GloNoNatter

Personal Writing Contracts

2011-12-11T15:05:00.007-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Hello.

It's been a while, has it not, old friend.

I decided to blog about an idea that occurred to me. It's very much like National Novel Writing Month, which is an informal contract to write a 50k novel in a month.

Why not a writing contract, with yourself? Say, x number of words per day, y number of days per week. You can set z as a penalty for not meeting the conditions of x and y. Making it a sort of game, you can make it a bit of fun, as well as motivational. You should not set more than you can handle, as that is for the bigger ,more important contracts. Not that writing is not important: but it is better to set lower goals first, until you are in the habit of accomplishing these goals Then you can "up the ante".

National Novel Writing Month is a 50k madhouse; but there's nothing stopping you from exercising your literary muscles a bit at a time, to stretch them.

Life is going to happen anyway, you may as well write around the events, right?

Search Engines

2011-02-13T22:09:00.002-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have never used Yahoo as a search engine. It's always been Google (although by preference it's Yippy, formerly "Clusty", because I like how it clusters search results together under various topics/tabs which sometimes accelerate my search).

2011-02-09T13:27:00.003-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Bad enough, not writing anything for some time. Now I'm sick. <,< Have been for a while, actually. I hate post-nasal drip. I've spent a lot of the previous week sleeping.

I also figured, it's about time to write a new post, too. That way, if the spammers have my blogs marked, I can report more of them. And yes, I moderate all comments. Trust me, Juicyfruiter was harmless in comparison. I'm not letting a lot of spam through, especially for porno sites, as they have nothing to do with writing.

Spam I will consider are office products and business cards: in a sense, they're related, albeit by a long shot, to the writing, which could be considered a home-based business. Note: I said I'd consider, not automatically post, it.

Now, if I can only shake this cold, and the post-nasal drip.....

NaNoWriMo, Day 19

2010-11-19T10:24:00.002-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

This has been more like National Novel Writing Procrastination Month to me.

Seriously.

I've posted a poll to my LiveJournal for advice, in the form of ticky-boxes for the possible decisions. Among the options are to write two separate books and then synthesize them, as the story is rounded by the two perspectives. Two unique and characters, going through many strong changes. It's no wonder I've been so hung up on it.

NaNoWriMo: Day 12

2010-11-12T19:57:00.003-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

12 days, and no further writing. I'm tired, I have a lot going on, and...meh. It's nuts.

I have paperwork to clear up first for housing, and in the meantime I'll play around with the opening scene elements and try to get it working.

Meh

2010-11-11T17:42:00.003-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Of ll the things... I thought maybe to start writing a World of Warcraft Jr, with all chibis, and Thrall and Varian have a food fight. Might be fun to write, may jar loose what I need to, to start working on what I really want to, if I start with something that's a little fun.

Waah!

2010-11-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

The universe hates me.

That is all. T_T

AAUGH!

2010-11-06T12:20:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Between life's uprisings and technical difficulties, I've written nothing so far, beyond the first sentence.

At least, there's plenty of time to catch up.

note to self: if the computer keeps telling you a network cable is unplugged, check the cord that sends power into your computer first. Darn cat... *gromble*

Sigh. I so wish I had a typewriter. I don't think they even make manual, or even electric, ones, any more. I don't see them anywhere.

And So, It Begins...

2010-10-31T23:57:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Directly after I post this, I am opening up my word processor, and seeing if I manage to write anything before collapsing into a heap of unconscious...lump.

NaNoWriMo: 3 Days And Counting

2010-10-29T09:25:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Oops! Skipped a day, didn't I?

Got the house clean, messed it up a bit, so I need to take the time to straighten it up again. Can't let it get out of hand for November. I need to mete out my time accordingly to get my daily word count in.

That means...POTATO PANCAKES, TONIGHT! Since they're in a mix, and I need to mix it, and figure in the food preparation and the cleaning-up after. My sister sent out the box, just got the eggs (yes, the mix calls for eggs).

On another front, two more days till Halloween. Live with Regis and Kelly, and their costume thing. Oh, sorry. That was today, wasn't it. Yes, it is, I got the last half hour on now. WOOT! You know, since Halloween is on Sunday, and all. And yea, I am a Halloweenie. =^~,0^=

NaNoWriMo: 5 Days And Counting

2010-10-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Still doing a countdown. I added another writing buddy, this morning. Yea, found someone else who also analyzes the Harry Potter books.

Yay!

Not that the HP books are the only ones I analyze or read: but they're fun, and accessible for discussion, since so many people have read them. They're also close in some respects to what I'm writing. No, I'm not writing something set at a school of magic. But I am writing fantasy-based fiction, hopefully targeted towards the same audience. My magical creatures, sentient or otherwise, are different from hers, too. But hopefully, there is a core...something, that will eventually come out in analysis.

Personally, I think it was the characterization. Plot is excellent, but without characterization, you don't really have the motive to carry it out plausibly, do you.

NaNoWriMo: 6 Days And Counting

2010-10-26T12:41:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

It's getting closer.....

If you have tea biscuits with coffee, does that make them coffee biscuits?

Hopefully, I will neither be sneezing, nor coughing, quite so much during National Novel Writing Month. I'm sleeping a lot now, worn out from all that coughing and sneezing. Trying to make sure I get plenty of rest to get over it and back to normal. Being sick...not pleasant.

Ah, management replaced the blinds today, and also kindly repaired my dishwasher. Well, maintenance did, actually, but I had to contact management first, for them to delegate someone to the task after queuing it up.

NaNoWriMo: Seven Days And Counting

2010-10-25T05:38:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

The flat is shaping up. I have frozen food, and enough coffee (albeit decaffeinated, but I mixed a spoon of instant so it has some caffeine. My sister sent it out :p I can get some real coffee to supplement it!) and tea to last me through most, if not all, of November. The major thing coming up that may disrupt my writing schedule is Thanksgiving. And yes, I've budgeted in World of Warcrack, too, and reading time. The biggest thing to catch up with is the cleaning, and I'm almost there, I think.

I've also just about figured out the plot. I'm rewriting last year's NaNoWriMo. I think I have a better idea of the story I'm trying to tell, this year. I know who the characters are (same ones from last year) and the same essential situation, even if it's going to be a different story. I still have the old story, and I can refer to that after November, when I start getting into revisions, to make sure I have everything in the story that I want, this time.

Yes, I'm actually starting NaNoWriMo with a plan. I don't know how fr that plan will carry, or how many transmutations the story will endure, but it is story. We have story.

We have story.

NaNoWriMi Countdown: 8 Days

2010-10-24T14:30:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

They're coming to get you, writers.

They're coming for you.

Look! There's one now!

Turn off the editors and get ready to just write!

National Novel Writing Month Countdown: 9 Days

2010-10-23T09:06:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Weekend Novelist
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Yea, before I go eat, before taking out the trash, I'm writing a quick update. November, and NaNoWriMo, is a few short days in the future. Do you know where your towel is? Don't panic!

National Novel Writing Month: 10 Days And Counting

2010-10-22T19:17:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

And the countdown continues.....

Today marks my second day as an ex-smoker. Housecleaning is coming along fine, too. Slowly, but all right. With luck, I'll be in good shape when November rolls around. I'll have a stock of frozen freezer food, macaroni and cheese, maybe oatmeal, and I can go out to get juice and coffee and milk, as needed. I'll get more analgesics at the beginning of next month. Hopefully, I'll get caught up on my reading, too.

NaNoWriMo: 11 Days and Counting

2010-10-21T09:20:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

10 days till the 31at, so 11 days till November and National Novel Writing Month. Start your engines, set your clocks, and clean your houses so that you just need to do spot-checks in November.

I hope I finish everything in time. The non-NaNo tasks are overwhelming, right now.

NaNoWriMo: 12 Days and Counting

2010-10-20T09:08:00.004-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

...Because I can.

I left this page open, specifically, to post daily. And National Novel Writing Month fits right into the theme of this blog. GloNoNatter = Global Novel Writing Month, or GloNoWriMo. That's NaNoWriMo. Why? Because it's a world-wide phenomenon. Where else do you compete in a non-competition to complete a novel in a month. Well, other than all the other WriMos that have spawned since Chris Beatty started this thing.

AAAAAAND-my coffee's ready, so I need to grab a cup and continue with the housecleaning. Got to be ready for when November rolls around, right?

NaNoWriMo Countdown: 12+ Days And Counting

2010-10-19T17:37:00.004-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

It's already begun.

Word Wars are everywhere, as people wait, not all patiently, for the first day of November. Tarot layouts, outlines/synopses and the like are all being written, even as we speak. Apparently, you pre-plan to be a pantser (i.e., someone who uses the tried and true method of "butt in chain, No plot? No problem!").

Do you NaNo?

Spam comments

2010-02-17T15:04:00.003-05:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Has anyone else been getting a lot of these lately? It's made me grateful that I moderate all comments. No one goes to LinksAPlenty for viagra or casino advertisements.

Odyssey 2009 Press Release

2009-02-17T12:39:00.002-05:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

****************************

Publicity Release

January 2009

ODYSSEY WRITING WORKSHOP

ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2009 SESSION

About Odyssey

Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has earned a place as one of the most respected workshops in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing community. Odyssey is for developing writers whose work is approaching publication quality and for published writers who want to improve their work. The six-week workshop combines an intensive learning and writing experience with in-depth feedback on student manuscripts. Top authors, editors, and agents have served as guest lecturers, including George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Terry Brooks, Robert J. Sawyer, Ben Bova, Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Hand, Jeff VanderMeer, Donald Maass, Sheila Williams, Shawna McCarthy, and Dan Simmons. Fifty-three percent of Odyssey graduates go on to professional publication.

The program is held every summer on Saint Anselm College's beautiful campus in Manchester , NH . Saint Anselm is one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country, dedicated to excellence in education, and its campus provides a unique, lovely setting and state-of-the art facilities for Odyssey students. College credit is available upon request.

Jeanne Cavelos, Odyssey's director, founder, and primary instructor, is a best-selling author and a former senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing, where she won the World Fantasy Award for her work. Being a writer/editor makes Cavelos uniquely suited to provide students with constructive and professional critiques of their work. "I give the same unflinchingly honest, concrete, detailed feedback that I provided as a senior editor," Cavelos said. Her typewritten critiques average around 1,000 words, and her handwritten line edits on manuscripts are extensive. In addition, she guides students through the six weeks, gaining in-depth knowledge of their work, providing detailed assessments of their strengths and weaknesses in private meetings, and helping them target their weaknesses one by one.

Odyssey class time is split between workshopping sessions and lectures. An advanced, comprehensive curriculum covers the elements of fiction writing in depth. Students learn the tools and techniques necessary to strengthen their writing.

The workshop runs from June 8^th to July 17^th, 2009 . Class meets for four hours in the morning, five days a week. Students spend about eight hours more per day writing and critiquing each

other's work. Prospective students, aged eighteen and up, apply from all over the world. The early admission application deadline is JANUARY 31^st, and the regular admission deadline is APRIL 8^th. Tuition is $1900, and housing is $700 for a double room and $1400 for a single.

Meet Our 2009 Writer-in-Residence

Odyssey's 2009 writer-in-residence is Carrie Vaughn, New York Times bestselling author and Odyssey 1998 graduate. Carrie is the author of the phenomenally popular "Kitty" novels, about a werewolf who hosts a talk radio show. The first novel, Kitty and the Midnight Hour has over a hundred thousand copies in print. Books five and six of the series, Dead Man's Hand and Kitty Raises Hell, will appear in 2009. Carrie's short stories have appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards series, and other anthologies. She has a Master's degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has been a lifelong science fiction fan and reader.

Other Guest Lecturers

Odyssey is pleased to welcome its 2009 guest lecturers: bestselling author Jeffrey A. Carver; award-winning authors Melissa Scott, Patricia Bray, and Jack Ketchum, and Editor-in-Chief of the Ace and Roc science fiction/fantasy imprints, Ginjer Buchanan.

Odyssey Graduates

If you're reading science fiction, fantasy, and horror, you're reading the work of Odyssey graduates. If you've read recent issues of some of the top fiction magazines in the field--Realms of Fantasy, Asimov's, Analog, Weird Tales, Fantasy Magazine, Intergalactic Medicine Show--you've read stories by Odyssey graduates Theodora Goss, David Barr Kirtley, Eric James Stone, Clayton Kroh, Larry Hodges, Matthew S. Rotundo, James Maxey, Carrie Vaughn, Carl Frederick, and Andrea Kail.

If you've been to the bookstore lately, you've seen books by Odyssey graduates, including Superpowers by David J. Schwartz, published by Random House; Dragonforge by James Maxey, published by Solaris Books; Maledicte by Lane Robins, published by Del Rey; Bloodstone by Barbara Campbell, published by DAW; Red Dragon Codex by R. D. Henham, published by Mirrorstone Books; The Mirror by Natalia Lincoln, published by Space & Time Books; The Eunuch's Heir by Elaine Isaak, published by HarperCollins; and Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn, published by Warner.

Comments from the Class of 2008

"I sold three novels before I came to Odyssey. I just wish I had gone to Odyssey before I wrote them--they would have been better books. Odyssey freakin' rocks!"

--J. Justin Gustainis, author of Evil Ways

"You will never be more eager to work yourself to the bone. Nor will you have as much reward for doing it. The six weeks at Odyssey have done more for my writing career than my bachelor's degree in creative writing. I only wish I'd known about it sooner."

--Breanna Wojcik

Other Odyssey Resources and Services

The Odyssey website www.odysseyworkshop.org offers free podcasts, writing and publishing tips, a class syllabus, and more information about how to apply. An overview of the Odyssey Critique Service is also available on the website at http://www.sff.net/odyssey/crit.html. This service provides authors with professional-level feedback on their writing, done with the thoroughness and depth for which Odyssey is known.

Those interested in applying to the workshop should visit the website, phone/fax (603) 673-6234, or e-mail jcavelos@sff.net.

Alas And Alack!

2008-10-10T10:40:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have no idea if anyone purveys this blog: but OpenOffice froze my system, so I finally ended up deleting it. With National Novel Writing Month around the proverbial corner, well, I want to take no chances.

That is, if I can tear myself away from World of Warcraft long enough.

Yes, I'm still studying their world-building. Whether or not you accept it as such, MMORPGs are also a form of literary entertainment.

What? I hear you say. Heresy! It's gaming, so how can it be literary?

Well, for one thing, it's clearly inspired, not merely by te influences of television, but alos from sources of literary merit. The essential plot(s) (multiple, non-interactive story lines) are also clearly thus inspired. Not to mention some fans have not only been inspired to write about their characters, perhaps on blogs, but also to draw comics. Yes, I love comics. ^_^ And hopefully, I wil have no argument as to the literary merit of the graphic form fo storytelling.

And this, friend, is the crux: WoW is essentially a form of graphic storytelling,even with the corny jokes pre-programmed into the characters.

Anyway, even with the expansion coming out this month, there is a lot of story involved. How much of this was pre-conceived and planned for, and how much improvised with each update? The world may never know.

Revisions, Decisions

2008-09-12T17:19:00.002-04:00

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Weekend Novelists Forum Index

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I've been stuck enough tat I'm downloading OpenOffice ot try that for a change of venue. I have tried YWriter, which worked in the past, but seems hopeless now.

I need more coffee. Be right back.

#

Got my coffee. Okay. Now, I spent a lot of today thinking about the revisions, taking breaks here and thre to write a bit and to check my email and blogs. I really have not felt well, these past few months, and my daughter has not really been helping. I should buy a month's supply of stuff like hamburger, make a huge meat loaf, vut it apart and freeze it, and keep lots of canned veggies. Then all I need to worry about are perishables, and not food. Well, that, and breakfast cereal. Maybe tuna and Underwood(TM) Deviled Ham. I used to love that stuff. Get liver too, and have that once per week.

OpenOffice is stil ldownloading. I'll probably need to reboot, since some things are balking at me, baying like hounds at the moon. I already did a defrag. Maybe I'll do an analysis first, once the program;s done installing, to make sure I don't need to drfrag again.

Am I getting a bit paranoid? Probably.

Chuck was going to drive from Ohio and visit, but I talked him out of it. His friend wants his help setting up for the Bar Mitzvah, and his family wants to see him. He mgiht be making a trip to Boston in the Spring. That's a lot closer. Hades, I used to take the New London/Orient Point Ferry because it was a bit quicker then the train (shaved 2 hours off the trip). We have a bit of time to meet in person, no rushing into things headlong. Better to take the time to do things right, right? It also gives him time to check MapQuest for directions, now that we hae a bit ore time to put some thought into this. It's all the little stuff you don't think about at the time, that's the real killer.

Anyway, hopefully, OpenOffice will give me the altered perespective that I need, in order to get the revision of book one going in earnest (Poor Earnest).

AAUGH! Editing!

2008-09-11T13:39:00.003-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
Weekend Novelists Forum Index

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Yes, random link inserted.

I really, really wish I could print this out. Unfortunately, I cannot. I did a cut-and-paste for a later paragraph and moved it towards the beginning because it makes more sense, sice I added the elemet of the nightmare, and what Dragan fears.

Sometimes, editing seems to take a lot out of you, at least until you hit your stride. You think, Aaugh! What does this button do? Would that action fit better with this button? That's taking emotion as motivation and using it as a trigger, or button. I cannot help but think of Deedee in Dexter's Laboratory, singing "What does this button do?" Sometimes, these actions have catastrophic consequences, or at least Deedee's button-pushing does *she is OC, ie, obsessive-compulsive, about pushing buttins, you see). Now, at least we can hope that pushing this particular emotive/motivative button for Dragan has the consequence only for him, and not for the novel. :)

The edit has not yet hit its stride. Hopefully, I'll hit my right button soon...

Huzzah! Revisions Beginning!

2008-09-10T13:20:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
Weekend Novelists Forum Index

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Yes, I finally got around to beginning revisions on book one. I added a whole bunch of links on outlining to the library, and I've been slowly thinking about an outline for book one to get a better grip on the action and the like so that I can get started on at least an outline for book two. NaNoWriMo is around the proverbial corner. by a narrow margin.

The Muse Online 2008 Writers Conference

2008-08-12T10:14:00.001-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
Weekend Novelists Forum Index

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

JulNoWriMo

2008-07-11T12:59:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Growl. What I started writing somehow got lost. I know I saved the file. I have no idea what happened...

2008-03-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

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Weekend Novelists Forum Index

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

The day might be a bit yolky
Alka-Seltzer ^(TM) might be spent
But it's no time for sulky
Since it's the end of Lent
Eggs are neatly gathered
There's chocolate everywhere
The food is in abundance
Lots of jellybeans to spare
The lamb is on the table
Roast beast, if you've half a mind
Or ham cooked to a texture sable
And veggies of various kind
The rabbit died of exhaustion
At least until next year
The day is a sensation
For all of merry cheer
For each and sundry relation
Passover also counts here. ^_^

Holly Daze

2007-12-25T11:22:00.001-05:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Aargh!

2007-11-02T13:16:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I am not going to waste my time ,waiting for the site to load. It's too frustrating! If they're lucky, they'll get a weekly update from me.

As of this writing, noe sentence, so far, today. That;'s okay, plenty of time. Speaking of which, I have a timer, and I'm not afraid to use it!

And They're Off!

2007-11-01T14:36:00.000-04:00

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Weekend Novelists Forum Index

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

No, I have not started yet. I have a few things to take care of, first. ^_^ But I'm set, and raring to go, otherwise.

National Novel Writing Month 2007

2007-10-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

National Novel Writing Month site.
Weekend Novelists Forum Index

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

All this stuff about story diagrams, and the like... Still, I think I'm ready. Maybe the first draft was my diagram, and where they talk about sketching in events and stuff... Heh. The main site's been loading so slow, it's horrible. Their site "upgrade" is horrible.

Just A Minor Test

2007-09-22T15:57:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

It seems that I lcank the header when I use the BLOG THIS! option on FireFox. Ah, well. At least, I know that it does work, now.

New Dell Computer System Online

2007-09-22T15:55:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's a Dell, and in plenty of time for both NaNoWriMo, and for working. I just hope that I can find the right palce to plug in the blasted speakers...

National Novel Writing Month 2007

2007-09-20T22:50:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

What, you may ask, is National Novel Writing Month?

You there, in the back row, stop laughing, there are actually people who have never heard of NaNoWriMo. Be nice...

Anyway, it's one month, out of twelve, where you try to write 1,667 words per day for the entire month, to have a total of 50,000 words by month's end. At the conclusion of this month, assuming you reach the 50k, you get

1. A downloadable certificate exclaiming that you won by writing 50k for the month. Even if the novel's not finished, and you may want to write past that to reach the end, the 50,000 words makes you a winner. Why? Because look at how many words you wrote, and on the same book!

2. An icon you can use most anywhere, declaring you a NaNoWriMo winner.

3. You may be able to get a free copy of your book, at least in e-format, from Lulu.com. It was past my time (I won in 2004), but they started offering something like that. I don't know if they will do it again this year, but you can check on it at the site.

4. The camaraderie of other writers, plus meeting a lto of people on-site that you already know, only you didn't know they were crazy enough to NaNo.

Hey, you never know, after the revision/rewrite, if you go back over your novel at month's end, you might just have a best-seller on your hands. If not, well, hey, it was fun!

he 1st Annual Endurance Writers' Half-Marathon!

2007-09-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          Good Morning Sprinters!
          Breaking news! An experimental event that has been on the back burner (the back burner of my mind, that is) since the start of this group is about to take place. The 1st Annual Endurance Writers' Half-Marathon!
          Yes. Due to a strange cosmic alignment of work schedules, the Half-Marathon event will be taking place this Tuesday, 9/11/2007. Apologies for the late notice, but as this event is still in the experimental stages, and I only have one "definite" all-day participant so far, I had to jump on the scheduling availability when I could. No worries, though. If this experiment proves successful, more events will be on the horizon for all.
          About the event: As the title implies, it is a long-term, all-day event lasting approximately 13.1 hours! *whew* A true endurance activity of proportions not attempted by THIS writer before. :-)
          The exact schedule of events for this day is posted under the FILES link on the left column of the group page (let me know if anything looks wonky, as I wrote this up at 2:30am and my eyes and brain were a little tired). If anyone wants to join the Half-Marathon sprints or to come and cheer us on during this time, please take note of the schedule, as we will be sticking to it pretty closely, and should be showing up on Yahoo Messenger during this entire period. (If you IM me on this day, I promise that I WILL reply eventually, but please don't despair if I don't respond right away.) Also, if you do happen to be available and willing to participate in the all-day event, or know someone who is, feel free to let me know! It is by no means closed to outside participation. In fact, I wholeheartedly welcome it!
          For a little more about the concept behind the Half-Marathon event, see the group's external website at: EnduranceWriting.com.
          Again, even if you can't participate in the whole thing, feel free to jump in on portions of Tuesday's big event! The more the merrier. And we'll probably need the moral support, after about 7 hours or so... LOL.
          Looking forward to seeing you then, as I go forth with this crazy new
adventure and see where it leads me... :-)

~Trish/alt.energy

          Liz's Note: The event starts at 3:00 AM HST, 12 noon EST. That must mak eit 9 AM for the Left Coast. For a little help figuring it out for you rime zone, I just Googled the Time Zone Converter. Also, a useful link during this, or at any other time, is the Online-Stopwatch, which has a countdown feature.

Update

2007-09-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Yesterday's Total: 1465
Today's total: 2104 words

Between yesterday's and today's, that's 3569 words.

Gauntlet (10k) and SeptNo (10k) makes 20k, so I'm almsot a quarter thhre already. Will wonders never cease?

Sprinting

2007-09-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

GAH! I need to make my coffee. I'm gonig to stat sprinting at 12 and do a couple before taking

A) a shower

B) the trash out

and (maybe)

C) up the laundry.

Gotta try to get this first book finished by the end of this month, so I can start on the next one.

I may be getting a new computer soon. Rose talked with David, who may be putting together a P4 system for me (I say "may", since it's hard to know if wires didn't get crossed, or anything). Regardless, though the cobbled-together system I'm using now works half-way, there's a lot I cannot access with it that I need to, when looknig things up (or even visiting bloody YouTube).
I mean, if you can't watch sometihng, and people don't get why you can't watch it, well, that's awkward.

Also, the way the hard drive is going on this system (used to be Terror's, but it's taken much abuse over the years), I'm not really sure how much longer it's going to last...

progress and current word count

2007-08-24T01:33:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have posted my progress and current word count to my DeviantArt account. I have also uplaoded a couple of really crappy comics to my scraps. Sorry. I just finished a couple of writing sprints, then a spell check, and then the one update, so I'm a bit tired, lol.

Fast Draft

2007-08-13T08:52:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I am up to ten pages so far today, and aiming for twenty. This is going on my AugNo total, when I do the word count bit.
BTW, if you like, blog about a UFO flyby on August 30. ;-) I just want to do this for the fun of it ~~and take as many people with me as I can get, when I go~~. Granted, August 30 is my birthday, but... ;-)

Random Last Name Generator

2007-07-31T22:01:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Ha. I have to write the first draft of a horror story for the next anthology. I already have it in mind. I went to a name generator for proper names, but I need a surname (and possibly more than one). I decided to look for a generator to use in a pinch, so I ended up Googling the above link. Even if the surname changes later, at least I can generate one in a pinch. ;-) Thank you, Simthing Different 2! And yes, that is the name of the site.

JulNoWriMo Update, 23 July 2007 Monday

2007-07-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

                I don't know if I'll manage to catch up with the word count, but it's still a good run, and I've so far written twice as much as I had, wither of the previous two months. A little over that, so the total's superior to the combined two.
                I'm still not fully awake. I would much rather go back to bed. Still, I'm going to try to get something written. I am still going to try catching up with the word count total.
                My current JulNoWriMo running tally is here on DeviantART, along with the total word count, and the separate writer's bible count. Where I'm starting today, with the previous word count, the scenes are going to overlap.
                Now, all I need to do, is to wake up... lol. I was in bed till almost 12:30. Didn't intend to stay in bed, asleep, for that long, but after the last week... bah. Except for being a bit tired, I'm so far faring a bit better.
                15,190 words to go, if I want to catch up with the 37,097 words that I am supposed to be at today. Let's see if it can be done. Total average of combined (minus one word for the eight remaining days, I think), is 3554 words per day.
                Wish me luck!

2007-07-20T11:52:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

More later, but:

2298 / 2000 Glossary / Bible
21,144 / 50,000 JulNoWriMo Running (Story) Tally
41,181/ 70,017 Story Proper

Cheers!

2007-07-19T00:25:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Hades, it can strike when you're mowing the lawn, and musing about irrelevant things. Hades, I was even looking at my daughter's textbook for history in the second grade and (though I never followed through on it) using it for an outline for an SF story, complete with the territorial expansion and stuff. It could still be done, but I'd rather work on my fantasy series.

Ideas for horror stories can rise from almost anything too, a random incident or person for inspiration.

Fro mthe fellow who crams his family in a closer because he thinks it's the end of the world, that turns into a murder-suidide, and Jim Jones (also murder-suicide, though on a much larger scale), to Charles Manson, to whatever news story inspired THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

Some of the stories from the Bible are pretty scary too, when you think about the incidents depicted in either the Old or New Testament.

Actually, from romance, to horror, to SF or fantasy, you can glean inspiration and idea fodder from just about any source. Social trends (1984, Make Room! Make Room!, The Time Machine, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) and mroe abstract plots (Flatland, which isactually a combination) and cyberpunk. Axioms (the more things change, the more they stay the same) is one idea behind a time machine story that I have had outlined for years. I think I'm almost ready to start writing it, finally, but the plot had to sit in my brain and drive me insane for over a decade.

If you look around you, at the way you have always done things, and then look at one of your friends or neighbors and notice that they do things differently, sometimes by a major instead of a minor degree. These differences can also lead you to a story.

O' course, y' have t' train y'self up that way. ;-)

Word Count Update

2007-07-13T19:57:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Because I have been so lax. :)

7/12
2206 / 2000 Glossary / Bible
19,523 / 50,000 JulNoWriMo Running (Story) Tally
39,560 / 70,017 Story Proper

JulNoWriMo Update

2007-07-09T18:02:00.000-04:00

JulNoWriMo Update

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

--
2142 / 2000 Glossary / Bible
14,602 / 50,000 JulNoWriMo Running (Story) Tally
34,639 / 70,017 Story Proper

I cannot get through to MySpace to update, but this poor blog has been neglected long enough. T_T

July Novel Writing Month, And The Week In Review

2007-06-30T13:44:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

                I signed up for JulNoWriMo a few days ago. I managed to catch my project up to the point where I could separate the story from the bible (*random cheering from the peanut gallery*), so I can keep the two separate. I will actually maintain word counts for both, because as I progress with the one, I shall also need the other to keep the story straight.
                I had started a picture of Daffodil in pencil, but the way it all came out, I am going to use it as the base for portraits of her, plus Dragan, plus Harald. Family members do tend to bear something of a resemblance, each to the other, so if I work with MS Paint on the base, to individualise each one, then voila!
I have also devised more ideas as to where to go with the first book. More specific ideas, at any rate, which is far better than the generalised ideas I had possessed towards the beginning.
                Of course, after the first book is written, I can start in right away on the second, and revise bits of the first as I go along as well. A trilogy always has three parts, and if I can complete the first revision of the first part, and the first draft of the second part simultaneously—well, let us just say that it is a Very Good Thing. I have read books that have ended up as parts of trilogies, and books in series that ended up confusing previous events a bit. If an event gets confuzzled in mine, then I would like the characters to do it. I dun'wanna, lol.

                That leaves one humongous question left to answer. Starting tomorrow, do I want to write 1667 words per day (approximate), or do I want to write 2500 words per day, five days per week, with two days off per week, for good behavior? Xp

Current:

2007-06-29T23:41:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

20,017 / 70,017 - story

1,907 / 2,000 - glossary / bible

I am now ready for JulNoWriMo.

Current

2007-06-29T00:20:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

..>..>

19,254 / 20,000
(96.3%)

WRITERS BIBLE
..>..>

..>..>

1,838 / 2,000
(91.9%)

GRAND TOTAL:
..>..>

..>..>

21,092 / 20,000
(105.5%)

The grand total reflects what I did when I combined the two totls, as I did for the previuos two months. If I can get the main part of the sstory up to 20k before the start of JulNoWriMo, then I only have to worry about the one word count for a base, and leave the reference out of the tally.

July WriMo

2007-06-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Okay, I am all signed up for July Novel Writing Month, or JulNoWriMo. I don't know if I'll be able to hit the 50k, considering that I barely made the 10k per month for the past two months, but we shall see. The 50k will not finish my novel, of course, even if I manage that much, but we shall see,

2007-06-25T21:58:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

20,032 / 20,000
(100.2%)

Cheers!

2007-06-25T01:46:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

19,256 / 20,000 (96.3%)

Update For The Day(?)

2007-06-25T00:43:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

18,706 / 20,000 (93.5%)

I actually have 300+ more words written, but I need to rewrite the scene, because I ended up writing a scene that takes place immediately prior to it, and it worked a little too well, if you know what I mean. ;-)

Nexii?

2007-06-24T12:58:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Do you know how hard it is to find out the Latin plural for (if any) for the word nexus? Bah. And yes, it does have something to do with what I'm writing. It won't hold me up too badly right now, because I'm not up to when the plural would be right useful to have, but I'll get to that point soon. I just posed the query to the writing list. I hope they have an answer for me.

Five Basic Facts

2007-06-24T10:14:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

At the Barclay Funereal Home website, they had something on five basic facts about grief. I saved a copy, though I had to spell-check the darn thing. It had several errors. I let the editor out to play for a while. ;-) I mean, I have been though the process, and on more than one occasion, but it's something that bears repeating, because that's part of the burden of Necromancy, and will help me add some emotional details to the story. See, even if the protagonist is technically not dead, not his soul or spirit, anyway, there's still going to be that period of mourning. See, his human body's dead, he'll never return to it and, although his daughter's aware from circumstantial evidence that his spirit is trapped in an inanimate object because she paid attention to her Necromantic studies, both characters, as well as subsidiary ones who have absolutely no idea what transpired, everyone's going to grieve; and so will a lot of people at the beginning of the book, too, because of all the mysterious deaths that make it seem to them like the kingdom's cursed.

This Week In Review

2007-06-23T12:12:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          This week was not bad. Even if it was only yesterday, so far, I wrote about 5k. Next week, of course, I plan to do more writing.
          I have not set up a project planner or list, per se, but I have made progress on the writing front.

          "What are we going to do next week, Brain?"
          "The same thing we do every week, Pinky. Try to ~~take over the world~~ get some writing done."

          I'm working on it. ;-) Backing up my files, that is. I have to email current copies of my WIP to myself.
          Oh, and my current virus scan shows that my system is clean.

Details, Details

2007-06-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

History of Funeral Customs

Yes, I have to look it up. I am trying to find some medieval funeral customs and the like, though I am also trying to find out some other details as well. I am probably also going to have to check renaissance custom, as well.
I am also attempting to find technical details, like preparation of the body, yada, yada.
Funeral Consumer Guide. Embalming was done in the hoe, huh? Interesting.

Update 11 (absolute last one for today)

2007-06-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

17,734 / 20,000
(88.7%)

So Far (Update 10)

2007-06-22T15:01:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

17,172 / 20,000
(85.9%)

So Far (Update 9)

2007-06-22T14:17:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

16,667 / 20,000
(83.3%)

So Far (Update 8)

2007-06-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

16,265 / 20,000
(81.3%)

So Far (Update 7)

2007-06-22T11:39:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

15,752 / 20,000
(78.8%)

Not easy, but progressing.

So Far (Update 6)

2007-06-22T10:28:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

15,233 / 20,000
(76.2%)

So Far (Update 5)

2007-06-22T09:39:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

14,716 / 20,000
(73.6%)

So Far (Update 4)-Cross-posted from LiveJuornal

2007-06-22T08:47:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

14,196 / 20,000
(71.0%)

Not bad, so far. That's a bit over 2k written so far, today.

2007-06-22T07:47:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Houir Three:

13,690 / 20,000
(68.5%)

I'm actually keeping better track on my MySpace account. Still, I had to post something here, formalities aside. You'd think I'd think of posting it here, first, but no... :rofl:

The Weekend Novelist

2007-06-20T10:46:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Thank Ghu a message came through on the weekend novelist's forum index. I had lost the site. Well, it's found again.

"Series"-ous Endeavor

2007-06-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

                It's Changing Again.
                My series always does this to me. I think that I finally have the proper starting point. Then I start writing it. Then, bam! I realize that the story actually starts at an earlier point.
                Well, the rest of the story is for the prequel. This story starts here, and now, with what I am working on. At least, it segues so well into what I had actually wanted to be working on, except that that trilogy will be the second one in the series, and the one I am currently working on shall be the first one.
                Go, me.

Current

2007-05-29T00:18:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

7,172 / 10,000
(71.7%)

Only roughly 3k more for two days, just slightly less than that. Think I can do it? ;-)

I signed for 10k more for JunNoStringMo, the Stringing Words site WriMo. This is in addition to the 20k for Script Frenzy. Sanity is overrated.

Fwd: [Swain's World] Link Posted!

2007-05-24T11:38:00.001-04:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Anne Ensley
Date: May 24, 2007 10:14 AM
Subject: [Swain's World] Link Posted!
To: swains_world@ya ...

      I found an informative link that can help with both Valhoor and Radulf Manors, since they are both of a similar (or even the same basic) design. Britain Express has a page on Medieval Manors in England. That should be a great help, in setting the story's stage.
      Whee! Moving right along, now...
      I think the Radulf Manor is based on the architecture of Valhoor Manor. It's newer, so there are fewer ghosts running around. Still, it gives me a clearer mental image of my stage.

Quote from page:

By the early 15th century the fortified manor house had run its course. The more settled conditions of the period meant that defense was no longer the highest priority, and more time and energy was spent creating structures with comfort in mind. The drawbridge gave way to a fixed bridge over the moat, and the gatehouse became more elaborately decorative; a grand entry way rather than a forbidding barrier. The upper floor of the gatehouse was often used as a chapel.

I have not decided on any sort of religion for he world yet, unlike for TLGM. Still, I would say that it is progressing splendidly.

__._,_.___

"Wars don't grow on trees, you know."

--
Elizabeth Anne Ensley
It is rare for a moose to kidnap a bank president.
- Janet Elaine Smith
BANK ROLL: A MAX STRYKER MYSTERY

Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think.
_ Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

2007-05-22T07:47:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Mary E Tyler's Writing Tools: Word Frequency Analyzer

Defrag Accomplished, Finally

2007-05-21T12:50:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I found a beta called SmartDefrag2. Thank Ghu, since the one that used to be on my system disappeared! It seriously needed a good defrag. Clusty helped, a lot. I searched defrag-shareware-freeware. These were the search parameters. It was on the first page. ;-) Maybe my system will not be quite so slow, now, and I can actually get some writing done without the page constantly loading, or whatever delay that little hourglass figure does that makes me lose blocks of text because I don't notice when it comes up and the set memory only functions for just so many characters...

Cleromancy

2007-05-20T12:03:00.001-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Cleromancy, or fortune-telling using dice... I posted some information to LinksAPlenty-Pagan because I needed as much information as I could get for one story (which is currently on the back burner as I return to the one I was supposed to be working on, but put aside in 2004 for that one). It's a rather interesting little thing. Also, if you are undecided in which direction that your story could go, flipping a coin, rolling the dice or reading Tarot cards is as good as any other method.

Random Update Friday 19 May 2007

2007-05-18T08:19:00.000-04:00

I saw Dr. Zucker two days ago. Saw Dr. Deshrage yesterday. Some bone density loss prescribed calcium supplements with vitamin D twice a day. Had a prescription for it, that my insurance didn't cover, but got it. I also had a prescription for some scalp ointment that the insurance did cover. I hope I remember to joke with Doctor Deshrage about that, when I see him in three weeks. He made it a point to make sure that I had a prescription for the ointment that the insurance would cover, but not for the calcium supplements. ;-) His prescription was for 500, and Rose gave me the 600s, but they're pretty much the same thing, so I'm going to finish the ones she gave me before I start in on that one, since I'll probably take them for the rest of my life.

Getting to the appointment was fun, too. I was on the wrong side of the street, and one guy said not to worry, the bus driver would take a break at the train station and be back, but I knew the driver took his break by Dunkin Donuts. I walked several blocks to my appointment. I'm still feeling it today. When I got in, I was only five minutes late, which wasn't bad. Then, I get back to see the nurse, and she asks me, on a scale of one to ten, what my pain level is. I told her not to ask, since I'd just walked up. My back was completely killing me, and my legs, especially the one--aaugh! Anyway, the doctor had me ask the nurse for a sheet, and that's how I found out that I can go to a place on Sunrise Highway in Patchogue that should take my insurance for the prescription for glasses that I have. I'm also supposed to make an appointment with a vascular surgeon. Circulation devastation, I suppose.

Anyway, I had appointments two days in a row, and the doctor wants me to see the dietitian for a diverticulitis "food plan". They had a cancellation, so I have a one thirty appointment today. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until June. May as well get it all over with, right? I also go back on Saturday because they gave me a TB test (they apparently lost the results of the one they gave me, six months ago--busy office, I don't blame them!) and I have to be in there on Saturday at 11 AM for them to read the results.

Terror tells me that John's father is going to help her find a good used car, he's had some experience in that sort of thing. She only wants to work at 7-11 long enough to save up for a year's worth of auto insurance, then quit and look for something else, since she will have her license and a car (with insurance). She had enough money left over from financial aid for a cheap used car, so the insurance is her big point. This is what she told me. Carrie (John and Carrie are two of her friends from Suffolk, and they are both in the anime club with her) has a good lead on reasonably priced insurance. She only pays a bit over a thousand per year for hers. Terror did some research into it, enough to be reasonably sure that it's a pretty good price for her. She's not working in the Fall anyway, since she'll be back in school.

I miss Walter and Rich. They drove the Center Moriches / Riverhead bus run, and you could set your watch by them. Sometimes, you're lucky if your bus gets to where it's supposed to be to pick you up, a half hour or so late. There's lots more people taking the buses, and then you have people who take awhile loading, so it's understandable.

Have you ever had one of those times when your writing stalled, perhaps because you started at the wrong place in time? It happens to me quite a bit. I went to an earlier point in my story and started writing again. I'm in MayNoWriMo, signed up for 10k, and stalled at around 3k. I think I found the real starting point, though, since I started again yesterday. Have ot change a couple of character names that I already started writing, but that will not be hard. They were set within the parameter of the story, and it's still early enough that it can be rectified.

A Second Excerpt from PARASITIC SANDS

2007-05-12T08:07:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

AZRAEL’S COVE
by Paul Harris
(another story from PARASITIC SANDS, with permission from the author)

     I blushed as they gave me a brief round of applause and then whirled round as I heard it echoed from my rear. The rest of the men, the ones who had made it onto the beach first time around, had gathered silently behind me. If I’d been starting to forget that all the men in front of me were dead, the walking corpses I was faced with now were a horrible reminder. The better ones bore only the odd bullet hole from a sniper’s rifle or a burst of machine gun fire. But the majority of them had obviously been through so much more and hadn’t quite been remade whole. There were arms and legs at odd angles, or even back to front. I averted my eyes swiftly from one poor chap whose head was on back to front.
     “Sorry about the state of them, sir.” Sergeant MacDonald said. I was about to reply that I was sure they couldn’t help their appearance when he carried on. “Less than half of them having weapons, I mean. A lot of their gear got destroyed when they were killed.”
     I managed an understanding nod, even as I wished MacDonald had phrased it a little less straightforwardly. My eyes drifted back to the poor fellow with the reversed head. Randomly I wondered what he would do if anyone gave the order, ‘about face’, and I had to bite my lip to avoid bursting out in hysterical laughter. Sergeant MacDonald must have seen where my problem lay and decided to do something about it.
      “Private McCoist.” The words were spoken in the low growl that only NCOs have ever mastered. “If you can’t get your head on straight, at least go and stand at the back. You’re turning the Captain’s stomach.” I watched in fascinated horror as McCoist tried to twist his head round to face front, failed, gave a salute to the back of his head and fell out to trot round to the back. How he could move without falling over was beyond me, but McCoist seemed to be managing. I forced my gaze off him and addressed the assemblage.
     “Men of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, we came here with a job to do. Our objective was to secure a beachhead and link up with the airborne troops inland. Circumstances have left us stranded here,” I paused as someone muttered ‘I told you we couldn’t trust the bloody navy’ and a ripple of laughter went through the men, “but that does not alter our mission. We need to get across the beach, up the cliffs and through the enemy. Are you with me?”
     “Sir, yes sir.” Came back the answer, sotto voce.

MayNo Daily 500, Update #4

2007-05-07T21:44:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

3,168 / 10,000
(31.7%)

Included in the count is my bible, since the reference will help with the story. That's the writers bible, or rather, my story bible.

You Can Write A Lot Of Story, Based On A Little Idea.

2007-05-04T09:57:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have tried plotting out a novel, but the characters always get in the way of the action. *snicker* Not always, but it is not the same thing as when writing a short story, where you often deal with one simple idea and run with it. I think that is why they tell you to expect to change your outline several times while writing.
   Take April Fools. I knew what I wanted to write, but the words would not come, so I had to resort to an analysis of the story I wanted to tell. I don't know if anyone else has this particular problem but, when planning a novel, I have a tendency to overplot. It seems that I did the same thing with my ideas for this novel. There was a little too much happening, with the different characters and the conception, for one book to do the story proper credit.
   The idea became one for a trilogy. Fine: but the words still were not coming. I had written a few scenes, but nothing major, nothing that really sparked for me. When I analyzed the best of these scenes, I realized I needed a minor character as a foil to help add interest to it, one that could interact with my character and, perhaps, make the story a little less—boring, is the word that I am inclined to use, though I do not know if that properly expresses the feeling behind it. It was an okay scene, but it had the potential to be so much more than that. There was a missing element that I could not place my finger on.
   Finally, I hit on it. A talking staff. But what were the reasons behind the talking staff? That was a bit of a puzzle.
   In a nutshell, with what I learned about the character, and how he had come to this stage (and you will note that the staff is no longer an "it"), he's not only become the alpha character of the trilogy, but also adds the proper impetus for the story. The idea, generated by all this brainstorming, had been born, and had won out.

Trilogy

2007-04-30T12:18:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

It's coming together, my story. I figured out that it's a trilogy already. Well, it's about a necromancer, though not necessarily about the one that everyone will think. For lack of a better title, I'm calling the first book Scheme of the Necromancer. Remember, titles are subject to chance. Heck, I changed the title of my series from Swain's World to Swains World. It's a working title so it might changhe at some point, too, but we shall see.

Writing Ain't Easy.

2007-04-25T07:09:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

        Not that anyone ever said it was: but writing takes commitment.
        I recommend that you read How to Quit Your Day Job to Write Full Time if you are, in fact, thinking of writing full-time. It mgiht be better to wait for that until you have the nice home, and the fancy car. Not to mention a decent home office set aside for writing. You need a printer, a computer (or typewriter, or both), notepads, notebooks, paper of all sorts. Strunk and White's Elements of Grammar is a good reference book to have. Eats, Shoots and Leaves is also a good book ot read. Punctuation is important, accurate punctuation doubly so.
        The dictionary is your friend. Two or three are great! I have one that's so old, it's lost its paperback cover over the years since the 1970s, but it lists certain foreign words and phrases (I wrote a poem using it for inspiration once, that went into my campus literary magazine), mythological figures--lots of references that I have seen in no dictionary since then. I have large print, small print, and I have two online dictionaries bookmarked—more, if you count a couple of naming sites which let you look up various names in different languages by their meaning and intent.
        A Jacuzzi Is Not A Mythological Creature (Thought It Sounds Like One). Yes, up until I was around eighteen, I had no idea what a jacuzzi was. I had no interest in them, seeing as I had no dealings with them. A lot of what we write, what we come to know, derives from our own experiences, and in what happens in our daily lives. "Write What You Know" doesn't mean that you should go out and write odes to a pencil sharpener (Although that sounds like fun, so maybe I will write one later). The nuance, the word choice, choosing representations—in fantasy, a car can become a dragon, especially on days when the engine gets overheated and the muffler decides to take a nap in the middle of the road while the rest of your car continues on, down the road. Er, well, things like that, yes. ;-)

Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007)

2007-04-12T08:24:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.

- Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007)

April Fools

2007-04-09T09:38:00.000-04:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

April Fools is this month's NaNoWriMo-type challenge. I had started writing; but I was sidetracked by reading the Mage Winds trilogy. It's a good thing, because it reminded me that I tend to over-plot, and that this over-plotting (for one book) can be recified by splitting the over-plotted book into two or three plots. I thought I'd had an apointment today, so I was going to bring notebooks with me. Instead, I shall be able to work on the outlines at home. After, of course, my second cup of coffee, and finishing the third book, Winds of Fury. It's actually good, too, because magic is also going to affect the weather in my own story, though in a different way. Thank you, Squirrelzilla. (Cross-posting everywhere)

What's In A Name? Rival Kingdoms

2007-04-02T10:22:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I might not stick with it, but I need to go to a name generator to come up with at least an interim title for a rival kingdom. Blasted notes, scattered all about the place. Growl. Yes, it's April Fools again. Not the day, the writing challenge thing. I'm insane; you can choose your levels, so of course I had to og for the 50k. Someone shoot me, please. *smile*

2007-04-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

So i don't lose the link:

Kobudo

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop

2007-03-29T21:43:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          It's times like this, when I finally get to open uo my old newsletters, that I really miss hearing from Phaedre each month, and I miss getting the SFFW newsletter, too. The past issues are located at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter Archives.
          In case you're wondering, Phaedre is Kathleen Woodbury. Her kind words of encouragement, in the face of improbable odds (and versus someone's graceless and tactless non-acceptance of a critique) is what's served to keep me more active in writing and the like, then I would have been. Not that I would not have ended up writing, anyway--once it's in your blood, it's an infection that you cannot shake, this insidious bug. Her kind words of encouragement are what kept me going, early on, in my first workshop/writing group days.
          Anyone who's starting out, anyone who feels a bit lost with feedback, and the like--I encourage them to check out the Hatrack River Writers Workshop. Phaedre's still there, and still involved with new writers, too. That should be enough recommendation for anyone, IMO.

How to write an excellent first chapter for your novel - Helium

2007-03-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

How to write an excellent first chapter for your novel - Helium

2007-03-18T19:38:00.000-04:00

How to write an excellent first chapter for your novel - Helium

www.thenakednovelist.com.au

2007-03-18T19:16:00.000-04:00

www.thenakednovelist.com.au

Potter Puppet Pals

2007-03-18T13:34:00.000-04:00

Potter Puppet Pals

It Pays to Read: Book Reviewing Basics

2007-03-17T02:50:00.000-04:00

It Pays to Read: Book Reviewing Basics

How to write a novel in 100 days or less — Day 13

2007-03-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

How to write a novel in 100 days or less — Day 13

Bah.

2007-03-16T09:17:00.000-04:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Thanks to Blogger's isues, a beautiful piost I jsut made was lost. They gave me inform,ation to report to Blogger about it, but I do not see a damn way to report it. Hey, guys, if any of you are reading this--

bX-7jzzau
Additional information
blogID: 34854725
uri: /blog-this.do
host: www2.blogger.com

National Novel Editing Month (NaNoEdMo)

2007-02-28T13:50:00.001-05:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

All right, everyone. I cannot get through to post this at NaNo_Tavern, so I shall do so here. Remember, tomorrow marks the first day of National Novel Editing Month. Unflrtunately, I cannot do so this year, as I have no finished, edit-worthy, novel length manuscript this year.
Ah, well. There's always next year. ;-)

It Begs To Be Shared

2007-02-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

What To Do In A Zombie Attack.

Remember the site, too. Apparently, it backs up the Internet. What you lose, what gets deleted, it might just be found on there.

It's A Dirty Job, But...

2007-02-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

      Meh. I have to see about constructing the opposing army on a battlefield now. It's not my initial choice, but there is no other option for what I'm writing.

      I know that the war is between opposing kingdoms. One's been through a period of civil unrest, from which it's recovering, and consolidating its losses. The other is looking to expand its territories.

      No wonder I'm having trouble starting the story. I have the outward action, the war, and then the inward action, ghosts and possession.

      I mean, what's a girl to do?

When the ghouls come out to play

2007-02-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

When the ghouls come out to play
The wee goblins have their sway
Monster trucks grow wicked fangs
Creatures feeling hunger pangs
Vampires go on dates at night
Drinking blood gives mortals fright
Except for those who portray
Mortal vampires in the day
Giving Aztec Valentines
To corpses in shriveled vines
Bats of happy thoughts abound
Hover over those a-ground
Ghosties want to have their say
"Happy Valentine's Today!"

amberdine - Quotes for Writers

2007-02-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

amberdine - Quotes for Writers

A Revelation of Sorts

2007-02-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

      Now that I have decided whose story it is (and it sure took me long enough, didn't it"), I am now ready to start writing. See, some folks might be able to tell right away, and start writing (Lord knows I did), but... lol. I do have a bit of a thing though, and might be breaking a rule or two, because I have two characters who will undergo changes in the story. One of them is Rose, and the other one is my original protagonist, Sage, who's also going to figure prominently in the story.
      A bit more has occurred to me, concerning the Valhoor clan. See, since their talent is the Sight, because of the precognitive thing (Chronomancers, as it were, of a sort), it's also going to have a tendency to drive them insane, so I'm also putting a tendency, a familial trait, of high-strungedness in the story, too. Something to that effect. Also, the Valhoor Gift can tend to drive some of them quite insane, if it materializes to full effect.
     I don't think it's too early in the morning for it. ;-)

[Review] BEAR DAUGHTER by Judith Berman

2007-02-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

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From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Here is the review--comments are welcome. It's the first time I've written anything like this in twenty-five years. ;-)

      Cloud has spent the first twelve years of her life as a bear, the happy daughter of a human woman called Thrush, and a bear father, called Lord Stink, who is one of the First People. The book opens at some point after her stepfather, Lord Rumble, has killed, and eaten the heart of, her father, and taken her mother for his woman.

      A lot of people are surprised that Cloud became human. No one expected it. Cloud's lost her memories, too. The only things she remembers are glimpsed in dreams and images. There's an empty place in her, one that no food will fill. Her mother's forced to reject her, and Lord Rumble wants her dead. I mean, what's a girl to do, but run away from home when her stepfather tries to kill her?

      Thus begins Cloud's journey, a travel among and between the mortal and immortal worlds, in a search to find the bones of her father and brothers, and take them to the Edge of the World so that they can be born anew, even though she doesn't quite feel up to the task laid before her. It is a journey where she will learn to accept herself, her origins, and embrace both her past, and her future, while trying to learn how to live as a human girl.

      With Native American mythology as its base, Cloud's story engages you from the beginning, as you follow her quest, which is as much coming to terms with who and what she is, as to save the spirits of her father and brothers.

      On a more focused level, this is a story about one young woman's struggle to come to terms with herself, a voyage of discovery to find out who she is, what is her purpose in life, to stretch and surpass her limits. It is a story of acceptance, and self-acceptance.

      And, quite frankly, it's a good read.

      Bear Daughter is available on AMAZON.COM, and can also be found at, or requested by, your local bookseller.

Doodads and Doohickeys

2007-02-05T06:54:00.000-05:00

Sun Dial Shepherd's Watch Original Timepiece Jewelry

A Book Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

2007-02-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

The Free Dictionary.com

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Jim Hines was a guest author at brynsbookgroup this past week, and excerpts galore appeared. What appeared was, in fact, highly engaging, excerpts from this book notwithstanding. He also has some things up at Fictionwise, too, if anyone's interested. ;-)