Ready for NaNoWriMo?

Hello again! I couldn't resist making a blog post today, because today is a very special day. The first of November, a door opening itself to the wonderful world of NaNoWriMo!

I know many of my writer friends know all about this spectacular event, but for those of you who have never heard of it before, NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month) is a huge writing event that takes place every November. Writers from all over the world participate. The concept is simple, but it isn't easy... over the course of November, writers challenge themselves to meet a word count goal of 50,000 and basically complete a novel in one month. This is no easy task. It takes a lot of time and dedication. But I've heard that it is very rewarding if you pull through.

This is the first year I had planned to do NaNoWriMo. I had an idea for a science fiction novel called Broken Clocks, which was about a young man with a malfunctioning time travel watch that randomly sends him to different periods in time. He has no control over where (or rather, when) it will send him.

Look! I made a little temporary book cover and everything!

However, my plot is still underdeveloped. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start yet, and I may not reach the daunting word count goal of 50,000... but I'll still get some work done on this novel during the month of November, and that's what counts, right?

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So what about you? Are you participating in NaNo this year? If you are, maybe you could share a brief summary of your novel idea. I'm sure we would all love to hear about it. 

Until next time! Write on, everyone!

Writing Wednesday #1 - Finding Inspiration

Now that this blog has established itself with a couple of introductory posts, I would like to present to you one of the recurring entries that you will be seeing here on Writers Taste Life Twice.

I call it WRITING WEDNESDAY and I think the title speaks for itself. Every Wednesday I will hope to make a post regarding some aspect of writing such as character creation, dialogue, inspiration, editing, and the like. Maybe a few helpful tips and tricks will be shared. I'll definitely learn something new every week, and that is what I aim to do. Hopefully the same will happen to all of you! If it does, I will feel very accomplished.

And with that, I give you...

Today, for my first entry of Writing Wednesday, I'm going to talk about finding inspiration. Every writer knows that inspiration is a very important part of writing. If there were no inspiration, there would be nothing to write about!

But finding inspiration is a tricky thing to do. There is no true science to it, and I'm not going to pretend I know some invaluable secret to finding inspiration. However, I will talk about some things that I've learned, things that may help you along the way.

When it comes to inspiration and developing a story, everyone has a different method. What works well for one person may not work for another. I'm sure J.K. Rowling has a different approach than Stephen King does, for example. Their approaches may be worlds apart from mine. In fact, I'm almost certain that they are. But it doesn't hurt to try new things, does it?

I like to retreat to a calm and relaxing place when I'm looking for inspiration. Like many people, I enjoy going outside and taking a little walk. I live in the country, where there is tons of space for me to roam around and let my mind wander. The easy silence in the air often gives my thoughts a chance to speak. Sometimes potential characters begin pushing their way to the front of my mind. Sometimes I'll be on a certain train of thought and my mind starts asking strange questions. This is what happens to many authors. They call this the idea spark, and it is the first step in your journey to writing a new novel.

If you're feeling stumped or have run out of ideas, take a break! Let your mind wander a bit. That always works for me. Maybe read a favorite book, listen to music, try to open your mind to new possibilities. Some idea sparks are small, but they can grow into incredible things with enough time and loving care. Don't throw anything out too soon! Let your thoughts tumble over it for a while. You may be surprised what you come up with.

One last tip when it comes to inspiration: ALWAYS WRITE IT DOWN!

You're sitting in class or doing the dishes when a sliver of an idea comes to you. That's pretty good, you think to yourself. I'll have to write that down sometime. Then you continue on your merry little way and by the time you've finished what you're doing, the idea is gone. Inspiration is a tricky thing to find, and an even trickier thing to hold on to. Keep a notebook on hand at all times. You have no idea how many times this has happened to me. It happens to everyone. SO WRITE IT DOWN!

Ideas are precious and you don't want to lose them.

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Thank you for joining us during our first ever Writing Wednesday! What do you think? Is this something that should be continued?

Finally, are there any other tips YOU want to share concerning inspiration and ideas? Do you have a method that works for you? Please feel free to share!

Everyday Holidays

Hello world! It's me again, your friendly neighborhood writer.

Okay, that was a lame introduction. I really need to work on those.

So, today I really felt like reaching out and whipping up another blog post. However, I didn't really have anything to write about yet. My new novel is still in its early stages of development, so nothing exciting to share on that front... but hey! There's something to celebrate every day, right?

I went on some websites and starting looking up those funny daily holidays. As it turns out, October 19th is Evaluate Your Life Day. It's also New Friends Day, but I think those things could go hand in hand. I've evaluated my life, and I think it's pretty great, but you can never have too many new friends. So I'm going to reach out again and ask you to speak up. Make yourself known. Trust me, I love meeting new people. I would be delighted to meet you.

Help me observe New Friends Day. Or, if you like, join me in a little life evaluation.

What kinds of fun daily holidays have you observed in the past?

Just a Short Introduction...

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new blog.

Is that a sufficient introduction?

If not, let me explain. I've heard a lot of people say how difficult it is to write your first blog post, and I think that those claims are absolutely true. I would compare it to writing the first sentence of a novel. The white, empty page just sits there and stares at you while you worry away, biting down on your fingernails. What will the readers think? Will anyone read this at all?

Maybe not, but I'm not about to let that get to me. I've decided to come right out in the open and let the words flow, whether they sound good or not. But I'll assure you, nearly all of them will have sounded better in my head.

So welcome to my blog! Pull up a seat and stay awhile! I'll begin the introductions by telling you who I am. My name is Haley Marie. I'm a teen writer, among other things, and this blog will be dedicated to documenting my journey as an aspiring author. Let me warn you now - there's bound to be a smattering of other things in this blog, like tasteful music, inspiring quotes, and nerdy fangirl moments. But it's all good, right?

Anyway, enough about me. To anybody out there who may be reading this... who are you? What brought you here? Do you have any expectations about what you'd like to see in future posts?

Don't be shy! I'd love to meet you, and I promise I won't bite!

If all goes according to plan, new posts will be made regularly, at least once every week until I get used to things around here. See you soon!