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 ~

Surviving the Wild(er)ness

CAMP NaNoWriMo
SURVIVAL KIT

Here it is… the eve of Camp NaNoWriMo. Tomorrow starts the frantic thirty day writing frenzy and I can honestly say that I am not ready for camp.

So, to get me in the mood, I put together a little survival kit for myself to help me get through the next thirty days with my sanity intact. I am willing to share my treats so come along and join the party with me!

What would writing be like without a brand new journal to write down all of my plot ideas? The first item in my Survival Kit is this gorgeous lined journal with fun pictures of Venice on a lime green cover. There is also a matching lime green pen that (fortunately) writes in black ink - lime green ink might be too hard on my eyes after a while. I do love the stretchy band that goes around the journal to keep it closed but it could also pose as a bookmark in a pinch.

Since I don’t drink coffee, the next item in my Survival Kit is a mug with plenty of hot chocolate to give me that caffeine kick. Who doesn’t love a good cup of chocolate? Of course, if I’m on the go and need a chocolate boost, I’ve got my trusty ceramic cup with lid. Earth Day is celebrated in April and it’s a perfect way to stop into those cafès and say “Fill ‘er up,” without contributing to the overflowing dumps. I can do my part to help the environment by reusing my mug and reducing my waste while writing my NaNo book.

And speaking of chocolate, I have to have lots of it during Camp! Reese’s Peanut Butter cups are my absolute favorite and I just love chocolate with nuts (I’m a bit nutty myself so this is quite appropriate!). 

Also, those late writing nights might require some popcorn and I’m a sucker for Smartfood’s cheese covered version. I definitely do not think that one bag will be enough!

We all need some pizza at Camp but looking at all those calories above, I think I’ll go for the Goldfish version. The great part is that I can pack my pizza up in little bags for that spicy pick-me-up when I’m not writing at home. No need to worry about reheating pizza slices and getting tomato sauce all over my clothes.

Trail mix is such a wonderful staple that it has to be added to my Survival Kit. The medley of peanuts, chocolate, pretzels, dried cranberries, raisins and anything else salty and sweet is a great snack idea when fuel is running low and ideas are hard to come by.

Camp would definitely not be complete without S’mores! It’s a staple for those late night writing sessions around the crackling fire while staring up at the stars and working out dialogue, actions, emotions or just plotting the next scene. I can already taste the gooey marshmallows as they melt between the chocolate and graham crackers.

But all that outdoor air might make me a little bit cold, so my Survival Kit will certainly need a warm blanket to stave off the chill. I can wrap it around me while I write, write, write. I can’t let tiny goose bumps stop me from reaching 50K words!

I also have to have my much-needed computer to continue working on my NaNo novel. It contains all of my NaNo book versions, access to the internet and the Camp NaNoWriMo website. While notebooks, journals and pens are important for note taking, I find that typing my stories work much better for me. My hands don’t cramp up as much and my fingers can keep up a little faster with my brain. Typing my story is also the easiest way to upload my words onto the NaNo website to document my daily word count and my final word count on April 30.

But, as electronics are so important to people nowadays, we have to find a way to keep our words in the unfortunate or unlikely event that our electronics might fail us. My Survival Kit must include a flash drive so I have another way to save my precious words. I’ve read way too many blogs where writers share that they had lost chapters or even entire novels when their computers conked out. I love the motto: Always be prepared. Always back up your novel! You need to prepare for the worst.

My last item in my Survival Kit is more of a symbol – an important symbol that reminds me of what I am doing and why. If life gets hectic or crazy during the month of April, I don’t want to fall too far behind or give up on my 50K word goal. This 2012 NaNoWriMo Winner shirt is a reminder of what I can do. I was able to accomplish my writing goal during the month of November on my first try. If I have any doubts in the next thirty days, I just have to take out my Winner shirt and remember that I CAN DO THIS! I have the power within me and I won’t let anything stop me from or derail me from accomplishing my goal.

So I ask you: What is in your Camp NaNoWriMo or Writing Survival Kit? What helps you to push forward? What do you need to accomplish your writing goals?

Until next time ~

Welcome 2013!

Goodbye 2012 and Hello 2013!

Since today is the last day of 2012, I decided that 2013 was going to be different. I decided that 2013 was going to be my year (well, I actually decided this part earlier but anyway…). This was the year that I accomplish some of my writing goals. Then, I had another great idea. To help my writing and my writing career, I would create a Goal Board (other names for this fun project are Vision Boards, Dream Boards and Look Boards). Since I want to make goals this year, instead of resolutions, mine will be called a Goal Board.

To help me get started, I decided to embrace the technological age and join Pinterest (JLCatz – if you want to come and find me). Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way I had wanted when I first tried it out yesterday, so now I have all these different boards with lots of pictures missing. Oh, well. That’s a project for a different day.

I am going to find all different pictures that embrace my goal as a writer, pin them on Pinterest and then, I will print them out and make a physical Goal Board so that I can see it everyday. What good is a goal if you forget about it? What good is a goal if you’re not reminded of it on a daily basis?

My Goal Board will hang somewhere, where I can see it every day, and remind me of my goal: To be a published author.

I also have some smaller goals and I might create a separate space or another Goal Board for them.

I think that 2013 is going to be a very good year. No, scratch that. I KNOW that 2013 is going to be a GREAT year!

What are your goals for 2013? How do you plan on meeting your goals? What do you use for motivation?

I wish all of you a fantastic 2013 and a safe and healthy New Year that is filled with friendship, love, peace, joy, laughter, tons of books and anything else that helps to make your dreams come true!

Happy New Year and Happy 2013 !! 

Until next year ~

 

12 Things to do Before 2012 Ends

~  12-12-12  ~ 

In honor of 12-12-12, I have created a list of 12 writing/computer things I want to do before that last second of 2012 flies into oblivion and hits the pages of the history books forever.

1. Finish writing my NaNoWriMo novel – December has been a tough month for writing. I needed some recuperation time from November writing spree, I was sick for a while, there were horrible tragedies and the, of course, there is/was the holiday season to get through.

2. Find a (great!) title – I chose a title for my book last month, but I'm not sure if I really like it. It just doesn't seem right and it seems as if it belongs on a different type of book. I'm still playing around with it but I hope to have more ideas once the book is finished.

3. One, two or three books – As I'm continuing my NaNo novel, I keep asking myself: Do I want this to be a standalone book? Do I want a sequel? Do I want a trilogy? Initially, this was just going to be a standalone book. It was pretty much cut and dry. But, as I started writing it, it looked like it was going to expand further than I had originally planned. I really don't want one book to be 500+ pages, for several reasons. So, I have to quickly make this decision so that I have a plan for 2013.

4. Donate to NaNo – For all the good National Novel Writing Month has done for me, I would like to do something to give back. I need to rummage underneath the sofa cushions, check the floorboards, fish around the bottom of my pocketbooks and keep my eyes peeled for loose change in the parking lots. I'm sure I can dig up enough change to earn that halo!

5. Keep blogging – I need to set up a better blogging schedule. I am so envious of the people that are able to blog three or more days a week. That is some dedication, let me tell ya. I think between one and two times a week would be a good start for me. I can work my way up to three and join the big leagues next year.

6. Learn how to use Twitter – I think I am getting a little better at doing this, though I still don't have everything down to a science. What is up with those hashtags? Do people just make them up? How do people find the hashtags that you created? How many are you even supposed to use in one tweet? I read that two or three are a good amount and should be no more than that. I just read a tweet that had ten hashtags! TEN!! Is that allowed? Isn't that overkill?

7. Update my Facebook pages – I've been cheating on this one. I've been using my Twitter account to update my Facebook page. I know, I know, I actually need to post real things on FB. I will really try harder on this one.

8. Internet? What internet? – I have this nasty habit of checking the internet way too often for book details. This isn't necessarily a bad idea, one thing usually leads to another and I wind up looking at a huge laundry list of things when I should be getting back to my writing. Why do people make their information sound so damn interesting so that you just can't help yourself? You just have to click on that one headline, which leads to a different headline, which leads to a completely different idea on the same topic and then some. Ugh! Internet, you are going to be the death of me!

9. STOP PROCRASTINATING!! – Well, this is just too obvious and it certainly needs to follow numbers five, six, seven and eight. Get off the freakin' internet and WRITE!

10. Do not automatically write on the internet – I have lost many blogs, book reviews and comments by writing these things solely on internet pages. Why I keep doing this, I'll never know. I need to put reminders on sticky notes and place them on my computer: Open a Word document first and then write your blog, review, comment, etc. first! Upload to proper webpage second. I only thought of this because my blog is freezing up as I write this, which means I’m probably going to lose this blog. Time to open that Word doc…

11. Get off my butt – I know, I know… the saying is “Butt in chair,” but “butt in chair” leads to several things: a) an overweight writer, b) a cramped writer, c) a writer with horrible back, butt and leg pain from sitting too long, and d) a writer that continuously stares at the same four walls, same computer screen, same objects in a room leads to a writer with limited imagination and limited characterization. I need to get off my butt and explore my surroundings!

12. Enjoy the last days of 2012 – Work, after all, is just work. I definitely need to make time for just myself and to enjoy what life has to offer. My last goal is to do something new; whether is be making a new friend, finding a writing buddy or a critique partner, discovering a new place, generating new ideas or anything else. Because what is life if I’m not learning from what it has to offer and if I’m not enjoying what I’ve been given? I hope to carry this goal into 2013 and learn how to make the most out of my life in every way possible.  :) 


Until next time ~