In which I fall into Camp. (NaNo style)

I want to be a pirate! But aside from that, I want to be a writer. A writing pirate? Invade ships with swords swinging, and then tie sailors to masts and subject them to live reads of my work? Sounds doable to me!



So, my goal for this April's Camp NaNo is to get at LEAST 50k into this new project, which I'm dubbing 'Population Camp' for the time being. Since I was working on book two to my Origin series up until last week, I'm going to be doing research/planning while trying to hit my word goals each day. It would be awesome to surpass my word goals, but with work... x.x


But let's party, all the same.

I didn't chicken out, exactly--

So what happened yesterday? Well, I spent almost all of Monday worrying over what to use as my Twitter pitch for #pitmad. Then, on Weds, I decided that my book isn't ready to be seen by agents, publishers, or any but my betas and closest friends. Though it is much better than it was when I finished it, I don't think it's as good as it can be.

It's hard to be patient when you want to get your baby out there as soon as possible, but I have to believe that it'll be worth it in the end. Besides, I didn't lose anything by NOT pitching, and giving myself the extra time can only be a good thing.

Thank you, willpower!

The things doing that need to be done.

So, yesterday was spent mostly working on my pitch for the upcoming Twitter event. After pulling out some hair, ramming my head into the wall to get the juices flowing, I finally have one favorite, and several just to throw out at various points. Oh! And I think I managed to eliminate most of my 'seem' crutches that I'd let slip in here and there in my manuscript.

Today shall be devoted to critiquing my writing group's chapters for the night, and then get to working on my prologue! And Netflix.

I wish there was a switch in my head that I could flip which would throw me immediately into writer-mode, for hours at a time, and then can just be switched off when it's time to relax. I do have other forms of entertainment, but they usually only take a few minutes at a time, yet are still a fun distraction. Not that.

So, I shall work on the reward system! Two manuscripts critiqued equals one episode, I think. That sounds about fair.

I'd like to blame my insomnia on

Ideally, I'd like to blame it on the fact that I finished my book the other day and can do nothing but lie awake thinking about it. At least, I hope that's the reason I was texting an idea to my wife's phone at four in the morning yesterday.

I even went to bed early last night, 3 a.m., but still woke up at this ungodly hour of 8, with several stops along the way. But, at least the first thought on my mind upon waking is editing.


Mmmm... editing.

In which I say I am done, although;

Are we really ever done? I have, for the first time, written a complete manuscript. I have to say that it's one of the best feelings I've had, writing wise, to write that final word. I walked into the office where my wife was sitting, and said, "Whatever."

She looked at me like I'd lost it, so I explained that that word is the last word in my book. (For now at least.)

A hour later I found myself starting from the beginning and already fixing a few things here and there. Some say to take a few months away from a completed work, but I can't. I just have to dive back into it and see what I can fix and where I can fix it, to make it better. It's like something was burning to get out of me, but now I need to eat it back up so I can spit it out and see if it tastes just as good as...


... I just grossed myself out.

I've written almost two-thousand words today, it feels pretty damn good I have to admit. I wish I could write like this all the time, even though I really have no idea where my story is taking me. It seems to change shape each and every day, but I'm glad to be along for the ride, no matter the bumps.


Rawr.

Oh yeah! Since I wasn't really updating this until yesterday, I forgot to throw up my badge for winning a Flash Fiction last week!

And my #FF




 Round and Round



 “This is where she died,” Konner said. His heavily-suited body halted in the center of the ruined town, a bone fragment at his feet. The group of men with him looked around, taking in the devastation that ringed the area.

 “The last Witch,” Micah said, softly.

 “Until yesterday,” Konner replied.



The contest is held each Friday, so be sure to check it out!

http://shenandoahvalleywriters.wordpress.com/

That damn finish line.

It's so far away.

Stopping places.

Where do you like to stop your writing for the day?

Something that I've noticed about my writing that could possibly help someone else out there. I think that I write better the next day if I stop in the middle of an interesting scene. What I mean is, is that if I'm writing for a character that I really love writing for, and I've reached my word count goal for the day, I'll stop while in the middle of a scene with that character. That way, for me, it's not so hard to pick back up the next day. Then, when you finish the scene you are enjoying, it shouldn't be too difficult to already be in that zone and keep going.

For instance, when I get home from work tonight I'll continue from this point:

“What the…” Christian said, curiosity warring with fear. He could see the slow and steady rise and fall of large wings, but aside from that the bird didn’t move. It wasn’t looking at him, but past him. Elizabeth hadn’t screamed again after her initial cry, but he knew she was staring back at the bird. He moved to his right, blocking the creature’s view. Slowly, ever so slowly, he could feel the gaze shifting upwards. It was as though he could see those prismatic, diamond eyes turning toward him. He stared back, anger suddenly conflicting with the other emotions waging war in his mind and body.
 
He rapped a fist on the window, right in front of the bird’s face. “Get on, go,” he said, rapping his knuckles on the glass a second time. The bird, he somehow knew that it was a raven, didn’t budge. He leaned forward, until his face was only inches from the window, with barely half a foot separating him from the animal. To his horror he saw that it hadn’t simply been a trick of the light, or his own imagination.
 The raven’s eyes were literally made of diamonds.
 In a sudden rush the bird threw its head against the window. Christian fell backwards in shock, landing on his bottom. Again the bird slammed its head against the glass. He heard the sound of it being scratched, and knew that the damn thing’s eyes were cutting into the glass. 

Please don't judge me, that's a rough first draft. But, reading that, and probably some before it, will get me back into the scene, and it's a scene that I really want to finish. By stopping here last night I've left myself a nice place to pick up from, and hopefully when I get this scene knocked out I'll be able to keep going on to the next one.


=)

The first word is always the longest.

I always stall when it comes to writing the first word in... well pretty much everything. I can sit either in front of a blank page, or in front of a page half-written, and still not know where to start. Once I do get a foot off the ground, however, I can usually make it at least a few feet into the air before something shiny catches my attention and I have to repeat the process all over again.

But, oh god when the words flow.

Take yesterday for instance. I wanted to write a piece for a flash fiction contest. The word prompts, at first, gave me NOTHING, like literally. I'd tried to start something the night before, but didn't even get down that all-important first word.

Finally I just started writing, thought of a cool way to start a scene, and leaped off the edge. Before long I had too many words, and wanted to go on for more. Luckily the scene involved a character from a mental WIP, so I may be able to use it at some point in the future.

My main point in this rambling mess, is that all you have to do is start. The first step in a thousand mile journey, or whatever. If you can get those first few words down and then just literally just let them go, you may surprise yourself. Hell, even if you have to throw away your first paragraph, your first page, or even your first chapter, the important thing is is that you kicked yourself in the ass and did it.

Besides, think about it like this. It takes around two years to get a book on the shelves after it's been bought by a publisher. I can only imagine that waiting two years to see your name in print is agonizing, a pain I long for. So, get to writing, Ray. Stop typing in a blog and put down some words that will push you towards your goal.


Ok!