Pause

Working on my NaNoWriMo novel (almost halfway to 50k!) and catching up on sleep.

Will return tomorrow.

Dropping By

I'm just dropping by the blog during a short break in homework. I have to say that I have been feeling quite productive. I had 5 articles to read for tomorrow and four of them have been read and highlighted.

Now, I'm off to write the 2-3 page paper that is due tomorrow. The last article I will read tomorrow before class.

I am not so sure how I feel about going to class from 5-8pm on a Friday night and then 9am-2pm on a Saturday. At least I am getting stuff accomplished tonight though.

The upside? Crystal and I will be spending a few hours Friday night writing at Barnes & Noble. Hopefully I can catch up over the break and maybe even win NaNo!!

I am also hoping that we can get some stuff accomplished for Two to Write. There are several things in the works, including a massive contest and new works!! I'm excited.

I am also excited because Vampire Diaries is having a ten episode marathon week starting on December 14th. Exciting!!

Okay, now I really need to go work so I will blog at you guys later! Thanks for reading!

Busy Much?

Sadly, the blog posts are going to be very brief and short for tonight and Friday. I have a lot to do tonight for tomorrow evening's class. I also want to get some reading and possibly a few more pages of Shiver read tonight.

Then, Friday night I have class, as well as Saturday morning. This is a one time thing. Hopefully, it's pretty interesting.

Currently, I'm at Barnes & Noble attempting to get some nanoing in. I am going to leave this one short and get back to the wonderful tale of Wendel and his adventures in Aurum.

No Post, But Bonus Picture!

No blog post today. A play I attended with Crystal put my night very late, so I do not have time to write one. (You did get a lengthy one yesterday though.)

As a bonus and to tie you over - a picture from my youth that seemed fitting following yesterday's post:

Writing

I thought I would share a little bit with you about my writing. Some of you may know this already, while others will be discovering it for the first time. Needless to say, I thought I'd share.

I started writing sometime when I was younger. I am not entirely sure when I first put pen to paper, but I know that I was creating storylines long before that. I had some help with these storylines, in the form of a wonderful sister and close to one hundred Barbie dolls. They made the best characters for a little girl. (Though, I must admit, the storylines were heavy with females as men were limited.)

Somewhere in there, I started putting pen to paper and actually writing down stories. They were varied and often times in disarray, but they were writing none the less. Through all of this, I continued to play with our Barbies, creating stories as I went.

Slowly, I progressed to trying different forms of writing, including adding poetry and stream of conciousness to my repetoire. The latter, I learned sophomore year of high school in a creative writing course. Journal writing always lingered in the background, but was never a consistent endeavor for me.

It was my senior year of high school when I first started working on what I would call a serious piece of fiction. It was my first real attempt at writing a story with my sister and it was the attempt that would form memorable characters (beyond the Barbie ones) for us.

It was the attempt at starting a novel known as Enchantment together. Now, I will discuss this novel in more detail at a later date. It is greatly attached to my current NaNo project. But, the story of this novel is not necessary to the story of my writing.

We wrote upwards of one hundred pages together in various notebooks and in various documents. We slowly abandoned the actual writing, but we never abandoned our characters from that novel. We would often talk about them and continue to form them as characters.

A couple years later, we managed to get it all typed up and printed out. The goal was to reread the current progress and continue on. We found the beginning of the manuscript to be much too trite to continue with. So, we placed it in the hold pile with the intent of finishing later. By this point, the characters and concepts for this one novel had grown into a series worth of books.

We established that we wanted to attempt a single, stand alone novel before we pursued a series. So, we set out to form this novel in our heads. We established a framework of werewolves and shaped the rest of the story during a very interesting, redirected trip to a Renaissance Festival (again, more on that later - though you can find that back story on my LJ account somewhere). We set out this past summer to write the novel. Within two months, it was finished.

From there, much more has come to pass, including several more projects and a website where we feature some of our fiction for free (Two to Write). The werewolf novel we finished this summer is currently being edited and we hope to start querying in the new year.

So, I am not entirely sure why I chose today to share this story. There is no significance in the date or anything. I just felt that it was time to share a bit about my writing and me with some of the new followers (Thanks for following!) that I have gained in the past couple of weeks. I would love it if you would continue to spread the word about my blog and Two to Write!! Keep an eye out for great things from both in the month of December.

As for me, I am off to do some writing. I bid you Adieu.

NaNoWriMo - Halfway!

I'm going to keep this short as I am writing from Barnes & Noble and my battery is just about to die.

NaNoWriMo Tip of the Day: Set a daily word count goal and write past it. If you exceed your own goal everyday, then you are doing great in my book!

Daily Observation: 70+ degrees is much to warm for November.

Happy Dance Moment: I have officially exceeded what I wrote for the entire month of November last year. My total count last year was 17k. I am currently a little over 20k. How's that for progress?

As I have exceeded another goal on my reward chart, I am going to reward myself by buying a book. Great thing that I'm at Barnes & Noble, huh?

I'm over and out. Look for more writing bits this week, as well as some movie and music discussion. I will also be unveiling my December theme within the next two weeks and you will not want to miss out on that!!

Pirate Weekend & NaNoWriMo

I've heard people say that they devote November entirely to writing. I can not see how that is healthy (for the person or their writing).

In order to write, you must constantly refuel your brain with creative ideas. This can come in many forms and is different for everyone.

Lots of things inspire me, from songs to movies. I have found that sitting at home with my computer is not the most effective method for me to get words down. The most effective thing for me to do is live my life and fit in the words around it.

That is why, I spent today away from the computer and my hometown. My dad, sister, and I took a day trip up to Charlotte for the Carolina Renaissance Festival. If you have never been to a Renaissance Festival, I would say you are missing out. It is a fun day of shows, shoppping, and eating. (If you're interested in finding a faire near you, then visit Renaissance Faires by State and look up your state.)

This was my dad's first experience attending a Renaissance faire. He had quite a few laughs and seemed to enjoy himself a lot. We took in several of our favorite shows, including the Tortuga Twins and the joust. We looked around the shops, but did not find much to buy. (Granted, this was our third time attending this year - I think we had already bought what we were going to buy for the year.) This is the last time we'll be going until spring when time rolls around for the Georgia Renaissance Festival.



Now, what does all of this have to do with writing? I'm going to keep that answer short and simple since I have already taken up much of your time. The faire gave me all sorts of inspiration, in the form of shows, clothing, music, and much more. It's a total experience (especially when you dress up yourself) that is quite inspiring.

NaNoWriMo: Productive Methods of Avoidance

I have found that I have several ways of being productive AND avoiding writing. Unfortunately, no matter how much I love writing, I do find that other things tempt me into the abyss of avoidance from time to time.

The five most productive things* to do when you're avoiding your novel:

1. Make a playlist - Music plays a big part in our lives. A lot of people spend their mornings and evenings in the car with the radio for company. So, it is no wonder that music plays a big part into our creativity. We hear it often and it evokes emotions. So, I recommend making a playlist (www.playlist.com) or a personalized radio station (www.pandora.com) for your novel. You may find some new inspiration.

2. Take a bath/shower - I find that getting myself clean provides two forms of productivity. The first is the necessity of hygience. Taking a shower is a necessary part of life, so why not get it out of the way when you're avoiding your novel. THe second form of productivity is giving you time to brainstorm. I have found no better place than the shower to do some brainstorming.

3. Read - As Michael Chabon said, "Every novel is a sequel. Influence is bliss." Therefore, it stands to reason that reading is an excellent form of inspiration. Just make sure you're writing your story when to get back to your novel.

4. Clean - This is yet another necessary part of life. However, it does offer you a lot of time doing a mindless activity. Turn it into a mindful activity by using this time to brainstorm. Carry some post-its in your pocket and jot down your ideas as you go. The ML for my area, Becka, gave us the excellent idea of using post-its to jot down bits that come to us. They are small, compact, and can fit over 100 words if you write small. The uses for post-its are endless.

5. Go somewhere - This will serve duo purpose. Getting out will give you the opportunity to think on your drive. It will also give you the opportunity to get around people, which are the largest inspiration for our novels. Grab a drink, take a seat, and watch the mannerisms of those around you. Who knows - you might find a new character for your novel!

Now, go get back to what you were doing. The hours are limited and your imagination is endless.

*This is simply a personal list. I do not claim to be an expert, though I have avoided writing a lot and found new ideas along the way.

NaNoWriMo: Day 12

Day 12 of NaNoWriMo. I should be at 20,000 words today. I am at 15,799.

Am I worried? Am I stressed? Not at all.

The way I figure it, there are two ways of looking at NaNoWriMo. The first way is to look at is as a challenge to write 50,000 words. The only way you complete this challenge and accomplish anything is by writing those 50,000 words. Failing is not an option in this view.

The second view is looking at it as a chance to get ahead on your writing. The goal is 50,000 words, but if you do not reach this goal, it is okay. You will still have more words than you started with.

I choose to favor the second view. The way I see it, there is nothing that can be lost by doing NaNoWriMo. There is only much to be gained in the way of words written. Ultimately, you will have more words at the end of November than you did at the beginning - even if it's only 5 more words than you had before.

Following this second model, I wanted to offer a piece of advice to anyone who has only just discovered NaNoWriMo. I say go for it. You may be starting twelve days behind, but you still have many words to gain!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled writing time...

Happy Veteran's Day!!

I thought I would take a moment to thank the many service men and women out there serving along with the veterans who have previously served in the service.

The military has always played a strong part in my life. I grew up on an Air Force base as a military brat. My father served over 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed in Charleston for all of those years. I was born and raised here - much of that time on the local air base.

I have seen and heard many things as a military brat. I have seen different levels of security take effect as our country was under attack in 2001. I have known several men to go overseas to serve in our country's time of need. I could list ways the military has affected me for a while, but I want to keep this brief so that you can enjoy your Veteran's Day.

I have also known the joy of being close to my family. When your friends are changing each year because your school is highly comprised of military families, you start to grow closer to your family. With time, you learn to bond and become really close to your immediate family. They are the only ones that have been there for me through thick and thin each and every moment of the way on my road of life.

As a daughter of a veteran, I feel it is only right to take this day to honor him. I would like to tell my father that I love him and appreciate all that he does for my sister and me. Thank you daddy.