Camp NaNoWriMo July

A week to go till the end of Camp NaNoWriMo July and I have already finished the 30 hours I committed myself to. I'm quite pleased with the amount of work done and its quality.

After starting the Novel Revision course with Verona Lorgsval in Second Life, Victoria Lynn Osborne in Real Life, I am now moving forward with the revising of my latest novel (the others are gathering dust in a dark drawer because I hated revising).

Slow steps, but steady steps.

This month, I worked on characters and promises to the reader. While writing, we often present a character or a certain object, hinting something about them. Are those hints followed through? Or will the reader wonder what happened to them?

I have also worked on accuracy and continuity. Simple things like "X stands up" when he was already standing by the door are quite frequent in my writing. I make them all stand up for some reason, multiple times without even sitting down!

Verona suggests we don't actually touch the text yet. At this point, we are identifying the weak spots in the story. And that's what I'm doing.

The next step is to work on the scenes. I'll be hunting them down! Literally. PACTS! You're probably thinking, huh?! Yes, Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict, Twist, Setting. That should be fun.

I think I'll be a Rebel this year for November's NaNoWriMo.

Devotion

Tierra de Fuego

He was devoted to his hobby and he had the best tools. He looked up. Days under the blazing sun hadn't discouraged him. The pole had to be perfect for the challenge. It took him a while to accomplish his goal but he chopped it off. A blaze of sparkles scattered in all directions as the pole hit the sand.

“One more. Victory!”

What followed was a lot more impressive than a few sparkles. He didn't even see it coming.

The military knew nothing while the media spent weeks debating if there had been any victims of that misguided bomb.

100 Word Stories

Current

Black Kite

The current state of affairs is grim. What did I do to deserve this. All I wanted was a little garden with a touch of originality. But that greenish tone. I hate it. It makes me want to puke. And those little ducks floating about in a neat little line make me want to kill them though they are fake ducks. I sit here and wonder. Could I paint this in black and fire the decorator?

“Honey, help me here. I'm not sure whether to go for a twisted branch or for a straight one. Just love the green tone!”

100 Word Stories

Simple Reason

Salt Water

The reason why I've decided to leave was quite simple. I was tired of everything and everyone. I was especially tired of him. Yes, that guy who worked at the cafeteria. He didn't do anything to be honest. He never said anything either. He was just there, staring at me all the time. When I found him standing across the street from my door, I packed and left. Now, I live by the sea. It's beautiful. It's actually more than I could've wished for. The guy next door... He stands at his window and stares at me all the time.

100 Word Stories

Pick two: reason, discretion, zone, stunt, simple, deadwood, Tuba

Plot

Borgatti

We all go a little mad sometimes. Yes, but... How much is a little? When does a little turn into a lot? As she wrote the story for the local paper, she thought about the time she had spent tracking that man. He was skillful. He hid in the forest for weeks. "Make it personal", her editor said. And she did. She wrote about how she remembered him. He was such a terribly mean child who torched houses and killed animals. The thing is... the story was just a story. Would he go a little mad or a lot mad?

100 Word Stories

Logic

Borgatti

There used to be a little heart in that garden, filled with hope. And that heart grew and grew. The little heart wasn't so little anymore when it decided to leave the safety of the garden. He still recalled the butterflies and the tree house though. He even recalled the weasel and the pelican. When the little heart was arrested, the only thing he could think of was how far away the garden was and how he wished he could go back. But then he remembered... he had torched the garden, because that had been the right thing to do.

100 Word Stories

Losing

Avatar Games

Strings left, strings right. They pulled the strings left and they pulled the strings right. The doll swayed on the small stage, left and right. Her face was emotionless. The brush she held swayed with her. Her face was emotionless... And the more they pulled on the strings, the more she swayed. And the more that brush swayed, the more she painted an invisible feeling in the air. It swayed angrily. The doll's fingers cramped around it tightly. Her body shook and jumped in all directions. And that brush painted a face of sheer anger. Metal dolls have feelings too.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo July

Here we go again!

It's almost time for Camp NaNoWriMo July.

The official website now offers the option of deciding on the amount of hours rather than the number of words.

So, this July, I will continue revising my WIP and my goal will be to work for 30 hours.

I didn't give up in May and I am actually having fun going through the revision process.

So, onwards and upwards!

Surrounded

Milk Wood

He looked up and smiled. He was surrounded by trees. As always, he had returned to his comfort place, the forest, the dark gloomy forest, the threatening little grim pathless forest. When he looked up, he didn't see the dark. He saw beautiful trees in gorgeous tones of yellows, oranges and reds, and browns with a pinch of green here and there. He especially loved his spot, right in the middle of all those wonderful trees. He didn't know if it was the middle, but he liked to think it was. He looked up again and smiled a dark smile.

100 Word Stories

Nameless Atmosphere

Venexia

The place is haunted, someone said. Or perhaps it's just for the show.

The atmosphere is eerie, another added, chuckling.

They all agreed.

“What's the place called?”

No one knew.

“Let's call it Nameless.”

Everyone laughed and their laughter echoed throughout the pitch-black galleries and archways.

They got closer to one another. Just in case, they thought collectively without actually saying it.

Where are the scary ghosts, someone asked in a jesting tone.

No one thought it was funny.

That's when they noticed the dark shadow snaking its way towards them and they knew it wasn't just for the show.

100 Word Stories

PICK TWO: 

stunted growth, bath, passive, pelt, atmosphere, nameless, tendency

Zone

Kronbelt

A crow perched on a branch of a dead tree. The tree had been dead for a long time.

The crow gazed at the town below. The town was nearly dead. The helipad hadn't been used in years. The lighthouse was off.

The crow watched as they buried one more. Man, woman?

Six people were left alive. They didn't know yet, but they would soon be dead, all of them.

The crow perched on the dead tree and watched them.

The town would soon be his and he would finally be able to get rid of this ridiculous crow disguise.

100 Word Stories

Slurp

Tatty Soup

Slurp!

Hey, that's not the way I brought you up.

Slurp...

I won't say it again.

Slurp?

I warn you.

Slurp. Slurp.

Stop it.

Slurp, slurp, slurp.

OK, that's enough. I've had it.

A thunder of stomping feet approached the kitchen while the kids scattered in all directions. Johnny stayed behind, sitting at the table, daring his mother.

Who was it? Come on. Who was it?

No slurping now? Spit it out. Who was slurping?

When the mother finally gave up, Johnny looked at his cup. It was almost empty.

The others' cups were almost full.

He sneered.

Slurp.

100 Word Stories

Jack

Waterland

Home sweet home, Jack thought. The day was coming to an end and no one knew where he was. His caravan was his home, at least the home he loved. The place was not much to look at. It desperately needed a bit of paint. The door was gone. That was a long story. However, he was home. When the snake decided to nestle in his bed, Jack wished he had a door. As a result, he spent the night pointing a lamp at the non-existent door and thinking of snake patterns to paint on the side of his caravan.

100 Word Stories

Heart Attack

Octoberville

"Yes, I hired it.”

“You hired a heart attack?! How can we hire a heart attack?”

“Talk to it and settle for an amount. Easy.”

The prosecutor looked at the judge. The judge shrugged.

“When did you talk to this heart attack then?”

“Two months ago.”

“And it said it would kill your boss?”

The defendant nodded.

“Are there many heart attacks around doing hit jobs?”

“No, there's only one.”

“And what's its name?”

“Cock-eyed Paulie.”

“Ah, that's why your boss is still alive.”

The room burst into laughter.

A few weeks later, the prosecutor died of a heart attack.

100 Word Stories

Potato Chips

BWC Village

"Do you have any potato chips?" The young man looked at the fruit stand.

"Does it look like I have potato chips?!" said the vendor, pointing at the different crates packed with fresh fruit.

"I don't know. Perhaps. One never knows!"

"When you look at my stand, do you see any possibility, as remote as it might be, of me selling potato chips? Be honest. I mean... look. Bananas, coconuts, melons, pears, apples, kiwis, oranges. Do you really think I would have potato chips as an option?"

"Potato chips go well with everything, even fruit!"

"Go away. Just go away..."

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo!

I'm alive! I didn't die of boredom as it usually happens while revising a story. I'm still following Verona's method. I did the first read through and tracked weak and strong aspects of my story. And I feel encouraged. Surprisingly enough, I'm actually looking forward to continuing revising. *checks for fever* Nope, all good! Now, onwards to the next steps!

Charge

Bridgetown

The end of the bridge approached quickly and the jeep charged off the edge of the platform. 

"There goes another pilot," said the chief engineer, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"We need a different solution for this," said the director. "We cannot afford losing more pilots and, what's worse, jeeps. We are stretching our resources thin as it is. I told you that it was a bad idea to test the brakes system at the bridge. It's too high." 

"Yes, but you also said that you wanted to reorganize the staff, didn't you?" 

The director sulked and walked away.

100 Word Stories

Emotive

Roche

The old bridge stretched out, tired. The sky wept softly while a feisty seagull fought against the wind. He wanted the place to be beautiful and special and vibrant, but nothing could survive there. He tried... He even wanted to rebuild the bridge so others could come over but each time he set new stones on it, they would just be taken away by the water, over and over again. He fought as much as that lonely seagull. He didn't want to give up. But he was alone. It was with a heavy heart that he walked away that day…

100 Word Stories

Street Corners

Tokyo 3.1

The blinding sparkle of local street lights contrasted with the deep shadows of dark street corners.

The army tank looked eerie.

Everyone knew they were about to lose the war.

The others were all over town with their soldiers and their heavy artillery, blocking the roads and asking for ID as if they owned the place. The others controlled the comings and goings while everyone tried to lead a normal life in the middle of utter chaos.

What gave them hope was the fact that someone was somehow setting those tanks on fire. One by one. They'd never give up.

100 Word Stories

Pick Two: standard, graffiti, blinding, blithering, pony, sparkle, amuse, fire

Let's Get this Show on the Road

Camp NaNoWriMo starts today and it's time to put those Novel Revision classes to good use. This year, I am revising "Just Before Dawn", the story I have written during NaNoWriMo last November.

Syllabus for How to Revise Your Novel

Instructor: Verona Lorgsval in Second Life, Victoria Lynn Osborne in Real Life

Week 1. Despair: The Novel you got. Here we will be printing out your novel. And doing the first read through and tracking down your novel.

Week 2. Promises Promises, Finding your biggest first draft wrecks.

Week 3. The Hunt for the slippery Scene. An Interlude.

Week 4. Promises Promises the plot you got.

Week 5. Conflict and What Matters.

Week 6. Sharpening Your Characters Bringing Fictional Folk Into Focus.

Week 7. How to Triage Your World.

Week 8. Wrapping up Triage Final Details of Target, Promises, Story and Theme.

Week 9. How Manuscript Surgery Works.

Week 10. Theme and Story Take Two.

Week 11. Plots and Subplots.

Week 12. Committing to your Characters.

Week 13. Tracking and Completing Conflicts.

Week 14. Simple Time Dealing with Time Crises and Modifying In-scene Story Structure.

Week 15. Complex Time: Time Between Time.

Week 16. Becoming Consistent.

Week 17. How to Cut the Manuscript.

Week 18. Cosmetic Surgery I. Line Editing with Style, Grace, and Commas.

Week 19. How to Improve Dialogue, Description, Action, and Flow.

Week 20. Beginnings, Ending, Pace and Step-by-step.

Week 21. How to Survive and Thrive with your Type-In.

Week 22. Surgical Review: Streamlining the In-Depth Revision Process.

If you're doing Camp and you are a Second Life resident, join us at Milk Wood (Writing Group).

Ongoing events (all SLT):

Dashes - Mon-Fri at 6am and 6pm

500 Word Snatches - daily at 1am and 8am

Speculative Writing course - Thurs at 2pm

Fox Rocks (writing poetry) - Sat at 9am

Also:

The Inspiration Booth for locations to visit and get inspired by

The Lady Bug hovering above the writing table for prompts

Bunny plots throughout the sim for even more prompts

At the moment, we meet at Milk Wood's Camp. But feel free to enjoy the public areas of the sim as you like.

Have fun writing and exploring!