Tag: MayNoWriMo

Posted on by — 2 Comments

MayNoWriMo Day 2, 3

I didn’t get as much done yesterday as I’d hoped, but it was a full, busy day with family stuff and my first panel for Coyote Con.  I had a great time talking SFR with Heather Massey (read the transcript here) and I can’t *wait* for the Steampunk panel next weekend (May 8th, 11 PM EST).

I continued working with Liquid Story Binder, expanding my character backgrounds.  I’ve been using Writer’s Guide to Character Traits and The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines to get some nitty gritty details for Quinn and Tara.  I’m layering archetypes for each, and expanding the shell of characterization that I had before.  Quinn is going to have a darker rebel side that we didn’t really see in the brief scenes I originally sketched out, and Tara is going way deeper and beyond what I had originally expected.  She’s a bit of a lost soul (yes, I know that’s a male archetype, but it really fits for her), and the beginning of her book is going to throw her for a huge loop.

I have one background element I still need to figure out for Quinn:  a supernatural event with his adopted brother that sets the stage for why he believes in the demon so quickly.  Then I think I’ll be ready to make the first pass through the Emotional Toolbox for both characters.

I managed Dark & Early this morning, the first time in months.  I don’t know how long I’ll be able to sustain it.  My allergies are horrendous this year and I just don’t seem to have any energy to spare for getting up early.  But it helps to know that Jenna is up and expecting me to check in!

Posted on by — 4 Comments

MayNoWriMo Day 1

Here it is almost 6:30 PM CST and I’ve barely started MayNoWriMo. 

I’m sitting here with my first cup of coffee of the day (gasp!) and pulling together my notes for tomorrow’s Coyote Con special session with Heather Massey on Science Fiction Romance (Sunday, 2 PM EST).  I’ll also be gathering questions during the chat to send to S.L. Viehl, aka Paperback Writer, the author of the incredible StarDoc series.  She’ll be posting answers on her blog throughout the month.

I do have Liquid Story Binder open.  I decided I would give it another try with this project.  There are a lot of things I really love about it, but I never seem to have time to sit down and explore it.  I’ll keep working on some character dossiers tonight and try to get a little done, although it’s locked up on me twice tonight already.  🙁

We took the monsters to see How to Train Your Dragon today and we all loved it.  There were a few plot points that I couldn’t look at too hard without cringing (like how it took Hiccup days and days to learn how to ride Toothless but all his buddies could ride like pros as soon as they had to go after his father) but all in all, a wonderful movie that had me on the edge of my writer’s seat loving every minute.

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Prepping the Calendar

As May approaches, I’ve been taking a careful look at my schedule.   With a calendar in front of me, I start circling and marking important days.  Mother’s Day.  My birthday (and it’s a significant one this year).  A guest blog spot for Carina.  My beloved sister’s first Samhain release.

Ask yourself questions.

  • Any school duties this month?  e.g. Princess Monster just finished the science fair at her school (lucky it wasn’t next month)
  • Note when the kids get out of school. 
  • Any major projects that might require overtime for the Evil Day Job?  (Not this time)
  • Do I want to take a few days of vacation?  (yes, need to schedule with my boss)
  • Any dinner dates out?
  • Can I pull together a loose menu plan for at least a couple of weeks?
  • Any family events I have to prepare food for?

If I were writing 50K for May, I’d cross off days with big events and adjust my daily quota accordingly.  To be safe, I’d also give myself a few extra floater vacation days just in case something unexpected comes up.  I try really hard to get a little cushion in the first week, writing 2-2.5K each day, because it’s inevitable.  The glow will fade, the drive will waver, and it’ll be really hard to keep going.

Most importantly, SCHEDULE YOUR WRITING TIME.  Decide now when you’re going to write.  Are you going to get up an hour earlier?  Write over lunch?  Write when the monsters are asleep?  Write in 15 minute chunks throughout the day?

Whatever your life, family, and work schedule, make sure you have time in your personal calendar for writing.  Don’t commit to a huge writing month without figuring out HOW and WHEN you’re going to pull it off.

Posted on by — 6 Comments

MayNoWriMo Prep: Baby Steps

My number one goal for May (other than keeping my sanity with all the Coyote Con and MayNoWriMo group stuff to juggle) is a synopsis for a possible follow-up to The Bloodgate Guardian.  That might sound like a small goal (versus writing 50K in one month!), but as I go through my initial notes, it’s going to be quite difficult.

For one thing, the characters I planned to base the second book on are side-characters I’d created in the second incarnation of BGG.  They lived in subplots — they weren’t intended to carry an entire story themselves.  Also, I didn’t have these two characters ending up together, so the romance elements are completely AWOL.

In general, I’m ahead as far as basic character development.  I know Quinn’s backstory and how the story could open for several sections through his POV.  I don’t have as good a handle on Tara, his potential heroine.  The other question that nags me is the paranormal aspect.  In BGG, the hero is a shapeshifter and a Maya priest.  If I don’t do some work, both Quinn and Tara are humans.  As is, their story would be humans vs. demons.  Maybe that’s okay….or maybe I need a new twist.

As May rushes closer and closer at the speed of light despite my huge to-do list and fervent prayers that I’ll get it all done by May 1st, I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.  When that happens, I need to step back and make a list.  Break the big insurmountable goal down into baby steps.

Baby steps I can handle.  Huge complex synopsis is beyond me right now.  So here’s my preliminary to-do list of baby steps….

1. Pull Quinn and Tara files from the second incarnation of BGG.  DONE.  (Woo-hoo!  It always feels good to cross something off the list — which is why no step is too small to write down!)

2. Go through second incarnation of BGG and pull all the secondary demon sections.  I had a major shift in bad guys between version 2 and version 3 (the one that is getting published) so I need to at least sketch a possible timeline of the demon’s movements through Texas.

3. Brainstorm some additional paranormal possibilities.  Quinn is very solid in my mind, so I’m considering some new angle with Tara.  This involves making notes, re-reading some of my research for inspiration, and general doodling.  Dedicate a notebook for this brainstorming and keep it in my purse for down moments.

4. Work on the romance.  Why are they meant for each other (when I obviously missed that the first time around!)?  Why are they the worst possible matches for each other?

5. Go through the Emotional Toolbox for each character.

6. Re-evaluate existing plot scenes from #1 and make decisions about what to keep and what must change.  (A butterfly flaps its wings in chapter one and everything past page 10 has to be thrown out.)

7. Write up background and character letters for both characters.  Really explore their past, dark secrets, etc.  Dig!  Ask Why over and over and over.  Go through the Emotional Toolbox again if needed.

Throughout all these steps, I’ll be jotting ideas on note cards.  Not formal scenes, yet, just ideas, so now I can….

8.  Go through notecards and begin discarding defunct ideas and expanding the good ones.  Order.  Streamline.

9.  Write that synopsis!