Writing. Even if we do not use it, it helps us to learn.
Although I saw great success with NaNoWriMo this past November, I will be taking another approach on the same story - effective immediately. I came to realize that I, as the author and creator of this world, was having difficulty in keeping the details corralled in. There was too much going on that had no relation to the progression of the story - mostly background details that could be revealed in a more effective way through different storytelling.
I talked with Dylan, who helped me to decide that a first person Point of View may be a more effective way to tell this particular story. Epicenter was never meant to be very long. It is a prequel to a much larger work, and an origin story for one of that work's dominant characters - the protagonist, Jei Akagi.
Writing how I was, I'd nearly lost her. She was so twisted up in minor details that she was bland, uninteresting. As the subject of a novel in a work of character driven fiction - well...this is a life or death sort of mistake. I needed to fix it before I went too far.
That doesn't mean that everything - all 130 pages of it - was worthless, however. It still serves as an excellent backbone, and source material from which I can draw from. And hell, if it doesn't work out - I still have it ready to go back to.
So far Dylan has told me that the newest attempt flows much better, and is much easier to read. This is good. Now, to keep going. December saw me extremely depressed (a low to go with the high from November, which is worrisome because I could do very little to control it and turn it around), but January has me somewhere in between.
My goal? To write. To break out of the monotony that chains my mind. To learn. To read. To improve. And most of all, to do what I love. That's what this is all about, isn't it?
This has been your half-asleep ramble-fest. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Drifting
A little bit of an update since our last adventure. NaNoWriMo has consumed me, and I am drifting along with the tide. It is a rather good thing that I am naturally buoyant.
I crunched and I scrapped, and I managed to pull in for an early win. Four days early, in fact.
I discovered in this attempt that I was consistently ahead on my word count. I would sometimes double it, especially over weekends, and even towards the end could occasionally take entire days off to kick start my brain without falling behind.
Frankly, I'm exhausted. But is it worth it? Oh, hell yes.
The last push was a bit of a mind-breaker. I wrote 2,000 words on Sunday morning, and slept half of my day away knowing that I had no further obligations to it - at least for the moment. I later awoke and tried to amuse myself with mindless things. That's when I got stubborn. I tried to pick up some of my hobbies - playing video games, watching Netflix...you know, something to help myself relax, and I found that 1.) I felt incredibly lazy for doing it and 2.) I was bored!
I was staring at 47,000 words or so on Epicenter, and thought to myself "Well, let's get three days ahead. That couldn't hurt anything, right?"
And so, refreshed, I plunked out another 1,000 words or so before midnight. And kept going.
Once I reached my goal, I realized, "I only have a day's worth of writing to go. Let's see how far I can take this tonight." While I had to take frequent breaks, I somehow managed, over the course of two hours, to make that final stretch and am now sitting pretty in the Winner's Circle at 50,164 words. In a 24 hour period I had produced over 5,000 words.
Now to some, this is a feat - and to others, a way of life. I have two friends who picked up NaNo mid-month or later and have managed to nearly catch up to me already. This is an incredible display of dedication, and I truly envy them! My 5,000 words left me quite drained.
A little background on me, for the interested. I am thirty years old, and frankly, I've never really been able to "get my shit together" no matter how many times I have tried. I've had to learn - as an unmarried, childless woman in a society that seems to think you need to either be married and have children by thirty, or have a highly successful career, a house, etc in order to be "normal" or "successful" - that success is relative to the individual. If I based my level of success off of those factors alone, I would find myself woefully behind the curve. That is a very depressing way to live.
To me, I like to live by the small successes. Did I manage to get out of the house today and not have an anxiety attack while driving to the grocery store? Hallelujah! You have to celebrate the small victories where you can.
I have always wrestled with some form of anxiety, and coupled with having an introverted energy management style - functioning in society is difficult at best and nearly crippling at worst. I have always been lucky to have amazing friends to help me battle this, but handling things on my own is definitely a chore. As of yet, I haven't had the courage to talk to a medical professional about it, but I believe that it has prevented me from really seizing my full potential.
Over the years, my anxiety and my addiction to work (because I can't see it as anything else) have consumed nearly everything about my life. I have alienated friends and been sometimes cruel to loved ones, all because I allowed my stress level to get out of control. You see, for the past ten years I have worked in the service industry - generally as a front line customer service rep. For someone who has anxiety issues, this is hell on the mind. In my free time from work I came to prefer more mind-numbing activities to the mind provoking, and my writing - except for during the month of November - fell completely to the wayside.
I have been lucky enough recently to find a wonderful company to work for, and that has helped me enormously in all aspects of my life. They have recently given me an opportunity to break new ground with them in a hybrid customer service and marketing position. While this puts me out of my comfort zone, this is a CREATIVE position, and I am very excited about it. I may be able to write - professionally! - and I will actually be using my brain. This is something that I have needed for a very long time.
After all, Customer Service is really the same no matter where you work. In most cases it is a series mindless micro transactions or handling customer complaints. While the confrontation involved with the latter part does help to stimulate the brain (problem solving skills, anyone?), it also adds the stress of often dealing with angry people. Yikes.
So yes - 5,000 words in a single day is a huge feat for me because my brain just gets TIRED lately. I may even need a nap after writing this blog from all of the effort! But the fact is - I did it! I wrote my 50,000 words, and I am well on the way to actually finishing a novel!
50,000 words is only the beginning. In my earlier posts I described my novel, and for those that may remember (or would care to look back to the previous blog posts - don't be shy! I don't have many so you won't get lost, I promise!) my protagonist was in need of recruiting a team to start her revolution. Well, at 50,000 words - she just recruited her last member.
I have a ways to go yet to finish my story. I get the feeling that I will need to do a heavy amount of editing on this book, and while that is a bit daunting to think about - nothing is gained by becoming overwhelmed by it. Once I take a little bit of a recharge break (and only a little one!), I will be pushing forward to the finish. My goal is to finish the first draft of my novel by January 1. Then I will begin the editing process, to be completed by the end of March with a second draft.
Because real writers work on deadlines, and that is what I am going to do. I cannot explain my transformation, just that I have been transformed. And it is wonderful.
Thank you readers for letting me ramble at you. Whatever you get out of this post, know this. YOU CAN DO IT! There is nothing in the world that can hold you back from something that you REALLY want.
And what I really want right now is a nap. Whew!
I crunched and I scrapped, and I managed to pull in for an early win. Four days early, in fact.
I discovered in this attempt that I was consistently ahead on my word count. I would sometimes double it, especially over weekends, and even towards the end could occasionally take entire days off to kick start my brain without falling behind.
Frankly, I'm exhausted. But is it worth it? Oh, hell yes.
The last push was a bit of a mind-breaker. I wrote 2,000 words on Sunday morning, and slept half of my day away knowing that I had no further obligations to it - at least for the moment. I later awoke and tried to amuse myself with mindless things. That's when I got stubborn. I tried to pick up some of my hobbies - playing video games, watching Netflix...you know, something to help myself relax, and I found that 1.) I felt incredibly lazy for doing it and 2.) I was bored!
I was staring at 47,000 words or so on Epicenter, and thought to myself "Well, let's get three days ahead. That couldn't hurt anything, right?"
And so, refreshed, I plunked out another 1,000 words or so before midnight. And kept going.
Once I reached my goal, I realized, "I only have a day's worth of writing to go. Let's see how far I can take this tonight." While I had to take frequent breaks, I somehow managed, over the course of two hours, to make that final stretch and am now sitting pretty in the Winner's Circle at 50,164 words. In a 24 hour period I had produced over 5,000 words.
Now to some, this is a feat - and to others, a way of life. I have two friends who picked up NaNo mid-month or later and have managed to nearly catch up to me already. This is an incredible display of dedication, and I truly envy them! My 5,000 words left me quite drained.
A little background on me, for the interested. I am thirty years old, and frankly, I've never really been able to "get my shit together" no matter how many times I have tried. I've had to learn - as an unmarried, childless woman in a society that seems to think you need to either be married and have children by thirty, or have a highly successful career, a house, etc in order to be "normal" or "successful" - that success is relative to the individual. If I based my level of success off of those factors alone, I would find myself woefully behind the curve. That is a very depressing way to live.
To me, I like to live by the small successes. Did I manage to get out of the house today and not have an anxiety attack while driving to the grocery store? Hallelujah! You have to celebrate the small victories where you can.
I have always wrestled with some form of anxiety, and coupled with having an introverted energy management style - functioning in society is difficult at best and nearly crippling at worst. I have always been lucky to have amazing friends to help me battle this, but handling things on my own is definitely a chore. As of yet, I haven't had the courage to talk to a medical professional about it, but I believe that it has prevented me from really seizing my full potential.
Over the years, my anxiety and my addiction to work (because I can't see it as anything else) have consumed nearly everything about my life. I have alienated friends and been sometimes cruel to loved ones, all because I allowed my stress level to get out of control. You see, for the past ten years I have worked in the service industry - generally as a front line customer service rep. For someone who has anxiety issues, this is hell on the mind. In my free time from work I came to prefer more mind-numbing activities to the mind provoking, and my writing - except for during the month of November - fell completely to the wayside.
I have been lucky enough recently to find a wonderful company to work for, and that has helped me enormously in all aspects of my life. They have recently given me an opportunity to break new ground with them in a hybrid customer service and marketing position. While this puts me out of my comfort zone, this is a CREATIVE position, and I am very excited about it. I may be able to write - professionally! - and I will actually be using my brain. This is something that I have needed for a very long time.
After all, Customer Service is really the same no matter where you work. In most cases it is a series mindless micro transactions or handling customer complaints. While the confrontation involved with the latter part does help to stimulate the brain (problem solving skills, anyone?), it also adds the stress of often dealing with angry people. Yikes.
So yes - 5,000 words in a single day is a huge feat for me because my brain just gets TIRED lately. I may even need a nap after writing this blog from all of the effort! But the fact is - I did it! I wrote my 50,000 words, and I am well on the way to actually finishing a novel!
50,000 words is only the beginning. In my earlier posts I described my novel, and for those that may remember (or would care to look back to the previous blog posts - don't be shy! I don't have many so you won't get lost, I promise!) my protagonist was in need of recruiting a team to start her revolution. Well, at 50,000 words - she just recruited her last member.
I have a ways to go yet to finish my story. I get the feeling that I will need to do a heavy amount of editing on this book, and while that is a bit daunting to think about - nothing is gained by becoming overwhelmed by it. Once I take a little bit of a recharge break (and only a little one!), I will be pushing forward to the finish. My goal is to finish the first draft of my novel by January 1. Then I will begin the editing process, to be completed by the end of March with a second draft.
Because real writers work on deadlines, and that is what I am going to do. I cannot explain my transformation, just that I have been transformed. And it is wonderful.
Thank you readers for letting me ramble at you. Whatever you get out of this post, know this. YOU CAN DO IT! There is nothing in the world that can hold you back from something that you REALLY want.
And what I really want right now is a nap. Whew!
Monday, November 11, 2013
At this moment, I am completely overwhelmed by NaNoWriMo.
Not in the way most would think. I'm three days ahead on my word count, and have hardly scratched the surface of my story. But here's the thing - The flood gates are open. I'm feeling so warm inside that I can hardly handle it. And it. Is. Wonderful.
The realization hit me last night when I was looking on Pinterest for pictures of Tattoos rather than working on my writing. I was doing some text roleplay with Dylan - my beau and one of my biggest inspirations - and poking at my word count here and there. I was a bit discouraged, because the scene just wasn't talking to me. But I was done for the day, so anything I added at that point was bonus.
(Or as you would call it..."bonus turtle meat". If you haven't seen 30 Rock, you really must :P)
http://www.hark.com/clips/wsxhdkspdh-bonus-turtle-meat
But then I found this picture, and for some reason it was so earth-shattering that I decided that I was 100% head over heels in love. With the picture. With my writing. With the concept of writing in general.
Now, this might not seem monumental to most - but just LOOK at how sexy this is! And then, realize that I had an immediate association with this image and a character that I had never met before until this adventure had begun. Jei's husband, the antagonist Daryl Trenholm, was here IN THIS PICTURE. And suddenly the thoughts began to flood in. Questions left unanswered, even after countless character questionnaires and mental puzzlings, slapped me in the face and left me stunned. And I seem to be a masochist, because I loved it.
I realized last night that I could easily do this every day for the rest of my life, so long as the ideas kept flowing from my head. That I didn't have to stay stuck within the confines that my own mind has created through all of these years. I have hurt, and I have allowed myself to be broken - all for the sake of a paycheck. My creativity felt as though it had drained from me almost completely, and it had broken my heart. But now I want nothing else in the world but this.
And I have three people to thank for this. All three of them have been such a vital contribution to restoring my inspiration that I don't know where I would be without them. So I want to thank them, publicly, for all they have done. These words just aren't enough.
My dearest love, Dylan Deatherage. You inspire me to be a better person, not just a better writer. It may sound cliche, but I would do anything and everything to give us a better chance for the future, to help us - in our deep anxiety, to find a place in this world that isn't tailored to our kind. I would do anything that I could to help us be happy, and so one day you and I can have our secluded home, filled with happy dogs and mountains of books - many of them of our making. The books, of course - not the dogs. Other dogs make those.
My best friend, Chris Vieth. Your patience and understanding is a light in a dark world. And even though you don't like dogs, that's okay. You've helped give life to characters and ideas that were flatter than the Pre-Columbian Worldview, and given me feedback that I have desperately needed. Sometimes things make sense in my head, and don't on paper - and you won't coddle me when this happens. You're one of the best sets of eyes that I have, and one of the most honest. Though I can be a sensitive whiner-baby at times, you simply don't give a shit. I need that. So thank you.
And friend and fellow author, Serena Gulledge. Your book, Renegade, is sitting on my bookshelf as a testament to the hard work and dedication it takes to truly be an author. It is the first, but not the last, of a long line of work that you will create through your life, and I am so lucky to know you and have you as a friend. Our back and forth over facebook, relating the woes of characters gone terribly right, helps to keep me moving forward. May we never stop writing, and always keep inspiring one another!
And so, on that note, I run off into the day to continue my life's work.
Continue ever onward, but take the time to appreciate everything that you have left behind. For good or for ill, it has made you into the person that you are today. And that's pretty wonderful.
Not in the way most would think. I'm three days ahead on my word count, and have hardly scratched the surface of my story. But here's the thing - The flood gates are open. I'm feeling so warm inside that I can hardly handle it. And it. Is. Wonderful.
(Or as you would call it..."bonus turtle meat". If you haven't seen 30 Rock, you really must :P)
http://www.hark.com/clips/wsxhdkspdh-bonus-turtle-meat
But then I found this picture, and for some reason it was so earth-shattering that I decided that I was 100% head over heels in love. With the picture. With my writing. With the concept of writing in general.
Now, this might not seem monumental to most - but just LOOK at how sexy this is! And then, realize that I had an immediate association with this image and a character that I had never met before until this adventure had begun. Jei's husband, the antagonist Daryl Trenholm, was here IN THIS PICTURE. And suddenly the thoughts began to flood in. Questions left unanswered, even after countless character questionnaires and mental puzzlings, slapped me in the face and left me stunned. And I seem to be a masochist, because I loved it.
I realized last night that I could easily do this every day for the rest of my life, so long as the ideas kept flowing from my head. That I didn't have to stay stuck within the confines that my own mind has created through all of these years. I have hurt, and I have allowed myself to be broken - all for the sake of a paycheck. My creativity felt as though it had drained from me almost completely, and it had broken my heart. But now I want nothing else in the world but this.
And I have three people to thank for this. All three of them have been such a vital contribution to restoring my inspiration that I don't know where I would be without them. So I want to thank them, publicly, for all they have done. These words just aren't enough.
My dearest love, Dylan Deatherage. You inspire me to be a better person, not just a better writer. It may sound cliche, but I would do anything and everything to give us a better chance for the future, to help us - in our deep anxiety, to find a place in this world that isn't tailored to our kind. I would do anything that I could to help us be happy, and so one day you and I can have our secluded home, filled with happy dogs and mountains of books - many of them of our making. The books, of course - not the dogs. Other dogs make those.
My best friend, Chris Vieth. Your patience and understanding is a light in a dark world. And even though you don't like dogs, that's okay. You've helped give life to characters and ideas that were flatter than the Pre-Columbian Worldview, and given me feedback that I have desperately needed. Sometimes things make sense in my head, and don't on paper - and you won't coddle me when this happens. You're one of the best sets of eyes that I have, and one of the most honest. Though I can be a sensitive whiner-baby at times, you simply don't give a shit. I need that. So thank you.
And friend and fellow author, Serena Gulledge. Your book, Renegade, is sitting on my bookshelf as a testament to the hard work and dedication it takes to truly be an author. It is the first, but not the last, of a long line of work that you will create through your life, and I am so lucky to know you and have you as a friend. Our back and forth over facebook, relating the woes of characters gone terribly right, helps to keep me moving forward. May we never stop writing, and always keep inspiring one another!
And so, on that note, I run off into the day to continue my life's work.
Continue ever onward, but take the time to appreciate everything that you have left behind. For good or for ill, it has made you into the person that you are today. And that's pretty wonderful.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
It is difficult to be determined when your brain is fried!
Yikes, it was hot out today. That's one thing that I just can't accept about Northern California. Many homes around here just don't have AC units. On days like today - a beautiful Saturday, it got to be about 92 degrees. So, I tried to do what I could before my brains started broiling, but wasn't able to do much until after sundown. I just played video games and things. (Did you know? I haven't played Uncharted, but now I have! O! Adventure!)
Anyway, that isn't really what I was here to ramble about. I have done some of my homework for Epicenter today, using Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method (found here!) This is the first time I am using said method, considering that my past attempts have all been unstructured ramblings until now. I love to write, but most often I write whatever scene comes into my head without rhyme or reason. This does not work very well for novelling. Short stories? Sure! But not for something as immense and structured as a novel. This process promises to give me the structure that I need to simply write when the time comes - and will help me crank out a COMPLETE first draft.
That's what is most exciting to me. The prospect of actually FINISHING a novel. This story is very near and dear to my heart. It has been a part of me almost half of my life. It deserves every bit of my effort to be successful. I am not sure if it is sad to admit that I have devoted more time to Epicenter of late than my studies. Work unfortunately just takes up time that I can better spend working on my novel or my school work, but alas ....I do need to make a living.
I have completed the first two steps in the Snowflake Method today and wanted to share my thoughts on the process.
1.) The single sentence summary. This is MUCH harder than you would think. Try condensing everything that happens in your story into a sentence. It's like trying to explain your life to someone in the same length. Possible, but not something you can just pull off of the top of your head. I'm pleased to say that after several attempts I was successful, and found something that I thought might be a passable summary if ever tacked onto the NYT Bestseller list.
A young woman suddenly becomes the leader of a misfit band of revolutionaries when her husband betrays their country in a violent coup d’état.
Hell, I like it. It may not be the most riveting thing I have ever written, but it certainly gets the point across.
This, in a nutshell, is what my story is about.
2.) The paragraph summary. I had a much more difficult time with this. It is meant to be a full summary, ups-and-downs, beginning and end included. When I first wrote it, it became the dust-jacket/back cover synopsis instead.While this is nice, it doesn't achieve the intended end. I wrote another and kept them both. One met the criteria for the assignment, and the other worked as a bit of a teaser that I can still use. I can only share one of these, as it is intended for "internal use only", and contains more spoilers than I would care to explain. The other, however, might be something you'd see on my Amazon.com listing:
In the constant battle for the planet’s limited resources, governments and corporations have become dependent upon criminal syndicates in order to survive. In this delicate relationship, those perceived to be in power have little control over the people that they govern, or the companies that they run. When the nation of Furnarl is violently overthrown by the overzealous Elias “The Hammer” Jinzan, the shockwaves are felt throughout the world. One woman, Jei Akagi, is pinned as an accomplice when her husband is discovered to have participated in the insurrection. Guiltless, but furious in her betrayal, she is presented with an opportunity to lead a misfit band of revolutionaries and restore power to her government. But how can an innocent woman barely older than a girl gain support of the people who see her as a terrorist? Is it she, or her mysterious benefactor, that holds the reigns? And will her emotions and lack of experience cripple her when the situation becomes dire?
Admittedly, neither of these samples are perfect. That is the beauty of this process. I will whittle away at it until I am satisfied...or at least satisfied enough. And that is okay. I am happy with what I have accomplished today.
Whew...well. I burnt myself out again while blogging. Until next time, readers! Have a great weekend!
Anyway, that isn't really what I was here to ramble about. I have done some of my homework for Epicenter today, using Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method (found here!) This is the first time I am using said method, considering that my past attempts have all been unstructured ramblings until now. I love to write, but most often I write whatever scene comes into my head without rhyme or reason. This does not work very well for novelling. Short stories? Sure! But not for something as immense and structured as a novel. This process promises to give me the structure that I need to simply write when the time comes - and will help me crank out a COMPLETE first draft.
That's what is most exciting to me. The prospect of actually FINISHING a novel. This story is very near and dear to my heart. It has been a part of me almost half of my life. It deserves every bit of my effort to be successful. I am not sure if it is sad to admit that I have devoted more time to Epicenter of late than my studies. Work unfortunately just takes up time that I can better spend working on my novel or my school work, but alas ....I do need to make a living.
I have completed the first two steps in the Snowflake Method today and wanted to share my thoughts on the process.
1.) The single sentence summary. This is MUCH harder than you would think. Try condensing everything that happens in your story into a sentence. It's like trying to explain your life to someone in the same length. Possible, but not something you can just pull off of the top of your head. I'm pleased to say that after several attempts I was successful, and found something that I thought might be a passable summary if ever tacked onto the NYT Bestseller list.
A young woman suddenly becomes the leader of a misfit band of revolutionaries when her husband betrays their country in a violent coup d’état.
Hell, I like it. It may not be the most riveting thing I have ever written, but it certainly gets the point across.
This, in a nutshell, is what my story is about.
2.) The paragraph summary. I had a much more difficult time with this. It is meant to be a full summary, ups-and-downs, beginning and end included. When I first wrote it, it became the dust-jacket/back cover synopsis instead.While this is nice, it doesn't achieve the intended end. I wrote another and kept them both. One met the criteria for the assignment, and the other worked as a bit of a teaser that I can still use. I can only share one of these, as it is intended for "internal use only", and contains more spoilers than I would care to explain. The other, however, might be something you'd see on my Amazon.com listing:
In the constant battle for the planet’s limited resources, governments and corporations have become dependent upon criminal syndicates in order to survive. In this delicate relationship, those perceived to be in power have little control over the people that they govern, or the companies that they run. When the nation of Furnarl is violently overthrown by the overzealous Elias “The Hammer” Jinzan, the shockwaves are felt throughout the world. One woman, Jei Akagi, is pinned as an accomplice when her husband is discovered to have participated in the insurrection. Guiltless, but furious in her betrayal, she is presented with an opportunity to lead a misfit band of revolutionaries and restore power to her government. But how can an innocent woman barely older than a girl gain support of the people who see her as a terrorist? Is it she, or her mysterious benefactor, that holds the reigns? And will her emotions and lack of experience cripple her when the situation becomes dire?
Admittedly, neither of these samples are perfect. That is the beauty of this process. I will whittle away at it until I am satisfied...or at least satisfied enough. And that is okay. I am happy with what I have accomplished today.
Whew...well. I burnt myself out again while blogging. Until next time, readers! Have a great weekend!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Well...
Let me put it this way, I suppose.
My name is Kathy. I fancy myself a writer. This blog will chronicle my adventures in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2013. I have participated - and won - the past two years in a row - but want to take a serious crack at this year's novel. Why now, and not before?
That's a good question. I suppose that I was equally serious each time prior - but in different ways.
The first attempt was to prove to myself that I could do it: that I really could write 50,000 words in a month. Call of Ghosts, my first novel attempt - is an in progress work set in the broken mind of a female veteran. This was a particularly hard piece to start with, and will require a lot of work to be done the way it needs to be. However, it gave me some valuable insight into my creative process.When I am ready, I will revisit Dee Tannon and her broken psyche.
Novillero, my second attempt - is an adventure in the Weird West starring Milos Vega and his travelling troupe of minotaur. He is, after all, a torrero - or bullfighter. This one was a neat idea that incorporated a lot of fantasy elements. Unfortunately I did not research this one enough prior to writing it and created a mess. The sad truth was that I had let myself become distracted with a full time work and school schedule, and nearly decided not to participate at all when November came around. Somehow I managed to pull through, but it was an incredibly painful process that I do not want to repeat.
This year I will be revisiting a story idea that has long been in my mind, but never written. I am in a much better place in my life - with a flexible work and school schedule and a lot of support - to give this the time and preparation that it rightfully deserves. This novel will be named Epicenter, as it is the center - the beginning - of the events in the trilogy that is to follow. This story, ALL of it, has been my passion for 15 years or more. It is time to finally pull it out of my head - to create, and to share it with everyone.
So here I am, wearing my heart on my sleeve and blogging like I have never blogged before. (To be fair, I don't think I've blogged before. Hah!) I hope to share my journey with anyone who will be there to read, and perhaps inspire others on the way.
That's what this is all about, isn't it?
Let me put it this way, I suppose.
My name is Kathy. I fancy myself a writer. This blog will chronicle my adventures in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2013. I have participated - and won - the past two years in a row - but want to take a serious crack at this year's novel. Why now, and not before?
That's a good question. I suppose that I was equally serious each time prior - but in different ways.
The first attempt was to prove to myself that I could do it: that I really could write 50,000 words in a month. Call of Ghosts, my first novel attempt - is an in progress work set in the broken mind of a female veteran. This was a particularly hard piece to start with, and will require a lot of work to be done the way it needs to be. However, it gave me some valuable insight into my creative process.When I am ready, I will revisit Dee Tannon and her broken psyche.
Novillero, my second attempt - is an adventure in the Weird West starring Milos Vega and his travelling troupe of minotaur. He is, after all, a torrero - or bullfighter. This one was a neat idea that incorporated a lot of fantasy elements. Unfortunately I did not research this one enough prior to writing it and created a mess. The sad truth was that I had let myself become distracted with a full time work and school schedule, and nearly decided not to participate at all when November came around. Somehow I managed to pull through, but it was an incredibly painful process that I do not want to repeat.
This year I will be revisiting a story idea that has long been in my mind, but never written. I am in a much better place in my life - with a flexible work and school schedule and a lot of support - to give this the time and preparation that it rightfully deserves. This novel will be named Epicenter, as it is the center - the beginning - of the events in the trilogy that is to follow. This story, ALL of it, has been my passion for 15 years or more. It is time to finally pull it out of my head - to create, and to share it with everyone.
So here I am, wearing my heart on my sleeve and blogging like I have never blogged before. (To be fair, I don't think I've blogged before. Hah!) I hope to share my journey with anyone who will be there to read, and perhaps inspire others on the way.
That's what this is all about, isn't it?
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