I’ve never been one of those people who feels like they have infinite ideas, so when I get one I tend to let it kick around in my brain for awhile, gestating. The project idea that I’ve settled on for my new novel has had various iterations (the failed Project Karen was kind of a spin off of this concept) that I’ve done bits and pieces of. My failing was always in that I wrote it in my sci-fi style, which is more literary than I wanted. For my new novel idea (shall we call it The Project as my main character is as yet unnamed?) I’m going to try something completely new for me.

Hint Hint

I’m going to write it in a YA style.

No, not Twilight-YA, bastard.

One of my weaknesses has always been humor. And action sequences. So I’m going to try a funny action novel.

The actual writing probably won’t start until next week, because I have a process, you see. And it goes something like this.

Step 1: Get a Protagonist. I can never start a new project until I know exactly who the main character will be. As this novel is going to be first-person (another thing I rarely do) I have to know the character’s voice, as well.Two of my former fool-around writing bits had sort of the same voice so I’m not too worried about that. But I don’t have a name, which is very important to me. I’m not one of those people who can change names later on.

Step 2: Do Your Research. For Project Karen, I took a map of New York and marked every character’s house, every important location, and the locations of important plot points. I referred to it maybe three times but it helped me get into the story. The Project will be a little easier location-wise as I’m setting it either in Ann Arbor or a fictional town modeled after my own, both of which I am very familiar with. But I still want to do some research on genetics, earthquake patterns, and sewing (its an eccentric novel).

Step 3: Reference Photos. Another idiosyncrasy of mine. I like to have photos not only of the characters but of places and also just atmospheric scenes. All of my research/reference will go in a binder for the writing. Luckily I don’t have to do as much as I did for my globe-trotting novel, but there will still be lots to collect.

Step 4: Write Utter Crap. No novel-beginnning is complete without a good dose of crap. When I started Project Carson, I wrote about 5,000 words of scenes that never actually went in the book. It gets me in the swing of things. I like to put the characters in situations that are completely ridiculous and fool around with them. Come to think of it, maybe this is why I like fanfic.

An approximate representation of the fooling-around part of this process

I love the characters of Project Carson. But I feel tired of it. I’m at the part that excited me in the first go-about but now it doesn’t interest me.

This could be the middles. But I’m beginning to have the sneaking suspicion that it isn’t. It’s been four years, in which I’ve gone from being a teenager fooling around to a semi-adult with a serious idea of what and how to write. Part of me feels that this novel is a project from when I was a fumbling plotist with cliched, angsty characters. This same part keeps pointing out all the new ideas I have and whispering “Look! See what you can do with that? This novel was important to you, but now it’s time to put it away.”

Then there’s the part of me that looks at Project Carson and feels guilty. It’s like my little puppy. I know the characters need work, and the plot has some flaws…but I’ve spent so much time on it! But I love the characters! But I’m allllmmoostt at the good part. Remember that part?

So I guess my point with this post is to say that I just don’t know. I look at the projects I want to do and my mouth waters, but I also feel like I owe Project Carson a decent finish. I know that writing anything helps you grow, but I can’t help thinking that shelving this project is wasted time.

I’ve got some thinking to do.

The actual man had more chest hair and a mustache.

Sometimes, I love working at the library. Sometime sit makes me want to pull my hair out. And sometimes, I have to run to the break room so that I don’t laugh in a patron’s face.

A normal-looking older man came in during my shift and set himself up at one of our workstations. Now, we do have private study rooms, so if he’d wanted some *ahem* alone time he very well could have found a place out of the public eye.

When he took out not one but two laptops, I should have been tipped off. But when one of your regulars is a 500-lb Chinese man who comes in just to sleep in the magazine section, you get acclimated to “weird” pretty quickly.

So he sits down, opens and plugs in both laptops, pulls up a spreadsheet on one, and scantily-clad obese ladies on the other.

Yes. You read that last sentence correctly.

Now imagine them naked

Now, I tend to be from the “whatever floats your boat, so long as it’s consensual” school of thought. But seriously, you can’t wait until you’re out of the public library?

I was kind of surprised when he didn’t go check out Erotic Stories for the Connoisseur, which yes we do indeed own.

The Commentator–This guy can’t help but add his own little predictions to every scene. There’s a car going by and he says, “Ooh! I bet she’s going to get kidnapped now!” Or the opening scene ends and he jumps in his seat. “Want to know my theory about how it ends?”

Meanwhile, the people behind me are kicking my seat and whispering angrily about how stupid kids shouldn’t be in movies.

The Memorist–this one has a memory connected to every single event that could possibly happen in a movie. Someone breaks their arm and he starts recounting that time he fell out of a tree. There’s a car chase and he needs to start giggling at the absolutely hilarious recollection of his driver’s ed experience.

I don't know you

The Giggler–Every single thing is funny to this guy. We could be watching Black Swan  and he’d start laughing because OMG its a vajayjay! Haha! Funny!

The Cynic–He’s seen it all, and is therefore unimpressed by every movie, no matter how groundbreaking, hilarious, or just decently good a movie is. If we were watching Inception he’d sigh and say it was reminiscent of some cult flick from the eighties. Or omg, John Hughes is such a poser.

The Crier–Interestingly (or maybe stereotypically) this is the only female on the list. The main character’s dog dies in the first act? Tears. The leading lady gets food poisoning on the night of her big date? Tears. The girl dies at the end? Look out for the tsunami.

Ah, friends. The things one does to not appear like an antisocial misanthrope in a movie theater.

I am rereading Watchmen because I am still on the fence about DC’s latest money-making-PR-fiasco, Before Watchmen.

For those of you out of the geeky little comics loop, DC Comics is writing a prequel to the bestselling Watchmen. If you don’t know what Watchmen is, then please hold still so I can punch you.

There isn’t a lot known about the prequel series other than that it will be one-shots about various characters, some of the writers on the project, and Alan Moore absolutely hates the entire idea of it.

Now before I go annoying the entire fan community, let me say this: I love Alan Moore. I laughed out loud at Supreme, devoured Watchmen and V for Vendetta and even though I still am at odds with it I was fascinated by Promethea.

But here’s the thing: Alan Moore does not own Watchmen, and after abandoning comics and his creations he doesn’t have leave to act all angry anytime DC does what any company would do and try to make a dime (frankly, I can’t believe they waited this long).

I don’t mean this in a legal sense, or a moral sense. I am all for creators’ rights and giving respect where it’s due. I believe all writers should have some measure of control over there creation. However, I believe in stories more.

Watchmen is a universe. The book was not the beginning or the ending but simply a middle slice of this world. If Bob Kane had acted like Alan Moore, would we even have DC Comics? No. Good stories are built by people sharing together. Yeah, there’ll be some crappy ones too, but the point is that the world will flourish.

I hate those authors (*cough* Anne Rice *cough*) who rail against fanfiction, as if it’s some sort of horror that people love your writing enough to want to add to it. And frankly, for all of Alan Moore’s talk of artistic purity he hasn’t made any compromises himself, nor has he done anything in the genre for at least a decade. Comics are by nature a medium meant to be shared.

Do I wish that this was a Minutemen-focused series and not seven one-shots of the characters we already know? Yes. But you know what? The eighties are over. Moore isn’t writing anymore. Yes, DC’s been dickish, but so has he, and everyone needs to take a break and realize that no matter how good it is, it’s a comic. If Before Watchmen sucks it’ll be forgotten in 50-cent bins before the end of the year. If it rocks, we’ll all be better off. Its time for someone else to get a chance to play in the sandbox.

An interesting experiment, not a mortal sin.

This needs a spoiler warning

I am my own worst enemy. Seriously–I don’t mean that in the whiny teenage-girl cliche way, I mean that I actively go and do things I know will make me want to kick myself a couple of hours later.

Take, for instance, what I use Wikipedia for most often: ruining television shows for myself.

A couple of days ago I said how much I was enjoying Battlestar Galactica. But it’s an intense show to watch. After watching a season and a half, I needed a few days’ break from the emotional wringer. But I also reeeeaaalllyyy needed to know what happened next.

So, like an idiot, I decided to go and take a small peek at Wikipedia. A tiny peek. A wee-little-not-so-big-at-all peek. I was just going to look at one character’s page, to see what was going to happen to them in the next half-season.

And like the addict that I am, I couldn’t stop myself. I read through 20-odd character pages and learned pretty much everything about the ending. Augh. Headdesk.

I’m not going to stop watching of course. I love BSG and there’s so much a bare summary can’t hope to replicate. But jesus, there needs to be a Wikipedia-addicts-anonymous or at least some sort of app that gives you an electric shock every time you start typing in the we address.

• Total words written: 16,732
• Average number a day: 557
• Highest day: January 17th (day 15) at 1817 words
• Lowest day: January 21st (day 18) at 250 words

I don't actually like champagne. Maybe I could take a bath in it instead? Or how about chocolate?

Writing-wise, this was great for me. I was kind of the kick in the butt that I needed to say “look, kid, you aren’t that busy. You should be able to do at least a marginal amount a day.” I actually had to find time, and lo and behold, little pockets started opening up. I started updating my fanfic regularly, finished a short-story/novelette (it’s kind of on the edge, length-wise), started another, and put a good number of pages in my projects.

And I finally learned how to schedule–not just writing. I started exercising regularly (although I still cannot spell “exercise” without spellcheck), went back to learning Russian (and am doing well this time), and don’t forget school projects anymore. Oh, and I made a to-do list for like the first time in my freaking life.

Some writing truths I only half-believed before:

• No such thing as writers’ block. This isn’t really something you start to disbelieve until you’ve experience the 30 day thing for yourself, but if you have a deadline set and an accountability meter (aka this blog) then you will find time to do 250 words. It doesn’t take that long once you’re in the mindset.
• All writers have quirks. I did not realize that every single time I sat down to write I had to have a full glass of water until now. Weird.
• Stories need breaks. There was no possible way I could work on the same project through all of this. Maybe some people (like the ever-prolific Brandon Sanderson) can, but it was not possible for me. Also, at least one day a week was Fanfic Day because it gave my brain mental methamphetamine. And holy crap, I just spelled “methamphetamine” without spellcheck. Good god. Do you see what this has done to me?
• All writers have a little bit of crazy. Following from the last point, if you’ve ever been hunched over a laptop at one in the morning with eyestrain wondering if you should just give up now because this fanfic smut might contain the best dialogue you’ve ever written, then never fear. All shall be well.

Pictured: Something I know waaay too much about.

• Everybody needs a little inspiration. I found myself listening to more writing podcasts. Other people sharing their frustrations and success–especially when they’re further in their careers than I am–is great for those days when you just don’t want to write. My favorites include Mur Lafferty’s I Should Be Writing; the quad-hosted Writing Excuses(only 15 minutes long!); and Shaun Farrell, Moses Siregar,
  

  In honor of Miss Snark

  and Brent Bowen’s Adventures in Scifi Publishing. I used to read a lot more agent/editor blogs, but really the only one I follow regularly anymore is Query Shark–which is hilarious. Also, every writer should read the now sadly ended Miss Snark. It’s a writing classic.

Honestly, do you want to know what that hardest thing about this month was? Finding something to do a small blog post about everyday. There were at lead 5 that read simply “I’m tired. Did X number of words. Goodnight.” That wasn’t my intention, but it was what had to happen for me to keep my sanity.

I don’t plan on stopping now. My goal for the next 30 days is 300 words a day, and fanfic can only count 2 days a week. And instead of doing 30 blog posts (sorry, I don’t quite have the energy to attempt that again) I’ll put a text box on the right sidebar with the day number and word count.

If you can’t seem to start writing or feel like you’re in a rut, then I am about to go all Motivational-Speaker on your ass.

Try what I did (if you want to be all cutesy you can call it the 30 Day Writing Challenge and tell your much put-upon spouse/friends that it’s totally a thing). Make a small goal, something that you know you will have time to do. If I really tried I could do 250 words in 20 minutes. You can write a novel in 250-word chunks. That’s how Chuck Palahniuk wrote Fight Club. There are very few thing that you can’t accomplish with motivation and a little sweat.

Here’s to my next goal: 365 days!

Oh, and today I wrote 340 words. Breaks are for slackers.

My month

Just call me Grammar Lady. I’d probably answer to it.

Occasionally, I wish I could be one of those easy-going laissez-faire people who appreciates the “modernization and democratization”of our language. You know, one of those smiley people who thinks that children spelling later like l8r is creative and forward-thinking.

Perhaps my divine mission is to be an English martyr, carrying the flag of properly punctuated sentences into a battleground where the winning team is “experimental literature” and the bastard sons of e.e. cummings.

Just a bit of advice: he only person who is e.e. cummings is e.e. cummings. Also, you will make more money flipping burgers than writing poetry. Especially e.e. cummings knock-off poetry.

Someone has to stop this man.

Other than the fact that I’m constantly pulling my hair out, it isn’t a hard job. Somebody’s got to protect the Queen’s English after all, and who better than a slightly anal-retentive English/PoliSci major with a penchant for poorly dialogued 90′s comic books.

Oh, and I wrote 280 words today. Not a lot, but I was busy.

******************

It is going to be a very awkward summer.

You see, this winter I started driving a lot more for a lot longer at a time. And so I started listening to my iPod while driving. And today I realized that I have the constant, unconscious habit of singing along in the car.

And not quietly, either.

So I’m going to be the weird girl who sings in the car but now everyone is going to know it because the windows will be rolled down. Terrific.

At least Community is supposed to be coming back in the summer. I freaking love that show.

I can’t wait.

Also–it occurs to me that this is supposedly a writing blog and I haven’d posted about writing in quite a while. That will have to be rectified.

Go write (there, see? rectified).

Strangely enough, I can’t bring myself to feel all that bad about it. After, I subscribed to letter of my to-do list, if not the spirit of it.

Enjoy this picture of a kitten:

Oh, and I wrote another 374 words.