I've mentioned before that time seems to slow considerably when you're anticipating something, and it couldn't be more true now. With just about eight hours until the grand event, and Halloween festivities providing a buffer between now and then, I don't see things moving much more quickly, either. But, that's all well and good, though. You see, these last few hours are providing me some valuable insight time to make sure that my story will play out as I've planned (maybe not, depending on what little plot bunnies discover themselves during my frenzied writing over the next month). Characters are solidifying themselves and others are discovering their wants and needs. Motives swim in and out as they see fit. In other words, my mind is abuzz with the symphony of the not-too-distant plot, looking forward to it's release into the world.
Around the world, NaNo is starting, and the only thing to do now is wait for it to reach the east coast. Midnight tonight will be filled with the sounds of keys being struck with a pace yet unseen this year. Happy NaNo, everyone, and good luck.
10/31/2010
10/30/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 2 Days.
So last night was Dungeons and Dragons night, and as per pre-NaNo preparations, I told the group my intentions for the next month, and that I was definitely going to be above my word count goals for every Friday so that I could come and play with everyone instead of being a lonely miser. So, now this provides the all-important mid-November incentive and one of those fun (and more than a little creative) distractions I mentioned a few days ago. And, of course, I developed a few more scenes for the novel in dreams that I can eventually use to beef out the story and characters. Those are always good.
Today's post, however, has almost nothing to do with NaNo. It has to do with gaming, my other great love.
I mentioned D&D at the top of the post, a thing I regretfully only just found enjoyment in a few months ago. I believe that any gamer who is in the least bit interested in story-based gaming should give it a go at least once or twice. As for me, fancying myself a writer, as well as someone who enjoys a grand fantasy story, I should have found my love for this long, long ago. Okay, so that line about being about gaming, but not NaNo? You probably guessed by now, but I kinda lied. NaNo-ers can draw great inspiration from a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, no matter which era it happens to be. I personally am plying my fourth edition experience into my writing style.
Unfortunately though, tabletop gaming has seen a large decline (but definitely not death) at the hands of console gaming, and someone like me is left wondering how such a thing could happen. These things should coincide with each other. Tabletop gaming is a wonderful thing, and can forge great friendships, or perhaps strengthen those that already exist. But, what is really satisfying about games such as D&D is the interactions between two or more players in-character. This is the stuff that many writers should really pay attention to, because this interaction is just about as real as if the characters existed in the 'real' world. It provides important insight into character background, gives them their own voice, and most importantly, brings them to life - a skill that some, like myself, have struggled with in times past.
So, if you're a writer, make an attempt to go down to your local tabletop game store, see when they run (if they run) their D&D (or similar) games and sit in on one or two of them, you might be surprised with what you can come up with. Or, if you're feeling really adventurous, see if you can join in on the fun.
Today's post, however, has almost nothing to do with NaNo. It has to do with gaming, my other great love.
I mentioned D&D at the top of the post, a thing I regretfully only just found enjoyment in a few months ago. I believe that any gamer who is in the least bit interested in story-based gaming should give it a go at least once or twice. As for me, fancying myself a writer, as well as someone who enjoys a grand fantasy story, I should have found my love for this long, long ago. Okay, so that line about being about gaming, but not NaNo? You probably guessed by now, but I kinda lied. NaNo-ers can draw great inspiration from a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, no matter which era it happens to be. I personally am plying my fourth edition experience into my writing style.
Unfortunately though, tabletop gaming has seen a large decline (but definitely not death) at the hands of console gaming, and someone like me is left wondering how such a thing could happen. These things should coincide with each other. Tabletop gaming is a wonderful thing, and can forge great friendships, or perhaps strengthen those that already exist. But, what is really satisfying about games such as D&D is the interactions between two or more players in-character. This is the stuff that many writers should really pay attention to, because this interaction is just about as real as if the characters existed in the 'real' world. It provides important insight into character background, gives them their own voice, and most importantly, brings them to life - a skill that some, like myself, have struggled with in times past.
So, if you're a writer, make an attempt to go down to your local tabletop game store, see when they run (if they run) their D&D (or similar) games and sit in on one or two of them, you might be surprised with what you can come up with. Or, if you're feeling really adventurous, see if you can join in on the fun.
10/28/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 4 Days.
It's almost upon us, friends; the day we begin to take it upon ourselves to get a novel started on its journey towards life. Armed with our plots, sketches, maps and a few basic under-planned thoughts, we're close to plumbing the depths of noveling depravity.
It's almost upon us, friends. Are you ready?
It's almost upon us, friends. Are you ready?
10/25/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 7 Days.
Well, it's only a week until the great noveling race begins and we're all bustling about in our attempts to get novel ideas out of our heads so that new ones may take root and flourish in our minds for next year. But, before that, we have the wonderfully awesome holiday of Halloween to consider. Tons of candy, little monsters showing up at your doorstep, and an excuse to watch the cheesiest of B-rated horror movies. What reason is there not to enjoy Halloween?
Why speak of the holiday though? Why not speak of the grand contest occurring afterward? Well, there are answers to these questions. These being, because I can, and I could be respectively.
For instance, there's much inspiration to be had in Halloween for any writers, young or old. I vividly remember in elementary school how our teachers would always challenge us to create scary stories to share in a darkened classroom, the bottom portion of our faces illuminated by those silly flashlights. Those were my favorite times. We weren't expected to write anything serious or school-related. We were only requested to have fun and write something we were proud of. Needless to say, it's likely that very few of these stories have stood the test of time, but all the same, there's the hope that the feeling remains. How does this tie in with NaNo? Easily. While the official reason why NaNo is held in November is to take advantage of rather poor weather, I'd like to think that it also wishes us to feed from the creative font of Halloween.
Why speak of the holiday though? Why not speak of the grand contest occurring afterward? Well, there are answers to these questions. These being, because I can, and I could be respectively.
For instance, there's much inspiration to be had in Halloween for any writers, young or old. I vividly remember in elementary school how our teachers would always challenge us to create scary stories to share in a darkened classroom, the bottom portion of our faces illuminated by those silly flashlights. Those were my favorite times. We weren't expected to write anything serious or school-related. We were only requested to have fun and write something we were proud of. Needless to say, it's likely that very few of these stories have stood the test of time, but all the same, there's the hope that the feeling remains. How does this tie in with NaNo? Easily. While the official reason why NaNo is held in November is to take advantage of rather poor weather, I'd like to think that it also wishes us to feed from the creative font of Halloween.
10/24/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 8 Days.
Today I wanted to talk about distractions and writing, in preparation for the insanity inherent of NaNo.
The fine people over at the Office of Letters and Lights and the authors they find to produce their pep talks through the month of November all tell you at least once to find a way to remove yourself from all distractions so that you can focus on your writing. I want to tell you that it may actually not be so bad to surround yourself with one or two of your favorite distractions, be it TV or whatnot.
Why? Because if you fall into a block in your writing, perhaps a distraction is exactly what you need.
The fine people over at the Office of Letters and Lights and the authors they find to produce their pep talks through the month of November all tell you at least once to find a way to remove yourself from all distractions so that you can focus on your writing. I want to tell you that it may actually not be so bad to surround yourself with one or two of your favorite distractions, be it TV or whatnot.
Why? Because if you fall into a block in your writing, perhaps a distraction is exactly what you need.
10/22/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 10 Days
Okay, so first off, apologies. I know I said that I'd make up for the lack of short story two days ago with a double story yesterday. That obviously didn't happen, but I have excuses reasons on the 'why'.
It's been... a rather rough week to be honest. Finally getting over a double dose of the common cold, catching some strain of Strep, going to Maryland for the weekend, and having an unexpectedly busy schedule are some of the things giving me trouble. Not even mentioning the small writer's block I'm getting when I try to think about continuing on with the short that I posted on Tuesday.
So, in lieu of doing my 12 for 12 challenge this year, I will at the very least post up some posts for the days leading up to the big event. If the post just so happens to contain a short story, then it's a win-win, right? Next year, I will rehash the challenge (with some revised rules), and perhaps even complete it!
In NaNo-news, I'm finally just about done with plotting my novel for this year and I just can't wait to finally get started. It seems, now that I really think about it, that the rest of this year just happened so quickly and yet now that November's rolling around, the world decides to slow down and make it take forever to finally arrive. Funny how that works. Anyway, I've accepted some of those fun word-count-on-the-first-day challenges. Most notably the 5k in a day challenge. Which, honestly, I don't think I'll have an issue with, and might just roll into the 10k/first day challenge. But, that also means that while I'm busy writing my novel, I may or may not have a blog post for everyone. Perhaps once I'm satisfied with my progress for the day, I'll come here and sum up the day's fun little plot bunnies, and of course, update with my word count. Just thinking about the fun I'll have wrecking my novel's setting makes me want to get writing. November just can't come fast enough.
It's been... a rather rough week to be honest. Finally getting over a double dose of the common cold, catching some strain of Strep, going to Maryland for the weekend, and having an unexpectedly busy schedule are some of the things giving me trouble. Not even mentioning the small writer's block I'm getting when I try to think about continuing on with the short that I posted on Tuesday.
So, in lieu of doing my 12 for 12 challenge this year, I will at the very least post up some posts for the days leading up to the big event. If the post just so happens to contain a short story, then it's a win-win, right? Next year, I will rehash the challenge (with some revised rules), and perhaps even complete it!
In NaNo-news, I'm finally just about done with plotting my novel for this year and I just can't wait to finally get started. It seems, now that I really think about it, that the rest of this year just happened so quickly and yet now that November's rolling around, the world decides to slow down and make it take forever to finally arrive. Funny how that works. Anyway, I've accepted some of those fun word-count-on-the-first-day challenges. Most notably the 5k in a day challenge. Which, honestly, I don't think I'll have an issue with, and might just roll into the 10k/first day challenge. But, that also means that while I'm busy writing my novel, I may or may not have a blog post for everyone. Perhaps once I'm satisfied with my progress for the day, I'll come here and sum up the day's fun little plot bunnies, and of course, update with my word count. Just thinking about the fun I'll have wrecking my novel's setting makes me want to get writing. November just can't come fast enough.
10/19/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 12 Days - "Beginning of the End"
Last night was one of the worst of my career. Why, you ask? Well, the undead had a pretty big part in it. The other reasons? You'll have to hear them to believe.
It started out, much like any other night; a cool breeze rushed through the city streets, as was a normal event for an autumn evening. The wind briefly shook the trees lining the park in which I was enjoying a short stroll, alone. You see, I'm not one for company or friends. Honestly, in my line of work, that's frowned upon. More on that later, though. I was dressed in a cloth hoodie and loose jeans - the standard fare for most people my age. Hands in pockets, I strode silently through the twilight hours, simply enjoying the scenery.
That's about when everything started going sour.
10/18/2010
NaNoWriMo Countdown: 13 Days.
Alright, so I'm going to give myself a reason to come back and update this blog, as well as get some writing done at the same time. My plan? For the twelve days leading up to November 1st, I will post a short story on the blog that may or may not be relevant to anything I currently have cooking up within this shattered dimension I call a brain.
Basically, this will be my NaNo before NaNo. My criteria for my little stories?
-One hour writing sessions.
-1575 word limit.
-Clear, concise.
-The story must either be able to be serialized into chapters or have a definite end.
-If the story ends up being a chapter, the story for the next day must tie in with the previous day's, so on and so forth.
-All stories/chapters will be posted at 8:00pm Eastern Standard. (Plus a 2 minute grace period for copy/paste/post lag.)
How will you know I only used one hour on this? Because I'm basically insane and actually want to have a challenge for myself to acclimate for the month ahead. Other than that, I'll be up front and honest if I begin before 7pm, otherwise the post will be in after 8:02pm, and you'll probably know anyway.
I'll also be accepting prompts for ideas as I'm sure I'll likely run dry before the (basically) two weeks is finished.
See you all on the other side and Be Happy - Python.
Basically, this will be my NaNo before NaNo. My criteria for my little stories?
-One hour writing sessions.
-1575 word limit.
-Clear, concise.
-The story must either be able to be serialized into chapters or have a definite end.
-If the story ends up being a chapter, the story for the next day must tie in with the previous day's, so on and so forth.
-All stories/chapters will be posted at 8:00pm Eastern Standard. (Plus a 2 minute grace period for copy/paste/post lag.)
How will you know I only used one hour on this? Because I'm basically insane and actually want to have a challenge for myself to acclimate for the month ahead. Other than that, I'll be up front and honest if I begin before 7pm, otherwise the post will be in after 8:02pm, and you'll probably know anyway.
I'll also be accepting prompts for ideas as I'm sure I'll likely run dry before the (basically) two weeks is finished.
See you all on the other side and Be Happy - Python.
10/15/2010
Rediscovering Old Favorites
I took a small peek through my game library to find something to play the other day, to find something rather interesting: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Now, this game was created by Bethesda Softworks in 2008* for Xbox, PS3, and PC, and I have had the pleasure of playing all three versions and comparing/contrasting all the visual differences. Now, no one should be offended by what I'm about to type - it should be rather blatant, actually, and unnecessary to say - but I believe that the best looking of the three is most definitely the PC version. Of course, this all depends on hardware, and that's a thing for perhaps another time.
However, it's continued beauty graphically aside, Oblivion has also aged well in another area I particularly love to see games flourish in: story. Add to this that Bethesda managed to actually merge gameplay and storytelling seamlessly, much like BioWare and it's fantastic lineup of RPGs, and Oblivion makes for one of, if not THE best game of it's year.
As I said, Oblivion has actually aged gracefully in terms of graphical quality; it was well ahead of its time, in my opinion. Almost the entire world is rendered at once, with minimal loading times between certain few areas (and of course, going inside/outside houses and dungeons), achieved by caching some of the data into the hard drive of whatever systems drives that particular copy. So, it's beautiful AND fast to render, which always quite impressed me.
All things aside, Oblivion is a great game, and if you haven't played it, I highly recommend that you do. It's simply an awesome experience.
*Edit: I totally meant '07.
However, it's continued beauty graphically aside, Oblivion has also aged well in another area I particularly love to see games flourish in: story. Add to this that Bethesda managed to actually merge gameplay and storytelling seamlessly, much like BioWare and it's fantastic lineup of RPGs, and Oblivion makes for one of, if not THE best game of it's year.
As I said, Oblivion has actually aged gracefully in terms of graphical quality; it was well ahead of its time, in my opinion. Almost the entire world is rendered at once, with minimal loading times between certain few areas (and of course, going inside/outside houses and dungeons), achieved by caching some of the data into the hard drive of whatever systems drives that particular copy. So, it's beautiful AND fast to render, which always quite impressed me.
All things aside, Oblivion is a great game, and if you haven't played it, I highly recommend that you do. It's simply an awesome experience.
*Edit: I totally meant '07.
10/10/2010
A Lesson for Aspiring Writers: The Importance of Plotting
Okay. Say you're a writer, working on a novel, short story, what have you. You're probably all ready to get set to writing your masterpiece story that you've been sitting on for years, so that you can expose it to the world at large, and you know exactly what you want of your story's beginning.
Now, stop.
Just take a moment before you set pen to paper or finger to keyboard. I'll tell you why: unless you've written something semi-professionally before, you probably also forgot one key part of a story - your plot.
Now, stop.
Just take a moment before you set pen to paper or finger to keyboard. I'll tell you why: unless you've written something semi-professionally before, you probably also forgot one key part of a story - your plot.
10/06/2010
On Being Sick, Among Other Things
So I sat here last night, thinking about what I should post to the blog in order to keep it up to date and all that. Needless to say, I drew a blank. And honestly, I'm still not sure what I should be talking about. I've mentioned NaNo this week, I've said pretty much everything that's even relatively important, and I'm left with nothing to really talk about. But that won't stop me from finding something, damn it.
I've recently come down with something that's causing me to cough mercilessly, and I can't stand it. Being sick sucks. Like, really. Not only do I have to contend with being an asthmatic, but now this. Argh. Oh well. Not much I can really do about it with me out of state for the rest of the week. Just gotta keep munching on those cough drops and hoping Robitussin will do the rest of the job.
Anyway, in creative news, I've worked a little on a new chapter of that long-neglected Warcraft fanfiction of mine, and sent what I wrote off to my co-author for him to finagle something respectable out of it, so now I wait for the return of my chapter so that I can put some finishing touches on it and post it up on the site.
For NaNo, October is definitely in full swing now, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about my novel's plot and how I can still make it better, even with only weeks before everything becomes a blur of caffeine and furious typing. For instance, my villains need a LOT of background work to get done before I'm truly happy with them. I've already gotten one's ambitions and such out of the way, but the other is still just that shadowy being in the corner, per se. When I get back home, I'll have to see what I can add to my notes about it.
And, for my project after NaNo, I still haven't been able to put thoughts on to paper (or screen, if you will), so that's still a far-off notion. Which is interesting, because I'm really into how it's fleshing itself out. I suppose I should let it do just that; let it work on itself. When it's ready, it'll let me know. I can't wait to start working on it, though.
With that, I've run the well dry, so if there is indeed anyone reading out there, thanks for stopping by!
I've recently come down with something that's causing me to cough mercilessly, and I can't stand it. Being sick sucks. Like, really. Not only do I have to contend with being an asthmatic, but now this. Argh. Oh well. Not much I can really do about it with me out of state for the rest of the week. Just gotta keep munching on those cough drops and hoping Robitussin will do the rest of the job.
Anyway, in creative news, I've worked a little on a new chapter of that long-neglected Warcraft fanfiction of mine, and sent what I wrote off to my co-author for him to finagle something respectable out of it, so now I wait for the return of my chapter so that I can put some finishing touches on it and post it up on the site.
For NaNo, October is definitely in full swing now, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about my novel's plot and how I can still make it better, even with only weeks before everything becomes a blur of caffeine and furious typing. For instance, my villains need a LOT of background work to get done before I'm truly happy with them. I've already gotten one's ambitions and such out of the way, but the other is still just that shadowy being in the corner, per se. When I get back home, I'll have to see what I can add to my notes about it.
And, for my project after NaNo, I still haven't been able to put thoughts on to paper (or screen, if you will), so that's still a far-off notion. Which is interesting, because I'm really into how it's fleshing itself out. I suppose I should let it do just that; let it work on itself. When it's ready, it'll let me know. I can't wait to start working on it, though.
With that, I've run the well dry, so if there is indeed anyone reading out there, thanks for stopping by!
10/03/2010
Thoughtful Redirection and Anticipation
I deleted the blog, and I un-deleted the blog. Not much to say about that, besides the fact that I can't reliably keep myself on a schedule if it isn't absolutely imperative to my way of life. So, I just hope I remember this thing well enough to update it when I will. Disregard all of that silly schedule nonsense a few posts back, and welcome to the new(ish) blog of mine. I've also wanted to take it upon myself to start up doing Let's Plays (if you don't know what these are, go check out ProtonJon or Chuggaaconroy on Youtube. They're both fantastic LPers.) I don't know when or how, but I'll eventually (probably) do it. My Youtube channel's the same as everything else of mine on the internet, surprise, surprise.
National Novel Writing Month is coming up yet again. In fact, we are now under 30 days until the events begin. "What events?" you ask? The events of locking oneself in a room for 30 days and writing a first draft novel. Of course, the locking in a room is an optional part of things, but I think that's the only way I'll actually win this year. Too many things I want to do, and not quite the time to do it.
As for that pesky job I've been chasing for about a month now, it's finally officially a wash. They made an excuse not to hire me and followed through with it. Not really surprising. Regardless, this means that eventually, I'll have to reenter the job search and fall flat again. Or, perhaps this time I'll succeed. Only time will tell.
In other news, I'm finally continuing my fanfiction - again - and hopefully I'll successfully finish it before I lose interest - again. At any rate, November's slated to be a big month for me, and my hopes are that I can do all that I've been wanting to. Now, off to plotting for NaNoWriMo!
National Novel Writing Month is coming up yet again. In fact, we are now under 30 days until the events begin. "What events?" you ask? The events of locking oneself in a room for 30 days and writing a first draft novel. Of course, the locking in a room is an optional part of things, but I think that's the only way I'll actually win this year. Too many things I want to do, and not quite the time to do it.
As for that pesky job I've been chasing for about a month now, it's finally officially a wash. They made an excuse not to hire me and followed through with it. Not really surprising. Regardless, this means that eventually, I'll have to reenter the job search and fall flat again. Or, perhaps this time I'll succeed. Only time will tell.
In other news, I'm finally continuing my fanfiction - again - and hopefully I'll successfully finish it before I lose interest - again. At any rate, November's slated to be a big month for me, and my hopes are that I can do all that I've been wanting to. Now, off to plotting for NaNoWriMo!
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