What I've Learned from NaNoWriMo (and Writing Reviews All Year)

Here I am, basking in the victory of NaNoWriMo and working on my grad school application. Haven't done much in the way of editing the application's story and Invisible. Probably a little burned out from writing, I dunno.

Just was thinking about what I've done so far and I have to say, it isn't half bad. With my reviews, I realized I need to work on providing a better way of conveying both good and bad sides and then having a way of saying "yeah this was (good or bad)". Just something else.

Also, with working on More Than Thorns, I learned that I can write something long in about a month and it turning out promising. A hilarious thing about this story was that in its former life, Thorns was a rip-off of The Shining, only in Louisiana and the house was a Greek Revival. Thank God I was able to resurrect it. Normally, when a story gets that entrenched in gory things like that, it's beyond saving. The other funny thing is, I actually miss the world and the characters of Thorns. I really want to revisit it and add more scenes. But Invisible and the application story need to get done.

The biggest lesson I got from NaNoWriMo was to have fun. I forgot how much fun writing can be. Editing is fun too, don't get me wrong. I had an absolute blast. It was the challenge I've been needing for so long. I set goals and met them (well, most of them) and got absorbed in another novel world. I had to tell my editor shut the hell up and just write. I learned to give it my all, even if I wasn't 100% satisfied with the final product. In order to be a successful writer, I must let myself actually do some damn writing (that and edit it, but you get the point). Editing and revisions aren't going to be my problem. It's crossing that first finish line, finishing the first draft.

All this? My friends, this is the craft of writing.

And because I never learn...

count this as my hat in the ring for next year. I'm going for Script Frenzy, where I write a 100-page screenplay. It is in April 2012. Haven't written a script in a while, time to brush up on my skills! Or at least, read a few books and write little screenplays.

After thinking it over, I have decided to adapt Angela Carter's novelette "The Bloody Chamber" as my project.

More on this as it gets closer to time. And as for the question of will I do NaNoWriMo again? I don't know, right now... it's a maybe. It's going to depend on one thing: when in grad school, will it not get in the way of what I need to do?

So there you go. I'll have to decide (like this time) at the eleventh hour.

Such is the way things are.

ETA: whoo! It's my birthday! Here's to a quarter-century of existing!

I'm sorry, I can't hear you all...

over the sound of my awesomeness.

At 3:46 AM local time on this day, my novel (now renamed to More Than Thorns) reached 51,425 words. I did it. I won NaNoWriMo. Happy early birthday to me!

I would like to thank the following:

-my sister for making a lovely necklace. It had good luck symbols (thyme and green aventurine) in a little glass bottle. Without this early birthday gift, I wouldn't have the drive to keep going.

-the new Talking Heads DVD for providing the best reward incentive: for every 2K of words to get closer to the end, I watch a performance.

-M83 and their new album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. While listening to this fine album, it helped set the mood for the final 7K. "Steve McQueen" is glorious synth in its finest hour.

~

Now for some party-time music. Enjoy while I go over here and pass out. Gotta go to work later today and all.

Well, that took f***ing forever...

But I finished one of my first major goals: wrap up the "24 Reviews for 24 Years" before my birthday. The review of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt was a very appropriate end to this.

Hey, self... if you ever get the itching to do something like this again, remember what happened the last time, okay?

~

And now for something completely different: my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon...

NaNoWriMo update

Alright, into the first week and the word count issssss...

*drum roll*

12053 / 50000 words. 24% done!

Compared to Invisible, kinda crummy, ain't it? Either way, it's coming and going, but going along pretty good so far. It's interesting, but lacking in serious description and overall detail. Hope to fix that once I decide to edit the blasted thing. The stats on the site say that I should finish by the 29th. Erm... give me time. I can up it to my birthday, or even better.

~

As for other things, I will begin work on my grad school writing sample, begin the final showdown with Invisible, eagerly wait for this book to come out, and begin to psych up for the holiday rush starting tomorrow. And of course, finish up reviews and stuff. Also tomorrow. Of course.

Just found out my GRE scores

...and well, yeah. Ain't posting them. Let's just say I could've done so much better. (And maybe even a little ashamed...)

Atop that, I also found out that I can only retake it sixty days after I originally did it. So that means that I can't retake it in time... damn.

~

Did somewhat better on the Verbal than I thought. Not as much on the Analytical Writing. And Quantitative? Not well at all. Here's my surprise (spoiler: there's none).

I keep finding signs that point to quit worrying and keep going, but I still can't help it (see the last time I talked about this). I've read blogs, hell even found an interview with someone from the grad school I want to apply to that said they don't "look at the GPA or GRE that much" and that "[i]t's based [ninety] percent on the writing sample". That's assuring, but what's the ten percent?! The mystery thickens...

And with linking, I (inadvertently?) finally reveal the grad school I'm applying for: The Michener Center for Writers at University of Texas at Austin.

Which then leads to the main question y'all are probably thinking: why only one school, Frustrated Lady Writer? Aren't you encouraged to apply for several at a time? Answer: I have considered applying for several schools, but right now, I can only afford to move within  my state. Plus, Michener Center is the only school in the state that have multidisciplinary studies (i.e. I can study two things at once, in this case Fiction and Screenwriting). In all honesty, I would love nothing more than to be accepted into the Michener Center. But if I don't, I plan on moving away anyway and I'll apply for one of those low-residency ones.

So, there you go. What's been on my mind these days... among other things.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this breaking news...

Here is the current status with Invisible:

102870 / 120000 words. 86% done!

Y'all... it's gonna happen. This f***ing thing will get finished this year.

And it begins...

I just began my NaNoWriMo novel, a Southern Gothic tale about a poet. This poet, a woman named Merle, takes in a boarder (a painter from Washington D.C.). The boarder's paintings start talking to Merle, giving her nightmares and horrific daytime visions. But the thing is... is it all in her head? Or is the boarder someone that she doesn't seem to be? Y'all shall know this little tale by the name of Whisper. (As the NaNoWriMo site also knows it as...)

Either way, I almost felt like abandoning this, but persistent determination has led me to no other choice than to saunter on. If it gets to be too much, and I can't even finish other major tasks (like the story for my graduate school application and finishing Invisible), then I will pull the plug on Whisper.

Today, I plugged in 1776 words. Whoo, the year America became a country (sorta)!