Ramblings on my Latest Writing Project

A bt of this and that...

2007-11-11T06:04:21Z

I haven't been on lately, but that's actually a Good Thing, because it meant I was getting some writing done. And had other things to keep me busy. But overall, it 's good.

I think this story might actually carry me to 50,000 words. Last year, I:

Procrastinated overmuch
Had a plot that kind of wrapped itself up before I hit 30,000 words

I think I learned a couple lessons from last year, though, and expect to do much better this year. Even if the plot does end up ending early, I can always go back in and add a few more character perspectives on different things, since this year I've been rather influenced by George RR Martin and have character names as (primary) chapter titles, and each chapter is third-person limited omniscient from that character's POV.

I've also been influenced by him in other ways, I think. Usually I don't kill off my characters, ever. I tend to get fond of them and hold on to them. However, this story I've set in motion is going to kill several of them, including one of my favorites. I think it's going to be a good lesson for me to learn, and maybe cut down in my silliness in some other stories:

(i.e)
"Why is that guy still hanging around and at the peak of health? Isn't he about a billion years old already?"

"You're exaggerating. And, uh, he's half-magicky-race, so he's got a longer lifespan, yeah, that's it."

"But even they're not immortal, and you've still got all sorts of them hanging on and ancient now too."

"Ummmmmm..."

Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se, but I think I'd prefer to be at the point where killing off these characters is an option, rather than something that I just don't do. I heard somewhere that some of your best writing comes from writing things you're afraid to write because of the subject matter. Not things that you don't write because they bore you or whatever, but things that could have intense emotions associated with them. And I could go into some sort of bizarre self-analysis, but it's late, I'm getting sleepy and fighting off a cold, and tomorrow is a very big day, so I think I'm going to go to sleep instead.

And I've just realized that at some point soon I'll have to look for a better mood theme for myself among the free ones. I'll do it when I need to procrastinate a bit...

On this, the third day of NaNo....

2007-11-03T23:42:53Z

One of the things I'm noticing on this, the third day of NaNo, is that I keep thinking up other plots and stories that I want to do. I think it's the whole being better at starting things than finishing them, or contributes to that at least - I'm not letting myself do any other big projects until the NaNovel I've already started is well underway, though. Especially some of the ones that have occured to me lately.

Especially when you consider some of my wackier ideas. "How about a novel where a small child won't come down from a piece of equipment on the playground, and spends all five thousand words on top of that piece of equipment?"

...As much as it seems like it has the potential to be an interesting challenge, and as much as I'm thinking it might be fun to try something like that, I think I'd better finish the novel I've already started. Developing follow-through and all that. Not to mention it's already well underway, and I've been shifting around characters and such enough that I can always add in more to the mix if I need to make up some more word count. And I've yet to finish 50,000 words, so if I go jumping around chasing after unrelated plot bunnies, I think it's unlikely that I'll reach my goal.

Maybe next month...

nanobard @ 2007-11-01T22:28:00

2007-11-02T02:30:03Z

Snagged from shoebox_addict

You went trick or treating as Cheetara.
PeeWee gave you ARedRubberBall.
CorranHorn gave you GummiBerryJuice.
DEATH gave you Wasabi.
BartSimpson gave you AGoldStar.
You had a radiant time until MrRogers taught you the Numbers.

What's Your Trick-or-Treat Haul?
Shiver My Timber--A Pirate RPG

On inner editors and things . . .

2007-11-01T17:31:46Z

First of all, word count: 5,129 words, not bad for the start of day one!

I posted a blurb on the NaNo site, and of course once I've got it posted the inner editor sneaks out and catches a typo. So maybe I'll fix just that one, up on the site, at some point, if I feel like it. I felt bad about utterly banishing or whatever my inner editor, so I instead locked him away in a room full of really bad fanfiction and an everlasting red pen, with permission to come if I summon him for official-type correspondence during the month.

Now my inner mischief-maker thinks that my inner editor should become a character in my NaNo. "Not him himself," she quickly reassures me. "More of a photograph sort of thing. A simulacrum, that's it." I might end up sticking him in the town, some sort of secretary or councilman, who probably is generally ignored by most of the people in town except for those who don't have the connections to know other people they can go to, or if something really does need a bit of a perfectionist to refine it a bit, then the council pulls out the metaphorical salt shaker full of those necessary grains of salt and lets him have at it. I think his name is Dittor, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit him anywhere in my novel yet, but I think he's hanging out in the wings in case I need an extra somewhere.

nanobard @ 2007-10-30T18:10:00

2007-10-30T22:14:30Z

I think I just may have come up with a general plot (well, starting situation, not really a whole plot) and several characters for my NaNovel. And I think my main protagonist for this year just may be the daughter of the protagonist from last year's novel, which didn't win but which did come to some kind of a conclusion, which is more than I normally get from stories.

Now I'm really curious to see how this goes - almost November, woohoo!

NaNoWriMo iconage

2007-10-30T02:19:54Z

01. 02.
03. 04. 05.
06. 07. 08. 09. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

All of these are free for the taking if you see any that appeal to you. Credit nice but not required, same with telling me if you're taking any. I'm also open to suggestions for improvement and/or requests/suggestions for other icons, though I can't guarantee anything!

Initial Post

2007-10-28T04:05:28Z

Greetings and well met! I have just created this LiveJournal as a way to participate in NaNoWriMo LiveJournal escapades without having to annoy the people who have my regular journal linked.

At the moment I still have not committed to a plot or characters, though I do have a couple characters who insist on at least probably making a cameo if I don't give them a starring role. They came into my head after listening to too much Halloween music and reading George RR Martin, so they're a bit more morbid than I'm used to - which I suppose could be an adventure, but we'll see what happens.

Feel free to comment if you want to be added so you can see Friends Only entries!

I need an icon now. Hmm. Perhaps I'll make one up when I'm not supposed to be sleeping for a busy day tomorrow . . .