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Where did the month go? I’d nearly forgotten what day it was!
Life has been stressful this past 30 plus days which has kept me from truly focusing on writing. And I really wanted to go all out for this year’s NaNoWriMo but, that never really happened.
Oh well. Perhaps next year.
How do writers who are also parents, a spouse, with full time jobs find the mental energy or ability to keep the focus until a project or book is done? I’d really love to know!
NaNoWriMo is nearly over! I’m approaching the goal I’ve set for myself and am hoping to make it by this time next week.
Be sure to check out these interviews of a few writers who are also participating. Who knows you just might learn a new thing, or two! Click on the image of an interview you’d like to read:
E.S. Barrison
Ian Healy
Renee Scattergood
David Joel Miller
Miranda Kate
Mandy Eve-Barnett
I love romance. What’s even better?
Christmas romance!
If you’ve published a Christmas Romance book, I’d love to interview you about your book!
Interested?
Tell us why you participate in National Novel Writing Month
I find it a superb way to practice writing to a deadline, write without the worry of editing and letting my creativity flow with no constraints.
How/When did you first learn about NaNoWriMo?
My first NaNo was 2009 when I was persuaded by a new writing friend from my writing group to participate. At the time I’d only written very short stories (and I mean short). The idea of fifty thousand words made me refuse point blank but gradually she convinced me I could do it. That first NaNo’s project was edited and revised almost every year until I finally published it 2018.
How many years have you participated in NaNoWriMo?
This will be my tenth NaNo – I only missed 2017 when I was working on two manuscripts that were published that year.
What is your NaNoWriMo project for this year?
The idea came late in October (almost November) it just popped into my head to write a young romance set with a university campus. The two main protagonists have evolved into fully rounded characters now.
If you were to introduce yourself to a group of strangers, what would you say?
I indulge my creativity in writing whether writing fiction or aiding clients within my freelance business and am a writing community advocate.
Do dreams inspire your writing ideas?
I have used several dream sequences within my works of fiction, they are always vivid and I quickly write them down. I always have a notebook on the bedside table.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
Stephen King is my literary hero. He is the greatest story teller, creating characters with minimal description, grips your interest from the first page and never disappoints. My greatest possession is a personal letter I received from him. It is framed about my writing desk.
What is your preferred genre to write in?
I do not write to genre, I write the story an it chooses which genre it is as it unfolds.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I use my blog to interact with writers across the globe: http://www.mandyevebarnett.com
You can find me across social media –
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Mandyevebarnettcom/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/mandyevebarnett
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mandyevebarnett/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477059.Mandy_Eve_Barnett
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01MDUAS0V
On NaNoWriMo site I am MandyB
Mandy’s Writing Desk
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Tell us why do you participate in National Novel Writing Month
To get the bulk of my novels written – at least that is why I participate now. In the beginning it was to learn to write forward without editing as I go. I found that a revelation in terms of how much I could produce. And now I look forward to the word sprints and the community of it: all of us writing together – remotely.
I am a Brit living in the Netherlands, and I live in a small village where I haven’t managed to fully integrate, so this is one of the few ways to connect with others. I love opening the door to all the new writers and stepping into that world for the month – it’s like I’m where I belong for a while.
How/When did you first learn about NaNoWriMo?
Back in 2011, I arrived on Twitter at the end of July. I joined to follow a couple of friends, and then found lots of writers and flash fiction contests, and then as November approached I heard about the challenge and decided to give it a go, connecting to everyone through the hashtag. It was like stepping into a whole other universe.
How many years have you participated in NaNoWriMo?
This is my seventh time. My first time was 2011. I was working for a company then and wasn’t able to complete 50K, but in more recent years I have succeeded. I try not to put too much pressure on. If I only get 25K or 30K that is still a lot for me to write in one go. I also tend to flag a bit a couple of weeks in, so this year I am taking it easy.
What is your NaNoWriMo project for this year?
I am finishing the sequel to a novella of mine called, The Game (currently published in my collection called Slipping Through). It’s a dark sci-fi time travel story. I began it last year for NaNoWriMo, so I am planning to complete it. I have sort of let it lie over the year as I have been busy publishing my first full novel, Sleep, which was released on the 1st of September.
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind of music?
I need complete silence to write. Although I did enter a weekly flash contest which had a song prompt for a couple of years. That was interesting and produced some great stories, but it was difficult. I had to have the song on repeat to keep whatever story had popped into my head going. I can, however, write with a lot of people around me, as I started writing when I used to work in an office and I am used to that.
Do dreams inspire your writing ideas?
Often I will wake up with complete ideas or answers to things I am trying to solve in a story. I had to write an epilogue to my novel, Sleep, and I wasn’t sure what to write, but one morning I literally woke up with it mapped out in my head. It’s fabulous when that happens – although it is rare.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
Stephen King. He covers all the genres I love: Horror, Fantasy, and sometimes surreal stuff. I love how he writes. Whenever I return to his books I sort of sigh to myself as it feels like I’ve come home; it easy to read with such great flow and pace.
How do you get into the minds of your characters?
I think about how they speak to other people. I imagine dialogue first, and listen to that dialogue and sort of see them speaking in my mind’s eye.
Please tell us about your celebrity crush.
Just one? Not sure I can do that!
Actors: Tom Hardy is my biggest, I love his on-screen intensity. Others are Idris Elba, Johnny Miller, Cillian Murphy.
Music: I am a massive Prince fan, since I was 15, so that’s been a permanent crush. And despite his death, which devastated me, I still listen to his music daily.
Also Theo Hutchcraft, from a band called Hurts. He seems to be taking a break from social media and it’s killing me! He has such a great voice, and is wonderful eye candy.
What is your preferred genre to write in?
I like to write dark stuff mostly, can be horror, can be sci-fi, can be general fiction, but I like it to be dark and have an edge to it. I can do fantasy and surreal mixed in too. My novel, Sleep, is a psychological thriller, which was different for me, but was a story that had begun 28 years ago. I tend not to define genres in my writing, I write what comes.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am also a freelance editor, and I see a lot of people worrying about what they could possibly produce in just a month and whether it would be any good. I have worked with several authors first drafts in December, helping them pull it into shape, and having something to work with is the key. It doesn’t matter how you get it down. Just keep writing forward through November, leave the rest for after.
As of today, I am sitting at nearly 3,600 words. Not too bad as my minimum goal is 12,000 but still I am a bit behind. I’m not too worry as there will be days where I can double the daily word count and catch up.
I am writing while developing the story and character arcs. I really should have done this back in October but oh well.
Today I finally wrote the summary/blurb and posted it on my NaNo profile. I will share here:
Tell us why do you participate in National Novel Writing Month.
Committing to finish something in one month gives me an extra incentive to write a few more words each day and to write something every day even if I only have a few minutes to write. Announcing my book commits me to keep writing even when the words don’t come.
How/When did you first learn about NaNoWriMo?
Back in 2011, I read about NaNoWriMo in one of the writing blogs. I don’t remember which blog it was now. I decided to give it a try. Even though I didn’t finish that first book, the experience made me a more productive writer. In 2016 I tried it again, and now, better prepared and was able to complete the first draft of a novel.
How many years have you participated in NaNoWriMo?
A total of five times now.
What is your NaNoWriMo project for this year?
The Story Bureau. Greatness through truer news. Not propaganda – progress through better stories.
A deep recession and a prolonged war have left most people struggling for survival. Baldwin Ferapont wants to help his country. Once he is turned down by the military, Baldwin takes a job as an editor at the government-run Story Bureau. Very quickly he comes to question whether the “True News” the government is dispensing is fabrications.
If you were to introduce yourself to a group of strangers, what would you say?
David Joel Miller is a 71-year young man who has had a great many life experiences and currently divides his time between being a writer and blogger, a licensed counselor, and therapist, and teaching at the local college.
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind of music?
Absolutely, I listen to music. When writing, or which for me means dictating, I wear headphones and primarily listen to relaxing instrumental music. The music helps keep me from being distracted by voices and sounds in my environment.
Do dreams inspire your writing ideas?
Not really. I think of my inspiration as a large barrel that needs to be filled. I read widely, both fiction and nonfiction, and once the barrel of thoughts gets full and begins to overflow, my muse yells at me to “quick get it all down.” My muse does not like to repeat herself, and if I don’t write it when the thought is in my head it’s likely to escape.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
There are several I can’t say any one of them is my absolute favorite author. I enjoy Jody Picoult, Aldus Huxley, Sinclair Lewis, and a great many other authors.
Favorite time of year?
I love spring, enjoy summer, look forward to the fall, my favorite season is any season except winter. Here in the central part of California, the seasons are more aptly referred to as wet and dry, and I like them both so long as there is no snowfall.
What’s your favorite television show?
I rarely watch television, or movies. Currently, the only TV show I watch on a regular basis is Big Bang Theory.
How do you get into the minds of your characters?
I’m not sure I do. I think my characters get into my mind. I try to get to know the character by wondering what they would do in a variety of situations.
Please tell us about your celebrity crush.
What’s a celebrity?
What is your preferred genre to write in?
When it comes to genre, I am incurably promiscuous. I suppose my preferred genre would be an internal family story-mystery-action-adventure-dystopian-romance.
How much does music/movies/TV shows influence your stories?
I try to keep that sort of thing from seeping into my subconscious.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
During my lifetime I’ve met a lot of people who said that they wanted to write a book. To the best of my knowledge, none of them ever did. In 2017, just before my 70th birthday, a friend asked me when I was going to finish “my book.” I told her I wasn’t sure. I was still working on it. She badgered me to promise I would finish that book by the end of 2017. I made her that promise, and as a result, I finished and published my first two books before my 70th birthday in 2018. Since then I’ve completed and self-published six books, one nonfiction self-help, and five novels. Don’t let that book you have in your go unwritten.
NaNoWriMo profile: https://nanowrimo.org/participants/david-joel-miller
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It’s November and many of you are probably participating in the NaNoWriMo. I am as well. And so far, I’m not off to a very good start sitting at just a little over 3,000 words. Granted, my actual goal for this project isn’t to write 50k but 12k words so if I take that into consideration I’m actually right on par.
I’ve been doing NaNo on and off since 2008, and with each of them I tend to run out of steam in the next week or so.
The dreaded “muddle middle.”
The key is not to give up on the story, but find inspiration to jump start the writing process. Here are a few that I’ve used:
!. Create a playlist or soundtrack of your novel. This works for me nearly every time. You can use You Tube or Apple Music to set up a playlist. Pandora is another good one. I use mainly You Tube. What about you?
2. If your story was to be made into a movie, which actors/actresses would you want to play the parts of your main characters? I am in the process of doing this for my NaNo project. I will post on this later.
3. Pick one or more characters and interview them. Sometime it’s just a matter of getting to know your main characters better that will jump start the creative juice.
4. Create a trailer for your project. I love doing this! I use Kizoa to create trailers for various projects. This can help you flesh out the major plot/character arcs of your story.
Tell us why do you participate in National Novel Writing Month
Well, the biggest reason for me is the community. I don’t need inspiration to write because I write every week (unless something comes up that prevents me). I love having a common goal with other writers and being able to cheer each other on. And I love meeting other writers. It’s just a fun event for me. I don’t care if I even win. I just do it for the experience.
How/When did you first learn about NaNoWriMo?
The first year I heard of NaNoWriMo was back in 2009. I can’t even remember how I heard about it. I probably read about it on someone’s blog. I participated that year and won, but it was under a pen name I no longer use.
How many years have you participated in NaNoWriMo?
Including this year, it’s a total of 5 years: 2009(W), 2014(W), 2016, 2017, 2019
I’ve participated in the camps every year since 2014.
What is your NaNoWriMo project for this year?
I’m going to be working on my dark fantasy novel series, A God’s Deception.
Do dreams inspire your writing ideas?
They do on occasion. I have some pretty crazy dreams sometimes, but most often I don’t even remember them.
What’s your favorite television show?
Right now it’s Big Bang Theory. It cracks me up. I’ve been binge-watching it on Netflix.
How do you get into the minds of your characters?
I close my eyes and visualize the scene I’m writing. I try to feel and experience everything they’re feeling and experiencing, then I write it down.
What is your preferred genre to write in?
Fantasy, most definitely. I love creating new worlds.
Here’s the link to my NaNo profile: https://nanowrimo.org/participants/rscatts
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It’s the first day of a new month; but it isn’t just any month. It’s National Novel Writing Month!
I’ve been participating in this on and off since 2008. I think I won at least two. Even though the goal for NaNo is to write 50k words but the real importance of this is that it “forces” you to sit down and write.
Key word is write.
So, write I am.
This year I will be writing a short book (more than likely this will end up less than 50k but that’s okay!). A Christmas Romance, Ginger’s Christmas. Here is the cover I have designed:
Created on Canva
So, what should you expect to see here for the next 30 days?
I plan to update my progress periodically as well as give more information on this story. There will also be several interviews with writers who are also participating in NaNo.
What about you? Are you doing NaNo this year? I’d love to hear more about it!
It’s time to get back to writing!
