Today is the first day of Nanowrimo and I am excited to have successfully woken myself up at 6am to write 1700 words of my crazy Nano novel. It was easy because I have written part of this story before. It's about a woman who used to be a spy for the interstellar agency before she started having black-outs, then after a particularly bad one, she wakes up on the operating table to discover she is giving birth to a child she never knew she was carrying. She breaks free, with the child, killing anyone who gets in her way and then escapes the station on board a sentient ship named Val. Together, they search for somewhere to hide from the Agency and keep the baby safe, not knowing that he is an asset the Agency will go to any lengths to retrieve.
Anyway, I have no idea what this will morph into through Nano-ness, so I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Ruined, Youtube Trailers and a wonderful program called Q10
I just finished reading a book by a New Zealand author called 'Ruined: a ghost story'. I loved the tone and the setting (in New Orleans) and I also rather enjoyed its Youtube trailer of all things. I am quite keen on the idea of creating YouTube trailers for my own books - it seems like fun and would give a very visual synopsis. I liked the way you found out about the author's inspirations for the story and it made me want to read it (even though I had just finished reading it and writing the review).
As for Q10 - my friend Rochelle introduced me to the wee beastie and I like it because it is so simple. It is a word processor without any bells and whistles. It is full screen so you can't get distracted, it counts your words down the bottom, you can set a timer and just relax into writing. I sense it is going to be perfect for Nano.
As for Q10 - my friend Rochelle introduced me to the wee beastie and I like it because it is so simple. It is a word processor without any bells and whistles. It is full screen so you can't get distracted, it counts your words down the bottom, you can set a timer and just relax into writing. I sense it is going to be perfect for Nano.
Monday, October 25, 2010
On matters of the supernatural, pop culture and one particularly adorable steam punk novel
I have just finished reading Blameless, the third novel in a series by Gail Carriger about Werewolves, Vampires and Soulless ones set in a rather exciting version of Steampunk Victorian England. Not only has Carriger brilliantly designed and thought out the mechanics of these supernatural beings, she has created a thrilling plot filled to the brim with wit, fun technology and all the ingredients of a yummy romance. There is the requisite insufferable hero (big, brawny and adorable), Alexia, the sharp-tongued heroine (unfazed and full of dignity) and heaps of utterly unique and lovable minor characters (the flamboyant vampire with a heart of gold, the air-headed best friend with a penchant for rather terrible hats and the forthright inventor(ess?) who insists on dressing like a man).
It was the humor and the details which first drew me to the book. I loved Alexia's matter-of-fact view of the world. Her 'souless' state makes her entirely devoid of creativity and prone to being circumspect about life. In a world where most females of her class are rather silly, her practical approach is wonderfully refreshing, even as it scadalizes most of her contemporaries.
DO check out Gail's blog (it is just as wonderful as her heroine)
It was the humor and the details which first drew me to the book. I loved Alexia's matter-of-fact view of the world. Her 'souless' state makes her entirely devoid of creativity and prone to being circumspect about life. In a world where most females of her class are rather silly, her practical approach is wonderfully refreshing, even as it scadalizes most of her contemporaries.
DO check out Gail's blog (it is just as wonderful as her heroine)
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Professional editing for self-published books
I really want to put my story up on Smashwords, but I am aware that I am not my own best editor. I have had a lot of my amazing friends look through previous versions of my book, but I will need another 'final' edit before this version is ready to go. I think it might be time to offer payment (there are only so many favours one can ask after all!!) My mum was a technical writer until recently, so maybe she'll let me work out a contract with her :P Being that I don't have much money... maybe we can do a 'half of whatever I earn on this book' sort of deal? It would be fun having mum as my agent / editor (since she kinda does that stuff anyway). We'll see what she says =P
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Smashwords looks awesome
So I contacted Kobo Books about self-publishing and Stephen was hugely helpful. He suggested I check out Smashwords and / or Authorsolutions if I wanted to go through a digital aggregator that already has a pre-existing contract with them. I was thrilled by what Smashwords had to offer and the spirit in which it was provided. Reading their style guide and marketing guide made me feel like Mark Coker (the creater) really had us authors in mind and wanted to make it as easy as possible to get ourselves out there (while not setting up any false expectations). I know that self-publishing is going to be a lot of work, but for once it feels like fun work. I am looking forward to setting everything up and hopefully the Silver Hawk will be available in eBook a lot sooner than I had expected. Perhaps in time for Tehnuka to have something to read down on the ice this Christmas!
And now for a little story
I was thinking that I have not been doing anything about my book for the last couple of days and I imagined myself coming up against a wall, so here is a story about the wall...
I am standing on a road paved in gold. It is a long road and most of it stretches away behind me, but ahead there is a wall. It is made of huge, solid gold coloured stones and I have stopped on my journey, looking back with pride at how far I have come. Then I glance furtively at the wall. I know the end of the journey is only a few miles ahead. I could climb the wall or walk around, I have the magic in my veins to disappear the wall completely, but I fear what I might release. What if a vicious beast or torrential river lie on the other side? They would surely eat me alive or sweep me away. For lack of knowledge about the terrain ahead, I wait and wonder. I am too scared to cross. But this is my path and whether I reach the end is in my hands alone. No one can check ahead on my behalf because the path appears differently to all who walk it.
There is a crow perched in the branches of a nearby maple. She speaks with the voice of a woman rich with experience.
"Courage, my dear," she says. "You have made this road too big in your head. It is only your first and when you reach the end there will be many other paths to chose. You will have a hundred grand adventures, so let go your fear and rejoice. The wall is no more substantial than a shower of mist. Go. Walk through. Let us finish this and reach the place of new choices."
I feel the wall and realize it is as she says. The wall is only mist. I walk through to see a wide river and on the other side, a dog chained to a post. He is growling at me.
I wade into the river and it is not as deep as I thought. It rushes around my ankles, pleasantly warm. As I approach the far bank, the dog begins to bark and tries to jump and me, only his chain holding him back. I turn to look him in the eyes and say, 'Sit', but I have never been much good with dogs. I am more of a cat person. I glance over my shoulder and laugh to see my pet cat, long sleek and black, looking thoroughly put out as he daintily crosses the stepping stones which were not there a moment ago. He feigns superiority, but I am glad he has come to my rescue. The dog tries to intimitade Mister Cat, but Mister hisses back at him and the dog shrinks to half his size and runs away to hide in his kennel. I am free to complete my journey with Mister Cat trotting along at my side. Ahead are the crossroads and I am thrilled to be arriving here, where I am allowed to make a new choice and take on a new direction. Some of these roads lead back in time while one has a space ship and suit ready for extraterrestrial exploration. There are yet other hazier paths which I know will be clearer when I return to this place next. For now, I choose to enjoy the cross roads and take my time to choose. I am proud to have this first journey behind me, but I do not need to dwell on it, there are too many new adventures to contemplate.
I am standing on a road paved in gold. It is a long road and most of it stretches away behind me, but ahead there is a wall. It is made of huge, solid gold coloured stones and I have stopped on my journey, looking back with pride at how far I have come. Then I glance furtively at the wall. I know the end of the journey is only a few miles ahead. I could climb the wall or walk around, I have the magic in my veins to disappear the wall completely, but I fear what I might release. What if a vicious beast or torrential river lie on the other side? They would surely eat me alive or sweep me away. For lack of knowledge about the terrain ahead, I wait and wonder. I am too scared to cross. But this is my path and whether I reach the end is in my hands alone. No one can check ahead on my behalf because the path appears differently to all who walk it.
There is a crow perched in the branches of a nearby maple. She speaks with the voice of a woman rich with experience.
"Courage, my dear," she says. "You have made this road too big in your head. It is only your first and when you reach the end there will be many other paths to chose. You will have a hundred grand adventures, so let go your fear and rejoice. The wall is no more substantial than a shower of mist. Go. Walk through. Let us finish this and reach the place of new choices."
I feel the wall and realize it is as she says. The wall is only mist. I walk through to see a wide river and on the other side, a dog chained to a post. He is growling at me.
I wade into the river and it is not as deep as I thought. It rushes around my ankles, pleasantly warm. As I approach the far bank, the dog begins to bark and tries to jump and me, only his chain holding him back. I turn to look him in the eyes and say, 'Sit', but I have never been much good with dogs. I am more of a cat person. I glance over my shoulder and laugh to see my pet cat, long sleek and black, looking thoroughly put out as he daintily crosses the stepping stones which were not there a moment ago. He feigns superiority, but I am glad he has come to my rescue. The dog tries to intimitade Mister Cat, but Mister hisses back at him and the dog shrinks to half his size and runs away to hide in his kennel. I am free to complete my journey with Mister Cat trotting along at my side. Ahead are the crossroads and I am thrilled to be arriving here, where I am allowed to make a new choice and take on a new direction. Some of these roads lead back in time while one has a space ship and suit ready for extraterrestrial exploration. There are yet other hazier paths which I know will be clearer when I return to this place next. For now, I choose to enjoy the cross roads and take my time to choose. I am proud to have this first journey behind me, but I do not need to dwell on it, there are too many new adventures to contemplate.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Methods to our madness
I was reading an interview with an author by the name of Mary E Pearson (yes, the writer of the Adoration of Jenna Fox) and I was fascinated by her method for writing books. Essentially she opens the file on her computer in the morning and doesn't close it again until bed-time. She will come and go and do bits between showering and dishes and such, which seems like something that might actually work for me. It would keep me from doing other distracting things like looking at email or facebook while I am supposed to be working. I am going to give it a go over the next week and see what happens.
*wish me luck*
*wish me luck*
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