November #IWSG and #NANOWRIMO Thoughts

 

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November 2's optional question - November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

The awesome co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton! Many thanks to founder Alex J. Cavanaugh!

You ready?
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Do You NANOWRIMO?

First, what is it and when did it start?

According to their website:

"National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November."

If you haven’t done it before, it might sound slightly unhinged.

If you have done it before, you know that it is slightly unhinged.

However, the writers who run NaNoWriMo.org provide motivational messages from well-known authors, some cool gadgetry and graphs on their website to track word counts each day and throughout the month, forums to join in online, meetups in person, and a general way to have fun while taking part in the challenge of getting 50,000 words on the page in 30 days. 

If you’ve ever read Stephen King’s book On Writing, you know he would own the challenge easily with his 3000 words a day word count, so it’s not like this challenge actually rocks the world book of records for writing, but it is a challenge. 

Many authors hate it. Many authors love it. Some have been there and done that. Some go back every year. Some prefer to write on weekends, or write at a slower pace overall. Some prefer to keep their own word count guides or hit different marks - 100 words a day, or 500, and not the 1667 or so necessary to make the 50,000 in one month.

But the question wasn’t, what the heck do I know about NaNoWriMo, it was: Have I participated? And why or why not?

So, finally, my answer:

Yes.

Because it actually brings me joy when I don’t overstress about it.

I know that may sound like a weird answer. Some authors see the challenge as an ultimate stress-monster, and I have felt that way, a few times. Those were the years I didn’t finish. 

Last year, however, I noticed a writing friend called her project “Potluck” and she wrote on her blog about doing more than one project at once, and writing the word count as she saw fit. 

I wanted to reach across the webspace and hug her, or cheer, or at least raise a frosty glass of butterbeer in her direction. 

                                                    Found on Tenor

While some authors hate project-jumping, I hate working on one project for an entire month. I love project-jumping from week to week, or three-day to three-day increments. I love writing every day, as long as it’s not on the same project day in and day out. 

So, while I am in revision with one project and the proof stage with another project, I’m also drafting three different projects, joyfully, happily, contentedly. So, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year as a NaNo Rebel and I’m anticipating a win. :)

Unless something crazy in life happens, because sometimes… life has been crazy. So, given a free-sailing month, I’ll be NaNoWriMo-ing this year. 

What about you? Do You NaNoWriMo?

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Also, speaking of some of my projects...

If you are interested in being an ARC reader for 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection, let me know in the comments below!

And, while I did slow down a bit with Dark Blade: Forged on Kindle Vella, it has a few new episodes up and going. 

Does Rest Have a Place in Fiction Novels?

 Fiction novels take characters on a breakneck pace through trial and fire, through trouble and time-crunched plots where every second matters.

Given the fast-paced nature of most YA, adventure, and speculative fiction, one might think rest has no place in those novels, but I believe it does.

Rest plays an important role in fast-paced, adventure-filled fiction.

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I love The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien which contains mini adventures rolled into the larger adventure of the quest. In every novel, characters usually go on some kind of journey internally (emotionally/mentally) and sometimes, externally (physical adventures), and in every novel, there are “rest” points where characters have time to reflect on their circumstances before moving onward in their journey.

These rest points are key moments in any fast-paced, adventure-filled fiction. The rest moments in novels give characters time to reflect on the adventures they've had, how they have changed, and if they are prepared (or not) for what is coming next.

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The Hobbit includes some rest points for the party of adventurers, and oddly, not all of them are nice places. They rest with the elves, with Beorn, and with the Wood-elves who imprison them.

Now, wait, you might be thinking that the prison isn't a restful place, but yet, it is. They spend time there. The dwarves heal from their spider bites. Bilbo has time to make a plan for their escape and make it happen.

Rest in a fast-paced novel doesn't have to happen in an idyllic glade or at an elven feast, it could be in prison, or under the foreboding shadows of dark trees. The only key requirement of rest in a novel is that it be a moment during which the characters reflect on events.

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Rest gives the characters time to consider their internal struggles and is often when the most important internal story arc takes place.

Bilbo takes a beat in the tunnel before he enters Smaug's lair in the mountain. This important rest beat helps him discover the courage he needs to move forward, and this courage is based on the adventures he's already had at that point in the novel. While you can argue that the interior monologue in The Hobbit is pretty sparse, I still think this reflection is embedded in the scene.

Since I went on vacation a few weeks ago and rediscovered how much I need rest so I can reflect on my life and find renewal, I've been seeing this need everywhere - in life and in fiction.

If you write breakneck, fast-paced novels, how do you build in reflection and rest for your characters, so they have the strength to go on?

Resting, Reading in Audio, and Starting a Short Series of Social Media Posts

 

Sea Lions Showing Humans How to Rest

It's dangerous for me to start a new series of posts here live on my blog, literally writing my rough draft in blogger for this post. I've started new series of blog posts like this before, and then let them slide.

But this time, I have a plan, written up in my journal, a word document, and an excel spreadsheet. This will be a short series for 2.5 weeks, followed by another series (pre-planned) with all the posts from blog to social media in a common theme.

It started simple and became a big more complex as I worked through possibilities.

But before I get there, let's go back to the resting and reading parts of this post, which are actually integral to my "plan." 

RESTING

My husband and I recently went on vacation to Carlsbad, CA (not New Mexico), a middle city between San Diego and LA. We drove there and back, taking time to see some of the coastline in California and Oregon. I shared many photos on IG, but I'll share a few here, too.

Highway 101, Big Sur with Marine Air aka Fog (see later picture below for without fog)

Sleeping Tiger Mural in Carlsbad, CA

Beach (near Coronado the day we rode our bikes 20 miles? Not sure)

It was a much-needed rest. 

Santa Barbara - can you tell it was windy and I forgot to take the camera off the "portrait" setting?

Morro Bay - the sea otters were chilling out most of the day

And a much-needed time to fill my creative well.

Coastal Trail along Big Sur Coastline without fog

Oregon Sand Dunes near Florence (hubs in pic)

Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon, with more marine fog

Cannon Beach, Oregon (Haystack Rock in the background)

It helped me check-in with how I was doing as an author, a teacher, a volunteer, and with all the "things" I do that keep me busy throughout each day and each week at home. I realized, I had started to over-do again.

I decided I need to take this "rest" and extend it into a vacation kind of mindset for everyday living.

READING IN AUDIO 

Part of the way I rest is through reading, although I didn't do as much of that on the trip as I had intended.

My husband has been wanting to read more, but he doesn't like to read paperback or ebooks because he stares at a screen all day for work, so we have been listening to audio book versions of The False Prince and The Runaway King, part of a series by Jennifer Nielsen for MG to YA readers. I've read those books as library books in the past, so it's been interesting to hear them as audio books. 

I've discovered how rich the author's language is, and how well she uses each word to create a compelling and fun narrative. I think I race past most of those rich-word moments when I'm reading for storyline and plot.

For this reason, I've decided to make one of my reading goals for 2023 to be about reading in audio. This year, I had the goal of reading 25% poetry books and 25% non-fiction and I'm far behind on both, but I have read far more of those genres than I normally do.

STARTING A TWO-WEEK SERIES OF JOINED BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Consider this all to be a pre-amble for a new series of blog, newsletter, and social media posts for the next two weeks. I've been discussing courage in some places, and I'll continue to do that, but I'll also be talking about rest and renewal as necessary parts of life, of gaining courage, and as a part of fiction. 

How is rest a part of storytelling in fiction? Well... stick around for the next post here and all those on social media, and you'll see. 

Warning: this is a cliff hanger.

IWSG: Favorite Genre, an Upcoming Book, and a Bit about TikTok

 

Check out all the IWSG has to offer and join the monthly blog hop at the website.

Link Here!

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and all of the co-hosts: 

Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

IWSG

Favorite Genre

October 5 question - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

Speculative fiction can range from the outright, noticeably hard sci-fi and all-encompassing fantasy worlds to the somewhat subtle supernatural and sci-fi elements like those we see in the Indiana Jones movies.

The genre offers us a wonderfully, flexible landscape with blurry edges in which to ask tough questions about humanity and morality, go play in a field of unicorns and leprechauns, or attempt to do all of those. We can read The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings, The Stand, and The Last Unicorn, and still be within the huge, welcoming space of speculative fiction.

In speculative fiction, we get to ask questions. What will someone do when faced with completely impossible odds? Calculate them like C-3PO, go full speed like Han Solo, get one with the force like Luke, attempt diplomacy like Leia? Or put shields on full and attempt diplomacy first with fingers ready on defensive weapons’ arrays like in many Star Trek scenarios?

Will the characters fight for survival and freedom or give into despair (Hunger Games), and if they fight, is there a right way and a wrong way, and who determines that? Can the characters beat the insurmountable odds, or is it too late (Divergent and 1984)? What makes us human, and can AI be “human” in the way we mean? (Blade Runner)

An Upcoming Book Release

Recently, I assembled speculative fiction short stories I’ve written mostly over the last six years into a new book: 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains, A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection.

No matter how hard circumstances are, there is hope for survival, even if it means making one simple choice in the right direction or standing up in the face of impossible odds. But the question remains: What is the right direction and which way is up?

The find out more, head to the pre-order here: Amazon.com: 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection eBook : Martinson, Tyrean: Kindle Store

A Bit about TikTok

As some may remember, I started a 100-Day experiment with TikTok in late June. It's October, and... wait, I haven't posted on TikTok in six weeks. That's right, I let it fall by the wayside.

How did that happen?

It started innocently enough. I tried to create simple, short videos with visual book recommendations that were focused on the books. Then, I thought I probably should get on screen with face and audio. I started following authors whose content I liked and getting ideas. At one point, I posted videos every day of the week. And then, I got sick. And then, I realized I was spending far more time creating video content than I was writing, even when the videos were short, and that did it. I stopped. 

Honestly, I think TikTok has some bonuses for authors. I know it helped me prepare to give a talk because I practiced my talking points in a series of videos. I'll probably do that again or use Instagram Reels in the same way. There are nice authory-readery people on TikTok and not everyone is age 13. It's okay to be in your 50s or older on TikTok. 

However, one thing I will warn everyone I know about - TikTok has some awful content on there. Until you start following about 50 accounts you like, TikTok will fill your feed with random stuff and some of it is genuinely bad - like, I thought about calling CPS and PETA kind of bad. I really don't like parenting videos that involve violence against children and TikTok has some content like that. Maybe it's out there on IG Reels and Youtube as well, but I had never been subjected to it before TikTok.

For this reason, I am considering taking down my TikTok account, even though I did find over a 100 nice people to follow on there, and I am sure there are more cool authors and artists to see on TikTok. And once you start following enough accounts and the algorithm gets what you like, you see less random ick, but still, knowing the ick there... makes it less of a decent place to be.

So, that's all for now. I might come up with some more marketing-related commentary, but for now, I find my strongest argument against TikTok is some of the content. 

Let's keep the conversation going:

What's your favorite genre?

Have any new books or stories coming out?

And, if you use TikTok, what do you think of it?

IWSG: Never Say Never, Song Lyrics, and 500 Miles of Writing

The main blurb here about IWSG is reposted from the IWSG website. Check it out HERE. 

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

September 7 question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting the IWSG! 

IWSG

NEVER SAY NEVER

My thoughts on the September 7th Question: Never say never! Even if the genre would be the worst one for you to tackle.

When I say Never Say Never, I'm not quoting the Bieber song. In fact, when I say those words, I hear a very different song from the 80s running through my head and some of the lyrics are... well. Umm, I don't even know who the song was by or the actual name of it, but it was on a mix tape a guy friend gave me - and doesn't that make me sound like I could be writing 80s-90s historical fiction? Said guy friend was someone I dated, but did not ever call a boyfriend because, well, we thought about it, but he was Catholic, and I was Protestant and we thought it mattered. There's definitely a story there, but I'm not sure it's one I'll ever write. The above is actually enough over-sharing for that. However, as I said, never say never. Who knows, another decade will pass, and I might think, yes, it's time to write that story in a fictionalized way.

I say all this because I "never" thought I would write with a pseudonym. Now, I have two. 

I "never" thought I would write song lyrics. I have, both in fiction projects and outside of them. 

I "never" thought I would write a stand-alone book because I honestly love a great series, but now, I have.

I "never" thought I would write in second person point of view because that's just too weird and grammatically confusing, right?

But now I have written a novel with three POV characters that shifts from second person point of view, first person point of view, and letter writing (first again, but different). 

This is not a new writing technique, but it's a rarely used one. NK Jamieson obviously made it work. Scott Reintgen did it successfully in his Ashlords duology. I'm sure there are more examples outside of the speculative fiction realm. 

Will all of these projects see the light of day? 

Yes, eventually. Some already have. Some will someday.

Because this writing gig is something I love. I am not giving it up, ever. I will write and I will write, and maybe I will write all the "nevers" by the time I'm done, which will be when they pry the pen and laptop from my cold, dead fingers. 

 For anyone waiting for Rayatana 3, I apologize. Drafts 1, 2, and the partial of 3 were shlock, pure and simple. They didn't work. Parts of them shine prettily, but problems happened when I tried to salvage them, so I went back to the brainstorming phase. It will get finished. I have carved out a block of time to rewrite it entirely, but I am not promising any particular release dates until I'm satisfied it doesn't stink.

Current writing vibe:

I decided to replace Never Say Never with 500 Miles by the Proclaimers for my song for the week.

*I had to look that song up because you know how it is when a snatch of lyrics is running on repeat in the back of your head? Yes. That feeling. So, the Never Say Never song I remember is by Romeo Void and came out in 1981. I heard it the first time around 1989 or 1990. If you like clean lyrics, don't go looking it up. It's a weird song from a time when weird song lyrics were the norm.

What's your writing vibe right now?

Any songs sticking in your brain these days?