NANOWRIMO

So it's that time again, for NANOWRIMO or National Novel Writing Month as it is called for all you non-writer types.

I am getting a good head start on my novel this year! I tried writing the same book in 2009 and I got up to 25 pages but then I had to stop because I had so many finals. It was sad. So now I am determined to write up to 50,000 words and more hopefully. Also I realized that I was writing the main character in three different voices, which is weird. So I finally got that fixed this time and now I think I have a good head start on this novel. I am very excited. I think I have the voice down and I am getting to know the main character. I will let you know how the process is going.

Time wears on............

Ok its day 22 and I've not written a word since...a while ago. This is just sad. Why is it so easy to start up a project but so hard to keep it going? Oh well.

I will be able to get off work in three days and it is my goal to work on my manuscript in those two weeks I'm off. Hopefully. Of course I will want to be with my family and just relax so we shall see what happens. Back to the page.

Day Six

Today has been slow going in terms of writing, although I did get to put lights on the christmas tree with my sister which is always fun. I was comparing the 1st person and 3rd person narration using two books as examples. I think I've decided on the 1st person as it is more down to earth and like a friend is talking to you. Now I just have to write it. I am wondering if I should keep the journal entries at the beginning I think it adds something personal....I just don't know.

Anyways back to work!

A work in progress

Day Five

So working on a book is certainly not like cooking. When you cook something it is straight forward and has a natural beginning and a definite ending. A book however goes on a non linear path that takes you the secenic view around town, through the woods, and then maybe goes to a natural ending if it feels like it.

Of course as of late I have been working on the format of the book. It is difficult to contain all my thoughts to hone down what I want the heart of the story to be. I am trying to stay true to my original idea, as that makes me excited for the project.

I just finished creating the titles for book one. So far it has 26 chapters, which I may rearrange which chapters go where, but this at least gives me the freedom to keep my book organized and neat. Now I have a clean slate in which to hone in my creative talents.

I wanted to participate in Nanowrimo this year but there was no way to do it unfortunetly. I just felt way too scatter-brained. However it did make me think about my book (that I am working on), and so therefore forced me to work on it once again. This has proved to be a good choice.

I am also trying to balance my writing life with my personal life. I can see that if I have a place of my own someday I can finally have the peace and quiet to write my stories without interruption. This is one thing that annoys me greatly. I mean I love my family, but if I am working on a story and I am in the "zone" I really do not like to be disturbed, as I lose my train of thought. Thankfully I can usually always get it back. I love people, but I need to start taking care of my writing life and myself instead of always looking out for other people.

Now that I have a fresh start on my book I will start writing each chapter. Of course now I don't know if I want to write in 1st person or 3rd person. Indeed 1st person would be risky but I guess I have to write it in the way I imagined the character speaking when I came up with the idea. I think natural is always best. Now it's back to the writing board.

On Writing My First (Hopefully) Published Book

Ok so I am starting a new project and I want to be honest and dedicated to writing about my experience with writing a book, from my first beginning ideas, the process of writing, the good the bad and getting it published.

I have no idea where the urge to write about this started but here I go.

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Day One

I start this today and see how long it takes me to write my book. Today there is still snow on the ground which is strange for Seattle as we never get snow. It has nearly shut down the city, but it is not as bad as two years ago. Anyways since I have already written 25 pages so far I must start at the beginning at how I came up with my idea.


So I was home on Christmas break from WSU and I was completely bored out of my mind. I decided to try and write something, anything to entertain myself. I sat there thinking as hard as I could but my mind was blank. Then suddenly I got this ingenious idea for a story, but not just any story a series. I wrote down the first short paragraph of my story and then started writing my ideas or rather a breif outline for the other stories. I was excited! I had finally came up with something that I was absolutely excited to write about. It was new and different and I really believed that this was the story that could get my foot in the door of the publishing world.

Then it got put on the shelf for about a year. I would think about it from time to time, but I never really had time to work on it. However one day I was looking on the internet and I stumbled upon Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). I started to think that maybe I could dig out this story and write 50,000 words for the month of November. I was very ambitious. It started out well, I was meeting my goals for about two weeks, and then school picked up the pace. I had to once again put my story on hold and focus on getting my school work done.

Once I graduated I once again dug the story up, read it and then began to edit it. It was thrilling. As I was in the process of editing it I realized the main thing that was wrong with it. I had been writing in two different voices!! How could I have done this without knowing it?! I had the main character's voice and the Narrator's but they were supposed to be the same person....So then I went back to square one. I had to plan out the outlines and time lines of what was going on. This has been my first step as of late. It is also difficult to work on a story when everyone is commanding my attention. Not like that is a bad thing, but sometimes I have this
over-whelming urge to sit down with my story and just work on it, plan it out, write it, just spend Q.T. time with it. I think the rest of today I will try and work on it some more.

I will try and write every single day.....we shall see how that goes, as I am notoriously bad at keeping journals. I think what may help me is to focus on the outlines and big picture stuff, but then write my book a chapter at a time. Peace out!

What about the Austen Craze annoys you?

While I love Jane Austen in all of her amazingness, I would also have to argue that Austen at times does bug me. I mean why write all these love stories, that always have a Cinderella plot line. There are some of her novels that are complex, but they are never difficult to understand. Austen never writes about the love stories that don't work out. Every character gets what they want, they live happily ever after and the novels end there. The reader never gets to see what happend after the characters get married. Also why can't a woman marry the man she wants without regard to money or status. I mean I know at that time period it would be scandalous, and she would be an outcast. Austen never writes about this although I am sure it did happen. Why does Austen always have this Pauper to Rishes story? It never varies. I wish that it could be more complex or use more of the real history/world that it was written in. Why didn't Austen try to write in different time periods, or places, or with vastly different character/stories? That is just what I think.

My future husband...

Well this is an exciting prompt.

My personality is most like:

- Elizabeth = for her rebelliousness
- Elinor = her ability to think about things in a mature way, how she is sensible, humble, and how she takes care of her family
- Jane = her shy/interrelatedness at times (though I am much more talkative)

My future husband's personality would have to be:

-Darcy = his ability to think about things in such a deep and interesting way
- Bingley = for his charismatic personalty, ability to talk easily in big crowds and his fun loving spirit (he always seems like he is smiling and happy)
- Edward = his ability to really listen to someone and offer good advice or comfort
- Brandon = his need to protect Marianne from people like Willoughby

I think it would be a combination between all of these men. I am more like an Elizabeth character now and I might be attracted to a guy like Darcy, or Bingley. I'm not really sure which one I would pick it would really have to depend upon which one I had a stronger connection with in the long run and our ability to be comfortable with each other. I would need to be with someone who is a little extroverted and maybe have a little bit of charisma. Someone that makes me laugh and I can be sarcastic with. I would also want them to be able to talk to a large group of people easily or in a natural/comfortable way, so that when we are in mixed company it wouldn't be awkward or embarrassing.

I would never be attracted to a guy that is arrogant, conceited, all about himself, too quiet or trying to show off in some way about how much they had. I would want someone who is honest and humble, who doesn't care about worldly things but tries to do things for other people without expecting something in return.