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Started!

augustwritesabook:

I’ve taken my first steps down this crazy road they call the first draft today.  I’m not facing the blank page anymore – in fact, I’m on page 5 (technically page 3.5, but I’m counting the section pages, dammit).

I’ve written almost 2000 words and I can’t wait to keep going. THIS IS A GOOD SIGN.

hold your breath and hope real hard it stays this way.

I’m willing to slog for this one, but I’m expecting some fun moments too. =)

YOU GUYS! I’ve started my novel, A God Grown Old. come follow my blog for it, or just cheer me along. I’m gonna need it – this is a huge but potentially really awesome project, and I’m a little daunted by how cool I want it to be. heh. onward!

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more than I think

asthewhitecrowflies:

I think there is more
more music more hope more reasons
to stay afloat & more than I think
I know

I see your skin peeled back
& underneath a fine layer of essence
that stays afloat & more than I think
I love you

I am I am & without you
I am vaguely making waves, treading water
& staying afloat & more than I think
I need you

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that irritating moment when you realize your research on the atlatl is useless because Africa is the only continent to have no historical record of its use

poop

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Outline 1.0: DONE

Not-quite-five pages later, version 1.0 of my outline is complete. I had a couple of creative breakthroughs last night – those “oh duh of course that had to be the real motivation behind [insert plot point here]” moments that outliners talk about – and I think I have a solid outline to start with. It’s by no means done, because I can feel that there are places it’s sagging a bit, and I’ve sent it off to friends to take a look at where, why, and how I can bolster it.

But it’s a satisfying goal to reach, that’s for sure. I’ve never done such an extensive amount of research and outlining before (as little as it actually was compared to, say, an actual historical novel), and having a road map is much more helpful than I’d thought it would be.  I’ve even started writing down scraps of scenes and dialogue, because the story is so clear in my head.  Am I intrigued by my own damn novel? YUP! I would have eaten this up as a younger reader and today, too, would be overjoyed to find it on the shelves.

That’s a good sign. =)

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The creative door

Today has been an amazing day all around. Friends have gotten bites on job applications, Jake has been an absolute beast of salesover at his studio, and I’m about to wrap up A God Grown Old outline version 1.0.  So I’m certainly not here to complain or bitch and moan – I just have an interesting thought and quandary.

I’ll occasionally browse Tumblr’s tags just to see what’s out there.  I find it to be a great source of off-the-wall ideas and inspiration, since I don’t exactly go in there looking for anything in particular and it’s rare that none of those pretty little slides don’t catch my fancy. Sometimes I see stuff like this, though, and I wonder: is there a creative door in my head I just haven’t unlocked yet?  The imagination it must take to envision and then produce those images is…staggering.  Yet I know that I have a creative power…I just think it’s not quite tapped yet.

I wonder, then, how to unlock that creative door.  I’m aware of part of my problem: a fear of failure, or, rather, a fear of wasting time.  Wasting time is, I tend to imagine, what happens when I get really excited about an idea and then show it to someone and all they can do is “thpppt” at it.  Perhaps that’s also the fear of being rejected, since actually opening that creative door means exposing truer and truer parts of myself to the world.

I would love to find some resources, exercises, and essays on how to be more creative (possibly avoiding drug use. I’m not quite in need of mushrooms yet).  Does anyone know of some helpful links or books I could check out?  Or some activities/exercises I could try out?

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And the winner is…

apologies for the delay – I had to take a sick day and all of my entry information was here at work. SO.

the winner of the giveaway for a character in my novel is…

…….

………….

amekay3 here on Tumblr!

thank you to all for participating, and I hope you won’t depart just because the contest is over. I’m saving this list, and anyone who is still around when A God Grown Old is finished will be getting some pretty fun bonus material.

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Win a character appearance in my novel!

today is the LAST DAY! reblog, like, and follow today!

—-

as I launch into the final phase of preparation for my novel – I’m about to write the final draft of the outline, eek!! – I want to start ramping up my promotion of my baby!  A God Grown Old is going to be AWESOME… and this is your chance to be a part of it. a real part of it.

so yes, this is a giveaway for a guest appearance in my novel!

I’m still in planning mode, so I’m not giving away too much about the book itself, but here are a few tidbits that should give you a feel for what I’m going to be writing:

  • it’s set in the Middle East and North Africa, around 200 AD.
  • it’s a re-telling of a famous myth, but from an unusual point of view.
  • the main character is a dragon, and the four primary secondary characters (shhhh, it makes sense) are two humans, an Egyptian wolf, and a karkadann.

your character could be just about any animal, creature, or human that would exist in this kind of story-world (remember, this is a myth, so traditional African mythical creatures are welcome as well). you can choose to include an OC you haven’t written into something, or you can have yourself wandering through the wilds of Libya. I am happy to take any name and set of characteristics so long as I can find a creative way to work him, her, or it in to the story.

want to enter? rules rules rules!

  • you must be following me. I know, I know, but I don’t post more than two or three times a day max, so I won’t be flooding your dash. plus, if the book sounds like something you’d like to read, you may want to stay informed anyway!
  • you may reblog twice and like once. each will be considered an entry, for up to three entries.
  • you may follow me on Twitter (AGodGrownOld) for one entry.
  • I will be choosing the winner randomly on Monday, April 23rd, and contacting them by the next day. so basically you have ten days from the start of the contest to get your entries in!

I think that’s everything! if you want some more details about A God Grown Old, I am happy to answer some specific questions via my ask, but I’m kind of keeping it under wraps to some extent until I’m a little further along.

thanks for reading, following, reblogging, or snorting with derision! 😉

– August