Camp NaNo Update, My Favourite Character, A First Line, and My Tumblr (AKA This is an Informal Post)

Hello, lovelies. :) Forgive me if this is a bit of an informal post. I miss writing those and I just wanted to give you all an update. Plus, I must admit I'm getting kind of used to Tumblr. (This is a hint for you to check it out.)

Camp NaNo Update

My current word count for my Camp NaNo novel, OBJECTION, is 21,587. Which is more than the last time I gave you all an update (it's also more than I wrote during Camp NaNo last year) so I'm making progress. That's what matters. Not that I'm about 10k behind.

Really, I'm not that worried about actually winning Camp NaNo. If I don't finish my novel this month, I'll just keep trucking right on into September. Now, if it goes on into October, I'll have to stop so I can plan my untitled princess clone fantasy/sci fi for NaNo, and then, of course, in November I'll be, you know, writing that novel. But, if it's necessary, I will start up again in December, continuing my steady progression.

Also, I've decided I won't be doing Camp NaNo next year. While it gets me started on something new, doing such a challenge during the summer isn't as productive as doing it during school. In the summer I want to laze around and not do much. It's my down time and writing feels more like work then. I mean to write, but I keep pushing it off until there's simply no more time. However, when school's going on, writing seems more freeing and I consciously make room in my schedule for it. Therefore, I get more done. Besides, I'll have plenty of other things to focus on.

My Favourite Character

I said in my last post that the next part of OBJECTION was going to be very exciting. Since then, I've written my favourite scene thus far and gotten to the good part. I mean, real good. Like I'm only at the beginning of the "real good" zone, and I've already had a bit of an empathy about one of my characters.

Her name is Armie. At the moment, she doesn't have a last name. But she's become my favourite character in OBJECTION.

You see, I know those little things about your characters like their first memories, past friendships, experiences in school, etc. are important. I use myself as a reminder of that. (My first memory is of a tornado. To hear the story, message me on my Tumblr and I'll post it. P.S. This is another hint that you should check it out.) But, unless it's essential to the plotline, I'm terrible at coming up with things like that. But with Armie, it's been easy. For instance, she has three scars on her face. I know the story behind each of them. Her personality shows through my writing as well, even in this early draft. I love it and her.

A First Line

I was lying in bed last night when it came to me. The first line for my untitled princess clone fantasy/sci fi. It's not perfect, and there are a few holes that will need to be filled when I start plotting, but I thought I'd share it with you. (NaNo Disclaimer: This does not count as "writing" because, as I said, there are some holes to fill in and I might tweak it a bit between now and November. Plus, we're allowed to plan and having the first line is part of some writer's outlining process.)

Zoie [insert last name(s) here] the Fourteenth, the true princess of [insert kingdom name here], gazed out her tower window and plotted her escape.

My Tumblr

Oh, and, in case you didn't know, my Tumblr blog can be located here: http://www.brookerbusse.tumblr.com. It's a personal blog, but I've also been posting shorter updates about Camp NaNo there. Just in case you missed that information. ;)

How do you like informal posts? Who is your favourite character in your current project? What do you think of my rough first line? Have you checked out my Tumblr?

Excitement - No Objection to That

Camp NaNoWriMo. It's been going on. Sort of. I'm at 14,373 words according to Word. Just a little under what I should have had on the ninth. At a minimum. But I'm not worried. I'm not stressing about it. Why? Because I've just gotten excited again.

I started out pretty strong. 4k on the first day. It gave me padding. It gave me security. Which made me slack off for the next three days. That has started a pattern. No writing, or very little, for a couple days. Then a big, or at least okay, day. That doesn't cut it when you're trying to finish a first draft in 31 days.

So what's the problem? Mostly I blame NCIS (on season seven episode five) (and can you believe my new Chemistry teacher's name is Gibbs? how am I going to deal with that?). But it also has to do with how I've been feeling about my story. Usually knowing my writing is crap during a first draft doesn't bother me, but it is this time. Just a little bit. And it's not only the writing itself. I feel like there is too much transaction and not enough action. I spend too much time describing every detail of how my character is getting there instead of just getting her where she's going.

But that's NaNo for you. I don't have time to fix it. It's a rough draft. That's what I tell myself when I start to think about it. And I'm exactly right. (In case you can't tell, I've been starting a lot of sentences with "and" in my story.)

However, that isn't what's going to push me to the end of this WIP. Especially not before the Camp NaNo deadline. Especially not with the next three seasons of NCIS waiting for me. The excitement I mentioned before is. I hope.

In my mind, the beginning, middle, and end of OBJECTION are clearly cut. I have just finished the beginning. So we all know I am now at the middle. This is where it gets fun. Where I get to experiment. Where I am writing from the POV of a character who is two people in one body. Tonight (2 AM at the mo) when I go to sleep (after watching another NCIS episode or two), I will spend that time before I drift off thinking of how I want to format this. Then when I wake up (hopefully with a firm decision) I will start writing it. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll have a 7k day. Which is pretty much what I need to catch up.

If you would like more frequent updates on my Camp NaNoWriMo progress: http://www.brookerbusse.tumblr.com

NYR Update - 7 Months

1. I will have complete THINKING OF YOU's ready for query first round of revisions. I went back over the first six chapters, then sent them to two of my critique partners. This concludes the small revisions.
2. I will have two new first drafts. I finished plotting the marriage dystopian which I have entitled OBJECTION.
3. I will win National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo).
4. I will submit at least two short stories to two anthologies, journals, ezines, and/or contests. I have decided to submit a poem I wrote at camp to Vine Leaves Literary Journal after I edit it.
5. I will read at least one hundred books. I read five books this month and am currently reading three others. Goodreads says that I am eleven books behind.
6. I will post at least one vlog a month. I made and posted a video where I talk about the first part of Fahrenheit 451.
7. I will exercise in some way once a week. For the first two weeks (July 1-14) I was at my grandparents' where I took many neighborhood walks. The fourth week (July 22-28) I went swimming for an hour.

July went much better than June overall. Right now my two biggest concerns are the reading and the exercising. These seem to be the goals that I am doing the worst on. On Michael's suggestion, I downloaded an app called My Fitness Pal. It allows me to log when I exercise. Not only it is a motivator, but these records will be a big help as I often forget when I've exercised. As for the reading, I don't know what I can do besides set aside more time for it. I already have plenty of material to read.

I do wish to celebrate a breakthrough I've made on my revisions of THINKING OF YOU. The revising schedule idea did not go so well (I managed two or three days in a row), but my fear of revisions has finally subsided. Before the thought of so much change and having no idea how to implement that change scared the crap out of me, probably the reason it's taken me so long to do so little. I believe I've gotten over this and can get some real work done now.

This month, however, the goal that I am putting most of my efforts into is the second. I'm using Camp NaNoWriMo to finish my first draft of OBJECTION. For current updates on my word count and goals, I suggestion you look at my Tumblr.

Anything special you're focusing on this month?