tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72519240553579765652024-11-06T17:02:54.154-07:00Flappers, vampires, and illicit drinking. What's not to love?Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-43243317389119284652023-12-12T13:36:00.003-07:002023-12-12T13:36:42.099-07:00

NaNoWriMo can be used to create a good habit - writing every day - but it can also create some bad habits.  Namely, what you consider to be progress, and how you judge yourself.I'm struggling with this right now.  I've had to take a break in writing to work on some research, and it feels like getting nothing done.  NaNoWriMo teaches you to only count actual words written as

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-84248434296477315542023-12-01T12:19:00.005-07:002023-12-01T12:19:47.932-07:00

NaNoWriMo is over!  I got all of the badges except for the one for writing par (1,667 words every day), but that's okay with me.  My own success was much more notable than that: I never once fell below the daily par, and I worked on it every single day, not even missing Thanksgiving.  Those are both accomplishments that I've never managed before, and I've been doing NaNoWriMo

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-55477988010477670722023-11-28T12:51:00.001-07:002023-11-28T12:51:20.614-07:00

I said in my NaNoWriMo week 4 post yesterday that I would likely be getting to 50,000 in the next couple of days, but actually I got there last night.  I had my doubts, since I knew I would need to write 2,324 words at our write-in, and with the write-in only being two hours, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get there.  But I did!  I stopped at 2,326 words for the day - 50,002 words

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-86647142868564896982023-11-27T14:32:00.007-07:002023-11-27T14:32:47.603-07:00

Technically, tomorrow would be the end of week 4, so I'm writing this a couple days early.  But I expect to reach my goal tonight or tomorrow, so my next post will likely be a "winner" post.I've done very well this year.  So far I haven't dropped below par once, which I don't think I've ever managed before; I've always gotten behind at some point during the month.  I also haven't

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-86844510656976634782023-11-21T14:39:00.004-07:002023-11-21T14:39:29.563-07:00

Today marks the end of week 3 of NaNoWriMo.  I still need to work on my novel today, but I am expecting tomorrow to be chaotic, so I wasn't sure when I would have a chance to blog about it tomorrow.So far I've managed to hang on throughout week 3, but sometimes only by the skin of my teeth.  I've made an effort to get to par every day, but I'm still just making revisions.  I'm

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-79307798964312219422023-11-15T13:36:00.000-07:002023-11-15T13:36:00.729-07:00

Yesterday was the end of week 2 of NaNoWriMo.  So far, I'm trucking right along, staying ahead of par (just barely some days) and working on my novel consistently every day.It's funny how last year I made almost daily posts for much of the month during NaNoWriMo.  This year there's no way I would have had the time for that.  I guess I'm busier this year.  But I don't mind,

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-42960412376916973002023-11-08T13:44:00.006-07:002023-11-08T13:46:04.974-07:00

I'm still working on revisions on the section of Ruby Ransome that I wrote last year during November and December, but for now, progress on my NaNoWriMo 2023 challenge is going well.  I've been counting an hour of revising as 1,000 words, which is less than what I'd get in word counts if I were writing, but I suppose marking revisions on the page is a little easier than straight up

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-86208374051641029972023-11-03T16:25:00.005-06:002023-11-03T16:25:41.206-06:00

I stopped working on my novel effectively just before the holidays last year, and didn't pick it up again until at the kickoff party for NaNoWriMo 2023, just a few days ago.As a result, I need to familiarize myself with where I was.  To do that, I'm doing a round of reading and revisions in the part that I wrote last year.  Once I'm done with that section, I'll skim over the

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-87296416002881921922023-10-04T22:06:00.003-06:002023-10-04T22:06:35.885-06:00

When I was younger, I dreamed of writing a banned book.More specifically, I dreamed of being as controversial and frequently banned author as Judy Blume.  She was my hero and I hoped that one day I, too, would be called a communist for writing openly about female adolescence.Or something of the sort.As a reader of many banned and challenged books, some of which I studied and loved in college

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-48470844473510180922023-07-02T21:39:00.004-06:002023-07-02T21:41:59.055-06:00

Please note that this post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commissions from sales made through these links.Remember that travel computer I bought a while back?  I was going on a trip with my dad and rather than taking my full laptop through the airport, I decided to buy a Surface Go 3 as a dedicated travel laptop and backup machine.It's proven to be pretty

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-5136619668930253782023-06-29T15:22:00.048-06:002023-06-29T15:22:00.132-06:00

My last post was all about my plans for Camp NaNoWriMo, which starts SATURDAY.  In addition, all weekend the Denver region of NaNoWriMo has a community table at Fan Expo, and on Saturday, we'll be doing an Introduction to NaNoWriMo panel!Most years we have a community table at Denver's Fan Expo (previously Denver Pop Culture Con, and before that, Denver Comic Con), and we usually try to do a

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-50318477949992282982023-06-28T18:00:00.001-06:002023-06-29T14:57:42.443-06:00

The July session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts Saturday and I am not ready!Originally my plan was to get to work on my novel near the beginning of June, so that I could get some more done and be back in the habit of writing by July.  June has been one big thing after another, however, so up until this week, I hadn't had a chance to refamiliarize myself with where I'm at in the novel and start

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-52752165410340158022023-06-27T14:50:00.003-06:002023-06-27T14:52:10.068-06:00

I don't normally do this, but this book is worth recommending.  Not only did it keep me up late reading last night (a fairly common occurrence for me when I'm engrossed in a good book), but it also had me starting the book completely over the instant I finished it.I am not usually a re-reader, so this is a big deal.  I have too many books I want to read, so rereading is usually

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-2037131584020684772023-06-26T23:31:00.005-06:002023-06-26T23:31:31.578-06:00

I decided to try Amazon's affiliate program again, partly because I found out I did get one sale last time I tried it.  I have a plan this time to hopefully make more sales, so we'll see how that goes.  But just so my readers know, this blog is now running Amazon affiliate links as well as Google AdSense ads.What it boils down to is that since I'm not freelancing anymore, I need some

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-54457620300070210932023-06-06T17:51:00.004-06:002023-06-06T17:51:23.599-06:00

I blogged a while back about how I'd lost the habit of writing daily, and created a new goal for spring.  I didn't actually get any writing done during that time frame though (I'd set the end of writing for May 31st).Now, with Camp NaNoWriMo's July session coming up, and with a new weekly push on my regular habit to track my progress on various projects each week, I decided I need to get a

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-73355693063487941072023-05-15T11:00:00.038-06:002023-05-15T11:00:00.141-06:00

I mentioned in my last post that I'm not freelancing right now.Essentially, last year I lost a couple of clients, not through any fault of my own but due to business changes, until I was down to just one writing platform.  At the time I didn't have the time to look for other clients to replace the lost ones, due to my horse being sick.Well, said writing platform and I parted ways about a

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-89685495391991064182023-05-13T19:09:00.000-06:002023-05-13T19:09:58.640-06:00

Most writers get story ideas all the time.  Sometimes one is so powerful that it's hard to stay focused on the current project and not get distracted by the urge to start another.So what do you do when that happens?I usually find that trying to ignore it 1) makes the urge to write something else worse, and 2) means a potentially lost story idea, so I usually try to at least write down my

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-76984607615390164522023-05-04T16:05:00.006-06:002023-06-26T16:22:01.482-06:00

Please note that this post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commissions from sales made through these links.After all that work to get Scrivener and Plottr on the Surface Go 3 I bought as a travel computer, I didn't end up working on my novel too much.  That's not to say I didn't work on anything, though: I ended up working on revising a doll stringing ebook

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-37054834976445561682023-04-28T13:00:00.001-06:002023-04-28T13:00:00.134-06:00

In my last post I mentioned my plans for working during my trip, and how I went about making sure I can access my important files on both computers.  Because I originally only purchased a Plottr license for one device, this required reaching out to Plottr about upgrading my license.I have to say, Plottr support was fabulous.  I was afraid I'd get some flak for my request, or be told

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-23589349311702610842023-04-27T22:07:00.004-06:002023-06-26T16:21:51.835-06:00

Please note that this post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commissions from sales made through these links.Today I was talking to my dad about the trip, and I mentioned I wasn't planning on taking my computer.  He said he's taking his, and we talked a little about that.  And I decided to look for a smaller device - a netbook or tablet - that I could take

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-39450199053776760642023-04-23T00:25:00.001-06:002023-04-23T00:25:12.306-06:00

It's been a long time since I've worked on my novel... too long.  Tonight I thought to look at the stats on the NaNoWriMo site and the last time I updated my word count was December 20, 2022 - which probably means I was working late into the night on December 19th, and finished writing after midnight.That's just over four months ago.  How did I manage to go four months without working

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-90429583392330053482023-02-15T10:00:00.001-07:002023-02-15T10:00:00.181-07:00

So far this year has gone a little differently than I had planned, and I'm already having to restructure my goals for 2023.  Initially I had planned to finish the first installment of Ruby Ransome in January so that I could work on revisions in March, after letting it sit for a little bit.Unfortunately, I hadn't been considering other projects that would need my attention, and in actuality I

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-85745866900470511152022-12-31T11:00:00.003-07:002022-12-31T11:00:00.168-07:00

I'm not usually big on making New Year's resolutions, but after years of not making any at all, I'm finding that I do actually have some goals for this year, and some of them are to do with Ruby.As I've mentioned before, my goal for 2023 is to get Ruby Ransome and Pandora's Box published.  I'm planning on self-publishing, so I know I have some work ahead of me.  My goal is to get

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-7543729554205735272022-12-24T21:40:00.008-07:002022-12-24T21:40:59.732-07:00

The past week has been challenging, and I haven't posted much as a result.  We've had a lot of demands on our time, plus the weather in the last few days added a lot to the schedule.  We had an arctic blast here in Colorado, as did much of the rest of the country, and far more time than usual was consumed with taking care of the horses.  Water tanks freeze over very quickly in that

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251924055357976565.post-3455025665644336402022-12-16T03:40:00.002-07:002022-12-16T12:43:00.649-07:00

The last few days I've been focusing on something else rather than writing: series management.It started because I wanted to decide whether to get Aeon Timeline 3 before my coupon code expired.  I downloaded the trial and was playing with it, and then realized I had purchased Aeon Timeline 2 about five years ago and never used it, so I downloaded and played with that too.  The newer

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0