NaNoWriting: Start to Finish or ADHD Madness?

Ok, so there are probably a million ways to write a novel.   I am going to focus on two.
Way One: Write that novel from start to finish, from beginning to end, getting that whole plot arc there on the page in the correct order.  (this probably is what some 'planners' do for nanowrimo).  The problem with this is that you could have writers block and be stuck unable to move forward.  If you have it planned out though, this might be a whole lot easier.

Way Two: My way.  Throw every single idea onto the page whenever it suits you.  Write that scene from the middle first? Sure.  I pretty much end up writing a few main scenes here and there when the idea strikes me, then just fill in the blanks later. (pantsing ftw) I am terrified of having to edit it and go in and write the boring parts in between the interesting bits.  The problem with this is that you end up with these chunks that just have endless space in between them.  (it is like actual space! chunks of matter with huge gaps of emptiness in between)

I suppose it really does not matter how you write the novel, but that you write it at all.  Right now I am avoiding writing, so I am procrastinating on my nano by blogging about my nano.  Now that I think about it, that probably is not the best idea.

Happy Thanksgiving/ Black Friday!

One more thing:
I did it! I am over halfway to 50k! 25,000+ words! Whoohooo!  (Yep, I have about 7 days left.  Yeah, I am around 11k words behind.  But that is unimportant!)

NaNoWriMo

 

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, occurs during the month of November.  Essentially, a bunch of insane people, who like to call themselves writers (yes, I am one of the insane) decide each November that it would be a good idea to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  A novel written in a month.  Did I mention it is insane?

 

Synopsis of my novel (which doesn't really describe it because my plot is only half done, so this is just a taste):

My novel is about this girl who finds a door in a tree, opens it, and finds herself in another world, which is kind of medieval, with lots of magic.  And first she's convinced she's gone insane, but eventually she just goes with it.  She becomes a gryphon rider, fights pirates and befriends a boy named Niccolo, all while trying to thwart (thwart, great word) the plans of the ambitious Prince Regent, who wants Jeza's gryphon as his own. 

 

This is my second NaNoWriMo.  Last year I was recruited by Natalie and Emily, with whom I then recruited Maddie.   My novel last year did not go very well.  I wrote 10,205 words.  But then again, it was a success. I had never written that much before.  I tested the NaNo waters and got a feel for it.  (I suppose doing NaNoWriMo makes you want to put 'NaNo' in front of anything NaNoWriMo related.  This is a NaNo Post, and this is a NaNo side bar.  Or is it a NaNo NaNo side bar? NaNo-ception. Like I said, insanity)  This year I am keeping pretty close to the writing par of 1,667 words per day. Well sort of.   I am writing a consistant amount each day, more or less. 

 

I, unlike Emily, am a partial pantser.  For this novel, I already had 6k words written (not counting them in my official wordcount though).  The story was in my head.  But I don't plan out each chapter, or character.  Thats what I like about not planning it all.  It gives your characters room to grow and become individuals.  It allows their role in the story to completely change.  Last year, one of my background characters suddenly became this manipulating mastermind. (ok that seems random, but pretty much she drives several of the characters insane and kills two of them, which is only revealed later in the book)  I did not plan that, but somehow it worked. This year, I have this character who was only meant to be in one part of the book, but sometimes it made sense for him to just pop up, and now he is essentially the main supporting character.  Pantsing is fun, because one idea leads to another and another and then all of a sudden you have a story.  Pantsing is also stressful, because you suddenly feel like you have no more good ideas. 

 

And yes, NaNoWriMo is insanely hard.  But this year, I have the feeling that I really can do this.  I'll have a day where I write next to nothing, and then magically the next day I write 2,500 words.  I've written more words in the last 19 days than I have in the whole 30 days of last years NaNo.  The best part is, it doesn't matter if it is good writing, not now.  For this novel, I kind of get what people say when its just the story being told through them.  Of course I am thinking it all up, but then when I am writing suddenly it becomes just like telling a story, not trying to make the words beautiful, just solely getting the story across.  Thats kind of the point of NaNo. Forcing you to write until you get into a flow and then it becomes (sorta) easy.

 

And yes, there are those moments when I feel like giving up.  I am kind of going through one right now, thanks to a lovely thing called writers block.  But then I look at it, and realize I've written 60+ pages of writing (which believe me just blows my mind), and I realize I just can't give up.  I've made it too far.  

Keep an eye on the Word Count Widget over there to watch my word count steadyily increase-->

P.S. I might post another blog post next week NaNoWriMo related.

Capturing Fall (It is very elusive and evades capture at all costs)

 

So for our next video challenge, we had to make a video "capturing what fall means to you."  This was great, fall is my favorite season.  So I made this video, capturing the trees and flowers in my mom's garden and on this wonderful trail by my house.  I used my mothers DSLR camera.  In my first watercolor video, I used my sister's macro lens, but this time I used my mother's zoom lens.(mainly because my sister refused to let me borrow her lens) You get simular results with a zoom lens, but the camera is much more sensitive to any sort of movement.   And if there is something in the way, it sort of blurs out so you still see your main focus, with an interesting blurry effect that I liked for some shots.   I love using DSLRs for video, because it gets great HD footage and is conciderably cheaper than a really nice video camera.  I am not sure how good the audio is, mainly because I haven't needed it yet.

I found this awesome bluegrass song (fall/winter put me in the mood to listen to country/bluegrass. Don't hate) and I somehow managed to edit it all together with the sad program that is Windows Movie Maker.  I mean, it's alright, but it doesn't do much more besides giving you a few transitions and average effects. 

Once I had edited it, I uploaded it to youtube, and color corrected it to make it a bit warmer in hue (though I fear I might have made it a bit too warm).  I also stabilized it, because I had a few shakey shots. 
The only thing I didn't like about this challenge is that I wasn't able to capture everything I love about fall.  Leaves are only half of it.  I love wearing warm sweaters and drinking apple cider, but a shot of a sweater I'll admit is not very interesting.  Hopefully soon I'll make a video that actually is a type of story, not just a collection of clips arranged into a slideshow.  I can't wait for the next challenge.

If Romney Was President

One of Mr. Romney's main talking points is his business experience.   Let's talk about how his business experience would help, if the government was run like business. 

As the new CEO of America Incorporated, Romney would first have to deal with the 50 daughter companies (or "states" as they are referred to) that are on the verge of bankruptcy.   A few who are just beyond saving would probably have to be cut loose.   Millions of people in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, and Illinois would be given the pink slip explaining that they were no longer US citizens.  Of course they would be given serious consideration if they re-apply for citizenship, but only once there is an opening, which probably won't be until the economy gets better.
Some other states would have to be seriously fixed,  with completely new management, probably some more lay-offs, as the states try to follow the example of the healthier, less indebted states.
One of America Inc's main problems is marketing it's product.  Under Romney, America Inc would begin to sell a line of energy drinks, such as Ameri-juice, Public Education Jolt, Infrastructure Blast, and Defence Explosion.   Every citizen would be required by law to purchase and ingest these beverages.
Romney would of course give away free drinks to America Inc's investors, the top 1% of citizens. 
When it comes to foreign policy, it is unclear whether America Inc. will favor vertical or horizontal consolidation. Probably horizontal consolidation, because it is what America Inc has favored in the past. America Inc would probably start with Canada Corp, then move towards a merger with the UK Group (and the rest of it's commonwealths, such as Australia), and then consolidate with the rest of the Americas.  The new company would be now called America-Oceania Inc (1984 references ftw!)
Now that AO Inc has finally become a successful business, the CEO would need to focus on marketing. A new logo-flag perhaps?  The flag would now be in the shape of a circle, with added vector shininess, with brighter reds and blues, because rectangle logos did not test well with the focus groups.
AO Inc needs a spokesperson, the smiling face of the company.  The bald eagle perhaps?  Though it would have to be animated and probably given an accent like the Geico gecko. 
With Romney's leadership, AO Inc might become more successful than Exxon Mobil (the worlds largest company)!
Make sure to vote tomorrow for Obama, but if you are voting for Romney, skip the lines and vote Wednesday.

Image credit

(Of course this is completely hypothetical and meant as a joke, this won't happen. probably)

The Mirror in the Third Bedroom: Part Four

I watched as my feet carried me upstairs.   My hand reached out as I turned the door knob.  We were in the third bedroom. 
The ghost slowly lifted my head and forced me to look into the mirror.

My face frightened me.  My sunken eyes were rimed with dark circles, and I looked no more like a  youthful teenager, but someone 50 years older.  My skin had turn a shade greyer, and my cheekbones stuck out a sharp angles.  My eyes, my eyes! They protruded out almost from my gaunt face, wide eyed and staring, the same piercing grey which had once caused me much vanity, now frightened me. They were bright with the horror I was feeling.  
At the same moment,  I began to fill a bit warmer.  The numbing cold that had consumed me for the last week suddenly began to subside.  I began to see light colored smoke rise up out of me.  No, it was not smoke, it was too solid, yet somehow as transparent as air.  As the ghost left my body, I felt my body warm, and life return to my limbs, my mind regained its previous keenness.  The ghost was leaving, I was sure of it now.  It seemed to be escaping from any part of me it could, my back, my knees, my finger tips.  It flowed out of me like wisps of smoke before it solidified, no not solidified, before it accumulated just behind me.  I finally had a chance to look at it's face.  It indeed had a face.  The rest of its body was constantly shifting, as if it were a struggle to try to make itself into a coherent form.  But the face was clear. I could hear myself screaming.  Now I realized why that face I had caught a glimpse of was so familiar.   The aged gaunt face, the dark circles, the eyes.  The unblinking grey staring eyes.  My eyes.  Perhaps I had not realized it before, when my face was filled with youth and my mind could think of lighter things, but now, as I stood staring at the mirror in the third bedroom, I knew.  As I stared into the face of the ghost, I stared into my own face.  Suddenly the murmuring sound grew clear and became one booming voice that rattled the house. 
"I am Rebecca Jones" the voice said behind me.  My voice.
Image credit