Tag Archives: Plot

I Really Love Fanfiction

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Fanfiction is one of my favorite things.  I go through it in waves- I read a lot of it in high school and my 1st year or two of college.  I read it sporadically for several years, but I’ve been reading a lot of it lately. 

I love reading it because it’s interesting to see what everyone does with the characters.  Sometimes you have to wade through a lot of bad fanfiction to find the good, but the good stories make the search worth it.   

I like writing fanfiction too- the possibilities are endless.  Fanfiction plays into the whole “what-if” thing.  It gives me a chance to focus on just writing, and also writing in a specific world with specific characters.  Writing fanfiction is a way for me to get out the what-if’s going through my head, as well as a way for me to develop characters without…coming up with my own.  After all, what better way to get better at writing than to use already established characters and an already established world?

Don’t get me wrong, I love creating my own characters and everything, but some of my earliest fiction writing is fanfiction.  It’s really interesting to see the change from my 1st fanfic to now, so about 8 years or so, when I made the jump from personal journals to fanfiction, and eventually to original fiction.  Writing it gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing and to eventually start coming up with my own ideas. 

I honestly know nothing about fanfiction and copyright laws, other than some authors are in favor of fanfiction, while other authors aren’t, so that’s something to take into consideration when writing fanfiction.  I know J.K. Rowling doesn’t mind fanfiction, so I know I’m safe with Harry Potter fanfiction.  I should probably look into that, since it’ll probably be a good thing to know about, so it’ll have to go on my list of things to do. 

Fanfiction really is interesting though, because there are so many different ideas out there. and it’s always interesting to see what other people come up with.  For me, if writing fanfiction works for you (and you’re not doing anything illegal or breaking any copyright laws or anything), I say go for it.

I Am So Proud of Myself

Posted in General, HP & The Giant Prehistoric Chicken, Other Projects by

I actually planned a couple of my plot bunnies.  Not really planning, but more coming up with notes.  And I even worked on Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken!

Not much, mind you, but a little.  Like 20 or 30 words.  But it’s the most I’ve worked on it since November, which is a big improvement over the fact that I’ve done absolutely nothing with it.

I don’t have many many notes on my plot bunnies, but I have a few.  And I have characters!  With names!  That’s all I have, but it’s a start, and I can stop referring to them as those nameless people that I need to name and think about. 

We have Kaylee Jane Daniels, who stumbles across a mysterious group of people.  She 1st heard about this group of people through someone she met, and soon sees them everywhere.  I’m still trying to decide how she meets this person, but I have a couple of ideas.  She definitely doesn’t think anything of it, and even laughs it off, until she starts seeing them herself. 

I have a very vague idea of her job, but she tells her boss, thinking she’s crazy.  Her boss, however, becomes worried that Kaylee’s seeing mysterious people everywhere.  I’m not sure why it’s important, and in the end, it might not be important.  But right now, it is.  It seems very ominous. 

One of my goals is to have a character profile done for Kaylee and her boss done by Saturday.  I’d also like to get one done for the person that tells Kaylee about the mysterious group of people.

I will also write at least 1oo words each for the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, Turning Point and one of my other Harry Potter fanfics. And I’ll post if I actually get any of this done.

Bread and Other Scary Things

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Baking bread scares me.  It always seemed so hard and time-consuming.  However, I’ve decided that I need to overcome this fear, and try baking bread. 

I’ve already started looking at some recipes, and some look a lot easier than others, so I think I’ll start off with the easy-looking ones first, and work my way up.  By easy-looking recipes, I mean the ones where’s there no kneading required (or in some cases, minimal kneading).  Or the ones with minimal rising.  The two actually seem to go hand-in-hand.  Even the ones with a lot of rising and kneading don’t seem to bad, but I think it’ll be easier for me to work my way up.  I’ll be sure to post pictures of all my successes and failures.

Running.  It scares me and I definitely don’t want to look stupid while doing it.  Granted, it’ll be quite some time before I’m even ready to run, because I’m way out of shape.  And I really shouldn’t worry about looking stupid, but the other people at the gym!  They don’t look like they worry about looking stupid, even though I’m sure the thought is going through their minds.  Some of them anyway. 

I suppose I should pick a writing-related goal that scares me.  There isn’t anything in particular that scares me, although actually continuing to work on something is a little weird.  Okay, maybe actually finishing something is a little scary.  But I suppose actually finishing something is somewhat dependant on how much I like what I’m working on.  Of course, this is the 1st time I’ve wanted to finish anything.  It was going to happen eventually.  But whether I can actually get my butt in the chair (in my case, on my bed) and write is a completely different story.    

Besides, now is as good a time as any to do things that scare me.  How else are I going to get over my fears if I don’t face them?

Things Are Moving Along!

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Things are moving along in NaNoland. 

  • Hermione’s researching up a storm, and the professor’s are starting to figure out something’s going on because it’s weird, even for Hermione. 
  • Harry’s having dreams that may or may not be predicting the future. 
  • Chloe came close to committing suicide again, and blames her mother for everything that’s gone wrong in her life. 
  • Dustin wants to get married someday, but his job takes up too much of his time.  There’s potential for him to give it all up but it would depend on the girl, and if she’s the “right girl.” 
  • Kiora’s aunt Audrey is the one behind the threats, and probably the kidnappings too. 
  • Blake has dropped off the face of the earth, and I have no idea where he is or what he’s doing. 

Secret Service Novel: 28,444; Kiora and Dustin are now in Texas.  This changes their relationship forever.  I remembered the title: Turning Point seems appropriate since getting secret service protection changes Kiora’s life forever.

Harry Potter fanfic: 30,285; things are really starting to move along.  Hermione’s considering a teaching career post-Hogwarts, so she’s working with McGonagall, Flitwick and Bill Weasley to help her decide if she wants to teach and in what subject.

2006 Sequel: 29,023; I wrote 2,000 words today for it, which makes me happy, and really helped close the gap that I had.  Being a thousand words behind is very manageable. 

Grand total: 87,752; I’m happy with this number.  It might not be where I want it to be, but I can live with it.  I like the pattern of Harry Potter/2006 sequel/secret service novel.  I’m doing well with the 1st and last novel, so I figure it’s a good day if I can start off with something that’ll boost my confidence, followed by something I’m struggling with, followed by something I’m doing well with to remind me that something is doing well.

And The Typos Keep Flooding In

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It really is amazing the misspellings that occur in a month.  I thought I’d share some of the more notable things that I’ve managed to type in the last couple weeks from my harry potter fanfic.  As usual, any comments in parantheses are my thoughts and everything is copyright me:

  • “She ran after fred, screaming arr at him.”  (the image that popped into my head is mrs. weasley dressed up as a pirate, chasing fred with a sword.)
  • “You’re a smart woth” (what’s a woth?)
  • “d.a.a., helping fred and george with he joke ship, and she’s resarcong the giant prehistoric chicken” (1- what’s the D.A.A., and 2- what’s a joke ship?)

there’s a few other ones, but I never marked where they were…so those will wait until I can look through it and see where they were.

Secret Service Novel: 26,592; I had a great title…and promptly forgot it.  I’m slightly off of where I want to be, but I have some interesting ideas to work with.  Today, Kiora took a trip to the future.  She went ahead 3 years, and apparently, somehow, started something (that’s yet to be determined) with dustin when they were in texas escaping her aunt audrey.

Harry Potter Fanfic: 26,860; george has admitted to liking hermione, if only she would admit she has feelings for him. 

2006 sequel: 26,712; chloe found a letter hidden under a rock in her front yard from her dad to her mom, and is now embarking on a scavenger hunt to find him.

Grand total: 80,164; knowing I’m halfway there is such a relief!

I Must Not Forget Why I’m Doing This

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I remember when I first heard about NaNo.  It was October 2005, and I thought I wouldn’t have the time to do it.  It turned out, though, that I had plenty of time for NaNo, and I immediately regretted the decision not to participate.  I vowed that I would do it the following year.  And every since 2006, I’ve done NaNo.  I started out doing NaNo as someone who loves to write, and as someone who wanted to finish a story for once.  I’ve started a few stories (mostly in high school) and never finished.  Since starting NaNo, I’ve (mostly) finished everything I’ve started.  While my november drafts are never completely finished (as rough drafts are never are), they are much more finished than anything I’ve ever started.  Since my first NaNo, november has become the one time of the year that I know I can finish what I set out to do. 

It’s also like summer camp in a way.  I’ve never been to summer camp, but it has the feeling of seeing people you haven’t seen all year.  I’ve met some great people through NaNo that I know I’ll talk to for years to come. 

I used to write a lot in high school, and my first couple years in college.  And then, suddenly, I was writing less and less, until the only time I actually write anything is during NaNo.  It’s like my brain knows that writing happens only during November. 

There’s a great sense of achievement and satisfaction on December 1st knowing that I’ve just written a novel.  And even though I know I probably won’t edit it (though I’ve made a couple half-hearted attempts), I still wrote a novel in a month. 

This time around, I’ve been writing everyday, and I’ve been remembering why I started doing NaNo, and how much I love writing.  I have a strong feeling that this year will be the year that I keep writing post-November.

Secret Service: 19,917; none of the secrets have been revealed, but it looks like kiora will be getting a visit from one of her aunts. 

Harry Potter Fanfic: 20,059; things are moving along at a great pace.  I am deviating a bit from Order of the Phoenix, but then again that’s the point of fanfiction, right?

2006 sequel: 19,995; I took a break from moving things foward, and went back to one of my skipped over chapters.  It was a nice break from where things were going, and it definitely provided me with some stuff that’ll be helpful for the rest of the month.

Grand total: 59,971; I’m just under where I want to be, about I’m slowly creeping up on the halfway mark, which means that things will start to get easier.  I should be able to add a few thousand words tonight.

The Problems of the Giant Prehistoric Chicken Are Solved!

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As you know, I’ve been having some trouble writing my Harry Potter fanfiction, and I think I’ve managed to figure out why I’ve had so much trouble with it.  First of all, I think I was trying to mimic J.K. Rowling style a little too much.  Secondly, I was trying to mimic the structure of her novels a little to much.  And the last reason I’ve been having trouble is becasue I’m trying to keep everyone too much in character.  Now that I’ve been able to focus on my writing style, I’ve been having a much easier time writing it.  As far as mimicking her structure and keeping the characters as they are in the novels, I’ve decided to throw that out the window for the month.  I’m now losely following her novel structure, and the characters are still themselves, but I’m changing things a bit for the month.  Hopefully I’ll have an easier time writing it now, but if not, it’s a project that’ll wait for another month.

Secret Service Novel: I haven’t worked on this novel today, so there’s no updated wordcount, but I’m confident that I’ll get the 1667.

Harry Potter: 11,707; I don’t have anything to add to my above paragraph.  As a side note, Deathly Hollows Part 1 looks really epic.

2006 Sequel: 11,739; No thoughts on this one, other than to say that it constantly surprises me. 

Wordcount: 33,757; that’s taking into account the fact that I haven’t written anything for my secret service novel.  assuming I get the 1667, I’ll be at around 35,400 words. 

 

Fun Tidbits

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My novels are really starting to develop a mind of their own, and I thought I would share a few of the things that have come up in the last few days.

  • chloe ends up in rehab/treatment facility because she came dangerously close to attempting suicide
  • kiora goes to a private prep school in D.C., and apparently is more extroverted than I had planned her to be
  • kyle, who is one of kiora’s secret service agents, is married and has a 10 year old daughter
  • blake (kiora’s dad) is apparently the secretary of education
  • mike is in love with chloe
  • george and hermione are headed towards a relationship
  • there are other ways to go to the underworld besides dying
  • there’s a ritual involving the giant prehistoric chicken, and it go either bad or good, depending on the intentions of the person in charge of the ritual

I also added a new link under the resources section: it’s a link to Q10 which is completely awesome.  I don’t use it nearly enough, but every time I do, I’m reminded of how great it is.  It’s pretty similar to notepad, but even cooler.  even with the internet on, it’s impossible for me to get distracted by anything because you can’t minimize the screen.  Or if you can, I haven’t figured out how to do that.  Actually, it’s probably a really good idea if I don’t know that.  I don’t need distractions because I’m distracted enough as it is.  Plus it makes the most awesome sound when you type.

Secret Service: 10,311; I’ve pretty much shown kiora at school or at home.  She lives in D.C., and I’m totally not taking advantage of that.  I must focus on that in the coming weeks.  And I’m not showing a lot of conflict.  Some, but not much.  What makes this more sad is that I have a pretty decent list of possible conflict.

Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken: 10,012;  I’m finally all caught up.  However, I’m still not feeling the story, so I may just randomly change directions, and ignore everything I’ve just written.  If I still find myself bored with it in a week, I’ll reevaluate and take things from there.  I think there are things that aren’t allowing me to have fun with this, which I’ll talk more about tomorrow.

2006 Sequel: 10,021; it’s taken a very interesting turn.  it’s definitely deviating from my plans on this one.  I have a great list of things that would get in the way of her writing, but sadly, I’m not using it.  But I’m taking this newfound idea and running with it. 

Total Wordcount: 30,344, which means I’m all caught up.  let’s hope it stays that way.

Music

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Music plays an integral role in my writing.  I love writing to music, and when I’m stuck, oftentimes I draw inspiration from music. 

I love Pandora- it has some great music, and since I’m always looking for something new to listen to, chances of finding something I’ve never heard before is pretty likely.  With Pandora, there’s only a limited times I can skip songs, so I can’t be distracted by changing stations every few minutes.  A lot of my stations are finely tuned as well, so for the most part I’m not skipping through songs. 

I do have specific playlists for each novel, and if I’m anything like last year, then I’ll listen to the playlist part of the time, and the rest of the time I’ll probably listen to whatever.

As far as playlists go, I pick music that I think best describes my novel.  I also pick music based on music that my characters like.  They definitely are soundtracks for my novels, as well as my inspiration for where to go next. 

One example is Kiora, from my 1st novel.  She loves Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, The Gin Blossoms, and Black Stone Cherry so those artists will definitely be in rotation. 

As far as specific songs go, Many the Miles by Sara Bareilles, What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts, and Crush by David Archuleta are all expected to played a lot.  While romance is on the backburner, it will definitely by hinted at, so Crush accurately describes how Kiora feels about Blake.  

Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken is another example.  I’ll be heavily relying on the soundtracks from the 1st 2 Harry Potter movies, the music from A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel, and the music from Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, and Gred and Forge.  I hoping that by listening to Harry Potter-themed music (some serious, and others not so much) I’ll be in Harry Potter mode.

As far as my 3rd novel, the songs are super-random.  While there’s definitely going to be some drama, which is reflected by song such as It’s Been Awhile by Staind, Wonderwall by Oasis and Happy by Leona Lewis, there will also be a lot of light moments as well.  The lighter moments will be reflected in songs like Barbie Girl by Aqua, Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!

Plot #3

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Today’s topic is my third novel, which like Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, is a combo of 2 different ideas. 

Originally I was going to write about an author who keeps getting derailed from writing their novel while trying to get fired from their job.  There was the shiny new idea of writing a sequel to my 2006 novel.  I realized that I could combine the two rather easily because my female main character Chloe (from my 2006 nano) wants to be a bestselling author, and could use some extra time to write. 

Weird things are definitely going to happen to keep her from writing, and there will be all kinds of work drama for her as well.  She can’t quit her job because she’s a full-time student, and she’s completely on her own, with no family to help her out.  Her dad’s not in the picture and her mom and grandparents died in a car crash.  Her aunts and uncles are out of the picture because they kicked her out of her childhood home.  She does have a few friends who would have no problem helping her out and supporting her, but she doesn’t want to be a burden on them, so she’s feeling really trapped.

Chloe has a lot of trust issues, which stemmed from a multitude of family issues.  Her mom worked a minimum wage job, and had some emotional issues.  She had an abusive aunt and an abusive uncle (and by the way, they aren’t married to each other), her other aunt and uncle could care less about Chloe, and her two cousins were spoiled brats who lived to make Chloe suffer. 

She still has a lot of issues to work through this time around, and it’ll be more of a struggle for her as she tries to balance things.  It won’t be as depressing as 2006, but there will definitely be a sense of darkness lurking in the background.  Things haven’t been easy for her, and that won’t change for this novel either.  She is pretty tough, so she’ll be okay.