As a writer, I can say the single greatest tool we have is pen and paper. The next best thing? A whole notebook full of random ideas, plot sketches, character notes and general observations of the world. Your “idea book” is a resource beyond a how-to book you can find at a library. Without ideas, inspirations and characters, what good is your story? Okay, okay, I admit many writers are probably able to store all that information in their heads and never forget a detail. I don’t function that way. I find that if I don’t write something down right away, I may lose it forever. I was looking through...
NaNoWriMo Novel “finished!”
I reached the 50,000 words for National Novel Writing Month within the 1st and 30th of November, but my novel was far from being over. Now, I’ve reached 77,000 words and can say the story is all wrapped up nice and tight and actually “finished.” Thank you everyone who encouraged me along the way. It is still weird to think I finished a novel that I love after only two months! Watch for more news and updates about the manuscript, “A Long Way from Home.” Check out the excerpt in the “My Books” section.
...
The technology of today…
I normally don’t do this: I prefer to look at the positives in life and keep this blog writing and history-oriented. But today I need to complain. Just a little. I spent the entire weekend trying to get my wireless internet back online. There was nothing wrong with my actual internet connection, just the wireless router, which was just more than a year old. So, I call the company’s tech support line, but since it was past the one year warranty, they wouldn’t help me. After seeking help from friends and more tech-savvy people than I, I had done all the troubleshooting I could possibly do. So, I went and...
NaNoWriMo: Accomplished!
I reached just over 53,000 words in 28 days. Not too shabby! So what does this mean now? Well, aside from officially getting to post the neat little picture to the left, I have a new (mostly completed) manuscript. To pitch this novel to the publishers I’m aiming for, I will end up with around 70,000 words, so I’m going to keep my pace and get the rest finished. Then, polishing and pitching time! What did I learn? I re-learned my love of writing. After spending years writing, rewriting, editing and tweaking In Dawn’s Shadows, I’m a little sick of that process. So letting the creative juices flow for this...
Confessions of a Book-aholic
Goodness, I love the feel of new books. I love the smooth binding, the crisp, fresh off the printer smell, the silky pages and how easily they flip under your fingertips… Walking around a bookstore gives me a high, a sense of wonderment unlike any other. I can’t help it, can’t stop walking down each aisle, even if I would never purchase a book out of that section. Hello, my name is Nicole, and I’m a book-aholic. Seriously. I am. There are three shelves in my home office with books piled high, in somewhat alphabetic order. I’ve got twenty or so I still haven’t read…but I keep buying more! The...