The Proof is in the Pudding

The other day I found myself sitting on a bench with my youngest daughter's BFF (Best Friend Forever). We were watching my daughter take a karate lesson, which gave the BFF and me plenty of time to talk. First we talked about karate. The BFF asked about the progression of the karate belt colors, getting tips placed on the belts, and preparing for belt tests. Then, we talked about gymnastics and other activities. Eventually, I found myself telling BFF that you can do anything you want if you just practice, and that the only way to get better with something IS to practice.

Hmm. Sounds like good advice for a 40-something year old wanna-be writer too. Actually, good advice for a writer at any age.

You may be familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where participating authors from all over write a 50,000-word novel in one month. For me last November, it translated into a lot of writing, much more than my usual daily quota. It provided an opportunity for a lot of writing practice.

Shortly after NaNoWriMo, I wrote a short story that had been a plague to me for some time. Calling the story a struggle is like calling a tiger tame, but nevertheless, I finally got the story down and finished. Fairly pleased with the story, I put it out for feedback.

As always, I received some great suggestions from my writers' group friends on ways to improve the story. But the most memorable comment was from my mom. She simply said that she liked the story very much, and she could see my improvement from when I first started writing.

Wow. It felt so good to hear that my ability at this craft of writing was improving!

It's true in writing, as in everything else of life, the more we do something – the more we practice – the better we get. After a full month of dedicated writing on my novel, the short story I completed afterwards WAS better than my previous work. The proof is in the pudding.

Armed with this knowledge, I look forward to writing more and better stories. Keep practicing!

National Novel Writing Month is Over – so Now What?

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is officially over. I'm pretty sure that just about anyone that knows me or reads my blog is aware that I participated and won at this event by completing a 50,000-word novel. How exciting is that? Congratulations to everyone else that participated in the event. Regardless of word count, you've accomplished an amazing feat.

A friend recently asked me if I would do it again, and without hesitation, I answered a resounding "yes." The lessons learned through the month long event were invaluable, requiring discipline and the support of my family. The fact that I now have a drafted novel is incredible to me. I wouldn't want to trade the experience …but now what?

I've got a plan that I will share with you here, and you can respond in the comments to tell me if you think it will work. My plan is simple, I think. During December, without reading my NaNoWriMo novel at all, I am working on character biographies and plotting. These are details I didn't have time for before or during NaNoWriMo, so I'm taking the time now. I want to nail down the personalities that make each character unique in my story, and then work on tightening and strengthening the plot and sub-plots.

There is much in my NaNoWriMo novel that will need to come out, but many places where I will need to embellish. My goal is to take a fresh look in January, with stronger characters and plot points, and begin a rewrite.

Whether you consider yourself a WriMo or a NaNo'er (I've seen them both touted), what are your plans now that the month is over? Are you going straight into a rewrite? Are you sitting your manuscript aside for a time to gracefully age? Who's in it with me for next year?

NaNoWriMo Week One Recap

Whew. Week one is officially behind us for WriMo's around the globe, and so begins week two. Here's a recount of what I've learned so far.

While I didn't end week one with the expected and hoped for count of 11,669 words, I did end the week with 7,447. So, I'm behind. But I think a better way to look at this is that it is way more words than I've ever written in one week on a novel before! In that sense, it's a success!

My story is also evolving from what I had originally imagined. The protagonist marries early on in the story, and my intent has been to keep her married. But the schmuck she's married to has turned out not so nice. I don't know if she can stay married to him now or not. Perhaps he will redeem himself later on in the story; time will tell. It is as though the story has taken on a life of its own, and I am simply the typist.

Of course, it is also terrible! I would be horrified to have anyone read the dribble on these pages I call a novel, so I know the real work is ahead when it is time to go back and edit.

Anyway, thus far, NaNoWriMo has been an exciting and fun adventure. I am so glad that I signed up for the event.

Now I must cut short this post to get back to my novel. Week two needs to be even more productive than week one, so I must keep pushing myself to get this done. Write-on!

NaNoWriMo Progress Report

I wanted to post a very brief progress report here of NaNoWriMo. With day 2 completed, I am still in the game at 3990 words. You can see my progress on the word counter at the top of the left hand column here.

While I think my Chapter One is OK, my Chapter Two is absolutely horrible. I don't know if there is a salvageable word there when I go back at a later date for editing.

Anyway, it's started and with 27 and 1/2 days left to go! Happy writing fellow Wrimo's!

NaNoWriMo Here I Come

I've done it and I'm so excited… and nervous. I've registered for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)!

Like last year, I don't have the time. And believe me, I've debated as to whether I should do this or not. But unlike last year, no more excuses! I feel like if I don't do this now, I just may never write a novel.

Last year's decision not to do NaNoWriMo was tough. And yes, while my month of November was certainly easier as a result, I did have regrets. So I'm going to bite the bullet this year, and just do it. Anyone else who is participating or wants to participate, please be my writing buddy. Look for sheryltut in the Authors section.

In my final few days before NaNoWriMo kicks off, I'm looking for tips and tricks for success. Here is a blog posting that I found helpful and wanted to share.

Paperback Writer: Pro-to-NaNo: "Pro-to-NaNo
Twenty Bits of Advice from a Pro for the New NaNo'er"

My blog posts may fall off in frequency this coming month, but I will get back to blogging as fast as I can. Do stop by the blog anyway, as I plan to add a word count widget. I appreciate everyone's support (and thank you Chrissa for the "Go Sheryl Go, You Can NaNo!" cheerleading card)!

Good luck to everyone participating. Please remember to add me as a writing buddy. Experienced NaNo'er's? Please put your words of wisdom in comments!

A GRAND WRITER’S GROUP

I've written before how much the Humble Fiction Café (HFC) writer's group means to me, but I'm feeling an overwhelming urge to write once again about this magnificent group of individuals. The talent, intelligence, and personalities of this group are so immense. I truly find myself in awe at times and often wonder how I'm so lucky to have found these people. I get so much from this group.

For one, I am continuously apprised of new technologies. As group members learn about a new gadget, technology, or device that makes life simpler or just more enjoyable, the information is disseminated via e-mail with a volley of e-mail dialog following about the virtues or pitfalls of the product or service. It was through HFC that I learned about blogging, add-ons for Firefox Mozilla, and digital books called Kindle's.

HFC group members are also a tremendous source of information for anyone pursuing furthering their writing. So many tools and techniques have been shared at meetings and through e-mail that it would be impossible to do any type of list justice.

The value placed on the critique I receive cannot be measured. I think sometimes as a writer you become too close to your work. Plotting errors or grammatical mistakes remain hidden on the page until someone points them out. The wonderful HFC group members provide that valuable, truthful, and candid feedback. While I know I have a lot to improve in my writing, belonging to this group has already broadened my skill.

My deepest respect for the members of HFC also, with kudos to everyone that participated in NaNoWriMo last month and completed it successfully. It is an honor to be associated with such talented individuals, and I appreciate both their inspiration and their encouragement. Being associated with HFC gives me the impetus to want to do more. To put aside the excuses and get on with the work.

Best of all, we have fun. Whether it's sharing laughter at a meeting, chortling from emails, or participating in an activity together such as the Renaissance Festival, I truly enjoy the fun and comradeship we share. We are a group that varies in age, background, interests, and more, but with the strong common thread of the written word.

For any writer, wanna-be, aspiring, or otherwise writerly ambitioned person, I highly recommend finding a writer's group. But good luck finding one as grand as mine!

The Excusinator

Something is gnawing at me. It's November. The month of NaNoWriMo, and like last year, I'm not participating.

As a writer, it seems I have a history of holdups. I remember well at a very young age handwriting the start of stories in notebooks. I still have many of those story beginnings. And all the while I would think, if only I had a typewriter, then I could really write.

Then my parents gave me an old manual typewriter, one that actually used to belong to my grandparents. Man, that thing was old. Clack, clack, clack. I can still hear the keys as I typed away more unfinished new stories thinking, now if I just had an electric typewriter, one with a correction key, then I would have everything I needed to be a writer.

What do you suppose happened? You've probably guessed...I received an electric typewriter as a gift. Beautiful thing it was, it had a semi-word processor built in and you could type a limited amount of text into it, modify or correct the text, then push a button for it to type. And type it did. That machine was fast as the blazes, and yes, it had a correction key. I marveled at the invention as I wrote more stories, albeit unfinished, and thought, wouldn't it be great to have a word processor, one that will store my stories so that I don't have to re-type them with every change?

My first one was a DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) model, and I bought it from the company I worked for. Now everything was in place for me to become a writer. The stories grew longer, even journal entries became word processed, and I was happy. Until I got to thinking how nice it would be to have the ability to do research, look up words, and other activities on a home computer, better known as a PC. Yes,
I thought, if I had a PC, then I would be all set to write magnificent stories, even novels.

I've lost count of how many PC's I've owned. I currently have two in my home, neither is more than 4 years old. Both have Word from Microsoft Office, both share a high-speed connection to the internet, both have plenty of memory and hard disk space. They are both technologically in the now, certainly sufficient for any writing career or hobby.

So what's the holdup now you must be thinking? What's left to need in order to write as I've so desired what feels like all my life? Well, this one's a hard one and unfortunately can't be bought at a store. It's time. I'm thinking, time is what I need most now.

I realize at this point, I'm not just a procrastinator…I'm also an excusinator! Every time I turn around I have an excuse why I'm not able to succeed at writing and finishing all the wonderful stories that pop into my mind. While each one of these stumbling blocks has been real, they have also not been something that should delay my writing. In fact, many a great novel was written before the advent of computers, even before typewriters.

So what does all this mean? Other than I do wish great success for my colleagues participating in NaNoWriMo, I also know it's time for me to quit waiting for everything to be perfect. I'm going to start that novel (again), but better yet, I'm going to finish it. Does this mean I'm jumping in to NaNoWriMo mid-month? No. If I thought I hadn't the time to finish a novel in the whole month, how crazy would I be to think I could write it in a partial month? I'll start with baby steps, setting some realistic and attainable goals, and write one chapter at a time.

Now to end on a very positive note, always before when I've created these obstacles in my mind, a solution has always presented itself. I can't wait to see how I can find more time in my days to spend working on my writing.

Sheryl

Good Luck NoNoWriMo Participants!

They're off! It's official! The race has begun!

NaNoWriMo kicked off at 12:01am last night. I wish all of my participating colleagues and friends much luck. These writer friends will have more accomplished in one month than I've been able to achieve… well, ever. I wish everyone a huge success in getting their stories written.

As you have probably surmised, I am not participating again this year. I hope not to regret the decision, but I couldn't find sufficient time in my schedule to write a 50,000 word novel this month, and I didn't want to set myself up for failure. I've been told this exercise is about finding the time. Well, I'm open to that, but we do still have to be realistic with our expectations.

Between running family members to and from work, school, soccer games, soccer practice, karate lessons, gymnastics lessons, gymnastics competitions, writers group meetings, girl scout meetings, and other events such as math club, choir, church, church Christmas play practice, 40 hours or more work each week for my employer and more, I don't have daytimes or one evening in a week free, nor are the weekends much better. I already begin my weekdays with the clock set for 4:30am in order to get done everything that needs my attention.

This isn't written for sympathy, and its intent is not whining. Rather, I am convincing myself of the sanity in this decision and hope to warrant off future feelings of regret.

Good luck to all the NaNoWriMo participants!

NaNoWriMo Here I Come, Or Not?

Three weeks and counting. That's how long we have until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which begins November 1 and ends midnight, November 30. Participants have one month in which to write a 50,000 word novel from start to finish. It's an event geared to get writers' writing. And I know it works.

So my dilemma starts now. Do I participate? Or not?

I can't imagine the dedication, focus, and TIME it must require to finish a 50,000 word novel in just one month. I'm already so stretched for time that I sometimes wonder which way is up. I'm setting my alarm clock earlier and earlier each morning just to get in my required hours for my employer. I spend my evenings racing this one to that affair, and that one to this function. And I mean race. We eat fast, drive fast, and sometimes I think I even talk fast. Seems like there is never a minute to spare.

But I've always, always wanted to try my hand at writing a book. If I wait for a good time, a slower time, it just may never happen. We all know that time keeps getting faster and faster the older you get (isn't that true?).

Anyway, that's my dilemma and I have three remaining weeks to sort it out. Three weeks to decide if I want to add to the already so crazy schedule I have timers going off throughout the day reminding me what's next. So, you'll either see me around during the month of November, or not. NaNoWriMo here I come, or not?