NaNoWriMo Trench Tips

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For those of you who are safe at home outside of the literary madness known as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, we are in the swing of it here, blasting into the second week.  I am doing NaNo updates daily on my Facebook author page for those who want to follow the frenzy.  

Today is day number nine. By midnight, each NaNo’er will have 15,003 words written in our new novels. I'm over 20,000 because I'm doing a higher word count so that come January, I will have an entire manuscript to rework.  December I will ignore the whole thing, of course. 

NaNo is such a unique experience.  It's sort of like mountain climbing.  You get all your gear ready, you've taken your safety classes and you're in that chimney climb and suddenly you think, "What the hell am I doing here?!?  Who talked me into this?!"  Or maybe, "If I hear On Belay one more time..."  Ha ha!

You find your weaknesses real fast.  Do you hate Pollyanna?  You will slam the delete button when the pep talk emails come in from the Offices of Letter and Light.  Do you despise those who are happy when you're miserable?  You will seethe at every NaNo'er who is above the necessary word count for the day.  Do you have perfectionism issues?  You may have to sit on your hands in order not to edit what you've written.  I've actually modified this by rereading what I've written and adding words in, not deleting any.  This is still editing, folks.  I obviously have a way to go...

You will also find your strengths fast.  You will be inspired by things you've never dreamed of before.  Every walk in the park and/or grocery store will speak to you about your novel.  Every conversation will contain clues for your next dialogue.  Or perhaps, if you're working on a suspense novel, every drive by the seedy part of town will have you glued to the sidewalks looking for material to incorporate.  I learned a few organizational tricks last year that have me sailing through my chapters this year.  And I learned that although I tend to tell a story "backwards" - don't ask me to explain this, you don't want to know - I found a remedy so I can still write freely but fix the order later.

Writing used to be a mandatory course in every high school curriculum because it helps you organize your thoughts so you can articulate well enough to communicate to someone else.  Sadly, it's missing in most these days.

Here's a few tips from the trenches:

1. Try to stay ahead of your word count even if only by 50 words a session.  This will give you a buffer on those days you'd rather do anything else than write.

2.  Don't be afraid to write in a new genre, or from a location and time period you know nothing about.  Do your best from memory and do your research later. 

3.  Keep a NaNo tip sheet for things that help you get through sticky places because next year you will do this all over again.  NaNo is very addicting!

4.  If you hit the doldrums, hit the forums.  You'll find lots of tips and encouragement there.  But I warn you, they can help you procrastinate!

5.  Date your novel.  I like to think our stories choose us.  It's like sitting down with my sweetheart and catching up with him at the end of the day, maybe watching a movie together.  Love it!

If you have a NaNo Trench Tip you’d like to share, please post in the comments. NaNo'ers need all the encouragement we can get as we continue on this amazing novel adventure.

For info about Sophie, my annoying little internal editor, please visit my grog, Teen Word Factory.

Happy NaNo’ing, everyone!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/552818

photo credits: morguefile.com

And.... We're Off!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, NaNoWriMo has officially begun!

Midnight, October 31st, Molly, Elizabeth and I hunkered down at our various writing places in the house and waited for the minute hand to cross over... 00.00.01  on November 1st we hit the keyboard running!

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, (National Novel Writing Month) please go here and find out what literary madness we've committed ourselves to!  Then pray for us, ok?!  ;)

Molly's first word count yesterday clocked in at 1700, mine at 2208 and Elizabeth went way over the required daily word count of 1667 to beyond 13,000...she stayed up all night writing, she was so excited!  Needless to say she went to bed quite early last night. 

My NaNo novel this year is a YA Fantasy.  One afternoon several weeks ago, I swung the mini-van out of a parking lot after an appointment in town right into mega traffic at 3:00 p.m.

That's when I had a vision of a teen whose face had been scarred terribly in battle so that she had to wear a robe to cover herself.  She began to tell me her story and I pulled out my notebook from my backpack to take dictation at the red lights.  I have a lead foot anyway, but I made it home in record time that day, itching to get to my computer. 

I played around with some literary devices and came up with a bland title.  I don't plan anything but I do usually start out with plot points even if I never use them.  Last year I had a list of 25 and went astray by the third one, never to return to the original idea.  C'est la vie!  This year, I started some word count pages early to get some extras in if I have to miss a day - I still haven't gotten to my first plot point.  See what planning does for me?!  I write my tagline first and do character sheets after writing the story - I'd never make it in a traditional writing class.  

For now, for your reading enjoyment, here is the tagline and an excerpt with the new improved title for my NaNo 2010 novel.  NaNo is such a rush!

The Bleeding Doves of Killeen

by Karen McGrath

NaNoWriMo 2010

YA Fantasy

Roseline accepts her father's calling after his early demise; the mantle of leadership for her poor town and with it the weight of the Revolution. The secrets of an ancient order rise to the surface in the whirlpool of war as she trembles in the boots of her ancestors and raises her sword to the wind. The future is sketchy but one thing is certain, the doves are in flight signifying change. Destiny calls to us all but only one will bring a nation to it's knees and raise a world long forgotten in Killeen.

* * * *

She leaned behind the large oak tree, hidden in the background amongst the forest shrub. The King had called for this clandestine meeting and she'd obliged. Reardon moved past her quickly, touching his hand to her shoulder.


"I will handle this now. Don't let them see you."

"Aye. I have your back, my friend."

"I want for more than that."

"I cannot leave them, you know I love you..."

"Shh, if I don't survive, kill them all for me, promise? Every last one, like you did for your father?"

She smiled then allowing her hood to reveal the ragged line across her lips. "Aye, of that you can rest assured. The pleasure twould be all mine. Remember, if they make a threat, glint the sword. The doves are flying high. It is a time for victory."

He walked with purpose toward the men in the glade, with seven others. All swords were drawn on both sides.

"We were told your army is led by a woman, why is she not here? Do you mock us?"

"Nay she is among us but I speak for her now. What will you to say? We will not hear you at arms."

The men immediately sheathed and the leader and Reardon laid their swords on the ground between them as was the custom.

"The King wishes a meeting in the castle. There will be finery. He is for peace, he calls a truce."

Roseline kneeled by the tree and peered through the throng of legs beyond to the tethered horses. The dove sat on one of them; it was covered in blood. There was no time. She glinted her sword to blaze across Reardon's face in the scant sunlight through the trees. He turned discreetly and she gave the signal.

"Tell the King we will not come. Our leader has spoken." He took up his sword. The meeting was over.

"What shall we say her name is?" The man drew his sword as Reardon smiled. Good work, she thought, show no fear. The dove never lied.

"Tell him she is Roseline, the Bleeding Dove of Killeen."

Gasps and murmurs rode through the crowd and Reardon thrust his sword in the air.

"Tell your King he will not defy us or he will suffer at the hand of the Doves. I trust you have work to do, lad," he shouted.

The man flashed angry eyes on Reardon and searched the edges of the clearing. Roseline arose with her sword in the air and her men returned to the forest. She watched from the covering of her hood as the King's men rode off, rage trailing behind them. The dove painted blood in their path.

"Aye, tis trouble they bring and trouble they'll see," she said.

* * * *

Here is my NaNo author page, please friend me there!  Meanwhile you can track my progress either on my author page or here in the upper right hand corner with the little NaNo widget.

Happy NaNo'ing everyone!

photo credit: morguefile.com

Watch out for the Subaru

A few years ago I told a friend that I felt like my author’s wife, always nagging him about his writing habits. If I didn’t’ tell him to pick up his dirty socks off his manuscript’s floor, who would? I’m sure I drove him crazy as his editor.  His manuscript was wonderful to begin with and together we tidied his literary living room so he could have company over.

The definition of editing from the Online Dictionary is to collect, prepare and arrange for publication. I’m sure many of you have heard of the Red Pen. This refers to the red marks of an editor’s red pencil in a manuscript that tells the author what works and what doesn’t.


Why is it traumatic somtimes?

I liken editing to surgery. The editor, ahem, surgeon, cuts open the body, manuscript, and takes out what isn’t necessary or what causes problems. The trouble is, we love our words so much, after agonizing over each one, it’s hard to let go of our darlings. Besides that, the word, “offentrumount”, carried just the right nuance we were aiming for, right?


And there’s one other thing…


An editor has the task of looking at our work and finding out what makes it tick, by intuition many times, and what will make it tick louder, by technique, and sometimes by intuition, as well. It’s taken years for my husband to let me edit his posts. The reason is not because he wants to keep his perfect words, although he does that sometimes. He doesn’t like that he has a blind spot. No one likes this. All of a sudden some little Subaru comes out of nowhere and you swore you checked the rearview and the side mirrors. Guess what? You did. And you did nothing wrong. We all have those blind spots because of the seat we’re in. If we were in the back seat we’d see something totally different.

An editor is kind of like the back seat driver. The person in the driver’s seat cannot see the little car sneaking up on the side but the passenger can quite easily. Does that mean the passenger should drive? Perish the thought, especially if the driver is my husband and the back seat driver is me. He likes to be in control, we all do. But I can give a pretty good view of what’s going on from my position and help keep him out of a jam.

An editor is one who rearranges your masterpiece so it communicates well to the targeted audience. An editor helps you give a more complete picture of what you’re presenting. Is this unnerving? At times, yes, because none of us like to be out of the driver’s seat. We want to be in control and the fact that we all have blind spots, no matter how logical and normal that is, emotionally upsets us and says we’re mortal. Why we think we aren’t mortal is another matter!

I just got back first edits for Primordial Sun, the Heart of the Amazon from my editor, and she found my blind spots. I’m so grateful and a little freaked out that I had some uncovered bases. I meant what I said but I didn’t communicate it like I thought I had. This is why authors have editors. My editor is in the back seat warning me about the killer Subaru coming up on the left side out of my rear view. I am mortal after all.

The last back seat driver I had while driving the family van prevented me from getting in an accident, thank God I listened to them. Your editor will do the same for you in publishing. The Red Pen is your friend and as much as your editor may seem like a nag, they are pointing out the blind spots so you don’t end up as toast in reviews. You might end up as toast in reviews anyway, and if you do, keep in mind that a good controversy can drive sales. But let’s not go there because of plot holes or spelling errors!  We want all toasting to be the celebratory kind when your spouse, family, editors and publisher raise their champagne glasses to congratulate you on your great literary success.

If you have anything you want me to post about editing, please leave a comment or shoot me an email. karenmcgrathauthor(at)gmail(dot)com

photo credits: morguefile.com

The Muse Online Writer's Conference

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Hi everyone, Here is the info on the Muse Online Writer's Conference. Click the post title for the link.

Every year Lea Schizas coordinates the Muse Online Writer's Conference.  It's free and online.  Donations are accepted.  Also check out the two books on the right sidebar.  Both are excellent and on my bookshelf.

The free registration closes August 15th, which is this Sunday.  After Sunday, there will be $5.00 late fee per person and registration will close completely on September 10th. 

There is something for everyone at the Conference.  There are workshops and pitch sessions with publishers and agents and chats with authors, editors and publishers.  If you don't know what you're doing, pick a few workshops and hang out, ask questions and soak.  If you know what you're doing, I don't need to tell you anything!

Get a head start and register today.  Lea will upload the workshop agends by the end of this month and will begin uploading handouts in September.

Some special tips:  As soon as you register, write down your password and keep it handy.  This will save you a lot of time later.  The front page says that Muse is accepting submissions.  We are, but only for MuseItHot.  Mainstream is closed until October 1st.

Enjoy and hope to see you there!  ....and of course, Happy Writing!

Photos from The Muse Online Writer's Conference website.

Primordial Sun, The Heart of the Amazon

The cover art is in by the amazing Delilah K. Stephans.  Thanks Delilah!

Primordial Sun, The Heart of the Amazon

coming from MuseItUp Publishing

April 2011

Attorney Kylie Watson returns to Brazil to mourn her missionary parents where she's swept into the Amazon's current with vivid nightmares, family secrets, church corruption and international espionage.

Welcome to Boston daydreaming...

Welcome to my new blog!

This is my author blog for writing tips, novel updates and editing.

Please feel free to leave comments on things you'd like to see about the publishing world. Or at Boston dreaming... which is for devotions and homeschool.

I'm hosting author interviews here soon.

Thanks for stopping in!