NaNoWriMo Blues

So usually I am always running behind on word count, but not usually in the first few days!  This year… we are a week in and let me tell ya… I am so far behind that I now have to write 2,000 words a day to finish on time!  Yup… it’s that bad!

But I thought I would share a little poem I wrote on the first day.  Here is The Irish Blessing, modified just for NaNoWriMo:

An Irish NaNoWriMo Blessing

May words never fail to come to you,
May your word count be ever on the rise,
May your inner critic and editor be held at bay,
Nary a pep to dog your steps,
And till the end of November,
May your muse hold you close to her heart!

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Reaching Out

Hey all… as you know I have several WIPs, and one of them is so very close to finished as a rough novel.  All that is left is the ending.  Well, here is the thing… I am stuck!  And I am turning to you, dear readers… I am looking for around 5 people, 5 special people who are interested in reading Mo Thuras, in this rough form and helping me polish it into the shining gem I know it to be!  Since I am participating in NaNoWriMo next month, I am looking for a few people who are interested in reading it before the end of November, so that when I am done with my newest work, I can hit it hard and hopefully finish it.

So, who are you? Who is interested in finally seeing the dark alleys of my mind, and delve deeply into a piece I have yet to finish and give me your thoughts on the story?  I wont break, I can take it!

NaNoWriMo: Time to Prep!

I can’t believe it is that time of year once again!  Time to pull up a chair, grab that cuppa tea and plan for NaNo!  Being an ML, I have a lot of planning ahead of me.  Not only do I need to get that novel pulled together, hmmm whatever am I going to write this year?!?  I also have to plan some great Write-In’s, a Kick-Off party, and a TGIO party.  And of course be ready for any questions and encouragements along the way!

I am gearing up, it is such an exciting time!  But oh dear, oh dear, I just don’t know what to write this year!  So many great ideas, so little time!  Tell me, are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year?  What are you going to work on?!?  Hit me up!

On Writing: Writing Ritual

Here is another piece I wrote for you! I hope you enjoy.  This one is in the second person! Something new for me.

Your Writing Ritual

Every year you participate. NaNoWriMo, to everyone in the know. When you have to explain it, it becomes National Novel Writing Month, but when talking with other writers, who haven’t heard tell of it, you can’t help but feel a certain superiority. How could they not?
All year long you plan ahead, thinking to that one month where you will write with abandon, hammering out as many words every day as you can muster. Bemoaning the fact yet again that you took on this challenge, yet somehow finding the moxie to finish.
This too though comes with its own little mini rituals. You of course can’t write without your proper writing kit. Which has to include your favorite pen, the blue fountain pen, no others will do. Even though at the end of the day you are going to be typing on your laptop in Scrivener. But who can blame you? That pen is lucky! It holds the key to your muse. But then don’t forge that you have to do the writing down in the waiting room at the Mayo Clinic. Sure that sounds strange to many, but there is something about the ambiance to the place that allows you let go of everything else and just hammer out those words faster then you can even type them. It truly is a mystery how a place matters, you just know it does and so you must stick with it.
In those sad times when you can’t go to ‘your spot’ to write, you have learned that you must write at nine p.m. at night. No other time will do. It is the magic moment. You prepare yourself, always making sure you are home by seven so that you can start getting things ready to write. It is a process. You have to pick the right tea for the night, you have to find your writing kit, make sure you have the right snacks setting by your computer, not to mention get your friends on hangouts ready to sit and write with you.
Really, what self-respecting writer does it alone?!? It is imperative that you drag your friends, kicking and screaming into NaNoWriMo with you, of course. They also give you someone to bemoan the word count that you are behind on, yet again. While comparing yourself to that one gal who finished her fifty thousand words in the first week. You just know that she cheated, there is no other way to have accomplished such a feat.
After you have your friends lined up, you go back to your tea and actually go through the process of heating the water, but you do this the old fashioned way. On the stove, in your whistling tea kettle. Pouring it over your tea, you savor the flavor as you contemplate what you are going to be writing about this time. Knowing full well that when you get to your computer and that blank page is blinking at you, the words will never come.
Sitting down at your computer, blue fountain pen at hand, tea steaming near you, and bag of Cheetos in your lap, you gently place your fingers on the keys. Lightly stroking them, waiting for the inspiration you are sure is never to come, but then the impossible happens… words start flowing out of you and you are off, lost to the world of words that will amaze and delight you when you stop and read them. Finding more than double your usual word count in half the time. Wondering what magic has befallen you, thankful your muse was not fickle this time.

 

Well, there you have it, another piece helping my writing grow! I hope you enjoyed it.  Let me know in the comments below what you thought!

NaNoWriMo Day 4 – Whoops…

Hey all, well, today I did not do as well.  But then, some days I struggle a lot more than others, and I have pushed my body past its ability, so everything slipped today!  But at the end of the day, that is still ok! I am still ahead of the game, and I still managed to accomplish some!  In all my goals!

Here is my progress report for today!

 I only managed a little more than a thousand words today, but… it is still moving forward!  Instead I vegged out with Criminal Minds, shhh, I am sure it is very important to my characters that I did this!

Well, how about you, my rabid readers?  Where are you on reaching your personal goals?!?  Do you sometimes take a break from the grind, even if it means missing out on keeping up with your goals?  Let me know!

NaNoWriMo Day 3 – Still on target!

Wow, I just can’t believe it! I am actually managing to maintain my goals for the month and I am three days in! I think that is a record for me!  I mean sure, I always manage to do it in the end, but this time… I have so many goals, more than just my writing goals to achieve this month and I am on par for everything so far!!!  I can’t believe it!

What is even cooler… I am writing this story in third person!  A first for me!  So we will see how it goes!  I am currently working on a playlist for my story, please bear with me, I will hopefully get that up for you soon!

Without further ado, here is today’s progress!

A bit of today’s writing:

“Nice to meet you Lukas, I am Destiny” she responds. With her words it is as if little chimes are going off in both twins’ minds.
Glancing over her head at his twin, his eyes wide in shock they just stare at one another. Clearing his throat Markus responds, “excuse me, but… I couldn’t have heard that correctly, did you just say your name is Destiny? That can’t be right.”
“Yes, Destiny is my name, at least it has been for many years now.” She blinks slowly, looking back and forth between the twins.
“What the hell?!? This whole time …” Lukas rumbles.
“There is no way …” Markus says at the same time.
“What is going on here?” Destiny steps back from us, so she can see us both at once. “Is something wrong? I thought you were there to help, was I wrong?” Fear tinges her words, and reflects out of her eyes, making them both stop and look at her.
“We are here to help, I am sorry. Just some family prophecy, nothing for you to worry over.” Lukas says to her quietly.
Looking between the brothers, she can’t help but feel that something strange is going on. Of course she knew stepping in that alley life would change irrevocably. And that really isn’t all bad. Change is a good thing, but it just seems like she sees more than her fair share of change, and right now doesn’t feel like the best time for it. There is no stability, and without stability she feels change wont do any good!
Laughter erupts from Markus, “I am sorry, I can’t help it. All this time…” he leans against the wall and slides down it.
“Would you mind cluing me in? I would really like to know what is going on here!” Destiny comments, eyes narrowing dangerously. Her hair swirling around her head, caught in some mini vortex that no one else can feel at the moment, her eyes glowing silver.
Reaching out for her slowly, Lukas takes her hand in his and places it on his chest. “Please be calm Destiny and I will explain.” He waits as her hair settles and her eyes fade to her natural blue tones.
“I am calm.” She blinks up at him, and it is a long way up.
“Long ago, I don’t even remember how long we set out on this journey. We were told to find ‘The Destiny,’ so you can imagine our surprise when you tell us your name… after that rather intense dream, and the whirlwind of events that has led up to this moment. There is no such thing as coincident and my brother Markus and I, well… we tend to have a very steady life, not this chaotic cycle of change that seems to be swirling around us now.” Taking a deep breath he watches her steadily, waiting for her to respond.
Shrugging she murmurs “welcome to my life. Chaos and change is all around me, always. For as long as I can remember. Prolly as long as I have been chased. I couldn’t rightfully say. Of course, I don’t know who is chasing me for that matter, I just get the feeling when it is time to move on and I do. I am sorry if I have caused you trouble, I can find my own way if you prefer. I don’t want to bring you trouble!”
Markus stands back up, “Oh no! It is more than alright! You will be safe with us, I have a feeling that we are best suited to stick together. I am sorry for my outburst! But you have to see this from our perspective. I mean… all this time we have been looking for something, rather than someone. It is rather humorous when you see it that way.”

How about you? Are you meeting your goals for the month? Do you have a playlist for your story yet? Do you have a favorite piece of your story?

NaNoWriMo Day 2!

Wow… I can’t believe that I am so close to on target for my personal goals for this month! Only the second day in, but I am staying close to where I want to be!  I am rather excited about that!  So, here are todays stats…

 I am rather proud of myself! I have even managed to stay mostly on track for my house goals! I intend for it to be decluttered by the end of the month! To match so many wonderful changes that are happening in my life!

Are you ready for today’s excerpt, here it is!!!

The hair on her body starts standing on end. Carefully she glances around herself, looking for whatever or whoever it is setting off her radar. Looking behind her, she realizes that she is more than halfway down the alley, and he was at the end. Picking up her pace a little, she trips over an old boot that had been just laying in the middle of the alley. Putrid smelling water splashes up on her as she makes her way to the end, at least she hopes it was water. Shivering, nerves pulling at her, she takes a shuddering breath, trying not to breath the smells in too deeply. Glancing up, she sees a shimmer in the air. “Oh please be there, please be there, please be there” she whispers quietly under her breath. Just as a hand appears in front of her, and she looks up into the most amazing lavender eyes she has ever seen.
Reaching out and placing her hand in his “you found me” she says quietly, just as a loud jarring clatter comes from behind her and he pulls her forward and into his arms.
“Time to go, sorry, no time for pleasantries” his voice comes out a husky purr, and before she knows it they are moving, through time and space in a way she has not done for years. Things fly by in a blur, leaving her gasping for air.

I am up over five thousand words already.  How do you fair?  Are you gaining ground?  A challenge for you!  Add to your NaNo Novel a natural disaster, a bridge, and a boot, to any part of your story!  Please share in the comments below a snipit of your story, we would love to hear!!!

NaNoWriMo 2015!!!

Hey all! Oh man alive, life has just not slowed down for me at all!!! And what is more, NaNo started today and I am of course an ML again this year!  Then there is so much that has happened and going on in my personal life that I can’t keep up with anything these days! That said, I will try to be here at the very least with an update on my NaNo progress daily this month!  I hope that you have joined in the fray, it is not too late!!!  Join me on this amazing adventure!

Without further ado, here is my progress for today!  (2,744 words of my goal of 2,740)

  And just to share with you all, here is a little snippet from what I wrote today:

Looking down the short alley in front of her, it looks dark and gloomy even under the full light of the sun.  Danger lurking everywhere.  This is the place, she can feel it.  Just standing there, staring down the alley, she hesitates.  Feeling something big is going to happen.  Change.  Big, irreversible change.  Unsure of whether or not she is ready, but knowing that waiting will mean death, or possibly worse, she takes a steadying breath the smell of old urine and trash assails her as she takes the first step into the darkness.  Hoping against hope that the ray of light will be there.  “Man there are days I hate being me,” she mumbles quietly to the dark around her.  Pulling herself together she creeps forward, willing herself to continue.

That is all, I hope you enjoyed it!  Also, please join me in NaNo this November!  Let me know what you are writing on and share snippets of what you have going with me, I want to hear from you!

Guest Post – Camp Fail

Our version of Tetris!

Hey all, I know I have been gone a few days, sorry about that.  I was out helping my sister move! Lots of work and then no interwebs at the new place!  I am home, but beat, but I have a GREAT post to share with you all!  My great friend and cabin mate, StoryCoat, has some wonderful words for you, so here she is!

Camp Fail

Well, unlike my lovely cabin mate Ravyn, I did not make winner this year at camp. As I packed my proverbial bags to go home I wiped away tears of disdain at my camp fail! I nearly tripped over my lip as I headed out the door and down the trail to get on the last bus leaving camp. The bus for losers.  Ravyn bless her pea pickin’ heart, was long gone in that decked out bus for winners, banners flyin’ the whoops and hollerin’ lasting for miles down the road.
As I boarded the bus I nearly slipped on the puddle of tears dropped by others who failed to get their word count goal. I mounted the steps and stood looking at the bus full of heads hanging low, lower lips flowing over laps touching the floor of the bus. Whimpers coming from the mouths of those who had failed along with me. The bus was full, almost standing room only. (I’m also slow) Then it hit me. My lower lip zapped back up so fast it nearly bruised my teeth! We aren’t losers! We didn’t fail!! Heck! We’re on the bus!! WE ARE ON THE BUS!!! That means we took the time to at least make the effort to try. “WE ARE ON THE BUS!!” I shouted, “WE AIN’T LOSERS, WE ARE TRIERS AND WE TRIED!! WE GAVE IT A SHOT!!”
Then some little green kid looked up with teary eyes and said, “Yeah, but . . . there is no try. There’s only do or don’t do.”
“Okay,” I said. “So everybody who wrote something – anything at all for Camp NaNo raise your hand.” Every hand on the bus when up, including the little green kid’s. “Well then,” I said, “We all done did!! Maybe we didn’t do as much as we planned on doing but we did something which is a damn sight better than the millions who stayed at home doin’ nuthin’ sayin’ ‘oh yeah, dude that Camp NaNo sounds like fun. I’ma do that one of these days.’ By golly, WE got ON the bus, we came, we saw, maybe we didn’t conquer but we did a little bit and now we can go home proud of the fact that despite all the adversity we faced in the month of July, we wrote sumpthin’. Whatever it was, it counted. IT COUNTED PEOPLE!!”

You shoulda been there to hear all those long faces zapping back up to where they belonged. Even the little green guy got happy! The shouts of joy echoed for miles and miles. Sometimes it’s not whether you win or lose. Sometimes all that matters is that you made the effort!

Thanks, StoryCoat, for those amazing words of truth!  So long as you have even one word, it is one more word than you had before setting out on this Camp experience!  How about everyone else? Was camp a fail? Or did you manage to do “something”?

Camp Followup!

I did it!!! I don’t know how I pulled it off, but somehow or another, I pulled off my word count by the skin of my teeth!  The amazing 6k day was the best.  It was like, all of a sudden, the words were just flying out.  I don’t know what happened to make the flood gates open, but I am so glad they did!

What I am most excited about, however, is that I managed to get some words and ideas put down in the scenes that I have avoided.  Which was actually my goal for Camp more than words were!  I am really excited to sit down and actually get worked through Mo Thuras now, seeing as I almost have a complete story to work with!  It is so exciting to see this story rolling together!

How did camp go for you?  Did you manage to reach your word count goal?  If you didn’t get your word count goal did you manage to reach any of your writerly goals?  Did you at least manage some words?!?