What NaNoWriMo taught me

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was very calm, and not what I’m used to because I come from a very large Italian family *insert comical thoughts here*. This year we didn't travel, so it was just my family and one large turkey (who we gave thanks too, and are still eating).

November is also the time to write like a maniac, drowning yourself in coffee, and letting the house go to total chaos in a marathon to midnight on November 30th. Yeah, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is kind of like that. I love every second of it!

I haven’t done my usual NaNo events, like interviews (click here to read past ones), or insane writing dares this year. Why isn't there more time in the day? Just saying.

Anyways, I’m close to my 50,000 NaNoWrimo word win. I need to write 1,000 words a day until the end. Does blogging count? Hmmm. I might be on to something if it does.

What did I learn from NaNoWrimo that I forgot since last year….     

1. Lock your inner editor in the closet. She will do nothing, but get in the way, nagging at you. She is evil.

2. Just keep writing and don’t look back.

3. Don’t bother editing. It can be done later.

    4. Set a goal for yourself and try to adhere to that goal.

    5. Use social media-like Facebook and Cityville-as a reward for completing your word goal.

    6. It’s a great way to connect with other local writers.

    7. You have a first draft of a novel. Yay!

    8. You never know what your characters will tell you about themselves.

What’s in store for your novel after November? Well, I joke to everyone and say “Yeah, it takes me only a month to write, but a year to edit.”

Did you NaNoWriMo this year? If so, how are you doing.

The Reveal! The Dare!

During my NaNoWrimo interview series I asked the five lovely ladies a truth or dare question. No one was brave enough to take on the dare! Maybe the dare was a bit crazy to add into their NaNo story! 

Here was the big dare! They had to write it into a scene.

Banana cream pie!

                                                           In your face!

Dear character

NaNo is finished and I have a very rough first draft. If I could only apply NaNo year round I could see the creativity flowing. I fear the internal editor will break out of the closet next month. Yikes!

During NaNo a participant in my region posted Dear (character name) and you had to write a letter to them. I was SO in! This really helped to break up writing and get into my character's head.

Here was mine.


Dear Bee,


      What is wrong with you? As your friend who secretly is doing everything to mess up your life and back you in a corner, I beg you to reconsider your love interest. He is a Grim Reaper for jeepers crow. You will die for loving him. Don't get taken back for those baby blue eyes, look at the ugly black cloak he wears. It's a crime not having a sense of fashion. I understand you are the only one who can see death, but I would have to vote no! Yup, not so healthy of a relationship. I would suggest you join the group YES I AM A PSYCHO!

PS I think your brother is pretty cute, can you give him my number :)

                                                                                           Thanks,
                                                                                           Me



Give it a try and show me what you've got :)
 
A side note my kids think the Whip My Hair song is the hottest thing going. Help me! They go around the house whipping their hair around. It's an epidemic *looks to right, then left*

Ending NaNo with a bang! Welcome Cheree Smith.

NaNo is coming to an end. Crazy, right?  Just think by next month you could be drowning in revisions or you could take a much needed vacation. I'm opting for a vacation with lots of eggnog (preferably spiked)!


Sit back and relax because Cheree Smith is ending my NaNo interview series with a BANG!

You can visit Cheree at her blog Justified Lunacy


If you want to buddy Cheree her NaNo username is cherry_chez

Current word count 48912/50000

Tell us what the name of your NaNo story is Scripted

What is Scripted about? The only thing Michaela remembers is her name, but that's probably because it's embroidered into the jumpsuit she finds herself wearing when she awakens aboard a plane. After being forced to jump out of it before crashing, she finds herself trapped on an island where is given details about who she is. Michaela feels like she's been given a character to play, and everything she's been told isn't the truth. Michaela has to piece together her life and distinguish between the truth and the script she's been given to play. Can she escape from the island before she becomes the person they say she is?


Why in the world do you NaNo? It actually forces me to write and get something completed. I have a habit of starting projects and then being sidetracked by something else. This helps me focus.

Do you plan for NaNo or are crazy like me and NaNo on the fly? I had an outline of a plot to start with, but had to chuck that away on day 2 when my characters didn't want to follow the story I had imagined.

Where did you get the idea for Scripted? From watching so much reality television. I found it funny that for being reality it is very scripted and the show only shows what they want. My original story was about a girl who went to school on a reality television show, now I was intrigued about whether a person without any memories could be programmed to follow the character that someone else has created for them.

What is your down and dirty tip for upping your word count? Turn off your self-editor and DON'T erase anything. The more times you rewrite sections the lower the count will be, even if you hate it, keep it.

Quick it's day thirty at five at night and you have 45,000 words, what are you going to do to finish? Probably pull an all nighter.



Cheree I truth or dare you! truth

If you were a character in any story, who would you be and why?
I actually would like to be a character out of another story I'm writing called Swayed. My MC is Jace and she's a strong girl who is a bit geeky at heart (but doesn't like to show people that side). After playing a video game she finds out that she has been given super powers. Her power is the ability to open wormholes and transport herself to another location. That would be a cool power to have, and a time saver.


Thanks so much for stopping by Cheree and Good Luck! I think she will be in the winners circle pretty soon!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay tuned next week I will reveal the big dare no one was brave enough to accept.

NaNo interview with Lisa and Laura Roecker

Holy mother of chocolate bars can you believe we are seventeen days into NaNo. Thats's right HALF WAY! Where did the time go? Yup, drooling over keyboards,drinking gallons of coffee, and praying they will show re-runs of Glee all month.

Take that coffee break because the Fantastic sister duo is rocking the house LISA and LAURA! **jumping up and down clapping and then doing a happy dance**


Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners and their first book THE LIAR SOCIETY releases March 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire.


Website: www.lisaandlauraroecker.com
Blog: http://lisa-laura.blogspot.com


Laura and Lisa (see how I mix it up so I don't play favorites) I'm so excited to have you here today! It has been a pleasure and tons of laughs to follow your journey. We all eagerly await for your book in March. Thanks for hanging out with us today and answering some burning questions we are all dying to know!

If you want to spy on buddy LiLa their NaNo username is LisaLaura

Current word count 17,583/50000

Tell us what the name of your NaNo story is BLOODLINES

What is Bloodlines about? Amnesia + An Abduction + Family Secrets + False Identities = BLOODLINES


Why in the world do you NaNo? This is our first time ever trying and honestly it is so much fun. Granted there are two of us, so we flip the document back and forth and aim for 2,000 words a day! The owner of the document has it from midnight to midnight, but we've been known to write past curfew much to the dismay of our husbands.


Do you plan for NaNo or are crazy like me and NaNo on the fly? We tried to do NaNo on the fly, got frustrated and came up with an outline. Now our outline doesn't work anymore and we're back to NaNo on the fly. I'm sure we'll be frustrated any day now and have to adjust our outline. With two writers, writing by the seat of your pants doesn't work as well!

Where did you get the idea for Bloodlines? This idea is a combination of a bunch of random ideas we've gathered over the last few months. We had actually started writing it before November and had to scrap everything and start again. But the characters have all stayed the same and we're super-excited about them. There are sisters in this book--woohoo!


What is your down and dirty tip for upping your word count? It's all in the details. We usually spew out the plot of our chapters and before sending off, read back through and add all of those sensory details that help the reader visualize our scenes. And, although it's near impossible, we've really tried to silence our inner-editors and just put words on the paper. This is tricky, but once you get the hang of it, the words really start to flow. And seeing that number tick up is incredibly motivating! I mean we've never written 17,000 in 10 days before!


Quick it's day thirty at five at night and you have 45,000 words, what are you going to do to finish? Ugh...thinking about this kind of gives me a stomach ache. My biggest fear is wrapping up the novel! I think we'd have to play hot potato on this one, but in a matter of hours. We would each be responsible for 3,000 words and hope for the best!


LiLa I truth or dare you! truth
If you were a character in any story, who would you be and why?
In this story, Laura is most definitely Laney, the nice and sometimes shy sister and Lisa is Rina, independent and bitchy. HA!


Thanks ladies!

Day Sixteen! The light! The light!

If you were on Bloggerville this morning and saw my oops for a nano second, darn! If you didn't ha ha! I thought I scheduled and didn't and ya know. I blame it all on my big, clumsy fingers. BUT you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to read my NaNo interview with Lisa and Laura aka Laura and Lisa aka LiLa.

It is day sixteen and we should be halfway through NaNo with 25000 words of vomit written! It's halfway from the beginning, but still halfway to the light at the end of the tunnel. I find myself writing crap the more I get behind to catch up. I often daydream about killing off a character and then bringing them back to life for kicks. Right now my NaNo project mirrors the image below. Notice the small beam of light.

I'm still going to spew out vomit to reach that light of poop at the end of thirty days. In the end I hope to have the makings of a cool plot and interesting characters. My light could possibly end up looking like below image instead. Notice the bigger stream of light but I'm not sure if the dog just had a big bum. 

Nancy Cavanaugh Takes the Stage

We are ten days into NaNo and I hope you are plugging away and not pulling your hair out. Take a break, grab a cup of coffee and please welcome Nancy Cavanaugh. **gives a woot woot and claps**

If you want to buddy Nancy her NaNo username is  crafty1_nh


Current word count 0/50000 As of 10:30 a.m. on day 2 I have 2,733 words


Thanks for hanging out with us today and answering some burning questions we are all dying to know!

Nancy take it away! Nancy A. Cavanaugh is a single, work at home mom living in Keene, NH. She shares her tin can with her teenage daughter, two bratty cats and a Betta fish named Phreddie. She works from her living room doing freelance writing, web design and desktop publishing. Nancy has one self-published book, Mini Tales, which can be bought for the Kindle or as a PDF from her web site at http://www.nancyacavanaugh.com . You can follow her NaNo journey at http://aepyornis.weebly.com/nano-blog.html.

Tell us what the name of your NaNo story is The Egg Mystery (David and Brian's Eggcellent Adventure)

What is The Egg Mystery about? David Stitson is 16 years old and the new owner of a large house and all of his grandmother’s possessions, including a large crate in the attic. David and his best friend Brian Jacobs discover the crate contains a huge egg and a letter with a hidden surprise. Follow along as David and Brian discover more about the egg, the bird who lays it, and the surprise as they find themselves on a plane heading to Madagascar. Mystery and adventure abounds.

Why in the world do you NaNo? I love to write and I love challenges. I just wish they did this in the summer when there are fewer family commitments and no major holiday in the middle of it all.


Do you plan for NaNo or are crazy like me and NaNo on the fly?
I have tried to do NaNo on the fly and was fairly successful. This year I did a lot of planning, like writing out a full plot summary (or mostly full) and creating a character list with some of the details filled in about each character. Age plays a huge part in the story so I needed to figure all that out first. Ack! Answering this just made me have a rethink on part of the story, thankfully not the part I'm working on.


Where did you get the idea for The Egg Mystery?
I was doing research on the aepyornis, an extinct bird native to only Madagascar, for a non-fiction book I want to write for kids. I discovered that the Denver Museum of Nature and Science has two aepyornis eggs that are whole, or mostly whole as one has a hole at one end and something rattling around inside it. No one, as far as the guy knew, had looked inside, which is unfathomable to me. It triggered a story idea about a museum curator's daughter finding out about the rattle inside and doing her own investigation. When she looks inside she discovers a map from Madagascar. She and her best friend tag along on an expedition to find more eggs and bones, then sneak off to follow the map with a guide they hire. Eventually they find a valley or something with hundreds of aepyornis. The next day I had a rethink and came up with the version of the story I'm writing now.


What is your down and dirty tip for upping your word count? Copy/pasting: "I thought I could, but I couldn't so I'm typing this instead." Just kidding. I have no tips for that. I just plan on trudging along, following the story summary or going wherever the story wants to take me.

Quick it's day thirty at five at night and you have 45,000 words, what are you going to do to finish? I will make sure they have provisions then I will close myself in my bedroom and tell the child and cats if they do anything to distrub me it will cause the end of the world and if that happens it will be all their fault. I'll add in something about not wanting to have all that guilt so it is best that they just not disturb me. That or I'll just threaten to pull her Internet access and take away all the cat toys if they do.


Nancy I truth or dare you! truth

If you were a character in any story, who would you be and why? Hands down, Nancy Drew. Well, for a long time it was because we had the same name, but as I got older it was because we had the same first name AND she got to go on all these super fun adventures with her two best friends and occasionally her boyfriend too. The seemingly endless supply of money to support the adventures was a bit of a lure too.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Why NaNo???

It's been fun interviewing my fellow Wrimo's. My favorite question to ask was why do you NaNo. So, I thought I would give you my reason. By the way come back tomorrow to read my interview with Nancy Cavanaugh. It is stellar!

Ah, November the days are getting shorter, the holidays are just around the corner, apple pie smell wafts in the air, AND WE NEED TO WRITE 50000 WORDS IN A MONTH!! Are they NUTS. I love it!

 I love kicking my internal editor in the closet, I love swearing at her and telling her to shove it, and go suck on a dirty sock. I love being on a deadline, and to know if I can accomplish NaNo then I can do anything (well not anything). I love knowing that there are a gazillion writers doing the same and if I need support or a pep talk they are there in cyber world waiting to help. I love connecting with other writers in my state, and possibly meeting up with them. I look forward to my daily check in with my region, I love reading all the blurbs. Oh gosh all the numbers and stats, yea awesome! What about 30 covers in 30 days? FUN! I love all the hype.

Wow was that a mouthful or what? Steven Tyler eat your heart out.

AND what about the young writers program. What a great opportunity for the young folks. I'm so excited that my excitement rubbed of on my daughter, and then rubbed off on her friends and school! How easy is it to print out a flyer from the site, give it to your kid to hang at school. Great stuff.

BTW 13600/50000

Give me your best Steven Tyler about NaNo!

Brenda Drake is in the Spotlight

Today we have the lovely Brenda Drake visiting and answering questions about NaNoWriMo. **Shouts and claps**
Visit her Blog at Brenda Drake Writes

If you want to buddy Brenda her NaNo username is Brenda Drake

Current word count 1636/50000



Thanks for hanging out with us today and answering some burning questions we are all dying to know!

Tell us what the name of your NaNo story is. Knight Owls

What is Knight Owls about? When seventeen-year-old Graciela Zamora's Spring fling drowns right before their date, she's about to discover that there's a fine line between the living and the dead and if she doesn't heed the warnings in the diary of girl killed in 1904 she may very well cross over that line.

Why in the world do you NaNo? This is my first year participating and I just thought it would be challenging and fun to try it.

Do you plan for NaNo or are crazy like me and NaNo on the fly? I planned for NaNo, because I didn't want to get blocked. I researched every setting and the traditions of each place, printing pictures of them. I then picked my characters, did bios on each, and found pictures on the internet that resembled them. And finally, I wrote out ideas for scenes to prompt me if I get stuck.


Where did you get the idea for Knight Owls? I was hiking the foothills of my neighborhood with my walking buddy. She was talking about the college her daughter attends and its crazy traditions. They were so fantasy like and mystical that I was inspired to write a story about a girl going there and finding out that she is more than an ordinary girl.


What is your down and dirty tip for upping your word count?
I've set a goal of writing 2000 words a day for 25 days and then I'll have five extra days just in case something happens. You know, like, life stuff getting in the way or something.


Quick it's day thirty at five at night and you have 45,000 words, what are you going to do to finish?
Accept failure
 

Brenda I truth or dare you! Truth

If you were a character in any story, who would you be and why? Though I absolutely love my MC, Gracie, I would definitely be Hannah, she's a Kate Hepburn wanna be and she is so like her. She's going to be a blast to write about. She's the comic relief of a sometimes dark ghostly story.




Thanks again Brenda. Now go get writing!

Next week Nancy Cavanaugh is up to bat.

NaNo update

We are three days into NaNo and my word count is 3066/50000  If only blog posts could be added all us bloggers would be set! Truth be told I wouldn't have got this far without the support of others.

So how am I going to make it to December?

My album of choice this November is Taylor Swift with Speak Now. The song Dear John is priceless!

Beverage will be hazelnut coffee, on the strong side.

Fuzzy animal buddy are my button quail chicks I hatched last week.

Desperate pleading to my kids that housework is fun.

So how are you guys/gals in blogger land doing?

Stop by tomorrow for my NaNo interview with Brenda Drake.

Step Three and off we go! The Blurb

If you are a newbie to National Novel Writing Month this will help you to get started. By the way today is November first if you haven't checked the calendar, and THE PARTY HAS BEGUN! It's never too later to sign up.

Writing a story blurb for NaNoWriMo can help keep your story on track. Sure it can veer off and do crazy unexpected things, but in the scheme of things you don't want to lose perspective of the characters motivation. So here is mine that I put together last week.

Aiden
The life of a reaper is easy you track, kill, and collect the soul for escort to the other side. Bee was next on Ad's list when the birth of her twin cousins upset the balance of death in her family.(Conflict that sets story in motion) When he goes to deliver the kiss of death to Bee he is flooded with a warmth he hasn't felt since his human life. His hesitation traps part of his soul in Bee making her immortal like him, and the only way he knows to get it back is to kill her with his scythe. (the incentive moment) But killing her isn't so easy when she brings light to his darkness, and not killing her would mean he would be forced to ascend. (character motivation) Sometimes being a grim reaper sucked.

Beatrice
Bee could always see the Grim Reapers who collected souls. She accepted it as a part of herself long ago, and even used it to warn her cousin Sabrina of her death. When the reaper comes after her next she tries to convince him not to kill her, but first she has to convince herself that she doesn't love him. Loving him is a dangerous game when one kiss could kill.

So, I hope that has helped. Don't forget to fill out your NaNo profile and for the love of chocolate START WRITING!

FYI- Scrivener beta program is out for Windows (FREE). Woohoo! It's pretty neat and I'll be giving it a try to see if it will be worth buying when the full program hits shelves next year. I like the feature of a split page for editing. Anyone use it for their Mac's?

Another FYI. I'm very excited to announce my first interview series for NaNo. Stay tuned for these Wrimo's!
Brenda Drake
Nancy Cavanaugh and she also has a website, click here

Six Days to Go NaNoWriMo, Step Two: The Setting

Let's hope by now you have a good idea about your characters. That's all you have been thinking about since I posted last, right? Alright, good!  Moving on.

                                               The setting. Da Da Dum.....

If you're like me and have had a brain fart about setting here are some down and dirty tips to get your brain moving.

-Be really lame and use somewhere you know.  Yup, my dudes are going to live in a small New England town like me. It's going to be Fall with colored leaves and apple pies. I spent yesterday hiding because they came after me with a pitchfork because they wanted to party in New York City. SORRY NOT THIS TIME. Crud, I ducked from a shovel being thrown.

-If you have a certain scene in mind do a Google image search. Pictures and art are a terrific way to spark imagination. I Googled historical cemeteries in my state this weekend. I know I'm the pillar of happiness!

-Make up your own world. Then you don't need to figure anything out.

Good luck!  Be ready, next up is the BLURB.

My NaNoWriMo

Name: Kiss of Death
Characters: Aiden the lost soul vs Bee the free spirit
Setting: Small New England town, population under two thousand, season Fall
Words: 0/50000
User name: kerri192804

Countdown to NaNoWriMo, Step One: Characters

Pick a title for your soon to be creation because you will have to put it in your profile :)

Now, quick establish your main characters. Here are some tips to get started.

Look to people around you and steal borrow their personality traits.

Use media outlets like your blog, Facebook, or Twitter to get opinions of others. Feel free to steal borrow their ideas.

Google is your best friend. So, don't be afraid to Google until your fingers come off about personality traits. A whole slew of them pop up, and can help you get a feel for how your character will be.

How about those type A and type B personalities.

If you're really stuck then stick to the basic-ya know- the bad boy vs good girl, opposites attract, the tortured soul, the mean girl, the bully, the princess and so on. You can always multi-layer their personality and change it by the end of those 50,000 words.

AND if all else fails get ten pieces of paper. Write your favorite characters of all times from shows or movies that you would die without watching again. Fold it. Put it in a hat and pull one out and use it!

I told you quality is getting thrown out the window but I warn you if you are serious about the story good luck with revisions bawhahaha!

My NaNoWriMo
Name: Kiss of Death
Characters: Aiden the lost soul vs Bee the free spirit
Words: 0/50000
user name: kerri192804

Nanowrimo winner

I can't believe that a month has passed already. Very mind boggling that I plotted, planned and typed my little heart out and I have an almost finished story. After I submitted my 50000 words I read back my story and found it wasn't half bad. I came up with a decent plot and many twists and turns-some I expected and others that took me by surprise. I still have many chapters to write before I tie up all the loose ends, but can now slow down. I do have a new idea I am dying to type. One little tiny itty bitty hint....urban fantasy/romance that takes place in the dream realm.


Some things I REALLY need to catch up on.


1. Cleaning. I finally got around to unclogging the drain in the bathroom that has plagued me all month. So a shower will now be a shower and no longer a pool.


2 Finish winterizing the farm


3 breeding the goats. The stud is scheduled to be picked up Wednesday to come and hang out with a group of very lovely Nigerian Dwarf does. They have their eyelashes batting, and are waiting for the man of the hour.


4 Christmas decorations. It has been a warm November and the opportunity was there to clean the artificial tree that was caked with dust. It was hosed off and is ready to be decorated!


5. My sleep. Watching Weeds starting from season one is very addicting! I am almost done with season two and dying to know how much more trouble this suburbia California mom can get herself into. I admit the whole basis of the show is messed up and wrong on many levels, but I can't help watching. I guess I am a drama junkie!

2009 Nanowrimo participant

For the month of November my schedule will be as follows.....


Get kids ready for school and send them on the bus
Take care of the farm
Go to my favorite blog for a healthy dose of inspiration and advice at Seekerville
write
Have breakfast and coffee
write some more
do some housework (maybe)
write
facebook
coffee
write
check e-mail
coffee
write-because I write better in early morning when my ideas are fresh!
coffee, coffee,coffee
write,write,write
Hit 2000-3000 words a day. Woohoo!
take afternoon off
kids
homework with the kids
animals
dinner
bedtime for kids
write my butt off and hit another 500-1000 words
have a beer!

So if you haven't heard from me don't panic! I will re-surface to take a breather once in awhile. Wish me luck! I am determined to hit 50000 words!



Day 4 word count 5727
Day 5 word count 7500
Day 6 word count 10000 Yes!!!
Day 8 word count 1200 -it was a slow writing weekend, but very productive. My wonderful friend gave me a much needed critique for Book 1, and I came up with a pretty good synopsis to work with for book 2 (my wrimo project). Thank you Katie!
Day 10 word count 15000 and finished Book 1!
Day 12 word count 19600 Lots of words today becuse I was being egged on "What will happen next" By my friend Katie. I had her in total suspense and loved every second of it!
Day 16 25000 I hit the halfway mark! A glass of wine is in order.
Day 21 32000
Day 25 43000 Oh yea I have this in the bag!
Day 28 50000 Nanowrimo winner!