NaNoWriMo 2010

Well, November is almost upon us, and as most of my fellow writerly folk out there will know, that means it's... NaNoWriMo! (or National Novel Writing Month for those who aren't familiar with it). Basically, writers spend all of November writing a novel, with their ultimate goal being to hit 50,000 words. To find out more about it, click here.

I remember a few months ago, I posted a schedule of completion for my novella, Dark and Silent Waters. It was meticulously planned out and I was determined to stick to it... And naturally, study and illness and a plethora (I know that word is cliched but I still like saying it) of other Crap Events got in my way, so I ended up failing miserably. In fact I don't think I've even touched my novella since I posted the outline.

This will be my first year doing NaNoWriMo. Last year I didn't do it because I was too busy/lazy, but this year I've decided that it might just be the push I need to make some real progress on my novella. Generally I tend to focus too much on 'making something perfect' before moving on to the next bit, and I know that this slows me down. NaNoWriMo will give me an excuse to write absolute rubbish and not feel bad about it, as long as I can bring my manuscript closer to completion (and I can always edit the crappy bits later). I'm also hoping that competing/talking with other writers will give me even more motivation and inspiration to write.

I don't think I'll actually get to 50,000 words - as Dark and Silent Waters is a novella, I can't see it being much more than 40,000 words unless I pad it out with meaningless junk, which I don't want to do - but if I do get a completed draft of my manuscript, I will still consider myself a winner of NaNoWriMo (and I shall brag about it accordingly).

If anyone else is doing NaNoWriMo this year, feel free to add me as a buddy: RebeccaJFleming_DemonicDragon. We can nag/encourage each other on our respective paths to NaNoWriMo success :)

Illustration: Yarraine from Exile

Going through my illustrations for things to put into my IT folio, I came across this; one of the first illustrations I did of Yarraine, the Dragon General, protagonist of my fantasy trilogy, Exile.

This illustration wasn't drawn specifically for my novel; in first year graphics, we had to create a character for a computer game, so I took my novel character and modified it slightly to fit with the game story I'd created (basically, Yarraine became the Dragon Empress instead of the Dragon General). At the time I was prepared to run with it as a suitable illustration for Yarraine as the General, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised her Empress costume I'd given her wasn't appropriate. The long, flowing dress and the mystical sceptre are all very showy and mysterious looking - which Yarraine is, in a way - but no one in their right mind is going to go into battle wearing that little number. And the pose doesn't really suit a powerful warrior-mage (though it does perfectly suit another main character from the trilogy, so I may reuse it when I draw the other character).
In the near future, I'm hoping to draw another version of Yarraine, this time wearing more battle-appropriate armour, and with a more commanding posture. And I'm also going to try to fix her hair (not 100% happy with how it turned out). I've improved my drawing skills since I drew this one, so hopefully my next effort will be cover-worthy hehe

Narratives and Nocturnes

Earlier today, while working on my novella, I was flicking through my music collection, trying to decide what to listen to. I was getting more and more frustrated because I couldn't seem to find anything that would get the words flowing. And this made me wonder about some writerly advice I'd been given years ago. I can't remember who it was - I suspect it was one of my TAFE teachers from the Writing and Editing course, or perhaps another student - but whoever it was had said something along the lines of "Having any form of background noise while writing, whether it be television, music or life in general, distracts you from writing and has a negative impact on anything you do write."
To me, this is a bit like saying "Everyone must write with their left hand." or "Everyone should eat every meal with chopsticks." Something that helps one person might hinder another person. Likewise, if something is useful in one situation, that doesn't mean it will be suitable for other situations. I know some writers who able to write anywhere, whether they're in a busy cafe or on a crowded train. Others have to lock themselves in a cone of silence or they're unable to concentrate on anything.
And then there are some (like me) who need music to write.
Oddly enough, when I am writing non-fiction, such as articles or uni assignments, I prefer to work in silence. But when I'm writing fiction, I almost always have to have music. And the music has to create the same sort of atmosphere as the scene I'm trying to write.
When writing, I tend to listen to mostly gothic rock/symphonic metal bands, with a few exceptions. Mainly because I like the sound of it, but also because I feel that, in a way, it suits the genre I tend to write in (those of you who are familiar with my work will know that I write primarily dark fantasy). And quite often, when I'm stuck on a particular scene, listening to music can make the scene suddenly come to life in my mind, as if it's playing out before me as a movie. I actually have a set of songs for each 'type' of scene I write (anger/battle, sad/depressing or amusing etc).
I guess the notion of background music/noise as inpsiration or distraction can be applied to all creative endeavours, whether it be drawing, painting, sculpting and so on. Anyway, I thought I'd pose the question; what do all you other creative people out there do when you're trying to get those ideas flowing?
And, as an aside... Has anyone else ever been given really good - or really bad - advice on how they should work?

Man's Best Friend... So Why Don't We Treat Him That Way?

Dogs. Anyone who has or has ever had one knows how much joy they can bring to the life of a person or family. Large dogs or small dogs, clever dogs or dopey dogs, they all bring a smile to your face when you get home from school or work and find them wagging their tail as they wait for you.
But the sad truth is, not all dogs end up in a suitable home.
Just under two months ago, the young couple in the middle unit next door bought a puppy. For the first week or so, it howled and whined constantly, starting as early as 6am and going until as late as 11pm, or in some cases until after midnight. Being a dog owner myself, I know that puppies do cry for company a lot until they adapt to their new home, so I thought it would stop after a few weeks. But it didn't.
Upon further observation, I noticed that the new puppy owners were going out at 7am, and not getting home until after 10pm pretty much every day. And then yesterday, having been woken once again by the dog's whining, I went out to look at the dog (part of filing a noisy animal complaint with a council requires you to verify that you saw the dog as well as heard it barking) through a hole in the fence. Now, keeping in mind that their backyard is about the size of a toilet, I assumed that I would see a Jack Russell or terrier or something similar. But no. It was a labrador.
How can anyone possibly think that having any dog - let alone something that will grow as big as a labrador - in a yard that small is a good idea? Dogs are naturally energetic creatures. They need exercise and space to run around. Sticking them in a yard the size of a car boot borders on animal cruelty (a far more serious and separate issue, which I don't intend to explore in this post). Box them into a yard like that and you might as well be keeping it in a cage.
Secondly, even if it does have a big yard to run around in, dogs are pack animals. They need social contact with other creatures, and that means they need to be with their human family. Not only because they get lonely, but also because they need to be mentally as well as physically engaged, by playing games with them, petting them, taking them for walks and so on. If they don't have this, they get bored, and as a result they will howl/bark constantly, dig holes and destroy anything they can get their teeth on. And then, when the owner decides they're not so cute anymore, the dog is either abandoned or dumped at an animal shelter, simply because their owner didn't bother to do any research on owning an animal before buying one.
I'm not saying that an owner should spend every waking moment with their dog - that would be ridiculous and impossible. But leaving a dog alone for pretty much the whole day every day is unacceptable. It is not fair on either the dog or on the neighbours who have to put up with it.
I think that one of the main causes of dogs ending up with unsuitable owners (apart from the sheer stupidity of some people) is that it is so easy to buy a dog. You can go into a shopping centre or down the main street of your town, walk into a pet shop and go home with a new puppy, no questions asked. My question is: Why?
Before buying a puppy, a prospective owner should be able to prove that they are capable of caring for an animal. They should have their home and property checked to make sure it is big enough. They should have their lifestyle examined to make sure they will be home enough to properly exercise, groom and accompany their pet. It should be difficult to buy a dog. That way, the only people who ended up with one would be people who were willing and able to look after it for the rest of its life, not just until it stops being small and cute and cuddly.

Edit: Upon recently seeing the dog again more clearly, I realised it was actually a staffordshire bull terrier. Not as big as a labrador, but still too big to live comfortably in a yard that small.

Less is More... Expensive

Over the last few years, I've noticed that a lot of consumables, particularly food, are getting smaller, yet more expensive. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Take Cadbury chocolate, for example. We've all seen the blocks on our supermarket shelves, in enough flavours to keep you standing in the chocolate aisle for a good twenty minutes trying to decide which one to buy. There was a time when most (if not all) of these flavours came in 250 gram blocks, and you'd pay about $3.50 for one. Not anymore.
A year or so ago (not exactly sure when), Cadbury decided to give their blocks new packaging, including a cardboard box (instead of the previous paper wrapping). Lovely, everyone thought, who doesn't love new pretty packaging for their food? However, if you looked closely at the box, a horrifying discovery could be made; Cadbury had shaved the size of their blocks from anywhere between 30 and 60 grams. But they were still charging the same price, if not more (I've seen them for as much as $4.99 in some supermarkets).
How stupid do they think we are?
Moving on... canteens. I remember in the last few years of high school, the price of those Zooper Dooper icy poles skyrocketed from 20 cents to 60 cents. Now I get that we were all struggling to cope with the GST, canteens included, but come on. That doesn't warrant TRIPLING the price of an icy pole (yes, I know it's a cheap example, but it's just the principle of it). I thought that by the time I got to uni, prices would have settled, but no. Every year, they still manage to make things more expensive, but give you less of it (eg. Upping the price of a bucket of chips by 50 cents, but giving you a bucket two thirds the size of the old ones, and giving you 9 chicken chips for $2.50 instead of 8 for $1.60). We're STUDENTS. Don't they realise that we of all people CAN'T afford to be paying more and getting less? Surely there's some sort of regulating association responsible for preventing rip-offs like this? (clearly not. But there should be)
So, will there come a day when we're paying $20 for a single slice of bread? When we have to sell our house to be able to afford lunch from the school/uni/work canteen? Probably not. But it wouldn't surprise me.

Magic Mushrooms

Note: These mushrooms will not get you high if you eat them (and don't try to smoke them, you'll just mess yourself up). I take no responsibility for anyone's disappointment if they try and fail to use this recipe to create illicit narcotics.

Ingredients (to serve one person):
6-8 Small cup mushrooms
30-40 grams Cracked pepper cheese
1/6 Red capsicum (chopped into roughly 1cm long strips)
1 teaspoon Butter
Garlic paste

Preparation/Cooking Instructions:
1. Lay a sheet of aluminium foil on a baking tray and fold up the sides, forming a foil 'box'.
2. Pull the stalks out of the mushrooms, leaving the cup intact. Put the mushrooms hollow-side up on the baking tray and lay the mushroom stalks around them.
3. Slice off small wedges of cracked pepper cheese and stuff one into each of the mushrooms. Then take pieces of capsicum and poke two or three into the cheese in each mushroom. Any spare capsicum can be sprinkled over the mushroom stalks.
4. Take teaspoon of butter and mix with garlic paste (I used a ratio of about 2 parts butter, 1 part garlic paste, but you can use more or less, depending on how strong you want it). Microwave it for 30 seconds or so until melted, then drizzle it over the mushrooms and the stalks.
5. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and then bake the mushrooms for 15-18 minutes.
6.Serve on a small plate and eat immediately

Alternative extras:
-Fill the mushroom cups with spinach before stuffing them with cheese
-Sprinkle chopped chives or parsley over the mushrooms once they are cooked
-Use different varieties of cheese
-Add slivers of tomato
-Just for fun, stick one of those rainbow toothpick umbrellas in the middle of each mushroom before serving :D

Dark and Silent Waters: Battle Strategy *cue clanging swords*

In my last post, I said that I wanted to have a finished first draft of Dark and Silent Waters by the end of the year. In an effort to make myself achieve this, I decided to write up a 'plan' for the novella, including deadlines for when I want each section done by (which have been set around uni dates, so I can work on it during the holidays). I also decided I will do regular progress reports, so I can see how well I'm sticking to this plan. Hopefully having an attack strategy for the novella will bring me victory (MWAHAHA!). Even writing this now, I know I'll end up going all over the place, because I am rarely able to write in chronological order (eg. I've done the very beginning, the very end and the very middle, but nothing else haha), but at least I can pretend I'm being organised...

Deadline Plan
Outline - July 2
Prologue - January 31
Part 1 - July 18
Chapter 1 - July 10
Chapter 2 - July 14
Chapter 3 - July 18
Part 2 - November 20
Chapter 4 - September 29
Chapter 5 - October 3
Chapter 6 - November 20
Part 3 - December 20
Chapter 7 - November 30
Chapter 8 - December 10
Chapter 9 - December 20
Epilogue - December 31

Progress Report
Outline - 100% (needs rewrite)
Prologue - 100% (needs rewrite)
Part 1 - 30%
Chapter 1 - 90%
Chapter 2 - 0%
Chapter 3 - 0%
Part 2 - 20%
Chapter 4 - 0%
Chapter 5 - 0%
Chapter 6 - 60%
Part 3 - 0%
Chapter 7 - 0%
Chapter 8 - 0%
Chapter 9 - 0%
Epilogue - 90%

So now that I have issued the challenge to myself, thrown down the gauntlets if you will, let's see if I can reign supreme over my novella...