Grace Ombry

Novelist

Category: Nanowrimo

NaNoWriMo is a marathon
NaNoWriMo is a marathon for writers.

I Answer the Most Annoying Questions about NaNoWriMo

March 18, 2017 /
Saturday Afternoon, 34°F and foggy
Listening to Emerson, Lake & Palmer—Tarkus

A confession: The first time I heard about NaNoWriMo I was skeptical. I had been fussing over a manuscript for more than a year and couldn’t imagine what anyone would get out of writing a novel in 30 days.

Then, on November 2, 2007, I made the irrational decision to give NaNo a shot. I won. I now understand that’s not the norm for first-time “WriMos” but I was already serious about writing and had a consistent writing habit.

However, “steaming pile” is not too harsh a description for the resulting manuscript. I disliked the protagonist. There was not enough tension. It was 100% seat of the pants and lacked a few important things, like a plot.

Yet it was worthwhile. Writing that first steaming pile of 50,000 words in 28 days gave me some useful results.Continue Reading I Answer the Most Annoying Questions about NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo

I was wrong

November 4, 2016 /
Friday morning, 38° and sunny
Listening to Whitney, Red Moon

(about my years doing NaNoWriMo)

All this time I’ve been saying 2016 was my ninth NaNoWriMo. I just realized it’s my tenth.

And my lifetime Nanowrimo word count is over 500k.

How did this even happen?

 

*scurries off to correct previous NaNoWriMo posts*

 

Cover image: author’s Nanowrimo stats.

I'm just a NaNoWriMo squirrel trying to get a nut to move my butt.

NaNoWriMo Rebel

November 1, 2016 /
Tuesday evening, 73° and hazy
Listening to Led Zeppelin, The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair

Why I’m Editing Through NaNoWriMo

I thought quite a lot about how I would approach NaNoWriMo 2016,  and didn’t settle on a decision until late last night. This will be my ninth tenth NaNoWriMo. For the last eight nine years, I’ve written an all-new novel. I’ve gotten skilled enough at NaNo that three of my last four Nano novels are in the queue to get revised, polished and published. You could say I’m a little like a chipmunk writing stories and socking them away like acorns to be feasted on at a later date.

Finding that brand new story and getting most of it committed to paper in just 30 days is part of the beauty of NaNo. But my hang up this year is that I’m already mid-story and going full-steam on a book I deeply believe in. I was torn between setting that aside for an entire month to chase a new story, or using the added pressure of NaNo to finish the story at hand.Continue Reading NaNoWriMo Rebel

My NaNoWriMo dilemma
Instead of the Hogwarts Express, there's a Ford Econoline van.

My NaNoWriMo Dilemma

October 24, 2016 /
Monday night, 41° and cloudy
Listening to Hiss Golden Messenger, Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer

NaNoWrimo starts in one week

And oh boy do I have a NaNoWriMo dilemma. November is when I till the soil and plant the seeds of my novels. I’ve won NaNoWriMo every year since my first attempt in 2007.  Don’t hate me. I know how to NaNo and I dig it. I’ve amassed a small arsenal of NaNo novels, several of which I will revise and publish. One of them (originally titled Anything In Between) became the backbone of my first published novel,  State of Love & Trust.

I’m on board with nailing my vicious inner editor into her pine coffin and letting a new story rip.  (Don’t worry. I’ll let her out when it’s time to edit). I have no problem with the magical daily word goal of 1667. That number is painted on the inside of my special NaNo coffee mug I made at a pottery place during the Saginaw Bay Wombats’ kick-off party a few years ago. I’m all about the write-ins, writer friends, word wars, stickers, commitment, and coffee drinks. I love NaNo like Elf loves Christmastime.Continue Reading My NaNoWriMo Dilemma

© 2024 Grace Ombry

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑