Who, me?

I have very exciting news to share with you, folks!

First order of business – NaNo is coming, and I am a brand new co-ML for the USA :: Rhode Island region! You can visit our region’s forum here. The entire website just had it’s annual wipe and relaunch, it’s so shiny and full of new gadgets to explore. Check it out!

Secondly – I am in college! That’s right, little old me has finally straightened herself out and in classes again. It feels remarkably good to be out and participating in something everyday, using my brain, even. Now, I may get a little over-whelmed in the middle (or all of) November but I feel confident I can multitask. This is why I’m only doing three classes for my first term, after all.

Be sure to keep your eyes glued to my Twitter feed since it will be updated more often than here, until the official start of NaNo is underway.

That’s all to report for now. Happy October!

Professor Shares His Secrets for a Productive November

The Office of Letters and Light Blog – NaNoWriMo Professor Shares His Secrets for a Productive November.

I think every writer or everyone that pretends to write should read this article! I’m going to print it out and keep it with me at all times.

Read it whenever you feel like you can’t win. We can do this!

Do you have a mantra or list of “rules” you stick to to keep you going during November? Do you Pep Talk yourself?

Fundraising for November

NaNoWriMo 2012 Author Sponsorship | StayClassy.org.

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

Every November I write a novel. An entire novel, started from scratch and completed in just one month as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I have been doing this every November since 2005, marking this as my 8th year.

NaNoWriMo is free. I’m raising money to help the nonprofit that runs it build communities in classrooms, coffee shops, libraries, and living rooms all over the world and to help the inspiration flow for me and thousands of my fellow novelists.

Every dollar raised will keep my spirits high as I write my way towards the realization of my creative goals. More importantly, your contribution will help The Office of Letters and Light build a more engaged and inspiring world.

Donors will earn the following rewards based on amount given:

• Donate $10 – A mention in my novel
• Donate $25 – A character based on you
• Donate $50 – Choose a major plot point
• Donate $100 or more and name the book!

Thank you so much for your support of my writing! I’ll be posting updates on my novel and fundraising on my sponsorship page throughout the month.

Feel free to visit these other pages to learn more about me and what I’m doing in November and beyond.

My NaNoWriMo profile.

Twitter

Lights at The Ball

Lights at The Ball – Night of Writing Dangerously in San Fran, Nov 20th 2011. (National Novel Writing Month fundraiser)

50k – NaNoWriMo end!

I think my lack of updates can be summed up to mean how hard this past month has been with writing. Fell short of my goal but came back to hit 50k last night before midnight. Even though I did not hit 75k, I find this to be a victory as I was seriously close to quitting this year.

I must give a big shout out to all my new NaNo friends! Thank you all so so much, you know who you are. This win goes out to you.

Night of Writing Dangerously was a lot of fun! Next year is being planned already and I need to make sure I have extra time before and after the events to hang out and tour the sights.

Blatant self-promotion; Links galore

November is the busiest time of year for me, so I felt it was time again to self-promote everything that’s going on. The links might help explain some of my disappearance or sudden increase on posting. Not sure which way it’ll go yet, but I hope for the latter! I participate in National Novel Writing Month, which starts tomorrow. To follow my progress or add me if you also write, visit my profile here. There may be daily posts about word count (or lack of reaching said word count) and snippets of my novel. I plan on doing my best to reach 75,000 words this year. Donate to NaNo and Office and Letters and Light in my name and increase my noveling karma here. I do have a Twitter widget on the right side of my blog, but if you’d like the actual page to follow me, click here. Besides all the writing, meetings, and trip to San Fran, there’s also at least two Thanksgivings for me to attend. Add that Koda is teething and being a generally rebellious dog, and November is going to be very busy!

Of Recipes, Videos and Nerves

Two links for you today! The first is a recipe I’m going to try out tonight. Cooks.com – Recipe – Drunken Shepherds Pie.

Link two is this amazing video someone made of their house lit up for Halloween with music and everything to Nightmare Before Christmas!

NaNoWriMo is very quickly approaching and I must say I’m very nervous. Each year brings it’s own worries and concerns, but for 2011 I’ll be joining a new region for the first time since I started all of this back home in 2005. My past experiences left more to be desired when I first attempted to join this group, so I hope this time I’ll receive a warmer welcome. I can understand wanting a small group, but I feel everyone should be welcome and encouraged to attend, no matter the group size or whatever else. The nervousness has crept into a hole and is now doing battle against depression, each fighting to decide how this NaNo should fail. To combat these feelings, I have been making sure to dive into my notebooks anytime I think I should just skip NaNoWriMo 2011. It helps me focus on plotting and characters if for no other reason than it’s far better to spend energy on a novel than anything else currently in my head.

Twitter

Finally gave in to making a Twitter account, follow @MageQueenHoshi! Mainly for NaNoWriMo (Is it almost September already?!) and to keep up with all the comics I read. It wont say much more than what I post here on my blog, though.

In other news, Hurricane Irene is fast approaching New England and I’m glad my preparations are all finalized. Keep safe, everyone!

YouTube

I have a shiny new YouTube account! Go to it here. Just might use it to vlog about NaNo next year, possibilities are endless.

Day 29 – Winner!

I officially validated my NaNo today and won with a little bit over 60k words! The dancing and feasting tonight shall be glorious. I now have zero guilt about the awesome stuff I bought  myself on Black Friday!

Big thanks to all my cheerleaders. You guys and girls gave me a lot of support, ideas, advice, etc, and without all of you I would not have hit this milestone this year! <3