Show Title: Moses
Venue: Sight & Sound Theatres
Britni's Blog Score: 10 miracles out of 10
Britni's Blog Rating: Recommended for everyone
I've just been back to Sight & Sound Theatres to see one of their latest shows, Moses. Sight & Sound, whose mission statement, to paraphrase, is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ through dramatization of the Scriptures, was rated the second most popular attraction in Strasburg by tripadvisor.com, with 97% possitive feedback.
I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed, because I have previous experience with this theater, and I've walked away impressed each time.
This event began for me with the lovely preshow that was put on for us in the lobby. The presentation was made up of four old-fashioned carolers singing a medley of Christmas tunes accompanied by Christmas music. And the finale included indoor snowfall. I mean, an actual indoor snowfall. Not just little pieces of Styrofoam or paper, but real snow.
The Plot. As the title suggests, this story was based off of the life of the Biblical figure of Moses. And I can say that, though taking some creative license, Sight & Sound offers a Biblical representation of the story.
Based on the story presented in the Biblical book of Exodus, the production follows Moses as he's born a Hebrew slave, adopted by an Egyptian princess, and called on by God to free his people.
The Characters. The characters in the production were given strong representation and were really fleshed out. When we read about them in the Bible, the focus is mainly on the great things that God does through them. Though this is definitely shown in Moses, the Sight & Sound writers have built off of the basic templates to create characters who seem more human than words on the page of an ancient text.
In this show, Moses is much more than the bearded man who talks to God on a mountain and tells the people what to do. Here he's depicted as a stuttering, fearful, and anger-ridden orphan who wants to resist God's purpose on his life. We see Moses and all of his insecurities and flaws, something that many retellings leave out or gloss over. And it makes his character more relatable and therefore easier to learn from.
The Players. The cast of the show was definitely talented. From acting to dancing to singing, everyone in this show was top-tier.
The Message. There are Biblical lessons to be learned from this production, including the importance of listening to God and the fact that how we each react to Him is dependent on the conditions of our hearts. But the entire plot is drawn up to point viewers to an even greater Leader than Moses and to showcase the sacrifice that He made for us.
My Recommendation. I recommend this show, and this theater, to everyone reading this blog. Not only is it a great outing for families, but its shows are a fantastic experience for anyone, regardless of age or religion. Even if you roll your eyes at the thought of a Christian show, the music and the effects are enough to wow the toughest critics.
My Notes. I thought that the show was entertaining, educational, and edifying. Moses is based on the Biblical book of Exodus and, as a woman who was raised Christian, I've read the story many times over. But I've never had it told quite like this. There wasn't a dull moment during this play. The plot moved quickly and was full of jokes, action scenes, and musical numbers to entertain the oldest and youngest members of the audience.
This theater is specially designed to pull you into the world of the story being told. The only effects that left me slightly disappointed were those used to create the burning bush. All considered, they probably did the best with what they had, but I wonder if they couldn't have made it look more like a bush on fire and less like a lit Christmas tree. Everything else blew me away. Everything from the brilliantly designed sets (so large, I've read, that they need to be moved by technology similar to that in GPS devices) on the wrap-around stage to the stars than twinkle overhead to the surround sound effects during the parting of the Red Sea was beautiful. They even used live animals throughout the entire thing!
In Conclusion. You should go see Moses. Or anything else that's playing at Sight & Sound. I've never been disappointed by one of their shows, and I have faith that the pattern of telling powerful stories in an enchanting way will continue.
During Moses, I was engaged, delighted, impressed, and taught. Sight & Sounds truly offers the perfect family experience.
I'm also looking forward to potentially seeing Joseph, which I've already seen once before. Though every show is fantastic, Joseph has remained my personal favorite since I saw it in the Lancaster County theater. It's been visiting with the sister theater in Branson, MO and will be returning to Pennsylvania in 2015.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Book Review: Skid by Doug Solter
Book Title: Skid
Author: Doug Solter
Britni's Blog Score: 8 racecars out of 10
Britni's Blog Rating: Recommended for teenage readers.
I recently reread what has become one of my favorite books, Skid by Doug Solter. This book was so much fun to read and it's also been a big inspiration to my own writing, as well. Therefore, I decided to write a review so I could share this book with other people.
The Plot. Seventeen-year-old Samantha Sutton is a racecar driver. Though she may not fit in with the other girls at her school or have a boyfriend or be totally into beauty, she shines when she's behind the wheel. When she's presented with the opportunity to become a test driver for a Formula 1 racing team, she jumps in with both feet, sending her reeling into a new world of expensive food, unexpected fame, and opportunities that she's only ever imagined--and that her father had imagined for her. Samantha is put to the test against family drama, racing gods, complicated romance, and her own dark secret. Will she be able to bring balance to her life and reach her ultimate goals?
The Cast. I love how relatable and likable Solter has made his leading lady. Even though she's going through extraordinary circumstances, she's still just a teenage girl, and she's still like all of us young women who have a dream to chase. Even though she has her fair amount of flaws and failures, she fights her way through them, emerging strong and confident.
I liked the romance between her and love interest Manny, a sweet guy who cares for and respects Samantha in a way that she's never had. The family relationships in this book do take a backseat to a lot of the other action, but those too are full of tension and emotion.
There are no cardboard cutout people here. I was impressed with how Solter gave so much life to everyone on the pages. Each person in this book is an individual, which says a lot about Solter's writing ability. Manny's ex Hannah, Sarah Wolert, and Samantha's father. None of these people are ever seen in the flesh, and yet their stories are interesting, memorable. Emilio, in particular is a character I enjoyed reading. He's a formidable opponent with as much dedication as Samantha. Only he has no problem playing dirty when there's a trophy and a title at stake. He makes an intriguing antagonist for Samantha to go up against in the climax.
The Message. Doug Solter's book contains an empowering message that isn't just for young girls and women. Samantha, though facing odds stacked against her, faces challenge after challenge with daring and dedication. She doesn't let her mother's lack of approval keep her from moving to Germany, she doesn't let the racing world's sexist attitude keep her from racing, and she doesn't let her worst fear or her strongest opponent keep her from gunning for the championship.
We can all learn a little something from Samantha and her willingness to put it all on the line to reach her dreams.
My Recommendation. The only reason that I recommend this book for teenagers and not for younger kids is because Skid touches on several mature and/or controversial topics such as homosexuality, drugs, and rape. I will say that none of these is presented in a particularly objectionable or offensive way (rape--or sex of any kind--is never seen), but some teen's parents may want to be careful.
My Notes. The detailed imagery in Solter's book is amazing. The world of Skid came alive for me. As Samantha explored the globe in the name of racing, I traveled with her and took in the sights. Locations as well as people became characters. Racetracks are described in so much detail that I could see Samantha roaring through them, taking turn after turn, weaving her way between other drivers. I know nothing about Formula 1 or Nascar or cars in general, but Solter's use of racing jargon drew me into the story and made everything even more vivid. I was completely wrapped up in every moment, whether Samantha was on the track or off.
In Conclusion. This story is enrapturing, well written, and so very real. The views of the city are almost as breathtaking as the whiplash-inducing scenes told from within the racecar. Samantha Sutton is just an everyday teenage girl with an incredible opportunity and the courage to fight for her dreams. She's willing to put everything on the line and face impossible odds to achieve victory.
I loved how Solter brought each character to life for me. The cast is full of memorable characters, both good and bad.
I loved this book and I highly recommend it. Since I bought it off of Amazon last October, I've already read it twice and I'll go back and read it again. This story of passion and determination will never get old. I'm looking forward to reading the second book, Rivals, which is available now. If what I've read is true, there will also be a third book to the Skid series. I'll add it to my reading list as soon as it comes out.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Nano Wrap-up 2014
This month, I've been taking a little bit of a break so I can wind down from NaNoWriMo. To be honest, most of this break has really been me working on some other projects that I haven't been able to get around to, so there's not too much rest involved there. But now that things have had time to cool down, I'll wrap things up with a retrospective look at Nano.
There were upswings and downswings and all kinds of emotions going on this November. The month wasn't without its challenges and obstacles. I lost momentum, and struggled with doubts, on and off. Several times, I wound up with a daily wordcount of 0. I had a day when I wasted time watching sitcoms and didn't write a single word. But this year's NaNoWriMo has taught me a lot. It wasn't without its writerly woes, but it's helped me to grow as a writer and to meet other writers.
The Journey. Well, the first morning I wrote 13 scenes right out of the gate and amassed about 6,000 words, getting off to a good start. My second day was a bit slower but my energy and creativity had a helpful little spike on day 3.
By day 5, I was 3k ahead of my projected twenty thousand words. I was still riding that first awesome wave and I was really excited about how things were going. This was an incredible stage of discovery for me. I'd killed off a character and added depth to the main character's love interest. I could feel Creative Liftoff brushing against my fingertips.
At the end of the first week, I was falling behind. I had big plans to catch up and get ahead the coming weekend. Even though I had a busy schedule, I was determined to fight my way back into the green.
Then week two began. On day 8, I made it past my doubt. I had an epiphany and wrote over five thousand words that day. Things took a turn for the better again as I looked forward to developing my characters, world, and plotlines.
November 9th was a 6,716-word day. Mainly it was because I'd been sprinting online with other Wrimos. Not only did it help me boost my numbers quickly, but it was a lot of fun. Seeing little snippets of what other people were writing also gave me a couple of good ideas.
On day 10, I ran into some trouble. I couldn't see myself reaching my goal of 150k for the month, and I was wondering why I'd ever even taken on the challenge. I'd run out of steam and I was having so much trouble moving my wordcount forward. Due to the loss in momentum, I struggled to come up with anything new to write.
Though my characters were great and were already revealing themselves to me, I'd somehow lost contact with them. I was stuck writing whatever stupid material would fill the blank page. I was really lost and I just needed someone to encourage me and tell me that I could keep going. Thankfully the Wrimo community is super supportive.
It wasn't easy to battle my way through day 11, either. I was creatively drained, 10k behind, and completely overwhelmed. Doubt was really settling in now. On day 16, I wrote a scene that I have very mixed feelings about. You can read it here. I think once you'll take a look, you'll know what I'm talking about.
The next rough patch was quickly smoothed over with a bout of freewriting. I'd had a lull in my inspiration and hadn't been able to pound out too many words in this particular writing session. So I decided to just freewrite.
On a side note, the freewriting post quickly became the most popular on my blog. It's over three times more read and shared than the second most popular post. I just wrote some nonsense about inner dialogue, plot bunnies, and stream of consciousness. That's not to say that freewriting doesn't free up your mind and get your creative juices flowing. It definitely does. I just don't know why the topic was so much more interesting to people. I'd love to know what was so different about this post that made everyone come back to it so I can do it again!
Most of my wordcount came from the freewriting itself, since I wrote 2.3k in those 45 minutes. There was a lot of word vomit, because my mind was wandering all over the place. But the exercise led me to list all of the major problems I was having with the plot, the research questions that I needed answers to, and the loose ends that I needed to tie up or eliminated.
I wrote no words on the day that I began the research I'd been putting off because I was mainly concerned with upping my wordcount during most of the month. A good portion of my day was spent searching for those answers, using the list that I'd freewritten several days before.
The major obstacle to show up last month was the computer issue. If you've been reading my blog from the beginning, then you know that my laptop stopped working just before Nano began, forcing me to move on to Plan B. So I untangled the mass of cords coming out of my 2001 Windows XP and hooked everything up and ran whatever programs I had to to make sure things would run as smoothly as possible. Things were going surprisingly well on this "dinosaur" computer, as long as I made sure to run the care programs one every day or two. I was working on Scrivener (which automatically backs up your work) on a flash drive, so I knew that I wasn't going to lose all of my progress. At the end of week three Dinosaur decided that it didn't want to behave anymore. Luckily, I got my laptop back a couple of days after that and, after I updated all of my files and ran the system care programs, the show was back on the road.
I also got sick last month. It wasn't end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse sick, though my throat got so sore that it hurt to swallow and my head ached so badly that I got dizzy when I tried to walk around. It wasn't a major health issue or anything, but it did make it hard for me to get any work done. Because of the dizziness, I spent the good part of the day sitting in one spot and watching Netflix.
I've obviously had quite the adventure this month. It's been a roller coaster. Week one began with me being ahead and confident, but it ended with me falling behind. At the beginning of week two, I'd passed up my doubts and I was back in business. Until a third of the way through, when I lost my nerve, my momentum, and my inspiration. Things spiked back up around the two-thirds mark, only to come plummeting down toward the end of the final week. You can read posts from the last and second to last days if you're interested. The entire story crumbled on me. Unfortunately, my story fell apart at the end of the month. I'm not upset anymore, because I can see that a lot of good came from this draft. However, I'm still mourning the loss of Flying Change.
So the bad days consisted of a dead laptop, a slow desktop, missed wordcount goals, lost momentum, wasted time, and failed premises. The good days were more abundant, though, and there was a lot more good this month than bad. I proved to myself first day in that I can blow my own expectations out of the water. I learned a lot about character development. I discovered that small revisions (going in and filling in the meat on the bones) can help to boost my wordcount by a lot. I found other writers online who I'd love to keep talking to after NaNoWriMo; I found blogs that I know I'll keep reading. I wrote more that I've ever written in a month, proving to myself that I'm getting closer to that elusive 150k. My speed picked up part of the way through the month, allowing me to write more each day than I've ever done before. I had an amazing comeback day and wrote my highest daily wordcount of November (and probably ever). And, finally, this blog has taught me a lot about accountability and consistency and has allowed me to document and share my experience in a way that I've never done before.
I'm sure that a lot of you have had more interesting experiences, though, and I'd be happy to hear about them if you want to share.
The Lessons. I learned quite a bit about writing in November. Even though it's nothing profound, I thought that I could share a few lessons. I'm not being pretentious or anything, but I think that writers who haven't had my specific experiences could benefit from hearing about them.
I've learned about how helpful sprints can really be. They force you to block out any potential distractions over a set amount of time. I sprinted some of the time on Twitter and some of the time by myself. What I found works best for me is to attempt #1k30min every time. I usually fall just a little short, though I did come up with over 2k once or twice.
I've learned that sometimes you have to think small. I had a day last month when I was just overwhelmed with what I was writing and I had no idea how to move forward. Unable to write that night, I asked other writers for their advice. And +Rosie Reast replied with this comment here, which I'd like to pass on to all of you.
Other times when you're stuck, it helps to write the little things. If your character has just returned to his village after battling the dragon and you don't know where to move the story, think small. Have this hero go back to doing his laundry, or have his mother cook him breakfast and drill him for details of his adventure, or have him play with the cat or the dog. These little scenes can help to move things along again and break up the intense action, giving readers time to relax before the next big battle.
Finally, save small ideas. I like to write my ideas down wherever I can. If I see a sweet foreign couple who just inspire characters based on themselves, I'll make a note on the back of a receipt or text the idea to myself.
I've learned something about time management. Yeah, I'm not the best person to ask for time management advice, but I somehow become better at it during Nano. So I have a couple of tips based on my own experience this November: write in chunks and know when to pull yourself away. This way, you'll get plenty of relaxation time while also getting in plenty of work on your novel. If you don't give yourself a break now and again, how can you be expected to be productive?
I've learned about some good resources this Nano, in addition to the resources I'd already been using. The biggest ones for me have been @NaNoWordSprints on Twitter and Scrivener, the latter of which I've been using for about a year now. Twitter, on the other hand, isn't something I've done much of before. So I discovered the sprints account recently and was hooked. Plus, when there's no sprint leader around, Wrimos like to form their own groups and write together via the hashtag #NaNoWordSprints.
I've also learned that writing my story out of order with no previous planning isn't something that works too well for me. I created characters that I loved, but very few plot-driven scenes.
The Plan. So, what do I plan to do now that NaNoWriMo is over? Well, my storyline didn't work and Flying Change fell apart on me, so I'll be taking a break from it. When I do get back to it, I'll be redistributing its parts. I've created a "rollover" file in Scrivener so that I can manage what I want to keep. Right now I have a few story ideas tucked away in these folders, as well as my main characters, who I hope will turn up somewhere else in the future.
I'll still keep my revision promise; I'll just be revisiting last year's Nano project instead of using the one from last month. This novel will need some Beta readers, so I'll be going about looking for interested writers while dealing with my own large list of things I have to read for people.
The Challenge. I dare you to freewrite. Take fifteen minutes and just write whatever comes to mind. After you've done that, review what you've just written. Is there anything of value? Anything that sparks another story idea or solves a problem in your current work in progress? I hope you find it useful. Freewriting is always useful to me.
I'll also challenge you, if you're interested and if you have work of your own that requires revision, to join us in our pledge to have our novels revised by January 31st 2015. You can add yourself to my Twitter list here.
The End. Even though things didn't go like I'd expected or wanted this November, I'm actually really happy with how things turned out. I learned things that helped me to make it through the month. Sprinting improved my wordcount, "thinking small" helped to move me out of writers' block and increase my progress, managing my time kept my month (slightly) balanced, and the programs and websites that I've used this month were all very helpful to my process. A personal lesson came when I realized that I'd been writing plot bunnies; I discovered that planning probably works better for me.
I'd like to pay all of these lessons forward to anyone who hasn't experienced the same ones that I have. Let me know if any of my advice was helpful to you. Novel or no novel, NaNoWriMo has once again helped me to grow as a writer. I really hope that my advice can help all of you in some way too.
Should I create a resources page for the other resources that I've used? There are a few good sites that I know of and will share if anyone's interested.
Tell me what you've learned this November. It can be something about you or your novel, or something a bit more general. And if you have any great tips or resources, feel free to share them!
--Britni M
There were upswings and downswings and all kinds of emotions going on this November. The month wasn't without its challenges and obstacles. I lost momentum, and struggled with doubts, on and off. Several times, I wound up with a daily wordcount of 0. I had a day when I wasted time watching sitcoms and didn't write a single word. But this year's NaNoWriMo has taught me a lot. It wasn't without its writerly woes, but it's helped me to grow as a writer and to meet other writers.
The Journey. Well, the first morning I wrote 13 scenes right out of the gate and amassed about 6,000 words, getting off to a good start. My second day was a bit slower but my energy and creativity had a helpful little spike on day 3.
By day 5, I was 3k ahead of my projected twenty thousand words. I was still riding that first awesome wave and I was really excited about how things were going. This was an incredible stage of discovery for me. I'd killed off a character and added depth to the main character's love interest. I could feel Creative Liftoff brushing against my fingertips.
At the end of the first week, I was falling behind. I had big plans to catch up and get ahead the coming weekend. Even though I had a busy schedule, I was determined to fight my way back into the green.
Then week two began. On day 8, I made it past my doubt. I had an epiphany and wrote over five thousand words that day. Things took a turn for the better again as I looked forward to developing my characters, world, and plotlines.
November 9th was a 6,716-word day. Mainly it was because I'd been sprinting online with other Wrimos. Not only did it help me boost my numbers quickly, but it was a lot of fun. Seeing little snippets of what other people were writing also gave me a couple of good ideas.
On day 10, I ran into some trouble. I couldn't see myself reaching my goal of 150k for the month, and I was wondering why I'd ever even taken on the challenge. I'd run out of steam and I was having so much trouble moving my wordcount forward. Due to the loss in momentum, I struggled to come up with anything new to write.
Though my characters were great and were already revealing themselves to me, I'd somehow lost contact with them. I was stuck writing whatever stupid material would fill the blank page. I was really lost and I just needed someone to encourage me and tell me that I could keep going. Thankfully the Wrimo community is super supportive.
It wasn't easy to battle my way through day 11, either. I was creatively drained, 10k behind, and completely overwhelmed. Doubt was really settling in now. On day 16, I wrote a scene that I have very mixed feelings about. You can read it here. I think once you'll take a look, you'll know what I'm talking about.
The next rough patch was quickly smoothed over with a bout of freewriting. I'd had a lull in my inspiration and hadn't been able to pound out too many words in this particular writing session. So I decided to just freewrite.
On a side note, the freewriting post quickly became the most popular on my blog. It's over three times more read and shared than the second most popular post. I just wrote some nonsense about inner dialogue, plot bunnies, and stream of consciousness. That's not to say that freewriting doesn't free up your mind and get your creative juices flowing. It definitely does. I just don't know why the topic was so much more interesting to people. I'd love to know what was so different about this post that made everyone come back to it so I can do it again!
Most of my wordcount came from the freewriting itself, since I wrote 2.3k in those 45 minutes. There was a lot of word vomit, because my mind was wandering all over the place. But the exercise led me to list all of the major problems I was having with the plot, the research questions that I needed answers to, and the loose ends that I needed to tie up or eliminated.
I wrote no words on the day that I began the research I'd been putting off because I was mainly concerned with upping my wordcount during most of the month. A good portion of my day was spent searching for those answers, using the list that I'd freewritten several days before.
The major obstacle to show up last month was the computer issue. If you've been reading my blog from the beginning, then you know that my laptop stopped working just before Nano began, forcing me to move on to Plan B. So I untangled the mass of cords coming out of my 2001 Windows XP and hooked everything up and ran whatever programs I had to to make sure things would run as smoothly as possible. Things were going surprisingly well on this "dinosaur" computer, as long as I made sure to run the care programs one every day or two. I was working on Scrivener (which automatically backs up your work) on a flash drive, so I knew that I wasn't going to lose all of my progress. At the end of week three Dinosaur decided that it didn't want to behave anymore. Luckily, I got my laptop back a couple of days after that and, after I updated all of my files and ran the system care programs, the show was back on the road.
I also got sick last month. It wasn't end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse sick, though my throat got so sore that it hurt to swallow and my head ached so badly that I got dizzy when I tried to walk around. It wasn't a major health issue or anything, but it did make it hard for me to get any work done. Because of the dizziness, I spent the good part of the day sitting in one spot and watching Netflix.
I've obviously had quite the adventure this month. It's been a roller coaster. Week one began with me being ahead and confident, but it ended with me falling behind. At the beginning of week two, I'd passed up my doubts and I was back in business. Until a third of the way through, when I lost my nerve, my momentum, and my inspiration. Things spiked back up around the two-thirds mark, only to come plummeting down toward the end of the final week. You can read posts from the last and second to last days if you're interested. The entire story crumbled on me. Unfortunately, my story fell apart at the end of the month. I'm not upset anymore, because I can see that a lot of good came from this draft. However, I'm still mourning the loss of Flying Change.
So the bad days consisted of a dead laptop, a slow desktop, missed wordcount goals, lost momentum, wasted time, and failed premises. The good days were more abundant, though, and there was a lot more good this month than bad. I proved to myself first day in that I can blow my own expectations out of the water. I learned a lot about character development. I discovered that small revisions (going in and filling in the meat on the bones) can help to boost my wordcount by a lot. I found other writers online who I'd love to keep talking to after NaNoWriMo; I found blogs that I know I'll keep reading. I wrote more that I've ever written in a month, proving to myself that I'm getting closer to that elusive 150k. My speed picked up part of the way through the month, allowing me to write more each day than I've ever done before. I had an amazing comeback day and wrote my highest daily wordcount of November (and probably ever). And, finally, this blog has taught me a lot about accountability and consistency and has allowed me to document and share my experience in a way that I've never done before.
I'm sure that a lot of you have had more interesting experiences, though, and I'd be happy to hear about them if you want to share.
The Lessons. I learned quite a bit about writing in November. Even though it's nothing profound, I thought that I could share a few lessons. I'm not being pretentious or anything, but I think that writers who haven't had my specific experiences could benefit from hearing about them.
I've learned about how helpful sprints can really be. They force you to block out any potential distractions over a set amount of time. I sprinted some of the time on Twitter and some of the time by myself. What I found works best for me is to attempt #1k30min every time. I usually fall just a little short, though I did come up with over 2k once or twice.
I've learned that sometimes you have to think small. I had a day last month when I was just overwhelmed with what I was writing and I had no idea how to move forward. Unable to write that night, I asked other writers for their advice. And +Rosie Reast replied with this comment here, which I'd like to pass on to all of you.
Other times when you're stuck, it helps to write the little things. If your character has just returned to his village after battling the dragon and you don't know where to move the story, think small. Have this hero go back to doing his laundry, or have his mother cook him breakfast and drill him for details of his adventure, or have him play with the cat or the dog. These little scenes can help to move things along again and break up the intense action, giving readers time to relax before the next big battle.
Finally, save small ideas. I like to write my ideas down wherever I can. If I see a sweet foreign couple who just inspire characters based on themselves, I'll make a note on the back of a receipt or text the idea to myself.
I've learned something about time management. Yeah, I'm not the best person to ask for time management advice, but I somehow become better at it during Nano. So I have a couple of tips based on my own experience this November: write in chunks and know when to pull yourself away. This way, you'll get plenty of relaxation time while also getting in plenty of work on your novel. If you don't give yourself a break now and again, how can you be expected to be productive?
I've learned about some good resources this Nano, in addition to the resources I'd already been using. The biggest ones for me have been @NaNoWordSprints on Twitter and Scrivener, the latter of which I've been using for about a year now. Twitter, on the other hand, isn't something I've done much of before. So I discovered the sprints account recently and was hooked. Plus, when there's no sprint leader around, Wrimos like to form their own groups and write together via the hashtag #NaNoWordSprints.
I've also learned that writing my story out of order with no previous planning isn't something that works too well for me. I created characters that I loved, but very few plot-driven scenes.
The Plan. So, what do I plan to do now that NaNoWriMo is over? Well, my storyline didn't work and Flying Change fell apart on me, so I'll be taking a break from it. When I do get back to it, I'll be redistributing its parts. I've created a "rollover" file in Scrivener so that I can manage what I want to keep. Right now I have a few story ideas tucked away in these folders, as well as my main characters, who I hope will turn up somewhere else in the future.
I'll still keep my revision promise; I'll just be revisiting last year's Nano project instead of using the one from last month. This novel will need some Beta readers, so I'll be going about looking for interested writers while dealing with my own large list of things I have to read for people.
The Challenge. I dare you to freewrite. Take fifteen minutes and just write whatever comes to mind. After you've done that, review what you've just written. Is there anything of value? Anything that sparks another story idea or solves a problem in your current work in progress? I hope you find it useful. Freewriting is always useful to me.
I'll also challenge you, if you're interested and if you have work of your own that requires revision, to join us in our pledge to have our novels revised by January 31st 2015. You can add yourself to my Twitter list here.
The End. Even though things didn't go like I'd expected or wanted this November, I'm actually really happy with how things turned out. I learned things that helped me to make it through the month. Sprinting improved my wordcount, "thinking small" helped to move me out of writers' block and increase my progress, managing my time kept my month (slightly) balanced, and the programs and websites that I've used this month were all very helpful to my process. A personal lesson came when I realized that I'd been writing plot bunnies; I discovered that planning probably works better for me.
I'd like to pay all of these lessons forward to anyone who hasn't experienced the same ones that I have. Let me know if any of my advice was helpful to you. Novel or no novel, NaNoWriMo has once again helped me to grow as a writer. I really hope that my advice can help all of you in some way too.
Should I create a resources page for the other resources that I've used? There are a few good sites that I know of and will share if anyone's interested.
Tell me what you've learned this November. It can be something about you or your novel, or something a bit more general. And if you have any great tips or resources, feel free to share them!
--Britni M
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