What can kill us

TL;DR: I updated my website and it's ugly, but it needed to be done. Forgive me.

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As an author one of the things that can kill us is thinking that something has to be perfect before it can be released into the wild. How many apprentice authors never got beyond a few chapters or a few thousand words because they were trying so hard to make every word so right, so perfect before they even wrote it down? There lies unwritten, unfinished books that will never see the light of day. That's a sad thing.

Perfection is the killer that defeats us every time. This is why NaNoWriMo was invented, and why I am such a champion of it as a tool for every writer at every stage. Being able to slap words on a page and not judge them is an important skill set. Never fall into the mindset that a word can only be perfect before you write it down.

The purpose of a first draft is simply to exist. That's all. Git them wurdz down and worry about them later. Once you've got your first draft, then you can work on refining it. You can't edit a blank page. I hope you all have heard that before today. If not, you've heard it now.

Granted, that's not to say that you should make your first draft your last draft. Get it down, then use your skills to the best of your ability to tweak it until it's as good as you can get it. Good enough is good enough while you learn to level up.

So I present to you my new website, in all its imperfect glory: https://heidikneale.com.au/. It is nowhere near finished. Certainly not perfect, but it is out there and I will continue to improve it. Right now it's doing what I need it to do--be my footprint in the world. It has the bare-bones basics an author's website needs: It has presence, it says who I am, it lists my books and it has a way to contact me.

It's ugly, far uglier than my old website, because I used a new method of creating it. I miss coding my own HTML and CSS. However, technology has exceeded my skill set and I need to learn to master the new tools. I'm not doing a good job of it, though. I hate trying to figure out Wordpress. It's a tool designed for people who don't have any background in coding webpages. It has most of the work done for you, so all you need to do is pick a theme, stick in some plug-ins and populate your pages. You struggle in putting together your design, but once that's done, you pretty much forget about it and simply update what is there. A set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing.

If you are moving beyond that first vital stage of throwing down a first draft, a website is a necessary tool. It's your calling card. It's your presence in the world. It's your shingle, your footprint, your hat in the ring. Editors and agents will ask, "Do you have a website?". They don't ask, "Do you have a pretty website?". Readers will seek you out here. Sure, they will probably judge your website the way they judge the covers of your novels. Do not let that daunt you into not putting one up at all.

So if I'm pining for the fjords over the glory days of coding my own HTML, why am I trying this new thing? Because my old web site host is dying. I'm needing to move away from the host we've called home for the past thirty years. My web site is no longer secure. Certain web design protocols have advanced and I did not keep up. Certain design elements are coming into necessity and I don't have the time to learn them. Gone are the days when maverick web design was acceptable. I've got other things I need to devote my time and energy to.

Like writing very good novels.

NaNoWriMo Day 26 - one very tight squeeze

NaNoWriMo is all about challenging oneself to push oneself to the limits.

Granted, when one gets to a certain point in her career, she finds that cranking out 50K in a month becomes easy. An author's progress comes when she gets a regular schedule, system, pattern that works for her, and she cranks out the wordage.  Many's the time a multi-book contracted author has to meet a publisher's deadline. That's when they eschew television, a normal social life and everything else expendable--even sleep if necessary--to meet that contracted deadline. After all, that's what they're being paid for.

While NaNoWriMo's imposed deadline of 50K/30dy isn't as dire as a publishers, one still has to apply the discipline to meet that goal.

There's a good chance I might not make it.

I didn't stick to my schedule. I didn't give writing the priority I should. Lots of other things happened that got in the way of writing (granted, school is one of them, and until writing brings in enough money to pay tuition, school gets priority). I played silly little games on my phone. I read Facebook. I watched some TV. I mowed the lawn and did the dishes and played with a cat. I even applied for a Rare Opportunity Job. Much of this I could have shoved to the side in favour of wordage.

The other day I sat down and did some simple math. I could still win NaNo, but it will require some marathoning. The numbers I need are daunting, but doable. I've done those kinds of numbers before.

So, can I make it?

Honestly?

I don't know. But I'm gonna try.

_________________________
Her Grace hasn't failed a NaNo in ever so long. 

NaNoWriMo Day 13 - A little behind

I will openly admit I'm a little behind my wordcount. This is because Life Happened, as it does.

Being end of year (EoY), I've got one final exam and three assignments I need to finish this week, one child has EoY exams, and the other has EoY performances, etc. And Thanksgiving.  Plus, we got a new foster cat we've nicknamed Hissy Pissy until his attitude improves.

I didn't get a lick of writing done on the weekend, and only a little study.  Still, I'm a professional. I'll catch up -and- get my assignments done.

Other things, such as housework, will most likely fall by the wayside. Don't tell His Grace. He thinks I'm keeping the house clean.

__________________________
Her Grace is also mostly over her infected throat so she can get back to narration as well. Oh, and singing, as rehearsals for Christmas have started.

NaNoWriMo Day 4 - Disappointment

So I'm writing along and I needed the name of a neighbourhood. No problem. After all, I did some serious research last week and came up with the best info for worldbuilding ever.

I go look through my notes and... nothing. What? Where did all my hard work go? Why do I only have half the info I thought I did?

Because several days ago my computer fell asleep and never woke up. I had to do a hard reboot, and it appears I forgot to hit save before the computer fell asleep. I lost eight hours of research time.

Fortunately, I remembered my search terms and Google remembered which pages I'd visited, so I was able to recreate most of my research in half the time it originally took.

Still, most annoying, as those several hours recreating my work could have been better spent creating new wordage. Also annoying are those few factlets that would have been perfect, if only I could remember what they were.


__________________________
Her Grace wants you to know that 19th Century clockmakers all clustered around Clerkenwell.

NaNoWriMo Day 1 - Epiphany

Welcome to NaNoWriMo, that month of insanity where millions of authors all over the world attempt to create 50K of a novel. (If you're one of them, feel free to buddy up, though I will be mostly working and not so much socialising. I've got goals.)

This is my 15+ year of doing this.

Before I started this year, I vowed to myself I would play with voice. I'm not happy with my voice and want to enrich it. Put some thought into what kind of imagery I wanted, read a few really good flash fiction with voice and did the whole imagine pre-writing idealism to get in mind what I wanted.

Attended an official NaNo Write In on Wednesday night. Sat down and, with the goal of voiciness in mind, cranked out 3K words. Cranking out wordage is a doddle for me. But when I got home and re-read my stuff, I saw my usual dull voice had drifted back in, despite my best efforts. Drat. I'd rushed things.

Spent Thursday morning on a NoNo for NaNo: editing.

The thing with NaNoWriMo is that once you push into pure wordage, habit takes over. For those who don't have a writing habit, it's pushes your boundaries. But for me, with more than a million words under my belt as an author, sheer speed doesn't challenge me.  Currently voice is a challenge for me, and to play with that, one must slow down.

So I went back and edited. I examined each sentence to see what it did right, and what it did wrong. I analysed my word choices and structure. I recast several until they sang instead of sat there.

However, when I was done, I was much happier with my words. Subsequent wordage for the month will go forward not so much with a focus on quantity but quality. If it means I must slow down, then I shall slow down.

Oh, I'll be able to get my 50K in, no problem. Not my first rodeo.

First Lesson Learned: Focus on your true goal. You don't get a Grade 8 piano player stumbling over a B Major grand scale. It flows under their fingers. But only if you make the thumbs fall where they need to.

To aid in this, my reading for the month is "Daniel Deronda" by George Eliot. Talk about voice!

November is a busy month for me, with the end of the semester (applying for Hubble time!), ladyships' end-of-year concerts and Thanksgiving as well as NaNoWriMo. While I've been doing my best to read more indie authors, I'm finding they don't quite have the voice I'm looking for. I'll be putting them aside for the month for tried-and-true Classic literature.

Second Lesson Learned: the Classics are classic for a reason. Yes, many a high school student finds them boring and dull and difficult to read, but if you move your focus from the tedious plot and the depressing characters and look at the pure beauty of how words are being used, that is where the classic-ness is to be found.

______________________________
Her Grace is also pushing herself by hoping to reach 80K instead of the recommended 50K.

The Feeling of Freedom

Busy-ness hunted me down today at the Day Job and dogged my poor, confused heels. We're in the process of changing/upgrading a few things, which means a change in procedure and documentation. On top of that, nearly everyone in the office headed off to a meeting, leaving me to guard the phones. So when I got stuck on something I'd never done before, there was no one I could ask for help until they got back from the meeting. Not that I was stuck in a rut; there was plenty of other things that needed doing. Still, it was frustrating.

TL;DR - I got nearly everything sorted, but it was a hard slog.

I'm lucky in that I work fixed hours. When it comes time for me to leave, I am expected to leave, whether or not all my work is done. Yep, that's pretty much a drop-everything-and-scram rule... within reason. We can finish off whatever task we're on, then ignore the rest in our company-sanctioned amscray.

Today when I left, it was such a profound sense of relief to simply abandon my work for another day and take off. I had to stop myself from running across the parking lot in my mad bid for freedom. I was so looking forward to getting home and getting to work on my novel outline. Nothing like a frustrating day at the Day Job to make me really appreciate my writing career.

Don't get me wrong; my writing career is also frustrating, but in a different way. I came home to learn a grant application had been denied, and two (TWO!) form rejections from agents. Le sigh. At least nothing can stop me from working on my outline.

Project Status

• Of The Dark - ready for final professional copyedits... as soon as I can source the funds for the editor.
• Currently Unsupervised - oaked and aging. Will come back to it in December (at the earliest) for first-round edits. Hoping to hop on the query train in early 2018.
• Victorian Clockpunk Telescope - outline nearly done for NaNoWriMo. While the NaNoGoal is a mere 50K, I'm hoping I can get 80K done in November, despite being unable to take the month off work, like I usually do.
• Audiobooks - paused for QC. Recording will continue as soon as I'm over my chest cold.
• Everything Else - waiting. The projects I'm working on right now are the best ones for the moment. Nothing else can progress until these all level up.

___________________________

Her Grace looks forward to a day when the Day Job is no longer required.

More state of the union

When I am quiet online, it is because I am busy in real life.

My latest newsletter went out a few weeks ago. If you haven't signed up for the Quarterly Newsletter, you missed out on some stuff I don't mention on the blog.

The Day Job is so-so, and I can't wait to transition to full-time author, but for now it provides a steady income without too much stress. Alas, it's not quiiite enough income to support my writing habit, so I've applied for a grant once more. Probably won't get it, as the grant-givers don't appear to support genre fiction. They seem to prefer the literary stuff. Is that prejudice on their part, overt or unconscious? They definitely support Australiana, which is something I expect them to do.

I am working on outlining two possible NaNoWriMo projects. Not sure which one I'll end up with. Depends on which one is ready to go on 1 Nov.  Are you doing NaNo this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I know it's only October, but all the End of the Year stuff is happening. Australian school terms go from Feb to Dec, so Their Ladyships are in their fourth term. So much to think about, so much to do! I am looking forward to the end-of-year concerts.

Meanwhile, enjoy this brilliant Microwave Chocolate Cake in a Mug recipe from Cleobuttera. It is the best one I've found.


_____________________________
Her Grace has a perfect plan for a novel trilogy. Only thing it needs is money, or time. 

You NEED fiction.

Get absorbed by a good book.

So here I am in the first week of NaNoWriMo and not doing too bad. (Check out my progress.)  As a professional author, my time is not only about the wordage. It's about the rest of the craft as well, from editing to publishing to marketing to developing a relationship with my readers.

As I'm reading through a marketing blog, I came across this quote from the (non-fiction) author:

"Nobody NEEDS fiction. It doesn’t solve any of life’s problems – other than an escape from boredom."

At this, my eyes bugged out, my jaw dropped and my inner child threw a toddler tantrum.

THAT IS SOOO NOT TRUE!! We need fiction very much.
Fiction serves a very necessary need in our society. It provides a very necessary mental health benefit. You ask many a dedicated fiction reader and they will tell you why they read. It certainly is not to relieve boredom. No way.

Reading fiction provides the following benefits:

• Escape from reality. Reading a book is like taking a little mental vacation. We have work, we have school, we have housework, paying bills, driving in traffic, parenting and a whole slew of Adulty things that need doing and that demand our spoons. Losing oneself in fiction lets you refill the cutlery drawer--essentially, recharging one's mental batteries.
• Outside-the-Box thinking. The reason we love fiction is because it is so different to our lives, and yet so similar to our lives. Here was have different characters in different situations, maybe even different worlds, yet they have problems just like us. Problems they need to solve. By looking at how they solve their problems, we might learn different methodologies or different approaches, solutions we could take back into reality with us and possibly apply in our own lives.
• Stimulates our Creativity. When we read fiction, we need to imagine the characters, their world, their situation and more. This exercises our creativity. Creativity is a necessary life-skill for problem solving and personal growth.
• Improves brain connectivity and function. Or so say the neuroscientists, especially if the book has a strong narrative line.  (Note to self: construct strong, intricate plots.)  Here's the study.
• Develop a better understanding of Humanity. To be strong members of society, we need to have a strong understanding of our fellow human beings. Fiction helps with that, especially if you read a variety of genres. Thomas and Ernestine get this.
• Teaches us the skills of Empathy, Curiosity and the Acceptance of Change. The plot of a book is all about change. It's inevitable. By reading fiction, we learn that Change is normal and to be expected. When you read, you're curious about what's going to happen. Curiosity is a good thing. It makes you pro-active. Change is going to happen to the characters. As we undertake this journey with them, we might recognise elements of them within ourselves. This empathy improves our inter-relational skills.

To that non-fiction author who thinks that reading fiction is merely a boredom reliever, fie on thee! Do thyself a favour and go read more books.

Here's a few to get thee started:

As Good As Gold | For Richer, For Poorer | Marry Me | A Lady of Many Charms (free!) | Her Endearing Young Charms | The White Feather

Question of the Day: Why do you read fiction?

______________________
Her Grace has just polished off a 40g bag of Jelly Belly.

Comparisons - the Bad and the Good

The other day I was doing a regular review of my career path. (This is a good thing, if one wants one's career to go in the direction one wants it to.)  I asked myself these questions:

Where am I?
Where do I want to go?
What do I need to get there?
What's stopping me?

This last question is rather important. It reflects upon those things that keep me from where I want to be. Without stoppage, any career would be stellar and magnificent.

Right now, mine's not.

It's a necessary question, but comes with pitfalls. One of those is comparisons.

Comparison can be a useful tool, but only if applied correctly. It is all too easy to fall into a false comparison trap. Fr'ex: one of your peers had three books released last year, one of them award-winning. It's too easy to look at that, look at the pathetic one book you just managed to eke out and wonder why your career's in the dumps.

Or maybe you did release three books, but none of them won awards, or sales weren't that great, or you have no idea when your next book will be written, nevermind come out. Or maybe you realised you needed a Pullman option for your ticket for the Query Train as you watch fellow travellers hopping off left-right-centre.

I gave in to a moment of self-pity. Why is my writing career not where I wanted it to be? We all have twenty-four hours in our days and I only spend eight of them sleeping. What have I been doing instead of turning out high-quality books at a phenomenal rate?

Then I look at the products of my Twenty-Year Plan. They have grown up to be strong, capable, respectful and respectable members of society.  When I compare them to the products of others, the real truth comes out. All the energy I've been pouring into this project rather than into my books has paid off better than if I'd turned it the other way.

I have five more years left of the Twenty-Year Plan. Then, when that's done, I can turn myself fully to the Fifty-Year Plan.

But for now, I shall be mostly content with the process I've got now.

(Mostly.)

________________________________
Her Grace is doing NaNoWriMo this year. She will have a publishable book at the end of it.

Interview - Lauralyn Aaron

Today's Friday Interview features NaNoWriMo winning author Lauralyn Aaron. 2015 was her first year attempting NaNoWriMo. Lauralyn is also the mother of emerging storywriter Felicity Aaron who inspired her to sit down and write her NaNovel.

Author bio: Lauralyn Aaron proves her insanity by homeschooling her five children, who fortunately seem to be turning out to be decent human beings despite their crazy mom. She studied Political Science at the University of Utah back in the dark ages (or at least the '90's), where she met her husband, Norman. Since then, she's been busy dealing with all the fun of motherhood from diapers to chauffeur duty to trying to convince her daughters that algebra will actually be useful to them someday. In her spare time (ha), she loves to read anything she can get her hands on, resorting to the shampoo bottle or cereal box if there's nothing else handy. Of course, smart phones have made that kind of reading fairly obsolete these days as there's always something better on Facebook than what's on the back of the cereal box.

Yes, she's all that and more. Lauralyn was kind enough to share her journey and thoughts with me for Romance Spinners. 

HWK: Congratulations, you won your first NaNoWriMo! What motivated you to give it a go?

LA: Well, I've had an idea (my only idea for a novel) in mind for a few years. My brainstorming process has been lengthy to say the least. What finally got me to do it was teaching a literature and writing class for homeschooled students. Since I was encouraging them to do NaNoWriMo, I needed to lead by example. We had several write-ins at my house, which made it all more fun for all of us.

HWK: What would you like to tell us about your novel? What inspired you to this story?

LA: Like I said, this idea has been floating around for a while now. One thing I suggested to the homeschooled student was to use a classic story or fairy tale and retell it from a different point of view. With that in mind, the trusty "brainstorming in the shower" scenario came into play.

One day I just started thinking about Sleeping Beauty and how everyone in the castle fell asleep with her, but not everyone in the castle had their whole family there. What about families that were split with some working at the castle while others lived elsewhere? So that's where it started. If I'm honest, I felt inspired to write this story because it was the first time I had a viable story idea, but I've always wanted to write a book.

HWK: I love that idea because it touches upon the human experience of those who were left behind. Can I convince you to let me read it some day?

You've always loved literature, especially classics like Anne of Green Gables. What draws you to these books?

LA: I learned to love reading from my mother, who has been known to read while washing dishes, while folding laundry, while walking--basically any repetitive task is an excuse to read.

As a reader, I'm very character driven. A book doesn't need to have a super exciting plot for me to love it as long as I love the characters. I will say that writing does matter to me, but if the characters are relatable and the writing is good, that's all I need.

Older books like Anne of Green Gables are great because the slower pace often allows for the reader to feel close to the characters. Anne, in fact, was my best friend in seventh grade. Socially, those middle school years were rough, and Anne went everywhere with me. I think I read the entire series five or six times in one year. On the flip side, a book like Divergent, which was an absolute page-turner, was not a favorite for me because I didn't like Tris much.

I still love classics. Jane Austen and Charles Dickens are amazing. When it comes to mysteries, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Rex Stout are favorites. The only genre that I think is better in more modern reading is fantasy/sci fi. You may want to unfriend me on FB for saying this, but I've never been a big fan of Tolkien or Asimov.

HWK: Fear not for abandonment. I prefer a lighter style of fiction.

LA: Incidentally, I'm impressed that you remembered this about me after so many years...unless you refreshed your memory by Facebook stalking me, in which case, I'm not so impressed.

HWK: (I thought it was you stalking me…) Actually, my remembering that detail is a bit convoluted. I once wrote (and subsequently had published) a story where a couple met through an online group called “Kindred Hearts”. I got the name of the group from a similar one you once belonged to. Every time I glance through that anthology, I sometimes think of you.

How do you believe reading benefits the human race?

LA: Other than the obvious fact that we can pass on knowledge through reading, there are a couple of major benefits:

When we read, we learn that we're not alone in our experiences. Every time a character in a novel goes through an emotion or experience that we relate to, we feel that someone understands how we feel.

At the same time, reading helps us understand experiences and feelings that we haven't gone through. It gives us the chance to see the world through a different point of view. For me, part of being a more mature person is realizing that I can like someone even when we don't agree on things, even when they do things I honestly disapprove of. That is a gift that stories can give us because in real life, we rarely get to see things so thoroughly from the other person's point of view.

LA: 5. Preach it! If you could convince the world of ANYTHING, what would it be?

LA: Be nice.

That's it. I am so tired of how angry and judgmental and critical the world feels. If we would all just try to be a bit kinder instead of being so worried about scoring a witty comment or convincing someone of our political views, things would be better. We don't have to always agree in order to be respectful to each other, so...let's just be nice. (Says the political science major.)

HWK: Normally I post links, cover art and a blurb to an author's book. As you're not marketing at the moment, is there any other web site that you would like me to link to instead?

LA: One person who has been really inspirational to me in writing is my daughter, Felicity. She has loved writing stories since she was ten or eleven. She won her first 50,000 NaNo at the age of thirteen. Dealbreaker is a story she wrote a couple of years ago based on the prompt "In 1500 words or less, write a story in which love is dangerous." 

HWK: [reads...]  Ohmigosh! You guys have got to read this.

No, seriously. Stop right now and go read this story. It's only a thousand words or so. You will not regret reading this beautifully bittersweet tale.
___________________

Many thanks to NaNoWriMo-winning author Lauralyn Aaron for being suckered into willing to be interviewed for Romance Spinners. Remember folks, it doesn't matter if you're published or not. If you're writing novels, you're an author.

And a quick mention for Friday Interviews starting in January and February: The Candy Hearts Romance series is coming out from The Wild Rose Press and I've got a handful of my fellow Candy Hearts authors lined up for your edification and entertainment.

November - Month of Insanity

By an act of serendipity, I got the whole of November off from the Day Job.  So glad I did. It's turned out to be a month of insanity.

Originally, I took the time off work for NaNoWriMo. Thought I'd be brilliant and see if I could crank out 100K words. Hah! I dream big, don't I?

I'd forgotten that I am also studying, am a Relief Society secretary and have the end-of-year stuff for the offspring as well.

I have one exam next week and another the week after. We have a new Relief Society presidency; I'm providing necessary momentum for them to get into the swing of things. I've got galley reviews for Marry Me. A close friend has a wedding. I've got a milestone birthday in the family. Thanksgiving and a Christmas party. Support for offspring and end-of-year stuff (as the Australian school year ends in December). Also the usual cleaning, house maintenance, lawnmowing, etc and rhinoviruses that have a terrible sense of timing.

Am I getting everything done?  Yep. Am I making the minimum NaNo goal of 50K?  Maybe. Am I dropping any balls? Sure, plenty of them, but only the ones I know will bounce.

I am learning the fine art of Saying No. Am also ditching the unnecessary bits of the Internet so I can have a few more minutes for the things that Must Be Done.

If it doesn't need to be done, it ain't gettin' done.

And I don't feel a single jot of guilt for it either.

_________________________________
Her Grace: accomplishments mean XP.

NaNoWayMo

If you're like me in the past, you're probably totally into NaNoWriMo right now.

If you're like me today, you've barely given it a thought.

I just can't get into NaNoWriMo this year. Sometimes an author gets to a point when they do not need to be creating anything new, but improving the stuff that's already existing. I've got a trilogy that needs editing far more than my next novel needs writing.

NaNovels do not sell. Edited novels (regardless of how they begin) sell. (I know which one an agent or editor would prefer.)

That's simply the way things are.

NaNoWriMo has been a most helpful practice in the past, but I don't think it's as useful a tool this year. Also, I have a few other things that demand my time, such as school and Their Ladyships' school, and the Relief Society.

I will continue writing, same as always. Whether or not I make the goal, I have no idea.

_____________________
Her Grace still doesn't watch much television.

Happy November

November the 0 (aka 31 October) was Editor Appreciation Day, so I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate Claudia Fallon, my editor at at The Wild Rose Press. She edited For Richer, For Poorer (out 22 Dec 2014).

Of course, it's NaNoWriMo. I, along with a whole lotta other authors, are cranking out 50K words for the month. That's 1665 words a day--a doddle! Unless of course you've never done that sort of thing before. Then it'll spin your head out. Good luck with your novelling. Keep up with me on NaNoWriMo.org.

In other  news, Her Endearing Young Charms, has been selected as an OWW's Editor's Choice for the month.  Read what editor CC Finlay had to say about this in the OWW-SFF Newsletter.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving later on. Australians don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Don't even have a similar holiday just for gratitude. Alas. But as I was raised in the American Tradition, I love Thanksgiving. So I will be gathering my extended Australian family and showing them this completely humble tradition. As none of us get Thursday off, we will celebrate on Saturday.

And now for some randomosity:

Here is a funny video of penguins falling over.

_____________________
Her Grace has finished her term paper on Orbital Resonance and is now looking forward to writing something completely different.

NaNoWriWhat?

NaNoWriMo's coming up in a few weeks and I'm debating whether I should participate this year.

50K in a month? No problem for this Journeyman. Cranking out draft is easy. Coming up with a story? A doddle. I've got three book ideas lurking in the back of my head.

The question is, is now the best time to start a new novel project?

My writerly life is such that I've already got a few projects on the go, stuff I'm hoping will end up in front of an editor's eyes RSN (which, in publishing, means any time in the next five years), which means it needs to be polished now.

I've just finished one ms (barring any editorial comments from an agent), and I've got three more I need to edit--three Really Big Novels--prior to putting them on sub. (They really need to go on sub. You will thank me later down the track.)

As RL demands much time, I don't have a lot of free coin to spend on all the writing projects I'd like to do. Someday this will change, but not next month.

So, if I choose to NaNo, It'll mean a delay in editing. If I opt in, I'll do the second half of last year's project, Currently Unsupervised.

So, your opinion on NaNo: yea or nay?

___________________________
Her Grace has realised that the writer's garret is not symbolic of the lonely isolation of a writer's life, but a magical escape-to place so writer can get some work done!

My Cozy Regency Romance Novel: Currently Unsupervised

Right now, the plot of this novel is drawn all over the large window of my office. I formulated this plot backwards. I started with what one of my characters describes as "The Whole Situation", a bit of scandal that must remain under wraps No Matter What.

I've got the major players, and lots of arrows drawn here-there-everywhere, describing what's happening and to whom, and what will happen if The Whole Situation is discovered. (Really. Why some people must leave incriminating documents lying about, I don't know.)

Essentially, Our Heroine, Miss Felicity Abbot of the Essex Colchesters has a talent for undoing locked things. She's also got a bit of an attitude and a rebellious streak. Can you blame her?  She's been kept from the London Season for reasons entirely out of her control.  Naturally, she's going to sneak off to see what's so great about a Party.  Oh, and she thinks negus tastes absolutely terrible.

The first draft is complete, but needs a bit more tweaking. Some of it sags a bit in the middle. However, I do love the scandal.

_______________________
Her Grace loves a good scandal, as long as she's not involved. She prefers to watch the train wreck from a safe distance.

My Regency Romance with Magic: Her Endearing Young Charms

Another born-in-November NaNoNovel.

Miss Merribelle Hales spent years imbuing a silver locket with man-attracting charms. On her way to her first London Season, her locket is stolen--along with a kiss--by a highwayman. Her only clue to his identity: a pair of intense eyes. Without her best charm, how will she ever be able to compete on the Marriage Mart?

Lord Alexander Rochester has worries aplenty. His ailing father's contested estates are woefully in debt, so he must seek a wealthy wife. His courtship of Miss Hales goes terribly awry with a simple kiss that leads to his slapped face and an accusation of theft.

It's a case of mistaken identity. Alexander knows and fears the real culprit. He faces the loss of his father, his estate and the lady he loves at hands of the Handkiss Highwayman.

I love Our Heroine of this novel, the Honourable Miss Merrybelle Hales. She's got attitude and a few flaws. She's not afraid to speak her mind from time to time. Sometimes her sense of self-togetherness is threatened by fear, but very rarely does she give in to that fear.

Actually, I love several of the characters of this sweet little Regency Romance with Magic. Merrybelle's brother George is a standout. Some of his dialogue is among my favourite lines.

Lord Alexander, Our Hero, has a heavy weight on his shoulders, and it shows. Poor lad. He's a lot more fun when he's not being crushed by Hard Knocks.

I love how there's magic, but it doesn't totally dominate the worldbuilding. It sits on juuust this side of plausible.

After Of The Dark, this has to be my favourite novel.

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Her Grace, of all the Romance genres, loves Regency Romance the best, possibly because of the presence of a comedy of manners.

Edited to add:  This novel is published. Please get it, read it and leave an honest review.

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My Novel Known as Aunt Sophie

Christian Nauck could do the graphic novel.

Everyone needs a crazy aunt who can drag them into adventure. For Denise Fagmilia-and-Paterfamilias, that's her Aunt Sophie.

When her mother Madre dies, apparently of illness, Denise Fagmilia is sold into indentured servitude. This is dreadfully unfair, and rather illegal, as Denise does have a living father. Somewhere.

"IF you had a father," she's told, "He wouldn't want you. You have no Talent."  It's true. In all her twelve years, Denise hasn't shown a single scrap of magical Talent.

Before she is sold on, her Aunt Sophie comes to rescue her. Aunt Sophie also brings with her the suspicion that Madre might have been murdered.  In her grief, Denise discovers she does have a talent.She can scry the dead.

As an epidemic sweeps the kingdom and political factions threaten civil war, Aunt Sophie takes Denise from the streets of Hometown to the Palace and audience with the King himself. With her Talent discovered, lots of people want Denise.

Sophie agrees with Denise on one vital thing; Denise needs to be reunited with her father, albeit for reasons other than what Denise believes.  Denise simply wants a family. But Aunt Sophie knows that Denise will help stop a civil war--or start one.

TNKAAS is a NaNoWriMo novel with magic and steampunky flavour. It's sit quite nicely on the shelf next to some Scott Westerfield.

I wrote the first half in a November, and then finished the draft some time after that.  Right now it feels like a YA, but I don't know if I want it to be a YA. It's a little too heavy for a MG. Some readers balk at the thought of an adult novel with a child protagonist. And for further thought, who's the true protag? Sophie or Denise? The novel is from Denise's POV, but Aunt Sophie is very much the mover and shaker here.  I'll have to do another draft and see if I can change the mood.

A note: When I'm drafting something, I'm terrible with names. Completely terrible. I can't even come up with a title. So terrible, I'll concoct these rich, round characters with histories and baggage and goals and dreams, but I can't tell you their name.  Aunt Sophie and her partner Mathu are the only ones in this series who have proper names. Everyone else is named with placeholders.  That's why the two families are called Fagmilia and Paterfamilias.  Even Denise's name is a punnic placeholder.  Eventually I'll source names when I need to. Until then, this is what they're called.

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Her Grace is happy to let this one age for a while. But it does have potential, if written the right way.

My First Pitched Novel: "Almost An Empress"

It took over a dozen novels, but now my mastery of the Craft was coming to fruition.  I'd had a fair bit of luck getting several short stories published, as well as regular columns for internet magazines and some non-fiction articles for rather prestigious publications.

I could safely say I'd moved from Apprentice Writer to Journeyman. Yay!  (If anyone asks, I tell them I'm a Journeyman. 'Cause that's what I am.)

I was inspired to write another novel based on Middle-Eastern culture (pre-Islam), with feminist overtones.

Dance is women's magic--a close-kept secret. Maysa ibn-Nabil has been trained well. As the daughter of a powerful lord, she becomes the first wife of the new young Emperor, well-placed to influence an entire nation. It is a political marriage only, one that looks never to be fruitful.

The throne is not a safe place. One of the Emperor's brothers escaped the purge of rivals. Now he challenges the Emperor for control of the nation.

The true power of the nation is not the man who sits on the throne, but the woman who stands behind it. Seating the best man to rule would be a simple matter, if not for a rival magic--unknown to Maysa--that is counteracting her own.

Hmm...  not the best blurb. I'll have to work on that.

So, I got an opportunity to pitch my novel.

Back then, few publishers accepted unsolicited manuscripts.  So when Harlequin/Silhouette opened up, for a time, to unsolicited queries, I queried away!

Not my best query evar (see below), and it was not a surprise to see my novel be rejected.  But hey! I'd pitched.

            Maysa, daughter of a powerful sheik, finally comes into her own as a woman grown with the completion of her year as a Dancer.  Unbeknownst to men, who believe it to be nothing more than entertainment, Dance is also the women’s magic, with which they influence the world.

            When Maysa returns home after her year of study, she learns that Idris, the man she loves, is leaving for war.  Wanting to convince him to stay, yet not raise the suspicions of her mother, she dances “Remember Me”.  Unfortunately, he follows his honor.

            She follows the wishes of her father and enters into a pleasant, albeit short-lived marriage with an older man.  After she is widowed, the young emperor desires her as his wife.  It is a political marriage, where she doesn’t even like him, much less love him.  No sooner is the betrothal contract signed, than Idris returns, looking for her.  Indeed, he remembered her because of her dance--so much he couldn’t get her out of his mind…  Can love defy an imperial contract?

            In the tradition of an "Arabian Nights" tale, "Almost an Empress" is the story of Maysa’s journey through marriage, widowhood, and an unwanted engagement to convince Idris of her love.

Um, still not right. Maybe I don't know my own novel.  That can happen.  You write the novel and are so close to it that sometimes you can't see the themes for what they truly are.

Themes I played with:

• Sisterhood
• Dance as a secret magic to influence the world
• Secret love
• Successful (albeit short-lived) marriage and subsequent widowhood
• Political instability
• Women as a respected socio-political power.
• Political marriage (arranged marriage)
• Music as a secret magic to influence the world
• Teamwork
• Family Betrayal
• Fratricide

Several years later, I rewrote the novel as a NaNoWriMo project.  It's better, but not my best novel to date.  Ah well.  Revisitation is always an option.

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Her Grace once learned American Tribal belly dance and would love to learn Urban Tribal, that tightly-controlled and mesmerising style: World Horror Con 2008 Gothic Belly Dance

My First NaNoWriMo Novel: "Only a Peasant"

Yep, 2001.  NaNoWriMo had been running for about three years.  (To be honest, I can't remember if I participated in 2000, the second year of NaNo. I can't seem to find any records of it anywhere.  But I was often an early adopter of Cool Stuff, if I was in the right place at the right time.  In this case, good old misc.writing, that introduced the OWW to me, also introduced me to NaNoWriMo.)

Anyhow, I thought, why not give it a go?  I'd been entranced by the idea of a Book in a Week (BiaW). Honestly didn't know if anyone could crank out a full-sized novel in one week. (Since then I have learned,Yes, you can. I've seen it done.  Will give it a try sometime.)

So, a book (albeit a short one at 50K words) in a month?  No problem!

So I came up with a vague outline for "Only a Peasant".

When Anmury is abducted and taken to the palace, she fears the worst. It is not for tortuous purposes she has been taken. Anmury is to become queen.

How can she be queen?  She's only a peasant. Besides, bad fates befall queens. They all die in childbirth.

But that is exactly the reason the King wants a peasant for a wife.  It seems royal ladies are far too delicate to bear children.  Yet peasants pop them out, strap them to their backs and return to work. The king fears not having an heir, even a half-breed, worse than contaminating his bloodline with that of a peasant.

The King is willing to accept Anmury. The nobility would not.  A plan is hatched to train her up and present her as a foreign princess.[Think Eliza Dolittle meets Princess Caraboo.] Will Anmury be discovered before she can give the king an heir, or will their plan succeed?  Can they maintain the illusion forever?  For any child she bears will be seen as a traitor to the crown, should her true origins be discovered.

Alas, I could not meet the deadline. For someone who's never written that much in so little time, 50K in a month was nigh impossible. I never finished "Only a Peasant", and it languishes, pretty much forgotten.  It can't qualify as a completed novel.  But I list it here, for it was my first foray into NaNoWriMo.  With the exception of a year I gave birth, I've participated in NaNo ever since.  With each passing year, I get better and better at writing cleaner draft quicker.

Very useful skill for a career novelist.

You know, I have absolutely no desire to complete this plotline.

For fun, here is my winner's certificate for 2004:

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Her Grace has always been fond of NaNoWriMo. But, like a good, faithful pair of The Perfect Jeans, she feels she may have outgrown it. She honestly doesn't know if she'll participate next time.  It all depends on what her project schedule is like.

My 500 Words challenge

Ralf und Thomas have just
 completed their 500 today.
A.Stemmer has proof.

Jeff Goins has challenged me (and thousands of other writers) to participate in the My 500 Words challenge.

We writers do this sort of thing all the time. It's good motivation, add a social aspect to what is sometimes a rather lonely career and we Get Stuff Done.  (These books don't write themselves, you know.)

Essentially, we must write a minimum of 500 words a day, every day, for the month of January.  The goal is not to generate as much as we can (a la NaNoWriMo), but to establish the habit of writing every day.  After all, if we are professional writers, we need to be writing every day.

I write 5-6 days average out of the week.  That said, over the past three weeks, I've written a total of 4 days. (Curse you, Holiday Season!  I've got better things to do than celebrate.)  I had fallen out of the habit of writing.

As I loves me my resolutions, I buckled down on New Year's Day and cranked out some fiction. Did the same thing the next day.  Yesterday I rassled with a mild stomach bug (Curse you, Australia, for not having Pepto Bismol!) but got my 500 done.  Today, we'll see.  It's not too busy a Saturday.  I've got chiro and some yardwork and puh-lenty of time to write... as long as I sit down. Butt-in-chair and Just Do It.

A friend once told me the hardest thing about playing the clarinet is picking up the darn thing.  Writing, same thing.  Casual writers have the luxury of writing when they feel like it and not writing when they don't.  Many apprentices, same thing.  But if you expect to move from apprenticeship to journeyhood, you've got to get going on cranking out your half-million words.

500 will get you there.  I don't mean that if you write 500 words a day you'll hit the half-mil sooner rather than later.  (It'll take a very long time to get that far--a thousand days.)  But getting in the habit of writing 500 will get you to the point of, "Hey, this is easy. I do it every day.  I'll bet I can write a thousand.  Or two thousand (like I did on Wednesday).  

Those are the sorts of totals that quickly add up.

So yeah.  I'll post regular-ish updates here, or on Facebook regarding my progress.  Be warned; I'm sporadic when it comes to being online.
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In the spirit of whimsy, Her Grace peppered this blog entry with random yet topical links.