I'm doing a cat inventory today....

Did some good work on my novel outline this morning--- worked on settings, am more-or-less on schedule, and so I have time to do other things. Like the Great Cat Inventory.

You see, I live on a small farm out in the country, and have a lot of cats. Some are cats I got on purpose, and the kittens they have, others are strays or the kittens of strays.

Every year we have a few cats disappear. They may have gone off and died, they may have been eaten by our county's most unwelcome wolf and coyote population, or they may have moved to some neighboring farm--- sometimes they come back after that, like my tomcat Biwu who disappeared for a few months and came back when he'd gotten all the neighbor's cats pregnant.

And of course kittens are born or just turn up. So I don't really know how many I have.

So today I'm starting a cat inventory. I'm going out to see how many cats I can eyeball, and will note down their names (if any), descriptions, gender and neutering status, year of birth and family relationships if known, and how catchable they are.

When the survey is completed I'm going to make some plans to get some more of the females neutered. I don't know where the money's going to come from--- I've pretty much given up on adding to my retirement income account, I can barely afford to feed us now, and I find that in these hard times no one seems to be willing to hire an oddball like me.... I will be working on some Associated Content articles but I'd have to write about 30-100 to neuter one cat....

But anyway, doing a cat inventory might be fun, so wish me luck on it....

How Fiction Writers can Learn Story Structure

Working on Nano this year I've run across the same problem I always have--- I can think up story beginnings just fine, but what then? I've started novel after novel without completing. I've even written outlines for a few, but the only part of the outlines that seemed to be any good was the beginning.

Recently I bought a few books on story structure, outlining, and similar topics. They are:
Story Structure Architect: A Writer's Guide to Building Dramatic Situations and Compelling Characters
Book in a Month: The Fool-Proof System for Writing a Novel in 30 Days



Both of these books are written by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. The first one is most helpful in that it introduces the traditional story structure of three acts. The first act contains: a setup, the mood or tone, a hook, catalyst or inciting incident, the serious problem/goal, introduction of the villain and main characters, and a turning point. In the second act: the problem intensifies, there is a temporary triumph, a reversal, a dark moment, and another turning point. In the third act there is the final obstacle, the climax, and the resolution. (All these elements are described in a bit more detail in the book.

This was so helpful! Today I took my current work-in-progress, a steampunk story called 'The Aether Key' and jotted down some notes as to how I saw the story going going through all these steps. When I was done I had a rudimentary outline in which the story progressed nicely to a satisfactory ending, not the vague and unsatisfactory ending I had in other outlines I have written.

The second book, called 'Book in a Month' is even more helpful. It gives a step-by-step daily guide to writing a novel in a month OR for writing a detailed novel outline in a month. This is so helpful to me because I have such a hard time creating good work habits--- in particular I don't know how much is enough work for one day, so when I quit for the day no matter how much I've done I feel like a quitter.

Today--- doing day 2 of the BIAM (book in a month) schedule, I completed my assigned task--- to write 10 scene cards for the ten most important scenes in the book. In order to do that I had to do the task I described above where I jotted down how the story would progress through the steps of the traditional story structure.

I feel optimistic with this new approach. I think it might be a real help for other writers who, like me, are struggling with Asperger's/Autism Spectrum disorders or other things that might hinder them from writing success. For me, I wonder if my ASD has made it more difficult to discern story structure in the books I've read and made me get so caught up in the details I couldn't see the big-picture aspects.

Victoria Schmidt has a Yahoo group for writers following her method, called VBIAMClub. It does seem to be still active as there were 148 posts this month, but I can't see them as the moderator must approve new group members.

COMMENT PROMPTS:
Have you used Book in a Month's schedule to write a book or outline? Please comment on how it worked for you, or if you are considering trying it.
ALSO: If you are willing, tell one odd detail about your current Work-In-Progress. I'll start: in my story, set in 1868, Adolf Hitler's father, Alois Schicklgruber, along with his mistress at the time, are in the US working out some details concerning customs inspections. At the story's conclusion Alois decides to marry his mistress and stay in the US, thus preventing the birth of Adolf Hitler.

How to Build Up a 'Vampire Wars' Clan

The Facebook game Vampire Wars is a social game--- you invite your friends (or complete strangers) into your Vampire Wars clan. You need 5 clan members--- 'clannies' for each level you advance. So, on Level One, you'll need 5, on Level 10, you'll need fifty. So, what holds back many enthusiastic Children of the Night is the lack of clannies.

Some people--- especially folks like me with an autism spectrum disorder--- might decide to send invites to all their facebook friends and relatives and then get peeved at the ones that won't join. Not good--- a lot of folks don't like facebook games, or don't care for Vampire Wars--- don't tick them off. They will see your Vampire Wars activity on your Wall and if they are interested they will join without your nagging.

The best way to get more clannies is to search on Facebook for the groups that help you find Vampire Wars clannies: Here are a few that I have used:
Vampire Wars: Add 600+ Clan Members in 60 Minutes
VAMPIRE WARS: ADD AND INVITE EVERYONE
VAMPIRE WARS: Increasing Clans to 501 Overnight

All you have to do is post to the walls of these sites 'add me, mention Vampire Wars' and you will start getting friend requests from Vampire Wars players. Here is a hint--- before you start adding a hundred or so strangers to your friend list, start sorting the friends you already have into lists. Facebook makes this easy. Make a list for family, a list for school friends, one for Christian Fiction friends, one for people from your church--- whatever type of facebook friends you have, make a list for them. Then, make a new list for your new Vampire Wars friends.

Note that a person can be on more than one list, so that if your brother is also your Vampire Wars clannie, you can have him on your 'family' list and on your 'Vampire Wars' list.

How to add new Vampire Wars friends: When you visit the clan-building groups, invite a few of the most recent posters via a friend request. Be sure to mention 'Vampire Wars' in the request. When you are making this friend request you can add this potential friend to your Vampire Wars friend list--- do this.  Also when you receive a friend request which mentions Vampire Wars, add them to the Vampire Wars friend list before you press the accept button.

You might also go to the 'fight' page in Vampire Wars and look for people who only have a few clannies. Click on their vampire name, and you will go to their page. Click on their name there, and you will go to their facebook profile page, where you can make a friend request--- do mention Vampire Wars!. My profile page is: http://www.facebook.com/nissa.amas.katoj?ref=profile  --- feel free to friend me and mention why you want to be my friend--- Vampire Wars, fellow Christian Fiction writer/fan, blog reader, whatever.

The next step is to invite your new friend into your clan. Each person has a Vampire Wars invite link--- mine is http://apps.facebook.com/vampiresgame/status_invite.php?from=1716870330
If you click some one's invite link AND you are already their facebook friend, you will join their clan and they will join yours.  (If you 'unfriend' someone who is in your clan, they will remain your clan member unless you remove them from your clan.)

Personally, I don't 'unfriend' because I use my 'Vampire Wars' friends list to narrow down my news feed on my facebook home page. That way I can see any posting of bonuses my clannies have that I can share in.

SO, I hope this blog post will help people build up their Vampire Wars clans and have a good time. See you in Vampire Wars!

Resources:
Vampire Wars Strategy Guide for Beginners
How to Dominate Facebook Vampire Wars

Curses! The Curse of the Spider King blog tour has begun!

Well, I did know it was Monday yesterday.... I just didn't realize that the November blog tour had begun. So--- a day late and a dollar short--- it begins.

Since free speech on the Internet is being abolished I have to make this disclosure: I DID NOT get a free copy of this book from the publisher. I shelled out money of my own that I should be saving to pay my too-poor-to-buy-health-insurance fine.

The book is Curse of the Spider King by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400315050
It's a children's book for ages 9-12, and is the story of seven seemingly normal kids who are actually Elven Lords from a fantasy world who were lost to this world as infants as a result of a battle. Follow the Amazon link above and you can read a number of reader reviews that will bring you up to speed on the story, which I haven't finished reading yet.

My initial reaction: maybe having seven mostly unconnected kid-heroes for this story is a bit much. As the story jumps back and forth from kid to kid, not to mention the sequences in the Elven world, I get kind of lost. Of course, some of my favorite books do the same thing, such as the alternate history novels of Harry Turtledove which have a large cast of unconnected characters. But Harry Turtledove's books all have Hitler in them, and the Curse of the Spider King has an absolute lack of Hitler. Booger!

Seriously, though, even though I'm not a big reader of children's books Curse of the Spider King is a good book which I seriously intend to finish reading sooner or later. It would make a good Christmas gift to your kids, grandkids, Sunday school class or whatever. I didn't feel it was as compellingly addictive as the Harry Potter series, but then, I'm weird and no one should take my reactions as typical of anything....

Here are some links related to the book that you might want to look at:
Wayne Thomas Batson’s blog - http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/

Christopher Hopper’s Web site - http://www.christopherhopper.com/
The Prophecies of Berinfell series Web site - http://www.heedtheprophcies.com/

The Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour members:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Tina Kulesa
Melissa Lockcuff
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
nissa_amas_katoj
John W. Otte
Cara Powers
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

MAJOR BLOG RENOVATION:
I am going to be changing this blog bigtime! Name, topics, sidebars, my own Secret Identity.... all will be changed/screwed up. Smart-a$$ suggestions from the public at large are welcomed during this time of transition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can People with autism/asperger's become published Fiction Writers?

No matter how much I work on my writing I always have one source of doubt: is it even possible for someone like me--- a person with an autism spectrum disorder (Asperger's)--- to become a published writer?

Yeah, I know there are a lot of writers from the past like Herman Melville who are believed to have had an ASD. But I'm wondering about right here right now--- me.

One of the problems is that people with autism/asperger's have problems with social interactions, understanding the social rules that everyone else knows without being told. So can we learn to write about social interactions?

Actually, when it comes to that part I don't think it's that difficult. But there is another factor. In real life, people I meet don't choose to be my friend---even though I try to be nice to them, and to act like I'm 'normal'. So will people want to be a 'friend' of my writing? I mean, maybe no matter how good I get at it, people will be able to tell it was written by the kind of person that no one wants to be friends with and so they'll want to read something else instead.

And in these days the writer has to be involved with marketing their books and I'd imagine the last thing any publisher wants is to be saddled with some autistic person that isn't personable enough to do well at things like interviews and book signings....

I once tried to get in contact with other folks living with autism/asperger's by posting something on a writing forum, but the admin took offense because my reference to autism wasn't politically correct enough for him since I had the poor taste to joke. Well, I guess it's okay to mention it on my own blog, I've said a lot of stuff I shouldn't here and have had no complaints from Blogger.

I've searched the net for writer's forums for autistic/asperger people but I just find a lot of resources for parents/caregivers of those with autism. Don't know what to do about it really, so those I would whine about it on my blog where at least I'm not bothering anyone....

So--- enough of that. To update my life for anyone that cares--- I'm still working on my NaNoWriMo novel but have stopped to outline using the method in the book "First Draft in 30 Days", don't know how well that will work.

I have mentioned on this blog that I've had two kittens die recently. They were the two kittens out of the current batch that actually liked me enough that they'd purr when I picked them up. Recently, though, someone abandoned two half-grown kittens here and one of them is really friendly. I've named him Chan-ho, after major league pitcher Chan-ho Park, and the other kitten is named Chantho, after the alien in Doctor Who. You know, the one who started every sentence with 'chan' and ended it with 'tho'? As in, 'Chan that was one weird Doctor Who alien tho'.  The picture at the top of this post is of Chan-ho.

My Writing's Really gone to Hell this Nano

This year for National Novel Writing Month, I'm working on a project called 'Famine of the Heart' which is a dumb title since it sounds like a romance novel, and the actual story is a steampunk novel featuring sideshow freaks.

It's meant to be a lighthearted romp but the main theme seems to be.... hellfire. Specifically, the main character's mom is not saved (not in a state of grace) when she dies (killed while rescuing a child from a rampaging elephant.)

The main character Kerenza is quite sure her mother went to hell because: her mother had been guilty of the sin of adultery, when she is mortally injured she calls for a priest, but the priest who comes is actually an actor in a Roman collar, who cannot legitimately give absolution and also does not know how to encourage the dying woman to accept Christ.

The Christian theme of the story seems to be about forgiveness. Because Kerenza feels there is virtually no hope that her mother is anywhere else but in hell, she cannot forgive her father for having lured her mother into a life of adultery, and yet she knows that as a Christian she must forgive.

I know it's beginning to sound all boring, but there are also a lot of steam-powered machines and clockwork robots and stuff. And Kerenza is the only one who knows that an inventor's brother is Not To Be Trusted, and she really likes the inventor but they can't get involved because he's Jewish....

And then there are the conjoined twins, one of whom wants to be baptized and the other who doesn't want a drop of baptismal water touching him....

Which reminds me--- shouldn't I be working on my Nano novel right now? (I'm doing some outlining work for the next two days to figure out where the story is headed...)

My page at the NaNoWriMo web site.

No More Head Shaving. Ever.

Sometimes my eyes see stuff that just isn't there. Like when I noticed an ad reading 'No more head shaving.' OK, what it really said was 'no more shaving' but what my eyes saw at first was way better. Imagine never having to shave your head ever again, for the whole rest of your life. I hope there's a product for that.....

If you're wondering why this post is tagged 'axe-wielding homicidal maniac'--- LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!

Oh, No, it's Nanowrimo!!!

Ok, it's November. It's been November for a couple of days now. I've even flipped over the page of my calendar to November already. So why wasn't I aware until just now that National Novel Writing Month, AKA Nanowrimo, had started.

I'm going to do it, of course. I've never finished a nanowrimo, but during my first Nano, I did get saved.

It happened like this. I was a Norse Pagan and had been one for over a decade. I'd even edited a self-published Norse Pagan magazine until my stalker ruined that for me.

I was working at my Nano novel and had decided to pray about it. The question, as a Pagan, was which God to pray to--- Odin, Thor, Freya? As a Pagan I did not disbelieve in the God of Christianity, I just believed that He was just one tribal/ethnic God among many.

On impulse I decided to pray to the Christian God--- I gave Him a challenge. If He would give me measurable help with my novel, I would become a Christian.

I didn't really expect any help. And I didn't finish my Nanowrimo novel that year. But I did complete over 120 pages, which came out to 50 pages more than my previous best on any one writing project. And so I became a Christian.

I'm glad I did even though it meant I had to commit to a life of chastity because of my new faith, rather than being chaste in a unplanned way because of my unattractiveness.

So, participating in Nano is important to me even if I don't win. My nickname on the Nano site is 'ilsabein'. If you are participating in Nano, look me up!

Now, I must get to work naming the characters in my story (they are a family of freak show performers) and then I must start my first chapter. I have no idea where the story is going. But that's all right.

Obit: Maru the Kitten

Two days ago I found my favorite kitten, Maru, dead in the basement. Just the night before he seemed just fine, if a little skinny.

Maru was the son of my crazy cat Kitten-thief. When she had her three kittens, I took her into the house to make sure she could take care of her kittens properly. She freaked out and wouldn't go near them for a day. By the time I caught her and caged her, only one of the kittens, Maru, had survived in spite of the fact that I caged another mama cat with the kits.

Maru got very plump as an only kitten. From time to time I brought other kittens in to play with him. Later, when he got old enough, I let him and his mother out of the cage. Maru got brave enough to follow me out to the barn loft.

It's very sad when a kitten dies, but don't worry that I'm going to have a cat shortage. Someone abandoned two half grown kittens at my farm yesterday. I used to be really mad at people who did that, but that was before I found out how much the local animal shelter charges to take in a pet. If some one can't afford to feed their pet, how can they afford a fee to give it up? So, I have two more kittens to feed and to name. Should I call them Maru 2 and Spinelli 2?

Writing Christian Science Fiction: An Impossible Dream?

Writing science fiction and getting published has long been a life goal for me--- but Christian science fiction for a Christian publisher hasn't been a part of my plans.

In part it has been because I've considered it unrealistic. Christian fiction publishers are mostly evangelicals; I'm Catholic. And being Catholic isn't something I'd want to absolutely hide in my fiction. Would my work ever be accepted by readers?

But recently I've reconsidered and am reading books about how to write Christian fiction. None of the books have any high hopes for a work of Christian science fiction. The one that is most optimistic seems to indicated that 'spiritual warfare' science fiction is the kind that gets published, not something with space aliens.

The books have a lot to say about who is reading Christian fiction: mostly women, mostly evangelicals.... But who is reading Christian science fiction? Have there been any studies, formal or informal, of that? Perhaps I ought to ask some Christian science fiction writers what sort of people they believe are reading their books.

The second question: what do the readers of Christian science fiction most want to read? What Christian science fiction books are the most popular? What secular science fiction books are most popular with Christian readers?

I wish I could find the answers to such questions. Not that I would concoct some plotline based on what's popular. But knowing who the readers aare and what they like to read might help me pick what story-ideas might be the best one to pursue.