Tag Archives: nanowrimo

December 11, 2012 · 3:22 pm

Scrivener is Mine

Scrivener Screen Shot 2012-12-11 at 3.08.19 PM

 

One of the perks to “winning” NaNo is a 50% off coupon code for Scrivener (among other products).  Being that I’m not doing NaNo next year, I decided this was the year to buy the darn thing, a product I’ve been looking forward to owning ever since I unpacked my mac from its box two months ago.  I downloaded the trial version first, to make sure.  I still haven’t memorized all of its features but I know I like it, and am looking forward to using it.

Since I’m letting myself go easy on fiction writing this month, I figure the next 20 days will be a good time to import the book projects I have going into Scrivener so that come January I can hit the ground running with my goal of 25,000 words every month (a pace that will allow me to write at a much higher quality and hopefully avoid burnout).  Scrivener, along with the new sneakers I bought (a replacement for a pair I loved that, after a few years, started “talking”), serve as a nice early birthday present to myself. Sometimes it’s okay to treat yourself, particularly with very specific gifts or gifts that would just be annoying for loved ones to get for you.

 

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December 10, 2012 · 11:01 pm

Sometimes You Have to Give Yourself a Break

clock

Sometimes it can be tempting to push through writing even when you’re exhausted.  Other times it can be tempting to quit after one or two  yawns.  How do you decide when to call it a day?  For me, it boils down to quality.  Years and years of participating in National Novel Writing Month have taught me how to put words down on a page no matter how tired I am.  But there are certain types of writing that don’t benefit from that belligerent need to increase word counts.

What about when you’re editing and revising?  The entire point of doing so isn’t to get more words–it’s to get better quality.  In fact, after several years of participating in NaNo, grateful as I am for all it’s done for me, I’m ready to break away and focus not on how many words I can write but how well I can write.  Quality may not have a quitting time, but the brain needs rest in order to produce.  I hereby give you permission to take a night off now and again, if you know it’ll mean you’ll write better tomorrow.

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November 17, 2012 · 11:43 am

This Past Week: A Review

This past week was crazy–in a good way.  I’m going to break out my updates by topic:

Writing

1. NaNoWriMo: At the beginning of the week I had almost 8,000 words.  Today I have almost 27,000 words.  ’Nuff said?  Actually no, it’s not enough because I have to add that my word count accumulation has been like a fight.  Messy and opportunistic.  Aside from Sunday, there wasn’t really a day when I could relax and get into it.  Wednesday I pumped out over 3,000 post-kempo words and Thursday I wrote only 500.  Yet I’m pleased to be back on track.

2. Out of the Sea:  Nothing has happened with this story since the start of NaNo.  Are you surprised? I’m not–but the deadline of sending in my next assignment to the LRWG looms.  I need to edit and improve Chapter One, and even though I can push the deadline back, I’d rather not.

3. WaSSeW: It stands for “Write a Short Story each Week.”  I’ve been trying to launch it…but I haven’t tried very hard this month, or rather, there’s been too much else going on that’s gotten in the way.  I think this is just going to have to sit on the back burner until December.

Fitness

1. Kempo: I made it to 6 classes this week!  And a private lesson!  There are both pros and cons to this.  The pros center around the fact that I love kempo.  I love everything about it, even the things that are hard for me to do because of right-left dyslexia.  Going to every adult & black belt class this week has been great–the only con is that I am beat! Thursday night we did a great ab workout but I’m feeling it today.  Coupled with my own work out schedule (which has, this week, included a great deal of pushups), my arms literally collapsed when I tried to do the wheelbarrow.  My knee is a little swollen and sore.  But it’s ok!  Next week I won’t be able to go Wednesday-Friday due to the holiday so it was worth it.  Tomorrow good friends of mine test for their first degree black belts.  I’m very proud of them, and excited for them–I’ll be at the test, of course, because I can’t stay away.

2. Pushups, oh so many pushups.  Yeah, I know I mentioned it before but I’ve done ~200 pushups a day every day this week.  My arms sort of feel like Jell-O.

3. Started using an app for Mac called “Perfect Diet.”  It’s not really a diet–I don’t go on diets because I think they set you up to fail.  It’s just a tracking program for fitness and food.  Here’s a comparison of Perfect Diet, Weight Watchers and LoseIt:

 

Perfect Diet

 LoseIt

Weight Watchers
Cost

$20 one time cost

 $0

~ $18/month (online)
Creation of Meals

Yes

 No

Yes
Food item/Restaurant Database

Stored and Internet Search

 Proprietary Online Database

Proprietary Online Database
Mobility

N/A

 Apple & Android

Apple

Of course, everyone has different priorities/goals, and there are other things I like about Perfect Diet such as customizable daily diet profiles.  But mobility isn’t that crucial, since I can keep track while I’m at work through using Notes on iCloud.  LoseIt might be perfect if its database was more expansive.  I remember having to either create a lot of my own foods or exercises, which sometimes involved guess work that I wasn’t too fond of.

Movies & TV

Here are the shows I’m currently watching (and loving):

1. Grimm: (unfortunately it just ended for winter break but I thought it was really cute how they actually wrote under the “to be continued…” the word “SORRY”).  I really like where this show is going and it’s nice to see Nick get a little angry–shows another side of his character.

2. The Walking Dead: Another shift for the main character, Rick (okay, just noticed my two favorite fictional TV characters’ names rhyme), who is either going crazy or just finally adapting to the new world.  Also very interested in the Governor’s character, and the little safe haven he’s built.

3. Modern Family: It’s just so clever and funny.  I have nothing else to say about it.

The next movie on my list to go and see is 007.  Going with family this week, like we always do when there’s a new Bond movie out at Thanksgiving time.  I’m really looking forward to this one–it’s been hard to stay away from the movie theater!  Also, I really enjoyed Wreck it Ralph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 6, 2012 · 8:00 am

As promised! Book cover…

Also treating you to a brief (but updated) synopsis and excerpt.  A screen cap from my novel’s page on NaNoWriMo:

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November 4, 2012 · 11:45 pm

I must be writing larger

My estimation of 285 words per page proved to be false as I typed up chapter 2.  I came up about 100 words shy of where I thought I was, so quickly wrote some more.  They are, perhaps, the worst quality writing I’ve ever produced, but NaNoWriMo isn’t about writing a perfect draft.  I think I’m going to have to transcribe daily, which sometimes begs the question…do I really need to write by hand?

The answer is yes.  For two reasons:

1. Because I said I was going to.  And this is one challenge I will meet.

2. Because I’m often away from the house from early in the morning until late at night.  I don’t want to leave relying on creativity until I’m sleepy and worn out.

So I will continue doing this–even if it feels like I’m writing my novel twice.

On the plus side, I have a cover.  Want to see?  Tune in Tuesday! (Because I’m evil enough to withhold it until then!)

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November 3, 2012 · 11:07 am

A Novel Written by Hand

Last year was my 4th year participating in National Novel Writing Month.  I finished with 54,000 words on November 19th.  This year, I decided to make it challenging.  Many writers, when they do this, increase their goal word count.  I think that’s fantastic!  For me though, I vowed I would write by hand.

So far, it’s going well.  My right hand has been constantly tired and I have to stop every now and then to give it a rest–I’m not used to writing so much by hand.  Perhaps if I was right out of college (note taking) I might find it easier–but I’m not going to give up because my hand will get stronger and eventually I’ll be able to write all the way through.

I’m averaging about 285 words per page.  Some pages are much more, some much less, depending on line breaks.  I’ve noticed though that the quality of my writing is much better when I write by hand.  There’s something about putting ink on paper–even though I know I’m going to improve it again when I type it up, I want it to be better than “just words” when I write it the first time.

The part I disliked the most? Counting words for the first 10 pages.  I decided (after talking to others who have done this) that I would average out the first 10 pages to get my avg. words/per page (see above) but that meant counting out almost 3,000 words manually.  Yesterday I finished Chapter One.  That felt pretty good–looking forward to starting Chapter Two today, which will present a decision to my main character–a minor temptation.

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October 28, 2012 · 4:23 pm

This may be my only post this week

With Hurricane Sandy quickly approaching, I came to terms the other day with the fact that I might be spending this week without power or internet.  I thought, in that case, that I’d write an all-around post, and cover several topics in one go.

Writing:

NaNo is just around the corner.  Literally.  I have some character development I need to do (and hey, this is a great project for if I’m stuck home during a hurricane).  I also have plenty of, you know, writing to do.  My next Long Ridge assignment is due (I just extended the deadline on account of the storm) so I have to edit Chapter 1 of Out of the Sea and improve that.  Also, I haven’t written for WaSSeW in a bit so I wouldn’t mind tackling one of the dozens of story ideas taking priority in my brain.

Fitness:

Let’s face it, cleaning out the fridge and freezer isn’t going to lead to the healthiest of meals over the next day or so as we try not to waste the yummy foods we bought for “sometime.”  But I vacuumed my basement dojo so providing it doesn’t flood (shouldn’t be a problem as Sandy isn’t expected to bring too much rain), I can get a work out in each day.

Entertainment:

Some people find this difficult without electricity, cable or internet.  While entertainment is more readily available with those amenities, there’s nothing more entertaining on a rainy day than reading a good book…and I have several lined up.  Board games are also a storm favorite…so while movies and TV may end up being out of the question, boredom isn’t a threat either.  We did record a great many movies and TV shows in case we have electricity but no cable.  Which am I most excited about?  AMC’s The Walking Dead.

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October 23, 2012 · 7:21 pm

Writing Programs

My new iMac arrived today. Aside from my pure giddiness following the process of freeing it from the box, turning it on and hearing that glorious sound that took me back to the first iMac I owned, I’m looking forward to trying out Scrivener for Mac during this year’s NaNoWriMo.

The only other writing program (other than word processors) I have tried was a free program for PC called YWriter.  I’m curious if you use a program and, if so, what program do you use?  Have you tried Scrivener before?  What did you like about it?  I’ll be writing my NaNo by hand but I’m thinking by typing up what I write each day, I can keep it organized as when I write by hand I don’t always go in sequential order.

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October 13, 2012 · 10:49 am

Weekend of Writing

This weekend, for me, is devoted to writing.  I think once a month I will do this–make no plans other than to write for an entire weekend.  It’s like having a little writing retreat but in my own house (therefore far less costly than going to a retreat every month).  The most important things to set up is what my goals are for that weekend.

This weekend I’m focusing primarily on the novel I’m co-authoring with a friend.  We started discussing it back in May and began plotting in June.  In July we wrote between 40,000 and 50,000 words, but the story is just starting to get underway.  We hit that familiar road block called: We know where we’re starting and where we’re ending up, but what on Earth are we doing for the middle of the story?

We’re taking some time today to flesh out a few ideas that will give our story some meat in the middle.  Doing this accomplishes two things:

  1. Filling out the story.
  2. Rejuvenating the drive to write the story.

Hopefully will start working on writing it some this afternoon, and tomorrow also.  I also need to go back in and continue adding to and editing what I wrote over the summer.  I’d rather get the rough draft all written first though.  This weekend’s efforts are perfectly timed after the Plotting & Outlining Pre-NaNo workshop I ran last night.

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September 13, 2012 · 5:08 pm

Guest blog opportunity for Wrimos

This year will be my third year serving as a municipal liaison for National Novel Writing Month.  I’m curious to see how people reflect on NaNo 2012 (preferably in December) but am looking to build up a list of interested Wrimos now.  I’m looking to host posts from Wrimos both in the CT Shoreline region and elsewhere.

What you get:

  • A byline with a link to your own blog, website, Twitter page, etc.
  • I will promote your post for (up to) a week on my own Twitter and Facebook.

There is a possibility I might turn this into some kind of print/e-book anthology if I get enough guest posts from authors who are interested, but that’s something to discuss later.  If I do that, sale of the anthology would go toward The Office of Letters and Light to support their writing programs, including NaNoWriMo.  If this interests you, think over the next few months about an interesting anecdote you might want to tell about NaNo 2012 or any other NaNo year.

Interested?  Head on over to the Write for Writeria page and fill out the form–be sure to select “Writing-NaNo 2012″ from the drop down menu.

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