'Small Survivors' #Nanowrimo Banner

Here is my brand new banner for my Nanowrimo 2010 novel, 'Small Survivors' - I'm really proud of it! This now graces my Nanowrimo forums posts!

My Nanowrimo Novel premise is basically this:

"A group of strangers are abducted by a top secret government agency, who perform an illegal experiment on them and shrinks them to just six inches tall. Small Survivors, Giant Terror. What happens next? "

Let me know what you think!

13,837 Words - Farther than I've ever gone before!

Wow, I've reached 13,837 words so far in my Nanowrimo 2010 novel! This is now the farthest I've ever gone with a novel before! I think it helps that I'm posting my word count on my Twitter, and I'm posting on here too! Plus I really want to write and complete this novel! I tend to have a problem finishing what I start, so now I want to make sure I complete this, so I have something completed (however bad this happens to turn out), so I can at least have something I can proudly say I have seen through to the end.

My novel is a little shaky at times, some scenes I have written have way too much boring dialogue I am sure, and some scenes are not well enough explained or detailed, some almost completely lack description, some I've forgotten to 'show don't tell' and for some strange reason, I seem to be writing in past tense in some scenes when it's meant to be present tense - to give you a sense of immediacy and excitement! My only consolation is that I can remedy all of this on the rewrite - which it will need plenty of work doing on it then. But at least I will have a framework to rebuild and perfect it around. Right now, I'm attempting to suss out my plot, remember all my characters names (with notes to help, otherwise many characters would have changed their names and spellings many times over by now), and try to decide what to write next! It will all come together in the end. Right?

7943 Words - I'm behind, but not that behind!

Having missed the two previous days and not done any writing for Nanowrimo, I find I am behind! But I managed to write an extra 1376 words today - Yay me! I just updated my word count on the Nanowrimo site, and took a tentative look at what my writing buddies are doing on there, fearful they will be way ahead of me, and what do I find? Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month, is on 7504 words! He's actually behind me! Only a little, but it's boosted my confidence! If he can be a little behind, and still confident that he can do 50,000 words in time, then I'm sure I can too! I only have a few words to catch up on - I can do it! :)

I have had my characters abducted by a bogus bus, gassed, put into a top secret experiment where they have been shrunk to approximately 6 inches high, put through scary tests trying to outrun giant cockroaches, spiders and lab rats, and now, I've just exploded the lab, and set them free! (They had to climb their way out of all the fire, debris and ash, but they madee it!). Now I hope I can manage this a lot easier, though I am struggling a little.

Two things I need to remember:

• Show don't tell
• Let the characters follow their most logical course of action next - they will write the plot!

Now how easy is that? I hope!

4722 Words & Counting! Now What?

Wow, I've made it to 4722 words today! I managed to squeeze in some extra writing time yesterday evening and got more done then. Only one writing session today, it seems I can get more done, and be more productive if I have two writing sessions in a day - great for when I'm work!

I'm pleased I've managed to get ahead of my word count target, normally I fall behind and have to chase it to catch up, but so far this year I am ahead! I had to pause tonight as I've come to a little sticking point. I have my characters abducted, miniaturised, and put in cages. I know my cruel scientists will probably want to perform some cruel experiments on them, and then I want to cause an explosion or fire, in which the miniature people get to escape. Trouble is, I have no idea what experiments to put them through. And I don't want to bore my readers, they have to be exciting enough to keep them reading until they escape.

Any ideas or suggestions would be gratefully received!

And we're off! 1947 words!

I think I have just written the most difficult part of my story - the beginning! I have got going! I know I want to get my characters to a lab and being shrunk to 6 inches high, but getting them there, and seeing them full size before we get there is the difficult part I think! I'll no doubt find more difficult parts ahead, I'm just glad I managed to get started! And with a headache too, so I think I've done doubly well today. Well done me!

I've written my characters in a cafe, in the bus in the pouring rain, and I've managed to introduce all nine of my main characters with visual descriptions! Now all I have to do, is figure a way for everyone on the bus to get shrunk. Do I put hidden gas cannisters on the bus and knock everyone out? Have a beam of energy attack the bus and shrink them? What shall I do? I've got until tomorrow to think something up! I'm writing my story one (or two) scenes at a time!

I've chosen my characters!

Just a quick note to say I have my characters names and basic appearances chosen, I've used actors and models images to represent them and you can see them all lined up at the top of this blog! I am so proud of them!

I really struggle choosing names for my characters, I have two baby names books that I pir through agonising over which name to use and whether the meaning of the name matches them or not. And with the challenge of only having this week to choose nine characters names, that's quite a lot of pressure! In the end I found sitting in front of my word processing screen and picking names at random seemed the best solution! I went for the first thing that popped into my head when thinking of their characters, and what sounded right for them! The sound of the name is often more important than the meaning, as the general public puts connotations to the sound of the name rather than the meaning. How many names do you actually know the meanings of without looking them up? You certainly don't think of that when you're reading a book or watching a movie! And it makes it a lot easier to pick their names - the pressures off!

Nanowrimo Ideas - Shrinking People

I've started planning my Nanowrimo novel with a vengeance, I've decided to write about shrinking people! I have always been fond of various TV series about "the little people" - two of my favourites being: Land of the Giants and The Borrowers. Here's what I've come up with so far:

My Nanowrimo Idea
I've got the basic idea of a top secret government experiment to shrink people to approximately six inches tall. They pick their test subjects randomly from the British public, anyone they deem to be not important, or a pain in the side of the British Government or society in general. Something goes wrong after they've shrunk their test subjects - an explosion destroys the building the lab is in and the equipment there. Miraculously, a number of miniature test subjects survive and escape into the wild. They are a group of odd random people, struggling to survive in a giant world. Consisting of (possibly) an MI5 agent, a Professor of Ecology (like a college lecturer), a Cafe Worker (a Waitress), an immigrant from another country (maybe polish, or some part of Europe), a young college student girl, a rich business woman, and maybe a criminal of some sort).

_________

I have been making brainstorming diagrams with pen and paper (something I've not done before when planning a novel), and I like the sinplicity of it, and how easy it is to throw various ideas to a question you have about your novel. A very good piece of advice I found when planning a novel is to keep every idea and let it tell you why it deserves to be in your novel. Then later you can cut what you don't like, but at least you have plenty of ideas to play around with and then you're not staring at a blank page with no fresh ideas to play with.

Good Luck to everyone else embarking on their Nanowrimo adventure this year - Hope to see you on the forums and reaching 50,000 words by the end of November!

Book Recommendation: Make A Scene

As you may be aware from reading my blog, I am busily preparing for Nanowrimo next month - I aim to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I've been reading No Plot? No Problem! to prepare my novel ideas and hopefully get me through to 50,000 words. Although my plot ideas are coming along well now, and I have a few main character ideas, I have been worrying about writing good interesting prose. I don't want my novel to suck!

So now I have started reading Make A Scene - Crafting a Powerful Story, One Scene at a Time by Jordan E Rosenfield. And I am really impressed with this book. It gives plenty of examples from a range of books with detailed discussion as to how they have balanced description, action, dialogue and narrative to make vivid interesting scenes that won't bore your reader. I find the author's text engrossing, she writes in a way that makes you want to keep reading and keep turning the pages - exactly the kind of qualities you want to find in your own writing. So obviously a great person to learn from!

Reading this book is giving me the confidence to believe that with practice I can write an interesting novel with great scenes that will remain in a reader's mind long after they have finished reading my book. I am looking forward to starting Nanowrimo with more belief that I can achieve it now.

Nanowrimo Here I Come!

I am looking forward to National Novel Writing Month this year, I have read the first few chapters of No Plot? No Problem! A low-stress, high-velocity guide to writing a novel in 30 days! And I'm feeling confident! I don't have a plot or any real plan for my novel this year, and according to this book, I don't need to!

I would like to improve my prose, as I don't think I've had enough practice writing in prose, I'm sure my scenes aren't written perfectly and I need the practice. Writing 50,000 words of prose is certainly going to give me the practice! I just have to remember it doesn't have to be perfect - no first draft of anything is ever perfect. That's what rewrites are for!

Still, it can't do any harm to practice writing random scenes between now and November to try and get some improvement, as well as acting as a warm-up for my daily writing next month. You can write random scenes from TV series or movies you've seen, or try writing the next scene that would follow on from a scene you've either read in a novel, or watched on a TV series/movie, or try making up a new scene to a fave movie, tv series or comic book. Like a mini fanfiction piece.

Happy Writing Everyone!

My Writing Plan

I want to work more on my writing. I never spend as much time on as I would like on it. One trouble I have is when I actually find the time to sit down and write, I find I don’t know what to write!

So now I have a plan! I have created a To Do List for my Writing, then I have a list of ideas and writing exercises I would like to do, especially to challenge myself and help me improve. Then whenever I have the time to sit down and write, I will be able to pick an item from my list, and start work immediately! :)

My Writing Plan

(either in script or prose)

• Visit One Minute Writer, and pick a prompt to write for one minute.
• On a Friday, visit One Minute Writer, and write a Friday Fiction piece.
• Write a scene from a movie or tv script, with description in prose.
• Write a scene introducing a character.
• Write an action scene, with fighting or shooting. Make it as intense, immediate and real as you can.
• Write a romantic scene, maybe asking someone on a date.
• Write a stressful scene, someone frustrated or angry. (e.g. Spooks). Use body language to help.
  
  

I am also eagerly anticipating National Novel Writing Month 2010, I have never managed to complete 50,000 words in 30 days before, but I am hoping this year may be the one! I now have a secret weapon - Chris Baty's book: No Plot? No Problem! - A low-stress high-velocity guide to writing a novel in 30 days. I am planning to read one chapter each week to get me prepared for NaNoWriMo, I'm feeling positive! :)