Weekly Word Count

My total word count for the month of January, in case you're interested, is 40,325. Not quite up to NaNo standards, but still not bad.
On Monday the muse was with me and I wrote 5, 572 words. I had to count twice to make sure I was right.  The rest of the week I did add some word count, but I was meandering through the plot a little. I need to spend the weekend to figure out exactly where I'm going.
I did end the week with a total of 10,992 words, my best week yet.
If you read my post about my new writing gimmick you'll be happy to know I've already taken down 20 of those little note cards. Not only am I writing faster, so that I can pull all those cards down, but I'm also just writing more. More scenes, more nonsense, more everything.
 I tend to be a very lean writer, thinking about the story structure in each scene. This is a good thing for the most part, but it can also be very limiting. By pushing myself on word count instead of just finishing the book I think I'm getting a little more depth to my characters and my story.
All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about January's totals.
Here's hoping next month will be even better.
Cheers!

My New Writing Gimmick

I am constantly looking for ways to cut corners, wait scratch that. Let's call it what it is. I'm constantly looking for ways to procrastinate when it comes to actually writing my novel.
( For proof check out my first post. ) I've written countless "to do" lists, made up schedules and marked up calendars. I've read books on writing and taken classes on writing mostly in an effort to avoid the actual writing.  Once I spent hours writing out random word count assignments. Then I sealed them in separate envelopes, and wrote out every day in March on the front of each one. "Word count assignment for March 1st, Word count assignment for March 2nd...ect" I was supposed to open a different one each day and write the assigned number of words. Guess how many envelopes I opened? TWO!
I still maintain that it was a good idea, even though my follow through wasn't the best.
Well, over the weekend I had a brand new idea for getting the writer in me to step back in line. Or maybe it was a brand new idea for how to procrastinate further...I guess we'll see.
First, let me present the problem. I've been getting my word count in pretty consistently, but I'm bouncing all over the place. I'll write on one story one day and switch to something new the next day. The entire point of this adventure is to finish a novel.
So what's the answer? Why my new writing gimmick of course.
On Monday, (January 20th) I took out 50 small note cards and wrote the number 1,000 on each one of them for a total of 50,000. You're getting it now, right? 50,000 is roughly the length of a completed novel.
 I then took these bad boys and taped them onto my bathroom mirror in neat rows. (I can't wait to see what my husband thinks of this when he gets back into town.)
After I've written 1,000 words I get to take one of those little note cards off the mirror. It's a visual representation of how far I have to go, and how far I've come.
The trick is, it's all got to be on ONE NOVEL. That means my word counts for the day can total up as high as I want, but if I'm not writing on this one particular novel then those note cards stay put.
Gimmick? Or great idea? Waste of time and space or brilliant plan? 
Let me know what you think.

NaNo Wrap Up

 Guess what..I quit on my latest novel. I'm sure you're not surprised by this. To make a quick count, since I started this blog in July I have started and quit about four different novels. If you count just plotting books and not the actual writing, I think it's more like six.
This isn't really a surprise to me. As a stay at home mom wanting to make some money I have had any number of schemes that I've started and never finished.
I was going to be a jewelry maker. Then I worried about my necklaces breaking and children choking on the beads. Of course I had to quit. It would be irresponsible not to.
Then there was the card making business, but man printer ink is expensive. The photography business, I was really never any good. And then, there was the writing business. To be fair I was always writing, but only recently did I commit to really trying to get a book published.
I'm not ready to quit writing entirely, but I do (somehow) keep quitting on my novels.
If you read my last post, or maybe it was the one before, I was SO excited about my new novel. But then I had to take a break and get ready for a Disney vacation for Thanksgiving and by the time I got home I was over the story. All of the sudden, it just didn't seem like it was any good at all (sound familiar?).
So, the lesson from NaNo this time is: word count, nerd count, it's all about writing every day. Keep your head in the story even if you can only write 200 words a day.
But that leaves me with a question.
Will I only get published if I finish an entire story and then another entire story and another? OR will all of this writing and practicing naturally lead to a finished (and published) novel?
Am I just being a quitter by leaving so many books unfinished? Or is it like finding a husband? All those other failed books are just the natural course to finding "the one". The one novel that I was meant to write, and everything before it just wasn't meant to be?
Or is that just quitter talk?
Let me know what you think! 

NaNoWriMo Update

When it came to writing a novel in a month I did everything right this time. I plotted the entire novel just before November 1st.  I super cleaned the house and warned the family of my tendency to day dream during this busy time. I stocked the freezer with easy meals and taught the kids how to cook them. (No judgement people!) I was ready.
My book was about roach people taking over a town. Yes, it turned out to be as stupid as it sounds, but by day eight I tucked myself into bed with almost 15,000 words already finished. Yay me!

On day nine I didn't feel like writing. Day ten was the same, and by day eleven something had to give. I knew it was breaking the rules, but I started writing something different.
The roach people were getting boring, just chasing each other around the laboratory, so I sat at my desk and typed the following words,
"It was a nasty business cleaning up after the dead."
Not a perfect sentence. I'm not in love with the "was" in there and it doesn't paint much of a picture. Even after this first sentence I ramble on quite a bit about cleaning up body parts. It started to get a little bit twisted, and I considered going back to see how those roach people were doing.
In the end I decided to stick with the "cleaning up after the dead" business just to see where it would take me. And guess what? I really like it.
I'm 12, 758 words into it and not bored at all, and I have NaNo to thank for it.
If I hadn't been writing and creating so well for so many days in a row, I would not have been in the zone (cliche). I would not have been able to come up with anything new. My mind would be stuck on roaches, roaches, roaches, and I would have kept on with that book even though I knew it wasn't turning out that well.
It was Maya Angelou who said, "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
That statement is more true to me today than it was when I Tweeted it a few months ago:)
I have been writing regularly since Camp NaNoWriMo in July and the more I do it, the easier it gets.
So, not to beat a dead horse (cliche), but just keep on writing!
It does get easier if you stick with it.
Now, the big question. Will the books I'm writing get better? Only time will tell.

What Are We Doing Wrong?

I'm NaNo crazy right now, but I'd like to take a break from my dismal word count to give you a sort of pep talk. At the end of the month of October I met up with some fellow NaNo-ers for a plotting session. It was a fantastic group of writers from all sorts of different backgrounds. (The writing exercise was great and I think I'll do it from now on. You can find it here, at WWW.YorkWriters.com.)
As we went around the table introducing ourselves everyone got to say how many times they've done NaNoWriMo in the past, and how many times they've won.
For myself, I had a go of it in about 2009 (maybe) and then did Camp NaNoWriMo in July, and of course I'm doing it again now.
What struck me about this group of people was that we were all writing. We were all NaNo-ing, we were all winning, but out of the group of us only one had actually published a book. (Btw the one person was my sister!)
What did that tell me? It told me that we were all doing something very wrong! I went home and was just sick with the feeling that we must just all be making some grave mistake. How could so many NaNo people still be floundering in the unpublished category?
Let's look at the statistics. According to Wikipedia, in 1999, for the first Nano, there were 21 participants, yes, 21.  In 2010 there were over 200,000 participants with a combined total of 2.8 billion words. These numbers don't even take into account those writers that aren't signed up for NaNo, but are still trying for the word count.
There are, of course, some success stories:) Erin Morgenstern and her beautiful book, "The Night Circus", Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants", and there are over 100 traditionally published books that started out as NaNo books.
But if the vast majority of us are just pissing into the wind, so to speak, what are we doing wrong?
And the answer, which I realized late into the night (after three beers and no less than 100 gummy bears) is nothing at all. We're not doing anything wrong.
We're writing! And that's what a writer is supposed to do. Sure we may be guilty of not spending the right amount of time on it, we may still need to read that book on plotting, or join a critique group, but if we are signing up for NaNo and trying like Hell to hit that 50,000 word mark then we're doing exactly what we should be doing.
What's that saying?  Something about it taking one million words before you really find your voice as a writer. So that would be twenty completed NaNoWriMo's. I'd say with three under my belt I'm off to an okay start!
As long as we're writing, and learning, and trying, we are not doing anything wrong. We're doing just what we're supposed to do. We're writing.
Some will gain success faster than others, but unless we quit, we'll all get there eventually.
So keep on writing, keep on Nano-ing, and even if you're on your fourth, fifth or sixth NaNo, and still not published, don't give up.
And if you need even more proof that writer's write...A LOT. Check out Amanda Hocking's post, specifically the info on how many books she's written vs how many she's published.
Amanda Hocking.

 

Lessons From a Quitter

If optimism is a disease, then reality is the cure.  And the reality is...my work in progress sucks rocks!
I don't like admitting this. I'd much rather blog about things I feel good about, but I guess you should hear the good AND the bad.
So here goes. I'm putting my current novel in a drawer in the study and I'm going to start focusing on my new novel...Hello NaNoWriMo.
 I may revisit Reaper Eternal sometime in the future, but for now I'm quitting on it. I promised myself I would NOT give up on this novel. I would work, fight, and force it into a good novel, but I just can't do it!
It feels down right wrong to give up on it, but on the plus side...I did learn a few things.
First, I learned that I need to work on my characters! The fact is, my book lacks an entertaining voice.
How. On. Earth. could I have missed this? I honestly don't have an answer for that one. I read it, not once, not twice, but three times. It wasn't until I posted the first chapter on Wattpad that I realized it was kind of a dud.
My main character has no charisma, and that's the kiss of death in fiction. (Especially for YA!)
My second lesson is that I need to plot out the story before hand.  I loved it when I read Stephen King's, On Writing, and he said not to plot, but the truth is, (and get ready, it's a shocker)  I am no Stephen King!! I need to plot out the story. The editing is just too terrible without a good plot in place at the start.
And third, and finally, I learned not to take things so seriously!  I've learned so much valuable information from book after book on writing, but I forgot that my main focus is simply to entertain the reader. Have fun. Make mistakes. Be ridiculous. I don't always have to make it "pretty".
So, with these lessons learned, Reaper Eternal is packed up in a drawer and I'm about to take a peek at Book In A Month to get ready for NaNo.
Wish me luck! I'm going to need it!
If you're interested in my other novel, feel free to check out the first two pages on Wattpad. You'll see what I mean about the lack of voice.
Oh well, if at first you don't succeed...

Aspiring Writer's Challenge

Let's do it together, shall we? Do what? Why sign up for NaNoWriMo, of course! In case you don't know what it is, it's a book in a month baby! All you have to do is write 50,000 words in the month of November.
If you're lucky it will be in story form, but hey, 50,000 meandering words is better than no words at all!
I'm signed up! If you read my blog you know my manuscript is no where near done. You know I've been procrastinating while at the same time talking about how I'm going to finish it. (can you say blind optimism?)
Yes, I'm STILL planning on finishing it, but let's pile on the work shall we!? What's another 50,000 words?
You may also know that I have a very difficult time plotting my stories. That is the reason it's taking me so long to get my current manuscript into working order. I didn't plot to begin with and now I'm paying for it in the editing process.
But this time, I have a plan.
I recently purchased a book called Book in a Month.  Guess what it's about:)
For the aspiring writers out there I'm going to suggest that you do the following:
1. Buy Book in a Month.
2. Sign up for NaNoWriMo......here.
3. Think about the story you want to write.
And there is a fourth thing I want you to do, but not ALL of you. If you have the tendency to get super excited about new things, I mean really gung ho, and then ten days later you quit (I fall into this category), then DO NOT do step four.
If, on the other hand, you're one of those over achievers, then proceed to step four nerds!(You're not really nerds, but my ego can't take your super awesomeness!)
Step 4. Read the introduction to Book in a Month as soon as you get.
For you go getter's you'll read the intro and be able to maintain your excitement until November. I'm not even going to peek at the intro until a few days before Halloween. For those of you who have a hard time sticking to things, I suggest you wait until then too!
I'm sure, with the help of this book and NaNoWriMo in November we're going to produce some amazing works of fiction!
If you're already a great plotter then skip the book, but DO sign up for NaNo!!

Good luck! And let me know if you sign up!! If you do, I'll be right there with you, every step of the way.
P.S  I have never used Book in a Month and have no stake in it's success or failure, but I've perused the pages and it looks like a pretty thorough plan.
Like I've said before, I'll try anything when it comes to writing!

Ten Things I've Learned From NaNoWriMo

1.  50,000 words does not a novel make.
2.  If you feel like you're neglecting your kids, take them to GattiTown and give them $40.00. They will forgive you.
3.  GattiTown is not a good place to sit and write a novel.
4.  GattiTown should not give away giant blow up bats as prizes.
5.  If you are rereading your manuscript and you see any version of the words,"You are mildly intoxicated, possibly completely inebriated at this point, HA HA HA." Get ready for some serious deleting.
6.  Writing everyday is the easy part. Working it all into an exciting plot is the hard part.
7.  If taken before sitting down to write, a giant bowl of butter noodles plus one beer acts as a pharmaceutical grade anesthetic.
8. Your first draft will kind of suck no matter how fast or slow you write the thing.
9. Your dogs WILL eat your manuscript. Or at least as much of it as they can get away with.
10. Writing consistently for 31 days will give you a momentum that you won't want to stop.

NaNoWriMo Wordcount Update

As you may know I'm signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo which means I am trying to write 50,000 words this month. I thought you might be interested in how I'm doing so far.
The truth is, it's not looking so good!
Yesterday morning I was at 21,900 words, not too shabby.  I should have been at 27,421 words, but I was close enough.
Then something terrible happened. I got confused. (It happens more than I'd like to admit.) The time line was giving me trouble. The character descriptions were changing. First one character had long hair and then she had short hair.  It was maddening.
Now these are all things that can be fixed in editing, but because I'm kind of OCD about things, I couldn't let them go.
I printed out my entire "novel" (MISTAKE) and read all 21,900 words. I won't waste your time here explaining how terrible I thought the entire thing was. If you write, you know what I'm talking about. I did resist the urge to delete the entire thing and managed to do away with exactly 3,467 miserable words.
I've been doing the math since yesterday. Different equations that all have to add up to 50,000 by July 31st. I could write 2,255 words everyday for the next 14 days, but weekends can be so hectic. Maybe I should write 3,158 words for the ten weekdays that I have left? Save the weekends for fun stuff like BBQ's and beers.
Either way it's a heck of a lot of writing, especially considering that I still haven't worked out all the details of my plot.
Like I said, it's not going well.
I guess I'd better stop procrastinating and get to work.
Only 31,576 more words to go and only 14 days to do it. Now if only I could find a way to get the kids into a camp next week! Hmmm.....