NaNoWriMo 2013

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. 64 days to be exact. If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is let me explain. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and the objective is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That works out to be 1,666.67 words a day. Quite a challenge, but it is achievable. I know because I finally did it last year (2012) after failing the two years before. What makes it interesting is that Thanksgiving is in the month of November, so you have to work around that. Last year my wife and I went for a week to Minnesota to visit my daughter and her family during NaNoWriMo. I lost some serious writing time. My daughter, who got me into this, was taking the challenge also and we stayed up a couple nights working on our novels. If you are up for the challenge Google NaNoWriMo and sign up. I have one tip to pass on and that is…don’t give up. Carve out a writing time and turn off anything that will distract you especially people. Just WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. Good Luck. I’ll see you on the other side.

Dan Wells on Story Structure, part 5 of 5

Here it is Part 5 of the 5 part series on Story Structure by Dan Wells. I hope it was helpfull.

Dan Wells on Story Structure, part 4 of 5

Here is Part 4 of 5 in the Dan Wells series on Story Structure. Listen closely to the segmant on Try/Fail Cycle. I thought this was worth remembering.

Dan Wells on Story Structure, part 3 of 5

Sorry I am so far behind on posting  Dan Wells videos on Story Structure. It is the season for writer distraction, you know. What with shopping and traffic.

Dan Wells on Story Structure, part 2 of 5

Here is Part 2 of Dan Wells class on Story Structure. I will post Part 3 tonight and Parts 4 and 5 tomorrow. Hope they are as helpfull to you as they are for me.

Dan Wells on Story Structure, part 1 of 5

I just found this video on another blog and thought I would share it. There are 5 parts so I will post one a night.

As for my revision process that started yesterday...I am currently reading my novel. In every chapter, page, paragraph and sentence I see REVISION. But that is good. At least I'm seeing things that need to be fixed/deleted. I would rather have this then being so in love with every word I wrote that I couldn't delete, remove or rewrite any of it. I will continue reading my novel, taking notes along the way, and next week I will start to work on Chapter 1. Here I am going to spend the most time. When I first started this novel I wrote in the 1rst person then switched over to 3 person. Now I have to change the beginning. I am hoping it doesn't become a big ordeal.

As for the vlog - I had a problem downloading the video. Spent half the day on Sunday. I will try again later in the week.

Revising NaNoWriMo novel

As I said in my previous blog entry I have completed NaNoWriMo 2012 and now have a “novel in the rough”. I say rough because it needs a lot of work (revising). I have decided at the insistence of my lovely wife to use the NaNoWriMo principle to my revising and put a 30 day deadline on completing the first revised draft. So starting Monday, December 10, 2012 I start and must be finished on January 7, 2013. I have enlisted the aid of my daughter and wife to read my rough draft and give me feedback on structure, story line, plot, character development, ect. Not on grammar and punctuation. That can come later. I trust their instinct and judgment when it comes to this. Also, as well as posting on this blog once or twice a week on the progress I am making on the first revision I will be posting a video blog as well. My blogs will be Tuesdays/Thursdays and my Vlog , as I am told it is called, will be posted on Sunday night or Monday. I will play this by ear and see how it goes. So here is my first introductory blog about my NaNoWriMo revision process; because you know it is Thursday.

Now that I am a NaNoWriMo Winner - Now What

NaNoWriMo 2012 is over. It officially ended November 30 at midnight. What a relief. 30 days of grinding out 50,000 words to create a novel. Not just 50,000 meaningless words, but 50,000 words that had substance and formed some kind of story that needed to be told, by you. Now, it’s not pretty…there are a lot of mistakes. Remember, this was 50,000 words in 30 days and I drove to Minnesota with my wife and son for the Thanksgiving Holiday. That’s right – drove. So I lost a lot of writing time that week. By the way, my daughter did NaNoWriMo also this year so she lost a lot of writing time that week entertaining us. What I am trying to say is there is a lot of cleaning or shall I say revising to do; grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and deleting. I read an article that says the first thing to do in the revision process is to: 1. Write your one-sentence elevator pitch. 2. Write your one-paragraph book jacket blurp, then 3. Print out and reread your book When I looked at the first 3 things to do I was overcome with fear. This on the surface seems harder to me than writing 50,000 words from scratch. I have to be honest, I haven’t tried yet. But I will tomorrow. It may not be that hard at all and I may be overreacting. If anyone has done this and has any helpful tips please pass them on. I am all ears. Or rather all eyes. I will let you know tomorrow how it goes with the first 2 steps.

NaNoWriMo 2012 Winner

It is over and I did it. I completed NaNoWriMo 2012. Here is a picture of my novel in the first revision print and my Certification. Now I hear that revision is the most difficult part of the process. Well, I am going to find out real soon. I am going to take it 1 step at a time. The way I see it is I have one year to get it polished before NaNoWriMo 2013 and I have to start on the sequel. This has been one heck of a journey and I have enjoyed every minute.

I did it. It is 10:55pm on November 29, 2012 and I have just finished NaNoWriMo with a word count of 50,252. I must say that I have never written so much in such a short period of time. I want to thank my daughter Dustin for plugging away at it with me and challenging me all the way. We would set goals for each other and race toward them. We carried each other over the finish line. And most of all I want to thank my wife DeeDee for her neverending encouragement and support. At times when I would want to give up and quit she was always there to encourage me to get back in and write. And I want to thank God for the blessed talent He gave me to do this little thing and enjoy it all the way. Now on to revision and publication.

ok, it is coming down to the wire with NaNoWriMo 2012. 3 more days to go. I am sitting on 40,353 word as of today which means I have 9,647, plus a couple hundred for good measure, more to go. That means I will have to write about 3,280 words today, tommorro and friday before midnight. This has been a great experience. I have always dreamed of becoming a published author and NaNoWriMo is a great tool to get you motivated and put words to paper. No excuses. You are on a deadline. No procastinating (the number 1 writer problem). I will let you know how it went on Saturday. I am sure i will be up all night Friday. And I may even post a excert from my book.

Well, I am back to writing. I am currently involved in NaNoWriMo and have till Friday, the last day of November, to finish writing a 50,000 novel. As of right now I am at 31,777 words and counting. I am doing this at the encouragement of my daughter Dustin. She has completed one novel, and is in the revising stage with that, and now is writing the sequel during this NaNoWriMo. This is not an easy task. If you think it is I encourage you to try it next year. It is during the month of Thanksgiving and there are many distractions. This year my wife and son , Daniel, decided that we would drive to Minnesota to my daughters home for Thanksgiving. We drove straight threw - 23 hours both ways. Grueling drive but we had an awesome time. Now Dustin and I are playing NaNoWriMo catch-up. Wish us luck. We will succeed!

On Becoming A Writer

“Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer.” Ray Bradbury

“I do know that anybody can write, and I know that self-acceptance, self-knowledge, and belief in oneself are necessary to begin the struggle with words on paper. And I know that it takes both trust and courage to continue that struggle.” Roberta Jean Bryant

Becoming a writer, and what I mean by “a writer” is someone who is published, is not easy or for the faint of heart. The road to authorship is littered with the withered remains of those who tried and failed or just gave up. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t have the talent to write" or "That takes a special talent which I don’t have.” Neither could be further from the truth. We all can write it’s just that some people can write better than others and it is easier for some. It is not easy for most writers. Most successful writers will tell you that it is the most difficult thing they do. Many writers will tell you that they are masters of procrastination.So what is the secret? I believe as Ray Bradbury and Roberta Jean Bryant have said that it takes constant hard labor and the courage to keep up the struggle. And by doing so you may accomplish your goal of being published. For some it will be easy. For others, myself included, it will consist of hard constant labor and trust and courage to continue to struggle through the arduous process. Truth is it will be difficult for most of us. As I stated in my last post I am the King of Procrastination. And I am also the King of Unfinished Works to boot. With all these Kingly titles you would think I am some kind of Royalty. I have been called a "royal pain" on occasions now that I think of it. If you are reading this you may be wondering, who is his audience? And what he is talking about? The answer to those questions is simple: My audience is me. And you if you feel you are in the same boat as I am. You see, what I am trying to do is talk myself into writing again by starting a daily writing process and writing about the areas that I have difficulty in my writing. Such as: procrastination and lack of confidence in myself to finish a worthy story. It is my hope and prayers that this will encourage me to write on a daily basis, finish unfinished works and create all the new stories that are locked in my head dying to get out. Join me if you dare. But, be forewarned... I do not have a clue where I am going. Exciting isn't it?

Hey, what are you waiting for?

“I'm a big believer in putting things off, In fact, I even put off procrastinating. -Ella Varner” I have a declaration to make. WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING I AM THE KING OF PROCRASTINATION! You will probably tell me that I am wrong. Tell me that I haven’t seen procrastination till I have seen you procrastinate; that you invented procrastination. And if I looked procrastination up in Webster’s Dictionary I would find your picture. Well, as far as I am concerned we are all Kings and Queens of the art of procrastination. We just have our own special style. Some of us have to walk the dog first or water the plants or do the laundry (for a guy to use that one he is really hurting) or clean the house or do the dishes; the list is endless. In other words anything that you feel you have to do before you sit down to write is a form of procrastination. What’s yours? What makes you the King or Queen of Procrastination? Alan Dean Foster was quoted as saying, “The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.” At this moment I am trying to defeat one of my famous procrastinations. I am trying to put this blog entry together before 9pm. That is the time that I stop everything at watch TV. It is a cycle in my life. I go to work, fighting traffic to and fro, and when I finish dinner I convince myself that I am too tired to sit and write but not too tired to sit and watch TV. Well, that is going to change. Starting tonight I will not sit down and watch TV until I have written something. I need to spend some serious time writing. I have 4 unfinished short stories, 2 unfinished YA novels and 1 unfinished play. All started none finished. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Am I the only “start but never finish” writer out there? Here is my new model to write by. I will fulfill it to the best of my ability. Today is the first day of the rest of my “writing” life – Charles Dederich founder of Synanon, a self-help community for drug abusers and alcoholics, based in California.  Word in italics added by author.

I am back again

I have been gone for almost 8 months. A lot has happened in that time. Unfortunately, my writing hasn't been one of them. Virtually, nonexistent. Though my daughter, Dustin, has been caring the torch with the difficult task of revising her novel. My desire is to write every day, and log, in this blog, the "Good, the Bad and the Ugly" of it all. My hope is this will be the vehicle to prompt me to write on a daily basic and to, eventually, achieve what I know that I am capable of. To achieve my heart’s desire. And that is to be a writer.

Day 5 NaNoWriMo

This is crazy. It is day 5 and I only have 4007 words. And the worst part of it is that the words are a mess. Misspelling, crappy punctuation, incoherent sentences and thoughts. Tonight was the worst. But I knew I had to stick it out and grind out almost 2000 words or something close to words.
50,000 words in 30 days = 1,667 words a day. Until today I have averaged about 500 at best and 300 at my worst. Last night 300. Right now tonight I should have 8,335 words. As you can see I only have 4007. That means that I am 4328 behind.

Well guess what. I will not only make up the 4328 words that I am behind but I will complete 50,000 words in 30 days and complete NaNoWriMo 2011. WRITE ON!!

Day 1 NaNoWriMo 2011

Well, after working all day I got home and sat down at the computer and as my daughter, Dustin, told me this morning that she was doing, I also just stared at the blank screen. Finally, I started and by 8:20pm about 2 1/2 hours later I managed to crank out 2,026 words. I feel I need to continue on this pace because there is to much happening this month and I know there will be dry day when I will not even stroke a key. The only thing that disturbs me about this process is that I am writing so fast and inaccurately that I feel like I have been writing "goobily goop". Maybe it will get better as I go. Let's hope so, It look and reads terrible right now.

What Point of View to write in?

Well, this is a record for most consecutive day’s blogging…2 in a row. I need to scratch that out because it is not true. I started out good but before I posted this I went down to watch the final game of the World Series and as always I fell asleep before the game was over and woke up, cold, cramped and miserable at midnight.  Maybe this is a start of something promising. I have been toying with my story all day. I know I said yesterday that I was going to write it in the first person point of view but after many failed attempts, in my mind, I have decided that the best way to write the story would be in the third person and have the main character, Johnnie, or whatever name I decide on…I’m still not sure, tell some of the story in diary form. I have also decided that the story will take place at the Battle of Manassas and/or Bull Run. Why? Because I live in Virginia, about 10 to 15 miles from Manassas and if I decide after NaNoWriMo that I want to continue working on this first draft and see if I can get it published I can do all my research close by.

The last time I walked the battle fields of Manassas I was struck by the fact that I could almost feel the history that took place there. It’s hard to explain. I recently had the same feeling at when my wife and I, on a Caribbean Cruise, docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico and toured Fort El Morro. Walking through the different areas of the old fort I could get a sense of how the soldiers of that day worked, eat, slept and tried to enjoy themselves under those conditions.

 OK. 2 days, 11 hours, 23 minutes till NaNoWriMo begins.

No pressure, right?

My NaNoWriMo Story

Well, the countdown clock is now ticking at 4 days, 4 hours and 4 minutes as I write this post. And I am happy to say that I have an idea of what I am going to write about...kinda like a "Novel Idea". My novel is going to take place during the American Civil War and the main character is going to be a 14 year old boy who is Drummer Boy in the Union Army. I am considering writing from the first person. I'm thinking that by writing in the first person I will be able to express, (let's give him a name...Johnny), his feelings better. Stop for a moment and think of when you were 13 years old. What were you doing? Playing baseball and trading baseball cards, skipping school, sneaking your Parents booze, thinking of girls, thinking of boys ( if you are a girl, of course). One thing is for certain; you weren't looking death in the face every day and trying to stay alive.                                               
I know a little about war having served in Viet Nam at the age of 19. That's a 5 year difference. doesn’t seem like much but I think the mind of a 14 year old and that of a 19 year old are quite a bit apart. I'm hoping that there not that far. We'll see. It is going to be a challenge but then so is NaNoWriMo.

Countdown to NaNoWriMo

Well, the countdown has begone. Less than a week till November 1st and the start of NaNoWriMo 2011. To be exact at this moment we have 5 days 9 hours and 35 minutes. Last year I didn't finish. My daughter, Dustin, did. She managed to pound out 50,000 words in 30 days of November. I managed a dismall 6,386. But, this year is going to be different.
So far, I have no idea of what I am going to write. I know it will be a Young Adult Fiction. I love to read YA books. As a matter of fact I just finished Chris Priestley's "Mister Creecher" and I just picked up at my local library Liam Tanner's "Museum of Thieves". But what will I write?
I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks and it seems that the more I think about it the more confused and uncertain I am. What will probably happen is on Monday the 31 of October, as Trick-or-Treeters are roaming the neiborhood in all types of goolish outfits in search of candy I will be poised at my computer with a plank Word document open ready to start typing my fingers to a nub.
It doesn't matter if I have a plan, plot or draft, on paper or in my head. If I am not at the computer every day the best laid plan, plot or draft will die by the wayside. The key is to be ready each day, pen and pad in hand or fingers on the keyboard and WRITE. Good, Bad or Indifferent. It doesn't matter. The Key is to WRITE, WRITE, & WRITE SOME MORE.
That's my plan and I'm sticking to it. If you are participating in NaNoWriMo 2011 Good Luck and remember, WRITE,WRITE, & WRITE SOME MORE.