Nano ’11

Nanowrimo begins day after tomorrow!  OMGosh.  I totally lost track of time and that includes writing time.

Earlier this year I decided to take my in-progress novel in a different direction (technically, it sort of took itself) and while I was happy with the progress and the storyline, I got nervous about the changes.  I let that fear and uncertainty sap my creativity for a while (a long while).  I had really been on a roll too.  Truthfully, I let someone else’s opinion and thoughts cloud my own judgement and I started second-guessing everything.  So I walked away.

Sort of an amateur’s mistake and one I haven’t quite gotten past.  Yet the day after tomorrow is November 1.  And as hard as it was (and even though I cheated and even though I didn’t “make” 50K words) I still learned alot and got ALOT accomplished by competing in Nanowrimo last year.

So I’m doing it again!  I hereby pledge to shed this silly uncertainty and grab the proverbial bull by the horns and WRITE WRITE WRITE.  Nothing gets you out of rut like crazy bouts of writing obsessively!

Who’s joining me?

waylaid by life

Soooo…. Shannon & I have both been distracted by and engrossed in that old bugger life. Neither of us has been writing of late, and boy have I been missing it. I do make a lot of notes and jot down little things an awful lot. It’s always at the back of my mind.

The important thing to remember is we haven’t given up. We may have gotten sidetracked and of course, but we’re both ready to get back to business. It’s nice to look at the stats and see one or two people are still hanging in there, dropping by. Maybe they got here by accident, but it really does spur me a little post more often. And to post more often, I need something to post about!

Hey, I’ll take writing motivation wherever I can get it. 😉

As it stands right now, we have decided that both of us have projects that are close-ish enough to a finished “first draft” state, that we are ready to set a deadline for ourselves.

LABOR DAY.

Eek.

march madness?

After a (longer than intended) break, I’m writing again.  I’ve been continuing work on my nano story, but I just started something new too.  I’ve been soooo good about sticking with one storyline since last summer.  I just have had this story in my head poking me for months and  months, and when I’m staring at a blank page…well, it finally got to me.  I cracked!  ha.

So, a new story is born and it has really been alot of fun to work on.  It has re-energized me.  One problem I’ve discovered when revisiting my nano story is that I don’t particularly like the direction I was going.  I mean, let’s face it, it’s really a crap shoot sometimes, am I right?  You write, you plot, it sounds all perfect and new and exciting. Until three months go by and you re-read it only to discover it’s terrible.

I’m not saying I’ll discontinue the nano story.  No, that one has much more “keep” in it than “lose”, but there is some of that too.  So I’ll be restructuring and doing the back end (i.e. sucky) work here and there.  The really angsty part is I actually had the entire thing plotted and there was this whole arc, and yada yada yada.  I’ll have to admit to myself that that is no longer the case and it’s just a half-plotted, half-finished manuscript.  Like so many that have gone before it.

Still, I’m not terribly discouraged.  I’ll perservere!  Here’s to all of us amateur novelists!  Go team!

I’m Writing!

This post will be quick- I’m writing!  No, I’m not working on either of my two WIPs.  I’m working on a “practice” project.  It’s just a simple random scene from another story idea.  The object is to just practice writing without the pressure of moving a WIP along.  You see, with a real WIP, I feel pressure to develop the plot, the characters, you know- move the story along.  Right now I’m just exercising my writing muscles with no pressure.  It’s kind of like warming up.  The plan is to get my mind back into the writing groove and establish “writing time” again and then move back into my real projects.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, Angie, I should have something for you to read this weekend.

Shannon

long time no blog!

Ha.  Shannon & I have both been lazy writing bloggers, haven’t we?  I agree…the holidays and then the “back to work” grind really saps my strength. Oh, to be independently wealthy…

In the meantime, Shannon & I have decided that we need a kick in the pants, so we’ve challenged each other to submit SOMETHING to each other every week.  Since it’s 5:45 p.m. Sunday, and I was supposed to submit yesterday….well….I better get crackin!

Actually, I’ve been very interested in my Nano story lately.  It’s come back and hit me between the eyes with the desire to work on it, so work on it I shall.

I’ll do better about updating too.

Omigosh! I forgot I had a Blog!

Wow.  It’s been two months since my last post.  That’s pitiful.  What’s worse is that it’s been almost as long since I’ve worked on either of my WIPs. 

I let myself get out of the writing routine over Christmas break. You know: shopping, cleaning, decorating, cooking.  Big mistake.  Once you get out of the routine, it’s so hard to get going again. 

My family has also experienced a personal setback and quite honestly, it has just sapped my creativity and motivation.  I’m trying to snap out of it as we speak. 

This weekend I plan to get out both WIPs, dust them off and read them to get the creative juices flowing again.  I suspect it will be a while before I reach “full flow.”  I’ll settle for a creative trickle for now. 

Shannon

After NaNo Action Report

So NaNoWriMo ended over a week ago.  I failed miserably at the goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.  But you know what?  I still think that NaNo was a success for me.

And how is that, you may ask.  Well, I have over 12,000 words written on a story that I’m really excited about.  And I wrote more (and more consistently) in the month of November than I have in a long time.  And– and this is the big one- I’m still going! 

So what if I didn’t get it done in 30 days?  50,000 words wasn’t going to be enough to tell the story anyway.

Here’s to NaNoWriMo, and to my new WIP.  I have to go now- I have a story to write!

Shannon

nano wrapup.

So…I didn’t make it to 50K.

November is a terrible month to do nanowrimo.  I vote we change it to a month without a holiday in it.  Or my birthday.  The back half of November was crazy busy for me, and I lost the drive at about the 17th.  Boo!

Still… I got more than a 1/4 into the draft, I polished an outline that I still love, and I still wake up every day thinking about the novel.   All good things.  I’m not giving up on this one.  It’s got life yet!

sloooowww.

So…this past week has been a slow nano week for me.  It happens, right?  Life intrudes, work intrudes, life intrudes.

I actually recorded the 100 words (yes 1-0-0) I wrote last night just to see my widget move.

Hoping later today the novel gets some action.  Good grief the 30th is fast approaching!  For the first time, I’m thinking I might not actually make 50K. It’s still technically possible, I’m just not sure it is possible AND probable that the end result is readable.  I’d prefer to hit 50K with a solid first draft that needs editing, not rewritten completely.

But that’s just me. 😉

NaNo Check-in

NaNo is half way done…  and I am not.  By this point I should have 25,000 words written, and I am at less than a third of that. 

I was feeling a little discouraged about this, but I’ve decided to not worry so much about it.  The point is I am writing. 

According to my NaNo stats, I’m averaging about 550 words a day.  Most days I write about 1000ish words, but I don’t write every day.  At this point in my life, this is about the best I can do on a consistent basis.  And for now at least, it’s going to have to be enough. 

 I’ve written more this month (or at least more consistently) than I have in a long time.  I do feel psyched.  So if nothing else, at least NaNo has done that for me.

I know I’m not going to make it to 50,000 words by November 30th.  And that’s okay.  If I keep it up at the rate I’m going, I’ll have those words by the end of January (according to my NaNo stats.)  I can live with that. 

Shannon