Month: November 2018

#NaNoWriMo 2018 week 3

/ Melanie Marttila

Greetings!

I only managed 1,193 words last Sunday, for reasons I shared with you last week.

Monday was a total slog. Every word was a battle. Even so, 421 words was rather pathetic. That’s the lowest 1-day word count of the whole month. So far.

I got back on track Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with 1,016, 1,018, and 1,075 words, respectively.

Friday, I wrote 1,852 words and, on Saturday, I racked up 2,035 words.

NaNo2018Week4

I have now broken 30k on the draft and I’m just about at the first plot point. Yeah. This is epic fantasy, with due emphasis on the epic. Plus, I expect to edit down in revision.

I probably won’t make 40k this year; so, a hair less than last year, but better than the 28k I managed in 2014, also a year of NaNo-while-working.

I joined NaNo for the first time in 2013 and, if this year pans out as I expect, this will result in three years of achieving the 50k goal (or exceeding it) and three years of not meeting it. In all years but one, the drafts were actually finished after the fact.

Aside from that, I have three other novels that I drafted outside NaNo.

I’ll speak a little more next week about what I see coming up, writing-wise, in 2019.

Until then, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Muse-inks

#NaNoWriMo 2018: week 3 update

/ Melanie Marttila

Super short update this week.

Last Sunday, I only managed 1,143 words. Sunday is laundry day and supper-with-Mom day, so there are generally other things to occupy me besides NaNo. Yes, I could ask for help, but Phil already does the cooking, grocery shopping, and he has been cleaning up the kitchen and bathroom. He’s not yet retired, and I don’t feel it’s fair to ask more of him right now.

Also, spending time with my mom is non-negotiable. I’m an only child and my dad died—yes, it was going on eight years ago, but still—so, this is a personal line I choose not to cross. I also spend mornings with Mom on my days off/weekends. There it is. I’ve never not done this during NaNo, so it is possible to achieve 50k in a month, even working and spending time with Mom. I’ve done it.

As I get older, I do have to accept some limitations, though. I’m not able to do as much as I used to. I’m trying to be mindful so that I don’t hurl myself right back into burnout mode.

Monday, which was a day off for me, resulted in 2,118 words. Though Tuesday was a little rough at 705 words, I managed to rack up 1,006 and 1,169 words respectively on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday and Saturday were 2,019- and 2,213-word days. I’m up to 21,648 words as of yesterday.

NaNoWriMoweek3

So, I’ve broken 20k words, but I’m about 6.5k words behind. I don’t know that I’ll realistically be able to catch up at this point. I’m good with that.

Whatever I accomplish during NaNo, they’re words I wouldn’t have written otherwise, and that’s the real win. I’m pleased with what I’ve written so far, though there are some points of continuity I have to fix (yes, already). I’ve made notes 🙂

Until next weekend, be well, be kind, and stay strong, my friends. The world needs your stories.

Muse-inks

#NaNoWriMo2018 week 2

/ Melanie Marttila

It was hard going back to work after five, lit-event-filled days off.

On Sunday, last week, I attended the launch of Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli’s historical fiction, La Brigantessa, which was published by Inanna Publications. It took place at the Caruso Club, Sudbury’s Italian cultural hub. There was as much history lesson as reading, and thanks to the various groups who had supported Rosanna in her journey.

And, of course, there was awesome food 🙂

Since that event took up most of the afternoon, and I also published my next chapter/NaNoWriMo week 1 update, I only managed 931 words that day.

It was back to work, Monday through Thursday, and with supper, dog duty, and other personal and household responsibilities, I wrote 831, 510, 558, and 534 words respectively.

My initial plan had been to write between 3,000 and 3,500 words per day on my days off, leaving me with the reasonable amount of between 250 and 500 words per work day. But I hadn’t accounted for Wordstock Sudbury and the book launch, getting the car serviced, an evening out with a friend (even though I knew they were all things I’d sacrifice NaNo production for).

Sometimes, we’re too blindly hopeful for our own good…

Friday and Saturday, I managed 2,071 and 2,102 words respectively. I haven’t been able to ramp up to my goal number. There’s a possibility I could get there by the end of the month, but, in the meantime, that leaves me short. I’ve broken 10k and as of the end of day yesterday, my work count was at 11,275, but that’s almost 5, 500 words short of where I should be (considering an equal division of 50k words over 30 days, or 1,667 words per day).

NaNo2018Week2

I’m going to try to up my word count during the week and see where that leads, but at this stage, I’m thinking that a NaNo “win” in 2018 is going to be a long shot.

I do have my outline, though, which has meant the world of difference in the drafting. Though I’ve already diverged (I always do—ALWAYS), I’m only about a thousand words behind where I was this time last year, when I had the entire month of November off. Don’t forget, I also had new puppy to contend with and did not manage a NaNo “win” in 2017.

I did manage a NaNo “win” in 2016, while working, so there’s still hope, though it might be slim.

Winter has settled in up here in northeastern Ontario. We had a single day of snow in October, and it melted almost immediately. As of Thursday, there was still green grass on most lawns. The lilac leaves hadn’t fallen (they now have—most are green).

There was a light dusting of snow on Thursday night and the snow continued through the day on Friday. 10-15 centimetres (4-6 inches) fell by Saturday morning and Phil shovelled both Friday night and Saturday morning as he had a team building event to attend. There has been a dusting of snow again Saturday and Sunday (so far), to reinforce the initial fall and the temperatures will not reach much above the melting point for the next week.

20181111_141558

So that’s this week’s NaNo update. I’ll check in with you again, next Sunday.

Until then, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Muse-inks

The next chapter: October 2018 and #NaNoWriMo week 1 update

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Sooo…. I didn’t have the time on Wednesday to prepare this post and schedule it. And then NaNoWriMo started. And then Wordstock Sudbury started.

Accordingly, this will be a very brief update and combined with m week 1 NaNoWriMo check in.

My main project for October was to complete the outline for Tamisashki and I’m happy to say that work was completed Wednesday night.

20181104_122110

Because the outline is written in a notebook, I didn’t count the words. Further, I did a more rambling, draft version for each plot line, so it’s over double the word count of the final product. I’m better prepared to finish NaNo this year, though, and better prepared to finish the draft in the months following.

OctProgress

I wrote 4,528 words on this blog, which is 162% of my 2,800-word goal, and I submitted my DIY MFA column on time at 1,079 words (it’s coming out Tuesday), or 108% of my 1,000-word goal.

While there were no writing-related events in October, Phil and I did attend the 50th birthday celebration for our friend, Mark Kuntsi.

20181006_195719

Timing is everything with NaNo and for the past three years, the Wordstock Sudbury Literary festival has been on the first weekend in November. I do support the event and I make the time to attend, but that means sacrificing NaNo time.

I also signed up for Mary Robinette Kowal’s No-prep NaNoWriMo workshop, which was on Monday night. Though I’ve outlined, I figured having additional tools at my disposal (because I always, ALWAYS diverge from the outline) would be good. I also dig Mary’s strategies. Though I’ve heard many of them before, the reinforcement is always useful.

After the workshop, she stayed online for a group writing session which I didn’t participate in. I’d managed to write 1,758 words already that day and felt good about that progress.

On Friday, I attended Sarah Selecky’s book club about her new novel, Radiant, Shimmering, Light. I’ve been subscribed to her newsletter for years and found the concept—the commodification of self-care and how it affects two women, cousins, who navigate the social media minefield—and bought the book (of course).

Then, I attended a session on telling a good story with Waubgeshik Rice and Lee Maracle, two indigenous writers, moderated by Will Morin.

20181103_133755

I wrote 1,290 words on Friday.

On Saturday, I attended Alternate Realities, a session with Brit Griffin and Elan Mastai, both authors of speculative fiction. the discussion was moderated by CBC‘s Morning North’s host, Marcus Schwabe.

I then personned the Sudbury Writers’ Guild table until 5 pm, helped Dave Wickenden pack up, and went to supper with my dear friend, Kim Fahner, who gifted me with this lovely, lovely, handmade journal.

I managed only 690 words yesterday.

Here’s my book haul…

20181104_122750

Today, I’m off to the launch of Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli’s La Brigantessa, an historical novel set in the aftermath of Italy’s 1861 Unification.

Will update you next week about the launch and my NaNo progress for the week. I’m back to the day job for most of it.

Until then, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

The Next Chapter

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 21-27, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here’s a good selection of articles and posts to get your mental corn popping (making those creative connections).

Fake news and lies: the caravan edition. Jim C. Hines (AKA the voice of reason)

Rachel Monroe profiles the FBI of the National Park Service. Outside

Former CIA chief explains how spies use disguises. Wired

 

Ivan Semeniuk interviews Canada’s newest Nobel Prize winner, Donna Strickland: I just wanted to do something fun. The Globe and Mail

Douglas Fox wants you to meet the endoterrestrials. The Atlantic

Phil Plait shares an awesome video that shows you how big the biggest stars really are. SyFy

Farhad Manjoo: a future where everything becomes a computer is as creepy as you feared. The New York Times

Emily Mullin explains how tuberculosis shaped Victorian fashion. The Smithsonian Magazine

Antonio Regalado relates one family’s race for a gene therapy cure. MIT Technology Review

Diana Kwon reports on the nerve pathway linking the stomach to the brain’s pleasure centers. Scientific American

Alex Williams: maybe your sleep problem isn’t a problem. Me? I’d prefer to sleep until 8 or 9 am and slowly roll into the day. Too bad I can’t actually do that. The New York Times

Sarah DiGuilio explains why some researchers think “brain tingles” could be the next big trend in relaxation. My ASMR aren’t triggered visually or auditorily, but tactilely. I’ve always had a thing for someone running their fingers lightly over my back. I used to bug my best friend to do it when I was a kid. NBC News

Sadie Caron says that nature is a free and easy way to manage anxiety. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

Maybe my stoicism and introversion are hard-wired? Laura Studarus explains how the Finnish survive without small talk. BBC

Check out this guilty dogs compilation. Laugh & Grin

 

Be well until the weekend!

thoughtythursday2016