Skillful Liars (Day 15)

Today is midway through nano, and I spent the day not writing.  Okay, I got some words done, just not as many as I was hoping for.  Apparently, the day before a trip is typically crammed full of last minute errands.  Who know.  Okay, probably everyone, except for me, because I've never really been on a trip like this one.

Anyway, while I was running around not writing today, I started thinking about my story (because when I'm not writing my story, I'm generally talking about it or thinking about it, or really doing something that could somehow be related back to writing.)

So, while I was thinking about my story (and talking about it to my friend) I couldn't help but realize just how skillful writers are.  Writers are the best liars out there!

Now, this might not be true face to face.  I know how to tell a lie, but I've seen some writers who are absolutely terrible at it.  But on the page, that is where the talent really shines through.  I mean, we don't write stories, we sell worlds.

We have to take something that we've come up with and create a world that the reader knows and loves and never wants to leave.  We have to bring it to life for them, and in order to do that, we have to make it real to ourselves.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  If there's one thing writers are really good at, it's lying to themselves.

Today I was so far in to my world that I was talking about the fashion.  The fashion!  I barely care about that in our world, but I was describing it with absolute glee.  (In case you're wondering, picture a mixture of modern and late eighteenth century clothing.  I have character that matches a tight bodice, corset included with capris and a hairstyle with feathers sticking out of it.  Just saying.)

Because the fashion is so relevant to how everything works in this world, I had to figure it out, and I had to care.  I had to make the world real to myself so that I can sell it to my readers.  That's just the way writers work.

There's just one problem with it.  You see, when a writer sells a world to themselves, sometimes that world becomes an obsession.  And I'm not being sarcastic.  I think about my books far more often than I probably should.  I know a few things that are going to be happening in the third book of one of my series, and I'm not even done the editing on the first book.

The characters become so real, when I talk about them to other people (who aren't my friends and therefore don't know who they are) they assume that I'm talking about some of my friends.  It gets really awkward when I start to mention things like how he or she is a werewolf, or then the Lady in th fountain showed up.

Now, I say 'problem' but the truth is, I think it's great that we have the ability to immerse ourselves in our writing so much.  We get to live in this world for a while as we try to portray it on the screen.  We get to watch these scenes that we've had running through our heads for who knows how long come to life on the page.  And then we get to watch our readers fall in love with it to.  In my opinion, there's nothing better.

How involved do you get in your stories? Do you have someone who knows your characters as well as you do?

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Daily Word Count: 5,500

Total Word Count: 123,089

Eden Has Been Betrayed! (Day 13)

So, last night I finished Aliens Stole My Socks. I liked the book, but I didn't get into it as much as I normally get in to my novels, so it's almost with a sense of relief that I put it aside and get ready to work on Betraying Eden.

As always,because I know you all love to hear me talk forever about the books I'm working on, I'm going to give you a short run down on the book I'm about to dive in to.

When the world broke out in yet another war, every nation was forced in to the fighting. Japan fought alongside China against France, Canada and the US fought each other with the UK taking Canada's side, and Mexico giving US all of their support. There wasn't a continent or country that wasn't effected by the violence that ravaged the earth. And the result was a bomb that was set off that poisoned the very air we breath.

The seven major corporations of the world acted quickly, and designed an air filter that would save the population, and installed them in underground shelters. They weren't large enough for everyone, and soon most of the population had been wiped out, and the landscape that was once rich with greenery was barren.

The underground shelters worked temporarily, but it wasn't long before people began to long to be outside. Seven cities were designed and built, each with a large dome to hold the poison at bay, and each outfitted with the air filter that would allow the residents inside the dome to survive. Then those corporations each claimed a city as their own, then declared themselves a monarchy.

It has been 150 years since the cities were built, and once more the population is growing too quickly for the domed cities. In order to moderate the people living within the cities, each one imposed a rent that those living within must pay each month to remain a resident. If this rent is even a day late, the resident is evicted with only a single canister of air to get them to the next city.

Charlie has been evicted from four different cities in her life. Her father, once a minor nobleman in Camelot, had lost all of his money, and has recently fallen ill. Now she has to care for him while trying to find the money to pay for both of their rents. Life hasn't been easy, and Kai, the guy who seemed to be infatuated with her, wasn't making it any easier. She doesn't know how to tell him that she's been taking care of herself for years, and she doesn't need his help.

Mordecai is the son of the King of Eden. His father doesn't approve of him and his forward thinking ways, but he refuses to not name him the heir. Instead he keeps all the power out of Mordecai's hands, and Mordecai has to find other ways of helping those he thinks deserves it. But on one of his trips to Snake's Ridge, he finds Charlie. He's fascinated by her. She seems so strong, despite everything that's happened to her, and he doesn't know what to make of it.

He does everything in his power to help her, usually making things worse, until one day he get's them evicted due to criminal charges. The trial, presided over by his cousin, ended with them charged as guilty and kicked out of the city.

Charlie brings them to one of the underground shelters, which has become a refuge for those that can't stay within the city, but finds themselves in the middle of a hostage situation. Now their separated, and neither sees a way of getting back home.

Alright, that's Betraying Eden. I can't wait to see how the first draft turns out.

How is your nano project coming along?

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Daily Word Count: 4,918

Total Word Count: 115,255

Eeek...Nano!

So, it's officially October, which means that nano is just around the corner, and I find myself freaking out just a little bit.  And by a little bit, I mean a lot.  My brain is ready to explode with the amount that I need to do before November first.  I kind of want to cry.

I broke down all of my goals for you last time, so I'm not going to repeat them all, but suffice it to say, it's a lot.  More than I think I can actually finish, but I'm going to give it everything I have.

Anyway, that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about.  As you might be able to guess from the title of this post, I want to talk about NaNoWriMo. (You might want to get used to it...during the nano season I really don't shut up about it...I'm warning you now.)

With nano comes all these new challenges.  First of all, as I'm a crazy robot, I never stick with the challenge nano sets out for us.  That's right, fifty thousand words in a month just isn't crazy enough for me, so I always up my goal.  This year it's going to be four books, so I thought that today I would tell you about those books and where I am with them.

Up first is the YA urban fantasy Stolen Magick

Stolen Magick is set in a school that teaches for humans and Arcanists (though the humans certainly don't know about the Arcanists.)  For those of you wondering, Arcanists are basically witches combined with superheroes.  Each one has a specific ability (these are often the same as others in their 'power category'.  The main character,  Phaedra, starts at Arcan Academy a few months in to the school year, and soon makes friends with a group of humans.  But when a particularly nasty Arcanist by the name of Terri decides to mess with her head and instead accidentally unlocks powers that not even Phaedra knew about, her life becomes just a little more complicated.

Then we have the middle grade Aliens Stole My Socks

This mid grade is based around Tommy Thompson, a ten year old whose father died when he was six and now has a two year old sister and a step father that he hates.  His mother doesn't know what to do with him anymore when he catches an alien stealing socks out of the dryer.  He tries to chase the alien out of the house, but he ends up taking his sister, and Tommy is left to rescue her when none of the adults believe his story.  Along with his precocious friend, Felicia, he manages to make his way on board the mother ship.  The Aliens won't know what hit them.

The third book is an adult dystopian named Betraying Eden

Set in a the future when the air was poisoned during a massive war that wiped out most of earth's population, people now live in large domed cities that clean the air.  Rent is collected every month for the privilege of staying inside the safe zone, and if it isn't paid, residents are 'evicted' with nothing more than a single can of clean air.  Mordecai is the heir to the throne of Eden, though he spends most of his time on Snake's Ridge trying to help the people that can't always afford their rent.  When he gets himself, along with his two friends, Charlie and Jonah, evicted from Eden, Mordecai discovers just how harsh the real world is.

Finally I have the adult urban fantasy Birth

Unfortunately this one isn't as planned out as the others.  I do know that it's set in a world where Phoenix's exist.  Except they're not exactly what legend makes them out to be.  They walk the earth as humans and have the ability to manipulate fire.  Mag, a human, fell in love with a Phoenix, only to have him go through the burning.  Now she's raising him, and their daughter Aliera.  Other than that, I'm not sure exactly where it's going.

Those are my novels for NaNoWriMo this year.  I'm excited for them all, and can't wait to get started on them (especially now that I've written this post...I'd forgotten how much I was looking forward to some of them).  I can't wait for November to get here (though, I really can.  Really, November, you don't have to come quite as quick as October did...I don't mind). It's going to be Epic!

What are you writing for Nano?  Do you have everything ready to go yet?