insomniac_tales

This is a journal for exploring characters in the long hours/days/weeks before November 1st, ground zero for Nanowrimo.

I started keeping this in 2008, though I've been doing nanowrimo since 2003. Mostly this is just a depository for character bios, cover art, and the occasional excerpt from the novel.

The Girl and the Good Sleep (2003) | Shades of Purple (2004) | Follow (2005)
The Romance of Coffee and Cigarettes (2006) | Out of Doubt (2006) | Graves Hall (2007)
Wanderlust (2008) | Bury St Edmunds (2009) | The Remington Door (2010)
Shades of Purple Rewrite (Campnano 2011) | Book of Threads (2011) | Deep in the Woods (2012)
Graves Universe (Campnano 2013)

Haven't jumped into a nano in some time. The personal life hasn't been particularly conducive to writing, but I've decided I'm going to start taking my writing more seriously. I have stories to tell, but they'll never get told if I don't type them out.

So here we are, Camp Nano 2019. I low-balled the word count a bit to give me some breathing room, turns out I need it, but the great thing so far, is that I've written a little bit every day. Even just a sentence. Seems silly to be excited about a sentence, but considering how little I've written over the last few years, I'm stoked!

This story has a lot of characters (it should, it spans eons and generations and there are massive entanglements all around).

In the course of writing so far I've already killed off a few. There's one character in particular, no matter how many times I write her, she always ends up dying. Her death usually spurns things for other characters, so it's a motivator for the prose, but I also feel bad that she ends up dying repeatedly. She's not one of those characters you enjoy snuffing out as an author. She's one of those characters you want to see more of in the real world. Nobel and sure, confident, always doing the right thing even to her own detriment. And yet, in this universe she cannot survive long.

Someone else has to ascend her throne.

I did some good writing today. I hadn't expected the prophets to play such a major thread throughout, but I ended up writing pieces that belong in three of the four books. A total through-line regarding the prophets and their subplot which I never quite figured out the first time I tried to tell this story. It came together today, though the ending is still hanging out in the fourth book waiting for me to pick a direction.

Some of the decisions I'm making are... Quite a bit different from how I've told the story before. Some of the decisions have to be and it's good. Some of the plot points are brutal and that's even better. The story pieces are fitting together more snuggly every time I take a new direction. I kind of can't wait to edit the old prose and marry the material. I think I'll have something really amazing in the end.

Almost 13k today. Feeling confident even though I have a lot going on this month.

Apparently I'm doing campwrimo this year.

Working on the Graves Universe. Turns out I'm writing a little bit from all four epochs (and maybe the fifth side story a bit). The plot things that are happening right now are kind of amazing. A bit melodrama to be sure, but I think I can make it less soapy.

8000 words in two days. Feeling it. Feeling awesome.

Oh Nano.

I'm desperately far behind. I can blame it mostly on work and a little bit on lack of inspiration.

When I do write it's brief little snippets that I email myself (while I'm at work), so I can copy pasta into the word document when I get home. It's been about 100 to 1000 words a day, but there was a stretch of 4 days that I wrote nothing (too tired, too cranky, too headachey). My hope was to have a day off where I could do nothing but write, but that won't happen until after Thanksgiving (I'm working every day until then and then entertaining house guests the whole weekend).

My new goal is not to get so far behind that one solid day of writing to get unburied becomes impossible. I'm going to aim for 1000 or more words a day until then, even if I have to stay up an extra hour after to work to get it done.

I have a solid-ish idea for the novel so far, I just have to get moving on stringing it altogether.

The working title: Deep in the Woods.
The working concept: a group of college kids gather in the woods to cast magic together; they add to their circle until they have 13, a perfect coven. Once they cast as a total entity however, they wake something that's been dormant in the woods.

I haven't decided what they wake and why that could be a bad thing (also, how does that impact the rest of the novel seeing as how it's probably closer to the end of it). I can't see a resolution/finale in sight. I can't tell if that's because this is more than one book worth of story.

( The characters of Deep in the Woods: )

Apparently I tipped my hat into the ring.

3000 words (closing in on 4000). I'm working on Book of Threads this go round and starting from scratch with my word count.

Problem I've run into already is that I may have 15 too many characters. Or maybe not. It might be okay. I'm just going to trust my instinct and write what wants to be written.

This is the first year that I've seriously considered not doing nanowrimo.

Considering that I've done it every year for the past eight years (this year would be number 9, almost a whole decade of nano), this is a VERY hard decision for me.

The pro of not writing this November is that I wouldn't be stressing over word counts all November. I won't have to ditch my rp buddies for a month. I'm not even sure what I'd write (because I want to keep plugging away on the SoP rewrite, but I don't know if nano is the time to do it).

The biggest con is that I tend to pass the 50k finish line on odd years (for whatever reason) and by this trend I'd be setting myself up for a win this year. There are some nice prizes for winners, like a discount on Scrivener which is due out for Windows this year and I REALLY want to buy this software.

I won't officially decide until November 1st (and even then I have time to change my mind). I'm just tweaking because this is the closest I've ever come to putting down the pen and walking away from nano.

Camp nano hasn't been going so well.

Mostly because I'm training at my new job and adjusting my sleep schedule. The words haven't really been coming, but at least I'm still plugging away.

It's better to write for the sake of writing.

I decided to try camp nanowrimo.

I'm rewriting Shades of Purple from scratch. They story was influenced by far too many outside sources. It didn't ring entirely true and it wasn't my voice. Let alone the plot contrivances.

I've changed a few names to protect the innocent, revamped the plot; this evening I discovered the raison d'être of the novel (a term I'm going to abuse, because damnit I'm partially French and it just sounds smart). Corrie (formerly Gaelin) wouldn't let me continue writing until I thought about it.

Didn't take long to snag on an idea and I think it's a good one.

Also, the novel now fully exists in a fictional world I built (with a little help from my friends) and have lived in for the past few years by way of journal based roleplaying. Yeah, I'm a nerd. I embrace it. I'm very excited because I know this world intimately and it's like writing a place that I've grown up in. I just have to decide how to handle the extreme passage of time, because the world as it used to be is no longer; it's ceased to be an awesome place (remember that raison d'être?) and my beloved protagnista has to figure out how to make it a kicking, super sweet place again.

Still haven't decided what to retitle it though, because I don't know that the original title will work. Maybe I'll stumble on something. For now it's just the SoP rewrite or the band formerly known as Prince.

I'm gearing up to attempt Camp Nanowrimo in August.

As of yet the story has no real form. I had an idea to expand on two pieces I wrote awhile back, but I don't know if that's the story swimming beneath the surface of my skin.

We'll see.

My problem with Wanderlust (and the reason it never got finished) was that the story was a bit too dark.

There was a silver lining of goofy happiness with Sloane and Bridget; that pair wrote like a giddy dream. Claire, Charlotte, and Alistair had their moments; the overall arch resolved itself on a reasonably upbeat note.

( My problem was mostly Luke and by extension Kadie. )

Severine is the tragic co-heroine.

( More spoilers )

Georgess is the Deus Ex Machina for this book.

( Possible, definite spoilers )

( Major Characters )

( Minor Characters )

The Remington Door
Nanowrimo 2010

IS OVER. We're holding steady at 49005. So close and yet so far...

( Concept )

( Setting )

( Miscellaneous Facts )

( Cast of Characters )

( David Lane )

( Curtis Lane )

( Frances Lane )

( Jerry Lane )

( Madelyn Pace )

( Liesl Guillory )

( Elizabeth Sewall )

( Jason Star Catcher )

Bury St Edmunds
Nanowrimo 2009

55106 words

( Concept )

( The Title )

( Setting )

( Miscellaneous Facts )

( Cast of Characters )

( Alistair Mayfare )

( Charlotte Hughes )

( Kadie Erhen )

( Bridget Kelly )

( Claire Hughes )

( R. Sloane Kelly )

( Lucas Bellows )

Wanderlust
Nanowrimo 2008

32034 words

Excerpt from Chapter Two: Black Magic Marriage

The city is a land of strangers. The sidewalks overflow with throngs of the unfamiliar. Bridget doesn't like being crushed between all these people she doesn't know. She doesn't feel safe, even in broad daylight among so many witnesses.

This is supposed to be the Land of Opportunity. This is the place where all your dreams come true. Except that for Bridget it feels like a continuous Technicolor nightmare. Everything's too expensive, too bright, too loud. She can't find a place to set her stuff down; she can't find a minute to catch her breath.

It feels like she might go crazy if she doesn't find a way out of this place soon. She just needs to find Sloane, give him the goddamn divorce and get the hell out of here.

( R. Sloane Kelly hasn't seen his wife since the night they were married.  )