Started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I know, I know... it's taken me way too long to jump on this wagon. Fortunately, the wagon is still in town. It has a bumper sticker that says, "I'd rather be reading Twilight".
About to start reading 15 novels from the 2006 NaNoWriMo extravaganza. Need excerpts for my article. At least now, I have a reason for reading 15 novels, thanks to my writing group. Writing groups are good. I highly recommend them.
Need to get back to the library. I have six overdue books - none of them starring Stephanie Plum. I finished book ten. I have three more to go before I join the ranks of those eagerly on edge for the next installment.
About to venture into NaNoWriMo's ScriptFrenzy with a neice o' mine.
I've never tried to write a script before. And other than writing a grant application page or two, I've never really co-authored anything before. This should be a frenzy of adventure. ScriptFrenzy is April 1-30. Why can't the good folks at the Office of Letters and Light pick months with 31 days??? Really? Would an extra 24 hours hurt anyone? An optimist would say, "Good thing neither of them are in February!" A mathemetician would say that it's the law of averages or something... A writer would say, "...." (Nothing because it's not April yet. We don't cheat. We may pad the word count, but we don't cheat.)
Check this out:
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
There are also some links to free downloads - and one very expensive one - for script writing software. We're not sure how we're going to write this thing, collaboratively. Google docs was my first choice. I'll let my co-author investigate the options and decide. She has a little more free time on her hands than I do. Even if we don't do this, it's cool to know that it's out there!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Hard to check out books...
So, if you check out a large print book from the library, is that like stealing the handicapped parking spot? I promise to read and return the book quickly - maybe even by tomorrow...
I started grabbing the next set of Evanovich mysteries that I needed and realized that Hard Eight was missing. I can't check out Nine and Ten without reading Eight. I checked the computer to find that my library has two copies and both were checked out; one is overdue. But the large print edition was in. So, I found that and checked it out. While the crime solving aspect of Stephanie Plum's job is rarely chronological, her ongoings with Morelli and/ Ranger most certainly are!
I feel guilty for taking the large print book. But I'd feel worse if I skipped Eight and continued with the series...
I started grabbing the next set of Evanovich mysteries that I needed and realized that Hard Eight was missing. I can't check out Nine and Ten without reading Eight. I checked the computer to find that my library has two copies and both were checked out; one is overdue. But the large print edition was in. So, I found that and checked it out. While the crime solving aspect of Stephanie Plum's job is rarely chronological, her ongoings with Morelli and/ Ranger most certainly are!
I feel guilty for taking the large print book. But I'd feel worse if I skipped Eight and continued with the series...
Friday, February 8, 2008
the post-NaNo life...
So, in December, I tried frantically to get to my 100-book goal for the calendar year, reconnect with a few people who were sadly neglected during the writing frenzy of November, get my Christmas shopping done...
I finished 98 books in 2007. This is the closest I've come to reading my 100 book goal. I sent an email with the list. It's pretty random.
In my responses to sending out my list, I learned that one person was actually looking forward to this annual email o' mine. That was very good for my ego. I also learned about www.librarything.com and www.bookswim.com.
I signed on to library thing, added all the books in my personal home library - which aren't many, considering how many I give away after finishing them, and signed up for a few groups. I also discovered quickly how I could lose large chunks of time by reading the forums!
I did not, however, sign up for bookswim. I love the concept - it's Netflix for books! - and I might try it another year. But I have committed to using the public library this year, due to financial reasons.
So, yes, I've actually visited the public library three times so far in 2008. Sadly, I had to request a new library card. I had lost mine. I'm now working my way through the Janet Evanovich murder by the numbers series - is that the official name or did I just make that up? I've noticed her for years, but I only recently received a personal recommendation. I have to be careful about murder mysteries--too much gore and I'm gone! I can never read a Patricia Cornwell novel. I don't think I'm missing out on any literary genius. I could be wrong, but I'd be okay with that.
I'll start book #15 for 2008 - as soon as I post this book-babble and pick up Hot Six. This will probably be a good weekend to spend in my pajamas. Good thing I also checked out Seven Up, as well as three other non-Stephanie Plum books, just in case I need a break.
I have also surreptitiously printed, punch, and bound my 2007 Nano novel. I may reread it this year. Mom said I'm allowed to put it on the list of books that I read in 2007, but I think that's cheating. I can't put my books on my list until I reread them.
I finished 98 books in 2007. This is the closest I've come to reading my 100 book goal. I sent an email with the list. It's pretty random.
In my responses to sending out my list, I learned that one person was actually looking forward to this annual email o' mine. That was very good for my ego. I also learned about www.librarything.com and www.bookswim.com.
I signed on to library thing, added all the books in my personal home library - which aren't many, considering how many I give away after finishing them, and signed up for a few groups. I also discovered quickly how I could lose large chunks of time by reading the forums!
I did not, however, sign up for bookswim. I love the concept - it's Netflix for books! - and I might try it another year. But I have committed to using the public library this year, due to financial reasons.
So, yes, I've actually visited the public library three times so far in 2008. Sadly, I had to request a new library card. I had lost mine. I'm now working my way through the Janet Evanovich murder by the numbers series - is that the official name or did I just make that up? I've noticed her for years, but I only recently received a personal recommendation. I have to be careful about murder mysteries--too much gore and I'm gone! I can never read a Patricia Cornwell novel. I don't think I'm missing out on any literary genius. I could be wrong, but I'd be okay with that.
I'll start book #15 for 2008 - as soon as I post this book-babble and pick up Hot Six. This will probably be a good weekend to spend in my pajamas. Good thing I also checked out Seven Up, as well as three other non-Stephanie Plum books, just in case I need a break.
I have also surreptitiously printed, punch, and bound my 2007 Nano novel. I may reread it this year. Mom said I'm allowed to put it on the list of books that I read in 2007, but I think that's cheating. I can't put my books on my list until I reread them.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
2007 Winner!
Well, it's now officially NaNoWriMo-fficial. I added a thirty-fourth chapter to wrap up the novel, more or less. I finished with a whopping 53,520 words.
I spent a few minutes encrypting the novel before sending it off for verification. Encryption is supposed to protect me so that I don't have to worry about the novel being stolen, edited, and published by someone other than myself, but really, it's to protect any would-be theives from hours of reading mind-numbing drivel that poured from my fingertips this noveling season. The amazing word-counting elves did their job in nanoseconds and confirmed that I have more than 50k words. My profile page suddenly contained a link to a beautiful yellow .pdf file that contains my winner's certificate, which I will proudly print and include in the binder with my printed novel - all 193 pages of it (double spaced, Bookman Old Style, 11 point, with a title page).
The bar is now purple and it says "Winner" across it. If only it were this easy to get confirmation of non-loser status in other areas of life... :)
Once again, I am a novelist! Whoo-hoo!
Monday, November 26, 2007
50k!
So, I got there a week ago today and haven't written anything since then. I've reached the word count but not finished the story, so I still have some writing to do this week. I've already written one chapter as an outline, and may have to do that for a few more so at least the story lines are tied together. It's always interesting to read novels that are written as outlines instead of stories, right?
But I still don't like this year's novel as well as last year's. Have you ever heard someone ask a published author which of their books is their favorite? and they usually answer by saying that it's like asking a parent which kid is their favorite? I totally don't believe that. It's complete crap.
Maybe I'll actually finish the novel tomorrow... I still don't think I'll like it any better than last year's, but you never know!
But I still don't like this year's novel as well as last year's. Have you ever heard someone ask a published author which of their books is their favorite? and they usually answer by saying that it's like asking a parent which kid is their favorite? I totally don't believe that. It's complete crap.
Maybe I'll actually finish the novel tomorrow... I still don't think I'll like it any better than last year's, but you never know!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Novel - half full or half empty?
Happy November 15th! It's the halfway point, and I'm happy to say that I got there last weekend during the 2nd annual MO novelpalooza. Thanks to Jude, her living room, two airports and It's a Grind, I managed to spew forth 24,000ish words. (Thanks, Mom, for making me take an entire year of typing class in high school. Most boring class ever, but life has been easier because of it - and you didn't even know about computers back then...) Most of those words are connected in sentences, and a few are connected in relatively coherent story lines.
I even managed to type one sentence while I was asleep. I know I was asleep because I don't remember typing it, and I woke up and it was on the screen. I wonder if my typing is slower when I'm asleep, because there were no typos in the sentence! The sleep-typed sentence has nothing to do with anything my novel! My characters are not living in, going to or talking about Michigan or Minnesota, nor is it anywhere near Christmas as I haven't really placed the novel anywhere on a calendar year. There are no seasons or weather patterns or temperatures mentioned. However, this sentence appears in my 2007 novel: There ain’t no folks like us having Christmas in Michigan or Minnesota this year. It’s just too cold.
Yes, it is written in the dialect/poor grammar of the character who was speaking in the previous sentence, but there was no reason for Mr. Porter to say that. And no, I'm not taking it out because it pads the word count. I did change the color of the text to white so as to not distract from the flow of the chapter. (ha - that's funny!)
Got my LL Bean Christmas catalog today. The name Porter was used in several of their 'you can have this monogrammed' pictures. I wonder if they've met Mr. Porter...
I've come to several conclusions, some more profound than others:
1. I can write narrative or I can write dialogue. I haven't yet found the magical blend of both that makes novels interesting and well-written.
2. I still suck at this, but it's fun.
3. I'm addicted, and I can't imagine not writing a novel in any future November. I would miss it.
4. I lack the self-discipline needed to write a novel in any other month of the year.
and now, I must get back to my characters for a few minutes before Scrubs is on. I've missed them - both my novel characters and the Scrubs characters - and need to check in and see how they are doing.
I even managed to type one sentence while I was asleep. I know I was asleep because I don't remember typing it, and I woke up and it was on the screen. I wonder if my typing is slower when I'm asleep, because there were no typos in the sentence! The sleep-typed sentence has nothing to do with anything my novel! My characters are not living in, going to or talking about Michigan or Minnesota, nor is it anywhere near Christmas as I haven't really placed the novel anywhere on a calendar year. There are no seasons or weather patterns or temperatures mentioned. However, this sentence appears in my 2007 novel: There ain’t no folks like us having Christmas in Michigan or Minnesota this year. It’s just too cold.
Yes, it is written in the dialect/poor grammar of the character who was speaking in the previous sentence, but there was no reason for Mr. Porter to say that. And no, I'm not taking it out because it pads the word count. I did change the color of the text to white so as to not distract from the flow of the chapter. (ha - that's funny!)
Got my LL Bean Christmas catalog today. The name Porter was used in several of their 'you can have this monogrammed' pictures. I wonder if they've met Mr. Porter...
I've come to several conclusions, some more profound than others:
1. I can write narrative or I can write dialogue. I haven't yet found the magical blend of both that makes novels interesting and well-written.
2. I still suck at this, but it's fun.
3. I'm addicted, and I can't imagine not writing a novel in any future November. I would miss it.
4. I lack the self-discipline needed to write a novel in any other month of the year.
and now, I must get back to my characters for a few minutes before Scrubs is on. I've missed them - both my novel characters and the Scrubs characters - and need to check in and see how they are doing.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Noveling Madness!
It's only the sixth, and it feels like mid-November already. This is crazy. I went gangbusters and knocked out 12k of crap in the first four days. I wrote squat yesterday, and wrote 500 words of novel notes - stuff to make happen. So, my current word count gets me midway between the 7th and 8th, so by Thursday, I'll be behind again. Fortunately, I have a superweekend of power writing planned in an out-of-state location. Right, Judeldoo? :)
One character, who was supposed to be minor, is now going to live with her grandmother for the summer. The grandmother was to be one of the three major characters, and as of now, the grandmother is now moral support, and room & board for a troubled teen. But what would happen to make a teenager have to live with her grandmother for a summer? What catastrophic event could have befelled these poor, fictional people? I'm open to suggestions...
The main MC (ah, redundancy!) has to have a best friend. Eight chapters in, I decided that the best friend needs her own sub-plot, rather than just the supporting character role. I think I'm sending her to Copenhagen, thus the research on Hans Christian Andersen this afternoon. One translator was identified as having added sexual innuendo to his translations. Hmmm - were those innuendo written in the originals, or did he really add that? I think the BF/SC might have to find out. I don't want to do too much research - I actually might find the real answer, and that would mess with my story.
One thing that worked for me last year was switching between the three main characters' pov for each chapter. When I got bored or stuck, I'd switch to another character, leading up to the inevitable connection to all in the end, Love Actually style, sans the papier-mache lobster in the Nativity play. The male MC has already been silenced. I actually typed these sentences at the end of his chapter: Boy, I sound like a big jerk. I don’t think I’m going to be allowed to narrate my own chapters anymore. Of course, in a second draft, his chapter would be deleted entirely. But right now, I need those 945 words in my word count!
Other cheats that I'm not ashamed to admit: I added a set of horoscopes and a desciption of a band that I found.
I have also learned about "TIAMAT: The Primordial Dragon Goddess of Creative Chaos. She lived happily in the salt water below the mists of time, joined by APSU, the wettest Water God ever", "PHILYRA: Goddess of Paper. Yes, really. She's also a Goddess of Writing, Healing and Perfume", and "PHANTASOS: God of Dreams. Particularly the surreal ones where you're flying over a lake of custard and seventeen giraffes blow raspberries at you" (www.godchecker.com). Philyra and Phantasos havne't actually appeared in the novel yet. 38k to go - they might make it in yet! And the HCA research has just begun...
Ah, Nano... Oh, how I've missed you!
One character, who was supposed to be minor, is now going to live with her grandmother for the summer. The grandmother was to be one of the three major characters, and as of now, the grandmother is now moral support, and room & board for a troubled teen. But what would happen to make a teenager have to live with her grandmother for a summer? What catastrophic event could have befelled these poor, fictional people? I'm open to suggestions...
The main MC (ah, redundancy!) has to have a best friend. Eight chapters in, I decided that the best friend needs her own sub-plot, rather than just the supporting character role. I think I'm sending her to Copenhagen, thus the research on Hans Christian Andersen this afternoon. One translator was identified as having added sexual innuendo to his translations. Hmmm - were those innuendo written in the originals, or did he really add that? I think the BF/SC might have to find out. I don't want to do too much research - I actually might find the real answer, and that would mess with my story.
One thing that worked for me last year was switching between the three main characters' pov for each chapter. When I got bored or stuck, I'd switch to another character, leading up to the inevitable connection to all in the end, Love Actually style, sans the papier-mache lobster in the Nativity play. The male MC has already been silenced. I actually typed these sentences at the end of his chapter: Boy, I sound like a big jerk. I don’t think I’m going to be allowed to narrate my own chapters anymore. Of course, in a second draft, his chapter would be deleted entirely. But right now, I need those 945 words in my word count!
Other cheats that I'm not ashamed to admit: I added a set of horoscopes and a desciption of a band that I found.
I have also learned about "TIAMAT: The Primordial Dragon Goddess of Creative Chaos. She lived happily in the salt water below the mists of time, joined by APSU, the wettest Water God ever", "PHILYRA: Goddess of Paper. Yes, really. She's also a Goddess of Writing, Healing and Perfume", and "PHANTASOS: God of Dreams. Particularly the surreal ones where you're flying over a lake of custard and seventeen giraffes blow raspberries at you" (www.godchecker.com). Philyra and Phantasos havne't actually appeared in the novel yet. 38k to go - they might make it in yet! And the HCA research has just begun...
Ah, Nano... Oh, how I've missed you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)