RP vs Novel

When I first began college, common sense informed me that I’d not have the time to focus on my novels to continue working on them, which lead to me delving head first into another form of writing. The role-play. This isn’t an RPG, nor one of those with dice and rules. This is all type-written, all-rules-by-the-writers, form-based writing. But as I begin now to more seriously start work on my novels once more (working on co-authoring a book series based on the main characters of myself and a fellow rp’er who’s like my twin to an almost creepy level. We really can about read one another’s minds. O.o ) I’ve discovered that while I’ve advanced in my writing ability to an incredible level that I would have never reached without this, there are some very key differences that now hinders my transferring back to novels. Here’s a list of some of the main ones:

1. In RP’ing, you write in the extreme passive voice.
2. For novels, you want to show the story, not tell it. In RP’ing, it needs to be more told, less shown.
3. It takes at least two people working together to write an effective RP. Noveling is all your own self.
4. You train yourself to write one passage at a time, then pause to let the next person complete and add to the scene.

On the bright side, I’m doing well editing works that I have already completed, so my time is not completely wasted.

Lots of Smiles,

Abby

Adventures of a live-in House/Dog/Alzheimer’s sitter.

2:30 AM
The door creaks slowly open and I jerk awake to stare at the light glaring in from the hallway, silhouetting a large figure with mad scientist hair standing there and staring at me. My first thought was that I was going to die.

He looks at me with concern and speaks with a deep and monotone voice. “Hi.”
“… Hi…”
“How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then.”

The door creaks shut again, and I lay there blinking for a moment until I hear the door creaking open to the room next to me, where my roomie sleeps. After that, I had to fight to keep from laughing out loud as I listen to a repeat of my own adventure.

I learned in the morning that my roomie, awakened by my own talk, had tried to feign sleep but ended up with the one-time doctor looming right over her as he checked to be certain she was okay.

Oh goody, a game plan!

In the wonderful writer-to-author process comes the most hair-pulling stage of all: Finding a publisher. X.x My game plan in the past was rather poor:

Step 1: Finished Novel to publishable level.
Step 2: Sent out to publishing houses.
Step 3: Panic after first 2 rejection letters.
Step 4: Graduate high school before doing anything more.

Due to the last two steps, this has obviously failed at turning me into an author of any level, and certainly not a successful one. But now, eight years (and four more finished novels) after my first attempt, I’m going to try again.

“I’ve got the time! I’ve got the type-writer! I’ve got… the plot!” (Snoopy musical ^_^ )

My New and Improved game plan:

Step 1: Have time to reedit the novels I wrote back in Jr. High and early High School.
Step 2: Be completely baffled at some of the errors I made back then.
Step 3: Composite a list of potential publishing houses that might take my style.
Step 4: Start submitting, five send-outs at a time, and hope for a bite!

I’ve just successfully completed step 3, and have a list of seven high potentials, and 13 possibles. Now I just need to go home, print off numerous copies of my first three chapters, and let the waiting game begin!

Lots of Smiles,

Abby

A Great Author Passes.

In the light of all the deaths of famous people, another one, who to many in the midwest world of writers and authors, passes away with little praise or recognition beyond the area that he came from. Don Coldsmith, an incredible writer of western novels, passed away.

A writer of over forty novels, in some ways he redefined the way western novels of today are written. He was also in some ways a friend of mine.

I first met Don a little over eight years ago, when he came to a small town library to do a book signing/talk. And there I was, a sophomore in high school just tickled to the bones at the chance of meeting a real author. I talked with him excitedly about the life of an author, and he advised that I come to a writing workshop that he helped with every summer. I went, and was inspired.

Now, eight years later, I attended for my eighth year, and the first year without Mr. Coldsmith there to ask how I was doing. But beyond newspaper and local newschannels, nothing really went out about his passing, and it made me sad.

Snowy Day

It’s the end of March, and what do we get but a ‘blizzard’? Well, some areas got a blizzard, we got a thin layer of ice and it’s still sleeting rain and snow. Perfect day for working on a novel! “I’ve got the time! I’ve got the typewriter! I’ve got…. the plot!”

And… writing a self evaluation for my last microteaching, try to finish off my Case Study assignment, work on my accompaniment music, complain to the music store because it’s been over two weeks and my music isn’t in yet, work on editing my completed novel for getting it sent out again this summer…

Hopefully I’ll be able to get to my novel sometime today! We’ll see. ^_^

Someday

Here it is, Spring Break. It’s already almost over with but… not quite. I got a letter today with the brouchure for the writing workshop I’ve attended every year since my sophomore year in high school. Was the youngest person there (By quite a lot, few college students attend this one, even) and this summer I’ll be going to my eighth year of it.

It has, however, reminded me that I’ve done next to no novel writing this year. Again. Role-playing? I don’t know the number of pages I’d have from that, but I add around 500 site pages a year on my site, and one site page equals 2-3 normal, double-spaced pages on a word document. I know this because I’m constantly copy/pasting them off. So, that’s an average of around 1500 pages. A year. One would think I’d have novels coming out of my ears by now at that rate.

And, some of my rp work is towards the novel my co-owner and I are co-authoring, but there’s a good difference between role-playing and converting that style into a novel style.

But for my novel… I keep telling myself ’someday’, and unfortunately that ’someday’ never seems to come. Oh, I poke at it now and then, I’m up to 60 pages now. Not bad for someone who in her Junior year of high school turned out a 300 page novel (start to finish) in four months.

*sighs* Someday.

Random Ponders

Sometimes I wonder if should only be keeping one blog, instead of… okay, technically three. I end up constantly thinking of random things that I want to write that fits one of the three areas, and then end up writing nothing because I don’t get around to it.

As it is, I have three, one on here for writing, another started for my music, and a third (my oldest) that really isn’t messed with much anymore. I need to just pick one and stick with it, set up a time once or twice a week to sit down and write something, and then I’d actually add to this more often.

Anyways, I have a choir concert tonight, which was at the same time as one of my night classes but it was canceled. Lucky me! I have a duet this semester, just like last semester, and with the same girl as last semester too. We have very similar voices that compliment one another even in the higher range, so it’s worked out wonderfully. I’m also happy that there’ll be a good high soprano to replace me in the Chorus when I’m gone this Fall to student teach. Five years I’ve been in that chorus, ever since it started, so spending a semester away from it is going to be tough, though I’ll be back in the Spring again! Compliments of my double major.

Lots of Smiles,
-Abby

The Banshee Dog

Being a live-in house sitter/dog-sitter is a whole world of its own. It’s great that I get to live in a place rent-free while completing my college degrees, but then… there’s the chihuahua. It took very little imagination for my roommate and I to quickly come to the conclusion that the dog is a banshee in canine form, able to mutate into a creature capable of unnatural wails of death at any hour of the day… or night. Striking terror and annoyance into the very beings of all who hear her cry.

Our intense adulation towards the dog can be easily described by the short story the two of us wrote one evening titled ‘Demise of a Dog’. The banshee dog has been listed above even the possessed dishwasher and the snorting dragon that lives in the basement. No wonder the owners love taking vacations for months on end.

This house is truly an entire story unto itself, if only it would share its secrets with me in less terrifying (or annoying) ways

A good movie

I went out and watched Inkheart yesterday and quite enjoyed it!  I especially liked the goofy writer in the movie, and at times quite felt that I could relate!  Such as when he had to keep rewriting things out over and over in the cell.  My first thought to that was ‘you’re going to be executed soon, and you can’t just write something down and go with it?!?’ and then I think of how many times I’ll sometimes rewrite even one paragraph because it just isn’t right.  Obsessing for hours, days, sometimes weeks, unable to go any further in the story because of one sentence that won’t come out right on the page.  ^_^”  So… yeah, I can relate to the poor fellow, even though I’m glad to not be quite as big an idiot when it comes to stating the obvious at bad moments.  Great character trait though for comedy relief.

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