In my infinite wisdom borne of never having enough of a challenge in my life, I’ve decided to join Camp NaNoWriMo, which starts July 1st. My goal is to write 25,000 words of the sequel to the novel I started and failed as a NanoWriMo project in November of 2011. That one took me 18 months to finish. I’m not under any delusion that I can get the sequel done in a month, so I won’t even try.
But wait, Linda, I hear you saying. You can’t even reply to the comments on your blog, what makes you think you can take on another project?
To answer that question, I have no idea other than that I need to start being creative again or I will go completely around the bend. I’m halfway there now, and let me tell you, the scenery ’round there is scary-dark and smells ominously like a fart.
Is it worse than getting lost in the woods while at Camp Nano? There’s only one way to find out. I figure I should be okay as long as I don’t come across any bears — ‘coz you know what THEY do in the woods.
I want people who read my fiction to fall in love with my characters. Not the bad guys necessarily, but at least the good guys. It took me a while to figure out how to do this, but in the end it always comes down to emotions. When my characters emote in a way that people can relate to, they feel a connection.
When I write, “Hank felt sad,” I know that my readers will look at the words on the page and think Hank is sad. Too bad for Hank. But if I write, “Hank cried,” people will read this and feel it, because it’s something that they do, or try not to do, when they are sad.
Emotions have a way of getting the best of us. They’re something we share, no matter our race, language, or beliefs. They are universal. And so when we see someone whose beliefs we don’t understand on the news, for instance, and they are crying, we feel their pain. At least those of us with compassion.
My best friend John told me a while ago that when we yawn when we see someone else yawn, it’s a sign that we’re not a psychopath. I know this has nothing to do with emotions, as such, but it does show our capacity for understanding what someone else is feeling. Empathy, compassion, sympathy… they’re all necessary for us to understand. And what makes good fiction worth reading as well.
As the temperature and the humidity rise, and the air gets harder to breathe, I find myself wanting to stay inside more. It’s like winter, only backwards – I’m looking for the ice inside and avoiding the furnace outside.
Therefore, I’ve been sitting on my ever-spreading derriere for the past couple of days trying to organize my writing. I’ve done some editing, and I’ve started jotting down notes for my next novel. (Yay!) I’ve had a couple of glowing reviews already for my A – Z novelette (which I still need a title for) and I’ve begun to look into the process of self-publishing. …and I have no idea where to start.
I have a couple of questions for anyone out there who has gone before me in this regard.
1. Do you have an ISBN for every piece of work you’ve self-published? If so, publish first or ISBN first?
2. Did you have to apply for rights in every country in which you sell?
I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg – actually an iceberg sounds nice right about now. Feel free to shoot me now for all the complaining I did in the winter. I deserve it, I know.
Tell me, how hot is it where you are? Make me feel grateful.
I have decided to self-publish my A-Z novelette ahead of the major work, The Great Dagmaru, which I’m still editing. I’m going to do this for several reasons: one, to make any mistakes I’m bound to make on something that I haven’t spent years working on; two, to get my name “out there,” and three, for the experience.
The novelette comes out to 10,300 words and I’ll probably try to sell it for $0.99.
So I’m looking for beta-readers. Many of you read it in April as a series in 30 parts. I’ve made a few minor changes, but it’s pretty much as it sits in my fiction blog, only compiled for easier reading. What I’d like from my beta readers is no-holds-barred critique, for everything from typos and grammar flaws, to inconsistencies, redundancies, and general impressions on the story, structure, characters, readability, and whether it holds the interest all the way through.
I’d prefer to have five readers, at least two of whom haven’t read it before. Because it’s short, I’m hoping to get it back within two weeks.
It’s a fun little romance story with plenty of humour and even a little twist at the end. If you figure out the twist before you get there, let me know!
Anyone interested, please comment or write to me at bacamjoly at gmail dot com.
I must remember this next time I’m writing a dream sequence.
Just before I woke up this morning, I dreamed I was ordering breakfast. I was in a bus station, standing at a tall counter looking up at a very sparse menu. Not knowing what else to have, I asked for toast and marmalade. The curious thing was, when I asked for the marmalade I knew the person behind the counter would have a hard time with the word and I remember having the time, as I was saying the sentence I used to order the food, to change my order to make it simpler for the clerk. All those thoughts went through my mind sequentially, much like they do when I’m awake only I was hyper aware of them and they were so fast! I decided what I wanted, thought I shouldn’t say it and why, all in the space of time it took me to say “toast with jam.”
It’s amazing what the human brain is capable of. I know I have the capacity while awake to have a thought, form a sentence in my head, and think to myself I shouldn’t say it, even as I’m either saying it or changing it mid-sentence. And yet while I’m awake the process seems so sluggish… perhaps why I sometimes say things I know I shouldn’t; I don’t have the mental capacity all the time to change once I’ve started, or stop in the first place.
I wonder if a study has ever been done to see if we’re more likely to put our collective foot in our mouth if we’re tired. Food for thought… preferably not toe jam…
I’ve been having a hard time for the past few days getting into editing my novel. I’m able to force myself to work, but then I come up with any number of excuses to do something else, every other sentence I fix.
Candy Crush Saga is only the tip of the ice cream cone. (Make that a mint chocolate chip Klondike Bar.) How about those dishes in the sink? Or is that another email? And let’s not even mention WordPress stats. And if all else fails and I’ve done everything else I can do, or eaten everything in the house (damn, I just ate tomorrow night’s pork chops… and why do my teeth hurt? Must be the fact that they were still frozen…) I start to notice that my butt’s starting to hurt because I’ve been sitting on it too long.
It has to be time for a glass of wine.
You can see how it goes. I sit down to edit at times like this and I get SO MUCH ACCOMPLISHED! just not any editing. Is it really worth spending three hours just to slice the hell out of two paragraphs that I end up not happy with anyway because I wasn’t really concentrating?
How does anyone get this job done for goodness sakes?!?
In just over half a year I have as many views as I had for all of 2013!
As you can see, the A-Z Challenge in April was the best thing to happen to my blog to date. I’m not sure where I was in September. There’s certainly something to be said for posting every day as I did have, with a few exceptions here and there, since half-way through October. I took one day off in June and my views suffered for it.
All this to say thank you so much for all the views! I feel loved. 🙂
Do you hear me zipping by in the title? Always looking for new ways to say the same damned thing.
After an amazing 20 (yes! Twenty!) views yesterday, I’m looking for something to write about today. I was actually busy yesterday trying out the free trial of Scrivener, and I have to say I’m in love with it. I went through the tutorial in just over the two hours they promised it would take, and I started plugging my manuscript into it right away. Many people have told me this is probably not a good idea, but with the synopsis feature, where I can write a few words about what each chapter is about, I can so easily see now where I’m being redundant. I have a feeling Scrivener is going to be the best thing to happen to my novel yet.
In other news, I received my paperback copy of The Mirror: Book One in the mail and I can’t wait to read it again! If you’re reading this, Mr. McConaughey, I’ll be wanting it signed. I hope you’re working on your pseudonym’s autograph.
As soon as I’ve finished reading–once it is again fresh in my mind–I’ll be writing a review.
What else is new?
I have an exciting new addition to my job as a newspaper carrier. Starting Monday, I’ll be delivering magazines! I’m guessing Rogers Communications–one of the, if not THE biggest media companies in Canada–who distributes a certain number of mags, has contracted the job out to Sun Media because of the cutbacks that are coming up in the post office. Soon, apparently, delivery of the mail to our front doors will be a thing of the past. But hey, with the decline of the printed newspaper, if it keeps me in a job, I’ll take it.
I had an amazing inspiration for the sequel to The Great Dagmaru yesterday. When Chris woke up, he came down the stairs and asked me, “Did you hear the man screaming outside in the distance last night?” I didn’t. He failed to tell me whether the man sounded angry, in pain or frightened… my imagination being what it is, I can see this being a strong sub-plot. I love it when things like this are just dropped in my lap. It’s exciting!
Speaking of inspiration, I’m working on today’s SoCS prompt – will give that some more thought on my way around the block.
‘Til then, have a great morning/afternoon/evening, depending where you are in this wonderful world of ours.
In my infinite wisdom borne of never having enough of a challenge in my life, I’ve decided to join Camp NaNoWriMo, which starts July 1st. My goal is to write 25,000 words of the sequel to the novel I started and failed as a NanoWriMo project in November of 2011. That one took me 18 months to finish. I’m not under any delusion that I can get the sequel done in a month, so I won’t even try.
lindaghill.com 