Update - My Hero Excerpt!

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Who has the most neglected blog on the internet, right?

I've learned that I punish myself for not writing by not allowing myself to make a blog post.

Which tells you just how long I went without writing.

But, for the past few days, I've been in a frenzy of writing productivity working on my long-overdue 2010 NaNo Novel!

Things are going very well. You would not believe how effective getting rid of Zach was.

I also changed a male character to a female character, which will make things a tiny bit tricky (you have no idea how annoying it is to have to change the masculine to feminine EVERYWHERE I've already written with this character).

I'll pause and explain WHY I did that.

I have 3 NaNoWriMo novels that are started and need to be rewritten to be finished. All three of those novels, 1) My Hero, 2) The Lion and the Frog, and 3) Leprechaun Holiday, have a 'big brother' character. This may have something to do with the fact that I don't have an older brother and have always wanted one.

Besides the 3 NaNo Novels, I have a 2-book set in my head based on the fairy tale Thumbelina, 4) Flower & Thorn, and 5) Tommelise, which will ALSO have a big brother character in it.

[Why are there too many story ideas and not enough time/energy to write them?]

So, I figured that wouldn't do. Books #2, #4, and #5 DEPEND on having a big brother character. So I'm working with what can be changed. Luckily, the fastest and easiest fix is to switch the big brother in My Hero to a big sister.

It actually makes more sense in the long run.

Yay!

Aside from those 5 potential novels, I actually have a musical in my head right now. The plot was originally from a story (obviously), but the story is about a couple who rashly decide to break their engagement off, and how they eventually learn they don't want to be with anyone else.

[WHY!?]

So, anyway, that's an update on what I'm working on.

And, to reward you for coming back to my blog after my embarrassing hiatus, I give you:

A NOVEL EXCERPT!

As usual, this is a first draft, so it may eventually be completely different, but for the time-being, its one of my favorite scenes I've written thus far. It's also one of those PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN THIS SCENE WILL COME BACK AT SOME POINT IN THE BOOK scenes.

Enjoy!

“Look out!” a voice yelped.

Peach skidded to a stop right in front of Fr. Albert Gregg, the priest from Claypool who came to Bendbridge every Sunday to say the 10 a.m. Mass. Bendbridge had no priest of its own, only the big, broken down, supposedly haunted church. . Peach realized she and Sukie were nearly to the skate park – she was standing in the shadow of the St. Flannan’s Church steeple. Without thinking, Peach took a picture of Fr. Gregg’s startled face.

He laughed. “I look that good, huh?”

“Sorry, Father!” Peach cried. “I wasn’t watching where I was going,”

“No trouble,” he said. He lifted the stack of papers he held in his hands. “I’m just here to hang these around town,” He held one of them up, and Peach read the header quickly.  

ANNOUNCEMENT:

CHURCH OF ST. FLANNAN’S TO BE CLOSED AND DEMOLISHED SPRING 2011

Peach gasped involuntarily. “Oh my gosh – really?”

Fr. Gregg nodded, looking a little crestfallen. “Unfortunately, St. Flannan’s is being closed. The bishop sees no point in trying to keep it open. It needs too many repairs and doesn’t get enough donations,”

For some reason, Peach felt like crying. She wasn’t sure why. “I don’t want it to close,” she said sadly.

Fr. Gregg raised his eyebrows. “Do you go to church every Sunday, Patricia?”

Peach blushed, and shook her head sheepishly. “My mom works a lot of Sunday’s, and she wants me to stay home and clean for our renters, and…”

Fr. Gregg held up a hand to stop her. “I don’t need a confession, Patricia, I’m just trying to make a point. Very few people in Bendbridge even come to church every Sunday. And most of the people who do attend Mass drive to Claypool instead of going here in town. No one really likes the church. They all say it’s haunted. And maybe they’re right. Sometimes I’ve gotten plenty spooked in there. Anyway, it’ll be fine, Patricia. Anyone who is still interested in attending Mass can drive to Claypool either Saturday or Sunday,”

“Peach?” Sukie called from further down the sidewalk.

“Coming!” Peach replied, waving to her friend. She looked back at Fr. Gregg. “I’m still sorry. I’d go to Mass every day to keep it open. I’m going to miss it,”

Fr. Gregg smiled at her, and made her feel very stupid by patting her helmet. “Don’t get upset about any of it, Patricia. Keep reading your bible and praying, and everything will be fine,”

He hurried away into the Church, and Peach watched him go. She always felt like Fr. Gregg didn’t take anyone in Bendbridge seriously, and that made her sad, too.

She skated quickly to catch up with Sukie at the corner. They stopped to let some cars pass, and Peach found herself staring into the cemetery behind St. Flannan’s.

“What was that all about?” Sukie asked.

Peach sighed. “The church is going to close and they’re gonna tear it down in the spring,”

“Really?” Sukie sounded surprised. “Too bad. I wonder what they’ll put here instead. They can’t exactly move the cemetery,”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Peach said. Her Grandpa Roy’s grave was in the St. Flannan Cemetary. She hoped they didn’t stick a McDonalds or anything equally disrespectful in the center of town once the Church was gone. 

No NaNoWriMo 2013

Okay. I have opened myself up fully to the possibility of NOT doing NaNoWriMo a fourth time. And the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of not doing it.

Why?

Here is a list of just a few reasons:

1. I'm really just using NaNoWriMo as an excuse to be totally lazy, and to not write anything ever unless its NaNoWriMo.

2. I should be writing 1,000+ words EVERYDAY even when its NOT NaNoWriMo if I wish to continue calling myself an author.

3. I have 3 unfinished NaNo Novels pining for my attention already.

4. Everyone I talk to about this possibility thinks its a good idea.

5. I have already proved (three times over) that I can write a massive amount of words in 30 days, but I have yet to prove I can FINISH a book.

6. NaNoWriMo is stressful, and I don't need extra stress in my life, even though I enjoy the particular brand of stress NaNoWriMo possesses.

7. I have many much more important things to be doing in the time between now and November 1st, which I would probably otherwise spend 'prepping' for NaNoWriMo.

So. I believe it's safe to say that NaNoWriMo 2013 has been officially called off for me. I admit that I'm very disappointed by the thought of not doing it, but this list has me convinced that I am better off writing just for the sake of becoming a better writer, not for the fun/glory/rush of NaNo-Noveling.

I will still begin writing Flower and Thorn at my leisure now.

I would like to thank particularly Steve and Meg for their advice and input on this decision. I will finish something and let you read it as soon as possible, I promise.

Long-Overdue Updates

Shame on me: 2 whole weeks since I last posted!

I feel terrible for neglecting this blog the way I have. I was sitting here, trying to think of something worthwhile to post about, and I realized there are a couple things I should do some recap on.

So...

1. NaNoWriMo! I am so pumped for this year. I have officially decided that, since I have already done/won three years in a row, I am going to aim for between 70k and 80k as a personal goal. Crazy, I know, but I'm excited. Flower and Thorn has a lot of potential to be an excellent story. I have, as of right now, found 'models' for my three main characters, and finally named a very important character. Unfortunately, I realized that I have a character who I was planning on naming Todd and a character who MUST be named Tom. I have to decide whether or not I can handle having a Todd and a Tom in the same story. These kinds of things are trivial, though; what's important is that I have asked God for the grace to have this story give glory to Him.

2.  My short play! As some of you may recall, it was titled 'Favorite Color' and was about a girl trying to describe color to a blind boy. I finished it and was extremely proud of it, and sent it off to Words Players in Rochester, MN. However, the Northland Words Community Theater has been in some financial struggles for years now, and they were finally seriously considering closing the theater down entirely. This, obviously, meant my play might never even receive consideration. However, the theater has received quite a bit of financial support and enthusiastic aid to keep its doors open, and they have decided to continue, even if at a smaller scale. As of right now, the short plays festival (which my play would be part of if they chose it) has been postponed. I haven't heard anything from the theater, but I'm keeping my hopes up. I love Words Players, and it would be an honor to have them perform my play.

Thanks for coming back to my blog - I will post more updates more often now, I promise!

Hope you enjoy this new week.

God Bless.

NaNoWriMo 2013!

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I know what you're thinking:

"Great gravy, its only July! November is over three months away! And besides, you've won NaNoWriMo THREE TIMES already! What business do you have doing it a FOURTH year!?"

I answer you:

1. Its never too early to start trying to make this NaNo better than the last NaNo.

2. Winning doesn't mean I was proud of my completed project.

3. I love NaNoWriMo. I will do it every year that I possibly can for the rest of my life.


I even have an idea I'm already tossing around. My working title for it is Flower and Thorn. It's based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale Thumbelina, but it would be a modern retelling and from the perspective of Thumbelina's 'mother'. There are some odd ideas I have for this one, and my biggest concern is that it would suffer the fate of both NaNo #1 and NaNo #2: TURN INTO A SOAP OPERA. It has a lot of potential for drama, and with so much energy and emotion going into NaNoWroMo already, I tend to let a dramatic story go out of control.

Unfortunately, I also have two other ideas.

One, Crossfire, is about a battlefield nurse who loses everything and everyone she loves when she shows mercy on the enemy king. This was actually the story I intended to write last year for NaNoWriMo 2012, but I got the idea for Leprechaun Holiday and wanted to pursue that one instead. I have this story almost completely plotted out, I just don't know how it'll end, but it would definitely be the smartest story to choose for NaNo.

The other, which has no title yet, and is not exactly developed at all, would be set in the Viking era. My main character would be a mysterious young man with dark secrets. I'm really excited about several scenes in the book that I would write, especially one involving sirens (you know, those mystical monsters who lure ships to their doom?). But it would take a lot of research, and I don't think I have it fully-formed in my head yet. It's just bits and pieces right now. So that one will probably have to wait.


As anyone who reads my blog already knows, and, as I already said, I love NaNoWriMo. It is so much fun, and it really turns writing into a priority, which, unfortunately, it isn't always.

So, I would like to strongly encourage anyone whose ever even vaguely considered writing a book, to participate in NaNoWriMo 2013. You can even set your own goal! 50,000 can be too  many words for some stories, anyway. It is a lot of fun, a great challenge, and very satisfying.

I've had a lot of friends (and silblings) bail on me in previous NaNoWriMo's, so I'm also looking for a few writing buddies.

I can't wait for November!