In the spirit of elementary school teachers everywhere that make you write about your summer vacation, I'm writing about my vacation from Twitter and Facebook! Hee hee. :-)
Being off of Twitter for a week and Facebook for a week and a half was very hard. I seriously had become addicted to both. At least I could admit I had a problem. I did cheat by checking briefly what was going on while I was stuck somewhere waiting with nothing to do. I didn't post though. But, my lesson learned from that is never go anywhere without a book or notebook. That's what I SHOULD have been doing.
I did get a lot of writing done during this vacation, which was the major point of the exercise. Would have gotten a lot more done if I hadn't gotten the flu, but I digress.
As much as I love chatting on both Twitter and Facebook, this break was good for me because I realized just how much time I truly spend that could be spent writing, napping, or even (eek!) cleaning.
So what did I do on my Twittercation?
1) Edited, revised, edited, revised some more, wrote a new scene, edited, and revised, all in hopes of making Book 1 better and ready for querying.
2) Re-wrote my query letter a couple of times and now, IMHO, it is quite awesome!
3) Worked on my synopsis since I feel like it's too dry.
4) Worked on evil day job work.
5) Had a 3 hour lunch with some fab YA writers to talk about our plans for world domination.
6) Watched WAY too much tv while sick in bed with the flu.
7) Watched Wolverine and swooned over Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
8) Snuggled with the fur kids.
9) Napped.
I missed all my fabulous Twitter and Facebook buddies! But now I'm back, although I probably won't be around as much as before. Got lots of writing to get done. :-)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
On NaNo Eve... A Look Back
In honor of starting NaNoWriMo today, I decided to re-visit something I wrote after I finished last year’s NaNo (my first). I learned a lot while writing my first book, which I am finishing final edits on as we speak. It will be going out to my critique peeps for a final look in the next day or two, and then query letters will go out mid-month. I think it’s quite appropriate that I’m finishing book 1 as NaNo is starting. NaNo got me to put my butt in the chair and write. I’d had the idea for the book for 8 years, but it was always something I’d do “one day”. Thank you to the NaNo gang for getting me to finally write that book!!
If you want to track my progress or be my NaNo buddy, my NaNo page is: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/433001
Tonight at 6:45pm, I finished with 50,229 words. I met my personal deadline of finishing by 7pm so I could watch a movie and relax in front of the fire tonight. There is no way to describe how I'm feeling right now. I've had the idea for this book for years. I had done some outlining and character development and a lot of research but hadn't really written much. The NaNo challenge was my opportunity to force myself to do it- if I told people about it and gave myself a deadline, I'd have to write it, right?
My novel is not terribly pretty right now. It's like a diamond when it comes out of the mine- dirty, a little yellowed, and needs to be cut. But then the master jeweler starts cleaving, polishing,and cutting... and before you know it, it's sitting in the window at Tiffany's as a flawless piece of art. I have a lot of chipping, polishing, and cutting to do. I have to beef up wimpy sections,rework awkward transitions, and break up lengthy dialogue passages. But I have a diamond in the rough. I have the raw material to shape now. I'm no longer sitting there with the map and shovel planning my dig. And you know what? A lot of it is pretty darn good! :-)
What did I learn along the way?
- 50,000 is a lot of words. Supposedly 50,000 words is a 175 page book. Think Catcher in the Rye sized.
- The first sentence is the hardest (I knew that, but this cemented it).
-The last sentence is the easiest.
- The first 10K words go by really quickly. The last 10K feel like eons.
-17K to 18K, 27K to 28K, 37K to 38K, 47K to 48K were the hardest sections for me to write. Every time. Don't know why that particular set, but so it goes.
- There are a thousand things a day that will keep you from your novel. Don't let them.
- You can consume too much coffee, tea, apple cider, coke, vitamin water, root beer, etc., etc.
- Novel writing requires crunchy and salty things (and lots of them), as well as creamy and sweet things. You must have all on hand because you never know which craving will strike.
- Having a writing cap helps tremendously. It keeps all the ideas contained so they don't fly away.
- Cats do not like it when you spend too long typing on the computer. Just saying.
- Electronica music is surprisingly good for writing.
- Something I knew already, but need reminding of constantly : Anything you dream of doing, you can do. You just have to take the first step and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Even if this novel never were to be published, I am a novelist. No one can take that away from me. I think that's pretty cool. It will be cooler when I can say "published novelist" though! :-)
So now, I’m embarking on NaNo number 2 with book number 2. I’m revisiting all my lovely characters and throwing a few new ones in along the way. This year, though, I don’t think I need the writing cap. Instead, I’ve got a sparkly writing ring that a friend gave me in honor of my angel book. :-) And yes, I'm a NaNo Rebel this year because working on a sequel is breaking the rules. At least I'm a rebel WITH a cause! lol
I’m stocked up on drinks and snacks, have told everyone I’m on a Twitter and Facebook fast for the first week, and figured out a way for Cat 2 to snooze in my lap while I still type on the laptop. Now to put on my writing ring and get to work!
If you want to track my progress or be my NaNo buddy, my NaNo page is: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/433001
Tonight at 6:45pm, I finished with 50,229 words. I met my personal deadline of finishing by 7pm so I could watch a movie and relax in front of the fire tonight. There is no way to describe how I'm feeling right now. I've had the idea for this book for years. I had done some outlining and character development and a lot of research but hadn't really written much. The NaNo challenge was my opportunity to force myself to do it- if I told people about it and gave myself a deadline, I'd have to write it, right?
My novel is not terribly pretty right now. It's like a diamond when it comes out of the mine- dirty, a little yellowed, and needs to be cut. But then the master jeweler starts cleaving, polishing,and cutting... and before you know it, it's sitting in the window at Tiffany's as a flawless piece of art. I have a lot of chipping, polishing, and cutting to do. I have to beef up wimpy sections,rework awkward transitions, and break up lengthy dialogue passages. But I have a diamond in the rough. I have the raw material to shape now. I'm no longer sitting there with the map and shovel planning my dig. And you know what? A lot of it is pretty darn good! :-)
What did I learn along the way?
- 50,000 is a lot of words. Supposedly 50,000 words is a 175 page book. Think Catcher in the Rye sized.
- The first sentence is the hardest (I knew that, but this cemented it).
-The last sentence is the easiest.
- The first 10K words go by really quickly. The last 10K feel like eons.
-17K to 18K, 27K to 28K, 37K to 38K, 47K to 48K were the hardest sections for me to write. Every time. Don't know why that particular set, but so it goes.
- There are a thousand things a day that will keep you from your novel. Don't let them.
- You can consume too much coffee, tea, apple cider, coke, vitamin water, root beer, etc., etc.
- Novel writing requires crunchy and salty things (and lots of them), as well as creamy and sweet things. You must have all on hand because you never know which craving will strike.
- Having a writing cap helps tremendously. It keeps all the ideas contained so they don't fly away.
- Cats do not like it when you spend too long typing on the computer. Just saying.
- Electronica music is surprisingly good for writing.
- Something I knew already, but need reminding of constantly : Anything you dream of doing, you can do. You just have to take the first step and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Even if this novel never were to be published, I am a novelist. No one can take that away from me. I think that's pretty cool. It will be cooler when I can say "published novelist" though! :-)
So now, I’m embarking on NaNo number 2 with book number 2. I’m revisiting all my lovely characters and throwing a few new ones in along the way. This year, though, I don’t think I need the writing cap. Instead, I’ve got a sparkly writing ring that a friend gave me in honor of my angel book. :-) And yes, I'm a NaNo Rebel this year because working on a sequel is breaking the rules. At least I'm a rebel WITH a cause! lol
I’m stocked up on drinks and snacks, have told everyone I’m on a Twitter and Facebook fast for the first week, and figured out a way for Cat 2 to snooze in my lap while I still type on the laptop. Now to put on my writing ring and get to work!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Absent, But In a Good Way
Yes, I have been horribly remiss in updating my fledging blog. I know that I need to post regularly if I'm going to get more followers, build my writing platform, etc. But, you see, there's this book I'm writing...
The book has been taking up my time lately... okay, life stuff has too, especially as the Fibro/CFS has been acting up, but I digress. I've been going through final revisions and edits before sending off the finished product to my critique peeps. Once that's done (first half minimum out tomorrow, rest to follow 2-3 days later), I will be revising my query letter and will send agent queries out mid-November. I'm also getting ready to start National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) again to work on Book 2 of my series.
Because of all this going on, I took a self-imposed exile from Facebook for several days. I stayed on Twitter because I have support from other writers, especially through #amwriting, #wordathon, and other hashtags. Being off of Facebook for a few days freed up some time to write (no more Bejeweled! no more watching funny You Tube vids posted by my friends!). One thing I've learned from dealing with Fibro/CFS is that I have to pace myself and manage my time well, and I hadn't been doing so hot with that the last few months.
In the spirit of putting my biggest priorities first, I have decided to join my Twitter buddy Nova Ren and many others in a Twitter and Facebook break from November 1 through November 7. A lot of the time when I'm not working goes to resting and doing things I need to do to manage my health, and that amount of time has increased over the last few months since I've had a lot of flare-ups. So, with the free time I have left, I have to put my writing first. NaNoWriMo is great for doing that, but I also can't afford to get behind on it. Twitter and Facebook are huge time sucks for me, so I'm admitting my addiction and facing the problem head on. :-)
If you want to read more about the break, I've posted the link to Nova's blog here: http://novaren.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/twitter-break-november-1-7-2009/#comment-43750 If you want to check out my NaNoWriMo page, I've posted that link here: www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/433001 I'll be checking email (jesscapelle at aol dot com) and NaNo mail during the week, as well as direct messages that come through to my email from the two social networking sites that shall not be named!
I'll also be blogging here during November about NaNo if you want to check in from time to time. Would love to have you stop by! :-)
xo
Monday, October 12, 2009
My Little Banned Books Protest
I know we already had Banned Books Week, but I'm a little behind the eight ball since I've been busy and not feeling great. A couple days ago, I saw a post about the American Library Association's list of the most banned books from 1990-2000. The list is here: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_2000.cfm
I was quite surprised by some of the books on the list, like Where's Waldo?, To Kill a Mockingbird, and How to Eat Fried Worms. Others, I was not so shocked to see because of their subject matter, like Madonna's Sex, Curses Hexes and Spells, and The Anarchist's Cookbook. I have read quite a number of these books but was surprised by how many I had not. So, I decided to read them... all of them... as my personal protest to people trying to tell us what we cannot read. No, I don't think kids should have access to be able to read some of the adult books on the list, but I don't think books should be banned from libraries because someone deems them controversional or against their own morals and beliefs.
So, over the next year, I am going to read these books under the following guidelines:
1) If a series is mentioned, I will read at least one of the books.
2) I will re-read books that I have already read.
3) I will not read the following books, only because they don't apply to me now or never did: The New Joy of Gay Sex, What's Happening to My Body: Book for Girls, Asking About Sex and Growing Up, Boys and Sex, What's Happening to My Body: Book for Boys, Girls and Sex.
4) I will keep a list of the books on this blog and will update it as I cross them off. I will report on these books and their appropriateness from time to time.
Anyone who cares to join me in reading the books on this list is welcome to. Now I just have to pick which one to start with! :-)
P.S. Why are the books "What's Happening to My Body" banned so frequently?! Maybe if kids had more information on what was going on with their bodies they wouldn't "experiment" on each other at the age of 10!
Update- have decided to start with A Wrinkle in Time. Have no idea what happened to my original copy but saw it at Half Price Books a few weeks ago and picked it up. I figure it's a good start!
I was quite surprised by some of the books on the list, like Where's Waldo?, To Kill a Mockingbird, and How to Eat Fried Worms. Others, I was not so shocked to see because of their subject matter, like Madonna's Sex, Curses Hexes and Spells, and The Anarchist's Cookbook. I have read quite a number of these books but was surprised by how many I had not. So, I decided to read them... all of them... as my personal protest to people trying to tell us what we cannot read. No, I don't think kids should have access to be able to read some of the adult books on the list, but I don't think books should be banned from libraries because someone deems them controversional or against their own morals and beliefs.
So, over the next year, I am going to read these books under the following guidelines:
1) If a series is mentioned, I will read at least one of the books.
2) I will re-read books that I have already read.
3) I will not read the following books, only because they don't apply to me now or never did: The New Joy of Gay Sex, What's Happening to My Body: Book for Girls, Asking About Sex and Growing Up, Boys and Sex, What's Happening to My Body: Book for Boys, Girls and Sex.
4) I will keep a list of the books on this blog and will update it as I cross them off. I will report on these books and their appropriateness from time to time.
Anyone who cares to join me in reading the books on this list is welcome to. Now I just have to pick which one to start with! :-)
P.S. Why are the books "What's Happening to My Body" banned so frequently?! Maybe if kids had more information on what was going on with their bodies they wouldn't "experiment" on each other at the age of 10!
Update- have decided to start with A Wrinkle in Time. Have no idea what happened to my original copy but saw it at Half Price Books a few weeks ago and picked it up. I figure it's a good start!
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