NaNoWriMo: Quality AND Quantity

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

Today, we're discussing both quality and quantity. To some extent, this is a continuation from last week's post which addressed word counts.

As we established last week, you want to target around 50,000 words if you are going to write a full-length novel.

So we have quantity, but we also need to discuss quality.

NaNo makes no bones about focusing on quantity rather than quality. When I first heard that (when I did my first NaNo), I was appalled. How could you focus on quantity rather than quality?! I didn't want to churn out some second-rate book.

My perception has changed, though. NaNo is a challenge to get it on paper. That's the focus. It's more about laying down the foundation so you can go back and polish your piece, rather than having a perfectly stellar novel ready for publication in only a month's time. 

In order to write a story, you have to start somewhere. NaNo is the perfect vehicle to get you started.

Could anyone achieve both quantity and quality in only 30 days? I suppose it is plausible, but I don't think it's realistic. If I was to wager money on anyone accomplishing that, it would be Stephen King. 

I don't even think that he would say that he could or would do that. Far better than most of us, he understands the importance of the entire writing process. That process includes editing and revision so that once the quantity is there, the quality follows suit.

It's not easy to have both. It takes time and dedication. Believe you me, I would love to just wake up, type away, and have both quantity and quality. To have a fairy godmother tap her wand on my laptop and boom! There's a perfect novel! If only it were that simple!

You can have quantity and quality, and you really should strive for them both. Just be patient with yourself and the process. It'll be worth it in the end!

NaNoWriMo: Why word counts count

Happy November, everyone! For many people November equals NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I want to take this opportunity to go through NaNo with you, and to look at the writing process in great detail.

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This week, I want to discuss word counts.

To start off, we need to look at the breakdown of word counts. As a general rule, they go as follows:

Short Stories: 20,000 words or less

Novellas: 20,000-40,000 words

Novels: 50,000 words or more.

NaNo sets the goal at 50,000 words, which is a good goal. At 50,000, you should have a very well rounded story, and good foundation for the novel itself.

50,000 is a lot of words! Yes it is. Any writer will tell you that there are times when 50,000 feels more like 5,000,000,000. It's not always easy, but word counts are important to keep in mind.

Why?

First and foremost, if you're seeking publication, publishers watch word counts carefully. If the word count is low, they see an emaciated story that will need lots of editing to beef it up. That's time and money that they're not willing to spend. On the flip side of that, if the word count is too high, the piece is too long and no one will read it. So you need to watch your count if you want to get published.

What if you're not seeking publication? What's the point of watching your word count?

Well, those of us who are die-hard grammar policemen/-women will tell you that you need to follow the rules. 

For those of you who are rebellious and don't like rules, look at a word count as a challenge. It's a goal to meet. It's a good frame to help you beef up and trim off sections of your story. It will show you what sections of your novel require more attention and editing. 

I personally find word counts to be a great guide in my story writing.

A good word count is not necessarily indicative of good quality, per se. However, a good word count is indicative of the fact that the writer has been paying attention. If they're paying attention, chances are they're paying attention to the quality and the quantity.

So yes, word counts count.

A to Z '14 - Honesty

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


H is for Honesty.


My grandfather always told us to be honest. He was a man of his word, and he was a great role model for it. He taught us the importance of honesty and integrity. He always told me to be a person of my word and to have a good handshake. For me, those are both so tightly intertwined. A good handshake is the mark of an honest person.

Honesty is so important. For me, I have to wonder about people who lie (whether patholoically or not). Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect. I've lied. For whatever reasons, I have. But I have met some people whose entire lives were based on lies. Or they had huge lies within their marriages (a lack of fidelity, for example). That's the kind of stuff that I don't understand. How can you live with yourself? How can you keep your stories straight? How can anyone ever truly believe you?



I don't know and I don't want to know. At the end of the day, we are the ones who have to live with ourselves, our decisions and our actions. Honesty is important - it's a tremendous indicator of character.



I choose to be honest, because the greatest man I have ever known was.

H is for honesty.

Page 69 Trial...Well, sort of.

It's Thursday again, fellow bibliophiles! ;)



Since last week was the release of my newest work; the first in the Loving Her series: The Ballerina, I thought it would be neat to give y'all a teaser.


As you know, I typically do the Page 69 trial with my novels. Therein lies the problem. You see, these are novellas. And the Ballerina does not have 69 pages.


What is a girl to do?


I tried double spacing it. Page 69 falls in the middle of two different sections.


ARGH!!!!!


So, I just went with what I believe to be a pretty good teaser.


Hope y'all enjoy! ;)





“Wow,” Jen whispered as she admired the pointe shoes Liz had just worn in the performance. The pink satin held a secret. They appeared soft and delicate, but the toe of the shoe was hard and square. The elastic seemed to constrict, rather than expand. These shoes were unlike anything Jen had ever seen before.
She knocked on the toe of the shoe. “It’s hard.” She said in sheer amazement.
“Yeah,” Liz replied. “Those are made by a Russian company. I prefer the Russian shoes because they’re harder than then the French of Italian shoes. They use more paste and material to make a harder box and shank. They’re sturdier for me, they feel more secure. And, I don’t know… I just like how they feel.”
“You like how they feel?!”
“Comparatively speaking!” Liz chuckled.
“These seem…painful.”
“They are. It’s really hard when you first start. Your feet bleed and stuff. You eventually build up to it, sort of. I mean, it still hurts a bit, but you just deal with it. It’s never like walking on a cloud, though. It’s not what it looks like.”
“It did look so effortless watching you up there.”
“Yeah, it’s not. It’s pain and discomfort. But you just smile and keep on going.”
“Wow! You know, you hear about how high heels are bad for your feet. These must be murder!”
“They’re not the best.”
“What do your feet look like?” Jen asked curiously.
Liz, sitting with her feet tucked underneath her legs, started to look uncomfortable. “Oh, well…they’re not pretty.”
“No? What do the shoes do to you?”
“They just wreak havoc on your feet. That’s all.”
“Can I see?”
“They’re not pretty,” Liz repeated.
“I’d like to see.”
Liz took in a deep breath. Slowly, she uncurled. With trepidation, she gradually slid her feet forward.
Liz’s long, lean, infinite legs stretched before her. Jen studied her feet. Boney and bruised, they were anything but attractive. The bottoms of her feet were layered sheets of callouses. Her toes appeared misshapen, flat and squished together. Even her toenails were discolored and appeared unhealthy. On her feet, Liz’s normally fair skin was red, cracked and peeling. Blood blisters and wounds of all sorts were sprinkled all over the tops of her feet. Indeed, there was nothing pretty or dainty about them. “See, they’re ugly.” She said, and she quickly hid them again.
“Wow. I am so sorry.” Jen said softly.
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” Liz looked down at the bed, keeping her gaze away from Jen.
“But…I just don’t get why.”
“Why I would knowingly do this to myself?” Liz’s twang echoed through the dark room.
“Well, yeah.”
“Because it’s what I love. I just feel like I was born to dance. It’s a small sacrifice to pay for pursuing your dream. I just wish I wasn’t so ugly.”
“You?! Are you kidding?! You’re beautiful!”
“But my feet…”
“They are beautiful in their own way. The fact that they are the way they are because of you pursuing your dream and your passion makes them beautiful,” Jen said. “Come here,” she rose off the bed.
She took Liz by the hand and led her to the full length mirror hanging on the wall of the hotel room. “Look at you.” Jen gently led Liz in front of her. “You have the most amazing, beautiful red hair. Your eyes are the most unusual but simply gorgeous shade of green I have ever seen. You are tall and lean. Your body is pure muscle.” Jen wrapped her arms around Liz’s waist. “Your legs are long and slender. And your feet are just perfect.” She softly kissed the nape of Liz’s neck. “Just perfect,” she whispered again.

Joyful Writing

It is Thursday yet again!

Today, I want to talk about the joy of writing.

For anyone who knows me personally knows that I am very fully, silly person. I love to joke around and make people laugh.

What's interesting is that as a child, I was very serious and intense. Laughter was hard for me.

I'm glad I've lightened up as I've gotten older. But I do still remain rather serious when it comes to my writing. At times, it has been more like a chore than a joy. I did it out of obligation rather than out of my passion. I enjoyed my finished products, but the joy of the process had been lost.

As you know, I am rewriting the stories in Loving Her. In doing so, I see how I have changed. I see how my writing style has changed and improved. I see how I - and my characters - have evolved. More importantly, I see how the joy has come back.

I am getting lost in these women and their stories. I am writing feverously. I look forward to writing. I am enjoying the process again.

I feel as though I have woken up. I feel so much observant of thing. I just feel content.

This personal reinvention is not just about my name. It is exactly that: a real personal reinvention. My books are the positive product and you, the readers, reap the rewards of it all.

I am looking forward to all of the writing yet to be done, and for your enjoyment of these new and improved stories.

Happy reading! ;)

B: Books

Books.



Now we're talking my cup of tea.

I love books.



I have many of them. I would like many more.




I get a high by smelling that new book smell in a book store (dear God, is there any scent better than that?! I think not!). I love big books, little books, blank books, coloring books, new books, old books, your books, my books. Call me a bibliophile, but I simply cannot get enough.




In terms of possessions, they say you can't take it with you. Books are different, though. Books give you memories. Books give you knowledge. Books give you wisdom. Books are the one possession you can (and do) take with you.



Books are simply wonderful.


To me, books are an incredible art form for their potential is limitless. A book may contain words, images, both or nothing at all. Books can be found in many languages, or just in one. Books have so much to offer within their pages. To give a person the gift of a book is to literally place the infinite universe in the palm of their hand.




Books are a blessing! ;)

A to Z

Hi gang!

This year, I am going to try something completely new. This will be quite a challenge for me, but my new year's resolution was to grow, challenge and improve myself as a writer, so here we go!

Starting next week, I am beginning the A to Z blog challenge. It's a blog hop of sorts with one major challenge: save for Sundays, writing a blog post every day in the month of April and each post must pertain to a letter of the alphabet. The calendar is as follows:

Week One:
April 01, Monday - Letter "A"
April 02, Tuesday - Letter "B"
April 03, Wednesday - Letter "C"
April 04, Thursday - Letter "D"
April 05, Friday - Letter "E"
April 06, Saturday - Letter "F"


Week Two:
April 07, Sunday - BREAK
April 08, Monday - Letter "G"
April 09, Tuesday - Letter "H"
April 10, Wednesday - Letter "I"
April 11, Thursday - Letter "J"
April 12, Friday - Letter "K"
April 13, Saturday - Letter "L"


Week Three:
April 14, Sunday - BREAK
April 15, Monday - Letter "M"
April 16, Tuesday - Letter "N"
April 17, Wednesday - Letter "O"
April 18, Thursday - Letter "P"
April 19, Friday - Letter "Q"
April 20, Saturday - Letter "R"


Week Four:
April 21, Sunday - BREAK
April 22, Monday - Letter "S"
April 23, Tuesday - Letter "T"
April 24, Wednesday - Letter "U"
April 25, Thursday - Letter "V"
April 26, Friday - Letter "W"
April 27, Saturday - Letter "X"


Week Five:
April 28, Sunday - BREAK
April 29, Monday - Letter "Y"
April 30, Tuesday - Letter "Z"


Am I up for this? I don't know. But I am willing to try. I want to improve as a writer, and there is no better way to do that than by something like this.

My theme will be creativity and the arts. As a person who grew up in and appreciating all art forms, I didn't want to limit myself to one medium. So, I will be discussing the arts in their various forms and creativity.

I hope you like all of my posts and I hope I can win this challenge! :)

So, until Monday, happy reading! :)

Repetition and Redundancy

Happy Thursday, gang!

This week has been an usual one, to say the least.

I have spent the past few days with my family. My stepfather was dealing with a medical issue, so I made the six hour trekk in order to help my mother.




Because my routine had changed and my time was limited, I ended up using the same entry for my columns on gaylifenewsletter and gayleeds.


This is the first time I have ever done this, and I hope to make it the last. I absolutely advise against it as readers do not enjoy repetition nor redundancy.



As a writer, I do my best to keep my blog and various columns interesting and unique. Each has its own voice and audience/readership. I don't want to bore any of my readers, so I work diligently to keep every post different.


At times, that can be a bit overwhelming. After so much, is there anything new to say? I'm writing stories, blogs and columns. How much can one person say? There were times I definitely questioned my ability to come up with fresh, original work. Yet, to date, I have only reused a column once. This time now. That's not to shabby.


Readers want originality. They don't want to read the same story endlessly. Now, I'm not talking about re-reading a favorite novel. We all do that, and it is wonderful to experience your favorite story time and again. But, would you want to read a story where the cover art is different and the characters' names are different, but the storyline is the same? I wouldn't. If these stories were by different authors, I'd assume someone plagerized. If it was the same author retelling the same story, I'd call them a formula writer (something I abhore severely). Either way, I as the reader, lose.



I don't like losing, nor do I like causing other people to lose. So, I focus on originality. I do my best to ensure that you as a reader do not lose because I could not create something new. I push through the occasional block so that you are not disappointed.



This is not me claiming to be a saint or the best writer out there. I'm just explaining that it isn't always easy to have something fresh when you're constantly writing.


On the flip side, creating causes creativity. The more one paints, the more one's artwork improves and increases. The more a singer sings, the more opporunities the singer has to sing. Creativity begets creativity. Er go, the more I write, the more original my writing becomes. And that, my friends, is the best part about writing - or any art form, really. It is a gift to have the creative juices flowing.



That is the other reason why I diligently work to keep my writing unique. I am giving you, the reader, the gift of originality and I am giving myself, the writer, the gift of more creativity. It's absolutely a win-win situation.


Yes, currently if you were to visit both sites, you'd see the same column. I'm not proud of it, but extenuating circumstances made it necessary. Again, this is my first offense, and I don't ever plan on repeating this mistake again. After all, who likes repetition? ;)



Happy reading, y'all!

A Visual Feast in Words

I am a visual person. Don't tell me to go south on Main Street. Tell me when I reach the old church, turn left. A 22 gauge need has a blue cap, a 25 gauge needle has a red cap. I do so much by sight. I even write based on images.

Images help me to describe. Describe a face, a location and even an emotion. The dark, dank, dusty old antiquated building elicits a different emotion than the bright, light-yellow colored dining room with windows that stretched from the depths of the ground to the heights of the clouds. How did I do that? By looking at an image and selecting certain features in order to emote.

I have always had certain actors or actresses in mind to play the characters in my books should they ever be turned into movies. Often, I would study their faces and then create my own little twists so that the characters were indeed their own entity. But again, I used an image to help me.



Writing has been called "painting with words." I love that. Seriously, I simply adore the idea of putting words on a page that will help you to paint an image (and even an emotion) in your mind's eye. I do take painting with words somewhat seriously.

Lately, I have been using google images to search for my current WIP as well as the prequels to Loving Her (that's right, LH fans! You asked for more of these women, you're getting them! Hopefully this year, if I can get them all done!). I have been discovering actors and actresses that I hadn't heard of before, but they would be perfect for these characters. It's a lot of fun, honestly. I look at faces and narrow them down until I have the "one." And then I will look at lots of pictures of them. It's so exciting to put another face to the face that is in my mind. And as I study, I write. Like an artist or sculpter looking back and forth between their canvas and the model, I go between the images and my writing.



I can't describe why, but it gives me such excitement and joy. I just have so much fun writing this way. It makes it that much more enjoyable.

I hope that my writing elicits wonderful paintings in your mind and that my joy is detectable as you read.

Happy reading! :)