Cate Gardner's Blog, page 49
November 9, 2010
Thirty Days of What?
Last month, expecting to be knee-deep in NaNoWriMo (which I am of course, working hardish) I pre-set my 30 Days of Writing Questions and I keep having to push them back because I keep having far more interesting things to talk about. Go figure!
First off, the always inspiring Aaron Polson has announced a call to arms and is looking for short fiction reviewers. Good or bad, we writers always crave reviews. So go on, throw your hat in the ring. I have.
Second, my book took an interesting curve today and things are getting far darker than I imagined. The first few chapters will need overhauling but I'm making little comments in the margins as I go. What am I saying, the whole darn thing will need overhauling. Several times. Doh! I'm still referring to it as The Museum of Impossible Artefacts but the title is defunct now because part of the interesting curve is...there is no museum anymore. Its removal doesn't upset my plot line though and its replacement makes me want to write the book even more.
Today's Word Count: 2263 (mini-dance)
Total Word Count: 17,819 + 1286 (other projects)
Things of Import: I killed someone today. It broke my heart, but it was necessary to propel the story forward / I've changed my hero's name to Jake Aberdeen - he's not Scottish.
First off, the always inspiring Aaron Polson has announced a call to arms and is looking for short fiction reviewers. Good or bad, we writers always crave reviews. So go on, throw your hat in the ring. I have.
Second, my book took an interesting curve today and things are getting far darker than I imagined. The first few chapters will need overhauling but I'm making little comments in the margins as I go. What am I saying, the whole darn thing will need overhauling. Several times. Doh! I'm still referring to it as The Museum of Impossible Artefacts but the title is defunct now because part of the interesting curve is...there is no museum anymore. Its removal doesn't upset my plot line though and its replacement makes me want to write the book even more.
Today's Word Count: 2263 (mini-dance)
Total Word Count: 17,819 + 1286 (other projects)
Things of Import: I killed someone today. It broke my heart, but it was necessary to propel the story forward / I've changed my hero's name to Jake Aberdeen - he's not Scottish.
November 8, 2010
Nowhere Hall
Spectral Press are now taking pre-orders for the first three chapbooks. More details here. Also, Simon Marshall Jones, the publisher has released the blurbs for the first three chapbooks. You can read the blurbs for Gary McMahon and Gary Fry's bound to rock chapbooks here. And you can also read the blurb for my chapbook 'Nowhere Hall' there too. It's like I don't want you to hang around my blog today. Go here, go there. Trust me, I want you to stay. I always want you to stay. But I don't want you to stay at 'The Vestibule'. Cue Twilight Zone music.
Now as I've just finished Gina Ranalli's awesome 'Praise the Dead', I'm asking myself should I read Gary McMahon's 'Pretty Little Dead Things' or Gary Fry's 'The House of Canted Steps'. Both are looking at me. It's quite disconcering.
Now that dreadful NaNoWriMo catch up, and this time we have double the agony...
Sunday's Word Count: 3,374 + 613 (other projects)
Today's Word Count: 1,995 + 149 (other projects)
Total Word Count: 15,556 + 1286 (other projects)
November 6, 2010
Dead Words Rambling
Watched the first episode of The Walking Dead last night. Hell yes. If you've seen it--WTF! Zombie crawling along the grass. God bless modern special effects. I think I'm seriously going to heart this show. Not so certain about The Event though. It's all a little too determined to confuse. Its making me question my rather confusing WIP. I mean, dystopian sci-fi, timetravel to the 1920s, a journey to the wall at the end of the world and now some rather creepy horror. Make your mind up book and for goodness sake, simplify. I tend to twist my words into so many knots I mystify. Of course, six days into NaNoWriMo it's a little late to change so I'm hoping for an axe-murderer edit.
Today's Word Count: 1180 (uh-oh! Blame Beetlejuice)
Total Word Count: 10,187 (yay, passed 10,000 word mark) / 523 (other projects)
NaNoWriMo thoughts today: Am I sure I have a plot for this? Or are those 41 'supposed mapped out' scenes just nonsense?
November 5, 2010
Shimmering Velvet - A Strange Day Indeed
I've always loved Bonfire Night, and I especially love November 5th this year. Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits racked up two gorgeous reviews. "This land may be called Wonderland or Nowhere, but whatever the name, Gardner maps it with careful, melancholy strokes..." Read the rest of the review by E. Catherine Tobler over at Shimmer. Yes, the Shimmer.
"Another gem of a book! Reading this book was like walking into a curio shop filled with wondrous treasures..." Read the rest of the review over at VVB32 Reads.
NaNoWriMo catch up:
Today's Word Count: 2142 (go me!!!)
Total Word Count: 9007 / 523 (other projects)
Time Frame: Hello 24th Century, the Darling Girls have arrived
Googled: Weird Museums
Oops: Excessive swearing this session (in manuscript and without). My characters however have an excuse. They're sitting in a time-travelling submarine, the power has fizzled out and 'The Breaker' (freaking gigantic killer robot) is stomping about outside.
November 4, 2010
NaNoWriMo - Introducing a Theme Tune
NaNoWriMo Catch-up:
Today's Word Count: 1822 / 523 (short story)
Total Word Count: 6865 /523 (other projects)
Time Frame: 1924ish
Things I discovered today: Rob 'Magic' Turner is a comic (I've missed humour) / Ben has a goldfish. It doesn't have a name / Went to bed thinking, 'Yay, I'm on track, I'm a little over the word count. I can do this,' and woke up to the realisation I needed to hit a brand new 1667 words #egofail
The most important thing discovered today: This is FUN.
Googled: 1920s Magic Tricks
November 3, 2010
Tangent
Over at Tangent Online they've reviewed the anthology 'The Company He Keeps', here's a little of what Maria Lin had to say about my story 'The Hollow Framework for the Cotton Man'..."The Hollow Framework for the Cotton Man" comes at a perfect time of year, and adds a little more creepiness to farm fields already made terrifying by prior horror stories. While having a scarecrow chase you is rather high on the scary factor, the toll man in the story is one of those insane and amicable sorts..." Read the rest of the review here...
Daily Word Count: 1944 (I can live with that)
Total Word Count: 5043
Googled: How to board a zeppelin?
Where I insist: Despite the steampunkish presence of zeppelins this book is not, I repeat not, steampunk.
Reference to Famous Person: Glenn Miller
Things determined to scupper me: New starter at work absconded which means I'm on overtime duty. Bah Humbug! I'm trying to write a book, people. WTF. You couldn't do this to me in October. Digs in heels. I will win this battle even if I have to get up at 3 a.m.
November 2, 2010
30 Days of Writing Questions - Part One
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you've worked with and why.
Such an unfair question to start with--I love them all. Okay, I guess I'll plump for my otherworld in 'Theatre of Curious Acts'. And as to the why--because it's chock-full of madness - dragons, fairy tale villages, inns balanced on top of pointy hills, train stations that stretch into forever, back to front theatres, and the four horsewomen of the apocalypse 'live' there.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
I'm assuming this means per project, otherwise thousands upon thousands of poor, dejected things. And I have no preference whatsoever as to male or female. In fact, I think I have a nice, healthy (okay, they're rarely healthy) mix. My book 'Last Seen Drowning' (may it rest in peace) had about seven POVs - I wonder why I never sent it anywhere. Actually, thinking on the previous question, I really liked that little universe and it had a suicidal (non-sparkly) vampire. Oh crap, now I want to work on that rather than NaNoWriMo.
Note to self: Seven POVs--you don't want to go there.
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
I steal them from spam emails, or I type in a search in twitter and pick out a first and second name, and for all emergencies I have my huge first name, surname and place name dictionary. I'm never happy with a story until I get what I feel is the right name for the character.
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
The first story I sold way back in 1993 (actually, I use the word sold loosely as it was 4theluv, though I did get a free contributors copy) was called Bethany's Dream and it was majorly blah! Girl has a dream that someone is trying to kill her, gets really nervous, but hey, guess what it's a surprise party. I don't think she even bothered to kill the guests.
I still have fond memories of my first novel 'Fading in the Summer Sun'. I spent years with those characters and they were nice folk (if slightly twisted).
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about "youngest" and "oldest" in terms of when you created them?
Bollocks. I think Molly in 'The Drawing of Dolls' is about seven, but I'd have to look her up to be sure and I'm far too lazy to do that. Oldest, double crap. I'm going to say the suicidal vampire in 'Last Seen Drowning' - he's definitely mega crinkly. Oh, wait. I guess my true oldest would be Old Father Time. Old Father Time would have to be as old as time I guess.
Now onto the (supposed) daily NaNoWriMo catch up:
Daily Word Count: 2154 (go me!)
Total Word Count: 3099
Characters Playing: Amelia Darling, Cally Darling, Danny Levine (who???), Meg Cooper, The Press Gang
Time Frame: Dystopian Future - 2241 (yay, we have a year)
Things that surprised my book: Ha, so the book wants to be a YA eventhough I declared it wouldn't be, well I threw a spanner in its works and added the word Bollocks at the top of the page -- what do you mean, I can edit it out later!!!
Things that surprised me: Dead Parent (okay not that surprising) / Instead of trying to make my first pages perfect, I'm adding comment boxes with things I need to fix/reconsider - go non-obsessive me)
Googled: The Bends--Diving.
Such an unfair question to start with--I love them all. Okay, I guess I'll plump for my otherworld in 'Theatre of Curious Acts'. And as to the why--because it's chock-full of madness - dragons, fairy tale villages, inns balanced on top of pointy hills, train stations that stretch into forever, back to front theatres, and the four horsewomen of the apocalypse 'live' there.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
I'm assuming this means per project, otherwise thousands upon thousands of poor, dejected things. And I have no preference whatsoever as to male or female. In fact, I think I have a nice, healthy (okay, they're rarely healthy) mix. My book 'Last Seen Drowning' (may it rest in peace) had about seven POVs - I wonder why I never sent it anywhere. Actually, thinking on the previous question, I really liked that little universe and it had a suicidal (non-sparkly) vampire. Oh crap, now I want to work on that rather than NaNoWriMo.
Note to self: Seven POVs--you don't want to go there.
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
I steal them from spam emails, or I type in a search in twitter and pick out a first and second name, and for all emergencies I have my huge first name, surname and place name dictionary. I'm never happy with a story until I get what I feel is the right name for the character.
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
The first story I sold way back in 1993 (actually, I use the word sold loosely as it was 4theluv, though I did get a free contributors copy) was called Bethany's Dream and it was majorly blah! Girl has a dream that someone is trying to kill her, gets really nervous, but hey, guess what it's a surprise party. I don't think she even bothered to kill the guests.
I still have fond memories of my first novel 'Fading in the Summer Sun'. I spent years with those characters and they were nice folk (if slightly twisted).
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about "youngest" and "oldest" in terms of when you created them?
Bollocks. I think Molly in 'The Drawing of Dolls' is about seven, but I'd have to look her up to be sure and I'm far too lazy to do that. Oldest, double crap. I'm going to say the suicidal vampire in 'Last Seen Drowning' - he's definitely mega crinkly. Oh, wait. I guess my true oldest would be Old Father Time. Old Father Time would have to be as old as time I guess.
Now onto the (supposed) daily NaNoWriMo catch up:
Daily Word Count: 2154 (go me!)
Total Word Count: 3099
Characters Playing: Amelia Darling, Cally Darling, Danny Levine (who???), Meg Cooper, The Press Gang
Time Frame: Dystopian Future - 2241 (yay, we have a year)
Things that surprised my book: Ha, so the book wants to be a YA eventhough I declared it wouldn't be, well I threw a spanner in its works and added the word Bollocks at the top of the page -- what do you mean, I can edit it out later!!!
Things that surprised me: Dead Parent (okay not that surprising) / Instead of trying to make my first pages perfect, I'm adding comment boxes with things I need to fix/reconsider - go non-obsessive me)
Googled: The Bends--Diving.
November 1, 2010
Day One - The Museum of Impossible Artefacts
Day one of NaNoWriMo so let's start the month off with a little 'me' NaNoWriMo history. My first attempt was in 2007 with an unfinished book titled 'Fractured Wings'. It was poop, my computer broke down mid writing it and the thing never did get finished. I have no regrets.
My second attempt or rather, my first success, was in 2008 when I completed 'Theatre of Curious Acts' which will be published next year by Hadley Rille. Success indeed. I suspect the similar title for this year's NaNoWriMo attempt is supposed to be a good luck charm.
Didn't play last year. Decided to get out my pom poms and cheerlead instead. And now we have this year... Stats so far:
Daily Word Count: 945 words (gulp! A combination of dayjob overtime and I always find the first few days of a new book slow going - actually, in comparison to normal starts a count of 945 words rocks).
Total Word Count: 945 words
Characters Playing: Meg Cooper, Cally Darling, Amelia Darling, Baguette Girl (huh!), The Press Gang, Evil Baguette Seller
Time Frame: Dystopian Future - Big Brother has you in chains - what, you expect me to have figured out the exact year?
Things that surprised me: There are stone sentries. Huh! Who invited them to Oldfield Park? Now, I'm going to have to figure out if I can weave them into the plot later on and if not - bye, bye stone sentries. And an, 'Oh, that helps round off the end' moment.
October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween - Counting Down
First off - HAPPY HALLOWEEN. 'Tis the season to be...Miserable. Muahaha. I have a tub full of chocolates and sweeties for me Trick or Treaters and my fingers are poised to begin work on
NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, and look at the folk amassed at my desk who are eager to cheer me on.
NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, and look at the folk amassed at my desk who are eager to cheer me on.
October 29, 2010
Spooky
Simon Marshall Jones has announced the line-up for the initial chapbooks to be published by Spectral Press.What They Hear in the Dark, by Gary McMahon (April/May 2011)
The Abolisher of Roses, by Gary Fry (September 2011)
Nowhere Hall, by Cate Gardner (January 2012)
Gulp!
Subscriptions for the first year (all three chapbooks) will open shortly (more details on Simon's blog). I imagine as Mr McMahon and Mr Fry are involved, sales should be pretty healthy.
Excited.
