Tag: Camp NaNoWriMo

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Camp NaNo Update: Is it Possible to Edit Nothing?

Last week I said to always find the time to write. But how much are you suppose to write? Should you write your entire quota of words? What if you can’t? Is that being lazy?

I mean…everything we do is drizzled with perfection! Every human on Earth had or has straight A’s. We are all star athletes. Heck, I’m next in line to be the President of the United States! Surely we are all flawless people who can always write our entire quota of words.

Pssh!

We aren’t perfect.

There will be those does where you can’t (or just don’t feel like) fulfilling your daily word quota. It just happens. However:

No words means that your story is going nowhere. Some words means that your story is going…somewhere.

Write! Even if it’s just 100 or 50 words. Make your story go somewhere.

 

Where has your story gone this week?

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Camp NaNoWriMo Update: Did Time Grow Legs and Run Away?!

There’s sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, and twenty-four hours in a day but is that enough time to write? Pssh, if only.

For me, studying has made time is as expensive as buying a brand new Lamborghini. What about you? Do you work? Do you go to school? Kids? How much time does your responsibilities take away from your writing?

Go ahead, tell me…

…mhmmm….mhmmm…you’re kidding!…mhmmm…

Wow, that sounds bad but guess what: you aren’t ever going to have time to write. Harsh? Well life usually is.

But (like etching a statue with no stone, breathing with no air, or moving with no leg room) you have to make time when there is none.

I don’t mean to get philosophical with you but if you’re serious about writing–or anything–you’ll do what you have to do to make sure that it’s done.

Now. With that said. Lets go write!

 

How do you write when there’s no time to?

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What Type of Writer are You?

When you pick up two sticks, are they the same? Course not! Just likes those sticks no two writers are the same. We all have our own quirks, likes, dislikes, and, most of all, our own methods to writing.

Consider the type of writer that just sits down and writes. They don’t chart their course they just hoist their sails and go where the wind takes them.

On the other hand, there’s the type of writer who will not write unless they’ve mapped out the route to their treasure troves.

Then there are writers who are a hybrid of the two. They outline, write and then turn around to edit everything that they’ve written.

Lastly there’s the fourth writer who outlines, writes and then changes their initial outline along the way.

There may be many more writing methods out there, but for simplicity sake, we’ll stick with these four. I’m the fourth type of writer. I don’t outline an entire story, instead, I may only outline the first act and then write. Normally the story changes so I plan out the next act based on those changes. Rinse and repeat.

Can you relate to any of the four method’s mentioned?

 

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Camp NaNoWriMo Update: Exorcising the Delete Key

Throws holy water on delete key.

Begone foul demon!!

Four days into Camp NaNoWriMo and the delete key is trying to possess me. Just a few moments ago I was tempted to enter the “select all” command and punch in the delete key. But then I reminded myself of something:

First drafts are meant to be written horribly.

You aren’t suppose to think about the sentence structure or if the story makes sense. It’s about having fun! So, if you’re suffering from post writer’s block (like me), I want you to take a step back and breathe.

And remember that you can tear the manuscript to shreds later on. Promise!

Or…

Hands you the holy water

See if that helps.

So how’s your Camp NaNoWriMo, A to Z challenge, or NaPoWriMo coming along?

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Lets Get World Building!

Imagine a desolate stretch of land and an empty sky with not so much as a twinkle of a star. There’s no vegetation, no water, no inhabitants no…nothing. Now imagine your main character wandering in this desolate place. They’re hungry, cold, and, most of all, they have no idea what they’re suppose to do. Then they look up at the sky and say, “A little bit of world building never hurt anybody!”

While searching the Internet yesterday I found this neat video (about 5 minutes) that talks about building fictional worlds. I put some of the suggestions to practice with my Camp NaNoWriMo novel and it helped out a ton! I wish I would’ve found this video FIVE drafts ago with Restitution. O_o

Live and learn I guess…

Anyway here it is, I also bulleted out the main points below:

So lets gloss over a few main ideas:

  • Fictional worlds operate within certain rules making them unique
  • Think about the basic place or time
  • Map out a timeline
  • What are some rules / laws / unspoken laws?
  • What type of government is in place?
  • What is the belief system? (religion)
  • What does the society value?
  • How do they treat their young or old?
  • What type of animal or plants are here? How do the people interact with them?
  • What type of technology is there?

Takes a breath…

Now you don’t have to answer all those questions. Just enough to get you started. In fact, there are somethings that the video may’ve missed. Like magic, for example.

What questions do you ask yourself when you’re world building?

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Monthly Wrap Up: A Toast to March and You!

With the end of March and National Reading Month, April and Camp NaNoWriMo are just around the corner. But before March ends, I wanted to take a look back. Some of you may (or may not) know this but March was the grand opening for the Tavern. It’s been such a joy to see it become as fantastic as it is. Thanks for following and making this such a success! I’ve met a lot of awesome bloggers, writers and authors whose words have either entertained, educated, or influenced me. Thanks! I hope the Tavern will keep on growing! 😀

Toasts a glass to you.

Alright, alright, alright enough with the mushy stuff.

Here are the past posts for this month:

 

So…are you ready to dominate April?

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Preparing for the Evils of Camp NaNoWriMO

Hand grenades?

Check.

Squadron of elven archers?

…

Oh, didn’t see you there.

I don’t know about you, but writer’s block has a tendency to ambush me in gorilla warfare fashion. I can’t afford any surprise attacks during Camp NaNoWriMo. Afterall, camp is suppose to be fun! So I prepared a list of evasive maneuvers that’ll keep me on my writerly toes.

 

  • Read Before Writing

When I first participated in NaNoWriMo I had fun during the first few days. Then after a week I started to slow down and procrastinate. In order to keep myself excited about writing I read for fifteen minutes before committing words to my manuscript. It worked like a charm.

  • Read After Writing

People usually stretch when they’re done exercising. The same should go for writing! I read for an extra fifteen minutes after a writing sessions just to cool down my imaginative muscle.

  • Write Without Restrictions

Having no restrictions on your imagination is easier said then done. But once you write without worrying about the way something sounds you’ll end up surprising yourself.

  • Outlines Aren’t Set in Stone

Don’t waste your energy struggling to keep close to your outline. It’s okay to veer away from it. Welcoming new ideas is a good thing not a bad thing.

  • Absolutely NO Editing

You can always do this after you’re done writing something. But doing it at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Ignore that inner critic, you can do it!

  • Freewrite Often

Freewriting or flash fiction is the equivalent of a warm up before a jog. I just sit back and write down whatever comes to mind. Once I’ve gotten in my creative groove, I jump into my manuscript.

  • Keep A Notebook Handy

I often tell people that I write even when I’m not in front of a computer. It’s true! I’m always—always—thinking up new ideas, themes, scenes, or whatever. But I can’t keep up with every thought. So I keep a notebook (or some device) around to log my flash thoughts into.

 

Do you have any writer’s block surviving tips?

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Looking Forward to Camp NaNoWriMo?

Shrieks!

Camp NaNoWriMo is next month!? I swear time moves faster than a heavily caffeinated radioactive squirrel (in case you didn’t know those move pretty darn fast).

Not familiar with NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it usually happens every November where you challenge yourself to write 50,000 words in a month. Camp NaNoWriMo happens in April and its a virtual creative retreat where you work on whatever project you want. For example, I’ve noticed that other bloggers are talking about writing poetry everyday, others are going to pen new first draft(s) for the month, and others are going to spend the month editing old NaNo projects. But it’s not limited to writing, you could do whatever you want this month. I know someone who’s going to scrapbook April away.

As for me, I’m going to try my hand at penning a new novel as well as finishing the first draft to Restitution (if I don’t finish it in the next week).

So what’s your creative goal for April?

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