Tag Archive: Writing

National Novel Writing Month

Did you know it’s National Novel Writing Month? National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a creative writing challenge now celebrating its 10th year. The premise is simple. The idea is to bang out an entire novel in the month of November. Why? Just because. Just to see if you’re up to the challenge. The goal, according to the rules of the exercise, is to hit 50,000 words in a month (which is a but slim for today’s marketplace, frankly, but the challenge isn’t meant for you to churn out the next Great American Novel). You go to the website, you register, and if you meet the goal, you “win”. It’s that easy. Last year, a little over 21,000 people met the challenge and wrote…
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The novel chugs along

Since vowing last Thursday that I would finish the first draft of my dystopian science fiction novel by the end of the year — a ridiculous vow, considering all else I’m juggling on a daily basis — I’ve averaged just at the maximum end of what I need to average to get it finished. In doing so, I’ve slammed out a couple of chapters, wrote my way through a three-chapter action set piece, and figured out a plot puzzle that had been vexing me. Wrote myself into a corner while I was at it, but I’m sure that will work itself out one way or another. I just have to keep writing and “discover” what happens. But it’s only been four days. That’s but a…
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My anthology is finally available!

Pitched Vol 1

PITCHED! IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE! I’ve done a lot of blogging about it already, so by now you know the drill. I got together with 10 artists and wrote nine stories. Collected them into an anthology. Possibly the first of several volumes. And now it is available for purchase through this handy link. So needless to say, I’m pretty happy about that. Time to start Volume 2 …

GOAL: finish my novel by Dec. 31

Amid all these other projects, one of my goals this year was to finish the dystopian science fiction novel I’ve been working on. My progress has been unsteady, but it is moving forward. I’m roughly 25,000 words into it. But that’s not far enough. I need to get the first draft finished by the end of this year. That’s my personal goal. So I’m calling myself out. First draft finished before the end of the year. If I do not do that, I suck. That is my deadline. First draft, end of the year. Deadline. I am committed to doing this. It is my top priority. It seems like the end of the year is a while away, but it’s actually a pretty tight deadline….
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Getting through those difficult chapters

Sometimes the words don’t come. It’s not a matter of not having ideas, it’s that the ideas won’t come out. You sit down, place your hands on the keyboard knowing you need to get something done … but nothing happens. You don’t have any words. I’ve had a few of these nights recently as I’ve tried to get back into the swing of things. Six weeks away from writing ended up being far too long. As I previously blogged, for me routine and momentum are absolutely vital in staying productive. Short breaks are fine, but those extended breaks can put a real damper on your ability to get back into a productive frame of mind. It doesn’t have to be that way, of course. With…
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