Happy Halloween!

Well, it's Halloween and we all know what that means. No, no, not trick-or-treating. Not costume parties. NaNoWriMo begins at midnight tonight!

I never got those ten chapters outlined. I have about four or five instead. That should be good enough as I normally dive into a novel with only the opening scene in mind. I also thought up several more characters that will create conflict so I'm hoping the main plot will clear itself up in the midst of the character clashings.

Also, I have done something that really isn't a good idea with NaNo starting. I have just joined a new MMORPG - Lord of the Rings Online. I made a cute little hobbit burglar and named her Smeagal. Yes, it let me get away with that. My brother is waiting for me to be reported. I don't see why I should be. I mean, Smeagol was a hobbit type before he became Gollum. My little toon could be a distant relative.

And that concludes my news for the day! I wish you all big buckets of candy on this Halloween.

Back at Home

I'm back at home now. The fire didn't touch us, though it came very close. Fire fighters are amazing. I am very grateful to be back at home and hope that the many other fires blazing tonight are also fought down so that others can go home as well.

That's Enough Damn Excitement For One Day

Hell, that's enough for quite some time. Most of you should already know that most of Southern California is ablaze. I first heard about it when my mom called and asked me if I had looked outside. I hadn't, but I did then. A billowing cloud of gray smoke covered half the sky. Fire was near, but with the other half of the sky blue there wasn't any danger.

That didn't last. Winds were high, and the fire spread quickly. In no time at all the entire sky was filled with smoke. I half-heartedly tossed a few things into an overnight bag, but didn't expect to go anywhere.

Then I spotted the flames. Up on the hill behind our house a line of orange flared. I pulled out another bag and began throwing things into the car. Laptop. Clarinet. Clothes. Sister's wedding dress. Fig newtons. ...It's odd what you think to save and later realize you forgot.

The drive over to my brother's house was surreal. My two cats crammed themselves under the passenger's seat and wailed for only the first five minutes before quieting down. As I drove out I spotted four horses being carefully walked. One of the horse's eyes rolled back when a firetruck passed, but the rest remained alert but calm. They were probably used to the sires by now as they rarely stopped. The roar of airplanes was becoming frequent as well.

I am at my brother's house now. My family is okay and I am okay. Hopefully our house is okay. I'm not certain if we can return to it yet. I hope later today I can be working on airing out a smoke filled house that is otherwise unharmed. My heart and prayers go out to the others affected by this as well.

NaNo Calendar

The first day of NaNo is only TWO WEEKS away! I'm still lacking a solid plot, but I think I'm zeroing in on something. I have about four chapters outlined which will get me well into the first weekend.

I have also discovered NaNo Calendar Wallpapers. There are a lot of good ones in that thread, and I'm thinking of using a couple of those to help remind myself of where I'm supposed to be during November. (I have a habit of pulling out a calculater to multiply the day times 1667 even when I know I'm ahead.) Some of them are funny and some have inspirational quotes.

In other news, it's been cold. Really frickin' cold. My poor frozen fingers!

EDIT - After more lurking around the NaNo forums I have found this. I think that's an interesting way of organizing a novel. I'm not sure it will work with my own style, but maybe someone else would be interested in trying it out.

We Hatez the NaNo, Precious!

I was reading through this thread and was reminded that there are some people out there who think that NaNo is a waste of time. I can completely understand that sentiment from people who think that writers are a bunch of crazies to begin with and believe that writing a novel is a form of self-induced torture (which it is). What I don't understand are the massochists who consider themselves writers and look down on other writers for participating in NaNo.

Let's look at some facts. First, the numbers. In order to complete NaNo you must write 1,667 words a day. I usually write 2,000. When it's not November and I'm working on a rough draft I try to write about 1,000 words a day, though often I hit above that. Many professional writers claim to write about 2,000 to 5,000 a day. But they're professionals and don't have to do anything else during the day, right? Wrong. Yes, some get to swing around in comfy chairs and wait all day for the muse to hit them, but as I pointed out in a previous rant most writers can't quit their day job. This means there's plenty of published people out there writing big fat word counts.

Second, there's the factor of motivation. When I begin a work outside of November I overplan. Then I hem and haw as I stare at a blank screen and wait for The Perfect Words. The concept of The Perfect Words is a myth among writers. We like to believe that somewhere in our noggins The Perfect Words are just waiting to be discovered. And, if we sit long enough and go into a white screen trance, The Perfect Words will make themselves known. This is a lie. There are no perfect words, just a bunch of imperfect ones that will have to do. During November it is easier for me to stop crying about this and just write those words already and move on.

Which brings us to another important fact - Most first drafts are complete and utter crap. This is why no one has seen Piper's Debt yet. People don't see my work until it has been revised at least twice. By then it isn't the same work anymore. This is common practice among writers, because it's also considered rude and ask for feedback when you know that it's still in its crappy phase and you could easily fix it. If you think what you've written is okay, or you want plot advice, or if you just want people to say, "Hooray for writing a story!" then by all means, show your work. Just make sure you label it for what it is. If you want advice and know there's more work to be done, don't be afraid to say, "the grammar is teh craps, but all I want right now are pointers on the plot." Then I won't feel like a fool when I mark all the random grammar errors (which are usually just typos) and you then say, "I was going to fix that later, st00pid."

Another problem 4-realz writers have with NaNo are all those non-writers running around. These people write for fun and laughs. They are not above doing cheap and dirty things to get their word count up, which some 4-realz writers don't appretiate. They think that makes these people wannabes or that they're making a mockery of all that is writing or some such. That is crock. They're just having fun, which is the same for those of us who want to write something publishable. Isn't that why we started writing to begin with? It's why I write, pain and suffering and all. If it's fun, and doesn't hurt anyone, then nothing else really matters. These 4-realz writers can just stuff it.

No Plot? Problem.

I've added more links to the side, so more of you are on my Official Blog Reading List. How special! That will remind me to check the pages of everyone who is being nice enough to look at mine.

Speaking of those people, thank you to all who commented on my point of view issue. I think I know how to go about this now. Now all I have to do is get a little more of an outline going before November. Before I just plunged on in, but this time I want at least ten chapters worth of outline before beginning. Right now I have three. Two and a half weeks to go!

The Eye of Argon, and Other Goodies

Hello, all! Well, it seems that the nano site is working again, but not everyone who told me they will be participating has reactivated their profiles. This results in "page not found" errors and me grumbling obscenities. So, no linking from here, but if you go to my profile there, and click "writing buddies" you'll see who I would've linked to anyway. If you're not on that list, but are participating, please let me know so I can add you and stalk you.

Now, for those of you preparing for nano (or those bored and wanting entertained), I recently discovered a MST3k version of The Eye of Argon. This story is the worst fantasy epic ever, and thus very funny. The MST3k version is even funnier and can be found here. If you're a glutton for punishment, you can read the original joke-free version here. Don't worry, it's easy to make up your own jokes to go along with this.

For more reading fun, there's this great thread about fantasy cliches. Someone on there linked to this site which lists video game cliches. Much funniness.

That's enough linking. Now I will update y'all on my own nano preparation progress. I'm sure you've been waiting for this with bated breath. I am currently working on getting a little bit of an outline for Duty's Tomb so that when November comes I can plunge right in. So far I have something like this -

Ch. 1 - Someone jumps off a cliff
Ch. 2 - Same, but from bottom of cliff
Ch. 3 - Um... crap.

Yes, I have some mighty great outlines. I also have a list of names, which is MUCH more important for me than outlines. I swear, I waste more time sitting around trying to think up names than just about anything else. So this time, all my important people are already named. And they're good meaningful names, dagnabbit.

And now, after lots of babbling, it's time for the interactive part of this post. (Because clicking around to other websites and back wasn't interactive enough!) I need some thoughts. The original idea for Duty's Tomb involved a bunch of journal entries from the priestess who was being prepared to be a human sacrifice. Part of the title came from this idea. (tomb/ tome, get it? lawl.) The book would be third person limited (priestess' view) with some first person journal entries, same view. But now, I want to add in another point of view, mostly because I think it would be really freakin' awesome to describe a sacrifice as beautiful, and then describe it from the view of someone who has no idea what's going on.

All that brings me to the question - Should the journal entries still be there? Would it make any bleepin' sense? Here the options as I see them now -

1) Two points of view, both in third person. Very traditional.
2) Two points of view, one in journal form the other in the third person. Some of The Death Gate Cycle books do this, though I'm not sure how much I like that.
3) Three points of view - The journal, the priestess in third person, the other dewd in third person. Keep journal entries short, but introspective and poignant. Or as poignant as I can make them without sounding cheesy.

What do y'all think? Any other ideas? I need to know by November! AAAH!

CKS

I have discovered what is wrong with my brother's kitten. It has CKS. Unfortunatley, there is no known cure.

It's like a metaphor

I've been reading through Miss Snark's archives again and came across this gem -

English Teachers Listing to Port

It's great. Read it. This one made me think of my sister-in-law -

"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph."

And speaking of sister-in-laws.. apparantly she's not partaking in nano since she should be writing her graduate thesis. But who says the thesis can't be the nano? Not me!

I know of three others besides me joining in the fun. I'll link to all their beautiful profiles once the nano site is working again.

NaNo Sign-Ups

It's October! You should all know what that means. ...Hey, no, not candy and pumpkins. It's time to sign-up for NaNo!

As usual, I would like to know if anyone else is going to dive in to the madness with me. The site is a wee bit slow right now (it launched sometime this past night), but it's sure to pick up as the flood of people making new accounts and reactivating old ones slows down. My profile is here. As you can see, I went ahead and decided to go with my Duty's Tomb idea. The setting and characters are beginning to come into focus, I just need to decide on some plot details before this month is up.

Now go make an account. Now, so I can add you to my writing buddy list over there. I'm assuming my lovely sister-in-law is planning on doing some writing come November since I saw her nickname reappear on that list. The rest of you, get moving! It's only 50,000 words...

Desperation

Sometimes I have no idea why anyone would actually want to be an artist. Those who aren't usually just see the glamorous side: 1 million dollar royalties, art showings where everyone sips champagne and nibbles cheese, the passion of creation, etc. Most people have somehow gotten the idea that all you have to do is create that piece of art and poof, everything is wonderful.

That isn't the real picture. Most artists have day jobs and will never be able to quit them. I've spoken before (though I think I've deleted that particular post when this blog was purged) of "screaming into the void." That, to me, is what art is about. You open yourself up and scream into a seeming nothingness, hoping that someone, somewhere, will hear you. Most days you're sure that no one does. On very rare occasions, once in years sometimes, your voice reaches someone and they respond. Add on a few more years and another response, and perhaps if your lucky fifty percent of the responses will be positive.

Screaming into the void fills artists with a sense of desperation. While attending art school I felt this strange vibe. It radiated from every student and was reflected in their work. It took me awhile to realize what this vibe was. Desperation. That is the most palpable emotion you will feel anywhere artists gather and create work. Desperation to be seen. Desperation to be heard. Desperation to be understood.

They'll all smile, sing and dance, but beneath the creation and the beauty is always that sense of desperation. Will what we do be enough? Will the applause at the end be sincere? When will the next acceptance come? Or will there always be rejection? Rejection of my work, and so rejection of me?

It is fact that very few are able to project their voices loud enough to be heard above all the other desperates. Does it stop any of them from trying? A few. But art is a strange addiction. Even those quieter voices will continue adding their shouts to the darkness, wishing to be heard. I'll try to remember to listen to them as I keep adding in my own shouts and maybe we can answer each other.