This idea came to me while I was looking for some volunteer opportunities to fill some time. There was a retired horse rescue that got me wondering about what characters I’d put there. The thought of a pirate crossed my mind, so I started playing with this one. It seemed like a fun idea, so he might come back in another story one day.
Tag: writing
So…you wanna try Nanowrimo?
Well, after we’ve peeled off our Halloween costumes and before we start trying to figure out plans for the holidays, it’s that wonderful time of year called Nanowrimo!
Yes, Nanowrimo, where everyone tries to write a 50,000 word story while wrestling with imposter syndrome. Personally, I’ve finished Nano a handful of times in the past years. I’ve done it alone, I’ve done it with other writers and I’ve even convinced non-writer friends to participate in the past. For most people, it’s the equivalent of trying long-haul trucking after years of a twenty minute commute. And this year, you can do it too!
A few times in the past year, I’ve discussed the importance of finishing. I feel like–at it’s core–that’s the point of Nano. Not only is it a huge confidence boost for a writer (of any level) but it’s something you can use. Even if all you pull from Nano is a few sentences or a character or a place, that’s something that you didn’t have before. So, in the spirit of writing, here are a few times to get you excited and motivated about tackling the 50,000 word beast that is before you!
- Find your writing pack!
Nothing makes writing easier than having a group of other writers to share victories and commiserate over difficulties together! It’s hard to get excited about creating when it’s such a solitary hobby (especially these days). So, get your pack together! Find a few friends and start a text thread to check-in with each other! Bolster each other up and get excited together! - Write recklessly.
For now? Forget all the rules of writing. Have a page and a half of exposition. Let your sentences run until you exhaust yourself. Use said as much as you like. Nanowrimo is about creation and getting the bones down! The editing will come later when you polish and clean up your words into what you want it to be. But, for now, the important part comes from finishing. Write recklessly and don’t look back! - Commit to a schedule.
These days, we’re on our own to figure out when and how to work. Pick a writing time and stick to it. Maybe you’ll take some time before work to hit your word count. Some people write better after work. I knew people who had one day a week during Nano that they would write all day. Find your time and stick with it! - Don’t be afraid to jump around.
You’re gonna get stuck. A lot. And that’s OK. Sometimes, in order to get your word count, it’s important to remember that you’re allowed to skip to different parts of your story. Got a fight scene you’re excited to put down? Maybe you thought of how you want to do the “Big Reveal”. It’s not always the easiest to do Timeline Gymnastics, but you don’t have to write chronologically. Nanowrimo is all about the end goal and banging your head against the keyboard for 500 words isn’t going to help if you have the idea for the next scene already there. - Have fun and Don’t Panic!
I won’t lie. You’re going to write crap. 50,000 words in a month doesn’t leave a ton of time to polish your work. So don’t worry about perfect for now. Enjoy the wild plot holes you’re gonna dig yourself into. Make your characters silly. Write bad sentences. That rush once you hit 50K is going to feel so good and you’re going to have a blast doing it.
So, remember: Nanowrimo is all about the creation. Fixing what you made is what comes later. Write recklessly and enjoy the process. It’ll motivate you to edit everything once you finish. And above all else: Have fun!
The Art of Finishing
So, recently, I just finished the first draft of my most recent project (sorry, no details yet). I decided to set myself a deadline to finish the draft by and I feel like adding that number to it made it a lot easier to commit an afternoon or whole day to working on it. It got me thinking about the hardest and most important part of the writing process is finishing!
I had a video chat with a friend the other day and they said they were impressed by how much I wrote since the beginning of the year. They’d been out of work for a bit and wanted to try their hand at writing, but couldn’t commit to a story long enough to finish it. It made me realize that the hardest part of writing is putting all (and I mean all) of the words on the page. As a serial idea-thinker, it’s very tempting to start writing a new thing when I start to lose enthusiasm for whatever I’m working on. New projects are exciting because they’re fun and different! I tend to get stuck working on projects because it starts to feel hopeless trying to make it work. Then, a shiny new project comes along and…well, it’s easy to get excited about a new idea.
But! The most satisfying part of writing is finishing because it gives you something to work with! You can’t fix an unfinished piece because…well, you don’t know what needs to be done. You can make a good beginning or middle, but with no ending? You’ll never feel like the piece is done (for obvious reasons). It seems pretty elementary, but it’s still worth saying.
You can always fix a terrible piece of writing, but you can’t fix it if it’s not finished. You can always change the ending, but it’s hard to fix things when you know there’s a huge, very important part missing. So finish and finish horribly. You know you’re going to have to edit, so just commit to know you’ll need to edit. Write down those new, pretty ideas when they come and remember that you’ll have to finish that too.
Do you struggle with finishing projects? Or are you good about maintaining your focus on a single idea?
To War Each Day
Today’s story is about a young couple trying to live with particularly troublesome wood sprites. I always love the mix of fantasy and reality that urban fantasy offers. Most of the time, it seems to focus on the ‘Sexy Vampires’ or ‘Drug Dealing Warlock’ aspects of urban fantasy, but I feel like there are more options in even the little aspects of living with the fantastical.
Found Mysteries
Hello Everyone!
I’m making an announcement here that Found Mysteries: The Rebirth of Violet Franklin and Other Tales will be available for purchase in 1 Week!
I’m still working out a few last-minute details (Covid-19 really gummed up the process and that’s completely understandable), but I’m thinking everything should be on schedule! Keep an eye out for more information as we approach the release and the time after when we’ll be having a giveaway!
To Whom It May Concern
Another story that’s come out of my long walks during the quarantine. Some of my best thinking comes when I’m walking and let my brain go where it wants to. Sometimes, that gets to be fun.
This one is formatted a little bit differently, but I honestly couldn’t think of any other way to present this story. Enjoy!
Found Mysteries Update
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well in these strange times. I wanted to take a minute to inform everyone about the upcoming release of my novella set, Found Mysteries. The official release date is June 30th, so mark your calendars and keep an eye out for updates! I’m very excited to share this with all of you and hope you enjoy it!
Additionally, there will be a special contest for a beautiful 12in x 16in Print based on the cover with a quote from the book. A special thanks to Emily Congdon for helping design this cover and the subsequent poster. The rules for the contest will be explained more thoroughly later on, as well as how/where you can get your hands on your own copy of the book!
Stay safe, Stay Well!
Never Have I…
There’s always a rare idea that comes along that makes you giggle. Leave it to a writer to turn it into a tragedy.
Eat my shorts!
We are rolling into May! Hope everyone is staying healthy, washing hand, and taking care of that ever important mental health! I’ve been keeping busy, splitting my time between different photography ideas and writing lots of flash and short fiction. Which has led to me thinking a lot about brevity in writing.
Flash fiction, in my opinion, is incredibly difficult to pull off. As someone who usually prefers speculative fiction, having to tell a story in such a short amount of time is very alien to me (why tell a story if I can’t construct the entire world around it?). Still, this quarantine has been giving me lots of time to work on my short form fiction. I’ve been engaging in Write-A-Thons where I’ll try to take a story from conception to composed (not edited) in a few short boosts. These pieces range from 1,000 to 3,000 words. I’ve been getting a lot of prompts from the Reedsy Blog. They hold weekly contests, so I figured (since I’m home all the time) I figured I should submit to their contests, if only to stay in shape. You can check these stories on my Reedsy profile, which is linked through my ‘Original Fiction’ page.
One big question is, why write flash fiction? If you’ve been following me for a while, you’re familiar with the short form fiction I pop out monthly. I always treated these similar to how an artist or illustrator will post their works in progress on their websites and so I can keep my writing brain active. I love the challenge of telling a whole story in as few words as possible. As much as my heart belongs to long-form storytelling, I also enjoy giving people the option to read something short and sweet rather than hope they’ll go through a whole novel on faith that I’m a good writer. Not that we don’t have the time now, right?
What are some of your favorite short fiction pieces? What makes a piece of short fiction really entertaining?
Reinventing the wheel…
At a certain point in every editing experience, it feels like you’re just staring at static words. You’ve so carefully reviewed the material so many times that it all starts to blend together into a mess of letters. As someone who edits a lot of their own work, it’s inevitable that things get missed. But recently, I found a technique that works really well for me and I’d like to share it with you!
It works like this. I have my most recent version of my piece that I’m working on open to the right of my screen and a blank document to my left (for those of you with two monitor rigs, good for you). From there, I rewrite the entire pieces. Word for word.
What do I like about this technique? For a start, I feel like I have to be very careful and it makes me focus. I catch words that I glance over in previous edited versions (either that are the wrong word or just completely missed due to ‘static editing’). I have a chance to reconsider grammar that I missed initially. When I’m rewriting the words, I hear them as I’m reading them, so I can reconsider my word choice.
Rewriting also gives me a chance to look beyond just basic word choice. I can examine entire sections and change them. I can expand sections or cut passages to improve the pacing. Without having to think about ‘What Comes Next?’ I get to focus purely on how things sound and can change them accordingly. I can focus more on pacing, descriptions, and incorporating details into dialogue.
Is it time consuming and tiring? Absolutely, but I think it’s important to find a method that works and embrace it. What are some of your favorite editing tricks and tips?