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!

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?