Name

Did you lose yourself somewhere out there?
Did you get to be a star?
Don't it make you sad to know that life
Is more than who we are?

So far I still do not have much written. However, I have managed to write four arguments (at least a page each) and four normal conversations. The arguments have all been between major characters, but the "normal" conversations have all been between one major character and an extremely minor or unnamed character. Normally, I don't even enjoy writing dialogue, but it has become the majority of my word count as of my most recent update.

My new character's name is Corten Delaire, in case anyone was curious. Corten is a name I came up with--a combination of Cord and Torsten, meaning "bold counsel" and "the stone of Thor", respectively. Delaire means "of the air". I love overly unusual names, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm still working on his introduction because it has changed a lot from my original idea. I have a lot planned for him.

The official beginning of NaNoWriMo is on Tuesday! Follow my progress officially here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/theloveofinches I can't start posting word counts until November 1st, though, so don't get ahead of yourselves.

Title & song quote: Name by the Goo Goo Dolls (one of my faves)

Much awesomeness wished from my heart to all,
~Allison

Musical Inspiration Post

I listen to a lot of music when I write, but these are the main songs that have been on repeat this time.

Hard Enough - Brandon Flowers
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Blood Pressure - MuteMath
Don't Give Up - Ferras
E.T. (acoustic cover) - Alex Goot
People Are Strange - the Doors
Over My Head (Cable Car) - the Fray
Place of Paradise - Eli Lieb
Falling In - Lifehouse
All This Time - Joe Jonas
Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid - Elefant
Out of Summertime - Scotty McCreery
Falling Slowly (cover) - Curt Mega & Kimberly Whalen

Also, ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING by Snow Patrol, Coldplay, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and the Arctic Monkeys. (Question: Why are all my favorite bands foreign?)

M&Ms, Twister, and red ink,
~Allison

***ATTENTION: This has been a musical inspiration post.

Odd Soul

Here we go
Wasting lives one way or another
Here we go
Vacant eyes rearranging their color
Wasting lives one way or another

This is when it gets hard. Well, actually, it got hard about a week ago. Today, I should have 12,000 words. I just reached 5,503. But it's progress, and that's all that counts. It's the word count, not the content, I have to keep reminding myself.

Where’s your nerve gone?
And where’s your hope?
And where’s that sunrise you’ve been waiting for?
And where’s that one day you got it all?
Well, I bet we’ll find it in no time at all

I killed off most of my characters. (by "killed off" I mean "removed from the story") I might bring them back later as I feel inspired, but they have been put on hold for now. I finally have an idea for where I want this story to go, and I'm going to run with it.

Nothing’s gonna stop what we started
Nothing’s gonna break what we’ve bonded
We can make the world spin however we want
It’s all on us

Inspiration has been coming from a lot of places lately--mundane life happenings, random dreams, good/new music...
Lyrics are from "Allies", "In No Time", and "Equals" on Mutemath's new album, Odd Soul. Buy it. Worth it. That's all I'm gonna say.

Ramen and flashlights,
~Allison

Progress

You are all four seasons
Rolled into one
You are the cold December snow
In the warm July sun

Day 1:
- Three characters introduced
- Three others are mentioned
- Five conversations
- Four conflicts
- 1,359 words

Day 2:
- Two of the mentioned characters are introduced
- Two conversations
- Five conflicts
- 2,390 words

- Two drabbles

Day 3 (so far):
- One more character introduced
- Another mentioned, plus reference to a previously mentioned character
- One conversation
- Two conflicts
- 2,524 words

Plus I've typed up all my character bios and found a middle name for one of them.
I'm in the middle of a 24 hour fast from my ipod and itunes for English class. Makes sense, right? I'm hoping I can get along without the random burst of music from my speakers. The cool air and misty rain outside have helped with inspiration. I also discovered that walking past my mirror and making faces to myself is particularly inspiring.

 His name is Finlay Leonard. Freshman, of course. He’s a little young, only 17, but definitely worth the investment. He’s brilliant, Dom, and I think you’ll really enjoy getting to know him. He’s a fantastic writer. You should Google him if you get the chance. Might be a little creepy once you finally meet, but it’ll give you a good sense of where his head is.

First quote is from "Northern Wind" by City & Colour. I love blasting them out my windows when I drive down the highway, but their lyrics are wonderfully artistic.
Second quote is from page 5 when I introduce Dominic with a phone conversation. More random tidbits to come!

Have a happy day,
~Allison

THE TIME HAS COME

October 1st. You know what that means? Novel writing!!! For me, at least. Yes, I have officially begun my 2011 attempt at NaNoWriMo. If you would like to follow my progress, I will start posting word counts on November 1st (when the website starts up) at nanowrimo.org under the username "theloveofinches".
For now, I will provide you with a sneak peek--a character list. Nicknames, last names, genders (hey, sometimes it's confusing) and ages only. Full names may or may not be revealed at some point in the story (yes, all of them have middle names and bios and all that fun stuff). Here you go!

[Last name, nickname - gender, age]
Anderson, Cary - M, 21
Chamberlain, Alex aka "Harry" - F, 21
Everret, Mae - F, 18
Houser, Luke - M, 19
Leonard, Cal - F, 17
Leonard, Finlay - M, 17
Martyn, Joe - M, 20
Newman, AJ - F, 20
Weller, Taylor - F, 22
Xella, Dom - M, 23

I probably won't start posting excerpts for a few days or more. I want to have time to see where the story is going before I share it with the world (or whoever cares to read it).

Wish me luck!
~Allison