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NaNo Flop & Moving Forward

23 Tuesday May 2017

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So, it’s probably easy to tell that I never ended up finishing NaNo. The lack of posts tooting my progress, explaining my struggles, and cheering my victory? They never came. Truthfully, a lot never came.

I could go into reasons, and I could give excuses as to why the words didn’t come, why the blog didn’t get updated, why I haven’t been on twitter all that often. But really, at the end of the day, I don’t want to get caught up in the past.

I want to get back on track.

I want to leave the past in the past.

I want to move forward.

So this is me, shaking off the past. I’m going to shed it, kind of like a second skin and leave it where it belongs. Behind me. This isn’t to say I’m going to forget why and what all happened. After all, those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it. But, I don’t want to focus on it.

I have a couple projects that have been sitting by the wayside for far too long. One novella needs to be finished – a cutesy cozy mystery, and one high fantasy that needs me to actually go through and do structural and line editing on it so it’s polished and I can finally decide once and for all if I’m going to be self publishing or going the query letter/traditional publishing route.

I know people have strong opinions about both, but after attending a panel at a convention where an author basically said you can do either/or, or be a hybrid, it’s up to you and what you feel is best for your novel, I’m back on the fence with trying the traditional way.

At the same time, I just watched a friend query a book and she had three agents write her back to tell her that they loved her book, but they wouldn’t be picking it up.  And it’s left her wondering, if they loved her book enough to say so, why. Because the letters don’t say. It’s a little disheartening to hear that, and my heart goes out to her because she’s trying to take a critical eye to her story and make some changes in the hopes that next time she sends out query letters maybe someone will love it AND pick it up.

The question for me is, do I really want to go that route? Spend time querying it, potentially not get any takers, and even if I do not see it released for a year or two based on any publishers wanting it, and if they do having it fit into their schedule for release and marketing. It’s a lot of time to sit on a finished product.

Truthfully, I don’t know. I’d love to see it published by a company, and on the shelves in stores. But at the same time, I want to see it sell period. And sitting in a publisher’s cue for one to two years, that’s a long time to wait for it to be released.

Choices, choices, as they say.

I guess I’ll mostly cross that bridge when I get there. When the novel is as good as I can make it after some heavy editing.

Right now, the novella needs to be finished. So my goal, I’m setting one officially, is to be finished writing the novella by the end of May. That way I can take a breather and then circle back to it mid-June for edits. This seems like a super short timeline that I’m giving myself, I’m sure. But truthfully, the novella is about one or two chapters from being done. So I’m hoping by setting this deadline I can really strive and push myself to get it done.

Here’s hoping, at least.

Prepping and Thinking and Writing and Winning

13 Thursday Oct 2016

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elethwyn Two weeks, give or take a few days. That’s all we have until National Novel Writing Month is upon us. Two weeks to get my notes all in order. And truthfully, my notes are currently ‘kingdom 1’  ‘ruled by king – who has three children’. It’s not a lot to go on yet. I think the biggest help my friend gave me was to not dwell too hard on names of things, places and people just yet. To work out the world, the laws, the governing bodies first. Work out the landscape some, which thanks to a map maker I have a map! so I at least know the layout of the world, the potential resources for each kingdom.

But, you know. Go me for choosing to create an entirely new fantasy world three weeks before NaNo to start with. Ambition, thy name is Meri and she holds a mighty pen. Don’t think about the fact that I have way too much on my plate going on.

What, might you ask, do I have on my plate?

  • Well, for starters there’s work that runs from 8am – 6pm during the week. Now, I work a 9-5 job, but I get into work at 8, and I’m usually working by 8:30. And I don’t usually get dragged away from work until about 5/5:30pm, which puts me at home between 6/7 pending if there’s any last minute shopping that needs to be done before I get home. This takes up a good chunk of my time in general.
  • I have a Non-Profit Newsletter to finish revising, and a couple articles for it that I need to poke some people into giving me, because it’s technically due out the 15th (that’s two days folks).
  • I have a house that is in desperate need for some cleaning, and lets face it we write better in a clean environment too.
  • I took it upon myself to take a business class this semester in the hopes of maybe learning a little about business and the art of learning, though while I am learning nothing so far can help me because it’s mostly focused on globally done business not small business.
  • My health has been up and down with my iron deficiancy and my back being a cronic source of pain. Both have been slowly clearing up as I try to balance though. I take too little iron in a week and I’m exhasuted from the moment I get out of bed, but I take too much and it screws with my heart and causes chest pains. And my back, well, I invested in one of those back massagers that you put on a chair, lean back and just fall asleep while it works the stress and knots away with rollers and heat. And I have to say, that has made a world of difference in how I’m sleeping and waking up all on its own. May not be cheap, but it’s doing a damn fine job.

It’s a lot, to be sure. And I’m trying to work through it some and carve out plotting time. Because that plotting time will slowly turn to November’s writing time. And I want to make sure that I have a little of it throughout each and every day.

Not to mention, my mom and I are considering just bucking off for a week near the end of November, beginning of December to just get away from the world after Thanksgiving. Just take some time for ourselves and relax a little so we can de-stress before the new year starts.

But at the end of the day, yeah. I have six kingdoms to work out for my WIP. I have all six families, as well as how they rule their kingdom, I still haven’t settled on if it’s purely human or if there are other races, magic, ect. There’s still a LOT of planning I need to think about, work out, and get back into everything. Get that creative juice flowing. But I have faith in myself. I’ve come this far, and dedicated my time to it. And I am nothing if not stubborn enough to push through, if only because I said I would and could!

On the plus side, I’ve dedicated an entire notebook to planning out this world, from people to rules to kingdoms. And I have no doubt in my mind that it will be full, if not spilling into a second notebook come completion.

How is your NaNo prep going? Are you still in serious planning mode? Are you outlined and set and ready to go for everything come Nov. 1st already?

Life – Forever Tired & NaNo Prep

03 Monday Oct 2016

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jax with yarn

Hello wide world of readers, I hope that your day, your week, is going well so far. Though, it is only Monday.

I wish I had exciting news about why I’ve been so missing, but in reality it’s fairly boring. With everything going on, coupled with a re-emerging issue with low iron, I’ve pretty much had no energy to do much of anything but sleep after I get home from work. Which, means that there’s also very little time for writing, editing, and plotting out new books. I keep hoping things will change, who knows, as I try to take iron to supplement the problem, maybe I’ll find it a little easier to try and get more work done. I can, as ever, hope.

And I’m sure you’re asking, well what about weekends? That would be a good question. Weekends have been fairly busy doing stuff for a non-for-profit organization that I’m part of. This last weekend, as we transitioned into October was the first free weekend I’ve had in a long while, and I spent Saturday DnD’ing with a group of friends to blow off some steam and have fun – we ended the night watching Deadpool, and Sunday ended up being a mass cleaning day. The always sleeping or out of the house hasn’t just affected my writing but also the cleanliness of my house, so I’m now trying to fix that some and create a better writing environment for myself.

Which does kind of bring me to my, hopefully, exciting news, which is that I’m going to dedicate my November to writing and participate in a new year of NaNoWriMo!

I’m thinking of doing a set of shorts, possible. Though I have a friend that’s been wanting to co-author a book with me, so if we can get that planned out and it works we may try to write that together for NaNo instead. I really need to dig into the edits for my two previous novels, but that will hopefully come in December, when I’ve gotten back into the writing habit and working habit, and with more iron in my system hopefully giving me more energy over all.

Wish me luck!

Are you participating in NaNo? Leave a note and let me know in the comments!

The Busy Girl and the Non-Existent Updates.

11 Monday Apr 2016

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Bellville clock Back in January I set up some goals for myself. Personal things I wanted to accomplish with this blog. And looking back on everything now, I’m left standing here wondering exactly where the last three months went.

Time. It’s something that everyone wants, and we just never seem to have enough of. I’ve been told I’m bad at budgeting my time, a fact that I make no mistake in denying. Working a 9-5 job Monday through Friday means that I have very little time left for myself personally, and my downtime, what helps me to destress a lot recently has been video games – specifically Stardew Valley and Sims 4. So when I could be writing, I’m playing video games for a little bit before bed. When I could be writing, I’m playing video games before mom’s up and moving and we’re starting our day on the weekends. A end up playing a lot when I’m not entirely in the writing mood, or too tired to really do anything else. But, I do also agree, I need to get back into better writing habits. Not just for my WIPs but for these blog posts as well.

I always have the best of intentions, and I don’t always follow through on them. I’m a serial procrastinator to boot.

So all I can do is try. Try to do better writing. Try to do better updating. Try to not let my 9-5 job eat so much of my time and energy that I don’t have any when I get home. I’m kind of a WIP myself, trying to do better and not fall into the same, old, bad habits.

I’ve been reading a little more, so I’m hoping to get a few reviews up soon. And hopefully more and more as I read more, and write more. Here’s hopin’ right?

2016 – Revitalizing and Refocusing

03 Sunday Jan 2016

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IMG_1010

Hi everyone. If you’ve been around, or deduced by the handle of this blog, my name is Meri. If you’re new to my blog, welcome! If you’re returning, welcome back!

This blog was originally started back in 2013, as a way to keep up with thoughts, ideas, and things that came to me while writing, but also where I could review books as I read them and give my honest opinion on them.  And for the most part, that is what’s happened here on this blog, but at a very sporadic and nearly chaotic schedule.

To give a little background, I’m an aspiring author who is trying to make a living at writing. The catch is that, naturally, I have a life away from the computer. I have pets, a house to take care of, as well as a mother with cancer that I’m looking after – she’s strong, and doing well but I want and need to be there for her. And, as if that wasn’t enough, I have a full 9-5 job that takes up most of my time during the week, so most of the house things take up my weekend.

Every time I mark off that I’m going to buckle down, really get writing, and commit to doing better at this blog, life tends to throw me curve balls. But, with this new year I am putting my foot down and saying no more. I will find the time, I will put in the focus, and I will get posts done. Because I want to commit to this, I want to grow my online presence not just as a blogger but as an author. It’s not just good enough to put books and shorts up on Amazon, which I’m still working to get on a decent schedule as well.

sleeping kitten

My New Resolutions for this Blog are:

  • To post regularly (two or three times a week)
  • To read more books, there by writing more reviews
  • Update on my WIPs more – because as a writer I’m working on my WIPs more.

What are your resolutions for the New Year? Leave them in the comments!

New Year, Interesting Start

03 Sunday Jan 2016

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Happy New Year 2016 Quotes Happy New Year, Everyone!

The end of 2015 went out in one of the most challenging ways possible. And, truth be told, I’m fairly glad that it’s over and that we’re starting a new, fabulous new year.

The long of my last week of 2015 under the reader’s cut. If you want to skip it, the end is, I’m glad 2015 is over, I’m glad to have my internet back, and I am excited to start 2016! Stay tuned in the next few days for my goals and hopes post!

Continue reading →

Days of Winters Past

21 Monday Dec 2015

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kittne December has passed in a whirlwind of no snow, which for Chicago is very unusual. December is a very busy time of year for me. Not so much in the way I would like, because I wish it was more writing intensive than it actually is. Work gets very busy, because we have fellowships that are being worked out, and interviewees to fly in and all that so I spend a lot of time working on travel things for my work. And then there’s my office’s Holiday Party. I’m in charge of it, from drinks to food to decorations to music to room reservations and all that’s in between. The only think I’m not in charge of is the alcohol. But naturally, all that needing to plan out, and then actually do day of, means that I’m running lots.

All the running means that I’m not really doing much in the way of writing, because I don’t really have a lot of time to think. But at the same time, after NaNo and all that push, it means that I get a small break in my life so I can kind of recharge on the writing front. I still have high hopes of finishing my NaNo novel before the new year begins.

And later this week (or the way my life goes, next week), I’m looking to post about my goals, both reading and writing wise. Because I want to try and really stick to with more of each.

Are you going to post goals for next year for writing or reading? Let me know in the comments!

Days After NaNoWriMo

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

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writing

So, we’ve had a whole week since NaNoWrimo finished. Usually it’s a time of celebration for finishing word counts – which I totally did! – and getting into the groove of editing.

But, I always am amazed sometimes at my family. During the month of November, because I’m participating in NaNoWrimo and I’m pretty vocal about it to anyone that will listen, I’m given slack on things like house chores, or the want to wander off after household duties are taken care of because ‘she’s writing’. But any month other than November, and it’s always the ‘oh no, you need to help with this or that, or oh no, we need to be shopping or socializing’.

My biggest problem is, I’m not just a once a month writer. Yes, I put a little more heavy handed emphasis on my writing in November because I’m trying to get 50,000 words in 30 days, but that’s not where my writing lives and dies either. I’m an aspiring writing. I still have a novel to finish because the conclusion didn’t wrap up during November. I also have a short I’m looking to publish once I finish it as well – because my brain had to come up with an entirely different story set in the last week of November but I think it’ll do well as a couple shorts.

Not to mention, I have to edit the novel I finished last year, the one that’s been re-plotted twice, rewritten three times, and took two NaNoWriMo’s to finish. That novel. It’s only in first draft form. Still needs a LOT of work, and if I’m going to get to it anytime soon, I need to be able to sit down and finish this novel – and short.

I will blame my brain occasionally for things, because as soon as I start to wrap something up, it rolls into a sandbox and starts to design new characters and plots. Which, I’m not exactly complaining about, I swear. My cup runith over when it comes to plots and characters. It’s just the timing. I’m about four chapters from finishing my current WIP novel, and now I have this new plot to run with in short stories that’s wanting to distract me. And it’s not just sitting down and jotting the plots out to look at later. No, if I don’t run with the plot right this second, write down where it leads me – through usually a minimum of four pages typed – then I can’t have the brain power to work on said older project. Because my brain prioritizes like that.

If I’m being honest with myself, and you my lovely readers, I actually have five WIPs that are currently in various stages of Draft 1, and one WIP that’s drafted and on the editing board. My High Fantasy novel needs edits. My Cozy Mystery novel needs me to wrap it up now that I’ve run through the mystery climax. My Horror Short Anthology needs a LOT more attention, as that has five to six stories in it. My Modern Mythos short needs me to hammer out the plot so it’s more coherent, and will run for a few books at least. My Space story is patiently waiting for me to just focus and continue. (All of those were in the works before NaNo – though it’s the Cozy Mystery that got written during NaNo) And now I have this I’m not even sure what to name it short that I’m guessing will run for three to five books if I’m careful and don’t run myself into corners.

Six projects I find myself wading through after NaNoWriMo. And not a lick of give from family now that the month is over. I get that I don’t make as much noise during the year about my writing to them, because at the end of the day it’s still just me toiling around with my words and my worlds. But, it’s not any less important for me to do either.

Since NaNoWriMo, I’ve worked on the Cozy Mystery a little, but not as much as I’d like. That and the random short that butted in are my two priorities to wrap up so I can hand them over for edits while I work on other things. At least once they’re done and off to my trusted editors, I can rest easier knowing I only have four WIPs running then.

How many WIPs do you have on your plate? Leave the answer down in the comments.

NaNoWriMo – Check In – Day 8

08 Sunday Nov 2015

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kittensleep Today I didn’t do any writing. While it might seem like a not so great choice for some people, I just needed a me day. I went out and did some shopping for things I have been needing, and a couple things I wanted. And then I went out with a friend and we did a double feature movie night at the theater, seeing Crimson Peak and Paranormal Activity back to back.

So while I will have double the word count to do tomorrow, I think over all it’s worth it because it’s made me feel better as a whole. I was able to relax and do a couple fun things today. Something I needed.

Words Written Today: 0

Total: 11,725

Writing, ever Writing

02 Sunday Aug 2015

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Warning! Rambling Ahead – Kind of a stream of consciousness post.

Sometimes I’m just not sure how other authors do it. They just have book after book coming out, and I’m stuck with just a very small collection. Granted, life hasn’t been exactly kind to me recently in the letting me write department between my dad dying, and now my mom contracting a serious medical condition. It’s left my head nearly constantly in migraine land, and my will to do much at all almost nill.

But I’m not sure watching other self publishing authors come out with books every few months helps me either. How does that work? Did I just decide to get my self publishing-ness out there too soon because I only had two finished works and a notebook of ideas that are either on my ‘to start’ list or on my ‘started but not complete’ list? Or is it just that my pace, especially with life is just slower all together.

I know I should probably stop worrying about others and focus on what’s currently in front of me, which means writing and taking care of my mom. But, well, as nearly everyone knows, the internet is hard to stay off of sometimes, and once you’re online, it’s really easy to pick up bad habits like watching things.

This week I’ll be headed out to a campground, with some sketchy wifi that only works if you’re in the right spot in the camp barn, and nearly no cell service either. (gotta love nature, and just proves that if the cell companies promise you they’ll reach everywhere – they’re lying because this little campground barely gets anyone service provider wise)
Mom and are are trying to get away some, leave work behind, try and relax and breath in nature. The weather is even supposed to be dropping to the 70’s for us so it shouldn’t be too hot or humid.

I’m hoping to try and get some of those works in progress complete, or at least limping closer to completion. Maybe take a stroll through my ideas and either flush some out, or narrow some focus down so that I can work at a productive rate.

Focus has been my hard thing as of late. Too much noise, too much going on, too much emotion that I’m bottling up. Not enough outlet, and not enough energy to ignore the white noise. I have been told by friends, take one day at a time, which is great advice, but I think she was still too broad, and that I need to start working on taking an hour at a time to really try and get things moving. Maybe once I can get moving again, it’ll help my motivation in all things. Because it’s not just my writing that’s suffered, but my performance at work and the state of the house – and the fact that we never cook anymore. I LOVE to cook, and we’ve been doing take out nearly every day for lunch and dinner – and if not ordering fresh just re-heating the left overs.

I want to get back into cooking, get back into those delicious smells not coming from the front door, but from my kitchen. It’ll not only save on the wallet, but it’s healthier over all too. The biggest thing I need to hunt down are some easy recipes. Things that can be prepped and cooked in about 30-45 minutes, because after I get home from work I have little to no energy.

So once I’m hope from camping, that’s going to be one of my priorities – finding recipes that I can cook for us after work.

Have a recipe you think I should try? Leave it in the comments.
(Though note, anything shrimp is a no go because we both hate shrimp)