WriMos FTW!

Truths about Peer Editing by Unisse Chua

2011-12-02T09:20:00.001-08:00

Source: Flickr The epic National Novel Writing Month is finally over and you now have a novel that you would not want to go back and read again. If that's how you feel, think of why you joined NaNoWriMo in the first place. Do you love to write? Do you wish that you could somehow publish your diamond-in-the-rough novel someday? No matter what your reasons are, you wrote a

Wrapping It Up - Learning to Let Go by Val Hamer

2011-11-25T08:18:00.001-08:00

Wrap it up, baby! When I was fifteen I filled several school notebooks with what was to become famous in my family as ‘that dreadful ‘novel’ you made us read and comment on every evening.’ The characters were vibrant, the twists ridiculous, and with a cliffhanger at the end of pretty much every page it certainly wasn’t boring. What it lacked was an ending. That wasn’t much of an

Quick Fixes for Your Plot Problems by Angela Goff

2011-11-22T09:33:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the third week of NaNoWriMo! We've indulged in wild, literary abandonment! Hedonistic word abuse! Tangents that turn into plot development!! It's great, isn't it? Only right now maybe it ISN'T so great. Maybe you are stuck. The how-the-heck-did-I-get-HERE??? kind of stuck. Yep. Know that feeling well. The problem with getting stuck in the middle of NaNo is that

"The chickens are revolting!" by Eleanor Hutchinson

2011-11-21T10:27:00.001-08:00

(source) Excitement gave you the momentum to write your way through week 1. Bribing yourself with the edible treat of your choice ensured you survived week 2. Now there’s a good chance that you’ve arrived at a turning point in your novel. But what’s this? The hero doesn’t want to sweep the heroine off her feet? The villain would rather hang out in a coffee shop than plan his next fiendish

Announcing the WINNERS of the First Line Contest!

2011-11-20T09:10:00.001-08:00

(source) Hello WriMos, I hope this post finds you in good health and writing stamina. Some of you have finished their novels by now, others have just figured out how to end them, and yet others are nowhere near the finish line (hey, you're in good company). BUT I bet all of you are still very much hopped up on NaNo. Anyway, you might remember a little competition called 'most

Determination by Roxanne Piskel

2011-11-18T11:48:00.001-08:00

If there’s one thing that I took away from participating in NaNoWriMo 2010, it’s that I can overcome any obstacle when it comes to my writing. I faced numerous challenges last year. I didn’t have a computer or internet at home, so all of my writing was done during my lunch breaks at work. I came down with bronchitis, which resulted in me falling 10,000 words behind schedule. And, of

Not Sure What Happens Next? by Rochelle Melander

2011-11-16T07:14:00.001-08:00

(source) “So then what happens?” I asked my friend, who was writing the first draft of her fourth novel. We meet for coffee every few weeks or so to talk about writing. She had been telling me about her plot, a riveting teen adventure story set in a foreign country. “I wish I knew,” she answered. It happens to all of us. We get to a certain point in the plot, and the story unravels. We

Music as the Muse by Holly Roberts

2011-11-14T10:05:00.001-08:00

... especially when the flaky Muse is MIA. (source) About a week ago I had hit a rut in my novel, and every word was a struggle to write. Then I got online, and began researching soundtrack music that I believe would suit my novel. I found two songs that sent the blood pumping back through the veins to give life to my novel again just by listening to two songs. Not only did I

Got Block? Try a WEDGE by Janece Herrington

2011-11-11T10:25:00.001-08:00

Well, here we are smack in the middle of NaNoWriMo 2011. How are you doing? I don’t know about you, but I’ve barely kept up with my daily word count, thanks to a few thousand extra words clocked in during Week One! Thank the NaNo Gods! Week One is honeymoon time with the whole NaNo experience. After anticipating November 1st for months, our fingers fly over the

Whammo! You Hooked 'em! by Julie A. Lindsey

2011-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Will Mr. Owl keep reading after chapter one? (source) I love the extra ZING! NaNoWriMo adds to everything about writing this month. It seems appropriate to begin a Nano novel with an extra SHAZAAM! Doesn’t it? I had the great pleasure of attending the Central Ohio Fiction Writer’s Conference earlier this month and met an amazing group of seasoned authors, editors and agents. My favorite

The Top 12 First Sentences: VOTE YOUR FAVORITE!

2011-11-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

var cookie_booroo=0, random_booroo=1, enddate_booroo=0, maxchecked_booroo=0, jsonurl_booroo='http://booroo.com/app/vote.asp', customurl_booroo=''; Which sentence do you think is the best hook?The letter arrived eight months after the funeral.If everything goes according to their plans, I will be dead in three hundred and seventy

Writing Rituals--Magic Schmagic by Amelia June

2011-11-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

What do you keep in your magic bag? (source) My day job is firmly rooted in the non-profit world. As a result, I've done my job in some crazy places. I've done it in a minivan, in a trailer, out of a desk drawer, even in a bunk bed (this... is making my job sound naughty. It isn't). What I've learned from doing this job is that you don't need much to get good work done. You don't need fancy

Making Real Characters by Liz Holbert

2011-11-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Harold Crick (Stranger than Fiction) was very, very real. (source) I used to think one of the most refreshing things about literature is the one-ness of the characters - how they are one personality. When you and I think about ourselves we seem to be several people all at once. But I’m learning the more real you make your characters the more engaging they make your literature and the

Preparing for Writer's Block by Samantha Warren

2011-11-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

You know it's coming... (source) National Novel Writing Month has just gotten underway. We have weeks ahead of us to pound away at the keyboard, a hopeful glimmer in our eyes, and a burning story at the front of our minds. Right now, we have all the motivation we need. But if any of you are like me, that new NaNo blush will wear off quickly as I start to encounter unexpected plot twists,

The Key to Beginnings by Jannae Sifontes

2011-11-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

(source) It’s Nov 4th, and writing is (hopefully) underway! You’ve got your outline, your snacks, your character sketches and your writing tools of choice sitting in front of you. Now what? There is just something rough about those first crucial words in any work, be it short prose or novel length. These are the words that may well cause someone to stay engaged or to

Procrastination: An Art Form by Jessica Ralston

2011-11-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

(source) I have recently decided to undertake a Post A Day challenge on Wordpress. On the first full day, I took one look at the Add New Post page and I willfully ignored it. What did I do instead? I checked Google+. I checked Twitter. I checked Facebook. I trimmed my nails. I listened to a Nerdist podcast. I fired off an e-mail. I did some yoga. A little of this, a little of that. The Add

Announcing the FIRST LINE BLOG CONTEST!!!

2011-11-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

(source: writingcareercoach) Hey WriMos, how are the words coming along? I hope everyone’s in good spirits. I know I am! So as promised, it’s time for the infamous first blog contest here at WriMos FTW! And because I didn’t want to make any of you work more than you should at this time of literary distress, I designed the ultimate simple contest. All I need you to do is to

Lisa's Survival Guide to NaNo by Lisa Bouchard

2011-11-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaand we're OFF!!! Squeezing NaNoWriMo into our busy lives is challenging, but with a little forethought we can sail through November and have shiny new novels to call our own. There are some things we can do without for the month. I’d suggest eating lunch at your desk and writing instead of going out and watching less TV. Consider watching less TV, there’s nothing good on,

Don't Give Up! (Keep Writing) by Melissa Wright

2011-10-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

I guess my post should be titled “What I Wish I Knew at This Time Last Year”, but that’s really long. You see, 2010 was my first “official” year as a NaNoWriMo participant. I’d love to sit here and tell everyone about how successful I was but….. I can’t. Why? Because I failed miserably. I didn’t plan anything out beforehand. I just went in with the mentality that I was going to “wing

Pyramid of Consumption by Amy Leigh Strickland

2011-10-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Ooo, what does this button do... (source) Note by site-owner: Hey there WriMos! Today's guest at WRIMOS FTW! has prepared a very special surprise for us. Below is an infographic (#wheezomgsqueelovethose) made by Amy Leigh Strickland (@nimbuschick), which depicts all the things we need to sustain ourselves for the duration of NaNoWriMo. And boy, do I relate! What's

Music Always Holds the Key! by Alivia Anders

2011-10-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

(leizlmarie) As we inch closer to November 1st, things begin to fall into place for the next thirty days of insanity. Maybe you've pre-planned what will be made meal-wise for the family to shave a few hours off your schedule. Maybe (unlike me so far) you've cleaned your room and desk space as a ritualistic 'Cleaning of the cobwebs from the brain' thing. Maybe you're like my friend

10K in a Day: 10-Step Guide by Daniel Swensen

2011-10-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

10 small steps equal one big one. (catalogs.com) In November 2005, my third year of Nanowrimo, I found myself a whopping 10,000 words behind. (When your quota is 1,666 words a day, it's amazing how fast you can rack up a debt.) Rather than trying to catch up a little bit at a time, I decided to do it all in one day. So I sat down for about twelve hours and wrote 10,000 words and

The NaNoWriMo Checklist by Leif G.S. Notae

2011-10-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Pen at the ready. And... GO! (Annastan) Congratulations! You’ve decided to take on the challenge of NaNoWriMo, good for you! Right now, you’re probably either deciding which outline to use or you forgot that you agreed to participate in NaNo and are now running around the room flipping furniture over to find a pen and some paper. If you’re in the latter category, go ahead and take care

The Qualities of a Winner by Kathleen S. Allen

2011-10-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

... is the WRONG attitude. (fanpop) My name is Kathleen S. Allen and this is my second year participating in NaNoWriMo. I had heard of it before but didn’t know what it was until a friend of mine suggested I do it. I looked on their website and decided to go for it. I was working 60-80 hours a week and I would come home, eat dinner and sit at my computer, writing my word count for the day

The WriMos Guide to the NaNoWriMo Forums

2011-10-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Together we are STRONGER! (healerslibrary) When I look back on my previous NaNoWriMo experiences, I remember all the fun I’ve had on the forums. I know it’s not for everyone… and sometimes it feels like more ways to procrastinate. Am I right or am I right? BUT. The NaNoWriMo forums are there for a good reason. They not only help us connect to one another, but they also help us