Pushing Onwards

Post-NaNo is always weird, and when NaNo itself is weird, it's even weirder. I have never been a multi-tasker when it comes to writing, and I know this, but somehow my brain refuses to accept it. When I start a project, I want to see it to the end until it's done. Unfortunately, now I have two projects I love equally, both vying for my attention. It's driving me crazy. This is why I wanted to finish Book 4 by December -- to get it out the way and out of my head to clear the way for MP. 

But after, a week or so of beating myself up and getting nothing done on anything (and some much-needed pep from Sarah) I have relaxed. Things will take as much time as they need, and it's okay if I don't finish everything now. So I'm taking each day, each hour as it comes, dabbling in Book 4 and making my notes for Book 1. They're both coming together and it's exciting to see. This is my hobby, and if it's not enjoyable then it's not worth doing. 

As it stands, I'm 62k into Book 4 and about to hit the Grand Finale, and I've done 30 pages of notes for MP. Although I've printed off the MS, I'm making my notes separately in a little notebook (actually too little -- I'm going to need four before it's all done!) and it's working really well. It's forcing me to be thorough and detailed in a way I wouldn't be just making notes in the margins. 

I'm finding micro-editing to be the most satisfying part of the process so far, when everything is there, all laid out, and it's just a matter of fine-tuning and finally getting it to the point where it looks the way you imagined it to be. It's been a very long journey, but the end is in sight and I think I'll be proud of the outcome. *fingers crossed* 

I've discovered a lot of reeaally good music lately, but here's what I'm listening to on loop right now -- Hayley Westenra: Listen to the Wind. I've always loved her music (Across the Universe of Time will always be one of my top songs) so it was really exciting to find something new that fit so perfectly with my WIPs. 

Happy New Year!

Well there we go, another year done!

NaNoWriMo 2015 felt very different this year, and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I was super busy, juggling work and more family obligations alongside novelling than previous years, and I really had to grab my free time and make the most of it -- some days I wrote a hundred words, some days I wrote 7k -- and it felt very sporadic. Maybe it's because I was doing Book 4 and coming to the end of a two-year journey. Maybe it was because I wasn't novelling as alone as previous years. Whatever it was, it felt different, but no less wonderful ^^

I am proud to say I won my 3rd NaNo on the 27th and clocked out last night with 60,003 -- not too shabby for working full-time as well! The story isn't quite finished, so I'll be writing into December, but I'm okay with that. We're getting to the climax now!

I've definitely found that I enjoy NaNo the most when I'm doing something crazy, like a 10k day, or starting at 4am and writing through 7k to 12 pm (*cough*blackfriday*cough*) slow and steady may win the race, but it isn't satisfying. It's the challenge that I really live for.

Still, it's over, but I woke up feeling excited for the New Writing Year. Got a lot of wonderful cards on the table: Finishing ILYF, editing MP, rewriting Guilders, planning NiNo for NaNo'16... It's going to be a good year!

Oh, and being a better, more consistent blogger ;)