Writing Update – NaNoWriMo and More

NaNoWriMo

Wow, Day 28 already?! If you’re also doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) like me you’ve only got today through Friday to reach 50,000 words. I’m on track so far with just over 45K written as of last night for my new novel (my fourth full-length novel) NOT ANOTHER DARCY, which is a meta fiction romance where literary characters come to life. I’m having a lot of fun with it, but I’m going to keep this post short, because, you know, need to get in the wordage this morning before I head to work.

I’ll post next week about the experience and some things I learned, plus a new spreadsheet I created for plotting, but right now I wanted to touch base with everyone and see how you’re doing with NaNoWriMo? Are you on track? Have you already hit the magic number? If you’re struggling, don’t look at the final number you need to get, try to instead focus on how many words you can write in an hour and try to clear blocks of time with no distractions and hit that goal. And keep going for another block of time. I can’t recommend the Twitter hashtag #1k1hr enough–it’s saved my bacon a number of times! By focusing on smaller goals, you reduce the amount of stress/freakout you’re experiencing with the number of words needed to finish. Good luck!

Writing Updates

Some of you have been asking about MUST LOVE BREECHES and what’s happening with it now that I have an agent. Unfortunately, our plans to submit Nov 1 were derailed due to Hurricane Sandy, so we’re going to submit in early 2013.

My first release, BEER AND GROPING IN LAS VEGAS, is still on track to be released on December 19th with Secret Cravings! Right now you can add it to your Goodreads shelf until it becomes available for pre-order on the Publisher’s site. Sadly, it probably won’t make it to Amazon’s database until after Christmas. Does anyone have any tips for me on pimping it? Still learning the ropes. Thought I’d make a postcard of the cover with a QR Code on back for buying…

How about you?

This is an open thread to pimp your upcoming release, or to share how you’re doing on NaNoWriMo!

ALSO, TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO BACK UP YOUR PROJECT! I’ve heard horror stories, just saying…

6 Replies to “Writing Update – NaNoWriMo and More”

  1. I’m keeping pace on NaNo. It’s been a struggle but I think I’ll win this year. Then there’s the pesky question of whether or not the draft will be finished. This is the second 50,000 on it. It’s gotten rather longer than I’d anticipated. It may take me three NaNos to write the final book in the trilogy.

    Congratulations about “Beer and Groping in Las Vegas!” And I can’t wait to hear you announce the contract for “Must Love Breeches,” which we all know is going to happen. 🙂

    Pimping you say? Ah well, my latest, “Bridging The Gaps” is available as an eBook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords for just $2.99. It makes a great holiday gift for yourself and others. For those who have already read it, I’ve got it listed on Goodreads now so a rating and/or review would be appreciated.

    Now as to pimping your new story. I’m thinking poker chips with the title printed on one side and your name on the other. But I don’t know if that’s doable. Just seems a Vegas kind of thing to do. What about custom can koozies? I think you can get beer bottle labels printed with just about anything, but I’m not sure if it’s the best option. Now for the nerd part…drawing a blank at the moment. Maybe “Love: the final frontier.” I’ll have some caffeine and let you know if I come up with anything else.

    1. Yay, so glad you’re on track. Whatever it takes to finish, right? And thanks for the ideas! I’m thinking I might get some temporary Serenity (in Mandarin) tattoos as giveways 🙂

  2. As to NaNo I am right where I should be. I plotted before Nov so just working within the guidelines but would be interested in your spreadsheet. This is something I never in wildest dreams imagined I can do but I will win

    Will Beer be availabe as pdf? I look forward to reading it but no e reader.

    1. Yay! Glad you’re on track. Yeah, for various reasons I didn’t get to do much pre-plotting so hence the spreadsheet I made to get me quickly up to speed. And yep, BEER will be available as a PDF, but you can also download a free Kindle desktop application to your computer or phone and read it that way too…

  3. I love that meme. I’m about 3,000 words behind, but I can smoke several thousand easy once I get focused on writing. The small goals really do make things go quicker! Write or Die web app really helps me when I can’t seem to get myself going. Congrats on nearing the end of your NaNo novel! Almost there!

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