Posts Tagged With: voldemort

Best Laid NaNoWriMo Plans …

So this year, I was all set to do NaNoWriMo. I knew what I was writing — book 3 of the Imminent Danger series — I knew the plot, I knew the characters, I knew everything. I was completely prepared to knock that 50k out of the park.

Then I sat down on Saturday, fired up my word processor, and started typing something completely different.

I am now 6k words into a re-write of a fantasy book I wrote a few years ago that suffered from extreme “lack of plot” syndrome. I have totally revamped the characters, the plot, the setting, and the magic system. It’s going really well. It’s just not at all what I intended to write.

They say part of being a writer is being able to sit down and work on a project every day, even if some days you’re not quite feeling it. But I say, if your muse pulls you in a different direction, listen. It’s all well and good to say “writing is my job”, but jobs are dreary, and writing should be fun. So the next time you’re wading through chapter sixteen of your WIP and get the sudden urge to write a short story about underwater unicorns, do it!

 

Unrelated link of the day:

You know how “Tom Marvolo Riddle” is an anagram for “I am Lord Voldemort”? So when they translated Harry Potter to other languages, they had to make sure that anagram still worked … meaning Voldemort has a different (and oft-times hilarious) name in each language. Check it out: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Tom_Riddle#Translations_of_the_name

 

Unrelated promo of the day:

Don’t forget to check out my new short story, The Dusk Bugsavailable free of charge from Smashwords!

dusk bugs cover 5

Categories: Writing | Tags: , , | 13 Comments

Happy New Year!

Okay, okay, I’m a little late to the party — six days late, to be exact. But I’m here now, so Happy New Year, my lovely blogging friends!

Like all bloggers, one of my resolutions this year is to blog more — specifically, I intend to read other people’s blogs more, and try to update my own blog a few times a week. I’ve been doing fairly well with my ‘eat healthy’ resolution thus far, so hopefully I can carry that success over into the blogosphere.

A quick review of 2013 (only the good things)

  • Published my first novel! And it actually has good reviews!
  • Published my first short story!
  • Got my first fan art and fan fiction!
  • Became VP of the London Writers’ Society!
  • Didn’t screw up being VP of the London Writers’ Society!
  • Got a raise!
  • Finally moved out of my mother’s apartment! (well, sort of — actually, she moved out and transferred the lease to me)
  • Got a car! (again, mother’s doing — she gave me her old car and bought a new one)
  • Got asked to be a bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding!
  • Learned how to walk in nature for more than half an hour without having a nervous breakdown over bugs being freakin’ everywhere!

I’m sure more awesome stuff happened, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I haven’t had my morning tea yet (one of my 2014 resolutions is to drink more tea), so my brain isn’t working at 100% capacity yet.

Looking ahead to 2014

My re-write of Chasing Nonconformity, the sequel to Imminent Danger, is going slower than I would like … but it is progressing, so I’m cautiously hopeful about getting it done in the next month or so. I finished revising chapter 14 last night (out of 48), so I still have a ways to go, but several of the upcoming chapters don’t need to be changed at all, so that should make life easier. My announced plan last year of a January 2014 release date for Chasing Nonconformity was wildly optimistic, and definitely won’t be happening. Maybe I can still swing a spring 2014 release? We’ll see. Fingers crossed!

Other than that, I have a few other things coming up. My best friend’s wedding is in August, so lots to do to help her prepare for that. I believe we will be getting together once a month to watch Disney movies and make invitations and place settings and whatnot. And then there’s our possible move to Nova Scotia, which may or may not be happening after the wedding. My brother is graduating this spring, which I’m super proud of him for accomplishing … my mother bought a new house, which she’ll be renovating over the next two years or so … I may or may not be publishing another short story, assuming I ever get it back from the depths of my mother’s unread inbox …

 

So a big thank you to everyone who followed my ramblings in 2013! I’ll try to do better at following your own adventures this upcoming year … promise! Happy New Year to all!

 

Unrelated media of the day

Categories: Blog-related, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

“Seven Harry Potters” Scene – Re-written

Once upon a time, Harry Potter was about to turn seventeen. He knew that the second the clock struck midnight, Voldemort and his Death Eaters would arrive to capture him. He also found out that a corrupt Ministry of Magic official had made it an imprisonable offence for him to use Floo powder, portkeys, or Apparition to escape.

All seemed hopeless, and Harry thought he would have no choice but to let six of his friends use Polyjuice potion and pretend to be him. With these seven Harry Potters, the Death Eaters wouldn’t know which Harry was which when they made their daring escape — although this would also put his friends in great danger, and might very well end in their death and/or dismemberment.

Then Harry remembered that he wasn’t a complete idiot, and that he didn’t care about being imprisoned since the Ministry was already under Voldemort’s thumb. So he told Moody and the Order of the Phoenix to call off their ridiculous plan, and he waited more-or-less peacefully in the Dursley’s house right up until his birthday.

At three seconds to midnight, he Apparated to some random field in the middle of nowhere. He knew that the Death Eaters would follow him, but he wasn’t worried, because he remembered that he wasn’t playing an online game, and that the Apparate spell doesn’t have a cooldown.

So Harry immediately Apparated again — straight to the Burrow, this time — and the Death Eaters had no idea where he went because by then it was past midnight, he was now seventeen, and the trace spell that the Ministry used on him to track his underage magic usage had stopped working.

Harry Potter therefore arrived safe and sound at the Burrow without putting any of his friends in danger, or getting anyone’s ear blown off, and everyone was very happy to see him and they all ate treacle tart to celebrate.

The End.

 

Unrelated media of the day:

Categories: Writing | Tags: , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Q and A with Voldemort

I got this idea from From Under a Rock‘s post, in which he shares a Character Questionnaire he got from Tumblr. I’m stressed out from cutting down my manuscript (although it’s actually going really well — now at 109k words! Woo!), so I decided to have some fun today.

Thus, without further ado: Q&A with Voldemort

Disclaimer: I don’t own Voldemort. JK Rowling, and possibly Warner Bros, owns everything Harry Potter-related. This is just for fun. Please don’t sue!

Hi, Voldemort, welcome to the blog. How are you feeling today?

Insolent muggle! What am I doing here? How did you break through my defences and transport me here without my knowledge? I will kill you for this!

Chill, V-man. I just want to ask you a few questions. Cool?

My body temperature is irrelevant to the current situation. Ask your questions quickly, that I might all the sooner have Nagini feed on your corpse.

Alrighty. So these questions are taken from the Character Questionnaire mentioned above. Ready?

Surely there can be no worse hell than this.

What would you do if a friend turned on you?

I do not have friends. I have only enemies, and minions.

Right, but if you *had* a friend, and they turned on you, what would you do?

Hmm. First I would have Bellatrix torture them with the Cruciatus curse for a few days, to extract information on why they would dare to betray me. Then I would kill them.

What would you do if your enemy started being nice to you?

I would have Bellatrix torture them with the Cruciatus curse for a few days, to extract information on why they are acting so strangely. Then I would kill them.

I’m starting to sense a pattern here.

Foolish muggle! How dare you attempt to comprehend the full extent of my brilliance!

My bad. Okay: what would you do if you were permanently crippled?

De-cripple myself. I am a Dark Lord of ungodly magical might. Re-attaching limbs to stumps is child’s play.

Fair enough. How about if you became president?

I would exterminate all the muggle and half bloods, and re-make the world in my image. I would devise a spell to give all snakes human-level intelligence, and they would be my lieutenants of evil. Also, Fridays would be made part of the weekend.

If you had a stand-up comedy routine, what would be your opening joke?

Avada Kedavra.

What would you do if music you didn’t like was playing?

I would destroy the source of the music. If the source was a person, I would have Bellatrix torture them with the–

Got it. What would you do if a stranger kissed you?

Avada Kedavra.

You’re a sad, lonely man, aren’t you?

My parents abandoned me in an orphanage as a small child. You do the math.

Isn’t “math” a muggle concept? Don’t you mean “arithmancy”?

Ask the next question, ingrate!

Yeah, yeah. Okay. What would you do if you heard a nearby scream?

Did I directly or indirectly cause the scream to happen?

No.

Then I would ignore it. Unless I recognized it as belonging to one of my Death Eaters, in which case I would investigate the possible intrusion into my evil lair.

That’s unexpectedly thoughtful of you, going to your minion’s aide.

Allow me to clarify: I would destroy the intruder, and then teach my incompetent, screaming Death Eater a lesson by having Bellatrix tor–

I retract my observation. All right. If you saw someone getting mugged–

I would ignore them.

If you found a wallet on the ground?

I would destroy it. Wizards do not carry wallets, thereby making it muggle, and all things muggle must be purged.

I’m pretty sure wizards have wallets. Where would they carry their galleons?

The affairs of lesser beings are none of my concern.

Okay. Here’s one that’s out of the box. If you went to a convention, and found someone dressed up as you, what would you do?

I do not know what a “convention” is. However, if I were to find a look-a-like of myself, I would assume they had taken Polyjuice Potion. I would also be extremely suspicious as to how they had acquired a piece of my genetic material. I would have Bellatrix torture every Death Eater in my employ until the traitor was discovered, and then–

Don’t tell me — have your snake eat them alive?

… Yes. How did you know?

I can read your mind. Moving on. What would you do if a baby in a basket was placed on your doorstep?

Is the baby Harry Potter?

No.

Does it look like it has the potential to become an incredibly powerful dark wizard, if I were to raise the child as my own and teach it everything I know?

Sure.

Then I would kill it. I intend to live forever, and I don’t want a rival to my throne.

Okay, last question. What would you do if a stranger complimented you on your looks?

WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?

I didn’t imply any–

YOU DARE TO INSULT MY APPEARANCE? PERHAPS BY MUGGLE STANDARDS, MY “SNAKE NOSE” AND PALE GREY SKIN MIGHT NOT BE CONSIDERED THE HEIGHT OF CURRENT BEAUTY STANDARDS, BUT I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT BELLATRIX PREFERS THE NEW ME, SHE SAID SO HERSELF, AND SHE WOULD NEVER LIE TO ME BECAUSE SHE KNOWS I WOULD KILL HER OTHERWISE!

Well, that sounds like a healthy relationship.

YOU MOCK ME FOR THE LAST TIME! AVADA KED–

BLAM.

W-what? What just happened? Why is there a piece of metal lodged in my chest? Why am I leaking blood? Why do I feel faint?

I’m a muggle. I get to use guns.

… Curses.

Categories: Random | Tags: , , , , , | 14 Comments

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