PreNaNoLog : Lessons from a Litmus Test

Well, it’s been a quiet week here at Magnuson Studios, so let’s skip the boring bullet-pointed “here’s what I did!” list in favor of one interesting thing I can talk about in a little more depth.

On Tuesday I found a link to a Mary Sue Litmus test, and ran it on Khulad and Roost (figuring they’d be the most likely to cross into Mary Sue territory). They both scored very low, 11 and 14 points respectively (which doesn't mean I can lower my guard, of course ;) )

While taking the litmus test, I found some cool ideas that I’d like to incorporate into the characters. For instance, on Khu’s run I noticed these two questions:

“If your character is all or partially non-human, does xe react in very non-human ways or in ways more appropriate to xir species?” and ”Does your character act in odd and/or awkward ways that other people find strange and confusing rather than endearing, and these people aren't called or portrayed as foolish/stupid because of it?”

Khulad should definitely have picked up some more draconic reactions and “gestures” after being in their care for so long. Despite the dragons’ ability to speak and some of their very human understandings of things, they do have some more animalistic practices and responses; some of their behaviors are probably comparable to a wolf pack (note to self, project for next week…)

In particular I was thinking that Khu ought to growl at the dragons sometimes, just something he learned because the dragons have some wolfy aspects to their society - but his growl’s not going to be very animalistic, it’ll be very human and sort of weird to Casey and Roost and Peter in that sort of ‘I feel embarrassed for you’ kind of way.

Having been in similarly embarrassing situations - from both ends - this should be both a breeze and blush-inducing to write. I’m so looking forward to it!

For Roost, I found a much simpler but important-to-remember question: “If your character has a short temper, sharp wit, snarky attitude, or is otherwise prone to verbal assaults, are the tongue-lashings and/or snarkings xe gives other characters always deserved and/or justified?” I admit, sometimes I lean toward characters reigning their tempers in around their friends, despite the fact that they ought to lose control of it at least once in a while. Something I’m working on, though.

Barely more than a week left until NaNoWriMo! =D So much left to do organization and plotwise, but I’m really itching to just start writing the story already and see what happens!

PreNaNoLog : Week 2

Wednesday - Posted my log for PreNaNo Week 1

Thursday - Wrote a short Peter excerpt to get a start on his characterization. May post this later, but it's not all that interesting except as a starting point. I also wrote short personality analysis and a bit of backstory for Peter (including how he and his dad were separated)

Friday - Began the name hunt for Peter and his father; I'm currently debating between the last names Vaughn and Green. For Peter's father's first name, I've grabbed Henry, Logan, and Blake. It occurs to me that, being a Nerdfighter, Henry Green is either the best or weirdest combination to go with (I'm leaning toward Vaughn as a last name anyway, so it shouldn't come to such dire straits).

Saturday - Started looking up first names for Casey's family members and a last name for the whole bunch. Got first names for everyone, but didn't make any decisions on a last name just yet.

Sunday I'll be going to the library in search of information on...well, everything, and during the week I'd like to wrap up naming Casey's family, the rest of the dragons, and probably a few Graybacks. By the end of the week I'd like to start plot outlining. Got a midterm Wednesday that might make all this a little difficult, but what's NaNo without a looming test, eh? 

[A Very Late] PreNaNo Log : Week 1

I fully intended to keep a log this year of my NaNo preparations. One of the first things I really wanted to do was post a summary of the story, though, so it wouldn't be completely confusing when I talk about the characters and parts of the plot.

My first attempt was both poorly-written and revealed some plot issues that needed to be taken care of, as well as some research I still need to do. Hopefully I can go library-prowling this weekend and get what I need. Last night I gave it another go, though, and am reasonably pleased with the result.

So here we are. Gear up your movie trailer voices, ladies and gentlemen (it'll probably help you get through this).

"Three generations ago, three events changed the world forever.

A plastic-eating bacteria ravaged the planet and destroyed nearly all of humanity's plastic and plastic materials.

Days later, a virus that mutated its victims into ravenous, violent beasts called Scourges was unleashed in hundreds of cities and towns across the globe. Without supplies, shelter, or many weapons, huge numbers of people were transfigured or killed. What remained of humanity banded together and were forced to begin life anew.

It was a few years before the dragons began to appear - never outright hostile to the human towns, but certainly dangerous if disturbed.

Casey *lastname* has spent her entire life in one small town, helping her parents breed and raise the wolfdogs used to sense nearby Scourges. The wolfdogs are no help, however, when Casey and her family's caravan are attacked on their way to a neighboring city - instead, it's a white dragon named Xerxes and a bizarre 'half-dragon' named Khulad who save her from the Scourges and their virus-spreading bite. And Khulad may know more about the dragons and the reason for their appearance than anyone on earth.

Miles away, a soldier on a desolate battlefield prepares to finish herself off as the Scourge virus begins to ravage the arm where she was bitten. Before she can finish the task, Roost is led to a laboratory and given a chance to retain her humanity by Doctor *lastname2*.All he wants in return is Root's help getting information on the Scourge virus from his son Peter to someone who can use the data to begin work on a curse, while dodging the corrupt officers of the militarian Grayback police force. A simple-enough task - though it remains to be seen if Roost's arm, trapped as the scaled, powerful, claw-tipped arm of a Scourge will be more help or hindrance.

Can two humans, a half-dragon boy, a Scourge-infected woman, and a pack of dragons keep themselves, each other, and their struggling world alive?"

...Still there? I know, I know - brevity is not my strong suit around 12 AM.

Oh, and the novel's called Third Life : I Still Need a Subtitle.

My mission this week (already more than half-over, awesome) is to get research done and to get started on name hunting...the state(s) where this will be taking place...basic stuff like that so I don't keep having to asterisk things...a subtitle...

If you're participating in NaNo, I hope your planning is going well. If you're not participating in NaNo - why not? Go check it out now and consider joining the party!

My Top Ten Reasons to NaNo!

Hurrah for October! Fall and Halloween and apple goodies! And - one month until NaNoWriMo! (I can already tell I'm in the NaNo spirit because I feel a day behind as I write this, even though no word count's required yet =D)

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - is an annual challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in November. There are few rules, but plenty of excitement,  and to convince newcomers to join, the awesome people at NaNoWriMo.org made a list of 10 Reasons You Should Do NaNoWriMo. It's an excellent list - but there're more than ten reasons to NaNo...to WriMo...to NoWri...you get the idea.

So, ascending in order of importance, here are my top ten reasons to join NaNoWriMo!

#10

This is your chance to try whatever writing idea you want! Whether that's writing in a new genre, with a new sort of viewpoint, a new style, or heck, writing at all - this is your time to experiment, and nobody has to see your attempts!

#9

Trying new and challenging things is good! NaNo will liven up your Novemeber, and if nothing else, the adrenaline as you race the clock to midnight on the 30th will make your Thanksgiving weekend more interesting.

#8

You learn to write by writing. 50,000 words in 30 days is a serious crash course.

#7

Get your inner editor to shut up - the 30-day timeframe leaves no time for his/her/its nitpicking!

#6 

Your story can surprise you, take new turns and gain fascinating depth, when you're writing at a million miles and hour. Even you planners may find your story getting away from you as the month goes on.

#5 

You'll find time in your day that you didn't realize existed. If you're really motivated, you can then use this time for more writing once November is over! ...Or, you know, catch up on sleep, if that's your thing.

#4

NaNo gets the ideas you have out of your head and onto the page. Even if the idea feels poor or unfinished or bad, you can't work with what you don't have. 

#3

The NaNo community, just by existing, holds you accountable for your wordcount - and they'll give you a hand with research or motivation if you need  it. 

#2

There's no failure in NaNo except not starting at all. No, I'm serious - even if you only write 100 words, that's one-hundred words that probably wouldn't have existed if you hadn't tried!

#1

NaNoWriMo turns "someday I'll write that novel" into "This November, I will write my novel".

Good luck on your NaNo voyage if you decide to join in. Sign up for an account on NaNoWriMo.org - you'll be able to post on the forums, join a region and learn about write-ins in your area, and best of all, get a nifty wordcount meter you can spam across the internet! Hooray!