Nano Spotlight: S.G.S.

Good morning. I’m pleased to welcome S.G.S. back to the spotlight – she participated in my Camp Nano A-Z spotlight series earlier this year!

S.G.S’ history with Nano:
This is my second year participating in NaNoWriMo. Although I did not win last year, I managed to get farther in my novel than I thought I would. I participated in the 2013 camps. I only won the April session. I really enjoy the NaNaWriMo experience, it pushes me to try my hardest and to have fun.

What are you writing about this year?
I’m writing about a girl who doesn’t believe in fairy tales and ends up in a fairy tale world of sorts. She is mistaken for a princess and is entered in a competition for the Prince’s hand. As a result she encounters a bizarre cast of characters including the prince’s younger brother, a clever and dashing thief, a fellow competitor and a priest who seems to think that this girl is the savior not to the mention the Prince in question himself who is very odd. And of course there is something more sinister going on which threatens everyone in this land and our own.

Who’s the best character in your Nano novel?
Gareth, my thief should be the most interesting considering his personality and the role he will have in the story.

What advice would you give to all your fellow Wrimos?

What’s up Wednesday: Nano’s Eve

What’s Up Wednesday is the weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions…

What I’m reading:

Finished ‘Engaging the Enemy’, still listing to audio-books for “Heechee Rendezvous” and “The Ringworld Throne.” Read a little more of ‘Jumper Cable’ in the Kindle app on my iPhone, and gone back to reading some magazine stories; I finally finished off the October/November issue of Asimov’s magazine, and just this afternoon I started a fun serial from the latest issue of Analog: “Lockstep!”

What I’m writing:

Well, I’m trying to finish one more round of revision on “Return to Civilization”; the critters.org feedback has been very encouraging, so hopefully I’ll be able to submit it somewhere tomorrow evening! I’ve also done some more discovery work on my new Nano idea, which I’ve tentatively named “Measuring alien love on a kitchen scale” 🙂

What inspires me right now:

Nanowrimo is only days away! It looks like we’re going to have a crapload of local write-ins this year.

Also the heroic Agents of SHIELD; very inspiring!

What else I’ve been up to:

Got my Hipster PDAs put together in time for the Wrimo Kick-off party, and getting ready for a Doctor Who convention that was inconveniently scheduled for the first three days of Nanowrimo. Still trying to keep up with Team Ambitious critiques; this round I only have one story to critique, so that’s a bit of a relief.

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

Nano Spotlight: Cliff Anello from atlasArisen

Good morning, friends and followers. I don’t have long before I need to catch the bus to work, so let’s meet Cliff!

Cliff’s Nano Experience, in his own words:
This is my fourth NaNoWriMo. My favorite NaNo memory comes from my first NaNo, which I didn’t win, but I did have a friend who won. She self-published her novel on CreateSpace, and when I got my copy, it was inspiring. She had written a novel, and here it was, in paper form, in my hands, and if she could do it, so could I.

What are you writing about this year?
This year, my novel is going to be titled How to Cope with Being a Loser. I don’t know what it will be about yet, but the title came to me, and it was too good not to use. It’ll probably be horror, with deep religious and philosophical undercurrents.

Who’s the best character in your NaNo novel?
“Best” implies a value judgment, so I can’t really say which character will be the “best,” but the most interesting character will definitely be the narrator. Growing up, I struggled a lot with things like bipolar disorder, and there were times when I would “hulk out” and punch my furniture until my knuckles bled, and I’m very close to somebody with nightmare disorder and early onset schizophrenia. My narrators always reflect this experience. It’s a lot more fun for me to write, and it gives me a lot of leeway to experiment with the unconventional.

What advice would you give to all your fellow WriMos?

Nano Spotlight: Lost Limey

We’re only a few days from the start of Nanowrimo! I had a blast at the Hamilton regional Kick-off party yesterday, we may have had a record turnout, about 30 writers and half a dozen ‘Novel Adjacent People’ in the basement party room of Kelsey’s, and I had Hipster PDAs ready for all the writers, which included advice from these spotlight interviews! So today, let’s see what advice, and other things, Lost Limey has to tell us:

Limey’s history with nano:
I first became aware of the NaNoWriMo phenomenon around 2007 or 2008, thought “that seems like an awesome idea,” and promptly forgot about it for the better part of four years. Finally, in 2011, inspired by Jeremy Clarkson ofTop Gear’s infamous catchphrase “How hard can it be?” I signed up. I surprised myself by getting the story completed and a little over 50,000 words written within the thirty days. I’d won at the first attempt. I also managed a word count win in 2012, though that story remains unfinished. I took part in a lot more write ins in 2012, and befriended several fellow participants, and we know take part in an informal monthly critique and/or write in gathering on the first Sunday of every month. So far, each one has been the highlight of that month for me.  With two wins in two attempts, I’m going for the hat trick in 2013…

What are you writing about this year?
For the first time, I’m tackling a fantasy novel, in large part because I want to develop my abilities at world building, and NaNoWriMo doesn’t offer the time to get a lot of research in during the month, which is what I think scuttled my attempts at getting my 2012 superhero story finished. I have a clearer idea of what I’m trying to do this year, after two years of being a seat of my pants writer, I actually have a plan and parts of an outline already done, with enough time to get the outline completed before November 1st sneaks up on me. My one sentence story summary is “A dissolute knight is possessed by a century old sacrificial victim to overthrow a cruel god.” And I already have the way I want the prologue, which is about a human sacrifice all figured out.

Who’s the best character in your Nano novel?

Weekend Writing Warriors – Love is a Masterpiece 9

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

Continuing with sentences from ‘Love is a Masterpiece’ this week. Cassandra has asked a poor young man, Henry, to create a diversion, but doesn’t really get a chance to explain why…

Snippet 1 Snippet 2 Snippet 3 Snippet 4 Snippet 5 Snippet 6 Snippet 7
Snippet 8

“Her lot is all the same, thinking that because we’re not as richified, we’d do anything for a few shillings. Well, you can forget it, my lady.”

Cassandra considered making one more appeal, coming clean, and then she heard her name called again. “Cassandra dear, where are you?” Cassandra stood up straight and tall, knowing that Mother would be keeping an eye out for her bright golden hair, and stepped away from Henry and Raven.

She pulled her mother away from the line of waiting couples.  “One last time I beg you, and then I hold my peace forevermore:  do not ask this of me.”

“You do not wish to love Geoffrey on your wedding day?”

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/.

Nano Spotlight: Introducing Laurie the Supreme Empress of the Universe

She asked me to call her that. 😉

Laurie’s previous experience with Nano, in her own words:
I signed up for Nano the first time in 2010, but right after that we moved, and so it kind of got tossed aside in the frenzy. I meant to do it in 2011 but forgot (lol), and then in 2012 I was in the process of editing my first “it’s really going to be published!!” novel. So this is my first REAL year. I have had an idea and story rolling around in my head since the late summer, and I figured that participating in Nano would give me the gumption to get it done…or at least really good and started.

Laurie’s links:
My nano profile:  http://nanowrimo.org/participants/wordtender

My blog:  http://literallylaurie.wordpress.com/

My other site: http://wordtenderinfo.wix.com/wordtender

What are you writing about this year?
I am writing my first fantasy story this year…or maybe it is more of an adventure. I keep going to the genre lounges trying to figure it out. It’s the story of Elise, who lives in a small town in the Appalachians. She grew up hearing about the legend of Elysion, a supposed mythical place that one could find somewhere in the mountains. Her grandfather told her stories about his mother and father and their journey there. Elise assumed that most of it was a tall tale that her grandfather had woven and enhanced year after year, but when she returns to her hometown after graduate school to help care for her ailing father, strange things begin to happen, and she is the only one who seems to notice. Her mother is overbearing in her attempts to matchmake, and when one particular prospect comes to dinner, Elise discovers that he has always been fascinated by the legend of Elysion as well. In fact, he is part of a small group of people who are all taken with the place and it stories. My novel centers around their journey to Elysion, the life that is lived there, and the growing conflict within its walls between the old ways that have sustained Elysion but affected the outside world and the desire of many of its citizens to embrace the outside world. Along the way, Elise will also search for her great grandmather, Elsie.

Who’s the best character in your Nano novel?

Nano Spotlight: WhiteWolfWriter

Good morning friends and followers. Though I hesitate to give Sushi less than her full day in the spotlight, something tells me it’s time to post another spotlight, so it’s WhiteWolfWriter’s turn. You can find out more about her on her blog.

WhiteWolfWriter’s NaNoWriMo Experience…
This is my second official year participating in NaNoWriMo, or at least, that’s what it says on my account. I had a different account prior to this one several years back… with the older account however I never actually participated, I more so just told myself I would over and over again until finally I deleted that account, I forget what prompted me to remake an account…

One of my favorite parts of NaNo last year (aka the first year I actually participated) was the write-ins. My region meets in a coffee shop inside a bookstore, ultimately the perfect place to write the novel I was working on as it took place in a bookstore! I met so many great interesting people. We had word wars and the tangent talks, write-in day became my favorite day of the week, and ultimately, I’m convinced, the reason I ended up completing the challenge.

What are you writing about this year?

Nano Spotlight: Sushi Must Write

Good morning, friends and followers. This morning, it’s my special pleasure to bring you a very special spotlight interview with the wonderful Sushi–a wrimo among wrimos, admin of the Wikiwrimo, and someone who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several times at Night of Writing Dangerously events in San Francisco. She’s also the only spotlight victim so far who has dared to appeal the usual questions, on the grounds that she didn’t have a Nano plot. So… Sushi!

Why did you decide to participate in NaNoWriMo the first time?
I wanted to be a writer since fifth grade but never could finish writing a novel. By 2002 I had started one novel but gave up after three chapters. One evening in October I was reading friends’ diaries on Diaryland when one of those people mentioned a thing called National Novel Writing Month. Novel? Month? This immediately intrigued me because according to my teenage logic, how could I be a writer if I couldn’t finish writing a book?

So without any idea of what I was getting into, I signed up and finished with six hours to spare. And I’ve finished every year since.

What’s the most unusual part of your writing process?
I write a lot. 50k is a minimum, not a threshold, and after years and years of Nanoing, I take that very seriously. After all, NaNo is a self-challenge and there’s no fun if you’re not challenging yourself in some way.

I’m also a pantser, and the fact that I have only a tiny idea that may or may not work out doesn’t bother me one bit. Give me a concept and a character, and I’m ready to go. The rest can get figured out as I go along.

What advice would you give to all your fellow Wrimos?
This is a thing I could on and on about. But just to name a few:

Back up your novel in multiple places. Anything can happen: you wash your USB drive, you delete the email containing your novel, or your hard drive dies. Or all three happen on the same day. The more backups and the more regular backups you make, the better. Every year multiple people lose their novel at the end of the month. Don’t be one of them. Back up your novel.

Get involved in the NaNo community. I’ve been fortunate to meet most of my best friends through the NaNo community, and this community is supportive and kind. So go post on the forums, get involved with your region, and make a writing buddy or two. Writing a novel is much more fun with company.

What’s up Wednesday: This Space for Rent

Well, it’s Wednesday, and I’ve been busy posting nano spotlights and eight-sentence snippets on the blog all week, so what else is going on in the life of Kelworth, you may ask? What’s Up Wednesday is the weekly blogfest that gets you the answers!

What I’m reading:

Still in the middle of the audio-book version of “Heechee Rendezvous” on my iPhone, and loving the science fiction business dealing of it. Started another library ebook on my new tablet, “Engaging the Enemy” by Elizabeth Moon, number three in the great Vatta’s War series. Also did some shuffling of ebooks, trying to get things organized so that all of my pocketable gadgets have one good book (or a few good books) that I haven’t already read cued up and ready to go, so that I don’t need to stare at the library list and go ‘Duh…’ if I’ve got my Palm TX and a few minutes to read on it. In connection with this, I’ve started reading “Jumper Cable”, out of the epic Xanth romps.

What I’m writing:

Not much. Finishing Steampunk Roswell 51 took some of my creative steam. I did get some good revision done on “Return to Civilization”; the new draft is out to the critters.org readers today, so hopefully I’ll be getting some good feedback on it. Also done a little prep-work for a new Nano idea involving an alien love triangle, and an Earthling city on an alien planet facing a threat of eviction.

What inspires me right now:

Wrimo gatherings! There were actually four of us at the Evensies write-in this weekend, and RSVPs are coming in for the Hamilton kick-off party next Sunday. Also, ‘Castle’ playing around with the notion of time travel. 🙂

What else I’ve been up to:

Trying to find time to practice drawing, like copying a preacher in perspective after Charles White. Doing critiques for Team Ambitious. Still reading slushpile for James Gunn’s Ad Astra. Working on ML stuff, like rounding up Nano swag I can give away as prizes, and delving into the ancient lore of assembling hipster PDAs.

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

Nano Spotlight: Danielle Shipley

Today’s spotlight comes to you from a creature of many names: Danielle E. Shipley, Deshipley for short, and/or the Mastermaid.

Danielle’s experience with Nanowrimo:
An aunt who knew I loved to write linked me to NaNo in October of 2010. I decided to give it a try, and it’s one of my favorite decisions I ever made. I enjoyed a mini-addiction to the discussions in the forums; I wrote like the wind; I met some of my best friends, real and fictional, and started what would become a story I love above all others I’ve written or read. Since then, I’ve also taken part in a couple of Camp NaNo summers, as well as NaNo 2012. Here’s hoping I can do it all again this year!

What are you writing about this year?
After wrestling with indecision for weeks, I think I’ve settled on a quiet tale about a young lady whose afternoon walk along a forest preserve trail takes a couple unexpected turns when she 1) accidentally makes everyone worry that she’s dead, and 2) befriends a fellow who is actually dead.

Who’s the best character in your Nano novel?
Probably the dead guy. It’s seems I’ve accumulated quite a collection of great characters who are technically dead, formerly dead, or in some way undead. This one may be among the noblest of them, and he’s cute and friendly to boot.

What advice would you give to all your fellow Wrimos?
1) Whatever it is you want to be writing, write that. 2) Figure out what works for you (which, who knows, may not be the same as what worked for you in years past), and just run with it, full speed. And of course, 3) have fun! 3.5) Stay committed! 3.75) Commit to fun!

Sneaky Ninja question! Who is the most important person in your life?