My (unorthodox) writing style for Nanowrimo, Part I

My first try at Nanowrimo was in 2006. I began at the beginning and kept writing until the end. I named each day's work as 'Session #(Day)'. Here is a snippet of "The Silk Dragon". This story had no fixed plot, but it grew and grew. At about 10K words, I ran out of things to write about, so I did what any young mother did...incorporated what was on the television at the time. The Wiggles, Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues. Whatever works, works. So this fantasy story incorporated all sorts of fantastic elements that shouldn't have worked together, but somehow did. A quest, a Chosen One, dragons, a Bad Guy to defeat, historical personages (Abe Lincoln and Mark Twain. With Dragons), a Singing Map, a Norse warrior (Freya) and an Aztec princess. Oh, and Clara Barton and Steve Irwin.

And I made it over 50K, barely. 50,018.

Yeah, I still laugh whenever I dig it up and read it. I kept writing, no matter how nonsensical it was or how completely crazy it sounded. 'Write now, edit later'. The strange thing is that I decided to leave it as is and not edit it. After all, who would be interested in reading such a mish-mash?

My second try was in 2011. This time, I had a plan. Anyone who knows me as a writer will gasp in surprise. I studied languages in college and wanted to learn Chinese, so I immersed myself in the language and culture. So The Legacy of the Pearl Dragon was born on Nov. 1, 2011. It introduced the mythical land of Shinwa, an alternate Imperial China. The protagonist, Li Ying, went on a journey to Kemet, an alternate Ancient Egypt. I had scenes that I definitely wanted to include in the story, and I had a beginning, middle and (sort of) end.

I organized it the same way I did "The Silk Dragon", with session numbers, dates and word counts. That worked, for the most part, but as the deadline loomed, I began writing scenes out of order. I also wrote on my laptop and on my desktop, so I could keep an eye on my kids while scribbling.

I coped the text and pasted them where they should be in the main story. I became obsessed with saving, saving, saving my work on both devices, on an external hard drive and CD. It took an incident with spilled coffee and the keyboard to convince me this was necessary.

The Legacy of the Pearl Dragon was again, barely a shade over 50K. I used ideas from this novel-sized monster to write my e-book of short stories, Tales of the Elemental Dragons, Books One and Two. What was meant as a one-shot turned into the beginning of a series.

This year, my Nanowrimo project is titled "The Shadow of the Queen". I wrote a prologue of sorts, but it won't be included in the word count because it's pre-November. This time, my writing process is a bit different. I have two documents, one titled 'Shadow of the Queen' and 'Shadow of the Queen rough cut'.  The first one are scenes that I managed to pen in between taking care of 3 kids, 1 husband, 1 house, and fighting chronic disease. They are completely out of order, since I write whatever strikes me at the time.

The second one is the 'rough cut', like the rough cut of a TV episode or a feature film. The scenes are pasted in somewhat of a coherent order. When I re-read this, it might give me an idea for another scene for the story that bridges between two unrelated ones. Yes, there are contradictions, changed names, impossible travel times between places, and other 'mistakes'.

But the point of Nanowrimo is 'write now, edit later', and like a director/producer/editor of a film, I'll go back and fix those later. What matters is getting the words down on the page, even if it makes no sense, even if no one will read it. Get those thoughts out of your head and break that block that whines, "I don't know what to write!" The ideas will flow if you just do it!

As of today, November 15, I'm at 27009 words. I'm hoping to reach 50K before the end of the month. Keep writing!

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2012

The "Fiction" in Science Fiction (part II)

Yes, scientific accuracy is important in a science fiction short story or novel. A glaring mistake can pull the reader out of the story and ruin the experience for him or her.

Then there's something called "suspension of disbelief". It's the concept that allows us to believe in blue-skinned humanoids with antennae on their heads, or a sentient android, or a time-traveling alien who can alter his appearance before he dies. It allows us to believe in Warp 9.8, hyperspace drive, and a floating space station not far from the event horizon of a black hole. Or a man being trapped in a computer, fighting for his life in a deadly tournament.

Science is one important part of science fiction, but the fiction part is important too. As I stated before, each author puts his or her unique spin on the same concepts, and that is what makes each story unique. Bug eyed aliens (or Reptilians) take over Earth? How do our heroes triumph over the bad guys? Do our heroes stumble all over the universe, finding problems to solve in every space and time? What kind of adventures do they have? Good storytelling transports the reader into that particular world and as the pages turn, he or she becomes so engrossed in the story that the words "THE END" is a disappointment.

That's a hallmark of good writing, no matter what genre. Science Fiction, in particular, should be a balance of science and fiction, in order to tell a good story.

P.S. Can you identify the various SF series/movies/books mentioned in this article (Parts I and II)?

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Quotes from "The Art of Writing", Part I, "Process"

I dug out one of my favorite Chinese classics: The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters, translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping. Here are some quotes about the writing process:


From: "The Art of Writing" by Lu Ji (Taoist poet, 261-303 CE)


Chapter 3: "Process"


Search for the words and sphere of thought,
then seek the proper order;
release their shining forms
and tap images to hear how they sing.
Now leaves grow along a branching thought.
Now trace a current to its source.
Bring the hidden into light
or to form the complex from simplicity.
Animals shake at the tiger's changing pattern
and birds ripple off when a dragon is seen;
some words belong together
and others don't join, like ragged teeth, 
but when you're clear and calm
your spirit finds true words.
With heaven and earth contained in your head,
nothing escapes the pen in your hand.
It's hard to get started at first,
painful like talking with cracked lips,
but words will flow with ink in the end.
Essence holds content as the trunk lifts the tree;
language is patterned into branches, leaves and fruit.
Now words and content match
like the mood on your face---
smile when you're happy
or sigh when your heart hurts.
Sometimes you can improvise easily.
Sometimes you can only bite the brush and think.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010