Thursdays with Taryn~ Halfway There #NaNoWriMo

Are we about ready for Thanksgiving next week, peeps?

Already, today marks the 1/2 mark of NaNoWriMo- Day 15- on which, if you go by the minimum amount of words required to write 50K words by Day 30, you should be sitting somewhere around 25,000 words. Simple and it makes sense, eh? I have just a little under 27,000.

Yesterday was not a very productive writing day. I awoke feeling like my throat was doing this "allergic reaction" thing I've had happen in the past- where my uvula (punchy bag) elongates and hangs lower, nearly sitting on the back of my tongue. It's probably not life threatening, but it can be scary when it happens. I have trouble breathing past it because it wants to swing forward and causes me to gag, but when I swallow, it feels like a lump, like I'm going to swallow my uvula and choke to death on it because it falls back and covers the windpipe.

I never quite figured out exactly what caused it to happen the first time when I was in my early twenties, but after seeing a doctor about it, I was given corticosteroids for it and advised me to keep Benedryl on hand as well. It took about 2-3 days to clear up. He said it appeared to be some sort of "allergic reaction" to something I'd come in contact around that time and perhaps it was something I never had used/eaten/etc. I avoided certain things- such as Herbal Essence shampoos, Baby Ruth Candy bars, Rally's burgers and fries. I was a smoker at the time though, too, and I often wondered if I might have smoked one too many cigarettes the night before in the cool night air, but who knows. I'm not a smoker anymore though, so that would not explain it away now. I've also since given Baby Ruth the benefit of the doubt and didn't have trouble with it, but as for the other things- I typically avoid them.

That's not to say it's never happened again, as yesterday morning proved. From time to time I have had a flare up and I simply attribute it to allergies of some sort and pop a Benedryl capsule. That usually does the trick, but therein lay my problems with writing yesterday- between the intense grogginess and my eyes being itchy and blurry, I also had the urge to curl up in a ball and go to sleep beside the cat. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded at all, but I fought to stay awake so I could write and then still couldn't fight my way through the haze that fogged my thoughts. It sucks so bad when I can't seem to compose a coherent thought or put down more than a few mediocre sentences.

I definitely need to get more writing done. This weekend and into the following week I have cookies and treats to prepare for family and friends I will see around Thanksgiving. I have travel and hopefully the weekend after Turkey Day, I will have the energy to decorate my Christmas tree and hopefully get the outdoor decorations up as well.

I also have some really exciting plans in the coming weeks- some really cool holiday surprises that might include something like autographed print copies of Castaway Hearts and a few special gifts as we get further into the festive spirit of the holidays. You'll want to stick around to find out more about my upcoming

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson Giveaways

So definitely stay tuned for news about that!

Here's to getting some writing done today.

Happy Writing fellow NaNovelists!

Happy Reading fellow Bookworms!

November 1st- NaNoWriMo Begins- Essentials

One of the essentials I've always had on hand during NaNo is snacky things, especially AFTER I quit smoking 3 years ago. Usually it was gum, mini candy bars, especially Reeses cups and chocolate in most any other form, etc. I mean, really, the day after Trick-or-Treat- who doesn't have some candy just lying about all over the house? I have kids and even if they hide it, I'm like a bloodhound, with a nose for the sweets. I can sniff it out, Sherlock Holmes style.

This time around though, I thought I'd curb the chocolate, which I could probably demolish in the first few DAYS of NaNo and instead opted for some old-fashion candies- Chick-O-Stick, Bit O'Honey and Mary Janes. I also snagged some Laffy Taffy because I can suck on a piece of that for quite some time and be happily typing away without realizing it.

But I also grabbed some Brach's Maple Nut Goodies, Trolli's Peachie O's, my all-time favorite chewy Twizzlers and Gummi Bears. Now mind you, I've come to realize that I prefer Gummi Worms to Gummi Bears and you might ask why- well, the bears seem tougher to me and after a while, I just kind of get tired of picking arms and legs out of my teeth. I don't have that problem with worms, as they have no arms or legs to speak of. ;)

On top of the sweet treats, I've also got honey roasted peanuts and this weekend's grocery day, I intend to find some Chex Mix to add those into cause occasionally I do need something salty. I've also got some knock-off Teddy Grahams as well. In the fridge we have fruit cups and string cheese, and I'm pretty sure I have some microwave popcorn, too, so I don't think I'll be at a loss for things to nibble on.

Truth is, the supply is great and I will eat some of it, but often times I find myself so deep into the writing, once I really get going, that I forget I even have the snacky foods around. In the meantime, I guess my bedroom will just have to smell of all the sweet treats and old-fashion aromas of a candy shoppe as I step on the gas pedal and gun it down this writing highway.

I probably won't be around much today as I hope (fingers & toes crossed) that I will blow my word count out of the water and get a LOT written but I will try to update word count on my Widget in the side bar each day. Hope you get off to a great start if you're participating in NaNo as well!

What snacky items, if any, do you like to keep on hand as you write- during NaNo or any other time? Would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorites!

Boo! Happy Halloween!

To all those with children who'll be out tonight trick-or-treating, please remember to dress in bright colors or use those glow sticks and necklaces, flashlights, reflective garments, etc. Keep those babies safe and sound and if it's going to be a cold one where you live, be sure to dress warmly! Don't forget to brush after all the sweets and have fun!

For those who might partake of mid-week Halloweenie parties- be safe, have a designated driver if there's drinking involved and watch out for the little ones!

And don't forget- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs tonight on ABC (7PM Central/8PM Eastern-check your local listings) for those who might enjoy a little Peanuts tradition!

I'd also like to say-

Bright blessings and warm wishes for those celebrating Samhain Eve today and Happy Halloween to everyone!

No matter what the day brings, I hope everyone has a wonderful time and a safe holiday!

(I got to get ready for NaNo- It starts TOMORROW!!! CAN'T WAIT!)

Taryn Raye's Writerly Wednesday~ Surfing & NaNo

Yesterday I avoided the computer altogether while I tackled Mt. Dirty Laundry, hemmed a raveled seam on one of my daughter's shirts by hand and read a couple of books about surfing on my my Kindle. Honestly, I think I need the time away from the computer every once in a while to clear my head and find inner balance.

 (image from morguefile.com)

In regard to my research, I know reading about surfing is far from having experience with it, but as a writer who lives no where near the coast, I'm making do with the sources I have and honestly think I've gathered several great ideas for scenes for Mark and Alexa in my upcoming WIP that I'll be writing next month.

As of today, we're a mere week and a day away from NaNoWriMo. Am I excited? HECK YEAH! The closer we get and the more I read, the more exhilarated I feel.

Of course, that means, I'm stepping back from prepping Love by Design for publication, so I can concentrate on writing Heart of the Surf and putting a finish on this 2nd book series. I have plot lines and tweaking for LBD, that I'll work on after I come through NaNo on the other side.

Reading the books on surfing is really fueling my excitement for NaNo to begin for sure, though now that I'm researching and learning more about it, I'm also seeing more on television, especially the sad news of the surfer who was killed by a shark off the coast of California. That caught my attention last night on the news because my story is set on the California coastline and that could be a real issue, but I don't think I'm going to be writing a shark into the story.

Normally surfing is not my normal fare of interest, but I'm eager to see the new Chasing Mavericks movie, starring Gerard Butler. Of course, Mr. Butler is a mighty fine reason to watch ANY movie, but I'm finding myself interested in learning more about surfing, too, though I might never step a foot in the ocean.

Mind you, I love Gidget, but this has gotten me to thinking about other movies that might help give me a clearer, more modern idea visually— Point Break & Soul Surfer are a couple I need to get so I can watch them. Even Surf's Up is recommended viewing by one of the authors of one of the books I read about surfing.

Over the next few weeks I'm also intent on checking out the vast amount of surfing videos on Youtube, such as this one-

I find it's often easy for me to plunk myself down in another world and experience other things vicariously through words and visuals. Such is the blessings of being a writer and an avid reader.

Hope you have a great and wonderful Hump Day!

I can see the weekend from here!

#Writerly Wednesday Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2012

Yep, I'm doing it. I announced it a couple of weeks ago, but decided to make it official on the blog seeing as I only have approximately 2 weeks to get my head wrapped around the idea. This shouldn't be intimidating, considering I've done and won 5 NaNos before, but after skipping last year because I was deep in edits before Castaway Hearts came out this past April, I'm feeling a bit nervous about rejoining the ranks of fellow writers on this journey into 30 days of writing insanity.

Well, I have to admit, I'm nervous, but I'm eager, too. I haven't written "new" in what seems like forever and I'm chomping at the bit to get started. There's a current of excitement rippling under the surface, revving my engine and getting me charged with writing energy that I haven't felt in a long time. I know I burned out a while back, so writing has not been a top priority on my list, but it needs to be.

I was tired, yes...tired of writing because I burned through so much midnight oil in such a short amount of time that I needed to recover. Three years of almost non-stop writing took its toll, but that doesn't mean I haven't THOUGHT about writing almost CONSTANTLY. It eats away at me that I haven't produced much more than a few paragraphs here and there, finished a manuscript, but still feel I've come up short of my own expectations.

I'm hoping this year's NaNo will be the kindling I need to reignite the writing fire in my tummy and set me ablaze! This was, for 5 years, a very big part of my November- the crazed writing and chewing on Twizzlers and popping gum and guzzling lots of caffeine. It's a good thing I have a very understanding husband, who will cheer me on each evening when he gets home by checking to see how many words I've pummeled onto the screen. I used to not have his support, but he's quite the cheerleader for me these days.

If anyone needs a writing buddy, or just someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of or just give you a good swift kick to get you going again, I'm here, so feel free to leave me comments on the blog or email me, find me at www.nanowrimo.org and add me as a buddy. As someone who's wrestled this bear called NaNo before, I can promise you that it's worth it. You can defeat those 50,000 words and you can come out the other side with a little something to show for it. Of course, afterwards, you'll have to untie your internal editor and let her/him get to work cleaning up the drivel, but YES, it's totally worth the craziness of doing National Novel Writing Month!

Come join me!

WIPlash Wednesdays- Questions from Mary Ellen & Katie

Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.

~E.L. Doctorow~

Mary Ellen T.- Is your book about your life or someone you may know? I wonder how you can put everything together for a book.

Everything I write is fiction, so no, my book, nor any others I release, will be about my life or anyone I know. As a writer I know that parts of who I am, and those I love, are woven into the fabric of the story, but I never write myself or others intentionally. I do think it just comes with the territory that, as a writer, our stories are who we are, without ever meaning to be because they come from the heart of us.

(the 2nd half of Mary Ellen's comment also kind of blends into Katie's below)
Katie M.- Do your plots just come to you?

Putting together a story for me is rather free form. Sometimes plots come to me freely, spinning out off something I heard, saw or imagined. Some of those ideas percolate in my dreams, but being I'm a pantser (write by the seat of my pants), I don't plot or outline the stories in great detail.

In 2006, when I first started writing with the serious intentions of getting published, pretty much every story I had started with bare bones- character names, a general idea about what they do for a living, how they might get thrown together, what kind of conflict could exist between them and a tentative title.

All the stories I've written so far stem from those. In truth, I'm still working on writing all the ideas I already have jotted down and it hasn't been until more recently that several ideas sprung from the well I thought was dry. The only problem is that until I finish some of my others, the new ones have to be put on the back burner.

How did the new ones come to me? I fell asleep one night with all the thoughts racing in my mind and when I woke up they were still there, burning into my brain, so I wrote them down. Doesn't happen often, but I figured it was worth taking notes. Some have followed me to bed and taken their sweet time to congeal over long periods. The majority of them though, I wrote in a month, taking my cue from my participation in NaNoWriMo- conforming my writing patterns to nailing down the first rough draft within 30 days. I tend to produce a lot more when I work under such tight self-imposed deadlines.

How do you keep all the back stories straight?

Keeping the back stories straight is usually pretty easy. I don't outline, but I do usually keep a list of all characters, main and secondary, in a notebook wherein I also keep track of how scenes play out, how characters are connected (family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances- I've even jotted a sketchy-at-best family tree, just to make sense of how many siblings there are), how long the chapters run, and make notes of things to come as I'm writing or even research I've done online for certain things like preparation of certain meals or dishes or decorating jargon, rodeo information, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater, or when the match came into existence, etc.

For Castaway Hearts, I was halfway through the story when I wondered if matches even existed in the late 1700s. A quick search on Bing found my answer.

Friction matches, were first invented by an English chemist in 1826, so no, my character couldn't light pipe tobacco from a match. So what did they do to start a fire? Before friction matches, also known as lucifer matches, men lit their pipes with a paper spill or carried a tinderbox with them for lighting their tobacco. This was a much more time consuming habit, but I knew I had a few places in the story where I needed to remove the match lighting and give a little insight into what would have been the norm in that bygone time.

Story timelines, most especially for those that play out in chronological order are definitely something I need to police myself over a little more. I realized at the end of January while reading through to finish my current WIP, that a secondary character, who was pregnant in a previous book, would have been due in March, but when the WIP started, it was already May, but she was due anytime...I kept thinking, wait...2 months OVERDUE? That's just not possible! And so I had to fix it. And then there's the whole, "did that couple get married in the last book, or are they getting married in this one?"

It's a juggling act, to say the least, but something I enjoy tremendously.

Thanks for the questions ladies! Tune in next week for a question from Joey R.

Feel free to leave me more questions in the comments here at anytime.
I'll be happy to answer them.

Happy Hump Day! I can see the weekend from here!

Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
~Dylan Thomas

Fall is still having it out with Summer, vying for whose turn it is to shine. We've had some mornings where it's freezing when I put my children on the bus, but by afternoon, they've shed jackets for temperatures in the 70s and 80s and come running into the house squawking about how "hot" it is.

I crank up the heaters when I roll out of bed and by midday, I'm sweating bullets and turning them all down, if not off. By next morning, I'm cold all over again and adding socks to my wardrobe, even if I'm planning to be in the house all day.

There's a blanket of golden orange and russet on my lawn. The trees stand proud in their state of undress and until Wednesday, these roses (pictured above) were weathering the temperature spikes with the stubbornness of a mule- determined to show off their pretty dressings just one more time before Fall and Winter put them to sleep for months. Not even the frost deterred them or killed their will to survive. Nope...

Dressed in satiny soft petals, they shivered on those freezing mornings, raging against the dying of the light, indeed! I finally decided if they were that determined, I would rescue them. Safe in a vase, nestled together, their skirts are blossoming and they will finish their dance, at least for this story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a while, I know. Since the last blog post I've been busy. I received my first round of edits, and there were quite a few things to work on. The great thing about writing- I'm constantly learning about myself as a writer, about my strengths and weaknesses and learning how to build and mold them to my advantage. It takes perseverance and determination in this business, much like my roses striving to bloom amidst bitterly cold temperatures. I'm dressed in MY strong will and thick skin, baring my soul in the written word rather than the freezing cold, but just the same, I'll do so with stubborn determination to get my dance in. Others must examine and pick the bones, help remove what doesn't work and sometimes you have to build new foundations and add support beams to help smooth it into a work of art that can stand on its own. So far, so good. I have a wonderful editor who is helping make it the best it can be.

So, I spent my time taking care of that through the end of October and got it back to my editor. I still keep thinking about NaNo, but instead of worrying about it, I'm giving myself permission to be okay with the fact that I'm not participating this year so I can concentrate on more important things. Yesterday I decided that in the "between time" of edits, I'm going to pull the unfinished WIP forward and work on it to get it closer to being done.

Then, perhaps I'll give myself a month, my own personal NaNo, sometime after the beginning of 2012 to write the 4th and final in that series. I'm not sure what the next project will be after that, though I know I'll have a lot of work ahead of me when it is time to start promoting Castaway Hearts next spring.

Looks like it's going to be busy from here on in, as this tends to be the busiest part of the year anyway, what with decorating and cooking and family gatherings for the holidays. I can't wait. I have so much to look forward to, I've got the tingles.

Happy Friday!
Write On!

How Could I Do It?!?!?

Again, I didn't write as much yesterday as I planned to- I got my total up to 37,505 yesterday, writing just over 4K instead of surpassing my goal for the day. I was just too tired to wrap my mind around it until yesterday evening.

I only have about 12-13K left to go before I hit 50K. I feel like I'm floundering a bit, faltering and a little weary that the story will end before I hit 50K. I suppose if that happens, I can go back and add more detail and description to the story in places I might've overlooked it before during my crazed writing woman typing.

But then last night, I started crying after a significantly poignant scene that ended one of the chapters. I started bawling when I realized what had happened. I had only "sort of" seen it coming and after it happened all I could think was "How could I do it?!?!?!"

I got my MC shot- as it turns out, only a flesh wound, but dang...I scared myself and gave rise to fear and sadness in my own heart once I was finished with that scene. It felt vivid enough to me that I could see it in my mind's eye.

I almost think my novel has turned somewhat into more than just a romance...it was romantic suspense there for a bit, while this last part played out. In some ways I feel like this should be almost over, but at the same time, I'm still waiting- There has to be more to the story. Besides the fact that after I got through what I DID have loosely plotted, I ended up giving my characters the reins and they took it in a very different direction than I had thought it would go. I have a scene that was part of my plotting process, though it was going to come later in the story. Now it appears that it probably won't happen. I'm actually surprised at that revelation. It's no longer pertinent to the story, nor would it be that I can see. Maybe I can work it in, in a round about way, but it would only be the remnants of that idea rather than the one I had originally thought of.

I'm also still unsure of how things will pan out in the end, but that's ok. Sometimes it's better to let my characters lead the way, to let them tell me their story.

Hope everyone has a lovely Friday. I'm off to write on and keep going...

37,505K/50,000K

Exhausted NaNoer Here- Day One

I'm exhausted but it's more from running all over last night taking the kids trick or treating. We live in the country, so we have to drive to all the houses we know, rather than hitting a neighborhood. By the time we got home, I was wore out. We watched Kid Nation and put the kids to bed and then watched the first 3 hours of Ghost Hunters Live! filmed here in Kentucky at Waverly Hills Sanitorium last night.

We went to bed at 11PM, but I was up at 5am to get my stepson off to school. Checked in on email and my favorite blogs and then started on my adventure into my 2nd NaNoWriMo. I have somewhere around 4,900 words already. I don't think I'm done though for today. I'm going to work on it some more until 7. After that I'll be watching Ugly Betty, Supernatural and the last three hours of Ghost Hunters that I recorded last night.

Feeling pretty good right now about NaNo. I've proven to myself I can write a novel in a month twice before- Last NaNo and back in mid-July/beginning of August of this year I did my own personal NaNo and wrote the other. I'm confident I can do this, so right now there's no stress. I'm just waiting for my characters to throw something crazy at me. LOL

Ok, so as of right now, here's how I'm standing- 4,936K/50,000K

Halloween into NaNo!

(copying myself from another blog)

I have dishes and laundry that needs doing before the day is out.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! comes on at 3 in the afternoon here, which doesn't make sense to me, but oh well. Tonight once we get home and eat supper, which we'll be picking up while we're out, we'll be watching Kid Nation with the kids and then the LIVE Ghost Hunters comes on. I've joked that I should stay up and watch that, which will probably run for about 6 hours on Sci-Fi, and after midnight I could start working on my novel for NaNo. I would have to sleep almost all day though in order to stay up that late and still be able to be up to put my stepson on the school bus tomorrow morning.

I need to vent a little- The Rocky Horror Picture Show is NOT airing at all tonight. I would've been watching Ghost Hunters anyway, but I always try to find it on Halloween night. I'd SWEAR last year they aired it over and over on VH1 Classic, but this year...NOPE. It's always been one of my Halloween treats to watch RHPS, but I guess I won't get to see it this year. I definitely need to get that movie on DVD, so I can watch it whenever I want to.~ So there you have that. {stepping down from my tiny soapbox}

I also need to get my desk straightened up today and get all my novel notes laid out over here where I can easily get to it as of tomorrow.

So here's to only a few tricks and lots of treats tonight and as for NaNo~ BRING IT ON! Time to Write!