Ever since I got my netbook (an HP Mini 1000), I’ve wanted to lighten what I lug around when I write. This is especially handy for Nanowrimo, since I go to write-ins and try to get out of the house (and the load of distractions, like the Dragon Origins game that just came out) to get some work done.
When I put the required stuff in — netbook, mini mouse, power adapter, and a Composition book — the bag was pretty light. Then I put in the binder notebook with all my world building notes, character sketches, outline, etc. and suddenly the bag weighed a ton. 
So, I decided to get all my notes in a way that would make them retrievable by computer. But, there were two problems with this idea:
1) What do I do with the notes I’d already written?
2) How do I keep all notes in a central location for easy retrieval instead of having a bajillion files on my flash drive to sift through?
I tried to do a few things. I tried to figure out how to get a Wiki onto my flash drive so I could dump all the info there, but it was a very long process I didn’t want to spend time doing, so I decided to make a “webpage” on my flash drive. Using a web browser, anyone can open an HTML file from their computer and as long as the links match up, it’ll work like any webpage, and since all the files are on your hard drive, you don’t need an internet connection. Nor do you need to mess with PHP, CGI, or make a server on your flash drive. I knew HTML and CSS, and I knew enough Java that if I wanted to do anything fancy (like navigation menus) I could. I set to work and the result was what I’m called “The Tayce Codex.”
I basically made a webpage for my notes. There’s a navigational menu at the top for characters, setting, book 1 notes, and then my information on the various fantastical creatures in Tayce’s world (vampires, shapeshifters, demons, just to name a few). I even created a table calendar to track what events happen on what day, so when a character refers to an event “happening a week ago,” I can be sure it actually was a week ago!
Now, when I want to look up what color Tayce’s eyes are (in case I forget), I simply open up the codex folder, click on index.html, and the codex loads up. I can navigate to Tayce’s character sketch from there. 
Yes, it takes some space on my flash drive (files including the few web graphics I use to make it nice on the eyes), but it lightens up the stuff I have to lug around and I now know that I can’t forget my notes while I’m working on Tayce since the same flash drive that holds my manuscript also holds the Codex! Yeah, I’m pretty proud of myself.
]]>I will be participating in Nanowrimo 2009, so I decided I’d better clean off my desk and get it ready. There’s also a post on the Nanowrimo forums about people’s writing spaces and I thought it would be cool to upload mine, especially since the last time I shared a picture of my office, it was after I cleaned it. Anyway, due to the size of the images, I’m going to upload thumbnails. Click on them to go to the full view.
I love my posters. The one on the left is one I’ve had since I was in middle school! 
The one on the right is one I bought freshman year at university. It’s really annoying that the frames are breaking and I keep meaning to purchase new ones because broken frames take away from the pretty art.
I’ve had notes and post-its all over the place about things I need to add or take away from the outline, but I’ve been putting off just fixing the actual outline because I recently redid a huge portion of stuff that I had planned for the latter 1/3rd of the story (items #85-115 basically were rewritten and moved around).
I suppose I should explain first. I’m an outliner. Some writers don’t like to bog down their writing that much and feel that outlines box them in — I was one of those people. However, I began to do very basic outlines (more like a list) of things I wanted to accomplish and I found that when I knew what I wanted from a story and where I wanted it to end, the middle bits came much easier. Unfortunately, I’d then realize that some middle bit wouldn’t work and I’d have to rewrite a portion of it — sometimes chapters worth of work would have to be deleted and rewritten. Usually it was because I changed my mind about something. This frustrated me and wasted a lot of time and word count. I began to expand on my outlines, adding a general idea of what I wanted to happen for each major scene. I call these “Skeletal Outlines” because while I do list all the major events in the book, I don’t go into much detail. For example, here’s an excerpt from “Tayce” Skeletal Outline:
33. The next day, despite Cotter’s warnings, Tayce decides to make the blood bead for the binding spell. She sets it up, does the magic, and then nearly faints from doing too much magic. Cotter points out her hair, which now has a white streak in it—a sign of overtaxing oneself.
34. Tayce is at the university with her classes. When she finishes, she goes to the cafeteria for food and Maggie meets her there. They discuss what the cameo could be. Maggie says it sounds like something known as an “accursed captive.”
35. Maggie says that Alice has not been to her class that day, so hopefully she’ll show up to the office hours to get the blood bead.
Those three points above correspond to about 1/3rd of a chapter. I found this method worked so much better for me because then, when I decided to change information, all I needed to rewrite was the outline and suddenly I knew where I was headed again. Yes, I may have had to go back and rewrite portions, but they were never as huge as before because most my deciding on things like plot went into the outline.
Then, when browsing through Borders one day, I found a book called First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner
In her book, Karen Wiesner works on the principle that all of your preliminary work should be done with character sketches, story maps, etc. and then all that should be combined into a very comprehensive, scene-by-scene outline. This outline will be like a map for your story and it will work as your first draft. All changes can then be done in the outline, eradicating the need for as many rewrites. When you write your manuscript, you already know where all the plot twists will happen and where the characterizations, themes, etc. will go. Sound familiar? Yeah, her method was very similar to mine, although I didn’t go as in-depth (I still believe that the most time should be spent in actually writing, not preparing to write).
However, from her suggestions, I started incorporating character elements in my outlines. Basically, I’d make little notes (usually using footnotes or the comment fields in Word) about things that I wanted to explore in that particular scene. And if I change my mind when I actually get down to writing? No problem. I can change the outline, too. Nothing is set in stone, after all.
Only problem is that I keep having to rework the damn outline because I keep changing my mind about stuff. 
I guess at least I’m not rewriting portions of the actual story. But, yeesh…I basically had so many notes and additions and post-its that I opened a new page, copied over outline items up to #65, and then started from scratch after that. Meaning I had to painstakingly figure out what was going to happen…all over again. 
While it saves me on rewriting, it’s time consuming, too. However, I think it’s paying off. I’ve been getting some really wonderful feedback on the latest chapters of “Tayce.” My writing seems to be improving and I think part of the reason is because I’m outlining now instead of just stumbling along.
Found this through Megan Hart’s website. It’s just a cheerful, happy music video and it made me smile.
Through a friend, I got this article about a thief that broke into an ASU student’s apartment with the intent of robbing him:
Botsios was willing to let Saucedo take his wallet and guitars. Then the robber made the mistake that ultimately landed him in the hospital — he went for the laptop. According to Botsios, he said “Dude, no — please, no! I have all my case notes…that’s four months of work!” Saucedo, obviously underestimating the fury of an overstressed, overworked first-year, was unsympathetic. [...] Wrestling Saucdeo to the floor, Botsios separated the bat from the thief and repeatedly punched him in the face. When it was all over, police had to get Saucedo stitched up before charging him with armed robbery and kidnapping [...] Most importantly, at least to the student, is that his laptop, which he called “his baby,” escaped unharmed. Next time, Saucedo might want to try robbing a third-year student, as they’re generally more docile.
Someone needs to learn about backing up. A part of me is thinking, “He’s lucky, he could have died, and all for a laptop” while another part of me is thinking, “That is pretty awesome, and I can totally understand the sentiment.” After all, when my USB flash drive broke off its chain two years ago, I lost 6 months of notes and had to beg my friends to copy theirs. I also lost a paper I was working on for a class and about 15,000 words on my novel. That’s when I started backing up more regularly.
]]>I was going over some comments I got back for Chapter 6 of Tayce. I really did look over the chapter and edit it before handing it off to be looked at, I swear, but I missed some really obvious mistakes. I’m a little embarrassed, but what can you do? For some reason, it’s always more difficult to spot one’s own mistakes in a manuscript. I suppose that’s because one works so closely with the manuscript that one just glosses over some stuff–the whole, “Well, I knew what I meant…” Anyway, going over it, this was probably my silliest mistake:
Tayce opened the book, letting the papers flip through her fingers. The paper was thick and it made a satisfying, rustling sound as the pages moved. The book didn’t look old; the pages were typeset and the binding was professional instead of hand-sewn.
So the vampires have begun producing Les Lignes de Sang, Tayce thought. Do they have some sort of way of trading information between all the bloodlines?
To which a friend replied, “Um, how about the telephone?” and when I got home and looked over the whole damn thing again, I had to ask myself: Yeah, how about the telephone? Even I don’t know what I was trying to say with those last few lines. I think I was trying to show some general distrust between the vampires in my book? I don’t know…all I know is, I’ve got to laugh at that. Maybe I’ll change it to Tayce imagining them at their PCs furiously typing away emails or looking each other up on Facebook and trying to stop herself from giggling. 
In other news, I’ve had to replace my flash drive. My good old Kingston DataTraveler isn’t dead, but it’s become a bent, gnarled old thing. When I bought it (I can remember the almost exact date, too, which was around Christmas time 2007), it was one of the cheapest 4gb I’d ever found, the product of post-Christmas sales. Unfortunately, the Kingston DataTravelers suffer from having weak bodies that don’t hold up well to the rigors of daily use. Somewhere along the way, the seam of the body actually started coming undone and then the USB portion started bending, until it was so bad that if I jiggled the stick a little bit when it was plugged into my computer, it would reset.
I backed up everything again, just for good measure (ever since I implemented my automatic backup system, I’ve been very good with backing up regularly). Since I’m downgrading from a 4gb to a 2gb, I have to keep most my word documents elsewhere and just tote around my current projects, important documents, and a few files of music. I named the 2gb flash drive, “Ishtar”1 and breathed a sigh of relief. I’ve had bad experiences with flash drives. Let’s see…
- I lost a capless Sandisk Cruzer Micro when it’s very weak metal hoop broke. Ended up losing about 15k worth of words.
- A cheapo flash drive I bought to quickly replace the lost Cruzer became corrupted and simply stopped working.
- My Kingston DataTraveler split open along the seams like a pea pod. Had to jam everything back inside and pray it still worked. It did…
- …Until the USB portion bent and the seams began to split again, making it risky to plug into anything.
Yeah. Give it a few more years and a few more debacles and my flash drive luck may be on par with my Curse of the Bookshelves. 
Footnotes:]]>
I had a very nice weekend, when it came to writing. I’ve been having some luck in my writing lately (*knocks on wood*) and I realized that I’ve come very close to the halfway point in “Tayce.” All the things I’ve set up can now chug along on their own merit — or, in other words, the shit is about to hit the fan for my main characters. Stuff will start getting answered, battles will need to be waged, etc.
I logged in at 20 pages this weekend! No wonder I feel exhausted. I also have realized that my spacebar button on my keyboard is squeaky. I think this is a new development; it’s probably protesting all the work I’m making it do. 
Here’s a snippet from what I wrote this weekend. It’s probably not going to go into book 1 of “Tayce,” I will probably add it to book 2 (I already have most of the plot of book 2 in my head). Anyway, keep in mind that it’s something I wrote entirely on the fly, quickly, because the idea popped into my mind and I had to get it down. I’ve done no editing whatsoever, so it’s pretty rough around the edges:
At first, Tayce wasn’t sure what she was seeing. It looked like a giant rock with mossy bits had landed on her sofa—no, not just mossy bits, there were flowers and mushrooms growing on the rock, too. Then, she noticed how outcroppings of the rock—well, more like a boulder, really—were shaped in such a way to look like a giant mouth with a protruding part that could be taken for a chin, and how the stocky outcroppings below the rotund upper part could be legs. And then the boulder shifted and eyes that glowed bright white opened. Tayce watched, hoping her face was expressionless because her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she had to clamp her teeth together to make sure she didn’t make any whimpering noises. Two stubby arms matted with fine, green moss became visible and the boulder shifted, as if trying to find a more comfortable position.]]>As for the sofa, it was creaking horribly and already it seemed to be buckling under the weight. Tayce imagined the sofa breaking completely and this rock-man falling to the floor and rolling away. In other circumstances it would have been funny, but when, for all intents and purposes, there seemed to be a man made out of rock sitting in one’s living room, things became less funny and more surreal. Of course, her life hadn’t been exactly normal to begin with, but this was just…extremely abnormal.
The boulder scratched along the moss on his left arm, looking at Tayce, then said, “You ain’t the Fraxinus child.”
“Er…no,” Tayce stammered. Her arms twitched and she had an overwhelming urge to clamp her hands over her ears. The boulder’s voice grated like stones being rubbed together, and there was an ancient power in it that tickled along Tayce’s arms and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention.
“But ya smell o’her.” With that gruff, grating voice and the strange accent that slurred words and dropped others, Tayce could barely understand the boulder.
“What are you?” Tayce blurted the question out in a half-whisper, unable to keep it inside any longer.
The boulder scratched its arm again and said, “Troll.” He elongated the “O” sound, as if he was trying to remember the word or he just liked the way it sounded. “I am Felsenunterbrecher das älteste.”
So, lately, I’ve been realizing that I write “suddenly” way too much. As in: “Suddenly, the door flew open, smacking against the wall…” I have to remind myself to cut down on the “suddenlys” but it’s tough thinking of a way to replace them. I was typing along today and realized that the last three paragraphs all began with a “suddenly.” Yes, I know, I know, show-don’t-tell blah blah blah. I’m working on it. Thankfully, first drafts are meant to be edited, not seen.
In other news, I’ve been spending way too much time today playing a Flash game I found on Lily Allen’s website (she has some really good music). It’s a simple platforming game, yet addictive. Must tear myself away from computer, I have a lot to do today…aarrgh…
]]>Specifically how I wish Robin McKinley would write a sequel to Sunshine, which I think is one of the best urban fantasy stories (although it’s hard to peg it to just one genre) I’ve read in the last decade. But, Robin McKinley has basically said it’s probably never going to happen because she only writes sequels when “the muse says so” or “the characters talk to her.” Which is a crying shame, but I can understand the lack of interest to go back to a certain world. But I’ve never understood the idea that an author is a slave to their characters or muse. I’ve mentioned my muse, but she mostly makes sure I pump something out when I sit in front of the computer and usually if I sit there long enough, I can convince my muse to work with me. But, my ideas come from an ethereal place and usually it’s an image, a scene, or a character. With something so vague to begin with, it’s easy to adapt the idea to almost anything I want, and then I work outwards from that idea.
Anyway, so John and I were talking about writing and finding new authors we like…
-
Himani: I don’t get this whole “my muse says what I can write” or “my characters talk to me and tell me what I can write”
Himani: Not true, in my book.
Himani: (get it? “in my book”?
)John: I dunno back when I wrote it was more a case of the characters and story playing themselves out in my head and me writing it down than me plotting a story the way you do it.
John: And I got it, and promptly ignored it1
Himani: I used to do that, but I found I never finished anything and my stories tended to meander without any good characterization or theme.
Himani: I found I needed to know the destination. That way, even if I changed the road map, I’d at least know where I’m heading.
John: Thats why you’re still writing and I’m not
Himani: I think writing is 20% inspiration and 80% work. Unfortunately.
And I do. The more years I spend writing, the more I realize that sweat and blood is what creates every book, story, word. Some people say this means you get “plot-driven” stories or just superficial stuff, but I disagree. Knowing where you’re heading with a story brings ideas of where the characterization and theme can go — where there will be growth or symbolism or whatever — and you don’t have to worry as much about figuring out how it will all end.
Least, that’s how it works for me.
Footnotes:
- John never appreciates a good pun.
So, anyway, the point is after reading the first Mercy Thompson book, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue. The alpha men were bugging the hell out of me and Mercy kept saying she didn’t want anything to do with them or becoming a “submissive mate,” but her actions often were contrary. Yet, one day I was unsure of what to read next so I picked up book 2 from the library. It was much better, so I tried the Alpha & Omega series and I really liked the heroine in that one. So, I recommend this series with a “but…be prepared” at the end.
Anyway, the newest book, Hunting Grounds has an interesting exchange that I totally had to flag and share:
“Her own paintings…are worse. Do you remember the sad clown paintings? Or are you too young? They were everywhere for a while. Bright-colored and flat-feeling. Empty.”
Anna shivered. “My dentist had them all over his office.”
Holy shit, Anna goes to the same dentist I did in Scottsdale (and still do, technically)! I blame this doctor for introducing my fear of clowns, which was then solidified by watching the TV miniseries IT (Tim Curry as a killer clown named Pennywise will haunt you for the rest of your days, especially if you’re 8 years old when you first witness it ).
The whole experience was something out of a horror movie to begin with. I’ve never liked dentists — anything that involves me sitting in a chair, helpless1 while someone messes about in my mouth with pointy metal objects is just…*shudder* Couple with that my recurring nightmares of my teeth falling out (I get them every few months) and I’ve always been very good to my teeth. I brush them, I floss them, I mouthwash — hell, I’d sing them a lullaby if it guaranteed no dentist visits.
Anyway, to add to the whole experience, my dentist was obsessed with creepy, sad-looking clowns. He had figurines, paintings, mobiles, cup-holders — all kinds of clown stuff. And they all stared at you while you were in the chair.
(Not something you wanted looking at you at the dentist’s office)
Are scary clowns a dentist thing? I always thought my dentist was special, but now I’m wondering if it’s some sort of dentist mind game…
Footnotes:
- Yes, I know, it’s not like I’m really helpless. I mean, I’m not tied down or anything. But, if a dentist really wanted to do horrific things to me, by the time I could get away, the damage would be done. This has actually been proven to me by my orthodontist. I got braces before all my baby teeth were out (he’d slowly attach more braces as more permanent teeth came in) and the orthodontist got tired of waiting. So, when I came for my check-up, if he found a baby tooth that was slightly wiggly (or not), he’d simply grab it and YANK until it came out. No warning, no numbing agent, nothing. Then he’d pack my mouth with gauze and tell me to swallow the blood until I stopped bleeding. Yeah, I got a few issues from that.
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