Fly Away From Here

A word of advice: if you're having more than one person editing your manuscript, don't have them do it at the same time on different copies. It is so damn annoying to have to jump between the two (or more) copies to make the changes. At least in my opinion. I guess it's not so bad if it's a hard copy, or if you have something that isn't Windows 7 and bunches all your tabs into one little square on the bar down there. I stupidly did that when I was getting my edits on my first NaNo. I have one copy that's my roommate and one that's my dad. I have to work with em side by side in order to get the edits done at the same time. So annoying.

In other news, if any of you guys are looking to get writing published in magazines (helps build a platform, don't cha know?), there's this awesome site that has a huge database for it and let's you search by genre, length, pay, etc. Check it out if you haven't heard of it before: http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx

Gunna get back to writers group probably the week after next. I should have been posting the prompts here anyways, since they send it via emails. Too late now to do that; it didn't even dawn on me before now, haha. Oh well. Rather looking forward to going back, it was fun and a nice way to get out of the house :) I must finish some of the stories I'm working on so I have something to bring in and share.

I need to get back to editing my first NaNo. My brother's are going out of town for the weekend so I think I'll put in a huge chunk of writing and editing while they're gone. Too bad I can't do both at the same time. I'll figure something out and report back on Monday or so.

Laters!

Thriller

I think I'm going to call this NaNo a fail and take it as a learning experience. Not much of it I haven't learned before, but maybe this will actually get it into my head.


I don't do very well keeping at a story if I've talked it out too much. I spent a year forcing myself not to even think too much about my story line, but then come the beginning of November and... BAM, I talked about it. Too much. And all kinds of thoughts came flowing in and now I'm just like '...no.' It SUCKS, but ya know what? It's a learning experience. I'm just going to call it that.


There's also been a bunch of other crap that's been happening that I'm not even going to get into here. It's just a bad month... a rather cruddy year but a really bad month.


BUT! I am going to save this story for next year, hopefully think it out a little more and get things more worked out and plan out something for it and use it for the 6 novels thing. It'll be fine. :)


I'm going to get back to cleaning up my first NaNo, do that instead. Then hopefully when I'm done with it I can start sending out letters about it.


All right, I've got to go to dog training class.


Laters!

Let's Get It On

I think I get why romance is one of the hardest genres to write.

At first, I was all like "this is simple! Why the hell would they say Romance is so damn hard to write?"

I now know.

And this year's NaNo has shown me why.

In past years, I've written about characters who already had a history and the story just plopped down in the middle of it. This year, my characters DON'T have a history. They have to be introduced, meet, and fall in love. And it can't take them months to do so, no, it's gotta be almost instant. And believable.

I can do this. I totally can!

In other news. that word count of mine over there is a lie. I restarted my story and only have 1,458 words. Ain't it great? /endsarcasm

I need to get out of this slump and actually write.

Because I need/want something to do to let my subconscious think about my story, I provide you with something I stole off someone's journal on deviantART!

1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
My All the Same universe is my fave. It's set in Rhode Island (because no one lives in Rhode Island lol) and it's about Angels, Fallen Angels, God, Lucifer, etc. I don't like religion but I LOVE these stories and characters. They just make me happy.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's a funny one. I have more than I can count/remember. Both story and RP, cause I end up turning my RP characters into story characters. So for the rest of this, characters will be either RP or story and I won't tell the difference, lol.
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
Randomly, for the most part. Or I'll hear a name I really like and build a character around it. Or go obsessive and search for the perfect name. It all depends on the character.

4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
Ok, prepare for lameness. First story I ever wrote (or more, dictated to my mom who wrote it for me) was in kindergarten, about a cat who was friends with all the animals except the dog. My mom still has that story around here, too. It doesn't really have a plot, but I think that is what really got me into enjoying writing. My mom also once got one one of those packages where you write a story and draw the pictures and then the parent sends it back in and they bind it like a real book. I wrote about Santa and other holidays. That was fun.
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Youngest I've ever created was technically Andrew Iero-Way, but I don't count him. So Ryan Jack, who was I was to say 4? Oldest would be Ash Knight (why yes, I did borrow that name from a book >.>) Who was 42 in his most currant like I was writing in. "Youngest" would be the few I'm still working on in my head for a future project. As far as one I've just made and use, that would be Cole. "Oldest" is um... that cat from kindergarten, lol. Ok, ok, I'll go for one I made up... Giggles Miller, a Newsies OC.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
I like to find somewhere that I can have quiet; the library, the community room in the garage. I'd like to try writing at Starbucks one day. Yes, not quiet, but oh so writer-ly haha. I prefer writing on the computer. Paper drives me INSANE. I always want to go back and add more, but I can't.
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
Yes I do. I have unmedicated ADHD (and will never take medication for it!) so I need the music to occupy my mind while I sit and work. It works wonders, actually. I love music. 
Ahahaha! If I sat here and wrote down all the songs that relate/apply to my characters, I'd be here all friggin night and you wouldn't want to read it all. I have songs for characters, for their situations, for their couplings, etc.
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I like to write romance (even though I've now realized why it's so HARD!). And while I like to read romance as well, I really like YA. More adult-oriented categories are so conveluted with big words that it's like "get to the story, please." Maybe it's just the really small font used in the adult-oriented books. Who knows.
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
They just happen. A song, a picture, a mention, a movie, anything at all can spark a character.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Every thing from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
Really weird? Eesh... it's all really weird by normal standards but not by their world. Oh! I know! Carrighan shoved a pine cone up someone ass once! Oh, that was fun :D
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
Carrighan. I love him. Least favorite? Uh... none. I make it a habit to love all my characters.
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of world building? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
I don't world build, really. I set them in the real world, cause I'm awesome that way. Well, I created Heaven and Hell, but I just let my brain work it out as I went based on what I felt like at the time and what other's had said about it.
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
Umm... Culture? American? That's where all my stories are set at least... I love to write Angels and demons and such, though. Is that a culture? I prefer mental issues, like Stockholm syndrome. I LOVE Stockholm syndrome.

14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
I doodle them in my notebook, or I make it up in my head. Normally in my head. If I don't get how something is set, then I'll doodle it.
15. Mid way question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
I DID admire MaryJanice Davidson, but not that much any more. I don't exactly admire writers. *shrug* I find Tommy Lee a big inspiration though >.> Read his book and I think you'll see it. Or you might not, cause you're not me.

16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing?
I write romance, what do you think? Haha. I will write all the way to sex if it fits the story.
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
Carrighan. Because he's awesome. And I love him. And he's awesome.

18. Favorite antagonist and why!
Lucifer? He's not really an antagonist. He's just there. He helps, then he hurts, then he helps, then he hurts. I don't exactly have antagonists. Not that I label 'antagonist' anyways.

19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
Larry. He's a 4'9" Fallen Angel cannibal with a Cockney accent. He's adorable.

20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
Carrighan and Demetrios are my number one. Larry and Perish are fun too. I could see them being one messed up slash pairing. Seth and Marcus the Zombie are fun, too.
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
In RP, they do, yeah. But when I write them as story characters, they don't. Carri and Deme adopted a little girl once, but she turned out to be a demon and tried to kill Carrighan.
22. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
Short stories and like, a day. Novels are... a long time.

23. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What’s the most interesting way you’ve killed someone?
If the plot demands it, then I will kill someone with no issues. Killing people is fun! (in stories, of course!)
I killed an rp character once by having his head explode after he jumped into a fire. It's a long story.
24. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
Seth has his cretures. Other than that, not really. I'd forget about them too easily.

25. Let’s talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
I can't draw. I had someone draw me some fan art once! It made me feel awesome! I'll show it off.

The original url for that is here: http://fav.me/d2fpq1r
I also bought some art on gaia:

That's Deme and Carri, respective

And that's Perish :)
26. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
I give the bare essentials and let people decide what they look like. Carrighan is based after HYDE, Demetrios is based after Gackt, Perish is based after the fetish model Perish, Seth is based after Ian Watkins from LostProphets, Cole is based after that one dorky guy in Tropic Thunder who was also the main guy in Sorcerer's Apprentice, God is based after King Morpheus from Little Nemo crossed with Zeus from Disney's Hercules, Lucifer is based after the guy with the black hair from Nightwish. Then others, like Larry, just come out of my head.
27. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
Eh heh heh heh. I love mental problems. I have a character who is slow and appears to be schizophrenic though he's just possessed by three different spirits. I had one character who couldn't talk because of shock, I guess you could call it. I want someone who has Stockholm Syndrome, but I have yet to work that out.

28. Final question! Tag some one! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!
I tag all of you. If you want. I like you because you're awesome :P

Back to trying to come up with stuff.

Laters!

Well All Right!

NaNo = Fail.

Oh yeah.

Spent so much time being excited about NaNo coming and then it gets here and... I've fallen on my face. Completely.

I'm not excited by my idea, though I abso-friggin-lutely love it. I got to over 7,000 words, hated all of it, started over. I'm at 637 words right now and I can't seem to push myself to write. It makes me sad.

I think I've just got too much shit going on this month between my brothers's dad being out for the week, not getting this job I was really excited about, and getting accepted to the school I wanted to go to. My brain just ain't into it right now.

I feel really lame.

Blah.

Laters.

Into the Ocean

Yey! I got writing done! Granted, most of it (read: 2,000 words of it) was done at 2 in the morning, but hey! Who cares! I had gotten 265 words done during the day on Tuesday. Granted, I had other things I had to do (stupid life getting in the way of NaNo), but that's no excuse!

Any how, I got 2,229 words written today, so I'm happy with myself.

I'm struggling a bit with this intro, but I suck at beginnings. Er, at least beginnings that don't start in the middle of a super cool and fun scene. None of that this year! Cole demands a beginning that starts at the beginning of his day and he's being all... reflective on his new day.

I had to do research today. Cole's parents decided they were too good for California and were more old blood, so they live in Provence Town, Massachusetts in a house with 11 rooms and is worth over 2 million dollars. Lucky for me, my family is from Mass (mom's side at least) and my mom's been to P-Town.

In other news, I think Cole likes to cross dress. This is a new developement and I don't know yet how that's going to play into all this.

Anyways, it's almost 3am, so I'm going to bed now.

Laters!

PS, I wrote a couple paragraphs from the point of view of a bottle. Wtf?

This Is For Real

Today is day two of NaNo, and as you can see by the status bar over on the side of my page... I have no words written. This is just a tad bit scary.

Lemme explain. Halloween amongst my group of friends is a big deal. We are a group of cosplayers so any chance at all to cosplay, we take advantage of it (Halloween, conventions, midnight movie premiers, etc). So, Halloween was taken by being dressed up and at a movie till late, so that cut out starting at midnight (I've never actually started NaNo at midnight, for obvious Halloween related reasons). Then the night of Halloween was spent sleeping at my friends house, watching horror movies and drinking. The first was filled with.... staying late at my friends house, watching horror movies, doing a Sweeney Todd sing-a-long, drinking, and playing ouija. No, I am not an alcoholic, we just drink when we have parties, which isn't that often. So we were at my friend's house until almost 8 last night.

My roommates computer is also dead, so we have to actually have a schedule for our writing. I'm busy mornings, so we're writing from 1pm to 9/9:30pm, then we come back to the apartment (see the blog post where I show my writing area. It's in my apartment building's garage) and my roommate uses the family computer to type up what she's written for the day and I do my rping and possi bly more writing, update my word count, etc. So as of yet.... I have no words written.

Luckily, I have my beginning already set up. Yey me!

I'll update later when I have something. :)

Laters!