Write a story or poem with snow in the setting.
Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!
Shout out to these writers for sharing positivity in last week’s prompt.
Deemallon
—Lady Jabberwocky
Hello Writer Bees!
Hope you all are staying creative and staying safe during National Novel Writing Month.
Sorry for the late post. Between Thanksgiving and holiday shopping and family and friends, it’s been a bit hectic. Could they have planned National Novel Writing Month in any other month? Preferably one with less holidays. Still, us writers rise to the challenge. Hats off to all the fantastic writers out there putting their hearts into their creative endeavors, even in this holiday madness.
So, here’s an interesting thing I discovered while editing this week. This week, I focused on the clues of my murder mystery WIP. Frankly, I worried about being too obvious in the evidence. I want to leave breadcrumbs for readers (and detectives) to find, not loaves of bread. I want the grand finale to be grand and unexpected. Can’t be too easy or too hard to solve this mystery. During this editing process, I’m being mindful of when and how evidence is revealed in the story. I’ve been trimming away the more obvious hints from suspect interviews. That’s been my main focus in this final week of NaNoWriMo.
Maybe, over the weekend, I’ll doing some writing sprints. Maybe some editing sprints too, if that’s a thing. I’m looking forward to working on this story well into December. This experience got me motivated to write and to edit. I really do feel like I’ve made progress on my WIP. Guess that’s the point of NaNoWriMo.
Hope everyone had a happy holiday and a happy National Novel Writing Month. And remember, no matter how many words you wrote this month, no matter what you worked on, celebrate yourself. No matter what, any amount of progress is a success in my book.
How’s your NaNoWriMo journey? Did you complete your goals? Talk to me in the comments.
Stay safe and stay creative.
—Lady Jabberwocky
What is your favorite thing about your WIP, and/or your writing style?
(Yes, give yourself a compliment! You deserve it!)
Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Hello Writer Bees!
Hope you all are staying creative and staying safe during National Novel Writing Month.
Week three has been pretty productive for me. I’ve been writing and editing a bunch. Lots of adding new content and deleting unnecessary sentences. The total word count is up and down, which is making me a little nervous. Guess that’s part of the revision and editing process. I’m still working, still writing, still keeping my head above water in NaNoWriMo land.
This week, I decided to finally tackle “the crater”. I brought this up in my NaNoWriMo plans. Basically, I have this empty section in the WIP’s plot. Think of it like the bridge between act two and act three is missing. I just need a scene or two to fill in the space and get readers ready for the finale. If that makes sense. For awhile, writer’s block had me stressed. I decided to use NaNoWriMo to deal with this looming, open lot of space. Instead of treating it like an inconvenience, I’m treating it like a blank canvas. Changing my frame of mind helped put words to paper and got me out of that funk.
Long story short, that empty space of story line – that dauting crater – is slowly being filled up and connecting to the overall narrative. What a sigh of relief.
Oh! Before I end this post, I might need your help, writer bees. I want to change one of my character’s names. The victim’s name for my murder mystery, actually. When I talked to my (non-writer) boyfriend about it, he thought I was freaking out over nothing. Which I do do, occasionally. But right now, this little change feels necessary. As much as I respect differing opinions, I think I need to trust my writer instinct on this one. Going with my gut here, I’m reaching out to you. If you have an idea for an early 20th century lady’s name, share your ideas in the comments. I’m open to suggestions, and currently checking baby name websites.
How’s your NaNoWriMo goals panning out? Talk to me in the comments.
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Describe the setting of your WIP. Where and when does your story take place?
Hats off to these wonderful writers for participating in last week’s villainous writing prompt.
Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Hello Writer Bees!
Can I just start off by saying I have the best readers in the world? Last week, I had a rough start to National Novel Writing Month. I felt overwhelmed and stressed and sad. But you wonderful people charged in! I received such lovely, supportive words from you all. Thank you all for cheering me on and lifting out of bad days. The writing community is truly amazing! I’m lucky to be a part of it.
Week two of NaNoWriMo was better than week one. I actually want to work on my WIP. That little glimmer of motivation has reappeared. The ball is starting to roll. Thank goodness for that. Editing hasn’t been a total bloodbath yet. Though, I am tackling a section of the story that needs a lot of work, editing wise. I actually had that moment every writer has, when they look at something they’ve written and say to themselves “All of its garbage. It’s a mess. How can I fix this?” But I’m chipping away at that part and the whole plot.
Also, this week, I’ve focused on extenuating the characters and their characteristics. Like instead of saying one character is ‘a jittery fellow’ or ‘an ice queen’, I’m letting their body language and their actions showcase those traits. Polishing up those descriptions is pretty fun, actually. In my opinion, it makes the cast of suspects feel more realistic. Those kinds of details bring characters to life.
Oh! And I’ve mentioned before about writing during my lunch break at the office. This week, I tried a writing sprint during my break, a half hour of writing whatever came to mind. No editing. Just off the cuff. I wrote like 300ish words of mostly dialogue. I call that progress. I haven’t done a writing sprint like that in forever, and I may try it again. It really helped get out of writer’s block and get those creative juices flowing.
How’s your NaNoWriMo adventure going? Talk to me in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you writer bees.
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Describe the antagonist in your WIP. This can be a physical description, or their characteristics, or both.
Hat’s off to all these awesome writers and bloggers who replied to last week’s prompt.
Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Hello Writer Bees!
I wish I could say NaNoWriMo started off with a bang this year, full of optimism and inspiration and sunshine. But, I’ll be real with you. Think I tried to tackle too much this first week. I was stressing about everything I wanted to do for my WIP. I was stressing about new work responsibilities at the office. I have this bad habit of putting too much pressure on myself. It gets me in trouble sometimes. Towards the end of the week, I felt completely overwhelmed. Almost cried in a cubicle. Not a great start.
Notes to self: Slow down, Lady. You got a whole month. It’s not a race. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Trying to keep this in mind, for NaNoWriMo and for my mental health.
On the brightside, it hasn’t all been awful. Editing has begun. Which is daunting yet exciting. Lots of rearranging and deleting of sentences. A little bit of tweaking of small details for my characters. Some ironing out of my narrator’s backstory. I’m easing into editing, working on the small stuff first before handling the big stuff. That’s the plan for now, anyway.
Sorry for such a quick, sad post, my friends. Don’t worry about me, though. I’m using the weekend to rebound and recuperate and write my heart out. There’s nowhere to go but up, right?
How’s your NaNoWriMo journey going? What have you learned about writing during this crazy writing challenge? Talk to me in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you writer bees.
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
What is your main character’s motivation in life? Why are they doing what they are doing?
Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Hello Writer Bees!
National Novel Writing Month is almost here! What are my plans for November? Am I going for the 50K word count goal? Spoiler alert; No, No I am not. However, if you want to know my goals for this month, then keep reading to find out.
If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you probably already know about my WIP. I’ve even shared an excerpt of intro. For the new readers, welcome to my train wreck. Currently, I’m writing a 1920’s murder mystery set in Coney Island, New York. The plot follows Detective Barnaby and his assistant Oscar, the narrator, as they investigate the murder of a sideshow mermaid. It’s been a few years in the making. And it’s what I’ll be working on this month, like every other month.
Editing will be my main focus for NaNoWriMo. Smoothing out the rough edges. Reworking scenes. Maybe even rearrange scenes. Adding details and weeding out the unnecessary, when needed. A red pen will be glued to my hand for a month. I’d hope to have a finished piece at the end, if I’m lucky. I say this with hesitancy, but I think I’m heading towards the final drafts on my mystery WIP. Since I’ve been working on it so long, finally finishing sounds surreal. I might try to add 5,000 words to the wordcount, but overall, I’ll be mostly editing and revising my WIP. National Novel Editing Month anyone?
If you’ll be editing your work too, let me know!
I’m being totally honestly here. Recently, I’ve had some writer’s block. There’s this gap in the story, an empty parking lot lot. A small section between the middle and the ending. It’s the part leading up to the finale. Right now, it’s pretty blank and it’s bothered me to no end. I lovingly call it “the crater”, cause it feels like a big empty hole or a missing puzzle piece. I’ve been struggling with what should fill the space. For NaNoWriMo, I’m going to experiment with my writing and be creative. I’m going to listen to my own writer’s block advice. I’m going to not be hard on myself, because all writers – great and small – get writer’s block.
One of my biggest goals in life is to help other writers. During NaNoWriMo, I’m hoping to be more active on Twitter. Giving support to others participating in the event. Cheering them on. Promoting fellow writers and bloggers. Lending a hand to those who need aid in their creative endeavors. Being a shoulder when writing gets tough, because writing can be tough. That’s how I want to celebrate NaNoWriMo. So, if you’re looking for writing advice or positive vibes, I’m right here. I’m not going anyway. The writing community must stick together.
What are your plans for NaNoWriMo? Talk to me in the comments! Good luck to everyone participating.
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Lady Jabberwocky 