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12
Oct

Day 12: And from here?…

Ginger

(I’m sharing my October pre-November NaNoWriMo pre-writing ritual process thingie. Why? Because a lot of people have asked me to post it again. And it’s that time of year and stuff.)

If you’ve followed my itinerary faithfully, then you have enough pre-writing done to give you a great base for your story next month. Even if you’ve just pondered over something I wrote during this thing, it can only help.

So, what do we do from here?

The rest of the month
Take it easy for a few days. Work on something else. Because I like to play with multiple stories, I will work on this project with a whole new story. At any rate, it’s always good to spend a little time away from a project like this. Go work on Halloween decorations, or winter holiday occasions coming up. In the meantime, think of ways to reorganize your story, or add another element to it.

There’s a book out there that might help you, written by Georges Polti, “36 Dramatic Situations“. The wiki link gives you a good idea of what’s contained in the book. This guy claims that every plot device, twist, and theme in the world can be narrowed down to these 36 dramatic situations. Some beg to differ, but it is a good place to start. Not to mention that the reference is almost 100 years old.

Here’s a list of other plot-specific references:

And here’s a list of random generators:

Also:

  • NaNoWriMo has announced that their website is updated for next month, and that you may now create a profile or log into an existing one in order to participate in the entirely voluntary but totally-worth-it online part of this. Add me if you like! They have more forums than I can ever keep up with, for regions, topics, prompts, help, utilities, and all sorts of other write-y madness.

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11
Oct

Day 11: Character Sheets, Part Deux!

Ginger

(I’m sharing my October pre-November NaNoWriMo pre-writing ritual process thingie. Why? Because a lot of people have asked me to post it again. And it’s that time of year and stuff.)

I hope you had fun with yesterday’s assignment. Which option did you choose, the outline or the mind map?

Today
Today, we’re going to tackle a more complex version of the character sheets we (hopefully?) completed on Day 6. Your assignment is to choose one of the links below, and fill them out for each of your main characters. This is one of those things that will require some dedicated time to accomplish. You don’t have to answer every question, and you can certainly make up your own prompts if your story requires a detail not dissected in the following generic charts and questionnaires.

The links:

Extra Credit
Fill out a less detailed page for each minor but repeatedly referenced character that you think might waltz into your story at any moment. You don’t need to know the finer details of the plumber that visits or the mailman that services your neighborhood, but thinking about their lives outside of the context of your story might lead to some amusing interactions with your main characters.

Use the simpler character questions from Day 6 if they help.

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10
Oct

No, I don’t want to be a Naughty ______. :P

Ginger

I follow a number of blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels dedicated to sewing, and more generally, crafting. I started after getting the sewing bug earlier this year, and wanted to acquire some resources on beginner-friendly sewing projects and the like. Among my entertainment acquisitions was a likable but troubled network which had a blog, podcast, AND YouTube channel, called Threadbanger. In iTunes, the word “threadbanger” brings up a number of defunct podcast feeds that still have watchable content in them. Their YouTube Channel is more recently updated.

I called it “troubled”, because I came to it just as it was entering one of its dormant phases. It’s gone through a number of them, where the people who produced the well-made series simply stopped updating, or abruptly changed the format, or some of their guest crafters wandered in or wandered away willy-nilly. It’s difficult for me to recommend this network of crafting sources to anyone because I never know if whatever link I provide is going to be active or dead in a number of weeks.

ANYHOO, the main host just updated the YouTube Channel with a Halloween-themed grouping of videos pertaining to a burlesque costume. The presentation is a bit messy, but I was able to glean this gem out of it:


DIY Costume Corset, CRAFTOVISION

If you’ll notice from the above link, it looks like the host is using yet another YouTube Channel, Craftovision. See what I mean about continuity errors? Anyhoo…

As I was just getting into the sewing thing earlier this year, I bought a bunch of cheap patterns off of eBay with the intention of trying my hand at making something, specifically medieval-looking garb for casual use at SCA events and the like. Unfortunately, I require fabric in order to start and that seems to be the most expensive part of this hobby I want to get into. Also, I am unused to most of the terminology used in the art of sewing. And I’m dreadfully afraid of breaking a sewing machine if I touch one.

I was happy to find a video about making a corset. NOOO, I don’t want to be a naughty pirate/nurse/wench/witch/whatever. But I would like to figure out how to make one for aforementioned historical playacting. I can’t decide on a Halloween costume, though I have been browsing a number of Goodwills specifically for ideas. I’ll probably wear my already existing “pirate” garb because it’s been a long number of years since I had occasion to wear any such thing. I purchased a “cincher” (a under-boob corset) online, which ended up being way, WAY too small even though I ordered twice my normal size. I wouldn’t mind owning one silly corset-bodice thingie that actually fits…

We’ll see.

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10
Oct

Day 10: The Outline!

Ginger

(I’m sharing my October pre-November NaNoWriMo pre-writing ritual process thingie. Why? Because a lot of people have asked me to post it again. And it’s that time of year and stuff.)

The previous “day” was another one of those multi-day projects that I didn’t feel like wasting an entry just to say, “Keep working on the previous day’s assignment, minions”! Not that anyone is paying attention to these rather self-serving entries, but anyhoo…

Today
Today, you’re going to review what you’ve already written, and organize it a bit differently. You get to choose whether to write an outline, a time-honored and left-brained way that a story writer (or any other writer, really) might summarize and prioritize the very most terse and main events of the story, or a mind map, a creative and right-brained way to visualize aforementioned events, in a more chaotic and unorganized fashion.

The Hierarchic Outline
If you’ve ever taken an English writing class, ever, then you no doubt remember, however vaguely, how an outline looks and works. If not, review the Wiki article. Skim what you have written thus far via Day 8, and find those phrases that pertain directly to the very main plot ideas and themes you’ve referenced. And outline them.

I haz links!

The Mind Map
I’ve found, that for every mind map I’ve ever created, I need to start in the center of a very very large piece of paper, because inevitably I’ll have a cluster of bubbles that crowd one way or the other, and I can never anticipate how that will turn out until it happens. If you’re using notebook paper, write small and again, in the very center. If you’re more organized than I am, you might start at the top-center and work down from there.

You can also do this online, and save paper. Check it out!

If you’re too nerdy or too OCD for such a mess, I might suggest a flow chart, which is still vaguely visual but more geometrically inclined.

Next
Tomorrow, we’re going to tackle more robust and detailed character sheets!

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09
Oct

Transit Contest

Ginger

I saw that my local public transit system had announced a contest for app development. The applicant has four months in which to develop an open source app for any common device (iPhone, Android, mobile-ly accessible website, and more), and submit the source code to a publicly open source code repository. The purpose of the app is to appeal to visitors and tourists to the area, and encourage use of the transit system.

HMMMM, I say. My brain’s already working on a mash-up between Google Maps, opinion websites like Yelp, and what sorts of destinations might be of interest to visitors.

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08
Oct

Day 8: Paragraphs into Pages

Ginger

(I’m sharing my October pre-November NaNoWriMo pre-writing ritual process thingie. Why? Because a lot of people have asked me to post it again. And it’s that time of year and stuff.) I didn’t bother with a “Day 7″ entry because that was simply a continuation/conclusion of the activites of Day 6, involving utilitarian character sheets.

Today’s activity leads us back to what we did up until Day 5, in which one sentence turned into a paragraph which turned into a page-long collection of paragraphs.

Today
Take each paragraph from Day 5, and expand each into a page unto themselves. For example, the paragraph about time and/or date, probably has some general info and some specific info. See if you can expand each sentence of that paragraph, into a complete paragraph each. You might share what else is happening at the same time, other historical events or fictional events that might or might not have anything to do with your main story. Set your budding story completely aside and out of mind; what else is happening? What season is it? Are you writing about an era in which a medieval society exists? Are there industrial significances taking place?

For a paragraph regarding location, you might discuss what is happening in lands nearby and far away. What is the societal structure of the society in which your main character(s) live? What about nearby “states”, and “countries”, if those apply? Are there nearby planets that might be inhabited? What are some of the natural wonders one might see nearby the main setting of your story? Is it a woody area? Where might it be more arid? Does it rain often? What is the wildlife like? Do non-humans live near or far away? What is the vegetation like?

You get the idea.

This will likely take a little concentration and quiet time to complete. This part of my pre-writing ritual thingie will take a couple of days for me to complete. I will continue to write these sorts of entries through the end of the month, though my timeline might differ from what you find works for you.

In the next entry in this series, I shall discuss the outline. I am anticipating that I will write that tomorrow. But it might take a couple days depending on how involved I am in this Day 8, myself.

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08
Oct

They Doth Protest

Ginger

The Occupy Wall Street movement had a protest rally in Portland, OR the other day.

Hubby and I were somewhat lighthearted about the occasion. The number one question among us Plebeians was, “What exactly are they marching for?” That question was echoed on most radio networks and across social networks online. I didn’t look very hard for an answer, but quipped with considerable snark, in my worst pretentious “hipster” accent, “Reasons for marching are so mainstream. They’re so obscure you’ve probably never heard of them.”

It was obvious that they were against something, but figuring out what they were for (problem-solving rather than merely complaining with signs, voices, and numbers) would take more investigation than I had only a passing interest in.

I shall now stop joking thusly, because I found a reason, articulated eloquently, simply, in a way that is easy to digest: “they’re protesting for employment.” They want jobs. That’s way too simplified, but it starts the conversation going.

I don’t know how long this entry will remain readable by the public, but it’s very much worth a read.

They want jobs. Not just jobs, but good jobs. Jobs that have insurance attached to them, and not just any insurance, but affordable health insurance. Jobs that are not paid by the minimum wage mandated by the government, but a living wage that would allow single mothers to afford child care, and college students to repay significant debt. The cost of living has gone up, and the minimum wage has lagged behind. The wealthiest Americans, and the politicians they control, make the lowest income people fight constantly for the most meager adjustments. A few cents of income per hour every few years, when the most basic goods and services go up by a factor of ten in the same time frame.

Their cry is, “We are the 99%!” They march because they protest the inequality of 1% of the richest Americans controlling the other 99% of citizens.

It’s not about every citizen wanting to afford an iPhone, a leather jacket, a limited edition car, the ability to fly to a foreign land for vacation whenever the whim takes them. They want to be able to afford food, and a home over their heads, and electricity. And if there’s enough left over, then some creature comforts like an electronic doodad, access to the internet, or a used vehicle to get them to work when public transit falls short.

I don’t discuss politics, as a rule, because most of it doesn’t interest me in my tiny corner of the universe. But this issue very much pertains to me and my social crowd who hover in the lowest percentile of income earners. And I would be as the ostrich if I willfully pulled the covers over my head and pretended that social inequality does not exist.

We do not live in a feudal system with kings, lords, and paupers. Theoretically, we are all equal citizens. I think sometimes Americans forget that. The lower classes will likely labor physically harder than most anyone else, for over 40 hours in a week, and be so exhausted that their days off are spent sleeping or taking care of their households. There are exceptions to anyone and everyone, but that is the general theme of my tangible, physical world.

I did not attend the march, but I am empathetic to the cause.

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06
Oct

Bookmark!

Ginger

I had to share my latest bookmark, A Quiet and Peaceful Life. The choice of font is a bit unfortunate, but the entries are quite entertaining to read. I can’t tell if the blogger is only giving the appearance of living in a primitive setting and presenting photos that perpetuate that notion, or if she truly resides in a shack, but she references a lot of what is surely her surroundings. She’s married with at least one child, and she carefully blogs her family’s progress with this unusual lifestyle.

I love the juxtaposition of the low-tech life, the photos, and the fact that she does maintain a blog and shares the occasional photo, so she is surely connected to the internet at least a minimum of the time. It amuses me to imagine she has wifi or a smartphone, and uses them while living in a place that might not have running water or much in the way of other modern conveniences.

And I’m very jealous that she gets to live that way. Yeah, I do daydream of residing in a place where you have to turn a crank to wash a load of laundry, pump a handle to retrieve water (though, heated is nice, lol), more along the lines of the Tiny House. Or a teeny apartment in NYC. I have weird daydreams. :)

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06
Oct

Day 6: Character sheets, ahoy!

Ginger

(I’m sharing my October pre-November NaNoWriMo pre-writing ritual process thingie. Why? Because a lot of people have asked me to post it again. And it’s that time of year and stuff.)

So far, we have the beginnings of a story, and we have character names. Today, let’s work on a character sheet, which is a reference tool that some authors use in order to have a really good idea of how a character progresses as the story unfolds. It’s their cheat sheet. It’s a pre-writing exercise that no one will see aside from the author.

If you as a reader had a character sheet for a character and you read that before or after a story, you would take much of the mystery out of that character. In a character sheet, it might be explained that the reason the old man is curmudgeonly is because of an accident regarding a family member during his formative teenage years. That might never be written or even implied in the story, and it would be up to the reader to wonder about the cranky old man, or to dismiss him as having a trope of some kind.

For this day’s assignment, I borrow directly from the author of the Snowflake Method, because he prompts in such a way that is very intuitive, very easily applicable to the creative process, and because I cannot really improve on this step.

So, for each main character that you feel like creating a character sheet for, let us simply answer seven prompts for each:

  • The character’s name

  • A one-sentence summary of the character’s storyline
  • The character’s motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?)
  • The character’s goal (what does he/she want concretely?)
  • The character’s conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?)
  • The character’s epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?
  • A one-paragraph summary of the character’s storyline

You may write a single sentence, or a paragraph for each prompt. I like trying to tersely describe the character in single sentences, because I come back to this exercise in a later activity to expand upon each character sheet.

Extra Credit
I like to add additional details at this early juncture, if I have a strong enough picture of the character to do so, things like physical attributes, major personality traits, even backstory on his/her background, past, future, interests, any flaws, any special characteristics not covered in the above prompts, and so on. I sometimes even generate a physical picture of the character. You guessed it, I have generators for that as well:

Take two days to finish this one. The next exercise will take us again to the sentence-paragraph-page project. Having a good idea of what your character looks like and how their individual story evolves during the course of your story will be of great benefit then.

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05
Oct

On the Other Hand…

Ginger

Top 100 scifi/fantasy novels via NPR

Clicky for a bigger version.

Infographics do indeed make me grumpy, on the whole. Flowcharts, on the other hand…

NPR polled scifi and fantasy book nerds as to their favorite books, and posted the resulting list. Taking that list, SF Signal organized the books into a flowchart, wherein all top 100 books are represented, with a series of yes/no and multiple choice questions and prompts to guide you to a book you may have read and enjoyed, or will guide you to a book you might never have been inspired to read if not for this chart.

I really enjoyed letting my eyes follow where my different preferences took me. I have read most of these in at least one point of my life, but now I’m more inspired than ever to hunt each of these down and grab them onto my Kindle, mwaha.

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