Six Things I Did Today

1. Worked on Formatting Glitches. In fact, I had to enlist hubby’s help today because there was no useful information to be found on Google (which is the first place he tells me to go when I run into an IT problem). Unfortunately, the problems are too vast to correct without causing problems with the manuscript, so I have to start from the beginning again. The joys of learning J
2. Kept the Fire Burning. No, this is not a euphemism for anything romantic. It turned from the 60s at last week’s end to the 20s with snow yesterday and today. I am now wearing a jacket and putting wood on the fire in our wood-burning stove.
3. Made Appointments. It seems like I do this all the time. Almost as much as I do laundry. But one kiddo needs to see the dentist, the other needs an abdominal ultrasound to screen for cancer. Then there’s the hand therapist, the osteopath, and the nutritionist for the youngest. Those last three are going to have to wait. I only have so much in me.
4. Laundry. Well, imagine that! When does laundry not have to be done around here?
5. A to Z Blogging Challenge Posts. Have you signed up yet? You can do it here.
6. All That Other Stuff. Picking up around the house, picking up from school, homework, PT exercises, dinner, and spending some quality time with the family (if at all possible).

Six Things I Did Today

1. Talked on the Phone. Not only am I behind in my blog visits, I am also behind on my phone calls. Imagine that. If anyone has a tip on how to come by 10 extra hours in the day (yes ten), please let me know.
2. Edited. I am getting set to release my first novel in May 2012. Sweeping for those typos and errors just one more time.
3. Wrote. I am still working on my NaNoWriMo novel from last November. The first-draft is close to being done.
4. Developed. My husband and I came up with a great idea for an adult suspense novel…many, many (did I mention many?) years ago. It’s time.
5. Cover Design. Photoshop is so cool! I probably should hire someone to do my covers, but I absolutely love the creativity that goes into designing them myself.
6. Worked on the A to Z Challenge. Don’t know about it? Go here. It’s awesome! You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. How cool is that?

Weekly Progress Report: Post-NaNo Edition

Well, I completed and won NaNoWriMo 2011 by the skin of my teeth. I worked into the eleventh hour to reach the 50K-word mark. I have touched my toes into the waters of YA romance with my NaNo novel, Haunted. I likely have another 15,000 words left in order to complete it.

Since November 30^th, when I managed to crank out 4,480 words in one day, I have written very little. My intentions are good, but life has other plans: doctors’ appointments, vehicular glitches (I won’t recount my destruction of a brand new tire and rim here), kids’ school and after-school activities, job, and the holidays. Plus a missing cat who so wanted to be a part of our household, but who I think was eaten by a wild animal in our subdivision.

I heard back from the publisher who read my memoir. She suggested I completely rewrite the whole book (open up a brand new Word document and start again sort of thing) by flipping my secondary story line with my first. She said if I successfully pull that off, I will not need her anymore, but will want an agent instead. Ever the plotter, I plan to pull out my index cards at the first of the year and plot away. But I’d be lying if I said the task is not a daunting one. I will need tons of support along the way.

With all the craziness that life has dropped in my lap right now, I have been THE WORST blog buddy ever. Visiting all my blogger friends is high on my to-do list. I miss you all and promise to get back into reading your blogs on a regular basis again—little by little.

Here are the other writers with progress reports. Be sure to check them out. They are all wonderful!

http://www.writersally.blogspot.com/
http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/
http://waibelworld.blogspot.com
http://susanfieldswriter.blogspot.com
http://skmayhew.blogspot.com/p/tuesday-wip-status.html
http://margoberendsen.blogspot.com
http://www.sherryauger.blogspot.com
http://www.susanoloier.blogspot.com
http://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com/
http://lynneawest.blogspot.com

Tuesday Progress Report

Still plugging away at Haunted, my YA NaNoWriMo novel. The one thing NaNoWriMo has done for me is it has me writing (almost) every day! And music definitely helps me push through those uncertain moments in my plot where I think I should stop and reevaluate, which I actually did yesterday. The floor was littered with index cards. Thus, I maxed out at a mere 500-some words for the day.

Anyway, it has been touch and go with meeting the daily word count. Some days I achieve a big ZERO, then others I find myself with a word count approaching 4,000. It really depends on what’s happening on any given day: appointments, interruptions, or other obligations. While writing is a top priority for me, it is not number one. Family definitely comes first. That being said, I am currently at 22,047 words. By the end of today, according to the NaNo daily numbers, I should be at 25,005. I’m going to try to get there. I need to play some catch up, especially since I have an appointment on Thursday during my regularly-scheduled writing time. All in all, I am having fun with the whole thing. And isn’t that one of the most important things anyway? To me, it’s more critical than winning.

So here’s one of the songs off the playlist I created for my manuscript. The video’s a bit on the angst-y side, but the song works for my motivation.

On a side note, I apologize profusely to all my fellows bloggers whom I have neglected during the month of November and to all the friends I have failed to call. I promise to catch up with all of you when--well, when I catch up or get a bit ahead of the game. Thanks for being understanding.

NaNo Day 1

Given the fact that it’s almost the end of day 1 of NaNoWriMo, it is probably too late to start plotting (if you are indeed a plotter). However, I want to give a huge shout-out to Alexandra Sokoloff .

I have been writing for many more years than I care to admit. Therefore, I own many more books on writing than I care to own up to. Her book, Writing Love, is by far the best I have come across for structuring a novel. And it is geared toward all writers, not just those of the romance variety. Since my writing roots started with screenwriting, I can relate to her movie references to direct the course of a novel and the key points needed to make a novel work effectively.

After reading and combing through Alexandra’s book, I have my index cards and storyboard completed to help me cruise through the month of November. Thanks, Alexandra.

Expected word count for day 1:         1667

Actual word count for day 1:               1912

Alexandra is currently offering NaNo support on her website, so check it out here.

NaNo's Almost Here

It’s no secret that NaNoWriMo starts Tuesday. Initially, I wasn’t so sure about participating. I joined and completed the 50K words back in 2009. But—I must say—it's the one novel of mine that needs the most work. Normally, I like taking my time when I write, so being a part of NaNo goes completely against my natural writing style.

But then there’s my WIP, which I am good 63K words into already. The idea took root years ago. I put proverbial pen to paper in July of 2010 (first draft, mind you). I intended to complete it this past July. Didn’t happen. Life had other plans. I bumped my self-imposed completion date to October 1^st. That came and went, and my manuscript still sits on my hard drive—incomplete. So…I need a jump start, something to help me write everyday. NaNo is just the thing to do it.

I’ve had an idea floating around in my head since spring. My characters began to take a shape over the summer beyond the simple blob of ideas they originally were. My plot was a brush stroke of impressions until the past few weeks. With NaNo, I fully expect lots-o-revisions to the manuscript, but that’s okay. I am trying hard to set myself up for as much success in November as I can.

As a plotter, I have…

ü      Developed my characters with internal and external conflicts

ü      Picked out my geographical setting and sub-settings for the novel

ü      Started an outline (I have 3 ½ days to finish it *biting nails*)

ü      Printed out gobs of checklists & outlining materials, and dusted off my index cards

If you’re a writer, are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Do you think you’ve set yourself up for a successful month?

  

The End...Well, Kind Of

Thanks to the kindness of my husband, Jeff (along with his willingness to drive through desert, mountains, ice, and snow); I completed the requisite 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo as of today! While my novel is not yet finished, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment in writing 174 pages of fiction in less than thirty days. All right, a lot of it probably isn’t all that good, but it is 174 pages!!! And, it was done with two week-long trips. One of which disabled my computer access due to LOE (lack of electricity) and committed me to pen and paper writing—a throw-back to the days when I would hand write college papers then type them on that antiquated machine called a typewriter. I also found myself sick with a cold as of Thanksgiving day, but continued to plug along when it would have been so easy to kick back and do nothing. All right, I’m through giving myself kudos for reaching the end of the month with the near completion of another novel. It’s been crazy and fun. I highly recommend it during the busiest of schedules :-)

NaNoWriMo Day 2

Day two of NaNoWriMo for me. Yes, despite my crazy schedule and despite respite still not being settled, I am going to attempt to write the bigger portion of a novel over the course of 30 days. Keeping in mind that during November I have company coming to the house, a trip to Children’s Hospital planned, and the Thanksgiving holiday. Fortunately, I already had a plot with some character development under way. Typically, my characters become more fully developed as I write; soon I find them telling the story for me.

In order to meet the 50,000 word goal, I need to write 1,667 words a day. So far, no problem. But as life gets busier and work with DI and my column needs to get done, I may lag a bit. Oh yeah…and I have two kids to take care of. Can’t forget about them 
At the very least, it is a way to keep my novel off the bottom of my to-do list everyday (the bottom of the list never gets done).

Nanowrimo

November is National Novel Writing Month. From November 1-30th, participants crank out 50,000 words of a novel—good or bad. I have already written two novels, but they have taken me years to complete. I always find reasons (many of which are legitimate) not to write. Since the beginning of summer, I have had what I believe is a great idea for another novel. Again, writing always makes it way to the bottom of my to-do list. So I joined the event. Crap or not, I intend to have 50,000 new words by the end of November. At the very least, it should be fun.

If you’re interested, check out the website at www.nanowrimo.org. Happy writing!