How I am Prepping My Life For Nanowrimo

There is more to Nano prep then just writing outlines and character sketches. Right now I am doing the most important Nano prep I can do: sorting out life in general. If I can do that, then I will set myself up for a good chance at success.

Cleaning House: There isn’t much time in November to take care of the house like you’d usually do. I know if I sit down on November 1st and my house isn’t sorted out it will be a major distraction. I will want to finish cleaning and organizing which is wasted time. This week I started my fall cleaning: the upstairs bedrooms are freshened up, swept and mopped. Most of the downstairs is sorted. For me, as long as my kitchen and bathroom are clean I’m a happy camper. Having any big cleaning done for November helps prevent junk, dishes and laundry from piling up. Nobody wants to deal with that come December.

My office: Not only will a messy house distract me but so will a messy office. I did that room first. My desk is tidy and I can keep notes, snacks and drinks near me. I have a big comfy blanket on the floor so Foxy, our greyhound, can come in and keep me company while I write. Whatever writing space you are using, make sure it is tidy and organized.

Writing Fuel: With Halloween coming I’ll be picking up some extra goodies, especially if they are on sale. You can’t sit and write a novel without chocolate or another form of fuel. If you vise is coffee, pick up some of your fave flavors before November.

Food prep: This one will be easy for me since hubby is leaving for work. Since I will be only cooking for one, leftovers and easy meals will be my best friend in November. I do plan to make a few bigger meals so I can have leftovers for a few days. The last thing I want to do when I come home after work is spending a lot of time cooking and on clean up. I will want to get to my laptop ASAP.

Warning Friends it’s Nano time: Not that I have a super busy social life, but come November I will be posting on FB that it’s Nano, which means hibernation mode. Partly, at least. Pen pal letters will have to wait until December, some coffee dates will have to wait. People who care about you and support you don’t mind waiting a little while for your time.

So, how do you prep for Nano? What other non-writing ways is there to get ready?

Get Crackin: Preptober

It dawned on me today that I have yet to even start getting ready for Nanowrimo next month. I had a slight panic attack but seeing as how it’s still early in the month, I relaxed a little.

Everyone has their own way of getting ready. Some are old school like me and write up notes and index cards, while others use programs like Scrivener. (I will get that eventually…she said for the umpteenth time).

Some writers have a full blown manuscript on just their prep alone, with pages of character sketches, maps, plot points, scene break down, etc… While others have little to no idea the day Nano starts. (You people are my heroes…I know people who have had success doing this.  I am not one of those people.)

If you don”t know what your method is, just find what works for you. All writers are different. What works for me might not work for you.

This is what I need to prep this year:

Characters: I am writing in the same universe as my Blood Bonds so I know my charcters well, but there are a couple of new faces. One has introduced himself to me, the other two are being coy and won’t come out of the shadows…yet. Hopefully they will by November 1st.

Setting: Again, same universe so I know the setting well. I will be getting to know it a tad more, but nothing too major.

Plot: Ok, so this is where is gets tricky. Basically I know I want two things in particular to happen…in my head one is a plot and the other is a subplot, but things may go a bit differently. I need to think on my story more. I plan to write some scenes I know I want to happen. I will bring out the index cards and use that method. It’s one of my faves. This will help me figure out plot and give me something to work with come November.

Rewards: Yeah, this is totally on my prep list. I need some sort of treat to fuel me to get a few extra words in. If I hit 25k ahead of schedule, I am having a day off and a Big Mac. I used to use Halloween candy. Like, have a piece after five hundred words or so. But let’s face it, I can’t refrain myself from dippin in the treat bowl. 😉

So, what are you doing to prep for Nano? Do you know what your project is for this year?

 

Making A Plan And Making Writing A Priority

It is really easy to put things off. I am the Queen of Procrastination. It isn’t that I don’t want to do certain things, but the phrases “I am going to start this soon” or “I will get on that tomorrow”, become easier to say. And tomorrow turns into the next day and so on.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my writing. I am kicking myself for wasted days and being lazy. I’m not as prolific as I used to be. I’m not happy with that, so it is time for a REAL change.

I’m not the type of person to write every day. Some writers are. Even during NaNoWriMo there are days I don’t write. Either because life is simply too hectic that day, or I need to give my brain a little bit of recharge time. (Although I only do that if I am at least a day or two ahead of schedule.)

While I am not a person to write every day, all week, all year, I know I can write some of the week. So I am making myself a schedule of sorts.

I am vowing to write four days a week. If more, bonus! But unless life takes some major curve ball, I know I can write (or edit) even a page or two that much during the week. I have no real excuse right now not to do that.

I have last year’s Nano to work on, plus a new project I have been dying to get at. So I have a great starting point for my work.

Instead of just thinking about writing, I need to get off my ass and start DOING.

Have you made any new changes or goals for your writing? If so, what have you decided to do?

 

NaNoWriMo: Day 17

It has been a little while since my last update, but I have been stuck deep down in the word mines. I’m just emerging now for a quick breath before I head back in again.

Last night I hit 30,000, and I am pretty happy about that. My word progress is coming along. I wanted to stay ahead, for the odd day where I couldn’t write. And since I have recently become a Jamberry consultant, I have had a day or two where I have been focusing on that.

Tonight I am heading out to our third official NaNoWrimo write-in. I love them! There’s nothing to do but sit and write, no distractions.

Usually at this point in the month, the words are slower coming. It is like trudging through sludge. In the beginning we had a fresh, brand new idea that we couldn’t wait to start. Now we are trying to muddle through the middle. Figure out where we want our novel to go. How it is going to get to the ending we want. Or handle characters that have gone rouge and are doing things you didn’t plan or expect.

But keep going. No matter how hard this part seems, don’t give up. We’ve got this. Grab your coffee. Go hide. You can do this!

 

A Little Writing Inspiration and A Contest

My great friend and writing buddy Sherry D. Ramsey has her own blog and writing news letter. This month she talks about Nanowrimo and she is also having a really cool little contest!

So if you want to check it all out, you can find it all right here!

The contest is helping her name a character in her next Nanowrimo novel. I know I will be entering the contest, just for the hell of it! 😀

A lot of people wonder what, if anything, can be done with a Nanowrimo novel. Some people think you can’t produce anything good during the month. (It’s called editing, people. Besides, any first draft is crap).

Sherry was a guest blogger and talks about having her Nano works published, and how Nanowrimo helped her. Check out her read over here.

Happy Saturday!!!

Writing and Snail Mail

This week has been crazy with NaNoWriMo. I had hoped to get to the 25k mark by tonight, but I’m just over 20k, which I am pretty proud of. My brain is slightly becoming numb so I thought that since I am ahead of things, today would be a good day to take a break and recharge. I decided that my new goal for the half way mark will be Tuesday evening. I am pretty confident that I can do it, since I’m not that far off.

In the meantime, my overworked brain is thanking me for the day off. I started the morning off by going for a walk and getting an iced coffee. And then once I was back home, I indulged in things I haven’t done all week. I caught up on my fave websites, played a video game, and then decided to make some happy mail.

So far this morning I have made two envelopes, using an old calender, some stickers and washi tape.  The one on the left will be traveling to The Netherlands once i get the time to sit and write her. The one on the right is a surprise for a friend in the USA. I love being crafty and creative and I am jealous when I see other people create art. There are many talented people out there, no matter if it is writing or scrapbooking, and I often wish I had their talent. But I don’t let that stop me from doing the things I love. I’m having fun, so that’s the main thing. And once in awhile I create a piece of gold I’m beyond happy with.

I’m going to step away from the computer for awhile, do coffee with friends before I watch this week’s episode of The Walking Dead. And if I can manage it, I plan on putting my nose in a good book for a little while.

So, what do you do when you take writing breaks? How do you recharge during Nano?

NaNoWriMo hasn’t eaten my soul…yet!

A big hello to everyone out there!! How are we all doing? If you are writing a novel this month, how goes it? And if you aren’t writing this month, what good things have you been reading? I need to make a list of books for the new year! (Even though I have 1.2 million novels on my book shelf I have to read…what makes me NEED more?!)

I have been taking part in Nanowrimo yet again this year. So far on day six, things are going pretty good. At least I think they are. I am trying really hard not to dwell on the EPIC CRAP I have written over the last six days because I know that inside it somewhere is a little nugget of goodness. (Fingers crossed it IS in there.)

In the first two days of the month I wrote over 10k. I was very happy with this, since I like to work with a little buffer. Yesterday I had a little situation pop up, so I was unable to focus properly. (All is good now though!) I just finished writing for the day, so I thought I would crank out a few more words and check in here. I am up to 16.806 words and feel my novel itself is coming along and developing well. I already had an idea for my beginning, middle and end before I had even started, so that does help. But I have been writing this novel much differently then in the past.

On day one I wrote the first two or three scenes and stalled. I realized that while I had some planning for my skeleton, the meat of the thing hadn’t been thought out as much as I had originally hoped. I had an “Oh Shit” moment. But I didn’t let that stop me. I began working on another scene, one that would take place in a few chapters into the novel.

And that trend continued. I wrote a few scenes, ones that didn’t connect, but then went back to fill in the gaps. I have done this in the past, but not to this extent. But my random scenes are now coming together and the story is filling out. Of coarse, there are a few scenes that are still looking very out of place, but in the days to come that problem will be solved.

One of the things that has kept me going through Nano now (and over the years) is the writing community, both online and in real life. So far I have been to two Nanowrimo events held in my area. Our first meet up was on Sunday, and Tuesday evening we had a two hour write in. (Bonus: Our Municipal Liaison brought chocolate. Yet another thing that keeps my brain going during the writing frenzy 😉 ) I love meeting fellow authors as well as getting together with friends. Everyone has been very friendly and supportive. It’s a great way to get inspiration and a kick in the pants if needed.

How is your word count going? Better yet, how is your novel coming along? Are you happy and still riding the wave of excitement, or are you debating on punching your computer (or notebook) in the face? If you are ahead of the game, good for you! Have a cookie. If you are behind, no worries! Have a cookie and keep going! 🙂

Happy Writing!

For those of you who celebrate Halloween, I hope you had a safe and spooky evening 🙂 I enjoyed passing treats out to almost fifty kiddies, and kicked myself in the butt for not dressing up too. (I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with me this year!) I followed that by finally watching the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. (I can’t even go into a review…all I kept thinking were things like ‘Splinter doesn’t sound like that’, and ‘God I hate their NOSES’.) Anyway, I’m a die hard TMNT girl and have been since the age of seven. So, old school turtles are the best in my books.

Anyway, I am all prepped and about to start Nano since in just a couple of minutes it will be November 1st! (and Mr.C said I couldn’t stay awake for this. Pfft.) Good luck to all my fellow writers!!! 🙂 I’ve got my story bible and index cards all ready to go!!