NaNoWriMo Week 1

So at 11,829 words I declare my first NaNo week ever to be over. It’s been very fun and very challenging to do. Working so much writing time around other commitments has been a struggle and one I lost on Thursday. But yesterday and today have been productive and I’ve managed more than 5000 words over two days. I’ve also noticed a few times I’ve lost my motivation to write, because I think it’s terrible or wonder if anyone would ever want to read it. But I keep telling myself it’s just a first draft and the final one will be better and people will want to read it because people I’ve told the idea to seem interested and eventually I managed to get over it.

I’ve also somewhat come to a compromise with my inner editor (one it clearly keeps breaking but oh well) I’ll keep a note of constructive edits ready for December and it will try to remain constructive in it’s criticisms. It’s nice to have an idea of where I’m going with this project after November is finished. So to sum up:

Major Challenges: Not being able to fully silence my inner editor. I can clearly make life work around NaNo or the other way around but that editor has been a huge pain.

Major Victories: Managing to pull myself back up to target after a blip. It felt so satisfying to check my word count about 10 minutes ago now and see it slightly above today’s target.

Plan For The Week Ahead: Well tomorrow I want to get ahead and maybe hit 14000 words so I have less on Monday when I’m working. Beyond that is a write-in next Wednesday and less shifts so more writing time.

How is everyone else finding NaNo so far? Hope you are all still on target and if not well you can manage it! 🙂

Happy Writing

Dazzy x

Eavesdropping & Yoga

I’ve had a lot of catching up to do today and still haven’t managed it all. I’m up to 9008 words of my novel, 2317 words of which have been written today alone. I may write a few more before bed but I doubt I’ll hit 10,000. I’ll be sure to catch up tomorrow and Sunday and aim to get ahead again. Unfortunately work and yoga got in the way yesterday so I wrote nothing and worked had meant I couldn’t keep my lead the day before. Yoga was fun though and a great way to unwind after being on my feet for more than 6 hours straight.

Whilst trying to catch up today, I found I need a conversation for a character to partially eavesdrop on. I tried just writing it in but wasn’t sure what words would or should be missing and that I couldn’t get the conversation right at all. I thought about it a while and decided to write the entire conversation separately. I now have a 316 word conversation that maybe 100 of the words from are used. I haven’t counted the extra 216 words but I am still glad I did it that way. The whole section now reads so much better than it did before.

My cat has finally decided to stop helping me write now and is instead cleaning herself to make clear to me that she wants to go to bed. Soon you little motorized fluffball. First mummy wants to write a bit more.

I’ll probably do a full update tomorrow as it’s the end of the first week so until then Happy Writing 🙂

Dazzy x

A Relaxing Walk

So in order to prepare for Nano starting tomorrow I did… no writing what so ever today. Instead I went for a long walk and took loads of pictures of the Autumn nature. A walk that normally takes 1hr 1/2 took more than 2hrs because I kept stopping to take pictures. On the plus side I got a few nice ones to help with my cover (so it won’t be just a plain background with a title).

                                                                                                                

I’m really proud of some of these. There’s over 200 photographs in total though. Woops. Well it was a nice break from everything and that makes me really motivated for NaNo tomorrow.

So a final message to all my fellow Wrimos out there:

Happy Reading (and Writing) 🙂

Dazzy x

Notes On A Letter

So as some of you may have noticed, I’ve posted my motivational letter this morning. If not you can find it here. If you have any amendments/additions feel free to comment on the letter or this post and I’ll edit it to include you recommendations and add you screen name (or another name if you tell me what it is) to the end.Alternatively you can put your own unique motivational messages to be added onto the page for it. Once we hit November it’ll be my static homepage for the duration of the month so it can reach people more easily.

Happy Reading,

Dazzy x

An Open Motivational Letter

Dear Writer,

I would first like to congratulate you on how far you have come. Be it one word or one thousand it is still more than at the beginning of the month and for that I say well done. But you are reading this because you are losing motivation, because that chapter is badly written, or that character jumped off the wrong cliff, or just because you’ve run out of puff. But I’m here to say you can recover. You will recover.

First take a break. Go for a walk. Listen to some relaxing music. Do anything that takes your mind off your novel. It might seem counter-productive but some distance between you and those pesky writing demons creating walls for you will do wonders. You may come back and realise that that cliff has no rocks allowing for a surprise survival, or that that character wasn’t necessary for the ending anyway. Either way it can get creative juices (and more importantly words) flowing freely from you once more.

Secondly remember that others are going through this too. Idea bounce. Idea steal. Or just watch videos of cats (or dogs) together for a while. You aren’t alone and your fellow writing brethren are another resource that can be exploited to hammer down the walls of writers block.

If poor writing gets you down, don’t worry. This is what revisions are for. All that matters is finishing that first draft. It doesn’t matter if only 10% of it survives through to the final. It matters that a first is needed for there to be a final. So buck up and soldier on. Silence your inner editor. It’ll get its chance later. The 30^th November is the day you can break down and cry about how poorly written your novel may or may not be. Today is the day to churn out 1,667 words of linguistic-al vomit into a word document in the vague form of a story (or however much you need to be on target for 50,000 at the end of the month). Once its there come December (or January or February) you can tweak and alter it into a fine piece of gourmet literature.

A final note; to remind you how much you’ve done and that though road onwards may seem long and daunting you aren’t alone and you can make it. And you should, because someone, somewhere will read your final novel and fall in love with it. And doesn’t that make it all worth it?

Good luck and happy writing,

Dazzy & Bewildered Sheep x

Warming Up The Fingers

So this week I’m declaring NaNo planning over. Most planning is done just not written down but I think if I try to write it all down now I might just fall out of love with my idea which isn’t good. So instead I’m doing a few writing exercises found here. I’m trying to expand on these dramatic situations in approximately 100 words (+/- 10%). It’s interesting to realise how much I’m having to condense them or miss things out. Here’s a couple of the finished ones:

A Small Girl Is Lost On The High Street: (103 Words)

Monica wasn’t entirely sure how she got there. She’d been following her mother along holding onto her coat-tails in the hustle and bustle of the street and then suddenly she’d looked up and her mother wasn’t there. She was now being tossed around amidst the waves of people whilst trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall. She passed by a bench and grabbed hold, pulling herself free of the crowds. She clambered on to see if she could spot her mother but found she was still to small to see anything. She crumpled down onto the bench as the sobs began.

I originally wanted a happier ending here. Eventually I think I may expand it and turn it into a short story but for now Monica is going to have to sit on that bench alone and cry, unfortunately.

He Tried To Open The Window But It Was Jammed Shut: (107 words)

He stumbled as he dashed down the stairs. Why had he come in here? It was a stupid dare and he was stupider for accepting it. Approaching the door he saw the locks. Too many deadbolts and no keys for the remaining locks. Frantically he gazed around, seeking another way to exit the building. A window. Grimy and barely visible in the gloomy house but that was definitely a window. He sprinted over to it, attempting to push it open. But it wouldn’t. It was jammed. Or locked. And it was too late. He could feel the breath on his neck. The last thing he felt before the axe.

This one did not want to be short enough. I’ve had to continually rework it, hacking out sentences and shortening others and its still barely in the limits. It is rare that I write something more like horror so this one was nice to try. Its something I’ve noticed with all these situations it’s broadening me as a writer. Which is always good.

You Wake Up To Find Yourself In A New Universe: (103 words)

I gently rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I sat up and sleepily gazed around my familiar room noting everything in it. The shelves crammed with science-fiction novels, The desk covered in homework both finished and unfinished, the octopus at the foot of my bed wearing a top-hat. I jumped now fully awake. The Octopus used his (or her) tentacles to manoeuvre itself up the bed towards me before making the bizarre noise I’d ever heard. After a moment of silence it spoke.

“I asked what you were doing in my daughters bed.”

That’s all I heard before passing back out.

I kind of wanted this one to be lighter. I feel like a talking, top hat toting octopus is the right thing for that. It’s another one I may expand into a short story but I might try to make it into more of a comedy although that’s quite a bit outside of my writing comfort zone.

I also wrote an open motivational letter yesterday but I think I might rework it a little. It tries to cover anything that might make me give up halfway through NaNo so I can read it and keep going. I think I also might post it up here in case anyone else would find it helpful. But that’ll be tomorrow when I’ve finished with it. Probably.

Until then happy reading 🙂

Dazzy x

Well this is daunting

Hey Everyone!

So this blog is hopefully going to keep me on track as I attempt to complete NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve written fiction for years but never managed to finish a project so I’m hoping NaNo will give me the kick I need. Outside of writing I draw (occasionally), read (when I get the chance), and get savaged by a cat (all the time).

This blog is going to be for updates on how NaNo is going, tips, tricks & exercises I’ve found useful, and maybe completed writing exercises I’ve done. Feel free to leave comments and feedback.

Happy Reading 🙂

Dazzy x