NaNoWriMo

It’s my blog and I will write what I want to!

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I love driving down old Route 66 in some of the less populated areas over by Amboy. Shout-out to Roys!  We always stop by the roadside and just sit and listen to the silence. It’s pretty weird. So quiet. No crickets or birds. Rarely a car. Even the wind is on mute. You feel weird, almost oppressed by the silence but in a good way. We are so used to noise, that the lack of it is almost too much to bear.

You may be wondering if all these posts  are going to be about NaNo. Good question. Probably not. But the future looks hazy, shake again. 

That was part of the problem, and one of the reasons why blogging was so hard. I was trying to think about all of you. The potential readers. What did you want from me? You are not very good at letting me know. The silence was deafening. 

I spent so much time worrying about what to write and just knowing that I was going to be wrong and people would hate me and gamergate shit would happen. Somehow I would be doxed and put my family in danger. Yes I am very good at catastrophizing. Creative people create no matter what. 

This is different. I still care what you think. I would like you to like me, my writing. But for now I am going to focus on what I want to write. Buckle up, it’s going to be a strange ride. I have a lot of different interests. 

So the goal is thirty days of posts. Any kind of posts. (It would have been 31, but I missed the first day of NaNo. 

Ideally at the end of thirty days, I will find my feet, my voice, and perhaps some other wanderers out there looking for a place to hang for a little bit and this can go on. We’ll see. 

PS If you NaNo and want to connect search for Paula1849. 

It’s complicated and sometimes you have to break the rules

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My lizard brain up close.

One of the nice things about NaNo is that even if you are a socially awkward wannabe writer dealing with medical issues, you can still meet cool people that you have at least something in common with. Topics of conversation are built right in! What are you working on? How many words? How many NaNos? Even I can’t screw it up much!

For me, NaNo is a bunch of positives. I get to focus on a creative project for myself! But I also use this time to focus on what writing skills I need to improve on. Totally against the NaNo code! Such a rebel! 

I have found that lots of people use this time the way that they need to. Finishing up stories, starting new ones, and even *gasp* editing. Last year I focused on creating dialogue as that was something I was not comfortable with. 

You know how it goes. As you are writing, you become painfully aware of how many times you have used the words “she/he/they said” but if you try and become too creative with your dialogue, your writing becomes almost incoherent. I also spent time that year noticing how other favorite writers compose their dialogue while I read. That helped me to find balance. 

This year I am facing a bigger fear. Blogging. I have a hard time writing posts and putting them out there. 

I am not sure what my fear is. Ok, that is a lie, I know exactly what my fear is and I will spare you the deep introspective for now. Being a follower of the lizard brain theory I know that when the primitive section of my brain tells me not to do something because of a vague fear, then it is probably something I should face and culture. 

So here I am. Facing fear and forcing myself to grow. By blogging….  I guess it sounds really silly when it is put that way. But that is what happens when we don’t face the issues that hold us back. Forcing yourself to deal with your lizard brain (but be kind) will put the issue in perspective. 

A little tough self love is all it takes but I do suggest if you are interested to google the “lizard brain”. Very interesting reading.  

PS If you NaNo and want to connect search for Paula1849.

Oh Shit! It’s November 2 and I missed the start of NaNoWriMo!

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Usually I am excited and look forward to each NaNo as a time where I get to put myself first and do something I enjoy. I love being creative and love telling a tall tale. The work that goes into writing well is a bit daunting to be honest.

I don’t know exactly how many NaNo’s I’ve participated in but looking at all the swag from past years, we have a long history together.

But that is the beauty of NaNo. You don’t have to write well, in fact editing is discouraged to allow you to focus and just get the words down.

The goal of 50K words in thirty days is challenging but quite doable. Usually I try to pace myself with the requisite number of daily words to meet my goal – 50,000 divided by 30 = 1667 words per day. I have never held to that goal.

Sometimes I have come close and been able to sort of keep up. But my words stumble after the initial excitement and of course life intervenes. Everyone has Thanksgiving to deal with but I also have two birthdays and some personal events to manage during the month as well. One year was particularly bad and I ended up spending the last three days of November writing over 45K words to win. 

So I missed the first day. No biggers, that just means that this NaNo is a little different and a little normal too! 

PS If you NaNo and want to connect search for Paula1849. 

Correspondence from the NaNo fields – Oh Crap!

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This is going to be a quick post because if you haven’t guessed yet from the title, I am waaaaay behind.

Usually, by this time it goes one of two ways. Either I am cruising and just about finishing or I am so far behind that it is going to take a herculean effort. Not to worry, I have been father behind and still managed. Of course, I had a whole free weekend then and right now work is swamping. Crap.

Hopefully, you are on track or have already finished. I am happy for you. Good job. I am proud of you!

Otherwise, no that misery loves company and I will see you on the other side!

Paula

Correspondence from the NaNo fields – Help I am stuck in quicksand!

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I am so far behind on my words! This is usually the time I start getting bogged down in my story and am trying to add details and depth. But I haven’t even had a chance to do that yet. My apologies to anyone who noticed I forgot to post yesterday.

Sometimes life seems to throw a perfect pitch into wrecking the best-laid plans. Alas. Le sigh. And all that jazz!

I am in the squish stage of life right now. Busy taking care of older parents and relatives but dealing with college kids and stuff. All of which means I am broke and tired right now. But happy to be blessed with so much love and life.

So if you think of it, throw me a lifeline or a comment and I will throw you one too! I am not giving up, and hope to catch up this coming weekend on my words. Writing marathon here I come!

Hope all is well with your writing,

Paula

Quick Link: Want To Win NaNoWriMo This Year? 7 Tips On Writing And Productivity

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

How are you doing with your NaNo words? Even if you are not writing with NaNo this year, everyone can use tips on writing and productivity all year round! So head on over to The Creative Penn and check it out!

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Want To Win NaNoWriMo This Year? 7 Tips On Writing And Productivity

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Ready to take your writing seriously? Getting ready for NaNoWriMo and need some writing and productivity tips? 

I had a demanding day job when I did NaNoWriMo in 2009, but I was committed to the writing, so I got up every weekday at 5 am before work to get my words in.

Those words became the kernel of Stone of Fire, my first novel, and that month of writing changed my life. Now I have 15 novels and if I can do it, you can too!

If you need some help with writing or productivity, you can get 13 awesome books as part of the Storybundle NaNoWriMo special available for a limited time.

Here are 7 tips that I picked up from books in the deal. Click here to check out the Bundle.

(1) Schedule your writing time

Read the full post on The Creative Penn!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Correspondence from the NaNo fields – Dumb conversations!

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Hello to all you writers and especially to all the NaNo’ers out there! How are you doing? Has your plot run out of steam? Or are your fingers flying off the keyboard?

I am actually caught up on my daily numbers and am trying to push ahead as I have two very important birthdays this month and I am responsible for Thanksgiving plus other family obligations. Of course, don’t forget work!

I am still world building but that is actually going much better now that I gave myself permission to write my thoughts out loud. Makes for some weird writing but it works.

Last year I spent my NaNo time focusing on dialogue. I still spend a lot of time reading how other people write good dialogue and will re-read how authors handle the talking bits.  When I was growing up, we were pushed in school to write a lot of adverbs and do the “Tom Swifty” type of writing. Which is horribly dated now and just silly.

But as my fingers are flying on the keyboard and in my quest to get my daily numbers and not overthink it, well I find myself making very bad puns in very inane dialogue.  Let’s face it, right now I am writing the backstory. Which is important to help me  know my characters a lot better, but it is nothing that I would ever put in the final story.

You see, I have been competing at NaNoWriMo for over ten years now and I know how quickly plot and story can run dry. So maybe I am a little PTSD and am padding the story in the beginning with really dumb conversations. Or maybe I am growing and learning that a solid backstory can add depth to a character that continues to show through in the main story.  “Just ignore me when I start giggling”, she said funnily.

Have a great day!

Paula

P.S. what is your favorite Tom Swifty?

 

Correspondence from the NaNo fields – World building is hard!

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Hello! How are all you writers and NaNo’ers doing? I fell behind on my word count right away as of course all my client’s programs/servers/websites needed attention! But I managed to almost catch up on double Saturday.  I also donated because if you enjoy writing whether or not you participate in NaNoWriMo, they do a lot for writing and writers. The kids program is amazing. And I love having a halo on my name.

I have done fantasy stories in the past, that involved some world building but since the world was sort of ye old English based, world building wasn’t that difficult. This year I am doing a science fiction story that takes place in earths future. It is not dystopian! Yet. Actually, we were about to make a huge mess with huge pollution issues and bad weather juju due to global warming when the aliens come and save us. But they don’t look at us like equals, and not even really like pets. They aren’t sure what to do with us on the very back water of the galaxy and we are so primitive to them. They do save us from ourselves and life is good. For now.

The problem is trying to figure out how a world like this exists. We are much healthier and more responsible. So what do we drink with dinner? Soda is bad for you. Water is boring. Tea, coffee? How does an enlightened society deal with alcohol? There are studies to it’s benefits but too much is hazardous.

My characters end up in a restaurant. How do you deal with that? Do you still have a hostess, waitperson, and a cook? I decided that having these type of people were socially important but not economically important so I added them.

That is what world building is. Which is bad and good for NaNoWriMo! Each time I have to make a decision like this I am caught up trying to figure out the social and economical implications of my decisions. Which take time. Which is bad for NaNo when you are just suppose to write like the wind! Then I decided to write my reasoning’s down and voila! I am caught up on my words again!

Have a great day in your world!

Paula

Quick Link: Fast-Draft Writing for NaNoWriMo and Every Other Month

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Less that two weeks until NaNoWriMo! So here is another prepping article from the folks at Writers Helping Writers!

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Fast-Draft Writing for NaNoWriMo and Every Other Month

by Writing Coach

I am an advocate of intentional writing, which almost always means slow writing, but sometimes it makes sense to write a fast draft of a book – if, for example, you are participating in NaNoWriMo, have a chunk of time with few distractions, or have a fast-approaching deadline you are motivated to meet.

Writing fast still requires intentionality. You still need a plan – a clear idea of the point you wish your story to make and a grasp of the best narrative structure to get you there. That is to say, you need to know what you want your reader to walk away feeling after they read your novel and what they will walk away believing about the world or human nature. You also need to know where the story starts and ends and what the reader will be tracking along the way.

Let’s assume that you know all those fundamental elements and you’re ready to write. How do you write fast?

Read the full post on Writers Helping Writers!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

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Prepping for NaNoWriMo – Are you going to join this year? Please say yes!

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is just around the corner. Are you ready? I know, I know, there is still almost three weeks before the first day but this is about when I like to start thinking about what I am going to write and what my writing goals are this year.

The cats are exempt from the not bothering mom while she tries to NaNo, because they are cats and will walk on my keyboard anyway.

I have made a deal with my family that they mostly follow, where they encourage me to write and support me for NaNoWriMo. I have still yet to get any of them to join me but I try. If you are doing NaNoWriMo (and why not!) feel free to find me! I would love it, because I often don’t get to go to a lot of the meet ups. My username is paula1849.

As an admitted semi pantser I don’t do a lot of prepping ahead of time, but I do take the time to think about what I want to write. 50 thousand words is a lot so I don’t like to waste a single one. So I end up creating a very general story idea in my head and start to work around different issues and problems. Then on the first day, I put the story down on paper and make a very general outline which I then fill in. No wasted words!

As I continue to try and grow in my writing, I also look to find a particular area in which to grow and practice. Last year I focused on dialogue, and found the experience to be quite helpful. I had been struggling because a lot of dialogue I wrote seemed stilted and it seemed to me like I had too many “said”s. I took the few weeks before last year’s NaNoWriMo to really focus on the stories I read to watch how those authors managed their dialogue. It turns out, there are a lot of “said”s but you don’t notice it as much as a reader. The good part of NaNoWriMo is that you are not suppose to stop and edit, but push to get your words out and your numbers met.  So when it came time to write my 50K words, I was pushed to write better, faster and that improved my dialogue.

This year I am going to focus on “showing not telling” more.  I got a really crazy science fiction story that I had dreamed about that really needs to be written. The dream was so vivid that I think I will be working on world building a little bit too! I am so excited!

So what do you do to prep for NaNo?

Have a great day!

Paula

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Quick Link: NaNoWriMo: But Did I Win?

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

We are almost to the finish line NaNos!  Hopefully you are at your word count or ahead but do not loose heart if you are behind. You can still catch up. One year I had to write 2/3 of my NaNo in the last weekend! I am trying to never do that again!  At Good Ereader, has tips and hints to help.

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NaNoWriMo: But Did I Win?

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

By

With the excitement of NaNoWriMo firmly grasping authors everywhere, it’s easy to forget that there are newcomers each year who are still a little perplexed by the whole process. The concept of writing the actual 50,000-word novel is already daunting enough, but then the notion of what to do with it when finished is somewhat harder.

The first thing to remember about NaNo is that yes, it’s technically a contest, but you’re only competing against yourself. Well, and the calendar, and possibly your boss if you’re trying to sneak in a few thousand words while on the job. As for “winning” the event, everyone who manages to complete the full scope of the project is declared a winner.

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link – Falling Behind During NaNoWriMo? 3 Tips to Get You Back on Track

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

How are all you NaNo’s doing out there? I switched things up a bit this year. Normally I write like crazy in the beginning to try and get ahead in case life interferes with my writing, which of course it does. But this year I am sticking close to my daily writing numbers and then moving on to some other work. I actually like this better and have so far been able to keep up. But if you are falling behind, have no fear  at All Indie Writers has some tips to get you back on track!

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Falling Behind During NaNoWriMo? 3 Tips to Get You Back on Track

by Jennifer Mattern | Nov 3, 2016

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo has barely started, and I’m already behind this year. I changed my novel idea at the last minute (I believe around 10:00 p.m. the night before). I still haven’t finished the scene-by-scene outline, though I hope to by tomorrow morning. And it’s now November 3rd and I haven’t even begun drafting my novel yet.

That seems like a cause for concern, right? But I’m not worried. At least not yet.

Every year that I’ve done NaNoWriMo — the popular month-long novel writing challenge for those who might be unfamiliar with it — I’ve accounted for several days off.

That normally involves taking off Sundays and the four days around the Thanksgiving holiday. And in three years, I’ve never had a problem hitting the 50k word target. So things will be OK.

Still, the slow start means I have some time to make up for.

I know exactly how I’m going to do it — the same way I always get back on track when I feel like I’m getting behind during NaNoWriMo. And today I’m going to share some of those “tricks” with you.

3 Ways to Get Back on Track During NaNoWriMo

If your NaNoWriMo word count isn’t quite as high as you’d like it to be, these tips might help you catch up:

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Author Tools – Track Your Word Count and Progress with Scrivener

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Author Tools – things to help you get your writing done

  at Writer Unboxed, gives us another helpful Scrivener post. Perfect timing for counting up those 50k words for NaNoWriMo!

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Track Your Word Count and Progress with Scrivener

Scrivener

June 30, 2016 By Gwen Hernandez

2016 has been a busy year. My youngest son graduated from high school, my husband retired from the Air Force, family flew in for the big events, and we recently moved from Boston to Sacramento. By recently, I mean we drove into town on Sunday, and I’m writing this blog post from a hotel room.

This is pretty much the only writing I’ve done since May, but now that we’re waiting to close on a house, I finally have time to get back to my book. (Yay!) Which means new word count goals.

Luckily, Scrivener makes setting goals and tracking progress easy. No math required. Whether you want to see your progress toward a word count target for a manuscript, a writing session, or a single document, Scrivener has you covered.

Setting a Manuscript Target

Here’s how to use Project Targets to set—and track progress toward—your manuscript word count goal. This applies only to text written in documents or folders within the Draft/Manuscript folder.

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

 

Quick Link: How To Write 50,000 Words In A Month With Grant Faulkner

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner so this post/podcast is quite timely. Those who Nano are already familiar with Grant Faulker, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo, so how cool is it that The Creative Penn interviewed him! Got any NaNoWRiMo survival tips?

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How To Write 50,000 Words In A Month With Grant Faulkner

June 27, 2016 by Joanna Penn

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo changed my writing life in 2009 when I wrote the first few thousand words of what eventually became Stone of Fire. Writing a speedy first draft without self-censoring is still what I aim for with my books, and in today’s show I discuss how it can be done with Grant Faulkner.

In the intro, I discuss the potential impact of the UK Brexit decision on traditional publishing, and on indie authors. Plus, my latest book, The Successful Author Mindset, launches this week and will be available in ebook, print, workbook, and audiobook editions.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

Grant Faulkner is a novelist and flash fiction writer, the Executive Director of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and the co-founder of 100WordStory.org.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Author Tools – Scrivener for iOS Means You Can Write Your Zombie Novel Anywhere

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Author Tools – things to help you get your writing done

Hey Scrivener fans and owners of an iPhone or iPad, NanoWriMo is coming soon and the new release of Scrivener for iOS is great news!  Hopefully, there will be an android version soon – hint hint Keith Blount! You might be thinking that writing on your phone is crazy but I know that when I am in the midst of Nano I write everywhere I can, which means on my phone, cause every little word counts towards the 50K goal! Anyways, David Pierce has the scoop at Wired.

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Scrivener for iOS Means You Can Write Your Zombie Novel Anywhere

By David Pierce Gear   07.20.16

Scrivener
Scrivener

Every November for the last 17 years, thousands of people have participated in National Novel Writing Month, which is more commonly and less pronounceably known as NaNoWriMo. In 2015, 431,626 people signed up to try and write 50,000 words in a single month. One guy apparently wrote more than a million.

NaNoWriMo has been very good to Keith Blount. Blount is the creator and primary developer of Scrivener, an app made specifically for writers wrangling huge word counts. Scrivener’s first public launch came via the NaNoWriMo forums in 2005, and now Blount and his company, Literature and Latte, sponsor a camp for aspiring novelists every year. A huge group of writers, at all levels of acclaim and wealth and prolificness, rely on Scrivener to do their work on Macs and PCs. And today, after years of development and even more years of user requests, Scrivener’s also available for the iPhone and iPad.

Read the full post (and get the free worksheet!) on Wired

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.