Monkey Madness Monday: NaNo Quiet

Yes, I took last week off from blogging. I hadn't really intended to, but with NaNo and, well, life, I really had no choice.

Here's the deal: I don't think I'm going to complete NaNo this year. I'm about 7k words behind and really don't think I can catch up. But ya know, I don't feel too bad about it. Why you ask? Because I truly believe I'm writing a quality story.

The main reason I'm behind is that I'm doing too much research, and that's my bad for choosing a story set partially set in Medieval Germany. And yeah, I could have glossed over that stuff and gone back and put it in later, but I didn't want to. I wanted to know what kind of foliage grew in the Black Forest, and what exactly is and Imp? What did women wear under their dresses in 1250 and how arranged marriages worked. So, my bad.

I am very excited about this story and this series (this is the first of hopefully a three or four book series).  And a stray from the contemporary realism I've been writing for the last four years.

Here's an excerpt of the story for your reading pleasure (or displeasure if that's the case).

Happy reading, happy writing, happy Monday.

F³A: Frustration

I kind of ranted  yesterday to my supports at the Class of 2k12. I'm frustrated with this business. I'm burnt out. I'm tired of promoting the same book. I want a new book out there to promote. But these things take time and time is something I have very little of. I already have three books done. But I need time to revise, to query, and to get a new one written and go through the same process.

While I'm doing that I have to work a day job, attend kids soccer games and music performances and spend time with them. Spend time with my boyfriend. Shop for groceries, clean, do laundry, exercise, eat, sleep.

Promote that damn book.  I think I'm going to hang it up with the book though. I'm tired of it. It's going to have to sell itself from now on. I mean, I have a couple visits already scheduled, one each month until February, but then I'm done. Until the next book.

And the next book...I think I'm only going to agent shop until the end of the year, then I'm seriously going to look into self publishing. I don't know 6% of sales as opposed to most of the % of sales. Yeah, I'll need to hire an editor, maybe a cover designer, or at least someone to consult because I can pretty much design my own. I can make my own trailer, design my own swag.

I have friends that have done this. They like it.

I have a fan base. Many of them are just waiting for my next book to come out. If I wait to be traditionally published, if that even happens again, I'm looking at 2-3 years from now. Are those fans even going to care by then? Probably not.

I do feel good about one thing. I'm writing a new book during NaNo. I still like writing.

What would you do?

Friday Scribbles:

Next Pandora Song: Icky Thump by White Stripes (Beck Radio)

Book of the Week: Um, book: I've not had a damn moment to read, so...we'll go with my Rainmaker Retreat manual from my legal marketing conference.

Redbox of the Week: The Avengers "Puny God" favorite line.

Quote of the Week: "Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward."
Kurt Vonnegut

Happy Friday 

Wednesday Writing: My NaNo

Here is my NaNo work. Rough of course, but I'm exciting about it because 1) I'm writing something new and 2) because I'm planning on making a series of this idea. Tell me what you think.

You’ve been deceived. I know my reputation precedes me, but all that’s been told, and all that you’ve heard is nothing more than a superfluity of fabrications meant to destroy me. They wish to extinguish any remaining embers of the fire that burns within me so that I may give up my quest.  How? Through their words they’ve transformed me from a kind and caring, albeit sometimes mischievous creature, into a monster. But truly, I’m not so much different from you.

The stories you’ve heard about me leading weary travelers astray, switching babies at birth, or eating souls are simply untrue, though I admit I’m always up for a good prank. Harmless tricks are instinctive to my kind, but I don’t slink down alleyways and sewers, eavesdropping on the desperate and dejected to find a suitable victim for my next ruse. Alleyways frighten me and I will not slog through shit for even the funniest of pranks.

My skin is not red; I do not carry a pitchfork, have a tail dangling from my ass, nor possess horns— though my ears are a tad pointy.  I have no talons, claws, or any other animal like features including wings, though I’m able to render some for you if you wish to fly.

Those who’ve tarnished my character have much to gain, but I have everything to lose. And their motivations stem from nothing more than man’s need for possessions and power.  They turned me into a monstrosity to keep kith and kin chasing after me. When they began, they had no idea how long this hunt would last, how many fathers would pass the legend that is me down to their sons. Now centuries later, though the families of Strauss and Dietrich still know my origins, though not in its entirety and not in truth, the rest of the world does not. For the others deceived by the lies of those families, my name is now equated to a folklore tale of terror, a boogey man, a nightmare.

My goal now, is to end, once and for all, the avaricious pursuits of the Houses of Strauss and Dietrich, untether myself from the one thing that keeps me vulnerable to the greed of all man and subsequent captivity, and locate the girl from the prophecies.

But mostly my wish is to clear the name of Stilzchen, and to find my happily ever after.

NaNoWriMo: Does Your Family Understand?

How does it work in your house? For me, even when I was married, it was good. My family has always supported my writing. During NaNo, they have me my space and new I would be writing most of the day. I mean, if it was more than a month, I'm sure they wouldn't have been so willing to cooperate, but for one month? Sure why not.

My kids still understand. I tell them it's National Novel Writing Month and they say, "Oh, okay," and keep their distance.

I have a new boyfriend. He's great. He thinks it's cool I'm a writer, but I'm not sure how much he understands this whole writing life yet. I think it's a lot easier if someone is with you from the onset of your writing career, when you're first starting out. It's almost like it's their career too. Their failures, their successes. I hope he understands enough to know that this is who I am and who I want to be and that it's not just a hobby for me. And yeah, it's hard. It's a struggle. But it's what I want to continue to do, challenging or not. I want a career doing this and I don't think that goal will ever change.

One NaNo book became a real book, maybe this one will too. Tomorrow I'll give you a taste of it.
So, how is your family reacting to your NaNoness? Understanding? Frustration?

Monkey Madness Monday: NaNoWriMo

Yeah, so, um, I didn't blog at all last week. It was a busy week. I was coming off of a marketing conference, then there was Halloween, and then, yes, NaNoWriMo started.

For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a personal challenge for writers to write a 50k novel in 30 days.

Crazy, I know.

The point is not to produce a quality novel, it is simply to produce. To write. And this is something I so desperately needed right now. It forced me to finish revisions I'd been dragging my feet on so I could start something new. Something I'd been excited about for a long time but not started because of aforementioned unfinished project.

You must be asking yourself, what's the point of writing trash? Like I said, the point is simply to write, but also, with revision, your work can go from trash to treasure. I wrote Never Eighteen during the 2008 NaNoWriMo and look where it is now. In fact they have a whole section on published NaNo works (disclaimer: I have no idea if these are self or traditionally published novel and therefore cannot speak for the quality of said novels).

Are you NaNoing this year? If so, how many words in are you? What are you writing about? What's your NaNo handle?

I'm just over 10k (this is sure to slow down now), I'm writing YA fantasy, Here's my profile if you want to buddy up.