What I Learned from NaNoWriMo

The goal of National Novel Writing Month is to encourage people to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

That translates to about 1,667 words per day - if you're diligent.

It also translates to AT LEAST 60 hours of active writing - and that's not counting the planning, preparation, and procrastination that goes into it.

The result is about 170 double-spaced pages - which is slightly shorter than the book Superfudge.

Oh, and most of what you write is complete and utter tripe.

So what's the point of doing NaNoWriMo?

EDUCATION.

Here's a quick list of what I learned:

1 - Writing is Hard Work

For me, this is actually a revelation. See, I studied writing in college, but I switched over to the Creative Writing emphasis from the Teaching emphasis because it was EASIER. Well, in the real world, it's not. Not really.

Like I said, it takes about two hours of work PER DAY to write effectively. That's two hours of work on top of the eight hours per day I put in at my day job - and, you know, there are just some days after work when I don't WANT to do any extra work. In those days, writing kind got shoved off to the side.

2 - There is Time for Everything

Probably the best lesson I learned, actually, is that I have time to write, if I make it a priority. During the month of November, I wrote just over 50,000 words. I also put in my regular 40 hours a week at work (and, no, I actually DIDN'T do any of my writing at work), prepared lessons for the Sunday School class I teach, continued to participate in workshops and performances for the Jesters Royale, updated my blog regularly, spent quality time with the family, hung out with friends... heck, I even got to play my video games when I really felt like vegging.

The point is, I probably have an extra 2 hours per day MOST days that I didn't do anything else productive with, so I have the time, if I choose to spend it.

The only thing I didn't really have time to do is clean my apartment. I've got, like, ten empty ice-cream cartons that really ought to be thrown out soon.

3 - No Battle Plan Survives Contact with the Enemy

In this case, the enemy is the writing itself, I guess. The days leading up to November 1, I sat down and wrote an elaborate (for me) outline of everything I wanted to cover in my novel. I made a list of all the characters I wanted to include, and I had all the plot twists carefully placed.

Then I sat down to write, and I wound up hating almost all of it.

Characters I chose to focus on never quite developed the way I wanted them to, and plot inconsistencies busted out all over like June (whatever that means - I never thought June was all that "busty"). I wrote a lot of scenes and stories I never planned to write, and, in the end, I decided that the characters I've written wouldn't really participate in the plot I'd planned. So, in revision, I'ma change the whole thing.

I'm glad I used an outline, but I don't feel like I need to stick to it religiously.

4 - There is a Writing Process - and it Works

I hear people say "Trust the process" all the time. Ideas come while you write, good characters write themselves, narratives evolve organically through the natural process of sitting down at the keyboard and forcing yourself to work. Turns out all this is true.

I wound up changing who my favorite character was about three times over the course of writing this story - to the point that, when I revise, I'm going to focus on a completely different character than the one I chose to be my protagonist and completely cut two other characters out simply because they wound up not fitting in to the story I'd created (see Lesson #3).

5 - Genius isn't Accidental

I long believed that all those great works of literature - stories by Dickens, Twain, Hemingway, and other stuffy people - were great completely by accident. After all, there is NO WAY an author could really depend on his or her readers understanding all those allusions and metaphors, right? They HAVE to be there by coincidence.

Turns out that I was wrong. I noticed connections and themes popping up in my head as I wrote my story - which, by the way, is FAR from genius at this point. Working in all of the brilliant ideas I got while writing will take me months, possibly years, of revising. I doubt my little story will ever be as influential or "literary" as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I now have greater respect for those fantastic works of literature and the authors who made them genius.

6 - Writing is Fun

Several times, over the course of the month of November, I got caught up in writing some insane tangent that I hadn't planned on writing that so excited me I called up a friend afterward to brag about it. I haven't written prose seriously in years - and I LOVED it.

So, yeah, it's hard work, time-consuming, a bit intimidating... but, if I really want to be a novelist, it's completely possible and TOTALLY worth the effort.

Why I'm Still Single: Contest Results

So the contest is officially over. I've gotta say - I'm pretty impressed with the responses I got. I kinda wish they could all be winners, but, sadly, there can be only one... or something.

First up, some honorable mentions:

Our first honorable mention goes to Fumiko, who bravely admits that she would be willing to let her mom set her up. Personally, I'd rather die alone, but Fumiko's not that proud.

Just kidding, Mom. And Fumiko. Man, I'm probably offending everyone.



Second honorable mention goes to Genisse, mainly for the caring rendering of the coffee table in the background.



The next honorable mention goes to Heidi. I don't know that I recommend going to http://www.getaman.com/, but, if you have dial-up, it may not be the best idea.

Also, note that Heidi actually rendered an actual person, not just a stick figure. That's dedication.



I was really hoping for some Manelle-original artwork for this contest. That said, the dead-body outline is pretty awesome. Some of you may need to re-think your crushes, that's all I'm saying.

Dashbo of Dashbo's No-Brainer Math for Right-Brained Folk gets an honorable mention for the way he lovingly detailed the moon's reflection in the water. Kudos.

And now, the winner :



Mike C. gets the gold, mainly because THIS IS SOMETHING I ACTUALLY DO.

Congrats to Mike, who gets the Best Buy card, and thank you all for playing.

NaNoWriMo: November 28 Update - SUCCESS

Words Written Last Night: 6,238
Total Words Written: 50,148
Percent of Final Goal: 100%

Notes: Did you catch Jeopardy last night?

Contestant: “I’ll take ‘Awesome People’ for 500, Alex.”

Alex Trebec: “This stud is your daddy.”

*BUZZ*

Contestant: “Who is Stephen Bradford?”

Alex Trebec: CORRECT!!!

On Red Riding Hood

I've got three words for you:



I CALLED THIS!

NaNoWriMo: November 26 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,500
Total Words Written: 43,910
Percent of Final Goal: 88%

Notes: I wish every day could be Thanksgiving. Seriously, I had four helpings of turkey, five slices of pie, and wrote 6,000 words. It was delightful.

Of course, considering how little work I did earlier in the week, I guess I was just making up for lost time.

I had a great experience last night. I created a character back when I was doing my outline for the story whose only purpose was to be bumped off a couple pages after she enters the story. Well, I got to the point where I was supposed to write her scene… and I don’t think I can kill her off. She’s much too fun to write.

A guy looks at her and asks, “How does someone get to be your friend?”

“He doesn’t ask stupid questions,” she says in response. “Also, he eats this sandwich.”

Anyway, my goal is to finish up this weekend. I was hoping to finish up today, but things suddenly got busy. I imagine I won’t finish until tomorrow, but that’s still a couple of days ahead of schedule, which I’d be fine with.

WISS Contest Deadline

Just a reminder that the Why I'm Still Single contest ends tonight at midnight. The competition's looking pretty good - I actually 'lol'ed a couple of times, and I'm not the type of person that actually USES that term. I'll post the winner and some honorable mentions on Monday - unless I don't.

Also, if you're not all contested out, my friend Heidi at The Shoeologist is having a little drawing of her own. She's giving away a free pair of rainboots. Now, I don't give a flying farfegnugen about shoes myself, but she's put together a pretty cool website. So, ladies, check her out and hopefully win some swag.

Confessions: Rap

1 - I've always loved rap. It's true. Specifically, I've always had a soft spot for this guy:

...which is actually pretty funny, because Eminem is one of two musicians whose repertoire actually frightens me.

He's the other.

Anyway, I always thought, "Man, if only Eminem would rap about something OTHER than beating women, I'd probably call myself a fan." And then he wrote "Love the Way You Lie."

And, yeah, I actually love this song.

Sure, it's another song about misogyny and abuse, but I think it's slightly different from some of the others I've heard. I don't think it's intended to be mean-spirited. If nothing else, the inclusion of Rihanna on the track (herself a victim of abuse) leads me to believe that, more than anything else, the song's meant to portray the mindscape of the abuser - not to excuse him, but to UNDERSTAND him.

Which, I think, is actually more important from a strictly artistic POV.

2 - Ever hear the song "Magic"? It's probably my favorite song currently playing on the radio.

B.o.B. kinda bugged me up until now. His earlier hit, "Airplane," struck me as bland and completely forgettable if not for the stupid premise. As for "Nothin' on You"... Yuck. Completely unlistenable.

"Magic," though, is pretty awesome. The song's pure fun - I can't picture ANYONE rhyming like that without getting a HUGE grin on their face. The song reminds me of Andre 3000 - full of fun.

Actually, when you consider the tongue-in-cheek egoism of the song, it comes across as this strange mash-up between Outkast and Weezer that TOTALLY WORKS. Plus, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo provides the vocals, and that's just way too cool.

3 - I know he's supposed to suck or whatever, but I kinda like Flo Rida. I'd love to learn the lyrics to "Club Can't Handle Me," except I never have any intention of going to the club, so it'd be a patent lie.

Also, I can't ever understand what the heck he's saying. But he sure is bouncy when he says it.

NaNoWriMo: November 22 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,026
Total Words Written: 35,281
Percent of Final Goal: 70%

Notes: I had an excellent weekend. Got to hang out with some good friends, played games, baked pies with my mom, went to a play, and had a fantastic performance with the Jesters Royale.

Oh, and I did almost no writing. Go me.

I’m still about a single day ahead of schedule – that’s all well and good, but I’m hoping to get done with the whole 50,000 word project by the end of Thanksgiving break – which will mean about 2,400 words per night from here on out. Hopefully, I’ll be able to crank out a lot of that on Friday.

I’m looking forward to the process of revising. Right now, a lot of the plot is fueled by coincidence, which I think is starting to make the narrative engine cough. I’m going to need to find a purer, cleaner, less contrived fuel before declare the novel “done,” but, for now, coincidence helps me get the scenes where I want them to be. Finding out the reasons behind the coincidence will probably pad the word count well beyond 50,000.

7 Spots of Insanity from Seven Soldiers

I've had a lot of conversations recently about one of my favorite comics writers, Grant Morrison - partially because some of his ideas actually inspired my current writing project. Grant Morrison's got a reputation for writing thick, almost incomprehensible plots full of obscure references and just crazy ideas - which I totally love. The layers of narrative and high-concept storytelling make me feel like I'm somehow being rewarded for the act of reading beyond simply getting a fun story.

Seven Soldiers of Victory, a 2006 miniseries Morrison wrote for DC Comics, is far from the best comic series I've read, but it's a huge, ambitious story that is chock full of crazy. The idea is that seven superheroes drive off a supernatural threat without ever meeting. Within the story is a little narrative about a group of six kids and their millionaire dog that travel to a primitive country populated by cannibals in bowler hats, which is actually just a small part of a larger narrative about a newspaper that hires its own super hero to fight crime and report it, which ITSELF is just a small part of a larger story about a race of hyper-evolved humans that have so thoroughly consumed the resources in their own age that they are forced to EAT THEIR OWN HISTORY to survive.

Nearly every page contains some kind of out-there concept that is so rich it could probably drive a story all on its own. The series gives you a lot to think about while reading. I like to think that I'm a creative individual, but I don't know that I've come up with anything that matches the daunting insanity of Seven Soldiers. So I've decided to share with you seven of my favorite crazy ideas from the series. Enjoy.


7 - Guilt

Of the seven stories that make up the overarching narrative, the story of the Shining Knight is probably the least crazy - the last knight from King Arthur's court is transported to modern-day Los Angeles where he continues to fight the good fight. I don't care much for this part of the series, but the Knight does face off against a monstrosity so simple I wish I'd come up with it first. Seriously, I'ma put myself in time-out until I've learned my lesson.

...

That's better.

The monster is Guilt, a "Mood 7 Mind Destroyer." Not sure exactly what that means. The creature is invisible to all except its victim, completely indestructible, and kills people by haunting them and never letting them forget the mistakes they made.

Admittedly, the creature doesn't make for the most compelling comics - he's an awfully chatty beastie. Still, the idea of creating a weapon that kills you by making you feel bad is elegantly simple and at the same time completely bonkers. Love it.


6 - Super Porn

Now, I'm not embarassed to admit that I, a fully-grown and mostly-socially-competent adult, read superhero comics regularly. If I were, though, it'd be mainly due to the treatment of the superheroine. I'm not referring to the idea that women in comics are killed or crippled more often than their male counterparts, but rather to the simple fact that superhero women tend to be sexualized. Over-sexualized. A lot.

The Bulleteer's story in Seven Soldiers actually deals with this issue by presenting a character who is obsessed with fetish-shots of underage girls covering themselves in acid and deflecting bullets.

The story hardly fixes the over-sexualization in mainstream superhero comics, but I've never seen the issue even ADDRESSED before in such a way. And, frankly, I find it refreshing.

5 - Leviathan, the Monster Made of Children

Here's another example of the "crazy monster idea so simple I shoulda thought of it first."

Klarion the Witch-Boy encounters a creature that is made up of abused and abandoned children called Leviathan. Klarion's guide in the story describes it as a "dragon with five hundred eyes to see with, five hundred hands to kill you." The children show up for about four pages and then...

Well, then nothing. That's it. They show up, save Klarion's life, and then leave.

That one small experience really caught my imagination. I really wanted to know where the heck these kids came from, how exactly they survive, and what happened to them next. The idea that wonders like these wander around the world (even completely impossible wonders like a 500-fisted dragon made of little kids) make the story feel, ironically, more REAL.


4 - Hobo Subway Pirates of Manhattan

Okay, now here's where things just get ridiculous.
The Manhattan Guardian (the aforementioned newspaper super-hero) encounters roving bands of pirates beneath the streets of Manhattan. They act like crazy combinations of your standard hobo stereotypes and swashbuckling, Robert Louis Stevenson pirates.

Seriously. One of the pirates actually says, "I prepared myself for this with a fiery cocktail of absinthe and crack."

Again, these characters serve more as set-dressing. Their culture isn't explored expansively, but their mere presence contributes to building a world that absolutely fascinates the spectator.

Plus, how can you not like those lightbulb earrings? That's just cute.


3 - The Terrible Time Tailor

Here's a character that actually appears a couple of times throughout the series. He's a threat of the metaphysical kind - his threat isn't from the bomb or the gun, but from the unchangeable, unavoidable terrors of growing older.

The Time Tailor weaves suits for his victims, which they grow into, usually with terrible results. He traps children in unavoidable futures - this little boy grows into a "Homeless Schizophrenic," this girl grows up to be a "Faded Alcoholic," and this boy will become a "Child Molester/Murderer."

No other figure I've ever seen in literature captures the fear of growing up quite like the Terrible Time Tailor. Yes, everyone grows up, but who's to say what they grow up INTO?

Seriously, I'm never having kids.


2 - Frankenstein

I'm bouncing back and forth between deep, thematic issues and pure comicsy-fun (a lot like Seven Soldiers itself does). Here's another fun one.

One of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers is Frankenstein - the actual monster from Mary Shelley's book. In this story, after the events of the novel play out, the monster takes his creator's name and roams the eart armed with a sword and a steam-powered pistol, hunting and killing demons while quoting Paradise Lost.

I LOVE this guy. He's so over-the-top - jumping through a train, firing bullets off in all directions, shouting "Death to the circus of maggots!" - it's delicious.

I try not to get too obsessive over comics (Batman excluded), but if this guy ever got an ongoing series, I'd probably buy up the whole darn thing.


1 - Screw the Fourth Wall

Zatanna is a stage magician and probably the most well-known of all the DC comics original characters featured in Seven Soldiers. Well, I don't know exactly HOW well-known she is, but I hear she had a cameo in Smallville, so I guess some people know about her.

Assuming people still watch the CW, that is.

Anyway, at the climax of Zatanna's story, she faces off against the Time Tailor in a bizarre, boundary-smashing battle of wits and wizardry. As the fight nears its climax, the two wizards start literally tearing the borders of the comic panels down around them. Then, just as Zatanna realizes she may be in over her head, she hears voices "coming from somewhere east of nowhere." She reaches out for the voices, and artist Ryan Sook shows her hand reaching out, past the panels, towards the reader.

I've actually seen Grant Morrison pull this trick in a couple of stories, but I still love it every time - the higher power Zatanna appeals to here is, in effect, the reader. She shows a bit of awareness that she is a fictional character, and her existence is blinked out unless she is remembered by a higher power, unless those voices "east of nowhere" find her story worthwhile and turn the page.

It's an interesting commentary on the nature of fiction, and easily my favorite single moment in the whole crazy series.

NaNoWriMo: November 18 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,039
Total Words Written: 31,419
Percent of Final Goal: 62%

Notes: Man, it is getting HARD to write nowadays. My enthusiasm for the project has really dropped off this week. I’ve stuck with it – mostly – but it’s been kind of an ordeal.

I really am getting quite close to the end of the material I had planned to write, and I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that I’m not quite happy with the way the story has gone. All the events I have planned take place over the course of six days. Five or so of those days are completely plotted out, and there’s not as much… INTERESTING stuff going on.

The parts I’m proudest of thus far are the little excerpts from different texts that the main characters have written (and that’s most of what I’ve posted on the other blog). So when I’m done with this and I go back to revise, I think most of the prose parts will get scrapped, while these other little bits will stay.

But I haven’t given up yet, and I think I’m still actually a little ahead of schedule, so it’s not all negative.

A Day in the Life of S.R. Braddy, Novelist

Contest: Why AM I Still Single

I'd like you all to join me for a little experiment. I've been putting out these "Why I'm Still Single" comics for about a year now, but, with plays and NaNoWriMos and stuff like that, I've been pretty busy. So I'd like to see what YOU all can come up with.

Therefore, CONTEST!!!

I'm gonna keep rules here pretty loose. Everyone who wants to enter the contest can send ONE (1) cartoon modelled after the "Why I'm Still Single" format to sileny_spisovatel@hotmail.com. The only content restriction I'm imposing is that you make your cartoon fit for viewing by your own mother - because I'm pretty sure MY mother will take a look at this at some point.

Beyond that, let your imagination go nuts. You can tell me why you're still single, why I'M still single, why you stayed single for so long... I'm easy.

And, by the way, "I'm easy" is now NO LONGER AN OPTION for your caption.

Oh, yeah, there will be a prize - a gift card to Best Buy, just in time to spend it on someone else for Christmas.

Deadline's November 24. Get to work!

Daily Sketches

10.14.10-10.15.10 - Captain Magnifico and Dr. Diabolical. 'Nuff said.


11.7.10 - 11.8.10 - I spent an entire day working on the stupid podium here - and, by entire day, I mean twenty minutes or so in church. This is NOT actually what the podium at my church house looks like, by the way. I just kinda made it up, despite the fact that there was an actual podium for me to look at while drawing. Which, yeah, that's just silly.


11.11.10-11.13.10 - I've been spending a lot of time recently focusing on drawing different facial expressions. Here, I've given these people some motivation to look the way they do.

You're welcome.

Love and the Rubicon

History lesson:

So there was this guy once named Julius Caesar. At the end of his tenure as a governor in the Roman republic, Caesar was called to disband his army and head back to Rome. Of course, Caesar suspected some kind of conspiracy had been formulated against him. He complied, halfway. Shouting out, "The die is cast!", Caesar brought his army across the Rubicon and started a civil war.

He eventually rose through the ranks of the empire, became the leader, and was eventually betrayed by his apprentices.

Above: Et tu, Brute?

Anyway, the phrase "Crossing the Rubicon" usually refers to knowing a pending decision is completely irreversible but making it anyway. The results aren't usually as significant as inciting a war. For example, I crossed a personal Rubicon just today when I decided to eat a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch rather than pizza. I'll never have that pizza again.

It seems, though, that there is a "Rubicon," of sorts, when personal relationships are involved. Here's the scenario:

You find yourself sitting in Geometry next to a girl that strikes your fancy. The two of you start talking over the course of several weeks, and then you find it is time to take things one step further.

If you decide to ask her out for a bowling date, followed by dinner for two and a romantic snuggle, turn to page 5.

If you decide that the best course of action is to invite her over to hang out with a bunch of your friends to eat pizza and watch reruns of The Fresh Prince, turn to page 6.

Purely a hypothetical situation, of course.

It seems to me that, as a relationship progresses, you cross a "Rubicon" when that relationship becomes romantic. There's always a chance for a friendship to develop into "something more," but very rarely does that work in reverse.

Sometimes I wonder if our reluctance to enter into a serious relationship stems more from our fear of losing friendship than a fear of commitment or anything comparable to that. Just a musing, that's all.

Why I'm Still Single 21

Alternate text might include:

"Don't you DARE freeze up on me, you son of a ^#$#&!"

"Why the @^&$ won't you format correctly, Blogger!"

"Shoriyuken THIS!"

NaNoWriMo: November 14 Update

Words Written Last Night: 1,921
Total Words Written: 25,274
Percent of Final Goal: 50%

Notes: Halfway done one day early. Not too shabby.

While walking down the street the other day, I hit upon a great idea for a brand new novel. This is usually the point where I give up all hope on my current project, as the excitement for the new project usually overshadows what I’ve already started working on. I’ll have to shelve that idea for now, though; I’ve put far too much work into what I’ve already got going to quit now. We’ll call the other project “NaNoWriMo 2011.”

I still haven’t had time to outline the new story threads that I want to work into the plan I’ve already got. I’m going to need to do that fairly soon – I’m running out of pre-planned material. I’ve written some new, unplanned segments, though, and they’re quickly becoming some of my favorites.

Available for Review: Angie at the Clinic

Just Another Rough Day

NaNoWriMo: November 11 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,422
Total Words Written: 20,440
Percent of Final Goal: 40%

Notes: Okay, so I stuck in some Dvořak last night while I was writing, and it was pretty good. I think I’ve found some classical music that I genuinely enjoy.

I went to some dark places last night. I wrote three different segments of the story, each having to do with someone dying. Each one was pretty depressing. Thing is, I also LIKE all three of the segments I wrote. That means I’m probably a pretty dark person.

I’m actually getting pretty close to finishing with every scene I’d written in my original outline – which will leave me about 20,000 words short of the 50,000 word mark. Luckily, I think I’ve struck on two other narrative lines I’d like to follow and weave into what I’ve already got, which will hopefully be enough material to carry me through to November 30.

Available for Review: Bullet for Van Stone

And They Were Doing So Well...

College did some crazy things to my head. Working hard to earn a four-year degree twisted my entire worldview to the point where I could no longer accept the validity of any creative endeavor that didn't have explicit artistic merit. Basically, I couldn't stomach anything put out by writers, poets, musicians, television producers, or any other of their ilk that wasn't liberally sprinkled with haughtiness and pomp. Happily, I have recently re-discovered the joy that can be found in big, loud, stupid entertainment.

Which is probably why I've spent so much time recently listening to these guys:

Nothing says "big, loud, stupid entertainment" quite like the group that wrote "Let's Get Retarded."

Truth is, I've kinda liked The Black Eyed Peas ever since I first heard "Where Is the Love" way back in the summer of 2003 (Of course, I may not have had the best taste back then. I kinda dug Jewel at the time - and that's when she was in the middle of her weird pop music phase). Right after that, I went on my mission to the Czech Republic, where dance music was pretty huge - and I'll admit to walking a little slower in banks and grocery stores so I could listen to "Shut Up" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart."

I like most of the Peas' music that I've heard. Heck, I even like "I'mma Be," and that song's just ridiculously stupid.

There's no excuse for "My Humps," though.


Ironic that Fergie is, in my mind, pretty much the worst part of the whole group, especially since, if she weren't around, they'd still be almost completely unknown.

So, yeah, I kinda like these guys. But they've got a new single out - "The Time (The Dirty Bit)," which I would call one of the worst songs of all time if I could bring myself to call it music.

The bulk of the song is mostly just fairly terrible rap over these two jarring notes. The music slides back and forth between them, until the chord changes, then... well, everything stays the same. It's just a DIFFERENT two notes that jar and slide and screech. Just painful to listen to.

It's almost not fair to pick on the Black Eyed Peas for having bad lyrics, but there are two lines that just KILL me:

First, the song rhymes "swagger" with "Mick Jagger," which wouldn't be an unforgivable crime if I hadn't already heard the exact same rhyme from the world's worst human being.

Second, the always delightful Apl actually called himself the "mack daddy" - which I didn't think people still did. The last time I saw the phrase "mack daddy," it was on the back of some kid's shirt in math class... back when I was in junior high.

I guess it's kinda pointless to call The Black Eyed Peas "immature," too.

But the absolute WORST offence comes in the second refrain - and that's a funny word to use when talking about the Peas. I usually associate the word "refrain" with the word "lilting" or "soothing."

Now, the song "The Time (Dirty Bit)" (let's all just agree that's a suck name and move on with our lives) samples the Dirty Dancing classic "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" - not a GREAT song, in my mind, but definitely a classic. Now, since we're talking about The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie, who just tries SO HARD to be obnoxious as humanly possible, they synth the CRAP out of this pretty tune. It gets so bad that they actually make Fergie's voice cut out before she has a chance to hit the high note, making it sound like she's singing FLAT the whole time. It's painful to hear - makes the entire song pretty much unlistenable.

Which is too bad, because I was really starting to NOT be embarassed to admit I like The Black Eyed Peas.

NaNoWriMo: November 10 Update

Words Written Last Night: 1,685
Total Words Written: 18,018
Percent of Final Goal: 36%

Notes: I finally started writing some of my antagonist’s scenes. I realized I haven’t really introduced the man who’s really responsible for most of the problems my characters face – and I need to find a way to work more face time in for this guy. He could really be fascinating if I paid him more attention.

I’m finding it’s really easy to slip into an incredibly melodramatic mode when writing dialog. The problem with that, though, is most characters wind up sounding exactly the same. Trying to write seven or so different people with different speech patterns is proving to be a little difficult. I think I’ve found a properly distinct voice for two of my characters, and that’s really it.

I wrote another excerpt from Peter Priest’s A Velvet Noose, which is one more than I really expected to write. Yeah, if this were a real book, there’s probably no way I’d read it.

Available for Review: A Velvet Noose, excerpt 4

NaNoWriMo: November 9 Update

Words Written Last Night: 1,783
Total Words Written: 16,333
Percent of Final Goal: 32.66%

Notes: I noticed for the first time last night that I’ve been putting the percentage sign on the wrong side of the number. Whoops.

Anyway, anyone who’s interested can find me now on the official NaNoWriMo web page: user name SR Braddy.

The most noteworthy thing about last night’s writing session – other than how long I put it off – is that the two sections I wrote are not actually in my outline. I started writing a scene between two characters that went off in a completely different direction than I had anticipated. I wound up creating another short story to be included – one I had never intended to write. And, honestly, that little story may be the best bit of writing I’ve done so far this month.

I’ve decided to expand the story – tell it from two different characters’ POVs. It’s gonna create some drastic changes to the story I’ve already set up, but I think it’ll be a good thing. I’m quite excited.

Available for Review: Excerpt from Donna Lee Packer’s Autobiography – Unpublished, Unwritten.

NaNoWriMo: November 8 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,416
Total Words Written: 14,321
Percent of Final Goal: %28

Notes: I put on some classical music last night while doing my writing. I figures that classical music helps with concentration; the music’s so boring on its own that you will concentrate on anything else to avoid paying attention to it. I listened to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” and, sure enough, I can’t tell you anything about either of them.

I’m writing a lot of dialog. I’ve always considered dialog to be my greatest weakness in writing – it always seems to come off kind of stilted. I think I hit on how to include more emotion during dialog scenes last night. What I have trouble with, though, is putting dialog together with setting descriptions.

If I adhere strictly to the outline of the story I’ve made for myself, I doubt I’ll have enough plot to fill a full 50,000 words. Luckily, I’m finding new things to write about as I explore the characters I’ve already got. I’ve spent so much time worrying about the action that I’ve forgotten that the characters THEMSELVES are supposed to change. It’s given me something to think about (and, hopefully, an extra 20,000 words to write about).

Available for Review: Angie’s Story - Clover

Why I'm Still Single 20

Okay, so my "beard" isn't NEARLY that epic. I was told yesterday, though, that, with my newfound ruggedness, now is the time for me to go huntin' for love.

Never Too Grown Up: Five Great Games

Something happened when I grew up...

Time was, every time I got together with a group of friends, we'd break out a board or card game. I've played a LOT of games in my time, so not being able to play too many... well, it makes me sad, to be honest. In honor of my 200th Blogger post (or whatever), I'm gonna talk quickly about five of my most favoritest games ever.

Dominion

Most board/card games, once you've played them a couple of times, lend themselves to a specific strategy - buy like crazy in Monopoly, dig your heels into Australia when playing Risk, etc.

In Dominion, players focus on building up their own "deck" from a selection of resource and victory point cards. Resources allow the player to purchase more victory points but have no impact on the end of the game, while victory points are useless in game but are the only way to determine victory. There are about 30 different types of resource cards - the catch, though, is that only 10 are available each game. Every time you play Dominion, the game is completely different.

Expansion packs increase the variety even more, but, in my opinion, the core game is solid enough to stand on its own.

Bang

Bang is a card game that recreates the great gun fights of Spaghetti Westerns. Players assume the roles of colorful cowboy stereotypes and take shots at each other with guns, knives, and dynamite. Sometimes you can defend yourself by taking shelter behind a barrel or riding away on your horse. If you're lucky enough to have a sombrero or Bible, you're enemies will probably hit that insteat. If not, you better just hope they miss.

Heh. The first time I played Bang, I actually died before I even got a turn. Bang still ranks as one of my favorite games, though.

Once Upon a Time

Here's a game for the storyteller.

Once Upon a Time provides players with the building blocks of a classic fairy tale and an ending to work towards. The first player (usually the player with the longest beard) starts telling the story he has in mind, but any other player can jump in if they have a card that matches any plot element the other player brings up. The goal is to get rid of all the cards in your hand and end the story the way YOU planned - but other players are trying to wrest control of the story from you.

Competetive storytelling. Pure awesome.

Talisman

This, by the way, is the random board game you often see the nerds playing in Big Bang Theory.

Talisman is a fantasy-style board game I played with my brothers all while growing up. The goal is to... well, allegedly, it's just to get to the center of the board and find the ancient treasure guarded by evil dragons and stuff. Really, though, you just need to kill the other players. If you're an Assassin, it's pretty easy. If you're, say, the Merchant... you're probably dead.

You know, I don't really care too much about this game anymore, but I loved it so much growing up that I just HAD to include it.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's all about commerce, in this old-fashioned, 18th century kind of way. You cultivate your land to produce sugar, coffee, and other goods and harvest it all with slave labor (the game says "colonists," but I know what's REALLY up). You ship the goods for victory points or sell them for money. You use money to buy up different buildings and factories to make MORE victory points or money, and you use victory points to... win.

There's a lot of strategy that goes into the game, but I've found it to be one of the best games I've ever played in the last five years.

NaNoWriMo: November 4 Update

Words Written Last Night: 2,335
Total Words Written: 8,542
Percent of Final Goal: %17

Notes: I think I started writing in present tense, but I’ve since switched to past. Whoops. Thing is, I’m not sure which I like better. The immediacy of present tense is nice, but it feels pretty unnatural to force present tense for an entire book. I’ll need to think about that one.

Part of the reason the story I’m writing is so fragmented is because it involves a lot of authors who are writing their own stories. Each of these little stories contributes to the plot as a whole – in theme, if not directly in action. I’m finding it’s interesting to try to give the author’s different voices. It’s easy to do with stories like A Velvet Noose, which is supposed to be highly modernist and experimental, but more difficult to do with straightforward stories like the one I worked on last night.

Mrs. Rachel Booth, one of the minor characters, shares a story about a cat that turns into a girl. She says the girl is based on a dream she had about a little boy. In the dream, she grew quite fond of the little boy, so much so that, when she woke up, she missed him. The story of the cat and the girl is based on a similar dream I once had.

Available for Review: Mrs. Booth’s Story – The Woodcutter

NaNoWriMo: November 3 Update

Words Written Last Night: 1,683
Total Words Written: 6,207
Percent of Final Goal: %12.4

Notes: Wednesday nights, when I have improv workshop, are going to be difficult for me here.

As I write, I continue to be underwhelmed by the main character I’ve selected – mainly because he feels so underdeveloped. In revision, I may opt to remove him completely and focus on some of the other, livelier characters.

I’ve gone into a bit more detail about Peter Priest – the man who wrote A Velvet Noose in the world of my story. I always knew he was going to be a bad man – he dies before the story even begins, shot down while attempting to murder a woman with his bare hands. I don’t think I realized exactly how twisted he was going to come out. I kinda like him – in a fascinating, villain-y way. Too bad I killed him off before getting to know him.

I may have to change some of these names. Peter Priest sounds a bit too much like Peter Priesthood, which has some unfortunate connotations for Mormon people.

Also, nearly every time I go to write A Velvet Noose, I wind up writing A Velvet Revolver. And that would be a completely different story.

Addendum: I think I may have solved my protagonist issue while taking a shower this morning.

Moral of the story: Always take a shower.

I'd Be Scared to Close My Eyes