Spinning Merrily in the Winner’s Circle

As of today I am an official NaNoWriMo 2011 winner. My thoughts? Yep. This afternoon I hit 50k words and, to be quite honest, am most ecstatic. I still plan on writing all month. My goal was to write at least 2k words every day this month, and I plan on sticking to that. Maybe I can just be slightly more relaxed now. Though I’ve been a bit more stressed out than last year’s NaNo, this one thus far has been quite enjoyable. I’ve hit the part in my story that I’ve been waiting for and I think it might be…

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Halfway There and Going Strong

Side Note: I’ve decided I am going to try and update my NaNo progress here on my blog regularly and bore you all with it. Maybe it will help me actually post on this poor, very often neglected blog of mine, and it is initiative to keep writing. Plus, I am never really thinking about much else in November, so I don’t know what other things I can blog about. So you shall be bored with pointless updates this month! Yay! Despite promising myself I would not go as crazy and spend so, so much of my time writing this…

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Sleep? That Exists in November?

No sleep, little to eat, fingers already crying out for mercy, and eyes literally burning inside their sockets (if their still inside their sockets properly that is). First day of NaNo equals success! I stayed up until *cough*2 in the morning*cough* last night because I was determined to write 2k words before I went to bed. I managed it, not easily, but it happened. I got a later start than I would have liked today, wonder why? *coughity cough* But I had an ideal day for writing the entire time. A lovely Fall day, the house entirely to myself, and…

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When the Insanity Begins…

In only 1 hour for me the clock will strike midnight marking November 1st and the insanity will begin. What insanity you ask? Why, National Novel Writing Month of course! If you have no idea what I am talking about you can check out a post about it here or the official site here. It is a tradition for many participants to start writing the moment that clock hits 12 AM. Being the crazy person (or person-ish thing) I am, of course I am going to stay up late! It is one of the most exciting parts of NaNo—counting down…

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Beautiful People: NaNoWriMo Novel

Thanks to an awesome person I know from the NaNoWriMo site named ZNZ and her fantastic blog (which you should totally check out) Jotting Down Notes, I have discovered something called Beautiful People. Two lovely bloggers, Sky and Georgie, started this some months ago. Every month they give out a list of questions for bloggers to answer about their personal story characters. You can do the same character each month or choose a different one each time. If you would like you can check out the FAQ for more information. It is such a wonderful idea and I’ve been meaning…

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Step by Step Guide to Outlining a Novel

Being as how NaNoWriMo is sneaking upon us, I thought I would write about my personal way of outlining a novel. In the writing world there are two kinds of people, the Pantsers and the Planners. Pantser is short for “Seat of the Pantser.” Basically that means one writes by the “seat of their pants” and does not plan a thing. Planners is a rather obvious term. They are those organized people who actually sit down and plan out their characters and story line. You must know something, I have always been a Pantser. I have a general idea of…

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

In the month of November, over 100k people do one crazy task: Write a 50k novel in 30 days. This is called National Novel Writing Month, or, as usually referred to, NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo started out 13 years ago by a small group of people who wanted to try their hand at novel writing. This formed into the official site NaNoWriMo.org where anyone can join in on the insanity of writing 50k words in only 30 days. It quickly grew into a sensation and now has thousands and thousands of participants, not only national but international, every year. 50,000 words in…

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Writer’s Block

Things are going so well with your story. You are writing and writing. Inspiration is literally shooting out rainbows from you head to your fingers, sparkling on the way down. You have such fun. What a great story. What an enjoyable thing to write. What fantastic characters and plot. All is going so well. …And then it comes. Writer’s Block. The bane of my existence. It comes out of nowhere. A giant blockade full of barbed wire, duct tape, and sometimes even fire, rising up like a ten foot thick, steel wall blocking that rainbow midsentence. All that inspiration is…

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Dear Slightly,

You are a fine word. There are many uses for one such as yourself. Adjectives have a high ranking in our English vocabulary and you have proved yourself as one of the best. But I think it is time we part from one another. Yes, dear Slightly, it is true. As I edit my book, I find you scattered all across the pages. Paragraph after paragraph, sentence after sentence, there you are, often multiple times. I do not know if it is you or I. Is it my own lack of ability to use other words to describe my sentences,…

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The Dragons of Chiril Book Review

Synopsis Tipper is a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions—including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon—and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of…

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