Cribbing

            During NaNo, I started including snippets from my WIP to keep what remains of my sanity, and to speed up the writing. However, what started as a shortcut has since become a good idea. I’m going to make sure I include at least one snippet from my WIP every month (maybe more than that). This way I don’t have to wrack my brain for a new piece of F³, but also to keep me honest and working on that WIP throughout the year.

The Ten Minute Rule

            Last NaNoWriMo was brutal. The combination of grading so many essays and trying to meet the rigors of 1667 words a day almost broke me. But I survived. And I learned an important lesson. 1. Writing at restaurants is a good thing (though expensive). 2) The 10 minute rule.

            For those who have never graded, it’s a grueling experience, and one that easily saps the will. I used to do long grading sessions of multiple hours, powering through what needed to be done, and then crashing into a stupor. I barely had the presence of mind to sit mindlessly through Netflix binge sessions. But I couldn’t do that if I wanted to make it through NaNo. I had to find a way to get the grading done, but leave enough of my soul for writing.

            The idea was simple, switch on and off. Ten minutes of grading followed by 10 minutes of writing. I set a timer on my phone, and go. The only alteration to the rule is that I finish the essay I’m grading and the paragraph I’m writing. Then I switch.

            Not only did I survive NaNo, I’ve been able to (somewhat) keep up the habit. With some more work at it, I should be able to make this a permanent change.

NaNo Energized

            The end of Nano always energizes me. Even though I’ve pushed myself to hit the word count, and feel utterly exhausted, I feel infinitely accomplished. The reality, however, is that I have to go back to teaching, which always interferes with the energy, and keeps me from pursuing a writing schedule, even an easier one, to finish out the semester.

            Still need to work on this part, but at least I have felt the energy again.

That Time Again

            It’s NaNoWriMo again. I have been waffling back and forth in previous years, but not this year. I’m in. All in. Sure, the pace is grueling, but I haven’t been able to be a consistent novel writer in the past few years without this push, so I’m taking it. And the more time I spend writing this post, the less time—

Unfinished

            Another NaNo down. I finished my word count. The title of this post isn’t referring to that. No, it’s referring to last year’s NaNo novel. I started a Matt Allen book, and still have not finished it. Usually over the course of the year I will finish out a draft of my NaNo book, but that didn’t happen this time. Throughout the year I got sidetracked by other projects (Matt included), and just could not get back to it.

NaNo Time Again

            I’ve waffled about doing NaNoWriMo for the past couple of years, but done it anyway. Now I’m back on board and writing. I’ve got the project, I’ve got the will, but whether or not I can find the time with a full load of classes is up for grabs. I’m going for it, though. I’ve even done a lot of prep work on this story, more than I’ve ever done for past books. I’ve got semi-detailed chapter outlines and have done some world building for this one.

            It also helps that I watched a lot of movies in preparation for this. What? It’s for research. Honest!

NaNo Lifespan

            I think it’s because NaNo is over after the thirty days. A large number of people finish out their time at NaNo and never look back, never move forward. Those of us serious about writing know that manuscript not only has to be drafted (which is never done in 50,000 words), but then revised, proofed, revised again, etc.

            It’s a much bigger commitment than 30 days, and those of us who spend time writing all year long don’t’ have time for the games and artifice of NaNo’s structure.

            I remember reading on NaNo forums people who spent months in preparation, creating profiles of their characters, of detailing their settings and plot points, all so that they could begin writing on the stroke of midnight, and all I can think of now is that instead of doing nothing but preparing to write, you should write.

           

NaNo Over

            Another NaNo is over. Every year I think to myself that I’m not going to do it, and every year I end up making at least the attempt. The last couple of years have been less formal, and I haven’t interacted with anyone in my local rea with the event. I simply quietly plug along with my own progress, unconcerned about anyone else.

            I guess this is because, at least in my mind, it’s changed. It’s no longer a community event to see if I can do it. I already know I can do it. It’s a question of whether or not I will do it. And I don’t need the cheerleading aspect of NaNo in order to write. I don’t need word drills and hanging out in coffee shops with a crowd of people that are, at best, only semi-serious about writing.

            In a highly informal poll of writer friends, most of them end up moving away from Nano as well. Oh, they still write. In fact they outpace NaNo writers. The last four years I’ve done NaNo I’ve haven’t felt any real pressure that I was behind and couldn’t get it done. Even with attending Crime Bake, which eats up a good three days of writing I could still get it done without difficulty. Yes, some of it was down to the wire, but it still got done.

            But it is interesting to see the more serious, and especially the professionally paid, writers move away from NaNo.

           

NaNo No More?

            I’m on the fence about NaNoWriMo this year. My writing has been very sporadic as I’ve been working on other projects, so it’s just hard to get back into the swing of things, especially when it comes to writing 1667 words a day. What with a writing conference and the semester’s final projects coming due in just two weeks, I feel like I’m simply stretching myself too thin.

            At the same time, I need to write.

            So I’ve signed up for NaNo, but I’m not sure if I’m actually going to finish.

            Then again, I’m not sure I can let myself not at least try to finish.

Post NaNo

I did NaNo on the QT this year. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. With tons of grading, running a brand new project, more grading, a writing conference, Thanksgiving, and more grading, I just didn’t think it was going to be possible. NaNo was going to be the thing that I had to give up.
But there was no harm in at least starting it. If I didn’t make it, no problem. And there were quite a few times, especially during the conference, where I didn’t do any writing at all.
NaNo is something I will probably always attempt because it neatly sums up the writing life. There are always going to be things going on, and if you don’t make your words for the day, that’s okay. The important thing is to keep pushing forward. Keep adding to that word count.

Writer's Log NaNoWriMo.0700

     Well, I've finished the first week of NaNo, and I'm sitting at 20,000 words, which is far far above where I had hoped to be. Checking over my records for last year, I'm about 2,000 ahead of my past self. I'm not entirely sure if I can keep the pace up, but I'm going to give it a shot. Projections have me ending this at just after halfway through the month, but I'll be happy if I'm done before Thanksgiving. If all goes well, I'll be crossing the 25k mark this week, which will be cause for celebration. So, hopefully by Wednesday, I will throw a little party for myself. I'll get a cupcake.
     I hope NaNo is going well for others participating, and remember to keep with it. You'll make it. Just don't think about the editing that needs to be done.

Writer's Log NaNoWriMo.106

     Writer's log NaNoWriMo.106: Did overnight writing sprint up to 2288. Would have continued, but had to face work in 4 hours. I still have to face work, but have ideas, so I plan to get more writing done. I just checked last year's results for day one, and I was at an impressive 5494. Of course, that was a weekend day, and the sprint lasted until almost 3am. So, for less than 1 1/2 hours of writing, I will take what I got, and be glad for it.

Mental Exhaustion

     Sadly, there will be (or rather was not) an F³ today due to mental exhaustion. It struck me somewhere in the middle of the week, and I knew it for what it was as I had trouble finding basic words in my brain, and putting together sentences. So, for today, and tomorrow, I have (and will) be letting my brain get as much rest as possible, which means only the bare minimum grading and lots and lots of fun, mindless entertainment and physical activities in order to mentally prepare for NaNo.
     Also as preparation, a spy movie marathon (see above, mindless entertainment). It will get me thinking spy thoughts at least, and secret organizations bent on world domination and getting women to wear bathing suits and high heels as much as possible. And go-go boots. I don't have a thing for go-go boots, but it seems part of the shtick.
     I will endeavor to revive F³ throughout NaNo by taking bizarre pictures with my camera phone, and throwing something together in that way. And, as is my habit, I will post up the first chapters of the new novel.

Back in the Saddle

Well, the huge hump of grading is ended (for now), and I am once again dedicating myself to writing. At first it was difficult, but I'm getting back up to speed. I'm also beginning my NaNoWriMo training regimen again, upping my totals slowly over the course of the month. I should be able to handle the NaNo load even though I have some mega grading to do in November, and some other projects that have come up. I'm still making preparations for my new series in November, and hope to have enough of a plot mapped out and characters defined to zip through the first 50k.

November Wrap-up

     Well, another month gone, but more than that, another NaNoWriMo complete! Yes, I reached 52k (plus change) on November 21st. The Missing Succubus is well underway, and I'm very pleased so far with how it is unfolding. As has become my habit, I don't have a detailed outline, but I do have a direction, a heading, in lieu of a fully charted course. This seems to work better for me. Wow, it feels really good to be done. If you'll pardon me for a moment, I feel the need for a short exclamation regarding the subject: Hell yeah!
     Right, back to the serious nature of this blog. Now, what with teaching three classes and NaNoWriMo, I thought my head was going to explode, but I pulled it off. I even managed to come up with new drafts for my query letter, as well as a preliminary CV to solicit (take from that what you will) myself to other colleges. Oh, and not to mention grading over 30 10-12 page research papers in four days. I really thought my brain would just shut down at some point. If I hadn't finished NaNoWriMo ahead of time, I'm sure it would have.
     Since finishing, I have treated myself to tackling two short stories which I was inspired to write, one before November and the other halfway through. I'm going to finish both of them before resuming work on The Missing Succubus. I hope to finish both of them during December. After that I will probably alternate on The Missing Succubus and giving some final tweaks to Blood and Stones that were suggested to me, and maybe even giving Halloween Scourge a once over. But that, of course, is the future.
     Here are the charts for November. You'll notice that Thanksgiving Weekend has nothing in terms of writing, and that was by design instead of tryptophan. I needed those days for grading, and gave myself a break because I had already pumped out 50k words in 21 days. Yes, all right, I will accept the title of slacker for that one.

Matt Allen's Guide to Vampires

     This was inspired by a post on a NaNoWriMo forum about the technical aspects of vampires. Basically a "nuts and bolts" breakdown of how they work. Instead of writing protracted amounts regarding the inner workings of these creatures, I decided to bring together pieces I have already written under generalized headings. What follows is told from the perspective of Matt Allen and other characters to reveal what vampires are like in various circumstances, all told in Matt's signature style.
Matt Allen's Guide to Vampires

Beauty
     Vampires were . . . well, the longer they were around, the more physically perfect they became. And Nikki had been around for awhile. Without fuzzing a man's mind she could dry the mouth. The only reason I didn't fall at her feet was because I knew what she was, and that scared the hell out of me. It wasn't fair, really. Vampires got more powerful and better looking with age.

Being Bitten
     I don't think I'd want to remember all of the stuff I've been through in life. The last half hour was definitely part of that. The scariest thing was that I still enjoyed it. I think I enjoyed it even more now than I did when she stopped. I knew in my head that it had been awful, but the feelings associated with the memory were gradually becoming pleasurable. Maybe there was a need to get that holy water on the wound quickly. Maybe that could dispel the feeling. This was the first time more than just a couple of minutes had gone by since I'd been bitten.

Breathing
     Despite being dead, vampires did breathe. Air was necessary to talk, after all, and the habit of breathing was a hard one to drop.

Charming/hypnosis
     "I could make you, Matthew. You know I have the power. You're a little more stubborn than Zachary was, but no real challenge." Zachary. That must have been the kid who she was sucking on when I came up. Unfortunately, she was right. She could make me, that was the big fear of coming in here, too. I knew better than to think I had the willpower to resist her. No one really did. If she turned her mind on me, I'd become her happy little puppy.
     "I know you could," the words came out in a slow rush, each one seeming dragged out but also rushed between syllables, "but you won't." Time to play some poker; it was all I could do.
     "And why won't I, Matthew?"
     "It means more to you for me to give myself over to you. And if you force me, I become less useful." All true. The pleasurable forcing, what she had done to Zachary most likely, became addictive. The anticipation and desire of it overrode other things. I'd end up coming back in here and doing whatever it took to get more from her. Nikki was smart, though. She had been able to put to use information I had given her in the past. I'd be less able to get more information if she did this to me. I didn't have an inhuman willpower, but I had some good wits about me, and a knack for figuring things out. That would be gone if she started to play with my mind.

     That's when I felt it. It wasn't a voice in my head, or one of those stupid mind controls where a guy repeated everything, or even a weight or a pressure. This was being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold night, given hot chocolate with little marshmallows, and the voice of mom saying, "I'll make it all better" It felt good; too good.
     I was wrapped up in her will, and it was enfolding me in warmth and would soon become as necessary to me as Linus's blanket was to him.

     I wasn't any good at this whole interrogation thing. A real criminal would easily defeat me, but I wasn't after that. I wanted that illogical hole flushed out so she could confront it.

     The force of a vampire's will, the suggestions made, like all suggestion, left the mind, will, or soul—whatever someone believed—vulnerable to more suggestions. Each time it happened it became easier, too. I didn't know how many times Vlad had pushed his will onto Alice. For some of it he probably didn't need to, but she was definitely touched by him. The logical gap had proven that.


Dhampir
     "Still, a half-vampire would be great to kick ass with. All the benefits of a vampire, only the blood thing to deal with. Sounds like my kind of gig."
     "Well, kid, hate to burst your bubble, there ain't no such animal. Vampires don't do just half-way. You are one, or you aren't. An incomplete ritual either kills the victim or they get better from it."

Evil
     Vampires were predators, and like any predator, morality didn't enter into the argument. In fact, I think they reveled in their amorality.

Fear
     "Have I told you how delicious your fear is, Matthew? There is something about it that makes everything more savory."
     Okay, this put me over the edge, and now my skin did crawl with goose flesh; the ice pit in my stomach was back, too, and she wasn't even touching me. It wasn't her description. Well, it wasn't just her description, but something I realized. Fear was just as much a part of it as the blood. She got off on it somehow; most likely they all did.

Food and digestion
     "So what happens to the stuff you eat? I know you don't get anything from it, but it's got to go somewhere."
     "Really, Matthew, I thought you had more tact than to bring up an indelicate subject like that."
     "That don't answer the question, doll."
     "As you say, it must go somewhere. Let me just say that it becomes messy, but in order to appear human, it is necessary. I couldn't blend in very well if all I did was push food around on my plate. Plus, I must admit, I do love the taste of some food. The contrasts of flavors and textures are truly wonderful. Just because I get sustenance from other sources does not mean I can't enjoy fine cuisine."

Garlic
     To vampires, garlic in the blood was like rotten fish, spoiled milk, fermented meat, and the strongest cheese known to man all rolled into one.

Invitations
     The whole thing about vampires being invited in was true, but only in a certain way. The place first had to be consecrated or made holy to keep such creatures out. Of course, an invitation neatly dispelled such consecration. I'd have to call Richard Perkins, my minister, again and see if I could convince him to reconsecrate the place. That was another thing that the stories never covered. Once anything crossed over with an invitation, that was it; anything could. Now an entire army of darkness—sans Ash—could plow through my office.

Mirrors
     Of course, I had to have proof, which was its own problem. Sure, a regular P.I. would take pictures and drop them off to the parents; case solved, collect the money. Problem was, vampires didn't photograph. They weren't missing like in movies, but they appeared to be a blur or an unfocused dark spot. Mirrors were the same thing. The reflection just didn't cast properly. I hadn't quite figured it out completely, but suspected it had something to do with how light worked on vampires.

Reproduction
     Men shot blanks, and the women didn't ovulate. Of course, the snippet of text I had found that alluded to that hadn't called it that. Instead it was, "The devil that doth possess these creatures doth rob the male of its seed, nor is the woman guided by the cycle of the moon." I had confirmation when I took a case where a vampire had charmed and used up the daughter of this couple. The rape kit the police had done revealed fluid, but no swimmers.

Scent
     "When you get bitten, they leave something on you. Think of it like a scent or something. They can find you again after biting you once. Holy water cleans it off."

Silver
     Silver actually did some good, though. Something about it worked. Not sure what exactly, but it did. A weapon of silver did its job well, though. They wouldn't kill, not with something simple, anyway. Something about how silver reflected light was important, too. Sunlight reflected off of silver was just as good as being in the open light. But it had to be pure silver, and not sterling or anything else. Having my pocket knife blade made of pure silver had cost me a bit, but I was glad I had it done. I took a little time rummaging in the junk to unearth it from under an old newspaper. Knives were a weapon of last resort. Silver bullets sound good, but even though they go through a vampire like they would a man, they didn't slow them down as much, and definitely didn't kill. Certainly not as easy as they do in popular television or movies. The best, surest way to kill a vampire was the sun.

Sleeping
     It was a clue to her age. I thought she was only over one hundred, but she was closer to two, or maybe even more. I'd have to look at some of my notebooks to be sure, but I was fairly sure Nikki could be awake during the day, maybe even tolerate sunlight in a room. Not being in the light, of course, no vampire could do that, but even those old enough to be awake during the day were nearly blinded by the brightness of the sun's light. For them, just being in the same room as sunlight was like staring straight into the sun for an hour.

Society
     Vampires didn't have a society, really. There were no vast hierarchies or family bloodlines or any of the other nonsense found in movies. Vampires only created other vampires for two reasons. The first being accidental. There was no owner's manual on being a vampire, and sometimes the mewling young are just cast out into the wilderness. It wasn't as simple as just feeding, though. There definitely was a little more to it than that, but not much more. The other reason was loneliness. Old Bram had it right; vampires do feel. They love, they hurt, and they get lonely. The only thing was that vampires had power, and power tended to corrupt. Also, the human elements of emotion can erode over time. It doesn't become vampire and vampire, but power and power, and those types of struggles never really ended well. I'm sure there were exceptions, but a vampire couple, never aging, surviving indefinitely, was not very probable. Break ups could be bad, too. Someone who hated your guts and was going to live forever as a constant rival usually didn't fly well, especially as time went on he or she would get more power. There just wasn't much point to creating others to compete with your food beyond those. Vampires had no natural predators, and were so resistant to other things they didn't have to fear much from humans.

Stakes

     Stakes were a half-truth. Vampires could be hurt by certain wood, and a stake of that wood through the heart would kill as long as it connected to the earth; if removed, though, they would come back. It had to be special, though; a chair leg wouldn't do a thing to them. Olive wood, hawthorn, and ash were the best, but they had to be specially prepared. Stabbing with the sharpened end of a branch was as effective as a splinter.
     Staking was difficult as hell. Pull it out at the wrong time, and they heal up and really ruin your day.

Stigmata
     I circled around the desk to get a closer look, and then I could see the texture of lines in the star. What I saw in the picture was definitely a branding iron, but no brand would leave a permanent mark on a vampire. At the first feeding it would heal, but silver would leave . . .
     "Stigmata. The iron was made of silver."
     "Yes."
     "But why is it still here? Virgin's blood—"
     "Did not work," she finished, and started putting her blouse back on.
     "Who did it?"
     "A bishop," she said simply. That might explain it. Faith had weird effects like that.

Sunlight
     As soon as the sun hit him, he disappeared into grey ash in stages. The window light wasn't big enough to get the whole of the vampire, so we had to move parts of him into it when room became available.

     I held it solidly, then slowly pushed the edge of it, still in the bag, past the edge of the shadow and into the sunlight. Immediately there was a hiss, and I could see the intense cold causing a wisp of smoke as the flesh flashed to cold ash and the bag had become brittle and cracked around it, letting the fine ash spill out onto the ground.


Sweating
     Jasmine waved a hand in front of her face, trying to cool skin that beaded with sweat and cheeks that hinted at rosiness due to the exertion. Nikki, though, was as cool and dry as if she had never moved a muscle. I had never thought about it, but I guessed it was only natural that she wouldn't sweat. That was another tidbit filed away for later.

Teeth
     Her fangs. They weren't her canine teeth, though, but a second set of teeth behind them. I saw them once, on the guy I had actually killed. They were recessed up in the gum tissue, looking like a thickness behind those regular incisors, until ready to feed, then they came down, almost like claws on a cat. Needle sharp and coming down just behind the canines, they lined up so they almost seemed like an extension of them. I for one did not like that I had a first-hand look at seeing them here. The incisors looked like solid teeth, though longer now, and I'm sure if I had time and a magnifying glass to study them like an egghead scientist, I'd see where the teeth overlapped, but I had other things on my mind.

Telepathy
     "As I said, we cannot detect one another save by personal contact, but then you could identify one with that as well."
     "Yeah; not wanting to get that close." Movies had that wrong, too. Vampires didn't have telepathy or any kind of mystical homing beacon to other vampires any more than I could say where Jen was at this moment.

Ultraviolet light and acid
     "Man, you should carry around one of those UV lights like in Blade or a sword with acid in it or something, then you'd be all like whaaaaa slash shwing! Dead vampires everywhere, man."
     "Dear Lord in heaven! You actually believe that crap? Listen up, kid, here's the skinny. Ultraviolet light is crap. It doesn't work. It's sunlight they're afraid of. Whatever it is about sunlight that they don't like, science hasn't discovered how to do it artificially. Acid is also worthless. Doesn't do a damn thing besides make them a little mad."

Vampire blood
     [The media] believed that a vampire's blood was the best, but it was junk compared to even regular human blood.

Vampire hunters
     Killing vampires was like downing fighters in the Great War. It didn't take many kills to make you an ace. Then everyone comes gunning for you.

Virgin blood
     Virginal blood was special. Vampires loved the stuff because it was the ultimate in what they would ever taste. Virginal blood would heal them faster, too. Wounds made from the stuff I carried could be healed easily with virgin's blood.

October 2009 Wrap-up

     Well, I've started NaNoWriMo, and have gotten off to an auspicious start. I'm still not sure where The Missing Succubus is going, but it seems to be going there quite well. October was an unprecedented month for me, showing me that I can handle a heavy writing load. If I hadn't finished Halloween Scourge then I would have broken 50,000 for that month as well. I'm anticipating the only problem I'll have in reaching 50,000 for this NaNoWriMo is coming up with enough material for when I need it. For now, though, things are good, so I will simply put up the charts and continue on.

The Nick of Time

     Well, I did it. I managed to finish Halloween Scourge just under the wire. It is by far my longest work at 145,000 words, and I'm glad to see it done. I feel a little brain-frazzled at the prospect of jumping into The Missing Succubus right away, but I'll plow ahead, anyway. I've got some ideas on what I want to write, but how to go about it is still somewhat iffy.
     It's all about story telling conventions, really. I have an event, which is exceptionally important. Life-altering important for my main character, but it will only have minimal impact in this book. It is in future books that the import of this event will make itself known, yet this event will still require my character's full attention for some time, asking him to fly to another location to deal with it before even dealing with a case. So this can't be a conventional subplot that goes on simultaneously with the main plot. I'm left with the conundrum of how to introduce this event in proper context with the story, and I'm afraid I'm left with the time-honored, and overused, tradition of the flashback, which I am loath to use also because of how it reduces the immediacy of the event. Perhaps, though, that is what I must do, though. I will continue to mull it over as I prepare for NaNoWriMo. I'm planning to attend the regional kick-off party for NaNoWriMo, and maybe bounce some ideas off of my fellows for an opinion. As soon as I get it written, I'll post up the first chapter for enjoyment, as well as updating the chronology.

August Wrap-up

     Well, on ce again I'm late getting the wrap-up in, but this time I actually have a legitimate excuse as I'm teaching again, and a little behidn on that, so it's only natural this has fallen behind as well. Blood and Stones has undergone its revisions for the Blackthorn Club, and now it's out to friends for a final perusal. I do mean final, as well. I will examine recommendations they put to me, but I'm not going to do another full read and revision of this thing unless a publisher or agent has suggestions.
     Hopefully, in about a week's time (the deadline I have given the aforementioned people) I will begin sending out query letters to see if there are any bites. I'm also looking to post the entire novel on Authonomy for some more critiquing and ideas. Likely to be followed by Vampire Shadows and eventually Halloween Scourge
     Speaking of which, the story has already well surpassed Blood and Stones in length, and will likely outdo Vampire Shadows as well. Hopefully, though, it will be finished before NaNoWriMo starts up again.
     Well, I've rambled this for longer than I intended. Time to get back to my day job. Here are the totals for August.

November Wrap-up (and NaNoWriMo)

     Well, another month come and gone, along with another NaNoWriMo. It has only been my second, but I enjoyed this one much more than last year's. I think it was a combination of mindset, events, and the amount of practice I've had. Having gone a year at writing 1,000 words a day, upping that quota to 1,667 a day was not that difficult. I have pondered keeping my quota to that amount throughout the rest of the year and next, but I think it more important to focus on quality instead of quantity. Even at 1,000 words a day, I'm producing 360,000 words a year. I have no need to make more than that. What I need to focus on is revising these words. I need to set myself up to be more disciplined to go back and revise what I write as soon as I write it, to at least make it as grammatically perfect as I can. I'm certain there will always be content revisions down the road based on the directions I take plots. I hope that by working on the mechanics, I can get used to editing the work and splitting it into manageable pieces, so I won't be overwhelmed.
     Anyway, I think I've rambled enough on the previous post, so I'll keep this one short and just end it with the the word count graph Come the end of December I'll put up a chart that tracks my writing for the entire year.