Winner!!!!

Final NaNoWriMo Wourd Count: 51433

I’m a winner!!!
I’m super sick with a horrible stomach virus that bitch slapped me today.
But, I crawled out of bed long enough to get validated on NaNoWriMo.
I’m officially a winner!
I cant believe I made it and just in time too.
We now enter the beyond on the novel as soon as I get my head out of the toilet.

Sister’s Family Visit

My big sister’s family visited us this weekend so I didn't get to the computer because I had to run around with my niece and nephew. Love them but they are exhausting.

Sister’s B-Day!

Happy B-Day Big Sister!
Another Break Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Relatives, food, fun, sleep, turkey.
Another Break Day!

Day 22: Break 2

I was a crazy night of hunting for Dusty because he took off to tour the neighborhood.
Amazingly, I found him! Yeah!
I took care of Mom today
I felt a little sick too.
On other words, I deserve another break!
Hopefully, back to work tomorrow after Thanksgiving dinner.

Day 21: Break

Hey, I’ve taken the day off to take care of Dusty.
My first break all month!
I need a break from the novel.

51k!!!!!

Grand Total: 51429
Writing Session: 20
Chapter: 11 and end scene
Today’s hours: 3
Today’s Word Count: 3175
Today’s Page appox.: 13 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 206

51k! I did it! I accomplished the NaNoWriMo goal!
I can’t believe it!

I worked on some major climatic stuff in Chapter 11.
Also, I wrote the last scene of the novel. I knew how it would end but the actual scene came to me this morning in full Technicolor. Very cool!
I don’t want to give anything away
So, technically I did finish the novel within the 50k goal but it is very demanding and wants to be longer. It is not finished so I will still work on it, report my progress and see how far I can go within the rest of the 30 days. I’m curious.

And then beyond! 80k? We’ll see...

I have broken all personal records. I’m so excited.

What refueled me was that Mom told me this morning she was able to read all of Chapter 1 (exactly as I wrote it - very raw draft) and was excited to know what happens next. It was a great and energizing feeling to hear her say that.

I’m ripping the plastic wrap off of Sims2 Pets right now and popping in the disc- time to celebrate!

BTW, I didn’t realize this:
“Make sure it is on or after November 25th. You can't validate your novel until November 25th”
So let’s see how much I can get done by the 25th!

Day 19: So Close!

Grand Total: 48254
Writing Session: 19
Chapter: 11
Today’s hours: 3
Today’s Word Count: 2541
Today’s Page appox.: 10 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 193

So close but yet so far! Even my Excel word count report spreadsheet thinks I should have reached 50k today ( and still says it) BUT I’m out of fuel and can‘t concentrate anymore. I want to go to bed and start fresh tomorrow and access what I did get done today. Night!

Day 18: 45K!!!!

Grand Total: 45713
Writing Session: 18
Chapter: finished 8 skipped to 11
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 2063
Today’s Page appox.: 8 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 183

Yes, I finished Chapter 8.
Yes, you read correctly - I skipped to Chapter 11.
I skipped to Chapter 11 because it is one of the most important chapters of the novel where a lot of things come together for the climax. I felt ready to tackle it now especially with the 50k fast approaching. The other chapters in between are necessary but I can go back to them later. I made this decision after I loosely outlines the last chapters and what will occur in them.

50k here I come!

Day 17: Sudi’s Revenge

Grand Total: 43650
Writing Session: 17
Chapter: 8
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 1616
Today’s Page appox.: 6 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 175

Chapter 8 extended itself into Sudi’s POV. I’m really trying to hold back the melodrama or romance in this novel but Sudi is the perfect Judas. The woman scorned and all that. Yes it does sound like I’m still in the middle of the actual novel with 50k fast approaching. Its a good thing. Right? Deal with it. I am. ;)

Interesting triva tidbit. I wanted to name a location after the patron saint of technology. Not sure if there was such a saint yet, I googled and found this article.
Finally, an internet saint.
“The Vatican is apparently ready to name Saint Isidore of Seville as patron saint of the internet.“

Here is another candidate
Patron Saint of the Nerds: St. Expedite
“But whatever St. Expedite may or may not be, geeks, hackers, repentant slackers, folks who run e-commerce sites and those who rely on brains and sheer luck to survive have all claimed the saint as their own.“

Read about both and decide for yourself.

The parents finally got the news that Mom is scheduled for an outpatient procedure for Tuesday. So hopefully everything will go well and they will finally fix her. Its so frustrating.

Oh, Sims2 Pets Expansion Pack finally arrived from Amazon today. I’m forcing myself not to unwrap it. Its my little celebration for reaching 50k present. Must stay away from the Sims2. Must write.

Day 16: 42k!!!!!

Grand Total: 42034
Writing Session: 16
Chapter: finished 7 and almost finished 8
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 2630
Today’s Page appox.: 11 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 168

I finished Chapter 7 and almost finished Chapter 8
Yes, the final novel will be longer than 50k.
Yes, I will continue writing it all month at my steady pace to see just how much I will get done.
Yes, I will finish this raw draft this month or the next. There is so much I have skipped over in order to get the main story down. Complexities I don’t have time to explore at the moment. I’m very excited!

Oh, I was able to enjoy the excellent one-woman show with the wonderful Ruby Nelda Perez and get my average word count amount done. Cool!

Day 15: Mutual Needs

Grand Total: 39404
Writing Session: 15
Chapter: finished 6 almost finisher 7
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 1733
Today’s Page appox.: 7 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 158

Finished Chapter 6
Almost finished Chapter 7
Almost got to 40k
I’m still trying to plan out some things and wrapped other things up. I hope to get it all settled tomorrow and catch up on the writing. Tomorrow night might turn out to be a break because I have a comedian show to go to and a B-Day party to stop in on.
Slacker!! I know.

Yes, the mutual needs refers to how Remington and Emeren need each other to survive the rest of the book. Their fight in Chapter 7 is hot and bloody but they reach an understanding.

Day 14: Raven’s Strike

Grand Total: 37671
Writing Session: 14
Chapter: finished 5 started 6
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 2138
Today’s Page appox.: 9 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 151

75% done!? No way!

I finished Chapter 5 and started Chapter 6. Chapter 6 was overtaken by Raven who felt it was time for her to have a voice. It will be a short chapter because I need to start wrapping things up for the NaNo goal. This novel is definitely longer than 50k and promises to be 80k to 100k when it is done. So I need to figure out what to have finished for NaNo or just go with it and write all the scenes out for NaNo. Not sure and I need to check the NaNo rules or FAQs for any answers about a novel surpassing the 50k goal. But have no fear, the novel will be finished in its entirety one way or another within this month and/or the next. I’m not stopping even after I’ve reached the NaNo goal.

Edit: NaNoWriMos answer is what I thought. Who would’ve guessed I would be at the point to ask these questions. Not me! Crazy!
What if I hit 50,000 words but I'm only halfway through my story?
The 50,000 word limit is a threshold, not necessarily a stopping place. Reaching 50k and realizing you still have a lot of wrapping up to do is a good thing---it gives you something to come back and work on later.

Can I keep writing and adding to my word count even after I've had the novel verified?
Absolutely. Verification simply confirms that you have crossed the 50,000-word mark. You can continue to add to your word count in the usual fashion until 11:59:59 pm on November 30th.

Day 13: 35k!

Grand Total: 35533
Writing Session: 13
Chapter: 5
Today’s hours: 2
Today’s Word Count: 1916
Today’s Page appox.: 8 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 142

35k and climbing!

Today turned out to be a generally crappy and dragging day. In other words, it was a Monday. So, even though I did not reach my average of over 2,000, I did meet my goal of surpassing 35k. I’m still at the Hikari Shop were Remington received an unexpected message. Also, Emeren and Remington started an intimate conversation that was too soon to have at that stage of their relationship. So, I did keep writing it but moved it to Chapter 7 where it fit better. I needed to accomplish other things in the Hikari Shop, their relationship had to wait for a while. I will finish Chapter 5 tomorrow.

Good news on Mom’s medical situation. The doctors will be able to fix things but they would do it until sometime next week. that lightened the day a great deal but I still feel really tired.

To bed with me to catch up on sleep again!

Cherished Friend

I donated to NaNoWriMo!
I finally got my donation for 2006 ordered last night.
My Halo is now over my avatar image on my NaNoWriMo profile.
Its all good and for a great cause!

Thank you guys for another great ride this year!

but its not over yet...heeheehee (lack of sleep is getting to me)

Day 12: Hikari Shop

Grand Total: 33617
Writing Session: 12
Chapter: 5
Today's hours: 4
Today's Word Count: 3949
Today's Page appox.: 16 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 134

Chapter 5 brings in some of those important minor characters I mentioned in the Cast post. They are:

Sumiko Hikari
Rokuro Hikari

A mother and son team who owns and operates a cyber holistic shop where the sell herbs and incense right beside cyberware. Sumiko has a reputation as a wise woman and curer of viruses, computer and otherwise.

The inspiration for these two were a couple I saw at the waiting room of my retina doctor and decided I had to have them in my novel- it was also a No Plot No Problem exercise. I don’t know if they were mother and son. They were probably husband and wife. So I took a little artistic license and modified them a bit to fit into the novel. ;)

This weekend went good so we will see if I keep my steady pace during the week.

Day 11: Ticpak Attack

Grand Total: 29668
Writing Session: 11
Chapter: finished 4
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 2154
Today's Page appox.: 9 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 119

Grand Total After Midnight: 30107

I finally finished Chapter 4!
Midnight came and I was almost but not quite to 30k.
After midnight, I was dtermined to reach 30k so I kept writing and started Chapter 5 and now I am tired. I’m posting the date for this post as 11/11 for the right before mightnight count to keep it all straight.

Chapter 4 is done.
Started Chapter 5
reached 30k!
All around a good day.

What is a ticpak
ticpak: a small nanotech information delivery device/patch that acts like a tic as it digs into the skin of its temporary host in order to deliver data directly into the person’s brain computer/

Yes my own little invention. Cool huh?!

Day 10: Steady Pace

Grand Total: 27514
Writing Session: 10
Chapter: 4
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 2322
Today's Page appox.: 9 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 110



I’m still keeping a steady pace but still working on Chapter 4. I’ll finished it tomorrow. I also expanded some more on one of the memory flashback scenes I started yesterday. All is going well. I feel like I need more sleep.

I have broken all personal word count records with this novel. I feel great about that but I’m also fighting the fatigue. In addition, characters from other unfinished novel projects keep popping in wanting attention and wondering what is so special about Psychedelic Soul. I tell them to leave me alone and come back in December. After some loud grumbling, they leave, promising to return in December. I think they are planning to sneak into my morning pages. Little brats. I love them.

Day 9: 25k!!!!!

Grand Total: 25192 Writing Session: 9
Chapter: 4
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 2780
Today's Page appox.: 11 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 101

25k word count!!!!!!
Not only did I reach 25k, I arrived there within the first week and a couple days. And, I bypassed last year’s grand total word count!

Its time to celebrate! Its time to dance in the streets! Its time to roar defiantly to the heavens! Its time to crash into bed and sleep for eight hours at least.

I don’t know if its the 2nd Week curse or Mom’s medical situation but I’m very tired and had a hard time concentrating today. But! I was determined to pass 25k! Goal accomplished! I also ran into a small speed dump in the Chapter 4 and ended up working on a couple memory flashback scenes that will be in the up coming chapters that link directly to the dump. It was almost like I had to get these scenes down in order to continue with Chapter 4. Also, the point of view changed on me in the middle of the chapter from Emeren to Remington. That change threw me a little bit at first but seemed right. Sum up, in addition to working out chapter 4, I worked on scenes from couple other future chapters that link directly to it. Am I being redundant?

Mom is home for the weekend but she is going back Monday to see another specialist. It is the complicated problem with no easy solution but its all promising.

Night...

Day 8: Transitions

Grand Total: 22412
Writing Session: 8
Chapter: finished 3 started 4
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 3627
Today's Page appox.: 15 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 90

It took longer than I thought it would to get Chapter 3 finished but its done and I’ve started Chapter 4. To combat the dreaded NaNo two week slump/hump, I loosely outlined the next few chapters and hope the novel keeps the steady pace I’ve started in the first week. I almost quit early tonight because I wasn’t sure how to start Chapter 4. For a moment, the Inner Critic perked up her ears in interest but I pushed her back into her corner and dived, head first, right into the chapter, accomplishing another couple 100 words (500 to 600 I think) before I stopped for the night. I’m so tired as I post this report and very much ready to go to bed.

Its also been another emotional day for Mom but hopeful too. The doctor seems intelligent and determined to figure out what is really going on and the best way to fix it. Hope and pray hard that they will finally solve the problem. What a day.

22412? Is that right? How can that be?
I’m almost to last year‘s grand total word count.
What was my problem last year. Was it me or the novel?
I think it was both plus my Inner Critic kept picking at every word choice.

Well, I’m definitely engrossed with this novel and must finish it or it will turn around and beat the crap out of me.

Day 7: Braxe’s Garden

Grand Total: 18785
Writing Session: 7
Chapter: 3
Today's hours: 5
Today's Word Count: 4152
Today's Page appox.: 17 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 75

Wow! I almost reached 19000! How did that happen?
Well, I started and almost finished “Chapter 3“ which might actually be Chapter 4 since Chapter 2 was so long. Again, these divsions are temporary anyway and are really based on major scenes. So, we’ll call it Chapter 3 for now.

I’m really not sure how I did it with all the chaos going on around me. They found out today that Mom does have gallstones and she was on her way to the specialist. Thank God.

I’m staying to hold down the fort and work on novel.
Its a great distraction and it won’t leave me alone. I’m obsessively thinking and writing it now. We’ll see how the rest of week goes for everything that is happening right now.

Braxe‘s garden?
Yes, our tough always get his man hunter cyborg has a little soft side, his garden. Remington is now a prisoner in his apartment full of ferns. I thought it would be a fun quirk and insight into such a badass cheacter.

Day 6: Collision

Grand Total: 14633
Writing Session: 6
Chapter: finished 2
Today's hours: 2
Today's Word Count: 2047
Today's Page appox.: 8 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 59

I finished Chapter 2.
Remington and Emeren have finally met.
Mom is in the hospital but they might finally find out what is wrong with her system.
Its been one hell of a day.

Day 5: Smashing Glass

Grand Total: 12586
Writing Session: 5
Chapter: 2
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 2763
Today's Page appox.: 11 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 50

Mom called me around 4pm today because she was very sick and needed me. I dropped everything to get over there until dad got home

Well, my grand weekdend plans of getting a large lead didn’t pan out but I did keep up my current pace and recovered from Day 3 lag. Let’s hope it continues. I didn’t finish Chapter 2 like I planned but I am out of Minotaur’s penthouse with a large explosion of shattering glass. Remington never does anything half way including exits.

I hope to finish Chapter 2 tomorrow. Emeren and Remington finally meet!

Oh, great news! The Zokutou word meter is back online! Yeah! I love you guys and will try not to abuse your bandwidth by using the snapshots of the meter.

Day 4: Minotaur’s Corpse

9,823 / 50,000
(20%)

Grand Total: 9823
Writing Session: 4
Chapter: 2
Today's hours: 4
Today's Word Count: 2762
Today's Page appox.: 11 (250 words per page)
Total Pages: 39

Good news! I got quite a bit done (not as much as I would like for a weekend day but good) especially after I banished the Inner Critic back to her corner. She keeps creeping up usually when I stumble upon one of Remington’s cool gadgets (and there are a lot of them) or other new tech that I would start to figure out and explain directly to page. But its all good and started really flowing when Remington found Minotaur’s corpse. She is very pissed that someone else got to her contract termination, a high rank history making one at that, before her but becomes confused when she discovered he was killed with her “trademark” killing stroke with dual katanas and the body wears her “mark”. I went into a whole explanation of how the assassin guild works. Again, this scene in Minotaur’s penthouse is a flash back that I thought I would save for later or reveal in bits throughout the book but its working better here for now for revealing Remington’s personality and what led to her current renegade status, running from corporation hunter cyborgs and assassins.

What the hell is going on? She asks herself.
And like the cruel bitch of an author I am, I left her wondering until tomorrow. Actually, she’ll be wondering for quite a bit of the book but don’t tell her that. She carries two katanas and knows how to use them.

I still need to get some sleep but I’m very happy with my progress.

I love Remington. She makes me smile like an evil villain bent on destruction.

Day 3: Remington

Grand Total: 7061
Writing Session: 3
Chapter: 2
Today's hours: 3
Today's Word Count: 1171
Today's Page appox.: 5 ( 250 words per page)
Total Pages: 28

Remington is in the house! And she’s ready to kick major ass!

I am completely exhausted today and can’t believe I got anything done but here ya go, the bare minimum. I’m going to caught up on sleep tonight so I can get a good amount of writing done this weekend. Night!

Day 2: Premonition Finished

Grand Total: 5350
Writing Session: 2
Chapter: finished Chapter 1
Today's hours: 5
Today's Word Count: 2890
Today's Page appox.: 11.56 ( 250 words per page)
Total Pages: 21.4

Unfortunately, the Zokutou Word Meter site is down so I don’t have a cool image of my word count yet. It probably got overloaded by all of the NaNoWriMo users which is why I post the screenshot of the meter, less bandwidth strain for Zokutou. Hopefully, they will be back up and running soon and not shut down forever because its the best Word Counter Meter out there.

Anyway, I finished Chapter 1. Tonight turned out to be more about describing Citadel, the Triad, family history, and how Emeren’s premonitions worked so it was little more dry but seemed a very appropriate place at the moment for this information so I left it in for now and worry about it after I finished the novel. Get back in the corner Inner Critic! It also slowed me down as I tried to figure out the setting and information. I got to stop doing that. Some fundemental things changed about Citadel and Citadel Square that I’m not sure if I like but again, I’m leaving it alone for now. The ending of the chapter was almiost as I orginally picutred it but I just need to change a few sentences to have the rest fit into my final line.

“Emeren stepped into his phantom vision-self and waited for the rain to fall.“

Psychedelic Cast

Cast (Major & Supporting):

Remington
“focused cyborg” assassin class, employed by Corus Corax, whose focus and orderly life is shattered when her last assignment goes wrong. Her contracted target was already dead when she arrived on the scene, causing her to go renegade. Her flight unlocks secrets from in her memory that will rip apart the fabric of her life, threatening her whole sense of self.

Emeren
“pucky musician“, street musician and programming genius whose premonitions draws him into life altering events. He discovers an unusual ally in Remington and clues that brings him closer to the revenge he’s been craving for fifteen years.

Thomas Corus
powerful CEO of Corus Corax, one of the Triad. Like a puppet master, he manipulates events and people to fit his own agenda. He wants Remington and Emeren terminated because their truths would destroy his vast empire.

Renee
an original personality who lives life her way. She holds the all the answers but they lead to even more questions.

Minotaur
CEO of the Triad corporation, Taurotek. He makes Remington’s life difficult by allowing himself to be assassinated before she could terminate him.

Raven
assassin class cyborg contracted by Corus Corax to terminate Remington. She holds the key to Remington’s past that threatens her future. (she’s still in development)

Braxe
hunter class cyborg contracted by Taurotek to to track and capture Remington. He must retrieve any information Remington acquired on the assassination of Minotaur.

Sudi
street performer and Emeren’s ex-lover. Her jealousy will lead to deception and betrayal. (she’s still in development)


If you notice, I brought back the male cyborg (Braxe) and female musician (Sudi) but as supporting characters. I just recently realized this twist when I worked on the character index cards but I don’t think they’ll be connected or even meet. Also, I have some major minor characters that I'll bring up later when I reach their scenes.

Day 1 Premonition

Writing Session: 1
Chapter: 1
Today's hours: 4
Today's Word Count: 2460
Today's Page appox.: 9.84 ( 250 words per page)


Wow! What a good start! Let’s hope it keeps going. I didn’t think I would get very much done today because I’ve been really dragging. I think the time change is catching up to me. Also, I didn’t start writing until pretty late in the day and figuring out some technogical difficulties distracted me. The writing is flowing much better this year and I think its from writing the Morning Pages every day. Practice. The PowerBook is fantastic for writing along the the iPod for continous music.

Emeren has taken over this chapter. I mean I knew I would open the novel with his premonition but he finally started to really “talk” to me. Its been Remington’s voice for most of the planning period these past few weeks. She is very aggressive so I hoped Emeren would speak up and match her. Very cool!

Excerpt(the first few lines of the novel):

Emeren knew a premonition stalked restlessly on the outer edges of his consciousness, waiting to pounce at the right moment. He woke up earlier than usual with the clarity and urgency that herald the arrival of a major vision. Something was about to happen that would change his life forever. He could feel it.

Psychedelic Soul

To start with a completely fresh novel this year, I turned to Seventh Sanctum and used their Quick Story Idea Generator and received this interesting idea:

The theme of this story: metaphorical thriller.
The main characters: pucky musician and focused cyborg.
The start of the story: premonition.
The end of the story: critical injury.

I loved it and my imagination hungerly grabbed a hold of it.
With my obsession with male/female parings (romantic or not), the cyborg was going to be the male and the musician would be the female. As I worked this scenario in my mind, it was slowly becoming a paranormal romance (nothing wrong with that but...) Not the direction I wanted to take on this novel. When I decided to twist it around to a female cyborg and a male street musician, the story took off into all kinds of interesting directions. After a two weeks of thinking and two weeks of real planning (playing with index cards, notes etc), the idea grew into a very intriguing novel (I think) and I can’t wait to get it down on paper. So, I’m definitely more prepared for the challenge this year than last but tried not over plan it and leave it open to possible surprises along the way.

Genre: Science Fiction - cyberpunk or postcyberpunk

Setting: a grim post-apocalyptic metropolis called the Citadel (for the moment) governed by the Triad which are three major rival technological corporations: Corus Corax, TauroTek, and Lupis Canis Corp. The Triad rule the city and this society with no central government interference. So, its a combination of Snow Crash and Blade Runner along with other sources.

Working title: Psychedelic Soul

Why Psychedelic Soul?
One of my influences for the novel is Ghost in the Shell and I bought both Stand Alone Complex albums specifically for this challenge (and I love the music of course). Psychedelic Soulis the title of a track from the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG and for the moment the title fits the novel.

Main Influences:
Ghost in the Shell
Snow Crash
Blade Runner
Neuromancer
Silver Metal Lover
The Matrix (must wear tight leather and cool sunglasses)
Aeon Flux (the original not the movie)

Wikipedia

The online encyclopedia called Wikipedia is a fantastic resource. If you haven’t experienced Wikipedia, go there now! Where have you been? You are missing out!

Wikipedia‘s definition of Wikipedia (brief):
“Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based free content encyclopedia project. The name Wikipedia is a blend of the words wiki and encyclopedia. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers, allowing most articles to be changed by almost anyone with access to the website...”

My response to the Wikipedia controversy of its authenticity and accuracy is “If your doing a serious research project/paper. always check your sources.” Its common sense drilled into to all of us throughout our academic years. Wikipedia is launching point where information can be found quickly and easily and direct you to further research into creditable sources.

Wikipedia is perfect quick search/info resource for NaNoWriMo writing for when you absolutely need to look up “Geohintonia“ in order to move forward with your writing. Quick search, find, scan, and return to writing.

WARNING: Wikipedia can be addictive or used as a distraction from your novel. Search for what you need and immediately return to your novel or you will be sucked in for hours. I speak from experience.

Morning Pages

The Aritst’s Way by Julia Cameron

For the last month and a half (I’m on Week 5 going on Week 6), I’ve been reading the Artist’s Way and working through the weekly exercises. My favorite central exercise/tool Cameron introduces/emphasises is the “Morning Pages”.

“The morning pages are three pages of stream-of-consciousness longhand morning writing. You should think of them not as "art" but as an active form of meditation for Westerners. In the morning pages we declare to the world—and ourselves—what we like, what we dislike, what we wish, what we hope, what we regret, and what we plan” -Julia Cameron FAQs

Or, in Cameron’s more simple explanation (and my favorite), Morning Pages are a “brain drain” where you can drain all the daily crap from your mind so you can concentrate on the more important and creative tasks/projects. Eventually, the daily dumping will expand into your creative endeavors, including prose, fiction, and poetry.

The Arist’s Way Official Website
Morning Pages Tips and Techniques
Writing Morning Pages

How can they aid you during NaNoWriMo?
- writing practice - stretching your writing muscles with daily exercise
- unblocking - working through any writer‘s block along the way
- working out problems & plot points
- interviewing characters
- character journals
- outlining scenes and plot
- writing really rough version of scenes & dialog
- or really anything you need them to be for 3 pages every morning

Even though it equals an extra half hour to hour of writing each day (unless you do choose to write your novel in the Morning Pages), its free time to productively work out the novel and organize your thoughts without the pressure of novel time. My favorite use for the time and page space is asking a lot of questions.

Later in Artist’s Way, Cameron suggests asking yourself questions the night before and allow all the possible answers to flow onto the Morning Pages the next morning.

I love the Morning Pages so much that I have become very protective of them to the point that I even resent any Artist’s Way exercise that requires you to use them. I highly recommend the Pages whether or not you’re doing NaNoWriMo but I believe they will add and enhance your NaNoWriMo experience.

Pressure Writing

The method or concept of Pressure Writing fits perfectly with NaNoWriMo.

“The 10-15 minutes you spend dumping all of your thoughts onto paper allows you to have a record of ideas you have for other stories and relieves the pressure of trying to remember it all.“

For more information...
Pressure Writing: What Time Is It?

Advice on Novel Writing by Crawford Kilian

I discovered some more novel writing advice.
Except from Crawford Kilian

“Why am I doing this? Well, a year or so ago someone e-mailed me with that very question. I thought for a minute and then replied to this effect: When you're young, and you think you have the talent, you wonder how you can make the talent serve you. When you're older, you wonder how you can serve the talent. This is some small part of my service. God bless, work hard, write honestly, take pride in your craft”

Advice on Novel Writing by Crawford Kilian

Scene Building

I keep reading about using index cards for plotting. I’ve never been a big index card user but I’m thinking of using the method for this novel to see how it works out for me.

Pamela Templin outlines how she does her scene building with index cards at her blog Write Pam Write!

“to work out my scenes - I first have to work out the next stepping stone across the river. Not every little word and action; that’s the writing of the scene. I just need to work out what the major change or point is. That’s what I write down as the sentence or two on my cards.“

Continue Reading..
Scenes

Angela Booth’s Quickstarts

Angela Booth has a great NaNoWriMo Quickstart series on her blog.

NaNoWriMo QuickStart 1: Pick a genre
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 2: Be a squirrel
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 3: Your characters' professions
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 4: Write a character journal
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 5: Interview your hero and heroine
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 6: Gear up with story boards
NaNoWriMo QuickStart 7: Get organized


Other writing advice posts:
Top Five Tips To Generate Ideas For Your Writing

How to write a novel by Hal Spacejock

More interesting advice from Hal Spacejock. Yes, you read rcorrectly. Hal Spacejock .Check out the rest of the blog for more posts on writing.

“So, what does it take to write a novel? Only five or ten percent of those who embark on the process end up with a finished draft, and while I may not be an expert I can at least share the experience from the perspective of someone who has done it before. I can't promise these tips will work for you, but they might work for the next writer to come across my web site and they certainly work for me.“

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How to write a novel

NaNoWriMo 2006 Progress Forms

Another NaNoWriMo spreadsheet but with an added form.

“The one-day catchup form! Force yourself to write 7500 words in a single day! I don't recommend using this method regularly, but it's a fantastic way to boost your word count.“

Click the link below to go to the post and download the forms
NaNoWriMo 2006 progress forms

Free Digital Graph Paper

I discovered this site throughPamela Templin’s blog. It coffers various forms of graph paper free for download and printing. You can even create graphs to you specs. Great for maps and other world building tasks. I think I’ll try them in Photoshop to do my mapping and building ground planning.

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

Favorite NaNoWriMo Spreadsheet

I found a link to my favorite NaNoWriMo spreadheet. I’m not sure of the true source.
Its a Microsoft Excel formatted spreadsheet that is a great tool for keeping track of your NaNoWriMo progress.

Click the link below to download the spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is an Microsoft Excel document so if you have Microsoft Office that includes Excel, it should work properly for you.
NaNoWriMo Spreadsheet/Report Card

Advice to NaNoWriMo fantasy writers: Read less fantasy?

I’m not sure if I agree with all of the NaNoWriMo posts on this blog but this nugget of advice is interesting.

“By now you've probably read enough fantasy novels to be far too familiar with the genre conventions to which so many such tales slavishly adhere. Now: forget them. They're like grammatical conventions. You learn them to be competent, forget them to be good, and come to them afresh to confront greatness. And maybe NaNoWriMo isn't about any of those things, but it could be. If you want to write a Decent Book as well as a Passable Imitation of the Other Fantasists, you've got to remember that the conventions of fantasy come after the conventions of serious storytelling.“

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Advice to NaNoWriMo fantasy writers: Read less fantasy.

Word Count & Novel Length Advice

Advice on word count and novel length from Pamela Templin’s blog “Write Pam Write.

“Most novels are between 100,000 to 150,000 words. Seems like a lot, and in some ways it is, but it can be managable if you break it down into smaller chunks. Don’t think: I have to write 150,000 words! Think: I have to write 2500 words today. NaNoWriMo is coming up, and even for the regulars, knowing you have 30 days to write 50,000 words can be a bit like facing a stairwell in the Sears Tower and knowing that it will take you 2,109 steps to get to the Skydeck!“

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General advice I’ve found on: Word counts, novel length, and getting through the first draft

The Snowflake Method for Writing a Novel

Another interesting method for writing a novel.
“Frankly, there are a thousand different ways to write a novel. The best one for you is the one that works for you. In this article, I'd like to share with you what works for me. This page is the most popular one on my web site, and gets hundreds of page views per day, so you can guess that a lot of people find it useful. But you may not, and that's fine by me. Look it over, decide what might work for you, and ignore the rest! If it makes you puke, I won't be insulted. Different writers are different. If my methods get you rolling, I'll be happy. I'll make the best case I can for my way of organizing things, but you are the final judge of what works best for you. Have fun”

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The Snowflake Method for Writing a Novel

Holly Lisle

Holly Lisle is a published genre fiction writer with fantastic advice on her site such as:
Questions About How to Write
Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure
Questions About Worldbuilding
The BIG THREE Questions at Forward Motion
How to Revise A Novel
Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure
The Character Workshop -- Designing A Life

Also I’ve bought her great ebooks called:
Holly Lisle's Create A Character Clinic
and
Create A Language Clinic

Holly Lisle also has a podcast called Holly Lisle On WritingHolly Lisle On Writing Website
Holly Lisle On Writing direct iTunes Store for subscription link

Start With The Leaves

“This isn’t to say that a grand idea can’t be the beginning point of a great genre novel. However, I personally find it much harder than the reverse: starting zoomed in and zooming out. That’s the technique my professor taught me to get better beginnings. She called it “starting with the leaves” instead of “starting with the forest...When you start with the leaves, you tend to focus on the little things that make stories interesting as well as the people and their conflicts that will drive your story.”

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Nanowrimo Novel Writing Advice - Start With The Leaves

D*I*Y Planner

Check out D*I*Y Planner. Its a great site.
Their slogan: Paper, Productivity & Passion

“We are a community of people who see the value of paper as a medium for planning, productivity, creative expression, and exploring ideas. We encourage visitors to share advice and inspiration, and we love to see submissions for templates, kit images and story articles. We are also the official home of the free D*I*Y Planner kits. Please enjoy your stay, and make yourself at home”
D*I*Y Planner

Favorite posts:
D*I*Y Planner Kits
The Artist’s Planner
Artistic Planning
It’s That NaNoWriMo Time of Year
The Art of Agile Plotting
D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition

Advice from D*I*Y Planner

I found some more terrific advice at DIY Planner. Its from last year but still relevant.
Its a new method of “project managemen”.
Break out the index cards because post describes how you can use:

The Project Card
The Character Card
The Setting Card

Here is the URL for the full post:
It’s That NaNoWriMo Time of Year

Renewed My Participation

Its official!
I’ve signed onto the NaNoWriMo site and renewed my account for the 2006! I’m officially a NaNoWriMo 2006 participant! I’m so excited!




My NaNoWriMo Profile

Worldbuilding Questions

Some great World Building Information and Questions

Worldbuilding: Constructing a SF Universe

World Building

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions Part 1

Also more great writing advice from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc.


Creating an Earthlike Planet

Seventh Sanctum

Seventh Sanctum

Seventh Sanctum

I discovered this great generator site that describes itself as:
“Here you'll find tools for writers, gamers, and artists; randomly assembling names, concepts, and more for when you need inspiration, or just a bit of amusement”


Writing area has:
Quick Story Idea Generator
Quick Story Theme Generator
Story Generator
What-if-inator
Writing Challenge Generator


and tons of over generators. I thought they would all be great for NaNoWriMo since you have to start with a brand new story idea.

Another Piece of Advice

Some more advise I picked up from the net- I think from someone on allconsuming.net. Thanks!

Be clear in your goals.

Use timed writing. I had many 3,000+word days and I got there using timed writing in 30 minute chunks.

Don’t agonize over the story. Don’t agonize over spelling or grammar. Just write. There’s a reason why Hemingway said, “The first draft is always shit.” NaNoWriMo isn’t a finished product.

If you do want to agonize over the story, outline it well in advance.
Try using continuous speech recognition software to write it.

In the end, there’s no other way to get around it:

Ass + Chair = Writing.

Advice from Gayle Brandeis

I know I’m posting a quote from a blog ( Mom Writes) that got it from another blog but I didn’t want to lose the advice.

So here it is.

The original quote was from Joshilyn Jackson's blog
Faster Than Kudzu.

3 Questions with Gayle Brandeis
"she interviews writer Gayle Brandeis. She asks Brandeis what advice she would give writers "as they pursue this maddening and delightful craft.

Brandeis answers:

My favorite bit of advice is this: stay open. Keep your senses open—as writers, we so often live in our heads, but when we drop down into our senses and remember to take in the sights and smells and sounds and tastes and textures of the world, it gives us so much more juicy stuff to write about. It makes our writing really come to life. Keep your mind open—you never know where the next story will come from, and you should be ready for it. Inspiration often strikes from unexpected places. Be open to change—don't get too attached to any of your words; be prepared to slash them all, to start from scratch if need be (but at the same time, of course, be sure to stay true to your own personal vision and voice.) Read widely, live deeply, and dive into your work unafraid. "

NanoNotepad and Nanowrimo environment

“One of the most common bits of advice given to writers is to set aside a dedicated place and time to work. I think that oftentimes that is taken to mean going to the coffee shop at 8:00pm and little more. However, I think that carving out a writing-specific place on your computer can give you the same seperation in a virtual way.“

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NanoNotepad and Nanowrimo environment

No Plot? No Problem

No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days
by Chris Baty

In my preparation for the upcoming NaNoWriMo, I finally read the book written by Chris Baty, the “creator” of NaNoWriMo. Its very inspiring and excited me about the oncoming challenge. I highly recommend. Yes, I skipped the Week specific Chapters (chapters you read for each week of the challenge) like the book warns but I’m tempted to take a peek.

NaNoWriMo Utilities

Excellent NaNoWriMo Utilities!

NaNoWriMo Utilities

Nanowrimo Dashboard Widget

NaNoWriMo meets the Apple Dashboard


Random Minor Character Geneator Dashboard Widget

Nanowrimo meets the Apple Dashboard

Blog Name Change

I’ve decided to rename this blog NaNoWriMo Offerings so I can continue to record my progress with the next and future NaNoWriMo novels without creating a new blog.

Changed Name again!

Yes, I’ve shelved Kicking the Moon but I’m still thinking about it so its not dead.

And I recently renamed the hero again!

Kadin! Live with it for now.

Update: I just changed the names of two supporting/possible major characters in another story:

Karin is now Tarith
Jamie (Selene’s brother) is now Jonas
Race is now Raze

Possible Moon series or trilogy? Maybe