Word by Word and Step by Step

Ovidia--every other Tuesday

Warning: I'm still on antibiotics, painkillers and self-injected blood thinners so I'm just going to write a happy post today. 

(I thought of warning you this post might not make too much sense--but that would suggest I make sense the rest of the time, which isn't true either, so--)

The procedure was nothing serious. But because of the epilepsy, the blood that tends to clot, the heart valves that don't always close as designed, the preparation and recovery stretch out over two weeks. And everything hurts!

Still, life is good. 

I was miffed to miss the events on the opening weekend of this year's Singapore Writers Festival, but I'll make it there come Friday for my 'Conversation' with two brilliant women--Jesse Q. Sutanto and Balli Kaur Jaswal, moderated by the wonderful Sharmini Flint.

And working up to the event this Friday, I've finally ventured outdoors again.

I think of this grove of 'iron plants' 铁树 (Tie Shu) just outside our side gate as friendly sentinels. They seldom flower, but when they do, as part of a mass flowering all over Singapore, the fragrance is fantastic. 

I've also missed the smaller plants. 

Like the whitehead sedge here. I know they are 'weeds' (because they grow so easily?) but I believe in the 'old days' people used to boil down its roots to treat fevers, while the whole plants was used to bind and treat sprains and bruises. 

I remember playing with them as a child. Unlike lallang, the sedge leaves aren't sharp enough to slice through flesh. And if, starting from opposite ends, you pulled apart its triangular stem along different grooves, you end up with a square (though I don't remember why we did that!)

The harder to spot Chinese Violet is another old friend,

It looks like a tiny orchid, but the flower is actually tubular, with purple markings on the lobes of its lower lip. What's really great about these tiny flowers they are a host plant for butterflies.

I tried following a trail, but it was really muddy, and when I reached a couple of fallen trees I figured it was time to turn back!

 

 Here is one compensation though--

This flat whorled mushroom is a polypore. It's actually consuming and decomposing the wood it's growing on. It sounds kind of creepy, kind of like how writers consume the life around us to produce dramatic patterns on flat surfaces! 

Though occasionally something useful comes out of this--the lingzhi mushroom, known for its health benefits is a polypore and so is the Kofuki-saru-no-koshikake of Japanese mushroom tea!

And I've been trying to keep up with NaNoWriMo too. (Wendall, your post made me laugh and pulled me back from the edge, thank you!) 

I've also gotten several books out of rough drafts that only came to be thanks to NaNoWriMo, and I still write on Scrivener, which I discovered (and love) via NaNoWriMo.

Right now I've got a vague idea in my head of what happens in the book to be, but as for the why, I've resorted to holding interviews with my characters and writing down the answers towards my word count.

For example:

Me: Bad Guy W, why are you so mean to Protag N?

BGW: I'm not mean to anybody. I barely noticed her until she started getting in my way! The other one, though. Your Protag S. I think she's deliberately provoking me. See? She just came and pushed me aside!

Me: She's trying to run her hotel and you keep breaking the rules. You're the one who's provoking her.

BGW: You know how much money I put into the hotel? How much money I'm losing here? If I pull out now they'll crash! They need me! They should show me some respect! Even Protag S's mother thinks she should treat me better! With more respect!

Me: Why don't you pull out your money to teach Protag S a lesson?

BGW: I can't. Not now. Anyway, hotels are expected to lose large sums of money.

Protag S: Is this going to be about money laundering? BGW has been giving my Ma so much money on the side? He pretends it's to win her over so he can court me, but I know that's a lie.

Protag N: Why not? Singapore is known for being squeaky clean, so if you want to launder money you should go to the best laundromat, right?

Me: Maybe that would work... let me look up some figures... thanks very much, guys!

Left to Right: Samantha Song (Protag S), Wang DaRen (BGW), Natalie Harris (Protag N)

Having something physical to move around is a Huge help when I'm trying work out who's doing what, where and why!

Good luck to everyone else who's working through NaNoWriMo right now! 

 

 

 

I LIED ON NANOWRIMO

Wendall-- every other Thursday

I cannot tell a lie. Actually, it turns out, I can.

 

I first attempted National Novel Writing Month—i.e. NaNoWriMo—years and years ago for three reasons. One, I heard a piece about it on NPR, two I had wanted to try to write a novel for thirty years and hadn’t had the nerve to do it, and three, my husband was going to be in England for the first two weeks of November.

 

Also, I always loved the logo...

 

Even though the idea of writing 50,000 words in a month, or even 10,000 words in a month, seemed absolutely impossible to someone who second-guessed themselves as much as I did, I decided to try.

 

And I astounded myself by actually writing more than the required 1667 words a day for the first few days. There was something about entering my word count and watching what it did to the graph they provided that was inspiring and invigorating. I wanted to get ahead of the curve. So the words piled up, I made progress. Actual progress. On a novel.

 

First title page of my first NaNoWriMo draft

 

It only happened because I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t revise. I couldn’t change my mind. And I definitely couldn’t delete anything—that would cost words. I could only go forward. I’d been a screenwriter for twenty years and I’d never done that before. It was a revelation. I kept thinking, if I can just write another hundred words, if I can just write another two hundred words, I’ll be ahead for tomorrow. It involved, of course, plenty of coffee, working in restaurants, and more than a little wine. But it worked. 

 

Sometimes the coffee worked. Sometimes the wine.

 

So, by the time my husband came home I’d already surpassed my 50,000 words, and by the end of that 30 days, I had 300 pages of my first novel, Lost Luggage. Back in those days, you actually had to submit your novel on the NaNoWriMo site, so that meant, for copyright protection, you had to “scramble” it to verify the word count. It looked like this:

 

Lost Luggage, scrambled.

 

Lost Luggage, published.

 

Granted, it was a hot mess, and it would take another year and a half to get it even close to something other people could see, but it existed. And I was hooked. It had been the thing I needed to, for once, get through a first draft without getting in my own way.

 

I have done the November challenge every year since, as well as an occasional “Camp NaNoWriMo” in April or July. I’ve used it to do first drafts of all my novels, as well as their rewrites. 

 

The beginnings of Cheap Trills.

 

To date, I’ve earned nine “completion” certificates, bought a variety of coffee vessels, gotten half price on Scrivener, and lots of other perks of “winning.”

 

The very first coffee cup I bought on my very first try.

A newer incarnation

As the years have gone by, of course, it’s transformed itself into something that’s much bigger—and hipper—than it was when my first time. I remember mentioning it at a Sisters in Crime LA meeting when I first started and no one had any idea what I was talking about. Now, almost every mystery writer I know participates. The National Chapter of Sisters in Crime does daily “write-ins,” writers post their word counts on Twitter, and it feels almost uncool not to participate.

 

See what I mean???

 

So, this year, I signed up, registered my book, and took a deep breath, waiting for the November 1 start date.

 

Since Cheap Trills came out on October 30th, I was still in the midst of writing guest blog posts and trying to create very amateur graphics, so the first few days were a struggle. 

 

 

Marketing was never my strong suit.

Still, I managed to do the daily words. Barely. Then, the fourth day, I fell behind—only 500 words. And the next day, I got nothing done at all. And the next day, nothing again. And the next day, 200 words. The equivalent of nothing.

 

Suddenly, the graph was no longer my friend. How was I ever going to catch up, especially since I seemed to have no energy for writing? At all. My status page just sat there shaming me. The guilt! The embarrassment! After so many years of succeeding at the 50,000 word challenge, the idea of failing was devastating. How could this happen? How could I live with myself? Plus, all my “buddies” could see my word count. Did I just look like a lazy jerk?

 

On the sixth day, in a moment of weakness, I just added to my word count with words that didn’t exist. That I hadn’t written. For the graph. For my what I mistakenly thought was my self-respect. Flat-out lied. On NaNoWriMo.

 

The graphic illustration of an epic fail.

For the love of God!

 

The irony was not lost on me. It was horrible. I took the words off the next day, but the fact that I did it at all made me take a real look at myself, at my writing, and at what the hell I thought I was doing, anyway.

 

First, who was it I was writing for? Who cared about my word count? Anyone? Did anyone even care that I was writing a novel at all? I had always seen myself as a non-competitive person, so where had this ludicrous ego come from all of a sudden? Had it morphed with my crippling sense of responsibility, to rationalize such bad behavior? Was I horrified at myself, or just not willing to deal with the fact that, this year, I wasn’t up to it.

 

 

In the end, I realized the only person I needed to write for was myself. I was the only one I'd let down. Which meant I was the only person who could let me off the hook. So, in the end, I did. The new book is still burbling in my subconscious, where, right now, it belongs. And that’s okay. Novel writing is a long game. And it’s not all about the word count.

 

I still love you, NaNoWriMo, I just think we need some time apart.

 

---Wendall

 

You can hear Wendall talk about writing, movies, music, songbirds, and all things Cheap Trills on Baron R. Birtcher's THE WRITERS BAR here:

https://youtu.be/S32L679n08k

 

 

 

 

 

 

NaNoWriteWithNoLimitsMo is coming again soon!

 Ovidia--every other Tuesday

Have you signed up for NaNoWriMo? I just did!

What--writing 50,000 words in 30 days doesn't sound like fun to you? It is, I promise you--admittedly more fun in retrospect than in the moment. But several of my books were conceived in previous years' NaNoWriMo's and the crazy writing schedule definitely led me to come up with unexpected characters and directions.

NaNoWriMo is free to play (but they're also a non-profit that supports people finding their creative feet if you'd like to donate) and while what you come up with might not be ready for immediate publication, it's a definite start!

Yes, I'm still wrestling editing my way through the last chapters of the next history tree mystery, but I'm pretty sure I should be finished by the end of this week and I'm promising myself that next month I get to play NaNoWriMo!

I love NaNoWriMo--for me it's probably the only time I get to switch off my internal censors and play on the page, experimenting with all the fun stuff that I haven't yet found a vehicle for. 

As Chris Baty (NaNoWriMo founder) says, “Write first! Ask questions later!”

This year I don't want to outline what I want to write (and anyway it doesn't look like there will be time) so I'm going to try the Economy Rice style of writing. 

For those unfamiliar with Economy Rice or Cai Png, these are hawker stalls that offer a variety of hot dishes to be eaten with rice or noodles--I've also heard them called 'Mixed Rice' or 'Self Pick Rice' stalls. They're a hawker centre/ food court staple because most meals I've bought at these stalls come under $4 (Singapore $4 = just under US $3).

The lady who runs the stall pictured above was embarrassed about the photo I took because 'today my vegetables come late. Still preparing'.

It wasn't her fault at all--I went early, before 11am, to get these photographs before the lunch crowd descended.

You can see the gaps in the layout where her long beans, french beans, cabbage & wood ear, bitter gourd, winter melon, eggplant, mushrooms, kang kong, broccoli & cauliflower and  spinach would go. 

(I promised I'd mention the veggie dishes I'd seen at her stall before)

For those of you unfamiliar with the Economy Rice style of writing, that's not surprising because I'll be making it up--like my NaNo project this year--as I go along. 

If you go to any other stall at a hawker centre, you'll have to decide what you're having before you even start ordering: chicken rice or laksa or fish ball noodles or claypot rice. But when it comes to ordering economy rice, I don't have to decide anything until I'm standing there and looking at my options. 

And that's how I hope to tackle NaNoWriMo this year, without planning in advance!

But I'll still need a base for today's meal/ this project.

Usually I ask for rice--brown rice if I'm feeling virtuous, white rice if I'm needing comfort food. In writing terms, that would be deciding whether I want to write a traditional mystery or a cozy mystery.

But then there are options like rice porridge (not shown--it's in a big metal pot behind the counter) or the fried noodles, fried rice and fried mee hoon you can see on the left of the middle row here.

These already have stuff mixed in and are tasty in themselves.

For me, in writing terms I'd say:

Fried noodles = historical novel/ mystery. Lots of strands and tasty incidents already there. I'd pick a year or incident or person I'd like to know more about and use this as a chance to explore.

Fried rice = working in things I've been thinking about/ people I've been irritated by / events I'm trying to figure out, so that I can use the writing to work out how I feel about these things.

Fried mee hoon (mee hoon or rice vermicelli is lighter than noodles or rice) = really playing with writing in genres different from my 'safe' white rice/ brown rice daily routine.

And maybe that's what I need to do to make the most of this writing challenge time!

This is something I'll have to decide before the November writing month starts. Will my project be:

a) White Rice

b) Brown Rice

c) Rice Congee

d) Fried Noodles

e) Fried Rice

f) Fried Mee Hoon

Then from there on, I'll just choose what appeals to me each day:

Since I'm not outlining/ plotting/ continuing a series, I can skip the green veggies (the fibre of continuity threads etc) and just decide whether it's a day for writing a comforting steamed egg scene (clockwise from top left), or putting a little hot chilli and onion on flaky white fish, or something deep fried and covered with crunchy sesame seeds, or for some good old char siew... 

 

For me I'd say:

steamed egg= comfort writing. Childhood memories, recent memories of time spent with friends, my darling dogs, places that no longer exist (I just learned--when I went on my annual visit to buy next year's calendars and diaries that the Music Book Room on the ground floor Bras Basah Complex that's been there for 43 years closed this February. The space is now a Toast Box.) 

Maybe that's what I'll write about. The 71 year old owner said she no longer has the energy to carry on, neither of her children wants to take over and she hopes that having an F&B outlet replace her shop will rejuvenate Bras Basah Complex.

steamed white fish with chilli & green onion = some firm fleshed issue with a bit of kick. Oh dear, but this sounds serious and I want to play. 

deep fried crunchy shrimp/ chicken/ pork = pick something current or that I've read about and play around with it, turn it on its head and do some crazy extrapolations.

char siew = write my take on a traditional form I want to learn more about. Right now I want to learn more about so many things -- yoga, pilates, swimming, kayaking, crocheting amigurumi, tap dancing, aquascaping, orchids, air plants and bonsai, drawing and painting by hand and on Procreate... writing often helps me figure out what I know and don't know, so giving myself a month to learn all I can and using NaNoWriMo to record my learning journey might be a double win. Or at the very least I'll get a humorous failure (hopefully standalone) story out of it.

But like I've said--I'm going to play and have fun with this!

If you're interested, please visit Nanowrimo.org and take a look!

A Celebration Every Day

Zoë Sharp

If you’re involved at all in the writing world, you’ll be aware that November is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. This is the time of year when writers of all kinds try to get 50,000 words of a novel completed in 30 days.

And no, sadly, I won’t be managing that aim this year, although there is still time for me to complete this month’s goal, which is to finish outlines for the next Charlie Fox novel plus a possible spin-off crime thriller. I’m well on the way with both.

But what does NaNoWriMo have to do with Peanut Butter, Manatees, Vegans, Native American Heritage, and Pomegranates?

The answer is that November is also officially the month to celebrate all these things. I had no idea.

Not only that, but 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, according to the United Nations. The resolution, passed in 2015, was described as “a unique opportunity to advance the contribution of the tourism sector to the three pillars of sustainability—economic, social and environmental.”

And November itself is positively bursting with celebration days. I’d no idea that November 1^st was Authors’ Day, as well as Extra Mile Day, aiming to encourage people to go that little bit further towards helping others. Other celebrations on the first of the month included Go Cook For Your Pets Day and, perhaps in line with the start of NaNoWriMo, Stress Awareness Day.

November 2^nd was Men Make Dinner Day. It was also Deviled Egg Day and the day to Use Less Stuff. Any connection between those, do you think?

November 3^rd was the day for lovers of Sandwiches, Fountain Pens and Jellyfish. November 4^th was Use Your Common Sense Day, and Numbat Day. No, I’d no idea what one of those was, either.

November 5^th, as well as being Guy Fawkes’ or Gunpowder Day, was also the time to remember Orphans, Love Your Red Hair, and do nothing, as it was Zero Tasking Day. November 6^th was the day for Saxophones and Nachos. Nov 7^th was a time for eating Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds (honestly, I’m not making this up), preferably whilst Hugging A Bear—probably not a real one.

November 8^th was the day to remember X-Rays and also the day to Cook Something Bold and Pungent. Nov 9^th was Chaos Never Dies Day. (Don’t ask me what that’s all about.) Nov 10^th was the time to get excited about your Area Code and Sesame Street.

Nov 10^th? Origami Day. 11^th? The Day for the International Tongue Twister, the Fancy Rat And Mouse, and Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies. (Come on! Really?) Hope you all took part in World Kindness Day on Nov 13^th? And that you venerated Spicy Guacamole and Pickle on Nov 14^th, as well as the Operating Room Nurse.

Nov 15^th was I Love To Write Day, but, just in case the muse wasn’t with you, it was also Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Nov 16^th was Have A Party With Your Bear Day, as well as the time to celebrate Buttons, Tolerance, Beaujolais Nouveau, Fast Food and Social Enterprise.

Nov 17^th was a time to Unfriend someone, to Take A Hike (or possibly a combination of the two), celebrate Prematurity, Petroleum, and bake your own Homemade Bread. Nov 18^th is the day for the Occult and Mickey Mouse.

And today, November 19^th? Well, let’s just say it with pictures, shall we? Best guesses, please!

No1

No2 ... obviously

No3

No4

This week’s Word of the Week is dískoblundur, which is an Icelandic word which apparently means to take a nap before going out clubbing. Thanks to former Murder Is Everywhere blogmate, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, for that one.

Upcoming Event:

Thursday, November 23^rd at 6:30pm, the Portsmouth Writers Hub presents ‘Femmes Fatales 2’ as part of DarkFest Portsmouth with Diana Bretherick talking to Alis Hawkins, Liz Mistry, and Zoë Sharp. Should be a ball!