GUEST BLOGGER- Cathy1967 Post NaNoWriMo and Fanfic writing

Today I'm welcoming a friend from the NaNo Wars (and the Farscape boards), Cathy, to come blog about her adventures in NaNo and her experience as a fan fic writer (Fan Fic is fiction based on characters from TV shows, movies, or other authors books).

Welcome Cathy!

Post NaNoWriMo – Thoughts and ruminations on what it took to get there and what comes after


By Cathy1967


It's funny (and I think I use that start in a sentence way too often, but hey ...), but now that I sit here, almost two weeks after completing NaNoWriMo on time (that's a load off my shoulders and a bit of a surprise too), trying to think of something to write, I draw a blank. Well, okay, not a total blank. I'm writing this, after all. :)

My dog is moseying around in the background with a chewed-up plastic bottle, making noise because I'm not paying attention to him; probably because I didn't pay much attention to him during November either. Poor puppy.


NaNo happened by chance this year. I wasn't going for it, hadn't planned to participate. I was over at Terra Firma (a forum about everything Farscape, a sci-fi tv-show), browsing around for something interesting to read, and someone mentioned NaNo. And suddenly I thought it might be the thing to do. My life has been a bit shredded lately. October had been a bit of a nightmare for various reasons and November was looming ahead, promising to be almost as bad. Yeah, I'm psychic. *L* Okay, maybe not, but I was in a funk and knew that there was no way out of it until I made a decision with a heavy heart. Sick, old cat equals heartache in this house. I decided to try my hand at original fic and do it through NaNoWriMo. Ambitious under the best of circumstances, since I generally tend to write fan-fic and have only very few and very short original tales under my belt.

Anyway, from the moment I got up on Tuesday, November 1, things just went wrong. I was caught in a month of everything going wrong, of having gotten up on the wrong side of the bed every day of that blasted month. My one cat was not doing well and I knew where it was going, but had a hard time acknowledging it. I made the decision, booked a time with a vet who could come to my house, and had a week before that dreaded date. Finishing NaNo should have been the furthest from my mind, but writing has always had a therapeutic influence on me and, by jove, I needed something to go right. Just one thing. So I wrote whenever I could and I needed to reach the deadline of 50,000 words by November 30 so badly, it spurred me on.

Of course, the support system on Terra Firma helped immensely as well. The encouragement over there was heartwarming and it helped me accomplish what I sort of had given up on. With everything just crumbling around my ears and the loss of my kitty ... I think writing was a lifeline. It kept my mind off things, made me focus on this make-believe world and characters I had created from the ground up.

Writing original fic sure is different from writing fan-fic. Mostly because in fan-fic, you know that as long as you stick to the true and tried versions of the characters, others will recognize them and just see your tale as another adventure they're on. Original fic leaves you high and dry with characters that aren't fully formed (for the beginners among us) and a story-line that may or may not appeal to someone else. Of course, in NaNo you don't actually need anyone to read your stuff to participate. But it is a diving board for the start of a tale and it forces you to concentrate on telling a story as fast as possible. The first time I tried it, I failed. I had a plan, I had a layout for a story, and I was gung-ho on getting it written. But not much came of it. This time around, I was unprepared. I had an idea, yes, but I had no outline, no plan, no nothing. I jumped in feet first and it turns out I actually could swim.

And, what more is, I'm still interested and I want to finish it. Whether someone wants to read it is a totally different matter, of course. But I'll worry about that when it's done. Right now I just need to finish it, but I think I'm going to let it lie and soak up the atmosphere a little before I start working on it again.



Usually, when I write fan-fic, I do it in parts and post each part. I reread until I'm blue in the face, I try to fix mistakes along the way and fix those my readers kindly point out to me after the post. This experience has been ... different. I wrote 80-odd pages and I never reread, I never stopped to correct. I did skip back a bit to get a name or a situation right, but mostly I just moved forward, intent on getting those 50,000 words written so I could get on with this hellish month with at least one thing that had gone right. And I managed. Don't ask me how, but I did. When I hit the finish line – and not even on November 30, but on November 29 – I was at first stunned, then deliriously happy. It raised my spirit in spite of all controversy.



I don't know how others feel about writing in general, but to me it's therapy. I get rid of a lot of pent-up emotions – something you can tell clearly in some of the stories I've written – and that helps me to move on. I've written fan-fic since I was 12 and I intend to write until I can't write anymore. Will I ever be a published author? No clue. I may try. I aim at finishing this story and offering it up as a free e-book for others to read. Hopefully I'll get feedback on it and hopefully it'll be positive enough that it won't discourage me from trying again.

Sometimes you need to call in the dragons

Welcome all- today I’m doing my best to come up with a blog that actually makes sense. Ya see, NaNoWriMo has eaten my brain- very sad. It’s even sadder when I mention that I am behind on words, my week-ends are filling up faster than sales on Black Friday, and my characters have decided to go on strike. It doesn’t look good.

So when I was thinking about what I was going to do, I thought- how could I make things really messed up for me as the writer (yeah- I did- of course this will screw up my characters do- but in a different way).

I decided to add dragons. Now, even though I love dragons and they are in the title of my blog, I have yet to put them in any of my books. They are in my NEXT planned book (always have something waiting in the wings is my motto ;)), but not in any I’ve done so far.

So, the other day I added dragons. Now I’m not completely insane, while at first I thought about making them part of my world building from the beginning, I managed to talk myself out of that horrifying idea. The idea of diving back into the jumbled mess that is a NaNo dirty draft and throwing such a major element in just made me shake in fear.

So, they’ve now become part of the “big bad” issue. In fact, adding them actually gave me a bigger frame for my story and a few more layers of betrayal to deal with.

Now I wouldn’t recommend adding dragons (or blowing things up- I am fond of that technique as well) for everyone. But sometimes pulling in something completely from left field and forcing it into your story is just what the writing doctor ordered.

Shake things up and ya get a whole new yahtzee score ;).

New characters- old friends

Well today finds me in the midst of nano madness. As always this event is crazy, insane, and so much fun it's not even funny.

But this year I found myself having more trouble than usual. My characters were strangers!

Now, yes, new characters are always strangers- they're new after all. Part of what I love about being a writer is getting to know these very cool new folks. But this time I found myself really missing some of my previous characters.

Maybe it’s an affect of now starting my fifth “world”- I’ve already got four very healthy worlds with very healthy casts living in my head. Maybe since there are so many, my heart wants one of my familiar faces to pop up. Someone I know and can laugh with.

This hit me the first week of NaNo- it wasn’t that I didn’t like my characters, it was just a longing for the ones I already knew. Sort of like the second season of a beloved tv show- you already know everyone so that awkward getting to know you phase isn’t needed and you get to jump right in.

I wanted to jump right in but my mind didn’t know these new folks (Karthen and Sakari) so I had a wee bit of a conflict.

But something happened this week-end. I started just running with the characters. I made a list of how they were different from my others- the good the bad and the ugly.

Slowly I began to see them for who they were, or rather who they were becoming to be. And you know what? I like them! Now, it doesn’t mean I like my older characters any less- but I think there’s room for another crew or two in my heart and psyche.

What about you? Do you miss old characters? How do you get to know the new ones?

Happy NaNoing folks!

NANO APPROACHITH!!

Ok, yes, as of late my mind is turning more and more towards Nov 1 (sorry, I refuse to get up at 11:59 pm so I can start NaNo ).

Today I'm posting about some helpful sites that'll get even the most confused writer on track. In theory ;).

Now even if you're not doing NaNo (what- ya chicken? ) these sites might help you start that next book, your first book, or do clean up on aisle 9 (aka editing). If you know of any great sites in the similar vein as these listed- please add them!

A nice over view of plot construction

http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/plot-outline.html

Alexandra has a ton of blog posts about prepping for NaNo- not to mention all the other great writing info

http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/

Ok-this is the Mecca of fun generators- GREAT if you get stuck! (Or just want to play )
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

Please add to this list!

ADDED: ok, a friend of mine has a GREAT blog about tips! http://janettait.com/wordpress/2011/10/26/tips-for-acing-nanowrimo/

Less than two weeks to NANO!

Ok, I am chomping at the bit AND nervous about NaNo (aka NaNoWriMo) next month. I’m excited because it’s always good to challenge yourself and see just what you’re made of. And NaNo is the ultimate writing challenge where the only person you are racing against is yourself.

I’m also nervous for pretty much the same reasons ;).

I have a number of friends who while intrigued by the concept of NaNo have yet to commit (ok, so some have said “Hell no!” but I’m still optimistic.). In honor of the date of impending madness, I thought I’d come up with my own top five reasons for doing NaNo- feel free to add to it ;).

5. Bragging rights- seriously there are only a few folks insane enough to try this. Watch your friend’s faces when you tell them what you are doing!

4. Finding new ways to pad your word counts can be a helpful skill in some fields (politics anyone?)

3. Discovering alternative food sources. Time is fleeting during NaNo- therefore definitions of meals become very flexible.

2. An excuse NOT to clean! Some may not need an excuse, but for others this is a month of freedom, “Honey, I’m writing over 1600 words a day- you’ll just have to do all the laundry.”

1. Developing the ability to take your inner editor, gag her, and shove her in a dark closet.

Add to the list! And if you're NOT doing it- why not?

Why every writer should do NaNoWriMo…and why I’m not this year

Ah fall. The time of year when nights grow shorter, weather grows cooler (ok, not here in So.Cal…but in SOME places), and writers across the land think of what they will do for National Novel Writing Month- aka NaNoWriMo- aka NaNo.

For those of you who don’t know, NaNo is a month (November) when writers decide to announce to the cyberspace world their intention of completing 50,000 words in a new manuscript.

Now there are guidelines, and while they aren’t enforced, why do it if you’re not going to follow them? It should be a new work and it should be a book. Not a collection of short stories- a book. Like they say if you think you’re writing a book, they will also.

There’s no cost, you just go to their site http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and sign up. Then you look for folks you know and add them to your “buddy” list so that you can egg each other on. There are local groups for most areas, so even if you don’t know someone- you can meet some like minded folks.

Why would thousands of people, for the most part semi-sane, choose to inflict 50,000 words upon themselves like that? Why do people run marathons? Climb mountains? To have the experience. NaNo is like Mt. Kilimanjaro for writers. And it’s a great learning tool. Most writers, even we seat of the pants type folks- have some inner censor going on when we write. Some little voice that makes us stop and question ourselves mid-chapter.

You can’t do that during NaNo. In pure self-defense you have to take that little voice, stick a gag in his mouth and ship him off to Siberia. When you’re cranking out 50,000 words (page count of 170-200 pages depending on the writer) in one month- you are writing CRAP. Lots, and lots, of crap. And you don’t care! Your only goal is to fill up those pages. You can’t listen to any inner voice no matter how loud- because you simply don’t have time.

When you win (and even if you don’t I would think- I’ve won both times I did it ;)) you really feel like you’ve done something amazing. You wrote, created, and slaved over a damn good sized chunk of a book that didn’t exist until Nov 1. Does it need work? Hell yes- probably lots of it. But you did it.

It also teaches you to write through any blocks that come your way. You just bowl right over them. So when you return to your more normal level of writing, you’re not the same person. You’re faster, leaner, more stubborn.

I know since Dec 2008 (my first NaNo) my writing style has changed for the better. Dec 2009 (NaNo two)saw the launch of multiple projects at the same time. This September I did my own NaNo trying to finish a project under a tight deadline. I did about 15-20,000 words in ONE WEEK. I could never have done that without two years of NaNoWriMo under my belt. I write faster, and I focus tighter now than I did before NaNo and I think every writer needs to try it at least once. You may not finish, but you still tried something way outside your normal everyday life. And its fun trying to explain to non-writers what you’re doing ;).

Alas, this year no NaNo for me. That Sept. NaNo of my own kinda did it for me, plus I still have one more project to finish. Once it’s done and sent in for critique, I need to finish polishing the other two books. I can’t start a new project with the others not ready to go. I’m sticking to the plan I made Dec 1, 2009.

But I will be longingly thinking of NaNo 2010- and I’ll be back in 2011 ;).