Week Three Nano Enemy: Yaaaaawn.

I have met mine enemy and it is boring. My enemy isn't boring; boring is my enemy.


This week, I got so bored with my story! The characters felt stale, the plot stagnant, all the evidence pointing to my failure as a writer. But perusing the NaNoWriMo website, I saw I wasn't alone. Looks like week three has a common enemy. Since I'm writing by the seat of my pants and doing it as fast as I can (re: writing without thinking too much), I decided to shake things up a bit.


First, I shot my main character. Totally didn't see that coming.


Then, I switched two characters' roles. I made the bad one good (sort of) and the good one bad. The good one had been getting on my nerves anyway. He acted a bit too good, more annoying than endearing, if you know what I mean. Now he has purpose.


In switching the roles, I ended up with a hidden, inter-dimensional conspiracy. Now we're cooking!


Recap:
Week one enemy: Inner Critic. Goal met.
Week two enemy: Inner Editor. Goal met.
Week three enemy: Boredom. Goal meeting.


I learned that when boredom hits, do something crazy. When Erin Morgenstern got tired of her NaNo-novel, she sent her characters to the circus. And now we have her stellar debut book, The Night Circus.

Don't be afraid to let your story take you somewhere unexpected. You may just end up on a best-seller list.


Good writing and ¡Buen Provecho!

New NaNo week, new NaNo Enemy

Ok, here I am, week two, day nine of National November Writing Month. And I'm still writing. A lot. At least for me. NaNo recommends a goal of 1667 words a day to reach 50,000 words by the end of the month. I set my personal goal at 2500 per day: a morning session of 1250 and an evening one of 1250. That way it would take me 20 days and I could take off weekends plus Thanksgiving and Black Friday (a holiday all its own).

But like all writers, I learned to be a little more flexible. A good writer is nothing if not flexible. 

So, when evening writings turned into late nights, I changed them to early afternoons right after lunch until it's time to pick up the first round of school goers. (We have three. Rounds, not kids.)


That worked, and it worked really well. So I wrote right after breakfast and right after lunch. Having a full belly appears to give me super human typing speed and strength against the writer's natural enemy: the inner critic. Sounds like a good excuse for eating, so I'll take it. Toss in few more words over the weekend (flexiblility wins again after sick child stayed home from school on Friday) and week one goal met. Yay me!


This week has started just fine. Met my daily goal so far. But I met a new enemy as well. Now not only am I fighting my inner critic, but my INNER EDITOR. I want so badly to go back and fix, add, read, etc. what I've already written, that I'm endangering all the new words that want to get out. This is a rookie mistake not uncommon for a first time nano-er like me, but I am determined not to look back. Writers look forward, at least on a first draft.


To recap:

Week one enemy: Inner Critic. Goal met.
Week two enemy: Inner Editor. Goal meeting.


I can't wait to see who I meet week three.


So if you're nanoing and facing the same temptations to edit that I am, it's time to refocus and remember that its National Novel Writing Month, not Editing Month. Be patient. That time will come. We'll rename Jan, Feb, and March NaNoEdMos. Because editing is what separates the writers from the wannabees.


The best news? I'm enjoying writing again and for that alone, I'm happy I'm nanoing. Hope you are, too!


Good writing and ¡Buen Provecho!

NaNo Writer Workout Wish!

I wish this really worked:



Then maybe only thing moving this month wouldn't just be my fingers. But darned if I don't have the most beautifully fit fingers in the neighborhood! Well, next to the concert pianist down the street :)

That is all.

Bigger Steps

Guess where all those baby steps from my last post led me this week? Straight to NaNoWriMo. For those who don't know, this is National Novel Writing Month. That's where writers, both professional and amateur, buckle down and write 50,000 words in 30 days. It's not too late to start, either - join us here!

In my last post, Wee Steps, I mentioned that the words were not coming easily. So I took baby steps in getting them out by writing letters to friends. That way I didn't have to worry about quality or quantity, I only had to get them out.

Well...

With nanowrimo, the emphasis is squarely and totally on word count. Quantity over quality. And it was the perfect next step to take.

I had a general story line in mind, complete with flexible log line and opening sentence. But beyond that, I have no idea what's going to happen. This is a total pantsing experience. Not the kind where some bully pulls down your pants in front of everyone, - though sharing what you write feels eerily similar - but the not having an outline kind. Plot vs Pants. For me, for this one, it's completely by the seat of my pants. Does thinking about it before I fall asleep count as plotting? Prolly not.

So I set a daily word goal of 2500, breaking it into a morning run of 1250 and an after-the-kids-are-in-bed-hopefully-before-midnight one also of 1250. And wouldn't you know? I hit it. And in just over an hour each time. It's amazing how fast you can write when you aren't shedding blood, sweat, or tears over every word (and then end up changing them anyway once you start editing). But that's the whole point of nanowrimo - silencing your inner critic.

I have never written so much in so little time. I'm actually starting to believe that I'll have a whole book by November 30th.

The best part is that under all those words, a story is starting to emerge.

And I can't wait to see how it ends!

¡Buen Provecho!

Wednesday Writer Workout Tip: Wee Steps

That's right, wee. Not Wii. As in baby. Baby steps. Baby steps on the bus. 10 points if you know what movie that's from!

But seriously. There are those days when baby steps are the equivalent of leaps and bounds. Like when the workout, or the words, just won't happen. Notice I didn't say can't. Can't implies that the workout/words are out of our control, and they are not. But some days are definitely harder than others.

Right now, I just can't, um, I mean won't, pick up another Wii remote or play one more game of tennis. Or even look at a treadmill. Or an exercise bike. Or yoga video. Get the picture?

I also won't open one more note book or type another consonant or vowel, let alone string them together to form an entire word.

This is where the baby steps come in.

The quantity isn't always the goal, workout or writing. These days, for me, it's not even the quality. It simply is the doing. The baby steps.

So my baby steps for working out are donning my spiffy new Shape Up shoes
and parking in the furthest spot at the Wally World. Or the grocery story. Or the library. Getting the picture again?

My baby steps for words: letter writing. Connecting with friends I haven't written in a while, electronic or otherwise. That way my words don't have to be perfect, or even correct. They can just be.

And you know the funny thing about baby steps? They grow.

So take a baby step with whatever you're struggling to do. You never know where you'll end up.

¡Buen Provecho!

And Now for Something Completely Different

Me at the Happiest Place on Earth with my Nightmare Before Christmas Mickey ears and a white chocolate and caramel apple Jack. I may not eat for a week.

 
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Agents Revealed!

This week, Ms. Snark revealed the agents for her annual Baker's Dozen Auction. And what a list it is! If you have a finished MS, you must get involved with this. It's an opportunity akin to a writer's conference without the travel and expense. I can't wait!!

The 2nd Annual Baker's Dozen All-Star Line-up!

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT

Our list is official, and I'm pleased to announce this year's sparkling array of agents.

The 2011 Baker's Dozen Agent Auction participating agents:

1. Jenny Bent (Bent Agency)
2. Laura Bradford (Bradford Literary)
3. Danielle Chiotti (Upstart Crow)
4. Sarah Davies (Greenhouse Literary)
5. Josh Getzler (Hannigan Salky Getzler)
6. Weronika Janczuk (Franklin and Siegal)
7. Melissa Jeglinski (Knight Agency)
8. Sarah LaPolla (Curtis Brown)
9. Jennifer Laughran (Andrea Brown)
10. Lauren MacLeod (Strothman Agency)
11. Victoria Marini (Gelfman Schneider)
12. Ammi-Joan Paquette (Erin Murphy)
13. Tamar Rydzinski (Laura Dail)
14. Kari Stuart (ICM Talent)
15. Danielle Svetcov (Levine Greenberg)
16. Michelle Wolfson (Wolfson Literary)

In addition to being on the auction block, all 60 entries will receive critique from an editor and a published author.

The Editors:

Gabrielle Harbowy of Dragon Moon Press, adult

Sarah Shumway of Katherine Tegen Books (Harper Collins), YA/MG

The Authors:

Nancy Bilyeau, author of THE CROWN, a historical thriller set in Tudor England, to be published by Simon and Schuster's Touchstone in January 2012, and six foreign countries. adult


Amanda Sun, author of INK WASH, the first in a YA paranormal series set in Japan, debuting in late 2012 by Harlequin Teen. YA/MG

And of course all the entries will also be open to critique by our entire blog community as well.

Let's have a huge round applause for this magnificent collection of talent and energy!


Next week is October break, which means a house full of kids and a sky full of autumn. Yes, we do have autumn here in Phoenix. It's that special time of year marked by the changing of colors of licence plates. So, stay tuned for something completely different.

¡Buen Provecho!