6.22.2011

This morning around 3AM I sat bolt right up in bed with a fully-formed novel idea in my head. It's been awhile since that happened. It's actually a continuation/sequel to my 2008 NaNo. Same characters but instead of WWII Paris, it will be post-WWII New York. I thought I had that story buttoned up well, but this idea is so much better. Infinitely better. I said a quick thank you to Lord and then grabbed the laptop and pecked out notes. I made the decision not to wait until NaNoWriMo in November, thinking that it's better to get it out right now while it's still fresh. So, being in full research-mode, I popped over the NaNoWriMo site to look at their forums (which are always inspiring and sometimes helpful) and the whole site is buzzing about.... CAMP NaNo. Basically, NaNoWriMo in July instead of November. How's that for timing? I have 8 days to plan and prepare and buy candy. I'm so excited!

11.7.2010

One week of NaNoWriMo has passed and I am woefully behind. What that means is that I may not be blogging very much for the remainder of November. It also means I need to be better about the care and feeding of Modo (my resident plot bunny).


Did I mention that D is participating along with me? Well, kinda. He's doing NaMuWriMo. He's orchestrating a piece of music for church, by request, and doing some transposing for the brass quintet. Maybe before the month is out he'll have time to write another song for moi...

10.11.2010

The last few weeks I have given considerable thought as to whether I would participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I've done it three times and have loved it every time and also thoroughly enjoyed the companionship of my writing buddies. It wasn't that I didn't have any ideas, for I do have plenty, but that I would not reach my reading goal of 100 books if I took off a month to write. I made a commitment to read those books all the way back in January and it seemed wrong of me to renege on that just to do something "more fun".

So I told my NaNo-buddies that I was bowing out this year and there was an immediate outcry, which made me feel wonderful and awful at the same time. I went back to my list of challenge books and reviewed them, wondering if there was any way I could do it all. I found Librivox.org, which offers free audio-books for download and worked as many as I could into my challenge. I figured if I can listen to books while I'm at work then I will still have time to write during the evenings. I've already done two books that way and it's working well for me. I have 12 books left in my challenge and I should easily be able to read or listen to those before December 31st.

So I made the official decision to become a fourth-year and joined the ranks of those fully in the grip of NaNo-fever. I've already lost two nights of sleep because my busy-busy brain is plotting and sounding out dialogue and finding ways to kill off the lesser-villain. I'm going to do a fantasy this time, something D might like to read. I can't wait for November!

11.29.2009

50,082 words and a whole day to spare!! Whew! This year was tougher than the others.


And now, I'm going to eat my reward (yes, of course my reward is edible) and then probably a quick bath before bed.

11.22.2009

With all the gloomy clouds and rain it certainly felt like November today. After lunch D and I ran some errands. I intended to write as soon as we came home but I came down with a headache, so I laid down on the couch for a little while and napped with Feni. Woke up feeling fabulous - I should nap more often! Tonight D and I made our sweet potato fries for tomorrow's Thanksgiving luncheon at work. We made two varieties - sweet and spicy. This is our 'dry run'. We're hoping to take the same to the family meal on Thursday.

Wrote 5K words today, so I think it classifies as a good writing day! Perhaps the best one I've had this month. And for the first time, I'm actually ahead of where I should be, which is an awesome feeling. I'm not sure what made today different. Something just clicked. Nothing big happened in the story, I just wrote a lot of description and point-of-view. Perhaps I was just out of practice and it's taken me a few weeks to get back into the groove. I've made a promise to myself (yet again) that I will write more, year round.

11.18.2009

Been up since around 3:30 this morning. It's probably the Sudafed making me so restless, but it could be NaNoWriMo too. I woke up with Jack in my head, telling me a bit of amusing backstory about a Canadian Mountie named Gabriel. So I worked it into the roadtrip scene and it added about a thousand words to my total. I'm hoping I can get to 30K tonight. Especially if I do another word war with Storeetllr.

11.16.2009

Didn't get but about two hours of rest last night. I still have an ear ache. D does too. Like an ice pick to the head. It's very annoying. Especially so because it was a beautiful day. Somehow if the weather is bad and I feel bad, I don't mind as much. But this afternoon was so gorgeous. I almost wanted to swing around in circles like Julie Andrews on that mountainside. Only I was in an asphalt parking lot at work. It kind of kills the mood. Today was day#1 without the boss. He won't be back until after Thanksgiving. I can only hope to retain my sanity.

In NaNoWriMo news....
I caught up to and passed elbakerone's word count just as she challenged me to do! I didn't think it was possible at the time and I harbor no delusions - she'll pile it on later tonight and leave me in the dust. So I'm throwing my victory party now. Sometimes you have to celebrate the little things.
Mom asked if 'Lis' was pronounced like 'Liz' and it is. Lis doesn't like to spell it 'Liz' because everyone assumes she is an Elizabeth and she's not. Lis is short for Alison and it's also for her alter-ego, Melissa. I'm considering changing it to Liz anyway. Not so much because more than person has asked me about it, but because spellchecker keeps trying to change it to 'Lisp'. And that is just intolerable.

11.15.2009

Finally bought myself a new pair of trainers. They were on sale at Kohl's and I had a $10 coupon, so they were a steal! And since the swoosh is teal, they automatically match everything in my wardrobe!

It was such a beautiful day and so warm outside. D and I decided to break-in my shoes and go for a walk in the neighborhood. D took me down the road where he sometimes sees ducks when he rides his bike. There's a nice little farm there. The owner was outside. He waved to us, we waved back and then he waved us over. So then he showed us his barn, his ducks and geese and his farm pond. He's got a beautiful little parcel of land. It's not that often you find such friendly and open people these days, who just invite folks in off the street. And he told us to come over anytime we care to. I wanted to pet the horses, but didn't. I did however, give some love to the cat who came over to say hello. D says he needs to get some fishing gear! So it was a delightful walk, we really enjoyed it.

Another ear ache today. I hate being on Sudafed, it interferes with my sleep, but when the seasons change it becomes a necessary evil.

In NaNoWriMo news...
I've been word waring with Storeetllr off and on all day long. She actually beat me at 3PM. We're going again at 6PM. It's been great for my word count but for the most part, I'm writing drivel. Just one of those days. I did enjoy writing the scene where Jack kisses Lis, it's one of my favorite scenes. I didn't get it completed in the 30 minute block so I'll have to go back and finish it. Of course D volunteered to inspire me, should I need it. He's so supportive.

11.12.2009

In NaNoWriMo news...

I've been trying to get a grip on Hezekiah, my bomber. I was looking on Wikipedia trying to figure out if I should make him a paranoid megalomanic or not and I've decided not. Then I thought maybe I'd throw in some glossolalia but I don't know how I would write it. So for kicks and giggles I looked up the biblical Hezekiah. And it turns out that he dug a tunnel! Which blew my mind. Because my Hezekiah exits the cabin through a tunnel, that goes under the field he has booby-trapped. I got chills when I saw the picture.

So I was thinking about Hezekiah's standoff with Jack. And one of the problems was the dog attack. Initially I had Lis hit Hezekiah in his gunshot wound until he called off Daisy. But now I've decided Hezekiah wouldn't give up that easy. He wouldn't. So, Daisy's going to have to be put down. Sam's going to do it. And poor Jack. It's not just going to be a torn brachial artery. No, I'm afraid that Daisy breaks his arm. It's already weak from where he broke it back in high school playing football. I'm so cruel to Jack. But, he gets the girl in the end, so it all evens out.

I've been putting off the hospital scene and today I figured out why. I just couldn't get Lis there because she isn't injured. And if she doesn't want to talk to Jack or Sam, there'd be no reason for her to visit. It finally occurred to me to have The Talk in an ambulance at the scene. And viola! It flows really well. I especially enjoyed when Sam pushed Lis through the doors of the bus. Nobody says no to Sam! But, there's not a lot of time for gabbing, since they do need to get that tourniquet off Jack's arm. So the meat of the conversation will take place at the cemetery. Before I can write Kyle's funeral though, I have to figure out his mom and dad's names. I hate figuring out the names, it makes me feel so stupid.

11.11.2009

The "NaNo workshop" has been a success! My word count is exactly where it needs to be. And I'm less than a thousand words behind elbakerone. I'm beginning to think I can catch her.
The last two days have taught me a few things about myself. First off, I never knew I was so competitive. But now I do and I can use that. RidgewayGirl and I conducted three thirty-minute word wars. I've never done them before and now I know why so many Wrimos do them. My word counts were 1189, 1409 and 1294. RG didn't break 800 for any of them, but she improved her count each time. We're going to continue the wars as frequently as we can.
Secondly, the word wars helped me break out of "edit mode". Previously when I was writing, I would correct punctuation and spelling, rewrite and sometimes even delete sentences (a huge no-no). But I couldn't stop myself. All of that editing takes time and it was reflected in my low word counts. In word wars I knew I had to just type as fast as I could. I didn't stop at all and I hardly even thought about what I was doing. So, it's not as high quality as what I was doing before. And it will need a lot of editing. I probably will do NaNoEdMo in March.
But what I really find fascinating is the things that my mind came up with when I wasn't slowly plotting it out. Amy became a blackmailer. Which means none of my women are angels. Hezekiah laced the field behind the cabin with IEDs. He is a bomber after all, why didn't I think of it before? So in effect, the SWAT team is contained while he makes a run for it. So much drama! I also did Kyle's death scene. Luckily I was writing quickly so it wasn't too painful for either of us. And Jack saw the ocean for the first time. Not bad for 90 minutes of writing.
RG helped me out with Quebec. I'm so fortunate I can ask her about all the Canada stuff. Later she's going to help me with Jack's French. Now if I can just help her out with her red herring.

11.9.2009

Got my flu shot at work today. The way they line us up at a table in the canteen always makes me feel like we're cattle. I bled more than usual. The nurse made some remark about aspirin but the only thing I'm on is a multivitamin. The needle must have hit a capillary or something.

My boss informed me today that after this week, he is taking two weeks off. One week is an unpaid furlough required of the salaried force and the second week is just vacation. I had been thinking about when to use my remaining vacation days, so after talking it over with him, we agreed that I should take tomorrow off. I also have Veteran's Day off so I don't have to be back at work until Thursday!

After my date with D tonight, I am strictly focusing on my work-in-process for those 48 hours. My friend elbakerone, who has been my writing-buddy for all three NaNoWriMos, threw down the gauntlet today. She currently has 14K words and she's challenged me to pass her by the end of the week. She's not going to stop writing, so to do that, I've got to add over 5000 words and the daily 1667. That's the minimum. She might do more.

It was pretty quiet at my desk this afternoon. I was listening to my novel's soundtrack and it occurred to me to send Jack and Lis on a road trip together. That has never been in the plan anywhere. It's going to piss off Kyle. A lot. But I told myself I could care less if Kyle is happy. It's not like I have to please him, he's dead in a few more chapters. And then I wondered when did I become so callous, so snarky, towards Kyle? Maybe it's because I love Jack so much. Or maybe I'm intentionally being evil to Kyle so that it's easier to kill him off. There's no way I can let him survive, his death is an integral part of my morality tale. Somehow I have to love Kyle or else he'll be cardboard when I write him. Sure, he funded domestic terrorism but the poor guy was grieving! I can learn to like him again. I have other villains to hate. But Jack and Lis are still going on that trip! I love this phase of writing. When you don't have to plan every single little action. When the characters tell you what happens next. It's magic.

11.4.2009

Today I met RidgewayGirl for lunch so we could encourage each other on our NaNo works-in-progress. We had so much fun! I filled her in on my right-wing-extremist bombers and she regaled me with info on her serial killer. I hope there were no undercover agents in Atlanta Bread Company because if there were, we probably have wire taps on us by now!

I started writing the interrogation scene last night. I got up at 5AM this morning and wrote some more and I'm still writing on it this evening! It's a big scene with a couple of important reveals. I don't quite have it right, but the bare bones are there. Sam was too easy on Lis and she wasn't a hard enough nut to crack. Draft number two will be better. But this is NaNoWriMo and no revisions are allowed! So onward we go... hope to hit 5000 words tonight!

11.2.2009

In NaNoWriMo news.... Continuity is kicking my butt.
Earlier today I couldn't remember the color of Sam's eyes. I haven't written about Sam since 2007, so it's been awhile. I was positive they weren't green. So tonight when I got home, I dusted off my 2007 NaNo. And guess what? Yep. Sam has green eyes. Now I was in trouble. Now I had proof that I couldn't remember my character accurately, so I had to read the whole thing and find out what else I had gotten incorrect. Well, it turned out to be a pretty hefty surprise after all. It has to do with Jack, Sam's cousin, who is the focus of this year's NaNo. In my planning of Jack's backstory, I orphaned the boy and sent him to live with Sam and his parents. But tonight when I reread my earlier work, I discovered that Sam didn't live with his parents. Sam has a little domestic tragedy of his own. His mother is dead. His father is a struggling alcoholic and so Sam lived with his uncle. His uncle. It couldn't have been Jack's father because he's dead. So... now I have to retcon in another uncle. The family tree grows...
Jack's been giving me trouble too. He's an undercover agent and the people he and Sam are investigating know him as Tom. So he's called different names depending on which character is speaking. I'm not doing so hot at keeping it all straight. But it's only day 2. I just have to reread extra closely and make sure I haven't lapsed into the wrong persona.
I had a really good time reading my 2007 NaNo. I'm considering participating in NaNoEdMo next year and do a second draft of it.

11.1.2009

D is 35 years old today! I love this time of year because I get to tease the old man for about six weeks until I catch up to him. LRL and BBL came to FBC this morning and then they treated us to to lunch at Sonny's BBQ. You have to keep the traditions, right? It was very tasty and we had a great time together. We let it slip that there was a Birthday Boy in our midst and so all the ladies came to serenade D and they presented him with a brownie a la mode. Usually he gives me the cherry but today he fed me a piece of brownie and whip cream. Darn.


In NaNoWriMo news... I now know the ages of my main characters. I finally sat down with a calculator and my notes and worked in all the real life perimeters that I had selected (Columbine, Jack Unterweger). Alison is 22, Sam is 27, Kyle and Jack are both 28. That surprised me, I did not expect those two to be the same age. I might alter it slightly but it will do for a working timeline. So, they were all born in the 80s. Interesting...

10.31.2009

D and I worked on the bathroom all day. And I mean all day. We were priming at 1AM! We managed to catch some sleep and then continued around 9AM. D finished most of the spackling around 10PM and we'll let it sit overnight. We need to paint a few more panels and do some retouching. Then we can hang the hardware and call this remodel complete!

Coming up on Midnight and the NaNoWriMo madness is about to begin. Got all my notes, my plot bunny, my fingerless gloves for when I get chilly, my soundtrack and my snacks.
30 days. 50,000 words. I am ready.

10.18.2009

I decided to do my own cover art this year for NaNoWriMo. After four hours I think I have a decent representation of what I imagined in my head. I took a desktop publishing class in college but we didn't have Photoshop so it's been a learning experience. Bless D, he's so patient with me.

10.13.2009

To reward myself for completing the 999 Challenge I bought a plushie. He's the outward manifestation of my inner plot bunny and I've named him Modo. His creator calls him an "ogre" bunny. She has a whole line of twisted rabbits.
Today Modo met RidgewayGirl. I think it was worth all the hot chocolate he drank because she said she was doing NaNoWriMo again! Of course I'm taking him to the kickoff party at Mellow Mushroom and I think we're also going to one of the write-ins at the Red Room of Coffee Underground.

10.4.2009

Today was the last performance of Titanic. I know D enjoyed his time with the production but I also know he's glad it's over. Such a long drive.
I've mostly spent the weekend doing NaNoWriMo research. I found a psychology major on the forums who agreed to answer a whole phonebook of questions for me. Can't wait to get that return email! I've decided to move my lead female's birthplace to the west coast - Los Angeles. More research to do.
I also finished reading the book on Jack Unterweger, the Austrian serial killer. Jack admitted to the murder he was convicted of and blamed his illegitimate birth, his unfortunate childhood and his youth. He wrote plays and novels in prison and so charmed the citizens of Vienna that he was allowed to give public readings in the prison cafeteria. With such dramatic public support, 15 years were knocked off his sentence and upon being paroled, this celebrity killed 11 more women. Then at the behest of his 18-year-old girlfriend, they became fugitives in Miami and she danced in strip clubs to support him. Women adored this man. He had no fewer than two or three girlfriends at one time. He kept detailed records of his sexual encounters, bedding over forty in an 18-month period. And most of them knew he was a convicted murderer, a sadist! As a woman, that just boggles my mind. His trial was an absolute circus. OJ had nothing on Jack. As a narcissist, Jack was so confident he would be found innocent. When the guilty verdict came in the FBI profiler told the warden to put him on a suicide watch but they didn't take the advice. And before they could even transfer him, Jack hung himself. After all his claims of innocence and his theory of a police frame-up, he used the same ligature knot on himself that he had used in all 11 murders. But I must say the most amazing thing I read was that he committed his first (known) murder on the very day of my birth! I had chill bumps all the way down to my toes. Jack definitely has a place in my novel.

WOOHOO! I'm Purple!

Yay! I won NaNoWriMo again!


Boy, my sophmore year was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Just shows that you cannot afford to be cocky. It took me 9 days to get from 30K to 40K but only 2 days to get from 40K to 50K. Go figure.

I have so much to thank D for. Not only did he take such good care of me this month, fixing my meals, doing dishes and laundry so that I would have time to write... he was also an excellent sounding board when I got stuck or wasn't sure on how to proceed. And as always, he was a good cheerleader. I couldn't have done it without his support.

Well, I have a couple more writing buddies to cheer on and then I'm going to head for bed.

mmmm...mmmm. I can already taste that pizza at the TGIO party.

The Teabag and Kraut scene

During Week One of NaNo I wrote a small scene where Julian had taken in a downed RAF pilot named Charlie. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it in, I thought it might get cut if I do ever get around to draft#2. Charlie's main purpose for existing is that I want his parachute for later in the story. But I don't really need Charlie. I could take the easy way out and just mention him in back story. But today as I was taking a shower I realized that I was not in tune with my characters. I had totally ignored Janna during that scene. Charlie was downed while dropping bombs. Janna's parents were killed in an air raid. She wouldn't just sit across the table from him and drink coffee all sweet and nice. He would bring out certain feelings in her. Sadness definitely, maybe even hostility. He could have been the pilot of the plane that dropped the bomb on her parents. He's not. I know that, but they don't. So I turned on the computer and wrote a scene with Charlie and Janna together. Julian has them wash dishes to work off their supper - he dislikes freeloaders. Washing dishes together puts them in close proximity. I thought it would be an excellent forum for such diametric individuals. The scene doesn't feel completely right yet and it's too short at only 600 words, but I think it's a keeper.