Tag: NaNoWriMo

A Sad NaNoWriMo Update

A Sad NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, The Week Everything Turned Upside Down

NaNoWriMo pic

On Monday afternoon I received one of the worst phone calls I’ve ever had. My 35-year-old brother, my only sibling, had suffered a brain aneurysm. After four days in a coma, he remains in ICU fighting for his life.

Obviously, finishing NaNo has taken a back seat to making phone calls, driving two hours to LA every other day, and sitting in terrible waiting rooms. I remain at the 40K mark, but I don’t think I’ll make 50K by the 30th, and that’s okay.

If you’re still in the race, good luck. I’m rooting for you.

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

NaNoWriMo Update

NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, How I Found My Groove

NaNoWriMo pic

After a tough writing week, I feel like I’ve finally hit my stride. By tonight I’ll have between 24 and 25K words written, right on target. I know I can not only hit the 50K word goal by November 30, but I’m confident I have enough plot to finish. Believe me, there have been years when I reached the 20 or 30K word mark and thought, “I’m done. The story is finished. There’s nothing else to write.” But not this year. I have story to spare, which is a great feeling.

I’m writing a new Red Plague novel this month. It’s a YA zombie paranormal, and I’m loving writing it! I’m so excited to share it with you. Hopefully, it’ll be available for purchase in early 2016.

How is your writing journey going this week?

Ghosts, Hauntings, & Cheap Books: Sign Up For My Monthly Newsletter Today.
Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

1st Week NaNoWriMo Update

1st Week NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, How I Slacked Off A Lot

NaNoWriMo pic

This first week of NaNoWriMo was tough for me. I started a new job recently, and I’m still exhausted from that so I didn’t have a lot of time to write. I did force myself to get up every morning at 5 am (boo!) and write for a solid 30 minutes before I had to get ready for work. That way, at least my daily totals weren’t zero.

Saturday I had my best day yet. With a lot of downtime I was able to crank out about 4,000 words. I was so happy! …Until I realized even with that burst I’m still behind.

How are your NaNo journeys coming along?

Ghosts, Hauntings, & Cheap Books: Sign Up For My Monthly Newsletter Today.
Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My Favorite Month Of The Year

NaNoWriMo pic

That high-pitched squeal you hear is me being super excited about November first rolling around!

November is my favorite month of the year because, thanks to the National Novel Writing Month, I get to obsess about writing for thirty straight days.

If you’ve ever considered writing a novel of your own, join me this month in all the fun. You’ll be asked to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days, but there are local write-ins all the time where you can meet other creative types in coffee houses and talk writing while sipping lattes.

If you register with NaNoWriMo, let me know. We’ll keep each other on the right track.

Ghosts, Hauntings, & Cheap Books: Sign Up For My Monthly Newsletter Today.
Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

P.S. This year, I’m writing a YA paranormal in the same world as my Red Plague series about the 212R zombie virus and the people who struggle to survive it. 🙂

Final NaNoWriMo Update

Final NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, The End Is Finally In Sight!

Spell200x300

This year I’m writing the final novel in my Dark Caster series for National Novel Writing Month, and so far it’s going great. Maybe it’s that I’ve already written two other novels this year (Panacea and Spell of Vanishing) so I’m in the groove, but this year has been the easiest so far. I’m over 40K words and I haven’t even written the climax or resolution yet. I know I’m going to be able to finish the contest with no problems (barring emergencies–knock on wood).

I’m thrilled to get this final book finished and edited so I can share it with those of you who have been reading my Dark Caster series from the very beginning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

<3 Anna

Mid-Month NaNoWriMo Update

Mid-Month NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My 1st 2 Weeks Of NaNo 2014

Current word count => 18,265.

nanowrimo

I love November more than any other month. It’s the one month I get to wildly obsess about writing and be cheered for it. (I love my job!)

If you’ve ever thought of writing a novel, I encourage you to sketch out an idea next year and then take the NaNoWriMo challenge in 2015. You won’t regret it. Because even if you don’t meet the 50,000 words in 30 days goal, you will write much more than you would in a normal month.

Last year I wrote the final book in the Red Plague trilogy–Panacea.

PanaceaFin

This year I’m writing the final book in the Dark Caster series. (Title to be determined.) The cover below is from the first book in the series.

Spell200x300

 

I work during the day and then am a mom and wife in the evenings. On top of that I write. What I learned right away is that I can’t procrastinate this month. Sometimes I wait to write until the time just “appears.” But that isn’t working right now. Not when I need a solid hour to complete 2000 words (my daily goal). With work, school, theater practice, violin lessons, dinner, etc., etc. I can’t squeeze in the time and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. So, I’m going to have to force myself to get up an hour early starting tomorrow morning, even though I’m not a morning person at all. But if I don’t get my word count in before I go to work I spend the entire day worrying about how to finish everything.

So, think of me bleary-eyed and pounding away on the keyboard tomorrow morning, slurping coffee by the quart as I try to do justice to Derek and Jessa’s story.

Thank goodness there’s December and National Editing Your Manuscript Month (If it doesn’t officially exist, it should!).

<3 Anna

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, Are You Prepared To Write?

nanowrimo

My favorite time of the year is upon us. November is National Novel Writing Month, and if you’ve ever had an inkling to write a book, this is your chance. You’ll benefit from tons of support from the online site as well as participants in your community.

Last year I wrote Panacea (Red Plague Trilogy #3) during NaNoWriMo. This year I’ll be writing the fourth and final installment of my Dark Caster Series.

If you’re participating, please let me know. We’ll keep each other sane during the next thirty days or so. 🙂

<3 Anna

NaNoWriMo Completed!

NaNoWriMo Completed!

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, I Can Finally Take A Deep Breath

Though there were lots of tough days when I questioned if I would ever reach 50,000 words before the Nov. 30 deadline, I pulled through and finished my novel right before Thanksgiving. I am so in love with this story, though, that it really wasn’t a chore to escape into Ben and Maya’s world for a month.

I’ll spend December editing and re-writing. Hopefully, I’ll soon have good news about the publication of Elixir the first book in the Red Plague trilogy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2013-Winner-Vertical-Banner NaNoWriMo

 

<3 Anna

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