What's in a name?

As I typed up my last post, I started to not like the names of my characters.

What the heck does that mean?!!!

Is it one more excuse for me to procrastinate? [Yes, yes it is!]

Do I have to stick with the names I started with? No.
Can I change them at any time? Yes.
Would to change the character's personality and values? No...maybe?
Is there another name that would better fit each person's personality? Could be.
Is it the building of the Profiles that is making me second guess my choices? Yes, because I am trying to avoid doing the work I know needs to be done.

Where can I get other names? Baby name websites, other books, etc.
Do I want them to be more - or less - common? I don't know.

If I changed the names, would I end up disliking those names too? If I don't like the name, will I start hating the character? Will it reflect in my storyline? 

I am making up conflict where there really isn't any. I just used up about 20 minutes thinking about this and typing this up.

I am procrastinating by changing my focus to something insignificant and making it huge in my head, rather than working on what's really important; building the characters.

Recognized.
Acknowledged.
Put on the back burner until after NaNoWriMo. I can change my mind once the story is told.
This is not a decision that requires any more thought.

/vent   ;)

Working on "Getting to know the characters: Jessica"

Jessica is the main character in this yet to be titled novel of mine. She's so mellow that it's hard to come up with quirks and eccentricities about her. She lives in a quaint lake side town, owns a massage therapy business (write what you know! HA!), has a really cool old dog and does yoga. She's very likable but there's GOTTA be something a little "off" about her and I just can't figure out what it is yet... a bad habit? a phobia? a secret past?

The tool I am using from the article NaNoWriMo website is very helpful! It's helping me get into the mind of the characters. Jessica and Paul (the love interest) will be ready to post this weekend. 

One week left... I gotta get these profiles ready!  I need to know more about the people in the story so that I can know what they're going to do next!  

A Taste of the Yet to Be Titled Novel

Just a little nibble.... This doesn't tell you where I'm going with this, but it does provide a clue to the writing style. 

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

There he was, sitting across from the 20-something, busty, blond gently caressing the inside her forearm from the tips of her petite little wrist to her elbow and back. He gazed lustily into her young naïve eyes then poignantly allowed his eyes drop to her prominent cleavage. I knew exactly what has doing; he used the same seductive move on me 3 years ago. He was not aware I was there, watching their interaction from across the restaurant. It was Girls Night Out; I was supposed to be at some rowdy bar somewhere partying it up with my girlfriends. After 2 yrs of living together, he still didn’t understand was that our Girl’s Nights are usually very low-key wine and bitch sessions.

I excused myself from the table where I had, only moments ago, been laughing with my friends and walked confidently across the room. I was internally shaking in anger and ready to explode into a fit of tears, but I refused to let him see it. When I got to their table, they both looked up at me; he with shock and fear in his eyes from what he expected to be an embarrassing scene, she confused and a bit annoyed that her romantic moment had been interrupted. I simply looked him directly in the eye and said, “It’s over” then turned on my heel and strode away from them.

I stopped by my table, picked up my purse, and started out the door. To my surprise, and without a word, my four friends who had been watching me in awe began tossing cash on the table to cover our bill. They all followed me out into the balmy, midsummer evening. 

An Introduction and My Goals For This Blog

I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a writer; not yet anyway. I have had a few blogs, some before they were called "blogs". They were mostly about weightloss - and regain - and that's about it. I am not published and I have taken no special courses. Heading into creative writing and the fiction world is new to me and to be honest, I have no idea what I am doing.  Hahaha! I have decided to give myself a break, roll with it and see how it all unfolds.

My intentions for this blog are to get me into a daily writing habit and to immerse myself my upcoming novel. I believe that making this a daily focus will lead to my success. Ironically, so far, I have missed 2 days of writing since making the decision two days ago to start writing every day.

As I mentioned in the description at the top of the main page, I have signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for 9 consecutive years. Some years, I only signed in to sign up! I chose the Chick Lit. genre one year and started writing. I only wrote a few hundred words before I quit. I tried again in 2013 and I think the farthest I got was approximately 1200 words before walking away. In the year since that last attempt, without NaNoWriMo, I have gotten as far as 10,000 words and the story has turned into a murder mystery, though that part has not yet been written in. I know nothing of writing about murder or the solving of one other than what I have watched in CSI or Law and Order. And the idea of getting into the mind of a killer is a bit creepy, but I am up to the challenge. I researched through the NaNoWriMo site and discovered that I can add to my current novel as long as I start the word count from where I am and ADD 50K words. I am comfortable with that and super-excited that it is an allowable option. I am not ready to start a new project yet. I am looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

As I am prepping for November's new NaNoWriMo challenge, this meme that showed up on my Facebook feed rang especially true for me:

I haven't written in about a month because I keep waiting for inspiration to hit me. Yes, I am an amateur. Inspiration hasn't shown up in any form so I have been looking for ways to build on what I have. Some of the tools provided in the articles on the NaNoWriMo website are helping me prep and outline so that on November 1, I can start typing away. The tool I am using right now, is something a writer friend once suggested; an interview with each character. I have this to use as a template:

NaNo Prep: The Official NaNoWriMo Character Questionnaire

As I tackle this questionnaire, I am learning a lot about the people in the story that I hadn't considered before. I believe I will also "interview" the location where my story takes place. Stay tuned for individual posts about each character as they develop!

As a "perfectionist", I have trouble with "free writing" and during the month of the challenge I am going to close my eyes, release control, remind myself there will be time for editing and research later and above all, breathe.

If you have questions or suggestions for my novel and it's characters, want to help me with recommendations on how to keep on track or how to self-publish/market or just wanna chat, I can be found at the following places on the internet: 

Twitter: @traciestyler

Facebook: Tracie S. Tyler, Author

Why am I calling myself an "author" at this point? Because I fully believe in "fake it til you make it" and my intention is to become that which I believe I can be.  

Thank you for following along with me in this journey. You can definitely expect some ups and downs so fasten your seatbelt, keep your hands and other extremities inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy the ride!