5 Things I Liked About NaNoWriMo

5 Things I Liked About NaNoWriMo

• Forums - I'm kind of shy, both online and off, so I've never been one to just dive into forums but NaNo's forums are the exception to this rule. You can connect to some really awesome people. gather a wealth of information on all kinds of topics, or play some really silly games while you're procrastinating. You can also find other writers who sympathize with the fact that you characters only want to talk to you about other stories and not the one in which they are the main character. (Normal people usually freak out when you complain about your characters not talking to you.) AND you can find writing buddies to keep you motivated! 

• No Editing - Okay................I totally complained about this rule just about every day. BUT, I think it's a great concept. Writing as much as you can without stopping to edit what you are writing is a great way to get everything out of your head and onto the paper. Not going back and editing later also keeps you from chopping up your word count or from completely deleting your work. I also liked following the "No Editing" rule for (most) of NaNo because it really showed me that I'm a natural editor and I can't NOT edit. I just can't. It drives me crazy and it actually distracts me from my writing because all I can think about it is the fact that I've repeated myself in two different paragraphs and I typed the wrong character name three paragraphs ago. I can't let.it.go. 

• Scrivener - Okay, this isn't technically a NaNo thing but had I not decided to do NaNo and stalked the forums, I probably wouldn't even know about Scrivener and I would be missing out. And if you don't know what Scrivener is, it's possibly the best writing software I have come across yet. You can find it here. 

• An excuse NOT to cook for Thanksgiving - This may not seem like much to most people. Especially those Pinterest Super Moms out in the world but it was like an early birthday present to myself. As soon as I told my wonderful hubs that I wanted to do NaNo this year, he nixed Thanksgiving at our house! (But if I'm being completely honest that's also probably because he married a mediocre cook who tends to get drunk during Thanksgiving dinner). 

• WINNING! - Seriously. And not even just because they made that cool little graphic that I immediately slapped on my blog. Winning NaNo was the best part of NaNo because I finally proved to myself two things: I am a writer. I CAN write a 50,000 word novel. (With the exception of what I actually wrote for NaNo) I am the world's worst procrastinator and I have a stack of manuscripts that are half-written so the fact that I even finished NaNoWriMo with a 50,000 word novel was a feat in itself. And I can't lie. I'm very proud of myself. 

What things did you like about NaNo this year? Better yet, what things did you NOT like about NaNo this year? 

How To Edit Your NaNo Novel

NaNoWriMo is quickly coming to an end which means it will be time to edit your novels soon. (If you haven't begun already.) Since I finished my novel early I decided to start editing early. I thought I would share the best tips that I have learned so far for editing a NaNo novel if you are as disappointed with yours as I am mine. 

Step 1: Set it on fire

Step 2: Walk away like a boss

Step 3: Make sure that you notify Sweet Brown that there's a fire nearby

There you have it! That's all you need to know on how to properly edit your crappy manuscript! 

I Broke the NaNo Editing Rule: Editing Early

Now that I've officially finished my NaNo novel, I decided to go ahead and start the editing process. I ended up completely re-writing my entire beginning. 

WHAT?? WHY?? 

The old one was crap. Seriously. And not just "Oh, I just wrote this so I'm feeling a little self-conscious about it." No, it was REALLY crappy. It started off with a disgruntled phone call between my main character and another character that ended up completely disappearing from the rest of my story. Her name should have been M.I.A. because that's pretty much what she was; Missing In Action. There was a ridiculously artificial dialogue that made absolutely no sense with the rest of the story so I decided to completely re-do the beginning. I was really scared that it wasn't going to work out and that I was going to end up screwing up my story and my word count but it actually worked really well. So well, in fact, that it ended up changing my story. While it's still a murder mystery, the method of murder and mystery has changed. And I think it's actually improved my story which makes me very excited!!!

I've also had a new character emerge. He really kind of appeared just as a "filler". I needed a quick character at the time and he decided he was the man for the job. But I like him so much that I decided to keep him around and he's blossomed into one of the main characters. This also makes my story a lot stronger because unbeknownst to the author (me) he and my Main and my Villain all have history. (This new character is also kind of sexy and is full of secrets so he's lots of fun!)

Aside from the beginning re-write, editing is going kind of slow. I keep getting distracted by my gigantic "to-read" list that has been neglected for a while. I really want to get this story published but I'm not going to rush the editing process. I think some time away from my story might actually do some good because then I've had a chance to fill my head full of lots of other things besides my characters and all of their issues. I've heard that it's better to take some time away from your story to edit it. In this case, I think it's the best idea because I'm so close to these characters that it's hard to get them out of my head even when I'm thinking about day-to-day stuff. We shall see how it will work out. 

How is NaNo working out for you? Have you made your word count yet? What are your thoughts on the editing process? 

Hey! Hey! I made it to 50k!

51,394 words

Last night while sitting outside my Tiny Tyrant's dance class, I crossed the 50,000 word line! I am super proud of myself. My track record of finishing writing projects isn't that great. It's been a long time since I've actually sat down and tried to work on a writing project so for me to even get to this point was a great accomplishment as well. 

I've posted two excerpts from my story and I had planned on posting more but I think I've changed my mind. There are a lot of things in the story that I want to change before I let anyone read it. Some of my characters ended up needing a larger part of the story while some of what I thought were main characters disappeared from the story entirely. This is why I have to change the entire beginning of my story when I get ready to edit. One of the now defunct main characters is a huge part of the beginning of my story so that's definitely going to need a re-write. 

I'm still in shock that I actually finished writing a 50,000 word piece. Even if it sucks, it still has a beginning, middle, and end. And I haven't taken the time yet to read it from beginning to end but just thinking about the turn of events that wrote in the last few pages, none of it makes any freaking sense. But that's okay! I'm considering this manuscript my story's skeleton and not my actual story. It's the bare bones of the story and now I need to go back and add the meat! 

I'm going to spend the rest of Nano cheering on all of my fellow Nanoers (Nanoers?) on Twitter and trying to round up helpful writing tips to share. Or maybe just posting funny pictures. You probably shouldn't take too many tips from me until after I fix this mess of a story. 

Have you made it to 50k? What did you do to celebrate? If you haven't made it to 50k yet, how many words do you have left? What will you do to celebrate reaching 50k? 

Wasting Time: Favorite Websites

Since I have been spending way too much time browsing the internet instead of writing, I thought I would share some of my favorite websites and blogs. Some of these are helpful for aspiring writers like myself and some are just good for laughs or wasting time hoping that inspiration will hit you again. 

• NaNoWriMo - Of course, right? I could spend hours wasting time in the forums. My favorites are the Adoption forums because I'm always having a problem coming up with a good name for characters and the Games forum because what better way to procrastinate than to goof off with other procrastinating writers? 
• Masquerade Crew - This may be considered shameless promotion but I love this site because I am a crew review member. I've only reviewed one book so far but the selection of books to review is pretty awesome and I am looking forward to doing more soon. This is also a great site to find a new book to read if you're having problems trying to decide what to read next. 
• Kandee J - I love, love, love Kandee Johnson and all of her fabulous makeup tutorials. My husband loves her too because she's the reason his wife looks closer to the hot momma he first fell in love with and less like the sweat pants, pony-tail wearing housewife/stay-at-home-mom that he sees every day. (Thank you, Kandee J!)  Also, check out her personal blog. She's great. I love her. KandeeLand
• Mental Floss - Because you need to know that there are roughly 70 ingredients in a McRib. And the 50 old British words that we need to bring back into casual conversation. If you feel Floby-Mobly (look it up), browsing Mental Floss just might make it better. 
• Writer's Digest - This one is pretty self-explanatory. Writer's Digest provides all kind of resources for writers in all stages of their writing. I especially love reading the stories of how people found their publishers because it gives me hope that one day maybe I'll be able to tell one of those great stories. 
• Novelicious - This is a great website for readers and writers of women's fiction. I waste way too much time on this site too reading the writing tips and book reviews. Love the ladies on this site and the writing tips are great! 
• I Write Like - This is a fun website if you want to compare your writing to well-known authors. You paste in a little bit of your writing and the analyzer tells you who you most write like. Depending on the story, it tells me I write like Ian Fleming and Chuck Palahniuk. If you every need a confidence boost, I would say this would be a good site to visit. 

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more to share later since I'm so easily distracted. Also, Twitter. If you ever want to get sucked into a time warp and wonder what you've done with the last three hours of your life, just get on Twitter. 

What are some of your favorite sites to waste time on? 

Excerpt 2 - The Body Caches

Dr. Woods called the following Monday and said that the cause of Janelle’s death was asphyxiation caused by bilateral pneumothorax, or in laymen’s terms, two punctured lungs. The bastard had beaten her so badly that he’d broken her ribs and punctured both of her lungs, leaving her to die all alone. Dr. Woods also mentioned that she thought that Janelle had still be alive when she was placed on the Wurlitzer because of the blood pooling in her lower extremities. Whoever had killed these two girls had to have access to both of the dump places without being noticed. Or had access to these places when no one else was around. I still wasn’t sure what the Alabama Theater had to do with me either and this killer was clearly interested in me. There had to be some kind of connection between me and The Alabama Theater.

I went into my office and opened the cedar chest by the closet. My grandfather had made this cedar chest for me as a wedding present. He had made one for my mother and all of my aunts for their weddings as well. I did just as they had and stuffed all of the important mementos of my life into the chest. If there was anything that could tie me to The Alabama Theater it had to be in this box. The smell of the cedar wood assaulted my nose when I lifted the lid. I closed my eyes and inhaled as much of the smooth, woodsy scent as I could. That scent would forever remind me of my grandfather and his rough hands covered in cedar shavings, always working on his next project carved and cut and polished from cedar trees in his back yard. The top layer of junk in the chest was mostly newspaper articles about cases I had solved or community projects I had taken part in. Greyson and Braelynn had always insisted on keeping the articles. I kept moving stuff around, Braelynn’s first outfit, her first pair of baby shoes, Greyson’s baby shoes, my baby shoes, my first baseball glove, and my cap and gown from college were all floating around numerous photo boxes and photo albums. I pulled out the photo albums and began to turn back the pages of time, laughing and crying as the memories flipped from page to page.

After two hours of cruising down memory lane I was read to give up when I saw the last box in the very bottom of the chest. It was the size of a children’s shoe box and was covered in decoupaged flower printed tissue paper. I pulled off the lid and set it aside. Inside the box were pictures of me and my friends from junior high, a cassette tape, several folded notes from my best friends and the boys we had crushes on, a pom-pom with my school colors, and a handful of pins. One of the pins caught my eye. It was the largest one in the box. I picked it up and turned it over, revealing the same picture of the Wurlitzer that had been on the card stuck in the flowers on my desk. The words circling the Wurlitzer said “I Took A Ride On the Wurlitzer”. Underneath the button was a picture of me and several of my friends all standing in front of this amazing piano machinery. We were all grinning ear to ear and I laughed out loud. I remembered that trip. In the 8th grade, our music and theater teacher, whom had been suspected of being schizophrenic, had taken us to see Hamlet. She had made sure that we had gotten to the theater early so that we could meet the people who operated the theater and to see the Wurlitzer up close. I remember that she had made us watch The Phantom of the Opera the day before we went and once we were up close and personal with the Wurlitzer we were all mesmerized by the possibility of a “phantom” in this theater. Especially Gunner.

Oh, shit. Gunner had been there that day too. I looked back at the picture of me and my smiling classmates. He was right there in the picture. He was standing behind me and Walker, grinning shyly at the camera. This was right before school would be out for the summer. And somewhere around the time where we had become friends. I remember that because we had gotten together that summer. And it had started that day at the Wurlitzer. I had gotten scared when we rode it down into the stage and he had held my hand. He hid our hands so that no one else could see them because he didn’t want anyone to know and think that he was some guy who was walking around rescuing young girls from their irrational fears. He had a tough guy rep to protect. I didn’t even know how to feel sitting there staring at that picture. Even though we had broken up after the ninth grade, we had still flirted and talked on the phone and snuck out behind the field house at school to make out. Even when he had another girlfriend. Up until I met Greyson I had always thought that Gunner and I would eventually end up together and tell everyone cute stories about being high school sweethearts later in life. It all seemed so silly now. But had he thought the same thing? Had he been upset when I married Greyson? I needed some answers. I left Braelynn in Keaton’s capable hands, jumped in my truck, and headed to the City Federal building. Thirty minutes later I was standing on the other side of Gunner’s apartment door, waiting for him to answer. 

Comments, critiques, and praise are always welcome! 

Excerpt 1 - The Body Caches

The ride out of town was weighed down with awkward silence. I fidgeted with the door handle, my fingernails, anything within reach. Keaton kept clearing his throat like he was going to say something but then he would get quiet.

“You going to talk to me or not?”

“I’m not sure what to say.”
“What do you mean? You said you wanted to talk to me, so talk.”

“I still love you.”

“Does your girlfriend know that?”

“How did you know I had a girlfriend?”

“I’m not stupid. The pissed off girl at the bar? She looks like your type.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Brodie, I love you.”

“Keaton, --“

“Brodie, just stop. I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to make a whole shitload of excuses why we can’t be together and why I don’t really love you. And you’re more full of shit now than you were on that fucking plane. You’re going to find every excuse in the world to run away.”

I sat there in silence, staring at him. I was so mad I could have screamed. But the only person I was really mad at was myself. He was right. As soon as he said he loved me I started making excuses. I was running. If I kept running I couldn’t get hurt. I was just lonely. While I was trying to think of something to say I looked out the window in time to see the horse pasture on the corner of the street I lived on. After the neighbor’s house there was nothing but woods on both sides of the gravel road for five miles. My house was on the left, set back from the road, and surrounded by huge oak and pine trees.

Keaton pulled into my driveway and parked in front of the garage. He turned off the ignition and threw his keys on the dash. I still hadn’t come up with something to say to him. Everything I could think of seemed wrong.

“Brodie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I asked you to marry me. I’m sorry that I wanted to stay in St. Louis one more night. I’m sorry that I moved out. I’m sorry that the only reason I got a chance to be with you was because some sick fuck killed Grayson. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry. I can’t change anything. If I could, I would. I would change a lot of things but I wouldn’t change the fact that I love you.”

“Okay, Keaton, you love me. What’s the purpose of telling me that?”

“Kailee wants to get married.”
“Kailee. Are you going to marry her?”

“She’s pregnant.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah. So, yeah, I’m probably going to marry her.”
“Excited? About the kid, I mean?”

“No. I don’t love her. I’m not even sure the kid is mine. We haven’t been dating that long. “

“Don’t marry her. If you aren’t sure the kid is yours and you don’t love her, then don’t marry her.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Are you kidding me? You want to marry a girl you don’t love and take care of a child that you’re not even sure is yours?”

“I like her a lot. And so what if the kid isn’t mine? I’m just going to leave her? Pregnant?”

“Well, I hope you’re at least going to make her sign a pre-nup.”

“A pre-nup? Are you crazy?”

“No. I’m not an idiot like you. She’s a pregnant cocktail waitress who saw you with money falling out of your pockets and seized the opportunity. She’ll get you for everything you’ve got when you divorce.”

“What makes you so sure we will get a divorce? How do you know I won’t fall in love with her and have a happy life with her?”

“I don’t.”

I turned away and stared out the passenger window, watching a fox stalking a bird in my front yard. I didn’t want him to see the tears welling up in my eyes. I did love him but I had spent so much time convincing myself I would eventually lose him that I pushed him away. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he reached a tan hand up to grab his keys off the dash. He fidgeted with the keys, trying to watch me without me noticing.

“You gonna get out? We’re here. Home sweet home.”
“Keaton, I—“

“Just don’t, Brodie. Everything out of your mouth is horse shit and excuses. I don’t even know why I told you or why I acted like your opinion matters. It doesn’t. Tell Braelynn I miss her and I love her.”

“I’m trying to talk to you. You wanted to talk so that’s what I’m trying to do.”

He put the keys in the ignition and cranked the truck. He placed one hand on the steering wheel, leaned across me, and opened my door. I caught a whiff of his Cool Water cologne and tried not to cry. I missed that smell in my sheets.

“Just save it, Brodie. Belittle someone else. I have to go back to work.”

I turned to get out of the truck and suddenly changed my mind. I had some things I needed to get off my chest. I was beginning to wish I had walked my ass home. Keaton was typing away on his phone when I turned the motor off, snatched the keys, and threw them into the front yard.

“Have you lost your damn mind?”
“I lose it anytime I’m around you! You make me nuts! You make me so crazy, Keaton. That’s why I avoid seeing you. I feel like I’m losing my mind anytime I’m around you. See, I just repeated myself! Why in the hell would you marry that girl if you don’t love her?”

“This really bothers you doesn’t it?”

“You’re supposed to marry someone you love.”

“I tried to. You said no.”

“And then you just walked out, so you’re no better. You’ve made me feel like shit about this for two years and have never once thought about the fact that I didn’t give up on our relationship. You did. You walked out on me because I said no. You looked me in my eyes, told me you couldn’t live without me and loved me so much but as soon as I said no you walked out! And what do you know?! You’re still breathing! And doing better than ever! And if you want Braelynn to know that you miss her and love her why don’t you try telling her your damn self! Do you know how hard it was to explain to that little girl why you left after she just lost her father? You didn’t just walk out on me, you asshole. You walked out on her too and you never even looked back. You just kept on trucking, you selfish bastard. WE LOVED YOU! We still love you, you bastard. Yeah, okay, I fucked up because I said no to your proposal but did you ever once stop to think about why I said no? Did you ever stop and put yourself in my place and maybe see where the thought of marrying someone else might scare the hell out of me? I was scared to lose you. It might sound stupid but I was scared. And instead of even having any kind of discussion about it when we got home and had calmed down, you just packed your shit and left. Adios. Goodbye, Brodie! Hello, Kailee with the stripper name and the fake tits. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to pick up the pieces and answer questions Braelynn has every single damn day about when we’re going to stop being mad at each other and get back together. The person you really ought to be talking to is her. ”

Keaton just sat there staring at me. I felt tears rolling down my cheek and I knew I couldn’t sit there anymore. I got out of the truck, shut the door, and walked up the driveway. I opened the screen door of the back porch and Roscoe met me with a dead squirrel hanging out of his mouth. 

There's the first excerpt from my NaNoWriMo work-in-progress. Let me know if you love it, hate it, want to burn it, etc. And as always, Happy NaNoing! 

The NaNo Slump.

By Day 3 of NaNoWriMo I had already accumulated 29,376 words. My fingers were flying across the keys at lightning speed and I was excited. Ideas were pouring out of me, my plot was chugging along like a freight train, and all of my characters were behaving. As a writer, you couldn't ask for much more. And then it just stopped....

The fire in my brain just blew out. POOF!

I woke up on Day 4 and I decided that since I was already so far ahead, I'd take the day off and spend time with my Tiny Tyrant. We spent the entire day watching My Little Pony, scarfing down Halloween candy, and pretending that dinosaurs were knocking on our door for dinner. I didn't even think about my story or writing. Once the TT was in bed, I sat down at my computer ready to start typing and nothing happened. Every idea that crossed my mind sucked and my villain was now deciding that he DIDN'T really want to be the villain. He was trying his hardest to help me set up someone else in the story who has the personality of Mickey Mouse. There was no way I could make THAT character my villain. I already had one! He was just being an asshole! After a few hours of arguing with a fictional character in my head, I called it quits and decided I was start again on Day 5. 

The morning of Day 5 came and I suddenly decided that I was bored with my story. Everything was going SO well that it felt like something was off. It didn't feel right anymore. And I didn't know how to fix it without going back and editing. But I knew that as soon as I started editing, I'd destroy everything I have written now and I'd lose my word count which is ultimately the most important part of the NaNoWriMo process. 

I haven't edited anything. I have resisted. (So far.) But it is now Day 7 and I still haven't written anything. So, until I can get back into the swing of things, I am going to post excerpts of my story here for shits n'giggles. 

If you like it, please let me know. If you hate it, PLEASE let me know. Or if you have any ideas on how to get over this slump I'm in, I'd be glad to hear them. 

Happy NaNoing! 

NaNoWriMo is the starting point.....

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been fascinated by the art of storytelling. I was obsessed with books and would burn through the stacks my mother gave me with a quickness. With every book that I read though, I noticed a pattern in my response to the books. No matter how in love with a story I was, I would always find something I wanted to change. And it was usually the endings. I have an issue with the endings of books. Any time someone asks me for a book review, I give them the best one that I can all while thinking to myself, "But the ending..". 

For years I would try my hand at writing my own stories, inspired by my favorite books. Hunched over my father's old military typewriter, I would pour my little heart and soul into these stories that were bouncing around in my brain. The tick-tick-ticking sound of the typewriter keys singing their siren song for me to just keep writing. And then another pattern appeared. As much as I wanted to change the endings of my favorite stories, I couldn't seem to write my own endings. I could write and write and write and then write some more but I couldn't seem to end whatever I was writing. I finally got so frustrated with myself that I just gave up writing. When that old, worn out typewriter finally ran out of ink, I put it back in my dad's office and just walked out. I wouldn't pick up a pen for several years. 

Those quiet years of what I like to call my "writing depression" are now over. I'm in a completely different place in my life and I have an amazing support system in place who encourages me daily to get back into writing. NaNoWriMo is my starting point. I was terrified of taking something like this on at first but after only five days I already have amassed nearly 30k words! And the best part is that I know my ending. I knew the ending of this story before I knew anything else. Even if I get to the very end of this story and it doesn't come out exactly like it has been sitting in my head, I still know how it generally plays out. And that excites the hell out of me! 

Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo? What are you area problems in your writing?