We’re hurtling towards the end of 2019, and even though I’m deep in NaNoWriMo for November, I’m starting to look ahead and make plans for the blog in the future.  I have some exciting new ideas I want to start putting up, so I thought I’d do a bit of a “coming attractions” post to tell regular readers what to expect.

Spirit Sunday

I’ve been reading (and occasionally reviewing) spiritual books for a number of years.  It’s been a reading goal in some years, and I’ve listed a lot of the books I’ve read and found value in.  I’ve also been keeping a journal to note quotes from the spiritual or philosophical books I’ve been reading.  I plan to start sharing some of those quotes and insights as a regular feature.  Starting next week, I’ll be sharing a quote each Sunday.

I’ll note that I am Catholic, and so come from a Christian background.  I have read and found meaning in books from many different faith traditions, though, and I expect both that fact and the non-judgmental feelings behind it to inform the quotes I share.  These will be what spoke to me, but I respect that everyone finds their inspiration in different places and different forms.

The Phantom of the Opera Reading and Viewing Challenge

Closer to my usually scheduled content, I plan to host a reading and viewing challenge in 2020, centered around the Phantom of the Opera.  Even semi-regular readers probably know that I’m very interested in the many, many versions of the Phantom–and that my own version will be coming out in a trilogy in 2020.  So it seems like a natural time to try to gather some other fans around and enjoy exploring the Phantom story together, on page and on screen.  The challenge will have its own, much more extensive, launch post shortly with more details.

Live Blog Writing Collaboration

I and three of my writer friends recently agreed to attempt to co-write a novel in 2020.  We went on a writing retreat in September, where we created characters and outlined a plot, involving a coven, a parkour group and possibly magical pesto.  Trust us, it’s amazing!  We plan to write the book round-robin style, each author writing a chapter then passing it on to the next, and have already assigned chapters based on the outline.

We also plan to blog about the process while we do it, discussing in a live fashion how the book is growing and how the collaboration process is working.  The blogging will be primarily on the Stonehenge Circle Writers blog, but I plan to cross-post over here, so expect to see those updates starting in January too.

 

Meanwhile, I’ll still be posting about writing and reading and all the usual things…with a few extra features.  Thank you always for reading!

A third of November has gone by, but it’s hard to say if I’m a third of the way through my NaNoWriMo plans.  I’m currently at 23,326 words for the month, keeping up a good cushion should I slip in future days this month–you never know what might be coming!  I’m well out of the lull portion I’ve mentioned, with both of the second-half-of-the-book villains coming onto the scene.  Xevrix the enchantress is in secret communication with Rose, while Edward, Terrence’s brother, has arrived to sow discord and dissension and assassination attempts.

I think I know where I’m going in coming scenes, some sections more clearly than others, but it’s much harder to say if the end of the story will coincide with the 50,000 word mark, or even the 60,000!  I’m hoping it won’t extend much beyond that, but as my writing friends always tell me…the story will be as long as it needs to be.

I’ve been pleased with my word count and the progression of the story so far.  The writing is definitely a first draft, and it will need polish and possibly overhauling in the revision process.  I find I can’t keep all the little details of character mannerisms and recurring references in mind when I write an initial draft, so that’s what I’ll be going back through to do in the future (probably in early 2020).

Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Day 11: Writing Muscles” →