Dear Diary, Yesterday was Day Six of Camp. Due to my decision to enter the Weta Nichols Writing Contest, I thought my Camp goal would switch (hopefully only shortly) to editing the first 2500 words of the first chapter (the contest's maximum limit - my first chapter is closer to 4k words, I think) in preparation for submission. The contest due date is July 15th. Not much time there. So, yesterday, I began those edits, at the standard Camp NaNo conversion rate of 1 hour of editing = 1000 ... View Post
Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries: Day Five – On Which Nothing Was Written
Dear Diary, Yesterday was Day Five of Camp. And I wrote NOTHING. Not a single word. Well, okay, so I wrote a diary entry, but we'll not count that. No progress was made on the novel, at least. I feel slightly guilty, since I left the protagonists in a rather precarious, terribly emotional state. But that's probably better. Easier place to pick up where I left off if it's right in the thick of things. Anyway, I want Pavel to stew for a bit, really think about how he feels about this new ... View Post
Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries: Day Four – Not Another War Novel
Dear Diary, Yesterday was the fourth day of Camp. And, not coincidentally, the fourth of July. As in, the US of A's "birthday", as some people call it. Independence Day, as other people call it. After 32 4th of July's in my life, I can legitimately say that this year's is the first that actually felt like it MEANT something more than a good time and pretty explosions in the sky. Why? I've been trying to figure that out. I don't think it's my aged wisdom (hahah, hilarious, I know), nor ... View Post
Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries: Day Two – Wherein the Story Knows More Than I Do
Dear Diary, Yesterday was Day Two of Camp NaNoWriMo. It only took two days this time for the story to remind me it's really the one in charge. (I suppose this means I'm improving as a writer? Takes much less time these days to re-connect with the story, to get in The Zone? Well, I'll just pretend that's what it means, yes ...) Months of internal debate, wall-sized plotting and notebook scribbling devoted to trying to figure out what comes next, and all it took was the equivalent of roughly ... View Post
Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries: Day One – People, Plot Plathways, and Panic
Dear Diary, Yesterday was the first day of camp. I like all my bunkmates this time, and I'm pretty sure they're all going to actually participate and speak to me. That should be a plus. All of them are my friends, you see, so this camp is going to rock! All but two of us were able to meet up last night, and we made some good progress. Almost all of us reached our daily word quota. I've tried something different this camp. I tried to not be quite so ambitious. Sure, I've met the 50k ... View Post
Don't Panic! A Complete and Not-Quite-Pocket-Sized Newbie's Guide to Surviving Your First Convention
My little writing group and I are gearing up for our home town's original science fiction and fantasy convention, ConQuesT, happening this Memorial Day weekend. I've been in a flurry these last several days preparing myself and getting everything in order, and as there are a few in my group who have not been to a convention before, it's made me think of a few tricks I've learned over the years that I wish someone had shared with me before my own First Convention. Then I thought, "Well gee, why ... View Post
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