National Novel Writing Month: Day 2

Ugh. Today is not going well. I don't even thing I made to 1000 words today. Fail.

Post have been so short lately, but at least I'm posting.

Anyone interested in guest posting? fred_the_leaf@yahoo.com

With lots of fail,
-Rachel

Can I Count Blog Posts Towards my Word Count?

Hey!

So, it's still the first day of NaNo (at least where I live). I hit 2,000 during the first hour, so I'm good for today and figured I'd write a post (I'm such a procrastinator, I should really get working on tomorrow's word count.) It's going well so far... Just wanted to stop by, I really don't have anything else to say...

Don't forget to follow and like us on Facebook!!

Happy Halloween and NaNo, here I come

Hey!!

It is currently 3:23AM and I am lying in bed typing this from my phone (so please excuse any errors, tiny keyboard).

Just wanted to stop in and say Happy Halloween. Tonight I'll be hanging out with a big group of friends and going trick or treating for the first time in two years. I feel kind of silly because,well, I'm 17 and I'm going to be dressed up as a fairy (and you can bet I'll be wearing my fuzzy boots, I hate the cold).

What are your Halloween plans?

NaNoWriMo is less than 24 hours away. I'm nervous and excited. A few days ago there was a mishap where I couldn't find my flash drive, I almost cried. And then I put in my favorite sweatshirt and there it was, i had left it in the pocket last time i used it. I'm so glad I found it though, I was ready to give up on NaNo.

I hope your NaNo planning is going well and that you enjoyed all the guests posts.

I wish I could say that I'll be back on a normal posting schedule soon, but with NaNo starting it isn't likely. I probably wont be able to post regularly until February. The next few months are always super busy for me.

Don't forget to follow and like is on Facebook!!

Have a spooky Halloween/NaNoWriMo Eve

-Rachel

P.S. Isn't my niece the cutest thing ever?

Guest Post: On Writing: NaNoWriMo: Voss from Demon Hunting and Tenth Dimensional Physics

 

I consider NaNoWriMo the one, key turning point in my writing career. I know I’m not alone on that front, but it doesn’t make it any more meaningful to me. The first time I used the process, it was in total seclusion, and I followed the rules of the even to the “T”. I think it was July, and I sat down three days before and planned the whole thing out, from characters to plot to combat systems—everything.
I also scrapped most of that later, but that’s another story to be told…eventually…
The real importance of it was the fact that I finished writing a full 50,000 word manuscript. It was ugly, rough, and ugly…and ugly. But I finished it, and that’s what counts.
Now, entering my fifth or so NaNoWriMo event, I’m much more confident, and much better off as a writer. Stories have been published, others are just about ready to be sent out, and I’m taking in pay—and I’m not even twenty at the time of writing this, though I might be by the time you all read it. Without NaNo, I would be all of nowhere, except maybe stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. The real thing to take away from the event is the feelings—every feeling. The Excitement of the planning, and of writing those first ten-thousand words…followed by a toenail pulling session when you reach the mid-point (our dreaded WEEK TWO of NaNo). And finally the finish. Mostly, this all adds up into confidence. Confidence that you can write, that you can produce product quickly, and that it’s okay to write crap in that zero draft.
I’d like to think of this NaNo as a year of change: the Office of Letters and Light are trying to change the negative name attached to the number thirteen, our new members are again changing their minds and joining the ranks of insanity, and we’ve had a change of Leadership with Chris Baty stepping down. So why shouldn’t we all change along with it?
***
Voss foster writes speculative fiction, and begrudgingly admits to writing romance. When not stuck to his laptop, he enjoys singing, cooking, and photography. He can be found and contacted at http://vossfoster.blogspot.com

On Writing: NaNoWriMo: Organizing

Hey!

Gonna talk about organizing today!! So, I've tried a couple different organizing strategies in the past that haven't gone so well, but I think I've found the perfect system for me.

Materials:
-1inch 3-ring binder
-5 Dividers
-Loose-leaf paper
-Pencils
-Flash drive
-Composition books (I'm thinking I'll use at least 4)

-I Inch 3-Ring Binder:
     -I'm just going with a really simple one I got for a dollar, it's black and does what I need it to do.
-5 Dividers
    -I labelled these
       -Outline
       -Notes
       -Character Profiles
       -Solo Scenes
       -2nd Draft
-Loose-Leaf Paper
     -Make sure you have plenty of this, you'll need it. I'm starting with 2 150 packs, but I'll probably get tons        more by the time November is over.
-Flash Drive
     -At the end of each week I'll be transfering the 2nd draft into a third draft which will be kept on my flash         drive.
-Composition Books
     -This is where I'll be writing the first draft. They fit easily into my school bags and purses, so I can take them out and write anytime I feel inspired.

That's it for now!!

Don't forget to follow and like us on Facebook!!

Guest Post: On Writing: NaNoWriMo: Erica from Crapfiction

I want to thank Rachel (@AbelleKingsley) for inviting me over to guest post. I have only recently jumped on the bandwagon of engaging in social media, and it has allowed me to connect with people across the world in just a couple of months. I would like to apologize in advance for my post. I write #crapfiction, and it's usually littered in confusing statements and grammatical errors. I'll address more of that later.

I'm lost. I'm the proverbial needle in a haystack of writers; as a result, it smothered my potential for years. I had a love for reading at a young age, easily getting sucked into the fantastical worlds that authors had illustrated through writing. And those stories would spark my own ideas. Three comments were always on my elementary report cards: I was a social butterfly, a great reader, and I had wonderful creativity. The first trampled the other two in high school. I spent days “studying in the library” to gossip with friends and play hacky-sack. I took numerous classes on creative writing and English composition, but never adequately prepared myself for college. So I didn't go.

Don't get me wrong; I completed a few semesters of community college down the road. But then I traded that in for a family. But now that things have settled down? I'm back with my thoughts and unwritten stories. Being a writer can suck. Go to any website like Smashwords or Goodreads, and find the hundreds of people who are trying to push their way into the literary spotlight. And most of them DID go to college, HAVE been practicing their craft for years, and DO have publishing contracts. How can I break into one of the most supersaturated industries around? I have no connections and less education. And that realization gave birth to my blogging project (The actual name will be released in a couple of weeks; I still need to buy the URL).

I've started a new blogging project inspired by lots of ideas - “Brainstorm to bookshelf” - “For writers of all backgrounds by writers of all backgrounds” - “Blogging one error at a time” - to name a few.

As stated on my blog,

“... someday I want to get published. Someday I want to sit at a table in a bookstore, sign my awesome signature in my novel, and have people weep about how much they love me. Too much? Maybe. Impossible? I think not. I wanna prove to the world that writers don’t have to be “perfect” or “normal” to be successful. I am a misfit. Are you? ”

This was originally going to be a solo project; I've changed my mind. I thought about everyone I have connected with and realized I'm not the first person who feels like this. And I won't be the last. So why not scoop up all of our talents? Why not share our drunken slurs about our 50th rejection letter? Why not show an audience of people that anyone can be successful? You just have to believe. I know I've been rambling on, so if you are interested, head over to http://crapfiction.wordpress.com/ and find out more. We're in the baby stages, so now is the best time to get involved!

We will be starting with NaNoWriMo. If you've never heard of the concept, head over to their website. In summary, it's an annual event in which writers all over the world compose their own novel (of at least 50,000 words in length) during the month of November. This will be my first year, and I'm terrified. But that's okay. I'm not the only person poppin' the NaNo cherry this year. I already have a few writing buddies lined up, Jack Daniels included, and am ready to face this adventure head on. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll see said novel on the bookshelf in a Barnes & Noble. One can only hope.

Thanks for letting me stop by and throw some ideas at you. If you, too, are a budding writer? Check out and subscribe to my blog, find me on Twitter (@EricaWing), and let's take over the world. Later tweeps! This lady needs a drink!

Guest Post: On Writing: NaNoWriMo: Jaclyn from Rambles from Insanity

*Steps on stage*

So, being as this is my first time guest blogging, I might end up rambling. Feel free to drag me out with a giant cane ha-ha.  Any who, my name is Jaclyn and I blog about NaNo out in the Heart of Dixie. I started my blog last year, and my first year to NaNo was in 2008. I believe I wrote 7,000 words that year. Sadly, my computer got an incurable case of the Blue Screen of Death and has yet to be revived. Although I do happen to remember putting poodles in that novel on account of a dare….

*Runs from the giant cane*

Ahem, back to what I was saying…

That novel was horse puddle anyway. My 2009 attempt was a lot better. I remember discussing details of what would happen with my friend while we both sat on giant slides and procrastinated. We’re very bad at that. I didn’t finish that year either…but I do believe I hit the 10k word mark.

I was never really good with longer projects.

*dodges a flying rotten something*

This, as you could probably guess, is why I didn’t finish last year’s novel either. BUT, I handwrote 15,000 words. And I also attended my first write-in. Last year was the closest taste I’d ever had of that finish line and now I have it in me to finish this year.

This is why I have several sheets on copy paper with multitudes of words printed on them to help me plan.

But that is also why I only planned five chapters and then gave up. I knew I wasn’t going to follow it anyway. So, I downloaded yWriter5 and typed up some rooms, [actually, I mainly got them from the adoption thread on the forums <3] and put together what room goes in which chapter. So, when I DO run out of plottedness, all I need to do is pull up yWriter and I have the chapter, the room, a brief description of the room, and I can get to work.

I specifically planned out this NaNo to have the ability to jump around. I’m going to attempt to write out of order, jump write in the middle of a chapter and write where I feel like it. Because each chapter is a new room. And with this, I hope will lead to the success of winning my first NaNo.

I might not have won yet, but you can’t say I’ve given up. :D

*curtsies to the cheers that shake the building, er, blog*

Well, I guess I have rambled enough, if you want to hear more, feel free to hop over to my blog where my madness continues.

Thanks for reading!

Jaclyn

http://stealmedead.blogspot.com

We Made Soup Today!

Hot and Sour to be specific.

As, the guy in our class said, ours looked more gross, but it tasted amazing.

Today in my History (that's right) class, we made soup. We're studying immigrants and their culture, so my teacher thought it would be a good idea to make soup. Yeah, not so much. I was annoyed because I didn't sign up for culinary arts (my BFF did), and my group wouldn't let me see the directions (because they were going in the wrong order). Oh, and I'll probably never become a vegetarian, Tofu is gross.

 Sorry for the short posts lately...

The NaNoWriMo posts will be starting monday, so posts will be longer then. I'm still accepting posts, The latest I'll take them is Oct. 7, I extended it because I want a few more posts...Just email me for details...

Don't forget to follow and like us on Facebook!!

On Writing: National Novel Writing Month

Hey!!

So, does anyone here do NaNoWriMo?

Oh, you don't know what it is?

Well, basically, you have 30 days (November) to write a 50,000 word Novel. Website

Have you done it? Are you planning on doing it? What are your experiences with NaNo? What are you expecting this year?

If you'd like to do a guest post talking about NaNo and your experiences with it/what you're expecting, please email me at fred_the_leaf@yahoo.com. I'd like the majority of the posts in by Oct. 3, but if you'll need more time just let me know.

NaNo Questionaire!!

AT THE START: DO YOU:
Have an outline? I've tried doing NaNo with an outline before, and it just felt too restricting, so I won't be using one this year
Scene-by-scene? I'll be writing whatever pops into my head, it'll probably be a lot of random out of order garbage.
Know how it starts? Yes, probably the only part that's going to be planned.
Know how it ends?  No, idea.
Have your climax in order?  Nope.
Know your main characters yet?  One of my mains first name is Jenna, I haven't chosen others
Have a particular tone in mind?  It'll change as the story progresses, starts happy, sad, content
Plan to draw on your own experiences? Nope, but if someone else would be willing to that'd be awesome

IS YOUR WORK GOING TO BE:
Funny?  No
Serious?  A little
Sad?  It'll have moments
Semi-Autobiographical?  My original idea was actually to write a 3 part autobiography, but I've changed my mind, I'll probably still do it someday

Based on another story? It was sort of inspired by the "In the Garden" Trilogy by Nora Roberts, but the differences are huge.

HOW HAVE MUCH YOU PLANNED? HAVE YOU USED:
A paper journal?  The little I've planned is in a composition notebook
Pens?  Yes
Multicoloured pens? I've tried writing each scene in a different color, but switching pens just takes up too much time
A computer?  I'll probably do most of it in a notebook and then transfer to a word document at the end of each day
Index cards? Yes.
Bulleted lists?  I have.
Plot charts?  No.
Character charts?  Not really my style
Character formulas?  Not sure what this is...
Favourite writing resource?  The forums.

ODDS AND ENDS:
A line you would like to use:  "I think fate needs to but the fuck out"
A scene you would like to include: A scene that shows significant character growth
A concept you would like to explore: personal Growth through pain
A cliché you would like to avoid:  I'm not sure...
A character you would like to use:  I don't really have any characters I'd like to use, most from other stories are from completely different parts of the world most of my stories take place in

FORWARD THINKING:
Do you expect to be able to complete it? I think I'll get to 50,000 words, but the story probably wont be done by the end of November, but yes
Do you intend to complete it? Yes. But will I? Who knows what course life will take?
Would you ever try to publish it? After I spend 2 years editing it.

What do you expect to get out of this month of frantic writing? A giant pile of literary (it took me like ten minutes to think of that word) crap.

Don't forget to follow and like us on Facebook!! 

Interested in Guest Blogging?

Hey!!

So, some opportunities for you to do some guest posts and get some exposure for your blog is here :). I need some people who have done/are going to do NaNoWriMo to do a guest post talking about that.

And I need some people to answer the question "Why do you blog?". If interested please email me at fred_the_leaf@yahoo.com.

If these aren't to your taste, but you would like to know about future opportunities, just sign up for the mailing list (still working on a widget for this, for now just send me an email telling me you want to be added and I'll add you by hand), or like We Throw Rocks at Cars on Facebook. There's a widget to do that on the left of this post.

Don't forget to follow and like us on Facebook!!