Well folks, i have one week left in August's writing project. I believe it's safe to say i won't make the 50 thousand word count this time. But no worries.
I have learned a lot second time around with this formula. Personally, i think my writing is improving and my creativity is opening up.
This mounths story was (and i suppose more correctly i should say is as i am not abandoning the project but rather continuing it on) far edgier than April's project. I jumped into it blindly knowing only i wanted to name the characters after people loved by people i love, mainly my closest friends children.
It's a unique expierence and one that has taught me i can do this. I can start blindly and like many authors have stated in the past, just let the characters talk.
But this month has been about more than just writing. As happens, life doesn't stop just because i choose to start a project. The world keeps turning, days and time fly by and ... well, as they say it, "Life Happens"
So as the sun sets on August and the cooler winds of September begin to blow in i am not considering this a failure. This month still held lessons for me to learn, as a writer and moreso as a person.
Please stick with me and i guarentee in the end you won't be dissapointed!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
hello again friends!
I started another novel this month. YAY!!! A friend and I are trying to both meet the challenge. It's exciting and fun to say the least. This time i entered into the task slightly different than i did back in April. (April was it... wow, time flies) Last time, when i wrote "Don't Know if You Noticed...But" i had done full sketches on all the characters. Characters i've actually had swimming in my head for over a year now. I knew them like i knew the back of my hand, and i knew the story was about (yes, i can talk about that one now) how a family and a community really, deals with the suicide of the a father. Nothing overly dramatic, if you know me (and if you're reading this i assume you do) it's nowhere near as fantastical as the stuff usually mulling around my brain. (No creepy ghosts, vampires, flesh eating virus's you know, the scary stuff.) It was't scary but writing it was. It was a challenge i gave myself and i did it... and it was actually a lot easier than i thought it would be.
This time however, i went into the novel virtually blind. I found an idea two days before hand on which to base the story and just went with it. Allowed my creative juices graced upon my by my artistic mother and incredibly gifted writer father flow.
Well, I'm happy to say, flow they did! This month i'm very excited about what's coming out onto the pages. In my opinion, it's far better than April's expedition. It is still a rough first draft, but i think i'm improving, which is, after all the point of the challenges.
This month my characters are all named after people in my life, or mostly rather people pereffially in my life. All my nieces and nephews namesakes are in there. Same with my aunts and uncles, even my dad and step mom have characters named in their honor.
I've also taken to name some after my friends children, kids i've never even met for the most part, but love dearly because i love my friends! EVERY CHARACTER, no matter how small is named after someone... which is a first for me. It has endured me to the characters even more! Even tho the characters in most cases are nothing like their namesakes!
It's going well, but i need to get back to it.
Tune in, more to come!!
This time however, i went into the novel virtually blind. I found an idea two days before hand on which to base the story and just went with it. Allowed my creative juices graced upon my by my artistic mother and incredibly gifted writer father flow.
Well, I'm happy to say, flow they did! This month i'm very excited about what's coming out onto the pages. In my opinion, it's far better than April's expedition. It is still a rough first draft, but i think i'm improving, which is, after all the point of the challenges.
This month my characters are all named after people in my life, or mostly rather people pereffially in my life. All my nieces and nephews namesakes are in there. Same with my aunts and uncles, even my dad and step mom have characters named in their honor.
I've also taken to name some after my friends children, kids i've never even met for the most part, but love dearly because i love my friends! EVERY CHARACTER, no matter how small is named after someone... which is a first for me. It has endured me to the characters even more! Even tho the characters in most cases are nothing like their namesakes!
It's going well, but i need to get back to it.
Tune in, more to come!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
day 19
Hello all.
Sorry i haven't posted in a few days. Life, as we all know often continues to roll on whether or not we are ready for it.
The good news is i did meet my word count goal last week and am currently over half done! Supposedly the rest is down hill from here.
I'll keep you all posted with the results.
Thanks!
Sorry i haven't posted in a few days. Life, as we all know often continues to roll on whether or not we are ready for it.
The good news is i did meet my word count goal last week and am currently over half done! Supposedly the rest is down hill from here.
I'll keep you all posted with the results.
Thanks!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
day thirteen
Holy Crap!
I did it. I hit 20 thousand words today. (A day earlier than the syllabus suggested.) It surprised me because i had taken the weekend off.
I'm learning that scheduling the writing sessions works best. I may work at a more leisurely pace, but the work itself seems overall better.
Something has crept up however. It's the first bit of "dark clouds moving in" feeling i've gotten from my writing. I'm scared the story is beginning to morph into something different. While i realize, the novel i write will not be the novel i had set out to write, i fear this one is going places i don't want it to go. I'm afraid it's going to send a message i don't necessarily want to send.
But i'm sticking with it. I'm following the advice of both my inner feelings and my bestest friend and i'm just going to let this story play out. I'm gonna trust these characters, i mean they haven't let me down yet. They've spoken over 20,000 words so far and there is no reason for me to doubt them!
So carry on my wayward children. Mommas listening.
I did it. I hit 20 thousand words today. (A day earlier than the syllabus suggested.) It surprised me because i had taken the weekend off.
I'm learning that scheduling the writing sessions works best. I may work at a more leisurely pace, but the work itself seems overall better.
Something has crept up however. It's the first bit of "dark clouds moving in" feeling i've gotten from my writing. I'm scared the story is beginning to morph into something different. While i realize, the novel i write will not be the novel i had set out to write, i fear this one is going places i don't want it to go. I'm afraid it's going to send a message i don't necessarily want to send.
But i'm sticking with it. I'm following the advice of both my inner feelings and my bestest friend and i'm just going to let this story play out. I'm gonna trust these characters, i mean they haven't let me down yet. They've spoken over 20,000 words so far and there is no reason for me to doubt them!
So carry on my wayward children. Mommas listening.
Monday, April 12, 2010
day twelve
I took the weekend off as it was my roommates boyfriends birthday weekend. Did a little too much partying. (For me, since i'm not much of a drinker, that simply means staying up too late watching horror movies and eating way too much junk food. Believe me, it gives you a different kind of hangover!)
But i'm back.
I was worried. I like writing everyday and think i am finally in the groove to do just that. I found without it i was more depressed. (or maybe that was the excess junk food!) I was scared that after going two whole days without writing as much as a sentence i wouldn't be able to get my writing groove back on.
Happily, i was wrong. It was choppier than normal at first. But i found it was not unlike my first day of writing. Once it started to flow. It really flowed. And the great thing was, it WAS like writing the first day. That first session i wrote more words than any writing session that followed. If you can believe it, it actually came even faster tonight and i came dangerously close to the same number of words.
Because i have been padding my words each day going above my goals, i wasn't too worried about making my 20,000 count by Thursday, but i had hoped to pad the total even more.
I'm very excited to report tonight i wrote 2013 words! (800+ words over the daily goal) Back on track feels good.
The next few days i have scheduled out actual writing time. Trying to see if i can discipline myself a bit more.
But i'm back.
I was worried. I like writing everyday and think i am finally in the groove to do just that. I found without it i was more depressed. (or maybe that was the excess junk food!) I was scared that after going two whole days without writing as much as a sentence i wouldn't be able to get my writing groove back on.
Happily, i was wrong. It was choppier than normal at first. But i found it was not unlike my first day of writing. Once it started to flow. It really flowed. And the great thing was, it WAS like writing the first day. That first session i wrote more words than any writing session that followed. If you can believe it, it actually came even faster tonight and i came dangerously close to the same number of words.
Because i have been padding my words each day going above my goals, i wasn't too worried about making my 20,000 count by Thursday, but i had hoped to pad the total even more.
I'm very excited to report tonight i wrote 2013 words! (800+ words over the daily goal) Back on track feels good.
The next few days i have scheduled out actual writing time. Trying to see if i can discipline myself a bit more.
Friday, April 9, 2010
day nine
Today was GREAT. I became inspired watching a TV show and added a whole other dimension to the story. It was wonderful and a lot of fun. The characters arrived when i called them in and everyone behaved. Again, i was able to write beyond my word count goal (went over 800+ words!). I'm glad that i am still excited about it. So far i haven't had a day where i have dreaded the keyboard.
Please, anyone who reads this, i am not the type to toot my own horn. I don't like that behavior and often i tend to go in the other direction. (Truth be told, this blog thing is a big step for me. I only began it because in my instructions i received "extra credit" by doing it) The reason why i am so upbeat and positive about it is i am trying to keep my momentum going. So far so good.
Please, anyone who reads this, i am not the type to toot my own horn. I don't like that behavior and often i tend to go in the other direction. (Truth be told, this blog thing is a big step for me. I only began it because in my instructions i received "extra credit" by doing it) The reason why i am so upbeat and positive about it is i am trying to keep my momentum going. So far so good.
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