FLASH NANO – NaNoWriMo Reaches the Halfway Point

WOW – Pitstop… NaNoWriMo reaches the half-way point, which I could hardly believe when I logged on to update my word count… YES I have been writing, well catch up writing (but that’s okay, especially with NaNoWriMo).

As I am following Nancy’s blog prompts and attempting to spend the month writing flash fiction, I am not planning on reaching 50,000 but what I can tell you is with all the catch up writing I have smashed through 10,000 – which I celebrated. I remember from 2013 that once you smash that barrier the word count tends to follow and for a while (despite only adding 100 words or so) the number increases drastically across the 100 boundaries. Until your brain leaks the thought of 20,000 words – you feel good for a while.

Last week I thought I might have to cheat further by writing poems not prose, but I am enjoying the Flash challenge and am creating stories that wouldn’t have existed. I am also making these challenges work for me a bit and finding time to research and build up my post NaNo resources – you have to have something to get on with straight afterwards. Keep busy.

 Week 2 of NaNoWriMo – Flash Nano

Day 7 – was finally written, an interesting futuristic tale that I think has legs and might become a longer work of fiction some day. It surprised me, even after I had the basic concept of a society that needed more focus on rest and health (and let’s face it our world is mad for busy) – there is a great growing entity behind this story that I would like to explore further. I can feel a Christmas Holiday writing project coming on.

Day 8 – my story was fairly short, but again re-reading it I found some magic moments that I may be able to copy and paste into a story at some point in the future. I wrote this story behind the schedule and it made me glad that I had such an interesting day at work.

Wow, Nancy – you made me happy to be at work!?

Day 9 – This was a great prompt and it could have gone anywhere, in fact at one point I thought it might. I have written all the ideas down for future reference. It also inspired me to create an activity for my writing class and the resulting letter has some dark humour in it. It pleases me when I manage to write something funny, a good change from the serious.

Day 10 – was another prompt that nearly flew to thinking outside the box and again I have a stream of ideas to tackle another time. In the end I based this on a miraculously true story and had fun researching meanings for Italian names. I included bright nobility, which sums up the protagonist well, strength and keeper of time. The ending was left open, but I know what happens.

Day 11 – Again I think this story may need more work, I think it would appeal to the YA market, a market I haven’t considered before. Again, there are touches of humour found in the relationship between the father and his daughter.

Day 12 – has left most of with our jaws on the floor and I have only had time to scaffold my effort. Very 80s and worth being part of Flash Nano for this prompt alone.

Day 13 – was one I enjoyed (although it hasn’t helped the Nano count at just 13 words) but it was fun to edit and re-edit. I changed the story idea twice too, I am happy with the final result.

I also played catch up with the Day 6 challenge – the 100 word story. I wanted to write 150 words so I could submit it and I did just that (well 149). I will keep you posted on this one.

I look forward to the next week of prompts.

NaNoWriMo

I collected a few more award buttons and have 13 stories and 11,548 words so far

Nancy Stohlman FLASH NANO

FLASH NANO – 1 week in

FLASH NANO has been going well, it makes a change for me to write prose and Nancy’s prompts have been inspiring, these tales would never exist without this challenge. I have started to think about how these prompts can be used, rather than just collecting stories that will just gather dust in my hard-drive.

 

So here’s what has been happening since Day 2.

Day 3 Monologue.

I created a character who was fighting the setting in of age (we had to write a monologue), this flash had feet and I think I can rework it and use it in the future. The central character not only bears witness to something but suspects she knows the culprit.

Day 4 Fire.

I read an Australian traditional tale about a crocodile and reshaped it into something a little different. The crocodile needed help with his drilling of sticks to make fire and the clever lizard invents fire sticks. It takes a while before the crocodile can make a fire that stays alight and the animal who helps him is one he has never eaten to this day.

It was fun writing this tale and may work well as a story for children.

Day 5 A childhood toy.

I knew instantly which toy I was going to write about and parts of this Flash were based on a real-life experience. The ending took me by surprise (I love it when writing does that) and it works well as a story for a variety of markets.

Day 6 A 100 word story.

This is still to be written (see my TOP TIPS) but I have researched where I may be able to place a short flash and have decided to make it 150 words so I can potentially submit it.

Day 7 Writing about the seventh day, the day of rest.

I still need to tackle this. I haven’t thought about it yet.

I do not panic about falling behind because these challenges are under 1000 words and the average recommended daily allowance is 1667 words a day for the 50K challenge, which is not something I am trying to achieve this year. I have extended some of the original flashes into short stories and so far have written 8242 words.

So how is Nanowrimo going for you? Do share your updates with us. Here are some tips to keep you in the write frame of mind now that you are a week in.

TOP TIPS

• Forgive yourself if you haven’t written daily, some days are busy. I haven’t managed to write daily, but I do check the prompts daily and scribble some rough outline notes. This means that when I get time to sit and catch up I am not trying to create the story from scratch.

• Check prompts daily (even if you don’t write)
• Make some notes of plot/ideas (for another time)
• Sit down and make up the word count as soon as you possibly can. Even if you haven’t time to finish the whole piece.

 

• Research – I use google to search keywords and generate ideas, or to make sure there is historical/ factual accuracy in my stories.

• Purpose – Rather than just writing try to give your NANO writing purpose, research possible markets for submission, mark the best ideas and don’t forget to make note of any ideas that come out of the writing.

Good luck and keep writing!

 

PS today is the day for Double donations and a double writing challenge. Double up your word count, a great idea if you are doing Nanowrimo because all extra words under your belt count.

It is also the first official Nano write in for my regional group, I attended back in 2013 when doing Nano for the first time. Check out your regional groups, a write in is fun and motivating, not to mention sociable.

 

RELATED LINKS

nanowrimo.org

http://nancystohlman.com/flashnano/

NaNoWriMo: Update on Flash NANO

 This year I am working on writing projects already and know I haven’t time to write 50,000 words, so I was delighted when I discovered Nancy Stohlmn was posting daily prompts for 30 Flash Nano pieces, flash fiction being prose under 1000 words and a genre I have a better time with than short story writing.

As far as NaNo rules go this unplanned approach means I am a – but being a panster when you’re not planning to reach 50,000 words is fine by me. Plus with Nancy’s prompts I am not a total panster, there is at least a daily starting point.

 

Day 1

Nancy’s first prompt was a hard write for me, it was based on a real-life story (not my own), maybe that was one of the reasons it was difficult, or maybe it was the challenge of setting a story in just one setting. There was no dialogue to move the story forward.

I managed a complete flash fiction of 969 words. One of the character’s talked about was called Nancy and I have only just realised the connection in writing this blogpost.

 

Day 2

This story was much easier to write, maybe because I sat down with a cup of coffee.

I did some micro research to manage the technical vocabulary I needed and this flash actually turned into a short story of 1414 words, which I am not going to worry about. In order to use the flash fiction stories in the future they may have to be extended into short stories.

I have also noted 3 fresh ideas that have spawned from writing the flashes.

How’s it going for you? Let us know.

NANO: No Time for NaNoWriMo? Try FLASH NANO instead

I did NaNoWriMo in 2013, the year I started writing again, the year I started blogging. I completed the Spring and Summer Camps as well as the main event.

This year I thought about dipping my toes in again, but I am working on several poetry projects and know that I don’t have time to complete 50,000 words. Tonight I decided to spend some time browsing my reader as it has been 10 months since I looked at blogs out here. I discovered a post and a challenge that might match my schedule and give me more to work with in the future.

Nancy Stohlman is posting prompts for flash fiction, which I do have time for. http://nancystohlman.com/flashnano/

 I headed over to http://nanowrimo.org and signed back in. I headed to the Pep Talk page which has a lot of good advice and encouragement for a positive mental attitude, which believe me all NaNo-ers need! See what Gene Luen Yang has to say here

I am unlikely to reach the 50,000 word count by writing incredibly short, short stories but I will hopefully end the month with 30 new pieces and if I can I might mix it up with some poetry too.

So let’s get started!

Good luck to everyone making NaNo part of their November.

A Day of Writing, Submitting & Success

Today is my first full writing day after the long Easter weekend.  Last week – the first week in my writing skin, Mr G. took some half days and we celebrated the glorious weather together sitting in the garden and planting some more tubs up. Towards the end of the week I was performing at events and then came the Easter Weekend which ended with a marathon jungle/allotment expedition to get the next lot of crops in. All this activity resulted in a lack of writing.

I miraculously managed an early start today and was working away on To DO List tasks before 9a.m! My first mission this morning was to track back through my writing diary and drag up any websites I have neglected to take a look at. I had to make sure social media was OFF so I could get on with catching up with NaNoWriMo and NaPoWriMo challenges.

I also wanted to write and submit some farm poems to be displayed along the fence at Acton Scott Farm, Jean Atkin has recently taken up Poet in Residence there. A role she seems to be really enjoying.

I am also trying to arrange some collaborative performances (it was so fun the first time) – for events booked in May as well as editing a few poems for a friend.

This morning I have found a new collaborative art performance opportunity for November in Walsall (UK) and I have received news from Jean Atkin that she has accepted the poem about the pig I sent this morning for the Poetry Fence at Acton Scott Farm. I saw her post on social media yesterday showing a cute half and half hybrid pig. Jean links the fence poetry on her blog so I will post a link for you all soon.

I have also been looking at the Wenlock Poetry Festival site and trying to organise myself for next weekend. My poem is one of the ‘croft originals’ mentioned, displayed in Croft Design and published on the website.

Wenlock Poetry Trail

Finally Up to Date! Happy Easter!

I have finally managed to get the blog up to date! I have another busy week coming up.

There are a couple of events in Birmingham this week which I may attend, depending on energy levels. On Friday I am performing at Word Up at York’s Bakery. It is also my final week off work and I need to catch up with NaPoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo, there are some future submissions I need to work towards. I also need to prepare for my 1st ever slam.

Happy Easter Everyone!

The First Day of 18

I have broken up from work for the Easter break and am looking forward to 18 glorious days in my writing skin.

There is already a lot of news to share.

Firstly, Mouth & Music which was a fabulous night that I am still on a high from, sent exciting news today.

Slap Magazine  (supporting local arts and performers) want to publish the photo Mary Davis took of Tim and I performing and much as it makes me want to get an instant body wrap, attach myself to a zumba DVD and pray for instant weight loss, I am still stoked with this news.

Secondly, I attended my first meeting tonight as an Assistant Writer for WWM Writing West Midlands. It was a buzzing atmosphere and great to be in a room with so many writers, many of whom I have already met; William Gallagher, Stephen, Roz Goddard, Hayley Frances, Ian MacLeod, Brenda-Read Brown, & Garrie Fletcher.

My writing diary is packed and my ideas file grew this evening.

1) Write the 14 lost missing NaPoWriMo poems (file issues last Sunday)

2) Write the new 52 prompt poems and catch up on a few gaps I have

3) Write a poem for our WWM Creative Writing group tomorrow – requested by Ian MacLeod

4) email Jonathan/ Hayley/

5) Catch up with Camp NaNoWriMo – some major words lost already (non- existent)  It is ironic that this year (my 3rd camp) I FINALLY get an active cabin and I am not there to see it.

6) Write Strong Women poems and as a result decide whether to do Najma Hush’s exhibition opening. I really want to go to this event but am due in a city more than 45 miles away at lunchtime. I would love to be able to stay until 1:30 when it finishes. I am in two minds, I have mentally checked all possible solutions.  Train, buses etc, need to check them properly tomorrow (later on today) but if I do go I will only have an hour there before I have to whizz back for my meeting.

 

I have a whole selection box of Spoken Word events over the next week too;

This evening – Poetry and Place – Ledbury Poetry Festival, to see

 

 It is the first of three events which see Ledbury Poetry Festival linking up with Worcester Literature Festival (WLF) with performance events at The Hive. I am involved in performing at Poetry and Pollination in May, organised by Ruth Stacey and headlined by Ruth and Sarah Leavesley (who have both performed at Ledbury in the past) – very much looking forward to this event. Tonight will also give me a chance to catch up with some poetry friends.

I have submissions to work on, including poems, on Thursday I have Poetry for Lunch (booked for the next 3), followed by the special ticket holders Hit the Ode and then on Friday I will be performing at The Ort – the first ‘Friday night’ one. On Saturday I hope to attend a camp Nano meet / write in, followed by a writing group run by Apples & Snakes, Poet’s Place. They started the most recent group meetings in January and I have been unable to attend any yet.

 

Writer Fatigue

I have spent 2 days wondering whether to blog about this or not. I didn’t want to appear that I was whinging, however maybe this article will be useful to you, I would be interested in hearing how you deal with such things yourself because this fatigue leaves you feeling pretty down about your writing and worthiness in the field.

I decided this morning I would write about it and started researching. (Hoping the answers I find will make me feel better about my writing self.)

I know about burn out and fatigue – it is no different in the world of writing, especially when you are working and trying to balance, life, family and writing outside these hours. (Which, let’s be straight most of us are – dreaming of the days when we can make a living being a writer but until then trying to squeeze it into every little gap of time life throws us!)

I have taken on extra paid work recently, this has left me tired (over-tired) and feeling stressed and fraught. I am not in the middle of any major writing projects, where writers block can occur and lead to a fatigue. I have just signed up for NaPoWriMo and NaNoWriMo though and have a lot of writing future going on in my head (times when you constantly seem to be thinking about it, mulling it over and creating stories mentally) in an already overfull mind!

I have taken a week off events, although this has been a good way to conserve energy, I believe the lack of direct contact with creatives has left me feeling dulled. This is the first time since December that I have had a week off from the world of spoken word.

I have started to doubt the quality of my writing. Feel low when I am writing. Feel low when I avoid writing. A vicious circle.

When I looked into it the best advice (as with insomnia) is go and do something else. Leave the laptop alone for a whole day, 2 days. Release the pressure. The writing you produce otherwise may well not be good enough, it is a waste of time trying when you are suffering from this fatigue. Leave it alone and come back to it – even if you have submission deadlines.

I see light at the end of this tunnel. There is only 1 more week of work before our 2 week Easter break – a time for R & R and a writing catch up. But in these last few days of juggling life, work and writing – I keep dropping all the balls!

For now – it is good to know it IS normal, no writer escapes it, even established ones. That you can’t force it when it won’t come. That stepping away is not avoiding it, it is giving your mind space and time to work through it. There is another side, the days when you are full of writing energy and can’t write enough, when 24 hours is not enough time to get everything down on the screen.

Have you ever suffered writer fatigue?

What helps?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

 

 

 

Related articles

http://thewritingant.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/writer-fatigue-do-you-have-it/

http://www.noveldoctor.com/2010/05/26/stuck-in-the-middle/

http://www.writersdigest.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8610

 

 

Camp NaNoWriMo – April 2014 Is About to Open!

… STARTS AT MIDNIGHT (I hope to be in bed asleep by then!)

Last year was my 1st NaNo Camp and I excitedly stayed up and starting writing at midnight. Last April I wrote over 35000 words towards a Non-Fiction manuscript that I am still working on.

This year I have chosen a much more realistic word count 10K (it is the lowest you are allowed)!

I have planned my writing (not quite as a timetable) I only need a daily count of 334 words, should make it more manageable with participating in NaPoWriMo too!  Are your bags packed? Have you got your cabin mates?

Do you have a plan for your writing?

 

Some things on the Camp Planner for Week 1:Week One

On Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. PDT, tune in for the first Campfire Hangout of the year. You want writing prompts? Oh man, have we got writing prompts.

On Thursday, check your Camper Messages for a pep talk from a writer just like you. We’ll send one every week.

And every day, look for challenges from @NaNoWordSprints and conversations in the NaNoWriMo forums.

End of Month Writing Deadlines & A Surprise!

I am hoping this evening that I will be able to write a poem for submission, I missed the opportunity to enter Furies Anthology Competition last night, as I just couldn’t manage to write a poem that I was happy enough to enter.

After I have made my final deadline, I need to get over to Camp NaNoWriMo and NaPoWriMo to prepare for tomorrow – the 1st day of both challenges.

I am still catching up with 52 poems and need to sort a few email / admin activities. I would also like to write some blogposts.

I came home to a lovely surprise this evening. I had work and after that had to travel back to my flat to collect a month’s worth of post, check the apartment over, collect my poetry from the library (it had been on display) for the Arts Network, go to the bank (cash a cheque from a school sent over a month ago) and get to the I thought ‘Oh, no! Not more!’ But when I turned it over, I found a lovely hand written note. It was some Stanza poems and a poetry magazine from Claire Walker. The only thing about being so busy is missing time connecting with friends. I was sad that I hadn’t been in to offer a drink in exchange for this poetry parcel.

I hope to spend some time catching up in a fortnight – our Easter break, I know that I will need some time for R & R though and family time. I don’t want to be so busy that I am backed up with things to do. I need some free time.

It was a great surprise though! Thanks Claire!