June Bendiness

It's the 29th May. That means there are only two days left until June. And THAT means there are only two days left until...

*drum roll*

BuNoWriMo 2013!!!

Logo by Joris Ammerlaan Design

Say what?

I said, there are only two days left until BuNoWriMo 2013!

Now, for the uninitiated, I suppose I should explain...

This is a writers blog (well, for the most part, although you will find random posts of silliness sandwiched between the writerly stuff), and if you are a writer, then there is about a 99% chance that you know what NaNoWriMo is. Okay, NaNoWriMo isn't exactly the same thing as BuNoWriMo. Except that it is. Mostly. Well, apart from the cheating thing.

For that 1% of the writerly population that are scratching their heads (or have possibly hit the 'x' in the corner of their screen to get away from the rambling blog post), I'll briefly explain what it's all about.

1 - You write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
2 - Er, that's it.

The FAB part of this whole WriMo deal is that when you sign up for the madness, you are not only pledging your intent to write a novel in a month, you are automatically thrust into a community of like-minded (crazy) people, who will offer encouragement, virtual cookies, advice, and sometimes pictures of hot men. Okay, that last one is probably just my own wishful thinking, but honestly, cheer leading can take many forms, and if a hot guy wants to wave his pom-poms at me, I'm not going to lie, I'd be very encouraged.

Anyway. The main NaNoWriMo event happens every November, but not everyone has the time to commit during that very busy time of year. In June, however, there aren't any festive distractions, and with it coinciding with many end-of-academic years all over the world, it's just timing-friendlier.

But what was that you mentioned about cheating? Ah, yes... well, actually, it's not that we cheat. We're just bendy. Technically, if you were following the original NaNoWriMo rules, you would start writing your brand new bestseller (what? I can't be optimistic?) on the first day of the challenge. Then you would write at least 1,667 words every day of the month, and hey presto, you have a Jackie Collins on your hands (merely a reference, not a requirement. Not everyone can write a sex-filled soap opera. Not everyone would even want to write a sex-filled soap opera. But you know what I mean. Whoops. Totally digressed there).

But at BuNoWriMo, we are, as I said, bendy. (Actually, so are a lot of Jackie Collins' characters too, now that I think about it). ANYWHO! Bendy for us is nothing like JC Bendy - bendy for us just means that anything goes (EEK...which is kinda like JC bendy. Perhaps I should have used  another reference *shifty*).

You can sign up for half a month if you can't make the full thirty days. You may only need to write a 30k novella, not a full 50,000 words, but that's fine too! You may have ten thousand words buried in your files - now might be the time to add to it and turn it into a novel!

See how bendy we are? The main goal is to stop you procrastinating and get you to DO something. And you know, I just had my first WriMo novel published, so there is always a future book deal to add as enticement. *winks*

How do you take part?

EASY!!

Just go to our BuNoWriMo  page on Facebook, and request to join. And that's it. So what are you waiting for? Come join the bendies!

Writers I Wish Would Hurry Up

So before all the writers reading this go yelling at me about lead times and copy edits and hard drive failures, I know, I know, I know, there are many factors that can delay the release of the next book in a series.  Really, I do know.  And I also know that even though I can read most books in a day or less, it's going to be a good year or so between regularly scheduled releases anyway.  But when I'm left hanging in the middle of a trilogy and there's not a peep about when Book 3 is coming out, AND Book 2 was released well over a year ago... I mean, I just wanna know what happens!  And and, we've had a few authors actually stop by here and comment when we mention their stuff, so who knows, maybe this'll pull one or two out of the woodwork for an update.  I can dream, right?  (And the reason there are no cover pictures is because... there are no covers! *grumble mutter*)

Kaza Kingsley - Erec Rex series

I've mentioned these on various posts before, but at the moment am dying to read Book 6.  Except there's not a peep about it that I could find, and Book 5 was released in February 2012.  Nothing at B&N, or Amazon, and nothing on the series site either - hell, that's still saying to pre-order #5.  Unless I'm completely screwy, this sucker is supposed to be an 8-book series.  I know it changed publishers or something between #2 and #3, and I really hope that didn't happen again, because I want to know how this ends.

Elizabeth C. Bunce

Her first novel, a standalone, was excellent (it's a Rumpelstiltskin retelling titled A Curse Dark as Gold).  Then she started a trilogy (I THINK it's a trilogy), and I adored the first two volumes.  But the second (Liar's Moon) was released in November 2011, and there's no sign of the conclusion.  Nothing on her website, and again not a peep at the major book hubs.  Digger (aka Celyn) is such a great character, and I love the worldbuilding going on with this series, so please pretty please I can haz book?

Jaclyn Dolamore

So technically she released a DIFFERENT book (Between the Sea and Sky) after Book 2 in this trilogy, but even that was last year.  It's been 15 months since Magic Under Stone came out, and after that ending, she leaves us hanging?  Not a peep about Erris and Nimira that I found, and as with the others on this list, I'm dying to find out how it all works out.

Lev Grossman

Now him I actually met, and I'd swear he said there was more to come, but here we are well over a year after the release of The Magician King, and... zip.  His blog says he's working on The Magician's Land, so I guess that's the third one, but I would really love to get my hands on it.  And I'm not the only one, I've got several coworkers lamenting the lack of Book 3 as well...

Laini Taylor

Generally speaking, I am not into the whole "angels and demons" thing (don't even go to Dan Brown, seriously), but I really got into Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and then waited and waited for Days of Blood and Starlight, and then it's been all wait wait wait wait BUT!  She updated her blog with, at least, a title for Book 3, and it's Dreams of Gods and Monsters.  And now I want to read it even more!  (And so does my roommate.  If that matters.)

And the two big ones, who do regularly update blogs and do tours and talk to fans and stuff so we know they're working on SOMETHING, and yet and yet and yet:

Patrick Rothfuss - The Kingkiller Chronicles

Kvothe, where art thou?  Seriously, I think at least half of my fantasy-loving geek crowd would sacrifice body parts to get their hands (if they didn't sacrifice THOSE) on Day 3.  And if there's anyone reading this who is not familiar with this series, go read it so you can join us in our angst.  I bang on about worldbuilding, but this one is amazing - completely immersive and believable and with staggering amounts of depth.  Must.  Have.  STORY!!!

George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire

HBO, endless delays, blah blah blah blah WINDS OF WINTER NOW PLEASE.  Do I really need to say anything else?

So what are you dying to read?  And do you know more than I do about any of the above?  It's been a while since we got a good discussion going in the comments, so have at it!