Friday, November 20, 2015

A Day In My Life & Week 3 of NaNoWriMo

       To make up for my lack of post last week I'm doing a double post! 
        For the first part of the post allow me to take you through a typical day in my life:
        9:00 am:
           I usually wake up sometime between 9-9:30 in the morning. Hey, don't judge... I'm up late writing at night, you'll see. 
        9:15-10:15 am: 
           I usually spend about an hour first thing in the morning checking my emails and social media and answering any email, following/repsonding to people on Twitter that I feel need immediate attention. 
        10:15 am - 12:00 pm:
             I spend most of the morning getting housework out of the way. I hate doing dishes but I suppose they have to be done eventually... anyway this time is spent doing anything from vacuuming to taking out the garbage and cleaning out the refrigerator, etc.
         Noon-3:00 pm: 
             What I do in this time chunk varies. I'm either writing out a chapter by hand in my latest WIP or I'm typing up a newly finished chapter. It depends how inspired I feel... sometimes writing comes easier at night than during the day. Also during this time I post on Twitter and Facebook or schedule posts to go live later in the day. Sometimes this part of the day switches with the morning if I have to run out to do errands. 
        3:00-5:00 pm: 
            Alright I admit it, I spend this two hour block doing absolutely nothing Monday-Friday. And by nothing I mean watching Dr. Phil and Judge Judy. We all have our guilty pleasures. 
       5:00-6:00 pm:
           Dinner usually happens around this time, but that can very depending on how hungry I am, how long it takes to cook dinner, stuff like that.
        7:00-10:00 pm:
            Lost hours spent watching television, reading (although I haven't had as much reading time lately), showering, or playing games on my nook. 
         10:00 pm - 1:00 am:
              Pure, enjoyable writing time. Alone in my bedroom, just me, my notebook, and Halestorm blaring on my ipod. Or, you know, typing if I wrote during the day. 
          So that's a typical day in my life. Sure there are days when I spend a whole day out doing something else, but this is mostly how my life works Monday thru Friday.
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       Part two of this double blog post is all about Week Three of NaNoWriMo. Are you still with me? Good!
        How are you doing on NaNoWriMo? Are you stuck in a rut? Way behind on your word count? Don't fret, you'll get there and even if you don't reach the 50k goal you're still awesome! Why? Because you wrote something. You had an idea and you started writing something. No matter what your word count is you should still be proud.
        Here are some ways I've kept myself going this month:
             - Writing to an upbeat playlist. Whether you write best to Mozart or AC/DC or Taylor Swift it doesn't matter. Make a playlist for yourself and plug in while you write. What's worked best for me is selecting the rock genre in my itunes library and tuning it. I love writing along to loud rock music, it keeps me pumped up and drives me onward.
           - Log off Twitter. Or instagram, facebook, buzzfeed, or whatever is distracting you online. I know you just have to know the latest gossip about Minnie's boyfriend's cousin but it can wait. Reward yourself after finishing your chapter or a certain word goal. You'll feel so much more accomplished.
           - Plan out goals for the next section / chapter of your novel. If you're stuck and don't know how to go on just write out what you want to happen in the next chapter or section and it should get you back on track.
          - Take a break. Take a walk, watch a movie, grab a bite, go shopping, spend time with friends, hell go ahead and take a nap. You don't need to spend every second of the day writing. (Gasp!) All that will do is burn you out and you'll start resenting your project. Just rest a little and come back to your writing when you feel rejuvenated.
          - Talk to another writer. They're going through the same thing you are so whether you chat in the forums on NaNoWriMo.org, in person at a coffee shop get together, or on the phone you'll feel better after talking to a fellow NaNoWriMo-er. And they might even inspire you or give you tips on how you can move forward with your novel.
          - Take a notebook with you everywhere. Ideas are everywhere and you never know when or where they'll hit so its best to be prepared. I've written on napkins, magazines, post its... whatever is handy when an idea knocks me in the head.
         Good luck fellow NaNoWriMo-ers! May your pen never run out of ink, may you have a never ending supply of coffee, may you always remember to back up your work, and may you reach your goals! I hope to be reading your novel someday.
         Current NaNoWriMo Word Count: 48,331
          Look me up on NaNoWriMo.org:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/participants/Taylor-Fenner
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         Don't forget! I'll be signing copies of FINDING ELIZABETH at Half Price Books in Appleton, Wisconsin Saturday November 28th from 1-3 pm! As a special holiday bonus you'll get The Haunting Love FREE when you purchase Finding Elizabeth! Hope to see you there!
         Happy Thanksgiving!

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