November – Page 2 – Write on the World

It’s amazing how often logistical issues can get in the way of our writing. I, like many writers, have tried a variety of techniques in an attempt to make writing – wherever I may be – as easy as possible. Because we all know, the easier it is, the more likely we are to do it. If it seems like too much trouble to haul your ancient, seven-pound laptop along when running errands, then you probably will end up just not doing it.

Yeah, I said seven pounds. I am a starving artist, after all. Of course I don’t have an iPad!

If you were writing a novel a century ago, your choices of communication modes were probably quite limited. You basically either wrote your novel out longhand, or you tapped it out on a bulky typewriter. Did they even have portable typewriters yet a century ago? Continue reading “NaNoWriMo logistics: How are you planning ahead?” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

NaNoWriMo Trashy Romance Novel Challenge

October 15, 2014October 14, 2014 Mandy Webster

fancy harlequin romance teaspoons — These are my fancy romance novel teaspoons. I got four free novels with each spoon!

Can it be mid-October already? NaNoWriMo is right around the corner, and I am just now getting around to thinking about it. As usual, my original plan for this year was to just skip it. But as November draws near, I find myself once again itching to see if I can knock out a novel in thirty days.

Last year, I did not. While I did manage to conquer the quest for 50,000 words, my NaNoWriMo project was not, in any way, a novel. Last year, I proved to myself that I am capable of writing 50,000 words in one month. This year, I think it’s time to step it up and write 50,000 words of an actual novel. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Trashy Romance Novel Challenge” →

Halloween, Holidays, NaNoWriMo

Happy Smashing Pumpkins Day! (Oh yeah, and NaNoWriMO!)

November 1, 2013 Mandy Webster

Pretty pumkins, pre carving — These are the pumpkins we will be smashing today. Of course, they have since been gutted and carved, their rotting faces now caved in.

A few years ago, my sons and I started a new family tradition that they look forward to almost as much as Trick-or-Treating. We like to call it Smashing Pumpkins Day.

This day falls on November 1^st, the day after Halloween, when the boys officially gain permission to take our now-rotting jack o’ lanterns out to the marsh behind our apartment complex and smash them to BITS! They love it.

What could be more fun than smashing pumpkins? Of course, if you smash someone else’s pumpkins, you’re a jerk. But there’s no harm in smashing your own pumpkins once their poor faces have sunken in. So today, as soon as my kids get home from school, they will gather up our jack o’ lanterns first thing and drag them out to the marsh. Each year, the boys come up with new and creative ways to pulverize their pumpkins. Let’s just say, we like to get our money’s worth. Continue reading “Happy Smashing Pumpkins Day! (Oh yeah, and NaNoWriMO!)” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?

September 13, 2012September 13, 2012 Mandy Webster

The setup for NaNoWriMo at home, if I need to ... — Are you ready for NaNoWriMo? | clickthing.blogspot.com/2008/10/tennish-anyone.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

November is nigh. It’s time to decide. Are you jumping into National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year?

Last year was my first shot at National Novel Writing Month. I didn’t get very far at 11,654 words, but I still found NaNo a valuable experience. As I mentioned in a previous post, last year’s NaNoWriMo really pushed me to look at my writing process and figure out this whole outlining of the novel business. Continue reading “Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

NaNoWriMo: Starting from scratch on Day 1

November 1, 2011 Mandy Webster

NaNoWriMo 2011 Notebook — This is my actual notebook where I began my novel!

Isn’t it just like me to change my mind at the last minute and start over from scratch? Well, that’s exactly what I am looking at, Day 1 of NaNoWriMo. After all the preparation I did, planning for my original novel, I was having a very hard time being passionate about the story. I think I had some good ideas, but I really wasn’t happy with where the story was going. I was dreading getting up this morning to start working that outline into a novel. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo: Starting from scratch on Day 1” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

NaNo-NaNo-WriMo-WriMo… It’s almost here!

October 31, 2011 Mandy Webster

Happy Halloween! This is your last day of relative sanity before the frenzy of NaNoWriMo. Are you taking a deep breath and relaxing today or rushing to get your loose ends tied up before jumping into your NaNoWriMo novel tomorrow?

I have a huge pot of chili bubbling on the stove already this morning, so I at least have my meals planned out for the week. Otherwise, I’m just now remembering all of the little details I meant to take care of the past few weeks so I could concentrate on NaNoWriMo… the KTG blog posts I meant to write in advance and schedule to post on their own while I’m busily typing away at my novel… the lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations I meant to throw together for my classes, the poems I meant to write in advance for my poetry class… you get the picture, right? Are all writers this discombobulated or is it just me? Continue reading “NaNo-NaNo-WriMo-WriMo… It’s almost here!” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

Preparing for NaNoWriMo: Day 2

October 18, 2011 Mandy Webster

Last spring, I wrote a short story for a course I was taking on literature and humor. It’s the story of a girl who is told by a boy that he spray painted something on a train trestle; something she would be very interested in seeing. So this girl and her best friend decide to ride their bikes out to see what he wrote and, as with any good work of humor, hilarity ensues. Continue reading “Preparing for NaNoWriMo: Day 2” →

Novel Writing

Just signed up for NaNoWriMo

October 17, 2011 Mandy Webster

It’s that time of year again. Time to sign up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) if you haven’t already done so. What is NaNoWriMo? Well, the purpose of NaNoWriMo is to kick yourself in the behind and write! To be precise, when you sign up for NaNoWriMo, you officially commit yourself to writing 50,000 words of your novel in the month of November.

So, I’m sitting here reading your mind, and I can hear you thinking, “Damn, 50,000 words… that’s a LOT!” and “What happens if I don’t make it to 50,000?” “Is this going to cost me some money?”

Don’t worry. Continue reading “Just signed up for NaNoWriMo” →