National Novel Writing Month

No No NaNoWriMo

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The beginning of December means the end of this year’s National Novel Writing Month. I had three previous attempts with one win (last year) with NaNoWriMo. I thought long and hard about entering again this year, and decided not to. And, while it might have been tough seeing all the updates and people reaching the goal, I think it was the right decision.

For one thing I’m still working on the novel I wrote last year. There are some parts I’m really proud of…but the ending horrible. My most recent attempt at “fixing” it included lopping off the last quarter of what I had and starting on writing a whole new second half for it. Not pretty. Very depressing. Very necessary.

There’s also a story I’ve been working on in bits and pieces for the last few years. It’s one of my sanity stories. You know what I mean, one of the stories I go to when I need to take my mind off of things and get lost in something. I truly love this story and most of the time the words flow pretty easily. Perfect for NaNoWriMo you say, nope — the novel you write can’t use previously written content. Since I already have five chapters and lots of snippets of scenes and dialogue that I really, really like, I didn’t want to start over from scratch – honestly it would feel like a waste of time to rewrite what I had rather working on what I don’t have.

Which leads me to the third thing, time. If you’re going to take on a challenge like writing over 50,000 words in a month, then you need to give everything you have to the task. My life is very different from what it was in November last year, each day is a new challenge with two kids being cyber schooled and living with my in-laws. That’s not good or bad, it just is. I knew in September when I started thinking about prepping for this years NaNoWriMo that I didn’t have the same fire that I did last year. My head and heart are pulling in too many directions for me to focus on writing for hours at a time every day.

And, I think that’s okay. In 2011 and 2012, I just pushed to write everyday and was happy that I did. Which is fine too. I knew those years that I didn’t have the kind of time I needed to get a novel written but I had the fire to write. This year I knew that my time and my heart weren’t where they needed to be, so this was the year not to push it. I think I would have felt worse not finishing this year, so why punish myself?

Would I have liked to, sure. Will I try again, probably. But I need to know that I have the right focus, and maybe more importantly the right story. This year just wasn’t the year.

Congratulations to the winners. Congratulations too to those to who didn’t make it but gave it shot, any time you get words out of your mind and out in the world is an accomplishment. Amazing effort by you all and you should be very proud no matter how many words are on the page!

I Did It or A NaNoWriMo Final Update

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I did it. I can hardly believe it, but I did it. I wrote my first novel. I did it in the crazed 30 day haze known as National Novel Writing Month. Now that I’ve done it I don’t know that I’ll do it again. Not because it was hard (which it is) or because it doesn’t fit my writing or lifestyle (it really doesn’t), but because I got out of it what I needed to, the knowledge that I could write a novel.

National Novel Writing Month Winner 2013 Banner

National Novel Writing Month Winner 2013 Banner

Note I did not say a good novel. What I wrote it pretty awful at this point. It needs major rewrites and editing, and that’s OK. Because I realized during NaNoWriMo this time (this was my third attempt) that the first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs written down. The good part comes later (hopefully).

I, like a lot of us, have a lot of stories that I want to tell. But I have gotten so afraid that they aren’t going to come out the way that I want them to, or that people won’t like them, that I’ve been afraid to tell them. Thanks to those crazy 30 days in November of 2013 I’ve gotten over a lot of that. Maybe not completely. I’ll still be nervous sharing what I write, but aren’t we all? It’s like exposing part of our souls, and that’s tough no matter how you look at it, but before I can do that I have to actually get the stories out of my head and on to the page. This is something I now know I can do.

So look for more blog posts as I make my way back from my writing crazy writing adventure. I learned some interesting things about myself, about my writing process, a lot about how far I’ll go to procrastinate, and maybe most importantly – how far I’ll go to make sure my story gets told.

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Lorie’s List for 11/08/2013

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This week has really flown by! A freelance project I’ve waited on finally came along and with NaNoWriMo in full swing I’ve been eyeballs deep in my computer all week! (On a side note, I’m behind in my word count for NaNoWriMo, but I’m alright with that – thanks to carving out time and focusing I’m not too far off the pace.) I did manage to dig up a few  (probably) random, (rarely) newsworthy and on (nearly every) occasion strange or unique stories, Maybe you’ll find something to share with your aunt during sewing circle this weekend.

  • A German shepherd is a baby’s best friend. At least, it is for one baby in Great Britain. A man and his dog were walking in a park when the dog was attracted to something in a bush. The man was expecting to find some sort of small game, maybe some abandoned kittens. He wasn’t expecting a new-born!
  • They call it a prank. I call it awesome. See what happens when 3 guys get into their buddy’s pizza shop after hours as part of prank involving 30 pizzas and the homeless.  
  • The skinny on a new World’s Record. 805 people in Bal Harbour, Florida took off their clothes and took to the water to take their place in the Guiness Book of World’s Record to break the skinny-dipping record. Event officials are preparing the official paperwork as well “video footage and high-quality color photographs” for Guinness officials – video and photos have not been made available. (Considering that the people skinny-dipping are usually not the ones you want to see skinny-dipping, no one is complaining.)

I’d love to hear from any NaNoWriMo folks out there about how things are going. Leave a comment below and share how week one has treated you.

If you have any ideas or if you’d like to Guest Write The List, I would love to hear from you! Send me a note here and we’ll get you on the blog!

Have a great weekend everyone!

NaNoWriMo 2013

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I’m going to try my hand again this year at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). For those who aren’t familiar, it’s where you spend the month of November trying to write a 50,000 word novel (and no cheating by using something you started writing at an earlier date). It starts at midnight November 1st and ends at midnight November 30th.

Logo for National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month starts at midnight October 31st and runs through November.

As is my usual style, I’ll be honest here and tell you I haven’t finished in my previous two attempts. In my defense, the first year I didn’t find out about it until after November 1st and started off the several thousand words off the pace needed to finish on time. Last year I was working for an organization that had their biggest event of the year in late November, there wasn’t much time for eating or sleeping and writing was luxury.

Instead, my goal each year has been to use the month to form better writing habits. To do things like carve an hour out of each day to write without interruptions. To get better at focusing when I do write so I can make the most of my time. Figuring what if tight outlines or free-flow works best (a kind of combination, thanks for asking). It’s really been a great chance to get to know me as a writer. Sure, I’d love to make 50,000 words, but I also know I have enough major stressors in my life that block the flow if ideas to let one of the things that let me relax become a major source of stress.

But this year is a little different. I finally have some freelance work coming up, but I’m not working full-time for an organization going full throttle towards the end of the month. I usually have at least a couple of hours to myself each day. I’m not saying it’s a sure thing, but things certainly look a lot better for success than they did last year!

NaNoWriMo Results

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I realize I’ve been MIA, my apologies. I was using every spare moment to work on this years attempt for National Novel Writing Month. The final results? I ran head-on with real life in the middle of the month and was unable to write for more than a few minutes for days at a time. I fell short of the 50,000 word goal, but I did more than double the total words I wrote last year! I also like this year’s results 100 times more than what I wrote last year, which I think is even better.

I’m going to keep working on what I’ve written. I’ve really enjoyed having these sort of organized bursts of creativity. It’s so easy to get focus on the day-to-day creative things you need for telling stories for a living that you forget how important it is to stretch yourself. You forget how amazing it feels to push yourself and leave your comfort zone.

To me that’s the most important part of NaNoWritMo – to help people who want a chance to let their creative flag fly a reason and focus to push themselves. To give us a little push, motivation and support to attempt something we wouldn’t think of otherwise.

So what about you? How did your attempt go this year?

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NaNoWriMo Time Again!

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It’s almost time for National Novel Writing Month again! It’s a great idea – thirty days and nights of novel-writing in an effort to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight, local time, on November 30. It’s brought to life by the great folks at The Office of Letters and Lights. I took part last year, but didn’t find out about it until after it started, and adopted a modified goal of writing every day and getting as far as I could. I have to say I impressed myself with how far I got. It was total crap, but I had a lot of fun doing it.

I had great plans for this year. Story ideas, characters and plans, but so far I’m behind on the getting all the pieces together before November 1st, so I don’t have high hopes of reaching the 50,000 word goal. But that’s ok. It’s the trying that counts. It’s exercising your brain and getting to invent a world. It’s doing something that can give you a natural high. Sure it can make your loved ones a little miffed when you shut yourself up in a room trying to catch-up, but it’s sure a lot of fun.

The best part is that it’s free. Just sign up and you’re in. There’s even support from people online and in person. Everyone has dreamed of writing the great American novel haven’t they? Here is your chance my friend!

So, loyal band of readers…who will join me in the loyal band of writers?

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National Novel Writing Month – Final Result

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I’ve truly procrastinated about putting the final results of for my NaNoWriMo efforts because, frankly, it didn’t end well. This was my first effort, and as I mention in my first and second posts on the subject, my goal was to write every day. I really did pretty well…until Thanksgiving. Things just went down hill after that.

My final total was far from NaNoWriMo’s goal of 50,000 words. I ended up with 11,621. That’s kind of sad. But, on the bright side, I learned a lot.

First I picked an idea that i had never really flushed out, and it showed. I had no real out line (except for one I hurriedly put together one night when I didn’t have much time to write and wanted to feel like I made some sort of attempt) so the story was loose and unfocused. I had no clear character definition or characteristics so what was supposed to be a strong female character comes across as fragile and whiny. Not at all what I was going for, and is probably part of the reason I had so much trouble finishing the month.

I did prove to myself that I could do it. I’ve also learned from my mistakes, which I’ll use to help me with other project this year. I’ll also be better prepared when I try again next year.

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National Novel Writing Month – Update 1

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I put off updating my status here because, to be honest, it’s not all that great. I was under the weather a couple of days last week and didn’t write one day (instead I worked on fleshing out my outline better). During a couple of days of recouping I only wrote a few hundred words. I’ve been really hard on myself about it, which is something I said I wasn’t going to do! So I’m going to say loud and proud that I’m doing my best and I’m up to 8,530 written words!

Like I said in my first post on NaNoWriMo, my goal isn’t really as much about writing a 50,000 word novel as it is about getting in the habit of writing creatively on a daily basis. So I really am succeeding at my goal. Of course I’d like to do better, and will keep pushing to write more, but every word is a step in the right direction.

I’m also realizing just how easy it is to start second guessing your choices when you’re working on something like this. Most of my writing over the last few years was short and or/work related. None of the actually writing has been fiction. Sure I tell those little fictional stories that are part of daily life (of course I remembered to make that call, I just haven’t heard back or I would love to help you move) but I haven’t taken the time to do much along the lines of real fictional writing.

I have to say, I’m still enjoying it. I know that there will come a point where it will seem like much more of a chore, but right now it’s much more of a gift. A chance to take time to do something for myself and to challenge myself in a different way.

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It’s National Novel Writing Month!

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November is National Novel Writing Month! I have to admit, I’m coming in a little late to the game. I’ve heard about it in the past but never really gave it much thought. This year something struck my fancy and I’ve decided to give it a try.

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight on November 30th. The website is there to encourage you, provide advice and allow to meet-up with other members on-line and in real life. There are more than 500 chapters around the world, so there’s a pretty good chance that there’s one near you. At the end of the event you can upload your novel for word count verification to be added to the winners’ list an receive prizes (a lovely certificate to print out and frame and a web badge of honor). It looked like fun. It sounded like fun. So I decided late on the 1st of November to jump into the fray.

My goal is the full 50,000 words, but I’m being realistic. I’m a wife and mom and I work full-time, my real goal is to write every day. I want to develop the habit of making time to work on something fun and creative.  This is personal. This the kick in the backside I’ve been looking for to stop procrastinating and making excuses. Since this is personal, I’m going to keep my username and project title between me and NaNoWriMo for now. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you up to date on my progress. Right now I have 858 words written. Hey it’s a start, right? By the way, that’s all written long-hand between getting kids to bed and myself to bed. I think it’s a pretty for two days. Now if I could just find another hour in the day…

So what about you? Are you in? It’s not really about the 50,000 words. It’s about setting goals and being creative. It’s about getting you out of your comfort zone and getting started writing that story you’ve always wanted to tell. Who’s with me?

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