Is that the thrill of anticipation I smell? I think it is!
Apparently I've been under a rock this last month or so, because NaNoWriMo has snuck right up on me!
It's a little like when your realize summer vacation is over, and you have to go back to school in a week? Only school, is a free for all shopping trip on the only cruise mall in the world!
IN CASE YOU CAN'T SEE... I'm super excited!
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about... I'll tell you! NaNoWriMo= National Novel Writing Month! Its a month long contest that opens every November first. The challenge? Write a full novel between November 1st and November 30th.
Rules? It must be 50,000 words or more. You have to type more than one word 50,000 times. It hast to be a novel (if you consider it a novel, so do they!) Don't edit! Editing's for December.
And at the end of this marathon of prose, you submit your work for validation of word count. If you've written a full novel by the end of the month, you win! You get a certificate and everything!
I'M SO EXCITED!
See for yourself!
Toodles!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Titles
I am so completely stuck!
Titling a novel is insanely difficult! I know in general, there's a good chance a publishing house or your agent will suggest changing the title for publication, and that can be for any number of reasons. I also know that if that happens to me, all this thinking and thesaurus searching is for nothing, but I'm still trying to find THAT title.
I want a title that gives the same feeling I get when I think of the story. That feeling you get when you read a novel that makes you keep reading. It has to match that and so far I've thought of a lot of good titles, but nothing that has that perfect fit feeling.
I researched articles on titling your story, and know that slapping the first thing you think of on your title page is ridiculous. I heeded their advice. I sat down with my white board and started writing out words that describe my novel, and short phrases. I took those words and looked them up in the thesaurus, I searched Amazon to see what other titles in my genre are named, for inspiration, and still haven't found THAT title. The perfect one.
So what do you think? Its a werewolf based story, and involves a rogue wolf hiding from his pack...
So far I have:
"Borrowed Time"
"Bite of Promise"
"Nowhere to Hide"
and
"Out of Reach"
They're sort of bland... but like I said before, I'm stuck!
Titling a novel is insanely difficult! I know in general, there's a good chance a publishing house or your agent will suggest changing the title for publication, and that can be for any number of reasons. I also know that if that happens to me, all this thinking and thesaurus searching is for nothing, but I'm still trying to find THAT title.
I want a title that gives the same feeling I get when I think of the story. That feeling you get when you read a novel that makes you keep reading. It has to match that and so far I've thought of a lot of good titles, but nothing that has that perfect fit feeling.
I researched articles on titling your story, and know that slapping the first thing you think of on your title page is ridiculous. I heeded their advice. I sat down with my white board and started writing out words that describe my novel, and short phrases. I took those words and looked them up in the thesaurus, I searched Amazon to see what other titles in my genre are named, for inspiration, and still haven't found THAT title. The perfect one.
So what do you think? Its a werewolf based story, and involves a rogue wolf hiding from his pack...
So far I have:
"Borrowed Time"
"Bite of Promise"
"Nowhere to Hide"
and
"Out of Reach"
They're sort of bland... but like I said before, I'm stuck!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Werewolves are Fun!
Took a typing test online just a few minutes ago. Apparently I can type up to 53 words a minute, and that's with random words that made absolutely no sense when strung together. I'm pretty happy with that number. I remember in high school I took a computer class and you had to type 20 words per minute to pass. I couldn't do it without looking at the keyboard, so I sort of cheated.
Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
So 53 is a definite step up. I still cheat sometimes and look at the keys as I'm typing. Old habits die hard, what can I say.
On the writing front, it is so refreshing to work on one type of story for months and suddenly skip to something else, even for a little while. Like a cool bucket of water splashed on the face. (I'm talking about my temporary switch from vampires to werewolves.)
No more fangs for me, at least not for a week or two. It didn't feel fun anymore, and the only reason I write anything at all is because it is so much fun to do! So when it feels like work, I find something else to write about and let me tell you... werewolves are fun!
Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
So 53 is a definite step up. I still cheat sometimes and look at the keys as I'm typing. Old habits die hard, what can I say.
On the writing front, it is so refreshing to work on one type of story for months and suddenly skip to something else, even for a little while. Like a cool bucket of water splashed on the face. (I'm talking about my temporary switch from vampires to werewolves.)
No more fangs for me, at least not for a week or two. It didn't feel fun anymore, and the only reason I write anything at all is because it is so much fun to do! So when it feels like work, I find something else to write about and let me tell you... werewolves are fun!
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