Janowrimo Day 16 Working the numbers

Wow, we're past the halfway mark for the month and I have a huge amount of writing to do to meet my January wordcount goal of 20,000. The good news is that I have more than 1700 words. The bad news is that I still have 18,248 to go. All hope is not lost, though, because January is a 31-day month. With 16 days left, including today, if I average 1,141 words daily I'll make it.

From the numbers I might conclude that this hasn't been a very successful effort; however, wordcount alone does not make up the life of a writer. The first thing I had to do was reconnect with my characters and my story. That is definitely happening and getting better every day. I attribute that to making the daily effort early in the morning to get something on the page before the hours mount and distractions and events claim my time. Now I need to extend that effort to longer and/or more writing daily writing time. I'm open to tricks, tips, and strategies.

Janowrimo Day 13 Didn't write? Forget about it.

Confession time: Nothing yesterday. But I decided not to beat myself up over the missed writing. It was a chaotic day and I had to be gone for most of it so I never did return to the computer or the notebook. This morning I immediately forgot about the missed opportunity of yesterday and picked up the notebook and wrote about two pages before my day began its official start. I feel great and my efforts to reconnect with my story are once again strengthened.

We're 13 days into January 2010. How's the whole writing thing going for you? I love hearing your updates. Christine has jumped into the Janowrimo fray and set a 30,000 word goal for the month. My goal is 20,000. What do you think is a reasonable monthly wordcount for you?

Janowrimo 2010: Day 11 Writing in a new location

I've realized recently that I needed to change the time and location of my writing time. The flow of my present days have made it difficult to be consistent and have played havoc with my ability to reconnect and go even deeper into my story's universe. After thinking about it for several days and observing how the days have gone this past week, I decided that upon waking I will begin the day writing. My goal is nominal with a minimum goal of 100 words but absolutely happy to write more. The location is not my office but my bedroom. It seems to be working. At least I know I've got those words out of the way even if the day eats up any other writing time.

What I'm trying to do is reinstitute the habit of writing daily. Until recent years accomplishing that seemingly simple task was easy. For nearly 30 years I was able to write productively. Things changed several years ago when, as an only child, the care for my 90+ year old parents began. A lot of stress piled up quickly and continues nonstop. Two years ago my health went on a major decline to the point where, for the first time ever, writing was not my main goal or resolution. My health claimed that position. It's been a long road but I'm now at a point where I can once again put writing back in its original place. But the tethered connection to the story has been lost, the well went dry, and the words receded. With the turning of the year I embarked on a journey to reclaim it all. I'm happy that my simple, easy, and non-threatening steps are working.

Janowrimo 2010: Day 3 Reconnecting with the story

I spent New Years Eve reconnecting with my main two characters and with a new setting I visited a few months ago. While I didn't do any formal writing that would provide manuscript wordcount, I did write about a scene that came to me during my visit.

I often write about my story and characters as much as I write the actual manuscript pages. My ongoing project diary was inspired by Sue Grafton's project journals. It's a way for me to create and feed a dialogue within and without as I write. The process often pushes me to write more and definitely helps me connect and stay within the story's universe.

I'm participating in JaNoWrimo and signed up for the Book in a Week that starts tomorrow. Between the two I look forward to pushing the wordcount even higher.

New Year's Day was devoted to my 2010 5-year goal and action plan. That took most of the day but I've always found it helpful to take the time to work out immediate and far-reaching goals. Having an immediate action plan with linked goals has, in the past, helped me to take those baby steps every day that eventually get me to the finish line. So what do you do? Any tips or tricks you'd like to share?

New Year breathes new promise into Whirlpool writing goals

Okay, we're nearly done with 2009 and it's time to turn our thoughts to the new year. Cast away the old year's unfulfilled goals, ambitions, intentions and embrace a new vision for 2010. I admit, for the first time in decades, last year I began the year wtih my focus on something other than writing: my health. By any assessment, I met my goals and my health is way better than this time last year. So now it's time to return to my novel and slip into its universe and begin anew. My goal for 2010 is to finish the first draft of Whirlpool. January's goal is to write 20,000 more words and reach the 73K mark.

There are several sites that have picked up where Nanowrimo left off. For the truly ambitious, try BOOK-IN-A-WEEK. This is an on-going monthly gathering that will inspire you to go the distance. There are two JaNoWriMos. I've already signed up with JaNoWriMo 2010 but I may go ahead and sign up with the Live Journal's January Novel Writing Month, too. Any or all of those are bound to inspire you and give you that added incentive to hit the keyboard in 2010. Drop me a note and let me know your plans.

Nanowrimo 2009 The End: Admitting defeat so the phoenix can rise again

This year proved to be a giant bust for me when it came to Nanowrimo. It began full of promise with me loaded to the gills with enthusiasm, orchestrated plans, and a network of fellow wrimos to urge me on. I even had a side bet with a friend. The truth is I stumbled right out of the starting gate. Within 24 hours some kind of nasty virus invaded my body and took me down for two weeks. I don't think I ever recovered from that physical blow despite the best of intentions. So Nanowrimo 2009 became a huge disappointment. But I'm not down forever. There's always next year's competition and all the days in between. I still love all the energy and excitement Nanowrimo brings and may even look for one of the other monthly competitions to fire things up a bit. Perhaps I'll expand the coverage in this blog should I stumble across one....

Nanowrimo 2009: Day 24 A month of empty promises

Alas, November is nearly gone and the words have yet to arrive. The past two weeks have been swept up in swirl of emotions and activity that kept me far away from my fictional world and firmly implanted in the stark reality of this one. My mom feel about 10 days ago--she's 94, you know, so falling is not a good thing--and there was that. Then she apparently suffered a minor stroke toward the end of last week that left me eyeing her like a hawk non-stop in search of symptoms and any possible progression. I'm thankful that she tonight she is acting and sounding like herself and whatever has been going on has now retreated. But I find that I now realize it's the 24th of November and I've lost yet another 10-14 days. Sigh. Still hope springs....

Nanowrimo 2009: Day 18 Getting back into story

Eighteen days into this year's Nanowrimo I find myself having to remotivate and rediscover myself and my story. I spent 10 days with a nasty contagious virus that put me flat in bed and unable to even think coherently let alone write. My desk is littered with piles of junk mail, magazines, and unopened bills. My task list is toppling over from its weight. I have to find a way to bypass that environmental and daily life stress and get back into the character and the book.

I spent some time trying to clear the decks a bit and then had a mini-crisis with my mom this last weekend so in the tradition of most writer's lives, it got in the way. Today is a new day and another opportunity to still get some Nano writing in so I'm going to start small. I plan on one paragraph a day and will be thrilled if it moves into more. How about you? Are you doing a two-step with issues, clutter, tasks, and guilt?

Nanowrimo Day 11 2009: What's in my writer's bag?

Writers are known for their book bags, stacks of books, and satchel of tricks. Did I say "tricks?" Yep. Anyone who writes long enough will develop a repertoire of rituals, strategies, and, well, tricks. Rituals create mood, bolster intention, help a writer slip into their productive writing state. Strategies provide roadmaps, promptings, guidelines to keep the mind and the imagination focused on the work at hand. Tricks? They are for a writer's bad self. That part of the mind that is that childish imp who refuses to play, who won't follow the bread crumb trail, who hides the attic intent on doing what it wants to do. And all you thought you needed to do was sit down and write....

My bad self is having a hey day today. Yesterday it muttered and kicked and slapped stacks of paper around telling itself it was totally committed to writing but all the while sought out distractions and kept the goal just out of reach. Today I fear I must resort to tricks. (I have many because my mind is quite diverse in its ways to outwit me.) I have index cards with scenes and moments waiting to be captured. I have a scene template to use to corral my wild thoughts and emotions in order to pour them into the waiting scene bucket. Whether it will be those or some other well-worn tricks, I am intent on gaining entry into my story world once again.

Nano 2009: Late start is better than no start

Wouldn't you know, just as the 2009 Nanowrimo clock begins a nasty virus takes hold and starts up its own ticking bomb. I've lost ten days already in this year's endeavor. That's a huge hit and there's no way you can truly avoid the reality of lost hours and lack of production. Does it mean it's time to chuck Nano 2009 and wait until next year? Of course not.

The nasty bug not only kicked me into bed but it also crashed all hope of attending Donald Maass's Fire in Fiction workshop in Seattle and a big opportunity to hole away and concentrate solely on my writing. I'd been planning and anticipating the trip for months. It's one of those disappointments that takes root and feeds the feelings of missed opportunities and plans gone awry. The good news is that I'm well enough to have those feelings and appreciate them. The bad news is the same.

What to do? There's not much else you can do other than start up the computer, create a quick game plan for the day, and hit the keyboard running. So once I work my way through the mountain range of bills and junk mail and pay said bills, I'll be turning my attention back to writing--again.

Countdown to Nano 2009: Day 2 (Clearing the decks)

Well, technically it's 38 hours and 43 minutes until the mad white-hot writing begins. Planning should be on the downward slide and time left now will concentrate on preparing the writing environment. Clear the desks, get the files containing the daily templates in place, and bring the index cards and scene notes to the table. Yesterday was consumed by a severe neck/back spasm leaving me with a severe headache to contend with all afternoon and evening. Muscle relaxer and pain pills helped. Hoping they finish the spasm off today so my head is clear and my neck and upper back are relaxed and ready for the butt-in-chair approach to story engine dynamics. How about you? Are you ready for Sunday and Nanowrimo 2009?

Countdown to Nano 2009: Day 4 (Side Wagers)

Well, yesterday is no way to greet the advent of Nanowrimo. Wordcount? Zip. Nada. Nuttin'. By the time I got back from a day of errands I didn't much feel like tackling the keyboard. I'll be out today but I really need to buckle down and go for even a very small amount of words. The one thing I did do is take on a wee bit of a side wager with a fellow scribbler Lia Keyes over at Scribblerati, We both have about the same aim in wordcount and similar goals. While Lia is offering a $100 Amazon gift certificate for the Scribbler who manages the highest wordcount, she and I will be throwing down the gauntlet daily as we march toward the finish line. If you want a little extra boost, you might try a little wager with a friend yourself.

Countdown to Nano 09: Day 5 (Stretching the imagination)

Okay, so I thought I'd try and do a little writing every day to stretch the old imagination. I managed to eke out two paragraphs with 197 words. Dismal. Dismal production and pretty dismal content. I'm going to have to do better than that if I want to get excited. Today's production is nil...at the moment. I still have a little over an hour and a half to get a few words in but I can't say my brain is on fire with some dueling characters or atmospheric-ridden prose. Enough kvetching for today. Time to rescrew my head and gin up a better attitude. I hope the rest of the nanobots are having a better time of it.

Countdown to Nano 09: Day 6 (Prep work)

With less than one week before the 2009 Nanowrimo writeathon begins, it's time to get serious about prep work. Plenty of writers I know are busy testing out a storyline with character studies and preliminary outlines. They tend to be the writers with Nano history. Some new writers to the Nano experience are getting cold feet now that their first gust of excitement has passed. Others are dithering over which story to tell or whether they have a good enough plotline to go the distance. Me? After a flurry of excitement updating my Nano account and announcing my attention, I sort of drifted into riding a soft, lapping wave of anticipation--no real production. But the time has come when perhaps I need to think about doing some writing scales to nimble up the fingers. Maybe a simple, non-threatening goal of a page a day would suffice. What are you doing to prepare for Nano this year?

Start your engines for Nanowrimo 2009

Do you hear the increased clicking as writers around the world begin preparations for their 2009 quest to make Nanowrimo history? October 1st writers, new and returnees, registered for the 2009 50K wordcount marathon that will consume them daily all the month of November.

I'm a regular NaNowrimo participant, although last year I missed the annual fun. Instead I did my personal Nanowrimo in December and ended the month with a grand total of 53,000 words. It was a great month. I've already signed up for 2009 and am ankle-deep in Nano preparations. What about you? Are you ready?

Another day, another bunch of words

Okay, posted my wordcount for Day 2: 1189. Worked on the same scene as yesterday. I also spent quite a bit of time working on the scene's dynamics and am pretty pleased with the results. There's still more to do but the great thing is this is a brand new scene that I hadn't realized before. I also have a new character, too. So I can already tell the difference from having a concentrated focus on this scene.

NaNoWriMo Begins

Okay, I actually completed the first day AND posted my wordcount: 590. I know, it's not that much but it is a start. I had to deal with a lot of unanticipated distractions, and as you know, as soon as you announce to the world your intention the world responds back with a whack of negativity to test your commitment. So I feel pretty good that I actually did follow through yesterday.

One thing I did yesterday was to revise a scene storyboard technique I learned from Robert Ray's Weekend Writer. Over the years I found a few things that intensify the focus of my first draft and included them. My template is a tool I use to drop me into the scene. By the time I've finished filling it out, I usually am hearing dialogue, hearing movement, and entering deeper into the novel. Once the inital blast of energy is over I copy the actual scene content into a word file and off I go to finish the first draft. It generally works every time. Since I plan to use that process every day this month to move along, I wanted to upgrade it so I'm working off all the items from the beginning.

So how did your day go yesterday? Ready for today?

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Sharpen your pencils, power-up your laptops

If you haven't noticed we're two days away from the start of NaNoWriMo. It's time to define your strategy. When will you write? Are you a morning person? Maybe you're one who likes to hear the clatter of the keyboard late at night. Whatever your habit, clear your schedule and get ready now because in less than 48 hours your writing begins. At the very least you should have an idea of some kind about what you will write. :)

Welcome NaNoWriMo 2007 readers

Okay, we're about two weeks and counting before the big write-off. Once again I'm tossing my pencil in and readying my computer for the mad marathon starting November 1st. I hope you'll visit often, comment frequently, and offer your own thoughts on the writing process.


Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

NaNoWrimo ends but not so Whirlpool

'Tis the end of the month, and I've reached the end of the 2006 NaNoWrimo road. Does that mean the journey is at an end? Not at all. The work continues. I have 71 pages to play with and a new subplot to weave into the storyline. I feel confident that I will have my goal of 100 pages by the end of the year, albeit in rough format. But that's okay. I'll be 100 pages further along than I was On November 1st of this year.

The past week had its own issues so I didn't push along as far as I'd planned--but that happens. I'm okay with it. Participating in this year's romp caused the usual compression and tension and out popped the potential subplot. Don't know if I would have come to that had I not been pushing the story down the birth canal. In addition I made some huge decisions about the character of the partner that will have some major ramifications in the development of the story. The best of it results in added tension between the two partners on multiple levels. Again, not sure I would have gone there had I not been on the Wrimo trail.

So, for me this year has been a success. I have 18K words and 71 pages, and I'm well on my way to reaching my personal goal by the end of the year. Now I have to wonder...will Whirlpool be the subject of NaNoWriMo 2007?

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Keeping up during the holidays

Haven't posted much but there has been some life at the computer. I'll be posting a wordcount update sometime tomorrow that will reflect the work done in the last week.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Alas, I'm behind

Behind posting the wordcount and a tad behind the writing. I'm going to have to buckle down this week and really forge through things.

More to come.

Problems with sidebar

Last night I tried playing around with the sidebar and now some of the items, such as the links, are at the bottom. I'm trying to find out how to fix it; I'm not good with code. In the meantime, you can see that I've done a few more words and the draft is continuing, however rough.

Update: Happy to report, as you probably can see, the problem is solved. Thanks to group support's timely help.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

NaNoWriMo's Saggy Middle

Just like any first draft of a novel, my NaNoWriMo pursuit is having a saggy middle. I know I need to step it up if I want to reach the 50K goal, but. . . . Right now I'm probably at a 30-35K pace and while that's pretty good, it's clearly not enough to be haloed. If you haven't noticed, there's a new countdown clock on the righthand sidebar. Sixteen days, it says, so I'm going to have to up my wordcount to average 2300 a day to make it.

The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it urges you on and encourages you to try harder. Instead of 1200 or 1500 a day, why not do those extra pages and make it 2400? Time compresses, expectations are heightened, creativity muscles are squeezed. At the end of the month a first draft is delivered--okay, make that a rough first draft.

How are you doing?

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

NaNoWriMo train keeps chugging

Well, I'm still here, still working on the story and scraping the bottom of the 10K level. I guess I could have pushed on but I came to a natural stopping point and it's been a long day, so...although my wordcount is steady it's clear from the graph that I'm going to have to pick it up some if I want to make the 50K wordcount. I think I've found a way to easily work in the second murder case and let it come forward for a while, then as it winds down the main murder case picks up steam. I actually feel pretty good about it, too, because I think it will provide a realistic feel for the life of the homicide detectives.

More tomorrow.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Chugging along on the NaNoWriMo train

Okay, racked up another 1K words or so to push me over the 5K top. It's like running a marathan. I guess my strategy is to conserve energy in the beginning while I build momentum for a major sprint at the end.

Right now I'm trying to find a way to smooth in the entrance of another murder case so that it appears more seamless. Homicide detectives do work on more than one case at a time. (Note to self: Check out a few Ed McBain's novels to see how he handled this.) And I have a few passages where the POV needs some work. I'm not actually rewriting, more like making notes as I go. (I love Microsoft Word's comment feature and use it all the time to tab reminders for me to do later.)

Well, it's been a long day and last night I was working on another project until about 4am so I better start winding down.

G'night, all.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

All caught up

Okay, yesterday I managed to get caught up and have entered my full tally of 3,610 words. I also had an online brainstorming session with one of my writer-friends and have a few more elements that I can quickly bring into the story. WHIRLPOOL is the first novel in what is basically a tryptech structure of three novels featuring the same Houston homicide detective. I had sketched out a change in partners for the second novel that introduces a lot of conflict and now realize I might as well do it in the first book. Why save my gunpowder, right? I also have a bridging story that is another case that I had structured into the second novel that I now think I'm going to bring up front. With these additions I have plenty of ammunition to fuel my day's writing.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Nanowrimo 2006

Well, I'm off to a great start. Forgot I was going to do this so I'm a little late signing up but I will be writing. My intention is to write as much as I can this month and my goal is 100 pages in very rough draft. One reason for that goal being so primary is that I have a goal of 100 pages for the Donald Maass Breakout Novel Workshop that I'm attending in March. NaNoWrimo is a good way to kick-start these pages and get the first draft going.

If you've been to this blog before you know I've participated in the 2004 and 2005 NaNoWriMos but didn't really push through to the end, although I did manage to get quite a few pages written. Those pages have been scrapped. Over the last year I've made some major changes to the story including changing the main POV character so I'm really starting from square one.

One of my longtime writing friends is also participating this year and is going by the name of Wolverina. She's listed as my buddy. It'll be fun going through the process with a good friend.

Check back for more info during the month.

Drop by my blog at Down the Writer's Path and read my reviews on Blogcritics.org.

Packing NaNoWriMo

Well, in an odd twist, I'm once again attending a Donald Maass Writing the Breakout Novel workshop. Instead of flying off for a weekend of intensive writing, I'll be able to stay in Houston. I did the same thing last year when I began Whirlpool. So I'm preparing for a lot of writing over the next two days--and a few surprises. I know when I finished last year I had a bigger, bolder concept than when I started.

Back to writing....

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NaNoWriMo begins yet again but does Whirlpool?

For some reason the fact that November and NaNoWriMo are right around the corner managed to escape me until sometime during the last 24 hours. I signed up for this year's event but I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with Whirlpool or set up a new project. I do have a couple of possibilities. One is working on the third YA novel that is starting to come together. The other is another crime novel.

As usual my efforts at getting the downloaded NaNoWriMo participant icon failed. I guess I don't quite understand how to fully insert the file after I download the jpeg. I had the same results last year.

Haven't heard from anyone else so I guess I'll put a notice about NaNoWriMo on my blog and see if anyone else comes forward.

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