Happy New Year!

I finally updated my Facebook Cover picture for my personal page and I wanted to share it with all of you first!

Here it is:

My hope for 2014 is that it is filled with all of the above and so much more!

I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and a
healthy, safe and fantastic 2014.

Until next time ~

Is it Possible?

Some people struggle with NaNoWriMo because they just can’t write every day or they don’t write enough words to make the daily word count goal of 1667 words per day. If they fall behind, they think it’s practically impossible to write like a fiend and get back on track.

Is it possible to win NaNo when you are that far behind?

Well, let me tell you about my NaNo experience last month. In previous posts, I mentioned how this year, NaNo was harder for me and I was behind in my daily word goal. At one point, I was so far behind that if I did not have marathon writing days, there would be no way that I would cross the 50K finish line by November 30. At the rate I was going, I wouldn’t hit 50K until mid-to-late December. Yikes!

My goal was to write 51,000 words, which comes out to 1700 words a day.

This is what my daily word count for the month of November looked like (brace yourself, it isn’t very pretty):

As you can see, there were 7 days out of the month that I had written no words! That’s right! That adds up to a full week of no writing. In a month of only 30 days, only writing for 23 days puts me at a great disadvantage.

Also, you can see that there were 5 days where I wrote less than 100 words. You like that day where I only wrote 13 words on November 8? Yeah, I had a holy crap moment myself. I was very productive that day.

I was only ahead of my word count 6 days out of the entire month. The highest number of words ahead of my writing goal was only 2011 words (November 11).

There was never a time where I was actually “on” target. That means that there were 24 days where I was below my writing goal.

Check out November 22. I was 9,212 words behind that day. Nine THOUSAND words behind. That’s enough to make anyone cry buckets and buckets and then quit on the spot. I just sighed, muttered about what a stupid idiot I was to let myself get that far behind and then had two marathon writing days back to back (November 23 and 24) where I wrote 12,726 words! HOLY SMOKES! I had never written that much in my life! That definitely beat out my previous record (on November 9 and 10 of this year) when I wrote 10,061 in two days.

You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson by then after that frenzied writing, but no, I wrote ZERO words the next two days (November 25 and 26). By November 28, I was 5707 words behind my goal. I was only up to 41,893 words by that day. Now that was really cutting it close. I couldn’t afford any more unproductive writing time. I only had two days to reach 51,000 words (or 50,000 if I decided I just could not write the extra 1,000).

I had to buckle down and I managed to squeeze out 5012 words on November 29 and 4931 words on November 30 (9,943 words in two days). I was thinking about adding another 164 words to make it an even 52,000 but by 11:20 that night, I was done. I had finally validated my novel and I just wanted to go to sleep. Thank goodness it ended on the weekend because I was not moving the next day.

So, look over my graph again. Do you see how many unproductive days I really had? Do you see how many days where I didn’t even make my daily word goal of 1700 words, let alone the NaNo daily word goal of 1667 words?

But I trudged along and pushed myself to finish. I had a strong motivator inside of me to hit that 51,000 word goal by November 30. And I did it!

So yes, it IS possible to fall almost 10,000 words behind and STILL win NaNo. Don’t let a few thousand words drag you down. Just sit at that computer (or with that notebook and pen/pencil) and write as if you really want it. Because if you really want it, there is nothing that should stop you from reaching that 50,000 word goal!

Until next time ~

What Type of NaNo Writer Are You?

Now that I have been able to catch up on some well deserved sleep, I wanted to write about the different writers that I have seen during NaNo this month.

There are the Naysayers: Many people think that it is practically impossible to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. These people stare at the NaNo writers with widened eyes, saying, “I don’t think I could ever do that. You have got to be crazy!”

There are the Cheaters: These people start writing days before November 1^st so that they are thousands of words ahead and then they brag about how much they have written at the end of the month (I am not going to talk about those people. Cheaters take the fun out of the competition and only make themselves look weak).

There are the Quitters: Some people start off writing 1667 words a day, miss a few days and then get so far behind that they just give up. Or they write for a few days, maybe a week or two and then just quit without ever looking back.

There are the Strugglers: Others start off writing above the 1667 daily word goal, get ahead, miss a few days and then fight to catch up. Sometimes they may just struggle with the writing, struggle with time management, struggle with the organization of writing, struggle with the plot, characters, dialogue, etc., or just struggle with the whole thing. They might make it to the end (see Motivators). Often, these people will struggle until the second week or maybe go as far as the middle of week three before they throw in the towel (see Quitters).

There are the Motivators: These people may start writing on November 1^st and then miss a few days or these people may not even start their writing on time and they fall behind very quickly. Then these people have to claw their way through the rest of the month, fighting to try and get close enough to the growing word count that they are using every free second to catch up. These people may become bumbling, mumbling idiots by the end of the month, the may be suffering from a lack of sleep or they may go temporarily blind from staring at the computer screen for so long. But, these people do make it to the 50K finish line by 11:59 pm on November 30.

There are the Capables: Other people who are able to write their daily 1667 words every day, without fail and win on time. Nothing stops them from writing. They are focused on the contest and they get their words done.

There are the Overachievers: Those who write way more than the 1667 daily words every day and exceed the 50,000 word goal. These people seem to have magic fingers that fly with lightening speed across the keyboard and time seems to freeze for them while they type madly away.

The Plotters: These people often reach their goal easier because they have spent countless of hours plotting their novel. They may have their characters already chosen, chapters and scenes mapped out and have sentences of dialogue already to go. They probably have the entire thing outlined before November 1^st. For them, NaNo is probably a piece of cake because they have their novel notes right in front of them while they are writing and can tackle their planned words without too much hesitation.

The Pantsers: These people may have a general idea as to what they want to write about but they don’t do any planning (or hardly any planning) for their novel. Or sometimes, these people have absolutely no idea as to what is going to appear on that blank page until they begin to write. Usually, there is no outlining involved (or just the bare minimum), no chapters laid out, no preplanned scenes and no dialogue worked out. But these people start on November 1^st and discover the beauty of watching their novel unfold right before their eyes. For them, NaNo might be a bit of a struggle because they don’t know where their novel is headed and they have to come up with the plot right on the spot.

There are the Conformers: These people follow the basic rule of NaNoWriMo. They begin a brand new novel on November 1^st and write only that novel during the entire month. At the end of November, they will have written 50,000 words towards a brand, spanking new novel that they can continue to work on in December and the next year.

There are the Rebels: These people do not follow the basic rule of NaNoWriMo. They do not start a brand new novel. They may continue working on an existing novel or maybe even two novels. They may even edit a novel. This does count, as long as they write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

This month, I was a Motivated Rebel Pantser. I fell behind and struggled the entire month to catch back up. I rebelled because I continued my NaNo 2012 novel and I was a pantser because, although I had a general idea as to what had to be added, I had no plan except to write and attempt to finish my novel.

How would you describe your NaNo self this month?
 
Until next time ~



 

NaNo 2013 Has Been Validated!

WOW! I finally finished NaNoWriMo 2013 with barely an hour to go!

I am beat, bushed, befuddled, burned out and bone tired. But, I am done!

Woohoo!!!  J

I finished typing my last word at 10:56 pm and then I had to upload my novel into the validation system online. That took a little extra work because my internet was playing connection games and I couldn’t validate my novel until 11:20 pm. Yikes! That was a bit on the scary side. Nothing like trying to validate your novel and watching the seconds furiously tick by as the internet decides to have a little bit of fun with you.

I am wiping the beads of sweat from my forehead right now.

My goal for the month was 51,000 words. I ended up with (drum roll please…) 51,836 words! I am so very excited right now that I am singing and dancing while I am typing this. NaNo 2013 was a tough one for me but I persevered and I accomplished my goal.

Hooray!!!

Now I have my official purple winner’s bar firmly planted on my profile and all is good. Very, very good.

And now it’s time to hit the sack. I’ve got a lot of sleeping to do.  J

 

Until next time ~

 

Halfway to the Finish Line!

Today marks the halfway point of NaNoWriMo. I should have fifteen solid days of writing under my belt. My writing goal should be at approximately 25,000 words today.

But this year, something is wrong. I don’t feel as confident with this writing challenge as I did last year.

Last year, I started writing fast and hard, right out of the gate. I was averaging about 2,000 words a day and nothing could stop me from reaching my goal.

Today, at day fifteen, I have written a whopping grand total of 21,021 words. This is not bad, but I am not on goal. I’m having a hard time with motivation, time and plot ideas. I had better crack the whip soon or I will fall further behind.  L

I hope the rest of you who are working hard on your NaNo novels this year are doing well. Keep writing as fast as you can; we will get there by 11:59 pm on November 30!

 

Until next time ~

 

 

 

I'm a REBEL!!

I’m a REBEL!!

On Sunday, I found out that rebels are allowed to participate in NaNoWriMo and that they are not considered to be cheaters. This decree comes from the NaNoWriMo forums. Specifically, it’s located in: Forums ---> Outside The Box ---> NaNo Rebels. The thread is located under: “Welcome to Rebellion! You are NOT a cheater. Introduce yourself here!”  

Armed with this new information and the panicky feeling that I was not ready for NaNo this year, I have officially decided that I, Ms. Jennifer Lynn Catz will be a NaNo Rebel this year.

That’s right! You heard it here first: Ms. Catz will not play by the rules for NaNoWriMo 2013.

My NaNo plan is to finally finish this darn NaNo 2012 novel. So far, I have over 100,000 words written but it’s not fully complete. I am missing several scenes, I have some scenes that are unfinished and some scenes to finalize. I’m not sure how many words I need to write but my guess is that it will probably be in the neighborhood of 20-30K words. Then, if I need to write additional words to make it up to 50K, I will start writing continuing scenes that will go towards the sequel.

I WILL GET THIS NOVEL FINISHED!!!

Feel free to leave me any inspiring notes, quotes, pictures, random thoughts, humorous stuff or words of wisdom. Anything to help me get this novel finished in 30 days will be appreciated!   :) 

So, here’s to rebellion and may the next 30 days be filled with plentiful ideas, great dialogue, emotionally charged scenes, powerful imagery and exciting words that will keep the reader flipping the pages well into the night.

Or, if I want to be realistic, may the next 30 days be filled with enough ideas and dialogue to get this darn thing finished.   :)

If you’re participating in NaNo this year, I wish you all the best and I look forward to meeting you at the 50K finish line! 

Until next time ~

One More Day to Go...

Happy Halloween!

I hope all of you are having a grand time wearing awesome costumes and filling up on outrageously sweet treats. I hope you are having fun at your parties or getting scared out of your mind at the haunted houses. I hope your costumes win first prize, nobody TPs your home and that you don’t get overloaded by the constant replays of Thriller, Ghostbusters and The Monster Mash.

As for me, I will be making a decision as to what I’m going to do about my writing plan for NaNo. But I do know this: I will go candy shopping on Friday and buy enough of the discounted Halloween chocolate to last me through the end of November.  

Tomorrow the frenzied and frantic writing marathon begins and I will need all the chocolate I can get my hands on to make it through 30 days of writing torture fun.

I’m still not ready for NaNo, so I’m holding on to those precious last hours of freedom and sanity before the writing madness begins. 

 

  

Happy Halloween and
Happy NaNoWriMo Eve!

             

 

 

 Until next time ~

It's NANO TIME!!

It’s NaNo time!!

(I have to confess. I really don’t like the new NaNoWriMo 2013 image. I think it’s hideous and worse than last year’s Venn diagram image. Do people really like this??)

I cannot believe that it’s almost November. Where the heck did September and October go? Summer was just yesterday! November 1^st is just five days away and I am not kidding when I tell you that I am not ready for NaNo. Nope. Not in the very least. I thought I had more time. I thought November was eons away. I have no plan, I have no survival kit… I feel like the kid that forgot to study for his final and only has five days to figure out how to get it done.

So, on that note, I will be participating in NaNo 2013 and I need to cram in the next five days so that I have an inkling as to what I’m going to do come Friday. Will NaNo let me call in sick?  Heehee

For those of you who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s really called: National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo, or NaNo, is a writing challenge during the month of November where you write your butt off for 30 days. From November 1^st to November 30^th, you have to write 50,000 words of a novel, which averages to about 1,666 or 1,667 words a day. If you write more than that per day, you get yourself ahead and that works out well in case you have to miss a day of writing or something comes up and you can’t meet your daily word count.

I personally like to write more than 1,666 words a day. I like knowing that I’m ahead because I know that I will have a day or two or five that I might not feel like writing or that I might not reach my word count for the day. NaNo may be a struggle at times and not everyone reaches the 50K finish line but I can’t be one of those people. I like the structure and the challenge of trying to reach that 50K word goal in 30 days. And I don’t fill my pages with junk words, random letters or strange things that don’t make a lick of sense to the story.

So, for my second time, I will write those 50,000 words for NaNo and I will win!

Look for my tweets and blogs (if I can find some extra writing time) and I will fill you in on my progress. You can also look for my updated word counts on my blog and on my NaNoWriMo participant page: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/jennifer-lynn-catz.

Let me know if any of you are participating in NaNo. We can commiserate together.  :)

Until next time ~