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Well, NaNoWriMo 2016 has begun!

Well, NaNoWriMo 2016 has begun!

And we started off with a bang! (Not literally, of course.) Day One and we had a write-in at the local Panera. Not too many showed up but at least one newbie discovered the charms of a word war. I was under the eight ball from the start; not only did I have to come up with a new prize tote (the original one smelled to high heaven courtesy of a few old glow bracelets) but I forgot to download…

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Another character excerpt–Siobhan Shaunessy

Another character excerpt–Siobhan Shaunessy

This particular character is from a middle-grade novel I wrote several years ago–the one NaNoWriMo novel I came closest to actually finishing. The story itself takes place in an alternate history, one where much of the Americas were still under colonial rule into the late 1800s and the sciences were just beginning to supersede magic in some areas. I liken it to a mixture of Harry Potter, X-Men, and the gaslamp fantasy Girl Genius with a soupçon of steampunk stirred in. I’ve…

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A character sample–Delphine di Wintersea

A character sample–Delphine di Wintersea

Okay, I’ve said I’m a character-driven writer, so let me introduce you to one of them: Delphine di Wintersea. She’s the protagonist from Dawn of the Hex and starts out the story in her childhood. As a daughter of the house di Wintersea, she is a majii, gifted with powers from the Maj, Majere’s sentient spirit. (“Majii” means “the favored” in a long dead language of the world.) She is gifted as an auger–someone who dreams of future events–which is…

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What kind of writer am I?

What kind of writer am I?

Well, according to NaNoWriMo, I’m a “pantser” which means I write with little to no preparation, research, outlining, etc. This may work against me; when push comes to shove I don’t always know what to write next. It works for me in that I can take my story in whatever direction I choose without stressing over not following my outline. (Believe me, if I went through all the trouble of writing an outline, I would stress over not following it…

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Countdown to NaNoWriMo 2016

Countdown to NaNoWriMo 2016

Yes, it’s less than two weeks until November 1st when the madness which is NaNoWriMo begins in earnest. My co-Municipal Liaison and I have all our ducks in a row as far as write-ins are concerned. The lounge is up and running with introductory threads and sign-up for the Kick-Off party on October 30th. Four branches of the county library system are working with us to provide write-in spaces and two are holding pre-NaNo plot parties next week. Lots to…

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Didn’t make it.

Didn’t make it.

You’ve probably wondered where my updates for Camp NaNoWriMo have been. Well, I haven’t posted them because, frankly, I wasn’t writing. I dropped my word count goal to 12K late in the month and didn’t even make that paltry sum. (For someone who regularly writes 50K or more in November, yes, 12K is a paltry sum.) My final word count as of about 5 minutes ago was 8011, with over 2K of that written just today. Why couldn’t I make…

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Quite a bit behind

Quite a bit behind

But plugging away at it. I didn’t write the first two days. The first day is understandable; I had to put down our elderly black cat, the last of four I wove into one of my Thunderbirds story arcs. It was sad but, to be truthful, it’s also a relief. We’ll miss him. The second day, not so much. So, day three saw me starting to write.  Today has been far better in terms of getting words down and so,…

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Camp NaNoWriMo starts…

Camp NaNoWriMo starts…

In less than half an hour. I’ve set my word count expectations low at 20K so I’m more likely to reach the goal. I can’t bring myself to write it all over again, but I’ll make sure I only count those words I actually write and nothing from my previous drafts. Here’s a little excerpt from my first chapter. You can expect these every couple of days. Feedback is much appreciated!

A little incentive…

A little incentive…

Well, in my last installment, I talked about the book of short stories my mother-in-law had written and how I’d edited and had them printed up in an amazing quality book for her. (It really is amazing! Thanks, Blurb!) She was ever so happy about it and encouraged me to do the same for one of my own stories. So, yesterday I got a letter in the mail from my father-in-law. Inside was a generous check and a cryptic line, “For…

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NaNoWriMo2015 is in the can!

NaNoWriMo2015 is in the can!

I won with 51726 words in a story I may never look at again. We’ll see. After I do all my wrap-up (like posting winners, corralling stragglers, putting up the results of our state-wide word war, and writing thank you notes to venue hosts), I’ll have a couple of down days before plunging back in and picking up on things I’ve let slide for far, far too long. The Thank God It’s Over party will be Saturday and I’ve remembered…

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