#MegsNoWriMo 50,000 Word Challenge Complete!

I did it!! I completed #MegsNoWriMo, my own version of #NaNoWriMo, as I wasn't able to write last November. Yay! I'm over the moon. :D

Here are my daily wordcounts, if you're interested.

I've learnt a lot about my writing habits during the challenge and I've thoroughly enjoyed it! My main takeaways from it are:

1) I now have a habit of building writing into each day.
2) I learnt that I am a very inefficient writer currently (a lot of butt-in-chair time = not very much writing) - I need to and intend to address this.
3) Breaking big goals down into little chunks really does make it manageable. The words fly by!
4) That NaNo is a BRILLIANT excuse to crank it up a notch!
5) I learnt more about my ideal writing times. Early morning, late afternoon, late evening. Weekdays. I struggle to find time to write on weekends at all too, which I didn't realise before.

The most satisfying part is not having completed 50,000 words surprisingly, but seeing how very close to completion The Brooding Crown is. I know I set myself the 50k challenge and was determined to succeed, but it was impossible to imagine getting to far with it, in a way.

If you're thinking about giving NaNo a try - even if it's not in November, I urge you to do it! It's a thoroughly rewarding experience. :-)

I look forward to doing it again in November this year. ;-)

- Meg

#MegsNoWriMo Day 19 + Exciting 2015 projects announced!

I have a ton of exciting writing projects lined up for 2015 already, which is beyond any expectations I would have had last July upon publishing my first book, The Tainted Crown. So 2015 looks to be set to be an exciting year!



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Meg + #NaNoWriMo = #MegsNoWriMo!

As I posted about at the beginning of the month, I couldn't take part in NaNoWriMo 2014 unfortunately, as a result of being too busy with teaching practice, but its something I've always wanted to do! So, I decided that, as I'm desperate to finish Books of Caledan 2 as soon as I can, I would do my own NaNoWriMo in January (aka #MegsNoWriMo)! Better late than never, right?

So. 50,000 words (and hopefully that will mean my novel is finished, or therabouts) in 31 days. 1,612 words per day on average. I'm setting myself a a target of 1,700 words per day.

Here's how I'm getting along! I'll update this daily.

Starting word count: 34,000
Daily word target = 1,700(writing every day)

January 1st - 1,700 words (35,700)

January 2nd - 1,930 (37,630) [Youtube Video Diary]

January 3rd -1,763 (39,393)
January 4th - 0 :-( (aka spring cleaning Sunday!)
January 5th - 1,930 (41,323)
January 6th - 1,368 (42,691) (struggling today because I'm stalking the miracle that is my book sales right now!!) [Youtube Video Diary]
January 7th - 1,630 (44,321)
Week 1 total words written = 10,321
(Manuscript word count = 44,321)
January 8th - 1,906 (46,227)
January 9th - 3,773 (50,000) (!!)

January 10th - 0 (worked on nonfic project outlining)

January 11th - 0 (Sundays are family & chores days!)
January 12th -1,740 (non fiction writing)
January 13th - 0 (working on nonfic book cover design & email list)
January 14th - 2,675 (52,675)
Week 2 total words written = 8,354 Total fiction word count = 18,675
(Manuscript word count = 52,675)
Daily word target upped to 2,600 (writing 5 days per week)  to catch up! 
January 15th - 2,180 - deleted chapter = 1,520 (54,195)
January 16th - 877 (55,072)
January 17th - 1,872 (56,944)
January 18th - 0
January 19th - 1,311 (58,255) (+1,311 nonfiction words too!) [Youtube Video Diary]
January 20th - 635 (58,890)
January 21st - 3,401 (62,291)
Week 3 total words written = 9,616 Total fiction word count = 28,291
(Manuscript word count = 62,291)
January 22nd - 3,210 (65,501)
January 23rd - 1,033 (66,534) (+511 nonfiction words) (+ worked on website, blogged)
January 24th - 1,071 (67605)
January 25th - 335 (67,940)
January 26th - 3,608 (71,548) (+100 nonfiction words)
January 27th - 3,470 (75,018)
January 28th - 1,535 (76,553)
Week 4 total words written = 14,262 Total fiction word count = 42,553
(Manuscript word count = 76,553)
January 29th - 1,899 (78,452)
January 30th - 2,781 (81,233) [Youtube Video Diary]
January 31st - 2,781 (84,014)
Total (fiction) words written in January =50,014
Manuscript total = 84,014

Total (nonfiction) words written in January (est) = 3,662

Total words written in January =  53,676

#MegsNoWriMo is officially completed! :D 

#MegsNoWriMo reaches 50,000 words on The Brooding Crown

Happy to announce that I just reached that magical point; 50,000 words on draft one of The Brooding Crown, The Second Book of Caledan, woohoo! Just over halfway done with the first draft, hopefully!

I would do a video diary, but I am too tired today so here, have a blog post instead haha.

Also managed the most successful day of #MegsNoWriMo too, writing over double my daily word target of 1,700 words, for which I am glad, as I was beginning to fall slightly behind and become frustrated with myself.

This is despite being glued to the news today for hours, watching the deeply disturbing events unfold and play out in France. I don't tend to delve into real life/world things in my writing social life, but I am so very glad to hear that the situation is now resolved with minimal loss of life. My heart goes out to those who died for free speech. As a writer, in a community of creatives, we all rely on being able to speak, write and create freely without fear.

So. Today feels a writing success, but tinged with sadness at the loss of life that could so very easily have been any of us in any city across the world.

Definitely a lesson to take each day as a blessing and live with joy, not fear in your hearts.

Take care,

Meg

Celebrating 1st 100 sales of The Tainted Crown! + #MegsNoWriMo Day 5

Big news! Yesterday was an amazing day!

Not only did The Tainted Crown sell its 100th copy... beyond my wildest dreams... it also sold its 200th copy! Wow!

I woke up this morning and checked my sales stats and assumed I was mistaken...! But apparently not. Yesterday, 120 kindle copies of The Tainted Crown were downloaded. It's rank has jumped to #22 and #23 in its 2 Amazon categories.... Just wow. Cannot even express how blown away I am by this amazingness!

Thank you to everyone who's shared and downloaded a copy - I really hope you enjoy it!!

Here's yesterday's video diary - before I found out that downloads yesterday exceeded my wildest imagination!

Meg 

p.s. don't forget, The Tainted Crown is free to download until Wednesday midnight!

Update - Wednesday 7th January

Thank you to everyone who downloaded a copy of The Tainted Crown! In the end, I also sold my 300th copy on Wednesday 7th January, which was astounding. I'd never expected to have any downloads at all, especially for such an unknown book, at such short notice.So to receive several hundred and reach the top #10 bestseller spots in three of my Amazon categories was mindblowing. Thank you for helping me get there! I really hope you enjoy the book! :D

The Tainted Crown FREE on Kindle Until Wednesday!

My young adult fantasy fiction The Tainted Crown, rated 4*, is on kindle free sale until midnight on Wednesday!

I thought I'd better share that on here for anyone who doesn't have a copy or knows someone who needs new reading material!

Pick up your free copy today and please share! :-)

Enjoy!

Meg

Happy New Year! + My #MegsNoWriMo Video Diary

Hello and a happy new year to you! I hope that 2015 brings you a happy, healthy and creative year!

As we all do, I made some new years resolutions this year again. Last year I exceeded my writing goals - this year hopefully I can do the same!

I plan to finish and publish Books of Caledan 2, as well as work on my next project after that. I also want to branch out into audio and visual work including beginning my own writing related youtube channel.

With that in mind, I decided that I would finally get around to #NaNoWriMo! Unfortunately, I was too busy in November to join in, so I'm doing it in January instead and calling it MEgsNoWriMo, since I'm probably doing it alone!

50,000 words in 31 days is my aim. That equals 1,612 words per day - and I'm aiming for 1,700 words. I'm going to be doing a video diary along the way (not daily, but as often as I can!) to also start my audio/visual projects in 2015.

Here's my first video diary entry on day 2 of #MegsNoWriMo (follow that hashtag on twitter too if you like), after an on target day 1 of 1,700 words.

Glad to be home! (aka hello WRITING and other big plans!)

At home enjoying family time with my zany cats.

Pixie loves to scramble up and down the Christmas tree!

Hello!

Gosh is it good to be home, and by 'home', I mean online amongst this wonderful community of writers, creatives, readers and friends. I have missed you all!

It's been a long three months away, but I'm relieved to say I'm back to stay. My fourth and final teaching practice is at last finished. It's been the hardest experience of my life - exhausting, gruelling and completely unsustainable, working 80 hour weeks.

Suffice to say I've not had the time to even look after myself properly, let alone think of indulging in writing or my other hobbies. Every day I have missed writing and looked forward fervently to the moment I could begin it all again. That time is now!

I've just got a new office (thanks to my lovely partner who helped me heft furniture all over the place this weekend - and thanks to the cats who as per usual got underfoot!). It's a mess, alas, so needs some reorganisation, but for the whole I now am lucky enough to have a small, cosy and private space in which to work. Plus, as a bonus, I have working internet again - woo!

I plan to get straight back to work on BOC2 (Books of Caledan 2), which is about a third complete. With Christmas being this week, home life is obviously manic. But I will re-familiarise with the story, plot, etc and aim to dive back in as soon as I am ready (and as soon as all the washing up is done after the Christmas dinner...!)

Plus, I'm also thinking hard on where I want to be at this time next year. What do I want to achieve in 2015? Certainly, to finish at least one more book (and more if I can - I have so many ideas!). I also want to share The Tainted Crown more - I just checked my sales and I'm so very close to the 100 mark now! 96 sales since publication in July 2014.

I'm so astounded, overwhelmed and overjoyed that 96 people chose my book. That's 96 more than I ever expected. If I could make it to 100 - well, even if I never wrote another word in my life (not that that's not going to happen! You just try and keep me away from the keyboard...!!), I could die happy, reaching that milestone.

I'd also like to branch into visual/audio work - I'll start posting videos to a Youtube account (not sure of the content, though yet) and will be looking into producing audio only non-fiction work (though this takes a back seat compared to my fiction writing, which is first and foremost!).

I hope that 2015 will be an exciting year, filled with new adventures - for me and my characters!

I definitely need to develop a more solid business plan, with timed and segmented goals so I can achieve everything I want to, step by step, in a timely fashion.

What do you hope 2015 will bring for you?

In any case, I feel very positive and hopeful for the future - that I can create the life of an author for myself. It will be a long, slow and hard journey, of that I have no doubt. But, this year, 2014, was the year I began that journey. I have no intentions of giving up now!

Ciao for now, I'm off to go de-clutter the office so I have space to work. ;-)

Have a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a wonderful festive period and the happiest of New Years!

Meg

Progress is progress

Well, back to the real world I went today! It's been a nice week off - enjoyable not to have the time pressure of having to go to work, though I did, in the end spend most of my time working at home!

My mornings of lesson planning over-ran, but I did spend time each day writing. I made sure I added at least 1,000 words to my manuscript each day, so I have added about 7,000 words in the last week, which is a great feeling! Progress is progress, after all.

The first draft for book two now sits on 32,342 words, and I can say is just over a third completed (hopefully!) I  still don't have a working title, though a writing buddy suggested some names all with 'crown' in.

Originally, I hadn't planned to have crown themed titles, but it's an interesting idea I won't dismiss. "The Brooding Crown" could fit nicely as a title, though, of course, being so close to the manuscript, it's very hard to be objective about effective titles, and something I find incredibly difficult.

Besides that, how can you distill tens of thousands of words... many characters and places and events... all into a few words? (I'd love to hear what you think about titling pieces of writing - do you find it easy/hard? What's your process?)

Anyway, I digress! I also fixed some plot issues that had been niggling me. I found that, whilst I was being authentic to the characters, in how they were responding to the rubbish I threw their way, the rubbish I threw wasn't necessarily right for the story I wanted to tell. I'll have to see how the final manuscript fits together to decide whether it still needs further major chopping and changing!

However, this is the beauty of writing - it can be whatever you want it to be. :-)

Other than that, it's been a quiet week of being ill haha. Perils of working in education - the sniffles is an ever present threat!

I also watched "Jobs", the film made of Steve Jobs's life (surprisingly played by Ashton Kutcher, who did a great job), this week. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but found it eye opening and a real inspiration.

People like Steve Jobs - who make something from nothing, who chase their dreams, never give up, and make the impossible a reality - inspire me on a day to day basis. They make me determined to always try, though all things worth doing take a long time and much effort to come to fruition.

Anyway, ciao for now! Let me know your thoughts on inspirational people who motivate you do keep aiming for your goals. Also, to those doing this years Nano (upon us again already, it seems!!), GOOD LUCK! May the words flow :-)

~ Meg

Guest Post at The Writing Desk

 

 

The lovely Tony Riches - author of a wide variety of historical fiction, other fiction and some non-fiction books - invited me to write a guest post on his blog The Writing Desk explaining where The Tainted Crown and my writing inspiration comes from and how I got to the finished product.

 

Check the post and his blog out!

 

 About Tony Riches

Tony Riches lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, one of the most unspoilt areas of the UK. Like many authors, he began writing short stories and contributing to a range of magazines but when he first read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft he was inspired to begin writing books. His first novel, ‘Queen Sacrifice’ was written after looking into the early history of Wales and seeing the parallels to a game of chess, with kings and queens, bishops and castles – and the people becoming pawns in their civil wars.