The idea for the LGN started in my eight-year-old brain. Even at that age, I wanted to write the horse novel I hadn't found to read. Yes, I read The Black Stallion series, and Black Gold and King of the Wind. I enjoyed them, but wanted more!
What does an eight-year-old name her fictional horses? Well...Chique, star of the LGN, was Snowflake. Yes, really.
There was a post shared with me on Facebook yesterday, of a little black (likely to turn grey) filly by Caravaggio, asking readers what they'd name her. I didn't share, but it immediately brought to mind Snowflake! C'mon...she'll probably grey out all dark and frosty like her dad. It would suit, right? π
Tone Broke on his way to winning the Prince of Wales Stakes this year.
It's what we live by in horse racing – you never know. Now that I have the LGN (because it will always be that in my head) back from the betas, I'm contemplating making some changes based on their comments. I've also pretty much decided to change the name. Fifty Sovereigns seems too stuffy now, so I'm thinking about Good Things Come.
The other thing that's come out of the beta process is possibly seeking a traditional publisher. All along I've just assumed I'd self-publish because horse novels don't seem to have a hope in hell in the "real world," but one beta, in particular, insisted it should be traditionally published. While it's not as easy as that, I'm going to go through the motions for a while at least. That means fun things like a query letter, synopsis, and so on, in an attempt to attract an agent. Things that strike fear into the hearts of wannabe authors everywhere! If it comes to nought, I still maintain it will be a good exercise.
Speaking of good exercises...I decided to be brave and submit a story to a flash fiction contest today. Gulp. I'm no good at flash fiction...or even short stories. Have to do things that scare us now and again, right?
It's a habit that came from the write-ins I did with my friend Sheri during Nano. I don't always get to write on Sundays, but it's kind of what's in my head. As my crazy novel is currently off to my beta readers, I'm at a bit of a loss! It was good to take a break from it at first, because it's been in my head so much, but I miss it!
I will be going on to the outlining work I'd started on the sequel – which has also been written in full, in the past, but will be getting a fresh start. I actually "rewarded" myself with some outlining software. It was pretty inexpensive, and if it helps me be disciplined in that area, it'll be worth it!
Another thing I've been thinking about is how to come up with a Patreon membership. I follow a couple of writers, and I know a few artists who are using the platform. Well, what if I came up with a writing/painting/horse life one? It's got the gears in my head going at the moment. I'll probably wait until Fifty Sovereigns is closer to publication to launch it, if I decide to do so...so that gives me time to come up with something. Might be interesting to give it a try!
The sun is shining after a grey morning, and I've still got stalls to do, so off I go! Maybe a bit of brainstorming this aft on the Patreon concept. What do you think? What would you want to see?
I didn't know what to call my NaNo story this year, so I picked a random song name from my iTunes. Said song was "Who Let You Go" by The Killers. Seemed like it could be a good book title.
As I started writing, however, something else kind of took over. You see, the iPod dock in my barn finally died, and I've been back to listening to the radio most days. I haven't listened to the radio that steadily for ages, like over a decade, maybe.
I fell into the habit of playing my old favourite station, CFNY. I don't mind listening the odd time, because the one thing I do miss about radio is discovering new songs. I found a couple that had me investigating the artists further, and they play quite a bit of classic older alternative music, which is cool.
Then, of course, the inevitable happened, and I remembered WHY I don't like listening to the radio. The endless ads. The over-playing of the popular songs.
Sometimes one of those popular over-played songs sticks in your head, full-force earworm, like a parasite gnawing at your brain. One such song had the chorus, "Shut up and dance with me." It had an appropriate dance beat, the kind of music I typically dislike. But I realized this could be a scene in my novel...so it started to grow on me because of that. I had no idea who actually performed the song, but the lyrics worked well for the characters, so I wrote my adaptation of it in.
Friday night both Sheri (same writing BFF from last year) and I validated our winning word counts for the second year in a row. Yay!! I actually like this year's story quite a bit, and it went pretty smoothly, with none of the running-off-I-don't-know-what-to-write tangents I've had in the past. It incorporates the characters from Fifty Sovereigns, so if I ever do get that published and folks actually want more, hey, I'll have a series. ;-)
Last night, because this damn song is still running through my head, and I'd just heard it in the barn as I did my late feed, I looked up the lyrics, and saw there was a video. It's a fun video, and kind of perfect for my story too (though that's not exactly how I envision the characters!). So I give you, "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk The Moon. Like I said, poppy dance stuff is not my usual thing, but the video made me laugh.
Managed to make it to the 25K mark by the middle of the month, woo-hoo! Thanks in large part go to doing a few virtual word sprints with my writing BFF Sheri. The NaNo site has a timer, so we each set the timer for the prescribed time, and try and write like crazy. I admit it's a lot more fun knowing someone else is slogging words at the same time you are!
There have been days...days I wondered what I was thinking, deciding to do this. So far I've managed to get everything accomplished that has needed to be accomplished. Horses, working at the Royal, running Gryph, a portrait deadline, launching an online event for one of my businesses, and so on. Just have to keep it up for two more weeks...!
I don't know how long it's been since I've done NaNo, but this year I decided, prompted by my oldest writing friend, to do it again. My life is no less busy than it was the years past I've pulled it off, so no excuses, right?
I've got my ticker installed, and checked in on the NaNo site...let the insanity begin! No surprise, the story will be based at the track. If it's any good, maybe I'll share parts! Ha! Don't hold your breath. ;-)
It's been almost a year since my last post, must be time for an update on the late, "great" novel, right? Guess what? I lied. I'm editing again. More like, hacking it to bits and rewriting, thanks to the inspiration of a self-published novelist who has actually boldly gone where I've never gone before, haha. Every other week I sit back and think, why am I bothering? Why not just scrap this, keep it as what it is - my own story indulgence, to satisfy the kid in me who was never satisfied with what she read? Half the time I hate what I'm writing, I'm not sure I recognize my characters anymore - or like them, for that matter - and it all seems kind of pointless. It's hard to stay motivated, so I admit I'm struggling big-time. But part of me is still that kid who is never satisfied with any horse book she's read, and wants to write that book.
Anyway...I'm plugging along in my closet questioning this novel's existence. The best part is, when I have serious writing avoidance, I paint, so I've been getting more painting done! Maybe one avoidance will feed the other.
