Camp Nano Spotlight: Zelie Petronella

Okay, we have reached the end of the A-Z challenge. It’s been my third year participating and I had a blast, but it’ll be nice to ease off on the pace of frantic blogging for a little, won’t it? 🙂 So, for Z I have a spotlight with Zelie Petronella, another great Nanowrimo camper that I met on the Nanowrimo facebook group.

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
Letter from staff. At firstly I wasn’t interested since April must be a busy month for me. I just started work again. But my friends on the FB group kept talking about this so I decided to join.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before?
No, It would be my first time participating in Camp Nano. Hope it going well.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
I already decide to write a novella. I only set my goal to 30,000 words. My plan is to write every day, though it would be great if I could finish my novella.

What’s your favorite part of Camp Nanowrimo?
I think the idea for having cabinmates is great. But unfortunately, I’ve got random cabinmates and some of them are quiet. I love the idea, still. It would be great if we can share what we love, what we want to learn and maybe what we know with other people.

Sneaky Ninja question! Who would you go to if you desperately needed help?
My best friend, Ray. He wasn’t able to participate in Camp Nano, though. But I know that I can count on him, all the time.

I’m in love with words. I’m expert in wordplay. I can’t spend a day without books. Writing is my passion. Music is my love. Teaching is my desire. Book is my soul. You can read more about me at http://zpetronella.wordpress.com/ Most of my post are written in Bahasa Indonesia, my mother language. But I try my best to write more in English.

Thanks for dropping by, Zelie!

 

Camp Nano Spotlight: Young Adult

Good afternoon, friends, followers, and A to Z challengers. Most of the alphabet has already been visited, and I’d like to thank Rochelle, aka slightlysmall for stepping in as a last-minute substitute for my Camp Nanowrimo Spotlight series. Let’s get to the questions!

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
I’m a part of a great forum on FanFiction.net called Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges. One of the threads was for Nano, which I already knew about, but then last summer the thread was active again, so I clicked on it to figure out why. Thus, Camp Nano knowledge.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before? If so, would you call it a success?
I haven’t participated in any Nano events before.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
I’m a bit of a rebel this year, mostly because I didn’t decide to participate until April 6th or so. I knew I wanted to write 500 words a day in April instead of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) like I did in 2010, 2011, and 2012. So I have been planning my story since about November, nailed down an outline in February and March (which, of course, has grown far beyond that outline since then), and already had about 5,000 words when April started.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?
Watching things come together, I suppose. The word count going up (I already hit my goal of 15,000 words for the month; now I’m aiming for 25,000, but I haven’t officially changed my goal), characters revealing intricate background stories to me that affect the story in interesting ways, everything about watching a story I’ve been wanting to tell for six months come to life is just thrilling.

Sneaky Ninja question! Tell us something that’s frightened you.
It’s certainly not the scariest thing that ever happened to me, but it related to Camp Nano so I will mention it here. I’ve always been more of a poet than a fiction writer and never thought I would ever write a novel. Then I started two FanFiction novels and thought I would never ever write a “real” novel. In November, I think, I came up with the idea for Damaged and I spent the evening hyperventilating because it just might work as a story. Writing stories is a scary, scary process, I’ve decided. So yes, deciding to write a novel frightened me.

A link to my FanFiction – Harry Potter, mostly, with one Hunger Games story. http://www.fanfiction.net/~slightlysmall

Thanks again, Rochelle.

Weekend Writing Warriors – Time Bubble Blues 12

Good morning! I think these are the last eight sentences I’m going to share from ‘Time Bubble Blues.’ Next week, I’ll move on to something new, possibly fresh snippets from “The Aurigae Express.” So I’m going to skip ahead out of the flashback with Mindy and show Jack still trying to think his way out of the box.

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Using the schematics for the TimeBubble room on his computer, Jack was able to find the Master Panic Button circuits, which were hidden in a metal box attached to the ceiling. Jack unscrewed the side panels of the box, and examined the control board. He wasn’t an electronic engineer, but nothing in the circuit seemed to be damaged, and all the right indicators were glowing green: POWER, NETWORK, WIRELESS, and STANDBY FOR SIGNAL. Jack fished out the Panic Button hanging from his belt, and stuck his thumb down on it, hard. The indicators for WIRELESS SIGNAL ACTIVE and RELAY lit up, just as they were supposed to.

And still the door didn’t open.

What was the next step in the process? The Panic Button Circuit relayed to the time warp controls, to collapse the bubble.

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/. And go check out the A to Z Challenge.

Camp Nano Spotlight: XRoryX

Well, we’re up to X in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, and this is typically one of the hardest letters to find a topic for, so I’m very grateful to XRoryX for responding to my call for Camp Nanowrimo writers to interview. And really big congrats to XRoryX (aka Sarah) for a really great Camp word count: according to her stats page  it looks like she reached her 50k goal on April 16th, and she’s currently at something like 60,775! Way to go Sarah. Let’s go to the interview.

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
In 2010 I participated in my first November NaNo, it was so much fun and I loved the forums so much I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I don’t remember when they first announced Camp NaNo, but because I was around the forums I heard about it and thought it sounded fun. I’m less busy in the summer so I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal trying it. Strangely enough I actually felt November was easier even though I was busier, but I still enjoyed it. I worried that if I did too many novels in a month, I’d lose the excitement or something, but I haven’t. If anything, it just gives me more experience writing, and more rough drafts to inwardly weep about due to their ridiculousness.

I knew they were hosting Camp again this year due to a forum post. Plus I sort of assumed they would since they had for the past two years. The months were a bit of a mystery seeing as they keep changing every year though. When I learned it was in April, there was a bit of a panic there, but I decided to try it. Ever since I started NaNo, I’ve done every Camp and every November NaNo offered. I love writing and NaNo is just the motivation I need to finish.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before? If so, would you call it a success?
Yes I have, four times. I think anytime I write anything it’s a success. But I did win all four of them, so I guess I’d consider them a success. I haven’t done anything with my past NaNo novels, there’s a couple that I think have potential if I go back and really work on them. I just don’t think editing is as fun as the chaos and excitement of that wildly written first draft, so I have the habit kicking my feet in that area. All my NaNo rough drafts come out as dreadfully embarrassing messes which make them even harder to edit, but I still consider their existence to be success all the same.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
Yes, sort of. I’m a wannabe planner, but a pantser at heart. One thing for sure is that I have to know character names, setting, genre, title, and premise. All the plot details are made up on the spot. So I know the general idea of what I’m going to write. I don’t really have a plot yet, I’m hoping I’ll discover that along the way. Almost all my previous NaNo’s have been in the Horror and Supernatural category so this year I’m writing a Fantasy. That was the first thing I decided. From there I got a vague idea that included fairies, and then paintings as a gateway. The idea is still very much just that, pretty hazy and not pieced together, but I prefer my ideas to be flexible since so much changes once I start writing. I’ve learned I just can’t outline. I’ve made myself in the past and then didn’t even use it. Nothing ever goes the way I think it will once I start writing. So yes, in my mind, I know what I’m doing to write this year, but knowing my novel, it’s going to have a different plan that it hasn’t shared with me yet.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?

Camp Nano Spotlight: White Lily

Okay, after a slight side track yesterday, we now return you to your regularly scheduled A-Z challenge theme of Camp Nanowrimo interviews with White Lily:

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
I’ve been a member of the original NaNoWriMo-site for a few years, and discovered it via that.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before? If so, would you call it a success?
Yes I have, July and August 2011 and June and August 2012. I only “won” one of them, so I don’t think I would call it a success. On the other hand, I would probably have written even less during those months if I had not participated, so it was certainly not a waste of time.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
Yes, it will be a “prequel” to the Fantasy trilogy I’m still (= forever) writing on, taking place about 20 years before. The antagonist in the Trilogy will be the Main Character in this one, showing that he is not really the bad guy from the start.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?
I’m an obsessive plotter and outliner, but this time I’m forcing myself to not plan much at all. I already know the world and most of the characters due to them figuring in the trilogy also, and I know the basic plot. I’m pretty excited – and a bit scared – to try to write without the constraints of a scene-by-scene outline.

Sneaky Ninja question! When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
Hard one 🙂

Since I was a kid, I have always tried to imagine up continuations of the storys I liked the most – kind of fanfiction I guess, tough I never wrote anything down until I was around 15-16. And that was not much. After that I started to imagine my own stories, still not writing anything.

I begun to write after I had my first child, in 2003. It was all those nights sitting up nursing and all those days at home from work that finally made me start trying to write down the story that had existed in my mind for a few years… That is the trilogy mentioned above. I’m still not finished with that – perhaps I never will be. I’ve written several other things since then, but that is what I always come back to….

One interesting tidbit is that I write almost exclusively in English – at least Fantasy – even though I’m from Sweden and not a native English speaker. I think the reason for that is partly because I pretty early begun to read in English (fantasy series tend to take long to get translated), so I am kind of used to ”thinking” Fantasy in that language  Also, the few online writing courses I’ve taken have been taught in English, and the English language often have more synonyms and variation of words than Swedish have. Often I find that descriptions of things and scenery comes easier in Swedish, while the characters ”talk” to me in English.

My preferred Fantasy story is one where things aren’t always what they seem and there are no clear line between good and evil. I prefer the term antagonist over villain, and very often characterize them so that I in many ways sympathize with them as much as I do with the protagonist of my story. That is why I have decided to make my trilogy antagonist the protagonist for this CampNano story, to explore the reason why he became what I know him to be.

Thanks for coming over to share the spotlight, Lily!

Camp Nano Spotlight: V for Victory

Good morning! No, I didn’t make my Camp Nanowrimo goal yet, though I’m getting close. Today, my scheduled A-Z challenge interview is with Kathy Szyamnski and she kinda wanted to handle the spotlight a different way, so let’s see how this goes:

So, tell us a little about yourself and your writing
Hi, I’m Kathy Szyamnski and I’m a new author, having published my first book this year (inspirational fiction).   I wrote the book years back, the writing of it was easy.  Life and kids took up my time and I didn’t get back to it seriously until the last year.  Multiple edits and rewrites took much more time and were “less fun”, more drudgery.  But any good book needs multiple edits and rewrites.   I ended up working with a professional editor, who was most helpful.  You need professional input on your work.  Authors can fall in love with characters and scenes and won’t want to delete them, or revise, and sometimes it’s necessary.  (If you’re not falling in love with your characters and scenes, something is wrong.)   It’s a fresh pair of professional eyes that are qualified to critique your manuscript.

Why did you get involved with National Novel Writing Month?
Friends at Nano can do that.  Some NaNo-ers are highly proficient and capable of giving good writing advice.  Many NaNo-ers are wanna-be writers, of varying levels of knowledge in the writing craft and ability.  They may be able to give you a perspective of your writing from a reader’s view (an important thing), but possibly/probably not excellent editing advice.  SOME will be able to, but not most.  And honestly, those really good top notch editors on Nano who are there to help others (there are some) are limited with their time.  A good professional editor is going to charge (with the exception of some things they might do like help out newbie writers on nano so many hours/week).  Side note: not all people who say they are professional editors and charge ARE.  Anyone can say anything today (even a degree is no guarantee they are good at their work).  And even a good editor may not click with you and your writing (that doesn’t mean he/she likes everything about it- not at all.)  Sometimes you may have to find a different one.  I lucked out and got a great editor my first try- AND we were able to barter for her services!    Anyway, Nano can be a place to get a certain kind of feedback- it alone won’t make your book ready for publishing.

What was your Camp Nanowrimo experience like?
I joined Camp NaNo because I’d heard so much about it being great.  Once there, I discovered it was huge.  I tried to find writers I could connect with, who shared my genre, some of my ideas and values, etc.  I did find one.  But it took a fair amount of time and energy to sift through all of it.  The forums are huge and one can easily lose track of time looking at posts.  My cabin was a dud (and I had requested cabin mates who said they would post at least daily).  It’s mid-month and I am the only one who has posted any word counts.

Why did you decide Camp Nano wasn’t for you?
I think for many, NaNo is a motivation.  I’m not the kind of person who needs external motivation.  I realized that becoming a NaNo “winner” really doesn’t mean anything, Except that you met some stated goal.  That is good, but I kind of say, “hurrahhh” without excitement.    Writing 50,000 words IS an accomplishment, but I don’t need Nano to tell me that.    For my Nano goal this month I am editing my second novel, 65,000 words.  All of it.   As I got to about Ch 8, I realized something wasn’t quite right.  It was all okay, I had fixed some sentences and things, but the novel just was gripping me like the first one did.  Okay is not good enough.

I realized I needed to go back and spend some time really getting into the scenes.  It has the same main character as my first novel, and i am well acquainted with him, but I needed to place myself in his shoe more IN the scenes, feel what he was feeling, ad so on.   I have begun to do that and began again with Ch 1 rewriting and it is coming out much better.  It also takes time, and I know I won’t meet my goal.  But that is fine.  I need to spend the time getting it right much more than I need to reach the 65,000 word editing goal.  So I won’t be a NaNo winner.  And that’s fine.

I guess I was expecting more intimacy with Nano, finding a nice small group of serious, somewhat like-minded writers and didn’t get it.  It had been hyped up to me by so many, maybe I was expecting too much.  The chat room was big, with lots of different people each time and many considerably younger people (teens).  I’m fine with younger folks, but I didn’t get a real sense of many of them being serious writers who really wanted to learn the craft of writing- they just wanted to write and have fun.   They want  to produce a good book, but didn’t seem willing to really work at the hard things that make a good book.   I’m not applying this to all who do Nano, I’m sure there are many who do work hard and want to be excellent writers.  But those folks can easily get lost in the vastness of Nano.  I didn’t find many of them.

So, what’s next for you?
I’ll work away on getting into the scenes of my next book.  (Part of my problem has been winter!  I walk an hour daily, but when I walk inside it’s on my treadmill and I watch TV while I  walk.  When the weather is nice, I walk outside and my mind often goes to my books, characters and scenes and things blossom- lots of time to imagine.  It’s April, Minnesota, and snow is still on the ground, so I have done little walking outside since last fall!  Soon, though, soon!)

Kathy is offering a  special on her book EXCLUSIVE to Kelworth Files readers, good until May 2, 2013.  Simply go to her website, www.ChangeTheWorldBooks.com and order the book (a PayPal purchase), and use code CHRIS3 to get $3 off the paperback or ebook!  Thanks, Kathy!

Camp Nano Spotlight: Undoing Chronicles

Good morning everybody! Yes, I’m still in the A to Z challenge. Yes, I’m still doing interviews with writers who signed up for Camp Nanowrimo. And today the spotlight falls on Rebekah Loper and her series, “Undoing Chronicles.”

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
I’ve been a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for three years now, so I was hearing information about Camp NaNoWriMo before the general public was, though I was not in any way part of the planning. I just got to gawk at all the plans as we were gradually fed information and then, finally, a release date for the event!

Have you participated in Camp Nano before? If so, would you call it a success?
I have half-heartedly participated, and I would not call it a success, haha.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
Well, I thought I was, and then three weeks before the event, my computer power cord died, and I ended up being without a computer at all for almost two weeks. Since I’m working on finishing a novel that I want to start querying this summer, I’ve switched out what I had planned to do for Camp NaNo with what I now NEED to do for Camp NaNo to stick with my goal.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?
My *ahem* 5k make-out scene. And the prologue. Everyone loves the villain (Lord Trist) in the prologue (though he has very little role in the book, but I think he’ll play a huge role in book two). Every single person who reads the prologue has come away from it and said “What a creep!” *evil cackles*

Sneaky Ninja question…
If I answered, I’d have to kill you.

(Ahem.) What one thing are you most thankful for?
My imagination. I don’t know what I’d do with myself without these stories.

I write fantasy as a general rule, and I love telling people “It’s like Lord of the Rings, but darker.” and watching the expressions on their faces. I blog at http://blackanddarknight.wordpress.com, and am a Rabid Rainbow Ferret. Just keep an eye out on my blog for more info on that last one 😀

The picture is by Ashly Mason. She’s a personal friend of mine with a graphic arts degree who drew that pic up as a favor.

Thanks for dropping by, Rebekah!

Camp Nano Spotlight: Tierney Clement

Hey there, friends, followers, and A to Z-ers. My next Camp Nano spotlight interview is from Tierney Clement.

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
Through the main NaNoWriMo website.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before?
I haven’t participated in Camp NaNo before.  I have participated in the regular NaNoWriMo, and some unofficial NaNo-esque events, but I haven’t been sucessful at any.  In part, this is because I write exceptionally slowly, which is why I’ve set a lower 30,000 word goal for camp.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
I’ve had the premise floating around in my head for a while, and there are certain themes I know I’d like to touch on, but I haven’t the slightest idea how it will end.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?
I like the way the characters are turning out.  When I began, I only had a very loose idea of what they would be like, and as I write they’re becoming more defined.  I also like that it’s a little different from the things I’ve written before.  I usually have teenage main characters, but that just didn’t work for this particular project.

Sneaky Ninja question! How many campers does it take to change a light bulb?
We’re too busy writing to bother changing the lightbulb.  We can do it in May.

About me:  I am a 20-year-old aspiring writer and part time student. Writing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve gone through stretches where I don’t write at all, but I always come back to it.  I love reading, and am constantly acquiring new books.  My hope is to one day have a massive home library.  I technically have a blog,tierneyclement.blogspot.com, and I fully intend to post there very soon.

Camp Nano Spotlight: S. G. S

Good morning everybody, and one note as we head into the last full week of the A to Z blogging challenge. It looks as if my interviewee for Y has flaked out, so if you’re doing Camp Nanowrimo this month and have a name, novel, blog, theme, or anything else that starts with Y, I’d love to hear from you.

Moving on, today my victim interviewee is S. G. S, also known as She That Walks Among Stars. Let’s get right to the Q and A!

How did you find out about Camp Nanowrimo?
I found out about Camp NaNoWriMo on the NaNoWriMo website.

Have you participated in Camp Nano before?
This is my first time participating in the camp.

Do you know what you’re going to write this year?
Yes. I am doing a twist on the Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table focusing in on Morgana and Mordred and their relationship to Arthur and Merlin. Guinevere gets to play the villain and I’m working on making Mordred a bit more heroic than he is in the original tale. By the way I’m taking a Merlin approach meaning that most of the characters will be the same age. Merlin is not going to have a beard. Plus there’s a bit of role change up.

What’s your favorite part of your Camp project?
My favorite part of my Camp NaNoWriMo project is coming up with new twists with the characters.

Sneaky Ninja question! What’s your favorite breakfast food?
Toasted plain bagel with melted butter

 

“I’m a leaf in the wind-watch how I soar”- Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburn in Serenity.

I figured I should open with that particular quote because it basically signifies freedom and I think that is a very important element in writing. I am a fan of Joss Whedon, Lord of the Rings, Maximum Ride, Merlin, Once Upon A Time, Lindsey Stirling, Piano Guys, Colton Dixon, Malukah, and Evanescence. I can proudly say that I am a fan-girl of Fang and Kili. I sing, act, and play guitar and cello in addition to writing. Well enough about me. My major writing product is the Broken Roses Trilogy, a fantasy series set in a kingdom known as Angolia. Broken Roses details the battles against the Shadow Demons that a group of teens called Broken Roses take part in. There’s plenty of betrayal, love, heartbreak, secrets and fighting. It’s one of my proudest moments and I hope that you will take the time to read it eventually. Going for publication.

“So do all who live to see such times but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”- Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Weekend Writing Warriors – Time Bubble Blues 11

Good morning! Here are your next eight sentences from ‘Time Bubble Blues.’ At this point, we’ve jumped back into another flashback of Jack and his family, from when he was getting ready to go to his TimeBubble room for the first time.

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“Grandpa, will you come with us to the park on Saturday?” Mindy asked him. Jack looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. “I’m gonna start as goalie for the first time.”

“No, sweetie, I’m sorry.” Jack turned back to the screwdrivers he was packing, and thought about how many screws he’d need. “But your brother’s birthday is in three weeks, and I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re going to be coming to birthday parties for a long, long time, but we’re not going to see you at all, except for that.”

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/. And go check out the A to Z Challenge.