Tag: junowrimo

Let Me Tell You Why I’m Exhausted

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle5 Comments

Top 5 Reasons why after the week I had, I am Exhausted:  

  1. I am exhausted because for the first time in my life I wrote over 20,000 words of pure unadulterated creative fiction from my mind in 7 days.
  2. I am exhausted because instead of going to sleep at a decent hour, every night this week, I stayed up late to write.
  3. I am exhausted because in order to keep up with my peeps and tweeps, I have to communicate on “social media” at some ungodly hours.
  4. I am exhausted because my mind is constantly racing about what I am going to write about for the next 20,000 words of pure unadulterated creative fiction in the next 7 days.
  5. But, really, I am exhausted because one of my collegues took me to a jazz club last night And even though I was exhausted, I stayed for all 4 sets.  Whitney Houston, Anita Baker and Babyface songs with a jazz twist, I had no choice.  I had to stay.
CJW – Cigar, Jazz & Wine

And, to be perfectly honest with you, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about this week. If being exhausted is the price I pay for doing what I love, then YAWN and bring it on.    

Quick Shout out to my new followers from a week ago:

1 EarthUnited
EM Castellan
Empty Coffee Cups
Anabel Mikolay
Sisi’s Blog
Hanna Pot
Elisabeth Crisp
Champagne Whisky Cigar
Life Coach Marie
Beradadisini
Wonderful Cinema
Fu Only Knew

I will gladly continue to be exhausted for your reading pleasure.

FYI, by the time you read this, I will be asleep.  Talk to you tomorrow. I really am exhausted.

My Weekly Update – What do I expect from JuNoWriMo?

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle8 Comments

I am participating in JuNoWriMo this month.  With two days done, I am feeling pretty happy with myself for deciding to do this.  When you look at the task at hand, 50,000 words in 30 days, it seems a bit daunting. But, I am happy to report that after two days and over 6,000 words done. I can do this.

But, it is not just about getting in the word count.  I have additional expectations from JuNoWriMo that go far beyond just getting to 50,000 words.

1.  I expect to get a book out of it.  Not a book deal, I am not that naive or that optimistic, but I do hope that I will have completed the first steps in getting an actual book written. I don’t know why, but I image that saying I have written a book will make me all warm and fuzzy inside. And, I will have finished something.  The book may suck, but it is written.  I will worry about step two of the process in July.
2.  I expect to figure out my writing style. The book I am writing started out having several characters, taking place in several locations and dealing with several issues.  But, after 6,000 words, one character, one location and one issue it appears that it will take awhile to get this stuff sorted out and it is much more interesting to me to write from one persons perspective.  Now, just as long as I don’t run out of words to say about this one character, I should be good.
3.  I expect to determine my writing process.  I can already see how valuable the time I spent outlining last month has been.  It has allowed me to get in writing mode (or mood) easier every time I sit down to write.  And two day in, the words are still flowing and that pressure of figuring out what to write is eliminated.  What a relief.
4.  I expect to learn from others who are participating.  The JuNoWriMo isn’t just a challenge.  It has turned into a community.  Just in two day we have shared ideas, asked questions and motivated each.  It has already made me a better writer.
To continue with this theme of learning, four very talented writers and JuNoWriMo partipants have so generously accepted my invitation to be interviewed about their progress in JuNoWriMo. I will feature a new writer each Monday starting on June 10th.    
Week 1 – A.E Howard – one of our lovely and talented hosts.
Week 2 – EM Castellan
Week 3 – Juliana Haygert
Week 4 – Felicia Scotzig
In the mean time, check out their sites.
 
5.  I expect to take that “writer in training” description out of my profile.  One thing I have learned already is that writers are always learning, always growing, always getting better.  In that sense, we are always in training.  But, I just feel that I need to get this one project in the can and I will feel more comfortable calling myself a writer.  
Congratulations to all of you who have taken on this challenge.  I wish you all the best of luck and if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.
 
Next Weeks Schedule
Tuesday – Writer Wednesday Blog Hop – I actually fit in a scene from my Junowrimo project, edited of course. 
Wednesday – Insecure Writers Blog Post – I have a few questions I would like to ask my fellow writers. 
Friday – General Blog Post
Sunday – My Weekly Update
*I will get back to Blog Love and recognizing my new followers later or in the general post on Friday.  
 

What do you expect from JuNoWriMo?  Day two done, how is it going so far? 

My Weekly Update – Writing, Written & Writers

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

Writing

It is 5 days until the beginning of JuNoWriMo.  For those of you living under a rock, JuNoWriMo is a month long writing challenge.  I will be writing 50,000 words in 30 days.  That is about 1,667 word per day.

If you are interested in seeing how I progress through this month long madness, I will document my progress after completing the daily writing goals.  I foresee a lot of 11:55 pm updates in my near future.  Check it out under the Sydney Aaliyah Writes Page on my site.  My To Do List is up now.  I have a busy few days coming up.

I also plan to keep my blog up to date, but JuNoWriMo is my first priority this month.  Bear with me.

Written

I wrote a short scary story for Writer Wednesday Blog Hop and received an  overwhelming amount of requests (6 people) for me to continue the story.  I am not one to disappoint my fans, so check in on Wednesday and see what happen when Sarah (I decided to give her a name) pushes #2.

I would like to thank the following for their comments:

“Wonderful imagery.”   – Cerece
“I want to know what happens next!”  – Selena
“Great story, your main character was really relatable.”  – Carrie Sorenson
 

You are all awesome.  Thanks so much for the feedback.

Writers who Support Writers (New Followers)

Thank you to my new followers.  I hope you are enjoying being inside my brain:

Blog Love

  1. JuNoWriMo.com
  2. Onpinestreet.com
  3. Confessions of a Popcorn Addict
  4. Wise, Ink
  5. Scribing the Journey
Check out the rest of the Blog Love list.  

This Weeks Schedule 

Monday – Wine Auction
Tuesday – Movie Quotes
Wednesday – Writer Wednesday Blog Hop
Friday – First day of JuNoWriMo
Sunday – My Weekly Update