In previous years I have written fantasy and science fiction novels (well, mostly fantasy; just one true science fiction). This year, despite having three or four good fantasy novel ideas, I will be writing my memoirs (my daughter requested this since she wants to know my life stories).
I'm thinking of doing this as a series of letters to her. Looking forward to tomorrow's story wall party in Glen Ellyn to get a better idea of how I should structure things.
I still don't know what I'm going to do this year. Do I finish one of my 3 started manuscripts or start on this new idea I have rolling around in my head?
My first 2 are romance. My 3rd is a new adult finding yourself kind of story.
The new idea I have is to tell the story of a group of women who met by chance and became friends and their life journeys over a 5-10 year time period.
I just can't figure out which I need (want) to focus on right now. My life is sheer chaos at the moment so I may take the easier way and (hopefully) finish something I've already started.
I'm bummed I couldn't make it yesterday but I didn't want to infect all of you with my illness that has been making me crazy. haha.
Sorry to hear you've been ill, Paige. We're looking to schedule an online chatroom workshop of some sort soon, so maybe that will help.
Usually I find that some discovery writing can help let me know whether there is something there in what I'm planning to write. Maybe you should try some pre-NaNo writing of some prequel scenes to give you insight on which you want to do.
Another thought is to give some details of each and have folks here vote on what they want to see. Your reaction to that vote might also be revealing.
Hi Tim. Thanks. No big deal, it is just a cold and I think strep throat but I certainly didn't want to pass it on.
I'll have to give both of these ideas a try. I'm being way too lazy about writing for the last year so this isn't a bad plan even if it is just to get me back in the swing of things. I appreciate your advice. :)
Some shorter stories might be happening this year. (Aiming for two novellas instead of one novel.) If I keep the things I'm working on shorter, there's more chance that I'll be able to control the end product and not have something that's such a mess I never want to edit it.
The first project is just a joint slice of life story with my friend. We're each taking one character and writing their lives together from their perspective; some shared memories that they did together, told from their own interpretations, and some memories that the other doesn't know about. Not only do the characters not know, but my friend and I aren't telling each other everything being included or thoroughly hashing out character motivation, etc. We're hoping it makes an authentic, tug-on-the-heartstrings story. Or maybe it'll make a mess. Who knows! That's half the fun.
My main project is going to be a piece about addiction. It's horror based, though less of the jump scare type of horror and more the 'just might happen and that makes your skin crawl' type of horror. Solidly grounded in realism, with a few elements that wouldn'tactuallyhappen just for the tension and plot. Essentially, non-descript, Everyman character is going to wake up in a room that has no exit. After the panic of finding one's self in such a predicament, there will be a voice over the speaker there telling them that in order to save their life (the life of the one speaking, not the character in the room) they must walk over to the only table in the room and use the drugs that are laid out there. Everyman, a recovering addict, is clearly dismayed by this. When they eventually do start to use, the voice over the speaker eventually changes their story to say that they have tostop, in order to save their own life.
The general goal is to take something that we over avoid talking about and thinking about--e.g., addiction--and make it the focal point. By highlighting the fact that I'm giving the character 'a choice', it speaks to the idea that many people have about addiction. Since many assume itis a choice. But controlling the environment and putting the character in a room they literally cannot get out of highlights the fact that, in the end, addiction isn't a choice.
We'll see what comes of it all. I'm still working on the writing style I want to use for both, and fiddling with the POV for the main idea. High hopes are had. At least for now--ask me again come November.
I still don't have a 100% idea what i plan to write...as i have 5 stories that are still W.I.P's (even my first story from 2 nano's ago).
I can re-write a sailor moon fan fic so that it's more a novel for the masses and not "a story that will only make sense if you know sailor moon" It's a story about what happens when the past is changed in irrevocable ways but despite that change, true love never dies
i could write the pre-quel to that fan fic because i felt it needed it so that people weren't confused in said story as to why things were happening. It didn't seem to fit in with the main story and i felt it needed it's own book. It tells the story about what LEAD up to the time travel that changed the past. So far, it's only in my notes journal and i only have two characters planned out and that's it.
i could continue the first nano story i ever wrote about a Princess's road to the throne and how it's riddled with an emotionally abusive mother who won't let her be her true potential, a father who is more on the war lines than at home where he is needed, and how the crippling anxiety shapes her path and the path of the entire kingdom.
i could continue last year's nano about a girl with a terminal illness who moves into a house...a house where the previous occupant never left. in what would have been an eerie haunting...turns out to be suprizingly not as the apparition in the home goes from being an evil spirit to "ok, this girl isn't so bad and she's going through some tough shit...i should cut her some slack" and thus, a weird friendship is born where the ghost leaves her reminders in lipstick about doctors appointments....moves furniture so the girl won't trip over a chair when carrying laundry....staying up late to chat via the ouiji board
or my last story....that i started writing back in may when i was on a 4 hour flight to Los Angeles....this one has no direction except the 5 pages about a plump/chubby filipino bisexual and the crazy family she has to deal with...and an old girl friend who pops back up in her life
i am leaning more toward that LAST story only because...to figure out if i wanted to continue the OTHER stories...it meant reading anywhere from 20k-50k in words to re-remember what i wrote about and decide if i want to continue...whereas...my last story is only 5 page...but then again. that last story seemed like a real hoot...as i can also pull culturally from my own life living with a filipino family...and let me tell you...my family can be HILARIOUS.
what do you guys think? x_x the kick off party is in a week...and nano starts in a week-ish and a half...and i should probably figure out what to write!
I'll be a story in your head. But that's OK:We're all stories, in the end.Just make it a good one, eh?
Well I was planning on writing three or four installments to my NextGen Kids Adventures. These are back stories for my larger sci fi Legacy Rising series and focus on the experiences of children (some are main characters in my series while other stories are set in my universe and feature the world from kid's perspectives).
But one of my daughters feels I've left the series hanging and wants me to continue with the series. <sigh> What is that saying about pleasing all of the people all of the time? So, now I'm reconsidering my month's strategy and may write one of the NextGen Kids Adventure stories and then returning to the series. I think I have one novel to wrap up the series narrative. (I may just be reluctant to finish the series.)
Either way I go, the problem I face is I have too much material to write in a month. Nice problem to have.
It seems like I'll be going back to the world I created for my 2014 novel I won't be following the same main characters but I have so much world building done for it that I can do a totally separate story. What exactly its gonna be I'm still debating. It might be witches. I might follow the adventures of a minor character from the first book who appeared for exactly one scene but has a terrible amount of potential. It really depends on if I feel like the latter is something long enough for Nano or if its better suited to a short story.
My project for this year is a romance about a romance novelist who has a second chance romance with the guy she spent spring break with fourteen years ago. The difference? He's now one of the biggest movie stars int he world.
I'll be dueling my creative side for some dirty romantic dealings. Looking forward to really cracking the whip in November! See everyone on November 1st.
I have my greatest success with fantasy stories, mainly because I can apply personal experiences with video games and Camping,so I am going for another.
The heroes of my story are a small army of young men who fight monsterous versions of animals that plague the outskirts of the kingdoms(vampire chickens and rabid were-goats). But they approach this task with the same seriousness and professionalism of Boy Scouts going camping for the weekend.
The villain is an immortality seeking wizard who has been creating these creatures to distract the kingdoms from his activities and power grabs.
There is nothing like being sneaky at work when 2 of your other co-workers called off...and the work load is slow...so you open ms word and FINALLY start typing. Unfortunately, we don't have access to internet...so...i couldn't email myself a copy so i could continue at home...and i printed and closed the document and forgot to check the word count!!!
but...It looks like fantasy. A mix between fushigi Yuugi (where the character gets sucked into a book)...some sailor moon aspects, Raye Earth aspects. etc. I thought it would be neat to look at all the stories/manga i've read and pull small bits of plit and see how i could make them work together. I liked a plot device from this manga, and that manga...and voila! an idea was forming.
Kind of how lie Marissa Meyer liked the idea of a lost princess (very sailormoon-ish) and she loved fairy tales...and thus, lunar chronicles was born!
My story is about a gender fluid character that discovers a book in her grandmother's attic after her passing and upon opening the book. she gets sucked in to a different world and it becomes a quest to return home with the help of a Guardian, a hindrance from a posessive princess (or prince...i can't decide what works best)...all while discovering who she really is and the secret her grandmother never shared with the world.
I am trying to include as much LGBTQAP as i am able...just because i have so many friends along the spectrum and it would make me happy to have them represented in a positive way!
I'll be a story in your head. But that's OK:We're all stories, in the end.Just make it a good one, eh?
In previous years I have written fantasy and science fiction novels (well, mostly fantasy; just one true science fiction). This year, despite having three or four good fantasy novel ideas, I will be writing my memoirs (my daughter requested this since she wants to know my life stories).
I'm thinking of doing this as a series of letters to her. Looking forward to tomorrow's story wall party in Glen Ellyn to get a better idea of how I should structure things.
What are you planning to write?
I still don't know what I'm going to do this year.
Do I finish one of my 3 started manuscripts or start on this new idea I have rolling around in my head?
My first 2 are romance. My 3rd is a new adult finding yourself kind of story.
The new idea I have is to tell the story of a group of women who met by chance and became friends and their life journeys over a 5-10 year time period.
I just can't figure out which I need (want) to focus on right now. My life is sheer chaos at the moment so I may take the easier way and (hopefully) finish something I've already started.
I'm bummed I couldn't make it yesterday but I didn't want to infect all of you with my illness that has been making me crazy. haha.
Sorry to hear you've been ill, Paige. We're looking to schedule an online chatroom workshop of some sort soon, so maybe that will help.
Usually I find that some discovery writing can help let me know whether there is something there in what I'm planning to write. Maybe you should try some pre-NaNo writing of some prequel scenes to give you insight on which you want to do.
Another thought is to give some details of each and have folks here vote on what they want to see. Your reaction to that vote might also be revealing.
--Tim
Hi Tim. Thanks. No big deal, it is just a cold and I think strep throat but I certainly didn't want to pass it on.
I'll have to give both of these ideas a try. I'm being way too lazy about writing for the last year so this isn't a bad plan even if it is just to get me back in the swing of things.
I appreciate your advice. :)
Some shorter stories might be happening this year. (Aiming for two novellas instead of one novel.) If I keep the things I'm working on shorter, there's more chance that I'll be able to control the end product and not have something that's such a mess I never want to edit it.
The first project is just a joint slice of life story with my friend. We're each taking one character and writing their lives together from their perspective; some shared memories that they did together, told from their own interpretations, and some memories that the other doesn't know about. Not only do the characters not know, but my friend and I aren't telling each other everything being included or thoroughly hashing out character motivation, etc. We're hoping it makes an authentic, tug-on-the-heartstrings story. Or maybe it'll make a mess. Who knows! That's half the fun.
My main project is going to be a piece about addiction. It's horror based, though less of the jump scare type of horror and more the 'just might happen and that makes your skin crawl' type of horror. Solidly grounded in realism, with a few elements that wouldn'tactuallyhappen just for the tension and plot. Essentially, non-descript, Everyman character is going to wake up in a room that has no exit. After the panic of finding one's self in such a predicament, there will be a voice over the speaker there telling them that in order to save their life (the life of the one speaking, not the character in the room) they must walk over to the only table in the room and use the drugs that are laid out there. Everyman, a recovering addict, is clearly dismayed by this. When they eventually do start to use, the voice over the speaker eventually changes their story to say that they have tostop, in order to save their own life.
The general goal is to take something that we over avoid talking about and thinking about--e.g., addiction--and make it the focal point. By highlighting the fact that I'm giving the character 'a choice', it speaks to the idea that many people have about addiction. Since many assume itis a choice. But controlling the environment and putting the character in a room they literally cannot get out of highlights the fact that, in the end, addiction isn't a choice.
We'll see what comes of it all. I'm still working on the writing style I want to use for both, and fiddling with the POV for the main idea. High hopes are had. At least for now--ask me again come November.
I still don't have a 100% idea what i plan to write...as i have 5 stories that are still W.I.P's (even my first story from 2 nano's ago).
i am leaning more toward that LAST story only because...to figure out if i wanted to continue the OTHER stories...it meant reading anywhere from 20k-50k in words to re-remember what i wrote about and decide if i want to continue...whereas...my last story is only 5 page...but then again. that last story seemed like a real hoot...as i can also pull culturally from my own life living with a filipino family...and let me tell you...my family can be HILARIOUS.
what do you guys think? x_x the kick off party is in a week...and nano starts in a week-ish and a half...and i should probably figure out what to write!
I'll be a story in your head. But that's OK:We're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?
Well I was planning on writing three or four installments to my NextGen Kids Adventures. These are back stories for my larger sci fi Legacy Rising series and focus on the experiences of children (some are main characters in my series while other stories are set in my universe and feature the world from kid's perspectives).
But one of my daughters feels I've left the series hanging and wants me to continue with the series. <sigh> What is that saying about pleasing all of the people all of the time? So, now I'm reconsidering my month's strategy and may write one of the NextGen Kids Adventure stories and then returning to the series. I think I have one novel to wrap up the series narrative. (I may just be reluctant to finish the series.)
Either way I go, the problem I face is I have too much material to write in a month. Nice problem to have.
TRRDEDEAN
AKA Dave
It seems like I'll be going back to the world I created for my 2014 novel I won't be following the same main characters but I have so much world building done for it that I can do a totally separate story. What exactly its gonna be I'm still debating. It might be witches. I might follow the adventures of a minor character from the first book who appeared for exactly one scene but has a terrible amount of potential. It really depends on if I feel like the latter is something long enough for Nano or if its better suited to a short story.
Evil is not in the ends but in the means.
Hi, everyone!
My project for this year is a romance about a romance novelist who has a second chance romance with the guy she spent spring break with fourteen years ago. The difference? He's now one of the biggest movie stars int he world.
Mary Frances Gualandri
Romance Author
I'll be dueling my creative side for some dirty romantic dealings. Looking forward to really cracking the whip in November! See everyone on November 1st.
I have my greatest success with fantasy stories, mainly because I can apply personal experiences with video games and Camping,so I am going for another.
The heroes of my story are a small army of young men who fight monsterous versions of animals that plague the outskirts of the kingdoms(vampire chickens and rabid were-goats). But they approach this task with the same seriousness and professionalism of Boy Scouts going camping for the weekend.
The villain is an immortality seeking wizard who has been creating these creatures to distract the kingdoms from his activities and power grabs.
There is nothing like being sneaky at work when 2 of your other co-workers called off...and the work load is slow...so you open ms word and FINALLY start typing. Unfortunately, we don't have access to internet...so...i couldn't email myself a copy so i could continue at home...and i printed and closed the document and forgot to check the word count!!!
but...It looks like fantasy. A mix between fushigi Yuugi (where the character gets sucked into a book)...some sailor moon aspects, Raye Earth aspects. etc. I thought it would be neat to look at all the stories/manga i've read and pull small bits of plit and see how i could make them work together. I liked a plot device from this manga, and that manga...and voila! an idea was forming.
Kind of how lie Marissa Meyer liked the idea of a lost princess (very sailormoon-ish) and she loved fairy tales...and thus, lunar chronicles was born!
My story is about a gender fluid character that discovers a book in her grandmother's attic after her passing and upon opening the book. she gets sucked in to a different world and it becomes a quest to return home with the help of a Guardian, a hindrance from a posessive princess (or prince...i can't decide what works best)...all while discovering who she really is and the secret her grandmother never shared with the world.
I am trying to include as much LGBTQAP as i am able...just because i have so many friends along the spectrum and it would make me happy to have them represented in a positive way!
I'll be a story in your head. But that's OK:We're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?