I was a winner in 2004, but skipped last year . . . but this year I’m BACK! I’ve decided that I want to pursue more writing in my life (maybe with an eye to getting published), and this seems like a great way to get myself back in the writing groove in a serious way.
I think the book I’m going to write is something I’ve had in my head for a few years – a fictionalized account of an ancestress of mine who took her family west through the North American wilderness in the early 1800s. Loads of research in order for me to write it, though – so I guess it’s a good thing I’m creating this goal now. Maybe I will actually DO the research before November, giving me plenty of time to WRITE when the time comes. :)
See more progress on: NaNoWriMo 2006
- Current Mood:
determined
Comments
Of course, now I've got a mangy second draft around here somewhere which actually needs a COMPLETE re-write before I could hope to do anything with it. But oh well. At least I completed the challenge, right? ;)
1) Do it. Again. Please. The storyline sounds wonderful.
2) I would LOVE to read your book from 2004, if that's OK. Where can I find it?
3) I just might tap into some of that courage of yours to get my book going.
4) I love that icon to death.
Best of luck, Wendy. See you in the final chapter.
2) Heh. My book from 2004 needs oh so much work. I wrote it out quickly (which was fine - that's the point of the challenge, right?), and then I spent more than 40 hours editing it, doing a re-write which included a gigantically huge change to the plot and one of the characters. But a while back, I decided that I want to change it back to the way it was originally, so, um, most of that re-writing will have been for naught. I'm sure I'll be able to salvage something of it, but still.
Having said all that . . . if you're really curious, I do have a few things online that you could read. I'm warning you - this stuff is pretty rough! :D I started a journal just for my writing, and I've gone ahead and friended you with it, so now you can read what's there. I'm putting links to the stuff I think is fit for consumption. Unless you are SEVERELY masochistic, I'd recommend not just wandering around the rest of the journal. You might stumble on something so badly written it will suck out your brain. ;)
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/9023.html
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/9567.html
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/9408.html
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/2247.html
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/9959.html
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/5562.html
And this is some extra material that is used as chapter introductions - something I actually thought I might someday expand and publish entirely on it's own. The Grrl's Guide to the Tarot:
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/2535.html
Now, this last link, you might not want to click. It's a section from very near the end of the book, and contains huge, gigantic, plot-busting SPOILERS. Then again, the chances of anyone ever seeing this thing in its entirety are slim to none, so maybe it's not that big a deal. :D
http://users.livejournal.com/dragons_quill_/8134.html
3) YES YES YES! You should definitely do some writing! DO NANO WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!! (Hee - yes, I do get excited about things, don't I)? :D
4) Thank you! :)
(Unfortunately, ALL the romantic stuff was completely made-up though. Isn't that the way it always goes)? :D :D :D
And, actually, I also have John Warner's 'Fondling Your Muse.' That's more inspirational (and even laugh outloud funny) and insightful than Baty's book.
Yours if you need them.
Please let me encourage you in any way I can. You are so talented and have so much to say..
Oh and your story idea is something I LOVE! My friends here did that...wrote a fiction book based on her ancestors diary of the Oregon Trail (A Sudden Country by karen Fisher). She did very well with her book.
YAY! YAY! YAY!
That is SO COOL that your friend wrote a book like this! I'm not sure if I should try and find a copy or not - I'm so interested, but on the other hand, I'd hate to read something that I would end up (subconsciously or not) trying to copy . . . but I'll read it eventually, that's for sure!
And thank you SO much for your encouragement. Wow - this makes me feel like maybe I really can DO THIS! :) :) :)
*loves you*
I want to read the result!
Ahh...starting to feel the first stirrings of wanting to write again :)
Y'know, it's funny...after 4 years of doing this, I've developed a kind of pavlovian conditioning. That first hint of chill in the air - the first glimpse of fall - and I start getting twitchy and excited. I don't know what my life would be like w.out NaNo!
YAY for NaNo!