Tag: National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo & More

Days 1 and 2 of NaNoWriMo were a success (both days exceeding the 1667 words needed to stay on track) and it’s going surprisingly well. I often start well and fade as the month goes on, so let’s see how I am in a couple of weeks.

NaNoWriMo

The Editor in My Fingers

I have always edited as I write. Always. My “drafts” are usually good enough to publish/print and that’s just the way I have always done things. Even writing these books I have been working on for nigh on five years. It’s definitely kept me from getting any traction to finish.

NaNoWriMo

A few days ago, I had a dream that told me to write like I tell stories out loud. Just “speak” them onto the paper (keyboard). I practiced for three days before NaNo and it went surprisingly well. But what about when the pressure is on and I begin to think about editing all of this garble in the future? 

Don’t think.

Just write.

Talking Story to the Computer

These two days were so easy to get the words out without my constantly trying to think of a better word, making sure I don’t put too many adverbs in, getting the timeline correct.

NaNoWriMo

Just write.

So I just wrote. 

NaNo Forums

I belong to a great forum for older writers and we are all so supportive of each other. Again, it is only Day 2, but I like several of the folks there and they seem to like me okay.

I’ve been asked several times to join Discord, but I have demurred. I do have to work during this month and have a lot of writing to do there, too. Besides my 2000 NaNo words this morning, I wrote an 800 word essay that was needed at the last minute. I have to Tweet and and and… blah blah. 

NaNoWriMo

So no Discord. No new distractions even though I know it would be fun and might be helpful. Actually proud of myself for saying no to an invite. I must be growing up.

The Clock Still Glows

I really am still in this hypomanic state. It’s working well for NaNoWriMo, so not complaining.

My Morning Ritual

NaNoWriMo

I tell the boys (Deacy, Freddie, Brian, and Roger) good morning, turn on the Playlist for the writing at that moment (shockingly, not always Queen!), light the candle, put the candle in front of Buddha, get two cans of Diet Coke (that I am hoarding as if it was TP in 2020), then sit down and begin writing. This is usually around 4am.

Feels like a good rhythm so far.

3 Generations at NaNoWriMo 2022

After being censored out of NaNoWriMo back in March 2022, I vowed to ignore National Novel Writing Month in November, but my daughter Meghann talked me into joining her last night. She and her daughter/my granddaughter are going to participate.

How Could I Refuse?

Three generations doing a NaNoWriMo together? How cool is that?

(Thanks to the dear friend who said, “three generations”; it hadn’t even dawned on me!)

NaNoWriMo for Young Writers

I didn’t know there was a program for writers under 18 years old. They say they start at 13, but for those under that age, with parents along for the ride, they, too, are welcome. I can’t wait to watch my granddaughter’s writing unfolding.

My Own NaNo Prep Begins

I have re-opened my NaNoWriMo Dashboard and updated my profile. The saddest part is having to say, “My project this year is a rollover from 3 years ago.”

What happened to completing a novel in one month? Here I am three freakin’ years later still on the same project. Ugh! That’s just sad. I better make some progress this year or I am really going to be angry at myself.

NaNoWriMo 2022

I know I “shouldn’t” be angry. I am just a slow writer who struggles with finishing things. It has been a part of my life always, starting something with great enthusiasm then petering out. Ugh. I am embarrassed to even admit that.

Scrivener

For the next couple of days, I will get my Scrivener in order. I write in Scrivener, a wonderful program that keeps things beautifully neat and allows writing in a plethora of ways and styles depending on how one writes, keep notes… Planner, Pantser, or (like me) a Planster.

As a Planster, I have a sort of outline, but I also write out of order and spontaneously, changing the outline when I feel it needs to be different. Planners are meticulous order-keepers. I can’t do that.

Save The Cat!

I used to be a Pantser, but read 1000 How-To-Write-A-Book books and saw the benefit of outlines. I tried incorporating them, ending up with a variation on the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet mixed with…

NaNoWriMo 2022

…The Hero’s Journey

I mix Save the Cat! with the Hero’s Journey.

The Save the Cat! Beat Sheet is, to me, simpler and I can embellish highs and lows in the basic outline. Combining them both, with a loose connection, allows me to move freely through my writing.

Besides being a story with an actual journey, my WIP, In the Bushes, has Lisa traveling through her life, inner and outer, as she comes to terms with the lives and deaths of so many around her. The Hero’s Journey works well with those aspects.

NaNoWriMo 2022

Heroine’s Journey

Being the good feminist I am, I tried to map out the Heroine’s Journey, but there were parts that didn’t work so well. I know it shouldn’t matter, but my book feels like it has a lot of masculine energy so the Hero’s Journey seemed to work better.

NaNoWriMo 2022

Confusion to Order

My Scrivener has been a mess, but now I keep it pretty neat.

When it was messy, I was writing scenarios and they seemed to be chapters all on their own, but they were too short for a chapter. Chapters are between 1500 and 8000 words. I feel good with chapters about 4000 words (16 book pages), when I read and when I write.

I’ve moved short scenarios that I thought were chapters into one full-sized chapter and that feels good. If I had a small section on a party (1000+ words), I combined it with the part that explained who lived at the house and who attended the gathering (>1500+  words) and added the day after the party’s section (1500+ words), making it all one chapter with 4000+ words.

Combining the smaller sections has neatened things considerably and it’s helped me to have some sort of sequence I can follow.

“On My Way Up!”

I feel good prepping for NaNoWriMo at the moment. The focus ahead seems doable. I just have to remember to work, too, not just write. (I tend to get hyper-focused and have a hard time multi-tasking sometimes.)

Preptober has begun.

I am on my way up!