So hey, this blog sure has been fruitful, hasn't it, all you people not following me? Not that I was ever really expecting much out of it... But now November has come around again! Which means National Novel Writing Month 2011!
I realized early on during the last NaNo that having that daily goal proved useful in motivating me to write, whereas setting the same goal on a personal basis after NaNo had ended did squat... So hopefully, now that I have that 1667 words per day goal set up FOR me again, all official on the NNWM site and everything, things will be different on this attempt to start a new book.
And in fact they already are. I've spent the last couple weeks or so plotting and planning out my next (first?) novel. 6500+ words in notepad, creating a backbone for the novel. It's pretty thorough, though could still use some work in some areas (namely characters; there's a lot of nameless characters running around in the chapter-by-chapter outline I wrote. Rather awkward, that), but it will most definitely help keep me on track during November, with fewer lengths of wasted time where I just don't know what to do, and hopefully with very few weird, filler bits, like chapter 2 from last year's book...
Speaking of, last year I wrote a novel called 'Azure Night: Bound for Eternity'. A vampire story, which I know is totally original stuff, but it's actually just a side story in a much larger series of novels I've been forming mentally for damn near 10 years now (one of the most important goals is to iron out the less ingenious bits my 14 year old self came out with, bits like author inserts and wanton character murder). The back of the finished Azure Night calls it the fifth book in the 'Azure Sky series'. Truthfully, that number is just a place holder. It might be the fifth, could be as high as the seventh depending on how things go. The point is I have a lot of plans. (Azure Night will be completely rewritten eventually as well, when I actually have all that continuity and backstory set in stone.)
I like to think I'm a good writer, or at least a decent writer. I don't know if my books are anything anyone will want to read, but I most certainly hope so. The Azure Sky books are (will be) a series of urban fantasy novels, I suppose with an intended young adult audience. They're heavily inspired by...well, a lot of things. Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid, the books I read at around the same time, the works of Joss Whedon, various anime series I enjoy, video games, comic books, et cetera. Not to say they're completely derivative! At least, I don't think so. You be the judge? (If they're ever finished and available for purchase!)
I'm rambling now though... Um... Yeah...
On a related note, I've recently learned that what could have been a huge distraction has been conveniently put off until December 1st...so I have no excuse at all not to get this book written! Hoorah!
Look for Azure Sky: The First Year (title tentative) soon!
(TRACK MY ONGOING PROGRESS HERE, STARTING NOVEMBER 1, 2011!)
~Psylash...
