NaNoWriMo Day 13 & 14

I met my goal of 2000 words today. That is good.

I have just been writing little snippets of scenes (mostly because my brain is in a million different places right now). It seems to be working.

Short intense scenes are easy. Transitioning between those scenes not so much. I like to write vignettes. They seem more natural.

I tend to do the same thing when I'm reading. I skip the transition parts and go straight for the action. Most of the time this works fine. I've even skipped everything but dialog and the action tags that go with them. It just depends on the writer.

I'm behind on my word count, but it's still doable.

I've lost all sense of time and order in my novel. I write what ever bits call to me.
I skipped from the most recent event to the first days and then back to somewhere near the end. Later I am sure I will regret this but until then...at least it's working again.

What kind of plants do you think someone could find  being thrown out by people?
I have roses. People tend to throw them out when they stop blooming and go dormant. They should just cut them back.

Suggestions...Julia is building a garden of rescued and stolen plants.

Also Suggestions for a new name for her. I can't remember why I chose Julia, but it is beginning to annoy me.

Also, Also Name Suggestions for the Shadow Man would be appreciated.

NaNoWriMo Days 9, 10, 11, & 12

One would think that only working a couple days a week for training would give you plenty of time to write. I find it causes too much static in my brain. I need distraction. I worry every second of every day whether I will have enough money to feed myself tomorrow.

All of this worry leaves no real room for creativity. Sure I have pristine bursts of it, and they are beautiful and cherished. Unfortunately, writing takes more than bursts.

I have been distracted lately by two other stories I want to work on. One I have finished all my thoughts on for the moment and can continue on with my current NaNo. I at least have some ideas for next year or next month. We will see.

Every Year I make a soundtrack for my novel. These songs do not necessarily reflect my personal preference, but they do apply to the story and characters I am writing about. After the Official Soundtrack I throw in some other music for background noise, mostly instrumentals and high energy techno. It is all part of my process. I always need something to focus the distracting parts of my brain.

1. Porcelain~Better Than Ezra
2. Shimmer~Fuel
3. Fireflies~Owl City
4. Follow You Into the Dark~Death Cab for Cutie
5.Such Great Heights~Postal Service
6. Forever~Papa Roach
7. Black Velvet~Alannah Myles
8. Make You Mine~Heater Nova
9. Where the Wild Roses Grow~Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue
10. Her Diamonds~Rob Thomas

NaNoWriMo Day 8

Finished typing up all the bits I have handwritten.

I definitely like the way the plot can be pieced together from random things like picture captions. It helps with the crazy.

Somethings to be added to the story....zoo, botanical garden, day of the dead parade.

If you have any ideas about other things people write on or in feel free to suggest them.

I have:
journal entries
dream journals
the back of pictures
the front of pictures
margins of flyer/paper
brown paper bags
letters
mirror
envelopes

Other ideas:
calender
index cards
inside books
body parts
gathered stones
carved into trees
collage/art
post-its

NaNoWriMo Day 6 and 7= 11,729 words

Yesterday was hard. I don't even want to think about it right now.

Today was golden. I'm caught up to the NaNo word count, but not to my own. I should get there soon though.

I changed from third person limited to first person and everything fell into place. The story works so much better in first person. I have no idea why I tried to force it into 3rd.

I've added in some fun stuff: journal entries, song lyrics, letters, messages written to Julia and from Julia. It has made the writing more fun. The extras have also helped me to figure her out and to get a real sense of the world for the first time.

It's a cruel world, and she is tender girl.

Tomorrow I think she will go to the zoo or aquarium. I'll enjoy writing it and hopefully she will enjoy going.

NaNoWriMo Day 5--8371 words

Well, I'm glad I was a day ahead. I made my word count goal today, but I did not write that many words. Tomorrow is another day.


My usual writing time was taken up by work today, so tomorrow I will be getting up early and writing till noon. Then I clean up the house until work strikes again.

 Flashback:
Julia's in the hospital with burns. She will have some dream time stuff happening soon. The shadow man has disappeared for the moment, but he will be back. This is the beginning of Julia's descent into madness.


Next stop Crazy Town.


Tomorrow's goal is 10,000 words. I want to be at 12, 000 before I sleep. Wish me luck.

Day #4 Word Count 8151

No new cover today. The last one I made had the mood I want at the moment.

I made some breakthroughs today while writing (Thank you folks at the Black Rose Cafe).

I now know why Julia is so broken. I also know why the shadow man is so evil. This is good news because before I was totally lost. Writing sprints come in handy. It was great. The light in my brain turned on and everything worked out.

Here are some fun links (All Hail the Procrastination Gods)
Schizophrenia
Worst First Dates
Coyote's Siren Call-- My artwork
Water Bear Videos
Art Every Day Blog

NaNoWriMo Day #3 6034 words

A little late on the post. I was trying to finish up a section before I stopped to do something else, but I think it will have to wait to be finished something else is calling my name.

So I made some revelations today. Julia was too insane to work with, so I uncrazied her a little or a lot depending on your point of view. It's working better now.

The Shadow Man still needs a name. I discovered today he wasn't always a nightmare. Something happened and now both of them are broken.

Added a flash back and will probably do some more tomorrow.

I think at the moment I'm going to just work on the scenes I know I want to include, then I'll try stringing them together into a plot later.

This I hope will help me figure out the world a little better. There are so many things I don't know about it right now. It seems I'm as lost and confused as Julia at the moment. I wish she was more reliable.

Good Luck to all.

P.S. Another cover. I think this one is getting closer to what I want. We will see if I like as much tomorrow.

Second Book Cover and Another Working Title

Day 2 of NaNoWriMo

4,224 words and counting (I count days in terms of sleep. When I sleep today will be over.)

Things Googled for Novel today:

1. Symptoms of Schizophrenia
2. Topics to talk about on a First Date
3. Topics not to talk about on a First Date
4. Most Awkward First Dates
5. Best First Dates

Julia and Archer's first date was awkward like it should be, but it made me not want to write it at all. I spent most of the time thinking, "No, don't do that. Stop playing with your fingers. Look at each other." I got through it.

Now that's over I can move on to more fun sections: Enter the Shadow Man (play menacing music here)

The season of NaNo begins...

Julia is a girl lost in her own reality. Things have stopped making sense to her. She knows something is wrong but there are no explanations,at least not any rational ones.

Archer (whose name will probably change, but it works for now) is a street performer.He juggles and clowns about. He meets Julia at the boardwalk on a cold winter day and offers her his coat.

Shadow Man (who does not have a name, so much as a descriptive) haunts Julia's dreams. He terrorizes her and calls it love. He starts to bleed into her waking world or does he?

Facts I know

1. Julia has left her family and friends because something horrible happened. Real or imagined? I don't know. What happened? She hasn't told me yet.

2. It's winter which makes Julia uneasy. Why is she so upset about the winter solstice? I only know that she is scared of the dark and scared of sleeping.

3. Archer and Shadow Man are both real and very necessary. Are they the same person? Are they faerie? Why did they choose Julia?

Things I don't know

1. Whether Julia will ever share what happened to maker her leave everything behind.

2. Will Julia survive the winter? Will her madness kill her?

3. Do others notice the strange things happening around them? Do they notice Julia's strangeness?

4. What is the importance of the white dress?

5. Why does Julia notice Archer's smell so much? Why is the so smell important?

The First of Many Covers Until I Find the Right One