Camp NaNoWriMo

All of the essays have been graded and returned for the 2014-2015 school year, and all final course grades have been submitted. So, I AM DONE!!!! YAY!! :)

I will be teaching an online Fan Fiction class with Brave Writer during the month of July, but the class is a piece of cake compared to the other classes I taught during the school year; my last class topped 1100 posts in four weeks, nearly all of which I responded to point by point.

But July also marks the return of Camp NaNoWriMo--a more relaxed version of November's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Instead of the 50,000 words-or-bust scenario of writing a new novel as we do each November for NaNoWriMo, in Camp NaNoWriMo we set our own goals and write in different genres, if desired.

Cover by Chantelleexx at Wattpad

I plan to work on two novels alternately during Camp NaNoWriMo with an overall goal of 30,000 words--one thousand words per day, skipping the July 4th holiday. One novel will be a sequel to my first novel Evening Star, a Twilight fan fiction which has been titled In the Night Watches (for which the lovely Chantelleexx at Wattpad has created a beautiful cover!!), and the second will be a Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF), a continuation of Pride and Prejudice (currently untitled), starting with Bingley and Darcy's return to Netherfield after the Lydia/Wickham fiasco near the end of the novel.

Austen Variations Blog Header

I have spent nearly a year absorbing JAFF (as can be easily seen by the list of books I've read this year as posted in the sidebar of this blog), especially from the wonderful site Austen Variations which features the work of some incredibly-talented writers of variations and continuations of Austen's novels. I've become a devoted fan of their work, especially that of Abigail Reynolds, Monica Fairview, Mary Lydon Simonsen, Kara Louise, Jack Caldwell, Jane Odiwe, and many others. I've been able to borrow many of their novels through the state-wide California public library system called "LINK +," with the vast majority of the books coming from San Francisco and other Northern California public libraries. I've also invested in a few Kindle books by these authors when their books are not available through the library, plus I've been reading additional JAFF on FanFiction.net, especially by Astonishment, AnotherSentimentalFool, SophieTurner1805, Shaelelina, and DarcyFan1. So I am really excited about starting to write my own JAFF!

If anyone else is doing Camp NaNoWriMo, please feel free to "friend" me under the user name Cassandra Lowery, and we can encourage each other along the way. The beginning of my Jane Austen Fan Fiction novel can be read from the Writing Project Info page.



Happy Writing!

~Cassandra xxxooo

Fan Fic Recs and the New Story....

Okay, so I'm posting this Valentine a little late, but I do love you all and appreciate your support of my stories!! Thank you sooooooo much!! <3 <3 <3

At the beginning of this month I received a very pleasant surprise: Pinned but Fluttering was selected as one of the selections for the Top Ten Fics Completed in January by TwiFanFictionRecs. It's up against some incredible fics--ones I've read and enjoyed so much--written by the likes of CullensTwiMistress, TheFicChick, Chloe Masen, LyricalKris, PrettyKittyArtist, iambeagle, TallulahBelle, FictionFreak95, pattyrose, and Tardis19. So I doubt that Pinned but Fluttering will make the Top Ten, but it's nice to be nominated for something. 

Here's the direct link for voting, and you may vote every 24 hours through the end of February: Top Ten Completed Fics for January.  I would be sooo grateful for your vote(s)!! 

In other news, I am finally past the worst of my grading frenzy. In January I taught two online courses concurrently, something I will never do again; the stress was incredible!! Especially when one class was a Literary Analysis course which means tons of posts--nine per week per student, and multiply that by 15-20 students.... Yeah, it can get crazy!! Plus, Literary Analysis courses also require a final writing project, so I had to grade all of those essays as well. 

In addition, our home school group's semester grades were due on February 14, so I had to not only gather and grade my own three boys' work for the semester, but I also had to finish grading essays and post semester grades for my co-op high school expository writing class. I actually pulled two "all-nighters" last week, up grading essays until 6:15 AM one morning and 4:30 AM another morning. 

So now that the major stressors are behind me and I'm only teaching a poetry writing workshop online, plus home schooling the three boys (two in high school) and teaching my co-op class, I think I'll be able to start on my next writing project. I hope to start next weekend and be posting the first chapter by March. We'll see how it goes; with my chronic illness, I also need to rest after putting in crazy hours since the beginning of January. 

This will be my first AH (all human) story, and when I polled my readers on Wattpad, asking if I should write it as a fan fic or as an original story (Wattpad has tons of genres available besides fan fiction), the fan fiction readers won handily by a two-to-one margin. But it should also edit quite easily into a non-Twilight story as well. I have a couple of approaches I'm debating in setting up the story, and, as usual, I have a premise but no real plan or outline for how this story will proceed. 

That's the fun part of writing for me: not knowing what's going to happen any more than my readers do, LOL!! :) 

So thanks again for reading, for voting (I hope!!), and for waiting patiently while life settles into a vague semblance of order so that I can start writing again. You all are the BEST readers a writer could ever want!! :) 

Warmly,
~Cassandra :)
xxxooo

Done...and Plans

It's been a few weeks since I completed Pinned but Fluttering. The sense of accomplishment in completing Pinned but Fluttering is incredible; it's nearly twice as long as Evening Star, and it took me nearly a year and a half of posting almost weekly chapters to complete the story. 

Unlike most fan fiction writers, I make no outlines; I don't plan out my plots beyond a vague idea of how it's going to end. It's much more fun to write that way because I don't know what's going to happen, either. But there are also drawbacks to writing off-the-cuff as well: repetition, writing oneself into a corner, etc. Nevertheless, I enjoy writing this way too much to stop now. :) 

Readers on both Wattpad.com and FanFiction.net are requesting sequels to both of my novel-length stories, but I don't think I'm ready to write another epic-type novel at the moment.

The popularity of Pinned but Fluttering continues to astound me. Currently it's received almost 200,000 reads on FanFiction.net (adding the outtakes story to the original PbF) and 1,415,600 on Wattpad.com, for an overall total of over 1.6 million hits all together. Wattpad also shows nearly 9500 votes and 6700 comments while FanFiction.net has over 1500 reviews. I still can't wrap my mind around those numbers....  

Because I am currently teaching three classes in January (two online courses, one a family grammar workshop and the other a high school literary analysis class on Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, and one IRL expository writing class that lasts all school year) plus homeschooling my three teen boys, I'm taking January off from writing. Between Evening Star and Pinned but Fluttering, not to mention my shorter stories/one shots, I've been posting weekly chapters for just over two years. So once I return my final essays from my online Literary Analysis Class in February, during which I"ll be teaching only one online course (a poetry workshop), plus the IRL writing class and homeschooling my boys, I'll probably work on two or three shorter stories I've started, a couple from which I've posted excerpts on this blog. 

I have an idea for a novel-length story, but I've been debating whether to write it as an original story or as a fan fiction story. I asked my readers on Wattpad which they'd prefer, and currently this is how the polling stands:

Original story: 9 votes
Fan Fiction story: 14 votes
Both/Either (no opinion): 5 votes

I'm still debating. I found myself excited when I received a vote for "Original" and kind of sad when I received one for "Fan Fiction," so my heart it telling me to write an original story which I would publish on Wattpad. But part of me is still drawn to the ease and comfort of writing fan fiction since it's what I know. It would be easy enough to revise the fan fiction story into an original story since this story idea is AH/AU (All Human and Alternate Universe); there won't be vampires or shape shifters/werewolves, but the story will still be a paranormal-type tale. I don't want to say much more, but I'm definitely letting the ideas bubble away on the back burner of my mind this month. 

Teaching two concurrent online classes this month is killing me; I had to take yesterday (Friday) off and just crawl into bed and rest because I am that worn out right now. So please be understanding if I don't get back into writing until March or so. My IRL class will be working on their research essays which means I won't be grading piles of essays as I usually have to do until May when their research projects are due, so I'll have 6-8 weeks of more free time. Plus, as far as I know, I'm not teaching any online classes in March although I have some big projects I need to be working on for my job, mostly revising and editing some of our online classes (those taught only once per year) into e-books that families can do at their own pace. I'm nearly done with the grammar class, so I'm thrilled about that! 

And I am so sorry that I haven't been able to respond to many of the wonderful reviews and comments that readers posted at the end of Pinned but Fluttering. I've saved them all and definitely treasure them, and I will respond when I have the time...which may not be until February. I hate having to postpone commenting until then, but that's just the way it has to be. :(

Oh, and I just found out yesterday that Breaking Dawn Part 2 is being released onto DVD here in the US on my birthday!! At least my kids will know what to get me, LOL! :) 

So that's where I am, writing-wise and life-wise. Thanks for being understanding about my need to take a break. My autoimmune illness has also been in flare-up mode because of my work schedule; when I overwork and don't sleep enough, the pain worsens, which makes it more difficult to sleep, which makes the pain worsen further, etc. It's a vicious circle. So thanks for your understanding and your amazing support; you're all the best readers ever!!

With much love,
Cassandra :)
xxxooo

Nearly There!

I have drafted the remaining chapters of Pinned but Fluttering during the craziness that was National Novel Writing Month 2012. Now I only have the epilogue left to write.

My posting schedule for PbF:

Chapter 53: Thursday 12/13

Chapter 54: Thursday 12/20

Chapter 55: Christmas Eve

Chapter 56: Thursday 12/27

Epilogue: New Years Eve

Because I'm not really into writing lemons, I'm saving the intimate scene for the epilogue so that readers who don't care to read lemons can merely skip it and be satisfied with the end of the story at Chapter 56. But for those who don't mind or enjoy reading such scenes, they can enjoy the epilogue. 

I have never written a lemon, so we'll have to see how it turns out. ;) 

But I'm really proud of all that I've accomplished with Pinned but Fluttering. While Evening Star, my first fan fiction story, enjoyed moderate success, the clamor over Pinned but Fluttering has been simply mind-blowing. 

On Wattpad, Pinned but Fluttering will reach 1.3 million reads by this weekend (officially it's at 1,298,880 reads as I compose this post, with over 8,000 votes and 6,235 comments). Its success on FanFiction.net has been more mellow but still flattering at nearly 150,000 hits and almost 1500 reviews between the regular story and the separate outtakes. 

Evening Star remains somewhat popular with over 750,000 reads on Wattpad and nearly 40,000 hits on FanFiction.net. I'm toying with writing a sequel to this first story, starting with Edward and Bella's reunion in Volterra, then covering the gap between New Moon and Eclipse. We'll see. 

I also have an idea for an original paranormal-type story. A few ideas, actually. We'll see how they pan out. One idea is such that I can write it as fan fiction but easily change the names and details later to make it original. Again, we'll see. 

But right now I'm thrilled to be almost finished with a story I started in August 2011. Yay!!

Thanks for reading!!

~Cassandra 
xxxooo

Twilight and Jane Eyre

Even though I've been wrapped up in teaching my fan fiction class and writing Pinned but Fluttering, I have had a few story ideas floating around.


I've written parts of some, and others remain stuck on a Post-It in my writing journal. 


But my first non-Twilight fan fic idea came to me the other night. Lately I've been reading some pretty darn angsty fan fics with Edward in some rather sad and anxiety-provoking situations (like The Blessing and the Curse by The Black Arrow, The Diva Diaries by KivaRaven, An Angry Man by katinki, etc.), I thought about his literary predecessors, including another angst-ridden Edward: Edward Fairfax Rochester. 


So I'm seriously considering expanding my Twilight fan fiction repertoire with a one-shot of Edward Rochester awaking to find Jane gone on the day after their almost-wedding. 


I can almost place a Robert Pattinson, aged by 15 years, in the role of this Edward, one equally haunted by his past sins and tied to a dark mystery in which he drags a young, innocent girl into because of the depth of his love. Only Edward Cullen leaves his Bella while Jane leaves Rochester...but both for what they believe is the "right" reason.


Jane and Bella, and their stories, definitely parallel each other. Both raised in unusual circumstances, Jane an orphan and Bella parenting her own parents, Jane and Bella are rather strong-minded in some ways, yet their teenaged romanticism colors their world greatly. They're young, innocent, trusting girls who are drawn to dark, angsty men who conceal dangerous secrets and checquered pasts. After a climatic event in the story line, a separation ensues during which both women discover another possible love interest, Jane with St. John Rivers and Bella with Jacob Black. Both women's lives are in danger because of this relationship as Jane could easily die on the missionary fields of India where St. John intends for her to join him while Bella learns to love a werewolf. 


Supernatural forces (Jane hearing Rochester call for her, and Bella learning of Alice's vision of Edward's suicide attempt with the Volturi) bring the couples back together, Jane to a blinded and contrite Rochester, Bella to a contrite and apologetic Edward. Choices must be made regarding which love interest the women will choose, and of course they choose their angsty guys, marry them, and live happily ever after, children and all. 


And the two Edwards are so similar. They both possess sinful pasts that they are reluctant to share with their innocent teenaged loves, and both have a deep-seated self-hatred based on those pasts and on their perceived danger to their women. Once restored to their loves, both are appropriate contrite although Rochester has truly changed during the separation from Jane while Edward Cullen changed more before the separation. 


Both men are loners to an extent, have past romantic interests in Blanche Ingram and Tanya in Denali, neither truly worthy of the angsty guys, who inspire jealousy in their teenaged loves. Both men are altered greatly by the introduction of these pure, idealistic women who look past the ugliness in the men's lives (Rochester's physical ugliness and the ugliness of who Edward is as a vampire) and love them not only despite the men's flaws but perhaps because of them.  


As many parallels exist between Jane Eyre and the Twilight Saga, it seems a natural place to go, fan fiction-wise, to write from Rochester's POV when he discovers Jane gone, the pearls and other valuables left behind, and "right to prevail." Angst will heavily color Edward Rochester's thoughts as he realizes that Jane, friendless in their world, has left with nothing. 


So let's see if I can clear the time to write this one-shot soon, shall we? And yes, I hope to keep writing the Twilight stories I've started or jotted down the basic plot ideas in my notebook. So keep your eyes peeled....


On another quick note, on Wattpad Pinned but Fluttering passed 700,000 reads this week, and Evening Star passed 650,000 reads; in addition, my vote count for all of my works on Wattpad has passed 8000! So thank you to my wonderful readers--you are the reason I write and keep writing!!


With love and thanks,
~Cassandra :)