I am not succinct.

For all of those struggling with, on a roll with, fine-tuning, needing ideas, or hell... anyone who isn't even participating but are around to offer quick insta-beta services or general support:

Narnia Big Bang Write-In. Tomorrow, February 10th. 9 PM EST. All are welcome. You can actively participate through conversation, or just check-in occasionally (because you're busy writing... right?)

We could either do the chat room or skype... any preferences?

**UPDATE**

For those interested in a group skype chat, find me under my LJ name! I'm going to try to get things going starting at 8:45 PM EST. (For those I've skyped with before, I'm using a different account just for this, so you'll have to add me again.)

Hello all you peoples in LJ land!

I'm procrastinating from writing, even though today is a good day to do so. It's cool outside, overcast, I have the full day off from work (the first in nearly two weeks) and most importantly...internet!

On the writing front... at first, and I cannot lie, I was a tad disappointed by the NBB extension. Deadlines! Must need deadlines! But the past two weeks, I've been locked in a dark, internetless box full of distractions left and right. And though I'm in supervisory mode and can check out to write as needed, it just didn't happen. So, in short... yay, extension! THANK GOODNESS!

Things have eased up a bit this week, so daytimes are again available to tap-tap-tap away on my little keyboard. And I really do want to finish this first pass of the story by the end of the month. However, my story keeps inching longer and longer... I've been "12K more to go!" for the past 3K words, it seems! Blrgh.

( Special Edition Thoughts )

( Beta Help Wanted! Apply Within! )

OK. Enough... I need to get writing...

So, the 3 Sentence Ficathon is happening. And at first I avoided it, thinking:

"Think of the distraction it would be from your NBB, snitch!"

But then I thought:

"Think of the distraction it would be from your NBB, snitch!"

So, I dove in.
( And here's what I've done so far... )

Since it worked quite well to list out my goals during the NFE, I'm going to lay out what my intentions are for my NBB. "Putting it out to the world" can be quiet helpful.

November:

Write, write, write. With the help of NaNoWriMo to keep track of my progress (along with my extensive chart I have going in iNumbers, something I'll have to share in my Extended Edition, right wingedflight21?) I hope to get the vast majority, if not all, of my first pass done this month. My schedule allows for it, with what work I do have primarily landing on the weekends. It's a pity that that's when it has and is forecasted to rain... on the weekends. I'd much rather it rain during the week. Cold and snuggly conditions = perfect writing conditions.

Granted, this stuff is rough. But that matters not, because I really enjoy the ediitng and finessing part much more than the initial "just splurt it out already!" writing time.

My extensive outline is already complete, so I already have a leg-up on the first NBB deadline! Wow, I was never on top of things like this when I was in school... Like, ever.

December:

My second pass. Maybe, maybe reach out to a beta for a second opinion on some scenes. If anything, with my newly found writing habits, this will be the time in which I'll add more detail, if anything. Which I don't mind... I'm learning to embrace that this is my writing style, and if that scares readers off, then so be it. So far, my work schedule is very, very light for the month (yet I'm getting the bulk of my pay that month, so score!!) so that allows for much tea drinking and red-penning.

The kicker is leaving town to go back to the midwest half-way through the month. I just visited there a month ago and learned that it definitely is NOT good writing conditions there. Little to no privacy, but more importantly, no writing sofa. I HAVE to have a sofa from which to write on.

On the other hand, that's where my cat is. Orange fuzzy Maine Coon best friend snuggled up next to you IS a good writing condition. Also, real, honest to goodness winter weather. Another good writing condition. So, maybe I can get more done than planned.

ALSO. This is the deadline to sign up as an artist and a beta, and I would love to do both! I'm holding off on signing up on both until after November is done, though.

January:

This is when it gets tricky. I kick into full gear on the 2nd of the month with "real work" and will be busy pretty much throughout, which is why I want to get stuff done early. I really want the story to be 90% done at this time and to have a good dialogue going with a beta.

I would like January to be the time to make the half-dozen passes it requires to catch all the small errors, grammatical mistakes, etc. I learned that it took that amount for my NFE, and when I care about something, I can be quite the perfectionist.

That and FORMATTING. I italicize a lot so it's going to take a very, very long time to format. At least that's mindless work...

The bonus to all of this is, the busier I am with "real life," the more I find writing to be a much-desired escape. Hopefully, this will work in my favor that month, again.

And art and betaing would be just as much of a welcome break, too!

February:

Done. I want it all in the can way before the 2/24 deadline. This month is very much up in the air work-wise. That, and my very first nephew/niece will have been born in late January, and I should make another trip to the midwest at this time to visit him/her. (And my best friend up in the Bay area will also have had a baby girl around the same time, so I should go visit up there, too).

But I would love to spend whatever free time I have with the art and/or beta stuff I have going on.

March:

Treat myself to actually churning out a ~60K piece of writing. I've never done anything like this before, and I would love to do it again (a sequel to this sequel already has a few scenes written—oooooops—but I am interested in trying my hands at an original work, too).

Also, posting begins on my birthday, so yay! I get to read other people's masterpieces after such a loooong wait! That's a treat in itself!

There. Goals laid out. And now to write another 800 words to reach my daily quota, since I didn't write more than 20 words yesterday.

I drink too much of it. I drink about 2-3 pots a day. That cannot be good. Thankfully, I've cut down on the caffeinated sorts, but still... I'm tired of running to the bathroom all the time.

OK, things I really need to sit and think long about (and probably write up reference material to build from) before I can really continue any further on my Big Bang WIP:

1. Archenland Geography. Villages, landscape, and scale. Just... all of it.
2. An OC, his name, and his function in the story. He needs to be in there, but am not sure how to use him yet. Hmmm.
3. Profiles on ALL the Lords of Archenland. I already have a good head start, I just need to organize it all and add on to what I have.
4.  Elephant Names. Why is naming such a chore? I need to come up with at least three more, and it took forever just to decide on one!
5. Bird Name. I just need one. Well, more, eventually, but am happy to take suggestions for the main one. Anyone? I think it's a raven, the sex matters not.

Things I'm learning so far:

• It's ten time easier to write males than females. I have no idea why.
• It's fifty times easier to write characters with a drink in their hand. Why is my "go to" to have them boozing it up?
• It's a hundred times easier to not write in any order at all. The stuff comes out when it wants to and I shouldn't fight it.

I NEED A BIRD NAME. HELP.

So, I'm writing about Elephants in my next Narnia fic. No big deal, really, it was just a plot idea I got from a throwaway line from my first story. Which was just an idea because of a new song from one of my favorite bands called "White Elephant."

Well, I can't escape elephants now. At all. They're everywhere. I saw said band in concert on Saturday, and they gave out signed posters....which had elephants all over them:



I come back from said concert to where my car was parked in a sketchy part of downtown (we had carpooled). On the bare, brick wall of a huge warehouse... graffiti of two elephants.

I go to a meeting at a friend's apartment last night. They had two small elephants on their mantle. On the drive back, I passed by the Pink Elephant liquor store.

Went into another meeting today, which happens to be right across the street from the local zoo. Yeah, of course their one big banner was about their Asian elephant exhibit.

So, I was musing about this about 5 minutes ago as I was sitting down with my cup of milky tea to get online. And I check my tumblr... and in the radar is a picture of a guy brushing an elephants tongue.

The elephants are out to get me. They INSIST I give them due diligence. I hope I can.

rthstewart requested the following: Peter and one of those Archenland women and... Peter being a loud, early riser; or Susan and your version of Peridan (or someone else's Peridan).

Behold, the Incident of the Sisters Nelian, as briefly alluded to in Dichotomy, and which now spoils a running joke in the sequel:

( High King Peter is a morning person. )

Ta-da.

I'm having some thoughts while I sit here with a glass of cheap wine, waiting for the chicken to come out of the oven... I'm coming across this subject again somewhat as I write a sequel to Dichotomy, and would love to hear peoples' thoughts.

( To OTP or not to OTP, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind... )



And now my chicken is out of the oven and is rested, so now it's time for a very late dinner.  Thank you all, and bon appetit. 

Intimidation Central

( A kettle of worms has been opened... )
Oh, what have I done...

So, my imagination has been on overdrive ever since I submitted my NFE.

My imagination led to a nugget, which led to a chunk, and now is exploding into a full blow plot. Heaven help me, I've started writing the sequel to my NFE.

Granted, work has slowed down considerably the past week and I now have plenty of free time. But I should be doing productive stuff... like work more on pre-production of next gig, or even tie up the loose ends of the last one. Not writing about [CENSORED] which takes place two years after [ALSO CENSORED] but this time in the point of view of [NOT SAYIN'].

Yee-ikes. I wish I could talk about it, but nooooo, reveals aren't for awhile. But it's so hard to keep bottled in!