Libratopia!

Hi internet!

So, as mentioned before, there is a new book review blog opening up. It officially has a name (and a website): Libratopia!

The name was the invention of the Broinlaw, and the criteria was a joint effort. I'm almost finished with my first criview (see Libratopia to find out what a criview is) which has been a lot of fun to write.

Hopefully as time goes by this little project with gather some interest and do some good for the reading world. Hopefully it will be compelling, taut, rivetting, rollicking, and yet never actually use those words in a criview because they mean nothing to the average reader.

In other news, yesterday was my older brother's birthday. He is an extremely cool dude to whom I owe a lot, and I am extremely grateful that he is a part of my life. Respect and love, Bro :)

And as for Ze Book? Still chipping away at it, full steam. I had some dizzy daydream about having it finished before school started up again, but I'm pretty sure that's just crazy talk. A more realistic goal is having it done by November, so I can participate in NaNoWriMo again. I didn't participate last year because I was working hard on the second draft of 'First Time's a Charm,' and while the rules explicitly state that your NaNo should be a new work, I didn't want to leave Ze Book alone for a month.

If I'm ready for November, I would be glad to participate in the insanity again :) The project, of course, would be the Ze Sequel!

Have you guys ever heard of/participated in NaNoWriMo? If you're not into writing, what sort of stuff do you do, and how do you manage your time?

And they're off!

If you've managed to stick with me for a full month with only two updates, then congratulations! You win this third update!

A good deal has occurred in my family since the last time I posted about something or other. Here's the skinny:

Familial Health Crisis (handled)
Currently visiting with Family in Idaho (baby sister is adorable)
Acceptance to the British Literary Tour as provided by BYU-Idaho (elated)
Beginning work on NaNoWriMo (in progress)
Baby Sister Turns 1 (Happy Birthday, Rudi!)

And there you have it. What I've been up to for the last couple of weeks.

Since I promised more information about it in my last post, let's talk about NaNoWriMo!

National Novel Writing Month is this ingenious device thought up by a guy named Chris and some other masochists, who decided that it would be a great idea to try and write a fifty thousand word novel in a month (namely, Turkey Month, also known in latter days as 'November'). Misery loves company, and so like a berserk snowball wheeling its way down Mount Everest towards an unsuspecting camp, NaNoWriMo has grown to a massive, cold ball of doom.

Writers everywhere rejoice!

Last year was my first year 'competing,' and I managed (barely) to make it. The story I was writing then was about three siblings (The Whipsnappers); one of them is kidnapped by goblins, the other one goes to get him back, and the third one stays to take care of their village. Exciting stuff. Unfortunately, I was as poorly organized as a clan of dust bunnies trying to wage war on a tribe of vacuums. I have a good deal written in that book, but it has remained exactly as it is for...well, the last year.

THIS year, however, I started out with an entirely different tactic. I wrote up a disturbingly brief outline, with a vague subject for each of the planned thirty chapters. A chapter a day, and I'll find myself with a complete (albeit rougher than a blind date with a yeti) novel. Which I will then smother in spit and polish until I feel it's decent enough to have someone read...and then attempt to get it published.

In my next post (it will be much sooner, I promise!) I'll put up the synopsis and a brief excerpt from this year's attempt.

The title: Lady Luck: First Time's a Charm