Camp Nanowrimo is Half Over

Wally 2It used to be that National Novel Writing Month was a once a year event. It happened in November and everyone involved wrote 50,000 words. Now there are three events. Nanowrimo is still in November and is still 50,000 words. It is like the king of writing events. But now you can participate in two more low-key events known as Camp Nanowrimo. These events take place in April, and either July or August. Yes, Camp Nanowrimo is happening right now. Hooray!

I like Camp Nanowrimo because I get to pick my goal. I can choose to write a certain number of words or to edit something already written. I always choose to write something new because I like the satisfaction of reaching my word goal every day. So what is my goal for this Camp Nanowrimo?

I am working on the sequel to the book I wrote last November for Nanowrimo. This is book two in a trilogy. I will write book three at summer Camp Nanowrimo. Since I am going to be away from a computer for more than a week in April I decided to set my goal for 30,000 words. The book will be longer than that and I am hoping to finish this book before the end of the month, but I felt 30,000 words was a reasonable goal.

Book 2 takes place three years after book 1. My heroes are now 13 years old and are about to explore other outposts in my parallel universe. I am really excited to write this book because they are going to Tibet and are meeting an older Kim. Hooray! Kim from Kipling’s book will be in my book. He is always hopping into books that are not his. If you want to read a fantastic book featuring a search for Kim read The Game by Laurie R. King. And don’t stop there. Read every book she’s ever written. Her stories are amazing.

“No need to listen for the fall. This is the world’s end.”      Rudyard Kipling, Kim    

The title of book 2 is Listening for the Fall. I took it from a quote by Kim. Since the book takes place in Tibet and has to do with gravity decreasing I felt there were lots of ways to use the word “fall.”

The next Camp Nanowrimo is in July or August depending on when you want to sign up. Why not tie up your internal editor and unleash your inner storyteller and write the story you’ve been wanting to tell. Start with 10,000 words for the month. I bet you’ll never stop.

 “This is a brief life, but in its brevity it offers us some splendid moments, some meaningful adventures.” Rudyard Kipling, Kim

The Lure of a New Idea

IMG_3998One of the reasons I love National Novel Writing Month is because I get to start with a blank slate. I love typing those first words on an empty page. I love the potential of a story. I love the thrill of discovery. But once those words are on the page they need to be edited and rewritten until they are polished and ready for the world.

I was glancing at my goal list for 2014 and I noticed that all of my current projects are in the editing stage right now. With the exception of my blogs I am not writing many words each day. I am enjoying the research and enduring the editing needed to polish my current projects but I miss the thrill of writing a new story. So it is time to start again.

I thought long and hard about what project to start and as usual it quickly grew into a series. I have a first draft mystery from the 2009 Nanowrimo (I wrote 100,000 words that November) but I have not looked at it since then. I was considering mystery niches to write in and two came to mind. While one person could fill these niches I wanted to explore them separately. I then thought back to what I call my “wandering mystery” and realized I had a connection. Instead of writing one mystery series I will write three.

Three series about three sisters. One has had great tragedy in her life and prefers to wander by herself. One is an overbearing busybody who wants to mother everyone, but especially her loner sister. If it wasn’t for her running habit she’d drive everyone insane. And the third sister will be a fossil preparer. (Dinosaurs!) She is a widow and content to let everyone be who they want to be. She minds her own business until she is forced to get involved.

I know a lot about the wandering sister, a little about the mothering sister, and nothing about the content sister. But now that they exist in my mind I think about them a lot. Book one is obviously in the editing stage but I am eager to write book two and see who these women are. This is not a short term idea and has to be balanced with my editing and short story projects but with luck it will be something I can send to the big boys (I mean NY agents.) I can’t wait to find out.

“Murder mysteries are puzzles that are fun to resolve.” Kathy Reichs (creator of Bones)

It’s National Novel Writing Month

2013-Participant-Facebook-ProfileI love November. Not only because of the turkey, although…Yum!, but also because I get a chance to write 50,000 words while over 100,000 people are doing the same thing. It is fun, exhilarating, and reminds me of why I love to write.

This year I am writing a middle grade steampunk western titled A Permanent Darkness. It is The City of Ember meets the TV show Eureka with a little Ranger’s Apprentice tossed in. My town is in an alternate universe that intersects with our world in 1895, so I don’t have to change our history, just the history of the town. The hardest part is the steampunk, but I think I am going to do it in two ways. The town itself will be something unique, not quite steampunk, and not quite normal. The evil that is trying to destroy the town’s energy will be classic steampunk, complete with gears, automatons, top hats, corsets, and goggles. That way I can play with the town the way I want and not lose any of the steampunk essence.

If you want to know more about National Novel Writing Month click here. It’s not too late for you to pen your own masterpiece before Turkey day.

I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.
– Edgar Rice Burroughs