It is Almost THAT Time

So, we've passed the mid-point of October and NaNo is right around the corner. My fabulous hubby has been pushing me to start planning for this year's novel. Sadly, creativity is not something that can be planned. I have nothing ready to start writing. I've been thinking about it a lot hoping that some sort of idea will spark something in me. I originally toyed with the idea of writing a sequel to what I wrote last year. Cool, right? Too bad I can't find a direction to go on since I haven't finished editing yet. I keep hoping that maybe I'll get moving on last year's novel and that will push me into either a direction of a sequel or in another direction for a new novel idea. Nothing!

On the other side, I have been leafing through some new editing books for assistance on re-working my current project. I think that the one I'm currently going through is going to be a big help. I would highly recommend it for any aspiring fiction writers out there. It's called Self Editing for Fiction Writers. I'm still early on in the book but there have been quite a few helpful tips in there. I'm hoping that I'll find a lot as I move forward. Lord knows I need the help. I'm also using it as a push to get going on editing again. I haven't re-read what I've written in a couple months (like may authors suggest), so I'm thinking about printing it out and reading it. Maybe then I'll get somewhere. Only time will tell.

Time to Get Back on the Horse

We've finally moved into our own place and my office is mostly set up. I've decided that it's time to stop making excuses and start writing. I've got a month before NaNo starts again and I haven't done any writing in like 3 months. There's no way I'm going to make it if I don't get back into some sort of habit.
I know that I went into last year's writing completely cold and wound up doing all right. But I've heard horror stories of people who won the first time and then haven't been able to repeat the feat. I don't want that happening to me! And one of the ways I can keep that from happening is to start writing again. Unfortunately, I haven't felt very inspired lately. I'm hoping its just because I've taken so much time off.
I'm also really afraid of looking at my work again. I didn't think it was so bad when I made my first revision, but I was still running on the post-NaNo high. I'm really scared that I'm going to get back to it and it's going to be HORRIBLE. But I guess the only way to figure that out is to start looking at it. So, on top of starting to head back to the gym I'm going to start writing again. Wish me luck!

Seriously?! Why Now?

So I finally got a computer a little over a week ago. And I love it! Massive 17" screen, great clarity, lightweight, and perfect for writing. And that's the problem... I haven't written a lick since I got the damn thing. And its not for lack of trying. I've sat down to write on two occasions. I pulled up my draft, I stared at the screen, and then promptly closed it down and wandered around the internet for hours. I had all these ideas, even wrote some of them down, but I can't seem to put it all together.
I'm hoping that once I get my own office (we move into our new place at the end of the week) I'll be able to focus more.
November is coming up quickly and I'd like to focus on NaNo when it comes back around. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave me much time to finish another draft. I really hate to put this one down, but if I can't do some serious revising in the next two months I'm going to have to put it away. A very depressing thought.

Will the Voices in My Head Please SHUT UP!!

Two posts in one week, can you believe it? I can't either. But since I still don't have a computer of my own this is the closest I get to writing down some of my ideas. I guess I could hand write them but it takes me way too long to transcribe them. (my mind rewrites everything as I go along then I get lost or head out on tangents... not very time effective)

I've been talking about my novel to my new co-workers and they're almost as excited about it as my old ones were. That makes me very happy. I know now that I'll have a good support system in place when I go a little crazy come November. That is, if I'm not already insane. You see, talking about my novel makes me think about my novel. That, in turn, makes me have ideas. And while I would normally welcome ideas about where to take my novel or new plot twists I can throw in there when I don't have time or a place to write it just makes me frustrated. I do try to jot down notes but when I'm in the middle of learning how to do something it is really hard to stop and write something down. I only have one more week of training then I'm on my own. I'll start keeping two notebooks by my computer, one for work and one for novel stuff.

Anyway, to get back on track with the title of this post, my characters have been going nuts. They are making it so difficult to concentrate. Where were they three months ago when I wanted to work on this novel? Nowhere! Jerks. I've been trying to appease them and let them know that I promise I will start working as soon as I possibly can but they just don't seem to care. And they don't care if all of them talk at once. How can I understand what they want when I can't figure out who is saying what? Jerks squared. They are so rude!

PS - Its not the best picture, but its a start...

It is Almost Time!

The hubby and I survived the move to Texas and we are settling in. I'm on my second week of work and loving every minute of it. We put a deposit down on an apartment and we should find out our exact move-in date sometime this week. It has a second bedroom so I FINALLY get my own workspace. So fantastic. I'm really lookingforward to just being able to go somewhere and have a little me time to read and write. And I am so ready to start writing again! I didn't realize how much I've missed it these past few, well months if I'm being completely honest.

Unfortunately, we have to replace our computer first, so sad. As much as I want that fancy computer with. The haandwriting software its just not in the budget. Hopefully it won't take too long to get one. I have a lot of work to do and its almost November!

Life and Other Nonsense That Gets In the Way

It has been almost a month since my last post, I apologize. And. I promise I will post pictures of my proof soon. As soon as I get it and my camera in the same place at the same time.

I haven't had much of a chance, meaning none at all, to work on my second rewrite. I had all intentions of doing it when we got back from vacation, which was fabulous, but things have been a little crazy in my house. We made the decision to move to Dallas and the move has been taking up most of my thoughts. I haven't been feeling very creative of late. If I can get the apartment together in a decent amount of time (we have a month) I will try to make time to work on it.

I really miss my characters. They've been talking to me sporadically wanting to know what's going on and, at times, it has been heartbreaking to ignore them. I'm hoping they won't choose to leave me when I finally get a chance to get back to them.

It Finally Came!

Its official, my very first novel is in print. And I promise as soon as I can I'll post a few pics of it. I'm super excited, even if the inside margins are kinda screwed up.

I'm off to vacation next week and as long as my life is not in complete turmoil when I get back I'll be returning to the revision.