Has Heather disappeared off the face of the earth? No, it's just NaNoWriMo time again

 

    For a week or so there I was blogging every day again. Really just getting back into the swing of things like a champ. Most of my posts were random, which is the way I like it. Although I did try to make them fairly "author-y".

    Then poof. No more blogs. What happened? First Halloween happened, but then November 1st hit and now it's time for NaNoWriMo. 

    What is NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). And the idea is that starting on November 1st through November 30th, writers of all types (amateurs to NY Times bestsellers), sit down every day and write. The goal is to write 50,000 words in that month. It seems daunting to those who don't write daily or are slow writers, but it's not a competition. It's motivation to help you get your writing done. There are many people that are in the same boat as you who need that extra nudge to get shit done. Some people write more, some write less. Sometimes you hit your goal and sometimes you don't. 

    I have an author friend that regularly publishes multiple books a year. She writes fast and she writes all the time. She still does NaNo because it help re motivate her. I also know others who use it for it's community. At Nano you can buddy up with friends, join local groups and do "write ins" and "Sprints" and you can read pep talks from some of your favorite authors. It helps you feel more connected. It shows you that these authors are just regular people, like you , that had an idea and wrote it down.  They all started at the beginning, just like you.

    And here's a bonus. It's not about how great your first draft is. Generally the first draft is filled with grammatical errors. Or as I read one time; You're first draft is a pile of shit, that's why we edit and do revisions. But you can't clean it up if you don't get it on paper. NanoWrimo doesn't care about how pretty it is. It just wants you to vomit words on paper. That's it. Get the words in. Get your butt in a chair. Noone sees your work but you. All Nano cares about it word count.

    So, yeah, you probably won't see me much. I will try to blog from time to time if I remember something other than my novel over this next month. I will try. But my main focus right now is getting that word count. Reaching 50k by the end of November and finishing this novel. And if I can finish this one. If I can sit and write every day and it becomes a habit, then I can finish all my other poor stories that have been in a coma for years. And maybe even barf out some of the stories that have been trapped in my head as well.

    Have you tried NaNo? If you're an aspiring writer, I recommend you check it out.

See you on the other side. And good luck if you're doing it. :D

https://nanowrimo.org

 

Writing around life

Like everyone else, I have many things that I juggle everyday. Work, school, family, obligations, etc...
The one thing I have learned is that if you want to be a writer, you have to set aside time for writing every day. You have to treat it like a job and sit down and spend a certain amount of time at your computer. Just like a job.
           So what if you have a horrible work ethic? Not very motivating to treat your writing like a job.
Well, then treat your writing like a child. (which it is sort of like that)
Just like a child you:
-create it through much time, effort and labor(Outlining, research, typing, cursing, pulling out hair)
-you have to nurture and feed it and keep it healthy and growing(more writing and researching)
-you have to clean it up over and over(editing)
And then, just when you think everything is clean and happy--you have another mess to clean up(more editing and revising)
-but then after much, blood, sweat and tears. Finally your child(book) has matured and developed and is getting ready to go out into the cold, judging world alone. Now you have to set it free and sit back and worry and fret while it bounces around out there without you.
And if your lucky, your child/book will find a new home(publishing company) and a place in the world(New York Times Best sellers list? hopefully) And you my friend, will rejoice!
And then....
You start the process over again.
But if you have a sense of freedom and escape through your writing--then you know that it is worth it.
So, find time in your day and just let yourself go. See where your imagination takes you.

How do you write? Do you write every day? Have you queried a company and waited in nail-biting suspense for a response?
I'd love to hear from you.