#NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up, Week #1

It's that time! Let's run head-first into the wrap up on NaNoWriMo, Week #1!

Since I've never done this type of collection of posts, I'm going to try and put it all together in a sort of organized format. I'll tap on my progress and thoughts on the first week, then provide some links on some articles I've read over the last few days that match perfectly with the wicked rush of Week #1.

Alright, let's rock!

My Progress:

I know I originally said I was going into NaNo with the idea of using it for a variety of projects (editing/writing Riven, per example) but well, let's just say yesterday my brain hijacked all sense of time and responsibility. I posted online about how my brother had been playing one of these awkward, barely-makes sense rap songs (sorry rap fans) that I thought was titled Black Clouds. When I checked his iPod to see it was actually called Black Crowns, that was the spark that lit up my brain the rest of the day. By the time I got home, I was stewing with a synopsis for a very different type of novel I typically don't enjoy, much less write. As soon as my siblings vanished to bed for the night, I tackled my laptop, punched out a little over 3k, and officially had myself a NaNoWriMo novel.

Good gravy, I keep juggling story ideas in my brain.

Anyway, I have it all updated on my user here, and you can add me, too! Friends make this so much more doable; I'm one of those people who needs to see others doing it to keep going. Very monkey see, monkey do type.

So currently, for today's total based on the NaNo chart, par is 8,333 words. I'm clocked in at 3,053. To make par as of today, I'd need to wail on my keyboard and type a little under 5,300. As for my grand total, here's my bar!

6.11%

3053 / 50000 words

Wrap-Up Posts & Articles!:

Most of the articles circulating online about NaNo carry the same, generalized message: write, keep writing, finish what you started last year, start something new, JUST START. If the blog posts aren't talking about prepping for your novel-writing journey, they're talking about how to keep going, not to fall to self-defeat, stuff like that. For someone like me, reading even a few of these can push me forward.

World Weaver Press has a guest article by Amalia Dillin, on the wild drive she gets during NaNoWriMo- and how she's pretty much forgotten about Halloween instead to prep for her midnight writing madness.

Lindsay Cummings, author of THE MURDER COMPLEX details a post on Manu-Suck Syndrome, followed by a slew of quotes from authors all across the board saying the same thing, "DON'T GIVE UP!"

(By the way, Lindsay, I didn't think they had something called Manu-Suck! Maybe that's what I was suffering from writing Riven. Hrmmmm.)

Publishing Talk shares a Boot-Camp punch for Week #1, and gives you some ideas to toss into your manuscript as you write along. (I kind of like Day 7's prompt. Who IS knocking at that door?)

And lastly, Word For Teens has a post by Siobhan Vivian, author of THE LIST, on writing a strong female character. We all know our females could use a bump up on strength. (Yes, I'm looking at you Isabella Swan.)


Oh, and for a giggle, I figured I'd include my favorite screen shot Twitter post to round off the Wrap-Up.

Why Holidays & Writers Don't Mix

I'm going to make one horror of a confession: I can't stand Christmas, and the New Year always makes me queasy. Now, before you go off and grab staple guns to stick me to the nearest Christmas tree while screaming 'HAPPY NEW YEAR ALIVIA, HAPPY NEW YEARRRRR!' let me explain why.

Think back to NaNo, back when November was running along and everyone you knew was fueled on coffee, Mountain Dew or whatever tea you sipped repeatedly from the testing kettles inside Tevana. Or maybe that was just me. We all hung over our computers and pen and paper, scribbling as furiously as we could manage to hit that 50k word count and declare ourselves victorious.

And somewhere along those lines, I failed.

The build-up to my idea for my NaNo novel fell completely flat on its face. And when I say it fell on its face, I mean it ate dirt, coughed it up, and ate it again. I hit only several thousand into it and choked as if a hot dog lodged itself in my throat. No matter how hard I coughed it wouldn't come out, and somewhere in the midst of that never-ending choking nightmare November ended.

What a mess, right? Humiliation is the only word I can properly use for the situation. I was actually afraid to visit the NaNo boards, my blog, Twitter (I'm coming back there, FYI, I promise) anywhere that I was connected to people who knew of my writing journey. I felt like if I shared my failure notice with everyone that they'd all walk away and leave me alone, forced to play endless hours of FarmVille with myself.

It's okay, I told myself. I'll just go back on tomorrow and move past it. The calendar told me it was only December 5th. I could still come back from that, right?

It's January 1st now. I took a whole month of sweating things out (and one random semi-tipsy promise to myself to blog every two days from here on out unless I'm struck by lightning or eaten by a shark) to bring myself back here, man up (do you really man up if you're a woman?) and do everything I was supposed to do weeks ago in the next six days.

See, if I remember right, Illumine, my little book of pure passion and love, is publishing digitally in six days. Yes, six. Print I'm guessing will be in another month depending on how much I play with the cover and the format types (and also it depends on how much sleep I'm willing to sacrifice this week). That means I have six days to upload my page on here, send queries to book reviewers online, double-check the manuscript and still have time to see family/friends/random pet.

Bring it on 2012, you don't scare me.

The Five Levels of Procrastination

Every now and then there's one dark day that pops up on your calendar. You know which one I'm talking about. The one where your inner critic jumps out from a corner and drags you into the dirt, the day where nothing you write sounds right, and all your fears and worries and insecurities come out to play.

We have a name for these dark days. Writer's Block.

(steven-dean)

But sometimes it isn't really writer's block. Some days it's just really really truly intense procrastination. I'm not too proud to say this, but I admit that I may be one of the hardest procrastinators you'll ever come to know. If I don't want to do something even just a little bit, pshaw, forget it. Not happening. Just ask my Mom: I've stalled off doing the dishes in the sink for almost three days before, and that was with the nagging and threatening to disable the internet!

They say if you break down the blocks in your way that you'll overcome your stalling or block. Like talking something out to find the truth in the words. I don't know, I'm not too good with the inner-mind thing, heck I barely understand those fortune cookie riddles. But thankfully I stand a better chance at figuring out my own head, which is how I came up with my levels of procrastination.

Level One:  Guilt
Most aren't guilty over their stalling right out of the gate, and that's usually because they're focusing on other things to occupy themselves. But I always feel guilty the instant I stall so much that I frequently cave and try to make up for even the smallest of seconds spent shuffling my feet. But every now and then I slip by and fall into level two...

Level Two: Bitter Resentment & Avoidance
All aboard the pity train on level two, all aboard! Once I filter past the guilt I jump right into self-hate mode. This is also the moment where all those super morbidly depressing text messages go out to all of my friends. By this point most of them give me a thirty minute grace period to calm down, or wait until I guzzle some sugar and balance out. However, sugar doesn't cure the fact that at this point I'm avoiding everything to do with my work. The mere mention of writing is frowned upon. And it only get worse.

Level Three: Different Distractions
Most of us are distracted at the first step, by accident or on purpose. This always comes later for me and it takes place in so many forms I still don't know how to pinpoint it yet. Sometimes it's three hours of Twitter trolling, others it's Facebook news feed refreshing. Really bad days it's seven straight hours of Sims 3 shenanigans where my poor little pixels are forced to have a dozen babies. Either way, my distractions at this point are purely intentional. I'm ashamed I got distracted to begin with, therefore I only make it worse? I know, backwards, but it isn't over yet.

Level Four: Bargaining
"I promise if I can just write a little bit more I'll remember to feed the cat/dog/fish next time!"
Yeah, little too late for that, me thinks.

(drink2health)

Bargaining is one of the oldest tricks in the book. We tell ourselves that if we just finish one more thing in our day that we'll get the awesome reward like ten extra minutes under the hot water in the shower, or a doughnut, or in my case, more Sims 3 shenanigans. Sadly I can never come up with something really worth bargaining for except treadmill time. Which I never get to since by time I'm done with all of these levels I'm too tired to step on it.

Level Five: Admittance, Acceptance & Drive
The last step. After countless hours of catching up on chores I didn't need to catch up on, TV shows that had to be watched, random snacks that most definitely didn't have to be made (or eaten in mass quantities) I finally give in and admit that I've goofed and done wrong. Spilled the milk, so to speak. It's usually after this moment (and a good emotional outburst or two at some inanimate object) that all returns to normal and the writing resumes.

And when all else fails, I watch tons of Harry Potter fan videos, like this one, which is AMAZING and I'm IN LOVE with.

the apple of my eye; drawing inspiration from what you see

(lackofconcentration)


Inspiration, we find it everywhere these days! The back of a pick-up truck, vacation, poems, other stories, maybe even in the sour milk hiding in the back of your fridge (you might want to throw that out, by the way) inspiration hides in every nook and cranny of our lives, right down to the metaphorical fabric of life that holds everything in place.

I had one of these moments today. Go figure that it's a Friday so I'm working, but instead of working my typical day at the sports store and not-so-secretly staring at Chase Utley on the wall, I'm working a craft show for my Mom at a local menonite home. It's the one craft show I always volunteer to do for her just because I have so much fun (and because all the locals seem to remember and not hate my face, a huge bonus.)

I had intended to get through the day mostly selling the jewelry my Mom crafted and sneak in a bit of writing here and there when I had the chance. Until I saw the picture on the stand across from me. There, across the way, sat the most beautiful picture of a wintry road like the ones I was writing about in Illumine. Natalie Searl and her wicked winter photo just sort of, how do I put it, made my inside go all squiggly-wiggly. And just like that, words formed inside my head to the picture I impulsively bought with good reason, Essallie's voice leaping all around in my skull.

Where have you found inspiration? Was it in a place you least expected it?

got a NaNo novel in the works? submit your line for a prize!

We're only in the second day of NaNoWriMo and already that word count should be as close to 3,334 as possible! And to think, it all starts with that first line...

Speaking of first lines. You know, the one that's supposed to automatically grab the reader. Make them say, "That's weird/cool/sweet/different! Let's read more." I'm sure you've all got at least that first line down in your documents or notepads, the beginning of something fresh and beautiful. Well here's your chance to make something of it! WriMos FTW is having a contest to submit your first line of your NaNo novel to be entered to win a prize! Here's the details:

Name: most gripping first sentence

1. Start Nov. 2 at 3:30 pm (EST)

2. Enter your sentence before Nov 5, 3:30 pm (EST)

3. Judges picks top 10 entries until Nov. 9, 3:30 pm (EST)

4. Poll goes up Nov. 9 and closes on Nov. 11 (EST)

5. Announcing winners: Nov. 12, 3:30 pm (EST)

The 3 Prizes are as follows:

1. Rochelle Melander (@WriteNowCoach) is giving the first place winner a print copy of her book Write-A-Thon, which is a great tool for jump-starting your writing career and writing your book for less than 30 days. I'd say it's a perfect fit for NaNo!

2. Roxanne Piskel (@roxisbrilliant) will give a complete critique of the second place winner's NaNo manuscript. In addition Roxanne is giving 20% discount to all entrants. 

3. Alivia Anders (@AliviaAnders) will make a pretty book cover for the third place winner. Woohoo!


Want in on the competition? Head on over to WriMos FTW and enter that first line!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mwahahahaha! Trick of treat! Candy, costumes and more galore!

It's here! We've finally made it to that day where the veil between the physical and the supernatural worlds is lifted, and all too often through the day we feel like maybe a little magic could happen. That is, if you believe in it. ;)

So what should you do on this day? Make a little magic yourself, of course! Tonight at the stroke of midnight NaNoWriMo participants all over will be feverishly typing away in their coffee-induced hazes, parties will ensue, and people will spend all day baking in preparation for friends or family or what have you. In light of my favorite holiday I did three things to make a little magic happen today.

One, I gave a little cash to a homeless man we came across inside McDonald's today. He was super-sweet, and I really hope he'll be okay.
Two, I found a super-cool photo of the cupcakes I'm going to try to make tonight before NaNo AND I'm judging for a NaNo contest! How cool is that?
Three, there's a few kick-butt-awesome FREE short stories over at the Halloween blog for you to get into the spirit of things! Who doesn't love a free story?!

And there you have it! A little of everything for a day crawling with mischief. Without further adieu, here's a picture of cupcakes! (hint hint, they're the ones I'm making.)

Hope you all have a wicked Halloween!

I'm hiding over at WriMos FTW today!

That's right- I'm guest blogging again! It's kind of like a new fun-filled addiction for me, really. But anyway, I'm over at WriMos FTW today! The topic? Why and How music can really get you through that hard-to-write spot in your head (because it's all in our heads, right?)Click on the link below to read the guest post and feel free to leave a comment!


Music Always Holds The Key!

cat's out of the bag! halloween short stories coming your way!

So if you've been following my Twitter the past few days, you may have noticed a few messages I've been posting. You know, the ones asking for the short and spooky stories? Well, if you've been sitting and staring at your screen wondering just what the heck I'm talking about, you'll only have to wait a few more days to get a really wicked treat mixed in with all those tricks leading up to Halloween!

Staring Monday, October 17th and leading up to the big night of Halloween I will be releasing a blog featuring, you guessed it, those short stories I've been asking for! What's better than getting to read tons of free short stories from your friends and fellow writers? Well, candy is, but I don't recommend trying to eat your monitor for the sugar rush you'll get reading these shorts! Double bonus; now when your Mom, friends, family, and younger cousin keep asking to read your work, you can easily direct them to your story on the blog and keep them distracted- hopefully long enough to write more of your big WIP or give you enough time to prep some more for NaNoWriMo!

There's only a few days left to submit your piece to be featured on the Halloween-tales blog, so don't dawdle! You can go right here for additional details!

you should be reading right now! yes, now.

Sometimes as writers, we tend to get ahead of ourselves. And by ahead of ourselves, I mean we hide in a cubbyhole somewhere in the middle of a dark library and say, "I will write this. N reading, no socializing, no anything until this blog post/short story/novel/random piece is done!"

This is a bad example, guys and gals. Like, number one bad example.

Let's pause here and think for a moment. When was the first time you wrote something? Sure, it may have been for your English class and yes it may have been in that annoying paper that had all those lines on it and you had to do cursive or you'd fail and you get my point. It probably wasn't for sport. But what, pray tell, did you write about? Did you make up something? Was it a fictional version of your favorite story staring you, or an alternate reality piece?

Chances are the first thing you wrote came from something you read or heard or saw. The first time I wrote a short story in 5th grade, it had some kind of malevolent candy land backdrop and a plot so pointlessly weird I don't even remember it. It wasn't until after I thought about it that, lo and behold, I had been reading some book with candy in it (I think it was about that kid who touched anything turned it into chocolate...) and my story came to life. To prove my point even further, I didn't start really writing until after reading most of the Harry Potter series! I fell in love with the story so much I HAD to make my own Hogwarts and make my own people to run through the halls wreaking havoc. My first three heartfelt characters, Ryoko, Lilix, and Kelly Jasper, all were born from a desire to write in the centerfold of Harry Potter.

I guess what I'm trying to say here in too many words is that if you think hiding in that hole is going to make you an awesome writer, it really isn't. In order to find where you fit and how you work and how to improve, you have to read. And read more. And keep reading until your eyeballs fall out. So for any writer, be it a NaNo enthusiast or just a person aching to finish your novel, go read! Pick up a book, fall in love with the characters and setting and mood, and understand why. Then apply it to yourself and your writing, your characters, your mood.

What about you? Where and when did you start writing? What sparked the itch to put words on the page?

guest blog! I'm hiding out somewhere else today!

I have two great pieces of news for you guys and gals today! Well, okay, one is really cool and the other is just flat out awesome.

Really cool: I'm updating the NaNoWriMo Project tab tomorrow to include a little something special- a little more surrounding the story I'll be grinding my nose into during November.

Flat out awesome: I'm a guest blogger today at WriMos FTW! blog! My post over there contains brand-new details surrounding the NaNo project, so you don't want to miss giving it a read. I promise you it's not a million pages long, and I double-promise that reading it is most definitely worth it.

something small: a NaNo project preview!

Yes, you read that title right! It may only be days from October, but the seasoned and slightly insane NaNo participants this year are already plotting and preparing for a writing year like no other, myself included!

One of my tabs up top on the blog has been sitting there for only a few days. If you click it, you really only get to see a big envelope with the words TOP SECRET stamped across the front. I'm beyond proud and crazy excited to finally say I can sort-of tell you just what kind of project I'm working on.

For weeks I've been secretly posting day-by-day on a private blog, working out kinks and formatting little things here and there, in preparation for this November. When my friend and fellow Twitter-partner-in-crime Lyn Midnight posted a message asking for stories about NaNo, I thought to myself, "This must be some weird dance of fate to unveil what I've been doing!" So we talked a little bit, and came to a conclusion that I can guest blog during NaNo about my project, details, research, as long as I stay in the dreaded 700 word count per post. (Which is virtually impossible, but I will succeed!)

This year I'm going to tackle something a little more real than my typical game of vampires and angels. My project is going to focus on a fictional tale of a young girl who develops an ED, and the struggles that come with having that kind of pain wrapped around your every waking moment. As I explained to my boyfriend today over lunch, this has been something that, while not having affected me personally, I've seen firsthand and read enough to know the problems that surface with every situation surrounding food, family, friends, and life. Stories like this, fiction or non, aren't to be messed with and just whipped out of thin air, and I hope with the completion of this that I'll have done right by victims and those who have recovered by it. To me, it's always felt like this is a story I have to tell.

While I can't give out all of the details surrounding the story yet, I do plan to explain a TON more tomorrow at Lyn's blog, whose link is both to the left of the page and in this post above. My guest post will mention how/when I came up with the idea, what I plan to do with it, and the charity I do plan on donating to afterwards. Don't forget to stop by and leave a comment behind!