New Year's Eve and writing goals!

Photo ©  Konstantin Chagin

I shall be drinking both those glasses of champagne this evening (or at least, glasses of champagne that look similar)! It's New Year's Eve and that's reason enough to celebrate! (not that I need much excuse for champagne...and yes, I did go through a phase when I hated the stuff, but I've done a 180 since then!) But I have another reason to celebrate.

I achieved all my writing/revising/etc. goals for 2011!!

I have put up a page for 2012's goals, so we'll see how I go with those. I will have a period of about four weeks in March/April when I'll be overseas, so I will be taking that into account. But for now I am basking in my achievements for this year. Instead of rehashing them, I will just point you to the 2011 goals page.

Have an awesome New Year's Eve, and I'll see you in 2012!!!

An update

Hi everyone! I'm just popping in to post briefly (or that's the plan...sometimes my plans go awry and I post non-briefly!) so that I can still say I've written one blog post per week for 2011. Yep, one of my writing-related goals this year was to post at least once a week in this blog. I have other goals, but I'm not yet ready to do an assessment of all of them, because I haven't yet achieved all of them.

The Chrysalis Experiment, for example. We have our final prompt (#52) up, and I have yet to write that story. Won't take me long, but I have other stuff I'm concentrating on first and foremost. Namely the fact that I have to revise 4.5 chapters of NAUSICAA, then all 5 appendices (yes, the novel has appendices), in 2.5 days. I've been a real slacker on this so far, but I'm getting there in these last few days of the month. I will achieve my goals, but it will be another case of staggering over the finish line, as I did with this year's NaNoWriMo.

So yes, it will be a busy few days to end off the month for me. And then I'll be in 2012, and will have a bunch of new goals to start working on! I think I will have to do my "2011 wrap-up" on December 31st, or possibly in the new year. Meanwhile, I hope you all had a great Christmas, and that your New Year's Eves are lots of fun! I'm going to be hanging out on a friend's couch in the beautiful Perth hills instead of braving the evil drunken hoards out on the town. I'm way too old for that crap!

Unless I post sooner, see you in 2012!!!

I think I am on holidays

I can't guarantee I won't post before Christmas (yes, I call it Christmas, even though I'm not in the least bit religious), because knowing me the compulsion will take me on the very day itself. But I will say that I am nearly on holidays (half a day at work to go), and I am going to be doing a lot of resting in various forms (actual sleep, lazing around at the beach, staring at walls...). One form may or may not be taking a slight rest from blogging.

But next time I take a sip of champagne out of a glass like the one in that picture above (see what I meant when I said I take weird pictures?), I will be toasting to all of you and wishing you a very Merry Everything indeed! Kidding, I wish you merrier things than that.

Retro reads

As we near the end of year, I'm indulging in some retro reading. Not just any old stuff but the stuff I used to read when I was, say, 10. Maybe a bit older too. Maybe in my teens...in my twenties...now in my *gasp* thirties! Yes, I still love reading these books. I guess they're my form of trash. They are YA of course, and I do love a good YA read. But YA isn't really my main passion. That would be Adult fiction, I guess. Still, I go back to these fluffy pre-teen reads at least every few years.

My little brother actually started reading them before I did. Oh the shame! I think the first one he read was THE ACCIDENT by Diane Hoh. That lady went on to write the NIGHTMARE HALL books, which I also enjoyed (and still have a fair few of in my collection). Out front of my place I've got a book shelf for more "literary" reads, you know, to impress all the visitors. But my beloved Point book collection is tucked away in my office, where only my cats can see.

Not that I'm ashamed, of course. I'm really not. But sometimes I do get a little confused. Why do I still love these reads? It's not just nostalgia, though that does play a significant part in it all. It IS also the stories themselves. The writing isn't always particularly authentic for YA, but while I'm reading, that doesn't matter. What matters is the story and the mystery and the...cute boys.

What's on your "guilty secret" shelf? (assuming you're not too cool to have one)

Keeping up with the bloggers I lurve

So, lately (say, in the last few months? Possibly longer?) I've given up on Reader. That is, Google Reader, which for a while there I used to keep track of all the blogs I'd followed (hundreds of blogs, let me tell you). I kept having to mark everyone as read 'cause I'd get in there and there'd be 500 unread posts, or 700, or the dread 1000+ (I don't WANT to know how many there really are). So I've given up. And now I'm relying on my blog roll to keep me in touch with the blogs I like to read. As well as reciprocating for comments I get on my blog.

But I keep stumbling across writers I've lost track of, and haven't yet got around to adding to my blogroll. If I used to comment on your blog a fair bit, then dropped off the face of the earth, only to recently resurface, now you know why. If I still haven't resurfaced, it's 'cause I haven't added your blog to my roll yet. That sounds funny..."your blog to my roll." Anyway, if I've forgotten you, please let me know. Oh, and a note to anyone who's followed my blog but doesn't have a link to theirs in their Blogger profile...maybe add a link so I can find you? AND I still hate the word 'blog'. For such a hater, I've used it a lot in this post!

Now, since I'm here, I might as well do a really quick rundown on my writing/revising status: 1) NAUSICAA revision started, but progressing slowly; 2) this week's Chrysalis story not yet started; 3) I can't remember the third thing I'm meant to be doing. Oh wait, I think I'm doing it right now - writing in this blog.

How do you keep up with the blogs you love to read?

Merry Everything - the "Wrap it Up" blogfest

In the words of David Powers King, this is what's involved with the "Wrap it Up" blogfest:

Write a piece of flash fiction, poem, or song (300 words or less) for someone you know (real or imaginary). It may be in any genre, but it must have a holiday theme (real or fictional). Post it on your blog anytime between now and when the linky closes. You will then give it to that someone, sometime before the new year.

Give it in the form of an email, on fancy stationary, or laser-etched onto a solid gold plate. Your choice.

Telling us who you're giving it to is optional.

My entry is as follows:



P.S. Forgot to paste the linky code, but here it is:

2012 - the year of revision

I'm thinking that next year I will be mostly focused on revision. One of my goals will be (I think) to look at one Chrysalis 2011 story per week and either finish revising it, or at least think about how I want to revise it. Some of them still need to be completed. Some may even become novels. But the aim will be not necessarily to finish revision, but to just think about how I want to revise them. I have a huge list of novels I could choose to work on, but I think I know which I will be starting with.

I will be writing new stuff in 2012, of course. There's NaNoWriMo and BuNoWriMo and another year of Chrysalis. I may use BuNo to work on finishing existing novels. I'm not even thinking about NaNo right now, but for Chrysalis my tentative plan is to try to write and record one new song per week. I've also got NaNo novels to finish (BuNo?). But there will also be NaNoEdMo, which will involve more editing.

So I'm thinking that 2012 will be more focused on revision for me than 2011 was. I've also got to work around 3.5 weeks overseas in March/April, but that's a story for another day.

What are your writing plans for 2012?

49 short stories

I caught up on those Chrysalis stories! Now I'm just three short stories away from having written 52 short stories in a year (one per week), and from truly earning that sparkly button! Last time I did a Chrysalis stats update, I had written 40 stories. Now I've written 49. Some are finished, some are not. Some are utter crap, and some are not. They're certainly all rough drafts, to go with all the other 'rough draft' material I've written this year. And you know what that means, right? Editing in my future. But not yet. Ohhhh no, not yet.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to Chrysalis being over. I know my fellow participants will understand wholeheartedly. My co-hosts Jenn, Winter and I haven't actually finalised any plans for next year yet, but I do have something planned myself, regardless of what others will be doing. I do hope to have some fellow participants, but I know firsthand what a huge commitment it is, so I won't blame my fellows if they're desperate for a rest.

Here I am, talking like we're finished. We aren't. But we're not far off. Only three weeks, three prompts, and three stories to go. Craaaazy! Just for the record, Scrivener tells me I've written 106,360 words so far. But I'll leave the in-depth reflection on stats and so on for once we're actually done.

My to-do list

Technically, this is my to-do list right now (without counting this year's goals which are still being worked on):

Rough Drafts

1. Complete rough draft of DANNA
2. Complete rough draft of VICTORIOUS
3. Complete rough draft of CARNIVAL
4. Complete rough draft of TURKEY BOURKE
5. Complete rough draft of JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE OFFICE
6. Complete rough draft of RAGEWATER book 1
7. Complete rough draft of SOMANA

Second Drafts

1. Complete Draft #2 of FIRE
2. Complete Draft #2 of DAPHNE, weaving in more of Carly's story
3. Complete Draft #2 of SQUEAKY
4. Complete Draft #2 of EXCISION (oh my. This one is a huuuuge undertaking. Will basically need a rewrite)

Other

1. Finish any unfinished stories from The Chrysalis Experiment 2011 (which would be the majority of them)
2. Get all caught up on reading the Catrina Chronicles
3. Read all the eBooks by my blogging friends that I have waiting for me (and the print books by them too).
4. Read any Chrysalis stories by my fellow organisers that I have not yet read!

I think that's all?! Except for all the other stories/novels I'm not mentioning in the list above, and "all that other stuff", like NaNo 2012, BuNoWriMo, writing in the blog, reading books in general and writing music (which will more than likely relate to Chrysalis 2012 for me next year). And whatever else I'm forgetting.

In the immortal words of Bill and Ted, "The clock's tickin', dude."

Jenni Merritt's debut novel...PRISON NATION!

My blogger friend Jenni Merritt has just released her debut novel, PRISON NATION. You can read all about it here. I haven't bought my copy yet, 'cause I'm waiting for information on autographed copies. heh heh. I've been following Jenni's blog for a while now, and I'm so excited for her about this release! And just look at that cover...which is a DIY cover, by the way! Special, huh? Anyway, congratulations Jenni and I can't wait to get my hands on a print copy! Yes, I like my books physical, what can I say? ;)

I will finish this post by mentioning that I did actually do some...revision... gasp! Not last night, but the night before. And now we have all our prompts up to date for Chrysalis, so I have no excuse for further procrastination there! I better get a move on with December's goals!

What are those words for?

"My tale is done. See the mouse run. Catch it, whoever can, and then you can make a great big cap out of its fur."

Is it just me, or is that a totally random way to end "Hansel and Gretel"? I mean, there was no mention of a mouse in the rest of the story. Unless there was and I've forgotten.

I love the Grimm fairytales how they always get straight to the point. If there's ever any poetic description, i.e. "The moon was shining very brightly, and the white pebbles glittered in front of the house like pure silver coins", it's because the pebbles are going to play an important role in the story very shortly. In my story if I've described a beautiful sunset, it's not because the sunset is going to be of any use to the characters. It's just to put an image in the reader's mind.

With the fairytales, there is nothing said that doesn't need to be said.

At least, that was what I believed until I read about that mouse fur cap!

Soooooo unmotivated (and belated blogiversary)

I think for December I shall skip trying to find a photo or artwork or whatever to put in my blog entries. Perhaps I will go back on that decision after this horrible crappy day is over and I start a new and way less crappy day. Or perhaps not. I guess the best advice is to be prepared for boring bare-bones entries from me, entries that are just words. But we like words, right? So it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Anyway, since this blog is meant to be about writing and so on, I may as well give a writing update. I haven't done anything since writing that last Chrysalis story. I haven't even opened the file for NAUSICAA, and at this particular moment I'm not too bothered. I did start reading the Grimm fairytales, and I keep laughing out loud in amazement at the gruesome things that happen. I find it hard to believe a wolf, even a lazy one full of food, wouldn't notice his belly being cut open and then sewn back up. Stayed asleep the whole time! Anyway, so far most of the tales have had happy endings (of sorts), but one or two perhaps have ended not so prettily for the main characters. All in all, I'm enjoying myself so far.

I hope everyone is enjoying their December!

P.S. I missed my blogiversary. It was on December 1 (my first post was here). Boo. Oh well, I've been here a year, folks! Yay for me! (and of course for you who get to listen to me ramble the hell on)

December goals

I've really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to write anything for NaNo yesterday. Nor do I have to write anything today...or this month. Well, for NaNo at least. I also don't have to write in this blog every day, or every other day. I do, however, still have some goals to achieve by the end of the year.

8. Write 52 short stories, one per week, for the Chrysalis Experiment

9. Write at least once a week in writing blog

12. Complete a preliminary read-through/edit of NAUSICAA (NaNo '10 novel) - as of March 6, opening chapter has been worked on/critiqued

Of those, writing in this blog is definitely the easiest. As for the others...I have fallen slightly behind in Chrysalis, partly because we are missing prompt #46, and partly because I haven't written this week's story. But I'm not too concerned about achieving this one. Writing 1k a week seems like absolute peanuts after what I just went through with NaNo. Even writing 1k a day would be comparative peanuts.

As for the read-through of NAUSICAA...I think I can do it. I don't need to actually do any serious editing. It's just a read-through and some note-taking on what will need editing later. That's how I'm choosing to interpret my own words up there, anyway. I have to say, though, that while 2011 is not yet over, I've been thinking about my to-do list for 2012 for a long while now. The Goals page is under construction. I shall unveil it probably on Dec 31st, or January 1, or somewhere around then.

But let's forget next year... What are your goals for December?

Hobblin' across the NaNo finito line

OH. my. GOSH. It's over. I am about to start crying with gratitude. Almost, but not quite. Instead I'll just heave another sigh of relief (or twenty...) and report that my final word count for both novels is 100,827. That is a Scrivener (for Mac, if it matters) word count. I just validated my novel on the NaNo site and the word count there is...100,018. WOW. That's uncomfortably close to less than 100k. Maybe I should tack on a few more words, just to create some kind of buffer? haha. No, I'm not that desperate.

But anyway, to break it down a bit more, here are the word counts as they stand (keeping in mind that neither is finished):

DANNA: 50,606

VICTORIOUS: 50,221

Now I'm going to go and stare at a wall. A very big wall. For a very long time. Or, well, the next hour or so before it's bedtime. If it wasn't a school night, I'd be having another glass of wine. Then again, maybe I will anyway.

On iTunes, a Dream Theater song is playing. "The Count of Tuscany". It runs to 19:16 minutes. I do believe this is my first listen.

NaNo - home stretch

I'm anticipating some serenity in December (see above photo), once NaNo is over. That's not the right November spirit, right? But my spirit is tired and needs a nap! Thankfully, we are on the home stretch! Before I give today's word count update, I want to clarify things for Deniz (and anyone else who's confused):

This month I've been writing two novels, both of which were started from scratch as part of NaNo 2011. The first novel, DANNA, is a YA paranormal and will probably be finished a lot more easily than the second, VICTORIOUS, which is sci-fantasy. Not sure on the acceptable word counts for sci-fantasy novels, but considering the 'fantasy' aspect I figure they're expected to at least be longer than 50k? hehe

Now...a word count update: last night's session got me to 94,666 across both novels. 5,334 words to go until I hit 100k. It doesn't feel like a huge deal, because I've done it before, and easily. But this year has felt especially like a hard slog, for reasons I don't quite get. Perhaps the challenge was actually planning on 100k, instead of just 'accidentally' ending up with it? (Remember, I'm a notorious pantser!)

It's Day 28!

Last night I reached 90,873 words, after writing 7712 (I thought it was over 8k, but the word count API tells me differently) to catch up on all the days I had missed writing the full required amount. I have notes throughout my manuscript for VICTORIOUS that say "needs filling", so I can easily find the parts I have yet to write out. So far with this novel, there are bits I love and many more bits I don't love. But that's to be expected! I haven't touched DANNA since Day 16 began, except for at the end of Day 16 when I had already written my quota for VICTORIOUS and added a few more words to DANNA.

It's pretty well confirmed that neither novel will be finished by December. And right now I am listening to Magic Dirt, a beautiful song called "Smoulder".

Day 25 and beyond

We've got it all 'round these parts. At least when it comes to sizeable bodies of water. That up there is part of the Swan River, which is a pretty big chunk o' water. We've also got some serious ocean action happening. So if you like water, Perth is the place for you. If on the other hand you abhor it to its very essence, it's probably best to stay far away!

Now that I've talked about something entirely unrelated to NaNoWriMo, I will move on...to things related to NaNoWriMo. Namely, my NaNo word count - 78,765. Seems like a lot, but I'm behind, and I won't get much writing done tonight either. Saturday night is a bust as well. In fact, most of Saturday is a bust. Half of Sunday will be a bust. So...I'm mildly concerned. But I'm determined that I will find little pockets of writing time here and there to keep me above...water.

Wow, maybe that first paragraph was vaguely NaNo-relevant after all!

Hi, Day #23...how are you?

First off...I take photos of weird things. It's something I'm kind of well known for. The above picture isn't particularly weird, but it shows something about me - I don't like flash. I guess flash can be used artfully, in ways I have never imagined, but since I don't know how to use it that way, I tend to stick to a distinct lack of flash in my photography. You have to have steady hands of course, but sometimes a nice blur doesn't go astray. My dad is a photographer, but as often as he's tried to teach me the ways of a true photographer, I don't seem to absorb his lessons too well. I just continue to do my own thing, with my own battered, crappy point-and-shoot.

Second - a quick NaNo report: 74,611 words. And last night I finally found these notes for VICTORIOUS that I wrote down ages ago (not in email or in Scrivener, but on paper...oh the novelty!), and though they didn't tell me much I didn't already know, they reminded me of a few small things, and suddenly I was (at least a bit more) inspired and motivated. If I wasn't going out tonight I would probably have a great run on words!

P.S. Happy birthday mum, you rock my world on a daily basis!!!!

Day 22 dawns

I am exhausted today. I think I probably got 5 hours sleep last night, and that is never enough for the likes of me. My NaNo word count is 70,912. Last night I got to about 2 words past my nightly goal and was very tempted to just leave it at that. I did end up adding a few more words before calling it a night. I'm up to a scene that interests me, which makes me wonder about the scenes I just wrote and whether they're total crap or not. I have definitely been padding with unnecessary words, just to get myself to the next point in the story...while making my word count goals.

Anyway, hope everyone else is going well with their goals! Bring on December I say!!

NaNo day #20

It's Sunday, and I have done my word count quota for the day. I currently sit at 67,332 across both novels. I really love the VICTORIOUS story, but it has been slightly like sitting around waiting for grass to grow, getting these words out. At least I'm getting them out. What I'll have to work with at the end of this are some novels in dire need of editing. But that's what I expected all along.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!!

P.S. I'm listening to The 69 Eyes. They're good fun.

If I were to release a "best of"

Truth is, my albums tend to contain bits and pieces that I'm not entirely thrilled with, but some contain more bits that make me happy than others. If I were to compile a 'best of', it'd probably look something like this (let's fantasise for a moment that it's a double disc affair!):

Disc 1 Shelter Yes, New Loving Xerxes (it's not really about the Persian dude, but you know...) U.F.O. Northern Storm (worse than demo quality, recorded using Windows Sound Recorder and el cheapo headset microphone, but I've never managed to record a version I'm happier with) Revelled By the Wayside (Lush Version) (it's a bit too quiet, but if you turn it up you can hear it! hehe) Restrung (at present I'm rather fond of this one, and I listen to it a lot...yes, I listen to my own music. Sue me) Glossary Head (2011 version) (yes, there is an original version which I also quite like, but I think this one's a bit more "special") Build A Bridge Pay Beyond Pale and Ageless (Alt. Version) Leaves Chaos Theory ('cause it's weird and experimental and I like it) James Dale (Edit) (it's short, sad and about a character I killed off in a novel) What Do I Have To Do? (haunting, weird, experimental, reminds me of snow) A Lizard (like a fair few other songs of mine, these lyrics were written during high school...and set to music only in recent years) Interlude 3 (the third of the interludes, and yes, my favourite) Back Flip

Disc 2 Judgement Line I Need Sleep Run Like A Man (edit) (it was only an edit 'cause I messed up the ending...still kicking myself for that, 'cause this was the best recording I ever did of this song, apart from that ending mess!) Red (this one reminds me of my character Louise from SUNDOWN) Burn This Need Debutantes (this song came to me in a dream, and Billy Corgan was singing it. It was a lot more rocking in my sleep) Weights On (remix) Snail Break (this is a song I co-wrote with a friend in primary school...I think he did most of the writing. Our early recording of it sounded nothing like this one) Judgement Line (Electric) - more haunty than the original Rude On the Clock (Snook Sessions) (I have no good recordings of this yet, but I think it has potential) Backhand (short and not so sweet?) Death's Business Experience (dedicated to at least one bastard out there!) Domino Head (I do believe the tempo's a bit messed up, but I still like it) Storyteller Fall on Death Token (possibly the first song I ever wrote? Definitely the first I ever shared with anyone) Ten Times Ten (Billy and WAG) (my first ever collaboration, so very exciting! This Billy guy seriously made my song sound amazing!)

And okay, maybe some bonus tracks (some of my favourite covers):

1. Real Love (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
2. Darkangel (Gabriel) (VNV Nation cover)
3. Scientific (the Government cover) - these guys are my friends and I used to go see their band live all the time. There aren't any recordings of their version of the song, as far as I know, and I really wanted to preserve it on 'tape')

P.S. NaNo word count = 57,331.

Cover art

I was telling another blogger the other day that, until I started this blog and got around to exploring the writer blogger corners of the blogosphere, I really had no idea that cover art was such a big deal. I guess I just took it for granted that I was attracted to pretty shiny book covers. Well, sometimes I prefer them not shiny, to be honest. Point is, it's nothing I ever thought about. I still don't think about it much, which is odd. I have, however, made my own cover art. Mostly for my music.

Above is one example. An album full of my earliest songs, so very dodgy to listen to now in hindsight. The album was titled SOUR because I threw all the songs I wasn't that fond of (or that I never did "proper" recordings of) on it. They had to have somewhere to go, after all! They, along with my other music, can be found here for free download. But anyway...I just wanted to talk about cover art and how I've done some, but mostly not for my books.

P.S. NaNo word count is 54,302. I'm off to a somewhat shaky start with VICTORIOUS.

Hello Day 16!

There I am at the beach, with my broken iPod touch and my pink Toyota hat (it came with my Yaris, wheee!). Also, my pink headphones (they're the kind you can change the covers on, so I have a black and a white pair of coverings too). And you can see my wondrously ordinary camera in the reflection too.

Anyway... Today is the day I begin writing VICTORIOUS (yesterday I reached 50k in DANNA, and yes that is a working title...they both are). I have a page of notes for VICTORIOUS and that's about it. Part of me feels really tired, and yet I'm also excited! This is gonna be a good one. And my first real attempt at a sci-fi/fantasy crossover. Wheee!

I'm feeling good today. Happy! And I like it!

Day 14 ends, and my keyboard gives me crap

My laptop's keyboard is being MIGHTILY ANNOYING tonight. It's making most things rather difficult to type. It's doing this thing where it highlights text and deletes it and the arrow keys are on the fritz and it's all just annoying! Suffice it to say that writing my last few thousand words was a big pain in the butt. But I got there and I'm now sitting on 48,626 words. I'm calling it a day (or rather, a night) and will get the last 1,374 words written tomorrow during lunch hour.

And if I don't get them entirely written then, I will finish them off after work, before heading off to dinner out. After that it will be Day 16, and time to start on novel number two, tentatively titled VICTORIOUS.

I must say, this is the first year in a while that I'm rather eager for NaNo to be over, in fact I'm almost dying for it to be over. I want my afternoons and evenings entirely free from commitment so I can do as I please, as my whimsy takes me, as I most heartily desire. But until November ends, that ain't gonna happen. Pity I keep finding new ways to occupy my time that don't involve writing. Not ideal at a time when you're trying to write 2 novels in 30 days. But oh well, it happens I guess.

Hope everyone else is going well with their goals, NaNo-inspired or otherwise! Thank you for all the blog visits lately. I have been working on reciprocating but if I haven't got to you yet, never fear - I will!

[Day 13] 43,822

I wouldn't say no to eating this right now:

source

But alas, there is none!

Instead I'll report on my NaNo progress for the day. I was so sure I wasn't going to make it to my goal. I had many moments of staring at the screen feeling utterly devoid of inspiration - for anything, much less writing 3,333k in words. But I got there, and now my word count stands at 43,822.

I have a lot of commenting favours to return, and I will do that I swear. For now, I am exhausted from all the cocktails I drank this weekend, and must succumb to my intense desire to just stare at a wall drooling. Good night world!

And a 40,106 for Day 12

That's the book I'm reading right now. It's one of those I bought from a book sale at the university where I work. I must've got it on sale for $5 or something. For the record, it's a tiny book, as in small format and compact and cute. Which is why it makes me SO MAD that it's officially for sale from its publisher's site at $27.95!!! Books are so ridiculously expensive in this country that it makes me utterly boiling mad.

But let's talk about NaNo. I feel the need to take this NaNo thing one day at a time! When I think about the fact that I'm not even halfway through, that I have an entire new story to start (one that I am going to love, though, so I'm not complaining) I feel a little bewildered. I also haven't done this week's Chrysalis story yet. But to be honest, I'm trying to ignore that!

33,700 or something

Oh my! I forgot to post yesterday. I have failed NoJoMo! But at least it wasn't an official goal. ;) My word count in Scrivener is something like 33,700. Over the count I had to get to, anyway. In Word it's 33,533. I think that is still over the required count. Right now, my writing sessions feel like pretty hard slogs. This weekend is kind of full too, so I'm going to have a hard time getting any momentum. But I'll do what I can, even if it's the bare minimum, and be happy with that.

I didn't mention this yet, but I decided to add Mack's point of view to the story. So there are sections from his point of view, as well as from Danna's. It's kind of cool. His sections tend to be much shorter than hers, which in my experience can be quite typical of boys vs. girls. I think it fits.

Anyway...hope everyone's going well with NaNo and other assorted projects! I have yet to write this week's Chrysalis story. Yikes. Oh, and P.S. That picture above is another from the Fremantle Monument. I shared some pics from there a while back in this post, on another stormy day.

30,727 for Day 9

Yep, 30,727 is the current word count. I'm 727 words ahead of my goal as of 7:58pm. I may or may not write more this evening. If I get another burst of energy, I will. But considering how exhausted I've been this and last week, I might just take it easy and eat some more Snakes and watch some more NCIS.

Maybe I won't eat more Snakes. Maybe I'll have ice cream. These are the big decisions. So much pressure. ARGH!! Got any advice?

What would you choose? a) Snakes Alive, or b) vanilla ice cream with Ice Magic and slivered almonds?

Day 8

I shall not fail in the posting every day-ing-ness! That's why I'm here with my eyeballs about to fall out of my head with tiredness! Just for fun, I thought I would share a relatively short extract from my NaNo work so far. It's unpolished, it's a rough draft...it's NaNo. I know I don't need to explain to any of you! But with all the above in mind, here it is:

My mouth has fallen open.

“Careful, don’t wanna catch flies,” Mack tells me as he settles in the seat diagonally opposite me.

“You.”

“Me.”

“Melinda’s meat.”

He’s still wearing his sunglasses, so I can’t see the look in his eyes. I can imagine it, though. Especially with the sudden furrow I see appear on his brow. It smoothes quickly and I see his eyebrows quirk upward. I get the distinct impression he just rolled his eyes.

“That her name?” he asks idly.

We stare at each other, or at least I stare at him. I can’t tell what he’s staring at. “You do know the sun’s gone down, right?”

“Cheers for the tip.”

That’s all he says before turning to stare out the window on his side. I watch him a moment more, dying to comment on the baseball cap. Then I resume my own survey of the urban countryside.

My word count is 28,276. Tonight I didn't get much done, probably 1500 words? I suck at maths, but basically if you took last night's word count away from this night's, you'd get the difference. And on that note, I need to go and sleep or something terrible may happen (I might fall asleep while typing, for e.g.).

Hope you are all great!! And thanks for all the blog visits!!

P.S. New Chrysalis prompt today...new story must be written. Oh gawd!

Crap, but I'm okay with that

Doesn't quite rhyme, but I'll go with it.

Tonight's writing session got me to 26,696. I've written tomorrow night's quota, which is good since I may not get any writing time at all tomorrow. I might actually take my laptop to work with me so I can get some writing done at lunchtime. Or...I might not. Depends on the mood. But to explain this blog entry's title, I'll say that quite often this stuff I'm writing is crap. There are odd moments of un-crapness, but for the most part I'm writing for the words, not the genius. But I'm not worried. After all, what is revision for if not de-crapifying our writing?

In other news, I finished reading that Jackie Collins book. You can read my review here. You may be shocked by how unscathing the review is, all things considered! I know I was. Anyway, now I am reading this:

100,000 - 23,482 = 76,518...right?

Day 6 of NaNo is over, and I've written 23,482 words. I'm pretty sure I've written tomorrow's quota already (unless I am making a horrible mistake and my computer's in-built calculator is lying to my FACE!). It's good to have a buffer, but by no means do I feel comfortable just yet. After all, I have another 76,518 words to write in November!

Above is a picture of one of our beaches here in Perth (actually, South Beach in Fremantle), which I took a couple of days ago. Pretty, huh?

NaNo-Chrysalis crossover

So, Day 5 of NaNoWriMo draws to a close and I've got a word count of 18,038. The number I needed to reach today was 16,666.6 recurring until it gets to 7. As in, 16,666.6666666666667. I think. Or maybe I put one too many 6s in there. Either way, it was something like that, at least according to my Mac's in-built calculator. I've decided to go with that!

I also wrote about 1200 words for the Chrysalis Experiment today, hence the inclusion of the icon above. I wrote it using my novel's characters, and I may be able to use it towards my NaNo word count eventually. For now, it's set aside as a little 'vignette'.

In other news, I enjoyed a post-Halloween Halloween party this evening with some great friends. Haven't had that much fun on Halloween in a long time!

Anyway...may all your Day 5s end on positive notes as mine did, and may each of you glimpse a fluffy bunny or two ('cause man they're cute!).

Day 4 at an end...thank gosh for that!

I don't need to say more than that, do I? But I will. Just a little, don't fret!

It's bedtime and I am in dire need of a good sleep. I was tempted to give up a little bit ago but I decided to stick with it until 10:30 to try and make my goal word count. It's currently 10:21 so I'd consider that a goal well met.

Now...sleeeeeep. (Man, whatever happened to the old rock 'n roller I used to be? Being out till 5am was never a big deal back then!)

Day #3 is done!

Tiny picture for a tiny blog post! And may I just say that when technology fails me, I get MAD. But moving on from that nice blog entry I had already written and then lost...! Day 3 of NaNo is over and I've written 9,453 words. Once again I've fallen behind with my required word count. Last year I averaged 5k a day until the first weekend hit. I should have had 10k exactly by the end of tonight. But I'm not too worried. I'll catch up.

As for the story itself...? My female MC has run away with me, insisting on becoming more sarcastic and 'witty' than I had planned. Not sure she will get her way in the long run, 'cause she's meant to be more dreamy and spaced out than that. But I guess we'll see. Male MC is coming along nicely. Rude and obnoxious, but showing his courteous side now and then (though in such a rude and obnoxious way that nobody recognises it as courtesy). I have to play up his 'lady's man' angle a bit. But now I'm wondering if I do, after all. Sigh. Best laid plans and all that...

OMG. This blog post is NOT tiny anymore. But I can make it at least no more gargantuan by finishing here and bidding you all good night! Sweet dreams of NaNo victory to all of you who are participating! And sweet dreams of other things to the rest of you!

NaNo Day Dos

Just a quick note to say...argh, it's past bedtime, but Day 2 of NaNo is over and I'm pleased to say I got a little more on track this evening (while still allowing for at least a dash of that procrastination which any sane writer person has to indulge in to survive November. Hey, wait...did I say sane?!).

So my current word count is 6,349. To complete 50k in 15 days I need to write 3,333.3 recurring each day. So as of tonight I am ahead of schedule! Entirely satisfied with that, I can say!

I hope everyone is having a great November so far! Catch you at the end of Day 3, people!

National Novel Writing Month...day 1

Day 1 of NaNoWriMo is done for me and I've written 2,148 words. Not what I was aiming for, but not too bad either. My actual aim is to write double the usual required amount, since, you know, I'm writing 2 novels this time. Last year I was averaging 5k a day for the first 6 days or something. I can do it...I think I'm just taking more care this time than I did last time.

I have been guilty already of deleting sentences, paragraphs, etc., so I can rewrite them. My usual style is to just write, consequences be damned (consequences being "oh my gosh that sentence SUUUCCCKKKED!"). But I've suffered a fair bit of trouble in revisions lately because of that WTF-ever attitude, and so maybe I'm trying to reduce what pain I must suffer with these novels in future revisions. I can't let it hamper my chances of achieving my NaNo goal, though! That is the bottom line.

NoJoMo also starts today: November Journalling Month. And while this isn't a journal, per se, I've opted to do NoJoMo here anyway. Just for the heck of it. Why not make things even more crazy 'round here?! And speaking of crazy, I have another Chrysalis story to write. Prompt forty-four, folks!! We're so near the end I can taste it! But what a busy month this will be.

P.S. This month we will see 11/11/11, and at 11:11am (and pm for that matter) we will see 11:11 on 11/11/11. What can I say, I get a kick out of this stuff!

Presenting...

My completed paper edit transfer to Scrivener thingy! FYI, I tend to use the words 'thingy' and 'thingies' a lot. In my universe, they are words. Anyway, the edits are done and I'm ready to send the novel off to my beta-reader. Wheee, I have a beta-reader! I also have one more goal to cross off my list! Now I can turn my attention to NaNoWriMo and the two novels I'll be writing during November! There was a discussion on the NaNo forums about last-minute projects people are trying to get done before November 1st. This was mine. I do have a Chrysalis story to finish, which technically was due yesterday...or maybe even on Friday. I can't remember if it was my turn to post the Friday feature or not. Either way, I'll get that one done tonight, and then tomorrow NaNo begins!

What about you? Do you have any last-minute projects to finish before November? What about end-of-year tasks?

Still alive!

Yes, I totally failed NaBloWriMo. And I'm fine with that. I had a rather disappointing weekend, but I'm not going to get into details. Suffice it to say I feel better now, but this is the kind of disappointment that will take a fair while to recover from. I'm a bit annoyed at the timing, what with NaNo coming up and everything! But oh well, NOTHING will keep me from my NaNoWriMo.

I still haven't finished my paper edit transfer stuff. I really should have finished it a few days ago. The personal matter that took over my life kind of got in the way of that. But I'm determined to finish the edits today. I've only got about 9 pages to go, so it shouldn't take me long. But as I mentioned a while back, I have had to do a bit of rewriting so it's taken more effort than it otherwise would have.

Last night I stayed over at a friend's for a girls' night and we watched LEGALLY BLONDE. This morning, though, we watched DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, a film straight outta my youth. I was 5 when it came out. Maybe 4. Depends on when in 1985 it was released. Madonna was just so damn cool in this movie! What a trendsetter. She still is that, I guess, but I admit I'm not a huge fan of her more recent work. Old school Madonna is where it's at.

This post doesn't have one central theme, as you can see. And that's another thing I'm perfectly at ease with. I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Ways to help your author friends

Nope, this is not my post...but I want to mention Jolene Perry's post on this very topic. Because it made me realise I needed to tell some people that I haven't forgotten their books!

I have a bunch of books from blogger writer friends that I have yet to read (including Ciara Knight, and my friend Carmen Rane Hudson). I just want all of you to know that I will be reading them! I will be leaving reviews on GoodReads (and anywhere else you want me to leave them!) once I'm done. It's really hard for me to prioritise my reading, because I have so much of it to do. My TBRRN shelf (to-be-read-right-now) is rather packed. Then I have an entire other bookcase full of TBR books. None of that includes the eBooks I've got stashed, ready to have at.

But I will get there! So just remember you are not forgotten!

Craaaaaaazy

I would blame my recent lobotomy for the fact that I locked myself out of my home...again. But the last time I locked myself out, I hadn't had the lobotomy yet. So I guess there's really no good excuse for this one!! But instead of focusing on how annoyed I am right now (because my keys are still in my house...I may need to borrow a ladder), I'm going to concentrate on some good stuff.

For instance, I have (I think) two more chapters to go before I'm done with the revision thingy. Then I will send my manuscript thingy off to my beta-reader Laura! Wheeee! Then it will be time for NaNoWriMo. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

"My Weakness" by Moby

At present, I'm up to page 165 of my paper edit transfer. At this stage I feel like I am probably not doing the best I could do with implementing the edits. I mean, I should probably read over the whole thing instead of just focusing on the parts I had noted during the paper edit. But I feel good about the rearrangements I've been doing along the way, and how many words I've cut out. The wordcount is currently under 95k, which means I have already met my wordcount goal. However, there's potential for adding some words in these last few chapters, so I'll see how it all turns out I guess.

My face is swollen today. My aunty was telling me that when she had a similar procedure done on her face (but on her nose, not forehead), it took a couple of days after the surgery for the swelling to really start. I was confused when my face began to puff up, because I thought I had got away with hardly any swelling! Now I know I was wrong about that. But I'm not in any pain, so that part is fine.

Right now I am listening to "My Weakness" by Moby. Now when I hear this song, I think of that X-FILES episode. But I loved the song even before hearing it on that show. It's a gorgeous song, and if you haven't heard it, you should!

What I'm reading

This is what I'm reading at the moment, thanks to a colleague who lent it to me at least a year ago (probably more like two...). I've put it off time and time again, but finally I'm getting stuck in. Because, as that colleague of mine told me, "You've got to read at least one Jackie Collins novel in your life."

This, my friends, is the one.

What are you reading?

NaBloWriMo day...23

I could share more graphic pictures of my battle scar, but I wouldn't want to scare anyone! Oh, and for the record, that isn't a scar - it's a wound which will scar, at least a little. But I'm not worried about a white Harry Potter scar on my forehead. Or Zorro, as the man put it. I just want the sutures out so I can start healing properly!

Meanwhile, my wordcount during revisions is really shrinking. Right now I'm at 95,736. If you recall, my goal wordcount was 95k!! So I'm nearly there. I can well imagine going under it, which means I may have some breathing space for improving on descriptions in various places. I'm up to page 134 out of 188, so I'm making good progress. But enough about that.

I want to mention an experience I had a few days back, after locking myself out of a particularly important building (the one I live in). I had to call on my secret ninja powers of breaking and entering (luckily I didn't have to break anything in order to enter)... I even had to walk myself backwards up a wall while hanging off a window sill! Work colleagues suggested I might look into a job with ASIO, or one as a stunt double in action movies. Nah, I think I'll just stick with superhero librarianship and writing on the side, thanks. Still, it was fun to think about for a moment.

Zombie Trisha

Can you see it? I know, it's tiny! But I was searching Google for an appropriate zombie picture and I couldn't find any.

Now I guess you're wondering why I needed a zombie pic. Basically I was looking for something that would do my current appearance justice. I finally had my skin cancer removed and now I have a rather misshapen forehead. It really looked like I had little aliens growing in there. Not that the lumps were moving - no, they were perfectly dormant - but still, the description fit.

I'm not in much pain, just a little discomfort, and my lovely man stocked me up with white whine and chocolate (and leftover Thai food...mmmmm!), so I am all set. My mum is coming over at some point to wash the blood out of my hair. And then on Monday it's back to work, unless I decide I'm too ugly to be seen in public.

Meanwhile, today I am working on revisions. Currently I'm up to page 115 of 188. And I just realised I haven't paid any attention whatsoever to the Chrysalis prompt for this week. So I guess I better get a story written somewhere in the next few days.

What are you up to this weekend?

My NaNoWriMo past...and future

I thought I'd rehash my NaNo past, as well as briefly mention the future! A little research has shown me that I've done the following:

2002: ANJIE DAYS

2003: SOMANA

2007: SQUEAKY MCLEAN

2008: TURKEY BOURKE

2009: SUNDOWN

2010: NAUSICAA

In 2011, I'm writing two novels, so to the above list I will be adding:

2011: DANNA/VICTORIOUS

Because I am determined that I will win this year as well! Maybe I won't actually finish both novels. Maybe I'll finish one and not the other! Maybe both will be 'complete' (I'm doubtful of this). Either way, I will write 50k on each novel. At the very least, I will write 50k altogether. The major challenge will not be writing a total of 100k. Rather it will be attempting to finish both novels.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo during other years, but either unofficially, or unsuccessfully. So I'm not listing those here. One of the unsuccessful years was me attempting to continue with the previous year's story. I wrote a bit on it, but not 50k. One year I didn't participate at all, and another I participated unofficially.

So there you go. It's on record now, for all to see! But now it's your turn!

What's your NaNo history?

Twitter-tag the first

Long, long ago, I got Twitter-tagged by my blogger friend Charlotte Jane Ivory. And here is my reaction to that event:

1. If you could go back in time and relive one moment, what would it be?
   I've had heaps of great moments, but probably the one I'd love to relive is the first time I ever saw the Smashing Pumpkins live in concert. Or MAYBE it'd be the second time I saw them, which was a 3-hour performance in San Diego. MAGIC.
   
   
2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
   I'd probably go back in time and try to orchestrate a distinct lack of Joseph Stalin in the world.
   
   
3. What movie/TV character do you most resemble in personality?
   Nobody, because I'm unique and nobody is like me? This is my lazy answer because I honestly can't think of any character off the top of my head. Or even off the bottom of it.
   
   
4. If you could push one person off a cliff and get away with it, who would it be?
   If I could push one person off a cliff, it'd probably be Juturna from my novel NAUSICAA. Maaaaan that lady's a nasty piece of work. But it's okay, she gets her come-uppance.
   
   
5. Name one habit you want to change in yourself.
   I want to be utterly confident in the idea that the world is my oyster, damn it. Basically I want to stop looking to other people for the kind of validation I am more than capable of giving myself.
   
   
6. Describe yourself in one word.
   Interesting.
   
   
7. Describe the person who named you in this meme in one word.
   Glamorous!
   
   
8. Why do you blog? Answer in one sentence.
   Because somebody said I should...so I gave it a shot, and thought it pretty well rocked!
   
   
9. Name at least 3 people to send this meme to, and then inform them.
   Ohhh, okay. I'll choose these people, after which I shall inform them:

• Laura @ Daily Dodo
• Madeline Bartos
• Jolene Perry

Meet Laura, my first EVARRR beta-reader!

Recently I mentioned that I found myself a beta-reader at last. That was actually one of my goals for 2011, so YAY! Anyway, my lovely beta's name is Laura and she has agreed to answer a few questions (read: be interrogated by the crazy librarian cat lady) so you (and I!) can get to know her better! Without further ado, I present...Laura!

1. What do you write, and what do you read? Do they tend to be the same?
I'll answer the second bit first. I read chick lit. Lots of chick lit. Probably far too much for one little person to handle - with the occasional snippet of sci-fi, thriller, and historical non-fiction. When it came to writing, I decided to write chick lit (naturally), and it also fits in well with the non-fiction fashion writing I do. I finished the first draft of my fist novel Welly-Booty-Goodness and shrugged. I was meant to be super-excited but it wasn't there, maybe because I've read so much of the stuff before. So now I'm considering embarking on a thriller for NaNoWriMo.

2. Do you love NaNoWriMo as much as I do? (for assistance with answering this one, I will inform you that I love NaNoWriMo THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS much)
I have a confession. I'm a NaNoWriMo virgin, *blushes*. I did BuNoWriMo in June run by Burrowers, Books and Balderdash. It's exactly the same premise but on a smaller scale, and I really enjoyed that. But I'm so excited about NaNoWriMo - I'm sooo going to a kick off event!

3. Do you have any beta readers of your own, and if so want to tell us about ‘em? If not, why not?
I don't have any dedicated Beta readers as yet, because I haven't really got anything to a stage where I want to get it checked out by anyone. A couple of fab, bloggy pals have been good enough to take a brief look over a chapter here and there for me though.

4. What kind of music do you write to? Or do you need complete silence? Or the steady beating of a bongo drum as background noise? Or something else entirely? (if the latter, what?)
So, for Welly-Booty-Goodness, I wrote the entire thing to the same playlist - Elvis, Beejees, Fink and Al Green. I'm thinking if I go the thriller route, I'm going to need some new suggestions!

5. What the HECK were you thinking, agreeing to be MY beta reader? Just kidding! The real question is...what's your favourite writing snack/drink combo?
Peanut M&Ms, a huge bowl of greasy, ready-salted crisps and a bucket of coffee.

Mmmmmm, peanut M&Ms...! No, really, that's where the interview ends. Pretty abrupt, huh? Well, I ran out of ideas for questions. So now I will just say THANKS to Laura for submitting to my interrogation, and for agreeing to be my first ever beta! Wheee!

Check out Laura's blog to enter her 200 Followers Giveaway!

Winter is my friend

That there is the kind of weather I love. We don't get it here, maybe that's why I love it so much. Pine for it, even. We don't get snow at all where I live. Apparently there is the occasional dusting of snow somewhere in my state - in the closest thing we have to mountains here - but for the most part, snow is practically a myth to people here.

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a nice (cool) spring day. I can appreciate a nice gusty autumn day. I can even appreciate a hot summer's day, at least when I'm at the beach, in the water. But one of my favourite things is to travel overseas when it's winter there, and miss out on the grossness that is summer over here.

EPIC FAIL (link to a review)

D'arcy Wretzky, portrait by me.
It's day 17 of NaBloWriMo, and I'm not planning on saying anything other than...I'm up to page 89 (Chapter 18) in my paper edit --> Scrivener thingy.I finished reading EPIC FAIL, and put up a review on GoodReads.Now I'm reading FIVE FLAVOURS OF DUMB by Antony John.And now I'm going to click that orange Publish Post button.

Some scribbles for day...16 of NaBloWriMo

Chrysalis wordcount for the year to date: 93,917

Number of stories written: 41

That is all I'll say for now, as I will be doing a proper statistical analysis when the year is over.

Paper edit progress: up to page 84 (start of chapter 17) in the transfer!

Current Scrivener word count: 98,535 (goal is 95k)

And I'm completely serious when I say: that's all, folks!

Except I am a liar, because I must compulsively add a P.S. to mention that I'm currently reading EPIC FAIL by Claire LaZebnik, and enjoying the heck out of it!

Oh, and P.P.S. (didn't you love doing heaps of P.S.s as a teen? i.e. right up into the P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S.s? Or was it just me?) Go NaBloWriMo!

Satur'dee

It is day something-or-rather of NaBloWriMo (I know I could find out what day it is by deducing the date, but I'm feeling too lazy to lift my hand to the top right-hand corner of my computer screen where the date and time lives! I can tell you it's Saturday, just by glancing at that corner, though. Gosh I'm good). Now for the meat of the entry:

• The image above is a manipulation (and, naturally, serious cropping) of an original piece of art done in really dark pencil (yes, that is the technical and Trisha-rifically correct term for the kind of pencil I'm talking about...because I say so!). It doubles as "song art". See, when I first started writing songs, I did a little picture - sometimes more than one - for each song. I've slacked off on that in recent years, mostly due to no longer having easy acesss to Photoshop, but maybe someday I'll get back into it!
  
  
• I finished reading ALEX CROSS'S TRIAL today. It was such an awful story, mostly because it was based on events of history. I have no idea how people can be so horrible, or ever could, even when it was 'the norm'. But at least not everyone in this story was horrible. I really enjoyed the fast-paced writing, short chapters, and Ben Corbett's voice. In short, it was an easily devoured, if shocking in parts, read. It doesn't have the realism of some nasty pieces of work I've read this year, which is probably a blessing - who wants to really truly be there in the awful moment with a story like this?
  
  
• As of this very second, I am up to page 63 in my paper-to-Scrivener editing, and my current word count is 99,441. Yay!! Under 100k again. But I have another 4.5k to cut before I'll be satisfied.
  
  
• I am thrilled to report that I have found my first beta reader! But I will report on that in more depth later! For now, I post this, in the hopes that everyone is having a great weekend even as I speak (or, rather, type).

In conclusion, thanks everyone for the input on the face transplant topic. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who'd prefer to walk around with a fake face (or no face at all) than to sport somebody else's dead one.