Category: NaNoWriMo

What I’ve Learned Participating in Inktober (Writer Edition)

For the first time this month, I’ve done something I have never done. I finished Inktober, but it was Inktober with a twist. In October, I participated in Inktober (Writer Edition). Fifty words of fiction daily.

I did it with a twist yet again, and added ink drawings as well.

Here’s what I learned:

Writing and Drawing are Separate Arts

I’ve been a writer for years, but art has never been my forte. I could look at the prompts each day and come up with an idea pretty quickly of what I wanted to write. Coming up with what I wanted to draw was completely different. Knowing I wasn’t the best at drawing, I knew I had to be careful in what I picked. The first few drawings were terrifying, but then I let go and started to have fun with them.

Stick Figures Can Save You

I am not a professional artist by a long shot. I have friends who can draw the most beautiful realistic images and it makes me so jealous. There were few pieces that I chose to draw that involved people, but when it did, I used stick figures. Why? Because I could, and most drawings from this month took ten minutes or less. I’m a busy person and would rather get the drawings done rather than perfect.

Focuses Can Change

The first few days, I was concerned about the drawings. I knew I had the words right in the prompts. I knew what I was going for, but drawing was a terrifying feat that I couldn’t even begin to fathom for the first week or so. About a week in, my focus changed to the words. The prompts, in my opinion, became more concept and less concrete so I had to think them through. Now that I made it to the end, I’m wondering when the prompt list will come out for next year.

Size Matters

In the past when I have attempted Inktober, I bought a new fresh sketchbook and told myself I would create these massive pieces of art with barely any time to spend that was needed on massively beautiful pieces of art. I would manage for a few weeks, or a couple of days, then just give up and tell myself “I’m definitely not an artist.”

This year, I went really simple. Two pieces of printer paper folded into 16 squares. 4 Pigma Micron pens in black, red, light blue and navy. One Paper-Mate 4 in 1 ballpoint pen in green only. With those simple supplies, I created masterpieces that were 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches.

Fifty Words Can Tell a Decent Story

I have to admit, I started Inktober (Writer Edition) a little before October. I wrote several pieces ahead of the days they were to be posted (but I did only do one ink drawing a day). When I first started, I was terrified. Fifty words only?! How can I tell a decent story with only fifty words?! Having done NaNoWriMo for the past ten years, I’ve been under the impression that more words is much better than less.

Inktober (Writer Edition) proved me wrong. And in a big way.

With only fifty words per prompt, it made me be creative. It made me get rid of filler words and repetitions and words that just didn’t fit. It made me a better writer in merely 31 days, simply because it became automatic after a while to go “This is much longer than fifty words”. I had to cut words and edit mercilessly to make it just 50 words. No more, no less.

This challenge was definitely fun, and I learned a lot. I can’t wait to participate again next year!

You can follow the saga of Inktober (Writer Edition) here

But now, we’re off to bigger things. November and NaNoWrimo.

Part One of Inktober
Part Two of Inktober (with a bonus drawing)

July Update #2

Guess who finished Camp NaNoWriMo with 55K?

This girl!

The story is still in full swing, so back to writing I go!

Status Update and Plans for the Rest of 2019

Hello all!

It seems like it has been forever since I last posted an update here. The past few months have been wild with work and judo and everything else in between. First a quick update over the last few months, and then onward with the plans for the rest of 2019.

In the past few months, I have started with a new medical company at my job, which is just about as stressful as it sounds, starting and adjusting to the new company and the lack of trust that causes in the patients, especially since not all the pieces are quite in place yet. Along with that, the Judo club I have been going to since July of 2017 closed its doors at the end of April. That means that along with the new medical company at work, I’m now trying to help start a new judo club as well.

All of these new activities and new projects have made it difficult to write over the past few months, but luckily that turned around in June. I finally finished my NaNoWriMo project from 2018 and broke through the huge block I had had for months. That primed me for what I’ve been working on since July.

Camp NaNoWriMo!

This year for Camp NaNo, I’m working on a piece that I started in 2010 and then put away for a while, or got stuck and then got busy with school, I can’t quite remember. I titled it The Kiss, and that name just stuck. So far, with five days of a lot of writing to look back on, things are going well. I set my goal for 25K and I’m sitting at around 10K once I add today’s word count.

So far, the story is cooperating well, but we’ll see how that goes for the rest of the month.

Looking back on my writing plans from earlier this year, I’ve realized I’m probably not going to reach my goals that I set in January, before everything seemed to hit.

I had wanted to write one million words from November 1st, 2018 to November 1st, 2019, but judging by the word counts I’ve had in the past few months, sitting around just about 150K for the last eight months, I doubt I’m going to make one million words unless I do nothing but write for eight to twelve hours a day. So I’m changing my writing goals now, in July.

Instead of one million words, I’m going to do my best and write every day and see how far I get. Whether it’s five words, or five thousand words, I’m going to see how far I can get if I do a little bit (or a lot) of writing daily. The goal, I’ve had to remind myself, isn’t number of words, but projects finished. However many words that takes.

Over the years I’ve been working on my series, I’ve left a lot of holes to fill. There are parts of each book written, parts that need to be typed up, and parts that I haven’t even fleshed out since I’ve changed the series so many times. Finally, I think I have a decent trajectory of where I want the series to go, so it’s time to go back and fill in the holes in the months before November.

In November, I plan to start book nine of the series, which I had intended to be the last book in the series. Thanks to plot bunnies, and of course lovable characters, book nine will now be the penultimate book. I’m hoping that if I stay motivated enough, and continue to write every day, I can have that book finished by January of 2020.

There will be a lot going on, but I think if I stay focused, I can get it all done and continue my writing dreams.

In short, here are my plans until 2020:

July: Camp NaNoWriMo The Kiss. Goal- minimum 25K, but I want to see how far I get if I write every single day. It’s not too late to join me

August: Continue The Kiss; Continue with books 3, 4 and 5 of the LOVED series. Goal- Anywhere from 25K upwards.

September: Finish The Kiss (if not complete); Continue with books 3, 4 and 5 of the series. Possibly attend a local writing conference (It’s in the works). Goal- 25K and upwards.

October: Finish up any projects that aren’t complete by the end of the month. Plan book 9 for NaNoWriMo 2019. Goal- Minimum of 30K.

November: NaNoWriMo! Book 9 of the series. Goal- 50K minimum (to win), but I plan to shoot for at least 100K.

December: Finish book 9. Supplement with fanfiction for a palate cleanse. Goal- minimum 25K or to completion.

We’ll see how things go, but stay tuned for updates!

Moodboard for Camp NaNoWriMo’s The Kiss

 

Writer Life Lesson #25: To Write or Not To Write?

Even as the best of writers, we all have busy lives. The kids need to be taken care of, bills need to be paid, and most of us have other hobbies other than writing. And let’s not forget the unexpected things that come up and take precedent over writing.

Lately, I have been very guilty of not having time to write, and it’s been making me feel a little disappointed in myself. I don’t have kids, I have a few bills, and a few hobbies here and there, but there is still time to write here and there and I haven’t really been taking advantage of it. As I sit here, thinking about NaNoWriMo coming up and how I haven’t really been writing lately, it makes sense that other writers must go through this too.

This leads me to Writer Life Lesson #25: Sometimes it’s okay not to write. 

For the past few months, my life has been crazy and has only gotten crazier since then. I was working a full-time 9-5 job, doing full-time school online, doing judo four days a week, and interviewing for a new job. Thankfully now some of that has calmed down. I’m still in school (though getting that much closer to the end), judo is still four days a week (when I can make it), but my job has completely changed.

Currently, I am going through orientation for my new job which has completely different duties from my 9-5 job, and is no longer 9-5, but whenever shift they need. This shift has really begun to eat my writing time, and some days I come home and the last thing I want to do is write.

Sitting here, finally having time to write, and thinking about it, I’ve realized it’s okay for me not to write for a few weeks here and there while things settle, or while I’m focusing on orienting in the new job.

If I can get a few sentences here and there, then that’s great! Even if it’s a single sentence, or even a single word, progress is still being made. It’s alright to take previous drafts and frankenstein a book out of previous drafts and go from there.

I’ve been writing for over a decade and some aspects of writing are still new to me, and that’s great!

Writing is still an adventure, and it’s okay to write or not write. But you can bet I’m going to give it my best shot come November 1st!

If you want to write a novel, join me here!

 

Courage

Today is World Judo Day and the theme this year is Courage.

This is very important to me, since I feel I have been lacking courage recently. For the past few weeks, I’ve just been floating through life. Work, home, judo, school, repeat ad infinitum. I’ve recently decided that I’m not going to do that anymore.

There are things coming up that I need courage for and I’m slowly realizing that I’ve been taking the easy route rather than having courage and facing challenges.

NaNoWriMo: I’m having courage and branching out from my usual hermit-mode while writing.

Judo: Winter Nationals are coming up and I won’t get anywhere with this half assed “Oh sorry” attitude I’ve been having when training. I’m choosing to have Courage and Trust in others and my own abilities.

School/Work: I’ve been pushed around and forced to play the nice guy because I don’t want to start issues. This has made me docile and basically a doormat. Courage in my work and my convictions will help that.

So I am making the active decision to face my challenges with courage and confidence. I’m excited to see where that leads me over the next few months.

Something from Inktober earlier this month.

 

NaNoWriMo 2016 Aftermath

This morning I finished my 2016 Nano Novel (with outline included) at just under 150K. 

Now it’s time to return to book one and rewrite.

Today, book 1 begins again. 

The rest of the year is the rest of the series. 

I’m reaching my 2017 writing goals. 

I can finally wear the winner shirt!

Your Love and Your Life

You wish things had ended differently. That she would have done more, that you could have done less. You just want things to have been different. 

You wouldn’t have said what you had said if you knew how things were going to go. Sure, you felt it, and she eventually said it back, but it wasn’t the same after that. 

To you, the words “I love You,” might as well be a knife to thé throat of your relationships. 

You kill all the beautiful things in your life and are left lost with the remains that no amount of resuscitation can breathe new life into. 

Maybe it’s better that way. 

Failure is Not an Option! 

Failure is not an option. 

You tell yourself this over and over again,

Until it becomes a permanent mantra.

You have to finish this project,

Before the month rolls over to a new one.

You have already reached close enough,

To taste the sweet success,

Of the winner’s circle. 

But you have your own goals. 

100K or Bust!

What I’m Writing for NaNo 2016

Hello fellow writers and readers!

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner again! (Where does the time go?!)

I am participating again, and it will be my second year as the Municipal Liaison for SLO county!

So what am I writing this year?

Book Six(!!!) of my series: Beautiful Things.


Here’s my Novel!

I am exploring some new topics that I haven’t written about before, and some new dynamics that should be challenging, but rewarding. 

Over the past month or so the series has changed quite a bit so it will be interesting to see where it goes. I would say it’s taken a step in the less campy more serious direction, so we’ll have to see how it goes. 

Either way, good or bad, I’m excited for NaNoWriMo this year!

Want to join me and write a novel?

Sign Up Here

 

 

Why Do I Stop Writing?

All things must come to an end. The day we live through must give way to a new one tomorrow, the weeks and months give way to New Years and decades. Even writing projects must end, some of them earlier than others. 

I have a lot of unfinished projects. Daily when I write, or think about writing, I open my program, or my notebook and scroll through and look at all the ideas I have started and never finished. 

Why did I stop writing them?

There are several reasons:

I Found a New/Better Idea:

Don’t ask me where all of my ideas come from, but occasionally I start them before I really flesh them out. Then a new idea comes around and I jump onto that one. 

I Don’t Know Where the Story is Going: 

Sometimes I “off-road” from my outline and then get stuck because I have no idea where the story is going after that. Sometimes I don’t even have an outline. Sometimes, I just don’t like the idea as much as I thought I would. 

The Writing Gets Too Hard:

There are certain topics and situations that are just hard for me to write. Certain emotions that I can’t fully express on the page, or certain situations that I have never been in and can’t accurately describe. So I stop to research and sometimes never return to it. 

Interruptions:

Sometimes, I just get interrupted and lose my flow in a piece and just never return to it. It happens and it’s depressing, but sometimes the writing mojo doesn’t come back. 

Thinking about all these reasons why I stop writing, I realized something. Those are all excuses why I stop writing. 

The real reason I stop writing is FEAR.

Fear that my idea isn’t good enough.

Fear that I will never find the right direction. 

Fear that I can’t do the hard writing, so I move to something easier. 

Fear that I will never be in that right writing mood, or that I will never be as excited as I was to write that first page. 

I am making the choice to stop letting the fear dictate what I start and finish. 




Camp NaNoWriMo Update

Yes, I am doing Camp NaNo this July. 

I’m working on several projects.

Writing- 

Little Earthquakes- Based on the first album by the lovely Tori Amos, the story follows a young woman as she tries to navigate several disasters that threaten to destroy her dream of being a dancer. 

The Schemes of VKs (Descendants fanfiction)- A prequel to Just One Kiss. The story of how Mal and Ben got together after the love spell and the repercussions. 

The Weight of Your Lips (Descendants fanfiction)- The sequel to Just One Kiss. What happens after Ben and Mal share that spectacular kiss. 

Editing-

Girl Disappearing- Book One in the LOVED series. Jared’s fight for Emily when she can’t fight for herself. Randa’s fight for Widren with Marvel and Xander. Two worlds hang in the balance. 

Just One Kiss (Descendants Fanfiction)- Ben made a promise without realizing it. Can he and Mal navigate the summer without disastrous consequences?

I am pretty busy this July. All of this, with work and volunteering. Though so far I am having a lot of fun. 

Fanfiction: Just One Kiss

Camp Nano

A taste of Little Earthquakes

 

Just finished Edits on the First Novel in my Series


There is something so exciting about finishing something. 

Five Things I Learned From NaNoWriMo 2015

As most of you know, I am usually a hand writer for first drafts. For this NaNoWriMo (which I just won) I decided I was going to type it entirely. I learned a few things along the way. 

1. Typing and Writing are different: 

Typing is completely different than writing, most of us know this. But looking at a page versus looking at a screen when you are writing a novel are complete opposites. Pages, especially when writing in pen, are messy and smudged (any fellow left handed will agree), compared to a screen, which stays pretty clean and organized. 

It wasn’t too difficult of a transition because I have been typing up a few stories here and there for a while, but typing fan fiction vs typing original stories is a huge shift. Not only that, but the opportunity to write in bed without having a light on definitely saved my word count. 

2. Distractions Happen:

Smart phones are wonderful. You can basically have the world in your pocket and find any information at the click of a button.  This can be good or bad during NaNo because you can research and find what you need in a flash. Or, like me for part of the month, be sucked into playing flash games, answering emails or texts, and avoiding writing. 

Not only is having a smartphone and the world in your pocket distracting, but so is the world around you. I started a job at the end of October, had several interviews and several other non writing distractions over the course of the month. There were several days where I would make excuses not to write. And that meant at one point this month I was 10 thousand words behind. 

3. It is important to Save Your Work:

As with any writing, saving work is important. This is the section of the post where I talk about what I use and why. I use google drive and or docs, which on my old tablet, used to take forever to load and save, and I would lose a lot of work at the beginning of the month. My tablet was nearly three years old, but still, it sucks to have to double save and make sure that things stay where they are supposed to. 

A little over halfway through the month, I upgraded to a smartphone (finally!) and then saving in google docs/drive was not an issue. Not only that, but if the internet was ducky, I could just use data to write and instantly save my work and the upwards of a thousand or so words for each writing session. 

4. There is a Learning Curve for New Tech:

Trying to learn how to work new technology can be fun, and a little terrifying during NaNoWriMo. I switched from a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (old, I know) to an iPhone 6s Plus. Not only was the OS way different, but the size of the keyboard and the functionality was completely different. I was awed by the speed and all of the other functions that the iPhone has to offer. 

I picked up most of the functions that I needed to write at least. But the keyboard works completely different as far as punctuation and autocorrect is involved. So for the first few days I would read over the previous day’s work and wonder why there were several punctuation marks instead of letters. Or why certain words had been corrected to mostly men’s names (which made for interesting sentences, and laughable moments). But the pros definitely outweigh the cons of new tech. 

5. Writing a novel and having a life is Hard:
I started a new job at the end of October. So not only was I training in my new job, and working all kind of hours of the day, but I was trying to write a novel during my lunch breaks and ten minute breaks. When I would get home I would be too tired to even think about writing, so my writing suffered for several days out of the month. 

Not only that, but November is a month centered around family and giving thanks for what we have. I spent a lot of time with friends and family this month, getting out of the house and expanding my comfort zone. Great for feeling social and being a human being, but not always so great for the word count. 

I did end up winning NaNoWriMo with a few hours to spare, and it did take a lot of catch up, and a few agonizing moments of “I can’t win this so I should just stop now” but I kept going, kept moving forward and I came out victorious. 

So, whether you wrote or typed this NaNoWriMo, you started (and hopefully finished- or made progress) something great. 

  

Hello Followers! 

I am still alive, and going to post some great content soon!

NaNoWriMo and Work are taking up most of my time, but either in December or January there will be new content.

Thank you all for sticking with me!

Five Reasons You Should Do NaNoWriMo This November

Ahhh November, the changing of the seasons, pumpkin spice everywhere, the feel of family in the air. And for several writers, National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo. If you haven’t heard of it, or are not sure what that jumble of letters is, or if you should participate at all:

Here’s five reasons you should participate this November.

1. New project time!
We all have projects we want to start, but we feel we never have the time, or never have the right words to start. With NaNoWriMo, there is no time to debate whether the words are right or the timing is right. On midnight November 1st, it’s time to jump in and get words on that page. It’s a chance to start something new and leave your doubts in the dust by writing words without judgement.

2. It’s less than 2000 words a day to 50K
The actual number is 1667, that’s actually a lot less than 2000. But on the other hand, writing over the daily count of 1667 will help you to win earlier than November 30th. And if you think about how many words 1667 words is, that’s not even that much, especially if any words will do. And if you get stuck, or you’re not sure what to write, there’s always the forums.

3. Support from forum and writing buddies
While NaNoWriMo is a self challenge, it doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. On the website, there are forums, pep talks from writers and editors, and other writers competing to reach 50,000 words before the clock strikes midnight on December 1st. There is a ton of support and so many people wanting you to succeed in your novel.

4. You never know what can happen
You may start with something on the fly, not sure if it will ever become something, or if it will just grace your desk drawer like a dirty secret, but you won’t know unless you keep writing it, and keep learning what your characters have to tell you. Whether you plot or not, writing is an adventure, and your characters may lead you to places you never imagined. You could finish your novel and it could become a best seller one day, or even part of a series. The possibilities are endless!

5. You can say you wrote a novel!
You! Yes, you can say you wrote a novel. Whether you finish it or not, write 50K or not, continue it after until you reach the words “The End”. You can still say that you wrote a novel. It’s a great conversation starter, and a great accomplishment. You should be proud of your accomplishments whether you reach 50K or not. And you will have more words on December 1st than you did on November 1st.

So why not check it out? Here

More perks: Merchandise!

What have you got to lose? Why not try NaNo this year?

Want to be my writing buddy this year? Here

NaNoWriMo: What it Means and What it Stands For

Every November, millions of people write as many words as they can in an attempt to form their very own novel. They find the time between work, school, family, holidays and sometimes life in general, to attempt to reach 50,000 words. Many of them succeed in the first day, and many of them blast past the measly 50,000 and write so much more in the entire month. Since it started in July 1999, NaNoWriMo has been going strong. I’ve been participating since 2009 and I absolutely love it.

But what exactly is NaNoWriMo, and why do so many people participate?

NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, is a non-profit, mostly website run event by the Office of Letters and Light, that takes place in the month of November. Every year, the goal is to reach 50,000 words in any way possible, whether writing stories, a full length novel, or anything else with words on a page. While there are some rules and regulations, it is mostly a self based challenge, and goes by the honor code when counting daily word counts, until it is actually validated. The event may only last for the month of November, but the website and all of the great resources on the website (the forums, the profiles, the shop and many other goodies) stay up all year.

There are several other programs run by the Office of Letters and Light, such as Camp NaNoWrimo and Script Frenzy (while the website is no longer up, it does continue in the forums). The events are hosted usually in the summer months and occasionally April as well. There is a website but the parent is the NaNoWriMo site.

Why is NaNo important?

I have been a writer for most of my life, but I haven’t always taken it totally serious until recent years. I wrote all through middle school and high school with no problems, but when I started college in 2009, I felt like I lost my writing mojo. I couldn’t find any serious ideas and I suffered from the worst kind of writer’s block. Every piece I started just felt like crap. I had just come off finishing the longest novel I had ever written at just under 500 pages, a great script I had written over the summer, and I felt like my writing talent had just fizzled out, like I had used it up and it would never come back. I was depressed and in the biggest writing funk of my life.

And then I found out about NaNoWriMo.

I first found out about NaNo in September or October of that year, and I signed up almost as soon as I found the website. I didn’t have a novel yet, but by the time November rolled around, I knew I would. I ended up writing a rewrite of the novel I had started in 2008 and that was a good honest first effort. I did not win, or even get close to 50,000, but the lessons it taught me and the fun I had writing only caring about the quantity instead of the quality, was well worth the effort.

NaNo is so important because unlike every other writing challenge, it doesn’t care about the beauty of the words, just that there are words. This transition was tricky at first, because I was so used to being a perfectionist before, and even in my first attempt. I edited a lot during that first NaNo and that was why I didn’t get as far. NaNo focuses more on the act of actual writing rather than the act of polishing your writing for something better. NaNo knows that the first draft doesn’t have to be perfect and that it’s ok for it to suck.

I have continued to compete in NaNoWriMo every year since 2009 and to be honest, I don’t think I will ever stop. There is just something about having an idea and writing those words and sentences and paragraphs down that make up that idea without caring if they make sense that is just so freeing. Sure, sometimes I look back and make a disgusted face, or actually cringe at some of my word phrasing and choices, but it’s all in good fun, and is by no means permanently stuck in one way or another. Edits can always come later, just after November.

There are some naysayers out there that think NaNoWriMo is stupid, or a waste of time and that people should be reading books instead of writing them, and that December is terrible because people send off their unedited NaNo novels to publishers. I have to say, I honestly don’t understand it. It’s not like it’s out to hurt people or that it’s going to sully the act of writing. Just because people are writing new books doesn’t mean yours will be magically unpublished or cease to exist. People will still read books, even if they are writing their own. As far as the argument that December is terrible because people send their unedited works and that NaNoWriMo is the cause is a really bad excuse. I don’t think I know anyone who would send their NaNo off the first of December because most of them aren’t even finished by then. Blaming NaNoWriMo for something that it isn’t responsible for is backhanded and rude.

I actually had someone say to me when I told them about NaNo “That’s stupid. I would rather focus on quality and write a great piece instead of quantity and have crap.” If that technique works for you and you want to focus on quality words, great! Why are you putting down any method of writing? The result is the same whether you write one word a day or a thousand, you have words on a page. NaNo is just a way to break past the block of “What if my words aren’t good enough?” and finally finish something for once.

There will always be people who don’t want to see people succeed, or who don’t want to see people have fun in writing. I say, why not do it? It’s not going to hurt if you try. If you hate it, I’m sorry, maybe writing under pressure isn’t your thing. If you like it, that’s awesome!

So I want you all to do two things for me:

1. Check out NaNoWriMo: Here and Camp NaNoWriMo: Here
2. If you like it, think it’s interesting, sign up!

I hope to see you this November!

Note: If you do sign up, be my writing buddy: Here

What are your thoughts on NaNoWriMo?

Writer Life Lesson #14: Restarting, Rewriting and Picking it up Again.

Writing is not easy. Anyone who has had to write anything will tell you that. It doesn’t matter if it’s an essay, or a short story, or a novel, or even an email. Getting the words and images from your head to the page is sometimes the hardest thing writers do. Sometimes the words on the psge don’t match our vision of our work. So what do we do about that?

If you’ve ever written anything, I’m sure you’ve crossed something out, backspaced, or even torn pages out or deleted the file entirely. This is normal for writers, and it does not make you any less of a writer for doing so. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably just stopped a piece altogether and have never since returned. This is completely normal too.

This week’s lesson has to do with restarting, rewriting, and picking up where you left off.

Life happens. There are things that we writers cannot avoid. You think you have the day to write and then you remember that the house is a mess, the in laws are in town, and the rent is overdue. Life gets in the way of writing. Or if you’re like me, school gets in the way, an essay is due, your finals are sneaking up on you, and you’re three weeks behind on the reading. And all you wanted to do was write. It starts as just one day, then it becomes a week, and then a month, and before you know it you can’t remember the last day you wrote, or blogged, or tweeted.

Sometimes it’s so long that you look at your work and can’t remember where you were going with it, or you hate that you added a scene with vampires because your little cousin wanted to watch all of the Twilight movies. Writing changes as we do. It’s fluid and changing, until it’s published.

My point?

You are not a quitter if you decide to restart or rewrite or let the piece go

This lesson comes to mind since it is pretty personal to me. I have so many pieces that I start and never finish. I have something like 12 or more novels started that I have not finished or even reached the halfway point in. Some of these are products of NaNoWriMo, Script Frenzy, and Camp NaNoWriMo (Which the July session started on Wednesday). I have been thinking about what I wanted to write for weeks almost. Do I want to start something new, or try and restart or rewrite something else? Am I breaking the rules if I continue a story I’ve already started?

I decided that Camp NaNoWriMo is my catch all. I start too many projects and have lofty writing goals for 2015 and to complete my goals there has to be a few catch up months. Camp NaNo is a way for me to continue my writing goals and be held accountable for my word count. I have decided that for Camp NaNoWriMo, I am going to catch up on the short stories I have yet to write this year, the short stories I started in the April Camp session, and the rest of book two as well. I will have no shortage of opportunities for words, and I hope no shortage of inspiration either.

As long as you keep writing, you can’t be called a quitter. So keep writing and reach your goals!

And if you want to join me in the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo: Here

Camp NaNo Progress

Day One:

Two chapters.

Eleven pages.

4,941 words.

All in all an amazing writing day!

Camp NaNoWriMo: Final Results

April is swiftly drawing to a close and I’m sure many writers out there are pushing to make their final word counts. I am usually one of them, but not this month.

For some reason, this month was just not meant for writing and that’s perfectly fine. Maybe it was because I had been pushing so hard to write everyday in January, February and March to write every day and I just  needed a break. Maybe it was the events surrounding this month. Maybe it was just a combination of everything just telling me “Slow down!”

I originally planned on writing something completely new to get in the mood to finish my current works. Writing was starting to become more of a chore than a hobby and I was having trouble getting into the writing mood to find that passion to finish my novel. So I started a series of thirteen short stories based on an album. A change of pace.

I finished one. ONE! In this entire month, but I am perfectly fine with that. I wrote when I felt the need to, and I pushed myself to finish it today so I can start fresh in May.

I ended up with just over 7000 words, but that is better than the 0 I started with at the beginning of the month. 7000 words is a start, and it’s something I can work with the next time I need a break from my novel and my series. I created great characters that should be easy to get back into.

Thanks Camp NaNoWriMo April!

Camp NaNoWriMo Progress: Week One

The first week of Camp NaNoWriMo is unfortunately not going so well. I only have about 5K words when I should have at least three times that. But that’s ok! Because I am learning things I never thought I would, and I am taking a break from my year long attempt at a novel for a while.

I hope Camp NaNoWriMo is going better for the rest of you. I shall be trying to catch up eventually.

Happy Writing!

How is Camp going for you?