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NaNoWriMo Survival Kit

2011-10-31T13:23:00.001-05:00

It's NaNoWriMo eve and I'm busy preparing for the maelstrom to come, so here is a favorite post from last year that will hopefully prove useful to you as we stand on the brink of November...

October is the calm before the NaNoWriMo storm. Having lived in Houston all of my life, I'm no stranger to battening down the hatches. Like clock work, we get together bottled water, canned goods, and other non perishables as each new hurricane season approaches. We go through a laundry list to make sure that if all of a sudden a depression pops up in the gulf, so we won't be up the creek when the masses make a run for the grocery.

In this same fashion, I created a NaNoWriMo survival kit in preparation for a month of writing with literary abandon. Putting everything together before the tempest strikes will save me from wasting time on midnight runs for NaNo necessities. The kit includes (see pic above):

My writing totem - the goat the sings "High On a Hill Was a Lonely Goat Herd" from the sound of music

My computer - obvious I know. However, I have heard tales of people doing NaNoWriMo by hand.

Coffee - preferably with chicory

Tea - of the English afternoon persuasion

Betty Boop mug - Betty in the painting of the birth of Aphrodite...it's deliciously tacky with a hint of inappropriateness.

Whiskey - sometimes coffee just isn't enough

Chocolate bacon bar - yes, you read that correctly my friends: CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!!!! It's a heath bar with bacon pieces substituted for toffee bits.

Various frozen dinners, savory bake in oven snacks - one must eat during the month of November without much prep time.

Snickers Ice Cream Bars - dessert to top it all off.

And last but not least, my furry minions of doom:

the big one told me that on the days I didn't meet my word count goal, he would poop on the carpet. He's a 92 pound Lab/Elephant/German Shepherd mix, so I take that threat very seriously.

What would you add to the survival kit list?

NaNoWriMo 2011 Synopsis

2011-10-16T16:20:00.001-05:00

We're almost over the hump in October. That means every other part of the country is watching the tendrils of fall unfurl. I live in Houston so it's still hot and, well, hot. Regardless of the fact that autumn landscapes are not universal, National Novel Writing Month happens every November. Period.

I'm excited. This will be my fourth and hopefully my best NaNoWriMo yet. I'm using the Snowflake Method to organize my ideas this year. So far I'm really liking this method. It speaks to my engineering sensibilities. At this point, I'm through step 2 and working on step 3, fleshing out some character charts. While I'm getting to know my characters better, I wanted to share this year's novel synopsis with you. My story centers around a post apocalyptic world mixed with Arthurian legend.

Centuries ago, a breakthrough in medical science solved the disease of aging. Dying became a choice that fewer and fewer chose as each decade passed. One night in the dark hours of the morning, Emma, a young woman living on the mainland is woken violently. She is left disoriented and in total darkness as the fabric of science unravels suddenly and absolutely. As the sun rises, it reveals a landscape not seen for more than a millennia. In order to stay alive, Emma joins with two others who survived the event on their journey off the mainland and across the channel to an island where it is rumored a settlement of people have been living according to the ancient ways in hopes that they still remain. During their travels they discover ancient myths are proving to be more truth than fiction as they relearn how to live in an old world that is new to them.

The idea formed out of two TV shows. One on the science channel about the effect of free radicals on aging and how it can be slowed down and the other from a show on the History Channel about the truths behind Arthurian legend. (I guess it just goes to show that you can find inspiration anywhere.) The synopsis is still evolving and I don't yet have a title that I really like. But, that will begin to gel as the story unfolds

I hope everyone had a great writing weekend! I'll have more on my NaNoWriMo progress and writing goodness soon.

Writing Week in Review #7

2011-10-07T15:10:00.006-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's in the wee hours of the weekend and there's so much possibility for writing productivity laid out before us. Make the most of it with the best of the writing interwebs I stumbled upon over the last week.

Vantiy Plates Writing Prompts

9 Ideas to Improve Your Writing Productivity

Nathan Bransford - Lit Agent: How to Write a Novel

7 Distraction-Fighting Stratagies

The Best Way to Figure Out Your Book's Story Is...

5 Killer Ways to Improve Your Writing Right Now

5 Simple Cures for Writer's Block

So let it be written. So let it be done. (-Yul Brynner)

Writing Week in Review #6

2011-09-14T18:30:00.009-05:00

Here's the best of what I've tripped over on the web this week:

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Guide to Wrting Competitions, Lit Agents and More

Choosing Names for Fictional Characters

Your Writing Environment

30 Skills for Writers

A Simple Novel Outline - 9 Questions for 25 Chapters

5 Ways to Get the Book Inside You Out

I hope every one is having a fantabulous Monday! Check soon for more writing goodness.

Back From Paris

2011-07-13T08:35:00.001-05:00

Bonjour!

I'm back from my Honeymoon in Paris :) the dust from the Wedding melee and all it's accouterments is beginning to settle and life feels as if it is getting back to normal. Hopefully that feeling is not a false positive.

A fresh new blog post is in the works and will be making it's debut on Friday!

Stay tuned!

-Lyla

Writing Week in Review #5

2011-05-20T10:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday to all of you writers out there! Check out the links below to find the best of the writing world I discovered this week on the web.

Mystery Writing is Murder: Writing Profanity

The Blood-Red Pencil: The Freelance Affliction

Writer Beware! Blogs: Lit Agencies as Publishers

Some Questions and Answers About Writing

WritersCafe.org The Online Writing Community

Get Published - 50 Writing Websites for New Writers

12 Tips for Eliminating Unnecessary Words

How to Boost Writing Creativity

The Most Important Tip for Great Writing

How To Build a Character in Fiction

My you find inspiration for a write-tastic weekend!

Writing...Building a Model

2011-04-28T00:45:00.000-05:00

Back in my college days, which sadly seem further away than ever have before, I took a water modeling class as part of my graduate program. In order to help us wrap our minds around the difference between a model and reality, our professor used Plato's Allegory of the Cave as a tool. In this story, Plato tells the tale of people who have for all their lives have been chained up in a cave so that all they are able to see is the back wall of the cave and none of the outside world. Their perception of reality is limited to the shadows projected on the wall from life going on outside of their cave. My professors purpose to telling this story was to illustrate that a computer model for a water distribution system, or predicting the weather, etc., was only a projection of reality and not a mirror image there of.

In short, you can never duplicate reality, only approximate. In the engineering world, you can get copious amounts of detailed data, and develop an excruciatingly detailed approximation, but it's still not an exact replica. And in all honesty, you wouldn't want to try to replicate the real world. It would be impossible to gather every single bit of data needed and one would most likely go insane in the attempt.

Writing a fictional story is much the same. It's not possible to wholly replicate the reality you have created in your head. A reader would not want to trudge through a book that describes monotonous and irrelevant details. A writer doesn't need to describe everything in minutia. The task at hand for the writer is to create a story that's construction contains only the necessary information for the reader all the while keeping it artful and entertaining. Keeping both form and function in balance is no easy task, so here are some points to keep in mind while your prose are under construction:

Gather data on things you don't understand. Does your character surf? Do they sing opera? Do they sew? Are they Manic-Depressive? If you have no prior knowledge of a character trait or lifestyle aspect of a particular character, do your research. Take a surfing, or voice or sewing lessons. Don't have access to lessons or their not in the budget? Youtube has video lessons on just about anything. On the flip side if you want to understand a mental struggle, Psychology Today and other journals have a wealth of information on human behavior.

Eliminate Noise. Does the reader really care about what kind of sandwich your MC is noshing on at lunch? If it has no bearing on the plot or revealing something about the character, leave it out. In computer modeling, extra junk makes it run slow. In your story, pointless garble makes it drag.

Keep it Simple. This is probably the cardinal rule of engineering...and for writing as well. For the essential information you need to convey to your reader, don't weigh down your writing with flowery language. It sounds contrived and people will mock you and chase you with sticks.

Keep these things in mind when piecing together your prose and you'll come out with a sleeker manuscript in the end.

One final thought...in creating models much like crafting stories there is a certain unique style that one develops. Just like an author can be identified by the feel of their prose, one can also identify who set-up/created a computer model, not just by the notes they leave behind, but in the way it is constructed. And in both instances, this style evolves over time.

Checking In...

2011-04-11T20:38:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!

I'm taking a brief break from work today to check in and drop a quick post. It's been a terribly long day and it's not over yet. :-/ Like many workdays (and even weekends before today) I'm here at the office at 8:30 pm and it doesn't look like I'm going home any time soon...boo.

On the bright side we are trying to get this beast of a report out of the door so in the next day or two my life should be getting back to normal. Normal being a relative and mostly in accurate term. After all, the word "normal" is nothing more than a setting on a dryer.

Once I'm working less than 18 hours a day without a lunch break...I'll be back to blogging with regularly scheduled posts.

In the mean time, make some word count progress for me! I'll see you all on the flip side!

-Lyla

(Please pardon any miss-spellings, I don't have a spell check on this droid app...)

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OMG! Writing Podcasts!

2011-03-30T13:00:00.003-05:00

Maybe I've been living under a rock, but how did I go this long without discovering that there are podcasts on writing you can download for free. I have found they are a great way to keep my mind sharp on writing while at my desk job or in the car or doing house work. All the things that cannot be avoided and suck time out of my writing schedule.

Some of the ones that I listen to are:

Writing Excuses - A group of writers discuss writing techniques in a fast-paced 15 minute format.

Writers on Writing (couldn't find an official website for this one.)

The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy

Check one of these out and let me know what you think!

Mega Writing Muse

2011-03-23T08:18:00.001-05:00

I saw this story on my morning news crawl just moments ago (see the link below). After nearly falling out of my desk chair laughing, the infinite possibilities of how this woman got herself into this situation began scrolling through my mind. It was just too good not to share!

So, for a writing exercise: write 3 very different versions of how this woman got into such a stickey wicket. Going the extra mile: turn your favorite version into a short story.

Naked Woman Rescued From Cliff in California - FoxNews.com

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week! I'll see you all on friday with a new Writing Week in Review.

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The Writing Week in Review #4

2011-03-18T12:30:00.002-05:00

It's Friday. And I know that is usually a really fabulous thing for all concerned...but...today I'm in the dentist office under anesthesia getting my second round of dental work done. FUN! Nonetheless, I planned ahead and scheduled this post the night before.

So, without further ado, here's the Writing Week in Review!

How to Make a Living Writing

Fiction - Stretching the Tension

7 Steps to Editing Nirvana

Fantasy Fiction: The Problem With Prophecies

200 Writing Exercises

Building Fictional Characters

Agents, Agenting, Plotting, Stories, Ethics

Words to Avoid

Advice to First-Time Authors

Writing Blunders

Happy Writing Weekend Everyone! I'll be back with a new post as soon as I'm fully with the land of the living again.

(My) Top 5 Free Apps for Writers

2011-03-15T10:15:00.002-05:00

Writing is something we've been doing for a long time. Longer than the iPad, personal computer, or even paper has been around (clay tablets came before paper if you recall.) Now, I prefer the android OS, but to be completely egalitarian, I'm going to note witch programs are good for the iPad as well. Below you will find some of the best programs out there to aid you in your writing.

My Writing Spot: This one has some great features like allowing you to email documents from the program, it syncs with it's web version so you can manage your documents from any computer with web access, and it keeps up with your word count among other great things. (good for Droid and iPad. Note: there is both a free version and one with a price)

AK Notepad: This app is great for jotting down quick notes and ideas before they evaporate from your cranium. It's simple and easy to use. (For Droid)

Outliner: A great app that allows you an unlimited number of outlines, due dates, and keeps track of status to help you stay organized. As an added bonus the back button always saves the data. This one is more for the front side of your project. (For Droid and iPad)

Thinking Space: This fierce flow charting app lets you outline in a more colorful way. You will see your ideas laid-out in an organized fashion and make some serious progress. (For Droid)

ColorNote: Keep your ideas organized through color coding. Set reminders so that you can badger yourself into finding time to write. This app also lets you set passwords if you want to keep your ideas secret until you're ready to unleash your writing greatness on the world. (For Droid)

Although, I still love writing by hand in my notebook from the bottom of my heart. I can't deny that technology sometimes makes life a lot more organized and efficient. Hopefully these tools will help reduce the friction on your writing path and get you to your destination more quickly and easily.

Let me know if you have a favorite app or program that you like to use!

Writing Week in Review #3

2011-03-11T10:28:00.003-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's a beautiful and sunny morning here in Houston, an absolutely fabulous start to the weekend. In order to get your writing juices flowing, check out the following links I've stumbled upon in the last week:

Getting Writing Done

Creative Writing Ideas, Prompts, etc.

Writing the First Novel Chapter

5 Things That Cause Writers Block (And How to Avoid Them)

The Very Rich Indie Writer - This one made me want to go home and finish that trunk novel of mine so that I could put out an e-book a.s.a.p.

13 Ways of Looking at a Story

Research Sources for Writers

Hopefully this group of links holds some help and inspiration for you. Have a happy weekend of writing!

The Writing Week in Review #2

2011-03-04T09:05:00.007-06:00

It's another beautiful Friday! Here are some of the writing resources I came across this week:

Barbarians: The Character Meme of 2011

Beat Blank Page Syndrome: 10 Tricks to Get Your Writing Started

5 Ways to Make Your Novel Unforgettable

11 Reasons You Won't Get Published

9 Traits of Sympathetic Characters

What Makes Readers Care About Your Characters?

A Classic Nontextbook on Writing

I got some great feedback on my last Writing Week in Review so I'm going to make this a regular Friday blog post.

Let me know if there are topics yous guys are particularly interested in and I'll dedicate a week to links on those as well.

I hope everyone has a fabulous writing filled and productive weekend!

I'm Not Dead...Yet

2011-02-24T16:13:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone!

Although I've fallen off the blog wagon, I am still here. I promise. However, I've had a lot on my plate lately. For example:

I'm working late and long hours for a project to keep us on time and under budget
I'm recovering from oral surgery I had last Friday (which the late and long hours are not helping...)
I've got a wedding date speeding toward me like a bullet train

The good news is I have been able to keep up with my writing tip tweets (check them out! I'm @SouthernBella03) and I've got some fresh new blog posts I'm going to be rolling out starting TOMORROW!

I hope everyone is poised for a weekend of epic writing. Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow's post!

The Writing Week in Review

2011-02-11T10:26:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! Here's a collection of the fabulous writing resources I found on the interwebs this past week. Peep through them, and hopefully you will find something that helps your writing this weekend.

Making Your Writing Exciting At the Sentence Level

7 Habits of Serious Writers

Quick Tips for Improving Your Writing

Social Networking Sites and Message Boards for Writers

The Tarot as a Tool for Writing Your Novel

How to Use a Plot Notebook When Writing a Book

119 Prompts for Your Journal Jar

How to Write Like Orwell and Abagond

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Method Writing

2011-02-09T21:49:00.000-06:00

Do you write what you know? Do you write what you do? How do you fully flesh out something on the page when you don't have any experience in the topic? We're writers so we do our research...google, reading topical articles, talking to people in the know...but it can sometimes come out flatter than the page it's written on.

Nothing comes close to first hand experience. After all how would you describe chocolate if you've never smelled it's aroma, tasted it on your tongue, or felt the way it melts against your cheek. If you have only seen pictures of it there's no way you can get it right.

I was pondering this the other day when I remembered a drama class I took in high school where we covered the topic of method acting. The basic idea is: if you were playing the part of a homeless man, you would live that way for a few days or weeks, if you were playing the part of a nanny, you would borrow some kids to look after for a good period of time, if you were playing a sleep deprived mad man, you would forgo your pillow for a night or two...you get the point. In order to portray a role as purely as possible, they would experience their character's world on an intimate level.

This same concept can be applied to our writing. Immerse yourself in a hobby or dabble in an interest of one of your characters. This may not always be affordable, legal, or sane. In those cases, google might be the best that you can get. But if for example, your MC likes to sew her own clothes, by all means, take a sewing class. It will give you a better understanding of why your MC might like sewing so much and at the same time it will help you broaden your horizons. Never a bad thing.

How would this method be best applied to your characters and story? Feel free to share your ideas below!

Rolling Blackouts are Killing Me Slowly

2011-02-02T12:14:00.004-06:00

Because of this crazy-cold-for-Houston weather our energy provider has been ordered by a high muckity-muck to implement rolling blackouts across the state of Texas. Already this morning we've had three 45-minute outages and I'm estimating that another one is due to arrive at about 12:30ish (CST). Unfortunately we only have about an hour of power in between the outages. That doesn't leave a lot of time for us to get anything done round these parts.

I'm kicking myself for not bring a book with me today (like I often do so I can read on my lunch hour) nor do I have my notebook (so I can write like I often do on my lunch hour)

...grumble...grumble...grumble...

So, I'm off to scrounge up some blank paper so maybe I can get some writing done the next time the lights go out.

Of course it's definitely not as bad as some of you in the northern regions that are snowed in and under. Hopefully everyone is staying warm and safe and getting some writing done!

New Writing Beginnings

2011-01-23T16:19:00.001-06:00

It's a new year so I thougt it would be a good time to get a new note book for new ideas. There's a lot of "new" happening :). So I've parked myself at a table in my B&N with my new purchases and I'm working on that pesky plot bunny I mentioned in the previous post.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and...here's to a painless Monday! (As painless as Mondays can possibly bee anyway)

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A Writing Epiphany on Epiphany

2011-01-20T08:40:00.000-06:00

On January 6th I downloaded a new-to-me audio book, The Year of the Flood by Margret Attwood from the Houston Public Library's Digital Catalogue. (Side note: I heart downloading audio books from the library! The files just expire when your time is up so you never have to worry about incurring an late fee. Not that I'm bad about that or anything *cough cough*) I was in the middle of listening to chapter 1 while plugging away at a statistical analysis on water well pumpage for a suburban community, an idea for a new story line hit me like a beer truck.

While most people would be overjoyed to have been pounced on by a plot bunny that excited them this much, I was substantially annoyed.

My inner monologue went something like this, "SERIOUSLY!?!?! I've barely started chipping away at my NaNoWriMo manuscript. WHY IS THIS ACCOSTING ME NOW!?!?!" Well truthfully, I'm annoyed and excited. I really do love this idea for a post-apocalyptic science-fiction story that just manifested from the dark depths of my cerebral cortex. I love it so much it's really difficult not to completly abandon my NaNo novel for a while just so I can flesh out this idea.

While I'm figuring out just what to do with this rogue plot bunny that I'm head over heels for, I wanted to put this situation forth as evidence that reading is just as important to a writer as is the act of writing itself.

Although I love reading with a passion. It's one of the first things to get squeezed out of my schedule when things in life get busy. And as proven by the events above, that can only be to the detriment of my writing life.

P.S. I'm not finished with listening to the book yet, but so far it's really fabulous.

Office Shenanigans

2010-12-21T08:52:00.011-06:00

So I get into work this morning and discover this delightful scene:

My manager's office...

And one of my co-worker's cubes:

The perpetrator got the phone, the mouse, their Buc-ee's mugs, coffee cups, bookshelves, name plates, and drawers. Unfortunately he missed the USB powered nerf missile launcher that sits atop the cube wall. Although, the perp was none too smart and left scraps of wrapping paper on his desk. So, it was really easy to figure out who it was that spread the x-mas cheer all across their workstations. The choice of wrapping paper was an excellent one however. Kitty and puppy prints are very befitting of the guys that occupy these cubes. Just next time dude, hide the evidence.

I'm still chugging along slowly but steadily with my NaNoWriMo novel edits. I'll have an update and lessons learned on that soon.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday weekend!

Coming out of the NaNoWriMo Coma

2010-12-10T11:34:00.004-06:00

NaNoWriMo 2010 has come to a close. And I have to say that I'm glad it's over. I started off strong right out of the gate getting in just over 2,600 words down on the first day. I stayed ahead of the target word count for the first 10 days or so, then I hit a wall. The idea well had dried up. It was imperative that I kept moving forward so I would write parts and pieces that weren't to my liking, but moved the story line forward. It would get me to a better place where I would pick up the pace when I got to a happier place with my plot. I rode this manic-depressive writing roller coaster for the last two-thirds of the month. There were some very dark and bleak times during the month of November where all hope was lost and I thought I wouldn't make it. In the end, I managed to pull it off by the skin of my teeth.

The result is a 50k word manuscript that needs a lot of TLC.

So where do I go from here? The obvious answer is edit. But, where do I begin?

Before I move forward, my instincts are telling me to take a few steps back. The plan is to first revisit my characters. Some of the less than pleasing parts of the story are a result of not being able to answer the question, "What would this character do next?" Now that I have more time, I'm going to go back and do a more detailed character study for each of my MCs. Getting to know them better will help me work out some of the kinks in the plot. I'm going to do this first, even before going back and re-reading what I've written.

Why? Because if I have a better handle on my characters, as I'm going back over the manuscript, I'll be able to provide more constructive criticism on the story. I'll be able to provide comments like "Have the MC take her dog for a walk first as is her normal routine" rather than "This part really sucks"

If you're at the same point in your writing/editing process, you might find these character sheets helpful:

Tara K. Harper Character Worksheet

Pamela Dowd Character Worksheet

The Lazy Scholar Character Worksheet

Coming Up for Air

2010-11-16T10:36:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone!

I'm deep in the NaNoWriMo trenches. I'm coming up for a bit of air today. I'll have my NaNoWriMo Lesson #3 post up shortly so stay tuned!

Happy Writing :)

NaNoWriMo Lesson #2

2010-11-09T11:55:00.003-06:00

How to pad your word count...

It's day 9 of NaNoWriMo we're almost a third of the way through and all though I'm still typing full steam ahead, I'm looking down the road to the latter parts of the month when I will probably start running out of ideas.

In order to get to 50k as efficiently as possible, consider these methods of word count padding:

Include lists of items. Is your character going to the grocery store or on a trip? Perhaps one of your characters likes to make a to do list to start off the day.
Introduce a character that likes to spontaneously break into song.
Take the time to include a detailed description of the scene. Really get descriptive. Include points on all five of the senses: Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Sound. (Ooooh, Look! A list!)
Have the character get into a heated back and forth and back and forth argument.
Add a prologue or an epilogue. Each is good for an extra 1000 words or so!

Keep that word count flowing! :)

NaNoWriMo Lesson #1

2010-11-03T09:49:00.003-05:00

What ever you do. DO NOT GO BACK AND READ ANY OF WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN UNTIL 12:00:01 AM ON DECEMBER 1ST!!! If you do you might be overwhelmed by a compulsion to edit.

Last night I crossed the 5k mark after finishing a scene with a lot of dialogue in it. I didn't have much of a plan for it other that 3 key elements needed to be covered in the scene, I was totally flying by the seat of my pants (which completely offended my engineering sensibilities). The resulting scene was clunky and awkward and...well...crap. It took all my willpower, and a bit of wine, to accept it for what it was and just keep writing. It is just a rough draft and it can be changed as soon as the calendar flips to December 1.

...Hoping to cross into 7k territory tonight!

How's everyone's current WIP coming along? (both NaNo and non-NaNo alike)

Online Tools for NaNoWriMo

2010-11-01T08:24:00.005-05:00

The interwebs is a great place to find lots and lots of tools to help with your writing. So in honor of this completely insane noveling endeavor also known as NaNoWriMo, I've compiled a list of fabulous links with invaluable goodness to aid you on your month long journey (or any other WIP goal you've got going on)

The NaNoWriMo Website (stating the obvious here I know...) Peruse the forums for plot bunnies up for adoption. Can be very helpful when you hit the wall and need fresh ideas.

The NaNoWriMo Report Card - Stay on top of your word count by keeping track of it with this shnazzy excel spreadsheet.

Writing a Si-Fi/Fantasy Novel? Check out these world builder questions. Details lead to more word count!

Fill out a character sheet. Again...details, details, details

Need a more organized and structured way to get to your 50k goal? Try the snowflake method for writing your novel

And the even more extreme write or die for those of you in need of a kick in the writing pants.

I'm off to make some serious word count progress...

'Twas the Night before NaNoWriMo...

2010-10-31T22:32:00.004-05:00

...And all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a plot bunny.

Ok, so that's about as far from the truth as it can get. The bunnies are actually quite restless. The plot line keeps running around and around endlessly in my head and each time it makes another lap it picks up more details. Not unlike dust bunnies skimming around and around on the floor picking up more dust in a snowball effect.

I'm well outlined and ready for tomorrow. My goal is to go well beyond the 1,667 first day word mark and keep going to 5k. A lofty goal...yes, but with as loud as this plot has been screaming in my head to let it out I think I just might be able to make my mark on the first day.

I'll be keeping everyone posted on the progress (watch for a word count widget to appear on the right-hand side of the page). And I'll continue with both NaNo and non-NaNo related posts. Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll be posting my NaNoWriMo online tool kit, my NaNoWriMo Survival Kit, and posts on lessons learned goodness through out the month.

Goodnight and Good Luck Everyone!

NaNoWriMo Soundtrack Release!

2010-10-26T12:20:00.002-05:00

My fingertips are tingling in anticipation of NaNo...only one week to go. One thing I do for my WIPs to help me get in the mindset of the story line is to create a "soundtrack." The songs I picked out really capture the spirit of key scenes and characters. In a similar way that people put together a play list for the gym or meditation, Listening to my WIP soundtrack helps me travel to into the fiction and set the mood for my writing.

Even if you're not doing NaNoWriMo (and you know you should) try creating a soundtrack for your current WIP and see where the tunes take your story. You might even find new inspiration along the way.

And now...the NaNoWriMo 2010 Soundtrack:

Fashion - Lady Gaga
Warning - Incubus
Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Starlight - Muse
Castles Made of Sand - Jimmy Hendrix
Next Year - Foo Fighters
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
It's My Life - Gwen Stefani
I Will Survive - Cake
Animal - Neon Trees
La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf

Have a listen to the play list here on Grooveshark. I'd love to hear what you have to think. Be sure to drop me a line in the comments...

And as a little something extra on this post, here's an updated synopsis (Jeff made a good point in the comments on the synopsis debut post...It was missing too much of the main problem.) It was difficult to add onto because I didn't want to give away the whole story. Finding the perfect balance between teaser and summary was hard to do.

The right pair of shoes can change a woman's life forever...That is if she's open to change.

Jacqueline has been riding the corporate conveyor belt since college graduation day. Now seven years into her career at an architecture firm in Houston, pressure from herself and her family has kept her drive a live. She's fought long and hard to achieve what she has, sinking her teeth in and refusing to let go.

An unexpected promotion, taking her back to Paris where she spent her childhood, follows on the heels of her purchasing a pair of sleek red patent leather pumps at an estate sale. These new shoes seem to be her lucky charm. Everything goes smoothly until her first day at the new office where she's low man on the totem pole all over again and she must redouble her efforts and ambition to hold her own in the firm's flagship office. Suddenly the shoes don't look so lucky anymore. They've taken her across the ocean and into a maelstrom.

Tides of change are eating away at her castle made of sand. Jacqueline will have to make some difficult decisions about her career. Is the crucible of mental abuse her new boss has tossed her into worth the pain and anxiety? Or will the disappointment of her family and fear of the uncertain tomorrow be harder to bear?

Jacqueline must decide if she wants to take the pot holes in stride or if she dares to step off the conveyor belt. Either way will she trip and fall in her new shoes?

I don't have a title for it quite yet and I realize that the synopsis sounds somewhat disjointed and choppy. Granted, I haven't written a word of text yet, only an almost finished outline and some character notes. It will be much easier to break down the story into a mouth watering morsel once I have everything down on paper (or... in pixels really.)

Speeding Toward NaNoWriMo!

2010-10-19T16:31:00.005-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm working on an updated NaNoWriMo synopsis in addition to my 2010 story line soundtrack and my November survival kit. So check back very soon for blog goodness on all of the above...same blog time...same blog channel!

So what kind of writing kalesthenics are you doing to prepar for NaNo this year?

NaNoWriMo 2010: Synopsis Debut!

2010-10-14T15:20:00.002-05:00

My NaNoWriMo 2010 story line came about as a quandary I've been pondering for quite a while. "Chick lit is just missing that certain je ne sais quoi." Granted, because I'm a chick, technically everything I read is Chick Lit. But, so many times I feel let down by the selection that's currently available. Some of the chick lit I've read in the past (titles to remain unnamed) fell flat on my literary palate. The lead female character is always of average to above average intelligence, is not unfortunate looking, is generally liked by the people they encounter and have a mild to severe shopping problem. On top of that the plot doesn't put the MC through a crucible in any way shape or form. Only mild disappointments (usually having to do with their love interest) are encountered. To summarize, they're fluffy stories about a Mary Sue.

**Now, I know I haven't read every book in this genre. So if you have any suggestions that shatter my opinion, please feel free to share**

My goal with this manuscript is to create a story that career women with more than just cotton for brains can relate to. A story that deals with discrimination against women in technical industries, the difficulty of balancing one's working and personal life, and preconceived expectations of what "success" is measured by. I'm coming up on my 5 year anniversary at my 1st job out of college, and these are all things that both myself and my fellow girls-in-the-workplace have had to deal with on a daily basis. And like they say, "Write what you know."

With out further ado...Here is my NaNoWriMo 2010 Synopsis:

The right pair of shoes can change a woman's life. That is, if she's open to change...

Jacqueline had been riding the corporate conveyor belt since college graduation day. Now seven years into her career at an architecture firm, pressure from herself and her family has kept her drive alive. She's fought long and hard to achieve what she has, sinking her teeth in and refusing to let go.

But flash floods of change are thundering her way. Will she be able to adapt to the tidal wave crashing down on her life, or will she drown?

Happy Birthday to My Blog!

2010-10-13T11:00:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO INSTANT HUMAN, JUST ADD COFFEE!!!

Today my blog turns the big UNO. A year ago today I put up my first post: Coffee Coffee Everywhere But Not a Plot Bunny in Sight At first this blog started as a live journal of sorts chronicling my journey through NaNoWriMo '09. It served that purpose and so much more. Keeping up with the blog posts (ok, ok, attempting to keep up with them...) motivated me to keep up with my writing and take a critical look at the process and lifestyle that goes along with composing prose. As a result I've learned a good deal more about myself, expanded my circle of writing buddies and my writing has benefited greatly.

So, "Thank you!" to all the peeps that have found and followed my blog since Oct 13th of last year. Your comments and support have kept me going! :) You guys are awesome!

Fellow Writers Unite!

2010-10-11T19:10:00.007-05:00

Only 20 days left in October...This is a NaNoWriMo Call To Arms!!!

I'm deep in the preparation trenches. My outline is almost done and I'm working on some character sheets.

JOIN ME! Put aside what ever reservations you have. It's exactly the swift kick in the writing pants you need. Hey, don't get snarky...we both know you need it. (I know I do.) But don't just take my word for it, swing by their website and check it out http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I'm in the process of updating my NaNo profile and I wanted to take this opportunity to invite my blog peeps to be my writing buddy. My NaNo ID is: Daria03

Having trouble finding me on the site? Check out this link on How to Add a Writing Buddy

The Art of Walking...and Writing (Part 2)

2010-10-04T20:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, I finally had the opportunity to test out my little theory on taking a hike to make headway in my writing. And I'm happy to say that as one of the commenters on the original post put it "Walking definitely helps."

Before I began my walk, I only had about a third of the story outlined for one of my two possible NaNoWriMo plots. By the end of the walk I had envisioned at least another third of the story line. In between, while walking along the White Oak Bayou trail with my dogs and fiancee, I had a wonderful time and soaked up some much needed vitamin D. I found that ideas for the story line came to me in snippets. An "ah-ha" spark would flash in my head, then my mind would wander off somewhere...back to the ongoing conversation...the on coming herd of bikers we had to get off the trail to avoid...why is my dog sniffing that. Then, another "ah-ha" spark would happen. All in all it was a very productive cycle without putting forth much effort. Like they say...work smarter, not harder.

After jotting down my ideas gleaned yesterday, I'm already looking forward to the next walking opportunity. Hopefully I'll have the plot finished after jaunt part deux.

So, have you had an opportunity to move forward through your WIP while strolling through your story line? Or have you used going for a walk to work through another genre of quandary?

My Writing Totem

2010-09-29T22:45:00.007-05:00

A small section on page 76 of No Plot? No Problem! is dedicated to the use of a writing totem. The author, Chris Baty (the founder of NaNoWriMo), describes a totem as something that, "helps you transition from the world of everyday living into the fictional realms you've created."

My writing totem is a singing goat. It's a souvenir from a family trip to Glacier National Park. I purchased it partly because I think goats are cool, partly because the Sound of Music is awesome, and partly because a singing goat was the perfect thing to have in the car to thoroughly annoy my parents on a road trip.

Now, it's what I keep next to my computer during NaNoWriMo writing sessions and beyond. It puts a smile on my face when the creative cogs in my brain grind to a frustrating halt.

So, do you have a writing totem?

Busy Week...Writing Sprints

2010-09-28T13:10:00.001-05:00

I know many of you have ye ol' 9 to 5 job just like me. And when there's a deadline crunch at the office, the time available for writing quickly dwindles under the oppression of my 50+ hour week.

In order to forge on and not loose ground on progress, I've started scheduling 2 to 3 writing sprint windows into my day. The process is simple:

1. Set timer for 15 or 20 minutes
2. Write like a crazy monkey driving a speed boat
3. Stop when the timer buzzes

The lunch hour is a great place to squeeze in a sprint and so is TV time. Pause DVR...write...keep watching. I then have more word count and a backlog of recorded show so I don't have to watch commercials. It's a total win-win. Unfortunately I don't have the discipline to wake up 20 min early and sprint before leaving for work. I loathe mornings too much.

Don't let the man keep you down! Keep on writing!!!

Faster Caffeine Flow Rate

2010-09-20T18:11:00.001-05:00

When in need of faster caffeine delivery from sippy-opening (that's the technical term for where you drink from)...Poke a larger vent hole in the top of the lid. This results in a faster coffee discharge flow rate.

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Writting Dilemma...Chasing Plot Bunnies

2010-09-19T20:28:00.007-05:00

You might remember from just a few posts ago that I'm already very excited about NaNoWriMo '10 and I've hit the ground running with an outline.

Here's the rub...

I had an intense "ah-ha" moment day before yesterday. A brand new plot bunny bounced forth from my forehead. (Almost like when Athena sprung forth from Zeus's cranium...almost) My mind immediately began chasing the wittle wabbit down a twisting path. Around each corner was another new plot twist. By the time I chased it as far as it was will to go that day, I had a mental outline for a brand new story that had me just as excited as my existing NaNo idea.

Now I don't know which one I want to use. I still have a month and a week to make a final decision. So, until then I'll keep working on both outlines and hopefully one will rise to the top.

The Art of Walking...and Writing

2010-09-17T10:35:00.002-05:00

Writing is not a sprint, it's a sojourn through your story. It's a long expedition, so if you're stuck, or things get slow just remember to keep moving. Sometimes that's easier said than done. However, I ran across a brilliant idea one morning when I was doing my morning news crawl on the interwebs. There on MSN was an intriguing link on their scrolling "main news" thingy...a compilation of 25 off-the-beaten-path college courses, one of which was called The Art of Walking

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Here was another excellent tool I could adapt and use to pry myself out of a prose sticky spot. I've heard about methods to talk it out, narrating the story to yourself to navigate your story out of the doldrums. I'm also familiar with the method of just keep writing, write anything, even if it's crap, just to keep your momentum (you can always go back and change it later). But sometimes, you need might need something a little more moving to get your momentum back. Sometimes, you might literally need to put one foot in front of the other to get to you to your destination.

The whole idea of walking to work through a writing wall evoked images of my favorite movie (and book), Pride and Prejudice. This walking method must have worked for the author as well. From what I have read about Jane Austin, she was very fond of walking as well. For myself in this modern day and age, getting out of the house and walking the trail along the bayou will get me away from the TV and any housework hanging over my head that I often use as an excuse to not write.

I'm very excited to try out this walking to write method this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Muse-ical Monday

2010-09-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

I know that some people out there prefer quiet peace when they write...I am not one of those people.

Music works for me on multiple levels. It can evoke emotion, it can bring back memories, and the words can paint pictures right before your eyes. It keeps my word count movin' right along. In fact, one of my new favorite creative writing exercises is to take 3 - 5 songs, each as different from the other as possible, then create a short story knit together from the plot thread spun out of their verses. I especially love using pandora to mix it up and find some random inspiration if I'm in a writing rut.

So, what are some of your unique ways to drum up inspiration?

Faux Monday Morning

2010-09-08T11:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the perfect monday, because it wasnt a Monday at all. Technically it was the first day of the work week...but that's as far as the suckyness went.

I'm actually felling quite good (one could venture to say smarmy even) after the uber productiveness of yesterday's faux Monday. we had a major breakthrough and a stroke of luck on one of our projects, I got in a most fabulous workout on my lunch hour, and I made an impressive amount of progress on my NaNoWriMo outline (I'll post some pics as proof later today). All this on the heels of a redonkulously productive long weekend when an enormus amount of housework and small fix-it projects were accomplished.

EVERY weekend shold be a three day weekend! Did anyone else tap into their fountain of energy over labor day?

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Speed Bumps In The Fast Lane

2010-08-27T11:00:00.003-05:00

As a young woman in college I heard encouraging words from my professors telling me "It's a different world now for women in (insert appropriate profession here)" and "There is no such thing as a glass ceiling anymore"

What the college professors didn't prepare us for is how rotten some people in the corporate world can be and that not everyone outside of academia has jumped on the equality band wagon.

To make a long story uber short: Some people really suck. And they can turn your joy ride of a life into one hell of a bumpy ride. (At this point I'll leave you to wonder whether I'm going of first hand experience or a compilation of stories from after work girl talk).

I know some of you might be thinking "You're just figuring this out now?" and rolling your eyes, thinking I might be a bit naive. Don't get me wrong. I've always known that the real world is a rough place. But knowing and actually hearing things over cubicle walls, are very different things. Plus, people never cease to amaze me. Just when you think you've seen and heard it all some wing nut comes up with a new and more offensive way of practicing jerk-ism.

In order to put a positive spin on this dreary enlightenment, I'm making a very pointed effort to turn it into inspiration for my writing. Having people that really "hoover at life" is what can make for excellent conflict in a plot.

Flash back to the 1990s and the TV series Ally McBeal. Scenes from the show would depict what the characters would like to do during moments of pissed-off-edness. Whether it be setting someones pants on fire or standing idly by while the watch a volley of arrows sail into their foe's chest. Visualizing these things happening put a smile on their face.

For me, using prose to eviscerate the not so savory people in my life is extremely cathartic and puts a smile on my face in the very same way.

So, I encourage you to use the "everyday idiots" in your life in the same way. Let them help you enrich your writing and create more disslikeable antagonists. And on the bright side, once you get published, you don't have to cut them in on the royalties. ;-)

Rollin' On, Writing Another Outline

2010-08-26T13:01:00.006-05:00

With three works in progress sitting stagnant on my hard drive (along with a few partials too), I've started yet another outline.

The reason...

NaNoWriMo approacheth!!! I know many of you are NaNo veterans. But if are in need of enlightenment: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. In November of every year WriMos wait with baited breath, fingers tips poised with anticipation above keyboards, for the clock to strike 12 on Halloween night. Beginning at that moment, you have 30 whole days to write a complete story arc with no fewer than 50,000 words. That averages out to be 1,667 words per day. Essentially, NaNoWriMo is a swift kick in the writing pants. (Want more specifics? Check out the Official NaNoWriMo Site)

This will be my 3rd year to do NaNo and my phalanges are already tingling with joy! This year I will write more dangerously and with more abandon. This year I will break through writer's block more quickly and embrace underthinking the plot. This year will be the most fantabulous NaNo yet!

So, I'm piecing together a completely brand spanking new outline rather than working on a previous WIP.

Decided to do NaNo? Add me as a writing buddy! My NaNo Name is: Daria03

P.S. My RSS feed button has been fixed...I'm subscribe-able again!!!

Yet Un-posted Posts

2010-08-26T06:30:00.000-05:00

I have 23 draft posts marinading on my blogger account. TWENTY-THREE! So, I've made a mid-year resolution to comb through them all, get them finished and up on the blog.

So much blogging goodness queued up and ready to go!

Why I Write

2010-08-25T12:01:00.002-05:00

On the heels of the post about my day job...Engineering is why I write. I love writing because it's not engineering. The creative process of writing is the yen to the yang of the technical nature of my career. When I'm not at work, writing (among many other things) provides a balance.

During the 9 to 5 my entire focus is on numbers and figures. Take today for example. The two things I split my time between were: first to determine an accurate gallon per day irrigation consumption for a community's water model. I found this data by pouring over historical metered data records and then making some assumptions. And second, run multiple iterations on a model for different sizes of rainstorms until the model results and the real world data matched up almost exactly...ok you get the point. It's not the most free-form, creative occupation in the world.

Like I've said in previous blog posts, I enjoy this kind of work. But I'm 99.999% certain that if this was all that I did, I would go bloody batty.

Writing allows me to escape from "just the facts" and create something more malleable. It's an outlet for me in my world of following state regulations and industry standards. Getting to put a completely different world on paper, one that has endless possibilities, is a release. Creating a story that I enjoy would be wonderful to share with the world. And if I'm being honest, there's a little bit of my ego that would love to have something bigger than myself live on after I'm gone.

And it's fun...

So, why do you write? (Please chime in on this post! I would LOVE to know what motivates my fellow writers out there!)

Looking For a place for your writing?

2010-08-22T18:27:00.001-05:00

I stumbled upon this today: http://nine.frenchboys.net/city.php

It's a city/place generator...enjoy!

P.S. A new blog post is in the works. So check back VERY soon!

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On the Road Again

2010-08-06T11:58:00.001-05:00

I'm waiting for take off from Houston to Baltimore. My parents and I are headed to Central PA so my Fiancee's parents and my parents can meet. I already know our mothers will get along famously...I wonder what shenanigans will arise out of this weekend? Possibly some great situations for a story line :)

On the Flip Side...When I'm Not Writing.

2010-08-02T06:50:00.001-05:00

From the cube of Lyla Campbell (yes, that is really what my cube looks like. I like to think of it as organized chaos.)...

As seen in my profile blurb there to the right, during the 9 to 5, I'm an engineer. More specifically I work on water distribution systems. A.K.A the thing that makes the water come our of your faucet when you turn it on. When communities want to add on more houses or need a permit renewal, we model their system to show them what they can do and any changes they need to make. My during the day my weekday world is dominated by 99.9% numbers-and-figures-geekyness.

I thought when I came to work 4 years ago that the office environment would be one of quiet productivity and efficiency. Wow, was I wrong. My cube is surrounded by 8 others along with multiple offices on either side of our open area. It's loud. The guys just on the other side of my cube wall love "your mom" jokes and make fun of each other on a regular basis throughout the day. Many of my coworkers don't realize how much their voices carry and as a result I can hear their phone conversations with plant operators, clients, and your mom (yes, sadly the your mom thing grows on you after a while.) I listen to music most of the day to drown out this background bedlam.

Despite the din of the office, surprisingly, I find my job very satisfying. I really like what I do. Unfortunately a dark, dark cloud looms over my workplace...The coffee really sucks. I mean really. It smells like burning dog food while it's brewing and singeing on the hot plate. OK, I'm being nice. Or office coffee is truly a crime against humanity. As a blessing and a curse, we have a Starbucks downstairs. The blessing: better coffee (The dark cherry white chocolate mocha is so good you just might pee on your desk chair a little). The curse: It's a huge drain on my wallet.

The Solution: Desktop Mocha.

One cup of coffee

One packet of hot cocoa mix

A dash of tap water (this helps water down the burned taste of the coffee)

This combination equals slightly more palatable coffee.

So, What kind of coffee (or tea) voodoo do you employ to satiate your coffee cravings?

20 Most Coffee Addicted Cities in the US

2010-07-28T09:16:00.003-05:00

This morning I ran across this article during my morning news crawl through the interwebs. Given my zeal for coffee, I felt compelled to share this on my blog.

Morning Jolt: 20 Most Caffeine Addicted Cities in the US

The most fabulous Houston, TX (my hometown) ranks #15!

Did your city make the list? If not, any urges to move to one that did due to your coffee craving?

On Vacation and Writing - Part 2

2010-07-26T21:21:00.005-05:00

Written on the plane back from Seattle...

Five days later and not one more productive written word. Writing fail?

...maybe

To be honest (brace yourself for an excuse) there really wasn't much time to think about story lines or plot twists. When we weren't hiking or driving to the next hiking location, we were desperately looking for a gas station, refueling ourselves on salmon and crab, or spending some quality bonding time with our pillows.

After spending a week living the granola crunchy life a point to ponder started brewing in the back of my head. Now on the way home, while thumbing through a backpacker magazine I purchased at the news stand in the SeaTac terminal that pondered point really solidified. Every other page in this periodical had an add for a high tech gadget GPS fire starter whatchamawhoozit, hiking trail maps to download to your iPhone and carbon fiber coffee cups that double as radio booster. (All of a sudden images from City Slickers were flashing through my head of the battery powered coffee grinder and the ensuing mayhem.)

I began to wonder if these outdoor creature comforts were ruining the get-back-to-nature experience. Similarly do iPads, laptops, and other marvels of modern technology rob us of the complete writing experience? And, no, the irony that I'm bloggin' this using a laptop and the interwebs is not totally lost on me. And, no, I'm not advocating the idea that you go into the woods with nothing more than nail clippers and one change of socks to get the full on nature experience. But, why is it that I feel more connected to my writing when the ink glides smoothly onto a piece of paper rather than tippy-tapped onto my laptop?

So, do you prefer your laptop or ink?

P.S. The pic is of Mt. St. Helens from the plane.

On Vacation and Writing - Part 1

2010-07-21T20:23:00.003-05:00

Written on the plane to Seattle...

Three and a half hours on a plane and then another "short" four hour drive around the bottom of Puget Sound to the B&B in Forks on the Olympic Peninsula. All this past week it's been 95 degrees plus in Houston. So, escaping to the Pacific Northwest is going to be more than just nice. With all this idle time ahead of me, I'm hoping to get the writing ball rolling again. (Unfortunately, as I'm writing this there's a creepy guy that smells like unbrushed teeth that keeps staring at my notebook...hopefully he'll fall asleep soon)

I have no housework to worry about, nothing to prepare for work, and my dogs are at "camp." All of my usual excuses are stranded back in Houston without me. With all of that said, I'm still staring at the blank pages of my notebook wondering what in the world I'm going to start writing about. None of my WIPs or previously noted ideas are at all appealing to me at the moment. I'm listening to the hodgepodge of songs that I loaded onto my Zune in hopes that inspiration will hit me like one of those frozen chickens they shoot out of a cannon to test the safety of airplane windshields.

...still waiting for inspiration to hit

Hello from the Road

2010-07-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to drop a note to all of you from my crackberry...I'm on vacation in Olympic National Park, and wifi is hard to come by. I wrote a blog post in my notebook on the plane ride over here and I'll put it up as soon as I can connect my computer again...so keep your eyes peeled!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

Writing Muse Mondays (on Tuesday)

2010-07-13T12:34:00.003-05:00

This one is for the ladies...

What if Cinderella's Prince Charming wasn't so charming after all? What if the glass slipper was more of a blister producer than Cinderella's saving grace?

I really love using fairy tales and mythology as a seed for new story ideas. So many permutations of the story can be created by asking those "What if?" questions. In the end you'll end up with something unique and very different from the classic tale that served as your inspiration.

As for the story behind the picture: Yes, that is the urban shoe myth...the Manolo Blahnik Mary Jane. It's sitting on a set of maps/drawings on my desk. I feel shoes like that create a nice balance in my life given the uber nerdyness that often goes along with being an engineer.

Writing Muse Mondays - 3rd Installment

2010-06-21T11:31:00.004-05:00

I just love using pictures as writing prompts. Here is another one of my favorites. The pic is from Pike Place Market in Seattle. You can see the original Starbucks in the background. I hope it serves as an inspiration for you! Happy writing!

I also wanted to say "Thank You!" to all who have kept me on their blog roll!!! A few weeks ago my boyfriend proposed and I said yes! Since then we have been swamped with trying to nail down venue locations. Now that most of it is out of the way, I'll be posting regularly again.

One of the things I've learned through this major life-changing event is how much I love writing. Sometimes things happen that squeeze writing out of my schedule. But no matter what, I keep coming back to it. I really love it that much.

Writing Prompt Monday #2

2010-05-17T08:58:00.002-05:00

Looking for inspiration at the beginning of this beautiful week? Check out this writing prompt website:

http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/

It has a plethora of prompts to choose from, 346 of them to be exact!

Happy Writing!

Wednesday Writing Wisdom #1

2010-05-13T11:14:00.005-05:00

I recently went to Walmart to purchase a multitude of miniature composition books (they're approx 3 x 5 in.). The purpose: put one in each of my purses that I carry on a regular basis. Now, when a plot bunny happens, I can write it down before it gets lost in the abyss of my head.

I also keep a journal by my bed to elaborate on any of those ideas I had recorded during the day. The one in the picture above is the same one I have...I heart it.

Tuesday Tidbits: Writing Tip #1

2010-05-10T15:57:00.007-05:00

Keep track of your word count progress!

Just like most things in life (going to the gym, making home repairs, paying down credit card debt) seeing results can be motivating. Keeping tabs on your progress can magnify the light at the end of the tunnel.

Start recording your daily word count progress. I do this in excel so I can keep a running total and plot my progress graphically. Hey, I'm an engineer, it's what I do.

Writing Prompt Monday #1

2010-05-10T09:06:00.006-05:00

Everyone has heard that saying that a picture is worth 1,000 words. So write a short story (7k-9k words) about this picture:

I absolutely love this painting. I first found it when it was on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts here in Houston. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me at that time. However, I saw it again when I went to the Met in NYC (and being a tourist) had a camera with me and got the shot.

Although this is a portrait, there is also a dramatic story told behind the subject being painted. So much fodder for a short story!

Happy Writing!

Hitting the Writing Wall

2010-05-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

Every writer says this to themselves at least once a year: "But I don't wanna write!" It's a whine that those of us who have experienced writer's block know all to well.

Some of you may remember an earlier post of mine on how writer's block doesn't really exist. Unfortunately, burnout, self-doubt, and laziness do exist. These are the brick that comprise that writing wall that myself and so many others have butted up against.

Here are some strategeries to help you scale the writing wall you've run into:

Reverse psychology: Give you're self a dead line for "not-writing." If you're completely unmotivated to write, give you're self a directive that you ARE NOT allowed to write for the next 3 days (or one week). During this period of time you are absolutely prohibited from even making outline notes or documenting any plot bunnies. The idea here is that the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest and most desired. If you're not allowed to write, hopefully that will be the very first thing you want to do the next morning. By the time the writing ban has been lifted you should be chomping at the bit to lay down some words on paper.

Dangling the Carrot: Promise yourself a reward for getting a predetermined amount of words down on the page. For example, once you complete 10k words, go buy yourself a box of those frozen cream puffs or take yourself out to eat. The catch is that those 10k words must comprise a coherent story line, they can't be the same word 10,000 times.

Punishment: Need something a little more severe than a carrot? Try denying yourself something until you get some writing done. No cocktails or chocolate or fried food (whatever your vice) until you put down that 10k.

Throw Yourself a Bone: You may have a general idea of what you want to write about and maybe even where you want to start, but your mind digs in its heels every time you sit down to your computer in hopes of generating some word count. Begin by writing 3 sentences...no more...no less! Even after those three are put to paper, you are not allowed to continue till the next day. When you come back to those 3, the words should flow out more easily since the ball is already rolling. Sometimes those sentences are the little hurdle you need to get over and convince your brain that it's not going to be all that bad after all. This method is similar to reverse psychology, just with a slightly different approach.

These are just a few of the swift kicks in the pants I've used to get my fingers working over my keyboard. What do you do to keep your fingers flying?

When All Else Fails...Write Something Else

2010-04-27T22:22:00.005-05:00

At the moment, blank pages are all I've got.

All the blankness got me thinking today that, perhaps, writing a novel right now (or even attempting to finish one of my many dangling WIPs) is a bit ambitious. I really miss writing...and blogging too! But the thought of a novel is too big for me to wrap my stretched-too-thin mind around at the moment. So I've decided to dial it back a bit and go for a short story. I'll even do one better than that, I'm going to simply flesh out one that I've already started. Just like that old saying goes...How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Copping out? Maybe.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And right now I'm having to overcome a HUGE amount of "static fiction"

Copping out again: This blog entry is actually an excerpt from my journal. Yes, that means you just took a peek in my diary ;-)

So what do you do if you're writing mojo is flowing slower than molasses in January?

Apply Pants to Chair and Write

2010-04-08T13:36:00.005-05:00

I haven't been writing. I wish I had a good excuse for why I haven't. It would make my hiatus sound less lame. But not writing is nothing more than...LAME.

So, tomorrow after work I'm going to sit my little procrastinating keister in a chair along with my journal and write something (I'm not going to use my computer. After work tomorrow I will have been parked in front of a computer for 40 hours and can't stand to look at an LCD display for another moment). What am I going to write? Honestly, I have no idea. But, I'm going to write something.

I'm guessing I wouldn't be far from right if I made the assumption that many of you writers have been through something like this with your writing. Even the non-writers out there have "fallen out of love" with a hobby and taken a vacation from something you adore. Sometimes it's necessary, else you risk permanent burnout.

Now that I'm back from my sabbatical from writing, I've got to get the ball rolling again...

Here's the plan:

1. Set a timer for 15 min.

2. Write about something random till the timer goes off.

3. Now that I've broken the writing seal, I'll filter through my WIPs

4. Choose a WIP that speaks to me.

5. Start cranking out the word count.

So how do you get yourself out of an no-writing rut?

I'm BACK!!! ...Almost

2010-03-11T10:01:00.006-06:00

Life has more than just gotten in the way since the new year. I totally dropped the ball on two of my new year's writing resolutions: Blog more consistently and write more often.

EPIC FAIL!

This weekend I'm making my big comeback (big being a relative term). A new post is all but finished and I'll be putting it up on Saturday...so keep your eyes peeled!

Fueling the Word Count Generator. -or- How to Consume Copious Amounts of Caffeine

2010-03-03T09:00:00.002-06:00

Image: Caffeine Chemical Structure

There was a few tweets today alluding to caffeine usage during NaNoWriMo. This inspired me to write a post dedicated to beverages of the caffeinated persuasion. Not everyone out there likes coffee. Personally, I love the stuff, but I also like to mix it up every once in a while. So here are some of my favorite options for a pick-me-up when a cup of joe doesn't tickle my fancy:

I like Red Bull straight up. However, sometimes the hit-of-baby-aspirin taste isn't particularly appealing. To cut that flavor, I mix 1/2 Red Bull and 1/2 apple juice. It's refreshing and takes care of thirst and that extra boots you might need.

If you don't want caffeine per say, but you're draggin. Odwalla makes a juice drink called "Serious Energy" I've tried it before and it seems to help.

In the case of a coffee craving, my favorite blend is the Cafe du Mond Coffee and Chicory (yellow/orange can). It's smooth. A lot smoother than most of the store bought brands out there *cough cough* Folgers *cough cough* Cafe du Mond also makes an absolutely fabulous french roast (blue can), but I've yet to find in here in the Houston area.

On a cold night in the middle of November when it seems like there is no end in sight you can warm up the word count generator (that would be you) and refuel on what I like to call a make shift mocha a cup of hot chocolate with a shot, or 5, of espresso.

Hopefully this will help you keep pumpin' out the prose! Feel free to share your favorite ways to caffeinate in the comments section. I look forward to hearing them!

So You Have a Glimmer Of a Story Line (Part 2)

2010-02-23T12:12:00.000-06:00

I'll be back with a poppin' fresh new blog post in 72 hours, give or take a nanosecond. I'm in the homestretch of this licensure thing I've been wrestling with! In the meantime I wanted to share another of my fave posts with you from when I first started blogging back in Fall 09:

So, your main character has been asking you where to go and what to do. At this point you have a choice as to which NaNoWriMo path to take. Option 1: Approach your writing like driving at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you will be able to make it all the way home. Using this school of thought, jump into NaNoWriMo with nothing more than that "glimmer of a story line." Fly by the seat of your pants and let the characters help you unfold the plot day by day. I used this first option last year and I did make it to the finish line. So yes, it is possible.

Option 2: Plan out your plot. This is the option I'm trying out this year. If you want to play fast and loose, a simple outline will suffice for guidance as you trudge through November. However, if you are in need of more structure, creating a road map of how your character's paths and the story line weave in and out might be the right option for you. Over the past few days I've been working on mapping the layout of my plot. Here are some of the websites I've come across in my quest to inject more juice into my story:

This one is from an earlier post but I wanted to mention it again all the same...it's just that good. For those of the nerd persuasion (like me) who are attempting NaNoWriMo this year. The snowflake method provides lots and lots of structure for building up your story. http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

If I've lost my direction and need some inspiration for where to take the story next I like to look through a magazine at the photos and ads for inspiration. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. And who wouldn't love another grand added to their word count?

Similarly to the above bullet point, when I'm stuck I also like to read a short story to get my imagination back on track.

This website is a compilation of eight plot thickening tips. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1482906/tips_on_how_to_make_a_traditional_fiction.html?cat=38

Keep a pocket sized notebook and pen with you where ever you go. Ideas for your plot can hit you at anytime and you'll need to write them down before the fade away in to the fog of your mind. I don't know about you, but mine is pretty thick and foggy most of the time.

One thing I learned from the NaNoWriMo experience last year is you can plan, and parse and mull over your story line as much as you want, but you can't write out your novel in your head. You have to get it out from between your ears and into your computer, onto paper, or clay tablet, which ever is your preferred method of scribing. It's absolutely necessary to make room for the next generation of plot bunnies to sprout.

So You Have a Glimmer Of a Story Line (Part 1)

2010-02-16T19:43:00.001-06:00

I'm currently in the process of applying for licensesure in engineering. Translation: I'm swamped. So here's a favorite post of mine from when I first started blogging. There's quite a few newcomers to my blog I thought this might be a good time to recycle some of my favorite posts from the past. There are a lot of good character building resources in this post...so please enjoy!

So, you've got a plot bunny or two hopping around in your cranium. Before splitting hares with the plot, I like to work on my characters first. A solid plot and realistic characters go hand in hand. Knowing the characters inside and out will help you understand how they will react when being put through the rigors and trials.

If you're a first timer you are probably wondering where to begin. And, even those of you who have done this before are always looking for ways to make you characters more multi-dimensional. We've all had that moment when we were reading. (You know the one where we thought the book was wonderful till this point.) Then, all of a sudden, one of the main characters does something so bizarre in reaction to a plot twist that really doesn't ring true with who you thought they were. It makes you roll your eyes, groan, and wrinkle your nose. It's a good sign that the author didn't take the time to get to know their characters.

Here's a few resources to help you flesh out your characters:

The best character analysis chart EVER! It's like an in depth interview of each character. I put this link up on twitter today and I got a lot of positive feed back on it. http://www.eclectics.com/articles/character.html

Some character building exercises...these can help you determine how a character would be likely to react in a certain situation. http://www.pgtelco.com/~slmiller/characterexercises.htm

And finally, I found this article put things in perspective when thinking about designing a character: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/32970/tips_for_authors_writing_realistic.html?cat=38

I've made good use of these tools in the past and I hope that they will make the time you spend hanging out with the characters in your novel even more productive.

Stay tuned for "Part 2." In the next half, I'll offer up some of the useful resources I've run across that are great for cooking up a thick and juicy plot.

Kickin' It Old School

2010-02-09T19:49:00.005-06:00

When a miracle occurs and I find time to write, creative juices are churning in my brain, but the idea of spending any more time at my keyboard (after a 9 hour day in front of my computer at work) is literally too painful to bear.

During emergency situations like this, when overcoming static fiction seems impossible, I dust of my notebook, grab a pen, shut off the light, light a few candles, then proceed to kick it old school. Scribing down words and phrases with a rhythm that only writing in cursive can create. Often, this is the 180 degree turn I need from my all too computer dominated life. It feels good to do something so drastically different and suddenly, writing doesn't seem like such a chore.

In fact, today falls under that emergency situation categories. And ditching my computer is like a breath of fresh air for my head. (And I frequently need a refill of fresh air between my ears.)

So, as soon at this is posted I'm shutting down my computer and scratch out some progress on my manuscript.

What do you do in writing emergencies to keep your progress rolling?

Lost Weekend for Writing

2010-02-07T19:33:00.005-06:00

Hey everyone!

I promise I haven't run away from home. (Although I have to admit that thought has crossed my mind more than a few times over the last 72 hours.)

I've worked 20 hours this weekend. Unfortunately, it was for my desk job and not on my WIP. Tomorrow I'll have a fresh new post on writing ready! So stay tuned!

...Now I've got to go make more coffee.

Update to Overcoming Static Fiction

2010-02-03T11:49:00.003-06:00

This dovetailed perfectly into my previous post on overcoming static fiction...

This morning @BubbleCow tweeted a page from Mathew Hill's website: Nine ways to trick yourself into writing.

These are all great suggestions for getting the ball rolling.

Overcoming Static Fiction

2010-01-31T14:15:00.000-06:00

I've learned something about my writing process today. (I'm about to geek out on you with an engineering analogy...please bear with me)

There are times when getting started is the most difficult part of the writing process for me. This is very similar to a phenomena that I learned about in Physics 101. It's called static friction. It corresponds to the amount of force you must apply to a stationary object to put it in motion. Once it's in motion, there is a "resistance" to the movement called kinetic friction. Static friction is the larger of the two forces resisting the forward movement. This proves that getting started is always the most difficult step.

For writers, it could be called having to overcome static fiction. We've all experienced this. On some days, we must apply greater amounts of motivation (or consume a lot more caffeine) before writing can commence.

The point is, once you've started it's a lot easier to maintain your momentum. Many times, I hear writer's say, "I just don't know where to start." Honestly, it doesn't matter. Just start writing anything, who knows what kind of story will emerge.

So what do you do to overcome your static fiction?

Writing In the Slow Lane? Merge Your Plots! (Part 2)

2010-01-27T19:05:00.001-06:00

After putting up the post about merging plots to speed up your word count, a blend of two fairy tales crept into my head and kept growing over the next few days. I like it so much I wanted to share it with you.

What would happen if you put Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in the mixer, added coffee to taste, then whipped it into a frenzy? (Pardon the rambling nature, it's still in the very general idea stage)

Here's the setting: Present day New York City (changing up the time can add plot possibilities)

Cinder-Beauty is the step daughter of the best plastic surgeon on 5th ave. Her stepmother and stepsisters are into the Botox, Gossip, and Social Climbing lifestyle while Cinder-Beauty is more into the Upstate NY outdoors scene, with the occasional Manolo thrown into the mix (she does after all have roots on the upper east side.)

Her stepmom and sisters don't understand her lack of interest in landing a rich husband or her interest in anything intellectual. They treat her as a pariah. Her stepmother and her stepmother's lawyer find a loop hole in the dad's will stating that Cinder-Beauty's trust fund can't be accessed by her unless she completes her bachelors degree. The stepmother, trying to keep Cinder-Beauty "poor", refuses to continue funding her college in hopes this will keep her out of the hallowed halls of learning.

Cinder-beauty, not to be deterred from earning her degree (trust fund as an incentive or no) gets a job and barely eeks out enough for tuition.

CB's best friend (who is also the daughter of another high profile MD) invites her to her older brother's birthday party. CB and the brother hit it off at the party. Unfortunately, her stepmother is there to see it all go down since his father is at the top of CB's stepmother's potential husband list.

The stepmom is not pleased with this so she drugs CBs drink. This sends her into a drug induced coma.

How exactly prince charming (her best friend's brother) rescues her and pulls her out of the deep sleep is something that hasn't quite resolved itself in my head yet.

...This is how merging plots can create a completely new story line.

Writing In the Slow Lane? Merge Your Plots!

2010-01-24T18:56:00.000-06:00

Consider this scenario:

The plot of your current WIP has run out of steam and you've exhausted all the tricks in your bag to get the creative juices flowing again...coffee, take a break/look at it with fresh eyes, brainstorm with a writing buddy. But, *sigh* nothing has worked. You feel helpless as you watch your WIP sink slowly into the quicksand of your mind.

We've all been there. I know I definitely have. But, I was lucky enough to go through a plot crisis during one of the NaNoWriMo Write-Ins. One of my very wise fellow WriMos came to my rescue with this brilliant snippet of a writing tip: "Merge this WIP story line with another WIP you have on the back burner."

What followed those words was a true "AH-HA!" moment. Endless possibilities for where I could now take the story line began bubbling up from the depths of my mind.

So when you have two or more plots that to you look dried up, put both of them in a mixing bowl, add coffee and fold together for a juicier plot.

Editing and the 5 Stages of Grief

2010-01-19T18:30:00.006-06:00

Upon wading into the editing pool this past Friday night I went through a wide range of emotion. The deeper I dove into my story, the more intense it got. It suddenly dawned on me that the similarities to another emotional process were quite striking. So far, editing this particular WIP is like going through the five stages of grief. I have spent an inordinate amount of time assembling this rough draft. The setting and plot that was once just a glimmer in my eye is now an alternate universe that I know like the back of my hand and the characters become a second family to me.

When it came time to edit I tear it down and build it back up again. A process that will be repeated ad nauseum. This is the painful, yet unavoidable part. Unfortunately, It's a necessary evil if you want to take your manuscript from (very) rough draft to polished piece.

Stage 1: Shock and Denial. I noticed this first parallel just a few days ago when I got up the guts to finally start the editing process on my NaNoWriMo novel. I couldn't believe that I had written some of the junk that was in this word file. A lot of it made me cringe, and every so often I came across something that made me throw up in my mouth a little. I found it very hard to come to terms with the fact that I had written this.

Stage 2: Anger: I was angry that I had spent so much time and energy on something so craptastic. After (barely) making it all the way through the document, I felt a little embarrassed that the manuscript was my work. My cheeks were warm and had more color than they normally did and I really had to fight the urge to bury all evidence of this endeavor in the back yard...computer and all.

Stage 3: Bargaining. Here you start making deals with a higher power. I promise I will give up chocolate for a whole month if you'll just impart to me a less craptastic and more original plot device than the one I used in this scene. This never works...but I still try all the same.

Stage 4: Depression. At this point, I've been editing my WIP for who knows how long now. I keep chipping away at it here, filling in plot holes there, but it feels like a futile fight. Weeping and gnashing of teeth ensues because no matter how much time and effort I've already put it, there still seems to be an equal or greater amount left to go. (Side note: This makes me wonder how long it took to edit "The Never Ending Story"?)

Stage 5: Hope and Acceptance. Here, my eyes have adjusted to the darkness and I can finally see the little speck of light at the end of the tunnel. It's taken a long, long, long time to get here, but I can breath again. Unfortunately...

...Once I'm done with that scene, it's time to start on the next, and it's back to stage one. *Sigh* Such is life on the editing roller coaster.

Maybe my view of editing is a little melodramatic and melancholy. However, I did just start the editing process and the tunnel is so long, I can't see the light at the end from where I stand. Nevertheless, I'll keep going till it's done because I want it badly enough.

Does editing do similar things to your soul?

Medieval Coffee?!?!

2010-01-18T06:45:00.001-06:00

I'm turning Monday's into "Light and Fluffy Post Day." Because Mondays are bad enough already, I couldn't live with myself if I made you think any harder than you had to. So, with out further ado, here's your Light and Fluffy Post!

I made an amazing historical discovery whilst visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC a little over a month ago. In the Hall of Medieval European Art I found iron clad proof that Starbucks was in existence back then:

Siren. Unknown Artist, c. 1300s

As a self proclaimed coffee aficionado, I felt this was the holy grail of coffee discovery and must be shared with the world...or at least my blog followers who are most fabulous!

Be sure to tune in tomorrow! I'll be putting up the first post in a new series on "Editing Lessons Learned" as work my way through my '09 NaNoWriMo manuscript.

Retreat!

2010-01-14T21:31:00.000-06:00

This weekend I'm going to the woods to live deliberately...actually, it's the annual church choir retreat. Seriously though, it is in the woods. While there is hot tea, chocolate milk, and most importantly, COFFEE available around the clock, this very posh retreat facility does not provide internet.

I see this lack of wifi and general contact with the outside world as a good thing since it is the weekend I've chosen to begin the first pass on my novel. There will be a significantly smaller number of distractions and obligations (a.k.a. excuses) to keep me from my writing during our free time. My roommate is planning on getting some writing done on her WIP too. So, we will keep each other accountable.

Anywho, just wanted to wish every one a happy weekend before heading off into the wilderness. I'll be reporting back with a post from deep in the editing trenches when I return!

I'm off to sing purdy now...

Editing 101

2010-01-13T19:09:00.009-06:00

It's generally a good idea to give your eyes and brain a rest once finished with the first draft of a manuscript. After blocking out the existence of my NaNoWriMo novel for 6 weeks now, this coming weekend is the one I've designated to finally pick it back up again.

Editing, is easy to get lost in. If you don't have a good project management plan, you can loose sight of the forest because of the trees. In order to psych myself up for this behemoth task, I gave myself a little refresher course in the basics of editing...like where in the world I should beginning. I started by listing what I know. These are snippets from things I learned in grade school, a writing class I took a while ago, and first hand in the trenches:

During the first editing pass, read for content. During the second editing pass, read line by line for style.

Read the story to yourself out loud (something I like to do during the first editing pass). What looks good on the page may not sound good to your ear. Verbalizing your prose will help you identify any awkward text.

When editing by hand (this is something I like to do during the second editing pass) print a copy of your work double spaced. That way you'll have room for corrections and notes in between each line

Something we called ratiocinating in 7th grade. Count up all the occurrences of the following "am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been" and contractions that include these (i.e. I'm, you're, etc.). Then go through your manuscript and reduce these occurrences by half. This will help you avoid passive sentences. Back in school, we were told it will make for a stronger "voice".

If a scene/action/sentence doesn't in some way lent some value to the story, get rid of it. Superfluous = Bad.

Try to get rid of excessive occurrences of the word "said" when used to introduce dialogue.

On Friday, with my manuscript and these basic points of editing, I'm going to take a deep cleansing breath and begin the first editing pass.

Editing can be a "black box" of sorts. You don't exactly know what you will need until you get into it. So, how do you like to edit? What tips and tricks do you apply to develop a masterpiece out of the block of marble that is your manuscript?

Pick Your Poison

2010-01-11T19:32:00.001-06:00

Here's a nice fluffy post to start off your week:

This afternoon I sat down to fire up this here laptop and immediately had to get right back up. I hadn't gathered all of the necessary writing supplies. Sure, I had my computer, I had nothing to drink. It struck me, it wasn't just this afternoon, I can never write if I don't have something to sip on. And that got me to wonder what other Author's beverage preferences were while pumping out the prose...

I started by googling "What do Writers Drink" From the limited information that was pertinent to my search I found this list of old, dead, and famous writer's and their favorite libations. Some of my personal favorites were:

F. Scott Fitzgerald - Gin & Whiskey

Dorothy Parker - Martini

Edgar Allen Poe - Wine

The list was heavy on beverages of the alcohol persuasion. While I do have an affinity for imbibing in wine during some of my weekend writing sessions, it's not the best choice for weeknight writing sessions. Plus, I'm pretty sure it would be frowned upon if I busted out a bottle of Pinot Noir at my desk while writing on my lunch break.

Usually, I need more energy to keep the story line flowing. So, when I got up to grab a beverage while waiting for my laptop to boot after work I chose the coffee route.

For you fellow coffee lovers out there here's a little brewing tip: French Press is the way to go. The ideal coffee brewing temperature is approximately 195 F. Anything more than that and the organic compounds in the grounds can get burned and create a bitter taste in the drink. Brewers heat the water too hot and the heating plate continues the charring process further. This is one reason office coffee is extremely craptastic. However the french press method allows you to have more control over water temperature and amount of time the water steeps in the grounds. I promise you, if you try it once, you'll wonder why you drank coffee any other way.

If you are a caffeine aficionado like me, be sure to check out my previous post on "Fueling the Word Count Generator" Because lets be honest, writers are just machines that turn caffeine into prose.

So, all you fellow wordsmiths out there, what do you prefer to drink while writing?

A Call To Action: NaNoWriMo

2010-01-08T20:22:00.001-06:00

Only 295 days until NaNoWriMo begins. If the three letters W, T and F just popped into your head let me lead you into the light. NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. In short you have 30 days, to pump out a complete story arc with no fewer than 50,000 words completly from scratch (for those out there of the geek persuasion like me, that averages out to 1,666.7 words per day). If you're one of those one-day-novelists, a.k.a. people who say "one day I will write a novel." This is the challenge for you! It's the kick in the pants you've been waiting for to turn out that novel that's been clattering around in your head for the last few years.

The value of this experience was explained most brilliantly in one of the weekly NaNo pep-talk emails I received during Nov of '08: Michelangelo didn't produce the David out of thin air. He began with a rough hewn block of marble. The (very) rough draft produced during NaNo is your block of marble. From that you can chip and polish and buff until it's perfected. Until you're idea is out of your head and on paper, you can't work with it. The intangible must be made tangible. And that's what NaNo does.

I can hear all of you collectively asking yourselves at this very moment. "Um, Lyla...why are you mentioning this in January?" Because, you can never start planning too early for NaNo. But at the same time you can come up with an idea on the 5th of November, sign up late and cross the finish line with 51,346 words. I speak from experience since I've taken both the planning road and the road of procrastination. Either way you go, copious amounts of caffeine will be consumed. (It is a wise idea to buy stock in Red Bull before Nov. 1 and then sell again before the end of the month...just sayin')

Step one in NaNo prep is coming up with an idea. If you don't have a new idea waiting in the wings of your head, here are some great ways to get one to float to the surface:

Look through magazines at the photo spreads and artistic ads. A picture is worth a thousand words...and possibly might breed a plot bunny.

Keep a dream diary. Take 10 min in the morning to record you mind's journey from the night before. Then, let these stranger than fiction images inspire your next novel.

This one is very unconventional, but very effective. Use an online tarot card website to generate a reading. The cards represent types of people (these can inspire characters) and events. The combination of cards will show a "snapshot" of a story line, you can roll on with a plot from there.

Look through writing prompt websites like this one: http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/

People watch. Coffee shops, the mall, the park these are all great places to observe the rest of the population. Just don't go to far and get slapped with a restraining order. Observe from a polite distance.

I could continue on, and on, and on with witty repartee tyring to convince you to NaNo in November. But it comes down to this: DO NANOWRIMO! Even if you don't make it across the 50k finish line, you've got your block of marble in hand. And if you can do that, you've truly accomplished something.

To sign up for this epic endeavor and learn more, visit their website http://www.nanowrimo.org/

In the epic words of Yul Brynner: "So let it be written. So let it be done." ...Go forth and NaNo!

So, will you be joining me in November?

One Lovely Blog Award

2010-01-06T23:08:00.001-06:00

This little gem of an award was bestowed on me by the lovely Ann Elle Altman. (Cruse by her blog here... All Write With Coffee It's got writing, it's got coffee, what's not to love!?!?) I follow a ton of blogs. Choosing only 10 to spread the love to was rough. I had noticed some of the blogs I follow have also received this commendation. So to make the choice easier, I decided to only pass this along to blogs who hadn't yet been graced by its presence. Most of my faves are writing blogs, yes, shocking, I know.

Anywho...without further ado, here are the following 10 blogs I love to follow in the order they are listed on my reader:

Writerhood, a blog about a writer's life

Blackberries to Apples

Help! I Need a Publisher!

Laugh.Write.Play

Mystery Writing is Murder

Scribble City Central

Domestic Dork

Riding With the Top Down

The Writer's Journey

Haute Whimsy

And this is where I say "Tag! You're it!" If you've been given the nod, now it's your turn to pass it along to your favorite blogging peeps.

P.S. It's been a crazy week at the office. I have spent 24 of the last 48 hours there. I will have another writing related post tomorrow! Yeah for getting to leave work at regular time!!!

Living a Double Life: Finding Time To Write.

2010-01-04T20:21:00.003-06:00

For most people, myself included, finding a open window of time on the weekend is simple. But, only writing on the weekend, forcing my brain on a 5 day hiatus from my manuscript causes the creative juices to congeal. When I come back to it the next weekend it takes a lot of effort to warm those juices up again and get them flowing.

So, I try to carve out time during the week to avoid this vicious cycle. By day I'm a hydraulics and hydrology engineer. By night I'm a writer. It's kind of like being Clarke Kent, only I don't have super strength, super speed, or wear underwear on the outside of a leotard. Ok, so I'll be truly honest here. By night, I'm sometimes a writer. After sitting in front of a computer all day, one of the last things I want to do is sit in front of my screen for another minute longer. And most of the time I have other things that are more pressing to do than write. Take tonight as an example. After working 9 and a half hours, I'm now working on this blog post, I'm also doing laundry, working on a technical summary for my day job that is needed by end of business on Wednesday, eating dinner, and watching NCIS. And, I know I'm not the only one with a schedule this hairy.

With my life the way is, I typically have only small windows of time open during the week for writing. Unfortunately I have never been one of those people who can sit down and start pounding away furiously at the key board. It takes time for my brain to switch into writing mode and even more time for it to warm up to where the words are flowing freely onto the page, especially if my day is chaotic and busy. The only exception to this rule is when inspiration flares and it's a race against time to get the words down before the idea evaporates out of my head.

To make it easier for my brain to switch from geek mode to creative art mode, I try to leave an unfinished idea on the page from my last writing session. This works as a writing prompt of sorts for the next time. Leaving some bread crumbs on my thought path allows me to turn a tiny writing session into more of a writing sprint. After getting in two to three mini-sessions a night, three nights a week, the word count really starts to add up.

Some other ways I squeeze in writing time during the week:

Get to work about half an hour early and write before all the noise begins
During my lunch hour while holed up in my cube
Making notes on my crackberry while waiting on the ridiculously long red lights during rush hour in Houston. Disclaimer: No I don't do this while my truck is in motion...

When you think about these options, and the possibility of so many more, there's always a way to find time to write.

So how do you shave down your hairy schedule and find time to write?

Irony...

2010-01-02T18:17:00.002-06:00

On my way back from dinner tonight, this delicious bit of irony hit me: I'm a writer who couldn't spell to save her life. When I was younger spelling, and grammer for that matter elluded me. My performance in the 4th grade spelling bee had my teacher so concerned that he waited with me after school to talk to my mother. Basically, he felt someone in the gifted and talented program shouldn't "suck" so much at spelling. Of course the way he put it to my mom was much kinder than that.

While I've gotten better with the grammer bit, my spelling skills have remained pretty much static. I will be eternally gratefull to whoever invented spell check. Without it, my writing would read like a foreign language.

So am I the only writer out there who can't spell? Hopefully, I'm not alone.

Writer's Block: It's All In Your Head

2010-01-01T11:28:00.000-06:00

In keeping with the resolution I gave myself to post more regularly, here's the first new post of the year:

We have all been there. You're chugging along, pumping out word count at a steady pace, then...WHAM! You're stopped dead in your tracks, all the momentum your plot had going is now gone. And to make matters worse, you have a bump on your nose from slamming face first in to the brick wall known as writer's block.

After you recover from the impact, you're left wondering "What next?" But the answer doesn't come. You might get up to stretch your legs, rummage through the fridge for a snack or watch some mindless TV in an effort to hit the refresh button in your head. Still, when you return to the page there's nothing but a big blank to draw on.

I have heard some people say "Writer's Block doesn't exist, it's all in your head." My response to that is "RUBBISH!" Sure, there's always this direction or that direction where you could take the story line. But that doesn't mean that you like what you put down on the page. And most of the writer's I know take the plot path that makes them happy.

Whether you believe writer's block is real or not, it's still frustrating as hell trying to get around a sticky spot in your plot. My favorite way to clear the fog out of my head is to narrate the story out loud to myself. I start from the beginning of the scene where I am stuck and if necessary, go back a little farther than that. Many times hearing the story told will shed a different light on it. I'm a fan of talking to myself. So I find this method is particularly effective.

Or, if you're slightly afraid of looking like a crazy person, rambling on and on and on to yourself, use a friend as a sounding board. Give them a brief rundown of the scene and then brainstorm ideas for where to take it next. This is why joining a local writing group can be very helpful.

If after all your efforts you're still sinking in mental quicksand, skip to another part of the story. Spinning your wheels on a spot where you're stuck doesn't help. Work on other scenes or on other projects for about a week and come back to it with fresh eyes. Often times writer's block is a symptom of burn out and is your brains way of telling you to take a break.

So what do you do when all the steam is let out of your story? I'd love to hear how you deal with writer's block.

A Writer's Resolution

2009-12-29T23:01:00.017-06:00

2009 is going out in style with a full moon shining on New Year's Eve. It's not just a full moon, but a blue moon too, as this is the second full moon of the month. (Is it just me or does that sound like a great beginning for a sci-fi/fantasy novel?)

With the new year and new decade looming just a few days ahead on the horizon, I've got my usual end-of-the-year itch to make some big changes in my life. As you could probably guess from the title of this post, one of my resolutions is to fit more time for writing into my schedule.

Unfortunately, just like most other people out there, my resolve to follow through on my resolutions dries up about two weeks into the new year. However, this year I'm taking a completely different approach. I'm not waiting for the new year to roll around before I start trying to tackle my resolutions. I figured if I gathered some momentum going into 2010, the promises I've made to myself might have a better survival rate.

Of course finding more time to write isn't ever as simple as it sounds. So, I took a step back and asked a question every writer should ask themselves: "What usually prevents me from writing?" For me, the answer is always: A Messy House! Many of you out there may be able to block out the chaos and the clutter, but it drives me to distraction and my productivity plummets. It was by this thought process that landed on my two-fold resolution:

1. Purge house of clutter & get it squeaky clean. Now, with a more low-maintenance domicile:

2. Find more time two write.

I've already put #1 into action. Hoping to get some of that afore mentioned momentum, I came home on Saturday night and started overhauling my bedroom, bathroom, and closet. I'm happy to say 90% of those rooms are finished and I plan to keep truckin' even after I put up this post.

Resolution #2 is very open to interpretation so I decided to give myself the following parameters:

Schedule at least 3, writing sessions a week.
Each session must be a minimum of 1 hour during the week, 3 hours on the weekend.
Blogging only counts for 1 of those writing sessions.
Put up more blog posts - 3 or 4 per week.

Hopefully, this will be the next step in turning my writing into something more than just a hobby.

So, what's your biggest road block on the writing highway? And how are you planning on getting around it in 2010?

OMG! CHRISTMAS!!!

2009-12-20T11:02:00.006-06:00

I wanted to take a moment and say Merry Christmas to everyone out there in the blog-o-sphere.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. It's my favorite because I love decorating the house with evergreens and shiny things, because friends that have moved away come back home during the holidays and because eggnog is readily available in the grocery store, just to name a few reasons.

Back in the day, before cell phones, the interweb, and when my age could still be recorded as a single digit, I would wake up in the middle of the night and sneak into the living room to check out what had been left under the tree. Of course everything was wrapped securely in festive paper. After a few years, I grew adept at guessing what was inside of the box by it's weight, density and the way it sounded when I shook it. Even now I'm still very much a kit ta heart. Although I no longer wake up at 3:00 a.m. to take stock of the swag under the tree, I do still get a little buzz of anticipation on Christmas Eve.

I hope everyone has a bright and joyful holiday!

Location, Location, Location!

2009-12-18T11:11:00.020-06:00

In real estate, location can do wonders for property value. But can location do the same for your writing? Not where your story takes place, but where you park yourself to do your writing.

This was a phenomenon I began to notice in college and it continued to hold true for my writing during both the '08 and '09 NaNoWriMo. Where I am can make a difference in how productive I am. There are certain places inside my house that are more productive writing locations than others. The three best are 1) At my kitchen table, 2) On my front porch and 3) Sitting on my bed. Note that the living room couch is not on that list. That's where the TV is. If I'm in front of a TV for any significant amount of time, it's inevitable that I will turn that TV on. And of course, if the TV is on, the progress on my word count will grind to a halt. The same holds true with editing. If the TV is on, I'll get uber distracted only rewrite one or two sentences.

I have also discovered that if my work pace is slow, switching locations can do wonders for productivity as well. If the writing locations in my house are being stingy with sharing their creative juju, I'll venture out into the city. One of my many favorite writing locations here in Houston is Empire Cafe. Most importantly they have good coffee. Second, their food is excellent and reasonably priced. And finally the atmosphere in the dining room and on their patio provides an endless stream of inspiration. Thus creating a perfect writing location trifecta! The only down side to this place is the lack of electrical outlets. But if you have good battery life or are working from a hard copy (which I sometimes prefer for editing) access to modern comforts such as plugs are not a necessity. There's also some nostalgia attached to the Empire. Back in high school my friends and I would tell our parents we were going to Barns & Nobel, but instead drive in from the burbs to Empire just for the coffee...yes, the coffee is just that good.

So, at the end of the day, I may have packed up my laptop and notes and towed them with me to multiple different places. But at least I will have (maybe) made some progress.

New York Chronicles Part 2: The Plot In the Repair Shop

2009-12-17T12:24:00.006-06:00

I've dicided to completly overhaul my plot. After a combination of inspiring works of art in New York and sleeping on it for 17 days now, I'm re-routing the story. All the major characters will be the same, they're just getting rearranged on the game board.

The seeds of change were planted when I was at the museum. Specifically with this painting that was in the 19th and 20th century European Painters wing at the museum in NYC.

The dominating color of this painting was very striking to me and was the first thing that caught my attention. Green is after all one of my favorite hues. But, it was the subject of the paining that planted the seeds of change for my plot. To me impressionism looks like a painted memory. And, this loving mother and father with their child in a setting of the simple life was the perfect childhood memory for my main character to reflect on in the first chapter of my novel.

Getting one litte idea like this always opens up a can of worms. Now I have a completly new road map of the plot in my head. There's almost too much of it to keep straight. Instead of jumping in at the first paragraph and shredding the plot beyond all recognition, I'm going to try to go about this in an organized manner. Before actually touching the manuscript, I've decided to go through the snowflake plot developement method again. Check it out here:

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

Being an engineer, I'm a fan of any method that involves orginazation using a spreadsheet like this one does. Of course this means I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm basically going to rewrite my novel, minus a few of the key scenes. But I really do like this story line. It's one that has been floating around in my head for a year or two now. Hopefully this revision process won't pound my love for this plot to a pulp. I want this novel to survive.

What Are Writers Reading These Days?

2009-12-15T13:22:00.009-06:00

During my lunch hour today the thought occurred to me, "What are other writers out there reading?" In my mind I have the image of a bohemian spirit holed up in the dark corner of a coffee shop reading a leather bound diamond in the rough the rest of the population has never heard of. Kind of like that one audiophile friend everyone has who knows about all of the really good, but unheard of bands.

But how does one find the answer to this question? There's got to be someone that compiles lists of stuff like this out there right? The first one that comes to mind is the New York Times Best Seller List (http://tinyurl.com/3mg9z) But this list is based on sales to the general public. So I did a little more digging on the web and googled 'what are authors reading' and I found this website: http://www.goodreads.com/author it has a collection of authors who have signed up on the site and books they have read and rated on their "bookshelf." I was really glad to have stumbled upon this site. Now I can look up some of my favorite authors and see what they are reading.

So what are you reading right now? I'd love to know. Drop me a line in the comments (which should be available to all now) on this post. If you've got any great reading list websites please share those as well!

The New York City Chronicles Part 1: Out and About In the City

2009-12-14T20:22:00.000-06:00

I'm writing this post on the plane back to Houston. And, I have to say, it was quite the vacation. Overall we spent five days in the city and two in central PA. It was also the best vacation yet, even with the for hour snow delay in H-town. Once in NYC, trying to find free wifi was an adventure. The hotel we stayed at charged $10 a day for internet access, so I passed on that. Then, the first place we tried that advertised free wireless didn't even know the password. When free wifi was finally procured, my battery lasted about as long as a snowball in hell. So, I'm left to post all my vacation shmutz after it's all over.

This was my fourth trip to NYC and I finally made it to the metropolitan Museum of Art. If your planning on going to the city, this is a must see. I was very excited about this visit for two reasons. First, this museum is EPIC. I mean really and truly EPIC. Sure, I know there are museums out there that are epic-er like the Louver or the Hermitage. But, right now traveling to see that level of grandeur is above my tax bracket. Second, when I was in the 5th grade or so, one of the books that we were required to read was "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E. L. Koingsburg. The long and short of the story is a young girl runs away from home with her little brother and holes up in the Met for a while. (If you have kids around the 5th grader age, I highly recommend this read. I enjoyed despite the fact I read it back at an age when one inherently dislikes any required reading. And, I'd read it again today if I could get my hands on a copy. Also, It won the Newbery Award back in 1968.) So, I was very excited about getting to see something 'epic' and a piece of my childhood memories all in one day.

Even if you're not that much of a much of a museum person, there is so much here to see, it's not possible to be disappointed. And, if you're a writer (like me) or an artist, or even someone who enjoys a nice latch-hook rug project every now and then, you are sure to find inspiration within it's walls.

Oh, and I should mention, it's an all day event. We only saw about half of the exhibits and we were there for almost five hours. Here's a little sampling of our day there:

Before you make it into any of the exhibit halls, the museum lobby itself is extremely impressive. The architecture in the lobby alone is massive and jaw dropping. The picture to the left is of the arches that loom over the lobby.

As if wandering through the galleries and seeing some of the most famous works of art wasn't impressive enough, there were entire rooms from Parisian hotels that had been transported and reassembled for display. Unfortunately, this was one of the wings where no photography was allowed. But in the American wing, where the facade of a 19th century Wall St. bank building along with various pieces of NYC landmarks had been put on display was not off limits. The marble floor under the glass roof in this wing was littered with art students and others who fancied themselves artistic sketching all aspects of this exhibit.

The icing on the cake was the Greek and Roman Hall. Here you could go nose to nose in a staring contest with both the Young Hercules and the Bearded Hercules. Or if you preferred a more demure opponent, Aphrodite was there as well. There were almost too many from the ancient pantheon of gods to choose from.

Aside from the museum, there were the obligatory tourist stops we had to make that had not been checked off the list during previous visits. 1. Magnolia Bakery: where, yes the cupcakes were all that was raved about. And 2. Caffe Reggio: the oldest coffee shop in Greenwich Village and the oldest cappuccino in the city. I do admit, it was the most fabulous caffeinated beverage I've ever downed. But, I must warn you that it's a block from NYU and there were a plethora of pretentious collegiates regurgitating what had been spoon fed to them in their last lecture. So, if you decided to check this out should you ever find yourself in New York, caffeinate at your own risk.

Yes, I know, that was a rather short list. But, to be completely honest, most of our time was spent eating, or looking for the place we would have our next meal. If you are a foodie this is unequivocally the town for you. I had the best steak of my life and the downtown local of Les Halles (Anthony Bourdain's restaurant). I had a truly proper creme brule at a place call Thalia. It was wonderful, not some knock-off flan like piece that so many chains try to pass off as dessert. And to top it all off, our last meal in the city was at Cafeteria with (and I swear I'm not exaggerating here) the absolute best mac 'n' cheese on the planet.

Now, after stuffing myself silly for a week with both food and eye candy, it's back to the grind in Houston and...editing.

Next up: A post on re-routing my NaNoWriMo plot and the muse that inspired it. It should be up late tomorrow so check back soon!

Mental Calm Before the Editing Storm -or- The Procrastination Cycle Begins

2009-12-07T13:51:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a bit of a mental break before I jump into my editing plan. I had been really fired up and ready to go. However, there were some speed bumps this weekend that really took a chunk out of my momentum.

First was the nearly 8 hours it took to get from Houston to New York this past Friday. Normally it's a flight that's just a little less than three hours. But, it was snowing in Houston. Yes, you read that right. SNOWING. (See the photographic proof taken in downtown on the way to the air port.) It snowed for quite a few hours and as a result, our plane had to be deiced. To make a long story short, we got to de-board the plane for an hour, only to have to wait for another three hours on the plane sitting on the tarmac to be deiced before we finally took off about 4 and a half hours after our scheduled departure time. Since I got to my hotel well after 10 p.m., I deemed it a lost writing day and instead went down to the hotel and had a drink at the bar.

After that very frustrating day lost almost completely to travel, I decided I needed another day off. (Are you seeing a trend starting to develop here?...Procrastination!) There was a trip to Little Italy for lunch where we ate ourselves stupid on the best Gnocchi, Fettuccine Alfredo and Cannoli ever (no writing). Afterward was an almost painful trip through Chinatown for some of the finest knockoff items in the country (no writing done here either). Usually I enjoy haggling in Chinatown, but the sky was heavily dumping a slushy rain/snow mix and it was very, very, very crowded. I was completely occupied with trying to not get my eyes poked out from a stray umbrella tip instead of being able to enjoy looking at the items in the vendor stalls. After fighting our way through the deadly sea of parapluies to the subway station and back to the hotel, we made plans for dinner. At dinner we ate ourselves even more stupid than we did at lunch and finished it all of with a creme brule trio (nothing that could have even been mistaken for writing at night either). All the while it continued to snow, and snow, and snow even more.

Unfortunately, none of the snow stuck in the city. But, on the way from the city into central PA, the hills and the trees were still covered with the fresh dusting of snow from the night before. (See the above picture, taken somewhere along I-78 in New Jersey) A warm, well heated car was the perfect way to enjoy the winter scenery. I'm very much a tropical person. And while I love the look of snow, I'm not a fan of the cold.

Over the past three days I've gotten bupkus done in the way of editing. However, one thing I noticed during this time is that I haven't had any coffee. I believe that this is scientific proof for why I have not been productive in my editing endeavors. So tomorrow morning, I'm going to begin my daily caffeine regimen again and hopefully make some progress.

The Great Abyss: Life After November 30th

2009-12-03T09:17:00.000-06:00

Now that NaNoWriMo is over and I crossed the 50k barrier, I'm ready to start the editing process. However, I feel a bit like Wiley Coyote after he just ran off the cliff. I'm hanging out there unsupported, holding up a sign that reads "Help!", only moments before plummeting in to the great abyss.

The problem is, I've got this lump of 50,024 words with plot conflicts, unfinished scenes, awkward dialogue, and lots places where it's nothing more than a steaming pile. I need a plan. Last year I started editing, but didn't finish. I ran out of steam almost immediately. Probably because I jumped in, feet first, at word number 1, with out a plan. This year I am working on a strategy. And I have done a little research on the editing process. And this is what I've got so far:

Smooth out the plot. I want to get a good handle on my story line and make sure it all makes sense before I start tweaking the prose. I don't know what's going to stay and what's going to go right now. So, there's no point to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Once the plot has been thoroughly hammered out, I'll move onto filling in the unfinished scenes. I jumped around a lot writing this scene, then starting that one during NaNoWriMo. Now I will fill in all those pot holes to create one contiguous rough draft.
This step will make that draft less rough. With a coherent and fleshed out story, I can now work on sculpting the story into something more elegant and artful. Here, I'll go line by line wordsmithing the draft into a novel. Hopefully it will be a novel that someone, somewhere out there, will actually want to read. (Cue the music from "An American Tail")
Wash, rinse, and repeat step 3 over and over and over again. There is always room for improvement.
When I think it's ready...hand it off to someone and have them critique it. I'm already ahead of the game on this one. I joined a local writing/critique group. So, when I've edited the living daylights out of my manuscript, I hope that group can help me get it ready for a possible shot at publishing.

During my planning process I found these websites to be helpful in creating an editing road map:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/nowwhat - NaNoWriMo's I wrote a novel, now what? Page
http://tinyurl.com/yavn5pt - Editing Tips for the Aspiring Writer
http://tinyurl.com/yemtwyp - A veritable plethora of links to editing tips
http://tinyurl.com/yhq4nxl - Basic tips for editing your novel

With all the time afforded me with NaNoWriMo now over, I'll be posting much more frequently. I leave for vacation in NYC tomorrow. And since it isn't a backwater town, I'm sure I will have internet access. So, check back soon for my vacations posts about my writing spot of the day and to see if I stick to my editing plan.

Welcome to the Hotel NaNoWriMo

2009-11-18T10:47:00.001-06:00

I saw following post in the forums this morning:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3452853

Anyone else out there feeling a little lost on the NaNoWriMo Highway? By the end of the day I should only be 1k behind. But now, I feel like my plot is way off track. I've written the scenes in the story I had in my head as the month began. Those ideas kept me steaming full speed ahead and got me just past the halfway point last night. This morning, I woke up fresh out of ideas. Acute NaNo-Panic has set in. I feel like I'm adrift in open waters.

There is a bright side to this. Anything can happen now. I won't be hindered by my preconceived ideas of where the story should go. At least that's what I'm telling myself to boost morale. I remember having this dreaded feeling of where do I take my story now last year as well. And like last year, I will come up with something.

I'm making this a short post since the guilt is starting to set in that I'm writing something that is not part of my novel. Would anybody mind if I counted this blog post in with my word count? I won't tell if you won't.

Work in Progress

2009-11-05T21:45:00.000-06:00

I'm in the progress of updating the look of my blog. Some things have dissapeared, like my list of followers and the visitor counter...I'm working on getting those widgets back up. Should be all finished early in the weekend.

Hope everyone is having a happy NaNoWriMo so far! Check back soon!

Keep That Word Count Flowing

2009-11-04T17:44:00.000-06:00

I'm now deep into day four of NaNoWriMo. Unfortunately, I didn't get that epic start I was hoping for this year. The choir I sing with had a concert the night of Nov. 1 and I was in desperate need of a nap earlier that afternoon. As a result of a slow start out of the gate, coupled with my word count generator being sluggish on Monday, I've had some major catching up to do. Today I had a revelation of sorts about how writing works best for me when I'm in a time crunch. (NaNoWriMo is a time crunch in and of itself even if you're on schedule with your word count. Being behind like I am right now makes it that much crunchier) So if you're in the same boat as I am, trying to make up for the time you lost while you were just hangin around, shootin dice,.The things I've learned about my writing process may be of help to you as well. Hopefully you can take something away from my lessons learned.

Over the past four days of chasing down the elusive daily word count goal, I've discovered short spurts of writing are more productive for me than one long writing binge. Simply put: I have to pace myself. A previous writing instructor of mine said that one of the best ways to pace yourself is set a timer for 15 minutes (give or take a few), write like a fiend until time is up, then take a break, and start the process all over again. Write, Rinse, and Repeat. This method is especially effective for racking up large word counts on the weekends. If I don't pace myself, I'll burn hot and fast on a Saturday morning, but then in the afternoon, no amount of caffeine will revive my motivation.

If the growth rate of your word count starts to slow down even if you're pacing yourself properly, try skipping to another part of your story. Last year I started in the middle of my story line and jumped around day to day. I wrote on whatever piece tickled my fancy that day. Then I spent the last week of NaNoWriMo 2008 connecting the dots between each portion of the plot to finish out the story arc. Remember! Julie Andrews was wrong. Starting at the beginning isn't necessarily the very best place to start. Write the scene you're just dying to get to, the one that inspired the whole story line in the first place. In that same vein, fight the urge to write in a straight line like we were taught in grated school. Writing about what you're in the mood to write about will help the words flow more easily and make NaNoWriMo less stressful. Writing should feel easy, kind of like a monkey driving a speedboat.

If by some miracle I'm able to meet my word count goal for that day, I go back over what I've written so far and I embellish. One thing I've notice about my first drafts is that they read a lot like a screen play with nothing more than dialogue/inner monologue, emotions paired with that dialogue, and actions of the characters. Honestly my prose are a tad bit on the dry narrative side the first time around. But by going back and elaborating on the way something smells, or how candle light changes the appearance of a room, I take the story from black and white to color. The point is to paint a picture, not just innumerate the events on a time line. In the process of adding-on, DELETE NOTING!!! If you delete...you're editing. And editing is not allowed until midnight on Nov. 30th.

Finally, when all else fails, just write something. Write ANYTHING. It doesn't matter how craptastic it is. The NaNoWriMo word count validator will not judge you. Keep that word count coming people!

Two Days 'Till NaNoWriMo...Things To Get the Word Count Ball Rolling

2009-10-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

There are about 48 hours left until the NaNoWriMo chaos begins. Channel your nervous energy into some writing warm up exercises. Priming the word count pump is a great way to keep the creative juices flowing into your story line during November. I suggest starting out with some stream-of-consciousness writing. The way it works: Let your inner monologue flow freely onto the page. Don't stop to think about what you're writing. Write each word down as it pops into your head. Because silencing your inner editor is essential to the NaNoWriMo process, stream-of-consciousness writing will help the words flow without sputtering.

Take it one step further and add some purpose to your writing. Keep the same free flowing frame of mind and funnel that into a story line. Pick a writing prompt and run with it. While filtering through prompts (you can find them all over the internet at sites like this one http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/) you might even find some inspiration for your plot.

Check back in on November 1 for my first post during the fray of NaNo!

NaNoWriMo Tools and Tips

2009-10-14T17:43:00.000-05:00

I’m taking a break from outlining (you could also call it procrastinating) to create the second installation illuminating my quest for NaNoWriMo glory. Hopefully at this point, you’ve decided to become a fellow WriMo too or you’re seriously considering it. To help you on your virgin voyage, you’ll find below a compilation of writing advice I’ve found to be helpful and tools specifically designed for NaNoWriMo I discovered over the last year:

The NaNoWriMo handbook: (this is the amazon listing) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811845052/nationalnov09-20/104-6228216-5586334 The Boarders I frequent typically has a copy in stock. Buy it, check it out from the library, borrow it from a friend. It’s infinitely helpful.
The NaNoWriMo progress tracking spreadsheet: http://nanowrimo.nidonocu.com/ This puppy will help you see how far you’ve come and how far you have to go. Each time you update it with your current word count, it will tell you your projected completion date base on your progress history. As an engineer, I really really really love this tool!
If you’re writing a story, you’ll need an organized way to build a plot. I’ve found this particular method helpful: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php
And finally a few pointers on building multi-dimetional characters: http://www.charlottedillon.com/characters.html

Ok, it’s back to the grind for me. Happy noveling! And be sure to check back in soon!

Coffee Coffee Everywhere, But Not a Plot Bunny In Sight

2009-10-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

Just under three weeks to go till NaNoWriMo! Unfortunately, no matter how much coffee I consume, not a single plot bunny is stirring. OK, for those of you who are scratching your head wondering what this strange acronym is and why I'm making odd references to furry rodentia...check out this website:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I would highly encourage anyone that's every had a even a glimmer of an idea of a story to take this opportunity and turn that idea into the novel you've always wanted to write (if you're honest with yourself, you know you've always wanted to pour your heart out into that tome). Yes you can do this!!! Last year I had no idea what I was going to write about on Oct 31. But on Nov. 1, I just started pounding away at the keyboard. I ended up with a complete story arc that was 50,035 words and a major sense of accomplishment.

Now that you've heard my NaNoWriMo plug, back to the slumbering plot bunnies...

At times like these when the cute little bunnies are comatose, I just keep writing. I keep writing even if it's not working on the novel. That's why I created this blog. Partly as a way to keep the creative juices flowing during NaNoWriMo, partly to share writing tips and epiphanies I come across in the process, and partly to promote my writing. So check back in with me as I take another ride on the NaNoWriMo roller coaster!