And I'm Back...

So I feel like, once again, like I'm apologizing for a longer than needed absence from this corner of the internet. The last couple of months, however, have prevented me from reading books, let alone reviewing them. This post is mostly about what happened to me in November, but I think October bears mention as well.

October at Tanganyika was an exceptionally busy time for me. At the beginning of the month, Jack Hanna came to visit, which was pretty incredible. We didn't have nearly the crowd we were expecting, but everything went very well. As soon as the business with Jack was over, it was time to start planning and preparing - in earnest, anyway - for Pumpkins at the Park. This event is my baby - and that's putting it mildly. My boss, Matt, and I were the organizers for the event but, to tell the truth, I did about 90% of the work (including working nearly 90 hours the week of the event). In the end, though, it all paid off - nearly 2,000 people attended our little Halloween event. I'm incredibly proud of how it all went, and I can't wait for next year!


Funny enough, right after Pumpkins at the Park ended, the second big thing keeping me away from writing this blog began: NaNoWriMo. Now if you're unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, here's a break down. It stands for National Novel Writing Month, an effort undertaken by thousands around the world. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel between 12:01 am on November 1st and 11:59 pm on November 30th. You can have outlines, character biographies, etc beforehand, but you can't start writing any of your prose until the official start of NaNoWriMo. There's nothing really keeping you accountable for that, of course, except your conscience. If you reach your word goal, you're considered a "winner." You don't really win anything, of course, but you do get a few nifty discounts. Oh, and being able to say you wrote a freaking book.

I've wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo for quite some time, but it never really worked out. I know plenty of people participate (and win) while full-time college students, but I don't think I could have done that. Not well, anyway. Then last year, I didn't really have a good idea of what to write about and I was trying to plan a wedding, so I held off again. Then, of course, I was struck with inspiration sometime during the first few weeks of November last year.

I'd like to say that I had been planning out my novel ever since, but that would be a lie. Between work, the wedding, more work, and Pumpkins at the Freaking Park, 2010 was busy. I did, however, have ideas and some background information to get me going. I didn't tell many people I was doing NaNoWriMo, mostly because I didn't want anyone asking what my book was about. I don't know why - the thought just made me uncomfortable. Of course, if you follow me on Twitter, you will have noticed, no doubt, that I couldn't shut up about my word count for the entire month, but whatevah.

So, I started my novel on November 1st, not so sure I could win. I sort of knew what my book was about - at least, I knew the Big Things. Figuring out the "little things" (i.e. what happens between the Big Things) was the challenge. It's no secret that I read a lot, but being an avid reader does not a good writer make. It was hard. There were days where I didn't feel like writing. There were days where I stalled and stuttered because I couldn't figure out What Happens Next. But eventually, this novel began to flow out of me, and I passed my 50,000 word goal on November 28th.

Now, here's the interesting thing about my NaNoWriMo experience: I'm nowhere near done with my novel yet. 

So, for the millions (okay, 5) people who asked, here's what Dreaming of Will is "about":

"Penelope Ainsworth is a 17 year old girl dealing with the trials and tribulations of her senior year of high school. Penny's life isn't so unusual - she gets great grades, has adventures with her friends, and is very involved in El Camino High School's drama program. In fact, Penny's life would be fantastic, if it weren't for the boyfriend who broke her heart by jumping into bed with Penny's best friend. And then there's William Bradford, the star quarterback who's suddenly shown an interest in Penny. Does he value her friendship, or her help with his Hamlet homework? With Homecoming and auditions for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream coming up, will Penny be able to put the drama behind her?"

That's the dust-jacket version, as it were. The plot is supposed to be loosely based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, once I got writing - er, about 45,000 words in - I realized I was having a problem. After 45,000 words, they were barely getting to auditions for the damn play. The climax of the novel was supposed to happen just before opening night. At the rate I was going, that would take at least 50,000 more words. Now, 50,000 words is only about 175 pages, which isn't very much. But a 100,000 word (350 page) novel felt a little long for a YA novel.

Now I know that there are YA novels longer than 350 pages. Trust me, I read them. But, in addition to feeling like I wasn't getting as far as I should have been, I also felt like I was trying to tell two related, but separate stories. My main character is trying to deal with some pretty heavy emotional trauma, and it just felt silly, somehow, not to address that. Plus, I had pulled some things from Hamlet to use as a bonding experience for Penny and another character, which didn't really have any place in the AMSND thing I was trying to do. I felt like I wanted to address both - the tragic and the comic - but they didn't really juxtapose well within the same novel.

So, after much consideration, I've decided to split Dreaming of Will into two separate novels, each dealing with a semester of Penny's senior year. The first will be called Slings and Arrows and will deal with the tragedy-esque aspects that the original work was trying to address. The premise is very similar to the original synopsis. Here's a dust jacket version of Slings and Arrows:

"Penelope Ainsworth is a 17 year old girl dealing with the trials and tribulations of her senior year of high school. Penny's life isn't so unusual - she gets great grades, has adventures with her friends, and is very involved in El Camino High School's drama program. In fact, Penny's life would be fantastic, if it weren't for the boyfriend who broke her heart by jumping into bed with Penny's best friend. Penny's life has been turned upside down. Will she be able to find her way - and herself - without losing her mind? And then there's William Bradford, the star quarterback who's suddenly shown an interest in Penny. Does he value her friendship, or her help with his Hamlet homework?"

The second novel, Dreaming of Will, will take place during the second semester of Penny's senior year. I know this is unusual - typically YA books that address the school year in some way take a year at a time. I, however, think this semester format is perfect for the story I'm trying to tell. Young adults are in a constant state of flux - how many times as a teenage girl declared her life to be over, only to forget all about it by the next weekend? Now, Penny's going to be dealing with some serious stuff in Slings and Arrows, so it's not like her concerns are superficial. However, I want to show that it's possible to bounce back from personal tragedy and find a happy (well, happy-ish) ending. So here's a dust jacket version of Dreaming of Will:

"After nearly losing herself and sanity, Penelope Ainsworth returns to El Camino High School for the second half of her senior year. Penny has learned to cope with loss, drama, and the thousand little tragedies that plague the life of a 17 year-old. Determined to regain her sense of self, Penny auditions for the El Camino's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The only problem: so do Heather Verrat and Eric Ball. At least Will Bradford will be by Penny's side - or will he? Will Penny be able to overcome the drama and rumors, or will she simply fade away?"


Okay, I am done talking about NaNoWriMo and my novel(s). I will say, though, that I already have an idea for next year that I like much better than everything I wrote about this year...We'll see, though...


Coming up next(ish): A review/reaction to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, a reflection on characters that I love (and loathe!), and a review of Lauren Myracle's TTYL. My goal is to have all three of those things posted by Sunday night, but we'll see how that goes.

Maybe a few kind words in the comment section might provide me with some motivation (*hint hint*).

Also, to prepare for a forthcoming blog, I need your suggestions. Give me some examples of books, movies, tv shows, etc that you know I watch (obviously, you have to know me for this to work...). You'll see why, promise.



And, finally,

Mischief Manged,
Slim Pearl Silver-Feather