Tag: writing a novel

December Results and 2023 Year End Wrap Up

December Results

Finish To Have A Heart

I finished the first draft of the novel in December! I finished a day early too!

Now, it’s time to figure out what my next project is!

Publish more online

I have published a lot online this month. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished over the last few weeks. I took a week off between Christmas and New Years (to write the rest of my novel), but I am excited to get it going again.

Looking forward to more opportunities in 2024!

Publish something

This year, one of my goals was to publish something. Technically, I do have something published (a poetry book that never took off or ended up on Amazon). It’s been a year of learning and growing, but no true publishing yet.

Next year is my year to publish!

Year End Round Up

Write Every Day of 2023

I managed to write every single day of 2023! 365 days of some kind of writing (and a lot of days it was a lot of words!)

I could not be happier and more proud of myself. I thought 2023 was going to be the year of edits, but it was still the year of writing too. I wrote and edited a lot this year. This is the year I truly felt like a writer who had my life together. I can only hope it continues.

Edit Three Novels

2023 was supposed to be the year of edits, and I gave it a good shot, but didn’t quite get 3 novel edited.

-Book of Poetry (edited in March/April)

-MAC/Book 1 (About 10 chapters left to edit)

Thankfully, I got a taste for editing over the year and now I know how to improve my craft over the next year.

Edit Twelve short stories

  • Congratulations- Written Jan 2015; Edited Jan 2023
  • H-E- Double Hockey Sticks- Written and Edited Jan 2023
  • Samson- Written 2014; Edited Feb 2023
  • Thanks For the Hand- Written and Edited April 2023
  • Mad With The Moon-written Feb 2021; edited June 2023
  • Love Lines- written Jan 2014; edited June 2023
  • The Way Out-Written August 2022; Edited June 2023
  • Room 1134- Written and edited July 2023
  • Honeydew- Written June 2020; Edited August 2023 and September 2023

9/12 short stories edited this year. I made an effort, and made some progress. I have plans in 2024 to take the next step with a few of the stories. Stay tuned for exciting updates in 2024!

Read Twelve Books

  • Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olsen- finished January 2023
  • All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban- Finished January 2023
  • The Will and The Wild by Charlie N. Holmberg- Finished February 2023
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas- Finished March 2023
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas- Finished March 2023
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Mass- finished March 2023
  • Queen of Ruin by K.F. Breene- finished June 2023
  • Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid -finished June 2023
  • A Writer’s Guide to Persistence by Jordan Rosenfeld- finished July 2023
  • Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery- Finished August 2023
  • Soul of Smoke by Caitlyn McFarland-Finished August 2023
  • Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery-finished August 2023
  • Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery-Finished August 2023
  • Shadow of Flame by Caitlyn McFarland- finished August 2023
  • Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery- Finished September 2023
  • Truth of Embers by Caitlyn McFarland- Finished September 2023
  • Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine- Finished September 2023
  • Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery-Finished October 2023
  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones- Finished October 2023

19/12 books. I overshot this goal and I am so glad I did. I’ve read a lot of series this year and finished a few I started in 2022 or earlier. The joy of reading has returned after years. I feel such delight when I read a good plot twist or learn something new from reading. I only hope to produce the same in my readers some day.

Publish Something (Either Traditional or Indie)

When I created this goal, I wanted to publish a book, a novel, but that didn’t quite happen this year. Instead, I decided I would put out a short story on Amazon (self published) but I rushed it, so I ended up pulling it back down.

  • Love Lines- Short Story- Published June 2023 (And deleted October 2023)

While I didn’t publish a novel, and I pulled down the short story, I did start a substack (Music That Shaped Me) and I’ve been more consistent writing on Medium and here on the blog. While it isn’t exactly what I had planned for the publishing goal, it technically is publishing. I’m really proud of the consistency I’ve found in 2023.

Participate in Most (If not all) NYC Midnight Writing Contests.

  • Short Story Challenge
    This one was not that bad. 8 days was not enough time because I procrastinated and had to push to write and edit in the last few days to make sure it was submitted on time.
    RESULTS: 5th place. Moved to round 2.
    Round 2: I had so much fun in round 2, and I fully laughed at myself and was able to have fun despite the silliness surrounding it.
    RESULTS: Did not place in round 2.
  • Screenwriting Challenge
    This one, I skipped. I signed up for it with high hopes, but screenwriting and scripts aren’t really my thing under a deadline.
  • Microfiction (100 words)
    I’ve always really liked this one, and not only because it’s short. 100 words is extremely hard to tell a story in, but that’s what makes it fun. I really enjoyed having to write a suspense/thriller in 100 words or less.
    RESULTS: Placed 1st! 🎉 Moved on to second round.
    RESULTS: Did not place in round 2.
  • Flash Fiction
    This is the NYC Midnight challenge that started it all. I have such a fond enjoyment of this challenge and each and every prompt teaches me something new. This time was a genre I have never actually tried to write, so it was fantastic.
    RESULTS: Did not place in round 1
    RESULTS: Did not place in round 2
  • Microfiction (500 Word)
    This challenge I unfortunately did not take part in because I lost track of my days. There’s always next year (I hope)
  • Microfiction (250 word)
    Passed on this one. It was right after November and I was so excited about my novel still and didn’t want to break the excitement. I wanted to finish the novel and not start something new. I also forgot to sign up for it until it had passed, so oops!

    Finished Projects

  • Little Earthquakes- a novel based off of a Tori Amos album of the same name
  • Short Stories
    -Rocketman
    -Luka
  • Through the Walls- A short story and Poetry Collection (schoolwork)
  • Honeydew- A short play (Schoolwork)
  • Various Fanfictions of popular book and TV series.
    1. The Names That Bind- ACOTAR
    2. You Don’t Need to Love Me- ACOTAR
    3. Hidge Week 2018- Voltron Legendary Defender
    4. Shave and a Haircut and Two Bits of Advice- Anne of Green Gables
    5. Carried Away By Love- Miraculous Ladybug
    6. Futures- A Captain Planet Fanfiction
  • To Have a Heart- A 2023 NaNoWriMo Novel

Yearly Word Count: 483,720

2023 has been one of my best years yet. A lot of amazing things have happened, both writing and non-writing related and I am so happy with where I’m ending this year and starting the next.

Happy New Year!

See you in 2024! 

 

 

 

What I’ve Learned and Week Three Updates

This November has been a whirlwind of emotions and words. This is not the best November I’ve ever done (I have done crazy word counts in previous years somewhere between 90K and 100K), but it is the most consistent.

I made myself a promise this year to hit the minimum of 1,667 words every day and update every day to make sure I get all the badges on the website. With all of the allegations and drama over on the website now, it seems a little less important now, but I still want that success for myself.

In the meantime, for the rest of November, I’m going to keep writing and forming my own habits. That’s what this month is about first and foremost, finding the magic of a new novel and documenting how long it takes me to get words down and write a book with minimal distractions.

Here’s how I did in week 3:

Day 15: 2311 in 1 hour and 10 minutes

Day 16: 1885 in 45 minutes

Day 17: 1767 in 45 minutes

Day 18: 1704 in 37 minutes

Day 19: 1730 in 45 minutes

Day 20: 1869 in 45 minutes

Day 21 1724 in 40 minutes

Monthly Total: 42,681

Here’s a few takeaways I’ve picked up over the last week.

An outline is crucial

Before the month started, I wrote an outline for the novel. My writing journey has grown and evolved from when I first started at 13 and each project is different, but for the last few years (especially since I’ve been working on an ever evolving series or two), I haven’t been using outlines, I’ve been letting the work surprise me.

For this year, working on a brand new project (for the first time in almost two years), I decided I needed an outline, so from start to finish I wrote down an outline of what I wanted to happen and loosely when.

So far this month, I’ve gone off outline a few times with the first time being super uncomfortable and the next few times feeling more comfortable. My outline is not in the best order, but it helps to know that I can play around with where things are.

For example, my main character wasn’t supposed to interact with her best friend until the 10th plot point in my outline, but there was the perfect place to introduce her earlier so I did. Another example, as I’ve been writing, I’ve realized my main character was too passive, so I added in a scene where she wasn’t so passive.

That’s probably why it took me 18 days to get through the first page (landscape) of my outline.

Also, post-its have been the perfect tool to get through the day and list a few plot points I want to hit, but not be too overwhelmed by the whole outline.

It is entirely possible to write when you think you don’t have time.

There was almost a day this week that I didn’t write at all. I had a busy day with social things and a hectic morning, so I figured I simply wouldn’t write. The timing was weird, I couldn’t sneak away and put a few words down, I was drained and exhausted. I could and did make every excuse, but ultimately, before I went to bed that night, reason kicked in and kicked my butt.

I almost lost a near 300 day streak of writing because I “didn’t feel like it”. I would have lost par of 1,667 daily and my motivation if I had a zero day. It would have been harder to get back into the story that the interest was already flagging on because I’m getting into the muddy middle.

I wrote that night, I snuck in 45 minutes right before midnight and while it was hard to get started, I made it happen. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

There have been several days where starting to write has been difficult, but by the time I reach my daily goal I don’t want to stop.

Getting started has been the hardest part.

Self made deadlines are the best ones to break

One of my other goals this month, outside of writing a novel, has been to blog regularly and post over on Medium and Substack. I have a weekly schedule of when and where I want to post, but similar to the story above, the day was not conducive to any kind of creative work and it just so happened to be when a post was due.

Thankfully, the post was mostly complete, it just needed a few last minute edits. I beat myself up over having a “late post”, but overall the more I thought about it, the more I accepted that sometimes posts will be late or off by a day. The important thing is that I did post and I did keep up my streak. The important thing is I’m getting content out there.

November is for words, December (and beyond) is for editing

This year, my typing skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Currently, I have acrylic nails that are beautiful, but quite dangerous when typing. Autocorrect and acrylic nails are a great combination when it comes to writing a novel, so there are several instances where at the beginning of the month I was erasing and cursing and annoyed, but now I just roll with it.

Now, for ease of time and storytelling, I simply put the offending word (or the word I wanted) in parentheses and keep moving forward. I can edit later, now I’m telling myself the story and getting through my outline.

See you next week!

 

What I’ve Learned: Editing (Part One)

This past month, I began editing the first novel in my series. I’ve edited this piece before, but with kid gloves. The first time, I wasn’t ready to cut and maim and kill my darlings. This time, I’m back with a vengeance and murdering sections left and right to make it a cohesive narrative.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Sections get Crossed Out

The way I originally wrote this novel, in the third draft when I had all of the pieces I needed, I added a whole section of flashbacks in each chapter that now, reading through, is basically useless. Don’t get me wrong, I love these characters in the flashbacks and their journey, and it does lead up to the reasoning for some of the characters actions, but to pull the reader out of the current events and into a flashback just wasn’t working. Maybe in the future there will be a use for them. (Maybe a companion novel?)

Sections get Moved

When I wrote this novel, I wrote the two viewpoints and the two worlds as complete separate chapters. Editing through, I’ve realized things are happening at the same time in the narrative and they need to be closer. Chapters are melded together, events are moved to make more sense in context of the other perspective. Things even get moved up or pushed back depending on where they make the most sense.

Sections, Pages and Full Chapters get Deleted Without Mercy

When writing a novel, especially with a quickly approaching deadline, scenes get added in that potentially never lead anywhere. In editing, now that I know where the novel is essentially going to end up, I can look at each scene and ask “Is this important to the plot, either in this book, or another in the series?” If not, or if it’s just awkward, it gets axed. No questions asked. There is one scene so far that I can think of that was just complete cheese and not necessary. The character had already said her piece and to have her come back, with no real reason, was just wrong.

It’s Not a Linear Process

For the most part, I am a very linear writer. Chapter one all the way through until the end of the book. This hasn’t always been the case for editing. This edit is a weird one, because I’m essentially editing one section, rewriting another one and completely getting rid of a third. To jump between editing and writing and back and forth so many times in one chapter is tiring. So I’m switching back and forth every few days. The editing is the easy part. The rewriting is hard.

Sections Return from Previous Drafts

I’m rewriting some of the draft, but some of the scenes of a particular section are coming back from a previous draft. I have rewritten this novel so many times since it had never been quite right. I’m thankful I’ve kept those old drafts, because there were certain sections that were gold and will appear in the final edit.

Organization is HUGE

When I started edits, I underestimated how many sections would be in this novel. With each page break being a new letter of the alphabet, since I was reorganizing it all, I quickly ran into multiple letters and numbers which was a huge headache. I was only halfway through Chapter Four with section titles like FF and if I continued, I might have the whole alphabet in sections by the time I reached the end. So I simplified from going through the alphabet multiple times, to just however many sections were in that chapter. From multiple letters to 1A, 1B etc.

I’m barely halfway through my edits for this book, with my deadline at the end of this month, but these are all the things I’ve learned so far.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

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.