Flash Nano Update

I’m writing! Since this is the first steady writing to come out of me in a very long time, I’m a bit overly excited about it. I can’t say I’m anywhere close to Nanowrimo word count goals but who cares? Not me.

Six stories in as many days are sitting in my spiral waiting for me to edit them (after Nano is finished). That’s something to celebrate for me. Even better, they don’t all suck. Some do. One, in particular, is complete trash, but I like most of them. Each one gives me something to work with. You can’t make a story great if you don’t have anything written.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to write a piece of flash fiction every day this month but I know I’ll try. Accomplishing this so far gave my confidence a huge boost. The more confidence I have in my ability to write, the more I will write.

Also, I finished a book! It’s the first one in probably a year. I’m halfway through the next. I got so into this one I’ve been reading it while on the elliptical at the gym. In fact, reading while on that machine has enabled me to ignore the clock, and each day I go for a little longer. Bonus!

I feel like I’m getting myself back again. My muse is more active and I’m thinking about stories more often. I was running through ideas while grocery shopping yesterday. When I took a break to eat lunch I ended up writing a very short piece of flash fiction. 121 words, which I will edit down to a 100-word story. The story absolutely had to come out of me right then in the middle of the day while out and about. That hasn’t happened in two years, at least!

So everything is going well. My grand total word count is only 2,872 but it feels like a million. Fingers crossed I’ll have hundreds more to update you on later in the month!

On a side note, I got to use the word ‘haboob’ in a story

Nanowrimo Update

Three thousand, six hundred fifty-two words. Sound low? It is if your goal is to win Nanowrimo. For me, this is a great number. It means I’m writing. I’ve put some words on paper almost every day since the beginning of the month.

Plus, I started out handwriting everything. I only switched to typing last night at my region’s first write-in. So I’m not doing so bad.

Winning would be great but that’s not my goal. My goal is to get back into a regular writing routine. Ideally, I would write at least four days a week. I don’t want to work on my husband’s days off because he has a weird work schedule and we get little time together except those two days a week.

On Saturday my muse thinks it’s time to crawl under a mental rock and hide. It frustrated me at first but now I enjoy having time to myself with no expectations. However, for the rest of this month, I plan to try to write every day, if only for thirty minutes to an hour. Chronic back pain will make it hard, but I if I don’t attempt it, I’ll be disappointed in myself.

I’m trying not to have a word count goal but my brain is stuck on half. If I can reach 25,000 words I’d probably be satisfied.  If I write about 900 words a day I’ll get there.

I’ll post another update on my progress soon.

Nanowrimo Prep and Story Update

For the first time in a while, I’m excited about Nanowrimo. October is prep month. Most years I prep about a week or two before November 1. This time it’s different. As mentioned in my last post, I am working on a writing class from Holly Lisle. My new idea for a story fits in nicely with the course. Even better, is the timing.

The class starts with coming up with an idea, which I already had, then slowly expanding on it. Characters first, then conflict. There are seeds of setting as well but I’m not focusing on that yet.

Where the timing is great is the lesson I’m on, and the next, is I’m starting to write scenes. I don’t know how many I’ll have by the time Nano starts but it will be a great launching point. This class is a long, slow one but it’s perfect for me while doing the crazy competition with myself in November!

At this point, I still don’t think I’ll win Nanowrimo but I know I’ll write more than I have in quite some time. Who knows, I may blow it out of the water.

What I have story wise right now is:

• An interesting protagonist named Reagan
• An antagonist (I’m deciding if he’s interesting)
• An overall villain for the series
• A best friend with a friendship ending secret
• A coworker with an even bigger secret that affects the lives of entire races of supernatural beings
• A father who is not a father
• Ken the Wizard who is not what he seems
• A child in danger
• A bound ghost (which doesn’t look like it fits but does, unless I change my mind)

At least three of those people have memory issues, which is a theme across several stories. Even the ghost might not know who she is, but I have until book three to decide. Sounds excessive right? It is, but there is a good reason for it and it all goes back to one big gem. It’s not precisely a McGuffin. What a lie! In the first book, it kind of is, but only one person is actively trying the get it. No one else knows they need it.

None of the mentioned secrets are revealed in the first book. Right now, I have three strong story ideas so the series will be at least a trilogy. The first book is all about Reagan figuring out what she is and how to master her magic. Also, it’s about her dying her hair a lot. And fruit trees.

The second book is about the aftermath of the person from book one getting that gem. Secrets start coming out and relationships change. There is a lot of anger, recriminations, and lightning.

Book three starts with the ghost and moves on to Reagan discovering the other two secrets and the losses they cause. Also, she might lose her humanity. And there is a satyr.

I’ll keep you all updated as I progress through the story and Nanowrimo. I may overload this blog with word count updates but it helps me with accountability. To anyone else prepping for November, good luck! I’d love to see your updates as well.

 

 

 

 

Write Anything Wednesday #111

It’s a great day to write something, anything! Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Create an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter or as many chapters as you can.

Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write. Grab a timer and experiment working in 10 to 25-minute increments until you find what works best for you. Take small breaks in between to make efficient use of your time while not overwhelming yourself.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day, pick another. Give yourself permission to do what you want at least once a week. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing your passion. Write your heart out!

If you would like a prompt:

• She was fierce for someone so young…
• Write about an animal who is a neat freak.
• Number six on her to do list would be the hardest because she had no clue where to buy a machete.

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #110

It’s a great day to write something, anything! Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Create an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter or as many chapters as you can.

Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write. Grab a timer and experiment working in 10 to 25-minute increments until you find what works best for you. Take small breaks in between to make efficient use of your time while not overwhelming yourself.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day, pick another. Give yourself permission to do what you want at least once a week. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing your passion. Write your heart out!

If you would like a prompt:

• The Great Human Galactic Empire is the biggest, badest, and scariest terror in the cosmos, but not today. Nope, today their computers are down.
• He only thought it would be a relaxing day off…
• Make up a new species!

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #109

It’s a great day to write something, anything! Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Create an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter or as many chapters as you can.

Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write. Grab a timer and experiment working in 10 to 25-minute increments until you find what works best for you. Take small breaks in between to make efficient use of your time while not overwhelming yourself.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day, pick another. Give yourself permission to do what you want at least once a week. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing your passion. Write your heart out!

If you would like a prompt:

• He was proud of his difficult bit of thievery until the stolen sword spoke to him.
• It wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…
• Thank goodness he watched all those Jackie Chan movies as a kid!

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #108

It’s a great day to write something, anything! Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Create an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter or as many chapters as you can.

Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write. Grab a timer and experiment working in 10 to 25-minute increments until you find what works best for you. Take small breaks in between to make efficient use of your time while not overwhelming yourself.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day, pick another. Give yourself permission to do what you want at least once a week. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing your passion. Write your heart out!

If you would like a prompt:

• Three hundred thousand people will die if that child survives…
• Why are all the clocks running backward?
• It was just a prank, so why was he being arrested?

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #107

It’s a great day to write something, anything! Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Create an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter or as many chapters as you can.

Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write. Grab a timer and experiment working in 10 to 25-minute increments until you find what works best for you. Take small breaks in between to make efficient use of your time while not overwhelming yourself.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day, pick another. Give yourself permission to do what you want at least once a week. Don’t feel guilty for prioritizing your passion. Write your heart out!

If you would like a prompt:

• Write a story about a creative way a child pulled his tooth.
• Being a woman on this side of the colony is illegal…
• He saved every penny he ever found, but no one knew until his floor collapsed and they poured into the downstairs neighbor’s bedroom.

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #99

You know the drill, write something. Why? It’s a great day to write and I say why not? Write absolutely anything. Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Make an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter, or as many chapters as you can. Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write.

If you feel stumped grab a timer and do ten minute sprints. The first time you do this might not garner great results but you’ll write more after you get used to it and your muse will shine.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day then pick another. The important thing is to simply write.

If you would like a prompt:

• Make a list of realistic resolutions, then make another list of unrealistic ones.
• He wished he could tell them the world ended back in 2012…
• She smiled when she realized she messed up again.

Happy writing!

Write Anything Wednesday #98

You know the drill, write something. Why? It’s a great day to write and I say why not? Write absolutely anything. Try your hand at flash fiction or write a poem. Make an outline or character sketch. Write a chapter, or as many chapters as you can. Nothing to write about? Try making a list of ideas or free-write.

If you feel stumped grab a timer and do ten minute sprints. The first time you do this might not garner great results but you’ll write more after you get used to it and your muse will shine.

Make Wednesday your weekly no-matter-what writing day. If this isn’t a good day then pick another. The important thing is to simply write.

If you would like a prompt:

• Write a piece about running in place.
• John couldn’t believe this was the afterlife…
• She forgot the most important day of the year.

Happy writing!