NaNoWriMo + What's Next

It's December! Which means National Novel Writing Month is over. While many of my friends clocked insane word counts (either in total or just yesterday in an effort to reach their goals), I haven't written in several days. Because I hit my goal early! (Stay tuned for snippets.)

For those of you who are new or can't keep your 100 friends' NaNo goals straight, my goal was to write a 30k novella based off my trip to New York. I named it Simply Jane Smith.

The 50,000 words that NaNo wants me to write is a little much for my sanity (and wrists). I've only written 30k in a month once before and that was when I wrote the first draft to my published novella Andora's Folly. I figured it was time to do it again since I needed a break from my main writing project anyway.

I'm happy to announce that I finished the first draft of Simply Jane Smith on November 28th at 28,449 words. A little short of my targeted word count, granted, but it feels so good to have finished something!! I think it's been ages since I did that.

I can already hear you asking the question but was it garbage? The exciting answer is no. While it's definitely a first draft, it's got a bit of a plot and some characters I'd be happy to revisit someday. 

"Someday" is the key word. I have no timeline to return to the story in the near future. So while I'm content with a finished draft, I know it stinks for you guys not getting anything published for another bit.

To tide you over, here are a few little snippets that stood out to me as worth sharing while I was writing:

Next, I'll be returning to Martin Crossroads. Right, the sequel. The sequel you all want. That refuses to be written. I've been reading about Tolkien some lately, and it was an encouragement to me that writing The Lord of the Rings took him literal eons and about did him in. But I will conquer just like he did!!! Or else.

While I'm sure I'll have plenty of life, editing projects, and whatever else distract me from my good intentions, my tentative writing plan going forward looks like this:

• finish the first draft of Martin Crossroads in 2018
• publish MC in 2019 at all costs!!
• squeeze in revising Behind the Act so I can query hopefully over the summer
• submit flash fiction for my "fun writing"
• possible chisel away at the other gazillion ideas I have ...

That sounds like a ton to me, but I'm also super tired at the moment, so who knows? Maybe it'll be totally feasible. My priority will be Martin Crossroads if it kills me. Don't get me wrong, I really do love where I hope the story will end up. It's getting it there that's slowly killing me. But it will come together and I will get it to you guys! 2019 is going to be the year. ;) Which means by this time next year it should be in your hands. Won't that be a wonderful day for all of us. 

Now tell me all about what you did this November! NaNo or not, what has your latest project been? What do you hope to accomplish in 2019? By all means, give me details as I certainly can't keep everyone's doings straight. ;)

Tips for Meeting Your Deadline

NaNo has begun! It's a month of crazy goals (like 50,000 words in a month). But whether it's NaNo or something else, how on earth do people reach that deadline? Good question. I have a few tips to share for next time you're in a time crunch.

First, let me say that meeting a deadline is not easy. It will probably never be easy. In fact, it's really, really hard. But it's not impossible.

And, no, I'm not an expert deadline-meeter. I've failed to meet a self-imposed deadline so many times that I've learned many things to share with you today. (Just look at the time stamp on this blog post if you dn't believe me.)

Make it Attainable

Sometimes you're not always the one setting the deadline or goal. But if you are, by all means, make it something you can reach! Difficult and challenging, yes. But 50k in a month is way more doable than 150k. Just saying. I'm aiming for 30k this time even though that still won't count as a success for NaNo. I know I'll thank myself later.

Motivate Yourself

I've been skimming Write Your Novel in 30 Days by Jeff Gerke. One of his good points was that writing is made up of many small victories, not just the primary victory of hitting your goal. Guess what? If you celebrate those little victories, you have more frequent rewards to look forward to! Motivation, baby.

(Example: I'm starving and should be eating lunch, but I'm motivating myself to finish the blog post with my hunger.)

Okay, so maybe pick a better (and less painful) motivator than starvation. We're talking a movie night, expensive coffee, and a dinner out when you finish ... Nice things that will actually motivate you.

Buckle Down

This is what reaching most deadlines requires. Pretend you're in Antartica for a month and go off the grid. Keep your phone on silent, ignore your family, don't take extra work shifts. Ideally, we'd all like to go to a cabin for six weeks, but for me it just means taking on less instead of doing less. Just don't do anything extra.

That allows you to buckle down and get it done. It's not always pleasant, but it's a reward in and of itself when you finish! Spend some time finding what works best for you before you get started so you've got your ideal space, your time, and then just knock. it. out.

Find a Partner

Everyone is statistically more successful with an accountability partner. Everyone. Whether it's a group (like Camp NaNo cabins) or one person, find somebody! Someone who will tell you to suck it up and get it done, but who will also listen to your problems and give you ideas, and try to encourage you. Writing is already hard before adding a deadline! So if you can find another writer who's willing to prod you along, you'll have someone who understands.

Take Breaks

You'll also need someone who can tell you to take breaks. Breaks are vital to success because otherwise you'll burn out. (Trust me, I'm the burnout queen.) So even when you're on a deadline, you have to eat, sleep, and still take breaks. Even though it feels counterproductive to take a nap, a walk, or watch an episode of something ... it might be just what you need. 

My go-to break is Netflix. It's the ultimate form of chill and as long as I have the willpower to pick only one episode, it's got a fixed end. Besides, as a writer, I almost always get an idea when watching something. Being a writer isn't only about writing.

I'm sure there are two hundred other tips I could throw at you, but I feel like that's a good start (and I'm still starving).

How do you meet a deadline? What incentives help motivate you?

Simply Jane Smith // My NaNo 2018 Project

I'm not sure why it took me so long to decide what to post this week because ... it's less than a week until NaNoWriMo!!!!! (I already regret this decision.) I've yet to tell the general public about the project I'll be working on, so here goes!

Should I be writing Martin Crossroads? Why yes. But I just hit the 75k marker! So I'm taking a break from it in November.

Then perhaps this mysterious Blossoms of Beaumont project in your sidebar, you ask? Ha, nope. That is totally a whenever-I-feel-like-it project. And I don't feel like it for NaNo.

What then?!

A new (but not entirely new) project, of course. Some of you may remember my little Simply Jane Smith story. It's over on my Writings page with a collage. I began handwriting it nearly two years ago, but then my wrist gave out. Originally the story was going to be about traveling to Paris ... except I've never been there.

But I've been to NYC now!! Oh yessss. I'm going to stuff my NYC experiences into a 30k novella about a girl who wins a trip and hopes to find inspiration in the city that never sleeps. (Kind of excited to try that!)

Here's the most recent mock cover I made, not that the white edges show up very well on here:

I hope to complete the first draft during November, but writing hasn't been so speedy of late, so there's really no telling if I'll hit my goal or not. Definitely not aiming for the 50k that the website automates though because I value my sanity. But I finished the rough draft of the outline last night and it's actually got me excited to give this a shot! I've still got the NYC bug, so that part should be fun at least.

Here's the blurb that I have up on the NaNo website:

Gwyneth Grey is a successful lifestyle blogger, complete with a picturesque apartment and Tiffany's solitaire engagement ring. But Jane Smith, the girl behind the blog, has reached the end of her creative powers. When Jane wins a trip to NYC, she grabs her camera, her favorite barista, and hops on a plane. The city that never sleeps has two weeks to refresh her spirits or she might as well kiss life as she knows it goodbye. Yet Jane soon finds that inspiration is only the beginning of her problems, and the solution might require more of her than she's willing to give.

I might be getting the hang of this contemporary thing. Does it sound like your cup of tea?

What are you doing for NaNoWriMo? No worries if you're new to the scene. Just google it and then laugh at all the insane people signing their souls away for a month. :P

Also, check out my social media for a cover reveal of a friend's flash fiction collection!!

Camp NaNo Recap (with video)

I survived the epic, renowned Camp NaNo gauntlet (I mean writing challenge). I haven't always met my goal, but this year I did. Here's how.

Camp NaNo you're in a "cabin" group chat with friends and set a goal. (If you're really awesome, you have a cabin name (Mitchtam) and a separate chat room for wars.) My goal was 30,000 words on my Martin Crossroads draft. I reached it!

How did I do it?! I list a couple things in this video!

As I said in the video, that wouldn't have happened without my cabinmates: Alea, Ashley, Athelas, Faith, Hannah, Kara, Katie, Nadine, Rosalie, Savannah, Sword Girl. They were amazing!! (And yes, famous o.o) I really hope I didn't forget anyone. #writerslife

The thing is, as thrilled as I was to hit my goal in a hectic month, that's not what it's all about. At least not for me. It's really about making progress and finding what works to hit my goals. I'm always relieved to find I can hit goals and can write decent words. I'm not a consistent or very disciplined writer, so working on those two things amongst friends makes for a pretty fun (if insane) experiment!

Did you do Camp NaNo? How did it go? How do you reach your goals (in any area of life)?

Just as a reality side note here, I did this entire blog post on my phone. That's basically what my post-NaNo writing life has looked like ;P

Vlog + Updates + Beta Reader Sign Ups

It's time for another Very Awesome Vlog Challenge video and some updates on what's new!

There were some really thought-provoking questions for this April-June vlog. What makes this one different?? I share my latest book purchases and disclose some facts about myself in the course of the video (which happens to be 3x longer than usual). Definitely join the vlog challenge HERE while there's still time! You're entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card when you join the link up ;D So why I'm begging for competition, I don't know.

Now for the part where I ramble even more. There are few things that have happened of late that I thought you should know about. As always, if you really want to be in the loop, you'll have to subscribe for my newsletter in the sidebar. :)

First, I failed Camp NaNo. You probably don't know that yet unless you already read my newsletter. April was long and painful and the words really fought back. I wrote a blog post on Teen Authors Journal all about titled I Failed NaNoWriMo (and I'm glad). I'd really appreciate it if you'd give it a read and some feedback :) The project that I did not reach my goal on was drafting Martin Crossroads, the sequel to Martin Hospitality. The good news is I have recovered from my untimely burnout and am finally churning out words again!

I wanted you all to know that a paperback of Martin Hospitality will be part of a large giveaway over at Reading Is My Superpower. The giveaway runs May 15-21. You enter by genre (as many as you please): YA/Speculative, Contemporary, Historical, and Mystery/Suspense. All the books are Christian Fiction and Martin Hospitality is part of the Contemporary genre giveaway.



The next piece of news is on Andora's Folly. I get it back from my alpha readers today, so I need betas! Once again, I am not putting a limit on how many. I'm just filtering people out by these requirements:

• I recognize your name. Just explain who you are and how I should know you on the form :)
• You can read 30,000 words in two weeks (May 27-June 10)
• You will offer advice and provide honest (but kind) feedback
• You will write me a honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads

Click HERE to view the form if the embedded version doesn't appear below. I can't wait to see who all signs up! This form is open through Friday, May 26. If you can't beta read, take heart. The publication date is July 29!

You can learn more about my stories on My Writings page. :)

~~~~~

Phew!! That needed to happen ;) Any questions or comments?

Have a great Mother's Day :) Be looking for a special Tuesday post from Gemma's point of view!!

A Vlog and Ramblings #3

It's a double-feature vlog and random information! Who can pass that up, right? Also check out who won the giveaway!

Brought to you by the lovely Ivy Rose, I was disappointed when I never managed to film the 3rd vlog and submit my link. Now we're onto the 4th round, but I decided to cheat. So I answered the questions for both installments in this video. Hopefully the quality's okay; I was trying out my new phone in my room (with bad lighting) so it's not great ;) But I answered the questions!

What did you think? You have until April 15th to submit your video to Ivy's linkup. As I mentioned in the vlog, you'll be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. If you haven't tried vlogging yet, it's worth a shot! Just go with it. I didn't even wear makeup this time because it was 9pm. Be you and people will love it :)

For the rambling updates bit, my cousin is coming to stay for Spring Break and all my college friends will be home this weekend so I'm trying not to freak out!! Pictures may spam your Facebook. Or we may have too much fun for pictures. We'll see ;)

I will be doing Camp NaNo this April. I'm actually beginning March 15 as a part of Ivy's NaNo make-up and I'm going to follow that all the way through the end of April with the real NaNo, if that makes any sense. Basically 6 weeks of NaNo to write 50,000 words on my next novel Martin Crossings. Hopefully.

I'm also trying to figure out what writing conferences I'm going to attend this year. Everything's so expensive for us poor indie authors *cries*

That being said, I have some free resources for you. I'm participating in this indie e-con this year, so if any of you would like to attend, definitely check that out! It will take place on Kendra's blog. 

Second, Michael Hyatt's webinars. He ranked high in Thomas Nelson and has really helpful webinars every now and then with applicable steps to success that you fill out in a nifty handout. He has one coming up this Monday & Tuesday called The 7 Deadly Sins of Productivity. Even if you can't make one of the live one, sign up so you get the recording access :)

And now for the giveaway winners!!

SARAH GRACE

won the signed Martin Hospitality paperback

BROOKE M.

won the typewriter postcards and bottlecap magnets

EMILY D.

won the watercolor notebook and postcard

Congrats, ladies! You should have an e-mail from me asking for your mailing address ;)

~~~~~

A vlog and rambling, just as promised. Hopefully you found some of that helpful and fun. Thanks for entering the giveaway! What random life updates do you have for me?

A Pictoral Journey Through NaNoWriMo

NaNo has finally ended. I'm still trying to recover and jump back into life. So far, so good, except that this post is three days late. Here's a look at what I managed to accomplish for NaNo.

~ The Glorious NaNo Chat ~

26 people. One Google Hangouts chat. It was supposed to be for #5k1days and became the cabin and now the recovery group. In short: awesome insanity and many crashing browsers. Here's a peak at the deep topics we covered:

1 ~ Sanity

2 ~ Murder

3 ~ Fiji

4 ~ Distractions

5 ~ Motivation

6 ~ Determination

7 ~ Baking

  8 ~ Superiority

9 ~ Writing 

10 ~ Stealth

~ The Snippets ~

In no particular order and often quite long, sorry ... I now know that finding snippets is not a skill. Ignore any typos :P

~ The Stats ~

Phew. Burned out at 30k, but pushed through thanks to so amazing war buddies. MyWriteClub has the best sprints ever, so be sure to check them out! I intend to shelf the draft of my Christian Dystopian novel that I drafted about 60% of during NaNo and I'll revisit it when I feel like it's feasible. Details on My Writings page :)

~~~~~

I'm glad to see you all survived NaNo as well, even if you didn't win! Words got written and that's what matters :) 

In other news, my November newsletter went out yesterday! If you thought you subscribed and didn't receive it, check your spam folder and then e-mail me if you don't find it :) You get lots of first news and experimental ideas and personal updates, so be sure to subscribe if you want to be 100% in the loop.

A Vlog and Ramblings #2

I am probably holed away in my bed typing like crazy for NaNo at the moment, and yet I make a video appearance! If you enjoyed my vlog last time, I assure you the questions are even better this go round. Also, you get another peek into my brain's spontaneity if that's appealing at all . . .

Once again this is Ivy Rose's challenge and I love it! I've really come to look forward to this (so much so that I filmed this like 2 weeks ago). She explains how to do it all in this post, so check it out. Enjoy the vlog and let me know if you're going to participate. I really want to hear your answers to these questions! You have until December 15 and then there will be new questions ;)

Forgive the road noise and camera jolts. I was holding my mom's phone because it has the best video quality, and the outside light is better. I feel like I was a little more myself in this video, though, so hopefully that's a good thing, hehe. Also, here's my video from last round in case you missed it ;)

In the style of last time, I shall do nothing but ramble for the rest of this post. You have been warned.

First, MARTIN HOSPITALITY IS AT THE EDITOR'S! Yep, just let that sink in. It still hasn't for me. And it will be back in my hands soon. I can hardly wait to see what the lovely Kelsey Bryant had to say!! ^.^ Actually, the fact that I've made it this far is what blows my mind. Thank you, God!!! I tore up my handwritten editing to do list to celebrate. I was handwriting lists. That's how bad it was. The computer was no longer good enough.

I also got to meet the lovely Mandy Cave in person last week. We talked cover design (her first) and are moving forward with her amazing talent! I really want to tell you all about it, but I shall refrain. For now, you only get one hint: she's a watercolor artist. ISN'T THAT COOL?! I am so excited to finally be confidant about our vision and Mandy's skill. The day I get to share the cover with you all is going to be so incredible. Now go check out her Facebook page I linked you to. *shoo*

Also, due to some of my awesome friends already completing NaNo a group of us got together to create this celebratory post for Mary Horton. It may have involved bribery and hacking. Seriously, it was SO fun. I hear the unfathomable Katie Grace is to be congratulated today as well! *confetti and pizza* Me? You can track my word count in the sidebar, because no I'm not finished yet :)

~~~~~

If you're reading this and doing NaNo, I applaud you. I cannot do both, so sorry for abandoning all your blogs this month. Are you going to do the vlog? *puppy eyes*

My Social Media Experience

Social media. It's pretty much taken over the world. Since getting my blog back in February, I have joined many sites in order to promote my book and enhance its formation. Here's some of what I've learned.

~ In General ~

I think we all know that social media can eat our time if we are not very careful. It sucks you in, and you have cool friends to virtually hang out with, so why wouldn't you stick around for a while? Well, I don't know about you, but I don't have time to kill on an average day. So here are my tips for general time management of whatever social media accounts you have:

1~ Keep a list! I know some of you are pantsers, but when it comes to life, sometimes you've got to make to-do lists. There are going to be things you need to do on your social media accounts. Change your picture, update your status, share an article, find a link, whatever. And that's fine. That's why you have the social media. So make a list of things you need to do. I would suggest dividing this list by the accounts you have, prioritize, and give yourself a liberal estimate on how much time it's going to take. If you have extra time, you can loiter, but only until your allotted time is up.

~2 Other than just making a list, schedule your media time. If you're like me, you'll get on your social media accounts heaven knows when all throughout the day. That can complete eat any "free time" you have, so I suggest planning out when you get on. After lunch for Facebook, after school for Pinterest. That bit doesn't really matter. But limit yourself. 10 minutes should easily suffice, especially if all you're going to do is read your endless feed. It is important to engage the people you've connected to, so don't just skim everything :)

~3 One last point: don't get accounts you don't need. You could probably find a purpose for every form of media out there, but don't get one of each. Just because it's a humongous buffet doesn't mean you actually have to try everything. That will kill you in the end. I currently have . . . ten accounts that I would consider media-like and I have a purpose for each. I don't have Instragram, Bloglovin', or LinkedIn yet because I honestly don't think I need them. And I don't have the time to figure them out right now either ;)

Now for all of my accounts individually. I'll list them in the order I got them, but feel free to jump to the ones that apply to you :)

~ Pinterest ~

My aunt set up an account for my mom at one point. My sister and I thought Pinterest looked fun, so we took over Mom's account because she literally never used it. About 3K pins in, we realized it wasn't going to work to share anymore. We had a gazillion boards and were both sick of seeing each other's interests on our feed. So once I had a blog, I created my own Pinterest and began switching important things over to that profile, sharing boards with my sister, and reaching a better level of organization.

Purpose: Storyboards. These cannot be important enough. All the collages on My Writings page came from my Pinterest boards.

Time: I probably spend about an hour a week on Pinterest. On my good weeks, of course. I could spend an hour a day if I get distracted ;)

Platform: I had around 30 followers on my new account a few weeks ago. I hadn't gained one in months. That's when I still had my storyboards secret. I didn't want people to know what I was writing! I pinned spoilers! But then I realized that my friends with two boards could have 40 followers if they were storyboards. So I made all of my storyboards public and boom! I now have 60 followers and they trickle in on a regular basis. ;)

~ Gmail ~

For a long time I shared an e-mail with my parents and just had my own folder. When it came to my first writing contact, Dad decided I could probably use my own account. (Thanks Jamie!!) This not only generated a Google+ account, it created a very time consuming bog, even if it's not really a social media account.

Purpose: E-mail (duh). Largely, the hub for sending and receiving editing projects.

Time: At least half an hour a day. Pretty bad, huh? I want to cut that down. But I now have a steady stream of stuff to weed through, filter, reply to and the like ;) Definitely one I need to schedule.

Platform: Unlike other media, the goal is to have less here. If you do like I did, you will subscribe to all the author websites, many blogs, and clothing stores to get the free downloads and booklets. I encourage you to do that as long as you trust the sight. Then you'll probably need to unsubscribe because it's gonna be a lot of useless mail all the time!

Tip: Have ultra organized label folder things, so you can clear out your inbox better. My goal is to have under 50 e-mails in my inbox (one page) and none in my other categories (social and promotions).

~ Google+ ~

I never intentionally got this account. I realized I automatically had an account one day because I had created a Gmail (Google) account. I added a picture, bio, all that good stuff and started adding Gmail contact to my circles, but I never actually got on the website again for a while. Until I got Blogger.

Purpose: Sharing blog posts.

Time: 10 minutes a week. You all know I rarely post. I have Blogger connected now, so it automatically posts and you all faithfully +1 like good friends :) I rarely get on to do the same.

Platform: Add everyone in the world to your circles. The only additional circle I have is one I called "bloggers." Connect your blog to it if you can (you can with Blogger) and share other articles/posts you enjoyed to it. People usually add back and then you have a really good reach with little effort.

~ Twitter ~

My first real social media account where you interact with humans on a ginormous level. I'm still trying to get the hang of this one, but it's fun :) It seems to be more business-focused than most media anyway, so that's really nice. Everyone there has a purpose, not just a life. And a character limit, so you can only say so much at once, hehe :)

Purpose: Sharing everything writing-related and building a platform of potential readers.

Time: 10 minutes a day. Thats on average, because I disappear for a few days and then play catch up :P

Platform: Consistency. Post something at least daily if you can. I had this down and was posting, but only at 11 am. When I spread out retweets and posts throughout an entire day (20 in all) I immediately gained 30 followers over the next few days. I don't think that was an accident ;)

Tip: Engage people on topics, participate, show your face. Thank people for retweets. Follow lots of people and never be afraid to unfollow, too. Keep your subject matter limited; for me it's writing/reading/books/editing and the like. :)

~ Goodreads ~

I love Goodreads. This has proved to be one of the best accounts I have, hands down.

Purpose: Tracking what books I read, what they were about, and when I read them. Now people can add my book, so it gets spread around and added before it's even published :)

Time: 10 minutes a day, on average. I didn't have a hard time keeping this low once I got the account underway. I suggest you avoid all but book polls because they seem pointless and will eat your time!

Platform: Find as many friends as you can and follow your favorite authors. I've added a few people I don't really know that well just because they asked, and we have mutual friends. Probably not the best idea unless you're a Goodreads author. In which case, I figure potential reader. Rate everything and leave yourself review prompters. I encourage you to review as much as you can for your own retention and for friends' benefit, but this will take more time.

Tip: Always add a book to your list if it strikes you. You won't remember it if you don't. If you are going to be like me and add some people you only know vicariously, chances are you're still safe on Goodreads. But to be even safer, go to your friends and choose edit. Only leave "top friend" checked (it's automatic) on people you love and trust. This will prioritize them on your feed :)

~ NaNoWriMo ~

The good news that this can only be a real distraction a few months of the year. But boy did I use it a lot for my first Camp! It's so fun to chat with cabinmates and update word counts . . . every few hundred words ;)

Purpose: Quick drafting. The community is a bonus ;)

Time: When it's NaNo season, about 45 minutes a day. It probably won't be that much for regular NaNo but only time will tell :)

Platform: Plug into a cabin with people you know for Camps and buddy with everyone you care about for regular NaNo. It's not too hard to find people.

Tip: It's super easy to find friends and saves you a lot of searching if you'll just look at the buddies of one of your friends. I found Katie Grace and Nadine Brandes and really only had to look at their buddies from there :)

~ Hangouts ~

This is a Google chat for those of you who don't know. You can get an app, or you can view it through your Gmail in a browser. It connects by e-mail, I believe.

Purpose: keeping up with writing friends. This was our post-Camp NaNo rehab because we missed hanging out (thus the name).

Time: 3 hours a week. This really depends and can eat your time if you allow it, because it's conversations with your friends! The one that eats my time is our Camp group of 12 people and our NaNo group of 20+ :)

Platform: Again, less is kinda more here. But it actually has saved me time to chat with critique partners instead of e-mailing them all the time. You get a faster reply and I don't type out my entire day either ;)

~ MyWriteClub ~

I just heard about this and decided to make an account. It's to track your progress on any goals you create and to see progress that friends make. You can update it and comment on each other's. It's used loosely by most people and strikes me as a basic, year-round Camp NaNo. Because it's to keep scattered details of my life sane, it should help with time management overall :)

Purpose: to give myself deadlines and track my work.

Time: 5 minutes a day. Easy. Update your goal, scan your feed, turn it off.

Platform: This isn't a huge deal here because it's more for you than others. So just follow people that you care about! They'll probably follow you back :)

~ Facebook ~

Ah yes. I just conquered this beast last week. I've held out for soo long D: But I needed a professional page for my author stuff before my book is published, so I had to get a personal page, too. So far, I haven't lost too much time on it and have reached a new crowd of friends and family you will find only on Facebook. It's the everyman's media of choice. And you have no character limit ;)

Purpose: Reaching a new crowd for my book and having some place to post more general life stuff.

Time: about 15 minutes a day so far. But I am still in set-up mode, so maybe I can whittle that down to ten?

Platform: Do not be afraid to friend someone! Facebook is not the place to cherry-pick. Similar to Goodreads, I accept friend requests even from mere acquaintances that I could really care less about, or don't know if I can trust not to share gory details of their life. Even if you do cherry-pick, some people will surprise you. So...

Tip: Do friend a lot of people. Unfollow people that you can't stand. You won't see their stuff on your feed, they can still see yours, and you're still 'friends.' ;)

~ Spotify ~

This is like a social Pandora for those of you who don't know. You follow artists, albums, and friends. The wide variety of free music I have found extremely helpful! And the occasional ad doesn't bother me, because YouTube has more ads and little organization.

Purpose: Accessing more favorite artists and creating writing playlists.

Time: Hours and hours a day. But that's just listening to all the beautiful songs. Finding the songs takes like 5 minutes a day.

Platform: Again, the point of this isn't popularity for me since I don't have a music album on here :) But it is fun to follow a few friends so you can see their music tastes.

Tip: Don't feel like you have to follow complete albums. Follow the few songs you like. You'll be able to find the album again pretty easily. Pay attention to whether you are following playlists or albums, too, because playlists is someone else's personal taste on a subject and clog up your list of playlists. Maybe that doesn't bug most people :P

~~~~~

Phew! So there you have it. Hopefully this post was somewhat useful to you and didn't completely overwhelm you . . . or take too much of your time ;)

National Novel Writing Month

'Tis the season for all bloggers to either post on NaNoWriMo or comment everywhere trying to figure out what this thing is. I first heard of it in April 2015 when a woman overheard that I was writing and recommended it to me. Basically you make an account through nanowrimo.org and update your word count for a novel there. Your goal is to write 50K in just the month of November. Here's my plan so far, numbered, and in no particular order.

1~ WIN

My first goal is to win this thing. Have I ever written 50K before in a month? No. My record is 30,010 words, and that was reached during Camp NaNo in July. Nearly doubling my all-time monthly record? During the holidays? While publishing a novel? Nothing to worry about, right? (This is where you say "Of course right!")

2~ Conquer a new genre

In case you're wondering I have the tendency to get over-ambitious. I've only one completed Christian Contemporary novel and one Christian Fiction Retelling novella. In November, my goal is to draft at least 50K of a Christian Dystopian novel. This reveals a lot about my creative thought process: it's everywhere.

3~ Plot

I cannot go without some sort of planning (even if that's just talking out loud until it makes some sense) because I will go crazy on day 1. You guys don't want that. So I am currently giving a half-hearted attempt at plotting. The good news is that I'm reviving an idea from years ago and have managed to add a plot to it. As long as I complete some characters sheets before November, I think I'll feel comfortable. I don't see the point in ultra-planning this since I'll be writing faster than my brain can generate coherent thoughts anyway.

4~ My survival tips

Judging from Camp NaNo alone, some tips:

• don't read what you write
• do NOT edit what you write (the goal is quantity, not quality. I know :'( )
• silence your inner voice of perfection. Call it conscience if you must
• write and write a lot. The average number of words you have to write a day to succeed is 1,667
• use The Most Dangerous Writing App (which permanently deletes what you've typed if you stop within the clock)
• create a playlist for your novel(mine's on Spotify) and listen to nothing else as you write
• chisel out chunks of time in which to conquer chunks of words
• sacrifice some sleep. Actually, lots of sleep
• do word wars with your friends. Competition for numbers is excellent motivation.
• update your word count on NaNo daily (don't spend too much time on the website loafing)
• do a #5k1day That's 10% of what you have to write conquered in a single day. If I have done this, I promise you can. If you do it on Tuesday, November 1, I'll do it with you via my Facebook event. I can also create a Google Hangouts group for non-Facebook people who are interested.

5~ Introduce my NaNo novel to all of you before November 1

Yay! This is where I get to share the blurb and pictures about this story which I am getting super psyched to write about. I think this is going to be really fun. Especially since I've found some really awesome buddies.

Imogen North struggles. But so does everyone else in the crumbling East Side. Yet Immy is convinced that no one, not even her twin, shares the struggles of her secrets: parents who were exiled for treason, a crippling fear of the dark, a desire to learn about the outlawed Followers, and now knowledge of the corrupted inner workings of her own government. When faced with the coming-of-age rite of accepting her designated role under Lord Luci, will she have the courage to stand up to the truth like her parents did and face the consequences? Or will the carefully cultivated darkness inside of her win? And is she prepared for what either decision could mean?

I have high hopes of this being an mid- and post-tribulation analogy, but we shall see . . .

Christian Dystopian, 3rd person, past tense, single POV. The book will follow Imogen North, her twin sister Ivy and friend Tristan Hodges also being focal characters. There's a full Pinterest board if you're really interested.

As with many of my other stories, this was inspired by a bizarre dream I had where "I" lived in a crumbling brick courtyard in freezing weather while being pursued by the government. No wonder it's taken me so long to find a plot, right? (Of course right!)

~~~~~

Are you doing NaNo? Leave me your username if you are and I will add you to my buddy list (apparently I'm hard to find). Are you going to participate in my #5k1day challenge? Will you use FB or Google Hangouts for updates, word wars, and motivation?

Also, if you enjoyed the Tolkien guest post of last week don't forget to check out the rest of the series on Evan's blog!

Ultimate Camp NaNoWriMo

Ultimate Camp NaNoWriMo kinda sounds like it should be a sport, no? Similiar to ultimate frisbee? Anyway. I'm finally getting around to giving you all an elaborate break down of my first Camp NaNo experience. Coincidentally, this also happens to be my 50th post and the last one I shall bring you all as a 17-year-old. You asked for it!

I apologize in advance for what is about to be the longest list of excuses ever.

Day 1 ~ 2,000 // 2,000

Started it off strong and fainted at my cabin mates' awesomeness. Also:

Day 2 ~ 1,113 // 3,113

Still had the initial rush of adrenaline and was trying to pack simultaneously

Day 3 ~ 0 // 3,113

Here, we celebrated Independence Day with family in Fort Worth. Yeah, no words.

Day 4 ~ 0 // 3,113

I had my laptop with me, but decided writing in a 15-passenger van full of siblings isn't worth it

Day 5 ~ 2,905 // 6,018

Back home and back on track

Day 6 ~ 0 // 6,018

So why write when you'll remain afloat without a single word?

Day 7 ~ 1,198 // 7,216

Another trip upcoming, so had to write a little bit

Day 8 ~ 0 // 7,216

Went out of town and had a terrible headache the whole way, so no writing

Day 9 ~ 0 // 7,216

Had my writing conference and hung out with my pen pal friend all day. Staying up late talking to her beat Camp

Day 10 ~ 0 // 7,216

Went to church with my pen pal, went out to lunch, and then headed back home with Mom

Day 11 ~ 2,189 // 9,405

Trying to catch up a little and had a freaking ton of Camp notifications (you know who you are)

Day 12 ~ 0 // 9,405

Stalled out, I guess? I don't really know what happened here :P

Day 13 ~ 622 // 10,027

Had work all afternoon, but managed to write a smidge due to a couple word wars. Do not underestimate their power!

Day 14 ~ 0 // 10,027

Family came into town here, so I did the human conversation thing instead

Day 15 ~ 0 // 10,027

And family left on this day and my motivation left with them

Day 16 ~ 0 // 10,027

I don't know what happened here, since it was the weekend

Day 17 ~ 0 // 10,027

But I guess it happened again here, hehe

Day 18 ~ 2,077 // 12,104

Monday motivation and still 6K behind *hits panic button*

Day 19 ~ 5,115 // 17,219

I highly doubt I could ever write much more than this in a day if my life depended on it.

Day 20 ~ 1,052 // 18,271

Three days in a row! And I even had work again. 

Day 21 ~ 2,072 // 20,343

Boom, four days! Aaaalmost back on track.

Day 22 ~ 0 // 20,343

We played at a friend's house and I had zero energy when we got home

Day 23 ~ 1,197 // 21,540

Weekend, yes, but I felt bad and it was my brother's birthday. So what else would I do but write?

Day 24 ~ 0 // 21,540

I burn out easy, okay? But going to the theatre for Tarzan was the best decision I have ever made.

Day 25 ~ 2,862 // 24,402

Once again, sooooo close

Day 26 ~ 0 // 24,402

But then I skip another day and fall behind just a smidge more

Day 27 ~ 1,924 // 26,326

This was a Saturday that I actually wrote. Can you believe it?

Day 28 ~ 0 // 26,326

But I can never write on Sundays no matter how much I try :(

Day 29 ~ 0 // 26,326

I guess I'll blame this on it being a Monday?

Day 30 ~ 2,708 // 29,034

I didn't want to write but then I finished my story and that posed a problem for the last 1K

Day 31 ~ 976 // 30,010

Boom! I had to get really creative for these words. I made a Note from the Author, title page, and a couple random scenes to hit my word goal. I went to bed happy. ^.^

And my overall stats picture because I know you couldn't live without it :)

All in all this was a fantastic experience, made only more awesome by my 10 cabin mates. I have seriously never laughed so hard or had so much support while writing. My favorite conversation was the one about the Trout brothers beings aliens (specifically rainbow fish from Fiji who tan). The conversation on our hugging rules and how we will handle fame were also pretty darn epic. But that's what happens when 10 members of writer royalty join you for 31+ days of insanity.

The word wars, sharing of ideas, reading of blog posts and chapters pre-publication, rants and rambles,prayer requests, and goofiness were all unforgettable. I made new internet friends, showed off my insane side, and still had friends at the end of it.

To learn more about the short story I worked on at Camp, visit My Writings and look for Andora's Folly.

~~~~~

What did you do for the month of July? Have you done a Camp NaNo post? Also, notice my first homemade header since post #1 I had to do something special for post #50 :)