Thoughts on Reading Through My Novel’s First Draft

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

My first draft chapters, bottom to top, colour coded by their revision needs

It was like grading the world’s longest midterm paper.

Coming in at 402 pages and with all but the last two chapters having been written some ten years ago, I really had no idea what I was in for when, upon completing my first novel ever (technically my first trilogy, but I count it as one completed story), the time came to read through the entire first draft.

The age of the thing alone terrified me, for how well could a ten-year-old story possibly hold up? I already knew going in that I’d have a fair amount of rewriting ahead of me, but the question was how much?

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En Sympathie pour Paris (and the World)

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

The Eiffel Tower with its lights extinguished to honour those killed in the recent attacks

My one and only trip to Paris thus far in my life was in 1995.

I was 17 years old at the time and on a trip to London with my father and his lady-friend to visit my uncle – my dad’s brother – and two cousins.

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Watching My Language (or, On the Quest to Gender-Neutralize My Speech)

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

It’s a tiny, seemingly throwaway phrase I hear uttered every day – from my own lips included – and it drives me just this side of batty.

As a writer, I’m very concerned and interested in the language I use, both on paper and verbally.

Part of the reason I’m such a slow writer is because, for me, every sentence is a search not just a word, but the exact word – the word that conveys the precise sentiment of what I’m trying to express.

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Replaying Xena: Season 3 – Camp, Comedy & Secondary Character Development

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

Will the real Warrior Princess please step forward?

**I originally started my replay of the seasons of Xena Warrior Princess to help me in re-conceiving an old, shelved novel of mine that I want to rewrite set in Ancient Greece.**

Of course, I recognize that what will help me most in this endeavour is a thorough study of actual Ancient Greek history since Xena, although a rollicking good time to watch, is historical-ish at best – a work of historical fantasy that’s at times quite heavy on the fantasy, straining the linearity of the historical timeline to the limit.

(This season alone, Xena has dealings with legendary Celtic queen Boudicca, with Egyptian queen Cleopatra, in ancient China, and against the Persian army on their way to the Hot Gates at Thermopylae.)

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Resistance was Feudal (Medieval Mondays #4a)

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

Medieval commendation ritual

Life in the medieval times was the ultimate pyramid scheme. It was also a perilous numbers game in which, perhaps unsurprisingly, the number that trumped everything (except when it didn’t) was one.

In the history books, all of this is more commonly referred to as the feudal system, which was the dominant structure of society in England for some four hundred years, and in continental Europe, even longer.

In this first of three post on this subject, I’ll provide a general overview of what the feudal system was.

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Getting Ready for Revision (for the Very First Time)

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

If I were to equate the current stage of my writer’s journey with that of the classic Hero’s Journey, I’d now find myself at stage sometimes referred to as “The Belly of the Whale”.

Which, in my opinion, is perhaps the most perilous of all the stages – even more so than the main confrontation of the story’s climax – for at this stage, the hero still doesn’t have a complete sense of what s/he is up against; a true, Rumsfeldian “unknown unknown”.

That is to say, I’m getting ready to revise my first completed novel.

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How Reading Affects My Writing – Past, Present, and Future

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

When it comes to books and words and the creation and consumption of both, although I write nearly every day, I’ve always considered myself a reader first while only second am I a writer.

Of course, there is factual truth to this statement: I literally learned and continued to read stories before I started writing them (although the timing for both is close; I clearly recall writing my first “novel” in grade two).

Even now as an adult, my almost-daily reading occurs earlier in the day (dinner time) than does my almost-daily writing (after dinner, the last thing before I go to sleep).

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Finally, I’m a Finisher (or, Holy Heck, I Wrote a Trilogy)

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

Although Sag loves the thrill of a new project or friendship, you don’t always finish what you start. Work on keeping your promises and commitments.

(Source: http://astrostyle.com/sagittarius, among many others.)

~

I’m not a follower of astrology or other form of pop culture personality typing, but sometimes, it seems, these systems follow me.

I was born under the astrological sign of Sagittarius. People of this sign are said to highly gregarious, to have an incurable wanderlust, and also to be notoriously distractible – to the point that they rarely complete what they start.

Even though I’ve never felt I embodied any of these hallmark Sagittarian traits, the presence of the last one in the above list has always caused me some distress.

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Home is Where Too Many Hearts Were (Medieval Mondays #3b)

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

Remnants of Peveril Castle’s keep: the basement as viewed from the upper level

Peveril Castle, located in Derbyshire, England – the site where much of my novel-in-progress takes place – had one of the smallest examples of a castle keep in England.

As shown in the artist’s rendition to the right, it contained only two rooms – a principal chamber and a basement underneath that was likely used for storage and accessed via a spiral staircase.

The keep also had a latrine, a wall cupboard, and a large window looking out over the rest of the castle and the surrounding Hope Valley, but it didn’t have a fireplace, any food service rooms, or even a well.

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On Commemorating Personal Accomplishments with Nail Polish

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Janna G. Noelle

It all began with the random thought that occurred to me while at work on the final chapter of my WIP:

I should paint my fingernails so that when I finally type “The End”, I’ll do so in vivid colour to help me remember the moment forever.

It being the first attempted novel I’d have ever completed making the event something of a big deal to me.

Still, this notion to adorn myself was quite a departure for me. I’m hardly a deft hand when it comes to personal ornamentation:

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