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Some small-ish updates. Medium sized, really.

Some small-ish updates. Medium sized, really.

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Bit of an update to the directory today. I added a new layout, which I think looks nicer. Hopefully you all agree. I also added quite a few new links, although quite a few are still broken for complicated Wayback Machine reasons that I hope will be resolved soon. So I do apologize if you click on any of those. Still, we’re up to 4283 links, if you count the ones that don’t quite work at the moment. Not too shabby.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that it’s almost exactly four days until Wintry Remix sign ups start. NaNoWriMo starts just a bit over eight days after that, so it’s shaping up to be a pretty busy rest of the year. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

End of NaNo, beginning of new spotlights!

End of NaNo, beginning of new spotlights!

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I’m not good at coming up with creative titles for these blogs. Oh well.

So, now that November is over, we can talk a deep breath and step back from the keyboards. Because NaNoWriMo is officially over. How did you guys do? I finished up on Sunday, three days early. Not too shabby. I still have around a chapter left to write to complete the story, but my 50k is done. The only problem with NaNo is that by the end of the month, I’m totally exhausted and I hate my story. I hope that I can soon get back to editing it and post it not only under lock and key at LiveJournal, but publicly.

Now that that’s over, it’s time for a new batch of monthly spotlights. Here’s what I’ve got on tap for you this time.

  • Author: Amanda W.
  • Story: Chemical Party by Renee P.
  • Website: A Very Hanson Christmas

It looks like we’re going to have a very good holiday season in the hanfic world!

Half-way there!

Half-way there!

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Well, I said I would post often to check in with everyone else doing NaNoWriMo, but I’ve gotten so wrapped up in the writing that my plan of checking in sort of fell by the wayside. Oops.

So, the month is halfway over and so is my novel. It’s nice when it works out that way. I know some people who are really struggling, either because of plot problems or real life issues, like I did last year.

The key to success for me is just to keep writing no matter what. In 2009, I took the “write now, edit later” attitude and came out with a fairly complete but incredibly messy draft. This year, I’m trying to post a little bit as I go along, which is helped by the fact that I wrote the first five (but then trashed one, so really four) chapters last year. This has helped to keep me motivated, because I know that even when I don’t enjoy the story, other people do. But it definitely puts the pressure on, which can be both good and bad.

So, how is everyone else doing? I must say, I’m super excited about all of the good stories coming my way thanks to this month of crazy wordcounts.

NaNaWrimo, anyone?

NaNaWrimo, anyone?

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So, it’s almost November. That means new monthly spotlights. It also means the entire writing world online is about to be consumed by NaNoWrimo.

For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Basically, it’s to challenge yourself to writing a 50k word novel in 30 days. Sounds hard, right? But thousands and thousands of people do it every year, with most coming back year after year to try again.

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It’s November!

It’s November!

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…aka the month when fic writers everywhere go even more insane than usual! That’s right, it’s time for NaNoWriMo and once again, I’m participating, along with many other hanfic writers.

That means that other updates to the site will be basically nonexistent, although I did get the new spotlights up late last night and added a few sites to the directory today (bringing it up to a total of 1112). Everything else, if there is anything else to add, will have to wait until I have time in December.

NaNo was a brand new experience last year that really brought me a lot closer to the fandom. I was still sort of a new kid on the block then, or, more accurately, an old kid returning to the block. Participating in NaNo and the word sprints during that month helped me to make friends and really feel like part of the crowd.

It’s been a year now and I’m arguably even busier now than I was then — and that’s saying a lot, since I’m effectively unemployed now and no longer in college. But I’m still going to try. I would encourage anyone who writes to try it at least once. It teaches you a lot about writing; the focus is all on quantity, not quality, and it forces you to get outside of your comfort zone. It is definitely tough, but I can assure you that at the end of it, you’ll be a different — and better! — author.

If you aren’t doing NaNo already, it’s time to get planning for next year! You’ll be a whole twelve months ahead of the idiots like me who threw out their plans on October 31 and started from scratch.

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