NaWriMo - Day 2

Drafted a cover letter (548 words), and a writing resume’ (1,713 words) both of which will need to be included with my nonfiction proposal. Total word count for Day 2 – 2,261 words.

Want to create your own writing resume? See: http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2013/04/resume-for-writer.html

Don't forget to enter my NaWriMo challenge and giveaway so that we can help encourage each other. Click the picture in the column to the right for more details.

How are your projects coming along?

Here We Go: NaWriMo - Day 1

Today, I began creating a manuscript proposal for my nonfiction project: an outline (645 words), an introduction to chapter one (246 words), began chapter seventeen (1,524 words), and drafted a query letter for the project (422 words). All of this will help me to focus my goals throughout this challenge. Total word count for Day 1 – 2,837 words.

Don't forget to enter my NaWriMo challenge and giveaway so that we can help encourage each other. I just added two more categories and another prize. Click the picture in the column to the right for more details.

Are you competing? How did your first day go? What problems or advice do you want to share?

Happy Halloween!

To the left are my two beautiful daughters, and below is a picture of my oldest child ;-)

 

We've been celebrating with church and fall festivals, class parties, pumpkin decorating, costume contests/shows, and musical shows (I'm so candied out!). 

 

Today we will probably be enjoying a popcorn and movie fest in preparation for the haunting fun of tomorrow night with friends and family.

 

Now that the temperatures are finally dropping a bit, it's more fun planning the outdoor activities. If you prefer to stay home cuddled up with a good book, try one of my ten hauntingly good picks here.

Interested in FREE scary books for a Halloween read? Try these!

Need a last minute Halloween costume idea? Try these 10-minute literary costume ideas.

How are you celebrating this season?

NaWriMo Challenge Update

As many of you know, I am hosting a challenge and giveaway. NaWriMo: for any style of writing.

I have just added a sixth option to the challenge, and more prizes to be given away. Don't forget to keep leaving comments on each post for more chances to win!

For complete details, please click the image in the sidebar to the right.

A Few Submission Opportunities

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope and Miracles - Everyone has experienced events in their lives that cause wonder and astonishment and give them hope for a better future. Why did these things happen? Were they answered prayers? Did divine intervention have something to do with it? Share your inspirational true stories with us to remind us that each day holds hope and that a miracle can happen at any time. The deadline for story and poem submissions is October 30, 2014: http://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics

The Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans is accepting submissions for its One Act Contest and Fiction Contest. Deadlines are in November and you can win $1,500! Feel free to pass it along to your membership. http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/win-1500-prizes-enter-our-fiction-and-one-act-play-contests

JANE LUMLEY PRIZE http://www.hermeneuticchaosjournal.com/contest.html  NO ENTRY FEE. The Jane Lumley Prize will only be awarded to writers who have not published a full length book. However, they may have published a chapbook, and/or found a home for their works in other literary journals. We also invite unpublished writers to submit their poems for consideration. Deadline November 30, 2014. The winner, selected by our editor, will receive a prize of $300 and will be featured in Issue 6, to be published in January 2015. Publication will also be awarded to the first two semi-finalists. In addition, all the entries will be considered for publication. Each poem should not exceed 2 pages.

Win NaWriMo in Only 9 Days!

Not sure you can commit to the traditional NaNoWriMo challenge? After all, November has many distractions - flu season has begun, Thanksgiving brings swarms of friends and family upon you, and demands on your time are piling up.

 

But what if you could win the challenge in just 9 days? Check out this article How I Won NaNoWriMo in 9 Days.  That's right - nine days! The author, Ava Jae, shares her tips to completing her work in such a short amount of time. She also offers statistics to show you how she achieved her goal last year. It's worth a look.

 

If you are still struggling to decide whether or not to compete, perhaps you should try my own challenge and giveaway. Learn more in NaWriMo: My Challenge to ALL Writers, and a Giveaway.

 

No matter what you choose, it's important to give yourself goals, and have reasonable expectations. Best of luck and HAPPY WRITING!

What are your current writing goals? 

NaWriMo: My Challenge to ALL Writers, and a Giveaway

Every November, thousands of writers from all over the world participate in a month long frenzy known as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  The idea is that on November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.  This is meant to be a completed rough draft only, not a finished product.  For more details: http://nanowrimo.org/ 

There are, of course, many advocates for and naysayers speaking against this process. Bestselling authors claim to have discovered their masterpiece during this month.  Some writers claim the whole process is too stressful, and encourages quantity over quality. Agents and editors have mixed feelings because they recognize any challenge that helps a writer produce is helpful, but they also receive an influx of unfinished, and unedited, manuscripts in December.

My problem with this whole process is that the original NaNoWriMo is directed at fiction writers working on a novel. What about everyone else? Yes, in April there is a “Camp NaNoWriMo” that is directed at poets, but why is the “No” still a part of the title?

What if you are working on a nonfiction book? Maybe your passion is short stories. Or, maybe, you want to break into magazine writing.

I have a personal challenge for all writers in November.  We’ll call it NaWriMo (National Writing Month).  The idea is this: pick one of the below challenges for yourself, and leave a comment below letting us know which one you chose.

1)      Complete a 50,000 word first draft – FICTION

2)      Complete a 50,000 word first draft – NONFICTION

3)      Complete 30 new poems – one a day

4)      Complete 30 articles – one a day

5)      Complete 30 short stories – one a day

6)      Complete 30 blog posts - one a day

7)     Complete a one page illustration for your children's picture book.

8)     Complete a 2 page layout for your graphic novel.

Remember, all of these are meant to be rough drafts. No editing allowed. Allow yourself the freedom to write without your inner critic.

As I mentioned in my last post, this week marks my fourth anniversary of blogging. I wanted to host a giveaway. That giveaway will be based on your participation in my NaWriMo challenge. Between now, and throughout November I will post updates, encouragement, etc. as I participate in this challenge. I would like you to comment and share your thoughts, progress, struggles, encouragement, or any other related ideas. Using Random.org in the first week of December I will choose winners from the comments left on these posts.

You may elect to contribute a prize of your own: books, critiques, guest posts, writing materials, gift cards, etc. If you would like to contribute a prize for the giveaway, please leave a comment, or send me a private message and I will add it to this page with a thank you and a link back to your site.

Prizes so far include Lap Desk, “Just Keep Writing” Journal, LED Book Light, CD’s, and a Plotters Workbook. So start planning your November project. HAPPY WRITING!

Added on 10/28/2014: Journals, bookmarks, book signed by the author, coffee mugs, folders, and bags.

 

 

Added on 10/31/2014: An ebook giveaway by Tyrean:

 

 



Added on 11/13/14: AND thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, I am adding a few more prizes to my NaWriMo challenge. Sorry for the fuzzy picture. I'll attempt a better one when I'm not so tired. There is a flash drive, another journal, dictionary, thesaurus, hand bookends, notecards with notecard binder, pen with words, coffee mug, green tea packets, candles and candle holders, bookmark, pencil binder, AND a copy of Writing 21st Century Fiction written by Donald Maass.