The Value of NaNoWriMo

23 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Brain Droppings, My Thoughts, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , , , ,

Next week (wow, time evaporates!), on November 1, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts again. For the uninitiated, this is an annual event where writers of all levels, from across the globe, hunker down and try to write a complete novel of 50,000 words (approximately 250 pages, double-spaced, 12-pt font, 1-inch margins) in one month (NaNoWriMo ends on November 30). The “winners” — those who reach or surpass the 50K goal — get bragging rights and discounts on various book-related goods and services (ebooks, self-publishing platforms, etc).

NaNoWriMo is more about the journey than the destination. Its primary goal is to encourage writing, and to connect writers to a community of support that will help facilitate writing. There is a large and vibrant virtual community, which primarily consists of message boards where one can find like-minded individuals by age, preferred writing genres, hobbies, location, etc.; as well as emailed “pep talks” by published authors such as Veronica Roth [the Divergent series]), self-published authors, and past NaNoWriMo winners). You can also connect with writing buddies from anywhere in the world. There are also real-life events hosted by region (kickoff parties, “write-ins”–where fellow NaNoWriMos gather to just sit and write for strerches of time, and to support each other on this writing journey.

NaNoWriMo is free to join and participate, although donations are encouraged to help keep things going, and also to fund programs like the NaNoWriMo Young Writers. The main benefit of NaNoWriMo is just to get people over the inertia of writing–which could be due to fear (“I’ve never written a book”; “I don’t know what to write about”; “OMG, I have to write 50,000 words?!”), or time constraints (“I have a job/family/school; how can I finish 50K words in a month?”; or something else.

It has helped me, even in the many years prior in which I didn’t finish/”win”. I was able to play around with some ideas and see if they were viable from a writing standpoint. I was able to get into a writing groove (it didn’t always stick, but at least I knew where the groove was should I choose to revisit it). I found other interesting writers, both online and in real life. I felt more like a writer.

One of the things I like about NaNoWriMo is that it meets you where you are. You don’t have to be a published author, or a journalist, or work in publishing. You may have a blog, or your writing may be limited to  grocery or to-do lists. You may love to read and have secretly harbored a desire to write a book. You can be a citizen of your country, undocumented, on a visa, or just passing through. You can be any race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political stance. You can write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. You can write romance, horror, science fiction, suspense, “chick lit”, serious fiction, scientific manuals, religious commentary, self-help books–whatever you like or whoever you are, there is a place for you.

I finally “won” NaNoWriMo in 2013, and the result was my first solo published novel, The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille. Just completing this goal after six years of not finishing NaNoWriMo made me proud of myself. I’m looking forward to this year, as I have a story that is itching to come out (whee!).

So if you are so inclined, join me from Nov. 1-30 and let’s work on our novels. Feel free to add me as a buddy (my user name is afrosaxon). You have a story inside; it’s time to let it out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Where I’ve Been…

28 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Fiction, My Stuff, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , ,

I have been MIA for a few days. Part of it is re-starting a fitness regiment (I’ve been walking 5.5 miles every other day…and at the age of 41, it takes me longer to recover. :D). Part of it is taking my grandmother to her doctor’s appointments (when you’re of a certain age, medical appointments can take up a significant part of your day). Most of it, though, is finishing the draft of a book that I decided to publish in November.

This was an impromptu decision, borne of the opinion of an old writing partner. He was giving me his critique of The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles), which is on a very different level when coming from another writer. I addressed one of his critiques and suggested he would like one of the books I wrote years ago, which was a thriller/suspense novel and was edgier (he likes edge LOL).  I sent him the file, he read it in a few days and provided commentary, and ended with the suggestion that I should publish this.

It surprised me; this was one of the books that had made the rounds of the major publishing houses almost ten years ago, and which was subsequently rejected. I’dd gone over it since then, making some tweaks here and there, but the main character, Sebastian (formally introduced in The Camille Chronicles), wasn’t resonating on a level that let me know I was on the right track. So I saved it along with other finished and half-finished works, and kept it moving. Validation from a writing cohort, however (and all creatives crave validation :D), is different–especially one with whom I’ve recently reconnected after fifteen years or so, and whose opinion I trust.

So I  got to work on the rewrite (which I talked about in a previous post), made some major changes (sidebar: I can see why it was rejected back then), and finished the draft. It is now in front of the Eyeballs, those trusted few who read the drafts of my manuscripts and give honest critiques. And, I can rest my mind for a few days before I get back to writing–although I have been writing part of an upcoming Bastille book in my head, so so much for resting my mind. 😀

I have to get ready for the Second Book Curse (more on that in a future post) in November, so I need to get cracking. Thanks for stopping by.

It’s HERE! And new directions

07 Aug 2014 2 Comments

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Fiction, Romance, Self-Publishing, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , , , , , ,

It’s here! It’s here! Or, to be more grammatically correct, they’re here: the hard copies ordered during the pre-release offer of The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles).

 

The Camille Chronicles shipped box 080614

I have been basking in the wonder that occurs when your published book is held in your hand. This is a culmination of a lifelong dream, and of over fourteen years of active and not-so-active work on my craft. And it’s here, in my hand.

Of course, part of my joy is dulled by the anxiety of hoping that the book is well received, but that was already covered in a previous post.  So I’ll move on. 🙂

I have more books on the way (the pre-release did REALLY well), so my weekend will be spent autographing books and packing them for shipment. The autographs will be personalized, of course, and will be emotional because I will try to convey to each person who ordered a pre-released copy how grateful and appreciative I am for their support and love. Most of the people who ordered have known me for at least ten years, and most have known me for over twenty. That’s a lot of sentiment to squish into relatively few words. But gratitude is good for the soul. 🙂

In other news, one of my character’s story started gelling in my head, and I had to get it down. And then a plot twist came to mind, so I abandoned the draft of what I’d initially planned to be the next release, to work on this one. A writer’s work is never done, and we cannot control when The Muse decides to visit. It’s when S/he doesn’t visit, that there’s a problem. 😀

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Clarion Write-A-Thon: Day 4

25 Jun 2014 Leave a comment

Target goal: 25,000 words

Target daily goal: 775 words

Today’s word count: 1,036

Total words written: 3,007

Today was a slow writing day, even though I wrote more than my daily quota. Mainly because I was gone most of the day, but also because the story is taking me in a different direction, and I don’t quite know what that direction is yet.

It’s exciting, yet scary, when a story tells you where it wants to go–which is sometimes a direction other than which you planned. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a first draft, and just to get everything down and sort it out later in the second and subsequent drafts. This contest is less about finishing a saleable product, than proving to myself that I can write a viable sci fi/speculative fiction story.

In charting this new direction, I had to throw out a lot of what I’d done in the original version of the story, written seven years ago. I will say this: it was crap. There were some nuggets of good stuff there, and that is the stuff upon which I’m building for the Clarion workshop. But 95% of the story needs to be chucked in the garbage because I was trying too hard to be someone else. This is a rookie writing mistake in general, but it hits closer to home for me because I have never written sci fi/spec fict before. I wanted to be like those authors whom I admire and read:  Octavia Butler, Anne McCaffrey, Samuel Delaney, Charles Saunders, etc. However, I am not them, and I need to find my own way.

One of those paths of self-discovery revolves around my characters. In the original version of the story, my character was 25 years old. It is very difficult for me to write than young; even when I started this story seven years ago, I wasn’t 25.  Perhaps that’s part of why I am having some difficulty getting in the Zone today: I can’t get inside my character’s head. I can’t think like a 25-year-old anymore, and I’m glad I can’t. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my twenties.  My solution is to write an older character, in my age bracket. That makes it a bit easier, and can better navigate the story.

Anyway, I’m glad that I pushed through and managed to write 1,036 words today. I’m getting a bit clearer on where the story is going. Plus, I got some exciting news about my upcoming book release, so I admit to having a somewhat scattered focus today. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. Exciting, scary, fun.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Aside by Tiffany M. Davis