NaNoWriMo - Slow Go, but Big Changes Ahead

As you can see by my NaNo Progress Bar to the right, I'm stalled at just over 11,000 words. Well, not really stalled...I just stepped back from the book for a while. I know I'll not finish it by the end of November, but the story is still in the back of my mind. Meanwhile, there are some changes happening in my life that are exciting for me.

Wednesday was my last day of work at the school. Not sure what I want to do next, but the possibilities are exciting.

Photo courtesy  vivekchugh, rgbstock.com

A recent post on Facebook by T.D. Jakes read...

God is about to put you in a place where you will be forced to spread your wings! Where you used to be would never allow you to become what God created you to be.

...and I say, bring it on, God!

I'm ready for a change, for something new and challenging. Something fun. I want to be what God created me to be...and at 60 years old, sometimes I think I'm running out of time. But then I realize that the time to be what God created me to be is now...right this very moment. If I'm busy doing the things that I know He wants me to do in this moment, then I am already being who He created me to be, right?

Still, a little spreading of the wing would be an exciting change.

Again I say...bring it on, God!

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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

NaNoWriMo - Things are looking up!

Photo courtesy  Zela, rgbstock.com

Took a day or two off to get some things done around the house and found that my characters stayed with me while I worked. The story line is more defined in my head, now, so the plan is to push ahead. I'm pretty far behind at this point (10,663 words to be exact), but that's ok. I may catch up with a writing frenzy in a few days, but if that doesn't happen, I'm still going to push steadily onward and see this thing through.

There is a story here that needs to be told. Just praying that I can tell it in a way that when people read the book, it touches them.

So, how's your NaNoWriMo novel coming along???


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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

NaNoWriMo - Losing Interest

Honestly, ever word I type is forced. The story is not alive to me. It's just me pulling something out of the hat and throwing it onto "paper."

I've always had a problem with getting really excited about a new project, but losing interest quickly.

Don't know if I'm going to push through or throw in the towel.

Having other issues to deal with, too, so my focus on writing could be suffering for that reason. Will make a decision whether to continue or not over the weekend.

Sigh...

NaNoWriMo - A Dead Body?

I didn't see that one coming! Never in my plotting pre-November 1st did I plan a dead body, but surprise, surprise, Warren Kennsington stumbled on one in an old shack while hiking in the woods.

"Common sense said to leave and notify the authorities, but he would feel foolish if he brought the police up here and it was nothing more than a dead raccoon stinking up the place. He stepped inside. Dust and cobwebs clung to everything in the room. Of course there wasn’t much in the one room shack. A rickety table, one wooden chair, a mattress on the floor in the far corner of the room…and a body on the mattress!"

It's 12:18 AM. I have to go to bed so I can get up and go to work in the morning, but how am I supposed to sleep now?????

8858 words total. Still behind schedule, but picking up speed!

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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

NaNoWriMo Hitting the Wall

photo courtesy arinas74, rgbstock.com

Well, it happened again. I knew it would. I hit a brick wall yesterday with my novel. I had no idea where to go next, decided I didn't like my story or my characters. Considered the fact that I may not be a writer after all.

This has happened to me several times at about this point in a story. I have half a dozen novels started and sitting in my files, but this time, before NaNo even started, I made up my mind that if and when this happened, I'd push through. I'd just keep writing, even if I was writing dribble.

I came close to giving up, but fortunately, my good friend, Leola met me at Crossroads this evening for a little write-in and a lot of encouragement. She's really a great cheerleader. I just couldn't give up when she kept telling me that I could do it and that she believes in me.

My other friend, Barb told me the same thing.

So, I pushed through and added another 1000 words to my novel. I'm still behind on the quota, but at least I'm not stuck anymore.

It's great to have friends that encourage you!

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If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with your friends using the Facebook, Twitter and other share buttons below. Thanks! (Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

My NaNoWriMo Novel has a proper title!

I finally settled on a title for my NaNoNovel.

Blue Moon Summer - Don't you just love it?

The setting is Sunset Lake Park, a summer resort and amusement park complete with rollercoaster, carousel and dodgem cars.

Inspiration for this novel comes from my childhood. Growing up near Springfield Lake, I heard many stories of the famed amusement park that lined the lake's shore back in the 1920's.

The original three story pavillion, which housed a bath house on the bottom floor, restaurant and ice cream parlour on the middle floor and a ballroom on the top floor still remains to this day, but has been a roller skating rink for as long as I remember.

As a child, I remember remnants of the coaster hidden among the trees and a round building that housed boarded up the carousel. As a teen, those pieces of history had been demolished and only the skating rink remained, but it was the perfect hang out. On Friday nights, we danced in our socks to music from local garage bands and on Saturdays we rented skates and tried hard to look cool while maintaining our balance on 4 wheels.

I am loving this story so far. It carries me back to my childhood, but even better, it carries me back to a time when the lake was alive with excitement and glamour and romance.

I'm a bit behind on my quota. I have 4176 words written and I should have 6668 written by the end of this evening to be on track to finish by November 30th, but I'm sure I'll pick up speed later. Right now I'm doing a lot of research as I write to make sure I get things right. I know I could just pound out the story and do revisions after it's written, but it's easier for me to have everything correct as I write. Like...did they have school busses in 1928? What songs were popular then? What kind of cars did they drive? Even something as trivial as what kind of ink pen would they have used then can make a difference, so I have to stop and Google everything.

Strangly enough, I'm enjoying the research as much as the writing!

So, how's your NaNoNovel going?


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If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with your friends using the Facebook, Twitter and other share buttons below. Thanks! (Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Day one of NaNoWriMo 2012

Got a great start this morning before I hustled myself off to work. 1109 words to open the book. Just added another 617 for a total of 1726 so far.

My daily goal is 1667 in order to hit 50,000 by the end of November. Will probably write some more later this evening, but already the handsome Warren Kennsington nearly ran over the lovely Jo Baker with his car!

Haven't come up with a title I like so far, so the working title is The Summer of 1929 at Sunset Lake Park. (ugg)

But this book is gonna be a fun one to write!