Just In Time for Halloween

I have a Twitter-length fic up on Thaumatrope today.

Sacrificed Anonymous

Enjoy!

~Merc

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This.

I read a blog post about action scenes (by James Scott Bell) and this stuck out at me.

Fiction is the stylized rendition of reality for an emotional effect.

Yes.

I read forums, blogs, etc, where people freak out in indignation about certain techniques and complain about a lack of realism/logic--i.e. "gasp! dead first person narrators the horror!" /sarcasm--and this is a point I try and make (it's fiction, people, stop hemorrhaging your brains), only Mr. Bell does it so much better and more succinct. ;)


Thoughts?

~Merc

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Error--brainfail... please see system manual

Sorry, no NaNo 101 post today.

Work stress has devoured my brain (the zombies are so jealous). Tomorrow, be prepared! (Or not. Or something. Gah.)

~Merc

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NaNo Ammunition!

(Inspired and suggested by Snazel.)


Stocking up ammunition for NaNoWriMo is vitally important. You don't want to be caught unprepared when November 1st hits.

When the plot bunnies start marching on your base and other NaNoing perils throw themselves at you, having the right ammunition to combat the foes of novel-writing is invaluable.


Playlists
(Unless you don't like writing to music, or noise in general, in which case I suggest comfortable ear plugs or noise-canceling headphones or the like if you have no quiet place to write.)

Do you write to music? Having a special playlist (or three) ready to go for when you start writing can be inspirational and energizing. It's fun picking out a selection of songs that fit your mood or your novel or help you write. When you're ready to start, hit "play" and write on.

It's better to mess around with musical playlists before you begin NaNo, due to how these pesky buggers can suddenly become time-consuming and addictive fun. *cough* (Not that I speak from experience or anything...) You'll have plenty of ideas for procrastination in November--don't be an enabler and add this one to the list.

Don't know which kinds of music would fit your novel? Play the Novel Playlist Creation Game.


Food (of the gods)
Stock up on munchables. Sugar is good. Chocolate is (by default) even better.

You'll want to avoid things too crumbly/messy when actually typing, due to the weird natural phenomenon of crumbs magnetically finding their way into keyboards and clogging keys.

Chips, crackers, pretzels, candy, fruit, veggies, etc. You're bound to have a favorite munchy food. While in the midst of the writing frenzy, you'll need your energy. Preparation ahead of time is wise.

(So is delegating labor to non-noveling minions--er, family/roommates/friends--if you can get away with it. But don't count on it all the time.)

You can have a box of crackers marked as yours and placed next to the computer early, or chop vegetables or fruit and stick them in containers in the refrigerator so they're ready to go when you need a snack.

With Halloween just before NaNo, chances are you can also stock up on candy. ;)

(You'll want to take the occasional break from typing, so those are the times you re-stock and re-fill the food supplies.)


Drinks
Have plenty of water, caffeinated beverages, tea, coffee, soda, hot cocoa, smoothies, or whatever else you like handy.

Water is always good regardless of what else you drink. You want those brain cells hydrated.

Just be cautious of opened cans, bottles, mugs, cups, and buckets by the computer, as liquid spills have been known to sabotage Wrimo efforts to novel at unfortunate times.

If you live in a cold area, hot drinks can also aid in finger warmth and this is a good thing. Frozen hands are difficult to type with. I've tried.


List of Shiny
Via Liana Brooks and Inky, I present: lists of shiny.

Do you have one? No? Go ahead and start one.

Why? Because lists of shiny can give you that spark or boost when you're slowing down and need something interesting--fast--in the scene. They're like plot bunnies, but more manageable.

Keep them on hand for bouts of #shinyfail when noveling away.


Word Races
There's lots of word race threads on the NaNo boards. Word races are wonderful when you're stuck or need some competition or poking to churn out your daily quota. Check the forum for threads, IM and chat room hangouts, and other ideas for boosting your output.


Back Up
This is the most important step. BACK UP YOUR WORK. This isn't just for NaNo, either. Use an external zip drive, email, online file storage, hard copy, whatever works for you (and I suggest more than one method).

Back up your novel every day. There are thousands of tales of woe every year from Wrimos who inevitably lose their novels due to computer crashes, alien abduction, zombie attacks, or other disasters. Don't be one of them.

It only takes a minute to email yourself the current version of your novel when you're done for the day, or copy it to a USB drive.

Don't put it off. The moment you think your work is safe is the moment They are waiting to strike... *ominous music*

--
ETA: Bahnree makes an excellent point--hats! Everyday can be #hatday.

Son of ETA: Liana has a similar post with the suggestion of the Write or Die tool. Check it out.

---

Now that your base is stocked and you have plenty of ammunition and weapons to combat the insanity of NaNoWriMo, to the front lines! The month is almost upon us.

What else do you have in your ammunition stockpile?

~Merc

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A Confession About This Year

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions for NaNo-related posts! Great ideas. I'll work on articles and may have a few going through November as well.


So, now for this year's confession: I'm not doing NaNo this year.

*waits for the shock to die down*

"What!" you may say. "But Merc always does it--she's taken on crazy goals and projects before! Is this a plot by the zombies? Why? WHY?"

No, zombies haven't gotten my brains. I've been sorting out priorities lately, and I've decided that this year, NaNoWriMo is not going to work for me. A few in my lists of reasons:

• I have a revision* project I want to tackle. (My urban fantasy novel, TIME IS HELL.)

• I'll likely have an editing/revision project to tackle in Nov/Dec, for my serialized horror novella.
  

• Productivity wise, I now do better taking things slower**. Over-stressing myself by trying to cram 50k words out in a month burns me out badly. Last year was really rough and I ended up doing almost nothing novel-wise for seven months. I'm not eager to try it again.

• I have quite a few finished drafts (and too many un-finished ones), but no finished/polished novels, and this annoys me. I should be proactive in fixing this.
  

• I technically already started writing my NaNo-idea, so I'm going to be poking that at a leisurely pace in between revisions. (I'll be writing in November, just not at NaNoWriMo speed or aiming for the 50,000 word goal.)
  

That said, I'll still be here to cheer you guys on. I like the community spirit in NaNo, and I think it's a great challenge for getting drafts pounded out, and worth trying (if you've never done it--or even if you have).

I'll continue NaNo-related blog posts and I'd love to hear how it goes for you.


*Revision is hard for me to get enthusiastic about. So hell, when I get eager to revise and have ideas on how to fix a broken story, I don't want to put it off.

**I did some rough estimations. When I added together the actual time spent writing on a novel, it seems to average around three months, give or take. It's a shiny number, and definitely one I can handle.


Coming up: actual posts on NaNoing.

~Merc

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A List of Things You Like In Fiction--What's yours?

In his book No Plot? No Problem!, Chris Baty has a section devoted to creating what he calls the Magna Cartas.

Basically, you compile two lists: things you like in novels, and things you don't like. While writing the novel, keep these lists handy. His theory is that when you like something as a reader, you are likely to enjoy writing about it. And if you don't like something, chances are trying to write about it will turn out a chore.

Baty says:

What, to you, makes a good novel?

It’s an excruciatingly broad question, but give it a shot. And feel free to be as vague or nerdily detailed as you like; this list can include anything from ultra-shot chapters to ribald sex scenes to massive infusions of ill-tempered elves.

(pg 85, "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty)

It doesn't have to be an exhaustive list--and you don't have to finish it all in one setting. [Also, don't worry if you don't have time to do this before NaNo. It's not strictly NaNoWriMo related, and like all tools, it's optional. ;)] You can always add to it later, revise it, etc. If you're short on time, or aren't sure this will work, jot down half a dozen things off the top of your head for a start.

Do you like zombie/ghoul romance, or is your thing more along the lines of airplanes that evolve into spaceships and voyage out into the depths of the universe?

Add whatever you like. You don't have to show the list to anyone if you don't want. (It can be your own, your precious...) Just have it available when you start writing.

Stuck in chapter 4? Look at the list. Maybe you indicated you like high speed car chases through narrow streets, and your characters are already downtown and being pursued by a motorcycle gang. Why not make the getaway scene a car chase?

It could be a technique or device as well. Do you like reading second person scenes in between chapters that show you the bad guy without revealing who it is? Why not try that technique in your novel?

If you're fond of heavy symbolism, there are probably many areas you could slip in imagery and metaphors and parallels and whatever else you want to squeeze in there.

This list can be helpful for plotting as well as actual writing. (If you like car chases, maybe you already planned to include the madcap race through the metropolis sewers on hoverbikes.)

You may not realize you like certain aspects or techniques of writing (as a reader) until you start listing them--or maybe "high speed chases" jars your memory and you realize you also like reading about underwater mazes. Hey, a high speed chase through an underwater maze might just make the perfect plot point in your novel.

(I've noticed I can read something, a novel or story, and I may react right away as a reader--emotional or lack thereof gut reaction to something--and it's not until I start writing down what I thought about it do I realize what I liked and disliked, and why. In a way, lists are like this. They help distill and sort out all the mushed up and packed-in things--likes and dislikes and weird tics--you accumulate while reading and writing.)

Another quote from Baty:

…the things that you appreciate as a reader are also things you’ll likely excel at as a writer. These bits of language, color, and technique, for whatever reason, make sense to your creative brain.

(pg 86, "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty)

Sometimes you just need a written list to jog your brain when you're in the middle of a mad write-a-thon like NaNoWriMo.

You can't expect yourself to remember everything you've ever liked as a reader while cranking out words. (Much of it may become instinctual as you mature as a writer. Or you have a massive intellect and really do remember it all. Some of need lists still. ;))

On a similar note, Lianna Brooks did a post on lists of shiny that's equally helpful (mirrored as well by Inky). What does your "list of shiny" include? If you like bright colored explosions, why not blow up a paint factory? Maybe that's why the car chase is necessary--getting away from the scene of the explosion before the authorities arrive.

Remember, too, that lists can always be changed. Peoples' tastes can change over time. Don't be afraid to modify your list later--it's not set in stone (unless you go out and get concrete slabs to chisel you list into). And it also doesn't dictate what you must include in a novel. It's not a list of commandments.

It's just a tool (one of many) to help you. How you use it and what you use it for are always up to you.

Have you made your own "Magna Carta" about what you like? What are some of the things included in it? Do you find this tool/idea helpful, or is it a waste of time for you?

Feel free to share your thoughts.

~Merc

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Eleven Days to NaNo (otherwise known as "Ahh! Panic!")

In horror honor of the encroaching First of November (when NaNoWriMo starts), I'm doing a series of posts leading up to the start of my sixth year participating in the crazy event (writing 50,000 words in 30 days). And yes, this is another stab at blogging more regularly.



Posts will include (maybe not in this order):


- A Confession About This Year

- Merc's NaNo History

- Merc's 2009 NaNo Novel

- The Magna Carta I (from No Plot? No Problem!), or, A List of Things You Like In Fiction--What's yours?

- The Magna Carta II (from No Plot? No Problem!), or, A List of Things You DON'T Like In Fiction--What's yours?

- Tips and Tricks for Surviving NaNo and Not Becoming Zombie Chow (The Merc Guide)

- Plot It or Wing It?

. . . and this is where I need your help. What other NaNo related topics should I tackle? I need suggestions quick--preferably three or four I could mess with and add to the line-up. Nothing is too out there. ;) It's NaNo-related after all.

So. Ideas?

~Merc

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THINGS WE ARE NOT

The queer-themed science fiction anthology, THINGS WE ARE NOT, edited by Christopher Fletcher (M-BRANE SF), is now available.


*insert Merc partying gleefully here*


You can get it directly from M-BRANE, or on Amazon. It's also available in e-book format.


It includes great stories by:

Alex Wilson “Outgoing”

Derek J. Goodman “As Wide as the Sky, and Twice as Explosive”

Alex Jeffers “Composition With Barbarian and Animal”

C.B. Calsing “Seeker”

Trent Roman “Confessions of a Call Herm”

Mari Kurisato “Connected”

Larissa Gail “Diplomatic Relations”

Eden Robins “Switch”

Deborah Walker “The Meerprashi Solution”

Jay Kozzi “Pos-psi-bilities”

Abby “Merc” Rustad “Queen for a Day”

Therese Arkenberg “Reila’s Machine”

Christopher Fletcher “The Robbie”

Stephen Gaskell “The Offside Trap”

Michael D. Griffiths “Transitions”

Lisa Shapter “The World in His Throat”

Brandon Bell “Things We Are Not…”

Indeed, it is awesome. Chris Fletcher (editor) has been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I'm thrilled to have a story in this anthology. :D

Ooh, and I have a bio/introduction here.

*breaks out the cyber and non-cyber champagne*


~Merc

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First paragraphs and all that jazz

So, agent Nathan Bransford is hosting his Third-Sort-of-Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge on his blog. (If you're entering, you should make it snappy. There's a deadline of Thursday.)

I enjoy reading these openings for a variety of reasons--seeing what people are working on, reacting to what I like or dislike (in my head), and finding Bits of Shiny (only to find an author's blog is all about Real Life--what! people blog about RL?--and so I'm left unable to comment on the shininess of writing*).

That is followed by realizing that most of my (novel) first paragraphs aren't that great. (Well. All are drafts. This may explain something.)

So now the debate--tweak an opening and participate, or just sit on the sidelines and watch? (Alas, I have no deep thoughts on openings in general or specific at this time.)

Is anyone else entering?

~Merc

*Okay, it was one entry I read. I haven't finished reading. But STILL.

P.S. I know this post contained no zombies. Bear with me while we transition to the new Lair. Or you could watch Zombieland.

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"Bluebird Fugue" published in AlienSkin

I may have a thing about evil birds. Just maybe.

"Bluebird Fugue" is up in the Oct/Nov issue of AlienSkin Magazine. O:)

A horror flash fiction about, well. A bluebird. I'm sure you can guess how bad things go from there...

Enjoy!

~Merc

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Death, volcanoes, and world-hopping--September Recap

The world-hopping, sadly, did not actually occur on the move from Minnesota to California. (Some may argue the point. Whatever.)

Yes, I did move, I did survive, and I'm still recovering (but I like the weather). Most of the zombies are still being shipped over via express mail. I have a large reassembling project ahead of me next week.

As for writing, it was better than I expected. Things Got Done, which is also more than I expected and hoped for this month.

SEPTEMBER GOALS

- Finish FERAL LEGACY
(Sooo pleased--because, yes, I did finish the novel. I'm still rather high on the accomplishment.)

- Do not, in fact, die moving to CA
(I did not, in fact, die. It was close a few times. Plus I had a cold. Oddly enough there were very few bodies involved in this--barring the zombies. It's kinda impressive.)

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Novels

So I finished FERAL LEGACY--that was good (around 16k written). Many people died. The ending sucks, but hey, that's what revisions are for. I still may have almost gotten something like a climax and resolution in there, even if they need work.

Then I dropped into post-novel ennui. That was not so good.

From about the 20th of September 'til the end, I didn't actually touch any novels. I did finish the first (new) chapter of last year's NaNoWriMo novel, TICKING CLOCKWORK, even if it was a whopping 300 words. ;) (That was fun. Kuso should learn to shut up, or this* is what happens.)

I thought about other novels. Does that count?

*"This" being: he was shot at, knocked out, and then experimented on with clockwork nanites. Which isn't all that bad so far. He has to survive the rest of the novel. *evil grin*


Short Stories

I wrote two. One included a dragon, a volcano, and everyone dead at the end. (I may, in fact, have some dragon issues as well.)

The other is a non-short (brilliantly titled "Feral Compassion"--I know, I'm so clever... /sarcasm) involving a goblin character from FERAL LEGACY. At about 5k, it shows his take on several pivotal scenes in the novel. Let us say it does not end well. (But it was fun. O:))

Maybe not surprisingly, what with finishing the novel and the resulting brain-crash, that was about it for shorts. I did start some random fantasy that involves killer dragonflies and gemstones. We'll see if it goes anywhere.


Other Writing Stuff

Ooh! Sparky and I started another crossover (which, by the way, Sparklish One, Wolf is staring balefully at me about *cough*), this one again involving our characters and world-hopping. Almost 10k was written on that, which is fun. It'll end up a good-sized novella when we finish.

Related to the crossover, we wrote some selective scenes just to be evil to Wolf (necromancy works differently in other worlds). ;) We're not procrastinating at all. *cough*


I plotted out a character arc and plot thread for one of the main goblin characters in another novel (NR)--this makes me happy, since the novel is broken but now I may have an idea on how to fix it and integrate the two separate plot lines together better.


Random Trend of the Month

Slit throats. Death and destruction in general. Necromancy. Alas, nothing more shiny than that.

If not in October, then I have very high hopes for November. (Phoniexes! Dirigibles! Closets full of doppelgangers! And other fun and shiny stuff. Plus, the MC wears a purple fedora.)

OVERALL

Total word count (rounded off): 31,000

Satisfaction level: moderate (not counting the squeeing that happened when I finished FL).

Things got written, things got finished, I moved, so it was all and all not too bad for the Real Life things going on.

How was your September?

~Merc

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"The Perils of Laundry" published in Lorelei Signal

It's October, isn't it? (It has, in fact, taken me three days to realize this.)

My fluffy fantasy short, "The Perils of Laundry", is now up at The Lorelei Signal.

(Isn't the artwork by Holly Eddy fantastic? :D *adores*)

It's work safe (shocking, I know!) so I hope you enjoy. ;)

~Merc

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"LIFE, With Side Effects" published in BASQ

I've been looking forward to this one.


"LIFE, With Side Effects" is published in the October 2009 issue of Bards and Sages Quarterly.


It's (another) depressing SF short. I had a great time with this one. You just know a drug called "LIFE" will not end well, right?


(I realized I have written maybe one science fiction short that is not depressing or dystopian. I assure you, this says NOTHING about me. Nothing at all.)

Enjoy!

~Merc

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