A Not So Triumphant #NaNoWriMo

This is quite difficult to admit, but I am not going to win the #NaNoWriMo challenge this year. I didn't honestly believe I would get very far with the project, since I have a 3 month-old baby and a 3 year-old toddler to contend with. But somewhere in the back of my mind was the little voice  that said 'we can do this!' Well, actually, I am not superwoman. There, I said it! And I'm OK with that.

Yes, we still have a few days left of our precious National Novel Writing Month. But I have no chance of writing upwards of 30,000 words in that time. Not unless I were to completely abandon my family and not sleep for a week while I furiously bashed the keys of my computer. No, that would just end up in a scenario reminiscent of The Shining, and we really don't want that to happen. Instead I will take pride in what I have achieved and take it from there.

You see, for me #NaNoWriMo is about motivation. Without the contest I would still be talking about writing my fourth Redcliffe novel, but I wouldn't have actually written any of it. I am too busy being distracted by my family, and the upcoming Christmas festivities, and ooh, was that something shiny over there... Ha ha! No, I used #NaNoWriMo as a method to get me started and to call out my Muse from wherever she has been hiding these past six months. She seemed to disappear when I was pregnant, and now I have an abandoned manuscript for a separate novel that will be revisited in 2014.

So ultimately I feel that my #NaNoWriMo was a success, and will be a success, because I got started. Now my story is in progress, my Muse knows that she is wanted again, and the ideas are beginning to flow. The story must be written, and it will be written. I also intend to have the first draft finished by 1st January 2014, with the intention to use the early months of next year as a time for editing and submitting three manuscripts for publication. I have a plan. Thank you #NaNoWriMo!

A Slow Start to #NaNoWriMo 2013

Wow, has it been a year already? What have I been doing? Oh yes, publishing two novels, birthing one baby, mothering a young family and trying to stay sane in this crazy world! Well, here we are once again at NaNoWriMo, and I am back in the writing groove. I gave up on my previous manuscript while I was still pregnant because my Muse deserted me. I am slowly coaxing her back with promises of chocolate and wine, but she is hard to please. My children have not helped the cause today. We have just returned from a short holiday in the beautiful Scottish Borders. My toddler has been tired and grumpy all day, and my baby is breastfeeding every two hours and demanding cuddles inbetween. I finally resorted to typing one-handed just so I could actually get started with NaNoWriMo! Anyway, we are here, we have started, and it's all good. Here is my synopsis so far, for Redcliffe Book 4 (as yet untitled):

Let me consult my notes... this will be book 4 in the Redcliffe series, picking up where we left off in Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel)...Jessica comes to terms with her new status as vampire slayer and her metaphysical connection to Danny and his werewolf pack. Jack and his brother struggle to accept that she never knew she was a witch. Cue power struggles between the tiger and wolf, and damaged human relationships to repair.

Why do I Write?

I am currently experiencing a lot of changes in my life, and yet outwardly everything appears very normal and unspectacular. My big change is that of becoming a parent and subsequently a 'responsible' adult. Several years ago my then fiance (now husband) and I bought our first house together. We got a dog. We acquired several baby turtles (and now have 2 surviving). Then we got pregnant. Well, I did. The husband did his bit, but we won't go into detail...

Anyway, I now have one daughter aged 2 years and 10 months, and one newborn daughter aged 9 weeks. I tried to keep up with my writing schedule all through my second pregnancy, although since the birth of my first daughter I haven't really kept a writing schedule. It is more a case of write what I can when I find time and energy. It didn't help when my Muse packed up and left town. She just disappeared about six months into my pregnancy. I was devastated!

I now have an abandoned manuscript that will be reassessed at some point in the future. I recently released my fourth novel, The Darkness of Love, which I wrote while my first daughter was a young baby. I plan to participate in NaNoWriMo 2013 as a method to reinvigorate my novel writing enthusiasm. So far my Muse has begun to make small noises and offer tantalizing snippets of dialogue, the occasional new idea, and some very vague plot fillers for book 4 in my Redcliffe series. I am hoping that my children will miraculously settle down during November and allow me to indulge my passion.

Which brings me to my point. Why do I write? Why do any of us write? The simple answer is because we have to. The urge is so strong, our characters are so forceful, and the stories simply have to be written or we would go insane. Recently I have lost some of that insanity, although I gained a whole new version as a mother and wife. I now eagerly await the return of my 'writer eccentricity' so that I can reconnect with myself in the best way possible. We all have our vices. Mine are reading, writing and chocolate.

#amwriting New Book Coming Soon! #ReadMe

I finally have an official release date for my next novel, how exciting! My Victorian vampire story The Darkness of Love is scheduled for release on 15th October, the perfect time for a Halloween themed book tour. It was originally planned for release in September, but since I gave birth on 1st August we can be forgiven for the very slight delay. I am now eagerly awaiting the 'birth' of my literary child...

In terms of writer news, my focus will now be on promoting and marketing the new book, as well as continuing to promote my Redcliffe novels series. I will be contacting people to arrange blog tours, competitions, reviews etc in the coming weeks and months as we work on catching the Halloween and Christmas shoppers. It will be interesting to see what promotional activity I receive from my new publisher, since I am currently doing everything by myself after my experiment in partnership publishing. Watch this space and I will report back on the service.

We also have the fabulous and fraught adventure that is NaNoWriMo 2013 coming up, and the time is ticking away a little too quickly for my liking. I cannot believe that summer is almost over already! I plan to complete NaNoWriMo again this year, since it is something of a personal goal and a great way to motivate me to write a new book. I am still working on the manuscript for my vampire hunter novel, but that will continue to tick along slowly until I get my mojo back for it. I have decided that for NaNoWriMo I will begin writing the fourth Redcliffe novel, which will be both exciting and surprising, since I don't really know what will happen next.

Busy times as always my friends! Happy writing, happy reading, and welcome to Autumn (or Fall if you prefer).