Finally! Today is the day that I’ve remembered I have a next big project announcement for you. I’m not going to reveal the title yet, that will come later. But I do have a very bad sketch of my concept cover art that I’ve sent to my fabulous cover artist. This is a book I wrote years ago, and that has been sitting for a very long time. But I love it, it’s a great story, and I feel like I’m a much stronger writer now, which means that by rewriting, I can make this a much stronger book.
This was NaNoWriMo project in 2010 or something like that, so it’s been needing some love for a while. It’s a Young Adult Science Fiction Romance type story, and I do hope you all love it. I’m aiming to release it sometime in April or May. I’ll firm up the date as it approaches. For now, here’s a tiny glimpse of what it’s about.
Okay, I’m hoping I’m right about the number, but in the long run, I’m thinking that the update # doesn’t matter.
This is the first week that I’m really struggling with my word count. I’m about 2,500 words behind my goal at this point. I should be almost at 160,000 words, but I’m not. I feel kind of down about this but I’m trying to be understanding at the same time. Day to day life has been very stressful as of late. In between taking care of people I love, my day job, and trying to find a few moments here and there to relax and do stress relieving things and get some sleep, I’ve been trying to squeeze in some writing. Obviously I’m not squeezing enough. Now I’m dreading the attempt to catch up and maybe even get a little bit ahead again. It’s important to me that I accomplish this goal, because there are so many stories that I want to tell. I have a ton of books planned and it feels heavy when I’m stuck carrying all these stories around. It’s the best feeling to get them out.
Out, Out damn stories!
Yesterday, I read Sarah J. Mass’s newsletter, in which she discusses wring a 105,000K book in 5DAYS! I cannot begin to express how jealous I am. I wish I had the time to cloister myself away and get some stuff done. Lately, I’ve barely been feeling like I have five minutes, and even when I actually do, I’ve been mentally drained. The good news is that I have been getting SOME writing done. And also, I’m taking a mini-vacay this weekend: I’m going ice fishing! Maybe this will be just what I need to rejuvenate my writing mojo. I’m also finding that rewriting is easier than drafting at the moment, which is good news for my next project! Big announcement on that one tomorrow.
Other good news this week was that I went to my favorite local book store yesterday, and I saw this:
There was an entire end-shelf display dedicated to my books! I was so incredibly happy. This really makes me feel like the Black Depths series was a success. I can’t wait to launch my next big project.
Develop a character who keeps all of this stuff on their desk. Why is it there? What does each object mean to this character? Which one is their favorite? Write for ten minutes.
Have your character describe this scene. Then have your character sit down and transition into their thoughts about how they feel. Write for ten minutes.
I have to say, Mexico in January was a great place to be. Now I’m back in the snow, though the temperatures have been surprisingly pleasant. I was happy to learn that it was -40 C while I was away, plus there was a blizzard. I’m glad I got to spend time on the beach reading instead of dealing with snow. It’s taken me a few days to readjust to winter and work and regular life. I think it would be all to easy to live on a resort where you ever have to cook clean or worry, except maybe worry about if it’s going to rain. Here are some picture from around the area we stayed in, it was gorgeous.
I finished reading two books on vacation and read parts of a couple others. I never read just one book at a time, but read whatever suits my mood. GoodReads tells me I’m 1 book ahead of my reading goal, which is excellent because I think reading 60 books in a year is going to be quite the challenge, especially since I have a couple long books on my shelves.
I’ll post a review of As I Darken tomorrow, one of the books I finished while on holiday.
If you’re anything like me, there’s no way you can not buy yourself anything at Christmas time. Especially if you’re spending a lot of time in the book store shopping for other people. I always keep a list on my phone, or really, a roll of pictures of the books I want to read ASAP, but sometimes there’s a book or something else that just jumps out at me and I have to get it NOW. Though I do try to resist, especially if I’m still hoping my husband will buy me something on my list, sometimes I give in. Either way, here are some of the things I will be indulging myself with this holiday season (or shortly after when the sales come in January). When it comes to self-indulgence, these are the things I love
Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (I could say that way more than three times). I’ll admit, it is one of my favorite reading snacks. I keep a bar in the nightstand just for the purpose of having some chocolate to eat during my afternoon reading session. I don’t eat it every day, but when I do, it’s good, high quality chocolate. Godiva is one of my favorites.
2. Pretty, Pretty, Classics. I have a weakness for pretty books. Especially if it is a beautiful copy of a book I already own, for instance. I may own more than one copy of Pride and Prejudice. That may be more than I need (seeing as I only need one). But sometimes the books are just so darn pretty I can resist.
3. Seven Year Pens. I also may own more than one Seven Year Pen. Maybe because the ink is supposed to be able to last for seven years. Maybe because of the cool colours and awesome designs. Or maybe because I’m just the type to indulge. And hey, a writer always needs a pen, because what if your phone dies? or your laptop? and all you are left to work with is – GASP – pen and paper???
4. Notebooks. I’ve said it many, many times, but I just can’t resist notebooks.
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5. Smelly markers. This is a new one for me. Or maybe a really old one, since as a child I loved the markers that smelled like cherries or blueberries or what not. But nowadays the scents are much more diverse, and you can find markers like roasted marshmallow, tropical punch, and coffee, to name a few.
6. Coffee. Sometimes, all that keeps me alive is coffee. Okay. Maybe I need food too, but Coffee is my creative life’s blood. There is rich dark roast, light acidic coffee, and of course, Tassimo. I’m one of those people in a love/hate relationship with Tassimo – I love the ease of use but hate the waste. I also have a French Press (which I use ever so rarely). As, even though I’m loath to admit, I’ve been brewing a T-Disc daily. French Vanilla is my favorite.
7. Vacations. There is nothing I like more than a trip. Not only does it bring fresh inspiration and a break from the everyday, but it usually means I’m not working and therefor have more time to do my chosen work (see #10). This winter I’ll be heading down to Mexico, but earlier this year I made my escape out to Vancouver, where I spent a good chunk of time drafting Twisted Currents, some of which takes place in this fantastic coastal city.
8. Great, Inspiring Movies. Sometimes, reading a great book just isn’t enough, or I need a change of pace. Sometimes a movie is more inspiring than reading a book (though rarely if it has been based on a book), and it is finished a lot more quickly. Because it’s not reading, watching a movie is an indulgence. Often, I don’t let myself watch a thing unless I’ve finished my daily word count. So when it comes to a treat, movies are at the top of my list. A favorite choice of mine is Star Wars. In fact, I’m going to see Rogue One this coming Monday, and I can’t wait.
9. A new laptop. Okay, I’m going to tell you a secret. I own three laptops. Yes, three. And a table with a keyboard. Two of them are old, i will admit. But they still work. I didn’t have to replace them. But I did. Currently, I do the majority of my work on a MacBook Air. It is light and portable and a beautiful shiney silver. Still, it is getting a bit aged, maybe I should see what else is out there….
10. Time. This is the one thing that I really need more off, and it’s probably the cheapest thing to buy. I buy myself time all the time, by refusing the clean the house, by cutting back on sleep, consuming more coffee, and ignoring the television. When there is a writing project I want to get done, the only thing I need is time (well, I suppose I need my laptop, too). So, if you have time to spare this Christmas, be sure to send some my way. It will be greatly appreciated.
I’ve been skipping updates, skipping writing sessions, just skipping everything! I’ve been a bad student, although, since I realized this last week, things have improved somewhat and I have written 600-1000 words 6 out of 7 days in the past week. Yesterday was only 350….
Anyway, continuing to improve going forward. What I’ve learnt is that NaNo was just too much. I burnt myself out. NaNo used to be easy. I used to be young and carefree and full of energy and life didn’t seem to have interruptions, and now I’m in my thirties and life is like “hey, over here!” “No, over here!” and I’m constantly being pulled away from what I would like to be doing (i.e.. writing). Although I suppose if I’m honest, I’ve also been fitting in time for painting and baking. But the baking is for Christmas, so that’s okay, right?
The good thing about the frigid cold that feels like it will kill you in minutes (I mean, you step outside with bare skin and it HURTS), anyway, the good thing is that there have been these amazing sundogs which look like three suns rising on the horizon in the morning and like big, circular rainbows around the sun later in the day. There have also been gorgeous looking frosty mornings. If only it would be frosty and sundoggy without the cold.
So, it’s time to brew the coffee (I was going to post this last night and then fell asleep), and get writing. There will be another post up today. But until later, have a great weekend.
Fences are built for many reasons. Why was this fence left to decay? What about how this broken fence makes you or your character feel. Write for five minutes.
Wishing Wells are usually meant to be good things. But what if they were bad? What if they were for evil wishes? Write a scene where someone makes an evil wish on a well. What motivates them? Do they wishers remorse? Why or why not?
Wow. This post is a bit more difficult to write than I thought it would be. Usually, I am not a quitter, but this past week a lot of things have occurred which really made me question my decision to do NaNoWriMo when I’m already have my personal goal of writing 365K words in a year goal, which I’m really happy with. I’ve come to the conclusion that writing the 1,667 words a day that NaNo requires is just too much for me. So I’m cutting it out, I’m cutting back, and I’m returning to my 1,000 words per day goal, which I find a slight struggle to do on some days, but most of the time I find it alright.
I’m coming to the realization that expecting myself to write 600 words a day would really be my ideal. Maybe because I’m working an almost full time job and have two tiny kids to look after. And a cat. A needy cat. Who likes to sit on my laptop. So, 600 words a day is easily do-able. But my goal for the next 9 months is 1,000 words a day. So I’m going to stick to that.
So, I’m not buying myself my pretty NaNo reward, which is fine. I already have a million blank journals anyway. I really don’t need another one. I mean, I WANT one, but I don’t NEED it. Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will get it for me for Christmas. Anyway, that’s the gist of it. Now. Time to write those 1,000 words.
JEH
Wow. This post is a bit more difficult to write than I thought it would be. Usually, I am not a quitter, but this past week a lot of things have occurred which really made me question my decision to do NaNoWriMo when I’m already have my personal goal of writing 365K words in a year goal, which I’m really happy with. I’ve come to the conclusion that writing the 1,667 words a day that NaNo requires is just too much for me. So I’m cutting it out, I’m cutting back, and I’m returning to my 1,000 words per day goal, which I find a slight struggle to do on some days, but most of the time I find it alright.
J. E. H U N T E R 