Category Archives: Novels
NaNoWriMo – To Sequel or Not To Sequel?
Okay I know I posted that I’d be writing the sequel to Angel of Mercy for the NaNoWriMo challenge in November, but the more I think about it the more I think I’ll be going with something new. I’ve been going back and forth as to what makes more sense, since my writing time is limited between the books/editing/queries/fanfics/RP, so I want to get the most bang for my buck so to speak when I pick up a new challenge. I’ve been worried about writing a sequel to a book that hasn’t sold in case there are any major edits suggested by an agent or publisher that might eventually make an already written sequel need to be overhauled later. Or whether or not sequels make you more attractive or less attractive to an agent or publisher.
I’ve decided that I’m definitely overthinking this.
NaNoWriMo is just about writing. Period. Not marketing, or selling, just writing. So I’ll simply go with whatever characters are screaming the loudest to get their story told. Simple as that. So stay tuned to see what it ends up being. I’ve got at least 8 ideas simmering in the back of my mind right now and a new one could get queued up to the front of the line at any moment. Or inspiration might strike for a new one (got one driving the other day, inspired by a cover of the Aerosmith song “Dream On” by Kelly Sweet. Still might write that one, it’s about a teen girl that moves to a new town with her mother who has something to hide…)
In the meantime new ideas for fanfics keep rolling in too. In addition to the two I’ve got going now for Vampire Diaries and True Blood. I’ve got an idea for one that combines the movie Unknown with Tabula Rasa from Buffy with the cast of Vampire Diaries – essentially they’re trapped in a warehouse with amnesia, don’t even know that some of them are vampires! Also I wanted to write the sequel to Road Trip with Damon and Elena on a European Roadtrip. And then I have an idea for one with Eric and Sookie from True Blood, only this time she’s got amnesia and Eric convinces her that she is His and always has been. (I know, I’m on an amnesia kick lately, I don’t know what that’s about!)
So much to write and so little time!
NaNoWriMo is Coming!
National Novel Writing Month is in November.
Less than a month away. This is the big Kahuna of writing challenges, the one that started it all and it couldn’t come at a busier time of year? Seriously, who were the brain wizards who came up with a writing challenge in November?
Last year was my first one, and I had a blast! I credit NaNo with finally pushing me to complete a novel, instead of constantly re-editing my old words and never getting anywhere. Of course last year I wasn’t writing any fanfics, and my work wasn’t turning my brain into mush, so we’ll see how successful I am this year!
I’ve decided to go with the sequel to Angel of Mercy for what I’ll be writing this year since that one ended on sort of a cliff hanger. It’ll be called No Mercy for the Wicked and should pick up right where the first one leaves off. The editing for Angel of Mercy went well and I’ve gotten good feedback from my two test readers (thanks guys, bonus cookie for you!), next step is getting a synopsis done and then I’ll be slogging through getting query letters out to agents.
I am still working on getting Pretty Witches edited down and have removed about 5k in words so far without removing any scenes completely yet. Yet.
In other news we did buy a new car last weekend, yay! I soooooo wanted the little sporty Honda CRZ, a sports car hybrid! It was so pretty and fun to drive! But in the end we went practical, and got the new CRV, SUV with all the bells and whistles, all the options money can buy and it’s a sweet ride.
FanFiction.Net
I just checked my stats for the month of September on FanFiction.net, and I got 45,544 hits for my stories that month alone! I am definitely feeling the love. 
It’s incredible to me that there are people out there reading from all over the world. (What’s up Norway?) Anyway thanks for all the great reviews and support, you guys really keep me going.
I hope to have the next Vampire Diaries recap up tomorrow morning as I will likely be braindead by the time I get home from work. Then this weekend I’ll be deep in rewrites for Pretty Witches All in a Row, trying to slash content to remove at least 10k from the finished product.
Hopefully I’ll have time to go new car shopping this weekend as we’re looking to update our SUV for either a new SUV with all kinds of modern bells and whistles, or possibly a sportier car. What do you guys think is better? Camaro, Mustang or Challenger?
SeptNoWriMo Update
I am so close to finishing this writing challenge I can almost taste it! I’ve made it through a first draft of the new book and just have one more scene to add (a dream sequence, love those!) and I was sorta hoping I’d be done by now. But RL has really kicked my butt this week so far so that one scene is only about a third completed. I’m not sure if I’ll get it done tonight either as I’ve got a killer headache but I might push through a rough draft of it anyway since I’m so close! This one will be quite a bit shorter than the other two books, closer to 75k so hopefully more palatable to agents and publishers for an unpublished author.
I just finished my first fanfic One Is The Loneliest Number this week and it’s a bittersweet ending for me. Sweet because it was my first attempt at fanfic, I’m really proud of how it came out and thrilled with the responses I got from my readers. Saddened because it’s over. But at 33 chapters and almost 100k words it’s practically a book in and of itself!
I’ve also been working on Wake Me When The Sun Goes Down and just threw my readers a BIG curve ball. In preparation for the reviews I took a deep breath and put my armor on expecting a lot of outcry, but instead I got the nicest, most supportive responses! I have to say my reviewers are the coolest readers out there! I’m definitely feeling the love and it makes me want to update faster.
On a side note my eleven year old daughter just told me she’s gonna start writing a fanfic today, I’m so proud! Only I had to promise not to read it. 
I guess I can understand that. I just hope she keeps it up!
Off now to try and push my way through this final scene so I can be done with my first draft!
Oregon Novel Contest
At long last I got the results of the Oregon Novel Contest with local publisher Onyx Neon Press that I submitted to last April. They had pledged to publish the top two novels submitted that were written during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November). I came in 3rd! So sadly, I am not winning the publishing contract, but I did get an honorable mention and I figure it’s not too shabby for my first novel ever. And they will provide me with the judges’ feedback.
I also heard back from the agent I’ve been working with that she is definitely interested, but suggested some changes to the 2nd book. I’m learning that while people do like the books, they’re considered to be too long at 110k and 98.5k respectively. So, that gives me a couple of new projects, to start editing and trim them down a bit. But first I want to get the current book finished, at least the first draft of it.
RL has hit me hard this week at work, so I’ve fallen a little behind the last couple of days and I’m due to write another chapter of fanfic soon and the latest Vampire Diaries episode recap too. On the plus side, I’m in a long weekend now, so that gives me some extra time to get caught up, so I’m hopeful I’ll emerge at the end of the weekend on top.
Crazy Weekend!
Holy crap what a crazy weekend! Yesterday I woke up on a mission and started the day with my 3k quota on the book by 10am. Good start, right? Then it was 2k for a Vampire Diaries episode recap (found posted below), then it was 3k of the next chapter for one of my Vampire Diaries fan fics “Wake Me When The Sun Goes Down.” I even managed to squeeze in some side writing with a friend.
So then I go back to add a little more work on the novel, and it hits me… I’m definitely not in love with the direction things are going. It’s going alright, but I haven’t had as much faith in the romantic lead as in my last two books. Fewer of those moments when I’m done writing a scene and just go “Wow, that came out cool!”
After talking things over with my hubby, I decided to change the entire 2nd half of the book, including who the romantic lead is, because the original just wasn’t working for me. Long story short, I ended up losing a few thousand words. Yikes! It’s like finding a mistake in knitting a sweater and having to rip out a ton of what you’ve just worked on! But, through some hard work I’ve managed to regain what I lost, including my 3k quota for today as well as about a thousand to spare. phew!
So now I’ve got a little time to catch my breath and maybe work on a little fan fic before the season finale of True Blood comes on tonight! I will be taking notes, because I plan on attempting at least one True Blood fanfic in October.
