What I learned from NaNoWriMo
Dec 02, 2013 
So NaNoWriMo is finished and amazingly, I won! I finished
with 50,176 words written by Nov. 29th.
critique partner of mine told me about it. I’ll admit, I thought the whole
thing was nuts! Why would anybody kill themselves to write 50K words in 30
days, in the month of November no less? Thanksgiving alone makes the idea
insane (and I also happen to have my anniversary this month, too).
last WIP scheduled to be to my agent by the end of October, I decided to give
it a shot. Worse case scenario, I simply wouldn’t win. So why not give it a go?
As it turns out, NaNoWriMo was very educational. I learned
all kinds of things, which I’m forcing on sharing with you:
I write better in the morning. I’m sure
everyone is different, but when I found the time to do it first thing, it was
always easier. The words came faster and better, I wasn’t as distracted, and I could
enjoy the rest of my day, guilt free.
Having a more detailed outline really helped.
I hit this point where I knew I had outlined, but apparently I hadn’t written
it down, or perhaps I’d written it on some scrap that I couldn’t find. Point
is, the writing slowed down enough that I stopped for a day to outline. Things
went much smoother after that. (Did I ever stray from the outline? Absolutely.
But I could just adjust it as needed.)
Leaving myself a note at the end of the manuscript
when I finished writing for the day saved SO MUCH time! I’d simply put a
note in brackets to remind myself what I planned to have happen next. I didn’t
have to search my outline to remember where I was. I didn’t have to reread
everything I’d written the day before. And as a bonus, it plopped me right into
the mood of the story. The days I forgot to do this, I really regretted it.
I can write more than I think I can.
There were a few days on my schedule that were so packed full of things I
needed to do, I was certain that I couldn’t do any writing. Amazingly, when I
organized my time, scheduled it all—including writing time—it somehow all fit.
I had to be diligent. I had to avoid Facebook and Twitter. But it WAS POSSIBLE.
Pushing through the void helped me find my voice.
When I started, I just couldn’t find the voice. It was awful, the writing was
awful, but I knew I couldn’t afford to wait for my muse or I wouldn’t meet my
goal. As it turns out, pushing through helped me find it. Will I have a ton to
revise? YES! But I always do. Even when I have the voice from the beginning.
Forcing yourself to write ugly words can lead you to the better ones.
I learned so much about me and how I write. After 30 days of this boot-camp, I
feel like a better writer. Admittedly, I’m not promising to participate next
year, BUT . . . I plan to use this writing method to write the first draft of
my next book (which I plan to do much sooner than November).
NaNoWriMo? If yes, what did you learn? If no, think you’ll ever try it?
Guest Blogging
Psst, I’m not really here because I’m hard at work for NaNoWriMo (totally rocking it, btw), BUT I had agreed to do a guest post over at Ink and Angst forever ago, so I’m over there talking about 10,000 hours.
Also, if you haven’t commented on the Blog Tour post for Connie Arnold’s Count 1, 2, 3 With Me, go and do it to be entered into a drawing for three great prizes! 🙂
Hope ya’ll are having a great November!
Blog Tour: Count 1, 2, 3 With Me
So yes, I’m really still on break, hard at work on NaNoWriMo (so far so good!), but I had the opportunity to be part of Connie Arnold’s Blog Tour for the release of her latest picture book, Count 1,2,3 With Me. This tour is Also for her new inspiration book, Peaceful Moments of Love and Light. Connie is such a sweet, kind, and supportive author, so I was thrilled to be asked and couldn’t turn it down.
I had the chance to read Connie’s book, which counts from one to ten, painting scenes from the life of a child. It has a fun rhyming text, with bright, vivid images which can easily be counted by children learning to count. As a parent, I love that the text is short, without feeling skimpy. Counting the objects together would easily add length if you were looking to spend more time on a book, but I love finding quick, fun reads that I can read to my kids at night (especially when it is past bedtime–more than likely mine!).
You can purchase this book from Connie’s website,
from Amazon, or from 4RV Publishing. These links will take you directly to her book.
Also, Readers can comment on this post, or on the posts of other stops in the blog tour, to receive entries in a drawing for three prizes:
- A set of three candle holders.
- A signed copy of Connie’s first book.
- A framed sunset print with one of Connie’s inspirational verses.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!!
This is the pumpkin I carved with my family. I am definitely a traditionalist.
So my good friend Susanna Leonard Hill holds these wonderful children’s story-writing contests on her awesome blog (if you haven’t visited, you should) and I never enter. So I mean to rectify that. Here are the rules:
Write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words spooky, black cat, and cackle. (black cat can count as 1 word and title not included). So here is my entry:
cat, loved Halloween only second to chocolate. He ate it all the time.
quivered. When she chanted her battle cry, he quaked.
black crow’s feet, scaring children, that’s MY treat!”
Drooped.
fruit!”
So wow. Getting it down to 100 words was a fete-and-a-half!
Finally, I wanted to let you know that I will not be around for the month of November. For the first time EVER, I will be doing NaNoWriMo. I’m a touch nervous, but I’ve outlined until I can outline no more, and I’m excited by the idea, so here’s to hoping it all goes well!
For those of you who have done it before, I’d love any hints or suggestions! Otherwise, I will see you on the other side. 🙂
On Agatha Christie
This past week I read my very first Agatha Christie novel.
I know, I know . . . no judging.
Last night, I finished And Then There Were None. Just saying, I might have had trouble going to sleep. Agatha Christie is amazing!
But what I loved best was the Author’s Note at the beginning. It was an excerpt from An Autobiography (obviously hers):
“I had written this book because it was so difficult to do that the idea had fascinated me. . . . It was well-received and reviewed, but the person who was really pleased with it was myself, for I knew better than any critic how difficult it had been.”
I love that! I love that she openly admits how hard it was to write this. Agatha Christie, pretty much the best-selling author ever, had to WORK for it. And she didn’t let the hardness of it stop her. She pushed through until she succeeded. Until she’d written a perfectly chilling book that confused and baffled, yet had a logical explanation.
The woman was brilliant!
And I say that not because everything came to her easily. I say it because she didn’t quit. She pushed herself to continue. To solve the puzzle. To do the nearly un-doable.
And when she’d finished, it didn’t matter what others thought. She knew what she had accomplished.
What are you pushing yourself to achieve?
Celebrities with NO Make-up, Writer Edition
I’m sure you’ve seen them. Those picture-articles titled something like: “What Celebrities Look Like With NO Make-up!”
I believe they are supposed to make us feel good, because even the Stars don’t look like Stars all the time!* Which brings us to the logical conclusion that if we had our own personal make-up artists and wardrobe consultants, we, too, would look like Stars. Right?
In fact, this whole idea inspired me to share such a comparison of myself:
- I weigh approximately the same in both these pictures. If anything, I weigh less in the not-so-nice picture.
- These pictures are taken less than a year apart (the not-so-nice one being taken last winter, the nice one being taken yesterday).
- I am wearing make-up in both of them.
*And I’ll give us all the benefit of the doubt that we like those Stars better for it, and feel the indignity of what the paparazzi subject them to, because who would like having their picture taken in all their worst moments?
On Doubt
Today I wanted to share a quote that I found inspiring:
“Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The business of becoming an author is almost as much about learning to deal with rejection as it is about learning to write. Rejection from agents. Rejection from editors. Rejection from readers.
It is no wonder that doubts creep in: Is my writing good enough? Do I have what it takes to continue? Do I have any ideas worth sharing with the world?
And really this is what it all comes down to. Our success is not so much based on our inherent ability, but on our determination to keep trying even when we doubt. Even when it seems impossible. Even when it feels like the world is telling us to quit.
We must cling to the faith we have in ourselves. The faith that our hard work and determination can conquer any odds.
We CAN’T let doubt pull us down. Because we CAN do this!
License Plate Interpretation PART 2
My husband saw this at work and, thoughtful man, took a picture for me:
This one had me curious . . . did someone choose to put this on themselves because it is a nickname from someone they love? Or did a dad do this to his daughter? Or maybe a different option all together . . . like they are a fan of that children’s show . . . This is the song that never ends . . . Gah! What have I done?! Now I’ll be singing it all day. 🙁
What do you think? What is the story?
License Plate Interpretation
Last Saturday we were headed off to my son’s soccer game when we came across this license plate:
It was on a white SUV made by GMC. So my question to you is: What can’t be?
Tools
I have this cookie recipe that is just . . . Yum. So yum that people ask for the recipe all the time. Now I’m no master baker, but seriously, these cookies rock.
Which is why I was so surprised when I got some feedback that the cookies weren’t working out. Had I missed an ingredient? Forgotten to tell them something? What was the secret that I was withholding?!!
I couldn’t figure it out until I made them during a visit to my parents. The cookies weren’t the same at all! I’d used my same recipe. I’d done everything the same, so why had I failed?
And then it hit me. The pans! At home I always use a baking stone. My parents didn’t have one. And oh, what a difference it made.
So it turns out that my cookies aren’t amazing because of any special talent I have, but rather because of the tools I use.
A lesson that applies to life. When I started writing, I thought that getting published was about talent. Only those who were born with an intrinsic ability to write could attain such a lofty goal. But I’ve since learned differently. Writing (or drawing, or playing a sport, or whatever it is you love to do) isn’t about talent. It’s about tools. And getting those tools is about work.
You want to write characters who are real? Start reading about characterization. In the blogosphere alone there are countless articles on how to do this. Check out a few books on writing, then practice, practice, practice. That is how you gain the tool of creating awesome characters. And the same goes for any other aspect of writing, or really of anything.
You don’t think your talented enough? So what! Get out there and do the work. Practice, practice, practice. Because that, my friends, is where it’s at.
Have you ever gotten a “tool” through practice and hard work?