Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2017: The Start

So, two weeks ago, I could have sworn I had typed up about five or six posts, only to realize on Monday morning that I hadn't completed and posted or even scheduled to post even one of them.  Then last week, I swear I had meant to type up a post, but I got seriously side-tracked by the Pokemon Go water event and work, again.

Now, I know yesterday was April 1st, and you are likely expecting some kind of prank or joke, but I don't want to do that when there are so many other pranks being performed out there (Collinsville ketchup bottle, anyone?) so I've decided to start on my Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2017 posts with this one.  The title indicates that there will only be 5 posts, and that is because there are five Sundays this month, but the fifth also happens to be the final day of April.  I'll be focusing this month on two main works of fanfiction, but I've chosen one for my Camp main project, but everything typed is accepted.  My goal is 25,000 words for the month.  Since there are discussion boards for a couple of my courses and there are these blogs that'll likely be used at the last minute to up my count, I might actually win!

So, to give you a bit of information on the two projects that I plan to work on.  The first is a crossover between Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter and League stories.  I can't help but think about Styxx being taken in by Thraix and Dagger before Artemis sends him to live through Acheron's memories.  There's also the reaction to the Andarion fangs by both Daimons and Hunters.  Even the fact that they don't rely on the same deities.  I know the first meeting would be when Fang and Vane are trying to protect their sister's pups, and that they would be meeting Styxx when he's been coerced by Dionysus.  There are some other things I'm aware of including a major slash element and some instances of male pregnancy, but not completely sure yet of an end game which is slightly annoying to me.  There are some changes to the source materials for my fic and it will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea, but then, what is, right?

The second project is a multiverse crossover based on the Assassination Classroom anime.  The first one that I'll be focusing on in what will be a series, is Nagisa attending the boarding school in Princess Princess.  So far I seem to be focusing on crossovers with other animes, but that's because the Assassination Classroom is set in Japan and it's kind of hard to find things that use Japanese schools that aren't based in either anime or manga.  I plan on crossovers with Bleach, Ouran High School Host Club(OHSHC), Fruits Basket, and Eyeshield, though more are planned.  It's definitely starting with their high school years, but it's likely to follow them until a future reunion, Not the one used in the anime, but one even later.  Some years after Nagisa has been teaching [and likely gets hired in future years at Namimori of Katekyo Hitman Reborn!(KHR!)] to get the most from my ideas in one series.  There is one pairing in KHR! that I really can't see splitting, even if they aren't cannon.  That pair is Karma and Nagisa.  I don't know why I see them together, but I do.  Can I read others where they aren't a pair? Yes, however, I doubt I could ever write one.  After the high school years, I do want to go into various after school stories.  If Nagisa isn't hired in Namimori, then either he or another of the Assassination Classroom would have been drafted into the mafia and called in to aid Reborn.  Obviously, there are going to be timeline alterations throughout the series just because of the combinations that I want to explore.  I've got a few of the high schools chosen, such as Karma remaining at Kunugigaoka and Itona and the human version of Ritsu attending Ouran.  The Ouran line will be fun, but currently, only Nagisa is willing to inform me of their antics, though some of them include some of the others...Oh, and Karma is grinning evilly about the Namimori part, so there's that.

As of this posting, I have 200 words towards my goal.

How about you?  Will you be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo April 2017 and if so, what are your goals and projects?  Have suggestions for either project I'm working on?  Leave a comment, I promise you won't be bitten...unless you have Hibari nearby, then who knows, lol!

1May 2017 Edit: Instead of doing a post every Sunday, I'll do this one and one about the month's journey after the month is over (this upcoming Sunday.)  Apparently, I had an exceedingly busy month outside of writing, but more on that in the end of the Camp post!

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 5/5

April's Camp NaNoWriMo is over.  As I'm typing this I've only just over 7K words towards my goal, which is disappointing, but with college an early morning job and other real life distractions, I'm not all that surprised.  There is supposed to be another camp in July.  I'll have the same goal and probably work on the same story.  There's so much I can do that won't really contribute to word count that I'll take the time to figure them out.  Things like drawing a map and figuring out a title.  Getting pictures of various buildings and the characters that would exist would be great as well.

If you didn't meet your goal, son't give up.  Any word count is better than not even trying.  If you did meet that goal, congratulations!  And for all you major overachievers who wrote double or more what your word count goal was, be extremely proud of yourselves!  All of those word counts are great towards the works your working on.  Just don't forget that now is the time to revise, unless that is what your Camp project was!

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 4/5

Once again, I've not really taken the time to write.  I know, I need to just sit down and write, but I keep finding things that I need to do that are of higher priority, like work of all kinds!  There's housework, homework, and money-work.  I barely have time to keep up with DWTS and The Voice.  I'm not giving up though!  I know I can get to 20K words, I just have to focus.  And stop getting distracted!

In case you weren't aware yet, winning validation became available this past week on Wednesday.  For those who had met or surpassed their goals, this was fantastic news!  For those of us who haven't been able to really work on our projects, this might make us a little more anxious than typical.  I got the e-mail and told myself "This weekend, no matter what you may wish to do, you're sitting down and working on your project, Ency."  Then sat down and wrote for about five minutes while making dinner.  Got about a hundred more words to add to my total, but still puts me nowhere near where I need to be.

Hopefully I can happily post next week that I met that 20K word goal.  I set it lower than I knew I could do because of all the real world obligations.  RL is annoying, but necessary.  This is not a good thing for writers who want to disappear into their other worlds and while away their time there.  Especially if they aren't making writing their living.  Well, good luck to my fellow campers.

I must apologize for this being late.  I mistakenly believed I had it properly scheduled to post on Sunday morning, but apparently it remained as a draft instead of a scheduled post.  So, I'm terribly sorry for that!

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 3/5

We've reached passed the halfway mark!  Have you reached the halfway goal?  I haven't.  I'm not giving up though!  Since I'm doing this by hand, it's a little harder to have an accurate count.  I'm trying though, and I refuse to give up!  For those who have reached their halfway point on their word goal, congratulations, keep going.  You can always go above and beyond!  For those who, like me, have not, don't give up.  Every little bit aids in reaching your goal.  Keep working towards your goal.

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 2/5

So last Sunday I didn't get a lot done on my project and I meant to give a little highlight on the write-ins, but ended up not seeing as I was unable to watch them in their entirety before my Sunday post.  I will admit though that I am working on the story and am tempting to draw out or find a way to create a map on a computer to give the overall area that the story, which is promising as a series starter instead of a stand alone (which was my original plan), spans.  Is what you're working on shaping up differently than you originally planned?

I'm also working on it's cover.  I'm thinking of using the house I have in Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 1/5 as the background and impose a picture of either the family or their vehicle to make this story's cover and if it really is the start of a series, use the house as a backdrop for the cover.  Give your opinions on these thoughts in the comments.  Maybe you have a better idea?  If so, don't be afraid to comment about it!

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 1/5

So this was the first week of Camp NaNoWriMo.  I finally figured out what I wished to work on.  It'll be something kind of paranormal.  For more information why don't you check out my Camp NaNoWriMo page.  If you'd like, you can even add me as a writing buddy.  The picture I'm referring to is:
 

Neat isn't it?  I took the picture from just inside a building across the street from it.  The way the tree just kind of guards over the house barren of the leaves that are typical of spring lends itself to a more eerie atmosphere.  Then as I was walking my dog only a few days ago I thought of this picture while seeing how friendly and welcoming the rest of the town was.  I couldn't help but wonder how much of a story lies in just the opposite atmospheres.  What is the welcoming and safe-like environment was just a front for the horrors that exist in the town.  The town is home to those that is typically not spoken of.  Ghosts, vampires, weres, just about anything that would be considered mythical.  Well, the entire town except that one house.  The house in town that lends credit to the stories of hauntings and campfire ghost stories.

What do you think?  Sounds interesting I hope.

Anyway I had a late start and am glad that my target goal is only 20K words.  Luckily I've written over six hundred of them already!

Future of April 2016

It's been what a week already?  Surprising, isn't it?  Anyway, this post is more about my plans for the month of April, though there might be a bit of a warm-up post as well....As they say though, April showers bring mayflowers.

So the first order of business is that in April we begin two events.  The first is Camp NaNoWriMo.  Do I plan to participate?  Yes.  What do I plan to work on?  I have yet to decide.  Still a little miffed that I can't use my own computer.  It's still out of commission thanks to that free Windows 10 upgrade last July.  I may restart an earlier project that went missing or continue the project from November.  Of course I might work on a whole different project as well.  We'll have to see what my muses decide on.

So back in October 2015 Writer's Digest Platform I'm fairly certain I mentioned that I follow Writer's Digest.  If I didn't, well, now I am.  Anyway, I must admit that I'm not a constant follower, so I don't know every event they promote nor am I aware of all their products and services and blogs.  That's actually a little depressing when I think about it.  Back to what I was typing originally, though.  Apparently it's time for their annual Poem-a-Day competition.  For more information on that go to their blog 2016 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines.  He even gave a few hints as to what may be asked for.

So here are my plans for these two events.  Since I try to post on Sundays, I'll attempt Camp NaNo updates in the mornings throughout the month.  My goal is 20,000 words.  Perhaps I'll meet that and maybe I'll even finish enough to work on the revising over the next few months.  If I end up working on a fanfiction piece, perhaps I'll get it done enough to put it up on a fanfiction site.  This means at least five posts.  A final post claiming either success or effort filled failure will be made on May 1.  For the Poem a Day Challenge I hope to post the poems from each week in a full post on Sunday evening.  If not the actual poem then at least give an idea of each poem posted or even links to where that poem is.  In fact, the original post gave practice links for three poems as a Wednesday Poem, which if you followed the previous link, I'm certain you managed to find.

The first past practice link given is to a "Don't Forget ___" poem.  All I can think of is Demi Lovato's song Don't Forget.  That admitted, I did check the post, and here's my attempt on said poem.

Don't Forget the Truth 

It's out there somewhere

Hiding around the bend

Retreating in our mind

So we might have 

A chance to defend

It's out there somewhere

Between naysayers and do-rights

Leaving breadcrumb trails 

And messages in the dark

It's right in front

Just beyond the end of our noses

So obvious bats can see it

So why is we lose it

Hide it, dismiss it, forget it?

Don't Forget the Truth

It's always there, just hidden

It's waiting to be found

To be discovered

To be uncovered

It's always been right there

Comforting us, abetting and aiding

Allowing us our delusions, 

Yet remaining unchanged

It's right between lies 

It's beyond our noses

It's been hidden in messages

Been left in breadcrumbs

Don't ever forget the truth is always there

So, what do you think?  I know it's a strange format, but it just seemed right.  Leave some feedback in the comments, I promise I don't mind.

The next is a Valentine poem.  He gives two options in the original post, but I found I wanted to do something slightly different.  I even checked some of the posts and didn't see this type anywhere, so here it goes.

Valentine's Day

Virtually everyone is aware of

Alienating singles this one day a year

Letting nothing slide in setting this one day up

Even if it's obvious they want

Nothing to do with it

Telling friends and family they're happy alone

Indicating they have other plans that require not being a couple

Not really lying as they go to mixers for singles

Even if they'd rather not hear of the holiday at all

Single is just a status that really works against for the one day

Daring couples find gifts worthy of their other halves

Always unsure if it was worth the money and the hunt

Yet certain when they made the plans that it be perfect

Single - the status they almost wish they had

So there's that one.  Again, feedback is always helpful.  I don't bite, at least not hard and only if asked, I swear.

The third practice is animal-influenced.  This is actually very loose in regards to interpretation.  I'm a little glad that I don't have my old works in front of me, because I'd be tempted to use one of them and that's not what this is about.  No what this is about is making new works of art, which is what I feel poems are.  There is no shortage of animal inspiration so here goes my attempt.

The Brindled Beagle Mix

Snoring Running great

she's just a bit overweight

my pet a canine

So, there's my last one.  These are my practices for what begins on April 1(I know to expect some pranks and jokes that day...I'm glad it's not a Sunday!)  If you decide to do either of these, let me know!  I'm always happy to meet others whose hobbies are the same as mine.  Anyway, have a wonderful Easter, or if you celebrate something else, enjoy it as well!

Writing Analysis

Alright, so what may have been the start of the LANZ campaign didn't actually start and until we do, I won't have an update.

For all who participated in Camp NaNoWriMo July 2015: Congrats on at least participating!  If you met you're goal, like I did...Double CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!  In my case, my goal was only 15K, and I only barely managed to hit the goal early on the final morning(like 1:30 a. m., talk about worrying!  I managed over 5K in those final 2 days as I worked on a fanfiction that seemed to grip me at the moment.)

Now, today on Facebook in a friend's news feed she got a link to something called Personality Insights.  She happened to share it with me and I decided to test it.  First I used the latest chapter that I managed to type up for Camp NaNo.  Then I tried a part from a different fanfiction that is sitting on my computer waiting for me to return to it.  They both received the same analysis:

You are boisterous and social.

You are unconcerned with art: you are less concerned with artistic or creative activities than most people who participated in our surveys. You are assertive: you tend to speak up and take charge of situations, and you are comfortable leading groups. And you are laid-back: you appreciate a relaxed pace in life.

Your choices are driven by a desire for well-being.

You consider helping others to guide a large part of what you do: you think it is important to take care of the people around you. You are relatively unconcerned with taking pleasure in life: you prefer activities with a purpose greater than just personal enjoyment.

Now, this is the funny thing.  The closest thing to artistic that I have is my writing.  Other folks find other ways to vent when they get mad, but I tend to bottle it up because my brain runs rampant with ideas.  I love all forms of art but feel that I'm not able to put what my brain presents into any artistic form.  I have to find others who have managed to portray exactly what my imagination managed to create.  Most times, when I find them, it's close enough that my brain accepts it as what my imagination was aiming for.

While I can and have been in charge of varying groups and used to not have any qualms about trying to take over, there was a memorable moment when I was child that I am still bitter over.  We were put into groups that had to research the environments.  I had grabbed my notebook, even back in grade school, I felt a need to take notes and have paper and pencil in hand at all times.  No one else in the group had grabbed theirs and one of the others in our group wanting to take control over my notebook and pencil.  I refused, obviously.  We didn't do too well on the project because they couldn't put the essay/speaking portion into a feasible format of sentences.  The first sentence I read was actually a run-on that was followed by a fragment.  The entirety of the paragraph was about one individual fact, as well.

I felt the entirety of the project and what had occurred at the time was unfair.  I resented my classmate trying to take my supplies and then not being able to actually put together a decent project.  I resolved even then that my projects would be done to a level of competence that sat well with me, even if they were never appreciated.

I do try to be rather laid-back.  Rushing all the time and not taking the time to enjoy life is annoying.  In fact, that's part of what's been bothering me lately.  I've got way to many things going on to just take a walk and relax while watching the clouds.

I do like helping others, though.  I like to cook for large groups and if it were easier for me to help others, I would easily be volunteering.  I will freely admit to advocating both recycling and conservation efforts before I turned five.  I tried to help others, but when your voice gets overlooked and you can't seem to find support, you give up, or at least I did.

As for the last sentence...I gave up doing anything for myself a long time ago.  Kind of hard to be able to freely enjoy life when you have four siblings that are more boisterous than you.

I will admit that while I like a bit of socializing, I'm just as happy disappearing for years at a time.

Next I used a portion of an original fiction piece that I had started working on way back in high school.  It's analysis went as follows:

You are social, boisterous and can be perceived as shortsighted.

You are assertive: you tend to speak up and take charge of situations, and you are comfortable leading groups. You are unconcerned with art: you are less concerned with artistic or creative activities than most people who participated in our surveys. And you are confident: you are hard to embarrass and are self-confident most of the time.

Your choices are driven by a desire for well-being.

You are relatively unconcerned with both independence and taking pleasure in life. You welcome when others direct your activities for you. And you prefer activities with a purpose greater than just personal enjoyment.

The only difference was the being hard to embarrass and the self-confidence.  It's not that I'm hard to embarrass or mostly self-confident.  It's more that I read so much that in the realm of words, things were completely different than real-life.  I was able to convince myself that what claimed I was and wanted was truly me and my likes and dislikes.  It no longer is true.  I am hard to embarrass because most people try to with sexual innuendos which I freely bandied with my friends and even now banter with my husband.  I am now self-confident in the fact that if someone doesn't like who I am, they can disappear from my life or learn to deal with it.  It's not on me that you can't interact with me in a way that makes you happy.

After that I decided to analyze my first blog post from Jun 1, 2014:

You are a bit compulsive and sentimental.

You are unconcerned with art: you are less concerned with artistic or creative activities than most people who participated in our surveys. You are content: you are content with your level of accomplishment and do not feel the need to set ambitious goals. And you are empathetic: you feel what others feel and are compassionate towards them.

Your choices are driven by a desire for well-being.

You consider helping others to guide a large part of what you do: you think it is important to take care of the people around you. You are relatively unconcerned with independence: you welcome when others direct your activities for you.

Compulsive?  Yes, I am.   Sentimental?  Most definitely have those moments even if I'm only 28.  Content with where I am?  Yes, and wish others would realize that as well.  Empathetic?  I don't know.  Unconcerned with independence?  I like having choices.  Yes, I'd rather be as one of my neighbors put it a "domestic engineer" or rather a housewife, but the world isn't giving me that option at the moment.  Do I want to be told what to do?  No.  Do I like knowing what the expectations for me by others are?  Perhaps in certain areas of my life, but unconcerned with independence?  Not bloody likely(great, been reading too many Harry Potter fanfics again!)

I also had the blog post for the LANZ campaign analyzed as it was the last post before this one:

You are inner-directed and skeptical.

You are unconcerned with art: you are less concerned with artistic or creative activities than most people who participated in our surveys. You are deliberate: you carefully think through decisions before making them. And you are proud: you hold yourself in high regard, satisfied with who you are.

Experiences that give a sense of connectedness hold some appeal to you.

You are relatively unconcerned with taking pleasure in life: you prefer activities with a purpose greater than just personal enjoyment. You consider helping others to guide a large part of what you do: you think it is important to take care of the people around you.

Yes, I am completely satisfied with who I am, even if I still couldn't explain it to others.  I only think through some of my decisions before making them.  Most of the time I think it through after I've already made it.  What does a "sense of connectedness" even mean?  I can't comment for or against something I just don't understand.

Finally, I decided to analyze this post:

You are sentimental.

You are empathetic: you feel what others feel and are compassionate towards them. You are assertive: you tend to speak up and take charge of situations, and you are comfortable leading groups. And you are intermittent: you have a hard time sticking with difficult tasks for a long period of time.

Your choices are driven by a desire for well-being.

You are relatively unconcerned with tradition: you care more about making your own path than following what others have done. You consider helping others to guide a large part of what you do: you think it is important to take care of the people around you.

Definitely, have a hard time sticking with difficult tasks for long periods of time.  It's why I have a hard time at winning NaNoWriMo and so few of my stories are actually completed!

When it comes to traditions it's more I lack the memory and experience with them.  While some of them, yes, I don't really see a point, others I just don't want to worry.  There were so few traditions when I was growing up, that the few I wish to have I have to do myself.  My husband is just as unconcerned with traditions as I am.  We have traditions, but we leave leeway for our own changes to said traditions as well.  Why shouldn't we wish to blaze our own trail in the traditions department?

Quick Catch-Up

First things first: I'm sorry to have been silent for so long.  After the death of our friend, things got quite busy.  There were numerous times I wanted to type up a post, but either had to force myself to sleep or wait until I got home.  Then I would be sitting at my computer trying to figure out what the hell I was going to type for the post.  I know I planned to get better and April I almost managed to post only to have RL(real life) work get in the way.  I did try to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo with a goal of only 15,000 words, but only succeeded on hitting 9,000, I think.  I really don't feel like looking it up.  The point is I didn't even hit 10,000 words that month.  I managed to hit 10,000 words last July, so maybe I'll hit 15,000, though I can't promise any updates like I plan for November.

Besides work, we lost another friend.  This time, it was thanks to a drunk driver instead of a heart attack, and recently another friend lost his unborn niece.  It would have been his first which is what makes it so heartbreaking.

Second, it's been a year since I started this blog!  I know, that's nothing compared to some well-known and loved bloggers and vloggers, but I've always been a little technology-challenged and/or impaired.  It's not as though I didn't think about way back then.  I remember setting up a yahoo account in middle school.  In high school, it had somehow managed to disappear from existence.  I don't know how nor did I use the same user name, but I did create a new account.  I've had accounts on some sites for a long time, however not all, in fact most, aren't used.  

I admit it.  I'd much rather read a good story and live within the realm of my imagined world of recreation than keep up with deadlines and the like.  Speaking of which, I should admit that I've almost reached the 1000 word mark for Camp NaNoWriMo, which is great news because it means I've actually had time to sit and type which I plan on doing later today as well.

I thought I'd better give at least a minor update on some of my thoughts, though with everything going on, I have plenty of thoughts.  The question I keep asking myself is...Do I wish to exacerbate a situation I'm not truly knowledgeable on?  So I put forth a question to you.  Just because we read one story and hear folks talking about and making assumptions based off the one story, does that give us the right to tell those within the story that they are wrong or that people need to take a stand?