This quiz actually is sorta-kinda applicable

I normally don't post quiz results here, but "What Kind of Novel Should I Write?" seemed relevant during the NaNoWriMo month.

GOTHICS! - Deep, dark, mysterious and melodramatic.
You are drawn to write tales of the shadows and
what might lurk there. Could it be Love? Or
Madness? Anne Rice and Brahm Stoker are your
guides.

What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

Strangely enough, I have never been able to get into Anne Rice.

Sarah G

Highs and Lows

As I begin my third week in the NaNoWriMo project, it's been hard to stay out of the doldrums. So much of novel writing is getting the characters from point A to point E via B, C, and D. In general, I write A and E first, then find myself forced to slog through the pesky details. Most of my activity for the past week has been answering mundane questions and setting things up for future point Es.

Where was the humor? Where were the brilliant lines I hoped to have my characters use? Wasn't this supposed to be a funny story?

Last night, though, I got to have some fun! Naturally, it involved the villains doing something stupid, and the consequences that ensued. Loud noises were made, guns were proven to be ineffective, and pants needed changing. I even got some good sarcasm going.

I hope it will restore my faith so I can get a few more thousand words written by the end of the month.

Sarah G

Milestone Reached

Last night, I reached my word goal for this year. Anything I write further on this novel will be gravy.

I've discovered that many people write a lot more than 15,000 words a year, but I really didn't know what to set the goalpost for when I started this year. Before that, I broke my years down into how many stories or articles I wrote, not the actual length of the pieces.

It also takes time to start a novel. Research, developing the cast characters, and at least some plotting has to take place before the writing begins. Then, there's the actual breaking-in process of sustained creation. It takes some getting used to, and requires patience.

I hope to write more in the coming year, but let's see how far I get by the end of this one.

Sarah

Update on the Novel

The first five chapters of my novel were well-received Saturday by Sisters in Crime. Several of them confided that they'd had misgivings about reading a lesbian vampire story, but they wound up enjoying the narrative greatly. This had the double-edged effect of making me feel good about continuing my work on the novel, but also nervous about whether I could make the rest of the story just as entertaining.

Gwen and I are continuing to plug away at the NaNoWriMo project. She's begun the book I've nagged her about for the past year, which is great. I've produced more text in the last few days than I normally set for myself in a month's time, although I had already exceeded my goal for this year. If I keep up the pace, I may participate every year till I get the book finished. It might help me ship it to a publisher before I reach retirement age!

(Just FYI: I am very conservative about the number of words I set for myself. I make generous allowances for the day job, politics, and critical reruns of favorite TV programs. House also just started up again, so I doubt I will be productive every night.)

Sarah G

OK, I Lied

But I didn't lie at the time!

My wife decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo as a spur to her own writing. She encouraged me to join, and just list the number of words I wrote from that time forwards. I decided to take her up on it.

I'm listed as Kyrrdis on the site. I probably won't upload samples of text to the site so the book companies won't think it's been published on the net.

Happy writing,

Sarah G

First Five Chapters Presented This Saturday

While I am not participating in National Novel Writing Month, I am presenting the first five chapters of my novel at the Sisters In Crime meeting this Saturday. I hope I will survive the experience.

The title of the novel is: All This and Family Too

It's a story about a lesbian vampire who moves into a gated community. 'Nuff said.

Sarah G