thoughts on writing (!!!)

What I'm Listening To: Beastly OST; specifically "Today is the Day" by Tim Myers.
What I'm Doing: Working on an outline for my nano novel "Incandescence" because the thoughts of revision have entirely taken over the actual writing of the first draft.

I was thinking about motivation (because of a lovely book I found in the library, "The Nighttime Novelist" by Joseph Bates) and it occurred to me that a major happening in "Incandescence" is Ayden's search for his father.

Then I realised that "Boy Next Door" starts the same way - with a search for Daddy. Then it occurred to me that in "Butterfly Gate" there is no father. In "Eden's Gate" there is no mother - she died before the story began. In "Eversong" both parents are there, but she runs away from them. In "Dormouse, Inc" the parents are missing, and the search for them plays a major part in the main character's motivation. In "Moonlight" - the parents are killed. "Snow Queen" has no parents, only a grandmother. "Pearl of Eden" the parents are dead. In .... wait, that's all of them.

All of my stories involve missing or dead parents. Sometimes the missing or deadness has direct relevance, and sometimes the parents are just... not there. This was a horrible revelation for me, because I had no idea I was doing it.

In my personal life, my mother is dead. October 25th of this year marked the thirteenth year since she died; more than half my life. My birth father has never been part of the picture, and he may as well be on the moon for all I know - though I'd like, one day, to find him. (!!!)

I don't know if this means something specific, or if it's just... well. I had no idea (until last night, when I was thinking "Major motivation for Ayden has to be his father, because it has to be personal, and he needs a reason for doing what he does, beyond just "because he wants to. Hm, this all sounds vaguely familiar, didn't I do the same thing in "Boy Next Door? And in Eden's Gate, the mother is dead. ... ... OH MY GOD, I HAVE A TYPE!!!") that I was doing this! It was a revelation. Am I alone in this? I must find other writer-types to discuss with.

we dreamt in heist

What I'm Listening To: Anberlin - We Dreamt in Heist

What I'm Doing: Updating my blogs instead of writing. 8D

Just realised that while I'm doing pretty good updating the other blog I just started (and then they made me their queen, right here on blogger, if you're interested in my disjointed, mostly non-authorly thoughts) I haven't updated this in a while.

So a quick writerly update for the writerly blog: I'm writing!

I had the idea about two years ago, when my computer was blown out by el nino, and I wrote the first three chapters out by hand.

I looked at all the stories I've got on my computer and just HATED. EVERYTHING. so I started typing up the "Untitled Wizard Story (That Has Nothing To Do With Harry Potter)" - which was the working title at the time - and then kept going.

I'm finishing it up for Camp Nano, and I'm considering doing the same thing for Nano in November - I realise that according to the rules, we're not supposed to write any of the prose before the first, but if I write it out by hand at first, and then type it up on the computer, it gives me a running start on actually writing, and helps with the flow.

That's how, in about three days, I've gotten up past twenty thousand words. I'm aiming for 30k by midnight tonight, so I've got to get off the internet, and keep going.

(Oh, the new title is "Boy Next Door" for the record. XD Much shorter than "Untitled Wizard Story (That Has Nothing To Do With Harry Potter)" right?)

What I'm Listening To: someone's alarm clock that they're not turning off because they sleep through everything.

What I'm Doing: NOT writing.

I ganked this from another of my blogs, because I'm deleting it as useless and didn't want to lose the post.

song of the day: Enya - Wild Child

	Enya - Wild Child
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Just finished reading Sebastian and Belladonna by Anne Bishop. The world in those two novels is broken, shattered into pieces, and a person can only venture into a landscape that resonates with their heart.

It made me wish that our landscapes were shattered, so that I wouldn't need to search for my heart's hope.

I could simply step across a bridge and find myself wherever I was most needed to be.

I've also got two lines of story that need to be written, but I don't know who it's for.

I can walk in the places between worlds.

I was born to keep the balances.

Been a LONG Time

What I'm Listening To: Alanis Morisette - I Remain (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time OST)

What I'm Doing: Updating my blog for the first time in over a year!

Its not really that I forget that I have this - its mostly caused by the fact that my internet access is sporadic, and I forget to *update* this when I get the chance. But I'm really, really trying to become more active as an author on the web, so that when I finally get something done, I have people who will support me. XD

Although, if I dug out all my friends from all my favoured websites, I'm sure my book would sell out, even if everyone who bought a copy just tossed it in the trash afterwards. Its not that I'm without friends, its that I'm without a respectable online presence. That and I can never think of what to post about, which is why - although I'm trying hard to talk about relevant things - I just end up blathering on like this.

On the homefront, I'm trying - really trying, and not just blog-trying XD - to write. I really am. I really like the idea, and I have good places for it to go, but I'm beginning to suspect myself of ADD. I sit down to write - I WANT to write - I HAVE TO WRITE RIGHT NOW OMFGOOH SHINY WASSAT?

And I don't write. So it's slow going. And I'm very pleased to have completed Eversong to the first draft, but looking back on it - it's SO BAD. I can't bring myself to start revising it.

Giveaway Contest

What I'm Listening To: Yanni - Until The Last Moment

What I'm Doing: Fighting my dog for control of the computer.

I'm entering to win the Random Big Giveaway by Stephanie at Juiciliciousss Reviews! Contest details can be found here, if you're interested (and believe me. You should be interested.)

WOW, it's been a while.

What I'm Listening To: The dogs barking.

What I'm Doing: Getting caught up on my internet after a weekend at Nekocon, and then preparing to knuckle down and get writing.

So I don't really have an excuse for neglecting this blog to the point that I have, except for I've been distracted by things other than writing, and I lost my internet for a month.

That said, I'm back and kicking, working on a novel for Nanowrimo, which brings me to the point of this post:

There is a book I desire, and I'm entering for a chance to win it. You can too; just join this website and hang around and talk for a while. While you're there, enter the contest.

Lemonade Stand Award!

What I'm Listening To: My fan blowing mostly dust around my room.

What I'm Doing: I just woke up so I'm not doing anything but sitting in front of my computer.

A huge Thank you! shout-out to Emily Cross of The Writer's Chronicle who nominated me for another fantastic award!



Here are the rules:

Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
Link your nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

My nominees will be arriving shortly; their flight was delayed.

I fail

What I'm Listening To: The Green Mile

What I'm Doing: Brainstorming my novels.

First of all, we can see how well I do when I give myself something to do every day. I'm going to try to keep up with the shorts, but I've been doing more thinking and reading than writing lately. A horrible thing for an author in progress to admit, I know, but I can almost taste publication. I don't know if this has to do with the fact that I submitted a short story to the On the Premises contest - I'll find out whether or not anything comes of it by mid-October - or my currently-in-editing Eversong WIP, but it's almost tangible.

I'm watching The Green Mile, the movie based off the book by Stephen King. The book always - always - makes me cry. I've read it dozens of times - I know how it ends. But every single time, I cry. And the movie's no different.

Well, I started this post to talk about why I slacked off on the daily shorts, and to announce the beginning of a new WIP, as well as some news about Nano.
I'm sure everyone knows about it, but if there's anyone who doesn't, it's short for NaNoWriMo, which is further short for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is starting from November 1st, you have thirty days - until November 3oth - to write at least 50k words. A novel in a month. All the fun stuff - editing and revisions, turning that awful piece of work that you slaved over for thirty days into something readable - comes later. I've read horror stories from agents who received MSS with exactly fifty thousand words - stopping in the middle of a sentence, even - and another MS that had a little note reading 'Done for the day' after every 1700 words or so.

Those stories make me cry. The very idea of sending an unedited MS to someone - especially after something as hectic as Nano - is abhorrent. I believe I've said something to this effect before. The least they could have done was finished the sentence or skimmed through to remove the extras.

Anyway, a friend of mine over on the Quill and Ink sent me the first chapter of her novel, and she'd done something pretty neat in front of it, creating a publishers page and a title page and whatnot. I happened to be reading Sunshine by Robin McKinley when the new idea struck (like lightning) so I used her novel as the basis for my own 'publishers' and title pages, and in Sunshine, is also a list of her other novels, so I added my own.

All of mine aren't written yet, of course. But here's the list of books I want to write:

Moonlight
Eversong
Return to Eversong
Eversong: Dark Star Rising
Tales of Eversong
Eden’s Gate
Perfect
Mischief and Murder
Prelude to Dawn
Twilight Serenade
WishMaker
Heaven’s Halfway

Tales of Eversong is the collection of short stories revolving around the Eversong universe, which will be up on my website for free if I don't get them published. When I get a website.

Anyway, although Moonlight is the newest one - it's in the planning stages right now - for Nano, I'll be working on book two of the Eversong Chronicles (formerly Legends of Eversong; I haven't decided which to go with yet) Return to Eversong. That'll make at least three novels written in a single year, because I'm resolved to complete Eden's Gate (at least to the first draft) before the year is out.

But it was that list in the beginning of Moonlight that made me really stop, take a step back, and take a good hard look at what I'm doing. If I one day manage to complete all of these - which I fully intend to, within the next few years - I'll make myself into one of those writers who pumps out novels like a machine.

Daily Short #4

What I'm Listening To: Alexander Rybak - Abandoned

What I'm Doing: Reading, attempting to write, and listening to WW3 going on upstairs. :/

in motion

I'm trapped here in a place I hate, with a woman I loathe. I love everyone but her, and I hate that I'm frozen in place, unable to go anywhere or do anything on my own. I have lofty dreams. I have plans. I want to be constantly in motion, never staying in one place longer than a year or two at most. There are so many things that I want to learn, see, do, experience, and I'm stagnating here.

But even though I want to travel, I want to have a home base somewhere. A pleasant place I can go to recharge, but somewhere I'm not tied down. Somewhere I can drop off all the things I've collected on my travels, so that I don't have to get rid of anything, and a place to go for holidays and family gatherings.

Until I figure out where my home base is, I'll just keep on going, constantly in motion until I complete my quest.

Daily Short #3

What I'm Listening To: Sonata Arctica - For The Sake Of Revenge

What I'm Doing: Getting ready to go to bed. I'm tired.

ornate glass bottle

The house sits overlooking the water, large enough for two without seeming excessive. The couch is the most hideous thing anyone’s ever seen, but as it’s also the most comfortable, no one complains much after they sit down. The large television is flanked on both sides by a movie collection of Blockbuster proportions. Built into the wall behind the couch is a bookshelf that inhabits nearly the entire space, and is filled to the brim with novels of every shape and size. The carpet is plush, and the curtains are dark.

Lining the window sill are ornate glass bottles of every shape, size, and colour. When the sun is coming up over the ocean, the rays of light send colours streaming into the room where they fall against the far wall like waves crashing onto the shore. Sometimes they sit on the hulking, ugly couch and watch the stars come out above the array of bottles, and whisper back and forth in all the languages they know.