Writing Notes by Today, I Wrote…

Cross-posted at Today, I Read…

Going into the second day of NaNoWriMo, I have just shy of 2,000 words complete (and by the end of the day, that total should jump to just shy of 4000—I hope).

The NaNo board still isn’t complete; it’s only halfway done, but I figured I might as well post up a progress report.

In case you’re wondering, yes those are pictures of Paul Walker. I was watching Into the Blue the other day and all of a sudden, I jumped up and screamed, “OMG! It’s Rick! It’s Rick!”

Of course, now my craziness is showing, but to explain, Rick Dawson is one of the main characters in my NaNoWriMo novel and he goes through many, many changes in the story; I needed someone who could visually pull it off. Paul Walker goes from a sweet pretty boy (upper left corner) to a gritty bad boy (bottom right corner) just like my MC.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t found the perfect visual example of my leading lady and I’m afraid I may have to break down and draw her, but I’m keeping hope alive. (If you know of any young biracial models or actresses, please let me know.)

In the center of the NaNo board, I have the calendar that I printed from deviantART and colored in with water colors.

To its left is my Magna Carta I, all the things I like in a novel, and to its right is the Magna Carta II, all the things I dislike in a novel.

I still need to include the mind map cloud thing because it would be much easier to look up at the board for reference rather than dig through my notebook. Goodness willing I’ll get that finished and glued on there this afternoon.

Cross-posted at Today, I Read…

I didn’t get the NaNo board finished yet, but it’s coming along. The calendar, Magna Carta I & II, and some visuals have been completed. The goal is to finish it up this weekend so I can hang it above my desk by Monday.

In the meantime, I’ve already set up Liquid Story Binder XE for my newest novel by resetting my global work logs from last year’s and preparing my Planner.

I’m doing things a bit differently by incorporating Builders. The reason is that this time around, I’ve actually prepared a mind map for this particular novel—something I didn’t have last year (I flew by the seat of my pants).

Right now I hope to write as much as possible because I want a nice comfy cushion when those lean writing days arrive…and I know they’re coming.

I’d also like to keep a daily writing journal and post over at Today, I Wrote… (which is desperately in need of some love) as I go along. I hope I won’t become too preoccupied.

If you’re also participating in NaNo, buddy me. You can never have too much support.

Cross-posted at Today, I Read…

In less than a week, the mass month-long caffeination of hundreds (possibly thousands) or writers worldwide will begin. Yep, I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, where the participants are asked to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days’ time.

Impossible, you say? Not so. Last year I won, even if the 50,000 words I managed to churn out amounted to nothing more than a coaster made of recycled trees. (Yes, I really am using last year’s novel as a coaster right at this very moment.)

But learning from past experience, this year, I’m going in with (more of) a plan.

My brain likes structured chaos—you know, the stuff that looks like a hodgepodge but is really organization in disguise—and highly visual stuff—big and colorful so I can’t miss it.

The light bulb flickered on for me when I saw the extra 24×36 in. poster frame I had stashed in the corner of my room. I thought, “Hmmm, that’s big enough to fit a whole bunch of bright colorful stuff on. (sound of mental gears grinding.)” Story collages, mind maps, the magna cartas, inspirational quotes…a calendar…all smooshed together.

BAM! The NaNo board idea was realized.

With the easy part of the way, it’s a matter of figuring out how to implement it. (Wish me luck.) Here’s the blueprint so far:

• Epicenter = mind map. A few months ago I came up with a story idea and drew up a mind map on an 9×12” sheet of paper.
• Calendar below. I was going to create my own, but finding a link to all the NaNoWriMo calendars on deviantART saved me the trouble. (I printed out a fun one with coffee stains and quotes.)
• Magna cartas on either side. No Plot? No Problem? (links to my review) discusses creating two magna cartas (aka lists), one detailing everything you like in a novel and the other detailing everything you hate.
• Inspiration on the fringes. Pictures, other images, and words that relate to my story and help keep me in my inspired happy place while writing. (In other words, shinies in collage form. Looks like all those magazines I’ve saved since 2006 will finally come in handy.)

During the next few days, I hope to finish, in addition to the chaotically structured  NaNo board, my novel folder which will include character dossiers, location samples (i.e. maps, descriptions, random town facts), and fleeting bits of dialog.

When it’s all set up, I’ll be sure to take pictures and update.

Meanwhile, I need writing buddies. Hit me up please.

Already I’m sort of behind on Amanda B’s Journal. I didn’t write my 300 words on Tuesday and I just finished today’s 300 words—394 to be precise.

Oddly enough, I’m enjoying this low pressure way of writing. In fact, since I have such a limited amount of space to progress the story forward, I’m enjoying the new directions that it’s taking.

I think the most surprising thing, though, is how Amanda answers me. Yes, it’s true. Before I wrote each of my 300 word journal entries, I asked Amanda what happened next? Then I listened and wrote what she told me. So far I’m connecting with her and I really do like her, despite her faults. She’s quirky.

In other news, I had finished a short story (2000 words more or less) and it had a sort of open-ended question as an ending. Almost a cliffhanger, but not quite.

As I was discussing something along the same lines of the story’s subject matter, I had a spark of an idea—why not continue the story? Normally, short stories are just that, but this particular story could easily be expanded because of the question posed—the novel will answer it.

The short story needs one more round of edits before I start submitting it, but I’m getting excited about the prospect. When I recently re-read the story after letting it sit for weeks, it sparked a feeling that lingered with me. I didn’t want that feeling to end.

So, I’ve decided to push forward with the novel idea and get the rough hammered out during the month of August. Yes, NaNoWriMo-style. I already have a general outline, it’s just a matter of getting it all out on paper…in a month.

For now, I’m going to call this project Amanda B’s Journal. Yeah, the main character’s name is Amanda and the journal is being written from her point of view.

I just finished writing the second page of my newly started blogging a book experiment.

First day’s word count is 322 and the second day is 375.

Both days are a bit above average, so I’ll have to try and scale back a bit in the future, or just do two journal entries per day (600 words).

For now, the goal will remain unchanged because I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself–I still have project g writing goals to keep in mind.

I’ve had the idea for a while (and by a while, I mean years). There’s nothing new about blogging a book. Others have done it before me and others will do it after me.

But with this particular book, in my humble opinion, blogging it is the perfect medium. My one worry is having my material ripped off or plagiarized. That said, it’s a chance I’m willing to take.

With that, here’s my goal: blog one page (300 words) from the book each day. (Not on this blog, mind you. I already have the book blog set up.)

Since it’s a first person journal-style book, I must plan out how to display the content—basically, make it easy for someone just jumping in to read from the beginning.

Something else that just popped into my head is whether to allow commentary on the individual pages. On one hand, it can help me build a following and offer great feedback/direction, but on the other, it can adversely hamper my own creativity (and negative comments could just plain make me feel bad).

Then there’s the question of how to get it from blog format into edited manuscript format.

And, of course, I’ll eventually have to explain that it’s a work of fiction.

*sigh*

Enough yammering, it’s time for me to start doing. I’ll work out all those little details later.

I was re-reading the first chapters my WIP and realized that a few secondary characters, though they were important to the story, lacked depth.

I hadn’t taken the time to get to know them as I did with my main characters. I hadn’t done full bios or backgrounds on any of them. I knew nothing about who they were as people or what motivated their actions. That made me feel a little sad. I had neglected some of my characters.

Rather than sulk, I opened up my sketchbook and did a bit of drawing. The result? I came up with a couple character sketches, but it didn’t end there. I was struck by some inspiration which lead to writing excerpts from their diary entries.

A revealing process indeed. It lead to another key point in the story which I had never thought about and it deepened the relationship (and the rift) between the secondary and the main characters. Happy days.

Character Sketch #1:

Name: Rachel
Age: 16
Hair: Jet Black
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 5’8”
Career: Social Climber

An excerpt from Rachel’s diary:

I want to feel guilty, but I can’t. Emily has changed. She’s forgotten where she comes from, she’s forgotten all the rules. That’s why I can’t feel guilty and why I don’t intend to apologize for what I’ve done. Eleanor always told us that if we want something in this world, we have to convince those who have it to give it to us. That’s exactly what I did. Emily could have had it all, but she threw it away. Now Tristan is mine and I don’t intend to let go.

Character sketch #2:

Name: Jill
Age: 16
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Pale Blue 
Height: 5’3”
Career: Tortured Social Climber

An excerpt from Jill’s diary:

Sometimes I think they only reason that Rachel and Emily even hangs out with me is because Victoria’s my sister, but I try not to let it get to me. Rachel can be a real bitch sometimes, but I’d rather not cross her—she has her claws sunk too deep into the CC Elite. I like Emily though and I feel kinda bad for her. I’m torn. Tell Emily and have Rachel turn my life into a living nightmare or stay quiet and watch my friend’s life get turned upside down? I wish Em would just beat Rachel at her own game.

Yesterday I went shopping with my sister. She needed to pick up something from a department store, I really didn’t need anything. But somehow, I ended up leaving with more than she did. (Funny how that happens, isn’t it?)

Well, before you start rolling your eyes and wondering what any of that has to do with writing, let me just move it along.

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There’s a moment just before you drift off to sleep (or are just waking up) and I call this Twilight Time because your mind is in two stages.

It also happens to be when the ideas tend to come to me; sometimes I’m good about remembering them when I wake up, other times not so much. That’s why I’m here to preach the importance of having a notebook and pen sitting next to your bed (or wherever you happen to sleep).

Last night, as I was drifting to sleep, a fragment of an idea the size of a diamond fleck came to me. The Sandman had given me an extra dose, so I was fighting it as I clawed my way onto my side and grabbed the notebook off the nightstand, luckily the pen rolled onto the bed with it.

I scribbled that first small thought. Then another followed. Before long, I had the page completely filled with gems that I would need to gently thread into a story. But, I also had something I was not expecting.

Some time ago, I’d say about six months, I had developed a general premise for a story. No matter which way I spun it, however, it never quite felt right to me. I already had the title, which I loved, so I just let it sit. When I had finished scribbling my notes, I realized that one of the lines was the title to that story that never quite wanted to be written. Until now.

Stories are strange creatures. Some will let you know the moment they are conceived, but will force you into a gestation period–like the one above. Others won’t let you know they’ve been conceived until you’re delivering it right on the page.

While I go through each chapter individually, I’m allowing myself to relive the story as though it’s the first time I’m hearing of it. The results of that mindset have been somewhat amazing. It’s allowed me to look at the scene from new eyes and find things that I might otherwise have overlooked.

Following the second draft of the first chapter, I sent it out for a quick critique and one of the responses I received mentioned that my male lead had revealed more of himself this time around, which is a splendid thing.

I’m trying to do the same thing for the second chapter, but I’m finding it a bit difficult to slip out of my male lead’s head and into the female lead’s. They have two distinct voices and I need for that to come through in the writing and style.

Rather than spend time revising chapter 2 today, I do believe I will spend that time interviewing my female lead.

Plus, I’m certain it would help if I could come up with that elusive scene song that captures the mood and mindset of the character.