NaNoWriMo: How Indiana Lost her Mind (and so did her Author)

So it's been 15 days of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) already! Can you believe it?! I hit the 50K mark pretty early on in the piece. My cat helped me celebrate the last 2K by typing the odd word (ie. walking CONSTANTLY across the keyboard) and massaging my legs as I worked (try explaining those pinholes when you wear shorts to pick your kids up from school :-/).

Now I have discovered the hard part. 'How Indiana lost Her Mind (But Found Herself)' ORIGINALLY told the story of how Indiana met a vampire and got her memory back. Before I even started writing this book the first time around, I had a slightly different plan for the novel, one which involved wood nymphs rather than genies (oh yeah, the 'baddie' turned out to be one bad-arsed genie that just didn't want to go back into her bottle). With this years rewrite, I am going back to my original plan. I was never really happy with the vampire aspect of the novel (although, the vampire characters will be staying, just in a more subdued way) and thanks to NaNoWriMo, am now discovering just how hard it is to rewrite a novel.

In the last three days, according to the NaNoWriMo website, I have written around 1,000 words. Previous to that (ie. the part of the book that is remaining basically the same except the change from 1st person to 3rd person perspective) I was averaging 4,000 a day. So what happened?

Well, for starters, I added a love triangle. This means I have had to rip the guts out of various sections, losing thousands of words at a time. Then these sections were written again. My baddie has become a man, rather than a woman, so I have also been carefully reading over sections to delete all the 'S's' from 'She' and changing 'hers' to 'his'. Those 1,000 words have actually been about 5,000 lost and 6,000 rewritten!

Also, I have hit that stage of the game where research is involved. In the last 48 hours I have had a crash course in nymphs, dryads, satyrs and the Sagittarius constellation.

Now, I just need to collate the lot and get this story FINISHED by the 30th of November!

So, how's everyone else going with NaNoWriMo?

The Twilight-land of NaNoWriMo - Are You Game to Enter?

For the fourth year running I will be committing the month of November to pure insanity! This is also known as NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. For 30 days I will buckle down, eat a truckload of red bullets, avoid chores and human contact - all in the crazy notion I can get a novel completed in that time. Three years straight have proved that I can.

This year is a little different though. Normally, the month of October is spent researching my chosen topic. The topic is normally finalised sometime around August/September, although the search for it starts on December the 1st. This October I have researched...nothing.

Not once have I typed something into Google and wondered if this will be the final straw that breaks the camel at the FBI headquarters' back. In previous years I have actually typed the following terms into Google: AIDS, cold & flu viruses, genetic mutations, crossing the common cold with another virus, glock, red glock, how to use a gun, mental institutions of Australia, floor plans of Larundel, mental health act of Victoria, delusional episodes, Lithium, legal requirements for mental illness, mental illness boundaries within the confines of the law, conspiracy theories, how to use a bow and arrow, deer stalking (actually, that last one was my husband, but it's sure to muddy the water some more). Yep, the FBI have to be concerned by now!

So what inspired this turn of events? Surely, with three completed manuscripts, I have have proven to myself that this is the magical formula needed? Well, actually, the first manuscript was completed, but absolute rubbish. This year I am attempting to rectify this.

In the far away year of 2009, back in the days when dreaming about being a published author was a full time occupation for me, I had also read a little known book by an author you've probably never heard of, a Mormon bird called Stephenie Meyers. That book had the peculiar title of Twilight. It was my first foray into the vampire genre and I am embarrassed to say that I delved into that book three times (and the subsequent unheard of follow-ups  New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). I found it delicious yet not nearly bad enough for me. I wanted my vampires to be just a little more kick arse in the nasty but drool worthy department. If Meyers could write about vampires, then anyone could, I decided before embarking on the NaNoWriMo ship, Viking hat firmly planted on top of my head!

So I attempted to write my own vampire novel. As a result, Indiana Meets A Vampire was written in 30 days and 30,000 words over budget. I wrote the whole thing in 1st person. It was glorified, albeit badly written, porn but it was mine and I loved it dearly.

During that month I also picked up my second vampire crush. A small tome called Dead Until Dark, written by a quaint little southerner called Charlaine Harris. I wish I had the time to read this novel during NaNoWriMo. Some would say I should have read it instead of writing Indiana Meets A Vampire.

So, after my second attempt at NaNoWriMo, I scored my first publishable novel, you've probably heard me speak of it occasionally? If not, you can buy it here. Emeline and the Mutants taught me that I should only ever write in 3rd person - especially when there are sex scenes involved! Reading my biting, dirty, nasty vampire/human sex scenes is why some people cannot look me in the eye to this day. I still apologise to my beta readers for this.

In an attempt to rectify the horrific mental images I forced upon people in 2009, I will be ripping apart Indiana Meets A Vampire (and giving it the tentative working title of Indiana Loses Her Mind But Finds Her Way). Sure, there will still be vampires in it, the story just wouldn't be the same without Sam, the vamp who travelled to Australia on the First Fleet. Camilla Le Fanu will be there also, but I suspect the major role she plays in book three (oh, did I forget to mention that I tortured my beta readers three times that year?), will be dimmed quite significantly. The story this time round will be more about Indiana and her unique abilities. Her memory loss will still be there and playing an integral part in the plot. I won't deny readers vast amounts of blood and gore and sex either, but hopefully I can keep most of it justifiable this time round!

So, is this considered cheating? Well, I don't, but other might, is the short answer. I will be keeping the plot line for the first two novels basically the same. The third novel now has a very distinct and remarkably tragic ending, but no start or middle (and probably no need for it's current title of Indiana Goes to a Brothel!). I will be reading the original manuscript before rewriting it, but then things will get interesting as I write the lot from scratch!

Want to watch my progress during November, then either check back here, or watch the live updates on my NaNoWriMo profile here. The burning question is though - will I eat more red bullets than last year?

Zombie Apocalypse Now!

You'd better run. If you can't, you need to trip the person next to you in order to save yourself from the zombie apocalypse!

Starting from this week, you will be able to view my new weekly serial entitled 'ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE NOW!' on Wattpad. It is entirely free to read and the whole Wattpad universe is completely addictive! There are so many fabulous stories on there.

You have the chance to meet Rosalyn in my first episode. She seems to have lost someone dear to her during the zombie apocalypse and now she is making the terrifying decision to flee her house in search of food. But will she make it past the zombie at her door?

This series will revolve around four women: Rosalyn, Berta, Pip and Tatiana.

Be warned, one of them will be a crazy cat lady. Another will be pregnant.....

Make sure you add ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE NOW! to your reading list on Wattpad and vote on my first part so you can keep up to date on the lives of these four women.

And if one week is too long to wait, you can check out excerpts from THE RING OF LOST SOULS and EMELINE AND THE MUTANTS. I will also be adding a snippet or two from my upcoming trilogy that I will be writing for National Novel Writing Month in November.

Returning From the NaNoWriMo Land of Insanity...erm....Creativity......

So, I haven't blogged for a while. I have a reason for that. You see, I went on an adventure to NaNoWriMo Land. I got lost for a while in the wild abandonment that is writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Did I make it? Yes I did. I went 10K over, in fact. Is the novel any good? Well, only time will tell, but you can check out the details of 'The Ring of Lost Souls' here. All I do know for the moment is that it took some stupendous and completely unexpected turns, which I never even saw coming.

And this is why I love November and National Novel Writing Month - you get swallowed up by the enormity of it and as a consequence, not only creative magic happens, but crazy risk taking also happens. This in turn seems to lead to even more creativity.

So, since I have finished a few days early, and now no longer know what to do with myself, I have compiled a list of interesting (in my eyes anyway, you may just be lulled into a sleepy land filled with numbers) statistics:

• Number of words written in November: 68,387 
• Actual word count as per NaNoWriMo validator: 60,387
• Words lost due to laptop malfunction: 8,000 (Yes, I am STILL feeling ill at this. All I can say, is back up your work more often than once a day)
• Number of days it took me to re-write above mentioned words: 1.5
• Kilograms of red bullets eaten during the month of November: 1.4
• Average words per day (as per NaNoWriMo website):2,012
• Most words written in a single day: 8,000
• Least words written in a day: 0
• Day I reached 50,000 words: 21st November
• Day I actually finished my novel: 28th November
• Days it would have taken me to reach 50,000 words if all the days of no writing were taken out: 16 (Holy smoke, Batman!)
• Number of plots thrown in because I couldn't think of anything else to add: 6
• Number of above plots that were useful: 1
• Number of covers designed: 2 (And thanks again to Jade Zivanovic for the best cover art EVER!)

So, there you have it! For those of you who are still writing furiously, may you creativity flow while your hands keep up. And for those of you who are writing you NaNoWriMo novel free-hand: are you INSANE?!?!?! No, just kidding ;-P Here's hoping your pen flows as freely as your creativity and your hand cramps up only after the 1st of December!

Halloween, NaNoWriMo and a New "Friend"

Here in Australia, Halloween is not so much of a big deal - or it wasn't a few years back. When I was a child, we never celebrated, mainly because my mother was religious and she didn't want to encourage the devil. So, of course, as soon as I was given half a chance, I stuck to Halloween like warts stick to witches.

This year I have been lucky enough to score tickets to possibly the best fun that can be had on Halloween eve - Club Fangtasia. This is a True Blood inspired party. There are plenty of Sookie's (myself included), loads of vampires and enough blood on tap to keep those vampires away from the humans. This event is so popular, that it is now sold out. Make sure you pop back here later on next week for all the photos in their gruesome glory!

Once Halloween is over, it is time for NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated). This time last year I had absolutely no idea that the 80,000 word novel I was about to churn out in 29 days would be be picked up by publishing co-operative Fantasy Island Book Publishing. And such is the joy of the wild abandonment that is NaNoWriMo - anything is possible.

This year's theme is just as dark as last years, 'Emeline and the Mutants,' but nowhere near as bloody. Or so I hope. You see last year's novel was supposed to be urban fantasy, not fantasy/horror. Who knows which way the winds of creativity will flow once I start. I have tentatively titled this novel, 'The Ring of Lost Souls.' It will be based around an evil entity that has been trapped in an abandoned mental asylum. It's only point of contact with the 'real' world is via a ring. Needless to say my main character will be stupid enough to put this ring on and come in contact (read: possessed) with this entity.

Just like last year, my main character has graciously decided to set herself up with a Facebook account. So if you want to follow her life story as it unfolds during the month of November, then make sure you send a friend request to Isobel Claudette Smith.

Happy Halloween and good luck to all my NaNoWriMo friends - may all your plot bunnies be well behaved this year ;-)

How I Published My Novel by Rachel Tsoumbakos | WriMos FTW!

Check out my latest article on NaNoWriMo. Hope you all enjoy it! Who is attempting NaNoWriMo this year? Is it your first time? Let me know, and feel free to track me down via the NaNo link above, I go by the username 'barefoot writer'

How I Published My Novel by Rachel Tsoumbakos | WriMos FTW!