H.K. Rowe's Blog, page 14

NaNoWriMo – Beginnings

I’m almost ready to go to work, but I thought I’d share this quickly. A NaNoWriMo link passed on my Facebook feed today, so I logged into my account and started filling out the details for the November 2014.

I’ve already written character bios for my two main characters, and now I have a title. So here it is.

Autumn Fire

Dori and Sam have always had a strange bond; they’ve both lost someone special in a car accident: Dori’s older brother Jon and Sam’s best friend. After Sam loses his job, he becomes homeless, prompting Dori to take him into her home. Dori is ready to help Sam heal from his demons, but is she ready to fall in love with an older man?

It’s probably going to be Jodi Piccoult type angst. No magic, no vampires, just a slow and cautious relationship.

It’s in the beginning stages, so there’s still time to figure out what “thing” might challenge the protagonists beyond, you know, the obvious as the age difference.

And I think I’ll start sketching out the characters. That might be one of the next things I post about the story.

Cheers.

HK Rowe

Ups and Downs

I have been writing and drawing a LOT. Unfortunately, it’s more exercise and practice stuff. I’m doing a lot of journaling, which is mostly personal.

I spent a two week stint designing proposal templates on oDesk so I was occupied there. Hey, money is money.

A lot of my private journaling comes from thoughts and introspections as I deal with the one-year anniversary of my father’s death, as well as being there for my mom while she goes through it. It’s not pretty stuff. One thing is a hard constant: I still don’t like sharing my feelings. Apparently people think that’s something I need to work on.

I’m musing and outlining my Nanorwrimo novel, thinking of a cohesive plot. I’m trying to get over the strange fear of editing Killer Orange. I wonder if I can get through that. It isn’t a block so much as a feeling of dread, like a dirty chore, and I need to get through that. I’m open to what other writers do when they feel overwhelmed with dread in editing their works.

On the upside, this Saturday was Madison Pagan Pride day, and I met High Priestess and activist Selena Fox. She’s one of my idols, and she’s so charming and full of love and joy. I wish I could be half the woman she is.

Work is going really well, but more is continually expected of me. Such is the game.

More writing progress posted soon!

Cheers!

H.K. Rowe

11 Pieces of Advice From Writers

Originally posted on Fiction All Day:

1.  “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov

2.  “Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” — Zadie Smith

3.  “Write drunk; edit sober.” – Ernest Hemingway

4.  “It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway

5.  “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain 

6a.  “Say it once, say it well, and move on.” – To be honest, I’m not sure.  I might have made this one up.  If you know who said this please let me know in the comments.

6b.  “Don’t explain.” – Billie Holiday

6c.

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My Growing Reading List

Two posts in one day? What the -!

Seriously, you guys are killing me. I got my notice today that one of the books I pre-ordered was ready in my Kindle app library, there was an Alice Hoffman book for sale on Bookbub, and I still have tons of my friends’ stories sitting and waiting for me to read them.

I have a serious problem though. I tend to read 2 to 3 books at once. I don’t know if that’s healthy but it’s how I roll.

This is just a preview of my kindle app. It’s way longer and more stacked than this. Trust me.

And this doesn’t even count all the books in my house in multiple bookshelves. I think I have a serious problem.

H.K. Rowe

Flash Fiction Friday

Maybe this can be a regular thing. I see a lot of people writing Flash Fiction here, and since I love writing short things, I thought hey, maybe I’m missing an opportunity here.

This piece is old by about two years. I wrote this for a small fiction challenge over at Livejournal/Dreamwidth.

Title: Art Show

Word Count: 506

Genre: Horror

Rating: R

Warnings: Abuse, murder, torture

Notes: Written for the Summer Mini Challenge for the “berry pink” prompt.

Summary: Some things die before they are truly yet beautiful.

He took a sip of tea, and smiled as the girl continued to scream. Forbes had clicked his tiny knives together, and the youthful squeal of metal against metal filtered throughout the room. In one swift motion he jabbed the woman’s torso an inch above another knife, sticking three inches below her ribs.

“What kind of tea are you drinking, sir?” Forbes asked his master. His master continued to look out the window of their high rise building, listening to the loud hiss of acid rain against the pane of glass.

“Ah,” his master replied, “it’s Jasmine tea. I chose it in celebration.”

Forbes nodded, clicking two fresh knives together. He peered into his magnifying glasses, and jabbed one of the knives into the other side of the girl’s stomach, symmetrical to the one he’d just used before. He watched in fascination as the blood from the knife painted over her curry-colored skin. Breath escaped her berry pink lips less and less as he stuck her, sliced her, and blood started to trickle onto the floor, marring the pristine white carpet into various splattered patterns.

The master turned from the window and stared at them, entranced. His lips pursed. He was thinking – imagining, something terrible and beautiful at the same time.

It was just beyond his reach, and then…

“Sir, this one is starting to dwindle,” Forbes interrupted his thoughts, and he caught his master’s smile turn into a displeased sneer.

“Try to keep her here longer. We’ve just gotten started.”

Forbes picked up another knife, different than the others, with a blade that was pointed and curved in a half-moon shape. This one was his favorite. He smiled and stuck the girl after he had found the right place. Blood poured down her torso, running into the paths of the rest of her blood and then dripping into her navel. He picked up a smaller knife and struck her again, and then a spasm ran through her body. She let out a tired agonized moan, and then her breath was lost.

“This one has expired, sir,” Forbes said, his voice stark and cold. He looked down at the half-finished masterpiece and awaited his master’s reply.

With an exasperated sigh, his master took another sip of his tea and his lip curled with bitterness. “This is a failure.”

Forbes studied the girl, decorated with his custom knives and dressed painterly in her own rich blood. Forbes thought she looked magnificent, even if the piece was unfinished. He certainly didn’t think it was a failure.

“Why?” he asked his master, hovering his finger over a perfect river of blood down her leg, wishing he could touch it without ruining his work.

His master took another sip. “The tea is still hot, Forbes.” He walked over and traced a light, loving finger down the girls’ cheek, twirling her dark hair on his finger.

He spoke with disappointment, “There just wasn’t enough time to enjoy the art.”

 

I hope everyone has a marvelous weekend! Cheers.

HK Rowe

NaNoWriMo Prep

Well, it looks like I caught the bug too! I always enjoying NaNoWriMo and even though things have been insanely busy, it seems I can’t escape the excitement of NaNo coming around the corner.

The story is still in pieces in my brain, but I started doing character profiles yesterday in my notebook and things are starting to come together! I’m getting excited for it, so let’s see where it goes.

How’s everyone else’s NaNoWriMo plans going so far?

 

Call for Submissions: Cake & Grapes

Originally posted on Lightning Droplets:

Another new(to me)! magazine that’s open for submissions: Cake & Grapes!  With a name like that, how can you not submit?  Check them out.

We at Cake & Grapes believe that art is anyone’s game. 

That’s why we’re opening our doors to you: to give you a chance. Flash fiction, short fiction, epic poetry, photographs, sestinas, sketches, films, paintings, sculptures, gifs, papier mache hats – we want them all. 

Show us what you’re made of, and we’ll show the world.

GUIDELINES

We don’t want to hamper your creativity; we just need to lay down some basic rules.

Prose

Short fiction, flash fiction, and non-fiction are all accepted. All prose submissions must be less than 2,500 words in length. Exceptions will only be made for essays that are relevant and irreverent.

Poetry

If humorous, epic poems will be tolerated. Otherwise, it’s fair game.

Artwork
As this is an online publication, we will only…

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Monday Blogs – NaNoWriMo Thoughts

I admit… I went from not knowing if I would participate in NaNoWriMo this year, to getting inspired for a brand new story that’s not in my “Story Ideas” folder in my Google Drive.

I’m also sort of excited about it, and the character backgrounds are already beginning to formulate and come together, especially the male character – who my brain seems to add layer upon layer already.

The characters aren’t the only exciting thing I want to play with, it’s the relationship – a May-December relationship that I’ve always had a fascination with, with all the stigmas and notions that come from it – I want my characters to explore that, to find love despite odds and their friends and family disapproving of them. I’m already falling in love with the characters myself, so I feel extremely inspired – yet cautious.

They are still, unfortunately, locked away in my head, and I know if I start opening up that file and jotting stuff down, I’ll fully commit myself to NaNoWriMo and then I might freak out from the pressure.

In addition to that, I’m already starting to feel guilty that “new story” is occupying brain space when I should really be working on Killer Orange editing, which has stalled unfortunately thanks to freelance projects and a busy September. October is starting to look just as crazy – at least on the weekends.

Once I chew through all the anxiety (which is another matter altogether), I really feel I should commit myself to Killer Orange. If I can do that in a month’s time and still manage to begin NaNoWriMo, then I’d consider that a huge, productive achievement.

Fingers crossed!

From Grammarly — Who Writes Better: Men or Women?

hkrowe:

Extremely interesting.

Originally posted on Live to Write - Write to Live:

Grammarly (www.grammarly.com) conducted a study with 3,000+ participants to settle an existential question that has been plaguing mankind for centuries (or maybe a few years here and there):

“Which gender has the better writers?”

They published the results to the question above in an infographic (below) and I got permission to share it here with you. I thought it would be fun for some discussion.

The results for characters question splits out equal from both perspectives — I think it’s only natural that we include bits of ourselves in our writing, since that’s a person we know best!

Pronouns & Determiners are pretty evenly split, too.

What do you think about the plot vs character and long vs short sentences? Would you put yourself in the majority in those categories?

I would for the first – I like (try) to develop my characters and have the plot follow. For sentences, I…

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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Someone at my Livejournal blog (which I keep specifically for fandom and personal rantings) posted about what characters in fiction share your Myers-Briggs personality. I admit, I had to take the test all over again because I did not remember what I was.

(If you don’t know either, take the test here.)

I’m an INFJ (Introverted, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging) which according to several internet sites is a rare personality type among the 16 types.

*

Here is INFJ in a nutshell:

INFJs are creative nurturers with a strong sense of personal integrity and a drive to help others realize their potential. Creative and dedicated, they have a talent for helping others with original solutions to their personal challenges.

The Counselor has a unique ability to intuit others’ emotions and motivations, and will often know how someone else is feeling before that person knows it himself. They trust their insights about others and have strong faith in their ability to read people. Although they are sensitive, they are also reserved; the INFJ is a private sort, and is selective about sharing intimate thoughts and feelings.

*

This describes me to a T, and actually it’s a little frustrating to see myself so plainly spelled out, but it made me think that perhaps a lot of my stress and woes really tries into my nature of wanting to be everyone’s counselor and fix everything in life that’s broken. Maybe I do care a bit of a superman complex as well, or at least a person so blindly dedicated to a cause.

And yet when I posted my results on facebook as well, I noticed at least three more INFJs, which makes me wonder if we really are that rare, or that it really is true about INFJs when it comes to friendship, that we’re very particular and like to collect friends with perfectly aligned interests.

I thought it was interesting. Here are the famous people that are also INFJs that I like:

Mohandas Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Emily Bronte, Carl Jung, Florence Nightingale, Shirley MacLaine, Jimmy Carter, and Edward Snowden.

And then of course, here are the fictional characters that I know which are also INFJ:

Yue and Roku from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Paige Matthews from Charmed

Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight

John and Anna Bates from Downton Abbey

Walternate from Fringe

Peter Petrelli from Heroes

Merlin from Merlin

Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena

Christine Chapel from Star Trek: The Original Series

Kes from Star Trek: Voyager

Ezri Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Ianto Jones from Torchwood

Jasper Hale from Twilight

Phil Coulson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars

Allison Argent from Teen Wolf

Amy Pond Doctor Who

Find your fictional character personality types too HERE.

What personality type are you? Does it fit you?

Have a good weekend!

H.K. Rowe