Simply Kate: NaNoWriMo

Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts

Monday, November 1, 2010

October and a Question

11:00 AM

Highlights:

8th ~ I went to a really lame, but equally awesome church dance. There was no one there and that's what made it fun!
10th ~ I gave the lesson in Relief Society. There was a beautiful fireside that night. I had a lot of fun. Then Jessica and I went stargazing. It was cold and we laughed a lot. Good times, good times.
11th ~ Happy Birthday Jeff! We had his family party. He got loaded down with Star Wars gifts.
14th ~ Happy Birthday Megan! Another family party. This one ended a bit quicker because we got a call that my grandma wasn't doing well. I sat up with her with a few family members all night.
15th ~ My wonderful grandmother passed away. I miss you grandma!
17th ~ Happy birthday Kevin! I went to my friend Wes's mission homecoming. Later that night was my grandma's viewing. She looked so beautiful and peaceful.
18th ~ The funeral was beautiful and touching.
20th ~ I lost my job.
30th ~ Trick or treating with my niece and nephew in my awesome ladybug tutu!
31st ~ Happy Halloween!

Happiest moment: Singing to my grandma and watching her go. It was such a peaceful, spiritual experience.

Saddest moment: Any time I realize that it's going to be a VERY long time before I see her again.

Favorite Food: I've LOVED chili this month. It's just so tasty. Mmm! Add some buttered bread and you've got heaven in a bowl!

Overall Impression: It's been a hard month. There have been a lot of blessings, but it's been a sad one. I'm excited for November to start, just lose myself in writing. It's going to be amazing!

Just to remind you all, things in November will be a little different around Simply Kate. Because I'll be so busy writing my novel, I won't be able to post in the way we're all used to. I've come up with a little bit of a schedule for the month to make it easier for me to keep up with my blogging without pulling me away from my novel.

Mondays will be all about the questions you have for me.
Tuesdays are about my past. Funny stories and videos of me as a kid.
Thursdays will be all about giveaways! Be sure to check in and enter!
Fridays will be done by Guest Bloggers! I have some wonderful bloggers lined up! Exciting!
Sundays are dedicated to my progress in NaNoWriMo! I'll post my word count and maybe an excerpt from my writing that week!

I'm so excited to start!

And now for my first question!

A lot of you have been asking me what my book is about, so here is a short synopsis.

An obsession with tales of a castle deep within the forbidden region of the Hettana Forest presents Maerra with a strange new ability. Terrified of what this new gift might do, her father sends her away, but to no avail. In exile she cultivates her new gift: flashes of light that lead her to the people in her thoughts.

But when war strikes, Maerra is called home only to find the city filled with the enemy. Used by the opposing forces against her own people, Maerra soon realizes how dangerous and deadly her ability is. It is no longer a gift, but a curse. She must fight to save the lives of the people she loves, while making sure that she is not swept away by the power of the flashes.

Do you have a question for me? Please ask it!

Tags: Grandma, Halloween, Monthly Reviews, NaNoWriMo, October |

1 Thoughts

Friday, October 29, 2010

Procrastination

12:52 AM

I have so much that I need to do.

I looked at the countdown clock on the NaNoWriMo website. Less than 3 days left until November.

Am I ready?

No.

Could I probably BS it enough to write 50,000 words?

Yeah, probably.

The problem?

I'm a born procrastinator.

I've so much to do. I better stop blogging and get to it.

Tags: NaNoWriMo, Procrastination |

1 Thoughts

Friday, October 22, 2010

Down

11:29 AM

I'm feeling down.

Down like a bird that can't fly.

Down like a fallen dish, shattered on the floor.

Down like... something that's not up. (I'm out of metaphors.)

There are a few reasons why this is...

1. I think it's finally sinking in that my Grandma is gone and that she's really not going to be there the next time I go to her house. Anytime I think about Thanksgiving, or Christmas Eve, it really hurts. She was the center of both of those holidays and traditions, and change scares me. I miss my grandma.

2. I'm unemployed again. When I started my job, I knew that it might only be temporary. I was taking the place of a 70 year old woman who had broken her arm and had a myriad of other health problems. But they wanted her back when she was better if her doctor gave her the okay. She wasn't supposed to be back until November. When I showed up for work on Wednesday, she was there. Two weeks early. She and my coworker were shocked that no one had called me. I went down to my bosses office trying not to cry.

3. I had to take down my green screen out of the spare bedroom. And I have no idea where I can put it now when I make my next book review. But that's kind of minor. I'm just a little bummed.

4. National Novel Writing Month starts in 9 days. While I think I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm doing, I'm a little bit terrified.

5. I just want someone to hold me.

Enough of me whining. Here are some happy things too.

1. It's raining and smells wonderful. The sun is shining through the clouds and the wet, colorful leaves look beautiful.

2. I'm about to play (and maybe finish) Zelda: Ocarina of Time. That's awesome!

3. I've started making my Halloween costume! It's poofy!

Things aren't so bad. I've got a good life and things to keep me busy.

Tags: Costume, Depressed, Fall, Grandma, Halloween, NaNoWriMo, Rain, Single, Thoughts, Unemployed, Zelda |

12 Thoughts

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Some Notes

10:00 PM

Dear Bedroom,
I really want you to be clean. I don't have the gumption to clean you. I'm going to go to sleep tonight, and I'm going to hope you'll be all spotless when I wake up. If you aren't, I'll be very put off. Kay thanks.

NaNoWriMo,

I am so excited! I can't wait to rejoin the fun and games (and stress) that you create and sponsor!

Kate Weber

Novel:

Will you plot yourself already? I've been wracking my brain about where to take the many characters that are now named in the world that is now mapped out. But all of that is useless. They'll all just sit happily in their little imaginary world with no adventure. That's boring. You will never get read. So hurry and create a reason for me to write you!

Your adoring (frustrated) author.

To My Job:

I really like you. There is nothing better than getting paid to play, color and watch Disney movies. I approve.

(I would appreciate it if you would create an instant disinfectant sprayer for all of the children. I'm not a fan of being sick all weekend.)

Hey Cold!

You're ridiculous. My lungs rumble so much when I breathe you'd think it was 2012 in there. Go away.

Also, I don't like your irony. "Get some rest and I'll leave you be." Yet your insistent need to tickle my throat and make me cough won't let me sleep! Jerk.

P.S. Making me cough so hard I throw up isn't acceptable. I officially hate you. Except you made me lose five pounds... I guess I'll forgive you...

-Dearest Halloween-

My feelings for you do not reflect the picture above. I love you. I love feeling like a little kid, getting all dressed up in silly outfits. You make me smile. Oh how I miss the days when I would map out my trick-or-treating route and fill two pillowcases with candy. More than I could ever eat of course. I would wait until Spring and walk door to door selling it all back to the people who gave it to me. *Sigh* Good times.

I love you.

Costume,

I'm really excited about my ideas. Please don't make me look fat! I would be sad.

Thank you!

P.S. Voting for my costume is still open! Go vote!

To the people who tagged me:

I'm a slacker. I'll admit it. I honestly am just not in the mood to answer more questions. But the rest of you should definitely check out their blogs! They are awesome!

Jamie @ Spread Your Wings and Fly

KG @ A City Girl In Rural Alaska

Daniela @ dk everyday

These blogs are wonderful! So sorry I didn't answer your questions! I hope you three love me anyway!

Awards -

I've been getting a lot of blog love lately. THANK YOU! You're all so wonderful. I love getting awards. It's so fun to get blog love and then pass it on! But I feel like I am only ever posting about awards. (Which I love to do.) But I don't want to weigh you all down. So I've created a separate blog just for accepting and passing on awards! I'll announce whenever I have accepted and passed one on here, so you can go check it out, but won't bore you all with award posts here if you don't want to read them. It's not quite finished yet, but a few more awards will be posted there over the next few days! Thank you all so much for the blog love! It's overwhelming and I love you all! MWAH!

Dear Social Life,

We've kind of been on the rocks lately. I'm going to give it my best shot to get out there. I'll make you proud. (NaNoWriMo is going to be a major competitor in November, but I'll try my hardest.)

Sleep:

Take me away.

Tags: Awards, Bedroom, Cleaning, Costume, Halloween, Job Interview, NaNoWriMo, Notes, Novel, Sick, Sleep, Social Life |

8 Thoughts

Friday, October 1, 2010

One Month Left

6:38 PM

Last year, I wrote a novel. In one month. But I had a lot of help. I wouldn't have been able to do it without National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.)

Well, it's coming up on NaNoWriMo again! In one month! I'm excited!

October is just as important for NaNoWriMo as November, when you actually do the writing. This is the 'prep month.' You work on plot outlines, character names, and for me, covers and maps.

Being the Photoshop obsessed girl I am, this is always my second priority in October. Seeing the images helps me visualize the adventure that will unfold in my novel.

I finished my images to the best of my abilities at this early stage.

Here is the current cover! I am very excited about how it turned out!

It will be a companion novel to the novel I wrote last year, Sacrifice.

So I expanded the area of map that wasn't explored in Sacrifice and will be using it as the map in my 2010 project.

(Sacrifice Map)

(2010 Project Map)

The ideas are turning in my head and I'm so excited to explore this story and see where it takes me.

I also made a cover for my friend Alex (a fellow NaNo-er).

If you are interested in NaNoWriMo, join HERE! It's free, and a lot of fun (and hard work).

My username is Kate Weber! Add me as a writing buddy!

Tags: Excitement, NaNoWriMo, Novel, November, Writing |

19 Thoughts

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Author

6:04 PM

I need to blog. About two hours ago, I was given some really heart breaking news. I don't want to go into detail. But ever since I've just felt the need to do something. Anything. Get my mind off of this.

So I'm going to blog. I'm going to tell you about something that has made me so happy these past few months.

I wrote a novel. It was for a program called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

The whole concept of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel of 50,000 words or more all in the month of November when NaNoWriMo takes place. I had heard about it in 2008 but not until half way through the month of November, therefore thwarting any thoughts of joining. So in 2009, when November rolled around, I decided to sign up and give it my best shot.

I have tried to write novels before. I've always lacked the discipline needed to actually sit down and finish. My best attempt before 11/09 was about 14,500 words. I loved the story, but there is a big reason why I quit. I was obsessed with it being perfect.

In October of 2009, I had the opportunity to meet and interview one of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale, for my YouTube book review channel. She was speaking at the Utah Humanities Book Festival in Salt Lake City prior to our short interview. She and another author, Sara Zarr, were paired together to talk about their books and writing. They said something profound that I think every aspiring author needs to hear.

"Your first draft is just that. It's a first draft. It doesn't need to be perfect. Just write it, you can fine tune later."

That was my problem with each of my previous attempts. I wanted it to be a publishing ready novel right from the beginning. That doesn't happen. This is also the point of NaNoWriMo. No revisions. Revisions are for December. You spend the whole of November getting the novel written, fixing can be done later.

This is what I did. I ate up the experience, writing for hours and hours each day. I had my 50,000 words by the 17th. Each moment was amazing and it became a race to finish the novel completely by the end of November. I did it. The novel ended up just over 90,000 words. (For those of you who don't understand how many words that is, picture writing about 32.5 term papers for college.)

I've since read through it, doing some minuscule editing and have sent it out for a few family members and close friends to read. It's terrifying knowing that it's in the world being read at the moment. But I've gotten good words of encouragement so far.

"I have not finished your story yet, but I am really into it so far! You really are an awesome writer. Love your work!"

"I too am enjoying your book.....not much editing going on because I am getting lost in the story."

It's been such an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I did it! I can't wait for next November. I'll be writing the prequel to my current novel. Exciting! I encourage you all to join, too!