Aren’t these theme posts supposed to be published on the first of the month? Yes, yes they are.
Are they always? Almost never. Whoops. Continue reading “December’s Theme – I’m Late, I’m Late, For A Very Important Date….”
National Novel Writing Month is finished for 2015, and I’ve taken a bit of a break from my novel. I wrote a few hundred words on Tuesday. Otherwise, I’ve been catching up on Netflix (I just started watching Sherlock with Cumberbatch and Martin. Quick rip: I like it). But I really only want this to be a temporary break from writing to reset my brain. Continue reading “NaNo 2015 Recap + December Goals”
NaNoWriMo 2015: Completed Continue reading “NANO SUCCESS! but not done yet”
I can’t believe November is over in 12 hours. It’s been a long month. I think I’ll have some real lessons to take away once I’ve verified my final word count tonight, but I’ll discuss those in a later post.
After five days of travel for Thanksgiving weekend, my word count sits at 46,628. Continue reading “NaNo Update: The End is Nigh!”
Long-faced child of war-
Soft hazel eyes search the trees
Knowing not for what.
Author’s Note: Aston is the other protagonist (along with Jaed) for my novel, “Aston and Jaed”. Aston looks much like an ethnic Felding; fair skin, hazel eyes, light brown hair, and a tall, lean build. A young man of 19, Aston grew up in the shadow of the Second Clan War, in which his father was killed when Aston was only twelve. Aston has a strong sense of duty for his family, but he also cares for Jaed deeply. He must reconcile his past in order to become the honorable man he wants to be.
No, the arbitrary milestone has nothing to do with NaNo, although I will cover that in a bit. I am happy to announce that Red String PaperCuts has reached a new, totally arbitrary and not-at-all-indicative-of-future-success milestone!
Layers of green blood,
Windswept lines twisting, curling,
Stains of history
Author’s Note: I love tattoos. I only have one myself, mostly because of cost, but I also love the history of tattoos across the world. Many cultures use tattoos to tell the histories of their people, their families. Tattoos play varying roles for many of the cultures of Ur’Dan. For Feldings, tattoos are traditionally used as a coming-of-age symbol, a mark earned by the bearer and recognized by their comrades, especially warriors. Felding tattoos are made up of swirling lines of dark green ink, beginning at the wrist and sweeping up the arm. The higher the tattoos go, the more respected the warrior is, and the more likely their names will be remembered.
Steve D
I hit a weird snag in my NaNo novel on Wednesday, one I did not expect to hit after my record-shattering (for me) weekend. I got bored with my story. I was bored with Aston (he is so terribly naive, something I may have to fix in the editing process), I was bored with the section I was writing, and I was bored with Everfeld. I wrote 135 words, and I don’t even like most of them. I get it, at least I wrote something. But I was not looking forward to coming home on Thursday and staring at the laptop screen again. Continue reading “NaNo Update: I Need More Fantasy”
dia820 surges forward for a few yards but is stopped up near the line of scrimmage — no wait — He bounces off the linebacker and jukes HE’S ACROSS THE LINE FOR THE TOUCHDOWN.
If I were a sportscaster, I’d aim to emulate Mike Tirico; smart and engaging in his play-by-play, and unrivaled in his bursts of excitement at the right moments. He also does it for more sports than any other broadcaster I know of; he single-handedly makes ESPN’s Monday Night Football and NBC’s coverage of the World Cup and the Olympics worth listening to. I’m a fan. Continue reading “NaNo Update: The Big Push”
Gold-flecked emeralds –
Bright stars under night’s blackness,
Her wild, loving gaze.
Author’s note: Jaed is one of the two protagonists in my story, a young woman who cares deeply for the few people close to her. Eyes are the first thing I notice about a person. A striking pair of eyes can freeze me — think Olivia Wilde. In the earliest notes for this story, when I had nothing more than an image of two young lovers trying to find themselves, the first details I developed were the dazzling color of Jaed’s eyes: bright emerald-green with flecks of yellow-gold. Green, hazel, and brown eyes and blonde-brown hair are common among Feldings. Jaed’s night-black hair is not, nor her bronze-tinted skin tone. Aston has light brown hair and hazel eyes. It’s remarkable how many cultural/ethnic details you can develop just from designing two characters.
Steve D
Evening Satellite Publishing 