Preparing for NaNoWriMo

You may remember my posts last year about NaNoWriMo. I had only started toying with the idea of daily word counts and the challenge NaNoWriMo presented got me all hot and bothered. See, I love competitions. I'm happiest when I'm competing against myself. It's why I loved performing as a musician, why I love running, and why I love writing.

But, for all my love of the game, NaNo blindsided me last year. I assumed I'd win and you know what they say about folks who assume (ass = me). And, I didn't win.

But I didn't lose. Nov 2012 was my highest word count at the time (aka best. month. ever! To-date).

So, to prepare for NaNo 2013 I'm approaching this beast differently. I know 50k in 30 days is tough. I worked my arse off last month and only made 40k in 30 days.

Here are some things that helped make 2012 NaNo a success:

1. Know thy self: setting a realistic goal - November sucks (in the best way). November is full of holiday planning, visits, vacations, shopping, and obligations. Additionally, if you have perfectioninst tendancies, like I do, writing a first draft to completion is on par with donning a hand sewn dress with the pattern still pinned to it. *brushes off chalk lines* I hate drafting because I want to polish as I go. I'm gunning for a win this year just because I want to win. Which means I'll have to plan around my own desire to polish as I go. I know it will be hard. I plan to set weekly word count goals. If I can get a head of the daily word count requirements my schedule can flex to meet other obligations.

2. Tell people: building accountability - Telling people your goals, whether they are word count, running, weight loss, or underwater square dancing increases your accountability to yourself. In other words: This shit got real.

3. Make friends: building support - I hope to build my writerly network again this Nov. In preperation I'll be building my network in Oct. It helps to have as many people supporting you and rooting for you as possible.

Here are some things I'm doing differently to turn up the heat:

1. Blow my pantser out the window with a directional charge a la Fiona Glenanne: I'm a plotter now, baby~!

Well, not really. I'm trying. I learned the hard way that a vague idea does not 50k make. I needed more than a concept. I need an outline. I need a plot and ideas and details. I'm turning Oct into my own personal plotting month in hopes that I'll have structure enough to unleash the beast in Nov.

2. Targeted collection of inspiration like a master spy:

Once I get into the nitty gritty of drafting I tend to collect inspiration. I do image searches and save pictures that remind me a characters. I dig up movies with plot elements that I enjoy or find similar to my structure. I build play lists to capture the essence of a specific character or scene. This month I will pull these items down before I start so that I'll have the inspriation ready when I need it.

3. Writing the synopsis first like a professional!

OMG, I can't believe I said it. I'm going to write the synopsis first. You hear of these crazy writers who do this and my inner pantser would recoil in horror. But not anymore. This Oct I'm writing the synopsis first. The story may change. In fact, I am posiitive it will. But having the synopsis will be my map. The outline that I mentioed above is like the mapquest directions I need to get to my destination. I just hope my directions will be more accurate than mapquest. LOL

What are you doing to prepare for NaNoWriMo?

Want more ideas? Here are a few blogs that might help:

25 things you should know about NaNoWriMo from my favorite pen monkey, Chuck Wendig at Terrible Minds

NaNo Prep: planning your novel by Janice Hardy

The Siren Call of NaNoWriMo (general thoguhts and practical advice) by Raewyn Hewitt

Pitfalls and how to avoid them by Lisa Cron via Writer UnBoxed

Cover Reveal: BREAKABLE by Amiee Salter

I’m giddy today *hops with excitement* because I have the pleasure of participating in a cover reveal for the wise and talented Aimee Salter. Woot woot!

If you don’t know Aimee, you should. She has an awesome blog that I frequent for writerly advice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aimee L. Salter is a Pacific North-Westerner who spent much of her young (and not-so-young) life in New Zealand. After picking up a Kiwi husband and son, she’s recently returned to Oregon.

She writes novels for teens and the occasional adult who, like herself, are still in touch with their inner-high schooler.

Aimee is the author behind Seeking the Write Life, a popular blog for writers at www.aimeelsalter.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Aimee’s debut novel, Breakable, releases November 4th for Kindle, Nook and in paperback. You can add Breakable to your to-read list on Goodreads.


Now, I know what you’re thinking: show us the dern cover already. Right? Well alright.

But first, here’s the blurb for BREAKABLE:

When seventeen-year-old Stacy looks in the mirror she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been Stacy's secret support through the ongoing battle with their neurotic mother, relentless bullying at school, and dealing with her hopeless love for her best friend, Mark.

Then Stacy discovers Older Me is a liar.

Still reeling from that betrayal, Stacy buries herself in her art. But even that is taken from her when her most persistent tormentor uses her own work to humiliate her - and threaten her last chance with Mark.

Stacy’s reached breaking point.

Literally.


Sounds great right? It’s one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-such-a-brilliant-idea sorta ideas! You want to add it to your Goodreads shelf now, don't you?

And here is the gorgeous cover!

*fires unicorn cannon*

*performs amazing ribbon dance*

*pauses to catch breath*

*finishes ribbon dance*

Isn’t it awesome? I love so many things about this cover: 1. it’s not a chick in a flowing dress. Gawd I’m sick of those covers. 2. It’s artsy. I used to be an art major so I dig it. 3. It’s not a chick in a flowing dress. Oh wait, did I mention that already?

What do you think about the cover?

I Can Haz Productivity: September 2013 Month In Review

As you know, I’ve been tracking my monthly word counts as part of my strategy to meet my writing goals. September is no different. I was a busy, busy girl this month: trips to the beach, the north GA mountains, and the state fair, in addition to a going away party and a birthday party. Woot Woot.

Love this shot from the Ice Machine in Savannah.

While in the mountains we happened upon Cleveland, GA, home of the Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I’d passed the town a million towns but never stopped. This time was different. We stopped at their ‘Baby Land General Hospital’ where the Cabbage Patch Kids are born. The entire staff dressed as doctors and nurses. It was too sweet. Here’s a cute pic.

And here's an action shot of the staff delivering a new Cabbage Patch Kid

Awww. Cute, right? And the cherry on top of all that activity was the words. Lots and lots of ‘em. I had two record breaking days in September: two back to back 4k-a-word days and a 5k word day. *0.0*

Happy Writer Shot

I wrapped up my second draft of my NA SCI FI and am currently seeking beta readers. I’m riding the writers-high wave into NaNoWriMo prep. If you’ve followed this blog long you know that I attempted, yes – attempted, NaNo last year. I didn’t win but I logged my highest monthly word count at the time.

So after trying – but failing- at NaNo I’m trying again. *chews nails in anticipation* Only this year, my guns are hot. I’ve got a lot of plans and ideas on how to make 2013 the year that I win! More on that soon.

September writing action shot

So what did my month yield? The productivity is as follows:

14 blog posts (including 2 cover reveals and 1 author interview)
3 novels read
2 daily word count records!
2 days at the beach *sigh*
And a boatload of words *does happy dance *

For a grand total of 40,018 words. That’s my BEST. MONTH. EVER! It just reinforces what I know to be true – you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to.

This brings my total ‘tracked’ word count for the year to 121,300! *blinks* *blinks some more* I just can’t believe it. I feel so legit because that’s a lota words. Check out how I did in Aug, July, and June.

How are your writing goals coming along? How do you determine you daily word goals?