Writing Exercise 151

Hello there!

I just realised I haven't done my writing exercise yet. NaNoWriMo kept me busy half of the week. :D
So here is a double drabble prompted ba my dear writing buddy from the Dead Pete Society:

2018/11/04 – A Dance Amongst Shadows (double drabble)

Warily he eyed the merry crowd, people dressed up in their most splendid robes, frolicking and dancing to the fine music in the ball room. Ah, how he loathed such social events, how he despised the oblivious and ignorant people who pretened to have a good time gossipping, drinking, dancing… Alas, he had to attend, and so he did. A glass of heavy wine kept him company as he kept his distance and observed with contempt.

Until a beautiful lady appeared before him and smiled up at him. “Mylord,” she breathed, a halo of flowery perfume around her, “you seem a bit bored. May I try to lift your mood during this dance?” She held out her slender hand for him to take. He blinked, just as perplexed as wary. She used his moment of hesitation to take the glass from his hand, put it away and drag him towards the dance floor. Before he knew it, she was in his arms swaying to the music.

It was not like he couldn't dance, he just preferred not to. He seriously considered ditching her for he rather danced amongst shadows than make a fool of himself here. So he left, disgusted.

Writing Exercise 101

Hello again!
Here is writing exercise 101 already. I'm pretty busy with my current NaNoWriMo project, so I thought I'd write about that. So here is a poem about NaNoWriMo 2017:

2017/11/14 – NaNoWriMo 2017 (poem)

Words are aligning,

Sentences combining;

At least a chapter a day –

So far I'm doing okay.

When writing time flies by;

Thought I would give it a try.

I wonder what I reach faster:

37 chapters or 50k word master?

A sequel to what I wrote last

NaNoWriMo, it's such a blast!

No matter what, rain, hail or sun –

Writing is so much fun.

I'm comfortable in my writing nook.

Soon you'll see, I'll finish my book.

Swing the keys like a shovel;

Who wants to beta my novel?

Writing Exercise 100

Wow! This is writing exercise number 100 already. :D

And to celebrate this 'century' of writing exercises, I chose to let you read a short appetizer from the novel I'm currently writing as NaNoWriMo project. This work is called 'Rogue Adventures -- A Tale from Neverbeen Universe' and is a continuation of my yet unpublished novel "Ravenous Adventures -- A Tale from Neverbeen Universe', and I'm currently writing chapter 17 of 37 planed chapters.

So here is a short excerpt of this very chapter:

2017/11/08 – write a short excerpt of where you're at in your current NaNoWriMo project (Rogue Adventures – A Tale from Neverbeen Universe, chapter 17)

[…] Raphael’s gaze sharpened. He drew his sword. ‘Stay back,’ he linked his mind with Gene’s, and he obediently did a step backwards.

‘He’s all yours,’ Gene murmured, ‘Just be careful. That’s the one who kidnapped me.’ Raphael had assumed as much, but now he had Gene’s affirmation. He cautiously approached, ready to fight.

“Now, now,” the Daemon had an even thicker accent than Raphael, “Is this a way to greet family?”

“I do not know you,” Raphael stated evenly, “and if it’s true and you’re one of my father’s cronies, I’ll have even more reason to kill you.” He lifted his sword.

“I wouldn’t call me a crony, but, indeed, I am here on Lord Rhagkal’s orders,” the man admitted and grinned, “What about you, Gene? At least you’re going to greet me properly, right?” He opened his arms as if he expected a hug.

Behind Raphael Gene shifted into a defensive stance. “No way in hell. You can’t be trusted.”

“Pity,” the stranger commiserated, then grinned mischievously. Suddenly he leapt over the altar, drew two shortswords and slashed them at Raphael, who reacted swiftly enough to parry. […]

Writing Exercise 099

Hey there!
Are you going on a Halloween party tonight or wakling the streets in a spooky costume haunting people? Are you preparing for NaNoWriMo and counting the hours and minutes until you can do your first writing sprint in November? :D

Anyway, here is another writing exercise. This week I picked four books from my reading stack, chose a page each, read the first sentence on those pages and wrote a little story containing these sentences.
The sentences are taken from 'The Blood of Nerys' by S. K. Balk, 'The Woman Who Dies a Lot' by J. Fforde, 'The Loneliest Girl in the Universe' by L. James and 'Malevolence' by F. R. Donaldson -- in that order. Check these books out if you're interested; I gobbled them whole. ;)
In the meantime enjoy my story:

2017/10/31 – pick four books from your night stand/reading nook, choose randomly a page each and write a story containing the first sentence you read on every page you chose. (p.66 of The Blood of Nerys by S. K. Balk, p.153 of The Woman Who Died a Lot by J. Fforde, p.212 of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by L. James, p.288 of Malevolence by F. R. Donaldson)

It was just at daybreak when there was a dull thud and the ship shuddered against the waves. The mast cracked and moaned under the pressure of the wind in the sails, tilting the prow slightly as she wouldn't move anymore. One after the other the crew stumbled out of their cots and hurried on deck.

“What in the name of Nemo's beard happened?” captain Kai bellowed and stemmed his fists on his hip. His crew looked anywhere but at their captain.

“Apparently we ran aground on a shoal,” Daisy piped up and lifted a brow.

“A shoal! Who of you keelsons was in charge of the crow's nest?” Kai wanted to know. For a good while none said anything until a timid hand was raised. “Well? Why didn't you notice?” the captain asked impatiently.

The man hummed and hawed, but under Kai's stern stare he confessed: “I fell asleep.”

Kai cursed vividly. “You had this one task to stay awake and make sure we don't crash, but you fell asleep!” The captain made a gruff gesture. “Tie him to the mast and don't take him down before I say so.”

“Please,” the man begged.

But none dared to defy captain's orders, though they pitied the poor guy for his punishment.

“Drop the sails, or the ship will capsize,” Daisy demanded as Kai stomped under deck. She sighed and watched the pirates get to work. Then she set about walking from stern to prow and back thinking about what to do, while the ship rocked against the shoal and ran further aground with every wave splashing against the planks. It was way past noon and almost ebb tide when captain Kai stopped her. “What are you doing? You've skipped both breakfast and lunch,” he asked much calmer, actually concerned.

'Isn't he just the perfect husband?' murmured Daisy sarcastically. 'Only now he comes looking for me.' She sighed and answered: “I spend the day pacing the ship, buried waist-deep in hopeless solutions.”

“And?” Kai tilted his head until his fancy hat was about to fall off.

“Well, we can only hope flood tide will be high enough to carry us off the shoal,” she scrutinized him and winked an eye open before she added, “or else you have to empty the hold and throw all those boxes crammed with silly souvenirs from all the towns we raided over board.”

“Who told you about that?” Kai asked angrily. But he was more embarrassed, really. But Daisy only chuckled and patted his shoulder as she walked past him. “Think about it, Captain Kai. What is more important? Your ship or the bric-a-brac you like to collect?” She strutted off, leaving him to ponder, already knowing what he would choose.

Now what?

As the new year has started you might either be exhausted from all these holidays or energized with good intentions.

Either way, after completing NaNoWriMo in November your work isn't done yet. You may have a first draft but don't make the mistake to publish it as is. Please, don't! A draft is a draft, and it needs serious polishing to become the shining gem it is supposed to be.

January is the perfect time to do this polishing as it's often ugly outside and you usually feel both drained of creativity and motivated to start the year fresh.
You probably haven't touched your work in about a month. So when you open the document again you likely will be surprised what you have achieved to write in November. You will see your story with a fresh set of eyes.
Now read, and read carefully.
As you go, catch all those typos and puctuation errors, reword where necessary, cut too long paragraphs or add to them where they are lacking. You will see, there is much to do.

Be critical, but don't butcher your story.

Get help when you're stuck or story blind. You will want to introduce your draft to your betas soon. Let their comments help you edit. Don't take their criticism too much to heart, but learn from them, accept and adapt. Remember: they want to help you, not harm you.
And by the end of it you will have an improved new draft.

In Between

I hope you had a lovely Christmas holiday with your loved ones.
Did you get a lot of nice presents? Was the feast delicious and your company enjoyable?

As New Year's comes next, I ponder. A lot of things have happened this year ever since I started this blog. Good things, exciting things mostly; but also sad and crazy things that I wouldn't have thought ever to happen. In retrospective the good things almost always weigh out the bad things.
I made new friends and reconciled with old ones. I published two books and a translation of one and wrote another, which is now in beta stage -- both the English and the German edition. I made a promise to marry the one I love! I joined a literature project and found my enrepreneurial spirit.
So I'm taking all these positive things with me and look forward to 2017.
I'm not going to dewll on what might be or should be or could be next year; what's more important is to acknowledge the things I've accomplished and draw strength from that to accept whatever the future has in store for me. All I know is, that it's going to be another exciting year, and I'm looking forward to sharing this with you.

Writing Exercise 051

This is my last writing exercise in November. It had been an eventful and exciting month full of writing, and thus my triple drabble is just about that. :)

2016/11/28 – NaNoWriMo 2016 (triple drabble)

Everything began with November 1^st; no, even before that ideas were forming, plotbunnies were jumping around and waiting to be released. This year was a year of beginnings, of progress and commitment. And NaNoWriMo was just the icing on the cake: fifty thousand words, thirty days, one goal – ready, set, go!

For a while the world passed me by and it was just me and my words. And a promise. Creativity blossomed, chapters sprang into creation, page by page, word by word, letter by letter. Characters came to life, inhabited my dear Neverbeen Universe and invited to come along on their wondrous adventures.

The write ins fuelled my motivation, propelled my wordcount forward. I made new acquaintances, found writing buddies to push through the hardest parts and cheer them on in turn. I truly enjoyed the excited and creative atmosphere and the notion of finding likened minds close to home.

The Dead Pete Society was crowded with bubbling creative heads; sprint after sprint we incited each other's enthusiasm. But I missed them. Separated by oceans, our hearts are reaching out to one another.

November 8^th, and I won, but I wasn't done yet. My novel wasn't finished, so I continued. Two days later the last word was written; 60,894 words crammed into 47 chapters, 60,894 words of ambition and accomplishment, 60,894 words… and I did it!

I celebrated that day.

But I didn't want NaNoWriMo to be over so soon. So I thought of what to do. Then I remembered my other works needed translation, too. Therefore I resumed writing, I continued the fun and the flow and the fantastic feelings. Days swept by, hours ticking beneath the clicking staccato of typing. Before I knew it the end of November is here.

Let's celebrate the finale of an awesome month!

The things to do in November

Aside from NaNoWriMo there are still a lot of things to do. I've just looked at my calendar and I noticed next week is the first Sunday in Advent already!
Time sure runs by fast when you're absorbed by writing. :o

So have you prepared for Advent yet? Are your places decorated with fairy lights and baubles and candles and fir twigs yet? Have you tasted the first gingerbread and speculoos yet?

I'm just getting started. And while I cudgel my brains about Christmas presents for my loved ones I realize it's already this time of the year again...

Certainly you'll feel cozier and more comfortable when the room is dipped in the warmth of candle light, when the baubles gleam and the fir twigs spread their soothing fragrance. You may snuggle on your sofa or armchair with a cup of hot cocoa or tea and be pleased as punch that you don't have to be outside where the first snow of this winter thaws and cold rain patters against your windows.

So get yourselves in the mood for Advent; take your time and find some inspiration how to prepare your home for the coldest but coziest season. Because winter is coming! ;)

I did it!

So far NaNoWriMo has been a blast to me. :D
I've been to two write ins and it was so much fun and motivated writing, that it propelled me forward.
I hit the 50k words on November 8th, and I finished translating my novel 'Ravenous Adventures' on November 10th with a wordcount of 60,894. Wow. That was fast, don't you think? :o
But I decided the story wasn't over until the fat lady sung, and so started translating my second short story collection 'More Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe' and continued NaNo.
In the meantime I'll lay 'Ravenous Adventures' in the hands of my trusty betas and hope they'll like what they read. By the way, I'm looking for more betas, for both the English and the German edition. So if you're interested, tell me. :)

Writing Exercise 048

Despite the fact that I'm pretty busy with translating Ravenous Adventures for NaNoWriMo, I managed to write a little something this week. It's a drabble about... writing. :)
Enjoy!

2016/11/07 – about writing (Drabble)

First there is blankness, whiteness even. Fingers hover above the keyboard, itching to move and press the keys. Then from nowhere – or so it seems – there sparks a thought, or something less than a thought; nothing but a vague image which gradually becomes pin sharp. It morphs until it forms an idea. Suddenly a faint smile, eyes light up briefly – a soundlessly pulled trigger. For a long while nothing but a fast clicking fills the air, as letters destroy the blankness. Abruptly the frantic tapping stops. The creak of a chair, a sip of cooled coffee and a contented sigh.

NaNoWriMo is here!

NaNoWriMo has begun.
Three days in, I'm at over 33k words already. :o

On Tuesday I went to a kick off write in in Essen. There I met a bunch of other authors from the region. At some point we were about twenty people even! Everyone was so motivated, and with the exception of two breaks we wrote and wrote and wrote. It was awesome and amazing. I was totally in the zone, and the people I met were really fascinating and nice. Someone even brought muffins. :D

The location was great, too. You had to pay a low entrance fee, but all the drinks were free and there was a brunch buffet, which was tasty. We had a fireplace chamber all to ourselves and the atmosphere was really cozy and productive. There were even activities like yoga or art exhibitions in this building.

I'd like to go again and write together, but as the other write ins are scheduled for Saturday-Monday, I probably won't make it. Weekends are reserved for my beloved fiancé. <3

Anyway, the members of the Dead Pete Society are equally excited about NaNoWriMo. We're writing and cheering each other on, inciting and motivating. And it feels so good to be in the flow.
It's so much crazy fun, and November has just begun! :D

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!

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. ;)

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:

Winter is always coming

As I realised the day after tomorrow is October 1st, I understood there is but a month until NaNoWriMo. I'm really looking forward to November. It'll be a month full of writing, and I hope I'll be able to reach my goal and finish my novel on time. :D
Anyhow, thinking about November made me think about winter in general. And therefore I have a picture for you, which I drew and colorated with Oc Canvas. It is part of another picture, and those who have read my first book "The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe - Short Story Collection" may know it. So either read my book to see the whole picture or enjoy what you get here. ;)

Long Time no See...

Just a little update on what I've been doing lately... :)