Planning

You guys, I have problems.

Also, do not make a milk carton skeleton. It isn’t as easy as it seems.

Also also, I am excited for everyone who does nanowrimo. I wish wish wish I could do it too. However, as optimistic as Carol is about my novel, I would be very surprised (BUT ECSTATIC) if my novel was finished by then. Do you think I could do it? Maybe? Maybe not?

I do think planning is key. On Thursday, Susan Campbell Bartoletti came to speak at BYU. Afterwards she came to our creative writing class and answered some questions. She is a wonderful speaker and I learned a lot but here are two big things that made me stop and re-evaluate my writing life: (BTW, if you were there, correct me or add to anything I say here).

1. You make time for the things that are important to you. Susan writes from 4 am to 7 am every morning. I’ll write that a different way, Susan writes from FOUR IN THE MORNING TO SEVEN IN THE MORNING. She always has and she always will. Even on vacation. She even told me when she was in grad school and writing and teaching, she would go to bed at eight and get up at TWO IN THE MORNING and then write and study until seven. The woman is dedicated and committed and it shows. I don’t think that means we all have to get up that early but I do think it shows that if you want it, you’ll make it work.

2. She also talked about her writing process and planning was a big part of it. She said  all day she’d write notes and outlines to herself on bits of paper around the house when ideas came to her. By the end of the day, she’d have a plan for what she was going to write in the morning. That way when she got up at FOUR she’d be prepared to get right into it–no worrying about where to start, etc. I think this is great advice for daily writing and, as Carol posted, a great thing to do for the big month of November.

There was more. So much more. You should check out her books. She’s written picture books, novels and she received a newberry honor for  her non-fiction book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow. 

I want to do  nanowrimo. I think it would be so fun to start something new and just go for it all the way. Maybe I will finish this novel sort of by then. Olive Garden!

And I do have big plans for the project writeway in December. We have an AWESOME grand prize. I think you’ll be excited.

Also also also, I love to dance. Just like Sarah Jessica Parker in what movie? What movie?

xoxo, the end.

P.S. This happened.  Any thoughts?

DD, NaNoWriMo, Send in YOUR Articles

Last Friday amazing Robin let us post a bit of her work and we want a few of more of you to have that opportunity, too. So here’s how it goes.

First, we need an article from you–on anything about writing that you’d like.
Perhaps you’re struggling with something in your novel like how to show don’t tell, and then you read something amazing about show don’t tell and figure out how to implement this strength into your writing. Well, we want to learn what you’ve learned. So send your article in to me, along with about 150 words of your book. (You will need to email me and make sure we have a spot and etc. This process only costs $850.)

I have questions for you for NaNoWriMo.
I hope we’re all in this together. You have to admit this could be a lot of hellish fun. Whatever. This is October/Halloween.

1. Do you have your idea of what you want to write? Plot it down, in 25 words or less.
3. Brainstorm ideas, chapter by chapter, things that COULD happen in your book. It’s like sketching a skeleton that later you’ll add some real meat to. Really start thinking.
5. If you go to the website for NaNoWriMo you’re going to see a counter (I want to get a counter for us, Ann Dee, for our own contest like Project YouBetterWriteGood) that lets you know how much time is left. You’ll also see a link for kids who want to write a book in a month. And guess what? Our own Ally Condie and my friend Varion Johnson are two of the several YA writers encouraging young authors. And guess what else? There is a way to join NaNoWriMo, a way to keep connected and even a way to log words written. So make sure you check that out.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
7. I REALLY want to take weekends off. For sure I want to rest on Sundays. At this point in order to write 50,000 words in 30 days you’ll have to put 1667 words per day on the page. But what happens to that number if you DO take weekends off? That’s 22 days of writing and that means 2273 words per day. You can figure things out yourself if you want to take off Thanksgiving. Or if you want to make it easier and write Saturdays. What I’m saying is, plan ahead. Know what you want to do and be prepared to do it.
5. Do you already have a character to follow for these 50,000 words?
3. Do you have a second book idea if, when you’re writing your middle grade you finish and you’ve only written 22,000 words?
1. Do you know what this character wants?
3. Do you have an idea of how to keep him from getting what he wants?
5. Who else might be a player in this book?
7. Are you going to do it? Are you going to write along with us?

Melissa Douglas posted last year about this time on preparing for NaNo. Reread what she said. She’s an expert.

This year I’m going to join NaNoWriMo and see if this is something I can do. Last year I was working on two other books so I couldn’t participate. This year I’m gonna go for it. Because I’m between novels now (yippee ti yi yo!) and I still have to unpack from when we moved last May which means I can take a bit of a writing break until NOVEMBER.
(Not including rewrites.)
Truth is, I’m not sure if you’re allowed to get this prepared in advance for National Novel Writing Month but it seems the key to success. Don’t write on your novel, but plan for your novel.

Below are two links that you might find interesting.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/11/12-reasons-to-ignore-the-naysayers-do-nanowrimo.html

http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/a-nanowrimo-alternative-for-picture-book-writers/

BTW, we’re having a get-together at Olive Garden if you go for NaNoWriMo. Date to be announced at the beginning of December.

Okay, so the damned dystopian is done.
I mean . . .
It’s sort of done.
I sent it off to Steve yesterday (two days later than I said I would, but what’s two days more when I was eight months late?) and asked him to send it on to Hope.
Here’s the deal, I know the last six pages aren’t quite right.
PLUS I know I left out an important piece to the puzzle (I remembered that this morning), but I will add that bit at my leisure (not sure when) and I will just pray that my editor thinks the book is good enough to move forward on.

If she hates it. . . .

This has been a battle.
I have HATED this novel.
But I feel okay about it. And Steve said he liked the first 250 pages, so that’s good.

NEWSFLASH!!!!
I expect that Ann Dee will be finishing her novel quite soon, too.
She’s been walking in my footsteps on these plot-driven novels so that means she’s not far behind. . .
Then we’re going to dinner.
If we were rich, we’d go someplace fabulous.
But ha!
Just going to McDonald’s to celebrate will be terrific.

Also, Ann Dee’s birthday is in December and I think we should have a dance.
Yes, I’ve been saying this for years now.
But I mean it.
We are GOING to have an end of the year bash, potluck, DANCE and you HAVE to dance if you come and you MAY wear a December mask.

We just need a place that’s sort of central-ish and I think we may use my old church building.
So there.

NaNoWriMo
Birthdays
Finished Novels
Dancing

A perfect world.