NaNoWriMo Flop

Well this has been a complete flop.

Between growth spurts and negotiating my new living situation NaNoWriMo has been nearly impossible. I got to almost 30k (which is about half the length of many novels for the challenge). That's about a quarter of what I need to have written and November is almost over. Plus there's Thanksgiving which will guarantee another 4 days of no writing.

Some might say I should push through and get my writing done. Here's what I say to you: I have a permanent headache from sleep deprivation. When baby sleeps, I don't want to write. I want to nap. I haven't been able to get my exercise in, let alone my writing. I'm barely functional.

This, I'm told, changes a little after the fourth trimester, which I need. I need to write. It's driving me crazy not being able to hammer out 11k in a day because I can't nurse and type at the same time. The only way I'm able to blog is through my phone while nursing (like right now) which makes it really hard to share my posts (I need a computer for that).

I think I need speech to text software. I see Dragon in my future...either that or book 4 is going to take a lot longer to finish (Another year?? Eek!).

Day 6 of NaNoWriMo with a Baby

Before I officially started working on NaNoWriMo, I had about 8000 words to book 4 of my Khloe series. I discovered that in order to get where I need to be at the end of November (at least 100k or more) I needed to start writing 4000 words a day.

4000 words daily seems like a lot to most people, but keep in mind, on good days I've done as much as 15,000. 4000 feels like chump change in comparison. However when we take into consideration that I have a 2 month old baby with me, 4000 seems insurmountable. I was doing about 500 to 1000 before I got serious with my daily writing goal.

But, when there's a will, there's a way.

Most people think writing a novel is impossible with a full time job or whatever other obligations are going on. But here's the truth - those are excuses for poor time management. Seriously.

Yesterday I had the baby all day and guess what? I got to 13000 words. I felt balla (that's a technical term). I felt like a boss. I was going big. I earned my glass of red wine last night. For reals.

How did I do it? Well, I'll be honest and confess that I did have a little help. I had my husband around for part of the time and the baby did sleep (as well as cooperate and sit calmly in a carrier while I wrote). I even had my parents there to hold him for a little while as I finished the last 500 words of my goal. So yes, I had help addressing my other concerns, but that was only part of what made reaching my goal possible. I also took advantage of every scrap of time I had.

So every five minute segment when baby was occupied, I was at my computer finishing a paragraph. Every moment he was sleeping, I made sure I was polishing off a chapter. It didn't matter if I got stuck with a plot point, I soldiered on. I pushed myself past the block and continued writing.

This is my strategy. Steelers fans will be familiar with this strategy - it's the Jerome Bettis Bus Strategy. Whatever defensive line is before me, it doesn't matter. I just run the ball right on through because, I'm a bus (in attitude, not form!). I can do that, and I'm going to keep doing that. 100k or more this month - for sure.

NaNoWriMo with a Baby?!

I have a plan.

Nope. Not at all.

I am however, going to attempt NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this November with the kiddo. Even thinking about this makes me sigh like Sisyphus watching the boulder rolling back down...yet...I am compelled.

The crazy ambition inside cannot be stymied. I may have been only half successful with my writing challenge this past summer, but I'm eager to put my writing discipline to the test. Just how much can I write while having a baby strapped to my chest (by the way, he's in a K'tan right now sleeping as I type!)? How much formatting can I do? How much publishing can I do? Can I get an entire book done in a month with a new baby?

*devilish grin*

You bet I can. I just have to figure out how (though I think wearing kiddo in the K'tan while I type is a good start).

The other somewhat lesser challenge is determining which book to write. Okay, that's probably a very minimal challenge. Though I did start writing FAMILY, FRIEND, or FOE a few days ago, I barely have 3 pages. Yes. 3. Sigh. It has to be a similar length as the other books in the series (approximately 130k) which is about twice the length of the expected NaNoWriMo creation. SO...I think that even though I started the book in October (NaNoWriMo is in November remember!) I can get away with passing it off as a November book. I mean, 130k is no small feat, even without a baby.

I'm getting starry-eyed. If I can actually do this, oooh! That would be amazing! I mean, no success seems to be enough for me (a curse and a blessing), but it might go a long way to affirming my skills and abilities. An indie writer could always use that.

Wish me luck...and a few thousand words this week before our move!

SWC Day 21: The Development of a Series

Well I'm back on track with my Summer Writing Challenge - at least for today. My goal was 55,176 (including the extra 900 word add-on from yesterday) and I got to 55,178. SUCCESS! And as usual, my time writing is surprising me in unexpected ways.

You see the interesting thing is that ANDREW, the book I'm working on, has become much more about his mother than I expected. Yes, the book is still Andrew's story, but an important part of it is how his mother deals with the issues arising in the book. I can't say much more without giving away major plot points.

However, I've said it before and I'll say it again - THE ROLLINS PACK is about women and family. Despite it being told from the perspective of teenage boys, it is fundamentally about the interplay of gender roles and expectations/interactions of men and women. Secondly it is about problems that affect families, as well as how families deal with them (though always through the lens of women and men).

I'm interested to see how Andrew's relationship with his love interest will develop, or not, in the remainder of the book. There is of course, no mention of her in JAMES as I didn't know she existed until now. The question will be how she disappears and if she comes back in subsequent novels (namely Frederick's and Charles' books). However, those books and their plots will have to wait until much later. There are other things on the docket requiring earlier attention that will postpone these two manuscripts' development. That said, I am hopeful I can bring them out by this time next year. We'll see. NaNoWriMO is only a couple months after kiddo is set to arrive, so I'm not sure how much writing I'll be able to accomplish at that point.

Regardless, I have a number of plot ideas floating around in my head including women centric topics waiting to be addressed (Yeah, they're probably going to be heavy, so prepare yourself.) as well as pack dynamics waiting to be expounded in the Rollins' universe. To be frank - I'm excited to write about them (Can we say Omega anyone??).

In the mean time, I'm thinking about 15k more words and ANDREW will be more or less finished. There are only a few more months between where I am in ANDREW's plot and where JAMES' novel picks up. Because of the importance of the events in ANDREW, I will likely use up those months to bring the family to the state of cautious equilibrium which is hinted at in JAMES. I can't wait to see how this is tied up!

NaNoWriMo is a Slow Go - Starting Andrew

The first couple weeks of November were bad for writing. I mean, really bad. I was struggling with what story to develop. In fact, I actually worked on three different books (beginning ideas that had been simmering) until I finally decided on something that surprised me.

Andrew.

I expected to take a break from my Rollins boys. I've been living in the male persona for months and I thought I needed to get back to being female (or possibly third person). But as luck would have it, Andrew's story is the one that clicked with me.

It might be because football is going strong (I wrote in a Steelers game). Maybe it was because of the ferment that happens during Andrew's book. Whatever the case, I started it and I'm pushing it along. That said, I'm VERY far behind this year. I'm only at 10,000 words and the month is almost up. The question is, can I finish this book before November ends?

EEK!

If my life depended on it - probably. If I wanted to - probably. So am I going to? You bet your left buttock I am.

I have an entire week off for Thanksgiving. There are no excuses next week (except making my first turkey ever - which will be an adventure in itself).

That said, my fantastic webby friends - wish me luck (and discipline)! I'm going to need it (especially the discipline). And now to get back to Andy...

Rollins Revised - NaNoWriMo Book Ready?

I had said I would write something completely new for the novel writing month. And I did. It's different from any of my other projects mostly because to me, it feels the most real, even though it's about werewolves.

This work is also the shortest I've written, just north of 80,000 words. In fact, it only became that long through the revision process. I have a strange habit of adding through revision. Though in my wordier works, I have removed segments.

James' Story is also my first foray into the male perspective. It was fun quizzing my husband as well as placing myself in the mind of so many fifteen year old boys I've met over the years.

So all that remains of this book is a read through by other eyes, another by mine, and a cover. Okay, yes there are some formatting changes that need to occur. But still, I feel this book is thus far the most well written, and the most polished I've done. Granted, it is only my third finished book.

I'm hoping the speed and skill that applied to this work will aid me in the completion of several other projects. This is my sincerest hope. We'll have to wait and see on that point. Cross your fingers!

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Writing Is A Skill - NaNoWriMo

As I teach my 200 level English Composition class, it comes up time and time again. Writing is a skill. Just like anything you do, it requires practice.

As someone who is a writer, I take these things for granted. I take for granted the ease with which I develop ideas, or imagine, or finesse. I take it for granted because it is something I have practiced so often and so long, I no longer think of it as just a skill. I can't really remember learning how to write. I just always did it.

It strikes me how important the practice was. I distinctly remember making illustrated books in elementary school. I even recall several characters I dreamed up. Obviously the years of writing between then and now has made quite a difference. I wouldn't be caught dead publishing what I wrote then. But it was a start. It forced me to think about these things and experiment.

The reason why NaNoWriMo is such a good thing is because it forces people to start and practice writing. And having a reason to practice with other people such a solitary activity is huge. With that, I'm going to go practice.

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