Writer's Academy Webinar

I don't think I've ever been so low on Christmas cheer as I am this year. Am I the only one who's just not feeling it? I think personal circumstances, being sick, coupled with an argument with my parents over my birthday (which will be on Monday) means I'd rather not be forced to be happy and cheerful right now.

Anyway, a few updates since I've been AWOL for a while:

First things first - I didn't 'win' NaNoWriMo. But I did write 30,000 words, and to me, that's a win in itself - there's no way I would've written that much in a normal month, so I'm happy. And although my book is still all over the place, I do have more of an idea of where I'm going with it. So that's a plus.

I also attended a Higher Education marketing conference last week - I enjoyed my journey down to Manchester, and although I wish the conference had been writing related (the joys of my day job!), it was actually very useful, and I learnt a couple of things that I think might be applicable to how writers can market themselves as well. I'll try and write a post next week on it in more detail.

But for now, my most recent news is that I attended a webinar run by The Writers' Academy on Monday night. It was called 'Behind the Bestseller' and it featured Jocasta Hamilton, Publishing Director at Hutchinson. There were some really good questions begin asked - and two of mine got chosen! I'm going to share them both with you below, as I found her tips really helpful and they inspired me to start writing again.

The first question I asked was, 'is it essential for authors to have their own website/social media pages before they have been published?'

A: Not really. Think about how you're trying to represent yourself and your book online, and the angle you are going for. If you enjoy it, or you have some kind of experience related to your book and it could be useful to market your work, such as you've been travelling and you're a travel writer, then yes, it could give your publicist something to say/give them them an angle to work with. But it's not essential. If it comes naturally to you and you can, do it, but if not, it doesn't matter.

My second question (and the one they saved for last!) was, 'what advice would you give to a writer who's been writing for years but keeps getting rejected?'

A: It depends on the feedback you're getting. Listen to the feedback you're receiving and keep going. Do it because you get something out of it. Are you sending it to the right people? Check your first pages are really great, and make sure your book is telling a story. Can you sum it up in one line? Can you sum it up in four? Publishing is a matchmaking game, and eventually, you'll find the perfect fit for your work. So if you love it, keep doing it, and remember to listen to the feedback you're getting.

I really enjoyed attending the webinar, and it was so useful to hear an editor saying what they're looking for in a book/author. Plus, I feel less guilty now about not updating my blog/Twitter as often as I should!

Anyway, that's it from me for now - I might try and write one more post before Christmas, but with birthday celebrations happening this weekend, I might not, we'll see!

Did anyone else attend the webinar? Would you attend a similar webinar in future?

My book is a beast

I have a confession to make. My book is a beast.

There, I said it.

My book: destroying everything in it's path...

It's this huge, lumbering, unwieldy thing with bright blue fur, three heads, six inch talons, fangs, four wings, a long spiky tail and ten eyes. It won't do what I tell it to do. It won't listen to me - it's own creator! How rude - it just keeps lumbering along, occasionally gaining momentum but then slowing down to a halt to graze on green leaves and possibly the souls of small children (just joking - or am I...?) before running away from me again. I'm constantly running after it, panting and shouting at it to stop, but it simply takes no notice. It makes no sense - it shouldn't exist and it goes against everything I've ever believed as a writer, and yet - I love it.

I love it despite the fact it has a fat middle, a non-coherent beginning and a fairly decent, if somewhat abrupt, ending (well, the last scene anyway - let's not talk about the chapters before it). I love the fact that by writing absolute nonsense, I'm learning more and more about my main character every day - some days I love him, other days I wonder why on earth I ever bothered to write him in the first place and sometimes, just sometimes, he terrifies me and takes my breath away. I love learning more about my supporting characters and where they fit and why. I love writing scenes, knowing they will never make it into the final book, or they will have to be so heavily edited they won't be recognisable anymore; but it's only through writing what I don't want in the book, that I can start to discover what I do want in it. I especially love discovering more about the world they all inhabit, and how I can bring that world to life on the page.

I chose to do NaNoWriMo because I wanted to challenge myself as a writer. I wanted to try something new, something completely different to what I've done before. And I'm so glad I took the plunge.

Come December, I'll hopefully have 80,000+ words to work with on this WIP. It's a daunting task, but you know what? I'm so looking forward to taming this beast. I'm looking forward to wrestling with it, shaving off all that fur, clipping back the talons and untangling all those knots, to see what beauty lies beneath. Maybe there won't be any. Maybe I'll do all that work and discover it wasn't the book I thought it was, or the book I wanted it to be. But that's ok. This is what writers do - we write, we rewrite and, if we have to, we scrap it and start the whole process over again.

A few months ago, the thought of ditching a project, or coming to the end of a book and discovering it might not be publishable didn't make any sense to me. Why go through all that frustration and pain and heartbreak? But now, I'm slowly starting to realise that no matter how long it takes, or how many times you have to start over, some things are worth fighting for. I firmly believe that this book is worth fighting for - I will do whatever it takes, however long it takes - until it's done. It might take me a couple of months - most likely it will take me years. But that's ok. I'm going to keep chipping away at the beast, word by word, chapter by chapter, until one day, I can stand back and be proud of what I've achieved.

My book is a beast - but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Calcifier: a much more manageable demon

Is your book a beast? How do you 'tame' your novel? How's your NaNoWriMo going? What's your favourite Studio Ghibli film?

NaNoWriMo and Second Breakfasts...

I didn't want to go to my day job today. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I had Friday off and. It. Was. Amazing.

I mentioned last week that I booked some time off in November to do some writing specifically for NaNoWriMo, and Friday was one of those days.

I was so happy when I woke up on Friday morning to a clear sunrise - I don't know why, but if it's sunny outside, I feel like anything is possible. Sunshine definitely has a positive effect on my mood.

My first stop of the day was my local Starbucks - I'm aware this isn't exactly supporting small businesses but it had free parking and I knew it would (probably) have decent wifi. I ordered a hot drink and a chocolate swirl to 'keep me going' (I have a confession to make - this was actually my second breakfast of the day, but I felt like I had to order something so I wouldn't feel guilty about being there!)

The breakfast of champions writers! Don't ask what's happening with the cream

I stayed there all morning, before deciding to find somewhere new to have lunch and start my afternoon writing session - not that there was anything wrong with Starbucks, but personally I think it can be quite expensive and I wasn't prepared to pay through the nose just for a sandwich. So I went to the cafe I worked at for a couple of weeks earlier this summer, before I got my marketing job. It was lovely to see everyone again, and the upside of going somewhere I've worked before meant that I knew exactly where the radiators and plug sockets were.

Chicken burger and chips for lunch - fuel for the afternoon!

The only downside was that the wifi didn't appear to be working properly. It wasn't a huge issue, as I was only using it to listen to music and I had music on my phone - but I'm finding more and more that I can only get into a really good writing groove if I plug my headphones in and shut the world out. After a few hours though, it was becoming obvious to me that I wasn't get as much work done. Music plays a huge part in my writing and I felt that because I didn't have the right songs on, I was getting restless and not really concentrating. So I went home early, put the fire on, made cup of tea and finished my writing session at home.

Fell views on the way home - winter is definitely coming

In total, I wrote 10,000 words on Friday. That's a huge achievement considering I hadn't written anything for about a week. I was planning on writing 5,000 words each on Saturday and Sunday too, but on Saturday I had to help out on the family farm for most of the day and Sunday just seemed to pass in a blur. I wrote another 4,000 words altogether, which is still pretty good - I'm well below the official NaNoWriMo word count for this time of the month, but I'm happy. So long as I keep writing every day, I'll get there in the end.


I have another two days booked off right at the end of November and I'm already counting down the days - I had such a good time just being a writer and doing what I love to do, that I can't wait for next time! Next time though, I know to stay somewhere with decent wifi and not switch workspaces halfway through the day - it breaks my concentration too much!

Have you ever taken time off work specifically to write? Do you like to write in cafes or at home? Do you listen to music while you write?

Busy weekends and NaNoWriMo updates...

I have a confession to make - I haven't written a word for NaNoWriMo since about this time last week.

There are a couple of reasons for this - we went to see our friends in Cheltenham last weekend (my lovely friend Jess is also a blogger - check out her amazing food blog here! Be warned though - it will make you very hungry) and I had such a good time - we saw a firework show at Cheltenham racecourse, went to an organic farm shop and made chocolate apples (mmm....)

The only thing is, we were also away the weekend before that too, which meant I've had two weeks with basically no breaks - I'm not complaining because I've had such a good time catching up with people, but I've definitely noticed a difference in my mood this week. I've been so exhausted when I get back from work that I barely have the energy to make supper. It's been a struggle not to just fall asleep where I am on the sofa every night.

But I have some good news - I'm off work tomorrow! At the start of November, I booked a few days off with the specific aim of getting a load of writing done - and I'm planning on spending the whole day in a small coffee shop somewhere scribbling down my words for NaNoWriMo. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this - not just because it's a well-needed break from my day job, but also because it'll be the first time in years (since uni in fact) that I'll be able to a) dedicate the whole day to writing and b) get out of the house to do my writing. I'm so excited!

So even though I'm down on my word count, I'm still happy. Am I going to give up because I've fallen behind? Nope. I'm going to keep writing, and see what happens - maybe I'll complete NaNaWriMo, but if I don't, well, I'll still be several thousand words ahead than I was in October. And that's all that counts.

I have all my notes, I have my notepad, and I have my laptop. Let's order in the coffee (and maybe a cake or three) and let's get writing! We can do this!

Happy NaNoWriMo, everyone! Keep going - you're all amazing xx

P.S. To keep you going, here's a photo of me meeting Batman in my workplace this week. Not gonna lie - it was awesome...

How is your writing going? Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo? What are your plans for the weekend?

IWSG November: My favourite part of being a writer is...

I feel like I’ve been so wrapped up in life lately, I completely forgot it was IWSG until I happened to check my blog this morning and see everyone else’s posts. I was originally going to post today on some other stuff but I think I’ll save that for December, after the craziness of NaNoWriMo has passed.

This month's IWSG question is:

What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

I instantly knew what my answer to this question would be – world building. I adore getting lost in a book where the world building is so complete and intricate that you could believe that that world actually existed. I’ve read books where the world building has been so good, it’s taken me a few moments to readjust back to reality once I’ve stopped reading, or I’ve felt gutted when a book/series has finished and I know I have to leave that world behind forever.

I love good world building – I’m not just talking about descriptions of places, I’m also talking about the history of the world, its rules and regulations, its political system, its currency, different races and religions, gender and their roles in society…it’s all these things that really bring a book to life. As a reader, I think it can be obvious when an author doesn’t put as much thought or time into their world building as they should – but if they do put in the effort, it makes the whole book flow and reading it a joy.

In terms of being a writer, this is my favourite part of writing because although it can be a challenge to bring a world to life on a page, I love exploring the possibilities of new worlds and coming up with the little details that all add to the overall picture. In the fantasy novel that I’m currently working on, I’m taking the time to explore the backstory of my fantasy world and I’m absolutely loving it – whenever I don’t feel like writing a proper scene, I’ll write some folklore or dream up a new location in my world, and write about that for a while instead. It’s actually a surprisingly good way to get myself into the writing mindset – and I’m planning on using this technique to up my word count during NaNoWriMo if I get desperate!

What about you – what’s your favourite aspect of being a writer? Have you read any books lately with brilliant world building? What brings a book to life for you? If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, don’t forget to add me at: REPattinson1!

It's time for NaNoWriMo!

In just over a week, aspiring (and established) authors from all around the world will unite and attempt to complete the daunting task of writing 50,000 words in one month. No, we haven't all been taking crazy pills (hmm...debatable), it's that time of year again - it's NaNoWriMo!

For those of you who may not know, NaNoWriMo is a "fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel by 11.59pm on November 30."

I've attempted to complete NaNoWriMo twice before; the first year, (in 2012) I only wrote about 100 words, the second year (2013) I wrote a grand total of 39,000 words - although I didn't realise you could add on words from different projects, so really, the finish total was more like 45,000.

I kinda forgot about NaNoWriMo for most of this year - with the wedding, moving house, starting a new job etc, I just didn't consider it. But now that things are kind of calming down (LOL), I thought, 'why not?' I've already thrown out the rulebook with my current WIP - why not try and move it on a bit by writing 50,000 more words? I have no plan for this WIP, just the background notes and random scene ideas I've already written, but as I'm attempting to write the first draft of this novel without a plan, I'm not too worried (yet).

So there you go - from November 1st, I will be participating in the craziness that is NaNoWriMo. The Engineer has been informed, I'm booking the days off work today (not the whole month, unfortunately, but a few days here and there), and I'm actually super excited to have an uninterrupted excuse to work on my novel. Let the writing begin!

Oh, and if you need a buddy to rant/cry/commiserate/bounce idea off of - my username is REPattinson1. See you there!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, have you got a plan, or are you a 'pantser'? If you're not participating, what are you planning on doing in November?

Happy NaNoWriMo day!

Today is the 1st November, which means not only is Christmas (and my birthday) now only mere weeks away, it's also the start of NaNoWriMo!

For those of you who are new to writing, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the idea is that by midnight of the 30th November, you'll have written 50,000 words. Its a tough task, but definitely achievable. If you're just getting started with your writing, I would highly recommend giving it a go - it's invaluable in terms of teaching you about vital it is to write every day (or at least, getting into the habit of writing regularly), as well as giving you the opportunity to reach out and connect with fellow writers all over the world. If you'd like to know more, check out the NaNoWriMo website here.

Although I love the concept behind NaNoWriMo, this year I've decided not to officially participate. However, I will be there in spirit if not in person - I'm going to attempt to get the bulk of my latest WIP down on paper, as well as maybe try and get another project off the ground, but we'll see how my WIP goes first.

Also, I just thought I'd give you all a heads up - I'll be making a few changes to my blog/other social media sites over the coming week, one of which being (provided it all goes to plan and I don't mess it up) my blog URL will be changing. At some point over the next couple of days, it'll be changing to rachelpattinson.com. So this is just a warning in case your can't get onto my blog for a day or two (because knowing me, it'll go wrong somehow) - but fingers crossed everything will be up and running by IWSG on Wednesday!

So that's it! At the moment I'm just trying to tackle my huge to-do list that I wrote while on holiday last week, as well as mentally preparing myself to go back to work tomorrow after a week and a half off.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Are you taking part in NaNowriMo this year? Why/why not? Do you use a custom domain name, and did you find it easy to set up? Let me know!

November IWSG: Getting over the (random) fear...

This blog post probably would've been more appropriate for Halloween, but seeing as how that was less than a week ago, I'm going to use it anyway ;).

It's that time of the month again, when insecure writers from all over the internet unite and blog about their deepest, darkest fears that have been plaguing them for the last month. Special thanks go out to Alex J. Cavanaugh for setting up the group, and a huge thank you to all of this month's co-hosts :)!

Although I'm not officially participating in NaNowriMo this year, I'm currently in the rewriting stage of my first draft, and my Other Half has given me the deadline of the 30th November to get it done - so in a way, I'm with all you brave NaNoWriMos out there, at least in spirit.

But here's the thing - I'm STILL struggling to get my mojo together to get into my rewrites properly. It's not because I don't know what I want to do, or that I hate my story (actually, I've felt more hopeful about this novel in the last few weeks than I have done for a while) - it's something else, and I only managed to put my finger on it last night.

I'm scared of succeeding.

I know, I know how odd that sounds - but the fact is, writing a novel is something I've been working towards since I was about 15. And the thought that by the end of this month my novel should (theoretically) be in a readable form (i.e. I could send it out to my beta readers if I wanted to) really does scare me. Do I have the dedication and motivation to actually finish something for once? After so many false starts and disappointments, I find it hard to believe. It's almost as though my subconscious is telling me that no, I can't do this, I can't actually realise one of my life dreams, heaven forbid - so why bother working on it?

So that's it for this month - a slightly odd topic, I know, but it's been bothering me for the last few days. Hopefully it'll pass soon - only 25 days to go until the finish line!

Happy bonfire night, everyone! Stay safe out there tonight!

March IWSG: But is there any substance...?

Guys, just going to apologise now if this post is a little short/rushed!

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG)! On the first Wednesday of every month, authors from across the world/interweb post up their fears and insecurities about their writing, and we all provide support/tea/cake/virtual hugs to encourage all your lovely authors to keep writing.

IWSG was set up by Alex J. Cavanaugh (you can check out his blog here) and there's now an official IWSG website, which is full of helpful tips, tricks and encouraging posts – you can check out that awesome site here.

So this month I'm focusing on my actual plot line – I'm currently halfway through writing a proper detailed synopsis for my NaNoWriMo novel (which I'm praying will turn into my first actual real novel) and something struck me as I began to flesh out each scene: do I have enough substance in my story?

I'm pretty sure I know who my characters are, what their motives are, where it's going to be set etc, but as I wrote out each scene, I began to wonder which of my scenes were essential to the story (which I'm hoping will be all of them) and which ones were 'filler'.

I hate the thought that 75% of my book might be made up of those awful, stilted dialogue scenes, or scenes that describe in minute detail of how my MC got up, stared out the window, made breakfast, ate breakfast, put on her socks, had a completely random argument with her parent(s), brushed her hair exactly 100 times, put on her shoes, picked up her bag, stared soulfully at her reflection in the mirror (enter convenient description of MC's physical appearance here) before finally running out of the house and catching the bus to school. Or something along those lines. You get the picture.

Are there some scenes you should leave in so the reader gets a bit of a background of your MC, or should every scene have a specific purpose? I personally prefer the latter option – but I'm just hoping that my opinion on what's essential to the storyline doesn't differ too much to my reader's!

So that's it for now! Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog more often this month – there's a couple of book reviews I'd love to write up for you guys to read :).

Until next time - happy writing!

Just keep swimming...I mean, writing...

So it's week 3 of NaNoWriMo - where has the time gone?!

I was actually fully expecting that I'd give up again this year, and that I'd only make it to 1,000 words again - but to my surprise, I'm still so enthusiastic about writing my novel! I'm currently on just over 30,000 words, which I have to admit, I'm quite proud of! If this was a normal November, I wouldn't be so far ahead, by the way - my sister is coming to visit me next Friday for a week, which means essentially, I've only got this week to get to 50,000 words!

I'm aiming to get at least another 5,000 written today - although I'm feeling a tiny bit worse for wear today, as I went out with my colleagues last night! I guess that's spirit of NaNoWriMo - writing when you'd really rather just laze around watching films and sleeping!

I do still have some major insecurities about my novel - but NaNoWriMo has made me seriously think about how I write, and I've had some revelations over the past few weeks.

When I used to start writing a novel before (note: start and never finish), everything I wrote had to be perfect, first time. But now, I'm slowly beginning to accept that nothing I write will be 'perfect' the first time I write it - whereas before NaNoWriMo I would've spent hours choosing the perfect word for a sentence, or desperately trying to think up of a new scene, or feel like crying over the thought of finishing my novel, only to have to go back and revise and write yet ANOTHER draft - now, none of that seems to bother me so much. If anything, I'm actually looking forward to December when I can edit and rewrite my novel!

Although I have the main plot points in my novel planned out, there are still large portions of it where I have no idea how the characters are going to get to A to B, or how one plot point will lead to the next. But for once, I'm not that worried. I know I'll figure it all out in the end, and I'm so looking forward to discovering new things about my novel as I write. For once, I can actually imagine my novel as a complete, shiny, finished product - and I can't wait to get there! All I have to have is a little patience and determination (and tea...let's not forget the tea).

So here's to the next 20,000 words! Roll on next week - and December!

How about you? How's your writing coming on this month :)?

IWSG - Character fears!

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Every first Wednesday of the month, writers from all over the blogosphere confess what's been troubling them in their writing over the past month. IWSG was set up by Alex J. Cavanaugh (you can check out his blog here!), and you can check out the awesome brand-new official IWSG website here!

(P.S. If anyone knows how I can add the IWSG button to my blog, please let me know! I'm really not tech-savvy and I have no idea how to do it!)

So this month, my IWSG post is focusing on, yup, you've guessed it – NaNoWriMo.

So far, I'm doing an okay job of turning off my inner editor, and refusing point blank to listen when that little voice pipes up saying 'hey, you know those last 2,000 words you've just written? It's utter crap! Why don't you just go back and tinker with it a bit....' So while learning to lock my inner editor away in a cage and throw away the key is proving to be a little difficult, that's not the aspect I want to focus on today. Today, I'm feeling insecure about my NaNoWriMo characters.

I know these 50,000 words are going to be crap. That's fine. But what I'm terrified of is that even when I come to edit this 50,000 word monster, readers are still going to hate my characters.

What if they can't relate to them at all? What if they think they're 'wooden'? How on earth do I inject life and soul into these characters, that are so alive in my own head, but aren't necessarily coming out well on paper??

I'm so scared that people will think my FMC is just completely cold and un-relatable - true, I intend for her to be cold hearted at the beginning of the book, and as I'm planning on writing a series, I don't want her transformation to be completely obvious by the end of the first book. Yes, I want her to grow and start to see the error of her ways, but I don't want her to change instantly – otherwise, how else can I develop her in the next two books?

What if people also think my MMC's motives are questionable too?? If all goes to plan, he's going to develop/change/grow a lot quicker than my FMC does, but what if people flat out don't like him? I'd be heartbroken! I love my MMC to bits – in fact, when I first thought up of my plot, it was originally going to be about my FMC's journey, but now, I think I want it to be more (or at least equally) about his journey too, as he's just as pivotal to the story.

So that's my neurotic rambling for this month! Sorry if the post is a bit long, but it feels good to get it all off my chest ;). I can't wait to visit everyone else and cheer them on today, whether or not they're doing NaNoWriMo!

Happy Writing!

NaNoWriMo....Day 5!

This is just a quick update, to let you all know that I'm still alive and drinking lots of tea to get me through NaNoWriMo ;)...

It's day 5 of NaNoWriMo, and I'm pleased to say that I've passed last year's word count - hooray! Not that that was very difficult, mind you - last year I wrote about 1,000 words then gave up. This year, I've currently written over 8,600 words :), which makes me very happy! I was hoping to break through the 10,000 word barrier over the weekend, but I went to see a friend on Sunday and ended up hanging out with her later than I thought I would. Not that I mind - it was nice to get out of the house after writing all day Saturday!

What I've written so far is a complete mess. I'm not afraid to admit it - it's appalling. If I was writing this normally in any other month, I would have burst into tears, deleted everything, then thrown my laptop out of the window long ago. But this November, I am determined to turn off my inner editor and just write - it's so hard though - I'll think that I've managed to ignore what my inner editor is saying, but then I'll realise that I haven't written anything for five minutes, because I'm searching for the perfect way to word a particular sentence....but I just have to remember that NaNoWriMo isn't the time for editing and getting everything perfect - it's about writing.

So that's what I'm going to focus on this week - simply getting the words down onto paper. There'll be plenty of time in December for me to edit and rewrite to my heart's content, but for now I'm just going to box up all my doubts and shove them into a dark and dusty corner of my mind...

I also received some unexpected news this morning - when I turned up to my first class of the day, the classroom was empty and the teachers were stripping everything off the walls. Turns out some of the kids are suffering from the 'hands, foot and mouth disease' - don't you just love it when things get lost in translation? I'm pretty sure that means chicken pox...but anyway, the whole class is off school for the next two weeks, which means I now have even more free time in the morning. Don't get me wrong, I hope all ,y cute little Chinese pupils get well soon, and I can't wait to see them again, but I'm not gonna lie - two weeks worth of free mornings, right when NaNoWriMo is running (when I actually only have 3 weeks instead of 4 to write 50,000 words, as my sister is coming to see me at the end of November), - kinda seems like a very odd blessing in disguise ;)....

So, how's your NaNoWriMo coming along?? I'd love to hear what you're up to!

It's almost here!

The countdown to NaNoWriMo has begun!

In just one and a half hours (if you're running on Beijing time that is), NaNoWriMo 2013 will begin! Although on the one hand, I'm completely psyched to get going on my novel, at the same time, I'm terrified! All I can think about is - have I put enough work into planning my novel? What if everyone hates my characters? What if I hate my characters? What if my world isn't believable...? Wait...stop, stop, STOP!

I'm actually having to try and mentally shut my brain down before it goes into overdrive - NaNoWriMo isn't about having the perfect plot or story arc, or characters....it's about writing. So that's what I'm going to try and do - from tomorrow, I'm going to stop worrying so much about the nitty gritty of my story and just simply...write! Who cares if the background to my world isn't complete yet? Who cares if I don't know every little thing about my characters yet? NaNoWriMo will give me the chance to discover all these things - and once I've written my 50,000 words, that's when I can go back through it all properly and edit it. But for now, I'm just going to have fun letting my creative side out!

I'm off to bed now so I can get a decent night's sleep before the craziness of November kicks in tomorrow. Good luck to everyone who's participating this year - I know you'll do great! And if you fancy having someone to cheer you on/cry on, feel free to add me on the NaNoWriMo website - my username is REPattinson1 :).

Good luck!

X

Three days to go...

...are you ready yet?!

I know, I know I keep going on about NaNoWriMo (you can check out it's awesomeness for yourself here), but I really am psyched to properly try and win this year! For the past few weeks I've been waiting impatiently for 1st November to roll around, so I can properly get stuck into writing my novel - but now I can't believe that it's only three days away!! Ahhh!! WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! For the next few days I'll be frantically putting together the last of my notes on my world-building/characters/plot etc (I know you're not really supposed to do this, but trust me, if I just jump straight in, I know I'll hit a wall in about two days time, and that'll be that). 

I've also taken the plunge and re-joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group (you can check out that awesomeness here!) - when I joined last year, I, er, may have got taken off the list because I didn't post for more than two months in a row - but this time I am determined to keep up with it! I already know what a couple of my upcoming posts will be about (and no doubt my first one for November will include NaNoWriMo...) and I've also made a note in my diary every first Wednesday of the month to make double-y sure I don't forget again! I may also put a reminder on my phone, just in case...

I hope everyone else's plans for NaNoWriMo are coming together - I'd love to hear about your plans for this year, so feel free to post a comment or two!

Writing ups and downs...

This week has kind of been up and down, in terms of my writing. On the plus side, I'm all fired up and ready to go with my new novel idea for NaNoWriMo - I'm planning on spending the weekend fine-tuning the plot/setting/characters, so hopefully by November 1st, I'll have some clue of what I want to write about!

On the downside though, I had a very unpleasant surprise this week - I thought I'd open up my other WIP, just to see how far I'd got with it, with the vague idea that I may add to it again, if inspiration for my NaNoWriMo novel failed to strike. However, when I opened up the folder on my computer, I couldn't find my 20,000+ manuscript anywhere....as well as that, all my spreadsheets with my plot outlines, and several other Word docs with notes/scribbles in, had gone too...after searching around my laptop frantically, I decided to check the USB stick where I know I also saved the file (in fact, I'd transferred the file from the USB to my laptop). Unfortunately, there was nothing there either - I don't know how I did it, but somehow when I transferred the file from my USB to my laptop, these documents got lost along the way.

I'm so annoyed with myself for not checking my USB before I put everything on my laptop and it's disappointing that all that work has gone - but not all hope has been lost yet. I've asked my lovely Other Half back in England to check my old laptop just in case there's a chance they are still saved on there...so I'm crossing all my fingers for luck! I guess if they have been lost/deleted by accident, then maybe it's the universe's way of telling me it wasn't very good - and luckily, I still have a majority of my notes on this laptop, so if worst comes to worse, I'll just have to start again ;) - slightly irritating, but hey, that's life!

In other news, I told myself last night that I'd get up early today and get a good morning's writing done...however, due to the fact that I stayed up til after 12.30am writing, that kinda didn't happen...BUT I'm up, showered (not quite wide awake yet - but that's nothing several cups of tea won't fix...) and ready to rock 'n roll!

To be honest, I don't really mind that I've lost a few hours this morning, as I'm happy with the notes I scribbled down last night, and best of all, instead of waking up and thinking 'I suck at this, what's the point of writing, no one's ever going to read it anyway', I'm still absolutely determined not to listen to that little devil on my shoulder - instead, I'm going to keep going until I have a reasonable plot/outline/setting, ready for NaNoWriMo. I may not be the best writer in the world (yet :p), but I'm still going to try!

How are all your plans going for NaNoWriMo? Are you writing up plans, or are you just going to wing it? Let me know - I'd love to hear from you!

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo '13...

So it's almost that time of year again when we writers go into hibernation (not that I'm constantly in hibernation anyway...ahem..) for the month of November, locking ourselves away into some dark and dusty room, only to dash back out into the light when the food/chocolate/tea supplies start to get low....yup, NaNoWriMo is here. In just 9 days time, the frenzy of writing, word counts and tears begins again....

I'm really looking forward to NaNoWriMo this year - mainly because I am DETERMINED that I will actually achieve my 50,000 word count (last year I managed a pitiful 1,000...) - I'm hoping that being in a new city, and the fact that I only really work for four hours a day, will mean that I will finally be able to knuckle down and get some proper writing done.

I've already updated my NaNoWriMo profile on the official website (which you can check out here), said hello to my fellow NaNoWriMo'ers that are in Beijing on the forums, and for the rest of the night, I'm going to get a head start on my novel by writing out my synopsis/plan (is that cheating? I hope not....). So things are already looking up from last year!

I can't wait to get involved properly - I'm so looking forward to hearing about how other people's work in getting on, and sharing mine in return.

Let the writing commence! (Well....in approximately 219 hours and 30 minutes, if you're on Beijing time...)

Sunday Night Blues...

You know, sometimes I just can't believe how fast the weekend goes - one minute it's Friday night and I'm chilling on the sofa with a good book (with the exception of this Friday when i actually ventured outside the house for once), the next, it's Sunday and I have to start planning my outfit for work the next day. Time really does fly by in an alarming way.

Take NaNoWriMo for example. I told myself that this would be the year when I participated - I may not hit the 50,000 word mark, but I was going to give it my best shot.

NaNoWriMo ends on Friday and my word count currently stands at 1,279. It's pitiful.

I actually feel like I've let myself down a bit. I was so looking forward to seeing my story take shape, and see what happens  with my characters and how the story would change over time, but instead, I've barely started the first chapter.

It's just disappointing because I know I do this a lot. I told myself I'd finish a novel by the time I was 18 and I never did. I told myself I would finish my novel by the time I graduated and I never did. I told myself I'd finish a novel by the time I was 21 and guess what? That doesn't look likely either, as my 22nd birthday looms ever closer.

It's just frustrating because I know that I want to be an author more than anything in the world. I adore writing. I love making up stories in my head as I sit on the bus and watch the world go by. But when it actually comes down to it - I always bail in some way. I don't know if this is because of some inherent fear I have that my stories and my writing will never be good enough for people to read, or if it's because I'm afraid of failing, or if I'm simply just too lazy to begin writing seriously. I did make some headway this summer while I was applying for jobs (managed to write around 40,000 words on one story), but now, I always seem to have some excuse not to write - whether because I'm too busy, or because I'm too tired at night when I come home from work.

I always make promises to myself that I'll try harder and this resolve lasts for a little while, until I run out of steam and the whole cycle starts again. And it's just starting to get me down a little bit, especially as NaNoWriMo has been such a disaster.
I'm considering maybe joining a writing group to help me on my way - perhaps if I make my writing less private, I might pluck up the courage to actually finish a story for once and see where I can go with it - but again, this may just be an idea that I think of, but never get round to, or I'll go along for a little while then stop. But we'll see!

I do apologise for the depressing post - I hate read posts like this myself, so next time, I promise I'll be more cheerful ;), and here's something that never fails to make me smile:

It's not particularly high-brow is it!

Have a great week folks!

X

It's time! Let's get writing!!...

It's finally here!

Today marks the first day of NaNoWriMo!

For those of you who are slightly confused by the term, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's where you aim to write 50,000 words of a novel (note: novel, not short story etc) by midnight November 30th. Sounds easy right?...probably not.

I'm so so excited to get started. Although on the other hand, I'm also so nervous about opening up my outline again, after around six weeks of not looking or thinking about it at it all...strictly speaking, I'm not too sure if that's allowed according to the NaNoWriMo rules...but as it's my first time, I want to make everything as easy as possible to ease myself into the process ;).

If you want to learn more about NaNoWriMo, you can check out the website here.

So how about you? Will you be taking part this year??

Good luck to everyone who's taking part!!

Let's get writing!

xx