait for the piano intro about a minute in. Guaranteed to put you in a pensive mood. It's absolutely beautiful.
Hmm...I had a point in there, somewhere, I think, but I seem to have lost it.
Happy Sunday.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Writing, Visualization, and Music Stuck in the Mind
Firstly, I would like to announce that I've finally hit 45,000 words.
I want 50,000. Now.
Well, not now, but soon. I intend to have it by Monday night at the latest. Nothing like a last hurrah for April. And then...May. And June. And July...but I really do want to have the thing done by May 31st. It's already almost a month past its due date. When I started the file on January 1st, I put a little note under the title: "I will finish this by March 31st." And I haven't changed it yet, because I feel like I need that little reminder, that little "...whoops. Dropped the ball on that one."
I think, though, that when I hit 50,000, I'll be able to change the March to May. Weird how things like this work. 50k is a bit of a magic number for me, though, with my NaNoWriMo "training." And it'll definitely be past the halfway mark, because the chances of this thing surpassing 100k are absolutely miniscule, and do you know why? Because I won't let it. And because I don't think there's enough content to carry it that far.
But on to other things. I was working on Friday morning, on something that required at least a little bit of concentration. I was going just fine until the song "Court of Miracles" popped into my head and would not leave. Now, I love "Court of Miracles." It's quite possibly the neatest, darkest song in any classic Disney movie (Hunchback of Notre Dame, for the curious) and it's definitely the darkest I can remember, but it's also got such a lively spirit to it...it's odd, but I love it.
So I had accepted the fact that it wasn't leaving and was going back to my task, but soon I realized that I was reading the same paragraph ten or twelve times without taking in a word of it, because I was too busy listening to the music in my head.
I tried replacing it with other things (a succession of Japanese songs and eventually "Savages" from Pocahontas), things that I've worked around before, but nothing would depose it. This song was completely in control of my brain.
I was pretty desperate to get it out at this point, so I visualized a CD player and mentally hit the stop button.
The really weird part? It worked.
Have you ever had a specific song running through your head? How do you get rid of it? Have you ever resorted to forced visualization in a situation like this? Are any of you quite as crazy as I am?
I want 50,000. Now.
Well, not now, but soon. I intend to have it by Monday night at the latest. Nothing like a last hurrah for April. And then...May. And June. And July...but I really do want to have the thing done by May 31st. It's already almost a month past its due date. When I started the file on January 1st, I put a little note under the title: "I will finish this by March 31st." And I haven't changed it yet, because I feel like I need that little reminder, that little "...whoops. Dropped the ball on that one."
I think, though, that when I hit 50,000, I'll be able to change the March to May. Weird how things like this work. 50k is a bit of a magic number for me, though, with my NaNoWriMo "training." And it'll definitely be past the halfway mark, because the chances of this thing surpassing 100k are absolutely miniscule, and do you know why? Because I won't let it. And because I don't think there's enough content to carry it that far.
But on to other things. I was working on Friday morning, on something that required at least a little bit of concentration. I was going just fine until the song "Court of Miracles" popped into my head and would not leave. Now, I love "Court of Miracles." It's quite possibly the neatest, darkest song in any classic Disney movie (Hunchback of Notre Dame, for the curious) and it's definitely the darkest I can remember, but it's also got such a lively spirit to it...it's odd, but I love it.
So I had accepted the fact that it wasn't leaving and was going back to my task, but soon I realized that I was reading the same paragraph ten or twelve times without taking in a word of it, because I was too busy listening to the music in my head.
I tried replacing it with other things (a succession of Japanese songs and eventually "Savages" from Pocahontas), things that I've worked around before, but nothing would depose it. This song was completely in control of my brain.
I was pretty desperate to get it out at this point, so I visualized a CD player and mentally hit the stop button.
The really weird part? It worked.
Have you ever had a specific song running through your head? How do you get rid of it? Have you ever resorted to forced visualization in a situation like this? Are any of you quite as crazy as I am?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Day...um...
Yes, I've lost track. That's what happens when real life sneaks up and bites you in the neck like the little wannabe vampire it is.
All I know is that over the last...um...five days, I've averaged approximately three hundred twenty words a day. Yes, there is a zero in the average. Monday killed me. I have not uphelp the pledge to write every day. I just sat down at the computer and couldn't face it. Bad Miri. No cookie.
...okay. I can't do that. There are fresh chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies and I'm having one, dagummit. And besides, another large reason I didn't write is that I was reading and critiquing my mother's novel. That's definitiely good for brownie points, right? (For those interested: past the fact that I want to hit her over the head with a comma in the hopes that she'll learn to use them (love ya, Mom!), it was very, very good.)
BUT. Today, during in a lull in my traditional 7:40 to 8:25 A.M. activities, I bit the bullet and outlined the next bit of my own WiP (in narrative form. I'm not dealing with all those little literal bullets). I have a definite direction now and, while I can't have everything outlined from the get-go, I'm at a point where I do kind of need to know what's happening in the immediate future. I'm over my bout of "This novel sucks. I suck. Why do I bother? {repeat ad nauseum}" and I'm ready to get this thing done.
I've determined that I need to do it in big chunks if I'm going to get anywhere.
So tonight's for a warm-up round (1500 or bust!) and tomorrow I'm going for a marathon. 4k at the very least.
Oh, and I thought you all might find this interesting. It's part of my signature on a forum I frequent.
Status: Finally, movement! They're alive, I tell you! (Or: When all else fails, mess with the established group dynamic.)
"SLEEP? WE'LL GET ALL THE SLEEP WE NEED WHEN WE'RE DEAD!"
(That last bit is a quote from one of my critique partners. Hey, Sarah!)
All I know is that over the last...um...five days, I've averaged approximately three hundred twenty words a day. Yes, there is a zero in the average. Monday killed me. I have not uphelp the pledge to write every day. I just sat down at the computer and couldn't face it. Bad Miri. No cookie.
...okay. I can't do that. There are fresh chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies and I'm having one, dagummit. And besides, another large reason I didn't write is that I was reading and critiquing my mother's novel. That's definitiely good for brownie points, right? (For those interested: past the fact that I want to hit her over the head with a comma in the hopes that she'll learn to use them (love ya, Mom!), it was very, very good.)
BUT. Today, during in a lull in my traditional 7:40 to 8:25 A.M. activities, I bit the bullet and outlined the next bit of my own WiP (in narrative form. I'm not dealing with all those little literal bullets). I have a definite direction now and, while I can't have everything outlined from the get-go, I'm at a point where I do kind of need to know what's happening in the immediate future. I'm over my bout of "This novel sucks. I suck. Why do I bother? {repeat ad nauseum}" and I'm ready to get this thing done.
I've determined that I need to do it in big chunks if I'm going to get anywhere.
So tonight's for a warm-up round (1500 or bust!) and tomorrow I'm going for a marathon. 4k at the very least.
Oh, and I thought you all might find this interesting. It's part of my signature on a forum I frequent.
Status: Finally, movement! They're alive, I tell you! (Or: When all else fails, mess with the established group dynamic.)
"SLEEP? WE'LL GET ALL THE SLEEP WE NEED WHEN WE'RE DEAD!"
(That last bit is a quote from one of my critique partners. Hey, Sarah!)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Day Seven!
First off, thanks to everyone who comments with words of encouragement. Seriously, it helps a lot.
Now, my big news.
40k! YES!
I wrote 2,022 words yesterday, and it didn't feel like all that much. I realized that if I can do that for the next month, I'll be done. Sweet.
Now, my big news.
40k! YES!
I wrote 2,022 words yesterday, and it didn't feel like all that much. I realized that if I can do that for the next month, I'll be done. Sweet.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Days Four, Five, and Six
Because I've not been able to update every day.
Day four: 778. Yay!
Day five: 385. Still respectable.
Day six: 452. Not bad.
My total wordcount now is 38,400ish. (I'm on a different computer.) Think I can hit 40k today? I do.
Day four: 778. Yay!
Day five: 385. Still respectable.
Day six: 452. Not bad.
My total wordcount now is 38,400ish. (I'm on a different computer.) Think I can hit 40k today? I do.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Day...what day are we on again?
Three, I suppose.
Last night, I wrote a total of (Do I really have to admit to this?) 147 words.
Y'know what? I'll take it. Especially considering we had company last night.
Hope you have/had/will have a blessed Easter!
Last night, I wrote a total of (Do I really have to admit to this?) 147 words.
Y'know what? I'll take it. Especially considering we had company last night.
Hope you have/had/will have a blessed Easter!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Writers Write: The Challenge?
Well, apparently, I'm racing Erica and Annie this month. The idea is to beat each other's daily wordcounts and finish our novels first. Sounds good to me!
You see, I'm naturally drawn to competition. I respond well to a challenge. (Hence a two-year NaNoWriMo winning streak. Hey, I'm proud of it. I also snagged the highest wordcount in my very well-written NaNo region. ;) 73k for the win.) I've needed a good kick in the pants for quite awhile (my original I-want-this-finished date was March 31st...whoops!), and this is just the thing.
So wish me luck! I'm going in!
(And I WILL have more than 88 words tonight. I will!)
You see, I'm naturally drawn to competition. I respond well to a challenge. (Hence a two-year NaNoWriMo winning streak. Hey, I'm proud of it. I also snagged the highest wordcount in my very well-written NaNo region. ;) 73k for the win.) I've needed a good kick in the pants for quite awhile (my original I-want-this-finished date was March 31st...whoops!), and this is just the thing.
So wish me luck! I'm going in!
(And I WILL have more than 88 words tonight. I will!)
Friday, April 6, 2007
Writers Write! Day One
My total for last night: 2,165 words.
And a whole box of Mentos.
At first my system was, I wrote 100 words, I got a Mento. Then I realized that it just wasn't coming, so I started eating more Mentos. Eventually...well...I added another box to that rather large pile by my mousepad.
So later on, I set up a new system. I recently unearthed my Gameboy Advance from several years ago. (Of course I still play SuperMario. Who doesn't?) Every time I died in the game, I had to turn around and write at least a hundred words.
It was actually kind of scary how well that worked.
2,500 is a nice goal. Let's go for that tonight.
Others from Diana's call-to-arms: how did you do yesterday?
And a whole box of Mentos.
At first my system was, I wrote 100 words, I got a Mento. Then I realized that it just wasn't coming, so I started eating more Mentos. Eventually...well...I added another box to that rather large pile by my mousepad.
So later on, I set up a new system. I recently unearthed my Gameboy Advance from several years ago. (Of course I still play SuperMario. Who doesn't?) Every time I died in the game, I had to turn around and write at least a hundred words.
It was actually kind of scary how well that worked.
2,500 is a nice goal. Let's go for that tonight.
Others from Diana's call-to-arms: how did you do yesterday?
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The ABC Method of Writing
This morning I read Diana's post on discipline in writing. At the end of it she made the statement that she will write something every day this month and asked who was with her.
Being the waffling writer that I am, I threw my hat in the ring. (Why do I have the nasty feeling that I mangled that particular saying? Hat in the ring? Hat on the ring? Ring in the hat?) Because if there's one thing I need, it's...well, I could say something noble like discipline or whatever, but really it's competition. I don't want to be the first one to skip a day. Do you?
So this month I'll be going back to a method I found highly effective during NaNoWriMo. I call it the ABC method.
Apply
Butt to
Chair and type.
I will be posting every day how much I wrote the day before. It's likely to be pitiful, at least at first. That's okay though. Pitiful is better than nothing.
And a post-script:
I have defeated my closet! (Insert lame crack about OVER 9000 POWER! here.) Now I just have a lot of laundry to do.
Being the waffling writer that I am, I threw my hat in the ring. (Why do I have the nasty feeling that I mangled that particular saying? Hat in the ring? Hat on the ring? Ring in the hat?) Because if there's one thing I need, it's...well, I could say something noble like discipline or whatever, but really it's competition. I don't want to be the first one to skip a day. Do you?
So this month I'll be going back to a method I found highly effective during NaNoWriMo. I call it the ABC method.
Apply
Butt to
Chair and type.
I will be posting every day how much I wrote the day before. It's likely to be pitiful, at least at first. That's okay though. Pitiful is better than nothing.
And a post-script:
I have defeated my closet! (Insert lame crack about OVER 9000 POWER! here.) Now I just have a lot of laundry to do.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Writerly Update
Current wordcount: 34,100 words. Making progress, albeit at the speed of a striking snail. It's just not the same as November. I'm hoping for a productivity boost next month, though, when I'm acting as accountability for a friend who's staging an April version of NaNoWriMo. The main thing for me is to get back in the groove of writing something every day. I've let myself slip quite a bit over the last couple months.
Current feeling: I'm really liking the way this is turning out. Actually, a better way to put that is: I feel like I'm getting back to my roots. I've always been an avid reader of fantasy. From C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia in the second grade, at least nine out of every ten books I've read has had something markedly fantastic about it, from the not-really-magic unusualities of The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (which is really more sci-fi, I suppose) to the all-out, amazingly inventive, not one but two magic systems in Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen (complete with magic bells). The only thing I'm slightly worried about is that I'm rereading said trilogy at the moment (I finished Lirael earlier today and am about to start Abhorsen) and quite a bit of the musical aspect of Nix's magic seems to be seeping into mine.
But back to what I was actually saying. Lately I've been focusing on the political aspects of my story, the more mundane problems of plot and characterization, and leaving little time for the magic that I think will make it really shine, the truly fantastic element that I grew up loving. Somehow, I conveniently left myself little clues that I can expound on when I go back through, to make it more apparent that the magic exists before it actually comes out in the open (a problem of mine that was especially marked in the first rough draft I ever finished, from NaNo 2005, which I sadly still have not been able to pull out and revise), but it is going to require a lot of reworking to make all fit like I want it to. Ah well. A worry for another day.
Happy Monday to everyone. I hope your writing and other pursuits are going well.
Current feeling: I'm really liking the way this is turning out. Actually, a better way to put that is: I feel like I'm getting back to my roots. I've always been an avid reader of fantasy. From C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia in the second grade, at least nine out of every ten books I've read has had something markedly fantastic about it, from the not-really-magic unusualities of The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (which is really more sci-fi, I suppose) to the all-out, amazingly inventive, not one but two magic systems in Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen (complete with magic bells). The only thing I'm slightly worried about is that I'm rereading said trilogy at the moment (I finished Lirael earlier today and am about to start Abhorsen) and quite a bit of the musical aspect of Nix's magic seems to be seeping into mine.
But back to what I was actually saying. Lately I've been focusing on the political aspects of my story, the more mundane problems of plot and characterization, and leaving little time for the magic that I think will make it really shine, the truly fantastic element that I grew up loving. Somehow, I conveniently left myself little clues that I can expound on when I go back through, to make it more apparent that the magic exists before it actually comes out in the open (a problem of mine that was especially marked in the first rough draft I ever finished, from NaNo 2005, which I sadly still have not been able to pull out and revise), but it is going to require a lot of reworking to make all fit like I want it to. Ah well. A worry for another day.
Happy Monday to everyone. I hope your writing and other pursuits are going well.
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