writing

NaNoWriMo 2019

 in Books / NaNoWriMo by

November is rapidly approaching and you know what that means!

NaNoWriMo!

What is NaNoWriMo you may be asking? It’s National Novel Writing Month which is in November. This is a month dedicated to writing.

You don’t have to have any skills or talents when it comes to writing. You just have to have passion and an interest.

You got that? Then head over to NaNoWriMo.org!

It’s completely FREE and so much fun.

From NaNoWriMo.org

What do I do?

You create a log in and a profile. You can add as little or as much as you want about yourself.

Find your regional group. There are real-life meet ups where you can go to meet with fellow WriMo’s.

If you don’t feel comfortable about that, fear not! There’s tons of online writing sessions which are tons of fun! You do word dashes, follow prompts from bots and friends and have a blast.

Your profile has your story on it and all the info to do with your goals.

The overall goal is 50,000 words which is the length of the average book, but no worries if you can’t reach it. I never do.

You write to have fun! Not be stressed.

You can meet up with people, make online friends and just have an incredible time. I’ve been part of it for 9+ years now. I’m not always as active as I am in other years but I join in the fun!

If you choose to join in, add me on there! I’d love to see your progress!

It’s a darn fun time and I highly recommend it if you’re interested in writing.

There’s tons of forums to find writing suggestions and you can ask questions to the whole NaNoWriMo community if you get stuck. It’s super supporting.

I hope to see you there and that you’re as excited to get writing as I am!

Good luck!

via GIPHY

 

NaNoWriMo 2018 – Tips and Tricks 8

 in Creative / NaNoWriMo by

With Halloween just around the corner, that also means that NaNoWriMo is just about to begin! So you’d better start your creative engines and get up to that starting line because it’s going to be one short month. You always think that 30 days is a long time.

It goes by in a heart beat. You’re still on chapter 4 and suddenly it’s December!

So, how do you survive? How do you get anywhere in the month when you are so busy?

Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I’ve never actually reached the 50k mark, I’ve come pretty close. Maybe one year I’ll make it!

Tips and Tricks

1. Start planning now!

You have just under a week before the count officially begins so now is the time to start planning! No cheating though, you can’t start writing the official story. But you can start creating outlines and writing your ideas down for the kind of direction you’d like your story to create. Maybe create your characters or start brainstorming at least!

2. Make sure to start off strong!

In the beginning, you’re more likely to have more motivation so definitely use that to your advance. Get to writing and creating ideas. Don’t worry about editing. That can be done during December. November is all about writing. Just write, write, write! You have a set of words you need to write each day, so if you can start off and get ahead, that means the days you don’t have time don’t feel so bad!

3. Plan your days during the month!

Use your calendar to plan your writing times. Make sure to check the calendar at NaNoWriMo.org to find out when the word dashes are and online chat sessions where you can motivate yourself with other people! Carve out time in your week when you can write. So maybe instead of watching a movie on a Friday or trolling the internet, go and write! You can go a month without some of your usual things because WRITINGGGGG~!

4. Don’t get discouraged!

It can be really difficult to push though, especially in that last week and a half of November. But don’t give up. You aren’t necessarily writing to get this published, but for enjoyment. There are no deadlines that are the end of the world. Just remember to push through. Even if you don’t meet the 50k word that’s okay. Just don’t give up! Get online to the chats with other people. Make friends in your area if you can to write with. It honestly helps and saves your life to get through it!

5. Set your goal lower and impress yourself!

I don’t generally set my goal as 50k. That’s always there as a goal, but I generally set it lower depending on my life. One year it was only 20k, but I generally set it at about 30k as that is really do-able doing the month. When I make that I feel accomplished. If I go above that, then it’s even better. But set it to be whatever is better for you. Maybe only 10k words is something you can do. That is okay! Set is lower and surprise yourself instead of too high and being disappointed.

Overall, just know that you can do this! I’ll be right there, writing along side you, so if you ever need some extra help, feel free to contact me!

I know that I’ll be spending the next week or so planning out my story. Can’t wait for it to begin!!!

Audio Books over iPads: Great Road Trip Alternative

 in Books / Opinion by

Audio Books over iPads: Great Road Trip Alternative

We’re all guilty now of using our phones too much. We surreptitiously check it under the table when it vibrates silently in our lap, we turn on post notifications so we don’t even need to unlock our phone and type in that pass-code to see what social media update we got or what that latest text just said. We just want a short bite of information to give us the quick fix.

Now, if you’re an adult, about 21 years or older now, then when you grew up, you didn’t have technology like kids of today do. Little ones are being given iPads before they can even walk. Parents aren’t teaching their children how to spell but apps are. Car rides are full of pixels.

The amount of times I’ve been out driving and seen the minivan in front of me with a movie playing. Why would you do that?! Your ride can’t be that horrible that you have to put a movie on in the car for the kids to watch. Now cars let you sync your phones or XBoxes to play your video games in the car. And god-forbid your car comes with built in wi-fi. Your passengers will be glued.

Long gone are the days of getting lost and turning it into an adventure.

But road trips….ah, the good old road trip. You pack the family into the car, bring some snacks and set off for your final and intended destination.

Audio Books over iPads: Great Road Trip Alternative

When I was younger, I’d always pack a book with me because there were no phones. It was either music (and you could only bring so many CDs), books or looking out of the windows.

Now, parents fully charge up the iPad, make sure the games are updated and off they go!

But it doesn’t need to be that way!

https://www.audible.com/ep/kids-audiobooks

I get that some kids don’t like reading books, they need their kindles (who knows why), so maybe they want something simpler than a thick book to enjoy a story.

That is where audiobooks comes into play!

Adults love them! You can go on long drives and listen to your favorite audio book and complete a story, immersing yourself in it. You can even listen at work (maybe not so productive, but shhh, the boss doesn’t need to know – your story is more important).

Now this is a fantastic way to get your kids to use their imaginations, without images being fed by apps, and not have them go blind from staring at screens too long.

Audio books are fantastic!

Audio Books over iPads: Great Road Trip Alternative

They let you enjoy a story without even having to strain your eyes. The kids can listen quietly from the back, it keeps them entertained, the driver can listen as well, and everyone gets to just enjoy the trip without being immersed in their own worlds.

This way the kids can get a break from technology, can shut the kids up ‘cus you can turn up the volume and increase everyone’s imagination.

It’s a win win!

If you’re looking for some good suggestions, check out this article from NY Times, or if you want to save your limited free NY Times views (to see much more important articles *wink, wink*), check out Audible.com and their stuff!

Happy Listening!