The first two weeks of writing, I wrote 10,347 words.

The last two weeks of writing, I wrote 5,280, nearly HALF. But that’s OK. I’m not beating myself over that.

For the 28-29 days I’ve been writing, I needed to cross through Friday having written 14,560-15,080 words. With my current 15,627, I beat that by 547, so I’m good.

SO, what has caused the slowing down of writing? Two things:

1) Real life – I’ve written a lot in the last week, nearly 20,000 words—but they were words for class/academic work projects. When you write that much, it’s hard to keep writing, and with my tendinitis, the ol’ hands and wrists were like, No mas.

2) Writing without an outline – I’m sorry. I LIVE for outlines, and I know now, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I will never write another long project without an outline. Outlines gives me structure, order. They also give me freedom. I never follow them to the letter because you never know what will transpire during the writing process; however, with the outline, I feel free to move and question and explore. Without the outline, I flounder, and as a writer, I don’t like floundering. Soooooooooooooooooo, therefore, OUTLINE for me. LOL

It’s interesting. This book will be the second in the Double Inkwell mystery series, but I’m not sure it’s a mystery, yet. LOL Prologue? Screams mystery. Everything after that so far, not so much, and I think I’m beginning to see why. The first book was about a mystery within the main characters’ lives, so it was immediate. In this book, the mystery is not tangible to the characters’ lives, so we’re able to see more development of the characters’ lives and what’s going on within them and once the case goes “live”, then the main characters become more invested in solving the case–if ANY of that makes sense.

But I’m going to keep writing and then see what others say so that I can go back and rewrite. Working very hard in not letting the “What the hell is this I’m writing” thoughts crowd my mind and keep me from writing.

We’ll see how that goes.

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There have been many things to sidetrack me and my writing before the start of this journey, and I feared those things would keep me from writing. I think, in the end, writing kept me from being too sidetracked. Good ol’ writing. Always looking out for me.

The goal of this journey is to write an 80,000-word novel between now and November 25th. This comes to about 520 words a day, every day, until then. Including today, I should be coming to the table with a minimum of 7,800 words. I come to the table with a whopping 10,347 words!

I am beyond excited and happy for myself. To cross that first 10k mark is an exhilarating feeling.

Right now, because I didn’t have a fully-fleshed out outline, like I normally do, I’ve been fearing the writing is crap. Now, I do profess–and often–that writers should come to the page with editor off and realizing that the first draft will probably have a crap factor attached to it. This is a bit different. When I come to a writing project with an outline, there is a confidence that exudes from me because I have visualized the story for months, have edited in my mind too many times to count, and have a paper representation of that visualization. I know the writing will need to be tightened up, but I know also that the story is there. This go round, without the outline, I feel like I’m flailing a bit, and I so don’t like that. Once I finish this chapter I just started on, I will probably go back, read, organize what I have, see where I need to go with the next chapters, and move on.

What I am learning about this different process is that sometimes, you might just have to switch up what always works for you, and when you do, that means you need to find ways to be comfortable in that new writing situation to get some good writing done. Without a full outline, my “being comfortable” is writing a few chapters, going back to read and make sure it makes sense to me before moving on.

Before I cross the 15k mark, however, I do foresee me sitting down and outlining the rest of the story. It’s just what I do.

For now, I will revel in crossing the 10k and be ready to write my 520 words tomorrow!

Oh, and just in case you didn’t know. This book is the second in a series I hope to write called the Double Inkwell Mysteries. The first book in that series is already out, Death at the Double Inkwell, and you can read/listen to excerpts, read commentaries about the book, and get the link to buy your own copy of the book here on my site through this [LINK].

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Today starts a five-month journey to writing a novel. From June 25 to November 25, each of us will be writing an 80,000-word novel.

So, we have 154 days (520 words a day) to get our books done.

And I’m thinking in these small increments, too. I have so many things to do with class and research and work that I can’t think of having to write a lot every day. 520 words is a little more than two pages a day. I write more words than that just in the tweeting I do. Surely I can do it for my writing career.

And I’ve found for myself that writing these days isn’t just about passion. I’ve become pretty pragmatic since I started doctoral work, and I realized that for me, writing has to be about more than passion, just as a relationship has to have more than love/attraction. There has to be a means to an end, and I’m not just talking about finishing the book. I have several books, good books, on my computer, hoping to see the light of day. I’m not into (anymore) wanting to write for my laptop, so I need a reason to write this book, and I have one.

This book will be book two in the Double Inkwell series I have always wanted to do. Now that Death at the Double Inkwell is out [order HERE], I have a reason to write the second book — and interested publisher.

And so today I started the second book titled Into the Web.

Today, I wrote 602 words. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a start, and more importantly, I succeeded in accomplishing today’s goal.

It’s all about the baby steps.

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Well, today ends the second Weekend Write of 2010. Right now, I am not focusing on storytelling. Over the last month, I realized that first and foremost in my agenda is school, so most of my major writing will be delegated to that. I was driving myself crazy, thinking I “lost my touch” because I wasn’t writing thousands of words a day. I am still being creative; I’m just using my talents to write my academic works–and that’s OK.

Having said that, I decided to use this weekend to get various writing projects done:

1. Article for my The Write Life for You series
2. Article for The Blood-Red Pencil
3. Finish and submit an article on letter writing that’s for possible publication
4. Write/finish site visit project for my Usability class

In total, approximately 5,000 words.

And I’m happy to report that I completed all the writing activities for this Weekend Write, and I’m already thinking about what I’ll do next month. Next month presents an interesting time for me. Spring break will have come and gone, and I’ll be moving into the last full month of the spring semester. April is ScriptFrenzy, and so I will want to make sure my outline is developed for the script because I do hope to at least TRY to work on a screenplay during April. Luckily, I have an outline on the back burner, so I won’t have to work on that, but I will have to reread it, get back into the characters’ minds so that I’m ready to write in April.

More than likely, I’ll do the same thing in March I did this month–work on articles to submit.

How is your writing going?

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Yes, it’s a little after three in the morning. I’m still up. But not for long.

Had a very slow start to my Saturday and was really not in the mood to do much of anything. In fact, I didn’t start making any significant moves until well after 6 p.m., and I didn’t start to do anything WW related until nearly 11 p.m.

But I did start, and I completed most of my Weekend Write tasks for Saturday, so that’s something.

Today, my goals were to write some articles and submit to online outlets I have columns with. Also, I wanted to break out the next novel project, look at it, and make a plan to see where to go with it next.

Well, I wrote the articles. In fact, I wrote two additional articles, so I was very pleased with that.

I didn’t, however, work on the next novel project.

SO, that will be my goal for Sunday. Tomorrow, I’ll talk a bit about the next novel project, and wrap up my first Weekend Write.

See you then.

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Leading up to my first Weekend Write, I have to admit I was nervous. All this month, I’ve been supposedly working on an outline for a novel I was to write and to gear myself up to work on it during the months of February and March.

There is no shame to my game, so I’ll tell the truth: I did nothing. Been dealing with school, getting back into the swing of things (still not there yet), and a big bout of depression. I barely could get my  mind around school-related issues, so doing anything creative was out of the question.

But I planned to use WW as a wake-up call. I told people about it, so they were expecting me to do something, and never being one to disappoint, I wrangled up the nerve and energy to do SOMETHING creative.

And I’m proud to report the first day has been successful.

And this is mostly the case because I had a deadline! I was asked if I’d like to contribute to an anthology and to be considered, I had to submit an outline for a story. The deadline? The 31st. I was supposed to have been done this, but yeah, well, not making excuses. I just didn’t do it.

So I used the vast majority of my waking hours today to develop a story description, my characters, a scene breakdown, and then an outline for the short story. As I type this, I have a sisterfriend-writer reading the outline before I ship it off. Crossing fingers the outline is accepted and I get put into the anthology. I’ll let you guys know what happens with it.

Also, while working on the outline today, I began to think about my writing life and what I want from it. Been so out of the loop with my own writing lately that I had begun to lose what defined me as a writer and thus what I was going to do to illustrate this definition storywise.

Well, I have a strategic plan now on where I plan to go, what I plan to do…with more on that coming soon.

Let’s just say that for the first time in a long time I feel like writing again. And THAT is awesome,

My goal for tomorrow’s WW? It’s two-fold. I have some articles that need to be written and submitted to online outlets I have columns with. Also, I want to break out the next novel project, look at it, and make a plan to see where to go with it next.

Will holler tomorrow.

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Well, as many know, I didn’t get a lot of writing done the second-half of 2009. With starting a doctoral program, most of my time was used reading, reading, reading and writing, writing, writing…PAPERS!

Toward the end of the semester and into Christmas break, I decided that I could add my creative writing back into my life if I managed my time better. I have done it in the past, and there is no reason why I can’t do it now.

Thus, Weekend Write was born. What is Weekend Write?

Well, I decided that one weekend out of the month, I will devote myself to creative endeavors – whether that’s working on a screenplay, writing a novel, or working on articles for my upcoming book on writing, The Write Life for You. Friday and Saturday of the weekend, I will write, and on Sunday, I will do either an audio or video podcast of what I’ve accomplished.

In addition to Weekend Write, I decided that I would incorporate writing during my school week, too. I will carve out 2 hours of writing time on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to work on projects, too.

Creative writing is my lifeline; without it, I’m pretty useless in all other facets of my life.

Tentatively, here are the weekends I plan to write and podcast if you’d like to get your write on and talk about it.

• January 29-31
• February 26-28
• March 19-21
• April 23-25
• May 28-30
• June 25-27
• July 23-25
• August 27-29
• September 24-26
• October 29-31
• November 26-28
• December 17-19

Once my first week of school is through and I have a better sense of project due dates, I will solidify these dates.

And I have my first project, too. Back in 2006, I started a novel titled The Loss of Weight, and for whatever reason, I stopped working on it. Over Christmas break, I read the 20,000 words I wrote and realized I really liked the story, so from January to end of March, I will be working on finishing this novel before Script Frenzy in April; I plan to work on a screenplay then.

I’m excited. I’m pumped.

We’ll see what happens.

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I wanted to share my response because I think it might be beneficial to those of you out there feeling, thinking the same thing.

You know, the need to pursue writing often comes before one even KNOWS if he or she has talent. It comes from a desire, a need to express something. The fact that you’re pulled to write is BIG. For me, writing was always a NEED. Started writing when I was 10, and it was all about looking at the world and writing what interest me, then what I didn’t understand, then what I hated, then what I wanted to be made right, and on and on.

That pull to write is important because it will warm your heart when you’re rejected, it will urge you on when you receive criticism, and it will move you to want to learn so that you can better your craft.

First and foremost, I think you need to KEEP the pull. Recognize it. Communicate with it. Nurture it.

Allow the pull to keep you writing.

As you write, think about what you seem “called” to write about. This calling isn’t set in stone, but it’s a great place to begin to think about who you are as a writer and what you hope to convey in your writing.

As you write, READ. Read works you deem “good,” and be able to illustrate to yourself why they are good and what you can glean from these findings for your own writing.

As you write, READ. Read works you deem “bad,” and be able to illustrate to yourself why they might be bad and what you can glean from these findings for your own writing.

As you write, READ. Read works about writing, especially those books that delve into the issues you find you make consistently in your work. You want as many tools in your writer’s toolbox as possible.

Connect with other writers, especially those willing to read and critique your work. It’s important to know what you want to get out of a critique group and what you can bring to that group; you do not just want to jump into a group and wallow within it. And be open to constructive criticism.

And almost as important as your writing these days is your platform – who you are, what you stand for, how your writing reflects this, who you connect with, network with, how you BRAND yourself.

But ultimately, I think it is about the PULL. If you don’t feel moved to write, who will be compelled to read WHAT you write?

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Take the time to check them out!

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On day one, I wrote about 5,200 words.

This morning, I woke up and went to Starbucks, got me a white chocolate mocha and a slice of pumpkin bread and wrote before doing anything else. Got about 2,800 words in.

Sitting at 8,015 words for the first two days.

My goal for myself is to get to at least 30,000 words during NaNo because with school and all, I’m not sure I can hit the 50k. If I can cross the 15k mark by Sunday evening, I will be happy.

And proud of myself,

How are you guys doing on NaNo thus far?

Hope to put up an excerpt soon!

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