Yep, this is basically another “not dead” post. I’ve been trying to get a mountain of work out of the way prior to November so I can have a hope of doing NaNoWriMo again. Being a freelancer, “mountains of work” sounds great, aside from the fact that it’s not exactly well paid work. But we still have our heads above water, so I’m thankful for that.
Last year, for my first NaNoWriMo, I was absolutely petrified but extremely well-prepared. I had a full chapter and scene outline for most of the book, all my research was done and it was all sitting there in a shiny new trial version of Scrivener just waiting for me to begin. Not so this year. I have a vague idea of plots and characters, no outlines, no prep work. Not being a pantser in any sense of the word, this is not a good thing and doesn’t bode well for my eventual success.
So, more than halfway through October, I need to start getting back in shape:
1. Get up earlier. Last year I woke up at 6:00am in order to have a proper breakfast and begin work. I am definitely more creative and more productive in the mornings – waiting until night just doesn’t work for me.
2. Regarding that “proper breakfast”? Last year it was protein, eggs and bacon, sausage or ham. Not a handful of dry breakfast cereal* with coffee, which is what I normally have.
3. Discipline isn’t a problem – I work harder freelance than I ever did at the career job. I work weekends and recently have been shutting down at 10:30 or so at night. Writing is hard, though. And scary.
4. Outline!!! I need to get a reasonably complete outline done this month. That “not a pantser” thing? Yeah, not a hope of doing it without.
So, that’s the rest of my month. October…the most terrifying month of all.
*I can’t eat cereal with milk. When I was a kid, the first time I remember smelling someone with body odor was on the schoolbus, and it smelt of Cheerios and milk. Can’t stomach milk with cereal.
Hey Ravven,
It’s been a bit since I last “talked” to you. You know how life can be: full of unexpected challenges. I’ve had a few of those and they’ve made the already rocky-road of writing even more difficult to navigate. That you plan to do NaNo gives me hope though. I too need to outline; indeed, it is a must or I can’t write–like looking for treasure without a map. When taking such a route, nine times out of ten I end up with a chaotic mass of semi related scenes from which a coherent story might be teased if one were a master of knots or someone who likes rubics cubes. I think, I’ll take a page from your book…er, blog, and work for the balance of this month to achieve plot-outlined-ness. If I can do that, I’ll give the month a go. Anyway, good to hear you’ve got you sights set on NaNo. Good luck with your outlining!
Cheers,
Hey, you. :) I’ve been reading your blog, but haven’t done much commenting, or writing of my own, or anything else other than trying to get through all the work.
I hope that you do participate again this year. Having the support of the community was what made it all possible, and you have no idea how much I appreciated your notes during it all. It really, really helped.
No one can be more unprepared than I am this year, so let’s just jump in and try to keep each other from drowning – what do you say?
Sounds good, Pard! Thanks for reading the blog. I ran into a rough patch…you know what I’m talking about: family, finances, etc. and didn’t do a lot of “public” writing. The stuff I was doing was pretty stream of conscious, workin’ through it, type stuff that I didn’t feel was blog appropriate. I want to get back to blogging though. I have a few entries simmering in the back of my mind I’ll pen in the not so distant future.
Your work keeps getting better and better, girl! I can’t wait until I have something finished that’s worthy of a cover and commission by you. They’re top-shelf…so, soooo, much more adroit than the majority of so called “professional” covers I’ve seen lately. I know it’s not paying like you’d like it to, but I have a feeling that one day it will at the rate you’re going!
I’ve been on the fence about NaNo’in’, but if your going to give it a go, so will I. You’re right; the community made all the difference and kept me going. Any ideas what you might try your hand at? Same genre or something else? I’m going to stick with fantasy. Scions of the Moon didn’t die so much as dried up. I nailed about 70K altogether before I shoved it “under-the-bed” as a bad attempt. I know there’s a story in there, something I want to tell, but there’s something wrong too that I can’t identify. I am happy to report that I didn’t give myself over to a new idea and slight Scions; it just dried up of its own accord. Maybe something will click later on and I’ll come back to it. Until then, onward and upward. I have an idea about an urban fantasy that involves a local Sage-type who investigates some mysterious deaths connected to an artifact unearthed in the desert and brought to town. It’s still sketchy in my mind, but I’m kicking the tires to see if it’s worthy enough to make 2K a day. We’ll see :-)
Red-stripped swimmers? check!
Rubber duck ring? check!
Fins? Check!
Snorkel and mask? Check!
Sunblock? Check!
Let’s do this, Sis!
Regards,
I would love to do a cover for you. Any time, the offer will always stand. :)
I was being completely honest about being entirely unprepared for NaNo, so my chances of success this year are sketchy at best. During the year I’d worked on an idea for something that I’d been thinking about for a long time, and it died on me. For NaNo, I’m thinking about a sequel to last year’s project, as I wanted to do more with a group of secondary characters (the part-clockwork children living under the streets of London, the Tatters) and a travelling fae carnival. But we will see…