20

NaNoWriMo


Well, this will be my first year trying to write 50,000 words in thirty days. This will be a tall order for me because I find it nearly impossible not to edit as I write. This also means I will be outlining (also a tall order for me) the month of October in an attempt not to get to the middle of November and wonder where on earth I was going with the plot.

For those of you who haven't heard of it yet, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) has run from November 1st to November 30th every year for the past eleven. The goal is to write a novel in thirty days or at least get a damn good start on one. Back in 1999 there were only 21 participants, but this year they expect over 175,000.

And I have to tell you, I'm kind of excited about it. I'm more motivated with a deadline and this is quite a deadline.

I also noticed while browsing the NaNo site that there is a Young Writers Program where kids 17 and under can participate by setting their own word count goal. This sounds like something my aspiring writer daughter might be interested in (plus it might keep her occupied while Mom is writing). She's been working on a great idea for a chapter book, so we'll see.

Now, who's with me? I can use all the support I can get.  Here I am. Won't you join me?
8

Mash-up Blogfest

The wonderful and funny Steph Sinkhorn is having a Mash-up blogfest today at her blog, Maybe Genius.

We had to write a story, 1000 words or less, that combines two genres that are normally not seen together. Here is my feeble attempt at a Women's fiction/Paranormal, which I've affectionately termed a ParaWom.



The fading sun left bursts of  crimson clouds feathered along the horizon. Theresa pretended to wonder where Michael was even though she knew the unkind truth.

She closed her eyes and fought to remember a time when everything was less complicated, when the words I love you meant simply that. He would never be hers alone. The life he'd promised her had been nothing more than a fantasy.

Standing at the balcony, she looked out onto the beach below knowing it would all be over soon. She silently rehearsed the speech she'd prepared, had been preparing for a month, ever since intercepting the email sent to him from the escort agency. A girl they'd employed had been murdered, drained of blood, and the police had forced them to turn over their client list. They would probably be questioning him soon and wanted him to be prepared. When Theresa had asked him about it, he'd denied any involvement, but she knew.

His lies would end tonight.

She touched the stake, moved her fingers along the wood, marveled at how smooth it was, how impartial. Michael owed her so much more than this, and he was going to pay.

When he opened the door she was waiting, holding the weapon behind her back. Her hands shook, a sign of weakness that sickened her. The surprised look on his face only confirmed she was doing the right thing. He'd even forgotten she was meeting him for dinner.

He started to speak but she interrupted. "Don't say anything, Michael. You're going to listen to me for once."

She motioned for him to sit but he didn't budge. "Stand or sit, it doesn't make any difference. You'll be dead soon."

Finally the reaction she'd been waiting for. He stumbled back toward the chair, almost falling into it. "Theresa, honey, this is crazy. I love you." His voice cracked on the word love.

"You love me? If you love me so much you would give them up!"

He made a move to stand. She showed him the stake and he sat back down. She could see the tips of his fangs as he fought back a snarl.

"Of course I love you. I want to be with you, Theresa, you know that." His fingers shook as he loosened his tie and attempted a smile. "But you have to understand, I need it."

She walked closer, powerless to resist the pull of his gaze, and leaned against his chest. When his arm slipped around her waist, she tilted her head granting him access to the part of her body he loved most.

"No more prostitutes, my darling, I promise," he said running his lips down her neck.

Theresa drove the stake up through his stomach under the rib cage, piercing his heart with no hesitation. She stepped away from him as he crumpled and fell forward onto the floor, his head bouncing off the glass coffee table on the way down.

He twitched as she knelt beside him. Black blood pooled around her knees as she whispered in his ear, "I should have been enough."



Thanks so much for reading my little piece of  Mash-up flash fiction. I'm a little late getting this post up so you've probably already seen them, but if you haven't, don't forget to visit all of the other blogs participating.

Hope you all have a great weekend!
18

Wait, What's A Thesis Statement?

I would normally post tonight, it being Wednesday and all, but I am tied up with shrews. The northern short-tailed shrew to be exact, as my daughter failed to tell me she needed help with her research paper due Friday morning. Did I mention she hasn't started yet?

It's been a while since I had to write a research paper and I'm struggling just a little bit (a lot, actually). So I will be back on Friday with a hopefully wonderful post about my writing journey.  I would like to leave you with a picture of the subject of this research paper:
Oh sure, he's cute now. But I see nightmares about a giant version in my near future.
What's the last thing that yanked you away from your normal blogging or writing schedule?
15

Book To Movie Preview

I love movies almost as much as I love books, so when the two are combined, I just can't resist. Here are my most anticipated for 2011.

                                    Jane Eyre - release date March 11, 2011.
Jane is played by Mia Wasikowska who was also Alice in the most recent Wonderland.


               Beastly written by Alex Flinn due out March 18, 2011.




Water For Elephants written by Sara Gruen with a release date of April 15, 2011.
Starring Robert Pattinson as Jacob Jankowski 






Winnie The Pooh written by A.A. Milne will be revamped and released in July, 2011.
Who can resist?

One For The Money written by Janet Evanovich will be released in movie form in July, 2011.
Starring Ana Reeder as Connie, Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum and Sherri Shepherd as Lula.

And last but not least, The Invention Of Hugo Cabret written by Brian Selznick
due out December, 2011.
Directed by the genius that is Martin Scorsese.

Of course, there are a few books to movies coming out before the end of the year I'm excited about also, including Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1, just in time for my birthday in November.

Are there any books to movies you're looking forward to or books you've always wanted to see made into movies?
45

Writing Compelling Characters aka The Great Blogging Experiment

First, I would like to thank Elana, Jen and Alex for my blog topic today and also welcome all of you taking part in The Great Blogging Experiment. I'm stop 132 if you're following in numerical order.

When I sat down to write this post I expected it to be easy-peasy. After all, character development is my thing. I've got so many people in my head screaming at me on a daily basis to let them out onto the page that I sometimes talk to them more than my own family. (No, not out loud. Well, not lately.) But it really is difficult to describe what makes a character compelling.

A character's appeal is probably different for everyone, and dependent on each reader's life experiences. However, I find three things are critical when developing a memorable character:

      1. You must be able to put yourself in a character's shoes.

Whether your character is a pig living on a farm with a gifted spider, or the reclusive owner of a chocolate factory, a reader has to be able to relate to them. Everyone has problems and your characters should be no different.

      2. Your character has to want something so bad, they would do almost 
          anything to get it.

This doesn't have to be something physical, although that could be a starting point. More often it's emotionally driven: a desire for love, power, or simply acceptance.

      3. Give your character an arc.

Nobody wants to read about a character that never changes. Even the good girl who treats everyone like an angel, or the bad boy who would rather spit on you than look at you get BORING if they don't grow during the course of a story. This change can be subtle or dramatic, just make sure it's included.

For me, character is the best part of a story. It's what keeps me turning the pages into the wee hours even though I know I'll feel like crap the next day. It's what I remember about a book and hold within my heart like a good friend.

Thanks for stopping by my little piece of the blogosphere and don't forget to head over to the next stop. I'll be right behind you (not in a weird, creepy sort of way though).
8

I'm Down With ODE


The Oxford Dictionary of English has added a new list of words to its pages. My ten favorites are listed below. You can view the entire list here:

  1. BROMANCE - a close but non-sexual relationship between two men
  2. HATER - negative person
  3. DEFRIEND - another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
  4. STEAMPUNK - a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology
  5. FRENEMY - a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
  6. DICTIONARY ATTACK - an attempt to gain illicit access to a computer system by using a very large set of words to generate potential passwords
  7. BUZZKILL - a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
  8. MICROBLOGGING - the posting of very short entries on a blog
  9. FREEMIUM - a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
  10. EXIT STRATEGY - a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation
I was surprised that some of these words weren't already there (steampunk, bromance) but I guess that's because I use them so often. Keeping my fingers crossed for ASSHAT next year.

What words would you like to see added to the dictionary?
12

News and Happenings

Happy Friday! I never thought it would get here. So much great stuff going on around the blogosphere right now, I thought I would pass it along.

The wonderful Marieke is doing a new series of posts on her blog called How To Thursdays. Every two weeks she'll have a great industry professional over to talk about writing, editing, critting and literary theory. Her first interview with Leah Cypress (author of Mistwood, Greenwillow) is up, and there's a bonus giveaway too!

Everyone wants to increase followers and Rachel Harrie is going to help us do just that. She's kicking off a Writers' Platform Building Crusade on her blog. It's a great way to meet other writers.

Have you all congratulated the beautiful and talented Elana Johnson on the fantabulously gorgeous cover for her upcoming novel Possession? Yay Elana!

From the epic, epicness of WriteOnCon.com has sprung a new writer's group called The Voice. A place where some of us who met during that awesome online conference go to critique each other's work, provide support and encouragement, and sometimes just hang out. We are also planning to start live online group meetings which I'm particularly excited about since I haven't been able to find a writer's group in my area. We'd love to have you join us.

There are four writing blogfests upcoming that should each be a lot of fun:

  1. Blogfeast 9/23/10
  2. Mash-up Blogfest 10/1/10
  3. They're People Too Blogfest 10/2/10
  4. Bad News Blogfest 10/3/10
Do you have a contest or "fest" coming up that I missed? If so, please leave it in the comments.

Here's hoping your weekend is long and the writing comes easy! Ciao, my lovelies.
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