Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Count Down to NaNoWriMo

In less than a week, November starts and with it the [Inter] National Novel Writing Month begins. Never heard of it? (Though I’m thinking all of my blog readers probably have.) Then you can check them out over at the NaNoWriMo website. As they put it NaNo is “30 days of literary abandon”. It’s the one month you’re allowed to write crap in, so long as you remember to edit it out before submitting it to anyone... Well unless you all want a laugh over NaNoisms; Miriam has some good ones on her blog.

Anyway, this year I’m going for my Science Fiction story, which is centered around Rachael Elizabeth Anderson. I’ve dragged her and her lover/husband Michael Rembrandt Brocktovitch over the coals in a draft story that a few people have read. Let’s see what have I done? Well I have:
*  Made them fall in love, get married and have a child all before the age of 16 then separated all three of them by force when the child is six months old
* Given them temporary and permanent memory blocks so that they don’t remember their past (aka the above statement)
* Killed off Rachael’s family and made her think she did it
* Brainwashed Michael into thinking he killed his wife and child
* Had Rachael become indebted to space pirates who forced her to get an abortion and then sold the embryo without her knowledge
* Had Rachael and Michael reunite and fall back in love

Well, when I first thought about doing this I was going to try and do an utter rewrite on what I’d previously written, but that’s kind of cheating. Plus I’ve discovered that doesn’t necessarily work so well. Or at least I don’t think it would for me.

Instead, I’m going to take off from where I left off. Essentially Michael and Rachael have entered into a contract to work for this particular planetary government. It’s highly lucrative and Rachael’s got the qualifications as a space courier. Some of the things I’m going to throw at them:
* Reappearance of the United Government Rachael’s parents used to work for, they’ve finally gotten around to tracking down her ship, which used to be theirs
* Recovery of memories, at least on Rachael’s part, and the unraveling of their convoluted past
* Reunion with the Pirate’s son, who was the father of the aborted baby
* Appearance of the aborted son whose mind is very human though his body is mostly machine
* Contact from the daughter Rachael and Michael thought were dead

Yup, so I think I’m ready. Once I’ve printed out all my space diagrams, spaceship diagrams, spaceship specifications... What? I have been working on these since 2003 you know. :}

But what about you guys? Are you doing NaNo? Are you ready?

:} Cathryn Leigh

P.S. What’s going to make this fun and difficult is the fact that Rachael is a Nymphomaniac, Adrenal Junkie and prone to mood swings. Oh, and Michael is a werewolf (as is their daughter and Rachael is half one) with a six month cycle. *grin*

Friday, October 21, 2011

A Versatile Blogging Award

Earlier this week I got nominated for the Versatile Blogging Award by two totally cool people: Miriam and Charlie. Now as a recipient of this award I have some rules I have to follow.

Fist I have to thank the person (or in my case people) who nominated me.
So, Miriam (A Farewell to Sanity) and Charlie (The Leaning Tower ofPlot), thank you! 
*Aside* I think they were coordinating an ambush because they nominated me on October 15th! I certainly wouldn’t put it past them. *End Aside*
You know I love you two and will give you lots of hugs when we meet at last!
  
Secondly I have to share seven random facts about myself.
Yikes! Do I have to do fourteen because I was nominated twice? I hope not. I think coming up with seven might be hard. Perhaps lunch will help. *Fifteen minutes later* You get seven, but some of them are going to be quite detailed. *grin
  1. Up until a month before I was born I had an older brother, Eric Benjamin Adams, who died of a rare genetic disease involving the Kreb’s Cycle. He would have been a year and a half older than me.
  2. I’m an only child but my daughter will tell you I have a big family.
    a.  My Dad’s remarriage when I was 8 or 9 gave me a step-brother and step-sister who are 10 to 15years older than I am. He has two kids, she has three.
    b. My Mom’s remarriage when my daughter was six months only gave me four step-brothers who are not much older than me. One is engaged (or thinking about it), three are married and one of them has a daughter one month older than my son.
  3. Writing became my main hobby two years ago when I joined Protagonize and found like minded people to cheer me on. The hobbies that have fallen by the wayside are:
    a.  knitting
    b.  crochet
    c.  beading
    d.  sewing (but I still do Halloween costumes!)
    e.  quilting
    (I guarantee that I have unfinished pieces in all of those categories, including writing.)
  4. I still get the heebee geebees from dark rooms in houses. This is especially true when I’m heading up stairs in a darkened house. I can feel things creeping up behind me, and I’ve been known to start walking/running if no one else is around.
  5. There are times when I also believe in monsters under my bead and jump under the covers and wrap myself up so it can’t get me.
  6. When I retire, I want to be a writer and to supplement my retirement savings with book sales. I also hope to have the time to:
    a.  make costumes based upon clothing I’ve created for my worlds
    b.  travel to lots of different places in our world
    c.  be the neighborhood Grandmother (or at least have been enough of a mother to my children’s closest friends to be grandmother to their kids...)
  7. I have a love/hate relationship with the [Inter]National Novel Writing Month.
    a.  I love it because it gives me planned time to write away from home in the company of other writers
    b.  I hate it because it forces me to write faster than I like, eliminating my ability to take time and walk out plot points (aka go for a walk to think through what’s going on in my plot and where it’s going next)
    c. Apparently love wins over the hate as I signed up to do it again this year!
Now, Thirdly, I have to pass this award on to five to seven of my deserving blogging buddies.
That’s going to take a bit of figuring see as my two best blogging buddies nominated me, and I’m going to try and use the no backsies (at least not right away) rule. Looks like I’m going to be subscribing to some fellow Protagonize member blogs so I can nominate them *giggles*
  1. Eloosive (Daily Writing Practice)
  2. Jackerbie (Crumb Trails)
  3. Burndtree (Burndtree)
  4. Alyssa (Literaturistic Blog)
  5. Jessica M. Vazquez, aka Arwym (Crafted Dreams)


And Lastly, I need to contact those people I nominated and congratulate them.
Well if you’re one of those people and you haven’t been contacted by me, you will be soon. Just remember the rules are as follows:
  1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
  2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
  3. Pass the award along to 5-7 deserving blogging buddies.
  4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them!

May we all gain a reader or two in this whole fun process!

:} Cathryn Leigh

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Poetic Excuses

I'm sorry blog,
I've ignored you so.
My momentum has been shot.

I've skipped a week,
nearly made it two.
I forget an awful lot.

You see we've come,
To that time of year,
When we're busy as the bees.

First October and its spooky night.
Two children's costumes, what a pretty sight.

Next is November, that writing spree.
A whirlwind of words to be set free.

Then comes December with its celebration.
Can I send my baking to more than one nation?

And should I also dare to mention,
That I’ve gone and volunteered?
To help lead my daughter’s troop,
Of Daisy scouts so dear.

There’s also this class I’m taking,
For the writing mother.
Volunteering for the church
No wonder I’m all a flutter.

And last, but certainly not the least,
Phoenix Triumphant goes on,
Some writing and some edits,
Until the story’s dawn.


:} Cathryn Leigh