Of Writing and Ruin

     This week is not about distractions, although, I am conceding defeat in this Nanowrimo. Yes, for the first November since I started taking part in 2007. Why? Well, I've mentioned that book 5 was just not coming together and while I've gotten nearly 20k on it, I hit a point where I need to have that plot figured out prior to writing it. Normally, if I was having this problem, I would just write through it and fix all of those issues later. Here though, I noticed a particular theme. All of my decisions to make kept returning to prior ones made in books 3 and 4. That was when I realized that I really need Fox's Facade and Noble's Choice solid before I continue writing book 5. 

     This doesn't mean that I won't be working on it... it means that I'll probably finish the next draft for it next year, when I'm more prepared to write it and have those issues worked out and a great plot to keep you guys interested. 

     Fortunately, it isn't as if I have nothing else to work on right now and I'm not just talking about Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin on the Switch. For right now, I am back to editing Fox's Facade and planning out what changes here will lead to in Noble's Choice. Also, while it's still a little hush-hush, I'm currently making a few plans for the new year. If all goes to plan, I should have more information on those big plans a little further into December. 

     All that said, I do want to talk about Sakuna. I've been playing for six or seven hours now and feel that I can make an educated review on it. 

     Firstly, know that my review is good. This game is fun as hell. Sakuna is a bit of an unsympathetic bitch when you start, but even just six hours in, I can tell that she's improving. Its part of her growth as a character; something that I can really appreciate. She starts off as a Goddess that has always had the world held out to her on a silver plate. She's never had to work for it. And while her parents have gone missing, its clear that she doesn't let it bother her. The game starts when a group of humans find the bridge to the celestial realm and sneak into Sakuna's donation of rice and sake to the head Goddess looking for food. Upon catching them, she attacks and accidentally lights the sake and rice on fire. In punishment, she and the humans are sent to the Isle of Demons and charged with clearing it of evil. 

     The gameplay is really fun, a mix of rice farming sim and sidescrolling combat. I will say that the first year of growing rice, you feel out of your element and wish they would just tell you how to be a master like they do in other games. This, like Sakura's maturity and growth, is deliberate. When you first arrive on the isle, Sakuna has never had to grow rice before, she's just always had it done for her. Learning how to grow rice in minute detail isn't easy and I applaud the game for not making it feel like it is. The combat is very cool and despite being side-scrolling is difficult without being impossible. I'm playing on average, because I don't generally do combat in games, but I am enjoying this one. I just met my first real boss fight and am losing horribly. But with every failed attempt, I learn more about the bad guys and plot how to destroy him and thus, I get farther each time. Because there are multiple levels, you don't need to be forever fighting the same battle. If this one is too tough right now, choose other levels and improve your gear before going back. 

     I will say that if the idea of growing rice, day by day, doesn't interest you, then this may not be the game for you. A lot of this game is growing rice. You need to pick weeds daily, check on how much water is in your paddy each day, fertilize your stalks, and even chaff and hull your rice yourself. I am finding it impossible to put down, even with its difficulty though. It's a different type of game and I for one am here for it.

     The game is entirely voice-acted and I have to say, they didn't skimp here either. The cast really comes through, making you feel like you're personally getting to know all of the characters. Also, the art is incredibly gorgeous and the character design is beautiful. If you're looking for a game to pick up this holiday season, I can heartily suggest this game. 

5 out of 5 stars 

     Offhand, the Divine edition is amazing. It comes with an omomori charm showing Sakuna, a three-disc soundtrack, and a 128-page artbook in addition to the game. Totally worth the additional $20 or bucks.

CD Case Front Cover

Inner CD's contain different pictures on each album

Artbook; and the art is amazing

Omomori charm with a picture of Sakuna

Back of the omomori charm

Distractions

     It's Friday again, and this time, I have some good news. I have actually been writing again. Not as much as I would like, but it's coming and that makes me happy. I think I have nearly 10k of words on book 5, which is pretty darn good considering that I'm still working on some of the character motivations. It means that this book could end up being a lot like book 4 was. When I worked on book 4 during NaNoWriMo, the story just wasn't coming. I finished 50k, but the story didn't make sense till I worked over the plot again. I ended up rewriting all of it, but book 4 was way better as a result. 

     Of course, I can't guarantee that this one won't end up being pretty perfect as well in the end. That's the thing with drafts; a lot of the time, you just don't know till you go back and read it again. 

     That said, there has been a lot to distract all of us this month. The Boys is out on Amazon Prime and while I refuse to pay Amazon every month for Prime (their streaming service leaves a lot to be desired), I don't mind paying for it a month to get this show. As well, K/DA has been gracing all of us with their music and I'm here for it. Villain had an amazing video for it... I can't wait to see Drum Go Dum later today. Lastly, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin has finally been released. It's a video game about an adorable goddess, daughter of a harvest deity and a warrior deity. You are the goddess, banished to an island and tasked with clearing the isle of dangerous oni. It's a mix of side-scrolling adventure and Story of Season farm sim. Because while you may be a goddess of Ruin, you cannot forget that you are also a goddess of Rice. You have to grow rice, take care of the humans in your care, and become the goddess you were always meant to be. I haven't played it yet, but I can't wait to. 

Picture was taken from XSeed's website... The art is phenomenal as you can see.

     So, while I get back to writing, tell me what's distracting you this November. Or are you just as diligent and on the job as ever and I'm just a slacker? Let me know.

Whoops!

Every Nanowrimo is different. Some I whiz through, never slowing down. And some, I have to run my way all the way to the end, playing catch up the whole way. 

This year is going to be one of the later. Seriously, if it isn't one thing, it's another. 

However, instead of whining about it, I am going to celebrate my wins and introduce you guys to a new-to-me original song from Amalee and Divide Music created for Hazbin Hotel. This song could make me ship Charlie and Alastor all on its own, though I certainly hadn't even considered it before I heard this and saw the art. 

What do you guys think? Also, let me know who your favourite characters from Hazbin Hotel are? Personally, I love Cherry Bomb and Angel, though Vaggie is up there as well. I love her fiery personality. Oh, and definitely don't stop at just this song. Amalee does amazing covers and I have more than a few of her songs on my playlists. 

Whelp... That Did Not Go According To Plan...

In defiance of all my posturing, life decided that it did have to throw one more monkey wrench into my plans for Nano. My tendonitis flared. Since then, I've been resting my wrists. I did get 2k before I had to stop though. And all of that was on story. I do have basic ideas about where this book is going and in fact, the first quarter of the book is essentially figured out. I'm missing some motivations, but I have no worries that I won't figure out what I'm missing there. And I can work on planning out the story even with that missing bit. 

Also, having that beginning figured out is a relief in and of itself. I have ideas for the rest of the novel as well, including a very interesting storyline specifically for Kuzunoha and Isashi, which is awesome. 

And while the plotting part is always tough, I love seeing a story come together. That moment when everything starts working is amazing. So, My Day 5 total is 2091 words. Let's see if I can't add some more to that before the end of the day, yes?

Let me know if you're doing Nanowrimo this year? If so, what is your word count at? 

OH!!! 

Back on the 28th, KDA put out their new video finally! If you haven't seen the brilliant video or amazing song yet, check it out below. This time, Riot is giving us a full album being released tomorrow and has teased that we may get up to four more music videos for the group, essentially coming out the new few Friday's starting on the 13th. I am out and out stoked for this and cannot wait to see what they have in store. 

Come At Me, Bro!

Yesterday, I finished the read-through of my novel. All of the big plot issues have been fixed, but I still have a lot of work to do on it. Three to four scenes need to be added and I may need to rewrite one or two chapters to give them to other characters for balance. That said, I've already fully finished editing chapter one and I can't wait to get more time to work on it in the next few days. 

Part of the reason I'm so excited to work on it is because Kitsune-ken book 5 isn't coming together like I want it to yet. Truly, procrastination is an incredible tool. It is perfectly happy editing Fox's Facade or happily daydreaming about book 6 (which is essentially completely plotted at this point). Book 5 on the other hand is stuck at, "um, well it starts here and then maybe they go here, but I don't know why... I guess maybe they could go... um, well they need to end up over there, at any rate". Okay, I'm exaggerating slightly... I do have a full map and a reason they're heading there... I just don't have anything solid yet for that in-between part.  

I've considered other fixes (writing book 6 first, just editing this Nanowrimo, taking up drinking, etc) but I know those are all procrastination fixes and that won't help anybody. 

Instead, I'm going to have to do something I have only ever done once before; dive headfirst into the darkness in front of me, knowing only that my finish point is somewhere ahead. Much like a game of Don't Starve, I'll have nothing on me when I start the journey other than the desire to survive. I'll have to make my own tools and carve my path with the bits and pieces I find on the way. 

Fortunately, this isn't my first rodeo... Lord's Curse started with only a bit more than that. In the end, you all said that it might even be better than the first book. So, yeah, I know I can do this. 

Come at me, Nano. I'm ready.

So Close

I can practically taste the victory already. 50,000 words are just ahead of me.

I'm currently on track with 46,694 words. Depending on how early I finish writing this, I may have time to get in more before midnight. Which does mean that I'll be keeping this short.

The story is going swimmingly. I just got into the middle. All of the villains have been introduced and all of the major incidents have been shown. All of my characters have been having their chance to stand in the sun, and I've even introduced a new viewpoint pov character. I discussed the plot over with my husband and I am brimming with ideas to bring all bits of the story together at the end. I'm expecting the rough draft to sit at 75k-80k when done and 50k of that should be finished by the first.

I'd like to have it finished before I start editing Lord's Curse, but I'll have to see when that gets back to me. I have a deadline as soon as the story is back in my hands so that deadline will be the priority though. I'd rather get the second book ready to send to you than make sure that book 4 is roughly finished. I should be ordering the cover soon, I'm expecting sometime in the next few weeks so hopefully, I'll have a reveal coming out to you sometime in January or February.

And that is all that I think I got for you this time around. Until next week, keep reading!

Nano Update

Every Nanowrimo, I eventually suffer from a condition I have dubbed "Nano-Squishy-Brain". Nano-Squishy-Brain happens when you've kicked your own ass so hard from writing that you feel happily exhausted and want nothing more than to melt into a happy ball of goo that never has to think about writing again. It's indicative of pushing oneself harder than is perhaps warranted. For some, it's writing 500 words a day, for others its writing 2k a day or even writing 20k in a day. For some, its caused by working and going for your 50k at the same time.

For me, it normally happens around the 3rd week of Nanowrimo while working a full-time job. This year, it hit me about eight days in. I had no idea why, until I remembered that I'd been kicking my own ass to finish my novel and getting it over to my editor before November. I ended up taking two or three days off to rest, play some Don't Starve and relax. Now, after that rest and a 5k day, I'm still tired, but nowhere near as tired as I had been. I've gotten caught back up and should have no problem finishing Nano. 

The plot of this book is going much better than last year's. I'd made the unforgivable error of not reading book 3 before trying to write book 4, which meant that I'd forgotten a lot of the little things. Emotions, tiny incidents that would end up being a huge deal in the next book. This means that while I'm about 1/3 of the way through the rough draft, this book is already leaps and bounds better than the one I tried to write last year. I'm hoping to finish writing it as soon as I'm done editing Lord's Curse and then moving on (almost immediately) to editing book 3 (which will make all of my helpful little notes during this read-through useful).

I am still searching for a day job, and I have a dozen other little things I'm trying to complete, like writing up back cover copy so I can contact my cover artist about a cover for this one and getting a website up. I will probably order the cover as soon as I have the back cover written so that I can at least do a cover reveal while figuring out the physical details I'll need to get for her. Hopefully, I will have all that figured out for you by mid-December. The website may be longer since I need to design it and figure out how to transfer over my current blog to it and look into all of the programming details. Since I am not a programmer, I'll just say that one is a way's off for now.

I will add that I haven't had any real art time in the last few weeks and I'm feeling it now. I am looking forward to really playing around with digital art in December. 

How is your Nanowrimo doing? And if you aren't writing, is there any other challenge you're doing this month?

Lord's Curse is Out of my Hands & a new Stylus is in!

First, I am sorry that this post is coming your way late. I was so eager to begin writing last night that I worked straight until midnight and then started writing. I only realized that it was Friday morning when I crawled into bed. On the other hand, I actually have updates for you! 

On Monday, I finally finished my draft of Lord's Curse. I sent it that morning to my editor, but I don't have an expected date back from her yet. As soon as I know more there you'll get an update as well. Either way, as soon as I have it back I will be working on it. At that point, Nano will become me working on Nanowrimo during the day and the edit of that book during my evenings. 

Still, I am amazingly excited to have finished it finally. 

The other bit of amazingness for me is that my husband picked up the stylus that I have been wanting for a year. Why is this cool, I can practically hear you asking. Styluses are a dime a dozen, essentially. And in most cases, you're entirely right. But this is the Windows Stylus, specifically geared towards use with their Surface Pro systems. Which is what I have. The stylus essentially makes it so that your Surface Pro can be used as a drawing tablet, with all the layers of sensitivity, pen tilt and functionality built right into most programs, you can now use your pen to, as they put it on their site, 'Think with Ink'. For me, it turns my Surface Pro5, which I've been using for my mobile needs into an actual drawing tablet for me. The last time I tried to draw on a tablet like this, it was with less than optimal tools and I got a much less than optimal result. 

This picture was my first attempt with subpar tools.
While it wasn't horrible, it was also very bad.
There was a lot that I couldn't figure out how to do,
and in the end I gave up entirely on shading since
everything was wrong with it and I just wanted to try
it again from the beginning.

This was my second with the subpar tools. And while it was a marked improvement, it still wasn't quite what I would have been able to accomplish on paper with more traditional tools.
Actually, I have an urge to redraw it using my new tools as an example of improvement to myself. Perhaps I'll add that to my list of tasks in December. 

I could have made it work obviously, but it wasn't anything like working on paper and I found it irritating. However, working with the new pen and the Concepts app, I have not only really enjoyed the results, but I have also enjoyed the process of making them. Also, I've never really liked the way most programs deal with their colours, and so to have the colours in it listed and matching the Copic colours, which I already use is great. It makes it easy for me to choose colours and decide exactly what I need to add. 

This was my first drawing attempt with the new stylus. Trying to figure out blending was killing me, but I loved the feel of drawing with it. Also, I clearly need to work on drawing hair more often. Those buns are hilariously bad. Still, as a first digital try, I really loved the potential.

This was my second drawing. While I still can't say that the bun is any better, I do like the shading in the hair and on the face and skin. I really found myself reaching for tools not available with the free program while playing with this; specifically the lasso and copy/move tools. Its why I'll be picking up the full copy when I have a job again.

And I think that will be it for this week. Let me know what you think of the drawings. Also, are you taking part in Nanowrimo? What is your word count so far? I've had a slow start. Day 1 gave me a migraine that wouldn't quit, which led to me only getting 1055 words for my first day. 

Obligatory Nanowrimo Post

Obligatory because its nearly November and I talk about November every year. That doesn't mean I don't absolutely love doing it though! Year-round, I tell every person who happens to mention that they once harbored a secret dream of writing a novel about it, write down the site address for them, let them know what my avatar name on the site is and try to get them to add me. Why do I jump into this so gung-ho?

It is because books have always played an important part in my life. Some of my earliest memories are of my father reading my favourite Wuzzles storybook to me. One of his favourite stories to tell is how one day he got tired of reading the exact same storybook for his daughter every day before bed. He suggested that I should read it to him. I was 4 or 5 and if I remember correctly, I was a little confused. But in the end, I did it. My father thought I was a brilliant reader, the best he'd ever seen in a young child. Until he realized that I had finished one line before ever flipping the page. It was then that he realized that I pretty much had it memorized, nearly word for word and I was actually trying (badly) to use his cadence to tell the story. 

He decided then and there that I had to read at least one book (aside from that one) to him every day before he would read me a story. Even when I was too old to have my Dad read me to sleep, I listened to him read to my little brother. Every week, he would bring home comics for my sister and brother and new novels for me. 

Very clearly not a picture of me, but I do all of my writing on laptops, wherever
 I happen to find space to pull it out. I now have an office though. One day you'll
get pictures of it. 

In high school, I took a class called Typing 104. My family had owned a computer for 3-4 years at this point and I was mainly taking the class to learn how to type business letters to prepare me for the real world. I admit that I spent the majority of this class writing a novel. It wasn't a very good novel of course. In fact, it was very bad and I never finished it.
However, years later, it was on my mind when I found out about Nanowrimo and tried my first few years. I hadn't considered that I could ever really write a book and publish it. That was something that important people who were way more brilliant than me did. It took years to hone my craft and more to push past my fear to publish. 

Books have always been one of my catalysts for growth and I want to try to make sure that other people have that same love for them I do. I consider books one of life's necessities, up there with food and water. Your mileage may vary, of course. But for me. I write. 

And every November, no matter what else is happening in my life, I put fingers to keyboard and write. I always will, even if there is no Nanowrimo.

Will anyone be writing this Nanowrimo with me?

Inktober & Nanovember

Its nearly September and I am already eagerly awaiting October and November. Not because I'm in love with pumpkin spice... in fact, I am firmly on the apple cider side of this debate. Back to my apparent love of fall though. In addition to November being my favourite writing event of the year, NaNoWriMo (more on that in another post, but its basically a month-long writing event every November) I also take part in a few other yearly events. One is MerMay, where you try to try to draw mermaids every day in May. The other is Inktober, which is what I'm talking about today! 

 

Inktober, as you can probably guess, has to do with ink and the month of October. Started up by Jake Parker a few years ago, it's mainly a month-long challenge to simplify your art tools and work on your craft. As per the rule, you are supposed to try using only ink to draw with for the month. If you're an absolute purist, Jake Parker suggests using only black to do your work. Personally, I use the full rank of colours that P.H. Martins Bombay India Ink, makes (24 in all), plus another 5 to 10 in different blacks, golds, silvers, whites and even inks that sparkle. I also use a pencil to sketch in my design and much like I would never put out something without an editor looking at it, I also prefer to have some idea of what I'm drawing before I start putting down permanent lines.

Of course, it couldn't stay in its purist form forever, which is why you'll now find all sorts of creatives re-purposing Inktober for their own needs. You really need to work on your watercolour? You can use it for the month. What about pencil crayons? Go for it. There are even a few who turn it into a writing event, writing flash fiction and short stories every day. Some even work digitally all month, drawing up incredible works on their computer.

My thoughts on different forms of art being made under the Inktober name? As you've probably guessed, I'm fine with it. Last year I followed Lyfe Illustrations on Youtube (and on Instagram) and she did some of the most gorgeous artwork I've ever seen with ink and watercolour. You do you, Boo.

I would like to mention that all of the above pictures are mine, done during last years Inktober. 

So, will you be doing Inktober with me? I'll try to add my pictures each week at the bottom of my posts, but for daily art follow me on FB and Instagram and use the hashtags #Inktober and #Inktober2019 to see everyone else's art each day.

These two of the pictures are not mine. These are two of Lyfe Illustrations Inktober pictures that I was able to get from the Kickstarter campaign.

Summer Camp as a Kid was Never this Fun

I may or may not have accidentally lost track of what day it was today... I thought I had an extra day to have this up. So, I apologize for being late and having this been a little bit short. I promise I'll try to have something better and less thrown together for next week. 

For this week though, I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart; Writing! 

April is the first of Nanowrimo's official events this year. Camp Nano, as it was officially dubbed, gives writers a chance to write or edit and unlike Nanowrimo itself, you can set your own goals. Think 50k is too much to finish? You can set your goal for 25k. Want to edit instead? Choose how many minutes or hours you'd like to edit (3000 is usually what is suggested if you're going for something similar to a 50k event). 

As with every year, I am taking part, though I expect that I won't make my goal. Give me November and I can get 50k done without too much trouble. Give me any other month and I'll struggle. I'm currently trying to work past my own limitations and get used to working on a creative endeavour so much. 

So, I can hear you asking, what is my goal for this month? 3000 minutes of editing, which comes out to 50 hours. I'm currently behind on that goal a little bit. I should be at 1200 min and I'm only at 825 minutes. I really need to buckle down, but I'm not horribly surprised. I celebrated my 11th anniversary with my husband on April 1st. My husband had taken some time off for it and we ended up fitting in leaving the city for a few days, so I knew that I would have to work to get caught up. 

The other thing you may be wondering is what I'm working on. I have made it no secret that I have written ahead in this. Book 2 and 3 are written in rough draft and I have started book 4, though it needs a lot of changes to make it match what I've written so far. This month specifically I'm working on editing book 2. I've finished my first round of editing last year and sent to beta readers. With their review, I've gone through the novel and have written down a full set of changes to make. 

Quite a few chapters will need very minor edits, but a few parts of the story essentially will need a full rewrite. I'm hoping to have this round finished by the end of April so I can start sending it to my editor for a professional run sooner rather than later. My current goal is to have book 2 out for you guys later this year, probably in November or December, but that's still very far off so don't quote me on that quite yet. 

On a separate note, I have some great news for everyone! I will be doing a public signing at a local Chapters! On April 28th, I will be at the Chapters near Sunridge (2555 32nd St NE, Calgary, Alberta, T1Y 7J6) from noon to 3 pm for a signing! Please stop by to see me and pick up your copy of my book! While you can currently pick up my book from Chapters, this signing is an important first step in actually getting my novel into stores to sell, so if you're in Calgary, please stop by! 

EDIT: Unfortunately, the date of the signing has changed. Due to circumstances, the signing will actually be held on June 9th. Sorry for the confusion!

Year-End Review

          Hello out there! This is your friendly Canadian author. Its been one hell of a harrowing year, so while I don't normally do one, I think I'll use this platform to finally do a year-in-review post. I must admit, I usually have this idea to do one and then forget and never end up posting one. That's because while I love posting these, I am always exhausted after Nanowrimo and I never seem to pick it back up before mid-January. This year, since I wasn't working a full-time job, I had the time and energy to do blog posts and keep working all through December. Which was good because it was amazingly busy. I'll get back to that later though. 

          I'll start in January. I was working away at book 2 in my novel series and had actually begun editing it before I got hurt. For those of you who didn't know, or forgot, I ended up falling head first down an escalator. I was seriously hurt, and for the next four to six months, I pushed myself way too hard. I've never been a good sick patient and always try to get back too soon. I honestly probably could have been up and about and a hell of a lot healthier had I just settled back and healed, but instead, I kept forcing myself ever upward. And I can't say that I'm back to 100% yet. I am healed enough for government work, of course. I do notice that I get headaches when the weather is changing though and that I tend to get depressed more often than I'd like to admit. Fortunately, neither is debilitating, even if I do tend to take it easier than normal when something is acting up. 

          Despite that setback, I started pouring my heart into my art again. I say despite, but it was really closer to because. My head hurt and I couldn't read or look at screens for very long, which was driving me mad while I healed. For two or three months I couldn't write at all, just because trying to write down my thoughts actually hurt and would cause headaches. Fortunately, drawing was easier, perhaps because all I was trying to do was make something pretty. In February, I entered a picture I'd coloured into Rhonda Parrish's cover contest. She had a lot of art she'd had commissioned for her anthologies but wanted one of the picture's coloured for the cover. I was honoured when she chose mine for the front cover of the anthology. So, I had my first very official publishing credit to my name early in the year for cover colouring. 

          September was a time of loss. My husband and I lost our cat, Kuro, to liver problems and within a week of that, I lost my long-time job with the Cooperators. I had worked there for over ten years, but my position was phased out. Honestly, I welcomed the chance to spend a few months dedicating my life to my writing. And while I am looking for a new job already, I haven't found one yet. 

          In October, at the very last moment possible, I published my short story, Fated. Unsurprisingly, it didn't make waves or even many ripples (though I did receive my first review on it just a few days ago and it was a five-star review. Please, if you want to give me the gift that keeps on giving, more reviews are the way to go), but I was honoured to be able to contribute it to Rhonda Parrish's Giftmas project. They did incredibly this year, surpassing their goal of $750 to be donated to the Edmonton Food Bank. In the end, $1,127 was raised, which will really help the food bank get food to the needy this holiday season. 

          Finally, I sent in my first novel to my editor and received it back in early December. Since then, I have been working hard to work on all of the edits and just a few hours ago, I managed to finish them. No, you didn't hear that wrong. The novel is done and as edited as its going to be. I've got a shiny new title and I'll be ordering a cover for it tomorrow, though, with the holidays ongoing, I assume it will be a few days before I have a cover to share with all of you. However, I am going to be working hard behind the scenes to get this novel out to you guys as soon as possible. I will have pre-orders going out as soon as I have an idea of how much the physical novel will end up costing, so if you're interested in getting a signed copy, please subscribe to my page here or keep up with my Facebook page, since I'll be putting the news up there as well. 

        What did you end up doing for New Years? Did you have any successes that you want to share? Please, tell me about them in the comments below!

Giftmas

      Happy Holidays, everyone! I am here to tell you that it has been insanely busy over here this last week and a half. First, for Nanowrimo, I finished with 57,161 words. I was so tired I took a couple of days off reading and resting my poor hands. I wrote another 7,000-8,000 words and then my kickass editor got my novel back to me. Since then I have been working at editing my novel. I currently have 48 pages out of 246 finished and ready to go. I'm hoping to have at least the e-copy available for Christmas, but I'll let you know as soon as I've seen how long this very final run of edits will take me. 

     More importantly, Giftmas is the other thing I'm involved in right now. A friend of mine, Rhonda Parrish, is hosting her yearly Giftmas. She and I, and a whole slew of other writers are asking you to consider donating to the Edmonton Food Bank. This is a charity that is close and dear to Rhonda's heart, having used the service before. Having had to rely on the Calgary Food Bank myself on occasion, I can fully understand why she likes showing them the love and trying to get them a large donation every year. 

        However, it isn't only donations you'll be seeing. There are a host of authors offering free daily short stories (some Christmas-based and some not) to get you excited and hopefully willing to donate. In addition, there will be prizes and gifts sent your way... not the least of which is a free e-copy of my short story, Fated, for everyone who donates more than $1. So if you've been holding off on buying my story, you can donate and get it, along with other items. Please check her site for all the awesome details and links. 

          You can donate below using the link provided. 

Merry Giftmas to All!

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Week Three and a Character Shakedown

          I had the best of intentions. Really. I meant to post last week.

          Then Klei, apparently not knowing that November is supposed to be essentially ignored by the world, opened its beta release to its newest DLC for Don't Starve. Hamlet is a Don't Starve world where the pigs have a civilization, but the rest of the world is a terrifying array of deadly everything.  I grabbed it and have already lost probably 20 hours or more to it at this point. It helps that it basically starts the game by saying, "Yo, you, the one playing this game. Yeah, You. So this edition is essentially Don't Starve-Hardcore Mode. If you're still starving to death within days in the regular game, you might want to play that mode a bit more before playing here."

          It does not disappoint. I can get to 15 days or so, but the last time two times the Thunderbird has come for me, I've died. Once because I was in the pig settlement and on my last few points of sanity... I think a nightmare got me before he could land that time. The second time I was in a battle with some houseplants that wanted to eat me and they got me just as the bird arrived. I am loving figuring out the world though. Wait until after Nanowrimo, but please pick up this game when its officially released on December 6th.

          As for my Nanowrimo, its going. I had a really tough time getting started. After 8.5k I finally figured out where I should be starting the story. Fortunately, those words weren't wasted because its Nano and they still count towards my total. I have stayed ahead of the game pretty much all month. I'm about 7k ahead of where I should be, giving me about 32k of words that actually further my plot. Unfortunately, at that point, I got stuck and my characters started falling into a bit of depression on me. 

          To get past that, I decided to talk to my husband and take an evening off from actual writing to do some planning (also, for those of you asking, yes, those words count towards Nanowrimo too. If it's written for the story during November it counts. Period.). I started by writing a kick-my-characters-in-the-ass paragraph. It was full of dire warnings and general bitching, which was not only cathartic but useful and funny as hell. Let me know if you want me to share that here. I don't think it has any secrets for the books in it, and you guys might find it hilarious. Anyways, from there I spent about 1300 words or so figuring out where all of the characters were going. Basic stuff; what is your motivation, where does it have a pivotal change and who's with you when it does? Why is that a pivotal change and what did the villain do to you to get you there?

          Surprisingly, this is working for me. 

          Here's a reminder that my poignant short story, Fated has been released and is available, pretty much wherever you buy your ebooks from. Check the links below. And please remember to leave a review about it and give it a star-rating, if nothing else. Those really help my book to get seen by more people. 

          Finally, I'm going to end here and put up a fair warning, that I think my next blog is going to be an art one... Maybe talking about Inktober, but certainly talking about my first Paletteful Packs subscription box. Keep an eye out for it!

Fated on ibook
Fated on Android
Fated on Kobo

Week One

          The first week of Nanowrimo has kicked my ass. Between releasing my short story, sending my novel to my editor and everything else, I felt like I would never get to write! Of course, time doesn't actually stop, and when Nanowrimo did start, I had a story, but no good starting place and despite telling myself not to start my characters before the trouble starts, I did. Mostly because there is trouble. Just no new troubles. Finally, we lost our internet connection for 24 hours which forced me to look at my story objectively and stop plodding on even when I could tell it wasn't working.

          How has all this translated into my word count? Well, our total for day 7 is 11,669 words. I'm already above that, sitting at 13,110 words. So, just 226 words off of having tomorrows total finished. I've only written 500 or so words today though, and I'll be doing more tonight. So in word counts, I'm doing just fine. The problem is in the quality. Around 8k of that total won't even make it into my finished rough draft. So I'm just over 5k into a draft I'm willing to work with.

          Still, Nanowrimo is a time for playing with plot lines that don't work and false starts. It's a time to forget your inner editor and ignore everything, right? Well, that is right, which is why I'm not really down on myself. I am above my daily total and while I'm clearly doing some editing on the run, it's only because my writing flows faster and smoother knowing that I have corrected the major hurdle I was facing. Also, those words still exist. Knowing that they weren't the right words doesn't negate the fact that they were written. I prefer to say that I have found one of the ways not to write this novel... it just took me 8k to do it.

          What about you? Are you doing Nanowrimo this year? If so, what's your word count? What hurdles have you crossed in week one?

          The last thing I wanted to mention is a bit of self-promotion! If you follow me closely, you may have heard that I released a short story on October 31st (If you didn't see it, consider yourself informed). I have reached #46 on Amazon's Hot New Releases in the anthology and short story category and is #292 on Amazon's Short Reads in the Science Fiction & Fantasy section.

          If you'd like to help me to get these numbers a bit higher, and you've already taken the step of buying my short story (Thank you), there are two more big things you can do. The first is to please leave a review. I am not asking for only 5-star reviews; any review helps to get my story a bit more coverage out there in the world. So wherever you picked up my story, leave a review and throw a few stars at it. You can also do that on Goodreads, if you prefer to leave your reviews all in one place. The other way you can help is to spread the word. Tell your friends and family about it and convince them to pick it up and star it themselves.

          Thanks again. I'll be back with another update in a few more days. Until then, good luck if you're writing and happy reading if you aren't.

Man, has it been busy!

     Well, it has been a super busy couple of days since my last update. I have been trying to do at least one October picture each day this year, but I am behind by a couple of days now, four to be exact. On the other hand, most of the pictures are actually working out reasonably well, I think, and I'm definitely getting better at using the medium. I did take some time off today to work with my Copic markers though. I figure they still count since I'm inking the picture first and then using the marker ink to colour it. Though, honestly, I'm not one of those people who is a stickler for the rules here. If you're doing #Inktober and you're doing it digitally, or you're just working on hatching and some of them are in pencil or something, hey, you're drawing, and therefore you're doing it right. Are any of you out there doing it? Let me know.

     I also have two bits of very good news for all of you. The first is that I should have an update for when I'll be releasing a short story digitally! Yes, you heard that right, I will be publishing something very soon, I just want to get it back from my editor and read it over before I reveal the official date of publishing. I am keeping my fingers crossed for October 31st, but either way, keep an eye out for it.

     The other bit of good news is that I have finally finished the first edit of my second novel in the Kitsune-Ken series. I am going over the document once more for punctuation and grammar and then the novel will be sent to my editor as well. It's my hope that I can work on edits for it starting in December/January, and then I can have a release date for it reasonably soon after the first one drops. The third book (as you know if you've been following) was written last November for Nanowrimo and I'm hoping to start looking it over for editing soon too. This November, I will begin work on book four in the series. I will definitely keep all of you updated though. I am starting up a mailing list that I'll use to send out updates. I haven't had a chance to actually set it up yet, but if any of you want to be sure you're on it, please dm me on FB or something with your name and your email address and I'll add you in. I promise I will only be using it to update you with publishing information.

     Anyways, I'm going to jump off here and open my document to do some editing before I head to sleep for the night.

Moving Fast!

     It has been an insanely busy week. Inktober has kept me moving. Still, I've managed to actually keep up so far. It really helps that I drew the first five days in advance. I've since drawn another 2 days worth and will be trying to do another two or three today. Having the drawings in advance really helps me to spend the day, mostly considering colour and not worrying horribly about composition. Here's an example of my favourite three so far.

     One nice thing about having my pictures sketched in advance as well is that it gives me a bit more time to spend my time working on my book. I came down with a cold during the week which means I did less than I wanted to, but that doesn't mean I accomplished nothing. I sent in a short story and my novel to my editor and am sending away a request for a cover (so keep an eye out later this month for a cover reveal). in the next day or so. I have 32 chapters of my novel is done and probably another 12k to 15k left before its completely done. Part of my issue is that I found a full chapter I needed to rewrite, but I needed to move it entirely to fix it, which meant that I've had to rewrite it twice now. I'm pleased to say that it is finally working and I'm really hoping to have the book done by the end of next week and hopefully sent in to my editor as soon as she has time. Then I'll be spending the rest of October, getting ready to sell my artwork and preparing for Nanowrimo.

     This is getting a bit longer than I was hoping though, so I'm going to call it here. Are you going to be doing Nanowrimo this year? And are you taking part in Inktober? How are you doing with it?

A Response To Why I Write

          A friend of mine, Kate Larking, blogged earlier this week at Anxiety Ink, talking about why she writes. At the end of her blog (which I totally suggest you check out), she asked what our reason for writing was. It reminded me that it's very important to know why you write, even if your answer is only, "I like to."

          Personally, I write first and foremost, because I enjoy it. Writing is frustrating, but I apparently like frustrating things. Just look at who I married if you want a real world example. (Okay, so most of you don't know him... it's a context joke. Just laugh, trust me on this one.) I would like to say that I could stop writing if I wanted to, but I would be lying. I can give it up and distract myself with other things I enjoy, but I always go back to writing, so yeah, I don't think I could stop if I wanted to.  I write because when I write I am happier. If you want to see what I look like when I'm not writing, just look at how I am when I'm not able to work on my books.

Nanowrimo's Key to Creativity that I received for supporting their recent site upgrades by donation.

          Friends have pointed out to me that I choose everything, from my jobs to my technology choices, around what I require for my writing and that I essentially am always working on my stories in my head, even while working or doing other jobs. There is always some part of my mind working on it. I study writing, words and story and each year go to at least one convention to learn more. I also usually take part in a variety of online writing courses, purchasing the Great Courses audio books on the subject when I can't.

          The thing that surprised me to realize this year was that I have nothing in there about publishing. I have changed my life for my writing, but that does not mean that I have to publish. To be satisfied with my life, I don't need to ever publish. Sharing my writing with my friends is and will always be enough for me, even if I dream of more than that.

          I don't know about you, but there is something very freeing about that.

Camp Nanowrimo

          If you've been following me for any amount of time, then you probably already know that I'm a big fan of Nanowrimo. Though I understand why some are opposed to it, I have always believed that if you're writing, then you're a writer. You may not be good enough to be published; in fact, you may write only for yourself or for your friends. There is a difference between author and writer. You have to be a writer to be an author, but you don't have to be an author just because you write.

          Arguments aside, I love it, but I don't usually take part in the camp's that happen twice a year. Generally, I'm busy, editing or not writing... Even when I do try it, I've failed. This year, though, I have a novel that I need to get done. I've been editing and dragging my ass on it for far too long. I've set myself up for a challenge of 50 hours. That should be more than enough time to finish this novel. Then I can see about getting it to my editor and back again, hopefully in time to publish before this year's WWC in August.

          So buckle up, its going to be a bit of a crazy April! Are any of you joining me? What are your goals for the month?

My Top Ten Tips for Writing

Oh, I almost forgot! I gave a presentation on my top ten writers tips for ARWA with a few of the other awesome ladies there. The girls at the meeting loved my list (as well as some of my turns of phrase) and I figure my tips can only help you achieve more words during Nanowrimo, especially since week two blues may start setting in this week.

Top Ten Tips for Writing

     1. Read. Watch TV. Go see a movie. Interact with the stories you see being told by critiquing what was done well and what was done poorly in each. By interacting with the stories others have crafted, you’ll learn a lot not only about how to construct a good story as well as what sort of stories are being told right now, but you’ll also learn about your own style of writing.

      

     2. For each new book, figure out when you work best. I’ve had novels that only seemed to flow if I was working on them at 2 am in the afternoon and others where getting to work 45 minutes early (around 6am) could earn me 1500 words a day. Don’t expect to always write at the same time for every novel. Circumstances change; your writing should be flexible enough to change with them.

     3. Similarly, figure out where you write best for each novel. Do you write best at home? At work? Headphones on but no music? In a public place, like a coffee house or restaurant? Each novel will draw on different inspirations. Keeping your muse amused is your best bet for writing without issue.

  

     4. When issues do arrive, take time away from your keyboard. Slamming your head against the keys, forcing it, just makes for bad writing. Try to write past it. If it doesn’t work, call a friend, head for coffee or a walk and let your mind dwell on it for a while.

     5. Also, remember your friends when you’re writing. ‘We’ are smarter, wiser and more intelligent than you will ever be on your own. I can’t even imagine how many times I’ll be 100% stumped and blocked, told my husband about it and had him provide a perfect way out for the characters. Use your friends and family whenever you need help.

     6. Find a writing program you enjoy and use it. If Scrivener helps you write, use it. If Word is your thing, go for it. If you need a typewriter in a dark room, lit by candles, it's still valid. Whatever you use, find out about its ins and outs, tips and tricks, so that you can concentrate on your story when you sit down, not the program or technology you’re using to write it.

       7. Writing is hard. Don’t berate yourself over it. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s(Que Baz Luhrmann’s Wear Sunscreen). Seriously, though, allow yourself to make mistakes. Especially for people who don’t plan every detail of their novels in advance, sometimes a mistake can lead your story not only back on track, but to an even better place than you’d originally thought.

     8. Find a friend to keep you on task. However, a critical component of this is having something that you need to keep them on task for as well. Whether it's writing, chores, or something equally unpleasant. Otherwise, every time your friend turns to you and asks, you’ll feel like it’s a nag and that isn’t fun or motivating.

     9.  Patricia Briggs once said that every writer needs a good 'Mike'. In a specific sense, she means her husband Mike, but in a less specific sense, she’s still entirely right. Her husband edits her work, keeps her on task, takes care of her when she’s writing, and can’t take care of herself. He keeps their web page active, keeps track of their online shipping, and does all the heavy lifting and carrying for her when they travel to conventions and the such for work. Whether your ‘Mike’ is a husband, wife, good friend, or family member, there may be many like it, but that one will be yours.

      10. You can polish shit writing into gold. Trust me, I’ve done written the dullest of turds before. But you can’t edit an empty page. If you are writing and it isn’t working, you have just learned one way, not to write this scene. You have still learned something and you can apply that lesson to all of your future works.