NaNoWriMo 2015: I Didn't Think I Would Make It...

Hey, uh... wow, I just decided not to post a damn thing at all? Not even on my 29th birthday, which was three days ago. Wow, me. Way to go.

Well, I ran into a HUGE road bump about Week 2 of writing my novel. I was feeling really off, like I was coming down with something. I know that I ended my tenure with the banking call center, but there was something else. Yep, it was mold allergies. I was knocked flat off my feet for a while. I lost my drive for a long while.

Around the first week of my new job, between any moment I could, I started to write more scenes. My hand cramped so bad after those intense sessions. I wrote about an average of a thousand words per notebook session.

After that, I got a fire lit under me when my mother told me that she knew that I could come from behind and finish in time. Driven by that, plus that feeling of "I can't fail this, I got so far", I decided to go full steam ahead.

So yeah, I finally pulled a comeback that would make LL Cool J want to write a song about it. But none of my mom telling me to knock a man out.

So here's to finishing what I started and here's to a revision/continuation* for that project!

*the novel is not finished, but I chose to stop at 50K+ so I can put it aside and finish some other projects, while I have this fire going.

NaNoWriMo 2015: Off to a Rousing Start

Well, NaNoWriMo kicked off yesterday and I was gone from the starting line like a bullet from a gun. I managed to write over 3K of words to begin my new tale just on my first day. Today I managed just as much and I actually want to write more! So I may get some more words in before the day is fully done. I know once I get into my final week at Chase that it's gonna be a little bit challenging (I may just go for the default amount of 1,667 words a session on my working days). 

Otherwise, things are going very well. And if I play my cards right, later this week I should finally have an Xbox One. Dunno if working on NaNoWriMo at the same time that Rise of the Tomb Raider and Fallout 4 come out, but that's a risk I have to take. 

Until then, peace out, beautiful people.

Well, guess freakin' what?

I changed my mind AGAIN about the NaNoWriMo project. Instead of finishing Dolls and City, I'm going back to the original story, but with a twist...

It's no longer a Silent Hill fan fiction. During the dead time between calls at work, I managed to turn it into an original story. And I like it a million times better.

Tom the Cat: representing my writing emotes since... now

I had a feeling this would happen again. Dammit, it's 2012 again. Well, almost, but whatever.

~~

BTW, the soundtrack to the fan fiction applies to this one. For those with a goldfish memory like myself, here it is again:

(edited on 12-30-15 due to fluctuations in the playlist as I worked on the project)

1. "It’s Gonna Be Easy Now" by Dan Seals
2. "The Last One to Know" by Reba McEntire
3. "Holding On for Life" by Broken Bells
4. "Silhouette" by PHASES
5. "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" by The White Stripes
6. "Worlds in Collision" by Jerry Harrison
7. "Leave A Trace" by CHVRCHES
8. "Half Life" by Twin Shadow
9. "The Waiting" by Akira Yamaoka (from the Silent Hill 3 Soundtrack)
10. "Compass" by Zola Jesus
11. "Helelyos" by SEXWITCH
12. "Poison Tree" by Beth Orton
13. "Carrion Flowers" by Chelsea Wolfe
14. "Lord Knows" by Dum Dum Girls
15. "Surround Sound" by Empire for the Sun
16. "Immortals" by Marnie Stern
17. "I’m A Ruin" by Marina & the Diamonds
18. "Mt. Washington" by Local Natives (damn you, Life Is Strange!)
19. "Salvation" by Editors
20. "I Will Follow" by U2 (damn you, Rock Band 4!)
21. "Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks

(I love it when current songs sneak their way into a project's soundtrack)

Change of Plans: the NaNoWriMo Edition

Okay, I originally planned on doing a fan fiction of Silent Hill, but after trying to plan it out, I felt my mind go towards two different projects that I want to finish by year's end.

So after doing the Ben Franklin method (as my mom calls it), listing the pros and cons of doing the new project or finishing the other two as part of NaNo this year, it was an easy decision to make. So yes, I'll be finishing Dolls (I talked about it on and off here) and then the sequel to Blues, known already on here as City.

I'm a little bummed about not doing the initial idea, but things happen and I must follow where my heart is at this time. And right now, it wants me to finish these two projects.

It is what it is. *Kanye shrug*

Building A Thick Skin: How to Handle Criticism Like An Effing Adult

So I received my first piece of criticism regarding my writing in a long while. I was checking some poems I posted on an online magazine some time ago (it was for a letter I was writing) and there was a comment that was posted recently. Naturally, as a writer would, I read it. At first, I thought it was funny. Then I read it again. It finally stung me.

I called my mother to read it aloud to her, but the reaction from her was not expected. She didn't laugh along with me, but said "it sounds like someone's opinion".

She ended up totally right. Sure, I didn't completely agree with the commentor*, but I later came to respect this person for taking the time to write a response. My poetry elicited a reaction, which is better than complete silence (at least, in this case). In this age of the Internet, posting anything but praise or the so-called "correct opinion" has gotten people in some seriously dangerous places. And the way writers are acting about critics and how they sic their fan-bases on these folks... yeesh.

So the comment did two things: it humbled me and also made me analyze my relationship with poetry.

I'll be honest, I was worried that perhaps, the comment had a point about my poetry. Maybe it wasn't really good, maybe I really don't know how to write them. But I took a step back and recalled some of my favorite poets: Frost, Nye, Plath, Whitman, Brooks, Alexie, and Hughes. Each of them wrote poems in their own way, so what if mine didn't fit the ideas that the commentor had? Perhaps the commentor is used to radically different ideas of poetry; thus, who the hell am I to tell them they're wrong?

No, I did not reply to the comment on the page. It is best left alone and best I do not get involved that way. The writing speaks for itself, it doesn't need my "defense", they're big kids.

So thank you, random person who posted a comment on my poems. Thank you for your words and your time. As a writer getting into the publishing realm, I bow to you, the reader, in humility and gratitude.

*I don't think this is a word, but whatever. *Kanye shrug*

NaNoWriMo Plans!

Alrighty, since it's getting close to that time of the year (besides the release of many Oktoberfest beers), it's time to announce what I'm planning to do this NaNoWriMo.

I have decided, since I attempted this last time, but I then wrote something else (OMG Spiders)... my next project will be something fun: a Silent Hill fan fiction. Right now, it's titled Silent Hill: Secret History (a “tribute” to one of my favorite novels). It's actually an idea I had for a while going with themes I normally work with, but in a Silent Hill setting.

Okay, okay... it's an idea for a game for the series that I hope one day I'll become respected enough to give it to Konami. (Yeah, I wish. Pffff.)

Either way, as it gets closer, this could change, but I really feel it. I want something super-fun and silly. So a fan fiction for one of my all-time favorite video games. *shrug*

And now... since I had nothing better to do a while back, here is the playlist/soundtrack I created for it (that's always half the fun: creating a soundtrack for a project):

"It’s Gonna Be Easy Now" by Dan Seals

"The Last One to Know" by Reba McEntire

"Holding On for Life" by Broken Bells

"Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" by The White Stripes

"Worlds in Collision" by Jerry Harrison*

"Looking At the Invisible Man" by The Dead Weather
"Leave A Trace" by CHVRCHES

"Half Life" by Twin Shadow

"The Waiting" by Akira Yamaoka

"Compass" by Zola Jesus*

"Catch" by Allie X

"Helelyos" by SEXWITCH

"Poison Tree" by Beth Orton

"Carrion Flowers" by Chelsea Wolfe (hells yeah!)

"Lord Knows" by Dum Dum Girls

"When She Comes" by EMA

"Surround Sound" by Empire for the Sun

"Immortals" by Marnie Stern"

"Am I Real?" by Nite Jewel

"The Day of Night" by Akira Yamaoka

"I’m A Ruin" by Marina & the Diamonds

*I’m torn between “Worlds in Collision” or “Compass” being be the official song. 

What? You want a title for this?

With the aid of Crystal Journey Candles (thanks to Motivation and Abundance) and nearly-endless glasses of water, I have been busy doing some writing. Well, transcribing.

It counts, shut up.

I've been diligently keeping a pocket Moleskine for over six months, and now a Rhodia notebook, to keep notes for my novel projects. And now, the Rhodia houses about 3K of a short story that I started on last week. Once combined with what I wrote on the computer, I got to about 6K. A few more details and I have a decent first draft.

Sadly, that is the only success story in this so far. The rest of the time I am screaming internally for getting myself into this mess. For now on, once I finish a notebook, I immediately fish for the good stuff and then set it aside.

So if y'all excuse me, I have more fishing to do.

*turns to see stack of Moleskines about five high*

Awww... dammit.

That great moment...

when one serial killer character I wrote (from Spiders) used a previous serial killer character's MO before writing the spiritual prequel (current project) and it turns out... it works out with no continuity issues. Because I TOTALLY WANTED THAT TO HAPPEN ANYWAY.

You don't even know how much I love this .gif.