NaNoWriMo Help!

November is fast approaching, and I must admit that I don't have a clue what I am going to write my novel about this year. Last year I had an idea in September, and it burned in my head all through October. Practically drove me nuts that I couldn't write it down, then in November I had to start at the beginning all over again. So this year, I have put off coming up with my plot, and now that it's a week away, I have nothing! :(

Here are my thoughts: I wanted to do a modern-day Bible story, but am really struggling with coming up with a good scenario. So thought of doing a novel about a modern day St. Nicholas, but my only problem is that he was Catholic, and I don't know too much about the Catholic religion. I'm sure I could learn, but that might take a while and would require a ton of research! So here are my options:

A) Write about the Catholic St. Nicholas and lead him to Christ at the end of the story. Do the research, and get over the time requirements...

B) Alter the story enough that he is raised in a Christian home instead of a Catholic one.

C) Pick an actual Bible story like Esther, Ruth or Martha and Mary (just a few random examples) and make it a modern-day story?

D) Take one of Jesus' parables and write about it in a modern setting.

I'd love your input! I only have a few day's left before I wanted to have the teaser paragraph written and I don't even know what to write about :( Thoughts anyone?

NaNoWriMo?

I have been struggling with NaNoWriMo. I have a few issues right now. One of them is with my novel. While it is turning out amazingly great, and I think it's really well written and very interesting, I am struggling with some of the things about it. It's kind of hard to explain, I think the novel itself isn't the issue, but God is teaching me some things right now, and I am having issues writing this particular novel while I am learning them. Part of me thinks that this is such an amazing novel that I really want to finish that I should keep going, and part of me thinks I need to put it down for now, and see if it is something that God wants me to finish later.

I hate not finishing things, so this is really hard for me. However, with everything going on right now, I really can't picture myself finishing it any time soon. So I will probably just put it down and unofficially withdraw from NaNo this year. I thought about switching and writing a different novel that God has put in my head, but there are 9 days left. I would never even get caught up to where the current word count on my other novel is. So I am going to wait and pray.

Giving up?

Yesterday was the halfway point of both the giving challenge and NaNoWriMo. I am not doing as good as I hoped with either, and I am faced with the option of giving up, or continuing on. I could give up knowing that I probably will never make it, but then again, I could give up on a lot of things in life that don't go as planned. But I wont. Even if I don't give something I see as valuable everyday in November, and even if I don't write 1667 words every single day, I can still give it my all, and complete the month doing my best. I can keep my word, my promise to try through out the month, and you can too. Even if we don't make it, we can give our all. I for one wont give up, will you?

Writing! Wait, what?

I got lots of writing done today! I edited one devotion for FindYourTrueBeauty.com and I wrote 2 (well, almost, I have a few finishing touches to put on the last one).

I also was inspired to compile a list of Scriptures for homeschooling. I am about 75% done with this (I will post it when it is complete). I am so thankful that I took the time to do this. It is something that I have needed to do for sometime and I know it will be oh so helpful in the days to come.

NaNoWriMo? Oh, yeah... Nope, not one word! I have thought about it off and on, but these other things have to take priority over it. So for today, the half way point for NaNo I will have a big RED square on my calendar. It won't be something that bothers me though, because I will know that I prioritized my time, and got things done that needed to be. I will see it as knowing that NaNo does not control my life and is not an obsession. My life belongs to God, and the things I did today will help others grow in their relationship with Him and will help me in my own walk with Him as well. The red square will be remind me that I was wise with my time and that is more precious than red rubies (Proverbs 8:11).

NaNoWriMo: Day 14

So each day when I think I have a great start on my novel and I will most certainly hit my word count and even get ahead... I don't. Something happens, and I get side tracked, and I don't make it. That is exactly what happened today. I had over 500 words before 9am this morning, but that is all I have done today. I know it's only 5pm, but the truth is that I'm tired. I can barely keep my eyes open and I just can't imagine typing anything coherently. So that's that. Things may change between now and bed time... or not. Frankly I'm too tired to really care.

NaNoWriMo

I am really far behind... I was hoping to get caught up today (I hope that everyday) but I am further behind. I am to the part of the story where my MC and her betrothed are looking for a new place for her to live. It's the scene where she starts falling in love with him... but my mind is going to fast for me to write down, it's really frustrating. I want to get to the good part of the scene, but it doesn't make since without the details! (I'm not the kind of writer that can fill in the details later, it has to be in order)

It also doesn't help that I am reading a really good book (I know, reading during NaNoWriMo, what was I thinking) and I was caught up in a really good part, so I am now debating on finishing the chapter in the book that I am reading or in the one that I am writing! AHHH, I am so indecisive...

Writer's workshop / Day 11 of NaNo!

Today is day 11 of National Novel Writing Month, and it also brings the writer's workshop! Today's prompt is to write about "Something you wish you hadn’t put off til the last minute." Being that this is prompt comes in the middle of NaNo, I am really wishing that I would stop putting off my daily writing until bed time! You can tell exactly which days I put it off on by looking at my calendar...



The yellow day's are the ones where I put it off, and then I was too tired to reach my word count goal for the day... Yeah, I really wish I wouldn't have put it off, and all the squares could be green... It's a color thing. Green happens to be my favorite color and the yellow squares are ugly, that and they are a constant reminder that I didn't make it. They tell me that I am not perfect, that I have failed on those days. Why have I failed to reach my goal? Because I procrastinated. I put it off. (Similarly to what I am doing right now actually...)

There are lots of reasons I have put it off. Either I had company, or I was working on something else on the computer, or I might have been busy elsewhere in the house and not even gone near my computer until close to bed time... I guess it really doesn't matter why I put it off. I wish that I wouldn't have and that my calendar was full of perfect little green squares. :)

NaNoWriMo: Day 10

Today is day 10 of National Novel Writing Month. We are 1/3rd done with the month and I am slightly behind target on my novel. However, the last two scenes that I wrote came out very easily, and my story is sailing right along. I'm excited to write the next scene as well, however it is past my bed time, so I am yet again debating to write, or not to write... I am 373 words away from my daily word count goal and 650 words away from my cumulative word count goal. I was hoping to make that up today, but I just don't see it happening unless I can get through the next scene...

The next scene? Dean is taking Elizabeth house hunting and he has a surprise in store for her. Then they are all going to dinner over at his sisters home...

NaNoWriMo: Day 9

It's day 9 of National Novel Writing Month and I am tired. I love my story and would love to do nothing but write it all day everyday, but after having company all weekend, I am just worn out! I can hardly maintain a coherent thought process for more than a minute. I did finish the scene I was working on, but I'm still trying to figure out if I should start the next one or just pass out. I am under my word count goal for today, both cumulative and daily, that is encouraging me to keep writing, but I don't know if I will be able to make it or not. I might fall asleep at my computer trying, I might give up and crawl into bed, or who knows, I might make it... Only time will tell.



To read other's posts about NaNoWriMo visit the NaNoWriMo participant's blog list.

NaNoWriMo: Day 8

I didn't get much writing done today... only 501 words. But on the upside, we had tons of fun with Brandy and her boyfriend. They are leaving in the morning and we cherished the last of our time together. We will miss them.

NaNoWriMo: Day 7

It amazes me how when I'm writing, some scenes just flow so smoothly and I can write them without hardly thinking at all, yet other scenes are extremely difficult and I have to rack my brain for the right words. I finished a sticky scene today and then flew through the next one.

While I didn't make 1,667 words yesterday, I did today. I am currently at 12,872 words and I might keep writing, but I'm not sure yet. We are planning on having a surprise party for my sister-in-law Brandy who is staying with us (if she gets home in time). We just finished frosting her cake and are waiting for her and her boyfriend who went hiking and out to dinner, as well as my husband who is at work to get home. If they all make it before we are sleeping we will do it tonight, other wise it will have to get done tomorrow when my husband is at work :( I'm not sure if they are leaving tomorrow evening or Tuesday morning, so I want to make sure that we eat the cake before they leave. Even though her birthday isn't until Tuesday.

It has been wonderful having them here. We have had tons of fun, and are looking forward to more fun tomorrow (and tonight if time allows). I have pictures that I will share later... I haven't had the chance to upload them to my computer yet!

NaNoWriMo: Day 6

Today is day 6 of NaNoWriMo, and I haven't written a thing! My sister-in-law and her boyfriend came in from out of town and are staying with us, so we spent all day with them. We went hiking, watched Snow Dogs, and spent some time outside looking at the stars with our telescope and drinking hot chocolate (it was pretty chilly out).

So, my current word count is 10,403, exactly where it was last night when I went to bed. But, I had a great day with my husband and everyone (today was also his day off). I'm looking forward to the extra hour tomorrow (more time to get everyone ready for church!). I hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

NaNoWriMo: Day 5

It's day 5 of National Novel Writing Month, and I just passed the 10,000 word mark! How exciting! I struggled a ton with the last scene, you know the one that caused my writer's block yesterday. I struggled getting it started, and pretty much all the way through. But it's done now, and I think it turned out really well. I have moved on and think things are going nicely. I still need to write another 300 words before going to bed to reach my goal for the day, but I think that's obtainable.

I have company coming in tomorrow, so I don't know how much writing and blogging will get done. But I have high hopes! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening!

Writer's block...you are not required or expected to read this...

I have been working on my story for NaNoWriMo, and I am stuck! I know what I want to happen in the scene, but I can't get the character's conversation started. Once I get it started I shouldn't have an issue, but I am so stuck! I tried going in at it from a side angle, but that led me to another dead end, with excess words that don't add anything to the story, and really don't belong there... I was reading tips for overcoming writer's block online and one of them was to go somewhere with lots of people and listen to their conversations. This is a great idea! Except for the fact that I'm sick and have 4 small children... so that's a no go. The next suggestion was physical exercise! Yet another great idea, I would love to go to go for a run or something and just clear my head. But we come back to the factor of four small children and being sick... Another idea was to just randomly write and see what comes out. So that is what you are reading if you are reading this, and I apologize in advance. You may stop reading now if you wish.

Let's start by me writing about where I am in my story, shall we? Elizabeth has agreed to an arranged marriage with Dean, their pastor and his wife have invited them both over to speak about the details. They ate supper with all of the children there (the pastors daughter and Elizabeth's 3 small children.) and then the kids all went to go get ice cream (and then the pastors daughter is taking them home and staying with them so the adults can talk undisturbed). So anyway, they have just moved to the living room to get down to business and talk about the details, and I haven't a clue how to get the conversation rolling!

So that's it. I'm stuck. I tried going at it from a side angle and having them start with small talk, but that fell flat. I just don't know how to have them open the subject and no amount of small talk is going to get me there. I could go at it bluntly and just have one of them say "So let's get right to it, we're here to talk about your marriage." But that sounds really weird to me. And what would they say next? Who would say it? What should they talk about first? The kids? Their jobs? School? Why the marriage was purposed? I just don't know where to start?!?!

So I am stuck. I'm tempted to read a romance novel and see how other authors have handled similar situations, but I don't really want to copy anyone else. I want this to be entirely my work, so borrowing from someone else isn't really practical... I could just keep typing random nonsensical thoughts, but I am running out of those... hmmm what to do! BLAH!!!

So it occurred to me that I was skipping a major step! I had the pastor open them in prayer! That added an important element, but I am still stuck from there...

I don't suppose anyone has any tips for overcoming specific writer's block, or on how to get the ball rolling in their conversation?

NaNoWriMo Day 4 / Writer's Workshop

As always Thursday brings the writer's workshop. I thought about this weeks prompts for quite sometime. I even went so far as to look up information on the only actor I ever really paid attention to growing up, Brad Renfro, however I had forgotten his name and searched the wrong guy first. I don't know where I came up with that name... I didn't recognize any of the movies he was in... Brad Renfro on the other hand, played Huck in Tom and Huck. I wouldn't even really say that he was my favorite actor, but the rest of the world was going crazy of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, so I picked the other guy. :) I never knew anything about him other than that he played in Tom and Huck... So I decided that I never really had a favorite childhood actor, and that prompt 1 really wouldn't work for me.

So I moved on to prompt 2: A post you regret publishing... I try not to regret anything, but look at everything as a learning opportunity. So this prompt really didn't work for me... (Although I'm sure that everyone reading this probably regrets it :)

That brought me to prompt #3: If you had made a career out of whatever you were passionate about when you were ten…what would you be doing? I changed my mind often on what I wanted to do as a child. I wanted to be a mechanic and work on cars (I even went to college to do this), I wanted to be a semi truck driver like my Dad, I wanted to become a youth pastor at one point, and I always wanted to be a writer... I guess that I am kind of full filling the last one as I write my novel for National Novel Writing Month. (I am at 6,528 words... but I haven't worked on it yet today.) I also volunteer writing (and editing) devotions for teen girls. But I wasn't sure which one of those I wanted to do at age ten, so I thought it best to move on to the next prompt.

"A hair disaster" was prompt #4, and while I had a hair disaster not to long ago, I already blogged about it here. So I thought that would be repetitive, so I moved on to prompt #5...

Describe a moment when you saw someone hit their breaking point... Yeah, I got nothin'.

So in the end I thought I would just kind of cover them all :) To read more Writer's workshop posts, please visit MamaKat's blog.

NaNoWriMo: Day 3

Today is Day 3 of NaNoWriMo! It is the beginning of the afternoon and I have already passed my word count goal for the day! No repeats of yesterday where I am up until midnight sweating because the sight is down. My story is moving right along. I am currently at 5,742 words. It's so amazing being able to put this down on paper (well, figuratively as I am typing it on my computer...).

Elizabeth has just found out who her proposer is, and agreed to meet him tonight for dinner. I have it all worked out and am excited to keep writing! I love writing! However at some point I need to finish the kids' school for the day. We got a ton done this morning, but we still have a few things left. I am letting them have an extended recess while I write... bad mom!

NaNoWriMo: Day 2

It has been a long busy day. I didn't get started on my writing until after the kids were in bed, and I just met my word count goal for the day (at 11:00 at night) and I can't update it, because their website is down for maintenance. :( They keep track of whether or not you meet your goal each day and I am hoping that it is back up in time for me to put it in for today. Plus, I am now ready for bed, and I am putting off sleeping, so that I can put it in. This is very frustrating, but on the flip side, in light of eternity it doesn't really matter if I update my word count tonight, tomorrow, or never...

My novel is coming along great. I had a good portion written in my head before the month started, and it is a little challenging for me to go back to the beginning and in a since, re-write it. Things are going down differently than I had originally thought they would. I think it will still turn out nicely though. I'm not doing too bad for my first novel! I'm at 3,860 words!

The story starts out at the funeral of Elizabeth's husband, Chris. It doesn't say how he dies (I'm not even sure yet...) but I'm sure at some point it will come to light. Anyway, Elizabeth's pastor and his wife invite her and her three small children over for dinner one night, where they approach her with a proposal. One of the guys from their church has asked if they would be willing to mediate an arranged marriage between him and Elizabeth. She doesn't know what to think of this, and quite frankly, she isn't really sure she wants to. But after a few days, she finds herself a little curious and she is talking with her pastor's wife (who is also her dear friend)...

So that's where I am right now. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write freely, and not worry too much about editing. So I'm kind of resisting the urge to go back and re-read it, because I know me. I will get caught up in the small details, it's just who I am.

I hope that all of my other writing friends are enjoying themselves as much as I am, and I hope that all of my other friends can put up with all of my posts this month...

November 1st!

Today is the first day of November, and that brings 2 things! 1st it is the first day of National Novel Writing Month! Woo Hoo! I just started writing down my novel (I have 572 words!) and I am excited! I had to make myself stop so that I could start school with the kids :)

Second it brings the 30-day Giving Challenge! The challenge is to give something everyday for 30 days, and blog about it (or journal if you're not a blogger). It's still early, but today I gave my children an extra hour of sleep :) and I am thinking of ways to give more throughout the day (I will probably blog about them tomorrow). So to all of those involved with the 30-day giving challenge, I am praying for you! I hope that you all enjoy yourselves, and that we can all grow through this challenge. Happy giving!



Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:10-11