Natalie Wright, Author: NaNo

Showing posts with label NaNo. Show all posts

Friday, November 2, 2018

NaNoWriMo 2018: Diary of a Novel in Progress

November 1, 2018

It has begun.

The madness that is writing a novel in a month.

The month of November no less, a month in which most Americans plan on at least two days of vacay with family and friends to indulge in feasts, football and holiday shopping. That mere thirty days quickly shrinks to twenty-eight, possibly twenty-five once a writer factors in Thanksgiving, Black Friday and recovering from the two!

In order to succeed and "win" NaNoWriMo, we can't dwell on how little time we have, but must instead forge forward. It starts at the beginning, even if the beginning you write is the end.

That's how my NaNo began this year. Having no outline or plan—just a general idea of some intriguing characters floating around in my subconscious—I began writing at the end.

When the best way out is through (to paraphrase Robert Frost), then maybe the best way to begin is to know where the "out" is.

At least that's what I'm hoping.

Onward to day 2.

November 2, 2018

It was a shaky start, and I still feel like what I've written is mostly shite that will be axed completely. Perhaps it's because I'm writing by the seat-of-my-pants this year, with no outline or plotting ahead of time. Or maybe it's because though I've written some short stories and other bits and pieces this year, I have not written a novel in over a year so I'm rusty.

At the same time, I have to say I'm enjoying the process more than I have for a while. It's coming from the subconscious and imagination. I'm feeling my way into the story.

The word count at the end of day 2 stands at 3417. I'm a wee bit ahead of the target. That's a good thing because I've got a comic-con all weekend so I may not be able to write for a few days.

I hope I can eke out some time, though, because more important than the number of words is the fact that after even two days in a row, I'm starting to "feel" the story. I don't want to break the spell!

How is your NaNo coming along?

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

NaNoWriMo November: Happy ThanksNano by Laura Kirwan

NaNoWriMo'ers, you're in the home stretch. Only seven days left! How are you holding up?

Today I have a guest post by author Laura Kirwan that perfectly sums up this stage of the NaNo experience. And she has some great advice and cheerleading for all writers.

And only seven days left to enter the November NaNo Book Giveaway with loads of books from 5+ authors. Many chances to win - Rafflecopter at the end of the post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy ThanksNano!

by Laura Kirwan

Ready for Thanksgiving?

For many of us that answer isn't “No,” or even “Hell, no!”

It's NaNo!

A festive NaNoWriMo place setting brightens your holiday table!

Along with being a sugar, caffeine, and adrenaline laced literary frenzy, NaNoWriMo is an excellent excuse for dodging Thanksgiving food assignments.

“Oh, Mom, I'd love to bring Great Aunt Edna's traditional marshmallow, sweet potato, fruitcake Jello salad with the maraschino cherry-pecan-coconut topping, but I'm at a crucial point in the story and I've only got six days to finish and WHEN WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP STEPPING ON MY DREAMS?!?!?!”

Admit it. We've all had that conversation at some point, right?

But with only six days left, what if you have twenty five thousand words to go? You keep telling yourself--hyperventilatingly (how's that for an adverb?)--“I don't want to lose NaNoWriMo! I want to be a writer, not a failure!”

Shhh. Relax. It's okay . . .

I've done NaNoWriMo twice. The first time I didn't officially sign up and only managed fifteen thousand words. The second time, I registered and managed not quite twenty thousand words.

But here's the thing. That first NaNo “failure” grew into my first published novel. The second “failure” will soon be my third published novel.

Don't get me wrong. NaNoWriMo is a great thing to do. I highly recommend it. But, what separates a NaNo participant from a published author is what you do the other eleven months.

So, if that arbitrary November 30 finish line seems unreachable, and you really want to throw in the towel and enjoy Thanksgiving?

Do it.

Remember, if you hit the finish line with only twenty thousand words, you still win. You have a solid start and you've accomplished what most people who claim they want to write never even attempt. YOU GO, YOU!!!

Only don't tell the family until you show up for dinner so you can dodge making that scary Jello salad. Instead, bring homemade cranberry sauce. Totally easy, better than the canned stuff, and everyone except the die hard traditionalists will enjoy it much more than Great Aunt Edna's festive pile of crap.

Cranberry Sauce:

Rinse a bag of fresh (not frozen) cranberries. Drain and place in a saucepan with enough liquid to cover. (I use orange juice for the extra flavor.) Many recipes will tell you to add a cup of sugar, but I don't like it that sweet, so start with less and taste it as it cooks. Keep in mind that you can add more sugar later if you need it, but you can't take it out. Bring the pan to a boil and simmer until the berries have all popped and the sauce has thickened a bit (the longer you cook it the thicker it will get.) Add sugar if needed while still hot. Refrigerate before serving.

Then, pour yourself a tasty beverage, pat yourself on the back, and celebrate the words you've already written. You own NaNoWriMo, and you own Thanksgiving. GO, YOU!!!

Impervious (City of Eldrich-Book One)

Impervious by Laura Kirwan

Meaghan Keele faces menopause with no husband, no kids, and a job she hates. At her brother's request, she moves to Pennsylvania to help care for their dying father, taking over his job as lawyer for the town of Eldrich.

What Meaghan doesn't know is that law was her father's day job. Gateways to magic worlds riddle the nearby forest. Impervious to magic, he solved magical disputes and guarded the human world. Without him, old enemies are stirring.

Meaghan knows people are keeping secrets and soon finds out why. She's impervious too. Her office manager and her secretary are witches. Jamie, her handsome young assistant, isn't exactly human. And Meaghan is expected to take over both of her father's jobs.

Struggling to accept her destiny, Meaghan is soon drawn into a brutal struggle in another world and a budding romance with John Smith—exiled king, town drunk, and Jamie's estranged father.

Laura Kirwan, Author

Laura Kirwan is the author of Impervious and Crushed, the first two books in the seven-book City of Eldrich contemporary fantasy series. The third book in the series, Gods and Swindlers, will be published in December, 2015. A former municipal attorney, Laura grew up in Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. Learn more about Laura and her books at laurakirwan.com.

Links:

mailto:info@laurakirwan.com

http://laurakirwan.com

http://www.facebook.com/burntbarnpress

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

NaNoWriMo November: Are you Keeping up with Spielberg or Writing at the Pace of Kubrick by M.H. Vesseur

NaNoWriMo

Have you ever had to put your writing on hold? And not just for a day or two, but for months.

Last year I had a long hiatus from writing when I experienced several deaths in my family. I was frozen, unable to write even a grocery list.

I can relate to the post today by my guest, M.H. Vesseur. And like he points out, the writing hiatus, while painful to get through, can yield a better story. I call it percolation of ideas. And like with coffee, percolating can be a good thing.

And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of the post :-)

If you can’t keep up with Steven Spielberg, try Stanley Kubrick

by M.H. Vesseur

Snow Forest, by M.H. Vesseur

The true test of authorship is not when things are going smooth. It is when something gets in the way of you and your writing. And when it stays that way for a long time. Did that ever happen to you? It happened to me recently and I learned a valuable lesson in its wake. I’m happy to share it with you here.

“If you can’t fix it you’ve got to stand it”

Because of an extremely busy time at my work I felt compelled to abandon the writing of a novel for approximately six months in a row. It is simply too painful to long for writing and see it blocked time after time, day after day. My work needed my full attention so it was better for my peace of mind to pause the spin-off novel I had just started. The thought that kept me going, is the closing line from the short story Brokeback Mountain by E.A. Proulx: “There was a large open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it and if you can’t fix it you’ve got to stand it.”

Henry Kissinger was right

So I pushed the novel and everything connected to it to the back of my head. Not that this was easy. Nor was I happy about it. I just kept the thing deep inside, while I attacked my work like a robot. Like Henry Kissinger said: “The urgent drives out the important.”

Then, after a month or so, something unexpected happened. Somewhere in the deep of my unconscious, the unfinished novel kept crawling around. Ideas for plot enhancements and character enhancements started to float to the surface and present themselves to me. It happened to me in a streetcar looking out the window. It happened in the shower. Doesn’t matter. I wasn’t thinking about plot enhancement or character enhancements, I swear! I thought I had the story figured out, thought I knew where I was going.

But my subconscious showed me new ways to write it. The story that was supposed to be “on hold”, had started to move around in my head. From it came ideas way beyond my normal way of working. From it came the desire to up the ante.

If you can’t be Steven Spielberg, be Stanley Kubrick

After seven months I was able to reboot my writing. It started terribly slow, but I was happy to pick up where I left off, with a new attitude. As I write this guest post, I’m reminded of the difference between filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick. While Spielberg makes movies in a dazzling tempo (frankly I’ve stopped counting), Kubrick tossed ideas and screenplays around for years and years. They were both successful in their own way. Kubrick didn’t really want to work on a movie for eight years, it just happened to him. But the slow pace surely influenced his body of work. Stuff happened that doesn’t happen to Spielberg because he works so fast. I’m sure this applies to Stephen King as well. They’re all champions in their field, I must add. It’s just that if you slow down, unexpected things might happen.

So if you’re ever in a situation where you are unable to write for a longer period of time, relax and let it happen. Letting go of your writing goals for a while can trigger underlying thoughts to surface. Stuff worth giving a chance. You’ll be writing again before you know it, and probably be better at it.

Acid Asset by M.H. Vesseur

Carl Pappas, the bizz jockey, is feeling good about the prospects of environment-friendly plastics he’s discussing on his radio show “The Boardroom”. But as he soon finds out there’s something not right with the company behind it. Can the bizz jockey protect a lonely scientist against the schemes of a large corporation that smells money? Or will he be unable to stop a revolutionary asset from becoming really acidic? Buckle up for a race against arsonists, corporate crime, dogs, bullets and a dangerous industrial zone in the middle of a blizzard, softened only by some real team spirit. Available in every Amazon store as ebook.

READ THE 1^ST PAGE of ACID ASSET ON BooksGoSocial:

http://booksgosocial.com/2014/10/28/acid-asset/?utm_content=buffer89d39&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

LISTEN TO THE 1^st CHAPTER ON BooksGoSocial:

https://soundcloud.com/booksgosocial/acid-asset

BUY ACID ASSET ON AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/Acid-Asset-Radio-Detective-Novel-ebook/dp/B00HDQK0HM/ref=la_B00BJNICFW_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396897374&sr=1-1

Unexpected ideas can come from the fog of a writing pause.