NaNo is Upon Us!

By

Can you believe it's the eve of National Novel Writing Month?  I can't!  I don't even know where the last year has gone...well, I do, I suppose. It's been a busy year and has seen the release of three books for me. :D

Today, I spent the day brainstorming the book I'm going to write for NaNo, and I'm amped up and ready to go. But even though I'm prepared, the fear is setting in, "Do I have what it takes to write a novel?"  Might sound like a silly question coming from someone who has written ten to date.  I'm starting to think that bit of paranoia will never go away.  So if you're experiencing that annoying, negative voice, kick it to the curb! I am.

I even downloaded Scrivener. I've heard great things about it and thought why not.  If you haven't used it before, it might be a good time to look into it. They are offering a little bit longer free trial than normal (it lasts until Dec 7th). But here's the bonus for NaNo winners, you'll get 50% off the program if you decide to purchase it. The regular cost is about $40 USD for the Microsoft version.  I think that's some good incentive.  (I should note, though, there is a bit of a learning curve to it. Don't fret because there's a terrific tutorial for the basics which will have you working in 10 mins.)

So what about you? Are you signed up for NaNo?  If not, why not?  Come on, what have you got to lose?  Put that goal in front of you and reach for it. You can do it!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

When Family Doesn't Support Your Writing

By
If you can empathize with the title of this post, then you're not alone.  So many writers, myself included, can honestly say they have family members who don't support their writing.  Some may go so far as to tell you they don't even want to hear about what you're working on, what you've done, what your goals are.  That hurts. But think about it this way, in some ways is writing any different that an other life decisions your family may not agree with?  I'm sure, if you're like me, you get very defensive when it comes to your writing.  In fact, I'm not going to deny that it places an iron wedge in the relationships.  After all, if your focus in life is your writing, and they ask so what have you been up to ...what are you supposed to do lie, remain quiet, answer another way even though you're so excited about your current WIP you'd tell a stranger?  Ticking clocks are heard in the background while you decide.
Read more

A Big Decision...

By
Image
For those of you who know me, and follow me on Twitter, you may be aware that I’ve been debating whether to pursue publishing traditionally, or take the plunge and self-publish.  With all the “buzz” on the internet, and after great consideration, I have decided to go ahead and self-publish. I had asked myself, does this mean I’m giving up ?  And, the answer is irrevocably no.  Self-publishing used to carry a type of stigma that somehow labelled the work as adhering to a lower standard, but things have changed.  Authors are taking pride in their work like never before, and just because of the increasing ease to self-publishing, they’re not allowing this to affect the quality. In making my decision, I also considered the fact that just because a book is published traditionally it doesn’t mean that it will meet with success.  Many self-published books have received awards, honourable mentions, and have met with even more-than-modest sales.  In fact, there’s ...
Read more

Write What You Love

By
We've all heard the advice, write what you know.  There's been a lot of debate over this piece of advice.  Some see it as valid direction while others argue that there wouldn't be any books if we just wrote what we know.  For example, how many mystery novels are written by real-life detectives?  And, I guess that advice is null when it comes to fantasy genres, and historical fictional works.  No fairy from Neverland wrote a book, and no one from over a hundred years ago can write a book currently.   But, this doesn't mean that we can get sloppy, in fact more work is involved, and this is why writing what we love supersedes all, in my opinion.  How else would we get motivated, and stay motivated to see a novel through to the end? In fact isn't it love for what we’re writing what pushes us through to the conclusion even when we may find the interest in our book weaning, or through the rough middles?  Isn't it the love for what we're writing that f...
Read more