NaNoWriMo is about to Begin!

NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month, Thirty days devoted to writing an entire novel. That's 50,000 words in thirty days.

Here's the break down:
 Sign up at nanowrimo.org
 Declare a project: Title, Cover image, Synopsis
 On November 1st, START WRITING!
 Everyday, check in with your word count.

And that's it. Easy as pie. It's great fun, and good practice for focusing. If you follow any of the nanowrimo boards on twitter there are usually admins running writing sprints, prompts, and other little tidbits to help you get through your writing day.

If you're still not sure you can do it...just try. Writing the first word is the first step. 

And Happy Halloween!!!!!

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Oh A Writing We Will Go...

As I stated Monday, this is a scheduled post. And boy do I have some news for you. I finished my Camp Nano project goal. !!!!!!!!!!!!!  Cue squealing. I finished writing Saturday but wanted to wait until the very end to let you guys know. I couldn't wait til Monday.

As always, seeing my family is good. Lil Miss seeing her Papa is wonderful. And hanging out with old friends is even better.

I am totally going to bombard you guys with this awesomeness. I didn't even get halfway for November's Nanowrimo last year, so this is quite an accomplishment for me. Especially with everything I have going on. 

Next Monday I'll share with you my experiences, my ups and downs, and the heart attacks all in detail. Be sure to check back. 

Did you participate in Camp Nanowrimo? Let me know how you did in the comments below. 

Missed this months Camp? Don't worry, there's another one in July and the official Nanowrimo is every November. It is never too late to start. 

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Just a Check In

I didn't get much done last week in regards to Camp Nanowrimo, but I did work. I enjoyed 13 straight hours of ALLIndie Authors Fringe event on Friday. Actually I watched, listened, and read to all the posts on Saturday. There was a lot of information, almost an overload, but it really helped me figure out a few things and know where I stand in my life as of now and what I can do to move forward.

Now, for why I'm making two posts today (Monday). Here are my stats as of Sunday night just before midnight. And that's it. Where are you in your writing goals? Let me know in the comments below.

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It Begins!

Today is Friday, April 1st.

Not only is it April Fools Day, but it's also day one of Camp Nanowrimo. And I have been waiting all month for this. I've been itching to get down and dirty, to start the writing portion of this project. March was just he preparation stage: character profiles, story mapping, story bibles, etc. May will be first draft aftercare. But April is the heart of the matter.

April is the month I try to write an entire novel in 30 days. That's right: 30 days. Most novels are between 200 and 300 pages long, and between 20k and 100k words. Think that's hard?

Let's break it down. A word sprint goal of 1000 words in an hour. Completely plausible if you don't stop writing for 5 minutes every other sentence. Now do a word-sprint of 2000 words in 2 hours. In 25 days you will have 50k words. easy. With very little time spent doing it.

Word sprints can be a writer's best friend. Especially one who has a full time job and a family to take care of. Or is a student with a full load of classes (and exams at the same time). Or is a homebody, like me, with a little one running around, like me, who is also being home-schooled, like me.

While Lil Miss is working on her stuff, I can be working on my stuff. When she has her outside play time, I can split the time with her and working outside in the fresh air. If you are traveling, take a notebook with you and write the whole time you are traveling. You can write an entire chapter on a one hour commute (my father commutes that much on his train ride to work one-way. Plausible).

The word sprints may be the way I'll get through this month's writing goal. I can't do what I used to do, which was sit down and ignore everything just to write. I have a family to care for and a little one to teach and play with. I have responsibilities. Just like everyone else.

Time management may be my weakest point, but you most definitely can teach an old dog new tricks.

And it's not too late to join up. Camp Nanowrimo goes through the whole month. Just follow the link on the page I provided up top and enter a little info. Read the forums and get help getting started. Set your own goals for the month and do it.

Anyone else here signed up for Camp Nanowrimo? Leave your comments below and find me at Infinitepen

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Gonna Try This NaNoWriMo Thing Again

This time, I've signed up for Camp NanoWrimo. Instead of 50,000 words, I can set my own limit. I've set it at 25K words, hoping I can make or even beat that goal.

I will be working on the same novel I tried to work on last time, but I hope to actually get some work done this time.

A lot of people think being a writer means you wake up, write, do life, sleep, and repeat. Not true. AT ALL.

Most of the time writing is sporadic. There are bursts of inspiration and then nothing for hours, days, or even weeks (or months in my case). The blank page on a computer screen is a daunting thing that terrifies people into procrastinating.

And when a writer isn't trying to write, they're doing chores, playing with their kids, hanging out with friends: everything a normal person does on a day to day basis a writer does.

Trying to write around all the normal life stuff is harder than people think.

Hopefully this go-around, I'll be able to meet my goals.

Fingers Crossed

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NaNoWriMo Project Cover Reveal

Since this is my first year doing NaNoWriMo, I wanted to get a piece of everything. So I applied for the Unofficial 30 Cover/30Days project, a side forum on the NaNoWriMo website.

And my book was one of those picked...a very talented participant, who wishes to remain anonymous, made this cover free of charge to be used as I wish.

The cover itself follows my own ideas of what I wanted and it's just so pretty...

James Hawkins, just like his namesake, is out looking for adventure and a treasure to help his mother's failing bed and breakfast. Enter Verena, a strange girl with an even stranger secret. She knows where a rare Viking artifact rests at the bottom of the ocean. All she asks in return is for James's help in breaking her curse.

Set in the waters of the Bermuda Triangle, there's more than a little human error fighting these two as they search for the King's Crystal. Hurricanes, lies, and an old witch could tear them apart.

Will James learn the truth in time? Or will Verena fall prey to the whims of greed?

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading.

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