Category: NaNoWriMo

Goodbye and Good Riddance NaNoWriMo

Well, it’s happened.

I woke up to the news this morning that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) will be no more. They’re shutting down.

Part of me hopes this is an April Fools’ prank. Part of me feels like a weight is lifted from my shoulders.

After the controversy in 2023, and so many more issues (which you can read about here), and the mess that was early 2024, I denounced them entirely.

Ironically, 2023 was my best writing year where I finished my draft in December.

Perhaps that proved that I’m past needing external validation to write a full-length novel. Perhaps that was the first sign it was time to move on. Still, I held out hope. I hoped the admin would clean up the mess that was 2023 and give the long time users and volunteers and supporters a reason to come back and support the cause.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. After the events of 2023, I was on the fence. I’d been an ML for 8 years, NaNoWriMo was something I supported fully and at one time defended through any vitriol, but 2024 was a rough year. I wasn’t in the right headspace for any volunteering, any creative writing or creation at all. Then, before I could make the decision, all the MLs and volunteers were let go with little mention. Some of us didn’t even get an email.

I grieved NaNoWriMo just as I grieved the other handful of deaths I had in 2024. I went through all the stages of grief:

Denial (No, NaNoWriMo wouldn’t…)

Anger (How could I have not known?!)

Bargaining (Ok, NaNo is sucking right now, but they’re making positive changes. I’ll return when they’re better)

Depression (Great, another thing that’s fucked up in the world and triggering my anxiety through the roof)

and

Acceptance (Fuck ‘em).

That’s about where I am right now. Does it absolutely suck that NaNoWriMo as an organization is over? Yes.

But, at the same time, the program has done what it set out to do when it started in 1999. It had a hand in building writing communities all over the world, it helped writers find the drive to tell their stories. It proved to writers that yes you CAN write that novel.

Several writers have taken up the challenge and have amazing work to show for it. I wrote an entire series over a decade out of the 15 years I participated. I have a lot more finished novels because of NaNoWriMo.

I have a million words thanks to NaNoWriMo.

I’m thankful, but at the same time, good riddance. I hate to be blunt, but they dug their own grave with everything that happened in 2023/2024 and even way before that.

The website change in 2018/19- awful.

The increase of donation reminders over writing pep talks to help fund the website- awful.

The allegations in 2023 and the fall out into 2024- awful.

How they treated users and volunteers who only wanted answers- awful.

That being said, I hope the positives of NaNoWriMo live on. The writing community, the steadfast belief that anyone can tell a story, and the frenzied writing of a lot of crap to fertilize a beautiful future novel that the story could be.

All this toxic BS of blaming users and volunteers, ableism, and gaslighting can go.

So what do we do now?

Thankfully, from the fallout of NaNoWriMo in 2023/2024, a lot of other organizations and programs have stepped up. Plotterati, Royal Road’s Writathon, Writetrack, among several others.

Here’s a decent list. Maybe give the internet a few days to catch up. When I did my search, NaNoWriMo was still listed in most of them.

As a writer, join or make a local writing group. Keep the idea of “writing dangerously” and “by the seat of your pants” alive and well.

Donate to other writing projects, or charity.

As for me, I’m still writing. I still have a writing community.

That’s what matters most.

Keep writing. That’s all we can do.

Programs and organizations may come and go, but the writing will always be there.

 

Week Four Updates and Monthly Insights

Here we are in the last week (and last few days!) of November. This month has been quite the creative and productive month with writing and posting on the blog (and other places). I’ve made it through approximately 25% of my novel (I started the plot a little early- more on that later) and I technically won NaNoWriMo with 50,000 words on the 26th.

In these last few days of November, filled with attempting to continue writing my novel, finishing up some blog posts and coming up with plans for December and beyond, I’ve been fortunate to have time and drive to create.

Here’s how I did in the last week:

Day 22: 2055 in 55 minutes

Day 23: 1688 in 42 minutes

Day 24: 1676 in 45 minutes

Day 25:1720 in 40 minutes

Day 26: 1940 in 50 minutes

Day 27: 1774 in 45 minutes

Day 28:1747 in 45 minutes

Monthly Total: 55,281

Here’s what the last week (and the whole month) has taught me:

Focusing on one big project (and one smaller one) boosts word count

In previous months, I’ve attempted to focus on multiple projects at the same time and attempt to get them finished in a timely manner. When I started documenting my time this month, attempting to find the magic, I focused on one project and a few little smaller projects (such as this blog, substack and medium posts). I’ve realized focusing on one big project (like a novel) and one non-creative project, like blogging really is the key to getting things done. In the past Novembers, I’ve mainly focused on one project and done really well on that project. As November comes to a close, I hope I can continue through this novel until the first draft is complete (and of course keep posting updates and other noteworthy items on the blog!)

The first 1000 words of the day is always the hardest

I’ve come to this realization several times over my tenure as a NaNoWriMo participant. From the years that I struggled to make word counts, to the years I doubled my word count and overshot the 50K by double, one thing has stayed the same: The first 1000 words of the day are the most difficult. I’m not sure exactly why, maybe because it’s a big number to attempt to reach, or perhaps it’s all in my head, but to write for a while and only see three digits is frustrating. Everything after the 1K mark for the day comes easy.

Small sprints make big leaps

This month, I’ve tried something new and tracked my writing time religiously. I’ve only written when I have a timer going (usually 5, 10 or 15 minutes) and I don’t let anything distract me during that stretch of time (unless I’m at work and something comes up). I’ve been tracking how long it takes me to get the required word count for the day and I’ve noticed even the smallest amount of time (between 2 and 5 minutes) can make a big difference in word count. 5 minutes for me is around 250 words, which is a decent dent in the day’s count. Even when I feel like I don’t have a full 45 minutes to an hour to sit down and write, several 5 minute sprints can help reach the goal.

Writing takes a community

This realization has come to me once again post-pandemic after it was “safe” to go out in public again. I feel like growing up writing I was always doing it by myself, in the dark of my room after I was supposed to go to bed, or between classes, or on breaks at work. While there is some controversy with NaNoWriMo currently, they do have one aspect right: Writing takes a community. I’m very fortunate to have found my community in my area. I’ve been able to attend write-ins every week and find inspiration with my fellow writers, even if it’s not always in person.

See you in December for more writing updates!

 

NaNoWriMo 2023 Week Two Update and Current Thoughts

Week two was a struggle. I feel like I built up all this momentum in week one, all this excitement for the story and then somewhere around the beginning of week 2 (most likely when my outline went off the rails), I started to lose interest.

Thankfully, I got it back and finally I’m now back up to my usual enjoyment of my novel. Other aspects involving the monthly challenge I’m not so enthused about currently, but we’ll get to that here shortly.

Day 8: 2,574 words in 1 hour and 10 minutes

Day 9: 1,772 words in 40 minutes

Day 10: 1,696 words in 52 minutes

Day 11: 1,715 words in 45 minutes

Day 12: 1,917 words in45 minutes

Day 13: 1,892 words in 45 minutes

Day 14: 1,716 words in 40 minutes

Monthly Total: 29,691

Overall, I’m proud of my progress over week two, especially with the lack of motivation I was feeling and everything else going on with the website and certain allegations.

What most of you don’t know is I am a Municipal Liaison (ML) for my county. I’ve been an ML and working with participants since 2015. I started to volunteer for NaNoWriMo because I believed in what they stood for: There’s a novel in everyone, creativity rules, and increased literacy across the globe. I have donated to them, bought merch from them and supported their cause pretty much since I started participating in 2009.

The current allegations are sickening. In fact, the way the company has been trending for the last few years has been sickening. I do not condone what has happened with NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo used to be a place for creatives, a place for the artists and likeminded people to get together and enjoy suffering through writing a novel in a month. It was a place where people who were usually on the outskirts (introverts, book nerds, geeks and anyone else) could be included.

Now, after the recent website changes in 2019, the staff changes throughout the years, the pandemic and these sickening accusations of child endangerment among other things have made it ugly. When complaints surfaced, instead of being heard, users were silenced, banned, blocked and suspended, effectively giving NaNoWriMo a culture of fear and intimidation. That is not what NaNoWriMo should be, but that is what it became.

The forums shut down on November 11th when the board of NaNoWriMo stepped in to investigate. I’ve been reading what should be updates from the board and instead, the forum post is filled with hate, with vitriol toward other users and all around yucky meanness. Users in the forums are throwing anyone and everyone under the bus, including MLs, Staff, HQ and other users. Even TikTok has gotten ahold of the news and has made it a big over conflated mess.

That is not what NaNoWriMo should be. We shouldn’t be fighting with our fellow novelists, discounting the experiences of those vulnerable YWPers who have chosen to share their insights.

I DO NOT CONDONE WHAT NANOWRIMO HAS BECOME.

Currently, I can’t step down from my ML position. I have too many new participants this year that thankfully don’t seem to be on the forums as much. I would love for them to have as good of an experience during their first year as I did. I would love for them to find the good in NaNoWriMo, but I’m not sure how that can happen this year.

After November, and hopefully after the investigations, NaNoWriMo can be better than it was. I’m not sure I’ll be as much of a part of it, if at all.

We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing and keep creating.

See you next week for another writing update!

 

NaNoWriMo 2023 Week One Update

Usually for NaNoWriMo, I go all out and just write with abandon (which is part of their motto), in a frantic race toward the end. This year, I’m doing something a little different.

I want to try and find out what makes November so successful for me. Is it the high of starting a new project? Is it the time spent focusing on writing and not social media or other distractions on my phone? Is it simply the magic of November?

This year, I’ve decided to track my minutes and hours written and my word count for the day. I want to know how long it takes me to reach par (1667 words) a day and how to continue something like that into 2024 and hopefully much longer than that.

Lately, writing and editing and working on every project has felt like a chore and I’m hoping to take what I learn this month in November and find the joy of writing again.

Here’s how I’ve done in the first week of NaNoWriMo and the first 16,409/50,000 of To Have a Heart.

Day One

Day one is usually always the best day of NaNoWriMo. I’ve spent the last few weeks pumping myself up to get some writing started and when midnight hits, I go without a care in the world. This year, I’m doing something different and tracking my words and the time spent writing.

I started at midnight, despite the exhaustion and got about 200 words. I kept pushing throughout the day (with timers ranging between 5 and 15 minutes). I also went to a write-in for my region.

4,549 Words in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Day Two

Day two was a lot of world building and struggling with names. I felt like I needed to research, but pushed through and kept writing. Research is something I can do in December or when the full story is completed (which I am also hoping is in December.

1,694 words in 40 minutes

Day Three

Day three was the first day I went back to work after NaNoWriMo had started. I was fortunate to get the first two days off without asking for them and it was a great jumpstart to the novel. Day three was not the best writing day, especially with distractions from work, but it could have been worse.

2,200 words in 50 minutes.

Day Four

Day four was the first day I had off together with my husband and the writing was a bit slow to start with more distractions of spending time together and catching up after our week of work. It wasn’t the best writing day, but I did still manage to reach par (1,667). Day four was when I decided I am going to strive for par every single day of the month and get ALL the badges on the NaNoWriMo site.

1,897 words in 40 minutes.

Day Five

Day Five was a busy day and not because of writing. There was a lot of running around, thankfully all of it fun on a day off with Wine Tasting and delicious food. This was the first day I feared I wouldn’t make par, but thankfully long car trips and small breaks in between really saved the day.

1,882 in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Day Six

Day Six was another day back at work. I always try to get started with the daily count in the morning (especially since the first few hundred words are the hardest on a new day). On day six it was a struggle. Still, I persevered and made writing a priority even though distractions were calling my name. I also started to go off outline a little because for some reason I put a crucial scene and character way down in the outline and realized I could introduce her way earlier.

2,008 words in 47 minutes

Day Seven

Day Seven was another work day, a little busier, but also a little more freedom to get writing done in a strange way. The novel is really starting to get interesting, even though I feel like I started it too early before the real plot kicks in, but world building and a day in the life of a main character still counts for words, so that will be an editing problem once draft one is finished.

2,179 words in 45 minutes.

Overall Breakdown

I timed myself for every writing session I completed for this week in order to decode the magic of November and how I fare so well when writing during NaNoWriMo. I used both my computer and my phone because I rarely sit in one place when I write.

Overall, both computer and phone time were pretty close to equal with only about an hour and a half more on the computer, which surprised me with how much time I felt like I was writing on my phone .

4.5 hours average on my computer for the week and just under 3 hours on the phone.

In just over 7.5 hours, I wrote 16,409 words, which is 33% of the goal toward 50,000.

So far, November is going really well.

I have another write-in tonight, which should be a great boost for my word count, but I think Wednesdays this month will probably be my best days. I’ve learned a lot over this week analyzing my writing habits.

Tune in next week!

 

What I’m Writing: NaNoWriMo 2023

Here were are in November once again and here I am once again writing a new novel in November.

This year will be my 15th year writing a novel during November. Each year I find something new and exciting to write about. For this year, I’m writing a dark fantasy novel with elements of magic, war and a little romance.

It’s an idea I’ve been playing with for a few months now and one I’ve been building over time. The project is based off of one of my favorite books/movies and one that I spent a few months decoding to try and figure out why I enjoy it so much.

TW: Blood in the next image

Here’s my project for November:

To Have A Heart

Summary

Sa’Leigh, as a middle child, has always hoped to get married and find her true name. After an interaction with the Willow Witch, Sa’Leigh is forced to run away from everything and everyone she loves to prevent her untimely disfigurement and death, either by her affection or someone else’s.

Constantly on the run from the witch himself, Hale, a necromancer during the gruesome war spanning 500 years, has never enjoyed the abilities forced upon him. Despite his forced isolation, and constant work due to the war, he reluctantly opens his home to Sa’Leigh. He can’t break the curse of the Willow Witch, but perhaps together the two outcasts can make something of their tragedies.

Fun fact: This is the first novel in a long time that I have fully outlined before I’ve started.

Wish me luck!

If you would like to join me and write a novel in 30 days, you can join NaNoWriMo here.

 

October Results and November Goals

Here we are in November already! October was full of fun, including concerts, travels, fun experiences at a writing conference and different experiences at work. I hope November is a little more steady as far as schedules and routines go, but here’s how I did in October.

October Results

Writing

Finish Edits on Book 1

I did not finish edits on book one. I will not have a completely clean slate in November like I wanted, but I will get a decent break for the month of November. During the hustle of edits, I forgot to actually enjoy the story and what’s being built up in the story. I lost the love of it, for the technical aspects of style. So I’m going to take a little break and come back to it fresh in December or January.

Finish as many chapters/ sections as possible

This goal did not go as well as I planned either. With the travel and the upheaval of my usual schedule at the beginning of the month, it was quite difficult to get back to “normal”. I really started to push and get a few things finished in the last week of the month, and I’m glad to say I finished a few things. Which means a little less stress when I focus mostly on one project in November. There are still some projects to finish, but they can wait until December, or more likely, January.

Preptober for NaNoWriMo

This goal has been the most fun and most successful this month. I have managed to turn the notes I’ve been collecting over the last few months into a somewhat successful outline. I have been able to create mood boards and ramp up the excitement for myself. I have even played around with the idea of a spin-off from the first book. When November starts, it’s off to the races!

Inktober

Once again, I let the fear or not being perfect step in the way of trying something new. Not only that, but I always forget how much time I never seem to have in October. This month could have been such a good creative month but instead, I was more focused on other important things. I did attempt a few drawings, so perhaps I’ll post those sooner rather than later. It’s always a possibility!

Personal

Exercise

This month has been better for exercise. I’ve been more aware of it. The first few weeks of the month went really well and my exercise trend is back up. We’ll see how I do once the time change hits, but I hope to keep pushing forward.

Journal

Morning pages this month did not go as well as I had hoped. Digital pages, while they do help in a pinch, are not the way to do journaling. There were several days where I simply didn’t do my pages at all, because there was either too much or too little going on. I can only write so much about my desire to write and motivate myself before I realize I’m overdoing it. There have been a few weekends/days off that I did miss 2 days in a row, but I am still trying to do my best, even if that doesn’t mean every day or letting myself miss more than a day.

Hydrate

Once again, hydrating did not come easy. While I did not log things as much as I wanted to in my water tracking app, I do know I attempted to hydrate more. It’s getting to be fall, which means I’ll be drinking more hot liquids like green teas and non-caffeinated teas, so I am very excited to add those into my goals. Coffee is still a main staple, and caffeinated teas, but I have attempted to add more water, especially when I feel I need it. I hope to continue the practice in November.

Other

October was full of fun. I traveled a lot between 4 different state for a wedding, a concert and a mini-honeymoon with my husband. I went to a local writing conference and found my inspiration for creation again. I finished another book, which puts me way ahead of my goal for reading, so now it’s time to write more!

I started a few substacks, that should be going live sooner rather than later. You can read the start of them here. I hope to maintain them and update regularly, even during the hectic months at the end of the year.

Word Count: 12,269

November Goals

Writing

NaNoWriMo

This year, as with every year in November, I want to write 50,000 words in November. I will be participating with several writers from all over the world in this international challenge in hopes of having the start of a story. This year, I want to get as close to finishing this novel as I can. I’m excited to get started.

Post more writing online

I want to keep up with the blog schedule more regularly than I have. I also want to post more in other places. Keep an eye out for more posts here on the blog and other links to explore!

Personal

Exercise

This month is no different from any other months of the year, even though I am attempting to write a novel (or most of it) during November. I still want to exercise and try to stay motivated and take control of my health. Plus, exercise usually helps me find more awesome songs for my playlists or awesome ideas for the current story.

Journal

This month, I still plan to journal, but I’m going to do something a little different. Instead of my normal morning pages of just brain-dump, I am going to focus more on the novel writing process and what works and what doesn’t. November often flies by in a haze of “I have no idea how I did that”, but I want to explore the process a bit more this year. What better way to do that than in a journal?

Hydrate

Drinking water is important. Staying hydrated, especially in the throws of creativity is even more important. I have a better system of tracking my water intake that makes each attempt feel like a small reward, so hopefully I will make more progress this month and start to notice more positive changes.

If you would like to join me and write a novel in November, you can sign up here.

 

November Results and December Goals

Thank Goodness November is finally over. I usually love November for the intense joy of writing, but this November has kicked my butt in too many ways. I’m excited we’re now in December, a brand new month, with brand new goals, but that also means the year is wrapping up. Time to get my butt in gear and finish the year strong.

Here’s how I did in my goals.

November Results

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo could have gone better this year. With oral surgery, a wedding to attend, antibiotics, cough medicine and everything else that went on this month, it was a struggle to find the time and the energy to sit down and write words. At one point, I was even close to 10K behind, but I slowly started to crawl my way back and try to make a dent in the actual novel I should be working on and not all my side projects. Thankfully, the last day of the month, I crossed the finish line on multiple projects and reached the 50K mark.

Continue Edits

This month, edits were stop and go. There were a few days where I was consistent in editing, and then there were more days where I wasn’t consistent at all. Unfortunately there were a lot of zeros on my spreadsheet for editing, but I expected that with it being NaNoWriMo and all. Drafting is definitely quicker than editing and usually gives me more words. But I did learn a decent trick over the last few weeks of editing backwards and keeping the story fresh in my head. Hopefully it helps me edit more words as we roll into December.

One Short Story/Finish a Short Story

This month, I worked a little bit on everything. I started a new short story and added that to my ever-growing list of short stories for the year. I finished two short stories this month and nearly caught up in my short story per month quota. By the end of the year, I hope to have 12 short stories that I can edit next year and see where they end up.

NYC Midnight’s 250 Microfiction Competition

The NYC Midnight Microfiction challenge went well. I was able to throw it together in a few hours, right in the heat of COVID and more than enough cough medicine to kill a horse. The genre was romantic comedy and I hope I caught enough romance and comedy to make it shine in only 250 words. Now I wait for the results.

Word Count: 50,721

Toward the end of October, I fell down my stairs and had to nurse that back to health with a metric ton of Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Then the first week of November I had oral surgery and had a tooth removed and had to take antibiotics and narcotics (which always make me queasy), then finally the week after that, COVID finally caught up with me and kicked my ass. Toward the end of the month, when I finally started to feel like myself again after a few days off, I managed to catch up on all my projects for the month. I really found the community of writers in my local area which helped me find the final push I needed to get some things done.

For the first time, I published some of my microfiction to Medium. You can read it and follow me here.

December Goals

One Short Story

I already have my idea for the short story in December. I already have a good portion of the short story from November mapped out. I’m hoping to work on both in the next month and finish my goal of 12 short stories this year strong. It’s been a really good year for short stories and I’m looking forward to adding another story to my ever-growing list.

Continue Edits

Edits are picking up again after NaNoWriMo and now that I have a direction, I’m ready to get moving and make as much progress as I can before the end of the year. I’m thinking if I spend at least thirty minutes a day doing some kind of editing, I’ll have more than I started with at the beginning of the month.

Poetry

On a whim, I signed up for a poetry competition. I’ve been looking for more publishing opportunities, and that will hopefully include poetry one of these days. The goal for the competition is one poem a day for 21 days. Either way, if I manage to get a few poems down, it’s more than what I started with at the end of the month.

What goal are you trying to wrap up by the end of the year?

October Results and November Goals

October started off a bit rocky, with a lot of things that needed to get done, and then simply didn’t get done. The month thankfully picked up a bit more toward the end, which means I was able to hit some goals.

Here’s how I did in October:

October Results

Inktober and Writetober

None of these goals ended up happening. I was so excited to go forth and create and post, but then it just didn’t happen. Whether it was exhaustion from work or lack of motivtation, I only posted one day and then decided I had more important things to work on this month with the little time I have to create and Inktober, Writetober and Instawrimo weren’t those things. Maybe next year, or throughout the year there will be more doodles. We shall see..

Finsh Ghost House Heart

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would finish Ghost House Heart this month. I’ve been working on the project since January of 2020 and it’s been dragging for a long time, but I am pleasantly surprised to reveal that I did finish Ghost House Heart at the end of the month. I am so relieved and happy and so excited to start something new in November.

Continue Edits

I’m still working through edits, even past my self-imposed deadline. I did hit 25K in the edits so far, and I’m counting that as a big accomplishment. I also started something new with my edits, where I have started to edit the book backwards to make the foreshadowing easier. I’m hoping it will help the edits go by a little quicker, especially since we’re quickly approaching November. There are still more edits to be done, but a decent amount of progress has been made.

Prepare for NaNoWriMo

This goal was relatively easy. As it just so happens, last year when I plotted the second novel there was way too much plot for a single novel, so I ended up separating it into two. This gives the characters more bonding time and more time for anguish as they continue their journey toward the crown. This year’s novel is called “Magic and Obligation” and I’m excited to get started on it in November. A few days before NaNoWriMo started, I did finally sit down and plot my big plot points, so I feel like I am adequately prepared.

(Possible) NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge Part Three

This goal didn’t happen, which I’m fine with. Over the last few years, I have consistently placed higher and that is good enough for me for the moment. It’s actually better this goal didn’t happen, because that gave me more time to focus on other things I needed to work on, like edits and finishing a novel.

In October, I didn’t submit anything for the Rhyming Story challenge. The deadline snuck up on me and ultimately, school had to come first. Speaking of school: I finished another class. This class was by far my favorite, a short fiction workshop where I got the opportunity to write a short story and have it critiqued by my peers and my instructor. I loved it, but now it’s time to move onto the next class: World Literature II. I was supposed to have dental surgery in October, but it got moved to November, so that’s coming up. A few other opportunities have come up, but I’m not quite ready to reveal those just yet so stay tuned!

Word Count: 20,520

Here’s what I plan to do in November:

November Goals

NaNoWriMo

Every November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. This year is no exception, even with an upcoming dental surgery and everything else life has been throwing my way lately. I’m hoping after my surgery and a few other important things I have to attend the first week of November that things will settle and I can get some good writing in.

Continue Edits

Am I that crazy person that is going to work on two projects in November during NaNoWriMo. Yes. Edits have been going well and I would like to make more progress than I have been. I would like to get to the halfway point of edits by the end of November, if not sooner. We’ll have to see how the month goes.

One Short Story/Finish a Short Story

This year started off so strong with a short story every month. It’s been more difficult as the year winds down, but I’m hoping I can finish and/or start another short story in November and keep pushing toward 12 short stories by the end of the year. I’ve been encountering the problem where there’s more plot to my ideas than a short story will hold, which isn’t always a bad idea.

NYC Midnight’s 250 Microfiction Competition

Another NYC Midnight Competition popped up and since I didn’t finish or even submit the Rhyming Story Challenge, I figured a 250 word challenge shouldn’t be that difficult. We’ll see if I can fit it into my crazy November schedule.

June Results and July Goals

June has been the most amazing month for the first time in a long time. I’ve had several writing successes in the last month, along with successes in school and life in general. I hope I can keep it up as we roll into July.

Here’s how I did in June.

June Results

Write One Short Story/Finish the short story from May

I wrote one short story in the form of the Flash Fiction contest. I also finished the short story from May after waffling on it for a few weeks, and started another short story which I hope to finish in the next month or so.

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge

This year, I really enjoyed round one of the challenge. It has been so nice writing something short and sweet with a 48 hour deadline. I love the feedback and the opportunity to edit through and improve with every challenge. I’m excited I was able to get it done and submit a great story.

BONUS Result #1: NYC Midnight’s Microfiction Challenge

I actually forgot about the microfiction contest for NYC Midnight. I placed 13th, which meant I got to write in the second round the week after the Flash Fiction challenge. 100 words is a lot harder to write than 1000, as strange as it sounds, especially with a genre like romance, but I made it through and submitted a story.

Finish the 2021 NaNoWriMo Novel

Finally, after eight long months of working, I can finally say the first draft is finished! Writing a thousand words a day for nearly every day in June really helped push the story along . I was really able to enjoy the plot and the characters again and reach the finish line. Now it’s time to go back to book one in the series and get some edits done.

Bonus Result #2: 1000 Words of Summer

As a substack reader, I found out about Jami Attenburg’s 1000 Words of Summer, where the goal is to write 1000 words every day for 2 weeks. I was able to use it to work through the last few chapters of the 2021 NaNoWriMo novel. I was so inspired by the challenge, and felt so accomplished with 1000 words a day that I have a new goal for the rest of the year (once I’m done with editing).

Along with my other goals in June, I also finished another class for my Bachelor’s in English. I celebrated another birthday and I’ve begun to be more conscious about my health. Making the shift from writing new content to editing has been a bit difficult, but it’s getting easier the more I attempt.

Word Count: 31,934

July Goals

Write One Short Story

Even though I haven’t always finished the short stories within the month I make it a goal, I really am enjoying the process of writing a short story in a month. I’ve already done at least 8 for the calendar year if I count the submissions for NYC Midnight’s competitions, and I plan to keep it up for the rest of the year. Maybe I’ll even catch up and do more than one in a month.

Camp NaNoWrimo

For Camp NaNoWriMo this year, I want to edit the first book in the current series I’m writing. Now that I’ve finished the 2021 NaNoWriMo novel, I would like to go back to book one and get edits done. I’m over halfway through with hand edits and then it’s time to start typing it up and making it look pretty. My goal for Camp NaNoWriMo is 30,000 words edited, but as usual, I’m always pushing for more.

What goals do you have for July?

Finished Project Alert!

I have finally finished the 2021 NaNoWriMo project Magic and Romance.

November Results and December Goals

Another month here and gone! I love November and the flurry of deadlines it brings, but now we’re in December and it’s time to start winding down the year. November was quite a fun month with the hectic rush of writing 50,000 words (or more) in the 30 days of November, plus school and working full time. It’s months like these that sometimes make me believe I thrive in chaos.

Here’s how I did in November.

November Results

NaNoWriMo

This year, NaNoWriMo went spectacularly. It wasn’t my best year by far, but I was able to get ahead and stay ahead for most of the month. I finished off strong and got more than 10K over the original goal and the good basis for the start of a novel. As it usually goes, I still have more project to write after November, but I’m thankful I left myself a few plot threads and a few rabbit holes to fall down in the next coming weeks.

Doodle More

Unfortunately this month, I didn’t doodle as much as I would have liked. My focus was almost exclusively on working on my NaNoWriMo project, but I did work on one doodle throughout the month. I created a calendar where I colored in the boxes based on how I wrote day by day. It got a little creative juices going and some excitement to keep up the momentum and not lose a good writing streak. Hopefully in December I can get back to more doodles.

Word Count: 61,510

Here’s what I hope to accomplish in December.

December Goals

Finish an Open Project

I have a few open projects I would like to finish as the year draws to a close. I’m excited to keep writing the novel I started during NaNoWriMo and hopefully to finally finish a novel I’ve been slowly chipping away at since last year. Some novels come out quick, and others take their time, but I’m hoping to get some decent words down in December and hopefully form a habit I can keep for the rest of this year and into the next.

Read One Book (That isn’t related to school)

I’m happy to say I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading over the past few classes during my bachelor’s program. I’m sad to say that it hasn’t really been the reading I enjoy doing. While everything I’m learning is quite interesting, I would like to sit down and finish a book that isn’t related to my schooling in December. I’ve started several books this year, so I really have my pick of the book I want to finish before 2021 ends. Hopefully I can finally get through a novel.

October Results and November Goals

Another month has come and passed and more goals have been attempted and achieved. October has been fun and I am excited for all the progress I’ve made. Here’s how I did on my goals for October:

October Results

Instawrimo

Instawrimo went very well this year. It was wonderful to get reacquainted with instagram and do something out of the ordinary. I’m used to writing, and keeping to myself for the most part, but it was nice to expand my creative horizons and share more of myself with the world. You can see my progress in Instawrimo (here)

Inktober

Inktober was quite interesting this year. I doodled and created. As hectic as this month was, doodling was so calming, it made me want to continue and reduce my stress further. In the past few years I have played around with making a social media for my doodles, and so I finally did. You can see my progress from Inktober (here).

NaNoWriMo Preparation

Preparation for NaNoWriMo went rather well this year. I found which direction I wanted to go, and for a lot of the days it felt like something new came up and helped get the story into place. I am so excited to finally start writing something new in November. Hopefully this will be something I can finish in a relatively speedy manner.

Finish an Original Novel

I wrote quite a lot in October. I chugged away every day on my original novel that’s been patient while I shove it to the side to work on other things. While it wasn’t necessarily the writing progress I wanted, I still managed to make a lot of progress. Now I feel more confident in my ability to finish the novel (hopefully in December!). I have finally reached the fun part, just in time to put it away and start something new.

In October, I started a new instagram for my doodles. I also completed my Shakespeare class (Thank Goodness!) and started a new class in my Bachelor’s program. At my job, I have been given more responsibilities, which is nice, but also makes writing and creating harder some days. Still, my job makes me happier than I was at the previous place so I am in no way complaining.

In October, I also found out I placed second in the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Contest and the joy was such a relief after a difficult work week. Unfortunately, I did not get to compete in round 3 of the competition, but I will definitely take the win. There’s always next year!

Word Count: 11,347

November Goals

NaNoWriMo

This year for NaNoWriMo I am writing a sequel to a novel I finished in 2019. I loved writing the first book, but a lot of plot points got shoved into the last few chapters. I realized a sequel would be the perfect remedy, so that’s what I’m writing this year. You can see all the details I have so far (here).

Doodle More

Last Month, during Inktober, I really enjoyed doodling and making something with my hands. Writing is an interesting hobby because for most of the time it’s looking at a screen and typing but having nothing truly physical to show for it. There are times that I feel like I really want to make something with my hands, so I’m hoping doodling will cure that itch and help me to stress less.

What I’m Writing: NaNoWriMo 2021

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited November is almost here. November and NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite times of year. There’s something so refreshing about taking a break from whatever writing project I’m working on (or drudging through) and starting something new.

For NaNoWriMo this year, I am pleased to announce I am writing a sequel to one of my most favorite novels I have ever written. I had so much fun with the book that I finished in 2019.

This year, I chose the title Magic and Romance.

I have a good majority of it planned out, but as usual I am so excited to see what fun and exciting surprises come my way too.

Are you writing during NaNoWriMo? You can become my buddy here .

September Results and October Goals

As we approach the changing of the seasons and turn inward, I wanted to start wrapping up projects and get ready to start new projects down the road.

Here’s how I did in September:

September Results

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Contest Round Two

First of all, let me say that I really enjoyed this round of the flash fiction contest. The feedback I got wasn’t absolutely terrible from round one and I feel like I was able to take the feedback and apply it to round two. For round two, my genre was horror, one I have been itching to write and submit something in for quite a while. The story was one of my best so far. I am so excited for the judges to read it and give feedback. Writing for the Flash Fiction contest again this year has renewed my enjoyment in writing. I’m so glad I was able to write something I can be proud of.

Finish More Projects

Surprisingly, I finished something in September. For the longest time I didn’t expect it because the month only got crazier as it went on. I finished another fanfiction piece on the 29th (Nothing like a close deadline to inspire a procrastinator!). Thankfully, I finally finished a lingering project and I feel so much better for it.

Finish Reading a Book

As far as reading one book this month goes, I didn’t finish a novel like I wanted, but I did read a total of five Shakespeare plays for my Shakespeare class. I’m counting that as an accomplishment, even if it didn’t appear as I would have liked it to appear. Shakespeare is still reading, and it is still fiction, even if it isn’t always enjoyable for me.

Word Count: 16,215

In other news, in the month of September, I was able to read three Shakespeare plays, edit six sections of my novel, and post several chapters up of my now finished Fanfiction projects. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

October Goals

Instawrimo/Inktober

As it just so happens, this year both Instawrimo and Inktober are in the same month. While I am not sure I’ll be able to do both, I am certainly going to try. I really enjoyed Instawrimo when I did it a few years ago, and Inktober is always fun, even though I am not the best artist. Still, everything is practice. It might be fun to do something new this year.

NaNoWriMo Preparation

Finally at the end of last month, I got an idea for my NaNoWriMo 2021 Novel. I played around with a few ideas, and then in the car on the way to work, my mind went: Write a sequel. Needless to say, I have a decent amount of planning to do on a sequel I had no idea would exist last week.

Finish an Original Novel

I have goals to achieve and one of them includes finished novels. During the month of October, I really want to finish an original novel that’s been in my to do list for over a year now. I’m about two thirds of the way through and I’m hoping I can get through the last third in October.

November Results and December Goals

November was a strange mix of fast and slow, creativity and drought, and work and play. It’s hard to believe it’s already over and we’re now in the last month of 2020.

Here’s how my month went and how much I accomplished:

November Results:

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo 2020 went great as far as the straight challenge goes. I did reach 50K and “won”, but I did not reach my personal goal of 60K (or 2K/day). I did get nearly 75% through the plot though, so I’m taking it as a win.

Finish Several Open Projects

Not much progress was made on any other projects besides my NaNo project this year, but I planned for this goal to work through December too.

Read One Book

I actually did this one! I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and I absolutely loved it. Reading books has always been a favorite activity of mine, but I have never seemed to have enough time. It was really great being able to return to it.

Word Total: 54,182

December Goals:

Finish My NaNoWriMo 2020 Project

As I said, I got a good portion through the plot during November, and I would really like to finish it before the end of 2020.

Finish Several Open Projects

I have several novels and short stories to get through by the end of the calendar year, so I can start fresh once 2020 is over. I’m hoping I’ll make decent progress in these pieces (Ghost House Heart, Fan fiction part 3, and a few miscellaneous others) during the month of November and into December.

Read One Book

I’m hoping to get some time away from writing and refill the tank and read something new. I’m working through something nonfiction for the first time in a while, so we’ll have to see how that goes.

Personal Growth

The month of November has shown me I need to make some changes and do some growing and changing if I want to have the life I strive for. I’m not entirely sure yet what personal growth will include, but stay tuned!

November was really productive and I hope the streak continues in December!

October Results and November Goals

Well, here we are at the end of another month, and let me just say, October did not go at all as I planned it to go. It was not a good month for me, and I have no problem saying that. I pushed a lot of goals to the side because I wasn’t doing well mentally. I did the best I could with the circumstances I was given, and there were a lot of outside influences (mainly my job) that kept me from pursuing my goals as I wanted to.

Here’s how I did:

October Results

Inktober

To my credit, I did start Inktober and intend to post it. I got about five days in, and then my perfectionist self kicked in and worried about it for too long, then didn’t actually do anything about it. I do plan on playing around with more art, but this October just wasn’t the right time.

One Short Story

Similar to my goal of Inktober, my goal of writing one short story was started, and then quickly abandoned. I got about 2500 words into it, then got pulled away to other things, other projects and a whole lot of doubt crept in, along with mental stress from outside sources.

I do plan on continuing the short story (more like Novella now) until it’s completely done.

Finish Ghost House Heart

It’s safe to say, none of my goals got anywhere close to done this month and Ghost House Heart was one of them. I had these huge plans to write a massive amount and making massive strides toward the end of the novel, but I barely eked out a chapter.

Looks like I’m going to be a rebel during NaNo this year.

Finish part 3 of a Fanfiction piece

I did not finish part 3 like I had planned, but I did make progress. I have a direction and know where I’m going, and that’s better than nothing. The world will just have to wait a little bit longer for the conclusion of the masterpiece I’ve created.

Read One Book

I actually did this one! I finished the book I was reading, which technically means I did read one book, just not in a whole calendar month. I did intend to start another one, but there were too many chainsaws in the air and too many other things to do.

Round 3 of the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Contest

Round 3 didn’t happen, and while I was a little upset I didn’t score high enough to continue, I am proud of myself for trying. I put myself out there, I was brave and submitted something I wrote in 48 hours and I tried. I’m definitely going to try again next year and in the meantime improve my shorter pieces.

Write Every Day

This month, with my increasing goals, I did pretty good for the first week and part of the second week, then it all went off the rails. There were several stretches of days that I didn’t write, didn’t even open my documents and try to write. I always look back at the end of the month and wish I had tried harder to write, but I can’t change the past and I can’t change how I’ve felt over the last few weeks.

I did what I could for the month, and I’m happy with that.

Word Count Total: 14,657

November Goals:

NaNoWriMo

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo since 2009, and I don’t intend to stop. NaNoWriMo is a great way to get the words out and onto a page and get the cobwebs out, especially for me this year. It’s going to be a little different this year, since I have a lot more projects I want to finish by the end of the calendar year, but I’m going to make it work for me. That’s the beautiful thing about NaNo, is the flexibility of it all.

Finish Several Open Projects

I have several novels and short stories to get through by the end of the calendar year, so I can start fresh once 2020 is over. I’m hoping I’ll make decent progress in these pieces (Ghost House Heart, Fan fiction part 3, and a few miscellaneous others) during the month of November and into December.

Read One Book

I’m hoping to get some time away from writing and refill the tank and read something new. So many good books came out in October and I’m looking forward to diving into at least one of them.

I’m keeping my goals pretty light in November, simply because I stacked too many goals in October that were unattainable, I was blindsided by some work issues and I have a feeling things are going to be changing for me in the next few weeks during November.

Wish me luck!

April Results and May Goals

Well, another month of writing and goals done. April is always a bit of a tough month for me, with difficult anniversaries, but it ended up working out well in the end.

Goals from April:

  • Camp NaNoWriMo: 40,180
  • Ghost House Heart: 14,770
  • I finished Under Grey Skies with a total of 138,799 words and 11,247 words of notes. ( with 24,501 words during Camp NaNo)

Goals for May

  • Continue Ghost House Heart
  • Start Editing previous books in the series
  • Write 30,000 words of anything and everything (Look out for new blog content!)
This month was hit and miss to start, but in the end I smashed goals!
Finally, after months, this beast is complete.

March Results and April Goals

Compared to January and February, March seemed to move very slowly. With everything that’s been going on with the world and the virus, and home life and work life (yes, I am still working), it’s been hectic.

Here’s how I did on my goals from February:

  • I did not finish Under Grey Skies
    • I did reach the 75% mark and renew my interest in writing and finishing this novel
  • I prepared for Camp NaNo in the best way I knew how
    • By letting the idea swirl around in my head and waiting as patiently as I could for April to arrive.
  • I did not write a short story by hand
    • Unfortunately

I did however write a total of 18,360 words for the month in various projects.

Here are my plans for April:

  • Camp NaNoWriMo
    • Ghost House Heart: Minimum of 30K words (with little to no filler)
  • Finish Under Grey Skies
    • Every chapter I finish gets me closer to the end and it’s getting exciting. I have an outline and I’m ready to get this thing finished!

Wish me luck!

NaNoWriMo 2019 Week Two Check-In

Week Two is over and gone. Thank goodness! Because it struck with a vengeance.

Week Two is traditionally when the act of writing gets difficult and writers reach walls or struggle through their drafts. I am no exception to that, but with a few more issues during the week.

Day Eight: 2,525 (I broke a finger that night at Judo)

Day Nine: 1,309 (Spent 2.5 hours at CHC and 1 hour at the local hospital waiting for an x ray, went to a write in with buddy taped fingers)

Day Ten: 1,015 (Worked, updated word count late)

Day Eleven: 1,945 (Worked, Busy AF)

Day Twelve: 1,781 (Slept all day, thanks nightshift, slept all night)

Day Thirteen: 759 (The first day I was under 1K, and officially behind on my goal of 120K; Also, hit 50K.)

Day Fourteen: 1,219 (Slept all day, woke up way after midnight, slept until morning. Now super behind on my 120K goal)

Total: 51,219

Positives: I hit 50K and officially “won” NaNoWriMo. I now have a direction after dragging my feet for a few days. I have a few days off from work where I can make it up.

Negatives: My fingers are buddy taped, making typing on a keyboard a real fun experience and not very fast. They will be taped for the next 3-6 weeks (ALL of November!)

Positive: Week 3 is almost here and I have a direction again.

NaNoWriMo 2019 Week One Check-In

One week of NaNoWriMo 2019 is now completed for all the writer’s working on their novels this year.

I am very happy to say that it has been a very productive week for me, despite having a few “low” days.

My goal for this month is 120K, twice the goal of 50K and then some.

Here’s how I did this week:

Day One: 5,255

Day Two: 10,045

Day Three: 4,480

Day Four: 5,337

Day Five: 5,383

Day Six: 2,518

Day Seven: 7,648

Total: 40,666

This first week has been amazing and I’m actually ahead of my 120K monthly goal. I’m hoping I can keep up this momentum through everything else going on this month, and keep up my drive after I pass the first 50K.

We’ll see how it goes it week two.

Happy writing!

My daily word count looks like a ghost. The zero on day eight is telling me “You Should Be Writing!”