Tips and Trick to Help the NaNoWriMo Process

Tips and Trick to Help the NaNoWriMo Process

So we're on day 4 of NaNoWriMo and we've already had a weekend to contend with. How's it going? Are the words flowing, or is it being a pain? I've won NaNo six times now and some years were so much harder than others!

For some, starting a novel is the hardest part. The idea is there in our heads, but trying to form it into something that makes sense on paper is difficult. And of course there is the really big question, where do we start in the first place.

There is a lot of theory on where a writer should start a novel, and I'm not going into all that, all I am here to say is:

Don't worry where you started, just keep going!

One of the key things to remember with NaNo is it doesn't matter how much terrible material we add to our novel, it's all about getting the words down. We can edit later, but we can't edit what doesn't exist. Sometimes the getting there is actually the important part, and it's definitely true with NaNo.

We are not aiming for a perfectly finished novel at the end of November, we are aiming for something that can be crafted into our perfect novel.

How to Get to the End and Win NaNo

Now I've mentioned some of these before, but I think they are worth reiterating, these are my tips for winning NaNoWriMo:

• Write more when possible - If we have time to write a little extra one day, do it. Sometimes it can be a struggle just to get to the daily total, but if it's not and it's a great writing day, exploit it. Getting ahead will boost our confidence and helps our motivation.🌠
• Be mindful of burn out - That being said, we should be careful not to burn ourselves out. If we write too hard and too fast we may find we run out of steam part way through the month.💨
• Try not to stress - On the other end of the spectrum, if we miss a day, we should try not to let it make us anxious and worried. That is usually counter productive. If you're like me, having a deadline is great motivation, but worrying about it constantly is a total creative wipeout. We need to find the balance where we can give ourselves a little slack.😔
• Make up any deficit quickly - A counter point to this is, try not to get too far behind. We all need the odd day or two off, but we should try and make up the word count we have missed as soon as possible. It may take a couple of days of adding on some more words to the daily tally, but we should try to do it asap. This is because, no matter how we tell ourselves not to worry, we probably will.⌨️
• Be generous with ourselves - We should reward ourselves when we hit a target. A cup of tea, a snack, a bubble bath - depending on the achievement. Positive reinforcement is a great way to keep up the motivation.🍪
• Break it down - sometimes the daily word target can seem utterly huge even though we know we've done it before. It can really help if we break down the total number into smaller sections. 100 words is nothing, and 200 isn't much more, so if the words are being a royal pain, set each smaller target and break up the process. It's amazing how fast the target can be reached.⚒️
• Get support - if we're feeling isolated and demotivated, talking to other people can really help. Find some buddies on the NaNo site, join in the NaNo groups, tell all your friends and get them to cheer you on. It can all be so useful.🤗

And there you have it, my tips for not going bonkers when trying to hit the 50K target. And remember, we write because we enjoy it (really we do😜) - have fun! 😊

Best of luck to all writers having a go this year, whether it is your first time or your tenth. I hope your words flow and your plot evolves.

Anyone else have words of wisdom to add?

NaNoWriMo - Who's taking up the challenge this year?

NaNoWriMo

Who's taking up the challenge this year?

November has come round again, which can mean only one thing: NaNoWriMo.

Who's doing it this year?

I have a project I want to finish, so I am completely in this year. It's not a novel, but a series of novellas that I want to get done and dusted, which I figure counts too as long as I get to the 50K. In my case I actually want to get to more like 70K, but we shall see - as long as I get to 50K I will be happy.

I have my spreadsheets ready and my keyboard primed. Spent this morning doing everything else I needed to get done so that this afternoon I can just get writing.

NaNoWriMo.org has had a nice looking revamp since I was there last. The only thing I found a little odd, was that updating the word count does not seem as prominent as it used to be. It seems to be only a little plus in the header bar. Took me a while to find it, but that could just be pure incompetence on my part 😂.

However, I really like the profile and header image stuff we can now have. 💖

Good luck to everyone who is leaping in - may your words flow and your count increase!

Forgot to add - this is me https://nanowrimo.org/participants/tashaddrake if you would like to be buddies.

Good luck to all those doing NaNoWriMo

It's day one of NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month when thousands of writers make it their goal to write 50K or more words throughout November.

This year I am passing on NaNo and the whole starting a new novel thing. I've chosen to concentrate on short stories for various projects, and finishing the editing/formatting of my existing novels so they are ready for paperback in time for Christmas. I've written my first 2K today on one short story, so all is going well from my end so far.

But I wish all those going for the 50K lots of luck and perseverance.

Remember to:

• Pace yourself.
• Reward yourself.
• Don't punish yourself if you miss a day here and there.
• & Have fun!

May the words flow, the inspiration take you, and the pesky details line up in perfect order.

To NaNo or Not to NaNo - That is Always the Question

To NaNo or Not to NaNo - That is Always the Question

I know, it's only September, but this is the time of year I usually start planning for NaNo. Well that's if I have a plan. A time or two I have just jumped in and hoped for inspiration.

Just in case you don't know what I'm talking about NaNo is NaNoWriMo - or National Novel Writing Month and happens every November. The idea is to write a novel of at least 50K words in a month. There is a website and lots of things to help you achieve your goal as well as having other events through the year to help you actually polish the novel.

I usually use November to start a new book and get it well on it's way or to finish one that I have just started. I have also used it for fanfic projects.

NaNo is a great way for those of us with a procrastination problem to focus and get things done. The daily word counts etc are very useful as a gentle reminder to get our posteriors in gear :). If you haven't tried it before I recommend giving it a go. It's the perfect help for getting the first draft down since the idea is not to perfect the text, but just to get it on paper.

However...

After some thought, this year I have decided not to do NaNo. First and foremost my choice is based on the fact I don't have a new novel I want to finish at the moment. Instead I have decided to take November to finish the rewrite of Cat's Call and the re-formatting of Cat's Creation and Cat's Confidence so they are ready for paperback in time for Christmas.

I had hoped to have them ready long before this, but let's just say life got in the way and leave it at that. The new covers are done at least :).

When I read through the books to start editing them for paperback the first thing that was blatantly obvious was that the first half of Cat's Call just doesn't have the same flow as the latter half or the other two books. Hence I am rewriting it and Cat's Call will get its second edition. It will be the same story, just smoothed out with the help of my editor :). One of the advantages of it being an eBook until now is that I can make the changes and everyone who already has a copy will be automatically updated.

I'm going to be using a lot of paper in November, but I promise to recycle it. As I learned with Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse, the only way to do a final proof read is to print it out and go through with a red pen. The number of typos, extra spaces etc that slip through if very surprising.

I also want to use November to get a head start on lots of the short stories for Free Fiction Friday. On the first Friday of every month we're giving away a free short story to our Wittegen Press Newsletter members. All the details are here if you would like to know more. If you would like to see what stories have been posted so far click here to see the Free Fiction Friday tag.

Are you doing NaNo this year? Do you find the camaraderie and word count useful? What tips do you have to beat procrastination?

I Won #NaNoWriMo :)

I made my 50K total today and so I was able to validate my novel.

Defence, Pretence, Offence is actually 152,500 words at the mo, but I only wrote 50K so far this time round.

The first 10 chapters are almost ready for posting, which has me all excited. It's only taken me 12 years to be close to finishing this fanfic. I'm so looking forward to actually sharing it with everyone.

For those who have not heard the tale, I originally wrote Gold Tinted Spectacles (AO3, Watpadd), which this is the sequel to, back in 2003. I immediately started on the sequel, but stalled at approximately 50K. It has since languished in my Harry Potter folder, being looked at wistfully every now and then.

Last year I decided to dig it out for NaNo and completed another 50K, but again stalled thanks to December being completely nuts, and original work taking precedence after that.

This year I was determined to finish it. I haven't quite managed it yet, but there are only odd scenes left to write and a few things to fix, so it's nearly there :).

To everyone still racing to get to 50K before the end of the month, best of luck

 KEEP GOING - YOU CAN DO IT!

NaNoWrimo - The End is in Sight

So we are well on our way to the end of November and the end of NaNoWriMo. You can already vaildate your novel if you're way ahead of the game :).

I hope all your novels are coming along well. Here are just a few things to remember to help you to get to the end and your 50K.

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• If you've written yourself into a corner - DON'T WORRY
  Go back to where you think it started to go off track and rewrite from there - JUST DON'T DELETE ANYTHING.
  Editing comes later and it may be that there are elements to both versions that you will be able to edit together. You still wrote the words so they still count - no one says the novel has to be publishable by Nov 30th.
• It's always harder to finish the month, but PERSEVERE
  You've got this far, don't give up. The shiny has rubbed off, you probably hate bits of your novel, but y'know what? You've managed to write it so far. You can manage to finish the month and get your 50K words on the page and your NaNo badge on your blog. If you have to, write random scenes - the achievement of winning will boost your enthusiasm again so you can turn the novel into something great.
• If you are behind, don't give up yet.
  Try and write a few extra words every day - you will be surprised how quickly they mount up.
• Finding the word total every day daunting now the initial boost is gone?
  Write in 100 or 200 word segments. It takes no time at all to put down 100 words, you can do it in five mins here or there. Do that 16 times in a day and you have your daily word count.
• Remember to keep rewarding yourself!
  This can really help with the final push. When you make your total in a sitting, be it the full word count or a smaller one in a smaller sitting - give yourself a treat. The other day my word count was like pulling teeth - I told myself if I finished by lunch time I could watch Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carol while eating said lunch - it worked :)
• Remember, writing is a great achievement. You're doing brilliantly.
• Also remind yourself that some professional writers take years to finish a book, even if you only manage to write half of yours, you are awesome!
• Don't worry about the nitty gritty, don't worry about the details that don't quite fit.
  Everything can be sorted in the editing stage. Your job now is to get those words out. I just realised that my timeline is shot in one small part of the story, but I'll sort that out later. Perfection will come when I have time to think about it ;).

NaNo Writers, Cheerleaders and everyone else involved, you're all marvellous and don't you forget it.

Good luck to everyone headed for the finish line.

Have you finished already? Are you way behind? Are you just ticking along nicely? LMK

#NaNoWriMo - The Awesome Way to Get the Words Down

So who's doing NaNoWriMo this year?

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For those wondering what I am talking about - NaNoWriMo is where lots of writers come together and try and write 50K words during the month of November. It's great for motivation because everyone else is feeling the same pain :).

If you are doing NaNo and want to be friends, I'm over here:

beren_writes

As ever I am using NaNo to finish a project I have been meaning to finish all year and haven't had the focus for. For some reason in NaNo I can do that an everything else I'm supposed to do - I can make no excuses for my brain.

I'm finishing up my Harry Potter Fanfic: Defence, Pretence, Offence, which I wrote 50K for last year, taking it up to 100K and never got round to completing, even though I kept wanting to. It's the sequel to my epic Gold Tinted Spectacles :).

Have you had a go at NaNo before? Did you win?

Are you having a go this year? What are you writing?

Do you think you might like to have a go at NaNo?

My tips for making it through are these:

• Write a little extra in the week if you can because often weekends are full of social events/family time etc.
• Don't be afraid to write out of order - if you get stuck on one part, jot down the notes you have in your head and then continue the next part of the story, or an entirely different part, as long as it gets your writing.
• Don't worry about the quality, get the words down and worry about editing in December.
• If you miss a day, make the word count up as quickly as possible - there is nothing more disheartening than seeing yourself get more and more behind.
• Tell everyone what you're doing and get them cheering for you - there's nothing like support.
• Don't burn yourself out too quickly - pace yourself.
• Give yourself rewards when you make your word count to reinforce the enjoyment.

What tips help you make it through?

I did it - woohoo! 50K FTW

Sorry, no Fan Friday today because I'm too busy crowing :) I finished NaNoWriMo today after I hit 50K on my Harry Potter fanfic, Defence, Pretence, Offence.

Well, technically I hit 100K because I had 50K before I started, and I still have more to write, in fact a lot more, but I still won NaNoWriMo :).

I honestly have no idea how long it's going to be in the end. I have 46 chapters at the moment, but I'm not sure if it will grow any more of if some will be combined. Only five of those chapters are still complete outlines, with nothing to pad them out, so I'm doing quite well. I just have the really tricky bits to finish up - the stuff I have to do some serious research for and the sex scenes :).

Coming Soon

777 Challenge - Page 7, Line 7, 7 Sentences - #WriterlyWednesdays 14

This is convenient :) I was tagged in the 777 challenge just as I was trying to decide what to write my post about today :).

777 Challenge

Page 7, Line 7, 7 Sentences

The 777 challenge requires you go to Page 7 of your work-in-progress, scroll down to Line 7 and share the next 7 sentences in a blog post. Once you have done this, you can tag 7 other bloggers to do the same with their work-in-progress. (see further down for those tagged)

I was tagged by J Lenni Dorner :)

I'm going to cheat a little since I have two WiPs currently on the go every day. One is my NaNo fanfic and one is the new novel I am working on.

So my NaNo novel is "Defence, Pretence, Offence" a Harry Potter fanfic which is a sequel to my epic "Gold Tinted Spectacles". In this scene Draco is making overtures of friendship to his Slytherin housemates, whom he has been estranged from for some time.

For a few moments Harry watched his lover walk away and admired the striking figure Draco made striding across the room, and then he followed him. It wasn't as if they were attached at the hip anymore, but possibly they were on a finite piece of elastic.

"Pansy, Greg," Draco greeted politely as soon as he was acknowledged.

If Harry had interpreted his soulmate's lectures on the etiquette of these situations correctly, Draco's opening indicated that he was comfortable with the situation and quite pleased by it. From the way Pansy relaxed slightly and Goyle shifted his feet, he was pretty sure that the pair were relieved and somewhat surprised at their peer's acceptance.

"I'm glad I am not the only Slytherin representative," Draco continued conversationally, "if they were only training Gryffindors the whole place would blow up by lunch time."

"Give us some credit, Draco," Harry joined in and smoothly insinuated himself into the Slytherin gathering; "I think we'd at least make it until tea time."

Then there is the my current novel WiP which is called "Ellie Grange and The Mythical Space Diamond" - think female Indiana Jones in space :). Ellie and Lance (her AI) have just completed a mission and have been forced into a face to face meeting with the clients - who happen to be alien royalty.

No ordinary client would set up a meeting at one of those places; they cost a fortune.

"We're here, Darling," Lance told her as she went over her personal recordings from the mission, "ooh and we're being treated like royalty; straight in, no waiting around."

"Oh god, this is going to be awful," she bemoaned.

She liked to remain mysterious, not end up at face to face diplomatic functions. Her fame was unavoidable, but she preferred to maintain a reputation for distance and aloofness. Lance did a very good job of making sure most pictorial evidence was scrambled, but he wasn't omnipotent and these things just bred snooping journalist types.

"Interesting," Lance said as Ellie prepared to leave VR and get ready to disembark; "you're being met."

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So there you have it, my current WiPs. And now on to those I am tagging:

• Sophie Duncan (@thwax | Sophie's Thoughts and Fumbles)
• A.Catherine.Noon (@acatherinenoon | Website)
• Rachel E. Twiss (@wildvictorian | Website)
• Elfflame (AO3 | Insanejournal)
• Subtlemagic (NaNo | LJ)
• zellieh (NaNo | Dreamwidth)
• Fyredancer (NaNo | LJ)

These are all some of my writing buddies over at the NaNoWrimo site. I look forward to seeing their WiPs :D

I hope everyone is having a lot of fun with their NaNos/WiPs and are well on track.

8 Tips on How to Survive NaNoWriMo Sane (Mostly) - #TipsTuesdays 11

When I was sitting down thinking about what topic to cover in this post it suddenly occurred to me the NaNo has just started and so I had to pick that. These are my tips on how to survive and thrive.

8 Tips on How to Survive NaNoWriMo Sane (Mostly)

So I have been doing NaNoWriMo for several years now since 2011 (my NaNo page beren_writes). What this insanity is, for those not in the know, is a whole host of writers coming together in a bid to each write 50,000 wrds of a novel in 30 days.

For some this is apparently incredibly easy, for others it looks like an impossible task. However, for the majority I think it's simply a challenge. I find it very good for focusing the mind on the task and finishing things I have been meaning to finish for a while. Which is why I do it.

Here are my tips for surviving November as sane as you went in:

1. Pick something you really want to write.
   Last year was the first year I actually just went for something completely new that I hadn't been thinking about for a while and it didn't really work for me. I made it, but only just, and I didn't enjoy the challenge anywhere near as much. I also haven't touched the piece since because I ended up hating it. Some people like to go in completely fresh, but I find it is much better to go in with something that has been percolating in my brain for a while.
2. Don't let yourself get behind.
   The NaNo site gives you a very handy daily word count to achieve and shows you how you are doing. Do your very best to reach this total every day. You can afford to miss a day here or there, but always make sure you make it up the next day. Seeing yourself behind is disheartening and can be the worst cause of lack of productivity in my experience.
3. Make that cup of coffee first, close all your web browsers.
   When you are going to write remove possible distractions. Have your cup of coffee sitting there so you don't decide to go off an make one. Close all other windows on your computer so you don't end up starting mindlessly at your twitter client. Brains are unruly places so it's best not to give them options when you are trying to plot :).
4. Don't force yourself to write from beginning to end if it isn't working.
   Sometimes you hit a spot in a story where writing words is like pulling teeth. If you need to, put in a little marker and skip it. It is always easier to fill in holes in a scene or chapter when you have the rest, than to bang your head against the keyboard at a really tough part. I never write a story from beginning to end anyway, but the principle holds at the smallest level of scenes as well as the top level of the whole thing.

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5. Let the inspiration flow.
   You may have planned your novel completely and yet your characters are telling you they want to go on a side trip. Let them. NaNo is about writing. If you have to edit half of it out next month, don't worry, you never know what gem you might be producing that actually helps the plot.
6. Listen to music or white noise while you write.
   Sound can keep that unruly part of your brain that's stopping you concentrating occupied while you work. I like music, but that's too intrusive for some people, so white noise type sounds work better. Some kind soul on Tumblr gathered a list of sites that can provide such noise here at this link. Experiment with what works best for you.
7. Reward yourself.
   When you reach your daily word count, pat yourself on the back, give yourself a little reward. Eat the Ferrero Roche that has been taunting you all day. Make yourself the cup of hot chocolate you have been craving. Go and read that web site you've been avoiding while you write. Just do something to tell yourself, well done.
8. Tell everyone who will listen how well you are doing.
   Use the word count widgets they give you, post to your blog, your LJ, your Tumblr, your Facebook and tell the world what you are achieving. Crow about your word count and wish other NaNo'ers luck. It will make you feel good and help you stay motivated.

If you are the new Enid Blyton then 50K words in a month is nothing, but for many people, such focused creativity on one output is very difficult. But don't be put off, it can be so very rewarding and fun as well. People go into NaNo every year who don't think they can do it and they pull it off.

Good luck one and all - YOU CAN DO IT!

Do you have any tips for focus and productivity?

NaNoWriMo - Top 5 Reasons To Have A Go - #WriterlyWednesdays 12

Hello and welcome to Writerly Wednesdays 12 and my topic today of NaNoWrimo - National Novel Writing Month. If you would like to do a guest post for Writerly Wednesdays I would love to host you, all I ask is that the post have something to do with writing, be it your book(s) (book tours or a one off are fine) or something else - all Bloggers and Authors welcome. Just fill in this Writerly Wednesdays form and I will get back to you.

NaNoWriMo - Top 5 Reasons To Have A Go

Never heard of NaNoWriMo? It's very simple, the idea is to write a 50k word novel during the month of November. They also have a Young Writers Program, for those under the age of 17.

If you've never done it before that probably sounds like a hell of a lot of words, even to a professional writer that can look like a lot of words for one month, but NaNo is a great way to get those words flowing. Some people probably think it's silly, but I think everyone should have a go and here's why.

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1. Community
   Sometimes writing is a lonely life. You sit at your desk or with your laptop and you type away all by yourself. There is no one to help, no one to cheer you on. Not with NaNo. With NaNo there is a whole community out there cheering you on. If you join up at the NaNoWriMo website you can link to thousands of other people doing just what you're doing. You can find your home region and sign up with them - you'll get updates from your regional representative and your word count will go to their total. Some regions organise meet ups for during November so you can even get together in person and talk about the woes of writing.
   
   Even if your novel ends up in a file somewhere never to see the light of day again - you could make some friends :).
   
2. Word Count
   I don't know about you, but sometimes I get a little discouraged that I'm never going to finish something. With NaNo there is a word count right there to show how close you are and it tells you how many words you need to write every day to meet your target. It is awesome for keeping you focused.
   
   Quick Tip: If you're writing in Word and not starting with a blank document you'll already have a word count that isn't actually part of your novel (or if you have a few thousand words already on which you plan to build). I create a spreadsheet in Excel and put this number in it before I start, then use a formula to find out what my word count actually is so I don't have to manually work out what to put in at the NaNo word count prompt every day.
   
   
   As you can see my spreadsheet is a little more complex than a simple subtraction, but that's just because I use it at other times during the year too.

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3. Personal Encouragement
   Even if you choose not to interact with the community on NaNo, there are little personal encouragements that make you feel a little better during the sometimes hard slog. There are personal achievement badges that you collect yourself and then there are Participation badges that update as you do things in the system. At all point the NaNo experience is designed to encourage you at a personal level.
   
   They even have word count widgets you can post to your blog as you go along to show your progress to all your readers.
   
   Sometimes all you need to keep going is something to make you smile, or something that says, well done, you've made this target. The NaNo badges are very good for that.
   
4. Freebies
   NaNo has sponsors and if you succeed in writing you 50k words their sponsors will give you coupons and things like that as well - they'll even give you some discounts for just participating. This in includes things like 50% off Scrivener for all NaNo winners and 20% off for all participants (I prefer yWriter, which is free anyway, but Scrivener is a great prog, trusted by many writers and was designed for Mac) and there are advance memberships for other things and more money off vouchers, all designed to help you eventually get your book to market.
5. Achievement and Shouting About It
   There is nothing quite like seeing that word count tick over the 50K and knowing you have done it. The sense of achievement is amazing and it can really help to boost your moral and keep you writing. I have never finished a novel for NaNo, but I have succeeded in writing my 50K for the last four years. Out of that I have ended up with 3 finished novels with just a little bit more work.
   
   NaNo will give you a badge for your website, so you can shout about the fact you've done it and they also give you a certificate and options to buy various winner merchandise. It makes you feel just a bit special :).
   
   
   If you are wondering what the little halo on the year means - it's because I donated to NaNo, but that's completely optional.

My Goal This Year

This year I don't have a new novel to work on because I'm at the point of nearly finishing what I am working on at the moment. I don't want to interrupt that flow, so I'm not doing an original novel for NaNo, I have decided to do fanfiction. Way back in 2003 I published a Harry Potter fanfiction called Gold Tinted Spectacles, a 163K word epic. It was quite popular and I started writing a sequel which people have been patiently waiting for ever sine, but I've had 50K of it sitting around all this time, not doing anything. I've decided to use NaNo to try and finish it. It's called "Defence, Pretence, Offence" and please keep your fingers crossed for me :).

If anyone would like to become writing buddies, this is me over on the NaNo site: beren_writes.

Are you a NaNoer? If not, do you think you might have a go?

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There is still plenty of time to sign up for the Share a Scare Halloween Blog Hop. It will run on the 31st October as you would expect, but now is the time to sign up.

Have something a little bit scary to share? All bloggers, authors and artists welcome. Just click the link to see all the details:

Share a Scare - A Halloween Blog Hop

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All Authors might also be interested in this blog hop. The Trick-or-Treat blog hop is run by the lovely Patricia Lynne and the idea is to give away free books to trick-or-treaters visiting your blog.

Trick-or-Treat Blog Hop

NaNo Win! and the study is almost complete :)

So first we have this *points up*. There were times this month when I really didn't think I was going to finish. It was right down to the wire.

1. I had a really nasty cold, which, I kid you not, turned me into a zombie for about a week. I barely managed to write a couple of thousand words.
2. Last Thursday, just when I was trying to get back on track I fell over in the shower and bruised and jarred my left side which made sitting still and writing somewhat fun for 2 days.
3. My parents-in-law rang up and asked if they could come for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, they're lovely, but that meant most of the weekend was spent with family rather than deep in novel land.

Hence by Friday evening I was pretty sure I wasn't going to reach 50K and I almost gave up, but then I decided to give it one last go. It's funny, my stats on the site make it look as if I wrote almost 20K yesterday, but it was actually just that I was so disappointed that I might not finish I stopped filling it in until I was almost there :).

I'm pretty sure half the stuff I wrote yesterday is crap and is coming straight back out again or being heavily reworked, but at least it's in the machine :).

Well done to everyone else who finished too.

The Study

Our study is very nearly finished. The only things left to do are the hearth in front of the fire, for which we have all the bits, Rob just needs to work his magic, and half the door frame which had to be filled so didn't get painted at the same time as the other half.

This is a panoramic view of the end wall and the right side. You can see how it lays out, but unfortunately Rob's phone couldn't get the whole walls in :). Click to see it bigger.

This is of the end wall so you can see the cupboard, which was the final part we put in. We have always had a cupboard on that wall, but it was old fashioned and too shallow to be of any use, so we have extended it outwards using the same system as the shelves (they have an amazing catalogue).

This is what it looks like in daylight and looking at the end and left wall.

This is standing in front of the bookcase looking back at the doorway. That stylish picture on the wall came from Range - was £12.99 ;).

And finally for the room, this is the view of the corner along from the door. As you can see we need to put something on the walls :) It's the exercise corner.

Of course it wasn't quite complete so we also bought a rug and a bean bag chair (which is remarkably comfortable :)). We just need to get some anti-slip for the rug because it tends to move, although we could not have found a better size if we had custom ordered it.

All that was left was something for me to be able to reach the top shelves and Rob found these on eBay :)

The steps are made of yew and the frame is made of pine and they were hand made in the east end of London 40 years ago. They have been living in a dry cellar ever since. As you can see Rob has cleaned the top step just to see what colour it would come out, but the rest still need doing. I have tried them out and they are awesome - just high enough, but not too high so that unstable me can fall off and do some damage :).

This has now become my favourite room in the house. Book! :)

So who else has finished NaNo? How do you store you books these days?

NaNoWriMo - Update 4 and D.I.Y. Update

Sorry, I forgot to post NaNoWirmo Updates 1,2 and 3 here, but you can see them over at my Livejournal if you would like :).

As you can see from my graphic, my progress had been a little up and down. I am currently ~400wds behind thanks to my missed days (both the yellow ones were only about 200wrd days and red was none at all :)). However, I finally know who the murderer is! Yay!

For those who haven't seen my other updates, I was bemoaning the fact that I knew who all the players were in the novel, but I didn't know which one of them had committed the murder. For those who have seen nothing of me wittering on about NaNo at all, my novel is as follows:

Mirabel's Bad Day and Beyond (Working Title)

Miri, or Mirabel if you're her mother, is a very powerful witch. When she wakes up on an obnoxiously bright morning she knows it's going to be a bad day. First of all her familiar, Ran, has decided being a cat is no longer interesting enough and has taken to walking around as a naked young man. Not good for her equilibrium, not good at all. Then she bumps into a friend, Ed Hanson, she hasn't seen in five years and she starts feeling the witch's mating urge. Think hornier than Sid James in a Carry On film, only worse. Being a demisexual with few close friends, this is kind of new and confusing.

Oh and her next door neighbour has been murdered, which might be a problem.

The idea is growing as I write and changing a little bit, but the basic premise is still there :). The time line is different, but it's still a murder mystery and Miri is still a witch with something of a personal magical problem. I'm having a lot of fun with it as the universe evolves.

D.I.Y.

I helped lay underlay last night! I know, this might not be news for anyone else, but I am completely D.I.Y. incompetent and I actually managed to help Rob without messing anything up. In fact I actually came up with some sensible suggestions.

The flooring you can see in the picture isn't actually laid yet, it's just in place to make sure we didn't choose really badly and need to go and exchange all the packs we bought for something else :).

The underlay is actually thermal and you can see from the roll sitting to the top of the picture it looks quite space age when you can see the metal surface. We've laid 2/3rds of it, but we can't do the rest until we've put the floor down on the first part and can move the weights machine to where it will be in the room.

As you can see from this second picture, now we have taken out the old carpet and old lino that was on top of it, we actually have a rather nice old wooden floor. Unfortunately we learnt last time we uncovered one of the floors that they may look pretty, but they make for a very cold house.

The floors are open to the elements looking straight under the house and they have gaps between the boards. This means cold winds come straight in. Hence the thermal underlay and the laminate flooring to go on top :).

Almost NaNoWriMo time - yay!

NaNoWriMo is almost here!

This year I actually have a strong idea of what I'm writing before November 1st - so yay! I've decided to do something completely new that I think will make a good 50k book, rather than what I usually do, which is write 50k of a longer book.

My working title is:

Mirabel's Bad Day and Beyond

and this is my synopsis:

Miri, or Mirabel if you're her mother, is a very powerful witch. When she wakes up on an obnoxiously bright morning she knows it's going to be a bad day. First of all her familiar, Ran, has decided being a cat is no longer interesting enough and has taken to walking around as a naked young man. Not good for her equilibrium, not good at all. Then she bumps into a friend, Ted Hanson, she hasn't seen in five years and she starts feeling the witch's mating urge. Think hornier than Sid James in a Carry On film, only worse. Being a demisexual with few close friends, this is kind of new and confusing.

Oh and her next door neighbour has been murdered, which might be a problem.

I have ideas so far about Mirabel, her mother and a little bit about the murder, but not a lot else. The idea came to me while lying in bed the other day and I think it's a good one for just writing by the seat of my pants (which I often do anyway ;)) and should flow for NaNo.

The camaraderie of NaNo is always so much fun. Lots of authors all doing the same thing at the same time. If you would like to become writing buddies I'm beren_writes over there.

So, who else is doing NaNoWriMo this year? Do you know what you are writing yet? Do you make lots of preparations?

I did it, I won NaNoWriMo :D

And I'm a couple of days early this year - yay. The novel isn't complete yet, it's going to end up about 70-80k wds I think, but the main body 50k is now there. I'm going to keep doing the daily word count thing in Dec to finish it, but I have a couple of other things I need to get to before I do that.

I've really enjoyed Nano this year. I've had such fun with this novel, learning who the characters are, creating their universe and adding in everything they need for their adventure. I know there are a couple of small things I need to change, but other than that I'm really happy with it.

Eli and Lance have really come to life and I like them a lot. Considering that they have spent two years wallowing in the ideas folder I'm ecstatic on the way they are turning out. I should have started writing them ages ago!

Still haven't thought of a title though. So far the only one I have it "Diamond of the Apocalypse", but I think that might be over dramatic :). Not sure though - I am sure it will come to me eventually.

NanoWriMo - day 2 - going well do far :)

So nano is going well so far. I have completed my word count for both days and have lots of ideas to keep going. At this point I am pacing myself because I don't want to burn out. The novel idea is still percolating in the back of my brain so I don't want to run out of what I know before the rest has had a chance to grow :).

Was nattering to Rob about it over breakfast this morning and he gave me a wonderful idea for the spaceship :).

Hope everything is going well for all my NanoWriMo friends too.

BTW if anyone wants a copy of my variable Nano spreadsheet it's here: Word Count Spreadsheet.

It does the same things as the Nano stats page, but allows you to have:

• a variable number of days, 
• a variable word count 
• a total before start date (so if you have some scenes already written that are not part of your word count you don't have to try and remember to take that off every time you update your total).

Here's a screen grab of what the sheet looks like.