Character Names

If anybody else is like me you’ll know how much of a struggle it can be coming up with names that stand out.

I’m currently in the process of naming the main characters in my latest novel Blood Letting and have decided that Ruby no longer suits the female MC and so now she’s Freya after the Norse Goddess of Beauty. Now Norse Surnames are inherently more tricky, however I’ve decided to stick with Winter, isn’t actually that much of a stretch when Vinter is the Norwegian Equivalent of Winter.

Now Freya’s love interest is interesting. Nothing at all about him has jumped out at me; neither has anything in regards to her so-called best friend. So naming them will have to wait.

 

Shorts and Other Things

Birth and Bereavement has undergone a revision and is completed.

My most recent novel Blood Letting is in it’s infancy. 335 words so far. A paranormal fiction set in a modern day universe.

Ruby is the main female character. She’s not a Vampire, but there is the hint of her having an attraction to blood despite her fear of needles. Actually in the true sense she’s nowhere close to being a Vampire. She’s Faerie and one of the Daoine Sith….

Old Stuff

So while being up terribly late last night I was perusing my folder of completed stories and came across one that while short and really rough was actually the best find ever. You see I’ve been trying to put down my thoughts and feelings in relation to my mum’s death three years ago and as it turns out it’s all right there in black and white just waiting to be revised.

Title:  Birth and Bereavement

Working Title: Words

Date Begun: 17th September 1998      Date Completed: 18th September 1998

Revisions: 1 (as of 2nd August 2011)

Current Status: Completed

Current Word Count: 247

Synopsis: A flash fiction about the subject of death, and how it’s always unexpected, even when it’s expected.

Ah, Zoe…

I think yours is one story that I will never be able to do justice. At least not until I can figure out exactly where your story is going. Instead of it just having it run away with me as it so often does. *sigh*

Oh well… there’s always November to churn out a decent piece of writing.

Nano 2010 in Nano 2011

Recapping on last years Nano attempt.

The idea was good. The writing and the way the story had a mind of its own wasn’t. I might just be able to recapture the feeling of what I was trying to deliver but failed to last year and bring in Sybilla and her dragon shapeshifter, Ashtoroth. It might make for an interesting side story.

NaNoWriMo 2011

So my plans for November actually came to me before I’d finished NaNoWriMo in 2010. It’s been slowly bubbling away for the past 7 months and I largely like to think of it as Arthurian Steampunk.

The novel evolves around the story of King Arthur but not as everybody likes to remember it. He doesn’t get his fair Queen Guinevere. Instead Arthur and Guinevere never met, not as intended bride and bridegroom anyway. She instead winds up the wife of Lancelot and the ever enchanting Morgan le Faye winds up as Arthur’s betrothed and Queen of Camelot. No… it’s not as far fetched as everybody would like to make out it is. Take a look back to the ancient civilizations, and even as recently as Victorian England. Royalty were marrying brother to sister (Cleopatra and Ptolemy) and cousin to cousin (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, along with many other royals).

Mordred, of course features, as does the usual cast when dealing with an Arthurian story. The twist however comes, of course when you throw them all into Victorian England, 1882. And as such, I haven’t quite figured out exactly how to get the two to mesh seamlessly yet.

So this is what you’ll more or less be hearing about for the next 4 months while I gear up for NaNoWriMo 2011.

And for those not aware as to what NaNoWriMo is… check out: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Dear Zoe

Dear Zoe, so you’ve come along way from the 16 and a half year old girl you were when I first started to write about you and your exploits, but yet I am still constantly plagued by writers blog and awkward moments with no idea how to go on with your story, which if I do say so, is entirely frustrating. Regards, Me.

P.S. This piece originally started out as a short story and has all but evolved into a novel… I think. Time will tell. It began as a contemporary modern piece and has morphed into a fantasy based loosely on several novels I’ve read throughout its various incarnations and inspired completely from a single dream I had.

Day 14

So far on day 14 I have only written a few words, but I finished last night on 22,419… so I’m hoping to do a minimum of 919 words to stay on track. Given that I have not yet lost a days worth of words, I don’t plan on starting now, so it’ll be likely I will keep my lead and do at least 1,700 words again today.

Word Count Blues

Well I finished up last night at 19,017 and now I’m finding today somewhat sluggish and lacking motivation. Entirely unfair.

Current word count is 19,459…

Post Nano

Well, I am currently thinking about re-writing my entire novel post NaNoWriMo. There are a lot of basic things I have neglected to elaborate on, so it really needs it. I fear if somebody reads my novel come the end of November, that it will be a very poor read. However, I am willing to take that chance. I don’t normally tend to let others read my novels, when they are not up to scratch.

Major Update

…because I have been lazy and posting random snippets via facebook instead of here on my Blog.

So here we go…

Daily Totals

Day #1… 1,714
Day #2… 3,429
Day #3… 5,149
Day #4… 6,875
Day #5… 10,023
Day #6… 10,200
Day #7… 12,000
Day #8… 13,704
Day #9… 15,421
Day #10… 17,157
Day #11… Pending

As of midnight last night, I am ahead of the curve by 487, not a lot by any means but helpful all the same.

As for my novel itself. We have seen the arrival of three interesting creatures. Two are Fae in nature, but have yet to show themselves to Sybilla. The third is that of Ashtoroth, a small green dragon with black wings no larger than a kitten. Apparently he has the ability to shapeshift into what passes for a 17 year old human boy, in this form he calls himself Ash T Roth, and he is a guide of sorts to Sybilla. His name is not entirely unique but it will do for now.

Oh and war has also broken out in the Province of Rosene. Everybody including Ash and Sybilla are currently holed up in a bomb shelter which is located underneath the kitchen in the Manor House. The war was instigated by Sybilla’s uncle Augustin (her human uncle, that is), together he and an army of automatons and Mechanical Brass Dragons are attacking the Royal Palace of Rosene simply because Augustin is bitter that he was born without any magickal talent. Again not entirely original, but it’s pushing the word count along.

Oh, and not only is Sybilla currently seven years old (I’m working on exactly how old she is when the glamour she is wearing that hides her true fae appearance comes off)but she has not one but two possible crushes. One being Jarvis, a thirteen year old mundane human boy and the other being Ash. Neither of which really make all that much sense. But that’s what you get when your main character is really a faery disguised as a seven year old mundane human girl. And a Princess at that.

6:24pm Day 2

With under six hours left of day two the word count is not looking too good.

Currently 116 words out of 1700.

My main character, Sybilla is now daydreaming about the colour purple.

I will make my days goal even if it means awake until midnight.

I need to pace myself, there is a benefit to getting 600 odd words accomplished in the morning.

10:17am November 1st

… and I’ve written a grand total of 1,010 words so far. Yes, I am pacing myself, but life is fairly busy of late, what with four kids.

Sadly, I’m not liking my novel. Writing from the point of view of a seven year old main character may have been the worst idea I ever had. *sigh*

Oh well, even if I restart from a different place in the timeline, the words still count.

At this point, I’m not feeling all that confident.

12:47am

605 words so far, and I’m calling it a night. I finish up the 1095 remaining words throughout the day tomorrow.

Won’t be pushing myself too hard this year.

I should be sleeping

I really should. 4 kids, under 5 and having to be up and about by 7:15am tomorrow, does not bode well on little sleep. But I will slog it out for at least an hour before I turn in, and hopefully still be human by tomorrow nights end.

Ah, the joys of November.