Tag Archives: nano 2013

Finding My Year Through the Scribbling

So 2013, goodnight, goodbye
You were lovely and bright
You were terrible, my!

I loved you, I hated you
I scribbled the mess of you
Oh, 2013! Goodnight, goodbye!

End of the year post and all that demands a lot more out of me than I'm willing to give. The analytical brain was left in bed this morning and is still sleeping peacefully against my pillow. The rest of me, creative but lazily, has been puttering about today, wishing to join the analytical brain in pleasant dreams and instead working my tail off and getting little in the way of writing done. Which is a nice way of saying, expect a ramble. I'm rambly when I'm sleepy.

A Long Look Back

This was a busy year, full of good things and bad. On a personal level, I got a job, went permanent, had a falling out with someone once precious to me, lost my great-uncle, and have had ups and downs in my relationship with my sister. Nevertheless, I also had the sweetest Christmas season I can remember, starting with a Thanksgiving I actually enjoyed before all the cleanup was done.

This was the year I did the 365 Challenge and wrote original fiction as prolifically as when I dove back into fandom and whipped out 300K words of posted fanfic alone. I met a new storyworld and had so many delightful prompts and questions, I never could keep up with them all, but it produced "Dowse and Bleed" and I expect several forthcoming novelettes, novels, and collections. Additionally, I met a storyworld everybody who's read it has loved and know that it will do well if I can get it fleshed out in book format.

This was the year I did Nano—again—and failed. Again. Ah, well. :deep sigh:

This was the year I started a collaborative novel that stands more than a chance of succeeding and reaching those wonderful words, THE END. Also, I now own Scrivener. Quadruple awesome.

This was the year I moved out from sharing a room with my sister to having my own (godsend), my family blessed me with my own Samsung tablet (horrible distraction!), and the year I pulled together some actual songs to give as gifts using Finale (super fun).

This was the year I finally worked up the nerve to participate in Yuletide. If I hadn't veteraned in I Need My Fics, it never would have happened. It was wonderful, really wonderful. I loved my fics.

On the bookish front, I got my own copy of Jane Eyre now (yay!), The Left Hand of Darkness (I've been wanting to read this for forever), and Allegiant (see previous post for more on that). At some point, I might mull out how I feel about Le Guin's book, but in case I don't, let me just say it was amazing how the narrative had so many angles. The story disguises itself as Genly's story and in a very small, small way it is, but it's really Estraven's story, and the depth it takes us into the culture is amazing. I'm so glad I finally got to read this classic. Thanks, Yuletide bookswap!

Looking Forward

And next year? Next year, I'd like to write and publish, finish the Lena/Wesley book, finish fleshing out the heavier Kingdoms and Thorn and Vardin works that keep lying around, finish lithiumlaughter's fanfics "Everything is Blood" and "Body Heat," finish this collaboration with thecatisacritic, and maybe write some Divergent fanfic. I have that I must wait so long for the movie. :le sigh:

So thanks, last year, for being as big and complex and wonderful and challenging as you were and here's hoping the next year is big and wonderful for all of you. Happy New Year!

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One Out of Four

  1. I'm actually losing mail in Yahoo because it works so poorly now. I can't organize it, find it, or deal with it. I'm seriously considering signing up to Writing.com just for the email.
  2. I've been chaptering and working on the collaboration fic. It's going well. One thing at least is.
  3. What's with the new email updates, FF.net? They don't list fandom in the email title. I never know anymore if I want to open it or not.
  4. To all internet services everywhere: can we please stop reducing functionality and calling it an upgrade? Please?
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November Novel, Day 3

This entry is part 29 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Four sessions: 313, 15, 190, then 1997 words. If I had energy to write more about it I would. Let's just say I wrote some awful stuff and gave a character panic attacks. Wow. And 185 of semi-fluff. Whoohoo. Then 131 of actual fluff. This is good.

Count

  • November Novel: 2,831 words – Total: 4098 words
  • All Fiction & Poetry: 2,831 words – Total: 4218 words
  • Blog: 49 words – Total: 479 words
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On the Writing Front, November 1–2

This entry is part 28 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So I got an 84 word start on the November novel, due to a gift scene popping into my head as I got under the covers. Problem: I was in bed. Solution: I memorized the dialogue and wrote it this morning.

Then I dove into the collaboration fic and got 1075 new words by cycling back through the section that needed it and adding two new scenes on the end because lo and behold, they were in my head last night as well.

It's back to the November novel. (I like that better than Nano. :shrugs: ) I've got snippets and snatches I've been collecting. I guess I better go dig them up and add them.

Stopped to add another 299 to the collaboration. Done with that for the day. Back to Novembering it.

Got all my old stuff in there that I think belongs in this story: 3143 words. Now, let's go from there. Ended at 3263.

Saturday night, I managed a snippet. Heading into a work-intensive Sunday, can't promise instant scribbles, but the ideas are there. Too bad the collab can't be my nano. I don't think... Must check the rules.

Count

  • November Novel: 1267 words
  • All Fiction & Poetry: 1,387 words
  • Blog: 430 words
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End of October Post

This entry is part 27 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So I started this month out with a challenge to scribble in public and see where it took me. Apparently, it took me to almost 40,000 words of poetry and fiction besides blog posts and it was, to be frank, a really bad month for my discipline. So.

Heading into November, I'd like to do better, way better, and I'd really like to fill out a lot of the gaps in my work and finish some books.

November Projects

  • Pieter/Ashen initial meeting book — There will be coffee.
  • Collaboration fic with thecatisacritic — There will be special abilities and family dynamics.
  • Yuletide fics — Lithiumlaughter is helping me brainstorm on the prompted one, and I'm still mulling over Laurie. Then there's bookswaps.

365 Challenge

I've downgraded the importance of this. It's weird. I should want, maybe even need to finish out the challenge, but I don't. I have so much raw material to turn into powerful books that readers actually want to read that I consider the challenge an unmitigated success and now want to seriously finish out all the stuff it started. So yeah. Expect books. Novelettes, novellas, and maybe novels. I've never been as fast at pulling out long fiction, but I'm going to try.

Count

  • Fiction & Poetry: 3273 words - Month to Date: 39,410 words
  • Blog: 0 words - Month to Date: 9,831 words
  • Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words

How's your docket?

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Frantically Writing Before Its November, October 29

This entry is part 25 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So I had a rude awakening this morning when I realized it's almost November. Here goes.

And there goes 1478 words to wrap up the Justus fic. I hate having written it out, but I hope you like it, thecatisacritic. It's your own fault you asked.

Edited the collab piece to 397 words from 133. Added another 231 words after talking to thecatisacritic. And another 229 after evening prayer.

In between, I filled out another prompt for why Storm made Red Wolf leader. Truth is, I expected a different piece to come out, the one I'd originally imagined with Maker and that had a broader perspective and more about Red Wolf, but this came out instead, raw and under the surface of why Storm was angry about making Red Wolf leader, which was something different.

Starting in on "Everything is Blood" at 1029 words. I looked it over and didn't actually have to toss anything I already had but couldn't think of how to bridge from point A to point B. I love this fic, and I hate it. A lot.

Skipping that... I think I'm going to quit and update if I write more later. So I promised an update. I sketched and scribbled on some index cards.

Count

  • Fiction: 2868 words - Month to Date: 34,318 words
  • Blog: 215 words - Month to Date: 9,760 words
  • Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words

365 Challenge

  • 237–238/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn: A Time to Die – 3740 words
  • 239/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Hard Decisions – 543 words
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Winter Tidings of the Scribbler, October 21

This entry is part 20 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Dear muse,

Please get with it. November is coming and my dance card is now full.

Love,

the scribbler


Feels like winter is here at last, and it's time to get this mind gearing up for November beyond percolating possibilities. Time more to get some serious writing back into gear, especially seeing as I've got plenty besides to do this season.

So checking out the exchange front, I'm thinking through this [unnamed] prompt again and can't even hit it sideways. I already wrote that story, so hm. I guess it's just winging it on the fandom. :grumbles under breath: I had hoped for something to go on. Oh, well. Let's just see what we can come up with.

Well, I was going to fic that, but instead I fanficced my own and thecatisacritic's world again. Seriously, is it okay to post fanfic of this kind of stuff on AO3? I know the original creator and we're working together, but it's seriously AU fanfic.

Back to exchange... Didn't get anywhere on that. Then I spent some serious time hunting up fics to collaborate on, got back wonderful comments on "Dowse and Bleed" which may take it to novella-length, and typed up board meeting minutes. Also, got a 418 word start on a poem. Don't like it all yet, but it's a start.

Beta'd a piece. Hit a few more pages on my proofread. I'll try and pull something together after computer hours, but no promises.

Count

  • Fiction: 2291 words - Month to Date: 25,330 words
  • Blog: 279 words - Month to Date: 8,337 words

365 Challenge

  • 230–231/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn/Fracture and Recall Crossover: And So It Goes… – 1873 words

WIP

  • Kingdoms and Thorn poem: The World Backed Down – 418 words
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Reading, Writing, and Upcoming Schedule – October 17

This entry is part 16 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

FRIENDLY REMINDER: If your comment vanishes into the spam moderation ether, please email me at info at lianamir dot com so I can fish it back out.


Reading & Proofreading

I had a proofreading job come in, which will cut hard into scribbling time, but add to weather the bank advance cut-off transition, so it's a worthy switch.

I'm also going to put off reading any fiction by anyone else until after I've scribbled each day. This is an experiment. It will take nerves of steel (which I'm not entirely sure I have). More on that tomorrow.

Writing & Fanfic

So I didn't get anywhere with Laurie today. Couldn't find her mental space and realized I needed to dive into canon to do that. Canon's not at work and my lunch break didn't go to writing per usual, so yeah. Moving it down on the to-do list. I consider this a Yuletide piece.

Speaking of which, Yuletide itself is looking amazing. I signed up as a pinch-hitter and browsed through a bunch of letters. I may do the book exchange and I'm definitely going to be writing treats. In the middle of this, I promise to lithiumlaughter that I will indeed get around to hammering my head hard enough on "Everything is Blood" to finish it.

I did start off this morning with a ficlet that could go as a continuation of an interesting crossover fanfic AU (thanks, thecatisacritic) or fit within the regular Kingdoms and Thorn universe. So there's that. I do think it needs more, a continuation and exploration. Don't I have enough ficlets needing that though!

I decided to start posting more on the blog again, which is silly since I'm trying to scribble more fiction, but alas! I tend to be happiest when creatively overextended. Since I've already started doing it, I might as well just admit it.

For NanoWrimo, I still haven't the foggiest idea which book I'll write, though I'm leaning toward something with momentum, which would mean Kingdoms and Thorn or Seven Days. I love Vardin, but I'm not sure I could build up the steam in time for November. And everyone loves Seven Days. Thanks again, lithiumlaughter, for you wonderful comments. I need to get answers to your questions back, come to think of it.

Back on the evening scribbling grind, and this Kingdoms and Thorn piece is coming together again. Not sure what did the trick, but I'm liking the interactions between Justus, Cole, and Larique. I'm also realizing this thing's going to turn into a "Dowse and Bleed" size fic before it's done. Ah, well. At least I'm getting somewhere, 367 words of somewhere wraps the scene. I've a feeling it won't be done today, thecatisacritic, but you prompted it and it's coming. Now I've just got to remember to work in Justus going undercover and noticing a threat no one else does.

I'd be able to write more too, but I have a question it's going to take some percolating to answer. What in the world does that report say? Sometimes readers think we're hiding information for suspense when really, we don't actually know the information yet. Ah, well. Off to percolate. Good night!

Count

  • Fiction: 841 words - Month to Date: 21,871 words
  • Blog: 630 words - Month to Date: 7,580 words

365 Challenge

We're at day 290/365 and written piece 226/365.

Most of these pieces haven't been linked on the challenge page because they're commentfic and I'm editing the mess out of them for publishing. I really do need to get a Kingdoms and Thorn collection pulled together. But first, I want to see in_the_blue's suggestions for expanding "Dowse and Bleed." Seriously. It would be my first novella (not counting MG novel, similar word count) ever.

  • 226/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Price of Reconciliation – 474 words
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Reading and Writing, October 13

This entry is part 12 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Started off the day on a nice foot: I finished crossposting the last 52 chapters of Whispers from ff.net to AO3. Because someone asked me to. Always the best kind of fanfic work.

As part of prep for NaNo, I want to get Kingdoms and Thorn into Scrivener. I forgot I had created my own continuity template, but right now, I am supremely pleased. All that work, already done. :grins:

I'm mixing up scribbling, reading, recording an audio project, and other busywork all together. Getting some decent stuff. Okay, I've got other stuff to do, so done for the night.

On the reading front, I got an early Yuletide gift—a Rachelle ficlet from in_the_blue. I officially consider this my second piece of fanfic ever and it is awesome.

Count

  • Total Fiction: 1561 words - Month to Date: 15,442 words
  • Total Blog: 100 words - Month to Date: 5,690 words

365 Challenge

  • 210/365 - Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: That'll Work – 177 words
  • 211/365 - Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: We Can't Have That – 208 words
  • 212/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Gratitude in an Off Note – 197 words
  • 213/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Reality Check – 303 words
  • 214/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Anywhere But Here – 349 words
  • 215/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Wedding Gift – 327 words
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