Summary (maybe)...

[princesswitch.livejournal.com]

First of all, I have to go to the library and see if I can get enough material on the British people who were accused of Witchcraft in the 1600s. If I can do this at all, it excites me; if I can't, I have a backup idea.

If you can think of a way to improve my plot device (a teenage girl doing research for a school project), I'd appreciate that, too. This is drastically different from anything I've written before.

( Read more... )

Summary (maybe)...

[princesswitch.livejournal.com]

First of all, I have to go to the library and see if I can get enough material on the British people who were accused of Witchcraft in the 1600s. If I can do this at all, it excites me; if I can't, I have a backup idea.

If you can think of a way to improve my plot device (a teenage girl doing research for a school project), I'd appreciate that, too. This is drastically different from anything I've written before.

( Read more... )

*le sigh*

[monkeyshine4616.livejournal.com]

I decided tonight to sit down and figure out my characters.

I've never written characters before. I don't do OC's. I've always done fan-fiction. My characters are already made for me. So I sat down to figure them out. I only need the one main character, her companion and her lover. And I realized... I have ONE name, and a handful of details about ALL of the above characters. *headdesk* So annoying. Depressing, even. I can see perfectly, in my head, what each of these characters looks like. Well. Two of them. The companion hasn't really evolved, because I haven't given him much thought. And why should I? He's only background information, anyway.

Anyway, I wish I could draw. I wish I had artistic abilities, so I could just translate my imaginary images onto paper. It's easy to describe someone when you're looking at them.

If anyone's got tips on how to do character sketches when you CAN'T draw, I'd appreciate it. A lot.

Oh...

And I guess I could introduce myself, too, since I haven't done that yet. I'm nannytonks on the NaNo forums, and this is my first year as a NaNo writer (obviously). I've always been into creative writing, so I have no idea why any of this is bothering me. Writing's always been a natural thing for me. I write a lot. My longest work, ever, is a fan-fic that's a little over 54,000 words. It took me four months to write, but I'm proud to say I did that as well as juggled university classes and a social life. Neither of which I have to deal with now (I dropped out of uni--too expensive--and I don't do much socializing, as I've become completely nocturnal).

Anyway, it's nice to meet all of you, and best wishes to you all.

*le sigh*

[monkeyshine4616.livejournal.com]

I decided tonight to sit down and figure out my characters.

I've never written characters before. I don't do OC's. I've always done fan-fiction. My characters are already made for me. So I sat down to figure them out. I only need the one main character, her companion and her lover. And I realized... I have ONE name, and a handful of details about ALL of the above characters. *headdesk* So annoying. Depressing, even. I can see perfectly, in my head, what each of these characters looks like. Well. Two of them. The companion hasn't really evolved, because I haven't given him much thought. And why should I? He's only background information, anyway.

Anyway, I wish I could draw. I wish I had artistic abilities, so I could just translate my imaginary images onto paper. It's easy to describe someone when you're looking at them.

If anyone's got tips on how to do character sketches when you CAN'T draw, I'd appreciate it. A lot.

Oh...

And I guess I could introduce myself, too, since I haven't done that yet. I'm nannytonks on the NaNo forums, and this is my first year as a NaNo writer (obviously). I've always been into creative writing, so I have no idea why any of this is bothering me. Writing's always been a natural thing for me. I write a lot. My longest work, ever, is a fan-fic that's a little over 54,000 words. It took me four months to write, but I'm proud to say I did that as well as juggled university classes and a social life. Neither of which I have to deal with now (I dropped out of uni--too expensive--and I don't do much socializing, as I've become completely nocturnal).

Anyway, it's nice to meet all of you, and best wishes to you all.

Exercise of the Day: Telling a white lie

[gooberfishbowl.livejournal.com]

Today's EotD:

Telling a White Lie

Write on the above topic for five minutes, and post the results in a comment, or to eotd.

Sheesh-- Only four more EotD's left!

Exercise of the Day: Telling a white lie

[gooberfishbowl.livejournal.com]

Today's EotD:

Telling a White Lie

Write on the above topic for five minutes, and post the results in a comment, or to eotd.

Sheesh-- Only four more EotD's left!

5 Days...

[elzbeth.livejournal.com]

Got a spark of inspiration last night to bring in some elements from an old Call of Cthulhu adventure I ran years ago and weave it into my plot somehow.

I've also decided that all the non-human characters in my novel will speak Esperanto. Now I've just got to learn Esperanto. ;)

I'm going to crash-plot up until Friday afternoon, then I'm going back to Detroit to visit my Mom for the weekend. Come Monday, however...

Being that this is my first year, I'm not sure what to expect or what kind of goals to set for myself. 1000 words a day seems like a lot, but that won't get me to the 50,000 word goal on Nov 30. 1500 will get me to 45,000. My major problem is, I try to make everything perfect before moving on to another scene. This slows me down considerably. I'm hoping to break myself of that habit.

I guess my main goal isn't necessarily hitting the 50,000 word mark my first time out, but more like making progress beyond the first chapter. If I can get past the ground work and get things rolling, I'm pretty sure that the characters will take it from there.

All I know is, I want to be a published writer. I've wasted a lot of time dreaming about it, and if I want to make that dream come true, it's time for me to stop playing around and get serious.

This is the reason I made the icon "WRITE OR DIE". My body won't necessarily die if I don't write, but my dream will, and then I will be doomed to an afterlife of mediocrity and dissatisfaction with myself and the world around me.

I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same way. 5 Days...

5 Days...

[elzbeth.livejournal.com]

Got a spark of inspiration last night to bring in some elements from an old Call of Cthulhu adventure I ran years ago and weave it into my plot somehow.

I've also decided that all the non-human characters in my novel will speak Esperanto. Now I've just got to learn Esperanto. ;)

I'm going to crash-plot up until Friday afternoon, then I'm going back to Detroit to visit my Mom for the weekend. Come Monday, however...

Being that this is my first year, I'm not sure what to expect or what kind of goals to set for myself. 1000 words a day seems like a lot, but that won't get me to the 50,000 word goal on Nov 30. 1500 will get me to 45,000. My major problem is, I try to make everything perfect before moving on to another scene. This slows me down considerably. I'm hoping to break myself of that habit.

I guess my main goal isn't necessarily hitting the 50,000 word mark my first time out, but more like making progress beyond the first chapter. If I can get past the ground work and get things rolling, I'm pretty sure that the characters will take it from there.

All I know is, I want to be a published writer. I've wasted a lot of time dreaming about it, and if I want to make that dream come true, it's time for me to stop playing around and get serious.

This is the reason I made the icon "WRITE OR DIE". My body won't necessarily die if I don't write, but my dream will, and then I will be doomed to an afterlife of mediocrity and dissatisfaction with myself and the world around me.

I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same way. 5 Days...

An end to my waffling

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

In spite of having only the sketchiest of outlines, I've decided to plough ahead and do NaNoWriMo again this year.

Unlike last year's novel (umbra_mortis), where I had a pretty detailed outline going in, this year I really only have the setting, the main characters, and a rough idea of some plot points.

It should mean that NaNoWriMo will be a very different experience this time around, but hopefully still a worthwhile one.

I've created a community (stc_novel), where I'll be posting completed chapters, if you're interested in reading them. And I have a web page, which has some general information and will also track my progress over the course of November.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

---

Cross-posted to nanowrimo04
 

An end to my waffling

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

In spite of having only the sketchiest of outlines, I've decided to plough ahead and do NaNoWriMo again this year.

Unlike last year's novel (umbra_mortis), where I had a pretty detailed outline going in, this year I really only have the setting, the main characters, and a rough idea of some plot points.

It should mean that NaNoWriMo will be a very different experience this time around, but hopefully still a worthwhile one.

I've created a community (stc_novel), where I'll be posting completed chapters, if you're interested in reading them. And I have a web page, which has some general information and will also track my progress over the course of November.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

---

Cross-posted to nanowrimo04
 

Doggie looooooove!!!

[pagefever.livejournal.com]

Does anyone else have Nano stories where dogs will be featured in the main (or minor) plot?

Do tell!

Doggie looooooove!!!

[pagefever.livejournal.com]

Does anyone else have Nano stories where dogs will be featured in the main (or minor) plot?

Do tell!

Oo, summary! (X-posted to my lj)

[darkcountry.livejournal.com]

I finally wrote a summary... it's a bit silly though.

( Summary... )

( Writing links... )

BTW: I think I added everyone who mentioned it to my flist, but... if I missed you (I'm new to adding people in bulk!) I'm sorry, please tell me! (Or if you'd like to be friended).

Oo, summary! (X-posted to my lj)

[darkcountry.livejournal.com]

I finally wrote a summary... it's a bit silly though.

( Summary... )

( Writing links... )

BTW: I think I added everyone who mentioned it to my flist, but... if I missed you (I'm new to adding people in bulk!) I'm sorry, please tell me! (Or if you'd like to be friended).

there's five days 'til Nov. 1, do you know where my title is?

[supersyncspaz7.livejournal.com]

The premise of my story:

In the slightly distant future, five highschoolers live in roughly the same neighborhood but go to two different schools. They see each other in school, in town, and, of course, in their neighborhood. They're living a normal existance: they go to school, have trouble with romances, play sports, all that good stuff.

However, the world they live in is another story. The US has military troops spread all over, doing tons of police actions. Rumors are beginning to circulate that bands of anti-American groups are plotting an attack on the country, so more troops are carefully guarding the borders. Things for our five main characters become crazy when a group invades the West Coast, and begins wiping out troops everywhere they come. They are getting closer to the East Coast, and things are looking progresively worse for the country as the entire country prepares to fight a war.

The problem? I don't have a fawking title.

Also: I've made two mixes that I'm hoping will get me through the month. Yet these mixes don't match the tone in the least. I mean, the novel's set in the future, right? And there's a war raging? And I have "2 Become 1" by the Spice Girls, "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash, and "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies on one mix? The fawking hell? I need a "the world is going to end/HOLY CRAP I'M FREAKING OUT HERE" mix, and I have no idea what songs to put on it. Um, yeah.

there's five days 'til Nov. 1, do you know where my title is?

[supersyncspaz7.livejournal.com]

The premise of my story:

In the slightly distant future, five highschoolers live in roughly the same neighborhood but go to two different schools. They see each other in school, in town, and, of course, in their neighborhood. They're living a normal existance: they go to school, have trouble with romances, play sports, all that good stuff.

However, the world they live in is another story. The US has military troops spread all over, doing tons of police actions. Rumors are beginning to circulate that bands of anti-American groups are plotting an attack on the country, so more troops are carefully guarding the borders. Things for our five main characters become crazy when a group invades the West Coast, and begins wiping out troops everywhere they come. They are getting closer to the East Coast, and things are looking progresively worse for the country as the entire country prepares to fight a war.

The problem? I don't have a fawking title.

Also: I've made two mixes that I'm hoping will get me through the month. Yet these mixes don't match the tone in the least. I mean, the novel's set in the future, right? And there's a war raging? And I have "2 Become 1" by the Spice Girls, "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash, and "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies on one mix? The fawking hell? I need a "the world is going to end/HOLY CRAP I'M FREAKING OUT HERE" mix, and I have no idea what songs to put on it. Um, yeah.

Confused

[kayim-nano.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what I'm doing!

Ok, nothing new there, but I'm still confused.  About three weeks ago, when I signed up, I planned an Arthurian Legends story.  I sorted out all my plot, my characters - heck I even figured out my chapters.

And then I decided to do something totally different.  I started planning a Pratchett-esque fantasy story.  Very comedic, very silly.  Some very daft characters.

Until yesterday.  When I started thinking "Why not try and write it serious fantasy, rather than waste time writing something silly."

So now I have a vague storyline (seriously, not even enough to call a plot), several characters who need total overhauls before I start, and less than a week.

Can I just finish by saying ARGH!!!!!!!!!! 

If anyone is willing to spend some email time brainstorming with me, it would be gratefully appreciated!

Historical Fiction ~

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

anyone else doing a historical piece for NaNo? i'm working in Reconstruction-Era America on this one.

19th cntury is my primary love, but i enjoy countless other eras as well!

: D

Historical Fiction ~

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

anyone else doing a historical piece for NaNo? i'm working in Reconstruction-Era America on this one.

19th cntury is my primary love, but i enjoy countless other eras as well!

: D

Who Wants To Do Another Exercise?

[olympe-maxime.livejournal.com]

I'm at work with time to kill. I wanna do some more five minute exercises. Anybody with me?

Here's one: "It scares me."

Plot? What plot?

[chrissie.livejournal.com]

So is it such a horrible thing that I'm not actually planning on having a plot for my story?
It's sort of a reaction book to the GenX books that are all angsty and sad but end up with happy endings anyway.

Character driven but ... nothing happens. Nothing gets better. Nothing really happens, well things happen but they happen because things happen. It's just like life only ... fictionalized and not made any prettier or any more optimistic.

Does anyone want to take bets on how many pages in my whole book will fall apart?

Plot? What plot?

[chrissie.livejournal.com]

So is it such a horrible thing that I'm not actually planning on having a plot for my story?
It's sort of a reaction book to the GenX books that are all angsty and sad but end up with happy endings anyway.

Character driven but ... nothing happens. Nothing gets better. Nothing really happens, well things happen but they happen because things happen. It's just like life only ... fictionalized and not made any prettier or any more optimistic.

Does anyone want to take bets on how many pages in my whole book will fall apart?

philly nano meetup x-posted

[systris.livejournal.com]

Date: Oct 29, 2004
Time: 5:15 until whenever
Place: Black Sheep Lounge
17th and Locust Sts.
2nd Floor
Center City

C'mon down and meet fellow philly nano-ites! hear war stories from seasoned NaNo vets, help give encouragement to nano-newbies! have a good time before the madness begins!

for more info check the Nanowrimo.org forum regional boards for Pennsylvania - Philadelphia and give a PM or email to the Municipal Leader (Robin Slick)

philly nano meetup x-posted

[systris.livejournal.com]

Date: Oct 29, 2004
Time: 5:15 until whenever
Place: Black Sheep Lounge
17th and Locust Sts.
2nd Floor
Center City

C'mon down and meet fellow philly nano-ites! hear war stories from seasoned NaNo vets, help give encouragement to nano-newbies! have a good time before the madness begins!

for more info check the Nanowrimo.org forum regional boards for Pennsylvania - Philadelphia and give a PM or email to the Municipal Leader (Robin Slick)

(no subject)

[setauuta.livejournal.com]

Hello! *waves*

I realized that there just *had* to be a NaNoWriMo community, and lo and behold, here it is! I'm Steph, I'm 23, in Seattle, WA, and this is my second year participating. I didn't finish last year, in large part because I decided to join around, oh, November 19th or so. Yeah. Not so much. This year I've been planning things out a bit more, and I fully intend to start right on November 1st.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of the reader learning things as the character does. I also really like the idea of focusing on a smaller, seemingly less important character/aspect, and using that character/aspect to describe what could be considered the 'main' characters. For example, I'm thinking of describing a woman's life and relationships as seen by her pet cat.

I freely admit, the idea sounds kind of hokey and silly, even to me. But honestly, it's something that I feel I can use to come up with 50K words, and nobody ever said it had to be good. :) So that's me. Here's to the first!

(no subject)

[setauuta.livejournal.com]

Hello! *waves*

I realized that there just *had* to be a NaNoWriMo community, and lo and behold, here it is! I'm Steph, I'm 23, in Seattle, WA, and this is my second year participating. I didn't finish last year, in large part because I decided to join around, oh, November 19th or so. Yeah. Not so much. This year I've been planning things out a bit more, and I fully intend to start right on November 1st.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of the reader learning things as the character does. I also really like the idea of focusing on a smaller, seemingly less important character/aspect, and using that character/aspect to describe what could be considered the 'main' characters. For example, I'm thinking of describing a woman's life and relationships as seen by her pet cat.

I freely admit, the idea sounds kind of hokey and silly, even to me. But honestly, it's something that I feel I can use to come up with 50K words, and nobody ever said it had to be good. :) So that's me. Here's to the first!