Sunday, April 28, 2013

Camp NaNoWriMo Update April 28, 2013

Well, it is done. I completed a little over 20,000 words in one month with a vacation in the middle of it.  Now to edit it and edit it and edit it!  Then go back and do 20,000 more words in July at the next Camp.

It was great fun setting this challenge for myself and I highly recommend it to anyone with even the slightest itch to write.  I can't claim that what I produced is publishable, but at least I have a LOT of material to work with now and I some characters I've really grown to like.  So if you get the hankering, join the fun in July.  Would love to see you there.

Thank you Camp NaNoWriMo!

With this done, I plan to get back to doing my weekly reviews, so stop on by next week to see what gem, new or old, I've found lurking on my shelves.

Monday, April 22, 2013

The Flying Buttresses -- Hodman Dodmanott and Sally Forth

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in northern Tennessee. I spent some time gathering up old historical records that my grandmother had compiled and which had unfortunately been scattered to the four winds.  After many years of hunting them down, I'm in hopes that most of them have now been found.  I want to give a huge shout out to the wonderful Historical Society of Washington County in Abingdon, VA for all of the care and consideration they gave in assisting with the hunt.  If you are ever in Abingdon, drop by and say hi.  They have a wonderful staff and lots of fantastic documents and pictures scanned and ready for searching.

I also had the opportunity to see some old friends, Hodman Dodmanott and Sally Forth of The Flying Buttresses.  They are a lovely old couple from the isle of Oblivia off the coast of the UK and they were kind enough to stop by the USA this Spring to visit Dollywood during the Festival of Nations. Unfortunately, the Festival of Nations ended today, so if you didn't get a chance to go see them, hope really hard that they will come back next year.  To whet your appetite and give you a little taste of their charm, here is a link to their website and a short clip on YouTube that was filmed at Dollywood.  I think you will enjoy their show as much as I did.   Have a safe trip home Hodman and Sally!

http://www.hodmanandsally.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLrLWKLyLGI&feature=youtu.be

On the Camp NaNoWriMo front, I'm up to 13,490 words and counting.  I have a little over a week to make my 20,000 goal, so I'm signing off now to go type away at it.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Camp NaNoWriMo Update -- Short Hiatus from Review Postings

Okay, so I took the plunge and am trying to write (or at least start) my own masterpiece.  Well, maybe not a masterpiece, not yet anyway :)  I set a very reasonable word count of 20,000 for myself, which equates to around 667 words a day.  So far, I'm on track (5234 words as of this posting) -- just spent the entire morning writing to catch up and try and get ahead after a long day of doing chores yesterday.

The experience is exhilarating.  I've now Pantsed my way through 25% of my goal (for those of you new to the NaNoWriMo world, Pantsing means making it up as you go along as opposed to Planning it out -- those people are called Planners). I'm not sure if any of it will make any sense when I get done, but at least I'll have 20,000 words to edit to my hearts content.  Very exciting.

The down side to this, and unfortunately there is one, is that I have not had time to compose a review this week, and probably won't until this experiment is over. However, it is a small price to pay, I think, given I might have the germ of a novel to hone once the experiment is through.

So there you have it.  I'll keep posting updates as the weeks go by.  And with any luck, I'll be able to tell you on April 30th, that I've met my goal.

Good luck to all you other Campers. May your words flow smoothly!