Hi, guys. Can you help me out?

See, since I proved to myself that I can actually finish a novel (or a trilogy, as the case may be) by completing The Demon-God of Jubagh, I'm looking to up the ante this year. I have a list of projects that I want to finish. Genres range from high fantasy to sci-fantasy to science fiction. Though I set reasonable goals for myself, it's still waaay more than I've ever done before; even if I fall short, I'll still have done a lot.

When I finish these projects, I am going to need people to thoroughly review and critique them, because my goal is to self-publish them through Lulu.com (much like I'm doing with Jubagh right now!). Critiquing takes a lot of patience, a love of reading, a great eye for detail, a solid knowledge of the English language, and the ability to constructively criticize something you may either hate or love - and remain objective. You'll need to tell me if I leave loose ends, if I don't explain something enough, if I have too much unnecessary detail, if my characterization is too flat or too cliche or too complicated, if the pacing is too slow or too fast, if I've gotten something entirely incorrect (as I might well do when trying to be technical with sci-fi; I am no engineer!), if something is confusing, and, of course, what you feel is good and original and doesn't need changed.

It's a tall order. I'm picky and will have flea-combed the manuscript(s) before I ever send it/them to you, so hopefully the really obvious stuff, as well as the grammatical things, will all be taken care of well before you open the file. It's up to you to catch the subtle things that I can't. And each manuscript will probably be anywhere from 50-70k, with one in particular tending towards 90-100k.

It's also worthy of noting that any and all reviewers get a free copy of the published manuscript, if/when I finish revising it post-reviews and publish it through Lulu.com... as well as a mention in the book itself under "dude, you rock, thank you so much."

Interested? Speak up! And please, mention which genres you'd feel comfortable tackling; be as specific as you'd like. ("I can critique steampunk fantasy, but not technical science fiction" would be useful to know, for example! Yes, there will be steampunk, and yes, there will be tech scifi. No, they aren't in the same story. ^_^)

On that note, for your reference, a tentative list of my projects includes:

• an expanded (unabridged) version of The Demon-God of Jubagh
  
• a second trilogy set in the Jubagh 'verse*; there will be steampunk, magic, critters/aliens, disc-shaped worlds, and intersun travel in giant freaking boats
  
• an action-packed science fiction story that involves Terole and Drakka
  
• the first in The Panthera Walkers trilogy; this is the high fantasy one, folks - shapeshifting, magic systems, nature gods, and culture-clash galore
  
• a mostly-fantasy werewolf/shapeshifter novel with references to a parallel but modern-day Earth; it's ... kinda sci-fantasy, mostly beastie-based

*Yes, I could not leave well enough alone. You know you couldn't get enough of your favorite characters from Jubagh, anyways! The fun starts in February, if all goes well; keep an eye on jubagh! Oh, and for those going, "What do you mean, a second trilogy...?", keep in mind that The Demon-God of Jubagh was split into three Books ... and since I'm doing the "unabridged" version, each of those Books will be made into a more complete, mostly-stand-alone novel with a lot more flesh and depth, hence forming a trilogy, rather than an inherently omnibus novel.

[disclaimer] In all honesty, life is crazy, and I fully expect something to come up and bring my head outta the clouds. All the same, I will do my best to get these done before 1-15-2009, and even if I don't manage all of them... I will finish some or most of them. (I also reserve the right to exchange projects if some new plotbeasts snatches my jugular and demands to be written. It does happen, you know. *points at Jubagh and grins*) So, while it's entirely possible you might volunteer to critique a story that I don't finish, please realize that I'm going to do my best, and that at least some of these will need folks willing to help out. [/disclaimer]

Thanks in advance for your comments, guys. It'd be awesome to have at least three folks critiquing each manuscript; and, of course, the more the merrier! If I have to send out ten free copies of each book because that many people pitched in, I'd be so delighted.

...and now, since it's 1h20 AM here, I might want to sleep. G'night!

So, I've made the decision to only publish Book One: Jubagh of The Demon-God of Jubagh quasi-trilogy.

Why?

Well, for one, this is largely for my parents' benefit. Neither of them are huge readers, and Book One alone is 160-some pages when formatted for book-size. This will make it a lot more manageable for them.

For two, I don't have time to give Books Two & Three the attentive revisions that they deserve. Not to mention the careful eye to detail while formatting them.

For three, by printing only Book One, I'll have a good example of how things work with Lulu.com so that I can tweak and refine the process for Books Two & Three.

I still plan on releasing an "omnibus" edition of all three books in one fat novel, with custom cover-art and all, but I just don't have the time to do so now. I'll use my vacation days to go over, edit, and revise Books Two & Three so that, when I'm back in January, I can knock the other two publications out quickly.

Look at me, talking about publications. *giggle* I had a conversation today with one of my coworkers about Nanowrimo and Lulu.com and all of this crazy stuff. I think I may have awed her. Completely unintentional, I swear; I was just kind of geeking and she got a O_O expression.

Those of you waiting on Jubagh - be patient with me. You'll get the whole big thing in January, once it's been cleaned up and prettified. I promise it'll be worth the wait!

jubagh is done.

The Demon-God of Jubagh is done. Rough draft finished.

NOVEL COMPLETE.

Wow.

Now for the editing... but first, blessed sleep...

Okay, okay. I'm woman enough to admit it. I failed hard.

Most of you likely know this, but for the folks who don't - I'm ADD. Somehow, in challenging Chaz to prove himself and then offering to compete with him, I miraculously forgot this one important factoid. It's hard enough for a normal person to focus on one thing for 12 straight hours. For me, it's downright impossible. My brain shut down and refused to function within the first four hours. Even after I tried doing something else and it rebooted, it bluescreened whenever I thought about going back to the new story. (Yes, my brain is a crappy Windows machine. You can't tell me you're surprised.)

So, I failed at writing 50k in 24 hours.

However. Before my brain dissolved into a steaming pile of mush, I was writing at a pace of over 2k an hour. And it was not a steaming pile of feces, either.

Which means that, had I made it all 24 hours - I would've had 50k at the end.

After NaNoWriMo, and after Jubagh is finished, I am trying this thing again. I'll leave myself a few days to write 24 individual hours, in whatever increments won't make my head essplode, and see if I can make 50k.

Granted, I won't be able to say "I wrote fifty thousand words in a day!"

But "I wrote fifty thousand words in twenty-four hours!" sounds just as impressive. *grin*

I'll keep you posted on when I try to drive myself insane again. It'll likely be after December.

Oh Chaaaaaz~! What was your end result, O Claimer Of The Impossible?

Due to having a social life roommate-ly obligations, Chaz and I have struck a slight compromise on the Chaz Challenge. The 24 hours will be split into two 12-hour periods.

Now, granted, this -does- take sleep deprivation out of the equation, but it still leaves in the "oh gods when will I find time to eat?!" and the "crap I gotta pee!" and "aw man the dog's gotta pee!" issues. (Not that one isn't allowed to eat or use the restroom during the double 12 hours... but each minute one spends away from the keys is a minute without wordcount!)

Chaz states that his two twelves will be taken on Saturday and Sunday. Mine will probably be much the same - one on Saturday evening/night, whenever I get home from Lynx's den, and one on Sunday, after some sleep.

IT'S STILL ON, BABY.

(With the revised rules of engagement, anyone else wanna be crazy and step up to the plate with us? Aiming for 50k, but whomever gets the most words gets mad bragging rights, be it more or less than the goal!)

[discussion of NaNo and writing]
Chaz (platinumetude): If I sit down and type it up
Chaz: I could probably have it done in a day.
Me: What, the entire story, or Nano?
Chaz: Both.
Me: ... you think you could do 50k in a day?
Chaz: mhmm.
Me: Alright. CONSIDER YOURSELF CHALLENGED. I wanna see it happen.
Me: I'll even see if I can do it with you.
Me: WALK THE WALK, BABY
Chaz: I SHALL
[insert banter here]
Chaz: 4:35 PM*
Me: Read and witnessed!

*EST, November 6th, 2007.

He's starting this RIGHT NOW, and I'm going to see if I can't beat his end number. I'll fall off the face of the earth on Sunday (11/11 - hah! auspicious) and write like hell for 24 hours. (Probably midnight to midnight... I will so need sleep before work on Monday.) It won't be Jubagh, though - it'll be something else. I don't wanna trash Jubagh. I wanna start fresh with something this crazy. 8D

Anyone else up for the challenge? *mad grin*

Guys, I want your thoughts.

See, we now have just seven days until November hits us and begins NaNoWriMo 2007. (BOOYAH!) This last week before the month o' insanity is my allotted time to brainstorm and think up a novel idea for November.

My problem is thus: I am hooked on Jubagh.

From the first part very late on the night of September 30th, to the twenty-sixth part posted today, I've written one part per day. I've made up the occasional day I missed and even once worked ahead so I could slack later. This is the most consistently I've ever written, barring the time of The Dark Wars in high school, where I was pen-and-papering my way through five notebooks just about every day, if not almost every class period.

And I'm not burnt out. That's the amazing part, along with the sheer regularity of the installments. I have about 26-27k on Jubagh right now. At this point in all my other novels, I'm tired and wanting a break, disillusioned and kinda dreading the coming trudge through the rest of the story. It all looks like a lot of hard work from here, even though I know I'll catch my second umpteenth wind shortly.

Instead, I'm looking to the grand, sweeping story arc of Jubagh and marveling at its novel-like bulk and grace. I'm doing pieces of worldbuilding in my head and eagerly quizzing my handful of regular readers* for feedback on the characters and the writing style. I think of having to put Jubagh on hold for a month in lieu of my WriMo novel-to-be... and I don't want to stop writing it!

*To those of you who have kept up with Jubagh and graciously taken the time to comment, THANK YOU from every writerly bit of me. If you guys hadn't given the story such a warm and enthusiastic reception, I don't know if it would have come as far as it has!

So! I have come to you - yes, you - for advice and suggestions. The rules of WriMo clearly state that a writer is to start fresh, with a blank slate, upon November 1st. However, I've bent those rules before, and I know other writers who have, as well. I am not so much concerned with that. And, given that I'll have a guesstimated 35k of Jubagh come the end of this month, choosing it as my NaNovel would stretch it to 85k before all is said and done. (Yes, there is enough story in there for that. Don't question it. *scheming grin*)

That said, I am capable of picking a new endeavor, writing it during November, and picking Jubagh up come December (perhaps after a day or two off). I have not yet managed to write an entire novel within fifty thousand words, sadly, so I fear the NaNovel would be unfinished for a while. But still, it would be a huge chunk of word that I would be proud to do. And, despite my attachment to Jubagh, I am confident that I could throw myself facefirst into a new novel.

So, what do you think? What would you like to see me write, given that it'll be posted on LJ as it progresses? Jubagh fans, do you want me to take a break from Jubagh and come back to it in December, or will you throw sharp things at me if I stop for a month? WriMos, what do you think is the wiser choice here? People who don't read Jubagh, what do you think I should do - keep on keepin' on, or break for something shiny and new?

Rules of commenting on this post: You are not allowed to say "it's up to you" or "do what you feel like" or "the choice is yours," etc etc. I'm asking your opinion! It doesn't mean I'll go with majority rule, it means I wanna know what you think! *grin* So give me what you think without the disclaimers of "...if you want to, of course" attached.

.as.a.writer.i.

As a writer, I... I, I, I ... I write? Yes. Write.

No. Not "write." Not write. No pen, no pencil, no paper needed. Used occasionally, but not needed.

Write? Right.

I don't write. That involves muscles working in unison to form words, or to peck out the right keys, if you're me. Nope. Don't do it.

I experience.

I channel.

I express.

I don't write. That's just the mechanics. Semantics, if you will. Grammar and syntax and subject-verb agreement, and then the fingers moving to put it all from a textbook onto another blank, ex-pristine piece of paper. Or notepad file. Either one.

Experience. Channel. Express. I live what I'm "writing"--what I'm putting down in black and white (grey and white if in lead)--so that I can experience it. Every emotion, every scene, every lancing pain and burning rage and disabling moment of grief and unparalleled ecstacy. It's all mine. I take ownership of it, I integrate it, I digest it, I experience it.

And at the same time, I don't consume it. I don't absorb it so that it cannot pass like rainwater down a streambed. It changes me, it molds me, it occasionally strips me down to bare stones and throws the silt down a waterfall--but it flows through me. I am a vessel. A streambed. A pipe. I accept the outpouring of experience, live it, and then let it go.

And it goes. Like water dousing my upturned face, the experience flows through me, down me, changing me, out my fingertips--through this mechanical technique of "writing" each letter on a page--to express. To express me, how I feel, what I experience because I'm channeling because I'm a writer and that's what I do--to express the story, to paint it out in colors and scents and brushstrokes in plain black-and-white with no doodles in the margin to help. All imagination, but mine reaches out to yours and touches it through the medium of these twenty-six little letters that I like to rearrange sporadically when I "write."

As I writer, I...

...I am on a comm high.

XD!



Basically made this one for myself and anyone else who wants a place to work on, discuss, and store creature/world/ecosystem ideas, concepts, and descriptions. Don't join iffenz ya dun want spammed. Because we all know I'm a crazy cresh like that. However, I don't mind being spammed with your stuff either. XD!

Join the Bestiary if you:
--want to post your species descrips somewhere for feedback/easy linking on your stories
--want to post your species art/concept art/world "photos" (see Terragen) somewhere
--want to design/create your own species and have feedback from others like you
--don't mind being spammed with masses of creativity
--need to ask biological/genetic/aesthetic questions about your species
--want some space to test out and design species' languages
--want to catalogue the major and minor beasts in a particular world/moon
--want to investigate the flora and ecosystem of your world

XD! Honestly, I made the Bestiary primarily for my own uses, simply because I want to work on getting my species/worlds fleshed out and I need a place to store the works-in-progress until I finish most of them and can finalize them into a website-form. However, I'd be very happy if some other crazy species-creators would join me in my prolific productive madness! XD!

For my reference and for any other writers who are looking to publish:

http://www.inkblotbooks.com/FAQ.html -- Inkblot Books [print-as-ordered]

http://www.lulu.com/ -- LuLu [print-as-ordered]

http://www.wastelandpress.net/Spublishing.html -- Wasteland Press [195$ for everything I need + 5 free books]

http://www.xlibris.com/ -- Xlibris ['spensive]

EDIT:

http://snakenationpress.org/about.html -- Snake Nation Press [won't publish me; find job/volunteer here? fuckin' awesome mission statement]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dee.rimbaud/aaipg.html -- AA Independent Press Guide [resource of publishers/magazines]

Scene: The year is 2015. Sushi has published a handful of fiction novels, including Demon Wolves, Lone Wolves, and White Wolf. The first stars a half-demon wolf, half-earth demon woman named Ranayin and is set in Cadora; the second stars a female werewolf named Fakhi and is set in Denaith; the third stars a female Wolf Shifter named Sachi and is set in Alasa-Ca.

[All three wolves walk onto the set in human form.]

Fakhi: ...
Ranayan: What the hell? Who are you two?
Sachi: Sachi, white Wolf. You?
Fakhi: Fakhi, lone wolf.
Ranayan: Ranayan, hybrid wolf and total bitch.
Sachi: I feel like I've been cloned.
Ranayan: Who the hell says _you_ were the original? *snark snark*
Fakhi: *rolls eyes at them both and turns to leave*
Sachi: Hey, wait a sec. We all have wolf forms, right? Let's shift. I wanna see something.
Ranayan: *muttering* Ten to one we're all white.
Sachi: Shut up and shift. *shifts to a huge, muscular, long-legged, gold-eyed white Wolf easily six feet at the shoulder*
Fakhi: *removes her clothing shamelessly, ignores the sudden uneasiness of the other two, kneels, and breaks her entire body only to reform it as a yellow-eyed wolf--she stands about three feet high, skinny but healthy, dwarfed by Sachi*
Sachi: *grins ferally*
Fakhi: **expressionless**
Ranayan: *transforms in a static-y whirl of brown and green energy into a wolf built like Fakhi with wild white fur, blazing gold eyes, and the same ginsu-knife claws as Sachi has--seven feet tall, she smirks down at Sachi*
Sachi: *scowls*
Fakhi: **expressionless**
Ranayan: All white. Gold eyes. You and I, *nods to Sachi,* have massive claws that belong to some big bear or feline...
Sachi: *continues* All female, all obviously warriors, all Shifters of some sort...
Fakhi: *continues* All bad-ass muthafuckas...
Sachi & Ranayan: =O_O=
Fakhi: What? I'm a lone wolf. Do you expect me to be polite when most of my meals consist of human refuse?
Sachi: ...no.
Ranayan: *laughs*
Sachi: So, do you think that her readers will ever figure out that we're actually all clones?
Ranayan: Get off your high horse, bitch. You're not the original.
Sachi: *snarl*
Fakhi: Actually, she's right. None of us are the original.
Ranayan: WTF? Then who the hell is?
Fakhi: She is.
Sachi & Ranayan: =O_o;=
Sachi: So, you mean that all the other books she might write with wolves in it will have another clone?
Fakhi: Probably.
Ranayan: Holy shit. In a few more years, this might be a friggin' white wolf _convention_!
Fakhi: -_-; ... I'm leaving now. *begins walking away*
Sachi & Ranayan: *exchange glances, shrug*
Sachi: *shifts back to human form* Me too. Nice meeting you... er, myself... er... guh. *teleports out*
Ranayan: Well, that was odd. *transforms into a human, then lets the earth envelop her to tunnel back to Cadora*
Fakhi: *continues walking alllll the way back to Denaith*

I'm looking to, possibly, publish one of my novels through Xlibris within a few months. This is a huge step--from eventual hopes to a sudden thump of the here-and-now on my doorstep. I could do it reasonably inexpensively and retain all rights to my book--aka, if a "real" publisher wants my book, they could have it still, even after Xlibris put it into print. So, I'm thinking, cool. I get a one-shot opportunity to get a novel and get my name out there into the world at large. Dude, Amazon.com would sell my book. Yeah. Big shit.

Which leaves the massive decision of, Which One? Which novel do I start/continue and finish, edit and polish, have reviewed and informally copyedited by friends, and submit? Which novel do I send first into this world with my name on every page? Which novel has a chance of surviving, maybe of selling somewhat well, and still remain true to myself and what I'll likely write once I get established?

And, fact of the matter is... I don't know. I've narrowed it down to a list, naturally, and I have my work planned out, and I know what I'll do once I choose my novel. The Big First Novel. So, I want your input. Not so much on individual novel choices but... on types of novels that would work. If everyone reading my journal would just fill out the following mini-survey and post their remarks in a comment to this post, I would so, so appreciate it. Seriously. This started as and continues to be a writing journal, and you guys like reading what I write. Help me out here, and--if you want--every one of you who completes this survey will get credited in my book. Promise.

1. What's your favorite genre(s)? What genres will you absolutely not read?

2. What inspires you to buy a book? (title, cover art, back cover blurb, author, genre, etc)

3. In your opinion, what is the most important key thing about a best-selling book? (visual presentation, character development, tight plot, the ability of the reader to relate to the characters, etc)

4. Would the average reader of a fiction novel be able to comprehend a totally alien species, world, and/or culture? Would illustrations help?

5. Name the most outstanding thing from one of your favorite novels. (a certain character, a plot twist, the setting, the author's writing style, etc)

6. In your opinion, are controversial issues such as alternative religions and sexualities less threatening when placed in a fantasy setting? Do you think that a fiction novel would lose a large portion of its potential readers if it contained controversial issues (homosexuality, paganism, therianthropy), or would the reader accept that facet as just another part of fantasy?

Thank you guys so, so much. Please try to be detailed, and feel free to expound on any answer or question. This feedback will strongly influence my choice of novel... which will, in turn, influence my future career as a published author.

Question: Would you like me to post what I've written on a novel-in-progress called Lost?

Set on Thaizi, a fairly pastoral, gentle world, Lost features a young Welphie femme named Ashainmi in her quest to find her ambassador parent, who is mysteriously missing after a visit to the serpentine Kiforn. In her relentless search for Jayjaajai, she meets up with Niang, a Ské Kiforn male, who joins her reluctantly when she guilts him into it, seeing as Jayjaajai is a Kiforn ambassador. However, once the two find what they've been looking for, nothing will ever be the same. This novel is quite good, in my opinion, and about 26k; the characters are engaging and likeable, the plot is excellent (compared to my other plots ^^;;), and the world and species are just simple enough to be totally understandable while still deep enough to keep you thoroughly immersed in the culture and imagery.

tageera, poetrywolf, and gileonnen are the only ones who read Lost before, so I was wondering if any of my other fans minions readers would like to read it. 'Cause I cater to your whims. =D

In other news, I've decided that I need to post a few of my Atumi-centric shidbits on here so y'all can get to know mri'miri-otoni. This is the first of three.

Title-- The Encounter
Rating and Warnings-- PG-13 for violence and cruelty.
Species and Characters-- Species = Korat. Chars are, of course, black male Atumi in his youth, a younger but still wicked black male Wureshi, and a few other special cameos.
Summary and Notes-- Atumi, now about fifty-five years old, has spent the vast majority of his life training to become stronger and one day kill Wureshi. This... is why. [Note: pelash = minutes, and kayl = understanding.] This is also an older shidbit, not quite as lush and rich as my typical writing, so please forgive that. Read for the story, not the writing style.

( A young Korat stalked through the forest silently... )

Requests
[want request? go here. want an extra request? read & review this and put your request in a comment to that post.]
--chars: Atumi & Jysulehn//setting: future//qualifications: cameos welcome//requested by: poetrywolf
--chars: two female Yumerantha werecats//setting: coastal Yumeranth in Denaith//qualifications: NC-17 slash//requested by: gileonnen
--chars: Redwood & TFD//setting: planet of choice//qualifications: any plot, any non-show-stealing cameos//requested by: tageera
--char: Deyt//setting: Lavana//qualifications: any plot, introspective?, cameo by Erashun welcome//requested by: vorpalmuse

Writing Trades
--chars: Nicht & Seyah//setting: Nicht's city in Denaith//qualifications: showing the country wolf the glories of a too-human city//owed to: gileonnen
--chars: two Canis, one Warrior and one Magi(?)//setting: unknown//qualifications: the backstory behind the sketch//owed to: poetrywolf

Gift Stories
--chars: A'rak and T'yin//setting: Pern//qualifications: what if...?//a gift for: collie_wing

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.