NaNoWriMo Book Tag 📚

I am not participating in NaNo this year, but the awesome madamewriter did this book tag on her blog and I couldn’t pass it up. You know the drill. Grab your coffee and let’s do this!

1. How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?

Five times. I’ll admit that the very first time I participated, I was not prepared, but did it anyway and found the experience to be overall enjoyable and I told my friends and colleagues about it later on. 

2. How did you first find out about NaNoWriMo?

I can’t actually remember. Let me think for a bit…

…nope, still nothing. Someone must’ve informed me about it, but that memory eludes me now.

3. What was the name of the first novel you attempted with NaNo?

Beyond Beautiful. Back then, I remember thinking that romance stories were garbage and I decided to write my own after being inspired by an Aerosmith song of the same title. It turned out to be interracial and it dealt with issues such as accepting God and learning to accept that the past shapes one’s present/future. Maybe one day, I’ll dig up the story and post it on here… although now, I’ll call it rubbish.

 

4. Give us a 1 sentence summary of what you’re writing this year.

I’m not participating this year, but I am working on various writing projects at the moment including Crazy Rich French Twins which is a wealthy parody about a pair of mirror-identical French twins that breaks stereotypes (hopefully!).

5. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?

I’m not one to take writing advice. I just like writing and I have learned to love it even on difficult days. However, I’ll share a favorite writing quote of mine:

Writing is a way to talk without being interrupted.

6. Did you ever take a year off from NaNo? Why?

Yes, twice. The first time I had taken a year off I had no inspiration to participate and the second time, which is this year, is because I don’t have the energy to do so. 

7. What’s your biggest inspiration when figuring out what to write?

I always say that inspiration is all around us! I’m inspired by nature, by news headlines, by the books I read, everything and anything!

8. Read us the first sentence from one of your novels.

Ridiculously rich people enrolled their privileged children at Paris High, a place for snobs to mingle with other snobs. 

So begins the first sentence of the first episode of Crazy Rich French Twins.

9. Why do you love writing?

I write because I want to read something that hasn’t been in print before. I write for the sheer fun of it and for the pleasure. I write because I express myself better with a pen in my hand. I write to get better. I write to explore my own universe. I write because it’s therapeutic and I empty my mind when I do. I write to inspire and to invoke thoughts. I write because I am in love with words.

To those of you participating in NaNo this year, all the best with your projects! 😄

*** GIFs and images via Google Images

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NaNoWriMo final check-in

After many sleepless nights – no caffeine needed – I finally completed NaNoWriMo with 50,045 words after banging out 9000 words last evening. It could’ve been more, but I am satisfied with reaching the required goal of 50,000 words. I’ll try to catch up on reading, commenting, and following of blogs this weekend God’s willing preferably on Sunday after getting some much-needed sleep. I also have to reply back to some emails, but that might have to wait until Monday. 

The Phobia Challenge would be back next week Friday be it God’s willing. I think we’re on the letter ‘H’ now. I may have a few posts scheduled, but I am not sure as yet, but I hope to get back into the habit of blogging soon.

Also, congrats to all the NaNo participants out there! You did it whether you accomplished 50,000 words plus or not. The most important thing is that you started a story and even if it’s halfway completed, you have something to look forward to when you get the time to write. Isn’t that exciting? 🙂

Thank you, wonderful people, for all the encouragement and well wishes. You’ve been with me since day one and I am utmost grateful for it. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. ❤

Now, I am going to take off my jacket and toss it somewhere in the corner…

…unwind a little bit…

…and then collapse into a deep sleep.

I know. I know. You have probably seen this sleeping photo like a hundred times this week, but this is the mood that I’m going to be in for a while. 

Good evening and blessed weekend everyone.

NaNoWriMo check-in: Memes that describe my current feelings about my novel.

I am still trying to bang out words to reach my goal by the 28th, but I stop to have a little bit of fun. I love GIFs so consider yourself warned with this post.

When I started writing from nothing on November 01st, I was excited and pumped and shouting “LET’S DO THIS!”

When I didn’t write for a day, I tried making it up the next day: I must write 3000 words today.

Yet, I was sometimes distracted:

Social media is not a huge distraction for me, but I like logging into Pinterest for I create character boards there sometimes.

And I found this…

My main male character is going through a rough time after losing someone important, but he is obliviously charming.

Did I mention that he is a professor?

And there is this one character who is like…

I am having fun writing this story, although when I reread a few chapters, I rolled my eyes; but this is where I am grateful that something call editing exists!

Although the story is currently titled Dangerous Obsession, it is not a romance. It’s kind of angsty. I’ve never really done angst before and I try to stay away from it, but it couldn’t escape this time.

When you think there’s a cute moment, well, hmm, don’t hold your breath.

I was happy when I passed 27,000 words!

So I am trooping on…

NaNo participants, we’re almost there! Keep writing.

Published NaNoWriMo books

Today, I want to share a few books that started off as NaNoWriMo projects that turned into something bigger: published and bestsellers. 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen has been adapted into a film and is known as NaNoWriMo’s biggest commercial success. 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a hit with young adults. I’ve been meaning to get a copy of this book for the longest while, but I don’t know why I haven’t put in the order for it as yet.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is another book that resonated well with young adults. I am always on the fence when it comes to YA. I have this book in PDF format, but I am just too lazy to start reading it.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a fantasy novel. It was written over the span of three NaNoWriMos. This book was also adapted into a film if I am not mistaken or is still in talks of being adapted into a film.

Wool by Hugh Howey is a post-apocalyptic thriller that belongs to volume 1 of the Silo series. Howey became the first self-published author to receive a six-figure print deal and keep the digital rights to the book.

If they can do it, so can you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise where it concerns your craft and don’t doubt your ability for this could be you when the challenge is over. Write on.

The NaNo report: checking in

Gah! I’ve been trying to write this post for the longest while, but I just couldn’t bring myself to because I’m so tired! This weekend was eventful so I cannot complain. I did not get much writing done and I hardly got time to read other blogs, so I hope to catch up this week. 

NaNo’s been nothing but a blast so far. I am having fun writing this story and putting the characters together. I still don’t have an outline to work with, but I love how the story is shaping up.

Total Word Count:

15,985

Definitely nowhere near the goal that I want to reach, but I troop on. Forgive me for this short post, but I plan to talk about writing and NaNo this week… hopefully. God bless.

Outline? What outline?

For the past five years or so, I’ve been jumping headfirst into NaNoWriMo without warning. I don’t know what I’m going to write until the last minute and when I finally decide on what story I’m going to write, I simply dive in. I know that it’s dangerous to work without an outline, but that’s the thrill of it! 

Although by the time I start putting words on paper, the story starts dictating itself so I’m rarely ever surprised when I complete a story. I like taking clichés and ideas and turning them into something completely new and exciting, and I am hoping to achieve the same result with Dangerous Obsession.

Thank you, Kage of RLyis for my signature ❤

Writing by process of discovery is my forte because novel outlining does not work for me. The characters always seem to take over and then I am forced to abandon the outline, therefore, I don’t ever feel guilty about not outlining. When I used to outline my work, I felt as if I was the translator sitting down to tell the story I already know and it was not fun. I found out that I love discovering my characters as I go along rather than thoroughly sketching them. Case in point: when I started writing, it started with the character I call Ray da Díxon and because I did not thoroughly sketch him, I went back to revisit this character and created an identical twin for him. And because I did not thoroughly sketch them, I still discover new things about them every time I write stories around them.

I write wherever I am in the story, whether it’s the beginning, the middle, or even the end. Sometimes I know what comes next, sometimes I don’t, but that’s the beauty of not outlining, at least for me, because the less I know, the more I discover as I write. 

Remember, whether we outline or not, writing is a process. 

DISCLAIMER: I am not here to preach about how to write to other writers. What works for me may not work for others. Writers should find their own process of creating a story and if it’s ridiculous? Eh, who cares? The most important thing is that it works for you.

The NaNo report: Abandon ship?

*Groans* I apologize for sounding like a petulant child, but I am so tired at the moment. I did not get to put in any writing over the weekend to reach my 10,000 words goal. Yesterday, I think I lost a little bit of inspiration due to the fact that time is not on my side as of late and almost thought of abandoning ship.

I went home, slept, woke up sometime around eleven pm and wrote a couple of pages before my hand gave up on me. It still didn’t get me to 10,000 words, but I’m still on the ship until it sails off into the sunset.

Although it’s the 8th day, it’s never too late to start writing your story. It’s still pretty early, so make some time and start writing today. 

Total Word Count: 6034

The NaNo report: …so, I wrote some words…

It’s the third day of NaNoWriMo and although I’ve started off fairly slow, I still smile because I managed to get some words down. 

If you count 2840 words. That’s the prologue and 2 chapters. Since I am a pantser, I don’t have a set outline to work with, but I feel pretty good about the direction that I’m heading in so far and I am happy to know that my writing abilities aren’t limited.

We’re having a rather slow day here at the library and since I have one hour left to go, I’m going to use that time wisely to write. 

It’s time to NaNo!

NaNoWriMo calls again!

Excitement kicked in last minute for NaNoWriMo! I chose Dangerous Obsession as my story of choice and I am diving in without direction. This is the beauty of free writing! I am ready to take on this 50,000-word challenge… although it still fazes me that today is actually November 01st. 

The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. The peeps over at NaNoWriMo set today’s goal at 2,000 words. I won’t be able to achieve that amount today, but the most important thing is to start. I wrote the Prologue during my lunch hour at work and I intend to write a little bit more tonight before Riverdale. 

This year, I’ll be doing things differently for what can be my last participation in NaNoWriMo. For the past two years, while I did this fantastic writing challenge, I posted an encouragement quote daily until the last day, but I won’t be doing that this time around. I want to focus strictly on my writing, but I’ll be writing about my progression from time to time. I also thought of a few funny titles that I might blog about during NaNo:

^ Don’t tell me how to write!

^ Outline? What outline?

^ Protagonist v Antagonist

I also want to talk about character development so I might spend some time this month discussing characters. Now, time to spend some time actually writing before I catch some Zzzz’s.

All the best to all those who are participating in NaNoWriMo. 

Teaser Tuesday: NaNo ready?

I trust that your day was spent well and that you’ve accomplished all that you’ve set out to do.

Earlier this month, I talked about participating in NaNoWriMo this year and I was yet to make up my mind. Well, I did make it up recently. My friend is also participating and he is excited about doing it for the first time, so we’re embarking on a writing adventure from November 01st God’s willing. Yes, I am officially a participant of NaNoWriMo 2017.

But there’s a slight problem: I don’t know what to write about. 😦

I have so many stories that I want to bring alive, but I’ve narrowed it down to two: 

Dangerous Obsession: Two students take their obsession over a college professor too far when they kidnap him. (I know, I know, it’s cliché, but I’ve always wanted to write a  cliché story.)

Destiny: He is deaf, but it doesn’t stop his family from arranging a marriage for him. However, he does not want to get married to the chosen girl and turns to his neighbor for help in getting his family off his back. (This is not the actual title, but it works for now. Again, cliché, but I am feeling cliché this time around.)

Even this post isn’t NaNo ready, but let’s do this!