The HydraForge ( nanowrimo ) by Thomas A. Knight http://thomasaknight.com Role-playing, gaming, and updates from fantasy author Thomas A. Knight. Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:47:46 +0000 en hourly 12 Choosing NaNoWriMo http://thomasaknight.com/blog/107/ Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000 http://thomasaknight.com/blog/107/ Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted anything here, and that's a shame. I'm sorry about that. I'll try to be more regular about it in the future. Life has been crazy, and hasn't allowed a lot of time to do writerly things. Even my writing has suffered.

This leads me to the purpose of this post, and something different that I've never tried before. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is right around the corner, but I have a problem....

]]> Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted anything here, and that's a shame. I'm sorry about that. I'll try to be more regular about it in the future. Life has been crazy, and hasn't allowed a lot of time to do writerly things. Even my writing has suffered.

This leads me to the purpose of this post, and something different that I've never tried before. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is right around the corner, but I have a problem. My latest book, The Spell Breaker, isn't finished yet. Normally, I would start the next book in the series during NaNoWriMo, but I can't very well do that, now can I? This means I have to come up with another idea.

Well, my brain has been on overdrive, and now I have two ideas, both of which I am keen on trying out. I like them equally, and have been unable to decide which to take on. Luckily, I have a fantastic group of friends and fans who are always willing to give me feedback, so now here's your chance.

Over the next week, I'll collect votes from you all on the ideas posted below, and then decide based on that feedback which one I want to write. All feedback will be considered, but there will be an informal poll at the end of this post where you can simply vote for one idea or the other. At the end of the day, it will still be my decision as to which one I will write, but your feedback could shape my next novel, and I may decide (based on the feedback received here) to give you additional opportunities to decide how the plot unfolds.

So... without further ado, here are my ideas:

1) A break away from my usual fantasy into a more drama/thriller type story. This idea revolves around a character named Jack Craze, who is the CEO of Craze Pharmaceuticals. He worked his way up from nothing after his mother died of a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer. Not only is he the CEO of the company, he's also a genius who has developed some of the world's biggest breakthroughs in cancer treatments, even going as far as eradicating some kinds with new drugs he helped develop.

Now he has a wife, a son, a great job, and everything he ever dreamed of. Until of course his son develops the same aggressive lung cancer his mother died of. This is a cancer his company hasn't been able to come up with a treatment for yet. It doesn't respond to any known treatments, and his son is fading fast.

Mr, Sharp is a mystery. He appeared one day on Jack's doorstep with a proposition: Give up everything, including his name, fame, fortune and family, and Mr. Sharp will provide the cure for Jackie Jr.'s cancer. Jack can save his son's life, but in the process, he must lose everything he's worked his entire life for.


2) This idea continues a side story that began in my first trilogy, The Time Weaver Chronicles, and is more of an urban fantasy. Earth has never known magic, until Seth regained his powers and learned how to open his father's book. Trouble is, before he learned what the book was for, his friend Dave copied a few pages of it and posted them on the Internet for his crypto friends to look at. Now random people around the world are dying of accidents, or gaining strange powers that range from flight to throwing fireballs, to the ability to heal people with just a touch. Magic is alive and well, and now it's spreading.

The US Military doesn't like this, and is fighting to contain it. With Dave's help, they will develop something new that will merge magic and technology. Something that will help them fight the new crop of criminals that will eventually come out of the woodwork with powers they can't hope to control.

The real danger comes when an old friend of Dave's discovers how to use magic, and begins to build an army of his own. With them on one side, and Dave and the military on the other, the resulting war could change Earth forever.

There you have it. My two possibilities for this year's NaNoWriMo. I look forward to reading your feedback and seeing how the votes go. One idea will challenge my skills and push my limits as a writer, the other will advance the series I'm already writing!

survey services
]]> Reprisal - A NaNoWriMo Winner http://thomasaknight.com/blog/79/ Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://thomasaknight.com/blog/79/ NaNoWriMo Winner!

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is by now, you should absolutely check it out. The Reader's Digest version of it is this: It's a personal challenge in which you task yourself with writing 50,000 words in 30 days. 1,667 words per day in an endurance challenge that is no walk in the park.

This will be my third year doing NaNoWriM...

]]> NaNoWriMo Winner!

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is by now, you should absolutely check it out. The Reader's Digest version of it is this: It's a personal challenge in which you task yourself with writing 50,000 words in 30 days. 1,667 words per day in an endurance challenge that is no walk in the park.

This will be my third year doing NaNoWriMo, and if you've noticed it's been a little quiet on my blog lately, this is why. I've been writing like crazy. This year's project? Reprisal, Book III of The Time Weaver Chronicles.

Last night I typed the last of 50,165 words that gave me my NaNoWriMo win for this year. Reprisal has been a lot of fun to write, and while Legacy (Book II of The Time Weaver Chronicles) is much more fantasy than The Time Weaver was, Reprisal brings back that Sci-fi/Urban/Epic cross-genre twist that everybody seemed to love. Malia and Cedric are back, along with one of my favorite villains, Grian, and there are new characters coming too: a blade slinger from Caldoor, another knight from Findoor, more wizards, a mysterious stranger, and more! We revisit Earth and what's been going on there since Seth left, and of course there's plenty of action.

I'm never good at gauging how close to finished I am, but if I was forced to give an estimate, I would say maybe one third. That means the finished Book III will be around 150,000 words, but like I said, I'm not good at estimates.

What's next? NaNoWriMo is an exhausting challenge. I'm gonna take a break for a bit (maybe two or three days to rest my poor brain) and then get back to work on Legacy. I have a deadline to keep after all, and there's still a fair amount of editing to do.

What about 29 Days?

No, nobody has really asked me about this, but the official announcement and call for submissions will go out early December. I'm going to be looking for short stories and articles from people, and I hope y'all will be as enthusiastic about my celebration this year as you were last year.

What about the Galadir Disconsertion?

Remember this? And this? Yep, that's still going on, though things got crazier than I thought. There are four more pages to come, and since nobody has even come close to a solution to the first page, the pot continues to build. Currently, a $34.50 cash prize awaits the person who can solve the puzzle.

I hope everyone is well, and that those who participated in NaNoWriMo are celebrating along with me. There will be more posts about Hydraforge coming in the future, along with more #pitchShredding (because we're getting close to ABNA time)! Stick with me, there's never a dull moment. :)

If you haven't already, pick up a copy of The Time Weaver (Book I of The Time Weaver Chronicles) from Amazon.com today. Subscribe by email to my blog, and don't miss a single post!

]]>