#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/09

Posted on 2013/10/09 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

I have not one but three possible ideas for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Going the novella route, one option is to write five to seven 10K novellas covering a day over the course of a week. I just need to keep in mind that each novella needs to be engaging and self-contained. To do this, I have story ideas that seemed disparate at first but now have the potential to link up in an overall story arc.

EDIT: Thought of a different idea while responding to comments. Perhaps I can tell the same story over the course of twenty-four hours (or a reasonable duration for a novella) but each novella is told from a different POVs. So excited. 🙂

READING:

As part of my Coursera class Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World, I have a boatload to read. Here’s an author list so you get an idea: Grimm, Carroll, Stoker, Shelley, Hawthorne, Poe, Wells, Burroughs, Gilman, Bradbury, LeGuin, and Doctorow.

If you know them just by their last names, you know it’s epic. A feast for the eyeballs, to be sure. That there is plenty of Fantasy and Science Fiction to fill my cranium for the next little while.

Dare I dream that one day you will know the name dela Luna, as well? 🙂

NETWORKING:

I like the forums within the workshops as it lends to peer-teaching and interaction which is pretty neat. I enjoy the discourse and healthy debate over plenty of subjects. That is, of course, when the forums cooperate.

LEARNING:

Three languages. One me. Duolingo offers a lot for a free app. Gotta love free good stuff.

Udemy is offering classes on learning how to learn. It might sound kooky but I’m finding it enlightening. We’re taught what to learn in school but not how to learn it. These classes help you approach new topics and pretty much takes the formation of new thoughts and ideas from a completely new and fresh perspective.

Yeah, I’m a nerd, but learning just got more fun. Bonus? No exam pressure. That was probably the worst thing about my tenure in the educational realm.

Tomorrow, I’m going on a sisterly excursion to Toronto. Haven’t been back in almost twenty years. Seeing places of old that become new again has given me an idea for my next FRIDAY FORAGE post. Stay tuned.

Week in Review – 2013/09/30 – 2013/10/06

Posted on 2013/10/06 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

I’m storming the brain for possible contingency plans for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Meanwhile I’ve come up with new ideas–too many–and have even distracted myself with some fangirl ideas. I came up with a fanfic story for a 13th Doctor, a girl!

Downside, I haven’t narrowed down my plethora of ideas. Upside, I have a plethora of ideas. haha

READING:

Finished a beta read and have to sink my teeth into book reviews and critiques. And also the many workshops I’m taking now and from before. Ugh. Any word on that speed reading course yet, people?

NETWORKING:

There’s a new check-in for #wipmadness and #ROW80 this week. Maybe I can tap other creative minds on upcoming project idea whittling.

LEARNING:

Thankfully, an area that is never lacking is my edification. Along with Spanish and French, I’ve now taken up German on Duolingo. Good thing, too, my sister’s joined up and is taking French and German, as well.

Udemy has taught me in the ways of time management, writing, and new ways of thinking. I love soaking in all the innovation.

At Savvy Authors I’m taking Character Development with Mary McCall and Putting the Suspense in Romantic Suspense with Dee Lloyd. They run through to the end of the month and I hope they’ll help sort out my current Entangled entanglement.

I have a class starting on Coursera tomorrow. It’s called Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. How awesome is it that universities all over the map offer free and intriguing courses? Score one for perpetual learning!

Busy week ahead including a little romp back east. It’s going to be weird returning to places I haven’t seen in half my life. Seriously.

Excited for the zaniness ahead. How goes it for you?

FRIDAY FORAGE – 2013/10/04

Posted on 2013/10/04 by Tonette dela Luna

5 BITS OF HARD & SOFTWARE TO HELP UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY

We’re a few days shy of a month away from the annual global writing phenom known as NaNoWriMo. Perhaps it’s time to get crackin’, yes?

1) MIND MAPS

( via the24hourtala )

There are loads of software programs and apps out there that can help you create mind maps. A mind map is an outflowing of ideas that can begin with a single word. Using simple word association, new ideas can be formed. This process can be used in fiction writing or in other projects, as well. I haven’t tried any apps yet, though when I do, I’ll be sure to review them.

In the meantime, there are old school ways to create a mind map. The easiest way is pen to paper (or get creative with colored pens!). Other options are whiteboards, blackboards, etc.

What I’ve used for mind mapping and brainstorming are my mirrored closet doors. It was a delayed realization of a convenient resource after I’d already purchased two rolls of now still unused whiteboard adhesive stickers. It’s a great way to get the ideas flowing no matter how you like to map them. 🙂

2) INDEX CARDS

( via Sarah Ockler )

Much like mind maps, these can be tangible or found as software applications. An app I’ve used that syncs between devices is Noti and it’s great in a pinch. There’s also a section within the Scrivener app wherein you can index card your brains out–more on that later.

Of course, as we reminisce fondly on our school days, ahem, if that’s something we do, there are also the beloved 3×5 or 4×6 beauties that come lined, unlined, or in an array of colors for your organizational convenience.

What can you do with them? Throw out ideas, character names, settings, story prompts. Shuffle them and draw one out to get you going.

If you’re already in the prep stages of novel creation, you can use index cards to plan out your scenes. Short sentences and phrases helps you create a path from beginning to end and the ease of portability allows you to reorganize ideas to avoid a sagging middle.

Regardless of the method, index cards (or post-its for the sticky loving writers) do wonders.

3) GOOGLE IMAGES

( via Fox News )

Remember how I said previously that a picture’s worth a thousand words? Well, I didn’t come up with that notion nor did I come up with this next nifty trick.

I love to dream cast my books. To do that, I tap into the wonderful world of Hollywood and look up faces to go with my names. I base these choices on the actor’s work as well as their appearance. Oh, and it’s not limited to people. It’s a great way to look for settings, as well.

Case in point, most of the images I come up with for posts are from sites like Google Images.

While we’re at it, let’s give shout outs to Tumblr and Pinterest, as well. When it comes to visuals, you get the idea and with these sites, you may actually get ideas.

4) TIMERS

( via Contest Timer )

Online, offline, your watch, your stove. Anything that ticks and anything that dings will do the trick. Timers can help you unleash hidden gems and really tap into your creative core. Use timers to do free writing. You can set the time to whatever you want and it forces yourself to churn out the words before the timer buzzes.

Writing sprints are always great to get those word counts and knowing that you’ve got a deadline ticking away is a great motivator. (For more insane motivation try Write Or Die.)

Another use for a timer is to let yourself and those around you know that for that entire time, YOU ARE WRITING AND MUST NOT BE DISTURBED. Common writing courtesy, yo!

5) SCRIVENER

( via Literature & Latte )

Last but certainly not least, Scrivener. It’s your one-stop writing shop. You can go from conceptualization to fruition with this program. In the drafting stage they have sections for research, brainstorms, index cards, and even pictures. There are different templates to use and subsections to organize all your work. There’s even an export feature that can help you instantly convert your novel into an ebook format.

There’s so much to talk about with Scrivener that it needs it’s own post. Suffice it to say, considering I have a handful of the top writing programs already at my fingertips, Scrivener is the one I keep coming back to for my writing.

=8=

So, hope this FRIDAY FORAGE has whet your writing appetite, if you haven’t already begun. I’m using these posts to psych myself up. Otherwise, my procrastinating self will end up scrambling the night before while handing out candy to strangers.

Happy writing… and planning… and brainstorming… and dreaming. NaNoWriMo is coming.

October Goals

Posted on 2013/10/01 by Tonette dela Luna

Last Quarter of 2013: Are you Ready?

( via freimaurer32 )

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite shows, here’s THE ROAD SO FAR:

WRITING:

This year, I came up with four new stories: Hamelin, The Curse of Briar Rose (a reframing of the story premise morphed it into Aaralyn’s Song), all YA Fantasy, A Love Less Ordinary, a contemporary (possibly Women’s Fiction), and a boatload of new story ideas.

I did the Blogging A to Z Challenge in April, along with Camp NaNoWriMo, SavvyAuthors Boot Camp.

I also participated in JuNoWriMo, July’s Camp NaNoWriMo, JulNoWriMo, and AugNoWriMo.

Just when I thought I was WriMo’d out, I spent September revising Imprint, a Spec Fiction Thriller.

All this writing was just for my WIP. I also had various workshop assignment, as well, as my blog posts along with my FRIDAY FORAGE series.

READING:

I think I’ve read close to thirty-five books this year. Lately, the focus has been on writing reference or anything to do with how the brain works.

Outside of actual books, I’ve been eyeballs-deep in critiques, beta reads, and book reviews. I suppose all the strain on the eyes was to make up for the exhaustion on the digits from the writing.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been dealing with a fractured thumb and seasonal allergies. The allergy shot regimen has made all the aforementioned tasks an interesting challenge.

NETWORKING:

The writing community continues to grow and now that I’m a mod at SavvyAuthors and the WFWA Forums, the reach seems to be boundless.

LEARNING:

I’ve expanded my horizons with Udemy, and Duolingo. More learning experiences are coming up this month with Coursera. Gotta keep the brain active. 🙂

All that plus some mad ukelele playing and I’m all set.

=8=

OCTOBER WRITING:

Major prep needed for my upcoming November challenge with Entangled Smackdown. It was supposed to be a Thriller but since that imprint isn’t included in the challenge, I think I’ll write for the novella imprint. Problem is, what word count will I focus on? The imprint requires 10K-15K words but the challenge is 50K. Do I write multiple novellas? Good thing I have a month to plan. This time, actually plan. No matter how many times I have the intent to plan for a WriMo, something happens and I end up outlining in a forty-eight hour window.

I’ll still work on my other WIPs, old and not-as-old. The writing never stops.

OCTOBER READING:

The reading tasks haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve increased. All good stuff, however. I’m keeping an open mind–and still looking for a speed reading course.

OCTOBER NETWORKING:

Modding and communicating with the writing world continues. Accountability keeps us moving forward and that’s what it’s all about.

OCTOBER LEARNING:

More brain boosts with Udemy, Coursera, Duolingo. I’m on Level 10 in Spanish and Level 7 in French. I’m adding German to the mix, just because. With the other learning opportunities, I’m learning about writing, time management, fitness, and everything in between. It’s an exciting time and fortuitous to have the internet. There’s no limit to attaining knowledge and bettering ourselves.

=8=

The last three months of this highly productive year are about to roll on. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Care to join me?

( via 00_jack_00 )

Week in Review – 2013/09/23 – 2013/09/29

Posted on 2013/09/29 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

Last Week in Review for September and I’m already thinking about November writing challenges. More info on Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Turns out if I’m signed up for that I can’t do the SavvyAuthors NaNo Bootcamp because that’s on a different forum. I suppose I can live with that. haha Less crazy for this crazy gal. My desired suspense imprint isn’t among those participating. The only one that would fit my potential story is their Flirt Imprint. Since the challenge is to write 50K in November and this imprint is for novellas of 10K-15K words in length, maybe I can write a series or episodes? More pondering in the next six weeks.

READING:

Aside from the classes, beta reads, critiques, and my WIPs, I’ll be reading craft books in preparation for November. This is a serious one. Woot.

NETWORKING:

I’m super embarrassed that I missed the chat last Wednesday. Not that this is a defence, but it was my birthday and the familiar wanted to cheer me up because of my fracture. It’s weird because I’m always an hour early to those things and that day, I completely spaced for the first time. Huh. I’ll get on the ball for the next one. Also looking forward to the teams for Entangled Smackdown. Should be fun.

LEARNING:

I’m on Level 10 in Spanish and Level 7 in French on Duolingo. I’m considering starting a third language next month–or rather, in two days. Portuguese, German, or Italian? I’d flip a coin if I had one with three sides.

Jamming with Bilbo aside, I can’t stop thinking about my WIP to be for November. I suppose that’s a good thing, right? Soooo excited!