Midnight in Rhandirmwyn

It wasn’t my intention to write last night.  I just sort of happened.

First off, I was really in information gathering mode last night.  I was very tired when I arrived home after work–I’m sorry, I meant this vampiric entity that gifts me with money in return for sucking at my soul for nine hours.  I was burnt out, and didn’t feel like doing a hell of a lot.  So I slapped on some tunes and began looking at things.

By “things”, I mean I’m getting things together for my NaNoWriMo novel.  I finally figured out a local, the basic plot, and what sort of creature I’ll write about.  Yeah, I said creature.  As in things that go bump in the night.  Only these things will do more than bump; they’re probably going to do their best to raise a little hell.

So I was on Wikipedia and Google Maps, when I was seized by the desire to have some ice cream.  As there is a Dairy Queen just down the road, I dressed, got in my car, and picked up a sundae.  So it was when I returned that I slapped in some new songs, then found myself moving the Google Maps to another part of the world.

I needed a location in Wales for my Halloween story, which will see Part Three being published this coming Monday.  I looked about, and pulled up a small town, situated in the rolling hills, named Rhandirmwyn.  Street view showed me what things looked like, and it reminded me of the times I visited my relatives in Tennessee.  There were hills and rivers and trees . . .

The perfect place for a Halloween/Samhain bonfire, or two.

Well, not right there, but once I looked around–yeah, I found the place that would be perfect.  So I looked at the satellite view.  I switched over to the map view, and triggered the terrain feature.  I looked north, closer to Llyn Brianne reservoir, and there it was:  a nice spot on a hill, about 420 meters above sea level.

I imagined the scene.  My characters appearing at a spot just to the east of Rhandirmwyn.  I pulled up the Sky View Cafe webpage and found the sky for that location at ten minutes before midnight, the time of their arrival.  I saw all this in my mind . . . and since I had Scrivener up, typing up the name of the town and the time, I figured, what the hell?  Start the conversation.

Ten minutes later I had just three hundred fourteen words, but it was a start, and it got the exposition of where they were out of the way.  And it set up the start of their journey . . .

I loved how it all came together, how it seemed to burst out from the middle of nowhere.  How it felt natural; how it felt to just sling words out there with no plan save to open the scene.

That’s the brain getting ready for NaNo.  That’s how you do it:  you get your things together, and you go.

I even have the opening scene for my NaNo Novel.  It’s not much, but it’s gonna set the tone.

It’s gonna be hard to make it to midnight on Halloween, and not write a little something.

The Witching Month

I love October.  I love the fall.  September never truly feels like fall to me, but once we get into October, then everything starts changing.  The weather changes, the trees change . . .

People change.

Things are in the pipeline.  I need to edit four more chapters for Her Demonic Majesty, and that’s it, she’s ready for the submission to Harper Voyager.  I think there’s about twelve thousand words remaining, and without pushing it, I’ll finish the polish by Thursday.  Then I have Friday and Saturday to get my submission package together, and send it off, I believe, on Saturday.

Then starts the waiting game.

I need to contact the publisher who have Couples Dance.  It’s been more than ninety days since they received the full manuscript, and I believe I’m in the position to submit an inquiry as to their intentions.  Not that I’m worried, but I would like to know what’s happening there.  That’s another of my babies, and I like to keep my babies close to me.

Also, my new Halloween story has started.  The first chapters will post in about fifteen minutes (it’s 7:45 AM as I write), and it will get pimped out all over the place–which means maybe a dozen people will see it.  Until I post a link here, and maybe it’ll get a little more coverage.

Boo!

While driving to The Undisclosed Location, I imagined the aftermath of one of my characters death.  It wasn’t a happy moment, but given the context of the scene in which it happened, it was required.  I will admit:  I have problems killing off some characters.  Some I can’t see letting them die.  Or, if they do die, they go out like heroes.

But death is needed.  Maybe I’m not going to all George R. R. Martin and create a series called, “Yeah, That One Dies As Well,” there is always the possibility that things aren’t always gonna be nice and neat.  Struggle is good, and death could always be lurking around the corner.

Let me get some stories sold, first, before I start whacking out characters in a orgy of snuff writing.  I mean, why do I want to kill people off right away, when they haven’t even stepped onto the stage.  Or I could pull a James Elroy, introduce a character as a main character in one novel, and then kill him in the first five pages of the next novel.  Kinda sets the mood for the current novel, know what I mean?

So, witching time is here . . . change is in the air.  It’s a good time to change up routines and set new goals for ourselves.  For come the end of the month, and the celebration of Samhain, we need to be ready.  The time to dance between the two bonfires will be upon us, and we could all use a little purification, so we can prepare our spirits for the coming year.

Time to come out of the dark and into the light.  Time to make things different.

Fall is in the air.

And so are so many changes.

Angel Behind Me, Witch At My Side

Busy, busy day, though not as busy as I might have been.  Editing, shopping, lunch, more editing, TV, and finally getting my Halloween story set up in Scrivener.  Up at 6:30, down at 11:15.

Not a bad stretch.

TV consisted of sitting in the dark and watching the last Doctor Who episode until Christmas.  We sat in the dark because the Internet said we were suppose to do this, probably to make The Weeping Angels that much more frightening than they already are.

It was a good departure episode, for it was time for the Ponds to leave and make way for a new Companion.  As I like to say, Moffat is Evil–I should make a meme out of that, but I’m too lazy–and he teases you, yes he does.  He loves to play with time, as well, but then, what would you expect from the man who invented Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Whimey Stuff?

After the show, then it was up to get my Halloween story ready.  I’ve through of a basic concept, and my daughter gave me some ideas that I may, or may not, use–some of which I’d love to use–so all I needed was a title, which was driving me nuts.  I finally hit on something, which brought about the response, “No one can pronounce that!”  Not my problamo, dig?  I’m just the writer.  Besides, I know what it says, so I’m not worried.

When dream time came, I was pretty much ready.  I took a nap during the day, so it was probably closer to midnight when I finally fell asleep, but then came the dreams . . . oh, my.  Talk about not so much out there while being out there.

There was a company, and a lot of dancing in a huge space where we were building something.  One of my friends was a female humantaur (looking like a human with four legs; think of a centaur without the horse body) dressed pretty much as I imagine one of the characters in my story will be dressed–and she even had a pointy hat.  There was driving around and visiting towns with friends.  There was my trying to pick out a tie for the owner of the company.  There was a lot of coffee–like, we’re talking, twenty gallon vats.

Oh, and there was a Weeping Angel going around trying to zap people into the past.  I know because I saw it a few times as it followed me around.  I think it was avoiding me, though, because I was with a witch friend, and I was in my witch dress and hat–yeah, I was.

I’m a cute witch, too.  You gotta trust me on this.

After the depressing dreams of the night before, last night was much better, even for all its strangeness.  I don’t know, but there was a frivolity that said, “Don’t take this seriously, just go with the flow.”  I wonder if this has something to do with my Halloween story, which is going to be, well, light and fun.  Not with all the death and revenge and murder I had in my last story.

Naw.  This’ll be fun.  You know it’ll be fun when the first line is, “Hey, Witchbaby!  Come here!”

Now all I have to do is write.