This week's preparations were all about my environment. I took the time to prep my board, my music, and my Scrivener doc and each step helped me to get ready for this challenge. NaNoWriMo, for as much work as I do to prepare, is really about how I show up everyday during those 30 days... Continue Reading →
What is my Revision Process? Step 2
Once I've finished collecting the feedback on the draft of my manuscript, I get ready to go into the next step of my revision process. The second step in my revision process is to create the plan for the revisions that need to take place. This step is definitely one that varies writer to writer.... Continue Reading →
Revisions on Paper, Revisions on Computer
I’ve made the notes for where chapters/scenes are missing in the manuscript and I’m ready to start the rewrites. The question now is whether or not I print the manuscript and do it on paper or do it all digitally. I’ve done it both ways in the past and honestly I get two different things... Continue Reading →
Crawling in Sprints to the Finish Line
Finishing this manuscript was challenging in ways I just didn't expect. But, after many ten and twenty minute writing sprints where I watched the word count slowly creep up, I can finally say that the first draft of MS:L is complete! This last week, the last week of writing this manuscript, proved to be a... Continue Reading →
NaNoWriMo Prep 2020 Week 1: Resources
One of the most important pieces of preparing for NaNoWriMo is to gather my resources. Now, not all resources can be gathered in the same way. My resources are not just tangible things, like the books I love to reference or the word count stickers I use in my planner that bring me joy. My... Continue Reading →
Managing Expectations, Goals, and Writing
August 2020 is done and we are into September. Still 2020, but a new month, so I’ll take it. Ending August was rough. We left summer vacation mode and jumped into full remote learning for our daughters. That meant we had to fully deal with the reality that the fall was going to be a... Continue Reading →
Revising, A Story of Process and Tools
Last week I started the work of revising MS:SB. I had already cleared my plot board and knew I really wanted to utilize it during this revision. As I dug into the manuscript and began evaluating my chapters, I made notes as I had before on small pieces of paper. I wrote one for each... Continue Reading →
Balance
I knew it was the right choice, both to let the book I'd been trying to read go and the manuscript I'd been trying to work on go, because of the change I felt when I did. I picked up a new book and instead of fighting to make connections, the book I started reading... Continue Reading →
Distractions: The Good, The Bad, and The Facepalm
Let's start with the facepalm. I had that moment where I was working, trying to figure out an issue with Scrivener that has been frustrating me for a very long time (think a year of annoyance) and I finally decided I needed to take the time to figure it out. I couldn't concentrate on the... Continue Reading →
Ushering in a New Decade
That phrase falls from the fingers and lands on the heart in several ways. It feels weighty and full of responsibilities. It also feels light and full of possibilities. It's both OK and important to acknowledge both sides of that reality and allow oneself to contemplate both. This week I did a few things to... Continue Reading →