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 |  This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario. An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. |
| NaNoWriMo #10 Day 10. Spent this morning on my regular video phone call to my friend in Florida. She is getting so much better after her operation and all the treatment, but the pain is still there, as are the mental scars. It is Saturday night for her, Sunday morning for me, but it has become “our time.” As such, I sat down and wrote after hanging up (only 3 hours today), and finished the Bat Out Of Hell II story cycle! Last tale was written – it’s the showdown between the hunter and the vampires, and the introduction of an apprentice who helps out, niece of the priest who was killed a few stories ago. It’s not as good as the series I wrote for Musicology this year ("Whispering Jack" ), but is still not too bad, I think. I have tried to make each story a stand-alone, as well as flowing along to be a complete story when they are all put together, which means a lot of information is repeated, but that’s okay. It’s a fine line, and I hope I haven’t fallen off too often!It took one more false start, but I did it. One work completed. I then sat there and stared at my screen, unable to continue with either the cryptid or fairy story. I think finishing NaNo yesterday (well, achieving the goal), my brain decided to have a little nap today, a restette, if you will. I’ll give it one day of sliding down in word count. Of course, I have been in pain a lot lately, and sleep has been a premium, so weariness isn’t helping. I think an early night tonight, get if not sleep then a rest, and hopefully will hit tomorrow running. So: Bat Out Of Hell II – 2466 words, for a total of 18576 words. Total words: 56059 |
| NaNoWriMo #9 Day 9. Couldn’t walk this morning, so didn’t drive anywhere, and was stuck in my room. After my knee and ankle calmed down, I did go for a walk to the monthly market and spent all f #10. Which was probably $11 more than I could afford… Anyway, before doing that, I sat in front of the computer to do some writing, waiting for the pain to subside enough for me to write. Let me just say, that the imagination does not tend to fire away when there is that much pain coursing through a body. So I applied for a job as a content creator. I won’t get it; I never get any jobs. I am close to just thinking of myself as unemployable and leaving it at that. Anyway, once I could walk more than a few steps, I had a shower and went to the market, where I bought breakfast (sausage sizzle for the win!), then walked down to the beach, along the jetty, and then back to the pub and “home.” I had the idea to finish the song cycle. Two more stories, done, and only one song to go… But three false starts told me that that story needs a little more time to fester. I have set everything up for the final showdown (It’s the final showdown..dadaddadadaaaah) , but getting into it feels too exposition heavy the way I was writing it. I can leave it for a few days. I’ll be fine. So I had a break, read a book, watched some YouTube, and then the fairy story called to me. I have now made the step-uncle a thorough arsehole, and the kid ever reliant on the fairies to make him feel better. I am getting close to the final showdown between kid and adult; the adult has just been released from police custody after belting his boss and getting drunk. I should say he has been putting the aunt down constantly, telling her she’s ugly and no-one would want her, and even hitting her a few times, but he is afraid of hitting the kid because he’s scared of the school authorities seeing bruises. Anyway, that story is rapidly reaching a climax as well. And, no, the cryptids are remaining hidden. The demon-woman story is also waiting, but I so do not want to start yet another story with these three kicking along in what we shall laughingly call “my brain.” So: Bat Out Of Hell II – 2532 words Fairy story – 3306 words Total daily words – 5838 words TOTAL WORDS: 53593! Yes, 9 days to complete NaNoWriMo 2024! |
| NaNoWriMo #8 Day 8. My brain is stupid. I got up to go the toilet at half past four this morning, got back into bed… and my head said, Hey! Story idea! “No,” I told myself. “You have three stories on the go, with a fourth waiting in the wings. You do NOT need another.” “Okay.” Beat. Then, really quickly: “A girl is exorcised but wants her demon back.” Me: “AUGH!” I didn’t get to sleep, and this morning, until just after midday, I wrote a 2845 word story set in my fantasy world about this girl who wants her demon back. I edited it and made sure the names had meaning, and put it into the chronology of the world. I could have written notes, yes, but the story was there, and I could see it all, and even worked in the compromise of the world so that the ending leaves everyone happy-ish. Anyway, I had an enforced break because my son called (homework help!) and because we were talking about Meat Loaf (he recently discovered some live albums on the hard drive of music I gave him) and that did it – the next two songs in the song cycle were also done. The first is based on a spoken word piece and is the vampire hunter having a bad dream, but giving him clarity. The second is the death of the area’s priest, a female priest. This is going to, in my mind, set up the arrival of another character come the end of the song cycle. I do have my ending – the vampire hunter is going to succeed, and gain himself an apprentice. I just have to get there now. The fairy story is calling me, though. It wants me to add more words and get on with it. Now we have a “bad guy,” the fairies want me to prove they are not evil. Will the bad guy die? At this stage, yes he will, at the hands of the fairy king… but this story keeps changing itself, so let’s not carve that in stone. The cryptid story, though, is more than happy being ignored at the moment. Damn it! I wanted to get that written this month! I reckon I can write it, edit it, put it away for a little while, re-edit it, then send it to a beta reader ready for an open call next year. But it doesn’t even want to be written… So, yes, another extra work thrown in… Stupid brain. Oh, and for what it’s worth, I have declared myself a NaNo Rebel this year. So many little stories, so many words… Total words for the day: 5079. Total words: 47755 |
| 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!? |
| NaNoWriMo #6 Day 6. So, I woke up this morning and was stuck in my hotel room because I still have no car. I had a shower, some breakfast, and then sat down at the computer. I was stuck. I wasn’t sure which story to work on! Had I over-stretched myself? It’s possible. So, I put Bat Out Of Hell II on and forwarded to the song I was up to. The story came to me halfway through. It took three false starts, listening to it so often that if I had neighbours I am sure they would have burnt me at the stake, but eventually, another part of the vampire tale was done. This is the actual vampire hunter, and it is the introduction to him in this scenario the songs are building up. That was my morning, for 2123 words. I went for my daily walk, then had lunch and the idea that came while I was eating was for the fairy story. It has now changed completely. I have introduced a crush for the kid in the fairy world, and introduced the person who is going to be my new antagonist. The fairies are sort of the mentors and will probably help the kid in the end, but he is going to use what he learns from them to stand up for himself. The new antagonist is a step-uncle, marrying his aunt who has adopted him after the deaths of his parents. I have gone back and made some story changes earlier to the fairies, so hints of their nastiness have been eliminated. The uncle is a decent guy at first, but he’s going to become an abusive scumbag. My evil fairies story is now a good fairies story. The kid is now also 12 years old. Could be interesting. So, in this case I added 5015 words. These sorts of changes do make it awkward for my head to get the story straight. Starting one way, and the characters taking it another is something I get used to. I guess the fairies didn’t want to be the bad guys after all. Total words for the day: 7138. Total words: 38422 Good day; happy with the way the stories are going. |
| NaNoWriMo #5 A day when real-life distractions poked their nose in. The actuator in my car door died, the new part was supposed to be here, it wasn't, so I had to phone hunt for it. As such, I only got 4155 words written. They were all from the fairy story. I got the kid to meet the fairies, but he doesn't think they're real yet, despite going in to visit them. Now, here's my issue: in my head for the past month, I've had that these are going to be evil, but they are being really nice to the kid. He was going to cut down the tree that is the entrance to their sidhe, but I don't think he could do it unless they turn really nasty, and they are not showing that sort of inclination. At all. I might have to find a new antagonist and make the fairies the good guys after all... The joys of being a pantser! Total words: 31,284 |
| NaNoWriMo #4 Day 4! So... Weird writing day. Woke up this morning with the idea for the third story in the Bat Out Of Hell II story cycle all set and ready to go. I worked on it and, after a couple of hours it was done at 1378 words. Later on in the day, I went back to it and it now sits at 1490 words. 3 stories done! I then worked on the cryptid story. Just building things up. I have them disturbed by the creatures, but that's about all. I think it's starting to meander, so I might need to liven things up sooner rather than later. The lazy guy character... I am so looking forward to killing him off later on. He's becoming insufferable. So this was another 1988 words added. But, like I said, meandering and not going along smoothly. At least this time I've made almost 20k words instead of 6k before it's petering out. That was when I had the idea of how to start my fairy story. it is all back story, setting up the main character and what he, as a ten year old, has been through in his life. This is a young adult, middle-grade reader story, and I think the tale - told from 1st person PoV of the boy - will work for an audience of that age, the way it's going in my head. So, we've set him up as an orphan, and is only just understanding what that means. The story is also set in the year 2000, so I can avoid social media. I'll let my YA/MG beta reader tell me if it works once the story is done... if it is done. So, I did 2271 words, but it's all set-up. It might be a little long. Then again, I think we really get to know the kid and why he will fall for the fairies when he meets them. My total words for the day is 5749. Overall, we have 27129 words... and so we are over halfway there in 4 days. Not too shabby. |
| NaNoWriMo #3 Day 3. Started the day with an idea for Merit Badge Magic's special badge ("Peace" prompt), and so I spent the morning working on that. Only 167 words, but they're still new words. (And, hey!, you can check it out here: "Mental Peace" !)Then came my normal Sunday morning video call to the USA. It's Saturday night for her, Sunday morning for me, and we spent over 4 hours chatting merrily away. Then I went back to the cryptid story. I wrote two more chapters... and they were taking me into a dead end, so I started again, and still couldn't get it. Then I realised I had two people in hospital! So a visit to them to sow the seeds that this danger is still there and is very animalistic. Perfect. 3871 words and a few chapters later, and it's back to flowing. I have 6 endings staring at me at the moment. * narrator is the only survivor * narrator and wife are the only survivors, and we finish with them talking to their daughter (already established as spending the time with her grandparents) * I only kill one more camper and the lazy guy * the creatures attack the town and many died, and there are hundreds of them * the day is saved by the professional palaeontologists, with the two couples surviving... There was a 7th ending, that they are forced to move out of the camp site, but I don't think that's going to work. How am I going to get the creatures to move as well? I'll have to let the characters lead me onwards, I guess. Daily words: 4038 Total words: 21380 |
| NaNoWriMo #2 Day 2! So, I added 3294 words to the cryptid story. I wrote to the first death, and decided to make it off-screen. In fact, it was so off-screen that the narrator was not even at the site when it happened, and was informed by the police. One death, one seriously injured, and one who had a panic attack/asthma attack. They remained at the caravan park while the rest went digging after finding some dead animals the previous night. So, the cryptids have finally started attacking the humans! Then I worked out the story for the second track for the album I am writing to. For those unaware, Jeff does a Musicology Anthology challenge, and I get so invested I ignore my loathing for contests and do it, mainly just to do it. Well, about a month ago I was listening to the album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell by Meat Loaf, all songs written by Jim Steinman, and thought it would make a great Musicology basis for next year. But, in my head, the stories were going to be way too long, so I decided to just do it anyway, but wasn't sure how I could start, and so I let it simmer. Then I decided I'd see if I could get some written during NaNo, add to that word count! So. I had the album and I had a story idea - vampires in a rural setting! Don't ask - my brain works weirdly. But this afternoon, I was listening to random music and 'Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back' came on (track 2 on the album). Of course, it got me thinking about the story cycle... and I worked it out! A guy's best friend has gone missing, but comes back as a vampire! So, I wrote it, and that led to the first song on the album - 'I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)'. How the neighbour became a vampire - his dead wife infects him! So the first two stories for the song cycle were written, for a total of 3477 words. Total today: 6771 words. Grand total: 17342 words |
| NaNoWriMo #1 So, I said I'd be posting my progress on my blog. I was too tired last night, so am doing it this morning before writing a job application and then hitting the story again. It is the morning of day 2. Yesterday I churned out a solid 10571 words. On what? Well... 3, 4 months ago I started a cryptid horror based on an Australian creature of legend. I set it in the same area I live in, a two couples, best mates and their wives, going on a camping trip. One of them was a lazy guy who was always late, even for his own wedding (that trait is based off a former friend of mine, who, yes, was late to his own wedding!), and he held them up so they arrived after the office closed. The four of them could not get into the caravan park (that's a very Australian thing, I've been told), so they went to one of the overnight sites that dot the peninsula. That night they were to be attacked. After 6k words or so, it had petered out. I had the creatures, and the lazy guy was key to the ending, but the story was not going anywhere. As a pantser, this is an unfortunately common occurrence. But I still wanted to write about the creature. So, I hit upon changing the setting from where I live to the south-east of the state. The lazy guy still means they are late, but they are now part of a group, and the group does not like the late guy, so the two couples are shunted to one side. Oh, the mates have now married twin sisters. By going to the south-east, I made them part of an amateur palaeontology group, and I also had more people to be victims of the cryptids. I also changed from 3rd person omniscient PoV to 1st person, the lazy guy's mate, married to one of the twins. It was clearly all the story needed - I wrote the first 10 chapters (I think they're chapters; some are quite short) and cracked 10k words in a day. 500 at midnight (a sprint), 4000 in the morning, 6000 in the afternoon/ evening. Collapse into bed at 8:30pm, my brain feeling like mush. That was what happened on day 1! |
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