Writer's Update

Time for a quick update before Thanksgiving. 

As I've noted, I'm being a NaNo rebel this year, not trying to draft a novel, but rather to sort and edit 50,000 words of short fiction into collections. And how's that going? Well, I think. I passed the 40k mark (including whatever else I've written this month, and the final edits on Death By Donut) late last week, and have three collections ready for final edits and formatting, with stories for a fourth tagged but not yet edited.

I have also written a guest post for the WEP--watch for that to come out on Wednesday, I think--and tackled some challenging computer issues (which turned out not to be as bad as expected). Editing mode has been good to me, and as readers saw on Friday, even led to writing a whole new bit of flash fiction just for the heck of it.

That being the case, I feel like I do have something to be thankful for this week, in addition to friends and family who are holding me together, largely from afar. 

To my US readers, have a good, and safe, holiday. To those elsewhere... be thankful anyway.

Write on!

IWSG: NaNo Time?

 

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group post. The IWSG is the brainchild of the amazing Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. Since we are all insecure and can use all the support we can get, huge thanks to Alex and this month's co-hosts, Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria!

Every month there is an optional question to spark our posts and discussions. This month's question is (stripped of all the explanation you will find here):

Why do you write what you write?

Now for my post...

I'll get to the question in a minute. First, the big question: to NaNo, or not to NaNo? That's right--November is National Novel Writing Month, and many of us like to use the energy of the event to push our work along. So am I doing it this month? 

My answer to that appears to be a great big "sort of." When I first drafted this post on Oct. 30, I was still working on edits on last year's novel, something I'd hoped to have done by the end of May. As my regular readers know, life intervened, and writing, not to mention just getting up and going on each day, has been a challenge. As of November 1, the edits aren't quite done, and that's my first priority.

Still, I have a new story that's itching. 

Well, not so much a story as a character. I want to start a new mystery series with a new heroine. She's taking shape in my head pretty well, but the story has not, except in the broadest sense. And therein lies the rub: I could rush ahead and write a story all unplanned. That hasn't worked well for me in the past. Or I could spend however long it takes to plot the novel, then start. That might make it hard to reach 50K words, but frankly, who cares?

My third option is to spend the month working on short fiction, mostly editing flash fiction into a couple (or 3) anthologies. That is, once I finish the edits on Death By Donut. By the way, I'm still open to beta readers, and I haven't forgotten those who volunteered last month. I expect to finish my edits within the next two days.

Once the draft is off to the beta readers, I can either start plotting the next thing or (much more likely) start organizing my stories for the anthologies. I guess if I'm "doing NaNo," I'm doing it as a rebel. I did log my substantial word count for today, a mix of new text and edited material!

Okay, after all that, I'll skip the monthly question. Feel free to answer it in your comments, though! I'd love to hear why you write!

 ***

Last-minute Tuesday night update: despite obsessing fruitlessly over the election returns, I managed to finish the edits, and the draft will go out to beta readers tomorrow (after I do a little formatting cleanup and write a note to guide readers in their feedback). I'm very relieved to let go of that one for a while!

Writer's Wednesday: NaNo, anyone?

Since I'm off in the Maine woods and more into kayaks and moose right now than I am writing (and this is an automated post because we're out of range of wi-fi), this is meant to be a quick update. 

The editing in which I rejoiced last week in my IWSG post is still going on at a pretty good rate. I've hit some of the harder bits, the places where I need to rewrite if not rethink stuff, but I'm still hopeful of finishing by the end of the month. Some of the 47K I've finished with are actually new words, part of the 10K or so I need to reach my target novel length.

Finishing the draft and sending it to my beta readers would be good, because I would really like to give the new cozy series that's brewing in my brain a chance to come to life. For now, I'm keeping it under wraps--it's too soon and I don't want to risk an early frost nipping it before it's even begun to grow. But much as I love my Pismawallops PTA crew, I'm excited to invent a whole new world for a new heroine to find corpses in. [Note: I simply cannot write that sentence without ending it in a preposition. Tough.]

And, I'm going to take a shot at flash fiction again, hoping for a story for the WEP posting next week. We'll see, but it might be a good test to see if NaNo is realistic.

 Because... yes, it's almost National Novel Writing Month again, and once again I'd really like to leverage the energy that creates to jump-start the next novel. In other years, I've had no doubts. This year, I'm simply going to give it my best shot and let it go at that. Any words written are a triumph, so I'm pretty sure to be a "winner" not matter what. 

And that's about it. I'm in Maine, so it's all about the fall colors.

###

 All images and text ©Rebecca M. Douglass, unless otherwise indicated.
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Writer's Wednesday: NaNo Update #3

... And a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

With only four days left in the official NaNo month, how's your writing? I've hit the "winner" mark and kept going. I feel like I've been struggling with the book, though I've been able to hit my word goal almost every day. The strange thing is... I've been getting those words in the evening. I have always believed myself to be a morning person, and that I'm usually pretty much incapable of thought by evening. And yet here I've been, day after day frittering away my mornings, and finally sitting down in the evenings and writing like a mad thing. And it works.

So am I no longer a morning person? Or has procrastination reached a new peak?

As for the outline that was going to make it a breeze, well, I am still more or less on the outline but the writing is coming hard in any case.

Stats:
Around 57,000 words
Attended three write-ins, where the peer pressure really helped
Several gallons of coffee.


 Don't forget--sign up for my newsletter by Dec. 15 (top right on this page) and get a free copy of the sweet Pismawallops PTA novella, The Christmas Question

Writer's Wednesday: NaNo update #2

Battle of the Brains: Planning Vs. Pantsing

 

Hey, everyone! I'm coming up for air (from the depths of my new MS) and wanted to let you know how it's all going--especially that extensive outline I started with!

We're three weeks in, which means most of us are in the doldrums. At least, that's where I am. I've been managing to meet my word counts every day, but I feel like I'm forcing it out. Like I have constipation of the imagination. This, of course, is famously where the outline helps.

So is my outline helping? Have I stuck to the plan well enough for it to have any meaning at all at this point?

Yes and no, on both counts. I've wandered a bit--things I planned for one point have ended up happening earlier, which leaves me with holes, or a lack of a point for a planned scene. But I do still have a more or less chronological list of the the things that need to happen to get to the solution of the mystery, and I can consult it when I'm flagging.

I also have a growing list of things that I think I'll need to go back and write into earlier scenes, from minor character things to plot points and red herrings. That means I need to look at pulling things to a conclusion around 65 or 70K words, to keep the final draft around 80K.

I think I'm going to have to admit that there's no way for me to make a nice, clean first draft that gets all the story bits in place. I did a great job of visualizing the beginning and ending of the story, but the stuff in between is... fuzzy. I wonder it it's possible for it to be anything else.

Word count as of 11/19: 42084. Less than 8K to "win" NaNo, but just past halfway to a novel.
Target: 80K by Christmas. We have a 2-week trip planned in early December. I'll be writing on airplanes, for sure!

 Don't forget--sign up for my newsletter by Dec. 15 (top right on this page) and get a free copy of the sweet Pismawallops PTA novella, The Christmas Question.

Writer's Wednesday: NaNo Update #1

 

I like to do a weekly update during November when I'm doing NaNoWriMo (it's another way to procrastinate, right?), to say how I'm doing and see how those of you who are swotting along with me are coming along. By the way, if you want to be buddies on NaNo, I do it under my own name :)

So how's my NaNo going, after 12 days?

Stats: 23,922 words as of 7 p.m. last night (really hoping as I write this, at 7 p.m. last night, that I can up that before bed).

Consistency: Yup. Every day.

Average output: around 2000 words, which is my minimum goal (2K/day gets me an 80K draft in 40 days...)

Most words in one day: 2967

Fewest, excluding yesterday because of hopefulness: 1069

Less numerically, I'm in the mid-book doldrums. Like my sleuth, JJ MacGregor, I'm flailing around looking for clues as to where all this is going. So, you ask, what about the extensive notes and outline? Still more or less on, and still helpful, but the holes in it you could drive a train through! Time for a time-honored cure: throw something nasty at poor JJ.

And what else is going on? 

Well, I was up late Monday night finishing the Kindle and paperback MSS of Death By Library. The proof is on it's way to me, so I should be able to get the paperback out at the same time as the ebooks go live, i.e. Dec. 6. The ebook is available for pre-order on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble, and probably some other places I don't know about. Unfortunately, the paperback can't be pre-ordered--except on this blog! Which means that updating that page is another task that needs doing ASAP.

Got the edits back on the special novella, The Christmas Question (Pismawallops PTA #4.5), and I'm working on final tweaks and polish. There's still time to sign up for my newsletter and get a free ebook of it in my December newsletter! Sign up before Dec. 15 to be sure you're there before I hit "send." Right now, it's the only way to get a copy.

Looking at all that, which leaves out the personal stuff (like finally getting to start PT for my plantar fasciitis!), I think I know why I'm busy and tired!

Drop me a note in the comments and tell me how it's going for you!

IWSG: Writing and planning

 

The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group posting day, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It's a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Check it out here and join if you want support with your writing. 

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!
November 6 question - What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story? 
 
The awesome co-hosts for the November 6 posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!
 ***
 

Welcome to another IWSG post! 

I am looking forward to reading about the weird things people have googled! I don't have any very interesting ones--I mean, every mystery writer googles weird poisons, and things like how long it takes for rigor mortis to wear off. I have gone down the rabbit hole a time or two--the biggest one, which might actually be a wormhole, was the fascination with WWI I developed while thinking about a particular story. That long since left the realm of research and became something I do for its own sake. But I'd rather hear about your adventures!

For myself, as I announced last week, I'm juggling a couple of projects (well, okay, three), including being 5 days into NaNo. I'm working from the most thorough plan I've ever had, and have hit 10,000 words, but I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing or exactly where the story is supposed to be right now. So much for detailed plans.

If you want to get in on another of my projects, a 9000-word Christmas novella featuring the characters from Pismawallops Island, just sign up for my newsletter before Dec. 15. I'm giving the story as a Solstice gift to all my newsletter readers (note: if anyone can recommend how to do that, please let me know--I would rather have something direct than give out Smashwords coupons). Here's a sneak peak at the cover:

Enough about me! I'm off to see what others are up to as we move into the craziest time of the year.

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2019
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Writer's Wednesday--It's NaNo Time!

Time for another writing update already! I'm happy to say that there has been some action in the last two weeks. That novella I was inspired to write has been drafted and is getting feedback. More on that below.

We've gotten home from our travels, and are settled in enough now that a) I can start to see my way through the chaos to a regular schedule (including writer time) and b) I've started up all my workouts again and I am SORE! Which may actually be good for the writer stuff, because once I sit down at the computer I don't want to move.

As for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month, aka November), yes I'll be participating again this year. To see why, I think I'll refer you to last year's post on the topic. I'm ready for a boost, a deadline, and a bit of writer chatter, and maybe even a chance to connect with some local writers. I've got some work to do still on the outline (somewhere in the next day or two while getting Death By Library organized!), but the book is coming together well in my head, if not yet on paper. I have a lot of confidence now in my ability to write well over the requisite 1642 words/day (or whatever the exact number is to hit 50K in 30 days), so I'm comfortable taking a little extra time to be sure I'm ready before I start writing.

Write where you are.

I have also gotten Death By Library back from the proofreader, made the necessary edits, and formatted the ebook, so I'm right on schedule for my release date, and to get copies of the book to the reviewers on the blog tour! I'm working on guest posts, interviews, and the rest of the fun, and if you want to join the party, drop me a line. The formal tour is being managed by Great Escapes Tours but I'm happy to share cover images and ARCs to anyone willing to give me a review.

Now, about that novella: it's a Christmas story, and Pismawallops PTA #4.5. In other words, it comes after the book that's due out December 6. And, being a holiday story, it needs to come out too. So... I'm going to give it away to everyone on my newsletter list. Which means... I have put out my first newsletter in about 3 years, and I'll do another just before Christmas! If you want a free copy of PPTA #4.5 and all the latest news about each of my books, sign up now.

Meanwhile, coming December 6!

Writer's Update and WEP reminder

First things first: today is the official December WEP day.

Click on the image to go to the list of fantastic WEP stories from this month, including mine. We all posted up early to make sure there would be time to read the stories before the holidays sweep us all up.

Writer’s Update:
Well, we survived NaNo, and while it was (and is) hard to maintain the momentum after the end of the month, I did manage to hang on and bring my word count up to just under 70k, with a pretty good draft of the story (not too many missing bits). I’m also considering it a positive thing that, unlike my usual process, I don’t feel the need to dump the story for 6-12 months before I look at it again. I am actually ready to continue chipping away at the big issues and working on getting the draft to the point where I can give it to beta readers, hopefully before summer (northern hemisphere summer). Apropos of that, if you are interested in beta-reading Death By Library once it’s ready, let me know. It’s book 4 of the Pismawallops PTA mysteries, but is meant to stand alone if necessary (part of what I will need to know is what else needs explaining that I’ve taken for granted).

Of course, the other reality lies in that reference to the Southern Hemisphere, because the Ninja Librarian family is off to New Zealand right after Christmas, for some pretty extensive travel. I know that nothing, and I mean nothing, will happen writing-wise during January, as we will be tramping and traveling non-stop. We’ll see after that.

Which brings us to...

Blog update:
The Ninja Librarian’s blog will be going on hiatus during January. There may be some random posts (including, of course, the IWSG post on the first Wednesday), but I don’t expect to be reading and responding to others’ posts, for which I hope you all will forgive me! I simply won’t have enough time or internet connections to do anything consistent. I hope you won’t all forget me while I’m off playing—keep coming back to check for photos, which I will post as and when I can!

Writer's Wednesday: How's Your NaNo?

It's November 28. The month is almost over, and I hope all of you have had a good one. If you've been participating in NaNoWriMo, whether as a "traditionalist" who's pounding out 50,000 words (or more), or a "rebel" who's been writing short stories or  revising something or trying to finish a book started years ago, here's to meeting your goals in the next two days!

And what about the Ninja Librarian? Well, in once sense, I met the goal: I've written nearly 60,000 words, and have a beginning, middle and end to the novel. But I don't have what I'd call a complete draft, and not just because it's about 20,000 words short of the target length. There are a lot of holes to fill in and red herrings to fry before I can call it a draft. So I've been working since Saturday to identify the missing bits and start filling them in, to give myself a complete draft to work with when I start editing in a few months.

So here's what kills me: I worked on this story. I worked hard before NaNo started, and I had an 8-page outline/story plan. And it wasn't enough. I still didn't know where to put the red herrings and how to make the reader hare off after the wrong suspects. I'm not even sure that can be done in advance, though my memory tells me I laid it out well for Death By Trombone and was able to cruise right through the draft. It's a safe bet my memory is playing me false, and this is the reality: first drafts are messy, and I will always write in too direct a line from the murder to the solution. I'll be working on fleshing it out for the next few weeks, before I leave it to simmer while I go hiking in New Zealand.

Here's to your writing going more smoothly than mine, and here's a toast to writing at all, whatever we have gotten done this month!

Writer's Update: How's Your NaNo?

It's almost the halfway point in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I'm well past the 25,000-word midpoint of the standard NaNo target. I'm hoping to have 34,000 or even 35,000 by the time you are reading this, and to hit the actual midpoint of my draft by the end of tomorrow (the middle of the month). Death By Library is growing fast, and I'm having fun tormenting JJ, especially with teen drama.

I think I hit a good balance between planning and letting things develop as they will, and I'm having fun with my characters. I know I'm writing too much daily detail, but I've made my peace with that: I seem to need to write those details to get to what's important. I just have to be ready to deal with the mess of deleting them when the time comes (I think that also means I should probably aim for closer to 90K words than 80K for a full draft, but I'll just see how the story arcs).

November can be a difficult month for the NaNo project (I have wondered if that's why they chose it: if you can write every day through the holiday season, you can do it absolutely any time). But for me this year, it's actually working well. The New England weather is closing in, with more rain and cold weather, curbing our tendency to travel. And we are far from family, so there won't be an extended Thanksgiving gathering to distract me (I'm not totally happy about that, but if we have to be away from the family, I'm willing to find the good in it).

The main thing my writing is missing this month is regular contact with my California writing pals. I keep feeling like I want to bounce ideas off someone, to have them check me if I'm going the wrong way. I'm not sure if anyone can do that, but it's what I want, and Lisa's usually my favorite victim. I'll just have to do it later, when there's time to slow down and take a look at what I've done.

How about you? If you are doing NaNo, are you hanging on? Writing every day, or nearly so? Or are you up to something else this month?

And which do you prefer: Thanksgiving dinner, or the leftovers?


LATE ADDITION: If you are having trouble with comment and use Safari, please read Jemima Pett's post on how to fix your privacy settings! It works for Blogger though I am still having trouble with her blog (which is Word Press based).

Writer's Wednesday: Are You Doing NaNo?

(Hey, I might finally have found an alliterative name for my writing posts that actually makes sense!)

Before I talk about NaNo (National Novel Writing Month), I want to share a blog post I found helpful and inspiring. Aliette de Bodard wrote this as a guest post on Chuck  Wendig's "Terrible Minds" blog: Cannibalizing a Draft. Take a look.

Okay, now that we have a link to something to help us when we finish that crappy NaNo draft, are you participating? Tell me why or why not!

I'm doing it again this year. I'd like to think that I'm fully capable of preparing and writing a draft in a month or 6 weeks without any outside motivators... but the truth is, that community of writers, the little word-count ticker, and just the idea that there's a deadline does a lot for my ability to prepare well and write hard.

It's all about deadlines, I think. I am motivated to work on my outline/writing plan for Death By Library because I know I want to start writing on November 1, and that I don't want to spend my writing time floundering around trying to figure out where to go next. Nor do I want to end up like my last NaNo novel: getting to the end, and finding that I don't really know who the killer is, haven't been writing with a clear direction in mind, and have a mess on my hands.

Once November starts, there's something about that graph of my daily words that pushes me to write like I mean it. It's not really competition, except against myself, but I like seeing a steady climb in the word count! Since I don't have an editor, agent, or publisher breathing down my neck (though my brother is harassing me about the next book, which is something!), I'll take whatever push I can get.

So, as of yesterday, my outline (which is more of a conversation than a bullet list) is 8 pages long (3800 words), and I have a firm grip on the beginning and end, as well as a good list of red herrings. I'm still working on motives, lies, alibis, and opportunities for all of those. Then there's the subplots about JJ's life... I know what the main issues are, but just how they unfurl will be a matter of pantsing!

Finally, on Monday I was feeling the need to work on my writing a bit, just something to get my creative juices flowing... so I drafted 3700 words of a story for the IWSG anthology (I have until November 4 to get that polished enough to submit). YA romance isn't exactly my genre, but I put my own twist on it and got something I think I like.

Outlining. It may make your hair stand on end.

IWSG: It's NaNo Time, and I'm Not

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means IWSG time!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

Be sure to drop in on our awesome co-hosts for October: Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and, well, me! 

This month's question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

Since today is the kick-off for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for anyone who wonders), it seems only right to talk about that novel-in-a-month project. First, I'll answer the question: yes, and yes. I think I've done NaNo 4 times, once for a revision rather than drafting a new novel. Each time I hit the 50K-word target before the end of the month, and each time had to go on for 1-5 weeks to actually finish a draft, since (outside of kid lit), 50,000 words is not a novel.

So far, one of those novels has been published. Death By Trombone was my first NaNo project in 2013, and it worked very well. I had the book well outlined in advance, and as a result I managed to produce a complete draft by mid-December that didn't require major rewriting to become a  novel. Even so, I had to use a bit of NaNo nudging in 2014 to get on the revisions and finish it.  I published it (the second in the Pismawallops PTA mystery series) in 2015. For NaNo in 2015, I drafted Death By Adverb, the 3rd in that series, and let it sit while I worked on the 3rd Ninja Librarian book, The Problem With Peggy (which I might have worked on as an April Camp NaNo project. I know I did something with that one year).

Now, I dove into Death By Adverb with less of a plan, and as a result, I had more of a mess, including an ending that didn't quite cut it. That probably was part of why that book sat for over a year before I got back to it. But I did get back to it, and expect to have it out by Christmas, or by Easter at the latest...

My 2016 project was a little different, since I was working to take a collection of flash fiction and turn it into a novel. That would be the stories about Gorg the Troll, and I'd hoped to be back at it before now, but DBA is taking a lot longer than intended, partly because it's been a busy year. But when I do get there, I have a nominally complete draft to start from.

All this means that though I'm itching to start my next project, I won't be a NaNer this year. For one thing, I need to deal with the projects in the pipeline, at least a little. And for another, I just don't have time to plan and plot the way I'd like to before I start a new book. I've done it both ways enough to know: pantsing is tempting because once the general idea is there, the urge to dive in is huge. But it costs in the long run (especially when writing a mystery!), and I'm resolved not to leap before I look any more (I am also 100% sure I'll break that vow, since I've already made and broken it more than once). I'll even go so far as to urge you, if you are participating in NaNo and don't have an outline, to take a few days and create one, of whatever variety feels right to you. I'm betting you'll increase your odds of both "winning" (i.e., hitting 50k by Nov. 30) and actually finishing the book--and even of publishing. (I have written several times on this topic, but the most recent and most helpful is this).

So...all that said...go forth and NaNo, Nanners!

Oh--and best of luck to everyone (okay, including me) who submitted stories to the IWSG Anthology!

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2017
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

NaNo Update Post #3

The end is near!

Well, the end of the official NaNo month, anyway. As we move into the final days, how are all of you NaNers doing? Still moaning with Thanksgiving excesses and too busy talking with relations to write, or picking up speed on the final sprint to 50,000 words and 3/4 of a draft? (Sorry to be a spoil sport, but unless you're writing middle grade fiction, 50K isn't a novel).

As I expected, I slowed down a lot through the holidays as I was busy with cooking and talking, but I managed to write each day through our visit with relatives. I reduced my target to 1000 words, which is a little less than an hour's work if I've got a good idea where I'm going (that's getting harder--more on that in a moment). Currently my word count stands at 43,000. That's a little ahead of the amount needed to reach 50K by the 30th, at least if I bump my output back up to 2000 words daily.

Two things are going to make it harder to pound out the pages the way I'd like to. For one, I've run out of the part of the novel I had "outlined" (okay, that I had laid out in the Flash Fiction pieces I've been reworking into a novel), so I have to keep stopping to plan where I'm going and at least a hint of how I'm getting there. Some of that is on paper, and some is in my head. The other issue is that I've done far too little to plan and publicize the release of The Problem With Peggy tomorrow. It's probably a bit late to do much, but I'll be working on that for the next few days, hoping to make a few people aware of the new book, at any rate.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my progress. I think I can realistically expect to hit the 75 or 80K mark (what I consider a decent first draft for a genre paperback; I tend to need to do a fair bit of fleshing-out after I finish the first draft) before the Christmas holiday activities get too distracting.

So for those of you doing NaNo, here's a big shout-out for your efforts in the final days. You can do it! And for those of you who aren't, you still get a big cheering on for whatever project you have in hand. I know that the serious writers are always writing (or editing), so a bit of encouragement never goes amiss. Accept that holiday distractions will slow you down, but carve out whatever time you can to keep writing. It's  good way to stay sane (or to make your insanity legitimate: "I'm not crazy! It's genius burning!").

Naturally, with the book coming out tomorrow, you don't expect me to fail to say:
Grab your chance to join the Ninja Librarian in celebrating the release of The Problem With Peggy on Nov. 28! Preorder  from Amazon or Smashwords for the ebook. Preorder the paperback directly from this site before midnight Monday (PST)--that's tomorrow!--and we'll pick up the shipping costs in the US!

NaNoWriMo Update #2

Something happened to my good intentions about weekly updates, and since my first update on Nov. 5, somehow an extra week slipped past.

I'm happy to report, though, that it didn't slip past my writing, and I can report progress good enough to probably carry me through the Thanksgiving weekend with its more limited writing opportunities. I caught up to par on the 14th (so it did take me almost half the month), and have been sailing on ahead since, continuing with 1800-2200 words most days.

I will confess that because I am turning a collection of flash fiction into a novel, I am able at times to lift a paragraph or two from the short stories (far less than I expected, though, and each of them needs careful consideration and reworking to fit the novel). I guess that means I can't claim a "legit" victory. News Flash: I'm not interested in playing by a set of arbitrary rules. I'm interested in writing a novel.

I think that's the text for the pep talk part of this post. The writing is the thing. Whether you are doing NaNo or not, it's not about rules. It's about finding the way that works for you to write and keep writing. Maybe that means locking yourself in a room for a month each year and writing like crazy (and then searching elsewhere for the much greater time commitment involved in revising it?). Maybe it means writing 350 words a day.

Or maybe you fall somewhere in between, like most of us do most of the time. The point is, you write, and then you edit. You don't sweat about anyone else's "rules" because there are no rules about this. You do whatever helps you and inspires you (so I play along with NaNo because it gives me artificial goals and deadlines, which works for me), and you ignore what doesn't. Let no one tell you at the end of this month that you aren't a "winner" if you don't have 50,000 words. If you write anything on any given day or in any given month, you're a winner in my book.

So go forth and write, whenever and however you can.

*******

One week until release day! The Problem With Peggy goes live on Nov. 28, but you can preorder now from Amazon and Smashwords for the ebook. For the best deal, Preorder the paperback directly from this site and we'll pick up the shipping costs--offer only lasts through November 30.