NaNoWriMo Day 30 (and final day)

GETAWAY MOUNTAIN UPDATE:

• 50, 485 words written in November

• 69,896 total words written

•  20,104 words to write to finish first draft

When I signed up for NaNoWriMo 2013, I hoped I could finish. There were times along the way that I doubted it. I was discouraged and the words wouldn't come. I had days on which I didn't write at all. I wanted to toss the whole thing. Forget I ever even thought I could be a fiction writer.

It's true.

About reporting for work even when you don't feel like working.

About writing even when you don't feel like writing.

In his NaNo pep talk on Nov. 26, Ralph Peters spoke to where I was when he wrote:


"But if you need inspiration, try perspiration. If you’re meant to write, you’ll write. Sure, we’re all stymied from time to time, struggling over how best to shape a character or how to bring a crucial scene to life. But the best way to confront such problems is to sit down and start typing. Things happen when you make them happen. . . . 

"Better to type up slop, throw it away, and start again the next morning, than to duck your daily battle with the keyboard. . . .

"Writing is wretched, discouraging, physically unhealthy, infinitely frustrating work. And when it all comes together it’s utterly glorious.

"In these last days of NaNoWriMo, get to work "


I did. And it did (came together).

At this point, the plot is cooking pretty good. Boiling, in fact. My husband advises me to "finish it. You're on a roll."

And so I will.

See you on the other side of "The End."

Keep writing,

Michele

NaNoWriMo Day 20

Ten days left in National Novel Writing Month.

Ten days to reach 50,000 words.

As you can see from progress meter above, I'm running a bit behind. 21,781 words to go. 10 days. I could let myself feel overwhelmed, pressured. I spent a couple of NaNo days plotting. I'd come to a place where I couldn't go forward unless I had some idea of which way that forward was supposed to go.

Ten days. 21,781 words. Gulp.

I can do this.

I can write 2,200 words a day.

Even on Sunday.

Even on Thanksgiving Day.

Ten days. 21,781 words.

The mountain doesn't look so big when you climb it one step at a time.

Keep writing,

Michele

PS. Rachel Hauck posted an EXCELLENT blog today on Novel Rocket: "5 Novel Crunches For Tightening Your Middle." It's exactly what I need at this point. Check it out (click on the title)
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NaNoWriMo Day 13

Pushing through NaNoWriMo, I'm learning that the more I write, the more I write.

Yes, I've wrestled with words, with the "What comes next?" I've struggled with characters and scenes better suited for Act 3 than Act 2. I've let the internal editor out to help me with some problems - not with mechanics, such as grammar, spelling, punctuation - but with those characters and scenes that niggled at me after I shut the computer down for the day.

The mind never shuts down, even when you're sleeping. So while doing laundry, preparing supper, cleaning the kitchen, running the vacuum, "redding up" (western Pennsylvania speak for "straightening up" the house), and doing the countless daily tasks that must be done, NaNo or no NaNo, the muse was mulling, analyzing, asking questions and searching for the answers.

"Follow your gut" - I kept telling myself. "Stop thinking so much. Just write."

But there is a phase where forward movement grinds to a stop and you just have to think. The editor and the muse work together. That's also following your instinct. Instinct tells you if you continue the plot in this vein, you're going to write yourself into a corner.

So I figured out what I had to to and went back and fixed it, rewriting two chapters (but saving the old ones in case I needed something from them).

Writing is a learning process at every level, from novice to best-selling author. Writing is a gut-wrenching, ego-slamming, doubt-fertilizing profession. And I write "profession" whether you are just getting started, grind out those words whenever and wherever you can while juggling a full-time life, or are writing full-time and getting paid.

We all go through periods of doubt, disappointment, and discouragement. You've received the umpteenth rejection, your current work-in-progress has stalled out, someone you care about told you you'll never be a writer. Maybe more than one person "advised" you to give it up, it's a waste of time.

Do you have a dream to be a writer?

Whether you get published or not, you are a writer. You're writing. You're wrestling with words. You're talking to your characters - and they're talking back. You're living in the fiction world you have created while going through the motions in the real world. Your family has to live with a zoned-out person who was once someone they knew. But they've gotten used to it, and they know as soon as you've typed "The End," you'll return to them.

DON'T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR DREAM! Ban the naysayers from your life. They have no clue. Be pleasant to them, but surround yourself with people who believe in you. Fill your mind and heart and spirit with whatever motivates you.

For me, when I get down on my writing self, I whip out the words of James Scott Bell. May they motivate you as they do me:

"I wasted ten years of prime writing life because of the Big Lie. In my twenties I gave up the dream of becoming a writer because I had been told that writing could not be taught. Writers are born, people said. You either have what it takes or you don't, and if you don't you'll never get it. . . . I thought I was doomed. . . . So I did other stuff like go to law school. Like join a law firm. Like give up my dream. But the itch to write wouldn't go away."

Then he read about an interview with a lawyer who'd had a novel published after he'd been in an accident and realized he really wanted to write, even if he never got published.

"Well, I want it, too," Bell writes. "I went out and bought my first book on fiction writing. . . . And I discovered the most incredible thing. The Big Lie was a LIE. A person COULD learn how to write because I was learning."

Google James Scott Bell and you'll see how successful a writer he is. He also has the best (and funniest) writing tips video clips, especially the one on "Writing Through Frustration."  (For a list of of his video clips, click here.) 

All writers, even the published bestsellers (like James Scott Bell and Stephen King) feel like failures at times. More frequently than you'd think. Bell hits what he calls "The Wall" about 30,000 words into his novel:

"I get there and suddenly think all the worst things about my novel: the idea stinks and is beyond redemption; my writing is lame, the characters uninteresting, and the plot virtually nonexistent. I can't possibly go on. Career over."

Then he gives a list of things he prescribes for breaking through The Wall.

The above quotes are taken from his book, Plot and Structure, which I highly recommend, as I do all his books, both his "how-to-write" books and his fiction. It's always a good idea to be reading good writing. Your mind is absorbing the technique, and you're learning while enjoying a good read. 
 
If you're doing NaNo and you're behind where the graph on the NaNo page indicates you should be, don't fret about it. Just write and . . .

Keep writing!
Michele
 
**GETAWAY MOUNTAIN UPDATE:

TOTAL NaNo words: 17,158 words written in WIP this month

TOTAL words in novel to date:  39,487  (43%) almost to the mid-point, the "Dark Moment"
 
 

NaNoWriMo Day 6

Adding sensory details is an ongoing learning process. Some writers don't include them until the revision/rewrite phase. As I push through National Novel Writing Month,  I'm not concerned about sensory details at this point because I'm getting the skeleton put together. But I will add them in  during the revision phase as I put muscles and skin on the skeleton and give it a heart.

A writing student I mentor told me that while she was working on a lesson, she "shut down." I, too, (and I suspect all writers do) shut down at times. I plowed through a shutdown on the second day of NaNoWriMo. The words didn't want to come. The characters were in a vegetative state. The plot stalled. The internal editor broke out of where I'd locked her in and bound the muse. But I pushed through, knowing even if what I was writing at the time stunk, I could always revise it.

Writing is like drawing water from a well with a hand pump. When you first start pumping, nothing comes. It's like the well is dry. But if you pour in a little water and keep pumping, the water will come. It starts out as a trickle, then as you keep pumping, the flow becomes stronger and stronger until the water is gushing out.

Keep writing,
Michele

Countdown NaNo

Only two more days until NaNoWriMo starts!

I'm getting ready to crank out 50K words in 30 days by reading all the writing blogs and articles I feel will motivate me as I face this seemingly overwhelming challenge.

I can do this. I can do this. (Do I sound like "the little engine who could"?)

I did the math. Writing 6 days a week (taking Sundays off), to meet the goal of 50K words for the month, I have to write just 2,000 words a day. (2,000 words x 26 days = 52,000 words)

I can do this. I can write 2,000 words a day. Why, that's not even a chapter! I can do this!

I wrote around 1,600 words a day in my travel journal on our 2-week vacation last month. And it didn't take me more than an hour. Honest.

I just wrote.

I didn't plan. I didn't think. I didn't edit myself (too much).

I just wrote.

And that's what I plan to do during NaNo.

Just write.

I will lock up the internal editor. Better yet, I will bind her with duct tape first.

I will free the muse.

I can do this.



NOTE: Books & Such agent Rachelle Gardner gives some great advice in her blog, "Writing a First Draft." Also check out "5 Habits of Motivated Novelists" for more ways to crank out words.


MICHELE'S RULES FOR NANO:

1. Set time to write every day. (9 a.m. - 12 p.m., then 1 - 3 p.m., or whenever word count for the day is met.)

2. Keep writing time sacred:

• STAY OFF Internet. That includes Facebook and other social networking sites. Research after word count is met. Only when daily word count is met post progress on blog, NaNoWriMo site, and FB.
• Do not check email. 
• Do not use phone. Let the answering machine or voice mail take incoming calls. 
•  Do not schedule anything during writing time.

3. Write 2,000 words a day, Monday-Saturday. No excuses. 

4. Push forward.

5. Don't think.

6. Just write. 

I'm fortunate in that I don't work outside the home, I live in the middle of nowhere, the nest is empty, and my husband works 11-hour days (is gone 12 hours M-F), and is content with simple suppers.

How about you? What are you doing to get ready for NaNo?

Keep writing,
Michele

Wisdom for writers

What advice do you wish you'd been given when you first began writing?

That's the question editor and writer Nick Harrison addressed in his blog today, "Advice I Wish I'd Been Given," an excellent piece for writers at every stage. I identified with all of his points, but especially with "cultivate patience," to which I add "persistence and perseverance." Which piece of advice do you most relate to?

Another good post is today's "Wednesday's Writing on Writing" blog by Jerry B. Jenkins, who reminds us it's never too late to become what you dream to be.

Do check out the list of blogs for writers ("BLOG TO HONE YOUR WRITING SKILLS") on the right of this page. I admit I don't read them all as soon new posts are published, but I do scan the titles and pick the ones I think will help me where I am right now in my writing.

As I fuel up for NaNoWriMo, I've been reading more blogs for writers, especially those that deal with fiction technique and motivation.

What about you? How are you fueling up for NaNo?

Keep writing!

Michele

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo

Getaway Mountain, my current novel-in-progress, was flowing along great when it came to a skidding halt in mid-July. Life happens, you know? And I haven't been able to get back to it since.

Most of the summer was spent getting ready for our fortieth wedding anniversary trip, a two-week camping trip in mid-September through the Finger Lakes region of New York, on to Fort Ticonderoga, through Vermont and New Hampshire, and up the coast of Maine to Mount Desert Island, where we spent a week exploring the island and Acadia National Park.

The week after we returned home was mop-up-after-vacation and get-caught-up week. The second week was get-ready-for-the-conference week. I'm the assistant director for the Punxsutawney Christian Women's Conference.

So here we are, the third week back from vacation, and I still can't find the energy to plunge back into writing.

I did, however, complete and submit this month's assignment for my Christian Writers Guild Craftsman course. And today I had my Skype appointment with my mentor, Sandra Byrd.

"I just don't have the passion for this novel that I had for the first and second ones I wrote," I told her ("whined" is more like it).

"You're tired," she said. "It's like a cell phone battery. You have to recharge it all the way. If you unplug it when it's only at 20 percent, it's going to die out faster than if you fully recharged it."

Makes sense. And she's spot-on.

My friend, conference speaker and author Virelle Kidder writes in her book, Meet Me at the Well, "Body, mind, and spirit are one complete package. When one part suffers, the whole person suffers."

When one part is exhausted, so are the other two.

I've been running on all cylinders for months, and I'm plumb tuckered out. In body, mind, and spirit.

Writing requires energy. "Creativity" sounds nice, but while we writers feed on it, in reality it burns a great deal of energy - uses up the charged battery.

What does this have to do with NaNoWriMo?

Everything. If I'm to have the energy to write 50,000 words in the month of November and get my WIP going again, I need to start recharging that creative battery now.

How?

• Plug in to power sources that feed my writing: For me that's reading, especially fiction and authors I enjoy reading. And how-to's (books, articles, blogs) on the craft, especially anything by James Scott Bell.
•  Rest: About recharging batteries - I've noticed when I'm recharging my Kindle Fire and using it at the same time, it takes longer to recharge. It doesn't take the valedictorian of MIT to see that giving it a rest while it's recharging will speed up the process. 
• Play with the plot. A rough outline will provide a map when I run into "What's next?"  during NaNoWriMo. While we were on vacation, I journaled nearly every day about the trip. I didn't plot and plan. I just wrote - and discovered I can easily write 1,500 words a day and not take all day or several hours to do it. That's what I plan to do during NaNoWriMo -- just write!

I'm getting ready for NaNoWriMo. What about you?

(NOTE: Those of you who sign up for NaNoWriMo, let me know! We can be NaNoWriMo writing buddies!)

Novel Rocket

Have you checked out the Novel Rocket website?

I've added it to the list of blogs of interest to writers at the right of this page.

Operation First Novel

Have you written a novel and don't know what to do with it?

Even if it's not the first novel you've written, if you haven't had a novel published, you can enter it in Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel. The winner, who will receive a $20,000 advance and a publishing contract with Worthy Publishing, will be announced at the 2014 Writing for the Soul Conference.

For more information, click here.

And while you're visiting the Guild's website, why not check out the courses offered? They will stretch you, challenge you, give you an understanding of the publishing industry, and help you to hone your writing skills.

Following is a list of the courses. Click on the course name for more information.

CORE COURSES:

Writing Essentials

Apprentice

Journeyman

Craftsman

ELECTIVE COURSES:

Building Your Social Media Platform

Articles That Sell

Fiction That Sells

YOUTH COURSES (a great resource for homeschoolers!):

Page

Squire

A time to write . . .

It was full steam ahead the first part of July. The muse danced in joyous freedom. The editor settled down behind closed doors with a good book. I finished chapter 8 of Getaway Mountain, my novel-in-progress. The first draft of Act 1 done. On to Act 2 . . .

Except all came to a screeching halt when my  14-year-old grandson suffered a compound fracture of his upper left arm during baseball practice. Getaway Mountain was put on hold during the crisis.

Trouble is a month later it's still on hold.

I'm sure you identify.

Life happens. There's nothing we can do about it. Sometimes our priorities get shifted out of necessity. As Solomon once wrote, "there is a time for every purpose under heaven."

But sometimes reasons morph into excuses.

Like, "I can't get back in the mood." "I'm too tired." "Too busy." "I haven't a clue what to write next." Yada, yada, yada . . .

The real reason is, "I'm afraid to write." I've bought into the lies whispered into my psych by an enemy who doesn't want me to succeed in what God has called me to do. Lies such as,  "I'm really not a good writer." "My writing stinks." "Why bother? It'll never get published anyway."

I must remember how Jesus dealt with the enemy's lies: “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s" (Matthew 16:23 NLT).

No more excuses. 

It's a time to write . . . 



POST SCRIPT: SOME QUOTES ABOUT WRITING:

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous." - Robert Benchley

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly." C. J. Cherryh

"May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done." - from "A Four-fold Franciscan Blessing"

"The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." - St. Paul (Romans 11:29)