Tag: creative writing

On Accountability

I have wanted to be a successful writer since I was about fourteen. Throughout my teens and 20’s, I was doing pretty well, or at least putting words down on the page and practicing my craft. Then came the disastrous year of 2024.

2024 and 2025 have been challenges for writing time and other things not related to writing time. In 2023, I wrote something every single day and finished multiple projects. It was the best writing year I’ve ever had as far as routine and ritual.

I had a routine and a plan, then 2024 happened.

2024

I had a lot of loss in 2024, with 10 people of varying closeness passing away at different times throughout the year, health issues and a car accident (everyone was fine, thankfully!). Starting medication for my mental health, which really made my ADHD tendencies go full blown off the deep end, and which meant starting medication for ADHD as well.

Perfect time to start the MFA, right?

2025

2025 was supposed to be my “year of writing” and getting back into routines I’d previously had. I had a schedule and everything. But that wasn’t quite the case either. 2025 has brought all new challenges to the playing field, like choosing to start a family and multiple health issues with my husband. Financial issues and pretty much every stressful thing that could happen has happened.

Now

So, how have I been protecting my writing lately, not very well at all. Some days are better than others. Sometimes, I get caught in the wrong ADHD tornado of obstacles and spend hours doing anything but writing. Other times, my motivation is lower than low because yay, being a female of childbearing age and  fun hormones. Other days, the writing bug bites (of course on the days where I’m busy and don’t have a lot of time to sit down and flesh out ideas), and I’ll at least get a few ideas down.

Thankfully, after some med adjustments and finally some recovery on my husband’s part (two surgeries in a month? Yes! Now, finally recovering in August). It’s taken some time, but I have taken inventory of when I have time (and when I waste time-AKA a lot) and I’m attempting to build a better schedule and have more incentive to stick to it.

Moving Forward

To overcome wasting a lot of time on my phone, I now have app limits. No more doomscrolling for 3 hours lost in time while I work in what should be an “on call” position, but where I have to be on-site. Now, I have to actively click “15 more minutes” and feel the shame of already using up my time in a non-productive way. Now, I plan to set a timer and “pay” for those extra 15 minutes with 15 minutes (or more) of writing.

In the future, I plan on working on my creative works and writing more in the morning as a first thing kind of mentality. It doesn’t always work, especially on weekends when I get to spend time with my husband, but it’s at least a step in the right direction. Timers have also been a big help in the past, so I will most likely use them again, either for writing time or as a countdown warning to writing.

A big part of it is making writing a priority again. During 2024, when I was basically drowning in an ocean of grief, writing wasn’t a priority. I continued to avoid responsibility once things began to get better in 2025. My goal is to make writing and creating and art more of my routine again instead of constantly being distracted by the next shiny thing.

After all, I can’t avoid being a writer forever. Especially with the plans I have for the rest of this year.

2025 First Quarter Goals Updates and Second Quarter Goals

Here I am a day late. (Darn work schedules!) It’s April which means it’s the start of a new quarter. Out with Quarter One and in with the new!

Here’s a reminder of what I said I wanted to do in the first quarter of 2025:

Overall

Publish more consistently online and build online presence. ❌

Set up a newsletter (1/2)

Finish setting up Etsy account and shop. Start selling. ❌

Finish first MFA semester of 2025 ✅

January

Post daily on Music That Shaped Me. ❌

Post weekly on the blog and Medium ❌

Participate in NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge ✅

February

Post daily on the blog ❌

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and Medium. ❌

March

Post daily on Medium ❌

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and the blog. ❌

Extra:

I started a massive cleaning and decluttering project on my house. I cleaned and reorganized my kitchen and some of the closets.

🎉🎉🎉

Sooooo….

Overall, my goals weren’t in line with what life happened to throw at me. I made progress on a few things.

-I did write consistently online for 10 days.

-I did end up building a newsletter (with the help of a school project), but it’s not fully up and running yet.

-I did participate in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge (and placed 5th— which means I’m in it for round 2! 🎉)

Second Quarter Goals

I guess it’s a good thing I’m posting a day late. Wouldn’t want everyone to think my goals are a joke! 🤭

 

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!

 

March Results and April Goals

March has been absolutely crazy, with a lot of weird and bad news. It seemed like everything seemed to consipire against me completing my goals and making progress on anything really. The whole month of March was not a good writing month, or even a good school month, and I felt like I was just spinning my wheels and waiting for the next setback.

March Results

Write One Short Story

The short story started out so well at the beginning of the month. Then, I had my first non-writing day in 277 days. After that, the short story seemed to flounder and then stay on the back burner for school and work and anything and everything else.

Finish My 2021 NaNoWriMo Project

It wasn’t in the cards this month to finish my 2021 NaNoWriMo Project. With hectic schedules, more in-depth homework assignments and new stressors, it just wasn’t the month to finish anything. I’m hoping to take a break and come back to it fresh in the next couple months.

Attend a Writing Conference Online

This goal is actually one I have been able to somewhat complete. While I didn’t actually attend any of the live conference, I am able to watch the recordings and gain the knowledge from them. I am excited to gain more knowledge from this conference and learn all I can.

In March, I read three books that I honestly did not think would be my cup of tea, but pleasantly surprised me. I didn’t really think I would like spicy adult romances with smut in 90% of the chapters, but the story sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately, it adversely affected my writing time, so I aim to find a balance over the next few months.

March was quite a tough month. I got some bad news regarding a beloved family pet, Hazel, and the last bit of the month was touch and go as far as everything goes. She turns 14 today, and I am hoping to give her the best birthday ever. Please, if any of you have pets, give them a nice cuddle or a treat and show them you love them.

Hazel

Word Count: 3,509

April Goals

Finish/Write One Short Story

I have to say, I really enjoyed the short story I was writing for March before everything went to pot. It is a really strong idea and I want to see it done, and possibly work on the second half of the story in April. I’m hoping to get back into my routine of writing daily again, especially since March was so hectic and not a good writing month at all.

Camp NaNoWriMo

This year, for Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m not planning on working on one project, but multiple. A short story, a memoir or two, poetry, edits. Anything and everything, I am counting toward Camp NaNoWriMo, and I’m hoping to have some fun with it.

Poetry

April is National Poetry Month, and I’m hoping to get a small piece of poetry written every day to encourage the habit of writing every day again. Who knows? Some of it might even be half decent.

NYC Midnight’s 100 Word Microfiction Challenge

I’ve signed up for the Challenge and I’m really hoping that at 100 words I can find some time to get it done between homework and all of the other creative projects I have going on. Here’s hoping I can make it happen.

I’m really hoping April is a better month than March was, for multiple reasons.