From today until Saturday, I (and I think most of the other authors of this blog) am aiming to write a page of fiction a day. Today I am pleased to say that I have managed it, so I feel that I have enough writerly mojo to post here too.
I know my last post was about a new project that I was all excited about and had high hopes for. Yeah. You know what I'm going to say. It's been shelved for a little while, because I got distracted by a couple of short stories and some poems. So, I am planning to use Page-a-Day week to polish off the short stories and hopefully this will put me back on track with Down the Rabbit-Hole.
My page today was on a story with no real title that I am writing purely for myself, as a sort of homage to the gothic fiction I am currently obsessed with. It's coming out rather too dark for me to be entirely comfortable with acknowledging that I wrote it, so there won't be any extracts here. I will probably finish it tomorrow, but I've been saying that for a week.
The other short story started with a Seventh Sanctum prompt, which was "The Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allan Poe) with virtual reality and a film-noir feel". The result is quite interesting and quite oddly reminiscent of 1984, so I will be trying to finish that after I've finished my nameless piece. After that, I will probably get back to Wonderland and there may be extracts from that coming up too. Enjoy Page-a-Day Week, everyone!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
First Post
Hey!
Kori here. So yeah, this is my first post on Mission: Write. Can I get a w00t-w00t? 8P
I've always loved writing. I've been getting into it more lately though...my number 1 life goal right now is to get my first book published before I'm 20 or so.
I have 3 novels on the go right now (not including my NaNoWriMo novel, Rule #1). The first is about 3 teen aged werewolves: Kileigh, Trev and Jett. I haven't written too-too much yet, it's only about 5K words so far. I think I'm liking the direction it's taking so far, even though I didn't set a plot in stone before I began writing it.
There isn't nearly as much werewolf fiction as I think there should be out there and I think there's WAY too much non-original vampire fiction - I'm not saying that it's all bad, because it definitely isn't, but I would really like to see some new, original teen fiction appear on the bookstores shelves. Something that doesn't involve a beautiful, blood-sucking-super-strength-possesing-undead-teen-aged-appearing guy falling in love with a human girl, or hiding from vampire hunters. Or the other way around :)
The second novel is called Desperate Measures and it's about the state of the world after The Third World War and The Plagues. I'm also enjoying how it's going and I'm glad I wrote a bit of a plot beforehand.
The third novel is called Unreachable - it's the story of a tormented girl whose best friend Julian is the main highlight of her life. More about that later.
I've been doing the Page a Day thing for a few days now. It's been going fairly well. On Friday I got nearly four done, so that makes up for the absence of the page I should have done yesterday (to be fair I was out of town ALL day with the fam and didn't think to bring my laptop -facedesk-). Today I'll definitely be getting one done.
Well, that wasn't too exciting but it's all I've got time for. 8) Rock on my fellow writers!
-KORI-
Kori here. So yeah, this is my first post on Mission: Write. Can I get a w00t-w00t? 8P
I've always loved writing. I've been getting into it more lately though...my number 1 life goal right now is to get my first book published before I'm 20 or so.
I have 3 novels on the go right now (not including my NaNoWriMo novel, Rule #1). The first is about 3 teen aged werewolves: Kileigh, Trev and Jett. I haven't written too-too much yet, it's only about 5K words so far. I think I'm liking the direction it's taking so far, even though I didn't set a plot in stone before I began writing it.
There isn't nearly as much werewolf fiction as I think there should be out there and I think there's WAY too much non-original vampire fiction - I'm not saying that it's all bad, because it definitely isn't, but I would really like to see some new, original teen fiction appear on the bookstores shelves. Something that doesn't involve a beautiful, blood-sucking-super-strength-possesing-undead-teen-aged-appearing guy falling in love with a human girl, or hiding from vampire hunters. Or the other way around :)
The second novel is called Desperate Measures and it's about the state of the world after The Third World War and The Plagues. I'm also enjoying how it's going and I'm glad I wrote a bit of a plot beforehand.
The third novel is called Unreachable - it's the story of a tormented girl whose best friend Julian is the main highlight of her life. More about that later.
I've been doing the Page a Day thing for a few days now. It's been going fairly well. On Friday I got nearly four done, so that makes up for the absence of the page I should have done yesterday (to be fair I was out of town ALL day with the fam and didn't think to bring my laptop -facedesk-). Today I'll definitely be getting one done.
Well, that wasn't too exciting but it's all I've got time for. 8) Rock on my fellow writers!
-KORI-
Friday, January 21, 2011
Page a Day Update
Hi, everyone. I would like to report that my "write 1 page a day" project is going swimmingly. So far I have succeeded in writing 1-2 pages every day since my last post. The subject I am focusing on is still my novel about the girl called Goblin, tentatively titled Song Ensouled.
So far, I have:
I have yet to start writing my 1 page for today, but it will happen, do not fear. Sometimes the writing comes easily, sometimes I have to think and go over what I've already written for a while before an idea of what to write for the day crops up in my head. Once I actually start the writing, however, it actually flows fairly smoothly; note that I'm not worrying about editing or it being perfect the first time or anything like that. So far we are still in the "Crappy First Draft" mode... one might say that we are a little bit before that, because we haven't started writing everything out as an actual draft, just bits and pieces as they come to mind.
I would like to hear from anyone if they've tried writing their own "page a day," about how it has turned out for them. Also, there is a "Page a Day Week" project currently being planned in the Teen Writers group on Ravelry. If you are a teen and a writer with a membership on Ravelry, feel free to check it out! If you are not a teen but still a writer, remember that I still want to hear your take on the "page a day" idea. And who knows? If the "Page a Day Week" goes over well, we might take it to a larger level... but more details on that later on.
So far, I have:
- The opening for the book, establishing Song's relationships with her parents and her two sisters (Beauty and Diamond), that will lead into her first meeting and feelings for Farin, Beauty's beau.
- A scene that occurs after the shipwreck that probably will not make it into the book, but I like how it flows anyway.
- A piece establishing the existence of the ship's Captain and the sea monster (I have written ALL OVER in the margins for this one).
- A piece setting the scene for the eminent "big betrayal" (some writing in the margins for this, as well).
I have yet to start writing my 1 page for today, but it will happen, do not fear. Sometimes the writing comes easily, sometimes I have to think and go over what I've already written for a while before an idea of what to write for the day crops up in my head. Once I actually start the writing, however, it actually flows fairly smoothly; note that I'm not worrying about editing or it being perfect the first time or anything like that. So far we are still in the "Crappy First Draft" mode... one might say that we are a little bit before that, because we haven't started writing everything out as an actual draft, just bits and pieces as they come to mind.
I would like to hear from anyone if they've tried writing their own "page a day," about how it has turned out for them. Also, there is a "Page a Day Week" project currently being planned in the Teen Writers group on Ravelry. If you are a teen and a writer with a membership on Ravelry, feel free to check it out! If you are not a teen but still a writer, remember that I still want to hear your take on the "page a day" idea. And who knows? If the "Page a Day Week" goes over well, we might take it to a larger level... but more details on that later on.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
New Year, New Start
I realize that it has been MONTHS, no exaggeration, since I have posted in here. I apologize profusely to all my Mission: Write compatriots. This blog is supposed to be a group effort, a "writer's support group" in a way, and I feel that, now that I actually remember about it, I have been neglecting you all. Please forgive me and know that I am going to make an effort to post more and read and comment, even if I WILL require nudgings to do so at times.
SO. My writing endeavors since last I posted in here. How have they been doing, you may ask...?
Abysmally.
But don't worry. I'm not. You see, there is now hope. I have (with the help of a book on writer's block) decided to just stop waiting for the "right moment" to come along to write, and just write a page a day. 1 page, that is all! After all, as someone once said, if you write 1 page a year, by the end of the year you'll have a 365-page novel. And if I happen to get motivated\inspired\into the groove enough to write MORE than 1 page a day, that's fine. Just 1 page minimum is all I'm requiring of myself.
Next! I'm working on yet another story. A novel. And this time I am going to stick to it. No overplanning, no overthinking it. Just the barest minimum of research here and there for certain elements of the story, and otherwise it's all putting the pen to the paper.
Oh, on that note, I am still employing my "Dirty Notes" strategy. It's working wonderfully so far. I can write all over the page, make notes in the margins of my notebook, etc. I have picked out ONE notebook to use, instead of spreading my work all over in various notebooks where I can easily lose track of it. This one notebook is pink. I shall name her Anne, after Anne of Green Gables. Hopefully all that imagination that girl has will rub off on me.
My book will be about goblins. Well, not exactly, but a girl called Goblin by all except those who truly love her... they number just three people in the world, it seems, and they call her Song. The story involves love, betrayal, a catastrophe, a self-revelation, an adventure... the works.
Excuse me, I just had a "flash of inspiration," as they (or at least I) say. My faithful notebook-y companion, Anne, is by my side. I must go write now.
SO. My writing endeavors since last I posted in here. How have they been doing, you may ask...?
Abysmally.
But don't worry. I'm not. You see, there is now hope. I have (with the help of a book on writer's block) decided to just stop waiting for the "right moment" to come along to write, and just write a page a day. 1 page, that is all! After all, as someone once said, if you write 1 page a year, by the end of the year you'll have a 365-page novel. And if I happen to get motivated\inspired\into the groove enough to write MORE than 1 page a day, that's fine. Just 1 page minimum is all I'm requiring of myself.
Next! I'm working on yet another story. A novel. And this time I am going to stick to it. No overplanning, no overthinking it. Just the barest minimum of research here and there for certain elements of the story, and otherwise it's all putting the pen to the paper.
Oh, on that note, I am still employing my "Dirty Notes" strategy. It's working wonderfully so far. I can write all over the page, make notes in the margins of my notebook, etc. I have picked out ONE notebook to use, instead of spreading my work all over in various notebooks where I can easily lose track of it. This one notebook is pink. I shall name her Anne, after Anne of Green Gables. Hopefully all that imagination that girl has will rub off on me.
My book will be about goblins. Well, not exactly, but a girl called Goblin by all except those who truly love her... they number just three people in the world, it seems, and they call her Song. The story involves love, betrayal, a catastrophe, a self-revelation, an adventure... the works.
Excuse me, I just had a "flash of inspiration," as they (or at least I) say. My faithful notebook-y companion, Anne, is by my side. I must go write now.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Down the Rabbit Hole
...is the working title of my new story. Hi everyone! I haven't posted for ages because, well, after NaNo I really didn't have much writing mojo left in me. But today on the way home I just had a sort of lightbulb moment, and now I have a new project in the works.
Down the Rabbit Hole is going to be based on Alice in Wonderland. It will star a pair of twins at University, one of which knows about Wonderland and goes back there on the first day of spring, when the rabbit hole opens, and the other of which doesn't believe any of it but still needs to go down the rabbit hole to find her sister. I've never successfully written fantasy before, because if you give me a world where anything can happen, I'll generally make it explode into a molten pile of stupid. But I think I'll have more success with this one, since I'm working with a reference.
I'm doing my usual thing of starting a story with only very vague ideas as to how the plot will work out and what characters and settings will turn up, but I think my version of Wonderland will come out quite Tim Burton-esque. A few years ago, I made a sketch for a poster entitled 'Zombies invaded Wonderland - The Looking-Glass has Closed, Alice'. I may need to revisit that at some point, although I don't want Rabbit Hole to have zombies in it. When I read it as a kid, I never really noticed how extensive the weirdness of Wonderland really was (go figure), but now I realise that there are some pretty deep depths of strangeness to be plumbed.
I think this is going to be fun.
Down the Rabbit Hole is going to be based on Alice in Wonderland. It will star a pair of twins at University, one of which knows about Wonderland and goes back there on the first day of spring, when the rabbit hole opens, and the other of which doesn't believe any of it but still needs to go down the rabbit hole to find her sister. I've never successfully written fantasy before, because if you give me a world where anything can happen, I'll generally make it explode into a molten pile of stupid. But I think I'll have more success with this one, since I'm working with a reference.
I'm doing my usual thing of starting a story with only very vague ideas as to how the plot will work out and what characters and settings will turn up, but I think my version of Wonderland will come out quite Tim Burton-esque. A few years ago, I made a sketch for a poster entitled 'Zombies invaded Wonderland - The Looking-Glass has Closed, Alice'. I may need to revisit that at some point, although I don't want Rabbit Hole to have zombies in it. When I read it as a kid, I never really noticed how extensive the weirdness of Wonderland really was (go figure), but now I realise that there are some pretty deep depths of strangeness to be plumbed.
I think this is going to be fun.
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