It's close to midnight, and NaNoWriMo's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight, your lack of outline almost stops your heart
You will not scream, your inspiration comes because you'll make it
You cannot freeze, your novel looks you right between the eyes
You're energized
'Cause this is NaNo-oooo! NaNo night!
And no one's gonna save you from the plot about to strike
You know it's NaNo! NaNo night!
You're writing for your life to share a marvel, novel tonight!
Mwahahaha! 'Tis NaNoWriMo, my follower friends! And I (Trinity) am so ready for NaNo!! I'm far and away more organized than I was last year, so I think I have a good chance of finishing. It's amazingly difficult to get where you want to go without having a map to tell you how to get there. And what does that incredibly vague analogy have to do with anything? Well, map=plot. If that makes any more sense.
Plus, this year's project is my baby, so I'm already super excited about that (I think I've mentioned this before). I have this huge desire for people to get to know my characters (a.k.a my brain's best friends), so I want to portray them properly. And yet at the same time that's a little scary, because each character likely represents a little section of my personality, which suddenly makes this book seem like it will be very revealing... 0.o *gulp*
Oh, well. I'm still excited.
What about Hannah? Oh, she's freaking out. Didn't do much planning. She's a mess. But going for it anyway. Yay for her! (Everyone cheer her on. She's working with timelines and her head's about to explode, I'm sure.)
So what will happen to the blog during November? Haven't the foggiest. Either we'll be so busy writing we won't post much, or we'll be so busy writing, it'll be easy to just pop a post out. Actually, we'll be sure to keep you updated on our word count. But beyond that, no promises.
I did get my playlist put together, though I haven't had time to look into everyone's suggestions yet, so keep your shirt on if your suggestion didn't make my list. And uh, keep your shirt on anyway. It's just good policy. No shirt, no service here, people. Bare feet are okay, though. Ahem. Moving on.
1. Down to the River to Pray - Alison Krauss
2. Dance with Dragons - BrunuhVille
3. Desert Mermaids - BrunuhVille
4. Clair de Lune - David Garrett
5. Kashmir - David Garrett
6. Smooth Criminal - David Garrett
7. He's A Pirate - David Garrett
8. An Epic Age - Immediate
9. Imperitum - Immediate
10. Welcome to the Jungle - 2CELLOS
11. Smooth Criminal - 2CELLOS
12. Salvation for a Proud Nation - Immediate
13. Augie's Municipal Band - John Williams
14. The Chase - Trevor Rabin
15. Car Chase - Trevor Rabin
16. London Chase - Trevor Rabin
17. Pacific Rim Theme - Ramin Djawadi
18. Welcome to Wonderland - Valentin Wiest
So there you are. Good luck Wrimos! Oh, and if you want to be our writing buddies, I'm A Quill In Her Quiver and Hannah is The Quill Is My Sister.Just be sure to let us know where you're from if you have a different NaNo name, or if we're not familiar with you.
Write on!
-Trinity
P.S.
Look who Hannah and I dressed up as this Halloween!
Real quick post here today. I'm kind of scrambling to get ready for NaNoWriMo (FIVE DAYS PEOPLE!!!), and I want to put together a playlist to write to this year. So I want to know... what do you recommend? I'm looking for artists and particular songs, not just genres.
And here's a brief list of artists I'm familiar with already:
Two Steps From Hell
Sound Adventure
Piano Guys
Malukah
Adrian Von Zeigler
Celtic Woman
Tom Salta
Lindsey Stirling
Blackmore's Night
I'm going for mostly instrumental/soundtrack type music, but I'm willing to try out anything ya'll like to write to. So, what've you got?
Guest Post by Trinity! No wait... I'm not a guest. But you wouldn't know that would you? Because I've been gone for three weeks straight.
There is blame to be placed and I choose this:
SCHOOL
Alright, onto the subject matter. Quite a while ago (meaning, maybe a month and a half ago) I discovered the song "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars. I'm not a fan of hard-rock-screaming songs for the most part, (they give me a headache and hurt my ears) but I like this song, which has minimal screaming and a pretty cool melody. Also, because of this video, I link it strongly to Harry Potter.
AND! For those who maybe don't do Harry Potter, here's an Avengers version.
One of the reasons I liked it so much was how for each part, they matched up a character that fit that description. For example:
Each character fits their label in some way or another. Albus Dumbledore is headmaster of Hogwarts School. Sybill Tralawney is the Professor of Divination and makes a prediction that is important to the plot. Etcetera, etcetera.
So, after listening to this song multiple times, (like many many times) Hannah and I started thinking how we could match it up to our stories. It's a surprisingly difficult exercise, but fun!
This is what I listed for Aouthentica (Think Rienna, Jrew, and Liza), along with a little explanation as to why I chose them. Note: Two I left out so I wouldn't ruin any surprises.
A warning to the People: █████████ ← A secret
The Good: Jrew Arion-
Jrew is obviously the good guy. He wants his throne back, and he wants revenge on his second-cousin, Talman Arion for murdering his parents and his uncle.
And the Evil: Talman Arion -
Again, obviously the bad guy.
To the Soldier: Eyrik Duell-
Eyrik is head of the Commandos in Gillam (secret renegade town in Aouthentica), which are kind of like their police force. Everything he does is carefully calculated, either for the good of his men or the good of Gillam. (That's why he thinks Rienna is such an idiot, because she's largely unattached on her missions and thus is a lot more spontaneous and reckless.) He's there to do what needs to be done to get the job done so he can move on to the next job that needs to be done. He's a soldier and he really doesn't have much of a life outside of that.
The Civilian: Cam and Cara Rogdriguez-
Poor Cam and Cara (they're twins). I'm not really sure how they got to be living in Milliayn, but they work for Jrew and they're just kinda along for the ride. They haven't been trained for this their whole lives, but they get sucked in and have to do the best they can.
The Martyr: Anai Arion-
This would be Jrew's father. He went back to help his brother (Avigdor, the king at the time), while sending his son on ahead (to get out of the country). Unfortunately, he never made it out.
The Victim: █████████ ← Another secret
A warning to the Prophet: Cerra Samerest
Okay, so Cerra has no powers. Just want to clarify that once and for all. Nobody in Aouthentica gots an superpowers. BUT she is one of, if not the most sensible one of the group. So she can kind of predict what's going to happen if someone does something. She'd be the one going, "Someone's going to get hurt." And then someone would.
The Liar: Daven Cortez -
Daven is a double agent for Falk Halcon (read: assistant bad guy). He "works" for Jrew, but ends up betraying him. I don't like him. He's a liar.
The Honest: Jesse Stoiker -
Jesse's a Commando under Eyrik. He'll tell you the absolute truth, and if he can't, he won't say anything. He's also Eyrik's best friend.
To the Leader: Luc Walker -
Luc is the Director of Gillam, and he's good at it. Now, why did I choose him instead of Jrew? Because Luc's a good leader and he's been doing it solo for many years, whereas Jrew is.... not as good of a leader and he needs a lot of help.
The Pariah: Liza Vulken-
Liza is not generally accepted anywhere other than Jrew's headquarters, and even then she mostly hangs around in the back, just keeping an eye on Rienna (her unofficially adopted daughter). She did something pretty bad, though I don't remember what it was, that turned everyone against her. So now she's an outcast, but because of Rienna, she sticks around.
The Victor: Rienna Lee-
Ah, Ri. She jumps in headfirst all. the. time. But she usually manages to get herself out of it, and really, Jrew probably wouldn't become king or defeat Talman. And Eyrik would still be brooding in Gillam. And Terra would still be queen of Bairek. And Erde would still be meekly following his sister (Terra) around. So I'm putting her in the Victor category.
The Messiah: Erde-
(Okay, quick orientation: Bairek = Country next to Aouthentica, host country of the town Milliayn. Terra: Queen of Bairek. Erde: Her younger brother.)
Terra is the "rightful" ruler of Bairek, but she's really not a very good leader. She was spoiled rotten as a child, so now she's pretty much a bratty queen. However, everyone in Bairek loves Erde, who wasn't nearly as spoiled, because no one paid much attention to him. He refuses to take the throne from Terra, even if it would be better for the country, but eventually, erm.... she's not... well, queen anymore. Or anything, actually. But that comes later. In any case, he eventually becomes king of Bairek and pretty much rescues the country from utter ruin.
Alrighty. I think that pretty much wraps it up, and I'm sorry if it's confusing (or even boring), because I was distracted while writing it. And I'm sorry that it's been so long since I posted. I'll try to remedy that. But no promises.
Trinity here!
Well, up until now, I haven't been able to justify writing a post when I'm so far behind. I will catch up though, I swear it. (Great, I'm starting to talk like my characters)
Okay, lots to talk about, not much time or brain power to do it with. I cannot guarantee this post will follow a logical sort of... linear... something. Line. It may not make a lot of sense. It's gonna be in a sort of stream-of-consciousness format.
My total word count for today should be at 11,669 words. It's at 6,859. I'm 4,810 words behind. And I'll be 6,477 words behind tomorrow (if I don't catch up tonight). I'm starting to get discouraged. I'm told that the second week is the hardest. However, I'm seeing people that are writing several thousand words in one sitting, and I'm determined to do it as well. I will finish this novel by November 30th, and I will do it without becoming a recluse when it comes time for Thanksgiving.
My method of writing is to put everything down longhand in my notebook and then type it up on Scrivener (I'll explain exactly what that is some other post. Suffice it to say it's a novel writing/organizing program.). That way, I can get a touch of editing done as I copy it over. Just enough to fix a sentence, or add in a paragraph I meant to put in in the first place. Nothing major.
It is more time consuming to do it like that, but this way I can write anywhere without having to be in front of the computer, and I can reference past scenes while writing.
I've been using my new headphones like crazy. I've discovered the wonders of white, pink, and brown noise, which help tremendously to block out the sound of siblings, music, and just general outside noises. I also listen to my "Epic Music" list while writing (which you can see and listen to on the sidebar). My current favorite song is Dream Chasers by Future World Music.
Dream Chasers
This Saturday, I hope to do as much writing as is possible for me to do. I intend to get myself caught up by the end of this week. Also, once I get to 10,00 words, I'm planning to reward myself, though I'm not sure with what yet. I want to do that every 10,000 words. IfWhen I reach 50,000 words, I'm planning to purchase this ringwiththe words "NaNoWriMo 2012" engraved on it. But only if when I finish.
Finally, an excerpt from my novel:
Cassie Lyndon frowned at the instrument in front of her and then glanced at her work. They couldn’t possibly be right. She must have made a mistake. Again.
“Professor? Could you come look at this, please?” She asked tentatively.
Professor James looked up from another student he was helping. “Again, Cassie? Haven’t you figured it out yet?”
Cassie swallowed hard and blinked back tears of frustration. It had been a very long day and she was so tired. Tired of standing, tired of sitting, tired of hunching over and studying, but most of all, she was tired of thinking. She just wanted to go home and go to bed. “No, sir. I thought I had it, but these readings aren’t right.”
The professor sighed. “Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Cassie sat down, adjusted her glasses and began going over the readings again, desperate to find the mistake she had made before the professor pointed it out to her. She could hardly focus on the words and numbers, but she managed to work through them once and couldn’t find the error. A few seconds after she finished, Professor James was at her shoulder.
“Let’s see your work.” He said quietly.
She handed her papers over and waited.
After several very minutes, he frowned. “I don’t see any problems, Cassie. You clearly understand the concepts we’ve been going over.”
“But, sir, look at the seismograph.”
Professor James leaned over to study it. “That can’t be right. It must be malfunctioning.”
From across the room, another student called, “Professor, my seismograph is going crazy! I can’t get a proper reading.”
“Me neither!”
“Mine’s freaking out, Professor!”
Students from around the room joined the chorus of confused complaints.
Professor James darted from station to station, a slightly wild look in his eyes, muttering, “China, Australia, Hawaii… they can’t all be… It’s not possible…”
Suddenly, the classroom began to shake and everyone fell silent, looking to the professor.
“Under the desks!” He snapped abruptly, startling everyone into action.
Cassie dived under her desk, nearly colliding with one of her classmates. They exchanged frightened glances as the shaking intensified. A cup on one of the desks fell over, dumping out a large collection of pens. It continued on and on. No one spoke, but Cassie heard a girl whimper from across the room.
Her companion under the desk glanced up from his watch and murmured, “Average earthquake length is two to four minutes.”
“How long has it been?” She whispered.
“Seven.”
Cassie huddled deeper underneath the desk and they waited. The shaking went on and on. After fifteen minutes, the adrenaline had left her system and Cassie was exhausted. She slumped against her classmate but couldn’t fall asleep. So they waited.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was really thirty minutes, the shaking died down and then stopped. Cassie cautiously began to crawl out from under the desk, and so did several other students.
“Aftershocks!” Professor James snapped, and they scrambled back.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, an aftershock hit.
Cassie covered her face as she saw the walls of the classroom flex. This isn’t happening. It’s not happening. It’s just a nightmare. It has to be a nightmare.
It was almost two hours before the professor finally let them leave their desk refuges. Cassie snatched up her purse and ran for the door. When she opened it, a cloud of dust billowed in and covered her from head to foot. When it cleared, she stepped forward and then screamed, “Professor!”
Professor James darted forward to take a look around. His shoulders slumped and he ran his hands through his hair. The entire school has collapsed around them. Their classroom was the only one left standing. In fact, as far as the eye could see, there was no other building left standing. Sirens could be heard all across the city.
The other students crowded around to look out the door, gasping in shock. One of the girls began crying. The student that Cassie has sheltered with, Steve, pulled out his phone and tried to call home.
“No signal.” He reported. “The cell towers are probably down.”
Professor James walked back into the classroom and opened a drawer in his desk. “Try using mine. It’s a satphone. It should still work.”
Steve dialed while the professor watched him nervously. Steve put the phone to his ear, waited for a long moment, then shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Professor James took the phone back, hands trembling slightly, and dialed another number, saying in explanation, “Maybe your recipient has no signal either. I know someone else who has a satphone and always keeps it close. Let me call him.”
The class waited with bated breath. The professor waited for several agonizingly long seconds. Finally, he shook his head as well and set it down. He was silent for a minute, then looked up and said, “It’s not even connecting. Does anyone realize what that means?”
“Aliens are attacking and they’ve shot down our satellites!” One girl exclaimed hysterically.
The professor, as well as most of the class, glared at her. “No, Samantha. This is no time to panic or entertain such ridiculous thoughts.”
He took a deep breath, then gave them a small, sad smile. “This may be your last class for a long while, so pay attention. It seems that we may have just had, as impossible as it may seem, a worldwide earthquake.”
“Worldwide?” Steve exclaimed. Then he stared at the professor, open-mouthed. “The satellites… No way.”
Professor James nodded. “Back in 2010, there was an earthquake in Chile. The sixth largest earthquake ever recorded. It was large enough to pull the earth’s circumference in about three inches, and shortened the 24 hour day by 1.26 microseconds.”
Steve nodded, but the rest of the class looked confused.
The professor sighed and said, “Satellites depend on very, very accurate timing to work properly. A worldwide earthquake would render years of careful calculations worthless. The satellites are still up there, but they can’t connect to us. If they’re still on course.”
One of the students spoke up and asked, “So? Why should we care if a bunch of space satellites aren’t aimed right?”
Steve whirled on him and exclaimed angrily, “Because if the earthquake was big enough to knock satellites off course, what do you think it did to New York? Or London? Or your home?! We’re obviously really lucky that this room didn’t collapse and kill us!”
The professor broke in. “You are correct, though, Jamie. The satellites are the least of our worries. An earthquake of this magnitude, even if it wasn’t worldwide, has devastating consequences. Tsunamis. Teletsunamis. Ground ruptures. Floods, fires, landslides and avalanches. This is a disaster like we’ve never seen before.”
“Professor,” Cassie said, “I want to go home.”
“I doubt the dorms are still standing.” He sighed.
“No, I want to go check on my family. I want to go home.”
“Do they live in town?” Steve asked.
Cassie shook her head and blinked back tears once more. “No, they live two hours away.”
Professor James gave her a sympathetic look. “Cassie, traveling that far… The roads have probably been destroyed. There’s more aftershocks on the way, and people are probably panicking, if not rioting in the streets. It’s just not safe.”
“I want to go home.” She repeated stubbornly.
“Cassie,” The professor began again, but Steve interrupted him.
“Is your car in the parking garage?”
Cassie blinked in surprise, then said, “No. I parked in the field. I always park in the field.”
“So your car’s probably okay then. I’ll make you a deal. My family lives nearby. If you help me get to them, I’ll help you get to your family.” Seeing she looked doubtful, he added, “There’s safety in numbers.”
Frowning, she said, “That hardly seems fair, though. My family’s a lot farther away than yours.”
He grinned ruefully and explained, “My house is really hard to get to. And besides, once we get there, if it’s still standing, we can get some food and and I’m sure my parents will let you crash there for the night.”
“Overnight?”
“Well, the dorms are probably trashed. And it’s already seven-fifteen. Where were you planning to stay?”
“At home.” She said numbly.
“You might’ve been able to make it there in two hours yesterday, but it’ll take two days after this.” He said, almost apologetically.
Cassie glanced around the room. The professor had moved along to discuss a course of action with the other students. Most of them seemed to want to stay, to hide from the disaster in their cocoon of normality.
“Yo.” Steve waved a hand in front of her face. “You in?”
“Yeah,” Cassie nodded, “Yeah, I’m in.”
“No point in waiting. It’s not going to get any better out there.”
“Let’s go, then.” She said, slinging her purse over shoulder and they walked to the door.
Steve put his hand on the doorknob, looked at her and asked, “You ready?”
“No,” Cassie took a deep breath, “But let’s go anyway.”
He opened the door and they stepped out into a changed world.
Keep in mind I didn't do a lot of research on earthquakes, seismographs, etc, etc, so my terminology may be off, and that this is only a rough first draft.
I do not plan to write an update on how it's going every single day! I may pledge once a week, but we'll see how it goes.
← This picture is of me faithfully working on Nano in the van while waiting for some family members to finish an appointment, taken by Hannah. I just bought the skull headphones today because I was wanting some nicer ones, and being as those were Halloween themed, they were half off. I would not have normally chosen those. (In fact, I was pretty taken with some Runts/Nerds themed ones a couple months ago, but I didn't end up getting them.)
I've written 1,254 words today, which is 413 words short of my daily goal and puts me at 1,027 words behind where I need to be in order to be caught up. Tomorrow, I'll need to write 2,694 words in order to be all caught up. I don't know if I can do it, but I'll try.
Now, another entirely different, completely unrelated subject. Sometime in the last year my mother said something about how I should memorize The Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll, since it's a nonsense poem. It was also featured (briefly) in Disney's Alice In Wonderland (see the video), and I always think of that song when I recite it.
So, here it is, typed completely from memory:
T'was brillig and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the momeraths outgrabe.
Beware the jabberwock, my son.
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch,
Beware the jubjub bird and shun,
The frumious bandersnatch.
He took his vorpal sword in hand,
Long time the maxom foe he sought,
So rested he by the tumtum tree,
And stood while in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came wiffling through the tulgy wood,
And burbled as it came.
One-two, one-two,
Through and through his vorpal sword went snicker-snack.
