Writing Blog Number 2

20241107 - NaNo-07

NaNoWriMo #7

Day 7.

Another day of life intruding… my car was finally fixed, so I was stuck at the repair shop for half a day. Got some reading done, which makes a pleasant change, and then had to go through the instructions for making sure the car doesn’t go through that again.

Had something awful for lunch (breakfast?) and then sat down to write. The next two stories about ehe vampire hunter, giving his back story – how he started to hunt – and the death of his mentor – so that’s why he is now alone doing this. Why Bat Out Of Hell II is leading me down the path of vampire hunting I have no idea…

The hunter is coming across as a brooding loner, which seems to be my go-to for hunters of the supernatural (see my only completed trilogy series). Now that I have the idea, though, the song lyrics really are speaking to me, carrying this tale along well. I have written quite a few stories based on songs over the past few decades (and had a few published!), and I find it easy to slide into the world I create around the song-writer’s words.

I think this is called transformative work. I use the basis of the song and spin a tale around it. A great example, and the best one I think I’ve done, is based on the Whitesnake song ‘Here I Go Again’ and my story is about a werebear that hunts werewolves because one killed his partner, but also werebears are destined to hunt werewolves. The lyrics do not lend themselves to a story about therianthropes in conflict, but my head goes that way. Another example is the Shakin’ Stevens song ‘This Ole House’ I turned into a zombie apocalypse story…

Anyway, the Bat… II stories have the vampire, the vampire’s partner, a dead neighbor, and now the hunter including back-story, the hunter having been injured by the two vampires already.

I would love to be able to explain how I come up with this sort of thing when I listen to a song, but I can’t. These are the images that my brain conjures up sometimes when I listen to these songs. Sometimes it is a direct translation of the story, sometimes the video clip informs the tale, but usually it’s just my head being weird in a way I cannot explain.

I am also really working on the feelings, tastes, smells and sensations of the characters, to give a better-rounded sense of character and let the reader into the world more fully. It’s basically me listening to the advice I give others when I do reviews…

Total words for the day: 4254.
Total words: 42676

Yes, I am currently worried if the cryptid tale has petered out for a second time. The fairies have demanded they be at least shades of grey, and not evil, while Bats and Vampires are combining in classic rock goodness. But those cryptids… Why won’t they let me write their story!?