I am pitifully behind on my NaNo word count, and I’m okay with that. I am pitifully behind on my NaNo word count, and I’m okay with that.
Maybe if I repeat it enough I will start to believe it.
I am pitifully behind on my NaNo word count
Category: Uncategorized
My mind. . . it is a changin’
Aaaaaannnnd now I have decided to change my focus for NaNoWriMo. The reasons first:
I am not a very good “pantser” (someone who writes by the ‘seat of their pants’ – or free-writes their whole novel). While I don’t pre-plan everything, I need a good idea of where I am going. That happens in the preparation stage.
Even if I could wing it, I don’t have a really solid antagonist for Konor’s story. Without a good antagonist, what’s the point of the protagonist?
I can tell you what would happen. I would struggle with the story, maybe getting a start on it, become frustrated, and then stall out. And then not only would I not get any writing done on the new story, but I wouldn’t work on my current story and I wouldn’t edit my other story.
A month of nothing.
So, I am adjusting my NaNo plans. Since they don’t coincide with the ‘rules’ of NaNo, I guess you could say that I am not actually participating. But, what I will be doing is setting my goal to finish my current book (Zee’s story) in the month of November.
The nice thing:
As a pre-published author, I have the liberty to change my mind. I am not tied down to a contract (mostly because I don’t have anything worth tying down yet 🙂 ). My job right now is to learn the craft the best I can so that I can tell my stories in a way that will transport the reader.
When I thought about starting the new project for NaNo, I had to weigh that out with the importance of finishing what I am working on.
I will learn more by finishing the book I am doing right now than fighting with a book I am not prepared to write.
And thus- my mind has changed. I will still be typing madly in November, just not on a brand-new shiny book. That will come later.
I am grateful that I have the leeway to change gears and give myself some breathing room with all the other things that are crashing in November.
What are you grateful about in your current situation?
Share this:
NaNo Ponderings
November is quickly approaching. And if you don’t know, November is NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month.
It works best if you are prepared.
October is the time to prepare and that time is coming to an end. So now is the time to panic! – Just kidding.
Preparing means, to me, understanding who your story will be about. The Characters Drive the Story.
I have been thinking about which story idea I wanted to work on. The one that is buzzing around my head right now comes from a flash fiction I did a long time ago. It was a 600 word story contest that I entered – they supplied the first and last lines and you had to write from there. http://wp.me/pC7Og-4O (this is the story so you can read it, if you wish)
Now I have my beginning structure. I always liked the world possibilities and thought about expanding it. This jumping point gives me a small nugget of what will come. That scene may not even be in the story, it depends on what happens with the rest of my planning.
That structure, or initial idea, needs a lot of expansion to make it work. I need to figure out my characters, my antagonist, my conflict, everything else that makes a story enjoyable, and make an outline before November 1st.
Let it begin! 🙂
Share this:
Growing, Learning, Stretching-
Sometimes it is hard to learn something new.
Difficult because you have to acknowledge how far you still may have to travel. (Like looking at a map at the beginning of your trip)
But it can also be really, really cool.
I am currently working on my second book. And I am learning to use a program called Scrivener. It is pretty cool. I haven’t learned to use all the features yet, but I do really like that all my research notes, images, and outline scribbles can all be kept together with my manuscript. Fun stuff-
This is a good example of learning something new, that isn’t too scary.
Other times, learning something new can be scary because it takes a leap of faith. It can be hard to share the things you create with others because you don’t know how they will react. It takes a leap of faith.
However, if we are willing to listen to the responses, we may grow and improve.
It is a lesson I am still trying to learn.
The contest I entered for the League of Utah writers sends back your entry with the judge’s notes on them.
Scary? Yes. But also an awesome chance to learn!
So it was fun to see all the positive comments like “Good voice here”, or “Good view into her thoughts here.”
I can learn from those, I can see what I did right and try to use that method again.
But, I also loved to see the comments like this: “You need a bigger hook here. You can achieve this by slowing down and showing us the setting and the characters. Describe the important things in this scene” and “Good idea to establish the bond here, but I would also like to see a bigger hook and maybe some foreshadowing of the next chapter.”
Those comments teach me new skills that I need to learn to improve my storytelling craft.
These are exciting things – it makes me want to jump back into my story and examine all the pieces it needs to convey the story in my head.
What other things do we learn that may be scary at first?
Share this:
It’s Alive!
Hi! It is beyond time for a revival of the blog.
While I haven’t been posting, I have been reading and writing. I don’t believe I will post the list of all the books I’ve read in the meantime. You don’t have all day, do you?
I have found a couple fabulous new resources for my writing.
The first: I joined the League of Utah Writers. My chapter, Utah Valley Writers, is amazing. It has been great to meet with them to do critiques and the instructional presentations they have. I learn so much from everyone’s input on all the critiques (beyond just on my own writing.)
The second: iWriteNetwork . Not only are there great, instructional posts and great conferences, but the coolest thing is the chat room. At any time of the day you can find other authors there to brainstorm with, ask questions, or – my favorite – sprint. When we sprint, we will set a time (say, thirty minutes) and then everyone works on their projects and when time is up, we come back to report. It can be words written, pages edited, research done, outlines done, whatever we need to be working on. Sprinting helps someone like me who is , ummm attention impaired.
The best thing?
The amazing people I have met through both places. There are wonderful, supportive, good people out there.
The update:
I am still working two jobs, still have five kids, still bordering on insane, but I am also still writing and it is a good thing. I have my first book, which is finished but needs editing. I am working on my current book and am about halfway through the first draft. I entered the yearly contest with the League of Utah Writers, the first chapter division. I was totally caught off-guard when I won an honorable mention for the first chapter of my first story. I guess I won’t shelve it completely just yet. I am still grinning (see above picture for proof) and I am grateful for my family and friends and all their support!
Share this:
Books Read Since . . . Forever!
The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
What’s a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Demons are a Ghoul’s Best Friend by Victoria Laurie
Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception by Gerald N. Callahan Ph.D.
Minding Mama by Marilyn Arnold
Share this:
Books Read in September:
The Mediator: Twilight by Meg Cabot
One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin
Devil’s Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin
Biting the Bullet by Jennifer Rardin
Share this:
Taking the plunge. . .
Imagine with me that you are at a beautiful mountain lake. (Yes, I realize that my picture is of a river – that is the ‘imagine’ part of this exercise)
Anyway- back to our imagination. You are standing on a small outcrop of rocks that juts out from the shoreline. You are thinking of jumping in the lake. You are in fact, planning on it and looking forward to it. And yet – you hesitate.
Why?
You know that the water is cold. Each of your friends that has jumped in has reemerged screaming and gasping for breath because of the abrupt chill. But now they are swimming happily, yelling for you to join them, claiming that it is ‘not so bad’. It looks fun and it even looks refreshing. It would feel good on your sunburned skin.
Maybe it has been a long time since you have been swimming. Maybe you are worried that it has been too long. Do people forget how? Is it like riding a bike? But, you also remember loving swimming
Maybe you remember very clearly the last time you did it. Floating in the water, the top layer warmed slightly by the sun, you could feel where the sun’s influence ended. There was a spot about half way down your leg that the water temperature changed and became colder. It felt darker, deeper, and maybe it even seemed thicker. Images of monstrous prehistoric fish nibbling on your toes flitted through your mind. Perhaps being unsure of the exact depth of your plunge has you a bit unnerved.
Or a combination of it all. . .
I am feeling this right now. My post-pregnancy brain is starting to feel like it is returning and I am ready to plunge back into my book. Only I hesitate.
Why? There are a lot of other people swimming around in their writing right now. Saying that the ‘water is fine’. I should be able to join them, right?
It has been a long time since I was able to work on my writing. Have I forgotten everything? I do remember really enjoying it though.
Or maybe it is that I know how deep the lake really is. I can see that prehistoric fish waiting for me.
I think I am looking a a major rewrite. I have been trying to figure out how to put a complicated back-story in without an ‘info-dump’. I am realizing that perhaps my main character doesn’t even need the complicated back-story.
Does it really add to the story? Not just that, but is it essential to the story?
If not, then the whole purpose behind her being where she is changes. And that, changes everything.
So I stand perched on my cliff, ready to dive in and join the swimmers.
My question for you is: What thing are you wanting to do in your life and yet you hesitate? What is keeping you from plunging in?
Share this:
Books Read in August:
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
The Mediator: Ninth Key by Meg Cabot
The Mediator: Darkest Hour by Meg Cabot
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
The Mediator: Haunted by Meg Cabot
Share this:
Work in Progress: update
So my current work WIP (work in progress) had somewhat taken over my life, my energy, and my ability to think. This is me, towards the completion of said WIP.
That pained expression on my face is due to the phone call I received that morning. I was scheduled to go into the hospital and be induced. The hospital called and said their rooms were all full and that I would have to wait. Arrgggh.
I was tired of puking (I’m sick the whole nine months), tired of the heart burn, and tired of the belly. But – what can you do?
So I waited. . . a couple days (less than I thought I would have to wait).
And *drum roll* :
Here he is – WIP completed with kidling #5.
Say it with me now: Awwwww!
Now maybe my brain can be convinced to turn to the other WIP. The ideas have certainly been rattling around in there long enough.
There's Magic in Story, 