Tag: fiction

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 20

Jaclyn2 Comments

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 20

This is the place. I have been feeling the memories of trees all over the forest, but this is the tree that I want for this child.

I set to work peeling the bark. I have only done this in early summer and the tree feels like it has tightened itself against winter. 

“I choose you to watch over this child, to help me find my way back to this sapling. I choose you to be the dark signpost amidst white trees and white snow that will guide me any time I want to make my way back. To show me the way when I want to come back to my little seedling and give her thanks.”

I keep talking to the tree while I work the bark slowly off. 

I slit down the trunk with a knife and then carve around the sides. I push the knife gently under the paper leather of the bark and peel slowly around the tree until the bark lets loose in one large sheet.

It is only when it releases that I realize that I am bleeding again. That my fingers are frozen, numb, and so are my cheeks. My tears have frozen in small lakes under my eyes.

The sheet of bark curls in on itself, aching for the curve and structure of the tree. I place the swaddle in the embrace of the bark, letting the natural shape coil like a hug. 

I wish there was more I could give this sapling, this life. But this was where our physical journey together ended. I chant over it before burying it as well as I can in the snow. 

The ground is too hard, frozen solid, so a little nest in the snow is the best I can do. All I can do is hope that something beautiful will grow from the destruction.

Note:

This is a snippet from the novel I am working on for NaNoWriMo. I hope you enjoy it. I’m documenting my journey each day. 

Here are the stats for today:

Progress:

Day 20 Word Count: 3896

Total Word Count: 23960

Where I Planned to Be: 34000

1667 words per day: 33340

20,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 19

Jaclyn2 Comments

20,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 19

I have reached 20,000 words! 

The truth of the matter is that I am very behind. You might have seen in yesterday’s post that I was nearly 12000 words behind where I had hoped to be by this time, and about 10,000 words behind the NaNoWriMo projected word count of 30,006 words for yesterday. 

I am even more behind today because again, I have not written.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REWARDING YOURSELF

If I am being honest, the overachiever in me does not feel like I should get a reward when I am this far behind. But this is probably also the reason that giving yourself rewards is important. I have written more than 20,000 words this month. This makes it one of the best months of the year for me so far in terms of volume of writing, and there are still 10 days left to write more. 

This is something to celebrate. I’ve been more consistent than usual this month. I’ve made the novel I am working on a priority in a way that I don’t often do. 

So, here she is: my 20,000 word reward, plant #2 this month, my reminder that progress is progress even if it is slow: a lemon button fern! 

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHEERLEADERS

This girl is a little scraggly and in need of some TLC, but she sure is making me happy. I did not have time today to go out and get myself my reward, so I sent my significant other and daughter out to pick one for me. 

I do love ferns and this one is a cutie, so they definitely did a good job.

Now the fern’s sitting on my desk and she is this lovely reminder that I have people supporting me and that I am moving forward, still.

I highly recommend getting your support system involved in helping you get through NaNoWriMo! 

How are you all doing out there? Have you found ways to let the people in your life support you? What kinds of community and reminders are helping you get through?

Here are the stats for today

Progress:

Day 19 Word Count: 0

Total Word Count: 20064

Where I Planned to Be: 32000

1667 words per day: 31673

WHAT COUNTS?: NaNoWriMo Days 16-18

Jaclyn4 Comments
What counts? Nanowrimo days 16-18

What counts in NaNoWriMo?

I have heard a huge range of perspectives about what “counts” for NaNoWriMo. Some people only count words that are going into a brand new novel. Some people count rewrites and edits. Some people count plotting and planning. Some people count school work or words written for other projects. Some people count every word that has come out of their fingers and onto the page even if the words are “I don’t know what to write.”

There is no NaNoWriMo police that will come to your door if you count gibberish words, or even make up your word count. It used to be that you needed to copy and paste your text into the NaNo site and they counted your words, but these days you just need to put in a number.  

So, how do you decide for yourself what your parameters are?

How do you decide what counts for NaNoWriMo? 

To me, deciding which words and writing to count toward your NaNo goal is pretty personal. We all have different reasons for doing NaNo, different ways of working, and different kinds of projects to work on (shout out to those NaNo rebels out there!).

I think what you decide about what to count depends on why you are doing NaNoWriMo in the first place. So, why are you doing NaNoWriMo? 

If your main goal is to finish a novel, it makes sense to only count words that will end up in that novel. If your main goal is building a writing community, you might want to count everything you write during sprints with a group, whether those words are a novel, a blog post, or the ramblings of your brain. If your reason for doing NaNo is to build a daily writing habit, maybe it’s more important to count whatever words you write than to be persnickety about which words are “usable.”

How I am deciding what counts for me

Listen, y’all. I have felt blocked. It’s been days since I have felt like I was “in” my story. I have been writing, but honestly, I am not sure any of these words even count, because they are more thoughts about writing and how it’s going than they are words that are going to make it into the novel. 

But maybe this is an important reminder. Maybe these words are even more important than the story itself, because they are helping me think about my process, helping me think about my attitudes and beliefs that are holding me back. Maybe in the long run, this will help me even more than moving forward in this one book. Because in the long game, I want to be writing much more than just this novel. I am trying to develop consistency, learn my process and establish a habit that will support me for the next book and the next. 

I made the decision at the beginning of this quarter and also at the beginning of NaNo that I wasn’t going to split hairs over which words were “usable” and which were not. Everything I write is fodder, so it all goes on the heap of words that make up my NaNoWriMo word count. 

It’s hard to keep that in perspective when I feel like I am not moving forward as quickly as I had hoped in this story. 

So I need to keep reminding myself that the purpose here (for me) is not necessarily to move forward in the story. It is to show up and I am showing up. 

I also know that I know the first day or two I show up after a break are difficult, and a lot of times I need to sideways write myself back into the story, by writing about what’s happening in my life or other things that are on my mind.

One thing I have learned about my process is that I need to just let the gates open and allow whatever writing needs to come out to come out. It might be a blog post, a poem, or the novel I’m working on, but I need to let myself write it all out so that I can get into that state of flow.  

I will take the ideas and the words as they come, and count them all equally and be grateful that anything is coming out at all. 

I need to keep telling myself that this is a time of year where everything goes within. The trees are dormant. The bears are hibernating. It’s like a long exhale. 

So, if I need moments of introspection, journaling, or processing to get to the point where the novel can make its way out, I will count those words as just as important as the words that do ultimately make it into the novel. For me, it’s all part of the process.

Even these words will count.

How do you decide? Do you let yourself count plotting, or editing? Do you count blog posts or letting your imagination wander into possible scenes? 

Are there any NaNo Rebels out there? How are you rebelling?

Stats for Days 16-18

Progress:

Day 16 Word Count: 0

Day 17 Word Count: 719

Day 18 Word Count: 3005

Total Word Count: 20064

Where I Planned to Be: 32000

1667 words per day: 30006

Week 2 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 14

Jaclyn3 Comments
Nanowrimo Day 14: Week 2 Review

This is how far I am behind! 😀

Word Count Goal Per Writing Day: 2000

Actual Average Word Count Per Writing Day: 1642

Planned Writing Days: 6

Planned Writing Days: 4

Day 8 Word Count: 909

Day 9 Word Count: 0

Day 10 Word Count: 2366

Day 11 Word Count: 0

Day 12 Word Count: 0

Day 13 Word Count: 240

Day 14 Word Count: 3052

Planned Words This Week: 12000

Actual Words This Week: 6567

Planned Total Words: 24000

Actual Total Words: 16268

Well, so if my goal for Nanowrimo was consistency, I feel like I slid back a bit this week. I had hoped to write all but one day of rest this week, and I fell off the horse. 

On the plus side, last week I wrote an average of 1615 words per day that I wrote and this week I wrote an average of 1642 per writing day. But there were less writing days, which is really something I am trying to work on.

This blog post definitely feels a day late and a dollar short, but luckily Thanksgiving is over and there is time to catch up, not only with Nanowrimo, but also with blogging.

How is everyone out there doing? Has anyone had any wins lately?  

Falling off the Horse, A Haiku for NaNoWriMo Days 9-12

Jaclyn4 Comments

Falling off the Horse, a Haiku for NaNoWriMo

But it’s November!

I cry, as life gallops on

Word count in the dust

Life, amirite? 

Maybe it was crazy for me to think that I would write a novel in a month and also blog about it every day. It turns out that life decided it was going to keep happening even though I made those plans! I mean, come on! 

So the blogs have fallen by the wayside, as I have been trying as hard as possible to focus on the novel, and I am even behind in that.

But! I am not down and out. I am still going to for the 50,000 words this month. And, I do think it’s important to note that even as I write this sad little ditty about falling off the NaNo horse, this is still one of my best months of the year in terms of word count.

Still moving forward, still getting words down, still trying to document it.

How about you? Are you still on track? Still motivated? Already have your novel done and dusted?

Week 1 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 7

Jaclyn1 Comment

Nanowrimo week 1 Review Reflection Week 1 stats on Lightning Droplets

Here are the first week’s stats!

My Week 1 Review for NaNoWriMo 2021. Here’s how the numbers broke down.

Word Count Goal Per Writing Day: 2000

Actual Average Word Count Per Writing Day: 1615

Planned Writing Days: 6

Planned Writing Days: 6

Day 1 Word Count: 2042

Day 2 Word Count: 2037

Day 3 Word Count: 1089

Day 4 Word Count: 1516

Day 5 Word Count: 420

Day 6 Word Count: 2646

Day 7 Word Count: 0

Planned Words This Week: 12000

Actual Words This Week: 9750

So, this feels like good, important information to have. I had been feeling like I hadn’t written enough days this week, but in actuality, I wrote the number of days I had planned, taking Sunday off instead of Friday. 

But I still didn’t meet my word count because on the days that I did write, I didn’t reach my daily goal. I probably should have figured that since I did not write enough to get my daily rewards on a lot of writing days. 

Well, so now I know. I’ll be trying to catch up by encouraging myself that I can do just one more sprint each day, past the point where I might have called it a night. 

Another one of the things I love about NaNoWriMo, I guess. It pushes you in ways that make you learn about your process as a writer. Trying to get back on the horse and gallop a little more each day!

Hopefully this little reflection on the stats will help me be a more consistent writer next week. 

How did your Week 1 go? Can you believe we are halfway through Week 2 already?!

Rest and Double Down: NaNoWriMo Day 5

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rest and double down nanowrimo how to take a break

How do you decide when to take a break and when to push yourself?

This is something that I often struggle with, and today is no exception. 

NaNoWriMo forces me to wrestle with this in especially poignant ways.

I’ll give my progress first, so you can see the dilemma:

Progress:

Day 4 Word Count: 1516

Total Word Count: 6684

Where I Planned to Be: 8000

1667 words per day: 6668

My plan for this month was to write 2000 words per day on writing days so that I could take time to spend with my family on Fridays and also have Thanksgiving off. 

Right now, I am on track for the official NaNoWriMo count, which counts 1667 words per day (4 days x 1667 = 6668), but you have to write all 30 days without fail. I have met myself and I know I need some breaks, hence the 2000 per day.

Today is Friday. I had planned to take today off. I am a mere 1316 words away from being right on target. I know I can easily reach that word count today if I skip the pizza prep and just show up for dinner. But then, I will not have taken the day off. 

It is tempting to get on target.  I could catch up in an hour or two, probably. 

But like I said, I know I need breaks. Things need to rattle around in my head so that they can come out the way I want them to. And I know that when I don’t take breaks, the muse or writer’s block or anxiety or whatever you want to call it forces me to. I will have major FOMO as my kid and husband hang out together. I’ll resent NaNoWriMo and writing in general, and the block will snowball. 

So, I am trying to stay on top of it. I am giving myself a pizza and movie night, even though I am not on track, so that tomorrow, I am refreshed and can go at it hard.

Tomorrow is Double Down Day in the Heart Breathings Word Sprints Facebook Group (highly recommend), and my small group of friends is meeting to write, and my local NaNo group is meeting for a virtual write-in, so my plan is to jump on a little bit of each of those and catch up. 

My goal is to write 3316 words tomorrow. Tonight, I get pizza and wine! 

How do you decide when to let yourself rest and when to push yourself? Do you have any tips to make the most of resting?

Why do NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo Day 4

Jaclyn5 Comments
why do nanowrimo? Nanowrimo day 4

It’s a new moon today. A time for listening within. A time for setting intentions. It has been making me think a lot about my whys. Why do NaNoWriMo? Why write? What exactly am I hoping to accomplish?

As the days get shorter and my energy wanes, it seems a herculean task to expect myself to write more than I do at any other time of year. Especially as the to-dos pile up with the holidays and the end of the year.

And yet…

I still do NaNoWriMo. Even after losing the first six times, like a glutton for pain and disappointment, I still wanted to do it. Why?

Why do NaNoWriMo?

I have heard people give a lot of reasons about why they do NaNo.

  1. Camaraderie. If you ask a WriMo why they do it, so many will answer that it’s the camaraderie. And the community of it is huge. There are tons of authortubers who take part. Facebook and Instagram are covered in it. There are groups for local participants, groups for participants in different genres. You can go around the world on discord or write for 100 hours straight on youtube. Even as an introvert, you feel like you are part of something larger.
  1. The Challenge. Sometimes you just need something to kick you into overdrive. I love a challenge (see my posts on writing challenges and submission bonanzas) and I think of NaNoWriMo as a dare. Who said I couldn’t finish a novel in a month? I’ll show them! 
  1. Taking yourself more seriously. You can’t sit around waiting for inspiration to strike when you are on a deadline like this, even if it is self-imposed. You just need to get your butt in the chair and do the best work you know how to do. Get down to business.
  1. Taking yourself less seriously. This is maybe counterintuitive, to take on a big challenge like this to take yourself less seriously, but hear me out. You cannot be precious about your words and your work when you are trying to write a novel in a month. 
  1. Finally finishing something. While I think most winners of NaNoWriMo come out on December 1st with a completely ready-to-go book, I do think the premise requires you to stick with one project. You can’t follow your shiny object syndrome and finish a novel in a month. And then, once you are 50,000 words in, you might as well just finish. 

Why do I do NaNoWriMo?

We all have very different reasons for coming to the page, and NaNoWriMo is no exception. For me personally, it is about building my consistency as a writer. I have been writing stories since I could write, and yet it has never been consistent. My writing always seemed best when it was bursting out of me, and I just had to wait for that to come. I could sit down and vomit up something in 15 minutes that would be beautiful or sit down and work for hours on something that was crap. I felt like my writing, my muse, my creativity was not something I could control myself.

But I am working on developing a different relationship with my writing. I am learning to create the space for the writing to come, to allow it even in the quiet times, to listen for it even when I am not inspired. And NaNoWriMo helps me build that muscle. The camaraderie and the challenge and the feeling of accomplishment are awesome. But for me, the biggest gain is the exercise, the practice, the slow and steady development of my ability to sit down each day and create. 

What’s your why?

Here’s my update

Progress:

Day 3 Word Count: 1089

Total Word Count: 5169

This puts me just a little bit behind where I had hoped to be today. But also, just this much is more than I wrote in all of October, and on track according to the 1667 words everyday math. So I am happy with that, but I am going to have to put in extra work today if I want to take give myself a break on Friday! 

How to Set Daily Word Count Goals: NaNoWriMo Day 3

Jaclyn6 Comments

How to set Daily Word Count Goals Nanowrimo

How many words do you really need to write per day to win NaNoWriMo? Setting daily word count goals might not be as straightforward as it seems at first.

The measurable goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. That’s 1667 words per day for all thirty days. But how many words do you need to write to win NaNoWriMo if you are not a supercomputer who is going to write the exact same amount each day?

Maybe you are one of those super-people who are actually going to write 1667 words every day of November. And if you are — way to go! That’s amazing! But if you are like me, you probably need to figure out how many words you need to write each writing day to win Nanowrimo.

Let’s face it, life does not necessarily stop because you are working on a novel. There are still chores and birthdays and turkeys to think about. You might be able to write 1667 words 6 days a week, and then if one day that week doesn’t go like all the rest, you are behind. 

However, if you can take all of the chores and birthdays and turkeys into consideration as you track your words, you are going to be in a great position to win NaNoWriMo.

How to set daily word count goals.

  1. Look at your average weeks. Be honest with yourself. How do your days usually go? Do you need a day off a week for chores and errands? Do you know that once a week you are generally out of commission, because of health, or someone who needs you? Are your Tuesdays already all booked? Subtract all the days each week that you know you will probably not have time or space to write.
  1. Look at the month of November. What commitments do you already have? Are there birthdays or work deadlines or holidays that might take away time from your writing? Make sure you subtract those days too. 
  1. Add up the days you have left.
  1. Are all your days equal? If you want to be even more precise, you can look at how different your days might be. Maybe on Saturdays you can spend twice as much time writing. Or maybe you know you can devote a lot of time to your novel over Thanksgiving weekend. Whatever it is, think about whether there are days that you know you will be able to give more. If you know you will be able can write double or triple a normal day’s work, you can double or triple those particular days. 
  1. Divide 50,000 by the number of days you have left.

For me, it looks like this: 

  1. Fridays are family days for me, and I want to honor that even as I focus on my writing. So all four Fridays are not writing days. (30 days in November – 4 Fridays = 26 writing days)
  2. I am not writing on Thanksgiving. I love me some cooking, and I intend to spend the whole day enjoying making a feast. (26 writing days – 1 holiday = 25 writing days)
  3. 25 writing days left!
  4. I don’t have any days where I know for sure that I will be able to do more. Hopefully there are days when more than average gets done, but for me, I can’t count on it, so my count remains the same. 25 writing days.
  5. 50,000 words ÷ 25 writing days = 2000 words per day.

You can see that this is actually quite a bit more than the “official” 1667 per day that is needed, so if I had been doing only 1667 per day, I would fall behind the first Friday that I spend time with my family. This means I would feel guilty, either about not writing, or about not guarding that time with my family. I used to feel like I was always needing to choose between family and writing. But, if I plan ahead of time, I can do a few more words each day and have guilt-free family pizza and movie nights. 

Speaking of which, I have hit almost exactly 2000 words each day so far for NaNoWriMo, so I know I am on-target and can take my Fridays off to spend time with my family. (So far!)

Here are yesterday’s stats:

Progress:

Day 1 Word Count: 2037

Total Word Count: 4079

I am still on track! I swear, this feels like my best start to NaNoWriMo yet!

How are things going for you?