NaNoWriMo Stress-free

It's November, and if you are a writer like me you know that it is NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, a month where authors temporarily lose their minds in an attempt to write 50,000 words in thirty days. I've done this two previous years in a row and actually excelled. Then came this year...

What's different about this year you ask?

Well, this fall has not been going my way at all. I've had a sick relative that was in a hospital and then a physical therapy facility for a whole month who has now returned home, turmoil in my relationship that hopefully is calming down, a surprise book release, and another book coming out in less than two months. Who wouldn't be freaking out?!?

On top of that, the "perfectly constructed story idea" that sounded so good in my head is not going so well on paper. I can actually feel the psoriasis breaking out on my skin as I type this. So I'm not really feeling the spirit of NaNoWriMo this year. 

So to soldier on, I've decided to do NaNoWriMo my way to keep the stress at a minimum.

Here's how I'm switching things up...

1. I left my "Home Region" on the NaNoWriMo website.

Why did I even join that region anyway? Even though it's one of the two closest geographically to where I live (as in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin) it isn't really accessible for me to get to write-ins 45 miles away when I have neither a car nor a license, nor, if I'm being perfectly honest, the spare time to sit around at a library working on the same thing I could be working on at home just for the sense of camaraderie. Besides that, there's one woman in my "home region" who is a total witch with a b. I mean on day one she claimed to have written over 13,000 words which I swear is an impossibility. I'm not competitive, but she gloats and rubs it in and is overall not a nice person - and this is the second year of having to put up with this. And I don't need the stress, so the group had to go.

Whew, I feel better already.

2. I'm taking on a "Que Sera, Sera" attitude. 

If I can figure out the kinks in this story then eventually I'll finish it, even if I don't hit 50,000 words in the month of November or finish the first draft in thirty days. I'm not going to freak out if I don't. I'm patting myself on the back because you know what? I've already written 92,000 words this year on two other writing projects. That's pretty damn good if I say so myself.

3. I'm not writing every day. 

Sure, I can tell you I'm sitting here on my laptop every day writing. But some days I'm just not feeling it. I'm not behind... I don't think? I'm at 12,000 words written since November 1st and I'm tired. So if I want to read, I'm going to read. If I have a book that pops up that I have to review or a blog post to type and schedule, that will come first. I can stress myself out by staring at a flashing cursor on the screen or I can relax and let the words flow out of me if and when they come. 

4. I'm not thinking about writing when I'm not writing.

Sure, if an idea pops up, I'll write it down. But I have other things on my mind so I'm not going to panic and think "oh no, I haven't written today," or "I'm so behind on my word count!" Like I said, if it's going to happen, it will happen in time. I think that's part of my anxiety issue, I'm so afraid of what's going to happen if I don't get what needs to be done, done now that I don't stop and think about what will really happen, which usually is nothing. Why did we let NaNoWriMo get to be such a big thing? Did it used to be fun before all the competition and pressure? Some of my friends talk about being supportive and encouraging and I want to get back to that, not surround myself with writers who act like jerks and pick on people if they don't have a certain word count on a certain day. 

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Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What are you doing to keep your stress levels in check?

NaNoWriMo Prep

There are only 15 days until the start of NaNoWriMo 2017! Those of you that are writers might know what that is but if not NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which runs during the month of November each year.

What is NaNoWriMo?

Each year writers around the world challenge themselves to write a novel, at least 50,000 words during the month of November. Is it really possible? Yes! My first year I wrote about 54,000 words and last year I wrote about 63,000 words if memory serves me right. This would be my third year participating.

Alas, the past two years I've participated were easier than this fall is shaping up to be. Even though I've had this year's idea festering in the back of my mind for a few months now I'm currently dealing with a relative that is about to come out of a physical therapy facility and will be arriving home around the end of October. It's been a stressful month dealing with everything - lots of paperwork and phone calls and incompetent people in the medical/insurance field, but I digress. Nonetheless, I'm going to at least try and see how much I can get done in the 30 days. Anything will be an accomplishment at this point because I don't want to push myself too hard. 

A Little About My 2017 NaNoWriMo Project

For the second year in a row, I'm turning to the YA Fantasy Genre for my NaNoWriMo project. 

Title: Monsters and Mist

Genre: YA Fantasy

Minimum Word Count for NaNoWriMo: 50,000 Words

Word Count I'd be happy with if I fail to meet 50,000: 30,000 Words

Estimated Chapter Count: 15-20

Main Characters:

Andromeda "Drom" Mistsplitter - Aged 18

Thane "Cutter" Cruelseas - Aged 20

How I'm Prepping For NaNoWriMo

- Outlining the chapters and what I want to happen in each chapter.

- Character building for my two main characters. I like to let the other characters develop as I go along.

- Worldbuilding and creation of the mythology of that world. 

- Pinning story ideas on Pinterest. 

- Building a playlist to write to for NaNoWriMo.

It would be great to be able to attend some of the write-ins for NaNoWriMo but the two regions closest to me are 30-40 miles away and I don't have transportation to get to them every weekend. I also don't really know any of the other local writers in the town I live in. On the bright side, I have a lot of writer friends I've met online so I'll have the support of some online friends at least. 

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Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? How are you prepping? Are you a planner or a pantser?

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!

Surviving Week One of NaNoWriMo

     Alright.. so it's midnight on November 1st. Halloween is officially over (sob) and its now the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You have your pens/pencils/notebooks/laptop at the ready and its time to start writing! Right?
    Wrong. At least if you're like me and you forgot to factor in Daylight Savings Time... ending? beginning? I can never remember which we do in the fall.
     Day 1: Sunday November 1st
            Wake up incredibly late, somewhat relieved that the pressure of finishing my Halloween short story is off now that it's been completed and posted. Ditto the Halloween Contest my Paranormal Art group always hosts during the month of October. I was up reading late the night before and feel incredibly lazy all day. Does writing in my journal count?

     Day 2: Monday November 2nd
              Writing done today: some additional sections added to the previous two chapters in my work-in-progress plus an hour or so spent doing research for the next chapter. I fully intended to do some writing before I went to be but exhaustion has a way of creeping up on me.

     Day 3: Tuesday November 3rd
              Feeling revitalized after ten blissful hours of sleep and inspired after watching the new episode of Wicked City (even though I'm not writing about serial killers or Los Angeles) I finally, thankfully put pen to paper and wrote 3 or 4 pages. Not a lot but definitely making progress.

     Day 4: Wednesday November 4th
              After being up late the previous night writing I spent another 1 1/2 hours writing 4 more pages. Nearly finished with this chapter... just a few more words... darn, I fell asleep on my notebook. No matter I will finish tomorrow night.
 
     Day 5: Thursday November 5th
             Super wired because the giveaway I had going on Goodreads ends tonight and as of 11 pm I've gotten nearly 1550 entries. Amazing! Feeling so inspired I write until nearly 1am. I finish my chapter and begin plotting out the next one.

     Day 6: Friday November 6th
             Wake up early to post this blog. I find that I work best late at night, with the music going. (I prefer Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, Seether, and other hard rock as I write, but the rain last night was spectacular too.) I write by hand because then I don't have the lure of twitter to distract me.

Total Word Count Written this week: 3300

     How about you? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? How do you handle distractions like the internet? Do you write with music or in silence? How long do yo spend writing each day?