#camp nano april

[stories-by-rie]

hello :3 anyone doing camp nano and wants to be buddies? i'm looking for someone to maybe write together with and to motivate each other perhaps! so each their individual project but bonding over the writing together! maybe doing sprints together and stuff like that?

[lionofchaeronea]

Chewing on a couple of ideas for my April noveling project for Camp NaNoWriMo. I've got it narrowed down to a) a swashbuckling adventure set in the late Middle Ages, or b) a Western set in the post-Civil War period. Which it will be is still up in the air.

[mary-is-writing]

Camp Nano April 2023 – Current word count: 3428

The plot continues moving slowly but steady in the draft for WCB. I don't have an excerpt this time because I think what I'm writing right now is a bit too spoilery, but I can tell you this: the bad guys are coming, and Roman is trying to warn Tetsuya about it while this guy doesn't have any sense of urgency whatsoever. Meanwhile Roman just wants to punch some sense into him –literally.

I didn't realize, but I think this book is gonna be way more centred in the bad guys and the secondary protagonists than the first one, which focused more in the two mcs Tetsuya and Liu. Which is great cause I really needed to flesh out the secondary guys oh my gosh.

Last week of April, here goes for the home stretch!!

[maxkirin]

everybody:

me, talking about my OCs:

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

ALRIGHT. Hello my maggots I hope you're all eating each other very deliciously. Good job I'm proud of you.

Y'know NaNoWriMo is November but they also have a Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July and you know what? Fuck it I've set a word goal (you can do that for Camp) and I'm gonna do it. My first novel I completed during a July Camp and so I have hope for this one.

Is that too high a word goal, considering it's already the third of April?

No. I believe in the power of GAY.

A lot of things disappoint us but the power of gay always comes through.

Anyway wish me luck and more importantly if you wanna write this is your reminder to go for it and write.

You know what to do. Do it with style.

[theeccentricraven]

OC Questionnaire (warning, long post!)

Thank you @willtheweaver @kaylinalexanderbooks @buffythevampirelover @winglesswriter @drchenquill for the tags! I've wanted to do this for ages, but I was so busy. I figured out how to kill two birds with one rock by using these as character sheets for my Camp NaNoWriMo project. All of the characters mentioned below are from my WIP The Keeper of Maralla, which I describe as a nontraditional epic fantasy. Sorry the post is so long. I hoped to capture as many of the posts I had been tagged in as possible and limited to four characters. I hope I didn't give away too much.

1. Do you like the company of others?

Juva - If you mean in the company of animals, yes. If you mean what I think you mean….I’d rather be in the corner reading a book.

Maralla - I love to be around people. I bring them joy. I make them laugh. I see the good in everyone.

Jorem - I can put up with people so long as they don’t give me crap.

Mrs. Terila - A day cannot go by without my visiting a friend, giving counsel to someone who asks, or addressing the people under my charge.

2. What do you like to do in your down time?

Juva - Ride horses on my farm, read a good book, listen to the radio, go watch a movie with my dad, ride tractors, and watch a good TV show.

Maralla - Sing, dance, ride horses, explore forests, go shopping, and play outdoor games, pick flowers, and try on new clothes.

Jorem - Learn new spells

Mrs. Terila - I don’t have much spare time, but when I do, I’m having conversations with dear friends and practicing my magic.

3. Do you believe in ghosts or the supernatural?

Juva - Our people believe that the dead join with the Higher Beings in the Otherworld. Ghosts are the result of when necromancers trap their souls on earth. That’s why necromancy is evil.

Maralla - I’ve glanced Afterlife by visiting the Fay in the Otherworld. I have seen where the dead go. 

Jorem - I’m a necromancer. What do you think?

Mrs. Terila - As a mage, I know how the forces of evil fight to control souls. I know that happiness awaits the free souls.

1. What does the perfect day look like?

Juva- Pastry breakfast, visiting the most beautiful places in the colony, riding horses, watching a concert, and doing something fun with my dad.

Maralla- A festival with lots of songs and dancing, running in a race, and visiting a sacred site.

Jorem- Learning a wave of new spells, casting them to gain the control of more souls, and growing in power. Winning a fight would make the day better. 

Mrs. Terila- Sitting in a chair and reading a good book.

2. What time of day is your favorite?

Juva- Dawn. I love the sunshine, the birds singing, the cool air, and the fairy dust before it fades. 

Maralla- Late morning. Not too early, but bright.

Jorem- Night. When everyone else is asleep, it’s my “me” time.

Mrs. Terila- Dawn. I have to start at dawn for everything or else I’ll never get anything done during the day.

3. If you were granted one wish, what would it be?

Juva- To see my mother again.

Maralla-To see my parents again.

Jorem-Bring back my family, our home, and the life we used to have.

Mrs. Terila- Peace for our country.

1. What is your favorite game/sport?

Juva- Horseback riding

Maralla- Racing

Jorem- Competitions for who is the best sorcerer

Mrs. Terila- Hide and seek, believe it or not!

2. Do you prefer day or night?

Juva- Day. I get scared in the dark.

Maralla- Day, though I love to make beautiful songs either way. Oh, I rhymed. When you have spent as much time with the fairies as I have, you will rhyme a lot.

Jorem- Night. Best time for necromantic spells and there’s no one awake to bother me.

Mrs. Terila- Day, when I’m most active and productive.

3. How would you react if someone close to you betrayed you?

Juva-I was betrayed by someone close to me. It feels like the end of the world to me. No one hurt me so much. No one stole so much from me. I was cursed, too. I thought I was worthless. I would have given up on life if it wasn’t for Maralla.

Maralla-I was betrayed by someone I thought could be trusted. The best I could do was press forward and continue to fight to survive. 

Jorem- If a friend betrayed me, I would make them miserable. I would not rest until they regretted it.

Mrs. Terila- I would remind myself that corruption can haunt any soul, run to a friend for protection and comfort, and summon the fairies to guide me. 

1. Did you have any formal education? If so, what was it like?

Juva- I am fourteen years old and still a student. I’m homeschooled like many of the colonial clan members. Mrs. Terila is my teacher.

Maralla- Back in my day, I would have been able to earn admittance into a prestigious academy. Circumstances caused my mother to need to homeschool me. 

Jorem- Before I lost my family, my home, and our whole town, I was an ace student in the academy. I earned the best grades in every subject. My parents were so proud.

Mrs. Terila- I was trained by the brightest scholars of the clans. When I was young and foolish, I didn’t like school. When I realized my full potential and what I could do in the world, I became a dedicated student.

2. What is your stance on friends and friendship?

Juva- I love friends, though it’s hard when I feel so nervous talking to people. I try to spend as much time as I can with the few friends I have because I feel the most comfortable with them and don’t want to lose them.

Maralla- Friends are the best, second to family. It’s even better when they know how to have fun.

Jorem- You never know if friends could go away someday, whether they ditch you or die on you. Just show that you’ve earned respect. That matters most.

Mrs. Terila- I can never have too many friends. They are everywhere. I politely request them to respect my busy schedule. 

3. How would you describe your relationship with your family?

Juva-I love my dad more than anyone in the world. I work beside him, eat with him, pray with him, and laugh at the TV with him. I miss my mom. She was so beautiful. She was the kindest person in the world. I don’t understand why she was taken away from us. She must be happy in Paradise.  

Maralla- I was small, but I still have fond memories of my father. I was close to my mother while she raised me with the help of the sons of Moras. I miss them.

Jorem- The images of my mother, my father, and my sister still linger in my mind, impossible to scrape out of my head. Of course I loved them. Of course we lived a wonderful life. They were good people in a world where we have almost none.

Mrs. Terila- I love my husband, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. I wish times were like how they used to be, before my work had to call me away.

1.Where do you wish you were at this very moment and why?

Juva- On the farm because I love the horses and love being with my dad.

Maralla- I wish I was back in Faeryland because it’s the best place to be.

Jorem- I wish I was with my mentor Zorik because I enjoy learning necromancy from him. 

Mrs. Terila- With my husband because I miss him.

2.What's something you wanted as a child that you have/have done now and how has this impacted your life's path?

Juva- Visiting the beautiful city of An Lurska. It’s a city of magic that demonstrates the power of the Fay. I’ve heard you're never the same after you visit. They’re right. Walking the streets with the magic around me made me feel like I walked on the air.

Maralla- I wanted the fairy’s kiss when I was young because it is known for being the greatest boon that the Fay may grant. I was given it when I was fourteen. I was given more than I dreamed of. I will never touch death. 

Jorem- I had wanted to learn magic since I was young. Ever since I learned necromancy from Zorik, I have felt a power and fulfillment like I never had before. I’m not going to let the past control me. I control my future.

Mrs. Terila- I wanted a husband and a family. My married life and motherhood were happy and fulfilling. Now that the forces of the demons have gotten in the way, I regret that I can’t enjoy that life again.

3. How do you take your tea?

Juva- With whipped cream

Maralla- With sugar

Jorem- I don’t drink it. I use the tea bags for spells.

Mrs. Terila- Iced

1.How good are you with people?

Juva- I’m so quiet around them, they get frustrated by how quiet I am. I can’t tell someone to do something because it feels wrong.

Maralla- I talk to them, ask them to do something and they follow with a smile, sing to them, and get them to join in games.

Jorem- So long as people aren’t stupid, I can tolerate them. 

Mrs. Terila- Anyone who knows me knows I’m patient and a good leader, but I don’t let troublemakers get away easily.

2. How would you function in a group project?

Juva- I would listen to the group leader and follow their instructions.

Maralla- I would bring flowers and cookies to everyone.

Jorem- I would tell people how it’s done and remind the stupid people of how easy it is.

Mrs. Terila- I would be the leader, give everyone their task, emphasize on expectations, and offer my helping hand to any who ask.

3. What's your most valuable possession?

Juva - My mother’s locket.

Maralla - Love

Jorem - My diary

Mrs. Terila - My husband’s ring.

1. Which color do you hate?

Juva- Black. It’s the sign of all that is unknown, evil, and frightening.

Maralla- I’m actually quite fond of all of the colors, though red reminds me too much of blood. 

Jorem- Brown. It’s boring.

Mrs. Terila- Gray. It doesn’t look good on me.

2. If all the sounds in the world ceased to exist, which sound would you miss the most?

Juva- Birdsong

Maralla- Laughter

Jorem- My voice.

Mrs. Terila- All singing

3. What is the first rule you learned as a child?

Juva- The Fay are above us and the Higher Powers are above them. We must respect the Higher Beings who created this world and the faeryland. We must show that we are purehearted and good in nature to earn a place in the Otherworld.

Maralla- Obey Mother and Father and never stop hugging.

Jorem- Life is all about being happy. When Mom and Dad tell you to not touch a mad dog, they just don’t want you to get bit.

Mrs. Terila- Follow the example of the Order of Elders.

1.What would you say to yourself from the past?

Juva- I would tell myself to keep closer to Koti in hopes of preventing her from turning to the dark side. I would also tell myself to never break the oaths of my clan. 

Maralla- I would tell myself to be braver.

Jorem- I would tell myself to study magic sooner and spend more time practicing.

Mrs. Terila- I would tell myself to not waste my time when young as well as to not work so hard I burn out.

2. If you could send a message to your future self, what would it be?

Juva- Don’t break your oath.

Maralla- Keep spreading happiness.

Jorem- Great as it is to be a sorcerer, don't forget about the other precious moments in life.

Mrs. Terila- Don’t give up on hope.

3. If you could redo your life, is there a moment, an event, that you would never change?

Juva- I would never change taking the oath to be Maralla's keeper.

Maralla- I would never change the friendships I made with my keepers. 

Jorem- I would never change becoming a necromancer.

Mrs. Terila- I would never change marrying the man I loved.

1.What's your deepest regret?

Juva- That I didn’t realize how upset Koti was. I feel like I failed her as a friend.

Maralla- I couldn’t save my mother or my father.

Jorem- I was the only one who survived when my family and neighbors died in the fire caused by a dragon.

Mrs. Terila- Failing to catch the sorcerers who followed the demoness Arsha. 

2.What's your secret wish that nobody knows about?

Juva- To marry my crush.

Maralla- For everyone to visit the Faeryland.

Jorem- Make poison that could kill dragons. And…okay, I denied it, but it’s true. I would like to have a girlfriend. 

Mrs. Terila- Go hide out as a hare again.

3. If you were an animal, what would you be?

Juva- A horse, running and jumping elegantly.

Maralla- An ox. I admire how strong they are.

Jorem- A wolf. The teeth and claws would be handy.

Mrs. Terila- A hare. In fact, I have experience….

Tagging (No Pressure, and open!): @tryingtowritestuff24 @revenantlore @fairy-tales-of-yesterday @gottestod-writes @distortedsense @infinnative @primroseprime2019

Your Questions:

Are you good at telling jokes?

What do you believe is the worst crime someone could ever commit?

How do you decide what to do on a given day?

[seannajanwrites]

"Kick out the little voice inside your head that's trying to make you afraid, that's trying to convince you that you're not a writer."

– Kacen Callender

A little motivation from NaNoWriMo because I reached half my goal. :)

☆

[thethistlegirlwrites]

Current WIP - Thief of Hearts

He stole her heart. She wants it back.

Rory is no angel. Then again, angels wouldn’t last long in Rime, the city of eternal winter and night she calls home. But it is the only place someone with half-magic bloodlines can make a semi-honest living without getting harassed.

Or at least it was until her heart was stolen.

Now she’s got two days to get it back from the thief who took it before she dies. Unfortunately, this also means keeping him alive long enough to get it back, and that’s not going to be easy when most of the city’s magical syndicates have a bounty on his own heart.

…

Some kinds of magic are illegal, even in an enchanted city like Rime. Emmett’s talent for stealing people’s life forces has put him on the wrong side of the law, and on the blackmail list of one of the corrupt leaders of the city’s biggest magical syndicate.

If he wants to keep what’s left of his family, he has to keep stealing the hearts of his employer’s competition.

One job gone bad, and he’s got a heart with a very determined owner on his track, and a boss who wants him to make things right. That is, if either of them get their hands on him before the rival syndicates’ bounty hunters do.

Project WorldAnvil

"Netflix Show" style intro edit

Character Names Edit

Character Profiles

Rory

Emmett

Playlists

YouTube

Spotify

Taglist:

@nade2308 @catwingsathena @the-one-and-only-valkyrie @telltaleclerk @ettawritesnstudies

[catchingbigfish]

wip re-intro | conversion

detail from bachus, caravaggio

tag: #wip: conversion status: second draft with beta readers

summary: Rosalyn, a twenty-something fashion-making student, arrives for her MFA with a fresh diagnosis of hypochondria needing a new beginning. When she meets her professor, Marlene, and her group of acolytes -- a group of women artists Marlene lovingly calls her Hysterics, who all have the same exotic illness as Marlene -- she thinks she might have finally found her people. If the cost of admission to their ranks is the illness, Rosalyn reasons, she can give it to herself; when she shows up with the disease, they offer her the care she'd always wanted. But when a figure from Marlene's past enters the picture and threatens the cohesion of their group, the Hysterics -- Rose included -- must figure out how far they're willing to go to protect their secrets.

genres: dark litfic, satire

comps: Bunny by Mona Awad x The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent

themes & tropes: the medicine of both/and; medical misogyny and alternative medicine quackery; feminist theory and its misapplications; women's friendships and betrayals; a cast of mostly unlikeable queer women; problematic rep and realistic portrayals of uneven power dynamics; coercive control and self-brainwashing; charismatic cults and leftist politics

character profiles under the cut

Rosalyn/Rose, definitely post-makeover, a late-20s fashion-making MFA student with a hypochondria diagnosis and a problematic relationship to her body; artsy-dreamer, certified Tumblr Girl in the mid-2010s desperately clinging to her 20 followers and 2 mutuals, wants nothing more than love and has no idea how to get it

Josephine, a former therapist turned memoirist whose home becomes the mothership for the rest of the hysterics; loves visible mending, slow living, and trashy horror movies, but is a scaredy-cat at heart who has to hold onto a stuffed animal or fuzzy jacket to watch them, aspiring cat mom

Anais, a fabric weaver fresh from her undergrad in textile studies; unstable in every way from her identity to her work, and the baby of the group; refined taste and high standards for the fine things in life, but garbage taste in women

Dahlia, a community organizer and performance artist who talks a lot but doesn't know as much as she thinks; main character syndrome; constantly moving, does sun salutations as a nervous tic

Ximena, a painter who has a PhD in math and a taste for psychedelics; loves Pythagoras; terrifying and intense and silly and strange; the second-in-command who was born to lead; spends most of her time reading books in Spanish and trying to ignore Dahlia; refuses to sleep alone and with the lights out, has to pick one or the other

[fakesurprise]

(Many lives and countless worlds away from here, Lurien of the People bound her power to a dying world. We had miscalculated a Transit, or simply had bad luck, and the world we arrived at was not suitable for the People; a second Transit was going to cost dear, and Lurien was part of that price. She accepted her duty as a destiny, but in the short time on the world she came to care for the people of it. They were small, and lived short lives. Barely aware of the Shadowless unmaking distant stars or that their world would end this soon.

(She has survived three Transits, a rarity for the people. She was old and not unkind, and some stories called that a rarity as well. Some say that is why she took the fight to the Shadowless for that world. She cut herself off from her family line – you have no words for this, but she damaged an entire piece of the People to defend that world from the Shadowless. They were closer than we knew. The Transit may not have been possible, but no one knew that then. Some claim she did, but no story is certain. She gathered all the power that was and was not hers and let loose power sufficient to unmake the Shadowless and save a world.

(Her name is both revered and hated. For what she took, and what was lost, and the cost she thought she could bear alone. And ever since, those of her line have been known for risks and also those who refuse to take them. Trying to make amends for something they never did. A world was saved, but many later fell as the People tried to recover from her actions.)

He let go of my hands, fingers running lightly along my left wrist. (We understood foolish stands and desperate shows of worth. In some stories it seems that is all we are. I understand that hunger. I don’t want to lose you to it: you can be worth enough just being you, if you’ll let that happen.)

I let out a breath. I thought I understood the story, even if the context was beyond anything I knew.

“I wasn’t trying to die; dying proves nothing I’d want to prove to anyone.”

Kiriat stood and stretched, taking time to think before he signed: ‘I know that. You know that. But that doesn’t mean your pain does.’

[avrablake]

Camp NaNo Week 2

Word Count: 1,342/10,000

Week 1 was busy so I didn't have much time to write. Hoping to get more done this week.

Today I explored Karliel's POV for the first time. Ahhhhh writing her mom is giving me chills.

I also made a new character. Gabrien the Captan of the guard.

Karliel froze and held her breath as her mother stood slowly. There was no sound other than the click of her mother’s heels across the floor as she moved toward her so gracefully the fabric of her skirts made no sound. “My dear,” her mother said as the last clicking step delivered her in front of Karliel. There was no tenderness in her tone to accompany the endearment. Karliel couldn’t bring herself to meet her mother’s eyes, though she knew her timidity would only bring an additional reprimand. “It is important that we always appear united in front of our subjects,” her mother said as she smoothed her daughter’s hair in what an outsider might observe as an affectionate gesture. “I’m sorry mother.” Karliel cringed at the quietness of her own voice. Her mother placed one hand under her chin, tilting her gaze up until their eyes met. “I don’t want you to be sorry,” her mother said. “I want you to be better.”

I've been working on organizing my notes for Beyond the Darkness. I have too much swimming in my head and I need to get all the Thoughts on paper before I can really dive into more revisions.

[ach-sss-no]

another oneshot

If it seems like I am spamming these lately it's because I had a bunch of WIPs going and somehow managed to finish them all in rapid succession. There's nothing else in the queue, so the spam is over lol

[conkers-thecosy]

*Complete*

It would be a long time before Thorin could admit that there had been an immediate connection between himself and the Hobbit.

Their eyes had met in the entryway of the odd house, and there had been a strange little spark. Blue eyes met grey, and even though it would take less time for Thorin to admit that connection was at least a mutual attraction, it was still a half breath of time that he would remember until the end of his days.

Some little extra or "missing" scenes from the films that I've been ruminating on for a few years and finally have taken the time to write out.

This fic will cover "An Unexpected Journey" with more to follow in the series!

(previously titled "Lay Me Gently")

[mary-is-writing]

Camp Nano April 2023 – Current word count: 1743

LETS GO I'M FINALLY BACK INTO IT BABEY

Long story short, yesterday I was on the road the whole day –literally from 7am to like 10pm– so I had a lot of time to daydream and think about my wips, and got such a good idea and inspiration for the new wip I'm planning that I just had to start writing it today, before even having any outline –pantser who?

I think I'll get that one done in the following weeks/months, so for now I took that energy and used it to continue WCB and I'm proud to say that, thanks to it, chapter 8 is done!!

Here's an excerpt from today's writing session for WCB Book 2:

It was a question and it wasn't at the same time. Félix wasn't giving them a choice, he was giving them an ultimatum. All the presents knew it, and they approved his idea. Nobody doubted the ability of the prince to lead, and it was an open secret that he was starting to have more authority than the king himself.

The king nodded, satisfied with the result, and Roman tried his best to hide a smile, proud of his boyfriend. He took a deep breath and concentrated. It wasn't the time to think about romance.

"So it will be", the king continued. "Let's begin to talk now about the safety measures we will employ during the stay of Suih's delegation here. Ah, and duke Juranie? I'd like to talk to you about the preparations for the welcoming banquet."

Taglist +/-: @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @hope-hopefully-writes @blind-the-winds @gabelish @hysteriwah @oh-no-another-idea @kirsten-is-writing

Okay then, I'm gonna go check the outline again cause I don't remember what's supposed to happen now 😅

[author-a-holmes]

April Camp Nano...

Currently trying to decide if writing a new, stand alone, project, for April's Camp Nano as a palate cleanser is considered procrastination.

I have several options, and I can't quite decide which one to settle on.

I could start editing Darkling. The manuscript should be complete by April 1st, and I usually try diving straight into my self edits. But I'm also feeling quite drained on this draft. It's been a slow progress draft, which is why I'm feeling the urge for a palate cleanser, but I could also press forward and keep working.

Start the 1st draft of 'Faith of the Grim'. This is a stand alone urban fantasy novel, which is completely different to what I'm currently working on... and as a stand alone, it might be just the refresh my muse needs.

Add the next 50k to Takeover, book two of the Stolen Stories. I reread Stolen over the last few days, and when I got through the first 41k of Takeover, I found myself frustrated that there wasn't more. So it's a good time for me to dive in and add another 50k to the manuscript. A 50k target would get me about 2/3rds of the way through, which would be a nice chunk forward on that project.

Or I can continue with my original plan for April, which is the start the first draft of the third and final book in the Fey Touched Trilogy. I'm just a bit concerned that the... burn out? apathy? with Darkling''s manuscript will follow me into the third book without something to mix my brain muse up a bit.

So what do we think? Thoughts?

[the-effervescent-sun]

I need to write 4255 words today to stilll reach my camp nano goal. why is writing so difficult lately aaah