Let’s face it, folks.  I really neglect this blog, and there are very few people who read it, anyway.  This new blog o’ mine will become my writing blog and the one I spend the most time on.  I’ll still keep this one, but when I update it, it’ll likely just be here’s-what’s-happening-in-my-life-right-now stuff.  Or something like that.

And here’s what I have for a banner…though, this one will probably change…

Well, the only thing to really comment on is that I’m currently in the midst of developing a decent novel idea for NaNoWriMo. To my nonexistent readers, you should join the noveling fun in November, too. And if you do, make sure you sign up on the official website.

The story I think I’ll be working on is pretty strange. It’s fantasy, something dealing with twins that are part cat, and…other stuff. I’ll work on a better summary, I promise. But I also need a working title to run with. At the moment, I’m leaning towards, “The Strays of Nor.” But…eh. We’ll see if that changes or not.

At any rate, to celebrate, here’s another character sketch (the only one I’ve already made up that I’ve yet to post). I won’t reveal this character’s name just yet, but she plays a pretty important role at various points in the story.

So, in celebration of my mild productivity, I shall now introduce to the blogging world…Leo, Jayne’s love interest!

With a little luck, he might even be interesting by the end of the second draft… >_<

I’m 67 pages (just over 17,500 words) into my current noveling venture, and a few of these pesky questions keep popping up. My favorites, so far, have been:

Wasn’t this supposed to be steampunk?

Wait, did my protagonist just faint two chapters in a row?

Does…does my nineteen-year-old protagonist seem to have better chemistry with the thirty-eight-year-old doctor than she does with her twenty-one-year-old love interest? >_<

These sorts of questions are already on top of things I know and expected to have to go back in and fix. Large chunks of missing plot, setting details, a few last names that I skipped assigning, better physical character descriptions, setting details, setting details, and, oh yeah, setting details. And some of these additional questions that pop up may very well end up getting fixed as I patch up some of the other stuff. The steampunk elements, for example, might be more evident once those pesky setting details are all in place. Filling in the missing chunks of plot will make it to where my protagonist isn’t fainting two chapters in a row. Other things, however, such as the lack of appeal her love interest has or the lack of attention he’s receiving in recent chapters will need a little more work.

But even in spite of all this, I’m honestly enjoying writing this novel. It’s nice, because I haven’t felt this way for a little while. The story I tried writing before this was a bit more “literary” and purposeful, and failed miserably as a result. This story is just fun. The main character is stronger than most of my other female protagonists are, in spite of the fact that she has more of an excuse to be weak. She’s almost a bit of a “tsundere” (sigh…anime terms keep sneaking their way into my vocabulary) but she’ll need a little more work before she seems consistently inconsistent rather than bipolar. The other characters…have potential, but haven’t quite established their voices yet. But when they do, I’m sure it will be awesome.

So for now, I’ll just continue writing and see how things develop. And if more fun questions pop up, maybe I’ll even post them.

What’s your favorite genre of writing? Fantasy

How often do you get writer’s block? It depends on what I’m writing and the pace I’m writing at. If the story is interesting and I’m squeezing it in or rushing to get it done, then it doesn’t pop up too often. But once I lose interest or focus on a project, I get writer’s block nearly every time I sit down to work on it.

How do you fix it? I have to change my tactics each time to ward off the writer’s block…it’s tricky and knows how to adapt. My current solution seems to be sipping on coffee while listening to strange “Vocaloid” songs. Caffeine and music usually help. Oddly enough, changing the time of day I write during also helps a lot (the writer’s block must not be able to find me…haha).

Do you type or write by hand? Mostly type, especially for novels. If it’s a short story, sometimes I’ll write it by hand first.

Do you save everything you write? Yep. At least, I started doing so once I became a little more serious about my writing.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it? Definitely, but the original idea usually ends up getting altered quite a bit by the time I’m done.

Do you have a constructive critic? Hmm…I used to have a writer friend who I exchanged a few stories with, and we’d provide some constructive criticism for each other. Haven’t done that in a while, though.

Did you ever write a novel? Unpublished novels needing LOTS of revisions and rewrites count, right? If so, I’ve written three, and I’m working on a fourth.

What genre would you love to write but haven’t? I’ve already experimented with most of the ones that’ve caught my eye, but I really haven’t done many mystery stories. I’d love to be able to write a good detective story once in my life, but I don’t know if it’ll happen. I’d also love to write at least one good historical fiction story and action story, but they also seem difficult for me.

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will? Um…….smut? Ha! Not sure that that’s really a genre, but I can honestly say I’ve never written it and NEVER will.

How many writing projects are you working on right now? Actively, only one. But I have quite a few waiting for me once I’m finished.

Do you write for a living? Do you want to? Currently, I can’t even claim to be making a living at anything. So no, I don’t really write for a living, but I have been doing a little freelance writing online. I would love to make a living out of it, though.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper? Only my college newspaper.

Have you ever won an award for your writing? I got a small amount of scholarship money once for a paper I wrote in college. The paper won the regional undergraduate scholarship at the Alpha Chi convention during my junior year.

Do you ever write based on your dreams? Sometimes. I have a few story ideas waiting to be worked on that originated from dreams, but I’m not sure if I’ve actually written any of them out yet.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers? Happy endings, without a doubt. I prefer reading stories with happy endings, and they’re just about the only thing I can write, too. Even when I try to write a sad ending, I usually end up changing it into something happier at the last minute.

It’ll be a steampunk story, novel length (most likely). Well, I say steampunk, but we’ll see how that goes. Right now, it looks like the first half is really heavy on the steampunk elements, while the second half reverts back to my magic-curses-creatures fantasy roots. But whether it turns out to be die-hard steampunk or not, I’m actually excited about it. I wrote out a pretty detailed outline last night, and if I can write it out even half as well as I can imagine it, things are gonna get EPIC near the end.

Today, I start writing Chapter One. But not for another few hours. I have some writing to catch up on for Demand Studios that, thanks to the virus that infested my computer this morning, I didn’t get the chance to do earlier. After I can get at least a minimal amount done, though, I’ll start my noveling venture.

I can hardly wait.