problems

After numerous problems in changing my blog name I have decided to revert back to Running for Words and to start a new blog with the name Something in Ink. I will be moving my newer content there.

if you're interested please stand by for more.

thank you,
~Rita the frustrated

Name change

Hi all!

I'm gearing up to make some changes around here. I've already started redecorating and having fun with that. The next thing on my list is a name change; when I started out I just wanted to get it going and 'Running for Words' was the best I could come up with. With a little help from my family I've finally come up with something better, Something in Ink is the new name and I'll be switching over the address to the new name latter today.

If you're following the blog as Running for Words you will no longer get updates and will have to re-follow  us under the new name.

I hope this doesn't cause to much confusion, thank you.

~Rita

Deadlines, outlines, and no lines at all

Reading through some posts over at The office of Letters and Light, has kicked me into gear today. One post in particular, why deadlines are every writers secret weapon, got me thinking of my own changing attitude towards deadlines and structuring in my writing process.

For years I hated the idea of planning before I started writing, even doing papers in school I tended to skip the outline stage and sorted out everything after I'd written it. In my 'expert' opinion outlines were stifling and deadlines only cased stress. I never thought of myself as rebellious as a teen but I am beginning to see that I was, at least in some ways. I thought I knew better than my teachers, better then the authors of dozens of writing books. I did alright with my way but I have to wonder how much better I could have done if I'd listed more.

I'm not sure exactly what started changing my opinions, maybe all the writing books started to get through to me I don't know, but I have begun revising my opinion on a few things. I'm starting to find that I like a certain amount of preplanning before I start writing. I don't go through my story scene by scene but I like to know where its going and what needs to happen to get there. This means that it'll take me longer to start some stories but hopefully when I do I'll actually manage to get through them.

The problem with this is that I'm lazy. If I don't have a burst of inspiration, (like I did today when I started this post) I'm not likely to get much done. Which leads nicely into the topic of deadlines and accountability. I find that I desperately need both. I don't mean consequences if I fail, just something to remind my so I don't let myself down. I discovered exactly what I needed when I did NaNoWriMo last November (click here for my post on that.) I did the camp version in April and plan on doing it again in July.

I love doing NaNo, it keeps me writing the whole month long and I love that. The problem comes in between times, after the month long writing marathon is over I 'take a break.' If you look at my blogging history you'll notice that its rather sporadic, it reflex well the rest of my writing habits. Without a tangible sense of accountability I'm more likely to read then write. Its fun and easy but not nearly as rewarding.

 I suppose I'm asking for advice more than giving it here, (see thats proof that I've matured, I'm asking for advice!) What do you do to keep yourself on track? I'd love
any tips or ideas.

P.S. Will I see you at Camp? Or maybe in November?

Camp Update

In the end I settled on 25,000 for my word count and decided to be a rebel and not work on any one project. So far its been mostly fan fiction (so far I've got Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Lord of the Rings) but I'm getting my word count done so in the end it doesn't matter too much. I was hoping to get some original fiction done this month but maybe I'll get something worth posting on my fanfiction account.

You see last November NaNo was about sticking to one story and writing even when I didn't feel like it. At the end of the month I was sick of that story and desperately needed a break. That break lasted four months. This month I want to cultivate a better writing habit, work in a way that I can keep on working after camp is over. And hopefully finish one of these short stories or one shots I'm working on or that have been gathering dust in my ideas file.

Also I was right, I felt much better after the first day or so and stopped worrying so much. Those last few days were nerve racking but now I'm not really worried  I'm pretty sure that I can get my word count done, after all I've done more in less time.

I had hoped to do more blog posts but sense I decided that they don't count in my word count I've been putting it off in favor of things that do. Maybe latter I'll post short piece or something, that is if I can find a bit that I wouldn't need to much over hauling to be viewed by the general public. :)

Who's story is this again?

Two posts in one day is unheard of for me but this, this I had to share.

So quick back story: I've been working on a Beauty and the Beast story, trying to get a handle on the characters and work out some problems with the plot so I can start writing it for Camp NaNoWriMo's April session.

It hasn't been going well. I thought I had calmed down about it after my last post but then I just got worked up again wondering if I was ready to write it and if I had enough exuberance to deal with all the themes properly. My MCs (main characters)  were flabby at best but some of the SCs (secondary characters) fascinated me.

Everyone knows how Beauty and the Beast ends so you wouldn't think I'd have a problem there but I did. I had this SC who I really liked, she had a complex journey of her own and I really felt the need to wrap up her story nicely, only I couldn't. There was no way I could fit a happy ending into the story I the idea of leaving her hanging didn't sound good at all.

You Can't Plan Joy

I've been panicking;  mildly yes, but still panicking  I have been struggling to pin down certain aspects of the story I'm supposed to start in April for Camp NaNoWriMo. I have several characters I like and something of the plot but so much is still a jumbled mess.

The story is about love and motives and all sorts of difficult themes that I'm not sure I can handle. I've begun wondering what experience I have that qualifies me to write this. Should I even try? Is there another story, one which I don't care about as much, one that I wouldn't ruin?

My first time in NaNo I didn't have time to worry before hand, I found out about it and signed up the same day. I picked the only story that was even near being ready to write and ran with it. But still, I thought to day, I must have worried about it, I know I did. So I went back to my journal entries for that month and I have never been so thankful I to have kept a journal.  I know I worried at some point but that's not what I found as I flipped though the first few weeks of November. I'll give you a few excerpts to show you what I mean:

Lines of Imagery

All of these things I found siting, half accidental, on the same surface. So as a little exercise I thought I would catch them so to speak and share: 

A ring of skeleton keys and a red leather wallet embellished with gold, a string of pearls cast over both.

A stack of three baskets, woven of grass, each a little bigger then a sparrows nest.

A type writer with a blank page, bold against the black metal, both covered in dust. 

A letter opener shaped like a dagger  with a point like a December wind.  

A wooden heart pendent, its cord tangled with the chain of a Fatima medal.  

A twenty dollar bill, neatly folded in quarters, beside a Dixie cup.  

Five candles of various heights held in mismatched holders of brass and dull silver. 

Questions for you:

What does each line make you think of? 

What about all together or a few at a time? 

What small things around you can you capture in one or two lines? 

And just for fun; Can anyone guess where they all are?  

(Come on, any thoughts at all?)

Well that does sound like an adventure

In my last post I wrote about how last November I went on the roller coaster ride that is NaNoWriMo. I practically stumbled into that tunnel of creativity and craziness and after that all I could do was hold on and hope I'd be in one peace at the exit gate. But man was it worth it.

That's why I'm getting ready to head back to that hazy world of production; this time in April. Its called Camp NaNoWriMo and is held by the Office of Letters and Light twice a year. I'll be a new camper this year, despite my participation in November, and I'm looking foreword to it.

Instead of packing my bags and checking that I have enough bug spray (lavender works well by the way) I'm planing on spending the next month or so getting my notes in order and doing a little research to get ready. I already know which story I want to work on and will post on that later.

Lent starts today and I figure that doing something productive with my time would be a good goal for this season. This way I (hopefully) won't have to do do much at the last minute which will leave Holy Week free to be focused on the Passion as it should be. Having April start, literally  right after Easter is going to be a bit of a rush but hopefully my gears won't get stuck :)

If you wan't more information on NaNoWriMo, then you can check out my previous post, the NaNoWriMo web site, Camp NaNoWriMo, and The Office of Letters and Light.

If you decide to join in let me know, I'd love to hear from you! 

The Most Important Thing I Learned in 2012

Okay, a piece of advice: if you start a blog about writing and then you really ought to write on it, if only when something really cool happens in your writing life. If you don’t you’ll end up writing about it months later…like me.

In any case, something cool happened to me last year:

 You know my last post? No? Not important, it was just about a challenge I set myself…and then discarded the next day. But I had a good reason! Really I did, it’s called NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. If you’ve never heard of it before you really should go check it out. NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in one month. It is held during November and is host to writers from all around the world.

I started late; I didn’t even find out about it until November 4^th, I signed up that day in some crazy, daring, fit. I don’t do things like this you see, I’m not that impulsive, not that brave. But on that Sunday afternoon I committed myself to writing more then I had ever written before. And I did it. 50,000 words, 26 days, 1 story, and me.

I learned that month that I can write, even when I don’t think I have anything to say. Too often I’ve waited until something really inspires to write; when that’s done I go find a book to read. Forget about the second chapter, I’ll get it another day. We all know how that ends. I haven’t done very much since November. That story’s not even finished, 50,000 words is a lot but it still only got me about half way through. I’m notoriously un-self motivated you see. I know that if I sit down and force myself to crank out some words I will be able to. They might even be worth reading.

Today I’m sitting down and writing a blog post, it’s not a real big thing, it’s not a novel for instance,  but it’s something. That’s all it takes I suppose, a little something every day. In November it was about 1650+ words a day. I don’t think I’ll be keeping that goal but I do know that I need to make a goal of some sort, now that I know that I can write I just have to make myself do it. 

But how much you write isn't as important as making yourself write. You see that's what I learned last year: I can write, but the catch is that I have to sit down and do it. There is no other way to become a writer, you have to write: Write when you feel like there is too much to say and you can't type fast enough. But too, Write when your tired, when you don't know what to say, when you don't think you can. It'll be hard sometimes, but in the end, it'll be worth it.