Now what?

In a few hours it will be Dec. 1st, NaNoWriMo will officially be over. I met my goal with a few days to spare. I haven't gone back to look at my 50,000 words. I am letting them cool for a while. Amazingly, I really like my story and like what I wrote. I am not sure if it is "good" but I know it isn't "bad". I am alright with that.

But now I am stuck...
I don't know what to do next. I have a contest I really want to enter. Mostly, because it is judged by editors who offer feedback on a score sheet. I have no intentions of winning, but I would LOVE to hear the feedback.

The problem is I don't have anything near ready for submission. The deadline is Dec. 30th. I could probably throw something together in that time, but it would be just that, thrown together.

This is a super busy time of year at work. I am already WAY behind on grading. Dedicating more time to writing would just put me further behind... I won't even mention how high the laundry pile got in November or that I can't find my kitchen sink for all the mess.

But, I really want to enter this contest...

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won!!!! I won!!! I won!!! I won!!! I won!!!!

50,000 words in 30 days....
Well, 50,360 in 25 days if you want to be exact.
253 pages double spaced courier new 11 point font.


And some of it is actually good!!!

Over 10,000 words!!!!

It is Nov. 4th and I am 1/5 through NaNoWriMo!
I have to admit a good portion of that came from being home sick today. Is it bad to enjoy the "you can't return to work for 24 hours after being sent home with a fever" rule? I spent the whole day pretending that I a was an author. I didn't do dishes. I did only the necessary laundry. I didn't even turn on the TV. Though I will admit to watching an episode of Castle on ABC.com, but you have to take some breaks, right?

The best part is I actually like what I am writing. It is beyond difficult to not go back and edit at this point. But I am saving that for December.


I kind of hoped that today would make me realize how lonely and boring life as a professional writer would be, but it didn't. I LOVED it!

Nov. 1st

Let the writing begin!!!!!!!

Any time now... just start writing...let's go... just open a word document and get started.... you can do it...

UGH! I'm stuck.

I have all the characters from my previous works in my head screaming, "no, no... me! me! Pay attention to me!"

No one new has shown at the party. I can't decide if I want mystery or romance. I know I just need to start. Just start ANYTHING!

Baby steps

I took two baby steps in the right direction this week.
One, I joined ACFW ( American Christian Fiction Writers).
The other is I signed up for
NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month.
The goal is to write 50,000 words between November 1st and November 30th.
I feel similar to my youngest child the first time she rode a Tilt-a-whirl.
right when the bars locked up in place, she scream, "I feel scared, excited and little freaked out all at the same time!"
That pretty much sums it up for me!

Putting the words to paper

"I became a writer shortly after I started putting words on paper..."

I can't remember where I read that recently, but it really struck a nerve.
I am good at putting words on paper. I know that, but the more I try to explore this hobby as a career, the less I find myself putting the words on the paper.

I read websites and blogs about writing and publishing. I participate in online forums about writing. But tonight, as I am sitting here with a blank word document and a cursor taunting me... I find I am struggling. The other stuff is unimportant. I just need to put the words on the paper.

Losing...

I lost a competition this week. The stakes were only bragging rights and my pride.
I still cried.
Not because I am a sore loser, but because it brought to light how subjective an endeavor becoming a published author can be.

Some of the entries were clearly better than mine. The writing was more concise. The plot was more intriguing. The hook stronger. I can accept that.

But one of the entries wasn't ( in my humble opinion) even though it was chose over mine. The language was cliche and repetitive. The plot was thin and the situation entirely predictable.

In short, I didn't like it.

But the judges did.

That is the core of my fear and disappointment. I have manuscripts that I love... truly, truly love. The characters in them are as real to me as friends I have known in the real world. I know how they think. I know how they dress. I know what their homes look like.

How can I sacrifice them for rejection?

How I can trust someone will care for them as much as I do?

How do I take that risk?