Because When It Gets To Be Too Much, You Disappear

Hello, my awesome MMWs! I have missed you so, and I apologize for my abrupt absence. I have no good explanations for it, except that one day I didn't get around to writing my Monday post, and then it happened again, and then again, until it was just easier to keep "forgetting" than to come back and post.

But now I'm back, because Things are happening with my writing!

Thing 1: I made an author page on Facebook. I decided it was finally time. Come see me- www.facebook.com/KQTwrites

Thing 2: I'm NaNoEdMo-ing my LDS romantic comedy novel based on the four- yes FOUR- critiques I got back from critique partners. They are amazing and it was a big boost to my confidence that they all FINISHED the book and seemed to enjoy it! I'm feeling thisclose to getting this novel ready for submissions, and as soon as I do submit it, I have several other projects just waiting for my attention, so I'm eager to get going on those as well.

Thing 3: I'm trying to put myself "out there" more. This past week I gave a presentation at my kids' middle school about what it's like to be a writer, and I also attended the Festival of the Written Word, a fantastic event put on by my local library, where I attended 3 panel discussions and was reminded of how much fun it is to be among my tribe. Side note: did you know that 90% of published authors are finding their agents through networking these days? Only 10% through cold queries. If that doesn't encourage you to put yourself out there in the writing community, I don't know what will!

Another reason I'm back posting here once again is because I was helping a writing friend with an issue she was having with character development and the first resource I turned to was Mormon Mommy Writers, because I remembered we'd had some fantastic posts on the subject. I started searching through the posts and I realized we have a TON of fantastic posts on all aspects of writing, and I remembered what an honor it is to be associated with this blog, and I was ashamed of myself for letting my participation in it lapse.

So again, please forgive me my neglect, and I look forward to jumping back in with both feet and sharing this journey with you once again!

Now, it's time to catch up- what's going on with YOUR writing these days? NaNoWriMo? NaNoEdMo? NoNaNo? Give me the scoop, I'm dying to know!

Being a Mom, Standing in Line, and Writing a Book

by Kasey Tross

Sorry I've been a bit MIA on here lately- caught a nasty bug that doesn't seem to want to go away, but I'm trying to get back to a more normal routine.

So here are a few things that have been on my mind recently:

1. The Mom Conference

There is a FREE conference for moms coming up this week- it starts tomorrow, in fact- and if it's anything like it was last year, you are NOT going to want to miss it! It's an online conference, which means that once you sign up (again, totally free) they will send you the links to the presentations for each day. So tomorrow morning I will get an e-mail with links to all the presentations for the day (videos) and I can choose to watch whichever ones I want, whenever I want, anytime tomorrow. It's GREAT. Don't miss it!


2. I Don't Stand In Line.

This election season has been really good for me, because it has caused me to reflect a lot on what I believe, how I prioritize my values, and how I choose to act on those things. I have written a few strongly-worded Facebook rants, but there was one little epiphany I had that I felt merited a full blog post. As I share Mormon Mommy Writers with other women who have different viewpoints from me, and I want to respect that, I felt like this was a topic that would be better suited to my own personal blog. But I wanted to share it here in case anyone finds it interesting or useful: I Don't Stand In Line.


3. NaNoWriMo

It's coming! It's really coming! Do you think you will do NaNoWriMo? I'm thinking about it, but I'm still not sure...I have a book I'd really like to get out of my head, but I know from the experience of writing the last (STILL unfinished) book that I need to have a plan before I even attempt it, and lately I have had approximately ZERO time to write...or plan...or...anything...

So...for me it's a definite maybe. ;-)


Hope all is well with you beautiful writerly friends. Would love to hear from you in the comments. :-)

Creative Play

by Jewel Leann Williams

I’m not even gonna lie, I am avoiding NaNoWriMo like the plague this year. I applaud all of you who are doing it, but…. I failed so miserably last year, and this year I am busier and more stressed out. It’s just not the time to put more expectations on my plate when I already feel I fail at most of my current, non-NaNo ones.  I’m cheering you all on, though.

Speaking of stress, at work tonight we were given the task of creating “hand turkeys” by one of the supervisors. Not officially, just “please do this to decorate, it will make me happy”—so we did.  I was thinking about it as we did it, at first begrudgingly, then more willingly—and more creatively. 

This is NOT one of our turkeys.  It came from IMAGE: @STEELE_MADDIE ON INSTAGRAM

What is it about coloring, cutting, and gluing that was so pleasant?

I’ve been hearing and seeing more lately about “adult coloring books” and “adult play”—there’s even a place in NYC that is running an “adult preschool” for… well, way too dang much money (I haven’t figured out what they mean by a “sliding scale” of between $333 and $999, but since they get to decide who to accept into the preschool, I imagine those who say they can only pay $333 probably are on the bottom of the wait list).

Is it that important?  You bet your sweet bippy—whatever a bippy is. Psychology Today, in an article titled “The Power of Play” states that:

But there is also evidence that play does much more. It may in fact be the highest expression of our humanity, both imitating and advancing the evolutionary process. Play appears to allow our brains to exercise their very flexibility, to maintain and even perhaps renew the neural connections that embody our human potential to adapt, to meet any possible set of environmental conditions.

Now that article is from 1999. But no research has come about to contradict it—as a matter of fact, there is more evidence than ever that play—especially creative play—can not only relax and de-stress the mind, but can serve as actual therapy. We’re not talking coloring books, though—we are talking CREATING.

So—how does this relate to the over-stressed writer? When you’re neck-deep in your NaNoWriMo project and you hit a wall of writer’s block, what can you do? In the interest of creative play, here are some ideas:

·         Draw your main character. Or a villain. Or the hunky love interest. Doesn’t have to be perfect, or even good. Get out the hot glue gun and glitter if you want. Make it into a doll and use it to act out a scene in your book. Get silly.

·         Use your kid’s actions figures and Barbie dolls to act out a scene—or not even a scene. Pretend that they are suddenly flung from the world of the book into modern day—argue with them, make them have a dance off.

·         Since many of us will be alone in our writing place, while all are asleep, when this writer’s block stress machine attacks, head for the nearest open space and make up an interpretive dance. You don’t have to dance LIKE no one is watching, because, seriously. It’s 2 am. No one is watching.

·         Color—but not in a book. Make up your OWN swirls and whorls, or scenery, or scribbles, or make your name in bubble letters and trace the colors over and over…. Again, this isn’t for an art show, it’s just to let your brain be creative, and playful, and “renew the neural connections.”

·         Do you know how to play an instrument? Take a few notes and create a song for your character. You don’t have to remember it later or write it down. You can even change the words to someone else’s song if you want.

·         Are the kids awake? Get them involved. Maybe they want to help you act out a scene. Or maybe they don’t. Play make-believe with them, and get involved in the story THEY are creating. Yeah, I know. Lightning McQueen and Batman are fighting Princess Anna and Olaf in an epic showdown to see who gets to catch Pikachu once and for all—not super-exciting, but you’re a writer, darn it, and you can make that story WORK. Best thing is, you’re creating, it’s risk free and stress free and you get to be the coolest parent in the world for a little while (as if you weren’t already all the time, right?)

·         DON’T GET ON FACEBOOK

·         DO NOT START PLAYING ONLINE GAMES—I say this because it is not creative play, it is not going to expand your mind, it is just numbing it.

What other creative outlets do you have? How do you use creative play to break writer’s block, or to simply de-stressify your life?  Share in the comments! 

This is Einstein out playing "Pretend to be Minecraft Steve" right before coming up with that whole E=MC thingy
(this image came from http://www.givegoodpodcast.com/creativeplay/)

Interview with Adrienne Quintana, author of ERUPTION

by Merry Gordon

Her 2013 NaNoWriMo game was so hardcore that she finished a book on November 1st.

Her techno-thriller Eruption—already generating buzz on Publisher's Weekly and Goodreads—officially hits the shelves in January courtesy of Cedar Fort Publishing & Media.

And to top it all off, she has ridiculously perfect hair.  

(I would know.  I sit behind her in church.)

She's Adrienne Quintana, Mormon Mommy Writer extraordinaire, and she's ready to dish—on publishing, on comfort food, on the myth of "having it all"—in today's blog.

Talk to me about Eruption.  What inspired it? 

A:  I’m a daydreamer.  My kids call it “zoning out.”  The idea for The Tablet struck me near the end of 2012 while I was driving down I-10 in Phoenix on my way to pick up the kids from school.  I don’t recommend completely zoning out on the freeway, but a quiet car on a long commute can be a great place to ponder the universe and come up with cool story ideas.

The concept started out simple: a girl finds a tablet with strange pictures on it.  As she investigates further, she discovers that the pictures are from the future.  Her future.

The Tablet didn’t turn into Eruption until almost a full year later when I finally decided to take the simple idea and run with it. I sat down and started answering questions.  Why was the tablet sent back in time? Who sent it? How was it sent? Then I zoned out in front of my laptop for the next two months.  

As a writer, how do you know when you’ve written something good?—not necessarily perfect, but that “ooooh” moment when you know you’ve just nailed it and have something solid to work with as a draft?

A:  My mom is probably one of the most positive people on the planet, and I’m guessing that is part of why I’m not overly self-critical. Self-confidence is essential when busting out a first draft.  I can’t keep going back to change things.  I have to be like the contestants on American Idol and just sing my little heart out.  The judges can smack me down later. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the performance.

As long as I feel entertained and inspired while I’m writing, I assume that the concept is good.  Then I rely on people I trust to help me refine and edit.  I felt like I was on to something with Eruption when my test readers finished the book quickly and gave good feedback.  It wasn’t perfect, but I was ready to start shopping the manuscript around.

You’re a writer.  But you’re also a wife and a mom of four, in addition to being a woman who finds time to exercise, serve in church callings, and manage more than sweats and ponytails on any given day.   Tell me a little about the life/work balance.  There’s so much societal pressure for women to “have it all” – is that possible?

A:  I firmly believe that no human can “have it all” or “do it all.” I couldn’t do it all when I was a working mom putting my husband through Law School.  I couldn’t do it all with four young children.  I couldn’t do it all when I went back to school.  I will never be able to do it all. But I can do enough.  With Heavenly Father’s help, I can be enough. 

I love Ecclesiastes chapter 3 where it talks about times and seasons.  Heavenly Father is aware of the seasons of your life.  He knows your desires, goals, and dreams.  Don’t be afraid to tell him what you want.  He wants you to succeed and he will help you.

To accomplish something as time consuming as writing a novel, I had to learn to simplify my life.  I said no to non-essentials.  My housekeeping suffered.  My laundry piled up.  I wore plenty of ponytails. But I made sure to let my family know that they were still my top priority.  I made a commitment that if my pre-schooler asked me for something while I was writing, I would stop and meet her needs.

Multi-tasking is my best friend.  I write when I have any spare time.  I write in the carpool lane.  I write in my head while I’m at hot yoga or doing dishes.  I write at midnight.  I try to embrace every spare minute to work toward my goals. I try to be thankful for the time that I do have instead of wishing for more time.

How do you react to a bad review/critique of your work?  What is it that makes you get back up on the proverbial horse?

A:  Bad reviews and critiques sting but I have a lot of experience getting over the pain.  My grandpa has been dishing out constructive criticism since the day I was born. He told my parents I was ugly. He said I’d look much better if I’d just get bigger like everyone else and grow some hair. It turns out, he was right. 

Again, with criticism, I try to channel my mom’s positive vibes.  When someone gives her a pile of horse poop, she immediately starts looking for the pony.  I figure that if someone cares enough to read the entire book and offer me feedback, I should take it as a compliment.  If the criticism rings true, I try to use it to improve. If it doesn’t, I just try to let it go and move on.  My writing is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. 

What do you know now about publishing that you wish you’d known when you began writing?

A:  Most of what I’ve learned about publishing, I’m glad I didn’t know when I started writing.  The editing process was a real eye-opener.  After almost a year of self-editing, I was surprised at the number of changes that still needed to be made to the story. Eruption was like my baby, and they were asking me to slice and dice and move and cut and paste and sew it back together.  It was gut-wrenching and time consuming, but so worth the end result. My little Frankenstein baby turned better than I could have imagined.

Another thing I’ve learned about publishing is that building relationships is paramount.  Get to know everyone. I have been fortunate to work with wonderful people. The cover artist, Kristen Reeves, took my ideas and made them come to life.  My editor, Daniel Friend, helped me see things from the reader’s perspective.  My copy editor, Melissa Caldwell, had eyes to catch the small details.  My publicist, Kelly Martinez, is my best friend.  We call each other cousin.  These are all people who have helped to shape my success.  I know who they are and I appreciate each of them for their contribution.

How does your faith influence your writing, either in terms of content or practice?

A:  I hope that my faith is apparent in everything I do.  With writing specifically, I was conscious of keeping the content uplifting and appropriate for any age.  The character’s morals and values are in harmony with the gospel. I didn’t write or edit on Sunday.

On a deeply personal level,  Eruption is about Jace Vega’s relationship with her father. Her struggles mirror my own journey to feel the approval of both my earthly and Heavenly father.

Okay, let’s break it down by the numbers:

·         5 to-read books on your bedside table:

The Fault in Our Stars

The Hunger Games

Jane Eyre

The Hiding Place

Anne of Green Gables

·         4 authors you love:

Charlotte Bronte

Jane Austen

Dan Brown

C.S. Lewis

·         3 go-to comfort foods for those days when the plot unravels:

Chocolate chip cookies (made by my daughter Marina)

Chips and salsa

Lindor Truffles

·         2 times you knew you hit a breakthrough in your writing life:

1.       When I set a daily word count goal and stuck with it.

2.       When I realized that Eruption was about more than a girl with a tablet from the future.

·         1 piece of advice for newbie writers:

Don’t wait until you think you are good enough.  Start today.  

*****

Can't wait for the release?  Enter here to win an ARC of Eruption and other prizes as we count down the days until January 13th!  You can also follow Adrienne on her blog, on Facebook,  and on Twitter @AdrienneQuintan.

Drowning in the Sea of Nano

The goal is 50,000 words in one month.
Not that hard, they say, that's only 1500 words or so a day. 
Even if you fall behind, you can always catch up. 

Pretty, pretty lies, but LIES nonetheless. It is HARD HARD HARD.

It's November, after all. Kids are stir crazy and possibly still bouncing around from Halloween's sugar overdose. Thanksgiving is coming.

If you had teens (or volunteered to help) in the Phoenix Temple Cultural Celebration, then you were driving kids, sewing costumes, buying black pants, black shoes, then white shoes, white socks, no, wait, now it's black shoes again. Oh wait, now it's both. Back to the store. Then the Celebration itself, then the dedication of the Phoenix Temple! Veteran's Day, spring cleaning (It's spring here in the Valley of the Sun, by the way. Yeah, spring is in November). So much to do, and hey, let's write a novel!

Does anyone else have little keyboard shaped dents in their heads from the frustration? Okay, so that's established.

How about writer's block? Yes, that nasty beast FEEDS on NanoWrimoians like blue whales on plankton. I'm sitting here trying to write, and I've veered so far off my outline (yes, I OUTLINED) that I am now pantsing, even though DID I MENTION I OUTLINED??? The story went fabulous places, and then crashed. I don't want to go back to the outline. The pantsing version is much more awesome. AND also terrible and I hate it but I love it--

Yes, I am in the throws of the mid-Nano slump. Many of my colleagues are, as well. It's even got to the point where I have visions of Mork every time I say Nano (technically he says "Na-NU" but still). So, in honor of that, here's a little visual inspiration (it's no Avengers, and if you've seen that you know what I mean):

Okay. Got that out of the way. SO,
WHAT DO WE DO TO BREAK THE SLUMP?

Here you thought I was just going to complain and not give you any tips for breaking writer's block.  I wouldn't do that to you, gentle reader.  I have a few things that have helped me. Yesterday I did these things and got to a place where I could write 4000+ words over the course of a few hours.

1) Remember. It's not about making time,it's about protecting our time. I don't take credit for that. Deirdra Eden Boyd shared it. I had to remind myself and others that I had made a goal, a commitment, and I need to do what it takes to keep that commitment, to reach that goal. I sacrificed some much-needed relaxation time and skipped family movie night to write. It kinda stunk, but they got to watch a movie I wasn't very interested in, and I got almost unimpeded writing time.

2)Forget. Expectations have no place when you are writing for volume. I tend to edit as I write. I think about the words I want to use, sometimes a little too much. My first drafts are more polished than some people's second or third drafts. Nanowrimo isn't about that, though. In order to be able to write 50,000 words in a month, I have had to forget that expectation that what I write will be up to my normal first-draft expectations. The point is to get the novel out and ready to work with.

3)Inspire. What inspires you? If what normally inspires you isn't working in the throes of Nanowrimo, then maybe you can find something else, change it up a bit? Some little tidbits of inspiration suggestions I've found. I'll tell you about any of them I've tried, and how it's worked for me.

• Music:  this is a huge one for me this week. I usually don't like to listen to instrumental music, but I needed a change, so I googled "melancholy instrumental music" and discovered an artist named "Hauschka" who just... wow. It fit the bill and then some. I jumped on Pandora and let them pick out music in the "Hauschka Radio" station and I've found it fits the tone of what I'm trying to write, perfectly. Here's a little Hauschka: 

One person shared their multiple playlists that help them in certain situations, including breaking writer's block. Here is a link to their post, maybe it has some musical ideas for you: 

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/reaching-50-000/threads/194004

• Sprints:  Opening up Facebook (BEWARE! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!) and having friends to do sprints with has helped immensely.
• Write-In:  doing a write-in is always helpful. I have a faithful write-in group, that used to be part of the same ANWA chapter, but has since been scattered to the 4 corners of the globe. Okay, Texas, Buckeye AZ, and Louisiana aren't exactly foreign lands, but they don't lend themselves to all-night potluck write-ins, either. SO, we opened up a Google Hangout and did it online. There are virtual write-in's as well as Nanowrimo-sponsored ones, or organize your own. Everyone working on the same thing is synergistic and it helps me immensely. Having someone to give you instant feedback, or suggest a word here and there can break the ice of the impending writer's block. 
• Timers: the sprints are one take on timers, but there are other ways to do this, even alone. "Write or Die"is a software application that rewards you for meeting a goal, and if you don't, it punishes you. It might eat your words, or zombies may show up at your door. Well, maybe not zombies. Even just setting a Google Timer, and when it goes off, if you've typed your goal, you get a Coke. If not, no soup for you. 
• TURN EVERYTHING ELSE OFF!! This one probably won't work for me. It might just make me angry. But for some, it has to be distraction free. Having my music in my headphones helps me to really enter the world where I am writing, and sometimes I even have my eyes closed, which really creeps out my son (thank you, former career where I had to type and look at a million other things all at once). Kill Facebook (unless you are using it for sprints, then just have it open JUST for that. No need to check any updates or anything). Remember--PROTECT your time. 

These are just a few little ideas. What works for me may not work for you. Heck, you may not even need it. Maybe your muse is sitting right there next to you and you are having a great laugh together at the poor whiner with her Mork and her Hauschka, just trying to finish her Nano novel in 2014.  

Oh, I almost forgot. 

4)JUST DO IT! Don't delay. Write. It's easier to write, when you're writing. You know what I mean. Good luck. May the force be with you. May the odds be forever in your favor. All that good stuff. 

And my favorite:

JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!

Discussion time:  how's your Nano-vember going?  What antidotes to mid-Nano venom do you have in your writer's first-aid kit? 

Is NaNoWriMo Right for Me?

by Katy White

This month, I'm working on NaNoWriMo and am a few hundred words short of crossing the 50,000 word mark. It's an exciting feeling, yet the thought of editing this particular first draft is giving me a bit of anxiety I don't normally have. This draft isn't as polished as my others have been. I didn't prepare well enough for NaNo (I switched projects only a few days before November), and I can feel that all over the place.

When I'm working on a WIP, I typically plan a little with the use of a beat sheet. I do a fair amount of research, which I organize in Scrivener (the best writing tool EVER--I'm not an overly detailed or ultra-organized person in regular life, but I am as a writer). Then, I write. I add more research as I need to, and every day, I start my writing time by reading and gently revising what I did the day before. The result is a fairly clean first draft (though it still needs editing and round upon round of critiques from my incredible critique partners).

With NaNo, though, I don't have the luxury of time to go back and revise what I did the day before. I rarely even read much of what was written the day before. I just start writing. When I reach a point that requires more research or very careful wording, I just write something like, "XXX--comic book joke," then come back to it later. That means that revisions are a bear. At least this time.

So...why do it this way? I'm wondering this a lot this month. I tell myself that it's a good exercise to learn to write using different methods. But is it really? I felt great about last year's NaNo novel and about the Camp NaNo novel I did this year, but both of them were very, very well planned in advance (much to my surprise). So even if I hadn't had a time constraint, I still would have drafted them quickly. Hmm.

What do you all think? Do you have any experience with something like this, when the WIP just feels clunky or a method stops working for you? Is it the idea? The lack of planning? Or is maybe NaNo not the right style for me right now? I'd love your input and advice for this stage in writing life.

Half way there!

By Lacey Gunter

Hallelujah, we are half way through the month of November.  For all you NaNoWriMo and PiBoIdMo participants, you just have to put in another 15 days and it will all be over. Don't give up now, you can do it!

I have been able to come up with 16 picture book ideas so far. That puts me one day ahead. Which is a good thing, because I also decided to do SkADaMo this year, Sketch A Day Month. It has been quite challenging.

I am not a professional illustrator. I like to draw, and illustrating my own picture book manuscript one day would be a lovely dream. But I am nowhere near the skill level of a professional. Despite all that, I told myself "So what. Just try it." Honestly, it has taken a large amount of time and effort,  but I am glad I signed on. I have been pleased with the progress I am making, while at the same time humbled and inspired by other participant's amazing talent.

One of my SkADaMo drawings. You can find the rest of my  SkADaMo drawings on my Facebook account.

Obviously, finishing a novel, coming up with lots of great ideas for stories and improving your skills are great benefits to participating in these events. But another benefit I've discovered in the past two years of doing them is the relative ease of networking with other writers and illustrators. These activities allow for natural interactions with people of a variety of skills levels, without having to pay to go to a pricey conference or join a writing association. That alone is worth at least one attempt.

I would love to hear how things are going for everyone else who is participating in one of these activities (see easy interaction). 

Wishing you the best of luck in finishing November. Write on!

Time to Buckle Down

By Lacey Gunter

Okay people, you've had your little imaginary play time, and I know you just want to curl up in a candy induced coma. But, it is now officially November!  It is time to buckle down. November is for writing. 

While a good proportion of you will be focused on NaNoWriMo, us picture book folks never do well in trying to increase our word count.  So for those of you who write picture books, I recommend PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month.

As I'm sure you can guess, the general idea is to come up with 30 new picture book concepts within the month of November. They don't have to be entire manuscripts and they don't even have to be super detailed. Just a simple concept or premise will suffice. If you come up with more than that, great, that is just icing on the cake.

If you want the incentive and structure that comes with a formal program you can register  here. Otherwise you can just do it on your own.

This will be my second year participating. I really enjoyed the challenge last year and produced several manuscripts based on the ideas I came up with in PiBoIdMo 2013.   I am hoping for the same success this year.

So if you are anything like me, it is time to buckle down and get started simmering on ideas. Because thirty days goes quick and banging your head on the wall trying to come up with a bunch of ideas on day 29 never worked well for me.

So good luck getting those creative juices flowing. And begging a few candies from you kids Halloween stash probably won't hurt. ...Mmmmm, candy coma!  ... No, wait ... I mean ... get to work!

Jumping into the NaNoWriMo Deep End

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, begins in a week! For those who don't know what the heck that is, here's the mission statement of the National Novel Writing Month organization (did you know it's a 501(c)(3) nonprofit? Cool.):

National Novel Writing Month organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential. Our programs are web-enabled challenges with vibrant real-world components, designed to foster self-expression while building community on local and global levels.

What the mission statement doesn't say is that November, NaNoWriMo, is the month that you take 30 days to write a 50,000-word rough draft of a novel. The website www.nanowrimo.org gives you a whole set up with an account, inspiration resources, and a way to track and advertise your progress. It's a great way to jump-start a novel, to put the cattle prod to the lazy muse, or just to get one of those super-awesome story ideas down on paper instead of rattling around causing weird dreams.

I've always said I would do NaNo when I had time. I've come to realize, I'll never have time unless I just FIND the time. So, this year, I am going to take the plunge and try to pound out 1,600 words a day for a 50,000 word total for the month. That's the plan.  Now what's my prep work going to look like?

Well, for starters, I am a die-hard "pantser." I have held to my method of typing and discovering my stories as I tell them, and for the creative outlet, it works very well. I love the surprises and the journey of discovery. For the "try and help support my family by being published" part of my plan, it doesn't work so well. And for NaNo? I'm pretty sure it will suck all the words out of my brain and put them somewhere in an alternate dimension for the month. I have a few things I'm going to try to do at least for the month to facilitate the whole novel being written:

#1: I am going to outline. Sort of. I don't have time to learn to do it well, so I am going to give myself a crash course in at least one and probably several outlining methods. I already have SIX tabs open with different outlining theories.

#2: I got a trial of Scrivener. We'll see if/how that helps.

#3: I am committing myself to getting up early and going to bed at a decent time. My husband and I keep talking about doing this (see the last post on false starts), but it's crunch time. Gotta do it.

#4: Gonna sign up on that www.nanowrimo.org and also commit to my American Night Writers Association sisters that I am going to do it. Having that accountability and support will help push me to reach for that 50K goal. In addition, I'll have my husband on board the support train. That's important because this is a change to my daily routine.

Now, something to remember about NaNoWriMo is that it is not to have the novel edited and published, just the first draft--so it really does emphasis quantity. I am excited to give myself a framework (which I hope to at least have mostly complete before November starts) and just go crazy creatively to complete the novel. I'll edit it later. Probably fifty times, if I'm just letting myself write without inviting my inner critic to the party.

What about you? Are you doing NaNo this year? What are your strategies for a successful National Novel Writing Month?

Happy Tappity-Tap-Tapping and see you on the other side!!

How to Win NaNoWriMo

by Katy White

Autumn is my favorite time of year, what with the holidays, the fact that I can FINALLY wear boots and scarves and sweaters without getting my sweat on *gnashes teeth at Phoenix* and, just as important as the rest of the list, the fact that it's time for NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month.

I loved the experience last year so much that I tried it again for my own personal Camp NaNo this summer and found it equally enjoyable. If you're unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, several of us posted about this event last year (and the year before, and the year before, etc.), and we covered things from Plotting for Pantsers, to a reminder that first drafts are meant to suck (complete with quotes from famous authors), to general tips, and more. But essentially, it's a time of year where writers all around the world band together and try to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

So today, I'd like to write about my limited, but fabulous, experience with NaNo.

Tip I: Before November 1st, the most important thing you can do, in my mind, is prepare in advance. I use Scrivener to organize my writing and to house my outline (if I've done one, and more and more I'm finding that it doesn't suck out my soul to have a beat sheet (seriously, check out Save the Cat Beat Sheets. They're unbelievably helpful)), and to organize my research on locations/floor plans/character descriptions and psych profiles/etc. I'm super visual, so I need to understand everything about the characters and world I'm writing, even if the character is based on my sister and it's set in a city I used to live in.

Tip II: Take a month-long Facebook fast (or whatever social media is your poison). And, if you don't mind the pressure of follow-up questions like "When do I get to read it" and the subsequent lecture on the publishing industry such questions require you give, tell people why you'll be absent all November. However, if you don't want people up in your business, just make up a religious holiday. We're (mostly) Mormon. It'll make you sound holier. ;)

Okay. With that done, here's a glimpse into the mental state I'll be assuming in a few short days (told in the style of Bridget Jones):

-Write.
-Write more.
-Must stop deleting sentences and write, already.
-Letting toddler chat and play in crib for 10 extra minutes after waking from nap is sign of v. good, v. balanced mother. AM NOT A BAD PERSON!
-Hmm, is it "lay, laid, laid" and "lie, lay, lain"? Let's go to Grammar Girl...NO. Must not get off task. Will fix in revisions. Must write more words.
-Mmm. Diet Pepsi is v. v. good friend. Maybe best friend. Should write Diet Pepsi a thank you note. Should purchase thank you notes. And more Diet Pepsi. Wait, no. Should write more.
-Saving Mini Eggs in freezer since Easter really was brilliant use of storage space. Must remember to tell husband about need for additional freezer for next year...
-Waking up half hour early to write every day. Am She-Ra, Princess of Power.
-Hmm. Is that really how to spell guard? Guard guard guard guard guard guard. No, cannot be right. Spell check broken. Must Google "How to fix spell check". NO. STAY ON TASK.
-Writey-writey-write.

:)

Good luck to all of you doing NaNo this year! If you have any real tips, please share them below!

Writing Goals--My New Year's Resolution Updates

by Katy White

At the beginning of the New Year, I shared my writing goals for the year. After 12 years in Corporate America, I'm in the habit of self-reflection and peer accountability, so I wanted to share an update on my goals to my peers. :)

Here are the goals I set for myself:

-Get the two books I wrote in 2013 query ready,
-Query one or both of them,
-Land an agent, and
-Write two more books.

I'm thrilled to say that I've actually accomplished three of these! I got the first book I wrote in 2013 reviewed by friends and revised multiple times, and then in March, I started querying it and entering it in contests. While I was in the middle of a contest in April, I heard back from an agent at the top of my list that she loved my book and wanted to represent me! In May, I signed with the phenomenal Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency and am currently working with her on revisions to get my novel ready for submission. It's beyond exciting for me, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next steps with Bree and this manuscript.

So, items one through three on my list have been accomplished, and I still can hardly believe my good fortune!

My fourth goal--writing two books this year--is, I think, also going to happen. I'm about 71,000 words into a manuscript that I think will be around 80,000 words, and because I'm writing this novel NaNo style throughout the month of August, I plan to be done by the end of the month. PHEW! One down.

Here's where my fourth goal gets into sub-goals (I'm an external processor, so forgive me for dumping my brain on you):

-In September, after my first revision, I'll send my new MS (manuscript) out to my two, erm, alpha critique partners (the ones who don't mind reading something rough and being brutally honest with me about it).
-Then I'll revise based on their feedback by, I'm hoping, mid-to late October.
-Once it's further revised, I hope to send it out to other critique partners (those who aren't doing NaNoWriMo) and give them time to read and critique it.
-While my CP's critique, I'll do NaNo in November for the second manuscript I'm planning to write this year!

It's an ambitious timeline, but I think I can do it. It just means ignoring the TV, paying less attention to social media, and not reading nearly as many books as I do when I'm not binge-writing. I can do it, right? (As long as my toddler continues to nap and go to bed at a decent hour. If that changes, all bets are off!)

Okay, so that's my update! I'd love to hear from all of you now! How are you doing on your writing resolutions? How can we help each other get and stay motivated in the midst of the slumps that may be hitting? Any changes to your goals? Sound off in the comments below!

Step #8

-a post by Jeanna Mason Stay

Remember here, where I gave you eight steps to NaNoWriMo success? Well, November is over, and now it’s time to start talking a bit more about step #8. There is good news, and there is bad news here. Let’s start with the good news.

The good news is that even if you didn’t do any of the other seven steps, even if you didn’t hit 50,000 words in November—even if you didn’t try at all—you can still do step #8, the most important step of all.

The bad news: It’s harder than the rest of them combined.

Yes, the dreaded step #8 is to polish the novel (or short story or picture book or quilt or whatever).

If you only follow through on the first seven steps, you will turn out a lot of words and you will probably learn about your story quite a bit and tap some creative wells you didn’t know about. This is all awesomeness on your way to epic awesomeness. But, sadly, it isn’t enough. Because what you have is most likely so raw and full of holes no one will ever want to read it (including, maybe, you). (Okay, yes, I know that there are people who write fantastic first drafts, but those people are not me. And I’m sorry to say that they’re probably not you either.)

So the next step is, like Betsy Schow is always saying, to be a finisher. You’ve been a finisher at NaNoWriMo (or maybe not, but that’s irrelevant), but now you need to be a bigger finisher. You need to take what you’ve done, pick it apart, and stick it back together again in a way that makes sense. And then you need to make it pretty.

I’m saying all of this entirely hypocritically, by the way. I have four fairly large (50K or over) novel manuscripts sitting on my virtual shelves, one 30K manuscript, and scads of bits and pieces too. But I’ve only carried one of them to “completion.” (I sigh when I say “completion,” because every time I think it’s done, I get some feedback from a friend or reviewer and decide to fix it a little more. So even though I’m submitting it to agents, and it really is polished, it’s never quite polished enough, you know? Sigh.) So essentially I haven’t been much of a finisher.

That is because this step takes more work and thought and problem solving than any of the others, but I also think it’s the one that sets apart the serious writers. Sure, it’s not exactly “easy” to do NaNoWriMo, but how many people actually do something with their manuscripts afterward? I would bet that most manuscripts just languish for years (like mine).

Be one of the few! Make a plan and a goal. You have the entire rest of the year to be a NoFier (Novel Finisher . . . hmmm, somehow I don’t think this abbreviation is ever going to catch on). I actually ran some imaginary numbers on this at one point and determined that if I devoted even half as much time to writing during the rest of the months of the year that I spent in November, I could easily finish a novel a year. Draft in November, polish/reviews/revisions in December through September, outline a new one in October. Chop chop, that’s that. Tragically, this plan has yet to happen.

But 2014 is my year, people. One more of those manuscripts sitting on my shelf is going to get pretty.

How about yours?

P.S. I really wish I had come up with a cool picture or gif or something to go with this post. But honestly, given my brain power right now, you should probably just be impressed that I used bold and italics. That’s some seriously high-tech stuff there.

P.P.S. If you live in or near Logan, Utah, I hope you are planning on going to LDStorymakers this year. And if you don’t live close, consider spending huge amounts of money to go. We’re talking about Orson Scott Card and Brandon Sanderson here, people (both of whose classes are going to fill up ridiculously quickly). And many other good things. It is going to be full of epicness. Make sure you register early to get into nifty classes and whatnot (registration opens on the 16th), but not any earlier than I do. :)

Inspiration Notebooks

 

Nanowrimo just ended and I did not write 50,000 words of a novel. Starting out the month I knew that I would not be able to complete it. I have been working on a story called The Hope Chest and it is a story about my grandparents and their lives during a period while they were engaged. My grandpa was called away to World War II and didn’t return for four years. With each chapter I write I read several letters, my grandpa’s journal and research with history books. It is a project that I love, but has taken several years to get the story the way I want it. I am almost done and hope to finish by next April.

I also write on my genealogy blog Sharing Apples and for a web site called Family Storytelling. On top of that I get ideas and write them down. In the past I have just written down phrases or ideas on random pieces of paper. Slowly I started collecting notebooks. Specific notebooks for each thing I am writing. I keep a notebook in my car, one in my purse, in my bedroom and wherever I might need it.

I met an author that has several books out and she was talking about all her notebooks that she keeps. It made me feel good that I wasn’t the only one who did that.

I get those creative ideas and I need to get them down whenever, wherever. What do you do to keep track of your ideas? Do you have a stash of notebooks too?

"Can I Read It?"

by Katy White

This year, I've finished two different first drafts, and I'm honestly thrilled about both of them.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure when I start the second drafts, I'll realize they're absolute rubbish.  But writing them was energizing, and I didn't have any prolonged moments of, "Oh crap, where do I go now?"  I feel like that's a success in its own right. And, to revisit one of my favorite quotes:

“Every first draft is perfect because all the first draft has to do is exist. It's perfect in its existence. The only way it could be imperfect would be to NOT exist.” 


―Jane Smiley

As much as it scared me to admit to my friends and family my dream of becoming a writer, I decided to do it.  I posted on Facebook that I was participating in NaNoWriMo, and explained what it was.  I was relieved to see so much support from my peeps, and some of them even became great cheerleaders for me.  So when I posted that I had won NaNo and finished my novel, I felt on top of the world!

Then comments like these started appearing:

Katy White!!!!!!! You are my hero!! Love ya girl!! Can I read it pretty please???
That's amazing!! You are awesome! Can I read it too? I need some good reading 
So awesome! I knew you could do it.  Can't wait to read it!
Seriously, I need to read it now.

Sigh.

I've asked several writing friends about their experiences having friends and family read their work, and it's been pretty unanimously crummy.  Like mine.  What's up with that?  My first novel is the novel of my heart, and when my siblings and Dad and best friends asked to read it, I just assumed that, of course they'd actually read it!  And they'd love it!  And if they didn't love it, they'd still give me really, really good feedback that would help me make it so darn amazing, that it would sell a humble hundred thousand copies.  (Okay, so maybe me expectations weren't realistic.  I see that now.)

What I wasn't prepared for is people not reading it.  Of my four absolute best friends in the world, each a bibliophile whose favorite genre was my novel's genre, only one of them read it.  She reads two books a week, yet it took her four months.   Slap to the face.  And the slaps kept coming.

That isn't to say that no one read it, and it isn't to say that no one loved it or gave me incredible, much needed feedback.  Because that stuff happened, too.  But the negative experiences overwhelmed the positive ones to the point that I vowed to never again send a book until I was good and jaded enough not to let this hurt me.  Or, at least not to send it out so naively.

Fast forward to my current predicament of having super kind, well-intentioned friends who don't actually know they don't want to read my book.  They'll say that it's because it's so hard to read a book online, they'll ask if I can send them a hard copy, and they'll explain all about their computer problems.  Some of it will be legitimate, too.  But all of it will be disheartening.

Now I face the task of explaining to these well-intentioned friends that I have multiple drafts to do still that will take several months.  I need to explain to those whose interest still exists after all that that they can only read it if they promise that they're willing to give me real, hard feedback by a certain deadline, even if it's only to say, "I hate the title."  And through this, I hope I'll help some of the nice ones realize that the kindest thing to do is to not commit to something they can't or won't actually follow-through on.

Gina's recent post gave great suggestions and a helpful resource for finding critique partners.  But in general, how do you respond to "Can I read it?"