Nanowrimo Over, but the Writing Continues

I "WON" NANOWRIMO. I had lost almost two full weeks of writing due to editing a short story, family, and Thanksgiving. It took me until the very end to get it done, but that's what I did, with mere minutes to spare. The story wasn't completed just because NANO was though, so I had more writing to do. As well as some major editing. Sigh... I will say this though, I did edit some during Nano. :/ I know, I know, you're not supposed to, but my first Nano story was such a pita to work with afterwards, I couldn't let that happen again. Especially now when I'm making writing a priority in my new life.

My story, Evidence of Lies, is now for the most part done. I'm contemplating adding one or two more chapters, because something major happens to my main character after the story ends. When my sister in law read the story, that was one of the first things she commented on. She wanted it to happen, and I had not even hinted to her that it would. I'm pretty sure I need to add it. Realizing as I type that for me it's OK, because I know, but to a reader, they are left kind of hanging in that regard. I have been there as a reader, and it's very annoying. I guess I'll be off to get that worked out.

Brief Synopsis Of Evidence of Lies

When your happily ever after becomes a never ending nightmare you do what you can to wake up from it. After paying the ultimate price, Aubrianna begins to rebuild her life, and almost a year later the nightmare returns full force in ways she could never have expected.

I had a lot of fun with this one. Love triangles, affairs, murder, and framing an innocent person! It really is a lot of fun to kill characters off. Who new? :) 

Writing Tools

I just downloaded the 10 day free trial of MasterWriter. Going to play around with it while editing a few of my completed projects. I will let you know what I think. It looks pretty awesome!

Have a great Sunday all!

November 1st is Here!

So, today is the day, and Nano is underway! It is about 8:30 pm and I have yet to write one single word. It's OK though. Today was crazy at work. The Doc I work for had back surgery this morning, but it was moved up due to complications. So, I had to scramble to find someone that can come in on such short notice. I have someone for most of this week, so we're good. Makes my life so much less stressful.

So, now that I'm home, I have changed into something comfy, have my area in order for the night. I have a delicious plate of lasagna that the kids cooked in front of me. Yes, it's from a box, but it's not fast food, and I didn't have to cook, I definitely can't complain. :) The kettle is on so I can have a nice cup of tea, PG Tips if curious, and after I post this, I'm going to make a playlist, light some candles, and write the rest of the night away. I can already hear their voices vividly in  my head, and they are ready to be set free! To all of you other Nano-ees, and writing fiends out there,
Good luck, and Happy Writing!
~s~

The madness is about to begin!

Well, it's that time of year again, and I'm not talking about Halloween or any of the other fast approaching holidays. I'm talking about NanoWrimo! National novel writing month is now here, and this will be my second year participating, and I am very excited! The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days. Now that may seem like a lot, but when you break it down, it's not so bad. As long as your creative juices continue to flow and you don't hit any brick walls along the way. It works out to about 1,667 words a day for 30 days, or about 12,500 a week for 4 weeks. Manageable, right? Sure. We can do this!

They say the idea is to just write and work on editing later. I for one, am unable to write that much without some editing, OK,  a lot, for me it just can't be done. They say that yes you'll be writing a lot of crap, but the main point is to write. Well, I for one, don't want to end the month with a bunch of time wasted on crap. So I plan on taking some steps to help prevent that. Yes, I do know that some crap is to be expected, and I'm OK with that. So, if your participating, plan, plan, plan. The goal of 50k in a month is a good training process, it gets you on a schedule and puts your writing on the forefront. It makes writing a priority in our crazy, hectic lives. It shows you your strengths and weaknesses in time management, as well as helps you find your best writing time of day or night.

 Last year I started with an idea, and that was about it besides a basic outline and some notes. This year, I am a little more organized, though late to the process. I bought Liquid Story Binder last year by Black Obelisk software. I used the thirty day free trial to begin with, so it took me through Nano without having to purchase anything. I love it! I will be honest, I wanted Scrivener, but it's for Mac only. So sad, but it will be available for PC users next year!! Plus, Nano winners will get an awesome discount! Pretty cool. I digress. Organization is definitely needed for most writing projects. Find the way that works with you and put it to good use. I have my idea and my characters. I also have my logline done, but it could do with a little tweaking. My synopsis needs to be re-worked to be the best that it can, but from where I was this time last year, I'm a lot better off. I have some work to do today before midnight comes calling, but I'll be OK.

There are a couple of non-writing things that need to be taken care of today as well. Normal household chores of course, but today will be a movie theater day! We don't go to the movies that often, because honestly, it's just to expensive, but this is a tradition. We will be watching Saw 7! Granted, I will be watching the gory parts behind closed eyes and covered ears, but what a hell of a ride! If you can get past the gore, the story line is pretty damn awesome!

Well, I'm signing out for now, but hope that you have a great Halloween!

~S~