Bombed

Camp NaNo didn't pan out for me and NaNo in November just didn't happen.  Haven't written a word in I don't know how long.  Need inspiration, which really shouldn't have to wait for and make my own, need a good character to get into, again should make my own.  All easy to say just not as simple to do for me yet. Not sure the well is primed at all at this point.  Maybe another excuse because I know how to prime a pump - not getting any water then you give it some to get it going.  I should apply the same to writing.  Lots of playing but not with characters or made up worlds.  Lots of procrastinating which I'm very, very good at doing.

Camp NaNo Day 3

Have not yet caught up to the number of words I should have but not going to worry about it.  Also, just found out yesterday one of my cousins passed away.  Not sure what today will bring but probably some words written later, but most likely not very many.

First day at Camp NaNo

Not off to a good start, but I'm not worried.  I'm going into this with as much of a laid-back feeling as I can.  Nothing at all going on today so maybe I'll get more words down and make up for yesterdays procrastination.  Tomorrow's time will be taken up mostly but will still have some hours to myself to write - it will be a good day with family, as small as that has become.

Changes in Life

Been a very long time since I've been here and to be honest I found it a bit hard to remember my way to my own blog.  Sad, I know.  But, given the circumstances I am going to forgive myself.  Losing one's spouse is a hard and difficult road to traverse.  It's been a little over a year now but it hasn't lessened the pain a whole lot - some but not all.  Time, I know is what I have to wait for before it gets better.  Some days are better but lately not so much and have found myself in a depression.  Enter Camp NaNoWriMo and hopefully it will give me the boost I seem to need at this point.  I believe I have to get back to doing the things I used to do to get past this large hump in the road.  Will it heal the pain?  No, but it might just be the thing to get me going again.


This begins at midnight tonight and I have nothing.  Maybe a name.  Maybe.  Not even sure about that though.  I am thinking along the lines of space opera since that was the genre I was having fun with before the world dropped away.


I also think I need to remember how to get back here again. :)

Long time

Had to get the blow torch out to clean this place.  Poor thing has been neglected for over a year now.  Guess I never have much to talk about.

Now it's time for NaNo once again.  Many are gearing up for the big 30 day push to reach their goals.  Mine is to write more than I did last year, but I'm thinking maybe I need a more word set goal.  100,00 words keeps spinning in my head.  I have notes, a bit of writing I started which will be put into notes for the outline so I can begin anew.  A few characters, some I think are in what I had written last year at some point so will dig that out and go through to grab what I need.

If I don't drag my heels I'll pull out my interview character sheets (have about 3 different kinds) and do some of those.  It's interesting to sometimes do the one where you interview a character but you are asking him/her questions about the other one.  Puts a new light on personalities, IMO.

Made my first NaNo calendar yesterday and am working on the second one today.  Lots of trial and error but I'll get there sooner or later.  Once I decide which background I want for myself I'm thinking of making a special size to print out and put on my cork board.  Once I get going I'll really need to figure out what word count I'm going for this year, although, I could do a couple different word counts, start with the smaller one and see if I write enough to move to the larger count.

Moving Forward

So many novels started and so many wanting to be worked on and finished. How to choose which one to pull up and start writing? I'll pop a few of them up to look at but each wants more words added, so that idea doesn't work and in the end none get what they are crying out for.

I keep telling myself to pick one, then stick with it until the end and after that move to the next, but it isn't working. At least tonight wasn't a total bust. 2,514 words done, not good words but they're on the page. I did get the characters to move at least, so they aren't standing still. But, I did leave them with one standing and one sitting.

As I was finishing that goal for tonight a thought slithered through my head. Where the hell is Stella? Damn, she isn't even in this story, nor is she a main character. I do love her though. She's feisty, opinionated and loyal to a fault, well, once she's given another character 100% loyalty, and she'll never fail them no matter how bad it gets. Lusty Stella, she's fun to write, yet she knows her role and doesn't try to take over the story in any way, so she remains a secondary character even if an outspoken one. I wrote on that novel last week and I remember wonder then where she was, then it dawned on me that the part I was in is suppose to be inserted earlier in the story and she hasn't shown up yet. A bit of a downer for me at that time. Problem is, I really do have to finish this part and figure out where to paste it in before I can get back to where Stella and the others. Poor woman, even took a hit in the arm, but not a serious one.

Then there are the other novels that creep into my head and want a bit more written. If it was only one at a time it'd be much easier, but doesn't seem to happen that way.

If that wasn't enough, I have about three others that I have no idea what the damn story is suppose to be, but I do have the main characters and I'm quite fond of them. They've been patient, I'll give them that. They only whisper to me every now and then, so much better than characters screaming to have their story told.

A few are farther down the ladder, bottom rung to be exact. Not a peep out of those characters in forever. I'm not sure if they are waiting or have given up on me. I guess if they don't expect their story to be told they might take on roles in other ones some day.

At least I did get words on the page today, so that's something, regardless of the fact that too many times I felt I was forcing them. Something to work with in the future, is what I tell myself and that lets me keep moving forward.

All I have left to say is: This damn white background is burning my eyes!

Okay one more thing: Writing my stories on a black background has been a gift!

Writing & Rant (not related or sort of)

Rant first.

Seriously, if you're on a writing email list, which by the way has a membership of 2000+, please stop jabbering about your hormones and pregnancy sickness. I'm sorry but that's not why I joined; my reasons were to read about the writing process, how others are doing, good things that happen to them, the market - get the picture. Yes, I know about the hormone thing, been there, done that. Yes, I know about getting sick when pregnant, been there, done that, three times to be exact. Two or three members start going back and forth about this crap like their the only ones on some private list, well you're not. To be upfront, I have no problem with conversations like that at all, this just isn't the place to do it. And, I'm sure all the males on the list are having a ball. Not. So, please, go form your own email list and talk about all that stuff to your hearts content.

The fact that the owner seems to ignore these types of conversations that crop up from time to time irritates the hell out of me. Most he'll do is say something if others put up enough of a bitch about it. Sorry, guy, but that doesn't make you a very good owner/moderator. It's a shame you never want to make one or two other members moderators, but that's come up in the past and you declined. And, yes, I know a bit about your history, so have a pretty good idea why you chose to run it alone.
/rant

So, hanging around the NaNo forum board lately and it's nice to see some new people there getting ready for November. And some who are doing a few off season NaNos. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do, while working on two other projects that were started and now I'd like to get finished. Would love to have a more detailed outline than I've ever attempted before, not that I've done all that many.

Downloaded Liquid Story Binder last week (free for one day) and I keep looking and playing with that from time to time, but mostly end up feeling lost. I do think it would work quite well with the Phase System though, so may be doing some actual writing in it when the time comes. Oops, I'll have to set that up first, but before that I'll need to know where the hell my story is going. Right now I only have the beginning and a few scenes in my head. Maybe will try to hit the index cards first and hope that spits out something worth using.

Oh, and just downloaded ScribeFire to use so will see how this works and if it will help me keep up with blogging more often. It's a Firefox add-on and puts an icon on the Status Bar. Kinda nifty, if it works well.

Here's to writing, the rest of this summer and tons more in November!