pique

{via pinterest}

i'm touched by so many things.

wood, freshly hewed and polished alike. candles, their flames flickering in the darkness of night. lanterns with their soft beams casting a warm glow over me and my soul.

i surround myself with these things when the time comes for me to write. i know what piques my mind, what pushes my inspiration to its highest point.

i rent films. not movies filled with careless words and meaningless drivel. but films, rich with colour and life so gorgeous that it makes me melt.

An Education. 

Starlight. 

Edward Scissorhands. 

Once. 

Chocolat. 

Anne of Green Gables. 

The Chronicles of Narnia. Shakespeare in Love. 

i fill my ears with soundtracks to life and love. i find artists that don't just sing, but whisper their souls between the notes. i find those melodies that change and transform. 

Imogene Heap

John Williams

Hans Zimmer 

The Swell Season

Owl City

my senses come alive during this month. i slip between the words and find my place to snuggle up and watch this world pass.

what inspires your NaNoWriMo? what pushes you down this path? 

who are your guides?

-blessings abound,

rachel 

novelist {rachel's edition}

{via pinterest}

sum up your novel in five words or less.
music. eyes. ruins. luggage. freedom. 


{yes, i'm fully aware that my list could not be more disjointed. but there's a beauty in that, i think.}
 
Novel title?

current title: Cut Loose
be aware, this could change. it usually does. 


 Sum up your main character(s) in one word each.
Coleen: freedom
Allistar: passion


{names pending and subject to change. A LOT}

Advice for newbies in three words?
never give up.
 
Tell us about your secondary characters, how do they affect the story?
honestly, i'm not exactly sure yet. i'm already having problems with my secondary male lead running away with himself. i'm feeling the creeping fingers of frustration slipping over me already, and it's still nine days before we start. this may not be a good thing.

Do you plan to stay up till midnight on the 31st?
yes. i always do. i would be far too excited about starting to actually sleep anyway. so i stay up and write until i crash, wake up, and write more and more and more. 

{via pinterest}

How many years have you done NaNo?
three. 2009, i completed 50,216 words. 2010, i barely scraped 10,000. this year will be the best of them all.

What came first, characters, or plot idea?
characters. i have only the barest scraps of plot.

How much prep do you do before November?
quite a bit, actually. having my NaNo pinterest board as a springboard has truly helped me a great deal. it's been nice to be able to mentally coordinate and physically view my ideas as they come together. 

Now be honest, how do you really feel about NaNo?
in a word: terrified. i always get this way before NaNo though. it's a beautiful kind of fear, the kind that will spur me on to the completion of this novel. i'm more than a little excited, as well. i cannot wait to see what November brings me. 

-blessings abound,

rachel

soul's genre

{via pinterest}

the countdown to NaNoWriMo is slowly ticking down.

twenty-four days remaining.

and now the time has come to decide.

what will your story be?

and where will it begin? it must have a year in which to dwell...and a genre which to inhabit.

genre is tricky. 

when you begin to write, you must ask yourself the most important of all questions:

have i found a niche or have i fallen into a rut?

do you write for your genre because you love it...

because your nights are filled with dreams of knights and fair maidens, 

of cowboys on dusty horseback, 

or things that have not yet come but are whispering from the future? 

do you write because these worlds intoxicate your soul? are you captivated, lost, and overwhelmed because these places love you back?

or do you write because, when pen meets paper, when soul and words collide, you find yourself with a sigh and a muttered

i don't know what to write. so i guess i'll write this. i always do. 


my dear friend, do not let your stories die because you feel compelled. trapped.

for this death is the worst of all. you kill not only your characters and your literary light...but part of your ink-stained soul dies as well.

write the truth. not the requirement.

write for love. 

for passion.

do because you love. not because you must.

seek. define.

what is your soul's genre?

-blessings abound,

rachel