A Whole Year?!?

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Wow, I had no idea I'd been away for so long. I knew I was pulling back due to my health and depression over it, but I didn't know it was this bad. So, what have I been up to in the world of books and writing? Not much really. I've been reading more than I have in the past few years, but writing has been a bust since my last post. I tried doing Nanowrimo last year, but I was going through something in my no defunct relationship that caused me to not finish. But returning to my blog, catching up on some author blogs, and seeing how some of you have gotten published has motivated me to return.

So, what's next? Well, after a very hurtful and painful breakup, like seriously why has no one told how painful one of those can be, I've decided to use it to write a romance novel. I would still like to write young adult novels, but the story inside me right now is a seasonal romance novel. It's going to start around Christmas time, much like my story, and go over the course of a year. I'm working out the details now of what I want the story to be. It is going to be VERY loosely based on my experience but still the same feel of my actual story. I'm super excited to get started on it.

I'm also going to try to read more. I am a slow reader, which really irritates me, but I won't let that keep me from setting goals and reaching them. I wish I could be like those of you who can read 2-4 books a week. I literally have towers and stacks of books yet to be read. I've been reading them though and I've actually read some that I've had for years and never read. And I keep adding to the stack. The Dollar Tree, dollar stores in general, and Amazon bargain books are pure evil for me. LOL! You can find some interesting gems in there. I know most people prefer current books, but I like to read a good story, period, so if it's at a dollar store and I find it interesting, I will read it. Now granted, because of this I have ended up with some duds of books, but even those are beneficial because they show me how not to write a novel. Sounds cruel, I know, but it's true, it's how writers learn to better their work. So I would like to work up to reading at least 2-4 books a week, but even with all the free time I have, I just can't see to do that. I guess if I read a book a day I could, but I'd literally get nothing done...not that I am doing that now if I am truly honest. But I am changing things, so I hope to start getting a lot done.

Speaking of reading books, I also want to do some book reviews here. I figure since I am reading books that not many people are probably reading, some of you may find reviews on them interesting. I've already talked about some of them on Goodreads, some of which I will be posting about here. Right now I am currently reading a book by Martha Stewart. I wasn't sure how I'd like it, but I am actually enjoying it. I'll make a post about it when I am done.

So my sleep pattern has been all over the place. I find I am more productive in the morning, even though I swear I am a night person. But there is just something about being up early before anyone else, listening to the birds chirping, and having a moment of "ah" to just sit and collect your thoughts and reflect on the day ahead of you. I would like to start getting up early, writing for an hour or more, and then start working on other things like my online shops I am trying to open and return to freelance article writing. I really feel there is a good story inside me and I want to share with the world. I'm constantly daydreaming new stories, I just need to figure out how to get them out of my head and into the written word.

And I guess this is as good a place as any to end this post. I plan to tweak the layout here some, find some new blogs to blogroll, a majority of mine are dead now. I seem to find blogs about anything with a goal, like weight loss or writing a book, tend to die off after a while. It's hard to keep working toward goals that require a lot of work, dedication, and motivation. So I totally get it and understand. I hope some of the authors come back like I did, and in the mean time I will try to find some other active writer and review blogs. If you have any suggestions feel free to pop them into my comments section, even if it's your own link, I'd love to check it out. And on that note, I will talk to you all later. Take care. Bye for now. :-)

I really am participating…I swear it.

So, Camp Nanowrimo is going the way of most of the Nanos I have written.  Not to well.  I’m letting other things in life get to me and I’m refusing to find time to write.  And even when I do find time to write, I refuse to write.  Why? Because writing sucks. It’s hard for me. I’m impatient. I want to story to flow from me and instead I am have writer’s constipation.  So Nano is so hard for me to do.  Don’t get me wrong, I will pull this out because I want to, but my story is just not forming well. I don’t like outlining, even though it does help me some, but I’d rather see how the story unfolds as I go along.  I’m wondering if I can write the first draft, outline for the second using first draft bones, and then go back in for the fleshing out with that in hand?  I mean it’s my novel and writing isn’t just done one way or another right?

I guess what’s getting me is that the story I am writing isn’t right. This is a rewrite of last year’s Nano because I didn’t finish it and hated it by the time Nano was done.  Why?  Because the story was just flopping around like a dying fish. There was no saving it and so I left it. This year I decided to try again with the original novel in mind, but then I realized, the time frame of that novel wouldn’t work and I’d have to try something else.  Also, the two times before I tried to write the novel they both started with the dreaded, and not much liked, waking up opening.  Yeah, I think it was brilliantly written, but seems a lot of novel’s start that way, and I’m not a sheep, so I had to be creative and go for a different opening.  I think this time around I have it starting much better, but then I fell back into the previous novel’s plot and it wasn’t until the other day I realized I really can’t go with that plot.  I have to change it because the time needs to be in Spring and not Summer.  But then the plot had to change because things that were happening in my story at the time would already have happened by Spring and they were the focal point really of the novel.  So what now?  Well it finally hit my how I could rework it and I think that it might make for a better more challenging novel to write.

I haven’t even tried writing a synopsis for my novel.  Wait, I am lying, I did try a quick one to post on my Camp Nanowrimo author’s page, but it was more like “this happened and then this happened”, instead of what the story is about.  I think I need to get into it more before I can do it and maybe study on how to write a good synopsis.  I always figured that could wait since I am just writing now, but I guess I need that in mind too so I can actually talk about the novel without actually talking about the novel. Hope you understood that.

So what’s next?  Well I am going to face my fear of killing my novel at almost half way into Camp Nanowrimo and starting fresh.  I can do this.  It’s not as scary as it seems and if I don’t hit 50k by the end of the month that’s ok because at least I would have started the novel and it would be the right novel this time around.  So here goes, Camp Nanowrimo 2012, take 2.

Writing away,
M.

Camp Nanowrimo Beta Anyone?

So if you haven’t heard, Camp Nanowrimo Beta has started today.  It’s a bit buggy, as to be expected, but it’s also working as well.  I am joining in with just an idea for a story and no outline whatsoever.  Ahhhh!!!  My big word count as of day 1?  4.    I’m off to a great start.  Oh, and I plan to do the full Camp Nanowrimo in August as well…hehehe.  Wish me luck, and be sure to join in the fun on the Camp Nanowrimo website, and find out information on camp at the main Nanowrimo website.  See you there!

Writing away,
M.