Dealing with sociopathy

While working on my new version of Double Edged Sword (I really need a new title for that) I realized that one of my main characters is a sociopath.

I've always known he was unrepentantly "evil", but as I've written him, and researched, I've discovered it's a bit more than that. He's not so much evil as... practical. He does what he must, and doesn't fret over guilt or self-flagellation.

In short: A sociopath.

This provides interesting opportunities. I recently came upon the blog for a diagnosed sociopath who often talks about love, and sociopathy. She says that while it's commonly thought that sociopaths can't love, in fact, they can. The intensity she describes is what I think is going on with my MMC; he is consumed by it. To the point of obsession.

So I'm going to continue to research this line of reasoning, and see where it leads me. It's certainly  already providing interesting insights. And a more nuanced character who isn't so blunt-force trauma.

I'm really enjoying my rewrite; it's slow going, but I'm letting myself take my time and think. The result is already feeling more polished. I swear, reading back over the original, there were so many colloquialisms and such that it was painful.

I may even hit my camp word count goal for the first time!

NaNoWriMo season starts today!

It may not seem like it yet, but today marks an important benchmark in the year for me. This is the official start of NaNoWriMo season. Once upon a time, NaNoWriMo started on November 1st.  Then, I realized you could plan... so I got involved around October 15. Now that I'm an OLL staffer, my true NaNoWriMo season starts September 1. That was a Saturday for me, so this is the first official day.

The past months have been filled with Camp NaNoWriMo, saying farewell to Script Frenzy, and getting settled in my new job as Lead Forums Moderator at OLL for all events. But now is when I have to get serious.

We've been beta testing fixes and improvements for the NaNoWriMo website thanks to the beta buggers program.  With the help of my intrepid Ticketmaster Rob (Lousy Writer 13) we have been stomping the HECK out of bugs and making things better. We hope to improve tons of things that haven't been working quite right, and add some features we've been promising for a while now.

This season is special for me. It's a shift in the paradigm of work. I'm not a contractor anymore; I'm a full employee of OLL. This means more responsibility, greater attention to detail, and more organization. Something I really, really suck at.

So I have to make a promise. I have to be committed to really doing the best for you guys, and for OLL.  I have to commit to a real schedule, and to working hard on my duties.

And this year, I can't fail at NaNoWriMo like I did last year. I have a great number of great ideas tugging at my brain, and I am going to schedule writing time in my day. I'm even putting it on my calendar!


This also means it's time for A Dragon Writes to start updating more often. :) I'm so seasonal, I swear.

And let me also introduce you to the newest member of the Dudley household, my wild and wonderful kitten, Buster. He'll be joining me as designated distractor this year.

Ready for Camp!

 

 

So Camp NaNoWriMo launches in a few days, and I think I'm ready.  I have the marshmallows, the graham crackers, the chocolate bars. 

Wait, I'm suppose to be writing? 

Oh crap. 

Umm... maybe not quite as ready as I thought I was.  

Well, I am. I think I'm actually going to be participating as a rebel this time, since I have about four really good WIPs that I need to work on, and I don't have any fresh ideas for camp. I've got a couple, but they're just tidbits of ideas.  The one I'm really wanting to work on is Heaven's Bounty, my (2008?) NaNo. It's actually pretty good. I love the characters, and their interactions, my only real problem is I'm a little stuck on the ending.  I don't quite know how I want to end it!  I think I'm getting close, but I don't know. See, I have a little confession to make: 

I suck at endings. I mean, I tend to start and not finish so many novels that I have far less practice finishing them than I do starting them. So maybe that's what I need to focus on for a while. Either way, I'll be writing 50k during camp, and I hope you join me. We're launching this week, and I've had the pleasure of poking around on the new site in testing all last week, and it's so pretty and simple and awesome. I hope you like it! 

So in the interest of a Camping theme, let's talk toasting marshmallows. Do you like yours on fire, or lightly toasted until golden brown?  Do you like to eat off the outside that's been cooked and re-toast the innards? How do YOU like your marshmallows?