stress!

first of all, as I said I would do for our sign:

I know it's not exactly what I said I'd do for it, but it's something.  Huzzah!

Now onto the important stuff: I'm writing NaNo, and I've realized that the plots that my friends have come up with are a lot better than my plot.  Maybe it's because my backstory is more coherent than my actual plot, and has to be explained in more words (DEATH!  REGRET!  DESPAIR!  PARANOIA!), but still.  Tonight we're having a final plotting session and, with luck, I'm actually going to figure out what the heck I'm writing about.  Well, I KNOW what I'm writing about, but I don't know.  I know Storm and Eden and Melody are going to trump Jericho, who has lots of psychological issues and is trumped similarly to the biblical Jericho, except not actually because I have no idea how to do that.  But I need PLOT POINTS.  What drives the plot forward?  What actually happens to get Storm to Eden and Mel, and to get all three of them to the palace, and through a bunch of traps, a dungeon, and a whole lot else?
I don't know yet.
AAAAAHHHH!!!

Welcome, my friends, to the Writer's Process.

NaNoWriMo (and choir tour) Approacheth

In a mere three days, National Novel Writing Month, the Adventure of the Year, will begin.  The first four days will be a huge stress-fest, which I don't look forward to; however, once we get back from Choir Tour, I will be completely prepared to throw myself into my novel (and my homework; I need to get four hours of homework done every day, remember?), and all the other things that are going to be making demands on my time (though I may just skip out on some clubs altogether).  I am kind of terrified, but I am still going to do it.  That's how the best adventures happen, right?

Though I intended to blog daily during NaNo, I now realize that I will only be able to blog on days 5-30.  Consider yourselves warned.  I will blog daily, but only after choir tour.

Also, you may be wondering why I am blogging during the time I am normally in class.  This is because of Hurricane Sandy (otherwise known as the Slightly Lame Hurricane); classes are cancelled because of forecasted Heavy Weather.  Said Heavy Weather has not hit yet; my roommate and I went to the bank and to get contact solution, and then we went to Starbucks, and we were only mildly rained on.  The rain was consistent, sure, but it was still.  What is this heavy weather that is spoken of?

anyway, I am doing NaNoWriMo.  And I write longhand, which is going to be convenient during choir tour; when I get back... we'll see.

Right.  Homework time.

On Backstory

(I have to do homework soon, so I'm going to try to be direct in this).
You have a story, yes?  Your life, I mean.  You were born, then you did stuff, and now you're here.  Pretty simple, yes?
Naaaah.
Your story is what makes you - the little things that affect your choices later on.  That one time that you accidentally put lemonade mix in your hot chocolate and it tasted really good is the reason you now ALWAYS make your hot cocoa with a bit of lemonade mix.  (yes, this is somewhat biographical, and I do recommend it).  That other time you went rock climbing and pissed in your pants is the reason you now avoid rocks and the group of friends you went with.  Things like that.

Similarly, your characters have backstory.  They had moments where they were so scared they ran away and have never gotten over it, or they had such a bad experience with something else that they will go out of their way to avoid all things associated with it.  It is those things that make a person, wether or not they are part of a written story.
So give them a story before the story.  I didn't grow up in the same way my parents did.  Both of them moved around a lot, and the first time I spent more than three weeks away from home was when I went to college; other than that, I've lived in the same place my whole life.
But it's more than where they grew up.  It's the weird things, like lemonade in hot chocolate.  You don't have to put every little detail in there, obviously, but if you are going to make any character scared of anything, you need to give them a reason why, beyond 'they had a bad experience with it when they were younger.'  THIS IS THE TIME THAT YOU WRITE WHAT THAT BAD EXPERIENCE WAS.
With NaNoWriMo fast approaching, character writing becomes even more relevant.  The only excuse you have for not having a backstory is that your character is an amnesiac for 90 percent of the tale.  I'm still giving my amnesiac a backstory, though, because I still think it's an important thing to have.  It's a part of who she is and what she does, even if she doesn't know why she's so mad at the government or why she needs to find the King's advisor RIGHT NOW.

Though you don't have to include all the details (I wouldn't normally admit that I avoided bowtie pasta for years because I threw up after eating it one time when I was ten; I don't mention it because I'm not studying anything culinary and I don't intend do, and what sort of pasta I eat is not exceedingly important), include the bits that may be relevant.
And then throw in one or two "bowtie pasta incidents" for good measure.  They might be important.

Instructions, by Neil Gaiman

a friend of mine shared this poem on Facebook.  I think it's rather brilliant (but then again, it's Neil Gaiman; if he wrote it, it's probably brilliant).  Anyway, you could totally write a novel based on this.  But here it is.  Enjoy the awesome.

Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before. Say "please" before you open the latch, go through, walk down the path. A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted front door, as a knocker, do not touch it; it will bite your fingers. Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat nothing. However, if any creature tells you that it hungers, feed it. If it tells you that it is dirty, clean it. If it cries to you that it hurts, if you can, ease its pain. From the back garden you will be able to see the wild wood. The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's realm; there is another land at the bottom of it. If you turn around here, you can walk back, safely; you will lose no face. I will think no less of you. Once through the garden you will be in the wood. The trees are old. Eyes peer from the under- growth. Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She may ask for something; give it to her. She will point the way to the castle. Inside it are three princesses. Do not trust the youngest. Walk on. In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve months sit about a fire, warming their feet, exchanging tales. They may do favors for you, if you are polite. You may pick strawberries in December's frost. Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where you are going. The river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry- man will take you. (The answer to his question is this: If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to leave the boat. Only tell him this from a safe distance.) If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe. Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that witches are often betrayed by their appetites; dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always; hearts can be well-hidden, and you betray them with your tongue. Do not be jealous of your sister. Know that diamonds and roses are as uncomfortable when they tumble from one's lips as toads and frogs: colder, too, and sharper, and they cut. Remember your name. Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found. Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn. Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story. When you come back, return the way you came. Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid. Do not forget your manners. Do not look back. Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall). Ride the silver fish (you will not drown). Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur). There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is why it will not stand. When you reach the little house, the place your journey started, you will recognize it, although it will seem much smaller than you remember. Walk up the path, and through the garden gate you never saw before but once. And then go home. Or make a home. And rest.

character interactions and books

While in our local coffee shop today, a friend of mine found a book.  I don't remember what it was called, but it had this kind of sweet inscription in it from the author to a friend, dated 10/30/92 - it was something about how the author wanted missed the recipient and hoped one day they could see each other again (and how maybe the profits could get the friend a one-way ticket to where the author lived).  But there was also a post-it note in the book, saying something along the lines of, "read this, and then leave it somewhere for someone new to find it."

There's a story behind this, and I hope someone can find out what it is.  As for my friends and me, we bounced around the idea of having a journal or book to pass around during breaks (or even during the school year), and then leaving the last five or ten pages blank and leaving it in a coffee shop for someone to stumble across and have a little look into our lives and our voices.
Well, we decided maybe not a journal, because one of our friends is blind, so he couldn't exactly read the journal or write it, because none of the rest of us could read or write Braille.  We did, however, decide to start a Vlog - a video blog.  We all have nicknames that kind of reflect what we want to do with our lives.  For example, my roommate is Physicist, because my roommate is a physics major.  Another friend is Editor, a third friend is Writer, and the blind friend is Composer, because he's a singer/ songwriter, which is kind of cool.  We might bring in more friends, but the five of us were the only ones of our friends in the coffee shop today.
Though I love writing, I'm still undecided about what I want to do with my career, so I'm Wild Card.  I have a lot of things I'm interested in, and though I want to pursue writing, I know that is liable to change.  I might wind up as a business major to sell my knit goods.  I don't know.

But the point is, all of this was inspired by an inscription in a book, and a post-it note therein.  Though it's not a fantasy hook by any means, this is still a plot hook that could go a long way in any genre (except maybe cyberpunk or futuristic dystopian fiction where print books no longer exist).
So my challenge for you today is this:
Your plot hook is a dedication in a book, written by hand in hurried ink, saying how the author misses the recipient.  Where do you take the story from there, and what is the story behind it?

Doubts and Adventures

As NaNoWriMo draws closer, I have found myself giving thought to a lot of things.  Many of them are related to the actual writing of a novel; after all, you kind of need to have a general idea of what you want to do (or at least an idea of who's going to be in your novel) before you start, unless your name is Chris Baty.  But some of them are related to whether I'm actually going to be able to actually pull off NaNo this year.  Though I really want to, I have recently been struck by the realization that I need to do homework, and I need to keep my grades up so I can not flunk out of college.
Though I have a lot of homework, and I am going to be on choir tour for the first three days of NaNo, and I'm probably going to be stressed out until Thanksgiving break, I still want to try to do NaNo.  I really do.  I've started plotting and working on my characters and what I want to happen.
If I fail, nobody can say I didn't try, and I can have a new bit of fiction to work on during December.  Besides, what else am I going to do during the three week winter break?

Maybe I need to pull a BIlbo.  I'm scared, and I'm rushed into this, and I'm unsure if I want to actually do this, but I'm going to get sucked into it anyway and I'm going to go through with it.
For better or for worse.
And catchup is what December is for.
Now, I need to get in the habit of giving myself time to write during the week, and not just on the weekends.  And I need to make sure that can be a thing.
And I need to make sure I can suck all my friends into doing NaNoWriMo this year, too.


Dear Readers, what Wild and Weird adventures have you dragged yourselves into?

Renaissance Festivals and Chances at Revelry

I got back from my school's fall break about an hour ago.  While I was on break, I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
See, the thing about Renn Fests is that they're not entirely historically accurate (there's a bit too much emphasis on fantastical elements, and the relevant wardrobes are closer to the Dark Ages than the Renaissance, but, honestly, the Dark Ages Festival sounds like a contradiction), but they are still an excuse to dress up in ridiculous costumes and go around and spend all your money on henna and hair braids and bodices and such.  Though they're not entirely historically accurate, they are still great fun.

What is also great fun is to send your characters into situations where they have to dress up (bonus points if they are uncomfortable doing it).  Sometimes this is necessary - they have to masquerade as some of the Evil Henchmen in order to find something out or to enact their Brilliant Plan - but sometimes it's just fun.  You could be following one character's whim; you could implant a plot point there anyway just to be annoying or fun.  You could have them go to a festival for the sake of having them go to a festival.  It could be interesting to see how your stingy character reacts to exorbitant prices on bodices or weapons or something of that nature.  Or one of their companions might have to say what I said to my friend, "_______, that's the most fan-girl-y squeal I have ever heard from you, and it's over a sword." (I am not kidding; I actually said something like that on Saturday).
Festivals are also good plot points on any scale.  Information, relationships, characters, plot twists, random encounters, and the odd fistfight can all happen there, and I will be very impressed if you are able to incorporate all of those into that one day.

Until that day, however, farewell!  Homework awaits!

Writing Style

I have been mentioning this topic for a while, so it is time I do a post on it.

Obviously, writing style is important. A distinction should be made, however, between writing style and grammatical correctness:  Like a Tide Laundry Detergent commercial mentioned, "Style is an option; clean is not."
Similarly, WRITING STYLE is something that differs depending on who you read, because everyone's voice is different; even if Barnes and Noble classifies an author under specific genres or styles, the Vampire Kisses series is not written in the same style as the Twilight series, though they are both vampire romance novels.
However, GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is ALWAYS MANDATORY, unless you are writing a fan-fiction that you intend to be a bad thing on the Internet.  Grammatical correctness needs to be a requirement for any published novel or story, regardless of whether or not it was self-published.  Small things that are easily overlooked are excusable if they are few and far between; constant misuse of words and/ or misspellings SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.  Do not rely entirely on your computer's Spell Check, because it can be faulty - sometimes it will tell you to switch around a word or two that may affect the meaning.
I would like to point out that the phrase "I'm just a bad speller" is never an excuse.  If you ask your friends to read and edit your writing (make sure your friend is an English major or at least has some interest in literary quality), you can easily catch any errors.  Additionally, though you should BE AWARE of Spell Check, that does not mean it is your enemy.  Though it can be annoying at times and sometimes it can be wrong, it is frequently correct, and you should note when it is telling you something.

Writing style in and of itself is something that can be interesting to study.  Though it is not entirely the same thing as a writer's voice, the two are very similar.  The writer's voice is how you hear the narration as you read it; the writer's style is how the author writes it.  Style can be genre-specific (but not always), whereas voice is always subjective.

Really the only way to improve your voice and figure out what sort of style you want to use (even if it's one of your own invention) is to practice.  So go forth and write! :)

Plots

Plots are very important to a novel.  It can be anything, even a meandering journey of a person in high school or middle school or college.  It could be completely irrelevant to normal life.  It could only focus on a love triangle among a normal being and two supernatural creatures.  The point is, plot can fluctuate.  A lot.
Though your writing style can make or break your novel, your plot is probably what people are going to compare to other things (though your writing style is important in comparisons, too... but that's for another post).  For example, when I've noticed comparisons between the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series (or even Twilight and The Hunger Games), a main point that is raised is the plot - how Twilight lacks it, and how Harry Potter is abundantly rife with it.
I may lose a LOT of followers for this, but I will contest that Twilight does have a reasonable sort of plot.  Though I do not entirely like Bella (Sorry, Stephenie Meyer), she does participate in Plot.  How?

Twilight: trying to figure out who/ what Edward is.
New Moon: don't let Edward do stupid stuff.
Eclipse: Don't die, and don't let anyone get killed.
Breaking Dawn: protect your kids!

See?  That's plot!  Though the overarching plot is not something entirely to my taste, and all the action sequences only showed up in the climax instead of being spread out, it was not a terrible concept.  On the other hand, though the concept wasn't terrible, the execution may have been kind of lacking (I don't remember; the last time I read any Twilight book all the way through was in freshman year of high school; being a college freshman, it's been a while).

What the Twilight vs Every Other Novel debate raises is the difference of opinion.  What we can all gather from this is distinct evidence that, no matter how hard you try, you (and especially your novel) are not going to be able to please everyone.  Your novel may be popular with middle school girls and be scorned by the time they reach college.  Your novel might be considered the defining novel of a generation (well, if you write a multi-part series, probably).  Your novel might be rather obscure, and nobody might hear about it until some movie producer reads it, likes it, and decides to offer you a movie deal.  Your novel, like so many, may be rather good, but because there are so many novels out hitting every point on the "how good is this book" spectrum, it may go unnoticed despite the decent product you may have produced.

What draws someone to your book will probably be the little blurb on the back, and if you have a good plot to have a good blurb about, you'll have readers.  Also, if you have a publicity agent and a whole lot else.

But remember: your plot makes your novel.

On Finishing

Last night, at 12:17 AM, I finally completed a novel.  I don't know how many words it is, though I know it's about 300 pages (290-something, to be more precise) in my handwriting, and I don't know as of yet how well that translates to typed-up-ness. If I had to hazard a guess based on the infamous things called Math and Approximate Words per Page, the Math tells me it would come out between 103,000 and 115,000, but that seems way off to me.  If it's not way off, then I wrote more than I actually needed to, but that happened in November when I started the thing.
Also, cool thing: Chris Baty acknowledged the existence of the Ending of my novel.  I feel really cool.

Anyhow, onto the real thing:
Though I have written the last words of Romeo's journey in pen, the typing and the editing still needs to happen.  I need to see how many words I actually wrote, at the very least, but then I need to make it sound better than it already is (this is a very, very easy thing to do; it's the first draft, so it's its job to be kind of sucky).  I don't know what I'm going to do with it after I type it up and edit it a bit; maybe I'll edit it some more and then do something with it.  I really don't know.
I guess I could send it to a publisher, but I don't want to yet, because I'm a total amateur and I don't know what I'm doing.

But the significant part is over: the manuscript is written.  I haven't been through the entire process of writing/ editing/ editing/ sending a novel, so I don't know what the hardest part is.  But my personal major roadblock has been knocked down.  HUZZAH!