This was just what I needed to read today. I’ve been in a bit of a slump with the writing, now that the incentive of NaNoWriMo is gone. But Ann-Kat’s posted about her Writing Sketchbook and the pictures from her writing sketchbook are really inspiring. She says:

Looking at the screen and the college-ruled paper, both forcing me to write in straight lines, immediately put up a mental wall. But having the large open space of white to write however and wherever I wanted tore that wall down.

It’s kind of like doing Sark pages, but as a writer, rather than an artist.

I have so many unused sketchbooks lying around - time to put one to good use.

Tags: notebooks, Writing

One thing that I learned during NaNoWriMo month is that it’s just taking that first step - sitting down to write. And an hour of writing can give me almost 2000 words.

So I’ve decided to set a writing intention: writing for an hour every day.

I’ve put my current novel in the sidebar to the right. That’s where I’ll update my daily progress. The novel that’s up there right now is the one that I started for NaNoWriMo; I’m still not too sure about it, but I plan to just keep on writing it while I pick what project I want to start next. I may even finish it - I’ve set the target for that novel at 90,000 words - but the main thing right now?

Keep writing.

And so I will!

Tags: Nantucket Nethers, Writing

It’s the end of November already - this month has passed by so fast, and I’ve both accomplished a ton of stuff, and not done everything I’ve wanted to do.

NaNoWriMo: I didn’t reach my 50,000 words on the one hand, but my initial goal was never to do that. It was to simply get myself sitting down and writing. So I must say, I’m looking at my official 32,532 words with great pride.

Here’s what I’ve discovered: for me, the biggest obstacle is the first step of sitting down and opening up my writing software. Once I place my fingers on the keys, the magic happens. I’m not sure why I have such a block about sitting down and just doing it, since I really enjoy the process so much. But one step at a time, right?

Starting tomorrow, I will have a new widget thingie on the sidebar, showing my word count for whichever novel I’ll be working on. I wasn’t able to keep going with the NaNoWriMo novel these past few days because of deadlines, and also because it suddenly seemed to me that I had to change the narrative from third person omniscient to first person, but only for the scenes involving the main protagonist. Who also wants a name change, too. (I’m not too sure about that one.)

NaBloPoMo: I was actually on track with blogging every day in November (despite what the dates on the posts tell you - I personally count a day as that period of time before I sleep and wake up to the next day. Blogging software has a more rigid, machine-driven view of “a day”.) And then I went and forgot to post yesterday!

So I very nearly posted every day here. Not too shabby, I think.

Art Every Day Month for November: I couldn’t keep up. Too many deadlines, and I also discovered that the writing took priority. I only did four pieces of work, and only posted three of them because I truly didn’t like the fourth one. I may do this challenge again, but probably not until the new year.

It’s been a good month. Ive still not had the time to check out all my favourite blogs regularly, but hopefully, because the deadlines are lighter in December, I’ll be able to get back to it. It’s one of the most enjoyable things about blogging, I’ve been discovering.

Tags: Art, blogging, fun, NaNoWriMo, Thoughts, Writing

I’m starting now, and I’m not sure I’ll get to 5000 words, but I’m sure going to try! I will update this post later with my actual word count.

Update: Didn’t quite make it to 5,000 words. Word count: 3806. But I’m happy with it!

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Writing

I was aiming for 5,000, but I’m going to stop right now. It’s going to sound a little bit silly, but my NaNo novel is a bit on the spooky side, and it’s dark out now. Everyone is in bed. I’m the only one up.

Yep, my own story’s starting to spook me.

So I’m going to be happy with my 4,273 words today.

And I’m aiming for 5,000 again tomorrow.

(I also think I might get shades put on the office window after all …!)

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Writing

I’m kind of pinching myself, because I don’t really believe it. But that’s what my writing software says. And I’m putting the word “technically” in my post, because this is what happened.

Last night, at 12:30 am (so technically, today), I started writing. I finished at 2:00 a.m. and had 2,581 words. When I started writing again today, I noticed that the update for today’s word count included last night’s writing (because unlike me, Liquid Story Binder obviously starts each day at 12:00 am. Me? After midnight is considered still part of the day as long as my eyes are open!)

I just finished up another writing session - I managed three writing sessions today (MY today, as in after I woke up). My word count for November 22 is showing up as 6,070 words. I’ll take it! I’ll take it!

Maybe I should say that it’s 6,070 words in the last 24 hours. I guess that’s more accurate.

Doesn’t matter. This is the most writing I’ve done in a day in a long time. If I do my math correctly, even when I take away the 2,581 words from last night, it’s still 3,489 words! (I know it was 2,581 words last night only because I happened to Tweet it to Twitter last night right before I went to bed).

The other wonderful thing? It’s actually the best writing I’ve done on this NaNoWriMo novel so far. When I got that last plot piece yesterday morning, it really had an effect. I wrote the scene that had come to me last night, even though it’s actually farther along in the book than I actually was. And once I had that scene down, it was like the characters started really solidifying for me.

My work log statistics show that it took me 3 hours and 8 minutes (and 41 seconds) to write those 6,070 words (have you been noticing how much I’m liking repeating those numbers? 6,070! Such a nice, nice number!) If I apply what Stephen King recommends, and write for four hours a day, I’d have around (okay, need to get a calculator here …) maybe 8000 words each day!

And I think I’m being conservative here, because I kept Liquid Story Binder open when I was writing that scene where I had to:

1. Try to find out if an autopsy will show that someone has had an abortion. (Didn’t find out.)

2. See if scars can be dated (apparently, yes, but only if within the first three to four months of scar formation).

I’m pretty sure the Liquid Story Binder clock kept on ticking while I looked these things up.

So 8,000 words actually is probably very doable if I write four hours a day.

Of course, I know most of those words will likely be scrapped during the editing process, or massaged and tweaked and fiddled with until they’re beyond recognition.

But still!

I’m starting to realize I can really do this. And once this book is done, I can start on the next one. And the next one.

The world is my oyster.

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Stephen King, Writing

I was stuck in the writing of my NaNoWriMo novel, stuck at that part where it just doesn’t feel very good to me at all. And then last night, a funny thing happened.

I was surfing around, and came across this quote by Stephen King. It sounds like it’s from On Writing, though I’m not sure.

“Read four hours a day and write four hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can’t expect to become a good writer.” - Stephen King

I love On Writing - it’s one of the most motivating writing books around. So I have that on my desk to re-read. Earlier this month I started up my book review blog, and I have been loving it. Not only that, I’ve been reading steadily. Four hours a day? Sounds good to me. And I can get that other four hours of writing in, too. Just have to figure out when to squish in the paying work, that’s all.

And then, after reading this quote, I found Jolie at Cuppa Jolie. In her I Made It! 5000 Words Today … post talked about something her blog friend Holly had told her that really helped:

First, Holly mentioned (somewhere along the line) about being at a macro level instead of micro. Keeping this in mind helped me bunches. It’s the big picture story I’m working on. I can go back later, when I’m more in tune with the story and the characters, and add the details that will make all the difference. Right now, I need to make the character walk and talk and doing that helped me get to 5000 words.

That last bit especially - “Right now, I need to make the character walk and talk …”

That’s all I needed to do. Just make my characters walk and talk and move them forward. And when I started to think that way, I knew I would be able to start writing more of the novel again.

So last night, I went to bed feeling motivated again. Then, this morning, lying there in that stage between awake and asleep, a new plot piece came to me. It’s a wonderful plot piece - it makes the villain more villainy, adds more drama, and ties up some loose ends!

I’m off to write now! I don’t think I’ll get 5000 words in today, but at least I actually feel like I have something to write now.

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Writing

I tell you, this is really eerie. I just want to know, how do the folks at NaNoWriMo know exactly what’s going through my mind?

I’m asking because I just received the latest inspirational get-back-to-it email from NaNoWriMo, this one written by author Meg Cabot, and in it she says,

Maybe you’re just thinking of taking a break to jot down a few notes about the story you just thought of–that ultra-fresh, totally cool, sure-to-be-a-bestseller you dreamed up the other morning while you were supposed to be figuring out where you took the wrong turn on your work-in-progress.

Uh, yes, actually - I HAVE been thinking this. See, earlier this week I took a break from my deadlines to sit down with Hayley and her friend Heather and watch the Lizzie McGuire Disney movie. And while watching the movie, I suddenly got an idea for a novel. The idea stuck with me, and that night, the two main characters came to me. Virtually fully-fleshed, so to speak. I knew their backstory, and I could see where they were going to be headed.

It’s a totally different story than the one I’m working on. Completely different genres. And I’m itching to get down the scenes that are coming to me. The little snippets of dialogue. That really fun scene when they first meet.

But Meg tells me:

That’s how it starts. The next thing you know, you’re doing character sketches. Then a little dialogue. Then whole scenes. …

Sure, it seems innocent enough. But the problem with doing this is that of course the new story always seems better than that old busted up, out-of-control story you’ve been working on for so long. That new story has the aura of dewy freshness to it. It’s calling to you! It’s all, “Yoo-hoo…look at me! I don’t have any plot problems and my characters are way-intriguing and some of them wear leather jackets and oh, yeah, you know that weird transition thing you’ve got going on near chapter four that you can’t figure out? I don’t have that!”

And from there, she says, you’ll end up with that dreaded milk crate filled with unfinished stories.

Since I personally already have a notebook filled with splendid ideas that I’ve written a chapter or two about, I guess I should know what she’s talking about.

So I’m sticking with my NaNo story for now. Even though I don’t really know my main protagonist very well at all. Even though there are scenes I’ve written that make me wince. Even though I have to figure out exactly what’s up with that giant boa constrictor that supposedly showed up two and a half years ago.

But I just want to know - how did the folks at NaNoWriMo know?

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Writing

Or perhaps I should title this post “Meeting my NaBoPloMo Requirement for the Day”.

Renovations, Not Yet

Seriously, though, I had been planning to blog all about our renovation plans, which were supposed to start tomorrow. I took pictures of the area that will be transformed in the space of the next four weeks, and everything!

But, as is often the case with renovations, I’ve noticed, the project has been postponed. Our contractor hurt his foot last week and it’s not gotten any better. So the start date has been moved to Monday.

On the bright side, it means three more mornings of hanging around in my bathrobe, yawning, lying down on the couch for a quick nap after the kids have left for school …

NaNoWriMo Motivation

One thing that has surprised me is how I’ve been able to keep up with NaNoWriMo. I’ve discovered a wicked little tool that almost physically propels me to open up my novel writing files and start typing every night. It’s that little image that’s on the upper right hand side of this blog right now. Every night I log into Nano and update my word count, and like magic, it’s reflected in that little image.

Astoundingly enough, THAT’S what’s been behind my ability to sit myself down and write those words every night. Kind of an accountability thing.

It’s been working so well that I asked my friend Ann-Kat to suggest a Wordpress plugin that will do roughly the same thing once Nano is up. She’s made a few suggestions, and I’ll go and take a look at what’s available once this week is over and those deadlines have all been met and dealt with. I plan to keep a little widget announcing word count progress on my latest novel at all times on this blog.

Because it really seems to be working for me. And honestly, anything that gets me to write is good, very very good.

The Whole Work Thing

I’m amazed at how calm and stress-free I’ve been during this marathon of deadlines. Today I discovered that a couple of my deadlines for next week have shifted into the future, and so I’m really looking forward to this weekend, when I should be finishing up on the last deadline of the bunch. Just thinking about it makes me feel good.

But glitches do pop up. I just discovered I’m missing a document for one of the deadlines that’s due later this week. It’s something I should have clued into earlier. There was a time when something like this would have thrown me for a loop but I’m taking it in stride. I’m good at what I do, and “stuff happens”. Really. It does. And it’s all no big deal.

So all is well. And that feels good, too.

Tags: NaNoWriMo, renovations, Thoughts, work, Writing

It’s Day 6 of NaNoWriMo, and I’m now at around 5700 words. A little behind in terms of reaching the 50,000 word goal but I’m okay with that. My own personal goal is to take the time to sit down and write a part of my novel - anything - every single day this month.

But even in this short space of time, I’ve learned a lot about my own writing.

1. I never realized this before, but I’m a bit of a perfectionist during the drafting process. It’s only now, when my focus is on my word count, that I’m really seeing this. I expect my words to be near perfect as I’m writing them, and when something doesn’t sound right, there’s a very strong urge to stop writing and start editing.
2. For this particular novel, I don’t know some of my characters well enough. Especially one of my main characters - I’m realizing he’s more of a cardboard-y character when compared with some of my other characters. I haven’t done enough on the character front, so I’ll have to find some time to work more on just the character profiles.
3. Having one wooden character has been hurting all of the dialogue scenes I have where that character is involved.
4. The more I practice just pressing on, skipping over bumps and obstacles, the easier it does get to keep on writing. As long as I keep telling myself, I’m going to go back over everything anyway, I can keep writing. My suspicion is that at the end of November, what I’ll have is a plumped out “outline” of my book that I’ll then be able to fill out into a novel.

The process has been enlightening so far, and I’m feeling very hopeful. My problem with writing has always been completion - if the NaNoWriMo method works for me, I will likely continue using it: set a goal to write out the entire book at a breathless pace, without worrying about various problems that crop up, and then go back and edit, even rewrite if necessary. Getting to completion, even if it’s a 50,000 word extremely plump “outline”, will be exciting enough on its own.

Another reason I’ve been able to just gallop ahead, ignoring all the obstacles in my way, is because of the “scenes method”, using Liquid Story Binder, that I picked up from my friend Ann-Kat. She’s actually written a tutorial on how she’s using LSB to work on her novel for NaNoWriMo - this is more or less what I’ve been doing, and it works. I was lucky enough to pick up LSB a while back when it was on Giveaway of the Day; I find that it’s organic and flexible enough for me to use without feeling restricted into a set process.

You can get Liquid Story Binder for a 30-day free trial, and doing NaNoWriMo with it will be more than enough to let you get a feel for the software and put it through its paces. If you’re already using LSB, check out Ann-Kat’s tutorial - her scenes method is basically a very flexible way of sort-of-outlining your book, so that you get the best of both worlds: absolute flexibility but a little bit of a map.

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Writing