Wow, how is it mid-December already?
Posted: December 13, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: Nanowrimo, odds and ends, rewrites, writing Leave a commentBetween NaNoWriMo and holidays time has slipped away from me.
I’m working on getting ready for a family trip, as well as (okay, I admit it, slowly) working on fixing the mess I made out of my NaNo project. Somehow I managed to make a 30k word project take up more than 50k. How? By changing things in the middle and rewriting scenes with out going back and removing the wrong stuff. Now I’ve got to do that. It’s not what I want to do… I want to binge watch Bones… but it must get done so here I go.
It is here…
Posted: November 3, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo | Tags: ML, Nanowrimo, writing Leave a commentNaNoWriMo has begun. Are you participating?
This is my eighth year, and yes, I’m participating, as well as working as a Municipal Liaison.
So far, things are going well, and I hope you will join us, it’s not too late, just jump in and get going.
NaNoWriMo Prep
Posted: October 20, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo | Tags: Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, novella, preperation Leave a commentIs going a little differently for me this year. I have 3 novellas I would like to get the first drafts finished on before the first of the year, so I’m working on those. I’ve already started the first one, but not to worry, I’ll have plenty left to write on the other two for November.
Some of the advantages I think I’ll find to this method are.. I already know the characters better than I have in previous years (these will be each novella focusing on different couples, but with an interwoven story between them all, so I’ve met at least half of the couple for book 2 in writing book 1.) Also in the work of interweaving the overlying story I have more of an outline. It’s not hard and fast and it’s not a detailed out line but it’s a start, and something I rarely start with.
Are you getting ready for NaNo? What are your plans?
Gearing up For NaNoWriMo
Posted: August 30, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo | Tags: classes, Free, library, nano, Nanowrimo, workshops Leave a commentYes, I know that NaNoWriMo is still two months away from starting, However, since I’m a co-municipal liaison, we start thinking about it, and working on it, way early. Why? So we can do things like will start in just two days in my region (Yuma, AZ) NaNo Prep Workshops. What are they? A series of workshops, open to the public and sponsored by our local library system (so, FREE) to help people get ready for, plan, plot, create characters and worlds, so they can be ready to start with their NaNo novel in November.
Why are the workshops so early? Yes there will be a whole entire month between the end of the workshops and when NaNo starts. The answer is simple. We wanted to give our participants time in October to put what they learn to use. It takes time to create worlds, get to know characters, decide where you want to go with your story, etc. I could say it takes time to plot and outline but I don’t do that. I start my stories with characters, a situation and a goal, and let my characters tell me what happens from there.
Are you getting excited about NaNoWriMo?
Home from Camping and Hard at Work
Posted: June 21, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends, Secret Project | Tags: camp, camping, Demented Souls MC, family, nano, working, writing Leave a commentI managed to farm out 2 of my remaining kids (my niece is visiting her sister) for the next week and all I’m left with is the one that drives. This frees me up for a lot of work time. I can send her to the store and make her do most of my shopping.
The other plus side is, I don’t have to leave the house in the extreme heat we’re having! YAY! I am getting a bit of work done, not as much as I managed in Vegas but a good deal.
I’m seriously considering doing Camp NaNo next month so I can finish this draft. I’m getting there, I’m roughly 3/4 finished… and I’d love to get it done by the time the niece gets home mid-July. Yes, I have something else in the works for once this gets done!
May is here, and Camp NaNo is done
Posted: May 2, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: camp, Camp NaNoWriMo, family, graduation, kids, prom 1 Commentand though I hate having to admit it, I lost this time around. Between races, graduation stuff, a new part time job and the stomach bug from hell, I didn’t manage to make my goal. On the plus side, I did manage to add more than 14k words to my story. And Prom is done… Now we have the Senior Trip coming up, then, in less than a month, she graduates. (someone, hold me, please!)
Deep breath and move on. I’ll manage and keep writing too.
Time is racing by for me.
Posted: April 25, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: Camp NaNoWriMo, kids, Nanowrimo, prom Leave a commentIt seems like April has just flown past. So far, I’ve done pretty well with Camp NaNo. II;’ve not yet written anything today so I’m that far behind, but that’s all! I’ve also been getting things ready for my daughter’s prom this week and the rest of my families crazy schedule. I’m beyond tired but it’s back to the grind for me, and I’ve got to get some more writing in.
What’s going on with you this week?
Camp, work, kids and a last minute graduation.
Posted: April 11, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: camp, Camp NaNoWriMo, graduation, kids, Nanowrimo, work Leave a commentWe got the results today for one of the two tests that kid 1 has to pass in order to graduate. She passed. This was the one we were worried about. She had been in the course since August, but finished the last 30% over spring break. The other test is a course she did last year and has been studying since August, just waiting for the test to be available, she and I are both confident she’ll pass that one. So we continue with the prep for the last minute graduation.
In other news, my new job seems to be going well, there has been a learning curve but it’s starting to take less time and I love that I’m able to work it around what’s going on my life.
Camp NaNo? Well, I’m not behind. I’m not where I want to be but I am on target.
Busy busy and still writing.
Posted: April 5, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: camp, family, nano, writing Leave a commentSo much going on! I foresee lots of multi tasking in my future. I had to catch up with my friends and Facebook this morning while I ate, even now I’m writing this while soaking my sore legs and feet in hot water to help the soreness.
On the plus side though, Camp NaNo is going well, I’m not as ahead as I would like to be, but I’m not behind either. Things are cruising along for my soon to be graduate. The shoes she ordered for prom fit, and look as great as she hoped, her jewelry will be here in a couple days, all is good.
I have just one request though, can I get more hours in the day to get it all done?
Camp NaNo and other news.
Posted: March 31, 2016 Filed under: NaNoWriMo, Odds and Ends | Tags: camp, Camp NaNoWriMo, graduation, Melissa Stevens, nano, Nanowrimo 1 CommentTomorrow is the start of Camp NaNo, and yes, I plan on participating. I’ve not yet set my goal, but I’m going to add to the book I worked on in November. I love the flexibility of camp. The ability to work on an already started project, to edit and rewrite instead of write, to go for short stories, and the ability to set your own goal really work for me.
In other news, I’m working on getting ready for Romance Novel Convention and my trip to Vegas in June. I’m also teaching a class on how to publish eBooks at one of our local libraries next month. Have I mentioned that last week Kid 1, who is 16, decided she was going to graduate high school in May? (We knew she would be eligible to graduate but the plan had been to stay in HS and use the dual enrollment to get a discount at the community college. Other things have come up that changed that.) I’m working on getting all the normal stuff you do all of senior year to get ready for graduation, in two months. Oh, have I also started a new part time job this week, and it’s spring break.
Busy? That’s an understatement.