Madness With a Side of IWSG

It's that time again...time for NaNoWriMo!

No, that's not really what I'm going to write about, well, technically I'll mention it, but I really mean it's time for another Insecure Writers Support Group post. AND I'm on time, YAY! (Well, it may not be early like I prefer to post, but hey, it is the first Wednesday so I'm getting better.)


Before I go on, make sure you're in the know when it comes to the wonderful awesomeness that is Alex J Cavanaugh. Also check out the IWSG website.

I've been crazy busy because I started my kids in an online homeschool program, but I started NaNo. I haven't made as much progress as I would like to have at this time, but I've made progress and that's what counts for me.

That's all I'm going to say about NaNo though.

Since I haven't been writing much, I haven't thought much about insecurities or securities. I have been a little worried that I won't be able to get NaNo done. I've already started three different WIPs because I stalled on each one. I shouldn't have done that though because now I've got three ideas going and I'm not sure which one to work on. It makes me have really mixed up, weird, nonsense dreams because all my ideas are merging together when I sleep. Which doesn't help when I wake up because then I have a hard time serparating the ideas. And there's no mixing these up so they need to stay separated.

But my indecision didn't stop me from writing 1223 words last night. It may have been a combined total from two different WIPs, but it was all during the 1k1hr I was working on. Idk, maybe I should just WIP-jump for now and see where it takes me. I haven't really written anything before now in so long that maybe I need to just get back in the groove of things and one WIP will stand out against the three.

I guess that's my IWSG post for the month. Maybe I'm a little of both, maybe my crazy non-writer life is making it hard to feel insecure or secure. I think I'm just happy that I haven't completely lost my mind in general so everything else is just proof that I'm still functioning in all the madness.

Anyway, hope this post makes sense, and if not I'm sure my ramblings are to be expected anyway. Have an awesome Wednesday, maybe I'll get it together and see you again before the month is up. :)

NaNoTGIO and Ali Cross

Whew, November FLEW by. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing about starting NaNoWriMo. Now, here it is, 3 days into December and NaNo is over.

What was my first NaNoWriMo like? CRAZY. I didn't really have a lot of expectations for NaNo. I wanted to win, hoped I would win, but I wasn't expecting anything other than getting my motivation back.

So, did I get my motivation back? Yes and no. Yes because I want to write now. My NaNo WIP will be put aside for now and I'm going back to the WIP I was working on before I lost my motivation. But no because I'm still behind on things. I'm not caught up on critting and not sure when I will be. I need to read, need to write, need to catch up.

But am I happy I did NaNo? YES! And I'm planning to do it again next year. It was good for me and that is all that matters. I needed something to get me in gear and NaNo did it.

Let's get to the real question on everyone's mind. The one that matters most. Well, maybe not *most*, but the one that is up there...Did I win? Did I end the month of November with 50k words written or not? Well...YES! I did it. I barely made it, validated my word count at 11:59pm on Friday, November 30th. BUT, I MADE IT!

My NaNo novel isn't that great. It's going to take some major editing, especially on the last half, but it's done. I wanted to win, wanted to get it done, to reach the 50k goal, and get my motivation back. I did that, so I'm a winner. :)

I have more news I wanted to talk about today...I'm subscribed to Ali Cross' newsletter and I just got something in the email this past weekend that is very exciting. :) Coming in this month is the third installment in her Desolation series. WOOT! I haven't had a chance to get to the second book, but still very excited that there is a third one coming out soon.

Also, there is now a website for the series. Yay! Check it out: DesolationSeries.com. There's also a Tumblr and Pinterest for the series. Yay, yay, yay. Lol. Yes, I'm excited. This series is one of my favorites and Ali is too. :)

Here's something else, straight from Ali's newsletter :

December 1st-15th, I am participating in an online signing party! This means you can buy my paperback books at discounted prices, and pre-order your signed copy of Destined (Desolation #3). Just visit my blog and order using the Paypal button on the right sidebar. 

Desolation number three will be released on December 12th. So, check it out. If you haven't read Ali's books, go get them. And if you're not following Ali or didn't even know about her...Go to her blog now. It's great, the series is great, and Ali is greater than great...She's AWESOME!!

That's all for today. Hope you all have a wonderful Monday. :)

 

NaNoUhOh...

Well, I'm a little behind on the NaNo goal, but I'm working on pulling out of it and getting back ahead. I didn't post my update on Thursday like I planned because I was really hopeful that in a day or two I'd be back on track. I'm not yet, but I know I can do it.

I really don't have much else to update, so here's a poem to fill the space.

Emotions running high
The smell fills the night
Wondering where to place
Something so easily erased
Pain from the heartache
Sadness for all to take
Revel in the despair
Of it all, with no care
Hatred deeply rooted
Evil left unmuted
A seed that, once sprouted
Will spread outward
Lustful minds
Passionate times
Coming then going
And leaving you growing
Love in your heart
Adore from the start
Is it true that’s all we need
To overturn the misplaced seed

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and that you have a great week. Happy Sunday :)

One Week Down

I intended on posting this yesterday, but I got busy and forgot. It sucks, not having time for the blog. I miss my blog, my followers, and the blogs I follow. NaNo is helping pull me out of my funk completely though. I'm writing, getting back to critiquing, and even doing better finding time just to read. Which means soon I'll be back to blogging more and reading blogs. Yay. :)

One week of NaNoWriMo gone and my total word count is 16,524. I'm slightly ahead, which is good because last night I fell asleep before I got any writing in. If I didn't have that cushion, I'd be disappointed, but I do, so it's all good. I'll be writing today and with any luck, maybe I'll gain even more cushion.

It took too long to come out of my funk and I'm still on the border of falling back into it and not. I don't want to be there again. Not writing wasn't good for me. The more I didn't write, or critique, or read, the more I couldn't motivate myself to do any of it. I don't like that place and I'm glad you all stuck with me. Everyone gave me good words of encouragement and you made me feel better, thank you. I have some pretty amazing online friends, you all rock.

Last thing, I realized that I forgot about the Insecure Writers Support Group, so let's call this update post, my IWSG post for this month. Better late than not at all.

I hope you all have an AWESOME weekend. :)

How about you...Are you writing? Revising/editing? Doing NaNo? What's going on in your life these days?

NaNoWriMo

Okay, for the first time ever, I've jumped in and decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. My hopes are that this will help me to be more motivated and that I'll finally get some decent writing in. Since I am doing NaNo, there's a good chance I will post on here even less than I thought. Originally I'd planned to start getting back to my blog, but I don't see it happening while I'm trying to write a 50K word novel in a month, lol.

So, just wanted to give a little update and tell y'all what my plan is for the month. I'll see you all soon.

And on a completely different note...

Yesterday morning, a seven year old boy was hit and killed by a car while he was walking to his bus stop. I didn't know him, and I don't know his family (and I hate to talk about something so sad), but I wanted to ask that everyone please pray for his family and friends (or whatever it is you do when someone has had a loss like this). Also, the driver honestly didn't see the little boy, and they've ruled that it was an accident...So please, pray for that driver. I can't even imagine what they must be going through and feeling. But I can imagine that it's not something that will go away easily. I'm sure it will be heavy on that driver's heart for many years, if not always. So please, send out some positive to the driver as well. And keep this tragedy in mind as a reminder that you just never know. You never know when someone will be gone, so hug them tight, love them with all you've got and more, and cherish every minute.

Sorry, for the sad note for a minute, I just wanted to get that out.

Thank you for coming by to see me. Have a great Thursday. :)