Sunday, November 27, 2016

NaNo Fatigue


Before I can be accused of a falsehood, I want to admit I did not participate in the official NaNo this year. However, that doesn't mean I spent the month of November in a turkey-induced fog. I was up against a deadline that I rashly proposed to my new publisher and had until the end of November to turn my manuscript in to them. When I get to the polishing stage, words are more often deleted than inserted, so I knew there was no way I could do NaNo and commit myself to writing 50,000 words in a month's time.

But I met my deadline, with even a couple days to spare. Now comes the waiting game, while the manuscript, my shiny new story, gets reviewed and either accepted or rejected by the publisher. Fingers are crossed, but if it's rejected by them, I have other avenues available to me. I know that now, after four years in this business.

I do have a bit of writer's fatigue, though, which many writers experience in December, after a frantic month of NaNo writing. I'm taking the month to just do some research for my next series. I have a lot of ground to cover, since the subject matter isn't something I'm all that familiar with, other than a love for antique, heirloom roses. And rose hip tea. I'll take my time and become as comfortable as I can in an 1800s greenhouse exploding with hybrid roses. And Scottish lochs. Lochs and Roses. Should be a fun way to spend December, instead of existing in gloomy, snowy Ohio.

I also have three releases in December, which must be promoted. First up is the big bundle of all the books in the Cotillion Ball series, followed by Love's In The Cards, my contemporary Christmas novella. Then, I'll end the year with another historical, Dance With Destiny, cover still being designed, about a half-Ojibwa Indian and the white family he assists while the husband is off fighting the Civil War. My family had a story handed down over the years about having an Indian somewhere in our genealogy, which was mentioned by many who were researching various branches of the family tree. A DNA test a year ago put an end to the rumors, since it showed no trace of American Indian blood. But if so many had heard the story, and my ancestors shared claims of school harassment due to their Indian heritage, there must be some grain of truth to the story. Dance With Destiny offers up one explanation. I hope you'll enjoy it, and my other efforts from the year.























And next year? Hopefully, my story will be accepted by my publisher and I'll get to promote it. And I hope to write two of the new series. See you on the moors!

12 comments:

  1. I spent a lot of November editing, so I'm back on the word count - hoping to get this book done before Christmas. It's due Jan 3rd.

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    1. I have no doubt you'll meet your deadline, Lynn. Thanks for taking the time to stop by today.

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  2. I finished my second book Oct 31 and am waiting for the publisher to assign an editor. While I wait, I'm working on Cross Waves, my second book in the Mind Hackers series.

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  3. Congratulations, Amanda! Is the second book also with Wild Rose, or do you have a new publisher?

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  4. Keep up the good work.

    I was intrigued by your Indian ancestor. Family tales usually contain a grain of truth. I was brought up on the story that my grandmother's grandmother eloped to the Orkney Islands, in Scotland. Records disproved that story, but there are some tantalising clues that it was my grandmother's great-grandmother who eloped, two hundred years ago, from one island to another.

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  5. I'll keep digging, then. Thanks for giving me hope.

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  6. Becky, thanks for that encouraging post. I signed up for Nano, but then heard about word count responsibility and withdrew. Thank goodness. I am writing, and loving every minute. I might, by the time 11/30 rolls around, have done 3000 words, I have 2300 now. Numbers like that are not impressive, but I have not had writer's fatigue. I am not under the gun. Research is part of my writing, love to research. Read maps, figuring out the Isthmus and how to get around Panama before the Panama Canal was even a dream. Stagecoaches, ships and navigation of early century travels fascinate me. Onward . . .

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    1. The only thing that's important is that you're writing something every day. Each of us has her own process, and writing something is better than nothing. As Nora Roberts says, I can't fix a blank page.

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  7. It's good to know I'm not the only one. I did sign up for NaNo knowing I would not get the 50K in but hoping for some butt kicking to finish the third book in the Unfinished Business Series. I really thought it was almost done, maybe 2-3000 more words but my total is 16K and I still have three-four chapters to flesh out. There will have to be a lot of cutting in the editing stage since the total word count is almost 105K??!!

    This is the worst case of writer's fatigue I have ever had.

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    1. Yikes! 105K? That's two of my books, Carole. Congratulations.

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  8. Much nano fatigue happening. I passed 50k but don't have my HEA yet. Cannot write this book without doing concurrent research. Congratulations on the books. I have one book an Beta Read and another right at the end. I hope to submit at least on in December. The one I am writing now, Lord Byron's daughter is in really rough shape but its got a few sparks of promise.

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    1. You continue to amaze me with how much you do in a day's time. Keep plugging away.

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