My Notes » NaNoWriMo

Empty Spaces

Scott — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:19:42 +0000

It would seem that due to my sickness over the weekend I will not be doing NaNoWriMo this year. I hope to try and do some writing and to go to a few of the write ins and write more than I have been in a long time. I just think with all the stuff going on in my life and my general health issues that I can’t pace myself to actively complete NaNoWriMo this year. I’m sorry to all my friends if I am letting you down, I know that I am letting myself down. There is always next year.

Empty Spaces from the album “The Wall” by Pink Floyd

Technorati Tags: emotions, family, illness, life, NaNoWriMo, writing

Comfortably Numb

Scott — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:50:11 +0000

Hello all, been a while since I posted. Things have been crazy at home and at work and some of it was completely out of control nuts, but that is a story for another day. Today we discuss Vampires and horror stories and NaNoWriMo.

First I have decided to write a horror type story for NaNoWriMo this year. I leaning toward a mystery that involves the supernatural and of course vampires. It will revolve around a news report who is reporting on the crimes as they take place and starts to realize that there is more going on than just a simple bunch of murders/crimes. It will be a departure from my usual writing and I’m really looking forward to it. I need to have an good overview of what is going on, and I’ll be hammering out those details in the next few days.

I’m hoping to get back into the blogging a bit more and I want to keep a detailed journal of how I am doing and the problems and issues I find myself up against during NaNoWriMo this year, and possibly with some audio posts mixed in so don’t forget to check out Thoughts of a Simple Man for those.

Comfortably Numb from the album “The Wall” by Pink Floyd

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo, news, story, vampires, writing

Thick As a Brick

Scott — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:18:07 +0000

Just a post to let you all know that I have updated My Notes with a new theme and also to say that by popular demand I am going to do the vampire story for NaNoWriMo.

Thick As a Brick (Part 1) from the album “Thick As a Brick” by Jethro Tull

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo, Weblog, writing

The result of NaNo and what the future holds for my writing.

Scott — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:35:00 +0000

OKay I’ve taken some time off after NaNoWriMo to clear my head and refresh my creative juices. I have been concentrating on my family and getting myself straightened out, emotionally anyway. I have been thinking about the story and the way it started to go at the end. I’m not sure that I like the direction it was headed. I’m trying to figure out where the story should go and to finish the writing. Then I need to do some rewrites and some major edits and get the story in line with the direction I thought it would progress. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I think it is all worth while in the end. I am so close to actually finishing a project that I started. When it is done, I’ll be looking for first readers. I have a couple of people lined up but if anyone else would be interested in being a first reader and taking the red pen to my work, please let me know. I think that once I’m done, and if my first readers like the story and think I should, I will podcast the story. So if anyone would like to help me out and be a first reader please let me know. Thanks!

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo, podcast, writing

Update and Apology.

Scott — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:16:18 +0000

First the apology. I am sorry for not having posted here in a while. I have been quite busy, mostly with my personal life, but also with my writing ambition. As regular readers will know, I participated in NaNoWriMo 2007 this year. It was my second time doing NaNo, and I did much better this year than last. Lat year my totals were in the 28,000 word range. This year I accomplished much more, and probably could have won, if we had not planned a trip to disney on the 30th of November. I originally hoped I would only lose that day, but it turned out that I lost the last three days of November to packing and getting ready. I am proud of what I did and I really want to finish this novel. I may never do anything with it but I do want to finish it.

On to other matters, we just got back from a five day trip to Disney world. It was fantastic and gave me some much needed bonding time with the family and especially my wife. We have been having a difficult time lately and getting away from the home and just being together really helped, me at least. I hope that my wife feels the same way. The kids really enjoyed the trip. I enjoyed being able to see them so happy and having so much fun. My son loved all the rides, except my favorite, the Haunted Mansion. Overall the trip was great, just very fast paced and busy.I have to say that I enjoyed being a family and that was something I couldn’t really say before. I am putting a lot into my family and I hope that my wife can see that and will do the same.

So that has been what has occupied my time the past several weeks. I hope to be able to update more often, especially as I start to finish my novel, the title of which is In the Shadow of the Past. Once I finish it and edit it, I’ve been think of podcasting it. We’ll see. I’m not sure if I have anything to offer the world but I would like for my novel to be heard, even if it is never read.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, family, life, NaNoWriMo, relationships, writing

NaNoWriMo Update

Scott — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:27:58 +0000

I am glad to report that I am still on the pace that I wanted to set for myself. At the halfway point of the month I am over 30,000 words. Which surpassed my total for last year. w00t! I also feel the the story has a lot more to tell. I’m not sure that it will be done at 50,000 words which is fine by me. I have been using the technique the Stephen King suggests in his book On Writing. I’ve been slowly uncovering the fossil of the story and have been surprised by some of the decisions of the characters. When I sat down to write this I had a very loose frame work for the story and knew almost nothing about the characters. THey have all evolved into some very interesting and insightful characters. I’m enjoying the direction the story is taking me and seeing the characters change as I unearth more and more of their tale.

It has been an eye opening experiment and I think that I may have found a style that works for me. Granted I would need to do more research in the future but for the genre of this book it works as is. I really enjoy writing in the superhero genre, even if it has a very heavy twist to it. I still don’t know how it will end, and I’m excited to eventually find out as the characters tell me.

NaNoWriMo Progress

Technorati Tags: comics, heroes, NaNoWriMo, superheroes, writing

Nano Badge

Scott — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:20:55 +0000

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo, writing

NaNoWriMo Update

Scott — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:10:34 +0000

Well so far so good. I got 1278 words done this morning in about 45 minutes. I was also able to be a part of the morning activities in the household. I hope to write another hour maybe more tonight but it has turning into a busy evening. I want to go to the NaNo Providence Kickoff Party tonight and My friend Dave invited me over to paint mini’s and talk, which I enjoy doing. My plan at the moment is to go to the kickoff for about and hour or so then head to Dave’s house for a bit. I’ll write at the kick off and at my Doctors appointment this afternoon. I’m on pace so far and I hopeful I can keep it going. Wish me luck.

Technorati Tags: family, NaNoWriMo, writing

All set for NaNo……I wish.

Scott — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:24:44 +0000

Well I have done a few things. I have decided to write my story about a young man who realizes he has incredible powers, and the consequences of these powers on his life and how he deals with them. That being said, I really have no idea yet about the character, but I will have some generalities done by Thursday. I hope anyway. I still have to work on the world and the setting a bit but I have a starting point now.

I have done the logistics of it all. I’m hoping to write both in the morning and at night. I have about an hour set aside for each writing time. I don’t exactly have a space yet but I can figure that out today when I get home. I’m aiming to write about 1000 words in each writing “session” so I’ll average about 2000 words a day. If I can keep that pace up I will be finished around Thanksgiving which would be spectacular. I think these are both attainable goals. I can easily sit down in one session and hang a thousand words in my laptop. So I’m hoping that by having to writing “sessions” a day it will keep me fresh, give me time to think things through. Figure out where the story is going and plot the characters next moves and reactions to what has happened so far. That is my plan and I’m going to try like hell to stick to it. Hopefully I will be able to.

Technorati Tags: fear, NaNoWriMo, superheroes, writing

Life and NaNo update

Scott — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:19:13 +0000

Ok, I thought I was getting over my illness, but it seems that spending my Sunday afternoon at a windy Gillette Stadium watching the Patriots stomp on the Redskins, was not a good way to recover from the plague I suffered last week. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the beat down as any Pat’s fan would, but the cold relentless wind has brought back the horrible yuck feeling. I can tell I’m back on the road to plagueville. I am hoping that I can catch this before I get to bad, but I have no real idea how to prevent the yuck. I tried everything last time and it didn’t help at all.

In other news, NaNoWriMo starts in 3 days. I have no idea what to write about. Well that isn’t exactly true, I have plenty of ideas. I just need to settle on one idea and do it. My fried Dave really wants me to write about my characters exploits in his game world. I feel that it would be an injustice to do that for NaNo. I would much rather take my time and do as good a job as I’m capable of. NaNoWriMo doesn’t really give me that option as I have to do 50,000 words in 30 days. I am leaning toward an idea about a Heroes type story. It would mean no listening to Mur Lafferty‘s Playing for Keeps until after NaNoWriMo was over. I wouldn’t want my idea to be tainted by her story of Super Heroes. Which I am bummed about, I love her writing and am looking forward to listening to her first novel. Anyway, I think I will go with my story-line but I don’t have any outline, background or any character development. I have 3 days to get something set up and ready to go, or I’ll be winging it big time and I really don’t think that is a good idea.

Technorati Tags: heroes, illness, life, NaNoWriMo, Mur Lafferty, Playing for Keeps, writing