First order of business–thanks to all who bought a copy of The Shiny Folk and other stories. I hope you enjoyed them. The money from the October sales will be on its way to Unidos soon. The book will still be available on the Buy Me page.
It’s almost November, and you know what that means, fellow writers and writing nerds. It’s nearly time for NaNoWriMo!
For chronic non-link clickers, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, happens in November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s around 1,700 words a day, roughly.
I’m a rebel. I use NaNoWriMo to finish things. Technically, you’re supposed to start from scratch, but hell, I do what I want.
Yeah, I’m drinking milk out of the bottle. Fight me, bro!
Image: Ambro/freedigitalphotos.net
Since I didn’t get very far with Camp NaNo this past summer, thanks to some incredibly stupid distractions, I shall finish Book Two of the Tunerville trilogy. While simultaneously revising Book One, which I just got back from a paid developmental edit.
I expect to be a complete mess before the month is over. I’m unemployed at the moment, but if I get a job before NaNo starts (or worse, during it), it’s going to be crazy. So even though I’m a veteran, I’ve been checking out resources like this LitReactor article by Robbie Blair on how to prep for the challenge.
And here’s one by Leah McClelland on SimpleWriting.org with tips on how to organize your household so you have maximum writing time. If you’re tempted to join the madness and you have a family, prepping beforehand will be critical.
It’s not necessary to sign up–if you’ve been with me for a while, you know I do it on my own, usually. I did sign up formally once and I even have a friend who facilitates a local NaNo group. But I don’t write well in a room full of people; that triggered my anxiety and I didn’t get much done.
The Book Two word counter is in my sidebar already. You can watch that climb if you want. I’ll probably try to post every day in November too. Reporting to you will keep me accountable. I have an outline, so I’m nearly ready to roll. A bit of world-building in my notes, and I should be good.
If you’re doing NaNo too, stop by here or catch me on Twitter and let us know how it’s going. For now, I’m going to enjoy my last night of freedom with a fish taco, a spooky pumpkin, and a scary movie. Happy Halloween!
Photo: Elizabeth West
Graphomaniac - A. Elizabeth West 
Yah, for rebels. We all need the freedom to do what’s work best for us. Happy writing, Elizabeth :)
Hi Wanda! Heh heh. I’ve always been a little bit rebellious.
Hello Elizabeth
I read your story (jack / beanstalk ) – it really stayed with me -I found it haunting and made me want to read other things of yours. I have been writing the last 6 years and thought about the November novel writing the same way you mentioned– to finish up and complete my novellas- I have a lot written but stuck putting it into final form -would love to talk sometime about writing – especially hiring a professional story editor- ( We are both readers of AAM- love that site- I am not a commenter yet)
Hi Nina! Yay, fellow AAM’ers! \0/
Awww, thank you! I’m glad you liked the cat one, haha. It’s a little weird but that’s how I roll. :)
You can purchase my story ebook at the Buy Me link at the top of the page, if you want to read a few more of my stories. I wish I could get my books published. I hate talking about them and then they aren’t out there, but I don’t really want to self-pub them. NaNoWriMo is a good way to jump-start yourself if you haven’t been writing every day–which I confess, I don’t. But the only way to finish stuff is just to finish it!
It’s a good idea to wait until you’re done with something and it’s as polished as you yourself can make it, before you spring for an editor. The reason I did it is because i was getting rejections that were all talking about the same thing and I needed help to fix it.
There are a ton of other writers at AAM. You ought to start a discussion on the weekend open thread. I’m sure they’d all love to chime in and chat about writing (me too). :D
Thanks! There area lot of good comments on Writing on Captain Awkward ( if you follow that column)-I was using a freelance story editor for a few years who passed away unexpectedly–she was a great sounding board for me– you are correct, finishing it just takes finishing it–my issue is that a short story turned into several novellas–I waited a long time to write,was always encouraged by professors, friends, etc. but never was ready– so when the dam finally broke, a ton of writing poured out–now just trying to put it into novella form- I think I have 4 or 5 novellas at least..
AAM open thread sounds like a great idea-
Thanks !
Nina
Aw, I’m sorry about your editor. :(
It’s great when it just comes out. I’m starting to have that experience again with this one–writing Tunerville was like digging out a wisdom tooth, LOL.
On Sun, Nov 5, 2017 at 12:42 PM, Graphomaniac – Elizabeth West wrote:
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