NaNoMo with Kelley Armstrong

In 2005, Kelley Armstrong wrote a book during NaNoWriMo. She had been published in adult fiction but decided to take a new direction with her writing. Her gamble paid off and now she shares her tips and experiences that resulted in a new YA series that launched this summer with The Summoning.

Chica Lit: How did you prepare for NaNoMo 2005?

Kelley: Oooh, that's reaching back a bit far for me. I would have had an outline--when I want to write fast, I need to know where I'm going. Oh, and I remember that I cleared my plate of other work and told my agent I was doing NaNo, so I'd be "off-line" for a month. I haven't had that luxury since (I'm doing NaNo now and have edits for my main series coming in the mail right now) But it was nice to be able to have that first NaNo clear.

Chica Lit: On those days when the blank page glared back at you, how did you just keep writing?

Kelley: Butt in chair, hands on keyboard. I make myself sit and write anything until it starts to flow. And I give myself permission to write crap. I can always go back and edit or delete it, but I can't work with a story that exists only in my mind. It has to be on the page.

Chica Lit: At the end of NaNoMo, how many words had you written?

Kelley: In 2005, it was over 60,000. The last two years, it wasn't much more than 50,000...namely because I can't clear my plate the way I could back then.

Chica Lit: And then you revised and revised and revised ... how did you sell The Summoning?

Kelley: Well, it was a little bit easier for me, already being published in another area. The Summoning is young adult urban fantasy, and I have an adult urban fantasy series. I'd had the idea for The Summoning for years, and had been talking it over with my agent when, within a few months, she got a couple of cold calls from editors saying that if I ever decided to try young adult, they'd like to see it. Perfect timing! So I decided I'd give it a shot for NaNoWriMo. I got most the first draft done that month...and I immediately knew I could do better. I liked the characters and the basic plot, but saw a lot of problems too. So I put it aside for about a year. In late 2006, I rewrote the first act, and my agent took that, along with a synopsis, to the publishers, where it sold. Yes, that sounds incredibly easy, but I spent many, many years doing the whole query-rejection cycle, so I know how lucky I am to be able to bypass that now.

Chica Lit: What will you be working on this month?

Kelley: This month I'm doing the third book in the trilogy that began with The Summoning. What I learned from my first NaNo is that writing fast works for me. I can immerse myself in the story and push forward without stopping and second-guessing anything I wrote the day before--I don't have time to! So for the past three years, I've managed to arrange my schedule so I'm always in first-draft mode during NaNo. This year, it worked out perfect and I was able to start the book Nov 1st.

Chica Lit: Check out the website for Kelley's exciting series at www.chloesaunders.com. For excerpts and insights in to all of her books, visit Kelley's main site at www.kelleyarmstrong.com.

NaNoWriMo With Shelley Adina

Last November, Shelley Adina needed to kickstart a book that was coming due to her publisher. Find out how she used NaNoMo to make her deadline on her upcoming release, Be Strong and Curvaceous!

Chica Lit: Please tell us how you prepared for NaNoWriMo.

Shelley: I was contracted for book 3 in the All About Us series, Be Strong and Curvaceous, due that January, and I was behind on it because of work on previous books. So a November kickstart was perfect timing for me. To prepare for the experience, I outlined my book in advance. To do that, I got the characters nailed down and wrote out a clear series of events that would put external and internal pressure on my protagonist. These pressures caused her to change, so that in the black moment "crunch" at the end of the book, she had resources within herself to do what she could not have done at the beginning. With this narrative line in mind, and a clear theme (the power of courage), I was ready to write on November 1.

Chica Lit: On those days when the blank page glared back at you, how did you just keep writing?

Shelley: It's hard, no doubt about it. But what helps me is to go over my synopsis again, to remember the book's theme, and to read over the previous day's work and give it an edit pass. This seems to prime the pump, and the words start to trickle in. When they don't, I go for a walk. Or eat chocolate. That works, too.

Chica Lit: At the end of NaNoMo how many words had you written?

Shelley: I got about 30,000 words, I think. It wasn't the NaNo goal of 50,000, but it was half a book!

Chica Lit: And then what happened after NaNoMo?

Shelley: I then had six weeks to write the second half, which was completely doable. The first 100 pages are always the hardest for me. Once those were behind me in the NaNo process, I could keep on rolling until "The End."

Chica Lit: What will you be working on this month?

Shelley: I'm working on The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth, the sixth and final book in the series. I already had the synopsis completed and approved by my publisher (it has a few edgy elements that had to get the green light first). I know my protagonist's character arc, and the key events are all mapped out in my head. November is all about the writing ... and then I'll be celebrating the release of Be Strong and Curvaceous, in bookstores everywhere in January!

NaNoMo Day 2: 2750 words

So much for doubling yesterday's word count! This is what happens when I write on my laptop with its high-speed Internet and email access. Dangerous stuff. Tomorrow I'll be on the road with the AlphaSmart so we'll see what happens.

Nonetheless, I wrote some of the hardest scenes in the book. It's the middle of Act II when my heroine makes her major emotional transition. I can't say more or else I'll give it away and considering that this is a first draft, it'll probably change.

Mrs. V asked in the comments of my videoblog if this is a fictional or nonfictional story. It's a paranormal women's fiction with roots in family lore. I've been inspired by my great grandmothers, Eduvijen Holguin Melendez and Inez Mendez Vasquez, and my grandmothers, Margaret Castillo and Maria Mendez. My character, Anna Vazquez is a mix of my grandmothers' rebellious and independent spirits, and Great Grandma Vazquez's ironclad strength. Another character in the book is my Great Grandma Eduvijen. When I get my act together, I'll scan their photos and post them on the blog. But don't hold your breath.

NaNoMo Day 1: 3750 words

Today was my first day of NaNoMo and I logged in 3,750 words or 15 manuscript pages. For inspiration, I studied this photo that I found on eBay, of all places. She captures who my character, Anna Vazquez, will become at the end of the story.

Tomorrow I hope to turn in 20 manuscript pages, which will put me up to my normal speed.

Onward!

Video Blog: NaNoWriMo

Friday Night at Cantera

Alas, I have no photos to share. I thought the camera was in my bag but it was on my desk!

We raised a lot of money for YWCA's Wise Place and I think there are plans to do it again so I'll keep you posted.

One of the coolest things happened to me. A woman came upstairs where I was hanging out and I noticed her look at my table and then walk away to talk to her friends. She did this a couple of times and even though I smiled, she kept wandering away. So finally, she walks up to me with her friends on either side and says with her voice shaking, "I have all your books. I'm a big fan."

Dude, I almost cried. (But I didn't!) I just stood up, shook her hand and said thank you because honestly, I had no idea what to say. (By the way, what should one say in this situation? I always imagine it should be something elegant and inspiring but I was floored.) Many moons ago, I did the same thing to James Elroy. I wanted to go up to him and yet, I was so intimidated that I couldn't. Finally he picked up a book, signed it and handed it to a guy to give to me.

So it was very cool to meet a fan of my own! (Fan? I have fans?!?! I still can't get over it.)

Anyway, I've been up since 3 a.m. today because someone who shall not be named decided he wanted milk and chips. One day when he's seventeen and sleeping in till 1 p.m., I will be merciless in my vengeance!

But I'm still in NaNoMo mode so I have pages to write. I think I cracked the first 100 pages of the new book. This weekend I stopped keeping track because it was driving me nuts, so I'll update my stats tonight.

I wasn't going to do this but I can't stop myself...

This is the house that is inspiring my new book! I grew up not far from this street and I always asked my parents to drive me by the Victorians (there's a huge mansion across the street from this one) because there was something about them that got to me.

Finally, after twenty odd years, I'm writing a story set in this house. I'm so giddy that I'm annoying myself! So I'll go now.

"Just when I thought that I was out ...

...they pull me back in."

Which Godfather movie did that line come from? I don't have a prize. You'll just look really smart in the comments section.

But the spirit of its sentiment applies to me now as I've put the NaNoMo book aside to polish up the mariachi story. My agent read it, loved it, had a few comment here and there and you think that would be good enough for me. But oh no. As a neurotic writer, I had to go back and make sure that its perfect or as close to perfect as it can get.

So if I'm a good girl and quickly wrap up this post, I'll be back to the NaNoMo book on Thursday.

Cheers,
Mary

Outting Myself

If J.K. Rowling outted Dumbledore, than I'll out the fact that I've signed up for NaNoWriMo. I even have a profile! So for the next two weeks, I'm focusing on a short story for the blog, my adaptation of Switchcraft and all the pre-writing for my NaNoMo book.

If you want to join me, become my buddy here.

Truthfully, I'm a little nervous. I've never committed to 50,000 words in one month and with a nanny-less two year-old and Thanksgiving looming ahead, it'll be a real challenge. (Not to mention a real kick in the ego if I don't make it!)

But for the last three weeks or so, I've been in promo mode for Switchcraft, which has been a life of writing press releases, stalking bloggers and reviewers and setting up events. It's been great but I miss writing and I'm starting to crack up. For example, in my non-writing interests I initially wrote "booking" when I meant "cooking!"