The group DAOCC has been publishing a series of interviews regarding OCs/original stories, and I'm this week's interviewee with Was. (Because I don't post the most recent chapters on my writing LJ doesn't mean I've stopped working on this story, on the contrary and far from it.)

For those who might be interested, you can read it here.

Please comment here to be added!

( Read more... )

Here's the second part, because the whole story is a little too long for poor LJ to handle, and I didn't want it to be truncated just anywhere.
And isn't Chandler just cute? Haha.

( MISPLACED - PART II )</em>

Yeah.

The girl who didn't plan on NaNoWriting this year has broken through the 70k barrier.
In 14 days.
I guess the best way for me to do something is indeed not to plan on doing it. XD

On a side note, I'm wondering whether I should post what I'm writing here.
It's not exactly Was per se, but it's still about Echoes (well, Echoes as a Virtual Adept in the world of Mage: the Ascension). Some things are different... but then, some others are similar.
And it's been fun to write anyway. =)

Oh the hell with that.

I've been writing anyway, and I'm on a roll, and so I might as well officially take part in NaNoWriMo this year.
Also I'm on sick leave for the whole week, so it's not like I have anything better to do. *sigh*

Work title is "Fragments". Considering the format I'be picked, and who the narrator is and what he is in this alternate universe adaptation, it's quite fitting.

The reason why I haven't posted anything in October regarding NaNoWriMo is, all that simply, that I didn't plan on doing it.

I had an idea for a story, and it would've been something fun, so there's not problem regarding that. I just didn't want to tackle NaNo this year, much like I did (or didn't, rather?) on 2008, due to wanting to focus more easily on my competitive exam. I wouldn't have that much time for it if I were to do more things in November than doing my full-time job.

I don't want to say I'm not writing anything, because it's not true. I just don't want the pressure, since I'm not thriving this time towards completing a novel, and am working on more than just one story. More specifically:
* I've had ideas to rework some chapters of Was; adapting Ewan as a character for M:tA surprisingly made me come up with background elements that can help me tie some loose ends I didn't know until now what to do with. So that's an excellent thing.
* I'm also working on writing 'reports' of those M:tA gaming sessions. It's pretty funny to do, because, telling them from my character's point of view, I decided to write these in the shape of Twitter-like statuses, mirroring his thoughts at the moment events happen. I had never used such a written form in a work of fiction, and it's really, really fun and interesting.

And, believe it or not, I've written a little over 12200 words since November 1st.
With an additional 27k just on October 26 and 27.
This for the M:tA session report only.

I'm still unsure about what to do. Shall I declare myself as doing NaNo all the same, in a way? It's sure not regular NaNoing.
Or shall I just write, and not bother about doing anything official?
Hmmmr.

School starts again on Monday (and on tomorrow for me, with various staff meetings already), so of course this means "oh, hey, Mind, let's focus on totally useless things—everything but school work". No shit, Sherlock.

Having converted Echoes last month into a Mage: the Ascension character to act as guest-star during a couple of sessions, I found myself with fueled-up resolution(s) to rework (yes, again) some more parts of Was that were irritating me. It's not that much in itself, as usual, but it's precisely the "mere details only" kind that typically piles up until inconsistencies cause the whole thing to get stuck, and then it takes me age to find enough courage and motivation to tackle the problem.

You already know how it goes with this specific story. Was is mainly about the characters. It isn't, and has never been, about a solid plot from A to Z. Said plot is something I come up with while writing, now and then. Granted, there are arc elements I've been developing from the start—I'm not pulling everything randomly out of my ass—but almost two years later, I still have no idea how the whole thing is going to end, nor if I'll keep all the plot points already introduced, or will put some of them on a bus later on. This is probably the main reason why I'm progressing so slowly now, being at that point where I can either go on with only character development, or try to add plot consistency. Evidently, the latter solution would be best.

The latest problem I came to terms with was one that might not be apparent in the chapters I've posted so far, but that was precisely causing me to remain a little stuck. To sum things up, there's a certain turning point I need to introduce regarding Lou and Lyle, so that I can then develop the other part of their story. Okay, Lyle feels compelled to protect her, and knows when she needs him—but why? I know the answer. I know how it's going to end. I was just lacking the middle part (as usual with me), the one that would lead from point A ("we have no clue at all") to point B ("now that we know all of this, we have to find a solution"), or something to that extent. The middle development that would allow me to explain, and, more important, to do so not by mere description, but by having the characters themselves find and understand.

The only problem was that I had kind of "forgotten" to give them enough clues to start searching. ^_^;

And so, some parts got a makeover. I don't think it's going to affect the chapters posted here, or perhaps chapter 27 only, for a couple of details. The ones mainly affected are 29, 31 and 32, and these I haven't published here yet. Although 29 has turned into a close to 8k words dialogue, with some description in between. Yeah, writing descriptions tend to bore me, especially when the scene is about characters exchanging information. I feel compelled to throw description in "just because", to "fill in some blanks", but the truth is, it's just a bother. Some fine writer I am, huh. ;)

Anyway. I have to proof-read these in a couple of days, and if by then, I'm satisfied, then I'll post a new chapter. At last.

Re: this post...

It's nothing you can directly see here in this LJ, but just to say: at last, bits by bits in between school trips and shite, I've finally rewritten those parts that were causing me problems in Was. I won't repost everything, because a lot of these changes are sentences thrown here and there, and it'd be too tedious a process to edit everything (and for you to read everything again in the aim of hunting down every single tiny change!). Thus I'm going to sum it up briefly.

In the end, I went along my second idea ('the hell I would ditch the Heartless!), with a slight twist—why add an intermediary, when I could use Dana herself? Well, she remains a Heartless, and working for 'Mother', in that she definitely lacks the part of her soul allowing her to reincarnate; however, she's actually still alive (I decided that she was originally an unfortunate Necromancer who, much like Amanda Devereux, managed to summon that which she shouldn't have, and got her ass handed to her, minus the Heart).

I  guess this will work in the long run. It's still very much linked to what's happened to Lyle (yeah, I know, I haven't posted these chapters yet... I definitely shall soon, I hope). It creates a physical intermediary without completely shooting down the plot so far. And it adds a different perspective to the whole Heart-catchers business. Something I can have fun with.

Now to see how I manage to pull everything off in chapters to come...

(And no, I haven't given up on Our Darker Purpose in the meantime. Only that Was business was buggering me big time, and I knew I had to solve it soon, or it'd keep on poisoning my mind.)

Nope, I haven't given up on writing. :) I just needed a break, after the marathon I pulled in November. Also I had (still have one) commissions to finish, and I've been wanting to draw, and to read, because I don't spend enough time reading these days, and the 50 books challenge is good and all, but not if I don't actually sit down with a book to read.

But in any case, I'm slowly getting back into the process of writing my own stuff, which is good. Which also prompted me to reflect a little, not about Our Darker Purpose, but about Was. I don't plan on giving up Was (hahaha, as if!), but no matter what, I've also felt stuck about it for some time, and I think I've finally put my finger on the problem. Which is even better.

( Warning, author's musings and text wall ahead. )