NaNoWriMo - Slight Change of Plans

I know, I'm only eight days into NaNoWriMo, and I'm already changing my plans!

It's nothing earth shattering, but this plan takes my NaNo Rebel status a bit farther.

Are you dying to know? No? Oh, well, I'm going to tell you anyway.

Since revising Thorns Entwine the Blade has been taking as long (or longer) than drafting fresh words, I've decided to count my revisions toward NaNoWriMo!

Some of you may think I'm taking the whole Rebel thing too far, but honestly isn't the core goal of NaNoWriMo to push yourself to complete more than you normally would in a month? I'm still reaching for the stars with a goal of 50,000 of combined revised and drafted words. All the work counts!

And maybe, this year with that combined goal, I'll actually reach 50,000 words for the first time! Unless of course the month explodes on me. It's a possibility. My eldest just clocked a fever on the thermometer (eep).

So, here are the edited goals to reach 50,000:

❦ Thorns Entwine the Blade (Trinity Torn, 2) Revisions - 20,000 words

❦ GSD vs. Everything Complete First Draft - 15,000 to 18,000 words

❦ Blood Stains the Soul (Trinity Torn, 3) Pretty Shitty Beginning Draft - 12,000 to 15,000 words

This removes my last goal of wandering wherever my whims drag me, but that's OK. The renewed decision to aim for 50,000 is spurring me on.

As of this blog post, I'm at 9000 words, 5134 of Thorns revisions and 3866 of adding to the GSD vs. Everything draft. I'll tweak my counters on the left side a bit due to the shift in goals. The original NaNoWriMo post counter will remain at 9000, while the one below will keep counting up as I write and revise more (until I post another update, if I do). We'll start it with the Potato Dude watching TV, in honor of the next GSD chapter ahead -- GSD vs. Entertainment.

Reaching for that 50,000!

NaNoWriMo 2017 - Rebel Rebel

Now I have the song "Devil Devil" stuck in my head. Hey, at least it's a good song.

But that's not what this post is about. No, of course not. It's November 1. And we all know what that means, right? NaNoWriMo!

I am deep diving in revisions for Thorns Entwine the Blade right now, and I need to keep making progress on those if I want to release the novel in March or April. But I can't resist the temptation of NaNoWriMo! It's a weakness. Maybe even an addiction at this point since I never do hit 50,000 words (I'm still OK with that, by the way).

So, I'm all in this month. Along with a goal of 20,000 words for revisions, I'm also hoping to reach at least 25,000 words for NaNoWriMo, though I have scheduled stuff to shoot for 50,000.

What am I, though? A NaNo Rebel, always and forever. There are so many projects that I want to work on, so I'm going to use NaNoWriMo this year to finish some things up and most importantly have fun. No pressure at all. This will be fun drafting time.

The projects I intend to work on are as follows:

❦ GSD Vs. Everything - I am 12,000 words into this. I am hoping for 18,000 more words (though some won't count toward NaNo as I have one or two sections that will be copied from elsewhere). This is the first task, and I may not get any words written today because I still have to read through what I've already written since it's been so long.

❦ Blood Stains the Soul (Trinity Torn, 3) - Back in 2004, my first NaNoWriMo, I wrote out a mad dash of 14,000 words on Thorns. I kind of want to do that for Book 3 in the trilogy as well. Get down the bones and things that are floating around in my head. I want to see where the words take me. I'm not even calling this a rough draft. More like a free write with a prompt? My aim is 15,000 words on this.

❦ Now, those two don't add up to 50,000. If I do complete the above projects, it's a free-for-all. My whims will take me to the well of words. I could start a Fortunes of Fate story, inspired by the votes I've already gotten (if you haven't voted yet, please do: Which Tarot Card Next?). Or I might continue Chains of Nect. Oh, oh, or work on the Rabid Unicorns idea. A Fractured Fairies story? Another completely different shiny that is preying on my brain (I have so many that nibble at the edges)? Who knows! I sure don't right now.

What do you think? Am I completely off my rocker? Will I fall flat on my face immediately and get absolutely no revising or writing done? I sure hope not - lol.

My usual NaNoWriMo meter is below, and I'll tweak the word count meters in the left column as well. I may just have NaNoWriMo update posts throughout November, but we'll see. Depends on how well I can keep my head above water.

Happy writing AND happy reading!

Nov. 1 - I completed the chapter GSD vs. Sleep, so it's only fitting that the potato dude is nodding off. And now, I actually go to sleep... Zzzzzz.

Nov. 8 - The counter above will remain at 9000 -- pop over to my newest post, NaNoWriMo - Slight Change of Plans, to see the words continue to climb!

GSD vs. Doubt

Yup, back to Getting Stuff Done. I just wrote the chapter on doubt this weekend, and it's of course something I struggle with daily.

This writing business is a tough gig. Either there's the traditional route that can take years, if ever, to break into and do well with. Or there's the indie route, which let's face it, there are so many authors out there, you have to hope at some point your writing is noticed (usually via some aggressive marketing or advertising...or luck) among all the others.

As writers, we seek validation. And the only validation we have are sales and reviews. When you're first starting out on a path, you don't have much of either of these, which makes things even harder. And makes for a great place for doubts to fester.

That's pretty much where I'm at right now. The doubts are throwing a rave in my brain.

I know I was born to write. The stories in my head have driven me as far back as I can remember. I'll never, ever stop writing, no matter what. That's not the doubt here. No. The doubt is that sore that I can't seem to stop poking at wondering if I'm a good enough writer. If I'm good enough to make any traction in the publishing world, to find readers who love my characters and worlds as much as I do.

And right now, I really don't have the validation that I am good enough. Sales of the short stories haven't been the best. Yes, I know short stories are hard sells, but I'm starting to second guess myself. Should I even be publishing any of these stories? Are they good enough? Should I have approached the stories a different way than I did?

Newsletter sign-ups are non-existent. The one story that has sold the most hasn't gained any reviews on Amazon. And I feel like I'm in the middle of the ocean where my legs have just frozen up so I can no longer tread water.

I also started edits on Mind Behind the Mind this week. It's been a while since I looked at the novel, and I was quite pleased with what I saw. But then those stinkin' doubts crept in. I may think it's good, but will anyone else? Will I successfully be able to make the following two novels in the series as good as this one? Same voice, character quirks, consistency?

I wish I could find a vat of acid to throw all of my doubts in. That would be lovely to have peace at last, but that's likely never going to happen. I am a worrier by nature. It's a hard mindset to change.

Of course, I'm going to keep plowing ahead. I want to share the stories in my head with other people, and I'm hoping I can find an audience for my stories, even if the doubts still pipe up at the most inopportune times.

I also have to remember I'm not perfect. Not everyone will like what I write. But I truly hope I can find my readers somewhere out there one day. Doubt be damned.

GSD vs. Sickness

This post will be brief. Can you imagine what it's about?

G(etting) S(tuff - or Shit, depending how much of a potty mouth you want to have) D(one). It's ever the perpetual thing we humans strive for. Whether it be writing, cleaning, work, craft projects, heck even trying to relax so you don't stress out trying to get the other things done.

You devise a plan, a lovely plan that makes sense and you think won't be too far out of reach to complete. You're going to GSD, and you have it all mapped out in front of you how.

And then it happens. You get sick.

Now, there are people who can power through the sick and continue to GSD, even though I'd contest the quality of the work depending just how sick a person is.

Fevers knock me on my ass. And of course, that's what I woke up to Tuesday morning (after a long night of chills and me wondering why I was so damned cold). All I wanted to do was stay in bed, but I unfortunately had to at least minimally GSD. Get the eldest to school, make sure the youngest had food and clean diapers, pick up the eldest from school, fetch a naughty kitten from the basement, deal with toddler temper tantrums.

All the shit I listed above got done, but that lovely monthly plan for making progress on my writing tasks laughed in my face. And things had started off so well on Monday.

I'm still sick, unfortunately. Even if I don't have a fever, I have a headache that doesn't want to be touched by pills, horrible abdominal cramps, and the sweats. TMI? Sorry.

And clearly this wasn't what I intended to blog about this week. I was going to start the Adventures of Karriya the Wizard. That will now be delayed until the end of the month since the next two weeks are posts that shouldn't be pushed back.

Now, I have to admit, I also decided to post this because of an idea I have for a book. I hope to slowly write up some short essays on GSD vs. Various Things. I hope they will be humorous, even if they don't help overcome those obstacles to GSD, so a little humorous creative non-fiction. I'll be writing these up in between all of my other writing projects (funny, right? If I don't get sick). Of course I'll have a chapter on GSD vs. Sickness, though it won't exactly be this post!

What obstacles stop you from GSD? What would you like to see me write about in the book?