Tag archives for NaNoWriMo
Yngvild and Noren – Editing my 2016 NaNoWriMo Novel
Working cover for Noren the Strong, my 2016 NaNoWriMo entry (image: James Kemp) At the end of May I went back to my 2016 NaNoWriMo novel, having left it in the early hours of December 2016. After a gap of 18 months I figured that I would have the detachment from it necessary to give it a good edit. Reading my 2016 NaNoWriMo novel It stood up pretty well on my first read through. I spotted many typos, and highlighted bits to re-write. But for the most part it got left alone on this read through because it was better than I'd expected. I'll do more with it as I find time, mostly when waiting for trains, or traveling. The main things that I noticed that I need to fix are: It needs a new title. The first six scenes…
Telepaths in Hard Science Fiction?
Science fiction television (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My NaNoWriMo 2017 novel, Lit By Another Star, features a telepath as the main point of view character. It also claims to be hard science fiction. How can this be? Aren't Telepaths magic rather than science, shouldn't it be a fantasy story? That's a good question, and I'm glad that you asked. Here's my take on it. Let's remember Clarke's Third Law, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Defining Hardness in Science Fiction Hard science fiction requires that there's a sound explanation in our current understanding of the universe for the story. We don't have to have exploited that science yet, and there can be an element of handwavium provided the results are consistent with science as we currently understand it. The hardness of science fiction is a scalar thing rather than…
Lit By Another Star [NaNoWriMo 2017] [Sci-Fi]
Building made from converted shipping containers (in Dundee, Scotland). (photo credit: James Kemp) Thanks to everyone that voted on what I should write for NaNoWriMo 2017, the winning result was the novel I planned for last year, which I've re-titled 'Lit by Another Star'. It seemed poetic as a title, and also didn't have anything else that conflicted when I googled it. I've also chosen a primary point of view character and done some more planning. Today is the first of November, so National Novel Writing Month (AKA NaNoWriMo) has kicked off. You can follow my progress writing Lit by Another Star either on the NaNoWriMo site or you can read Lit by Another Star on wattpad. Lit by Another Star - synopsis Piraxis is Earth's thirteenth colony. Officially number 8 in the Beta wave. Everyone knows it as Thirteen.…
NaNoWriMo 2017 – What Should I Write?
NaNoWriMo 2017 participant badge NaNoWriMo 2017 will soon be among us. Thousands of people will try their utmost to produce a first draft of a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Anyone can do it, all you need is time and encouragement to get some words down. Sign up at NaNoWriMo 2017 My NaNoWriMo 2017 strategy is to use my commuting time in both directions to write, and to squeeze in a little more when I'm waiting for things to happen. It works thanks to the Wattpad app on my phone. It means that I can write just about anywhere, and I've got to the point where I'm almost as fast on my phone as I am on a keyboard. It also helps that wattpad uses short scenes, so I can plan (where I do plan) in Scrivener…
Geas or How to tie your character in knots
In my fantasy world Skyss they use geas to control people. Not everyone is under a geas, but those in public office have it as place of their oath of allegiance. Similarly prisoners get a geas of public service compelling them to atone for their offences. Also I had my bad guy put one of my characters under a geas, just because it sort of made sense to the plot. What is a Geas? English:a design from the Book of Kells, fol. 29r. Traced outlines in black and white representing three intertwined dogs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) A geas (pronounced gesh) is a sort of unbreakable vow. It's a celtic thing that appears in Scots & Irish folklore and legends. It's a bit more than a curse, in the sense that there are positive benefits to accepting a geas. Being under…