I was hoping Lia was updating this. XD Guess we both forgot.
Check out the tumblr if you want near-daily updates. I'll start posting here again soon.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
4 Days. Dear Pomegranate...
Good day to you all. I hope this post finds you in a (somewhat) sane sense of mind. I know I’m not—I probably shouldn’t even be writing a blogpost. Piper put me up to it.
Now, I am 100% (okay, maybe 99.99999%) sure that you are absolutely baffled by my blog title. Yes, that was the intent. No, I have not lost my mind, er, yet. Then again, I did accidentally put the salt and pepper shakers in the sink with the dirty dishes… Oh right! The point. Many a time I find myself staring at my open word document, fingers poised on the home keys, yet I can’t think of a thing to write.
So, I have a new method of typing rough drafts. If you can’t think of anything and you find yourself completely stuck, just type random stuff—a method also known as steamwriting. There is a difference, however: you simply write things that somehow, someway pertain to your novel.
For example, during NaNoWriMo, on November 30th at around 9:00 P.M., I found myself typing up the story of a gigantic bird that came down out of the sky and picked up my main character. It brought him to a playground of clouds in the sky. But sometimes that’s what you have to do! You just have to get your fingers moving. Writing’s a lot like a snowball effect. Once you get going, it’s hard (well, certainly not hard, but not quite as easy) to stop.
It also helps with concentration and focus. Two essential keys of writing. It also helps creativity, determination, and an infinite list of other virtues, but as far as speedwriting goes? Concentration. And. Focus.
~Lia
Now, I am 100% (okay, maybe 99.99999%) sure that you are absolutely baffled by my blog title. Yes, that was the intent. No, I have not lost my mind, er, yet. Then again, I did accidentally put the salt and pepper shakers in the sink with the dirty dishes… Oh right! The point. Many a time I find myself staring at my open word document, fingers poised on the home keys, yet I can’t think of a thing to write.
So, I have a new method of typing rough drafts. If you can’t think of anything and you find yourself completely stuck, just type random stuff—a method also known as steamwriting. There is a difference, however: you simply write things that somehow, someway pertain to your novel.
For example, during NaNoWriMo, on November 30th at around 9:00 P.M., I found myself typing up the story of a gigantic bird that came down out of the sky and picked up my main character. It brought him to a playground of clouds in the sky. But sometimes that’s what you have to do! You just have to get your fingers moving. Writing’s a lot like a snowball effect. Once you get going, it’s hard (well, certainly not hard, but not quite as easy) to stop.
It also helps with concentration and focus. Two essential keys of writing. It also helps creativity, determination, and an infinite list of other virtues, but as far as speedwriting goes? Concentration. And. Focus.
~Lia
Saturday, January 7, 2012
5 Days To Go: The TSOD Meets the RPWSSFG
(The TSOD is something that a few Nano’ers came up with; it stands for “the travelling shovel of death.” It’s a NaNo challenge to incorporate it into your book somehow. RPWSSFG is an initialism I made up on the spot to stand for “redneck pirates who sing songs from Grease,” referring to an earlier post)
I have made a promise to myself. This promise is that my novel will be as ridiculous as possible. The only serious bone in my novel’s metaphorical body will be the humerus. (Ha ha. Lame humor. Just another Saturday morning.)
Will a character be killed with a shovel? Yes. Will I sneak the RPWSSFG in there? Absolutely.
The thing is, if you take your first draft too seriously, it’s no fun. Maybe it could work out for some people, but I know from personal experience that first drafts are a pain in the rectal area if you try to make them excellent. Especially if it’s a NaNo/TWWE/Script Frenzy draft. If you plan on taking a long time to perfect your first draft as you go along, then that’s fine; if that works for you, then keep it up, do what you gotta do :D That method doesn’t work for everyone, though. Personally, I know that if I don’t speedwrite that piece of feces, it’s not going to get done. I’ll just spend forever tinkering on it, occasionally writing something, then forgetting about it again for a while.
Later drafts are another story entirely. (Pun completely unintended. I only left it there because I thought it was terrifically lame.) First drafts are the drafts you lock in the drawer, hungover and mortified at what just spewed forth from your head. The thing is, though, that that’s the point. You just need to get it done and forget about it (unless you plan on going through it and editing/revising the whole thing. In that case, I pity your soul. You are a brave person and I respect your courage in perusing The First Draft without the intention of laughing at it.)
I know some writers who can never finish a first draft because they get worried about the quality halfway in, delve into the beginning to edit it, and never come back out. Speedwriting is an exercise that helps to stop those impulses, or at least teaches you to ignore them.
So if you think we’re crazy, you’re probably right, but however unlikely it may seem, there’s a method to the madness.
I have made a promise to myself. This promise is that my novel will be as ridiculous as possible. The only serious bone in my novel’s metaphorical body will be the humerus. (Ha ha. Lame humor. Just another Saturday morning.)
Will a character be killed with a shovel? Yes. Will I sneak the RPWSSFG in there? Absolutely.
The thing is, if you take your first draft too seriously, it’s no fun. Maybe it could work out for some people, but I know from personal experience that first drafts are a pain in the rectal area if you try to make them excellent. Especially if it’s a NaNo/TWWE/Script Frenzy draft. If you plan on taking a long time to perfect your first draft as you go along, then that’s fine; if that works for you, then keep it up, do what you gotta do :D That method doesn’t work for everyone, though. Personally, I know that if I don’t speedwrite that piece of feces, it’s not going to get done. I’ll just spend forever tinkering on it, occasionally writing something, then forgetting about it again for a while.
Later drafts are another story entirely. (Pun completely unintended. I only left it there because I thought it was terrifically lame.) First drafts are the drafts you lock in the drawer, hungover and mortified at what just spewed forth from your head. The thing is, though, that that’s the point. You just need to get it done and forget about it (unless you plan on going through it and editing/revising the whole thing. In that case, I pity your soul. You are a brave person and I respect your courage in perusing The First Draft without the intention of laughing at it.)
I know some writers who can never finish a first draft because they get worried about the quality halfway in, delve into the beginning to edit it, and never come back out. Speedwriting is an exercise that helps to stop those impulses, or at least teaches you to ignore them.
So if you think we’re crazy, you’re probably right, but however unlikely it may seem, there’s a method to the madness.
Friday, January 6, 2012
6 Days.
Piper was right about the day thing. It isn’t 7 days but rather 6. Oh no.
Anyway, I was thinking today, and I realized that I truly hate this concept. I don’t just dislike it. I hate it. You hear that, Piper? Writing 50k words in 14 days does strange things to a person.
I barely made it through NaNoWriMo alive.
Either way, I get something accomplished. Why is it that things that I don’t like help me accomplish something productive? It’s the reward of hard work!
The best way to make sure that you meet your goal is to make sure that you take any minute—second—of your free time and dedicate it to writing. Watching T.V.? You could be writing. Playing a video game? You could be writing. Drawing a picture of a unicorn drinking a milkshake? You could be writing.
It’s all about dedication.
(Short post today, sorry.)
~Lia
Anyway, I was thinking today, and I realized that I truly hate this concept. I don’t just dislike it. I hate it. You hear that, Piper? Writing 50k words in 14 days does strange things to a person.
I barely made it through NaNoWriMo alive.
Either way, I get something accomplished. Why is it that things that I don’t like help me accomplish something productive? It’s the reward of hard work!
The best way to make sure that you meet your goal is to make sure that you take any minute—second—of your free time and dedicate it to writing. Watching T.V.? You could be writing. Playing a video game? You could be writing. Drawing a picture of a unicorn drinking a milkshake? You could be writing.
It’s all about dedication.
(Short post today, sorry.)
~Lia
Holy Crap I've Been Counting The Days Wrong
Apparently there's actually six (well, about five now) days left. I'd miscounted at the beginning.
Lol, I feel stupid now XD Forgive me, I'm running on nothing but PopTarts and frozen dinners.
Lol, I feel stupid now XD Forgive me, I'm running on nothing but PopTarts and frozen dinners.
7 Days to Go: And The Planning Stage Kicks Off!
I’ve officially cluttered my computer/walls with sticky notes, all bearing random little notes on the story I’m thinking of doing. I can no longer see part of my computer screen because of them.
But hey, that’s the point of being a writer, right? Having an eccentric note-taking system that involves abbreviations and words only you can read? Right?
(Lol, so much for the ‘two posts today’ thing. I may post again later, depending on what time I end up passing out in a puddle of my own drool.)
Speaking of passing out in puddles of your own drool, for the past week I haven’t had more than five hours of sleep at night. And no, it wasn’t because of my Internet connection. My body just freaking hates me.
Honestly, what goes on in my brain? “Lol, she’s about to write 50,000 words in two weeks? And she’s got schoolwork, too? Let’s just keep her up until one in the morning when she has to wake up at five. That’ll solve everything.”
Anyway, back on topic! Generally, my sticky notes start to become a nuisance, so I’ve succumbed to the trend- I outline on the computer now. (I’m sorry, Post-It. It’s not you, it’s me. I hope we can still be friends.)
There’s a really good program I use called Celtx for scriptwriting/outlining. You can download it free for Windows. The one drawback to novel writing on it, though, is that it doesn’t have the handy wordcount thing in an easy-to-see place. If you want to scriptwrite or outline (or hey, write without a wordcount goal in mind) then it’s great.
So far my outline includes man-eating ghosts, spiritualism, a protagonist named Miranda Lee Jamison, and a band of self-proclaimed exorcists.
I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life anymore.
But hey, that’s the point of being a writer, right? Having an eccentric note-taking system that involves abbreviations and words only you can read? Right?
(Lol, so much for the ‘two posts today’ thing. I may post again later, depending on what time I end up passing out in a puddle of my own drool.)
Speaking of passing out in puddles of your own drool, for the past week I haven’t had more than five hours of sleep at night. And no, it wasn’t because of my Internet connection. My body just freaking hates me.
Honestly, what goes on in my brain? “Lol, she’s about to write 50,000 words in two weeks? And she’s got schoolwork, too? Let’s just keep her up until one in the morning when she has to wake up at five. That’ll solve everything.”
Anyway, back on topic! Generally, my sticky notes start to become a nuisance, so I’ve succumbed to the trend- I outline on the computer now. (I’m sorry, Post-It. It’s not you, it’s me. I hope we can still be friends.)
There’s a really good program I use called Celtx for scriptwriting/outlining. You can download it free for Windows. The one drawback to novel writing on it, though, is that it doesn’t have the handy wordcount thing in an easy-to-see place. If you want to scriptwrite or outline (or hey, write without a wordcount goal in mind) then it’s great.
So far my outline includes man-eating ghosts, spiritualism, a protagonist named Miranda Lee Jamison, and a band of self-proclaimed exorcists.
I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life anymore.
8 Days To Go: Fresh Out
Oops. I'd completely forgotten about the blogspot blog. If there's anyone out there then I apologize XD Here's my post from yesterday, I'll wait for Lia to upload hers.
You know that moment when you realize you have just over a week until you have to write 50,000 words in a fortnight, yet you don’t have any novel ideas?
(Actually, I’m hoping you guys don’t know. Because that feeling sucks.)
It was like this last November, except instead of nine days, it was the night before it started. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the last NaNo.
This is what happens when you spend more time maintaining lulz blogs thanactually doing anything.
I’d do a random prompt generator, but random prompt generators and I have a bit of a history. A history involving redneck pirates who sing songs from Grease. That kind of a history.
So I have to fall back on my usual method- the one I call the Dictionary Denotation. (I mainly just call it that because it sounds cool.)
Basically, I find random words in the dictionary and make a story idea out of them. This doesn’t work too well for online dictionaries, so you may want to dust off the old Webster if you want to try it.
Since this method usually spawns hilarity, I might as well put up the four words I got:
Certainty, spiritualist, gibe, and fauna.
Yeah, I’ve got no clue either.
(This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but as usual, the queue screwed up. XP I’ll do a double post today I guess)
~Piper
You know that moment when you realize you have just over a week until you have to write 50,000 words in a fortnight, yet you don’t have any novel ideas?
(Actually, I’m hoping you guys don’t know. Because that feeling sucks.)
It was like this last November, except instead of nine days, it was the night before it started. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the last NaNo.
This is what happens when you spend more time maintaining lulz blogs thanactually doing anything.
I’d do a random prompt generator, but random prompt generators and I have a bit of a history. A history involving redneck pirates who sing songs from Grease. That kind of a history.
So I have to fall back on my usual method- the one I call the Dictionary Denotation. (I mainly just call it that because it sounds cool.)
Basically, I find random words in the dictionary and make a story idea out of them. This doesn’t work too well for online dictionaries, so you may want to dust off the old Webster if you want to try it.
Since this method usually spawns hilarity, I might as well put up the four words I got:
Certainty, spiritualist, gibe, and fauna.
Yeah, I’ve got no clue either.
(This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but as usual, the queue screwed up. XP I’ll do a double post today I guess)
~Piper
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
10 Days To Go: Meet the Admins
(I'm basically just copy-and-pasting my post on the tumblr)
But yes, I’m Piper. I’ve been writing since the fourth grade. (Though, back then, all I did was rip off copyrights. I’m just glad I got through that phase early. After all, who would have the heart to sue a fourth grader? But I digress.)
Last year I did NaNoWriMo, TWWE, and Script Frenzy, all of which I dragged Lia into. I finished all of them with my sanity somewhat intact. Last year was also the year I finished my first novel (I say “novel.” “Soggy mass of plot holes and bad characterization” would be a better name for it.)
I was voted “most likely to die of a coffee enema” in the eighth grade, which was ridiculous. It hasn’t killed me yet.
Yes, I’m kidding. Though that would be an awesome way to die, in my opinion.
Anyway, I write a little bit of everything. I’ve written a screenplay, novels, more poems than I can count, short stories, essays, you name it, I’ve probably written one. (Or at least attempted to.) Most of what I write is YA, and I seem to have a thing for dystopia.
I’m also the crazy bastard who thought up TWWE, so if that doesn’t say something about my sanity, I don’t know what will. I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that the TWWE draft will be terrible. It will be like writing done drunk at two in the morning. (I hear that worked out for Hemingway, though.) (Can you tell I like somewhat-witty parenthetical asides yet, or do I have to do another?)
I have two dogs, both ridiculous, and a cat, who’s equally ridiculous. In my free time I go online and accomplish nothing.
Anyway, ten days to go! Or nine, depending on how you look at it. In any case, just over a week until Lia and I sell our souls to caffeine and embark on the quest that is TWWE! Stick around, it ought to be hilarious.
But yes, I’m Piper. I’ve been writing since the fourth grade. (Though, back then, all I did was rip off copyrights. I’m just glad I got through that phase early. After all, who would have the heart to sue a fourth grader? But I digress.)
Last year I did NaNoWriMo, TWWE, and Script Frenzy, all of which I dragged Lia into. I finished all of them with my sanity somewhat intact. Last year was also the year I finished my first novel (I say “novel.” “Soggy mass of plot holes and bad characterization” would be a better name for it.)
I was voted “most likely to die of a coffee enema” in the eighth grade, which was ridiculous. It hasn’t killed me yet.
Yes, I’m kidding. Though that would be an awesome way to die, in my opinion.
Anyway, I write a little bit of everything. I’ve written a screenplay, novels, more poems than I can count, short stories, essays, you name it, I’ve probably written one. (Or at least attempted to.) Most of what I write is YA, and I seem to have a thing for dystopia.
I’m also the crazy bastard who thought up TWWE, so if that doesn’t say something about my sanity, I don’t know what will. I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that the TWWE draft will be terrible. It will be like writing done drunk at two in the morning. (I hear that worked out for Hemingway, though.) (Can you tell I like somewhat-witty parenthetical asides yet, or do I have to do another?)
I have two dogs, both ridiculous, and a cat, who’s equally ridiculous. In my free time I go online and accomplish nothing.
Anyway, ten days to go! Or nine, depending on how you look at it. In any case, just over a week until Lia and I sell our souls to caffeine and embark on the quest that is TWWE! Stick around, it ought to be hilarious.
10 Days to Go: Meet the Admins
Welcome, one and all! To kick off the official month of TWWE, both moderators will be introducing themselves via a post.
I’m Lia, and the other moderator is Piper, who will be posting her introduction post soon. I’m a writer (obviously) and I find this whole project completely insane and torturing. How’s that for persuasive writing?
Jesting aside, I mostly work on fantasy novels (middle grade and YA) and I am obsessed with Christmas. Literally. I’m currently working on my third novel and am preparing to write a Christmas novel come January 12th.
I also do a bit of acting and writing plays in my [scarce] free time. And I have a dog!
There. Now you know about Lia. Just waiting on Piper now. XD
Enjoy!
P.S. In case you’re wondering, you need to write 3571 words a day if you want to complete TWWE on time. Good luck!
I’m Lia, and the other moderator is Piper, who will be posting her introduction post soon. I’m a writer (obviously) and I find this whole project completely insane and torturing. How’s that for persuasive writing?
Jesting aside, I mostly work on fantasy novels (middle grade and YA) and I am obsessed with Christmas. Literally. I’m currently working on my third novel and am preparing to write a Christmas novel come January 12th.
I also do a bit of acting and writing plays in my [scarce] free time. And I have a dog!
There. Now you know about Lia. Just waiting on Piper now. XD
Enjoy!
P.S. In case you’re wondering, you need to write 3571 words a day if you want to complete TWWE on time. Good luck!
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