Tag Archives: National Novel Writing Month

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The NaNoWriMo Experiment

NaNoWriMo is over, and I’m sure you are wondering if I finished.  Well, I didn’t.

I participated in NaNo this year for two reasons;

#1: To make myself work on a novel.

#2: To see if I could write a whole novel without an outline. 

Well, I discovered that I CAN’T write a whole novel without an outline.  I ended up just writing Wolf’s Head into the ground, killing the plot entirely.  Stephen kept me going for a while, but in the end there was just no where left to go.  When I ran out of scenes I just started writing nonsense to keep my word count up and after a while I got tired of writing nonsense that I would have to cut later and decided the best choice for me was to just call it quits.  (Plus it was frustrating me to death, renewing my writer’s block, not curing it, and giving me a head ach.)    

I could see this past NaNoWriMo as a failure because I didn’t finish, but I see it more as a success.  Why?  Well, I did exactly what I set out to do, I worked in a novel all November and I discovered I’m the kind of writer that really needs the outlining process to write a full (readable) novel.

In the beginning I made it clear to myself that this whole thing was just going to be an experiment so if it became too much and I needed to quit I wouldn’t be disappointed.  Well, I’m a little disappointed, but that’s just want happens sometimes.  I’m sure Stephen’s glad I stopped when I did, I think he was getting a little tired of all the purple monkeys with watermelons that kept showing up. ;)

Three cheers to all you WriMo’s who reached 50k!

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I Am Crazy

Am I really going to do this?  What am I thinking? 

Sooooooo…. I’ve been talked into doing NaNoWriMo this year, after a told myself over and over and over and over and over….

*five minutes later*

… and over and over and over again that I was NOT doing it this year.  People can be quite convincing sometimes.  

So yup, guess I’m NaNoing this year.  I mean, all I have going on in November is a weekend trip, my grandparents coming to visit, my twenty-first Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas prep, not to mention school and work, sure, I can had writing a 50k word novel right?

Some one shoot me before I shoot myself.  

I guess there is only one thing left to say….

CHARGE!!!!!

Oh, if you are wondering what novel I could possibly be writing… I’m turning Stephen of Scarborough into a novel.  Re-writing everything and just starting from scratch.  It’s getting a new name too, Stephen of Sherwood.  I’m dragging Stephen back to the drawing board.

…………………

I guess now that I put it on my blog I have to do it…. wish me luck! 

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So long November

November is nearly over… yikes, that went way too fast.  Why does time have to race by?  Or is it that we just take each moment for granted? 

I suppose you all are looking for some kind of update on how things are going and why my NaNo word count bar has been stuck at 30k for the past week.  Well, I shall tell you.

November is one of the craziest months for my family, especially the last two and a half weeks.  There is my Birthday (and I had a party this year…) my best friend’s Birthday two days later, my mom’s Birthday the next week, Thanksgiving and everything that entails, and my Aunt flew up from California this year.  Plus, I’m trying to get into winter classes at a community college and have been studying for placement testing (should have had it all done months ago… aw well).  As it turned out, it all came down to a battle between college/studying, NaNoWriMo, and family/holiday-what-not and NaNo lost.  It was a choice that I had to make and I believe I made the right one.  At least I did what I set out to do through it; get a head start on CHOICES and learn to discipline myself to write a certain amount of words per day.  I am half way through CHOICES and have 30k words on it, not bad I guess.  :)   Now I can go back over it and fix the things that have been bugging me to death that were only written for the word count, and focus more on the writing itself as I finish instead of the number of words I’m writing. 

As for other things… I’m fighting a chest cold and have just felt… well, burned out for the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully the cold has not gone beyond an irritated throat and running nose.  I just feel like the world is weighing on my shoulders right now and I don’t know why.  I have so much on my mind these days, keeps me awake at night, and who needs their thoughts draining away their sleep? :\  It sometimes feels like everything is tumbling out of control and now matter what I do, I cann’t bring it back to order. 

God, restore the order, bring back the peace.  I feel so lost.  Take me back. 

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. :)

In Christ,

~Laura

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NaNo Week One Update

NaNoWriMo week one is now over, and I’m sure you guys want an update… well, here you go!

I have over 10,000 words!  But then… I did get a bit behind this weekend.  Worked allot, (which is a very good thing,) so I didn’t have as much time to write as I would have liked.  But no biggy, two good days will see me back where I need to be. :)

So far I’m in chapter four.  Already I’ve gone a little different direction then what was written on my outline and that’s just fine, the story is going where it needs to go and the outline was really just some guidelines to keep me going.

My Hero (Kate) has been through a lot in the past 20-something pages.  First, she wakes up in a strange forest with no idea where she is.  Gets chased by a panther.  Rescued by a (*cough* handsome *cough*) stranger, and now is faced with being in a war.  Everything she believes in, her faith, and what she knows to be real has been challenged.  She’s questioned God, herself, and pretty much everything and anything she can think of.  Think about it, what would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a world that defies reality and what you believe about it?

This week the plan is to relax, get caught up, and continue to just have fun. One thing I’ve found is rewarding yourself after every so many words really does help.  Plus chocolate and Doctor Who are, in my own opinion, the best motivators out there. ;)   If you don’t have a good motivationg reward, find one!

Hope all you other WriMos are doing great!  Good luck with week two everyone!

 On another note, (this is something I just have to share).  

 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
       Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
             Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
                      Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
                             Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and his judgments are in all the earth.
                                        ~Psalm 105:1-5

God is so amazing!  The way He works in His timing is just awesome!  Part of the theme for CHOICES is waiting on God’s timing and trusting Him completely.  This past week I have seen God work in a seemingly ordinary way where His timing was perfect. 

This coming  winter (in this area) is looking to be a bad one.  Lots of ice and snow.  The car I drive is a Lincoln Town Car, no four-wheel or front wheel drive.  My dad wanted me to have a safe car for this winter, so he started looking one online and he found one!  A 1998 Ford Explorer for 2600.  It had a lot of miles on it, but it was in good shape and had all the safety features my dad wanted.  Plus, it was my color!  (Light green.)    Well, we bought it for 2400 and it wasn’t a week later that we sold my other car for 1500!  Enough money to pay my parents back for the money they put into it, buy new tires, licence it, and the other few costs that have come up.  Looking back I can see God working.  I need a safe car, He provided one.  We needed to sell my other car, He provided a buyer. 

God is so good!  Why do I worry?  

Thank you Father, I will glory in the name of the LORD.

God bless,

~Laura       

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Choices – book 1 of the Aeden Archives

Here is the novel I’m writing for NaNoWriMo! 

Synopsist:
Eighteen and no future.  That’s what Kate thought about her current stage in life, until one fateful day, the day she found herself in Aeden. 

In this new world of fantasy, Kate joins Terren, an outlawed king in a fight to regain his stolen throne.  But as time goes on, Kate unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with Terren, and even more unexpected, he’s falling in love with her.

As Kate’s time in Aeden draws to a close and victory for Terren is in sight, she must make a choice; Return home to her family, or stay in a world she hardly understands, with a man who showed her how to live again. 

 

This story is one that is very close to my heart.  It’s been around for nearly as long as HEAT OF HOPE, but I have never before committed it to paper.  There have been a few times where I started to write it then stopped, and there are several written scene floating about, but the rest has stayed for the most part in my head.

The world of Aeden was born several years ago.  I was about sixteen and having one of those “sixteen year old” days.  I can’t remember the details, just that I was having a hard time with wanting to get away.  So, I locked myself in the bathroom, (the only room with a lock…), had a good cry, and created this world.  I transported myself to a magical land only I knew about.  Where I could have wonderful adventures and never have to think or worry about life.  Along with that world came Terren.  Someone with whom I could share my adventures.  I believe is why I have never fully committed the story to paper.  It was my world.  My own little world, just for me.  Now, that world has evolved into a deep story and I feel it’s time to tell it.

Some of you may remember this poem from a post I made back in ’09.

Over dark mountains I glide,
On wind swept clouds I ride.
To a land that evil had claimed,
To a heart that time had maimed.

Where adventure lay in wait,
Where love plotted with fate.
I stepped into a world of doom,
Entwined in life’s cruel loom.

Two hearts together found healing,
Two worlds in the cosmos went reeling.
Side by side battles we fought,
Hand in hand loves peace we sought.

Together we defeated the evil holding the land,
And watched as victory spread out as a hand.
But fate had something else in store,
That would leave our hearts broken and sore.

When dawn brighten on that cruel day,
Not even love would let me stay.
We said farewell with tears like rain,
Never knowing if I would return again.

To a land where mysteries roam,
Through mist and time,
Ayden, Ayden, take me home.

As you can see the spelling of “Aeden” has changed since then and it was written when the story consisted of only one book.  Now, three books are planned to fully tell the story of Kate and Terren.

Aeden for me will always be a symbol of I world we all long to be transported too.  My Narnia, if you will.  Though time moves at the same rate, and getting there is harder then stepping through a wardrobe, it’s still a place, though mythical, that is very real in my heart. 

This story deals with allot of tough areas.  Pretty much every spiritual lesson I was learning while dwelling on it is crammed inside.  Faith, trust in Christ, unselfish love, the importance of family relationships, patience, God’s timing, things us humans can’t understand and much more. 

My prayer for this story is that it will show its readers a clear picture of Godly love, relationships and the rewards of fully trusting in Christ for/in everything.

Thank you for reading.  God bless.

And,

Welcome to Aeden.