Legend of the Unlikelies

Wow! What an adventure! Day 19 is just about done, and by this stage I should be at around 31,666 words. Well, I am sitting comfortably on 39,000 exact! WOO-HOO! But I am running into a problem I didn’t think that I would have. In fact, I thought the opposite would happen. I have to many ideas still!!!

So, now it’s off to the drawing board (or more accurately, the plot wall, with sticky notes on stories and adventure ideas my chapters can go) to work out what I need to add, what I want to add, and what can be ditched easily. 

With the end of day 5, I thought it would be a good time to reflect the journey so far. So my word count is sitting at 14,367, which is pretty fantastic. I was going to try and push 15K tonight, but decided to make the above picture. Time well spent, and the rhyme is the main clue my heroes have about Booty Bay. Not much to go on, but it’s a start to their adventure!

One of my favorite parts of this story is still to come, and that is the sea shanties! Because who doesn’t like a good sing-a-long? Come on, sing it with me;

“Yo ho, yo ho, welcome to the seven seas We be a crew of pirates, who do what we please We rob and pilfer, burp and fart, We have turned being vile into an art, Yo ho, yo ho, give us ya gold and cheese” 

Hey guys, what’s up?

I mentioned this a few days ago, about finding inspiration to fill in time when you feel particularly unmotivated or exhausted and you need to take a break. I know this certainly happened to me last year trying my hand for the first time at @nanowrimo! 

I got around this using something I learnt when I was studying animation. (I am a media and creative jack of all trades essentially.) And that is to realize that the world is FULL of amazing things that are like our work, and we shouldn’t ignore them from fear of copying it, we should embrace it and draw inspiration and ideas from it. Every artist is like us, we all want to inspire someone. So let them inspire you. 

Below, I have thrown in my top 6 inspirations of Legends of the Unlikelies (In no order)

1. RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

One of my favorite all time films I have ever seen, Rise of the Guardians was the biggest influence and inspiration to the Legend of the Unlikelies series! Magical creatures known to us as fairy tales team up with an under dog to take on a foe bigger than them all, the boggy man himself! I instantly fell in love with this film, the characters, the magic, and the ultimate story.

2. THE HOBBIT

A group of dwarves, a halfling, and a kick ass wizard? Yes please! This is a great influencer of LotU, I loved the comedy and interaction between these bizarre characters, and how even though they are caught up in a world conflict bigger than all of them, they remained quite quirky. 

3. PIRATES: BAND OF MISFITS

Aardman has always had a direct line to my funnybone, I don’t think I have laughed at a film as much as I do an Aardman film. There is something special to me about their silliness and comedy they produce from it, and it hugely influences my writing, and while I wanna through in everything ever made by Aardman, Pirates is just so incredibly perfect. You know, since I am writing about pirates. 

4. DISCWORLD

TERRY PRATCHETT, PLEASE COME BACK! I never knew how much I loved this man until I started writing LotU. Somehow I had never read anything he ever did until I was told I should after reading part of my story. I could only hope someone one day looks upon my work as I do his. A god amongst men, and an incredible mind. But I have started reading discworld (I started a few years ago and read the wrong book first. Whatever. Maybe it’s better this way) But what I took away from Discworld is that fantasy and writing shouldn’t be liniar to other stories. The key to Terry Pratchett success I think, was how unique his writing and his mind was. You could describe Game of Thrones like Lord of the Rings but without elves and in the snow, or the other way around, but is there any comparison for Pratchett?

5. I HATE FAIRYLAND

This comic series is... Well... Look, it’s very hilarious and pushes the boundaries into places you wouldn’t expect them to go. (It’s about a girl stuck in fairyland for years and has remained a little girl, and is angry she cant leaver and is... well... A psycho!) And while I haven’t written LotU as a violent book, or even an adult book without the addition of Disney and Pixar inspired subtle adult humor, I hate fairyland has inspired me in other ways, primarily my approach to the world and seeing genre as a guideline, not a rule. 

6. THE GOOD PLACE

Ever seen this show? Well, also has nothing to do with Pirates. Or goblins. Hell, doesn’t actually link at all to LotU, but it’s got a VERY quirky style and approach to humor. It’s hard to explain quite the comedy, but it’s always on point. My comedy is a bit more on the Dad side, you know... Farts, snot, accidents. But its also, again like most of my life, the unconventional view on a topic that I love, and the way they interrupt and have build a crazy world and system around our afterlife. 

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? MAKE YOUR OWN LIST

NANOWRIMO AHOY!

One hour until NaNoWriMo! Prepare the pens, the keyboards, the tablets, and if you are me, the pirate themed rum I have been saving for right now! We be ready for adventure!

50,000 words...

30 days...

1 author...

NaNoWriMo 2018!

TWELVE HOURS UNTIL MIDNIGHT NANOWRIMO!

The final stages until NaNoWriMo starts for us in Eastern Australia! Are you ready? Because I am not. 

I haven’t got a plan, I don’t know where they will start, and the worst part, I forgot what the city is called. Even what the world is called. I guess, in conclusion... “Oops...”

“CONSTANT STATE OF WINGING IT”

That’s my life motto. I am in a constant state of winging it. Plans for me always fall through, so I never reply on a plan. So, how to I make shit up on the spot and blast it out onto paper? What sort of wizardry must I perform for such a feat?

Insanity and a lack of sleep, that’s what. 

But no, that’s not entirely true. Winging it still has a plan attached to it. Or a way I plan to approach my work. I have lose character designed written out, for example a skeleton and a ghost that are bound to a ship who don’t get along. I don’t know whether i’ll use them or not, but I have characters at the ready. And places, ship designs, bar designs, and a few other things. 

Ultimately, they might never be seen. But if I find myself in a spot where I need a new character, or I want them to crash into an island, or whatever I feel the story is working towards and need, I won’t be sitting at my desk, drinking rum, and thinking up details. I have a list of details, and i’ll throw in the most relevant (Unless I write by feeling, which also sometimes works) 

I generally also can predict how my characters will respond to events. What does this mean?

Because I am not using any plans, and the way I write, I approach my characters by looking at life through their perspective. I’ve got back story of them that details why things happen like they do, to work out fears, and how they respond in situations by past influences or personality traits. And because I try not to pause to think, I have to let them flow through me. 

This takes my on an adventure, just the same as the words takes the audience. Which is great, my housemate probably thinks I am insane, because sometimes I laugh at the jokes in the book as I write them. They are just as much a shock to me as others. 

Maybe there is a writer trapped in my brain that doesn’t 100% communicate with the rest of the brain... This makes more sense. I shall name him Brian. 

So, for the next 12 hours or so, i’ll be researching my past world and making sure I have names and places correct, and making sure sub-plots continue, and I use any foreshadowing I built in the first to continue into this one. Legends of the Unliklies at this stage is going to be a six book series, so I am thinking about when and where to put things and reveal stuff. Such as who is the enchanted voice, what was that shadow, and why is there a bird following them?

Whether you are a planner, a pantster, or in between like I am as a planster, NaNoWriMo is a tough challenge and will take its toll on your mind, your soul, and aspects of your every day life. So preparing for this early is highly recommended. 

CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM

Or your house, your hovel, your bungalow, or even your island. I don’t know where you live, but cleaning up your area will allow you to focus on your work and feel more at ease. Don’t do what I did last year and start with a messy room. Because it will take you valuable time to clean said room. Time you could use to do something else like write, watch Netflix, or go to coffee with some friends. Which reminds me-

PREPARE INSPIRATION

Last year I began to lose inspiration. I felt unmotivated and drained. Just like study, you should always make time to take breaks and keep those fuel tanks relaxed. One thing I did last year, and preparing ahead of time this year, is making a watch list of films. Lord of the Rings, and The Good Place were such shows that last year pulled me through. LotR gave me the fantasy inspirations, and The Good Place gave me writing style inspiration. This year I am looking for pirate content, which is hard because I am writing pirate fantasy, so Pirates of the Caribbean is great, but Aardmans Pirates in the BOMB! This will really help me stay on task and perform better. 

WALLPAPER RESEARCH

This year I am writing about pirates. I know nothing about boats. Other than they are traditionally made from wood (I already know I am messing with this in my book...) But beyond this, I am lost. So to combat this, I did some early research in types of boats, sails, and what parts of the ships are generally called. I also printed these out and posted them around my writing desk. This way I don’t have to distract myself with internet research mid-paragraph detailing a ship spotted on the horizon. Just a quick glance.

CONNECT TO OTHER WRITERS

Why the heck would you wanna connect with the competition? Well, they are often insightful, helpful, and keep you accountable and keep you on track. Check out #NaNoWriMo and make some friends, or even check out your local write-ins. I didn’t last year, but wish I did. I went to our regions Kick Off Party, and it was great being surrounded by other writers. Sure, my anxiety was screaming at me for most of it, but it calmed down when I started interacting with others. 

WRITE AHEAD

1,667 words per day is a lot, but you know when you have a tonne of inspiration and just write? Well, keep going! Try and get through as much as you can. This isn’t to finish the challenge ahead of time, gosh no. It’s about forward planning to bad days. Days when you go to work and come home panting from how exhausting you were. They are days where the watch list wont pull you out from your cloud of exhaustion. I am a strong believer of not forcing yourself to write in bad conditions. Because your writing, and as a result your whole work, will suffer as a result. Don’t do that to yourself. Work ahead, and allow yourself the option to accept a bad day. 

STAY HEALTHY

Go for walks, cook real food, stay in touch with the world. Don’t stay inside for the whole month and eat nothing but noodles. Don’t live like a university student, because it’s bad for you and you will end up with scurvy! I am writing a novel about pirates, and not even I want to get scurvy. Besides, staying active, getting outside, and eating well will help keep you motivated and excited for when you start writing again! This also means sleep well! I am the worst for sleeping well. I am constantly staying up WAY to late and waking up early. I did last year, and it made for some “bad days” of writing where I couldn’t focus on writing anything good. I had to delete whole chunks of wasted text because I was to tired to words properly. 

ENJOY IT

This is probably the most important tip for now, and the remainder of the challenge. And that is to have fun. Don’t stress about the word count if you are falling behind. Focus on your achievements you make. You’re writing! You’re doing it! And even if you don’t win, you will finish with something closer to a first draft than you had at the start of the month, or even a first draft! 

Two days left to go (I’m Australian, I am almost in the future to some of you who may be reading this)

Ahoy me hearties, what’s up?

Brief look into who I am, probably a decent way to start a blog, right? My name is Paul T. McGilvray, I have rotate around the sun 28 times, and I live in Australia.

So in a few days, I start NaNoWriMo, which will be my second year doing it. For anyone reading who doesn’t know what this is, NaNoWriMo is a charity based online writing challenge for young authors (though, nothing to stop someone “old” from doing it either!) in which authors are challenged to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November! So essentially, make a first draft in a month with a super tight deadline!

Good thing I like a challenge!

Last year I won (that meaning, I broke the 50,000 word mark) with a fantasy styled novel I titled “Legend of the Unlikelies: Crown of the Stone King”, which follows six rather pathetic creatures chosen by an exiled goddess to save the lands. Basically for anyone who has played Pathfinder, D&D, most fantasy based video games, online games, or read many fantasy books like Lord of the Rings, the six heroes I chose were things you would expect for low levels or low conflicts. These include a Goblin, a Kobold, a Gnoll, a Fairy, a Frogkin, and a Ratling.

I REALLY had a blast year writing these guys. It was fun and hilarious. I took a rather quirky approach to much of it, drawing on inspirations of mine such as Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

This year, as was my plan last year when I started, their adventure will continue, in “Legend of the Unlikelies: Treasure of Booty Bay”.

Treasure? Booty bay? Why, that sounds suspiciously like... PIRATES! And it should, because this year the six heroes will be on the high seas, caught up in piracy, politics, and monsters of the sea! Yarr!

Anyway, there are just a mere 3 days left until we begin NaNoWriMo, so I am starting to get active in the regional forums, I even attended a Kick Off Party catch up at the weekend, and I decided last night, why not make a blog talking about my developments, struggles, and offering advice and tips to any other NaNoWriMo battlers out there, or even aspiring authors!

I’ll write more tonight, but for now, I have a messy room to clean, washing to hang, and a job to not get fired from! (Authors have to do real life things too!)