Writing Exercise 047

Do you believe in ghosts -- if only for just one day?
Today is Halloween, the night of the hauning ghosts, and living dead, and roaming monsters, and the supernatural.
Maybe you might want to keep your eyes open. You could witness something extraordinary. ;)

The last writing exercise of this month is also the last writing exercise before NaNoWriMo.
Of course, the topic is Halloween, but I hope you enjoy this drabble.
Have a nice holiday tomorrow!

2016/10/31 – Halloween (Drabble)

Tonight is the night. It is All Hallows' Eve. Big and round, yellow and orange, the pumpkins grin at you. Everywhere you go they sit on porches, railings, doorsteps, ogling you, laughing at you with sharp teeth and wicked eyes. At night their ghastly grimaces burn in the darkness like haunting creatures – lurking and waiting, ready to pounce. They look as if they might come alive any moment to haunt you, to taunt you. The wind howls and echoes their imaginative laughter from the trees. It feels as if they'd come for you, and maybe they do. Run, don't walk!

Trials and Tribulations

November is fast approaching, and I'm really excited about it. :D

I decided to try the trial version of Scrivener, but it took me all night to get it set up the way I need it (the tutorial was very long also). I'm not convinced yet.

As I tried to import the files I needed, nothing happened. I reread the tutorial, tried again... nothing. By the time I copy/pasted forty-seven chapters manually I was almost fed up and ready to bin it.

But I thought to give it a try, and I did. One chapter down, I think it's only half bad. The split screen option is useful for translating, and the NaNo daily target wordcount function is inciting. I have to change the font every chapter as it is preset, but that's minor trouble.
I decided to stick with Scrivener through NaNoWriMo, as I'm reluctant to try Papyrus, since I might be stuck with a shut down trial version before Novemer ends.

I just hope, the export function works better than the import function, so I can decide whether to keep it or not. If all goes well I might have found an early Christmas present...

Apropos of November, next month will be very busy, and as I'll be preoccupied with translating my novel I don't know how often I'll be able to blog. I'll try to at least continue my weekly writing exercises, but no promises.
I hope you're still with me when November is over!

Writing Exercise 046

Are you a morning person? I clearly am not. But I got used to getting up every day at the same time. And while I always need a while to become fully awake I learnt to appreciate the quiet of morning.
This week I wrote another drabble fitting to the season as I kept this sentiment in mind. Here it is:

2016/10/25 – a morning in late October (Drabble)

It is just past seven o'clock when my day begins. Outside it is dark; night struggles to keep its grasp on the world as it fights the break of day. Lonesome flashes of light pass by; cars drive through the darkness. So still, so quiet is this place… As I grab a cup of soothing hot tea I sit by the window and watch the blackness slowly fade into the morning blues. The lake is still hidden beneath a thick blanket of mist drifting to the sky. By the time I sip my second cup there is a silver lining.

Privacy and Paparazzi

There is an issue that concerns me recently.

Maybe you've heard about the Italian author Elena Ferrante, who was outed by the investigative journalist Claudio Gatti through criminological means. Usually Gatti exposes political affairs like corruption or money laundering; this time he chose to find out the person behind the pseudonym Elena Ferrante. Apparently he succeeded.

Elena Ferrante, who strictly refused to answer any private question in the few interviews she gave, wrote bestselling novels, which enrichen the literary world. She did talk about literature or women-political topics though.
Recently, in an interview she even said she would stop publishing instantly the moment it was revealed who she really was.

Knowing this, why would Gatti expose her? If Elena Ferrante is true to her word, the world has lost a great author thanks to one overachieving muckraker!

But what concerns me even more is that Gatti purposefully ignored Ferrante's wish to stay inkognito; that he trampled on her right to live a private life;
that he rendered the purpose of pseudonyms meaningless.

Why do people choose pseudonyms in the first place if not to keep their privacy private? There are a lot of authors, musicians, artists who assume pseudonyms -- and I am one of them.
I wish that the world is able to access my works, but I explicitly do not want them to access my life any more than I am willing to share here.
I think most of the people who choose pseudonyms feel the same.

The constitutional rights in my country protect the freedom of action, which includes also the informational self-determination. This means I can choose to keep information private; this means I can assume a pseudonym and live my life unimpaired; this means my doing so does not put me on the same level of public interest as for instance politicians or celebrities; this means I don't have to tolerate that people spy on me. My choice is protected by the constitution.

Now shall something that is especially protected and cherished by the law become meaningless in the face of prying individuals like Gatti?

I hope you answered no.

Writing Exercise 045

This week's exercise was a dare from a member of the Dead Pete Society.
For privacy reasons, let's just call him Pete. So Pete dared me to write a short character sketch of how he would appear in a novel. And so I did. Of course I ran this through Pete before I dare publish it on here.

2016/10/17 – Pete: “Write a short character sketch of how I would appear in a novel.”

Pete is stuck with a wife he doesn't love, a dog who bites back and thieves his sleep, a son in high school and a house devoid of happiness. While his broken marriage drags on for years, he finds himself still loving the woman he had had more than a decade ago – a woman he had let go before he got married to another. But instead of daring to pursue this love again he flirts and seeks fleeting adventure, choosing pleasure over passion. Ambitious and a perfectionist, Pete excels at his job, yet he struggles to attain the licences he needs to apply for what he'd rather do – leave the state and start anew. But despite all the frustration he finds the creativity to write fantastic stories and compose beautiful music. One day, as his world crumbles, he decides to forsake it all...

Writers Gotta Write

It's still early October but I'm already fired up for NaNoWriMo. :)

Ravenous Adventures is still in editing mode, but this November I'll translate it. In fact, I wanted to get a bit of a headstart and as my writing buddies from the Dead Pete Society already started their projects I couldn't wait either. It's so exciting when everyone is in writing mood and we cheer each other on. :D

This year is my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, so I'm a bit nervous. Still I'm awfully looking forward to November. Yesterday in preparation for NaNo I watched a webinar recommended on the NaNo page, and it was pretty interesting. I also plan to attend a kick off meeting in Essen on 1st of November, where I get to meet other Wrimos (authors participating in NaNoWriMo). I hope we'll have a great time writing together, and maybe we'll even forge a group that meets up regularly. As the Dead Pete Society members live all around the globe, I'm looking forward to meet local writers, too. :D

Anyhow, I've started writing the German translation of Ravenous Adventures and I'm pretty excited about it. But while I set out to write I ponder my tools.
Usually I use Libre Office, which is just a basic, open source writing program. It is sufficient for my needs, alright. But I wonder...

Some of my writing buddies use Scrivener. There is a trial version for Wrimos, and I'm oogling it.
But on the other hand, someone in the forums of my home region on the NaNo page recommended Papyrus. Which seems just as good to me. I'm not decided yet and I don't want to experiment during NaNo when I need to concentrate on writing.
I might just download both trial versions at the end of October an see what I like better, then get set for November. Or I end up sticking with Libre Office. I don't know yet.

Do you have experience with either of these programs?
Which one would you choose and why?

Please, let me know. :o
Until then I'll keep writing, writing... because writers gotta write. ;)

Writing Exercise 044

Here is another one of my weekly writing exercises. This time the topic is lullaby, and I wrote a drabble.

2016/10/11 – lullaby (drabble)

Ears attuned to the slightest change in breathing patterns, you instantly pick up the soft whimper. You wish you could just turn around, pull the blanket over your head and sleep. Instead the whimper evolves into an inarticulate cry. “Maybe it will go away if I wait long enough?” you think, but you know you have no such luck. The cry becomes louder. So you've finally had enough and get up. Bone tired you trudge over to check. You lift the tiny body, pace around the room and sing lullabies. Finally – hours later? – the crying stops. The joys of parenthood.

I would like to point out that I have no children, and that I don't intend to ever have any. So this is pure fiction.

Oktoberfest

It's already October.
NaNoWriMo is approaching, and I'm really looking forward to it. I updated my NaNo site, then set out to get a bit of a headstart... which means, I actually couldn't wait for November to arrive. By now I've translated 6 of 47 chapters. I feel like I'm on a roll, and that's just great. :D

In the meantime, October is a month full of events also. As you know 3rd of October was the national holiday in my country, but there are also All Saints and Halloween...and Oktoberfest. XD

While I'm not a huge fan of this event, my fiancé and I once had a funny conversation about misheard lyrics. I don't remember the song, but we both heard 'beer woman'. So we joked about how Beer Woman was a new superheroine of some sort, who saves the Oktoberfest when they'd run out of beer. Here is the quick sketch I drew with SAI:

Writing Exercise 043

I'm a day late for the topic of this week. I should've posted this yesterday, I'm sorry. :/
Yesterday was the national holiday over here; so this is what this week's drabble is about.

2016/10/04 – 3^rd of October (drabble)

Leaves are rustling in the wind; already turned black, red and gold. Summer's last sun rays fade into the mist as it rises from a lonely lake, gone forever. Autumn's hymn heralds a day to remember – a day of unison, a day of commitment, a day of a past overcome. Let us build a memorial in our name, to remind us of who we are, what lies behind us and what we can achieve as one people. Let's celebrate, let's mourn and honour this day. A flag is rustling in the wind; proudly dancing in black, red and gold.