The Fork In The NaNoWriMo Road

As many of you know I took the NaNo Rebel route and experimented with my NaNoWriMo project this year. I did one last edit of “Heather Darling and the Case of the Clockwork Cannibal” before beta readers take a gander. A goal that I reached yesterday afternoon. Soon I will venture into the second leg of my 2018 adventure. Starting the next book. 

A different book. A different style of writing. A different point of view. A different genre. All new characters. Because I like to mix it up and make things as difficult for myself as possible. Soon it will begin. A venture into young adult fantasy with a splash of historical fiction thrown in. Yeah. Things are gonna get interesting.

You may ask yourself, “Why would she do that?” I have to answer. “Why not?” There are six days left in the month of November. I’m determined to hold Christmas activities off until December at least. Because I’m a grown-up, I don’t want to start earlier and you can’t make me. So there. (Sticks out tongue). 

Instead of Christmas elfing, I want to snuggle up at home with my coffee and my leggings and write about wizards, elves, and stuff. Have you noticed how great I am at using ‘and?’ I am so talented some days that I amaze myself. This morning I had to search for my clean underwear. It was in the freezer. You don’t need to know that. It was the cats' doing, I'm sure of it.

Then what’s the purpose of this post you may ask. Wait a second...(thinking, light bulb appears above head). The purpose of this post is to help my fellow NaNoWriMos as they come to the end of their journey.

Yesterday afternoon, after I finished my edit, after I checked my word count, earned my certificate, and watched the congratulations video, I had nothing. It was three pm and I had nothing. I had no touch down dance. No celebration planned. Nothing.

I walked through my house thinking, “That was so great. I’m proud of myself. Umm...what do I do now?”

Within minutes, everything that felt perfectly balanced was thrown off kilter. I found myself looking for things to do, anything. I cleaned. I cooked. I perused streaming services for an hour until I found something to watch. 

Fellow NaNoWriMos. Be ready for the sudden drop after you have crossed that NaNoWriMo finish line. Stop. Take thirty minutes now and set something up before you finish. Get that celebration planned even if you just go out with friends for a while. Make plans that will fill the sudden opening of time until you’ve had the chance to adjust back to the way you lived before NaNoWriMo. You’re going to need it.

I must bid you adieu. I see something walking out into the clearing. What is it? A white-tailed deer? A wizard? An elf? To find out you'll have to wait for the next book.

Finding Your NaNo Schedule (Ramblings From High Command)

November 16, 2018

It is November 16^th and we are officially over the halfway mark for NaNoWriMo. Although I came into High Command to continue my edit of “Heather Darling and the Case of the Clockwork Cannibal.” Yes. This year, I am completing a third edit of the novel that I wrote last year. Because that’s what NaNo Rebels do. We don’t follow the original script. ;)

Let me share this with you in the longest most drawn out way possible because that’s what I’m good at. Seriously, ask anyone.

The work week is over and it’s Friday night. I have promised my mom for the last three nights in a row that I’m going to take the night off entirely and relax. Yeah...that hasn’t happened. But, I have to say that I am working at quite the leisurely pace at this point.

After I finished my meal, put some clothes in the dryer, and tidied the kitchen, I retired back to the couch and a stream of “Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald” promos on YouTube. Hey, I’ve been waiting over a year for this movie. Okay? Besides, I had to sit back and take the promos/reviews in. It relaxes me.

Well, I found myself shifting around on the couch, looking around the room, back at the television, and shifting around a little more. After a few minutes of that, I checked the time on my phone. Eight pm. It was eight pm and I was not editing nor was I in High Command.

I have a day job and during the month of November a night job as well. I was not doing my job. Even though it was Friday and I could have gone to the movies or done something recreational. Okay...it probably would have been a movie. It is NaNoWriMo, it is eight pm. Guess what? The television goes off and I get back to work.

When you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo it is difficult to change over to the more intense writing schedule. This is my third year. I am taking to it a lot more easily than I have in the past. 

At the beginning of NaNoWriMo, the first three – five days...it’s fun and exciting to race home at night and work on the next “Great American or British or Canadian or South African or Spanish (you get the idea) Novel.” After that there are a few nights where you sit on the couch and whine really quietly to yourself about how you don’t want to do this anymore. Okay, the cats can hear you but only because they have freakishly good ears. Okay ...your mom can hear you too but only because you’re whining into the phone. You don’t do that? I thought that everyone did that. I’d better tell my writer friend (fidgets and looks around the room) who happens to whine a lot. It’s not me, I promise.

By day fifteen you have not only established a schedule but your schedule. If you deviate from the script, something feels off.

Which is what happened tonight, I realized that I have found my work schedule. I am at the point now when I can sense when it is time to be working. What is that called, my Spidey sense? No. My Writer Sense. When that starts tingling...find pen and paper, find a computer, find the laptop, find a chalk board, find something because things are happening and if you aren’t writing them down...(lowers head) bad writer. Bad Writer.

It’s time for me to get back to business. My Writer Sense is tingling.

Because: Telling stories...it’s what I do.

Sweet Dreams.

---HR Apostos

P.S. Think of me while y’all are at the movies. NO SPOILERS!

Hello November

I love writing. I love talking to people about writing. Some days I even write about writing. When a writer writes about their life as a writer, sometimes it’s difficult to decide how much to share about your life and how much to keep to yourself. Tonight I am making the conscious decision to share a little bit more about my writing life. Mostly in an effort to explain why there will be no new fiction this weekend.

November brings cooler temperatures, fallen leaves, cider, and pumpkin spice flavored everything. For a few thousand people it also marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo. NanoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a program that encourages anyone to write a fifty thousand word novel over the course of thirty days. I have only reached the fifty thousand word goal on time once. The year that I wrote “Heather Darling and the Case of the Killer Tampon.” I skipped a couple of years, participated again last year and wrote about two-thirds of “Heather Darling and the Case of the Clockwork Cannibal.”

I spend a lot time at a computer at my day job and have been adapting my life choices to reflect that; which means spending a significantly lower amount of time at my computer at home. This year, instead of fast drafting a novel I will be finishing my final edit of “Heather Darling and the Case of the Clockwork Cannibal” before it goes to beta readers. I was over a third of the way through my third edit of the book when spring hit with its myriad of outside chores and other activities. There are editing months within the NanoWriMo program but I didn’t quite stick with it last year. Okay?

Then I lost my third edit. It’s on the hard drive...somewhere. So for NaNoWriMo this year I am editing. A good edit can take about two weeks...without a day job, errands, socializing, household chores...you get the idea. With all of the other stuff, it takes a little bit longer.

My plan for this year had been to start writing a stand alone young adult fantasy novel tentatively titled, “The Wizards in the Woods,” which stems from a tall tale I told my great nephew when he was two. Raiden is six now. Seven? No six. My point is that this story has been cooking for a bit. In order to start the fantasy novel, I have to edit “Heather Darling and the Case of the Clockwork Cannibal” that’s the deal that I have made with myself. I would like to start “The Wizards In The Woods” during the final days of NanoWriMo 2018.

I am an editing fool at the moment.

You may not see much new fiction from me this month. I regret not being able to finish the story that I had been writing before November began. It will continue in December at the latest. If you haven’t noticed, I can be a bit long winded at times. I wanted to let readers know what is going on and to let y’all know that if you do not see new fiction I will try take a few minutes here and there to share my NanoWriMo journey with you.

The process of fast drafting a novel may no longer work for me in its entirety but the practice of focusing closely on a writing project for thirty consecutive days is still highly useful. It was what drew me to the program initially, I want to take advantage of that and as a result, write better books.

Welcome to November and a little bit of craziness in my neck of the woods. (Looks behind reader). Did you bring a sleeping bag? This could take a while. You’ve got a backpack there too huh. Did you bring any snacks? Dinner was light. Dessert isn’t so great either.