Day #30 of Nanowrimo 2007

This is it! The final day of Nanowrimo 2007! Just about everyone on my writing buddy list has crossed the purple finish line of 50k! Congratulations to everyone!

I learned an interesting fact yesterday that I forgot to mention. This year there were 100,000 people that signed up to participate. 100,000 people! Holy Smokes, Batman! All that creativity is mind boggling to say the least.

For those that haven’t finished writing their novel there is NaNoFiMo for the month of December. And for those that want to take a break before beginning the editing process there is NaNoEdMo in March to consider.

And now for something completely different…

How Inspiration Hits:

I love listening to music while writing. I often create a playlist for specific characters or particular moods. For Blood Roses I created a playlist for Serenity, the main character. Because I like to share, here is the track listing (complete with the lyric that inspired its inclusion)that I listened to while writing Blood Roses.

Serenity Bishop’s Soundtrack

1. Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Very superstitious, the devil’s on his way

2. She’s Not There – The Zombies -
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she’s not there

3. So She Dances – Josh Groban
A waltz for the girl out of reach

4. A Matter of Feeling – Duran Duran
How does it feel when everyone surrounds you?
How do you deal? Do crowds just make you feel lonely?

5. Mad Season – Matchbox Twenty
Do you think you can cope?
You figured me out – that I’m lost and I’m hopeless

6. An Toll Dubh – Runrig
translated from the Gaelic:
On the other side of the door there will be no sun
Sitting at the table There will be no food and no wine

7. Lies – Evanescence
I’ll struggle on and on to feed this hunger
Burning deep inside of me

8. What Have You Done - Within Temptation
Why, why does fate make us suffer?
There’s a curse between us, between me and you
…
Would you mind if I killed you?

9. Oh, You Pretty Things – David Bowie
All the nightmares came today
And it looks as though they’re here to stay

10. Light of Heart – Eric C. Hache – (Instrumental)

11. Perfect Girl -Black Lab
And nobody told me i could be lonely
When i fell

12. Talk – Coldplay
Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle, you can’t find your missing piece?

13. You Think You Know Her – Cause & Effect
Bare your soul you’ll never learn
But don’t ask why
And you won’t get lied to

14. Have You Got It In You? – Imogen Heap
All at once
Not a whisper nor word
Then all at once

15. Lestat’s Recitative – Elliot Goldenthal – (Instrumental)

16. Damaged – Plumb
Dreaming comes so easily
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve known
True love is a fairy tale
I’m damaged, so how would I know

17. Stupid – Sara Mclachlan
everything changes
everything falls apart
can’t stop to feel myself losing control
but deep in my senses i know

17 songs in all. An hours worth of music listened to over and over again as I was writing. And you know what? I’m still not tired of listening to them even after hearing them non-stop for the month of November. Pretty amazing.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Duran Duran – The Chaffeur
via FoxyTunes

Day #29 of Nanowrimo 2007

Our Fearless leader at Nanowrimo sent out a call for donations today. With the donations they have received so far they have “broken even” for the year, but still lack the funds needed to make all of the grand improvements planned for next year. If you participated, please go and donate, any amount will work. And if you happen to be broke there are still some cool ways to help out. You can find them here. Every penny helps!

Happy Writing!

Music I should be writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Duran Duran – Proposition
via FoxyTunes

Day #28 of Nanowrimo 2007

Wrote a few pages today, feeling a bit more under the weather than usual. I didn’t work on White Roses as much as I planned for today, but that is okay.

Several more folks on my buddy list over at Nanowrimo have crossed the finish line! And with two days to spare!

The last of the pep talks arrived in my email yesterday. It was from Garth Nix. After the dust has settled I am going to post all of the pep talks here as a reminder.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Lacuna Coil – Falling Again
via FoxyTunes

Day #27 of Nanowrimo 2007

I present to you Nano-link salad:

To Boldly Nano…where you haven’t Nano-ed before.
Fiction Factor – an online writer’s magazine.
Preditors & Editors – Every writer should visit this site.
Jennifer Pelland – she writes science fiction, this is her blog.
Writer’s Digest
Behind the Name – Ever wonder what a name meant?
Magical World Builder’s Guide by Stephanie Cottrell Bryant
Personality Generator – Actually it’s just a really good list that defines the many different personalities that characters have.
Creative Writing Prompts – Yes, that’s just what it sounds like.
Project Gutenburg – A very cool idea.
U.S. Copyright Office – Do I have to explain this one?
Writers Net
Jennifer Jackson – She’s an agent who blogs about the biz. Very friendly and helpful tips for all writers who are searching for representation. (She reps Jim Butcher!)

Happy Surfing!
Happy Writing!

Music I should be writing to:
—————-
Now playing: David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
via FoxyTunes

Day #26 of Nanowrimo 2007

Muddled through to chapter four today, or what will be chapter four. I split chapter three in half after reading it over and over again wondering why I didn’t do that the first time I wrote it.

When I originally wrote White Roses it didn’t seem like it was short, but going over it there are only 13 chapters and the mss is a total of 142 pages. That is relatively short for a novel. Or it just seems like it to me.

Guess I’ll see how it goes after transcribing in the re-write.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Gregorian – Wicked Game
via FoxyTunes

Day #25 of Nanowrimo 2007

No real writing today. But I did get a confirmation that I my nano-work was the required length to cross into the purple winner bar.

I want to say congratulations to everyone that made it to the finish line early. And I want to also cheer on those that are still working toward their goal. It’s mighty pretty over here, but don’t fret if you find that you can not make it just yet.

Happy Writing!

If I were writing this is what I am writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Big Country – Remembrance Day
via FoxyTunes

Day #24 of Nanowrimo 2007

It’s been a rainy icky day all day today, one would think it would be be perfect for writing or transcribing. Not. I got as far as chapter three today then called it quits for the whole day. It could have been worse. I could have blown the whole thing off.

Tomorrow begins the first day of official word counting for Nanowrimo. I’m looking forward to seeing the purple glow of the winners circle.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: 30 Seconds To Mars – Echelon
via FoxyTunes

Day #23 of Nanowrimo 2007

Before tackling all those things I mentioned yesterday. I have to tackle transcribing White Roses back onto the computer. The only version that I have is my original hard copy that I printed when I turned it in for a final grade in college. All of my back-ups were corrupted or lost over time.

So I get to transcribe it. Not that bad really, as I can make small changes while I am transcribing and make notes where I need to make major changes.

I am currently 2,000 words into it and am remembering why I liked the characters so much. And I have an idea of where I can put Justine (the MC* of White Roses) into Blood Roses.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Gwen Stefani – U Started It
via FoxyTunes

*MC=Main Character

Day #22 of Nanowrimo 2007

Gobble gobble everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it. After making way too much food, and enjoying the company of family I am back to give an update. I know I finished Nanowrimo yesterday, but that doesn’t mean that I am going to stop writing about what I am doing during the last week.

Last night, before going to sleep, my husband asked me how I liked the rough draft of Blood and Roses. I decided right then that the title needed to be truncated to Blood Roses. I thought about the question for a moment and told him I liked it, but there was a lot of work to be done. We started talking about it and an hour and half later I finally went to sleep.

Here are some of the things that came up during our discussion:

• I have a thing for using Roses in my titles. This is the second book to do that. (The first is now being called White Roses.)
• I need to come up with a suitable name/term for certain groups within the story. I can’t keep using the ‘church witches’ and ‘vampires’.
• Going to change the city location of Blood Roses from Boston to Noct, a fictional city in New England that is the setting for White Roses, to give more continuity.
• I need to create a map of my fictional city. Anyone know about a program that I could use to do that? (I am not artistically inclined when it comes to maps.)
• There is potential for some short stories within the series.
• Go back and incorporate characters from White Roses into Blood Roses.
• Reworking the ‘Vampire’ concept-they are no longer going to be a ‘known’ entity by the general populace.
• Short introductions containing references to politics, history, etc of witches in the modern era need to be included into Blood Roses.
• Short introductions containing ancient references to ‘vampires’ for White Roses.
• Considering flipping titles. White Roses seems to be more suited toward Witches and Blood Roses toward ‘Vampires’.

We went into a lot of detail most of which I don’t remember after sleeping on it. But that is okay. I have a lot to work on just with what I do remember. And at least it gives me a place to start.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: The Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup
via FoxyTunes

Day #21 of Nanowrimo 2007

Today marks not only the end of week three, it is also the day I finished the 50k goal of Nanowrimo.

The week in review:
Day 15: 578 words written
Day 16: 1812 words written
Day 17: 586 words written
Day 18: 859 words written
Day 19: 2041 words written
Day 20: 5148 words written
Day 21: 4811* words written

Grand total for the week: 15,835

*I blame my husband for having finished today. He woke me up at four in the morning and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Why do I say blame? Because he woke me up from a sound sleep.

Now for a short break and then right back to work.

Happy Writing!

Music I am currently writing to:
—————-
Now playing: Philip Glass – Confession
via FoxyTunes