Safely settled at just over 10k words, I would say that this has been a very successful three days. I completely a few word wars tonight with some good friends on G+. I must say that G+ has probably changed the face of writing for me forever. It is still a solitary act that happens entirely within me, but I can challenge myself and boost my creativity by enjoying the conversations with others that are like-minded and competing toward a similar goal. Not to mention getting and giving advice has never felt so nice. It's a great community, and I'm very happy to consider myself not only a writer, but a NaNo participant.
With that being said, here's the teaser from earlier today. It's a dream sequence:
His mouth morphed, skin flicking off of it. His tongue rolled out from inside, and his jaw snapped as it dislocated. Teeth stretched out of his bloodied gums, growing into sharp knives and his eyes turned to blood lust. He growled at Jess and took a step forward, claws growing out of his shoes, his clothes disintegrated as he grew fur and grew twice the size. He took another step and reared back on his legs. Kroags launched himself at Jess, and she could almost hear the tearing of her own flesh over her high pitched scream.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Day Two Teaser
You should all stay tuned to this blog, we're going to have some fun over the next month. With NaNo happening, I'm going to very proudly post some excerpts, or frustrations (whatever happens to be in my head that day). Today, you get another small excerpt:
“Yeah, weren’t you?” He took a gulp of coffee, wincing at the heat. “I mean, I’m always fascinated by his sermons, his words.”
“You mean the Bible’s words?” That’s all it was to Jess, just readings. Readings of passages that have already been read hundreds of times before, and warnings to those that decided to stray from the path.
“But he gives them life, you know? It’s in his… I don’t know, just the way he says it. I love it. Greatest pastor ever.” Kevin pecked Jess on the cheek. “I should go help out my mom, you should say hi. She’s running the bake sale today.”
Jess stuck out her tongue. The two things she didn’t want to get roped into, talking to Kevin’s mom or the bake sale. There was something about the way that Mrs. Clifton looked at her that always felt like Jess was being judged. Like that somehow Jess had an unholy spirit, an unholy soul… and that she would somehow corrupt her perfect son. Kevin was far from perfect, but Jess supposed, from a Christian point of view he was very pious.
“Yeah, weren’t you?” He took a gulp of coffee, wincing at the heat. “I mean, I’m always fascinated by his sermons, his words.”
“You mean the Bible’s words?” That’s all it was to Jess, just readings. Readings of passages that have already been read hundreds of times before, and warnings to those that decided to stray from the path.
“But he gives them life, you know? It’s in his… I don’t know, just the way he says it. I love it. Greatest pastor ever.” Kevin pecked Jess on the cheek. “I should go help out my mom, you should say hi. She’s running the bake sale today.”
Jess stuck out her tongue. The two things she didn’t want to get roped into, talking to Kevin’s mom or the bake sale. There was something about the way that Mrs. Clifton looked at her that always felt like Jess was being judged. Like that somehow Jess had an unholy spirit, an unholy soul… and that she would somehow corrupt her perfect son. Kevin was far from perfect, but Jess supposed, from a Christian point of view he was very pious.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Teaser Tuesday
NaNoWriMo has kicked off. I think every Tuesday in November, I will have a small excerpt from my novel, what I have been writing. I successfully already made it through day one without too many bumps and bruises. I got up early this morning, at 5:30am. I made some chai tea and sat down with my AlphaSmart. I wrote the entire first chapter in one go.
My NaNo novel is a YA Coming-of-Age. It's a combination of realistic fiction meeting an element of fantasy. This excerpt is the first few paragraphs of the story. The working title is Soul Therapy, but that is subject to change. I haven't decided if that's a "good" enough title for YA. It feels like it could sit a little bit heavy handed.
My NaNo novel is a YA Coming-of-Age. It's a combination of realistic fiction meeting an element of fantasy. This excerpt is the first few paragraphs of the story. The working title is Soul Therapy, but that is subject to change. I haven't decided if that's a "good" enough title for YA. It feels like it could sit a little bit heavy handed.
Jessica slumped in her seat. Her mother gripped the wheel like talons,
eyes set dead ahead, unwavering. Jessica
had grown to know that look so well. It
was when her mother got lost in thoughts of her father, how their world had
shattered seemingly overnight. Jessica
knew it felt like a lifetime when the divorce happened, but really, he was just
gone one day. Her mother never really
could get over that.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go inside,
alright?” Other students flooded into
the high school off of busses. At least
her mother worked so early in the morning that Jessica could get a ride. “Mom?”
Jessica ran her fingertips over her mother’s knuckles.
Her mother gave her the sideways
glance and that sweet smile, used to cover up anything bad hiding
underneath. “Have fun.” Her eyes shifted back, out the windshield,
unregistering.
“I’ll try.” Jessica snatched up her bag and got out of
the car. She closed the door with a bit
too much force behind her. She looked
over the high school, Westbury High. She
only had one year left, but she was ready for it to be over. It felt long overdue, with as much drama that
had been building. She couldn’t really
stand to be home anymore, with her mother acting as a shell.
Monthly Recommendations
On the first of every month, I will be posting a few books that I have read that I recommend - and why I recommend him. So here is the first of the month recommendations:
Trapped by Michael Northrop
YA Realistic Fiction
A quick read where you are inside the head of Scotty Weems, who is trapped with seven other kids in school during the worst blizzard. Having lived in New Hampshire, this kind of storm seems a little unbelievable, but Northrop really gets the terror that Weems is going through. It is a retrospective story, and in the first chapter, Scotty tells you that not all of them made it out alive. That had me hooked. I call it a "snack read" as it is quick and light, but still fun.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
YA Dystopian
While the first book, The Hunger Games, still remains my favorite, the second installment is definitely worth the read if you liked the first. And if you haven't read The Hunger Games, I highly recommend that you pick it up. It's more of the first with some twists and turns, and still focuses on Katniss' emotional confusion - love is a complicated thing, isn't it? Especially when you are both fighting for your lives...
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Adult Dystopian (less extreme, though)
Some of the concepts in this are a little too adult for a YA reader (as in, I wouldn't recommend this for a 16 and under reader). I think 17+ would be good for it - especially adults. Since Dystopian novels are all the rage right now, I figured I would pull this recommendation out of my hat. It was one of my favorite reads in college. Kathy grows up in a private school, where they learn the "meaning" of their life. They will all become donors, where they will slowly have their organs harvested. This is not a rebellion story, but a tragic tale of love and coming-of-age where these children have all accepted their fate from the very day they were born. Very twisted, but beautifully written. And hey, they even made a movie that you can watch with some popcorn once you read the book.
That's all for this month. If NaNoWriMo doesn't consume all of my November, then I will have some more recommendations on December 1st. I have quite a few books that have been recommended to me by other people that are on my to read list. We shall see.
Trapped by Michael Northrop
YA Realistic Fiction
A quick read where you are inside the head of Scotty Weems, who is trapped with seven other kids in school during the worst blizzard. Having lived in New Hampshire, this kind of storm seems a little unbelievable, but Northrop really gets the terror that Weems is going through. It is a retrospective story, and in the first chapter, Scotty tells you that not all of them made it out alive. That had me hooked. I call it a "snack read" as it is quick and light, but still fun.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
YA Dystopian
While the first book, The Hunger Games, still remains my favorite, the second installment is definitely worth the read if you liked the first. And if you haven't read The Hunger Games, I highly recommend that you pick it up. It's more of the first with some twists and turns, and still focuses on Katniss' emotional confusion - love is a complicated thing, isn't it? Especially when you are both fighting for your lives...
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Adult Dystopian (less extreme, though)
Some of the concepts in this are a little too adult for a YA reader (as in, I wouldn't recommend this for a 16 and under reader). I think 17+ would be good for it - especially adults. Since Dystopian novels are all the rage right now, I figured I would pull this recommendation out of my hat. It was one of my favorite reads in college. Kathy grows up in a private school, where they learn the "meaning" of their life. They will all become donors, where they will slowly have their organs harvested. This is not a rebellion story, but a tragic tale of love and coming-of-age where these children have all accepted their fate from the very day they were born. Very twisted, but beautifully written. And hey, they even made a movie that you can watch with some popcorn once you read the book.
That's all for this month. If NaNoWriMo doesn't consume all of my November, then I will have some more recommendations on December 1st. I have quite a few books that have been recommended to me by other people that are on my to read list. We shall see.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Giveaway!
 |
The Giveaway is closed!
In celebration of NaNoWriMo month, I am going to be doing a giveaway.
No, it's not a book, but it's a lovely necklace that I think is super cute. I bought two of them, one for me to keep as a token of my first year in NaNo, and the other for a giveaway.
You do not have to be participating in NaNoWriMo to take part in this giveaway.
How to Enter:
Open from October 31st - December 4th 11:59pm PST.
Only open to U.S. and Canada
- (+1 mandatory entry) Follow this blog and leave a comment
- +1 entry: Follow me on G+ (leave your user name or link to your account)
- +1 entry: Tweet about the post (link to your tweet)
- +1 entry: Follow me on Twitter (leave your user name)
- +2 entries: Write a post or share my G+ post linking to this blog (link to your G+ if you didn't share my original post)
- +3 entries: Write a blog post about this entry (link to it in your comment)
- +1 entry: Add up all of your entries and include the total
That's right, you can get up to 10 entries to this one, but you only have to do the one mandatory entry!
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