Well, for those of you that don't know, I live in Indiana. We are currently under a blizzard warning. Never had that happen in my thirty years. I've endured quite a few snow days though.
I woke up this morning after all this talk of five to twelve inches of snow and forty mile per hour winds to find an inch or so on the ground. I drag myself awake (I'm not a morning person) and head in to work. I host at a breakfast place part time. I make it there no problem. I grew up where they never plow so a little snow is no big deal.
After working for half and hour I look outside and can barley see. It's just white. I get a text from my mom shortly after that telling me not to leave the house...she worries about me. Too late for that though. The snow keeps coming down and the wind is pretty crazy. Then the boyfriend calls and says I should head home and stay there...he worries too...shhh. :) The owner calls and checks in so some of us go home. It's not the kind of day for people to be out and about eating breakfast. I made it home safe and sound. Now, I'm having a snow day and I have to say even though I say I miss these. I'm not so sure anymore. I'm getting a bit restless.
The good news is I've made some progress on my failed NaNoWrMo story. I did some much needed research on Maya culture and on Belize and Guatemala. I've been editing a bit so I can get back on track with actually writing the story. I feel pretty good about it.
Now you say...Maya, Belize, and Guatemala? What could this story possibly be about? Well, I don't have a blurb because they are the bane of my writing existence and I haven't written it yet. I can tell you it's a little Lara Croft (if she were a spoiled rich girl trying to find her missing father) and a little Indiana Jones (if he were a bad boy with tattoos and a soft spot for a certain spoiled rich girl). I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I feel it's a little more suspense/mystery than it is romance, but you never know what could happen. ;)
Stay tuned for more info on Cross My Heart...
Showing posts with label NaNoWrMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWrMo. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
NaNoWrMo: The Aftermath
So, NaNoWrMo is over. How did I do? Well, let's just say I learned a lot. I didn't win NaNo, meaning I didn't write 50,000 words in the month of November. I fell short with about 41,000 words.
The month started off great and I was really excited. I spent the first week or two ahead. It was supposed to be so easy. Keep writing at the pace I started off at, take a few days for the holiday, and finish early. Well, it wasn't so simple.
While NaNo was great because it was forcing me to be productive and write every day. An average of 1,667 words a day are needed to complete NaNo on time. Like I said I started off with a bang and stayed ahead of that for a while. Then things started to slow down. There were days I just stared at the screen and days I barely choked out a couple hundred words. I fell behind and I realized forcing myself to write when I wasn't in the mood or I lacked inspiration was not productive. It was counter productive. I ended up being stuck for longer than normal.
I also don't write linearly. My stories are hardly ever developed when I start writing. My characters generally have control over what they do. I jump around writing scenes I see and then go back and link it all together. That's how it usually happens anyway. Every now and then a story flows from beginning to end. Well, this one didn't. And I stressed over skipping and coming back to finish up because of the deadline.
Let's talk about grammar and spelling mistakes. The idea behind NaNo is to write and just write. You don't edit, you don't worry about plot lines and character development, you just write. Well, that doesn't work for me. I can't stand knowing my fingers were flying too fast over the keyboard and I mispelled a word. I HAVE to go back an fix it. It's really a problem. It definitely hindered my NaNo progress.
So, I have to say NaNo wasn't a success but it also wasn't a complete bust. I got to work with some characters that have been running around in my head for a few years. And despite no winning I made some great progress. So keep and eye out for Chloe and Drake and their adventure.
The month started off great and I was really excited. I spent the first week or two ahead. It was supposed to be so easy. Keep writing at the pace I started off at, take a few days for the holiday, and finish early. Well, it wasn't so simple.
While NaNo was great because it was forcing me to be productive and write every day. An average of 1,667 words a day are needed to complete NaNo on time. Like I said I started off with a bang and stayed ahead of that for a while. Then things started to slow down. There were days I just stared at the screen and days I barely choked out a couple hundred words. I fell behind and I realized forcing myself to write when I wasn't in the mood or I lacked inspiration was not productive. It was counter productive. I ended up being stuck for longer than normal.
I also don't write linearly. My stories are hardly ever developed when I start writing. My characters generally have control over what they do. I jump around writing scenes I see and then go back and link it all together. That's how it usually happens anyway. Every now and then a story flows from beginning to end. Well, this one didn't. And I stressed over skipping and coming back to finish up because of the deadline.
Let's talk about grammar and spelling mistakes. The idea behind NaNo is to write and just write. You don't edit, you don't worry about plot lines and character development, you just write. Well, that doesn't work for me. I can't stand knowing my fingers were flying too fast over the keyboard and I mispelled a word. I HAVE to go back an fix it. It's really a problem. It definitely hindered my NaNo progress.
So, I have to say NaNo wasn't a success but it also wasn't a complete bust. I got to work with some characters that have been running around in my head for a few years. And despite no winning I made some great progress. So keep and eye out for Chloe and Drake and their adventure.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
NaNoWrMo Progress...
Well, I've been busy working on NaNoWrMo as I said I would be. I started off great and I was ahead on word count for quite a while. I've been having writing dates with an author friend of mine, and it's actually forced me to be more productive.
This weekend proved to be rough though. I was busy and worn out from work throughout the week. I have to admit I hit a snag and didn't write at all for two days. No big deal since I was ahead. It will be easy to catch up I told myself.
Monday rolled around and I needed to write about 4,000 words to be caught up and 6,000 to be ahead like I had been before. I sat down and tried my hardest. I really did. But...it didn't happen. I'm still behind. I have managed to write a bit today, and I'm going to keep going.
Writing this way has been difficult for me. I don't usually plot a lot. I follow an outline. My characters tend to take over so it's easier to outline and go with the flow. I also don't usually write linearly. I skip around quite a bit and then go back and play connect the dots. Well, the point of NaNo being to start and keep writing as much as you can for a whole month has put me out of whack. I can't go back and edit. When things get slow and I want to skip ahead I tell myself not to. I'm having fun though.
So off I go. Back to work on my NaNo story. Wish me luck!!
This weekend proved to be rough though. I was busy and worn out from work throughout the week. I have to admit I hit a snag and didn't write at all for two days. No big deal since I was ahead. It will be easy to catch up I told myself.
Monday rolled around and I needed to write about 4,000 words to be caught up and 6,000 to be ahead like I had been before. I sat down and tried my hardest. I really did. But...it didn't happen. I'm still behind. I have managed to write a bit today, and I'm going to keep going.
Writing this way has been difficult for me. I don't usually plot a lot. I follow an outline. My characters tend to take over so it's easier to outline and go with the flow. I also don't usually write linearly. I skip around quite a bit and then go back and play connect the dots. Well, the point of NaNo being to start and keep writing as much as you can for a whole month has put me out of whack. I can't go back and edit. When things get slow and I want to skip ahead I tell myself not to. I'm having fun though.
So off I go. Back to work on my NaNo story. Wish me luck!!
Monday, October 29, 2012
NaNoWrMo
I'm sure some of you are thinking "what the hell is NaNoWrMo?"
Well, for those of you who don't know, NaNoWrMo is a writing challenge that takes place in the month of November. NaNoWrMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. You register and track your progress and when you're done if you met the goal you submit your novel and get some goodies.
I've had a bit of writer's block lately and I've had so many stories floating around in my head that I wasn't sure what to work on. I debated doing NaNo just to focus my attention on one story and to challenge myself to write A LOT in one month. I made the decision to sign up but I was having trouble deciding what to work on. I have three stories that I think about a lot, some are plotted, some I've worked on a little bit, but I just couldn't commit to work on one. Then I realized it's the 29th. That means I only have a few days to decide and plot. Scary!
I finally decided and I feel much better. Stay tuned for more on my progress with NaNoWrMo!
To find out more or sign up for yourself visit NaNoWrMo.
Well, for those of you who don't know, NaNoWrMo is a writing challenge that takes place in the month of November. NaNoWrMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. You register and track your progress and when you're done if you met the goal you submit your novel and get some goodies.
I've had a bit of writer's block lately and I've had so many stories floating around in my head that I wasn't sure what to work on. I debated doing NaNo just to focus my attention on one story and to challenge myself to write A LOT in one month. I made the decision to sign up but I was having trouble deciding what to work on. I have three stories that I think about a lot, some are plotted, some I've worked on a little bit, but I just couldn't commit to work on one. Then I realized it's the 29th. That means I only have a few days to decide and plot. Scary!
I finally decided and I feel much better. Stay tuned for more on my progress with NaNoWrMo!
To find out more or sign up for yourself visit NaNoWrMo.
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