Why I'm a Winner Without Winning

Okay, so, it's the last day of NaNo, and I'm about 9k away from winning, but it doesn't seem like I'll be able to win NaNo this year.

And, to be honest, I'm okay with that.

No, really, I am.

Even though I didn't "win" NaNo in the traditional sense, I still feel like I've accomplished so much. I mean, I wrote 40k in a month. That's about half a novel. That's a big freaking deal.

So, I'll be sitting here, celebrating my ass off, congratulating myself on getting so much done.

If you haven't won NaNo this year, don't beat yourself up over it. You still accomplished something, even if it's just a few words, because those are words you didn't have at the beginning of November.

So, what are my plans for post-NaNo?

Well, on Sunday, I'm going away to Philip Island to laze away on the beach for a week, where I'll read all of the books, and have all of the fun, and drink all of the booze (not an exaggeration). Afterwards, I plan on continuing the unfinished NaNo novel, and editing my dearest FG so that I can send it to CPs in the near future.

So just remember, even if you didn't win officially, you're still a winner. :)

NaNo Weeks 2 & 3

Oh my gosh, I am so bad at this blogging thing. This is just a quick post to show that I'm still alive, and still writing.

And, apparently, at the whole NaNo-ing thing.

After the first week went swimmingly well, I seemed to have developed a nasty case of procrastinationitis, because I just got basically nothing done, so it's not even worth showing my stats.

I got so far behind, though, thanks to my incredible headstart at the beginning of the month, it wasn't as catastrophic as it was last year (and let's not even go there). I've slowly began to catch up. Right now, I'm at 39k and I need to be at 40k, so it's not too bad. Once I finish this post, I'll get back to writing.

Basically me right now.

I think my biggest problem is that once I get to about 30k, I hit a wall. This happens just about every time I write.
I don't plan my novels out much, you see. I basically just know the very basic storyline, and I have a brief understanding of how it ends, but I don't know what happens in the middle. And so, I falter.

I should probably start outlining my novels more, but when I outline too much, I get stuck as well--I feel like there's no freedom while I'm writing.

Basically, I'm fucked. I'm screwed if I outline, and I'm screwed if I don't. I'll try to find a nice medium, because, seriously, this is just no way to write.

Anyone else have the same issues as me? Any tips on how to fight it?

NaNoWriMo Week One

Well, the first week (or, half week) of NaNo has come and gone. It was quite an experience, and it sounds cheesy, but it feels like I've learnt something. I always learn something about myself each time I sit down to write, and it's a nice sort of feeling.

I've had a very productive week. I was worried that I'd be barely able to make the daily word goals, but I far surpassed my expectations, and it leaves me brimming with pride. I can't help but gush about how well I'm doing on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

Here are the stats:

01/11 Thursday: 5,278
02/11 Friday: 3,062
03/11 Saturday: 4,128
04/11 Sunday: 1,796


Total for this week: 14,264
Total word count: 14,264
Where I should be: 6,666
Words ahead: 7,598

Total word count:


On Thursday, I went to a write-in hosted by one of my uni-friends, and it was a great experience. I got to write, talk about writing, and eat cupcakes, brownies, and pizza. Word-warring in real life was really motivating. It feels far more real than word-warring online.

I'm really loving my story. I love the characters, I love the plot, and I love the worlds (Woooh! Alternate dimensions!). I'm not much of a plotter, so there was a point where I was worried that I would run out of steam and not know what to write next (to be fair, though, I have that feeling with every story I write), but it got sorted out in the end. I pretty much only plan a few chapters ahead, and I have a vague idea of how I know the story will end, so that I can make the journey without feeling forced to do something I end up feeling isn't right for the story. With plotting, I feel like I have no freedom to change the direction of the story as I go. I don't like being limited like that.

One thing that's really bugged me about NaNo so far is finding myself suddenly running out of time to do everything I want. I haven't been reading much because I've been too busy writing, so I've been running low on creative juices. As I said above, I've been learning a lot through writing, and I've learnt to organise my time more efficiently. I have to make time to write, sure, but I also need to fit in reading, excercise, playing with the puppy, socialising, playing Pokemon or The Sims 3, and other shenanigans. It's been tough, but I've managed it.

And because I hadn't been reading much, I'd felt a bit shitty and worn out. I just had no motivation to write, because there just was anything to write. After spending the day sitting out in the sun, reading and relaxing, I managed to fix that, and managed to plod along, writing the minimum daily word goal, which is nice, considering I'd only planned to write about 500 words to bump my word count up to 13k. But now it's at 14k, how wonderful!

So, how are you faring with NaNo? Feeling proud of your wordcount, or feeling shitty? Learnt anything new about yourself through writing? Feel free to comment!

Books Read in October

Ah, it's that time of the month again.

No, not that time of the month. I mean the time where I post about all the books I've read.

I didn't manage to read too many books this month. I was busy with assignments during the first two weeks on October, and then I was fretting about NaNo.

While I didn't read as many books as I'd have liked to, I still managed to hit a few jackpots, which balances things out, I guess.

As always, * indicates a fave, and ~ indicates a graphic novel or manga.

1. Night Beach - Kirsty Eagar *
2. Friday Brown - Vikki Wakefield
3.  A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
4. Bayou Moon (The Edge, #2) - Ilona Andrews
5. Holier than Thou - Laura Buzo
6. Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3) - E.L. James
7. Fall for Anything - Courtney Summers
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass (Zelda, #10) - Akira Himekawa ~
9. Tiger's Destiny (The Tiger Saga, #4) - Colleen Houck
10. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) - Stephen King
11. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami
12. Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy, #1) - Wendy Higgins
13. Seraphina (Seraphina, #1) - Rachel Hartman *
14. Death at Victoria Dock (Phryne Fisher, #4) -Kerry Greenwood
15. The Audition (Seraphina, #0.5) - Rachel Hartman
16. Zombies vs. Unicorns -edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier

Of the selection, two really stood out: Night Beach and Seraphina. If you remember in my last monthly book recap, I posted a picture of Night Beach as a currently reading picture. It's a book that I can't help but love. It is subtly scary, has gorgeous prose, and well-thought out imagery and metaphors. And I am all about themes, imagery, and metaphors. I loved it so much I even wrote a review of it for a Non-Fiction assignment.

Seraphina caters to the love of a high-fantasy world with dragons that my younger self used to harbour.   Hartman writes with such fluidity that it's hard not to be enchanted. Coupled with Seraphina's strangeness and the garden inside her head (oh, the garden! Definitely my favourite part of the book), it created a world that I never wanted to leave. I'm greatly anticipating the next book. I don't think I can handle waiting till next year.

Other notable books include both of the Murakami books I'd read this month, A Wild Sheep Chase, and What I Talk ABout When I Talk About Running. Sheep was just amazing. I wasn't quite expecting such a mind-fuck of a book. It felt so surreal, much like a dream, which I've heard is Murakami's usual style, so that makes me super excited to read more of his stuff. Running is a memoir about his life as a marathon runner, though he draws heavily on his writing career, as well. He uses running as an analogy to writing, giving lots of great tips that apply to both. It really perked me up for NaNo.

On Having Writer Friends

It was only in the last few years that I met people who were just like me: people who were just as obsessed with words as I am. I met three of my best friends over the internet. Angela and Krystle via LiveJournal (thanks to our love for Throne of Glass, or Queen of Glass, as it was called when it was still on FictionPress), and Nafiza through book blogging. One thing we all share in common is our love for reading, and our love for writing. In fact, Krystle and Nafiza are both doing NaNo this year.

Before I started uni, my writer friends were only the people I met on the internet. I had never ever ever come across a person in real life who'd shared the same passion for words. And, to be honest, it felt kind of lonely. It felt like I was the only person in the whole of Australia who liked writing.

Now that I've finished my first year of uni, where I study Creative Writing, I've met so many wonderful, like-minded people. I already have two best friends, and many other people that I would openly call my friends. I know, it's starting to sound really sappy right about now, but just bear with me.

So, a few of us RMIT kids are doing NaNo this year. Last Monday, we gathered at a bar and talked about our ideas, and man, it was awesome. It really got me thinking about my story, and it was really inspiring to sit with a whole bunch of people who share the same love for writing.
On Thursday, which will be the 1st of November, the first day of NaNo, we'll be having a write-in, and I'm super excited. I'm expecting myself to write a lot, since I'm really competitive, and I can't stand the thought of someone writing more than me. And the best part is, that if I'm struggling, they'll be able to cheer me on, and help me out. Ditto with my internet writer friends.

The moral of this post, I guess, is to surround yourself with people who write. Wether it be on the internet, or in real life. People who share your passions are far more likely to understand why you're crying in the middle of the night because you just killed off your favourite character. Non-writer people, on the other hand, will just think you're just a bit crazy.

Totally Unprepared for NaNo

So, literally 2 minutes ago, I finished my last essay for uni. It was a comparative essay concerning the Australian landscapes of two of the set novels, if anyone cares.

This means that I finally have time to relax and read books and play Pokemon Black and Black 2, and, of course, plan for NaNo.

Honestly, I have no idea what I'm going to write for NaNo. Usually by now, I'd have a rough idea of what I want to write, but this year, I have absolutely nothing. But that's okay, I guess. I do have 10 days until it starts. That's plenty of time, right?

Anywho, I'll be updating the blog more frequently now that I'm on holidays, and during November, I'll be updating at least once a week with stats (if you followed my old blog, you'd know how much I love word metrics).

If you want to be my buddy on the NaNo website, my username is ChibiJeshka. I love meeting new people, especially if they love writing as much as I do. :)

Books Read in September

Gosh, this has been the crappiest month ever. I've been constantly sick, with on-again, off-again flus, and then I found out that it was because I have sinusitis.
Sinusitis totally doesn't sound like a real sickness. Every time I catch myself saying it, I keep thinking, you just made that word up, didn't you? But I promise I didn't make it up. My doctor must have made it up, or something.
But yeah, that's what my life has been for the past month. I've missed a month's worth of classes, but that's okay, because most of my classes don't actually seem to need me to be present, so I'm a bit lucky. I've also gotten a bit behind on my reading and editing, because sinusitis apparently means that I need to have constant migraines because of the pressure of constantly blocked sinuses. Fuck you, sinuses!
I've been on antibiotics for the last 9 days, and they end tomorrow, but I don't feel much better. Bleh. I hate being sick.

Anywhos, enough of my whining, here are the books I managed to read this month:
As always, * indicates a favourite, and ~ indicates a graphic novel or manga or picture book.

1. Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades of Grey, #2) - E.L. James
2. The Little Storm Dancer (The Lotus War, #1.5) - Jay Kristoff ~
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte *
4.  Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation  Elissa Stein & Susan Kim
5. Every Other Day - Jennifer Lynne Barnes
6. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell *
7. The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, #0.4) - Sarah J. Maas
8. City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5) - Cassandra Clare
9. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame Smith
10. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) - Stephen King
11. Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1) - Michael Crichton
12. Throne of the Crescent Moon (The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, #1) - Saladin Ahmed
13. Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1) - Rachel Caine

Image taken on my Instagram

14. On the Edge (The Edge, #1) - Ilona Andrews
15. Adorkable - Sarra Manning
16. The Avengers vol 1. - Brian Michael Bendis & John Romita Jr. ~

So yeah, not much of an exciting list this month. I finish uni halfway through October, so maybe then I'll have more time to read. If my sinusitis goes away, that is.
Of the books I read this month, only two really stood out: Jane Eyre and Cloud Atlas. 

Jane Eyre was read for my literature class for uni, and I loved every moment of it. The writing is just phenomenal, even though sometimes Bronte does tend to ramble on about the most inane detail. I can't wait to write my essay on it concerning gender and societal roles. I'm so excited. *is such a nerd*

Cloud Atlas also had phenomenal writing, but what made this book stand out was the sorta gimmicky way it combined six separate strands to make one overarching story. And each of the six stories, despite focusing on completely different topics, characters, and even genres, was fantastic in its own way. Several weeks later, and I'm still thinking about it. This book definitely needs a reread at some point in the future. Maybe before I watch the film.

Hopefully next month will bring a more fruitful list. I've been going insane from not reading enough. I'm not used to reading at the speed of a normal person. I don't like it. :c

Currently Reading.
Image taken on my Instagram