I decided not to update daily since really my updates consisted of "Yay, I wrote", but since I haven't NOT written, that's just tedious. :)
So, days 5 - 8 --- yep, kept writing. When I started this book (Book 3 of my my Bijou Basin series) I only knew 2 events that would happen and nothing else. Diehard pantser here. So I've been surprised by a lot of the book as it plays out. Different side characters coming into view in this one, some emotional stuff. It's been all good.
And of course, it's been naughty. Oh so naughty. It is an erotic romance after all. FMC2 got to fulfill one of her fantasies and it was wonderful for her. :D
On Day 8 I surpassed 30,000 words. I joked with Hubby about wanting it pass 50k by Nov 12th so I can dive into Disney+. Don't know if I'll make it, but it'll be close.
Plus, I'm eager to finish my edits of Book 1 and let it fly into the world.
But, you know what?! I need some more interaction here. I know that blogs aren't as popular as the quick social media, but with my long-windedness, I prefer it. Still, I need to know if you all are enjoying these posts. So, if you've read this far -
If I get FIVE comments below, I'll post an excerpt from Book 1 here on the blog, with a shorter part on Twitter.
But I can get more than that, right?
If I get TEN comments below, I'll post an excerpt from Book 2 here on the blog, with a shorter part on Twitter.
And finally, though I don't think it will happen - prove me wrong?
If I get FIFTEEN comments below, I'll post an excerpt from Book 3 (my NaNo WiP) here on the blog, with a shorter part on Twitter.
**NOTE**: I have a few trickster fans... you know who you are, so Comments must be from 5, 10 or 15 different people. No cheating. I have my eye on you Mirren Cates.
Any of you want to see some excerpts? Let me know below if you do. And, to be good to you, if you can't sign in to leave a message, you can leave a comment on the Twitter post promoting this. Feel free to let me know if you'd like a tame or NSFW excerpt too.
For NaNoWriMo the goal is to write 50000 words in the month of November.
Are you participating? How are you doing?
NaNoWriMo Progress
Total for NaNo: 30,455 / 50,000 words
- Day 1: 6,133 words written
- Day 2: 3,930 words written
- Day 3: 1,632 words written
- Day 4: 4,165 words written
- Day 5: 2,985 words written
- Day 6: 7,000 words written
- Day 7: 1,525 words written
- Day 8: 3,085 words written
Book 3 of my Bijou Basin series is an Erotic Romance featuring the following themes: Older MCs (45, 44, 40), F/F sex, F/M sex, FFM threesomes, BDSM, Polyamory and LGBTQ+ MCs as well as a town that is over 85% LGBTQ.
It was a crazy few days, first with two days of headaches for me, then with router issues driving us nuts. My Hubby is going to go exchange it tomorrow, so hopefully no more issues.
Sundays I reserve for days off because of FOOTBALL (Go Steelers!) but with the internet out, I wasn't able to catch up with messages and emails like I'd planned during the games, so I ended up writing some. Both Days 3 & 4 were enjoyable days of writing as I found my groove in the story. I'm a pantser, so I only knew two events that were happening in the book, but nothing about how they would work or anything. The first, was the first thing I wrote, though it will be later in the book. The second thing will be earlier on, the first big thing of the book, and I've been writing it Days 2-4.
Day 5 is starting out with some Overwatch (anyone else play) to get a last few Halloween boxes, then back to writing in a little while.
For NaNoWriMo the goal is to write 50000 words in the month of November.
Are you participating? How are you doing?
NaNoWriMo Progress
Total for NaNo: 15,860 / 50,000 words
- Day 1: 6,133 words written
- Day 2: 3,930 words written
- Day 3: 1,632 words written
- Day 4: 4,165 words written
Book 3 of my Bijou Basin series is an Erotic Romance featuring the following themes: Older MCs (45, 44, 40), F/F sex, F/M sex, FFM threesomes, BDSM, Polyamory and LGBTQ+ MCs as well as a town that is over 85% LGBTQ.
Day 2 of NaNo started off with a monster headache for me. :( It woke me up early and tylenol and eating didn't abate it. It kind of sucked. So I went back to bed, though I didn't really sleep much, maybe dozed about 20 minutes during the 2 hours I laid there. The headache still lingered. Such a pain!
Finally it got a bit less and I was able to write a little. Not as much as Day 1, but a huge amount over nothing, which is what I thought it'd be with how the day started. Internet issues kept me from posting this last night. Our router sucks and I can't wait to get a new one. For now, I'm plugged directly into the modem.
For NaNoWriMo the goal is to write 50000 words in the month of November.
Are you participating? How are you doing?
NaNoWriMo Progress
Total for NaNo: 10,063 / 50,000 words
- Day 1: 6,133 words written
- Day 2: 3,930 words written
Book 3 of my Bijou Basin series is an Erotic Romance featuring the following themes: Older MCs (45, 44, 40), F/F sex, F/M sex, FFM threesomes, BDSM, Polyamory and LGBTQ+ MCs as well as a town that is over 85% LGBTQ.
Day 1 of NaNoWriMo is in the wraps. I had two solid sessions of writing today. I don't write linear and for the first time (this is book 3) I have no idea how this book will start. With the first book, it all started with a writing prompt, and went from there. The second book began with a party my MCs were throwing. And now, for the third? Crickets. It'll come to me sometime! :) In the meantime, I got a full chapter of writing in plus most of another.
For NaNoWriMo the goal is to write 50000 words in the month of November.
Are you participating? How are you doing?
NaNoWriMo Progress
Total for NaNo: 6,133 / 50,000 words
- Day 1: 6,133 words written
Book 3 of my Bijou Basin series is an Erotic Romance featuring the following themes: Older MCs (45, 44, 40), F/F sex, F/M sex, FFM threesomes, BDSM, Polyamory and LGBTQ+ MCs as well as a town that is over 85% LGBTQ.
As many of you know, NaNoWriMo approaches! I'm joining in!
Though I've known of NaNo for years, I'd never participated, because I was never writing anything. I'd always said that I thought I would enjoy writing (and I was right) but that I didn't have the imagination to do so (and I was sorta right, sorta wrong).
All that changed in March when a penpal (yes, I still write penpals and have most of my life - snail mail and all) sent me a writing prompt that got me on this crazy journey. The prompt --- You are a photographer who specializes in nudes. One day, a beautiful woman walks into your studio --- sparked something in me. Initially I was suppose to write a quick page (300 words) or so short story for her. I ended up writing over 5400 words just for the initial prompt. From there, an author friend encouraged me to write more, and I expanded that 5k into over 15k and the first 5 chapters of what I called "my little story" because that was all it was for a long while.
Then, I learned about Camp in April, and on a whim, decided to do it. I wrote over 60k words across 3 different works. And still, it was just "my little story".
Today, that "little story" is just under 85k and would be done, except I took some advice and re-wrote my first 4 chapters (from the original prompt) to stretch it out a bit more and have better flow.
Since then, I wrote Book 2 (I didn't mention that little story became the first of a series, did I? Well, it did) in July Camp, writing just over 50k that time for the one WiP. It's now 61k and about 80% complete.
If you haven't guessed, for NaNoWriMo I'll be writing Book 3.
I am a Pantser. No plots or plans for me - neither of the first two were planned/plotted. I tried with Book 1 - at the suggestion of my author friend. I did a 35 word "road map". That was all I could manage, and some didn't get used while some got pushed to Book 2. Planning just isn't for me. So with Book 3 I know 2 things that will happen and that's it. I also don't write Linear, so I know what I'm writing first, when I get up Nov 1st. I don't even know where it will be in the book yet, we'll have to see. :)
I can't wait for NaNo, I've really been looking forward to it. For me, the ideas are still the hardest part of the process. I'm not not most writers out there I see that have a ton of ideas and can't nail one down. Ideas are few and far between for me, but once they come to me, the writing part is the easy part. I completed both Camps in under 20 days of writing (15 days for April, 17 days for July) so I'm not worried about the writing at all. Looking forward to it!!
How do you track your word count? I love PaceMaker. My daily goal will be 2,223 words, as I took every full day of FOOTBALL off (yes, I'm a woman and I love my football) because I know I won't write then, that includes a certain holiday that I DESPISE (don't get me started) but will take off because of Football!! I still love my Steelers, though it's been a rough rough year. Anyways - my tentative writing schedule - subject to many changes! :)
My series is Erotic Romance and features the following themes:
- Older MCs (45, 44, 40)
- Graphic Sex
- Foul Language
- Polyamory (ethical)
- FF sex
- MF sex
- FMF sex
- BDSM (SSC practiced)
The books also feature people who talk to each other (the horror - I know) and work out their problems, rather than running away, not talking and oh the angst, because they couldn't open their mouths. Yes, that's a pet peeve of mine, and I know it's in 99% of the books out there, but it is not and will never be in my books. My MCs are mature adults who work through their issues, not create more drama.
Book 1 will need new Beta Readers when it's finished (again), since the beginning changed. I'll want to make sure all the changes (for the new beginning) reflect through all the book. If you are interested in Beta Reading for me, click on my email above to message me. Disclaimer - the book is 1st person present. I know that will put some people off - so just putting it out there. I've heard nothing but good things about it, and it has a unique voice (if I do say so myself). So if you could look past that, I'd appreciate it!
Anyways, I've rambled enough (that's me). If you made it this far - thanks! I'll be updating my blog daily with my NaNo progress as the month goes on.
I'd love to hear from anyone else doing NaNoWriMo, now or if you have previously. Thank you for any interest you take in my accountability here.
It was a quiet few months for me, here at the blog. My best of intentions to post at least weekly crashed and burned in September. This was mainly due to wanting to finish Book 2 of my series, prior to NaNoWriMo. Book 2 is around 80-85% done, perhaps more, just needs a few things to tie it together and the first draft will be complete.
So, how did it go?
Well, let me tell you this. I am NOT a Planner. Nope. Can't do it. If I plan - then it falls flat on its face. I'm like this in all things - I can't plan a book to read more than a day or two in advance. I can't plan a meal more than a day in advance - usually right before we eat unless it's rent week and we're low on food. I can't plan what I'll write - I completely pants both Book 1 and Book 2 of my series.
So, what does this tell you?
Correct - I did not finish Book 2 as I planned. :) Instead, I ended up re-writing the first 4 Chapters of Book 1 into a brand new beginning. Original Chapters 1 - 3 are now new Chapters 1-6. I've been editing said chapters and need to go through the book and edit some others to reflect the new beginning. I've edited the first 6 chapters so far - so the new and revamped ones - next are the changes throughout the book - hopefully there aren't too many.
So, how does the State of the Blog come into all that?
I dunno! What are you asking me for? Oh, my blog? Oh yeah. :) The point is that I plan to get back into things - hopefully building up a social media presence. Though I post on Twitter, and some of you came here through it - I actually hate Twitter - the length of this blog post should tell you why. My rambles will be here.
I plan to blog my NaNoWriMo process daily here, as well as post other tidbits about me, my books, writing or reading in general, or anything that strikes my fancy.
What would you like to see / read first?
Oh wow! New Questions. But not great questions. :/ Sorry. I'll stick with the questions from last time.
Which hour was most daunting for you?
2 - 4am was the hardest for me, I my eyes hurt and I was tired. I got a small burst of energy around 4am but it didn't last and I ended up giving up at 5am and getting some sleep. I could have pushed through, but I was cranky and had said I wasn't going to push it so I didn't.
Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
See Below
Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
In general? Chronicles of St Mary's, Great Zoo of China, The Martian..... from what I read? In the Hall with a Knife
Wanna volunteer for our next event?
Nah - sorry. I prefer to just read.
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Stats
- I completed 11 books, started 3 (1 ended up a DNF, will finish other 2)
- I read 1540 pages
- I read 5 books on my Kindle
- I listened to 6 books as audiobooks
- I read 3 Novels, the rest Novellas
- I read for approximately 17 hours (7hr 20min on Kindle, 9hrs 40min hours on Audio)
Completed:
Started, but did not finished:
Marked quickly as DNF:
How was your Read-a-Thon? Leave me a comment and tell me about it, or link me to your blog!
Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?
Whisper of Bones by Melinda Leigh. I'm taking a break for the World Series now - Go Nats! Finish the Fight!
2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished 8, started one other. Break time for baseball then back to it.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Dark Light by Jodi Taylor
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Other than Hubby getting in from work, I haven't had any interruptions. In the first 12 hours, I was able to read for 11.5 of them, so not bad. Now, I'm taking a 3-4 hour break for the World Series. If it were any other team than my Nats, I wouldn't watch, but I gotta watch them.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing changes, so nothing.
It's time for Dewey's! This is my 14th, so I'm gonna be a little lazy and reuse some of these answers and this opening statement as well. Ha! I keep hoping the questions will change one of these times, and they don't... Ah well.
I'm excited for this Dewey's, as a way to get some reading in before the craziness of NaNoWriMo. I know some of you writers will be reading for the read-a-thon. Where are you? Leave me a comment so I can follow you for Dewey's and beyond with your writing!
I also can't wait for NaNo, during which I will write the 3rd book in my Erotic Romance series. See the links to the right, if you'd like to know more about the series.
What's your read-a-thon plans for the day? Leave me a link, and I'll come visit you!
Opening Meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Sparta, NC ~ the middle of no where. :)
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
In the Hall with a Knife by Diana Peterfreund
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I WANTED Sour Patch Kids, but the store didn't have what I wanted and the regular ones were hard. So, the Hubby got me Skittles, which I love, except I'm a fan of lime and I still hate them for taking that from me! :)
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
HI! I'm Karsyn (some of you who have been around a while will know me as Karsyn @ KaKiJoKoJa - my book review blog), over 40 (though much much younger in spirit), deeply in love with and married to my high school best friend. I LOVE to read, obviously, and am blessed with a ton of time to read. In a typical month I will read 15-20 books, often more, and when there's something going on, like Dewey's, I read a ton more! Since I started writing, my reading has only suffered a little, I'm still on track for over 200 books for the year. Beyond my books, I'm a gamer, and I built my own Gaming PC, 4 years ago, which I named Widget (after The Night Circus character). Widget is GREAT and we've had so much fun playing games on him!!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is my 14th Dewey's so I'll do what I've been doing. :)
That time of the year again! Once again, too quick that it comes around. How is it almost November?
You know - I left that same line above that I wrote in April, only changed the month. How is it the year goes too fast?!
I believe this is my 14th Dewey's, I think. I really need to find out which I'm on. It's been a lot.
I went all 24 hours every time, which I loved, until April. Then, I was doing Camp NaNoWriMo, and I wanted to write rather than read so I made sure to sleep. I don't care for the Reverse Dewey's (has me awake more like 36 hours rather than 24) so I slept some then too.
Planning to do the full 24 hours this time, but don't know if I will or not. We'll see. :) Not going to push it.
I used to post on my Book Review blog -
Karsyn's Kickass Jocoserious Jannock Kooky Book Blog
- please ignore the ugly broken images, my image host stopped allowing 3rd party hosting, stupid thing, but now I'm here as I build up this blog.
As usual, I have no plans for Dewey's, as I'm a diehard Flybyer. (I'm also a pantser when it comes to writing, so I just don't do plans!) I have some books on my radar, but dunno if I'll get to them or not. A few that are likely are:
Koriana Brackson
If this is your first time here, welcome. This blog is for my pen name. I'm working on building up a following for the books that I am writing. Feel free to click on the links to the right to see more about that.
I'm an aspiring author. I only just started writing this year, but it's been a great and crazy experience. It all started back in March and I can't believe I have one book written (am editing now for some re-writes of the beginning I did) a second book 80% completed and plans to write the third book for NaNoWriMo - which starts Nov 1st.
For anyone interested, here's a bit about what I've been writing, along with a working summary of the first book.
**NOTE - The book, and its sequels, are EROTIC ROMANCE, so if that's not your thing, or you are under the age of 18, then this book(s) will not be for you. The info and the blurb about it are PG rated tho. :)
My first book - written but not published - is titled Natural Exposure.
The novel features the following:
- Graphic Sex
- Foul Language
- Polyamory
- FF sex
- MF sex
- BDSM (SSC practiced)
- LGBTQ+ Characters (a whole town full)
- Main Characters in their 40s / secondary characters ranging 35 - 60
This book also features people who talk to each other (the horror - I know) and work out their problems, rather than running away, not talking and oh the angst, because they couldn't open their mouths. There is ZERO angst!
Yes, that's a pet peeve of mine, and I know it's in 99% of the books out there, but it is not and will never be in my books.
I've re-written the beginning to achieve better pacing and will be looking for Beta Readers for the updated version. I'll likely wait until after NaNoWriMo because a lot of Beta Readers are NaNo participants, but if you're not and you'd like to read it then, click above to send me an email, leave a comment or connect with me on Twitter, also listed above. So far, my Beta Readers have been great and have loved the story. :)
Working Blurb: (subject to change)
Seeking to escape her past and establish a new life for herself, Ripley Owens lands in Bijou Basin. In the quaint progressive town, Ripley endeavors to find solace, eager to discover herself once more. An advertisement for a boudoir photographer catches her eye, and she books a session, hoping to reclaim her identity.
When a shy goddess enters her studio, Kenzie Holliday is instantly intrigued. After an evening of photos turns flirty and sexual, Kenzie finds herself reluctant to let the beauty go. She asks to see Ripley again, surprised and delighted when she agrees.
Ripley likes Kenzie but doubts plague her. Kenzie is polyamorous and married, something Ripley has never experienced. New possibilities open up before her, both intriguing and scaring her. Does she want to date someone so complicated? How could she ever matter, if the person she dates already has their soulmate?
The literary world is vast, there’s not much that hasn’t been done, just writers doing the same things better. We all strive to get our stories out there. Why is one story better than the other? What makes our story special and stand out? Are we ready to put our stories out there? Is the literary world ready for us?
All these questions, and many more, go through my mind as I contemplate querying.
As a bit of a background, I feel I should say that I'm VERY VERY new to all this. I didn't know what a Query (when it comes to publishing) was a few weeks ago. I wasn't a person who grew up with stories in my head. It was the opposite for me, in fact. I always said that I lack the imagination to write and I would like to, if only I could come up with ideas.
It took 40 years and a writing prompt to get me on this journey and actually writing.
As I wrote, I didn't know what I'd do with my story. I thought it was for fun but the more I wrote it, the more I fell in love with it. And I thought 'Well, maybe I can put it on Smashwords, and we'll just see what happens'. But as I finished it and it had its first two readers, I found that they loved it, like really loved it and thought something could be done with it. Granted, I take both their opinions with a grain of salt, as I married one and the other is a close friend, but feedback from beta readers is positive as well.
So now I wonder, do I query?
The thing is, I know I have something a bit different. Not in that it hasn't been done, sure it has, but not much and not in a certain way. My themes are covered by a variety of books, but one of the themes isn't done much. It's just not out there. Then, I look at the age of my characters, and that's not done much either. Put together, and I have something that isn't everywhere in the market.
So, do I query?
That's the question I'll keep asking myself until, if, I do it. I haven't learn enough about querying yet, so that's my next step. Research and question and then, if it comes to that, figuring out how to write a query, how to stand out from the crowd.
Anyone else wonder if they should query? Anyone querying and having success or rejections? Anyone have any query tips they would like to share? :)
Good luck to you all!
This was not my favorite Bout of Books. Not because of the reading or whatever, but because things happened personally to me and to a friend that had me worried for her and upset for me. The week started off fine and just went downhill from there. Things are a little better for me, not yet so for my friend. But we're getting there.
So yeah, this week just ended up sucking. I barely missed my goal of 14 books - I completed 13 - but didn't mind / care too much with everything else going on. It was what it was. Still, got in some good reading overall. In addition to my normal reading, I was also Beta Reading for 2 ladies. I read and critiqued about 82 pages of their stories. Some good writing there!
How did you do? Leave me a link and I'll come visit your wrap-up!
Bout of Book 25 Stats
- I completed 13 books
- I read 2,530 pages
- I read 3 books on my Kindle, started 1 other
- I listened to 10 books as audiobooks
- I Beta Read / Critiqued approximately 82 pages
- I read 4 Novels & 9 Novellas
- I read for approximately 26 hours (5 hrs 10 min on Kindle, 20 hrs 50 min on Audio)
Sunday
Night Time Audio listening time/pages: 30 min / 33 pages
Day Time Audio listening time/pages: 2 hr 45 min / 253 pages
Kindle reading time / pages: -----
Number of books I've read today: 2
Total number of books I've read: 13
Current Book: Saving Fable
Pages Read Today: 286
Total Pages Read: 2,530
Time Read Today: 3 hrs 15 min
Total Time Read: 26 hrs
COMPLETED BOOKS:
Started, but did not complete:
