NaNo shakes up the writing process

Nov 222008
 

We are heading into our last week of NaNo. Yay!

This is my first time participating in this. I started it to force my way through a nasty writer’s block, and wow, has it ever helped. But it’s done more than that. It’s forced me to change a lot of things.

I’m finding this mad dash approach to writing so damn odd. I’m one of those over thinkers. I write the chapters in order. Skipping around just never worked for me. I stop at points and reread everything end edit and tweak. Sometimes I will even sit back and sketch out a scene through gesture drawings just to sort things out. That sure doesn’t work with NaNo. We don’t have that kind of time. As thoughts enter the head, you really have no other choice than to just slap it on the page and run with it.

Another thing that’s had to change for me is with the music I play. I wrote my first two novels mostly listening to Coldplay. Sometimes I add in a little Iron & Wine, but that’s pretty much it. Neither of these bands are working for me this time around. To help with the pace, I’ve had to switch up the music to faster tempos. I’ve been listening to Japanese punk, some funky electronic sounds, and a dash of House remixes. I haven’t stopped to jot down band names. I just find music online, click play, then return my focus to the writing.

I’ve also had to implement sort of a reward system to keep the energy going. I’m rewarding myself with TV. Haha. Today when I get to 2k words I’m going to stop and watch an episode of DS9. Yesterday I rewarded myself by catching up on Dexter. (And a brownie too. :P) Sure, for me, X-Files would probably be a better reward. But if I start watching that, I sure as hell can’t pull myself away easily enough. :P

I’m currently a little behind on my word count, but as long as I don’t crap out now, I should make it. What’s more is that I’ll walk away with an entire new look at the writing process. Way to shake things up NaNo! Huzzah!

Luvy Daloo and the Peacock Hat

Apr 162008
 

This freewrite was inspired by the image here. It was on a greeting card in Papyrus:

One particularly gloomy day, Luvy Daloo held her head in her hands and sobbed. Winter had gotten to her, that and the broken heel on her favorite shoe. Something else wasn’t right. She felt the wrongness of it deep inside her and frowned. She slumped on the wet cement of the street corner and threw her shoe down a drain. She’d decided she wouldn’t leave that spot…not ever again.

All of Luvy’s friends didn’t know what to do. She’d never been sad before. They clustered around her, consulted each other and each one confirmed, Luvy Daloo was not the being sad type. In fact, she was what kept them from gloominess too.

They scratched at their heads and nodded a lot. Then one friend spoke up, “We should get her knew shoes.”

“Yes, yes,” they all concurred. “That’s what we’ll do. New shoes. One pair should do!” Each scurried off with a different piece of the plan in mind. All at a loss at how to really console Miss Daloo.

Luvy sighed and sunk lower down. No, she thought. New shoes won’t do. Something else was missing and she couldn’t quite place it.

Something scratched at her arm, tickled it a bit. Luvy brushed it away. “I’m sad. Go away.”

A dignified voice boomed, “Grouchy is more like it. And here I was going to apologize for being late.”

Luvy tilted her head and found a peacock sitting next to her. She started to comment on the idea of a talking bird, but then she realized, it somehow all felt perfectly natural to her. Somehow she knew this bird.

The bird ruffled its green and purple feathers and fanned them out behind. “Everyone is running late it seems.” He wrinkled his brow. “The demons were out. They created a road block or sorts. Sun is not far behind me. Neither is Spring. Winter is grouchy too. It’s really quite past his bedtime.”

Luvy twirled a ringlet of hair. Why did this all sound familiar?

The peacock continued, “We are making plans in case this happens again. Anyway—” He lifted a wing and a purple light radiated out from it. The glow faded and a glittery green hat hovered in the air. “That hat will recharge your magic.” He grinned and winked. “I’ve added an extra special kick to it too.” He vanished with a puff of green smoke.

Reaching for the hat, Luvy wondered if she’d been dreaming. It was familiar, yet strange too. She smiled. But the hat was very pretty. It sparkled with an iridescent glow. As she placed it on her head, a tingly sensation flashed over her.
She remembered.

Luvy Daloo wasn’t human, although she lived in their world. Her job was to keep evil away from the humans, all the while inspiring them to embrace all that is good. She grinned. It was a life she enjoyed. One she cherished. But every few years her magic would run low. Peacock was indeed overdo.

A group of people charged over to her from across the street. Each carried a box of shoes. One woman said, “We know how much you love these. Maybe they will make your day better?”

Luvy stood up and smiled at her human friends. They meant well. She realized the shock in her mood change had unsettled them, silly as that was.

A man gasped. “What the?” All of them gawked at the area above her head so she looked up. From her hat a magnificent peacock feather had sprouted. It stood at least seven feet tall. Its brilliant shades of green and violet shimmered in the sunlight. In the center was the bold and beautiful peacock eye.

As Sun filled the sky, he winked at her. She telepathically said, “Good to see you Sun.”

He replied, “And you as well. Shall I dazzle them so they forget?”

She nodded her head yes. The humans could not know what she was. It could never work that way. A flash of light poured over them and her friends disappeared. She knew they would be returned their homes and would sleep and forget. All the shoes would be returned to their various stores as well.

Luvy waved her hand over her foot and her favorite shoe reappeared, all fixed up like new. “Now,” she smirked, “I believe Peacock said something about demons. And look at that. I’m all charged and ready to play.”

Writing Prompt: A Simple Description

Mar 012008
 

I love this image. The colors are fantastic. The frozen bubbles look like small orbs of glass or maybe even hovering moons and planets a wee bit too close together. I like thinking of it as a sliver of time within chaos. Yes, the imagination can get carried away in fun intoxicating scenarios.

Your writing prompt: let’s go for a simple description this time. Just write what you see in the simplest terms possible. No lavish vocabulary terms. Keep those 25¢ words for another time. You may even wish to try describing the image to a child who can’t see it.

Writing Prompt: Conversation at the Standing Stones

Feb 042008
 

Standing Stones by Stephani Pui-Mun LawI flipped over my calendar today (yes I’m late, I know. :P) and found this wonderful image you see here. Stephani Pui-Mun Law’s work continues to amaze me. I look at it and already have conversations going on in my head between the little pixies and the girl, who looks so timid to me.

Your writing prompt: Write a scene from a pixie’s perspective of the conversation taking place here. Keep in mind that some pixies are blue and some are yellow. Let that trait help define their personalities.

Enjoy.

What it’s Like to Get Questioned by the FBI

Jan 182008
 

Part of my “What it’s like to…” series.

I was talking about governmental policies and being in military families with a friend the other day. The conversation reminded me of something from my childhood. In the early to mid 80s, I was questioned by the FBI. There were sex abuse charges brought up at my daycare and they were questing all the kids who were there at the time.

Until I was old enough to baby-sit my brother, he and I were regular attendees of the daycare. However, the oh so brilliant Mr. FBI refused to believe that my brother was there. The piece of paper he had said that my brother wasn’t there, so of course a piece of paper could never be wrong. My dad tried to explain to him that his daughter would never be there without his son, but Mr. FBI said the piece of paper wasn’t wrong. My dad must simply be mistaken. Right… Such incompetence I can only shake my head at now. Sure, my brother probably didn’t have anything to add, but kids notice things they don’t even realize that they do.

As to my own questioning, what I remember was that it took place at home. I sat with my mom on my couch. I don’t remember if my dad was in the room or watching my brother. FBI men stood in front of me. They seemed tall. It was no men in black scenario. I seem to remember a lot of brown clothing. They asked a lot of questions. Ones I remember thinking were retarded to ask me. “Has anyone every touched you inappropriately?” I’d turn to my mom. “Huh?” She’d have to explain what he meant. Big words for a small child. Sheesh. I felt smaller than I was. And until I understood why they were asking these questions, I just wanted to go outside…find my brother…and go ride bikes or
something.

Years later I can tell that my answers probably helped pinpoint a few things down. The two adults involved were women I had liked. I thought of them as my grown up friends. They let me help out with the babies. When I was small, I really liked babies. They intrigued me. I spent a lot of time playing with them. However, and here’s the big however, I was not allowed to be in the room when they fed or changed the babies. They’d push me out of the room and close the door. I learned later there was a horrible reason for this. My mom explained it to me after the questioning. If ever there was I time I would want to cause someone bodily harm…it would have been to those two women…

In any event, being questioned by the FBI was really no different than be questioned by the police. As you can imagine though, after this happened, the childcare center went through a major overall. That was a good thing. It needed it. Things were not always good there beyond what happened to a few of the babies. I had a friend who was thrown up against a wall by one of the adults. Blood spilled out of her nose turning her most of her yellow turtleneck orange. A horrifying sight I’ve never forgotten. But now I digress and shift away from the original point to the post. :P That happens. Perhaps next time I’ll tell you about the time when I was twelve and OD’d thanks be to some incompetent military doctors. Oh yeah, super fun times…with a capital S indeed. ;)

Writing Prompt: Pizza Delivery Nightmare

Oct 262007
 

I saw this prompt on the writersdigest.com forum and found it entertaining. Figured I’d pass it along. Enjoy!

You’re a pizza delivery driver and it’s your last stop of the night. The house is on an unlit, unfamiliar street. As you ring the doorbell, you’re greeted by an unusual character who invites you in while he gets cash–and abruptly knocks you out cold. When you wake up, you’re tied to a chair. What happens next?

Writing Prompt: Freewriting From an Image of Saturn

Oct 232007
 

SaturnThis is an image of Saturn. I found it inspiring today. An intriguing picture all around. Yet, when I look at it I see a marble sitting in the sand—perhaps even being sucked into said sand. I also see a ball on a plate and imagine someone setting up to practicing painting a still life piece. I find the circular striping in the image to be hypnotic. My head spins and I wonder what exactly that dark shape looming over the image could be.

Your writing prompt: Take as step back and focus past the idea that the image is a planet. Instead, think of it like seeing shapes in the clouds. Now describe what you see. Let your mind flow and have fun with it.

Enjoy!

Writing Prompt: Creepy House

Oct 012007
 

Creepy HouseI adore creepy looking houses like this one from Historic Deerfield Massachusetts. It looks deserted because it probably is. But man, that lends well to the spook factor. Seemed fitting for a writing prompt to start off October, eh?

To me this looks like it could be haunted. Everything is too pristine and that spells trouble. Hah! I’ll keep the writing prompt vague this time. Try writing something with a spooky feel based on a setting with this house as the backdrop to it. If scary is not your thing, go for something more homey to celebrate the Fall. The important part is to keep writing and to enjoy the process.

Writing Prompt: Chaotic/Good Alignment

Sep 172007
 

I was amused by this horoscope and thought it could make an interesting writing prompt:

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Writing in Salon.com, Scott Rosenberg recalled how in his youth he loved to play the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. “You’d have to choose not one but two ‘alignments’ for your character,” he mused. “Good and evil, of course, but also ‘law’ and ‘chaos.’ And among the people I ran with, ‘chaotic/good’ was the thing to be, because it let you trust other people and still have fun.” Your assignment in the coming week, Virgo, is to adopt the “chaotic/good” approach for the character you will be playing in your actual life.

Your writing prompt Using the “chaotic/good” approach, write a scene with a chaotic good character at a dinner party. Make at least one other character there using the “law/good” approach (or spice things up adding one of the “evil” alignments if you so choose). Notice how the characters play off each other as you go. Does paying attention to specified alignments change how you write? How so?

Have fun!

Writing Prompt: A Market Scene

Sep 032007
 

Bruges Belgium by Joseph H. BaileyI saw this image on National Geographic’s site today. It’s of a market in Bruges, Belgium. I like the layers of this picture. Bicycles line the bottom of the image, while people dine outside in the back. In the center are blurry spots of cyclists riding by, which breaks the otherwise static look to the image nicely.

Your writing prompt: Describe the setting. Now pick where a character is in this scene and try describing it again, this time from that person’s perspective.

Enjoy!

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