The only question is, am I going to participate this year?

Well, I'm going to give it a shot, but I still can't be totally sure I'll be able to make it to 50,000 words and be proud of the 50,000 words I've written. Ever since I found out about NaNoWriMo, I've been racking my brain, trying to think of something to write about and, while I have a few basic plot points down; I don't have the story fully outlined the way I want it yet. Some people have told me to just start writing and fill in plot details as I go but I don't know if that will work for me. I've tried that in the past and it's never worked out well for me.

The main concept I have been kicking around and will likely go with is a spy novel, starring three agents working for a top secret black ops organization within the NSA (which I haven't named yet...) is codenamed "Silver Bullet" and has absolutely nothing to do with werewolves, despite said codename. I have the first couple of chapters outlined, a few important plot points including the major plot twist that occurs near the end and, of course, the end. I figure that's enough to go on for now but I keep second guessing myself. There's a lot of research that I still need to do in order to present something that's reasonably accurate as government agencies, weaponry, tactics and covert operations aren't fields I typically study but I'm relatively sure that I know enough about these fields to write something that's reasonably accurate and believable, at least to the average reader.

I have another concept in mind involving vampires but they seem to be the flavor of the month right now and I want to write about something that's not so common in…everything these days (I call that the Twilight effect). The only problem with not going with this is the fact that I feel like this concept would be easier to write. I already have most of the story planned out and filling in the plot as I go along wouldn't be terribly difficult, or at least not as difficult as I perceive my original concept to be.

This is me right now

Now I know the goal of NaNoWriMo isn't to produce prize winning works of pure literary genius but I don't want to produce a steaming pile of garbage either. I want something that's readable and at least mildly interesting. Perhaps this is just me second guessing my ability as a writer but I honestly don't know if I can deliver that in 30 days, as much as I'd like to, especially now that I'm behind schedule with my outlining. Today is the first of the month and I'm supposed to write the first 1,667 words of my novel today and I haven't yet done that. Perhaps I can get enough of the outlining done tonight to have a solid idea of where I'm going with this and be comfortable enough to actually start writing. I don't know. I guess I'll find out shortly after I've concluded this blog post and gone back to my outlining.

If any of you have any tips or suggestions, let me know, I'll certainly be glad to hear them.

Re-posted from The Mind of Game

That's National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated and, long story short, I've been thinking of writing something this year.

I found out about it back in late '07 and while I thought I wanted to write something, I never got around to taking the project seriously. Last year, NaNoWriMo passed me by, without me remembering that it was going on until it was too late to contribute something. To be honest, I just remembered it a few days ago when a buddy of mine brought it to my attention. Now, I'm frantically trying to come up with something to write about.

See, the object of this month long literary event is to encourage aspiring writers of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The way I have it planned out; I'll have to write some 2,000 words a day every day (excluding Thanksgiving, I figure I'll want a break around that time) until the end of the month deadline. Whew. That sounds like a great deal of sitting in the glow of my laptop's screen with a Microsoft Word document open, typing away whilst trying to resist the temptation to aimlessly browse the web, prowl around internet forums, watch reruns of My Wife and Kids or turn on my Xbox 360 to play another round of the upcoming Forza 3 or GTA IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony. This will unquestionably be a true test of my willpower.

As I lay in bed last night trying to get to sleep, a torrent of questions flooded my mind, leaving me restless for a while before I was finally able to drift off to sleep. What will I write about? Can I really write 50,000 words before the November 30th deadline? Can I crank out something that's actually worth reading in such a short period of time? And, perhaps most importantly, do I have the discipline to stick to my writing schedule for 30 straight days?

One of my biggest flaws is that I am a chronic procrastinator. I'm worried that I'll end up putting this off over and over again until a few hours before midnight on the 30th when I finally decide that I need to get something done but by then it will be too late and the challenge would have passed me by…again. This isn't something I want to take lightly but I've never been able to discipline myself like this before and perhaps that's because I've never had to. I've put off even the largest school projects until the last minute (sometimes, even, the day they were due) and still managed to put out "A" quality work. That fact has made me understandably cocky regarding my ability to do anything at the last minute. I guess the difference here is, if I do procrastinate, it won't be like I'm failing a major assignment, I'll just be letting myself down.

I haven't decided whether or not I want to do this. I recognize this as something that could be hugely beneficial to me but recently, I haven't been in the mood to write. I guess the best remedy for this is to...write. I've been trying to get back into the swing of things by writing a few reviews but so far, nothing has really rekindled that creative spark that has been lying dormant for so long. I will say that the idea of working on something for NaNoWriMo has gotten me a bit more excited as of late so maybe all I need to get back into the mood to write is to start writing in the first place.

Whatever I decide, I'll keep a steady stream of updates coming. If I do decide that I want to participate in this, I'll probably create a new blog for chronicling my progress on a daily or weekly basis. If I do, I'll be sure to spam the links everywhere. Who knows? I might even revive my long dead Twitter account to keep folks updated.

Re-posted from The Mind of Game

You're packing luggage for a long vacation?

In my experience, I'll be running around, making sure I have everything I could possibly need or want in my bags and making last minute changes as needed for this great trip I have planned...only to wake up before I even get to the airport. Or, if I'm really lucky, I'll be all set to board the plane when reality decides to show up and slap me across the face.

* heavy sigh*

I have these dreams quite often and I hate them. I hate them with every fiber of my being. I hate the fact that my subconscious mind continuously tortures me with the fact that I desperately want to take a vacation to some far off land but I lack both the time (can't miss school right now) and the resources ($$$) to make my dreams a reality. What's worse is I'm not skilled enough in the art of lucid dreaming to be able to recognize that these dreams aren't real and stop them before I get too excited. It's really depressing waking up and realizing that everything I just experienced was all a very convincing lie constructed to remind me of all the great things that I just can't do right now.

*Another heavy sigh*

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this? Does anyone have any tips for stopping these dreams in their tracks?

I've just posted my review of Gran Turismo PSP, which I picked up early this week since I enjoy the Gran Turismo series and I figured having the ability to pick up and play it at my leisure when I'm away from my PS3 would be a pretty good deal. Ultimately, I was disappointed with my purchase because of a few disappointing omissions, notably the career mode. Without some kind of structure compelling me to press onward, the grind of winning races to earn credits to buy new cars grew stale. Gran Turismo PSP isn't a game I'll rarely play because of this but its long time appeal is crippled because of it.

I posted the review at GameSpot with a score (something I've been distancing myself from) and at my site without a score. Instead of a score, I added an "At a Glance" blurb to the top of the review which sums up my feelings on the game in a few words. So, check them out if you wish. I'd be very happy if you did.

While I was driving home from some errands I had to run a few days ago, I passed by a local FYE store and decided to go in. Normally, I shy away from FYE because they are typically more expensive than other, larger retailers such as Best Buy but there was a huge sign in the window that said "All CD's $9.99 or less" and that's a deal I just couldn't pass on.

I walked in with the intention of buying Life After Death by late-great rapper The Notorious B.I.G. I thought I'd be able to grab the CD for the $9.99 price I saw in the window, which is an absolute steal. I was wrong. Turns out the deal doesn't apply to multi disc albums. I was crestfallen, since the album was $25 and there was no way I was paying that much for a single album, especially since I can find it cheaper elsewhere. Instead, I picked up the following three albums.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. II – Raekwon

As one of the best examples of the Mafioso rap subgenre popularized by the likes of Nas, Jay-Z and Raekwon himself in recent memory, this album is packed with drug references but that's to be expected. What makes this album unique is its composition, which is akin to some sort of purely musical cinema. Each track blends into the next as if they were scenes in a 70 minute long film. It's a very interesting concept that works incredibly well in practice, as it apparently did in its predecessor Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

The Low End Theory – A Tribe Called Quest

What needs to be said about this album that hasn't already been said ad nauseum in just about every Hip-Hop related publication out there? The blend of jazzy beats and lighthearted and always insightful lyrics delivered by the duo of Phife Dawg and Q-Tip is among the absolute best the Hip-Hop genre has to offer. I can easily recommend this to anyone, even those who are new to or still wary of the genre.

Me Against the World – 2Pac

This is considered one of 2Pac's best works, alongside his last album All Eyez On Me released 7 months before his death. Me Against the World is an unquestionably excellent album. Thematically, 2Pac's obsession with death takes center stage with such tracks as If I Die 2Nite and Death Around the Corner and his lyrics are his usual sharp, poetic and consistently brilliant.

And there you have it. I was definitely in the mood for some new (well, new to me at least) Hip-hop and rap music to listen to. I know that there are those of you out there who don't like rap and others who downright hate the genre. I'm not going to try to sway your opinion on the matter here but so far, these albums are excellent, as I expected and I'd recommend them to anyone with any interest in the genre.

Re-posted from The Mind of Game