I’m late to camp but . . .

April 4, 2020 at 10:50 am (NaNoWriMo, Writing Inspiration)

Camp-2020-Writer-Web-Badge1

I’m late to camp but here I go!

I’ve signed up for this April edition of Camp NaNoWriMo, and I’m hoping it will help me get writing again. This pandemic thing has been mentally stressful on everyone. For me, it has been a little bit easier because we’d already been through a tornado and a flooding that cut us off ten years ago. That meant we prepped a long time ago. I’m also lucky to have a job where I can work from home. Most of my stress comes from worrying about others, figuring out exactly HOW to work from home, and figuring out how to keep the learning going at home for my daughter. I haven’t really been writing.

BUT, I have kept my writer’s group going weekly through Zoom meetings. This week I presented chapter 5 of my current work-in-progress Firebound. Reviews were favorable with lots of good suggestions for improvement that I plan to implement today. I really want to get working on this book again. To that end, I’ve joined Camp NaNoWriMo 2020 and committed to a 1,000 words a day. (I’m hoping to do more than that but I find setting my goal lower and keeping pressure low helps me start and then I can keep going if I feel up to it. Momentum is a wonderful thing.)

Is anyone else working on a project right now? Have you joined Camp NaNoWriMo or are you going it alone? If nothing else, I highly recommend journaling during this difficult time.

Leave a Comment

Novel Update: Earthbound’s Beginnings

December 10, 2019 at 5:00 am (Writing Inspiration)

Lifeisstrangeandsowewrite

I was trying to think back to when I first started writing “Earthbound” and what inspired it.The only thing I could remember was a single image of a blond man in khaki shorts jumping from one boulder to another then dropping down in front of the heroine. (To be honest, I think it was at least partially inspired by Steve Irwin.) That image didn’t even end up staying in the book.

But was that the only thing that kick started my imagination to write an entire book? Surely not. And when exactly did I start it? I realized I probably started it during a NaNoWriMo month so I went to the projects in my handy dandy NaNo dashboard.

Yes, my Camp NaNoWriMo project for 2014 is titled “Something About Demons.” I only made it 30 words in, but by the time I came back to it in November, it was called, “Among the Angels.”

I still can’t tell you exactly what inspired the novel in the beginning, but I’ll share some of the inspirations behind various aspects of the book in the weeks to come.

“Earthbound” definitely involves some angels, and some fallen angels. It’s still on pre-order for 99 cents for all ebook platforms.

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Johnson_Melora/earthbound.htm

Leave a Comment

Writerly Update: NaNoWriMo in Progress

November 12, 2019 at 5:00 am (NaNoWriMo, Writing Inspiration)

hero_nanowrimo-2019_01

I just love the moments of serendipity that come with working on a new story.

It helps me to visualize my characters if I pick someone to play them in my mind. I finally decided on Friday that a guardian angel character was most like Chris Pratt, at least visually. I was clicking through the television stations that night and landed on American Ninja. Strangely enough, Chris Pratt was guest hosting.

Sometimes it’s a matter of creating those moments out of the things that happen to me. The other night my daughter woke me from a sound sleep where I was dreaming about sleeping (very meta I know.) As she patted the blankets near my head to wake me, in my dream it turned into a ghost attacking me. I woke with my heart racing and adrenaline coursing through my body. First I thought, well it’s going to take a while to get back to sleep after THAT. Then I thought, what a great bit for the story I’m working on!

I also recently saw a picture from my local animal shelter of Rottweiler puppies that were up for adoption. A day or two later it occurred to me that I could use a guardian angel manifesting as a Rottweiler to keep a demon away from my main character’s house.

See how it all comes together? THIS is the most FUN part of writing.

I’m running a little behind, around 10,000 words as of Sunday night, but I’ve now written a couple scenes that I really LOVE.

Leave a Comment

Writing Life Update: Looking Up

October 8, 2019 at 5:00 am (Marketing, Photographs, Writing Inspiration)

KeepLookingUp

This past weekend, my husband and I went away on a 27 ½ hour vacation for our 9th wedding anniversary. I only took a few pictures, but they seemed to have the theme of “looking up.” (We had breakfast on Sunday in a bistro with a stained glass ceiling and then took a walk.)
 
I had a realization about my writing with the same theme.
 
I “owned” the term writer a long time ago. I write, therefore I am a writer.
 
Poet has been a little more difficult to own. I’ve self-published a book of poetry, but to be honest, the fact that it is SELF published reduces the legitimacy in my own mind. The two things that have helped me get there are acceptance by other poets and having had one poem chosen through a blind jury process for a collection. So, I’m a poet.
 
It suddenly occurred to me this weekend, though, that with the imminent release of a novel through Tirgearr Publishing, I can legitimately say I am a poet and a novelist.
 
It was a bit mind-boggling. I’m still reveling in that that.
 
Now, time to get back to writing.

Leave a Comment

Writing Update: Somebody Knows

September 10, 2019 at 5:00 am (Writing Groups, Writing Inspiration, Writing Mechanics)

I do not know how to fill out form

Thank goodness for writer friends!

I’ve been struggling with this story and one of the elements that really had me confounded was whether the main character was part of the Marines or Navy during World War II.
 
He couldn’t be both, right?
 
For certain aspects of the story, it made far more sense that he was part of the Navy, but for other parts it made more sense that he was a Marine.
 
I put this conundrum before some friends and . . . it turns out he CAN be both, just not at the same time.
 
A friend brought up a story about someone he knew of who had been in the Navy on D-Day then honorably discharged and not much later joined the Marines.
 
Problem solved.
 
It is good to have writer friends with whom you can complain . . . I mean “discuss” the problems you are having with your story.
 
It’s good to have friends to discuss your problems with, period.
 
🙂

Leave a Comment

Writing Status Update: Clothes Pegs

September 3, 2019 at 5:00 am (Time Management, Writing Groups, Writing Inspiration)

ClothesPeg

I haven’t written much historical fiction and certainly not something for which there is such a good historical record. Writing something of this nature has advantages and disadvantages. It requires a good bit more research than my regular fiction.

To that end, I’ve been reading Iwo Jima Recon: The U.S. Navy at War, February 17, 1945 by Dick Camp. It has a huge amount of information on the Navy Underwater Demolition Teams – how they volunteered for the job and the training, as well as the Japanese fortifications, bombardment of the island prior to the landing, timing of events, and everything else relevant. It has been fascinating.

I also watched the 2002 movie Windtalkers with Nicholas Cage and Adam Beach. That was much harder. It is a very realistic movie in some ways, depicting the confusion and horror of battle. It was downright nauseating for me at times, but useful.

When writing a story, I try to make use of whatever filters through my brain, and applies. While writing this story, I had a dream that I was in a small house that was picked up, largely intact, and carried into a huge tornado. The next day I wrote that in as part of the back story for one of my two main characters.

At our last writer’s group meeting, a work-in-progress from another writer sparked a discussion on the difference between a clothespin and a clothes peg. That night I dreamt of carving names into clothes pegs so that got written into my story as something a main character’s girlfriend does to remember people who have volunteered for military service, as she hangs the laundry to dry or takes it in.

Now I’m working some more on that big story picture – plot points that I know have to be there and the reality of timing during the reconnaissance with the fictional movements of my characters.

I’ve learned far more than will ever go into this story, but hopefully it will enrich the narrative the way a good broth base does for a soup.

Leave a Comment

Weekly Writing Update: Firebound

July 2, 2019 at 6:00 am (Characterization, NaNoWriMo, Writing Inspiration)

2-WriterWebBadge

 

It’s Camp NaNoWriMo! For those who don’t know, that means July is all about writing something NEW and shiny!

I’ve decided to work on my second novel in the paranormal romance series. This one is titled Firebound. I sat down to work on plotting yesterday and realized . . . I have absolutely no idea where this novel is going. That’s both exciting AND scary.

Right now, what I have is a young woman named Jennifer who is a lapsed Catholic. She died briefly in a car wreck but was resuscitated. While dead, she spoke to an angel. (I figure that’s gotta turn your world upside down.)

She also doesn’t know yet that her best friend is an angel who was born as a human for a lifetime, AND that her friend has been using her talent for healing to speed up and ensure Jen’s burns heal well.

It’s also paranormal romance so there’s the whole love interest thing.

Oh, we got complications, don’t worry. She has burns and is considering becoming a nun now.

See, she is realized she really wasn’t doing much with her life, just minimally working an office job so she could drink too much and chase cute boys. Now she’s waking up to life and wondering what she can do to make a difference in the world?

Her eyes have been opened, literally and figuratively, by the accident and her angel encounter. She can now see the demons lurking in our midst

This should be a fun novel! Battling demons takes time, whether they’re internal or external.

 

Leave a Comment

Weekly Writing Update: One Good Thing

June 25, 2019 at 5:00 am (Short Stories, Writing Inspiration)

John_Dee_and_Edward_Keeley

Have I mentioned that I never thought I’d be writing horror? And yet, here I am.

One good thing happened – a fellow writer just asked if I’d be interested in contributing to an anthology he’s putting together. My mind took off and ran with a story about a Navajo code talker and a Skinwalker during WWII.

And then the coincidences begin to drop. I was texting with a friend and my device changed McFlurry to McClure. Hmm, Mr. McClure isn’t what he seems, my brain said. Definitely a character for the story. The next day I was sitting at the Reference Desk at work and someone called with the last name of McClure. Strange, indeed.

In other good news, I’ve submitted my humorous horror story, Sinkholes, which features creepy doll heads, to The Literary Hatchet this weekend – keeping my fingers crossed.

I’m also working on cutting 1,500 words from my horror ghost story, Long Distance Call, to submit by the end of the month to Coffin Bell Journal.

And I’ve got another horror story in my head that plays with two men in a family line living 100 years apart in the same house, going through the same motions, making similar bad choices.

It seems horror is definitely running in my veins.

Leave a Comment

Weekly Writing Update: Aliens and Autism

May 28, 2019 at 9:25 am (Characterization, Editing, Short Stories, Writing Inspiration)

Earth

Weekly Writing Update
 
Well, I drafted my creepy doll head flash fiction story in short order so now my brain is percolating a story I started a year ago and mean to finish SOON. It is a science fiction with a main character who is a formerly non-verbal autistic teenage girl.
 
I had the good fortune to be contacted last year, just after I started the story, by a woman who is formerly non-verbal and autistic. I am going to think about her speech patterns and some things she had to say and let that inform the story.
 
I think I was coming at it from the wrong angle and I’ve gone back to the drawing board. I feel like I got off base by trying to write the story the way I write other stories. It’s definitely going to be third person and use the two very strange dreams I had about alien contact. We’ll see what else I find over the next few days for inspiration.
 
I’m very excited to feel like I’m back on track with this one. It’s definitely not horror. I’m going to be working on investing it with a feeling of wonder and awe. Wish me luck!

Leave a Comment

Writing Update: Pulling Weeds

May 21, 2019 at 5:00 am (Editing, Writing Inspiration)

Hosta

 

I had an anthology all picked out to submit my horror story, Long Distance Call, to but I found the button on Submittable was for submitting to one of their OTHER publications. Sent them an email and now I wait. I figure I’ll give them two weeks before I move on.

It’s the perfect time of year for writing – you can go out and weed while you work out some plot points. Any repetitive work is GREAT for the imagination but I love weeding. There’s the sun and the breeze and the satisfaction of seeing the detritus cleared away so the plants you want to thrive can use the nutrients.

I also started writing another short story in the horror vein.

I never would have thought it . . . me? Horror? Apparently, yes.

Why write horror? Maybe because it’s a retreat from the horrors we read in the news. Or maybe it’s just the joy of the twists and turns. The prompt for this one was creepy dolls and then I came across another note I had made for myself that I wanted to write something having to do with sinkholes. It all falls together. 🙂 

Leave a Comment

« Older entries