tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90410863020950678652024-03-13T06:17:54.905-07:00Writing Desks and RavensThe journey to authorship, madness, or both.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger329125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-53701345510468345832023-12-18T06:54:00.000-08:002023-12-18T06:54:33.657-08:00Structured Spontaneity<p>All right, it's the post NaNo Wrap Up!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I meant to post during November, but got kind of overwhelmed
trying to write the novel itself. But now it's over, so here we are. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bottom line, I wrote 50,000 words. 50,148, to be exact. Goal
accomplished. So let's talk about it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Plotting vs. Pantsing<br /></b>For <i>December's Problem</i>, I went in with a particular
plan. The idea was that the general plot arc would be planned out, and the
details along the way would be randomly generated. This worked, to a degree.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The plot was this: Our main character, December, would fall
into a plot hole--a portal to a parallel world--and she would go on a
Sliders-style adventure through different worlds, trying to A) get home, and B)
fix whatever was causing the holes. Two main things were randomly generated:
the genre, and the incarnation of her friend Steve. The genre was selected from
a list of 20 different genres by rolling a 20-sided die, to give me things like
Horror or High Fantasy. Steve was pulled from the Big Bag of Steves (or its
digital version), giving me prompts like "Steve buys some fireworks"
or "Steve has fat stacks of Argentinian Pesos."<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, when I set out on this adventure, I wanted to have a
plot planned out. I wanted basically a list of the things she needed to
accomplish, in a genre-neutral way, since I wouldn't know what genre she would
be in at any given point. And this worked for a little while. The reason it
stopped working was that I didn't finish the outline before I started. So then
I ran into the issue I run into a lot, where the story can get potentially
repetitive if the goal just becomes "find the next portal, get to the next
place." I feel like I did manage to through enough curveballs in to keep
the story moving, including <i>immediately</i> dropping her through another
portal if I didn't have any good ideas for the genre I was in. But it would
have been easier if I had finished the outline. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Metafiction<br /></b>The story was meant to be very meta, that is, December was
meant to know that she was in a novel, and to eavesdrop through the fourth
wall. This was harder than I thought it would be. She acknowledged the narrator
right off the bat, page one, but then I immediately worried that this would
break the entire world, and she wouldn't go about her life as normal if she was
just listening in on the narrator all the time. So the narrator tells her to
mind her own business, and the story goes on. Then, over the course of the
story, the fact that she is aware that this is a fictional world does come
back, fairly inconsistently.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some things that I wanted to do, I didn't. Like NaNoisms
(the typos that arise from writing a novel very quickly) that changed the
course of the story. So for instance, if someone was supposed to say,
"There's a beer in the fridge," but I had instead typed,
"There's a bear in the fridge," there would now be a bear in the
fridge. I didn’t end up having typos that would change the meaning like that,
so I never got to do that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I also had on my Big List of Possible Ideas™ that perhaps
she would relive scenes, slightly different, because she was in a revised
version of the story. The book ended up taking a different direction, so that
never happened. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was also the idea that she would be able to hear,
essentially, the soundtrack. That is, what I was listening to while I wrote it.
This did end up happening once, because it was too perfect not to. I had just
rolled Subterranean Fiction (think <i>Journey to the Center of the Earth</i>,
mole people, etc.) and there was a line in the song that went, "This is
the anthem of the underground." So I had to do something with that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>NaNo Novels Past<br /></b>As December travelled through various stories, I had to stop
and world-build on the fly a lot. So, whenever I could get away with it, I used
worlds that I had already built. I have been writing fiction for various
NaNoWriMo events since 2010. I have, I think, 28 stories of varying lengths.
That's a lot of things I've already created, in a variety of different genres.
So, out of the 20 genres in this project, six of them used characters and/or
settings from previous projects. Because why would you build a new spaceship
for your sci-fi chapter, when you've got a perfectly good one already?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was interesting to see where in the story December should
appear. In the aforementioned sci-fi chapter, she joins the world after the
conclusion of that book, and heavily interacts with the main character. In the
steampunk chapter, on the other hand, she just sort of walks through the middle
of the story, briefly passing the protagonists in the midst of their own
adventure. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Cheese<br /></b>My journey to 50k was not an easy one. I spent most of the
month behind schedule. By Day 29, I was just short of 40k. That was the last <i>full</i>
day I had to write, as I had to work on the 30th, and because I work nights, by
the time I was off work, it would be December, and too late. So whatever I
managed to do the morning of the 30th before I went to bed was all I was going
to get.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So between midnight and 11am, I logged 10,425 words. Now,
these were not all freshly written new words, because I cheesed it. Which is to
say, I used every exploit and sneaky tactic to achieve my goal. This largely
meant that I added in my notes, my weekly news to my NaNo region, every piece
of writing that I had created in the month of November. I wrote it, so I was
counting it. Because by the time I had like 47,000 words, I was too close to
just… not succeed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I went back and did some calculations, and this only
comprised about 3,000 words. So overall, my novel is only 6% cheese. Down from
last year's 12% cheese content. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some might say this was cheating. Maybe. What are you, the
word police? Considering I gain nothing for reaching 50,000, I'm not too
worried about it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That being said, minus the cheese, I still wrote 7,000 fresh
new words in 11 hours. It is some of the worst, craziest, most desperate
writing I have ever created. I'm kind of afraid to look at it. Like my brain
might melt or something. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Final Thoughts<br /></b>I would not do this again. While randomly rolling genres
seems like a fun idea on paper, it got kind of tedious. Many times, I would
finish a chapter in Genre X, and think that it would be great if Genre Y would
come up next, and it just <i>wouldn't</i>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm not a very good pantser. Just trying to make everything
up as I go, I get stuck a lot and don’t know where to go next. I'm also not a
very good plotter. I can't seem to just sit down and create an outline. This
project was an effort to force me to do both. It was structured spontaneity and
it was exhausting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don't regret writing this story. It's terribly written and
hilarious and a little upsetting. But I'm definitely ready to move on to
another project. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But that's December's problem. Or at this point, probably
January's problem.</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-42101243220994682022023-10-30T08:09:00.001-07:002023-10-30T08:09:40.853-07:00This November, It's December's Problem<p class="MsoNormal">It's been a while, I know. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Off and on over the past several months, I've thought,
"Oh, I should write a blog post." And then I didn't. I could say that
I've been busy, that work and life got in the way. But really, I just haven't
felt motivated. But now, on the eve of another NaNoWriMo, I think it's time for
a comeback. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what have I been up to? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In April, I rewrote part one of a "book" I wrote
in 2017. It was a road trip through, essentially, the Twilight Zone. One day
I'd like to make it work, but I was never really happy with the plot beyond
that first part. Still don’t know where it's going. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In July, I tried my hand at an epistolary novel. That is, a
story told via letters, journal entries, newspaper articles, etc. Turns out,
I'm not very good at writing journal entries. I knew that. I've never been able
to consistently keep a journal. Or, you know, a blog. I even thought about
writing a blog post about it, but, well, I'm bad at that. I might try to work
on that more eventually, because it was a fun idea. It was basically two people
in a post-apocalyptic world, they get separated, and we follow the journal of
one as they are following messages and clues left by the other. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But that is not what we are working on now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because now, or rather, in the very near future, it's
NaNoWriMo.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that means I'll be throwing all my eggs into one literary
basket in my quest for 50,000 words. And I have a great idea. By which I may
mean a terrible idea. It may be completely unreadable to any normal person.
Don't care, gonna do it anyway. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's a novel… about a novel. About a terribly written NaNo
novel, even. Which means it contains all the tropes and desperation that come
with a NaNo novel. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm going to give you a little backstory. In the course of
trying to reach 50,000 words, one runs into all sorts of issues. Plot holes,
missing research, just… bad, frantic writing. And while some choose to edit and
fix during November, many, myself included, live by the mantra, "That's
December's problem." <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, on November 29th, 2015, I made a note in my list of
random plot ideas: "<i>December's Problem</i>, a NaNo novel, with a MC
named December. It's a tragic romance."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, here we are, eight years later, and that's the book
we're writing. The idea has obviously evolved since that initial note, and it's
become a genre-hopping, <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> meets <i>Sliders</i> portal
fantasy wherein December must prevent Mr. Ian Woon (an acronym of NaNoWriMo)
from using the Macguffin to rewrite his own story (and in the process destroy
all of the others, including December's). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's going to be fun. Common tools during NaNo (especially
in my local region) are random generators,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>prompts drawn out of a crumpled paper bag, and the misadventures of a
guy named Steve. All of this is going in there. As December travels through
different stories, I will be rolling a 20-sided die to determine the genre. As
she encounters different version of her friend Steve, I'll be drawing a Steve
out of the bag to see what misfortune he's dealing with. It's going to partly
structured, but within that structure, somewhat random. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Honestly, my hope it that the fact that's it's largely pure
nonsense will lend itself to a lot of words. Because I need words, all the
words I can get. It's probably not going to be a good book. But I think it's
going to be a good NaNo. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-84612071274396793912023-06-04T06:55:00.001-07:002023-06-04T06:55:57.755-07:00In the Forest, Take Care...<p>We're doing something a little different today. I'd like to present something I put on Instagram recently. I want to share it here because it might be difficult to see all the pages if you don't have an Instagram account.</p><p>A cautionary tale about wandering in the woods.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhhPYTa43kLTD78yJTCQoxIOVIJpYnM1Anxa_ISzwB1np8O4GJL2Ek8_hp0ZMYVN2eIlsd2MUw371aikyBRwTgiqyULas7lzlNbEJyS9JgDqtcn0451ubxJ12_1yarqCrJqoNXy_31ndaKspiSLPpRsKgsYgMgnLQ6nr0cbBEudO0hUa07qCA-0wB/s960/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="If you should go walking in the forest, take care not to lose your way." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhhPYTa43kLTD78yJTCQoxIOVIJpYnM1Anxa_ISzwB1np8O4GJL2Ek8_hp0ZMYVN2eIlsd2MUw371aikyBRwTgiqyULas7lzlNbEJyS9JgDqtcn0451ubxJ12_1yarqCrJqoNXy_31ndaKspiSLPpRsKgsYgMgnLQ6nr0cbBEudO0hUa07qCA-0wB/w320-h320/Slide1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSjbG0VZd09BcwpwBWooTgP0zJLDedGAKzyREdv0_9XCz7PR2ecXvEZpvVidFNWPU8y8M6npB7y9m6u8HYb32fIGOxYrBBD5bMchwQQb7XHqHoHAN5VDpT5jzyOGS6sfXQrlJaB--a7rSKIHzCypWxwlDYX3v2M5zZSkpsQveeK1I7gUSsYy1o7NR/s960/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A crooked game trail dodges around trees and vaults over logs, leading deeper into the woods. It disappears into the underbrush. You try to follow, brushing aside bracken ferns and spindly saplings. The trail is gone. No longer ahead of you, and now no longer behind." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSjbG0VZd09BcwpwBWooTgP0zJLDedGAKzyREdv0_9XCz7PR2ecXvEZpvVidFNWPU8y8M6npB7y9m6u8HYb32fIGOxYrBBD5bMchwQQb7XHqHoHAN5VDpT5jzyOGS6sfXQrlJaB--a7rSKIHzCypWxwlDYX3v2M5zZSkpsQveeK1I7gUSsYy1o7NR/w320-h320/Slide2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW68b8zGiJ_YZ0rDdp20EJtttJmHMERyZ9pWV6eOsFJiPs--iOTLBYBXTkvFw-TG-dX_UxdLzEX59Py1XbyDH7wxIX3kehFVYG7BzBPgbh9xGac2wEnK2WL0UCe_ONA85Y_6JX8BycbmHcV1KGtEy0RUPisNIksL3znh3qShSq-PaTJeZU_oIsl47w/s960/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The sunlight flickers as the cottonwoods and the pines knit together overhead. The shadows grow deeper." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW68b8zGiJ_YZ0rDdp20EJtttJmHMERyZ9pWV6eOsFJiPs--iOTLBYBXTkvFw-TG-dX_UxdLzEX59Py1XbyDH7wxIX3kehFVYG7BzBPgbh9xGac2wEnK2WL0UCe_ONA85Y_6JX8BycbmHcV1KGtEy0RUPisNIksL3znh3qShSq-PaTJeZU_oIsl47w/w320-h320/Slide3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNFHSbd1qJNUKwNVLIYg9d1j6FP5wAlyQa2DnKwKO0xEaM7q0CaRB6vJV0fMDlOS5omHc5XSlcSX_5XxW10id0W6nG_ppAC1bW3WtH80SdRKjf1DZAvpf0Vi5HC69zL8CK28pEHiZgFaBy9hlMqjmjeNR6NhmA-QsRHdAlTff5OqeQqgGd7Qj13OT/s960/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The forest is alive, taking shuddered breaths through rustling leaves. It knows you’re here. And it wants you." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNFHSbd1qJNUKwNVLIYg9d1j6FP5wAlyQa2DnKwKO0xEaM7q0CaRB6vJV0fMDlOS5omHc5XSlcSX_5XxW10id0W6nG_ppAC1bW3WtH80SdRKjf1DZAvpf0Vi5HC69zL8CK28pEHiZgFaBy9hlMqjmjeNR6NhmA-QsRHdAlTff5OqeQqgGd7Qj13OT/w320-h320/Slide4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgzJF9UP_Tu5I5GYR_uBqVJ9ZJCNszA8UBtdJnZF5y3R-55ZGrXDGiQE7gl0rZPICsQ_l9IZCVG0k636Brj8sJa2lCqldBqDBiPC8Eqe58tnkhDJnCOHqaSdIsikW1NBOCPF8EALmPgEMvGc6iKzgQuU0Vk-djW-PoAzX7E10-4uuO6nn5WjsUJav/s960/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="You try to return the way you came, but nothing is familiar. These are different trees. You did not walk this way before. You must have gotten turned around. You only took a few steps. How could you get so turned around?" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgzJF9UP_Tu5I5GYR_uBqVJ9ZJCNszA8UBtdJnZF5y3R-55ZGrXDGiQE7gl0rZPICsQ_l9IZCVG0k636Brj8sJa2lCqldBqDBiPC8Eqe58tnkhDJnCOHqaSdIsikW1NBOCPF8EALmPgEMvGc6iKzgQuU0Vk-djW-PoAzX7E10-4uuO6nn5WjsUJav/w320-h320/Slide5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVizT0D11BDXwnyF-zCpki_36zA-K5gjqBxHjKasPtThtMPHHfmQYDBlWlWJlXaa9uZgq8CuNO41lRGBXg0dGR40pBG6s4l_2i-pf97ctGBA85bGL5aKUkufaIJWMgWxDMf3hxFAwq_2y8O07nblR4zRQA6mUk1FOnyhQASanDVt2QJKib3W8o-aJ/s960/Slide6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The forest has turned you around. It wants to keep you. To own your bones under tangled roots." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVizT0D11BDXwnyF-zCpki_36zA-K5gjqBxHjKasPtThtMPHHfmQYDBlWlWJlXaa9uZgq8CuNO41lRGBXg0dGR40pBG6s4l_2i-pf97ctGBA85bGL5aKUkufaIJWMgWxDMf3hxFAwq_2y8O07nblR4zRQA6mUk1FOnyhQASanDVt2QJKib3W8o-aJ/w320-h320/Slide6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKIIQSIJ0HYHT3QzJFQIl_RXDO-Nya_6SEZSd0fRcmIIXPNH_A4iuyNR3aW0Cr7YvguCa-YOJz-UysC-hCCM6QaweRiFR01FaYIP1j5a0oY2JflU-GDiDDUrxEr2LecdCZlYKsQvLTv85cRuwqIqE7CL-PYyddQEcntDJ4dEySKcEBTLyxJVgnKlF/s960/Slide7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The forest is in you now, as much as you are in it. It digs in, finding purchase in the cracks of you. Every fear, every weakness. It belongs to the forest." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKIIQSIJ0HYHT3QzJFQIl_RXDO-Nya_6SEZSd0fRcmIIXPNH_A4iuyNR3aW0Cr7YvguCa-YOJz-UysC-hCCM6QaweRiFR01FaYIP1j5a0oY2JflU-GDiDDUrxEr2LecdCZlYKsQvLTv85cRuwqIqE7CL-PYyddQEcntDJ4dEySKcEBTLyxJVgnKlF/w320-h320/Slide7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFSJCtZxgs7JF2uMhQlWcyrQGAeWKuHXcRdzVVqnMeB6-DyazhVYUtpR8Fi732RdeXVhNXZ_Z0jo5Osi_GsJyGnVAskIiAz6WPlgtS2nJIlhL6ishjala8njsasBd2Znd2bbTXzp1ZfUAwu8d4-aLTHljIRfjdVosRYzUdjuqZLrtIi1OCesv9EM1/s960/Slide8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The sun blinks a staccato message through swaying branches. It does not reach you on the forest floor, shrouded in shadows too dark for this time of day." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFSJCtZxgs7JF2uMhQlWcyrQGAeWKuHXcRdzVVqnMeB6-DyazhVYUtpR8Fi732RdeXVhNXZ_Z0jo5Osi_GsJyGnVAskIiAz6WPlgtS2nJIlhL6ishjala8njsasBd2Znd2bbTXzp1ZfUAwu8d4-aLTHljIRfjdVosRYzUdjuqZLrtIi1OCesv9EM1/w320-h320/Slide8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFU0mUW2WFK_MUUzXWYP7Ypeio2thVcouzVnyGN4VI3sCX9Rr2JRxNKRoPaArG9_9fCI4BZTO2knuaN3eSt-I3Q1S7ZoKhYgla19-hylm0DCesZvxGclAOUPvvfanmR0zmb-MEeS8OuA-Y9NQ_16sBlrnM-jHuyyX88MpGwAyXAy9rffwBEnOcBJE/s960/Slide9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The wind whispers through creaking tamaracks and calls to you. It calls you home." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFU0mUW2WFK_MUUzXWYP7Ypeio2thVcouzVnyGN4VI3sCX9Rr2JRxNKRoPaArG9_9fCI4BZTO2knuaN3eSt-I3Q1S7ZoKhYgla19-hylm0DCesZvxGclAOUPvvfanmR0zmb-MEeS8OuA-Y9NQ_16sBlrnM-jHuyyX88MpGwAyXAy9rffwBEnOcBJE/w320-h320/Slide9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLOL7ZI9SkgLAmnPYOZLPgnOivJPxhJ2Nh5vGoYc_dc0fmsxn8Mnixw1SAEhGfv1zDzNeZ_ZlYy7xRh0ZmFapy8i41XKQdpf0yhriXBGFdxEhF8tpYOkri7Ryc7BkA0A_nrcGhMx6z2DienJBKt8jw8Rty4vub0GUdNDz9YCmDcoJmfD64Xh1qCAd/s960/Slide10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="If you should go walking in the forest, take care. Dear god, take care." border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLOL7ZI9SkgLAmnPYOZLPgnOivJPxhJ2Nh5vGoYc_dc0fmsxn8Mnixw1SAEhGfv1zDzNeZ_ZlYy7xRh0ZmFapy8i41XKQdpf0yhriXBGFdxEhF8tpYOkri7Ryc7BkA0A_nrcGhMx6z2DienJBKt8jw8Rty4vub0GUdNDz9YCmDcoJmfD64Xh1qCAd/w320-h320/Slide10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>All photos were taken while I was... wandering in the woods. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-39757061649771393812023-02-28T04:14:00.001-08:002023-02-28T04:14:27.096-08:00Thinking About Writing<p>I haven't done a lot of writing lately. That's the short
answer for why I haven't posted in a while.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did write a piece of flash fiction (it's a couple hundred
words, I think) that I'll be putting on Instagram eventually, but it requires
some artistic steps before that's ready. I'd like to start writing more, again,
but I have to actually work on making that a habit. Otherwise I think about
doing it, but don't actually ever do it.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The vampire novel is kind of in Limbo right now. Or
Purgatory. I'm not a hundred percent sure of the difference. Anyway, I haven't
been actively doing anything with it, just sort of passively hoping inspiration
will strike. That's not working, if you're wondering. Part of the reason I
haven't put a lot of effort into it is that it involves several murders in a
college town. And if you're from my area, you may have heard in the news lately
about… several murders in a college town. So it seems kind of insensitive to
write it right now, despite the fact that no one will read this novel for quite
some time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe I'm just making excuses. I probably am, considering
that my 2020 NaNo novel was literally based on three actual deaths that
actually happened in the area. Clearly I am not above this. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have also gotten distracted with the allure of rewriting
one of my other NaNo novels: <i>The Long Road</i>, from 2017. It's a road trip
story in which three friends take a wrong turn into the Twilight Zone. Or the
Outer Limits. One of those. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem with both of these revision possibilities is
that there is a not insubstantial chunk of them that's just like, "Okay,
take <i>this</i>, but make it <i>better</i>." It’s a very vague goal. I
don’t have any ideas on <i>how</i> to make it better. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this is why I want to get back in the habit of writing
on the regular. I just want to be putting out <i>something</i>. Could be a
short story. Could be some brainstorming. Could be a character profile. I just
need to get those mental gears turning. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We'll see if I can actually do it, instead of just thinking
about doing it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-48487186915741270982022-12-19T15:53:00.000-08:002022-12-19T15:53:28.553-08:00The Real Treasure Was the Novel We Wrote Along the Way<p>All right, we're back for the post-NaNo wrap-up. I didn't
mean to wait <i>quite</i> this long, but here we are. So… oh boy, where do I
begin?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess I'll start with point of view, because that's what I
talked about at the beginning of November. I did keep up the system of
alternating between the two siblings (with a couple exceptions, I'll get to
that in a bit). It was interesting to decide which point of view a scene should
be told from. Some were obvious, because only one or the other was present, but
some had both characters present, so it was not so clear. I did find that
ending the chapter and switching POV in the middle of those scenes worked
pretty well to give both perspective on whatever was going on. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then there were a couple of scenes that really needed to
be from a third POV, so there are also two short chapters that break the
alternating pattern. They are from the POV of a character who can see the
future. Which brings me to the next thing: tense. Now, I'd say the majority of
fiction is written in past tense ("She baked a cake"). There are also
books written in present tense ("She bakes a cake"), often Young
Adult fiction. But you never really see things written in future tense
("She will bake a cake"). And what better time to try out future
tense than in a chapter in the POV of a precognitive character? It was fun. I
would definitely never write a whole book like that. But it was a very
interesting thing to try. Especially as the future comes to them in a big
jumble, and not necessarily in any order. It works fine for a short chapter,
but would be infuriating (to both reader and writer) in a longer work.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, let's talk about treasure. I said at the beginning of
last month that the characters were on a quest for some mysterious treasure.
Then I spent the whole month, basically up until they find the thing, trying to
work out what it was. Here's the thing. I've known what it was, the whole damn
time. I just thought, surely, I'll come up with something better. But, you may recall
I made a big list of things that inspired me. Tropes, character archetypes,
settings… and random song lyrics. This list was started on the 14th of
September, and the <i>third</i> thing on the list is "Here's to the fire
that raises the dead." And I have known, yes, since September, that this
is probably what they're after. I just didn't know how it was going to
manifest. Turns out, it was a literal ball of fire. Maybe I shouldn't overthink
things so much. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the record, I had 46 items on the list. About 23 of them
made it in. A few others were sort of hinted at, but I didn't really embrace
them to their full potential. I will certainly be referring to this list for
future projects as well. It's a pretty good list, full of things I like, and
more importantly, like writing about. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, here's some things I was surprised to find myself
doing: <o:p></o:p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Telling
part of the story via census records<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Drawing
a map of a dual-layer labyrinth<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Writing
riddles in iambic tetrameter<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Subtly
implying that John Quincy Adams (as well as many other Boston Brahmins)
was part of a secret society bent on resurrecting the dead <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Including
a romantic subplot<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Not
naming the book until the very last day of November<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that's how my NaNoWriMo went. I'm not sure what my next
project will be. I may return to my vampire novel. I've had an idea or two to
fill in the blanks on that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regardless, when I return, it will be the new year. I wish
everyone the happiest of holidays, and I'll see you next time.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-39355094175197223912022-11-30T22:49:00.001-08:002022-11-30T22:49:43.086-08:00The End... of NaNo 2022<p>At this moment, it's about 10:30pm on November 30th. And my
NaNoWriMo document is currently sitting at 50,131 words.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That's right friends. After 5 years of not reaching 50k,
I've done it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There's more that I want to say about it. About, I don't
know, the process and the things I've learned. I came in here intending to say
all that. But I think I'll save that for next time. I wrote 7,500 words today.
I can't write any more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I wanted to tell you all, I've done it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-71450458961984669322022-11-02T06:05:00.001-07:002022-11-02T06:05:37.416-07:00True, From a Certain Point of View<p>Well, it's November. Which means two things. One, I forgot
about October. Whoops. Two, it's NaNoWriMo.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So last we… spoke, I had a pile of tropes and character
traits and plot elements. Well, now I have a vaguely steampunk treasure-hunting
action adventure with a search for a mysterious treasure hidden by a long-gone
secret society. I'm actually pretty excited for it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At this point, I'm not quite 2,000 words in. Barely beginning.
But I'm on the second chapter and I already have something I want to talk
about: POV.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the uninitiated, that's Point of View. There's a lot of
options for POV. 1st person vs. 3rd person (and yes, also 2nd person, but
that's rarely used). Single vs. multi. Omniscient vs. limited vs objective. I'm
not going to get into all the details of all the different kinds. Suffice it to
say it's a matter of who we are following through the story, and how close
we're following them.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Looking back at my list of past projects, I can see that I
mostly use single POV (because that's totally a thing I keep track of, like the
giant nerd I am). Sometimes 1st person, sometimes 3rd, but only following one
character around. My experience with multi-POV (that is, following several
characters around and switching between them) has been a bit… dicey. Like, most
of the story might be from one point of view, but then it switches to another
for a bit, and then back. Or, out of six main characters, we were following
three, until they converged and we sort of followed them all as a unit, and
then suddenly we broke off with a fourth character…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Point is, I don't think I've ever utilized multi-POV to its
fullest potential. Until now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This story has a 3rd person dual-POV. We follow a pair of
siblings. She's a history professor and an upstanding citizen. He's a habitual
screw-up and petty criminal. And the difference in how they view themselves and
how they view each other is shaping up to be something wonderful. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Something I did is that when we're following <i>her</i>,
she's referred to by a nickname in the narrative. It's the name she uses in her
everyday life. But when we're following <i>him</i>, she's referred to by her
full first name. I didn't really plan to do this, I just kind of did it when I
started the second chapter. And then it felt like the right thing to do,
because I think it highlights this emotional distance between them. I'm pretty
proud of this little thing, because it feels like a Writer<sup>TM</sup> thing
to do. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, it's only Day 2 of NaNo, so I have a lot of writing
to do. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-1123193934463318872022-09-20T08:12:00.003-07:002022-09-20T08:12:51.144-07:00Putting Plots in a Pile<p>I didn't do a lot of writing in August. Writing adjacent,
sure.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I did was read through my vampire novel-in-progress and
list out what happened in each chapter and each scene. The purpose of this was
to have a nice, easy to skim summary of the plot, because there are some scenes
I need to rewrite. See, they were just hastily chucked in there as a means to
an end. I needed to get from Point A to Point C and <i>something</i> had to be
Point B. Just things like, I need this character to learn this piece of
information, and these characters need to be over here for this next thing to
happen. But I don't much care for them, so they're going to be changed. And I
just wanted a nice overview so I could see how each change would cascade and
affect later scenes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that was August. I mean, that was a few days in August. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But on to September.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">NaNoWriMo is coming up in a few months, and I need a plan.
"But Mel," you might say, "why don’t you just keep working on
the vampire novel?" A reasonable question. But the high speed of 50,000
words in 30 days is not conducive to writing that is consistently <i>good</i>.
And the vampire novel needs good writing now. I've thrown enough bullshit at
it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I'll be starting a new project for NaNo. Problem being, I
have no idea what that project is going to be. I have started a document into
which I dump every possible thought, trope, setting, character, etc. Looking at
it right now, I can tell you that there is no cohesive plot emerging. I maybe
have a thought about a character, but I don't actually know <i>what</i> they'll
be doing. Or where. Or why. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm hoping that if I throw enough ideas into this pile, I'll
be able to dig out <i>something</i>. So that's what I'm up to this month. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-79414629344647415602022-07-31T23:57:00.000-07:002022-07-31T23:57:01.978-07:00Stories Behind the Story<p>Camp NaNo: July Edition was just spend working on
backstories for various characters for my vampire novel-in-progress.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You know, the sort of music they like, how they got where
they are, and that Nazi Germany apparently had something to do with vampire
hunting. I'm not sure what yet, and I even said, out loud, "I wonder why
that is?" as though I hadn't just written it and caused it to happen.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have wandered down many rabbit holes of research, spending
hours on such topics as:<o:p></o:p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Post-hardcore
bands<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">The
geography of Virginia in 1820<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">The
price of upright pianos<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Vampire-like
creatures in the mythology and folklore of various places (of course)<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">The
history of what is now the Czech Republic<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">But now July is basically over (17 minutes left as I'm
writing this), so I'm setting the weird research aside for the moment. I have a
lot of information I don't yet know what to do with, and most of it will
probably not even show up in the book. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Technically, my goal this month was to write things that
won't be in the book. A lot of my secondary characters were very flat, and this
was just an exercise to fill them out, and make them feel more like real
people. Because I'm thinking that if <i>I</i> know them, even if all that is
never mentioned on the page, they're going to feel like deeper, more
interesting characters. I hope that makes sense. Like, I can convey more
personality if they, you know, actually have one. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, that's really all I have right now. I just wanted to
share that I am actually doing something. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-30283160364934466172022-05-31T22:00:00.003-07:002022-06-01T05:17:39.067-07:00This Is Just To Say<p>It's been a while, I know. Sorry about that.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, Camp NaNo. I ended up not making my word goal. Which was
fine. I said, "I'll just extend my timeframe and keep working on
this." I did not. This was not fine.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don't know why. I wrote three stories (really two and half
of another), and did some research for a fourth. And then just, kind of…
stopped. It's still a project I want to do, so I'm not abandoning it. I've just
been watching TV shows instead. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of… I'm sure I've mentioned this before, my
obsession with adding a random character named Steve to everything. And that
all started with a suggestion I was given back in 2010, when I was writing my
very first NaNo novel. "Steve takes one for the team." So then I was
watching a show (I won’t say which one, if you know, you know), and one of the
episode descriptions literally says, "Steve takes one for the team."
I shouldn't find this as delightful as I do. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But anyway. My nonfiction project is moving slowly forward,
and I'm still kicking around ideas for fixing my vampire novel. I have a
handful of problem areas, and I know how to fix… one of them. Then there's a
part that I hate (because it's stupid), but it's functionally necessary, so I
have to come up with a better thing to fulfill that function. And then there's
the problem where Act 3 needs to be four times longer than it is, and I have no
idea what to do with that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's times like these where I really doubt my ability to
write anything (good) at all. Maybe that's why I haven't written in a month.
Not that the excuses are going to help. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So yeah, this was just to say that I haven't really written
anything new, but I'm still here. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-37771534716188701422022-04-03T20:46:00.001-07:002022-04-03T20:46:20.386-07:00Camp NaNo 2022: April Edition<p>I decided literally on April 1st what I wanted to write for
Camp NaNo. I had toyed with the idea of using the month for revising my novel,
or maybe writing a new short story (not that I had any potential plots in
mind).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the end, I chose to go with something I've never done
during a NaNoWriMo event: nonfiction. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">See, I have this history research project that will require
me to write several short summaries of events. I have a good-sized list of
potential topics, I just have to sit down and write them. Enter, Camp NaNo.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This will be an interesting change from my usual writing
projects. No more can I just make things up as I go. Now I need facts. And
sources. But here's the thing. You may not know this about me. I love research.
I was always better at the research than trying to regurgitate it into a clear
and professional five page essay. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But this is <i>my </i>project. It doesn't have to be
professional. It doesn't have to be five pages in proper essay format. I can be
sarcastic and use sentence fragments if I want. And perhaps more importantly,
it can be short. The two stories I have so far are between 400 and 500 words.
Short, to the point, get in, tell an interesting tale, and get out. No word
padding, so extra bullshit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So my goal for this month is to write a total of 3,000
words. That's somewhere between six and eight stories, depending on how long
they each are. And yes, if you're wondering, I am planning on doing something
with these. Something that will be easier if I have a stash of already written
stories. With any luck, you'll be able to see the fruits of my labor in a few
months or so. Depending on how much procrastinating I do. That's the downfall
of self-imposed projects when you have poor self-motivation. And maybe that's
why I'm telling you all this. So I’ll feel bad if I let you down. I mean, that
was the reason for the blog in the first place, so maybe we're just getting
back to our roots. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, I'm going to end it here, or I'll forget to come
back to this and it'll never get posted. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-1445788163841805222022-03-17T08:17:00.000-07:002022-03-17T08:17:15.718-07:00Surprisingly Good<p>I know I skipped February. I'm sorry. But I hadn't done any
writing, so I had nothing to report. Instead, I was putting off writing in
favor of a somewhat time-sensitive sewing project. And I was putting <i>that</i>
off in favor of watching Netflix. But I finished the shows I wanted to watch.
And then I made a skirt. So now I have nothing left to stop me from writing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Camp NaNoWriMo is coming up in April. I have no idea what
I'm going to do for it. Might write a short story. Might revise my vampire
novel. So in preparation for the second possibility, I've started rereading the
latest draft of <i>Cold Blooded</i>.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A lot of the time, when I'm drafting a story, I feel very
self-conscious about how most of it is crap. But right now, I'm about halfway
through the story, and it's actually surprisingly good. Parts of it are god
damn hilarious. Do I feel a little full of myself, laughing at my own jokes?
Sure. But they say you're your own first reader, and it you don't like it, why
should anyone else. So if it's entertaining to me, I think that's a good start.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know that a lot of the problems are in the second half,
but I'm hoping that refreshing my memory of how good the beginning is will give
me the motivation to fix the rest. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is also the issue that the book is currently only
about half as long as it needs to be, but one thing at a time. Fix the big
overarching plot problems, then figure out where I can expand. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A short post today, because otherwise I'll put it off for
another month. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-85870372888418995352022-01-29T07:50:00.000-08:002022-01-29T07:50:41.238-08:002022 Goals<p>I haven't done much writing thus far in 2022, and so haven't
had much to blog about. So I thought that today I would instead look ahead, and
talk about what I'm hoping to do this year.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Revisions<br /></b>As you're surely aware by now, I have a lot of first drafts
lying around. They're never going to go anywhere if I don't polish them up. I
have a couple in mind to work on.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><i>Cold
Blooded</i>: An urban fantasy novel about vampires, murder, and ice cream.
Its recently written second draft changed some major plot points to move
it closer to where it needs to be. <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><i>The
House at the Top of the Rock</i>: A horror short story (that might expand
into a novella) about a ship's small crew, betrayal, and the dark secrets
of a seemingly abandoned island.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b>New Fiction<br /></b>Every new year brings new NaNoWriMo events. Camp NaNo in
April and July, and the main event in November. I may decide to tackle some of
my revisions during Camp NaNo, but I may also write something new. You know how
I love my rough drafts. Do I have any ideas for these potential new stories?
Don't be ridiculous. Like I<i> ever</i> have a plan. I <i>do</i> have a few
very vague ideas that aren't even close to resembling plots, but we'll see.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Flash Fiction<br /></b>Flash fiction is very short stories. Under 1,000 words.
Maybe under 500, depending on who you ask. In my case, flash fiction is
something that will fit on an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/atra_lux/">Instagram</a>
post and still be readable on a fairly small screen. I've basically been
putting them out once or twice a year, and I'd like to do more. It's surprising
hard to write a very short story that still imparts some kind of meaning. Maybe
that's a good use for some of those vague ideas that aren't quite plots.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Non-Fiction History Project<br /></b>I'm not going to get into this too much here, since it's not
fiction writing-related (though it does involve a fair amount of writing), but
it is a thing I hope to be spending some of my time on. It involves a lot of
research (which I'm a big fan of), but also speaking coherently (less of a fan).
We'll see how it goes.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">So this is the sort of trouble I hope to get up to in the
coming year. Honestly, if I manage to complete even one of these things, I'd be
happy. I'm hoping that by declaring my intentions to the world, I'll be more
motivated to actually do them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wish me luck.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-29628311970319516712021-12-31T08:58:00.001-08:002021-12-31T08:58:27.279-08:00Post-NaNo 2021<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I have meant to write this post since the beginning of
December, but kept getting distracted by, you know, things. This is just one of
three or four projects I've just <i>not</i> done this month. So don't feel
special. I'm neglecting everything equally. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let's talk about my NaNoWriMo novel, the rewriting of <i>Cold
Blooded</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the end, it was not 50,000 words. It clocked in at
36,153. Which might not seem like a lot, but of the past five years, when I
have not reached 50K, this one has the most words. Fun Fact: The last time I
did reach 50K was 2016, with the first version of <i>Cold Blooded</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite knowing there was very little chance of actually
reaching 50K in such a short amount of time, I still went all out on the last
day and managed to write 5,450 words on November 30th. If I could just write
that many every day, I'd be set. At that point, my goal was less to hit the
word count goal, and more to just get to the end of the story. So I wrote the
entire Third Act in one day. Which, yes, means Act Three (which should be a
quarter of the book) is only 5K words long. But that's fine. It's a rough
draft. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, stats. You know how much I love stats.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was one of the bloodier stories I've written to date.
We have 116 uses of the word "blood" and variations thereof. Just
what you'd expect for a vampire story. We also have 10 deaths, making this
possibly<sup>1</sup> the highest number of distinct<sup>2</sup> deaths. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The word "fuck" is used 91 times. That's 20 more
occurrences than the 2016 version of the story, despite being 14,000 words
shorter. I think that's just a testament to how much more vulgar I've become in
the past few years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, what have we got out of this experience? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I said, this is still a rough draft. Yes, it's technically
the second draft, but because I changed so many things from the first draft,
this was literally a brand new story written from scratch rather than a
revision. So it's a whole new rough draft. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Back in 2016, I pantsed the whole thing. Made it up as I
went. This time, I had a whole outline. All of the basic scenes were on my
corkboard. But one thing I noticed when I was actually writing it was that the
characters did not always react as intended. Not to do that whole "my
characters do what they want and I have no control over them lol!" thing.
More like, I had a notecard that said something like "Character X finds a
body" and that was all it said. Just a fact. Just a thing in the course of
the plot that happens. But I found that when I went to write it, Character X
would actually have a reasonable human reaction and totally not be okay with
dead bodies, and completely derail the chill vibe I had going in the scene. So
I'll need to change some things to accommodate that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I also know that I need a lot… more. More characters. More
interesting places around town. Just <i>more.</i> As I said, Act Three was only
5K words long. Definitely need more in there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll need to read it over again, but I don't think there's
too many actual plot holes. I mean the places where I am like, "I don't
know why or how this is happening." There are a couple, but they will be
solved when I add More™. Like, there's at least one point where a character
needs to be in a place, and I'm just not sure why that's a place where they normally
go. Yet. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I want to publish this book, it will need to be about 80K
words long, which you might notice is over twice what I have now. So I have a
lot of work ahead of me. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, and if you're wondering why this draft is so much
shorter than the first one, it's because the 2016 draft had a <i>lot</i> of
bullshit filler in it. You know, for the word count. But I cut a lot of that
out when I was outlining for the new draft. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, I just wanted to get the post out so that I could
say I didn't skip December. And like I said, I've been meaning to write this
all month. I've been taking a little break for writing before I start trying to
plan some kind of revision, but I should be back at it before long. Hopefully. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. I say "possibly the highest" because I don't
remember how many people I killed in some of my earlier novels. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2. By distinct, I mean separate people, not the same people
multiple times due to time loops or immortality (looking at you, Steve).</span></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-19016940879934318352021-11-07T01:08:00.001-07:002021-11-07T01:08:52.630-07:00NaNo Week One: A Progress Report<p>I am really nailing this flashback shit.</p><p class="Novel"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">My outline has some less than helpful direction, like
"reveal some backstory here." Useless. But here I am, just writing
along, and somehow seamlessly sliding into the past based on something that's
happening in the present. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">I am <i>so</i> good at this.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">And these were just the <i>good</i> flashbacks. *rubs hands
together* *cackles maniacally* Just wait until we get into the Dark
Flashbacks™.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="Novel">I'm also finding ways to weave my vampire lore into the story.
Like, I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a lot of <a href="https://vampires.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction">variety
in fictional vampires</a>. So, at some point, you have to answer questions
like:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Do they appear on film? Or in mirrors?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Are they repelled by garlic? Or holy symbols?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Do you need to kill them with a stake? Or
silver?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">And I've just managed to drop a lot of that right in there, all
casual. And I have a scene planned in the future that will cover more, in a
semi-humorous (I hope) way. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">I am <i>so</i> good at this. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">Other than that, I'm way behind on my word count. Just in case
you thought I was succeeding at everything. But I have a few more days off, so
hopefully I can get ahead. I just keep getting distracted by the internet. And
naps. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Novel">Anyway, I should get back to it. I'll see you… who knows, maybe
later this month. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-52445103101996488622021-10-27T02:54:00.004-07:002021-10-27T02:54:28.738-07:00Color-Coded For Your Convenience<p>I'm not going to forget to post in October. I'm going to
sneak in at the very end of the month.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So where are we?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh right, I'm going to rewrite my vampire novel next month,
and I'm woefully unprepared. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I've been trying to fill in some of the plot gaps with…
something. And I've realized… not quite a solution, but perhaps a path to a
solution. There are some characters that just disappear for big chunks of the
book. This realization led me to go on a quest for my colored pencils at one in
the morning, but I think I'm onto something.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have now color-coded all the scenes on my corkboard based
on who is in them (aside from the main character, because he's in all of them).
So now I can easily see who we haven't seen in a while. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbhQD7H1Iy8/YXkgOYKy5QI/AAAAAAAAAwA/rDpolDf30Tg8KIihUBUAh77LcV_te08XQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1314/Color%2BCoding.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1314" height="185" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbhQD7H1Iy8/YXkgOYKy5QI/AAAAAAAAAwA/rDpolDf30Tg8KIihUBUAh77LcV_te08XQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h185/Color%2BCoding.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know there's at least one character who is fairly
important to how the world works, who just vanishes for most of the story. They
have faded so much into the background that I completely forgot their name. And
I only have like eight named characters. Eleven if you count those who only
exist in flashbacks. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This exercise did make me think about who is actually
present in each scene. Like, some cards just basically say, "A thing
happens," but I know in my brain <i>where</i> it happens, that also
implies that certain characters will be there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have also realized which characters <i>don't</i> interact
with each other. Which, sure, is true to life, because I know <i>I</i> had
various separate friend groups who each didn't know the others existed. But
this is a very small cast. And I really need them to come together for…
reasons. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, I have a few ideas percolating now, so I'd best get
back to that. I only have a few days left, after all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you in November, when hopefully I will be
successfully writing a novel. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-9315048218676480882021-09-06T04:00:00.000-07:002021-09-06T04:00:05.465-07:00Turning Backwards?<p>So, I forgot to write a blog post for a few months. Big
surprise there. Honestly, I thought I had just written one, so it couldn't
possibly be time for another. Time is meaningless.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How's the writing going, you might ask. A reasonable
question. Surely I must have been doing <i>something</i> all this time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, I have decided that I'm more than likely going to work
on the second draft of <i>Cold Blooded</i> during NaNoWriMo in November,
because maybe a deadline will help me keep going. So all I need to do is finish
my outline between now and then, and I'll be all ready to go.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What's that? I have to actually <i>work on</i> my outline to
finish it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh. Oh no.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what <i>have</i> I been doing?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Uh, well, I've been screaming into the void about my plot
holes, hoping that will solve them. And I've been, uh, designing album covers
for bands that don't exist.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HT4KiZFjBG8/YTXzbSTH0CI/AAAAAAAAAu8/glltVggjZ8MbN3yGomkUE7ujaeGlCee2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1400/Winter%2BOn%2BVenus%2BRetrograde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HT4KiZFjBG8/YTXzbSTH0CI/AAAAAAAAAu8/glltVggjZ8MbN3yGomkUE7ujaeGlCee2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Winter%2BOn%2BVenus%2BRetrograde.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Case in point.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal">Is this helpful? Probably not. But it's fun. More fun than
staring at my holey outline. Since I can't figure it out, I keep asking myself,
is this just a bad story? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nfcPBtEr814/YTXzqTnpkkI/AAAAAAAAAvA/4K6fjyY0jAk1puLGehnZyiftH120M0HXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s480/It%2527s%2BTrash.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nfcPBtEr814/YTXzqTnpkkI/AAAAAAAAAvA/4K6fjyY0jAk1puLGehnZyiftH120M0HXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/It%2527s%2BTrash.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />Because if it was a good story, the solution would be
obvious? It would all just fall together like magic, right? But then, it might
be a boring and predictable read, if only obvious things happened. I don't
know.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that's where I'm at. I have all the major points laid
out. There's just a couple of things around the middle that are all… murky.
Like, I don't know how to get from one point to another. More murder, maybe?
No, that can't be the solution to everything. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, as you can see, I haven't gotten much writing done.
Just tangentially writing-related things. But I wanted to check in because I
apparently forgot to post for two months. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll see you… next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-12132543877584195222021-06-30T03:41:00.001-07:002021-06-30T03:41:58.588-07:00A Look Into the Past<p>I've had some realizations about flashbacks. Mainly, that
yes, I can have them. All the advice I'd read cautioned against
flashbacks, saying that there was surely
a better way to show backstory. That you should sneakily ease in that
exposition throughout the story. That flashbacks break up the narrative flow,
and readers can't wait for them to be over.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you know what? Fuck that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I recently read <i>Six of Crows </i>by Leigh Bardugo. It's mainly about a heist, but it uses flashbacks to reveal the histories of the main
characters, and they are <i>so good. </i>You get just enough of the backstory
to wonder what happened next, and then it cuts back to the present.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, I know this is something I can pull off in <i>Cold
Blooded, </i>because I <i>already did. </i>Even in the first draft, the
flashbacks were broken into bite sized pieces, telling only a fragment of the
story, and cutting off at a sort of cliffhanger. I was going to cut them all,
because the internet told me that flashbacks were bad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm not saying <i>all</i> flashbacks are good and necessary,
but clearly they can be done well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It seems to be a balance of creating characters that make
you wonder how they got the way they are, and having tasty flashback nuggets
that answer those questions, bit by bit. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This might not seem like a grand revelation, but any little
thing that gets me excited about writing this book again, I'll take. And also,
yes, maybe I really liked <i>Six of Crows</i> and wanted to talk about it.
(Don't get me started, we'll be here all day.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, you may recall my corkboard from the last post. On
there are a couple of points that say "reveal some backstory," but
not which piece of backstory. So that's a thing I'll need to add on there. I
have… maybe four or so pieces of backstory. And those are just the ones I
already had. I might find that I need more later, as I introduce new ideas to
the story's present. Hmm… maybe the character needs to <i>have </i>more
backstory… <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I've got work to do. I'll see you next time. <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-82160752471460386182021-06-16T00:15:00.001-07:002021-06-16T00:15:53.629-07:00More to Life Than Just Death<p>Well, I'm back to working on my vampire novel, <i>Cold Blooded</i>, apparently. Sort of. It's mostly like backstory stuff, that will then have an impact on the main plot. Namely, I've written a little Wikipedia-style article about a fictional punk band, as well as working on some songs of said band. </p><p>Am I going to actually need this in the novel? I don't know. Maybe. I have… some thoughts. But if nothing else, it's helping to develop the protagonist's history. And it's easier than figuring out the plot. </p><p>Because, yes, my plot still has holes in it. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>This is what I have thus far:</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0axsSGSzuiU/YMmkKeseGYI/AAAAAAAAAsc/li5jjFAgycUFaGLaectQWxvMyTNwMS9DwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1248/Cold%2BBlooded%2BCorkboard%2B2.0%2Bcensored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1248" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0axsSGSzuiU/YMmkKeseGYI/AAAAAAAAAsc/li5jjFAgycUFaGLaectQWxvMyTNwMS9DwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h215/Cold%2BBlooded%2BCorkboard%2B2.0%2Bcensored.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blurred to protect… someone. Me, mostly</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>As you can see, through the haze, there are some gaps in there. And I think I've taken a long enough break from it. I need to just stare at it and figure out what happens. </p><p>The problem is this: I have all the "big" plot points on there. I just need all the junk that goes in between, to get us from one plot point to another. </p><p>The solution might be, instead of thinking about the in-between bits as small stuff, I need some more big stuff. Important events that keep the action going. It's not just filler, after all. Just because it's not murder and dead bodies doesn't mean it's not important. There is more to life than just death. Ooh, that's a pretty good line. </p><p>Anyway.</p><p>Looking at the board, it looks like I need different types of scenes in some places. Like, most of the Act One scenes are variations on a theme, which I know is because I'm trying to introduce characters and things, but it does look pretty monotonous. </p><p>And I need to figure out what the antagonist is doing while not actively… antagonizing. </p><p>This is usually the point where I look helplessly at all the work I need to do, and set it aside for another few months. We'll see what happens this time. </p><p></p><p>I'll see you next time. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-62614056366341451412021-05-03T06:59:00.000-07:002021-05-03T06:59:01.290-07:00Only Dealing With Draft One Problems<p>Here we are, post-Camp NaNo.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Did I meet my writing goal? Yes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Did I lower my writing goal to something I knew I could meet
easier? Also yes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But that's not the point. It's not cheating when you're <i>allowed
</i>to change you goal. And the real goal was just to get started on this
story. Which I did. I didn't finish it, but that's okay. I figured out some of
the hows and whys that are going to make writing the climax easier. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm still going to have to do some heavy edits to the
beginning, because, like I said last time, there's a lot of important stuff
that's missing. So this was by no means going to come out of April a finished
product. I think some of that is going to be solved by better figuring out the
POV and voice of the story.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">See, it's in 3rd person POV, but is still ostensibly the POV
of the main female character. I believe that is called 3rd Person Limited. We
are only following her, and we only see what she sees. For example, we, the
audience, don't know who has betrayed the group until she does. Now, I think
this should also grant us access to her thoughts, feelings, and prior
knowledge. But it currently… doesn’t, because I don't know how to write that.
Partially because, like I said last time, I don't know how to drop that
relevant backstory information without it sounding awkward. Yes, <i>she</i>
knows it, but how does she tell the rest of us? And then, of course, yes, those
pesky feelings. I've never been good at writing those. I don't know how to
communicate that kind of inner monologue sort of information without it just
sounding… bad. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that's something I'm going to have to work on. But it's
probably more a Draft Two Problem. And currently I am only dealing with Draft
One Problems.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Draft One Problems include:<o:p></o:p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Writing
the climax in an appropriately exciting and nail-biting way<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Writing
an ending<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">And honestly, problem two isn't that big of a deal, because
I think I'm going to cut it off short, with just a hint of where they'll go
from there, because drawing out the aftermath isn't going to be particularly
satisfying. I'm not going to <i>Lord of the Rings</i> this short story. They're
going to accomplish their goal, and we're going to get out. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much like me, and this post. Bye!<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-7691164390803595802021-04-21T01:57:00.000-07:002021-04-21T01:57:35.184-07:00Dropping Some Plot Relevant Knowledge<p>Camp NaNo is… progressing. Very slowly. I'm not writing as
often as I would like, but I <i>am</i> writing, so that's an improvement.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm maybe… 50 or 60% through the plot. Maybe. Depending on
how long the climax and resolution takes. But we're headed in that direction. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Having not yet completed Draft One, I can already tell that
I'm going to need to rewrite the beginning. There's a lot of information, like
world building and backstory, that I have all figured out, and needs to be in
there, that just… isn’t in there. Stuff like what sort of time period this is
set in, and who these characters are and why they're doing what they're doing.
You know, important stuff. I also spent a lot of time figuring out what kind of
a ship they have, and that's just… never mentioned.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And why is none of that in there? I just couldn't figure out
how to work it in. You can't just drop it all in via infodump, because that's
bad writing. You have to weave it in, with dialogue and context clues. But all
the characters already know all of the backstory, so any attempt to have them
discuss it will come across as very "<a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AsYouKnow">As you know…</a>"
which is also not good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q70OXWxy4uM/YH_m6tvWYqI/AAAAAAAAArI/vS28t-gjNfIAgy2DogjQLR5XZT5LKEgRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Exposition.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q70OXWxy4uM/YH_m6tvWYqI/AAAAAAAAArI/vS28t-gjNfIAgy2DogjQLR5XZT5LKEgRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Exposition.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This is why works often have an outsider character, who is a
sort of stand in for the audience and askes all these plot related questions.
Any time there's a bunch of science people saying science things and someone
says, "In English?" that's the person I mean. But I don't have any
outsiders. Only insiders. Which makes dropping some plot relevant knowledge a
little difficult. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But anyway. I'm going to finish Draft One, and then I'll go
back and fix all of this. I just need to get the bare bones on the table. Which
I think is a mixed metaphor and kind of gruesome, but that's kind of my thing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, I'll see you next time. I just wanted to prove to
myself that I can post more often than every other month. <o:p></o:p></p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-72501814993776043992021-03-31T23:45:00.001-07:002021-03-31T23:45:57.184-07:00Setting Goals<p>Whoops, I started writing this in February and then forgot
about it. What is time, anyway.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I plotted out about half of the short story I mentioned last
time before realizing I wasn't quite sure how it ended. Or how it... climaxed.
Then, quite suddenly, I realized the secret that had been eluding me (<i>Sunlight!
Windows!</i>) and wrote out a chunk of important dialogue while I was supposed to
be sleeping. So this thing is still afloat.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Really, the problem now is that I know the latter part of
the story needs a certain amount of… tension, I guess… and I'm not sure that
I'll be able to pull it off. So it's a confidence issue. Or imposter syndrome?
Probably both. But I'm never going to know, and never going to get any better,
if I don't just write the damn thing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I'm saying is that 90% of my Writing Troubles are in
fact Me Troubles. Lack of motivation, lack of confidence, lack of just sitting
down and doing the damn thing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, as stated in my previous post, this story is based
on a song. And every time I hear it, it's quietly guilting me into writing.
<i>How's that story coming?</i> it asks. I don't have a good answer for it. Which is
why it's, you know, taken me two months to write this post. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">April is Camp NaNo, so it's time to force a deadline on
myself and get a first draft knocked out. I've decided it. Just now. I've set a
goal. 10,000 words. I don't actually know how long this story will be, but that
seems like a good starting place. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, it's going to be April in about 15 minutes, so I've
got a lot of work to do. Bye!<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-55301287795111728802021-01-19T01:52:00.005-08:002021-01-19T02:08:32.316-08:00Untethered From the Dock<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> All right. I've taken a nice little break, and I'm back.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have I made progress on my vampire novel? Hahahaha! No. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PtQDEwMJyIA/YAavTqr6rWI/AAAAAAAAAos/MLJKGFlHa6IqimGbOdrVayAj-D4TlZnPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s242/Books%2BI%2527ve%2BFinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="242" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PtQDEwMJyIA/YAavTqr6rWI/AAAAAAAAAos/MLJKGFlHa6IqimGbOdrVayAj-D4TlZnPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Books%2BI%2527ve%2BFinished.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
have, however, had another idea. Probably more of a short story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here's what happened. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was listening to a song. <a href="https://youtu.be/p3wFZfpMQmM" target="_blank">This song</a>. And I said to myself,
there's a story idea in this somewhere. I'm just not sure what it is. And then
it occurred to me, after hearing the song, I don't know, 20 more times.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a tale of nefarious sabotage, and a mysterious house
where something lurks in the darkness. I'm still working on the details. I have
a vague idea of some characters. I got general idea of this villain, this
saboteur, and about three seconds later, became very attached to him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0P1XgB6Q0c/YAap6DGjkZI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/O7Wpg4XIlv4QDJEqGw_A-PO7ydwjGU_yACLcBGAsYHQ/s498/Immediately%2BI%2BLove%2BHim.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0P1XgB6Q0c/YAap6DGjkZI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/O7Wpg4XIlv4QDJEqGw_A-PO7ydwjGU_yACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h320/Immediately%2BI%2BLove%2BHim.gif" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So that might cause me a problem later on. Because I don't
think it's going to end well for him. But we'll see. I'm still a little iffy on
the wheres and whys of the whole thing. But aren't I always?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's occurred to me, on numerous occasions, that I should
probably be trying to write publishable short stories while I'm trying to
finish my novel. Why? Because when you query a literary agent, you're supposed
to tell them any sorts of publications or literary accomplishments you have.
And I have none, so I'm not particularly impressive. So yeah, I think I should
try to get a short story or several published, just so I have something to put
in that part of my query. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My point in bringing that up, is that me trying to work on
some short stories is not a complete waste of time, a mere distraction from my
ultimate novel goal. If I can write any that are any good, I can use them to
pad my résumé, so to speak. And if I want to write <i>good </i>short stories, I need
practice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So all this has a purpose, is what I'm saying. I'm not just
screwing around. I mean, I <i>am </i>screwing around, but I'm not <i>just </i>screwing
around. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, if you've been sitting there wondering when the
novel is going to be done… Not any time soon. I'm screwing around. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll see you… soon. Which sounded way more ominous than I
meant it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-44224945635645515312020-12-01T03:19:00.000-08:002020-12-01T03:19:41.001-08:00NaNo 2020 Review<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I've made it through NaNoWriMo. I did not win. And just
for anyone not familiar with NaNo, "winning" just means you wrote
50,000 words. You get a PDF certificate that says you won. It's not a
competition where your work is judged. You don't get your book published. You
just have a whole bunch of words that you wrote, that you can edit into
something better, if you want to. It's a challenge, not a competition. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I didn't write 50,000 words. I wrote 33,007.
Honestly, not bad. Some of it was not complete crap. But more importantly, I
learned a valuable lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am not a pantser.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That is, a person who writes by the seat of their pants,
making it all up as they go. I keep trying to be one. Because outlining is hard
and tedious and boring. But after a month of barely scraping by, sometimes only
writing 300 words in a day, trying to wrench this story out of the ether… it's
clear that pantsing is not my strong suit. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, having abandoned the quest for 50,000, I set my sights
on 30,000. I stopped trying to drag out the story, and let it flow toward its
inevitable conclusion. I knew how I wanted it to end. I figured that out a
couple of days ago. So I let it happen. I knew what I needed to write, I know
the events that needed to unfold. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I wrote 4,000 words in one day. The very last day, but
still. Clearly I <i>can</i> write that much when I know what I'm supposed to be
writing. I've just been fighting against it, because I'm too lazy to outline.
So either I can sit down and plot out the story, or I can muddle through it at
a snail's pace. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Moral of the story: All my writing problems are of my own
design. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I suppose when I get back to my vampire novel, it should be
easier since I already have most of an outline. <i>Should</i> be. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I'm not going to jump back into that just yet. I'm going
to take a bit of writing break, and finish <i>reading</i> some books that I've
had sitting around for months. So I'm not sure when I'll next have something to
report. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll see you… sometime. Maybe in 2021. </span></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041086302095067865.post-83345160846160251292020-11-25T22:59:00.002-08:002020-11-25T22:59:57.644-08:00It's All Relative<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead of
writing for hours today, I got distracted with trying to figure out how various
characters were related. It matter to the plot, I'm not just being crazy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is what
I have created:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bVQS0vhygW0/X79RUIQzoyI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GvppOEL_okUuCsfWLjWp-rws35TjsZGGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s607/Blackwell%2BFamily%2BTree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="607" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bVQS0vhygW0/X79RUIQzoyI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GvppOEL_okUuCsfWLjWp-rws35TjsZGGQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h254/Blackwell%2BFamily%2BTree.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's not
entirely filled in, because not everyone matters. But I needed to know how two
characters (the dark blue boxes) were related. Because my characters can't
figure it out if I don't know.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's been
fun. I've been picking arbitrary names that seem appropriate for when they were
born. The birth dates are just based on typical child-bearing ages for the
time. Once I figured out how to format it the way I wanted, it was pretty easy
to start plugging in names. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wouldn't do
this again, unless I absolutely had to. It's a lot of work for something that's
entirely behind the scenes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for the
story itself, I've revised my goal, because there's no way in hell I'm going to
make it to 50,000 words. So I'm aiming for 30,000. It won't be an
"official" win, but it will be a personal accomplishment. I'm at
almost 26,000 right now, so I had better get back to it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll see
you… probably when NaNo is over.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0