Tag Archives: NaNoWriMo

How I did with September’s Goals

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How I did with September’s Goals

September

– Write 4 Flash Fiction Friday Stories (one per week)

Completed.

– Update my Blog and Facebook Fan page (Both are titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly

Completed. Did the Merry-Go-Round Blog tour too!

– Continue to revise short stories

Completed. Revised the stories for Halloween Tales and wrote a fifth one so there would be 5 stories in the book.

– Begin submitting short stories to publishers

Sent Where the Brown Things Are to WotF (World of the Future: a science fiction magazine that has a quarterly contest to select the best stories for the mag.) I won’t know until January if it is accepted.

A side note: I should find out in the next week or so if I won the contest held by the Southwest Authors. (The story is The Reunion.)

– Begin outline for November NaNo

I didn’t get the last Gulliver station book: Revolution, outlined. I’ll have to do it in October, 1st thing so I have time to let it mellow before I begin writing in November.

-Other things accomplished

– Released Halloween Tales on September 30th.

– Began planning my late November book release, a collection of Christmas stories. One story more story was written and another was planned and outlined.

– Took a mini-marketing class. The planned and outlined Christmas story is a teaser for my Gulliver Station stories. Trying to make the work do double duty here. The marketing class has also decided me that I need a web site, not just a blog. So that is planned for no later than the end of December.

– Signed up for a Holly Lisle challenge related to the mini-marketing class. Again, one of the items in that challenge is to release a book. My Christmas book is that project. The course is about how to do a new product launch, so the book and the web site are part of that launch.

Halloween Tales released September 30th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Amazon or Smashwords today!

Links:

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/halloween-tales-a-collection-of-stories

Barnes and Noble: Not showing when I looked but search on Connie Cockrell

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Tales-Collection-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1492783072/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380515780&sr=1-2&keywords=Halloween+Tales

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/359689

Apple: Not found when I looked.

Bits and Pieces

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I have my newest book, Recall up on a promotion on Smashwords.com. For a limited time, it will be free to download. Go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Connie+Cockrell and use coupon code SW100. Go today. This promotion won’t last long.

So many things are running thru my mind today; goals for the week, contemplating doing a ghost story anthology release in September for October’s Halloween celebration, getting my series not only written but revised for a January 2014 release of the first book.

I’ve been reading some blogs today. People are talking about their eating plans, their weekend, their newly released book.  The world is awhirl with activity. My day should see me reach 50,000 words in my July Camp National Novel Writing Month. That’s not the end of the book. I’ll still have 6 – 8 more chapters to write to finish it. I hope to have it completed by the 31st.

My garden is doing well, especially since the monsoons have started. I’m already getting eggplant and the pole beans are now producing. I picked my 1st three cherry tomatoes yesterday and used them in a macaroni salad.  Soon I’ll have more cherry tomatoes than I can give away but the first ones are always so sweet. I also have a cantelope growing. I’m looking forward to eating that.

Enough blogging. Time to go for a walk, get some oxygen into my brain, and reach that 50K word mark!Image

July’s NaNo Challenge Progress

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I’m eight days into July and 13,000 words into my July Camp National Novel Writers Month, called July Camp NaNo http://campnanowrimo.org for short. I’m also checking out another community, called July Novel Writing Month http://julnowrimo.com/. I have writing friends working in each site and some, like me, recording our progress on both sites. Each site is a community, (see my post on July 18th on Community!) dedicated to helping the writer get through a challenge to write 50,000 words in the month.
So far, I’ve been writing about 2,000 words per day on my 2nd book in the series I used to call TriPoint Station and have since changed to Gulliver Station. CJ Cherryh wouldn’t have been threatened at all by my use of her name for a space station but why cause her any embarrassment. There are four books in this series. I wrote the 4th book first, in November 2012. I know, but I hadn’t planned for it to be a 4th book, I was hoping it would be a 1st book in a completely different series. After I wrote it, I realized I didn’t have series material for my protagonist. But I was captivated by the space station world I had just developed. Go figure.
Anyway, I wrote book 1 in April, Gulliver Station: A New Start (all titles subject to change.) And now book 2, Gulliver Station: The Challenge. Book 3 will be drafted in November: Gulliver Station: Revolution. The 4th book is called Stories from Gulliver station. It contains a novelette and some short stories. None of the drafted books have been revised yet. I’m still hemming and hawing over exactly how I want them to come out, as well as still struggling to learn my craft enough to revise them properly. I hope to start publishing in January 2014. We’ll see how that turns out.
Speaking of publishing, I have my newest book, Recall, up on a promotion on Smashwords.com. For a limited time, it will be free to download. Go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Connie+Cockrell and use coupon code SW100. Go today. This promotion won’t last long.

On Writing and Gardening

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Only two weeks left in June! I’m still struggling with getting my planning done for the book I want to write in the July National Novel Writing Month. (July NaNo for short.)

I’m having so much trouble I purchased Holly Lisle’s Plot Clinic (http://howtothinksideways.com/shop/) and am going through the exercises, trying to get my brain to come up with exciting ideas for the plot.

Other news, the garden is growing great guns. Tomatoes and eggplant have blossoms. The peas and string beans are already bearing fruit. Herbs look just luxurious and abundant. I’ve already cut thyme and oregano to dry for winter use. The potatoes are also doing well. Like all my other veggies, they’re in a 4X4 foot square foot raised bed. I haven’t grown potatoes this way so I’m pleased that it’s working.

I hope that whatever your endeavors, you’re doing well. Share your progress!

My New Book, Recall, is now Available!

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I’ve been revising, reviewing and designing the cover for this book since January and it’s finally out!

Check it out on: Connie Cockrell’s Smashwords Author Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell
Book page to sample or purchase Recall: http://smashwords.com/b/320233

or

on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Recall-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1484886224/ref=sr_1_113?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369679735&sr=1-113&keywords=Recall

If you get it, I’d appreciate a review.

How’d I do on my April Goals

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I’m a little late with this. I like to post on Monday, but this will do.  So how did I do with my April writing goals?

– Write 4 Flash Fiction Friday Stories (one per week)

I wrote 6 and scheduled them to release on www.ConniesRandomThoughts.wordpress.com because I needed to keep my head clear for working on the April Camp NaNo. More on this in a minute.

– Update my Blog and Facebook Fan page (Both are titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly

Done!

– Finalize Recall if I haven’t already done so

Done. In May I need to format it (for both book and ebook) and design a cover for it.

– Outline more Short Stories

Done. They’re ready for May’s Story A Day.

Other stuff.

1. When I developed this list I didn’t know April would be a NaNo month. So, I drafted the 1st of my TriPoint Space Station series (the 3rd book was done in November 2012). There will be 4 books in this series. I may have some short stories for this station as well that may come out as a book. I have to see how it all goes.

2. I completed the April NaNo, 50,000 words! It was a tough one. I couldn’t get my head into the story.

3. Umm, that’s it. I was mainly focused on NaNo pretty much to the exclusion of everything else.

Let’s see how May turns out!

April’s Camp NaNo

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For those of you who have been following my blog I’ve mentioned National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo or NaNo, before. In April and in July, the organization offers Camp NaNo, just because we’re (writers that is) not crazy enough.

Anyway, I had this idea for a series. Stories about a fictional space station. I’ve been writing what I consider to the the first book of the series this month as part of the Camp NaNo challenge. (Writing 50,000 words in one month.) I’m not happy with my book. It seemed fine enough in outline but it’s not working. Yesterday is the first time in the 20,000 words I’ve written so far that I actually had a writing day that wasn’t a drag.

This is the first time since participating in the NaNo challenge (this is my 4th one!)  that I’ve had such a poor experience. I already know the problem. The book is boring. It’s cerebral, not much action. I’m growing as an author if I can figure that out for myself. So I’m happy in that regard. I’m going to keep writing this book, because I know it can be a compelling story. Yesterday was a good start.  I just have to keep that action and excitement going. Then in a couple of months, go into revisions with a heavy hand to improve the first half.

In the meantime, I just reissued my first book, The Bad Seed. My inexperience was obvious when I put it out. I’ve spent the last two weeks reformatting it so that it now looks more professional. It should be available on Kindle tomorrow. I’ve priced it fairly low, (the ebook) at $2.99. If you buy it, I’d appreciate a review on Amazon.com.

Oh, and happy Tax Day!

How I did in March

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It’s time for another monthly update on my writing goals. Here’s what I said I’d be working on and what I actually accomplished.

– Write 4 Flash Fiction Friday Stories (one per week)

Done. All five Fridays have a story posted. You can see them here on this blog.

– Update my Blog and Facebook Fan page (Both are titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly

Also done.

– Continue revision of Recall

As you may remember, I finished my revision of Recall last month. I did start my revision of TriPoint Station: Hard Choices. I wrote this draft last November. It prompted me to go for a series centered around TriPoint Station. Today is the 1st of April and I’m starting my month long Camp NaNo where I’ll start the 1st book in that series. See below for more info.

– Outline more Short Stories

Done. I not only outlined but drafted 7 flash fictions to post each Friday this month. Some of those are going to get a longer treatment in May for the May Story A Day Challenge.

Things not on the goal list:

1. I purchased the program Scrivener from the Literature and Latte site. I have been playing with it, a little. I plan on drafting my April Camp NaNo story in it. We’ll see how it goes.

2. I completed my outline for TriPoint Station: A New Start, in the new Scrivener Program. I’ll see how I like using it for drafting my novels.

3. I participated in the Merry-go-round blog tour in March. I’ll do the same in April.

4. I released a small e-book called A Trio of Animal Tales. Also put out a small book of the same. You can find it on Amazon.com, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and a few other sites.

So that’s pretty much it for March. It was both too long and too short. April brings Camp NaNo, where I’ll draft my next book in the TriPoint Station series. I like using the NaNo’s for these novel drafting exercises. They’re regularly scheduled (the next one is in July) so I have time to outline the book and be ready for a steady round of writing. There’s enough time between them for me to revise the previous book. So, for the way I write, the NaNo’s are very useful.

For those who don’t know about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short), it’s a challenge to writers. A personal challenge, can the writer write every day for 30 days and complete a 50,000+ word novel? I’ve done it three times now. (November 2011, August 2012 and November 2012) So I’m excited to get going on it for April 2013.

Don’t forget to come back on Friday. There’ll be a new Flash Fiction for you to enjoy.

Goals Achieved for February

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How I Did
February was a whirl. I did achieve my goals though, so hooray for that. Here’s the break down.
– Write 4 Flash Fiction Friday Stories (one per week)
Done! And they were posted right here on ConniesRandomThoughts.
– Update my Blog and Facebook Fan page (Both are titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly
Done!
– Continue to revise Recall
Finished! I’m still deciding whether to try and sell it via traditional channels or self publish. It all has to do with whether the Writer’s Conference I want to take it to in May is going to come off or not. The info for it was supposed to be out at the beginning of February and I still haven’t heard from them. Even after repeated emails and a phone call. Sigh.
– Begin outlining Short Stories
I have been doing that and have several on standby for May Story A Day challenge. I’m thinking my goal for this challenge this year is going to be eight short stories. I managed six last year, so I think upping the total by two is pretty doable.
-Also!
I have begun revising my November 2012 NaNo story, TriPoint Station. I’m renaming it TriPoint Station: New Ship as a working title because I want to write a series about the station.
I have begun outlining the first book in the series, TriPoint Station: A New Start, in Scribophile. I just purchased Scribophile just for holding all of the information on the series. I’m still struggling with how to use it. But once I get that hurdle cleared, I won’t have to keep flipping through pages of notes and yellow stickies to find out what I called something in the previous book.
And yes, you read that right, I’ve got one month to outline A New Start because I plan on writing the 1st draft for it in the April Camp NaNo. So I get to add April Camp NaNo to April’s goals.
I also began a draft on a How To Design an ebook cover. I might as well make use of the notes I took for myself and share with everyone else. That will probably be my Vision submission for the summer. It still has a lot of bugs so I need to go through it again, making more detailed directions, for the beta test. I think I’ll get my husband to do that, muwahahahaahha.
Finally; I epublished a book, A Trio of Animal Tales. It’s out on Smashwords. My story After The Storm was rejected by Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show magazine so I submitted it to Asmiov’s Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine. I probably won’t hear anything back from them until April.
May you all have a very productive March!

November 2012 National Novel Writing Month is Over!

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Well, for me it is.  After a a long Thanksgiving weekend of daily word counts over what I’d been doing all month, yesterday I reached 50,347 words in my novel.  The goal is for each writer sit down and in one month, write at least 50,000 words.  This may seem like a foolish and unnecessary challenge.  Many writers think so, the thought of trying to write an entire novel in thirty days is terrifying, unnecessary, and the list goes on.

For me, this is how I started writing last year.  I was challenged, I figured out how to go about it, and I did it.  I spent January 2012 until the end of June 2012 learning how to revise a novel. And in early October 2012, I released that novel.  If you’re interested, you can find it on Amazon.com (The Bad Seed by Connie Cockrell).

I thought the whole thing was so positive, and I had such a good result that in August of 2012 I repeated the process, (project manager speak for I did it again, lol.) in what the organizers call Camp NaNo.  I finished a book that time too, which I still need to revise, probably beginning in January 2013.

This November, after plotting out my third book, I began with high hopes.  It didn’t go as well as my first two efforts.  I didn’t have enough scenes planned out to get me to my 50,000 word goal.  I did not give up.  Since my story location was on a space station (the book is tentatively titled TriPoint Station) I decided to fill out my 50,000 words (I was 15,000 words short) with short stories about life on the station.

This did two things.  It got me over the goal, making me happy.  It also allowed me to develop a good background about the station.  Things that may have been vaguely mentioned in the original story, or affected the story in some way, or had nothing to do with the original story but helped me develop a better idea of the station’s culture, legal system, economic reality, and so on.  I found this very helpful.

It pointed out flaws in my original story’s physical layout, naming conventions, it helped me develop a slang for the station and put in place a cultural bias, such as, names of the working class tend to remain Irish based (I had the station settled by Irish originally) while the rich tended to more New Age type names.

While I liked my original idea, I really liked getting into the nuts and bolts of my station.  I even added aliens, which I hadn’t even thought about in the original story.  So, that’s it.  I’ll have a lot of work to do to revise what I wrote in November.  There are a lot of continuity issues I’ll have to resolve along with adding an additional level of conflict.  That’s OK.  When I’m done, sometime around next June or July, I’ll start sending it out to SciFi publishers.

I can hardly wait.