So yesterday was the first day of NaNo. I wanted to blog about it and wish everyone well, but I was just so busy trying to get the writing done that I had no time for blogging. So here I am, wishing everyone good luck on their writing journey!
Yesterday was the perfect day to stay indoors and write. It was cold, grey, and rainy. Fingers felt like ice after a mere minute outside. Even the magpies were rooting in the woodchips in an effort to stay warm. I took a few pictures to share, since I was surprised that there was still so much fall colour after that crazy snowstorm we had a month back. Thankfully, the snow is still gone for now, and it’s even going to get into the teens this weekend, so you might see some pictures of the sun.
Today, I will continue to write while my stealthy cat watches me from the shadows. From the looks of things, he’s not happy with the arrival of NaNo wrimo or the cold weather. He loves going outside, but not in the rain. Good luck on day 2!
There’s one last step for my brief series on preparing for NaNoWriMo, which starts tomorrow—Whoohoo *throw the confetti, sound the horns, the party is about to begin!*
#3 – Clean Up, Stock Up, and Feet Up
First things first, clean your house/apartment/tent/camper van, wherever it is you will be living, working, and writing for the next month. NaNo is a busy time, and you may not really have time to clean over the next 30 days (though, if you’re like me, you’ll use cleaning a finely-honed method of procrastination). But, if you clean now, there is less to clean later, and hence, less excuse to put off writing those 1, 667 words a day.
Once everything is clean, do a run to the grocery store. Shopping is another one of those things that can get in the way during November, so it get it done now while you still can. Pick items that will last a whole month but also provide some nutrition (like frozen burritos-my fav). Then, as it is Halloween, get some candy for daily rewards and instant energy rushes which may or may not carry you through your daily goal. Feel free to obtain said candy by robbing kids/cousins/friends/sisters/brothers/partners candy stash. No one really needs all that candy anyway.
And then, once your space is sparkling and your cupboards stocked, sit back and put your feet up for a few hours. Watch a movie or a show or just enjoy not being busy. This may be your last chance to sit still for the next 30 days.
I’m behind this week, not just in the posting but in life thanks to a horrible bout of food poisoning. But I’m hoping to get back on track before November 1st, when my favourite month begins (well, except for maybe August because of the beautiful weather we get then). This week writing went well until the sickness hit. The past two days I’ve written nothing, but as I am currently 44,461 words ahead of my annual goal, I’m not worried about it. I have to say that beginning this annual goal with the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest was a great idea because that means I’ve been ahead on my word count ever since week #1, and it is amazing not to be behind in something for once.
Focus in on Your Goal
I’m actually coming along this week with a very slow word count centring on outlining my NaNoWriMo project. I’m at that tipping point, thinking about making a last minute change from one project to another. I have 2.5 days left to solidify my decision before it’s back to full-time drafting. I’ll be glad to get to rewrites in December I think, which should slow things down for me again for a while. But, if I do manage to stay so far ahead on my 365K goal, then I will definitely have a lot of new projects to work with at the end of my year.
How about you? Do you prefer writing or re-writing?
So I was supposed to post about how to prepare for NaNoWriMo a couple days ago, which leads me to step #2: DO NOT GET SICK! Okay, you can’t help this. I couldn’t help this. But I’ve spent the past couple days curled up in bed feeling close to death (why does being sick always feel like that?), and getting pretty much nothing done in regards to the approach of November 1st EXCEPT, that I’ve actually been able to do a lot of thinking. So really, maybe step #2 should be THINK. Play around with your story in your mind. Whatever you write prior to November 1st doesn’t count towards the end goal of 50,000 words, but it does help sort out where you what your stories to go, and where you want your characters to go.
Personally, I believe that whatever story you tell, character is the most important part. No one will care about flying dragons, dark cafes, or restaurants with blue tables unless you have a character your readers can relate to and want to hang out with with. More importantly, that YOU want to hang out with. I mean, you’re going to be spending the next 30 days with this person/animal/thing. Whatever your character, make sure it’s a good one. Get to know him/her/it. Ask your character questions. What do they eat? Where do they sleep? HOW do they sleep?
More importantly:
What songs do they sing in the shower (or do they want to shoot all people who sing in the shower)?
How do they feel about Christmas?
What is their best memory of Halloween ever?
How does your character react when they smell vomit?
If your character suddenly inherited a private island or a small kingdom, what kind of ruler would they be?
Who does your character call when sick?
How does your character feel about Trump?
How does character feel history?
If you were sit down and have lunch with your character, what would be the first thing they want to talk to you about?
What kind of blankets does your character sleep with? Hard mattress or soft?
Take the time to get to know the one you’ll be spending time with for the next month. You won’t regret it. The more questions you ask your character prior to writing your story means the more enriching details you will have to carry the plot.
Today was finally the day. I made my way over to the National Novel Writing Month website, NaNoWriMo.org and signed up for another year of novel writing insanity. I’ve been doing NaNo for a long time now, because I find it to be a great motivational tool for sitting down and getting my stories on paper. This week, I’m finally sitting down to start preparing for the month-long marathon which begins on November 1st. Some years I have more time to prepare than others, and this year I have about a week.
So the first thing I did after signing up on the website was find a notebook.
I primarily write on my laptop, but I still use a pretty notebook for things like character development, notes, maps, side stories, history, flowcharts, etc. All that stuff that doesn’t easily translate into MicroSoft Word of Pages. Plus, pretty notebooks are another form of motivation for me. After notebook selection, I brainstorm a novel title, hopefully one I won’t change, because I write it in big, colourful letters on the first page of my book.
And now I’m on my way.
Tomorrow I’ll be posting a bit about character brainstorming, so be sure to check in.
Well, I’ve finally finished my rewrites and edits on Twisted Currents, and am now waiting for editorial and cover art. Whew! *Take a big breath*
If you read the title of this post, then you already know I’m talking about how busy self-publishing is. The real work that goes on behind the scenes. If you’re a self-published author, you’ll know what I mean about being busier than ever before. Unless you’ve published and made millions (which is so, so rare), then you likely aren’t sitting on a beach in Mexico sipping drinks from coconuts. Instead, you’re probably huddled in a dark corner of your basement, hoping to squeeze in two more minutes of writing/editing/promo time.
Where I’m Not
If you’re a reader of this blog, then you’ve probably noticed the slow down in blog posts over the past couple of weeks, the lack of book reviews, and the lack of posting in general. And that’s mostly do to those pesky rewrites I’ve been working on. Rewriting is the most difficult part of the writing process for me. It’s that time when I sit down and think: Does this part really make sense? What is the symbology of that? How would this character say it? It’s a lot of work. And it’s even more work when self-publishing because there is no one to help you out. Though, you can remedy that by finding beta-readers or hiring an editor, for me, part of self-publishing is doing it on my own and writing something that is nearly 100% mine, and not 50% mine and 25% feedback from beta reads and 25% changes made by an editor I may or may not know. The editing I pay for is generally typo/grammatical only, which means the creative part of my novels are all mine. But it makes me so busy!
So what takes up all my time?
Writing the Draft – This takes me at least 40-60 hours of straight work for an 80K word novel. I’ve tried to do this all in one week before, but mentally it’s exhausting, so I usually spread that 40-60 hours out over a month or two.
And Then There’s Cat Distraction Time…
Rewriting the Draft (at least once) – I rewrite at a speed of 10 pages per hour (on a good day), for an 80K word book, that’s around another 40 hours. Again, this is spread out because yes, I do have a day job, and yes, I prefer to write at night, making it my “night job”.
Editing the Draft – This is slightly quicker, because at this point I’m only making small changes, but it still takes around 30 hours.
Getting Someone Else to Edit the Draft )and making those edits into a Final) – Most hired editors will get an 80K words novel back to you in 1-2 weeks. So there is the waiting time (where you can at least do other things), and then the review of those edits, which takes about another 5 hours.
Formatting – I hate formatting. This is probable the bane of my existence. This takes me anywhere from 1-10 hours (or maybe a million, I’m not sure, but it certain feels like FOREVER).
Blog – This is just a constant process. And fun (I love blogging)
Tweeting – I should really tweet more than I do (15 min per day)
Facebook – I should definitely Facebook more than I do (15 min per day)
Cover Art Design (hire out or do my own) – I currently hire out my cover designs, though I do the text myself. While my artist is working on the drawing, there is a feedback process to make sure the image is going in the direction I need. In total, cover art probably takes around 2-3 hours, and that’s because I don’t draw (if I did, I would love to do my own art but I imagine it would take me another 40 hours at least).
Book Launch Planning – If you’re going this, look at spending 5-6 hours over the course of a month to choose the sections you want to read, what kind of treats you want to serve, sending out e-vites, preparing other promotional material, and practicing your reading.
Readings/Arts Fairs/Public Events – This is similar to the launch, and a similar amount of time.
Writing a novel is a long, slow process. Writing a series is a slightly more fast-paced process that is just as much work. I have to admit, I’m glad to be concluding the Black Depths Series for the moment, because I need a breather. After a week of getting sampling edits back from potential editors so that I can find the right editor at the right price, I’m just about burnt out. But I’ve timed this perfectly, because now that the book is off to the chopping block, I have time to sit back, read, relax, and blog prior to starting NaNoWriMo in exactly one week.
Join me tomorrow when I post my first blog about my 2016 NaNoWriMo preparations.
Well, we’re back into fine weather here, and I’ve had a great week of meeting my writing goals. What’s really helped this week is that I’m pushing to finish rewrites to get Black Depths #5 out the door by Halloween (cover art and editing dependant). Here’s a look at the numbers for the past week:
It looks fantastic, and as you can see, I’m well over my goal, so I’m thinking I might allow myself a mini-break once I finish this draft. Although, there is a short story I’m trying to finish up in order to enter it into the CBC Short Story Literary Awards Contest, and there is the fact that the point of this exercise is to write 1,000 WORDS A DAY FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
Yeah, that’s a lot tougher than it sounds. Speed wise, I can type out a thousand words in under half an hour. What’s tough is coming up with motivation. Take today for instance, I’m extremely tired because one of my little kittens did not let me sleep last night. All I want to do is nap but I pushed through anyway, and I’m even writing this blog post, though I was pretty sure I WASN’T going to do it. I think that means the writing has finally made it into my blood. It’s finally more habit and chore and hopefully from here things just get easier. I am looking forward to dropping back down to 1K a day though soon, once my currently project, Twisted Currents, is wrapped up. Self-publishing is never easy, but I’m pretty sure it’s most difficult as self-imposed deadlines approach.
Ah well, I’m sensing a celebration coming down the pipe… Probably in the form of cake, tea, and books…
Let’s start with a pretty picture so we can cheer up about the weather:
That’s right, it’s still snowy here. Oh well, I’ve come to covet some Reading Socks, and I’m thinking they might be my quarterly reward if I remain ahead of my word count on my 365K words in a year goal. This week was pretty good, even with Thanksgiving in the mix. I didn’t write on two of the seven days, but on the other five I did over 1000 words on each. I’m currently 13,000 words ahead of my goal, and hope to remain that way at least until Christmas time. I’m still trying to write everyday, and write at least 1,000 words, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds. After a long day, the last thing I want to do is sit down and be creative. It feels like pulling spaghetti noodles through my brain sometimes. One at a time. It can be torture. I’m still hopping that with more practice it will be come more automatic, more habit forming, but I think time will yet tell. This week I’m shifting back to rewriting, so that can be a challenge to write something new (even if it is just part of the rewrites. In a couple weeks, I will be done with the Black Depths Universe, and moving on to my NaNoWriMo project, and I’m hoping the momentum of the event, along with the forums, will get me moving.
How’s your writing going? Are you doing NaNo this year?
This week was a good week (winter storm aside). I wrote every day, and only one day did I write less than my goal of 1K words. It was Saturday, and I really wanted to write that day. I managed 200 words, it was late at night, and I was so exhausted from a long day, but I have to admit, I just quit. I flopped down on my bed and I said, “I can’t do it.” Which was WRONG, I could have done it. So I’m going to try really hard not to do that again. Overall, I wrote over 13K words this week, which is over my goal of 7K. So I’m pretty happy with that. As for the gym goal… Let’s not even talk about that one. I hope to do better with that next week too.
Today, the snow kept falling. And will keep falling. This was the view out of my day-job-office window. Yikes! Good thing I LIKE to stay in and write.
This week I’ve been working on the draft of Twisted Currents, which will wrap up the Black Depths Universe before NaNoWriMo 2016. I had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday, which made me feel really good about where I stand with this project. I’m also going to start my NaNo prep next week, after the Thanksgiving long weekend, during which I’m sure not to get much work done at all. Though I do hope to do a lot of reading.
So how about you? Do you have writing goals? How are they going?
In my previous post, I described my September New Year goal of writing 365,000 words in a year (or 4-6 books). I’m going to accomplish this goal by writing 1,000 words of fiction a day (no, these blog posts do not count), which will take me approximately 30 minutes a day (excepting those days which I struggle and must wrestle with the mud covered monster called Writer’s Block). As I’m sure I will have some days where writing 1,000 words will feel impossible, I will need days when I can pound out 5K or even 10K (the 10K is likely to be saved for vacation or my favourite month, NaNoWriMo (also known as November)).
So, on those days when you really need to write 10K words—or for the entire month of NaNoWriMo—here are some tips to fuel my creativity, increase my word count, and Write Like A Caffeine Fueled JackRabbit Without Losing My Mind:
Find a really comfortable chair (I do mean chair, not upright bed, there is a difference).
Be Careful, This Chair is as Cozy as it Looks
2. Decide upon your drink of choice and keep it near by. I find a slightly caffainated tea works the best, since it doesn’t cause my hands to shake when I drink it pot after pot.
My Favourite Cream of Earl Grey Tea
Raw Coffee Beans
3. Write the first sentence of 8-10 scenes you want to finish that day.
4. Buy an amazingly cute kitchen timer that you can’t resist playing with. Set it for 5, 10, or 30 minutes, and do nothing else until it buzzes.
(Associate Link)
5. Pick your favorite motivational song, when you start dropping off, play it loudly, dance about for five minutes, and envision yourself hiking to the top of that insurmountable mountain of 10 thousand words (it only FEELS insurmountable).
6. When your self-doubt success sucker shows up, close your eyes tight and say “I CAN DO THIS” five times loudly. Soon, you will see that Self-Doubt Success Sucker pushed right back into the ground (inevitably, he will pop up again, so be sure to repeat this step whenever necessary).
7. Keep easy to fix food nearby for a quick fuel-up.
8. Find a buddy to check in with, be it a fellow writer, a friend, the NaNoWriMo Forums or the Twitter Universe. Be accountable to someone.
9. Think about the worst job you’ve ever had, picture yourself going back there. If that isn’t motivation to finish doing something you love, I don’t what is.
10. Pick a reward for when you reach your goal, and don’t allow yourself to have/do it until you’ve accomplished what you need to. Whether it’s a new journal, a pretty photo from Stockphoto that you want to use for your cover art, going for a run or out for a drink, hold off until you’ve accomplished your “work” for the day.
Need a Relaxation Device for your Office? Reward yourself once you’ve finished your goal. (associate link)
11. Once you reach your goal, stop. Everyone deserves a break. Especially you. By getting some rest in between mad-dash sessions, you’re much more likely to do it again the next day.
Good luck with your writing goals! Whether it be the next book in your fabulous serious or 2016 NaNoWriMo. Do you have any other tips you would like to share?
5. Pick your favorite motivational song, when you start dropping off, play it loudly, dance about for five minutes, and envision yourself hiking to the top of that insurmountable mountain of 10 thousand words (it only FEELS insurmountable).
11. Once you reach your goal, stop. Everyone deserves a break. Especially you. By getting some rest in between mad-dash sessions, you’re much more likely to do it again the next day.
J. E. H U N T E R 