Are you ready...?

Around two years ago I heard of an amazing writing challenge that happens every November, all over the world...

Can you guess what it is?

Yup, that's right. It's that time of year again....it's time for NaNoWriMo!

I first heard of this in my second year of uni, but it was around halfway through November before I was aware of it, so I decided to wait until the next year. Last year, I was so bogged down with uni work, I couldn't focus on anything else, let alone writing.

But this year I have no excuse - and I am so so excited to finally be a part of NaNoWriMo! I don't know if I'll 'win', but I'm going to give it a damn good shot! I've got the outline of my story and I know all my characters, it's just that lately, I've haven't had the time to actual sit down and write - so this really is a perfect opportunity for me to get into the habit and set myself a challenge. I can't wait to see how it goes. No doubt whatever i write I'll hate, but I don't mind about that - so long as finally get something down on paper, I'll be happy.

I've officially joined the NaNoWriMo site. I'm about to go and introduce myself right now. I'm frantically looking out my flash pen/folder of notes so I can put them by the computer for when I frantically start writing. I'm nearly ready for Thursday...

I think...

So how about you guys? Will you be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, will you be working on a WIP or will you be starting something completely new? I can't wait to hear your stories!

Have a good night, everyone!

xx

Tea and tunes...

So, the last time I wrote, I said I was finally going to open up my detailed synopsis and start writing.

That didn't happen.

Mainly because I am the world's biggest procrastinator and I kept putting off the big moment again and again.

HOWEVER, today is the day! I've got a free morning, so I'm sitting here with a mug of tea, the radio on, Spotify running and staring with increasing panic at my flash pen, before I finally take the plunge and see what kind of crap I wrote all that time ago. Still, it's got to happen at some point, and if I'm going to be serious about writing, I can't put it off any longer.

So here it goes.

I'll write again later, and let you know if a) I'm delighted and can't wait to start writing again or b) I've thrown my laptop out of the window in frustration.

Honestly, who thought just looking at a bloody synopsis would be so nerve-wracking?! If I'm like this now, I don't even wanna know what I'll be like if I ever finish the first draft!

On the plus side, if it really is that awful, there's another novel idea that's been floating around in my head for the past couple of days - so I could always do that instead ;).

Have a great day everyone!

xx

Lazy Sundays....kind of...

I honestly didn't mean to leave it so long until I blogged again - but I wanted to waited until I could share some exciting news with you all before I did :) (I could also use the excuse that I've been busy - which is perfectly true, but at the same time, I know I could've blogged if I was really motivated to!)

Anyway, first things first....a quick update on my book progress. As I mentioned in my previous post which you can find here, I'm stilling following the guidelines set out in 'How to nail your Novel' by Roz Morris. However, I may have, er, slightly have left my synopsis longer than I originally meant to! I did mean to start it again last weekend, as the Other Half was a away for a week, so I knew I wouldn't have any distractions - but I got distracted reading the AMAZING second book in the Game of Thrones series 'A Clash of Kings' instead (and I can't emphasize how much I absolutely adore this series - it is utterly amazing!). So instead, I think after I've been food shopping and to the gym (and possibly a small shopping trip thrown in for good measure too) today, tonight I am going to sit down and finally look over what I did, all those weeks ago. I know there are some parts I'm going to hate -  already I can think of a few scenes where I just want to cringe and hide - but I'm determined not to let that stop me. I really want this novel to finally go somewhere, so even if I don't like what I see, I'm determined to try and work on it, instead of just throwing it away like I have with so many other novels. I'll let you know how it goes!

So, onto my news - I can't remember if I've moaned over my lack of getting a job over the past few months (try about five) on here - I think I have, or at least, I've wanted to! However, it is with utter relief that I can finally announce that I HAVE A REAL GROWN-UP JOB!

Hooray!! I'm so so happy and relieved right now. I can't express the utter desperation, depression and exhaustion I've felt since, well, before I left university really. The job market really is horrendous, and it's so disheartening to keep applying for jobs and then to keep getting rejection after rejection. However, finally, a publisher has decided to take a chance on me and I am so happy that it's a job that I really really wanted - finally, all my tears and tantrums have paid off!

I know this means that I'll have even less time to write than I do at the minute, but hopefully it'll just push me harder to succeed in my writing - and it's proof that if you just keep trying and don't give up, you'll get what you want in the end :).

Have a great weekend, folks! I'll write again soon, I promise!

xx

Thank goodness for technology...

Well I've been on a bit of an unexpected hiatus lately - not because I wanted to take a break. but because the signal from mobile dongle we were using for the internet just kept getting worse and worse, until I could only stand going online if I absolutely had to!

However, all that's changed now - we moved house at the weekend (because our contract was up, not because of the poor internet signal) and we've just received our broadband package today - hooray! Finally, I can get back to writing and rambling once again ;).

I'm just going to give a VERY quick overview of everything that's happened over the past few weeks so I don't bore you all to death before I tell you where I'm at with my writing - I got a week's worth of temp work at a publishers, me and the Other Half went back up to Cumbria for a week and farmed, we've moved house and I've just received word that the publisher would like to go back and do ANOTHER week's work for them :)! Hooray! It's a start ;)!

Onto my writing now - I'm still working on the same project I started a few month ago (shock, horror - think this is the longest I've ever stuck with a project!). I'm still using the method I told you about in my last post (using the steps outlines in 'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris) - so I finished my detailed synopsis, slightly later than I planned, and now apparently I have to put it away for a while so I can come back and look at it again with fresh eyes. Luckily, I managed to finish it before we went up to Cumbria and before we moved house, so I've had plenty to keep me occupied to stop me dwelling on it! I was only going to leave it for a week - Ms Morris recommends a month, but I didn't want to wait that long - however, as I'm hopefully going to be working at a publishers again next week, that'll make it three whole weeks since I last looked at my synopsis (good gracious - time really does fly!). So I'll have had a good long break before I take it out again!

I have to admit, I'm actually a bit scared about looking at it again. I keep remembering certain parts and cringing a bit when I think of them - I really really don't want to open up my synopsis and discover that I hate it all! Hopefully, I'll decide there's something worth saving amongst all the cringey bits!

And now that I'm reconnected to the internet, I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress, and I'm looking forward to nosing around everyone's blogs once again and taking part in the IWSG once more ;)!

Have a great day everyone!

xx

Unleashing Creativity...kind of...

Ahh, it's such a beautiful day here in England - the perfect weather to start off the London Olympics! We ended up watching the whole of the opening ceremony last night, so I'm a bit frazzled this morning! However,
the Other Half's parentals are down for the weekend, so we can all just chill in the sun today :).

Anyway, I'm sneakily writing this as everyone else gets ready for our day out, but I have a few updates I just wanted to share with you all....

Firstly - I downloaded an e-book the other day called 'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris. I've been thinking about downloading a self-help book to writing for a while, and as I really want to get back into the habit of writing again, I thought I'd just bite the bullet and do it. So far, I think it's fantastic! It gives you all these tips on how to write, but instead of just telling you what to do, the writer provides exercises and games for you to do, to unleash your creativity and help you to spot where you're going wrong. At first, I wasn't too sure about her methods to be honest - but I thought I'd give it a whirl anyway and I LOVE IT!

No joke - in one section, you're supposed to write down each scene/major development in your book on a notecard, and then fit them together - that way, you can progressively see which parts of your book need work. I had a lot of fun writing out the notecards, but I had even MORE fun writing the whole thing up onto a spreadsheet in Excel and then colour coding different sub-plots! (That's just my obsessive organisational skills kicking in there - you don't have to colour-code everything!). Now I'm onto the stage of writing a detailed synopsis for my novel. Apparently you're supposed to write this based on your notecards, and then fill in the blanks. After you've finished, you're supposed to leave it for a week, so when you look at it again with fresh eyes, you'll be able to spot the mistakes.

Well, I'm about halfway through my synopsis at the moment. I don't know if I'll be able to get any more done this weekend, due to the Other Half's parentals visiting - but I'm really going to try and finish it at least by Monday night. I've FINALLY got a week's worth of work at a publishers (hooray!), so I thought it would give me the perfect chance to just leave my synopsis alone for a week!

Anyway, this post is getting long enough now, so I'll end this a link to Roz Morris' ebook, in case you feel like taking a look....she also offers a free sample on her website if you want to check out her writing style, but at £3.30, I didn't think I could go wrong by just taking a chance and downloading it :).

'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris

Does this sound like your type of writing style? Do you do exercises like this anyway? Let me know what you think - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great day everyone!

xx