NaNoWriMo blogpost #2

Oh dear.
The good news: I've got about 8,000 words written, which puts me a day ahead of schedule. I've fallen in love with the statistics on the profile pages, because even if I'm ahead a day, it won't let me off the hook unless I write 1,667 words. And I've made plans to have my MC die at the end of my latest novel idea.
The bad news: Earlier today, I reread a bit of novel and wanted to scream. I know its about quantity, not quality, but there is no way I will ever be able to salvage it. So I've ittalicalized, underlined, and greyed everything I've written so far, and started again with the story line I actually wanted to write.
Don't worry, Ezra, Ezran (the character I named after you) will still kill people, he just won't be ridiculously romantic)
And that's my NaNoWriMo update for today.

NaNoWriMo blogpost #1

So, first day of NaNoWriMo is over. My characters have taken over, plot bunnies are popping in and out, and my nice neat orderly plot has been tossed out the window.
The greatest annoyance that I've found is that my MC and the "villain" have fallen in love - that and I keep typing Ezran when I mean Jinx and vice versus.
I don't really mind though. Romances add words, Nightmares add words, running for one's life adds words, so I am content - for now, anyway - to leave my plot in the hands of my characters.
How is everyone else doing?

A challenge accepted

rock4ever95, you know just how to push my buttons, don't you?

Now let me fill the rest of you in on what exactly I'm talking about.

Last year, rock4ever95 and I challenged each other to see who could write the best novel during NaNoWriMo, the loser taking over the other person's blog or a week. That didn't exactly happen. I wrote a 52,110 word novel, rock4ever95 barely wrote anything.

By pushing my buttons in just the right way, rock4ever95 talked me into doing it again last night. We haven't quite figured out what the loser will have to do, but I can assure you that it won't be me.

Rock4ever95? Bring it on.

And for those of you who missed last year's drama, here's a link -> http://shadespinner.blogspot.com/2009/10/national-novel-writing-month.html

Public Service Announcement:

Public Service Announcement:
If you're tired of hearing about NaNoWriMo, or think that you will be if I continue talking about it, I advise that you leave this blog until November is over.
No, seriously, I mean it. Leave, go on, get out of here. No, no I'm not insulted that you'd rather save your own sanity rather than try to help me rescue mine during the next couple of months. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine.

See you in December. . . possibly.

Goodbye.



You can go now.



Really, you can go.




. . . .


. . . Are you still here?

The Young Writers Program

I have a friend who started NaNoWriMo with me last year, and ended up quitting.
I have a friend who's NaNoWriMo prep this year was to try and do it early. I don't think he made 20,000 words.
Which is why I brought up the YWP.
For the traditional NaNoWriMo, you have to -
A) Be 13 or older.
and
B) you have to write 50,000 words to win (that's 1,666 words a day).
The YWP is different. Open to anyone under the age of 17, they allow you to work towards your own word count goal.
The Young Writers Program "takes place in November, offering a similarly exhilarating prose adventure (with age-appropriate word-count goals) for 12-and-under authors and those taking part in NaNoWriMo as part of a K-12 classroom. In addition to motivation-raising goodies for the young writers, NaNoWriMo provides teachers, youth librarians, and homeschooling parents with free curriculum and lesson plans to help get kids and teens excited about writing. In 2009, over 35,000 students took part in National Novel Writing Month’s Young Writers Program."
- http://blog.lettersandlight.org/ywp
I just thought I'd post the link in case anyone was interested but didn't have the time/energy/confidence to tackle the regular NaNoWriMo. Or you might be under age.

Young Writers Program




[And just for the record, I'm sure my friend will win this year.]


I'm on both websites, username is Scribe Azai, if anyone is interested.

Very, very not related to writing. . . somewhat, anyway

Hi.
This is a totally random spur of the moment post where I talk about what's going on in my life because I know that you are all so interested. /sarcasm
I ran for elections in my honor society a couple days ago, technically I ran twice. First for Secretary, which I lost, and then Ezra talked me into running with him last minute for Social chair, we totally killed the very nice speech he had written in advance [granted, it was written for one person only so we kinda had to kill it], ad libbed quite a bit, oh, and we lost. But [and I shall have to remember this for next year] it's a lot more fun running with someone else, especially when that person is a better speaker. [I am not a speech person, at all]
Halloween is coming up and I'm working on my costume. I decided after much debate to go with Donna Noble, rather than Amy Pond. So I need to find some non permanent/7-10 day lasting red hair dye, oh, and I need to practice speaking like Donna. . . Oi!
Waiting impatiently for NaNoWriMo to start, I have all these characters banging on the walls of their cells begging to be released to that they can rein havoc on my non existent plot. I need to figure out what Arith will feel when he confronts Rinn about where she spent the last two years, and the answers to all these other problems the characters have thrown at me. . .

Sorry, this have been one great big rambling post that you probably don't even care about.
Have a good day. . . or is it goodnight?

The travelling shovel of Death

[DISCLAIMER: I stole this from here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3702235, I did not come up with this brilliant idea.}

For a while now there's been a tradition amongst the NaNo crowd what likes to kill things. We call it the Travelling Shovel of Death.

The rules are simple. In your NaNo, you kill somone. With a shovel.

It is named the "Travelling" Shovel of Death because, well, it seems to be everywhere. Characters are killed by shovels in droves as soon as their authors find out about this mystical shovel- whether their world has shovels or not. It seems to be infectious. I know a number of characters have died at unfair hands wielding a shovel in my novels, granting me many words to add to my wordcount.

Desperate for a few thousand words? Got a character you don't really like any more? The Travelling Shovel of Death is the solution for you!

Travelling Shovel of Death FAQs (stolen from yangnome, 2009)

What can I do with the shovel?
Use it as a murder weapon. Kill a main character, a supporting character, or even a background character.

What if I don’t like violent scenes?
Have the shovel show up bloody on the ground, or maybe just a body that has been beaten. You don’t need to describe the murder to use the shovel, though I’m sure it wouldn’t stop you.

Why use the shovel to murder someone?
Easy, it provides conflict. Conflict drives stories.

Couldn't I just use a gun or a knife, maybe a sword?
I’m sure you could. Personally, I haven’t seen any guns knives or swords traveling around from novel to novel wreaking destruction though. The shovel is something bigger than you or I. It is bigger than our novels. It is a weapon of mass destruction if you wil- l.

What if I don’t want to use the shovel?
No one is forcing you. Don’t be surprised though if it pops into your novel. It popped into mine. Others who heard of the shovel couldn’t resist. Can you?

Does it have to be used as a murder weapon?
I suppose not, but the shovel has developed a taste for blood.

What do I do with the shovel when I am done?
Return it. Set it free so it can travel to another place, another land, maybe even another world.

I’m still not convinced.
Well, use of the shovel will provide you with words. Anyone could easily milk a small 1,000-word scene from the shovel. Those more talented could get more. Heck, I’d bet someone could even get a whole novel out of the shovel’s exploits.

Are there any rules regarding the use of the shovel?
No, but we would like to hear about its use. Post the fact that you send it here, and maybe the excerpt from its use.

This sounds silly. It couldn’t possibly fit in my novel.
Maybe you are correct. I don’t know what you are writing about. The first year the shovel visited me, I wasn't writing a silly novel and it fit in mine with little problem. TSoD does not discriminate based on genre.

Anything else I need to know about the shovel?
No. Well, don't turn your back on it.