Tag Archives: nanowrimo

My Halo

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NaNo-2015-Participant-Badge-Large-SquareI earned my halo today. I’m an angel! Okay, not really. I donated to NaNoWriMo earlier this evening and now I have my halo on my avatar. Cool, huh? I think so. Though it’s free to participate, NaNo depends on writers, like you and me, to help keep them going. I’m sure there are a few big time sponsors, but when you think about what we can do en masse, just by donating a few dollars, why wouldn’t you donate?

Of course, I didn’t donate my first few years. Last year may have been the first year I donated, and it wasn’t a heck of a lot either. But again, when you think about the sheer size of NaNo, and the number of us that do, we help fund this very awesome organization!

In case you don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal for participants is to write fifty-thousand words in one month. It was a bit daunting that first year, but I managed it, and I have every year since. It’s not easy. It takes a certain dedication to getting words down and ignoring that inner editor that begs to obsess over every small detail. It’s only about getting the story down. Editing comes later.

I had always wanted to write a book. I wanted to tell a story, and there were several false starts over several years. The result was always the same. I gave up. It was too hard. I didn’t know how to plan or to outline so I would write a few paragraphs and decided I wasn’t cut out for it.

That changed in 2011. I saw a funny word when I logged onto my computer at work that November 1st morning. On the Trending Now section of Yahoo, I caught sight of Nanowrimo. Curious as to what it could possibly be, I looked it up and I discovered their website. I immediately signed up, though I had no idea what I would write about, and then I got to work.

It took me a week before I figured out what to do and how to write. Slowly the story took shape and I progressed slowly but with a purpose of hitting that 50K mark. By the end of the month, I hit 52,395 words. I was hooked, and I’ve been writing ever since.

That first year, NaNo helped me get through a hard period in my life. It kept me sane and I found that I could write. It’s never easy but the end is well worth the effort. I keep promising that I’m going to publish one of my works, but I’ve yet to get there, but I will.

So I feel a certain gratitude toward the organization and the fevered energy they help inspire. I’ve got a new story in mind, and though I know there’s no guarantee that I’ll cross the goal line for the fifth time, it’s very much what I intend to do. The pace is frantic, but there’s a joy in knowing you’re joining countless others in the mad endeavor.

I urge you to consider joining in if you’ve ever wanted to write a book. The best thing that’s come out of it is that I’ve met a lot of interesting people over the years, people I know I never would have met otherwise. I a blast to participate, and in the end you will have at least the beginning of a first draft of the book you’ve dreamed about writing.

The fun begins at midnight on November 1st and ends on the 30th at 11:59 p.m. Check out the NaNoWriMo website for more details.

Leading up to NaNoWriMo 2015

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NaNoWriMo 2015 is a month away. Are you ready? I know I’m not. I have no idea what I’m going to write about. I have nothing to say. There are a few ideas rattling deep in my head, but I don’t know if any are the stories I want to tell, and if they are the ones I want to explore.

Last year I began to write Giada, and it was an unmitigated disaster. I would like to revisit it, but this time change the point of view from Giada and back to Fr. Mendoza, the main character from my first NaNoNovel. This would be a prequel, the story about a prostitute that saves a pious priest. I still want it to be her story, but told from his perspective. I just don’t think NaNo is the right time to try so ambitious.

Then there’s my idea of a Hollywood producer wanting to make a movie starring his father’s favorite actress, a woman who had given in to a retirement she never wanted. He wants to make his movie, tell his story, something I relate to. I haven’t fleshed too many details, but this one intrigues me.

Finally, there’s the story of a priest with a promising career ahead of him, who though he’s intelligent, charismatic, and a favorite of his superiors, but is otherwise arrogant and aloof towards those he feels beneath him. As a punishment, he’s exiled to some poor, rural parish, one that’s nearly bankrupt, financially, spiritually, and morally. I like this one because it’s mostly about small town politics set within the confines of a faith community, where being Christian  is only a buzzword and not actually practiced.

I’m sure there will be other ideas that come and go in the next month. Hell, I may be inspired to write something completely different come November. Right now, I need to read a few books to review for this month and the beginning of next. If I decide to review a fourth, it’ll have to wait until the beginning of next year. I don’t want to exhaust myself like I did last year.

No NaNo for me

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It’s July 1st, and another Camp NaNoWriMo has begun, without me. I know you are all so disappointed. Okay, I doubt anyone cares. I know I don’t. As militant as I have been in the past about NaNoWriMo, I just haven’t been able to muster any level of enthusiasm for Camp NaNo. Oh, I’ve tried to participate several times, but I seem to lose steam and interest. I just don’t feel as passionate about it as I do the main event in November.

I think part of the reason stems from the amount of time and energy it takes to sit and write. I spend 10 hours a week driving to and from work. I’m so exhausted after a long day, and I’m usually bombarded with other things that distract me from sitting down and writing. I miss having time to myself to write. I want to sit and write, without distraction, without anybody disturbing me, needing me to do something, anything for them. I need my own place, closer to work would be preferable.

Until then, I’ll make do. I wonder if I should give up the idea of publishing and simply write for the enjoyment. I don’t know if that would make me happy. I want to be read, even if only by a small audience. Nope, I need to write with publishing as my goal. I’ve been so inconsistent with my goal that it may take a small miracle to actually get it done.

When I first started writing, back at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, I had a fire smoldering within me, a desire to prove that I had some inherent worth. I needed to write as an act of revenge. Now, I don’t have that motivation. I don’t need to prove myself to anyone, but I do want to prove to myself that I can do it.

While I may not be participating in Camp NaNo, I’m still quietly working away at my own leisure. I’m having to make peace with the idea that I may never put myself out there, but the dream still lingers, and as long as it does, maybe I’ll find a way to cross that finish line.

My new writing toy

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I’ve been hearing about Scrivener for years now, ever since I started pursuing this writing dream. Every year I win NaNo, every year I get the chance to buy the program at a discounted price, every year I let it go. Not this year. I bought it and now what? Seriously, what’s it do that’s so special?

I’ve spent the past hour going through the tutorial, and I’m having one of those Eureka! moments. It does all of that? I asked myself. Amazing! I wish I had got this sooner! I love buying new toys.

Let me explain what’s got me so excited. My first novel, I wrote each chapter as a different file, which didn’t present a problem until it came time to put it together. I didn’t know how to do so except by literally copying and pasting each chapter into a master file. Took some time to do it. I hated it.

With my new toy, I can write each chapter, and indeed each scene, into its own file, which is part of the whole. It makes it easier to go between scenes and chapters, and when it’s time to compile the document, there’s a nifty little button that will do that for you. Neat-o!

I’m still trying to figure this out. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but that’s enough to get me excited about learning it. I’m sure it’ll change the way I write considerably, hopefully for the better. After only an hour, I’m regretting waiting this long to join the crowd. At least I’m part of it now. If only it could read my thoughts….

On second thought, maybe it’s best it can’t.

Whilst I wait…

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I’ve been twiddling my thumbs, my WIP in the hands of my friends, waiting for them to finish reading and listening to their critiques. I’m trying not to dwell on it, but I confess that I’m harassing on of them. “What do you think? Huh? Huh? Well, is it good!? TELL ME NOW!!!!!

To keep my insanity at bay, I’ve pulled out my 2014 NaNo and began to read it. Not too shabby, if I’m allowed to toot my own horn. I’d pat my back, but I’m writing this in bed, with my laptop balanced on my lap, if you can believe it, and I don’t want to get up. Then again, I don’t have a horn either. I’m belaboring this so I’ll move on.

It’s odd to read something that I’ve written, especially after I’ve let it sat awhile without touching it. I get wrapped up, wondering what’s coming next. I was at that point when it abruptly ended. No more story. What happens next you stupid writer!?

Oh, wait, that’s me. I need to sit down and figure that out. I wanted this to be a one book story, but I think it may require a sequel to get to where I want to go. And this is just the back story to another novel that I’ve already written but needs to be rewritten and edited. So much work just to tell a story. I swear!

But it’s keeping me busy, and that’s good. Now I need to get back to it. I need to know what coming next. I have no idea, and it’ll drive me crazy if I don’t figure it out, and I’m crazy enough as it is.