...of the rest of your lives. Sorry, NaNoWriMo. It might feel like it's the end of the world, but it's not. Your time of insane writing is at an end but you don't have to just give up writing completely. You might have had fun this month or you might not have a completely finished novel. I'm guilty of both but I am working on getting that novel finished.
You might be wondering what you could do next. If you have a completely finished novel, then you should possibly either put it down for a month or clean it up. There are pros and cons to each. Putting it down for a month gives you a chance to relax and breathe away from the story. However, then there's the possibility you might not pick it up until x amount of time later. Like a year from now. You could clean it up, while the plot is fresh in your mind, and make sure that everything is perfect. You could then find a writing group or a feedback group and see how others like your novel, if you're up for that kind of thing. The only con with that is that you might start feeling burned out.
You could also go for a mix of the two. You set a timer and you make sure you pick up your novel again when that time comes. I have a bit of that self discipline but I didn't when I first won NaNo. The first time I won, in 2008, I put my novel in a drawer, unfinished, until around... May. Oops. So, I don't recommend doing that if this is your first time winning. I do recommend continuing on, especially with writing every day if you've found what works for you. The only way that you are a writer and stay a writer is continuing to write. So there is that to think about.
For me, I'm going to get back to attempting to finish the novel by midnight. I doubt I'll get there, but then there's no rest for me until it's done. Until next time, keep on writing, validate your novel, and back up your work!
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
And It's the Last Monday of NaNoWriMo...
From Pinterest's Funny Coffee Quotes
Do all the possible things today - like get to 50,000 words!
Don't forget to back up your work to a thumb drive, Google Docs, or another type of service. Otherwise, you might have a case of the Mondays and lose it.
Good luck! You can win NaNoWriMo but you can't if you don't get the butt in the chair and do the things.
Have a great Monday and keep on writing!
Friday, November 25, 2016
Friday Five: NaNoWriMo Word Crawls
For the last Friday of NaNoWriMo, I thought I would post the writing crawls that have helped me the most. These are crawls that I have used this year and past years that I found to be the most helpful. Some are nice and short and some are long. However, if you're looking to up your word counts, here's a way to do it. Also, if you're on Twitter, follow @NaNoWordSprints.
1. The Original Pub Crawl - While I haven't done this one this year, I have in the past. It takes a while but your word count will thank you.
2. The Party Crawl - Shots Shots Shots! - I love this one. It's a shorter one, it usually takes me an afternoon, but it might take longer if real life interrupts you.
3. The House M.D. Crawl - I did this one a few years ago and I'm glad to see it's back. It is on my list of ones to do.
4. The Day 1 of NaNoWriMo Crawl - This is a fun one but does take a small amount of time. It's not impossible to do all in one sitting though.
5. The Extreme Harry Potter Crawl - Master Post - This is a really long crawl and it goes through all seven years of the book. I haven't even gotten through year 1 yet, although I did start it, and I'm not sure if I'll finish before NaNo is up. However, I did have a lot of fun with it and, even only doing it half way, ended up with a lot of words.
I hope that helps! Have a great weekend.
1. The Original Pub Crawl - While I haven't done this one this year, I have in the past. It takes a while but your word count will thank you.
2. The Party Crawl - Shots Shots Shots! - I love this one. It's a shorter one, it usually takes me an afternoon, but it might take longer if real life interrupts you.
3. The House M.D. Crawl - I did this one a few years ago and I'm glad to see it's back. It is on my list of ones to do.
4. The Day 1 of NaNoWriMo Crawl - This is a fun one but does take a small amount of time. It's not impossible to do all in one sitting though.
5. The Extreme Harry Potter Crawl - Master Post - This is a really long crawl and it goes through all seven years of the book. I haven't even gotten through year 1 yet, although I did start it, and I'm not sure if I'll finish before NaNo is up. However, I did have a lot of fun with it and, even only doing it half way, ended up with a lot of words.
I hope that helps! Have a great weekend.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Happy Thanksgiving!
From my family to yours, have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving filled with love, kindness, and, of course, good food!
For my writers, I hope you can write, no matter how little in time or words, today. Good luck!
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
NaNoWriMo Week 4: The Beginning of the End
Really. This time next week, it will be December 1st and NaNoWriMo will be over. You've got until 11:59 pm on November 30th to validate, which is open right now by the way, and declare yourself a NaNoWriMo winner. I have already validated but am slowly going forward. I did want a completed novel by the end of November and I'm going to see how close I get. I might to do a bit of writing blitzing while my mom and aunt are out Black Friday shopping.
That's how you're going to crave out writing for yourself this week, especially if you're in the US. We've got Thanksgiving tomorrow and you're going to have to cut out your afternoon nap. It means that you might eat less turkey but then you can have a bit more dessert! It might mean that you're writing in the kitchen in between stirring what needs to be attended to. If you know how long you have in between, you could set a time and do word wars. There's a ton of things that you can be doing that are little hacks. You could also be the first up and get a bit of writing done. Or, if you're like me, nothing says happy like a midnight snack with a midnight writing session.
Like everything, take what works for you and throw out what doesn't. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's a Thanksgiving Crawl on the NaNoWriMo forums. Until next time, keep on writing and back up your work!
That's how you're going to crave out writing for yourself this week, especially if you're in the US. We've got Thanksgiving tomorrow and you're going to have to cut out your afternoon nap. It means that you might eat less turkey but then you can have a bit more dessert! It might mean that you're writing in the kitchen in between stirring what needs to be attended to. If you know how long you have in between, you could set a time and do word wars. There's a ton of things that you can be doing that are little hacks. You could also be the first up and get a bit of writing done. Or, if you're like me, nothing says happy like a midnight snack with a midnight writing session.
Like everything, take what works for you and throw out what doesn't. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's a Thanksgiving Crawl on the NaNoWriMo forums. Until next time, keep on writing and back up your work!
Monday, November 21, 2016
NaNoWriMo Week 3 Recap
My apologies for not going into the start of week 3 with a week 3 hello post or something similar. If you saw from my postings last week, I got an idea in my head and went full speed ahead on it. Anyways, week 3 has come and gone. Unlike the dreaded week 2, week 3 is where you start to pick up steam again as you work on your novel.
You might also see that the even weeks suck and the odd weeks are awesome. Sadly, week 5 is a half week and not a full one. Noooo. But, you know, sometimes three days is enough to get to 50,000 words, so don't give up hope! Hell, don't give up hope even now because you've got a week and a half. You got this, even if you think you don't, and you should stop lying to yourself that you don't.
Week 3 is the week where we pick ourselves up and start back up the hill. Week 4 shouldn't be the week where everything goes downhill again. It might feel like that and I will give you some tips on how to make sure that doesn't happen. For the US people, we've got Thanksgiving and the hordes of family about to invade. We'll talk about how to make sure that you don't sacrifice your writing time completely. It might mean that you don't get a nap on Thursday, but we'll talk about that later.
So, my week 3 went amazingly well. I crossed the finish line on Friday but that doesn't mean that I'm stopping. I wrote another chapter on Saturday. I'm in the middle of a chapter now. You should be too. There's no reason to stop, unless your novel is finished, so you keep going. That's the week 3 recap - this is the week of get going and then continue to go.
Or, to put it in simple terms, Go Cubs Go!
Yes, I did do that. No, I don't care. It's still November, the World Series win happened in November, and it took 108 years to get there. If the Cubs can break a curse, then you can finish your damned novel.
See you next time when I'll have some tips for getting through Week 4 and the Family Horde. Keep on writing and back up your work!
You might also see that the even weeks suck and the odd weeks are awesome. Sadly, week 5 is a half week and not a full one. Noooo. But, you know, sometimes three days is enough to get to 50,000 words, so don't give up hope! Hell, don't give up hope even now because you've got a week and a half. You got this, even if you think you don't, and you should stop lying to yourself that you don't.
Week 3 is the week where we pick ourselves up and start back up the hill. Week 4 shouldn't be the week where everything goes downhill again. It might feel like that and I will give you some tips on how to make sure that doesn't happen. For the US people, we've got Thanksgiving and the hordes of family about to invade. We'll talk about how to make sure that you don't sacrifice your writing time completely. It might mean that you don't get a nap on Thursday, but we'll talk about that later.
So, my week 3 went amazingly well. I crossed the finish line on Friday but that doesn't mean that I'm stopping. I wrote another chapter on Saturday. I'm in the middle of a chapter now. You should be too. There's no reason to stop, unless your novel is finished, so you keep going. That's the week 3 recap - this is the week of get going and then continue to go.
Or, to put it in simple terms, Go Cubs Go!
Yes, I did do that. No, I don't care. It's still November, the World Series win happened in November, and it took 108 years to get there. If the Cubs can break a curse, then you can finish your damned novel.
See you next time when I'll have some tips for getting through Week 4 and the Family Horde. Keep on writing and back up your work!
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Mandyville vs Killing Your Darlings
Yesterday, I talked about not falling into the trap of sending your characters to Mandyville. It involves keeping a list, especially if you're writing a series, and how to mention them and so on. What we're going to talk about here is just letting them go versus killing them off. I touched on the idea of killing your darlings back in July and you can find that post here. Let's dive into the idea of just letting a character fade into the background or killing them off.
The idea of letting them fade into the background, like I said yesterday, is a bit of lazy writing. It's not horrible but sometimes people are going to want to know about secondary characters that you introduce. Yes, I know that people aren't going to think about secondary characters, but never underestimate what your readers might connect to. Especially if you're right in the fantasy genre and you have a bunch of secondary characters that, in their own way, become important. Think about Dumbledore's Army - that's a whole bunch of secondary characters that we continue to follow and learn about, even if it's only here or there. None of them fade into the background, even in Deathly Hallows, which is centered squarely on the trio.
There is another way to deal with secondary characters that you don't want to deal with. You can kill them off, but, like everything else in writing, you want to use it sparingly. If you kill off everyone without a good reason, then your readers might lose interest in the story because it's too dark. It's why I'm not reading A Song of Fire and Ice at the moment, even though a lot of other people love it, so it goes both ways. There's also the idea that he writes the character deaths so they fit perfectly into the plot but some of us readers don't want so much death. The gist of my rambling is to use it sparingly but keep it in your back pocket.
As always, there are middle areas in these two extremes. They could leave a note, there could be an email, a quick call, and so on. Just make sure that it fits into your plot and doesn't feel like it's a throwaway. Until next time, remember to back up your work and keep on writing!
The idea of letting them fade into the background, like I said yesterday, is a bit of lazy writing. It's not horrible but sometimes people are going to want to know about secondary characters that you introduce. Yes, I know that people aren't going to think about secondary characters, but never underestimate what your readers might connect to. Especially if you're right in the fantasy genre and you have a bunch of secondary characters that, in their own way, become important. Think about Dumbledore's Army - that's a whole bunch of secondary characters that we continue to follow and learn about, even if it's only here or there. None of them fade into the background, even in Deathly Hallows, which is centered squarely on the trio.
There is another way to deal with secondary characters that you don't want to deal with. You can kill them off, but, like everything else in writing, you want to use it sparingly. If you kill off everyone without a good reason, then your readers might lose interest in the story because it's too dark. It's why I'm not reading A Song of Fire and Ice at the moment, even though a lot of other people love it, so it goes both ways. There's also the idea that he writes the character deaths so they fit perfectly into the plot but some of us readers don't want so much death. The gist of my rambling is to use it sparingly but keep it in your back pocket.
As always, there are middle areas in these two extremes. They could leave a note, there could be an email, a quick call, and so on. Just make sure that it fits into your plot and doesn't feel like it's a throwaway. Until next time, remember to back up your work and keep on writing!
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Characters and Mandyville
If you're not familiar with Mandyville, then it is possible that you've never seen The West Wing. It is named after a character called Mandy who up and disappeared during the end of season 1 and the start of season 2. She went poof, no explanation, even though there was a bit of a story line for why, but it was like she never existed in the first place. This happened with secondary characters where they just disappeared into the ether.
The reason why I'm writing about it is that it is one of the traps we should try not to fall into as writers. It's more for people who are writing a series, but you should have a plan for what happens for your secondary characters. Maybe not that they have a full on scene, but that they're talked about a small bit. You might not like the character but you might have a reader or a fan who does. Maybe they want to know what happened or what they're doing and that will spin into fanfic. That fanfic might bring in more people who read the original material and so on.
The easiest way to make sure you don't fall into the trap is to write down your characters, all of them, and write down what they do. Keep a line below their name to write which books they've appeared in and which books they're talked about in. You can do this either physically writing it down or Google Docs or a spreadsheet. Then, if you have nothing for them to do in the book, just mention them in dialogue if you can. But try not to fall into the trap that your secondary characters go poof. It's lazy writing. Yes, I'm saying that about Aaron Sorkin of all people, but, honestly, connect your characters.
So, until next time, back up your work and keep on writing.
The reason why I'm writing about it is that it is one of the traps we should try not to fall into as writers. It's more for people who are writing a series, but you should have a plan for what happens for your secondary characters. Maybe not that they have a full on scene, but that they're talked about a small bit. You might not like the character but you might have a reader or a fan who does. Maybe they want to know what happened or what they're doing and that will spin into fanfic. That fanfic might bring in more people who read the original material and so on.
The easiest way to make sure you don't fall into the trap is to write down your characters, all of them, and write down what they do. Keep a line below their name to write which books they've appeared in and which books they're talked about in. You can do this either physically writing it down or Google Docs or a spreadsheet. Then, if you have nothing for them to do in the book, just mention them in dialogue if you can. But try not to fall into the trap that your secondary characters go poof. It's lazy writing. Yes, I'm saying that about Aaron Sorkin of all people, but, honestly, connect your characters.
So, until next time, back up your work and keep on writing.
Monday, November 14, 2016
NaNoWriMo Week 2 Recap
Remember how I said last week, in the week one recap, that it's best if you have a cushion of words? I proved that to myself this week until I hit Saturday and wrote all of the words. Okay, maybe not all of the words, but I got to 30K in my total words. I'll explain that in a second, but this is how week two normally goes for me. I feel crappy and then, all of a sudden, I get a burst of inspiration and I write like I have never written before. Are all the words good? Nope. Maybe they're better this year, but they're not excellent yet. Remember - we're not going for excellent here. We're going for words on the page.
Also, if you're wondering where you should be right now, it's 23,333. On Tuesday, you're supposed to have 25,000 because it's the 15th and that's the halfway point. If that seems like a lot and you are behind, then I highly recommend going to write-ins. I recommend visiting the Word Wars, Prompts, and Sprints forum and seeing if you can find something that helps you there. My other recommendation is that you do not throw out any words. Say your novel is going badly and you want to start over. That's fine but don't just delete what you've already written. Start a dump file, dump the words that you don't want anymore in your novel, and then start fresh. It's a bit of a rebel thing but it might help you mentally.
As always, back up your work - Google Docs, email, OneDrive - just back up your work so you don't lose it. Keep on writing, even if you're only managing a small bit at a time, as it's more than what you had the day before. Maybe even the week before or the month before or the year before. But one word in front of the other guys. We got this.
Also, if you're wondering where you should be right now, it's 23,333. On Tuesday, you're supposed to have 25,000 because it's the 15th and that's the halfway point. If that seems like a lot and you are behind, then I highly recommend going to write-ins. I recommend visiting the Word Wars, Prompts, and Sprints forum and seeing if you can find something that helps you there. My other recommendation is that you do not throw out any words. Say your novel is going badly and you want to start over. That's fine but don't just delete what you've already written. Start a dump file, dump the words that you don't want anymore in your novel, and then start fresh. It's a bit of a rebel thing but it might help you mentally.
As always, back up your work - Google Docs, email, OneDrive - just back up your work so you don't lose it. Keep on writing, even if you're only managing a small bit at a time, as it's more than what you had the day before. Maybe even the week before or the month before or the year before. But one word in front of the other guys. We got this.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Ugh, Week 2...
I'm just going to say it. Week two of NaNoWriMo always sucks. Always. It always happens that, this week, I feel horrible and I write like a slug. Sometimes I'm able to push it off until week three, but not this year. The good news is that I'm writing. I am always writing a small bit but I'm not getting anything completely done. I'll probably push through this weekend and try to write all of the words. But right now? I just feel horrible.
Part of it is the election. I'm not going to lie and say it's not effecting me, because it is, but that's not all of it. Some of it is the fact that I'm at that part of my novel where I'm like "why?". Why am I writing, who is going to read this, is it going to matter, and so on and so forth. I'm usually farther along in the book before this hits. I'm only in chapter six. Bah. However, the reason I'm writing this book right now? The characters keep on bugging me and I feel like I'm writing something that I want to read. The heck with everyone else, this is my book and if I'm the only one (aside from Erin the amazing editor) who reads it, then ta-da, I did it. One of the things about writing is that you're sometimes writing the story that you want to read and you pick up all the other writers along the way.
So, yeah, if you're feeling like you just want to give up? DON'T. JUST DON'T. Push through this hard part. You'll get through it. You will. Just keep on writing and let the bad words come. Let the horrible words come. The most important things is that you're getting words onto the page. That's the best thing that you can do.
Part of it is the election. I'm not going to lie and say it's not effecting me, because it is, but that's not all of it. Some of it is the fact that I'm at that part of my novel where I'm like "why?". Why am I writing, who is going to read this, is it going to matter, and so on and so forth. I'm usually farther along in the book before this hits. I'm only in chapter six. Bah. However, the reason I'm writing this book right now? The characters keep on bugging me and I feel like I'm writing something that I want to read. The heck with everyone else, this is my book and if I'm the only one (aside from Erin the amazing editor) who reads it, then ta-da, I did it. One of the things about writing is that you're sometimes writing the story that you want to read and you pick up all the other writers along the way.
So, yeah, if you're feeling like you just want to give up? DON'T. JUST DON'T. Push through this hard part. You'll get through it. You will. Just keep on writing and let the bad words come. Let the horrible words come. The most important things is that you're getting words onto the page. That's the best thing that you can do.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Move Forward
I wrote some poetry, as that seems to be all I'm good for at the moment. I'll be back tomorrow with some writing tips, possibly on how to write through all of this, but... this is all I have right now. I hope you enjoy.
Move Forward
As I wake in my bed
Wondering if it was a dream
Checking Twitter and realizing no
It's not a dream.
This is our reality.
I want to give into despair but
Wanting a fight
Wanting to give up hope but
Wanting some strength
Wanting to give up, start over but
We have to move forward.
Move forward, one foot in front of the other,
Don't give up, not yet, for it's not over
Question what's next, what can you do
Don't give into your fear,
Your grief,
Your anger,
Your despair.
Just move forward, for that's all we can
Do in the end.
Move Forward
As I wake in my bed
Wondering if it was a dream
Checking Twitter and realizing no
It's not a dream.
This is our reality.
I want to give into despair but
Wanting a fight
Wanting to give up hope but
Wanting some strength
Wanting to give up, start over but
We have to move forward.
Move forward, one foot in front of the other,
Don't give up, not yet, for it's not over
Question what's next, what can you do
Don't give into your fear,
Your grief,
Your anger,
Your despair.
Just move forward, for that's all we can
Do in the end.
Monday, November 7, 2016
NaNoWriMo Week One Recap
Happy Monday everyone! The first week of NaNoWriMo is coming to a close. If you're participating, you're going to want your word count for the end of the night be as close as possible to 13,333. However, if you're not even close or if you're miles away, you're doing a stellar job! You have more words than you had the day before or even a week ago. That's the important part - you have words. You have words that are slowly becoming a novel. You might not do anything with those words in the end, but they're out of your head. They are on the paper or word document and you'll be able to do something more than just dream with them.
Now, I'm not going to lie. I'm ahead of the word count that's needed at the end of the day. However, I believe in the idea of a cushion in case something happens. As much as I like to think that November is a magical month where all I do is write, that doesn't happen. There was baseball into the first few days of November, as well as a lot of celebrating breaking a 108 year curse, and now we have the election. That's just in general. In specific, I had guests this weekend and I'm going to have friends visiting me on Wednesday. Then there's Thanksgiving and the cleaning that goes along with Thanksgiving. Plus putting up the Christmas tree and shopping and... well, you see why I want a cushion.
Now, you might not need a cushion. You might be able to just chug along and nothing is going to stop you. If that's true, then that's great. May I please have your life? - am just joking. However, I would still recommend pushing yourself. If not for the cushion, then for possibly finishing a few days earlier or pushing yourself past the 50,000 word mark and more towards the complete end of your story mark.
I'm going to get back to writing, after I put a load of laundry in, but one last thing before I go. Do not forget to back up your work! Either to Google Docs or via email. Go out and buy a cheap 2 GB flash drive so you also have your work off site too. Just make sure that you do not lose your novel, so back it up!
Until next time, keep on writing!
Now, I'm not going to lie. I'm ahead of the word count that's needed at the end of the day. However, I believe in the idea of a cushion in case something happens. As much as I like to think that November is a magical month where all I do is write, that doesn't happen. There was baseball into the first few days of November, as well as a lot of celebrating breaking a 108 year curse, and now we have the election. That's just in general. In specific, I had guests this weekend and I'm going to have friends visiting me on Wednesday. Then there's Thanksgiving and the cleaning that goes along with Thanksgiving. Plus putting up the Christmas tree and shopping and... well, you see why I want a cushion.
Now, you might not need a cushion. You might be able to just chug along and nothing is going to stop you. If that's true, then that's great. May I please have your life? - am just joking. However, I would still recommend pushing yourself. If not for the cushion, then for possibly finishing a few days earlier or pushing yourself past the 50,000 word mark and more towards the complete end of your story mark.
I'm going to get back to writing, after I put a load of laundry in, but one last thing before I go. Do not forget to back up your work! Either to Google Docs or via email. Go out and buy a cheap 2 GB flash drive so you also have your work off site too. Just make sure that you do not lose your novel, so back it up!
Until next time, keep on writing!
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Day One of NaNoWriMo
Hey all. Thought I would come over and say that I've written 5,259 words as of the time writing this blog post. I'm writing it at 12:10 in the morning because I'm too buzzed from the combination of starting NaNo and the Cubs winning game 6. There's going to be history either way tomorrow and, honestly, I'm happy either way. I really want a Cubs win but, either way, we have not gone quietly into that night.
Aside from word count - which I recommend everyone comment to show off theirs or shout it from the rooftops (Twitter works too) - I noticed something when I started writing at midnight. With every little step, one word in front of the other, I felt a lot better. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to do. This project, at this moment, because it is the one project that matters. Everything snapped together. Even though it's a second book, even though I'm not done editing the first book (oi)... it felt very good to write.
I hope that everyone else is getting the same feeling. Not that everything is perfect but it feels good to get the story in your head on paper. It's not going to be perfect - I know mine isn't - but it is going to be a lot better than the story being locked in your head.
Just write. One word in front of the other. You can do it. Until next time, keep on writing.
Aside from word count - which I recommend everyone comment to show off theirs or shout it from the rooftops (Twitter works too) - I noticed something when I started writing at midnight. With every little step, one word in front of the other, I felt a lot better. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to do. This project, at this moment, because it is the one project that matters. Everything snapped together. Even though it's a second book, even though I'm not done editing the first book (oi)... it felt very good to write.
I hope that everyone else is getting the same feeling. Not that everything is perfect but it feels good to get the story in your head on paper. It's not going to be perfect - I know mine isn't - but it is going to be a lot better than the story being locked in your head.
Just write. One word in front of the other. You can do it. Until next time, keep on writing.
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