Only this day and tomorrow to go before my first-ever NaNoWriMo. I'm excited. I'm also a little terrified.
On Wednesday, me and Liberté held a brainstorming session which turned out pretty good for both of us. I have a conflict (sort of) and her characters have names and backstories. Progress! I also have seven pages of notes in my Dust Saga notebook and half of a prophecy.
(Yes, there will be a prophecy, because what is a fantasy story without a prophecy? Of course it has to be in form of rhymed poetry, which causes a little struggle for me, since neither rhymes nor poetry are my friends. But what wouldn't I do for my story.)
There are moments, like right now, when I can't wait to start. Then there are moments when I think "What have I got myself into? I'm never going to make it!" But mostly I can't wait to start. I'm so excited about my story that I want it written down.
This is the first time in forever that I actually and truly believe I can finish a novel. It would be a first. So let's hope I'm right.
Friday, 30 October 2015
Sunday, 25 October 2015
NaNo Preparations
It's almost November, which means that NaNoWriMo is almost here. I have a ton of things to clear out before I can start writing, and first of them was my characters' names. I know you guys have already heard of Nia and Nesa but they changed names just now. I went through Indian naming tradition in Behind the Name (an awesome site about names, their meanings and history from all over the world) and this is what I emerged with.
Nia became Kalie. The title of the first novel, A Girl of Dark and Dust, refers to her - she isn't all light and fun things. There's a lot of darkness in her, and so she was renamed after the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali.
Nesa became Vena. Vena means "yearning" in Sanskrit and that is what she's made of. She wants to do the right thing, do what she has been told to, make everything all right. It's the most important thing in her life.
I'm very happy with Kalie and Vena. They sound right and have a meaning. They're not too alike, as the original names were. Unfortunately that's only one thing off my list of things that need figuring out...
My absolutely biggest problem at the moment is that I don't have a main conflict. I know what happens with and to and between the characters and I've said their world needs saving. From what? I do not know. How is it saved? Not sure the sword ritual is going to do it. Maybe. Maybe not. The sword ritual is performed according to an ancient prophecy (something I came up with today) and is pretty religious. So it's not a said thing that the religious ritual will do any good... to whatever it is that needs good done to it.
Maybe it could be environmental? It could also envolve gods (often come with religion but I'm not sure I want gods as characters). We'll see how it turns out. I still have several days before I have to start writing.
Nia became Kalie. The title of the first novel, A Girl of Dark and Dust, refers to her - she isn't all light and fun things. There's a lot of darkness in her, and so she was renamed after the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali.
Nesa became Vena. Vena means "yearning" in Sanskrit and that is what she's made of. She wants to do the right thing, do what she has been told to, make everything all right. It's the most important thing in her life.
I'm very happy with Kalie and Vena. They sound right and have a meaning. They're not too alike, as the original names were. Unfortunately that's only one thing off my list of things that need figuring out...
My absolutely biggest problem at the moment is that I don't have a main conflict. I know what happens with and to and between the characters and I've said their world needs saving. From what? I do not know. How is it saved? Not sure the sword ritual is going to do it. Maybe. Maybe not. The sword ritual is performed according to an ancient prophecy (something I came up with today) and is pretty religious. So it's not a said thing that the religious ritual will do any good... to whatever it is that needs good done to it.
Maybe it could be environmental? It could also envolve gods (often come with religion but I'm not sure I want gods as characters). We'll see how it turns out. I still have several days before I have to start writing.
Sunday, 11 October 2015
Writing Mood
I have been writing so much these past two days! Like, words've just flown out of me! It's crazy! And great! I had already forgotten how it feels to write like that, incessantly. (This has been very incessant. I haven't even checked Twitter, which is crazy incessant for me.)
Only they are not my characters. It's not my story.
And I know, NaNoWriMo is coming and I should use all the time I have left before November to plan. But this one just took over me.
It's a story of a dear and old friend, Chrystal. She's been writing it for almost as long as we have known each other (which would be around 6½ years now). Versions have come and gone. This one though, I think, is the final. It works. It's deep and interesting. And it wouldn't be here without all the earlier drafts and one story fusion.
(Two lessons to be learned here, especially if you're a young writer:
1. It takes time and work to come around a final draft.
2. It's OK to melt two separate stories together if the fusion works. It can even make them both better. At least that's what happened here.)
Anyway, I've been reading this since the very first chapter of the very first draft and I've loved each one equally more than the last one. So I'm very invested. I'm also invested for other reasons but I have to leave something for your guessing... the point is, everything I've written these past couple of days has been of this story of my friend's. I do not write the main character's narrative, but one of a minor character's, who is of a special interest to me. And I've loved every moment.
The problem, of course, is that I've completely disregarded my own stories. NaNo is fast on its way - and isn't it healthier anyway to write your own characters than someone else's? Not referring to fanfiction, it's a different business. And this isn't fanfiction what I've been writing. Mostly, at least.
I'll try my best to tear myself away (to a healthy distance) from Chrystal's story. We'll see how it turns out.
Only they are not my characters. It's not my story.
And I know, NaNoWriMo is coming and I should use all the time I have left before November to plan. But this one just took over me.
It's a story of a dear and old friend, Chrystal. She's been writing it for almost as long as we have known each other (which would be around 6½ years now). Versions have come and gone. This one though, I think, is the final. It works. It's deep and interesting. And it wouldn't be here without all the earlier drafts and one story fusion.
(Two lessons to be learned here, especially if you're a young writer:
1. It takes time and work to come around a final draft.
2. It's OK to melt two separate stories together if the fusion works. It can even make them both better. At least that's what happened here.)
Anyway, I've been reading this since the very first chapter of the very first draft and I've loved each one equally more than the last one. So I'm very invested. I'm also invested for other reasons but I have to leave something for your guessing... the point is, everything I've written these past couple of days has been of this story of my friend's. I do not write the main character's narrative, but one of a minor character's, who is of a special interest to me. And I've loved every moment.
The problem, of course, is that I've completely disregarded my own stories. NaNo is fast on its way - and isn't it healthier anyway to write your own characters than someone else's? Not referring to fanfiction, it's a different business. And this isn't fanfiction what I've been writing. Mostly, at least.
I'll try my best to tear myself away (to a healthy distance) from Chrystal's story. We'll see how it turns out.
Thursday, 1 October 2015
NaNoWriMo 2015
How is it that I always end up writing here when I'm already long overdue to bed? Again, it's past midnight. But it only just now occured to me to tell you that I signed up for NaNoWriMo today!
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place in November and every writer's goal is to create a 50,000 word novel in that time. So, it's 30 days and 50K words. A novel.
Of course you have to throw editing right out the window and just write. I love the idea. I've always loved the idea. I usually edit as I go, but it's just another form of procrastination for me - as long as I edit what I've already written, I don't need to write anything new.
You can find me and make me your buddy in the official NaNoWriMo site by my username EllieMary. This is my first time attending NaNo though I've thought about it and read other peoples' NaNo stories for, I think, four or five years now.
Which brings me to the subject relevant here, as this is a writing blog. I most certainly will not be publishing my NaNo text here. It's going to be so horrible, full of typos and bad sentences and terrible passages, that there's no way I'd show it to you. However, I will probably blog about my word count, feelings and other NaNo related stuff. (Another great form of procrastination.)
I know already what I'm going to write. I will start The Dust Saga Book One, A Girl of Dark and Dust. It's a good way to get myself going. Otherwise I'd probably just sit around writing random scenes for the next God-knows-how-many-years because I'm too afraid to really start writing a book.
I have the general overview of where Book One is set and what happens. I have also decided to make both Nia and Nesa narrators from the get go. I might inform you guys more about these plans later - now I really need to go to sleep.
(I'm so excited!!!!!)
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place in November and every writer's goal is to create a 50,000 word novel in that time. So, it's 30 days and 50K words. A novel.
Of course you have to throw editing right out the window and just write. I love the idea. I've always loved the idea. I usually edit as I go, but it's just another form of procrastination for me - as long as I edit what I've already written, I don't need to write anything new.
You can find me and make me your buddy in the official NaNoWriMo site by my username EllieMary. This is my first time attending NaNo though I've thought about it and read other peoples' NaNo stories for, I think, four or five years now.
Which brings me to the subject relevant here, as this is a writing blog. I most certainly will not be publishing my NaNo text here. It's going to be so horrible, full of typos and bad sentences and terrible passages, that there's no way I'd show it to you. However, I will probably blog about my word count, feelings and other NaNo related stuff. (Another great form of procrastination.)
I know already what I'm going to write. I will start The Dust Saga Book One, A Girl of Dark and Dust. It's a good way to get myself going. Otherwise I'd probably just sit around writing random scenes for the next God-knows-how-many-years because I'm too afraid to really start writing a book.
I have the general overview of where Book One is set and what happens. I have also decided to make both Nia and Nesa narrators from the get go. I might inform you guys more about these plans later - now I really need to go to sleep.
(I'm so excited!!!!!)
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