Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Insecure Writers Support Group IWSG November


It's the first Wednesday of the month which means: it's Insecure Writers Support Group day! 
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Make sure to visit a handful of blogs in the IWSG blog hop. Pick a number in the list and visit five or ten up or down the list. That's my pro tip!

November is a special month. Yes, it's my birthday. And my wedding anniversary. More important to you,  it's National Novel Writing Month!

Motivation: I want this badge every year!
I'm sure we'll see a lot of NaNoWriMo posts in the blog hop this month. That's because Nano is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter if you're published and have sold thousands of books, published and sold a handful of books, or unpublished, uniformed, and a total N00B. You can join in the frenzy and work your way toward a first draft.

 Five years ago, I was that newbie. I always liked writing (editor of high school newspaper, I wrote web articles for various small time sites and blogs for years). I'd always wanted to write a book and even started a couple times. The starting part is SO hard. I knew nothing of plot structure, turning points, character arcs. I barely knew point-of-view. But I read a lot. And I had a few writer friends who urged me on. I found out about NaNoWriMo a few weeks prior to November and thought, let me give this a go.

Five years later, I have a literary agent, a signed contract with a publisher for an upcoming book, and I'm on the board of the young adult chapter of romance writers. I've been to writing conferences across the country, I've met writers from around the world through pitch contests and writing forums. I read infinitely more than I did before. I attribute so much of this to Nano giving me the courage to go for it. I had the desire, but no direction.
Not everyone benefits from fast drafting. Lots of people don't finish 50,000 words in November. The best part of NaNoWriMo is none of that really matters. What matters is you are writing, and you're part of a collective of other writers encouraging you along.

Even if you aren't participating, I hope you find inspiration this month to reach your writing goals. If you don't have any writing goals, make some! Why wait until January for New Years resolutions? Start now! Resolve to finish your work in progress or brainstorm a new project. November is full of writers willing to cheer you on.

Thanks for stopping by! What's your favorite part of NaNoWriMo? What's a writing goal you've set for yourself?


24 comments:

  1. Sounds like you're a real NaNoWriMo success story. Congrats!

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  2. We share the anniversary month. Wishing you a Happy Anniversary and a Happy Birthday, Stephanie. I've never tried NaNo, although my RWA chapter has a mini-version, which I enjoy.

    Best wishes,
    Diane IWSG #92

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    1. Thanks! My RWA chapter Windy City challenged ALL of RWA to a Nanowrimo Word War. Now there's a Facebook group of teams. So fun! I love it when someone has an idea and runs with it.

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  3. Great encouragement for a first time NaNoWriMo participant like me! Cheers - Ellen

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  4. That's so cool that NaNo led you to all of that! Goals, right there :)

    I'm participating this year. I didn't write the first two days, but have caught up and hope to keep up the rest of the month. I'd be nice to finish, but we'll see. I haven't finished in a few years..

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    1. This makes me feel better because I also did not write the first two days. Here I have this Nano post going up and I only have barely 1k down for my project so far! I was finishing up another draft and wrote most of the day Sunday on that. I wish I could count that toward Nano!

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  5. I totally ride the good vibes coming off all the writers who are playing, even if I'm not. There's no better way to do it, eh?

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  6. Congratulations! I love NaNo success stories! The world needs more writers.

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  7. I love NaNo, even if I'm not actively participating - anything that encourages people to write has got to be a good thing, right? Congrats on your agent and your NaNo success! Very inspiring post :), good luck with the rest of NaNo!

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    1. Thanks, I need the encouragement! I am behind already in Nano as a bunch of other committments cashed in. I'm looking forward to my time off of work next week to catch up.

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  8. Inspiring post, I feel all gee-d up to do something now! :)

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  9. Congrats on all your success. I love doing NaNo for writing, for the friendship, for the fun. Glad to know you're there too. :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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  10. Wow, a lot can happen in five years! :) I didn't start doing NaNo until last year, but I love the community and support around this time of year. It makes drafting so much more fun!

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  11. Congrats on a great trajectory! That's exciting.

    I am doing my third NaNo this year, and so far I'm having a fabulous experience. The timing was just right this year: I had been researching for about six months and knew the story I wanted to tell, so it's pouring out so far. I'm working as fast as I can because I have a novel coming back from my editor this month, so the more I front load in the month, the better off I'll be. The fast drafting works really well for me because my early drafts are always sort of bare bones, and I flesh them out later. A few of my friends are doing it this year, so that makes it more fun, too.

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    1. I love it when the timing works out. I try to do bare bones first drafts but it's hard for me not to edit and shape as I go.

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  12. Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary! Happy Nano'ing!
    I haven't attempted NaNoWriMo... yet.
    One day I will.
    Even if it's just for the experience.

    Congrats on your success! Really inspiring!
    Happy IWSG Day!

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  13. That's so awesome you've experienced so many successes and joys in 5 years! I started my novel during a Nano, and while I'm not doing NaNo this year, I hope to finish the draft this month.

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  14. What an amazing success story! You come so far in just five years.

    My favorite part of NaNo is getting two thirds of a novel done each November. For some reason, once I sign up for it, quitting is not an option, and that's a good thing.

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  15. Wow, that has been an amazing journey. Happy birthday and Happy Anniversary.

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  16. Happy Birthday, Anniversary, NaNo!!!! lol

    It sounds like you have had quite the journey so far, imagine what the future can hold.

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  17. That is an awesome success story! I know those who think NaNo is a waste of time, but you've proved them wrong. It can make a difference and in more ways than just producing a publishable book. (Which I did for NaNo 2010.)
    Happy birthday and anniversary!

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  18. This is my second official NaNo, though I started books in November 2010, 2011, and 2012 as well. I didn't know till last year one only needs to write 50K of a book, not a book complete at that tiny length. Last year I wrote just shy of 75K, and I'm hoping to get at least that length this year as well. Hopefully, I won't be sidelined by a severe cough and cold for two weeks as I was last November.

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