National Novel Writing Month

Once again, this November, I have won National Novel Writing Month for the fourth time running. It surprises me every year how different I feel on completion, and validating - to see the words ‘congratulations novelist, you’ve won’. Feeling have ranged from relief at the end long hard slog, ecstasy at completing something so hard.

This year, I have quiet satisfaction at a job well done. I don’t think this is just about my novel though. As ML I’ve been witness to the countless struggles of the writers under my care, and even those that aren’t. I am so very proud of all my wrimo’s, and their efforts. I would like to think I have been a positive influence on them and somehow my being here has helped them out.

And I’m so pumped about doing it again next year

Since starting my nano novel this month I’ve changed my mind a couple of times what I’m writing, but even so I’m please I’ve got stuff down for those other ideas. at the moment however I’m finishing off the MOW files. as such, I’ve spent a great deal of time procrastinating researching topics as diverse as poker rules and ‘the tree of life’.

I’ve also created two book covers for The MOW Files. I think I like the second one better but I thought I’d just stick these up for people to have a look at. All images are courtesy of Getty Images.

The MOW Files, cover 1
The MOW Files, cover 2

Let me know what you think

I’m really stuggling atm with my Nano project. As I’ve mentioned I changed my plans and was trying to write a non-fiction book: housework for enginers. Well it’s going slowly, so very slowly. In two days it’s gotten to 2200 words. The main thing I think is it’s just boring. Technical documents are supposed to be detailed instructions [read boring], then I’m writing about housework [something I personally don’t like at all] and it add up to something I’m really not interested in writing. Listening to everyone talk about their novels, I feel like the kid who’s being kept in during lunch to finish homework while the other kids go out and play.

So I swapped back to my fiction idea, about the LLP and Cloud Dragons. But… I don’t know what exactly it is, I’m just not really feeling it. I don’t have a clear picture in my mind of the people and things and places I’m trying to write about. all I can see is words on a screen. I don’t know if this is an effect of the non-fic [where I have to be about the words rather than the images]. everything that comes out is just so dry and I feel literately constipated.

The Hat doesn’t help either.

I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I’m the official Municipal Liaison for Dorset. To this end I’ve organised… stuff, but the best part? I got interviewed today by my local paper It went really well, and I surprised myself by how much I talked about nanoing, everything I do, and myself generally. I also got in a couple of plugs for protagonize.com and the G3 Show. She seemed really impressed by how young I am compared with how much I’ve written and organised. She was also really friendly, which was good because I was so nervous to start with She said hopefully this’ll be in the paper the first week of November, as she’ll get the photographer to meet me at Borders before the kick-off party.

And so to the new idea. Well, not quite such a new idea, but something I’ve been toying with for a while, that both Andy and the interviewer said I should do over the fiction idea. It’s for a non-fiction book called ‘housework for the engineer’, and is going to be a technical style manual for people like Andy who need very detailed instructions on how to do IRL stuff. This does make me a Nano Rebel technically, but Nano has always been for me the time when I sit down to do what I wouldn’t otherwise, and this is a prime example

We’ll see how it goes I guess. And if I can’t stretch it into 50k words, well I’ll just move on to the other one

Well, I just wasn’t feeling the previous idea, so for the past week I had been bouncing between ah shit, and oh hell with it. But I think I have an idea now. I wanted to write about the lesbian land pirates again, cuz they were cool, and I sorta had this idea for a couple of characters and dragons made from cloud, but I couldn’t find a way to string them together. But from a discussion with andy, plotting machine that he is found a way to weave them together, into a sort of fantasy/ steam punky way.

Unfortunately it’s a lot like ‘the last exile’ and one of the final fantasy games… So I’m not sure how I feel about that. But I guess we’ll see.

I had no plot, I had no inspiration, both my muses are on holiday. I was worried I would have nothing to write about come November. But then someone in the nano forums pointed me towards this generator and I’m saved!

My title will be The Aeromancers. The synopsis: In a coal powered Victorian Britain a young milquetoast office drone stumbles across a exiled angel which spurs him into conflict with a megalomaniac dictator, with the help of a cherubic girl with pigtails and spunk and her welding gear, culminating in a philosophical discussion punctuated by violence.

What could be simpler!

I’m 6 days in, and I haven’t touched my manuscript. That means I have 12 hours of editing to make up. Eep..

On Friday the 28th of November I passed the 50k mark, making me:

Andy was supposed to be finishing off the story [I left it at a bit of a cliff-hanger] over the weekend but didn’t get much further than he had been. Ah well. Come March [or National Novel Editing Month, as we like to call it] he’s got the task of finishing it off and sorting it out, while I work on editing the MOW files.

I’ve been really quiet on the nano front, mostly been recording my anguish and triumphs on Jaiku, but I just had to let y’all know: I’m on the home stretch now! I hit 40k tonight, now only another 10k words till I reach the target. How amazingly awesome is that? *does the happy dance*

I know it’s only been a couple of days, and I have the rest of the month to go, but so far our story is shaping up nicely, and so far I’ve managed to get a nice healthy word count. I hope I’ll have a good buffer by the end of tonight

8450 done, only another 41550 to go

Okay, I’m a little late with this but:

Another months on highly caffinated, sugar-high, Noveling. Bring on the crazy!

I’m not feeling terribly confident about this years Nano. Since my last post back in the summer, we haven’t worked on… well, anything.. I still don’t exactly know how we’re going to be able to writ this together. Up till the mid-way point things will be okay ish, because we’ll each be looking after a few charas, but once they all come together and continue on from that point I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. Andy wanted this to be all plotsy and conniving, but so far it just reads like a straight a-to-b story. I’m still feeling iffy about the fact that it’s high fantasy, I’m not very good at that genre. Oh and did I mention we still don’t exactly have an end? But it’s too late to turn back, neither of us have a story idea that we can fall back on [well, I suppose I have a few but… neh] And… there’s something else. My desire to write and be read has waned a lot in the past year, I’m not sure I’m even interested in competing this year, especially as Dorset now have a municipal liaison and I won’t be able to make it to any of the pre-parties this year [where as last couple of years I organised them] I just can’t get into the whole swing of things this year. I hope it’s just because I’m slightly emotionally tired for everything else that’s happened. Gah, this is turning into a ramble.

I have a day off tomorrow, I was planning on writing up a couple of Fragment of Time RP session and doing my homework for the NVQ. I guess it might help if I went into the Stone of Tides Wiki and tidied it up [atm, we have a page of actual plot that is different to the info dump page of plots], it would at least re familiarize myself with everything. Some other Nano prep would probably be good, like getting some mountain dew and making meals I can just shove in the fridge and re-heat later.

Looks like it’s going to be busy, and oddly enough I can feel myself getting excited about it again [Oh the power of the rambling chat to self]

This year’s Nano is going to be a join venture by Andy and I. We’re going to be writing a High Fantasy piece called The Stone of Tides. It’s going to be epic, and Gothic, and China Miéville-’New Weird’-esqu. And that’s all I’m going to say about what it’s like, for the rest you’ll just have to read and see.

I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to work out with the actual writing side of things, but so far the planning has gone well - the world is mapped out, with most of it’s cultures and oddities, and the plot is down apart from exactly how the end will turn out. I will be mentioning Luke in the dedication, because it was his input that helped us focus on things and helped us draw all our disparate ideas together. He even added his own flavours to the ideas we already had that will hopefully make a delectable and devour-able novel.

So far I’m pleased with it, and I don’t think we should have any trouble with the month of November - we will be married and honeymooned by then, and our major ’see mates’ outing will be taking place in October, to celebrate our being in our flat for a year.

So fingers crossed for a good Nano this year

I did it! I did it! I did iiiiiiiiit!

Oh My fucking gods, I can’t belive I actually managed to do it this year, it was such a struggle, but Ive finished and now I never have to look at this novel again!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Victory is sweet

so far, in no particualr order, I’ve either mentioned or had these people in the novel:
andy, me, kat, owen, kelly, luke, ryan, woddy, amy, barry, phyco dan, gay dan, monkey jade, major, james, jamie, chip, sarah, bill, charlie, ian and ross…

If I know you in real life and you’re not mentioned here, please let me know and I’ll find a way to add you as a chara.

I have noted greg is missing. I’m working on it okay?

[ps you have 4 days to respond to have any chance of getting in]

Yay! I just finished writing the pirate comedy, scheduled for release next Monday, so now I can concentrate on Nano

I’m still not certain what I’m going to be writing about, but I think I’ll try re-writing/ finishing The Ultimate Story of my Friends, aka tUSomF.

I started it back at the end of high school, when I was about 15/ 16 and based it heavily on the people I knew at the time. Of course, the first 6k reads like a 16 yr old wrote them, but the last 3k are slightly better as I’ve added to it over the years. Other than what I’ve already written and a few extra future bits, I have no real idea of where it’s going to head. I’m going to try and include other people who’ve entered our lives, and maybe some of the events that have shaped our lives since high school that’ll hopefully lead to fuller chars.

The basic synopses runs like this:
The galaxy is made up of 3 main classes: Royalty, Business and Workers. This caste system runs everything and it’s impossible to advance, say, from a worker to business. The previous emperor, Zethor, had been trying to undo the cast system put in place by his ancestors and make life better for the workers, however he died and his daughter Zeta took over and basically threw out the old emperor’s good work. Athen L’Ruh, with a couple of friends, created Coltra, a ‘terrorists’ organization, to basically oust the evil Empress Zeta from power and form a democratic government to make things like they had been under Emperor Zethor.

The story so far follows Krin L’Ruh, Athen’s sister, as she is unwittingly picked up by a Coltra cell and discovers her brother’s clandestine activities. I’m hoping that the rest of the story will follow Coltra’s activities against the Empress, and Krin finding she feels accepted and part of something within Coltra.

Here’s also hoping it doesn’t turn into ’star wars’!

Yep, it’s coming up to the start of National Novel Writing Month, the time of year when I will be cranky, over caffinated and doing nothing but writing. Your support and energy drinks will be greatly recived; your invites out will not.

I've reached 50 thousand words. See, I even have a pretty picture to prove it:

So, why don't I feel like celebrating? Why do I feel like, so what, it's only 50k. it wwasn't hard at all. Why don't I feel good about finally being about to dye my hair a funny colour, or drink three cans of mountain dew or eat the chocolates I've been saving. Why don't I feel like ordering pizza or going out for a steak dinner?

Merr. I think these must be the post- nano blues everyone tells me about. It sucks

My total word count, at time of writing, and according to the official NaNo verifiyer, is thirty nine thousand, nine hundred and thirty two. Or 39,932 for those of you who don't like long words.

I'm begining to think I might actually win this thing

Well, I am, to 50k. However I'm not sure I can get: Brianna getting killed, the plan being developed, the journy to Earth, the plan being executed and flying off into the sunset; to fit into 14,500 words.

Poo.

Dakar has a snooty camp secretary. I don't know wehere he came from, but he just turned up. This world never ceases to amaze me at the richness, variety and kookyness of it's inhabitanse.

My dramatis personael ['real', not aluded to] now includes, aside from the obvious:
* Dakar, a tall and sallow neo-victorian lawyer.
* Bulldog, a big black 'mechanic' who has a new orleans accent
* Little Japanise Lady, who speak real broken english and shouts at people that they should drink tea
* Dakar's secratery, who is as noted above, male, camp and snooty.
* The teenage boy from 'byte me' who is a general geek, and a virgin.
* Owener of 'byte me', who hasn't been introduced yet but will be soon, who has the same menality as most in the allied trades: he sleeps and drinks tea for most of the day, does maybe a couple of hours of work a day and charges the earth for it.

And you know what, I love them all. They're such fun to play with. This writing thing is fun

I said at the start of this crazy adventure they call NaNoWriMo that if I got over my final word count of last year I would be happy. On a whim I just checked to see what said WC was for last year. It's 27,233. And what's my WC at the moment? 31,922.

That's 4,689 words more than I wrote last year. I'm chuffed about that, but it's not making me as estaically happy as I thought it would. Humm. Odd that.

Brianna, Gurn, I know this is hard for you, but would you please just suck it up and start having angry sex already! Or at least sex that passonate enough that when Asuka walks in, she thinks there's been a fight and almost shoots Brianna!!!!

Oooooh,
We're half way there!
Oooh Oh,
Living onna prayer!
Take my hand, and we'll make it I swear,
Ooooh oh,
Living onna prayer!

Guess who just breezed though 25k today? *does the happy dance* Halfway through the novel, and halfway through the month. Dude, I so rock