NaNoWriMo Approaches

November is coming everyone! You know what that means right?? NaNoWriMo!! AHHH! IT'S COMINGIT'SCOMING!!

*ahem*

I will pause my freaking out to give you an inkling of what this grand adventure is. In a nutshell, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing (writers? I never know which) Month. It occurs in November when thousands of people take on the challenge of writing an entire 50,000 word novel in only 30 days. Impossible you say? Not even a little bit.

It's a blast and I would encourage everyone to try it at least once. Writer or not, you can learn a lot by undertaking such a feat.

But it IS quite difficult. This will be my third year doing it and honestly, I'm not very good at it. I've "won" on the Young Writer's website but my goal was only 20,000. I blame my lack of laptop but that's another story.

Also, the only novel I ever worked on during November was To Save the Lost. (Which still isn't done yet. *pounds head into wall*)

But this year is going to be different! I've thought up and *mostly* plotted my novel and I'm super excited for it! It's going to be a blast having a new novel to work on!

I've learned a lot about prepping for NaNo from reading lots of blogs and also from doing it myself.

Below are my favorite ways to prep for NaNo mixed in with some practical things that may not be my favorite. I'm by no means an expert, keep in mind. These are just ways I've succeeded in the past. They may not work for everyone so please don't smother me in my sleep if something doesn't work for you.

Regarding your novel:

1. You need an idea. You cant write a novel without one can you?

2. Characters. Along with an idea you need some strong characters to put in your story. Try writing out what their stakes are in the story. What are their roles in the MC's life? What's their favorite type of fast food? (Important questions, you know?)

3. Setting. Where are your dear charries to live?

4. Plot. By now I have you bored. Chances are you're thinking, "well duh. All this stuff is obvious. Of course I have a plot." But do you really? Sometimes what we have is an idea or something the character needs, but not a plot. Not having a plot can lead to some problems later that you probably don't want to deal with.

5. Outline. Now, you may be a pantser. That's fine, you can skip this part if you wish. But having at least an idea of where your novel is going can be very helpful for that point in the middle of the month when you've hit a wall. I've used little to no outline in the past and I ALWAYS get stuck somewhere around November 15th. So this year I'm trying a new method. The snowflake method to be exact. It's extensive but I think it's going to be invaluable.

So now you know all you can know about your novel without actually writing it. How are you actually gonna make it through November?

Regarding your survival:

1. Make sure your friends and family know why you're going to disappear for a month. They could get quite disappointed in you if you just vanish without a trace.

2. Word wars. These are magical. I love word wars. In the past I've only ever done them with my sisters. So I can't tell you how to actually do them online. But they're super valuable for finishing word quotas.

3. Write or die. I love this site. SO. MUCH! It's absolutely priceless when you need an extra push. Use it often!

4. Sleep. This is super important. People don't realize how burned out they can get with little to no sleep. They go into November with the idea of: "Sleep is for the weak!" But in all reality, without sleep, your creative muscles are going to curl up and die. So get lots of sleep. (You can pull all-nighters on occasion. Just not every day.)

5. Decent meals. Fuel up! And not just on coffee and chocolate. A good meal can keep you refreshed. 

6. Strategy. Go into NaNo with a strategy. Some way to say: "This is how I'm going to win." (And then follow the strategy.) Mine this year is Reverse NaNoWriMo. I'm pretty excited about it!

So there you are! My tips for NaNoWriMo prep! Stick around and you'll get to see my NaNoWriMo survival kit and how to construct your own!

Every Good Word and Being YOU

Recently I had the oppurtunity to write a guest post for one of my favorite blogs, Every Good Word. It's a fabulous blog about writing and the struggles and lessons that go with it. It's run by an amazing girl and there's always good advice or inspiration waiting when I visit.

You should all go check it out! I promise you won't be disappointed! (If you are disappointed you have my full permission to throw a fit. Just do it privately. Maybe in a closet? Yes. That'll do nicely! Have fun!)

Today my post went up and I must say, I'm pretty thrilled! There's just something so exciting about seeing your work somewhere else in the big, wide blogosphere don't you think?

I'm even going to give you a handy dandy link to it! No need to thank me. Unless you are thanking me with chocolate. I will accept chocolate any day.

In one of the comments a very wise girl (named Ashley Tahg if you wondered) said in regards to wanting to be the next Tolkien, "I only have to be the next me."

I think that's simple but incredibly profound, don't you?

So remember, you can't be just like Tolkien or Rowling. Not Hale or Morrill. You can't even be just like Riordan or Flanagan. But you can be just like you. And that's the most important thing you can be. As a person AND a writer.

A Lesson I Need To Learn

Okay so I apparently lied about the posts to come. I am so so sorry I've been inconsistent. I wanted to blog but something always got in the way or the last thing I wanted to think about was books. Which is super weird for me...I'm going to have to come up with a new way of running this blog. Yippee.

But anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I want to talk about something God has been teaching me recently.

Today was really rough for me. Really, all week has been pretty bad. You see, I got a job at a retail store 3ish weeks ago and try as I might, I'm not really liking it.

I thought I would love being in a new atmosphere and having something to do and more importantly-to have my own money! (So many books I could buy!)

But so far, there's only a couple people I have really connected with (I'm the only teen so far) and I haven't quite found the groove of actually knowing what I'm doing.

But the thing that bothers me most is how little time I've had for anything else. My friends have all been getting together and I've been stuck at work. Which sucks. I'm used to being able to go to every get together, every missions trip, and every impromptu party.

It's really hard for me to cope with that. The last three times I've gone in to work, I've had to deal with major disappointments because of scheduling. (And of course being the sensitive, ridiculous teenage girl that I am, I've come home and sobbed about it.)

But what I realized tonight was, maybe God is trying to tell me something. I mean, duh! Wake up girl!

I was reminded of this summer when I noticed how much of an idol friends are in my life. I prayed so hard that my friends would never be taken from me for any reason.Thinking back, maybe that was wrong.

And now I'm starting to realize, maybe this job is God's way of weening me off them. I still need friends of course but I rely on them quite a bit. Maybe too much.

And I think that's what God is saying. "Beth, take a breather. Re-evaluate."

So that's where I am. I don't like it one little bit but that's life. I'm going to have to really focus on God and his strength while I have this job. Cause it's not going to be easy.

Conclusion? I have a long way to go. But realizing how much I've been idolizing things in my life is the first step to fixing the problem. And that's how I'm going to take it. In steps.

Things I Hate

I've had a lot of frustrations in my life recently. It's hard to stay positive through it all but I know I have to. However. I'm going to interrupt the regularly scheduled book/writerly posts with a rant.

1. The common cold. So. Annoying! I can't do anything normal. I hate it.

2. Neck pain. It makes life so so so hard.

3. Having a job. Sure I like money and being more independent but the scheduling is a pain. I'm super frustrated with it and it's only my second week of work. Frustrating.

4. Being confused. When people have no idea what they're talking about but say it anyway and everybody says something else...it's hard to do anything.

I need to move past this stuff but it's gonna be hard. Pray for me blogglings!

What frustrates you guys?

The Return

Blogglings, I'm back!

I am so sad to have been away from you for so long. But to be honest, I haven't had much of a reason NOT to write.

I've been busy, sure. I just got a new job, I'm helping with some more ministry opportunities, I have to feed my book cravings, and I am newly addicted to Supernatural. (I'm in season two I believe. This show is epic! So scary though!)

Even though I've had loads of time to write, I never have. I'm not sure why. Maybe a slight rebelling against work is behind it. Anything I don't have to do, I don't do it. It's a disease. I'm stuck in a rut of not wanting to do anything.

Has this ever happened to you? An ever DEcreasing desire to do the things you once loved? It's happened to me before but I never usually go back to the project. I'm rather surprised to have come back to blogging actually.

Whatever the reason, I'm back! And I hope to be back for good. Coming up here on RaP (ha! My blog acronym is rap! Never noticed that before!) will be some posts on two of my all time favorite book authors: Shannon Hale and Rick Riordan!

There will be musings, lists, character analysis, pictures, and things to learn from these fabulous authors. I do hope you'll stick around!

If you haven't already, consider subscribing so you don't miss any of the amazing posts coming up!

Music

I adore music. Any kind (almost) and any band. The thing with music is it is passion. When you're listening to music, you're getting a glimpse into another person's thoughts, into how they feel. It's absolutely beautiful.

I listen to a lot of music. I go a little crazy if I have to live without music, you know? Usually my playlists have a little of eveything. Adele, Carrie Underwood, Tobymac, Taylor Swift,  For King and Country, Shonlock.

But recently, I've listened to a lot of different songs. Not meaning variety but unique.

Observe.

Wake up/ Kill Your Heroes/ Soul Wars/ Sail by Awolnation. (They may not be for everyone but I love these songs.)

Fire and Fury/ My Religion/ Circus for a Psycho/ Sick of It by Skillet. (Go listen to them! They are awesome!)

So you see, my music tastes have been different recently. I don't know why but I rather like it.

What are your favorite bands and songs?