Last night we had our first measurable snowfall of the season. Dear son woke up hoping for at least a delay, but the snow had stopped falling shortly after we sent him (begrudgingly) to bed, so no delays today.
I am feeling much more festive as I gaze out the window at the white carpet on the ground and the trees flocked with snow. It has made me realize there are only 17 days until Christmas, and I have all my shopping yet to do! Well, there is always the weekend and the internet!!
Hope you all have a great weekend, and that you are further ahead with your holiday plans than I am!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Changing things up
A few weeks ago, I read this post by Rachel Aaron on increasing your word count as you write. I don't normally care if I write 2,000 words, 200 words, or 10,000 words when I sit down, but the article intrigued me.
See, I am mostly a pantster. Sure I know where I am going to start and where I am going to end, but the middle is filled with winding paths, backtracking, and dead ends.
With NaNo ending, and my word count not where I wanted it to be, I thought I would give Rachel's ideas a try- it certainly couldn't hurt. As you know, I didn't write anything the last week of NaNo, but that didn't mean I wasn't working on my WIP. In fact, I spent most of my free time thinking about each chapter and how to move from one chapter to the next. I created chapter synopses, even marking some dialogue I wanted the character to use, so I could jog my memory when I sat down to write the chapter out.
As of yesterday, I have all the unwritten chapters summarized, waiting for me to sit down and take them from a simple paragraph to a complete chapter. Will my word count improve? Probably, but that wasn't my sole reason for doing this. I found those pesky plot issues that stump me while writing and was able to work through them, fix the illogical things before they happened, so when I sit down to write, I don't have to spend time arguing with myself that this character wouldn't do that, or why doesn't she just do this- it is the logical answer, after all. Those issues have been dealt with, and I am free to create.
How about you? What kind of planning do you do when you write? Would you change it up at all?
My friend, and CP, Fiona Claire is having the opening of her NaNo project critiqued over at Dianne Salerni's blog today. Stop by and let her know what you think.
See, I am mostly a pantster. Sure I know where I am going to start and where I am going to end, but the middle is filled with winding paths, backtracking, and dead ends.
With NaNo ending, and my word count not where I wanted it to be, I thought I would give Rachel's ideas a try- it certainly couldn't hurt. As you know, I didn't write anything the last week of NaNo, but that didn't mean I wasn't working on my WIP. In fact, I spent most of my free time thinking about each chapter and how to move from one chapter to the next. I created chapter synopses, even marking some dialogue I wanted the character to use, so I could jog my memory when I sat down to write the chapter out.
As of yesterday, I have all the unwritten chapters summarized, waiting for me to sit down and take them from a simple paragraph to a complete chapter. Will my word count improve? Probably, but that wasn't my sole reason for doing this. I found those pesky plot issues that stump me while writing and was able to work through them, fix the illogical things before they happened, so when I sit down to write, I don't have to spend time arguing with myself that this character wouldn't do that, or why doesn't she just do this- it is the logical answer, after all. Those issues have been dealt with, and I am free to create.
How about you? What kind of planning do you do when you write? Would you change it up at all?
My friend, and CP, Fiona Claire is having the opening of her NaNo project critiqued over at Dianne Salerni's blog today. Stop by and let her know what you think.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
NaNo wrap up
Happy December 1st!!!! Can you believe the year is almost over? Where did the time go???
The beginning of December brings with it the end of NaNo. This year, my goal was 30,000 words, as I knew there was no way I was going to reach 50,000. Life has become much busier since last year, and I needed to be realistic.
Well, I did not meet my goal, but I am OK with that. If I hadn't been sick last week and most of this week, I probably would have reached it, and maybe surpassed it.
I am very happy to report that I had a word total of 20, 994. I completed a MS (and prepped it for edits) and started a new WIP.
How did your NaNo go?
The beginning of December brings with it the end of NaNo. This year, my goal was 30,000 words, as I knew there was no way I was going to reach 50,000. Life has become much busier since last year, and I needed to be realistic.
Well, I did not meet my goal, but I am OK with that. If I hadn't been sick last week and most of this week, I probably would have reached it, and maybe surpassed it.
I am very happy to report that I had a word total of 20, 994. I completed a MS (and prepped it for edits) and started a new WIP.
How did your NaNo go?
Monday, November 28, 2011
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanskgiving, survived Black Friday with no injuries and all the items you were hunting on your list intact, and are ready for Cyber-Monday.
Our Thanksgiving was very nice, the only Black Friday-ing I did was to the pharmacy (for some cold meds) and to Home Depot followed by the small Wal-Mart in our area for Christmas lights for the outside of the house.
Across Friday and Saturday we Christmased (yes, I know that is not a real word) the house, but without any snow it still feels like Christmas is a long way off.
Our son had his final skating lesson yesterday and was very pleased to have gone from Hockey Level 1 to Hockey Level 4 in five weeks time (we see a huge improvement in his skating, as do his coaches!) He is looking forward to his first game this coming Sunday.
Have a great week! I'll be back Thursday with my final NaNo count.
Our Thanksgiving was very nice, the only Black Friday-ing I did was to the pharmacy (for some cold meds) and to Home Depot followed by the small Wal-Mart in our area for Christmas lights for the outside of the house.
Across Friday and Saturday we Christmased (yes, I know that is not a real word) the house, but without any snow it still feels like Christmas is a long way off.
Our son had his final skating lesson yesterday and was very pleased to have gone from Hockey Level 1 to Hockey Level 4 in five weeks time (we see a huge improvement in his skating, as do his coaches!) He is looking forward to his first game this coming Sunday.
Have a great week! I'll be back Thursday with my final NaNo count.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
I love Thanksgiving. It is a wonderful time to sit and reflect on what I have to be grateful for. So here are some things I am thankful for this year.
My family and friends.
The men and women in the military who give up so much so I can have what I have.
The men and women in law enforcement who serve and protect here at home.
A job I enjoy with co-workers I look forward to seeing everyday.
The support I receive from the writing community.
These are just a few things I wanted to share. What are you thankful for????
My family and friends.
The men and women in the military who give up so much so I can have what I have.
The men and women in law enforcement who serve and protect here at home.
A job I enjoy with co-workers I look forward to seeing everyday.
The support I receive from the writing community.
These are just a few things I wanted to share. What are you thankful for????
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