Age Group: 20s

I'm looking for some writing buddies, and I figured here would be a good place to look, since this group is full of twenty-something novelists! :D I'm 27, on grad school hiatus, and working on a novel that centers around internet romance, and I'm looking for some writing buddies so we can encourage each other, bounce ideas off each other, and make sure we're all alive at the end of November, haha.

Is anyone interested? Is this even the right place to post things like this? XD

I really do. I have a hedgehog on my shoulder under my shirt. If I move too much, she'll poke me. Why don't I take her off, you ask? If you know anything about hedgehogs, you'll know that they are not often cuddly. Well, I don't have the heart to put her back in her cage if she's cuddling on my shoulder.

So what valid reasons do you have for not writing?

So, I was writing what was supposed to be the end of one universe, which would turn out to be a 'memory' being viewed by people in the world that comes after. It's a long story. Basically, we had several characters facing The End. Not a Deep Impact end, but more like an Arthur C. Clarke end.

"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."

And this guy, who was supposed to be a throwaway character and had previously been described as essentially a street-tough and generally unflappable, breaks down. I mean, completely. One second he's sitting next to his best friend/best enemy (how or why, I don't know; it was supposed to be a lead-in), the next he's angry and crying - not prettily or quietly - and swearing and generally completely SCARED. Which makes sense, right? End of the universe. Let's move on to the next chapter.

Except, I can't. What should have been a page or two turned into pages of ranting, and the other characters all over the world, and centered on this one guy and his increasingly inane rantings: "I hafta-- I gotta date on Thursday! I catch the bus t'morrow! I gotta put the F*CKING FLOWERS ON THE WINDOWSILL!!!"

And for some reason, I started bawling.

And it became a whole new chapter.

And now the story's going in a completely different direction, because dammit, I want this guy to get a happy ending (even in another life).

Is this a 'Eureka' moment, or am I going nuts for letting a sixtieth-tier character make me sob like a baby into an entire box of tissues? Should I go with where the story's heading, or try and get it back into what it's SUPPOSED to be?

Anyone using real life people to base characters? Weirdest one?

Mine has to be my ex, as my MC's love interest (also half based on a tv show character I adore). I'm really trying to keep the character from becoming him too much, but still being able to draw on the ex's real life experiences (cause he sure did have some interesting stories that were worth placing into fiction) and create something new. I don't want my MC to get hurt like that. I want her to ruin him. :P

Share your story. :D

So who else has been thrown a curveball about their character's lives?

My novel is YA and as I was writing I realized that my FMC's mom needs to be pregnant. I also had character that was only supposed to be in a couple scenes that I realized needs to be a fairly major part of the book. I go with these as long as they feel true to the book and the characters.

Hey this is a little late in the game but is there any PCV around the world out there trying to do this also?

Just wondering.

than having spent two entire whole weeks only constantly writing, losing my mind and ended up sleeping with my bi friend who is much more gay than bi and who is going out with a friend of mine, and still not having handed in a college assignment due this morning at 11:30...(it's now 15:41)

and I am not giving up nano, because it has truly become an addiction and I can't stay away from it, but I can't drop out of college because of nano either....

I need some support and care *sniff*

I was never a coffee drinker until I was in my mid-twenties, married, etc. I would have the occasional cup b/c I had a young daughter who liked to get up early. :) But then Nano 07 rolled around and 5 am seemed to be when i felt the most motivated to write so I started drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow. then right before Nano 08 I had my second baby and thanks to late night feedings I became even more hooked on it!

I guess you can call this my coffee testimony. lol

So my MC is a first year college student and that was a long time ago for me, and as far as I know all Comp I classes seem to vary with the instructor. In my class we hardly touched any reading at all, instead focusing on writing, but in my sister's class she had a lot of book report type assignments.

So what was your Comp I class like? The instructor in this class is a major character, so it needs to be good.

Yeah, as you can probably tell my wordcount has gone to hell :( Swine flu got me and now... now I'm totally stuck. Upside is I hit 10,000...