It's that time of year again, normally my favorite time of year, but we'll get to why I can't exactly say that quite this year. First, though, NaNoWriMo! I think I'm going to be using my writing tumblr again this year because I have almost no memory of the things I posted there from last year - ah, my memory.
Now - onto the life part of this post really quick. You've probably noticed, or maybe you haven't I understand, that I've barely been posting here - mostly just wrap ups or for read-a-thon - well there is a very good reason for that. I've been stressed. Like - more stressed then I thought possible.
I think I mentioned I moved on this blog - if not, I moved! Into an apartment, it's a studio loft and I really like it. However, there's still construction going on in the other part of the building, our side of the building isn't really done either. Oh, and my heater has decided not to work sometimes and it is louder then hell. (I'm not joking, it's fucking loud). Also, currently, there are beetles. How are they getting in? I don't know but I'm sick of them.
So it's been a tad stressful, and I've been trying to do some things - filming wrap ups and such - but I just haven't had the mental energy to write reviews. Which is really upsetting me at this point because I've barely posted any this year, and I like writing reviews. And blog posts in general, the last few months, there hasn't been much of anything going up here. I just haven't been able to think, in any direction for anything. I've also not been reading a lot, which I always kind of hate, reading makes me less stressed/anxious.
And that is why NaNo isn't my favorite time of the year this year - it still is, and I think I'll enjoy it a lot more once we get into it and everyones all about it - but I'm so stressed. And the thing is - I shouldn't be. After doing 50k day one last year, 25k is totally doable. And it's a Sunday, no workers here, no construction. Also I normally write over 100k in a normal month, not much of it is original fiction but so what, it's still writing. And I enjoy that writing a hell of a lot.
I'm trying to calm myself down, I just think I put too many things on myself all at once. I decided I needed to have things ready/cooked for November and everything cleaned and what not. And I think the reason I don't want to accept that I can do that in a normal month, is because I love how much I end up spending writing in November if I"m doing it the insane way, I just really fucking enjoy it.
I love NaNoWriMo, and I'm hoping that reiterating these points to myself will help me calm down a little. Now - I am going to go and clean so that that isn't also stressing me out come November. And if you're participating in NaNo let me know! And let me know if you're going for 50k or if you're an overachiever, I'm super curious, and also if you know why my heater hates me, also let me know that.
Happy writing!
Writing Tumblr
Showing posts with label nanowrimo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nanowrimo. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2015
Thursday, December 4, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014 | The End
The last week of NaNoWriMo this year was not the best for me, and I'm already thinking about how I can make next year better. How I can push myself in a more sure way. I like writing all of the words, but I'd like to refocus on stuff and write maybe not all the words (though a lot of them, let's be real here, once you overachieve, you never go back, friends. Be warned).
It was still an okay week. I had one day where I wrote nothing, however, and another day I wrote the equivalent of nothing (I think I wrote 200 words? It's few enough, I'm just skipping that day, too, mostly because I didn't post about it).
And now, after the month, a few days after - I'm still exhausted. And it's not the good 'yes, I fucking did it, take that, novel' exhausted, which is an exhaustion I don't mind and actually kind of revel in, because hell yeah I did it. This exhaustion is sadder, more just sigh.
Though I'm still proud of what I did this year - 300k is nothing to shake a stick at. And I'm overly proud about writing 50k day one but am more convinced then ever about never doing that thing again unless I have a lot of story to write in a limited timeframe. Even then, I'm not so sure about it, honestly.
Saying this, I'll probably still be considering joining the lovely, and as insane as me, overachievers who end up doing it every year.
If you participated this year - I hope it went well, at least, and I'd love to hear a sum up of your month. Or let me know if you posted some kind of wrap up (just the month/weekly/whatever). And if you're on the fence - next year! Even if you on'y write ten thousand, fifteen thousand, twenty five - that's that many words that I'm sure you wouldn't of written otherwise. November makes you push yourself - write more then you thought you could or write on a project you thought you were stuck on.
It's more then worth it, trust me, even just giving it a try. I challenge you, next year, NaNoWriMo 2015 - see you there (it'll be my seventh year, which is incredible that this was my sixth).
Day Twenty Two (261,876)
Day Twenty Three (263,323)
Day Twenty Four (273,113)
Day Twenty Five (285,259)
Day Twenty Six (292,129)
Day Twenty Nine (300,613)
Day Thirty (308,128)
NaNoWriMo profile
Writing Tumblr/Blog
It was still an okay week. I had one day where I wrote nothing, however, and another day I wrote the equivalent of nothing (I think I wrote 200 words? It's few enough, I'm just skipping that day, too, mostly because I didn't post about it).
And now, after the month, a few days after - I'm still exhausted. And it's not the good 'yes, I fucking did it, take that, novel' exhausted, which is an exhaustion I don't mind and actually kind of revel in, because hell yeah I did it. This exhaustion is sadder, more just sigh.
Though I'm still proud of what I did this year - 300k is nothing to shake a stick at. And I'm overly proud about writing 50k day one but am more convinced then ever about never doing that thing again unless I have a lot of story to write in a limited timeframe. Even then, I'm not so sure about it, honestly.
Saying this, I'll probably still be considering joining the lovely, and as insane as me, overachievers who end up doing it every year.
If you participated this year - I hope it went well, at least, and I'd love to hear a sum up of your month. Or let me know if you posted some kind of wrap up (just the month/weekly/whatever). And if you're on the fence - next year! Even if you on'y write ten thousand, fifteen thousand, twenty five - that's that many words that I'm sure you wouldn't of written otherwise. November makes you push yourself - write more then you thought you could or write on a project you thought you were stuck on.
It's more then worth it, trust me, even just giving it a try. I challenge you, next year, NaNoWriMo 2015 - see you there (it'll be my seventh year, which is incredible that this was my sixth).
Day Twenty Two (261,876)
Day Twenty Three (263,323)
Day Twenty Four (273,113)
Day Twenty Five (285,259)
Day Twenty Six (292,129)
Day Twenty Nine (300,613)
Day Thirty (308,128)
NaNoWriMo profile
Writing Tumblr/Blog
Saturday, November 22, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014 | Week Three
Week three was rough, this whole month has been hard because I'm an idiot and strive for ridiculous goals, but I always find week two and three the hardest. Week two is notorious for being bad, but I always find week three just as bad because for me the end isn't in sight yet, until the very end, maybe, and week four, I know, is going to be ridiculously hard in it's own right, but at least the end is close enough to taste then.
To break it down for you - my accidental goal is 400k, which is 400,000 words. Which means I have to write 100,000 words every week. This is the top I'll probably ever be able to do, and now that I'm so close, I just want to hit it, I want to be able to say - look, I did it. And then sleep for a week.
I wrote that beginning on day sixteen (maybe?), I believe, trying to just prepare this post a little early so I could have it up on time and blah, blah. And I just gave in on the twentieth. That's not how I feel anymore, and it's not my goal. I don't think I have enough planned out or can physically do it. I'm exhausted and worn down and so burned out that I can barely force myself to finish this post because I just want to stare blankly at something and sleep.
I don't know what I'm going to hit this year, for a goal, but I do want to keep writing. I did take kind of two days off so far, though, just because of exhaustion and burn outness.
I hope your NaNo's are going well - that last week down hill slide should kick in any day now and then it's like you're flying to 50k (or whatever you're goal it). I hope it kicks in for me, if I can find my brain again.
Day Fifteen (207,172)
Day Sixteen (223,603)
Day Seventeen (228,073)
Day Eighteen (242,053)
Day Nineteen (253,150)
Day Twenty (254,264)
Day Twenty One (255,525)
And while I may not have written on the twentieth, I did bleach my hair. And isn't that kind of win? (I've never done it before, I'm surprisingly pleased with how it came out. Do any of you guys do that or have done it? Or had it done? I'm curious).
To break it down for you - my accidental goal is 400k, which is 400,000 words. Which means I have to write 100,000 words every week. This is the top I'll probably ever be able to do, and now that I'm so close, I just want to hit it, I want to be able to say - look, I did it. And then sleep for a week.
I wrote that beginning on day sixteen (maybe?), I believe, trying to just prepare this post a little early so I could have it up on time and blah, blah. And I just gave in on the twentieth. That's not how I feel anymore, and it's not my goal. I don't think I have enough planned out or can physically do it. I'm exhausted and worn down and so burned out that I can barely force myself to finish this post because I just want to stare blankly at something and sleep.
I don't know what I'm going to hit this year, for a goal, but I do want to keep writing. I did take kind of two days off so far, though, just because of exhaustion and burn outness.
I hope your NaNo's are going well - that last week down hill slide should kick in any day now and then it's like you're flying to 50k (or whatever you're goal it). I hope it kicks in for me, if I can find my brain again.
Day Fifteen (207,172)
Day Sixteen (223,603)
Day Seventeen (228,073)
Day Eighteen (242,053)
Day Nineteen (253,150)
Day Twenty (254,264)
Day Twenty One (255,525)
And while I may not have written on the twentieth, I did bleach my hair. And isn't that kind of win? (I've never done it before, I'm surprisingly pleased with how it came out. Do any of you guys do that or have done it? Or had it done? I'm curious).
Sunday, November 16, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014 | Week Two
Week two is notoriously the worst of the weeks. And it wasn't a good one for me this year. Saying that - I kept on track and I'm technically one day ahead as of writing this (early morning day fifteen as I remembered these, panicked because I felt like I missed one because it felt like months, and then realized I hadn't!)
Staying on track, though, and having a good week aren't the same in NaNoWriMo - mostly because i should of been able to stay far ahead, since I got that 50k jumps start, but a 50k jump start doesn't mean much when you oops, I'm going for 400k. No, that's fine, that's not completely terrifying.
If any of you have large NaNo goals, or are thinking of it for next year, literally the most important thing I can offer you (besides just write) is to take it in small chunks. Don't lie to yourself about where you are, but take it in small chunks. And being a day ahead probably wouldn't hurt, I try to stay a day ahead, we'll see how this goes.
I think the worst part of doing NaNoWriMo again is knowing that you can't stop week two from affecting you, at least I haven't found a way. I also haven't found a way to make those 50k chunks easier - 30k's are always so hard why.
Overall, I'll happy with my progress this second week. But I'm also very angry at myself. Why did I decide to do this? We were going to have a leisure NaNoWriMo. 100k, probably 200k, and plenty of time to do other things. Ha, nope. I apparently hate myself.
Day Eight (119,165)
Day Nine (135,439)
Day Ten (147,021)
Day Eleven (161,712)
Day Twelve (175,405)
Day Thirteen (182,102)
Day Fourteen (203, 092)
Looking back on 2013, it's kind of strange to think I was on track to hit 400k at this point then, I also hit 200k on the 14th. It seems I can't go much faster then this. We'll see if I can keep this up or I'll end up fizzling a bit, like in 2013 (there were a few days were it looks like I wrote barely anything, probably less the 5k).
Now that I'm trying to reach this goal, though, I do want to reach it. On the other hand, I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't because my own mental health is important to me.
I miss reading. And outside. (.... really, mostly reading)
If you're participating - what's your word count? Are you on track for your goal (be it 50k or whatever, I'm curious, week two is rough)? And how are you feeling - about the writing in word terms, and in story terms?
Staying on track, though, and having a good week aren't the same in NaNoWriMo - mostly because i should of been able to stay far ahead, since I got that 50k jumps start, but a 50k jump start doesn't mean much when you oops, I'm going for 400k. No, that's fine, that's not completely terrifying.
If any of you have large NaNo goals, or are thinking of it for next year, literally the most important thing I can offer you (besides just write) is to take it in small chunks. Don't lie to yourself about where you are, but take it in small chunks. And being a day ahead probably wouldn't hurt, I try to stay a day ahead, we'll see how this goes.
I think the worst part of doing NaNoWriMo again is knowing that you can't stop week two from affecting you, at least I haven't found a way. I also haven't found a way to make those 50k chunks easier - 30k's are always so hard why.
Overall, I'll happy with my progress this second week. But I'm also very angry at myself. Why did I decide to do this? We were going to have a leisure NaNoWriMo. 100k, probably 200k, and plenty of time to do other things. Ha, nope. I apparently hate myself.
Day Eight (119,165)
Day Nine (135,439)
Day Ten (147,021)
Day Eleven (161,712)
Day Twelve (175,405)
Day Thirteen (182,102)
Day Fourteen (203, 092)
Looking back on 2013, it's kind of strange to think I was on track to hit 400k at this point then, I also hit 200k on the 14th. It seems I can't go much faster then this. We'll see if I can keep this up or I'll end up fizzling a bit, like in 2013 (there were a few days were it looks like I wrote barely anything, probably less the 5k).
Now that I'm trying to reach this goal, though, I do want to reach it. On the other hand, I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't because my own mental health is important to me.
I miss reading. And outside. (.... really, mostly reading)
If you're participating - what's your word count? Are you on track for your goal (be it 50k or whatever, I'm curious, week two is rough)? And how are you feeling - about the writing in word terms, and in story terms?
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
November - Why there aren't going to be more posts here
Alright, that's a bit of a long title, and the answer is probably too simple: I'm writing. I'm literally putting all of my energy into writing and then, some lucky days, reading some. The thing is, I'd probably be able to write a few posts and get them up this month, but there's a problem - I don't know what I should write because I'm not really reading and all my brain power is being put into writing.
I have a few ideas for posts, the ones I've been circling around in my head, and I know there are some reviews that I'm long overdue for (and I'm still behind on my mini-reviews, as always). But I literally have no brain power at the moment to do that.
I actually forgot about writing up my NaNoWriMo week one wrap up until the day it was suppose to be posted (or the day after that, I can't remember. I also am pretty sure I mentioned that in said post, but it bares repeating to make the point).
Basically - I'm so sorry, I will try and make up for it in December, and I do have a lot of mosts I should be getting up that'll probably be going up then (I'll write them after I sleep for three days, read, and blindly stare at the wall). I also feel like I've just been in a blogging slump, mostly because I feel like I was in a little bit of reading slump (and then as soon as I wanted to read all the things... HA, sucker, it's writing time. Dammit). Anyway, I already can't wait for December to read, hopefully that'll stay around, and I am hopeful it will because stress needs books.
I hope your November is not sapping all of your brain power and energy. Or at least that it's worth it (like NaNo is to me). I hope to see you all in December, hopefully I'm still in one piece.
(Also - apologies for any mistakes, I wrote this in a few minutes and scheduled it, just making sure there were no red squiggles. I honestly did that and laid down to pass out - it's that kind of month, my friends. Maybe I could do a WWW Wednesday to talk about The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves... maybe I'll save it for next week, talking to myself in posts is probably not a sign of sanity).
(You might have seen this accidentally go up after I wrote it - I'm sorry, forgot the scheduling thingy. This is the least... not profession, but maybe sane, post I hope you'll ever see here. Have a good and nice day/night/week/month/year/life).
I have a few ideas for posts, the ones I've been circling around in my head, and I know there are some reviews that I'm long overdue for (and I'm still behind on my mini-reviews, as always). But I literally have no brain power at the moment to do that.
I actually forgot about writing up my NaNoWriMo week one wrap up until the day it was suppose to be posted (or the day after that, I can't remember. I also am pretty sure I mentioned that in said post, but it bares repeating to make the point).
Basically - I'm so sorry, I will try and make up for it in December, and I do have a lot of mosts I should be getting up that'll probably be going up then (I'll write them after I sleep for three days, read, and blindly stare at the wall). I also feel like I've just been in a blogging slump, mostly because I feel like I was in a little bit of reading slump (and then as soon as I wanted to read all the things... HA, sucker, it's writing time. Dammit). Anyway, I already can't wait for December to read, hopefully that'll stay around, and I am hopeful it will because stress needs books.
I hope your November is not sapping all of your brain power and energy. Or at least that it's worth it (like NaNo is to me). I hope to see you all in December, hopefully I'm still in one piece.
(Also - apologies for any mistakes, I wrote this in a few minutes and scheduled it, just making sure there were no red squiggles. I honestly did that and laid down to pass out - it's that kind of month, my friends. Maybe I could do a WWW Wednesday to talk about The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves... maybe I'll save it for next week, talking to myself in posts is probably not a sign of sanity).
(You might have seen this accidentally go up after I wrote it - I'm sorry, forgot the scheduling thingy. This is the least... not profession, but maybe sane, post I hope you'll ever see here. Have a good and nice day/night/week/month/year/life).
Sunday, November 9, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014 | Week One
First off, if you don't know what NaNoWriMo is - it's a writing challenge that is to write 50,000 words in a month (November, to be specific). And I've been tweeting and updating my writing tumblr daily.
I meant to do this and post this on the eighth, after the first full week (seven days) of NaNoWriMo - but among all the writing and trying to squeeze reading in, it just completely slipped my mind. It might be a bit late, technically, but I still wanted to do it.
So I posted a picture of my stats on my writing tumblr for every day this week, so I won't post them here as well. However:
Day One (50,210)
Day Two (60,278)
Day Three (67,654)
Day Four (77,870)
Day Five (88,109)
Day Six (101,337)
Day Seven (109,087)
And I did it! I wrote 50,000 words day one. I wrote fifty thousand words on day one. I'm still bewildered and confused and it's a blur of sugar, caffeine, and never ending typing. I'm also ridiculously proud of myself, so there's that.
It's been a good first week - but I haven't made as much progress on one particularly story as I hoped. Still, I can't even be mad at myself because day one was fantastic, and that's the big thing I wanted to do this year. I mean it'd be great to beat last years total, but I know, and have fully accepted, that it isn't going to happen this year.
If you are doing NaNoWriMo - let me know how it's going! Are you keeping on par with your word count? Did you try and squirrel away some extra words for the coming week two blues? (Most people get it, it's like as soon as you hit the 30k's and just splat. If you don't - I salute and envy you!)
I hope you're all doing fantastic. And, if you're behind, keep writing - don't give up. It's only the end of week one, you have time to catch up. And, if you know you won't, keep writing anyway. You could get so much more done by keeping moving forward instead of giving up. I know it's hard and sometimes it's downright awful, but I think it's worth it.
Writing Tumblr
Twitter
NaNo Profile
I meant to do this and post this on the eighth, after the first full week (seven days) of NaNoWriMo - but among all the writing and trying to squeeze reading in, it just completely slipped my mind. It might be a bit late, technically, but I still wanted to do it.
So I posted a picture of my stats on my writing tumblr for every day this week, so I won't post them here as well. However:
Day One (50,210)
Day Two (60,278)
Day Three (67,654)
Day Four (77,870)
Day Five (88,109)
Day Six (101,337)
Day Seven (109,087)
And I did it! I wrote 50,000 words day one. I wrote fifty thousand words on day one. I'm still bewildered and confused and it's a blur of sugar, caffeine, and never ending typing. I'm also ridiculously proud of myself, so there's that.
It's been a good first week - but I haven't made as much progress on one particularly story as I hoped. Still, I can't even be mad at myself because day one was fantastic, and that's the big thing I wanted to do this year. I mean it'd be great to beat last years total, but I know, and have fully accepted, that it isn't going to happen this year.
If you are doing NaNoWriMo - let me know how it's going! Are you keeping on par with your word count? Did you try and squirrel away some extra words for the coming week two blues? (Most people get it, it's like as soon as you hit the 30k's and just splat. If you don't - I salute and envy you!)
I hope you're all doing fantastic. And, if you're behind, keep writing - don't give up. It's only the end of week one, you have time to catch up. And, if you know you won't, keep writing anyway. You could get so much more done by keeping moving forward instead of giving up. I know it's hard and sometimes it's downright awful, but I think it's worth it.
Writing Tumblr
NaNo Profile
Thursday, October 23, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014: Not Wanting to Loose My Reading Momentum + Overachieving + More
If you're confused, as to what is going on... NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) takes place in November and it's where you accept the challenge to write a novel, or 50,000 words, in a month. The "overachieving" part is writing more then 50k. The last few years I've been writing more then 50k, steadily going up, and last year I wrote over 350K and I'd still like to write as much as possible, but I don't want to not read all month.
Mostly because I know if I don't read all month, I'll completely loose all the momentum I've got going, and I don't want to do that. I love being able to keep reading, this isn't a normal reading year for me by any stretch. And I've still been writing, everyday. I think I can do this if I completely cut out everything else (YouTube, TV, Tumblr, probably everything that isn't writing or reading) and I think I'm okay with that? (I'll still probably watch some YT/TV stuff for breaks - icing wrists, possibly, and eating).
It's going to exhaust me and burn me out a little, but I love NaNoWriMo. I look forward to November every year specifically because it's NaNo time. I love when the website resets (which it hadn't reset when I was started writing this and now it has), and I normally try not to be too busy in November - setting aside time to get ahead in everything else and outline for November, but I really haven't had time to do that this year.
This year October has been insanely busy, hectic, full of traveling and a reading hangover/slump of epic proportions after finishing the Heroes of Olympus series. And it's another reason why I'm not going to push myself as much this year, because I know it just wouldn't happen, wouldn't do any good to even try, because I' simply not prepared to write that many words in a month (by which I mean trying to beat my previous year), but I still want to write and overachieve and read. And not completely abandon my mom and friends. (and you guys, this blog).
Which all seems impossible, but November always seems impossible. Still, after this month, I'm looking forward to locking myself away and just - not doing too much. I'm an introvert by nature, so I was already exhausted after our first trip.
Overall, besides my personal sides of this year, I cannot recommend NaNoWriMo enough if you're a writer. If you're trying to do a first draft for something or have no idea what you want to write - just go, dive into the forums, talk to people or just lurk, and give it a try. Even if you don't hit the 50k, maybe you'll write 10k, 20k, 30k - that's more words then you'd have if you hadn't tried.
NaNoWriMo is incredibly important to me, and always will be. It's made me more sure of myself as a writer, it's made me a better writer by the practice I've gotten from it. And those crazy, insane, awesome people in the 50k Beyond section of the forums pushed me to write so much last year and I couldn't thank them enough (seriously, they're all fantastic).
I'm going to give you my own tips here, which are definitely in some of the tip videos linked below, but these are what I think are super important.
Just Write. Just do it. It's hard, some days it's awful, but write something everyday. NaNo will teach you writing is not about 'waiting for inspiration to strike,' you just have to do it. You have, if you're aiming for 50k - 1,667 words to write each day, you can't waste anytime. However - if you're super busy one day (traveling, socializing, school/work), then just try and write few hundreds words, or just a hundred so you don't loose momentum on your story.
Don't go back. Yet. I'm actually guilty of going back and reading what I've written in November, but it never ends well. Wait until December. If you need to read the last few hundred words to get back into the story, that's fine, no more and no editing. Don't edit, don't delete a single thing - forward motion.
Pregame. If you jump into November not having written for a while - you're going to be bewildered and those 1,667 words are going to feel like ALL THE WORDS EVER. You should already be trying to do this, write 500 words or 1,000, as much as you can without starting on your NaNo story (or do, be a rebel! No one's going to kick you out, everyone's very nice, and there's a forum for that).
Be prepared to sacrifice things, forcing yourself to make time for writing. Tumblr, maybe not watching as much Netflix or reading as much fan fiction - maybe an hour of sleep. But, honestly, you probably have enough time to fit in those words just cutting a few things out. Writing sprints help and so do friends, who you can be competative with. (Don't have friends doing NaNoWriMo? Go make some - the comments of Kristina's newest video, the forums, you can add me as a writing buddy if you want).
Surprisingly, after so long, I can't think of much of else - because that feels like what you need to know. There's more tips, there always is - but really I think just write is enough. NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite times of year because of the pressure to do it, some people don't work well under that kind of pressure, but apparently I thrive with ridiculous goals and short time periods. However, if you want more peptalks and tips - Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! is fantastic, I read it every year (and now it's, apparently, revised, updated, and expanded! I might of just ordered that copy), but I really love it and it's part of my NaNo experience.
Now - there are many inspirational things (backlog pep talks, for instance), but I still love the videos because I remember watching them and then rewatching them every year to get myself into the mood.
I first heard about NaNo, at least as far as I can remember, through Kristina Horner (YouTuber, Wizard Rocker, All Around Awesome Person - and a new BookTuber). And she makes a new video every year, sometimes more then one.
2009 - Why I Do NaNoWriMo
2010 - NaNoWriMo
2011 - You are a SUPERHERO.
2012 - NO EXCUSES (A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk)
- The Writing Process - A Journey
2013 - 5 Ways to Get Your Novel Written
- Writing a Book in a Month (Filmed Everyday of Nov)
2014 - I'm Calling You Out!
"The NaNoWriMo Song" -- UPDATED!
Speaking of BookTubers - Katytastic has a ton of NaNo videos on her channel, click and just type in 'NaNoWriMo' - there's way too many to link. (she's done vlogging during the month, tip videos - there's a lot).
The lovely (New York Times Bestselling) author Robyn Schnieder also has some videos which I love. NaNoWriMo YWP: How To Vanquish Your Suck Dragons (official video pep talk #1) + 5 Tips for NaNoWriMo
John Green's NANOWRIMO video from 5 years ago is still one of my favorites, just because it's so great.
hayleyghoover's - 5 Reason-o to NaNoWriMo
Other Stuff:
NaNoWriMo YouTube
Chuck Wendig's blog (author). (Some recommended posts: 25 Things You Should do before Starting your Next Novel + Welcome to NaNoWriMo Prep School, Word-Nerds)
Mostly because I know if I don't read all month, I'll completely loose all the momentum I've got going, and I don't want to do that. I love being able to keep reading, this isn't a normal reading year for me by any stretch. And I've still been writing, everyday. I think I can do this if I completely cut out everything else (YouTube, TV, Tumblr, probably everything that isn't writing or reading) and I think I'm okay with that? (I'll still probably watch some YT/TV stuff for breaks - icing wrists, possibly, and eating).
It's going to exhaust me and burn me out a little, but I love NaNoWriMo. I look forward to November every year specifically because it's NaNo time. I love when the website resets (which it hadn't reset when I was started writing this and now it has), and I normally try not to be too busy in November - setting aside time to get ahead in everything else and outline for November, but I really haven't had time to do that this year.
This year October has been insanely busy, hectic, full of traveling and a reading hangover/slump of epic proportions after finishing the Heroes of Olympus series. And it's another reason why I'm not going to push myself as much this year, because I know it just wouldn't happen, wouldn't do any good to even try, because I' simply not prepared to write that many words in a month (by which I mean trying to beat my previous year), but I still want to write and overachieve and read. And not completely abandon my mom and friends. (and you guys, this blog).
Which all seems impossible, but November always seems impossible. Still, after this month, I'm looking forward to locking myself away and just - not doing too much. I'm an introvert by nature, so I was already exhausted after our first trip.
Overall, besides my personal sides of this year, I cannot recommend NaNoWriMo enough if you're a writer. If you're trying to do a first draft for something or have no idea what you want to write - just go, dive into the forums, talk to people or just lurk, and give it a try. Even if you don't hit the 50k, maybe you'll write 10k, 20k, 30k - that's more words then you'd have if you hadn't tried.
NaNoWriMo is incredibly important to me, and always will be. It's made me more sure of myself as a writer, it's made me a better writer by the practice I've gotten from it. And those crazy, insane, awesome people in the 50k Beyond section of the forums pushed me to write so much last year and I couldn't thank them enough (seriously, they're all fantastic).
I'm going to give you my own tips here, which are definitely in some of the tip videos linked below, but these are what I think are super important.
Just Write. Just do it. It's hard, some days it's awful, but write something everyday. NaNo will teach you writing is not about 'waiting for inspiration to strike,' you just have to do it. You have, if you're aiming for 50k - 1,667 words to write each day, you can't waste anytime. However - if you're super busy one day (traveling, socializing, school/work), then just try and write few hundreds words, or just a hundred so you don't loose momentum on your story.
Don't go back. Yet. I'm actually guilty of going back and reading what I've written in November, but it never ends well. Wait until December. If you need to read the last few hundred words to get back into the story, that's fine, no more and no editing. Don't edit, don't delete a single thing - forward motion.
Pregame. If you jump into November not having written for a while - you're going to be bewildered and those 1,667 words are going to feel like ALL THE WORDS EVER. You should already be trying to do this, write 500 words or 1,000, as much as you can without starting on your NaNo story (or do, be a rebel! No one's going to kick you out, everyone's very nice, and there's a forum for that).
Be prepared to sacrifice things, forcing yourself to make time for writing. Tumblr, maybe not watching as much Netflix or reading as much fan fiction - maybe an hour of sleep. But, honestly, you probably have enough time to fit in those words just cutting a few things out. Writing sprints help and so do friends, who you can be competative with. (Don't have friends doing NaNoWriMo? Go make some - the comments of Kristina's newest video, the forums, you can add me as a writing buddy if you want).
Surprisingly, after so long, I can't think of much of else - because that feels like what you need to know. There's more tips, there always is - but really I think just write is enough. NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite times of year because of the pressure to do it, some people don't work well under that kind of pressure, but apparently I thrive with ridiculous goals and short time periods. However, if you want more peptalks and tips - Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! is fantastic, I read it every year (and now it's, apparently, revised, updated, and expanded! I might of just ordered that copy), but I really love it and it's part of my NaNo experience.
Now - there are many inspirational things (backlog pep talks, for instance), but I still love the videos because I remember watching them and then rewatching them every year to get myself into the mood.
I first heard about NaNo, at least as far as I can remember, through Kristina Horner (YouTuber, Wizard Rocker, All Around Awesome Person - and a new BookTuber). And she makes a new video every year, sometimes more then one.
2009 - Why I Do NaNoWriMo
2010 - NaNoWriMo
2011 - You are a SUPERHERO.
2012 - NO EXCUSES (A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk)
- The Writing Process - A Journey
2013 - 5 Ways to Get Your Novel Written
- Writing a Book in a Month (Filmed Everyday of Nov)
2014 - I'm Calling You Out!
"The NaNoWriMo Song" -- UPDATED!
Speaking of BookTubers - Katytastic has a ton of NaNo videos on her channel, click and just type in 'NaNoWriMo' - there's way too many to link. (she's done vlogging during the month, tip videos - there's a lot).
The lovely (New York Times Bestselling) author Robyn Schnieder also has some videos which I love. NaNoWriMo YWP: How To Vanquish Your Suck Dragons (official video pep talk #1) + 5 Tips for NaNoWriMo
John Green's NANOWRIMO video from 5 years ago is still one of my favorites, just because it's so great.
hayleyghoover's - 5 Reason-o to NaNoWriMo
Other Stuff:
NaNoWriMo YouTube
Chuck Wendig's blog (author). (Some recommended posts: 25 Things You Should do before Starting your Next Novel + Welcome to NaNoWriMo Prep School, Word-Nerds)
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Do you have an idea in mind? Are you aiming for 50k or are you aiming lower or higher?
Friday, December 20, 2013
November, half of December, and why I don't post here more
Honestly, I probably couldn't give you a reason why I don't post here more. I mean, there's the fact that I do tend to over think and agonize over posts and normally just kind of stare blankly if I open a blank blog entry. But I think the main reason is because I started this blog purely for book reviews. And - that's what it's for, but also I feel like maybe I could use it for more. I'd also really like to switch over to a wordpress thing and get kind of more freedom but - I don't actually know what I'd do with more freedom since I kind of like blogger.
Anyway, onto some actual news, I guess. November. NaNoWriMo. I kept meaning to write up like quick update posts during the month but I was basically brain dead if I wasn't writing or not like physically drinking some caffeinated beverage at the time. To just give you a hint into how truly insane my month was, here's a hint:
This is what my NaNo page looked like at the end of the month, so my end word count was 367k, my brain hurts just thinking about that, in all honesty, I don't know how I did it (probably the overachiever people, in their own forum subject area now yayyy, being super awesome).
Anyway, I do hope to actually post here more, it'll probably be book things, maybe some other stuff if I feel adventurous, but I've noticed when I blog more, I read more, and that's awesome. So that's my update, I guess, I might end up figuring out a schedule for 2014 and I have some - a lot of - catching up to do.
Anyway, onto some actual news, I guess. November. NaNoWriMo. I kept meaning to write up like quick update posts during the month but I was basically brain dead if I wasn't writing or not like physically drinking some caffeinated beverage at the time. To just give you a hint into how truly insane my month was, here's a hint:
This is what my NaNo page looked like at the end of the month, so my end word count was 367k, my brain hurts just thinking about that, in all honesty, I don't know how I did it (probably the overachiever people, in their own forum subject area now yayyy, being super awesome).
Anyway, I do hope to actually post here more, it'll probably be book things, maybe some other stuff if I feel adventurous, but I've noticed when I blog more, I read more, and that's awesome. So that's my update, I guess, I might end up figuring out a schedule for 2014 and I have some - a lot of - catching up to do.
Friday, November 1, 2013
October Wrap-Up / November TBR
October:
November:
Yeah, I'm not going to be reading at all. I'm doing NaNoWriMo and that's kind of it, and I'm overachieving in it. (Writing more then the 50,000 words, my goal is 300/350k. Yes, I am crazy, don't even ask).
So I'm not really not going to get ay books read, kind of sadly, but - the first week of December I will probably just read that first week and can hopefully get some books read and finished (especially ones I'm currently reading for the New Year. Gah. New Year. How the hell did it get to being almost 2014?)
If you want to follow my NaNoWriMo progress and laugh at my wrist pain. NaNo profile, Twitter.
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
- Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Dark Currents (Agent of Hel #1) by Jacqueline Carey
- Grave Peril (Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher
- Coraline: The Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman
- The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan
- The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan
I ended up reading The Legend of Sleep Hollow because of the new TV show, which you need to watch. I mean, read the short story, it's good, but the TV show is just really good guys. I have no excuse for the second book except it was on my Kindle (I don't remember why) and it was four am and I couldn't sleep and then I just wanted to know how it ended, even if I kind of wanted to rip my eyes out.
Dark Currents was a fantastic book, I've barely started the second one but I am really loving this series so far and I've realized how much I adore this author. Also, House of Hades. I mean holy cheerleader batman, I mean seriously. The Blood of Olympus is probably my most anticpated book of next year, I just - I want to know what happens, I hope it's really long and I want a Nico point of view chapter (or I will riot, not really, but I want to see in his head so badly).
Wow, I rambled, I guess I'm in the writing mood (which is definitely good), so I will probably not see you until December.
November:
Yeah, I'm not going to be reading at all. I'm doing NaNoWriMo and that's kind of it, and I'm overachieving in it. (Writing more then the 50,000 words, my goal is 300/350k. Yes, I am crazy, don't even ask).
So I'm not really not going to get ay books read, kind of sadly, but - the first week of December I will probably just read that first week and can hopefully get some books read and finished (especially ones I'm currently reading for the New Year. Gah. New Year. How the hell did it get to being almost 2014?)
If you want to follow my NaNoWriMo progress and laugh at my wrist pain. NaNo profile, Twitter.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
NaNoWriMo 2013
I've been doing NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, for few years, starting to feel like I have somethings to say. I don't want to say wisdom, because I feel like I've been doing it for such a little time compared to some others. My first year was 2009, I'd just started high school and was looking for something to write something other then Harry Potter fan fiction. Kristina Horner's video that year convinced me. (She's done one every year for a while and at the bottom of this post you'll find links to all of them and to some others!) I've been doing it since 2009 and did every Camp and Script Frenzy (rest in peace) since then.
And if you're staring at this post going 'great, but what the hell is it?' Well, my dears, it is a insane month where so, so many people try to write 50k! Or less or more. Personally, I've been part of the 'overachievers' club for the last couple of years now. It's certainly been an interesting thing to try and write even more then 50k. My goal this year is 250k, but I'd really like to hit 300k. If you're at all interested, overachievers have their own forums this year on the NaNo site, Beyond 50k!
The point, though, about this post is that if you've ever wanted to write a novel or have an idea if your head, maybe NaNo is the right place. If 50k seems too much to write in one months because you have this or that, just - give it a shot. Maybe aim for 30k, 20k, just try to make as much time as you can, cutting out the stuff you don't need and that will be there come December.
Now, my main advice for NaNoWriMo, if you're going to do it, is to know whether you're a pantser or a planner in advance. Also, you might want to check out Chris Baty's book, because it is lovely. Chris Baty, by the way, is the one who created NaNoWriMo in 1999.
Also: writing buddies. Checking in the comments of Kristina's 2013 video can help or you can add me on the NaNo website. If you've got any questions, feel free to just ask them in the comments. Happy writing! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got like four novels I should be planning out.
Now, to try and convince you, some people who can talk about this way better then I ever could.
Kristina Horner:
2009 - Why I Do NaNoWriMo
2010 - NANOWRIMO
2011 - You are a SUPERHERO
2012 - NO EXCUSES (a NaNoWriMo pep talk)
2013 - 5 Ways to Get Your Novel Written
NaNoWriMo (updated) music video (just do it)
John Green's video from 2009
NaNoWriMo!!!
Little Book Owl (a BookTuber who I love) did an awesome video that, if you have no idea how to do NaNoWriMo, has pretty much all the advice I could ever offer you
How To NaNoWriMo
A friend of mine (and awesome author) Robyn Schneider did an official pep talk for the YWP, young writers program, and she talks about suck dragons so....
NaNoWriMo YWP: How To Vanquish Your Suck Dragons
And if you're staring at this post going 'great, but what the hell is it?' Well, my dears, it is a insane month where so, so many people try to write 50k! Or less or more. Personally, I've been part of the 'overachievers' club for the last couple of years now. It's certainly been an interesting thing to try and write even more then 50k. My goal this year is 250k, but I'd really like to hit 300k. If you're at all interested, overachievers have their own forums this year on the NaNo site, Beyond 50k!
The point, though, about this post is that if you've ever wanted to write a novel or have an idea if your head, maybe NaNo is the right place. If 50k seems too much to write in one months because you have this or that, just - give it a shot. Maybe aim for 30k, 20k, just try to make as much time as you can, cutting out the stuff you don't need and that will be there come December.
Now, my main advice for NaNoWriMo, if you're going to do it, is to know whether you're a pantser or a planner in advance. Also, you might want to check out Chris Baty's book, because it is lovely. Chris Baty, by the way, is the one who created NaNoWriMo in 1999.
Also: writing buddies. Checking in the comments of Kristina's 2013 video can help or you can add me on the NaNo website. If you've got any questions, feel free to just ask them in the comments. Happy writing! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got like four novels I should be planning out.
Now, to try and convince you, some people who can talk about this way better then I ever could.
Kristina Horner:
2009 - Why I Do NaNoWriMo
2010 - NANOWRIMO
2011 - You are a SUPERHERO
2012 - NO EXCUSES (a NaNoWriMo pep talk)
2013 - 5 Ways to Get Your Novel Written
NaNoWriMo (updated) music video (just do it)
John Green's video from 2009
NaNoWriMo!!!
Little Book Owl (a BookTuber who I love) did an awesome video that, if you have no idea how to do NaNoWriMo, has pretty much all the advice I could ever offer you
How To NaNoWriMo
A friend of mine (and awesome author) Robyn Schneider did an official pep talk for the YWP, young writers program, and she talks about suck dragons so....
NaNoWriMo YWP: How To Vanquish Your Suck Dragons
Monday, December 3, 2012
I apologize (again) and December TBR
And I am once again apologizing about not posting. I'm just not very good at posting regularly, apparently, I was getting better at it. It's not even lack of ideas or lack of stuff to share, I just forget. November is just the most crazy month and this past one was even crazier then normal. November for me in NaNoWriMo and since I barely had time to sleep, I had even less time to blog. November is National Novel Writing Month. Well, it is for me, anyway. For those of you scratching your head in confusion, NaNoWriMo is a month long writing project where you try to write a novel or 50,000 (50k) words in a month. It's insane and awful and my favorite month of the year.
And I devote any free time I'm not going school work to writing. And it definitely paid off this year. I overachieved last year, aimed for more then 50k, and this year my goal was 150k and I blew past that and ended up over 220,000 thousands words. So my not blogging showed, I just wish that I had remembered to schedule some posts.
Now onto my December TBR, I'm not even going to bother to do a November wrap-up because I read1 short thing and listened to an audiobook so it's not even worth the words. However, I now have 11 books I need to read to reach my goal of 100 books. And that's doable for me if I just focus on reading, which I really want to do having not gotten any reading done in November.
So there a couple books for some book clubs and such. There are also a couple books that I'm in the middle of.
Book Clubs:
And one of my book clubs is reading the Hobbit. I kind of want to read The Lord of the Rings before it, yes I saw the movies but I still want to read the books, and the Hobbit is coming out very soon. So I don't know if that will happen, but I'm hoping.
Currently-Reading (and would like to finish this month):
I am hoping you all take my apologizes for being such a bad blogger in November and maybe now that I have a desktop, I'll be able to get more on top of everything. Hopefully. I love blogging and reading and I really am hoping I can make extra time for it. I hope your days/weeks/months were well and, hopefully, I'll be posting again very soon.
And I devote any free time I'm not going school work to writing. And it definitely paid off this year. I overachieved last year, aimed for more then 50k, and this year my goal was 150k and I blew past that and ended up over 220,000 thousands words. So my not blogging showed, I just wish that I had remembered to schedule some posts.
Now onto my December TBR, I'm not even going to bother to do a November wrap-up because I read1 short thing and listened to an audiobook so it's not even worth the words. However, I now have 11 books I need to read to reach my goal of 100 books. And that's doable for me if I just focus on reading, which I really want to do having not gotten any reading done in November.
So there a couple books for some book clubs and such. There are also a couple books that I'm in the middle of.
Book Clubs:
- Succubus Blues(Georgia Kincaid #1) by Richelle Meade
- Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken
And one of my book clubs is reading the Hobbit. I kind of want to read The Lord of the Rings before it, yes I saw the movies but I still want to read the books, and the Hobbit is coming out very soon. So I don't know if that will happen, but I'm hoping.
Currently-Reading (and would like to finish this month):
- World War Z by Max Brooks - This books is so very good, the only reason I didn't finish it during November was because of NaNoWriMo.
- How They Met and other stories by David Levithan - I cannot tell you when I started this book, I could look it up on goodreads but that's not the point, it's so good, too, I just need to get to it.
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - I have an ARC of this and I started reading it in like late June/early July and then I haven't picked it up again. I don't know why, either, it was fantastic and I'm about 1/2 way I think.
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - This one has been just a slow read for me, but I'm like to finish it by the end of the year, at least. It's good it's just something about it is making it hard for me.
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I actually need to finish this for school, I'm at the third part, I have to do school stuffs for it. So, basically, I need to finish this one, there's no question about that.
I am hoping you all take my apologizes for being such a bad blogger in November and maybe now that I have a desktop, I'll be able to get more on top of everything. Hopefully. I love blogging and reading and I really am hoping I can make extra time for it. I hope your days/weeks/months were well and, hopefully, I'll be posting again very soon.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Top Ten Tuesday?
Oh uh hello there? Yes i realize i have not posted in forever and so that is why i am here now. I have given up on NaNoWriMo and school is slowing down a bit so i decided to come back to this old thing here. I have not read much lately because of NaNoWriMo but in the past two days i have read three books so reviews by me should hopefully be coming soon. I know Casey has some kind of schedule going on but to be honest i forget what it is. :P I decided today instead of writing a review for you all i would do a weekly meme called "Top Ten Tuesday" which was created by The Broke and the Bookish . This weeks list is:
Top Ten Books on my To be Read list this Winter:
1. Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle: I have been meaning to read this book for forever. I have just been waiting for snow so i can curl up and read it like it was meant to be read.
2. Goliath by Scott Westerfeld: The last book in the Leviathan trilogy has been on my mind since i finished Behemoth but i just have no had time to start it. I love this series though so i am super excited to see how Westerfeld ties everything up.
3. Gone by Micheal Grant: This is series i have been meaning to read since i first saw it in the bookstores. I have heard many amazing things about the books yet for some reason i still have not picked it up and started reading it.
4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin: I have been hearing about this book since BEA last year and every since then i have wanted to read it. The plot entrances me yet i still have not picked it up off my bookshelf for some reason.
5. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin: I think the only reason why i have no picked up this book to read yet is because the size of it intimadates me and the words are so tiny. The plot sounds so intriguing yet it just looks so long and scary :P
6. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick: I remember the first time Casey picked this up in the bookstore because she thought the cover was pretty. She keeps telling me that i need to read it i just have WAY too many books to read so hopefully i will get to this one this month
7. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare: This is a book i am so excited to get this winter. Cassandra Clare is just an amazing story teller and her books always tend to surprise me.
8. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: Every other english class last year got to read this book except mine. My teacher did not like the book so we did not get to read it. I have always wanted to read this book though i just have no had the courage to dive into it yet.
9. Elixir by Hilary Duff: This book i picked up just because it was written by Hilary Duff and she was pretty much my hero when i was younger and i am just really curious if she is actually a good writer.
and lastly,
10. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler: This plot just sounds brilliant and i need this book and my hands right now. I have heard only amazing things about this book and i can not wait to read it.
Okay so there you happy? You got a long post from me finally after like months and months of me being pretty much dead to the world. I promise i will try and post more here and hopefully i will be going book shopping soon to get more books to read and review for you! :)
-- Haley <3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)