Fun with Notes

When I finished my second draft of Noxumbra, I had 300+ pages, and 800+ comment bubbles.

Yes, you read those numbers correctly.

I'm not an edit-as-you-go type, but apparently I am a leave-notes-about-everything-for-the-next-draft type. And rereading those notes has been a blast. Here are some of my favorites:

"Do pirates send thank you notes?"

"Edus spare us. You’re such a drama queen, Wycliff."

"GAH, YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD.  YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MEET YOUR SON! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT’S GOING TO DO TO HIM?

No, of course you don’t, because you’re GOING TO FREAKING DIE OF A WEAK HEART.

That is such a perfect metaphor.

I kind of hate you right now, Wycliff. This is why you’re an antagonist."

"Okay, A) not only did you steal my phrase “think on this,” B) YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE THIS DECISION AND IT’S GOING TO KILL MY READERS. WHICH IS A GOOD THING, BUT STILL." 

"DUDES. I JUST FOUND AN EBOOK ONLINE PUBLISHED IN 1922 ABOUT CROP ROTATIONS.

This is so cool.

It doesn’t have a whole lot about woad, but it mentions a crop rotation in France circa 1750. (At least I think 1750 is a date, not something else.) This is what it says:

Main crop woad: 1, wheat; 2, millet; 3, woad; 4, grass, allowed to grow for several years; sometimes two successive crops of woad were taken."

"Dude, at some point I need to mention how the cotton they got from Delly is bad. Maybe that can happen when Gwen is working in the felids. Felid is a word. That should have said field. What is a felid? *Does Google search.* It is a member of the family Felidae! Better known as felines! Cool." 

"*In Russian accent.* TRANSITION!"

"I have no idea why the Latin for Sunflower was the first word to come to mind here."

"And by the start of the next book, he’s dead! Mwahahaha."

"Transition required on isle 183."

There is a note titled "GIANT NOTE OF DOOM." 

"Okay, this may be sappy, but between the time (holy cow it’s 2AM. When did that happen?), the “OMG I’m at the end” feels and “Epilogue” from the Frozen score, I’m kinda teary." 

"IT IS TWO ELEVEN AM ON MARCH THIRTY FIRST TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN AND I HAVE FINISHED DRAFT TWO! 83165 WORDS.

I am crying. I am so happy. And tired. Really, really tired.

But we must go post on Facebook.

I am so obviously from the Internet generation.

Gah, I love the Frozen score.

Oh, yeah, and “Epilogue” from said score is THE PERFECT MUSIC FOR THIS MOMENT. I think I’m just going to play the last three songs on repeat until I go to bed. Which should really be soon if I want to do well on math tomorrow.

Oh, and I have to figure out a plot for book two ‘cause Camp NaNo starts…TOMORROW WHAT THE HECK." 

There you have it! Apparently I have a thing for caps lock. Rereading old brainstorming docs is fun too because sometimes there'll suddenly be "Why are my indents screwy?" or "Why did my music stop?" in the middle of a discussion of government structure or emotional reactions. 

What are some funny notes you've found in/about your writing?

Social media pics

This is not a real post. It is an experiment. This is me playing around and trying to figure out how to get my social media links working. That's why there are typewriter key things below. Hopefully I'll figure out how to put those in my sidebar.

The Liebster

It's been a long time since anyone's given me a blog award, but this week Sarah of Inklined gave me the Liebster! Thanks, Sarah! 

Here are the rules:
Thank and link back to the person who nominated you. (See above.)
List 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.
Ask them 11 questions.
Let them know about the nomination.

 Facts about me:

1. I currently sport the second worst bout of poison ivy I've ever had. 
2. I am taking an online mystery writing class.
3. I will be going to college in the fall.
4. I don't know what I'm going to study yet.
5. Top three choices are chemical technology, biotechnology, and radiology.
6. I got typewriter key jewelry this weekend and IT IS AWESOME.
7. I started listening to audiobooks whilst doing chores like weeding the garden or washing dishes. Chores have never been so much fun.
8. My favorite audiobook narrator is Katherine Kellgren. She's amazing. 
9. I've been listening to a lot of Terry Pratchett recently. 
10. Despite our best efforts, my family has not found a good ship name for Moist von Lipwig and Adora Belle Dearheart. Lipheart? Dearwig? Moira Belle? Adoist?
11. I finally figured out why my computer acts slow sometimes. There is an update that's been failing since June of last year, and my dad and I have yet to figure out how to make it update successfully.

Sarah's questions:

1. Favorite drink? Favorite soft drink? Hot chocolate. The dark stuff. With lots of whipped cream. Yum. I don't have soft drinks very often, so my favorite varies. Right now it's probably the cream soda my family bought in a dinky little grocery store after the car broke down.

2. Which bloggers would you most like to meet in person? Sarah, S. Alex Martin (whose blog I don't actually read but I beta read for him last year and he's awesome), Liam, Head Phil, and Robyn Hoode (who JUST got a blog. Go check it out!)

3. What are some of your favorite YouTube Channels? The Piano Guys, Blimey Cow, and The Vlogbrothers.

4. If you could resurrect one fictional character, (who died in the novel) who would it be? Ooh. Since my answer is spoilerific, I'll make you highlight it to see it. Don't read if you haven't finished the Harry Potter series. Tonks and Lupin. Or Fred. Their deaths hurt. Or maybe these guys from Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn books. Again, spoilers: Vin and Elend. I adored them so much, and I didn't see their deaths coming. Though I do admit, their deaths were really well done.

5. Favorite ice cream flavor/ concoction? (Cone, milkshake, ice cream cake, ect.) Anything with chocolate, or raspberry. As for concoction, it's a toss up between a sundae and ice cream cake.

6. If you could instantly master one hobby besides blogging and writing, what would it be? Archery. I've never taken archery classes or anything like that, but I've wanted to try it for a while now.

7. How do you like your eggs cooked? Scrambled or in an omelet with onions, garlic, mushrooms, arugula, and LOTS of cheese.

8. What is one crazy thing you'd one day like to do? I want to crash my friend Scalex's (the S. Alex mentioned above) first book signing. I'd like to get the four of his beta readers together and surprise him by showing up. (No small feat since we're spread all over the country.)

9. What fandoms are you a member of? A lot. Harry Potter, Mistborn, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, White Collar, Psych, Lark Rise to Candleford, Elizabeth Gaskell, Warehouse 13, Owl City, The Piano Guys.... There are many more but I'll stop there.

10. What social media sites are you on? Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads are the ones I'm on the most. I also have Twitter and Google+ accounts, but I almost never log on to those sites.

11. What writing projects are you currently working on? I just started a new round of revisions for Noxumbra. I'd also like to play around with Adventures in Editing, but I'm not sure when I'll get to that.

As for nominations, I nominate anyone who reads this. I don't feel like selecting a bunch of blogs, so if you want to have this award, I hereby give it to you. Enjoy!

In Which I Write a Prologue

So, after reading a blog post about some part of the writing process in some corner of the internet (yes, specificity is something I strive for here on my blog, thank you for noticing) I decided to write a prologue for Noxumbra. So I did. And I reeeaaaaally like it. So I'm going to share it with you. It's short. Just over 100 words long.

Wycliff Copperstone was dead. Taken below the sea with the others aboard The Cayla on its final voyage.

Henley Sayer sat in Wycliff’s study, staring at the newspaper on the desk. There was Wycliff’s name on the list of the dead; a terrifying jolt of familiarity on an inventory of tragedies. The first time the man’s name had been in the news in over a decade.

What would this mean for Noxumbra? And the people in it?

Things were going to change. There was no escaping that.

This had been coming, of course. All men died. Wycliff hadn’t been an exception. But did he have to prove his mortality so soon? Couldn’t he have waited another ten to thirty years?

Henley sighed. Things were going to change. For better or worse.

Probably worse.

I just love this.  There's a chance I won't keep it, but it is interesting and the story beginning on Chapter 1 starts kinda slow. So, either I'll speed it up or keep this or something else altogether. Only time will tell. 

TCWT May Blog Chain: Book Wishlist

Once again the lovely folks at Teens Can Write, Too! are hosting their monthly blog chain. This month's prompt is:

What kinds of published books would you like to see more of?

Disclaimer: I may be an avid reader, but there are a lot of books I haven't read, so the listed books probably do exist, and I just haven't found them yet. If you have recommendations I'd love to hear them. And let's face it: what I really want is a TARDIS so I can read all the books already on my to-read list without worrying about finding time to do so.

1. More mysteries. Yes, several people in the chain have mentioned this, but what can I say? I agree. My parents raised me on a healthy diet of Blues Clues and murder mysteries, so I'm rather fond of that genre.
2. More clean books. One of the reasons I'm wary of romance (be it a side plot or main plot) is that every time a kissing scene comes around I'm wincing and waiting for it to turn inappropriate. Ew. I don't want to read about that stuff.
3. Fiction books about the Monuments Men from WWII. A few years ago, my parents read The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter, which is about the group of art scholars and museum directors who worked to preserve the great art of Europe during war time. I remembered it after I heard it was being made into a movie, and recently started reading it myself. I would totally read a work of fiction about characters involved with the Monuments Men and the art they recovered.
4. Books by my friends. I've made a bunch of writing friends over the past few years, and would love to see their books in print. 
5. Books about people who aren't searching for romance, or who don't find romance in the course of the story. Romance has its good points, absolutely, and I'll squeal over a cute couple as much as the next person, but not everyone is looking for romance. Some of us avoid romance because we just don't have the time and don't want to deal with the drama just yet. Lots of YA books have romance in them, but not all teens want/are ready for romance. It would be interesting to read about those people. There are other kinds of relationships and plots worth exploring. 
6. The last of the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place books.  My sister and I recently looked up the next one - book 5 in a 6 book series - and it doesn't come out until next year. *Wails.*

I think that's about all. What kinds of books would you like to see more of? Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the chain:

• May 5: Sammi Talk 
• May 6: Nerds Inc.
• May 7: Against The Shadows
• May 8: The Upstairs Archives
• May 9: The Little Engine That Couldn’t
• May 10: Life Of A Random
• May 11: Relatively Curious
• May 12: Hugs & Kisses of Poetry
• May 13: Musings From Neville’s Navel
• May 14: The Looney Teen Writer
• May 15: This Page Intentionally Left Blank
• May 16: Tara Therese
• May 17: Miriam Joy Writes
• May 18: Writers Write, Right?
• May 19: Writing Portfolio
• May 20: Magic And Writing
• May 21: Unikke Lyfe
• May 22: Brooke Reviews
• May 23: page eight hundred ninety
• May 24: Laughing at Live Dragons
• May 25: Avon’s Babbles
• May 26: The Weirdy Station
• May 27: The Writing Duo
• May 28: Lily’s Notes in the Margins
• May 29: Sun, Sand, Stars and Dreams
• May 30: Teens Can Write, Too!

Worldbuilders' Disease Is Not for the Faint of Heart

Lily's Latest Writing Lesson: One only need do as much worldbuilding as a story requires, and no more. 

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the lessons reiterated by Camp NaNo was that I really, really need to do more worldbuilding. So, I started making lists of what I needed to work on. History, religion, factions thereof, geography, fashion, differences thereof between social classes etc., cultural values...

And on.

And on.

And on.

Forever, until the end of time, and certainly until the end of my sanity.

Turns out I cannot give myself Worldbuilders' Disease. Or, at least I didn't the way I intended to.

What is this mysterious Worldbuilders' Disease, some of you may ask? It is the condition that arises when one gets so wrapped up in the worldbuilding aspect of one's story that one spends eternity just worldbuilding and never actually writing anything. While I didn't intend to give myself a case quite that severe, I had hoped to be enraptured by the process of worldbuilding, the desired results being intense time spent figuring out details and nuances of my world so that I would have a rich setting for my stories.

And while this didn't seem to be a bad idea at the time, and I have mostly enjoyed this exercise, it failed to take into account one thing: The sheer enormity of this task. Part of my problem there is that I am trying to worldbuild an entire world. Not one as large as our own, mind you, but still with its own set of dramatic histories and interesting cultures. That means a lot of details. Which means a lot of brainstorming and thinking. A LOT. Normally the prospect of brainstorming would be rather enticing, seeing as it is one of my favorite parts of the writing process, but this is just so. much. brainstorming. Complex brainstorming, at that, as people and cultures are about as simple as the TARDIS.

I have learned two things from this experience:

1. I only need to do as much worldbuilding as necessary for this story. Yes, the Ootwoxan Conquest does impact how my characters ended up where they are, but it was 100 years before my story even begins. I don't need to know the details. My story doesn't take place in Sudeth or Ootwox or on the Moss Flats. I focus on two cities: Noxumbra and Plarn. I do not need to worldbuild the rest of the continent yet. The scope of the story isn't very big. Yes, I need to have a general idea of what's going on in the rest of the world and how it came to be that way, but I don't need to know everything. This isn't the only book I'm going to set in this world, so I can do more worldbuilding when I get to those stories. I need to focus on what details/general things I need for this story.
2. I have to keep writing short stories or story-less scenes while doing a project like this because I need regular doses of prose. 

Point number one is something I've heard before, probably on Writing Excuses.  Part of my brain argues with it, saying, "But if we build the whole world, then the characters in this story will be able to make references to other aspects of the world that, while not necessary to the plot, would add depth to the world." This is a good point. But doing this much worldbuilding at once is so far not working for me. It's entirely possible that will change, but this time I've just been overwhelmed.

So now I'm going to focus on just the essentials. Local economies, histories mentioned in the text, only one religion, just one area of one country, just one type of ecosystem. Et cetera.

I think that's all I have to say for this post. I'll have another one later on this month detailing a book wishlist for the current TCWT! monthly blog chain. Until then, may the ink ever flow freely and the plot bunnies be helpful (if such a thing is possible).

What I Learned from Camp NaNo

I've participated in NaNoWriMo for the last three years, and each year I've learned something. In 2011 I learned that I could write a novel. In 2012 I learned that I could write a longer novel and figured out some more things about plotting and characters. In 2013 I learned that writing scenes from the POV of side characters is really fun and useful. 

This April was my first time participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, and what I lacked in word count I made up for in lessons.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM CAMP NANO:

1. I am a plotter. I worry to the point of procrastination and anxiety if I don't have a basic road map for my story. Now, once in the story and when I have an idea of where it's going, I'll pants the details and go on random character development tangents, but I can't take the detour unless I have a map and know where to merge back onto the chaotic highway of the story.
2. I really, really need to worldbuild. I knew this already from writing Noxumbra, but Book 2 drove that home. My societies need personality. I need to know what year it is. And how the Ootwoxan Conquest went down. I need to figure out religions, governments, morals, social values, how the last four interact and how they differ from place to place, ecosystems, and fashion. So, a lot. Figuring all that out is my current writing project. 
3. Writing about characters who don't like anyone and are liked by no one in turn is hard. And not as fun as I thought. And hard. But that doesn't mean that making them cry isn't fun. It still is. (Yes, I know I'm sadistic when it comes to my characters and I think it's weird and creepy too.) 
4. I need to play more with ensemble casts. Book 2 will probably require one.

So while I didn't make my original goal and most of what I wrote will end up being altered or scrapped due to plot changes, it was still a productive month in its way.

If nothing else it was an excuse to redecorate the dining room by taping notes and reminders to the walls. That's the new style, you know. I call it "literary chic."  It'll be a trendsetter. *Nod nod.*

For those of you who participated in Camp this last month, how did it go for you?  Even if you didn't participate, have you learned anything about your process or the craft lately?

Letter to Vorsilla

To Vorsilla, protagonist of my Camp NaNo novel,

I know our time together has been short, but my dear, things must change. To be blunt, you are not sympathetic. Instead of hating Mr. Snyder and feeling sorry for you, I think he's being reasonable and you're letting your emotions control you. Did you really think that insulting him was going to do any good? You kind of deserved to get thrown out of the house.

This will not do. If I don't like to write you, no one will like to read you. I want to feel sorry for you, but I don't. I sympathize with your situation, not you. You are a frosty, unfriendly, rude, and so blinded by your rage and jealousy and hatred that you don't realize you're only making things worse for yourself. Instead of feeling your rage and jealousy and hatred right along with you, I'm shaking my head at your complete incompetence at dealing with people.

I know this is not entirely your fault. It's my fault, actually, as I am your author. And while starting out as a very flawed character means that you have a great deal of potential for a character arc (more than all of my previous MCs combined, actually), you are so flawed as to scare the reader away as you scare everyone around you away. My dear, you have no redeeming qualities. Your competence at running a household does not make up for the fact that you are unlikable.

This, however, is fixable. You may be a little rain cloud of anger and despair at the moment, but we will find your silver lining, and from there build a beautiful rainbow of a character arc. (Yes, this does mean that at some point you will have to experience positive emotions. and crawl out of your frostbitten shell.)

It will not be easy, and we may not make 50k by the end of Camp NaNo, but at the very least I will have learned a great deal more about working with a character like yourself. And I promise, you will have your happy ending. If any character of mine has deserved it... well, actually the person that deserves it the most is Viola, but you are also deserving, and I will deliver. (Though it won't be anything close to what you expected or think you want.)

I ask that you assist me in this matter. Perhaps together we can resolve this issue and see your happy ending come to pass.

Ever imaginatively,
Your author. 

Finishing Party, Camp NaNo Plans (or the Lack Thereof), and Another Frozen Parody

GUYS. THIS MORNING AT 2:11 I FINISHED THE SECOND DRAFT OF MY WORK IN PROGRESS, NOXUMBRA!

I am so thrilled to be done with this draft. It's just as holey and in need of fixing as the first draft, but the holes this time are slightly smaller and lots of loose ends have been cut away.

The final word count is 83,165, though there are several spots where I glossed over what happened by putting down [Stuff happens.] I'll fill those in later. I also broke my record for most words written in a day. It was previously somewhere around 6k, and now it is somewhere around 8k.

Many thanks to those of you who have encouraged me throughout this process, and extra thanks to Christophe Beck and Frode Fjellheim for the Frozen score. I think I must have listened to it half a dozen times last night. The pieces The Great Thaw (Vuelie Reprise) and Epilogue were perfect for finishing this story.

What's next for me, you ask? Well, the sequel to this book, brilliantly titled Book 2, which will be my Camp NaNo project. And which apparently I'll be pantsing, as I have very little idea as to what the plot is. Here's the basic blurb:

“For the last three years, Silla has run her father’s household for him while an illness slowly drained him of life. Now that he’s dead, the estate should be hers. But her father’s will says otherwise. He left it to her vile cousin, Mr. Snyder. And he’s just kicked her out of the house.

Homeless, hurt, and confused, Silla gets taken in by her second-least-favorite relative, Gwendolyn Copperstone. Silla's life looks like one doomed to misery until she hears about [crime], and she has evidence that Mr. Snyder did it. Unfortunately, revealing this evidence would mean revealing a secret she'd rather keep hidden. So she decides to take the investigation into her own hands. If she can prove Mr. Snyder did it, he’ll go to jail, and she’ll have the estate that rightfully belongs to her.”

So, I have motive for my MC, but I have no idea what crime is to be committed, or what that secret of hers is. The plot bunny that was the original idea for this book was "Hey, if I stick Gwen, Silla, and Merig under the same roof, there will be fireworks, as they all don't like each other. Cool! Let's do it!" It's changed a bit since then, but that's still the gist of it. I also know that I want Lord Delstone, the "nomantic" interest from Noxumbra to be involved. There are things about him I'd like to reveal.  Other things I've been thinking about with this are story telling bits I'd like to try out. More red herrings, a villain you really wish had done it but didn't, perhaps some political intrigue. We'll see. If I'm pantsing, who knows what will happen. 

In celebration of the slightly-panicked, plotless state I'm in, I wrote a short parody to the first verse of For the First Time in Forever from Frozen. 

"My plot folder’s empty, this is bad. What will I do without a plan? Camp NaNo’s gonna start in two days. For years I’ve plotted out my books, figured out the characters, subplots, and hooks, but this year all I have are ideas vague. I won’t know what’s going to happen, it’ll be totally strange. I am so not ready for this change. ‘Cause for the first time in forever, I won’t have any plans. For the first time in forever, I’m gonna have to pants. Don’t know if I’m nervous or crazy, but I’m somewhere in that zone. ‘Cause for the first time in forever, I’ll have my wits alone."

Good luck to those of you doing Camp, or any other writing project. 

And with that, I bid you adieu. I'm off to try and figure out Book 2's plot a bit more. Kirk out.