I quit Nanowrimo

Yeah. I know.

See, my heart wasn't in it this year. I couldn't put my finger on why. I had done hardly any planning, knew it was going to be a ghost story (a little bit more than that, but I'm not completely dropping the story, might end up finishing it one day so I'm not telling...), had two character names and that was it.

This would have been my 8th Nanowrimo. I did two in Holland and this would have been my 6th one in England. My first couple of Nanowrimo's were about whether or not I could actually write 50 000 words in a month. Turned out that yes, I could do that. Quite easily, in fact.

Then came the challenge of actually finishing the story itself, writing 50 000 words and actually come up with a beginning, middle bit and an ending. That was a bit more difficult, but I did that too. The last three Nanowrimo's were coomplete stories and I was ever so proud.

So this year, I didn't feel the challenge. I wrote 5004 words yesterday and I didn't enjoy it. It felt like a chore. I was thinking of all the things I couldn't do this month because the writing does take up a lot of free time. I was doing it because I've done it for so many years now.


So I quit. I feel bad about it, but at least I quit now and not forced myself to keep on writing for another week, hating it more and more each day.

And hey, this gives me more time for art! Yayyy! Be prepared for more 'Urban Sketching from home' posts. Ohyeah!!

Almost Nanowrimo-time!

It's getting dark more and more early, tonight the clocks here in the UK 'fall back', shops are filled with Halloween costumes and sweets and you can hear fireworks near enough every night... It must be getting close to Nanowrimo-time!

Now if you haven't got a clue what Nanowrimo is, here's a link to my older blogposts on it, but in very short: Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month, it starts November 1st, and the challenge is to write a 50 000 word novel in 30 days. That means that you need to write about 1667 words every day to reach this goal.

Riiiight...

Normally, I get all excited about Nanowrimo quite early on. End of September, I'm there. I'm thinking of my novel, planning out my story, thinking of my characters, etc. etc.. and this year.. nothing!

I have a very vague idea of what I want to do this year, it will be a ghost story. And that's as far as I got. Bad, isn't it? Especially considering that on Monday night at midnight, I'll start writing!

I did buy myself a notebook that I'll be using for Nanowrimo. I've written a blogpost about my Nanowrimo notebook here, and I'll be doing the same thing again: writing down the daily goals, leaving a column for the number of words written so far, and whether or not I'm ahead or behind.
During the first week I tend to be ahead of myself slightly, because I try and write as much as I can on Day One (start at midnight for a quick writing session, and then again in the morning, and again in the evening before midnight soon adds up!), but as the month goes on, I have days where I don't write anything at all. And I don't really worry about it because this will be my 7th (or 8th? I lost count when I moved to the UK) time and I've always 'won' the challenge.

So I should probably be off now to sort out my characters, places where I want the story to be set, and oh yeah... the story itself!

I'm a Nanowrimo Winner!!

Minutes ago, just 20 minutes before midnight, I fished my Nanowrimo story and I have to tell you.. It's been another tough one.

The last couple of hundred words just did not want to get written. At all. I still don't think I got the ending right, and have already got tons of notes on how to rewrite. And even though I know I have said this before, I think this story might actually be worth doing a rewrite on. Zombies are the new vampires, right?

Other than the usual struggle with the writing, we had to deal with some major family stuff here the last week, which made focussing on something as trivial as a zombie story difficult. But everyone seems to be a lot better now, and hopefully this monday, we will get to see the latest addition to the family; two tiny twin boys who are currently in a London hospital growing bigger and stronger every day!

How about some statistics?
Total word count: 50101
Days of writing less than 1667 words: 4
Days of not writing anything at all: 5
Highest number of words ahead of schedule: 10 373 (on day 6)
Lowest number of words ahead of schedule: 3353 (on day 22)
Words written on Day 1: 5286
Words written on Day 27 (last day): 2212
Times I wanted to quit: a billion
No, really, times I wanted to quit: Never! I love Nanowrimo!

But you know what I love most about Nanowrimo? When it's over and done with. When you save your work for the last time, and can sit there and smile at the screen that says 'YOU ARE A NANNOWRIMO WINNER!!'

Congrats to those who have already won this year, and those still writing: best of luck on the last few words. You can do it!

Nanowrimo - the notebook

While everyone else seems to be getting ready for Halloween I'm starting to worry about what will start the day after: Nanowrimo.

For those who don't know: Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. That's 30 days of writing 1667 words a day!

This will be my 6th time and I've never been less prepared than I am this year. Usually around this time of year I know who my characters will be right down to the colour of their eyes, I know where the story will take place, I know what needs to happen to drive the story I have in mind. This year... I have zombies. And all I know about zombies is that since 28 Days Later they can run. And I want to somehow incorporate a journal of some sort. And that's it. To say I'm slightly worried is a huge understatement...

To distract myself I'd like to tell you about what I think is the most important tool during Nanowrimo, aside from my laptop that is; the notebook.

On the first few pages I write down the daily goal. 1667, 3334, 5001, 6668 etc. etc. etc. Next to that I have a column of word count, where I can keep track of what I've actually written that day. I break that down in 'today' and 'total', so I can keep track of how many words I actually write a day, and how I'm doing as far as the goal is concerned. Then I have another column in which I keep track of how much I'm ahead or behind. Hopefully this year there will only be plus signs in that column with at least a few hundred words I'm ahead of schedule.

When you turn the notebook around, you'll see my brainstorm notes. This year there aren't that many, because I still haven't decided on so many things yet. But this is where I'll write down names and ages and eye colours and where scenes are to take place.

And on the pages after the word count columns I write down a daily synopsis. Nanowrimo is about writing, not editing. So you need to write, write, write and not look back. Sometimes it's difficult to do that because you're not 100% sure on what you wrote two or three days ago. For the most part, I'll just keep on writing. I've had where I called a character Joe for the first few days and then suddenly changed his name to Jim. I jotted down that I changed the name after a while, just in case I wanted to edit the story after Nanowrimo (turns out I never did, but that's beside the point), and just carried on going with the new name. But if you haven't been able to write for a day or two because of a pesky cold it's a good idea to have a couple of notes on your storyline so far.

See, I'm not so ill-prepared after all!

For more Nanowrimo survival tips, go here, and be sure to check the 'labels' on the right side of this blog for more posts on Nanowrimo.

Have fun Monday!

Busy busy busy

Life is pretty hectic here at the moment.

I've started a new job a few weeks ago. I work in a pub, I do a bit of cleaning and I do a bit of serving food. No, not at the same time, but I enjoy both sides to the 'working in a pub' experience so far, and I'm actually getting to know people in the neighbourhood. I've only been living here for four years, so it's about time...

Then there's the Old Skool Drawing 101 course I'm taking. Leslie is doing such a great job teaching us the very basics of how to draw and I'm loving every minute of it. I should draw a lot more than I currently am, but I'm adjusting to the working life... which is strange after so many years of sitting at home doing my own thing. Drawing is a great way to relax though and I should start thinking of it as such a bit more.

Nanowrimo is coming up next month and I'm trying to decide what I'm going to write about. This will be my 6th time, so you'd think I have this all planned out months in advance. Um.. Nope. I do try and come up with a sort-of-kind-of idea before the clock strikes midnight on Halloween, because that's when I start typing like a looney to try and get the 1667 words a day, but as I've learned from past experience, things can change drasticly without you even knowing. Two years ago my main character decided to adopt a cat without asking me first! How dare she! But it was great for word count so I wasn't too upset.
If you're a fellow Nano-er and want to add a writing buddy, my user name on there is Eveline_UK. Feel free to add me.

Then there's the fact that my sister-in-law (well, not really because Tye and I aren't married yet) is expecting twin boys. I have decided to make them each a crocheted blanket. This one here. I have never done anything larger than a beanie hat and a skinny scarf, so I am a bit nervous, but I got my yarn today and I'm going to start making my first rows tonight. (See, by writing it here I have to! No backing out!) I'll keep you posted, because SIL doesn't read my blog anyway..

Of course we're also working our butts off to get the second issue of 'ZINE, 'Art Journaling - it's all good' ready for Nov. 1st. It is going to be even bigger and better than the first issue, so be sure to get your copy! We're thinking of changing the payment system, so please check Artjournaling.ning.com or my blog for details nearer to Nov. 1st for details on where to get your copy. If you haven't seen the first issue yet, it's still for sale, so run on over to Artjournaling.ning.com to get your copy!

And if that wasn't enough, I've gone PRO. Oh yes! And before you start going to a dark place, I meant that I've gone PRO on Artfire.com. It doesn't change anything for you, but for me it's made things a lot easier and I'm really happy to have taken the plunge.
I've just listed a set of knotted necklaces to celebrate.


Please head on over to Timeless.artfire.com to see more pictures, more product and of course to purchase.

I won!

I've done it! I've won Nanowrimo! And let me tell you, this year was tough!

Last weekend we were at a party, so no writing at all. Then I got ill, got a nasty cold that I couldn't shake. It's difficult to write when you're feeling like crap. So I didn't. Had two more days of writing absolutely nothing and a few days or writing just a few words. It was bad. I felt bad.

Tonight I had to finish it. I'd had enough. I only needed 2000 more words anyway. (Thanks to that 4000+ words on Day One and a few more days where I wrote far more than I needed to). And that's when I hit the 50K mark. I know for validation it's best to go a little beyond that, just in case the verifier eats some of your words, so I ended at 50270 words!

Yayyyy!!!

I could not have done it without the distraction of Twitter, and all the lovely people there, the Nanowrimo forums and the rewards such as Dutch telly on my laptop and YouTube.

Oh, and that 'Fake Journal' I said I was going to do, pretending I was my Main Character doing an (art) Journal? That will have to wait until International Fake Journal Month. I'm beat!

(Now if only it was Jan. 1st and I could say I've finished Project 365..... ;) )

Nanowrimo second half: Play Dirty!

Yesterday was the 15th day of Nanowrimo. The half way point. If you have kept up with the daily target of 1667 words a day, you hit 25K yesterday. Twenty-five-thousand words. That's an awful lot! Hope you took the time to celebrate, and give yourself a reward for all the hard work you've put in.

Now... We're at the second half. And this is where you get to play dirty.

The middle, as I'm sure many Nanowrimo-writers will tell you, is a tough part. Usually you know exactly what will happen in the beginning, you have your ending figured out, but that middle bit is where it gets difficult. Things don't always work out the way you had planned, characters end up not behaving like you wanted them to, like they have a mind of their own.

As frustrating as that may seem, keep in mind that you must not (NOT!!) edit anything. Don't read back what you wrote, don't edit. Instead, keep a notebook next to you and write down things that you should have a look at in your edit. For example, I started my story off by calling one of my characters Joe. Ten chapters in, suddenly he was Jim, which suits him much better. So I wrote down: 'From Chapter 1: Joey = Jim'. So when (if) I edit this story, I know that the first few chapters I have to change that name.
Another example; my character just killed off a poor innocent woman, while wearing a suit. This morning when I took a shower, I suddenly thought, hang on, if the blood was splattered all over the wall, surely his suit would get dirty too. How will my character deal with this? Does he either not care, or does he need a change of clothes in my rewrite? In which case, he will need a bag or a briefcase of some kind in which he carries a fresh set of clothes. So I wrote that down in my notes, but I may even start my writing session tonight as if he had that bag with him the whole time, and make sure that in my rewrite I mention it as he walks towards this poor lady's house.

As far as playing dirty goes, word count means everything in this second half. The first half was difficult enough, and now you have to do the same amount of words again. So take your character shopping and have them decide what to have for dinner. Let your character dream or daydream, even if it has nothing to do with your story. Write flash backs, let your characters explain their story to other people.

My story, about a man killing people like the Big Bad Wolf does in fairy tales, I thought called for a scene in a classroom where the teacher reads out the Little Red Ridinghood story. And as we all know, children's stories are very repetitive. I think I must have written out 'Little Red Ridinghood' at least ten times in that scene. That's 20 words more than if I had used a name or 'she'.

As far as my Nanowrimo goes, I'm slightly ahead of schedule. I will start my writing session today at 32550. But, there have been 3 days where I wrote less than 1667 words, and one day where I wrote absolutely nothing. It can be done! It just means that on other days you have to write more than 1667 words a day.

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the challenge. Keep up the great work!

Surviving Nanowrimo

In just a few short hours it will start getting dark and the first Trick or Treaters will come knocking on my door. It's always fun to see those little ones dressed up, some too shy to even say anything, others doing a full act meant to make you run away and hide under the covers.

But tonight isn't all about Halloween. It's about being nervous about and preparing for Nanowrimo, the crazy writing adventure I've been telling you about.

Here are my tips to survive this huge challenge:

* Write a LOT on Day One. You never know what might happen along the way. You may not be able to write every single day, so being a bit ahead of schedule early on will help you.

* Write in bits. You may not have the time to sit down and write those 1667 words a day in one go, and that's OK. Write a paragraph in the morning, send yourself a few sentences through email while at work (oops, did I say that out loud??), speed write during the ad breaks of your favourite show. This way, it will not feel like such a huge task every day, and.. you may write more than those 1667 words a day without even knowing it.

* Do NOT edit. At all. Ever. I know, I know, your inner critic is persistant and it will take a lot to shut him/her up, but please, don't edit. Editing is for later. December, March, whenever. Just keep writing. It does not matter if it's crap, you will also write some truly wonderful stuff to balance that. Just keep going. Your word count will thank you for it.

* Make sure you save your work. The laptop I'm using for my Nanowrimo has a tendency to just quit on me. It's extremely annoying when online, but I simply can't have that during Nanowrimo. So I've set up my writing software to save my work every 2 minutes. This way, if the laptop does die on me, I'll only have lost less than 2 minutes of typing, and not my all of writing for the day.

* Don't panic during Week Two. Week Two is known for its dark clouds and deep feelings of 'WTF was I thinking signing up for this?' It's alright. You're not alone. In Week One everyone is so geared up to go, all excited to get this thing going, and then by Week Two, when it's getting more and more difficult to get those words on your screen or in your notebook, it seems like it was the worst idea ever to try and do this. But don't give up. Don't throw away your hard work. Talk to others (the Nanowrimo site has a great forum section), go for a walk, maybe even take a day off (see, told you it would be a good idea to write LOTS on Day One?), and then come back and write. You can do it.

* Take care of yourself. To those who never write it may seem like you're just sitting in your chair and typing a bit, but those of us who do write know it takes a lot of energy. So make sure your body gets what it needs. Keep yourself hydrated. Have bite-size snacks next to you while you write. But also: go out for some fresh air every now and then. Stretch. Blink. Step away from the computer every now and again, even if it is just for a toilet break and to check and see if your loved ones are still alive and doing OK while you are in Nanowrimo-land. And make sure you put a pillow under your bum while you write, because you'll be doing a lot of sitting down and typing away this month. No need to get sore.


* Reward yourself. You are doing something that most people say they will do some day, but more than likely never will. You are writing a book, in just one month! So reward yourself every now and again. When you get those first 10K out, or got passed a difficult dialogue or scene, you deserve a treat. Chocolate, a new lipgloss, a cuddle with your puppy, anything you can think of. You deserve it!

* And most importantly: Have fun! I know, you nearly forgot, right? This is about having fun. You're doing something amazing, and you're not on your own either. Connect with people, take part in challenges posted in the Nanowrimo forums, try and work something completely random into your story, let your characters go and explore the world even if it does not fit in with what you've had in mind. Have a great time, because before you know it, it's December 1st and this is all behind us.

Have a great Nanowrimo! And please come back to check on my progress, I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Link love

As Nanowrimo is approaching, writing and thinking about writing consumes my time. I keep my notebook on me at all times (even in bed) so I can write down anything I can think of. Oh, and of course I changed my mind. Yes, the story will still be 'about Little Red Ridinghood', but I'm going to use more fairy tales, and the MC (Main Character) is not going to be 'Red' but the biiiig bad wolf. Or someone who thinks he is, anyway. And the art journal? It's his.

And then there's blogs on writing. I'm currently in love with the wonderful Alexandra Sokoloff, who explains what structure your story should have and how to get there. I'm thinking of using the index card/PostIt notes technique that she explains in this post.

Mur Laferty has been keeping a blog called I Should Be Writing for years now. She combines a regular blog with a wonderful podcast, which is beyond cool. Not only does she have an 'easy voice' to listen to, she's got a great down to earth sense of humour that I love. Great stuff for procratination, but in the end... You should be writing!

Three into one

Right. Bear with me, this will be a long post on how three projects will turn into one huge project as of Nov. 1st.

First of all: Nanowrimo. Nanowhatoh? Nanowrimo; (inter-)National Novel Writing Month. It starts on Nov. 1st, and it's all about writing that book that you always said you wanted to write, in one month. Yes, you heard that right, writing a book in one month. Or well, writing a 50,000 word novel in one month. I've been doing this for a few years now, this year will be my 6th time, and I absolutely love it. Last year, I actually finished the story at the end of the 50,000 which had not happened to me before, and I was quite pleased with myself. I can't wait to get started again this year and not only get those 50k down, but also finish the story I want to tell.

Ok, now hold that thought...

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this blog, telling me about Fake Journal Month. FJM is in April, and the idea is to keep an art journal, but not your own. You keep one for 'someone else', living or dead, or maybe even fictional. You might want to use materials you normally don't use, or techniques you normally would not use in your own work. Try something different, but as if you were someone else.
Sounds cool, right? But April is so far away...

Now, hold that thought too...

The other day, I was going through another 'I don't know what to take a picture of today' sort of mood. I'm still loving my Project 365, but sometimes there is simply 'nothing to take a picture of' and then it's hard. As I was looking around at my stuff and things to see what I could use for my daily picture, I saw my old Little Red Ridinghood doll. It can change into the Grandmother and the Wolf, but I only took a picture of Little Red Ridinghood. Here it is:


Nowwwwww... Put all those three together and you've got: a Nanowrimo novel about Little Red Ridinghood (but different, I promise) and a Fake Journal I will of course take pictures of to go with it! Ha! Because after 5 years, I know I can do the writing, and this would make it a bigger challenge. Besides, I love art journals and I can't wait until April to try a Fake Journal.

I'm already doing backgrounds in a Pokemon magazine that we got for the 3D glasses so we could watch a 3D episode of Chuck (it did not work... wrong colours I guess) so come Nov. 1st I can let Red pour her heart out in her new art journal! Can't wait!