Dee wrote: "Oh man, I hate battle scenes, they take me forever to write. I started the NaNoWriMo event out with a battle scene, and it took me nearly 30K words and three weeks to write it."

I agree, Dee. Romance is easier to pour onto paper than blood and war.

Paul wrote: "Jaimey, I love battle scenes. I'm really good at them (I think). Hint, hint..."

It's not so much the blood and gore that trips me up. It's the swordplay itself. >:o(

Rita wrote: "That's a great count! Congratulations on winning NaNoWriMo!"

Thank you, Rita, and thanx for stopping by!

You are too funny :]

Yep, no problem. I can do shiled, sword, entrails, bloody pasture, while the sheep gaze on at the strange antics...

Heroism, cowardice, common sense, honour, courage, reliance on comrades and the grim humoir they share while resting on their swords during a brief interlude - Homer, eat your heart out.

Yeah, I can do that. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being bloody carnage, and 1 being children's tea party, how much gore and dismemberment do you want?

Hey Paul...we ALL know that you are the master of writing blood, guts, and gore :P

Can I hire you out to write my next battle scene?

Jaimey, I love battle scenes. I'm really good at them (I think). Hint, hint...

Jaimey wrote: "NaNo, Nov 24-5: 2217
NaNo total to date: 55,082

I'm starting to get stuck on this story now. Too many scenes are running through my head all at once and I jot down notes as I think of stuff, but i..."


That's a great count! Congratulations on winning NaNoWriMo!

Oh man, I hate battle scenes, they take me forever to write. I started the NaNoWriMo event out with a battle scene, and it took me nearly 30K words and three weeks to write it.

Once I brought the maidens back into the scene, I was able to jot down another 30K in just a week. Conclusion…romance is far more fun to write than blood, guts, and gore :]

I've written 3101 words since my last post which is still well over 200 words per day. My new total for my fantasy novel is 65,538. I have rewritten a few scenes that just didn't feel right. (My darned inner editor came back with a vengeance as soon as NaNo was over. Grrr...)

I think I suck at fight scenes. Hmmm...

Today I wrote 1264 words on Dragon Curse, bringing it to a total word count of 62,437. :o)

Dragons and evil mermaids? It just gets better and better...

Current word count on my fantasy novel: 61,173. So that would be 2048 words since my last post. Definitely over my 200 word goal.

I elaborated on a battle scene with the evil mermaids. It probably sucks but it was interesting to write anyway. The mermaids in my mind are very beautiful and very vicious. They like to eat people alive. *shudder*

Dee wrote: "Ahhh, one day the first novel that you wrote will go for mega-bucks on e-bay :]"

That would be so cool! :o)

Hey Jaimey,

Outstanding word count!

As to being a pack rat with writing. I fully understand. I recently found a folder of poems that I wrote in high school. I can't believe that I held on to them over the years.

Ahhh, one day the first novel that you wrote will go for mega-bucks on e-bay :]

You know what's annoying? The fact that different writing programs calculate words counts differently. When NaNo ended, I had 55,587, according to NaNo's validator. OpenOffice.org Writer said I had over 56k words.

So, here's my word count on my fantasy novel, according to OpenOffice.org Writer: 59,125. I guess this means I'm still making my 200 word goal. :o)

Paul: I won't scrap it. I don't scrap anything. I still have the very first novel I ever wrote from beginning to end. And it's bad. Really bad. I even have deleted scenes from all the books I'm working on now. Yeah, I'm a computer pack rat.

Jaimey, don't you dare scrap the whole thing! Finish it any way you can, then together we'll knock it into something half decent. (Or absolutely brilliant.) There are far too few proper dragons in fiction to waste even one :)

Dee: Thanx! :o)

Paul: Evil dragons? I suppose the dragon in my book can be described that way. He kills indiscriminately, believes he should be worshiped, finds humans to be lesser creatures and takes delight in tormenting his other half. At this point, though, I feel like scrapping the whole thing. I don't know. It just doesn't feel like it's coming together right. That could have something to do with having decided to change a major component in the story.

Jaimey: I'll be kind. I like dragons. (There are dragons, right? Clever, ancient, and evil ones?)

Hey Jaimey,

Outstanding word count...U b MY HERO!

Don't you just love word diarrhea :]

Looking forward to reading your next novel.

That would be very helpful, Paul. Just as long as you don't completely crush my fragile ego, LOL.

Well done, Jaimey. Just get it all slapped down, and then I'll have an edit of it, if that's OK with you.

NaNo, Nov 24-5: 2217
NaNo total to date: 55,082

I'm starting to get stuck on this story now. Too many scenes are running through my head all at once and I jot down notes as I think of stuff, but it is leading to some confusion. Oh well. I'll keep plugging away at it. :o)

Thank you, Teresa! It does feel good to have managed to write so much in such a short time. Now I know I can do it if a publisher gives me a deadline, LOL.

It must be wonderful to have written more than those 50,000 words already! Congratulations! :)

NaNo, Nov 23: 1864
NaNo total to date: 52,865

NaNo, Nov 21-2: 894
NaNo total to date: 51,001

I only wrote a sentence or two on the 21st. I have definitely slowed down a bit. I am still determined to finish this story; one person has given me a brief critique of ch 1 and she said she had to glance back to see who was who but other than that, she loved it. I'm wondering if I need to slow the pace in the storyline a bit.

Ah, I see. So I'm revising and editing the beginning of my novel.

That clears up a lot.

How are you going, Jaimey?

That would be awesome, Paul! I'll let you know when I get it finished. (Hopefully, by the 30th.)

Well done Jaimey! I agree with you about the revision and editing thing. Revision is altering the language of a book. Editing is altering the structure.

When you've finished, send it to me. I'll be happy to read and critique. Even edit :)

In my mind, revision is altering things such as overused words, phrases, rewriting scenes or parts of scenes and the like. Editing is the actual cutting of scenes or parts of scenes and moving scenes around. But I could be wrong. That's what I think of when I hear the words. :o)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Can you define revision vs. editing? I think I know what you mean, but I'm never sure...

NaNo, Nov 20: 3295
NaNo total to date: 50,107

I did it! I did it! Woo-hoo!!!

I'm still writing on this story. I will continue until it's done. :o)

Mostly, I think it will need drastic revision more than drastic editing. Not to say it won't need editing. I'll need an impartial reader to take a gander at it before making any snap judgments. I think parts of it are OK and parts are crap. But then, I've always been my own worst critic.

However, there is no way this story is going to be done in 3000 words.

How do you reckon the story's shaping up? Is it good, or do you think it's going to need some drastic editing and revision?

NaNo, Nov 19: 1737
NaNo total to date: 46,812

Not the best writing day but definitely not the worst either. I think I can still make 50k by tonight. :o)

Okay, I'll head on over now.

Jaimey, I'll certainly make the 50K, I'm just a little disappointed I won't be able to make the 100K I was aiming for.

I dislike not reaching goals as much as you dislike breaking promises :)

Thanks for your support, though. I appreciate it.

Liz wrote: "Sweet. May I try Redemption?"

I forgot to mention, the code will expire in 4 days.

Paul: I always have doubts when there is a deadline. I hate making promises because I really hate breaking them if things happen to prevent the commitment. But yes, it has been a lot easier than I thought. Thanx for the pep talk. :o) I'm sure you will at least make the 50k by the 30th.

Liz: There should be a message waiting for you in your goodreads inbox. Thanx for your interest. :o)

Well, Jaimey, you have zoomed far ahead of me now. I've only managed about 1000 words since Monday. The curse of work. Well done, anyway.

Why did you have doubts that you could do it? It's been easy, hasn't it?

Sweet. May I try Redemption?

NaNo, Nov 18: 2945
NaNo total to date: 45,075

:o)

If "nice" is what you want, I recommend Redemption. It's short, emotional, and a little bit sweeter than the others. :o)

I can send you the code via Goodreads private message service or by email (which I would need from you, of course), if you don't like the private message thing. Let me know what works best for you. :o)

I'd love to try one for free, thank you so much! I usually treat myself to something nice to read for the holiday season. :-)

Hi, Teresa! Paperbacks are available on Amazon.com and e-books are available in Amazon's Kindle store, B&N.com and from Smashwords.com. If you don't mind e-books, I recommend Smashwords since they offer many different formats.

If you'd like to try one for free, I can give you a code to download one from Smashwords. I like to give e-books away. :o)

Thank you for asking!

How and where can I order your books, Jaimey?

Yup. You probably won't find my books in the library, though. I am self-published with a POD publisher so many libraries won't order them. :o(

Yeah, I'm pretty much stalking your wordcount. I meant to look for you the last time I went to the library, but I couldn't remember your last name--it's Grant, isn't it?

I be in much awe.

NaNo, Nov 17: 3120
NaNo total to date: 42,130

Another good day. I hope to have 50k by the end of the week. I will keep writing until the story is done, hopefully by the 30th. :o)

Thank you, Liz. I'm hoping to reach 50k by the end of this week. I'm over 41k now.