Tag: Writing Habits

Nolite te NaNoWriMo Carborundorum!

I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year. Between work and blogging and work and family stuff and work I just didn’t have the time to commit to it properly. And that’s okay. I’ve learned my lesson from past years when I’ve tried to do it just as things were getting crazy and it destroyed me. DO NOT BE DESTROYED, MY BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS. I want to talk to you about this NaNo thing, because it’s something I have a bit of experience doing. I’ve done 10 total NaNoWriMos. While I’ve always hit the word count (#bragging) I’ve also finished 8/10 stories during the month. […]

Posted November 11, 2017 in Writing // 2 Comments //

I am Not Immune to the NaNoBug (but I Have to Wear Bugspray)

I love NaNoWriMo. I love the deadline, and the knowledge of winning. I always win, you see. But I simply can’t do it anymore. Ah, NaNo. We had five glorious years together and produced eight delightful “books”. But yet, that’s the problem. “Books” not books. Because what I write for NaNoWriMo comes from the sputtering of “two thousand words, two thousand words”. It’s not quality. Quite often, it’s rambling. It’s the very worst of “I don’t know where I’m going with this, but hey look, words!!!“. NaNoWriMo has its perks. It forced me to put down stories that had been bouncing around in […]

Posted October 31, 2016 in My Stories, Writing // 0 Comments //

Frosted with Originality: How a Good Story is Like a Good Cupcake

Nobody likes stale cupcakes. My favorite time to eat baked goods is right out of the oven. In fact, it takes a bit of willpower for me to keep myself from trying to frost it as soon as I pop them out of the oven (and sometimes I do anyway). Nothing tastes quite the same as homemade and freshly baked. There’s the anticipation – sneaking tastes of the batter, the sweet smell of the kitchen as they cook. The thrill as the timer beeps. The tease of the cupcakes cooling on the counter. It all leads up to a big, […]

Posted March 27, 2014 in Writing // 0 Comments //

NaNoWriMo, Day One

This is my third calendar year with NaNoWriMo, and my fifth novel (having competed in one of the summer sessions each year since the start). Each year the challenges are a little different. Last summer, I wrote Sprite, which wrote more easily than any other novel I’ve written. I wish I could say it was because I am growing stronger as a writer, but I think it has more to do with the fact I had a plot for June’s novel. As I did for ‘Tweens last November. I have a vague plot for Sparky Jones: Life on Shuffle this year, but I don’t […]

Posted November 1, 2012 in My Stories // 2 Comments //

The Big Payoff

A common misconception among young budding artists is that their big paycheck is gonna be easy-peasy and arrive in the mail within the year, It doesn’t matter if they are painters, singers, actors, or writerse – the conception is always the same: I am going to make it big. The harsh reality is a little bit less favorable. For many young artists, the trove of praising fans will never arrive, irregardless of their level of talent and hard work (and connections, always connections). Sure, it is possible for someone of mediocre talent, no connections, and minimal work to sell a few […]

Posted July 1, 2012 in Thoughts, Writing // 0 Comments //

Maybe There’s an App for That.

I was watching this video by Emily McGregor and I found myself thinking… the internet has an app for everything. Whether it’s a website or a software application, it seems that essentially there’s three different ways to organize everything to your taste. Well, almost. I have yet to find software I like for organizing my writing materials. I tried the free trial of Scrivener and was unimpressed. I have the paid version of Write Way and figured I would “make it work” but it just wasn’t customizable or expansive enough for my personal tastes. I think when it really comes […]

Posted May 11, 2012 in Writing // 0 Comments //