Currently...Curious

Between yet more health problems, Nano ML responsibilities, and life in general, I've been totally swamped. But I finally give you another entry for my "Currently..." segment, in which I let you know what I'm currently up to on a number of highly important topics.

I AM CURRENTLY...

READING:

Novels: In the middle of The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories, which I've been looking forward to for a while. I usually don't like short story collections (at all, really), but I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, and it really hasn't disappointed.
Manga: Have 5 volumes of Bakuman saved up (had to wait forever for Volume 12 from the library), and now I'm enjoying reading through them all at once. Each volume takes three to four times longer to read than regular manga, so they are always a treat. And they are such an inspiration for my writing resolve.

WATCHING:

TV: I was in need of a new old 1/2 hour comedy favorite, so of course I turned to The Addams Family. For drama, I finally, finally got my hands on Downton Abbey Season 2. As promised, it's even better than Season 1.
Movies: Watched Breakfast at Tiffany's again. I thought I remembered a bittersweet ending (i.e. she didn't end up with the guy), but she did so I was happily surprised. Only cried during the Cat alley scene, though.

Worth Mentioning: The Neighbors is my favorite new show this season! If you haven't seen it, DO - it's the funniest thing I've come across in a long time. I already plan to buy the DVD the day it's released.

WRITING:

Project P: Haven't made much progress until this week - just passed 7k for this month's Nano. I reached a point in my outline where I had nothing planned, so of course I threw them into a horribly dire situation I had absolutely no idea was going to happen until they got there. Always such fun. :) Yesterday had to re-do my timetable for the fourth time though, which took over 40 minutes of crazy math, but it was worth it. As long as it's now correct...I hope...
Project NB: I printed out what I have so far (39 pages) and re-read it. While a complete mess, the important bits are really good and I'd really love to finish it someday. It's literary fiction (with a supernatural-esque element), which is totally not what I normally write but I love it to bits.

NANOWRIMO:

Almost halfway through Nanowrimo 2012. Two of the three October programs went really well (one was a huge success, actually, to my surprise), and now I'm just trying to keep up with my duties. Luckily I've gained a helper this year (Shari is the bee's knees, guys, the bee's knees), so things haven't been as crazy as they could have been (considering I've been sick for most of my own November programs).

As for making 50k by December, I've given up all hope of winning. My record shall stand at 6 consecutive wins.

That's it for me. What are you "currently" up to?

Sherman Alexie’s Top 10 Writing Advice

Another awesome and unique list of advice from an award-winning author. This one comes from Writer's Digest, and the original article can be found here.

#4 was the big one for me. While I don't necessarily agree with it, I still found that it relieved some pressure. :)

National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie’s birthday is Sunday, and his new title Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories was released this week. To celebrate the short-story writer (War Dances), poet (The Business of Fancydancing) and novelist (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian), here’s some advice Alexie shared with in the magazine.

The Top 10 Pieces of Writing Advice I’ve Been Given (Or That I’ll Pretend Were Given to Me)
by Sherman Alexie

[10] Don’t Google search yourself.

[9] When you’ve finished Google searching yourself, don’t do it again.

[8] Every word on your blog is a word not in your book.

[7] Don’t have any writing ceremonies. They’re just a way to stop you from writing.

[6] Turn your readings into events. Perform and write with equal passion.

[5] Read 1,000 pages for every one you try to write.

[4] In fiction, research is overrated. But that means readers will write you correcting all of your minor biographical, geographical and historical errors. If you like, make those corrections in the paperback, but don’t sweat it too much.

[3] Don’t lose the sense of awe you feel whenever you meet one of your favorite writers. However, don’t confuse any writer’s talent with his or her worth as a human being. Those two qualities are not necessarily related.

[2] Subscribe to as many literary journals as you can afford.

[1] When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author. Be effusive with your praise. Writing is a lonely business. Do your best to make it a little less lonely.

Where in the World Wednesday

I have decided to start a new writer's meme (or whatever these things are called): "Where in the World Wednesday"! Show us where your character is right now in your story, either from a broad view like France or a narrow view like the library on First Street. Wherever they are, blog a picture of the location - but don't feel the need to explain or even tell us where it is if you don't want to! The mystery is part of the fun. ;)

Today's location is from Project P, and my MC is currently here:

Okay, I'll give you a hint: she's in Manhattan.

So where in the world is your character this Wednesday? Blog a pic and comment below with the link!

Currently...Mediating

Another entry for my "Currently..." segment, in which I let you know what I'm currently up to on a number of highly important topics.

I AM CURRENTLY...

READING:

Novels: Shadowland by Meg Cabot, the first book in The Mediator series. I've been dealing with Restless Reading Syndrome again, but when I suddenly thought of them I got really excited - even though I've already read them twice. ;) I've been trying to get through Defiance by C.J. Redwine, but I've gotten to the point where I'm seething with frustration and don't want to pick it up anymore. No idea why, but it's the characters, for some reason.
Manga: xxxHolic series. It was time for another re-read. So good. Highly recommend.

WATCHING:

TV: Person of Interest Season 1. One of the best shows ever - can't wait for the 2nd Season to start later this month. Also Castle Season 4, the other best show ever. :) And for a little splash of comedy, Hot in Cleveland Season 2. Don't judge.
Movies: Just finished Mirror Mirror, which if you overlook the stupid beginning and ending (a Bollywood musical number to close, seriously?), it was pretty good. The set and costumes were amazing, and the mirror world and puppets were original and awesome.

WRITING:

Fell out of the habit of writing (so easy to do) and couldn't get back to it for several weeks. I literally forgot how, which was a little scary. But happily I'm back at it, and making some progress!

Project P: It is once more in play! I am halfway through Day 1 (the middle part is broken into 7 Days), and it's going well. Am currently at just over 31K. For the next scene I am researching New Museum and climbing gear. Spoilers. ;)
Project V: I have shelved it once again. So close, yet so far. One day, one day...

PLANNING:

Aside for a few snags, my Nano2012 East Valley Region planning is coming along nicely. I have several new programs lined up for October, including a Q&A panel (which I will be on, gulp) and a Story 101 workshop I'm putting together with two awesome local authors. Breaking down the basic elements of writing is hard (especially for three discovery writers), but hopefully we'll be able to pull it off well enough. I also have four local authors lined up for pep talks (they are so awesome, squeezing us into their super-busy schedules!), so we're in for a star-studded November. ;) Thank goodness I have 100 tiny plastic ninjas helping me, though, or I'd never get it all done in time!

That's it for me. What are you "currently" up to?

Paranormal vs. Supernatural

I put this together for my writing group blog last month, and thought you guys might find it interesting as well.

Before Paranormal became the genre, Supernatural was usually the go-to genre name for out of the ordinary creatures and mysterious powers. While I personally feel Paranormal and Supernatural should be considered two separate genres, most consider them interchangeable.

Below is the basic description for both Paranormal and Supernatural from Wikipedia, to give you a better idea of how they are different - and alike.

Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation," or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure. Paranormal phenomena are distinct from certain hypothetical entities, such as dark matter and dark energy, only insofar as paranormal phenomena are inconsistent with the world as already understood through empirical observation coupled with scientific methodology.

Thousands of stories relating to paranormal phenomena are found in popular culture, folklore, and the recollections of individual subjects. In contrast, the scientific community, as referenced in statements made by organizations such as the United States National Science Foundation, maintains that scientific evidence does not support a variety of beliefs that have been characterized as paranormal.

What I believe falls under Paranormal: vampires, werewolves, fairies, monsters, aliens, zombies, ghosts, spirits, parapsychology

The supernatural is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature.

With neoplatonic and medieval scholastic origins, the metaphysical considerations can be difficult to approach as an exercise in philosophy or theology because any dependencies on its antithesis, the natural, will ultimately have to be inverted or rejected. In popular culture and fiction, the supernatural is whimsically associated with the paranormal and the occult, this differs from traditional concepts in some religions, such as Catholicism, where divine miracles are considered supernatural.

What I believe falls under Supernatural: anything "religious" - angels, demons, ghosts, spirits

So they are pretty much interchangeable, but can be separated.

What do you think?

5 Writing Tips from Chelsea Cain

This article was just so good I had to share it. The original can be found here at Publisher's Weekly, and you can find the amazing (and colorful) bestselling author Chelsea Cain here.

5 Writing Tips from Chelsea Cain

Writing tips are like mini skirts. Sometimes they fit perfectly, sometimes they make you cry, and sometimes you can reuse the material and sew yourself a pillow or something. Maybe a few of these will work for you. I hope so. Personally I think you’d look very nice in a mini-skirt.

1. You won’t make a living writing until you learn to write when you don’t want to. A lot of writers wait for the muse to seize them. These writers don’t get much done. Here’s a secret: writing is not always fun. If it is, you’re doing it wrong. I love to write just about more than anything, but there are times I have to force myself to sit down and work. I want to play with my daughter, or watch a movie with my husband, or go outside on the nicest day of the year. But if writing is going to be your job, you have to treat it like a job. And that means that you don’t get to take the day off just because you’re “not feeling it.” This is what separates the writers who make it from the writers who don’t. Get your butt in your chair, and make yourself write. Do it every day.

2. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Don’t be afraid of clichés. Write the book you want to write. If you want to write about an alcoholic cop with an ex-wife and an insubordination problem, do it. If you want to write about a haunted hotel, or a woman who finds herself through a journey, or a teenage amateur sleuth – well, awesome. Your book will be different because you’re the one writing it.

3. Always remember that you are the boss. Don’t let your characters tell you what to do. They can be pushy. Some writers say that they create characters and then just sort of follow them around through the narrative. I think that these writers are out of their minds. I tried this for years. I would create characters based loosely on people that I knew, and before long that character would be talking back to me. “I’m not sure Stacey would do that,” Stacey would say, when I tried to convince her to go into the scary basement alone. And she’d be right. Stacey wouldn’t do that. No one would, really. I didn’t bloom as a fiction writer until I figured out how to make up characters out of whole cloth (not based on anyone), and I stopped worrying about what they’d do in real life. My characters have to do what I tell them. And if I need Stacey to go into that scary basement, then that’s what she’s going to do.

4. Write the stuff that makes you feel nervous. Sometimes, when you’re writing, you will get to a scene that makes you feel profoundly uncomfortable. You will think you’ve gone too far. You will imagine your relatives reading this scene and your face will get hot and you will clear your throat a few times and you will be very, very tempted to delete that scene. Don’t do it. Finish writing it. Leave it in. Tell yourself that you can always cut it out later. Because I promise you – that scene -- it will be the best scene in the book. When writing feels dangerous, that’s when you know that you’re doing something right.

5. Details are not created equally. Writing teachers go on and on about the importance of using details to flesh out a scene. But not all details are created equally. When you write thrillers like I do, and suddenly your main character is running for his life from a serial killer who is chasing him through the woods, slowing down the action with a bunch of descriptions seems counterintuitive. Why would the main character be noticing the pine needles on the ground when he has a killer on his heels? But I’ll tell you a secret, the more detail that I unpack about that woods, the night air, the sky, the sounds of his footsteps, the more tense that scene becomes. I read a study recently. Some professor wanted to look into the experience that time slows in life or death situations and he tied some graduate students to Bungee cords and pushed them off a ledge, and studied the results. His conclusion? In normal circumstances our brain culls details. In tense situations our mind stops culling – it notices everything – because you don’t know what detail is going to save your life. This is what creates the experience of time slowing—lots of details. The next time you’re writing a tension filled scene – maybe there’s a serial killer in it, maybe your character is asking someone out to prom – remember to stop culling. Notice everything. The acne on her forehead. The buttons on her shirt. It all becomes important. It’s the ordinary moments that fly by. With those, the brain does cull details, so the details that your character does notice become all the more important and revealing. An object accrues more significance every time it’s mentioned. Notice the vase on the table once in a scene, and it’s a detail in the room. Notice the vase on the table three times and it means something to your character. It becomes a prop you can use. It starts to tell a story.

Currently...Spellbound

On the recommendation of web-buddy Gina, I am starting a new segment entitled "Currently...", in which I let you know what I'm currently up to on a number of highly important topics.

I AM CURRENTLY...

READING:

Novels: Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins, the 3rd (and final) book in the Hex Hall trilogy. While not exceptionally original, they are easy to read, well-written, and entertaining enough to keep my interest. Just finished: The Unnatural Inquirer, Book 8 of the Nightside Series by Simon R. Green. Blatant infodumping and the sloppiest plotting I've ever seen, but his description of the world (and the world itself) just keeps getting better and better.
Manga: Kamisama Kiss vol. 10 - aside from Skip Beat, my favorite manga series to date. Just finished: 5 Centimeters per Second, a melancholy romance about people who love too deeply. A beautiful story, but what is it about Japanese endings that it isn't worth telling unless it makes your soul hurt?

WATCHING:

Leverage Season 4, one of the best shows ever. Although if they were to replace Nate and Sophie, it most certainly wouldn't be the end of the world (Elliot, Parker, and Hardison totally make the show). Also watching the last season of Eureka - loved the "Smarter Carter" episode. And then I'm re-watching the 2nd season of White Collar, the 1st season of Human Target, the 2nd season of Sherlock, and random episodes of the 1st-3rd seasons of Leverage. Just finished: Warehouse 13, another awesomesauce show. Gotta have some variety, and television is my movies. :)

WRITING:

Project BW: I have a huge stack of research books from the library, the first few chapters are written and the first 3rd sort-of outlined, most of the main players are in place, and the world is coming along nicely. I'm even generating a few ideas for the 2nd book.
Project V: Finally called for my attention again, so I printed out what I have so far and am reading through it to see if my interest truly sparks. So far I'm pleasantly surprised with how good it is. I really would like to pick it back up, so fingers crossed it sticks.

PLANNING:

Nano2012 for my East Valley Region! I've got bigger plans this year, especially for October. I let time get away from me, though, so now I'm in a bit of a mad rush to get everything moving. Never put off today what you really should have done a month ago.

That's it for me. What are you "currently" up to?