Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Entire Worlds in My Mind #IWSG

IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. November's co-hosts are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaar, Lisa Buie Collard, Tamara Narayan, Tyrean Martinson, and Christine Rains. For a list of other IWSG posts, click here.
November's question: What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

This is a hard question. I would find it easier to list my least favorite aspect of being a writer, but then again, that aspect usually falls in the published writer area. *coughs*Marketing*coughs*

I think my favorite aspect of being a writer is creating something out of nothing. I have entire worlds in my mind, and I'm lucky enough to be able to share some of them with others by writing the characters' stories down.

Last month, I was considering joining NaNoWriMo. Unfortunately, I came down with an upper respiratory infection, which slowed my brain down and continues to linger on (week and a half and counting). Even though I still wrote a bit every day, some of my word counts were lower than I needed to finish A Soul to Reap by October 31 and have my outline for A Soul to Keep ready for November 1.

That said, I am on the last chapter of A Soul to Reap and will go through it to fix some minor plot things I thought up while writing. Major stuff will have to wait until after my critique partner reads it. Although I usually wait to send a new work to anyone until after my self-edit, I know she's looking forward to finding out what comes next after reading the prequel A Soul to Kill.

Beyond writing A Soul to Reap, I didn't get much done in October. So my November goals include:
- Finishing A Soul to Reap and fixing minor plot issues in it and sending it to my CP.
- Outlining the rest of the Soul Reaper series (Books 2-5). This will be my two 30-minute writing sessions a day as it's still creative writing.
- If I finish the outlines, I will start writing A Soul to Keep (Soul Reaper #2).
- Continue notes/read-through of The Fate Challenges series.
- Continue helping my CP with her novella series.

Since I'm taking a week off at Thanksgiving, I'm hoping to get a few of these goals accomplished.

What are your goals for November?

2016 Stats: 302,816 words written and 1,907 pages edited

BOOK READ
Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains

BOOK REVIEW
Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains
What Saskia Dorn, a polar bear shifter, discovers in the tundra of Alaska might be more than she bargained for in Christine Rains' Cloak of Snow. The third Totem book raises the stakes. Saskia is a determined and head-strong woman, and her relationship with Sedge is explosive as the two buttheads at every turn. Yet together they will have to destroy the Jinxioc, which are not your average garden gnomes, but fierce little people with sharp teeth and a vicious appetite. As soon as a boy was taken on Saskia's watch, I knew she wouldn't abandon the people of Kuci. The emotional turmoil Rains creates in this novella is just as strong as the physical action. And the ending, my heart hurts for Saskia. Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains continues the Dorn sisters' plight to find the totem tokens, and I'm looking forward to see what will come next for them.

#SPECFIC BOOKS RELEASING IN NOVEMBER
Lodestar by Shannon Messenger
Flashfall by Jenny Moyer
The Burning Isle by Will Panzo
After Atlas by Emma Newman
Highway Thirteen to Manhattan by Kourtney Heintz
Cloaked in Christmas by T.F. Walsh
Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Timeless by Crystal Collier
Raven by Rachel Morgan
The Jekyll Revelation by Robert Masello
Infinity by Jus Accardo
Arena by Holly Jennings
Huntress Found by A.A. Chamberlynn
Forever Charmed by Dawn Chartier
Flying Through Fire by Nina Croft
Catalyst by Kristin Smith
Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth
Once Upon a Happy Ending by Various Authors
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson
Unreal Encounters by Milo James Fowler

26 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

The nice thing about self-imposed deadlines is the ability to change them. Finish this month instead.

L.G. Keltner said...

Good luck with your goals! Life happens and things don't always go according to plan, but that's okay. Except, of course, when it's a respiratory infection slowing you down. Those suck. Hopefully it doesn't linger for much longer.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry you were sick. Just a setback. Besides, your total word count for the year is beyond impressive.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Hi Cherie, your total word count for the year is phenomenal. You are my inspiration!

Christine Rains said...

I hope you're feeling better. And yay for being nearly done! I can't wait to read it. :) I love creating new worlds and characters. Thanks so much for the awesome review. I'm working on finalizing the covers for #4-6 this week.

Crystal Collier said...

Yay! There I am on your list! Thanks for that.

Sickies...yuck. Nothing like it to slow you down. Cherie, I'm hoping you reach all your goals and that there is an abundance of cheese. You deserve it.

Chrys Fey said...

Creating something out of nothing is a wonderful thing. :) On the IWSG site, I'm actually talking about something that is my least favorite...rejections.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Hope you feel better soon, Cherie. Drink lots of water. Rest! Better that you don't do NaNo. Next year.

Nicola said...

Hope you feel better soon Cherie! Congratulations on achieving so much this year so far. You are amazing and an inspriation to many of us. Get well soon and take good care!

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I'm with you on the evils of marketing. Ugh. Sucks the writer joy right out of your soul.

I hope you're feeling better soon!

Anonymous said...

Yuck about the respiratory infection. I hope you get over it completely ASAP.

Carrie-Anne said...

Good luck with your November writing goals! I had a really bad, lingering cough and cold the first year I officially did NaNo, with lower than optimal wordcounts some days, though I still managed to write 74K. By my standards, that was a damper on my usual levels of productivity. This November, I'm hoping to be a NaNo overachiever again, though realistically. I don't get people who claim to have written hundreds of thousands of words in that one month.

H. R. Sinclair said...

Sucky about the illness. I hope it clears up soon. You may be a bit behind on your goals, but too bad. Good luck meeting them. Take care.

emaginette said...

I'm doing NaNo. And instead of one story I'm doing outlines and shorts. I never did get organized enough to write up my daily writing prompts. My bad. So I'm doing the next best thing.


Anna from elements of emaginette

Mark said...

Hope you feel better soon! I'm actually giving a talk to writers on NaNoWriMo later this month, but November is always such a crazy busy month, I wish they'd move this to the middle of winter or something:)

Kristin Smith said...

Woohoo! I love seeing Catalyst on your list of SpecFic books releasing in November! :)

Being sick is the worst! Hope you can kick that infection soon. And good luck with your writing goals. I think it's amazing that you've already written 302, 816 words this year and the year isn't even over yet. You go, girl!

Ellie Garratt said...

I'm not taking part in nanowrimo this year either. Too many work hours and a weeks holiday like yourself. Good luck with your goals, though. You've achieved so much already!

Chemist Ken said...

My goals for November are to do everything that I was supposed to do in October. And that definitely includes writing. Hope you feel 100% soon.

Diane Burton said...

I hope you feel better. Good luck with your goals.

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

Sorry to hear you'll miss NaNoWriMo this year. I always enjoy beginning a new project. In your case, you already know the direction your writing will take so you needn't rely on the November project as a crutch.

Hope you get back to good health soon.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Christine is such an awesome writer - your review highlights that!

I hope you feel better soon! Despite being sick, I'm pretty sure your word count for the year is at a skyrocket level!

M Pax said...

Hope you're feeling better. My goals are not to fall on my head again and to get edit 2 of FreeFall done.

Michelle Wallace said...

Your 2016 stats are phenomenal! As usual, your output is amazing.
Hope you get better soon.

Tamara Narayan said...

Hope you get over that illness. For November I would like to find an excellent ending to a novel that's been waiting for years to be complete.

Heather R. Holden said...

LOL, I hate marketing, too. But I agree, getting to create something out of nothing is such a magical part of writing, for sure!

And ack, so sorry to hear about the upper respiratory infection. I can't imagine how awful that is to deal with. Hope you recover enough this month to accomplish your November goals!

New Release Books said...

All the best with your goals.