It turns out I am writing another novel in a month. This time it's a suspense sort of thing.
The basic premise is there are these two guys, best friends. One day they're hanging out, no big deal, with a local girl. They've known her for a while, although neither of them are very close to her.
As the conversation progresses, though, one of the guys ends up in an argument with the girl. He loses his mind and, in a fit of pique, kills her before his best friend's eyes. When he comes to his senses, he panics and flees the scene.
The story picks up again seven years later.
The girl's murderer has yet to be found. The witness had fled the country, unable to bring himself to turn in his best friend. And that friend, although still in the area, has been laying low and has, so far, escaped the reach of the investigation.
And that's all I've plotted so far. It's turning out to be a real problem because I'm supposed to have 8,335 words by today's end and I'm only at 7,192. And I'm thoroughly exhausted; I can hardly see the screen to type this.
I doubt I'll have enough plot to make 50,000 words at this point -- the murder scene was rather the pivotal scene; the one that drives the book. And I've already finished writing it. Everything after that scene is comprised mostly of the characters' boring internal monologues as far as I can tell.
Well, I suppose it's still only Day 5. We'll see what brilliant plot piece my brain can come up with in the next several days.
05 August 2010
28 June 2010
Decisions, decisions...
I am (tentatively) planning to write that novel-in-a-month in August. And then, of course, I'll do another one in November; the official National Novel Writing Month.
And now to decide which idea I'd like to bring to life.
There's always the sequel to last November's novel; but I also have a kidnapping story, a fantasy, a science fiction story, and a sort of 'supernatural thriller' in my head, among others. At least I have a month to decide, although last November, following months of time available for planning, I decided which story I would write literally two days before I had to start writing it.
Then of course, promptly went nearly mad trying to keep myself from starting it before 1 November.
Such is the life of a writer... Mad unstoppable writing sprints followed by several months in which only ten sentences are written.
And now to decide which idea I'd like to bring to life.
There's always the sequel to last November's novel; but I also have a kidnapping story, a fantasy, a science fiction story, and a sort of 'supernatural thriller' in my head, among others. At least I have a month to decide, although last November, following months of time available for planning, I decided which story I would write literally two days before I had to start writing it.
Then of course, promptly went nearly mad trying to keep myself from starting it before 1 November.
Such is the life of a writer... Mad unstoppable writing sprints followed by several months in which only ten sentences are written.
24 June 2010
To write or not to write...
So I'm considering doing another novel in a month in either July or August. My friends are behind me, but my family's against it.
It's understandable I suppose... I'm rather the 'black sheep' of the family. Nothing I like coincides with their point of view and vice versa. It's caused a lot of conflict over the past few years, and it's getting quite tiresome.
I often wonder how they think... and more often than that, I wonder how it's supposed to make sense. They get upset with me for spending so much time on the computer writing, but when I give in to their pleas to spend time with them, they use that opportunity to pick apart anything and everything I've ever said or done. It doesn't seem to occur to them that I spend so much time writing precisely to get away from all that. I'm certainly not about to willingly subject myself to such belittling.
When I write, I can escape into another world. A world where a deadly virus that levels anyone in its path is the least of my characters' worries. A world where a young woman is kidnapped and discovers she has a brother who's been missing since before she was born. A world where time travel is possible and Pac-Man can be threatening. A world where the clouds are pink, the skies are lavender, and a lost necklace hidden in a parallel time is crucial to the future of the inhabitants.
Granted, most of the plots I come up with are depressing, but at least I have control over it. At least my characters don't berate me for every thought I have, even if it spells their demise. I know I shouldn't be bitter, but wading through contradictions every time I have to associate with my relatives is frustrating.
It's understandable I suppose... I'm rather the 'black sheep' of the family. Nothing I like coincides with their point of view and vice versa. It's caused a lot of conflict over the past few years, and it's getting quite tiresome.
I often wonder how they think... and more often than that, I wonder how it's supposed to make sense. They get upset with me for spending so much time on the computer writing, but when I give in to their pleas to spend time with them, they use that opportunity to pick apart anything and everything I've ever said or done. It doesn't seem to occur to them that I spend so much time writing precisely to get away from all that. I'm certainly not about to willingly subject myself to such belittling.
When I write, I can escape into another world. A world where a deadly virus that levels anyone in its path is the least of my characters' worries. A world where a young woman is kidnapped and discovers she has a brother who's been missing since before she was born. A world where time travel is possible and Pac-Man can be threatening. A world where the clouds are pink, the skies are lavender, and a lost necklace hidden in a parallel time is crucial to the future of the inhabitants.
Granted, most of the plots I come up with are depressing, but at least I have control over it. At least my characters don't berate me for every thought I have, even if it spells their demise. I know I shouldn't be bitter, but wading through contradictions every time I have to associate with my relatives is frustrating.
22 June 2010
Greetings!
Welcome to the crazy world of my blog. Population: my thoughts. Most of them are pretty bizarre; hence the title. Being a science fiction/fantasy writer will do that to you. That and attempting to revise your writing. Ugh. If that doesn't get you committed at some point in your life, I don't what will.
I've written three novel manuscripts and am revising two of them. One is science fiction, the other is something resembling a mystery (suffice to say it's not my best work).
Which reminds me... I should really get back to revising that mystery. I've been trying to revise it for over a year now. I know it's supposed to take a long time and therefore I shouldn't be complaining; but the real reason it's been a year is because I keep procrastinating, not because I'm doing that much actual revising. I spend all my free time whipping up new rough drafts instead of editing previously written ones. Sad but true.
I've written three novel manuscripts and am revising two of them. One is science fiction, the other is something resembling a mystery (suffice to say it's not my best work).
Which reminds me... I should really get back to revising that mystery. I've been trying to revise it for over a year now. I know it's supposed to take a long time and therefore I shouldn't be complaining; but the real reason it's been a year is because I keep procrastinating, not because I'm doing that much actual revising. I spend all my free time whipping up new rough drafts instead of editing previously written ones. Sad but true.
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