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Verse: Two Princesses
Title: You Can Take the Cook out of the Kitchen...
Word Count: 338 words
Prompt: Free square/ Baking (cookies)
Summary: "You want me to bake cookies?"
( You can take the cook out of the kitchen )
Title: You Can Take the Cook out of the Kitchen...
Word Count: 338 words
Prompt: Free square/ Baking (cookies)
Summary: "You want me to bake cookies?"
( You can take the cook out of the kitchen )
Origfic: Seance
Nov. 6th, 2012 06:21 pmStory: Séance
Word Count: 351
Prompt: Eccentric
Rating: G
Summary: The wall scones gleamed over the red upholstered couch against the wall, casting a mysterious glow over the blue textured wallpaper. Inspired by today’s![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
mini_wrimo photo inspiration.
( Seance )
Word Count: 351
Prompt: Eccentric
Rating: G
Summary: The wall scones gleamed over the red upholstered couch against the wall, casting a mysterious glow over the blue textured wallpaper. Inspired by today’s
mini_wrimo photo inspiration.( Seance )
Origfic: Thrown Under
Nov. 5th, 2012 10:47 pmVerse: Two Princesses
Story: Thrown Under
Word Count: 405
Prompt: Diplomacy
Rating: G
Summary: Evelyn Balfour realizes she's been thrown to the wolves.
Author's Note: My current Nano is loosely inspired by the Grimaldis in Monaco on a planetary scale. The Castellans rule a large portion of the planet, while the Balfours have carved out their own corner.
( Thrown Under )
Story: Thrown Under
Word Count: 405
Prompt: Diplomacy
Rating: G
Summary: Evelyn Balfour realizes she's been thrown to the wolves.
Author's Note: My current Nano is loosely inspired by the Grimaldis in Monaco on a planetary scale. The Castellans rule a large portion of the planet, while the Balfours have carved out their own corner.
( Thrown Under )
Origfic: The Tournament
Nov. 3rd, 2012 09:26 pmTitle: The Tournament
Word Count: 290 words
Rating: G
Summary: Aliens take their games seriously, too.
Author's Note: Inspired by Fritz Lieber's "Knight to Move" story in his Changewar universe and written formini_nanowrimo and spending the day in a puzzle competition. I'm not sure whether to count this as original fic for bingo purposes, considering its source. Maybe if it develops further.
( The Tournament )
Word Count: 290 words
Rating: G
Summary: Aliens take their games seriously, too.
Author's Note: Inspired by Fritz Lieber's "Knight to Move" story in his Changewar universe and written for
mini_nanowrimo and spending the day in a puzzle competition. I'm not sure whether to count this as original fic for bingo purposes, considering its source. Maybe if it develops further.( The Tournament )
Origfic: Usual suspects
Nov. 2nd, 2012 07:12 pmVerse: Boston Goddess
Story: The Usual Suspects
Word Count: 365
Prompt: Usual suspects
Rating: G
Summary: A goddess ponders her fate and wonders who could be responsible.
( The Usual Suspects )
Story: The Usual Suspects
Word Count: 365
Prompt: Usual suspects
Rating: G
Summary: A goddess ponders her fate and wonders who could be responsible.
( The Usual Suspects )
Origfic: Coincidences
Nov. 1st, 2012 02:05 pmVerse: Daughter of Vienna
Story: Coincidences
Word Count: 440
Prompt: Accidents
Rating: PG
Summary: Even the Renuzeit don't believe in coincidences.
( Coincidences )
Story: Coincidences
Word Count: 440
Prompt: Accidents
Rating: PG
Summary: Even the Renuzeit don't believe in coincidences.
( Coincidences )
Poking my head in
Jul. 14th, 2010 11:01 pmBecause of livejournal's plan to purge inactive accounts, I'm posting this little note to keep my writing journal active. I didn't participate in Nano last year. Since I wound up packing up my apartment for a carpet installation, that turned out to be a good plan. Life is funny that way. I'm honestly not sure whether I'll try again this year. It'll depend on my schedule. Considering my forays into audio drama, I may look at Script Frenzy next year instead. Maybe by that time I'll have figured out the script format.
I won again
Nov. 30th, 2008 10:13 pmI won again.
Yes, this makes number seven in a row for me. I've participated in Nano every year since 2002. And never lost. That's something I'm damn proud of.
This year was the usual struggle. I righted myself about four days in when I realized I couldn't write teenagers as my main POVs. So I jostled things around a little. But I still had pieces left over from the original version. Did I have enough? Could I still win?
This morning I dumped all of the story I had into a massive doc file. To this moment, I really don't know how much I wrote today. I'm a little scared to find out. The spreadsheet said 1400 words but it was probably closer to twice that, even with reusing/retrofitting old scenes. And I'm nowhere near done with the actual story. Pretty nifty feat all things considered.
I also completedmini_nanowrimo. I don't know what the final count for that will be yet. I'm undecided about next year. I may take a year off to try out the Yuletide challenge. I can't imagine not writing in November. That would be... weird.
The victory is a little bittersweet today with losing![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tv_elf. But we managed.
Yes, this makes number seven in a row for me. I've participated in Nano every year since 2002. And never lost. That's something I'm damn proud of.
This year was the usual struggle. I righted myself about four days in when I realized I couldn't write teenagers as my main POVs. So I jostled things around a little. But I still had pieces left over from the original version. Did I have enough? Could I still win?
This morning I dumped all of the story I had into a massive doc file. To this moment, I really don't know how much I wrote today. I'm a little scared to find out. The spreadsheet said 1400 words but it was probably closer to twice that, even with reusing/retrofitting old scenes. And I'm nowhere near done with the actual story. Pretty nifty feat all things considered.
I also completed
mini_nanowrimo. I don't know what the final count for that will be yet. I'm undecided about next year. I may take a year off to try out the Yuletide challenge. I can't imagine not writing in November. That would be... weird. The victory is a little bittersweet today with losing
tv_elf. But we managed.Whew, I finally caught up. I'm at 15042, thanks to a late night surge.
One lovely widget I've discovered: Write or Die. You can set yourself a word count goal and a time. I usually worked in half hour increments. And if you fall off the pace, well, it lets you know in no uncertain terms. Right now it's working better in IE than Firefox which is annoying.
The book itself is chugging right along. I'm starting to find ways to rewrite the older scenes I had started with. I basically made the three boys brothers, which simplifies matters considerably. I'd rather not create three sets of parents for this thing. I'm a little worried that I'm doing so much of the real world scenes and none of the fantasy bits yet. But I'm getting there.
One lovely widget I've discovered: Write or Die. You can set yourself a word count goal and a time. I usually worked in half hour increments. And if you fall off the pace, well, it lets you know in no uncertain terms. Right now it's working better in IE than Firefox which is annoying.
The book itself is chugging right along. I'm starting to find ways to rewrite the older scenes I had started with. I basically made the three boys brothers, which simplifies matters considerably. I'd rather not create three sets of parents for this thing. I'm a little worried that I'm doing so much of the real world scenes and none of the fantasy bits yet. But I'm getting there.
Word count related quotes
Nov. 9th, 2008 12:13 am"I wrote that book in three days flat. On the third day, a Monday, I sent an excuse to the hospital, because I did not dare leave my book at that point – I had to go on until I had finished it. It was not a long book – a mere fifty thousand words – but it had been with me a long time."
Agatha Christie, Autobiography on the writing of the Mary Westmacott book "Absent in the Spring"
I came upon this quote while rereading her autobiography. She talks a lot about the writing process. She also talks about carrying a novel around you for years and years until finally it's the right time for it to be written. I have to say her breakneck pace (16K a day!) is quite astounding in the day of handwriting and typewriters. My hands hurt just thinking about it.
And there's her hardboiled comrade Dashiell Hammett who set his goal for 5000 words a day.
I've managed 3000 on a really really good day and 4000 once during the third Nano. And those were using a laptop computer!
Agatha Christie, Autobiography on the writing of the Mary Westmacott book "Absent in the Spring"
I came upon this quote while rereading her autobiography. She talks a lot about the writing process. She also talks about carrying a novel around you for years and years until finally it's the right time for it to be written. I have to say her breakneck pace (16K a day!) is quite astounding in the day of handwriting and typewriters. My hands hurt just thinking about it.
And there's her hardboiled comrade Dashiell Hammett who set his goal for 5000 words a day.
I've managed 3000 on a really really good day and 4000 once during the third Nano. And those were using a laptop computer!
It happens every year
Nov. 6th, 2008 04:43 pmI've learned to accept some things about Nano.
1. I will write like mad in the first week.
2. By Veteran's Day, I'll have a "Ack, this isn't working" epiphany.
3. I find some way to right the ship and ride that wave of renewed productivity to 50K.
That's just the way it's worked for all but the first year. I still think that first year was a dream, because I don't know how I came up with an actual plot that moved forward.
I think I know the problem this time. I'm just not sure how to solve it yet.
1. I will write like mad in the first week.
2. By Veteran's Day, I'll have a "Ack, this isn't working" epiphany.
3. I find some way to right the ship and ride that wave of renewed productivity to 50K.
That's just the way it's worked for all but the first year. I still think that first year was a dream, because I don't know how I came up with an actual plot that moved forward.
I think I know the problem this time. I'm just not sure how to solve it yet.
Pester List
Oct. 28th, 2008 10:15 pmTaking a cue from pinkpolarity, I'm posting my Nano pester list. The sad fact about Nano is no matter how much I try the "no research" style stories, I still wind up needing to do research on the fly. That's how I've wound up researching the Met opera radio broadcasts at 2am some November evening. Or finding out how long it would take to ride a horse down the Vancouver island coast. It's just the way things happen.
My list is fairly sedate:
Philadelphia: I visited the city recently, so I have a decent picture of it in my head. I'm less interested in the touristy parts of town and more in how people live. I'd like my characters to live in Northeastern Philly, specifically around Port Richmond. Any other ethnic neighborhoods, particularly Eastern European, would be useful.
Polish culture/folklore/mythology: For some dumb reason, I keyed on the idea of the family being Polish. So any stories of growing up Polish would be helpful. I've found some good lists of names and some sites on folklore. What I'm not finding are any references to mythical places, like Camelot or Asgard? Something they'd know and recognize, something they may have been taught as a child. Likewise, is there anyone children would recognize as a protector? The Polish certainly have enough saints.
Board games & Chess: For board games, I'm thinking more fantasy oriented games, like Settlers of Cataan, although maybe elements of card games, like Magic. Some of the characters are heavy into chess. Has anyone competed in chess tournaments or taken chess lessons?
Missing children: Two kids (both 13-14 years old) disappear during a board game with their friend. The friend reappears. The others are never heard from again. How do the police treat this? Is the friend and family considered suspects?
Catholic schools: I need experiences in attending Catholic schools. The students would be junior high/high school age, if it helps. I'm hoping to have one of the priests/monks to be at the school watching over some of the kids. Is it more common to have gender-separated schools or combined?
Oh, yes and hockey: I was thinking about Philly sports and of course Michael doesn't like the Phillies or the Eagles. He's a Flyers fan, god help me. Other than you need to get the little puck past the goalie and that Alex Ovechkin rules, I really don't know much about hockey. Football I can describe, baseball I can fudge, hockey I'm at a loss for words other than "He shoots, he scores!"
crossposting to my other journals
pinkpolarity, I'm posting my Nano pester list. The sad fact about Nano is no matter how much I try the "no research" style stories, I still wind up needing to do research on the fly. That's how I've wound up researching the Met opera radio broadcasts at 2am some November evening. Or finding out how long it would take to ride a horse down the Vancouver island coast. It's just the way things happen.My list is fairly sedate:
Philadelphia: I visited the city recently, so I have a decent picture of it in my head. I'm less interested in the touristy parts of town and more in how people live. I'd like my characters to live in Northeastern Philly, specifically around Port Richmond. Any other ethnic neighborhoods, particularly Eastern European, would be useful.
Polish culture/folklore/mythology: For some dumb reason, I keyed on the idea of the family being Polish. So any stories of growing up Polish would be helpful. I've found some good lists of names and some sites on folklore. What I'm not finding are any references to mythical places, like Camelot or Asgard? Something they'd know and recognize, something they may have been taught as a child. Likewise, is there anyone children would recognize as a protector? The Polish certainly have enough saints.
Board games & Chess: For board games, I'm thinking more fantasy oriented games, like Settlers of Cataan, although maybe elements of card games, like Magic. Some of the characters are heavy into chess. Has anyone competed in chess tournaments or taken chess lessons?
Missing children: Two kids (both 13-14 years old) disappear during a board game with their friend. The friend reappears. The others are never heard from again. How do the police treat this? Is the friend and family considered suspects?
Catholic schools: I need experiences in attending Catholic schools. The students would be junior high/high school age, if it helps. I'm hoping to have one of the priests/monks to be at the school watching over some of the kids. Is it more common to have gender-separated schools or combined?
Oh, yes and hockey: I was thinking about Philly sports and of course Michael doesn't like the Phillies or the Eagles. He's a Flyers fan, god help me. Other than you need to get the little puck past the goalie and that Alex Ovechkin rules, I really don't know much about hockey. Football I can describe, baseball I can fudge, hockey I'm at a loss for words other than "He shoots, he scores!"
crossposting to my other journals
Six! Six! Six!
Nov. 30th, 2007 10:40 amVictory is mine! *falls over dead* Or to borrow the bumper sticker created by Auburn, "Fear the other hand!"
This was a slow gradual Nano, rather barreling through at high speed. But I still pulled it off. I honestly thought I wouldn't finish until sometime tomorrow, but I managed my best day last night at 4,000 words. I'm still boggled that myself, since I came home with only a few hundred words done at work. This year was the year I couldn't multitask at all. Maybe I'm getting older, maybe the jaw issues are making it harder to concentrate, whatever that mojo was gone this year. I worked on Nano or nothing else. Do you know how much work I used to get done during football games? I can still write with music, thank god. Even if my Nano's soundtrack goes from John Cougar Mellencamp to Duran Duran in as many minutes.
This was a slow gradual Nano, rather barreling through at high speed. But I still pulled it off. I honestly thought I wouldn't finish until sometime tomorrow, but I managed my best day last night at 4,000 words. I'm still boggled that myself, since I came home with only a few hundred words done at work. This year was the year I couldn't multitask at all. Maybe I'm getting older, maybe the jaw issues are making it harder to concentrate, whatever that mojo was gone this year. I worked on Nano or nothing else. Do you know how much work I used to get done during football games? I can still write with music, thank god. Even if my Nano's soundtrack goes from John Cougar Mellencamp to Duran Duran in as many minutes.
First update
Nov. 5th, 2007 10:06 amNano is going somewhat slowly for me this year. The word count picked up a little last night with the introduction of a new character into the works, so maybe things are changing for the better. I'm still behind though.
I nearly had heart failure yesterday morning when I opened my files and discovered I was missing about 400 words from the previous night. I use Rough Draft which saves fairly regularly, so I was curious what happened. Rather than worry about it, I tried to rewrite the bits from scratch. And then discovered the problem. I had backed up my novel on a thumb drive, but I also had a copy on the laptop. Guess who forgot which version she was working off of? So I fiddled around and edited a little (the four letter "e" word!) and now things are better. I've made sure I have the same version on both drives now, just for sanity's sake.
I'm keeping up with
mini_nanowrimo fairly well. I'm working on one or two fic ideas, just to get some words written on them. Usually that's more than enough to do the 100 words a day I set for myself.*clearing cobwebs*
Oct. 30th, 2007 10:33 pmThis place needs a good dusting. Maybe in December...
Friendly reminder: mini_nanowrimo closes memberships on October 31st. For those who don't want the sheer masochism of the full Nano, you just have to write a minimum of 100 words a day. Every day the mods post a collection of pictures, lyrics, words, prompts. You can write original or fanfic or whatever. You do not have to post anything, unless you want to. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was a good outlet when I didn't want to work on the actual Nano.
Nano itself is a scant day away. I'm not panicking... yet. That'll come eventually.
mini_nanowrimo closes memberships on October 31st. For those who don't want the sheer masochism of the full Nano, you just have to write a minimum of 100 words a day. Every day the mods post a collection of pictures, lyrics, words, prompts. You can write original or fanfic or whatever. You do not have to post anything, unless you want to. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was a good outlet when I didn't want to work on the actual Nano.
Nano itself is a scant day away. I'm not panicking... yet. That'll come eventually.Working hard
Mar. 16th, 2007 11:40 amSo I'm having reasonable success with grindstone this time around. Maybe focusing myself on one particular unfinished project helped that along. Or maybe I was just in the mood again. I'm over 8K as we speak, including the longish scene that'll be changing in the final version. I added a new character that I rather liked, but I needed to tweak her backstory. I suspect it'll smooth out once I've put all the files into one big one. It's just easier to track word count changes if they're separate, since I don't always remember to note word counts before I start.
grindstone this time around. Maybe focusing myself on one particular unfinished project helped that along. Or maybe I was just in the mood again. I'm over 8K as we speak, including the longish scene that'll be changing in the final version. I added a new character that I rather liked, but I needed to tweak her backstory. I suspect it'll smooth out once I've put all the files into one big one. It's just easier to track word count changes if they're separate, since I don't always remember to note word counts before I start.Another attempt at Grindstone
Mar. 8th, 2007 04:14 pmIn writing news, I've signed up for grindstone. I'm hoping to work on one of my retro era stories for the event. I've written part of it and think I've found a way to write the rest. Whether it'll be 10,000 is the $64,000 question though.
grindstone. I'm hoping to work on one of my retro era stories for the event. I've written part of it and think I've found a way to write the rest. Whether it'll be 10,000 is the $64,000 question though.
