Camp NaNo: or Am I Supposed to Feel Like I’m Trapped in Quicksand?

Conceptual Photography, Reality is Virtual by MoonlitxReverie.

Because I absolutely do at this point and I have no idea whether or not to struggle and pull myself out or continue to sink. My story seems to have come to that ‘no going back’ point and the plot is pretty much set in my mind now.

On the Subject of: My Favourite Character

After suffering the loss of her only friend, Blubber the goldfish, Amelie is give an old camera to pacify her.

“It’s called a reality check. The last thing Amelie wants.”

Written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant, whimsical french film Amelie tells the story of an introverted young woman who; following an odd little discovery in the bathroom of her flat, decides to try and make the lives of those around her a little bit more magical.

Camp NaNo: or Apparently I Have Some Commitment Issues

The future of London’s Skyline? The inspiration for my London in Sentience, original design by FACTORY FIFTEEN.

I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge, mostly because although I’d made several attempts over the last few years, I’d never finished a novel. Short stories are my safe zone, little snippets of bigger plots or random disjointed narrative prose that, although hopefully interesting and entertaining, are as easy to pick up as they are to set down once I’m finished.

Imitation, Influence and Style

Do you still read while working on your own stories? I have been told more than once not to, it being easy to fall in love with someone else’s style and have it bleed, however unintentionally, into your own writing.

On the one hand, reading lots of other material is the best way to discover just how many different ways to write a story there are, and which one most suits you. On the other, there’s nothing quite as unsettling as realising that the reason you like a draft so much is because the voice isn’t so much your own, as the author whose novel you enjoyed reading the other night.

Camp NaNo: or My Sleep Deprivation Diary (Night One)

Art piece by Zim~dez, see more of their work on deviantArt here.

Good lord I write the most fantastically random rubbish when I haven’t slept for 36hrs. I’ve read No Plot? No Problem, and I thought I’d taken the lessons within to heart, but if last night taught me anything it’s that it’s going to be tough letting go of my inner editor. That woman is one stern, cane wielding mother.

I rewrote the first line of the novel about four times, and then another six because I wanted to cut it down enough for Twitter. Before I knew it I had lost about an hour of writing time. On a single line. And although I’ve written previously about just how important that first line is, on a timed challenge like this one that kind of focus simply isn’t workable. 

Camp Nano: Summaries and Freaking Out

So I’m definitely a planner, not a panster. I imagine the rush of writing a story with no idea how it might end is a fabulous one, but for the most incredible procrastinator in the world (me, I have a medal and everything) I just can’t do it. I get lazy, I sit about playing video games waiting for inspiration to hit. I hardly ever get hit with inspiration. Inspiration is a wanker.

Camp NaNo

Thanks to Scrivener I’m making decent work of getting all my planning done. As someone who’s used to finding random character notes, outlines and a few lines of dialogue (with no context) all over my hard drives it’s an odd experience to open up an application and find all of my story ideas there. I like it!

Anyway, NaNo. I’ve tried NaNoWriMo before and never felt very confident. Whether it’s because of time, commitment or lack of confidence in my idea I’ve never come through it with a 50,000 word count before. I like the idea of cabins, though the one I’m in seems quiet at the moment.