Prepping for Nanowrimo

I am spending this week in various waiting rooms at different health facilities, lucky me. Since I’m not working and I’m trying hard to keep my mind off the results off those visits, I figured it would be a great time to prep for nanowrimo.

Last November for nano I did some research and outlined for the first few chapters. My story took wings and flew, and then tragically nose dived half way through.

This time around I wanted to be a little more organized and to just be able to have fun writing. I chose to go with a dystopian novel. I have always told myself I would never write a dystopian novel. Unfortunately an idea came to me a few months ago, and all writers know that once an idea hits, it is hard to let go of it. I’m not really sure if I can write a decent dystopian story or not, so the pressure is off and I can just have fun playing around with it.

To start getting ready I picked up several books from the library to get an idea of what is current and classic in this type of genre. The local librarian helped me create the reading list below:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Edge of Apocalypse by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

                I also have a notebook and a slew of pens tucked into my purse for the doctor’s office. For nano you can’t actually do any writing before April first, but you can work on character sketches and outlines. I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but I think my main character is going to be a fifteen year-old girl. I’m looking forward to creating her and others this week!

If you have ever wanted to write a novel you should think about joining in! Camp Nanowrimo begins April 1^st at the stroke of midnight. You then have the month to frantically write a 50,000 word novel. Actually the rules say that this year you can make your own word count (so if 50,000 seems too daunting, then try for 20,000, or something else)! It is a ton of fun and you can connect with other new and old writers on the forums. If you are interest the website is www.campnanowrimo.org

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love You Tomorrow!

In the world of writing, tomorrow is going to be a fun day!

The people who bring us Nanowrimo have worked with the Book Doctors to host Pitchapalooza. This is where nano anuthors got to pitch their stories for a contest, and tomorrow the twenty-five finalists will be released. Out of all of the pitches, twenty-five were randomly selected to have their pitches critiqued by the book doctors.

I entered, and will be elated if I win, but will be just excited to read others pitches if I don't. I'm currently working on two pitches for my own stories, so it will be helpful to read others pitches and see how they are critqued by the Book Doctors!

Also, tomorrow is the day where information is released about Camp Nanowrimo! So far we know it starts on April first, and you have a month to write a 50,000 novel. I had so much fun participating in nanowrimo this year, that I am geeked to do camp. I have already started the prep work for my next novel, and can't wait to fix my writing itch.

If anyone would like to particpate in Camp Nanowrimo let me know. We can encourage each other along the way!

Stories Matter- Part 1

He has brown eyes, deep like semi-sweet chocolate. They’re surrounded by thick dark lashes. It’s my first day subbing. I'm an aide and he looks at me with those eyes and says, “Teacher can I sit on your lap?” He has that little voice. My own kids have lost it, they’re little voices have been amended to sound more like the big kids at school.  I miss the days when they said “fum” instead of “thumb”. His toddler voice, unable to pronounce the words, pulls at my heart. Of course he can sit on my lap.

Soon the other students join us on the rug, and I have a little girl cuddled on the other side of me. The students sing, and talk about the weather, and move around. The little boy doesn’t want to move, he wants to sit in my lap.

“That’s normally not like him,” the teacher says.

He whispers to me, “Teacher, I don’t feel good.”

It’s time for a bathroom break. I walk with the girls, and help them wash their hands and get them lined up. There is a commotion down the hall at the boy’s bathroom. We enter the classroom and the teacher is holding paper towel. The little boy has vomited across the floor of the bathroom. The other students need their teacher, so I volunteer to go to him.

The boy is lying on the floor. He is pale and quiet. I scoop my arms behind him and help him sit so I can wipe the gooey liquid from his face, his hands, and his shirt. His mom will be there as soon as she can. We move into the hallway and the boy curls up in my lap with his head against my shoulder.

He starts to whimper, “I want my mommy.”

“Shh,” I say, “She’ll be here soon.”

We sit and he tries not to cry. I hurt for him; even though I’m in my twenties I still want my own mommy when I get sick. He moves a little so he can look up at me.

“Teacher, can you tell me a story?”

I smile a little. Only his mommy can truly comfort him. I’m not a doctor, and I can’t take the pain from his stomach, but I am a storyteller, and suddenly we are transported to a mountain and a boy and a tiger. The boy and the tiger are best friends and they are searching for a map that will lead them to a secret treasure. Time ticks, but neither of us knows it. Before we find the treasure, mom comes. The little boy smiles at me before he climbs into his mother’s arms.

I come home from work. I can still smell the vomit that soaked into my pants and sweater. The clothes can be washed, but the memory will linger on. My first day on the job, and I’m saturated in vomit. My first day on the job, and I learn God needs storytellers too.

Teepee Time

Today was the perfect day to get out a good ol' roll of "teepee" and put it to use! My family enjoys making things from scratch whether it be a warm loaf of bread or homemade hand lotion. For Christmas we received a mushroom grow kit. It seemed pretty cool until we pulled out a roll of toilet paper for the mushrooms to grow on...

First things first, this is teepee not toilet paper. This is very important to remember. The people who wrote the directions take this seriously. Take your teepee and place it somewhere where it can drain. The directions also stressed that it should probably be somewhere sanitary.

Next, saturate the toilet paper, excuse me, teepee with boiling water. (Do not saturate it by dunking it in the toilet, big no no).

Be brave and show the world your stellar photography skills.

Let your teepee cool. Handling your  teepee before it has cooled could be a safety hazard. This is wise advice because you wouldn't want to have to explain this to your ER doctor.

Stuff your saturated teepee in the special filter bag.

Retrieve your mushroom spores which look suspiciously like seeds,

and dump them into your teepee tube.

Seal the bag.

Tie a bow on top and give it to your favorite person.

The last part was made up, but it probably should be added to the list of directions. Oh the fun you could have giving this gift away!

Place the bag in a dark place for three weeks.

The best part about all of this? After you harvest your mushrooms, you can reuse the toilet paper and do it again. The fact that "reuse" and "toilet paper" are together in the same sentence is what really won me over about this whole thing. Now, who's ready to come eat some toilet paper mushrooms?

Pitching is Not My Thing

I have discovered something new about myself this week- pitching is not my thing. Not only can I not throw a baseball, but I can't write a pitch. Unfortunately this is the week for pitches.

I finished my fifth/sixth rewrite for my novel Flame and have some super wonderful test readers reading away which means I am breaking from my novel for awhile. What to do with all my time? Write my pitch of course! This is the blurb I'll put in my letter to agents that will make them feel like their lives will be empty if they don't read my story.

I imagine a pitch to be something where I'm walking down the street and I suddenly see my dream agents walking towards me. I chase them down and I have only seconds to convince these people they want to read my story. I tell them the coolest most exciting few sentences and then they are off walking away again. Those few words have to be words that impact. They have to be words they can't shake from their minds. They have to be words that haunt them so much that they have to track me down so they can hear more. That is a pitch, and that is what a good pitch will do.

All I have is one or two short paragraphs to convince them to look at my story, and guess what? It is hard to do. I think I became a novel writer because I'm long winded and it takes me four hundred pages to say what I want to say. Trying to cram four hundred pages into two paragraphs is agonizing. I just can't seem to get it right. How many pitches have I written for Flame so far? Three on my computer and several in my notebook, and none of them are looking pretty right now.

This week is also the final week for the nanowrimo Pitchapalooza. It is a contest of sorts where you can e-mail your pitch for your nanowrimo novel and be randomly chosen to have it critiqued. Twenty-five people will be selected for this. Of those twenty-five people, one winner will be chosen and he or she will get set up with an actaul agent or publisher! This is pretty much the coolest prize ever! There is also a fan favorite winner and this person will get a free one hour consultation with the book doctors.

I decided to enter the contest which means writing another pitch for my nano novel Albi Wellins and the Serpent's Key. I have written and rewritten and rewritten. I finally have one I'm happy with and I'm super excited and nervous to send it in. Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to share, so here it is below:

Eleven-year-old Albi Wellins is a criminal. He hunts food from the lord’s land in order to feed his poor peasant family, and for this he could be put to death. They are managing alright, or so Albi thinks, until he returns one morning to find that he and his twin sister Maura have been sold by their mother for money.

Albi is taken from the only home he has ever known to serve the lord of Harewood Castle. The new servants endure severe flogging and ridicule by the overseer and the lord until they prove through a series of tests that they are loyal to him. When proving his loyalty means betraying those he loves and compromising who he is, Albi realizes he must escape.

Harewood Castle is known throughout the land for its defense. No one can get in and no one can get out. The castle is hundreds of years old and there is only rumor of one man to ever escape. The legend says he discovered the mysterious serpent’s key and fled the city. When Albi and his new friends hear the story they seek out the key that few believe exists.

Welcome Parents

Welcome to all the Parents and Guardians of readers! Thank you for allowing your child help test read my novel. I appreciate it so much and I hope the students have fun reading it too. This page is set up for parents who have questions or concerns. Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section and I will try to reply in a timely manner. I also have a Facebook page set up, so I will try to update this with the link ASAP. Thanks again! Carrie Austin


Update- Here is the link to my Facebook page. Feel free to leave any questions and/or concerns there. Thanks!    https://www.facebook.com/writer.ceaustin

A Writer's Valentine's Day

I’m pretty sure this was the first Valentine’s Day where I spent a good chunk of it alone. My hubby’s work schedule meant seeing him for less than two hours and the girls were at school. I was alone and left to fend for myself.  Don’t feel sorry for me though, I went to Starbucks (coffee fixes everything) and ordered myself the biggest size (if coffee fixes everything, then bigger is better).

I sipped my coffee and then got to work lovin’ on my characters. Believe me, some of them needed a lot, I mean a real whole lot of lovin’. My female characters? Great. My male characters? They haven’t been looking so hot. In fact, one of them even changes looks mid story (if you aren’t a writer, let’s just say that’s not a good thing). His name is Levi. In the beginning of the book his hair was brown and his eyes were hazel. Then lo and behold, by the end of the story his eyes were gray and his hair was blonde. Maybe it would be okay if he had magical powers. He doesn’t. I might be able to get away with it if he was a fugitive in hiding. He’s not. He is your simple good guy with no excuse to change his hair and eye color (shame on him). I spent a decent amount of time combing through my story and changing his hair and eyes to the right colors (gray eyes and blonde hair).

I always thought I wouldn’t make the small mistakes like forgetting a character’s eye color, but once the pages start to pile it’s easy to forget a million little things. Unfortunately some of my characters got the brunt of it. I fleshed out Levi first because he was the easy one. After getting his looks back to order I worked out exactly what type of clothes he wore and tweaked his personality. He’s from a noble family, and the biggest gentleman you’ll ever meet. The problem is he can go overboard with being too proper and that is when he starts to get funny (but not on purpose of course)!

My second male character is Oren. He plays a small part in the first book. He’s stoic and mysterious, so I didn’t need a lot of information about him. The problem is that I’m into a decent chunk of book two and I don’t know him. If I was a diligent writer, I would have been well acquainted with him by now. It turns out I did need a lot of information because he is a big guy in book two and he is an absolute mess. He is even more confusing than Levi’s changing appearances (if you aren’t a writer, let’s just say that’s really, really bad).  Luckily, Oren got the ultimate manly Valentine makeover. Hair? Check. Clothes? Check. Cool weapons? Check. Super awesome faithful steed? Check. Hunky personality? Check. (Don’t worry, my husband okayed my use of hunky here.)

My story always needs shaping up, so once the men were taken care of I went to work changing, fixing, smoothing, clipping, and recreating. Editing is tough stuff. I left the coffee shop half brain dead with a bad case of the jitters (apparently bigger isn’t always better), but now my characters “heart” me more, and I “heart” my story more.

Hope you got to do something you love today. Happy Valentine’s Day!