Monday, November 30, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015: I Spoke Too Soon!

Hey fellow writers. I admit it. I spoke too soon. The fact is that I completed this year's NaNoWriMo. I'm a winner, finally!

I'm not done with my novel in progress, Stormborn's Fate, but I hit 50,000 words of a draft. So, I hit a milestone. Now, onward to the complete of this book.

Congrats to my fellow winners. Keep working if you're not done yet. If you didn't participate officially, you can always start a book tomorrow.

It's been fun.


Friday, November 27, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015: A Good Try

Well, it's been a challenging November and I've had some setbacks along the way. I've been writing more consistently than I have a quite some time and that in itself is cause for celebration. Yet, it won't be enough for me to hit the finish line on this year's National Novel Writing Month. With four days left in the challenge, I would have to write so many words a day to finish that it's just not realistic for me. I've have trouble admitting that even as the daily counts have gone up through missed days. 

Instead of bemoaning the fact I won't finish this book by November 30, I have decided to focus on adding words at a reasonable pace for me until it's done and then continuing to build my daily writing habit by writing another book. I am practicing. This whole challenge has been about getting into the habit of practicing my writing craft and improving by just simply writing. 

Though I won't finish this year, I will have my best final total since I started participating in NaNoWriMo. That's an accomplishment  as far as I'm concerned. I know that I will have other opportunities to try again next November and in other challenges before that month. 

So to all of you who don't think  you're going to hit 50,000 words by the end of this month I say this: Don't worry about it. Did you have fun writing? Will you keep going even if it means writing into December so you do finish your books? If yes, then that's great. 

Just keep writing. I know I will.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015: Chipping Away At It

Just letting you know that I'm still writing. I haven't hit the daily numbers I would like with this but I'm still getting somewhere--albeit slowly. The goal is still to finish this year. That' s a milestone I'm not ready to give up on. It also means that I'll need to hit some really good numbers for the remainder of the month.

This is important work for me. It's a chance at resetting my writing as a part of the day. You know, making it a regular habit. Having it as a regular component of each day is an important step for me since I've been rather sporadic with my output over the last few years.

I hope everyone else has had an enjoyable NaNoWriMo and not gotten stressed out about it. Remember it's supposed to be a fun exercise as well as a challenge. Good luck to those still in this thing. See you at the finish line.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015: Still In This!

Yeah, so it's Day Eleven and I'm still aiming to win this thing but it doesn't come without a few wrong turns. I started the challenge writing one book and realizing it wasn't the book I wanted to write, so I stopped and started all over again. Needless to say, this put me behind a bit so I'm going to have to do extra work to cross the November 30th finish line.

All of this writing must be fit into days spent either carrying for my youngest son or in various tasks related to my publishing company. That's enough all on its own to keep me extra busy and give me excuses to not come to the writing during a given day.

I'm still making strides. I want this years' NaNoWriMo to make a transition point with my own fiction and represent how I plan to move forward with any future writing.

Writers are people who write. Like anything else, the more you write the better you get. The more practice you get the more proficient you get at something. I aim to make more time to practice but that means making those hard choices about time.

I'm sure I'm not the only writer that has to deal with these realities. Maybe some of you are doing the same thing during this monthly challenge. Hang in there and keep writing.


Sunday, November 1, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015 - I'm Jumping In!

I wasn't sure if I was going to get in the ring this year, but I am. I'm jumping in and writing into the dark. That's right. I have no clue what I'm writing at this point and I won't know where I'm going--just like a reader reading a book for the first time. I like the fun in that and the challenge too. So, basically, I'm I hope to get a few pages in before the end of the night on something brand new. I've not written much fiction lately. I've been too busy with other things. I do hope to change that and I'm using National Novel Writing Month to do it. 

50,000 words in 30 days. Pretty exciting. Good luck to all of this year's participants! I'm rooting to each and every one of you to cross the finish line. I hope you do the same for me.

I'll probably post updates as I move through November. If you're going along for the ride, feel free to drop by and leave a comment. Catch you later!