August, too?

Okay, I know this is gonna sound crazy, BUT


I want to Camp NaNo in August too.

*cries*

I just write so much better under the pressure, with the graph and the forums and all... But I have so much school work. What do I do? What do I do?

Someone help me.

Camp NaNo - The end!

Write. Right, so I discarded the blog-every-day part of my schedule in favour of adding those precious words to my wordcount. Let me summarise my last days of NaNo in pictures.... (you know, 'cause they are worth 1000 words an' all...)

My word count was low...

...very low...

Such was the state of my page...

And my inspiration/muse looked like this...

Then there was this...

and this..

and this too...

And all that coffee led to this... (scary, right? Yeah, I thought so too...)

Ta-daaaa!!! It was done!!

So it says there that my wordcount was 51,000-ish, which was great on my word doc, but the Camp NaNo site said it was only 50,069 (which was also great ;})... I wanted to get a screen cap of that, but... alas... *tears*... it had been taken down for the beginning of the August session...


 In any case, the most important picture of all:

Oh yeah. I celebrated with a well-deserved milkshake.



PS. I'm considering doing August too...

Camp NaNo: Days 23 - 26

Okay, so now I can't even manage my blog. Fricken hell!

Wordcount: 38028.

ARGHHH!!! I hate school sometimes!! Interfering with my writing!!... In any case, I managed to do 2,000-ish words last night - go me! I still am about 3-4000 words behind! I've really gotta step it up.

(How the hell was this so relatively easy last November!?)

This is Shi, with this expression: O.o

Camp NaNo: Day 17

Whoops, forgot again!

Wordcount: 30099

Let me see, what happened yesterday.... ah, yes. I finished the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game, which awesome and kinda depressing. In honour of my victory over Ganon, I made celebratory Gold Skultulas - spiders with coffee-flavoured energy drink instead of soft drink.

They were quite disgusting.

After that, I did some writing. I think I mentioned that I just skipped the part of my NaNo novel that was giving me grief, and moved on. After a dramatic war scene involving much research, I called it a night. But now I'm sure sure what I'm doing. It's a new chapter, but I'm not sure if I should write more about the war or skip to a different part. I mean, I can and definitely will rewrite it, but... I like the story to still flow well in the first draft.

Hmm, a dilemma.

This is Shi, wondering what to do next, exactly....

Camp NaNo: Day 16

Wordcount: 29163

I skipped the chapter I was having trouble with. Now, my main problem is that I don't remember much about medieval warfare. I used to know so much! Mostly from just reading tons of fantasy books, and a general interest, but it's all been pushed out of my mind by the constitutional rights of Australia and the anatomy of the brain.

Yeah, I really need to do some homework too.

This is Shi, really wishing the holidays weren't nearly over.

Camp NaNo: Day 15

Wordcount: same as yesterday.

Today was very unproductive. *sigh*.

This is Shi, deciding to make tomorrow much better.

Camp NaNo: Day 13

Wordcount: 26284

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! What's happened to my plot!?!?!? Where did you go??? Why have you abandoned me???!?!?!?


This is Shi, about to go bait some traps for her plot.

Camp NaNo: Day 12

Wordcount: 25172

Well, I didn't really write much yesterday... I did something else instead....

I got permanently inked.

Yep, that's right. So I basically gave myself the day off. I do have to catch up a little now!


This is Shi, aching a little but determined not to slack off.

Camp NaNo: Day 11

Word count: 24392

Well, just finished off that dramatic death scene. Actually, I just wrote the funeral scene, but it was pretty intense. Sometimes I hate killing characters - leads to so much angst, y'know? Anyway, this death was very plot-worthy and absolutely necessary (so I don't feel too bad about it...).

Still, death scenes = intense. I listened to Mozart's "Requiem in D Minor - Lacrimosa" while writing the scene. Hope that atmosphere comes across a little.

Now I've just got to switch to depressing romantic scene....

This is Shi, going through iTunes for suitable music...

Camp NaNo: Day 10

Word count: 22843 (Nearly half way!)

I didn't do as much writing as I wanted to today, because that awful thing called homework happened to need some doing. I can't imagine what the pile would look like if I left it to the last day of holidays, but I imagine it would be bad. Very bad. My teachers are going to get a stern talking-to when I return. 70+ questions for each subject as well as various other little pieces are NOT funny. Not in the least, and especially not from all my teachers.

Anyway, on a more Camp NaNo related note, I just killed a character. I'm having a break from the dramatic death scene. Phew, it was a hard one. Hope the drama comes cross in the reading!

This is Shi, listening to depressing character-death music.

Camp NaNo: Day 9

Eeek, I forgot to do this!

Let's see, wordcount: 19275

I didn't do much writing today. I checked my school email inbox and found that I have mountains of homework. Seeing that and knowing I should be writing as well forced me to procrastinate. I watched lots of Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet- videos, which was great because I love the music (especially the guitarwork) but awful in that I didn't do much else for a couple of hours. BAD ME!

I did cook a roast, however, a roast lamb with potatoes, beans, honey carrots and zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli. It was delicious! I just wish we had a microwave so  I could heat some up from breakfast.

Anyway, off to drink my tea and then get to work.

This is Shi, determined to get lots done today!

Camp NaNo: Day 8

Word Count: 18839

I'm calling it an early night. It's been a long few days and I want to try to get back into my normal sleep routine - at least a little - so that I'm not super tired when school starts again.

Tomorrow I'm going to do another few word sprints, and then get some holiday homework done. I've been pretty slack over the first week of Camp NaNo! I've only been focusing on my story! Now I need to focus a little bit of time on my studies.

Anyway, I'm heading off to bed. Goodnight, all!

This is Shi, beating her sister into bed!

Camp NaNo: Day 7

Word count: 14536

Okay guys, this is gonna be short one! I've just discovered the greatest writing tool called Write or Die - this basically is a website where you add your word count goal and your time limit. It then takes you  to a plain screen with a square box where you strive to fulfil said goal in said time. Down the bottom of the box is the time counting down and a word count that hopefully goes up. If that weren't enough for edge-of-your-seat writing, the screen also flashes red if you take too long to continue.

 It's terrifying. It's wonderful.

 I'm doing 1000 words sprints in 30 minutes and it's going so well. Maybe the quality is a little low, but I'm working on it after the time is up. It's just a great tool for getting it out there.

With this, I think I can easily write the 1612 words for NaNo a day!

This is Shi, off to edit the hour of writing I've just done into something relatively lovely (and boost my word count at the same time!)

Camp NaNo: Day 6

THE PARTY CONTINUES!

Word count: 12040

That's write right, the Camp NaNo party continued on 'til about 5:30pm! Without any sleep in my case, or an hour or two in others', we continued writing. I want to give them shoutouts (with their usernames, of course) for being so aboslutely, wonderfully awesome! - but I don't know if they'd like that. So, if you guys read this, know just how awesome you are!

I reached double-digits in the thousands! *dances*

We watched another movie, Airheads (starring Brenden Fraser, Adamn Sandler and Steve Buscemi), which about a rock'n'roll band desperate to make it holding up a radio in order to get airplay. It's a silly comedy, but was great to have a break to and laugh along with.

We continued writing all night, feeling as though time had been slowed in the small space of our lounge room. There was more reading each others' work, encouraging, laughing and fun as we continued. It was really cool to see everyone's different styles - some were descriptive, some were fast-paced, some were hilarious. I love reading humour in books because I have such trouble writing it. The cheese and chocolates were polished off at some point too.

We breakfasted on hot coffee and tea with toast, and kept writing all day. When everyone left at 5:30pm, I went to bed and slept 'til 9pm. I got up to get a drink, and then when back to bed (so I didn't update on the 6th).

In any case, my story is really moving along now. I have some idea of the plot now, much more than previously and my characters are taking shape. One of the girls said I had great dialogue, which made me so happy because sometimes I feel that I really struggle with dialogue. I'm always wondering "Would [character] really say that? Would anyone really say that?" and so on... But I'm pleased it's coming across well!

This is Shi, heading back to Camp!

Camp NaNo: Day 5

Also known as: THE AWESOME PARTY WRITING SESSION!

Word count: 9405

 So, as I mentioned, I was having some friends over for a Camp NaNo camp out in the lounge room with laptops, dedicated to writing. Well, we started at 8:30pm and now it's 3:30pm and we're still rocking it! This is the most fun I've ever had working with people, and it's going really well!

 I'm so proud of everyone. One other attendee and I started write at the beginning of Camp NaNo, but the others were late comers. Some had started writing a little, from a couple hundred words to 3,000, but one had not even started, thought of a plot or anything! Now, we're all merrily skipping our way to the 50K, enjoying life and food and the craziness of the intermittent conversation between the frantic tapping of keys.

Horseland is awesome
(and we're all about 18 years old!)

 We had a break to watch Horseland  - the greatest show ever - and eat cheese and chocolate. We only allowed ourselves to do so after writing at least one thousand words, and so far it's been great motivation.

 It's also been really nice to have a large company when writing. We've been reading each other's stories and giving feedback, chatting about ideas and characters, and generally encouaging each other to the next 1,000 word goal.

 It's fantastic - I highly recommend NaNo parties to all!

This is Shi, off to write more! (and more and more, hooray!)

Camp NaNo: Day 4

Okay, so I kinda forgot to post yesterday because I went to bed early-ish. So this is what happened:

Word count: 5401

We're on school break for 2 weeks, which is awesome for writing/Camp NaNo,  but also means that I wanted to dye my hair. We have rules about colours at school, so on holidays I go crazy to make up for it. Anyway, being out of lift and peroxide, my sister and I headed to the local shopping centre via public transport to pick some up. The buses and trains make it quite a long trip, I must say, but we successfully returned with all products.

We did a little bit of writing, fuelled by the lollies we also bought, and then we dyed our hairs. This took significantly longer than expected - I decided to do my roots as well, which I hadn't been planning on (good thing we got more of the stuff).

Main characters of Sekai-Ichi:
Onodera Ritsu and Takano Masamune

And after that, my sister was in need of some cheering up, so we watched some Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi, which is a great romantic comedy anime based on the manga of the same name by the author of  Junjou Romantica (which is also a great romantic comedy). The main story follows the editors and artists of the shoujo manga department of Marukawa Publishing, and their romances.  It's set in the same world Junjou, and Usagi-san even gets a cameo, which is awesome. I've always loved having characters from other series come in and out occasionally if possible. If I ever decided to write a story in the same universe as previously, that's what I'd do too.

But by the time we finished that, it was late so we went to bed. And now I'm behind on my wordcount! I've gotta get my arse into gear and just write more.

And more and more, dammit.

This is Shi, going off to write more (and more and more).

Camp NaNoWriMo: Day 2

Alright, so it's Day Two.

Word count: 4737.

Things are coming along, albeit slowly. I'm having trouble figuring out each character's voice, backstory and personal quirks. I had the idea for this story some time ago and had rather hoped I had written the gist down somwhere; but alas, after searching my computer, I couldn't find it, so now I'm writing blind. It's tougher than I expected - I've been spoiled by re-writing my last NaNo novel. I've gotten too used to having a story already done and just working on how to improve it. I don't know how to write straight from imagination anymore...

I really want this story to turn out well. I want it to be nice, and pretty, and have a good plot and lovable characters. I feel like I'm working really hard - don't all writers think that?

Anyway, good luck to all NaNo-ers out there! Hope things are going well for you too :)

This is Shi, heading off to bed.


Side note: tonight I went to Circus Oz's "Steampunk Circus", which was absolutely brillant. I'll write more on that later, but for now, I've decided to somehow include or reference a circus in my story. It'll be tough since it's a fantasy novel, but I do have one idea...

Camp NaNoWriMo: Day 1

As I mentioned last time, I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo! It's the very first time it's been run, and I'm joining for all the fun! (And because I have a 2 week school break!)

In any case, everything was easy to set up on the Camp NaNoWriMo website - I did it last night. I am, of course, using my normal NaNoWriMo username and the log-in works just the same. I've done my bio and info, and uploaded a photo - of Ruki from the GazettE, but hey, it's a photo and I admire him immensely! His lyrics really inspire me.

I'm writing with my sister - not the same story, we're both doing NaNo together. And because of the camp theme, we created a tent out of a large sheet and my sewing table, and wrote our first few thousand words under there, munching on lollies. It was super fun - one of the best (and most ridiculous) experiences I've had writing.

So, anyway, on the first day I have about 2667 words. I think that's pretty good, since I'd need to write about 1613 words everyday to finish on time. I've decided to write a fantasy novel, because I've always loved them, and my last novel was an action/romance that wasn't a fantasy, so it'll be a nice change. That was one funny thing about NaNo last year - I've always considered myself a fantasy writer, and yet... I wrote something completely different.

In any case, this post won't be too long because I want to keep writing my novel. I'm loving it. It's been a little difficult, because I'm not a "pantser" (and still every time I do NaNo, I end up pantsing it... what does that say about me?).

So, if you've been longing to write a novel - now's the time! It's still the first day, so jump right in. Or, wait 'til August, when the second round of Camp NaNo begins.

 This is Shi, finally inspired and writing again after a short but painful writer's block.

...Going Crazy (doing Camp NaNoWriMo!)

Yes, folks, I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo - the any-time version of the fast-paced novelling insanity called NaNoWriMo! And it's starting tomorrow, July 1st!

For those who don't know, it's basically this: you write 50,000 words in 30 days. It's hard. But it's terribly fun. The great thing about it that you don't have to write anything great. In fact, you can pretty much write shit. It's quantity over quality, and it's great for making you write without thinking of editing every little thing.

I did NaNoWriMo last year (and have the shiny badges to prove it), and enjoyed myself immensely. The novel that I ended up with was awful - the plot had holes big enough to fall through, and the storyline wasn't nearly as compelling as it felt when I was shredding away at my keyboard.

But I loved my main characters. I love them so much, I'm rewriting the crappy novel in a much better version. It'll still have the same heart, I hope - because it was written so fast and without much pre-thought and as-you-go editing, it was a very honest, if badly written, novel.

Ah,  but I'm plunging sanity down the drain, and heading off to Camp tomorrow.

I'm so excited. I've already starting stashing lollies in my travel bag!!

This is Shi, about to set off on an adventure!

PS. I haven't figured it out yet, but if there is a way to be "buddies" like on the normal NaNo site, and you need some competition to keep you writing - let me know! We can be writing buddies, have word-wars, and try to inspire each other :D It's about time that writing stopped being a solitary pursuit, anyway~

... on inspiration for writers

Okay, so my last post was a little crazy depressing. This one is going to be much more positive, because that post gave me some things to think about. I was bitching about my story, how hard it was and how much difficulty I was having, and I asked the question: do all writers/authors have these problems.

Well, these quotes make me think 'yes':

• "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith
• "The wastebasket is a writer's best friend." Isaac Bashevis Singer
• "Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." Gene Fowler
• "Every writer I know has trouble writing." Joseph Heller
• "Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper. " Isaac Bashevis Singer
• "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." Author Unknown
• "A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." Thomas Mann, Essays of Three Decades, 1947

Then again, this one makes me doubt myself a little: "All of us learn to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things." Bobby Knight

Of course, if you really really believe in writing, you'll probably disagree with ol' Bob there. And rightly so - we write because we must, not because we desire. But if you're in a slump, or have that damned pesky writer's block, it can be really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So as a fellow writer, I'd thought I share my tips for getting over writer's block.

1.  Vent - writing style. Do a blog post, send an email, write a diary, type up a document on the computer, anything. Just get it out there. No restraint, just pure emotions (and it'll probably be frustration and doubt, in my experience) - get rid of all the negativity.
2. Stop criticising your own work. Seriously, stop it. It's not as bad as you think, really, and I know you don't believe me. Especially if it's your first draft, don't you dare criticise it. We can talk about ways of approaching your writing later.
3. Think about your lifestyle. Have you been sick? Busy with work or family committments? Sometimes, we just cannot find or make the time, and that's okay. We have lives and demands that we must give into. Don't beat yourself up over that, just accept it. 
4. Tell a friend, particularly if they are an artist. Friends can really be a great source of help in times of dire frustration. You don't have to share your story, just vent to them about it. They might have some great advice that you wouldn't have considered.
5. That said, read your favourite book. What do you like about it? What skills does the author have that you covet? Of course, don't plagiarise, but look into what makes that book so special to you. 
6. Think about why you started writing in the first place. Did you need to get a story out of your brain? Needed to unload your feelings about life, the universe and everything? Wanted to make a point about something? See yourself in different shoes/light? Was it the characters - did you want to build someone up or tear them down? See what makes people tick? Think seriously about what you are putting into your writing. Maybe write it up on a sticky note and put it up somewhere you can see it, for example: "I write because [character] has a story to tell, and I'm the one who knows it" or even as simple as "I write because I can't stop writing".
7. Take a night (or a weekend, or a week) off. Have a bath, go to a museum, play in the park, rent movies. Whatever floats your boat, but don't read. That can make you feel worse sometimes, and you  need to clear your mind of writing. Just relax for a while.

Now, when it comes to your actual novel, things can be a little more straightforward (or difficult).

1. Work out what you don't like, if self-doubt/inferiority complexes are getting you down. Read over your work carefully, but as objectively as you can manage. For example, in my past, I've wanted to have better descriptions. Not more, or necessarily more detailed, but more poetic and interesting. Perhaps you'll need more conversation, or humour, or less waffling and more drive - whatever it is, once you've identified it, you can fix it. For my problem, I read poetry. Why not try renting some movies? Action movies for drive, comedy for humour (obviously) and... well, anything is good for more conversation and less waffling - see what the producers do in their limited time with the actors. See if that inspires you.
2. If it helps, print it out. You might want to wait until you've finished the first draft to do this. Things seem more tangible in print, and you can more clearly identify parts you like and dislike - I've even found a few spelling and grammatical work when I've done this. Use highlighters, pens and sticky notes, and if you annotate/change/cross out/add in, write a little note of why you did that - you might have print in double spaced lines. 
3. If you have a friend who is into your genre of writing (and even one that isn't, if you can rope them into it), ask them to read it. The best way I've found is by email - then they don't feel embarrassed to point our your 'bad' points. Only do this if you are comfortable with honest feedback and sharing your work - you may only want to send them a chapter or two. I've found that people other than myself can point out things in my writing I'd never have noticed. Also, remember that everyone has different opinions, so if they say that your favourite joke in the second page is really lame, ignore them. Someone else might love it.
4. Listen to music to inspire you. Try to set the mood - love songs for romance scenes, rock for fights scenes, etc. If you are really stuck, move away from your story and do the 5 Song Challenge: put your music library in whatever form on shuffle, and then write a story for the first five songs that come on. You are only allowed to write within the time of the song, and you aren't allowed to skip any songs! It's a challange, definitely, but it can be fun (even with friends!). 
5. Look at a picture to describe you. Photography can be excellent inspiration. Try to write a scene for the image, only 200-500 words long. Who is the speaker? What are they feeling, and why? How does the image speak to view, and how can you translate that emotion to your writing for your reader? Again, this can be fun in a group - you can compare each other's stuff.
6. Imagine yourself in your character's shoes for a scene. What do they see/hear/smell/taste/feel and think? Try to engage all five senses, and recreate your scene in as much detail as you can. Use music and images to help you if you need it, though this can be done while trying to get to sleep, in the shower, on your way to school/work or anywhere, really. It's also good to do this right before you start writing, to get into the scene. Instead of writing, just imagine, and that's it.
7. If you're old enough, have a glass of wine to relax before you start. It can help get you in the zone and lessen tension. Only if you're old enough, mind, and by that, I mean legally old enough (I don't want to get in trouble, after all).
8. Give yourself a ten minute break. Play solitaire or mah jongg (my favourites, you'll probably have your own) or check your emails or make a cup of tea. After ten minutes, try again.
9. Relish your victories. You rock for having writing 10,000 words, or 1000, or even 100 - hell, even 1. You rock for that. Celebrate your achievements, and let that push you forwards.

 Alright! So there are my tips. Ranting the other day really make me think about this a lot. I often go through these processes, not all of them, but I try to find ways around my writer's block than just crumbling into a dank despair. As a writer, I really can relate if you're suffering, but all artists do - it's natural, you'll be fine, just try not to worry. There will be days were everything flows like magic, I assure you.

As my final, parting thought, remember this truth by Toni Morrison:

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

This is Shi, telling you to go and write.