The Great NaNoWriMo Mistake
This past Sunday I blogged about November being National Novel Writing Month, and my sudden desire to participate. After less than a week, I remembered why writing events such as NaNoWriMo are detrimental to my writing. I’ve been totally obsessed with word count!
This constant checking of my word count after every paragraph is driving my crazy. I don’t want to be a slave to word count. And I don’t want to compare myself to others who are churning out 4000 words a day. That’s not my natural writing rhythm, and usually I’m fine with it. It’s not until I join something like NaNoWriMo and start questioning why can’t I do that that it becomes a problem. I need to be okay with having a 700 word count day, because I know the 2000 day will come soon enough.
So after less than a week, I’m out of NaNoWriMo. Best of luck to those who are participating. For me, it’s back to one page, one paragraph, one word at a time. That’s good enough for me.
#NaNoWriMo
Today is November 1st. Being a Catholic, for most of my life this date has meant visiting cemeteries and placing flowers on grave sites. But ever since I stepped into the world of writing, the first of November has taken on a whole new meaning. Today is the start of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo for short, or even NaNo for the really lazy people.
I'm pretty sure my blog readers who are also writers have heard of this growing phenomenon, but for those of you who haven't, here's how it works: You write. That's it. From November 1st to the 31st, you write your butt off with the goal of reaching 50,000 words. For me, that's a novel.
I had pretty much made up my mind not to take part in NaNoWriMo. I don't do well with structured writing tasked. However, when I awoke way earlier than I wanted to this morning (the sun shines right into my bedroom window, ack!), there was a sense of purpose surrounding me that had not been there when I laid my head on the pillow last night. November is the month I promised I'd have my current work-in-progress completed, and I knew I had to do something.
So, yes, I'm now "unofficially" taking part in NaNoWriMo. I'm debating whether I should login to the
official site or use places like
Facebook (there are several groups there), or even
Twitter (use #NaNoWriMo) to keep track of my progress.
Whatever medium I choose to track my progress, the most important thing is that I make progress. I will have this book done by Thanksgiving. Hopefully, NaNoWriMo can help.
The obvious question is how many of you out there are participating in NaNoWriMo? If not this year, have you done so in the past? How did it help or hurt?
Labels: NaNoWriMo
"The" Discussion Again
Because I've been super extremely busy these past few weeks (not just extremely busy, but
super extremely busy), I'm taking the lazy
blogger's way out and directing you to a very interesting post over at
Dear Author. It's about "the" discussion: race and romance novels.
I've only had a chance to skim many of the responses, but there's good dialogue going on over there. I sometimes grow weary of this debate, but the non-colorblindness in genre fiction--specifically in romance--is something I personally want to keep in the forefront of people's minds. In my own little rose-colored-glasses view, I think it will eventually make a difference that goes far beyond romance novels.
Labels: Dear Author, Race and Romance
Historical Fiction Writer Shauna Roberts
I am super excited to have my good friend and critique partner Shauna Roberts visiting the blog today. Shauna's first novel, Like Mayflies in a Stream, was released on October 5, 2009. If you love history and reading about ancient civilizations, you need to go out and get this book right now! It is fabulous!
Shauna, I remember reading The Epic of Gilgamesh back in my World Civilization class in college, and being intrigued by the story. What interested you in this time period?
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When I was in high school, I came across Samuel Noah Kramer’s History Begins at Sumer and read it. I was totally blown away. Here was this civilization I had never heard of, that existed thousands of years ago, yet it invented things we still use today, such as writing, literature, and monumental architecture. Enthralled, I read all I could about ancient Mesopotamia (which today is part of Iraq) and took classes about it in college.
Why did you, a science fiction and fantasy writer, write a historical novel?
Personally, I consider many historical novels, particularly those set long ago, as part of the speculative fiction genre, along with science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Many science fiction and fantasy writers have also written historical fiction or alternate history—off the top of my head, I can think of Ursula K. LeGuin, Barbara Hambly, Harry Turtledove, and Robert Silverberg. (Silverberg, in fact, wrote a historical novel about Gilgamesh.)
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror rely heavily on the author making an alien world believable and engrossing, so much so that the reader understands that world and feels a part of it. Other places and other times are alien to us, and we have far from a complete record of history, even for some recent events. When a historical fiction writer recreates a place and time and fills in the blanks in the historical record in a novel, I consider it worthy of being called speculative fiction.
Interestingly, Like Mayflies in a Stream is the second in a series of archaeology-related novels published by Hadley Rille Books . . . a company that otherwise publishes science fiction.
http://www.HadleyRilleBooks.com
How did you go about researching the story?
Like Mayflies in a Stream is based on the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” so one source of information was Stephen Mitchell’s translation (Gilgamesh: A New English Version), which contains a thorough introduction and copious notes. The epic, other myths about Gilgamesh, and an ancient list of kings all place Gilgamesh in the city of Uruk, which has been discovered and heavily studied by German archaeologists. As a result, I was able to use actual buildings and the 
city layout in my book; I even worked in a huge vase from the temple of Inanna that had been broken and repaired in antiquity.
To keep from having to spend years reading primary and secondary sources, most of which were in French, German, Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian, I relied heavily on tertiary sources: textbooks, books intended for students and laypeople, Wikipedia articles, articles found through Google.
For a more detailed discussion of my research, I refer your readers to my recent blog post at Novel Spaces.
http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2009/10/researching-ancient-times.html
For those who know the story of Gilgamesh, what might they encounter in Like Mayflies in a Stream that may surprise them?
For one, my book is told primarily from the viewpoint of an intelligent upperclass woman. This woman, a priestess of the goddess Inanna, patroness of Uruk, has a quite different view of Gilgamesh’s exploits than Gilgamesh himself does.
Second, the epic we are familiar with today is a very late version from 1200 BCE. The Babylonian editor/author was, of course, unfamiliar with Sumerian society of 1,500 years earlier, so the epic is riddled with anachronisms. My book relies on archaeological and historical evidence to create as accurate a depiction of Uruk and its people in the time of Gilgamesh as possible.
Third, the epic contains many fantastical elements. The gods meddle in human affairs, Gilgamesh has superhuman powers, Enkidu the wild man not only survives but thrives on a diet of grass, Shamhat and Enkidu encounter a caterer in the wilderness, and so on. My novel is not a fantasy; nothing in it contradicts natural law as we know it.
Fourth, although I have kept some of the themes of the original epic—the conflict between civilization and chaos is still relevant today, as is the conflict between knowing we will die and wanting to live forever—I’ve added a few of my own, such as the conflict between duty and personal desire, which most of my characters struggle with.
What does the title Like Mayflies in a Stream refer to?
I believe I came across the phrase in an old translation of the “Epic of Gilgamesh.” I was struck both by the beautiful image and by how in a few words it encapsulates the epic’s theme that our time on earth is short and then, without exception, we die.
Fascinating! Thank you so much for stopping in at the blog and giving us some insight into what went in to crafting this fabulous story, Shauna.
Mayflies in a Stream is available now! You can also learn more about Shauna through her website, blog, and Novel Spaces.
Ahh...Freedom!
Oh, how great it is to break free of the prison I've been in. Yes, I was shut down, blocked behind the bars of some imagined violation of Google's Terms of Service, resulting in a temporary revocation of my blogging privileges.
Thank goodness things have been cleared up, even though I'm still not sure what I did wrong. Google didn't say, and I'm not asking. Don't want to upset the Google gods.
I'm happy to say we're back to the regularly scheduled programming. And as a treat to all my blog readers, I will soon have a fascinating interview with novelist
Shauna Roberts, whose wonderful first novel,
Like Mayflies in a Stream, was just released this week! I've read this book and I
loved it. It is a marvelous blend of history, adventure, and just a touch of passion.
Stay tuned for Shauna's interview!
Interview with Jewel Amethyst
***Update*** The contest winner is Patsy!!! Congratulations!!!I am so very happy to have brand new author Jewel Amethyst at my blog today. Jewel is a fellow member of the Dorchester Publishing family who launched into this crazy publishing world with both feet, having her debut novel, A Marriage of Convenience, and a novella in the anthology Holiday Brides (you’ll notice a familiar name on that cover) hit bookshelves within a couple months of each other.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Jewel!
First thing's first, when did you start writing?
I’ve been writing since I was seven years old. My first book was written in ink on 3 x 5 scrap paper, stapled together and covered with clear plastic. It was for my sister’s 10th birthday and it was all about princesses and happily ever after.
Since then, I’ve written poetry, short stories and other novels none of which were published until “A Marriage of Convenience.”
What is “A Marriage of Convenience” about?
In a nutshell, it is about a woman, Tamara Fontaine, who after being ditched at the altar and jilted by a con-artist who leaves her broke and in debt, becomes desperate enough to enter a pre- arranged green card marriage with a Ghanaian. It is a business deal where he gets his green card and she gets the financial help she so desperately needs. All seems to be going fine until Tamara finds herself falling in love with her husband, Kwabena Opoku, and Kwabena starts pushing to consummate the marriage.
What gave you the idea for this novel?
As an immigrant you hear stories of people entering marriages for the sake of attaining a green card and remaining in the US. But a few years back a friend of mine entered into a marriage strictly for the sake of obtaining a green card. Somewhere between the wedding and the interview, they fell in love and now years later are still happily married.
I realize your lead character is not your typical romance novel heroin, and being a “more to love” woman myself, I was happy to see it. What inspired her character?
You know, after reading one too many romance novels where the women are tall slim, shapely and extremely beautiful and the men are outrageously handsome and rich, I had to ask myself: “Don’t ordinary people fall in love?”
So Tamara’s is short and overweight. She loses weight and gains it back throughout the book, yet the focus is not on her weight, but on her inner beauty. Like me, she is very light skinned and has some issues with that. Yet she is smart and confident and witty. Physically and emotionally, I would say Tamara is a complex amalgamation of several people who have touched my life, including myself.
“A Marriage of Convenience” has been given a 4 star rating by Romantic Times and has received great reviews. Any tips for first time authors on successful novel writing?
Stick with it, and have a great editor. Monica Harris was my editor. She is excellent. Like most authors, “A Marriage of Convenience” was not the first book that I tried to get published. After receiving a thousand and one form letters of rejection, I decided to write a different novel and try to get it published. That too came with tons of rejection as many in the industry are unwilling to invest in new untried authors. But then just when I began contemplating self publishing, I got the call from Monica Harris that Dorchester publishing was interested in the book. The point is, no matter how many novels it takes you, keep writing them until one gets accepted. Have your friends or close associates read and critique your book, and use those as pointers for improving your writing.
So when can we expect more of your work?
“From SKB with Love” part of the Holiday Brides Anthology, featuring novellas by Stephanie Worth and Farrah Rochon, and Jewel Amethyst will be out on September 29th. It is a great read for all who believe in the happily-ever-after of romance. I also have a few WIP up my sleeve.
Jewel, thanks so much for sharing some of your story with us. I can't wait to delve into my copy of "A Marriage of Convenience.”
To celebrate the release of Holiday Brides, I'm going to give away a copy of the book to a lucky poster today!
Good luck!
Book Recommendations: Better Than Gold
If there’s one thing readers enjoy, it’s getting recommendations for other good books. I am first and foremost a reader, and other than the occasional browsing of a bookstore shelf for a cover that catches my eye, virtually all of the books in my “to be read” pile have come from recommendations from friends.
Over these past few days I’ve been reflecting on some of the great book recommendations I received from a very dear friend, one who I’m having a hard time accepting is no longer here. We had very similar reading tastes, so I never questioned when she told me “You have to read this book.” In fact, when she told me I had to read Richard North Patterson, I went out and bought all of his books just on the strength of her word. Of course, she was right.
She never steered me wrong when it came to suggesting reading material, but one of her recommendations did much more than provide entertainment. It changed my life as both a reader and, eventually, a writer. It was her insistence that I read Suzanne Brockmann’s series about Navy SEALs. At the time, I didn’t know what a Navy SEAL was, and after I found out I wasn’t all that interested in reading a romance about military guys. It’s a good thing my friend was so persistent. Not only did she open my eyes to a world of amazingly good stories, but I later used Ms. Brockmann’s writing style to study things such as characterization and deep point-of-view.
When my dear friend recommended those books, I’m sure she was only interested in introducing me to yet another wonderful read, but she gave me so much more. She played a part in helping me develop as a writer. Just one in a long line of things in our relationship that I’ll always be grateful for.
Have any books that have been recommended by a friend profoundly touched your life?
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