NaNo News

I tossed around the idea of starting a temporary blog for this year's NaNoWriMo and finally decided to do it.  I did it for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I don't want to bore my followers who may not be interested in NaNo with daily updates.  I'll cease posting NaNo related stuff here and will keep this blog for my randomness/daily life/BS.

If you are interested in following my NaNo progress (and getting a peek at the novel I'm working on this year), head on over to Hunted Lyon.  Posting will be sporadic from now until November 1st, but expect almost daily updates during the month of November.  If the writing goes well, I may keep the blog up as I continue to work on the book.  (Oh, hush Mom.  I know I never finished last year's NaNo.  They got their Happily Ever After - okay?)

It's Almost That Time Again...

2010 NaNoWriMo is just around the corner! 

What is NaNoWriMo?  It's National Novel Writing Month and begins at 12:00:01 on November 1st and ends at 24:00:00 on November 30th.  In that thirty day period the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel.  It doesn't have to be a good novel; it doesn't have to be a complete novel; but it does have to reach 50k.  I "won" last year with over 60k.

I'm in a bit of a panic, because up until just a couple of days ago I had no idea what I was going to write, despite having just returned from the Writers' Police Academy.  I logged into the NaNo website and plugged in my synopsis of the book I had in mind and then had a change of heart last night.  Completely changed my mind on what I'm going to write.  I've started plotting in my little brain and couldn't sleep last night with all of the scenes running through my head, which means I've chosen the right book to write.  For a while, I had a blog called "Lyon's Roar Protection" (I took it down when I realized I was writing utter and complete trash).  The book I will be writing this year is the precursor to Lyon's Roar.  Maybe once I get the groundwork in place I can resume where I left off with the blog.

This year I'm going to try something a little different.  I went into last year's NaNo without a plan whatsoever and did okay, but this year I think I'm going to storyboard it.  RCC and I gathered our materials for storyboarding and will be getting started probably this week.  I've never done it before, but was inspired by Terry Odell's non-plotting posts.  Rather than using a large poster board, we'll be using file folders and different colored sticky notes.  We figure the file folders are easier to pack up and move when we go to our nightly write-ins.

RCC will be putting his graphic design skills to work again this year designing cover art for the other writers (as well as for the two of us).  Once I've settled on a title and get my cover done, I'll post it up here.

Anyone else interested in joining up?  Just go to the website and sign up; if you want to add me as a writing buddy let me know and I'll be sure to add you.  It's a lot more fun with some healthy competition.

Query Letter Contest

Elana Johnson, a YA author and query letter guru, is having a great contest for writers.  As I'm finishing up my Tales from the Trail, I'm now looking for an agent and/or publisher.  In order to do so, the query letter has to be amazing.  In truth, the query is scaring me to death.  Elana is offering up query critiques from five literary agents.

I know that some of my followers are not only readers, but writers, and could benefit from this contest as well.  (Are you listening TJ and Mark?  Your writer friend might be interested.)  If you're interested in throwing your name in the hat for a professional query critique, jump on over to Elana's blog and enter.

What the French, Toast?

I don't know what overcame me this weekend.  I spent, sadly, the majority of the day sitting in my bed yesterday working on my blogs and having a grand ole time.  A friend of mine, Lisa, who I met as a wrangler, sent me a link to a writing contest.  Hell, why not?  Except that the theme is "Invisible Writing", wow.  I write, but do I want it to be invisible?  I spent the afternoon thinking about how I would write the essay for that contest.  I'm still mulling it over - I've been an Invisible Writer for a long time.  My whole life I've been a writer, sometimes my writing brain causes me problems.  I can't just see a trash bag alongside the road - nnnooooooo - in my brain there's always a dead body or body part in it.  I often see things that aren't really there.  Example, when Jay and I were in Moab there was a tall dead something-or-other on the side of the trail.  When I saw it, I would have sworn that it was a small Bobcat (the farm equipment, not the animal).  It wasn't until we were practically on top of it and the angle changed that I realized it was a dead tree of some sort.

But I digress, I have been an Invisible Writer.  Do I want to be?  Hell, no!  I think that revelation lead, in part, to today's events.  I hopped on Blogger just like I do every morning and what's sitting there but a an announcement about a writing contest.  Why not?  I read the requirements, set up a new blog for Lyon's Roar (http://gundiva-lyonsroar.blogspot.com/), dusted off a piece I haven't handled in a long time, and submitted it.  When I was done with that, another post came up with another writing contest, this time a non-fiction animal essay.  Again, why not?  I've already got my Tales from the Trail (http://gundiva-talesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/) up and running.  Why not submit one of those posts?

I won't ever be a Visible Writer if I don't put my work out there for people other than my friends and family to see.  I've got to tell you, it's terrifying.  And exhilarating.