Category Archives: NaNo

The NaNoWriMo 2019 Post

Posted in NaNo, Post-NaNo Wrap Up by

Hello and welcome the official, stand-alone NaNoWriMo post for 2019!  I talked about NaNoWriMo in my Currently Obsessed With post, but while writing that post, I decided I needed to do a recap post.  I really wanted to talk about my writing adventures this year, but I also wanted to give myself a break between reaching 50,000 words and writing this post.  I wanted it to sink in a little bit.

It’s funny.  I’ve been doing NaNo for a really long time- this is my 14th year doing it, and not only have I done it every year since 2006, I’ve reached the word count every year, sometimes with multiple novels.  This last month, I’ve been thinking a lot about NaNo, and what I’ve learned since that very first year.

But first, this year.

I wrote this sci-fi/apocalyptic story.  I had this idea for an apocalyptic take on the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, but I didn’t really know what to do with it.

But then I had this dream where the end of the world happened and everyone was really happy about it.  There are a lot more details to this dream, but for some reason, I decided the ideas would go great together.

So the elevator pitch is an alien invasion meets the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.

Except there are more aliens then 4 horsemen.  They didn’t really show up, and what they represent didn’t really happen.  It ended up being more about these two sisters who are on opposing sides- one working with the aliens, and the other working in the resistance.

This was one of those novels that I went with only a vague idea of what I wanted to do.  It wasn’t vaguely planned or outlined like previous years.  All things considered, it went a lot better than I thought it would, considering the lack of planning, and the complete and total pantsing of this novel.

It’s an idea I wouldn’t mind coming back to, now that I’ve written 50,000 words of it.  I feel like I have a better idea of what I want to do with it.  I don’t know if the 4 horsemen would factor into it at all, but I love the idea of two sisters on opposing sides of the alien invasion.

Maybe this 4 horsemen idea could be shelved for a different idea that comes along.  There’s no telling what I’ll come up.  It could be an interesting combination but you never know where things will take you.  That’s the nice thing about being a pantser.  Things end up going in a different direction then you expected.

I did have fun with it though, and I really did like that I wasn’t completely sure where it was going to go.

One thing I want to go back to for next year is having another project to work on.

I’m not talking multiple, 50k novels, because I barely have enough energy for one, much less two or three.  But there were quite a few times this year where I just needed a break from this particular project, and I felt like I needed to write something else.  I caught up on blog posts, and I did some of the prompts from The Severed Moon.

They didn’t spark any ideas but it was good to do some writing prompts.  The cover is really pretty, and there’s something witchy about it,  There’s a mix of questions and quotes from the her books.  I did a lot of questions, and maybe that’s why it didn’t spark any ideas.  I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for the quotes, but maybe I’ll give those a try.

It really makes me want to do more guided journaling.  I’m not the best at keeping up with it, since I’m excited at first and I lose interest after a while, but maybe I need to get in the habit of doing it.  Even a crochet project might help.  I haven’t been in a big crocheting mood lately, but maybe I will be next year.

Still, I think having some sort of background project will be good.  It’s nice to have something else to work on, and it’s a good way to reset myself.  At least I have almost a whole year to figure it out!

I think I may get a little more creative with how I plan my novels.

Either I completely wing it, or I have a vague outline in Scrivener.  I might have some notes in one of my 50 million notebooks too.

But I have a bunch of art supplies and sketchbooks at home, so it could be fun to terribly draw out my ideas, or…well, I’m not quite sure really.  I don’t have a set idea for how I would do it.  I just know I have a ton of brush pens and sketchbooks, and right now, it seems really fun to write out my notes and thoughts and ideas in a completely different way.

Depending on what ideas I come up, or with some ideas that I end up revisiting, we’ll see how this goes.  I’m definitely not going to guarantee I’ll do this next year, because I might not even be interested in doing this a year from now.  If I do, then I’ll go for it,  If not, maybe I’ll give it a try another year.

Here’s an interesting thought.

I love NaNo,  I’ve done it for years, and my life would not be the same without it.  I can’t see myself not doing, and I love the writing 50,000 word novel in one month thing.  But right now, I’m curious to see what a November would look like if I did 50,000 words of blog posts, writing prompts and other ideas?  I’ve been tempted to try to the blog post thing for a few years, but since I do mostly reviews, I don’t know how well that would work.  Usually, the longer I wait to write them, the harder it is for me to write a review, especially if I don’t have strong opinions either way.

But this blog did start out with me writing about my NaNo adventures, so I could talk about that.  And I could write non-review posts too.  That’s something to keep in mind.

I’m not the biggest planner, and my planning ranges from “very vague idea” to “detailed notes that guide me along the way but aren’t so detailed that there’s no room for the unexpected.”  But this is something to consider as well, either as a side project or a main project.  I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself but I could easily reassess in, like, July or August to see how I’m feeling and what I might want to work on.

Honestly, I’m feeling a little rambly and all over the place.

Is rambly even a word?  If it’s not, that’s fine, because it seems like the right thing to say.  I think I’m going to stick with it.

I do feel like I’ve said everything I wanted to say about NaNo 2019, and I’m glad there’s some distance between when I reached 50k and when I’m writing this.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Currently Obsessed With: The NaNo Procrastination Edition

Posted in Currently Obsessed With, NaNo by

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my U.S. readers!  I hope it’s a fun holiday for all of you, and I’m looking forward to all of the food.

I feel like I haven’t done one of these in forever!  The last time I did one of these, I resolved to do them more often but that’s never happened.  Honestly, I feel like I haven’t had enough to talk about as far as non-review posts go.  There has been the occasional cool stuff on the internet post, but that’s been about it.

I’ve been in a blogging mood lately, though.  I’ve been catching up on reviews that I haven’t felt like doing, and in an effort to write something that’s not my novel, it seemed like a good time to do something different.

There’s nothing like procrastination to get me to do something different.  And it is my favorite time of year.

November!

AKA the month where I write a ridiculous amount of words in the span of 30 days.  This year, I’m writing a YA apocalyptic/sci-fi story where alien invasion meets the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.  It’s going better then I expected, considering I didn’t feel like planning anything.  Good, as in I’ve actually reached 50,000 words!  It’s definitely a year for pantsing it, and it’s been a while since I’ve done that.

My brain, however, has decided it needs a break, so it’s time to catch up on blogging, and I may pick up one of my crochet projects to give my mind a break more of a break.  It always ends up being a good reset, and I always go back to my project refreshed.  I’m hoping it will get me back in the noveling mindset.

I may or may not do some sort of wrap-up post in December.  I’m really thinking about it, because I feel feel like talking about it a little more.  It kind of makes me wish I had a second project to work on but I don’t have the energy for multiple novels this year.  Ever since that one crazy year where I did three 50,000 word novels in one month, I’ve been burnt out on the multiple novels in one month thing.  Maybe next year, I’ll have a smaller project to work on as a break from the main one.

Nail Polish & Skin Care Land

It’s been I don’t know how long since I’ve talked about nail polish, and earlier this year, I was sad to see the Julep Maven subscription box get discontinued.  I haven’t found a great nail polish subscription box to take it’s place, which is sad because I loved getting nail polish every month.

If anyone knows of a nail polish-only subscription box, let me know in the comments!

I have fallen in love with the ILNP brand.  They have some amazing colors, and while I have a lot of purples, they have a lot of other gorgeous colors.  I’m glad I gave them a try, and I’m always looking to see what else I want to try.

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I’ve gotten super-into skincare.  It’s that time of year where I can’t slather on enough lotion, and it seems like my skin is a lot drier than normal.

I’m in love with this 72 hour Hydrator from Clinique, and my face feels a lot more hydrated/less dry since I’ve been using it.  I’m also in love with this lip mask from Laneige.  My lips have been so dry and cracked, and they’re so much softer.

I’ve barely made a dent in it, and I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks.  A little goes a long way, and I like it so much I got the chocolate mint one!  There were a couple of nights where I didn’t use it, and I noticed the difference in the morning.  Combined with O’Keefe’s Cooling Relief Lip Repair Balm (which I actually found at Wal-Mart), my lips are no longer cracked and peeling and super dry.

Speaking of subscription boxes…

There are a couple of boxes that I really like!  There’s the Feeling Fab box, which I’ve been getting for a few months, and I really like it!  It’s a lot of skincare, but they’re more sample sizes, which is good, because it’s a good way to test stuff out.  It’s been interesting, but it’s also been really fun and I’ve found some stuff I want to keep using.  I’m going to have to get a picture one of these months.

I also love the Lit Box from Frostbeard.  I’ve been a fan of their shop on Etsy for a long time now, and even though I’ve only been getting their box for a couple of months, it’s fun to get a new scent, plus other really cool stuff that goes with their scent of the month.  I love that you have the option to get either the candle or the wax melts- I’m a wax melt person, but when I saw they had it, I knew I had to get it.

Other Fun Stuff

I’ve been to a couple of book signings, and I had a blast at both events.

I got The Guinevere Deception signed, and having a new Kiersten White book to read is really exciting!  Plus, Kiersten is funny and her signings are always really fun to go to.

I also got to meet Marissa Meyer, and I had an amazing time listening to her talk about how much her Renegades trilogy changed since she got the original idea!  I’ve been a fan since reading her Cinder series, and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see her in person.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m going to Disneyland with my family next month!  That’s the main thing I’m excited about, and I’m glad to take an actual vacation for once.  It’s been a few years since I’ve taken one, and I can’t wait to go.  I’m tempted to take a day and go to Universal Studios for the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter.  It’s not too far of a drive from Disney, so it would be the perfect time to go.  It’s close enough I could make the trip up there if I don’t make it, so we’ll see if I make it over there.

Honestly, that’s the main thing I’m looking forward to, and I feel like I’m missing a few other fun things.  But it’s November, and my brain can only handle so much right now.  I’m going to leave it here, and I’ll be back soon!

Happy Thanksgiving/Happy Thursday!

The Final 2016 NaNoWriMo Update

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I meant to do this post a while ago, and never got around to it, but I did want to wrap it up somehow!

It went really well this year, and I finished with 55,000 words!  I finished early, which I was glad about.  Partly because I’ve found that validating as early as possible is a good thing, but also because the last few days were Monday through Wednesday, and those were the days that I had almost no motivation to write.

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I did keep writing once I reached 50,000, but the pace slowed down a lot after that.  I do want to go back to this story, which is a little strange because once November is over, I’m pretty much done noveling until the next NaNo comes.  I’m definitely taking a break for a while, partially because November is always sort of intense, but I have a crochet project I’m trying to finish before Christmas, and I want to get some reading in, since I barely read anything last month.

I had originally planned for the story to be finished by the end of the November, but my story had other ideas in mind.  As it turns out, it’s only about halfway there, and I really want to re-do the middle portion to match up with some of the things that happen later on.  Plus, that part was really repetitive, to the point that I didn’t want to write it, so that needs more work.

Assuming that I actually go back to it in January, because I feel like I say I’m going to go back to it a lot, and then I never do.

There are a couple of things to check out: why you SHOULD participate in NaNoWriMo and why you SHOULDN’T participate.  Random, I know, but both are worth checking out.

I do love it- this was my 11th year, and I keep coming back to it because I really like the community, and it’s a way to challenge myself and do something different.  It’s a reminder that I can accomplish a big goal, if I dedicate myself to it, and if I make the time for it.  But it’s also not for everyone, but maybe it’ll inspire someone to challenge themselves in another way, even if you’re not writing a novel.  It’s definitely something I look forward to, and I have a lot of ideas that I ended up not going with, plus a couple of others that are floating around in my head, so I’ll have a lot of ideas for next year.

Speaking of next year, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do next year- it involves Little Red Riding Hood and Norse mythology, but I don’t know how it all fits because I don’t know anything about Norse mythology. Maybe it won’t work, but I won’t know until I start doing some research.  If it doesn’t work out, I still have a bunch of other ideas I can go with, and that’s assuming I don’t get any other random ideas, which is entirely possible.  In general, I’d rather have too many ideas that I can narrow down than scrambling for an idea at the last minute.  I’ve done two novels enough times that if I can get it down to two, I’ll be fine.  I learned that three is one too many.

I think that might be all, because I don’t know what else to say about how it went this year!

NaNoWriMo 2016: Update #3

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I have another update about NaNoWrimo!

I’m doing really well so far!  I ended up doing a bunch of scenes set in Romania, since Hermione and Charlie take an unexpected detour.

I did skip quite a bit of the middle, because I was doing only the slightest variation on the same thing, and I was just so bored writing it.  I definitely wasn’t getting anywhere with it, and I knew if I wanted to keep going, I had to go for the stuff I wanted to write.  And that, apparently, was Romania, so I went for it.  I jump back to the story, and I ended up writing the last few chapters I had outlined…only to realize that the story was nowhere near done.  I, of course, had planned for the story to be over and done with on November 30, but clearly, the characters have other plans.  They always seem to go off in their own direction, and never mind what I wanted them to do.

I did add on an extra chapter, and it actually gave me some ideas for the middle part of it. Assuming I actually go back to it, but let’s be honest here:  I’m probably not going to go back to it or keep going once November is over, and this time next year, I’ll probably be on some other new idea (or ideas, because that’s what I usually do) and completely forget this one ever existed.

There is a part of me that wants to actually finish this one, but I know I’ve said that before.  And there was that one year where I did keeping writing after November.  If I remember correctly, I was still working on stuff in December or January before I stopped.  And the novel I did last year was a re-write of the one I did 2 years ago, so it’s possible I could keep going.  Who knows how I’ll feel after 50k/November 30.  Maybe I should just get through this month first before deciding.

I have noticed something interesting this year with my writing- Mondays and Tuesdays seem to be the days I have the least motivation.

I was willing to write it off that first week (because being on my period combined with not taking the election results well meant my writing took a hit).  But last week?  It made me wonder if maybe Mondays/Tuesdays weren’t my best days for writing.  The only way to know for sure is to see what happens the next couple of weeks, but two weeks isn’t going to give me a definite answer.

Still, I’m way ahead of where I’m supposed to be, so I’m not at all worried about falling behind.  I was a little bit nervous a few days ago, knowing that the last few days of the month are the days I’m the least motivated to write, but at the same time, I write the most on weekends.  Especially Sundays. And with Thanksgiving this week, I have a couple of extra writing days.  There’s nothing like a 4-day weekend to (hopefully) reach 50k.

And speaking of word count…

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I’m at 43,343 words!  I can definitely reach 50k this week.  That’s the goal.  Which means I won’t need to worry about trying to finish when I’m potentially not motivated to finish.  Because anything I write after 50k will be icing on the cake.  And I will be eating cake when I finish.  Because cake.

That’s all of the update I have for today, and hopefully I’ll have a really awesome update soon.  In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving if you’re in the U.S., and a great week if you’re not!

NaNoWriMo 2016: Update #2

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It’s been a busy week!  NaNo is going pretty well so far.  I think last time I mentioned having really bad back pain, and I am really glad to report that it went away.  Writing is a lot easier when you can actually sit long enough to do it.

Last Sunday was a really good day for writing, and I ended up being really glad I had a buffer.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn’t have a lot of motivation to write.  The results of the election really got to me (more than any other year) and as much as I wanted and hoped writing would be a good distraction, it wasn’t.  By Thursday, though, I was starting to feel more motivated to write, and now my writing is back to normal.

I did go to a few fun write-ins that I really want to talk about.  My co-ML and I hosted one at the Ghiradelli store we have in downtown San Diego because chocolate and ice cream and writing go together.  I was on a little bit of a sugar high, since I had an eclair for breakfast and then the sundae and root beer float.  I was glad I arrived late to a friend’s birthday thing at Extraordinary Desserts and didn’t order anything because as it was, I went to bed at, like, 8:30 which is insanely early for me.  The sugar crash was not fun.

That worked out well, though, since a bunch of us took the train up to L.A. and I had to be up early.  I did look out the window for a while, looking at the ocean, but then I settled into writing.  A few of us ate at the train station at this really good crepe place, and I took a writing break.  I did crochet, just because I needed to clear my mind and do something creative that I didn’t have to think about.  It turned out to be a pretty good idea, because I was super-focused on the way home and got a lot of writing done.

We also did this cafe hop last week, and went to four different coffee shops.  That was a pretty productive day too, but I had a massive caffeine crash when I got home because I had like, 4 cups of coffee.  I could barely stay awake during Once Upon A Time, and I ended up not watching Walking Dead because I was too tired.  But I know they have re-runs, so I know I’ll catch the episode another time.

As for the actual writing (since I’m talking more about the stuff going on around the writing), I’ve definitely hit the middle part of the story where I just feel very blah about writing quite a few chapters.  I mean, Hermione and Charlie are wandering around, the way Hermione, Ron and Harry wandered around the Forests Of Dean for months, and I’m just bored writing it.  I normally write out of order anyway, because sometimes I don’t want to write certain scenes or chapters, but I’m jumping around a lot more than normal.

I did want to include Hermione and Charlie hiding out in Romania on the dragon reserve, but I wasn’t sure how to work it in.  I still don’t, but for now, I’m just writing it.  I can always fit it in later- assuming I actually go back to the story at some point, and that’s not likely.

*But it is possible.  At least writing random scenes are helping, and it’s a nice change from what I was writing for the story.

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As for my actual word count: I’m currently at 30,021 words!  Which is really good, and I have a pretty good buffer. I’m a good 5 days or so ahead of where I’m supposed to be, and I’m really proud of that, considering some of the things going on this month.  Writing wasn’t always the distraction I was hoping it would be, but I’m glad that I’m still writing something every day.

Hopefully I’ll have another update next week!

NaNoWriMo 2016: An Update From The Trenches

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I can’t believe I’m 5 days into November!  I thought I’d give an update today so everyone knows how it’s going so far.

I went to the midnight write-in/kick-off party in my region (which is good, considering I am one of the ML’s and help plan events).  It was super-fun, and I got a bunch of writing done.

I also took the 1st off, since I knew I was going to be up late, and I figured sleep was more important than going to work exhausted because I either got no sleep or very little sleep.  I also figured I’d get some more writing done, and try to write ahead as much as I could.  I didn’t write as much as I hoped, in terms of the novel, but I was able to get a couple of blog posts done.  If I can manage to get the day off again next year, I definitely plan on doing it again.

I know I mentioned not being sure what I was going to write- I was deciding between an alternate 7th year fic where Hermione gets separated from Harry and Ron but ends up with Charlie Weasley instead and a post-Deathly Hallows but before the epilogue Marriage Law fic.

I literally decided what I was going to write an hour before midnight by rolling dice.  True story.  It’s easily the most interesting way I’ve picked what to write.

So what am I writing?  The alternate 7th year!

It helped that I was okay with writing either idea and that both ideas were vaguely outlined.  I was definitely prepared no matter what I decided to write.

I’ve been writing during my lunch break, and it’s been working really well so far.  I’m sort of surprised by how much I can get done, but it’s a good thing because it means I have less to write when I get home.  I think that’s part of why I’m ahead of where I should be- I end up writing more than I plan to, and even though I could probably take a day or two off of writing completely, I’ve decided to keep the momentum going.

I’m particularly glad that I’ve been writing during lunch because I’ve had horrible lower back pain the last few days, to the point where sitting has been super-uncomfortable at home.  I know it’s going to resolve in a few days (because PMS, not that anyone wanted to know or cares, and I’m sorry if it’s TMI), but it’s sort of something that’s going on right now.

MOVING ON: I was still able to write (even though I did have to write standing one night), but at least I’m enough ahead that if I only write at work, I’m still in pretty good shape.

It’s why I like having some sort of buffer- it’s great for when the unexpected happens, or when I can’t write as much.

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I am currently at 12,833 words!

It’s a really good start, considering I’m only writing one novel this year.  If I keep up this pace, I’m supposed to hit 50k on November 20…at which point I will stop writing, keep going or start one of the other ideas I have.  Assuming I finish early, of course, but I’ll figure it out if/when that happens.

I’ve also had some really funny/interesting sentences, and I’m going to have to share those.  When you’re writing and not paying attention to your inner editor, you end up with really random things. At least I got a laugh out of it!

That’s all I have for an update, but I’ll definitely be back with another update!

I Still Have No Idea What I’m Writing For NaNoWriMo

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In just a few days, I will be starting NaNoWriMo!  It’s a little bit weird because this will be my 11th year doing it, and I can’t believe it’s been for that long.  Definitely long enough that I actually have to think about how long I’ve been doing it.

For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it is National Novel Writing Month.  It’s a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days, and while it can be intense, it’s also something I look forward to doing every year.  I love the community and hearing what other people are doing, and this year in particular, it will be a good distraction and a way to focus on something else for a while.

It’s definitely not for everyone, and even writing something is so much better than writing nothing.  I really do believe that by just deciding to go for it, and to just write something, you’re a winner.  And I’m totally cool with having buddies, so if you’re participating…you can friend me.

I usually have an idea of what I’m writing, and for quite a while I was consistently doing two 50,000 word novels at the same time.  Then came the year I did three, then I did a few different ideas because I burned out after the insane 3 novel year, and since then I’ve stuck with one.  I know I listed fanfic as my genre this year, because that’s what I’m leaning towards, but if it changes, I’m totally going to have to update my novel.

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Idea #1: The only original idea I have- a YA in which I have not picked a genre.

I randomly got an idea for a novel set in a boarding school, and my main character is new there.  There are a lot of secrets and mysterious/weird things happening, but I haven’t decided if it’s going to be more either contemporary, mystery, horror or if I want to do paranormal or urban fantasy.  It’s vague enough that if I do it, it can go in any direction, and it could be fun to see where it ends up.

My only hesitation with doing this one is that I don’t know if I’m in the right frame of mind for something completely original.  Even though things are a lot more calm now, I’m still feeling sort of blah and not motivated to do much of anything, and even though I like this idea a lot, I just don’t feel interested enough to actually do it.  I feel like I’d start it and then abandon it for something else.  I do have an outline, though, so maybe I’ll do it for a Camp NaNo or save it for another November.

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Now for all the fanfic ideas…which involve shipping Hermione with different Weasleys that are not Ron.

Fanfic Idea #1: Hermione and George

I’ve read quite a few Marriage Law fics, and I always thought the idea was interesting, so I figured I’d try writing my own.  Hermione also goes back to Hogwarts, so there’s also that going on.  This is actually one of the ideas I’m leaning towards, now that I think about it, so there’s a good chance I could pick this one.  I also have this one outlined- at least enough to (hopefully) get me through November.  Where it ends is not the end of the story, but I honestly wanted enough to get me through a month.

FanFic Idea #2: Hermione and Charlie

This one is totally an alternate 7th year where Hermione gets separated from Ron and Harry at Bill and Fleur’s wedding and somehow ends up on the run with Charlie.  It also has what I’m officially calling a NaNo outline- I have enough outlined to get me through the month, even if it’s not completely finished.  It is more finished/complete than my 1st idea, but it’s not completely finished.  This is the other idea I’m leaning towards, so apparently I have narrowed things down without even realizing it.

FanFic Idea #3: Hermione and Percy

This is post-Battle, and the wizarding world is trying to get itself together.  At least, that’s the basic idea.  I only have about half a NaNo-outline, because I sort of hit a wall with outlining.  Which is fine, since I have a couple of other ideas I’m leaning towards.  I think it’s one of those things that just needs to be written.  If the other two fanfic ideas don’t pan out, I think this will be a good back-up.  Or I might do it during Camp NaNo, where I can set my own word count and not have to worry about writing a 50k (or beyond).

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And the plot bunnies that I never got around to thinking about!  Well, I do admit to thinking more about some of them than others, but considering how little I’ve done with them, I’m still going to consider them plot bunnies.

Plot Bunny #1: More FanFic…this time with Fred and Hermione

I swear, Weasley twins + Hermione is my favorite non-canon ship, but I’ve been shipping Hermione and Fred since high school.  HIGH SCHOOL, PEOPLE.  That’s a long time, and I did start a Hermione/Fred fanfic at one point in high school.

For this one, I was thinking maybe something starting in her 4th year, around the Yule Ball, but that’s it.  I got distracted by other things and never got around to doing anything with it.  Maybe in December, I’ll come back to it.

Plot Bunny #2: Something YA Contemporary, preferably during summer 

I tried doing this one year, and it didn’t work out, but I so want to do something like this.  I don’t know what exactly, but I’ve had the idea just floating around for ages and I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  I don’t have enough of an actual idea to actually do something with it, so maybe I need to go back to YA Contemporary to see if something will spark an idea.

Plot Bunny #3: New Adult Romance?

I don’t read a lot of it, and it’s TOTALLY out of my comfort zone, so I’m nervous about doing it.  I have a vague idea of how it ends, and for some reason I want to start with the ending and then you see how things got to that point. But I’m sort of nervous to write romance because I’m not at all comfortable writing it, even though I really like books with romance.  Maybe it’ll end up being more contemporary?  I don’t know but I need to think about it.  Oddly enough, I got the idea to write something in this genre the first time I heard Hello by Adele, so maybe I should think more of the mood I’m going for instead of a genre?  Because contemporary could work for it too, I think.  It depends on what I end up deciding.

Not Exactly A Plot Bunny But It Also Doesn’t Fit Anywhere Else:

Plus the story I’ve worked on for the last couple of NaNo’s.  I still want to do a lot more with it, but my noveling efforts tend to be in November, with some prep in September/October and maybe a half-hearted attempt during a Camp NaNo session.  At the same time, I want to write something different, and I also know that right now, I just want to write fanfic and not focus on something original, because I think that’s where I’m at this year.

I think I’m going to end up deciding which idea I’m going with on Halloween, right before I start writing at midnight. I’m definitely not doing two 50k novels, but maybe 25k of each if I absolutely cannot decide.

Is anyone else doing NaNo this year or has done it in the past? What’s everyone writing this year, if you are?  Maybe you’re not writing but instead doing some other creative project?  I definitely want to hear what really awesome things you’re working on!

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #2: Winner!

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I think it’s time for another NaNoWriMo update!

NaNo Winner 2015

I have written 50,237 words this month!  Well, a little bit more than that, because I always try to write a little bit more than the 50k, but I reached my goal, and I did it a few days early.  I’m still going to be writing, but I won’t be writing the way I was for most of the month.  This story I’ve been working on is nowhere close to being finished-I have two books outlined, and a couple of ideas for a next book, but other than that, I have nothing.

I’m not sure where to go next: I’m not sure if I want to finish writing what I have outlined, if I want to work on the characters and the world, if I want to take a break before doing anything else, or if I want to try to outline the rest of the story.  Or some combination of those things.

A break would be nice, because it would give me some distance before starting up again.  But I’m also worried that the momentum I’m had for the entire month will vanish if I stop, and that I won’t go back to it if I take a break. We’ll see, I suppose.  It’s not like I have to decide right this instant.

It really has been an easy year- of the now 10 times I’ve done NaNo, this one has been the EASIEST year by far, and I think a lot of it has to do with having an outline and using Scrivener.  I knew where it was going, and that made it a lot easier to write, especially since I had quite a few days where I didn’t want to write whatever scene I was supposed to be writing.  It was really easy to jump to something I did want to write, and it was just as easy to go back and write the scenes I skipped over.  It was also really easy to move things around and combine scenes or add more scenes or even get rid of scenes if I needed to.

It’s also really nice to have this entire story (and everything relating to it) in one place.  It’s been nice having in one place and having it really easy to find, and having it fairly organized.  It’s a little weird, because I’m so used to using Word, but having used Scrivener for about a month, I don’t think I could go back to Word.

Overall, NaNo has gone really well this year, and I’m really excited about this story in particular.  I definitely can’t wait to keep working on it!

A NaNoWriMo 2015 Update

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I haven’t done much blogging lately, except for the odd review round-up or a Top Ten Tuesday post, but I did want to talk about NaNoWriMo since I have yet to talk about it this month.

I’m a huge supporter of NaNoWriMo, and I’ve been a fan for years.  For anyone who isn’t familiar with it, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, where writers from all over the world write their own 50,000 word novel in one month.

NaNo 2015 Participant Badge

This is my tenth year doing NaNo, and my blog actually started out as me blogging my way through NaNo.  It was the year I decided to do three 50k novels in one month, and I have never done 3 in one month again.  You can click here to read about my previous NaNo novels, or here to see all of my NaNo posts.

Last year, I wrote a YA paranormal book about an amulet that needs to be destroyed, other humanity will be wiped out.  You can read more about the original idea here.  I had the hardest time with world-building and I wasn’t sure where I wanted it go, but I decided to write it anyway, and found that once I reached my 50k, it was a book I really wanted to re-write.  I’m still not sure how I want it to end, but I have a slightly better idea of what I want to do with it than I did last year.

I think, of all the years I’ve been doing NaNo, this has been the easiest year by far.  I’ve never been one for planning my novels out, because I’m much more of a pantser but I’m actually surprised at how much easier writing is when I have an outline.  There have been 2 or 3 days where I didn’t want to write.  Even though I knew what I was writing, I just didn’t have the motivation to write very much, so I have a few days where I struggled. I’ve been consistently ahead of the 1667 pace, so I felt okay not writing as much because I’ve had a buffer.  If my lowest day is 1000 words, I’m doing pretty good, and I am trying really hard to maintain that buffer, because I don’t want to lose that momentum.  I’m currently at 21,373, so I’m doing really good.  It’s sort of surprising, considering I was sick the first week (waking up sick on November 1st was horrible) and with how much Daylight Savings is really messing with me this year.

It’s vague enough that I feel like I have flexibility in where things go and what I’m writing, but it’s also specific enough that I know where things are going.  I can move things around as needed, and since I have an outline, it’s a lot easier to jump around if writing a particular scene or chapter isn’t working.

I’m using Scrivener this year, and I absolutely love it!  It makes it easier to jump around when I can’t focus on a particular scene, and the split screen feature is completely awesome and super-helpful.  I have the scene I’m writing on one side, and the chapter outline on the other side, which makes it easier to write each scene when I can see how it fits in with the rest of the chapter.

Unfortunately, I didn’t work on any character sketches or world building, and I still need to go through last year’s novel to see if I want to keep any of the world-building or character stuff from last year’s novel.  But this year, as I’m writing, I am adding that information to Scrivener, for when I have the time to properly focus on it. It’s daunting because I have to go through Word, and I don’t even know what I’m looking for, or where to find it.  With Scrivener, even if I’m not completely sure where to find a particular scene, I at least have a general idea of where to find it, and it’ll be easier to stay organized once I’ve worked on characters and the world more, particularly with a series.

I don’t know how much I’ll be talking about NaNo this year- at the very least, I’ll be doing a post at the end of the month, and maybe something in between, but I’m not sure.

If anyone else is participating, you can always add me as a buddy!  I’m wingedcreature (or click here to see my NaNo profile and my progress).

Happy almost mid-November!

Let’s Talk About How I Wrote 50,069 Words In 29 Days

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Winner-2014-Twitter-Profile

I wrote words.  50,069 of them, to be exact, which means I have “won” NaNoWriMo for the 9th year in a row- I’ve won more, if you’re going by number of novels I’ve written, and not number of years.

This November is one of the more interesting Novembers I’ve had in a while.  I actually wrote just one novel, and didn’t have the beginnings of several different novels because I didn’t like anything I was writing.

I liked being able to focus on one book this year, but I also like having two because I can switch back and forth if I’m having trouble with one.

It’s weird, because this year, I didn’t struggle with writing until I hit 40,000 words, which is usually one of the easier parts of writing for me.  I still wrote, and it was hard, but not too hard, since I still got to my goal.  But for whatever reason, I just didn’t want to keep writing it.

I went into the month with some ideas and notes, and a very vague idea of plot and characters, but no other concrete details. I think this is one of those novels I just needed to start writing, because I had a lot of trouble figuring out this world and what I wanted it to be.  Just writing and coming up with this world as I wrote it gave me some really good ideas of what I wanted to do (or didn’t want to do) and if it was something I wanted to do in this book.

I definitely realized that this is a book I want to go back and re-write next year, and I really want to spend the next 11 months working on characters and this world, and reading it over so I have a more organized idea of this world.  I didn’t keep track of anything I discovered about this world, mostly because I was more focused on actually writing, and any inconsistencies can always be fixed later on (if I were one to go back and edit).

I actually really want to use Scrivener to keep track of everything.  It really does seem seem like the best way to keep everything organized.  I’ve also heard really good things about it, so that really helps (as does the discount all participants get once November is over).

It’s always fun to set down with a goal of doing something, and do it knowing that not only are thousands of other people doing it, but that there’s a deadline.  I like it because it’s a way for my to get whatever ideas I have written (because I know I would never write them otherwise) and it’s a good starting point if I ever decide to go back and work on one of them.  NaNo gets me to actually write without worrying about how good it is.  And I love the community too!  I’ve met so many cool people through NaNo.  And the books that have been published that started out as a NaNoWriMo novel is really inspiring!

I really did have a good November, and I hope everyone else did too!