Final WIP WeWriWa!

For this month, I am doing something I've never done before: snippets of an unpublished WIP. Up to this point, I've done samples of my work that are completed and available for purchase. For the month of November, I am giving you a sneak peek into a raw, unedited, incomplete piece. To boot, this is my first jab at a fantasy story.

So without further ado, let's WeWriWa!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

The Tale of the Good Pirate, Robert (working title) is a story about a bird named Robert who fancies himself a pirate; he lives in a land called Locreya. It is the land of infinity: infinite possibilities, infinite opportunities, infinite positivity. Just as there is darkness in our world, there is darkness in Robert's world. It is a land called Mulrad. It is the land of misery, built on the tears of children. When three of his crew men are kidnapped and sent to Mulrad, Robert must find a way to save them, and to bring peace to both lands.

Background on the snippet: Desiree has been in Mulrad for a while. Robert sent her there to be his eyes and ears as he makes the way to rescue her and his three crew members. It was another miserable day in the land of misery, until it seemed the world was falling apart. A terrible earthquake and storm are ravaging Mulrad.

Snippet in 8:

Thunder started to crash. Never in my life have I heard such loud thunder. 

Even louder, were the screams of the trees. They were horrible shrieks. They shouted, and I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. They were guttural, blood curdling, and deafeningly loud. They sounded like horrific screams from children – they broke my heart. These were the worst sound.

I hope you liked it!

NaNoWriMo: The end is just the beginning!

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

It's the end of the month, so it's time to look at the end of NaNo and where we go from here.

The end on NaNo is not the end of your story. In fact, it's just the beginning.

                                           

We've talked about quantity and quality, and the importance of editing and polishing your piece. The end of NaNo marks the beginning of that.

But I don't want to beat a dead horse. I'm just as sick of the repetition and redundancy as you are.

Let's look at the other beginning the end of NaNo brings us.

Having accomplished NaNo, we can say that we have written a novel. It doesn't matter if we're seasoned or not. We've done it. That's an accomplishment in and of itself. It's the beginning of feeling pride in our work and our victory.

It opens the door for us to write more. Novels, short stories, poems, whatever we want! NaNo opens up our creative channels to write and write and write.

If you discover that writing isn't your thing, it still opens up those creative channels. It encourages us to try new artistic endeavors - to begin other challenges and begin learning other art forms.

The end of NaNo is not the end. Not even close. The end of NaNo marks the beginning of many wonderful things!

It's WIP WeWriWa Time!

For this month, I am doing something I've never done before: snippets of an unpublished WIP. Up to this point, I've done samples of my work that are completed and available for purchase. For the month of November, I am giving you a sneak peek into a raw, unedited, incomplete piece. To boot, this is my first jab at a fantasy story.

So without further ado, let's WeWriWa!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

The Tale of the Good Pirate, Robert (working title) is a story about a bird named Robert who fancies himself a pirate; he lives in a land called Locreya. It is the land of infinity: infinite possibilities, infinite opportunities, infinite positivity. Just as there is darkness in our world, there is darkness in Robert's world. It is a land called Mulrad. It is the land of misery, built on the tears of children. When three of his crew men are kidnapped and sent to Mulrad, Robert must find a way to save them, and to bring peace to both lands.

Background on the snippet: Three of Robert's crew have been kidnapped and sent to Mulrad. Robert and his crew overtook another ship (but they guided that captain and crew to safety first); they tore it apart. Now, are on the Purple River (the body of water separating Locreya from Mulrad), placing a large, wooden, vertical post (from the mast of the other ship) of some sort. 

Snippet in 9:

Robert flew above Pegleg Pete guiding him. He was telling him to place a vertical post.

I couldn’t understand why we’d sink the mast of the boat in the water vertically to be used as a post. What kind of post? What for? My curiosity got the best of me. “What are you doing?”

Robert turned his little head. “Making our way in and out of Mulrad.”

I hope you liked it!

NaNoWriMo: Quality AND Quantity

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

Today, we're discussing both quality and quantity. To some extent, this is a continuation from last week's post which addressed word counts.

As we established last week, you want to target around 50,000 words if you are going to write a full-length novel.

So we have quantity, but we also need to discuss quality.

NaNo makes no bones about focusing on quantity rather than quality. When I first heard that (when I did my first NaNo), I was appalled. How could you focus on quantity rather than quality?! I didn't want to churn out some second-rate book.

My perception has changed, though. NaNo is a challenge to get it on paper. That's the focus. It's more about laying down the foundation so you can go back and polish your piece, rather than having a perfectly stellar novel ready for publication in only a month's time. 

In order to write a story, you have to start somewhere. NaNo is the perfect vehicle to get you started.

Could anyone achieve both quantity and quality in only 30 days? I suppose it is plausible, but I don't think it's realistic. If I was to wager money on anyone accomplishing that, it would be Stephen King. 

I don't even think that he would say that he could or would do that. Far better than most of us, he understands the importance of the entire writing process. That process includes editing and revision so that once the quantity is there, the quality follows suit.

It's not easy to have both. It takes time and dedication. Believe you me, I would love to just wake up, type away, and have both quantity and quality. To have a fairy godmother tap her wand on my laptop and boom! There's a perfect novel! If only it were that simple!

You can have quantity and quality, and you really should strive for them both. Just be patient with yourself and the process. It'll be worth it in the end!

More WIP WeWriWa fun!

For this month, I am doing something I've never done before: snippets of an unpublished WIP. Up to this point, I've done samples of my work that are completed and available for purchase. For the month of November, I am giving you a sneak peek into a raw, unedited, incomplete piece. To boot, this is my first jab at a fantasy story.

So without further ado, let's WeWriWa!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

The Tale of the Good Pirate, Robert (working title) is a story about a bird named Robert who fancies himself a pirate; he lives in a land called Locreya. It is the land of infinity: infinite possibilities, infinite opportunities, infinite positivity. Just as there is darkness in our world, there is darkness in Robert's world. It is a land called Mulrad. It is the land of misery, built on the tears of children. When three of his crew men are kidnapped and sent to Mulrad, Robert must find a way to save them, and to bring peace to both lands.

Background on the snippet: This is the main character (Desiree)'s first encounter with Robert.
Snippet in 9:

I looked down, and before me stood a small bird. He boasted a little green body, with a bright yellow face. He was small – not a tropical parrot. Nor did he resemble any wild birds I had ever seen. He was bigger than a parakeet. He was so unique, and so adorable. Then I noticed he wore an eye patch over his right eye. Like a pirate, but he had no hat or peg leg. He was an interesting, if not comical sight.


I hope you liked it!

NaNoWriMo: Why word counts count

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

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This week, I want to discuss word counts.

To start off, we need to look at the breakdown of word counts. As a general rule, they go as follows:

Short Stories: 20,000 words or less

Novellas: 20,000-40,000 words

Novels: 50,000 words or more.

NaNo sets the goal at 50,000 words, which is a good goal. At 50,000, you should have a very well rounded story, and good foundation for the novel itself.

50,000 is a lot of words! Yes it is. Any writer will tell you that there are times when 50,000 feels more like 5,000,000,000. It's not always easy, but word counts are important to keep in mind.

Why?

First and foremost, if you're seeking publication, publishers watch word counts carefully. If the word count is low, they see an emaciated story that will need lots of editing to beef it up. That's time and money that they're not willing to spend. On the flip side of that, if the word count is too high, the piece is too long and no one will read it. So you need to watch your count if you want to get published.

What if you're not seeking publication? What's the point of watching your word count?

Well, those of us who are die-hard grammar policemen/-women will tell you that you need to follow the rules. 

For those of you who are rebellious and don't like rules, look at a word count as a challenge. It's a goal to meet. It's a good frame to help you beef up and trim off sections of your story. It will show you what sections of your novel require more attention and editing. 

I personally find word counts to be a great guide in my story writing.

A good word count is not necessarily indicative of good quality, per se. However, a good word count is indicative of the fact that the writer has been paying attention. If they're paying attention, chances are they're paying attention to the quality and the quantity.

So yes, word counts count.

November WeWriWa: My first time doing a WIP

Hello, fellow bibliophiles!

For this month, I am doing something I've never done before: snippets of an unpublished WIP. Up to this point, I've done samples of my work that are completed and available for purchase. For the month of November, I am giving you a sneak peek into a raw, unedited, incomplete piece. To boot, this is my first jab at a fantasy story.

So without further ado, let's WeWriWa!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

The Tale of the Good Pirate, Robert (working title) is a story about a bird named Robert who fancies himself a pirate; he lives in a land called Locreya. It is the land of infinity: infinite possibilities, infinite opportunities, infinite positivity. Just as there is darkness in our world, there is darkness in Robert's world. It is a land called Mulrad. It is the land of misery, built on the tears of children. When three of his crew men are kidnapped and sent to Mulrad, Robert must find a way to save them, and to bring peace to both lands.

Background on the snippet: this is the introduction, where we get our first taste for life in Locreya.
Snippet in 9 sentences:

Somewhere in the highlands of Scotland, tucked between the rocky crags, and the curving rivers lies a small, dense little forest. Should you enter that forest, it won’t take you long to find Locreya. The sun drizzles in through the trees illuminating the lush, green path. And suddenly, something catches your eye. You see a small sparkle on the ground out of the corner of your eye. By the time you turn to see it, it’s gone. If you wait, though, if you are patient enough and take a big, deep breath in, you’ll see it again. You kneel down to see what this little sparkle could be. When it blinks for the third time, you see that it is simply a little fairy skipping her way down the path. 

I hope you liked it!

NaNoWriMo: What it takes to write a novel

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

To start, let's discuss what it takes to write a novel.

There are the obvious elements: characters, setting, plot. If you've got these, you're off to a good start.

Let's look at them closer, shall we?

Let's start with the characters.

First, look at each of them individually. Where are they from? What is their back story? What brought them to the point at which your story begins? How do they speak? Do they have a specific dialect or accent? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their faults (they are human after all, so they can't be perfect)? What are their insecurities? Their demons? What old pains and resentments do they still carry with them? What events and people helped to shape them into the people they are today? Who are they? Not just their name, their hair color, their sexy lips. Seriously. Who are they. You want to have good, rounded, complete characters. Dig deeply to create full people on your pages.


Setting.

It's easy to say that your setting is New York City in 1965. But where in NYC are you? What month is it? What day is it (day of the week and date)? What is the weather? What do your characters see, hear, and smell? Tell us everything your characters are experiencing. Use every sense. Don't just tell me they drove up to the dumpy no-tell motel. Say, "The lights from Donna’s Mustang shined brightly on the dilapidated motel. Dark brown paint peeled off the front of the building. The neon sign flickered sporadically. The patrol car pulled in right behind her, bringing even more light on the rundown property." Place your readers in exactly the same spot as your characters.


Next is plot.

It can be good versus evil. boy/girl meets boy/girl, etc. Don't keep it simple, though. Look at Harry Potter. Good versus evil plot, but there are so many twists and turns. Multiple goods versus multiple evils. Layers and layers. That's what you need. Not just a basic plot line, but a full story. Is anything in life ever fully easy? We all know how a day full of errands can easily become a day full of errors. Go with that. Shake things up. Change directions. Create a story with depth.


A novel is more than just Dick and Jane. A novel is a story. A full, complete story with full, complete characters, and a full and complete setting. By focusing on the details and layers of your characters, setting and story, everyone wins. You, as a writer, win because you get to experience the entire writing process. Your readers get to experience a great work by you. Don't chince your readers, and don't short change yourself.


Ok, we've gone through the basics. What else does it take to write a novel?

It takes courage.

Writing isn't easy. Seriously. It's hard work. It can be draining and trying, just as much as it can be exciting and satisfying. It takes a lot of courage to sit in front of that monitor every day and to hammer out a story from absolutely nothing. It requires bravery to see a novel from start to finish. It is a long process, and it isn't for the faint of heart.



It takes creativity.

You need to have a good imagination to write any kind of story. You need to be able to see things from a unique perspective. You need to have a way with words. It is imperative that you are slightly off center so that your writing can hit the bull's eye.



It takes determination.

Along with courage, you need to be able to persevere through the entire project. It's VERY easy to become complacent, and even quit. Things will get tough. There will be days where the writing will flow like Niagara Falls. There will be days that you try to make room in your head for creativity by pulling your hair out - and it still won't work! You have to stay focused, and you need to commit yourself 110% to your story.



It takes a sense of humor.

You need to be able to laugh - at your characters, your story, and yourself. Being stuck up, egotistical, and intense will make writing rather unpleasant. Go in with a positive attitude. Enjoy yourself!


It takes you.

You need to be there. Fully and completely focused. Be present. You need to give it your all, so make sure that you show up every day.


Writing a novel can be difficult, but it can also be a lot of fun and incredibly rewarding. NaNo gives everyone the chance to try their hand at writing. If you take on this challenge, make sure you give it all you've got. It'll be worth it in the end.