2011 Winner!!!

Official word count: 50324

Days: 28

Day 28: 50k!!!!!

Today's word count: 5089

Today's hours: 6

Total word count: 50324

 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

Day 27: 45k!

Today's word count: 5108

Today's hours: 5

Total word count: 45235

Holy Crap! 45k!

I can not believe I made it. I was so tired today and my eyes are about to fall out of their sockets as I write this post. It was a little rough going today and I stopped at dinner with the word count of 42772. I returned to the MacBook with the idea to get to 43k and stop for the night and get some sleep. Before I knew it, I was almost to 44k at 11pm so I decided to go for 45k.

Mission accomplished. To bed!!

Day 26: 40k!

Today's word count: 5033

Today's hours: 6

Total word count: 40127

Day 23: travel

Day 24-25: Thanksgiving at Lawrence

Fear not! The turkey, no matter how delicious, delayed me but did not stop my determination to finish. I buckled down and wrote for 6 hours (a record) and accumulate a day word count of 5033 (another record), putting me back in the game. 

40k, baby!!! 10k to go!

Day 22: 35k!

Today's word count: 2543

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 35094

Day 21: Dangerous Snack

Today's word count: 2163

Today's hours: 2

Total word count: 32551

Most snacks are so good, they are bad and you end up regretting them after the first rush leaves you enpty.

Day 20: 30k!

Today's word count: 2142

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 30388

30k!

What a day! It was a day to get a lot of todas done. An amazing day. Then I craweled to the keyboard and forced myself to wrtie because I was going to make it to 30k. Mission accomplished! My eyes are bout to fall out of my head. Also, I finished a major scene. Good all around.

Day 19: the Void Incident 28246

Today's word count: 2160

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 28246

I went home early from watching the K-State vs Texas game tongith so I could get some writing done. Now THAT is dedication. (actually I'm  not really into football but its the thought that counts)

What really caused the Void Incident. Only a handful of people know the truth and my current character was an eye witness who walked away unscathed. Sounds cool anyway.

Day 18: Over 25k!

Today's word count: 2369

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 26086

I made it past the midway point! Over 25k and another 25k to go!
I just might make it and stay sane the process.
I finished a scene both me and the character was getting bored with. So, she took over and confronted the  problem. Done and onto the Void scene from her perspective.

Day 17: Almost but Fell Short

Today's word count: 1395

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 23717

Day 16: travel and eye procedure

I was determined to reach 25k today but my eyes and body gave out.

Tomorrow. 25k!

Day 15: Kiln

Today's word count: 1098

Today's hours: 1

Total word count: 21626

Had to cut it short today. It was a very busy day and even busier tomorrow.

Day 14: 20k!

Today's word count: 2004

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 20528

20k! I was determined to make it to 20k today no matter what. Goal achieved.
I might finish this year! My excel spreadsheet says that at this rate I will be finished on December 4, 2011. I'm getting closer. Whee!

Day was weird. It was like I got off the wrong side of the bed this morning. Everything was off including my energy, mood, and awareness.  Not bitch mode, just off. But I got a number of things done and somehow cranked out some words.

I finally finished Jesse's chapter with a blow off and need to decide who is next to enter the fabric.
To bed.

Day 13: Of Vampires & Succubus 18524

Today's word count: 2395

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 18524

Another beautiful day to spend outside. Got up and around this morning, feeling good. Laundry and other chores done so I could spend some time outside. Very nice.  The writing started out chopped and I gave up on the Dragon Dictate for today because it was screwing me up and making me cranky. As a result, today's word count is entirely hand typed. Not bad. I will wrestle with the Dragon tomorrow.

Jesse learned the close relationship between vampires and succubus today. Juicy.

Day 12: Dad's Home 16129

Today's word count: 3014

Today's hours: 4

Total word count: 16129

It was a weird day but I got some writing done. I haven't decided if Dragon Dictate is helping or dragging my writing down. I got a lot of writing done today without it. However, it makes certain things easier. Also, NaNoWriMo is forcing me to use and train it. Even Steven so far.

I'm still on Jesse. Jesse's greatest nightmare came true today. She came home to find her dad there. Who's your Daddy? He found her family after years of them running and hiding from him. He tried to absorb (succubi killing) Jesse when she was ten years old. In his eyes, she was an ugly duckling and not a true succubus. It was a mercy to kill her. Her mother saved her, took Jesse and her sister, and ran. Now he wants the family back together again. Yikes! Todd Manning much.

Jesse also discovered that a succubus and a vampire can be friends. BFFs is serious business when you can live forever.

Day 11-11-11 13115

Today's word count: 1990

Today's hours: 3

Total word count: 13115

11–11–11 at 11:11.

It was a beautiful day. I spent several hours outside to enjoy it. I sat on my porch swing and listened to the book called Blood Meridian. Wow, what an intense read.  It's not for the faint of heart. The Judge is one of the best villains ever.

I'm working out the succubus/incubus culture with my current teenage pov character, Jesse. She has just met her twin brother but she doesn't know that yet. The succubus/incubus species have a particular mating practices abd living arrangements that would not sit well in human society. Very dangerous. Jesse is trying to fight her culture and species  practices. She will come into conflict with her newly discovered twins brother, who wants to bring her into the fold.

Day 10: 11k! 11125

Today's word count: 3014

Today's hours: 4

Total word count: 11125

Finally I passed the 10k mark! I'd like to thank all the little words such as "a", "the", "and", "was", "he", "she"  and especially "said". If it were not for you, my word count would be pitiful indeed.

It was a good day. I had a lovely lunch of delicious Asian dumplings with a good friend (Thanks Anna!), briefly worked on other stuff, and then strapped myself to the keyboard. I finished Quinn's first chapter and moved onto the teenagers of Thorndale, a motley group all on their own. "Smokin' in the boy's room." There's a thought  but i don't know if they would be "Hot for teacher." She is a Gorgon. A sexy Gorgon but her hair does bite. So wrong.

Day 9: Gorgon

Today's word count: 1350

Today's hours: 2

Total word count: 8111

What happened to Day 8? I got overwhelmed with other business and didn't get any writing done.

 I don't know what happened today. It was over too fast but I get to introduce one of my favorite characters, Quinn the Gorgon. 

If looks could kill.

Day 7: Death of a Guardian 6761

 

Today's word count: 3046

Today's hours: 4

Total word count: 6761

What happened to Day 6?

I crashed for most of the day and spent the rest of it outside. It was so beautiful. I wanted to enjoy the weather while I still could. 

Today, I was able to get some writing done. In fact, I finished a major scene and will go into Thorndale tomorrow. Slowly but surely. 

Day 5: Slow Start 3715

Five days in and I’m already far behind but I’m determined to catch-up.
Week summary:
Day 1: traveling - no writing
Day 2: catch-up - writing prep
Day 3: traveling - no writing
Day 4: crash
Day 5: 3715 word count in 4 hours of writing

The next couple of days should settle into a routine I started today. I killed three birds with one stone. I started writing my NaNoWriMo novel, trained Dragon Dictate to recognize my voice by using it to write the novel, and condition my MacBook pro’s new battery, discharging it as I wrote. I have many multitasking skills.

The NaNoWriMo race is on!

After a two year hiatus, I’m leaping into the 2011 NaNoWriMo challenge!

My novel is currently called Thorndale and its my most ambitious project yet. The cast is huge but the location is compact into a exclusive gated community (maybe town) called Thorndale where supernatural creatures live together, under a truce, as suburban humans. Sound familiar? 

Yes, the Gates is the inspirational seed but I’ve greatly expanded and twisted the concept.  Secrets envelop the whole project between characters, species, households, and bleed into the very ground Thorndale is built upon. I want to explore the power of blood feuds and what it means to be human. 

The story of Thorndale is told through multiple character view points that weave into a narrative tapestry. The events are revealed by a handful of first person narrative characters who are picked from different households, species, goals (protagonist/antagonist),  and character status  (major, supporting, minor) to give the tapestry a full range of color, taste, and smell. Everyone has an agenda an d they are determined to achieve their desires.

It may all fall apart in the end, but I’m ready to flesh it all out. Its a character driven novel and they will determine the fate of Thorndale. 

Watch out for the flashing teeth, claws, blood and flying charred meat.

Novel Writing in 100 Days

How to write a novel in 100 days or less

Even though the NaNoWriMo challenge is writing a novel in 30 days, this 100 days system is very well done. This system maps out what you can focus on for each day and includes helpful, insightful information to keep you writing. Also the 100 days plan covers the NaNoWriMo month and beyond so you can fully flesh out the novel from 50,000 to 80,000 words. Very cool.

How to Write TV Series Bibles

Write Here, Write Now: How to Write TV Series Bibles: Just a few short years ago, those who wrote TV series specs were unusual; since the explosion of contest like Red Planet Prize and various ...

I finally found good expert information on how to write a series bible. Its great for writers of both screenplays and novels. I think this simplified approach is especially fitting for a NaNoWriMo novel because it collects a lot important information in a short amount of time and pages.

Determined Return

I’m dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2011. Nothing short of hospitalization will stop me this year. Not even blindness.
I hope.