Connect and Get Updates
Recent Comments
Brenna on #WriteMotivation Continues!
Hey you! I haven't heard from you in a while, and this is old, so I was wondering how you...Jenn on #WriteMotivation Continues!
haha thanks!K.T. Hanna on #WriteMotivation Continues!
Oh I definitely agree. I think something writing related is still writing. Outlinging, Writing, Revising, Editing, Drafting out ways to improve...Jenn on #WriteMotivation Continues!
Thanks, you too! Oh...realized maybe I should have used my recommendation link for How To Revise...Ceridwen on #WriteMotivation Continues!
Good luck with your revision! And thanks for sharing the link. The site seems really interesting! :)
I’m headed to Otakon for the weekend! Panels on Japanese mythology for the anthro-side of me, drawing and crafts for the artistic side, costumes for the jealous side (I really want to cosplay someday), and laughs for the rest! Hopefully I’ll have some stories to share when I get back!
(You can tell I’m excited by all the exclamation points!)
Announcing LoNoWriMo!
Filed Under NaNoWriMo | Leave a Comment
August is officially Local Novel Writing Month! (Or AugNoWriMo, if you prefer, but I think “August” and “Month” is redundant, haha)
So grab your notebooks and your computers and get writing! Same rules – although it doesn’t have to be a project you haven’t started before. 31 days, 50,000 words.
For me, LoNoWriMo is going to be the big push to try to finish Narrator. I don’t have any classes this month, so I should have plenty of time!
Let’s do this!
Writing Marathon
Filed Under Updates | Leave a Comment
I finally managed to have a legit writing weekend. I didn’t write as much as I would have liked, but I certainly got a lot done! (Don’t believe me? Check how much the progress meter on Narrator has jumped!
In other news, I took advantage of Borders’ failure to buy some new books! One was Supernaturally, by the amazing Kiersten White, which I couldn’t have gotten early if Borders hadn’t needed to sell it! And it was a fantastic sequel.
Another was Falling for Hamlet, a modern re-telling of Shakespeare’s classic. I love Hamlet. He’s the best.
The other two were Shadowcry and Lost Voices, new books I’ve been wanting to read since I saw them on the shelves a few weeks ago. Expect reviews soon(ish)!
Needless to say, my weekend has been lovely and book-filled. Did you do anything exciting with your weekend?
Yesterday I started a list of Troublesome Words. You know the ones. The words that say “Hey look at me! I’m the mark of an amateur writer!”
Once I’ve finished compiling the list (which grows longer with every writing session), I’m going to round it out with some “official” watchwords published authors recommend I avoid.
The Troublesome Words fall into different categories, such as:
- Vague Words like about, maybe, probably, and possibly.
- Distancing Words like think, feel, see, and hear.
- Filler Words like begin, just, quite, and very.
Obviously, context is key. I don’t need to get rid of “and the race began.” But instead of saying “He began to eat,” I should say “He ate” or “He dug in.”
(Proof I’m already improving: I rewrote the previous sentence several times as I went, so that I didn’t say “just” or “might.”)
Let’s add to the list! What are some of your troublesome words?
Traditionally, writing is a solitary activity. We find secluded corners or abandoned mansions and scribble away. But if you don’t have a Writing Buddy, things can go south fast.
Writing Buddies are usually writers themselves, and have numerous uses that you can take advantage of.
- Writing Buddies are willing listeners. Or at least, more willing than other people. And if you depend on one person a lot, they’ll have a better understanding of your characters and plot than the average person, and you won’t have to explain everything over and over and over.
- Writing Buddies are willing readers. Manuscript swapping is a great way to get your work critiqued, and hone your editing skills as well. Most writers are willing to critique your work if you’ll do the same for them.
- Writing Buddies are like an extra brain. Stuck? Run your problem past a Writing Buddy. Even if they don’t come up with a solution you use, chances are their ideas will spark new ones for you.
- Writing Buddies are cheerleaders, but less annoying. Sometimes it’s difficult to get motivated. But your Writing Buddies believe in you, darn it! Fish for compliments and encouragements, and you’re good for another round of writing.
- Writing Buddies keep you sober/happy. Think back to the authors you read in school. Pretty sure they were drunkards, druggies, or depressed. Maybe you need to be one of those to write great novels, but I’m betting you’ll write better ones if you’re not. So don’t succumb to your terrible authorly fate! Make a friend or five.
Averaging The Goddess Test
Filed Under Book Reviews | Leave a Comment
A Review of The Goddess Test, by Aimee Carter
“The prize is immortality. It’s not something we give out lightly, and we need to make sure it is something you can handle.”
- Henry (a.k.a. Hades)
Kate’s mother is dying and wants to return to her hometown of Eden, Michigan. Kate wants to spend as much time with her mother as she can before it’s too late. Then she meets Henry, a man who can bring people back from the dead and wants Kate to be the Persephone to his Hades – if she can past a series of tests. He also promises to keep her mother alive for as long as she fights for immortality.
I liked this book, particularly the growth of the relationship between Kate and Henry. It’s a Harlequin imprint, so I expected a bit more…illicit material, but luckily there wasn’t. And I’m a sucker for ancient pantheons and portrayals of the realm of the dead, so I was hard-pressed to put this book down (read it in one very long sitting).
There were, however, a few flaws with the structure of the plot.
The test themselves didn’t seem very test-like. I didn’t want epic battles or anything, I appreciated the subtlety, but some of the tests were a bit…disappointing as actual tests of character. And the fact that the Greek gods were testing Kate on the seven deadly sins was off-putting. Not only are the seven deadly sins a Christian concept, but the Greek gods are not embodiers of those virtues. Quite the opposite.
Even a week later, I still don’t understand how the Greek gods – let me repeat: the Greek. Gods. – can possibly keep someone out of their pantheon for succumbing to lust. I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous. Zeus whored his way across half of Greece, seducing anything that moved. Can we say double standard?
If you like the Greek pantheon, you’ll probably enjoy this book. (Since they go by different names, half the fun is guessing the identity of the gods.) But it’s definitely more of a beach read
My Rating (out of five stars)
★★★
Apologies
Filed Under Updates | 4 Comments
I’ve been sick for a week now, and with real life being as crazy as it is, haven’t had the energy to write a real blog post. But it has given me a chance to read more.
I just started reading Robin McKinley’s Beauty and if you remember one of my complaints from a different Beauty and the Beast adaptation:
“Don’t squander a good premise. Belle says she’s not pretty, that her name is a contradiction. Keep it that way, see how it changes everything! Don’t go back on it and make her pretty anyway.”
That’s exactly what McKinley did! Beauty is not pretty! I’m excited to see where this goes. Hopefully I’ll be up to speed by Monday.
Writer’s Workshop: How to Make Fanfics Original
Filed Under Fanfiction, Writer's Workshop | Leave a Comment
Hey, at least I’m more original than the other guys!
Fanfiction makes a nice stepping stool for the beginning writer. You don’t have to worry about world building or creating three-dimensional characters – all of that has been done for you. Instead, you can focus on plot, character interactions, scenes, and finding your voice.
At some point, however, you have to branch out on your own. But that doesn’t mean you can’t draw on what you’ve already written. With a few key changes, your fanfiction can turn into original fiction.
If you find yourself with a fanfiction you really love, and would like to translate into original fiction, start finding ways to modify all the trademarked aspects. It sounds silly, but you definitely don’t want to be accused of stealing a character or world. That means you can’t just change names. It might take several rounds to change everything to your satisfaction, but it’s worth it.
Take my Fragment of the Moon novel. Originally, it was an Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic. Set fifteen years after the show, Toph takes on a student and helps save the new Earth King from assassination. The fanfiction project fell apart, but I loved the idea too much to abandon it entirely.
You’ll recognize the king’s assassins from my novel description, and the main character can manipulate metal, but pretty much everything else has changed.
At first, I altered the basics. Toph became Nadika, a light-eyed girl with a tough attitude who could “bend” earth, metal, and water. Iroh in retirement became Hoji, a local innkeeper who had a fondness for tea. All magic was element-based. Her student wasn’t a sandbender, but he was a street rat.
Yeah, no one would be able to tell where that came from. Obviously it needed a few more tweaks.
I switched to the Chinese elements, expanded the magic system, and added a pantheon of gods. Hoji and the student disappeared entirely, and Nadika dropped most of the attitude and her magical talent. Now I had something more closely resembling an original world with original characters. And with each incarnation, it’s only getting further away from Avatar.
Some similarities you’ll never be able to avoid. Say you re-write your Harry Potter fanfic, and two of your characters like each other but/and bicker constantly. Chances are, readers are going to be reminded of Ron and Hermione. But don’t sweat it. Lots of authors use that device; you’re in good company.
The key to translating your fanfiction? Choose one or two aspects of your fanfic that you want to use, and make sure you keep that in mind throughout all your changes. If you don’t lose sight of why you’re re-writing the fic in the first place, you’ll be all set.
Happy 4th of July!
Filed Under Tales from the Author's Desk | Leave a Comment
Reward Systems
Filed Under Revising | 2 Comments
It is painfully obvious that I have trouble sticking to a project. I get frustrated and move on, or I get a shiny new idea and chase it, or I find a solution to a problem in another story and get caught up in that.
So. I need a reward system for working on Narrator. I want this sucker done with. If not by the end of July, then by the end of August – when my friends and I will be having our own version of NaNoWriMo. The goal isn’t so much “50,000 words of a new novel” as it is “finish one of the projects sitting in your sidebar.”
Right now I’m thinking each goal for the reward system is 5,000 words. But I’m still not sure what to reward myself with. A tasty treat? Not good for my diet. Watching an episode of a tv show? Too much of a time suck. An hour at the gym? Hey now, shouldn’t that go the other way…?
What do you guys use to reward good writing behavior? (Or good any behavior, really, I’m not picky.) More importantly: does it work?
Welcome
Official Progress
4/21 segments
A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.Status: Second revision
A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.1,639/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?1,087/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
-
