Wednesday's Writing Update: Still NaNo-ing

Happy Wednesday!

You can read my review of Ali Cross's Become here.

Well, I'm still NaNo-ing, and I think I'm doing well. Here are the day totals for Starred since November 1st.
Day 1: 5625
Day 2: 7515
Day 3: 10091
Day 4: 10869
Day 5: 16023
Day 6: 20605
Day 7: 25005
Day 8: 30029

I still can't believe I'm at 30,029 many words in eight days. My goal for Starred is to finish the first draft by Saturday, so I can start The Last Prophetess on Sunday.

I had a slight breakdown on Day 3 where I panicked and wondered how I was going to write two novels in a month, but things have kept going, and I feel good about where Starred is heading. The random scenes are going well. Some I can knock out in 30 minutes to an hour. Others take me a little longer, but that's okay. I think I'm writing this novel better than any other novel. I suppose by the fourth novel I should know a bit more how I write one. *laughs*

My main concern is now resting with The Last Prophetess. I only came up with the idea for it a couple months ago. I don't have a completed outline and two possible endings. I might have to . . . pants it. Yeah, a planner like me might not have everything as orderly for The Last Prophetess. It worries me. That's why I want to finish Starred a few days early so I can figure out how The Last Prophetess will go.

Wish me luck.

For those doing NaNoWriMo, how's it going? For those who aren't, what are you working on right now?

Wednesday's Writing Update: Ready, Set, NaNoWriMo

Happy Wednesday!

Click here to check out my review of Jessica Bell's String Bridge.

I do have October's stats.
Submissions: 0
Rejections: 0
Acceptances: 0
Submissions Still Out: 2
Total Word Count: 2963
Total Pages Edited: 316

Of course, everything else is on pause now because of NaNoWriMo. My November goal is to write two novels (Starred and The Last Prophetess) and to end up with at least 100,000 words.

If you want to read excerpts and synopses of Starred and The Last Prophetess, click here.

So far, NaNoWriMo is going well. Random.org chose my first two "scenes" to write for Starred. Act I, Scene 8 and Act I, Scene 10. I'm using "scenes" instead of chapters, but it's still standard novel writing. I finished both scenes and used Random.org to chose the next two: Act II, Scene 7 and Act III, Scene 2. I wrote Act II, Scene 7 yesterday as well, but I'm saving Act II, Scene 2 until today and picking two more random scenes.

It's only the start of NaNoWriMo, but I love the randomness of the scene picking. It's like having writing prompts, especially since I already wrote the first line for each scene with my outline. Day 1's total word count was 5,625. That's almost what I wrote in all September and October combined!

My goal for Starred is to write at least two scenes a day and have it be at least 50,000 words. So far, I'm a little ahead. I hope I can keep it up. My planning for novel two needs a lot more work, so a few days ahead of schedule will help me. A lot.

If you're participating in NaNoWriMo, how's it going? If you aren't, what are you up to?

Wednesday's Writing Update: Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo 2011

Happy Wednesday!

I’m still doing my best to catch up on everything before November 1^st. Not everything will get done, but that’s okay. Nothing is so pressing that I can’t squeeze in a few minutes to do it during November or wait to do it in December.

Also, in November, I’ll be a bit slow getting around to everyone. Writing will come first. But I’ll get to everything I can as time allows.

Okay, show of hands, who is doing NaNoWriMo? Good and please be sure to leave your screenname so I can add you as a buddy. I’m bookworm0753.

I’m doing something rather crazy this year. I’m writing two novels for NaNo.

Mock Cover

The first one is Starred, a YA Contemporary. I’m writing Starred very differently. For one, there will be Acts and Scenes, although still written as prose instead of stage directions/dialogue. Two, I’m writing it randomly. There are 30 scenes, and I’m going to use Random.org to choose which two I’ll write a day. If I finish two scenes early one day, I’ll go to the next random scene. My goal is to finish Starred by November 15^th and hopefully have it be at least 50,000 words.

Mock Cover

The second novel is The Last Prophetess, a YA Futuristic Fantasy. The Last Prophetess takes place 3000 years after The Phoenix Prophetess. Blame Apenth for giving me this crazy idea to write the two novels. It’s all his fault. *winks* I plan to write this novel like I normally do with chapters and consecutively. I haven’t figured out how many chapters there will be yet, but I hope to finish it by November 30^th and have it at least be 50,000 words.

Yes, I know I’ll have to bulk both novels up later, but the goal is to get both stories down. In a month. Yeah. It may not happen, but I’m going to try. I’m looking forward to it.

What’s the fastest you’ve ever written a novel, i.e. first draft?

Wednesday's Writing Update: Yeah, More Edits

Happy Wednesday!

I reviewed A to Z Stories of Life and Death by D. Biswas today on Surrounded by Books Reviews. There will be an interview on that blog with her on Friday.

As for writing news, it's more editing news instead of writing. I'm plodding along in the second edit of The Phoenix Prophetess. I love that novel, but sometimes it's slow going. I never realized trying to take writing two years old and make it up to my standards today takes a LONG time. I'll get it done, though.

The bad thing about getting edits done is that I have little time to write. I miss writing. I love creating new worlds, new stories. I miss that. At least I have NaNoWriMo coming up in November. I can't wait to write my first YA Contemporary novel, Starred.

Besides editing, I'm reading books to review and working on a few other things here and there. I sometimes really wish I had a time turner. I'd get so much more done then.

So what's new with you?

Do you like the creative end of writing or editing more?