Blog Archives
No NaNoWriMo this time
Since I’m in the middle of writing a novel right now, I’m not going to be writing a draft for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). And even if I didn’t have a work-in-progress, I don’t think I’d write another book the NaNo way.
I participated in my first Nanowrimo back in 2007 — The Princes of Tangleforest. And three more times (2 of these are still incomplete) over the past four years. Not long ago I would have sworn there was no way I’d write a novel any other way. But here I am back to writing the old fashioned way. I’m taking my time to think, I’m allowing myself to go back and add scenes as needed and get to know my characters now and not later when I rewrite the draft.
There is something to say about writing and leaving your inner-editor out of it–one of the recommended techniques for NaNo. But at the same time, I think in doing that, I created these stories that are more like shells of stories where I had to go back through and replot and cut/paste and pretty much rewrite the darn thing.
Seeing as the rough draft of the story is my least favorite part of writing a book, I don’t want to do it twice anymore. I think writing the book the way I’m doing now, my book should be fully plotted, and have fully developed characters by the time I get to “The End”, which really appeals to me.
I’m in no way bashing NaNo, my goodness it was very productive, 2 finished books and 4 rough drafts –err prerough drafts, later. I’m just saying that now, for me, it seems better if take a little more time on the first draft, cleaning up messes as I go, so I won’t have such a huge mess in the end.
Love and Laughter,
Dorlana
Free Ebook: Fairy Tale Inspired YA
The Princes of Tangleforest by Dorlana Vann
Hi Friends,
I just wanted to let you know that my Rapunzel inspired contemporary YA novel, The Princes of Tangleforest (Kindle eBook) will be Free Wednesday Sept. 5th. The Princes of Tangleforest was inspired by The Brother’s Grimm version of, “Rapunzel.” However, it is not a retelling of the classic. Instead, I’ve taken certain aspects of the fairy tale and mixed them with contemporary characters and setting.
What if the school’s misfits discovered a way to use mind control in order to become the popular group?
Skater and reformed geek, Tanner Dobbs, soon learns that his new school, Tangleforest High, is ruled by the Princes. This group of brains used the techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming to “persuade” the student body that intellectuals are cool, with an added bonus suggestion: “The Princes are the smartest and therefore the most popular.”
Julia Webster used to be part of the Princes’ crowd until they became obsessed and increasingly dangerous to themselves. Now she finds herself an outcast from her former “nerd” friends as well as the students who had ostracized her since elementary school. She’s worried when new kid, Tanner, is invited to join the Princes. She figures Tanner hides his smarts in order to fit in and worries that the popular status the Princes offer, even though geeky, might entice him.
When Tanner catches a glimpse of his golden-haired neighbor, Poppi, he thinks perhaps the Tangleforest community isn’t so terribly bad. But after climbing up to her window, he discovers she is locked in her bedroom by her wicked witch of a grandmother. Unfortunately, his only chance of saving the princess may be to become a nerd prince.
Get your Free copy at Amazon worldwide:
