You wouldn't believe how surprised I am to see that after the longest time, this blog has had over sixty views today. I haven't even posted anything! I can only assume that it's related to the fact I started a new blog and tweeted about it yesterday. Maybe you've found your way here from there?
I'll be honest with you, I'm dithering somewhat in deciding what to do for the best. Resurrect this blog and stick with it? Resurrect it and tweak it? Try things out in the other blog then come back to this one when I have more idea what to write about?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Monday, 26 September 2016
Monday, 3 December 2012
WINNER!
Check out the badge to the right...go on...take a peek...yes, you read it right, I'm a NaNoWriMo WINNER!
I can hardly believe it myself. I know I was better prepared this year, but even so, it surprised me how easy it was to get to the 50,000. I hate to say 'easy', because it makes it sound like I could have done it whenever I felt like - though possibly this is true - and that I should have knocked out many multiples of 50k and produced a string of novels by now. But it really did feel like a pleasurable experience, and looking back I can only remember a couple of days out of the thirty where it felt like a chore. It almost doesn't feel real.
The extra and unexpected benefit is that I have made friends through NaNo. I 'homed' myself to Chester and went along to their write-ins at least once a week, and this helped tremendously with my motivation (there were stickers as rewards - I'm a sucker for a sticker). The online forums were the same. And having a dedicated #writingbud in the form of a Facebook friend was a brilliant aid, as she and I 'raced' to each daily target and each milestone - 10k, halfway, 40k and on to the finish line. I genuinely can't get over how different an experience it has been to 2010 and 2011, where I had no plan, no Scrivener and no writing buds (in person OR online).
The best part is that instead of being glad November is over and desperate for a break from my story, I'm finding that I'm missing writing every day. This can only be a good thing! Surely it means that I truly am A Writer? Officially? I've decided to take December off and then possibly take part in a 90 day challenge that runs from January 1st to March 31st - I'd like to write at least 500 words a day. Previously this would have seemed daunting, but post-NaNo, 500 words seems like a brief word sneeze... ;o)
I can hardly believe it myself. I know I was better prepared this year, but even so, it surprised me how easy it was to get to the 50,000. I hate to say 'easy', because it makes it sound like I could have done it whenever I felt like - though possibly this is true - and that I should have knocked out many multiples of 50k and produced a string of novels by now. But it really did feel like a pleasurable experience, and looking back I can only remember a couple of days out of the thirty where it felt like a chore. It almost doesn't feel real.
The extra and unexpected benefit is that I have made friends through NaNo. I 'homed' myself to Chester and went along to their write-ins at least once a week, and this helped tremendously with my motivation (there were stickers as rewards - I'm a sucker for a sticker). The online forums were the same. And having a dedicated #writingbud in the form of a Facebook friend was a brilliant aid, as she and I 'raced' to each daily target and each milestone - 10k, halfway, 40k and on to the finish line. I genuinely can't get over how different an experience it has been to 2010 and 2011, where I had no plan, no Scrivener and no writing buds (in person OR online).
The best part is that instead of being glad November is over and desperate for a break from my story, I'm finding that I'm missing writing every day. This can only be a good thing! Surely it means that I truly am A Writer? Officially? I've decided to take December off and then possibly take part in a 90 day challenge that runs from January 1st to March 31st - I'd like to write at least 500 words a day. Previously this would have seemed daunting, but post-NaNo, 500 words seems like a brief word sneeze... ;o)
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Scrivener - a revelation
Hello loyal readers - and you truly must be loyal if indeed you are reading this after such a long hiatus. After a good deal of personal turmoil, life is on the up again...and that means I can get back to writing!
In preparation for NaNoWriMo 2012 I've treated myself to Scrivener - a piece of software designed for writers (of all kinds) as a sort of word processor/corkboard/research storage/Harry Potter-style 'room of requirement'. That doesn't really do it justice, so please do find out more about it from the Scrivener people themselves here. I only got it a couple of days ago, and am waiting for Scrivener for Dummies to turn up from Amazon before I get too far in, in case I'm teaching myself the wrong way to use it! But what I've seen so far looks great. Being able to keep everything in one place (instead of over a range of Word docs, picture files, web links etc) is AWESOME, and the corkboard feature means you can write separate scenes and rearrange them as you like. I think having the freedom to write small chunks, knowing it will be easy to piece them all together will be quite liberating for me. Writing in Word feels very linear, purely because of its ever-scrolling nature.
This year's NaNo promises to be a whole new experience...I can't wait!
Happy writing,
Toyah
PS I bought my software using the discount code found at this website - 20% off is not to be sniffed at!
In preparation for NaNoWriMo 2012 I've treated myself to Scrivener - a piece of software designed for writers (of all kinds) as a sort of word processor/corkboard/research storage/Harry Potter-style 'room of requirement'. That doesn't really do it justice, so please do find out more about it from the Scrivener people themselves here. I only got it a couple of days ago, and am waiting for Scrivener for Dummies to turn up from Amazon before I get too far in, in case I'm teaching myself the wrong way to use it! But what I've seen so far looks great. Being able to keep everything in one place (instead of over a range of Word docs, picture files, web links etc) is AWESOME, and the corkboard feature means you can write separate scenes and rearrange them as you like. I think having the freedom to write small chunks, knowing it will be easy to piece them all together will be quite liberating for me. Writing in Word feels very linear, purely because of its ever-scrolling nature.
This year's NaNo promises to be a whole new experience...I can't wait!
Happy writing,
Toyah
PS I bought my software using the discount code found at this website - 20% off is not to be sniffed at!
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