We had another great workshop tonight. nanosue did a (pre) story wall (shared 5-7 sentences from her novel and questions she wanted our help on); and then we did a writing prompt (12 minutes) and some of us shared our stories. Fun!

newmexicokid [8:02 PM]
Isn't amazing that NaNo is only about ten days away?

writingstudent [8:02 PM]
It's crazy!!! I'm determined to win this year!

melanisticmoon [8:02 PM]
If by amazing, you mean both stressful and exciting.

newmexicokid [8:03 PM]
Yes, that's what I mean :slightly_smiling_face:

[8:04]
So is everyone prepared? Anyone interested in getting feedback or help via a (pre) story wall exercise?

[8:05]
Or would people like to try a word war and a writing exercise to warm up the ol' writing muscles?

katmeow [8:05 PM]
I need more preparing for sure. Been trying to do a lot of research about the culture and location.

[8:06]
Afk for a bit.

writingstudent [8:06 PM]
word war?!!?!

[8:06]
You're speakin my language

newmexicokid [8:06 PM]
:slightly_smiling_face:

[8:07]
Someone should find us a compelling image or idea to inspire a writing exercise.

melanisticmoon [8:08 PM]
Is a word war supposed to be for your nano novel, or just a random writing exercise?

newmexicokid [8:08 PM]
It could be either. In the past I've done writing exercises using my novel's characters but in a different timeframe (like a prequel or a sequel).

[8:09]
Since I'm writing my memoirs this NaNo, I'll probably do something random (more directly inspired by the writing prompt)

[8:10]
A possible image prompt: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/images/dolphins.jpg (1MB)

writingstudent [8:10 PM]
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/surreal-places-salar-de-uyuni.jpg (157KB)

[8:10]
oo i like that one, tim!

newmexicokid [8:10 PM]
I like yours, Nelly!

nanosue [8:10 PM]
Hello, joining in belatedly.

newmexicokid [8:11 PM]
Hi, Sue

melanisticmoon [8:11 PM]
Ah, cool, I have a scene on a salt pan in my novel from last year!

newmexicokid [8:11 PM]
We're trying to come up with a writing prompt for a warm-up word war.

nanosue [8:12 PM]
OK.

alkamy [8:12 PM]
uploaded an image: Screen Shot 2016-10-21 at 8.10.41 PM.png
Add Comment

newmexicokid [8:12 PM]
Intriguing!

johnthetech [8:12 PM]
I want to write about Nikla Tesla so badly. I don't even care what.

alkamy [8:12 PM]
Yes Nikla Tesla!

johnthetech [8:12 PM]
*Nikola

newmexicokid [8:13 PM]
How long of a word war? 10 minutes? 15?

newmexicokid [8:13 PM]
waves to Ellie.

writingstudent [8:13 PM]
as long as it's not 11 or 13 i'm good

johnthetech [8:13 PM]
12!

newmexicokid [8:14 PM]
That's awfully even, John. :open_mouth:

nanosue [8:14 PM]
If we have time I did have questions related to my plot. (Said with great fear. . . .)

newmexicokid [8:15 PM]
Sue, let's tackle your questions first; then we'll jump to the word war.

nanosue [8:16 PM]
OK, I can copy and paste; Seven sentences that describe my novel:
Jean is the librarian and leader of a running group at a nature center which includes an Aviary. One morning, she finds a dead bird, and nearby, the body of a docent who volunteered at the Aviary. The detective assigned to the case doesnt see any significance in the dead bird, but Jean knows its from the Aviary and shouldnt be where it is. She teams up with newbie-runner Phyllis (a wise-cracking non-athlete) to work on the case. These very-different women develop a friendship as they work on the case, and Phyllis gets in shape. Jean is a widow, and one of their resources is a handsome man around her age who knows a lot about birds and works at the aviary.
This is intended to be a traditional mystery, part of a series with Jean as a constant, working with varying members of the running group to solve mysteries.
Questions: The realist in me says once people know there was a murder at the nature center, theyd stop coming! But I need my suspects to keep coming. . . .
Would it be OK to have my protagonist, Jean, and the newbie runner Phyllis alternate as POV character in chapters? But in a sequel, Id have it be Jean and a different runner.
Ive got employees at the nature center AND members of the running group. How many characters would it be realistic to mention?

johnthetech [8:17 PM]
Treasure

[8:18]
Treasure fixes all situational paradoxes. There was rumor of a hidden stash of money or gold coins or something. So people flock there to look for it.

newmexicokid [8:18 PM]
Great concept, Sue. I think that if a murder occurred somewhere, that attendance would indeed drop off; but it wouldn't collapse completely and perhaps the nature center would do things to try to bring people back, like hold special events for the nature center community to draw together over.

alkamy [8:18 PM]
I like alternating points of view

[8:19]
and I've seen it done effectively

nanosue [8:19 PM]
Great idea about holding special events.

newmexicokid [8:19 PM]
And your novel doesn't have to stay in the weeks immediately after the event--you can have the suspects come back a month or two down the road when things come back to normal.

nanosue [8:19 PM]
Alkamy, even though in my next book I'd have one different person alternating point of view?

newmexicokid [8:20 PM]
In fact, you would think that the police might be more interested in the near term but their interest/ability to investigate further would wane as time passes. So that might leave more space for Jean to operate in and more reason for her to actively get involved.

nanosue [8:20 PM]
A different runner alternating with Jean that is.

alkamy [8:20 PM]
Yes, check out the work of Tana French as an example. She follows the precise pattern you are describing.

nanosue [8:20 PM]
Great idea, Tim.

newmexicokid [8:20 PM]
Sue, I like your concept--the series format doesn't have to have the same POV characters (or even the same main character).

[8:21]
Fear receding? :wink:

nanosue [8:21 PM]
Oh, awesome, Alkamy. I'll check that out.

[8:21]
YES. I was afraid y'all would think my idea silly.

newmexicokid [8:22 PM]
It sounds like a great idea--a very accessible main character and an interesting angle for a mystery.

nanosue [8:22 PM]
And some people don't like traditional mysteries.

[8:22]
Thanks. Feeling better. :disappointed:

[8:22]
:slightly_smiling_face:

newmexicokid [8:23 PM]
You could even have Jean have a friend who is a retired cop who thinks that she should leave the sleuthing to professional (source of conflict and perhaps, though well meaning, he belittles her efforts).

alkamy [8:24 PM]
I think there's always a place for traditional mysteries. This sounds like classic domestic noir to me.

nanosue [8:24 PM]
I kind of figure the real detective-cop would be belittling her efforts and even acting like he suspects HER, thus giving her more reason to investigate.

alkamy [8:25 PM]
Yes, good angle, Sue. That ups the tension.

nanosue [8:25 PM]
Awesome, Alkamy. Thanks.

newmexicokid [8:25 PM]
You could play that as a twist; maybe he doesn't suspect her at first, but because of her efforts, she gains their suspicion.

nanosue [8:26 PM]
Yeah, like when she goes back to the scene of the crime (to look at that bird again) . . . .

alkamy [8:26 PM]
So what's the significance of the bird?

newmexicokid [8:27 PM]
Could be pinch point #1: http://www.writerstoauthors.com/how-to-outline-a-novel-seven-point-story-structure/
Writers to Authors
Seven Point Story Structure - Writers to Authors
In the Seven Point Story Structure you will learn what the seven story points are, where to place them in your story, and how they create story arc.

nanosue [8:27 PM]
It was poisoned and the victim suspected someone (the murderer) was causing problems at the aviary. . . .

[8:27]
Thank you. That'll be of great help.

alkamy [8:28 PM]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_Noir

nanosue [8:28 PM]
She was bringing the bird to someone with her suspicions when she gets poisoned, staggers around and drops it. Something like that.

[8:29]
Thank you both for those great resources. Glad I was brave and asked for your help.

melanisticmoon [8:29 PM]
Wouldn't the police find traces of poison on the bird, then?

newmexicokid [8:29 PM]
Perhaps the poison evaporates, so it was extremely toxic when the victim handled it but only traces remained by the time that the body was discovered.

[8:30]
(and the police wouldn't think to test the bird corpse)

nanosue [8:30 PM]
Yeah, if they took it and checked it. It's a pompous young detective who doesn't see significance to the bird. e.g. he thinks there's always going to be dead birds at a nature center! But Jean remembers seeing it at the aviary.

[8:31]
Good idea, Tim.

melanisticmoon [8:32 PM]
Do you know who the murder is?

nanosue [8:32 PM]
Yes. Not telling. And I know his or her motive.

newmexicokid [8:33 PM]
Another image prompt possibility (if we're nearing getting ready for a writing exercise): https://janitablog.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/800px-a_murder_of_crows_at_disneyland.jpg (134KB)

writingstudent [8:34 PM]
I can totally work with that one

nanosue [8:35 PM]
Any are fine with me.

newmexicokid [8:35 PM]
So how about 12 minutes?

nanosue [8:35 PM]
OK with me.

writingstudent [8:36 PM]
Anythings good with me! :slightly_smiling_face:

nanosue [8:36 PM]
Are we supposed to start?

newmexicokid [8:37 PM]
Sue, let's do this in the #wordwars channel

newmexicokid [8:35 PM]
Let's try it over in this slack channel.

[8:36]
Hi, Barb

[8:36]
https://janitablog.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/800px-a_murder_of_crows_at_disneyland.jpg (134KB)

[8:36]
12 minutes

[8:36]
Everyone ready?

writingstudent [8:36 PM]
I'm good when you guys are!

melanisticmoon [8:37 PM]
Ready.

alkamy [8:37 PM]
Ready

nanosue [8:38 PM]
Ready - Do I actually type here? or in a word document?

newmexicokid [8:38 PM]
In a word document

nanosue [8:38 PM]
Whew! Good.

newmexicokid [8:38 PM]
We'll copy and paste in (if we like) what we've written at the end for people's reactions :wink:

[8:38]
(not required, but can be fun)

nanosue [8:38 PM]
OK

newmexicokid [8:38 PM]
set up a reminder Stop writing in this channel at 8:50pm today, Central Daylight Time.

slackbot [8:38 PM] Only visible to you
:thumbsup: I will remind #wordwars Stop writing in 12 minutes at 8:50pm today. Cancel View existing reminders
newmexicokid [8:38 PM]
ready set go!

slackbot [8:50 PM]
Reminder: Stop writing.

newmexicokid [8:51 PM]
Everyone finished?

alkamy [8:51 PM]
Yep

nanosue [8:52 PM]
Yes.

johnthetech [8:52 PM]
Yep

newmexicokid [8:52 PM]
The old tree grew up through the middle of a large, cracked slab of faded grey asphalt, the black bark of its thick, gnarled trunk covered here and there with fuzzy, green moss. The tree's limbs were bare, even though this was spring. The broken land around the tree and the ruined road dipped and waggled, covered with scraggly, thorny bushes. Here and there, the trunks of other trees lay upon the ground in pieces or jutted out of the underbrush, jagged edges standing like fists against the grey, cloudy sky.
Rose took the time to make her way to the tree. Poisonous snakes were always a risk.
As she neared the tree, she became Aware of eyes upon her.
Closing her own momentarily, she saw them in her mind. A murder of crows. She hadn't noticed them during her hike out to this dead tree. They had been careful too.
The glare of their attention pinned her here. She wouldn't be able to wink out, even if she could retrieve the Thorn from the tree. If it was even here to begin with.
She contemplated walking past the tree, but one of them Spoke.
"It's no use, child," the crow said, its voice sounding like that of her grandmother.
Rose knew that this might be the end of her all too brief life's journey, but she did not even sigh as she turned to face the crow, startlingly near her on a jagged tree stump.

writingstudent [8:52 PM]
I love it!

newmexicokid [8:53 PM]
Thanks, Nelly!

nanosue [8:53 PM]
Love it. Good description and really makes me want to know more about Rose and why this might be near the end of her life.

johnthetech [8:53 PM]
Eureka! He almost chuckled to himself after saying it. Do people really say eureka when they discover something new and exciting? Indeed they do apparently. Now he had discovered two things in one night. Of course the semantic exclamation of victory over his scientific block paled in comparison to his actual discovery just moments before.
Had he really done it? Of course hed have to check, double check, triple check, and get outside verification and authentication over his discovery, but that didnt stop him from congratulating himself on a job well done. There that was better. Much more proper for a man of his stature to give himself a minor congratulatory pat on the back than to exclaim out loud like a schoolboy discovering a new toy. If he was going to present his findings to the National Institute of Sciences in the autumn, then hed have to up his game. While methodical and stuffy, he couldnt hold a candle to the unemotional council when it came to proper behaviors. Their icy stares and absolutely blank faces would wreak havoc at the card tables. Theyd have the same expressions for when something was a flop as they would for a presentation of this magnitude. It was better to just go with it.
What to do first? Well, that was obvious. Write down everything that had happened in the last 20 minutes. Thats when the magic happened. No! No magic here. Just strict and disciplined science. Hed been working on this project for months. An application of chemicals here. A smidge of nature there. Increasing and decreasing in quantity until there could be no doubt of the mixtures perfection. Then began two weeks of heating. Over and over again for two straight weeks to various temperatures. He knew that he would find the right combination to unlock the secret he had been searching for his whole life. And now he was ready. There was no doubt in his mind Nikola Tesla had finally made the perfect sandwich.

newmexicokid [8:54 PM]
Thanks, Sue. It was hard to start with a description (I usually focus on dialogue).

alkamy [8:54 PM]
That's great, Tim. Love your use of capitals and the evocative language

newmexicokid [8:54 PM]
Thanks, alkamy

newmexicokid [8:55 PM]
laughs.

newmexicokid [8:55 PM]
Great ending, John!

nanosue [8:55 PM]
Haha! Yeah I wasn't expecting that.

johnthetech [8:55 PM]
i added the last sentence for the lolz.

newmexicokid [8:56 PM]
The rest of it was well done too--it made the ending really stand out.

nanosue [8:56 PM]
OK, then it really DOES make me want to know what the secret substance is. Good writing.

writingstudent [8:57 PM]
That ending was too good- love it

nanosue [8:57 PM]
Belinda picked up her paint brush and dipped it in black paint. She drew the twisted branches of a tree, branch by branch. Then she picked up a smaller brush and painted smaller branches.
This is like my life, she thought. Everything is all entwined together and I cant seem to break away from any of it. Furiously she continued adding branches until one could almost realize it was a tree she was painting.
Finally she picked up the smallest brush and added nest-like twigs to the smaller branches.
What if I add some REAL nests? she thought, adding a few in.
I might as well add some birds. But would they even BE in a tree with no leaves? I know nothing about birds.
As she continued to paint, she realized, A bird can fly away from that WHOLE mess. Maybe I can fly away from my whole mess of a life.
As the painting took shape, her husband John walked in.
What is THAT silly-looking thing youre painting? he said.
It may be silly-looking to you, but its like a muse for me.
Hee, hee, he laughed. Youre on your own planet, arent you?
She got up and left the room. Could she make her dream happen? How?
Here she had her husband, her job as an office manager, her parakeet. Her Mom lived nearby. Could she really just leave her whole messy life behind and fly away?
She didnt have the ANSWERS yet but that was the day her plan began to take shape.
She had a small bank account in just her name and started adding money to it. She looked into

newmexicokid [8:58 PM]
Wow--great story, Sue. I love the character interactions and how Belinda gets inspired by her painting (very nicely done).

nanosue [8:58 PM]
Thank you much.

alkamy [8:59 PM]
I like how the painting is a metaphor for her life

nanosue [8:59 PM]
Thanks.

johnthetech [8:59 PM]
Art is life and life is art. Great story.

nanosue [8:59 PM]
Much appreciated.

newmexicokid [8:59 PM]
A bit scary from a blindsided husband perspective, but very good character motivation.

nanosue [8:59 PM]
Haha. Happily married here - not leaving my dear hubby behind.

newmexicokid [9:00 PM]
:slightly_smiling_face:

alkamy [9:00 PM]
Something had scared the birds. They all took flight just before Marissa stepped into the clearing. She was certain that it was not because of her. Someone else must be here, ahead of her on the path.
The birds landed in a gnarly old oak tree which was strangely bereft of its leaves. The other trees surrounding it were in stark contrast, still sporting the bright colors of fall, brilliant even on this gloomy day. The birds--a murder of crows-- were agitated still. Sqwaking and unsettling on their perches. Marissa had frozen in place as soon as she heard them taking flight. Now, she stepped forward, carefully choosing each footstep with much deliberation.
She found herself thinking about the man on the motorcycle who had been following too close behind her on the way to the forest preserve. He had tailgated her through to the end of town and then angrily sped past her when she turned off at the forest preserve. She tried to get him out of her mind. He was just there because he had unsettled her, she told herself. She needed now to turn her attention to missing woman, Cassandra Dean.
Cassandras husband had been insistent

newmexicokid [9:02 PM]
Very evocative scene, Kira. I like how you frame the unfolding action and get through that to the core of the story.

nanosue [9:02 PM]
Scary! Good suspense. And I like that the crows were in a lifeless tree. Adds to the atmosphere.

newmexicokid [9:02 PM]
Yes, the atmosphere is great!

newmexicokid [9:02 PM]
welcomes back Ellie.

alkamy [9:02 PM]
Thanks!

[9:03]
I'm impressed how cogent everyone is a 12 min exercise like this!

nanosue [9:03 PM]
Really creepy about the man on motorcycle, too.

[9:03]
Yeah, and our stories are all quite different.

newmexicokid [9:04 PM]
Yes, I thought he was going to step out at that point and surprise Marissa.

nanosue [9:04 PM]
Still might, right, Alkamy?

alkamy [9:04 PM]
Absolutely. He will in awhile. Once you've forgotten about him.

newmexicokid [9:05 PM]
Nelly? Molly? Want to share your stories?

nanosue [9:05 PM]
Awesome.

melanisticmoon [9:05 PM]
No thanks.

newmexicokid [9:05 PM]
Okay, no pressure. :slightly_smiling_face:

writingstudent [9:05 PM]
I honestly scrapped things at 10 mins in

newmexicokid [9:05 PM]
:open_mouth:

[9:06]
Well, that's why we do these writing exercises--work off the rust and to get ready for NaNo!

[9:06]
Any other (pre) story walls?

nanosue [9:07 PM]
It was a fun exercise. Good image to get us going. I might be able to incorporate something from that in my novel.

melanisticmoon [9:07 PM]
Yeah, same here.

newmexicokid [9:08 PM]
We used to do writing exercises like these every week in our old jabber chat room.

nanosue [9:08 PM]
Glad I'm joining in this year.

writingstudent [9:09 PM]
pre story wall?

newmexicokid [9:09 PM]
Share 5-7 sentences that describe your novel idea; and ask questions you'd like feedback on.

[9:10]
A full story wall would take maybe 10 minutes to walk through and then another 25 minutes or so to get feedback from folks. We do these at the end of the Journey meetings now. They can be very helpful post-NaNo to straighten out plots, etc.

writingstudent [9:12 PM]
Gotcha! when is the next time we are having an online meeting? i can have something done for then :slightly_smiling_face:

newmexicokid [9:12 PM]
When would folks like to have a next online meeting?

[9:13]
Sunday evening? Monday?

alkamy [9:13 PM]
Those work for me

writingstudent [9:13 PM]
Sunday is probably better for me!

nanosue [9:13 PM]
They're both OK for me.

newmexicokid [9:13 PM]
Let's do Sunday at 8 pm then.

writingstudent [9:14 PM]
sounds awesome!

nanosue [9:14 PM]
Got it. Thanks everyone.

newmexicokid [9:14 PM]
Thanks! I enjoyed this.

alkamy [9:14 PM]
Thanks everybody!

new messages
writingstudent [9:15 PM]
thank you guys!