Checking In

As it's almost the end of August, I am checking on to the blog to evaluate my progress on Corrupting the Light. I'm around 30K, which is not a win for Camp NaNo, but that's alright. For the first time, I haven't looked back on my work in progress with the feeling that I needed to remove or vastly change large parts of what I had written. I also have a well-plotted story. I know what is going to happen further on in the story, and I am just working my way towards these events around school and life in general.
I'm not disappointed that I won't hit 50K on Wednesday. I already have the certificate of completion for July, and if I had the same one for August then it would look silly on my wall.
I'm working on a romantic subplot for one of my characters that I'm pretty excited about. It has its complications, which poor Caellas doesn't know about. I'm also working on the main plot with Imeda and Anradel. Things are going to get very bad before they get good. I'm excited to be able to take this project seriously and really put some thought into it, more thought than I've given any of my other projects. August has been very productive. 30K is still quite a word count and I'm proud.

Caught Up

I've been off track since Day 2, but last night I caught up! Feels good to be back on par. A few days ago I realized that there was no way I was going to hit my ending at 50K. I'm not even at the turning point in the plot yet! So I did some thinking and found a way to come to a workable ending that is perfect for a sequel. I'll have my main characters reunited and the story will end with them returning to the kingdom Anradel was banished from. However, a lot will have happened to them by then. I'm excited to see what I come up with to fill the space from here until the end.

The Story So Far

Well, we're in week two! I'm behind, and I attribute that to the fact that I did quite a bit of planning work for this story. I'm concerned with keeping things on track and not falling into my usual habits of word-padding and getting hopelessly off track with the story. I'm about 4-5K behind on my word count but I'm not overly concerned. I can certainly catch up.

I'm quite pleased with the way things have been going so far. I've met a new character and found out a few things about characters I've already established. I don't start school for another week or so. Hopefully I catch my stride and get ahead before classes slow me down again.

The New Start

Today begins the second session of Camp NaNoWrimo! I didn't get to bed until after 3:00am this morning so naturally I had a slow start. But I've met the day's word count and finished a chapter. I don't often split my stories up while I'm writing them; that's usually something I do during revisions to help make it seem more manageable. But I wrote Chapter One and am working on Two at the moment. Word count's at 2,287 right now. Having my plot mostly worked out helps me with things like foreshadowing and the like. I'm very pleased with the way things are going.

The Fruits of My Efforts

So I have a title! I think it's fitting, seeing as Imeda, the dark elf seductress, is corrupting Anradel, the exiled light elf prince. See? Progress! The image I think most closely fits the character of Tahlir ("prince") Anradel is this piece from Deviant Art. I mean, aside from how large those ears are, I think this is going to be exactly what Imeda tries to turn him into. I've spent a lot of time today rifling through pictures of elves on there, and I happened across this piece that I immediately knew had to be another character. He's going to be Caellas, Anradel's best friend in the world. Already there's a complication: Anradel gets banished and has to leave his friend. How will they reunite? Does Caellas turn on Anradel, or does he forgive him and miss him?

My story takes places in Amual, the land where the different races of elves live with humans and the occasional Feywild. I've sketched out three distinct elf races: light, heartland, and dark. The light elves are the ruling class, the heartland elves are their subjects along with the humans, and the dark elves are a completely isolated group who despite their unhappiness are still subjects of the light elves. Their language has probably undergone a lot of changes from the proto-elven language spoken when the three races were one.

I'm working on outlining as much of a plot as I can. Tomorrow I'm going to a Plot and Pacing Workshop put on by my NaNo Region group. I hope to learn a lot about plotting and put it to use on this story! Perfect timing.

Elves at Eight AM

I've always loved elves. I don't know why exactly, but they're definitely my favourite. For my last Camp story, I played with the idea of magic and mages. It was spectacular! This time around, I really want to explore the idea of elves. I've got a bunch of names from online generators that have an elven feel to them, so I can have a bunch of characters who are all elves. Last November I tried writing a story about some people who didn't know they were elves, and it could have gone better if I had done more planning and really figured out what that would mean for them.

I'm on Deviant Art at the moment looking at pictures of elves that people have drawn. I follow a few amazing artists who have a thing for elves too, so that makes my search pretty easy. I love so many of the images. I've got a couple saved to my computer for reference, because since I can't draw, I like to have images to base my characters off of. It helps, being able to see them. Now on to world-building. And possibly breakfast.

Session 2 Planning

After homework and dinner, I sat down with notebook and pen and played Nightwish songs to stir up ideas for my next novel. The second session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts Monday, so I really wanted to think of something to write about. Winging it sounded like the way to go since I couldn't think of anything new to write about but as soon as "Amaranth" started playing, the brainstorm began. I listened through several more songs, the shuffle taking me through different albums. The variety of lyrics in the songs gave me exactly what I needed to start planning my new story.

I have the basic beginnings of the plot: elf prince exiled for the slaying of his sister. Evil seductress luring him in to manipulate him and make him her weapon. Ideas of gods and prophecies. The prince won't be under her control forever; he will realize that his ways have become tainted by evil and try to make things right. This makes him a target, and he becomes one of the hunted.

All sounds great, but I don't even know his name! I've got Behind the Name open and ready for action. Next on the list is naming my villainess and giving her a motive. Whatever she's doing, she needs the prince to be her tool so that she won't face retribution from the gods. Yeah. It's that bad.

After those things are decided upon, I need to figure out where this plot is heading. How is the woman defeated? Does the prince's society ever forgive him for his unthinkable crime? What's my title going to be? I've still got a lot of thinking to do over the next few days before Camp starts and the words come pouring out.

Post-50K: Revisions

So far, I haven't gotten any planning done for August. I am currently revising Illusion of Destruction so that when I print the proof copy, it will be better than the rough draft that I finished a few days ago. Changing scenes, adding more description, fixing dialogue, figuring out backstories, and the like. It's good stuff. One of my revisions is putting a dog into the story. I feel like I need to have at least one in every story I write. They really add to the action, I find, and it's sort of becoming a trademark. I've got a long list of revisions but I'm going to take my time and really try to do things right. I want to eventually continue this story, and I'm excited to see where it will go.

Finished!!!!

I finished after writing all day long!! I will validate next week, when the validator goes live on the Camp NaNo wbesite. Now to start planning for my next project!

End in Sight

Once again, I've pulled far ahead in my wordcount quota. I'm almost on par for Friday, and it's Tuesday, with plenty of hours left in the night. I've already written over 6,000 words today, which I feel very proud of. I'm adding even more new characters and fleshing out some of the others, which only adds to them in every good way. I'll have to do more Meet the Casts soon. I'm over 35,000 words with less than 15,000 words to go before I hit that finish line!!

Quite Refreshing

I must say that after falling a week behind and then catching up in less than a day feels extremely refreshing. I didn't know I could write over 11,000 words in a day! I am thoroughly impressed with myself.

I was poking around on the NaNoWriMo forums, which I do on occasion to procrastinate, and found out that Create Space is having a summer special: they are printing free proof copies!

When I won NaNo last November, one of the prizes was a code for a free proof copy of your novel. I am more excited than ever to win Camp NaNo so that I can print off another first draft that can shine in all of it's rough glory on my bookshelf. I'm glad I finally have a title, which I can't say about the other two books I printed from Create Space.

Time to Gloat

Since I started writing last night after having been AWOL for a week, I have written 11,094 words and I am back on track! In just one day I have covered what I should have done over a week's time. I just wanted to bask in my ability for a moment.

Out for the Count

I thought I was just going home for a few days for my brother's birthday and whatnot but on Tuesday I got really sick. I stayed away for longer than I expected and also didn't get anything written at all. The numbers are looking bleak right now but I am surprisingly calm. Either I catch up in July or I don't and then I have all of August with which to go crazy. I want to take a few more notes about my world before rushing into the story again. Things are going really well so far and I want that to continue by making sure I have somewhere to go.

Let's Do This

I've been so overwhelmed with everything going on in my life that I haven't written anything for my Nano story for days. Luckily, I was so far ahead that I'm still on track! I quit my new job because it was horribly stressful and overall a bad fit. Now I have time to write again! Thank goodness. It's the only thing I love.

Posting my current stats to keep myself motivated to write more!! I love that they changed the format of the stats to be more like NaNoWriMo. It's what we're used to. Also, I edited the screenshot with picnik to add my cute little green book to the image. I love learning how to use picnik and things like that to enhance my online experience :P

Today's Discovery

As I was writing today, I learned that Haeddry has never ridden a horse. He doesn't remotely know how to ride. If it weren't such an annoying skill to lack, Nyd would be glad for the reason to less of HD. However, Nyd is going to have to lead Haeddry's horse around by the reins until HD learns how to properly ride.

“How do I turn him around?” Haeddry called over his shoulder.

“Just keep pulling on the reins to the right and he’ll eventually turn around.” Nyd rolled his eyes when Haeddry, after finally getting the stallion to turn, kept turning so that they went in a wide circle.

Update on my main characters: They are getting along terribly. They keep saying and doing things to each other for the sole purpose of getting on the other's nerves. Hopefully by August they'll be good friends. I think that will be my new goal. Make Haeddry and Nyd friends.

Oblivion

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is factoring into my story so much already! I couldn't be happier. If only the story had started with Haeddry waking up in a prison and being sent on a mission by the soon-to-be-assassinated emperor of Cyrodiil. Oh well. (Now I really want to write my first ever fanfic based on Oblivion. Odd.)

How is my story linked to Oblivion then? Well, I've got rats...and lettuce! I also have a painted horse that does not move, just like at the Waterfront gate in the Imperial City. Also skeletons. Not to mention my magic system is based in part on the Oblivion magic schools (I used the names illusion, mysticism, destruction).

This game is my favourite always and forever. I am so looking forward to the sequel, Skyrim! My friends and I are going to have a marathon-style launch party when it comes out November 11th.

The Office of Letters and Light

I would like to explain the new gadget on the right hand side of my page. It's a banner that links to my fundraising page benefitting the nonprofit organization, the Office of Letters and Light (OLL). On their fundraising page they have this to say about the work they do:

We believe in ambitious acts of the imagination. The Office of Letters and Light organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential. Our programs are web-enabled challenges with vibrant real-world components, designed to foster self-expression while building community on local and global levels.

Last year when I did NaNoWriMo, I gave a gift of $10 to the organization in return for the satisfaction, bravery and hope their program gave me. Gifts to OLL are tax deductible and help make things like NaNoWriMo and it's Camp counterpart possible. They also host The Young Writers Program and Script Frenzy. They partnered with Better World Books to facilitate their first Great NaNoWriMo Book Drive in 2010.

So OLL is a rapidly growing and amazing organization that brings inspiration and drive to so many people like me, people who always dreamed of writing but found that life just gets in the way. With the huge support of the OLL community, I have been working towards my dream and it means more to me than any words can ever say.

Writing Dares

Drawing from the large pool of writing dares that are found on the NaNoWriMo forums, I find myself willing and capable to fulfill a few of them. When I first did NaNo in 2010, I took myself more seriously than I thought. Also, my characters and plot didn't leave much room for dares.

This time, however, I have already worked in two dares. The big one that got it's own thread on the forums is called The Traveling Blue Tent of WHOA. I thought it was easy to work it into another dare that I was already doing, which was to have a dream sequence involving camping. Bonus points are awarded for several different factors, and I think I may earn points for tying the dream into plot points. However, I have not fully developed the plot so I can only guess that the dream/nightmare will give any hint at those points.


In any case, I worked in the camping dream sequence which turned rather scary really fast. Then I learned about The Traveling Blue Tent of WHOA dare and just added the adjective blue before the word tent in the dream sequence.

If you're also doing Camp NaNo and need a little boost in your wordcount, check out the forums. Dares are fun. I picked out a few that I could easily work into my story just because I'm well beyond my quota for the next few days but there are a lot that are way out there and may just give you the creative boost you need.

My Virtual Writing Environment

I first tried Scrivener on my old netbook the first time I did NaNoWriMo, which was last November. I was in awe of the all-inclusive program. I was devastated because the Windows beta that I had downloaded for free had limited functionality. I couldn't even change the fonts! But the way I could organize chapters and scenes and take notes to my little heart's desire thrilled me. I got the trial version from the Scrivener website and soon I'll pay for the full version for my lovely Macbook Pro, which I got this spring semester of school. The Scrivener website can be found at http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php.

In addition, I have gotten myself into full Camp NaNo mode thanks to these lovely wallpapers created by mightygitis, who graciously posted them on the Camp NaNo forums. I have special NaNo backgrounds for my iPhone and my laptop to keep me focused and driven. Her NaNo userpage is at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/45222.

Meet the Cast: Cheese

And now for a very special character who is close to my heart: the rat named Cheese.

When Haeddry reaches a town called Eston, he runs into a boy named Yelfie. The boy, misisng teeth and grimy from acting like a hooligan all day, invited H.D. to the inn that his brother and uncle work at. His uncle in fact runs the inn, aptly named The Burly Fish.

Yelfie is also the proud owner of Cheese. He found the narcoleptic rat by the Troyus River and they are constant companions. Cheese enjoys sleeping and eating cheese. As Yelfie will assure you, Cheese is not a cannibal. He is in fact a rat.

Haeddry gets into a bind when he tries to entertain Yelfie in return for his help getting him lodgings for the night. Being an illusion mage in training, Haeddry knows the spell that will change the color of Cheese's fur. It's very similar to the spell that Haeddry uses to disguise his hair color. When he thinks no one is looking, H.D. changes Cheese's fur different colors much to the delight of Yelfie. Nyd, however, witnessed the rat's changing colors and confronts Haeddry about it afterwards, forcing the young mage to admit that he is in fact a mage.