Day 59: Coming to the end of the month.

This month has been pretty unproductive for me, really. I've written 13,247 words this month compared to January's total of 34,190. This past week, I haven't felt like doing a lot of stuff really - I haven't played on the sims, I have hardly written... But I did take a lot of photos yesterday, which is a good thing, as I want to be a photographer, and am taking photography at university in September :D How exciting?

I might attempt to do some writing, but I don't think I'll be too disappointed in myself if I don't. My inner-editor and mentor has obviously gone on holiday or something, cause I'm no longer getting too annoyed at myself if I don't write. What is wrong with me?
I'll try and finish off my Vampire prologue today, as that's one scene and then that's done. The prologue is standing at about 2,500 words at the moment - I hope that's not too much for a prologue, especially as it's only going to get longer. I think my writing for that is a lot better than it was for my NaNo novel, and also for the other novel I'm writing at the moment.
I think I will actually print out my other novel today, and have a read through. Hopefully that'll get me motivated for next month, and will give me some ideas. I know where the novel is going pretty much, I just need to write it, instead of just having the ideas mulling around my head, as they do. At least I'm motivated for photography, because at the moment - writing is just meant to be a hobby. I don't know if anything will ever come of it, and I'm not too fussed if it doesn't :) It's just something I'm meant to enjoy.

My WriYe total is 47,347 and if I do push today, I could get up to 50,000, which would be quite good really. I'll see how motivated I am when it actually comes to writing :)

I didn't get a chance to talk to Heather yesterday - normally we attempt to motivate each other or end up watching TV at the same time or even playing the sims xD - and it's weird not talking to her xD Hopefully I'll catch her today, and we'll both agree that March will be a much better month for us.

Day 57: Google must think I'm weird.

I have been actually doing research for my Vampire novel, as I want to get things to do with the prologue's time period accurate. Google must think I am very odd, because of some of the things I searched. Yesterday, it was 18th Century goblets, today it was 18th Century bath tubs, mahogany wood and all sorts of weird things. It's quite fun though, and I'm enjoying doing it (Bet Heather thinks I'm weird for saying that xD)

I've written a little bit of my Vampire novel today, and I really need to write some more of my other novel. I shouldn't be writing more than one thing at once, because it means that I'm de-focused on one of the projects, but never mind.

I haven't given my stats for a while, so even though it's not quite the end of the month yet, I'll give a breakdown now, as it gives me something to do :D (I wish blog posts counted towards word count *shifty eyes*)

Wordcount breakdown:
Novel 1: 36,073
Vampire Novel: 2,318
Train Spotter's Anonymous (a short story): 274
Superheroing Made Easy. Sort of. : 1,163
Exercises/Short stories: 1,285
Planning: 5,583

Total wordcount: 46,696

I think that's a good total for almost two months work :) Obviously no where near NaNo worthy but I'm still pleased with that :)

Day 56: Is a goblet made of glass?

The title is just a question I had to ask myself when doing some writing this morning. Isn't researching fun? I've decided that the goblets my characters are using (it's the 18th Century at the moment) are made of glass, as actually, they did use glass goblets at this point - thank you Google :D They even had one that were engraved with all sorts of fancy pictures and the likes.
Also - my characters (who are vampires) seemed to have invented some sort of system for keeping food cool and so they don't go off, but I don't quite know how they do this yet.

I ordered my proof copy of my NaNo this morning :D I can't wait to get it - it feels like ages since NaNo, and I'm really looking forward to sitting down and properly reading my novel from a real book - that is going to be a good feeling I think :D Heather asked me yesterday if I was going to publish, and right now, I have no idea. I'm toying with the idea of self-publishing, as I don't think any real publishers are going to want my work - it's probably not good enough for them xD If I do this, as I won't be working when I'm at university, getting some money from selling some novels could be a good plan. I'm not sure though - I don't know if anyone would actually want to bother reading my novel.
It has a nice front cover though :D Maybe the front cover will make them want to read it, even though you're not meant to judge a book by it ;)

Anyway, back to goblets...

Day 54: Finally!

So - NaNo was in November, right? I've finally got around to editing (spell checking, grammar checking - no actual re-writing) the last two chapters of my novel, saved it as a PDF and uploaded it to createspace :D Hooray! How exciting is that?
I also made the back cover and spine for my novel, and put it on the template you can download from them, and I'm really pleased with it :D I've uploaded that too, and am now waiting for it to be verified and checked that they'll be able to print it how it is - and after that, HELLOOOOOO proof copy :D I am so excited about that, I cannot wait :D

After I get my proof-copy, I'll read through it, make some notes and either re-write parts of it I'm not happy about, or do a more thorough edit of it, I haven't quite decided. I'm pleased with it as it is, if I'm honest, but perhaps I'll get it critiqued for me, because I'm a bit hopeless at spotting my own stupid mistakes ;)

I have done no writing today, which I should have done really, but there's still plenty of hours left in the day for that. I might play The Sims as well, but I haven't really felt much like it today... I'll see how I feel later I guess. I want to go out with my camera, but it's been chucking it down all day, and I don't want to get soaked... and don't even know what I'd take pictures of xD Never mind, eh?

Day 53: I thought of a heading but have now forgotten it...

I hate it when you're thinking of something, then something else distracts you, and for the life of you, you can't remember what you were thinking about Dx Maybe it'll come back to me.

Yesterday, I did no writing as IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY :D I love birthdays, though I usually get more excited about other peoples rather than my own, but actually, I was mega-excited, and really really enjoyed it :)

Today, I have been quite productive I think. I wrote a short story again - this one based on the theme of rainbows. Someone described it as "profound" which I like to think is a good thing - my short story writing style is my favourite. I do have different styles for my novels, as I don't think I could write for so long as I do in a short story. But that's fine :) Short stories are fun, and I take 10 minutes to write then (I sprint them) and I got somewhere around 640 words for my one this morning, then finished it off, and the whole story was 674. There's something I really like about short stories.
You don't have to do any planning - it's only 500/600 odd words, you don't need much planning for that really. I usually just have an idea in my mind, and just let me fingers and mind do the work while I write it. Secondly - I feel like I capture a little insight into a character's life. I don't know these character's like I know the ones in my novels, so it is interesting. I know as much as I write about, and even as the writer, I'm left wondering about them! I like that.

I also started chapter 9 of my novel. It needs major polishing, but I'm not going to bother doing that until it's actually finished, I don't think. I've tried my best to explain why even though there appeared to be romance between my MC and a boy, they couldn't be together, and both of them agreed on this. It was weird, especially as I love them together xD But she's not meant to be with him, and both of them know this.

I wrote a sims chapter too - so productive ;)

Day 51: If motivation isn't there... I'll just have to force myself xD

I haven't had motivation to write, since a university interview, which made me being a photographer and also wanting to write seem like a bad thing. It annoyed me so much, but I think I'm finally getting out of that downer, and trying to get myself back on the up.

I've decided that I won't do anything sims related until I have written a good number of words for today. At the end of last month, I was about 10k over my target, now I've slipped to 8k - it doesn't sound a lot (only 2k in it) BUT it shows that I have been slipping, as I only need to write 685 words a day. I feel more refreshed for it now, and am excited about writing again. I'm hoping to finish chapter 8 of my novel today, and then think about what is going to happen in chapter 9. At the moment, I'm toying with the idea of my MC going to a New Year's Eve party - but I don't know who the invite is from, who will be there and if she's even going to actually go. We'll see I guess.

I started my vampire novel. Probably shouldn't have, as I want to write that as well, but I feel better about having the choice between writing my current novel and a vampire one. I can choose whichever takes my fancy on the day I guess. I'm tempted to print out what I have so far of my novel, read through it and look out for spelling mistakes/grammar mistakes/missing words etc and do a quick edit. I'll do a proper edit/rewrite when I've finished it :)

I don't know how much writing I'll get done tomorrow, as it's my birthday, so not a lot if probably the answer ;)

Day 45: Why?

I realised earlier when I posted, I forgot to say: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE <3 There's some love for you all. You're all amazing, don't ever change <33 I love you all just the way you are :')

Earlier, Ayesha asked me a really good question. It was such a simple question, but one that I had never really thought about before.
She asked me, why do I write?
It started to make me wonder, why on earth do I write? Why do I get on my own nerves when I haven't written my daily target for each day? Why did I choose to take part in NaNoWriMo last year, when I had always had a passion and the imagination for writing, but hadn't for quite a few years? Why do I want to take part in WriYe this year? So many whys, and it really made me think about what my answers are to these questions.

So, what are my reasons for wanting to write in the first place?
First off, I enjoy it. Simple and to the point answer, but what's the point of doing something if you don't enjoy? Life is too short. However, I really enjoy writing.
Secondly - For me, writing is all about escapism, and right from when I was younger, it always has been. I was bullied as a child, so writing was my way of getting out my own life, and entering someone else's. My own life and my own thoughts and feelings and problems don't matter when I'm writing - I can just zone out into my own imagination, and into someone else's thoughts and feelings and problems ;) Isn't the imagination a wonderful thing?
Thirdly (yes, this is turning into an essay :P) - I love words. This sounds odd, I know, but a lot of my friends will think I'm odd because I say that certain words or phrases are beautiful. I like finding poetry within words, which is why Dylan Thomas is my favourite author - his writing is poetic and it is beautiful and he is my inspiration. I love that. Words are amazing, aren't they?

This is going to be a long blog post... just a warning :P

So, why did I choose to take part in NaNoWriMo last year?
Main reason - other people were talking about it, and it sounded like a good idea. A lot of people I knew on boolprop were going to be taking part, and when I was wavering about whether I should or shouldn't, they persuaded me too - and I'm so glad they did. I never realised that I'd lost my passion for writing until I took part - and bam, the passion came back. NaNo was in no way easy - I mean, come on, 50,000 words in a month - mental xD But I found my love for writing again, and realised that that's part of who I am. So, thanks NaNo :D

Last questions of why I do this. Why do I get so annoyed at myself for not completing my target each day and why did I choose to take part in WriYe?
For getting annoyed at myself - well, my New Year's resolution was to write something everyday. I broke that resolution on the first of January xD But the thing is, I know that I'll never reach my target if I don't push myself and keep writing. Some days, I won't feel like it. Sometimes I'll just want to play the sims instead, or chat to amazing people - and thats fine. I just need to get stuff done in order to reach my goal.
And I chose to do WriYe, mainly because Heather was taking part. I knew that after NaNo, I wanted to keep writing, and Heather mentioned WriYe to me, so I thought why not. I know that her and Ayesha keep telling me that my target is too low, but meh, I don't care ;) I hope that after writing for a year, I still have the passion and love for it. And who knows, maybe I'll get something published one day xD


I asked Ayesha in return why she wrote, and it's funny how people's reasons are different, but somehow, they link in with your own.

Day 45: Is it something about this month?

I think there's something about February that's making me not want to write, or making writing seem like a daunting task. Possibly because the month is a few days shorter, I'm not sure or maybe I'm just plain lazy and am making up excuses... probably the latter, come to think of it.

I've written 780 words today, and am determined to try and write chapter 8 today. Each chapter is between 3 and 4,500 words - so that'll give my monthly word count a boost. I really want to reach my goal for WriYe, and slacking isn't helping whatsoever, but suddenly, other things just seem so much more interesting. I've been playing the sims everyday, which means that I'm more focused on that than doing anything else. I have some sims chapters to write up, so I could do those I suppose, but I'm not counting them towards my word goal as I don't honestly write that much on my chapters, so it wouldn't really add a lot.

I'm going to print out my novel (so far) later, and read it and edit it. I received a critique back from someone on boolprop, and I have a few things I need to work on, but I might not work on them until I do a full edit or a re-write (if I ever do a re-write xD) so yeah, we'll see.

I've got an idea for NaNo this year, which is good :) I want to start writing my Vampire novel BUT I want to finish my current novel first, so that I'm not writing more than one thing at once - my brain can't cope with that much writing :P

I need to go to the shop, then come home and write like the wind xDD

Day 42: February has been un-motivationl

February is going badly. This month, I have written just over 3,000 words, which is bad, as my target for the month is around 20,000 words. Luckily, I have 10k over my target to fall back on, but I feel guilty for not writing. Am I the only person who feels like that?

I wrote just over 1,000 words yesterday, and am playing the sims a little this morning, then going out for the day, and then I'll write this evening (and maybe play the sims more :P). I think I'm finding it difficult to get through the chapter I'm writing at the moment, as its mainly filler, and that can get a bit boring sometimes. I just need to plough on through it and stop avoiding it, and then I'll be back to the interesting parts of the story. My novel is standing at just over 30,000 words, and I think it's around the half-way point at the moment, so 60,000 words for this novel would be amazing! That'd be longer than the one I wrote for NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo, that's another thing. When is too early to start planning for it? I already have a vague idea of what I want to write for it, but right now, I'm writing one novel in a series, then am going to move on to a vampire novel (that will either be a trilogy or a series, I'll decide when I've written the first one probably) and then maybe by the time I've finished that, it'll be November xD I highly doubt that - I might need more novels and writing to occupy my time. If it's February now, and I'm halfway through my current novel, then that should hopefully be finished by the end of March/sometime in April. Then I'll move on to the Vampire one, and I'm still not sure where that novel is really going (I'm just letting my characters lead the way, and decide their own fates) so I haven't a clue how long that will take to write. Then there'll be the second book in my current series to be written as well. NaNoWriMo needs to be an unstarted novel, so I will probably go with the small idea I have at the moment - it should be fun to write.

At least I'm enjoying writing, and I think thats the main part, even if I do lack the motivation to actually sit down and write something, and would rather be playing on the sims a lot of the time, because that's fun and my sim is about to have a baby xD Why would I not want to play the sims, seriously?
And now you're probably thinking that I talk way too much, and if I put in as much effort into my story as I do when writing my blog, I would be finished in no time at all.

Maybe I should actually start properly writing now...

Day 35: During WriYe, you're meant to write.

This may seem obvious, but yes, you are meant to write during WriYe, but right now, I just don't have the motivation. I've been working on some character plans the last couple of days and yesterday, I just played the sims :P
I think I may write some of my current novel this evening, as I have nothing to do today, apart from going to work for an hour (AN HOUR? Seriously? Eugh.) so you know, I have a free day really. I think I'll play the sims again, write a sims chapter up, then get chapter 7 finished and start on chapter 8 of my novel :D Chapter 8 will be good, just writing the filler to get to it is the frustrating part. It'll be fine though, I'm sure :)

The first few days of January, I didn't write much, but ended up being like 12k over my wordgoal for the month, so you know - plenty of time to catch up xD I'm hoping to write a decent amount this month, but have quite a lot going on later in the month... It'll be fine. I just need to get my arse in gear.

I think Heather is in a similar mood, so obviously I'm not the only one. Perhaps we should motivate each other, rather than both of us spending all day playing the sims :P

Day 32: Pinch, punch, first day of the month

I can't believe it's February already (where is this year going? O_o ) but that does mean it's almost my birthday. How exciting is that? :P

I haven't done any writing yet this morning, because I've been too busy talking on the phone and listening and dancing to Dancing Generation - good song, and it makes you feel really upbeat if you're tired in the morning xD But that's off topic.

I found some pictures of what I think two of my characters look like in my novel - I like using pictures as a visual reminder, so it's not just all in my head. Which makes me sound weird, but whatever. I found some that I like, and they're how I imagined my characters in my head, so thats good.

I'm going to write some more of my current novel today, and maybe do some more picture searching and planning for my vampire novel cause I'm really excited about writing that :D I just don't want to have too many novels going on at once :)

Best get writing...