In October, I had the wonderful and rare opportunity to spend a whole weekend doing nothing but writing and researching. My husband took my kids on a camping trip and you would not believe the amount of writing I was able to work on. You can read more about the fun (and free!) experience here:
Thanks to the WOW! Women on Writing blog for letting me share.
During that retreat, I decided to participate in a writing marathon during the month of November. I didn't necessarily want to participate in National Novel Writing Month, which requires you to write at least 50,000 words, but I focused instead on working on a middle-grade book idea I had. I set a small but manageable goal of 20,000 words by the end of November, which averaged about 667 words a day. In between my paying work (mind you, I had a magazine to edit and produce during this month) I wrote. There were a few days I didn't get to work on the story, but I doubled my word count on other days to make up for it.
I'm happy to report that I finished my book today, six days ahead of my goal! Obviously, revisions are in order now, but I am so proud of myself. It just goes to show how much you can accomplish when you have a fun idea to work on and focus. The book is targeted toward girls ages 8-12 years, and I handed my daughter at least two chapters a night to read. She loved it, and it was such an enjoyable experience sharing it with her. I know this is only the beginning, but I am optimistic and willing to put in the time revising, editing, hiring a professional editor and, finally submitting with the hopes of publication.
I hope all of you are having a fantastic month as well!
Thanks to the WOW! Women on Writing blog for letting me share.
During that retreat, I decided to participate in a writing marathon during the month of November. I didn't necessarily want to participate in National Novel Writing Month, which requires you to write at least 50,000 words, but I focused instead on working on a middle-grade book idea I had. I set a small but manageable goal of 20,000 words by the end of November, which averaged about 667 words a day. In between my paying work (mind you, I had a magazine to edit and produce during this month) I wrote. There were a few days I didn't get to work on the story, but I doubled my word count on other days to make up for it.
I'm happy to report that I finished my book today, six days ahead of my goal! Obviously, revisions are in order now, but I am so proud of myself. It just goes to show how much you can accomplish when you have a fun idea to work on and focus. The book is targeted toward girls ages 8-12 years, and I handed my daughter at least two chapters a night to read. She loved it, and it was such an enjoyable experience sharing it with her. I know this is only the beginning, but I am optimistic and willing to put in the time revising, editing, hiring a professional editor and, finally submitting with the hopes of publication.
I hope all of you are having a fantastic month as well!
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