 Updates Alas, updates here will cease until October 2003. But you can still read my daily posts here. 12.01.02 The TGIO lunch at Manchester and the TGIO party in Nashua were both a blast, and although no one came in costume, it was a great time swapping stories about frantic late night typing, plot detours, and other fun and frustrating writer-y stuff. That is, stuff that I would never talk about with my science buddies. And despite not much sleep and recalcitrant characters who talk too much, I'd say I'll do it all over again next year. After all, writing is my compulsive hobby. 11.30.02 Well, it's the end of another NaNoWriMo. I congratulate everyone who made the effort to participate regardless of the final word count. For me, it's back to my normal piddling. I won't be updating this particular page with new content until NaNo 2003 (except for tomorrow) although I'll be tweaking the site design before then. I've decided to leave my 2001 and 2002 NaNo novels up for future would-be wrimos who want to have an idea of what can be done. They are not edited for grammar, spelling, or plot consistencies so I can say that they are exactly what resulted from one month or writing. It would be cheating if I polished it up before posting it. Meanwhile, I suggest celebrating or sleeping. Both are equally good. 11.27.02 Yesterday was not relaxing. I was stuck listening to six science talks in the morning and then staying at lab until 7:00 PM. Today wasn't very relaxing either, plus, I had to endure everyone leaving early for Thanksgiving break. I'm going to get through this depressing phase by writing more (on something else, of course, I'm done with Nano). I'm actually thinking about next year's NaNoWriMo. It's more of a scheduling problem than actually thinking up a plot (way too early to that!). I have to do the Qualifiers next year about this time--which means I have to plan in advance to do these oral exams either in September or October and not in November. Otherwise, I'd just die. 11.25.02 I worked my butt off this weekend, but I'm done. Twenty-five chapters of The Twenty-Fifth Hour done on the twenty-fifth of this month. I swear I didn't plan it this way. Now I'm just going to sleep and worry about the presentation I have to do later tonight. 11.24.02 Writing in public? I feel very self-conscious. I know that as writers, we should all have this "screw you, I'm driven by art to write" mentality, which in its very arrogance would demand respect from non-writers, but truthfully, I can't be that arrogant. Oh, I may try looking the part by turning myself into a hermit, but all that would grant me will be strange stares by passersby. What I'm deathly afraid of is that someone I know who's in science will stumble onto my little hobby and not understand. Scientists should be solely obsessed with science. No one really says it, but I always get this impression that if you're not stuck in lab for every minute of your life, you're not truly dedicated to science. But damn it, I'm not that single-minded. I would like to be a little more complicated than a simple slave to science. Feynman, for instance, played the bongos and womanized in his spare time. Well, I don't play the bongos and I certainly don't womanize, but I do write. But maybe I'm really content with this little neurosis about being accused of not being serious when I'm occupied with this compulsive hobby. I certainly gain a bit of elicit pleasure when I'm hiding behind a textbook in the laundromat to take notes when I'm actually writing instead. 11.23.02 I was entirely too busy yesterday. I will try to pick up the slack today. I'm going to try my hardest to finish this weekend because I have to go to a two day (Monday and Tuesday) retreat next week concerning grants and research, Wednesday is going to be quite hectic at lab, and of course there's Thanksgiving. If only there was more time during the day. 11.21.02 It's hard to tell, but I did really plan out what was going to happen in Part XVIII. Part XIX is the last chapter I actually have any idea what's going to happen. After that, the end is a toss-up. So how is this story going to end? Is somebody going to die? Who did Xanthia encounter on the island? Who's playing the chess set in the den? And ultimately, where is Ira? (Actually, I do know where Ira is, but the readers don't and certainly the characters don't.) Will I be able to tie up all the loose ends? Who knows? I need to get to the end first. 11.20.02 I really want to write something else. Anything else. But what can you do? I'm definitely going to make myself finish this. The sooner, the better. I'm not really blaming the story, just myself. I think it has to do with stress, general lack of sleep and real life. My roommates reminded me today that they're having a party here (that's right, in our apartment!) on Friday and need help setting the food up. But darn it, I have an experiment in lab requiring me to monitor things every four hours besides studying for classes, and on top of that, Nano. I don't have time to cook food for a party and entertain my roommates' geeky physics friends! 11.19.02 I finally decided on the title today. It's simple and obvious, yet it doesn't give too much away. The Twenty-Fifth Hour. 11.18.02 Yesterday was quite vegetative. I did not write. And I went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the evening when I should have been writing. I guess a break was supposed to be good. Anyways, I was not one of the people who have read the second (or third or fourth) Harry Potter book so the movie wasn't as predictable (because I did read the first book) as one would expect. Although I am not a fan of Harry Potter (I much prefer Garth Nix's Sabriel or Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials), the people I went to see the movie with were. Which brings me to this question: why are so many graduate students Harry Potter fans? 11.16.02 It snowed today. I'm going to try to work some snow into my next chapter. It's not really a challenge, just something I noted to myself before I began that I should do if I could. I'm not sure if I really like my story. It's definitely not great, due to speed writing, then again, there's always plenty of time to edit afterwards. 11.14.02 I am not kidding when I say I'm tired. I fell asleep in a seminar. I fell asleep attempting to read a paper on eukaryotic transcription. I fell asleep in lab, which is the scariest thing of all, because I have my hands on chemicals and electrodes and things which you shouldn't touch except with gloves. I'm really tired and I don't care if my word count is piddle compared to everyone else's. I'll catch up sometime later. I'm going to sleep so I'm calling it a night. 11.13.02 Everyone thinks I'm tired because I've been studying all the time. Well, little do they know! Most likely I will reach the halfway point sometime today but I probably won't post that word count until tomorrow when I finish the next section. I'm not as obsessive as some people about posting word count every five minutes. I wonder what that says about me. 11.12.02 I am getting bored with the plot. The main problem is that my characters want to talk instead of do. That's all well and good if you're writing a screenplay, but I'm not writing a screenplay. Anyways, it appears that I've killed my main characters off in the second part of chapter 12. But if you look at my prep work, it'll probably be pretty easy to deduce where they wound up. But can you guess where they'll be headed off once they get out? 11.11.02 Welcome, everyone, to hell week! Yep, it's Week Two, and things are about to take a turn for the slogging. This phrase on the Nano website today describes the beginning of my week perfectly. Tests, no sleep, lots of work, and Nano, what else could a crazed student ask for? I had originally planned not to do anything today since it is my birthday, but hey, how worse can it get? At least my characters still have a bit of humor in them yet. 11.10.02 Yes, I know my characters like to blab entirely too much. More action coming soon. 11.09.02 Two chapters added. I really need to make longer chapters, but you just can't force these things. Here's an interesting link: NaNoWriMo on NPR (note: this is streaming in RealPlayer). I also came across another NaNo novel where someone is using the same names for two of their characters as I am. I know my characters have rather common names, but what are the chances of that happening? Addendum: I have added the Dramatis Personae for people who have diffuculty keeping up with all the characters. Or for people who just want to know who my characters are without clicking on the chapters. 11.08.02 The next couple of days will be difficult. Not because I'm stuck on plot points but because real life is once again intruding. I've got a big test on Monday and it's imperative that I stuff my brain with trivia about intercellular transport, gene transcription, and molecular cloning techniques. I'll probably keep writing during the weekend, but it'll be in unpredictable spurts. 11.07.02 I am not feeling well today. I probably caught a head cold while walking about in subzero weather. I managed to write some, but not as much as I'd like. Part seven and eight along with word count will be posted tomorrow. 11.06.02 It's very hard to stay serious. If I'm not careful, this will turn into a madcap comedy. Then again, who cares? If the darn thing drags me to a clown festival, then I'll go to the clown festival! 11.05.02 Part five is obviously derived for the Nano challenge that I had taken up sometime in October. It doesn't fit with anything and sounds utterly ridiculous. However, I'm leaving it in there. Hopefully the rest will follow more naturally. It's hard, though, to remember to keep flowing with the ideas. There are only the odd snippets of time during the day that I can write. The rest of the time I don't even think of Nano. I can't think about Nano. I suppose in a way that's good. It gives me time away so I won't get sick of writing, but then again, it's also frustrating because I'm not as far as I'd like to be. 11.04.02 I am slowly catching up. I will most likely start on part four sometime tonight. I've found that this year, the novel has been a lot more fun to write than last year. It's probably because I have a lot more characters in this story as well as a lot of interaction. I can't wait to see what comes out of their mouths next. 11.03.02 My intentions to write a lot today went down the tubes as I procrastinated by doing everything except writing. If I'm lucky, I'll start on the third section sometime tonight. 11.02.02 Don't worry, I actually got some writing done despite hectic dumpling making sessions and almost getting lost on a dark Vermont road at night. I'm putting word count and uploading the work in progress tomorrow once I finish the second chapter. 11.01.02 No major foul-ups so far although I feel a bit tired from cutting back on my sleep. I tried convincing another writer to join up for Nano but was unsuccessful. I guess I don't have a convincing personality. Everything also feels a little surreal today. 10.31.02 Well, I just got back home with less than an hour to spare. Why? A friend and I got lost in the wilds of New Hampshire while attempting to find Manchester. I think we crossed the borders into Vermont and Massachusetts a couple of times, too. So for most of this afternoon, I was stuck in small dinky towns wondering how the hell I was going to get home in order to do Nano. So a warning to all you travel-philes who also happen to be aspiring novelists--do not go running out into the middle of nowhere on Halloween. 10.30.02 I have resolved to adopt a cat from a shelter once I find an apartment that allows pets. That said, there will probably be some animals featured in the Nano novel. 10.29.02 My research today will be focusing on interior decorating. I'm a natural minimalist, so I've got a lot to learn about color, design, and happy clutter. I'm giving out another hint on what my novel is about: Three editors are invited to a house party by an eccentric and wealthy mystery author. When the author disappears, kooky things start happening. Notice I put in kooky and not kinky. Although I make no guarantees for those of you out there who like everything nice and clean. I'll get kinky if I run out of ideas. 10.28.02 I stocked up on caffeine. I think the grocery store was anticipating my needs as soda and coffee were on sale today. Hopefully none of it is spiked. I might go and get some sugary foodstuffs later in the week. I also posted the epigraph I'm going to use for the Nano novel here. Contrary to its meaning, there is not going to be deep thinking motifs littered throughout my November writings. 10.27.02 Avoid the strong coffee at Au Bon Pain unless you want to lie down and moan about the world falling onto your head for about half-an-hour. I'm beginning to think I'm a magnet for spiked caffeine. On the other hand, I got to meet a bunch of crazy writers for NaNoWriMo this afternoon. The photographer for Nashua's The Telegraph also showed up, but the chances of me seeing those pictures and the article accompanying are pretty slim. It was neat to finally put faces to online personalities--in some ways it was comforting. These are ordinary people (most with jobs) who want to write a novel in a month. Not a great novel, mind you, but a novel nonetheless. I now have a real, a concrete, support group and not just a faceless internet void occasionally sputtering comments. And I was momentarily distracted by the pet store in the mall. I was shocked. They don't sell cats. Maybe that's why all the people I know around here are dog people. Linkage: Everything2.com. Janelle from the Nano group mentioned this site as a possible time waster. It looks like a big link fest for members. Hm. Maybe I'll look at it some more once I get out of this coffee-induced headache. 10.26.02 The writing program Storyweaver is a hack. It doesn't help me. I hate the prefabricated questions that sound like a monotone psychiatrist. On another note, remember the thread for dares in the Nano forums? I took the one that had to have some monster destroying a major city and eating up an annoying reporter. I finally figured out how to fit it in. 10.23.02 I am so tempted to actually say what the premise for my novel is. Sure, there's clues from my rather short replies on the Nano board, the hints in these updates, and the scans on my prep work page, but nothing just jumps out and says, "Here I am! I am the premise for Sya's novel!" I think I just don't want to jinx myself. I don't want to pin down a genre for this either although I will say this--it'll be similar to last year's novel in that respect. But being what I am, you'll have to wonder why I didn't choose to write a biomedical thriller or sci-fi with biotechnological overtones. It's like attempting to mix two things that you love that are mostly mutually exclusive (i.e. oil and water). I feel weird writing fiction in lab and I feel equally weird writing hard core science into fiction. 10.22.02 Some people are getting pretty fancy by buying new equipment and folders to print out their Nano novels. I'm just reusing the same notebooks I've had for years. I'm making backups of everything on anything except paper. Printing makes me cringe because paper (especially printing paper) is expensive. As a poor student, I've got to think about my budget, you know? My notes are slowly taking over my desk. I've been making lists of things I'll have to put in the novel draft. The opening scenes are pretty much set and I'm already toying with the ending because I need a goal to work towards. It'll probably be less cheesy than last year's though. 10.20.02 I've been thinking a little more about the plot today but all I've come up with is a blank. Instead, I only have a premise and exactly where everything will take place. If you glance at the prep work page, you'll see that I've scanned in another page of my notes: a diagram of the catacombs beneath a church. So far everything's turning out to be a mix between The Westing Game, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Zork. I think I'm going to end up writing this as if I'm playing one of those old school interactive fiction games. 10.19.02 I met another Wrimo today! This just validates that I'm not the only crazy person around here. Last year I wrote in a complete vacuum, sometimes questioning myself if the whole Nanowrimo thing was just in my head. I can't wait until next week when I actually meet a bunch more Wrimos around the area. None of my characters (I'm not even sure how many I'll have yet) have names. So I started making a list. I even stole some names from the reference section of my Introduction to Protein Structure textbook (geeky, I know). But I might not even use any of the ones I jotted down today. 10.15.02 Oh God. I did something that I swore that I would avoid. I made an outline. Of the entire novel. I even have chapter titles and the approximate time that everything is happening. Well, okay, I pretty much need to have time constraints on the plot due to the idea's structure. So what did I write as a description under all my chapter headings? "Weird stuff happens." Heh. I still have some leeway. 10.13.02 Well, real life priorities have a way of stalling one's creative energies. I'm putting off this month's writing exercise until Wednesday (hopefully it won't stall permanently). As for coming up with an idea for next month, I now have a plot. It's somewhat murky and more confusing than the previous idea and I still don't have characters to go with it. So far, this is in a modern setting involving shady people lurking about, mythology, treasure, ghosts (or are they hallucinations?), drugs, possible violence, and mystical undertones. I'm also thinking of putting artifical contraints on the whole thing like OuLiPo. But I am not sure if I can pull this off. I shall let this particular idea stew and perhaps by next week, I'll see if I'll keep this idea, go back to the old one, or try to come up with a totally new one. 10.09.02 I have now uploaded a page called prep work which contains my brainstorming so far (and will contain future ramblings). This will be documenting my haphazard thought processes as I search for the right thing to write. Anyways, the idea that I was so excited about a week ago has now fizzled out. It might get exciting again when the time nears, but now, I'm trying to rack my brains for another plot (and set of characters). 10.06.02 During the rest of the year, I write when I have time. This month, I decided to get into a regular writing mode so November will be a piece of cake and maybe I wouldn't need to consume as much caffeine or sugar as I did last year. Everything will be posted at Ardarael. 10.05.02 I joined the Nanowrimo webring (I hope it works soon) and updated the links page with as many Nano sites as I could find. If your Nano site isn't listed, don't hesitate to e-mail your site address. Or you could leave it in the guestbook. 10.01.02 Writing Sya has gotten a face lift. There won't be much here until November. But I did sign up. If anyone's curious, my previous Nano novel is here. 
|