NaNoWriMo 2014 - Throwback Thursday #53

Hey there! This is a commentary discussing the post I wrote on December 1, 2014. Click here to read the original post!

 Amazing how time flies, isn't it?

In November of 2014, I wrote an entire novel. That's right. An entire novel in one month. Rarely have I felt that cool.

Since then, that rough draft has gone through a lot of edits and changes. I even changed the name of the book from Percussor, the Latin word for assassin, to Ama's Watch.

And yes, Latin is semi-important to my book.

Anyway, here we are, over a year later, looking forward to self-publishing my labor of love. It's been a long, tough ride. But it's also been worth it.

It's not about getting a medal. It's about competing in the race.

Click here to read an excerpt of Ama's Watch! And click here to support my kickstarter!

Higher Life: No NaNoWriMo 2015

Ecclesiastes 3:5 - "A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing ..."

Yep. I'm not doing National Novel Writing Month this year.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to. It just became a sad, unfortunate fact of my life that I don't really have time for it.

The thing is, I could make time to write 2000 words a day. I really could. I just worry about what else I'd feel like I'd have to skip out on. After all, I'm working about 20 hours a week. I'm taking 7 credit hours of in-person classes, along with a healthy amount of homework for both. I'm also taking six credit hours of online courses. Grad school applications are steadily moving up my priority list.

And I still haven't finished working with the novel I wrote for last National Novel Writing Month. I'm trying to complete the novel about jackalopes that I frequently allude to. I haven't touched my humorous mission memoir in several months. I'm writing a high school drama for one of my classes.

In addition, I'm trying to balance a lot of social commitments, and I'm even trying to get back on my dating game.

So, after much thought, I decided my life is full enough as it is. Perhaps it's too full. I rarely get the opportunity to just sit back and think about things. Adding yet another project under my belt might just be too much.

As the year comes to a close in just a few short months, I'm going to make sure I have time to relax, time to ponder, time to remember who I am and what I'm doing with life. That seems most important.

Under the Belt: NaNoWriMo 2014 (with Added Commentary)

Alma 31:34 - "O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success ..."

WHOOOOOO!!!

I may have been an aspiring author for the entirety of my life, but given as how I'm completely distracted by the less important aspects of my life, like school and work and eating and breathing, it's always been difficult to really focus on producing quality--or, in this case, at least quantity--work on a consistent basis. As it is, I can honestly say I've never written this many words on a single project in so short an amount of time.

It was rough at the end, too. Given my determination to not write on Sundays, I woke up Saturday morning with some 4,000 words left to write before the end. I was sick, I was beat, and I personally wondered if I was going to succeed.

I did.

Anything you put your mind to, you, too, can achieve it. It may take time. Shoot, it may even take years. But I know, from personal experience, that whatever grand task you want to complete that's coming to your mind right now, you can achieve it.

I promise you that.

Hey there! I wrote a commentary about this post on January 14, 2016. Click here to read!

Setting Goals: NaNoMo Day 9

D&C 1:12 - "Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh."

NaNoMo or NaNoWriMo or whatever you call it is still underway. I'm taking the challenge to write a novel in a month seriously, and as you can see by the graph the official website kindly made for me, I'm doing an all right job staying on par.

Yesterday, though, was a bit of a setback, at least in my mind. I ended up getting pretty caught up in a lot of other things, including an unexpected nap, a dinner out, a very long D&D session, and even work. As it was, it was the first day I failed to reach my daily goal of 2000 words a day.

Oh, sure, I've consistently outpaced myself each and every day, giving myself a nice little buffer to work with (since I don't write on Sundays, that means I've only actually worked on the novel seven days this month, meaning my personal par should be about 14,000 right now), but if I slip every day, if I fail to make each step ... well, let's consider the below analogy.

In achieving a goal, you must consider it like a flight of stairs. Yes, you may want to reach the top, but if you try to leap up there in a single bound, you will probably crack your shins on a stair and fall all the way back down. Of course, no one except for Superman tries to ascend the stairs that way. Rather, we pick up one foot, put it down, pick up the next, put it slightly higher up, slowly ascending, watching each step, until you finally make it to the top. It is the careful consideration and execution of each step that enables us to reach our goal.

Now, a lot of people tell me they're impressed with the dedication I'm demonstrating in sticking to it. One person told me, "I meet so many people who want to be novelists, and they never do anything about it." I firmly believe most people fail to reach their goals because they see the top of the stairs for the top of the stairs alone. They don't plan each step; they just try to tackle everything at once.

In the case of my novel, I sat down and did the math. I calculated the bare minimum of how much I would need to write each day to succeed. I keep myself to that schedule, and I am finding success. Time will tell if I possess the determination and drive to actually succeed (I just finalized my schedule for the upcoming week, and HOLY COW am I busy with a lot of distractions). 

I can promise all of you that, if there is something you want to achieve, something you have on a bucket list, something you know you can do but haven't started yet, today is the day! Make the plans! Promise yourself you'll follow the steps you set for yourself, and push out. There is nothing more fulfilling in life than achieving those goals you set, and as you practice in simple things like novel-writing, you will only become better prepared for the steps you will take toward the Celestial Kingdom.

Good, Better, and Best: NaNoMo Day 1

Mosiah 4:20 - "And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy."

National Novel Writing Month kicked off yesterday, and I did a really good job on sheer content, though I'm always faced with a little frustration when I try to write humor. I just have a hard time laughing at my own jokes, I guess. Either way, though my goal was 2000 words for the day, I struck over 3000 by the end. It was great!

Seeing as how I want to make creative writing a large part of my career, I try to avoid writing on the Sabbath, both as a way to sanctify the work before I get it published and to prepare myself for when I'm actually bringing in moolah. Of course, come 11:59 last night, I was frantically slamming my keyboard into oblivion, trying to keep ahead of the time so I could reach the part of my novel that I'd outlined in my mind as I wrote the opening scene.

Well, I didn't quite reach where I wanted to, so I may lose my best vision for the scene as today goes on and the memory gets buried under others. It's not a total loss, but nonetheless a little disappointing. However, in looking at my activities for the day, I recognized I probably had the time; I'd just managed poorly.

I was productive even beyond the novel yesterday, too, of course. I played D&D with the crew, I finished the weekend's worth of homework in just about all five of my classes, I went to work, I even connected with some good friends. However, I also sat around for a couple of hours watching YouTube videos and TV. Honestly, I feel like I deserved that little indulgence, but had I focused on where I wanted to reach in my novel first, then I would have accomplished the greater thing, and wouldn't feel as frustrated with myself.

And so it goes. It's the principle so lovingly declared in the title of this post, and since I don't believe in unironic title drops, I won't drop this one. However, yesterday was a good reminder for me that if I want to accomplish the best of things, then I need to sometimes forego the lesser things, even if it is only shortly. And when the very best of the best is reaching the Celestial Kingdom, well, even the mundane is thrown into a new perspective. CK or bust!

What is your very best? Be sure to comment below!

Sacrifice: NaNoMo Looms

Alma 34:10 - "For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice."

Tomorrow marks the advent of November and the beginning and hiatus of several other things.

Ever since I've heard about it, I've wanted to participate in National Novel Writing Month, a challenge designed to encourage would-be writers to get out there and write 50,000 words in a single month. The challenge spans the month of November, and this year, I'm determined to rise up.

As it is, I'm planning on putting two of my three current personal writing projects on hold. If you're worried, don't be! This blog was not chosen to be temporarily axed. So, strap in and enjoy the continuing updates throughout the next month as I probably describe in all-too-vivid detail about the frustrations involved in undertaking such a massive endeavor and likely compare my various experiences to tithing or something. I DON'T KNOW.

Anyway, I closed the first half of Jackalope a few days ago and sent it off to my test readers. I plan on wrapping up the last six pages of my goal in my journal today. I think giving both a break will prove beneficial in the long run, as I will be able to come back with a fresh perspective and more readily be able to see the mistakes I've been making.

From left to right: The working title page for the fourth volume of my journal, the last three paragraphs of what I've written in my novel, and my current set of notes for my NaNoMo entry.

As it was, though, leaving those projects kind of hurt. I've put so much time and effort into them, giving of my mind and soul to take these concepts and ideas and slap 'em on paper for the world to, hopefully, eventually see. It was similar to (yet still fell somewhat short of) saying good-bye to your family before heading off for a semester at college,

In the same way, though, there comes a time in everyone's life wherein we have to make a sacrifice for a greater cause. I think of my mission and the two years I gave serving the Lord and His people. I've seen parents give up dreams for more realistic goals, I've seen good people sacrifice fame or wealth for moral high grounds, I know Christ gave up so much to take upon himself everything no one else wanted.

So, no. I'm not comparing my 'putting my one novel on hold so I can work on my other novel' to the Savior's sacrifice. However, even an act that simple got me thinking about it. No matter what we lose in this life, no matter what we gain, the Lord has already made it up for us. So, in the end, if it brings us closer to Him, I know it's worth the sacrifice.