Just a Snippet - From NaNoWriMo 2014

We’d had the locks changed and started using the alarm system again. I stopped taking Peaches on her daily afternoon walks, unless my mom was home and could go with me. Every morning before I drove to school, I opened the back door of my car and made sure no one was hiding there. I never opened the blinds anywhere in the house any more. When I left work, I always had someone walk me out, even if it meant waiting around an extra 30 minutes before a co-worker was free. Before I got in, I checked the backseat again obsessively. I stopped answering the home phone. I quit eating. I couldn't sleep, because every little sound I heard woke me up and made me convinced someone was in the house. And I saw him everywhere, even when he wasn’t really there.
 That was how Dylan broke me down, piece by piece.

How is NaNoWriMo 2014 going for you? I've been perpetually behind for the last week, but hope to log in some extra words to make up for it this weekend.

The Power of a Playlist

A few years ago, while listening to the song "Digital Ghost" by Tori Amos, the plot of a book came into my head. I pictured a boy and girl who had been childhood friends but never let a romantic relationship fully develop. Eventually they grew up and apart, and the female character became ill, and the only way the two could connect was through a virtual universe, like the lyrics suggest:

It started as a joke

Just one of my larks to see

if somehow I could reach you so

I swam into your shores

Through an open window

Only to find you all alone

Curled up with machines

Now it seems you're slipping

Out of the land of the living

The plot of this particular book has gone through many changes and revisions, but I developed a playlist on iTunes that I listen to specifically when I'm working on it. In fact, I have quite a few playlists created for books I have either written part of or am saving for a later date. Here are just a few of the songs on that playlist:

Sky Blue and Black - Jackson Browne

Joey - Concrete Blonde

Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead

Lay Me Down - The Connells

Comes and Goes (In Waves) - Greg Laswell

The Letter - Natalie Merchant

Fix You - Coldplay

Life is Beautiful - Vega

Breathe Again - Sara Bareilles

Digital Ghost and Bouncing off Clouds - Tori Amos

Every time that playlist starts up on iTunes, it makes me smile. It also reminds me to get back to work, and transports me to the world I've created in that book. I'm so grateful that music is such a powerful inspiration to me.

Do you have specific music/playlists you listen to while you're writing?

When Random Characters Appear . . .

Sometimes we can't control the creative process, no matter how hard we try. There are so many times when I've sat down in front of my computer to work on a piece of fiction, and a completely different character appeared on the pages. I'm trying to learn how to let those characters have a voice, even if I don't like what they have to say very much.
For example, I've been working on a middle-grade fiction novel, and it's taken off in a completely unexpected direction. What originally started out as a "don't judge a book by its cover" theme has evolved into a story about bullying and how hard elementary school can be. I suppose it's to be expected. My own years in elementary school were very difficult and I definitely encountered my fair share of "mean girls," so I'm trying to go with where the story is taking me. I wanted the book to be lighthearted and fun, but maybe, just maybe, based on my own life experiences, I have a different story to tell.
Regardless, I'm 7,000 words into a 20,000 word goal, and I began working on this story on Nov. 1. I decided to do my own modified version of NaNoWriMo. Based on what I've accomplished so far, I'm thinking the narrator of this book definitely has something important to say.
Happy writing!

Fiction Writing Competition

I hope you're enjoying researching writing competitions as an additional avenue for your work. Writer's Market has a section devoted specifically for contests and awards, and I found the following competition in the 2009 edition:
The Glimmer Train sponsors a "November Short-Story Award for New Writers." Submit any work of fiction that hasn't appeared in a nationally-distributed publication with a circulation over 5,000.Word count is 1,200-12,000 words. Submit online at www.glimmertrain.org. $15 entry fee. Submit Nov 1-30. Winner receives $1,200 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories. Runners-up receive $500 and $300.