Camp NanoWriMo Update- Week 2

It's day 10 of Camp NanoWriMo and I missed my first update but I have lots to tell! My original intention was to spend all of camp editing and revising Catch a Falling Star and I have been working towards those goals diligently. I've also been authoring a new story that's been keeping me up nights and demanding to be written and working on developing my blog here. It's exhausting to have so much I want to write and actually try to make time to get it all done. My sister says there is no such thing as no time, you make time for the things you want to do but in reality sometimes the words flow faster than I can type and I do need to sleep, eat and move away from my desk occasionally. (#campnanowrimo) 

My first goal was to revise chapter 1 of Catch a Falling Star and make it more interesting. I'd love it if you'd go and read just that chapter leaving me a comment either here or on FictionPress to let me know if you like it.

So here's the tally. I've edited up to chapter 12 in Catch a Falling Star and I've been updating it on FictionPress as I go. That puts me ahead on my goals sheet that I created here. I've written almost 20K words in the new story subtitled The Compromise, and I've written one, as yet unpublished, blog post. My word count is sitting at 31980, and I upped my goal to 90K since the new book is flowing so fast. The blog is moving slowly for me which is odd since my specialty is research writing and that is pretty much what I am doing on it but we are moving forward with it and that's what counts, right?

For those who want to know about the new story, I have a fanfiction that's been very popular and I've decided to rewrite it and publish it. (Yes I know it's been done before but it's a very good story.) It falls outside of the genre I usually write being a bit more explicit than my usual romance work and I expect I will publish it under a pseudonym for that reason. So far it's two parts and The Compromise would be the third part making it a trilogy. So far it's the best yet of the three and I am very excited about it. Of course the other two will experience revision before they're published so that they are fully cohesive.

If I finish Amethyst in the Rough this year and the trilogy I will have written 5 (FIVE!) books this year! Not too shabby! Now to wade into the waters of indie publishing. Anyway, there's my update, a few days late. Thanks for visiting!

So here we are at another challenge, this time it's White Day Challenge. White day is a holiday celebrated in Japan on March 14. In Japan Valentines day is typically celebrated by women giving the men who are important to them a small gift. On White Day the men reciprocate by giving a gift to the women who are important to them. In the spirit of White Day we challenged ourselves to write a story that reflected this tradition of the man repaying a gift he was given by someone important.

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Enjoy the Roundup.

This is the result of our latest challenge- it was set up by the group organizer WinnifredArtemis, thank you for feeding my madness. She chose the time-frame and the prompt for our group Writers Challenge.

The rules were simple, you had to write within the timeframe she'd set aside for it, and use the prompt, otherwise you were free to follow the voices in your head, I mean your own creativity. It could be a fanfiction, original work, poem, song, anything the voices in your head told you to write. In the case of the White Day challenge we had one day and the prompt was White Day itself.

I thought it might be cool to share what others had done, they were all good entries and I encourage you to check them out.  The names are linked to their profiles or blogs, the story titles will bring you to the madness. Our group meets on facebook and is open to any writer who wants to join. The submissions are listed in no particular order.

WinnifredArtemis started us off with an Attack on Titan fanfiction. Her entry is brief but engaging. I'm not familiar with the anime but based on WinnifredArtemis's entry I think it must go on my 'to watch' list. Thank you WinnifredArtemis!

Andre is our next submission with a Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover fanfic. For those who don't know a crossover will incorporate the authors favorite parts of both stories. I think Andre did a great job of slipping Naruto into the Fairy Tail world and pairing him up with Lucy. I am familiar with both these anime's and, although I don't currently have any cross-shippings myself, I think the NaruLu is a great one.

Gjalt rejoined us this time around with a No Game, No Life fanfic. He refers to his submission as an attempt at romance but I think he did an great job, and I have another anime added to my 'to watch list' thanks to his story that I now want to know more about.

Isis submitted a fanfic based onProfessor Layton but she assures her reader that they don't need to be familiar with the game to appreciate her story. It's a cute little one shot about a procrastinating boy named Luke. It will leave you smiling and wishing there were more.

Mohit rejoined us this time with another little humorous slice of life called, appropriately, WhiteDay. His plot twist will leave you chuckling and hoping you don't identify with his character too closely.

Finally, I wrote a quick little piece that I called Stepping Out. It is an original work that takes a peek into the romance of a couple trying to find their way in this busy world.

I hope you've enjoyed this little wrap up of our challenge. Follow the links, read their stories and let them know what you think! Writing is our passion, it's what feeds our souls but the reviews are oh so encouraging! And look for our next challenge which will come at us during the busy busy month of April while some of us will be hammering away at our word goals for Camp Nanowrimo. But hey, the picture says it all.

Credit for the lovely picture portraying the madness we give in to goes to my lovely and talented daughter who understands it all too well. 

Of course in the case of fanfics the characters belong to the original creators but the story's all stem from the madness in our heads. Our original works are ours and must be referenced as such if you share them, thank you.

Mummified Monk

Opinionated Friday

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So this was in my Discovery news feed.  This monk, 1000 yrs ago, went through this ritual and mummified himself in veneration to his beliefs.  That some hardcore religion there.  I consider myself to be a fairly religious person.  I have my beliefs, I keep them to myself for the most part, unless I'm asked.  But I'm fairly certain that I could never do this sort of thing to show my faith.  I mean, he spent over eight years preparing his body and mummifying himself.  I have trouble sticking to a diet for eight days.  And the stuff he ate!  Nuts and seeds for the first 1000 days, then twigs and bark for 1000 days, and then poison that made him vomit.  

My hat goes off to this man who lived 1000 years ago.  In this day and age of new stuff every year I'm sure I could never commit myself to something the way he did.  That's some serious madness.

The original article can be found here.  Be sure to check it out.  By the way, I'm sure there's a story in here, perhaps a diary of his experience?  I just can't write anything in which my main character dies at the end.  I wrote a fanfiction like that once and I cried every time I had to read it.  And she died of old age...can you imagine?

Writing Challenge Roundup

I needed proof that I wasn't the only one. Compelled to write, no matter the topic. So I joined a group, either their all mad like me, or they're very tolerant of me and my madness. I'm not sure.

This is the result of our first challenge- it was set up by the group organizer WinnifredArtemis, thank you for feeding my madness. She chose the time-frame and the prompt for our group Writers Challenge.

The rules were simple, you had to write within the week she'd set aside for it, and use the prompt, Do Not Enter, otherwise you were free to follow the voices in your head, I mean your own creativity. It could be a fanfiction, original work, poem, song, anything the voices in your head told you to write.

I thought it might be cool to share what others had done, they were all good entries and I encourage you to check them out. The names are linked to their profiles or blogs, the story titles will bring you to the madness.

Gjalt wrote the opening of an original story, Terror Siblings, that I'm sure I want to read more of...I only hope he intends to finish it. Just for the record I want these two on my side if anything goes down. 

Lia wrote a fanfiction about NCIS:LA called Do Not Enter This Room that I almost mistook for our valentines day challenge it was so sweet and romantic. Great job Lia! I have a soft spot for romance anyway and this one made “awww” at the end.

Gina also wrote a fanfic about NCIS:LA called Do Not Enter.  I have to admit I haven't watched this show in years but I enjoyed the story's regardless. Hers was not a romance but rather about the inner struggle Callen has dealing with his history and the memories he carries with him.

April posted a great original story, And the Sign Said, that will keep you at the edge of your seat waiting for the next line. She offers an amazing plot twist at the end that will leave you begging for more.

Caroline posted what I hope will be the beginning of a great book. She draws you in and makes you feel her main character. I'll be looking for more of this one..

WinnifredArtemis herself posted a teaser for a fanfic she's working on based on The Originals called Do Not Enter. I'm not familiar with the story but her teaser leaves me wanting more, is he werewolf, vampire, addict? Inquiring minds want to know!

Mohit wrote a bit of original humor about the Do Not Enter topic. It left me wondering what I would do if I found myself in a similar situation.

And of course my own entry which was an original work Do Not Enter, with a touch of mystery. I decided to leave my usual romance aside for this one and try something new. The madness spreads, who knows where it will end.

I hope you've enjoyed this little wrap up of our challenge. Follow the links, read their stories and let them know what you think! Writing is our passion, it's what feeds our souls but the reviews are oh so encouraging!

Of course in the case of fanfics the characters belong to the original creators but the story's all stem from the madness in our heads. Our original works are ours and must be referenced as such if you share them, thank you.