Conquérir (Surviving NaNoWriMo #5)

I won NaNoWriMo.
Not only did I win, but I finished my novel about two days after I actually hit 50k.
The first draft of The Fate Machine clocks in at nearly 57k, which is small for a novel but really good given my track record.
I shall document my experience in .gifs.

When I first heard about NaNoWriMo, my initial reaction was along the lines of, "no stinking way."

"50k words in a month? You're crazy."

However, this period in my life didn't last. As I looked at the breakdown and figured logically, suddenly this task sounded doable. I began to think "There is a chance I can do this!"

So I, brave soul I am, clicked the fateful "sign up" button.

Thus began the madness.

I had to finish my current first draft, along with outlining a brand new one.

The good thing was that I did have a story. I had characters and some semblance of a plot and a goal and main idea. I had all the basic ingredients. I just needed to put them in order.

I am not an organized person. One look at my room will tell you that.

I don't like outlining because it forces me to slow down and put things in order; it constrains my creativity. But it must be done, and so I did it.

I never did complete that outline, but I did come to a point where I felt it was 'good enough'.

I still had a few days until NaNoWriMo, which were spent reading, blogging, and worrying.

When November first rolled around, I was ready.

I was prepared to write and I understood that 1,667 words were a lot, but I really enjoyed myself.

I would get up at 6:15, take a fifteen minute shower, and then write until 8:00. Normally I would also eat breakfast at that time or talk to my daddy, whom I don't see much, so I could get anywhere from 500 to 1000 words at a session like that. I also wrote throughout the day; normally at college or just in my bedroom.

Honestly, NaNoWriMo wasn't that hard.

Yes; I know. It really should have been difficult. I mean, 50k in a month?

But, for me, it wasn't. I never really struggled. I just wrote, I exceeded my goal every single day and hit the goal over a week early. I suppose it's just because I have a lot of free time, but NaNoWriMo never gained an impossible feel to it. I wrote and I wrote everyday. I wrote a lot everyday.

So I beat it. So I won.

A few days later, I finished my entire rough draft. It stopped at an odd point, thanks to the fact that the beginning of my book needs to happen at the end, so the end was really somewhere in the middle... anyway.

The book is, as a rough draft, completed.

Because I was so pumped from NaNo, because I felt like I could do anything, I decided I would straightaway begin editing.

To sum up:

I finished my second rough draft of a book

I won NaNoWriMo

I now embark on the wonderful journey of editing this book and making it worth reading. Expect more posts on my editing process in the days to come.

This officially concludes the "Surviving NaNoWriMo" series, as I am not adding any new words to my book at this point. Look for the "Aftermath" series on book editing to come next!

How has your NaNoWriMo experience been/are you planning on participating next year? Tell me in the comments!

Optimism (Survivng NaNoWriMo #4)

Hello all! You might have noticed that I have hit the 50k goal for NaNoWriMo, which makes me very happy. Expect a celebratory post at the end of the month/whenever I actually finish this rough draft. 50k and going strong for maybe 5k more!

Anyway, tonight I'm feeling a bit down and I find the best thing to do when I'm a little sad is to encourage other people. There's nothing better. :)

Some Much Needed Positivity

I am an optimist. Truly. I believe in hoping for the best, and I am something of an idealist. However, sometimes I get burnt out. For instance, a few days ago I sat across the table from my mom at a local Pizza Hut and proposed that instead of going to college I would like to buy an airstream and move out into the middle of the woods with nothing but a cat, a laptop, some clothes, and some food. My optimism failed a little there, overwhelmed by the options and obstacles that seem so insurmountable.

I do the same with my writing. I am a person who easily will give up on things, less so now than I used to be, but still prone to lapse back into the "I'm done" mindset. Some days, this .gif sums up my life.

As I have said before, at heart, I am Bilbo Baggins.

I digress. A few days ago I stumbled upon some lovely Pinterest posts tagged "Writer Positivity". These little gems are what they advertise themselves as: little pieces of sunshine for struggling writers. They truly brightened my day, and inspired me. I want to pass a little bit of that inspiration on to you.

One day you're going to be someone's favorite author.

When they're listing off people who have made a difference in their life, you'll be one of the first names to come up.

Someone out there will list you as their inspiration.

Someone out there will clutch your book as close to their heart as they can. Someone will hold it tight and never let it go because you know what?

They know now that someone understands them.

They open those pages and they realize that they are not alone. They lose themselves in your story because that's the one place they feel they are found. 

Some of them will rave to others about your book, saying "You simply have to read this book!"

Some of them will say nothing at all, but your book will always sit on their nightstand, waiting for them if they ever can't sleep at night because they feel unloved.

People will shed tears over your book. People will go on Tumblr and type angry rants because they love your book so much.

Someone will squeal just thinking about the next book you're going to write.

One day someone is going to email you, telling you just what that book you wrote means to them.

"You changed my life."

"You inspired me to write."

"You gave me hope."

You'll email back, unable to believe that your story, the story you nearly gave up on, could touch someone's heart so deeply.

When they see your name in the email inbox, their hands will begin to shake with excitement.

Because you will mean so much to that person.

One day you'll be signing books. 

You'll be tired and your hand will hurt from gripping a pen. Maybe you'll be on your phone checking the weather. Maybe you'll be about to go for lunch.

Someone will walk up to your table, holding your book and smiling at the ground.

"Hello."

They'll nod in reply, trying to speak but unable. They may stammer something about how much they love your book.

"Who's your favorite character?" you'll ask.

They'll answer, still barely able to speak because you have become such a legend to them.

You'll shake your head, remembering the manuscript that no publisher would accept.

Someone will always carry your story in their heart.

Maybe it's just one line.

It will stick with them and they will keep it. They will hold it. They will carry it always.

They will share it with others.

Your story will change lives.

Your story matters.

Your story will shake someone's world.

However, this will only happen if you write it.

And you can.

You can write it. You can finish it. You can revise it and you can make it something to be proud of.

You can change someone's life with your story.

So tell it.

Don't worry, it's a happy tear.

Famous People Tag

Hello all! It seems I have been nominated for Famous People Tag by the lovely M over at The Life of Little Me.

Ahhh, celebrities. We all love them, or at least most of us. Especially the British ones. So, I'm going to answer these questions as best as I can and we'll see how this goes!
But first, RULES.

• Add the button and link back to the person who tagged you
• Answer the question
• Tag some other people

Simple enough? Alright! Let's begin.

#1) Who is your favorite singer/group?

Yay Eddie Redmayne!

For real, this question is one I am unable to answer. I can't choose I listen to so much that I love... I'm going to post pictures of a few of my favorites, but I want you to know how many of them I'm leaving out.

Needtobreathe. <3 These are my boys. I love these guys so much that words are failing me. They are perfection and Bear's voice is beyond amazing. They're my feel-good band. 

MAT KEARNEYYYYY

Mat is perfection. I mean, he's amazing. His songs are so sweet and so heartfelt; they've helped me through a lot of really tough times. He's not really well known, but he should be. He's amazing.

Skillet holds a special place in my heart as the band that really got me listening to rock. Until I met them, it had all been Amy Grant and mainstream Christian worship music. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Skillet helped me realize who I was and truly am. I had never heard music like it and I loved it. Their lyrics were strong and powerful and spoke to what I was going through. Skillet said what they meant and didn't water it down at all. It was true and it was real and I couldn't believe people actually sang lyrics like this. Skillet helped me through some really tough junk and got me listening to more and more alternative Christian music. I will be forever grateful to them, and to my youth pastor for introducing me to them.

Anberlin. MY BOYYYYYS

I love Anberlin. These guys are fabulous. With every Cd their style changes and it's always good. It's always wonderful. I love Anberlin so much. If you've never heard them, GO LISTEN.

Relient K is great. These snarky little fellas also helped introduce me to the broader range of music which I now enjoy. They really touch my heart with their lyrics and are absolutely hilarious.

I could list about twenty other bands, but I shall stop at five. If anyone wants music recommends, let me know!

2) If your favorite male actor was in the room right now with you, what would you do?

Okay, I can't pin down a certain actor because I love a lot of them. But my reaction would probably be a cross between this:

And this:

Yup. So, moving on.

3) What is a famous person you used to love but (due to something they did in their life) you've suddenly changed your mind?

I don't know. I really don't follow the personal lives of stars; I prefer to keep my distance and admire them as actors/actresses/musicians/artists and let their lives be their lives.

4) Name a famous person who has a name that starts with a V.

Viggo Mortenson! AKA Aragorn the Awesome.

5) What's one of your favorite red carpet dresses?

I haven't the faintest idea. I don't watch anything to do with the red carpet, really, except the Les Miserables cast performance of One Day More and that was just for Aaron Tviet anyway.

6) Who's your favorite royal person?

You didn't specify between real or fictional.

Queen Lucy the Valiant!

7) Who's your favorite child actor/actress?

A tie!

Little people know, when little people fight
We may look easy pickings, but we've got some bite
So never kick a dog
Because he's just a pup
We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up.

Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche. <3

Adorableness.

Catilin Blackwood is also epic.

Little Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Doctor Who?

I think very much yes.

8) Is there an actor/actress you actually like the private lives of?

Again, I prefer to leave their lives as their own business.

9) Do you think actors and actresses have improved over the past 100 years?

Well. I haven't really watched anything that came out before 1914, so I'm not really qualified to answer this.

10) What's the weirdest famous person name?

Anyone remember kid!Rory from Let's Kill Hitler?

Yes, this precious little fellow. His parents bestowed upon him a name of a rather peculiar sort.

Meet Ezekiel Wigglesworth, my nomination for weirdest celebrity name.

11) Do you think you look like a famous person?

Not really sure, honestly. I've been told I look like Margo from Despicable Me, and Marian from BBC's Robin Hood.

12) Share your favorite famous person quote.

"You sit down and put one word after another until it's finished. It's that easy and that hard." - Neil Gaiman

13) Who's your favorite dancer?

I don't follow dance, so I shall leave you with this .gif and claim whoever this man is as my favorite dancer.

Yes. That is all.

14) Why is your favorite actress your favorite one? When did you decide she was your favorite?

I don't really have a favorite actress. I have actresses I like and actresses I don't care for, but have never really chosen a favorite so here's a picture of Samantha Barks.

15) Have you ever met/seen/been close to a famous person?

Well, I've met Michelle Duggar. And talked to Johnny Diaz. And got an email back from a moderately famous author.

As far as "big names", no not really at all.

Now I must tag people.

I'm only tagging three because I'm lazy like that.

Emily at Emily Ecrivaine Reviews

Bronze at The Rambling Line

H.M. Wilson at Plottinger Twist

Hello, I'm Your New Character (Surviving NaNoWriMo #3)

Hello all!
I hit 40k today. It seems blogging when I hit a milestone has become a tradition. Today I want to talk about something that, if you're not a writer, will probably make you think I am completely, 100% out of my mind.
This post is all about how I meet characters.

Meeting Characters?

That's an interesting way to phrase it, isn't it? Authors create characters, right?

Well, yes. At least at first.

Or at least that's how it went for me. At first I would think and create a character, who would gradually evolve into something more amazing and more lifelike than I first imagined. Think Transformers. Yup, you've got the visual.

Now, when I meet a character, it's more like this.

I have no idea where they come from. One day, they just show up. Perhaps I'm watching television, reading a book, watching a movie, or just thinking about one of my friends. Then all of the sudden there's a new character in my mind. Now, think transporter from Star Trek. There you go!

Out of nowhere there's a new character. Normally all I know is gender and impression, maybe a bit of backstory.

This happened a few days ago thanks to two things. One was NaNoWriMo, and the other was my recent Les Miserables kick.

I was thinking about my NaNo story and just chilling out. I was thinking about my favorite character from Les Mis (Enjolras, in case you didn't know) and about what made him so amazing; why I liked him so much.

Hello, awesome.

I came to some interesting conclusions. I was simply minding my own business; enjoying a productive session of thought-time.

That was when I heard a 'knock at the door'.

There's no better way to describe it. I can tell a new character is about to enter my imagination.

"Don't!" I always chide myself. "Don't do it, you don't need another character. He'll want his own story and you have enough already. Do not open that door!"

Here is where Alice speaks to me on a personal level.

Of course I was going to open the door for that poor, lost character in need of someone to breathe life into them. How could I say no?

I opened the door and there stood a young man. He didn't look to be any more than 24 years of age. He had a group of friends. He was a rebel, but for a good cause. He was leader.

"Hello," he said. "I'm your missing piece."

And that he was. It was as if a wizard had marked my door to send him along at just the right time.

Of course, I knew very little about him. He wasn't one of the easy characters who willingly spills there entire life story for me the moment the door is opened.

He came in quietly. And he intrigued me.

Over the next several days, I tried several times to get him to disclose some more information about himself. He refused.

I wrote him into my outline; although he was still nameless. He would often tease me, as if he were just about to reveal something more about himself, but then change his mind.

It was infuriating.

One afternoon, I was fed up. I sat down with a piece of paper, and I interviewed him.

I would write what I said, and then his response.

All of the sudden, he was willing to speak to me.

Finally, he seemed to say. Finally you're curious enough.

And so we talked.

Ah. Yes. I understand. That does sound odd. But if it works, it works.

I carried on interviewing him. I learned many new things, such as his hair and eye color (black hair, brown eyes) and some of the things he stood for. Every moment I found myself falling more and more in love with him.

Still, I worried. Sometimes when a character is inspired by another character, there is the worry of the two characters becoming more similar. I found myself trying to force him to be different from Enjolras, which he really didn't appreciate it. So, I mentioned it to him.

He was not worried. "Was he a good leader?" he asked.

"The best."

"Perhaps I, too, am a good leader. Perhaps we are similar because we have that in common."

Yes, fictional character. Thank you again for dropping massively profound thoughts on me out of nowhere.

Our conversation continued, but another thing began to bother me.

"I don't know your name."

"I know. I haven't told you."

Thus began a guessing game, which I failed horribly at. He gave me a hint. The letter J.

I couldn't seem to come up with a name.

Therefore, I took desperate measures.

I annoyed him.

He and I had a recurring joke where I would simply insist he looked like George Blagden. Somehow it was stuck in my mind that it simply had to be him. He would hear nothing of it.

My questions is why he was so upset.
I mean, come on.
George Blagden.

I insisted. I even called him George.

He became more and more irritated until he commanded I stop, or he would cease speaking to me.

My response?

"Sure. Whatever, Jacob."

It was as if a light had come on.

Jacob.

The mysterious character had a name.

I continued to talk with him and learned more and more about him. He only became more and more interesting by the moment.

Eventually I decided I had learned enough to put the paper away for a while. It was an amazing experience, and I learned much about my new character.

This was several days ago. Since then, I have been thinking about and looking into his character more and more. Today was the day I introduced him into my story, and as I wrote this blog post I realized I did not yet have a picture of him. I browsed my "New Characters" board on Pinterest and found a picture that at least resembled him.

Meet Jacob Lawrence.

Thanks for reading this post! I'd love to know how all of you end up discovering your characters, and if you think I'm completely and utterly mad yet.

A Break From the Madness

To give you all a break from my constant NaNoWriMo posts, I will post a picture of some amigurumi I made and entered into a local fair. I wonder how many of you know I crochet? Well, the answer is, yes I do. I normally like to do it while watching Netflix; it makes me feel less guilty about watching three episodes of Once Upon A Time in a day.

Yes, I made these! The Tenth Doctor came from a pattern online, which I then modified in order to make Donna Noble: The Runaway Bride edition.

They didn't take me too long, however, freehanding Donna's dress proved to be a bit of a challenge. The hair is yarn I unraveled, which also took a bit of my time.

As you can see, it got a blue ribbon, which makes me very happy. Last year I did two Jawas and a Bantha from Star Wars, and it got second.

What is next?

One hint.

Do any of you knit or crochet?

It's Okay... (Surviving NaNoWriMo #2)

Hello all!
Take a minute to check out that little widget over there on the side of my blog, the one that shows my NaNo wordcount.
I'M JUST OVER HALFWAY THERE!
Yes, allow me to have my moment of celebration before I continue with this post.
Alright.

It's Okay If You Seem A Little Crazy

Lately I've been realizing just how insane some of the things I do are. As a writer, I'm by definition a little bit mad, and that's okay. This is a reassurance to all writers, that the weird little things we do are totally okay, especially during NaNoWriMo.

 Let's begin.

It's Okay If You Haven't Finished Your Outline Yet

Yes, I will always use this .gif when talking about my unfinished outline. Believe it or not, I have writer's block when it comes to that outline, but it's okay because I am really nowhere near to the point where I got stuck. Like I said before, this story is stretching longer than I thought it would.

It's Okay To Kill Off Characters

It's totally okay. It's part of your story. You're not a psychopath, you're just an author.

Characters die. That's kind of what they do.

It's Okay To Cry About The Characters You've Killed Off

Yes, yes. Cue the ugly sobbing. It's completely normal.

Sometimes I wonder: do people like Stephen Moffat cry about the characters they kill off?

Because I sure do.

It's Okay To Get Stuck

Happens to everyone. It's totally normal to hate your plot, hate your characters, hate everything.

It's normal to hit a point where you just can't figure out how to keep going.

The important thing is that you do. Don't stop writing and wait for the writer's block to go away. Just keep writing. Even if it's horrible. Just put more words until you get unstuck.

It's Okay To Fangirl (or Fanboy) Over Your Own Book

You just met a perfect new side character.

You just wrote a scene that's pure genius.

You just hit your word count for the day.

SO FREAK OUT! You are stinking awesome and you are an amazing author (yes I said author) for having come this far. SO FANGIRL OVER YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS.

Yes this is a very encouraging post, but there are days when we just need encouragement.

Not to mention tomorrow begins the dreaded Second Week of Death.

How is your NaNo experience so far?

So Far, So... (Surviving NaNo #1)

Hello all!
It's been a little while since I last blogged, but what with NaNoWriMo finally starting up, I've been pretty busy trying to not only meet the goal, but exceed it because I know some days I won't have so much self discipline.

This post it just a little update about how things are going so far. If you look at that neat litte gadget on the side of my blog, over here --> you can see my current wordcount. I hit my personal 10,000 word goal today, which meant writing 5,000 words just today. It puts me well ahead of the recommended schedule, which makes me very happy. 1/5 of the way there! Here's some more little facts about the journey so far.

1) My outline remains unfinished

Yes, that pesky outline. I've got almost 30 scenes plotted out, so there's no real sense of urgency. I have been following it, but rather loosely. It has proven itself invaluable time and time again. I don't think I will ever attempt a story without one at this point.

2) No characters have died... yet.

Yes, it is true. There has been no death as of this moment.

However, a certain character doesn't have much longer to go.

3) This venture has involved me getting up earlier in the mornings

The time change certainly aided this. I am now waking up at 6:30, versus 7:00 as my normal wake up time.

I can't say I'm enjoying it.

4) I've listened to the Les Miserables soundtrack more times than any sane human should.

What? It's good music.

By the way, I blame my friend for getting me addicted to it.

5) I've met some amazing people on the NaNoWriMo forums.

Writers are awesome. We're all just as crazy as all get out, and it's always a good time when a bunch of us get together. Shoutout to the people of the Christian Teens Together! thread. And members of the AWSTOCC (Authors Who Ship Their Own Characters Club). Yes, it's a real thing.

6) Every day so far I've exceeded the daily count and hit the one for the next day or even several days ahead.

Yes, I'm rather proud of myself for this.

7) My story is actually going very well.

So far, no major roadblocks. I've used a sprinting strategy where I set a timer for fifteen minutes and write like I'm on fire. I average about 500 words in fifteen minutes. So far, that strategy has yet to fail me. Let's pray it continues going this way.

So, there's my summary so far of Day Three for NaNoWriMo! I'd love to hear how your novels are going, as well. Feel free to comment your questions or responses in the boxes below. :) Bonne nuit!