This is the 10th year of the project, which started as a good-natured dare between friends and now attracts thousands of would-be and really-are writers from around the world. The best thing about it is, if, muse forbid, I don't make the writing goal, nobody gets hurt. In the end, maybe I will at least be a little further ahead with a new project and I can look again at the old ones with tired, experienced eyes.

I must admit, I already almost chickened out once. I had signed up back in December after learning about the project a little too late to try in '07. I have kept track of some forums and learned more about the phenomenon during the year, been thinking about the new story I want to work on, even researching details, but when the site recently closed down to rennovate itself, I was unable to sign back on after the relaunch. Not the motivation a weakling like me needs. Fortunately, I got an email from the local regional moderator which inspired me to try, try again. And, the way these things happen, my sign-in worked this time. Reading stories like this on the blog, is also inspiring. I may not make it to 50,000, but I am determined to try, and with motivational sources like these, plus the knowledge that I am not alone, though I am a lone writer, certainly helps, too.

I am planning on tracking my progress here, as well, with one of their nifty word-count widgets. I think blogging about it all will be another motivating factor, along with my cool NaNo desktop. I feel like I have joined a club, or cult, idk, time will tell :)...now I just have to warn my family and friends!

Now that I've written it, I don't think I'm going to use it. I might lift a little out of it to flesh out the original opening a bit more, but as a whole, I think the first version is stronger. But this gives me a little more to work with for character motivation.

But the really good thing is that I wrote 1,698 words. That's a little more than a NaNo goal for one day. Both kids were up early today, and I've fed them two meals so far, and if this were a weekday, I'd still have plenty of time to get ready for work. And I'd have time left to write some more.

And that tells me that I'll be able to do this again this year. I'm doing more planning this year so I don't get too stuck anywhere, so as long as I try to get ahead early on, I really think this year is going to be fine.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep working on some revisions for last year's novel. It will help me get back into writing mode, and back into the story, since this year's novel is a sequel. And maybe when it's all over, I'll have something I can actually attempt to publish.

Cross you fingers for me.

It all began as an animation obsession a couple of years back, but I just didn't have the time to finish it. There is an opening sequence that I was always very pleased with. See it: Milkman. Anyway, it should be a fun, easy going thing to write and een if I don't win it will just be an exprience to remember! It might be set in London, with a very clichéd, evil/cackling dude.

Milkman must stop the menacing Postman and his boss, Businessman from taking over the city; Policeman, Fireman and Pizzaman are under threat.

Should be interesting. :)

PS: In the cover art, Blink is just my YWS name! A lot of people have cover art fever at the moment.

I'm compiling some information for a week-long NaNoWriMo workshop. The workshop will run from October 18th through October 24th (no [Fiction] Friday that week - we'll take a break from that. However, Say it on Saturday will take place, as usual, on October 25th).

I'd like to talk about various writing processes as well as invite you to participate in writing exercises (we'll stretch those creative writing muscles before NaNo officially starts).

Here is my tentative itinerary, so far:

Saturday, Oct. 18th - Where to find ideas - writing a synopsis

Sunday, Oct. 19th - Setting

Monday, Oct. 20th - Character

Tuesday, Oct. 21st - Point of View

Wednesday, Oct 22nd - Plot

Thursday, Oct. 23rd - Beginnings and Endings

Friday, Oct. 24th - Pep talk, invitation to share Pre-NaNo thoughts.

If you have any ideas for these "sessions", PLEASE feel free to share them either in the comment section or you can email me (Karen). OR, if you would like to write your own blog post to coincide with the topics being discussed, complete with your own tips, ideas or sharing what works for you, feel free to email me your (direct) blog links and I'll certainly pass your wisdom on to the Write Anything readers.

I will be referencing helpful materials throughout the week, but I'm certainly NOT an expert. If you have any advice or suggestions, they would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Oh, one more thing: if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, don't forget we have our very own forum thread on the NaNoWriMo website. Sign in and let us know how you're coming along!

I woke up this morning a little more settled in my thinking. This often happens. "Sleep on it" is usually the best advice when anything disturbs or upsets me, or I'm thinking about it TOO hard, which is the case with this stuff.

Branding is a marketing term. What I've seen of it (all online, I have not taken any marketing courses, though I have come to the conclusion that I should) defines branding as making a name for yourself with a very small, specific range of ideas as your flagship. It doesn't restrict you or your work, just narrows down what you represent to a small and memorable presenting image. Like narrowing down an entire company philosophy and product range into a slogan, preferably catchy. More, like narrowing down your entire novel into the ten-second pitch or tagline. Preferably catchy.

I saw a form to fill out that asks you to condense what you represent as an author into three data points, three things that most or all of your fiction has to say, easy to remember. Then you're supposed to have everything you publicly say or do feed back to those ideas. It isn't to limit your work to those ideas, it's to link your name with those ideas in the minds of your audience, so that they will think of you often and be really clear about who you are.

I also saw a recommendation that you create a public persona. Sort of the same thing, but about your personal appearances and public statements, not about your fiction. I think this might have the benefit, too, of making a shy person (like yours truly and probably most writers, who are in 'the most solitary profession on earth' not by chance) have a sort of role they can play. Another persona, who can take over when the real person inside is too shy to say anything. For example, suppose your name is Jane Rogers and your pen name is Alisa Ravengarden (ick). When someone slings an unexpected question at Jane on a convention panel, she takes a second to think, what would Alisa say to this question? If she's honed Alisa as well as her other characters, she knows what Alisa's answer will be, and use it.

These might be useful concepts. More next time, no doubt---this stuff is very much on my mind just now.

Reminders: upcoming is the Mile Hi Convention in Denver, where I will be wandering about, though not yet on any panels. Say hi if you see me! Show me your stuff! Let's mutually read each other's stuff. I'd love your opinion and would be delighted to hand out mine.

Also upcoming is November, National Novel Writing Month. Join up! It's extremely good practice, excellent motivation, and is a great watershed. Are you really oriented to being a professional or at least published writer? If so, then you can do this.

1. Drove to another little 'city' (ie village in the middle of nowhere) and oohed and ahhed over the autumn foliage.

2. Picked up a new old sofabed from said city.

3. Joined our local library (which is amazing with lots of windows) and I checked out the full ten items allowed.

4. Found The Best Friend's Guide to Pregnancy in a charity shop for 2.00.

5. Came home to amend my Amazon order that I placed yesterday - ordering that book! Got excited about how to spend my bonus 3.00 to bump it up to free delivery.

6. Got royally fucked by Amazon, who instantly stopped my order from being amended once I cancelled the one item, boosted up my postage and packaging, and would not get free again even when I added the 2.98 (BARGAIN) DVD of Halloween.

7. Sighed in resignation when I cancelled the DVD order. I am fated to never own my favourite movie, clearly.

8. Tried to get over the whole affair by remembering the taste of the McDonald's Veggie Deli sandwich I just had - and cold french fries. I love cold french fries.

9. Watched an episode of 'Blossom.'

---------------

Next up for today:

1. Paint the ceiling of the spare room.

2. Wash the walls in sugar soap so I can paint them tomorrow.

3. Think some more about Nano.

4. Go for a walk? Enjoy the sunshine? Take a nap? Fingerpaint?

5. Possibly put the load of pictures I took for this blog onto the blog.

6. Relish my last weekend with no driving lessons.

In our team meeting, we were given the opportunity to choose our new seats from our team's designated area.  My current pod buddy, Fay, said she wanted to sit next to me again because she enjoys reading my stories. How sweet is that!

On Friday, I enlisted her to do some brainstorming with me on my Nanowrimo novel as she's read the first three chapters and a few later pivotal scenes in Making the Cut.

I said I wanted Kirsty and Genevieve d'Vine to appear in a musical together again but I wanted a musical with a really strong story based on female characters. They could not be supporting roles.  Fay said you need a mother and daughter musical and immediately I thought of Gypsy.  Perfect stage mother role for Genevieve and the Natalie Wood role for Kirsty. (especially as Kirsty has a bit of a resemblance to Natalie Wood).  And Kirsty tells me its about time Genevieve played someone her own age.

When I arrived home, I checked the Austar guide for a screening of Gypsy and found that I had just missed the Bette Midler version by one day.  Doesn't matter.  I'll check the video shop and try and find the Natalie Wood version.

So the story is starting to take shape, the TV show is going to force Genevieve and Kirsty to share a house, as well as star in the production of Gypsy, and the reality TV director that Kirsty brings back to Bilby Creek has been named Dylan after days of agonising about his name.  I wonder if the Baby Names book I had on my desk at work will start any rumours. And I have 12 pages of notes for the story.  This is the most prepared I have ever been for Nanowrimo...so bring it on.

But it is still a few weeks away so its back to Bilby Creek for some more editing of Making the Cut.  And Kirsty will just have to wait until November to tell her story.

Is coming right up this Month. November 1, 2008, If you are not part of it, consider becoming a part of it.

We have all had days like this:

So, nothing like a deadline and some spontaneous creativity to make things happen in your quest to write your novel.

This is will be my first time trying this, but I am excited and I hope many of you join. Remember even if you do not join, perhaps you might be willing to donate to the good they do.

Best regards to your efforts! I am rooting for you!

(Image from LOL Cats)

What is Nanowrimo you ask? The word Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which begins November 1^st and ends November 30^th. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. Every year the number of participants expands, people from all over the world, from kids to crones gather together to create. This is their tenth year in fact. With the growing numbers of writers, the community feel is one of my favorite parts of the event. Every week the founder, Chris Baty, sends us encouraging words, there are regular nano related comics and interviews that really add to the feeling of being connected. This year proves to be even more fun with the added participant videos and many more surprises.  

50,000 words in one month? Impossible some of you say? Not, not at all.  

Here is why I say success is not impossible. You have thirty days to pen 50k right? So, if you write right around 1700 words a day, just a few pages, you can have you 50k. You miss a day, than just spread your words out through the remaining days. And remember don’t stop at 1700 just because your word count is met. Once the words flow let them come uninhibited. The trick is to write every day, no editing, no revising of any kind, just write. You think what you wrote is crap? Don’t change it, it’s okay. Editing comes next month. 

I started Nanowrimo in 2005, and I admit I didn’t do well my first year. I learned about it on Oct 5^th and before that had only been dabbling with super hero fanfic, hadn’t really see writing as something I could do on a serious basis. Self doubt is quite the speed bump. In the end I gave myself little time to prepare, so by mid November lost track of my story plot and my interest. Outside of that I did learn an important lesson:

Do your research and outline before November. This will give you a solid foundation as well as an edge of confidence. You don’t want to break your flow figuring out what you want to do next. It’s okay if you veer away from the outline as your muse and character takes you, an outline should never feel like chains, more like a stepladder. Since I started doing my pre November preparations, especially my flexible outlines, my projects for the next two years went far more smoothly, as well as the rest of my writing projects the rest of the year. 

Another useful thing to remember while doing Nanowrimo is, before you begin, lock up that internal editor of yours. I didn’t say turn it off or stick it in a drawer, I meant lock it up tight and do not take it out until December 1^st, or until the last of the 50k is written. Nothing will slow you down more then editing while you work. This may be the hardest lesson for some of you, but you will be amazed how much better your words will flow when you simply open up the dam and let them through. 

1700 words a day. That’s all it takes. If you want to write, if you are passionate about it, even if it’s still wish in the back of your mind, this is the year to take the plunge. Ask yourself this: Is taking the time for yourself every day to write those 1700 words to much to ask from you family and friends? Don’t you deserve a few hours each day to feed the creative you? You life partner can cook the meals for a couple weeks. The kids can help out more around the house. Let those who love you support your craft. You may be surprised how glad they are to do this for you, to see you blossom as a writer. 

If you are struggling to start each day, maybe end your writing session by finishing one chapter and beginning a new chapter so you have some words to work off of the next day, that is if you are struggling with the blank page each day. Some days you may write more, others less, but if you give yourself that writing time each day. Not only will it get the work done, but it may teach you a great habit to get into even after Nanowrimo is over. Many successful authors have been heard to say that you must write everyday, and doing Nanowrimo helps teach you the way to do that. 

So, you ask, what do you win? Okay, if you reach the 50k you don’t win a prize, at least not something you can hang on your wall or spend on dinner, but you do gain a great deal from this experience. Every year I gain more and more Nanowrimo friends, many whom I remain friends with after the event as we support each others writing thoughout the next year. Each time I do Nanowrimo, I learn a new trick or a few on what works to get my creativity going and what doesn’t.  

And you may find yourself with a story that with a bit more writing and revisions might just win you that illusive book contract one day. Next year, hopefully in fall, my 2006 Nanowrimo project, Worlds Collide, will be available to the public through PD Publishing. 2006. That means just a year after my dismal Nanowrimo failure, I created something that a publisher liked enough to contract. All it took was the preparation and to love myself enough to give myself time to focus on my own creativity. So even if you don’t win your first year, the experience of being part of Nanowrimo is worth the time. 

I believe anyone can be a Nanowrimo winner, you just have to dedicate yourself to let go this chains of doubt and jump in. Do it. The story waits there in your mind, wishing only to be brought to life. A few hours a day. Prepare your research before hand, do that outline remembering that it will likely change as you allow your story to flow naturally, and lock up that internal editor. If you remember these things, and in the end trust your own process, you can do it. See you at Nanowrimo!

If I'm brutally honest with myself I can cut it down to about six concepts I want to write about the most, none of which really have fully developed plots, at least, not ones that don't suddenly decide to fly all over the place. And a couple of them I already wrote some of before I discovered NaNo. Previously written prose is a big no-no so I'll have to restart from scracth... T.T

So, yeah, vague outlines... so far I haven't titled any of the stories and I just refer to them by
the names of the main characters. P.S. Homophobes turn back now.

Song and Gabriel – Which is from Song's perspective as a teenage vampire dealing with all the problems that come with that alone, while balancing school, teenhood, family and making sure not the break The Pledge which is the law that keeps the general public unsuspecting of Magic's presence. Combined with the fact she's hormonal, naturally a trouble maker and her best friend, Gabriel, is a gay Angel with what is referred to as selective tourrettes, it's a lot harder than it should be.

Juno, Star, Giac, Marco, Noah, Benny and Matt – It focuses mainly on Juno and Star, two of the newbie students at a typically anally-retentive English boarding school and their inadvertent tendencies for accidental pranks over the course of their first year. Giac and Marco are Juno's twin older brothers and are, along with their best friend, Noah, bent on alternately making things both bearable and hell for them. Benny and Matt are two girls who befriend Juno and Star somewhere along the way. Their only eleven so it won't show up for a while but I'm planning on them ending up together eventually and yeah, they're both boys. Juno's well read and a writer with a dry sense of humor and Star... well, nicely put, he's completely off his rocker, kind of a family thing.

Yaz, Finch, Simon and Monroe – This is a possibly Steampunk story about an alternative radio station that thirteen year old Yaz sets up with her best friend, Finch, his boyfriend, Simon and their flamboyantly hedonistic roommate, Monroe (she's not a slut so much as a engimatic cross between a female Captain Jack Harkness and Rhonda from Muriel's Wedding). If I do make it Steampunk it'll be about their fight against the Cyberpunk society infiltrating and destroying their way of life and brainwashing their people.

Hunter and Caleb – Hunter and Caleb live in a Post-Apocolyptic world where everywhere is a disaster zone. They fight and steal for survival, making games out of it with a vague hope that one day everything will end up fine again. May possibly a couple, haven't decided yet, I might just make them really, really good friends, but if they don't end up together the won't end up with anyone else.

Kir, Sol, Luque and Xavier – Luque is a fundamentally evil character, doing good deeds. Not that there's nothing in it for him of course, I'm not sure of his exact motives yet but he sure as hell isn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart. He's challenging a corrupt dynasty, leading a rebellion and possibly abolishing slavery on the way. He has an obsession with killing bugs, moths especially and usually traps them in a glass for his own amusement. His faithful servants, and dabblers in magic, Kir, a Fkin (a wolf/fire-fox/humanoid), Sol a human are always by his side along with Xavier the financial advisor who should probably be terrified of him.

Inoke and Affie – Inoke is a Grimoire, a sort of magical diary adopted by Sorcerers and Wiccas and such. They are rather like a familiar and a Book of Shadows all rolled into the shape of a human. As Grimoires are empaths their masters imprint their emotions and thoughts into them via a connection. When Inoke's master dies, the connection breaks and he is open to all emotion and is unable to block it out. Normally this would drive a Grimoire insane or to death, but Inoke, though slightly unhinged, managed to maintain his sanity until he was adopted by the infamously notourius Crime-Lord, Angel Face, Affie to his friends. This resulted in a psychologically abusive relationship between the two, though Affie really did love Inoke. With help from rookie-cop, Cray, Inoke escaped Affie's grasp and is living in a secluded area out in the country away from the city. The story begins three years later when Cray needs Affie's help and wants Inoke to call him up. But Affie's help always comes a price and Inoke's scared he won't get out again.

I'm probably leaning towards Inoke and Affie since writing that synopsis meant a title slapped me upside the head and because Inoke is currently my baby. But I've been itching to write Juno, Star & Co. for ages, ditto to Song and Gabriel and Hunter and Caleb. Yaz, Finch, Simon and Monroe are great fun with their wit and I practially had a premonition of Yaz at one point - though I may be mixing her up with this other character I have called "Yena" (^.^;), As for Luque and his gang, he's a brand new character I've been dying to work with, mostly due to his blatant evilness.

I'll keep you posted!

I will try to find some time to update this blog, but since all of the aforementioned competitions ask that submissions be published nowhere else, I will not be at liberty to post the stories until such time as it has been confirmed that I had my ass handed to me by a plethora of more seasoned authors. Non-competition material is still likely to make an appearance.

Wish me luck!

"The first draft of anything is shit." -Ernest Hemingway

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.” -Richard Bach

10/10/08 - Thinking about a young adult magic/realism/fantasy novel.  It's hard to force 50k out of this idea.  Two years ago I won Nano with a similiar novel, but it was tough.

That's a picture of my latest acquisition, a leather attache case.  Been looking for something similar for ages but the models I like are usually wayyyy out of my price range and the ones I can afford are uglier than Dan Brown's prose or, for various reasons, just not me.

Found this beauty at a thrift shop (secondhand goods) in Saskatoon.  Spotted it and let out a crow of pleasure which was slightly mitigated when I discovered that the case sported a hideous logo from some hog producers convention.  Well, shit, I'm supposed to be creative, aren't I, I figured I could come up with some method of fixing the problem.  Bought the briefcase for five bucks, brought it home and immediately set to work. Taped off the edges and used black spray paint to get rid of the logo. Still left with a shiny area that had to be covered up with...something.  But what?  How about a patch or sticker of some kind?  Which led to me going 'round and 'round, trying to think of a symbol or design that distinguished the case as mine.

I've been doing a lot of reading on anarchy lately, its history and proponents, and have increasingly come to see that for an independent-minded, stubborn, recalcitrant asshole like me, anarchism is the perfect philosophical system.  No bosses, no hierarchy, no cant. Found a place in England that sold a sticker that was just about the perfect size to do the job and while I was scrolling through their catalogue, came across the "Kill Your Television" decal.

Wonderful.

I hardly ever watch television, except for the news and hockey on Saturday night. We have a grand total of two channels in our house, and one of them doesn't come in very well.  No cable, no satellite, no need. That old Springsteen song comes to mind:  57 channels and nothin' on. During those rare occasions when we stay in a hotel, I always have a quick troll through the available stations and rarely find anything worth watching, except if I'm lucky to catch an episode of "South Park" or, thanks to a tip from my sons, one of the weird send-ups featured on "Robot Chicken".

Whenever I go into one of my tirades about television and other time-wasters, I usually get some sort of feeble response like, "well, I only watch television to relax".  A sentiment that is lost on me.

Relaxation?  What's that?

I checked my daybook last week and out of the last 365 days, I've taken a grant total of nine days off from writing.  Nine days.  And that includes weekends, holidays, everything.

And so, I suppose, I have no one but myself to blame for my recent big crash, a eight-day bout with pleurisy (lung inflammation) that knocked me on my ass.  My body was simply worn out, my immune system utterly fucked. Couldn't work, found myself stuck on the couch with a pile of James Crumley books and a stack of movies. I might have tried to work...except I read up on the condition (curse the internet!) and discovered that in severe cases, doctors have to stick a long needle in your lung to siphon off the fluid. Oops.  And then I read about some of the famous people, including Thomas Hardy, who have croaked from pleurisy.

Where's that couch?  Rest, rest, must have rest!

I know writing will eventually kill me but not yet. My sons are still only teenagers and I've got a lot of work ahead of me before I turn up my toes and start taking harp lessons. When the time comes, I intend to go out like David Gemmell, who was discovered by his wife, sprawled across his keyboard, dead of a heart attack. That's an author's death.

Real writers don't need an idiotic event like National Novel Writing Month to get them kick-started. Every year when November rolls around I cringe because I know a horde of amateur fuckwits will be filling forums with progress reports on their masterpieces, playing at being authors. Romance writers and fantasy wannabes, hobbyists who do great disservice to those of us who pay the price day after day, year after year, as we go about honing our craft. Do these fucking morons have any idea the kind of sacrifice and pain the writing life demands from its practitioners? Do they really believe their pathetic, semi-literate efforts are deserving of any kind of respect or approbation?

And listen to them scream in outrage if one presumes to set them straight: how dare a professional writer tell them that their efforts aren't taken seriously and mock them for their silliness. Lemme tell you something, kiddies:  someone who unclogs a toilet isn't a plumber, someone who screws in a light bulb isn't an electrician...and someone who scribbles a few thousand words into a notebook with a flowery pattern on the front ain't an author. Sorry to prick your balloon.

I've been writing for nearly 25 years and each day the process of sitting at my desk and commencing work requires discipline and courage, consuming enormous amounts of physical, mental and spiritual energy.  The other day, I received a note from one of my favorite authors, Nicholas Christopher (Veronica, A Trip to the Stars, The Bestiary). He wrote:

I am working my through the first 100 pages of a new novel...and finding, as always, that writing of any kind, but especially the writing of novels, is a humbling profession.  You start all over again and realize it doesn't get any easier, no matter how many books you've written -- nor should it get easier, if you're doing what you're supposed to and trying to reach new places with your work.

This from a man who has more talent in his big toe than I'll ever possess, even if I lived to be three hundred.

NaNoWriMo is a gimmick, a fallacy and a fraud.  Those who play that game are beneath the contempt of the authors they're trying so hard to imitate. For thirty days they get to  pretend to have the drive, talent and passion of their betters.

Then reality intrudes. Writing, it turns out, is hard work, doncha know? Shucks, you even have to know how to spell .

For many participants of NaNoWriMo, even that is too much of a reach...

-----

It was very nearly dawn by the time Soren arrived back at his lab, the eastern sky a pale pinkish yellow capped by an inky starry blue. He stood for a moment at the top of his hill, looking out over the darkened city. The twinkling lights of the street lamps and the office buildings were gone, as was the usual traffic noise. The hum of a busy city getting ready for work now silenced forever. All was still. Peaceful. Orderly. A stiff breeze tugged at his thick dark hair, whipping it wildly about his head, and he inhaled deeply, savoring the early fall scent of leaves and grass carried upon it. Not even a winging bird disturbed the perfect tranquility of this moment. His moment. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket to guard against the chill and, feeling the object nestled inside, smiled, smugly satisfied. He had known it would work, his calculations precise, his craftsmanship superb. Still, having successfully tested it on this scale was its own vindication.

He took the keys from his pocket and turned to the door of his lab. Now his real work could begin. As he slid the key into the lock, a familiar shiver of pleasure ran over him. Time seemed to stretch out and he felt as though he were one with the mechanism. He was the key, moving each tumbler into its proper place. And then, quivering, he felt the click as the key yielded to the gentle pressure and twist of his hand. Sighing softly, he pushed open the door.

In one motion, he switched on the lights and stuffed the keys back into his pocket before turning to close and lock the door behind him. He leaned against the door, gathering his thoughts, before turning to face what he knew the chaos that still awaited him here.

Naturally the lab smelled nothing like it usually did—of ozone and cleanliness and order, of sterile scientific instruments, precisely and systematically arranged, every object in its place, waiting patiently for his return. No. Of course this morning the smell of human sweat hung heavy in the air. Sweat and blood. His breath caught. He had nearly forgotten about the blood. Given what had happened here last night, he was surprised the stench of blood wasn’t heavier. It was then that the full force of what had happened struck him.

Mostly, the lab was a tumbled mess of shattered glass and stainless steel instruments, but there were a few objects untouched by the frenzied chaos endured only hours ago. Here, a lab chair upturned on a melted lump of plastic and metal that probably had been his computer. There, a jar of formaldehyde that contained a preserved fetal cat, untouched by the apparent violence surrounding it. One might think he’d placed the jar there just now had it not been for the destruction that blocked the way.

The blood, mixing with other spilled liquids, ran down toward the industrial drain in the center of the room and had become a morbid dark and thickened rivulet. Unwilling, Soren’s eyes followed the stream to its source.

Their struggle had been epic in a way, evidenced by the massive damage done to the lab. But in the end, it was his own super-strength that Soren was able to use against him. Soren had only to step aside as the man, desperate to save the city, unwittingly threw himself onto the rebar that had popped from the concrete wall during the fray. The force of the fool’s momentum backed by his super-strength had driven it completely through the left eye socket and out the back of his head, pinning him to the wall like a mounted trophy, killing him instantly.

Soren picked his way over to the lifeless body of the fallen hero, standing for a moment so closely his nose nearly touched the man’s cheek. He fought the bile rising in his throat. “No hard feelings, man,” Soren said to him, a low growl. “I just had to show them I was right.” Then, he took the keys out of his pocket and dropped them to the floor at his feet. This lab was no longer large enough for his needs. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, running his thumb over the object within. Then he made is way back to the door and quietly left.

A friend of mine from The Game Depot introduced me to National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, which is celebrating, as they put it, "10 years of Literary Abandon." I'm in, my friend! I've officially signed up as of tonight. I figure if I don't do it I'll always wonder. To my family, this is my GarveyStrong moment of the year. I'm going to step outside my comfort zone and attempt to write 50,000 words during the month of November. My friend assures me this is approximately 3 pages a day. A few of you are writing books of your own. If you'd like to join me, check out the FAQ.

Well, another grand old NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is upon us. This November, I and thousands of other writing aficionados will embark on a great journey of literary abandon to write a 50,000 word book in one month. After succeeding at the 3-Day Novel Contest back in September, it will seem comparatively tame. Nonetheless, I have a great story to do this month.

It's a tale of fantasy set in one of my favourite eras, the Gilded Age of the early 1900s. The world is one where everyone has a heart made of certain things that determine their personality. The hearts can be taken out via a special incision in their chest and have other things put on them, to change their personality in small ways. But no one really knows what any one object may do.

Take our protagonist, Phineas. His heart has a core of fine mahogany wood to make him sturdy and firm, yet warm and rich. Some objects that are grafted to his heart include a pair of glasses, which make him perceptive; a tassel off an academic cap for cleverness; some dove feathers for sympathy and goodwill.

A lot of people have displayed interest in my book's progress, so I've decided to start this blog for them. For October, I'll keep you up-to-date on my planning process: coming up with the characters, the settings, the plot synopsis, and so on. November is when the real show begins; I'll be posting daily excerpts from the book as I write them, as well as progress reports and personal thoughts of my journey.

Patchwork Hearts is the book, NaNoWriMo is the event, and literary abandon is the goal. Let's do it!

But in thinking about what I will write about... I have decided to combine this with #008 - Forgive My Father.  Which will make NaNoWriMo a little heavy, but also purposeful. 

I am going to try to do some planning before I dive headlong into it, but the basic premise is that I want to write about three significant events from each perspective - mine and my father's.  Forcing myself to step into his shoes (as a character) and write about how he could have been feeling, his values, his beliefs, his reactions to me, his thoughts, his outcomes, his regrets ...and juxtaposition it with those of my own (that I know so well) will hopefully help me to humanise him and help me to forgive.

Huge, huh?  I decided this on Monday, and today I found a post on a Buddhist blog I read:

Essentially, we need to turn, and this will be ever so slowly at first, the relationship around. It's the first turn that's the hardest. It starts with what we tell ourselves about the other person. We try to still the negative chatter and replace it with something positive. Also, we look for their suffering. We replace our frustrated, complaining thoughts with those that are empathetic and caring. Then we'll be ready.  

Read the rest of the post here.

Wow, really long.

So, I was on the NaNoWriMo website the other day, my English teacher will be so happy.

NaNoWriMo is a challenge where you have to write 50,000 words in a month. They've also got a program for those under 17, which is where I fall. You can sign up for the adult one if you're over 13, but 50,000 words is hard!

On the younger one, you get to pick your own word goal. I really love the site, it's just so friendly and gives off a fantastic vibe. I can't wait until November (when it starts). I'm going to plan out my story in preparation.

There's a little library at my school and it's just adorable. It's so small and cute!

There's an okay selection of books, not the best, but they've at least got a few Terry Pratchett books. But sadly, only a few out of the 40? he's written so far.

It's just like a real library, only smaller! Did I mention how cute it is?

But it's fun, I can drop off my checked out books on the way to class, which is cool. And I don't need a library card since I'm an actual student. I've got a student ID card and everything. I've never had a student ID card before, it's wicked fun. It's got my picture on it and my grade and stuff...It makes it feel all official.

It's really weird, going to an English-speaking school. I've been living in China the last four years, and now that my life is normal again, I'm going to write every single boring detail about it!

Something is definitely messed up there. I should have started a blog sooner, oh well.

I'm taking French, because it's just such a beautiful language. The classroom always smells different than in the hall, because the french teacher has cooking classes or something in there. It smells sort of like coffee... Only ten times better.

French is supposed to be a really good choice if you want to get into college or something like that.

I'd like to be a physicist when I'm older, so I'm not taking any chances. It helps that I've wanted to take french since I was about five.

I'm really interested in all the physic stuff, quantum particles and all that junk. I read that electrons are connected to each other, or something like that, and when you move one, the other one it's connected to moves too. Could this be a foundation for something much larger?

And what about time travel? It would require too much energy, I think. Although I don't know anything, so ignore that. But either if we go back and change a time line that will require too much energy to work, or changing the time line is impossible because our destinies are fixed in place and all of our decisions have already been made for us, although by us, so does that really count? It's like looking at a past decision you made. You made it, the you that made it might be different from the you now, but if you went back then and were just like you were then then you would make the same decision. Unless it was completely random, in which case, would it happen again?

Isn't that the best? August. over on the NaNo forums is taking requests from people (up to November I think) for a banner.

Here's the link to the thread:

Taking Banner Requests

Anyway, I think it looks great--they even used the singer who I base my MC's looks off of :) (I suggested it and they found a good picture).

Anyway, I know some don't see the value in NaNo--I've read some comments about how it's only for "amateur" novelists and those not serious enough to commit all the way. I know others think it's too much hype.

Though that's true for many, I know it's also a falsehood, since without NaNo, unfortunately I don't think I would have been able to write nearly as much as I have for my book--and not in a month's time. I suppose I'm not as dedicated in some aspects as I should be...but NaNo helps fuel the dedication. It's also helped me connect with others in the area and be a part of a critique group (again, something a great many writers say is unnecessary, though I disagree in many aspects...that's another post though :P)

Besides, writers of NaNo have been published, and by some pretty notable companies too.

Did you know that Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants was written during NaNo? A book that ended up on the Bestseller's list nonetheless.

NaNoWriMo may not be for everyone--but it's definitely something that I encourage others who aspire to write a novel to at least look at. :)

Chapter 01 - Anniversary

Also, speaking of Computer City, I'll plug my one-shot manga I did a while ago based slightly around the details of CC. It's a prequel of sorts. It's on SmackJeeves, feel free to comment.

Computer City [Re:Wind]

On the side of my NaNo08, nothing new really. I want to get Naomi, Eizan, and Shizuzu out of my head now, since I can't have them hanging around in November. >_< Sometime this week or next I'll go off and edit my Plot Bunnies page with stuff on this year's NaNo.