Want to track your weekly progress with me?

[pmmg]

The Golden compass?

Gonna say...there are not too many fantasy series's that come to mind that would win some type of universal acclaim as the greatest ever.

 

[Dankolisic]

Might I recommend a giant, wooden horse?

Everybody likes goats!

Gunslinger? Nope. Not that.

Hahhaa they are not that smart

 

[dollyt8]

Well...I dont know that I learned anything special in november, unless its that adding a new cat to the house takes a lot of work. Everyday, I pop out new words, everyday, I hope they are good and help get me to where the story needs to go, and everyday, I am surprised that it just keeps building. I am greatly pleased to have a system that is working, and getting more words on page. But, I am very much looking forward to the coarse adjustment of the first edit.

I've made up a lot of names, and studied a bit Hopi Indians, as well as many other tribes. My current tribal community is kind of nebulous, but I am sure they will become tightened down by the end.

Most fun, showing a dark side to my character, and some of the stuff I did for research.
Most interesting? Well...bringing goats back into the story. I did not know I would ever tie back to those but....I am feeling an Easter egg type of effect now that may carry over several books.

Researching different facts and cultures and being able to use those in novels is so much fun! As for goats, now I'm getting curious as to how you managed to make goats a recurring theme lol It would be hilarious to carry that over to several books!

 

[pmmg]

Researching different facts and cultures and being able to use those in novels is so much fun! As for goats, now I'm getting curious as to how you managed to make goats a recurring theme lol It would be hilarious to carry that over to several books!

I'd jerkishly say, go and read the first book and you'll know, but....its not in the first book

If your really curios, I'll send you PM, otherwise, you know writing is like being a magician knowing magic tricks, once its revealed, it loses its value.

 

[JBCrowson]

OK, broke through 20k last night, so nearly back on track for 30k in the month.
Last scene was emotionally tense one where MC and his love interest finally have "that chat" which has been coming since 3/4 way through book 1. Now they go their ways (for the next 2 1/2 books) before meeting up again before the finale in book 5.

 

[JBCrowson]

Not quite sure how I managed it, but somehow I managed to lose 800 words... Have you seen them?

You probably have a logophage infestation. One isn't too bad - just the odd word or letter goes missing here and there. Once they start breeding though they're trouble. A friend of mine lost half his English homework in a single night. So he told the teacher anyways. If you lure them into the open with a really big dictionary, then you can slap it shut quick and squish them as long as you're not squeamish.

 

[JBCrowson]

Random question... Would anybody be able to help me come up with ideas for Gods? I need 100 different Gods and I need a different method of offering for each of them. Example:

1. God of Death: Human sacrifice killed at the altar.
2. God of Life: Pregnant woman gives birth on the altar.
3. God of War: Two people fighting on the altar.
4. God of Peace: Children dancing around the altar.

Basically, every God represents something different and every God needs a different offering. I have a few ideas but I don't have nearly enough.

I have 64 gods in my pantheon, 9 elder gods, 8 major gods and the rest minor.
I work it that the major and minor derive power from their adherents, but that includes, for example, the god of plants gets power every time a seed germinates (If he actualises in the mortal plane he can "spend" plant life to do his god-magic).
The elder gods are those who emerged from the void and are self sustaining regardless of whether any worship them or not.
My full list:
Elder: Since these 9 do not need worshippers to maintain power, they almost entirely ignore mortals. they are too powerful to actualise in the mortal realm, their doing so would cause reality there to unravel.
Shadow
Omnus (aka Lord of the Firmament)
Pangaea (aka She who is the World)
Mother
Father
Chance
Time (aka The Counter)
Mnemamn (aka The Scribe)
Beanleheireabalscallai (aka Ban, The Dragon Queen - the name means 'lady with a tail of scales' in Irish)
Major:
Life (formed from an arm of Shadow)
Death (formed from an arm of Shadow)
Dark (formed from an eye of Shadow)
Light (formed from an eye of Shadow)
Order
Chaos
Luck (formed from the fragments of Chance after he takes out his heart to heal Shadow)
Fate (formed from the fragments of Chance after he takes out his heart to heal Shadow)
Minor:
Samanh - illegitimate daughter of Father and Fate - god of pre-elemental magic
Scions of Life or Death
Botan god of plants
Xoolyte god of animals
Protea god of unicells
Yersina god of disease and infection
Bungaro god of poisons and medicine
Myrmecca god of the swarm
Drymen god of drought and famine
Sophist god of lies and deceit
Offspring of Mother and Father (gods of the seasons and times of day)
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Dawn
Noon
Eve
Night
Grandchildren of mother and father
Pedlar god of trade and the marketplace
Farmer (husband of Weaver)
Seer god of prophesy and portent
Artificer god of invention and innovation
Amomeia messenger of the gods, daughter of Seer and Artificer
Teacher god of learning, tutelage
Bard god of music and performing arts
Hunter
Warrior
Artist god of fine arts
Dreamer
Offspring of Omnus and Pangaea
Sol god of the sun
Draboth-Raw god of the dark moon
Sysebud god of the quiet moon
Na-Micin god of the pink moon
Bevet-Hone god of the bright moon
Apohelion god of a comet
Perihelion god of a comet
Offspring of Chaos and Luck
Weaver
Thinker god of logic and philosophy
Mendicant god of the homeless and travellers
Thief
The elementals (offspring of Samanh and Time) Gods of elemental magics
Fire
Water
Air
Stone
Wood
Metal
Lightning
Blood

I don't have gods for (common) emotions like hate, love, envy since those emotions are ones the gods themselves feel and so they would end up boosting each other, which I didn't want.
I don't have gods tied to specific locations / geological or geographical features.
Having either of those groups could easily swell your numbers up to 100.

I also have eternals - beings created by elder gods for specific purpose but with no power beyond that limited role e.g. Mnemamn has a bunch of librarians, Pangaea made the Staple Octinnent a group of 8 immortals whose physical forma are the eight continents of the mortal realm.

For anyone interested, I'm starting to build my website which has more details on the origins of the pantheon in my universe. The Books Of Mnemamn - Brian J Brown - author homepage

 

[Avery Moore]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 23:

Daily Word Count: 2,410
Total Word Count: 46,674

Forgot to update for the past couple of days but I have been writing. Come down with a bad case of burnout, but since I'm so close to hitting 50K, I'm definitely going to stick it out till the end of the month and then just relax over Christmas.

 

[Avery Moore]

My story is not kind to goats, I am afraid.

*Gasp* Do I need to report you for fictional animal cruelty?

The Golden compass?

Nope, not the Golden Compass.

Last scene was emotionally tense one where MC and his love interest finally have "that chat" which has been coming since 3/4 way through book 1. Now they go their ways (for the next 2 1/2 books) before meeting up again before the finale in book 5.

Oh no!

I have 64 gods in my pantheon, 9 elder gods, 8 major gods and the rest minor.

Oh WOW! This is some intense world building! I may need to steal some of these... Not any of the unique ones of course but the Gods of things like Fire, Water, Air and Stone (or Earth probably). Very impressed with how detailed and well thought out this list is.

 

[Daan Doornbos]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 23:

Daily Word Count: 2,410
Total Word Count: 46,674

Forgot to update for the past couple of days but I have been writing. Come down with a bad case of burnout, but since I'm so close to hitting 50K, I'm definitely going to stick it out till the end of the month and then just relax over Christmas.

Hi Avery, Take care! Your show matters. And you will hit 50K this month. We'll cheer you on

For anyone interested, I'm starting to build my website which has more details on the origins of the pantheon in my universe. The Books Of Mnemamn - Brian J Brown - author homepage

Looks very interesting JB

My story is not kind to goats, I am afraid. But...they did reoccur. I may make them a theme of sorts before publishing them all.

Lol. Poor goats!

 

[Daan Doornbos]

This week's update -- not a lot of work done

Some research. And spend some time on improving side characters and antagonists. And watched some videos on characterization and publishing.

 

[JBCrowson]

Looks very interesting JB

Thanks, It's a self build, so lots of learning along the way!

 

[JBCrowson]

Oh no!

Oh WOW! This is some intense world building! I may need to steal some of these... Not any of the unique ones of course but the Gods of things like Fire, Water, Air and Stone (or Earth probably). Very impressed with how detailed and well thought out this list is.

A romance it isn't. People who've read my series outline have differing views on whether they should or should not get together in the end. No spoilers here!

I tried to keep the elder and major gods to fairly abstract concepts, and then have the minor ones much more specific / limited in their scope. I've got a very vague outline of about 60,000 years of history as well.

 

[dollyt8]

I totally forgot to provide my weekly Saturday update yesterday because I was so busy. I've missed a couple days of writing and I'm having trouble finishing up the last two chapters of my novel. I want it to be a major climax, but the dialogue feels cheesy and I'm struggling Plus there was a huge fight just a couple chapters ago followed by a smaller fight, so it's been action after action for chapters. When I do my edits for the draft, I'll probably try to add a bit more downtime in between. At any rate, I'm at 78,269 words. The next chapter will be a bit long as it's the final battle. Wish me luck to stop procrastinating and finally get these chapters done so I can say I finished the whole first draft this month!

 

[JBCrowson]

I totally forgot to provide my weekly Saturday update yesterday because I was so busy. I've missed a couple days of writing and I'm having trouble finishing up the last two chapters of my novel. I want it to be a major climax, but the dialogue feels cheesy and I'm struggling Plus there was a huge fight just a couple chapters ago followed by a smaller fight, so it's been action after action for chapters. When I do my edits for the draft, I'll probably try to add a bit more downtime in between. At any rate, I'm at 78,269 words. The next chapter will be a bit long as it's the final battle. Wish me luck to stop procrastinating and finally get these chapters done so I can say I finished the whole first draft this month!

Good luck. With 5 days left, at the rate you've been going, you can take a day for head space if you need to, and still get it done comfortably.

 

[pmmg]

I am at 20K, but with the holiday about to interrupt, I think I will fall off a little at the end. (Why do we do this in November anyway? August is pretty free of events?)

 

[pmmg]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 23:

Daily Word Count: 2,410
Total Word Count: 46,674

Forgot to update for the past couple of days but I have been writing. Come down with a bad case of burnout, but since I'm so close to hitting 50K, I'm definitely going to stick it out till the end of the month and then just relax over Christmas.

Nothing that became a thing got there cause someone got burned out and stopped.

I think the vids are cute.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Why do we do this in November anyway?

I have wondered the same thing a few times as well... For me I think the only worse month would be December... Though I guess the summer months wouldn't be the best with being away on holiday for a few week eating into writing time... I'm thinking March would be the best month. Or May.

 

[Avery Moore]

Hi Avery, Take care! Your show matters. And you will hit 50K this month. We'll cheer you on

Awh! Thank you so much! That's so sweet!

A romance it isn't. People who've read my series outline have differing views on whether they should or should not get together in the end. No spoilers here!

Go full on tragedy and have them meet up after years of separation only for, through some misunderstanding involving hiding in the shadows, have one of them accidentally kill the other! Then the dying one declares their love for the surviving one with their last breath and dies in the survivor's arms and the survivor screams, "NOOOOOOO!" ... I have been reading too much grimdark.

Wish me luck to stop procrastinating and finally get these chapters done so I can say I finished the whole first draft this month!

Good luck! You're doing absolutely amazing!

Nothing that became a thing got there cause someone got burned out and stopped.

I think the vids are cute.

Great advice! And thank you!

 

[Avery Moore]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 26:

Been really busy and I keep not getting round to updating, but I have been writing every day, I have been making videos every day and... Most important of all... I won!!!

Daily Word Count: 2,252
Total Word Count: 51,892

I wrote 50,000 words in a month! Probably more than I've written in the past 4 years combined. Everybody clap for me and tell be how brilliant I am! Definitely going to tone it down from here. 1,667 words a day just isn't sustainable for me for long periods of time, but I think I'm going to try to keep up the habit of writing every day. Maybe aim for 500 words a day. That definitely seems achievable.

Anyway, check out my cool new Book Nook! Can't wait to build it. It's going to be so fun!