NaNo By the Numbers
Even though I’m not good at math, I still love to measure progress with numbers. Â It motivates me and excites me to break down my writing into word counts. So, my personal goal for NaNo is 80,000 words. (That is more than I’ve ever written on any project. My novel (W)hole is 65,000 and that’s the longest I’ve ever written). I have an outline with, as the moment, 95 scenes. That means that if every scene were of equal length, they would need to be: 843 words, which is about three pages. Â To make sure I have enough words, I’ll probably work to try to get every scene at least that long. Â Three pages is a lot for me, though, so I might try to break down the outline into more basic scenes, see if there’s anywhere that I’m...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo: Software
Before I started NaNo this year I did some reading about what other people are doing with it. One thing I cam across was a software recommendation. Writing novels in Word and most word processing programs is very difficult. They really weren’t designed for writing and keeping track of 300 page documents. Â Though I follow an outline, I don’t write linearly at all. Â In fact, having an outline allows me to write any scene or part of the story that interests me at the particular moment. Â Trying to organize a novel that you’re writing non-linearly in a word processing program is quite a headache! I’ve been doing it for years, though. Â It’s always how I’ve written (by the way, in January I’m going to have a free book available...
Read MoreSix Sentence Sunday: NaNo One
The six sentences for this week are from the NaNoWriMo novel that I’m working on, so this is prose that has not yet been polished at all!  Read the other Six Sentence entries here. Read more about my story here. ### He pushed open the door and his eyes met those of the owner. Reece nodded his head and brought his hands in front of him in a greeting gesture. The owner nodded back. Then he looked down at Reece’s pants. Reece made sure not to follow the gaze, to remain confident that his handicap was not visible. He had even taken special care this morning to make sure his shoes matched....
Read MoreRomantic Friday Writers
Well, the Romantic Friday Writers challenges have changed, which makes me sad. It’s no longer being held every week, but just once a month. Also instead of a word as a theme, there will be pictures to respond to or first sentences to use. I’m not sure that I’ll keep doing it given the new form it’s taking. Â Perhaps I will post excerpts of my own choosing on Fridays, though not having the theme to challenge myself with is a shame. For today, how about a sample of my NaNo novel? Here is a 400 word excerpt written this week. Â Remember that this is quick writing without any editing, so it is very raw. Word count: 371 ### Talia squinted through the rain. She held one hand up over her eyes and peered again across the parking lot outside her...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo Inspiration
In researching people to help me produce more professional books, I discovered Tirzah and her book covers.  I am mesmerized by her skill! I love to read her blog and learn about graphic design and see the cool covers she comes up with.  http://acleverwhatever.blogspot.com Last month she posted an offer to throw together a free cover for NaNoWriMo projects.  I jumped at that!  Within a couple hours of me posting my blurb at her site, she had created me a cover. It’s done entirely with free images and isn’t the image quality that a real cover would be, but it is for me to have some visual inspiration as I write.  I really love what she came up with.  I have a friend designing the cover for this novel when it comes out in the spring, and I have no idea...
Read MoreProgress Trackers
At proofreaders; available for pre-order
What Is Meant To Be
Second draft
Homework & Homicide (working title)
Second Draft
Book Montage
RFW winner October 7, 2011
