Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Names

Deciding what to name my female character, is the sum of my writing for the past two days. I have a "beta" name for her, but I thought it was too cliche and over done. After much thought, I decided on a more suitable one with the same initials. My subconscious found a memory and a name I haven't thought about in years. Isn't it funny how our brains do that?

Well, now I have a name and I know why she is a "villain" and have a good idea what her special powers are. I just have to get it down in print rather than thoughts. I've had a few health issues to disrupt the flow of my "habit." (I'm so over using the quotation marks!) There is a chance I might have Lupus. My doctor is running more tests on my blood. In the mean time, I'm taking a bunch of steroids. Always fun, right?

Later today, I'll enter my new found information and continue in my planning journey. Maybe in the future, I might post the story that is basis for my new idea. (if anyone is interested, the bad part about blogging without a friend list is you don't know if anyone is actually reading it or not. :P)

Onward!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Habit Forming

I read somewhere you have to do something between 16 to 21 times before it becomes a habit. I only have 14 more days to go before writing and updating my progress becomes second nature. My life has been somewhat of a mess for the past year, but I am turning it around slowly.

Bob is almost completely formed in my mind and in my notes. I sent a portion of my characterization to my romance writer friend, Sara, for her input. I was worried that he was too unromantic to be a lead in a romantic story. She thought he would do fine and asked me a question about him I have yet to answer. (this is why I love her so)

My female lead is a bit trickier. Devising the perfect name has been a challenge. The name that calls to me is completely cliche, but then right now so is she. I don't know if she should be completely opposite in nature than my male lead, or secretly similar in ways they could never guess.

This is my favorite part of writing, the planning stages. Right now anything can happen. Anything is possible.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Breaking the Mold

In most romance novels I've read, the romantic hero is cast in a certain mold. He is dashingly handsome yet a bit of a prick. Stereotypically, they tend to be well off, alpha males. I'm breaking the "rules" with the Cupid Project. My main character is a male who works at a fast food restaurant. He is handsome, in a geeky, nerd kind of way, but he isn't a prick and he isn't exactly an alpha. Will this work? Will he be believable and likable? Will the readers (if there ever are readers) want him to "get the girl"?

Even though my romantic lead isn't typical, I adore him.

What I like most about this project, is the fact I'm doing it more for me than marketability. I'm writing it for me. The idea came from a short story I wrote using Box'O'Doom prompts. (patent pending) I found the story when I was switching things to my new laptop and I loved it. I'm taking the characters and switching them up a bit and writing a romance novel. (well a book that will have love and stuff in it)

I realize the irony and it amuses me.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Avoidance

Day 5 Cupid Project

I haven't done much except think about my characters and work out in my mind how I want the story to progress. No words have actually been written. It was a hard week at Chez Shay. (boring and gross sickness possessed my body)

My goal for today is to flesh out one character and buy a book recommended to me by the female half of Ilona Andrews. She told me last year I was on the cusp of almost getting "it" and the book would help.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Growth

I fear I might have outgrown my previous blog/journal. This shall be my "grown up" space.

My newest writing endeavor shall be of the romantic kind. This is something new for me, since I abhor anything romantic in nature and shy away from writing any type of sex scenes whatsoever. It feels so fake to write about "throbbing members" and "heaving bosoms."

Day One of Project Cupid

Today's assignment is to think about the characters and the direction I want my story to take. Tomorrow, I attempt to outline the first chapter.

The New Year came, and with it my writing goals for the upcoming year. "Write every day" seemed like a doable goal. So far I have failed horribly.