Classic Stories and Modern Tales

Tag: author

Back from my blogging hiatus!

“You were on a blogging hiatus,” you ask?  Well, yes. I didn’t announce it or anything, but with school break, and time at home with my family, I didn’t want to think about blogging for a while. And I think that was good for me.

I did, however, in my unannounced blogging hiatus, FINALLY start my Facebook author page.  I’m going to be hosting a giveaway soon, so follow me there.

www.facebook.com/elizabethdohertyauthor

Back to regular blogging next week!

My advice for people who have a full-time job and still want to do #NaNoWriMo

 

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I’ve participated in (and won) NaNoWriMo four times.  In fact, I’m working on self-publishing one of those novels right now.  The past two NaNos, I’ve been working a full-time teaching job while trying to complete the challenge.  It is stressful and crazy and hard, but it’s also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.  Below the cut is my advice to anyone wanting to be a NaNoWriMo superstar while working a full-time job.

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The best things to keep in mind when setting a daily writing goal

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According to an amateur writer, anyway.

  1. Remember your limits. If you’re like me, someone fidgety and and busy (I’m a teacher, I just moved, and I like spending time with my family), then sometimes you have a hard time finding the time to write. Sometimes, the other parts of your brain take over the part that is supposed to be creative. Sometimes you’re writing. If this sounds like you, don’t tell yourself you’re going to write 5,000 a day. You’re allowed to have a life. Go and live it! (It’s ultimately going to be a huge help in your writing.)
  2. Set your daily goal on the low side. Mine is at 1,000 words. To some people that might be a lot, to others it might be pretty short. For me, it’s a reachable goal. A long sprint, or two short 500 word sprints. I’ve tried 2,000 words (too much some days), 500 words (too short some days). It took a lot of trial and error, but I’ve got it. I know I can write more, but it’s a nice place for me to stop if I need to. I beat myself up when I don’t reach my daily goal, and I feel awesome when I surpass it. The lower writing goal helps me feel better about what I’m writing.
  3. Be proud, no matter how much you’ve written. Not everyone can or wants to write. Did you only write 100 words? That’s 100 more words than you wrote yesterday. There are sentences that did not exist yesterday, and you made them. You didn’t reach your writing goal but you locked your keys in the car? You need a nap? You want to spend time with your friends? Do it. Relax. You wrote. That is amazing. In the famous words of Stephen Sondheim, “Look, I made a hat, where there never was a hat.”

Guess the novel’s genre based on the music

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Okay, so I am currently working on my fourth novel (and am hoping to publish the second soon), so I thought we’d play a game. Based on my three favorite songs on my writing playlist for this novel, what specific genre do you think my WIP falls under?

  1. Better Place by Rachel Platten – Simple and sweet. It’s enough to put me in a happy mood without being too much for me to focus on while I’m writing.
  2. Not Today by Imagine Dragons – I pick up songs from movies all the time. I’ve always been a fan of Imagine Dragons, and this is a nice, easy song to listen to and write to.
  3. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul – This song always gets me dancing in my writing chair. Which, oddly enough, doesn’t prevent me from writing. Weird? You bet.

All right folks. What do you think?

The easy way out or the road less traveled?

Do you ever get a great idea for what you’re going to write (yes, I know that I just updated about writer’s block, but something came to me in a dream!  No, really.), and you get so excited, and then you sit down to write it.. and there are all sorts of problems?

A part of me hates the beginning of the writing process, all of that planning.  Because it can be so hard, a complete obstacle to getting to the fun part.  You have all of these ideas, but you need to make them make sense, right?  And sometimes that is just not fun.

Do I keep going?  Do I keep planning this wild story in my head?  Even with this giant obstacle in my way?  Or do I stop?  Search my brain for something easier to write?  Less difficult.

I don’t want to say that I am running away from a challenge.  But with a new job and a new apartment, should I write something that comes to me easily?  Save the difficult stuff for when life settles down a bit?

Will life settle down a bit?

And more importantly, will I ever stop asking questions on this blog?

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