Day 23: You Can Keep on Writing

Do you sit down to write with a thrill of excitement or with dread and resentment?

Has the month gotten too long? Does your story make you cringe away? Do you feel like you have nothing more to say?

Well I can understand that. After 22 posts of this sort I sit down for the twenty third and I feel a bit empty. I keep asking myself ‘what else have I got to say? What else have I to give?’

Day 22: An Unscheduled Break

“Natalie Scribe was the sole victim in a tragic and wholly unexpected accident concerning the Plot Twist Closet of the Something in Ink Novel House. 

The nearly fatal accident occurred shortly after Natalie inquired as to the best way to prolong her story, The Princess’s Quest for Ink (working title), so as to continue it through the end of the month. Unfortunately while reaching for a box labeled, ‘Lesser Natural Disasters’ she bumped into a miss-filed box of villains, ‘Unstable Henchmen’ to be exact.

Fortunately the only one to be dislodged was one of the ‘Creepy but Harmless with Evil Grin and Cackling Laugh’ types (commonly abbreviated as CbHwEGaCL.) Natalie received quite a fright and bumped her head rather hard when she stumbled out of the closet. 

Natalie has been cleared by Nurse Plotter to continue writing and the CbHwEGaCL was returned to the Spare Villain's Storeroom with no further incident. The investigation as to how ‘Unstable Henchmen’ got into the Plot Twist Closet is ongoing; updates will follow as they are released to us.”

“Please stop reading that Cathy, my head aches so and it’s dreadfully embarrassing.”

“Oh come on Natalie, you made it into the ‘Something in Daily News,’ a whole article too. I’ve been here two years and only been mentioned twice, once in the newbie’s list and then as a participant in Deadly Tales Night. You’re practically a celebrity.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Well your better known then most newbies anyway.”

“Hmmm, I am aren’t I.”

“Sure, now don’t let it go to your head, there’s enough pressure up there right now as it is.”

“Thanks for reminding me. Don’t you have a novel to write?”

“Okay, Okay, I’m going, don’t get snippy.”

“I’m not getting snippy.”

“Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Are—.”

“Just leave already!”

****This break from writing was brought to you by Something in Ink, Something in Ink Novel House, and the Something in Daily News. Regular posting will continue tomorrow. On behalf of our sponsors I would like to wish you good luck with your novel today and to thank you for reading***

~Rita

Day 22 of NaNoWriMo

Day 21: Here's Your Options

We’ve got about a third of the month left and for some that may be causing mini panic attacks. If you’re one of those who is feeling hopelessly behind then this post is for you.

Things happen, we get sick or our computer crashes, or we just can’t fit in enough time to write around work, babysitting, and schoolwork. Time starts running out and our hope of completion is slipping away with it.

When we feel like this there are a few things we can do.

Day 20: One Stretch at a Time

You know most of the time I only write a few hundred words in a stretch and then I have to fumble about for another line or scene to work off of.

You’ll notice this in my posts; they generally range from 200 words to 500, with a few going over or under. This means that once I get started I’m good for, let’s say, 400 words before I stop. That means I need about four goes to get my word count for the day.

That doesn’t sound too bad right? And it isn’t; provided I get the next run started fairly soon. To be honest that doesn’t always happen, it’s one of the reasons I started this post series. See when I come to a halt I sometimes have a hard time getting going again. Last year I spent a lot of time combing through the forums for extra pep talks.

I need a lot of inspiration, support, and encouragement to get things done. (And to frequently update my word count)

How I get started can be pretty random: Sometimes I just start with a word or an image in my mind. Sometimes I write out descriptions so that through writing I can discover more about a place. Once I set out to make one character shout at the top of her lungs just for the heck of it. (That was fun.) I’ve also been committing myself to a lot of word wars this year, forcing myself to write for a set time.

So what about you? How much can you get done at a stretch? What do you do when you’re stalled? Do word prompts work for you? Or ‘what if’ questions? Working in life experiences? How about timers, do you write better when under pressure? Do you do challenges? Word wars?

If you have the time I’d love to hear from you, maybe your methods can help jump start my next stretch of writing.

~Rita

Day 20 of NaNoWriMo

Day 19: Killed anyone lately?

*Type. Type. Type. Type type type typetypetypetypetype.*

“Cathy?”

*Type type type*

“Yes.”

*Type type type*

“My story’s running out of emotion. There’s no heartache, no crisis. They say you need to make your readers cry and I just don’t know how to do that.”

*sigh*

“Who says so?”

“I don’t know, experts, professionals.”

“Whatever Natalie. Have you killed anyone lately?”

“What!”

*sigh*

“In your story…” *Type Type* “Have you killed anyone off yet?”

Day 18: Write off the Path

While trying to write anther NaNoWriMo post earlier today I ended up off on a tangent with only the slightest connection with what I had been writing. When I ran out of words I found that not only had I not completed my original thought but the new idea was too big to coral all at once. It wanted to be threaded through the process of writing a first draft through to editing and refining. It started going on about the relationship between writer and reader. It was not what I was aiming at at all. It has no place in this month’s theme.

But that’s alright, more than alright, because now I have a good start on a post, maybe more than one, for later on. It doesn’t help me much in getting my November posts ready but ideas can be so hard to catch I won’t complain about their timing.

The thing is you never know where a thought might lead you. The whole idea started with one line, one metaphor. Now it’s a half grown idea that is just waiting to be filled out a little and polished up. I couldn’t have known that when I started following it and if I had backed up and gone back to where I was supposed to be I wouldn’t ever have known what I missed.

Even if an idea seems to be going completely off your path follow it awhile, you might have found a new plot twist or an entirely new story idea. No matter how off topic it seems you can never waste your time on an idea. You never know what use you might have for that random paragraph or out of the blue sentence. Write these things down, keep them, feed them with a little brain storming and maybe they’ll surprise you.

Yes I know you’re in the middle of writing a novel right now and can’t take the time to follow every fancy. Really that’s not what I mean any way. Right now I’m just suggesting that instead of back spacing something that doesn’t fit that you consider cutting and pasting it to another file to be looked at later. And if the words are tumbling out in a direction you didn’t mean to go, go any way. See what’s over there and then come back and go on if it isn’t a better way.

Really what this rambling little post means is that if something wants to be written, write it: Even if it’s inconvenient. For NaNo writers remember that if it has any chance of being in your finished novel you can count it in your word count and words that want to be written come out faster than the kind you have to coax, drag, or otherwise terrorize onto the page.

— Rita

NaNoWriMo day 18

Day 17: Maybe a Nap

Truthfully I don’t know what I can tell you today that I didn’t mention in my last two Sunday posts. I think you should take the day off from writing; that you know. So what else can I say?

As I’m writing this in late September I can’t talk about the weather, not to mention the fact that my weather likely isn’t your weather. Actually I suppose in that case I could talk about the weather and then it’d be irrelevant to both of us. (It’s about seventy degrees out and the sky is a hazy blue with clouds on the horizon.)

It probably looked a little like this

I don’t know what I’m doing as you read this, though I suspect I’m sleeping. Or reading. Or drinking coffee and reading. In any case I’m sure I’m resting (or wishing I was.)

I suppose I could take Sundays off completely but then I’d mess up my numbers . Besides rambling about nothing much is half of what NaNoWriMo is about. (Okay not really but it is allowed.)

Well if you read this through then I suppose I got you to take a few mutes off at least. In any case have a good Sunday and I’ll see you on Monday with more (hopefully) helpful content.

God Bless,
~Rita

Day 16: Just Start Writing

Louis L'Amour

Staring a page and not knowing what to write is a very familiar occurrence. My brain just sputters at me and creativity goes on strike. I don’t know what to do with myself. Far too often my response is to go read a book or check my email. I find other things to do and leave the empty page behind. But the thing is, it doesn’t get easier to start writing the longer I wait. I lose time and who knows how many ideas because I walked away.

Some people call it writers block. To me that makes it sound like it’s out of our hands and we can’t write until it goes away.

 Lies. 

Day 15: That's Halfway

NaNoWriMo 2012

Today’s the halfway point for NaNoWriMo. According to that that lovely little graph you should have 25,000 words at the end of this day, but you know, it doesn't always happen that way.

This time last year I was frantically writing up until the very last moment to get to that 25,000 mark. I had started out behind by about four days and I was desperate to make up that ground by the halfway point.

I didn’t make it. 

Day 14: My Keyboard for a Word!

I need a word; Just one word to give me a start. Not just any word, a word that will give me direction, an idea. I’m grasping at straws, scrambling for something to say. I just need one word, why is that so hard?

The dictionary is filled with words, I could write about any of them, in theory at least. In the practical sense a post on shellfish isn’t going to motivate very many writers out there.

I could write about procrastination, I’m very familiar with that topic. But if I did that I might never get this done; particularly if I decided to do more research on the subject.

Inspiration, now that’s a nice word. I could use that. I could write all about inspiration. But now that I think, it’s a rather broad topic and one I’m not very up to date on.

I want a good word, the perfect word, to build this post around. I want it to be just right; I want it to be special.

Something inspiring, something worth your time. Poetic, vibrant, alive. All I need is that one word, I’m sure of it!

Oh, a word, a word, my keyboard for a word!

Day 13: Today You'll Write

Today is a good day: Today you get to write! Yes that’s right you get to spend every spare minute of this day writing.

Today you will discover new things; you will go to amazing places and incredible things there.

Today you might write a death scene. It will be tragic, or triumphant, depending on whether or not you liked that character. In any case there will be food later, well hopefully.

Today someone might fall off a cliff. Or climb one. Or maybe they'll have a picnic there.

Today you will write paragraphs that start with different words, not just one. Or not I mean if it’s a good word why not reuse it?

Today things will happen, good things and bad things, lots of things. Things that you will write down to show the world. Or maybe you’ll keep these words, just keep them for you alone.

Whatever story you are trying to tell, today is a good day for it. Why? Because today you will write.

Today, yes today you will write.

—Rita

Day 13 of NaNoWriMo

Day 12: The Moment of Giving Up: Don't

Sometimes we have nothing to say. No brilliant plot twists. No new characters. No jokes. No tears, laughter, shouts, dances, songs, mornings, nights, fears, hopes, smells, sights, sounds, feelings, or cravings: Nothing to give that blank section of the page. No words. No wisdom.

Oh yes I have those moments; those days.

 We run out of thoughts or don’t know where to start. We grasp at tendrils of inspiration, almost crying when they slip through our fingers. We turn away from our keyboards and go look for something else to do. We tell our selves we’re looking for ideas, sometimes we are. Sometimes though, we’re just running away.

We’ve discovered that writing is hard: its work. It’s no longer romantic and right now it certainly isn’t fun. We want to stop.

This moment, right here, is the moment in which more might-have-been’s have been born than any other. This is the moment of giving up.

But we can’t. We have stories to tell, dreams to follow, we can’t give up! But sometimes we do. We walk away and let our stories fade into dry husks in notebooks and on hard drives.

Day 11: You're Doing Alright

You don’t need to finish. No I’m not telling you to quit, I’m talking about your story. You don’t have to write the whole thing this month; yes NaNoWriMo challenges you to write a novel in 30 days. That doesn’t mean that any actually expects you to do it. What people do expect is for you to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. The operative word here being ‘of.’ Your story can be longer than that, most books are.

You don’t need to worry if it doesn’t look like you’ll be finished with your book this month, you have next month, and then next year to finish it. By the end of this month you should have a good sized chunk of it written up, a chunk you can add to, carve out, and polish up into a full sized novel of your very own.

But right now you’re working on that first big chunk. No I take that back, you’re working on little 1,667 word sized bits (give or take) that are slowly being cobbled together to make that big chunk. Really, if you look at it, I’d say you have a pretty sizable chunk already. Just think what it’s going to look like when it’s three times that size!

Take a moment to think about that, just sit back and look at what you’ve gotten done in the last ten days. Maybe it’s not everything you’d hoped for but it’s still pretty cool. Yeah, you’re doing alright.

……

Okay, moments over, go write another bit :)

~Rita

Day 10: A rest for one third done

Its day ten; you’ve been stretching your writing muscles until they ache. Your fingers hurt. Your arm’s stiff. You have a crick in your neck and you’ve been up too late five days running (on the sixth you fell asleep at your computer.) The month is a third gone and you don't know if you can keep this up. You want to stop.

Guess what, its Sunday! You’ve worked hard for the past week and it’s time to take a break. No guilt. No pressure; just you and rest. Go to Church; say some prayers for your fellow novelists (and yourself.) Read a book. Catch up on your favorite TV show. Go for a walk. Spend some time with your neglected friends and family. Take a nap.

I haven't really been outside much in the past week, I wonder it it still looks like this? (taken 11-2-13)

Tomorrow you will get up and jot down a scene on the way to school. Or make a few notes in the elevator, or while you’re making the kids breakfast. You’ll write over lunch and during that moment of peace when the baby’s down for a nap. You’ll write while your sister’s hogging the bathroom or while you clean the kitchen. You’ll steal a few hours before bed and again stretch it out until one day becomes the next. Tomorrow you’ll write.

Day 9: Where You Write

Where do you write? Most of the time I like to write at my desk in my room. Usually I close the door but sometimes I leave it open. Just to keep me honest (the fear of getting caught playing games or scrolling through Pinterest helps keep me on target.)

Last month I posted a picture of my desk, all clean and tidy. Well…

My desk as of Nov. 9, 2013 yes it is a very comfortable work space.

My desk tends to be full of ‘Creative Clutter,’ unless I have very recently cleaned it. While sometimes it’d be nice if I could keep enough of it clean to lay out my notes or, safely, set down my morning cup of coffee, I like my desk. I even like most of the clutter. This is how I like to work. I can’t explain it, my Mother certainly doesn’t understand it, but that’s how it is.

Sometimes I do like to change it up though, or maybe just plain have to. When I wrote the bulk of this post I was sitting in the car waiting for my sister to get out of the grocery store and my laptop had been installed in the living room for the day, partly because we needed music for cleaning.

Day 8: This isn't a Marathon

 “You know watching that word count rise in nice steady intervals is great. It’s nice and neat and even. Exactly the same number of words a day, just how it should be.” Said Natalie

“Yes, it is rather—” Cathy broke off in the middle of her automatic reply. “Wait what? You’ve only been writing 1,667 words a day!”

“Of course, that’s what the recommended word count says to do after all.” This was rather obvious wasn’t it?

“You mean you haven’t done any extra? At all?” Cathy was rather anxious now.

Day 7: Facing Doubts

So I’ve been trying to write this post for a few days now. I was doing pretty good getting these things ready; I got days 1 through 6 all done and then I just ran out of steam. I started thinking, ‘what do I know about writing pep talks?’ and ‘is my advise really any good?’ and of course there’s that simply blank feeling that would come over me when I sat down to work on this. You know that one where you just can’t think of anything that seems worth writing and go wander over to Facebook or Pintrest? Yeah, I didn’t have much to say. In fact I still don’t.

Now I’m betting there’s a rule somewhere about telling your reader that you don’t have anything to say but maybe it’s what you need to hear right now. See I’m betting that you’ve felt this way, or will feel this way, sometime during this month. One of the reasons I started this Blog was to share these thoughts and maybe find someone to tell me that I’m not the only one who has doubts; That this isn’t just me and that it doesn’t mean that I’m not cut out to be a writer. But maybe I had that all backwards; maybe the whole point is so that I can tell you.

There’s a nagging little voice inside of us, all of us, that tells us we aren’t any good. It twists around things and tries to get us to stop, to give up. This voice makes us question ourselves and our abilities.

Day 6: My Inner Drill Sergeant

What do are you doing here? This is a blog, a collection of writing yes, but it’s not your writing. This isn’t your blog and it certainly isn’t your novel, so why in the name of Webster are you dawdling around here! You are supposed to be writing! You can’t write here therefore you have no business being here. Why do you even have your browser open? Oh, you were updating your word count were you? I hope it’s the full quota and you’ve finished for the day, because if you think I’m going to tolerate you hanging about while you are supposed to be writing you are sadly mistaken. What’s that? You came here for encouragement? Well not today. I haven’t got time to be coddling anybody! You want advice? GET WRITING! That’s what this is all about isn’t it? Writing! So go on and get to it! NOW!

Ahem, I hope my inner drill Sergeant didn’t scare anyone off. If you’re looking for something a little gentler feel free to check the archives. (Oh and I really do love seeing you here, just come back when you finish your word count, things should be calmer then.)

Rita (and the Inner Drill Sergeant)

Day 5: Padding not for You? What about Editing?

I know everyone (myself most likely included) will tell you to pad your prose with as many lengthy descriptions and added words as you can to help raise that word count. But you know you don’t actually have to do it that way, sometimes it’s even better not to bother.

Say for instance you start writing a conversation, if all you want to do is write down what your characters want to say to one another than do so. Don’t worry if you leave out the ‘he said’ or ‘she replied’ bits or if you can’t find a clever way of putting it. Don’t fuss over location or timing, just write what comes to you, and fill in the rest later. If you let yourself get hung up on the details you might miss what your characters are trying to say.

Day 4: Messy and Out of Order

I’d like to share two thoughts today:

First, remember your working on a first draft. That means it’s going to be messy, contradictory, redundant, clumsy, vague, convoluted, and at least slightly embarrassing. Like a colt that hasn’t quite grown into its legs yet or a jigsaw puzzle that’s only been half completed. This is only natural, it’s even to be expected. To anyone else this first draft will likely be completely incomprehensible. But not to you, at least we hope not to you. The first draft is your first look at what your book will be like. The tangible outline of the story you’ve lived with for who knows how long.

It doesn’t matter if you change something half way through: make a note of it and fix it later. Don’t have a name for a character yet? Nickname them or use an abbreviation for their role in the story (I actually did that with my first NaNo novel, they still don’t have names.) Don’t worry if you don’t do much describing, or if you do too much, you can fix it later when you have a better idea of what needs to be shown.

This month isn’t about beautiful prose as much as it’s about the story. That doesn’t mean that you won’t write a perfect sentence or a beautiful description; or that you shouldn’t try and find the right words for that death scene you’ve always wanted to write. It just means that it’s alright if you don’t. It’s alright if you’re using the same word over and over. Or if you leave out whole sections of description because you don’t know a thing about castles and don’t have the time to research it right now. That’s okay, just get what you can out there where you can see it and don’t worry about the rest.

This leads me to my second note; namely nonlinear writing. Basically if you have an idea for something that happens later in the story write it. Want to delve into something that happens before your story starts? Write it. Feel like writing the end first? Go ahead. It might mean that these passages are a little disjointed or out of line. It might even mean writing something that you’ll just end up cutting out later. Do it anyway. Even if the text its self is never used you’re still developing ideas and finding out more about your characters. This can also help you fight writers block, if you don’t know what comes immediately after what you just wrote then see what happens down the line, you can connect the dots later. This may not work so well if your ‘pantsing’ it and don’t have a clue where the story is going but you could try it in reverse, write about your characters past or something that happened in the house they’re staying at: Anything that could help you find out more about your world.

Just have fun with it; there are no hard and fast rules for writing a story. This one’s yours, make your own rules: then break them.

— Rita