T (arget) minus 693 words

Yep! If you can count right, you know I've reached the 39,300 words mark! And I'm pooped...

But seeing the end so near, so real (and since my friend Esme has asked me about it on my last post ^_^) I've started to think about what to write next... The mind of a writer is never at rest :P
For sure, I'm gonna start writing in English again (I feel all out of practice with it) and I really have this desire to take part into some sort of readers/writers community (well, when I say that, I mean "submit my English writing to English readers and see if I can hold my own"). So far, I've had a look at Wattpad and Inkitt.

 

Both seem fine. I don't know if I'll have to choose or if I can publish the same story on both platform... Or perhaps, I could write two stories...

As you can see, I'm still evaluating the possibilities. But one of them I know for certain is that I would like to finally get to writing The Drifters...
I'll work on a plan soon enough (August) and will definitely let you know what's up as soon as I know! :P

Until then, write on! ^_^

Of mice and men

So! Only a couple of days till the end of July. The "new" goal I had set myself for this Camp NaNo was 40k words for July. (Unfortunately, I had decided on this new goal the day after winnings had begun at Camp so I could not officially set my new goal which is still set on 50k... Oh well.)
Anyway, things are looking good! :D I've reached 36,758 words and I think I can manage the rest of this 40k in the last few days! ^_^
Then I've got 25k words left for August (with some painting and gaming alongside it). Should be a breeze...

September is off. Totally and completely off!
I will game, read, paint, watch TV, write something new: anything but I will not touch Nellie! That's what October will be there for: rereading and editing it all.

And then, come November, Nellie IV will be finally and officially DONE and GONE!! YAY!!! After three years of struggling, I will have conquered this last land, tamed this last beast, climbed that last mountain! Finally!!

So, that is the plan as of today.
But you know what they say: the best laid plans of mice and men...

Well, we'll see what life brings!
I'll keep you posted.
Till then, read and write on! ^_^


EDIT: My word meter has gone wonky today so I went meter hunting and I've found this absolutely delightful widget!! :D 

 

So cute! And lots of fun too because not only can you change the current word count (duh!) and the target (of course), but you can actually set moods for this little guy!! :D Found him in Writertopia's Toolbox. Feel free to go have a look for yourself! ^_^

The halfway mark

I'M HALFWAY THERE!!! YAY!!!

Not halfway to winning Camp NaNo (which is closer than that) but halfway through the expected total word count of Nellie IV!!!
(Expect. total = 65k. So, 65k / 2 = 32,500 words. Current total =

WOOHOO!!! For me, that is a HUGE cause for celebration for I never thought I would actually make it through the entire novel, that I would never be able to muster enough strength and willpower to actually see through the writing of that fourth and final novel of the Nellie series... But now, I know I can totally do it and I can even see the light at the end of the tunnel, there in the distance! I'm halfway there! :D So I should be able to finish it somewhere in August as I had hoped to. YAY! ^_^

As for NaNo, my original goal was to write 50k in a month. According to the website's stats, it is still doable if I can manage a small 1,800 words a day but... well, I've decided I would dial down on the pressure. I thought "If I can make it to the halfway mark of the novel's total word count before July 31st, I'll be happy".
And here we are, July 22nd and I've hit that mark already! :D

I will keep on writing until the end of the month, of course, but with a loooot less pressure on. I've come to realize lately that the more pressure I put on myself, the less I actually accomplish. So no sweats (figuratively speaking, of course; it's still hot here) and let's just keep adding to the word count at my own pace, writing down the words as they come.

My friend Rachel also told me that the texts she prefers from me are actually my first drafts, the ones where I just write and not (over)think. So I'll try and focus on that from now on. :) I believe I have a tendency to erase my own voice as I edit... Gotta be careful with that.

Anyway, this day is a great boost for me.
Yesterday, I was feeling kinda so-so and I even made a list of pros and cons about being a writer. (A lot more cons than pros, I gotta admit.) I even came to wonder if I really was a writer... But then, I took a shower and ideas for other stories just popped into my head! Ideas that I then brainstormed with my boyfriend and I got super giddy and excited about these "new" stories!

So yeah, bottom line or long story short (take your pick of the idiom), in the words of Rainer Maria Rilke: "If, when you wake up in the morning, you can think of nothing but writing... then you're a writer." Which I take as meaning to say that if you feel this... unavoidable necessity to write, then you're a writer. And all these questions and doubts are just part of the process. They will always come, but they will also always go. And all that remains is what's really important. And for me, it's to share with you all these stories in my head. To entertain you, make you dream and travel no matter where you are...

...or who you are. ^_^

So yeah, I guess I am a writer after all. :)

The Room

Small update on Camp NaNo: Nellie is going well but due to a very busy Saturday and a difficult-to-create-in heatwave since then, I've found myself below par. But I'm still writing most everyday and my Camp stats state that I can totally finish this novel by July 31st if I write an average 1635 words a day. I'll work hard towards that goal, I promise.

Now...

You know, after a while of gaming, writing, virtually anything, anyone and everyone gets bored. That is a universal truth. The key is knowing when it's time for you to vary your hobbies, occupations, etc. but even then...

I was getting bored with pretty much anything. I've watched so many TV series and movies in my life that very few of them still surprise me (they mostly all follow the same basic pattern depending on the genre). 

Same with the books. 

Same with the games...

...until I found The Room.

No, it's not a scary, gory horror game :P

I admit, I was slowly losing my "creative fire". Gee, I was even getting bored with my own creations! But since yesterday, that fire is now roaring because the smallest of things can spark the imagination. My "job" is to write stories. My goal is to write stories that sell a bit. But my dream is to write an out-of-this-world story...

Now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to accomplish such a feat but since yesterday, I feel a little closer to defining what is, for me, an extraordinary story.

I'm all about the ambiance, really. And the ambiance I have been seeking for such a long time, I have found it in a few-hours-iPad-game!

So, what is The Room?

If you wanna strip it down to its basics, The Room is no more than a 3D puzzle game (with dazzling decors, I might add). But if you really wanna get a sense of what really IS The Room, check out this tiny trailer (and turn on the volume, take in that hauntingly beautiful melody)!

There are these rare moments in life when you get to feel like you've found an echo of yourself in something someone else has created. And I love this game so much for it makes me feel that way. I've always wanted to write a story with that kinda ambiance. Mysterious, puzzling, bewitching, haunting. With that sense that something much bigger than yourself is at work in the world... Something invisible. Something that has no concept of right or wrong. Something that you can't see, touch, quantify.

Something that just... is.

Perhaps I may just have found inspiration for it...

Now tell me: would you read it? ^_^


(In the meantime, if you're looking for me, you'll find me submerged in the sequels! ^_^)

Day 8 (Original title, I know)

Another day gone by...

I've reached par today, no problem, and I've even gone beyond! But yeah, I've cheated a tad (although there's no real "cheating" during Camp cause the main goal is to have fun with writing so...). So I've reached par (for tomorrow haha) but I've copy-pasted a lot from the previous version of the text. Although, like I've told my buddy: "Once it's good, it's good! Why should I rewrite stuff I've already written and like?"

So yeah, I copied! ^_^

But it's all good; I like my new version better. I'm writing it for me, mostly. No stress, no sweat, no pressure (well, ALMOST no sweat because it's still kinda warm here hihi).

Yesterday, I've had a pretty bad day. Mood-wise. I managed to cram in the words but the thrill was gone. I suddenly realized a lot of things that made me panic about being a writer (the readership's expectations; the pressure to come up with something fresh, smart and original; the must-do-PR which I'm not that great at; etc.) Tears were on the verge and thoughts of "I'll never make it" and the likes came a-running. 

But I've had a stroke of genius (well, it's more thanks to the heat really): I turned everything off and went floating in a nice cool bath.
And I've come to realize something: I'm not a hardcore writer. I'm not a singer or a visual artist either. There's none of these things I wanna do out of a duty. I wanna feel like they are a hobby because if they're work, then I'll stop practicing each and every one of them come retirement!

I've come to realize that the only thing I would always do in my life is dreaming...

I'm not a writer nor a singer nor a painter. Heck, I'm not even an artist!

I simply am A DREAMER.

And now that I've decided and accepted that, I feel much better! And much less pressured :)
So I'll keep on dreaming... and create as I go! :)

(Here's my afternoon activity ^_^)

A photo posted by Valérie L. (@valouche13) on Jul 8, 2015 at 1:07pm PDT

Camp NaNo -- Day 6

Just a short post to keep you up-to-date :)
I did not relate every single day of this Camp NaNo because, let's face it, it would probably be pretty boring (especially since I cannot really put any excerpt of my ongoing novel since it's in French!)

So here we are, day 6!

Things are running pretty smoothly so far: I usually set out to write my daily 1600 words around 10AM and I finish before 12PM, leaving me with all that free time in the afternoon (when the temperature usually reach above 85 and we don't have any air conditioning here). I've almost reached the 10k mark as you can see and I'm pretty contented with what I've written so far. :)
Since the first three volumes of my Nellie series were published more than three years ago, I decided to plant a recap of these volumes in the fourth one in the form of the main character (Nellie) telling her story to a new character. I simply hope my readers will find it useful and not too long or boring...
Anyway, "those who shall live, shall see" :P

In the meantime, since I am done for the day, I will be taking a break and I'll read or paint or play a game or something.
Talk to you all again soon! ^_^

First Day

Hey everyone! It's that time of the year again: Camp NaNoWriMo!

And I'll be going at Nellie 4 again, one last time... Hopefully.

I feel like I've awaken from slumber.

These past few months seem like a blurry dream, floating somewhere at the limit of my consciousness, barely real. As some of you may know, I worked since mid-April till the end of June. Actually, I finished my job contract a little more than a week ago and I spent that time off indulging in my Sims addiction. But now, it's July and it's time to wake up again. And remember that I am a writer... not a receptionist in a theater company.
Don't get me wrong, the job was fine! I remember the work experience I've gotten but more importantly, the friendships gained. :)
But let's be frank: I worked for the money.

Now, it's time to work again... for the fun ^_^

It's a rainy day here and as I sit by the open patio door, a chilly wind tickles my feet, curling my toes inward. I sit in my departed grandma's old rocking chair (cause there's no better seat in the world, everyone knows that) and I'm ready to go back. Back into my book, back into my career. Back into who I've chosen to be.

While outside thousands of moving trucks are plaguing the streets under the rain on this national moving day, I sit comfortably inside, in this "new" condominium of ours which took me a year and a half to bring it to the way we like it (and still not completely done yet) and I'm thankful for everything that's happened in my past which lead me here. In this house, in this time, with this boyfriend, this cat and my friends (through the magic of Internet), with these talents in my hand, this career on my resume, these dreams in my head and that future ahead of me.

It was someone somewhat famous that once said "Every journey starts with a single step."
So now that I'm back, let's journey together my friends! One step at a time... :)