November 2016- The War of the Words

November 2014

We're going to do this blogging month a bit differently... Because it is NaNoWriMo, for crying out loud!


Progress
Every week, at the least, post a blog of your weekly word count (total and week-only) and an excerpt from your novel. We'll cheer you on.

Week One (11/7): 7338/11668  = I wrote 7338 words this week. I also completed my first successful 5k weekend. Still behind, but not too badly- yet.

Week Two (11/14): 17393/23333  = I wrote 10055 words during the week. First ever 5k day on Sunday! Still way behind, and coming down with a bad head cold. If only I didn't have to work like an adult...

Random Update (11/19): So... the cold knocked me out for pretty much the entire week, but as of this afternoon I have finally gotten back to the keyboard- started at 17395, ended at 19073. almost to 20k!

Week Three (11/21): 

October 2016: Sure I Have Plans- Many Plans

October 2016

Just one month left before NaNoWriMo! So our next topic is pretty obvious...


October
If you are a planner, what part of planning is your favorite? If you’re a pantser, what is your favorite part of pantsing?      I am totally a planner. I don't really enjoy planning, per say, but if I neglect to plan before writing, I get somewhere between 200 and 5,000 words into a story and stall out completely because I don't know where I'm going. Not that there is no end goal, but in the sense that I have no idea how to bet from Point A to Point T, from which I would be able to finish the story.
      Really, Planning is a necessary evil.
      I suppose my favorite part of planning is world building. Most of my stories fall into the fantasy genre, and planning gives me time to jot down all those interesting cultural quirks- naming conventions, why countries don't get along, family history of the main character, legends, etc.
      These tidbits make the story much more interesting to write, and knowing that the main character's mother came from a well off trading family in a foreign city but disappeared when her betrothal fell through eighteen years earlier and has not contacted them since adds a lot of depth to "Jafar joins a caravan and travels to Lore (a large city in another country) to avoid pursuit." Now he gets to meet his extended family, which he was unaware he had.

      When writing with a buddy, the planning takes a back seat. Plan, who needs a Plan- all I need to know is what we want to do for the next scene, and I rarely get stuck when I have someone to work off of. The creative energy doesn't even have to be there. I learn so much more about my characters much more quickly and easily when I don't have to control the entire cast, and the goal of writing isn't getting to the end of an arc so much as enjoying the journey there.

Bonus: Show us your NaNo planning - handwritten or computer screen!

September 2016- Just Let Me Finish This First

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September 2014

School days... Starting up again. So let’s get in as much writing as we can before the books hit!

Procrastination
What is your worst time waster?

Reading. Always has been.

I would get so much more done if I could stop reading for even a week, but generally I read just about every spare minute- books, fan fiction, blog posts... My page counts are probably higher than my word counts.

How long do you allow yourself to procrastinate?

 I- never stop? Generally, I manage not to procrastinate about four days per month. The rest of the time, I'm lucky if I get to writing or chores eventually.

Do you regret it, or do you think it’s worth it?

Totally worth it. I love reading, it is my one true hobby. Everything else is secondary. Well, except work, but that is mandatory.

Bonus: Try to forego one of your time wasters this month and see how much higher your WC is! But not that school, work, necessary stuff. We need you happy, healthy and not in trouble for truancy.

So, I managed to go without reading for the three day Labor Day weekend holiday. I did get a lot of things I had been putting off done- and then I found stupid games on my phone through Google Play. At least I got something done before I found a new way to procrastinate?

August 2016- Saying more with Less?

August 2014

Let’s talk a bit about...

Writing Short Stories
What do you like about writing short stories? 
      I don't write short stories; I just don't finish them.
What don’t you like about writing short stories?
      How you have to move the plot so quickly that there isn't enough time to develop the characters- at least I feel that way. I might be able to get around it if I were doing a fan fiction piece, because I would already have a good understanding of the character; most likely, my audience would as well. As I usually don't "know" my characters until I've been writing them for a while, I find it nrealy impossible to write short stories that I am happy with.
How do you think short stories differ from novels?
     The pacing needs to be completely different, the writer needs to pay a lot more attention to "suggesting" the setting and character to the reader, rather than describing everything in detail unless the setting is the focus of the piece, and the character either tends to be focused on one major decision point or not develop much at all.

Bonus: What is your favorite short story anthology?
 J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion- All the backstory you ever wondered about for the Lord of the Rings.

July 2016- And Every Year...

July 2016

Well, the zombies have taken over.

         They have? I didn't even notice...

 Which means we can talk a bit about...

Traditions

Zombies are a July tradition here at Wriye. Do you have a writing tradition of your own?
      I suppose NaNoWriMo and more recently their "camp" events are something of a tradition of mine- generally failing them. But I faithfully sign up and write at least a few thousand words, all through college. I've done probably four or five years, at this point, most of those as a "rebel" working on a story I had already started or writing with buddies.

     Hurrah for rebelling!How did it come about?
     A friend of my sister's mentioned it to us my junior year of high school. We told her that she was crazy, and we did not have time. Then we started writing anyway, but did not actually sign up as neither of us had reliable computer access. That first year, we wrote by hand, usually on the bus on our way to sports practice or in the car on our way to other classes. I think I only made about 5k that year, but NaNo had caught me. I did several events during both undergrad and graduate school, even if I only won once and had to count all of my college papers in my rebelling- at least I had motivation for actually doing my homework!

        My last year of graduate school, I found WriYe, and here I am.

Bonus: Share an example of your tradition!

{Insert Novel List here... photo still in editing}

June 2016: Are you talking to me?

June 2014

With the start of Last WriYer Standing, let’s talk about...

Critique and Criticism

What is your method of critiquing a piece of writing? 

     I read though the entire text twice, once to get an idea of what I'm reading, and the second so that I can pick up on what I missed in the first read-through. Then I either start talking, or jot down notes if I'm "critiquing" in google documents or via email. In Google docs, I highlight what I'm talking about and leave comments. In an email, I quote and then write my impressions, and highlight the text with suggestions.

What do you expect out of people critiquing your work?

    My expectations mostly depend on what is being critiqued. With letters or reports, I mostly want a human grammar checker and feedback on whether I am communicating my ideas effectively or, if not, how to better get my point across.
     With fiction writing, I'm mostly looking for feedback on overall feel or plot and character realism.

Bonus: Here’s a non-blog bonus: go into the Read Me, Feed Me forum and critique someone’s work. They’ll thank you for it!

May 2016: Genre- how to find your friends in the library

May 2014

You guys still around? I hope so! Let’s go into...

GenreWhat’s your main genre? 
... Fantasy.

Why do you write in that genre? 
Because I do not believe that I could do justice to a strictly realistic world, and it allows for a lot of flexibility in creating a world. I enjoy "realistic" fiction when I'm writing with others, but am just not comfortable writing it when I control all of the characters.

Do you have a tip to share for someone wanting to break into that genre? 
Don't be afraid to experiment, and as long as you take the time to world build and explain why things work the way they do, anything can happen. Your character wants to walk on water? Ok, did you want that as a special ability, or a normal thing? ;)

What genre would you like to break into?
I'm not sure, really- I'm quite happy here. There's just so many options.

Bonus: What is your favorite book written in your genre? (Written by you or another great writer!)
... There are many favorite books of mine that fall into the fantasy category. How about a top ten list? No? Okay, fine. Top Three.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkein 

Inda by Sherwood Smith

The Magic of Recluse by L.E Modesitt Jr.