NaNoWriMo Day 6

I've managed to eek my way up to 13,729 words today. Huzzah! 

So far, I haven't hit that dreaded slump but I'm just waiting. It usually decides to lurk around a corner just when I don't expect it and then WHAM! The story either drops dead in its tracks or decides it needs to suddenly turn in another direction. I've already had modifications to the plot that I wasn't expecting to have. But I suppose that's how writing is supposed to be: learning along the way and adapting to whatever the characters suddenly reveal to you. 

I originally started this year's NaNo using just Microsoft Word. But I have found the mother of all inventions when it comes to my writing style. If you haven't checked it out do so! 

Right now, I'm using FocusWriter on both my laptops, as well as my main tower at home and boy is it a lifesaver! This little wonder is free (though you can donate to the creators of the program if you're feeling generous- and I have because they are awesome and I want them to keep developing it!) It's really easy to use and I like that I can customize the background so that I'm not just staring at a screen. I put up a nice HD picture of a galaxy on the background to remind myself that I'm writing sci-fi and to consider the galaxy as a whole and not just the section of the galaxy I'm focusing on. Check out this awesome program here!

FocusWriter! Makes writing so much more interesting!

My other saving grace right now is focus@will which is a browser based application that allows me to set an amount of time and then choose a type and pace of music. Usually, I'm listening to classical or cinematic. This application is free for the very basic version but I went ahead and upgraded for a fee. I now get a year worth of use and I can modify the length of my session, as well as track my productivity. I read that this application is being used in studies for individuals that have ADHD (like me) and that it's actually being studied to help improve concentration and focus for individuals who aren't being treated. So far, it helps me when I am taking my meds and late at night when those have worn off. So it's a win-win! Check out this nifty little track here!


I hope everyone else who is out there doing NaNo is having a fun time and that their stories are progressing as nicely (and neatly) as mine is. For now, it's time for me to get some reading in and do one last journal session before I try to sleep.

NaNoWriMo Day 5

Word count for the day is: 11,382.

So far, I've kept up with my goal of writing at least 2k words a day. I'm pretty proud of that considering everything else that I've got going on. As per my other goals, I've also kept up with my morning pages, though the term 'morning pages' is used loosely in this context. I very rarely write those morning pages first thing in the morning which, I suppose, defeats the purpose of writing them at all.

The whole point of morning pages is to get all that junk out of your mind first thing in the morning. For me, the last few entries have been in mid-afternoon to late-afternoon, sometimes as late as into the evening. In the grand scheme of things, however, writing is writing and I can't help but feel that this is a very good practice. I will be interested to see if I can keep it up and whether re-reading some of the entries will be able to bring up ideas or at least jog my memory, maybe get some of my negative self-talk out of my brain before it rots everything else away!

The other nice thing about my morning pages is I write it by hand. It's a relatively wonderful thing to see: words appearing on the page. There's something very calming and fantastic about ink on paper and the crinkle that the paper makes as more words appear. I have this strange obsession with the way paper curls when covered with enough ink. I think it's a beautiful thing and my morning pages are the one thing I can do by hand.

If I tried to write my NaNoWrimo by hand, I'm pretty sure I'd die. There's only so much by hand writing you can do before your arm just doesn't want to work anymore.

NaNoWriMo Day 4

Today's word count ended at 8699 so I am so far on track. My goal is to write around 2000 words a day, give or take. I've outlined my book down to a prologue, epilogue, and nineteen chapters. I usually do very little outlining and this is a very basic outline. I just wanted to get my basic points down for each chapter so that if I felt the urge to jump around and write different chapters at different times, I could. I almost never write linearly mostly because I get bored at some point and move around all over the place.

That's what I ended up doing today. Chapter 10 is mostly complete and then, this evening, I went back and did some work in Chapter 2 and 3. It's nice to have the freedom to move around freely and write whatever chapters seem the most interesting to me that day. So far, this story is getting interesting to me. It has already morphed a few times and I can already feel a change coming on again. I knew I was going to place the main character in a family but I did not realize that the  main character's older brother is a bit of a prick. That kind of came out of left field but I'm glad it did. It makes things much more interesting.

And for those of you with any interest, a short section:

Behind him, he left only a family: a mother who no longer cared, a father who was never home, and a brother who worried very little about anything beyond his own needs. His friends were few and far between and all of them would move on quickly enough. He’d always been the loner, the one who seemed a little strange to the rest of his species. He had been known as a thinker, a philosopher when all they needed were pilots or soldiers or leaders. But he didn’t want to lead anyone. He wanted, more than anything, to discover, to work alongside those that might otherwise be an unknown.

This would be his biggest adventure. Would he die out there, among the stars? Would his ship be attacked before he even reached his first destination? He wouldn’t know until he got there. He couldn’t tell the future and he had never believed in divine purpose like most of his species. The life he led would be under his own control. He would live and die by his own decisions with no one else alongside to worry about. The responsibility of ruling his own destiny and making his own grave gave him an odd thrill, both terrifying and wonderful all in the same mouthful.

But he drank up that sensation, storing it for darker times when he knew he would question his own decision. After all, he had been raised to believe that his only purpose in life was to follow orders, listen to the decisions of his elders, and do what must be done to keep his species alive.

 

NaNoWriMo Day 2

Day 2 has come and gone. By the time this posts, we'll be into the first tender minutes of day 3. So far, I've managed to clock in a total of 4523 words. I am on schedule and working as planned with regards to daily word count. Though, I hope to be pulling away and adding some security padding for the days when the words just don't want to come out. It's always nice to get a head start on the first few days when the sensation of writing is full of wonder and joy. By week two, those feelings slowly deteriorate into a sense of panic. Week three usually is a flat out race and then week four feels like you're just barely keeping your head above water. 

At least, that's how the first year was for me. Year two was a little easier since I put a pretty decent amount of distance between 0 and 50,000 within the first few weeks. I ended above 50k by about 10k that year so I had a great deal of extra padding and no need to really worry. 

I'm hoping to be able to repeat that experience this year, or maybe even overreach that 60k mark. But only time will tell. You never know when your novel suddenly decides it no longer wants to work with you. 

NaNoWriMo Day 1

And so the first day has begun... 

I didn't get as much done as I wanted but I'm sitting at a cool 2364 words for the first day. I'm hoping to have a 5k+ word day this weekend when I have time to concentrate. I want to definitely bank enough words so that when I hit the lull that is the mid-way point, I don't get totally bogged down number wise.

My first week or so is usually pretty ridiculous in the word count area and then it slowly drops off over time as the days to by. Specifically, this time around, the week is going to be quite a challenge considering what else I've got going on in my life. But I look forward to the challenge. Along with writing for NaNoWriMo, I'm still pursuing my three pages of handwritten words in the morning, as well as a journal entry in the evening. Plus, I hope to be updating this blog every step of the way with word counts, tribulations, and successes. 

Good luck to anyone else who is participating in this crazy, wonderful, ridiculous month of November! And I hope that your story comes to life before your eyes as well as mine have the past few years. Here's to hoping for a non-dud!

Morning Pages

This probably isn't the best time to try and start a new habit but I'm doing it anyway! 

First thing in the morning, or as close to first thing as I can get, I get my handy spiral notebook and sit down to write. I write three pages by hand (approximately 750 words) and I plan to do this every day. 

Granted, I will be writing every day (hopefully) for the next 30 days considering NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow but I figure this is a good way to get all the worries and fears and random thoughts out of my brain first thing in the morning. 

I got this idea from the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. The author promotes this practice as a good way to get the thoughts in your mind out of the way first thing so that they won't interfere with your writing later on. This frees up your mind to think creatively without hinderance. The author also says this is a good way to track ideas or things that might be developed later on into a great story. 

I know, for me, it's nice to get all my concerns on paper. I can look back on these pages and look to see what was preoccupying my thoughts, what was really bothering me, and what areas I need to work on. It's both an exercise in writing and an exercise in self-psychology. I've only be earnestly pursuing this practice for a couple days now but, already, I am starting to look forward to filling up the pages.

You don't have to write on paper. I know some people who use computers or this nifty little website called 750Words. Personally, for me, there's something satisfying about putting pen to paper and watching those lined pages fill up with words. I get a scary amount of satisfaction when a page is filled with words and the ink across paper causes it to curl and crinkle under hand. But maybe that's just me.

To the Edge of Sharlan

"Sharlan: free man. This is the edge of the last human bastion. With all the resistance and violence being met with from other species, Chorell had hoped that he would be the last thing on humanity's mind. But when his experiment with joining minds with one of the Jal'nei, a race of aliens newly come to the attack on humanity, is discovered he finds himself hunted by his own, an already rare and almost extinct species. Now, with the swarming noise of the Jal'nei offensive clouding his mind, Chorell must venture out of Sharlan to survive his own as well as humanity's enemies."

And this is established...
The main character: Chorell
An antagonist: The Jal'nei, as well as humanity
Location: Sharlan, the outer reaches of the last human bastion 
Major conflict: Chorell's life as a hunted other by both his own race and the aliens around him

Now to decide if we catch up with this poor guy while he's running or start it from earlier on. Do I want to Tarantino? I suppose that will be decided later. I do tend to start somewhere and then go back and add things to the beginning. So I don't feel too worried.

I at last now have a plot (of some sort) and enough conflict to reason with. 

Counting Down to Mayhem

Looking at my calendar, I can see the end of October and the beginning of November. And that means I have less time than I thought in order to get ready for NaNoWriMo. In fact, I have about four days if you count today.  It's always one of the craziest months for me, between working and writing and house stuff and everything else. This year will be doubly crazy with two jobs, two certification exams coming up.... AHHHH!

Why do I put myself in these situations?

Because it's fun and I'm sure that says something about me with regards to my ability to punish myself in ways that I probably shouldn't. It's a fun month though and, in the end, I should have 50,000 words that I might not otherwise have had and that's at least something. In fact, it's a good something in my opinion. 50,000 words closer to another book to be marketed which is an awesome thing. 

So I sat down last night and looked at everything I need to do and how much time there is in the day and I've realized I just can't sleep or do anything besides work and write and study. But it's only for 30 days right? Not THAT bad. Not all that good either but at least it's a productive (and crazy) month.

I will try to keep everyone updated with my progress on this blog. I will consider these posts to be my therapy as a wade through the next 30 days of crazy-awesome. So bear with me if the posts start getting strange, a little desperate, or a little rant-like.

It's That Time of Year Again

National Novel Writing Month is here! Well, almost here. We've got another scant 15 days to go before the craziness begins. I'm still trying to decide exactly what I want to write this year. I might go with what I did the first year, which was pretty successful: just wing it.

Sometimes the most successful writing, at least for me, comes from just winging it and not really worrying about what the end result is. The first time I tried this I got a relatively good novel out of it. Then, once NaNoWriMo was done, I just had to go ahead and add a bit, do some editing, and it was decent. Doing NaNoWriMo that way really gives me flexibility to just go wherever I want to go with the content. It's kind of nice knowing that I can go wherever I want in the plot. Outlining has never been my thing. 

To be honest, I have tried to outline before but I've never been very successful with it. There's something about really flushing out the idea beforehand that makes things rather complicated. I like the idea of discovering things as I work, not just following a strict guideline.

Overall, I'm excited to get started with NaNoWriMo even though I know it's going to be stressful. Working both jobs and getting this done is going to be interesting. Sure, I write every day but there's something specifically stressful about doing this competition. It's a fun sort of stress though. I think it's being up against so many deadlines and trying to complete it all in 30 days. But the end result can be truly spectacular.

New Page!

Oh hey, what do you know? It's a new page on the top header of my blog. I put up a quick short entry from a screenplay I'm currently working on. HTML ftw on the formatting! I'm glad I still remember all that from university. Film classes finally pay off! Hoping to get some more writing up on this blog over time so people can see what I'm up to and how it's going. Currently, I've been so busy that there hasn't been much time in the getting things ready for Internet consumption but more to come soon!

Who's really bad at actually updating this blog?

This person!

I guess I'm just bad at actually remembering to do things. It's the remembering that's an issue recently. Not that I haven't been writing. That's been the issue in the past. The writing is going along at a good but steady pace. It's the reminding to actually write on this blog that's taken a backseat to just about everything. There's not much to update about to be honest. 

Did I do Camp NaNoWriMo for July 2013? Yes!

How'd it go? I'd rather not talk about it to be honest. It needs some polishing... a lot of it. That work isn't ready to see or even hear about the light of day. But it's another piece of work under my belt. Another 60k words that might otherwise not have been written. So I'll be happy and content knowing that I did what I set out to do. Follow through can be a wonderful thing in the long term setting and, for a writer, it's less about being inspired and more about getting in the habit of writing. 

I've read that in so many books: that you must feel compelled to write, as if not writing today would kill you!

I guess I'm not quite to that point yet. I have so much else going on in my life. But I am getting there and it's an ongoing struggle that I'm glad I am able to do. Most people don't get the chance t chase their dreams or try and make something out of their lives. I get the wonderful chance, the challenging and awe-inspiring chance to dream chase without being hindered by things that might otherwise stop me! I revel in the thought that I get to do what I want and possibly make money doing it. It's a crazy but wonderful thing and I am so thankful that I get the chance to do it, even if it makes me stay up late into the night because I can't stop writing!

I'll take a few sleepless nights. It's worth it.

New Schedules Throw Me... Every Time...

Having changed my work situation (again) I am now trying to get used to my new and improved schedule. I now only work outside the house for 10 hours a week, work in the house 20-25 hours a week, and spend the rest of the time studying for my certification and writing. 

It's been a good change. 

Talk about reducing stress. I don't much miss the job I left at the library, mostly because of how crazy it had gotten near the end. There were rumors flying around for months that they were going to close us and, guess what, on my last day we got notification that the library was closing. 

So, I guess I dodged a large missile there. 

I feel really bad for my friends still working there. That's a horrible situation to be in knowing that you might not have a job in 2-4 weeks. I'm very lucky to have the work that I do have and a husband who makes enough to support me even if I weren't working. This gives me the freedom to go after my dreams, spend my time writing and daydreaming. It's a great place to be in, I won't lie there. I am very lucky to have everything that I have.

In other news, I'm gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo which starts April 1st. It's another mad dash to 60k words in 30 days! It doesn't always produce my best work but it at least forces me, through peer pressure, to get words on paper. Which is a wonderful thing!

Writing, I have found, is less about inspiration and "the moment" than just sitting down, every day, and writing. You have to develop the muscle memory of writing and get used to the fact that every day you must write. If you allow yourself to slack off and just write when the mood strikes you, you never accomplish anything. At least, that's how I've seen my writing go. 

For April, I will be tackling a novel currently titled "Hylium Summit." 

Synopsis: The universe is on the verge of war with all five sectors of the galaxy threatening to break the fragile peace that had been brokered two-hundred years earlier. As a last attempt at peace, the five sectors (Coralle, Madeal, Zinovo, Lyster, and Tyjan) send their most decorated and able advisers and noblemen to the Hylium Summit. Will one of the sectors repeat past history and destroy any hopes for peace?

I'm excited to start!

Routine

I'm reading more and more about writer's and their routines for writing. And it got me thinking: how can something so creative, such as being a novelist, be confined to a routine? This got me thinking about my own routine (or lack of routine). 

For me, I have no real routine when it comes to my writing. I don't get up at a certain time in the morning. I get up whenever I have to get up, which usually is about an hour before I have to be anywhere so I can quickly jump in the shower and bolt out the door. I should really change this as it means I hardly ever eat breakfast and it starts my mornings off in a frantic way. 

I do write my three pages every morning (about 750 words) which is pretty much me vomiting up whatever comes to mind. My morning pages aren't any sort of creative inspiration. I just write whatever comes to mind. Over the past few days, I've realized that those morning pages are mostly my whining that I don't have enough time, that life is hard, and that I need to get over myself. They aren't really helpful except that they get all that negativity out of my brain first thing so I don't have to think about it any longer. I suppose, having said that, that they are helpful in a way. 

Sometimes I get writing done during the day, other times nothing creative hits paper. I suppose that's a side effect of working three jobs. But it is NO excuse. I should find time, and I know that's a bad thing that I don't. I have plenty of opportunity to get writing done during the day, however, my brain chooses to spend it doing stupid mundane things like browsing YouTube or playing with the dog. Stupid things, well, maybe not all stupid. At least things that are not taking me closer to my goal.

My goal, which I want so much, is to be a writer: a published, successful writer. I need to buck up and start taking more steps towards that. I have ideas that need to be put down on paper and I have stories that need to be flushed out. I have things to do and new worlds to discover.

So! Writing goes to the top of my list. Sleep to the bottom. We'll see how long that lasts.

My Top 10 Signs That Work is Consuming Your Life

Below are the signs and symptoms that have been cropping up recently that are warning me that I am working too much/not spending enough time on the things that matter: 

1. I get excited when family or friends say "hi" on Google Chat or Facebook Messenger because it's the only real quality people time I get during the day. 
2. I constantly think that Saturday is Friday and Sunday is Saturday and get thoroughly confused on Monday. 
3. My main mode of communication with my husband is text message reminders or lists via email. 
4. My dog is no longer excited when I get home. She just gives me the "oh, you're here again" look.
5. The cats are excited when I get home.
6. My "free time" is spent getting ready for the next day of work.
7. I'm reading nothing but self-help books on organization and time management.
8. I get up before the sun rises and go to bed four to six hours after the sun has set.
9. I can't remember the last time a morning started without an alarm.
10. Coffee in the morning is no longer something I enjoy but something that is necessary.

Happy New Year!

New Year!

It always seems like a great swipe to blank out a slate that may or may not be filled with decisions that I'd rather not relive. I like the idea of starting anew but dislike the fact that I always feel like I need to wait for the New Year to start. It's almost as if my brain resets itself once that clock rolls over to midnight on January 1st.

This year, as usual, I made my resolutions. This year, unlike last year, I have a pretty decent plan to make this work. And, having been working three jobs while studying and maintaining a house (though maintaining is loosely used in this context) I feel like I just might have the willpower to finish, complete, or fully tackle the resolutions at hand. 

My list is below:

1. Cut out soda COMPLETELY.
2. Drop weight (this is always on my list but #1 should significantly help)
3. Read one classic novel per month (I'll list my list of novels later)
4. Go to the gym 3-4 times per week
5. Complete and Win NaNoWriMo 2013, Camp NaNoWriMo both months
6. Finish my MTE course on time (with a deadline of April 27, 2013)
7. Write every day (I'm shooting for 1-3 hours)
8. Pay off credit card and accumulate no new debt
9. Get published (in progress)
10. Pay down my new car (we won't be able to pay it off completely but we can make a decent dent)

As per my #3 Resolution, the novels I am tackling are listed below: 

January: Anna Karenina
February: Emma
March: Dante's Inferno
April: Finnegan's Wake
May: Tess of the d'Urbervilles
June: Les Miserables
July: Gone with the Wind
August: War and Peace
September: Bleak House
October: Nicholas Nickleby
November: Vanity Fair
December: War of the Worlds and 1984

So, those are my goals. Good luck to anyone else who will be pursuing their New Year's resolutions as well!