Category Archives: Author Interviews

Calling all Authors: Chime in with your story!

Recently, I posted an interview here concerning the process of acquisitions as it pertained to a small publisher.  Kisa Whipkey, managing editor at REUTS shared their process here:  http://wp.me/p35Mk4-gn.  I will be interviewing their cover artist and owner soon, so be sure not to miss that!  It’s been wonderful and enlightening, to say the least.

One thing that hasn’t been discussed yet is this:  As the author, what comes next?

Imagine this scenario (many of you won’t have to dig too deeply because you have lived this!):  You’ve been in the query trenches for a really long time, and finally your beauty of a submission gets picked up by a publisher.  I’m sure there is a lot of excitement.  But when all the confetti finally lands on the floor, what was your next step?  As the author, I’m sure contracts needed to be signed, more edits needed to be made, etc.  until eventually your book baby found its way to the public.

Here is where you come in.  I’d love to hear your stories!  Once accepted by a publisher, whichever publisher it was, what were/are your next steps?  Were there any obstacles during this phase?  Everybody’s path to publication is different, and hearing these stories is not only interesting, but very inspiring.

So bring it on, authors!  Share your literary success stories with my readers!  The comment section is ready and waiting to hear from you.

Thanks a million!

Acquisitions and Publishing: Demystified! An Interview with Editor Kisa Whipkey

KisaWhipkeyAccording to Kisa Whipkey’s Twitter blurb, she is a “Fantasy Author | Artist | Freelance Editor | Martial Arts Demo Team Expert | Editorial Director for REUTS Publications”.

As the editorial director for REUTS Publications, she has the opportunity to seek out new books and authors, as well as discover them in her slush pile inbox.

Today I have the pleasure to talk to her about the many hats she wears, and in the process, perhaps we can unravel some of the mystery surrounding what it is like on the “other” side of publishing, from the point of view of an editor.

 

Susan: Welcome, Kisa! First off, I’d like to thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to chat with me on my blog. Following you on Twitter, it is clear how busy you actually are! In my opening, I mentioned all of the hats you wear. It’s quite an interesting array!   Please tell us a little bit about those hats, and how wearing them during your life has led you to be the professional person you are today. Do you layer your hats simultaneously, or does each hat have a specific purpose in your professional life?

Kisa Whipkey: Thanks, Susan! And thank you so much for having me.

Hmm, hats. I suppose it does look like I wear a bunch, but really, I view it as only one, regardless of the medium I choose to work in—storytelling. In fact, when people ask me what I am (writer, artist, editor, etc.), I generally say I’m a storyteller. All of my passions, from art and animation, to writing, to martial arts demos (which are choreographed, costumed routines similar to dance) revolve around one simple mission: to tell a good story. So, on the surface, it may seem like I lead an eclectic and varied life, but really, only the creative forum changes. The foundational skill set stays the same.

How does that culminate into the person I am today? Well, if I’ve learned anything from my various pursuits, it’s that storytelling is definitely my calling. And I think that pursuing it through so many different formats has given me an advantage, an ability to see stories from many different angles, not just the presentation in front of me. I’m sure natural talent plays into it too (or so I’ve been told), but I think my background often helps me figure out the solutions to some of the toughest storytelling problems.

Susan: One of the reasons I began planning this interview stems from a Tweet you posted, about being nervous taking live pitches at a conference. Tell us a little bit about that. Was that conference the first time you had the opportunity to take live pitches? Did anything surprise you during the process? I’d love to know what that was like!

Kisa Whipkey: It was the first time I’ve done that, so it was incredibly nerve-racking. You described me as professional above, but honestly, I feel like the world’s biggest goober in person! (-5 professional points right there for using the word “goober,” haha.) I’m also not keen on crowds usually, so it was terrifying. I felt bad for the authors meeting me, because I think I was just as nervous as they were. But overall, the entire experience was pretty cool. I’m naturally enthusiastic about books and all things storytelling, so it made it easier for me to connect with people and put them at ease. I don’t pretend to be anything special; I’m just me.

I think that was the part that maybe surprised me the most—the way authors regard agents and editors. Like we’re these mystical beings up on our podiums passing judgment. The “us vs. them” mentality. I don’t see myself that way. I’m a person (and a book nerd), just like they are. Am I going to love every pitch that comes my way? No, probably not, but that doesn’t invalidate their work. It just means I’m not the right editor for it.

Susan: This next question reminds me of the old Schoolhouse Rock song about how a bill becomes a law! Many querying writers are mystified by “the slush pile”. What actually happens to queries once they arrive at REUTS Publications? Describe the process a query goes through en route to acceptance for publication. What happens to submissions that don’t automatically make the cut?

Kisa Whipkey: REUTS does things a little differently than other presses, I think. We do our acquisitions via a panel comprised of the four directors, rather than having dedicated (and solo) acquisitions editors. So when we receive a query, it actually goes to all four of us and is read by all. Each of us assesses it from our area of expertise—for example, I weigh in on behalf of the editorial department, outlining the editorial strategy and assessing the amount of work needed prior to publication, the Marketing Director assesses it for its viability in the market, the Creative Director assesses it from a design standpoint, etc. Each of us will cast our vote, and the final decision is based on a majority ruling. That’s why it takes us longer than some places to get through them all—that, and we actually make a point to read every query in its entirety.

Depending on the outcome of that panel decision, we’ll either request the full (and the process starts over again—all four of us read the full manuscripts as well), or we’ll send a rejection. We actually just did a blog post that outlines this process (as well as why it takes so long). You can find it here.

Susan: REUTS is beginning to have quite the collection of authors! Tell us about what kind of timeframe it took for those authors to get from query to publication.

Kisa Whipkey: It varies, honestly. There are so many factors that go into an acquisitions decision that there’s no cut and dry formula for how long it takes. I would love to say that it always takes X amount of weeks or months, but it’s much more fluid than that. Similarly, the time it takes from acceptance to release differs depending on the project and what it needs before publication. We try to keep that process under a year, but it really just depends.

Our stance is that we’d rather do the book justice and invest the time it takes to release a quality product than rush things out the door half-finished. The industry average for traditional publishing is about 2-3 years from the time you sign a contract to the day you see your book on a shelf. We’re faster than that, but it still takes anywhere from 6 months to a year and half.

Susan: Another mystery: What happens to a novel once it is accepted for publication? How does the road to publication continue? Is there another team that takes over? Do you, as editorial director, continue to work with the manuscript?

Kisa Whipkey: We’re still a fairly small staff, so the directors involved in the acquisitions decision are the people who will ultimately work on the books. Summer, our Marketing Director, is the one who works with the author on the marketing strategy, along with her amazing assistant, Tiffany. Ashley handles the cover design herself, and I do actually work on a select number of manuscripts, taking them through all the phases of editorial—structural editing, line editing, and final proofreading. We have four other talented editors as well, though, so I don’t handle all the projects. But I am in charge of making those assignments and overseeing them, so I suppose I’m involved at least a little.

Anyway, you asked what happens once a manuscript is accepted. Well, essentially, we divide and conquer. Editorial usually happens first, since it takes the longest, but while I work on that front, Ashley and Summer work on their sides of the project as well, so that, by the time the release rolls around, everything converges. The departments are autonomous, but we all work closely together to move a project toward release. It’s definitely a team effort.

Susan: REUTS’ books have beautiful covers! Do you personally have a hand in that, or does REUTS have a cover specialist? How does the design of the cover get decided?

Kisa Whipkey: Aren’t they amazing? I love our covers! The brilliant Ashley Ruggirello, REUTS founder and Creative Director, is responsible for all of them, so the credit goes entirely to her. I have very little to do with that process, other than to act as a sounding board if she needs one.

We pride ourselves on being author inclusive, so the cover designs are created with heavy input from the authors themselves. Ashley works closely with them to come up with the best vision for their book and then from there, she crafts the gorgeous gems you see on our digital shelves. You’d have to ask her for more ins and outs of the actual process, but that’s the simplified version. The author hands her a vision, and brilliance ensues.

Susan: Is there anything else you can think of that my readers might find interesting to know about what it’s like on the “other” side of publishing?

Kisa Whipkey: Oh, boy. Let’s see. It’s hard? And not nearly as glamorous as people think? Editors have one of the highest burn-out rates of any profession—if you survive longer than two years, you’re considered hard core. And I can see why. Publishing is hectic, and stressful, and you rarely ever feel like you’re on top of anything. Society tells us that editors sit around reading all day. They don’t; in fact, reading is at the bottom of the list most of the time. What we actually do all day is this: answer the incessant deluge of emails, juggle as many as 6-8 projects in various stages of completion (and yes, that’s simultaneously), answer more queries and questions and status update requests via social media, participate in writing events and give back to the writing community, edit some more, and then maybe, maybe read before we pass out from exhaustion.

So I suppose, what I’m trying to say is this: don’t believe the image society paints of what it’s like to be an editor. It’s not like that at all. And the best thing writers can do to engender better relationships with editors and publishers is to understand that, remember that we’re human too, and show us some consideration. Most of us do this because we love it. It’s not a job that pays exceedingly well, nor is it especially full of glory (most editors are lucky to even get a mention in an acknowledgements page). So why do we do it? Because we love books, we love the people who write books, and we genuinely want to help you bring those books into the world. It’s a job of passion. But even passion has its limits. Respect and appreciation go a long way on either side of the publishing fence. Which is a message you’ll hear from me a lot. Haha.

Susan: Before we end our interview today, I’d love it if you could tell us about some exciting things on the horizon for REUTS Publications.

Kisa Whipkey: It seems like there’s always something exciting in the works for REUTS. We’ve had some fantastic releases recently—Dare to Dream by Carys Jones and Sachael Dreams by Melody Winter—as well as some fabulous ones coming out this month too—Golden by Melinda Michaels and Gambit by C. L. Denault.

We also recently announced a three book deal with author J.M. Frey via Laurie McLean and Fuse Literary that we’re super excited about, along with a two book deal with bestselling author Katie Hamstead, and the sequel to everyone’s favorite uninteresting vampire, Fred (The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes, for those who haven’t met him yet.)

We’re also being featured all month long on Katie Hamstead’s blog, so everyone should go check that out—there will be giveaways and lots of interesting tidbits about the staff and authors. And we’ll be hosting our annual Project REUTSway short story contest later in the year. So yeah, we’re always up to something. Our website is the best place to find out exactly what we’ve got up our sleeves, but we’re also on Twitter and Facebook, so feel free to swing by and say hello. We love interacting with people, and I promise we don’t bite. 😉

 

Susan:  Thank you so much for stopping by my Writer’s Block!  Okay, readers, chime in with comments below!  I’d love to hear from you!

Kisa France 2009_2

Kisa Whipkey is a dark fantasy author, a martial arts demo team expert, and a complete sucker for Cadbury Mini-eggs. She’s also the Editorial Director for YA/NA publisher, REUTS Publications. She developed a passion for storytelling at a young age and has pursued that love through animation, writing, video game design and demo teams until finally finding her home in editing. She believes in good storytelling, regardless of medium, and applauds anything featuring a snarky lead character, a complicated narrative structure, and brilliant/uncommon analogies. Currently, she lives in the soggy Pacific Northwest with her husband and plethora of electronics.

Her personal blog–featuring sarcastic commentary on all things storytelling–is located at www.kisawhipkey.com. Or connect with her via Twitter: @kisawhipkey. And, of course, to learn more about REUTS Publications, please visit www.reuts.com.

Step Right Up! Jonathan Dunne’s THE NOBODY SHOW

Jonathan Dunne is back!  As many of my readers know, I have been following the irony, humor and writing process of Jonathan Dunne through the years, and it has been a privilege to be along for the ride.  Please help me in welcoming him back to my Writer’s Block!

LDL photo                          The nobody show 2

Susan: As an aspiring writer myself, I would first like to congratulate you on the publication of your third novel, The Nobody Show!  That’s quite an accomplishment.

Jonathan: Thanks Susan, another year – the years are passing too fast for my liking.

Susan: I’d love to start off this interview having you share a little blurb about The Nobody Show.

Jonathan: The Nobody Show is about a man with a dream and a dream is a dream

Susan: One of the things I enjoy about your writing is how your “Narrator” includes “The Reader” in discussions.  You have done this in both Living Dead Lovers and The Nobody Show.  What inspired you to do that?

Jonathan: It just felt natural, Susan. I thought it might make the Reader feel a little closer to the action and narrator. For me, writing is a very personal thing and the story involves the reader so ‘Pull up a chair by the fire and let me tell you something…’

Susan: A great image. I would agree that your style does indeed bring the reader very close to the action! Another bit of interest I find in your books is how you seem to tie them all together, either with current characters mentioning your own previous books, mentioning characters from previous books which just so happen to live in the locale of your current story, or even tie-ins to the locations themselves, almost like a soap opera!  I know that your novels are not really a series, but in some ways, they could be!  What are your thoughts on that?

Jonathan: This is an interesting question and I’d like to address it by quoting a recent The Nobody Show review on Goodreads where the reviewer mentions: “Not sure how I feel about this level of self-promotion. It’s kind of cute and clever, but also kind of annoying…” To a degree, the reviewer is correct – I am an Indie writer after all and who else is going to promote my books? However, my first goal was to give a sense of place. All my stories occur, at some level, in the fictional town of Old Castle where the weird and wonderful happens. It just gives me a platform to work on and where I feel comfortable and I do mention this because everybody knows everybody in small towns and stories do overlap.

Susan: Brilliant! As I pointed out earlier, The Nobody Show is your third novel.  Did you follow the same writing process you followed for Balloon Animals and Living Dead Lovers?  If not, how was it different this time around?

Jonathan: Same process…writing 1 or 2 hours as early in the morning as I can, 7 days a week.

Susan: During the writing process of The Nobody Show, you took to YouTube for some candor about it.  Here is a link to your channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUM1w1Jt7j1dFhtrJha9vQ/videos I liked that!  As a fan, it made the wait time seem to go more quickly.  What prompted you to share those short on-screen chats on the internet?  Is it something you will continue?

Jonathan: I’m not too sure about this YouTube thing. I just felt that it was an extra tool at the time to get the word out. Now and again, I like to upload a short video explaining (trying to) some aspects of my writing process. Don’t know if it’s of interest to anybody, but sometimes it helps me think when speaking aloud (and to myself). I know that I would like ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff from a writer I like because it always helps understand the writer and the book a little better.

Susan: Absolutely. The Nobody Show adheres to the comedic quality that we all have known and loved from your previous works.  However, it is noticeably longer.  Was that change intentional, or did the story just present itself that way to you?

Jonathan: Yeah, it’s too long! I get it! J It wasn’t intentional but I didn’t know how to wrap it up. It finished at its natural ending, I feel. If anything, I think I cut short some characters which deserved more page-time.

Susan: In my review of The Nobody Show, here http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Y1Q1ZPMZAGRD/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm I mention the depth of storyline.  Nice job on that!   Was Arthur Lawless a character you connected with on a deeper level than other characters of your previous novels?

Jonathan: I connected with Arthur as I have connected with Cabbage in LDL and Jonny Rowe in BA. All these characters are idealists and trying to make sense of the world they find themselves in. They are genuine and honest in their struggle and I think that comes across in the writing – how many times have I read, ‘it’s a crazy story but strangely believable’ in a review of one of my books.

Susan: In the last interview we had together, http://www.amazon.com/review/R10F3FSXFTU5LM/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00H881V14 I asked if you had a favorite character.  In your response, you mentioned that it was like parenthood, in that you simply couldn’t have a favorite among your children.  But The Nobody Show has such a unique cast!  Would you still answer my question about favorites the same way?

Jonathan: Yep! But maybe you get to know some children better than others…

Susan: Lastly, do you have another novel in the works?  If so, could you possibly spare a tiny hint for me and my readers?

Jonathan: I am answering this question at a cross-roads in my writing endeavors. I am playing with an idea for a new book that would be in keeping with what you’ve read previously. On the other hand, I’d love to write a book for kids but it just doesn’t seem to happen for me, maybe it just isn’t me. I do tend to look at the world through a child’s eyes (I think) but writing for children seems to evade me and it doesn’t feel organic. I suppose my books to date do have an off-kilter, even child-like absurdity to them – I’ve read ‘immature’ in reviews so let’s see. Whatever it is will have to be from the heart because I’ll drop it if it feels fake to me.

Thank you so much, Jonathan! As always, it’s been a pleasure. Good luck to you and your writing, whatever form the books happen to take, novel or otherwise.

Let’s Connect!  I’d love to know if any of my readers connect to one of their characters more than others.  If so or if not, leave a comment below 🙂

 

Jonathan can be found in the following locations:

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/JonathanDunne

 

Website:

http://jonathanwdunne.wordpress.com/

 

Twitter:

@WriterJDunne

Jonathan’s Amazon Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Dunne/… Jonathan’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jonath…

Book Review: The Nobody Show, by Jonathan Dunne

I recently finished Jonathan Dunne’s novel, The Nobody Show. Here is my review!

I have been a fan of Jonathan Dunne’s writing for quite some time. Since his first novel, Balloon Animals, I fell in love with his witty writing, charming yet flawed characters, and plots that always seem to turn by way of the unexpected. His latest book, The Nobody Show, embodies the same characteristics as the others, making me fall in love once again. In this book, however, I felt there was a story within a story, and that is what I loved the most.

From the moment the book begins, the reader is introduced, one by one, to a multitude of strange characters (one being a chimp named Bonnie), who don’t realize they share a dream. As a matter of fact, when reading, I began to wonder when these people would realize how their lives cross under fate’s guide. Jonathan Dunne does a masterful job creating their scenarios as one at a time, he builds a Circus of Nobodies, with dubious circus skills. Each one is crazy-wonderful in their own rite.

It isn’t until the end of the story where the second plot comes into full focus, as the reader witnesses the breakdown of Arthur Lawless, The Circus Master. I was sad yet touched as Arthur fell from “greatness”, as he realized the importance of his family; his rock.

As I wrote earlier, The Nobody Show doesn’t really stray from the Jonathan Dunne Formula which has pleased me so much in the past. However, this book has a sweet side among the absurd. Admittedly, this book is longer than his others, but this is not a bad thing, considering the depth he weaves into The Nobody Show’s plot.

I enjoyed this book, and believe it was worth the wait for its release.

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The Joys (And Realities) of Completing a First Draft

Today was a great writing day.

excited doggie

As many of you know, I began a new work in progress last summer.  I had just gotten Scrivener, and was fiddling around with its many (many, many) features.  Through my trials, I came to love the Corkboard feature, and before I knew it, I had a framework for a new novel all mapped out.

I wrote the entire draft in Scrivener, learning how to use it as I went along.  My Corkboard map was my guide.  Today, I am happy to say that the first draft of that novel is complete!

As I finished, a joyous feeling came over me.  This is officially my fourth novel, and I can honestly say, that fact alone has me giddy with excitement.  Just a few short years ago, I never thought I would have even one completed novel length manuscript, let alone four, but here I sit typing this post.

However, reality is beginning to set in.  Not to diminish the joy I have for completing this manuscript, but I know that tomorrow when I head over to Staples to print out my first hard copy of it, I will be shocked.  I’ll begin to read the words of the novel I began last summer, and my writing will be filled with…heaven knows what.  No doubt there will be plot holes to fill, incomplete sentences, weird grammar and spelling, you name it.

Completing a first draft comes an even more daunting task:  Having the courage to look your fledgling novel in the eye and make it hold true to your hopes and dreams for it.  Getting through the first read of a brand new manuscript draft with an open mind can be difficult.  I have in my mind what I want it to be.  The reality of it, though, is that my little manuscript, the one that I have so much joy about right now, will need to be scrutinized and polished, and put through the ringer of several revisions and beta readers before it will shine the way I want it to.

So tomorrow, my friends, I will embark on my first round of revisions.  My red pens are ready, and my sticky notes and flags are stocked up, thanks to a Christmas gift from my family.  Wish me luck!

What is the most difficult part of editing that first draft for you?  Chime in with a comment!

2014 NaNoWriMo Mini-Series: Plowing Our Way to 50K–Final Round!

nanotoons_2013_dec_01a

Whew! What a busy and crazy month November was. I thrive on the self-imposed deadlines I create for myself, but it’s not always easy to keep things in perspective during NaNoWriMo. As of this moment, I am letting my completed words gel a bit. Maybe that will help bring perspective into focus a bit.

With NaNoWriMo over, this final post is here to serve as a wrap up to our busy writing month. It is my hope that you all might be inspired to try some of the techniques used to plan out or write your next work. So much can be learned from each other!

If you are checking out this mini-series for the first time, the Round One post can be found here:  http://wp.me/p35Mk4-fr

And Round Two can be found here:  http://wp.me/p35Mk4-fr

Thanks so much for checking in, and following our progress as we went along! And as usual, I’d love for you to chime in with your own NaNo14 experiences.

Susan Nystoriak: In 5 words or less, describe your

month of writing for NaNoWriMo 2014.

dianaDiana Pinguicha: 

I slacked it off.

Ali picAli Carey Billedeaux: 

Absolutely out of control.

Alessa Hinlo profile picAlessa Hinlo:

Waving the white flag.

Margarita polaroidMargarita Montimore:

Effective kick-start for rough draft.

Mary Ann NicholsonMary Ann Nicholson:

Unexpected All Zombie Rock Band.

Alexis Larkin PictureAlexis Larkin:

Sprints + Teething + Pantsing + Pie + Outlining = NaNoWriMo

Shawn PicShawn Thomas Anderson:

Frenetic. Furious. Ferocious. Fabulous. Fun.

Danielle DoolittleDanielle Doolittle:

INSANE. Stressful. Exciting. Fun. Exhilarating.

Susan Nystoriak: Regardless of if you made

the 50K word count goal, were you able to complete

a first draft during NaNo14?

Diana Pinguicha:

No. I didn’t even reach the 50k this year, because I was SO ADDICTED to Dragon Age: Inquisition. I still am. Because, achievements and dragon slaying and ALL THE ROMANCES.

Ali Carey Billedeaux:

Nope, not even close. I started from scratch for this baby, and I didn’t make the goal. I’m not too worried though, it was my first shot at historical fiction and that turns out to require WAY more research than I have time for in one month. I’m already a little bit of a crazy-person when it comes to writing (AKA my characters do whatever they want), but the research made it crazier. It was like everything I read in my studies gave me another idea for a direction my story could go. Which was not congruent, as you might imagine, to the plot-finishing thing.

Alessa Hinlo:

I severely underestimated the effect Pitch Wars would have on me. Between finishing revisions, cheering for the participants, and starting to query that novel, I was mentally exhausted. Not the best frame of mind to start a new novel!

Margarita Montimore:

No, but I have 25K words and made good inroads.

Mary Ann Nicholson:

I finished my WIP early but since I started it at 32K, I needed 82K words to Nano. I took some time off of Nano and started to do revisions instead. My word count continued to grow with the revisions, despite monster deletions, and I found myself 10K away from winning Nano. I decided to go for the win by rewriting some scenes from scratch and adding an epilogue. When I found myself 1500 words away with absolutely nothing else to do, I killed my MFC in a massacre and sent her off to join a zombie rock band.

Alexis Larkin:

I made it to 50,000 words. Woot-woot! It is a very rough first draft, though.

Shawn Thomas Anderson:

I didn’t finish, but it was a very productive month.  I had some other projects going on. I actually wrote five short stories and still managed to get a strong start on my NaNoWriMo manuscript. I also did some serious plotting and characterization for the manuscript that I started. I bet if I was to add up all the writing counts for the month, I would have hit that goal (or come darn close).

Danielle Doolittle:

Unfortunately, no.

Susan Nystoriak: What’s next for this manuscript?

Are you still finishing up the story? Are you jumping right into editing mode?

Will it be shelved for a bit?

Diana Pinguicha:

Well, since I’m now living in shame because I didn’t finish Nano this year (again, I got addicted to Dragon Age), and my other manuscript needs polishing, Sightless is getting shelved for a bit. Afterwards, I’ll write those last 30k and jump right into editing.

Ali Carey Billedeaux:

I’m still writing! Trekking right along!

Alessa Hinlo:

Given how much of a bust this year’s NaNo was, I’m still in the beginning phases. Right now, I’m taking my time to set a strong foundation: doing some research, plotting more thoroughly, and the like.

Margarita Montimore:

I’m getting into the real meat of the story now and will take my time drafting the rest. Hoping to have a rough draft completed by the end of January.

Mary Ann Nicholson:

I’m shipping this MS off to a CP and won’t look at it again until she’s given me her honest opinion. I’ll go back to editing it in January.

Alexis Larkin:

This manuscript is in the drawer, marinating for at least two months. I absolutely plan on rewriting and editing this manuscript to a final, polished draft, but I expect that process to continue throughout the year.

Shawn Thomas Anderson:

I’m going to put it in the cupboard for a bit. I love the concept, but I need to work on the characters more. My efforts this month also made me realize that I need to read more magical realism.

Danielle Doolittle:

I’ll be finishing it! I had A LOT of roadblocks this NaNo, mostly personal and mostly stressful so my writing time took a serious hit. But there will be no shelfing because I’m loving this story!

Susan Nystoriak: Now that NaNoWriMo is over,

tell us what you can about your manuscript.

Diana Pinguicha:

Not a lot more than I already have, but since I *have* written a synopsis, I can expand on it.

Sightless is about how the world changes according to the person seeing it. It’s “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” taken in a different direction, and because I wanted someone with a completely fresh perspective, the main character is a blind girl who discovers she can see through other people’s eyes when she inadvertently wakes a boy from a coma by using an unused part of the brain—the psyche.

Problem is, when Aisling brings Reid back, something else comes along with it: A being from the Otherworld, where the souls of the dead go, and wants the two worlds to coexist. It begins to stretch its influence and corrupting the world of the living, and by using her gift of second sight, Aisling and Reid work to find out how it can be stopped and what exactly is the psyche—and how far its power goes.

It doesn’t end well, naturally.

So, second person. Perspective changes. Throw in romance because I can’t live without it.

Ali Carey Billedeaux:

It’s historical fiction, set in Venice at the end of its grand history. It spans about 8 years and has some political, cultural, and feminist issues all tied in there. It’s duel POV, framed narrative.

Alessa Hinlo:

A tale of two best friends gone awry.

Margarita Montimore:

It’s about two women who end up at a mysterious island resort where people go to disappear and try to untangle the hotel’s secrets while dealing with their own issues. There will probably be some light paranormal elements to it but I’m trying to avoid making it a straight-up haunted house story.

Mary Ann Nicholson:

It ended up being a romance about the need to feel wanted and loved for who you are. Both the MC and MFC have reasons to wonder throughout whether their attraction is real because of who he is and what she’s done. I’m still working out how to elevator pitch it though.

Alexis Larkin:

THROW OFF THE BOW LINES is a romantic comedy set in some of my favorite places – New York, Italy, and Tanzania.

Shawn Thomas Anderson:

It’s ‘80s magical realism concept based on an event in my life. I wrote a little bit about the true-life event and then took it to a whole new fictional extreme. Sorry this is so vague and secretive, but it’s still such a work in progress. I will say that MTV plays a huge role in the story.

Danielle Doolittle:

Sure! Here’s the brief synopsis I came up with for the story:

Hannah Rowen has a problem: her big brother’s construction business is about to go under and the stubborn man is too proud to ask for help. When Hannah sees a casting call for a new reality game show she knows she’s found the solution to her brother’s problem. The only problem? She’s got to convince Gavin Mitchell, her brother’s best friend, to pretend to be her fiancé.

Gavin hasn’t lived by a lot of rules but one is pretty much etched in stone: Keep his hand’s off Hannah if he values a certain appendage. It was the first and last warning, Rick, his best friend had ever issued nearly fifteen years ago and one he wasn’t about to violate. So when Hannah approaches him about playing her fiancé for a television show he knows he’s found himself in a special kind of hell. Because he’s got a secret: he’s been in love with Hannah for as long as he can remember.

Six weeks and prize of half a million dollars is on the line but one thing’s for certain: there’s not guarantees in The Game of Love.

Susan Nystoriak: Finally, do you have any closing

thoughts about your NaNo 2014 experience,

or with taking part in this mini series?

Diana Pinguicha:

The mini-series was fun, although this year’s NaNo went down the drain. I do have a huge little problem with video games, which is, when I’m addicted to one, I can’t stop until I get it out of my system. It’d have been all fine and dandy if I didn’t work a full-time job, but alas, I needed to be at work from 10-19, and afterwards, I just wanted to play Inquisition and writing got forgotten. So, this years’s NaNo? Not that great. BUT YOU GUYS, NOBODY EXPECTS THE DRAGON AGE INQUISITION.

Also, Cullen was too hot and pretty and I needed to see that porking romance through. NO REGRETS.

And I may or may not be writing secret citrus-y fanfic on the background.

Ali Carey Billedeaux:

I still recommend NaNo, even if you can’t finish it. I love the experience, but it’s more fun when you have a little more time. Reading the forums is a great way to waste time and it’s fun to meet more people. You should always, always, always at least give it a shot. You never know what will happen!

As for this mini series, it’s been fun! I don’t usually keep updates up about how my writing is going and I found that this helped keep me focused, especially at the beginning. Towards the end, of course, no amount of focus could rescue me!

Alessa Hinlo:

Even though my NaNo word count is dismal, I learned a couple important things in November. When I complete a novel, I can’t immediately jump into another. I need time to rest and recharge my batteries. Sure, I could have forced the story to get the words out, but would that have been a productive use of my time? This information is all good to know for future scheduling and deadlines!

Margarita Montimore:

NaNo 2014 was a good experience, but the timing wasn’t conducive for me to completing a draft. There was too much else to do with the novel I completed earlier in the year, from editing to querying to drafting pitches for it, which always took priority (and still are). I also think I do a bit better not having such a massive word count goal hanging over me and taking my time. I’m not one of those people who can churn out four novels a year; I need time for ideas to marinate. Still, I do have about 25% of a new novel drafted and some solid ideas on where I want it to go.

As for taking part in this mini series, it was a pleasure. I enjoyed reading about other writers’ experiences with Nano and could commiserate with some of the common struggles. Life will often try to get in the way, but we keep writing through it.

Mary Ann Nicholson:

The mini-series was a great way to read how other people approach Nano. Nano is an excellent event for allowing writers to build some steam and cheer one another on. I tend to draft fast, so it has helped me kick out two novels quickly. I’ve dragged some of my friends into it kicking and screaming, and though they didn’t make the 50K goal, they still got a lot out of the daily writing. I’m glad I happened to have an idea to work on at the right time.

Alexis Larkin:

I loved participating in the mini-series. Discussing my writing process really helped me frame my goals for NaNoWriMo and come up with new things to try in this project.

As for NaNo 2014, I tried pantsing for the first time on a large-scale project. It was so much fun at first. I flew through the first few chapters pounding out the scenes and enjoying how the characters revealed themselves to me in this process. Then everything fell apart for a few days. I knew generally where the book was going, but without having thought through the specific scenes, I found myself wandering through the story, hunting and pecking for scenes to write. I much prefer to take that free-wheeling approach in the outlining process, putting it all together, and then working off my outline. I ended up outlining on November 15, and am very happy I did. I will leave the pantsing to the pantsers and outline for NaNoWriMo 2015.

Thank you, Susan. The mini-series was a wonderful experience.

Shawn Anderson:

This has been a great forum to talk about the experience. I met some great writers in the process and words went flying every which way. Next year, it’s so on!

Danielle Doolittle:

This series has been so much fun! I know I missed a post due to all the crazy that’s been happening around here but I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on NaNo. As I said earlier, this NaNo season hasn’t been kind to me but I’m not going to let a few roadblocks get in the way of me finishing this novel.

Until next year!

XoXo

I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for following along!  What did you think of the NaNoWriMo mini-series?

Were you inspired to try some new techniques for your own writing projects?

Comment below 🙂

 

NaNo 2014 Mini-Series: Plowing Our Way To 50K: Round 2!

NaNo 2

Hello!

Last month, I posted round 1 of my NaNo Mini Series interviews. The entire post can he found here: http://wp.me/p35Mk4-fa

One of the things I was most impressed with was everyone’s different approach to NaNoWrimo. All eight participants are NaNo Veterans, so each one of them has been there, and done that. Speaking for myself, I learn something new about planning with every NaNo I do. This year marks my fourth consecutive NaNoWriMo.

Today NaNo-ers will give us some insight into their writing lives, now that NaNoWriMo 2014 is in full force. I wonder how things are going?

Let’s find out!

Mid NaNo nanotoon

Susan Nystoriak: First of all, let’s talk about your progress so far. NaNoWriMo says that an average of 1667 words per day will get you to the 50k mark on day thirty. How is your word count going? Are you following the NaNo word count guideline?

dianaDiana Pinguicha: I never follow their guidelines, although I try to write at least their minimum every day. I usually go for 2k every day, because I know some days I’ll come home exhausted from work, and I’ll just have a bite and go straight to bed, so my extra most of the days compensates for when that happens.

Ali picAli Carey Billedeaux: Well, I WAS doing pretty well until yesterday. I am terrible about using work as an excuse not to write. I’m always like “I worked a lot today, I think I deserve to watch TV instead.” Which is, of course, a trap. I fell for it yesterday.

Don’t worry, I’m back on the horse today, word count all caught up and everything!

Alessa Hinlo profile picAlessa Hinlo: Oh god. This is super embarrassing, but it’s a big, fat 0! Hopefully, that’ll change soon, but it’ll take a push to catch up.

Margarita polaroidMargarita Montimore: I was trying to exceed them, and started off great, doing 2K words a day, but then fell behind. As of 11/8 I’m a little over 13K words. Hoping to put in some 2K+ word count days to catch up.

Mary Ann NicholsonMary Ann Nicholson: I don’t follow Nano’s word count guidelines. Some days I write more, some days less. But I plan for it. I planned for 0 words both days of Pitch Wars because I knew I’d be too distracted. But I wrote twice as much the first 2 days of Nano in anticipation. I typically go over the Nano goal by a lot, so I don’t worry about it too much.

Alexis Larkin PictureAlexis Larkin: I am having so much fun writing this book, but failing miserably according to NaNo’s word count guidelines. I’m planning nightly sprints this week to make up some ground. Should be caught up mid-November.

Shawn PicShawn Thomas Anderson: I’m keeping my head above water. Started strong, I’ve been shooting for 2000 words a day, knowing that work days and family obligations could result in lower counts over the weekends. I have had a couple days where I’ve dipped below 1500, but I have a buffer with the 2000 words from other days. I keep my laptop plugged in and charging all the time, so that I can jump in and bang out some words whenever possible. Make the most of every minute!

Susan Nystoriak: In the Round One interview, you all mapped out a plan for attacking this crazy writing month. Have you been able to stick to your plan?

 

Diana Pinguicha: I had a crazy first week of November, so I’m lagging a bit behind than I’d planned—nothing unmanageable, but still, behind. I went to the UK on the first weekend, and wrote a lot on the plane, but between that, work, and studying for an exam on the 8th, it’s been hard.

Ali Carey Billedeaux: I normally try to stick with the progress bar that NaNo gives you. I find that, even if I don’t match the word count perfectly, it’s a close enough estimate to let me swing back and forth a little and still get where I’m going.

If you mean plot-wise, than it’s too soon to tell. So far, things are going to plan, but this is still solidly in the getting-to-know-you part of the book (for the readers and for me!) so my characters are just starting to settle down.

Alessa Hinlo: Alas. I overestimated my ability to write during the first week of November with Pitch Wars going on. But that’s come to a close. My plan will need readjusting, though, given the lost week. I’ll probably drop the short stories and start on the novel straight-on.

Margarita Montimore: Kind of. I prepared detailed notes, character sketches, a 29-chapter outline and even turned the wall of my office into a giant collage to prepare for my Nano novel. I find that I don’t refer to the notes and outline as much as I expected, at least not yet. I completed six chapters of the novel, which vaguely correspond with two in the outline. I have no problem with that; I expect I’ll veer from the outline even more as I keep writing.

Mary Ann Nicholson: I have my spreadsheet with how much I have to write on it based on how much time I expect to have. And I’ve adjusted it down because I need to slow it down. Nano is slowing me down! Ha. I’m adding onto a pre-existing WIP. I’ll probably hit 50K on that one in the next week, but to write 50K new words will be a challenge.

Alexis Larkin: My plan was to use any free time I could find to work on NaNo. I have strayed from that plan to take advantage of a couple of wonderful writing opportunities and to deal with a household issue. On the bright side, I planned to use a visual outline and semi-pants it from there. This plan has worked out really well. I have a few photos set out for each chapter and have had a great time using them as a launching point when I start to write each evening. The pantsing is fun too. Whenever something doesn’t make sense, I just keep writing with a promise to myself to fix it later instead of worrying about fixing the outline right away.

Shawn Thomas Anderson: I’m wildly off my plan! I’m in full-on panster mode—and loving it! We’ll see where it takes me. That internal editor is urging me to go back in an start revising section, but I’ve been successful at fighting him off. FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!

Susan Nystoriak: What can you tell us about your 2014 NaNo project? Give us as much detail as you can at this point. Do you have characters fleshed out? Where is your plot headed? Does your NaNo havae a title yet?

Diana Pinguicha: Sightless was my first novel back in 2011, and it sucked. Since then, I had the opportunity to make a Point&Click game centered on its main theme (see through other people’s eyes, and how the world changes according to the person), and I had to rewrite the story for that. So now, I’m working with the novel to match our prototype.

Ali Carey Billedeaux: It does have a title! Right now, I’m calling it “Drowning City” because it’s about Venice in the late 16th century. I’m having sooo much fun with this, as I’ve never done historical fiction before, but I can safely say that my word count is down because of the amount of surprise research that takes place writing something like this. I did a lot of work before, I swear, but sometimes it feels like I’m starting from scratch!

Alessa Hinlo: I don’t actually like talking about my projects while I’m working on them. You can call it superstition, or you can call it part of my method. I will say that it’s a psychological thriller and tentatively titled THE CORNER GAME.

Margarita Montimore: AVIRA is the name of my novel. I set out to write my take on a haunted house story, set at a remote island resort. Two women end up at Avira, one to work there after a suicide attempt, the other in search of her missing brother. The women begin to unravel the mysteries of the hotel as each also deals with their own personal struggles. As of writing this, one just arrived at the hotel and the other is on her way, so I have a lot of story development ahead of me.

Mary Ann Nicholson: My WIP has a working title, which is Flirting Near Disaster. Not a day goes by I don’t try to think up something better. I think up something better, then check Amazon and curse whoever got to my idea first.

My story is a steamy romance based on a lot of baseless assumptions my MFC makes. Her company is working on something akin to a pheromone perfume, but more scientific, more bio-chemical warfare. Testing it out on herself, she meets my MC, who she assumes is a struggling musician, and the attraction is mutual, powerful and immediate. She only later discovers he’s a newly famous rock star with all the “I’m not worthy” angst that comes with that. Worried he could only like her because of the chemical attraction, she struggles with the ethical dilemma of keeping him through deception or coming clean and possibly losing him.

Alexis Larkin: My romance is (very) tentatively titled THROW OFF THE BOW LINES. I had very broad descriptions for my main characters when I got started—more like job descriptions really—but I’m finding that they’re more complex, well-rounded people the more I write. That probably sounds crazy because I am the one writing them, but I feel these characters are revealing themselves to me in a more organic way compared to my past work. As for the plot, I’m working toward a “happily ever after” ending. Just a matter of figuring out how to get there.

Shawn Thomas Anderson: It’s YA ‘80s magical realism—completely new territory for me. I had my jaw broken and realigned the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. It was a time when I was forced to shut up and listen to the world around me, because my jaw was wired shut. This is a fictionalized account of that summer. I graduated high school at the end of the ‘80s, but I chose 1985 for this story.

The MC prides himself in being invisible all the way through high school. No dating. Kind of quiet. Always there in the background. When he has his surgery and his jaw is wired shut, suddenly people take interest in him and he learns things about his friends and family that have been there all along. Everything is changing with the onset of college. He’s learning about his life in the last ten seconds of the game, because he’s leaving in August. There are pain-killer-induced hallucinations, MTV-themed fantasies, pop-culture meltdowns, and narwhals in the swimming pool.

I have two working titles that I’m playing around with: THE WHOLE WORLD WANTS TO KISS YOU WHEN YOUR JAW’S WIRED SHUT or simply, SMASH’D!

I must say, the characters really need further development. So far, my favorite character is the MC’s little sister Cadence (She goes by Cade). She’s bitter and rebellious, and never enters or exits the family home through the door—always through a window, like she’s sneaking out.

Where’s it headed? I’m not completely sure, but three truths are explored along the way: 1. The MC’s family is changing, because he witnesses his parents’ marriage is falling apart. 2. The MC is experiencing self-discovery and a sexual awakening, because everyone wants to (obsessively) be with him (a taste of what could have been). 3. An imminent dive into the great unknown—college!

Susan Nystoriak: I know that for me, life can sometimes get in the way of my writing plans. Have there been any struggles you have faced so far? If so, have you been able to push through?

Diana Pinguicha: Already mentioned that above. Plane trips, work, college, all bearing down on me like a 10 ton weight. Last week, I could barely write a word I was so tired every day. I’d get home, make dinner, take care of the kitties and the dragon, sit on the PC and stare at the screen, unable to put down any words. So I played The Cat Lady for 30 mins and fall asleep during the most wtfuckery scenes you could imagine on a video game.

Most of what I managed to write was during breaks at work, on paper, or during the commute, on my cell. It hasn’t been enough, but the wordcount only matters on day 30, and I’ll push through. I think.

Ali Carey Billedeaux: Life’s been pretty forgiving lately. The big pitfall is the usual one: I have to work up the will to sit down and write.

Luckily, I’m having a lot of fun with my story. So that’s something 🙂

Alessa Hinlo: As I said before, I underestimated just how distracted I would be by Pitch Wars. Don’t get me wrong! This is a good problem to have. But the showcases were very distracting, not just for keeping an eye on my own entry but on everyone else’s! At this point, I have to accept I lost the first week of NaNo and forge on.

Margarita Montimore: Yes and yes. I was fortunate to have the novel I wrote prior to this one selected for Pitch Wars and spent much of last week on a final round of manuscript edits. I tend to get immersed in one project at a time, so it was a challenge to switch between the two while being so damn intense about both. I also recently started querying that same novel, so I spent a lot of last week researching agents and sending them materials. I needed to take a day off from Nano to decompress from the contest and querying, but now I can give Nano my full attention again. A lot of words can be written in twenty-two days…

Mary Ann Nicholson: I work full time, have kids and recently had the distraction of Pitch Wars. I took vacation days off this month so I could focus on writing for entire stretches. One of the great things about Nano are those butt-in-chair days when you’ve written for 4 hours and don’t think you can do anymore. But you write some more and dip into that crazy place that you only get to after you’ve written past sanity. There’s a lot of magic in there. So that’s why I take time off.

Alexis Larkin: I’m solving this problem by making more realistic writing plans. Instead of trying to find lots of little stretches to write during the day, I’m working at night after baby bedtime and on the weekends. I have a lifetime to write and only this brief time to enjoy my daughter’s babyhood. For this very limited time, I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. So far so good.

Thank you again, Susan! I enjoyed reading about everyone’s process so much in the first round of your mini-series. Can’t wait to see where everyone is at now. Good luck my fellow NaNos! Write like the wind!

Shawn Thomas Anderson: Oh yeah, big time! Again, keep that laptop charged and handy and just keep writing every moment you can. Now, you are going to think I’m nuts, but I’m also doing a weekly short-story challenge this month and revising on another manuscript. I use a dry erase board to plan and alter my daily writing schedules. I find that new words really make me feel good and propel me forward when I’m doing slow and methodical revisions.

It took me years to complete my first MS. I love the story. It’s a middle-grade fantasy adventure. I’ve been revising it for months. I did NaNoWriMo last year for the first time to prove to myself that I could write something fast and furious. I’m proud to say I did it. And now I’m doing it again!

And that’s it for now! Thank you all so much for your responses to the Round Two questions. We’ll be checking in with you one more time once NaNo14 is finished.

 

Good luck!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Let us know! Please leave us a comment below, and follow us and our progress on Twitter.

Thanks for stopping by!

An Interview With Myself: Plowing MY Way to 50K!

Hello!

Next week we’ll be checking in with my NaNo Mini Series participants for round two of the series.  I have been working on my own NaNo project along side them, and thought I’d post about my own progress today.  I’ll admit, the fact that I wrote the questions myself, then answer them below as if I hadn’t, is slightly weird.  🙂  My participants will be answering these same questions next week.

Nanowrimo2

1.  First of all, let’s talk about your progress so far. NaNoWriMo says that an average of 1667 words per day will get you to the 50k mark on day thirty. How is your word count going? Are you following the NaNo word count guideline?

So far, I have been consistently about 1200 words behind. I love the NaNo word tracker that shows up on their site. Normally I try to stick to that, but so far, I haven’t been able to meet it on a daily basis.

2.  In the Round One interview, you all mapped out a plan for attacking this crazy writing month. Have you been able to stick to your plan?

Heck No! My plan is out the window! I am a music teacher and grades for the first quarter are due around this time, which also means end-of-quarter projects all come in for evaluation at the same timeJ So, I will continue to do what I can for now. I have a feeling that I’ll be able to maintain a better writing pace after next week.

 

3.  What can you tell us about your 2014 NaNo project? Give us as much detail as you can at this point. Do you have characters fleshed out? Where is your plot headed? Does your NaNo have a title yet?

My NaNo’s working title is Misty Dawn and Violet. A link to my synopsis and excerpt can be found here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/flute71/novels/misty-dawn-and-violet. I absolutely love it! It’s a humorous adventure tale. Misty Dawn and Violet are college students and best friends, and they take a spring break vacation to a Wyoming Ranch to find themselves some cowboy’s. The book is a fun and funny account of their experiences along the way.I feel like the characters are pretty well fleshed out, and I have a decent idea where the plot is headed, but anything can, and probably will happen! That’s the fun of the first draft!

4.  I know that for me, life can sometimes get in the way of my writing plans. Have there been any struggles you have faced so far? If so, have you been able to push through? 

As I have mentioned, life has definitely gotten in the way for this year’s NaNo. I am pushing through, and even though I am not quite meeting the goals set by NaNo, every little word counts. When I can write, I do, and I have confidence that it will all work out in the end.

And that’s it for now!  Next week, I will post the progress of everyone else. 

How are you all doing with NaNoWriMo this year?  Leave me a comment below!  See you next time 🙂

NaNo 2014 Mini-series: Plowing Our Way To 50K: Round One!

NaNo 2

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my blog 2014 NaNo mini-series. Last week I posted the bio’s of my mini-series participants. Please check out who they are here: http://wp.me/p35Mk4-eO

Nanotoon October 20

Today these brave NaNo-ers reveal a little bit more about their backgrounds, and how they plan to take on the frantic writing month of November.  This is a bit of a lengthy post, but I am seriously impressed with what these writers bring to the NaNo table.  Reading these responses has given me some new angles to approach my own writing with.  Maybe it will for you, too!

Is this your first NaNoWriMo, or are you a NaNo veteran?

diana Diana Pinguicha: Veteran!

Ali pic Ali Carey Billedeaux: I’m a Vet!

Alessa Hinlo profile pic Alessa Hinlo: NaNo veteran in the house.

Margarita polaroid Margarita Montimore: This will be my second NaNoWriMo.

Mary Ann Nicholson Mary Ann Nicholson: This will be my second Nano. My first was last year.

Alexis Larkin Picture Alexis Larkin: I am a NaNo veteran, but I didn’t win last year.

Shawn Pic Shawn Thomas Anderson: I guess you could call me a veteran.

Danielle Doolittle Danielle Doolittle: NaNo veteran.

How did your previous NaNoWriMo experiences work out?

Diana Pinguicha: I tried doing NaNo in 2010, but it didn’t work out because I was doing it by myself. On 2011, I had this novel going on, and I convinced myself I’d use NaNo to finish it. I started going to meets, where we talked more than we wrote, met one of my best friends there, had lots of fun, and came home so pumped I finished that year with 87 000 words. I did it again in 2012 and 2013, and while 2012 wasn’t a very good year (51k), 2012 was great, clocking in at around 78k words. This year I’ll be aiming for 80k—at least!

Ali Carey Billedeaux:  I’ve done it, I think, five times (I keep deleting my account, which makes keeping track rather difficult) and I’ve finished it three of those times.

Alessa Hinlo: This will be my seventh NaNo. I’ve had good runs, and I’ve had bad runs. I’ve failed two NaNos. I’ve succeeded at four, but at least one of those resulted in a half-written book I absolutely hated and haven’t looked at since. It happens.

The book I wrote for last year’s NaNo turned out okay though.

Margarita Montimore: My first NaNo experience was in 2004 and I only managed about 20K words (then life got in the way). However, I revisited the work years later and fleshed it out into a manuscript I completed over the summer. It turned out to be the novel that got me into the Pitch Wars finals. I plan to begin querying it later this fall.

Mary Ann Nicholson: Last year was the only Nano I’ve participated in. I took time off work thinking I’d need entire days to keep up with my goals, but I threw myself into it, and when I’d hit my goals early in the day, I tended to keep going. I hit 50k in about 10 days, and my story wasn’t finished, so I pressed on to see how much I could write. I ended up with a palindrome of 127,721 words. I do not recommend this at all.

Alexis Larkin: Last year, I got to about 25,000 words. My mistake was trying to work on novel revisions, two short stories, and a bunch of other things at the same time. Huge Mistake! This year I am clearing the decks and focusing only on my NaNo novel in November.

Shawn Thomas Anderson: I have one year of NaNoWriMo under my belt. I hit the word goal, completed my YA space-opera thriller (I love a good mash-up) and I’m excited about the story I wrote. So hell yeah, I guess that makes me a veteran!

Danielle Doolittle: I’ve actually participated in three NaNos (yikes!). NaNo is intese but I think most of us creative types work best under the pressure. Seriously, I sold two of my three NaNo manuscripts. The third I’m still writing away on because…well I went and had a baby halfway through NaNo last year. 😉

What prompted you to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo?

Was there a story in your head that was just itching to get out into the world?

Maybe you just love the challenge that is NaNo. Tell us about your motivation to participate this year.

Diana Pinguicha: I love NaNo! It’s so much fun to do it every year that when one NaNo ends, I’m already thinking of the next – well, not really, but the thought of not participating is never in my mind. I’m going to use it this year to re-write Sightless, my 2011 NaNo novel, from the ground up to match the game prototype we made for a college course.

Plus, our Lisbon meets are pretty awesome, and I love all of my NaNo friends—online and offline.

Ali Carey Billedeaux: I try to do NaNo every year, so I wouldn’t say anything in particular inspired my joining again this year. That said, I DO have an extremely tentative idea for this year’s project. I’m a bit notorious for switching things up, though, so I will have to try hard to make it stick!

Alessa Hinlo: I’m a Pitch Wars mentee (with the book I wrote for last year’s NaNo, actually) and I’m shamelessly using NaNoWriMo to distract myself during the agent round. I’m waffling between starting a new novel during November or rebelling by writing a collection of short stories. Maybe I’ll do both.

I love participating in NaNo. There’s just so much energy and excitement and joy. These are all good things to bring to writing, and I love surrounding myself with it.

Margarita Montimore: The timing worked out well, since I recently completed one novel and haven’t been able start a new one with the same ease. Since I’m about to begin the querying process, I know I’ll have a lot of waiting ahead of me, so I need a new creative project to keep me busy. I work best to deadlines and completed 40K words of my last novel in a couple of months setting daily writing goals, so I’m looking forward to challenging myself with a something more ambitious.

I’m also excited about connecting with other writers participating in NaNo, sharing writing tips, encouragement, and general chatter. Having a community helps balance out the isolation that comes with being a writer.

As for the story I have in mind, I had one idea I started sketching out, but once I had 4K words, another idea swept in, demanding to be the object of my obsession. Certainly a good problem for a writer to have, I just hope I’m able to follow one of these far enough to create a fleshed out story.

Mary Ann Nicholson: I did not and do not have for sure plans for Nano. I knew I’d do it again regardless, but as it turns out, I did get an idea for a story I’ve already started on. Unless I finish that one, this year will probably be a rebel year for me, since I don’t want to set that WIP aside until it’s done.

Alexis Larkin: I had so much fun with the 3 Day Novel Contest this year that I decided to give NaNo another go. It was such a freeing experience for a plotter like me to write as much as I could in three days following the mini-outline I wrote ahead of time. Looking back on that novella, I can see a real difference in my writing. It has more energy, its more urgent and full of life, than some first drafts that I’ve agonized over. I hope to harness that same kind of energy during this NaNo! My book will be a romance inspired by that trip my husband and I took driving and climbing in a number of African countries.

Shawn Thomas Anderson: My first manuscript, a MG fantasy, took years. Once it was finally in a state that I wanted to share it, I wanted to prove to myself that I could write something really, really fast. NaNoWriMo was the swift kick I needed to push myself, and my writing, to new limits. And you know what, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be—and I love the story.

Danielle Doolittle: Honestly? NaNo comes around right when I need to get my butt in gear. It always helps to get the creative juices flowing. Even if I don’t finish (which I haven’t) I still come out of the even with at least one manuscript and about five others on the back burner. This year I plan on working on a storyline I’ve been putting off for the sake of other projects (read as: sequels). I’m really excited to see where this story goes!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

We’d love to know what practices you follow to help plot or pants your NaNo novel.

Diana Pinguicha: I try to plot. A month or two before NaNo, I begin “outlining” — which is to say, I write a bunch of bullet points on the novel I’ll be working on and call that my plot. “Aisling is in the hospital. Notices shadows flickering, follows them. She ends up in Reid’s room, where, for the first time in her life, she can see.”

You know, stuff like that. I more or less follow them if they’re working, and if they’re not, I improvise on the spot. If the improv is crap, I move on and write a scene that takes place later—that’s the good thing about plot points. You know where things go even if you write them out of order.

Ali Carey Billedeaux: Pantser! The only thing I stick to (and I mean the ONLY) is that I keep my characters in November. I might change the story (and the plot and the conflict and the plan) but I almost always keep the characters. They are my fuel. They are always the reason I start writing in the first place.

Alessa Hinlo: So I do plan my novels in advance, but they’re not necessarily by “traditional” methods. I use a combination of Pinterest inspiration boards, scene lists, mindmaps, and Spotify playlists. The playlist is the most important piece of the planning process for me, because I’m very particular about choosing songs that fit the themes, characters, and moods in my novels.

With short stories, I begin with an idea (“I’m going to write about an aswang.”) and just go from there.

Margarita Montimore: Panster at heart, but I’m trying to adopt more plotting habits. For my last novel, I had three different timelines to work with, so I created a wall of color-coded Post-Its (and later, a matching spreadsheet) to arrange the different scenes, which helped me with plotting and pacing. My NaNo novel will have at least two narratives, so I’ll probably do something similar, but I’m hoping to have much of the story outlined before I start, instead of writing a bunch of scenes and then piecing them together like a puzzle (in all honesty, that’s probably what’s going to happen anyway).

Right now I’m still in the collecting phase. I have a Word doc to keep track of all setting/character/plot details that come to me as well as a physical notebook for free-writing. When doing general brainstorming, pen and paper often work better for me than my laptop, because it feels more organic and there’s less of a risk I’ll get distracted by the Internet. I also look at scraps of old writing I’ve done, because I have a ton of random story ideas I started and then abandoned, and you never know what might add fuel to the bigger creative fire. In fact, I just stumbled across 6K words I wrote four years ago, which may serve as the seed of my NaNo novel. Lastly, I’m going collect as much research as I can ahead of time (usually I do this as a write since I’m never sure how the story will evolve). The novel I have in mind involves an industry I don’t have much behind-the-scenes knowledge of, so it’ll be important to gather that ahead of time and keep my NaNo days free for writing.

Mary Ann Nicholson: Definite pantser. I have a kernel of an idea. I don’t know if it can be stretched to a full novel, so I start writing it. My abandoned projects folder shames me. My characters start out sketchy and develop as I go, often changing completely once they start to take shape. Somewhere around 20K in, I realize that I’m in trouble, and although I know what my end goal is, I start to need a roadmap. Around that time, I sketch out some kind of an outline. For my current WIP, I went whole hog and wrote an actual outline. I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

Alexis Larkin: Plotter. PLOTTER! I love outlines. I used them in business writing for years so it was natural for me to continue to outline when I made the switch to creative writing. I find they’re especially important in mystery writing to set up clues, suspects, red herrings, etc., but I’m sure you can find wildly successful mystery writers who pants the day away. For this NaNo, I’m taking a hybrid approach. Instead of outlining scene-by-scene, I’m creating a visual outline by chapter using photographs, artifacts, and minimal notes to sketch out the book’s beats. Just enough to know where I’m going and inspire some creativity, but plenty of room to pants and harness that fast-paced NaNo energy. I think this project is particularly suited to a visual outline given that it focuses on travel, but if it works I hope to use it for future projects as well.

Shawn Thomas Anderson: Honestly, I’m plotanster, a total hybrid. Some days I do elaborate character maps and outlines, and once I’m on track, I stray from them and let the story take me where it wants to go. The character maps become guides and the plotting becomes general checkpoints along the way to keep the project moving forward, but I always leave the ending wide open. I know that if I surprise myself, I will surprise the reader.

Danielle Doolittle: Oh, I’m 110% a pantser. I can’t plot to save my life. I never EVER stick to it when I try. Usually when a story idea hits me, when a character comes screaming into my head demanding I tell their story, I sit down and just start.

Here’s the basics of my process:

  • I let the characters drive the direction the manuscript takes and they always surprise me. Seriously, I had a story go waaaaayyyy out in left field. Turned out to be one of the best I’ve written.
  • I don’t try to control where I think the story should go. Just because a hero does something that pisses me off doesn’t mean I should change it because I don’t like it. If it’s true to the character then it’ll feel natural in the arc, their growth, as the story progresses.
  • Coffee: lots and lots of coffee. Seriously. I’ve had stories wake me at three in the morning and not let me go until I’ve blurrily pounded out a chapter.

Turn off my inner editor. It’s tempting to go back over the pages I’ve written but I try and resist. I’ve found it messes with my flow. I try and get the whole story out before going back and looking for misplaced commas or missing words. That’s pretty much it. Nothing magical or no big tips to share (sorry). I just sit in front of the computer and let the words flow. Sometimes it’ll be total crap and I’ll have to go back and delete whole sections (had to do away with a whole chapter once) but sometimes the method of pantsing allows you to get to know your characters better.

How do you plan to pace yourself during the frantic writing month of November?

Diana Pinguicha: So, I have a reputation to uphold as one of the people who gets the highest wordcounts in Lisbon. Not to mention that, in Portugal, we do North vs South word wars, and of course the South always wins (for bragging rights). I have to do my part for the great Southern nation and help them defeat those Northern infidels – so I’ll be doing at least 2k words a day, more if I can. It will probably mean less sleep, but it’s NaNo and it’s a WAR and the people from the North need to be crushed. Plus, we have a dragon now. We have to win, right?

Ali Carey Billedeaux: Don’t do NaNo the way I do! I never pace myself properly. I end up missing days at a time and make it up by writing 10,000 words in a sitting. I’m a terrible role model. But what can I say? Sometimes the words just come.

Alessa Hinlo: Last year, I wrote over 80,000 words during November. This year, I plan to take it easy by comparison. Or I plan to try, anyway. Sometimes I get over-excited about the drafting process and go on a writing binge that results in 12,000 words in one day. Those don’t happen often though.

In general, I try to write every day during NaNo. 500 words or 5,000 words, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s something. In the past, I write steadily during the work week while banking the larger word counts on the weekends and days off. That works best for me, so it’s what I’ll be adopting this year.

Margarita Montimore: Pacing, schmacing. I’m going to sequester myself in my home office and become utterly immersed in the story. While I’ll set a 2k word daily goal for myself, I’m going to try to exceed it as much as possible (I’m actually hoping to get to 60K words for the month). Because of family holiday obligations, I’ll need to have most of the writing done by Thanksgiving, so I’m preparing myself for a very intense 26 days.

I tend to do most of my writing in the afternoons or late at night, but I might try to adopt more of a morning writing routine and see if that helps me be more productive. I also do much of my writing on a treadmill desk, and the physical activity helps me with creative productivity. Like many, I usually write with music playing in the background. Sometimes it’ll be music that sets the mood of what I’m working on or what I imagine the characters would listen to, other times it’s random. There’s also Focus@Will, music channels developed by neuroscientists to help increase concentration. I find those tremendously effective and imagine I’ll be relying on that site a lot to help me complete NaNo.

Mary Ann Nicholson: I actually have a spreadsheet that is automated. I plug in how many hours I think I’ll have to write on any given day, and it spits out how many words I should be able to hit. I later plug in how many words I did write, and I either get a green for reaching my goal (yay!) or red for failure (boo!). I really hate ruining a perfectly green spreadsheet, so that’s plenty motivating for me.

Alexis Larkin: I am determined to make 50,000 words, but as a new mom, I’m also going to give myself a bit of a break. My goal is 6-8 pages a day, but I plan on writing whenever I can get a few minutes, whether that means jotting down a few lines of dialog on the back of my grocery list or writing in sprints after bedtime. The book may look more like a pile than a file on December 1, but that’s what second drafts are for anyway!

Thank you, Susan, for organizing this fantastic mini-series! And good look to my fellow NaNoWriMos – let’s have some fun next month!

                                Susan Nystoriak: Alexis, this has been an amazing process so far! I know we will all stay   motivated and have a great time writing next month!

Shawn Thomas Anderson: My approach is to hit the ground running, fast and furious right out of the gate. Generate as many words as possible in the first week and a half, so if you miss a daily goal, it’s not an OMG-NOW-I-HAVE-TO-CATCH-UP moment. I also used some online groups as further motivation to work on the project daily. #5amwritersgroup on Twitter and The Grind, an online group where writers must send work to an assigned group of other writers DAILY, were helpful—and you meet some wonderful writers when you are in the trenches.

Danielle Doolittle: I like to aim for a chapter a day. I know there’ll be days where that’s a laughable goal. It’s November for goodness sakes, I’m counting on at least one of my kids coming down with something involving mucus. I’m hoping it’ll balance nicely and I won’t be spending the last week pulling 8000 word days and living life as a zombie out to drink all the coffee.

And that’s it for round one. In a week or so, I will be posting Round Two responses. I hope you’ll stay tuned and check out our progress. We are on Twitter using #NanoMiniSeries.

Also, please share this post and leave a comment below. Happy writing!

NaNo 2014 Mini-Series Introductions! “Plowing Our Way To 50K”

NaNo 2

Well, here we go, folks!

I know that November 1st isn’t quite here yet, but today I introduce you all to my team of brave 2014 NaNo-ers, so we can get a sneak peek into who’s who and what’s in store for them during that crazy writing month of November. I will be plowing forth toward my own 50K NaNo goal alongside my fellow writers.

On Twitter, I will be using the hashtag #NaNoMiniSeries for information.

nanotoons_2013_oct_15

Enjoy!

 

diana

I’m Diana (@Pinguicha), and I live in sunny Lisbon, Portugal! (seriously, not kidding, it’s 29ºC atm right now)!

I’m a Computer Engineering student, and I’m currently working on my Master’s Degree in Multimedia Systems, with a specialization in video games. I also work as a consultant and illustrator. I have the two best cats in the world – Sushi and Jubas – and a bearded dragon named Norbert. I love writing (duh) and video games, and I love to marry the two in my projects.

Ali pic

I’m Ali Carey Billedeaux (@acbilledeaux) and I’m from a very obscure town in an equally obscure state (Michigan)

Although I grew up in middle-of-nowhere Michigan (which I LOVED, don’t get me wrong), I’ve also spent a lot of my childhood traveling. Some combination of the craziness inside my head and the utter extraordinariness of the world around me has also been the inspiration and drive for my writing. Well that, and how much I read. There’s a quote somewhere about people who read living a thousand lives. That’s me. I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Oh, and I guess I should mention the normal bio things: I went to Western Michigan University. I graduated with a major in History and do hope, one day, to actually use it to write historical fiction. We’ll see. These days, I work at a bookstore and will soon be flying the friendly skies as a flight attendant!

Alessa Hinlo profile pic

Hi! I’m Alessa Hinlo (@alessahinlo), and I hail from the Washington D.C. area.

I graduated with a degree in biology and work in applied biomedical research for my day job. Although I’ve dabbled in many genres over the years, these days I write thrillers and speculative fiction about dangerous women, found families, and the spaces between. Diversity in fiction is a big interest of mine — not just within the stories told, but also in the voices who tell them. Other than writing, I also practice yoga, garden during the warmer seasons, and like to experiment with new recipes.

Margarita polaroid

Margarita Montimore (@damiella) – born in the former USSR, grew up in Brooklyn, NY; currently living outside Philadelphia.

I received a Creative Writing degree from Emerson College and have worked in both the agent and publishing side of the industry. I also have an in-depth professional background in social media marketing. I’ve published pieces for XOJane.com, Marvel.com, Google’s blog, and maintain a personal blog, The Diary Project. Most recently, I was a 2014 Pitch Wars finalist.

Mary Ann Nicholson

My name is Mary Ann Nicholson (@maryannicholson).

I’m from central Virginia, near Charlottesville.I grew up in many states, regions, countries, attended three colleges, and have an almost PhD in the lucrative field of French literature. I gave all that up for the adventurous life of computer programming, and as such I’ve spent the past ten years like a forest elf, attaining near perfectly translucent skin. I gave novel writing a try years and years ago, attempting some high fantasy. Somewhere around day 1 of Nano, when I thought I was about to dive into a Sci-Fi Dystopian, I discovered a shocking revelation: I’m a writer of romance-driven Women’s Fiction. Please don’t tell my co-workers.

Alexis Larkin Picture

I’m Alexis Larkin. I live in the Great Garden State and on twitter @AlexisTLarkin 🙂

I live with my husband and daughter in northern New Jersey where the sauce is red, the lawns are green, and the spray tans are orange. My first novel—a cozy murder mystery—is set in upstate New York, much like the small town I grew up in. In between, I’ve lived in California, the UK, Missouri (what?!) and spent a few months driving around southern Africa to see as many baby elephants as possible. I’ve had a great time reading and writing short fiction along the way, and I feel like writing short stories, even flash fiction, has really helped focus and streamline my prose. In addition to NaNoWriMo, I love the NYC Midnight contests and the 3 Day Novel Contest.

Shawn Pic

Hello, my name is Shawn Thomas Anderson (@shawntwrites).  I live in northern Vermont (think, a couple wrong turns and missed exits away from Canada).

I’m a young-adult and middle-grade writer. When I’m not crafting fiction, I work as a copywriter and branding specialist. I have a master’s degree in Communications from Emerson College in Boston, and I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the League of Vermont Writers. I live in a far-flung corner of Vermont known as the Northeast Kingdom, a magical place where moose, bear, and deer wander through your backyard and everyone rocks flannel.

 Danielle Doolittle

Hi! *waves * I’m Danielle Doolittle (@elledoo). I’m from a tiny college town in Northwest Ohio.

I’m a mother of three, wife of one, and writer of love stories ranging from otherworldly YA to steamy contemporary romances. I like to knit and dabble in cover design and I drink far too much coffee (or so they tell me).

And, there we have it.  My 2014 NaNo Mini-Series participants!  Please follow us on Twitter for our progress, and check out the hashtag from time to time.  I hope you enjoy this mini-series, and consider participating in NaNoWriMo this year!

Happy Writing, everyone!