Nanowrimo!

I've been busy. But when I've not been busy I've felt restless. I do still need to rest. (especially after taking on a school library from scratch. sheesh!)
While I was sitting, trying to rest, and watching Stephanie Meyers on Oprah I had a neat thought for my book. I've been trying to figure out how the 3rd boy will meet the two nerd boys. And then I had it! I got up and sat down and typed.

My word count is now 3,735!
I just sat down and wrote 1000 words in one hour.
Now I just need, uh, 47 hours more writing...

NanoWrimo!

I just typed in the last of what I have written in my notebooks.

My new NaNoWriMo count is 2,592 words!

I know I have a lot to go but, this is a nice start.
I read online that a Middle Grade book is 20,000 - 40,000 words.

Now I just have to sit down every day and type type type. Although I have to admit I am partial to a nice pen and a blank page. It just feels more real.
So, I keep a notebook and a pen with me at all times.
Write Write Write!

Nanowrimo 2009!

My word count is at 1,687!
Not going as fast as I should, but, some empty days are coming up and I'm almost rested from my month of sick but no rest. ...and one more notebook with story pages to type into the computer yet to go. Then I'll have to typety type type type!
I do want to write this book sooo badly.
I want to write a book to help nerds with bullies, and to help my family financially.
It's totally a win -win situation. right?
AND if I take a year to write it, perhaps the economy will be better and it will be more possible to sell a book?

Let's see how November and Nanowrimo and my story go!

Bullying

I'm coming to a place in my book where I need to bully the "good guys". I'm having hard time facing that. After dealing with bullying as a kid and then going through my son being bullied for 3 years... I'm having a hard time. BUT, I need to, or else what's the whole point of writing a book about bullying and surviving bullying and winning over bullies?
Give me strength!

Names... What's in a name?

I have enjoyed coming up with names for my middle grade book for boys. I thought I was doing really well. Then I told my daughter a few of the names and she really hated one name. The one name I used to include my son as a character (you know, almost) or to be an homage to him. I will not change my mind on it, but my daughter got sooo mad about it.
I will continue this later....in-laws got here.

Tell me...

How hard is it to pick a bad guy for your book. If it's based on this world... who is the biggest bad guy in the world? What kind of big bad guy would want to get rid of all the other big bad guys?
Plus, the cold war is over, so he can't be Russian. Iraq stuff is too scary for a kid's book so he can't be from the Middle East. I was thinking maybe North Korea? But, they aren't quite the scary super power yet. Iran is getting there with their "peaceful" nuclear program... but that's scary middle east stuff.

Hmmm... lot's of thinking to do still.

Also, is the big bad guy getting rid of all the other bad guys in the world so he can be the ONLY big bad guy? Or does he think he's right or good because he's getting rid of the other big bad guys in the world? Or even scarier, is the big bad guy.... a woman!????

Think. Think. Think.
Seriously, let me know what you think.

Or at the very least, IF you read this blog, please leave a little comment so I know who does read this. K? thanks.

It's all been done...you just have to have an original take on an old subject.

I've been reading the book Libyrinth. It's about a girl who grows up in a library and books talk to her.
Recently I found an idea notebook of mine. I was flipping through it and found a book idea written in it: A girl grows up in a Library and books talk to her.

Oh well.

It's all been done. huh.

Also, recently I found out that my best friend T. who is a 13 year old boy with Aspergers and I came up with similar ideas for books. I think both could work separately as books, OR we could work together to make one book...

My son and I are working together on a book about Bullies. I think it would be therapeutic for both of us. I'm writing it in a notebook with SHARKS on the front!
Hmmm, maybe I SHOULD be writing books for 11 year old boys... I seem to think like them.
All grossness and bluntness and ACTION! None of that Deep thought or prose.
: )

More writing lessons.

More lessons from the book What If:
Consider what has happened to your character before the first sentence happens.
Think about the history of your characters and story and how they affect those people.
That's easy for me.
Next lesson:
Write two sentences to start your book.
Now write sentence pairs for opposite subjects.
Birth sentence pairs, Death sentence pairs, etc.
That was fun.
Now write two sentence pairs for subjects that AREN'T complete opposites, like for spring and summer.
That was fun too.

I'm finding that I'm GREAT at ideas and some details, but getting lots and lots of words on a page is hard. duh, right? I have TONS of ideas for books... but, getting right down to writing lots of words to describe that idea in more detail.... hmmm, maybe that's why poetry is so easy for me?
Well, that's why I'm practicing my writing skills!
(Hey, if ANYONE reads this blog, please leave me a little comment.)

Thanks for the book!

My friend Pixiechick_SW gave me a writing exercise book for my birthday titled, What If?
I'm taking it slowly and really doing the exercises.
The first lesson is to write a First Line to a book every day. And while doing that remember that a story takes place with a past and a future... a first line is really an introduction to the middle.
I end up writing the first few lines to a book. It's been fun.
I'll move on to the next lesson soon.

My story is rambling around in my head

I have a basic premise for my first novel. I have a beginning and a middle but the end is a little fuzzy. My husband keeps adding in his thoughts and it changes the story a bit or at least it changes my thoughts about the story.
HOW to write the story is what I'm trying to figure out.
Back and forth from chapter to chapter? Like, one chapter it's one scene and another chapter is another scene and back and forth?
Or write it in a linear way? Even though it's not exactly a linear story...
I have a point to the story, but, does it have to end in sorrow? Can't it end happily?
I'm not sure it CAN end happily... darnit.
I just need some time to sit at the computer and type type type. I'm sure I can rely on some flow of my conscious and subconscious. I've been thinking about this story so much that I've started waking up SAYING to myself what some item needs to be in the story.
I also have quite a bit more research to do about ADD and my hometown and my past.
So, here I go. Just need to make myself sit down and type.

I think I might have ADD... because I am having such a hard time sitting down and doing one thing. I am even having a hard time sitting still Unless I'm exhausted.
I'm going to ask about it at my next doctor's appointment in a week. I hope she has an open mind. I'm tired of doctors that don't believe me.

I read pixiechick_SW's new book coming out in 2010 called, Palace Beautiful and it was a wonderful book. Really Wonderful! Of course, I can't compare her with me at all because she's written at least 3 or more books and this is my first one and we definitely write in different genres. I'm happy I got to read it before it comes out... and I will be buying a copy in 2010 and I will have her sign it. : )

Writing and me

I might have said this before, but, it took me a bit to be able to give myself permission to "be a writer".
I've always written poems and stories. I've always collected nice pens and notebooks.
I've always wanted to write something good and useful to help others...
Over the last who knows how long I've always had a little notebook and nice pen with me to write my Ideas and Thoughts and Interesting Names into whenever I had the urge.
So, one day in the last two years I wrote down in my little notebook- "I give myself permission to be a writer."
I have written down in my little notebook SO many neat book ideas.
Every time we traveled somewhere I would get out a big sketchbook and Ross and I would talk out one of my book ideas and I would write down what we figured out. It was fun.
I was dabbling.
About two weeks ago I got to go to a Writer Girls group headed up by pixiechick_sw and I learned a lot and it helped me decide on which idea to start with to be my FIRST NOVEL.
All the writer girls said that their first novel was horrible and they wouldn't show it to anyone.
So, I picked the most selfish idea I had. SO So so self serving with a total personal exorcism of my past demons... and it has to do with Time Travel. :)
So, I am studying up on Time Travel. If anyone is reading this knows of a good Time Travel story or book or t.v. show or movie please comment and let me know about it.
I'm studying up on my Time Travel. :)

P.S. I haven't crocheted for so long, I don't even know where all my hooks are! How horrible is that?! I will find them soon. But, I am still going to start using this blog to talk about my writing.

Thinking about crafty things...

1. I want to make fingerless gloves out of felted wool sweaters for me and Ross.
2. I want to make a big soft knitted blanket with BIG needles!
3. I want to finish the crocheted fingerless gloves I started for my daughter.
4. I want to make a shawl or wrap for myself for those COLD summer church meetings with the AC on full blast.
5. I want to draw inspirational drawings for my new book I thought of...
6. I would like to make a 1920's hat that will go with my new short haircut.
7. I want to finish the baby blanket I started a month or two ago and make it into a big blanket for use in the livingroom when it's cool in the mornings.
8. Ugly dolls still haven't been worked on... maybe during the spring break?

I could probably think of more to do, but, isn't that enough?

trip to Portland, crochet revelation

We went on a trip to Portland to celebrate Ross' grandmother's 90th birthday.
Read all about it on my main blog. http://roster007.livejournal.com/

Now for the crafty crochet revelation.

Every time we travel to Portland, I end up buying the kids a stuffed animal.
This time it was beavers from Multnomah Falls.
THEN everytime I buy them stuffed animals on this trip to Portland, the kids ask me to Crochet something for their stuffed animals.
Last trip it was tiny crocheted backpacks.
This trip it was log shaped bags for their beavers to live in.
I'll have to take a pic some time. (don't have time right now to mess with it.)

Ross' mom noticed this time that every time I come to her house in Portland I am crocheting something for the kid's stuffed animals.
That was a revelation to me. Duh. Duh! Oh yeah, I DO do that, don't I.

But, I do love making tiny items for small stuffed animals. It's a fun design challenge for me.
And it's something to do with my hands while Ross and his parents talk about Boron, CA (where they used to live) and all the people they used to know (in great detail) and about all the places and people that I REALLY don't know.
Crochet. It's something to do.

Aborted Project.

For the Relief Society Birthday Dinner in March, we are going in with the 1st ward. THEY like to do things fancy and go all the way! They don't seem to believe in potlucks, they assigned a salad recipe to be made by sisters.
Our Enrichment person suggested beautiful lavender thread crocheted bookmarks to offer as gifts.
It was a really lovely idea, but, when we figured out that it took ME making 3 bookmarks before they stopped curling, and then only my 7th bookmark looked the best. Plus, they took about 1 1/2 hours to make each and we need ONE HUNDRED of them???
We decided that it wasn't worth 150 man hours of work in only 3 weeks to make bookmarks to give out. So, now we are going to just make nice paper bookmarks with a quote from Emma Smith on them and a ribbon at the top. Way less work. whew. We are too busy as a people to devote 150 hours to something that people might think is cute but, might not use.
Right? Good for us for coming to our senses!
Maybe I can make some for Christmas as Stocking Stuffers?

Read my real blog at

http://roster007.livejournal.com/

(sorry if the address in the last entry doesn't work.)

Whew! Christmas is over...on to different projects!

My son goes to a class at school for smarty pants kids ELP (Extended Learning Program).
This year they are studying Astrobiology! They have a project to pick one of 5 moons and a planet where life would be plausible (Mars, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Titan, Enceladus) and then make up creatures that would live on it. It's really awesome and I've repeatedly told his teacher how jealous I am that HE gets to go to her class and I don't!
Well, I decided that I would just have to make my own project while helping LightningBoy with his. She thought it was an awesome idea.

Right now I have material and ideas on how to actually make stuffed animal models of LightningBoy and my Aliens. (and ArtGrrl is making some too)

Now I just need to figure out how to sew a dome shape! Perhaps I could look it up on the internet how to do that?

Plus, my creature looks like an eyeless Manatee with a human nose. I have to try to sew that too!

Also, I want to make an earflap hat for ArtGrrl (but she thinks the one at the store would be better. argh)
AND fingerless gloves for me and Ross so we can play World of Warcraft during the winter time with warm hands. Hands can get cold while typety typing!

Pictures will come... but until then make sure to read my "REAL" blog at
www.roster007.livejournal.com

wish me luck!