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Title: Hex Appeal Author: Edited by P.N. Elrod Genre: Anthology, Horror, Urban Fantasy Format & Pages: Paperback, 356 Publication: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012 Source: Borrowed Rating: 
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Saturday, November 30, 2013
Hex Appeal Part 2
Monday, November 25, 2013
Hex Appeal Part 1
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Title: Hex Appeal Author: Edited by P.N. Elrod Genre: Anthology, Horror, Urban Fantasy Format & Pages: Paperback, 356 Publication: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012 Source: Borrowed Rating:
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
NaNoWriMo 2013
I am sure that you all have noticed a gradual decline in reviews being posted on here. Well, that is because I was working my tush off over in NaNo land. As of yesterday, November 20th, with ten days to spare, I hit the 50,000 word goal. Yay!!! That is the most that I have ever written in such a short period of time and it is also rivaling how much I have written, ever. This is a huge accomplishment for me, and while I may think what I wrote is boring, at least I have something to work it. I am going to take a break from it before I dive into editing, give my brain more time to percolate on what I have done. So for those of you out there yelling at me to start posting reviews again, well I am here to tell you that reviews will start going up.
For those of you still plowing ahead on your novels don’t stop! It’s all about pushing through the hard stuff, through those scenes that don’t seem to want to be written. I found what really got me moving were word sprints and word crawls. Some of you may be asking, huh, what are those? Well a word sprint is where you write nonstop for a set period of time. I preferred the 15-20 minute sprints with a 5-10 minute break in between. Any longer of a break and I would lose my focus. Word crawls are narrative type adventures that have word sprints, wars, mystical enimies to slay or papers to write that help motivate you towards your goals. They make it fun to write those hard sections because you are competing now. I found my favorites to be the Hunger Games Crawl as well as the RPG crawl.
Another thing I found that helped when I was really stuck was to work on world building. I write primarily fantasy, so world building is an important aspect that needs to be covered. Most of the time I get the setting of my story and the characters all set to go, but the world building is sparse. I fly by the seat of my pants and if it works in my story, then it becomes a part of the world. But this led me to not really knowing what I was doing with the story. Does the MC have a chance to change her social status? Is there magic and what are its consequences?
These questions played an important part in my story, even if they were subtle elements. So when I was stuck, I consulted Lee Killough’s Checking on Culture. This book is a lifesaver. It has various categories such as habitat, religion, humor, etc. that are further explained with some questions and examples. Even if you do not think that part of your world will come into play, just reading over certain sections can give you a creative boost. It certainly did for me. I got to know my world at a more in-depth level, so when I was needing a few extra words or a bit more to add to my setting, I could draw on these random things I thought about. It is definitely something you should look into.
For those of you still plowing ahead on your novels don’t stop! It’s all about pushing through the hard stuff, through those scenes that don’t seem to want to be written. I found what really got me moving were word sprints and word crawls. Some of you may be asking, huh, what are those? Well a word sprint is where you write nonstop for a set period of time. I preferred the 15-20 minute sprints with a 5-10 minute break in between. Any longer of a break and I would lose my focus. Word crawls are narrative type adventures that have word sprints, wars, mystical enimies to slay or papers to write that help motivate you towards your goals. They make it fun to write those hard sections because you are competing now. I found my favorites to be the Hunger Games Crawl as well as the RPG crawl.
Another thing I found that helped when I was really stuck was to work on world building. I write primarily fantasy, so world building is an important aspect that needs to be covered. Most of the time I get the setting of my story and the characters all set to go, but the world building is sparse. I fly by the seat of my pants and if it works in my story, then it becomes a part of the world. But this led me to not really knowing what I was doing with the story. Does the MC have a chance to change her social status? Is there magic and what are its consequences?
These questions played an important part in my story, even if they were subtle elements. So when I was stuck, I consulted Lee Killough’s Checking on Culture. This book is a lifesaver. It has various categories such as habitat, religion, humor, etc. that are further explained with some questions and examples. Even if you do not think that part of your world will come into play, just reading over certain sections can give you a creative boost. It certainly did for me. I got to know my world at a more in-depth level, so when I was needing a few extra words or a bit more to add to my setting, I could draw on these random things I thought about. It is definitely something you should look into.
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