How I Do NaNoWriMo

  The whole idea of National Novel Writing Month is to write recklessly and with abandon, churning out a whitewater rapids of words; so that when you reach the end of November you have A) more words in one piece than you've had before, and B) something to start rewrites on with the goal of eventually honing a novel out of the midst of it.
 
  This can be a good thing if you are a "slush" writer, one who writes junk and then sifts it for the good things. But if you're a more "only good things, though slowly" kind of writer, getting that kind of volume actually messes up your creative potential.
 I've run across many people who say that writing total drivel en masse in the hopes of cleaning up later and finding something good... doesn't work for them.

   This is a good point.

  I, too, found that sheer quantity isn't useful... (or hard, for me; quality is what makes me sweat! ) so I limit myself to only writing keeping-worthy words.
    Yes, I know how that sounds!
       But here's how it works: I do not have a daily goal, just a monthly one.
  I try to focus on coming up with some really good chunks of time to write great ideas before they dissipate, and go for 2,000-5/6000 per inspiration. For November I put writing first, and squirrel away from other "entertainments".

     By the end of the month my creativity is flagging, but I push for a few more sprints on scenes I already know need written, and I have always finished over goal. Usually, I don't stop just 'cause I've reached 50k, but kind of coast on til the end; and then give myself a writing free month of December!

     (I don't take it, but it's a nice feeling for a few days to just be like "No Writing! No writing anywhere!!")

 
    What do you think? Does wildly NaNoing sound like it'd work for you?

Why I Do NaNoWriMo

 I am a pretty consistent writer.
    Not consistent in "I write every day" (I don't) but consistent in "I write every year, every season, whenever something big isn't immovably in my way I'm either writing, thinking about writing, or talking about it."

  So it's no surpirse that I've racked up A LOT of wordcount all told, and several book length ms.
  I've released two YA low fantasy novels, and I've got too many WIPs to shake a stick at. (All of which I am working on!)

 So why do I do NaNoWriMo?

 Because it's fun...
   Because it's energizing in a big, big way.
    And because the WriMos are too much fun to miss out on!

  The general, contagious excitement and creativity that is unleashed onto the internet is super infectious, and I find the adrenaline pumped air a heady boost to my usual creative output.
   The fun, the enthusiasm, the wild and wonderful plot doctoring... I love the NaNo site in November, when it comes alive like the toys after midnight. There are clowns walking on the ceiling and wooden soldiers dancing on the desk lamps. It's a crazy, beautiful festival of words, and the ideas and solutions I have found among the WriMos are beyond anything I've found anywhere else.
   These strange folk are extremely helpful and upbeat... and, we must admit, just a little weird; but that makes their eyes fresher, their brains quicker, their plot-hole fixing powers just that much more enhanced.

 I so enjoy their witty comebacks to any problem, their realistic assessments of book related facts, their inexorable power of creativity on any subject matter, however fantastical it may be.

 I love the exuberance of the electrons wafting off their activities all month long.

   That's why I do NaNoWriMo.
      And I'll actually start writing any day now.... any day...
 

Guest: Two Authors & Their Novels

 Today is the first of November, so that means that WriMos everywhere need to be focusing on their novels and getting that 50k down. This includes me, and you can bet I'll be doing just that this month! 

 I've got some NaNo posts coming up starting Tues, but right now I've got a release announcement from two authors who are releasing their novels today!

 First up...

Adventures and Adversities by Sarah Holman 

 

 One day Alditha is content living with her family, the next she is taking her friends place to serve at the king’s castle.  Her father's final instructions, to keep smiling and to do what is right, will be harder to live out then she ever imagined. She will face a royal nephew who delights in making people miserable, an angry servant girl that will stop at nothing to get what she wants, and noblemen who plot murder. Will she be able to keep the promise she made to her father? Will she find the faith she longs for during all her Adventures and Adversities.

 And also... 

Captive of Raven Castle by Jessica Greyson

  

 The troubled people of war-torn Chambria are on the brink of starvation, and a delicate princess with a recurring nightmare is their only hope. Alexandra knows that her value to her country consists mainly in her ability to marry well, but when she is kidnapped by the rebels and taken to meet the man claiming to be both Chambria's true king and her real father, her entire world falls apart. Will Princess Alexandra be able to untangle the web of lies and discern who is the true king and her father?


   So there you have it! Two new books released out into the world at large. Must be scary for them, huh? 
      

    Have you read anything by either of these authors?