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Post by 4amWriter on Nov 23, 2011 11:35:20 GMT
Okay Limebird Beth, I'll give a little sneak peek into what I've been messing around with for NaNoWriMo... Ghost Light When I saw my mother fall to the stage, I noticed that the lights didn’t follow her. The lights had always followed her. This time they didn’t, and I knew something would be wrong forever. I was fifteen years old that summer. My mother collapsed in the middle of one of her famous numbers, reviving the role she co-created with Victor Hart in the twentieth anniversary celebration of Candy Can. The doctors said she’d suffered a stroke from a pulmonary embolism. She’d flown into New York that day, coming home from London where she had spent three years performing the role of Mary Magdalene at West End’s Palace Theater in the production of Jesus Christ Superstar. I had gone on the trip with her—like always. Taking me out of school was never a problem for her. She had always said the best kind of education was to experience life to its fullest. “Information is only as good as the container in which you learn it, Jessie,” she would often remind me as we explored the world together. I still remember the emergency hem job I did in Buenos Ares, the sting ray in Australia that killed Lady Charlotte, Mom’s sprained ankle in Italy, the bum who tried to steal her pocketbook in New Orleans. Broadway was Mom’s first-born baby, in all truth. She lived and breathed performing. She was one of those people you’d run into in the big stores like Macy’s—humming away to the piped-in music no one else could recognize. She would sing in the shower or while microwaving dinner, leaving the windows wide open so anyone passing on the sidewalk below could hear her. And her dancing? Well, when she first came to New York she got work as a Broadway chorus dancer, otherwise known as a gypsy, as she went from show to show. She credited that part of her life for where she ended up—as a Broadway star.
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Post by ottabelle on Dec 4, 2011 7:09:59 GMT
I want to know what suddenly gave her the ability to see ghosts! o: Are you calling it a paranormal story? Or am I sort-of off base?
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Post by limebirdwriters on Dec 5, 2011 9:28:07 GMT
Oh gosh, Kate, I just realised I hadn't replied to this! Thanks Ottabelle for bringing this to my attention.
I love the description in this Kate, it really brings the characters to life and I would love to read more!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 7, 2011 2:13:50 GMT
I want to know what suddenly gave her the ability to see ghosts! o: Are you calling it a paranormal story? Or am I sort-of off base? It's not really a paranormal story, but there is the idea of her ghost-mother watching over her--or interfering--!!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 7, 2011 2:15:32 GMT
Oh gosh, Kate, I just realised I hadn't replied to this! Thanks Ottabelle for bringing this to my attention. I love the description in this Kate, it really brings the characters to life and I would love to read more! Gee, thanks Beth! This is my first story I've ever written in first person POV. Totally different experience from writing in 3rd person.
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Post by limebirdwriters on Dec 7, 2011 9:39:43 GMT
Well, I think you've found that you can do both! Haha!
My NaNo novel was first person for a while, but I found it quite hard to write quickly and do descriptions in first person.
However, my main character can see people's memories and when she does, I've written those in first person. I don't know if it actually works, but hopefully it does!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 7, 2011 10:44:57 GMT
Well, I think you've found that you can do both! Haha! My NaNo novel was first person for a while, but I found it quite hard to write quickly and do descriptions in first person. However, my main character can see people's memories and when she does, I've written those in first person. I don't know if it actually works, but hopefully it does! POV is a huge factor in how you go about writing your story, isn't it. I prefer to write in the 3rd because sometimes I feel like the 1st gives away too much and the voice can overtake the plot. I don't know if that makes sense...! I love your idea about your character seeing memories! Is this the Written in Pencil one?
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Post by limebirdwriters on Dec 7, 2011 11:17:03 GMT
I definitely agree! It's very difficult to decide what to use and it's also a very important choice.
I chose 3rd person in the end because it seemed to 'fit'. Like I said, I wrote a bit in first person and just found it too difficult. Especially as I had so many different characters and also the memories, it all got a bit complicated!
Thank you! I do like a bit of a sci-fi element to my novels! How is 'Ghost Light' coming along?
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Post by ottabelle on Dec 8, 2011 2:42:39 GMT
I love third person omniscient. I like being able to show how other characters are feeling in a story. However, I see why and when other styles work the best. It's just hard to control my hands sometimes and not tell what another character is thinking!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 8, 2011 10:28:22 GMT
I definitely agree! It's very difficult to decide what to use and it's also a very important choice. I chose 3rd person in the end because it seemed to 'fit'. Like I said, I wrote a bit in first person and just found it too difficult. Especially as I had so many different characters and also the memories, it all got a bit complicated! Thank you! I do like a bit of a sci-fi element to my novels! How is 'Ghost Light' coming along? I have stepped away from "Ghost Light" for a while to let it (and myself) breathe! I expect I'll get back to it in a few months. I have other projects that miss me!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 8, 2011 10:35:41 GMT
I love third person omniscient. I like being able to show how other characters are feeling in a story. However, I see why and when other styles work the best. It's just hard to control my hands sometimes and not tell what another character is thinking! Ah, the old POV switch! That can be hard to catch. I used to do that, too, but after a writing instructor got on my case about it way back in school I made a point of being super careful about POV. Now I think I don't do it at all and it really has made a difference in the storytelling.
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Post by ottabelle on Dec 8, 2011 10:50:55 GMT
What other sorts of projects are you working on? And I don't think I've had an instructor brow-beat anything into me yet. I think as long as something works in a story, you should do it. I may end up changing my mind someday!
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 9, 2011 18:40:33 GMT
What other sorts of projects are you working on? And I don't think I've had an instructor brow-beat anything into me yet. I think as long as something works in a story, you should do it. I may end up changing my mind someday! Well, let's see...I am currently querying my novel to literary agents. I am writing the sequel to that novel. I have a short story that I've been sending off to competitions and online publications, that sort of thing. Then there's this Nano novel that I want to get back to in a bit...and that's just my writing projects! I love your philosophy about if something works in a story, you should do it. Absolutely. I think what makes that tricky is that there are people out there who will still get down on you for "breaking the rules," even if it does work.
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Post by ottabelle on Dec 9, 2011 19:15:14 GMT
Rule, shmules. ;3
I have faith that I'll find someone to work with me, even if I break the rules. ;D They'd just be someone who breaks the rules too!
I can't wait to see you in print. @.@
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Post by 4amWriter on Dec 10, 2011 13:53:19 GMT
Rule, shmules. ;3 I have faith that I'll find someone to work with me, even if I break the rules. ;D They'd just be someone who breaks the rules too! I can't wait to see you in print. @.@ Right on! Gotta go with your gut and what makes you happy and proud. Being in print would be the best-est thing ever! (well, next to my 2 kids, of course!)
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