30-Day Book Challenge - Day 28

Day 28 - Your Favorite Title


Probably the same as everyone with a thing for grammar:

What a difference a comma makes! 

Write Here: An Albany Writer's Conference

Last Saturday, I attended the Write Here! conference at The Arts Center. Attending these events always sparks crazy creativity. I was disappointed in myself for not bringing my laptop - all I wanted to do while I was there was write. There's just something about being around local talent that makes you want to just jump right in and start - start writing, start creating.

The sessions were great - advice from writers and teachers that was absolutely invaluable. In this post, I hope to share the knowledge I learned from the sessions I attended, as well as point you guys to several different resources and local writers.

Session 1 - Submittors & Rejectors
Panelists: Daniel Nestor, David Holub, Nancy White, Rob Arnold, Matthew Klane, Chloe Caldwell, Benjamin Harris

This session was primarily about the several different literary journals and small presses that you can submit to as an author.

Advice:

• Editors are looking for reasons to reject a piece. Let's face it, there's so much work out there. I know that, in my own work as a Reader, or even for what I do within educational publishing - if you've submitted something unpolished, or that didn't follow my directions - I won't bother to follow up with you. There are too many other writers who are willing to take the time to do it right. 
• On that note, make sure you look at the guidelines set forth by journals, small presses, publishing houses, and/or agents. 
• Same note - make sure you know the specialty of what you're submitting to. Even with agents - some agents focus on specific genres. One of the gentleman on the panel today runs a Literary Humor journal and he actually said that sometimes he'll receive pieces that definitely aren't humor. 

Links: 

Kuglemass - A journal of literary humor

The Word Works - a small press

flim forum press - another small press

Duotrope - allows you to track submissions and search for literary journals that are within your own genre. 

Submittable - another submissions manager.
Thoughtsmith - an online literary journal

Session 2 - The Writing Life

Panelists: Amy Halloran, Elaine Handley, Robyn Ringler, David Goldschmidt, Dan Wilcox

I found I got a lot more out of this session than the first. The panelists discussed their writing routines, sources of inspiration, revision process, and their thoughts on writing groups. 

Writing Routines: The processes varied for each panelist, which was actually pretty relieving. I thought I was going to be told - wake up early and write! But, one of the panelists actually admitted to the fact that he hasn't written a word in two months, because it just hasn't been there for him. One panelist had this to say though, and I thought it was good advice: 

"Show up at the page." 

That's it. Just show up there. Make a date and show up. 

Inspiration: 

• Look for it in anything out there in the world. Anything. Politics, nature, love. Anything. 
• Read a lot of books, all different kinds. It's a great way to expand your mind, but also a great way to get to know your market. 
• Life events. Be it memoir or fiction - the next action your character takes could form around something that happened in your life.

Revision:

• Read out loud. If you stumble over a line, your readers are going to as well. 
• Leave something and then come back to it later. Allows you to actually be the reader. 
• Write fast! Get it all out before you stop to revise.
• Use different colored highlighters to highlight the senses. This is something I've never thought of before, but was such a cool suggestion. Assign a color to each sense and highlight as you go. If you see a lot of one color, maybe it's time to go back and insert some touch or smell to the descriptions in your work to bring it to life a bit more. 

Writing Groups: 

• One of the panelists doesn't like writing groups. Instead, he likes to attend events because he's more interested in the people in this community. 
• When in a writing group - look for consensus. 
• Even when looking for consensus, remember that YOU are the author. 
• Choose the right people who can give you positive, but also honest, feedback. 
• Try to remain non-competitive with the group members. 

Links: 

The Synonym Finder / Family Word Finder: A New Thesaurus of Synonyms and Antonyms in Dictionary Form - both are apparently better sources than your normal thesaurus.
Hudson Valley Writer's Guild - along with a lot of great resources, you can easily search for or start your own writing group (if you're in the area)

From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction - this book was referenced pretty often by all of the panelists. It's about writing from dreams and/or finding that dreamlike state when writing.

Also, a great quote from this session:

"Beware of advice, even this." John Steinbeck

Session 4 - Social Networking for Writers*
Presenter: Carolee Sherwood

An awesome quote from this presentation:

"Many of us became writers because we were silenced in some way, and the written self on the page speaks more authentically than we do as individuals." Polly Clark

• Find someone doing something well that you'd like to emulate. 
• Use some commonly searched words for your blog genre either withing the title or the first few lines of your post to increase searchability. 
•  Don't violate blog manners and etiquette. 

Links: 

Klout - a way to measure your own influence on social media. 

The Writers Network - for connecting with writing assignments and other writers. 

Inked-In - like LinkedIn for writers. 

Editorial Freelancer's Association - for job listings. 

Winning Writers - resources for writers and poets

Bookfair
There were so many local writers represented here, but these are the books that really caught my eye. I either purchased these, or will purchase them in the future. 

Lump: 19 Monologues from a 27-Year-Old Breast Cancer Survivor, by Leena Luther - I started this while I was in between sessions, and it's wonderful. I should have a review up by the end of the week.
What Time Do the Crocodiles Come Out? A Travel Memoir of Mexico, by Kathe Kokolias
How to Be Inappropriate, by Daniel Nestor - the cover for this is hilarious and it just seems so good!
The Death of Pringle, by Justin Katko - about a pringle that comes to life, I think he does some singing, before he meets his untimely end in someone's stomach. 

*Yes - I skipped Session Three because it was all to do with poetry, and I don't really like that stuff. 

Coming Out of the Game Closet

I feel like every time I begin this conversation, I immediately get defensive. And with good reason. Here, I'll just come out and say it. I play Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, I play in more than one game.  How many of you laughed at me, rolled your eyes, or just immediately thought really horrible stereotypical things about weird nerds in dingy basements?

Before moving to Albany, I had zero concept of what D&D actually was. The best picture I had in my head was some sad kid, all alone in a basement. It was actually prime time TV that changed my opinion of the game - an episode of Community where the characters sit down to the ultimate game of Dungeons and Dragons to save some friendless nerd's life. It was then that I realized, D&D isn't a game for loners. It's a social event where every member participates in collective story telling.



My main group gets together once a week. There's six of us - five ladies and one dude, which is kind of unheard of in this world of gamers. Every week, one of us cooks something different. And then we settle down to play. Every week is a writing exercise. For my own character - a male cleric named Haern who worships the god Torag - I sat down and figured out everywhere that Haern has been in order to understand his motivations within the game. The base of the story is held together by the game leader - or, erm, the Dungeon Master. However, by the decisions we make and actions we take - the rest of us shape the story into what it is.

I think the game has a lot to do with how creative I've been feeling lately. I started working on my novel again and realized that I am, suddenly, more than halfway through. And I have completed outlines for two more once I finish. Of course it's a combination of things - from blogging more frequently to taking classes at East Line. But - I think the time I spend with the game every week is an exercise that is essential to the creative process. At the very least, I've honed my characterization skills. But I think also paying attention to the various outcomes that can change drastically based on just one character's decision has changed the way I approach pacing and plot.

Here are a couple more hilarious TV renditions of the game I've come to love:

From the I.T. Crowd, a hilarious British comedy staring Chris O'Dowd. I wish I could find a better clip. In this one, Moss is entertaining business guests with his role-playing game. The suits are being whiny in this clip, but by the end of the episode, they're pretty into it.



And lastly, Freaks and Geeks:

What Makes a Good Writer?

Is it humility? The sheer inability to be able to confidently say - "I'm a good writer?" Different than saying I can write. Because I know I can write, which is why I even bother trying in the first place. But in my experience, those writers who say - "I am a good writer, read what I wrote," tend to be full of baloney. Bologna.

I think the best of us are rather plagued with the potential of writing poorly. Which is why we seek editors and writing classes and feedback. Which is why we're always willing to change and grow.

This comes up, of course, because of recent experience. I'm working on a short story to submit for consideration to an Anthology. The only criteria I had was - submit something powerful. I knew I wanted to work on something new - it's been a while since I've worked on a short piece and so, rather than edit something I already had, I wanted to create. But - thought powerful stories are inspiring, powerful itself, as a word, hardly does anything to immediately conjure up a plot.

So I thought, and thought, and thought and thought. And the deadline crept closer. And closer.

Friday night, the lightening struck. I was inspired by an article about a 14 year old prostitute who exchanged sex for a hamburger. My story really has not much to do with that actual article, but the article itself was enough of a shock to get the wheels turning. So I opened up a blank sheet and I got to typing, finishing my rough draft pretty quickly, over the course of an hour or two.

That's when the anti-writer steps in. The confidence shattering devil sitting on my shoulder, effectively driving the creativity angel away. "What did I just do?" I ask. So I send it off to a trusted friend. I know she'll give me good feedback - positive or negative, she'll tell me exactly how it is. But it's Friday night. And, though I know I can't expect an immediate response, after having sent it off, I would put my life on the line just to get one. Just to know what she thinks RIGHT THEN. As can be expected, I spent the next four hours refreshing my e-mail on both the computer and on my phone.

OH GOD, MY FRIEND IS GOING TO HATE IT.
THAT WAS THE WORST PIECE OF GARBAGE YOU'VE EVER WRITTEN.
WHY DID I EVEN SHOW HER?
SHE'S GOING TO LAUGH AT WHAT A TERRIBLE WRITER I'VE BECOME.
GOD, I COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB EIGHT YEARS AGO.
YOU SUCK AT WRITING!
WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER!?

I'm not sure how I find the strength to battle these demons and continue on to write another day. But I do, and I'm always glad for it. Because, I know I can. And so I do.

How do you fight?

An Exercise (For Me)

I'm busy cranking away at NaNoWriMo. I fell a little behind over the weekend, but not so far behind that I couldn't easily catch up. The goal for today is 13,336. I'm currently at 10,759 - a difference of 2,577 words. Not too shabby, I think.

I got a little stuck on the chapters that I'd decided to get out of the way because I knew I was going to hate writing them. These chapters are located in the middle of the book and are the only three that are semi-based in reality. I always get tripped up on this. I think I've written about it before. I become so focused on getting it right, getting it exactly how it happened, that the narrative suffers for it. Greatly. I finally "finished" (I'm about 3,000 words short of where I wanted to be with each chapter) 2 of the 3 pseudo-reality chapters and decided to go back to the beginning, which is all make-believe. I'm much happier there.

Still, for all that I hate writing memoir, or memoir-ish chapters, I started thinking back to dear old Anabel & Paul - the novel I was working on for last year's NaNoWriMo and which I'm currently editing/polishing/finishing(?). I started taking a writing class Wednesday's after work and decided to use the class to aid in my editing, to try and get reactions from an actual audience about my characters. In re-reading Chapter One, I realized how much I use from my own life to flesh out the characters and the home.

So that's why this exercise is for me. I wanted to go through and see how much of myself I insert and, from there, try and determine how I can better work/edit the memory-based chapters I'm working on now.


- “Ana,” he grumbled.: Ana is a name I use for a lot of my characters. It has everything to do with my work with and study of eating disorders in college.


- The door had its knob in the center instead of to the side,: The door to my Grandfather's second house had the knob in the center. I loved it.


- and a multicolored granny square blanket that her Nana had crocheted when she was a little girl.: I don't think my Nana ever actually crocheted me anything. But she did crochet and she was my Nana. Actually, she taught me crochet basics, so I guess that's something.


- but since he disliked being baited, he said nothing and continued fiddling with the part in his dark corner.: I HATE being baited and will often make situations extremely uncomfortable if that's what you're trying to do, just by simply not asking. I was working on a project with a girl in class once, someone I had only just met, and she kept hemming and hawing over something semi-tragic that had happened to her that weekend. But, she wasn't actually coming out and saying what it was. She definitely wanted me to ask. I didn't.


- She put down her copy of Little Women on the bench beside her: I read Little Women for the first time around this time last year and resolved to make it a yearly, Christmas time read. I already have the movie on constant rotation during the holidays.


- Anabel’s eyes were one blue, one brown. The pupil in her brown eye was shaped like a lima bean, disfigured from the time her younger brother loaded a snowball with a rock and aimed for her face.: Weird that I attributed this to a female character when it comes from a boy who I was in (puppy) love with in grade school. His eyes were the same and I believe it was because his brother threw a snowball at him that was loaded with a rock.


- and a bag of peppermint tea from the tea canister on the wooden shelf above the stove.: Peppermint tea is my favorite!


- she smiled, tilting her head in his direction: Not that this is personal, but I picture the way that Rachel McAdams looks at Mark Brendanawicz (who cares what his real name is?) at the end of The Family Stone, when they're hanging the last ornament on the tree.


What about you? How much of your own personality do you tend to insert in your writing? And if you don't, if you prefer to keep your writing solidly based in fiction, why? What's your process? 

NaNoWriMo Launched!

It's that time of year again. When I resign myself to writing 50,000 words in a mere thirty days. When I actually take the time to write. Make excuses FOR my writing, instead of against it. Every year the process is horrifying, daunting - overwhelming. Yet somehow, by the time fall hits each year, I've forgotten the pain and can only look towards November and NaNoWriMo with anticipation.

My past two years were a... failure? Year One, I abandoned pretty early on. I didn't like what I was writing coupled with the fact that I was using someone else's personal experiences to write the story. It was all just wrong and devastating. Year Two, I plodded along full steam ahead until about 35,000 words. I only quit because of a different, more lucrative opportunity. Year Three? I've finished editing the gargantuan ms. I've moved to a new place - a happier place. A place more conducive to my creative exploits. I'm taking writing classes with women who foster my creativity. And - I have a decent idea. I think I'll make it.

Yesterday, East Line Books hosted a launch party. Launch party it shouldn't be called, actually. Because a few people showed up expecting a PARTY and were a little more than disappointed to find us all silently working at our tables. How is this fun? Seriously, though. How did I have so much fun?

For me, it's wonderful just to be in that environment. Surrounded by other writers who are silently working, silently struggling, silently hoping. It's universal. And not only that, to write in one of the most gorgeous  bookstores I've ever been in, surrounded floor to ceiling by books! The smell of them! How could that not be fun?
----

Excerpts from "A Kentucky Love Story"

One I love:

Tobacco mixed with saliva in his mouth. Instead of aiming for the rusty tin can which had been set next to his rocking chair for just such an occasion, Brent Engell chose to careen the sloggish brown mixture toward the bushes at the edge of his porch. The spit hung precariously from a barren branch before slowly stretching itself thin and falling to the ground with a satisfying plunk.  A lone fly, quicker on the uptake than its brothers who buzzed incessantly in Brent’s ear, alighted from the can and hovered over the freshest dropping. Brent grunted and continued to clean his rifle.

It was hunting season in Kentucky for the muzzleloaders.

And another not so much:

A hawk took off into the sky from somewhere deep within the woods. A smaller bird fretted around it, seeming to fight off the larger, more dangerous bird. Brent watched as the hawk soared high and away from its tiny prey. The smaller bird settled back into the treetops and the hawk began to circle, giving the area where the bird had disappeared an extremely wide berth at first, but gradually coming in, ready but willing to wait. To lull its prey into a false sense of security as it burrowed safely back into its warm nest amongst the already changing leaves.

Ugh... how do you even fix that? But that's what so freeing about NaNoWriMo. I stared at that for a while and started to try and edit it. But I thought, NO. I've written it. It counts for my NaNo count and that's that. When November's over and done, then I'll edit. Move on. Keep writing.
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Are participating this year? What are some of your strategies for staying on task?

Visit my profile if you'd like to be writing buddies. I'd love to hear about what you're working on!

As An Editor

Last night, I finally finished my work on the three book manuscript I was hired to edit last November. Total manuscript length was 887 pages and well over 200,000 words. That's nearly 11 months of laboriously pouring   over all those words and all those pages. Countless hours and one extremely edit-filled Saturday as I raced to the finish line.

I have to say - I enjoyed the entire process immensely. The book is good and I really think he'll get picked up. The money was pretty good too. Helped to cover a few errant doctor's bills and the like.

There were a couple things I learned about myself as an editor while working on this project. I thought I'd share them:

- I'm controlling and I know it: This is actually a very good attribute. I think anyway. You can't just be controlling - you have to also know it. Controlling in the sense that - I'm OCD about grammar and consistency and 'show don't tell' and cutting unnecessary slog. And I know it in the sense that - I try not to go overboard. With each edit that I make, I agonize over whether or not it's the right decision for the manuscript. Or, do I just want to change it because I'm queen? I think the end result of this is relevant, well-thought-out edits.

- I'm a much better editor than I am a writer: I love to write. But I think that the only reason my writing has any strength at all is because I'm (see above). OCD about grammar and consistency and... blah blah blah. Yadda yadda yadda. Someone remarked on this in my writing class. That my writing is incredibly tight and well constructed, and how do I do that? The answer is, I don't. I don't do that while I'm writing. Unedited, my writing is full of garbage. There's a woman in my class who writes the most fantastic stuff. Her structure is horrific, but her words and her imagery. I can't do that! Edited, though. It's perfection. (Just... let me think it's perfection, okay?)

What about you? Are you a better editor, or better writer? Do you enjoy structure, or do you just need to get the story out of you?  

The End of Something - The Start of Something New?

I've spent the better part of this past year editing a three book, 887 page, YA dystopic fantasy novel. The author had approached me during NaNoWriMo 2010 and, since it was a paid gig, I dropped working on my manuscript and started working on his.

We're nearing the end now and the author just wrote to ask if I thought it was feasible to finish the whole thing before the end of October so he could reach his goal of having the whole thing polished and done by the end of November.

Of course I can, I said.

It's actually perfect timing. With NaNoWriMo 2011 fast approaching, I'd begun to think about getting back to my own writing. I haven't even looked at the Ana & Paul manuscript since I abandoned it last year. I started getting back into it by bringing a portion of Chapter 1 to my writing class this past Wednesday, letting them know that there were many things I liked about it and many things I hated and that I was counting on their feedback to get the manuscript where it needs to be. I've also been reading through the rest of the chapters, now a year distant from the story - and I really like it. I'm glad.

I've also got an outline worked out for this year's NaNoWriMo based on a crazy incident that happened in Vegas. I can't stop thinking about it, speculating what went wrong, or what makes a person do the things they do. I'm really excited to start it.

So, it just so happened that - the author and I are on the same page. We're both ready to be done and we're both ready to move on. Isn't that scary? His project is the biggest project I've ever worked on - including anything I've ever written myself. I've become so close to it, to the story and to his characters. I've worked so hard and loved every minute of it.

Of course I can, I said. I feel so, so sad that I can.

Writing Class & Memoir

I had my first writing class this week and it was really very interesting and fun. And AMAZING to be in a room with writers and readers again. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was there, critiquing other's pieces and having my own critiqued.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I'd worked on a memoir for this week. I was encouraged to write it by a co-worker who also attends the class with me.

I thought I'd share some of their favorite excerpts first:

It's amazing, really, what stays with you and what disappears over time. If I close my eyes and try to conjure your face or your voice - all I get are snippets, like overexposed slides. Brief. Fleeting. I can't quite grasp it. Can't make you stay no matter how hard I will myself to remember and to hold on. But sometimes - and it doesn't matter when. It isn't a 'when the moon is full,' sort of sometimes, or a 'when the rain falls on a summer's day' sometimes. Just sometimes, I can hear your laugh. High and clear. And happy. That laugh.
Six years now. Six years since you tried to die. Six years since that week we waited, hoping that seven minutes without oxygen wasn't actually seven minutes too long.
It was.


But suddenly, your mother was standing in front of us, looking nothing like the woman I’d known my entire life. She started to speak and her words hardly made any sense. How it couldn’t have been over something so silly, she always told you that you could talk to her. She didn’t know why you did it. How could you have done it? She wandered back into the family waiting room as abruptly as she had come, leaving those words echoing through my head.
Done it? Done it?
Done it. Done it with the rope from the tire swing we played on as kids. Done it over a girl you’d screwed over at least five times before. But when she was finally through with you, you decided you were through with life. Done it because you’d pushed us all away over the past year but was poisoned by your own depression into thinking that it was us who pushed you away.


Their constructive feedback:

- Describing why I was at the hospital that day: I go on for a little too long giving the background of why I was even at the hospital that day. (I had gone to be with my dad while he had a routine surgery.) I talk about my mom and about being home from school and it being the summer before my senior year. I talk about the kind of surgery he's getting. The feedback was that all this backstory really isn't necessary. I can mention my dad going in for routine surgery and my deciding to take him and move on. One sentence. Otherwise, this paragraph follows the "It was" from the excerpt above and so interrupts and takes away from the flow of the story.

- Clarity is sometimes a problem within the memoir. I've always had trouble writing memoir because I feel too attached and too close to the subject. I can't determine what's part of the greater story and what isn't, because I feel like ALL of it needs to be jammed in there. And then there's the problem of the things that I know that I think other people MUST know too. For instance, I use "she" when referring to the person that is the first to call me and alert me to the fact that my friend is in the hospital. My only description is that when she calls, I recognize her voice and I don't use a name. However, in the paragraph prior, I'm describing being confused by having seen my friend's mother crying. It's easy to think that maybe I'm referring to her and not a different person.

I heard a woman wail and my eyes moved to the door. She was blonde, her hair a curly mass, tied to the top of her head. The people she was with placed their hands gently on her arms and carefully led her out the door. I couldn’t be sure from just the back of her head – Mrs. Leh…?
My phone rang. This time, I recognized the voice.
“Did something happen to Dave?” she sounded worried. She was our director, our teacher – our good friend.


How do you guys feel about writing memoir? Is there anything about it you find difficult?

Top Ten of Twenty Ten

Though I haven't yet finished the last of my four books to finish before the end of the year, here are my Top Ten favorite books of this year. While From Eternity to Here is good, it isn't going to make this list. So I don't need to worry. This is seriously my favorite post of the year, every year.

10. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
9. Faithful Place - Tana French
8. Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
7. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm - Nancy Farmer
6. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones
5. The Giver - Lois Lowry
4. Hunger Games (trilogy) - Suzanne Collins
3. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
2. Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
1. Raven - Tim Reiterman


Also - a year end review of my resolutions:

- Read between 35 and 50 books this year. 35 being the final total of 2009 and 50(something) being the number I burnt myself out on in 07 and 08. I ended up with 34. Not too shabby. I read some good quality books this year.

- Stop using my credit card and fix my debt (it's already been two months since I last used it. Huzzah!) I got rid of the crippling debt on my credit card by applying for a personal loan and am no longer freaking out about the state of my finances. Now if I only had a million dollars....

- Read at least two works of non-fiction - filling out my notebook as I go along. I read Raven and I'm halfway through From Eternity to Here. I should finish before the end of the year.

- FINISH Les Miserables. I believe I have something like 3 or 400 pages left. No, but I'm considering focusing on TWO books only in 2011. This and War & Peace.

- Keep my apartment neat. Well, I kept it clean the week I was kitten sitting...

- Write a review for every book I read this year.

- Update my blog with all of my book reviews. That I definitely did.

- Write. Anything. I participated hardcore in NANOWRIMO this year. Didn't finish, but still made it to 30-something thousand words. I'm happy with my creative output this year.


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Yawn & Stretch

So. I didn't finish NaNoWriMo. But I was close! 37,000 something words. Chapters 1-7 finite as well as chapters 11-13! I think that's very good. I'm not disappointed in the least. I accept my failure but don't really think it's a failure at all. Good things!

My silence now can only be explained by the mad dash I started on December 1st to finish all of my unfinished books. (I'm dropping Tiger's Curse. No time!)

- Pillars of the Earth: will most likely finish tonight.
- Freedom: erg. But I will finish. I just don't get it. It won't make my Top 10 list.
- Heartbreaking Work: I plan on finishing this one on Saturday when I visit my parents house to do laundry.
- From Eternity to Here: science and space and nerdy things. Want to finish so bad.

Writing Is Painful?

I was true to my word and holed up in my apartment for an entire day and a half to write, leaving only to have dinner with my parents on Sunday and even writing through that, much to my mother's enjoyment. "Nicole, will you please get that thing off the table?" - that's my mom referring to my laptop. Anyway, she made pasta with ricotta and sauce. So. It was worth it.

ANYWAY. I wrote - and I did the math. And I'm not good at math, so I checked it with my calculator. I wrote 13,338 words this weekend. And it was basically the most painful thing I've ever done. But also the most rewarding? To see my counter move past the halfway point. There's so much blue now and so little gray. Look I'll show you:

Ah! So pretty!

I'm all caught up now and ready to hit my 50,000 words on or before November 30th! Rock on, WriMo'ers!

A Schedule

Okay. Here's my schedule for my weekend of nothing else but writing. I mean. I'm also eating. But I'm not showering. So. Gross. And. Lots of writing!

Saturday -
7 - Rise. Stretch. Eat.
8/11 - Write. Work on Chapter 6. Goal - 3,000+ words
11-1 - Break. Lunch. Clean? Start Eastern Promises?
1-3 - Write. Finish Chapter 6. Goal - 2,000+ words
3-4 - Break. Go for a walk?
4-5 - Write Start Chapter 13. Goal - 1,000 words
5-6 - Break. Eat Dinner.
6-9 - Write. Work on Chapter 13. Goal - 3,000+ words
9-10 - Call boyfriend?
10-12 - Finish Chapter 13. Start Chapter 7. Goal - 2,000+ words

Sunday -
7 - Rise. Stretch. Eat.
8/12 - Finish Chapter 7. Goal - 4,000+ words
12/1 - Break. Lunch. The Cut stuff.
1/4 - Write. Work on Chapter 8. Goal - 3,000+ words
4/the rest of the evening - go to parents for dinner and continue writing there. Finish Chapter 8 before you go to bed!

This is assuming I finish Chapter 5 and Chapter 12 (I've been working out of order. It's been working out for me) prior to the weekend. If I do that, and if I follow this schedule, I should be well ahead of Sunday's word count goal of 35,007.

Keep Going At All Costs!

So. I'm behind in NaNo. NaNoWriSLOW. Haha. Okay, I really need to stop with the NaNo puns. Anyway, not so far behind that I can't catch up. Just, you know, 5882 words behind. No big deal, right?

Are any of you as far behind as I am? Is being that far behind daunting or motivating? How do you motivate yourself to keep going and reach the end target of 50,000 words by the end of November? Or are you more inclined to admit defeat and bow out of the struggle?

I'm going to keep trying, I think. I was a failure last year for a number of reasons. The story I'd chosen to write too closely matched the real life of a well-loved family member and he was none too pleased that I was stealing what was emotionally his. And my boyfriend had broken up with about a week into the month and while the tears came quick and swift, the words just weren't. Though, I think I probably wrote 50,000 words worth of unsent letters, pouring my heart out to him in love, anger and pain. I should have submitted that.

But this year, things are looking up! I have an idea born of original thoughts and emotions that are not those of others. I have a wonderful new boyfriend who read my first four chapters (the first three, of course, not part of the challenge) and encouraged me to keep on writing. So though I paused, for a hot minute, really in NaNo time if you think about it - I'm going to go full steam ahead.

Current NaNo Count: 12,452
Grand Total: 26,610

NaNo-Rhino

So I took this cute little guy from Melissa who in turn got it from its owner, Kate Higgins. He makes for a good buddy, I can tell you that much.

As of last night, I'm ahead of the count. The totals are:

Day 3 Word Count: 2,120
NaNo Total: 5,492
Grand Total: 19,650

I've been on a really good schedule - 600 words on the train (300 coming, 300 going), 500 words over lunch and the remainder in the evening.

What's shocking to me is that by the end of today, I'll be done with Chapter 4. Done!! It took me how many months to write three chapters? Also - if I stay on track, I'll have through Chapter 13 finished (but unedited, of course) by the end of the month. Craziness!

Anyway, I'm already exhausted. Since I was ahead last night, I took the time to nap on the train this morning instead of write. I really needed it. I always get a little cold at the change of the seasons. The fact that NaNo is happening at the same time is probably not good for my health. But I'll soldier on!

I'm planning on posting an Unedited Piece of My Soul at week's end.

NaNoWri-GO!

I finished Chapter 3 about a week ago, so I'm all ready to start NaNoWriMo fresh from Chapter 4. I'll update as often as possible with my NaNo count and my official count (which is somewhere near 13,000 right now).

Here's my page, just in case you want to buddy up.

Game plan:
Train: bring notebook and write by hand. (ugh) But this is prime writing time and I am NOT carrying my laptop. Make do.
Work: Can I do at least 500 words during lunch?
Home: Combine train writing and work writing and finish up.

The hardest thing for me is going to be JUST WRITING. Not thinking too hard and editing as I go. It'll be difficult for me, but it's essential. Blah.

Good luck, all y'all WriMoers!

Update:

NaNo Count: 1,709
Total Count: 15,867

Writing Update

Trying desperately to get Chapter 3 done before this weekend. I keep saying that and it shouldn't be this hard. Kitten-sitting last week made it impossible to write as Francie didn't quite understand why I'd want to pet the computer instead of her. I did try though. Got in a paragraph here and there whenever she found her tail more amusing than my hands.

Chapter 1 -The House - 3,496
Chapter 2 - The Lot - 5,198
Chapter 3 - Christmas Eve - 4,309

Total: 13,003

I still haven't hit the reason for Chapter 3's existence so - I'll probably run closer to 6,000 words on that chapter.

I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo again this year. I read the rules and it says you can't work on something you've already been working on, but I'm not going to follow that rule. I won't count my 13,000 words towards my final count - that I can promise. But I don't want to work on something else and I need help focusing on writing more than not writing. And I want to make writer friends in New York City!

Random Writing Update

Of course, when I should probably be spending my time doing other things is when I get really focused on writing. I'd like to finish Chapter 3 before this weekend.

Chapter 1 -The House - 3,496
Chapter 2 - The Lot - 5,198
Chapter 3 - Christmas Eve - 1,784 and counting...

WWYCD/S Wednesday - Hosted by Melissa Getting Published

Hop on over to Melissa's blog to read the questions. The object of the game is to bring your character(s) out of the box. This week's questions are in honor of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games.

Charlie:

1) Probably District 11. I feel like he would have been friends with Rue.
2) He wouldn't look forward to killing anyone. But I think he'd get a kill or two in. He'd sacrifice himself for people like Rue and Katniss.
3) He would align himself with Katniss - I think he'd only be drawn to those characters who are playing to survive, not to win. If you understand the distinction.
4) Cynical anti-hero all the way.
5) His sister, Anabel.
6) He would try to lead a revolution, because he's spirited and would definitely feel wounded by the wrongness of the Hunger Games. But he'd be doing it to protect everyone around him and he'd probably be among the first to die.


Paul:

1) Probably District 12. And he'd feel really put upon about it.
2) He'd really want to take out the Careers just to prove that he could.
3) He wouldn't align himself with anyone. I feel like he'd be the person with crazy eyes hidden in the trees, covered with mud and blood.
4) He'd probably be attracted to the smart, beautiful girl who also refused to align herself with anyone. If he could make it past the Careers, it'd be Paul and this girl in the end. And he'd kill her - though with some reservation.
5) No one.
6) No. He's too busy worrying about how all of this affects him. Not the people around him.


Anabel:

1) I'd have to say The Capitol. I don't know if she's really as flighty and stupid as the rest of the people in The Capitol. Maybe she's 50% Capitol-esque and 50% Cinna-minded.
2) She wouldn't be part of the games, obviously. But she'd watch them with one eye closed.
3) She would probably route for Paul, even if she didn't know him.
4) She'd be attracted to Paul because she'd find the fact that he's this downtrodden guy from District 12 who is surviving on his own very charming in a cliche sort of way. Anabel likes cliche disguised as unique and brooding.
5)
6) She might secretly support a revolution.

Character Parties are Cool

Major, major thanks to Hanna for the idea and for hosting.

I - or well, Charlie - met some really interesting and amazingly creative people. My first instinct was to respond to Hanna's post as myself, commenting on how I thought everybody was so great and creative and how I liked all their characters. But then everyone else started posting AS their characters! And at first I thought - well this is silly. But then I thought - no. This is BRILLIANT. (With a capital BARBARA KINGSOLVER)

I've never tried to be my character outside of the story. It's actually pretty difficult, but I think I nailed him.

See - I used to be really creative. Since college, though, I haven't been able to come up with a completely unique plots with completely unique characters that feel like flesh and blood to me. It's sort of depressing - to be a writer without a single unique thought. I kept pulling from my life - using dramatic events with real people that I tried to turn into characters. It was bad. Just. Bad.

As I think I mentioned before, Ana and Paul's story came to me during a car trip to the Catskills. In the dead of winter. And before I knew it, I had three characters who all felt very real to me. Sure they sprang from my mind, but they somehow feel more substantial than just imaginary characters in an imaginary world. And really, they dictate what happens to them.

For instance, I was filling out Charlie's invite questionnaire and came to the Occupation question. Now, I know what Paul does for a living. And I know what Ana does. But it won't ever really matter what Charlie does - he exists to further develop the characters of Ana and Paul more than anything else. Now, I know I have creative license to make Charlie do anything I want. My first thought was to put down "Unemployed," since Charlie is sort of the black sheep, always bunted to the side by A&P. But that felt entirely too wrong. I felt like Charlie was yelling at me, "Hello! I may let those two idiots walk all over me, but I'm not a complete loser! I DO stuff. Figure out what I DO!" Kindergarten teacher came to me rather suddenly and I realized how perfect it was. I can see him teaching. He's so good with the kids, so kind hearted, so fun. He treats them with respect and so the kids adore him. I LOVE that this is what Charlie does.

Also, when I first started writing this, I was lovingly telling my cousin all about each of the characters. I told her I couldn't wait to write Chapter Three - Christmas Eve. Charlie brings a new girlfriend to the house and Ana announces to everyone that she and Paul are having a baby. This is the first time Paul hears of it. In Chapter One, Paul avoids the baby topic. He doesn't want one.

My cousin said (sarcastically): "I'm sure Paul's going to love that."
And my first thought was, Oh my gosh! She knows him too!