I truly am a competitve soul, and I fully expected to make this my second NaNoWriMo win when I signed up. The fact that I hadn’t had as much time to plan in October as I would have liked didn’t phase me a bit. It’s NaNo, after all, where pantsers can do just as well as planners.

I decided to use NaNo to get a good start on the next Echo Falls book, Fading Echoes. There’s nothing quite like NaNo to get you out of the editor role and in the free for all of writing with your heart. With all the requests lately for a sequel to Echo Falls, I decided it was meant to be.

Unlike last year, when I took an interesting idea and let it run as it pleased around the Word document, I knew that Fading Echoes would require at least a bit of planning. There were a lot of elements I wanted to take from the first book to explore more in this one. I also wanted to take more time to get to know Charlotte as a teenager so I wouldn’t run into the same walls I did trying to get to know Phoebe after I started writing the book.

In the first week, I decided to take a day off for planning. I know that sort of thing is not to be done in week one when you’re meant to be driving forward on enthusiasm, but it needed to be done.

One night turned into two, and I began to have more enthusiasm for the project. I took the time to dabble with a couple of ideas. Some got scrapped, but one big one stayed: Amber.

I won’t tell you too much about her for now, but she’s a pack member and Charlotte’s ex-best friend. Like most of my villians, she came to my mind almost completely formed as a character with some interesting quirks and reasonings to boot. Fantastic, right?

After I’d filled out Amber’s character card and stuck it in with the others, I began to wonder if Amber would have come into existence if I hadn’t stopped for some planning. Would I have barged through the first draft without considering that Charlotte needed someone more on her level for a nemesis? Would Amber have shown up later but I wouldn’t be able to be bothered writing her in until the second draft?

I rather like Amber, as far as liking villians goes, and so these questions weighed on me. I didn’t like the thought of missing out on other great characters simply to fulfill a word count.

Now I’m not saying NaNo is just a drive to get a word count because it’s so much more than that. And I think that I would have ‘won’ by using another project for it. But in the end, Fading Echoes is what I wanted to work on and it’s just not NaNo material.

While I am disappointed that I won’t get the perks that come along with being a ‘winner’, I am still happy for the things that it has taught me. Plus, it introduced me to Scrivener, which I am absolutely loving so far.

So not all is lost. Well, there’s really nothing lost at all – except for the time I spent stressing about my word count…

If you have done or do this meme, please link back to Benjamin, but also leave a comment here! I’ll visit.

When and how did you find out about NaNoWriMo? How did you go?

I found out about NaNoWriMo in 2005. I think people on a forum that I was a part of at the time talked about it and I couldn’t resist the challenge.

How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?

2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Five times, then.

How many times have you won? If you haven’t won, what was your best result?

Last year is the first time I won, and it was brilliant. It is also the first year I started going to write-ins and such, so it was a great year all around.

Before that, I would get to about 30k in November and write the rest of it by the next March. Haha.

How did you go last year?

As mentioned above, I had a lovely year. I can only hope that this year will be as good.

Where do you write and with what do you write?

I mostly write in my recliner or in bed on my laptop. I used to be a pen and paper writer, but these days that’s only a notes or ‘out and about’ alternative.

How do you find time to write?

Most of the time, I keep my WIP document open on my laptop to keep reminding me to make time to write. I have to *make* the time, or I will never get around to just finding it as it comes along. I discovered the best time for me to write is dinner time to bed time, so I take advantage of the ‘creative’ hours.

Are your partners, friends and family allies or enemies?

My husband is absolutely and completely the best ally I could ask for – sometimes to my procrastinator side’s annoyance. Haha. He believes in me, is keen to keep me on target and gives me space when I’m writing.

What are your strengths and what do you use to help you get to the end?

I may be an author, but I’m a numbers kind of woman. I love seeing the little bar graph go higher and higher while the statistics adjust each time I put in a higher word count. That and my competitive spirit…

I would say that my decent typing speed is definitely a strength as well.

What are you weaknesses, obstacles and challenges that hinder you from finishing?

I’m a huge procrastinator. Once I’m writing, I do well, but getting myself away from the internet and other distractions to actually write is another thing.

Do you plot/outline/plan or do you write by the seat of your pants? How much do you plot or how unprepared are you?

I used to always write by the seat of my pants, but I am gradually moving into plotting territory – for both NaNoWriMo and in other writing. Lynn Viehl’s outlining guides (in nonfiction) are particularly good for ‘mostly pantsers’ to get a bit of focus.

Do you participate in the real life community, go to write ins and meet ups in your area?

I only started last year and it was the best decision. I was incredibly nervous, of course, but I brought chocolate which always makes things better. After that, everything was great. Unfortunately, I moved, which means starting over again.

What are your writing aids? Special snacks, music, totems, rewards or punishments?

Hm. I don’t think I’ve ever done punishments…

The statistics provided on the site are a good motivation, like I said. Also, the free proof given to winners from CreateSpace is excellent.

On a day to day basis, my favourite PJs and comfy sweater is always good. I used to lurve M&Ms, but I am trying to be healthier and try to go for grapes instead.

This is me!

I crossed that line into ‘green bar’ status at about 11.30 pm on the 22nd, and I started at the word count for a while because I had a hard time believing it. I’d done what I hadn’t been able to do in all my past attempts at NaNo.

I had a bottle of ‘The Author’s Wine’ (sorry, no pics because I couldn’t get a decent one) waiting for me, so at nearly midnight, I cracked it open and had a drink. Then I remembered why you don’t pick a wine just because you think the name is funny. It wasn’t that good. But I didn’t mind, as I had a celebratory ice cream bar.

The story isn’t close to complete yet, but I’m just going to keep barreling through. At this point, if I went back to edit, I wouldn’t get it done anytime soon if at all. I’m finally getting to know the characters, so I’m going to keep going.

I have taken a break from the writing just to catch up on the other things I let slip while trying to reach the goal, but I’m not going to let that break last for long. I know how hard it is for me to get back into writing even after just a few days of being away.

So there you have it. If I can do it, you can too! There is still plenty of time to get it done.

I had the best of intentions to sit down and write today. I was going to get all my work done as fast as I could (while still doing a good job), only do what I had to do for today instead of jumping ahead a bit like I usually do, and then I would write. Simple, yes?

What do I do instead? Well, I’ll give you a hint: my kitchen is now a kitchen of clean awesomeness.

My kitchen did need cleaning. The floor, the stove, the oven, some dishes, three boxes we hadn’t unpacked since moving in April of this year… Ahem. [Insert shifty eyes.] But did it need cleaning today? Today of all days when I can feel my ‘lead’ in NaNoWriMo slipping from my grasp?

No.

Of all the things I could have done to procrastinate, I’m glad it was cleaning and not sitting at the television with a bowl of crisps. Not that I have crisps, but you get the picture. I feel like I can breathe again in my kitchen, which is always good. But if I don’t settle myself back down to write (after taking yesterday ‘off’ writing because I was tired – after taking a couple days off because I was sick), I am going to lose that hard won lead.

So tonight, even though I’m tired from a day of washing, scrubbing, unpacking, repacking (mostly for donations, thank goodness), etc, I will write. Prepare to see that counter over there -> rise by at least 1667 words tonight. Huzzah!

This is the first year I’ve hit the halfway point and felt confident. Happy, even. I think I just might do this thing this year, and the thought of it is making me very happy.

A few things I’ve done differently this year:

*Gone to write-ins. I actually went to my second write in yesterday and had an awesome time. They are a great way to word war, socialize and get plotting help.

*Bribed myself and been bribed by other people. When I was behind in the first week (not even taking the thought of reaching 50k seriously), my husband bribed me to catch up with Reese’s peanut butter cups. I also have a bottle of white wine called The Author’s Wine (no joke – I’ll take a pic when I have a camera again) waiting for me when I pass that 50k mark. Bribes are good!

*Took a day off work to get ahead. This one actually happened by mistake. I am in no way saying you should chuck a sickie just for this (but you could if you wanted to). I actually worked ahead in preparation for not being able to type, but the thumb stuff didn’t happen, so I had a day to plug away at the novel and get ahead.

Oh, and then there is…

*Competing against people in my region (without them knowing it). There is a search function on the NaNo site, which I use to narrow down to people only in my region. I sort by word count and then use that as motivation (competition) to keep going. I made it from page five to three in one day. I’m on page two now, but it’s getting harder and harder to get to page one as people are completing their novels. But I shall do it!

So there we go. Secrets to (my) success, at least thus far.

How is everyone else going? Do I need to get out some bribery chocolate?

This does mean that my typing will be slower (possibly non-existent tomorrow) going off trying to type without my thumb as I type this post, so I’m doing the best that I can to get ahead on work so I can then get ahead on NaNoWriMo. Crossing fingers I actually do so.

And crossing fingers (except my thumb, of course) that everything goes well tomorrow morning.

How is everyone else going?

That’s right. I’ve actually caught up. I’m still in shock.

And it’s all thanks to my husband, two Reese’s peanut butter cups and a NaNoWriMo write-in.

I went to my first (ever) NaNoWriMo write-in yesterday and had an absolute blast. There were cupcakes, gummy worms, talk of the benefits of celery, a lot of sexual innuendo and using a chat room to talk to people in the same room. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time and I have never felt so at home in a room of complete strangers.

With laptops out, treats in hands and mouths, we had regular word wars in between small chats, introductions and sugar crashes. The quality of my writing… Well, I didn’t care about the quality of my writing. I was in a room of over half a dozen people and we were all writing! The experience is amazing and I highly recommend it.

The maturity levels were low and spirits were high, and I didn’t want to leave. (And they didn’t want me to leave, either, which was pure golden awesomeness from the NaNo gods.) Now I finally understand why half the fun of NaNo is going to the write-ins and other NaNo events.

I’ve already promised to come to the same write-in (it’s every Sunday) with my nearly-famous triple chocolate brownies. I’m looking forward to the words I’ll write and the depths I’ll sink to.

Anyone else have write-in stories to share?