NaNo Day 1 Wordcount

So in the first two hours of NaNoWriMo 2010 I wrote 684 words. Then I came home and slept until mid-afternoon (not exactly in my plans...). I wrote a grand total of 2,064 words for the first day. In the midst of massive back pain and the side effects of painkillers. I'm pretty impressed with myself. And now I plan on drugging myself into oblivion and sleeping until morning. Work tomorrow, then writing until I pass out. My goal for tomorrow is 2,500 words. Go me.

Hope everyone made their wordcount goals for the day, whether you're doing NaNo or not!!!

~KK~

NaNo 2010

Ok so tonight at midnight is the official start of NaNoWriMo 2010. If you live in the US or Canada or anywhere in our nearby timezones, you still have plenty of time to register and get yourself ready. And by plenty of time I mean 9 hours!!!!!

I'm so stoked. I've been saving for a Netbook, and I might have enough money by halfway through the month. Until then, I'll be doing Write-Ins by hand and the rest of the time I'll write on D's new owrk PC when she lets me and on the dying laptop when she doesn't! ;)

I had a most spectacular fall flat on my back yesterday, during which my entire left side went numb and I'm hurting a LOT today, especially in my left arm and hand and my back. So writing by hand at the Midnight Write-In tonight should be interesting. We shall see how it goes.

My NaNo novel is called Roads Taken. My MC came to me in a dream. I think hers will be an interesting story to tell. Her name is Sasha and she's going on a trip with her bet friend Sam and her dog (who is unnamed as of late). I'm excited and I really want to succeed this year. I plan to attend every single Wednesday Write-In and every other Saturday/Sunday one. I need all the moral support I can get!!!

So, are you doing NaNo this year???

~KK~

Slightly off the Normal Topic...

Now, usually I reserve this blog for strictly writing related topics, but I really want to spread the word as far and wide as I possible can. Here goes:

So this family was brought to my attention by a friend of mine. They work with a program called Reece's Rainbow that advocate for children all over the world who are in orphanages and institutions simply because they were born with Down Syndrome.

They are currently working toward adopting 2 children, Ianna and Axel. They both have different conditions and I believe they are each from different countries. They are both around ten years old.

At the moment, they are very, very close to being able to bring Axel home. Hopefully, the Lord willing, they will leave for his country sometime in December to start the process of bringing him home.

At the moment they are holding a raffle for an iPad. As you know, these things are pretty pricey. But right now you can buy a raffle ticket for one of these babies for $25. And if you donate $100 to the site, you get 5 entries.

Here's the family's blog:
http://myianna.blogspot.com/
And here's the entry advertising the raffle:
http://myianna.blogspot.com/2010/10/ipad-give-away.html

I hope that some of you wonderful blog readers will be able to help this family out by contributing to the raffle or at least spreading the word.

God bless you all, my lovely blog readers.

~KK~

NaNoWriMo 2010

So it's that time of year again!!!! NaNo 2010 is only 9 days away!!! I'm so excited for this year's NaNo. I've been doing all kinds of of research for my novel and stocking up on the essentials (you know, junk food, notebooks, pens, junk food, white out, fingerless gloves, back support for my chair, junk food, caffeinated beverages, possibly a Netbook, and did I mention junk food????), I've taken the first of the month as a personal day so I can attend the Midnight Write-In at Denny's and then spend the first getting a jump on my writing...that is, if I don't fall asleep...cat naps are goooood...

I feel really good about this project. I think it could actually go somewhere, unlike the last few projects that seemed to crash and burn before they were even off the ground.

NaNo will be a crazy ride, as usual, but this year, I think I can succeed.

I hope.

~KK~

My Very First Guest Post!!!!!

So Miss Dolly has given me the great honor of doing a guest spot on her Blog Writer Revealed!!! She's doing a series on Writer's Journeys and she asked me to do an interview! I was so excited and honored. Dolly's a great person and I love her blog, so I was very quick to agree. So check it out on Friday, 8 October here!

My Poor Neglected Blog

Oh my poor blog, how I've neglected you so!!! I feel like I've neglected a lot of aspects of my life this summer, including my writing, but I'm back in full force, scribbling in my notebooks when I can't get to a computer. FtF WILL be finished before the end of the year, I swear to it.

I am organizing my life, new job, cleaning my apartment, making a gym schedule and sticking to it, and hopefully joining a local writer's guild and writing group. Waiting to hear back from the people in charge to find out their schedule and location for the fall.

Also on the radar is my very first GUEST POST!!!!!!! Look for it on Writer Revealed. Dolly has given me the honor of appearing on her blog and I'm soooooo excited. So keep an eye out for my guest post on 8 October 2010.

I promise to be more regular with my posts and try to keep up with the reading of your wonderful blogs!!! Thank you for being so patient with me!!!!!!!!!!

~KK~

ADH..ooo Shiny!

I am so easily distractable.

I've been working diligently on FtF for several weeks. I've spent more time than I should tweaking and changing the outline and a considerable amount of time writing chapter by chapter. But recently, other characters are knocking on the inside of my brain, begging to be let out. I have the almost uncontrollable urge to let them out, put them on paper, just to get the noise out of my head!

Question: What do you do when characters come knocking on the inside of your brain??? How do you cope?

Please enlighten me!

~KK~

WIP in Pics (Thanx Sara!)

Sara over at SeeSara Write gave me an awesome idea, as well as an opportunity to waste time on Flikr and We Heart It.

It's my WIP Far to Fall in pictures. It took me forever to put this together, partly because I'm a perfectionist (*cough cough* read, OCD), and partly because there were just so many pictures to choose from! I think this is an awesome idea and everyone should try it.

So here goes...Far to Fall in pictures:

Update

Well, I survived the end of school...and dove right back into school.

So much for my uninterupted writing binge. Money troubles dictated that I had to have a job this summer or we would lose everything. And I mean everything. Not that there's that much to lose, but I rather enjoy having a roof over my head and a car to drive.

So I'm working as a Summer School aide. Woot. I've never worked with High School kids before and I've decided after 2 days that I rather dislike it. There's just so much DRAMA!!!!! It's ridiculous. I'm rusty on my government skills, my math skills suck, and I have no experience with speech. The only real good I can do is assist with the english classes, which don't really seem to need my help so far.

On the writing front, I'm outlinging like mad on Far to Fall, 14 chapters and a prelude done. FtF WILL get written. I'm writing every chance I get, including during down time at work and late, late into the evenings. It's coming together rather nicely. I have high hopes. For now.

We shall see where it all goes...

~KK~

The Home Stretch

There are 7 days (not including the weekend) left of school. 7 days until my uninterrupted writing binge begins. I am counting down hours now. I can't wait.

We're in the home stretch now...

~KK~

Countdown

There are 39 days of school left.

Why do I care, you ask?

I care because I work in a school and I am ready for summer break. 2 and 1/2 months that I can hopefully devote to writing, housesitting, and a trip back east to see my family.

I should probably devote my time to searching for a full time job or at least summer work, but I need to focus my energies on writing. I'm going to put sopme real effort into finishing this project.

And speaking of "The Project", it's coming along. I've decided on a different approach than I had originally planned, and I think it will turn Far to Fall into something decent and worth the effort, instead of being just a dull and crappy project that no one will ever want to read. Leanna is a strong and beautiful MC and her story deserves to be heard.

So, fair readers, you can count the days to my writing bliss with me, while I keep trudging along.

~KK~

Long Time Gone

It's been a long time since I last blogged.

It's hard not having regular access to internet. :(

Life has thrown a lot at me, including a back injury and losing one of my jobs, as well as problems with my OCD and anxiety. I haven't been writing as much as I would have liked, but I'm starting to get back into the groove.

Leanna, the MC of my current WIP just got too loud to ignore. Her story needed to be written and it needed to be written NOW. It's not been going as quickly as I would have liked, but at least there are words flowing.

I haven't had much access to a computer, so most of it has been hand written, which is more tedious than I can possibly explain, as I'm used to making handwritten notes and typing my stories rather than writing down everything. But life goes on. Words are on a page and that's what's important right now.

Right?

~KK~

Ideas

I foud this book at Barnes and Noble that I just had to pick up while I was there. It's called 102 ways to Earn Money Writing 1500 Words or Less. It's a book of writing venues from magazines to greeting cards to just about anything you could imagine someone writing.

I've wanted to make writing a career, not just as a novelist, but as a freelance writer and this book is a guide to making that happen. I'm very excited to start exploring some of the options that are available and get writing on them!!

~KK~

YA Fiction...or Autobiography???

It seems recently, that absolutely everything I write turns into something autobiographical. These ideas aren't original, they're already-lived stories, many with not-so-happy endings. I've started doubting myself and my ability to create something original that anyone would want to read. Are my characters really speaking to me? Or is it just the ghosts of my past coming back to haunt me?

~KK~

Meme that I Stole from Adam's blog who stole it from Janna's blog. We're all Happy Thieves Around Here In Blogland!

Here goes...

Your Cell Phone? Dying
Your Hair? Short
Your Mother? Loony
Your Father? Dork
Your Favorite Food? Food
Your Dream Last Night? Weird
Your Favorite Drink? Pop
Your Dream/Goal? Writer
What Room Are You In? Lab
Your Hobby? Poetry
Your Fear? Everything
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? Writing
Where Were You Last Night? Home
Something That You Aren't? Sane
Muffins? Blech
Wish List Item? NetBook
Where Did You Grow Up? Maine
Last Thing You Did? Scolded
What Are You Wearing? Jeans
Your TV? Crappy
Your Pets? Several
Friends? Crazy
Your Life? Better
Your Mood? Psychotic
Missing Someone? Always
Vehicle? Green
Something You Aren't Wearing? Hat
Your Favorite Store? B&N
Your Favorite Color? Black
When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Today
Last Time You Cried? Yesterday
Your Best Friend? Diane
Facebook? Junky
Favorite Place To Eat? Home
Favorite Character you've written about? Adella

That was fun!

~KK~

Going With the Trend...Book Review Time!!!

So I thought that I would follow the trend that I see with a lot of my friends in blogland and write a book review. This book is neither new nor widespread popular, but it caught my eye in passing at the Library and I read it and fell in love with it.

It's called A Dance for Three

It's written by Louise Plummer

This is a young adult book that deals with some really troubling issues. It combines the trauma of first love lost, teenage pregnancy, religion, and mental illness.

Told from three different vantage points, this story is witty and heart wrenching and very well written.

I loved it. The roommate loved it. Therefore, it pretty much rocked.

There were faults. Sometimes the dialogue didn't flow as well as it could have. I could have used a little more insight into the other character's view points. But overall it was a great story with a great message to it.

This is my first book review, like, ever, so tell me how I did, pretty please!!

~KK~

An Encouraging Thought

"In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway."

~Junot Díaz~

From this article that Jade found and shared with the blog world. I needed this kind of encouragment.

Thanks, Jade (Again)!

~KK~

Thank You Miss Jade!

I love my blog friends.

Especially Jade.

I've been struggling with my New Year's goals, not at all succeeding. Jade Pointed me to an article on a blog that I am now officially in love with, which led me to another article that has really kicked me in the rear and got me motivated to work.

I am determined to succeed this year.

Word counts are a good tool for some people. I don't think they are for me. I get too hung up on the word count and lose sight of the words. I'm not going to finish a good piece of work if I continually put out 1k of rubbish every day. I need to focus on the quality of my work. Focusing so har on word counts hinders my ability to communicate with my characters. I can't hear what they're telling me about their lives and the story if my eyes are glues to a word counter.

Quantity and quality go hand in hand for a lot of writers, like Lori and Scarlett and I admire them for that ability.

I don't have it.

I need to spend an hour or two a day to start with and work to produce good quality work, let my characters speak to me. I also need to put aside my poetry for a couple months and really focus on Leanna and her struggles. I need to put her pain on paper. She's had a rough time of it and she deserves it. I know I probably sound crazy, talking to my characters, discussing them as though they are real, but it's my job to make them real and talking to them is the only way that I know how to do that.

So. New New Year's writing goals:

1. Write every day. At least an hour a day. Aim for two. Aim for quality. Let the characters in. It is their story, after all.
2.Finish a MS. At least one. Possibly two. I CAN do it. I know it.
3. Put aside poetry anthology for a few months, then go back to it and work hard on it. There's a lot of good material there. It deserves my time, too, just not right away.

I am determined. I am committed. I am strong. I can do this.

~KK~

Plodding

Well, I'm keeping up with most of my new year's goals, if not all of them. I've written every day (all seven of them) but I've not made it to 500 words even once.

Life just seems to keep getting in the way.

And it doesn't help that I've had to take apart my outline and redo it...twice. Things just didn't flow right. My MC Leanna was in the wrong places at the wrong times of her life and it was driving me nuts. Things just weren't working. But, I think I've got the outline in the correct order now...I just have to finish it so I can start writing Leanna's story.

She's begging me to. It's like a constant distraction at work. I have to stop every 5 minutes to make a note of something that Leanna has told me that I didn't know and is vital to her story. She whispers in my ears at night and during the day and I'm ready to get her story down on paper.

I just need to find the time.

Now I know that's an excuse, and a lame ass one at that. I've been lazy and a slacker, that's all there is to it. I need to get my butt in a chair and my hands on a keyboard and get typing.

I just do.

~KK~

Happy New Year

Well, it's the first day of 2010 and I guess I should follow the blogging trend and lay out my goals for 2010. I don't have much to recap about 2009, so I'll just skip that part.

I have high hopes for 2010. This is the year that I hope to get some serious work done on my writing. I've spent the last two years talking about wanting to write and how I'm going to write and and and...not writing. It's time that I buckled down and got to it or lay the dream to rest for good.

So here's a general outline of what I want to accomplish in 2010:

1. Finish a MS. I know this sounds lame, but I have a habit of getting involved in a project and then just abandoning it. It's a habit that I need to break. Even if what I'm finishing turns out to be crap, I'm gonna see it through.

2. Finish at least 3 short stories that are of publishable quality. I want to have something to start submitting sometime this year.

3. Finish compiling and editing my poetry anthology.

4. Submit poetry anthology for publishing.

5. Write 500,000 words. This can include novel, short stories, and poetry so long as it's words on page.

6. Write every single day no ifs ands or buts. At least 500, but preferably 1,000 words, every day.


And here's a couple of non-writing goals:

1. Visit my family. I can't handle going 2 years without seeing them. It's just not right.

2. Join a gym.

3. Frequent said gym regularly.


Not too ambitious, is it? I tried to go easy on myself for the first year of really working on my goals. Maybe that's not the way to go, but, oh well.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year!!

~KK~