Old Stories, New Stories

The old:

• Made it to 50K of that NaNo novel! There's still more story to tell, but I'm proud that I've gotten the momentum started.

• Before fully unleashing WHAT HAPPENS IN WATER upon the world in query form, I felt like it needed another look. Enter Pitch Wars, in which writers applied to be mentored by agented writers/editors. I was lucky enough to be picked by Danielle Ellison, who was fantastic in her notes, multiple readings of the manuscript, pitch/query skills, and ability to discern precisely what could be strengthened.

• Thanks to that experience, I'm feeling confident and prepared going forward!

The new:

• Alas, it is time to plunge into new novels. I'm keeping that fantasy novel on the side for fun times while I channel my energy into a new YA contemporary story. The idea's been kicking around for some time, but thanks to an outlining/brainstorming session with the man friend, I know where it will go and how to get there.

• Except that "plunge" thing is tough, man. The abundance of writing advice on the Internet, while very useful, has also made me sit up tighter in my chair. I want the perfect words. The precise opening line, the desert unfurling beneath it. Symbolism and controlling metaphors. That big moment before page 50. And so on and so forth. Perfectionism runs rampant, you could say. But so it goes. I'll battle back.

Have you started any new projects this week? How do you keep your editorial self at bay?

NaNoWriMo: We're Halfway There!

(Definitely posted "Living On a Prayer" on my friend's Facebook wall as soon as I hit 25K.)

(And then didn't write the next day. Oops.)

So this is my third year NaNoing. Luckily this year is more similar to the first round (loved it) rather than last year's (took six days off in the middle, which shows how much fun I was having).

I'd like to think that I've learned a few things:

• I really like palindromes. When I achieve them, I let them linger for a while in the word count box. They're like my cellar door. 23532 -- so beautiful!

• Writing with company is indeed more fun. I've no problem writing solo, but as soon as I got my roomie on board (hi, Alex!), we've had solid late-night laptop sessions in the kitchen. Sometimes (many times), chocolate is involved. Also, a shout-out goes to my college bff, who's cranking out a sci-fi novel at lightning speed, yet still finds the time to send me encouragement!

• Adding in details to flesh out the story is a good idea in theory, but a pain in the arse for word count. I'm writing fantasy for the first time and need worldbuilding, DETAILS, all of that good stuff. So I returned to earlier scenes and typed in periwinkle blue. That way, I could distinguish which words were new, and add them to my total. This was all well and good, until you have 10 over here, 6 over there, 31 up there, 67 over there, and did you add that other blue section? I'm going to try to resist this urge until November's up. 

• Yes, Virginia, there is a National Poetry Writing Month. Looks quieter than NaNoWriMo, but no less excellent. Be there in April!

• Have fun with the story. Create strange obstacles. Arrive at places you didn't expect. You can tie it all together in December. 

What's your NaNoWriMo experience been like so far?

Happy Halloween: Facing Your Fears

I fear all sorts of things: heights (silly for a gymnast and now coach), plane crashes (though I can't count how many times I've flown), trees falling on my car (a real concern after the past couple of days), not achieving all of my goals (always a fun one).

But let's narrow down the list. How about writing-related fears?

Homeboy should join my gymnastics team.

1. Rusty poetry. Beyond the angsty journals of high school and college, I've had poems published. But I haven't dabbled in the poetic form in a while, and I'm afraid that I'm out of practice. That my poetry will come across as clunky and inauthentic. But you know what? I'm going to fight back. I miss it. (Is there a NaNoWriMo equivalent for poetry?)

2. Cold querying. Contests, blog hops -- all a good time. Actually sending out queries one by one? Gives me the chills, and I can't explain why. Rejection and criticism don't get to me (after you've spent years competing in a leotard, a panel of judges throwing an arbitrary number at you while scores of people watch, you tend to get over those things real fast). Maybe it's the fear that my query won't be top-notch and that I'll ruin my chances with *the* agent. 

3. Running out of ideas. Ideas come and go, but are they always viable? Nay. Even if I've got another story percolating, a few thousand words in a document, I worry that my current manuscript is it. That the well will dry up. 

Happy Halloween! What are your writing (or other) fears? How do you push past them?

NaNo Nation

Today, YA Highway posed the question: Are you going NaNo?

I've done National Novel Writing Month for the past two years. I had planned to take this year off, but when a few friends said that they'd be doing it, too, I changed my mind. 

So I'm in, for now. But I've learned a bit for this round. 

The previous two manuscripts I wrote felt exhilarating. I loved the first -- it may have been some of the most fun I've had writing. But it was about college students, and we know the awkward ground that early twenty-somethings face in the publishing industry.  

The second was my first attempt at completing pantsing a novel. No outline, no real game plan, nada. Go. After about a week, this drove me nuts. I pushed it to completion, but I'm not convinced that it should ever be read by someone else. This was the reason why I debated skipping 2012.

But should I take the full plunge: I've already started the story. I have a burgeoning outline, and a separate document dedicated to worldbuilding. I'm preparing to go the distance. 

My other goal is to not just say, "DUNZO" when I meet 50K (which may or may not have happened with the first novel, happily ignoring gaping plot holes). I'd like to go above and beyond in the first draft.

Will you be NaNo-ing? How will you prepare? 

Worldbuilding Wizardry 101

Over a week later, and I'm still jazzed about Viable Fantasy Idea. Yay!

But now there's work to do. It's time to build a world, man.

My brain as I storm through Wikipedia.

This requires probing thought.* Many a Google search.

*And contemporary settings absolutely require research, consideration, and care, too.

Luckily, I found an extensive list of worldbuilding questions to consider by Patricia Wrede on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America website. Some direct examples:

• When meeting someone, how are they greeted — wave, handshake, bow, some other gesture? How did the greeting gesture originate (example: shaking hands to prove one’s weapon hand was empty)?
• What are the variations in speech patterns, syntax, and slang from one social class to another? One occupation to another? One region to another? One race to another? (LANGUAGE FTW.)
• Is population shifting from rural to urban, south to north, mountains to coast, etc.? Why — invasion, plague, gold rush, etc.? What effects has this had on the places being left? The places gaining people?

And perhaps there will be maps to be drawn with calligraphy labels...

Regardless of genre, what has your worldbuilding experience been like? What have been the most important questions for you to answer?

A little bit of GUTGAA, a little bit of new genre

It seems that my brisk button-pressing skills have paid off, and my GUTGAA (Gearing Up to Get An Agent) entry is posted on Cassie Mae's blog. Yay!

...

Over a lingering breakfast of Cheerios (multigrain, to be precise), a new idea found me. That happens, of course, and many of them are rolled around and then discarded. Not viable enough to go the distance.

But this one, in particular, struck me:

1. It would be viable;

2. It would probably be more fun than my current WIP;

3. It would be fantasy.

I love contemporary (which is one reason I also write nonfiction), but almost all of the books I've read this summer are fantasy. There are worlds you can sink into. Perilous woods to explore and traps to sidestep.

But the Idea's very manifestation sends me into preemptive concern: what if I obtain an agent with my contemporary novel but he/she is not interested in a second, fantasy work? What if it's all been done before?

But you know what? Maybe I just need to write the beast and find out.

How about you? Have you made, or contemplated, a jump into a new genre?

If I Were An Agent...

As posed by the YA Misfits!

First, I'd cue up a little Beyonce.



Then I'd let the email queries roll in for...

• Dark or hilarious YA contemporary (a mix of both would be the ultimate).
• YA with a male POV.
• Historical (YA and adult) that's character-driven with high stakes, not merely, "Let us dwell on our super cool outfits and tight corsets and quaint terminology."
• Epic fantasy (YA and adult) with a rockin' protagonist whom I want to follow through adventures and misadventures.
• Adult contemporary that does not take place in NYC or any of its affiliates.
• Sports nonfiction with a great narrative (think Seabiscuit, but humans are welcome, too). 

However, I'd send my regrets for...

• Paranormal love between a human and a non-human creature. Just not my thing, you know?
• Anything that resembles The Hunger Games. Because THG rocked, and imitations won't cut it, man. 

What would be on your wish list?