My December Goals

Well, my goals for the month of November didn't get reached, but I came pretty close, especially considering I had to take about 2 weeks off due to different things coming up. I managed to get the first draft of Part 2 of my novel (chapters 18-27) done and I've gotten started on Part 3 and completed chapters 28 and 29. Since I wasn't able to commit the full month to my goals, I've decided to extend them into the month of December. My new goals will be...

• Finish rough and first draft of Part 3 (chapters 30-42)
• Work on a short story connected to my novel for an anthology due in Janurary

I think my goals are doable, and I can't wait to see what the months of December will bring! So what are your goals for this last month of the year?

Unofficial NaNoWriMo

It's November and you know what that means... NaNoWriMo. Oh yeah!!! I am sending happy thoughts to all you wonderful souls out there gearing up for this great challenge. I too plan on participating, but unofficially. I don't have a new novel to work on, so have opted to work on the one I've been writing for the past six months (Blood Feud), so that means I won't be able to do the real deal. That's not stopping me from setting my own goals!

My goals for the month of November...

Marathon Writer: Riding the High

Picture taken by my bored and frustrated son.

Well, I just finished probably one of the most intense writing sessions ever since the writing bug bit me a little over 6 years ago. I can hardly believe it, but I managed a whopping 45,000 words in one week on a new novel idea. Yep, 45,000 in ONE week. The most I ever wrote in a stretch was 50,000, which was over a full month for the NaNoWriMo in 2010, so for me this is HUGE deal.

NaNoWriMo Alternative Challenge: A Month in Reflection

Today marks the last day of November and the last day of my NaNoWriMo alternative challenge. My original goal was to complete 15,000 words on a work in progress novella called Fahrenheit, as well as to keep up with my two blogs and other writing. I also had a side challenge to write everyday and read everyday, something I had not been doing like I should the last several months. Did I reach my goals? Did I reach my goal of 15,000 words. Yes and No.

NaNoWriMo Challenge Success!

It's a week into November and the NaNoWriMo contest, or in my case the NaNoWriMo alternative challenge. Last week I was all ready to start writing and get the ball rolling, except when I actually sat down to write, I couldn't come up with two coherent words to put together. This puzzled me for a bit, because I had done NaNo (the official contest) and other unofficial NaNo challenges with no problem. After a few hours of no progress, I hung up my spurs and decided to get something out of the day and spent a much needed time with the Hubbie. The rest of the week I reflected on why I had trouble and came to the conclusion that I had been so focused on other things that I was incapable of doing the challenge, so I had to make the decision of whether I would bail on the contest or continue.

NaNoWriMo Alternative Challenge Fumble

It's November 1st are you ready to write? Apparently, I'm not. My big kick off has yielded a big fat ZERO. I sat down this morning to start writing on a story that I set aside the beginning of the Summer and realized why I set it aside in the first place. It has great characters, inner conflicts, but the setting is off and I can't seem to nail it down. So what does that mean for my story Fahrenheit, and the November challenge? Well, it has taught me I shouldn't wait to the day of a challenge to tackle a shelved story. I should have dusted it off last week or even a few days ago.

2 Ways to Be a Better Writer

Writing is a love affair of words and emotion, but there is also much more to it. There is a lot of work that is involved that includes perfecting craft, plot, character and much more. A writer's journey never ends as he or she blazes the trail of art and soul. The further along that trail a writer travels, the more he or she realizes that perfection will never be achieved, only stages of good and bad writing; however, a writer can accomplish better writing by putting into practice two very important things. Are you ready for the most important advice you will ever get?

NaNoWriMo: An Alternative Challenge

It's almost that time again. November is just around the corner, which means it's NaNoWriMo again. Are you ready to pump out 50,000 words in 30 days? It's a great way to work on that novel or novella you've been putting off. It's a great challenge to see what you are made of and how far you can push yourself. I did the challenge in 2009 and managed to complete 50,000 words with two days to spare! It was fun, exciting, as well as, an eye-opener of my limitations and capabilities as a writer (when I started it, I really didn't think I would be able to make the 50,000 word goal, but I pushed through anyways). It taught me how to write without the inner editor, the creative benefits of writing everyday, how to organize my life so that I could write everyday and that I could push myself to reach any goal if I wanted it bad enough. It also taught me how exhausting writing 50,000 words in a month is and that I really don't need to do that again any time soon. One time was enough, but I highly recommend the challenge if you have not tried it before. If you want to learn more about the official NaNoWriMo check it out here.