This journal is now retired! The new one is at kusani.

At 11h40 PM on November 30, 2004, my wordcount read 50,033 words.

BOOYAH, BABY!!!

Sadly, my 50,000th word was "not." *snerk* Hardly remarkable, eh? Ah whell.

But ohmiGODS, I won. I was so scared that I wouldn't make it, too. Twenty minutes away from the deadline. Good gods. Next year, there is no way I'm making myself do this whole last-minute sprint thing. Oi. *thuds*

BUT YAY! I MADE IT! *throws flowers and wine and bl00d c00k33z to everyone!* (Watch the wine bottles, they're fragile. XD!)

Two years in a row. Next year will be such a blast!!!

Oh, and for those of you interesting in trying again, I've realized that I cannot write an entire story arc within the bounds of 50,000 words. So, probably in June and July or May and June--not sure yet--I'll be participating in my own sort of Novel-Writing Month(s) where the goal is not 75k or 100k but a COMPLETE NOVEL by the end of two months. If anyone would like to join me, I'd be glad to have fellow sufferers writers working feverishly alongside me. I think the timing of this would be good in two main ways: One, most of us are out of school during those months, and even for those of us who have jobs--jobs don't have homework attached; and Two, two months instead of one will give us all a little roomier deadline and the freedom to focus on quality as well as the ever-important quantity--busy folks or slow typists would do well here. So, if anyone's interested, I'll let you guys know what's up when the time comes. XD!

I love NaNoWriMo. <3^<3!!!

And now, I sleep.

So I got my WriMo '04 T-shirt today. It's the navy blue one with "For those about to write, we salute you!" on it. Yay ACDC! XD.

poetrywolf and gileonnen, your birthday gifts (Kitty's very late ^^;;) are WriMo T-shirts, since I can have them shipped right to you instead of waiting until you guys come in. So go on the WriMo site and pick out the design+size that you guys want, then tell me what they are so I can order 'em. XD. (Unless, of course, Amy would rather not have a WriMo shirt since she isn't officially signing up. In which case, I'll back up and punt. ^^;)

So, yeah, I've realized that I can't write a lab report without the data. So my grounding is kinda unfair to myself, so it's been temporarily suspended. Once I get the data I need, it'll go back into effect. ^^;;

Anyways, I'm psyched about WriMo again. In honor of such, I'm gonna do an old WriMo meme that I found last year (too late to be of any use, granted ^^;;) and then type out my chars' stats. Read as you will--there will be minor spoilers (stuff that's revealed through basic characterization), but nothing major, I promise.

( WriMo meme! Steal and fill out as you will--I didn't make it. XD. )

( Chicken-scratch character biographies. XD )

Mmm. I'm having second thoughts about my choice o' novel for WriMo. And Kay-chan, it's all your fault. ~_^

I'm <3ing on the concept of my therian novel, and I know that I can do a more "serious" novel easily within the bounds and at the paces of NaNoWriMo. (I mean, I did Seeker. That beasht ain't exactly a funny one. ^^;;) And I still think that the therian novel is gonna be first-draft-able within 50k words, which is an obvious plus, because after November passed, I seemed to really just lose my momentum and stop--so I want at least the story arc to be etched out by Nov 31st. The therian novel... is, honestly, a really good choice. And, at the same time, I know that I need the hectic rush of WriMo to be able to write this novel well and fully.

But I look at the stories that my friends are doing, and I see they'll have so much fun with them. Not that I won't with the therian novel (here on out, it's called TTN for brevity), it's just that... well, in deciding/planning to write TTN, I have a big responsibility to accurately and positively portray spiritual therianthropy, as well as the furry subculture. Just like my purpose in writing Seeker, I want to publish a fiction novel with real-life information so that people can learn the truths about these misunderstood cultures and lifestyles in a non-threatening way. I want to teach people to understand and at least tolerate this stuff--they don't have to like it, just tolerate it. And that's serious, you know? 'Cause, at the same time, I gotta stay true to my chars, and they aren't perfect, so some of their actions and words and thoughts... might give a bad (not necessarily incorrect, just more negative) impression of what they are and represent. But no one wants to read about perfect chars, and I surely don't want to write them. They bore me. So, in TTN, I'm struggling with realism vs. accurate positive representation--just like in Seeker. Only Seeker majorly drifted very soon into its plot from a young man's search for a faith that fits into a young man's nigh-futile chasing his only friend as a crush. ^^;; I never intended Seeker to be a romance novel, but it's more that than a finding-yourself novel.

Well. [/babbling] ^^;; In conclusion... I'm once more looking at different options for my WriMo '04 novel. (Oh, and just FYI, I hope to do a sort of WriMo in June '05, since I'll be outta school then and "only" working, so I'd have a good chance at doing well. These deadlines and this month-long race... they work well for me, I think. =^_^= So, in June, if anyone wants to join me in my insanity... they'll be VERY VERY WELCOME. *hintnudge* At least keep it in mind as a vague possibility. ~_^;;)

*browses an old post with her novel ideas* Well, takaal liked Nightmare Hunters and Wandering Fool... aberrant1 also likes Nightmare Hunters, assuming I took it in a more serious direction... and, last but far from least, gileonnen said that her favorite was Lone Wolves, with a second being Wandering Fool and third being the therian novel.

Well, you know, if I had half a brain, I'd be all "go Wandering Fool!" or "yay, Nightmare Hunters!"

Truth be told, WF (which stars Cedic, the now-infamous wanderer) isn't gonna be etched out in 50k. Maybe 75k, minimum. So that might have to wait. And I would have a lot of kinks to work out of Nightmare Hunters, simply for the fact that I can take the concept in so many directions, including an almost-autobiographical one (which is uber-tempting ^^;;).

Howabout this--since I have more writerly LJ-friends now, I propose a coupla novels to you and you guys pick your favorite... and tell me why it's your favorite. You dun have to, but yer input would be muchly appreciated. =D And, personally, I'd be totally happy to do any of the three. I'm psyched to do WriMo to begin with, and these three plotbeasts are majorly <3ed upon. XD.

1. Nightmare Hunters (title tentative). MCs: young man in college (sophomore, perhaps) and two spirit guides--a male (tiger? red-colored bear?) and female golden jackal. Setting: some college in a city (city & state unchosen); modern day. Plot: Soph, who's had a trying but pretty decent life in a middle-class family/public schools, is finally coming into his own in his studies towards [some college degree--unchosen]. However, taken away from all the petty worries of home and his old friends, he's slowly beginning to realize that he doesn't know himself--so, in an effort to find the person he's meant to be, he starts poking around with various things. ((He's an open-minded Christian--"God would want me to know who I am, wouldn't He? And, as long as I don't worship anyone but Him, and as long as I don't do anything illegal or harmful, it's okay.") Once he touches on shamanism, he feels like he can really learn something here ("these are God's children, as much as humans are!") and he starts digging. He 'unearths' two beasts who offer him their wisdoms and aid and, due to [insert reason here], they seem very present in the physical world (even though they can't be seen, only sensed). I.E., they can accompany him to class if they so choose. The novel would follow Soph's progression from who-am-I? to the very slow-motion lightbulb experience as he navigates life's rockier reefs with the help of his two spirit guides and one more experienced shaman-friend (male--very layered and deep personality).

2. The Beast Within (aka the therian novel; tentative title). MCs: Joel, a horse therian who just graduated high school, and Sam, a cougar furry who also just graduated. Setting: a medium-sized town in central WV (near Charleston & a big river); modern day in summer. Plot: Joel has known of his own therianthropy for years, and Sam & Joel have been good friends for longer than that, both horse-lovers. Sam was the one who pointed out to Joel that his "quirk" (their name for his therianthropy) wasn't unique--since she uses the internet to stay involved in the furry subculture, she found a few therian sites and communities, thusly introducing Joel to the greater therian group. Now, however, everything's changing--they've graduated high school and are about to leave their families and each other to attend different colleges a few hours apart. This sudden bereavement of everyone he loves is shaking Joel to his core... and revealing new aspects of his therianthropy that he'd never before seen. Sam, on the other hand, is also struggling with the whole leaving-family-helpless thing, since she basically holds her household together, and with the move to a more conservative, less tolerant area. The novel basically encapsulates the summer and possibly the first semester of college for the both of them, focusing more on Joel than on Sam. [Character brainstorming here.]

3. Outcast (title less tentative than the rest =D). MCs: Fera, a young red-striped black female; Ahir, a black female; Sholoden, a white male; and Karim, a full adult red male. Setting: Lavana; possibly Honshane, but more likely the southern chunk of Penyns, since I know that pretty well; modern day (ie the time of Shula and co.). Plot: Fera, despite having reached adulthood, is barely surviving day-to-day and flees every place she reaches as a way of life (think nomad by necessity). Eventually, she stumbles into a striped-tolerant area and, more importantly, into a three-Korat hunting group comprised of Ahir (stable & deliberate), Sholoden (aloof with a cold facade), and Karim (brazen & clever). They take her in, seeing as she's sort'f half-dead from starvation/exhaustion/etc due to her constant flight, and they try to teach her that not every Korat in existence wants to brutally murder every striped that crosses their paths. Fera is very edgy and wary, and Sholoden makes no effort to hide his dislike/disapproval of her--but Ahir and Karim like her in their own ways, so she stays for a bit. Then, because of [insert reason here], the available prey in the hunting group's area dwindles to practically nothing, forcing them to become a bit more cohesive as a unit and begin looking for a new place to hunt. ((Hunting groups are made up of loners or pairs who hold lightly etched territories nearby, usually in dense wilderness where strong packs aren't needed to keep land--they hunt and socialize together, but they do live apart.)) During their travels, they have many personality clashes, crises, and various battles/bloody hunts in an effort to stay alive and eat. (I have more of this plot in my head than I want to reveal. =D It's a good plot, trust me.) The novel basically revolves around striped vs. non and the resulting culture clash, as well as the varying personality clashes/meshes within the group of four during their travels.

There, my friends, are your three choices. Vote for one and you get a cookie and a hug. =D C'mon, you know you wanna hug... XD.

...I shall brainstorm on my WriMo novel-to-be.

( Cut for those who don't want spoilers... though I doubt I'll include any. )

EDIT 10-6-04: Joel-the-college-student has given me permission to use his first name for Horse. YAY! So now all I need is an appropriate, original-yet-not-off-the-wall last name. Suggestions MORE than welcome. XD!

I am still so, so disappointed in NaNoWriYe. The moderator/sitemaster hasn't updated the site itself since January 30th and never put up a winner's page or verified any novels--nor did she respond when I asked her about the lack of those things. I had so looked forward to a staunch source of continual inspiration and motivation... and it makes me sad that it all fell through.

I think I'm going to do the spiritual therianthrope novel for WriMo. It would easily fit into a "small fiction-only-kinda-sorta-not novel" category; I could probably finish it without having to make it a full 100k like Seeker will end up being. Now all I gotta do is find a real gem of a main char, choose a setting, and figure out a good place to start the story. I don't need anything else, after all--I mean, I started Seeker with the thought of, "hmm, I'll write about a gay pagan!" and three MCs--Zach, Rad, and Terra. I love writing by the tuft of my tail seat of my pants.

I've also decided to try a cyclic system of writing. While I'll do shidbits and poems whenever they force their way out of my fingertips, I'd like to have concentrated periods of novel-work--not so long that I become bored or burnt-out, but not so short that I only write a few thousand words and then quit for months on end. Also, I've noticed that some of my novels-in-progress have very specific auras. So I've decided to work on one novel per season so that the [sense] of the season matches the [sense] of the novel.

This fall (starting now until WriMo '04): Lone Wolves
This winter (December to March-ish): Either Nightmare Hunters or a Korat novel (Wandering Fool or a new novel-idea)
Next spring (April-ish to June): the massive-ass rewrite of Seeker begins!
Next summer (June-ish to early September): The Priestess and The Shamanka

To briefly extrapolate...
~Lone Wolves is part of The Denaith Series, the three in-progress parts of which are here, here, and here. Part One of Lone Wolves is here, and part two is here, while the third chunk is in the works. A world profile for Denaith is here and a shidbit with a Lone Wolves supporting char is here.
~Nightmare Hunters hasn't been touched so far with any shidbits. Cedic, the star of Wandering Fool, has a shidbit here displaying his character. =D Every single of you writer-types will love him, I can almost assure you. XD
~Seeker, in the very-rough-draft, is here; since it's a journal-type beast, you'll have to scroll down to the very bottom to find the first installment. Note--Seeker was my WriMo '03 baby, so it's only been edited to catch glaring grammatical errors, and it does have some inconsistencies.
~The Priestess and The Shamanka is three chapters long so far but not uploaded anywhere; it involves a world where mankind's connection to nature, animals, and flora is of utmost importance to survival and peaceful coexistance with other life. The MCs of this particular story are Inaye, a young snake priestess, and Malysa, a diamond-in-the-rough snake shamanka; supporting chars include Inaye's elder priestess and teacher, Inaye's younger brother (a lion shapeshifter), and a young snake shapeshifter who's taken the lion 'shifter as a role-model and brother-figure. If anyone is interested, I'll gladly email them the story so far--it's pretty damn good. =D

Tee hee.

Anyways. NaNoWriMo is coming up, and I'd like to at least gather a few ideas for what I'm going to write then. (OMGIcan'twait!) <3 WriMo. =D I've already preordered Chris Baty's book No Plot? No Problem! and can't WAIT to read it. The guy writes with such a flair for humor and entertainment (as well as motivation) that his novel should be excellent.

I have a handful of ideas, and I'd like to further extrapolate upon them here.

Idea #1: Original Son (tentative title). A novel featuring the life of one of my favorite Korats, Atumi. It would involve his birthpack (Shucho comes in, as does Ana), his leaving of said pack, his meeting with Wureshi (Ana and Kaili involved here), and then his quest to become stronger in order to kill Wureshi (enter Erashun and probably a few other Korats/masters). It would likely follow through his time with Shula (Tew and "Kaw" come in) and go through the final battle with Wureshi. I might even take the tale clear through 'til Atumi's own death (which would tear me apart, even though I think he dies of old age rather than in battle). The pros of this idea: plenty room for plot twists and extras, ATUMI, Korats, Lavana, having the whole story in one book, easy to write, fascinating, varied and intense emotions. The cons of this idea: difficult to string an entire life's events together in a coherent plotline, uncertain place of ending, difficult to explain Korats and Lavana sufficiently for the lower-level-intelligence readers, illustration(s) required to clarify the mind's eye.

Idea #2: Nightmare Hunters (again tentative). A novel featuring a human and two spirit companions. I could take this in a very mature, young-adult-aimed direction, or I could make it fun for all ages and more humorous than insightful. If I did the first, the human would likely be a college kid with a less-than-perfect past/present/personality, and the spirit guides would show up as he started investigating the occult/shamanism. All occurrances would be realistic and I would write it in such a way that everything in the book could actually happen IRL; this version would dive into some philosophy and wisdom-of-life type things. If I did the second version, the human would be a teen in high school who accidentally (through playing with a Ouija board or something) gain two spirit guides to help him through adolescence and finding himself. Humor would be emphasized as true-to-life events are navigated via the spirit guides (with fun commentary, of course) and awkward situations as the human tries to explain his changing personality and, perhaps, the spirit guides themselves to others. A little non-realistic aura would be lended to this version with light-themed occult happenings, with optimism and humor the main trends in the book. Pros: a good read (whether for humor or for a moving story), culture clash (fave thing to write!), excellent character dynamics, fun to write. Cons: ...I can't really think of any. Other than the fact that I have no actual plot, but each version's plotline would kind'f be the human's own mental/emotional/spiritual development. ((Note--the working title comes from the original thought that the lighter version would have the spirit guides "hunting" the human's nightmares to help him.))

Idea #3: Demon Wolves. A novel featuring two half-demonwolves (male Senowin, half-air demon, and female Ranayan, half-earth demon) in Cadora. Something of a PG-13 or even R-rated novel, this would feature Ranayan's childhood among full-wolf demons and her isolation because of being half-earth, and it would follow her as she left the pack and ventured into Erodak proper (among humans and other demons). She would meet Senowin, a very angsty example who was raised as an air demon and taught to deny/suppress his wolf side, and the two would end up traveling together (probably because of demon hunters). Ranayan would try to help Senowin get in touch with his wolf side while figuring out how to use her earth-inherited powers; both of them would be struggling to stay alive. The violence and potential sex factors are the reason for the novel's tentative rating. Pros: intense, high-action, high-emotion, fast-paced, culture clash, excellent character dynamics and development. Cons: might scare some folks off with the whole violence/sex deal (or, on the other hand, might attract them =D).

Idea #4: Assassins and Illusions (title half-baked and thought up in thirty seconds). A novel featuring Rankati, an Ayshu (ninja) earth demon, and Titunri, a wolf spirit Illusionist, in Cadora. The plot would probably go back and forth between the two women before they meet, showing 'Kati's training and Ti's own trials and angst. They meet when 'Kati's assigned to protect Ti from the Subishi (Ayshu arch-rivals; unbeatable assassins) who want her dead because she's too good an Illusionist. Eventually, the threat is gone, and the two part with unspoken feelings (oh, teh slash =D). Story again flips back and forth as Ti loses herself in her own illusions and in the people she helps (spirit wolves are like living totems) and as 'Kati is disowned by the Ayshu House (the 'government')--every once in a while, the two meet and spend some time *cough* together. Eventually, Ti just can't be found anymore, and 'Kati starts intensely searching for her. No idea what happens from there. >,<;; Pros: slash, angst, culture play, good chars and char development. Cons: slash (not everyone likes it, sigh), angst (same), lack of second half of plot, no idea of ending.

Idea #5: Wanted: Home World. A novel featuring Tsuchimo and her Masi companions in their search for a home world for their race. Soyoko would make a cameo in this, as it was her who got the Olashi to agree to this deal: if a Masi-only team in a Masi-designed and -built craft discover a colonizable world with no claiming tags on it before any Olashi do, they can keep it for Masi. The novel would follow Tsuchimo and seven other spacers in their massive-ass ship through space and through various dangers (both psychological and physical) to find this world. Naturally, they eventually find one. I could end the novel on the finding, or I could proceed into colonization and exploring the indigenous lifeforms (FUN). Pros: plenty of character development, alien slash (in a way), fun with Masi (<3 Masi!) and potential fun with alien life. Cons: alien slash (mebbe), lack of an actual high-action plot (could remedy this).

Idea #6: Wandering Fool. A novel featuring Cedic, a tan male Korat, as he journeys across Lavana for story fodder and gets far more than he expected. The plot's too complex to summarize (it's all planned out), but I would be able to throw some "evil" Korats (thanks Wureshi), as well as a red Korat warrior (w00t!), a Leasheas (omgtehpretty), and an Icza (boo-friggin'-yah). Plenty of char development, action, aesthetics, insight, culture clash, and humor. Pros: the aforementioned, the chars themselves, the setting, easy to write 'cause it's all planned out, still room for extras. Cons: illustrations required, information overload for reader due to species descrips and cultures (mebbe?).

Idea #7: Lone Wolves (working title). Basically a novelization of what I started here; a novel featuring Fakhi and Sjarrin (mebbe with his red wolf friend). No plot, no clue. Bunch of angst and pretty and mmmmmmmittastessogood. Easy to write. =D

Idea #8: A wolf novel. A fairly realistic tale of a wolf pack on Earth as spiritually sentient (but not "sentient" as in tool-using and language-speaking). No plot, no chars, no clue. Would be fun, though. ^^;;

Idea #9: Spiritual therianthropy. A novel featuring a real-life "were" as he/she comes to grips with his/her animalself and still has to survive in an all-too-human world. Would have to be careful not to make the main char too much like me. ^^;;

Idea #10: A very undeveloped Lavanian novel. Four main chars, all with distinct (I know them already) personalities and of different species. Something brought them together on Lavana and now they're all... uh, together... and stuff. The characters and their interactions are gems, but I would really need to drag up a good plot for this. Potential info overload 'cause of the four diff species.

Okay, ten ideas is more than enough. If you guys have any input/questions, by all means, speak up. I feel ignored and neglected when absolutely no one comments on my entries, especially when they're important to me, like the past few have been.