Now that my daughter is a toddler, our TV viewing habits have changed. We seem to be out of the Caillou and BabyFirst TV stage and into the Doc McStuffins and My Little Pony Stage.   I think it is important to only let your kids watch stuff that you can actually stand to watch, too. That doesn’t always work, but I have been lucky enough that my daughter enjoys TV shows that, for the most part, my husband and I enjoy – or at least tolerate. We don’t hate them with a passion.  One of these new shows is My Little Pony – which, I admit, I love. It is a great show. My husband enjoys it. There is a small part of us that gets sad when we miss an episode.

Inevitably, we all seem to have our favourite ponies, and our least favourites. I can’t stand Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. In the neutral stage is Fluttershy and in the like stage is Pinkie Pie.

The best pony is Rainbow Dash.

(c) mandydax

She has the best hair, best cutie mark, best sonic rainboom…and, of course, the best attitude.  My husband and I are tied between Rainbow Dash’s antics and Pinkie Pie’s antics of who is the most entertaining. I have to admit, to, that whomever does Rainbow Dash’s key frames and animation does a great job of getting down the look of attitude, flying, and being a pony all at the same time.

(c) unknown :(

She isn’t my favorite, though. That honor goes to Apple Jack. Loyal, down to earth, and reliable.

(c) Austiniousi

So the best and my favorite are different. I think I can live with that.

(c) pokemon7maniac

Modern technology has enabled social moths like me, who prefer to stay away from large social groups like church/sports/etc., and instead focus on a small quality group of friends a way to help grow my village.

Even if you are a social butterfly, expanding your baby-rearing village can be a bonus!

So, what options are possible in your “village”?  Let’s take  a look….

1. Family

Your family is an obvious and easy part of the village for many.  Our parents, siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, etc. are all excited to see and welcome a new addition to the family tree.

2. School

School should always be part of your village. Your child’s teachers have insight into your children that you miss just by not having a background in child eduction and by being able to witness their interaction with other kids and other adults regularly.

3. Friends (physical)

Your set of friends should never be so far out of our parenting morals that they can’t be a part of your child’s life at all ever. If so, it is time to rethink your friends.

Friends are your supporters, and your lifeline in emergencies or calls for time away.  Sometimes all you need to recharge your parenting batteries is a girls night out or a guys night out.

4. Friends (online)

Online friends are a relatively new phenomenon, but are a great resources for venting.  Letting out frustrations, asking for advice, and sharing stories can be done with physical friends and online ones, too!

5. Parenting Groups (physical)

Stroller Strides are just one example of parenting groups that are out there. Gaming groups, work out sessions, hobby clubs etc. are all out there if you look for them and you can usually find parenting specific ones that combine adult night out events with weekend family BBQs.

6. Parenting Groups (online)

Online parenting groups can be good, or bad. It really depends on the one(s) you decide to join.  It may take you a bit to find one that works, but having an online support group where it may be easier to share the more embarrassing aspects of parenthood can be immensely helpful.

7. Forums

Online forums cover a variety of any topic imaginable. Search for anything online and there will be a group of people taking, debating, and arguing about it.  The point of a forum is to either find one that supports your morals and parenting ideals, or find one that has a blended set of opinions that you can use to help your parenting grow (either by establishing a stronger claim on your ideals, or by trying a new suggestion).

So, what does my village look like?

My little baby girl turned two in December! How the time flies, right?!

I gave Sierra a choice about what theme she wanted this year’s birthday to be.  I let her flip through an Oriental Trading catalog and she practically lit up for the Thomas the Tank Engine page!  It was no contest – she loves Thomas and she chose to be excited about that page more than the fish (she adores Finding Nemo), Elmo, or anything else.  I took that as a sign that we should chug onward with a Thomas theme!

Luckily, there are a lot of good, cheap, and easy Thomas stuff for parties out there.

Here are some of the goodies we used to make this party a smashing success:

• Thomas The Tank & Friends™ Table Cover
• Thomas The Tank & Friends™ Blowouts
• Thomas The Tank & Friends™ Scene Setter Wall Decorating Kit
• Thomas The Tank & Friends™ Filled Favor Pack
• Thomas The Tank & Friends™ Centerpiece Set
• Thomas the Tank Engine Cone Hats
• Thomas the Tank Engine Mini Coloring Banners
• Add an Age Thomas the Tank Engine Letter Banner
• Red Bandannas
• Train Whistles
• Solid Color Tableware (blue dessert plates, red napkins, yellow cups, green forks/spoons, and three coordinating plastic table covers)

We got our cake from King Soopers since they had a cute little Thomas design and it fit our budget.  Here is our actual cake:

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

I also managed to get a complete steal of a deal at King Soopers. They had Thomas on their Hot Wheels rack that were originally $12.95 marked down to an awesome $1.35 each!  We bought a bunch and used them in the goodie bags along with red bandannas, cone hats, and train whistles!

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

The invitations were really cool, and probably one of the best graphic design projects I think I have ever done. I am really proud of them.

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

I think the party turned out really well. The Children’s Museum of Denver, where we hosted the party, only gave us 15 minutes for set-up/take-down, so we had to keep that in mind when we planned. The throw-away table coverings were great for this, and so were the individual ice cream cups and juice boxes. Everything  excelled at being quick and easy. I think the only thing that would have make things a tidge easier would have been to do cupcakes instead of a sheet cake, but oh well – I really liked the Thomas design for the King Soopers cake. Anyway, here are some super action shots!

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012

Sadly, I didn’t win. I was 10,994 words short. Which seems like a lot, unless you consider that I actually wrote 39,006 words in one month. Then it doesn’t seem like quite a failure. Overall, I am pretty happy and proud of myself. I have never written before and had never even though about writing a book. So, I tried something new and it was a lot of fun. I am actually looking forward to doing it again next year, with an improved strategy for completion.

This November I dealt with a full time job, 23 month old daughter, husband, Thanksgiving, and being sick three days right at the end (which, in my opinion, put the nail in the un-finished coffin). With all that, and having never written before, I still say kudos to me!

What will I be doing with what I did manage to write this month? Once the holidays are over I plan on finishing my novel, going through edits, having beta readers go over it, and then possibly submitting it for publication. I think my idea is solid and the feedback I received on my first two chapters was great. Life is always impossible to foresee. So, who knows what will happen – good or bad.

- Rhianna

(oh, and sorry for missing last Friday’s post; it was post-Thanksgiving quality family time)

An Important Notice: Please be respectful – any writing quotes that come from me (marked with (cc) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 or a icon) are mine and protected under both Copyright laws and Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)). It is illegal to copy them without permission and/or not attributing it as my work.

An Important Notice: Please be respectful – any writing quotes that come from me (marked with (cc) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 or a icon) are mine and protected under both Copyright laws and Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)). It is illegal to copy them without permission and/or not attributing it as my work.

So, I rocked out 6k words fairly easily and quickly. I enjoyed every moment of it, liked what I wrote, and was happy with the results. Then….I don’t know, I hit some kind of road block or something. Now it’s hard to know quite what to write. Before, it came to me easy-peasy. Now it is a struggle. So, I’m a bit more frustrated and less optimistic, but still tredging on. Hopefully I will get to a scene soon that sparks the interest bug like the first part did

I decided to go back and edit my timeline to fit what I was actually writing.

Here is the original:

It’s a beast, I know…
Click to view larger.
(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 The Angel’s Guardian

And here is the updated beginning of that timeline (it also lets you know what parts I have done and plan to do very recently, versus what I haven’t gotten to yet!)

Click to view larger.
(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 The Angel’s Guardian

If you are interested in seeing my entire prologue and first chapter, please see Scribophile. My second chapter is also up as of today! My work is up for critiquing there! Thank you for any and all input you have.

An Important Notice: Please be respectful – any writing quotes that come from me (marked with (cc) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 or a icon) are mine and protected under both Copyright laws and Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)). It is illegal to copy them without permission and/or not attributing it as my work.

Last Month I highlighted all the prep work I did in anticipation for National Novel Writing Month.

• Basic idea
• Research
• Picked a writing tool
• Synopsis
• Character write-ups
• Storyline
• Joined a Critiquing Website

As of yesterday I officially started writing…and did AWESOME, if I do say so myself. That is, until I came across a NaNoWriMo forum thread that talked about Romance novels and tense/POV….and that’s when I realized I made a newbie mistake: I started writing in first person. But, you’re new at this – you might say! or How could you be so dumb? Either way, I did some research and agree that third person past tense is probably a better way to go.

Writing the Romance Novel: Point of View

Look Who’s Talking: Mastering POV and Tense

Here was my first write:

I was on fire. As in – the burning of 10,000 suns scorching along my back – on fire. It had finally happened, my good ol’ rust bucket Betty had kicked the bucket and was going down in a fiery fit of blazing glory. I swerved off the highway, unbuckled my seat belt, leaped out of the car, and dropped fluidly into a roll. Momma would have been proud to see the grace I just showed after 25 years living as the resident cliche bookworm butterfinger. I would have to try to remember to let mom know that she was lacking the correct motivation when I was younger to get me to be a dancer; fire melting the skin off my body worked wonders.

Attempting the whole stop-drop-and-roll thing left me rolling down the slope of shoulder gathering up every piece of dead grass on the way. I briefly wondered how much worse the dead grass would make the fire, it is amazing how much thinking one can do while on fire, before realizing that I had hit the bottom of the hill and my back didn’t burn anymore. Rolling a few extra times just for good measure I finally stood up and hesitantly reached an arm around to touch my back and assess the damage. I was imagining a steamy, gooey mess that used to be flesh; possibly some hard crunchy charred areas?

I couldn’t feel anything but the cotton of my shirt and bits of dead grass. Doing my best impression of a dog chasing it’s tail I did a few complete turns before giving up and just taking my shirt off completely. From what I could feel my back was whole and had no burn areas on it whatsoever. I could hear my mom now enjoying that, although I was on fire, I was at least lucky enough to have a complete shirt to cover me up. We wont go over what she would say about me being sans-shirt on the side of the road with dead grass in my hair.

I ran my hand along my back – smooth skin. Thank God. But how? I trekked up the hill I had rolled down and checked out Betty; she was flame free and just fine. I used her side window to check out the reflection of my back.

What the hell?!

Nothing but smooth, unblemished skin. Well, I guess I couldn’t exactly say unblemished. I now sported an intricate angel wing tattoo that ran between my shoulders. It hadn’t been there five minutes ago.

“F*ck me.”

The Angel’s Guardian by Rhianna Ulrich is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

and here is the third person re-write:

Prudence was on fire. As in – the burning of 10,000 suns scorching along her back – on fire. It had finally happened, her good ol’ rust bucket Betty had kicked the bucket and was going down in a fiery fit of blazing glory. She swerved off the highway, unbuckled her seat belt, leaped out of the car, and dropped fluidly into a roll. Momma would have been proud to see the grace Prudence showed after 25 years living as the resident cliche bookworm butterfinger. She would have to try to remember to let her mom know that she was lacking the correct motivation when Prudence was younger to get her to be a dancer; fire melting the skin off her body worked wonders.

Attempting the whole stop-drop-and-roll thing left her rolling down the slope of shoulder gathering up every piece of dead grass on the way. She briefly wondered how much worse the dead grass would make the fire, it is amazing how much thinking one can do while on fire, before realizing that she had hit the bottom of the hill and her back didn’t burn anymore. Rolling a few extra times just for good measure she finally stood up and hesitantly reached an arm around to touch her back and assess the damage. Prudence imagined a steamy, gooey mess that used to be flesh; possibly some hard crunchy charred areas?

She couldn’t feel anything but the cotton of her shirt and bits of dead grass. Doing her best impression of a dog chasing it’s tail by doing a few complete turns before giving up and just taking the shirt off completely. From what she could feel, her back was whole and had no burn areas on it whatsoever. Prudence could hear her mom now enjoying that, although she was on fire, she was at least lucky enough to have a complete shirt to cover her up. We wont go over what she would say about Prudence being sans-shirt on the side of the road with dead grass in her hair.

Prudence ran her hand along her back – smooth skin. Thank God. But how? She trekked up the hill she had rolled down and checked out Betty; she was flame free and just fine. Using her side window she checked out the reflection of her back.

“What the hell?!” Nothing but smooth, unblemished skin. Well, she couldn’t exactly say unblemished because she now sported an intricate angel wing tattoo that ran between her shoulders. It hadn’t been there five minutes ago.

“F*ck me.”

The Angel’s Guardian by Rhianna Ulrich is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I posted up my conundrum to the NaNo Writing 101 forum section and got varying answers. There were votes for both catagories: 1st person and 3rd person. But, there was one that standed out the most to me.

I can’t think of many reasons to write in third person. I can’t think of many reasons to write in past tense. I can’t think of many reasons to write in present tense. I can’t think of many reasons to use chapters. I can’t think of many reasons not to use chapters. I can’t think of many reasons to write…

Except that I go insane if I don’t write because the stories don’t stop coming. And if a story came in first person, then I will write it in first person. Simple as that. (comment posted by keolah)

I really liked their comment because it fell in with a K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple, Stupid) way of thinking. If the story comes to you as first person, write it as first person. Angel’s Guardian comes to me as first person. So, after all that insecurity and second guessing I am staying true to the original writing: first person.

So, here is a recap. So far, I have completed:

• Basic idea (and gotten preliminary limited feedback on the idea)
• Research
• Picked a writing tool
• Synopsis
• Character write-ups
• Storyline

I also took time throughout October to join Scribiophile. It is a website dedicated to writers to get peer critiques of their work. They promise:

• Keep your rights protected.You have full control over your writing. Only other members can read it.
• Get quality feedback, guaranteed. Every work posted is guaranteed at least 3 insightful critiques.
• Win cash in free writing contests. We give out hundreds in cash and prizes each month!
• Be part of a busy, vibrant community. We’re one of the largest and most active writing groups online.
• Everyone welcomed, from beginner to pro. Everyone’s here to learn, and we want to help!

I joined for two reasons: I wanted to be able to get honest critiques of my NaNo attempt from non-family/friends who may have sugar coat reviews and I wanted a place where I felt it was SAFE to post my work in case I ever decided to attempt submitting it for publication. For more information on protecting your rights, publication issues, and more check ou the FAQ at Scribophile.

Part of belonging to Scribophile is earning points. You earn points, called karma points, by critiquing others’ work on the site. You can then use the points to submit your own work for critiquing. So, I spent time in October critiquing others’ work so that I can eventually post up my own stuff for critiquing.

The biggest discovery I had was the people REALLY don’t know how and when to use a comma. It drove me nuts. I’m no expert, and certainly no grammar nazi, but I do usually know when a comma is appropriate and when it is not.

If, your writing, looks like this then probably, you should reference this guide, for when to use a, comma.

Here is what I have to do starting November 1st:

• Write

I hope you follow me along on my NaNoWriMo journey. I will attempt to update this blog with my progress, but feel free to follow me on my NaNoWriMo personal site as well. And, pretty please, send any and all encouragement to my twitter account via @RRhiannon99.

THANK YOU so much for your support!!!

I feel like now would be a good time to let ya’ll know that I’m not a writer. Writing isn’t something I have done outside of work related tasks and emails. I’m more of a traditional artist – a graphic designer, painter, I sew some, I am an amateur photographer, sometimes I do paper crafts, and stuff. Nothing that I would consider to be in the “writer” category. So, please note that this attempt at writing a novel is just a side project and something I am a complete novice at. So, yeah…

Last week I established my synopsis and let you know that I have a Storyline done. This week I was set to work on finishing fleshing out main characters.

Here are a few character descriptions I came up with for my story:

Mercy – this generation of Guardian’s Oracle and self proclaimed collector of parking tickets. A year older than Prudence, they are best friends who give testament to the idea that opposites attract. Uninhibited, spontaneous, and wild Mercy tried to push Prudence into trying new things and Prudence tries to help keep Mercy grounded. They may, or may not, have matching tattoos on their butt – neither one will admit to the rumor being true. She enjoys being an Oracle as it keeps her life constantly on edge. A seamstress, Mercy excels at making one-of-a-kind ceremonial Guardian garb.

Jet – Unknowingly sharing the same birthday as Mercy, Jet is the Warden’s current Harold. Besides being dark, broody, and often scowling, nothing much else is known about Jet except that he is the son of Cardinal, the current leader of the Colorado Wardens.

Endurance – the current head of the Colorado Guardian families. Endurance is 55 years old, married to Chastity, and is the father of Prudence and Diligence. Endurance is Winged and treats Zebuleon, his Fallen Angel, as a respected and beloved member of his immediate family.

Chastity – An etiquette-heavy 53 year old who is the mother of Prudence and Diligence and is the wife of Endurance.

Diligence – The younger brother of Prudence and son of Endurance and Chastity. Diligence is determined to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the next leader of the Colorado Guardians. Playful, fun, and light hearted, Diligence can be confused as a careless prankster, but his dedication to the Guardians can never be questioned or denied.

Cardinal – the current leader of the Colorado wardens, and Jet’s mother.

Zebuleon (or “Zeb”) – The Fallen Angel who is bonded to Endurance. Zeb give the impression of a bouncer/bodyguard/and overall badass. With his heavily muscled upper body, and constant sun-glasses wearing Zeb is an imposing figure, even if you don’t count the black tipped angel wings that mark him as a Power. Although he is considered short, Zeb makes up for his lack of height with attitude and presence.

The Angel’s Guardian by Rhianna Ulrich is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I also decided to give each of my characters a theme song. Every character in a role playing game I have ever played has had a theme song for them. This helps me know what personality, mood, or thought process they might have based upon how a song sounds, the lyrics, and/or a small section of a song – it changes with each character/song. I found that some characters were easy to find a theme song for, and others were incredibly stubborn and difficult! Here is the list, in order that they were found:

• Mercy : Beautiful Disaster, 311 (the sound, and the lyrics – this is how Prudence would see her best friend)

Beautiful disaster
Flyin’ down the street again
I tried to keep up
You wore me out and left me ate up
Now I wish you all the luck
You’re a butterfly in the wind without a care
A pretty train crash to me and I can’t care
I do I don’t whatever

• Diligence : The Dog Days Are Over, Florence and the Machine (sound only)

• Prudence : 6 Underground, the Sneaker Pimps (sound and lyrics)

Don’t think ’cause I understand, I care
Don’t think ’cause I’m talking we’re friends
Overground, watch this space
I’m open to falling from grace
Talk me down, safe and sound
Too strung up to sleep
Wear me out, scream and shout
Swear my time’s never cheap
I fake my life like I’ve lived too much

• Zeb – Capitol G, Nine Ince Nails (sound and lyrics)

Don’t try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person,
You haven’t had enough to know what its like,
You’re only angry cause you wish you were in my position,
Now nod your head because you know that I’m right..all right!

Well I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There’s a lot of me inside you
Maybe you’re afraid to see.

Well I used to stand for something
Now I’m on my hands and knees
Trading in my God for this one
And He signs his name with a capital G.

• Prudence and Uriel’s Relationship : Map of the Problamtique, Muse (sound and lyrics)

Fear
And panic in the air
I want to be free
From desolation and despair
And I feel
Like everything I saw
Is being swept away
When I refuse to let you go

I can’t get it right
Get it right
Since I met you

Loneliness be over
When will loneliness be over?

Life
Will flash before my eyes
So scattered and lost
I want to touch the other side
And no one
Thinks they are to blame
Why can’t we see
That when we bleed we bleed the same?

• Endurance : Do It Again, Steely Dan (sound only)

• Chastity : She’s Always a Woman to Me, Billy Joel (sound and some lyrics)

She is frequently kind
And she’s suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She’s nobody’s fool
And she can’t be convicted
She’s earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she’s always a woman to me

• Jet : In the House of Flies, Deftones (sound and some lyrics)

I watched you change into a fly
I looked away, you were on fire

I watched a change in you
It’s like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I’ve watched you change

I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed

• Cardinal : Hunter, Bjork (sound and lyrics)

If travel is searching
And home what’s been found

I’m not stopping

I’m going hunting
I’m the hunter
I’ll bring back the goods
But I don’t know when

• Uriel : Schism, Tool (sound and lyrics)

I know the pieces fit cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing,
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication

I know the pieces fit cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesn’t mean I don’t desire
To point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it
Finding beauty in the dissonance

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I’ve done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

Between supposed lovers
Between supposed brothers

Uriel squeeked in at the very end – he was extremely elusive and I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to find his theme song. My theme song list is complete, for now at least.

This week’s pain was, again, dealing with changes. I came across multiple plot holes when I started fleshing out actual characters. So, I spent a lot of time going back to my storyline and cleaning it to help avoid plot holes. Anyone who knows me well knows I hate going back and changing things (it’s what keeps me a novice sewer – I hate going back and undoing stitches due to mistakes). So, hopefully I have fixed almost all the plot holes for now. I am sure more will come up as I start actually writing.

I also had a huge freak out moment when I looked back through this puppy:

It’s a beast, I know…
Click to view larger.
(c) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 The Angel’s Guardian

Mostly because, when I reviewed it, I didn’t feel it reflected that this was supposed to be a romance novel. But, really, how could I add in the romance bits to a plot flowchart? Aren’t a lot of the romance aspects inner thoughts, flirting, and other non-smack-you-in-the-face-blatant pieces? Ultimitly, I decided to leave it as-is. I didn’t want to stifle any attempt at spontiniety, change, or chance by micro-planning.

Next week:

• Pre-Launch Review and Gear Up!

An Important Notice: Please be respectful – any writing quotes that come from me (marked with (cc) Rhianna Ulrich 2012 or a icon) are mine and protected under both Copyright laws and Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)). It is illegal to copy them without permission and/or not attributing it as my work.

The Angel’s Guardian by Rhianna Ulrich is licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Back to business.

Here is how I have decided to get started. Hopefully this will help you, too!

1. I chose a basic concept.

Here is my exact first-written down concept, in the raw:

Angels are being kicked out of heaven at a higher rate than normal. God is rejecting any of his angels that show any emotion at all: after all, his angels are supposed to be the word and reach of god – followers and not independent thinkers. Independent action is a direct result of emotion of any kind – good or bad.

Those who are rejected are forced to earth to live among the humans they have overseen for millennia and forced to have their full range of emotions brought to a slamming and alarming reality. Forced to figure out how to deal with the emotions they now have in full force, they now have to figure out how to live without heaven’s assistance. Some become corrupt with the new life they lead: reveling in the emotions of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Others have swung the other way and become pristine citizens and champions of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility. A few attempt to gain god’s favor by denying emotion once more to see if that will gain them heaven once more. But a few, a rare few, decide to walk the fine line between vice and virtue.

 

___(Insert some cool chic’s name here)___ and her family have been fallen angel guardians for generations. Having the possibility to see their wings (usually invisible to humans) and being located in a central “dump site” they gather up the fallen and try to help them adjust to their new lives.

 

Within the past year guardian families and homes around the world have been ravaged by an unknown source. Times are full of fear and mistrust between guardians and the fallen.

 

___(insert some cool dude’s name here)___ has been rejected by heaven, his only known home. Thousands of years of service rejected for a simple moment of sympathy for a fallen comrade. Rejected, hopeless, and newly fallen __(his name again)__ has been picked up by ___(her name again)__, but there is much mistrust between them as guardians are destroyed by an nameless hunter.

The Angel’s Guardian by Rhianna Ulrich is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Obviously, the above is subject to change or even being scrapped entirely. The point is that I have an idea that can hopefully stand enough on it’s own to dedicate 50,000 words to!

2. I asked a few friends what they thought of such a storyline. Here was my feedback:

(email from friend) Very interesting premise! And that’s coming from me, a non-reader.

(text message chain from friend) I think it’s an awesome idea!!

I think the whole God kicking Angels out because they have emotions is possibly putting God in a slightly negative light and MIGHT put bible thumpers off but I sure wouldn’t let that stop you!

(my reply) Since i am agnostic, doubtful that i care about putting them off. Heck, harry potter put them off!

anyway,ty! I will go forward with the idea now :D

Right on!

(email from my mom) Sounds like a fun plot!

Nothing horrible, but then again they are my family/friends… All the same, though, *I* like the idea, so I have decided to carry on!

3. I chose a wirting program.

This took a bit of work, and mostly my decision boiled down to where I thought I would be writing. If I was writing from home I would have taken advantage of the NaNoWriMo promotion for WriteWayPro. There were two writing offerings from NaNoWriMo that I considered: Yarny and PangurPad. Both are online writing tools, which were important to me. I did not want to be limited to where I could write. Yany is free to everyone year round. PangurPad is offering a free limited time subscription to NaNoWriMo participants and has a few additional features and a different user interface than Yarny that I think I will like better – so I gave it a try. One thing it ended up not having was a way to easily view chapters or book sections. Instead it keeps your entire text as one big block. So I decided to switch tools and go with Yarny.

To see all of the offers that NaNoWriMo has to offer its participants (and winners) please visit here.

4. Pick a Title: The Angel’s Guardian

5. Do some research.

Types of Angels in Judasim

Types of Angeles in Christianity

Types of Angels in Islam

6. Make a pre-launch to-do list:

• List out main characters and their traits
• Flesh out a storyline
• More research
• Flesh out the original concept into a Novel synopsis/teaser to post on my NaNoWriMo page

National Novel Writing Month starts this November on the first and runs until the 30th! It’s a fast paced, insane ride where participants attempt to write a novel, from start to finish, within 30 days. The rules are simple: It has to be a novel (so no non-fiction) and it has to be at least 50,000 words. Quantity is valued over quality – the goal is to write write write and get the ideas and story down, and worry about quality later (and only if you want to).

The National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) Website is full of help to get started. On the website you can: utilize a library of novel writing tools, track progress by word count, get support from the community, meet fellow writers, and join local groups. “NaNoWriMo is run by a tiny but mighty nonprofit called the Office of Letters and Light.” “The Office of Letters and Light organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential.”

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. This approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2011, we had 256,618 participants and 36,843 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.

Who: You! We can’t do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let’s write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To give yourself permission to write without obsessing over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To stop being one of those people who say, “I’ve always wanted to write a novel,” and become one of those people who can say, “Oh, a novel? It’s such a funny story–I’ve written three.”

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins 12:00:01 November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at 11:59:59. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

How NaNoWriMo Works

1) Sign up for the event by clicking the “Start Here” button at NaNoWriMo.org.

2) Follow the instructions on the following screen to create an account.

2.5) Check your email for the account validation email and click on the link included.

3) Log into your account, where you’ll be prompted to finish the sign-up process.

4) Start filling out information about yourself and your novel in My NaNoWriMo.

5) Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great advice and funny stories in the forums. Post some stories and questions of your own. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile noveling rewards.

6) On November 1, begin writing your novel. Your goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight, local time, on November 30th. You write on your own computer, using whatever software you prefer.

7) This is not as scary as it sounds.

8) Starting November 1, you can update your word count in that box at the top of the site, and post excerpts of your work for others to read. Watch your word-count accumulate and story take shape. Feel a little giddy.

9) Write with other NaNoWriMo participants in your area. Write by yourself. Write. Write. Write.

9.25) If you write 50,000 words of fiction by midnight, local time, November 30th, you can upload your novel for official verification, and be added to our hallowed Winner’s Page and receive a handsome winner’s certificate and web badge. We’ll post step-by-step instructions on how to scramble and upload your novel starting in mid-November.

9.3333) Reward yourself copiously for embarking on this outrageously creative adventure.

10) Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

That’s all there is to it! Occasionally, participants write in to ask about the rules of the event. We don’t have many! But because we’ve found that creativity is often heightened by constraints (and communities bolstered by shared goals) we have evolved a handful of rules over the years. The rules state that, to be an official NaNoWriMo winner, you must…

• Write a 50,000-word (or longer!) novel, between November 1 and November 30.
• Start from scratch. None of your own previously written prose can be included in your NaNoWriMo draft (though outlines, character sketches, and research are all fine, as are citations from other people’s works).
• Write a novel. We define a novel as a lengthy work of fiction. If you consider the book you’re writing a novel, we consider it a novel too!
• Be the sole author of your novel. Apart from those citations mentioned two bullet-points up.
• Write more than one word repeated 50,000 times.

I hope you guys will consider trying this amazing feat! I am doing it myself this year!! Maybe we can do it together and support each other? If you are interested, let me know! Otherwise, enjoy my updates on this insane adventure!

- Rhianna