Things I've Learned So Far in NaNoWriMo 09

After completing my biggest daily word count yet for Nanowrimo, I took a moment to think about the first 15 days. Here are the lessons those days taught me:

- An outline can be your best friend. It not only keeps you focused, but it gives you idea after idea.

- I am now comfortable enough with my word count (I have a word cushion, I'll say that much) to focus on quality a little more.

-I am organizing my time better. I have a set window of time that I use for writing, and I have found time to put a few more things in. So yes, Nanowrimo has given me more time.

- I was secretly caught up for a second in competing with others and their word counts. I've let that go; competing with myself is torture enough!

- Even on the bad days, it feels good to get something down. If you get a lot down, well, you just turned the bad day into a good one.

- My characters have matured in this story from the first one. I am very happy to see that transformation from self-preservation to willingness to sacrifice.

- I honestly didn't think you could cheat at Nanowrimo, until I discovered that some appear to have started writing their stories early, or were using two different stories to up their word count. Come on, people, really? You're only cheating yourself.

- My characters also learn in Tainted Blood that so-called allies can turn on you, but friends never will.

- Nanowrimo is, in Beyonce's words, either a "sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare." Or maybe it is both. In any case, I have every intention of seeing it through. As I did the first 15 days, I will sit back and let William and Thomas guide me to the next phase of their amazing adventure.

Halfway Point Reflections

I actually had a moment to pause the mad writing frenzy that is Nanowrimo and post a very brief blog. I am now at the halfway point of my word count (over 27,000 words), and I am starting to see how Tainted Blood and Forbidden Children intertwine with each other. Working on the sequel before the first novel is complete is giving me a lot of insight and ideas as to how to proceed with editing Forbidden Children.

I am also amazed at how much my characters are growing. It makes me excited for book three (whatever that will be named), which is nothing more than a glorified single plot bunny right now. But the first two books are shaping up to be my bundles of joy. There was a point over the weekend when I nearly cried while writing a poignant scene involving the twins. I am that emotionally invested in this story and the characters.

And I love it.

To my fellow Nanowrimo writers: We're almost at the halfway point! Keep writing!

Last Look

The next two days are for my last look at Forbidden Children before Nanowrimo starts and this blog basically goes on a small hiatus. The nerves are acting up a little, but I have the previously mentioned road map. That being said, I'm sure some crap will be written during the month of November.

So, at this final look, I have noticed the following stats in Forbidden Children:

Minor Character Death Count (characters in more than one chapter): 2

Major Character Death Count (pivotal characters who hold influence): 1

Human Death Count (not including those above or those outside the plot): 6

Total Noticeable Deaths: 9 (I think)

Children born (Immortal or not): about 4

Sex Scenes: either 2 or none at all, I haven't decided yet

Pets: 2

Number of best friends the twins have at the novel's end: 3 (not including each other)

Acts of Betrayal: 1

Historic Wars mentioned in the novel: right now, 5 (Crusades, 30 Years War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam)

Countries visited: technically 4 (Germany, England, Ireland, United States)

Wars the twins are involved in: World War II

Combined age of the four major characters by the novel's end: 2,072 (wow...and yet they still have stupid moments)

The twins' favorite word: "Agreed."

On that note, I say "peace" until next time. If I somehow find a moment to post another entry, I definitely will. Anyone who has done Nanowrimo (or knows someone who has) won't be expecting much from me for the next 30 days, lol.

Good luck to all my fellow Nanowrimos!

P.S. Oh, I'm going to go out on a limb and give a big clue as to what real life people inspired the four main characters of this series: They are quite the humanoids.

You've got 30 days to figure that one out ;)

Giving My Characters A Map

I'm going to be honest; I usually hate outlining. In my eyes it leaves very little to my imagination and to my characters, and I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to writing. For Forbidden Children, I had almost no outline. There was a broad sense of where the twins would end up, but how they got there was pretty much left up to them. Naturally, they did some amazing things (and also some stupid things) to get to the end of the first book.

For Tainted Blood, I realized that a more solid roadmap would be needed, and that annoyed me. Book Two is when threads are being pulled together, and seemingly pointless details from Forbidden Children are given glaring importance. There is much more at stake, and being able to keep track of everything will be tough without a map of some kind.

So I started outlining Tainted Blood.

I was annoyed the whole time I was doing it, but not because I hate outlining. I was annoyed because it was forcing me to really think about the plot. For the first book, I wrote feverishly and went back later to hash out the actual plot. This time, I was working backwards. I utilized the workbook "Book In A Month" by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, specifically the "Outline-At-A-Glance" part. I had to give serious details, like turning points, the hook, the reversal...you know, things you don't think about when you're just scribbling down scenes to connect together later.

After I slugged through that, I went back and looked over it. I was amazed; every character in Tainted Blood now knew what they would be doing. I knew where everyone stood, why they were doing what they were doing, and how everything everyone did was a set up for book three. Subplots that seemed non-related to the major plot suddenly merged in with it perfectly, all of my characters stayed in character, and oh, the tension...I could see the tension very clearly. It was thick and all consuming, coating every single event in the novel.

That being said, this outline also makes me very nervous for two reasons. First, this is my novel for Nanowrimo, and I am scared that the outline may limit how much I can write and keep me from hitting 50,000 words. I have never had an outline this detailed before. Second, I may become emotionally spent before November is done due to the sheer tension in this novel. The outline alone wound me up, and that's saying something considering that I already know how everything will end.

I'm still happy that this story has an outline, though. It will keep my scatterbrained thoughts focused. Of course, don't expect much from me during November or the first part of December; I will almost certainly be brain dead.

Shifting Gears

A band that I like (hint: they inspired the main characters) recently said that, after playing and performing the same songs for a number of years, they got antsy for new material. They pointed out that they had not gotten sick of the music, but that they were simply ready to take things a step further. They had just done a show combining their new material with the old, and it was a great feeling for them to do that.

Likewise, I have gotten to that point with the Forbidden Children series. I have been working on the first novel for about a year, and while it is still not where I want it to be, I am more than ready to press on to Book Two. My own perfectionist attitude is what has been keeping me on the first book, and that it not fair to my characters (who are already moving on in my head) or to the story itself.

With that being said, I am shifting gears for the rest of this month and all of the Nanowrimo month of November into Tainted Blood, the second novel of the series. More than likely, I will return to the first book in December for final editing while Tainted Blood gets a chance to cool off. I will continue to post blogs about Forbidden Children and the process of writing this series, but I will keep peeks at Tainted Blood to a very bare minimum. I have to keep some things secret ;)

The Doushen

The Doushen is an Immortal term loosely translated as "those who serve." It is pronounced DOO-shin.

The Doushen was first created by Vladimir's predecessor, Easu, sometime in the 1100's. Easu brought together seven of the most deadly and skilled Dark Ones for the sole purpose of pushing the Crusades forward and leading the humans into an epic battle against the Muslim world. Easu was viciously Christian, and had ties to Pope Urban II. I won't go into the massive history lesson, but I'll just say that when Easu finally stepped down in the late 1400's, Vladimir had other plans for the Immortal zealots that the Doushen represented.

Vladimir is Christian as well, but he was strongly against overpowering other religions. In less than a decade, he swept the Doushen clean and recruited a new set of Dark Ones. The entire focus and purpose of the Doushen changed from defending the Cross to defending and enhancing the Immortal world itself. The new members of the Doushen learned several languages and traveled to other parts of the world to establish trade and connections between Great Hall and other Immortals beyond Europe.

By the time William and Thomas arrived on the scene, the Doushen had completed yet another revamp. They were being trained as investigators, spies, and bodyguards. This ended up becoming their permanent identity. The twins rarely see any Doushen members for most of the story, but once they learn of the group's involvement in the investigation of Jack The Ripper (who ended up being an Immortal), their interest in the group is raised.

The twins make it a personal goal of theirs to eventually join the Doushen; to them, membership into such an elite group would almost guarantee that they would earn the respect of the Immortal government.

Of course, joining Vladimir's inner circle is easier said than done...

After The Twins: The Immortal World

I have gotten some questions about what I plan to do once the twins' story is told (which may take about three books).

You mean besides cry? ;)

To be honest, I have grown quite fond of the world that William and Thomas live in. I don't plan on expanding the Forbidden Children arc past the three books already planned, mostly because there is nothing more to tell about them after that.

There are, however, several more stories in that world that deserve a chance in the spotlight. Some of those characters have already been introduced in this blog. Some are in other parts of the world, experiencing life as an Immortal in ways very different than this series' Euro-centric atmosphere. There are even other creatures living among humans and Immortals that have yet to be revealed. My Immortal world plays host to such an array of lives that I could probably pick another 20 stories from it and write them if I so choose to.

That was one of my biggest writing goals: to create a source from which writing ideas and plots could flow from easily. This doesn't mean that I would never write a novel outside of the world of the Immortals, because I probably will at some point. Heaven knows I have enough of those types of ideas floating around in my head (along with random fan fiction that no one will ever see). This world, however, brings me immense joy. It has its own language, laws, belief systems, customs, and history. With all of this, it still manages to hide in plain view of humans. J.K. Rowling did a wonderful job of this in the Harry Potter series, and I hope that my world fits in with the human world just as smoothly.

Have any of you created worlds that carry the potential to tell more than one story? Take a look at your mental playgrounds; there might be a little child hiding by the slide, waiting for someone to find them so that they can introduce themselves.

That's how I found William and Thomas.