The Final One (BEDS 030)

Here we are, folks: the final blog in Blog Every Day in September 2016. I may have missed a lot of days this month, but I couldn't miss this one.

I entered this month with a major streak under my belt. SInce the beginning of July, I hadn't missed a single update, which is probably the most amount of content I've made in the most condensed amount of time since this blog started. (That's three blogs a week for two months straight. That's insane.) I was determined, this year more than ever, to make it out of September with 30 shiney new posts added to that list.

Alas, that didn't happen. I missed several days this month, sometimes for no reason at all other than I had homework to attend to, and didn't have time to do both. Sometimes I announced this on Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes I didn't, allowing myself to just disappear from the internet for a few days. (Except not actually, because I have a tendancy to spam Twitter when I'm procrastinating. Lol whoops.)

Still, though, we end the month today with a total of 20 blog posts, which is still a lot for thirty days. Now, with a tangible sense of relief, I leave behind the constant guilt of not blogging and return to the much more manageable realm of blogging three times a week. 

Normally about now, I'd start thinking about NaNoWriMo and the novel I plan to write in thirty days, starting thirty one days from now. But, for the first time since 2011, I'm considering not participating. With all the stuff going on in all of my classes, I'm just not sure I can commit to 50,000 words.

Then again, I thought the same thing last year and ended up going for it anyway. So I guess we'll see.

Until later,

- Justyne

Why Continuing an Old Story in NaNoWriMo is a Bad Idea

Long blog title. Also, new blog design! Been meaning to update this thing since I started posting back in March. Hope you guys like it!

Anyway, back to business.

For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month; a worldwide challenge for writers to sit down and complete a 50,000 word novel--from scratch--in one month's time. It takes place yearly in November, and the same people who host it host Camp NaNoWriMo twice in the summertime. As I type this, people all over the world are typing furiously, as Camp NaNoWriMo is well into its second half, and writers young and old alike are pulling their hair out and wondering why the hell they thought this was a good idea.

I love the smell of fresh prose in the morning. Or I would if it, y'know, had a smell.

I began this month with the best of intentions. Almost a year ago, I dove into a story I referred to as The Decagon Project. The reason I called it this is because of a dare I received from a certain someone (you know who you are); I'm supposed to write a story containing a love decagon--or a love triangle with 10 people in it, for those of you not up-to-date on your literary terms. (If that can be considered a literary term, that is.)

Anyway, after working on it for a year I hadn't made quite as much progress as I would have liked. That's why, when July rolled around, I decide to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo and use this outer motivation of writing madness to finish the story by the time the month ended.

19 days later and I've only written an additional 1,433 words.

Maybe this is just me, but the problem I encountered with continuing an old story--as opposed to starting with a fresh, sparkling new one--is that it's a lot harder to get into the spirit of NaNoWriMo, so to speak. The whole idea behind NaNoWriMo is to worry less about quality, and more about quantity; to push back your "inner editor" and just write, without over-thinking every word that appears on the page in front of you. Over the past couple of weeks, I've found that doing this is a lot harder--sometimes even impossible--when you're so used to taking your time with it, instead of rushing around and writing 14,000 words in a day. (Which I did on the last day of NaNoWriMo this past November.)

Who knows, maybe if I continued to push it, I would've broken through. Maybe if I had just tried a little harder--blocked Facebook and Tumblr, turned off my phone, and holed myself up in my room with music blaring--I would've written more words this month.

The problem with that, though, is that I would be forcing it too much.

Writing isn't about how fast you finish something, or how many words you write. It's about the story. It's about the discovery; people and places and adventures that you could only dream about. Whether you take your time and spend years on a story, or rush through it in a matter of days, the result should still be the same.

Everyone writes differently. What's most important is figuring out what works best for you.

For me, it simply depends on the story.

Until later,

- Justyne

Hello, My Name Is... (NaNo Prep, Week 2)

Getting to know your characters is an essential part of writing; but also one of the hardest.

I've been working on Reincarnation for over four years. (FOUR YEARS. That's, like, high school.) Because I've been working on it for so long, I know the characters backwards, frontwards, sideways, and upside down. To use an overused analogy, I know them like the back of my hand. (Insert obligatory "Oh hey, that's new!" joke here.) I know them better than they know themselves, and working on the story always gets me excited--like I'm meeting up with an old friend.

The thing is that the only reason I know these characters so well is because I've been working on it for so long. To be honest, I thought I'd have finished this story a long time ago--but at the same time, I'm glad I didn't, because getting to know y characters this much has proven to be an incredible improvement to the story--to me, at least. 

The problem with this, though, is that now I don't know how to learn about my characters any other way. I can't spend 4+ years on every story I write--and where NaNoWriMo is concerned, I only have 30 days. So how am I supposed to get to know my characters on the same deep, personal level? 

This is the part I'm always scared about. I'm worried that my characters are inconsistent, unrealistic, or just plain boring. I'm constantly hoping that my characters will actually seem like real, relatable people. I try filling out form after form after form, filling out character biographies that ask about everything from their favourite colour to their biggest fear--even if they themselves don't know what that is. Even after all that work, though, it never quite seems to be enough.

It turns out that the best way to get to know your characters is to discover them through the story.

Whenever I start a new story, I tend to start with a vague idea of what the character's like in my head. It's more of a feeling or aura than a description--because as it turns out, I'm much better at showing, rather than telling. As I go through the story, from the first page to the last, I get to know my character a little better. And with each chapter and each rewrite, they become deeper, vibrant, and much, much more real.

NaNoWriMo is filled with such spontaneity, such on-the-fly excitement that it provides the perfect opportunity to get to know your characters in such a fashion. I mean, you'll have to rewrite it all, anyway. Let your characters change directions as many times as your plot does. That's the only way you'll find out what truly works.

Until later,

- Justyne

NaNoWriMo Log 004

November 12th, 2015

1400 hrs

Wordcount: ??


So. Um. Hi.

I, uh.

I may have just restarted. Like, with an entirely new novel.

I'm not actually sure what just happened here. All I know is that it really, really, really isn't good.

NaNoWriMo Log 003

November 9th, 2015

1357 hrs

Wordcount: 2,889

I don't think I really understood how far behind I was until this moment. I mean, I knew I was behind, and falling more so by the day...but the par for today is 15,000 words.

Fifteen THOUSAND.

I am more than ten thousand words behind. I should have been past this point on DAY FREAKING TWO.

There is a lesson to be learned in this: do not, under ANY circumstances, get drunk the night before NaNoWriMo. Being hungover on Day 1 is the writer's equivalent of being hungover on the day of your calculus final that you never studied for.

NaNoWriMo Log 002

November 8th, 2015

1715 hrs

Wordcount: 2,079

I know nothing. Literally nothing. I didn't realize how little I knew until I wrote 1,457 words and realized that I was trying to write my main character into a career that I had yet to decide on.

I've never written my way to my own discovery before. I let a story simmer in my mind for months before I write it--in fact, I haven't written a first draft of anything outside of November for a very, very long time. Eleven months for thinking, one for writing--it seemed to work. I didn't have everything figured out, of course; there were aspects I wasn't sure of, plot points I didn't know how to connect.

Currently, my main character is running down an endless array of stairs. His mind is a jumble of beginnings, of words, of arguments, of...well, everything. His life is about to change (in a way he's not quite expecting...hehehehe), and he has no idea what's about to happen--or how he even feels about it. He doesn't know what he'll be faced with at the bottom of the stairs, he just knows he needs to get there.

Currently, that is me. I have no idea what's happening right now. 0 idea. -5 idea, even! I have never held so little understanding or knowledge of my characters ever in my life. It is strange and disorienting and, if I'm being honest, kind of stressful.

We'll see how this turns out.

NaNoWriMo Log 001

November 4th, 2015

 0741 hrs

Day 4 has begun

and I

haven't

even

started

yet.



Lord help me.

How To: Revise Like an Amateur

Things that I am a self-proclaimed expert on*:

- Disney World
- Sims
- Procrastinating
- Overthinking things
- Avoiding adulthood
- Writing a term paper in eight hours the day before it's due
- Smiling at rude people when I really want to punch them in the face
- Making lists

*Disclaimer: May not be 100% accurate

Notice how nowhere on this list does it say, "Revising a novel". Also notice how the title of today's post does not, in any way, promise advise from a pro. This is advice from an amateur, aka someone who is 0% sure of what she's doing 100% of the time.

Then again, when do I ever?

I've written first drafts before. Dozens...maybe even hundreds of them. Trust me when I say that I'm very, very good at writing crappy drafts. But do you know how many of them have made it to the active revising stage? Like, .7 of them. And none of them have made it past that to the end.

Honestly, I find that revising can be very overwhelming sometimes. You have to sift through all 50,000+ words of your story--which, come on, is a lot--figure out what works and what doesn't, what to cut and what to add in. Are you telling me that after 30 odd days of pouring my blood, sweat and tears into these words, I'm supposed to cut half of them out? Or, God forbid, start over completely?! No, thank you! Me and this sorry excuse for a novel will be over there in the corner if you need us. Who needs to be published, anyway?

I suffer from a little thing I like to call Perfectionist Writing. That is to say, I have a very strong tendancy to edit as I write--to change something midway and double back to fix the beginning, or to rethink every word or phrase I type as soon as it appears on the screen. You know what that results in? A big wad of nothing. A mountain of unfinished projects, half-assed premises, and characters that are flatter than my nonexistant rear end.

So yeah, that's my first tip. TIP #1 - DON'T DO THAT. Complete your first draft à la NaNoWriMo. Get it down first and leave the rest to Future You.

TIP #2 - LET IT BREATHE

Your novel is finished, and it is flawless. Perfect. A true classic in the making. Go ahead and allow yourself to live in that beautiful fantasy for the time being.

Let your novel sit for a few weeks, maybe a month. Work on something else. Go for a walk, enjoy the sun and the fresh, beautiful oxygen. Appreciate the world around you, because it's not gonna look so great once you dive back into your fiction.

When you come back, read it. All of it. And try not to cry.

TIP #3 - OUTLINE. TWICE.

Or three times or four, however many it takes to work out that muddled plot of yours...but make at least two. The first will be sort of a reversed outline of your first draft. It'll have everything that happened and with accompanying notes of the things you already know need fixing. (It's okay if this list is a mile long; that's normal.)

The second is where you fix them--or attempt to, anyway. I think I'm on outline number four right now. But hey, sorting through a broken outline is a hell of a lot easier than sorting through a broken draft, so have at 'er.

TIP #4 - POST-ITS

I am enraged to have neither been introduced to this method sooner, nor to have thought of it myself.

PLOTTING. WITH POST-IT NOTES.

Clear that bedroom wall of those ancient Jonas Brothers posters and grab yourself a fresh pack of post-its (or several, of varying colours and sizes, if you're an absolute dork like me) and a sharpie. Make a few headings for chapters and leave space underneath for your plot points.

Plot points. On post it notes.

Dedicate each post-it to a different event. Major, minor, whatever you want. Put them in their designated chapters, move them around. Add new ones in, throw old ones out. Reverse the entire plot! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT AND FUN! This method allows for complete scatterbrains like myself to actually organize our thoughts and get our act together!

TIP #5 - THE MASTER OUTLINE

This is the most extensive, in depth, pain in the ass document you will ever create, but holy crap will it ever be helpful! I recommend doing this digitally, but if you would rather use the equivalent of the Amazon Rainforest in paper, then be my guest.

Because this document? It's gonna have your plot--extensively. Like, Wikipedia-synopsis-of-your-favourite-movie extensive. It's gonna have timelines, from years before your story starts to years after it ends. It's gonna have character biographies and backgrounds--everything from their favourite colour and whether or not they still love Let It Go, to their deepest fears and bigger-than-life dreams. Do they have a weird habit of waking up exactly seven minutes before their alarm everyday? Include it. Include everything.

Keep this massive beast saved. Everywhere. Twice. Keep, like, twelve back-ups of this thing, because it'll be hell if you lose it.

TIP #6 - REWRITE. LIKE, A MILLION TIMES.

Or rather: don't be afraid to rewrite it a million times.

Rewriting is scary. It's like throwing everything out and starting from scratch again, which can seem super discouraging; almost like all the work you originally put into it was a waste.

But it wasn't a waste, as unlikely as it seems. You can't get everything right on the first try, and your novel is no exception.

Rewriting takes a lot of time, though. The more you work on your plot outline beforehand, the fewer times you'll have to rewrite it later--so if you're not satisfied with the outline, take another look before you dive back into writing. But if you're getting restless, go ahead and dive back in. Planning is boring sometimes, and all work and no fun will just make it harder to find the motivation to work on it.

TIP #7 - KNOW WHAT WORKS

There's a difference between giving up and knowing that a story just isn't working. Unfortunately, the line between the two can be blurred and faded when you're feeling down and discouraged.

I haven't quite mastered the art of telling them apart (like....at all). I'm not sure that there is a way. All you can do is set it aside and let it breathe for a bit. If you find yourself letting it breathe more than drowning it in the sweat of hard work...well, maybe that's a sign.


I will admit: most of these tips and strategies are still in the experimental phases. But they've been working okay so far, so hopefully you'll find some use for them, as well!

Until later,

- Justyne

Lessons of NaNoWriMo 2014

November has come and gone once more, which means it's time for me to get off my butt and start blogging again. This was my fourth year participating in NaNoWriMo, and would have been my third year winning in a row...if I had won, that is. But alas, I did not.

The month started out wonderfully--I actually stayed on track for the first half of the month. I kept up the daily word count of 1,667, often doubling it, without falling behind more than a day's worth of words. For the first fifteen days, it looked like I would win without problem--and possibly, for the first time ever, before the evening of November 30th.

But unfortunately, it was not meant to be. I got sick during the second half of the month, and went a full week without writing. I went from being a day ahead to eleven thousand words behind. That, paired with a lack of motivation, the daunting idea of jumping back into it after such a prolonged break, and an unfortunate shift scheduled on the last day of the month all contributed my finishing off the month with a total of 38,508 words.

But still, that's a lot of words--words put towards a project that I was and still am excited to work on. So even with the loss, I'm satisfied with what I accomplished.

Regardless of the result of my furious November writing, I learned a lot this month, and have secured a number of tips for you current and future Wrimos for next year:

1. DO NOT FALL BEHIND. DON'T. DON'T DO IT. I'M SERIOUS. Start the month off strong--if you catch yourself leaving the last couple hundred words for your word count for the following day, slap yourself. Do your best to finish the daily word count whenever humanly possible. YOUR FUTURE SELF WILL THANK YOU.

2. DON'T STOP. If, after an hour or so of writing, you find yourself "in the zone", even after completing your daily goal, DON'T STOP. DON'T YOU DARE. Keep going! If you stop now, you'll totally forget your train of thought and your future self will hate you.

3. GET AHEAD. Already reached your goal by noon? KEEP THAT WRITING TRAIN CHUGGING. Spend the afternoon writing, too! Spend the evening writing! Write all day and get as far ahead as you can! YOUR FUTURE SELF WILL LOVE YOU.

4. STAY AHEAD. Already a few thousand words ahead of schedule? You can take a break, right? WRONG! Keep that streak going! Meet your daily word count, if nothing else! Stay ahead as long as humanly possible, so that when life intervenes--which it will--and prevents you from writing more than a couple hundred words, you won't have to scramble to catch up. YOUR FUTURE SELF WILL ABSOLUTELY ADORE YOU.

5. DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP. Am I irritated that I didn't meet my goal? Well, yeah. I was doing so well before that damned headache / cold / whatever it was came along and messed it up for me. And I broke my two year winning streak! But getting mad at myself and punishing myself won't change anything--the best I can do is keep writing until I finish, even if it's halfway through December. Just remember: YOU TRIED. You tried, and win or lose, you wrote. Don't let the arrival of December stop you--keep going.

How many of you participated in NaNoWriMo this year? Did you win? Lose? And for those of you who didn't take part, will next year mark the start of your novel?

Until later,

- Justyne

NaNoWriMo, GO!

NaNoWriMo starts in T-minus TWELVE HOURS, EVERYBODY! (Maybe even less, depending on when you're reading this.)

For those of you unaware (and really, there shouldn't be many of you), NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, aka the busiest month for thousands of writers around the world.

THE GOAL: To write a 50,000 word novel in November. One month. 30 days. 720 hours. 43,200 minutes....you get the idea.

THE RULES: You can't start before midnight on November 1st. Every word of your 50k must be written before midnight on December 1st. Other than that...well, anything goes.

THE REWARD: Bragging rights. (Also, a nifty winner's certificate.)


This will be my 4th year participating and, if all goes according to plan, my third year successfully completing it. That's right--last year I started a winning streak with my second NaNoWriMo success and I intend to keep that streak alive.

But the question remains: am I prepared for the NaNoWriMo adventure?

Physically? Yes. I have ALL of my November blog posts written and scheduled for uploading. I have an outline half completed (hopefully that'll get completed today), both on paper and in my mind. I have a shopping bag full of k-cups stashed away--five whole boxes, more than enough to last me through the month.

Mentally? HELL NO. I expect this month to be interesting.


For now, I will hand you off to my past, pre-NaNoWriMo, still-mentally-and-emotionally-stable self for the month. If you wish to keep up to date with my progress, my word count widget is located in the sidebar on the right hand side. You can also follow me on Twitter, or if you're participating as well, you can request to be my writing buddy over on the NaNoWriMo website.


See you all on the other side!

- Justyne

The Finale (BEDS #30)

Another 30 days have come and gone. This year, I failed to post a blog every day in September...but this month was hardly a failure.

While some of the posts I uploaded this month were somewhat...less well-written than others, I posted a lot of writing that I was personally proud of. Even though I had to take a step back for a while, I'm glad that I did--because I know that anything I would have produced during that time wouldn't have been my best.

A lot of things happened this month. But through most of it, I was still able to fulfill my commitment to you guys--and to myself. I sometimes doubt my ability to stick to a deadline, but through this blog I've proved time and time again that I can do it. I can set myself a deadline, and I can pull through.

I get a bit of a break for this next month. But then it's back to the chaos of monthly challenges.

The countdown to NaNoWriMo is on.


Until later,

- Justyne

Post-NaNo

YES! It may have taken 12k on the final day, I may have just squeaked by at 11 pm, and I may not be entirely done the story (even after using two NaNo's to write it...shh), but I did it! As you can clearly see from my little stats bar on the right, I (somehow) managed to pull through with a grand total of 50,568 words, thus winning my second year in a row.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

The thing I love most about NaNoWriMo is that it's almost like a school year. At the beginning, you're inspired and motivated. You sit down every day and you write those 1,667 words like nobody's business because gosh darn it, this year will be different! But then, as the month goes on, you fall out of the groove a little bit. Those 1,667 daily words turn into 1,600, then 1,000, then less and less until you're lucky if you get any words down at all.

The end of the month is the best--or the best, depending on how you look at it. The clock is ticking and there's all this pressure and while you're not necessarily scared of failing you just don't want to because you committed to this, gosh darn it, and if you don't follow through you will never live it down. Be the circumstances good or bad, though, some people--myself included--against all odds, manage to pull through and write thousands of words in a day.

I think I can safely say that November 30th will always be my most productive writing day.

The only problem is that after all is said and done, I'm left feeling exhausted. Say what you will, but writing 50,000 words in a month is hard--especially when over 1/5 of it is written on the final day. (I never was too good at pacing myself.) The post-NaNo period is always spent by me doing nothing except playing Sims. (And catching up on all of the TV shows I missed during November.) Seems pretty counter-productive, when you think about it; spending such a long period of time working hard, then spending a couple weeks doing nothing.

But you know what? I think I deserve it. As do all of you other wrimos; whether you wrote 50,000, or only managed 100, consider yourself a winner. You dedicated a month to writing; now dedicate three hours to playing Sims.


Until later,

- Justyne

Because I'm Awake, That's Why (NaNoWriMo, the Final Days)

Yes, it's after one in the morning. Yes, I'm still up. (No, I wasn't writing. Because clearly that would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it.)

I've spent the past few days obsessively updating my word count on NaNoWriMo.org (but really, when am I not doing that?) and obsessively comparing my current word count with my word count for past novels, on the same date.

What can I say? I'm curious!

Anyway, I am happy to say that, while my writing may have been completely and totally sporadic this past month, I have somehow managed to pull ahead of my 2012 self. I am currently farther in my novel than I was at this time a year ago.

Not by much, but still.

I think, above everything else, that this is true inspiration. Why? Because now, with three (okay, two) days left of NaNoWriMo, I am further in my story than I was on the final day of NaNo last year.

WHICH MEANS, fellow wrimos (and non-wrimos, I'm not excluding you), that I have no excuse. I will win NaNoWriMo 2013.

I'm not saying that I had doubts...okay yeah, that is what I'm saying. But have you seen my stats? Last year, I wrote every single day--even if that day only brought about 100 words. This year, I would spend four days writing 3k+ words per day, and then refuse to write for another five.

What did I say? Sporadic.

Anyways, I should sleep. I managed to survive the rest of NaNo without becoming sleep deprived--I'm not about to start now.

Until later,

- Justyne

(P.S. I hear footsteps upstairs. Either my dad is still awake or I will go upstairs to find my entire family murdered.)

(P.P.S. Why do I get so hungry at 1 AM? It's not fair.)

(P.P.P.S. This entire blog post is why I'm not allowed to stay up late.)

Daytime update: Upon further investigation upstairs, no one was awake, and everyone was alive. So I guess my house is just haunted.

I think this about sums it up (NaNoWriMo, Week 4)

28,653 more words to go.

8 days left in NaNoWriMo.

I need to write 3,184 more words to finish on time.



CHALLENGE.

FREAKING.

ACCEPTED.



Until later,

- Justyne

In which I discover the SECRET to NaNoWriMo (NaNoWriMo, Week 3)

Up until this past week, my daily word count has been pitiful, if not non-existent. 100 words here, 200 words there, 0 words over there. I was quite ashamed of myself, to be honest. I wrote over 13k on the last day of NaNoWriMo to win last year, and now I can't even manage a measly thousand words a day? Pitiful.

And then, I discovered something. The very well-kept secret to succeeding in NaNoWriMo.

Word sprints.

Okay, so it's not really a secret. And I'm not sure what I've been doing technically follows the definition of a "word sprint", but still.

For you non-wrimos, a "word sprint" is a short period of time--fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, etc etc--in which you just sit down and write. Nonstop. You put your fingers to the keyboard and type as fast as you humanly can to get as many words as possible in the time provided.

I've participated in one word sprint this past week (in which I got 1,027 words in 30 minutes--not too shabby), but most of my extremely productive writing was done, not in sprints dictated by time, but by numbers.

What a concept.

Turns out, if I actually make myself sit down and write in quick intervals of 100 or 200 or 500 words, I get it done rather quickly, and by the end of the day I have over 2k words done, as has been the case for the last few days.

The question now is....why didn't I figure this out on November 1st?!


Until later,

- Justyne

Dead or Alive (Snippet Sunday, NaNo Edition)

Every Sunday, I share a snippet of one of my many writing projects here on the blog, for your enjoyment. In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, each snippet this month will be taken from this year's NaNoWriMo novel. (In other words, expect bad grammar and poor word choices.) Enjoy!

(Just a bit of extended information: my NaNo novel this year is told from two separate points of view. Last week's snippet was from Orlena--the main character's--point of view. This weeks is from another point of view--which one it is, though, I'm not quite ready to say yet. ;] )

~~

The dark figure was still there. Same distance. Same stance. Same position.

It may not have moved, but I sure had.

I’m not sure how much time had passed since I started walking; walking towards that…that person that stood there. It almost felt like they were waiting for me, ever patiently, to reach them.

It looked like they would be waiting for quite a while, though, as I had made little to no progress in reaching them…despite the seemingly long time I had spent trying. There had to be some trick, some other way to get to them. Otherwise I never would.

“Do you need help, child?”

I jumped at the sudden voice and spun around. An aged man, his face cloaked in wrinkles and his hair stained white, stood before me. His attire was white; pure, blinding white, that covered his frail and slouched body from his collar down to the tips of his feet.

“Who are you?” I asked. “How did you get here?”

He chuckled. His voice was deep. Deep and…familiar. “That, my dear, seems to be the least of your worries. Even if I told you who I was, I’m not sure you would remember.”

Remember? “So…do I know you?”

“You did, for a time.”

I paused for a minute, waiting for him to elaborate, but instead he remained silent.

“So, um…are you going to tell me who I am, then?”

“I’m afraid I can’t, you dear. The only way for you to figure that out is to remember for yourself.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “If I could do that, I wouldn’t be having this problem.”

“Remembering isn’t as simple as you think, my dear. Especially when the past holds as much pain as yours does.”

Pain? “So…are you saying that I don’t want to remember?”

“Not necessarily.” His silver grey eyes sparkled with kindness and sincerity. “There are many memories I’m sure you would like to retrieve; ones that are much kinder and sweeter than others. The painful memories form a block. Your heart and your mind have formed a blockage; a form of self defense, to avoid reliving the pain you once experienced in life.”

The way he said “in life” sent a chill down my spine. “Am I…am I dead?”

“I’m afraid there’s only one way to find out, my dear.” He extended a weathered hand towards me. “Would you like to remember?”

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Falling Behind (NaNoWriMo, Week 2)

So. Week 1 has ended, and it seems that I have fallen behind already.

To be honest, though, I was kind of expecting that.

This is my 3rd year participating in NaNoWriMo, and I have yet to last past the first day without already falling a bit behind in my word count. Does that suck a little? Yes. Is it an accurate display of my procrastination habits? You bet it is.

But the month is still young, my friends. It's far too early to call it quits now.

The thing with falling behind in November is that it's really not that big of a deal. 8 days may have passed, but that still means that there are 22 days that you have to complete your 50k. It's not over until the West Coast says it is!

The most important thing to remember, through all of this, is that the true reason for NaNoWriMo is to write. Whether to get 50 words or 50,000 by November 30th, you will have succeeded. Because you won't succeed if you don't even try.

Wow that was super cheesy and cliched and I'm sorry. No time to dwell on that now--I have a bit of catching up to do.


Until later,

-  Justyne



P.S. I added a little word count badge on the right hand side of the page. It shows my current word count and the percentage of completion I have achieved. So if you're ever wondering how I'm doing, just check back here. :)

Crumbling Away (Snippet Sunday, NaNo Edition)

Every Sunday, I copy and paste a snippet of writing here, to give you a taste of what I'm working on. Since this month is NaNoWriMo, everything I post for the duration of November will be from my NaNoWriMo project. As a result, the quality will be much, much lower than normal. I hope you enjoy it, anyway!

~~

I stood in the middle of the school auditorium. My hand fit perfectly into Drake’s, my dance partner, and my silver gown swooshed easily around my legs as we glided across the dance floor. The lights sparkled and reflected off of his dark eyes, smiling down at me. I caught the gaze, for a split second, of my best friend Lia. She smiled at me; she was happy for me. My gaze quickly switched back to Drake’s eyes. I smiled, grateful for my high heels as I leaned in to kiss him.

That’s when my world shattered. Literally.

The lights, the auditorium, everything disintegrated around me. Lia stared at me in panic, her arm outstretched as she, too, crumbled into dust. All I could do was watch in horror as everything fell apart around me.

I tried to lean into Drake; to seek protection in his warmth. But instead, I stumbled forward into nothing, almost losing my balance and tumbling to the ground. I spun around frantically.

He was gone.

Instead, Lord Borna loomed over me. His wicked grin struck fear into my heart; his eyes drove panic into my mind. The floor around me continued to crumble, leaving nothing but white all around me.

I fell helplessly to the ground, Borna’s laughter shocking my eardrums and rattling my brain. My platform of safety continued to crumble away until, finally, it was nothing. And I fell.

That’s when I woke up.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Aaaaaand here we go! (NaNoWriMo, Week 1)

First things first: Halloween. Uneventful, but fun. At the last minute I discovered an old Snow White costume and dressed up for the entire evening, even though I didn't actually go anywhere. I don't think I've ever had so much fun dressing up for Halloween before. (Next year, I'm gonna be Belle.)

Now, moving on.

My 2013 novelling adventure began at midnight, where, despite the fact that I already felt sleep deprived (I slept in, for God's sake, WHY was I so tired?), I managed to jot down around 500 words before heading to bed.

500 words and the day has barely even begun! I smell a successful month.

Alas, I must not dwell too much on the details of this blog entry. I have writing to do.


Until later,

- Justyne

Cramming (NaNo Prep, Week 3)

When I say that I'm cramming, I normally mean that I've put off studying for a test too long and am cramming all of the information needed into my head in a measly 24 hours. (Which is, well, the situation for just about every single test I've ever taken ever.) This time, though, I'm talking about NaNoWriMo, during which the word has an entirely different meaning. (Okay, more like same meaning, but sliiiightly different concept.)

Your goal? 50,000 words in 30 days. Not an easy task--I only made it to about 14k my first year. (Granted, I wrote more than that the final day of my second year to win, but I digress.) I mean, your life is crammed enough as it is--school, work, chores, relationships, and that pesky thing called sleep that we apparently need--so finding time to squeeze in 50,000 words is definitely a challenge. But that's part of the fun, right?

When it comes down to it, finding enough time to write your novel isn't nearly as hard as it seems. It helps when you realize that all 50,000 words don't have to be written in one day. (Shocker, I know.) If you keep on pace throughout the month, you only have to write approximately 1,667 words a day. I know, I know, it still seems like a lot...so break it up a little more.

This is where the cramming comes in. Whenever you find yourself with free time--be it a minute, or five, or sixty--use that time to write. Before your class or shift at work starts, during breaks, on the bus, just before you go to bed, whenever. If you have enough time to browse through your news feed on Facebook, you have enough time to write. You have to cram writing wherever you can, in whatever tiny little increments of time that you have. At the time, it may not seem like you're accomplishing much--100 words here, 200 there--but trust me, they add up. By the end of the day, you could even find yourself with more words than the daily goal calls for.

If your schedule is already stretched pretty thin and you still find yourself struggling to reach the word count, try getting rid of some things. Make a list of the tiny little things you can give up for the month--Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, whatever--and try your very very hardest to stay away from them for the month. (I won't even try and fool you by saying that you'll never turn to them--procrastination runs abound during November, and odds are that you'll end up browsing through your various social media feeds at some point. But just try your best, that's all I'm asking.) If there's anything at all that you can leave until December--including recording your favourite television shows and binge watching them in celebration after you've typed your 50,000th word--leave it. It can wait. (Unless it's a bill payment, those can't wait. Please don't make those wait.)

Similarly, getting as much done as possible while it's still October is just as useful. Book any hair or dentist or doctor's appointments, catch up on your e-mails, get as much studying or homework done as you physically can before November 1st rears its ugly head. I would also suggest using the few days leading up to NaNoWriMo to sit back and relax. (Or play Sims furiously for hours, as you all know I will be doing.) Get those various books and video games and movies out of your system, so you won't be as likely to turn to them when you're suppose to be writing.

And last, but not least, remember that life happens. If, for whatever reason, you can't make your daily, or even the monthly goal, don't beat yourself up over it. If November is a busy month for you and you don't feel you have time to write a novel, alter the goal a little bit. Make it lower--or even higher, if you're an ambitious little jerk and think you can do better. The point of NaNoWriMo is to write your story, however much of it you can. Even if you only write 100 words, that's still 100 more words than you started off with.

We have two weeks left, guys. Get ready.

Until later,

- Justyne