One and a half chapters are done. I overuse some words too much, like just, but otherwise, there's nothing too horrible. Saturdays and Sundays are going to be the days where I put the line edits into the word documents. Right now, it's more printing out and going line by line to find the mistakes. Then, when that's all done, just do a quick read before sending it out to the readers. Should take about a month, month and a half, and then... then I'm not sure what to do with myself.
Other than write book 2. I am thinking that I might start outlining and writing it instead of the other projects I have on tap. We'll see. I've got the rest of the month to figure out what to do.
Showing posts with label mystery of the dark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery of the dark. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
The Silence / Finish Line / Hello Again My Old Friends
This is going to cover a lot of stuff in one post, so there isn't just one name for it. There's several and I'm not sure which one really fits the best. So, three titles instead of just one but a shortish post.
First: apologies for not updating in a while. I really felt that I had nothing to say, which is why there were no posts. I'm going to try to make sure that doesn't happen in the future, but I can't promise anything. I'll try to give a heads up if I have nothing to say, but again, no promises. I wish I could promise my readers that I'm going to do everything on time but I can't. So I would rather apologize than make false promises.
Second: Mystery of the Dark is completely written. It comes out to right under 100,000 words. It is rough and it needs editing and that's happening in March. So prepare for a lot of "oh my God, what did I do?" and moaning about editing. I'm also thinking about signing up for EdMo - Editing Month - but we'll see.
Third: I'm going to try my best to go back to the Monday/Wednesday/Friday posting. It might just be a how things are going but I have another project that I am starting on March 1st. It's the secondary project of this month - Desiring an Umbrella - but I'm going to be writing it on my phone. It's a silly thing, but I like to try to see how writing works on different mediums. I've tried doing a handwritten novel, but that's extremely hard. It's a mix of sight issues and wrist issues, so that's that. So, we'll see if I can't get back to the schedule and work on filling this journal with different things again.
So, that's it for the moment. Hope everyone had a great February and I'll see you in March!
First: apologies for not updating in a while. I really felt that I had nothing to say, which is why there were no posts. I'm going to try to make sure that doesn't happen in the future, but I can't promise anything. I'll try to give a heads up if I have nothing to say, but again, no promises. I wish I could promise my readers that I'm going to do everything on time but I can't. So I would rather apologize than make false promises.
Second: Mystery of the Dark is completely written. It comes out to right under 100,000 words. It is rough and it needs editing and that's happening in March. So prepare for a lot of "oh my God, what did I do?" and moaning about editing. I'm also thinking about signing up for EdMo - Editing Month - but we'll see.
Third: I'm going to try my best to go back to the Monday/Wednesday/Friday posting. It might just be a how things are going but I have another project that I am starting on March 1st. It's the secondary project of this month - Desiring an Umbrella - but I'm going to be writing it on my phone. It's a silly thing, but I like to try to see how writing works on different mediums. I've tried doing a handwritten novel, but that's extremely hard. It's a mix of sight issues and wrist issues, so that's that. So, we'll see if I can't get back to the schedule and work on filling this journal with different things again.
So, that's it for the moment. Hope everyone had a great February and I'll see you in March!
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Point of No Return
At the time of writing this post, I am at chapter 27 out of 30 of my novel. Including my current chapter, I have four more to write and then I can finally edit this bad boy. This is great, mostly because I really wanted to shop the novel around this year and get it published for release in late 2015 / early 2016. In order to do that, I have to edit it and get it out to readers who will tell me if it's a good story and so on. The hard deadline to be finished writing, because I completely missed the other deadline of having it completely done by January 31st, is this Saturday.
Yep, Saturday. By the end of the day. This might be moved to Sunday, if only due to family reasons that I will not get into here. That's only because it is not my news to share and I am not sure if they want those reasons spread. However, next week Monday, I will be hard core editing and then putting the editing marks into the word files. Also with a blank notebook because I'll need to write down if there are plot holes.
But this is the point of no return because, really, it is the end. The end of everything. And so on. It's really not. It's the end of the novel and I'm really afraid of it for no good reason. I think it's because it's something that's new. New is scary but it's also good. I have to remember the end of that last sentence. It is also good. Repeat that after me - It Is Also Good. Mantra time. Huuuuummmm.
So, there's that. Apologies for there being nothing on Monday but... it was Monday? And I didn't know what to really talk about? So, yeah, sorry for that.
Yep, Saturday. By the end of the day. This might be moved to Sunday, if only due to family reasons that I will not get into here. That's only because it is not my news to share and I am not sure if they want those reasons spread. However, next week Monday, I will be hard core editing and then putting the editing marks into the word files. Also with a blank notebook because I'll need to write down if there are plot holes.
But this is the point of no return because, really, it is the end. The end of everything. And so on. It's really not. It's the end of the novel and I'm really afraid of it for no good reason. I think it's because it's something that's new. New is scary but it's also good. I have to remember the end of that last sentence. It is also good. Repeat that after me - It Is Also Good. Mantra time. Huuuuummmm.
So, there's that. Apologies for there being nothing on Monday but... it was Monday? And I didn't know what to really talk about? So, yeah, sorry for that.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
[WriYe Blogging Circle] Hello 2015: There Can Be Only One
Hello everyone! I'm back, after a few days of getting into the feel of 2015, and decided to kick off with doing the WriYe Blogging Circle. It will become known as the WBC when I'm feeling too lazy to type that all out. For those who are new, this is a once a month blogging prompt about a certain topic. For example, this month is about the one goal for the year and then asking a few questions about it. What I do is usually list the questions and then have my answers follow them. It's a simple format and I might change it up or I might not. Either way, it's a fun once a month prompt that I like to answer.
Goals: What is your one main goal for this year? Call it your writing resolution - not two, not five - your main and only one. Why is it your only goal?
Well, I do have a lot, but the one big main goal is to publish this year. I've got a novel on it's third draft, called Mystery of the Dark, about dhampirs and vampires and all those good supernatural stuffs. I'm hoping to find a small press instead of a big one, mostly because I feel that a smaller press would be better for me, but we'll see where the chips fall. Either way, I've got to get 3.0 done to get to 3.5 to get to 4.0. Draft four goes out to the readers to see if people like it enough and to make sure that I'm hit all the narrative points. Don't have plot holes and the like. It's going to be fun in the end.
Bonus: Make a mantra to tell yourself all year when you feel as if you can't reach this goal. Share it with us!
You mean aside from "Let It Go"? I think the mantra is more "Yes We Can" or "I Can Do It". The "Yes We Can" coming from the year that I started winning NaNoWriMo (2008) along with all the other craziness going on. The craziness being working as a volunteer in the field on a Presidential campaign, getting sick right after, but being able to write 50,000 words in such a short time after. That was the year that I truly, in my mind, became a writer. Therefore, "Yes We Can" doesn't sound half bad.
That's it for now. There might be something coming up this week but we'll see. It's still early in the year, so I'm going to try to keep on blogging as much as I can, so watch this space.
Goals: What is your one main goal for this year? Call it your writing resolution - not two, not five - your main and only one. Why is it your only goal?
Well, I do have a lot, but the one big main goal is to publish this year. I've got a novel on it's third draft, called Mystery of the Dark, about dhampirs and vampires and all those good supernatural stuffs. I'm hoping to find a small press instead of a big one, mostly because I feel that a smaller press would be better for me, but we'll see where the chips fall. Either way, I've got to get 3.0 done to get to 3.5 to get to 4.0. Draft four goes out to the readers to see if people like it enough and to make sure that I'm hit all the narrative points. Don't have plot holes and the like. It's going to be fun in the end.
Bonus: Make a mantra to tell yourself all year when you feel as if you can't reach this goal. Share it with us!
You mean aside from "Let It Go"? I think the mantra is more "Yes We Can" or "I Can Do It". The "Yes We Can" coming from the year that I started winning NaNoWriMo (2008) along with all the other craziness going on. The craziness being working as a volunteer in the field on a Presidential campaign, getting sick right after, but being able to write 50,000 words in such a short time after. That was the year that I truly, in my mind, became a writer. Therefore, "Yes We Can" doesn't sound half bad.
That's it for now. There might be something coming up this week but we'll see. It's still early in the year, so I'm going to try to keep on blogging as much as I can, so watch this space.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
NaNoWriMo and This Is Where I Leave You
You get a two for one post today, mostly because I'm awesome like that, and mostly because... reasons. Reasons that are the second part of the title. I really might have to start a campaign about that book and how I want those hours of my life back. The movie isn't much better, but at least now I won't spend money on that. Point being that I didn't spend money in the first place, since I borrowed the book from the library (yay libraries!), but still. I want those hours of my life back and we'll talk about that in just a moment.
So, for the seventh year in a row, I have written 50,000 words in a month. It is a sacred ritual, one that requires months of planning and then replanning and then hoping you've picked the right plot bunny. The wrong ones, as I have discovered in years past, make for horrible experiences. The right ones, as I have discovered since 2008 (jeez, ages ago), make everything bright and sunny and full of rainbows. For, you see, this can only happen one month out of the year, where the stars align and everything is awesome.
If you can't tell, November is also when my sarcasm rises to new heights. Just chuckle and scroll. Just scroll if you don't like the jokes but I can't promise they'll get any better.
Anyways, it doesn't happen just one month out of the year. It's just the one month where everything works out because I've planned for it that way. And, you know what, the entire year could be like that. If I didn't have to edit and finish drafts outside of the one month, but it can be done. Yes, I've done it before, though not in one project, so yes, November is special. November is the one month, out of the entire year, that the focus is just on one project. And that's good, in the end, because it's what's needed. I really doubt that Mystery of the Dark would have gotten a third draft if not for NaNoWriMo this year. It's the kick in the butt near the end of the year that I needed. So, I should be thanking it. I do thank it, all things considered, and hope to continue to win for years to come. However, there's an even bigger milestone.
This is the sixth year that I've done WriYe. WriYe is NaNo on steroids. You write for the entire year, or try to, one this one goal. Mine went from 500,000 to 350,000 because that's the way life goes. But you know what? You still get the same amount of support no matter what you do. You don't get people yelling at you and trying to poke holes in the fact that you can write so much in one day while they're struggling to get a 1,000 words in. And, it is, in the end, something that I will always value more than NaNo. For, while NaNo gives me the one perfect month where the stars are aligned, WriYe shows me that I can write all the other months too.
So, don't feel that you can't be a writer just because you don't have that one perfect month. You can steal the time in other months. You can carve it out of weekends and times where you're on public transportation or even when you're driving. For the last one, I recommend a wireless speaker and some sort of software that will write for you. Do not hand write and drive people. It's up there with the silliness of texting and driving.
Now, for what I began my post with, I'll end with it. Just don't read the book. Go out and write better books. Go out and have a definite ending. It doesn't have to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it has to be better than there being no resolution at all. It has to be better than making the choice that doesn't seem like making a choice in the first place. So, go, be free and write. I'm going to be left here by a book and stew over just how much I really hate it in the end.
So, for the seventh year in a row, I have written 50,000 words in a month. It is a sacred ritual, one that requires months of planning and then replanning and then hoping you've picked the right plot bunny. The wrong ones, as I have discovered in years past, make for horrible experiences. The right ones, as I have discovered since 2008 (jeez, ages ago), make everything bright and sunny and full of rainbows. For, you see, this can only happen one month out of the year, where the stars align and everything is awesome.
If you can't tell, November is also when my sarcasm rises to new heights. Just chuckle and scroll. Just scroll if you don't like the jokes but I can't promise they'll get any better.
Anyways, it doesn't happen just one month out of the year. It's just the one month where everything works out because I've planned for it that way. And, you know what, the entire year could be like that. If I didn't have to edit and finish drafts outside of the one month, but it can be done. Yes, I've done it before, though not in one project, so yes, November is special. November is the one month, out of the entire year, that the focus is just on one project. And that's good, in the end, because it's what's needed. I really doubt that Mystery of the Dark would have gotten a third draft if not for NaNoWriMo this year. It's the kick in the butt near the end of the year that I needed. So, I should be thanking it. I do thank it, all things considered, and hope to continue to win for years to come. However, there's an even bigger milestone.
This is the sixth year that I've done WriYe. WriYe is NaNo on steroids. You write for the entire year, or try to, one this one goal. Mine went from 500,000 to 350,000 because that's the way life goes. But you know what? You still get the same amount of support no matter what you do. You don't get people yelling at you and trying to poke holes in the fact that you can write so much in one day while they're struggling to get a 1,000 words in. And, it is, in the end, something that I will always value more than NaNo. For, while NaNo gives me the one perfect month where the stars are aligned, WriYe shows me that I can write all the other months too.
So, don't feel that you can't be a writer just because you don't have that one perfect month. You can steal the time in other months. You can carve it out of weekends and times where you're on public transportation or even when you're driving. For the last one, I recommend a wireless speaker and some sort of software that will write for you. Do not hand write and drive people. It's up there with the silliness of texting and driving.
Now, for what I began my post with, I'll end with it. Just don't read the book. Go out and write better books. Go out and have a definite ending. It doesn't have to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it has to be better than there being no resolution at all. It has to be better than making the choice that doesn't seem like making a choice in the first place. So, go, be free and write. I'm going to be left here by a book and stew over just how much I really hate it in the end.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
New thoughts, new month - Welcome to September
So, it's the start of a new month, along with the start of a new school year for some, and this seems to be the time of year that I get flooded with plot bunnies. It's like something turns on in my brain with the fall season more than any other season of the year. Sure, I get some with spring and summer, but nothing like with fall. It seems like anything I look at might be a good story.
Case in point, at the library, there's a book about ghost haunting places in Chicago. Wouldn't it be a cool idea to research a story like that and tell it from the ghost's point of view? Or even doing some research and doing a historical fiction novel about the Salem witch trials. Although, I think that one has been done to death but it's an idea. There's also the fact that I keep on reminding myself I want to research more into steampunk, which is not the easiest thing to do. Well, it is if you read the genre, which I do, but otherwise? It's kind of like fantasy; you make it up as you go along and hope that it all meshes in the end, I guess.
In speaking about story ideas, I'm realizing all I have left to do for the year. I have stories that I want to finish up before jumping headfirst into NaNoWriMo with two story ideas - the steampunk one called Sky Pirates and a fantasy one called the Scribe's Daughter - and I'm trying to think on how it's going to get done. Well, no, I know how it's going to get done because you sit your butt in the chair and write. That's the simple answer. I think it's more that I'm feeling overwhelmed and it's best to just take one project at a time. So, here's the projects left and the order they're going to be written in:
~Mages and Sorcerers - Unofficial 3 Day Novel Project
~Hidden Scions - Novel I started writing in August
~Prelude to a Heart - fantasy/romance novel that I started in February. Yikes.
~Mystery of the Dark 3.0 - my dhampir novel that really needs to get going or something. This seems to get written whenever I want to write something that's not the other projects. Lovely.
I could have sworn that I started more this year. Maybe it just feels like more? Or they were short stories here and there instead of novels. Oh well. So, that's the plan - finish what's already started. Also, I'm not allowed to start anything else until November. *laughs* Yeah, we'll see how that goes.
Case in point, at the library, there's a book about ghost haunting places in Chicago. Wouldn't it be a cool idea to research a story like that and tell it from the ghost's point of view? Or even doing some research and doing a historical fiction novel about the Salem witch trials. Although, I think that one has been done to death but it's an idea. There's also the fact that I keep on reminding myself I want to research more into steampunk, which is not the easiest thing to do. Well, it is if you read the genre, which I do, but otherwise? It's kind of like fantasy; you make it up as you go along and hope that it all meshes in the end, I guess.
In speaking about story ideas, I'm realizing all I have left to do for the year. I have stories that I want to finish up before jumping headfirst into NaNoWriMo with two story ideas - the steampunk one called Sky Pirates and a fantasy one called the Scribe's Daughter - and I'm trying to think on how it's going to get done. Well, no, I know how it's going to get done because you sit your butt in the chair and write. That's the simple answer. I think it's more that I'm feeling overwhelmed and it's best to just take one project at a time. So, here's the projects left and the order they're going to be written in:
~Mages and Sorcerers - Unofficial 3 Day Novel Project
~Hidden Scions - Novel I started writing in August
~Prelude to a Heart - fantasy/romance novel that I started in February. Yikes.
~Mystery of the Dark 3.0 - my dhampir novel that really needs to get going or something. This seems to get written whenever I want to write something that's not the other projects. Lovely.
I could have sworn that I started more this year. Maybe it just feels like more? Or they were short stories here and there instead of novels. Oh well. So, that's the plan - finish what's already started. Also, I'm not allowed to start anything else until November. *laughs* Yeah, we'll see how that goes.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Blogging Circle: Character Relationships (February)
Alright, so I kind of forgot February. Oops. So we're going to go back and do the post for that today. And also probably get in March today as well, even though I have other writing things to do. Other writing things that I don't really want to do because I'm here writing blog posts. Also, spring needs to decide if it's here or not already.
So, character relationships. Due to it being February and the month of luv (sometimes twue luv bwings us together to-day), we're going to focus on relationships. Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference in the parenthesis above. So the questions are as follows:
It is not hard for me to create character relationships. I like having characters interact with each other, even on a platonic or romantic level, because it just makes the plot go easier. I think there is nothing that I've written where there wasn't a romantic undertone, which is kind of scary, but I think that goes hand in hand with how much romance is wanted in stories. It is extremely hard to pick up a novel where there isn't some sort of romantic subplot and I should know because I've searched for such a thing. And then I'm a hypocrite because I don't write what I would read. Oops. :) But it's also fun in the end because, sometimes, as I'll explain with the favorite written characters, the plot builds up around the relationship.
So, character relationships. Due to it being February and the month of luv (sometimes twue luv bwings us together to-day), we're going to focus on relationships. Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference in the parenthesis above. So the questions are as follows:
- How hard is it for you to create character relationships?
- Do you pre-plan them or do you end up letting them develop as the novel goes on?
- Have your characters betrayed you and paired up with someone you didn't expect?
- Give us the story of how your favorite written characters got together and what makes their relationship strongest.
It is not hard for me to create character relationships. I like having characters interact with each other, even on a platonic or romantic level, because it just makes the plot go easier. I think there is nothing that I've written where there wasn't a romantic undertone, which is kind of scary, but I think that goes hand in hand with how much romance is wanted in stories. It is extremely hard to pick up a novel where there isn't some sort of romantic subplot and I should know because I've searched for such a thing. And then I'm a hypocrite because I don't write what I would read. Oops. :) But it's also fun in the end because, sometimes, as I'll explain with the favorite written characters, the plot builds up around the relationship.
I pre-plan my relationships because I like to plan everything. I need to know what is going to happen with all the characters or nothing really makes sense. Well, it will make sense, but it's too chaotic in the end. Like the time that I wrote Power without too big of a plan and romance snuck in between the female main character and the rogue of the story. That wasn't supposed to happen, as I was trying to write fantasy without any romance, but eh. It happened and I'll probably keep the relationship whenever I get around to the second draft of that story. Don't ask me when because I really don't know, honestly. That's on a back burner so far away it's in the next zip code. I think that also covers the third question as well, so woot woot. Didn't think I would do that.
So, story time. My favorite written characters, at the moment, are Justinian and Kate. They're from Mystery of the Dark and seem to bring out the snark in each other. It's fun to write them when they first get together because they're not sure how to work - he just wants to be together and she's all "but you're the enemy" - but they get together in the end. She gets used against him and he gets used against her and it's a lot of fun. What makes their relationship strong is that, no matter what, they accept that they might never be on the same side but still love each other. And he's very much of the mind set that she will kill him one day. But there's nobody else who he would let kill him, so it's all good in the end. Yes, he's insane, don't mind him. They're still my favorites of the moment, until I get into Watchers, but I haven't started that yet.
Bam, February done. Now onto March and that post. I'll try to actually write April in April too. :)
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