Full steam ahead/losing steam.

Guys, I'm so crazy.

I'm sure a lot of writers feel like total head cases sometimes, but right now, I'm definitely acting like an idiot.

I could do it. I can totally finish my first draft by my goal date of April 30th. If I'm a few pages shy, it would be sooooo close.

the wall

I can taste the end of my story.

I know where I'm going. I know what happens. I know who my characters are on the last page.

But the words. I just keep allowing myself to be distracted by things that don't matter, and I'm not writing words.

I'm here, for example, writing on this blog that a dozen people read, instead of writing WORDS.

I think part of me is afraid of what finishing the first draft means...

I'm a w**ter. You know the word. Not waiter...

I don't even want to type it.

And here today, I spouted a big, brave, no-fear comment on Simon's great post, and read a great article by Annie about fear, and my darling heather just posted about JUST WRITING and here I am... I'm just... sputtering.

I don't want to have hit a wall. So, I suppose that means I need to sign off here.

And go get to writing.

A (free) (at-home) (brief) writing retreat!

I have been diligently adding lots of new writer friends and colleagues to my google reader and google friend connect lately, hoping to keep up with all of the networking and connections that this great wide internet can provide, and I stumbled upon this awesome post by Febe (of the super awesome crit group I ventured to yesterday) which led me to Annie's blog post about their awesome writing retreat last year.

So, writing retreats are a "thing" where writers go to some serene location (perhaps a lake house, time-share on the beach, or cabin in the woods) and write...


They talk about writing with each other.

They share passages with each other.

They puzzle through plot points with each other.






They also get high word counts on the page, often enough, which is part of the appeal to me.

NaNoKelMo is more than half way done, meaning I have about 12 writing days left to wrap up the first draft of my novel.

Of course, this doesn't mean I have to. I'm sure that if I don't meet my goal on April 30th, I'll be very close behind it, but this idea of a writing retreat is so appealing to me for many reasons:

No distractions. Support system. High word output. Lovely, inspiring scenery.

Well, I'm not going to be on a writing retreat any time soon, and certainly not before the end of the month, so, I got to thinking...

How can I create a writing retreat environment for free, on my own, and just for a few hours.


1. Find the prettiest accessible spot in your bubble.

For me, this is my back yard, under my patio. It is green and lovely. It's filled with flowers and bugs and critters, and when I'm there, I can forget about where I am. For you, maybe it's a park near your house, or in your guest bedroom that is rarely used, so it's set up with your loveliest linens.

Wherever you are, find the place in your world that may not be your normal writing spot, but that will offer you inspiring views, or make you feel at ease. I find that positioning myself very near a window, even just overlooking my street can be a very inspiring start.

2. Turn on the support, but turn off the network. 

Tell your twitter friends that you're going in, and let them cheer you on, but then, turn off that wifi, or leave the smart phone inside, and stay unplugged.

On a writing retreat, it's normal to unwind sans phone, but at home, we're so much more likely to check every little thing,  at every little moment.

At least for me, social networking is a HUGE distratction.

If I were on a beach, however, it'd be no problem to leave it alone. So I need to recreate that environment here.

3. Make it last. 


Cosy up with lit candles, soft blankets, your favorite music (if you are lucky enough to be able to write while rocking out) and pour yourself a glass of wine and a bowl of candy.

For me, one of the ways to make it feel different than just any old writing session, is settling in for the long haul. Get water, get a snack, hunker down, and be prepared to STAY there and write for several hours a time. Maybe 3-5 times longer than your usual session. (If I usually write for 1 hour a night. Make this special event last 3 hours or more.)

It makes it feel important and somehow weighty for me.

So, to recap:
Find a pretty spot. 
Unplug. 
Hunker down. 

I found that by doing so, I was able to get over 5,000 words out last night in just over 3 hours. And they were good words. Strong sections that I can really work with. (Don't let me play coy, that means, I'm over 36,000 WORDS! WOAH!)

If I'd just set down for my regular writing sesh, I would have taken my 1,000 and gone to play on my ipad.

By making it a writing event, I was able to do something special and above and beyond my regular routine.

Throw yourself a writing retreat! Let me know how it goes!

Crit, crat, crote.

So, last night, I went to my first REAL, LIVE, HUMAN critique group!

The North Branch Writers were such gracious hosts, seeing as I was completely nervous.

They are a small bunch, or at least they were last night, so we were split into two groups of 4/5 readers each.

I was anxious at first to share my pages (I brought a humble 4), but when Annie asked if I wanted to go in the middle or at the end, I said I'd rather just pull the bandaid.

The moments that my crit partners spent reading my pages in silence were some of the longest in my life!

It became painfully obvious that I'd only told people who I'm actually close to about my work, and that even fewer people had read any words.

When the timer went off, I was so flattered to hear that they responded well to my MC's "voice"!

I should probably admit that getting her voice right has been my greatest focus and something I have been thinking about constantly.

They also had some great feedback on a secondary character, and weren't shy about offering up both praise and suggestions that would be useful.

I'm so grateful to the group of individuals that helped me spread my writer-y wings just a little bit more.

I hope to work with them more in the future. :)

The luckiest of sevens.

So, sweet darling Crystal tagged me and some of my favorite writerly ladies for the "sevens" meme that's going around.

via weheartit

Here are the proposed rules:

There actually are some guidelines and they are:

1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next seven lines/sentences as they are–no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors  That's definitely not going to happen. It seems that everyone and their dog has already done this one. :D

Well, I have to say that I'm a little bit nervous... because aside from privately sending the first chapter to a few friends, I have not shared much more than a word of this story with anyone... certainly not The Internet At Large...

So, I suppose I'm going to be brave enough to do this, but I better take a flying leap at it, or I'll never get it out.

Without further adieu, here are 7 lines from page 77 of my WIP.

Just as a frame of reference, I'm writing a contemporary YA piece dealing with lots of heavy issues, but with some wit and shine to keep it from weighing you down.

I turn to Antonique and say, “Looks like we found the real party, huh?”
     Her eyes get larger as she takes in the scene. She is only a freshman, after all, and I begin to wonder if she’s been to a party with booze before.
     “Do you drink?” I ask.
     “Oh, ummm, I—“
     “I don’t.” With a smirk, I hold up my arm and point to the place that I know she knows is crisscrossed with memories of self inflicted wounds. “Last thing I need is an extra depressant, you know?”

If you haven't played yet, please, consider yourself TAGGED!

April goals, and my blog's first award!

Welcome, welcome...

(Did anyone else read that in Elizabeth Banks' "Effie" voice?

Well, that's how I intended it.

So, go back and read it that way.

Go on. I'll wait.)

via weheartit

Okay, so April is going to be a fun month for me, because I've SET ALL THE GOALS!

First of all, I'm doing 30 consecutive Jillian Michaels workouts. But this isn't the blog for that. :)

This is, however, the blog for my big writing goal!

I pledged to write ~1hr or ~1000 words (depending on which comes first or which feels right.) every day this month. That in and of itself is a great goal! Then, I realized that if I do meet that goal, the likelihood is that I'll have completed my first draft by April 30th!

What?

via my instagram

NaNoKelMo!!

My friend Jennie mentioned that to me today, and it made me laugh and smile! And get pretty darned excited!! Maybe KelsNoWriMo makes more sense, but whatever, it's the hook that got me!

(For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month, which happens in November. It's an incredible event wherein the participants write a 50k word novel in one month! Oh snap!)

So, *gulp*, I guess that's my goal.

To finish my first draft by the end of April.

O_O


In addition to all of that excitement, the maestro over at plottypus has bestowed upon KelseyIsWriting its first ever blog award! :)

YAY!

I was presented with the Liebster Award which is described as follows:

"The Liebster Award has traditionally been awarded to honour those blogs which motivate and inspire us. It is also granted to those blog authors who have accumulated 200 followers or less. Its purpose is to summon new followers and increase awareness of other noteworthy blogs."

And so, thank you, Simon for your nod, and thanks to all 4 oh wait, one of them is me 3 of my followers for making me so entirely eligible for this honor!!

I'm supposed to post these rules, and recommend someone else, so I'd like to give squishy liebster award hugs to, and bestow the following blogs with the Liebster Award!

Tameka from Imperfection is the New Pink 

and

Zanne from Zanne Writes

Wish me luck on NaNoKelMo!