How a Social Media Challenge Has Helped Me with Novel Revisions

 

November is National Novel Writing Month, and I usually like to plan a project since I’m a writer who needs accountability. I saw a graphic created by NaNoWriMo on Instagram with a challenge for the month of October and decided to participate. Each day during October writers are given a prompt and encouraged to share a photo inspired by the prompt, along with the hashtag #instawrimo2022. While there have been some days I had no idea what the prompt meant or what I should share by way of a graphic, I came to the realization that the challenge has helped me as I’m working on revisions for my young novel adult novel that will tentatively be released early next year. 

One of the prompts had us share a writing playlist. This made me remember I had created one specific to the novel several years back, so I dug it out and created a graphic with five of the songs. This put me in the right frame of mind when looking at the opening chapters, and I knew I had to do something to slow down the story in the beginning. The prompt asking us to share our story’s villain made me realize my villain is not a person, but rather, the concept of time. 

Another prompt had us write a dream blurb for our book, and this helped me come up with a tight logline. Yesterday’s prompt asked us “what’s in your main character’s pocket?” My main character is a young man who is a senior in high school, so what else would he have in his pocket but a phone? But wait . . . I first began writing this novel more than 10 years ago, well before the explosion of social media as it stands today. I knew then that there was a void throughout the book in terms of social media use. I scribbled down notes on how to weave in social media reactions to the inciting incident of the novel. 

Besides sharing cute photos of our “writing pets and plants” and favorite writing quotes, I believe these prompts are helping me make connections and additions to my novel I wouldn’t have considered before. For example, I recently watched a very harrowing documentary about a celebrity who has been accused of sexually abusing several children. The accusations have divided the public on whether or not the celebrity is guilty, mostly because the victims did not admit the abuse until they were grown adults. It took me several days to process what I had learned, but then it hit me as I was working on this Instagram challenge. My main character is a victim of sexual abuse, and the documentary I watched laid out the grooming process of an abuser step by step. Now I’m considering adding in a fictitious documentary into my story, because it can be something the main characters watch and learn from (and discuss on social media, divided opinions and all). It also ties in the grooming process with the shame victims often feel. 

There are only a few days left of this social media challenge, and I’m happy with the way it’s helped me brainstorm, navigate revisions, and prep for November. Happy Writing! 

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer who also produces the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas.

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2 comments InstaWriMo2022, National Novel Writing Month, novel revisions, Renee Roberson, writing advice

NaNo Planning

I know that NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short) is kicking off in just five days, but better late than never when it comes to planning, right?

And this time, for once, I’m not joking around. Planning is crucial if you’re jumping into this annual November writing challenge. 

So for those new to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo/NaNo), let me explain what it is (or just borrow from their website as they put it so well):

 “NaNoWriMo is a non-profit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.” 

Which in practical terms means this: 

Every November, writers from across the globe hunker down to write a novel, with the goal being 50,000 words completed by the end of the month. This roughly translates to 1667 words per day, and while these writers are putting in the work, they’re also able to network and gain support online and in-person. 

I’m a fan of NaNo and generally participate because I’m motivated by a challenge. But I have never completed 50,000 words, and I’m fine with that because I have achieved the goals I’ve set for me. 

Well, most of the time. And that’s why planning is so important. 

Before starting NaNo, I recommend taking the time to think about your writing goals. Because here’s the beauty of this challenge: it can be about writing whatever you want but it works best if you know what you want. 

Do you have a completed novel that needs serious revision? NaNo can help you do that. 

Do you have 25,000 words of a novel you’ve been working on all year and want to push yourself to get to 35,000 words by the end of November? NaNo to the rescue!

Do you want to write 10 poems, or three articles, or five essays in 30 days? Yep, NaNo can help you with those goals, too. 

And of course, it can help you write 50,000 words of that novel that’s been stuck in your head forever. It’s a writing challenge, and you get to choose what and how you need help. 

Now, because it is all about novels, you’ll find a ton of information specific to novel-writing but that doesn’t mean it won’t translate in some way to what you’re writing. Check out all the writer’s resources, starting with NaNo Prep (and yes, it’s modeled on starting in September but you only have five days. Read fast!). Not only does NaNo Prep give you a calendar, outlines, exercises, and other tools, but it also gives you more in-depth information about how you can get involved and get that accountability that you might crave. 

But if that’s too overwhelming, check out a couple of Pep Talks, guaranteed to get your writer motor running. 

Finally, I know that some writers like to just sign up for NaNo and write by the seat of their pants. “Words on the page!” is their motto. And though I heartily agree that one must have words on the page, I’m not keen on wasting my time. If I’m going to challenge myself to write every day or thereabouts in November, I want the finished product to be a decent effort. 

But that’s me. I think about what I want to accomplish during NaNo and plan how I can get ‘er done. Sometimes I succeed mightily; sometimes, not so much. And like I said, I’m fine with that. As for you, dear writer, you do you. And good luck!

~Cathy C. Hall (who coincidentally has about 25,000 words in her latest WIP and would REALLY like to get to 35,000 by the end of November)

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10 comments Cathy C. Hall, goals, NANO, NaNo Prep, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Pep Talks, writing challenges

NaNoWriMo: Are We Done Yet?

So we’re close to the midpoint of November and that means—for those of you participating in NaNoWriMo—that you’re about halfway along in your journey, assuming you haven’t pulled out your hair and run screaming from your laptops. But I feel like I need to lay a little truth on you: if you’re reading this, I suspect you might already be in the weeds.

Because the diligent-and-on-track NaNoWriMo participant doesn’t have time for reading blog posts or much of any other shenanigans…like eating or sleeping. The writer who’s got around 25,000 words is rather smugly humming along and we kind of despise her (or him).

But it’s not too late for you to become smug and detestable yourself. I’ve got a few tips to get you back on track and though you may not finish with the Great American Novel ready for submission, you WILL finish with…well, something. (Your lost hair is on you.)

Tip One: Make a Plan

Yes, I know, you’re a pantser. You don’t plan, you just write, write, write and it’s all whiskers on kittens and kisses on mittens or whatever. Until it’s mid-November and suddenly it’s Nightmare on NaNo Street because you have pantsed your way to 5,347 words.

Uh-oh. MAKE A PLAN. Take a look at the number of days you have left (18) and consider realistically the number of days you will write. That means, friends, that if you haven’t written on Saturday yet, don’t count Saturdays, okay? Next, assign a goal to each day you will write. But you cannot give yourself two days off in a row. And that’s not because I’m being a meany-pants; I have a very good reason for this part of the plan.

I know this requires a bit of math and figuring so I’ll give you a few minutes to make a plan. And no, you cannot wait till tomorrow.

Tip Two: Do Not Backtrack

When I am working on a manuscript, even a first draft, I will write, write, write. And then the next time that I go to the manuscript, I will go back and read what I wrote, wrote, wrote. Sometimes, I’ll dump it all and start fresh. Sometimes, I should have dumped it all but I edit, trying to make it nice. The point is, I edit as I go.

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, going back over what you’ve written is the kiss of manuscript death. There is no time for editing or finding your voice; there’s not even time to fix some egregious grammar mistake (and seriously, I shuddered just writing that last bit). Just plow ahead with writing no matter what. But—and here’s a big but—that’s easier to do if you write every day.

Writing every day, even if it’s just 500 words, keeps your mind entrenched in the manuscript as well as your butt in the chair. And once there, you’ll probably write more because you’re doing off-to-the-races writing! So if you want to revise that plan you made (the one where you skipped writing on Saturdays), I’ll wait.

Tip Three: Accept Imperfection

Now you have a plan that may or may not mean you have to write 2, 471 words per day for the next 18 days. You have vowed that when you sit down to write, you will not, under penalty of manuscript death, look at any words you have written before but will have at it, mid-sentence if need be. But come November 30th, you must face that what you have written—and really, with no editing what can you expect?--could be a pile of steaming word mush (to put it politely). But that’s okay. Because you’ll be done with NaNoWriMo and you’ll have a 50,000-ish word manuscript-ish.

We shall talk about revision tips on January 1st.

~Cathy C. Hall

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6 comments Cathy C. Hall, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, novel writing tips, writing challenge

The World Needs Your Novel!

Happy 1st of November! Yes, it's fall and nearly thanksgiving, but as a writer, November brings so much more! It's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and right after you read and share this article, I hope you'll post the following on social media:

I am going to be taking a break from unnecessary distractions so I can work on my novel during 2018 NaNoWriMo - Thank you for your support!

The only way the world is going to read my novel is if I limit distractions and let's face it, social media is a blessing and a curse. It's a great way to promote ourselves, our work, and share our love with friends and family, but it's a time suck. NaNoWriMo starts now and if we are going to make it to 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th we are going to need to buckle down and get writing. After all, the world needs your novel!

I'm going to say that again - even louder!

The World Needs Your Novel!

Stop and think about that for a moment. 

I'll wait...

You have a story to tell. The only guarantee in life is that none of us will leave this life alive and if we don't share our story it will be lost forever. You knew that, but take a moment to really let it sink in. What if Jane Austen had waited until 1818 to start writing? We wouldn't have Pride and Prejudice, that's for sure! There's a big difference between writing a novel that isn't published until years after you pass on, and passing on before writing the novel you've created in your head. Don't take those words and that story with you when it deserves an audience. The World Needs Your Novel!

In 1999 National Novel Writing Month began with 21 authors and now all you have to do is google search National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo and you'll find thousands upon thousands of people just like yourself - people who are joining together to share their love and passion and ensure that these novels are being written.

What's holding you back? Time? Confidence? We all have doubts about our abilities - don't wait until
it's too late to share your story. This has been a tough year for me professionally and I lost a business acquaintance who had become a friend - I often think about the fact that I will never have another opportunity to read a new book by him. I know he was working on a new book (he was always working on a new book) and yet he was taken by a tragic accident. Those stories will never be told. His memory is pushing me to participate this year - I don't want my story to go untold. 

Have you participated before? Tell us about your experience as a comment on this post.

Will you be participating this year? Why or why not? We want to know!

Thank you in advance for your comments and support - I can't wait to see what you write this month! (And I'll be first in line to read and help you promote it once your novel is published! - GO YOU!)

Hugs,

~Crystal

Crystal is a secretary, council secretary, and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children (Carmen 11, Andre 10, Breccan 5, Delphine 3, and baby Eudora who somehow turned 1 a few weeks ago), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at her personal blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!

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2 comments encouragement, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, writing

The October Panic

So here it is October, a whiff of pumpkin spice in the air, swirls of red, gold, and brown leaves in the neighbor’s yard, and maybe somewhere, folks are even pulling on their favorite boots. And as you, dear writer, sip on your toasty beverage and gaze out the window at the leaf blower sending all those swirling dead leaves into your backyard, all you can think is, “WAIT, WHAT? NANO IS JUST ONE MONTH AWAY! 2018 IS ENDING IN A FEW MONTHS! AND WHAT HAVE I ACCOMPLISHED? WHAT? WHAT! WHAT?!”

Okay, first of all, take a deep breath. I’m pretty sure that you’ve accomplished way more than you’ve imagined, even if your achievements were not exactly on your list of writing goals. Um…you do still have your goals, right? (I’ll give you a few minutes to find that list…)

Got it? Good. Now set it aside. The thing is, we often focus too much on our failures rather than examining the whole picture, and end up feeling just awful. So instead, let’s go off list and focus on all the aspects of the year so far. Did you get in your steps every day, lose a few pounds? Or maybe you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one and watched as carefully laid plans drifted away. Did you have major renovations or make a move? Have you navigated new and challenging waters of employment? Maybe you finally got an agent, made a major sale! Whatever the ups and downs of your year, from the physical to the emotional to the spiritual, it’s impacted your writing goals for better or worse.

I'm not where I thought I'd be in October, but still, I feel pretty darn good. Despite all the comings and goings of a wedding, I’ve finished a major novel revision. Maybe five years ago, I would’ve accomplished much more, but I’m weighing my achievements against this year only. That's what matters for me, and it’s what matters for you as well. So now, let’s look forward. We have three months left and that's plenty of time to make a plan.

First, prioritize. Do you want to do National Novel Writing Month? Then now is the time to do your prep. And give some thought about what you want to accomplish with Nano; you don’t have to write a novel, or get a certain word count. Make Nano your own, but it’s imperative to start the planning stages now. Bottom line is this: whatever is still on your writing list—Nano, a revision, a freelance project— that you desperately want to finish by the end of the year, focus on that goal.

Because the second step is all about that ticking clock: be realistic about what you can accomplish. Once we hit the holidays, with costumes to make and kids home from school, and family visiting, and baking and cooking and…well, honestly, I’m already wore out. You only have so much time here in the home stretch so make it count with whatever writing project(s) you choose to tackle.

And the third step, because I’m all about the Rule of Three, is celebrate what you’ve accomplished so far. Pick up that warm beverage and put your feet up for a few minutes. Congrats to you on whatever you’ve achieved and good luck on what’s to come.

And one more thing. Feel free to dump all those leaves back in your neighbor’s yard. (That’s what I’m fixin’ to do.)

~Cathy C. Hall

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7 comments achieving writing goals, Cathy C. Hall, National Novel Writing Month, prioritizing

Camp Out with Your Writing (with Camp NaNoWriMo)

Most of us have heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Many of us have participated it in some form or another (me included). In fact, the novel I’m editing right now was born from the 2014 NaNoWriMo. Over the past few weeks, I’ve started noticing posts about Camp NaNoWriMo in my Instagram feed and decided to check it out. What I found is a pretty cool way to get motivated on your writing projects in a faux “rustic” setting.

What it Is:
Camp NaNoWriMo is a virtual writer’s retreat where writers are welcome to tackle whatever project they choose: short stories, scripts, novels, poetry, etc. Instead of November (which is always a pretty crazy time in everyone’s lives!), camp takes place in April and July. Word count goals can range from 30 to 1 million. To add to the fun, you can even choose to be part of a cabin, which is a virtual writing group where 20 or so writers can “bunk” together to create a cozy little community. Once you sign up for camp and create your profile, you can be sorted into a random cabin or specify that you want to be placed in one that features camps in your own age group, genre, or with similar word count goals. Or, you can invite a group of your writing buddies to “bunk” with you in your cabin and create your own tribe.

How it Works:
During each camp session, Camp NaNoWriMo has lined up a variety of authors ready to encourage campers and offer words of wisdom and support through scheduled Tweet chats. There is also a calendar chock full of virtual write-ins and chances to flex your creative muscles with non-writing projects.

The goal is to make the journey seem as much like a fun summer camp as possible. I read one blogger’s story about how he used the camp one year to write 70,000 words of his novel and another time he committed to writing 20+ blog posts with an average of 750 words each. You can customize your goal to whatever your main focus is at the time.

Sometimes being held accountable for your goals is the little push you need to get a project completed. NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo provide you with like-minded writers and other experts who are there to support you, cheer you on, and help you complete a writing goal you can be proud of. Plus, there’s also a fun camp store where you can pick up some pretty cool swag! (That alone is enough to tempt me to participate this year—who doesn’t love swag?)

The website also keeps an archive of useful advice, such as articles on research, making expositions exciting, etc. from previous camp counselors under their “Writing Resources” page.

To learn more, visit campnanowrimo.org for more information.

Are you itching to attend a virtual summer camp this year? What project would you focus on?

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and editor whose short story, "The Polaroid," won the Suspense/Thriller category of the 2017 Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards. If she participates in this year's Camp NaNoWriMo, she'll focus on a new novel idea or work on a series of true crime posts for her blog. Visit her website at FinishedPages.com.

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5 comments Camp NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Renee Roberson, virtual writing retreats

What's Your BHAG?

Not too long ago, Renee Roberson wrote a post about her bucket list of writing goals. In her reply to one of my comments, she claimed that everyone should have a BHAG--a big, hairy audacious goal.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Not surprisingly, my BHAG is the same as one of Renee's: publish a novel.

photo by pixabay
Notice I chose a scary-looking mountain--quite a formidable one--because
my BHAG is a bit scary...

I've been more successful as a writer than I previously predicted. Years ago, I figured my poems and stories would never see the light of day. Well, my poems are still only seen by my students (you're welcome!) but when it comes to my stories, I've gotten 16 of them published in different Chicken Soup for the Soul collections. I've done NaNoWriMo six different years and only crashed and burned during three of them. I wrote a horrid manuscript but it led to wonderful healing (of me). I wrote, side by side, next to my students every day for a whole month.

And now my BHAG is looming over me like a terrifying mountain.

I don't know what Renee is doing about her novel. Knowing her, she's probably not in a corner whining about what could have been and what should have been. Probably she's working on hiking up that mountain, a few steps at a time. If she's stopping at spots and camping out for a while, that's cool. Most people don't reach the peak of a BHAG through nonstop work. It helps to occasionally take a break, catch your breath and reorganize.

Right now I've spent too much time in my base tent... just gazing up at the snowy top of the mountain. I have a manuscript. The second draft is finished. Have I shared it with my students (like I promised)? No. Have I shared it with my writing critique group (like I want to)? No. The reasons behind my reluctance is something I’m still working through.

For some, their BHAG might be submitting (probably more than once) to a large market. A national magazine maybe. For others, it might be writing the difficult-to-tell memoir. For one writer I know, it’s the illustrations that are holding her back from reaching the peak of one of her goals. Lynn Obermoeller has written the text to a picture book. The pictures, along with the zentangled text, has caused her to reach an impasse. (I guess in this case it’s the way the text is displayed on the page, along with the illustrations, that has gotten her stuck.)

As writers, we have daily, weekly and monthly goals. Daily ones might include writing for at least thirty minutes every day. Weekly? Weekly goals might involve being prepared for a writing critique meeting. Submitting to a particular market that has a themed monthly call for submissions could be a goal of yours.

Those are fine goals, and when I can nail them, I’m thrilled. But when I’m just trudging along on a level surface, with those regular goals in my sights, I’m not using my full potential. To keep myself challenged and growing, my reach should exceed my grasp…

… which means I need to drag my fat rump out of my tent, sling my provisions into my pack and start climbing up that mountain of a BHAG.

What's your BHAG? And what are you doing as you hike toward achieving that goal? Or if you're making very little progress (like me) how big of a stick of dynamite do I need to light under your rear? Reluctant minds want to know...

Sioux Roslawski is a hiker of easy trails on flat ground. Recently (like right after finishing this post) she has decided to engage in more strenuous hiking. She's put on those pointy-bottomed things onto her shoes (see--she knows all the lingo), she's gotten some rope (it's around her waist--not around her neck), and she has a particular mountain peak in her sights. Sioux's evenings are spent working on drafting creative nonfiction and her days are usually taken up with teaching middle-schoolers how to write and how to appreciate great books; if you want to read more of her stuff, go to Sioux's blog.

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15 comments Chicken Soup for the Soul, Lynn Obermoeller, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, novel writing, Renee Roberson

New York and NaNo

So it’s the beginning of November and I’ll bet you a whole ream of paper that many of you are first timers with National Novel Writing Month. Or what we old-timers like to call NaNo. And the more I thought of the NaNo experience, the more I thought about my recent trip to New York. And what I thought was gee, Cathy, what a great metaphor!

New York:

I’ve been to a lot of places around the world, but New York’s not one of ‘em. It’s too big, too crowded, too expensive, too…too overwhelming! But Juniorette Hall has been several times and loves the Big Apple. Come on, she said, let’s do it for our birthdays! It’ll be great! And in a moment of weakness, I said okay. (Gulp!)

NaNo:

You’ve been writing for a while…a short story here, an essay there, your blog, your journal, but a whole book? 50,000 words?! It’s too much, too time-consuming, too demanding, too…too overwhelming! But your writer friends, or maybe a few critique partners, have done Nano several times and they love it. Come on, they say, we’ll do it together and it’ll be lots of fun because we’ll have that great NaNo community and accountability! And in a moment of weakness, you say okay. (Gulp!)


New York:

We stayed in Manhattan, and honestly, for a somewhat small area, it’s packed with things to do! So we had a plan, a schedule of what we’d cram into each day, from nine in the morning till midnight. But we neglected to take into consideration travel times, long lines, rainy, cold weather, and sold out venues. In four days, we accomplished maybe one quarter of the things we wanted to do, despite how hard we tried! (Phoeey!)

NaNo:

November is a long month—thirty days—but still, it’s packed with all kinds of things to do besides writing. Undaunted, you've made a plan, maybe plotted out your idea beforehand and made notes about characters. In short, you've organized a tight schedule to get all those words done (or you follow the NaNo suggestion of 1667 words per day). But you didn't account for sudden sickness, lost notes, fingers cramping, and a finicky laptop. So despite your best laid plans, it’s only Day Three and you’re already 2,657 words behind. (Phoeey!)


New York:

It was a whirlwind of sights and sounds and smells and I was flat wore out when it was done. And yes, my feet ached and my pocketbook took a hit and I can barely remember it all, but it was totally worth every minute! Why did I wait so long to go? But when I go back to New York—because there’s so much more I want to see and do there!—I’ll be ready for whatever the Big Apple throws at me! (Whee!)

NaNo:

It’s only been a couple of days and maybe you’re already flat wore out. But I’ll bet you’ve done more writing than usual, and if you keep at it, you’ll accomplish more than you can imagine. Although it may not be a book that anyone would ever read, you’ll learn so much from this first Nano try, that I promise, it’ll totally be worth it. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it before! And then next year—because you’ll have another great idea, right?—you’ll be ready for whatever November and NaNo throws at you! (Whee!)

~Cathy C. Hall

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8 comments Cathy C. Hall, NANO, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, New York City

NaNoWriMo: Time to Get Started

November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. So why am I writing about this in October? Because I’ve tried it two or three times and always failed. Miserably.

There are several reasons for said failure:

For 10 years I was in charge of a writing conference that took place in November. Between pre-conference, conference and post-conference, I didn’t have time. Problem with this excuse: I haven’t been in charge for 8 years. Time to get over it and move on.

I used to host Thanksgiving. Sometimes. Every year my sister and I had to decide who would host which holiday. It was a BIG DEAL. We have since decided that she gets Thanksgiving and I get Christmas. Yep. That means that that excuse doesn’t work anymore either.

I write for kids. How is that a problem? The NaNoWriMo goal is to write 50,000 words. Because I wrote for kids, the vast majority of novels are shorter than 50,000 words. Either I let it bother me or I don’t. I’m a bit of a rule breaker (who me?) so I’m 98% certain that I can get past this.

So what’s the real problem? I don’t tend to plan when I write fiction. And that’s a problem with NaNoWriMo. You can’t blast through a draft if you don’t plan. Pantsers do not blast.

That’s why I’m writing about this now. If you want to succeed at NaNoWriMo, the time to think about it is now. You, like me, need to do some serious planning.  I found an article about creating a scrapbook for your novel. I’m going to give that a shot. Like everything else, I’ll be doing it my way. I’m not using a real scrap book. There is no fancy paper. No cute stickers. But I will have:

Character pages. What do they look like? What do they like? What fascinates them? How do they dress? I’m going to need pages for my main character, her kid brother, her older brother, the love interest, her stepfather and the love interest’s grandmother.

Setting. The setting is going to play a huge part in this story because it is science fiction. I have some feel for where the story opens and where the majority of the action takes place. I’ve found photos for one of the ruins. A need the others and the main settlement. I’m going to need to create maps.

Material culture. The world is an earth-like mining colony. The majority of mines have played out so think Appalachians combined with Missouri Ozarks. I need a better feel for the material culture so that I can bring the setting to life and I know how they do things.

Outline. Last but not least, I’ll re-outline the blasted thing.

It still won’t be long enough to be an official NaNoWriMo novel but a finished draft is a finished draft. And even a short novel will be a huge success for this nonfiction writer.

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.

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2 comments NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, pantsing, plotter or pantser, plotting, scrapbook

The September Feeling

September is one of my favorite months because—and don’t hate me—I was one of those kids who was rarin’ to get back to school after Labor Day.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my summers. But I missed my friends and sports and yep, I missed reading and writing and even arithmetic. September was the start of something new and big and special and I just couldn’t wait to begin!

That September feeling still courses through my veins every Labor Day when I’m rarin’ to kick my writing into second gear. So what if I’m dismally behind on all those great January goals? It’s September and I can start again! And you can start with me!

EXERCISE

As a writer I spend an awful lot of time sitting. Even when I’m not writing, I’m sitting around, thinking about writing, or reading about writing, or talking about writing. It’s all very terrific for the writer’s brain. Not so much for the writer’s behind. Or heart. Or waistline. I needed to revisit my exercise goals.

Okay, I needed to make an exercise goal. Anyway, I decided to purchase one of those gadgets that will track steps and sleep and calories and frankly, I don’t know what all. And then something amazing happened: I started walking every day. I suspect it’s a combination of accountability (I mean, that thing is tracking my every move now) and my innate competitive drive (or maybe more like my compulsive need to do what I say I’m going to do, even if I’m reporting back to an app). The point is, September’s looking pretty good on the steps goal and just maybe my posterior’s looking a little less flat. Maybe it'll work for you, too!


THE SPIRITUAL SIDE

Perhaps your writing dreams have fallen by summer’s wayside; the fall is the perfect time to get back on track. And there is nothing like a writer’s conference for a little writing retreat and rejuvenation.

It’s not too late to find something perfect for you; you just need to know where to look. I like Shaw Guides, the Guide to Writers Conferences and Writing Workshops, for its variety and global listings. And if you’re looking for something for the kidlit writer, head straight to SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Plus, you can always find an event at RWA, Romance Writers of America. But don’t think an event geared toward a specific genre is only for those genre writers. You’ll benefit in all kinds of ways at any conference or workshop!


GETTING REAL WITH WORDS

And maybe you’ve had an idea bubbling around in your head all year. Or maybe you’ve got a manuscript that needs some serious revision. September’s a great month to hunker down and start planning any size project for National Novel Writing Month!

Yeah it’s in November. But there’s no law saying you can’t start thinking about your concept, getting that outline worked up, maybe researching characters and plot twists and surprise endings. Then you can, you know, put words on paper.


It’s September, y’all, the beginning of something new and big and special! Can’t you just feel it? (Now go do something!)


~Cathy C. Hall

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5 comments Cathy C. Hall, exercise for writers, National Novel Writing Month, Shaw Guides, writer's conference, writing inspiration