Tag: National Novel Writing Month

New Mission Statement

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

So it’s been a few months again. Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ … you get the idea.

I finished NaNoWriMo and was more methodical than ever with my spreadsheet keeping thanks to a class I took recently. Seriously, I was adding formulas crunching numbers left and right just because I could. It was wonderful. The excuse to whip myself like a workhorse and hit 50K words in a month didn’t finish the book like I’d hoped, but it was darned close. So I kept at the spreadsheet and 20K words later it was finally done. That’s my ninth novel in the can for those of you counting at home.

Usually now, I take a month of two off before I begin editing, but I’m diving back in after only a week this time. My New Years Resomolution was to write two books this year instead of my annual one. The book I just finished doesn’t count as one of the two I plan on writing this year by the way. To do that, I need to be more productive all around. I’ve got almost all of the brainstorming done for the next novel. There are still a few kinks to work out but then I’m close to the outlining stage. I discovered a while ago that I’m not great at working on two projects at once. Well, too bad. This is going to be a learning year for me as I decided not just to write two books, but to also push myself as an author from craft to business.

I felt like most of last year I was floundering just to do what I wanted to do. I’m sure many can relate. So this year, I’m kicking it up a notch.

But I’m still in a good place. My natural rhythm the past couple of years had me starting a book around September. So I’d finish it by the end of the year, spend the spring cleaning it up, begin querying in the summer, and start a new book in the fall. Rinse and repeat. If I can get this new one started by February, though, that’ll shift my whole time table. Devoting more time to writing means devoting more time to editing later, but that’s just something I’m going to have to deal with. I’ve got some new writer goals now, both big and little picture, and I need to get a move on so I can begin sharing them all with you!

Feel the Burn(out)

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, ResearchLeave a comment

Well, it’s week two of NaNoWriMo. So far progress is going pretty well. I’m ahead of schedule and I plan on keeping it that way as the week around Thanksgiving is kind of a black hole. Historically that week alone makes or breaks my entire month of NaNoWriMo. This year, my plan is to front load my words so much that if I miss a day or two — or end up with a lighter word count — I’ll still be in the clear. What that means is right now is that I’m writing. Writing a lot. And boy are my writing muscles feeling it.

You know this segues perfectly into my real theory about working out. This applies to when you are either just starting out or you’ve taken significant time off and are getting back into your old regimen Anyway, it goes something like this …

Make it to Week Three and you’ll be fine. Week One is hard, yes, but its still new so you’re kind of energized and can keep pushing yourself. Week Two is hard. Just hard. It’s like February. You’ve come so far, but there’s still too much more to go. Your muscles are tired and you don’t have the practiced stamina to know how to live like that as your new normal. This is when people are most likely to give up. Week Three then is when the new habit becomes routine. You’re much more likely to be able to work through the bad days and the stuff that was so insurmountable only a week before doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

I think that works for writing too. Well, it probably works for any new thing actually. My usual word count is a thousand words a day. Obviously, for November, I’m increasing that number and since I’m trying to potentially finish early, I’m really putting on those weights. So, yeah, if I can just make it to Week Three I’ll be okay.

In other news, I played Mario Kart on the Switch with my five-year-olds for the first time the other day and it was so much fun. Good old Nintendo has family fun figured out, so I was able to turn on automatic racing and the inability to leave the track and basically just hand the controllers to my kids. I even turned off all computer opponents for safe measure too. Picking the character and car is like half the fun for them, but being able to race as well … they felt like they were playing video games with daddy. A good time was had by all. My son even figured out how to use his items and now asks me almost daily if we can play again. I think that’s a pretty good problem to have.

What I’ve Been Watching: Well, when there wasn’t new TV for a while, my wife and I have been rewatching How I Met Your Mother. We were big fans of the show the first time around and I think it still holds up. The first season was a little rougher than a remembered and I feel like no way would anyone get away with a Barney Stinson character in today’s climate, but he becomes so over the top, it’s like South Park or something and he’s just a parody of a parody.

What I’ve Been Reading: I tried getting into Wool by Hugh Howey and just couldn’t. I think that’s because I didn’t know the “book” is a collection of novellas. So I liked the beginning, but then when it changed novellas but didn’t restart the chapter count, I felt like it had lost all tension. Because it had. So I never ended up finishing it.

I did read Soulsmith by Will Wight and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a much tighter story this time around so it felt like I read it in no time at all.

I’m currently reading Adventurers, Assassins, and Samurai; Shoguns and Emperors by Christopher Glen about the Meiji Restoration. I get the sense that it isn’t the most academic work on the subject matter, that’s kind of why I like it. I’d been reading a very academic work and at times felt myself getting a little lost in the minutia. I think Glen does a good job of laying out the bare bones so to speak with the side effect of enhancing my knowledge of the movie The Last Samurai with what they got right and more often than not, what they didn’t.

Stoppable Force Meets (Hopefully) Moveable Object

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing ProcessLeave a comment

Well I’ve written myself into a corner again. I tend to do that every now and then. This time around, my characters are sneaking into a facility to steal something. They’re posing as a repair crew. My outline says something like they “sneak in to fix the [Thing] but really, they’re going to sabotage the [Other Thing] to help with their escape”. I had no idea what either of those would be when I wrote up the outline and left that as a problem for Future Dan. Well, here I am, 50K words later. Future Dan has become Present Dan and I’m nowhere closer to solving this conundrum.

Anyone know anything about mining facilities or refineries? Asking for a friend …

But seriously, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Okay, inopportune time. We’re in the beginning of National Novel Writing Month after all and like usual, I’m using the event as an excuse to take a huge bite out of my novel like one McGruff might have taken out of crime. I never seem to time my books right … or maybe I do … so I’m never starting a project when NaNoWriMo roles around. I’m always finishing one.

Thing is, I can’t move forward until I figure this out. I want to get to the caper but aside from what they’re stealing, I don’t even know the layout of the place. Perhaps Past Dan should have figured that out too. Thanks a lot, guy!

So instead of drawing with words, I think I’m going to be drawing with like an actual pencil as I sketch a map of the place. I’m big into maps. My brother? He’ll read a book based solely on the map inside the front cover. I have a harder time conceptualizing everything and spend more time trying to make what I’m reading conform to what I saw in the picture which just takes me out of the story. I trust the writer to give me the important details instead.

While I don’t rely on maps so much in my books, I still like to draw them when it comes to environments. It helps with my blocking. I have literally once sketched out a room and everything in it just so I could use a couple of action figures to act out a fight scene.

Way I see it, my tasks are as follows:

  • Figure out what my facility actually does
  • Name the key components and what could conceivably be wrong with them (I mean it could be the spanocrank has snapped its driveshaft … it doesn’t have to be legit, just sound it)
  • Figure out:
    • A. What my repair crew is actually sabotaging
    • B. Why this would be beneficial in an escape

I think once I get all the above covered I’d be comfortable moving on. Some people might just skip the whole scene and continue to push the burden onto Future Dan, but I can’t write that way. I can jump around in an outline as I build it, but I like to write sequentially. No. This is an obstacle in my way and the only way is through, not around.

Anyone else doing NaNoWriMo this year? If so, I’m always looking for more writing buddies. Hit me up and happy writing.

The Finish Line

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

I’d say that my NaNoWriMothis year was a smashing success! I even finished a day early too. This is the fourth time I’ve taken part in the challenge and I think it was also the most diligent – therefore the easiest – it’s ever gone. Only a few days toward the end did I have to really worry about putting in the words and that’s only because I knew I wouldn’t be writing anything on Thanksgiving or the day after. Even then, it was only about three thousand day. The rest of time, I was chugging along nicely. So nicely in fact, that it’s been three days now that I haven’t written a single thing and I’m feeling restless.

The habit is established and now hard to break. There’s about a quarter of my current manuscript left so there are plenty of words left to write, though. I think I’ll dive back on in tomorrow at the pace I’d been going. Even record my progress via spreadsheet. I do so love to compare all of those numbers … If I can finish the thing before the end of the year then I’ll be able to brag that I’ve finished two books this year instead of my customary one.

I’m also feeling restless about getting Land of Sky and Blood out there. I’d told myself to take my time with it and I have been, but the excitement is getting to me. I’ve added some, probably, unnecessary pressure to my life to also get that finished by the first of the year. I don’t like to be bored, I guess.

In the little down time that I have, I’ve been watching some Great British Baking Show with my wife and reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I remember when that book came out and all the of the hullaballoo surrounding it. I’m about halfway through it now and I can honestly say I don’t get it. I like aspects of the book, but I’m feeling a familiar itch to also get that finished. Like the circus the book is about, the story is all flash and awe without any real substance. I feel kind of clever for coming up with that one, but I wonder if some reviewer beat me too it years ago when the novel first came out. That’s not to say I dislike the book. There’s plenty to like, I’m just in the mind for one that moves at a faster pace.

Anyone else do NaNoWriMo? How’d it go?

 

NaNoWriMo 4

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

We’re in the home stretch! I didn’t get a chance to write yesterday, so I had to make up for it today. I’m now exactly on track to finish by November 30th. I plan to front load my word count over the next couple of days though because…

  1. I don’t want it hanging over my head
  2. I doubt I’ll get much writing done around Thanksgiving.

Not having a chance to write yesterday means I missed out on both my 14 day in a row and my 21 day in a row badges. Honestly, I think the 21 one might have been shot anyway, but 14 was doable. Oh well. I know the badges don’t really mean anything, but I’ve played enough video games in the last ten years to be a fan of achievements.

I’d say I’m a fan for the new NaNoWriMo site and its features. My biggest critique and feature it is sorely lacking in my opinion is that right now you can’t retroactively add to your word count. Say, I did write yesterday but forgot to enter it. Right now there’s no way to do so and tag it for the correct date. It’s all day of input. I assume that’s something they’ll iron out once everything calms down because it seems like a massive UI oversight to me.

Anyway, hope you’re all doing well and we can get back to much longer, more meaningful posts once this is all through.

NaNoWriMo 3

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

Another short one. I had a couple of goose eggs, but made most of it up last week. As you can see from my current stats, I’m just about on track again.

Word Count Graph

To me, half the fun of NaNoWriMo is watching those little dots climb. I love the stats feature. The bottom graph makes my pace look a lot wigglier than it is. I’ve been shooting for around 2k words a day (hit 2.8k today) to make up for lost days and create a little cushion for future days when I don’t get anything else done.

In other news, I’m almost finished reading The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. I ended up loving The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet so much, I wanted another ride on the Mitchell train. If I thought Thousand Autumns broke what I conceived to be typical narrative structure, hew-boy was I not prepared for Bone Clocks. But I think I like it? 500 plus pages in I better like it. I don’t have time anymore to read books I don’t like. Mitchell’s grasp of character is definitely his strongest feature. I chose The Bone Clocks at random because it sounded cool and I didn’t want to read Cloud Atlas. Apparently, I chose correctly because it and Thousand Autumns are related?! I have so many questions for David Mitchell writer to writer.

I love when that happens, though. I’d read 14 by Peter Clines and absolutely loved it. Maybe a year later, I bought The Fold just to read something new. Even reading the description of the book I was pleasantly surprised to find out the two novels were sidequels.

So that’s twice this has happened to me. It’s like discovering a secret connection of the universe no one else can see. Know what I mean?

That’s enough for today. More writing and editing to do. Hope you’re all having a good event. If you’re still looking for writing buddies, I’m dmelnick.

Happy writing!

NaNoWriMo 2

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

Another short post this week. In fact, it’s going to be this way the whole way through NaNoWriMo and the month of November. These words don’t count 🙂 But seriously, it’s because I’m just swamped this month. I’m cranking out those 50k words while trying to edit a massive book at the same time.

I’m about three thousand words under where I should be in the event right now. That’s all right. I’m starting to pick up the pace and write more per day.

I’ve never been much of a marathon writer. Even if I know where I’m going, my brain gets tired. I think the most I’ve ever written in one sitting is twenty-five hundred words? Some of you are probably scoffing at the number and rightly so. Usually, on days when I need to make up word count or I want to make a really big push, instead of writing in one long session, I break it up and write in spurts. That’s much more manageable for me.

I think it was Ray Bradbury who used to say write two sentences six times a day. If worse comes to worst, you’ve got twelve sentences out of the deal but as often happens, you won’t stop writing once you start. Now I can’t write six times a day — I just don’t have the time for that — but I can write through a couple of smaller sessions. I usually try to get around a thousand words out first thing in the morning. That’s when I’m most productive anyway. If I don’t switch gears to something else entirely, I’ll come back to the work and try and write about 500-600 word chunks throughout the day. Everyone is different, but that seems to work for me.

Okay, that’s all the break I get. Hit twenty-five hundred words today (in three sittings) and it’s time to get some editing done. Until next time!

Happy writing!

NaNoWriMo 1

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal4 Comments

Not going to be a long post this week. Now that NaNoWriMo is in full swing, every word counts and as per my rules, these posts do not.

So far so good. I’m a little behind, but that’s okay. I can make up a lot of extra words during the week. Chugging along on Partners in Crime and haven’t had to resort to additional content but with only 5k out of 50k completed, the night is still young as they say.

Inspiration actually struck pretty hard on Friday for a new story. Whether that’s a short story, novella, or full on novel, I don’t know yet. I have an idea whose grounds have been tread on before. I feel like I should do some “research” first, meaning read other books like it to see what’s already out there and how I’m going to say something different. But that’s a problem for Future Dan.

Now, it’s back to squeezing out another 500 words today and getting some editing in Land of Blood and Sky done.

Happy writing!

Running the Numbers

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal1 Comment

Not going to be a big post this week. NaNoWriMo is this Friday and I’m getting into the headspace to take a fifty thousand word bite out of Partners in Crime. It’s madness, I know.

I love taking part in this community event and I’m looking forward to it more this year because we’re not going anywhere for Thanksgiving. You might not think that’s a big deal, but it’s hard to write 1700 word a day as it is. Maybe you have have little kids at home like I do and don’t always get to write on the weekend. OK, that means instead of 1700 words a day, I’m looking at around 2,380 words every week day instead. A little harder, sure, but not impossible. Now, factor in a week of Thanksgiving vacation? Leaving for the holiday creates a 12,000 word deficit on top of the weekend issues.

So yeah, that Thanksgiving week can really make or break the event for me. Case in point, we visited family last year and I wasn’t able to finish the event and instead did my own in February. This year, I’m going to knock it out in November as intended.

The contest? Competition? Event … just wants you to crank out 50K words, but I give myself the following rules:

  1. All writing must be fiction. Blog posts do not count.
  2. There shall be no filler writing. All writing must create or advance a story in some way. Writing words for words’ sake is pointless.
  3. The fifty thousand words don’t have to be in the same manuscript. I’ll often write the bulk of them in the manuscript I’m working on but then write other flash pieces or short stories keep my creativity fresh. As long as I’m producing content, that’s okay.

That’s about it. I look forward to taking part and if you’re also doing the challenge, I’m always looking for more writing buddies. You can find me under dmelnick.

Happy writing, everyone!

Soccer Practice

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing Process1 Comment

Coming at “this whole writing thing” with a more professional attitude means that I have more on my plate than ever. I’m working on the rough draft of Partners in Crime, I have edits yet to do on Land of Sky and Blood, and the brainstorming/prewriting/outlining phase for Altered Egos (Tentatively titled Basalt City Series) book 3. That’s a lot of back and forth. And while the idea of working on so many projects just gets me all twitterpated, its exhausting.

I was listening to a Creative Penn podcast a while ago — I don’t remember who the guest was, I know, what a great start to a story — but they were talking about juggling tasks. The guest had this great metaphor about how to handle that work load in your head. Think of everything you have to do like soccer balls. You ultimately want to get them in the goal. Yeah, you can give little taps to each of them but you’re not going to make a lot of progress any time soon. You can’t kick all of them either, there just isn’t the time. So with five soccer balls, say, you get only two kicks. Which ones are you going to kick? How are you going to spend your energy?

I want to work on more, but I find myself coming back to this analogy. Never one to give in and a stickler who’ll do anything for spite, I’m going to kick three soccer balls, darn it! But just like writing, I need to build up my multitasking muscles.

There isn’t a lot of time either. NaNoWriMo is a week and a half away. Already? I feel like I was just talking about using NaNo as an excuse to take a chunk out of Land of Sky and Blood. A year has passed already? But I can feel like lurking out there. Waiting. Ready to gobble me up like a hungry dragon.

Whenever I participate, I don’t ever write filler just for the sake of word count. I follow an outline with every book I write so I always know what comes next. Writing for NaNoWriMo just gives me an excuse to go hog wild for a month and crank out fifty thousand words at a go. I wouldn’t even say I write any faster either. At least I haven’t noticed a quality dip during those portions of the book. Instead, I just adjust my usual markers a couple thousand words higher up and when I feel like I’ve done enough for the day, remind myself to keep going.

I still hope to tackle edits and brainstorming for the other books, but man I’m gonna kick the crap out of Partners in Crime. I’m gonna drill it from my own half straight into the opposing net. Soccer metaphor! At least, that’s the plan. I’m hitting fifty thousand words regardless and I refuse to let the other books suffer in the mean time. I’m either going to get better at this or go crazy trying. Let’s find out.