Tag Archives: writing

Writing: Why a Pen Name?

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Writing: Why a Pen Name?

I’ve been pondering self-publishing my fiction books under my real name, but at the last minute I wasn’t so sure after all: wouldn’t people looking for autism non-fiction books be confused by my horror slash romance slash paranormal books? Would they approve? Wouldn’t it make things more difficult for them to find the right books, the autism ones?

I know people in need of autism information are not dumb, but I just want to make it easy on them to get to the books they need. Most of them are parents of autistic children, they deserve to be cut some slack and be taken care of.

Also, I am not making a secret of my fiction pen name: Irma Geddon, so if any of them wants to try reading my fiction books in english, that’s more than fine by me.

I probably won’t use another pen name if I cross fiction genres. I know people who read are well-educated and can make their own decision about the genres they want to read. As I doubt I’ll write middle grade, children or young adult books, that should be fine.

NaNoWriMo Needs Help!

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NaNoWriMo Needs Help!It’s only been my second successful year with the NaNoWriMo challenge, but I already know it has changed my life for the better. Without NaNoWriMo, I would probably never have finished any novel, just like I did for years before last year. I would probably not look forward my edits in 2012, and self-publishing my novels. It’s been a dream of mine for years to be a writer, and thanks to self-publishing and Amazon, it has a chance to become true.

NaNoWriMo helps hundred thousands people to have a shot at realizing their dreams. NaNoWriMo gives inspiration and encouragement to aspiring young writers and already established authors. It brings literacy and novel writing into schools. It brings fun even if you don’t finish the challenge. It brings a sense of accomplishment if you do. This year only, almost 37000 persons won the challenge and brought their story to life.

Now, NaNoWriMo needs help.

Here is the e-mail I received this morning:

Dear Office of Letters and Light Superhero,

I have many things to tell you.

First off, THANK YOU. The fact that you’re getting this email means you’ve earned the superhero moniker by making a donation to one (or many) of our programs. Because of your support, NaNoWriMo and the Young Writers Program grew again this year; we had 250,000 adults and 80,000 kids and teens in more than 2,000 classrooms writing with us. Your contributions also helped 500 public libraries transform their spaces into community noveling zones.

You inspired so many stories, and unleashed a life-changing creative confidence in writers around the world.

This has been a big year for all of our programs. We launched the brand-new Camp NaNoWriMo, and rebuilt the entire NaNoWriMo site in order to keep it speedy during November’s monster traffic spike. For the first year ever, we had a year-round, full-time Young Writers Program Director to expand our free curriculum and resources for schools, and a year-round, full-time staff member dedicated to supporting our libraries and 500 volunteer-run chapters around the world.

All in all, November capped an ambitious, heartwarming, and expensive year for OLL.

And this is why I’ve turned on the bat signal. As of today, we still have $200,000 left to raise before we hit our organizational break-even point for the year. If we miss our fundraising goal, we won’t shut down, but we will have to cut back on all the programs you so generously supported this year.

I hesitated to bother you again with a fundraising appeal; you’ve already done so much for us. This moment, though, is such a crucial one for the future of our programs that I’m asking you to please consider making a donation to the Office of Letters and Light today.

If you’ve already given all you can this year, we understand, and we’re so grateful to you. But if you can make an additional donation, even a very small one, it will have a huge impact on the lives of the 400,000 writers we hope to inspire together in 2012.

Warm regards,

Chris
Executive Director
The Office of Letters and Light
Donate via credit card or PayPal through the OLL Donation Station
Skip the thank-you gifts and donate directly through PayPal
Donate by check or money order

I had already donated $10 at the beginning of the challenge, because I wanted to support what they’re doing, and it also was another way to have motivation to finish the challenge (any motivation helps when struggling towards the 50k goal). This morning, I have made another donation to NaNoWrimo – not much, $25, but I guess every dollar helps.

You can check all NanoWriMo great programs and what they do with the money we give them: Where Your Donations Go.

NaNoWriMo is a worthy cause, mostly to us writers I think. If NaNoWriMo has brought something into your life, or if you support its efforts to bring more words into the world, please consider donating too.

Thirty Days and Thirty Nights of Literary Abandon

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Thirty Days and Thirty Nights of Literary AbandonIt’s been more than a week, and I’m still übertired from my NaNoWriMo 2011 challenge. I wrote exactly 50000 words, typing them on my keayboard, and each one of them was an excruciating pain to write – was my story interesting? Did I stay true to my characters? Was the setting geeky enough? I had an extenuating month.

But it was all worth it.

I now have two worthy stories to edit, instead of one, half-forgotten on one of my hard drives. I have experienced something really incredible: when your current plot and everything you ever wrote about that story come together in one piece, flow naturally to create the perfect situations, character developments and a heartbreaking ending.

Thirty Days and Thirty Nights of Literary AbandonThirty Days and Thirty Nights of Literary AbandonI am quite proud of my two novels, and that’s something I couldn’t have done without NaNoWriMo. Now the next part of my challenge is my 2012 new year resolutions.

In 2010, I had vowed to write for my blogs every day. It did wonders for Autisme Infantile, my website about autism, that grew in readership and got a lot of great opportunities for all involved.

In 2011, I had vowed to publish Autisme Infantile’s archives, and start writing helping books for parents of autistic children. I published nine archives books, and two books about teaching self-sufficiency when you are an autistic child’s parent.

In 2012, my next goal will be to finally achieve one of my dreams, the one that stuck in my heart since I was a child: be a fiction author. I have always wanted to be a writer, and next year, I’m going to edit the hell out of my two NaNoWriMo books, and self-publish them on Amazon and Smashwords.

I’ll be giving it my all. I’ll do my best to translate the first novel in english (the second one is already in english), I’ll submit them to an editor who will look at them for me, I’ll order two kick-ass covers from a wonderful artist I’ve had my eye on, and I’ll word hard to give them momentum and make readers beg for a third book.

But meanwhile, in december, I’m resting my brains, trying to get back into blogging routines, watch movies and read books, relax with my family, and get in the mood for Christmas holidays.

No Plot? No Problem!

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This Fall, Let Your Imagination RainAfter freaking out a little on October, 31st at 11:59 p.m., because I still had no plot or story whatsoever, I finally got in the NaNoWriMo mood at midnight sharp, and lauched myself into the sequel of last year’s novel: NightmarZ (not available anywhere yet).

As of now, I still have almost no plot, just an idea for a possible story with the same characters. Of course, not everything was resolved to my satisfaction during the first novel, so it is also a means to close some loose ends as well.

Last year, all plots I decided on were lost when, at the last minute, I decided on a brand new idea. It’s almost like, having already thought about where the story was going, I did not have to write it anymore. So this year, I decided to not decide on a plot until the last minute – which is practical, but stress-inducing.

After a few lines, however, with some recap and narration of the events following the end of my previous novel, the story began to write itself. I can call the lightning at will and my Muse will answer and provide ideas.

I don’t know where this story is going, but I know one thing: I’m enjoying the journey.

Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo

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Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo

It’s that time of the year. The anticipation and stress are building as I get ready for NaNoWriMo 2011. I surrounded myself with my trusted tools, and I’m trying to relax waiting for those eight hours to pass.

I have my mobile around, but I don’t plan on using it much during November, because I’ll be writing. I have upgraded my netbook in order to be able to write from anywhere inside the house, but I plan to work mostly from the couch, in from of the TV. I have prepared a long list of movies to play in the background for inbetween word wars. My DSi is around too, for a well-deserved Pokemon fight once in a while.

Also reachable are my Kindle for a quick reference of dialog, punctuation or book-related question, or for a longer reward reading after a successful writing day. Chris Baty’s No Plot? No Problem! will accompany me during the whole month too.

Last but not least, my lucky mug, the one I gifted myself last year after winning NaNoWriMo 2010. The caffeine intake is gonna go through the roof.

How are YOU getting ready for NaNoWriMo?