Tag: planning

Posted in NaNoWriMo

Update 9/2

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

This week is just an update on what will be coming next. As we all know, National Novel Writing Month is less than two months away. As such, I will start to plan my novel and all that good stuff so expect a lot of posts about that. I started creating a new blog for NaNoWriMo 2016 so I can have everything organized. However, I’m unsure if I’ll be linking the posts between both sites or just using one. I haven’t decided yet.

 I’m also planning on sending out a second batch of query letters for my novel, Clan of Ash. Hopefully, this time around I get a response. If not then, I’ll just keep trying or work on another project. 

For right now, those are the two major things in my life. Well, that and tiday half price books has a 20% sale going on that’ll I’ll be checking out. I’ll still be writing and editing my other project but for right now my nanowrimo novel and Clan of Ash take priority. 

Posted in Resources

My List of Resources

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

This week I’ll share with you my list of go to websites when I need extra help in my writing. There are plenty of websites out there and I’m not saying some are better than others. I will say, however, that I have mostly stuck with the following websites because they have worked out for me so far. For the most part, this list is biased toward fantasy tools but there are other websites too.

1.Evernote

I use Evernote to jot down notes, story ideas that pop into my head, and copy down urls. Since I have the app, I can access all my notes on my phone so I don’t always have to be in front of a computer. There’s a free basic version that I think works well and the websites has other features you can pay for.

2. Donjon

This is a website for fantasy generators and it also has information/generators for D&D and science fiction as well. It has a world generator that you can customize and the websites shows an image of your map which is really cool.

3. Seventh Sanctum

This is another website with generators. This is more diverse than Donjon because you can generate armor, weapons, magic, technology, superheroes, and anime and manga.

4. Chaotic Shiny

This website does focus on fantasy (I’m finding a theme here). There’s generators for culture, people, places, accessories with a wide variety.

5. Fantasy name generators

Although it says fantasy, this is primarily a name generator for many things; places, real names, descriptions, and pop culture. For those of you who play WoW, Guild Wars, Diablo, this website is for you. There are generators for every race in the games; Warhammer 40k, LOTR, and so much more.

6. Plot Generator

I don’t use this one often but you can pick the genre you’re thinking about writing and fill in some blanks. With a click of a button, you get your plot. It might not be what you want to write about but I think it’s a good way to start.

7. Writers Plot Idea Generator

This is another plot generator but the website includes plot twists, character name, character profile, and location generators.

8. Fiction Factor

This websites has articles on writing and tips. There are also other genres they talk about with their own website like fantasy or horror.

9. Pronounce names

I use this website when I have no idea how to even pronounce a character name. This situation falls under all the names I make up in my head (or on a generator).

10. Celtx

Primarily I use this website for my scripts but they all have a novel function that you can use. They also have app that can be downloaded.

 

The list isn’t perfect and it all tailored to what I need.  If there are other websites out there that are really great, please tell me. I’m open to any suggestions on other websites that I can use. Like I mentioned, I don’t have all the list of resources but I found these very helpful.

Posted in Methods, Writing

Tick Tock

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Recently, I have been reading a lot of short stories by my peers for my creative writing classes. While some have been great with their ups and downs, others are a bit lacking. As per one of my previous posts, I like to sit back and think about what I can steal and what I can avoid. The conclusion that I came to was very simple.

The stories that were a bit lacking had one thing in common: there was no clock. By this I mean that there was no urgency in the story. There was no deadline and the characters didn’t really have a motivation to do anything. So, this got me thinking about my own writing and without realizing, my novel already had a clock. Subconsciously, I must have made this decision knowing that my characters needed a deadline. Of course, the situation that I presented in the first chapter called for a deadline.

However, I looked at my other ideas I plan to write into novels and I noticed that they didn’t have a clock yet. Usually, I’m able to create a bare skeleton plot for my ideas and sometimes I am good at having it all planned out.Yet, I found a few that I was stuck on. I didn’t know what was going to happen or what was at stake. This is where the deadline came in.

The deadline gave the plot(s) a sense of urgency. Not only that but it prompted my characters to move forward. This only helped my character’s motivation appear on the page because readers want to know why someone is doing something. There’s always a reason.

The clock can be metaphorically or physically, like a bomb about to go off on a plane. Either way, it shows that something has to happen. This event will propel readers to turn to the next page eager to find out what happens. So, if you’re struggling with your writing, sit back and think for a moment. Is there a deadline? What is at stake? Would the story stay the same if the deadline isn’t met?

Thanks for joining me this week.

Until next time,

Kassandra C.

Posted in Writing

Need Motivation?

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Recently, I’ve been trying to finish Crimson Queen on Wattpad as well as The Vampire Prince goes to High School and Spirit Guardians. Despite the fact that financials and life got in the way, for the most part, I’ve been uploading chapters consecutively. This has pushed me to keep writing every day and to try to publish a chapter every week. Those weekly goals that I set for myself, not only helps me write every day but it also helps me finish my books.

For those of you who have been writing a story or multiple ones and haven’t really finished them for a while, it’s understandable. You’ve been busy. Whatever the case may be, here are a few things that I have helped me write every day and get me closer to putting the story down to rest. While this is my process and you might not upload to wattpad, the process can be applied to regular writing.

  1. I set a deadline for myself.

I made a Wattpad account a few years ago and I upload a few stories that I probably won’t ever traditionally published (though I might self publish after they’ve been edited). In order to get noticed on wattpad, I knew I had to be involved in clubs and commenting on other user’s stories. The amount of this varies from person to person. But the most important thing that I had to do was to upload chapters. So, I set a goal for myself. I would publish a chapter every Friday. With Spirit Guardians, I was able to have thirteen chapters up in no time. My story was progressing and I had gotten a huge chunk of my story out of the way. It got me closer to my self made deadline.

2. I made an outline.

Before I posted my chapters, I made a loose outline of what I wanted the chapters to be about. I broke down those chapters by scenes and each day, I wrote those scenes out until the chapter was finished. Being prepared and knowing what to write about helped the process of meeting that weekly deadline. Another outline was made about the plot of my story but plotting tips is for another day.

3. I didn’t panic.

Even if I didn’t have time to write a scene one day and type it up, I didn’t panic. Stressing out isn’t helpful. Making a daily planner with times blocked out for specific tasks helped me stay organize. I planned around events, lunch, school, work, etc. If I ever became overwhelmed, I took a deep breath and relaxed. Managing my day with life and writing was difficult which is why it took practice. I knew that I might not succeed the first time and that was okay. Practice makes perfect and once I got into the groove, meeting that weekly deadline got easier.

While there are more tips out there to meet deadlines, the most important thing to remember is that your story it your baby. Treat it kindly. If you need time to think about what’s going to happen next, it’s fine. Keeping a journal with all those notes helps a lot and sometimes new ideas can spiral from them. Stay positive and always remember that you don’t write a story once, there are many more drafts in the future. Don’t let writing become a chore.

What process, if any, do you use? Have you had to tweak it over the course of your writing?