October, the Lull before the Storm

(Nanowrimo.org)

Happy October!  I can't believe there are only 3 months left in the year.  Where has the time gone?  The leaves are changing, which I haven't had a chance to see--I need to go into the mountains and take some pictures--and Halloween costumes, decorations, and candy are on full display in all stores.

But there's something else that's fantastic about October.  It's the month before November!  And what's so great about that?  November is National Novel Writing Month!  For one month you lock yourself away and devote yourself to the insane task of writing a 50,000 word novel.  And October is the month you get to prepare for said task.

Of course, you can't start writing the actual novel (dialogue and prose), but you can outline, plan, and create detailed character profiles.

Nanowrimo (which is National Novel Writing Month broken down) started in 1999, and I first attempted my first nano novel in 2003, failing, then again in 2004 and 2005, failing again.  But last year, 2011, I decided to give nano another go, this time finishing a very raw, rough draft.  But I finished!

What do you win?  A printable certificate and bragging rights, naturally.  All you have to do is complete the task to win.

Anyway, I'm going to do it again this year, only I'm taking a different route.  On a couple previous posts I've mentioned a Graphic Novel I'm working on with my brothers.  I've worked quite a bit on it, but I thought it would be cool if each chapter is a mini short-story where I continue to flesh out the plot and allow the craziness of speed writing to bring me so many great ideas.  When you sit and write for the sake and love of writing, it's amazing what your imagination will throw out at you.  Unexpected.  Characters you never thought up will appear before you, ready for action.  And plot ideas and twists will write themselves.  Of course, it is all rough . . . so December is nation novel revision month :0)

Besides working on the graphic novel this month, I've got a couple books on writing I'm going to read, and a goal of reading a short-story a day.  (I have issues of "Realms of Fantasy," which has now gone out of business, and "The Magazine of Science-Fiction and Fantasy," which is still going strong, laying around with 100's of stories I still need to read.)  This months is going to be fun.   

Sarah   

C-Jade Update: 09-07-2012

C-Jade, aka Cerulean Jade, is a fun shorten version of our name.  I don't know if it will stick professionaly, but on this blog I'll use this shorten version from time to time.

Ah!  So I know what I've said in regards to what Steven and I are working on, and we still are working on those things, but we're also working on a new cover that's taken over.  Adele's "Someone Like You."  It was a special request from a friend of mine, and it's a song we talked about doing before, so we started working on it.  The sounds Steven's coming up with for the arrangement is really cool.

The Studio is progressing nicely, and I can't wait for it to be finished!  My brothers and I will be having a whole lot of fun, and we have so many things planned, in and out of music.  We're geeks.  Expect geeky things:0)

And I know I reported earlier that Steven and I will be releasing an online graphic novel before my youngest brother returns from his mission, but we decided to include Robbie in more of the process.  I've changed so many things, so many characters, and plot lines, that I want him to be okay with what I've been developing before it becomes Cannon.  I hope he likes what I've done, because I'm having so much fun creating these people, places, systems, culture, plots, etc.  And Steven wants more time developing the art and style of the place.  We decided its best to push back when we're releasing the graphic novel in order to have a more solid, deep, interesting World.

I'm not going to release dates.  Anything's possible.  Instead I'm going to do more of a show and tell approach with pictures and so forth on the Cerulean Jade Facebook fan page.  That will work better.  I'm still learning.

Have a great day!
Sarah    

What's Next for Cerulean Jade?

Goodness, where do I start?

The problem with Steven and I is that we have so many ideas . . . and we're in love with all of them

For me I'm working on a cover of a song from Brave, "Into the Open Air."  I'm playing the piano on this one, and overall it's going to be simple.  For starters, I don't have Steven's amazing ability to sit down at a piano and just play.  We're different like that.  He has a couple months of piano lessons.  I have years!  Plus a music degree.  I'm sheet music dependent.  That's going to change!  This project is going to help me with this, but it's a bit scary.  And I don't know what I'm doing.  Music Theory was the easiest out of the Music Theory core for my degree (which also included Music Dictation and Sight Singing).  My fingers don't work the way I want them too!  This is a skill I really want to learn, and this is a great start.  I also want to throw in some Irish flute.  Steven's never mastered anything other then voice and electronic instruments, so this will be good practice for him, too.

The next combined Cover we're doing is Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up."  It's a fun, upbeat, positive song, and it will be a little like the Payphone cover we did.  I'm not going to promise a release date for this!  I've made that mistake before.  Not doing that again.  But it is a really fun song:0)

And . . . wait for it . . . we're working on an online graphic novel!!!  Surprised?  Before my youngest brother left on his mission, he came up with the bases of a story idea.  We promised him that we would turn it into a graphic novel, as a gift, only that hasn't happened yet.  I'm still in script phase and Steven's developing art concepts.  Our goal is to get the first 10 pages up by the end of September, right before he comes home.  I've been having so much fun playing mad scientist with this world  . . . or should I admit to a slowly developing God complex?  Ehhh, I will admit that I'm having way too much fun.  Think slight Steampunk, slight sci-fi, and Final Fanstasy-ish world, and you have something akin to what Steven, Robbie, and I have dreamed up.  Art Concept drawings coming soon!

Oh, and of course original music.  Steven and I are working on an original song, and the sounds he's coming up with are super fun!  That's 2-3 months out.  Then we're going to do an original song based on the graphic novel world we've created (I can't wait to do the music video for this . . . we just got a green screen :0).  And there's a few jazz songs I've written that I was just going to release under my name, but Steven's like "it would be really cool to do electronic jazz!"  And I'm like "What!?"  He thinks it can work.  We'll see.  I'm slightly doubtfull.

Anyway, are we crazy?  Probably, but insanity is fun.
Sarah