Thursday, October 28, 2010

Broken bones and NaNoWriMo.

I am an idiot.

I like to think I am an adorable, lovable idiot, but the fact remains that sometimes I do really stupid things. Like trip while running up the stairs holding a pizza and jam my foot directly into the step before me. Which is why I am now sitting in my bed, foot up on two pillows, homemade splint taped around my big toe and tears stained on my cheeks. And probably my toe is broken.

WELCOME HOME FROM TOUR, KRISTINA.

Well, since I can't move or go anywhere, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to write a blog post. I feel a little badly that I started that Fall Tour series with the intention of writing more posts on the road, chronicling the entire trip.. but that didn't seem to happen. I don't know what it was about Fall tour that was so different about Summer - I seemed to have a plethora of time for blogging during the summer. But these past few weeks have been so ridiculously crazy and fun and busy and jam-packed I just never seemed to have a spare moment to sit and write about what I was experiencing.

^ I wrote that above part a few days ago. Now I've spent the weekend going to my friend Tara's birthday party, hanging out at ZomBcon, and having a super fun Halloween party at our house Sunday night. I want to acknowledge that my time on tour with Luke, Alex, Jason, Mike and Ariana was one of the best times of my life, even if I didn't manage to write most of it down. We played so many amazing shows, met incredible people, saw places we'd never been before, and just generally became closer and had a really successful experience on the road.


In other news, after our super fun Halloween party last night, I am sitting in my living room in my footy pajamas working on my NaNoWriMo novel. I am not going to write a long post, because I am better suited using that effort to get words written on my novel, but I wanted to share a little piece of what I've accomplished this morning with you guys, since so many people have been asking what I am writing about this year.

This is the prologue to my story. It's in the POV of a ball-point pen. The rest of the story is in the POV of whoever currently owns the pen. That's pretty much the whole basis of the novel.

"I am a black ball-point pen. I’m really nothing special. I came in a pack of ten, on sale for $4.99. One of those back-to-school sales. I may not be a neon green gel pen, or write in glitter, or glow in the dark, but I’ll be the most reliable pen you’ve ever owned.
You may think my existence is a boring one, but I can assure you that it’s anything but. Okay, I mean yeah. I can’t really do much on my own, aside from just sort of sitting there. Maybe roll a little with a big enough gust of wind, or if someone leaves a fan on. But all it takes is one person: a curious child, a rebellious teenager, a single working mother; and I’m seeing the world. When you have no say in where you go, what you write, or who you belong to, you really get around. Sure I spend my fair share of time in the bottoms of messy purses, being chewed on during a particularly dull lecture, or tapped repeatedly against a mahogany desk, but it’s all worth it. At least I wasn’t left alone in a dusty cupboard until my ink dried up. In all my time here, I’ve written love letters, grocery lists, diary entries; I know facts and secrets about people you wouldn’t believe.
So here begins the story of my journey. I’m not going to say I loved any of my owners more than the next one, because what I’ve learned in my lifetime is that everyone plays a part. Everyone, even the bit characters, make up the cohesive story of your existence. You may not think you have anything in common with the man who collects your trash or the professor who bores you out of your mind on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but everyone is connected. Everyone. And sometimes it takes something as simple as a ball-point pen to realize that."

Anyway, Happy NaNoWriMo, everyone. And Happy November, if you're not into writing. I've got a few thousand more words to write today.

48 comments:

Kylie said...

That is the coolest idea for a story, I love it :)

Angie said...

LOVE the beginnings of your NaNo story... DFTBA!

QuoteGirl said...

The POV of a ballpoint pen? Now that's an original idea. It's a little weird, but it sounds freaking amazing.

Lauren Sauer said...

God Kristina, why do you have to steal all the GOOD concepts?!?!?!!

Seriously though, that is fantastically witty, creative, and different, and you provide inspiration for first time Wrimos like myself.

Kate said...

First of all, I hope your toe isn't broken! D:

Second of all, that prologue there made me want to delete the 1,667 words I've written so far and start over. That is such a great idea! Seriously!

Good luck, and DFTBA! :)

Nicole said...

That is an awesome idea!! This novel is going to be great!!

Go Kristina!!

lulubell57 said...

That is a freaking fantastic premise for a novel!
..i'm just writing plain old fantasy...

Keep us updated on your wordcount!

Alissa said...

Not going to lie, I thought it was a weird idea for a story, and was gearing up to think it was dumb... and then I got teary-eyed reading it!
Kristina, you have a gift!

J said...

I really like your concept! Perfect for NaNo...you can experiment with voice & diction, create a non-linear plot, and get away with using as many writing puns as you want! XD

Unknown said...

I really like it. I think that you can do it. Good luck. NaNoWriMo ftw!!!!

gryffindorsbleedred said...

I love this idea. I have a lucky blue ballpoint pen and if it could think it would know most of my secrets, so I'm intrigued.

Erin Murphy said...

Oh, my. Way to make my story look like every other drab YA novel out there!

Awesome idea, I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous ! <3

Erin Murphy said...

Oh, my. Way to make my story look like every other drab YA novel out there!

Awesome idea, I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous ! <3

Azucena Paloma Garza Garza said...

Kristina, your creativity is epic. Creepy. But epic.

I'm leaning more towards scifi this year! A little romance, too, but mostly scifi. I adore Nanowrimo<3

Ari said...

Wow. I am ashamed of my own writing now. But what a great start! I hope you share your entire novel with us at some point, I'd love to read it. :)

check out my nanowrimo blog posts?
http://thesaddestlight.blogspot.com

hpnerdtastic said...

That idea for your novel truly is very creative! My story for nanowrimo is going well so far! So the best of luck to you also :)

PS: I found out about nanowrimo from you!! So I also mispronounce it the same way! hehe.

elfarmy17 said...

That is so freaking cool. Please get this published so that I may read it.

Cait Elizabeth said...

Cool story idea :)
I once wrote a short story from the POV of a candy wrapper.

Amy said...

I've never done NaNoWriMo but I think I might do it next year. I'm not really big into writing or anything but it sounds like something that you can be proud of doing. It will probaly take me that long to think of a plot :) I'me impressed with the start of your story. Good luck!

godaidgo said...

If there was a perfect character for ever story I would say that you just found it :)

... said...

I have no idea what goes on in your head, Kristina, but I love it! Amazing, unique, and interesting story topic you've got there... But it's smart and I'm sure it'll be an amazing story! POV of a ballpoint pen... Now THAT'S something different. I wish I were as creative as you! :D

With Love,
Jessica Nicole

Kat said...

I really like the concept of this, it's an interesting idea.
I'm doing nanowrimo for the first time - a fantasy story.

Anonymous said...

That is the best idea for a story ever ever ever. I WANT TO READ THE WHOLE THING LIKE RIGHT NOW.

And I love that if you get sick of writing about one person with the pen, you can just have another person pick it up. :D

also forreal, you and hayley are such fantastic writers. Your writings are like drugs to me (in a not creepy way), i just like cannot get enough of them. POST MORE.

Stephanie Y said...

When you wrote "plethora" in the first paragraph, I got all giddy because I've been using that word for the past few weeks for no particular reason. I was starting to question whether it was real or if I just made it up or something. xD
Anyway, I love the concept of your story! It sounds really interesting, and I like how all the characters will be connected through a pen. Seriously, that's so awesome. :D

Olivia said...

That is an amazing idea for a story! I love it. It will be fantastic, while I am starting everything over after I got to 700 words. I'm back at 200 and have a long way to go. Good Luck!

Lex said...

Awesome story! Mine's about a girl that turns into a mythical creature :) I'm at 1273 words after writing periods of lunch, half of latin (our assignment was boring), and part of after school. Anyways, you were the one who introduced me to NaNo.

Great story! DFTBA

Laura said...

Kristina! You've officially inspired a Halloween costume! I stumbled across these in my endless blog reading. You obviously didn't forget to be awesome! :D

http://blog.frenchtoastgirl.com/2010/11/dont-unplug-me.html

P.S. Hope your toe feels better! Not much you can do about broken toes...tape it to the one next to it and go on living...

Sarah said...

That is honestly the best beginning ever and a seriously awesome idea! Hopefully we're able to read some more of it =) Good luck writing, Kristina.

Aly said...

I would buy that book! xD
Is your toe ok? Broken toes are no fun xD I broke mine racing my seven yr old cousin through one of those inflatable obstacle courses xD

Melody said...

I'm going to be honest: When I read the words "from the POV of a ball point pen," I thought... "Seriously? This can't end well."
But reading the excerpt... Wow. That really sounds like it's going to make a fascinating novel. And I swear I'm not being sarcastic! Your novel sounds excellent so far. (Stupid textual communication, making vocal inflections difficult to convey. Grr.)

Unknown said...

I really loved what you wrote so far for NaNoWriMo. Hopefully you'll share at the end so we get to see where you take the story. It seems likes its going to be great!

Anonymous said...

I think that idea is absolute genius! Makes my story sound like child's play in comparison. Kristina Horner, you never FTBA

Niki. said...

That's a really interesting idea. It's different. I like it.

=D.

Good luck and happy writing!

Riley said...

Seriously, that is the best concept for a novel that I have heard in a really long time. So much potential. I can't wait to find out what happens.

RnB said...

very interesting conceit for a novel. There's a short film by Wong Fu Productions that has a similar conceit except the film has a series of objects that a girl gradually ignores because she's changing to suit a boyfriend. It's called When Five Fell

here's an url for it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSrXMFcQ4dY

Sam said...

Your NaNoWriMo plot = amazing. It's one of those ideas that I hate myself for not coming up with it first ;)

As a first time WriMo, the only thing I have going for me is not being behind on word count. And you'll catch that up with your pure fountains of inspiration and awesome. If you can make a story about a ballpoint pen, and win WriMo 4 years in a row, there's no reason why you're not going to ace it this year!

Elisabeth said...

Love the premise for the story!

Jaylevel said...

I can't wait to read your book at the end! Sounds like a really good idea.
I have no real idea where I'm going with mine... haha
glad you had such a good time on tour

Unknown said...

Awesome prologue. Wish me luck, so far I've been able to keep up and I've done exponentially better than last year. Hopefully I can keep it up. Love your story idea. Happy NaNoWriMo!!!

Rosanna said...

Ahhh yours sounds amazing already. This is my second year attempting nano (last year was a huge fail) and I already hate everything I've written, reading it back it all just sounds so corny and predictable...:(

appletrain said...

what an incredibly fantastic idea for a story. my brain seriously lit up at that ahahaha. enjoy writing it!

Alex Dahlberry said...

I have never broken a part of my body, and I hope I never do.
Hopefully your toe will get better soon. :)

AH NANOWRIMO. weoifsdjvxclkm.
I PLAN on doing it, but I can NOT think of a plot for some reason, and I literally have not had time. Which is a lie, because I spend a few hours a day procrastinating from homework...but still. I will do it...but I just have to start! I'm falling behind.
So stressful.
Needdddd storryyyliiineee.


Your idea is amazing, though. Very exciting. :) Maybe you'll post more excerpts over the month? :)

-alex

KeytarChris said...

That is such a sweet prologue! I'm excited for the rest of it :)

Sammie Halligan said...

Hey!! Sorry to hear about your toe? I broke my toe once, and it freakin' hurts!! I feel your pain. As for your NaNoWriMo....LOVE the idea!! I seriously am so intrigued, I want to read the whole thing! lol. Have fun!

apples_and_pancakes said...

I like the ball point pen idea. I've been word padding for the last day and a half. I've moved past exposition into nothingness. Time to plan.

Kajsa said...

happy november!

elig said...

post another blog! Please?

Anonymous said...

A broken toe is awful, I borke mine a few years ago in a similar situation, I was entering the house and when I was in the stairs I received a call and I dont know why I got so distracted by the call and "zasss" I hit the toe and zass broken.
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