It's been months since I've blogged here...exactly five months I believe, but I have a good reason. I started blogging professionally (http://www.omgrpg.com/), and it wasn't until just recently that I started getting back to my personal writing. Now that so much time has passed, what have we learned?
Well, I finished SotO, and am almost done with the second draft. It's got good bones, as they say in genetics, but the words don't really flow like the poetry I wanted to make them. Still, it's a novel, and it's completed, with a beginning, a middle, and an end that jumps out of nowhere (with a purpose). I am happy with it, even if Chapter 4 is largely blank and there are whole scenes missing.
Shift on the other hand is a trial for me. I am still working around how to rewrite it, how to make straight, meandering fantasy into tight, brooding horror. It might end up as dark fantasy, but I really am not a ghoul and vampire kind of girl. Still, the story needs to be told, and as I see it, Shift will tie in a lot more with SotO, in content if not in style. I just need to figure out what that content is.
This year's book is much more of a puzzle. Even more of a puzzle is the idea that I might not get to Nano at all because as of October 25th I will be jobless. This means that I will be tasked with job hunting, which means I won't be allowed to write a novel. But if I manage to get work (anyone need a personal assistant/trainer/corporate writer/customer service rep who can work hard and start immediately?) I will still face the challenge of picking a topic. In the previous years it was a no brainer, write a new book based on a previous world then rewrite the previous world. Now I sit at a crossroads with four possible paths to take, and I can't really say I am sure about any of them.
Here are my possibilities:
1. Molly's Fault: This is a story wrapped around Molly Bates, a little character that popped into my head this year. Essentially, Molly is living in a Los Angeles being ripped apart by natural disasters, and her only desire is to pick her dog up from the kennel.
2. SotO Prequel #2: Yes, I am getting into a Star Wars thing, but honestly, I find it intriguing to start with the traditional fantasy tale and then tell how people got there. This Prequel tells a Pocohontas-esque story set in a fantasy world. (The Native Americans will tonight be played by the Elves). It's a good idea, and one that will get written, I'm just not sure it will get written now.
3. SotO Sequel #1: There is also a tougher story out there, one without form or inspiration. At the end of SotO a young boy is crowned king in the absence of his sister, and he vows that his people will return to their nomadic lifestyle. His dearest friend, the crazy Joppa, transforms out of her madness to become the High Priestess of a new religion. I'm eager to know what their stories are, and if they end up romantically connected. I don't see this as being stronger than SotO, but I could always be pleasantly surprised.
4. SotO Sequel #2: This is the story of the absent sister. She's stepped into a portal, leaving her world behind. This tale is actually better formed, but takes a completely different turn, with new characters and a very strange backstory relying on another author's world. I want to tell Mylena's story, show where she goes and what happens to her, I'm just not certain that this sequel should be written first.
So what do you think? Yes, four completely different stories, each with their own challenges. I intend should I have the time to plan all four of them and then pick, but October is incredibly busy for me. I get on a plane tomorrow bound for Southern California, and that will make planning....nonexistent while I'm away, let's be honest.
I've got to say I am so very very unhappy about the idea of NOT Nanoing this year. It's become a ritual, a rhythm, a goal and a focus for me. Knowing that there are 4 books out there waiting to be written (mainly so I can find out what happens) is a thrilling notion, but I also understand Boyfriend's concern. I get too focused on the writing, it's true. But isn't that the definition of an all-consuming passion?
Well, I finished SotO, and am almost done with the second draft. It's got good bones, as they say in genetics, but the words don't really flow like the poetry I wanted to make them. Still, it's a novel, and it's completed, with a beginning, a middle, and an end that jumps out of nowhere (with a purpose). I am happy with it, even if Chapter 4 is largely blank and there are whole scenes missing.
Shift on the other hand is a trial for me. I am still working around how to rewrite it, how to make straight, meandering fantasy into tight, brooding horror. It might end up as dark fantasy, but I really am not a ghoul and vampire kind of girl. Still, the story needs to be told, and as I see it, Shift will tie in a lot more with SotO, in content if not in style. I just need to figure out what that content is.
This year's book is much more of a puzzle. Even more of a puzzle is the idea that I might not get to Nano at all because as of October 25th I will be jobless. This means that I will be tasked with job hunting, which means I won't be allowed to write a novel. But if I manage to get work (anyone need a personal assistant/trainer/corporate writer/customer service rep who can work hard and start immediately?) I will still face the challenge of picking a topic. In the previous years it was a no brainer, write a new book based on a previous world then rewrite the previous world. Now I sit at a crossroads with four possible paths to take, and I can't really say I am sure about any of them.
Here are my possibilities:
1. Molly's Fault: This is a story wrapped around Molly Bates, a little character that popped into my head this year. Essentially, Molly is living in a Los Angeles being ripped apart by natural disasters, and her only desire is to pick her dog up from the kennel.
2. SotO Prequel #2: Yes, I am getting into a Star Wars thing, but honestly, I find it intriguing to start with the traditional fantasy tale and then tell how people got there. This Prequel tells a Pocohontas-esque story set in a fantasy world. (The Native Americans will tonight be played by the Elves). It's a good idea, and one that will get written, I'm just not sure it will get written now.
3. SotO Sequel #1: There is also a tougher story out there, one without form or inspiration. At the end of SotO a young boy is crowned king in the absence of his sister, and he vows that his people will return to their nomadic lifestyle. His dearest friend, the crazy Joppa, transforms out of her madness to become the High Priestess of a new religion. I'm eager to know what their stories are, and if they end up romantically connected. I don't see this as being stronger than SotO, but I could always be pleasantly surprised.
4. SotO Sequel #2: This is the story of the absent sister. She's stepped into a portal, leaving her world behind. This tale is actually better formed, but takes a completely different turn, with new characters and a very strange backstory relying on another author's world. I want to tell Mylena's story, show where she goes and what happens to her, I'm just not certain that this sequel should be written first.
So what do you think? Yes, four completely different stories, each with their own challenges. I intend should I have the time to plan all four of them and then pick, but October is incredibly busy for me. I get on a plane tomorrow bound for Southern California, and that will make planning....nonexistent while I'm away, let's be honest.
I've got to say I am so very very unhappy about the idea of NOT Nanoing this year. It's become a ritual, a rhythm, a goal and a focus for me. Knowing that there are 4 books out there waiting to be written (mainly so I can find out what happens) is a thrilling notion, but I also understand Boyfriend's concern. I get too focused on the writing, it's true. But isn't that the definition of an all-consuming passion?
[image courtesy of Nanowrimo.org]
