Let's see how far down it goes

The thesis is behind schedule, and it's annoying the living hell out of me. Apparently the moment anyone brings reporters into fiction, they slow everything down. Jargony bastards. And you'd think I'd have it down, since I'm in journalism. Of course, assumptions have been getting me nowhere thus far. And I need character motivations done for my thesis advisior by Monday. So hopefully I'll get some of the stuff on Nocturnal Melee updated so that it's not information from the first draft 10 years ago. Ha.

Anyway, I'm back to the Alice-esque rabbit hole. And this could prove to be fun. We get to meet the faeries, and the Fey get to be Switzerland. It should be grand.

My plan is to have that done by the weekend. Here's to hoping, right?

And there's another crank thrown in: I'll be away this weekend. AGAIN. First it was Forks, then Ashland, and now Seattle. I've been all over the damn place this semester, it's surreal.

But I get to go see Neil Gaiman, and I'm stoked, and NOTHING (and when I say it, I mean it) could dampen the exhilaration at the moment. Friday cannot come soon enough, oh Gods. The fangirl in me could die a rather happy death come Friday evening (save its anger at no San Diego Con yet...). Haha.

So, writing. And then the dinner party for Shawn. And then more writing. Dilligence?

the lamenting of their women...

I hit 40,000 words on the thesis last week, and I have my second real critique on Friday morning.

If I keep going, I may be able to get this finished, at least draft-wise, by Christmas. Which is when the whole project, as the first draft, is due. MEEP. It's made so that I supposedly have 4 months to edit it and have it "finished" as it'll be by presentation time.

And then hopefully I can start getting letters out, and then start working on Nocturnal Melee again, which, after being read by a friend, wasn't as finished as it should have been to warrant sending out to agents. SO. The book has been reoutlined again, keeping 80% of the integrity of the product finished in February, and expanding on it so much that the ending of the manuscript is now about half of the book instead.

Things will work out. I have to keep telling myself that. NM may not end up being the debut novel I had intended it to be, but it'll get done. And The Suits will get its ass in gear.

At least the process actually calls for and instigates the growth I'd always found so hokey when writers talked about it. Yay for maturity, or something of the like.

Also: Stephenie Meyer Day in Forks? Full of hilarity.

Hello, Ladies and GentLEmen

As I'm working on getting Part II started on this thing I call the new book, I found that a little introduction to my methods would be in order. Since this is my writing blog. Imagine that!

1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?
I only write non-fiction in the form of research papers, though my original senior thesis was going to be a look at Anime and Japanese Post-War culture. Normally, I write fiction, and most of it is fantasy at that. I like finding real life in an escape. Otherwise, I'm still living my life as I write--I'm not writing.

2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?
For the most part, yes. But it's all over in bits and pieces.

3. If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?
Generally, I will try and start with an outline. I like to know my characters well enough to know what I'm doing with them. Sometimes they'll surprise me, but for the most part it's like having a best friend--you know them almost in and out.

4. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
I procrastinate a bit, but I don't always have to have a BURST of inspiration to write. I can sit myself down and make myself do it, unless it's a particularly bad case of writer's block.

5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
It depends on the day. I can sometimes be a burst of energy person, but I can do it the other way around too.

6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
Afternoon. I can't do anything productive in the morning, unless we count the 4 am bedtime. Then perhaps something will get done before bed.

7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
Silence is almost too distracting for me. My mind wanders, and I find myself not able to concentrate. Which is weird. I do a lot of my best stuff in coffee shops, but a well made iTunes mix helps too.

8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
I used to do everything in long-hand before I got a laptop. I still do a bit in long-hand, especially if I have no computer on me.

9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One? Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
I know a basic outline of the ending, sure. A vague place where I want things to tie up. And basic places that I want to go before I get there. But the rest of it is rather fluid and open.

10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
No. I write what I'd want to read, and what I love doing. I'm already resolved to the fact that not everyone becomes a best-seller, so even if only one person takes faith in what I do, so be it. It's about the art, not the fame. Money would be nice, but...I don't like compromising myself for the sake of that.

11. Editing/Revision - love it or hate it?
It has its pros and cons, really. I can add and take away, like the creation of my own Earth. One where Eve wouldn't automatically be labeled a sinner, either. But really, sometimes it's just tedious, monotonus, and makes me bleary-eyed. I like general content revision, but I hate technical revision.

You see these shackles, baby?

Wow, July and August sort of melded into one giant super-month of epic Metatron proportions. My apologies to the actual readers here, expecting a real update. The closer school gets, the more chaotic everything else seems to be.

I'm half a chapter away from the end of Part I, which excites me. Hopefully I can get my room all...finished, and then begin the backstory that is an entirely new mythology.

And let's all pray that THAT small task doesn't cause my brain to start oozing out of my ears in a viscous form that only a psycho-scientist could identify. Mmm, brain matter. It just must be time for lunch. Ha.

And TDK on IMAX may be the big event of tomorrow. Holy crow, this causes some ridiculous excitement, I can barely contain it. Leah knows. She witnessed it first-hand when she first suggested it.

For now, I'm off to put on my Utena fanmix and finish setting up my room. Perhaps then you'll all get a real update AND some writing? OOOH. It'd be like Christmas, only on the internet. XD

The Great Outdoors of Withdrawl

I leave in 12 hours for a 3-day camping trip. Wish me luck in not having internet withdrawl. Oh, how lovely the techno generation is...

But I've packed The Vampire Lestat and all 3 Twilight books, PLUS I still have this thesis to work on.

Speaking of, I just finished the anxiety chapter. It needs more auxillary detail, but I don't even want to look at it right now. However, it does mean that I only have one chapter until this monster that is Part I is FINISHED. *rejoices* (And hopefully at 150 pages too. XD)

And the redone query letter is almost finished. I apparently just needed to tweak it and add a bit more plot detail as I'd left it a bit too ambiguous. Hopefully I'll get those sent off before the Breaking Dawn release party on Friday.

Additionally, I still need to email the eBay seller about the still MIA holsters for my costume. Also, I was told by the manager of the campus bookstore that the new books would FINALLY be listed "next week"--hopefully while I'm gone so that I can come home to some good news.

We Are Tonight's Entertainment

I just had a panic attack, ladies and gents.

From something I wrote. Not even something I read. Words I dictated. How in the hell is that possible? My brain's the one moderating what I say, and yet the event almost gives me asthma?

WEIRD.

I don't think that's ever happened before.