My Nano Survival Kit

Are you ready for November 1st?

While some of you are probably thinking: Aten, it's more than a month away!! I don't even have time to worry about it yet, I am here to tell you time flies and before we all know it, National Novel Writing Month will be well underway...again.

And with that in mind, I decided to sit down and start preparing my own Nano survival kit, incorporating items that I used and lived by during last year's month long mad dash to 50K+ words. While some of the items on the list may feel like Duh moments to any writer, they weren't always so clearly defined for me - SO the pantser in me is taking a back seat to the plotser need to get this list generated!

1. An idea - for the pantser in all of us - just a spark could help....for the plotser in us a little more knowledge is necessary - regardless of your approach you need an idea. I have one flopping around in my head trying desperately to come to life.

2. A notebook and favorite pen. Yes, we live in a digital age, but I still like the feel of ink on paper and like to scratch out ideas while I'm typing away.

3. MUSIC! You know you need to keep your muse happy - so create that play list that will lead you through all the scenes OR for those of you who must live in a bubble of total quiet, grab a pack of ear plugs because you KNOW that someone will call...or cough...or show up at that exact moment when your muse is playing nice and the words are at the tip of your tongue.

4. FOOD! This one is not only for you, but any other people who are unfortunately living with you this month and may have to fend for themselves. Make sure to have a lot of easily prepared meals set aside AND snacks that you can eat in between the meals you skip to hit your daily word goal.

5. TIME!! This year will be different for me. I will be trying to Nano and work at the same time. I was fortunate enough to have the ability to only worry about writing last year. This year, I feel like I'll be batting in the big leagues with all the other writers trying desperately to live a life, work, keep the house away from hazmat suits and quarantine signs AND write a novel....why do I have the sudden urge to laugh uncontrollably??

Other tips? Check out the Nano web page for inspiration and procrastination needs; follow the Nano feeds on twitter for writing sprints. While I didn't sprint with everyone, a few helped me out of writer's block last year, and I'm sure they will again.

Cheer on your fellow Nano-ites as they aim for 50K

The most important aspect?? HAVE FUN and enjoy the ride. I learned so much about myself and the way I thought I had to write a book last year. I can't wait to see what I learn this year! Look forward to another post on that after Nano this year.

I wasn't ready....are you?

   This, about sums up my current state of being....

but that is a good thing! (I swear!)

So after months of read, revising, editing, rounds of emails with my super fabulous critique partner, a few trusted friend readers, I was feel just pretty good about posting materials for this year's Writeoncon.

 And why shouldn't I? I've worked diligently over the last few months to polish my MS and make it agent ready....

And then I hit the forums, and all I can think is:

NOW why the Hell didn't I see that??

Yup. I had a totally head slap moment. Actually, I've had a few of them in the past few hours. *pops open the Advil and takes a few more from all the head slapping fun* And you know what? I am so glad!!

I am not channeling one of those athletes who wanted and were expected to get gold and are "happy" with silver.



I am channeling all those writers who sent things out thinking they were READY only to get no bites. I am channeling all those writers who a week after sending out queries spotted that one mistake (yes, I've done that too). I am channeling all those who thought they were ready but took a step back and waited just a little longer....

Did I want to wait? Does any one want to wait? No! I was ready and willing to send out last week...but I didn't, and it had nothing to do with the state of my manuscript. I didn't think I had my agents in a row yet. I thought everything else was as closed to prepped as an agent-less query could be.

But now? I'll gladly take that step back, and force myself to breathe just a little slower and look even more closely at what I'm sending.

It sort of hurts. I really REALLY thought I was there... but I know I'm not. My query may be there, but based on comments, maybe my manuscript deserves another round of edits and tightening...and don't I deserve it to myself AND my story to make it as polished as possible?

Yes. So I'm turning that "D'oh!" into a learning experience that reminds me there is a positive in patience....even if I have trouble seeing it. :)

Happy Writing!



You would think....

You would think with a broken ankle I...

• would be reading tons of books
• writing and tons of words
• making lots of progress on my query letter

You would think that...until the meds are brought into the picture and then realize I'm granted just anough brain power to compile this tiny blurb with the promise of more blog posts in the future!

A Mani for your main?

How well do you know your character?

Well enough to hear their voice? Do you see them roll their eyes or sigh whenever you have them do something they don't want to or wouldn't normally? Do you see their face? Can you see the flecks of gold or grey or black in their eyes? Do they have wrinkles or scars? What about their hair? Does it look dark red until the sun hits it? Is it always frizzy or recently shaved off?


What about their hands? Do you see their hands? Do they have hang nails? Calluses? Chubby Fingers? Dirt caked in the ridges of their finger prints? Chipped, black nail polish? No polish? Professional manicures? Fake nails? What color would they wear if they wore nail polish? Why?

Can you answer these questions? Do you know how their hands look and, more importantly, what that says about their personality?

Now - the test - ask your critique partner or a trusted reader to tell you about your character's hands.
Can they? Can they tell you what your character's hands and nails look like?

Does it match what you see in your head?

If the answer isn't yes, you have some work to do. If the answer is a match, way to go!

My critique partner and I tried this test the other week, and it allowed me to see:
1. which characters were coming through loud and clear because our views of the nails matched
2. which characters obviously weren't coming through as clearly AND that allowed me to think about those characters and try to see WHY they weren't working.

So take a look! Let me know what you see!

Talk to you soon.

Balance

Sometimes I wonder if other writer's struggle to juggle everything in their lives like I do. I'm sure they do. I've seen blog posts and tweets to suggest others face the same dilemmas, but somehow, I still feel as though I am the only one facing these problems and this unbalance...and I guess that is true. Thankfully, there is only one of me (at least in my realm of consciousness).

I am the only one who faces my challenges...

So is that reassuring? I know I've heard that saying...something along the lines of I am the only one who can face the things in my life...does that make me feel better? Does that make trying to find balance any more manageable?

On some days, I think I would say yes.

Today is not one of those days.

Today is one of those days where I believe I need at least 15 extra hours in a day to accomplish a portion of what I want to finish.

So the question remains. How, or maybe I should be asking where, can I find balance? How can I juggle being a wife, mother, friend, house keeper, pet owner, employee, relative, gardener, confidant AND a writer all at the same time without worrying that something on the list will fall through the cracks?

No wonder my muse has been noticeably absent recently. In an attempt to not break the scales and keep everything in balance, I have allowed other things to fall away...but I miss them.

I want to write. I want to edit. I want to query (believe it or not), but I don't want to do these things at the expense of everything else.

I guess the only thing I can do is work on my balance. I guess it's time to get back on the tight rope and hope my feet don't fall out from under me.

Critique Partners

I think writing is the only profession that insists on a hermitage solitude and simultaneous human interaction.

Yup - we are a conundrum. We are alphas - traveling through the muses as we see fit, daring anyone to make us stop writing...or change direction.

BUT

and here's the kicker - we can't do it alone.

Every book...okay almost every book because I'll be honest I haven't looked at every book - but they all have acknowledgements. They all have people who they feel compelled to thank along the road to publication - those people who push and prod, poke and tweak. Those people who help them make words shine and bring an idea to an entirely new level from where it had originally started.

I thought I could do it alone - I didn't know any better.

I do now.

And here's what happens when a critique partner becomes more than just some random person you met through a twitter friend.

You realize where your story can go because someone else can see the light.
You realize how much more you have to do because someone else has seen better in you.
You realize why you want to fix it because someone else believes in you.

You realize you aren't alone.

A good critique partner will give you the truth no matter how painful it may be. They will become more than just a name or a red pen. They will be the kick in the ass you need when you can't find the drive to push through the rainy day. They will be the shoulder either literal or proverbial to lean on when you feel weak. They will be your biggest supporter and most avid ally.

I needed to crawl out of my hermit cave and realize that I couldn't do this alone. I needed feedback (and not just from family...because we all know they can't be trusted fully). I needed motivation. I needed someone to help me see the bad as well as the good.

So I move on, but I do so knowing that I have people I can turn to when things don't quite click, and the cyclical world of writing begins again.

One size does not fit all

A disastrous jaunt through the world on online shopping has me thinking about writing. Well, we are talking about me, here – just about everything has me thinking about writing in one way, shape, or form.

I love a book so much that when it became a movie, I wanted a memento. So, I travel online to find said…thing. Hours later, I find the perfect pajama set. Perfect. I can obsess in private, and I anxiously wait for my package to arrive with the perfect fitted t-shirt and flannel plaid pants. I think I actually squealed when it arrived, then promptly wanted to go on a hunger strike.

Why? The perfectly fitted women’s shirt was fitted so well that I wouldn’t even wear it to sleep. Yet, apparently I am the kind of person who must be hit more than once to learn a lesson because I order something else from the same online shopping boutique thinking, maybe it was manufacturing issue, and again am excited when this time a fitted hoodie arrives. And I am now completely dedicated to a new workout program because I refuse to buy the next size larger.

*munches on a handful of potato chips*

So what does all this have to do with writing? Everything.

Once size does not fit all – an apparently, the same size doesn’t fit anyone. We have all found those perfect ideas that glow brightly in the middle of the night – or after a few glasses of wine – or in the checkout line at the store.

Yet are they really the right fit? If they are like my t-shirt – not so much.

I tried to be a plotser though I am totally a pantser.

I tried to create an outline though I am still working the first round of edits.

I tried to create a visual plot board to help me find the holes though I can’t draw.

Once I stopped trying what worked for everyone else and focused on what was working for me, my writing flowed easier. It’s like that shirt – a beautiful idea that wasn’t the right fit, no matter how much I try to stretch or bend the material. Wearing it will be confining, restricting, and uncomfortable – much like my writing if I try to force it to behave.

Instead, I must hang on and enjoy the ride, stop trying to fit into a mold I’ve already broken, and enjoy another chip.

The power of words

An unusual sentence caught my attention this weekend and urged me to write this post.

Here's the sentence: I'll be with you as soon as I put the muffins in the microwave so the cat won't eat them.

Have you ever had to say or write that before? I know I hadn't because I actually paused after saying it, cocked my head to the side, and wondered if anyone has ever said it before.

So...according to several Internet sites, some of which looked less than reputable, there are over one million words? That seems a bit low. I do like the answer that there really isn't an answer to that question - but this entire little rant is not the purpose of this post.

With all the words, there are only so many ways in which we can arrange them together in ways that haven't already been done yet.

AND

makes those arrangements of letters and words interesting, intriguing and original.

Because that is what we, as writers, are trying to do - right? We are trying to arrange words in an order that hasn't been done about a subject that very likely has already been covered.

If that wasn't the case, there would only  be one book about vampires. One about zombies. One about Dragons. One about love. One about war...you get the idea.

It is easy to arrange words in an order that is original.

The bright pink elephant didn't want to sit next to the silly little butterfly.

What is not easy is making those arranged words make sense and want to be read. What is not easy is making them tell a story that someone would want to read.

And there's the bottom line. The words need meaning. They need power. Who cares about the pink elephant or for that matter my muffin starved cat?

As a writer, the first answer must be me.
The second answer must be the story.
And hopefully the third and equally important answer will be the reader.

As I writer, I must use the power of words to make the reader care about the words I have chosen, but hopefully have written in such a way that the words use each other and don't compete for attention.

We've seen those great lines. The killer first sentences. The heard breaking last lines. And we have all heard how important that opening thought of a story is.

So now I leave you with words. And go to create some power of my own.

Edits

Jump in the water's fine!

Right.

Editing waters are anything but fine, and as I doggie paddle through my second WIP, I can say that with time and experience, if anything, they have become more turbulent, and I know why.

That first WIP - there's the thrill of finishing it (at least for me) - it took me many years to get THAT idea. You know the one - where angels sang, and the lights went out, and your favorite song played on the radio 24 hours a day just to keep you inspired... yeah that one. And I remember finishing that one and feeling so proud of myself.

I also remember the editing process for that one. My fine toothed comb was not so finely toothed - I'll blame the dog for chewing on it - but I also must blame myself. I didn't know any better.

Here's the bottom line - editing a story - not even in the same geographic location as editing a paper - something as a teacher and student I had done thousands of times.

I thought, as I am sure many others have, that I was brilliant. Every word was beautifully placed and paced throughout... oh I was so out of my league.

Long story just a tad shorter - two years after I finished the first did I finally realize the editing process: you need more than a fine toothed comb.

You need a critical eye and the ability to ask, "Really?"
You need a sharp instinct and the ability to slash your way through page after page
You need a quick mind as you evaluate characters - do they really need to be there? do they really have to do that?

If you can't answer yes - hell yes - oh em ef ge are you kidding me yes...then it's time to cut that too.

Flash forward to Nanowrimo 2011 - then now a few months later as I wade through WIP#2...

the editing waters are not fine - but if you have a life preserver you can make it through them. I'm living proof - paper cuts, ink stains and doubts as living proof.

Here's my advice: take the time to cut your baby book apart. In the end, it will be stronger.

The Journey

I love to write. I may not do it consistently, but I still get swept away by an idea and love the thrill of the unknown.

I love to write. I may have allowed a few "inspirational" successful writers tell me that if I can't write every day then I must not REALLY want it. (Though at the time all I really wanted to do was tell "inspirational" writer where to shove it.)

I love to write, and have been actively trying to improve as a writer for the past two years. I have been writing for... yeah, I'll plead the fifth on that one, but it wasn't until much more recently that I realized that I loved it.

It also wasn't until recently - and when I say recently, I don't mean yesterday, I mean about the last year and a half, that I have begun to see just how much goes into writing and then publishing the written word, and that I truly began to take a serious approach to being a writer and wanting to become a published author.

This blog will highlight some of the highs and lows that I have discovered along my journey, and will hopefully help me laugh at some more speed bumps that I am sure I'll stumble upon in the coming days - weeks - months - years.

Care to join me for the journey?