Surviving the Wild(er)ness

CAMP NaNoWriMo
SURVIVAL KIT

Here it is… the eve of Camp NaNoWriMo. Tomorrow starts the frantic thirty day writing frenzy and I can honestly say that I am not ready for camp.

So, to get me in the mood, I put together a little survival kit for myself to help me get through the next thirty days with my sanity intact. I am willing to share my treats so come along and join the party with me!

What would writing be like without a brand new journal to write down all of my plot ideas? The first item in my Survival Kit is this gorgeous lined journal with fun pictures of Venice on a lime green cover. There is also a matching lime green pen that (fortunately) writes in black ink - lime green ink might be too hard on my eyes after a while. I do love the stretchy band that goes around the journal to keep it closed but it could also pose as a bookmark in a pinch.

Since I don’t drink coffee, the next item in my Survival Kit is a mug with plenty of hot chocolate to give me that caffeine kick. Who doesn’t love a good cup of chocolate? Of course, if I’m on the go and need a chocolate boost, I’ve got my trusty ceramic cup with lid. Earth Day is celebrated in April and it’s a perfect way to stop into those cafès and say “Fill ‘er up,” without contributing to the overflowing dumps. I can do my part to help the environment by reusing my mug and reducing my waste while writing my NaNo book.

And speaking of chocolate, I have to have lots of it during Camp! Reese’s Peanut Butter cups are my absolute favorite and I just love chocolate with nuts (I’m a bit nutty myself so this is quite appropriate!). 

Also, those late writing nights might require some popcorn and I’m a sucker for Smartfood’s cheese covered version. I definitely do not think that one bag will be enough!

We all need some pizza at Camp but looking at all those calories above, I think I’ll go for the Goldfish version. The great part is that I can pack my pizza up in little bags for that spicy pick-me-up when I’m not writing at home. No need to worry about reheating pizza slices and getting tomato sauce all over my clothes.

Trail mix is such a wonderful staple that it has to be added to my Survival Kit. The medley of peanuts, chocolate, pretzels, dried cranberries, raisins and anything else salty and sweet is a great snack idea when fuel is running low and ideas are hard to come by.

Camp would definitely not be complete without S’mores! It’s a staple for those late night writing sessions around the crackling fire while staring up at the stars and working out dialogue, actions, emotions or just plotting the next scene. I can already taste the gooey marshmallows as they melt between the chocolate and graham crackers.

But all that outdoor air might make me a little bit cold, so my Survival Kit will certainly need a warm blanket to stave off the chill. I can wrap it around me while I write, write, write. I can’t let tiny goose bumps stop me from reaching 50K words!

I also have to have my much-needed computer to continue working on my NaNo novel. It contains all of my NaNo book versions, access to the internet and the Camp NaNoWriMo website. While notebooks, journals and pens are important for note taking, I find that typing my stories work much better for me. My hands don’t cramp up as much and my fingers can keep up a little faster with my brain. Typing my story is also the easiest way to upload my words onto the NaNo website to document my daily word count and my final word count on April 30.

But, as electronics are so important to people nowadays, we have to find a way to keep our words in the unfortunate or unlikely event that our electronics might fail us. My Survival Kit must include a flash drive so I have another way to save my precious words. I’ve read way too many blogs where writers share that they had lost chapters or even entire novels when their computers conked out. I love the motto: Always be prepared. Always back up your novel! You need to prepare for the worst.

My last item in my Survival Kit is more of a symbol – an important symbol that reminds me of what I am doing and why. If life gets hectic or crazy during the month of April, I don’t want to fall too far behind or give up on my 50K word goal. This 2012 NaNoWriMo Winner shirt is a reminder of what I can do. I was able to accomplish my writing goal during the month of November on my first try. If I have any doubts in the next thirty days, I just have to take out my Winner shirt and remember that I CAN DO THIS! I have the power within me and I won’t let anything stop me from or derail me from accomplishing my goal.

So I ask you: What is in your Camp NaNoWriMo or Writing Survival Kit? What helps you to push forward? What do you need to accomplish your writing goals?

Until next time ~

Going to Camp…

Camp NaNoWriMo that is!

I can’t believe that March is almost over already! I know that February already zipped on by but March usually just drags on while people pray for the winter thaw so they can whip out their new shoes and ditch their winter coats.

I, on the other hand, am still trying to hang onto March.

You see, on April 1, I will be starting another crazy month of writing. I will be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo – the virtual writing camp for National Novel Writer’s Month (no, this is not an April Fool’s Day joke). I will be committing myself (mentally and physically) to write another 50,000 words from April 1-30.

“Are you crazy?!” people asked me.

“Oh, most definitely,” I responded, with a gleam in my eye.

This is my first time writing for Camp NaNo and I’m a little nervous about writing 50K words in April. While I really enjoyed the challenge in November, I haven’t been writing at lightning speed since November 30 so I have forgotten what it was like to write on a 2,000 word a day schedule.

I might change my goal if I find myself slipping a little bit. That’s the beauty of Camp NaNo. You have the freedom to rebel and write whatever you want and set your own word goal during the thirty day period.

I originally intended on having my 2012 NaNo book finished by March 31 so that I could continue writing my first book during Camp NaNo.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen in the next few days so now I have to change my plan.

I decided that during the first half of April, I will finish my 2012 NaNo book during Camp NaNo. When that is done, I will work on my first book. I’m definitely not crazy enough to write both books at the same time! I think that would be sheer torture!  J

I’ve actually made some progress with my NaNo book. I’m over 70,000 words in and I’m hoping that Draft 1 will only need about 20,000 more words to finish the story. Then, I can dedicate 30,000 words to my first book.

They say that Camp NaNoWriMo an idyllic writers retreat, smack-dab in the middle of your crazy life. We’ll see about that!   J

Until next time ~

World-Building

More from the Unicorn Writers’ Conference… 

Since my genre is geared more towards Fantasy, I decided to attend workshop given by Fantasy author Elaine Cunningham titled: Beyond Elves and Dragons: Fantasy and Sci Fi.

One thing that she said that really stuck out for me was:

Know the rules of your 

world and stick to them!

She told us that we are the authors of our story and we can create any type of world that we want. We can also create any type of rules for our world and make them flow effortlessly through our story.

However, once we create the certain set of rules that govern our made-up world, we need to follow them throughout the entire story. We cannot create a rule and then break it haphazardly because it would confuse and annoy our readers.

For example, if vampires are not allowed to go out in the sun because they might combust, explode, disintegrate, develop burn spots on their skin, etc., do not have them suddenly walk outside and have nothing happen to them. Your rule was already set and you would need a very good explanation as to why you need to break your rule.

I have read several books where the authors have established their world quite clearly in the beginning of the book and then broke one or more rules later on in the same book and/or subsequent books, leaving me to wonder if the author and editor actually read and kept track of the original rules.

Readers will notice these slips and occurrences. They can lead to negative reviews and unfavorable critiques so authors really need to pay attention to what they write.

Have you ever broken a rule in your book on accident or on purpose? Why? How did it work out? How did your readers respond?

Until next time ~

Your Photo and Your Identity

Unicorn Writers’ Conference
 ~ Early Morning Edition ~

Notes about the Keynote

On Saturday, March 9, I attended the Unicorn Writers’ Conference. It was held at the beautiful  St. Clements Castle in Portland, Connecticut, where the snow glistened brightly in the early morning sun. It was the morning after an all day snowstorm that brought more than six inches of snow to many places in Connecticut. 

 The conference breakfast started at 7:30 am and it was a great time to grab some much needed fuel for the long day. It was also a terrific time to meet new and interesting authors, writers, agents and editors.

The keynote was presented by Matthew Pearl, the author of The Dante Club, The Poe Shadow, The Last Dickens and The Technologists and he gave a wonderful presentation on author identity. He gave amusing insights as to how he reacted when he saw people reading his book and how he was hesitant to tell people that he was the author. Matthew even sat next to a man on an airplane who was reading his book and Matthew never told him that he was the author. I reflected on that comment and I think that if I was in that situation, I would probably force myself to say something to that person. It could be a great way to promote your work!

Matthew also discussed how important it was to have a true author picture on the back or the inside of your book. He gave an anecdote about how he walked into a bookstore one day and offered to sign copies of his book. The man at the customer service desk looked at Matthew and said, “Do you have ID?” Matthew was puzzled and was about to reach into his pocket for his license, when he remembered his author photo. He held up the book, pointed to the photo and said, “See? That’s me!”

Having an updated and accurate photo on your book will prove to people that you are actually the author of that book. It’s especially helpful if you are using a pseudonym and your license or other form of picture identification does not match your author name!

It is never a good idea to promote yourself using an old or outdated photograph. People are expecting you to look like the picture you display and it could provide negative feedback for you if you if you’re presenting an image that’s not current. I know of one author who is using an old photo (quite possibly by 10 years!) in all forms of media (social media, press releases, new articles, conferences, etc). It looks like she’s trying to hide her current appearance and it makes one wonder why she is being dishonest. It instantly makes me distrust an author when they try to mislead their readers with deceptive information. If an author is untruthful about this, what else is the author hiding?

As for me, I have decided not to display my picture on my blog or on social media just yet. I am branding myself first with my name and then, when my book is ready to be released into the hands of the public, I will have a professional photo taken that displayed on my book and on my website. I do believe that an accurate author picture is important for media relations and it’s what readers look for when they pick up your book.

When I shop for books, I look at the front cover first (yes, I admit it; I judge a book by its cover), then I read the blurb on the back or on the dust jacket to see if it’s something I would like. Next, I check out the author’s photo and read about the author (I want to see what this person looks like, where the author lives and what may interest him/her). Finally, I read the first few pages of the book to see if it grabs my attention. I have to say that I get very disappointed if I do not see an author photo located in the book because I need to have that connection to the author.

How do you handle your author identity? Do you let people know that you wrote a book or that you’re in the process of writing something? Do you display an accurate picture of yourself? If not, why?

Until next time ~

 

When Your Genre Is All Wrong

What do you do when you find out your genre is not right for the current market?

I pose this question because this is an answer I received from an editor at a big name publishing house.

My NaNo book is very close to being finished. It is a fantasy novel. It will have witches, which makes it fall under the "paranormal" sub-genre of fantasy. 

That is a bad thing.

Apparently, the market is super saturated with paranormal right now and publishers are eagerly escaping the flood zone in their kayaks and high-powered boats. They're yelling at everyone to get out as fast as they can. The editors and publishers are hightailing it to higher ground as the huge paranormal wave crashes down around the readers, sweeping everyone and everything away in its path. 

Do I really want to enter a market that is drowning the masses in its wake?

I hesitantly respond, "Um, yes? I don't know. Maybe?"

Will my book survive under the huge, pressing wave? Will it rise to the surface and breathe in healthy air that will give it energy and life? Or will it plummet to the bottom of the ocean, crushed by the pressing weight of the other paranormal books above it? Maybe it will be washed onto the shore, forgotten and left to die while the others get saved by altruistic passersby.  

I really don’t know.

I can’t predict the future. I can’t ride the tailcoats of trends.

I don’t know how I should proceed when I get turned away before I even reach the locked gate.

Well, maybe I do.

I have to go with my gut. My gut may be wrong but there is also a possibility that it may be right. If I don’t follow what I think is the right course of action, I may regret it and then I would always have that constant itch at the back corner of my brain, “What if… .”

It’s better to have an “Oh, well. That didn’t work,” over a “What if I only tried it that way?”

I have my answer. I know exactly what I’m going to do.

Now, it’s your turn to tackle this question: What would you do?

Until next time ~