Sometimes Reaching 50K Takes A Month...Sometimes Eight Years

 When I updated my Mac a few updates ago, my Microsoft Word software no longer worked. Changes over at Microsoft mean if I want to continue using their product, I need to purchase an annual license (at least, I think it's annual...I never paid for the license so I'm not sure).

Without Word I needed new writing software. I chose Scrivener. I'm liking it so far, liking it a lot. I don't utilize all the bells and whistles of Scrivener (I didn't with Word, either...). But, it does what I need it to do. 

Because I took the novel I was working on in Word and cut it up into chapters in Scrivener, I had no idea how many words I'd written, since I had added several chapters using the new software. I did a search--turns out I've surpassed 50k.

That's a milestone.

Every November, writers all over the world try and write a complete novel during the month, and if not a novel, at least write fifty-thousand words. It's called NaNoWriMo and the only time I took the challenge seriously, I was able to do it. I wrote my first published novel before November ended. That took less than four weeks. This latest story I stopped working on in 2013 before I started up again. That's eight years for me to reach 50k.

Quite a difference.

After I completed my first NaNoWriMo challenge, the story flowed so easily. I was sure I could duplicate it. And maybe I can with another story, but every time I've tried, it's been tough. That's why I haven't done it again.

Now that I've hit that mark, I can begin to wrap it up. I finally figured out my ending a few weeks ago so now it's just a matter of putting in the work and getting the first draft finished. Of course, many writers say once the first draft is done, that's when the writing process really gets going. It's true...once the first draft is done, so many of the things that turns a good story into a great story begin. I do like that part of the process. I'm glad I can see the end of at least this part of the journey.

NaNoWriMo...Some Third Week Thoughts

It's been three weeks tomorrow since November, 2016 began, and in ten days it will be over.

And when November ends, I will have produced my first middle-grade novel, complete with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

At least, that's the plan.

I'm three weeks in. Here's how it's going so far.

I've written everyday, except Sundays. Some days I've only written a couple hundred words, which, considering my schedule, is great.

My story takes place in a spaceship that travels to another planet. Due to lack of organization and planning before NaNoWriMo began, I didn't layout the story very well. I took the road most traveled--I thought I could just write by the seat of my pants, or what's known in writing circles as "pantsing."

In the beginning, it worked out great.

Then came the second ten-thousand words. Oh, the story drags. But that's okay because NaNoWriMo is about getting the words down, not worrying about editing, or voice, or even pace. Just get it down on paper or in the computer. I thought journeying to the planet could take 50,000 words...easy.

I was wrong. It took about half that.

Before I began,  I wondered how the story might unfold once they got to the planet, but I didn't think about it much. After all, if I extended it to having them do much on the planet would make the book too long.

Yesterday, I had the most successful writing day I've ever had, at least in shear numbers. I wrote over 7K. And because of that, it brought me to over two-thousand words for each day in November. Getting my characters to the planet opened up a whole new way for me to look at the overall story. If I had had more time yesterday, I probably could have written a couple of more thousand. That will just have to wait until next week.

The next ten days will be busy. We're opening a show on Friday, having Thanksgiving the day before. But I do have ten days to write just under 18,000 words. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

NaNoWriMo Tracker: 975 words written Friday, 7031 words written yesterday,

32715 words total

NaNoWriMo...Some First Week Thoughts

I began like millions of others on Tuesday. My story did not begin on the bus commuting to or from work, not at home after working my shift. No, I began my NaNoWriMo experience at a theater.

Actually, that makes a lot of sense to me.

For the past couple of years, I've wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo (the National Novel Writing Month). The goal: write 50,000 words in thirty days. November is the month that's been chosen. Yes, I've wanted to write a novel in November, but each year, I've been so busy. I'm usually in a play. This fall I made the decision--I'm finally going to do it.

And then I was asked to do another play.

And I said, "yes."

Tomorrow it will be one week into my first NaNoWriMo experience. And, to my surprise, I was able to get a fifth of the way to my goal. Seriously, I didn't think I'd get that far. It makes me think I really can do this.

Then there's the story I'm writing. Oh, it needs help. For years I've been hearing advice on how to properly write a novel. There are things you should do, pacing, cliffhangers, humor, etc. And there are things you shouldn't do--basically, the opposite of all those things. And as I'm putting down the words, I'm realizing there's so many of those "should do" things that I'm forgetting. I know that I can make changes later and that NaNoWriMo is to get the words down--worry about the other details later.

Still, I can't complain too much. I was able to write successfully for five days straight. I didn't write today because I'm taking Sundays off. It makes reaching my goal a little tougher, but it's the rules I've set for myself. Plus, it's been fun for me to revisit my Fields of Barley story I wrote years ago. Posting a little of that story each day has been a good way for me to keep blogging and have time for NaNoWriMo.

Yes, the first week is in the books, as it were. Before this month ends, the show I'm in will go through final preparations and will actually open the day after Thanksgiving. Putting a play on the stage takes a lot of time and long rehearsals, time I can't use for writing. But, if the first five days of the month is any indication, I've got an excellent chance of reaching my goal. I'll keep you posted.

NaNoWriMo Tracker: 2655 words written yesterday, 10020 words total

A Story For November...

Call me crazy, but I'm going to try something I've never done--I'm participating in NaNoWriMo. For those unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. There's going to be things I'll be giving up in order to reach my goal of 50,000 words to be written by the end of November.

I thought one of those things was going to be this blog.

Sometimes I can crank out a blog post in just a few minutes--sometimes it takes considerably longer. I really don't want to stop posting so I came up with a plan. I'm going to take a story I wrote almost ten years ago and post a little of it at a time. By the end of the month, the entire story will be shared. And because I always include a picture with my posts, I chose this one to use. I snapped this picture in Idaho where much of my story takes place. I'm not sure if I'll use the same picture every time, but even choosing a picture for the post takes time, time that won't be used for novel writing.

The story's called, Fields of Barley.

So, if you're uninterested in reading the story (I know it's going to be rough--I haven't even looked at it or edited it in seven years...), just check in with this blog on December 1, 2016. Hopefully by then I'll also have written a novel as well.

It's Good To Be Busy...But To Be This Busy?

I am tired.

It's my fault, really. Each time something comes up, I've said I'd do it, I'd volunteer, I'd say yes.

And so I did.

And so I'm tired.

Don't get me wrong--I like being busy. I've been doing it for some time. Back when I got my undergraduate degree, I constantly had several jobs at once while a full-time student. I got married and have been fortunate enough to be employed almost the entire twenty-four years since.

Around the turn of the century, I started doing shows, community theater. Luckily, my kids liked doing the shows with me and it made for a fantastic parent/child experience (at least, for the parent--they kids have said they've enjoyed it too...). But doing a show takes time--a lot of time. You rehearse almost every day, except Sunday, for two months, then the show runs for another month. Once the show begins, that's when you actually get a break--you're only needed every other night. Still, I've made life-long friends and wonderful experiences from these shows. I'd hate to think of turning them down just because I was busy.

Then around ten or twelve years ago, I started writing. I'd always dabbled, but I thought I'd take the craft to a more serious level. Now, being a writer means you're always "busy." You're never not busy because either you're writing, or you feel you should be writing--both can be somewhat stressful. But the rewards can be amazing!

To improve my skills I decided to return to college after fifteen years and get my masters degree. In a couple of years I donned a black robe and was given my diploma. I did this while I worked full-time, kept writing, and even doing shows.

Crazy, right?

Probably.

Since I graduated I've still kept writing (not as much as I want...), worked full-time, and done several part-time jobs. The part-time jobs are for fun and because it was needed. And the shows--there always seems to be another show out there.

So, why am I tired now? Right now, along with my job, I have a part-time job on the weekends. My son and I work at a Halloween show at Lagoon, the amusement park by our house. I'm also in a play we'll put on in December--I'm playing three characters and need to memorize my lines. And each day I need to find something worthy of a blog post as well as post a daily picture, which means also finding something interesting to photograph.

And this is only October. November's going to be nuts!

In November I've decided to write a novel--I'll need to write about 2000 words a day while working, getting ready and starting the Christmas show, and blogging everyday. Thankfully, the part-time job will be done so I should have good writing opportunities on Friday and Saturday.

Again, I'm not complaining even though it sounds like I am. I know I've been busier, but I've never been this busy and a half century old before. We'll see what happens.

Maybe I Will Do NaNoWriMo This Year...

I have many friends who not only participate, but complete the NaNoWriMo writing challenge. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it's basically this:

During the month of November, you write a novel. To complete the goal you must write 50,000 words during the month of November. I've thought about doing this each year since I began writing a few years ago. One major problem is that in 2012, 2014, and 2015 I've done a Christmas play and November is the month when the shows begin.

The question is, should I do it this year or not? 

After the latest Salt Lake Comic in September I decided I should begin a new project, one for middle-grade readers, one my son would enjoy. A typical middle-grade story runs around 50K words. This could work out nicely.

In order to do this, and to keep my full-time job, I've got to break down the project. November has thirty days. November 1 is on a Tuesday and the month ends on a Wednesday. I do not write on Sundays (except for blog posts...) which leaves me 26 days to write 50,000 words. That's a total of 1,923.08 words a day to reach my goal. November has two recognized holidays, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, plus I work four ten-hour shifts that leaves my Fridays free. Since most of my nights will be busy with the play, maybe I should keep a writing goal by the week. That means I would need to write 12,500 words every seven days.

I did make promises and I need to honor. I think this just might be the year I join others who, on December 1 can proclaim to the world, "I did it!"

Is There A NaNoWriMo For Screenplays?

Over the past couple of years, I've gotten to know a lot of authors. And chances are, if you know what NaNoWriMo is, you are either an author or know someone who is.

NaNoWriMo stands for the National Novel Writing Month and you may not be aware that from last Saturday and for thirty days after, thousands and thousands of people are writing furiously in order to write a 50,000 word rough draft before December hits.

For me,  I'd love to take part in this global phenomenon, but not this year (I seem to say that every year...). With work and rehearsing every weeknight and Saturday mornings for an upcoming Christmas show, much of my free time is already committed.

But...

I'm wondering if there's a National Screenwriting Month. And a simple Google search later, I found out there is! It's in May. Since I know fewer screenwriters than authors, I was unaware of this.

I've decided to produce, in the month of November, 2014, a completed screenplay and call it Edwin. I should say, at this point, that I have already written a screenplay for Edwin, a script that only a few people have seen. Those people are busy creating their first feature film and I couldn't be more excited for them and for the possibility that they will then take on a new project and that this new project will be the before mentioned Edwin.

However...

The screenplay that only a few of us have seen should be scrapped and started over. Well, maybe not completely scrapped--some important scenes can remain, but at least re-worked to the point that it would not be recognized in its present from.

So, I'm not going to wait for May, 2015 (personally, I'd love to be part of pre-production meetings in May...). I think I'll try and get the first draft done now. I'd better hurry--I've only got twenty-six days left!