NaNo

To NANO or not to NANO

September 21, 2017 By Lynne

I’ve been doing the National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO or NANO for short) challenge for a fair number of years. I enjoy the focus it requires and I’ve used it to kick start a novel each time. The odds of that happening this year are pretty slim for a variety of reasons.

Limited time this year – sure there are still 30 days in the month, but I’ll be busy for a full week. I’m really excited about being busy since I’m having company and they are people that I adore. However, that will limit the writing time for that week. Still, I could probably push really hard and set the alarm for an hour earlier in the morning and maybe get some writing time in. Without that week I’d have to adjust the goals for the remaining days and those numbers would be really tough.

The biggest hurdle – Once again, I don’t have a solid idea for a book.

That didn’t really stop me last year as I only found my story on the 19th of October when I went in to take a nap. Based on that experience, I guess I have plenty of time to take more naps and hopefully come up with something decent. There are a few people that would like me to just go ahead and write Blood Link IX, but that book isn’t fully mapped out yet. As a series book, I have to take the time to work out the long story and then build in the book specific story. I have about half of each done.

If it sounds like I’m hemming and hawing a bit, I am. I wish I had a real grasp on the big story idea for the next standalone. What I have right now is about half an idea and, as usual, it concerns a subject and agency that I don’t know a damn thing about. I’ve made a few phone calls and talked to a couple people – I truly have the best friends in the world that always seem to know someone who has a clue about what I need to know and are willing to help get me in touch with those folks. With only a basic concept of the heroine, hero, and plot at this point, I’m not ready to go there. This would be a book that required a lot of research and maybe a vacation to the location. That vacay will have to wait for next summer. I need a fresh idea for something I can base here in Tucson. You know… a good idea that I don’t currently have.

Still – I’m incredibly competitive and I don’t like to lose. NANO is some kind of weird dragon that I always feel the need to slay, so now I’m looking at the numbers and shaking my head even as I try to figure out if I could maybe make it happen.

All I really need is some more coffee, an hour less sleep, and the will to write that quickly. And a good story… yeah… I really need some characters and a plot.

NaNo 2016

December 1, 2016 By Lynne

I’m sad to see the end of NaNo 2016. I finished with about 58,000 words and it should have been more. I’ll blame my failure to reach my personal goal of 60K on the distraction of a new dog and college football. I’d blame the presidential election, but honestly, I voted early and just tuned that obnoxiousness out.

Congratulations to my cousin, Jennifer Burgraff, on completing her first NaNo. Way to go, Jenny! You’re a terrific writer, and I’m incredibly proud of you for hanging in there and doing this.

Thank you to Mr. Scott for being so tolerant of my pursuits. A big thank you also goes out to all my family and friends also. Your encouragement is always greatly appreciated.

I’m also really proud that once again my 58,000 words are original content and part of the actual story. One of my friends pointed out that I could add to my word count by just typing the same word multiple times. Interestingly, one of the suggestions from the NaNo folks is to do just that if you’re stuck. Some people write the same word, some write a sentence, and some type song lyrics. I get it. Whatever works to get you started. But it’s not for me. I write for the story and if it’s fewer words then so be it.

On my best day, I wrote 5,347 words. On my worst day only 322. My most productive days were Tuesdays when I averaged 2618 words. My worst days were Saturdays when I averaged just 683. I’m frankly surprised I did that well considering the amount of college football I watched. The third week was my strongest when I wrote 16K.

NaNo is a reminder of just how goal oriented and focused I can be. This book is currently about 3/5 of the way done, and I think I can finish this beast by mid-December. However, lurking out there are the edits for No Safe Haven. My inner control freak wants to attack those and get them over with so I can get the book out. After all, my 10 loyal fans are waiting. Knowing they’re sitting there and not getting them done is tough. There are also the beta reads for Book VII of the Blood Link Series to be completed and that story still requires a full self-edit and clean up. Also out there is Book VIII, which is about half written with story notes piling up. That’s a lot of irons in my fire with the holidays coming.

Still, I’m compelled to move on with this story and strike while the iron is hot – sheesh, that’s two branding references for no good reason this morning. So, for now, I’m going to keep my head down and pursue this story with Lisa and Skip – still not sold on her name – they sound a little too gooey and I don’t know why. Maybe the problem is his name… damn it… these are the little things that can annoy me no end and I just have to write through them. Arrrgggghhhh!

So, that it from NaNo 2016.
Once again, THANK YOU for all the support and kind words.

30 Days of Freaking Gratitude – 2013

December 1, 2013 By Lynne

Let’s just go ahead and skip the ones that we all know about. Yes, I’m incredibly grateful for Mr. Scott, my extended and chosen family, my pets, my health, and to be living in the United States. Let’s move right along to the other things that rarely get the full amount of notice they should. I kept track daily of a few things and rather than bore the snot out of my few remaining Facebook friends every freaking day, I’ve saved it all for the blog.

‘Cause nothing says gratitude like boring the snot out of your ten faithful readers.

So here’s 30 days of stuff worth being grateful for:

1. The start of NaNo Write. I like the challenge, but it also works as a great excuse to not do housework or cook dinner.
2. Ham. A nice spiral cut sucker. I can’t leave a good ham alone.
3. Lumosity training. It’s a welcome distraction from writing to play stupid games that I suck at. I think it’s helping but it’s too soon to tell – although, I do question why they have to send you daily training reminders for something that is supposed to help improve your memory. Do they stop sending them if you reach a certain skill level on their games?
4. Vacation. I took one this year and had a great time. A combination of old friends and new friends made it memorable. Please buy more books – I’d like to have one again next year.
5. Glocks. They’ll never be a Colt 1911, but they’re much easier to clean and maintain.
6. Sam Elliott. No, he hasn’t shown up and yes, the restraining order is still in place, but as long as Sam is with us, there’s always hope.
7. Every football team that beats LSU.
8. The 10-pound dictionary my editor Marcia gave me. It’s her old one. I gave her a brand new 40-pound dictionary that she uses against me all the time. The 10-pound one worked perfectly for killing the spider that wandered too close to me the other day. The dictionary is fine, but I had to the throw part of the cover away because of the spider guts.
9. Those little pill containers with the days on them. The Lumosity shit really isn’t working yet.
10. The pull ring seal on the top of the coffee mate instead of that foil piece of crap. I needed a set of pliers to get that foil bastard off most of the time.
11. Jean Claude Van Damme’s jeans. I’m grateful that they didn’t do the splits when he did in that Volvo commercial.
12. My online peanut gallery. They don’t let me get away with anything and they often provide good lines for my books.
13. My small group of Marines – who will never see this because they avoid things without pictures. They entertain me by sending me the rudest, foulest, most obscene things in the world – which I promptly share with the other Marines since they appreciate that kind of lowbrow stuff.
14. The page button on the base station of my portable phone. Until the Lumosity training takes hold, I still need help in locating the phone.
15. The mute button. I wish it worked on the damn cat, but it at least works on all the TV commercials.
16. Apple Butter. Don’t try to tell me pumpkin butter is better – it ain’t. Apple Butter on a hot piece of toast on a cold morning makes me happy.
17. Zip ties. They keep my cords orderly and they give me many bad ideas about restraints and kidnapping and that usually leads to either thoughts about Sam Elliott or Chapter 12 of the new novel.
18. The window lickers. We all know them. Those people that went to the train line instead of the brain line. Imagine how much dumber I would look without them.
19. The guy at Albertson’s who moved the damn hand baskets back to the entry side of doors rather than leaving them on the exit side of the doors where the idiot district manager moved them to. I don’t need a freaking basket on the way OUT of the store.
20. The drama queens. Each of you have contributed greatly to my books. I doubt you’ll recognize yourselves when you read them.
21. Orange jump suits. They are a clear reminder of why I shouldn’t go across the street and take a baseball bat to the f***tard who lives there. I look like crap in orange and he doesn’t!
22. NCIS, CSI, and the Big Bang Theory. I need a little consistency in my life and this is it.
23. Puffs tissues. I used a lot of them when my Ducks forgot how to play football this season. Twice.
24. Cold pizza. I get so tired of the healthy freaking breakfast thing. Sometimes a girl just needs a slice of cold pepperoni and mushroom pizza.
25. My new vacuum cleaner. It’s one of the old style bag types. I hated f***ing with that stupid canister.
26. Friends who have land-nav skills. Yes, it’s true. I can get lost in my own backyard and having friends who can translate the topographical map with Google Earth is priceless.
27. Stouffer’s. Those little red boxes are a Godsend. Mr. Scott likes them and I don’t have to cook. That’s a win!
28. Duct tape. Never has so much by so many been owed to one little roll of happiness. It’ll fix anything and it’ll shut up damn near anyone. I have a couple relatives that I’d like to use it on.
29. College GameDay. I love those guys. Especially Coach Corso and the headgear pick.
30. The end of NaNo Write so I can sit on my butt and not worry about it anymore.

It’s Fiction, People!

November 24, 2013 By Lynne

Question: What if you have no background or experience in the subject you choose to write about?

Answer: No problem. Everything I have ever needed to know for a book can be found on Wikipedia or at the bottom of a Jack Daniels bottle. And if I still feel lost and confused, I just stay at a Holiday Inn Express overnight.

One of the best things about my job is the rather eclectic nature of the things I choose to write. I pick a subject that interests me, and then I go find out more. Research is always fun. Finding a site on the Internet that has great facts about my chosen subject is fairly easy, but I can also wind up on a site that’s the equivalent of a diaper full of diarrhea. Picking and choosing which links to follow often makes for an interesting afternoon.

In this instance, I’ve spent a little time looking at Dugway Proving Grounds. It was exhilarating (maybe the right word is frightening) to read some of the available information about this place.

Here’s a great example of how a single website can lead you astray for more than a day. Just for fun, go to Wikipedia and skim the information on Dugway Proving Ground. It begins with the basic facts and then moves into the history, which is all pretty bland until you think about just what they’ve been testing out there.

Yes that’s correct – biological and chemical warfare agents. You know – the bend over and kiss your butt goodbye type of stuff.

The next two items in the article are the Sheep Kill Incident and the U.S. General Accounting Office report. It seems an open air test in 1968 may not have been restricted to the range and many, many sheep off the range died. The subject of the 1994 General Accounting Office report is the previously accomplished (1940-1974) “open-air” testing of bacteria and viruses. The government has no idea of how many people may have been exposed to these agents at the time. As for the wildlife… well… even my Ranger friends told me they were warned not to consume anything that grew or ate things that grew while they were on Dugway. That whole “Don’t drink the water!” scenario in this section of the Wikipedia article just gives me that icky-creepy feeling. Anyone have an extra Atropine injector?

But it’s the final item in this article that proves the diaper theory and gives this location a truly bizarre twist – Alien speculation. Yup. Welcome to Area 52. The UFOlogists (their word not mine) got all excited when the Genesis, a NASA space probe collecting solar wind samples, malfunctioned and was brought down on the proving grounds in a controlled crash in hopes of saving some of the samples. Suddenly, the alien conspiracy theory nuts were citing passages of The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. After all, that facility was out in the damn desert too. I followed several of the cited sources for this section of the article, and those led to more links, and more speculation, and… well… you get it. Solid facts (the Genesis being brought down, and the location at Dugway of many telescopes) are at the heart of the speculation, but some of the folks who perpetuate this stuff are just as far out there as the alien visitors they believe are using Dugway as a spaceport.

As for what I know about chemical and biological agents – not much. I know they scare the crap out of me. Almost more than rats and dark dirty basements. Almost. I have some digging to do. I fortunately know how to look things up and ask questions. I may even know a few people who can answer some of those questions. The trick will be to do the appropriate level of research without triggering the interest of the NSA, Homeland Security, and a whole host of other folks I really don’t feel like talking to. The goal is to avoid a visit to Guantanamo Bay.

Just as a reminder – I write FICTION! Yes, it’s important to hit the range of possible and plausible so that it’s more believable, but in the end, it’s still just a freaking story. How many times have you read a spy thriller involving the CIA and their facilities? Do you really think the author has a clue what the inside of those secure facilities looks like? When do you think the author visited the interrogation bunker in Eastern BumFuckistan? How do you think the author got access to the ultra-secret military installation? And, if he did, do you honestly believe he’d put the real details in the book? C’mon! We all know the CIA would have that guy locked up in a secret prison, while some doppelganger took his place and put out a new book every two years with false information to mislead us. You don’t really think the Tom Clancy you saw in all those interviews was the real Tom Clancy do you?

I repeat – I write fiction! The idea is to make you suspend your belief for a couple hours of reading enjoyment. Oh, yeah! I am definitely going to use Dugway as a character in a book. I won’t use its name – I’ll simply call it “the range” or the “the proving grounds.” A place this pretty from a distance must house some dark doings and secrets.

Now, if I could only get an interview with one of the aliens at Dugway…

All photos were stolen from the internet with my apologies to whoever owns them.

Final Inspection!

October 31, 2013 By Lynne

Are you ready for NaNo 2013? Have you checked your Go-Bag? I can’t let you deploy into a hazardous writing environment unprepared.

FALL IN
Let’s go, people! I have better things to do than wait on your butts to get in line.
Dump those bags for inspection.
NOW!!!

I’ll call out the checklist item, and you produce it promptly.
Did you just roll your eyes, mister? This is not a freaking game. This is NaNo!

Caffeine. My coffee cup goes where I go. I prefer regular ole coffee when I start my day of writing, but some go for the iced tea, the energy drinks, or the soda pop. Whatever works. I personally don’t want all that happy heartburn crap from Starbucks when I’m trying to work – just make a pot of Folgers or Dunkin’ Donuts or whatever it is that you like, suck some of that go-juice down, and put your pinkies on the damn keyboard.

Easy there, Sparky – too much of a good thing makes it hard to keep your pinkies on the keyboard.

Socks and knickers. No, I’m not one of those kinky ole first sergeants that gets off on looking at your stack of tighty-whities. Unless you’re a young, healthy, built like the proverbial brick outhouse Marine and are willing to model them, just leave them in a neat stack where you can get to them. You need 30 days of stuff (or 15 days if you’re Army and turn them inside out once) so you don’t have to waste your time doing laundry.

Personal hygiene items. Ah Jaysus, writing recruit, yes, you need them and yes, you will use them! Otherwise all the picking and scratching that comes from a lack of hygiene takes your pinkies away from the damn keyboard. Besides, you aren’t in the damn Navy – wash yourself and change your damn underwear. That’s an order!

Real food. You should have laid in some food as grocery shopping is not time well spent during NaNo. I fortunately live near a base and have purchased MREs for when I run out of pre-cooked meals and microwavable items. I’ve found that chucking an MRE at Mr. Scott makes him stop whining about being hungry. He doesn’t eat the damn thing, people, he leaves the house and does the hunting and gathering thing that all men should do for their women.

Quit being a damn bleeding heart. He’s fine. He likes Taco Bell. It’s not like I’m making him eat my cooking every night.

Snacks. Anything bad for you is good for you during NaNo. You’re expending a lot of energy and you need to keep those fingers moving. Eating snacks at your desk also saves all that time wasted in going to the table to eat real food. Save the real food for your spouse.

Suggestion: Reward yourself with chocolate. (Oh, and for you boots and civilians – when a first sergeant suggests something… it should be considered a freaking order. Get your damn chocolate. NOW!)

Automatic pet food feeder. They don’t have opposable thumbs and therefore require you to do your part for them. Automatic feeders will at least make sure they don’t miss too many meals. Anyone not taking care of the pets will have to deal with me.

Booze. Not until after you meet the goal at the end of the day. If I catch you drinking on the damn job, I’ll find a way to publish the garbage that you wrote while under the influence. Alcohol is a known contributor to bad spelling, bad grammar, and an inflated opinion of how great your freaking writing is – you actually begin to believe all the nice things your mother says.

Back off, Hemingway! Alcohol will not make you great – Hemingway does nothing for me. And it is all about me. I don’t care what the damn bleeding heart literary geniuses think. This is a word count war not some damn deer camp drinkathon. Put the bottle down!

Poncho liner and blow up pillow. Move your chair out of the way, grab the dog and your woobie and close your eyes. I don’t care if you wanna spoon with your Writing Battle Buddy, just don’t be doing that crap where everyone can see it. People just get plain stupid when they don’t get enough sleep.

Bedtime story – There are bad men… and they are all hiding under your bed with clown masks. Nighty-night, princess!

Music. I’m not much for music when I’m writing, but do what you want. I like to be able to hear the voices in my head when they whisper.

First sergeant warning – if the voices you hear in your head are the character in your story – this is a good thing. If the voices in your head are telling you to get your gun and watch out for the people sneaking up on you from behind – this is not a good thing. Call me and I’ll talk you down.

Sense of humor. If you forgot to pack it – you shouldn’t be attempting NaNo.

Good luck, writers! I’ll be going in to battle with you, so pack your bags and get ready. We’ll be jumping of the cliff in the morning. Let’s put some boots on the ground and pinkies on the keyboards – it’s time to go!!!

Are You Ready?

October 28, 2013 By Lynne

Today is Monday, 28 October 2013, and the challenge begins on Friday, 1 November 2013.

Yes! This Friday!!!

Are you ready to come play? Here are a few lessons learned from previous years – I hope these help you towards your goal.

Before the challenge:
1. A well-developed story plan is essential. Not that you’re going to follow it precisely, but it certainly helps to know where you’re going.
2. Know your characters and take the time to write a short biographical sketch. I have to keep referring back to certain things because I simply can’t remember everything. I often forget the last name of one of my characters or their eye color.
3. A chapter timeline is essential for me. I keep mine open and update it constantly. Since my story timeline is very tight, I have to pay close attention to what is happening and when. This prevents me from having those annoying issues with “sequencing.” I once read a book in which the hero sat down to an evening meal where there were fireflies, while something bad was happening to a kid in school at recess. That’s the type of thing that makes me insane as a reader.

During the challenge:
4. Don’t make the daily word count your nemesis. I figured out early that working on a weekly word count was less stressful for me. Some people like the idea of the small bite, but 1667 words a day can be their own little nightmare. I have days where I can’t manage 800 words. But I don’t panic because my weekly goal of 12,500 words feels much more attainable.
5. Set the bar high. It’s been my experience that people live up to the expectations placed upon them. I make sure to proclaim my goals here on my website and also to all my friends. The continuous encouragement makes a huge difference.
6. Don’t waste a lot of your primary writing time self-editing. Make a note about what you need to fix and move on. I have a sheet of paper where I just jot down the stuff as I think of it. I do my primary writing in the morning, and then in the evening I generally go back and read things over. This is frequently when I will take care of the notes I made during the day.
7. Write the scene that’s in your head. It doesn’t matter if it’s out of sequence – if you know what happens to your character at a certain point get it down on paper before you lose it. This challenge is about words, not necessarily continuity.
8. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like you aren’t going to make it. Keep working and power through the hurdles. 2011 was not my first attempt. I’d tried several times before and did not even get close. In fact, I’d quit without even reaching 15,000 words the last two times that I tried.
9. Don’t throw away or delete anything. Save the document under another name so you can use it later to put together a new plan and set new goals.
10. Remember above all else – this is just a challenge! You have to live in the real world and accomplish real things. Those are what really matter!

Are you ready?

NaNo

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