Progress. Also, looking ahead to NaNo '09.

It's been a little too long since I've updated. I apologize. I don't have some amazing excuse.

I haven't had a chance to read much lately (I haven't read anything in the last 2 months, which is highly unusual for me). I did see the 6th HP movie, which rekindled the desire to reread the books (went with a few people, and we spent lunch afterward discussing movie vs book canon). So that *may* happen in the next few weeks. I may have more time for reading, come mid-August. I'm hoping so.

I am still writing the fantasy. I have two friends working as beta readers. One has a degree in Creative Writing, and the other describes herself as someone like my "average reader" or target audience. It's good to have feedback from both. They each have a favorite character (or two) picked out, and they have picked different ones. That makes me feel a little better--more than one of my characters are likable, and it means that some of the characteristics I was trying to showcase actually came through in execution. I am writing the eighth chapter now, and so far, the story's about 180 pages. I'd say it's close to half done. It's about to take a fun turn here, in chapter eight. I'm looking forward to that part.

I still don't have a title for this story, but I'm much closer on that front. I have it narrowed down to the type of idea I want conveyed in the title. Hm. That sounds odd. Basically, there are three or four words that I'd like included in the title in some way (it doesn't have to be all four). So I'm currently brainstorming ideas and alternate words and phrases around these words, to see what comes up. Kind of like free association. Once I pick a title, I'll post about it.

The next story I do will likely be the fifth idea I've had (the one that came with a title). Yes, it will be out of order, but this idea forms more and more as time goes on, while the YA urban fantasy hasn't given me a lot in the way of new ideas. There have been a few (I've figured out who/what the sidekick is, and their personality. I might even have figured out who they're being named after), but not as many as with the other story. That one's either urban fantasy or magical realism. It could lean either way. I still have some time to decide. It'll be this year's NaNoWriMo piece. Speaking of, I've found some more friends who will be participating this year, and while none of the new NaNo friends are local (one on the West Coast, two in the UK), it will still be fun. We can still communicate through the Chat. I'm looking forward to it.

A New Idea

There was a two or three year period where I had writer's block, not all that long ago. And I mean that as in absolutely, completely, one hundred percent blocked. No ideas. No ability to write anything--no fiction, no creative non-fiction, no poetry, nothing.

Apparently, this current period is to make up for that.

I was hanging around in the chat (which, for the purposes of here, will be the Undead Chat, or just Chat) which I frequent, and some members were posting a few lines here and there of some of their bits of writing, and a new idea just hit me. A wonderful writer was giving us some of the beginning of something they'd written and haven't yet finished, and one line of hers triggered a new idea for me. They would very, very generally be about something similar, but the actual plot would be completely different. The amount of similarity is more like "a story about a guy who has xxxxx". I know it's an idea that's been done before (I think I may even have seen it around the NaNoWriMo boards last year, in a couple of incarnations), but there's really not anything new under the sun, now, is there? It's all how you work it.

The nice thing about this new idea, which is tentatively "Novel #5", is that it came with a title. A one word title, and I like it. I like the connotations (reminds me of domestication, and my pets, and loads of other stuff). It's kind of snappy. And it fits the general bits of the story, but doesn't give anything away that won't be known right off. It also lets me play with the idea in my head some more... I'm still trying to nail down if the character is in his current situation (which is the title, actually) of his own volition, or someone else's. Also, if his condition is more scifi, or fantasy.

I still have #3 to finish (trying to wrap up chapter 4 right now, in between typing this and keeping an eye on the Chat). Er... and #2, which was put on hold a bit for the freight train that was/is novel #3. And there's still novel #4, which needs to be fleshed out a good deal before I can begin to write it. And I really should edit #1...

For once, lots and lots of ideas, not enough hours in the day to get it all done and still function. I'm thinking I will concentrate on the 3rd novel, and take occasional moments to finish up the last 20% or so of #2, for now. #4 might be my NaNoWriMo novel for this year... and if it's not, #5 will be.

With Apologies To My Spell Check

I have stumbled upon yet another indication that I am writing fantasy. MS Word popped up with the message that there are too many spelling errors in my document, and it will no longer automatically check them. It is true very few of my characters have "normal names". Heck, *I* don't have a name the spell check will recognize. To give you an example of why there are little red squigglies all over my document, here's a list of some of the common words that are currently underlined:

Characters:

• MAIN: Varin, Laz, Melia, Theron, Ruele, Aedan, Cyne.
• SECONDARY: Kallista (Lista), Thais, Mataan, Okara, Kyto, Faran, Eirene, Finna, Uriel, Tillia... and some others.

Races:

• Prismata. Also, the plain old humans, called the Pallidus by the Prismata
  
• Subsets of Prismata: Laaien, Littorine, Viridian, Argenteum, Crymysin, Pleione.
  

Locations:

• Cereto and Arforah, at the moment. More starting shortly.

I am currently wrapping up the last bit of chapter four. All of the main characters have been introduced, and we've gotten a good feel for four in particular: Varin (our hero), Laz (his best friend. Laz is a nickname, by the way, and he hates the actual name), Cyne (the sister of Varin's love interest/girlfriend; also widow of Thais), and Aedan (an outcast due to his breeding, the only person who sees him as an actual person is Cyne, and she has good reason for it).

The plan is to finish the 4th chapter tonight and immediately start the 5th, where the actual physical quest begins. This story's actually been *fun* to write. Kind of exciting, too.