So maybe I could
say that I'm busy, but the fact that nobody outside of Facebook knows
that I finished NaNoWriMo is my fault. Sorry, folks. Have a
screenshot:
And
okay, I'll admit it: every year, I promise myself that I won't flag
after NaNoWriMo, and every year, I succumb to post-NaNoWriMo
laziness.
So as
of right now, I still haven't finished The King of Three, although
I'm five to ten thousand words away from completion. But victory is
near, and with the last week of school coming up, my schedule will be
freed to finally wrap up the novel. All going well, I should have it
done before January at the latest.
With the completion
of The King of Three also comes the completion of the series as a
whole. And Tornado C is finished, too. Having those two novels off
my back will allow me to start on new projects, which is a huge
amount of fun.
But here's the
problem...I don't know where to start.
Right now, I have
somewhere between five and six incubating ideas ranging from sci-fi
to time travel to epic fantasy. And since my self-imposed rule is to
never do more than one major project at a time, this means that I
have to choose. Choosing is awful.
So,
with that in mind, I'm going to lay out some of my ideas and have you
choose—or, rather, adviseme
on what to choose.
Route #1:
Publish ALL the stories!
Well,
not really. But this is the more publishing-heavy idea of the three
that I'm outlining here.
If
I chose this route, my schedule would look like this:
As
soon as I finish the King of Three, I return to my long-neglected
Will Vullerman stories, revise the three remaining ones, polish all
five, get them some spiffy covers, and publish them on Kindle for
$0.99 each, and $2.99 collectively.
Then, after I finish that, I'll write the sequel to The War Horn,
tentatively titled “The King's Coffin”. I'll probably take a
break after finishing to fiddle with some other stories, but after a
while I'll revise it like crazy and send it to pre-readers to
critique. After that, I'll format, get a cover, and publish it on
Kindle for $2.99.
Since that work will take up quite a bit of the year, by the time The
King's Coffin is published, I'll probably start working on my massive
Tornado C overhaul and see what I can do to find it an actual name.
(I STILL don't have the foggiest what I'm going to name it. Titles
have never been my forte.)
The main idea behind this one is twofold: first, to get my work out
there so that when I have a “big” novel, one that I'll try to get
traditionally published, I'll already have a reader base and some
published works. Second, I have this crazy idea that my novels will
become runaway bestsellers and I'll raise enough money to go to the
2014 OYAN Workshop.
The big drawback of this route is that raising enough money for an
international plane ticket is improbable at best and impossible at
worst. And if I knew for sure that I wasn't going, I probably
wouldn't invest my time in publishing.
But there is this little thing of mine called hope...
Route #2: Become
a publishing hermit!
That is to say, take the absolute opposite of my previous idea and
publish nothing at all.
Under this route, I would mostly ignore my Will Vullerman stories
(again) and focus on new projects, rather than working with old ones.
First up would be a new novel completed with the OYAN supplement
“Other Worlds”. It would be a sort-of sequel to Tornado C, but
with less emphasis on “epic and dramatic” and more on “small
and structured”.
Depending on how long that project takes, I'll either work on The
King's Coffin (putting the publication date somewhere between Fall
2014 and Spring 2015) or go straight to Tornado C to start my
revisions. (As you can see, I'm serious about getting my Tornado C
revisions done.)
The main issue with this route is that Will Vullerman has been
ruminating in my head for awhile. It would be nice to get it to the
point where I can be done with it.
Route #3: The
Great Compromise
My
final route will take a middle road in between these two options,
giving me a foot in both trenches. I'd start out with publishing
Will Vullerman and then go on to work with my “Other Worlds”
novel. After all this, I'd work on Tornado C revisions. This would
put the writing
of “The King's Coffin” somewhere between Fall 2014 and Spring
2015.
The biggest issue with this one is that, if I was to give my foolish
hope a chance, I would want to go all in, rather than just publish
some short stories in hopes that I'll get thousands of downloads.
And
Route #4 is to ditch
school to write and publish all of the above. Needless to say, route
four is not an option, as much as I'd like it to be.
So there you have it! It's a choice between lots of publication,
some publication, and no publication; little chance for the Workshop,
even less chance for the Workshop, and no chance for the Workshop.
What do you think? I admit that I'm a little tied up about it.
Spare me some wisdom!
Please ignore the fact that the vast majority of my recent posts have sentences instead of titles. Titles are supposed to summarize the posts, anyway.
We're a week away from NaNoWriMo now, and as usual I haven't planned an iota of my novel. Not even in my head. Haven't thought about it, at all. Preparing so far has consisted of reading the previous books in my series (I'm working on Book #4 of The Prophecies this year) and procrastinating on writing the last two chapters of tVoG (which is Book #3 and didn't get finished last year).
Also, because one of my great vices is forgetfulness, I neglected to inform you guys of a huge development in my writing career as of a couple weeks ago.
The picture will pretty much tell the tale, minus the convulsions.
In case you were wondering, the name of this particular document was Tornado C. And as of October 12th, I passed 90,000 words and wrote THE END on this epic that has taken me the last twenty-one months to brainstorm and write.
All I'm saying is that revision's going to be a trip. I don't even want to think about it right now.
In the meantime, I'm basking in the glory of actually finishing something and trying not to think about the novel I have to be ready to write in a week. (And, y'know, actually finishing the book that came before it.)
I haven't been avoiding this blog on purpose. But when life has you by the neck, it's usually best to get out of the noose before browsing the internet.
That being said, I have almost zero to say; no updates, no pithy posts concerning writing, (alas) no extraordinarily eloquent exhortations. Right now we're renovating the house in preparation for our move, and that pushes out pretty much everything else—including writing and blogging.
That doesn't include reading, thankfully. A fellow missionary kid loaned me a omnibus of The Chronicles of Narnia a while ago, and I finished devouring it yesterday. Ah! Such goodness!
Aside from those random notes, I figured I'd give you something to chew on over Christmas break. (More likely than not, this is the last time you'll hear from me in a while!)
*drumroll*
An excerpt from the Voice of God!
This scene takes place at the highest point of Myrkvar, at a building called the Seat of God. Edon, the main character, is coming before the High Presbytery of Myrk for the first time. (The Presbytery pretty much governs everyone in Myrk and rules from the Seat of God.)
And again, this is woefully unedited and rather choppy. The description is a bit much and needs to be refined. ^_^ Thoughts on the whole would be appreciated!
--
A massive arch without doors guarded the front entrance, and into it were carved many symbols that Edon didn't recognize. The tall walls of the hall fanned out from both sides, pocketed with designs and reliefs, so many of which that Edon didn't see half of them before they had reached the arch.
On either side of the arch—which was wide enough for three men to pass without touching each other—stood two men. They wore simple white tunics and trousers, and wore a white cap on their heads. They both held smooth, bone-white staffs.
“Welcome,” one said. “Sentinel Iorkus?”
The Sentinel knelt and touched his forehead to the stone floor before the arch. “I come in the name of God.”
The man inclined his head slightly, and enunciated his words carefully. “Welcome in the most holy Name of God. The Presbytery expects thee, and thy companions.”
“Thank ye.”
The man bowed and gestured inside. Sentinel Iorkus rose and unwound his shoes, motioning for the rest to do likewise. Edon pulled off the straps holding his shoe in place and kicked them off, following Iorkus, who walked reverently beneath the arch.
Edon found himself in what felt like an ancient temple built by supernatural hands. Massive, serrated columns of stone held up the straight curve of the ceiling, which didn't quite come to a point; three quarters of the way, the roof cut off and twilight shone through, a path of silver leading to the end of the hall.
The large stones of the floor were in a checkerboard pattern, alternating a glowing white and an obsidian black, and the pillars likewise alternated between black and white.
When Edon reached the end of this trail of silver, the hall billowed out into a perfect circle with no roof at all. The floor was completely white, with a solitary black star in the center, edged with gold. Around this massive circle there were walls painted with frescoes of the ages; battles and famines and centuries of peace. Some paintings were chipped in age, and some glowed as if they had been painted the day before. Directly in front of Edon, held up on a pedestal of white stone, was a larger-than-life replica of the Sacred Sword, plated in gold and beaten until it gleamed. Beneath it there was an empty throne of white stone draped in purple. The arms of the throne were carved as two roaring lions, and the pedestal holding the Sacred Sword composed the back.
On either side of the throne, smaller seats of a similar make curved symmetrically around the silver-lit circle of the hall. Counting the throne, there were forty-nine seats, seven sevens: twenty-four on either side of the great throne. Upon those seats sat forty-eight men robed in white.
And the eyes of every single man were fixed upon the newcomers.
--
Yeah, sometimes I go to town on the descriptions, at the cost of writing quality. But hopefully the image of the silver-lit Seat of God is now as vivid in your mind as it was in mine.
What about you? Have any awe-inspiring locations in your writings?
I mean, I left you guys out in the cold for almost a month.
But I swear, I have good reasons. Life is crazy, particularly when it is in Africa. Before you roll your eyes at this rote excuse, let me expand.
Not only was I swamped with NaNoWriMo, but we lost our internet for two weeks, are preparing to renovate a house that looks like this, have been hosting a good friend from America for a month, AND I've been repeatedly beaten up by pre-calculus, and everyone but me came down with typhoid.
My younger sister didn't stop there, however, and got a case of 3+ malaria, which is extremely severe. Her fever shot up to 105.7 and we had to take her to the hospital.
Liberian hospitals are a nightmare :P at one point they refused to discharge her even though she was back in good health.
And THAT'S the condensed version of the last 30 days. It was, unfortunately, a lot worse than this sounds.
But now that my excuses are finished, let's get down to business! First things first, wrapping up loose ends.
I finished NaNoWriMo a day early! ^_^
I was overshadowed by my extraordinarily word-count-happy sister, however, who wrote 100,000 words (two novels) in the month of November. Can you all give her a chorus of YOU'RE COMPLETELY INSANE for me?
Thanks.
The Voice of God still isn't finished, however. Because my life went even crazier shortly after NaNoWriMo, it's still unfinished and at about 56,000 words. If I can find the time to write two more chapters, however, the book will be finished.
That being said, I've been hit by 6+ new story ideas in the past month, and I doubt any of them will see the light of day for quite a while. I still have quite a few things on my plate, though. Will Vullerman and Tornado C are priorities after the Voice of God is finished, although I plan to take Tornado C at a leisurely pace.
If it sounds hectic, it is. Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Tomorrow starts my early Christmas break, which is largely due to the fact that I'll be helping with renovations. We're supposed to move into a new place by the New Year, and it needs a lot of work. (Prayer would be coveted!)
What about you all? Finish NaNoWriMo? If not, never fear! You've written more than you might have if you hadn't done NaNoWriMo.
All you non-NaNoers, what are you writing now? Ready for Christmas break?
Evidently my dear sister didn't read my post about how to encourage persons that aren't immortal and overachieving like themselves. Take a look at these stats. (And yes, I'm behind; I mean to make up for it this week, since I'm off school.)
Not terrible, right? Yeah, just wait till you see what's next.
She finished her novel on the fifteenth. Even worse, she's writing a SECOND NaNoWriMo novel with the same goal of 50k before December 1!
She's crazy.
Sheesh, I'll be happy if I can even make my goal tonight...
No,
really, that's the story of my life right now.
Night
of the living writer. The “living” part is kind of surprising,
seeing as I often feel dead after writing. The majority of my writing
is done at night, after all, and while it's fairly quiet and gives me
lots of time, it does tend to wear on my energy.
Also,
today is national Whale Explosion Day. Search Oregon's Whale
Explosion on Google and watch the 1970 video. It kind of helps you
when you're brain-dead. (:
And
besides this, I really don't have much else to post about, other than
I'm still on track with my word count. I hit the big 20k today: my
current count is 21,130. Not bad! The story is on track. It's a
bit slow right now, but it'll pick up in the next five thousand words
or so and then hurtle to the finish line.
To
those of you who are behind, take courage! You can do it! If you're
really in need of motivation, shoot me an email for a word war. I'm
usually available from 10:00 PM GMT to anytime after that. (I'm six
hours ahead of CST, and five ahead of EST, if you need a conversion
chart. ^_^) My email's on the Contact Me page.
Speaking
of word counts, how is yours? Those of you who are doing NaNoWriMo,
are you ahead or behind? Those of you who aren't doing NaNoWriMo,
what's your current project and how's it coming along?
I
think Tornado C's lack of brevity is rubbing off on The Voice of God.
My MC is about to be launched into the plot head-first, but I'm
already eighty pages into the novel! I'm hoping to wrap it up at 50k
or so, but who knows?
One
thing's for sure...I won't make last year's mistake. If The Voice of
God does get long, I'm going to finish it before moving on to other
projects. (:
May
the Ninja go with you! Or to quote the Myrkian goodbye, “Fare ye
well and God ye bless!” Write like the wind, and may your keyboard
burn with speed!
That's
it. I've finally started NaNoWriMo. Book Three of the Prophecies is
officially underway. After midnight last night, I wrote a flurry of
words; my current word count is 1,748, or it was at the time of this writing. (That's the problem with scheduled posts...)
How's
your writing coming, folks? Reached that 1,667 word goal yet? It
seems easy, doesn't it? Too easy, in fact. And it is. Believe me,
just two hundred words will seem like a million a couple weeks from
now. Enjoy the easy going while it lasts. ;)
Oh,
and my apologies for not getting it up sooner, but I have
written up a rough (and rather long) synopsis for The Voice of God.
Feast your eyes upon this, mates!
–
“Everything you know, everything
you thought you knew...it's all wrong.”
Far
beneath the ground, the realm of Myrk stirs for the first time in
eras. They've tunneled deep and confined themselves from the rest of
the world, but the coming of five strangers is going to change
everything.
Edon
Silversword is one of those five strangers. Once called the
Champion, he discovers in Myrk that Arowdae has been lied to for
generations. Combined with the news of his parents' deaths, he
struggles to keep his faith. He's found the Prophecy of Einarr, but
wracked with a strange illness and grappling with this news, he has
to set out on a quest he's barely prepared for. Accompanied only by
a Myrkian guide who won't stop talking, and his faithful friend
Knerath, Edon must go far to the north, to the fabled Icedelves...and
into the unnatural darkness created by the Daske.
In
Myrk, his companions—Sirius, Ryni, and Rozan—have to stay behind
to convince the pacifist High Presbytery of Myrk to defeat their
subterranean enemies and rise up one last time to defend a country
they thought they had abandoned. For a new Dreadman has arrived in
Arowdae, and with new devices of war from his master, he begins to
set in motion a plan to destroy all resistance against him.
At
least, that's what they had planned. But when Sirius learns that the
Dreadman is not the only new arrival in Arowdae, he faces a terrible
decision: to disobey the strict orders of the High Presbytery and
risk losing their support, or to set out on a desperate attempt to
rescue the man he once called his father.
Meanwhile,
in Kr'ark, the disappearance of the Silverswords leaves a gap in
leadership. Farion steps in to fill the hole, but the people are
growing complacent and he needs an army to fight off the encroaching
darkness. With the false king Reine making moves to obtain control
over the city, Farion struggles both with the burden of leadership
and desperate loneliness.
The
darkness is growing, and the faith of all followers of the High Lord
is being tested. But there is one last promise held out in the
Prophecy of Einarr, and it is the only way Edon Silversword may be
able to make sense of the mess and regroup the scattered forces of
good.
He
holds on to the hope that he is promised: that he is the Witness, and
will hear the voice of God.
–
Thoughts?
Synposes of your own? Share away; but don't go reading my blog when
you should be writing. Drop down and gimme 2k! ;)
Hail and well met, NaNoers! November has started at last. I'd give you my word count, but alas, this post is pre-written and scheduled to post at 12:01 A.M. CST on November 1st. By the time this posts, however, I'll have been in November for five hours already!
To start off NaNoWriMo well, I figured I'd give you something to lift your hearts and bolster your first writing surge of the month. Presenting...writing advice from Snoopy!
How do you start a novel? Drag in your heavy, romantic briefcase and get out your typewriters. Snoopy lets us know how real page-turners start: with the mystery of a fantastic beginning sentence.
Next, he lets us know that real writing is hard work. And to get to 50,000 words by the end of the month, it's going to take a LOT of hard work. But we can get through it!
Also, Snoopy says, when presenting the beginning of your incredible work-in-progress to editors, make sure and be open to advice. An open mind is always a good thing, so take the advice and make your story better.
In this one, Snoopy shows us how to write brilliant description: the strength is in the little details!
We all need editing, and Snoopy is no exception. Edit as you go, but don't get so caught up in the editing that you stop writing the story!
Snoopy also lets us in on the secret to emotional scenes. Dialogue is key!
In the next few sections, Snoopy tells us how to react to critique after the story is finished, and what to do when you send in your story to the publishers.
Well, there you have it...the complete guide to writing your NaNoWriMo novel. (Many thanks to Snoopy for offering to make a guest appearance on my blog.)
Now
that I've temporarily wrapped up Tornado C and Will Vullerman, I'm
finally freed up to focus on The Prophecies again.
The
Prophecies is what I would now describe as a prose-ugly saga that
will require so much revision that it's not even funny. (That being
said, it has some good points, among them being cool names and really
fun dialogue.) It is a wild tale, which may be one reason why it's
an almost exclusively NaNoWriMo-written series.
After
working on the heavily descriptive prose of Tornado C, however, the
style of The Prophecies is radically different. Like Tornado C, I
tend to focus on dialogue; however, the prose is very sparse and
describes just enough to move the story along, a result of my
2k-a-day writing rushes. Thus, the focus of the novel is not on
character or theme (although there is some of both in this novel,
especially theme) but plot. It's my dabble in plot-first writing, so
to speak.
In
some ways, this is refreshing. Writing in one style can be boring,
in the same way that reading the same style for a number of different
books can become tedious. (For instance, Bryan Davis's prose is
almost the same in every single one of his fantasy books, his first
two novels excluded. It gets old after a while.)
Right
now, however, I have to finish last year's NaNoNovel, The Prophecy of
Einarr, before I can continue brainstorming for Book Three in the
series, The Voice of God. (Unfortunately, once I reached 50k last
year, I completely dropped the project...in the middle of a scene.)
A couple days back I finished that scene. It was somewhat difficult,
since I had to switch my “style glasses”. Imagine what it would
be like if I suddenly switched styles mid-book! Yagh! No, sir! So
I'm getting used to brief prose and little description again.
Right
now, I'm not quite focusing on excellence, like I did with Tornado C
– I have to finish the book in less than two weeks, and I have at
least four to five sizable chapters left to write. (Don't worry,
they're not Tornado C-sized chapters. The Prophecies, also unlike
Tornado C, is characterized by fairly short chapters.) Then, I
brainstorm!
How
are you preparing for NaNoWriMo? Is anyone else trying to tie up
loose ends before starting? (Is anyone else starting to panic
because they have zero ideas for their NaNoNovel? :P)
For some time, I've needed to start
work on Tornado C, my OYAN novel for 2012. Unfortunately, a few plot
problems and my general perfectionism have been hindering my outline
progress (as you've read in previous posts).
It's been a general idea of mine to
enter this novel into the 2012 OYAN Novel Contest once it's finished.
Today, I checked the enter-by date on the contest.
August 15.
Gulp.
I have 31 days (exactly a month) to
write Tornado C, revise it, and enter it into the contest. (I
decided today that I was, in fact, entering....provided the novel's
done.) I know for a fact that, under pressure, I can write fast
enough - but finding time to revise it, too, will be a big problem.
(Especially since my grandparents are visiting here in Liberia until
August 1, so I will be spending precious little time on the
computer.)
Sure, I've done 45k in nineteen days
(my greatest literary accomplishment to-date) but churning out
contest-quality work will be a problem. Still, since I have a
detailed outline, I'm hoping that the plot problems that often come
with hastily written novels will be somewhat diminished.
In the next two days, I'll have started
Tornado C. My projected word count is somewhere beyond 40,000 words,
so this will be a - ahem - a big project to undertake in just 31
days.
Still, if God is for me, what can stand
against? A deadline? Psh.
So here's the deal: I'm planning on
finishing this novel before August 15. Unlike NaNoWriMo, however,
the only reward I'll have by the end is a finished novel - and my
only motivation is the satisfaction of a good word count.
That means I need some good friends to
help me along. I challenge you— *cue gauntlet-slapping* —to
a WriMo of epic proportions: finish a novel before August 15.
The novel can be already-started and unfinished, or it can be a
completely new work-in-progress. Your choice. But the race is to
the finish line, regardless of where you are on the racetrack.
If you happen to finish before me,
you'll get a reward.
Well,
in all technicality, it won't be much more than a hearty
congratulations in a blog post and the reward of a finished novel.
But hey, if Tornado C ever gets published, I'll mention all
the contestants in the Acknowledgments,
too!
So
what say you? Take up the
challenge?
Whether
you're with me in pen or spirit - it's time to write!
Charge!
EDIT:
I've STARTED TORNADO C. Repeat: I've finally started it! The word
count is 1085 and it's time for bed. 'Night!
Writers are generally divided into two
categories: those who outline and those who do not. I fondly call
non-outliners "SOP" writers: we write from the seat
of ourpants. We
usually have no plan, unless it's in our head. There are also
outliners, however: those who use outlines to structure their
stories.
Each type of writer often looks upon
the other with suspicion. Old and grizzled outlining veterans
sometimes claim that outlining is the better way. Equally grizzled
SOP writers claim the opposite. Truth is, they're both a valid way
of writing a novel. Different people prefer different things.
This post is something of an analysis
of both, with my own opinions shamelessly inserted.
First off, outlining.
What makes it preferable to
non-outlining?
First, it gives you a direction.
Many SOP writers (myself included) can write themselves into a
corner and have no idea where to go next. Outlining makes it so that
you always know where you're going. This doesn't make you immune to
the common writer's vices, such as procrastination and "writer's
block", but it helps.
Outlining
also gives you clarity.
It's easier to make it clear to the reader where the story is going
if you actually know
where it's going.
It's
also a huge help with foreshadowing.
This is probably the greatest use of outlining for me. With
outlining, you can foreshadow things that are going to happen later
in the book because you actually know what's going to happen. SOP
writers like me (that plan vaguely in their heads) can do this to a
lesser extent, but for intricate detail work and shocking twists,
outlining has no equal.
Outlining
can help you with your speed.
If you know where the story is going, it's possible to write faster.
There are exceptions to this, of course. I did NaNoWriMo 2011 with
no outline at all, and wrote over 45,000 words in nineteen days.
(Needless to say, I think I burned myself out...) However, when
writing by the seat of your pants, speed can sacrifice quality.
There's quite a bit of plot revision I need to do on The Prophecy of
Einarr, for instance.
This
method also eliminates
excess prose. Outlining
often helps your story to get where it's supposed to go without
wandering around too much. Some SOP writers struggle with thousands
of words that don't need to be there. An example of this would be
Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. As much as some people love
his books, the plot is almost nonexistent in some places.
All
right, so those are the perks of outlining. How does SOP writing
compare?
First,
SOP writing provides a certain amount of freedom.
SOP writers who try outlines often complain about how it "restricts"
their writing. Restriction isn't bad, but many writers prefer freer
prose. Anything can happen. Tolkien famously wrote, for instance,
that he was as surprised as Frodo when Gandalf didn't return to the
Shire.
SOP
writing also can have unpredictable
plot. Christopher
Hopper, author of the White Lion Chronicles, writes that "if I
don't know where things are heading, I'm confident that my readers
won't either." This lends a certain amount of superiority over
outlining, since it's easy to make an outlined novel predictable.
You have to go back and foreshadow the plot twists, of course, but it
is nonetheless a good way to keep things unpredictable.
In
some ways, this kind of writing can also help keep things realistic.
The plot of a novel is one big chain reaction. Everything happens
because of something else that happened. Sticking to an outline can
sometimes cause plot problems when the outline backfires. Something
may happen in the outline that should
cause something else, but doesn't.
At
first glance, it looks as if outlining is far superior to SOP
writing. After all, outlining gives you direction, clarity, speed,
good foreshadowing, and keeps you from writing useless prose, while
SOP writing keeps things unpredictable and is rather fun to write.
The pros of outlining outnumber the pros of non-outlining.
However,
here is where my analysis stops and my own opinion begins. Here's why
I am a SOP writer:
I
usually don't have to worry about clarity.
I know where I'm going in my plot. I don't know it as good as an
outliner, of course, but I know it well enough to write it. I
also don't have to worry about excess
prose. I naturally write
straight-and-to-the-point prose that doesn't wander around...too
much. I've already proven that even SOP writers can write with speed
just as well as outliners.
That
strikes out three of the pros of outlining. Now SOP writing and
outlining are evenly matched: SOP writing provides unpredictability
and freedom, while outlining provides direction and a chance to
foreshadow things before you write them.
Here's
what makes me a SOP writer, though. When I write outlines, I
generally have to work very hard on them in order to make it so that
it's not boring.
Those
who read The War Horn may say otherwise, but The War Horn took an
enormous amount of work to make it as good as it is today. (The War
Horn is my only novel so far that was fully outlined.) By far, it was
the hardest novel I had ever written, partially since it was a
historical fiction story. With outlines, then, I lose
unpredictability
and I have to work harder.
(Hard work isn't a bad thing, though. The War Horn did turn out
pretty good!)
That
makes SOP writing verrrrrry tempting. Not only is it easier
(and rather fun for a character such as me), it provides a balance
to my tendency to creating boring plot. That makes SOP writing a
better option for me, as a writer. I can write more and write better
if I write with no plan.
So
that's why I'm a SOP
writer.
And
as a side note, there's a weird hybrid method that I used on The Book
of Shaldu, which I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2010. I wrote the outline
of the next chapter or two, and then wrote those chapters. It was
like shining a flashlight down a twisting tunnel: I couldn't see the
end, but I could see my next few steps. I never fully outlined to
the end, actually. Most of the way through, I tossed out the outline
and just wrote from the seat of my pants again.
That
method allowed me to do NaNo at a speed that I can't achieve now:
over 2,000 words an hour. I got the benefits of outlining—direction
and speed—with
the benefits of SOP writing: unpredictability
and balance.
You might try it sometime. I prefer the pure method of
non-outlining now, but it might work for you!
In
summary, outlining offers guidance,
foreshadowing, and
direction.
If you can write up a good plot but you have a tendency to go on
rabbit trails, outlining is the thing for you. On the other hand,
you have fingers. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) On the other hand,
seat of the pants writing offers unpredictability
and balance
to the novelist who has trouble coming up with great plots.
Of
course, there are other reasons you might choose one or the other.
Can you think of any?
So
what about you all? What do you think?
To outline, or not to outline, and why?
Someone, last year, described NaNoWriMo as a dragon. And the title seems apt, for always heroes go to slay the dragon, to defeat the dragon. The dragon is a challenge, and likewise, NaNoWriMo is the biggest and baddest dragon of them all. One of the greatest challenges a writer can face.
And today.
At 6:36 PM (Liberian time).
The dragon—was slain.
50,000 words.
One month.
Finished.
The novel itself isn't finished, but it'll be finished soon. I'm hoping to stop around 60,000 words. :) In the meantime, feel free to admire my winner's badge on the right sidebar. ;)
How'd NaNoWriMo go for you all? And to those of you rushing to finish, remember:
Greetings and hallucinations from Liberia, bloggers and readers and writers and the occasional sane person! I'n back, and quite literally in an all-new adventure. I'm hailing from Liberia, West Africa!
So far I've survived, and it's actually quite cool here. It's afternoontime and 86 degrees. You Americans should all be up about this time. It's forties in Kansas... *jealous*
But in all seriousness, I think it's the only time that I haven't been sweating since we arrived...
If you want an in-depth report of what's happening and how things are going, take a look at my sister Manny's blog post about Liberia, 'cause all I'm going to do is give you a list. Keep in mind, I have somewhat of a more positive outlook on things. I think it's all awesome. ;) And staying up late in the plane and watching Doctor Who on my new Kindle Fire wasn't that bad either. (All four of us were kindly donated Kindles before we left, which was awesome.)
So, where to start? There has been so much happening that I can't even begin to tell you.
Differences! That's the ticket. I can compare and contrast the U.S. to Liberia. Give you a feel of how different everything is.
Temperature:
Liberia: 86 degrees
Kansas: 42 degrees
Seasons:
Liberia: Rainy season and dry season
Kansas: Spring, summer, fall, and winter
Rain:
Liberia: (in Monrovia) 136 inches yearly (the most rain of any world capital)
Kansas: 36-20 inches yearly
Language:
Liberia: Liberian English (heavy accent/dialect that often leaves off consonants)
Kansas: American English
Internet:
Liberia: No internet cable for high-speed internet (although one is coming and will be available in 2012)
Kansas: High-speed internet
Climate:
Liberia: Wet in the rainy season, dry in the dry season, "hot" (by American standards) all year 'round, tropical-like
Kansas: Ranging from cool to warm to hot to cold, temperate
Landscape
Liberia: Tropical sub-Saharan jungle (I think O_o I haven't been out in the "bush" yet), small mountains, trees
Kansas: Flat plains
Employment:
U.S.: 9% unemployed
Liberia: 85% unemployed
Wildlife:
Liberia: So far, I've noted lizards, birds, dogs, and my sisters tell me there's a pet wildcat upstairs.
Kansas: Deer, foxes, coyotes, skunks, possums, raccoons, etc.
I can't think of any more. <_<
Other, personal notes:
1) Liberians like their car horns. Or motorcycle horns, since there's more motorcycles than cars. And Liberians use their horns all the time.
2) Right now it's one of the coolest times of the year in Liberia. Yes, at 86 degrees. We came at the time of bearable temperature so that, I hope, we'll be more accustomed to heat by the time the dry season comes.
3) The internet connection at the guest house we're staying at is...fickle. XD The connection from the tower likes to go down a lot. (And we are at a guest house. The house we're supposed to rent isn't ready yet. :) )
And also, I was SO CLOSE to finishing my NaNoWriMo novel before we left. My word count was 47,704, and I plan to finish sometime in the next few days. The novel itself won't be finished, methinks, although I'm close to the end. I may park somewhere around 60k by the end, who knows.
I'd post some pictures, but none are available right now. They're taking a long time to upload, and Manny refuses to send me some because it'll take a long time. ;) I'll just have to wait and post them later.
How's everything going with you all?
(If you ask me questions in the comments section, and there's a lot of them, I'll paste them all in a post and write out the answers. Just so ya know, if I don't reply. Either that, or the internet connection went down again.)
I board a plane in 38 hours, if my mind serves me correctly. Or maybe I should get a calculator.
*checks* Yes, 38 hours.
And guess what? The packing craze has hit, and the last twelve hours have been a hectic time of packing and unpacking and repacking and cleaning and carrying and packing.
And also guess what? My word count is 40,000 words.
I tried giving up. I really did. I felt like that poor cat.
But I've been bothered back into stubbornness. I received feedback from my sisters like this:
--
"I'm giving up on my novel. I'm tired, it's been a long day, and I don't have enough time. I'm giving up."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not. You will write that novel. It doesn't matter that you're tired."
--
Needless to say, I discovered that my sisters had the same stubbornness and passion for debating that I have. So I'm going to do this crazy thing. Another friend told me, "COURAGE, Jake! Courage! Just think what an epic story this will make. ^_^ Not just the story you're writing, but also the tale you'll be able to boast to your friends, of this brave feat accomplished. XD"
Preparing to word war after working with my grandparents and writing blog posts and such for five hours.
[11:40 PM]
I've hit 21,000 and hoping to write 3k yet tonight. We'll see what happens, I guess.
I need to be careful, though. I was drinking a glass of milk in the kitchen when I had a bit of an epiphany; I'm very concerned about my word count. Enough so that I'm thinking, "What can I write next that will get my word count up?"
I came close to losing track of the story, or even caring about the story. It became about word count, and it should never be that way. If I get 3k, I get 3k, but I need to focus on the story.
Here it goes. *eats a few Cheez-Its and writes*
[12:30 AM]
Well, I got to 21,600 words, and I can't keep my eyes open. I'll have plenty of time to write tomorrow, at least.
DAY 12
(Nov. 12)
CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 27,122
WORD GOAL: 27,800
Thought of the day: The Internet is distracting: DON'T GET ON IT.
[4:10 PM]
I have a little more than 5,000 left to write, if my sources are correct. *checks again*
Yeah, that's the correct number. I've written a little today, but I need to dig in my heels and WRITE. I need to stop procrastinating and surfing the internet.
Blast, I had forgotten how distracting the internet is. >_<
[4:30 PM]
Word warring.
For ten minutes XP
[5:05 PM]
I'm writing like the wind and really loving it. I got to an epic part and saw all the way to the end of "Part One" of the Prophecy of Einarr.
[5:15 PM]
I'm about to do something extremely clever. :D :D :D :D I love where this chapter is taking me! I've got an epic figuring-out scene that I'm writing where they realize the plot twists and THEN I have a cool little thing where a character relates a crucial piece of information just after I cut out of the scene. I then reveal that information later on and it comes as a complete surprise. :D EPIC.
[5:45 PM]
Passed 23,000.
[8:10 PM]
The writing is really slow, but I'm at 24,000 at least. And I stopped for supper. About to do an hour-long word war, so maybe that will help me out.
[9:20 PM]
I'm at 25k and I'm mentally exhausted. I'm going to take a trenchcoat walk in a few minutes.
[11:30 PM]
Well, I talked with some really nice people on the One Year Adventure Novel forum, but that didn't get any writing done. I'll buckle down and see if I can kill the last 2k or so of words before heading to bed.
[12:10 AM]
I have a thousand words yet to write.
Geh...
Well, let's get 'er done.
[12:20 AM]
Broke 27k.
[12:30 AM]
I need to go to bed, I'm getting up early for church in the morning. My final count is 27,122. Just a few hundred words away from my goal, but if I write much longer, I won't be able to get up tomorrow. At least I wrote about 6k today. Hopefully I'll make up the 700-odd words tomorrow. Good night.
DAY 13
(Nov. 13)
CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 30,000
WORD GOAL: 31,500
Thought of the day: Word wars are good. ^_^
[1:15 PM]
I need to write. O_o What's my goal? *calculates* 31,500. All right, not bad.
[7:30 PM]
I've been writing, but I've not been keeping this up.
Oh, and let me tell you what happened today: I was in Hesston, Kansas and eating Mexican at a restaurant. Hesston is a farmer town. Conservative, Republican, and very Mennonite.
Someone walked into the Mexican restaurant. He had a few windblown wrinkles and graying hair, a thick, Western mustache and tight clothes. He wore the BIGGEST belt buckle I've ever seen, and topped off the picture with...a Stetson.
I couldn't stop staring at the Stetson through the entire meal. XD "Thou shalt not covet!" <---Hard today.
[10:15 PM]
The internet is so stinking distracting. >_< I need to write a lot. I'm at 29,000, and I'm aiming for 31,500. Let's go.
No more internet or breaks until I reach 30k.
[11:15 PM]
I'm at 30,000 exactly. Gah. >_< I need to take a break, I'm tired.
[Sometime afterward]
I'm going to bed. XD Good night!
DAY 14
(Nov. 14)
CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 30,300
WORD GOAL: 35,200
Thought of the day: Write, write! Write until you drop!
[2:05 PM]
I should be writing, but instead I'm running around in righteous anger at this article: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118046098
If you watch Doctor Who, you should be mad too. XD
I need to buckle down and keep writing. *nods*
--
Hey all! How's it going? How's NaNoWriMo, NaNoers? Need a word war? Shoot me an email. :)
If you follow my blog or read it, please read the first part of this post.
Well, the clock is ticking. In eight days, I'm getting on a 22-hour plane ride to Liberia. Just a few days ago, we bought our plane tickets. Who knows what will happen?
You'll see a decrease in blogging, if I'm able to blog at all. But I'll find some way to keep you all updated.
So you have eight more days of blogging, and I'll be pretty active in the next few days, since I'm staying with my grandparents. It's been fantastic, folks. Thank you so much for being my followers and reading this blog!
Oh, and did I mention it? I'm going to try and finish NaNoWriMo before November 19th. *gulps* This should be interesting.
So read on, folks, the drama continues. For the glory of the King!
--
DAY 9 & 10
(Nov. 9 & 10)
CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 20,400
WORD GOAL: 20,400
Thought of the day: Midnight writing time. What you do when you're desperate.
[12:15 AM]
I'm combining these two days.
It's been a LONG day. We bought our tickets to go to Africa.
Which means I have ten (nine, now) days to write the rest of my novel. I need to get to 20,000 words today. (Which is "tomorrow" in normal speak.)
So I've implemented new goals that would allow me to accomplish that. And yes, that does say that I need to write SEVEN THOUSAND words in the next 24 hours.
It's complicated. And I got the plot hole fixed. I'll tell you the rest of the story later.
For now, it's after midnight and I'm WRITING.
Hoping it doesn't kill me,
GERONIMO!
And wow, I can see why people love Apple. These Apple headphones are unbelievably good! (OO) Wow.
And I admit, this fix to the plot hole is remarkably similar, now that I think of it, to a Doctor Who reference.
Shadows. The shadows are growing.
HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Give me word count or give me death, plot! GAR!
[1:00 AM]
Well, I'm around 13,400 words. Every little bit helps, I suppose. But I'm not giving up and going to bed yet :|
Also, Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack is so epic and catchy, it's distracting. I can't listen to it without paying attention to the music instead of my novel. XD
[1:30 AM]
Maybe it's just because it's 1:30 at night, but I'm writing a scene that's a little creepy, and it's giving me shivers. (OO)
[1:45 AM]
I'm around 14,400 words right now and turning in. I'm freezing and tired too. And the scene was a sorta creepy. *shivers*
The lights are going out...
[11:30 AM]
Coffee! Ah, extra-bold coffee is brilliant. Can I just say, Sumatra blend coffee from Starbucks is PHENOMENAL?
My stomach is warm and full of coffee, so I'm ready to write. :D 6,000 words today! ...hopefully...
I'll need to turn of this PotC music first, however...
Mmmm...I wonder....
Look at me! No plans, no plot, and no weapons; and oh, I don't have ANYTHING TO LOSE. So if you're sitting up there, Procrastination, with all of your silly little villains and silly plot bunnies, and you've got any plans on taking my novel, TONIGHT—JUST REMEMBER WHO'S STANDING IN YOUR WAY! Remember every day I ever stopped you, and then, DO THE SMART THING!
Run for your life! The Sadaar is here, trenchcoat and fedora and all! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHGHHHH!
^Doctor speech revitalized and revised to fit a writerly battle.
Let's get going. :D
[12:10 PM]
I'm at 14,900, and I'm going to go take a shower and then help Dad outside for a little bit. Be back soon.
[1:55 PM]
Dad's on the phone right now, so I'm going to take this opportunity and write some more.
[2:10 PM]
Hit 15,000. 5k to go!
[3:50 PM]
Grandpa just came out to the farm. And guess what he brought with him?
THE ERRANT KING. Wayne Thomas Batson's newest! FIVE HUNDRED PAGES of epic epicness! (OO)
And it gets better:
MY NAME IS IN THE BACK.
GAAAAAAAAAAAH!
(Manny's picture. Hence the purple outline.)
Along with Vrenith and Manny's names. :D And I believe my name pick (I created a name for Sir Batson to write as a character) is also somewhere in the book.
And now I have motivation to write 5,000 words tonight. :|
Must...read...eeurgh...
[4:50 PM]
All right, I ate lupper (we never had lunch, so I'll probably just have a snacky thing for supper) and I'm raring to go.
The Errant King looks wonderfully tempting right now... >_<
[5:05 PM]
Broke 16,000. Let's GOOOOOOOO!
Group of People A has now met Group of People B. They must band together and head east.
Why east? Well, they'll figure it out. I just need to find an incentive. >_>
*finds it* Bwahahahaha!
[5:30 PM]
16,500 words.
[5:35 PM]
I caved and read The Errant King's prologue. So epic. :D And Vrenith is a character in the prologue! D:
[6:00 PM]
Well, I finished the chapter and now I'm in a bind. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going next.
Brainstorming time, I suppose!
[7:05 PM]
Well, I tried doing what I did last night, but it didn't work: mostly because it's a lot earlier and there's cars outside, and also Beatrice got sprayed by a skunk. She STINKS.
Speaking of which, let me tell you a story. It's a true story. It happened last night.
--
(Me, in my trenchcoat and beat-up fedora.)
Last night, I was in despair. While I was really happy that we had bought our plane tickets for Liberia, it also meant that I had to complete NaNoWriMo in the next ten days. And I had a giant plot hole that was killing me.
As I stood by the water heater, I glanced around the room. Vren was writing, Ryebrynn was on the computer.
My computer's screen had just busted out of it's plastic and needed to be fixed, and Dad was in the process of fixing Manny's computer. He had computer guts spread all over the dining room table.
So I had no computer. No fix for my plot problem. And ten days to write 40,000 words.
What would I do?
I jammed my thumbs in my pockets and did my best to look dramatic. "Sisters, desperate times call for drastic measures," I said. "It's time. Time to put on my trenchcoat."
So I turned, running dramatically up the stairs. I burst into my room and leaped over the piles of junk and boxes, reaching into my closet and taking out my trenchcoat. I put it on and buttoned up. I grabbed my battered fedora and crammed it on my head.
I ran back down the stairs and flew into the dining room. "The greatest novels come from the depths of despair," I said. "I'm going looking for Inspiration." and then I pushed open the door and went out into the night.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and strode across the yard, to the road. And then I walked down the gravel road, the full moon shining down on my fedora.
As I walked, I pondered my novel. I contemplated the deep questions of life.
And then, I heard a car coming.
I weighed it for a moment. Okay, so there's a tall, six-foot guy wearing a battered fedora and a trenchcoat walking down the road at eleven o'clock at night.
Yeah, probably won't go well with the farmers that live around here.
So I turned and ran like everything, my trenchcoat dramatically flying behind me. As I ran, I realized that this was just the thing my plot hole needed: something to chase it off the road. Figuratively speaking.
I reached the yard, and inspiration struck: the pieces fell into place, and my novel hole was solved.
All because of a car, a trenchcoat, and a fedora at eleven o'clock at night.
--
It was fun. :D
At any rate, I tried doing the same thing (minus the car) but the skunkified Beatrice smell chased me back instead, in the light of a full moon.
Hold on...
A moon. THE moon. At night. But before it rises. A waning moon.
The time after sunset and before moonrise. The dark.
The long walk.
OHHHHH YES.
Fixed! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The walk has done it again! HA HA! Praise the Lord!
D:< Game face! It's time to get serious and GET WRITING.
[7:35 PM]
I want to read the Errant King so bad. :P
I need to write, though. I went downstairs and talked for a bit, and the minutes just fly by! O_o
[8:50 PM]
I'm somewhere around 17,000 and I just finished eating supper-snack-thing. Eggs-over-easy and some sausage. Mmmmm!
[9:40 PM]
I'm writing a winding-down scene. It's one of those scenes that helps the reader relax a little bit after nonstop action and yet provides vital information. ^_^
[9:45 PM]
Hit 18,000 words.
[10:20 PM]
Word warring with Vrenith. It's a write-until-you-reach-your-goal war. Vren has 2,500 words left to write, and I have 2,200. But she writes faster.
D: Let's write!
[11:40 PM]
Vrenith won, but I won't tell you my word count until I reach my goal. :|
[11:55 PM]
20,400 words exactly! I got my goal! D: Epic! That means I wrote 7k today (if you include 24 hours ago, midnight to two o'clock this "morning"). Even if you don't include that, I still wrote six thousand or so.
But now it's midnight, and I need to go to sleep. No reading the Errant King tonight. *sigh*
I only had 300 words to go when Vren won. The only reason I didn't get done sooner (after Vren won) was because I finished the scene. It made the word count just under 20,400, so I fiddled around with it until I had revised it enough to where I reached 20,400.
DAY 11
(Nov. 11)
CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 20,400
WORD GOAL: 24,100
Thought of the day: Word wars! :-o
[10:50 AM]
Time to rumble! I've got 3,700 words to write. I can do it *nodnod*
And also, I discovered that I'm going to stay at Grandma's house this weekend. That equals internet and word wars. :D Hurrah!
All right, time to crank up the soundtrack and get some writing done.
[11:30 AM]
Well, I don't exactly know how it happened, but I didn't get any writing done. O_o And now I need to take a shower and help Dad outside.
I'm hoping it's not one of those days where I work outside until it's late...
[5:00 PM]
Well, I worked and then came to my grandparents house to stay. I've been using internet, so no writing yet.
--
Some things that have inspired me in my writing craze:
Hmmm. I just realized that it's all PotC soundtrack. Which I haven't even seen. O_o Interesting.
And also the Doctor's Pandorica speech, which I've already posted earlier. I can shout it word-for-word now to the entire world. ;)
How's it going with you folks? Tired of NaNoWriMo yet? ;) Keep going! You can do it! *nodnod*
.jpg){kind=link}