I Love Language – 1/16/13

Tags

classes, reading, TNT, writing

One of my favorite lines from the movie Tombstone is when Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday looks at Johnny Ringo and says, “I’ll be your huckleberry.”

I never thought he said anything other than huckleberry and in the original script, that is the line. However, there is debate that the word that he should’ve said is huckle bearer. This article is a great look at how differences in just one word can change the entire meaning of the dialogue and can change the perceptions of a character. Go read it! It’s great.

I start my new classes tomorrow! I’m excited. 🙂

And my novel is halfway finished. It is now at 26k. I hope to finish it by mid Feb. We’ll see what happens with the addition of two classes.

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Are you Writing? – 1/8/13

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TNT, writing

source

I actually didn’t get much accomplished today. The doc is sitting at 17.2k. I went back and added a small scene to chapter 2 that I felt was needed. Anyway, though I didn’t get much done, I still wrote and that was the goal. 🙂

Also, if anyone wants some good advice, I follow a blog on Tumblr called editorjenn and I do recommend it. She makes some great posts about first drafts, writing and revising.

Short Post Today – 1/7/13

Tags

TNT, writing

TNT is now at 16.5k and Chapter 3 is completed.

My fav bit today: “Hey,” he said, milk sloshing out of his bowl. “I wasn’t the one who brought it up! If I had it would’ve been more like this.” Will dropped his spoon, clapped his hands together and snuggled them with his cheek. “Oh, Carlos,” he said, voice high. “I love you. Ravish me. Marry me and let me have your beautiful brown-eyed babies.”

Silence is Awesome – 1/6/13

Tags

TNT, writing

I went over to a friend’s house today to borrow her silence. Yes, you read that right. She lives alone. And it was so awesome. She worked out in her yard and I sat at her kitchen table and wrote. No kids clamoring for my attention. No television on. And I managed 3k today. That brings TNT up to 13k! It’s amazing what silence can help me accomplish.

My favorite bit today: “Or a treadmill,” Carlos amended. He took the towel from Eliot’s limp hand and wrapped it around the bag of ice. “Ice your nose and your eye and take some pain medicine,” he instructed. “If you start acting like a zombie, become disoriented, communicate only in grunts or groans, or start thirsting for human brains, go to the hospital.”

Word Count Worry – 1/5/13

Tags

TNT, writing

Today I hit 10k on TNT. Very happy with my progress.

So something interesting came up today about word count. What is the word count for a novel? I had a friend who said a novel was 70k-120k and was very condescending about my goal of 60k. So I did some research. NaNoWriMo classifies a novel at 50k. The Nebula award for science fiction classifies a novel as anything over 40k. Another website says category romance should be around 55k-75k (which is what I’m writing). That same website talked about editors were staying away from higher word counts and didn’t want anything over 110k.

After a bit of a panic, I did consult with my friend that has been published several ebooks and she basically said to just write and don’t worry about word count. Some publishers prefer novellas because they are quick reads.Others prefer novels. But at the end of the day, as long as the story is engaging and the content is good, it will work out.

Still Going – 1/3/13

Tags

TNT, writing

TNT (the novel aka Twelve New Things) currently sits at 7.2k. I’m doing very well with plowing through and following the outline. I’m a little worried about the switch in POV for the 2nd chapter because it feels like it might slow the narrative down but it is essential in establishing Matt as a character and how he perceives the world and Eliot (protagonist).

I am really enjoying my secondary characters as well. Especially Will and Jen who are Eliot’s roommates. Jen is a bright spot but also a little oblivious. Will is… a loyal friend but kind of a mess. He’s my favorite probably. (I know you’re not supposed to have favorites but I do!)

Anyway, a fun bit of what I wrote today – “Not many people could appreciate the inherent comedy in a guy taking a hit to the nuts with a pie while trying to rope a plastic cow.”

First Step – 1/2/13

Tags

goals, school, TNT

A few things to discuss today. First, I looked up the books I need for the two classes I am taking in the spring semester. Literature of Popular Culture – Detective Stories and The American Novel. Combined, I will be reading 22 books this semester. It feels overwhelming. Really overwhelming. It will be two books per week.

Here is the list:

Detective Stories – The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, And Then There Were None, Death and the Good Life, Blood Shot, The Dante Club, The Longman Anthology of Detective Stories, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

American Novel – The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, Beloved, Catch-22, Slaughterhouse Five, The Awakening, Love Medicine, The Sound and The Fury, Invisible Man, All the Pretty Horses, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Huckleberry Finn, Portrait of a Lady

I’m a little scared.I’m a pretty fast reader but when reading fast, you can lose some details. We’ll see how it goes.

Today, I did manage words on the novel Twelve New Things (working title). I got stuck on a bit of dialogue but I received some great advice from another writer friend. “Who wants a piece of advice about writing a book? Perfection is the enemy of the first draft. You can edit crap; you can’t edit nothing.” So I put in some placeholder info and moved on. As of today, TNT is 5,000 words long in this incarnation. I’m excited! My two main characters, Eliot and Matt, have just met each other and I feel like I’m making great progress.

Looking forward to keeping up the good work this year!