A Week in the life of #NaNoWriMo 2016

Hello Peeps!

I know I should have posted earlier about a very busy 1^st week of #NaNoWriMo2016. However, I picked up a particularly nasty bug that takes seven to ten days to run its course. This is the first time that I have been feeling well enough to tickle my keyboard.

Week one started on Oct. 30^th for the Treasure Valley group. We had a kick off dinner at the Black Bear diner in #Boise. Quite a few wordsmiths turned out for some fun and writer’s talk…too bad there wasn’t any whiskey around.

I made it to a write-in at Barnes & Noble in Boise on Tuesday, Nov. 1. A fairly decent crowd once again. Big thankies to B&N and our coordinator Kelley Thibodeau for arranging those write-ins and the kick-off dinner.

The Mountain Home Writer’s Guild hosted a write-in at Common Ground Coffee on Sunday, Nov. 6^th. I prepared a German luncheon. We offered assorted links with flavored sauerkraut, German tater salad (What’s taters precious?  J), a cool refreshing beet salad, and some homemade pretzels. We had six writers. I really expected more, but we all had an enjoyable afternoon.

I still managed over 2K for the week. Too bad I caught this flu and my word count sank to nothing.

Anyway, how was your first NaNo week? Do anything interesting? Meet any new authors? Did you host an event? Attend a write-in? How’s your writing and word count?

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Get Ready For NaNoWriMo 2016

I’m really fired up for this one and can’t wait to get started. My first fantasy novel, Tales of Tyrennia Book I: An Easterly Sojourn is still in the editing stage. However that hasn’t stopped me from working on book II of the series. The working title is The Frozen War. Within these pages, I’m delving into the Dwarven Kingdoms of the north.

I’m about 65 pages into The Frozen War, and I would really like to do some open field running. In the weeks preceding #NaNoWriMo, I’m going to review the new novel in order to bring myself back up to speed.

Next there is my writing space. As some of you know, my wife and I are expecting. Therefore, many renovations have been going on. One of the changes was to convert our office into a guest room. We moved our computers and bookcases into some “dead space” in our entry hall. At first it felt strange, but in the past few weeks, I’ve become accustomed to my new writing area.

Got my guitars, album covers, stereo, and books around me

Our computer desks didn’t fit, or look right, in the new space. We purchased two new identical desks. The black frames and the glass tops look great. Except, our glass desk tops are now covered in paw prints from the cats. 🙂

Also, there will be many NaNo functions in town and Boise. It is always good to meet up with my fellow-travelers, have a snack, some coffee (mandatory), and let our fingers do the walking on the keyboards.

What are you working on for NaNoWriMo 2016? A new novel? Restarting an older idea?

NaNoWriMo 2015: Hosting a Write-In

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I live in a small town. The writer’s group is not a large one, but we do have enough members to host a write-in for #NaNoWriMo 2015. I also belong to a larger group based in #Boise, Id. My goal was to get the two groups together.
First I needed a venue, which turned out to be an easy task. The local writer’s group meets in a coffee shop. Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and where there are #Indie-Authors, there’s coffee. The owner loved the idea for the write-in and told us to go ahead and spread the word.

Yes! I made that Cannoli

Now that I had the place, I had to come up with an idea to attract writers from Boise as well. This was going to be a difficult task, because there are many writing events taking place in Boise. Therefore I needed to concoct a way to entice others to take a 40 mile drive. The answer was a free-lunch.
I made up a tray of baked ravioli, chicken salad sandwiches, and cannoli. For the most part, it worked. One of the Boise members took the drive. Also, a few writers in town not normally associated with the local joined in with us. I would have liked more bodies to show up, but in the end it wasn’t a disappointment.

We got together, stuffed our faces, and banged away at our respective keyboards. I completed almost 2,000 words that day for my second fantasy novel…woohoo.
How did NaNoWriMo 2015 go for you?

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#NaNoWriMo 2015: Week 1

Well the first week of #NaNoWriMo is over. It could’ve been more productive but there are extenuating circumstances. 1) My wife is home from deployment and was still enjoying leave time. It would’ve been really wrong of me to shun her and spend selfish time at the PC. 2) Also she’s on a renovation quest. The kitchen needs an overhaul, so we spent a lot of time at Lowe’s & Home Depot.

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Aside from domesticity, I did manage to squeeze in some writing time and made it to a “write-in” in Boise, Id. This is my first attempt at NaNoWriMo from scratch. I did participate last year but only to finish off my manuscript for “An Easterly Sojourn.” Book one in my #fantasy series called Tales of Tyrennia.

For NaNoWriMo 2015, I started the manuscript for Book II: “The Frozen War.” So far I’ve managed 6,232 words. Already the book has taken off despite my planning. I love it when a plot or a character takes on a life of their own and moves away from my notes in a different direction. Don’t you love that too?

I’m though the first six chapters and had to update my notes because the subject matter of Chapter six was never planned. So back to my notes and change the chapter numbers.

Stay tuned…I’m hosting a “write-in” at a local coffee shop for the #Treasure Valley Group. I’ll let you know how it goes.

How far along is your NaNoWriMo 2015 manuscript?