I Write: NaNoWriMo 2011: Update 2....uh, hey, I won!

I thought that I was going to give more updates here as I progressed through NaNoWriMo this year. Maybe give some insights into how I felt it was going, what I liked about my characters and the such.

I did not do that. Instead, I won.

Winning at NaNoWriMo is such a great feeling. I really wanted to high-five people, but didn't think anyone would understand. Its hard work to write 50,000 words in one month, and especially when one has school and work to do as well. (It should be noted that no assignment was late, and I got high marks on papers written in November. It would be interesting to see how many words total I wrote in the month.)

Much like the time that I won in 2009, the story was not finished at 50,000 words. I think at least another 10,000 will be needed to finish it. Originally I planned for this to be two books, but decided to make it one. I say at least 10,000 now, but it may be more. Hey, A Song of Ice and Fire was supposed to be three books when George R.R. Martin first planned it out. Book 5 was released this summer.

That to me sums up the exciting part of writing creatively. You might say "I am going to write a 50,000 word story" and then you get to that point and realize that there is just no way the story is done. Maybe characters have started to do things differently than you expected. Maybe a minor character has acted out in a way you did not plan for. It might seem odd to those of you who do not write that this could happen. After all, doesn't the author control the story? Shouldn't characters behave the way the author intends? Not necessarily. I think that when you start writing out characters, certain things begin to change. In your head, you have a rough outline of who this person is. Think about it this way, if I were to describe my best friend as if he were a character it would not even come close to describing the actual person. It would have details, yes, but there would be so much more in terms of little quirks or habits, back stories filled with interesting experiences, and chance encounters with people. A character in a story faces the same things and so he can change and the story changes with it.

To give a brief synopsis of the story (so far) we have our pirate, Erik Dolmonson, who is second in command to one of the most famous pirate captain's of all time. When an attempted mutiny goes bad, one of the rebelious crew members slips that he would prefer Dolmonson to be the captain. The captain (John Cotter) decides to maroon Dolmonson on an island. Unbeknownst to Cotter though, the island is the den for another pirate crew, this one now led by Captain Olivia Rickheardt. While pouring over the previous captain's log and posessions, they discover maps of the uncharted lands beyond the "Dead Calm" a region of the far southern sea in which the wind does not blow and there is no current. Theorizing that the new found maps and charts explain how to get across the Dead Calm, they believe that Captain Cotter leaves his treasure there, as where he keeps his treasure has been a closely guarded secret. Currently the crew headed by Rickheardt (which Dolmonson has joined) is headed for the eastern sea, but first must navigate the "Red Cape" a dangerous stretch of sea known for its brutal winds and rocks.

I have had some people ask to read it, and I would be willing to do that. Let me finish it first, obviously. I'd also like to give it a bit of editing. For instance, I think halfway through, I begin referring to the "Dead Calm" as the "Dead Zone". I do realize of course that people who read it can also help with the editing with their suggestions and criticisms. I'll keep you guys posted.

Until then, its Finals week, but I should post some more in the next few days. I've done more reading for one thing. I can't wait to share with you.

I write: NaNoWriMo 2011 Update 1

It is the 8th day of November, and with a word count just above 13,333 (but JUST above) I am currently on pace to win National Novel Writing Month for the second time. Obviously, a lot of time left. 22 days to either get to the 50,000 word mark or to leave my story left unfinished.

Here's what I am noticing about writing: it is a process. In just about every book I've ever read about writing the author stresses the importance of writing every single day. Let me just say that this is incredibly hard, even when there's a deadline approaching. Its one thing, I think, to write out a homework assignment or essay for class, but to write creatively every day can be extremely hard.

I do find myself some mornings not wanting to write in my story. I usually say "I'll write 500 words" (a decent sprint for me, doesn't take long to write them) to try and get into the flow. The daily word total is roughly 1,667 words so I figure three sets of 500 will get me close. Usually, when I shoot for 500 words, I go over a little anyways, so I get closer to my goal. Though on mornings, like today, I find that it was very much so a struggle to get to 1,667 words. While yesterday, the words poured out of me to the tune of 3,300, today I slogged through the bare minimum.

I think its a signal to me that the story needs to get moving. I've lingered in this one location for long enough, Its time for my characters to go off and do other things, maybe interact with different people. Its time to advance my plot thats in my head. When I was coming up with the base outline of this story, I had a couple of starting points in mind. I actually started writing a few days before that in the narrative. I suppose I could take this to be that I have a 13,333 word head start (will probably be about 15,000 before I get to where I would have originally started the story).

It has been fun writing in this beginning part of the story. I got to introduce a theme that I wanted to be part of the story, and also set up another theme that I'd consider to be the story's overall point. When this becomes a best seller, you'll all be able to discuss what a genius I am, no doubt.

A frustrating day of sorts on the novelling front, but its time to get this story moving. Tomorrow will bring a new day and hopefully some new beginnings for Tattered Sails.

I read: The Hunger Games

At the suggestion of my fiance, and because they're making a movie out if it I decided to read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. The books are quite popular as a young adult series, and it was easy to see why with a quick reading. It took me three days to finish the 374-page book, partly because it was an easy read, but mostly because the whole concept was fascinating to me.

In a nutshell, the book takes place in the future where North America has been decimated by something (the book alludes to a combination of war and natural disaster, but doesn't get to specific.) Out of this, a new country, Panem is formed. Panem consists of the Capital and 13 districts. A rebellion against the Capital breaks out, District 13 is destroyed and the Capital becomes your typical highly oppressive ruling city that bestows little or no freedom on its people. And then, just to be dicks, they like to remind the 12 districts of whose in charge by each year selecting two children to come to the Capital and compete in the Hunger Games, in which the 24 children compete to the death in a televised event.

This is, to me, beyond fucked up, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading it so much. I kept wondering how we got to this point as a society. Yes, its fiction, but I still want to know why it happened!

Possibly to keep the reader guessing about some of the grander aspects of this society, the book is told from the first person perspective of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl who volunteers to go to the Hunger Games so her sister, who was selected, does not have to. I'm guessing whatever Katniss knows about the history of Panem and North America she knows from school, and given that this is an especially cruel dystopian society, that information is probably skewed majorly. So, even if she said "this is what happened" (she does not) one would have to take it with a grain of salt.

I don't read young adult books often, but I can see the appeal of this story, especially with teenage girls. Katniss is a character who takes care of herself, is determined to live by her rules (even at home, she breaks the rules of the country by hunting game to provide for her family), but at the same time finds that she has conflicting emotions about the male tribute from her district Peeta. Peeta is very much in love with Katniss, though she spends most of the book either oblivious to this or trying to deny that its happening. The denial is brought upon by two things: one, Peeta is from a higher social class (at least as much as he can be given the dynamics of the society in which they live) and two, according to the rules she may have to eventually kill him if she's to win. We don't get Peeta's perspective on this, which is unfortunate, because I think he could have some pretty awesome insight as to how the Games work and how he feels about Katniss.

The book details a lot about how those emotions come into play, and I can see how younger girls might relate to Katniss. At least, as much as one can relate to someone whose playing in a nationally televised death match. But, the characters are good, with the minor characters serving as a good reminder as to how hard life is outside of the Capital or how warped of a view those who live inside of it have on the rest of society (most of the characters from the Capital are a support team for Katniss, serving to make her look fashionable and good for the media before, during, and after the Hunger Games).

I'll read the second book in the series soon. It was a nice easy read, especially compared to the books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" Series (Game of Thrones). And if you don't think that there are some posts to come from those books planned, you're mistaken.

I (will) write: NaNoWriMo 2011

After a hilariously failed attempt in 2010 (I think I got 3,000 words) I am back at it this year. NaNoWriMo begins in two weeks and I am starting to develop my characters and world, but not so much a plot. That will hopefully come. I'm writing about pirates. If you were to read a story about pirates, what would you expect to be in it?

I also find myself thinking about my 2009 win, and how I want to alter it a bit. I'm excited about some of the ideas. That one was a fantasy story featuring druids, which could control the four elements (water, air, fire, earth) but also dealt with a little about religion. I would go into what I might change more, but I think there are two people in the world who have read it (I include myself) so....no sense there. If/when I tackle a rewrite, I'll discuss it more.

Sorry about the lack of posts. Work and school make me busy, and even though this is supposed to feature what I've read, I find myself not wanting to write more about it any more then I have to. Maybe it will be what I read for fun.

I read: Desiree's baby

For my Lit class I read the short story Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin. If you want to read it, you can do so here. To summarize, the main character, Desiree, is adopted by a creole couple, then marries at a young age to a man named Armand. They have a baby, though it is of mixed heritage. Armand accuses Desiree of being not white, and says that she should take up her mother's request that she move back home. At the end, it is revealed that Armand is the one of mixed heritage.

My thoughts....

~ I felt that Armand had a suspicion all along that he was of mixed heritage. I feel that's why he was especially cruel to his slaves. He seems to be a person who takes pride in power and control (he refers to his family name as the oldest and proudest in Louisiana) and feels he needs to exercise that control over his slaves. He was kinder with the birth of his son, but after finding the letter his mother wrote and realizing he could no longer deny his identity, he became cruel again.

~There is some symbolism in the book. The outside of the home reflects that the estate is not what it had been in the past. This reflects the darker mood of Armand, who treats his slaves cruelly and is not fair to his own wife.

~Chopin can be very subtle with how she describes characters. One telling passage that jumped out on me after I read it a couple times was the description of how Armand fell in love with Desiree. "That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if by pistol shot." Its possible this foreshadows that Armand's father had fallen in love with a slave and had a child with her.

~Desiree gets treated very badly for a character who is innocent. She is abandoned as a baby, enters into a marriage with a husband she fears (at least when he is angry) and is essentially thrown out of the house when her husband realizes that he is of mixed race. Desiree, as far as I can tell, hasn't done anything wrong to warrant these "punishments" (one could argue if being abandoned is a punishment, as she did end up in a loving home). I think that the racial theme in the story is the most evident, the theme of gender inequality may be the bigger theme. Even though Desiree denies it (and most likely is correct, though her racial makeup is never identified other than she is whiter than Armond) she can do nothing about it other than meekly leave the plantation. She is shamed by the accusations and does not go back to her mother, but instead into the wilderness and is not seen again. Desiree felt that even though she did nothing wrong, she could not face society. Chopin points out both racial and gender inequalities in this story and also shows how the two can overlap.

Welcome

This is the first post in I Read, I Write, I Run, I Think. My aim on this blog is t discuss things that I am reading and writing as I get an English teaching degree. I also like to run and do a fair amount of thinking as well. No real objectives for the blog, more or less just a place for me to write my thoughts down about the stories I read and the such.