From National Novel Writing Month Website
Well this is my first time to enter the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest, held every November. This is something I say I’m going to do every year and I’ve never gotten to it. I do have it on my “bucket list,” so I thought I’d just face the situation this year and take a shot at this.
I’m writing a mystery/thriller book this time instead of my usual fantasy and so far, it’s going petty well. I had some notes on paper here and there and on the computer. I have posted snippets from time to time. So far, things are off to a good start, and I’m ahead of schedule on word count, however this is only day three, as I’m writing this post ahead, so not sure where I’ll actually be on the 18th when this will be posted to the blog. I feel like this is a good thing, to be ahead, because you never know when those unexpected moments in life crop up. Curve balls always seem to head my way where everything derails and I’m not able to keep up my routine.
I really have no idea what to expect from this adventure, but I’m so positive with my attitude that I really think at this point that I’ll finish with my 50,000 words, time will tell. I’m sure it will have moments when I want to pull my hair out, but it will be an accomplishment to finish.
That is just the beginning of my plan. I will be taking that novel, rewriting, editing, polishing, etc to enter in the ABNA contest in January. I’ve entered everyone since its inception and I’m not about to stop now. I don’t expect to win, but it is fun and a great learning experience, also lots of camaraderie with the ABNA, not unlike what we have here on the blogs.
If anyone else here is entering the NaNo, good luck to you. Remember when it gets tough, you must keep going and not give up. We really have to put forth everything we have into everything we do.
Good luck all. Happy writing.
Hi Sunni,
ReplyDeleteI'm doing Nanowrimo for the second year now and highly recommend it! What's ABNA?
Good luck with your novel. If you want to 'buddy up' on Nano, I'm Anne the Writer and my book is Deep Deception. I'm really behind the 8-ball but hoping to catch up this week.
Happy Writing,
Anne
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
I've wanted to do NaNo before and just never got to it, so I prepared myself for it ahead of time this year so I could take off writing like mad. So far I can't keep up with typing as fast as my brain is thinking. That's a very good thing. I've surprised myself. It seems the further I get into my story the faster it is going. I've been able to write 5000 words on two different occasions and 2,000 a day very easily, which is great since I have freelance projects to keep up with and also a lot of surprise home repairs all at once.
I haven't really interacted with any other people on the NaNo threads yet because I've been writing like mad and haven't wanted to take any time away from that. I will look you up though. I have a good handle on this and have cracked 40,000 words, so I'm starting to think it's do-able now.
The ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) is in its fifth year. I've entered every year since it began and I intend to polish this NaNo story and enter it this time. It's a long drawn out contest with up to 10,000 entries from around the world. They have about 6 eliminations rounds so the group competing keeps getting smaller, but there is about a month between each elimination. The final contestants are judged by a group of writers, along with Penguin judges, plus the public can also read an excerpt and leave a review. The winner gets a publishing contract with Penguin. Usually the runner ups end up getting published too.
For that contest, you have to follow certain rules and guidelines, have to submit the whole ms and also an excerpt, and the list goes on.
The last couple of years the contest has started in Jan. I don't know on this year yet. The first two years it started in Dec.
There are a great group of people on the threads to interact with while you're waiting. They're very helpful. It's a great learning experience.
Sunni
Good luck, Sunni! Cannot imagine doing this! LOL:>)
Delete
ReplyDeleteSunni, go to http://catnipoflife.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/hugs-thank-yous/ Catnip has bestowed the Shine On and/or Reality Blog Award to you. Grab the badge(s) and post to your site if you so desire. Be sure to leave a comment so I know you stopped by and hopefully accepted!
Hi Sharla,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you stopped by. Thanks for commenting.
I've always wanted to do the NaNo so this year I decided to bite the bulet and go for it. It has been an ordeal, but I really think I'll make my 50,000 words and at the end of November will have most of my next book written. Of course, my story will not be finished, but after the 50,000, I can probably add the other 20,000 fairly easily. Ha.ha...
When I actually get into a project like this it's "Katy bar the door" because, like a rock rolling down a hill, there's no stopping me, usually. But if I wasn't relentless and stubborn, it would never happen, so I'm glad I can call upon that even though those might not be the best qualities to have when you have a family and life goes on around you.
I will stop by your site and see what is required in this blog award. I would like to accept it, but I have so much on my plate right now, with every minute spent writing, trying to stay on top of my freelance projects, keep up on the blogs, holidays, and family issues, house repairs, etc. It may have to wait until Jan for me to respond, if there is a lot involved.
Sunni