November is NaNoWriMo!

It's official: I'm doing Nanowrimo this year! It was touch-and-go for a few weeks - being sick, not being able to choose a story - but I'm just too excited not to. And now, with a story nicely unfolding in my head without any effort, how can I say no? 

My sixth year is a GO!

I plan to blog my progress every day (or almost every day, at least), so check in regular-like for all the trials, tribulations, and exaltations of my word-crammed month.

And I will also be doing a daily special feature entitled "Diary of an Incarcerated Inner Editor" - journal entries of my jailed inner editor, who I am secretly locking away November 1st. Please don't say anything in front of her - she doesn't know yet. I'm being very careful not to tip her off, lest she mess up any writing I do pre-November 1st - like this blog post, or more important NanoML emails...

Better start brainstorming. See you in Nanoland! XD

Building a World To Be

Have you ever heard World by Five For Fighting? Starting a story is exactly like the song. You sit down, pick up your pen, and create a whole world. It may have some of the same rules as your own, but no matter the genre - from mainstream to fantasy - you will make something out of nothing but your own imagination. You will decide if there "should be people or peoples." You will "raise your army" and "choose your steeple." And no matter what you do, "the satellites can look the other way." ;)

And it all begins with a simple idea, sparked by anything - an overheard sentence, a scene in a movie, the latest book you're reading, or simply life in general. Something sets off your imagination, and suddenly the package arrives: "A.C.M.E.'s Build-a-World-To-Be." There are "no instructions or commandments," just a whole universe of possibilities for your story to blossom from if you just "take a chance."

As a writer, you are god. You can do anything. Especially at the beginning, when only infinite possibilities are at your fingertips. You can "lose the earthquakes" and "keep the faults," maybe even "fill the oceans without the salt." Nothing is impossible to you.

So give the song a listen, be inspired and emboldened, and create. It is your world - you make it, you control it.

And in November, go forth and write it.

WWW Wednesday: Demons Edition

It's time again for WWW Wednesday, brought to us by MizB at Should Be Reading. The three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll read next?

I am currently reading Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins, the sequel to Hex Hall. It's not the greatest series, but it's a good paranormal read.

I believe the last book I finished was Eat-Man Volume 1 by Akihito Yoshitomi. It's a classic Japanese manga that I discovered at the library. It's actually pretty good, with a very original character. Each chapter is a stand-alone adventure.

I want to say that my next book will be The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, but instead it will probably be Hell to Pay by Simon Green, the seventh book in the Nightside Series. I'm finding myself a little tired of teen books again, so it's back to adult fantasy paperbacks for me.

What are you reading right now?

PMTs, IVs, LV, and Project V - i.e. Updates

It looks like I'm back! Yay! XD Thank you for all of your well wishes for my recovery. I'm not out of the woods yet (I'm still miles from the road, lost in the forest without a paddle to stand on), but I'm much better than a few weeks ago.

My recovery was brought about by a trip to the local Emergency Room where I received an IV, a Tylenol, and a brain scan that revealed nothing (which explains a lot, really). This trip began with six (count them, SIX) PMTs showing up on my doorstep at 3:30 in the morning with an ambulance AND a fire truck. Talk about overkill! They filled my living room and cost me about $1,000 to simply drive me to the ER. I expected oxygen and an IV for the ride over (which is why I called them), but alas it was simply an expensive drive full of questions I was too out of breath to answer. Ah well - at least I now know how it works for any future writing. ;)

Seriously though, the PMTs and hospital staff saved my withering life. I am marking them down in permanent ink in my Big Book of Awesome People.

After recovering some I got to go to Vegas last weekend! XD Although I thought the drive was going to kill me (I swear it almost did), I ended up having a pretty good time - even if I never got to The Gun Store. :( I set a chunk of an old story in Vegas (let's call it Project U), so I visited a few of the spots they haunt for the ambience and such, as well as the local library (I'm such a library nerd ;). Didn't gamble one penny (not that you could). I had three quarters on me at the beginning, but ended up spending them on postcards for Mother (she always insists on postcards). Oh, and my brother got married (the whole reason for the trip).

As for my writing, I haven't really done any in a month. I was so exhausted all the time that it was hard to think straight let alone write, and then recovering was all about testing and resting and getting back on my feet and catching up on NanoML duties. And then I discovered that I am incapable of doing anything but stare out the window on long car rides now, so writing was out for the drive to Vegas and back. And who doesn't waste their down time watching Cable at the hotel when they don't have it at home? ;)

So I've officially given up on Project V until December (when I shall finish it or perish), as Nano November is less than a week away! I had originally planned to write a story called Plant Life, based on Owl City's song, but I wrote a similar story last year and feel I want to do an adult story this year - less random adventure and more...Transformers? I don't know why, but when November rolls around I feel Transformer-ish. And this was not helped by last night's viewing of Dark of the Moon. But Transformers aside I'm going to go through my old story ideas and see if anything jumps out at me. Or perhaps I shall simply wing it - I've never done that before, and it may be fun (maybe). Decisions, decisions...

Vitameatavegamin Blues

I'm sure you know the bit by heart as I do:


"Are you tired, run-down, listless? Do you poop out at parties?"


This is how I feel right now, along with a heap of other symptoms. I wish there was a real Vitameatavegamin. Well, real as in "Vitameatavegamin contains Vitamins, Meat, Vegetables, and Minerals. Yes with Vitameatavegamin, you can spoon your way to health." Not the actual Vitameatavegamin, which was, like 80% proof. ;)

I have always had health problems for as far back as I can remember - and my mom can remember even farther back than that. It's been the past few years, however, that have been the worst. With the aid of a Naturopathic I began to feel better, but like clockwork in September I began to feel rotten again.

So if you wonder where I have been the past few weeks (blogging, Tweeting, emailing), it is lying about home, unable to go to work or even stare at a computer for too long. Because of this I have been unable to attend to my computer "duties" as much as I'd like. Basically I pop on, check no one has died, and pop off again. It's frustrating and exhausting and I can see I'm missing a lot, but so is my life right now.

And on the grounds of my health, I have relieved myself of my 11/1 deadline for Project V. It was a hard decision, but stress seems to make my condition worse, so I am relieving myself of whatever I can, in hopes it will help. I'm still getting quite a bit of writing done (lying about the house with nothing to do I'm now only 20,000 words from my goal), but I'm not going to push it. I'm even considering taking off from Nanowrimo this year (not the ML part, just the writing part). *all who know me give a great gasp of shock* But we'll see - I'm still pretty excited about it. I'd just rather take a year off than LOSE. I can't lose. I never lose. So you see my predicament.

Well, I'd better go rest before I use up all of today's computer time (I have major Nano ML things to do today). I just thought I should explain where I've been. I have not abandoned you, dear readers and Twitter friends! I am still here, just more in a browsing capacity, and I hope to return to you soon with a better bill of health.

Wishing you are in much better health than I,
Skye

Teaser Tuesday: DOSAB Edition

Time for another Teaser Tuesday from Should Be Reading!

I am currently reading the heavily praised Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Don't hate me, but I'm not as impressed. Her writing style just isn't to my tastes. I mean, "Mondayness"? "Januaryness"? Reallyness? But it got better (somewhat), so I plan to finish it. My two teaser sentences from DOSAB:

“It seemed impolite to peek, as if Izîl’s…condition…ought to be ignored, like a lazy eye or birthmark. His shadow revealed what looking at him directly did not.”

So what are you reading today?