Posts

NaNoWriMo results

-
Hey everyone Nancy here to just let you know I did win NaNo this year, hitting over 50k words, but came short of my 65k word goal. I got really close at only 64,103 words but realized I had lost my writing MoJo. DANG, IT !!! oh well. The last 3 chapters are really sparse, I haven't got the ending as mapped out as I would like, I also want to leave a few small details to continue on into the next book in series. When I got to a point when my characters had left the room, Not wanting to talk to me, I try to use the following to help bridge the gap. 1. Brain dumping  -writing down all the things I think I want to happen or don't want to happen. putting everything down in front of me on paper I can see if any stick out. Or are similar, that they can lead into more of the scenes. 2. FreeWriting  - I just write no matter how silly, disconnected or crazy it is, I can usually reread it later and see a theme, that can be used to expand upon. 3. Take a Break- usually, after NaNo w
Post a Comment
Read more

Prepping for NaNoWriMo -My Outline

-
This year for NaNoWriMo I plotted which is new for me. I also did Prep-tober as well. I made an outlining style I can really use effectively, taking several styles and merging them into one time-frame. Here what I did:  First ask all the questions such as : 1. Plot of story 2. Dramatic Question-What do the main characters want? 3. 1st barrier/ set-up -What's stopping them from getting what they want? 4. Conflict -  how can they solve this barrier? 5. 2nd dramatic question - What do they want to do about the situation? 6. BIG Barrier- what's stopping them from solving the situation? 7.  Epiphany- What do they discover that will change the outcome? 8. Showdown/ Conflict/ lowest point do they give up or keep going forward? 9. Climax- do they win or lose? 10. Resolution- what happens now? Then I add in the Act 1, Act 2, Act 3  dividing all the above questions into the parts of the story they belong in giving a rough timeline for the story. Once that is in place I write o
Post a Comment
Read more

NaNoWriMo here I come!!

-
Ok, the last blog before November 1st. time for NaNoWriMo, and 50k words in a month, here is my go-to items to have on hand to get me through the month of writing to WIN.  1. Chocolate candy like Heresy nuggets easy to pop in my mouth since I don't drink coffee . 2. Water, I use a Huge Big Gulp cup I got last year. keeping it filled keeps me able to speak into my         dragon (more on that later) 3. Fruit , freshly cut up like strawberries and banana's or sliced apples, pears. 4. Stella Dora Breakfast cookies , I get a from Amazon, love these. So does my granddaughters... lol 5. Book Binder (bible) have to keep track of my story notes. 6. Dragon - I don't type fast and have arthritis so using dragon helps keep the story flowing just              speak and it types for me ( need a lot of water to prevent dry mouth) 7. Dr. Grip Pen my favorite pen just to make changes to notes in the binder. 8.  Flannel hooded shirt I get cold and it's like getting a hug s
Post a Comment
Read more

Journaling Basics -types for any Occasion

-
Hi again, this week I thought to discuss all the different types of Journals and their uses. I have loads of Journals that I love to use daily. But maybe you only have one or (god forbid) NONE...lol so here is my list : 1. Daily Affirmations- this is where you can give yourself a daily pep talk, a phrase to help with your day, a word to try to use in conversation. Or a bible passage, also used for meditation, daily reflection. I use a lovely leather bound journal my best friend gave me for my birthday. 2. Planner- A calendar, keeping daily activities logged, appointments to remember, daily To-Do list, reminder tracker. I get mine from the dollar store, 8x10 vinyl cover. and personalize it with stickers and quotes. 3. Lexicon- this one is sort of new for me, but it's for all those words we come across in reading or Social Media we don't know the meaning of, so we can look it up and have somewhere we can retrieve it easily. A personal dictionary so to speak.  I got a small
Post a Comment
Read more

Posted 1st Newsletter "News"

-
I'm taking the plunge into doing a Newsletter, I'm hoping to do one at least bi-monthly. Posting all my latest "news" of where I am in the publishing process. I have about 6 books I have outlined and mapped out so far, some are more detailed than others. But with that many I will be busy for next decade..lol wow decade that seems like a huge amount of time, but in reality, it takes about a year of full time working on a book to get to the point of publishing it. Some writers take 3-5 years to write a single book. I also have plans to expand my author platform, (which I might need teenagers to help with ) since I am mostly social media lacking...lol but it has to be done. I will be looking for a cover artist fairly soon, also beta readers to complete "One Family, Many Voices" hope that all come together sometime in New Year. As for the rest of this year, I am participating in NaNoWriMo in November, writing  50k words in a month will bring me closer to fin
Post a Comment
Read more

NaNoWriMo is coming are you ready?

-
As we enter Preptober for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and getting ready for the BIG 50K, I find myself researching my characters, scorning Google images, for any inspiration that seems to fit into my story in my head. All those imagined places, all the things I want them to experience, and explore. Finding the history of the land, traditions, language, customs, searching for just the right details that will help me see the scene I want to write.   I seem to name my characters long before I figure out who they are, which can be tricky, I also seem to want to name them after people I know...LOL, the villain is always the mean girl I used to hate in school or the football player who I had a crush on, who called me names behind my back... So I know I have to change that up a bit. They all can't be named Karin and Brian. I wonder do you find yourself going back to what I refer to as "good old standby's" names? I like to imagine myself watching all my chara
Post a Comment
Read more

Writing and Mental Illness / Being away for a while

-
Well Hello there stranger, thought I dropped off the face of the earth didn't you, well I did sort of. For starters, I needed some time dealing with my personal life and my mental health. My social anxiety had gotten a bit out of control so I needed to get a handle on it before moving forward. But now I am working to push myself through the darkness and get back to my passion for writing and blogging. So with that said let's get back to the fun. When someone has severe social anxiety it can leave you avoiding everything especially the need to become a successful Author, by not wanting to do social media, attend book conferences or meeting new people even. When this happens to me I tend to want to cocoon myself, hideout under the covers, eat large amounts of chocolate, just be alone with my thoughts to give myself time to regain my confidence. This is what has happened to me in the last few months. The overwhelming urge to hide came as my original book launch date loomed ever
Post a Comment
Read more