Tag: April

Top Three Writing Tips

I can’t believe we’re in April. April, despite being the start of Spring and warmer weather, is always a horrible month for me. Not only do I have two birthdays followed by death days (yeah, those suck hardcore!), but there are several anniversaries of deaths over the last few years, birthdays of those who have passed on. April is just an awful month.

But! I am still here posting and doing what I can to make it better.

Today, it’s my top three writing tips.

1. Write “This is the shitty draft” or something similar on a blank page to get started.

A blank page is terrifying, especially compared to the perfectly curated image in your head. I used to panic and freeze and not be able to write because “it would never be as good as in my head.” Hence, this tip. It turns off the expectation for the work to be “the best ever” and lets it just be what it is: a first draft.

2. Let the first draft be as bad as it needs to be.

Similar to the tip above, let the first draft be bad. My first drafts are full of notes that make me laugh, notes that make me cringe, way too many parentheses with stupid remarks like this:

Not only does it keep the writing from being too serious, but it makes me laugh when I read it back later and helps me remember how much fun I had writing in the first place.

  1. Have fun with it and play!
    This tip is a little difficult if you’re hard on yourself like me. I’ve always been an anxious kid, and an even more anxious adult so play has never been easy. Writing was where I could feel free and play. I could ask the “What if?” questions and really find the fun in the story.

Overall, there are so many writing tips that might or might not work for you. Do what works and discard the rest. We’re all ultimately on our own writing journeys.

I’m sharing what works best for me. But I hope everyone finds what works for them.

What’s your favorite writing tip?

 

March Results and April Goals

Wow! March flew by in a flurry of days and I can’t believe we’re already in April!

March Results:

Continue Edits on BOOK A

Editing was quite a slow process through March. There were several other projects going, not to mention a bunch of work and personal life changes. Some days it was so hard to just sit and edit when I could be doing so much more. Slow progress is still progress and I’m further than I was when the month started. I’m happy with any progress at this point.

Continue to work on Open Projects

Unfortunately, none of the projects I wanted to finish this month got finished. Excellent progress was made on some days, and other days it was a complete stand still. Progress was slow, but I still had more words than I did when the month started, so I am definitely not complaining in the least. Hopefully in April I can finally get a schedule down that works better for me and my writing goals.

Attend a Writing Conference Online

So this goal was very interesting. I didn’t actually attend anything live, because that week just happened to be the busiest week in March (Go figure!). Lucky for me, everything was recorded and I have 6 months to watch it all. Slowly but surely I’m listening to the presentations as I do my daily walks and get a little exercise in too! I’m learning so many new things and I’m so excited I’m able to access it and still learn even though I wasn’t able to attend.

Prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo

For a brief moment, I wasn’t sure I would get to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo this year. Luckily, an idea came to me and I began to plot it (as much as I can without itching to write it too much) and I made a beautiful cover.

In March I completed quite a few things that were not quite writing goal related:

I went to a castle (thankfully local and hidden away) for a much needed vacation and celebrated and relaxed in a way I haven’t in quite a long time. I haven’t relaxed that much since I started working. It was so wonderful to go and have fun and let loose a little. The time away really put a lot of things into perspective for me, and now I have a bit more direction when looking forward to the future.

I finished A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas. What a much needed reading break! I’m one of those readers that once I start a good book, I can’t put it down until I finish it. This book was such a nice change from the crazy work stuff going on and a great lesson on certain aspects that I would like to add into my own writing.

As for other things, I mentioned last month that I was having a lot of changes at work and that was definitely an understatement. As of March 31st, I quit my old job. At the beginning of April, I start a brand new job. Same field, same degree, but way different hours and different responsibilities. I’m really hoping this new job will help with the work life balance that’s been lacking more and more since I started working night shift.

I have also started the process of applying for my bachelors degree. I made an attempt in 2017-2019, but with job changes and new stresses of night shift, I had to pull out of it. I’m two classes away from a BSN, but nursing doesn’t make me happy and the 2 years of that program were practically torture. If I am spending money and furthering my degree, I want to do it in something I absolutely love. I’m looking at getting my bachelor’s degree in creative writing, and I’m hoping to get started in the next few months.

Word Count: 12,695

April Goals

Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo is here once more! I’m excited to start a new project (along with my new job) and get the creative juices flowing again. This year for Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m writing a piece called The Hollow Opus and I am so excited for it. I first got the idea for it in January, but haven’t been able to plot it out until March.

The dancer in the snow globe has always watched him from the time he was a small boy. As he grew up into a man, something bloomed within her. She would give anything to be human and stay with him forever, but when the magic goes wrong, they must work together to go under the bed and find the Toy Master and make things right.

Round Two of the Short Story Competition

Round one of the Short Story Competition was in January and I had fun, even though it was a genre I have never written in before. I’m hoping my writing was good enough and I get to advance to round two, so keep your fingers crossed. I should know the first week in April and round two takes place the second weekend in April. If not, then that gives me more time to work on other projects that weren’t finished in the first few months of the year.

Continue edits on BOOK A

I had wanted to finish edits for BOOK A by this month, but that simply didn’t happen, so now I’m pushing through it and letting it go at its own pace. As much as I would like for edits to be done as fast as possible, some of them need time to breathe, so I’m making my way through slowly. If I get through at least a page of my outline, I’ll be happy with that. Even if I do less, that is still more progress and is better than nothing.

Send Out Something Small for Publishing

I have several short stories I’ve written over the last few years, and quite honestly I’ve been surprised at the quality as I go through and edit them. Hopefully this month I’ll be able to send at least one (maybe more) out for publishing and see what happens.

Wish me luck!

Camp NaNoWriMo News

Hello Everyone! April is just around the corner, and that means Camp NaNoWriMo!

This year, I’m working on two projects. Finishing up my project from NaNoWriMo 2019, and starting a new project.

Under Grey Skies: Doing my best to finish up my 2019 NaNo Novel by the end of April.

Book Nine of the LOVED series.

Earth: There are no more children to save. There are no more lost souls to wake. Everything should be perfect, but Jared has disappeared, and Qu has been set to wander the earth. The only person that can stop him is Emily. Chasing Qu, she runs into someone she never expected. 

Widren: With Qu gone, the island and the city have become what they were meant to be, a paradise. Randa must find the boy, but no one can help her. He’s a mystery that might just stay a mystery forever.

He was always in the background, never thought of himself as anything special, but she saw him.  

GOAL: Write “The End”

—–

Ghost House Heart: Death is only the beginning. When Blanche loses her fiance in a tragic accident, she thinks there is nothing left for her. Until she learns there may be a way to bring him back. Now she will do anything to bring him back, even if it means risking her own life. 

GOAL: 30,000 words.

This Camp NaNoWriMo will definitely be interesting, since I’ve never worked on two projects at full speed like this before and even with the chaos of the world, I’m still working full time.

Wish me luck!

(There’s still time to join me for Camp NaNoWriMo Here, just create a project and link it to the event. I’m always looking for more buddies, this is Me.)

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!

Five Reasons You Should do Camp NaNoWrimo This April

Every year, writers, both old and new, get together to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place several months out of the year and allows anyone to write a novel. April used to be for Scriptfrenzy, but now it’s all about the camp life, cabins, writing buddies, and writing a novel in 30 short days.

Here are some reasons why you should try Camp NaNoWriMo this April:

1. It’s a great start for a new project
If you are a writer, or even if you’re not, you could become one this April. Ever have that nagging idea that wants to be written, but you just never find the right time or place? Camp NaNo will give you that time, and the place could be anywhere. Even if it’s not a new project and just a rewrite, you can still have that rush of trying to make word count and the accountability of writing your novel. Either way, you get words on a page.

2. You can pick your own goal
Unlike NaNoWrimo (which is in November) where the word count is always 50,000 to win, in Camp NaNoWriMo, you can choose your own goal. Want to stay on par with NaNo and write 50,000 words? Go for it! Want to smash 50K and go for the big 100K? You can do that too! Scared of the 50 and want to go for something a bit less daunting? Go for 25K or 15K. You can put any number in that box. You can choose whatever you want. AND you can change it throughout the month, no matter what your progress so far.

3. Less busy time than November
Ahh, November, the time of writing a novel, getting together with family, and FINALS IN A WEEK?! If that sounds familiar, whether you are a student, or you have other events coming up in December that induce the same fear as finals, then Camp NaNoWriMo may be a better fit than its parent event. Since April is earlier in the year, and not so close to holidays and more stressful times of the year, it’s a bit less stressful to sit down and write. There aren’t as many tasks that need to be completed before the end of the year, and not as many family members around all up in your space. This makes noveling way less stressful.

4. Less holidays in April
Depending on the year, few major holidays are in April. Sometimes Easter falls in April, but that’s better than Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, and the rest of your family in your daily life for a week or more. In addition to less holidays and distractions, the weather is starting to get nice and inspiration is blooming outside, along with our moods.

5. More Choices
In addition to getting to choose your own word count, you can also choose your cabin mates. There are several ways you can choose them, or you can randomize it and meet all new people. The choice is yours, you can even choose to not have a cabin at all.

There are a lot more choices associated with Camp NaNoWriMo, so it would be a great introduction to NaNoWriMo and what it and the Office of Letters and Light are all about. You could win, or not, but you will definitely end the month with more words than you started with.

So why not try?

Camp NaNoWriMo: Here

Handwrite or type, just get some words down for Camp NaNoWriMo

What do you think about Camp NaNoWriMo? Are you going to participate?