Category Archives: NaNoWriMo

#Canada, It Happened in Gastown, It Happened on Dufferin Terrace, It Happened Series, NaNoWriMo, Novels, November, sweet romance

Book Two in the “It Happened” Series

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Book Two in the It Happened Series is set in Gastown, an area of Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s appropriately titled – It Happened in Gastown.

This book features Erik Layne (Serenity’s brother from It Happened on Dufferin Terrace.) It’s also my project for NaNoWriMo 2018, but life got in the way and I won’t get my 50K words written before the end of the month, but I thought I would share the opening scene.

Keep in mind, this is a first draft and the premise behind NaNo is to write, not edit.

Here it is…

Out on routine patrol, Constables Hilary Dunbar and her partner Nik Kalivas proceeded along Cambie Street towards the Steam Clock. As they passed the end of Blood Alley, she shouted, “Back up. There’s something down there.”

“Your imagination getting the better of you again?” He teased, but pulled over to the curb and slowly reversed until they blocked the end of the narrow passage.

Window down, she trained the beam from the powerful spotlight mounted on the cruiser’s mirror into the alleyway. “There, beyond those dumpsters.”

“Likely just garbage.”

“Wait here, I’m going to take a closer look.”

Flashlight clutched in her left hand and fingertips of her right brushing her gun holster, she crept towards the object. Graffiti tags covered the walls of the buildings. The further into the confined space she crept, her neck hairs bristled beneath the bun she tied her black hair into. Whatever it was, it wasn’t trash like Nik said. The pong of stale urine brought tears to her eyes.

Past the second dumpster, the body of a young man leaned against the wall. Disheveled and filthy, his body odour was strong enough to make the foulest of skunk spray seem mild. At first glance he appeared dead. Hilary inched forward and squatted beside him. A blood-filled syringe protruded from his left arm. Immediately, she felt his neck for a pulse. It was there but extremely weak.

She keyed the mic on her handset. “Constable Dunbar, Badge 8652. I need an ambulance at Blood Alley and Cambie Street. Suspected drug overdose.”

By now, Nik had the cruiser’s roof lights on. Blue, red and white alternating then running from the driver’s side to the passenger’s.

The wail of the siren grew louder. In minutes, paramedics jumped out and trundled a stretcher and medical equipment to the stricken person.

Hilary stood back, letting them do their jobs.

“He’s alive … just. You found him in time. We’ve bagged the needle so they can run tests on it at the hospital. Figure out what he shot into his veins.”

They loaded the stretcher into the back, pulled a U-turn and raced off in the direction of Vancouver General.

“Looks like we’re off to the hospital,” she said dropping into her seat and fastening the belt.

“Great. More wasted time and a ton of paperwork because of a drug addict,” Nik complained.

“That drug addict is someone’s kid,” she snapped.

“Ooh… aren’t we touchy? Turning soft are you? Biological clock ticking?”

I’d love to hear what you think. Let me know by leaving a comment.

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

#NaNoWriMo ~ the last day ~ #amwriting

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The last day in #NaNoWriMo 2016 – only a few hours to go!

last day

Today is the last day for #NaNoWriMo. Well, strictly speaking, it won’t come until midnight tonight. How are you doing? I’m pleased with my progress.

I have 459 words left to get to my goal for the month which isn’t anywhere near the 50,000, but I #amwriting every day (which is the main thing) – working on it which is why I’ve not been around here on the blog much this month.

Some days, the word count is amazing. Other days, not so much.

This past Saturday, I scribbled over 1,100 words while I was at a sale. Typed them in to my document when I got home.

last day

Sometimes the words flow? Sometimes not so much? I’ve had a few of those days this month. Usually a quick read over the last day’s work and I’m off and running once again.

I can see a huge re-write coming for my WIP. Scenes that will need more detail. Perhaps some will be rearranged. This time, I did something completely different and I outlined the entire project in detail.

Is your #NaNoWriMo project still flowing smoothly? Have you run into difficulty?

Give yourself permission to write a terrible first draft and put your editing hat on in December.

 

 

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

#NaNoWriMo ~ We’ve reached the halfway point ~ are you on track? ~ #amwriting

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Fifteen days to go in #NaNoWriMo 2016 – we’re halfway there!

#amwriting

Today is the halfway point for #NaNoWriMo. Well, strictly speaking, it won’t come until midnight tonight. How are you doing? I #amwriting and am pleased with my progress.

Now, I wrote and scheduled this post on November 14th. When I stopped working on my NaNo project for the day, I had 15,406 words.

#amwriting

At this rate, I won’t get to the 50,000 words by November 30th, but I #amwriting every day – working on it which is why I’ve not been around here on the blog much this month.

Some days, the word count is amazing. Other days, not so much.

This past Saturday, I scribbled over 1,000 words while I was at a sale. Typed them in to my document when I got home.

Sunday was an amazing day. I cranked out 1,638 words and that was with interruptions. Still not the 1,667 per day I need to hit 50,000 and get a #NaNo winner badge.

Sometimes the words flow? Sometimes not so much? I’ve had a few of those days this month. Usually a quick read over the last day’s work and I’m off and running once again.

I can see a huge re-write coming for my WIP. Scenes that will need more detail. Perhaps rearrange some. This time, I did something completely different and I outlined the entire project in detail.

Is your #NaNoWriMo project still flowing smoothly? Have you run into difficulty?

Give yourself permission to write a terrible first draft and put your editing hat on in December.

 

 

contemporary romance, King Park Press, NaNoWriMo, Novels, women's fiction

#NaNoWriMo 2016 Edition…

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Well, I’ve taken the plunge. I’m doing #NaNoWriMo again this year. So committed to it, in fact, I’ve added a widget to the sidebar of my blog with the NaNo shield.

Will I be a winner this year? Who knows? I’m going to do my best.

Last year, I wrote my novel The Secret of Hillcrest House. While the finished product was less than 50,000 words, I did write every day so I still consider myself a winner.

The working title for this project is Second Chances. And here’s the short synopsis (subject to change, of course)…

Torn away from her first love, Jared Martin, in a family move to another country when she was a teenager, Katherine Murphy is devastated. Soon after her return to Aberdeen to attend University, she discovers Jared seemingly in a relationship with someone else. However; destiny has someone else in mind for Katherine – Colin Whithorn. They fall in love, marry and open a new and used bookshop. Their marriage comes to an abrupt end during the London bombings on July 7, 2005 when Colin is in the city on a buying trip for their store.

Devastated, she builds a wall around her heart determined not to let anyone in again who can hurt her – that is, until five years later when Jared walks into her shop. Despite him being her first love, he must tear down the barrier she’s created to protect herself. Given a second chance of a life with him, Katherine couldn’t be happier until another cruel twist of fate strikes and the helicopter he’s on returning from his job on an oil rig ditches in the North Sea. Will he survive the ordeal? Will they have a third chance at happiness? Or will Katherine have her heart broken yet again?

What do you think?

#amwriting, anger, anguish, backup, blog, frustration, NaNoWriMo, normal service

Start as you mean to go on…

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This year started out well. I’ve been working like a fiend on the project I started for #NaNoWriMo. I had plenty of these moments…

start

And a few of these ones, too…

start

I eased my way back into the blogosphere slowly with the plan of picking up the pace as the month went on.

Then disaster struck!

I turned on my computer and went to my blog to delete spam comments, reply to legitimate comments, check my site stats, like I do every morning. Only the sidebars (not entirely I came to discover later) and header image were there!

Instead of my most recent blog post filling the section in the middle of the screen, the two words that were there in large bold print “Nothing Found” haunted me. I didn’t notice it immediately but all my pages were missing, too.

Thankfully, my hosting company dotCanada.ca were able to restore my blog’s database back to prior to my disappearance. I figured if I had to re-write one post, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

startThey restored me. I crashed me. They restored me again. Some of the content still didn’t work. Third time was a charm and normal service has been resumed.

I digress for a moment, do you cross your fingers middle over index or index over middle. I tried the way it’s shown in the clip art and I find it extremely awkward.

The week of January 17-23 was the week from hell at The House of King. I was frustrated, angry, angry at myself, and generally not a nice person to be around. Trust me, my husband agrees totally with that statement.

 

start

I keep my fingers crossed that normal service will continue as I have lots of exciting things happening in 2016 that I want to be able to share with you, my lovely followers.

This is for you, my peep! Mwah!

start

 

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Authors, Book Launch, Chris Longmuir, NaNoWriMo

My wishlist for 2016…

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wishlist

and things I’m looking forward to this year

 

1.  My husband being cancer-free for a year. It’s been a battle since his initial diagnosis in 2013 so fingers crossed this is the year.

2.  Having the sequel to A Shadow in the Past accepted for publication. I know if I want that to happen, I have to get my skates on and get the synopsis and back cover blurbs done.

3.  Reading the 40 books I’ve committed to reading in the Goodreads 2016 challenge.

4.  Curling up with my good friend, Chris Longmuir’s, 2016 release which will knock 1 of the 40 books off the list *grin* She’s put it in writing that there will be a book out this year, so I’m holding her to that.

5.  Spending evenings with my hubby on our new reclining sofa being delivered on January 9th (doesn’t it look comfy?) in front of our new fireplace. We didn’t buy each other Christmas presents in 2015 but rather these instead.

6. Having my #NaNoWriMo project completed and released this spring… again this is something I have to commit to. It’s coming along so I’ll keep my fingers crossed (although that does make it rather difficult to type) and will need occasional kicks up the backside to keep me on track.

7. Another trip abroad?

Well those are things on my wishlist. What do you have on yours? I’d love to hear about them so leave me a comment.

 

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

#NaNoWriMo is over! Are you relieved?

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#NaNoWriMo is over! It started like this… with an idea. If you were really organized, you had an outline done ahead of time.

#NaNoWriMo is over

and you worked like this… getting all those lovely words down ‘on paper’.

#NaNoWriMo is over

had moments like this… when your imaginary friends quit talking to you.

#NaNoWriMo is over

overcame them and wrote like this… when the voices got over their snit and started talking again.

 

#NaNoWriMo is over

and at the end of it all, you look like this… frazzled, feeling punchy and starving!

#NaNoWriMo is over

I didn’t set out at the beginning of November to complete 50,000 words in the month. What I wanted to do was write every day (something that I’ve not always made time for).

I might not have a ‘winner’ badge for having my numbers crunched by the #NaNo algorithm and having the minimum number of 50,000 but I consider myself a winner because I achieved everything I wanted to in the month.

At 3:39 yesterday afternoon, I had completed 21,813 words… I’ve got my beginning and my middle, but I still don’t know how my magnum opus is going to end. That is really unusual for me. Under normal circumstances I know the ending and write it first. Then I have the fun of getting there. I’m in uncharted waters here and I’m not sure I’m liking it.

I didn’t outline and as I wrote merrily away, I discovered major flaws in my logic. Oh well, scenes can be cut and pasted and new transitions between them written, not to mention returning the array of plot bunnies that will undoubtedly be released to run amok safely to their warren.

So, how did your #NaNoWriMo month go?

 

 

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

#NaNoWriMo ~ Ten Days to Go… are you still on track? #amwriting

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Ten Days to Go in #NaNoWriMo 2015

With only ten days remaining in the month, are you still on track? Achieving your writing goals?

Ten DaysIf you’re striving for 50,000 words you should be sitting around 33,340 now.

Not quite that ambitious but wanted to write every day? So far I’ve managed to do that although with travel earlier this month it made a few days difficult. Still, I’ve managed to get a few words into my WIP each and every day.

Sometimes the words flow? Sometimes not so much? I’ve had a few of those days this month. Usually a quick read over the last day’s work and I’m off and running once again.

I can see a huge re-write coming for my WIP. Scenes that need to be rearranged. That’s the joy of pantsing. The logic doesn’t always work, but then this is something that can always be fixed after the end of the month.

Is your #NaNoWriMo project still flowing smoothly? Have you run into difficulty?

 

 

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

Opening Scene of my NaNoWriMo project

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Here it is. The opening scene of my #NaNoWriMo project. It’s only a first draft (and mine are usually horrendous), subject to change, the cutting room floor, or the dust bin never to see the light of day…

 

~ 1 ~

Jessica leaned forward in the driver’s seat as she eased her Chevy Aveo around the corner on the crest of the hill. Not only was it a blind summit, but a blind summit on a curve. Once moving straight again, she glanced down to the passenger seat and the picture of the house – her house – she’d printed before leaving home. A cursory glance at the GPS showed she was within a block of her new-to-her home.

From the time she first saw the real estate listing for Hillcrest House on the Internet, she knew she had to have it. The entire transaction took place online via websites, emails, scans and e-transfers.

She knew the house would be on her right so she slowed to a crawl and watched out the passenger window.

“You have reached your destination,” the female voice with a British accent said.

Engrossed in looking for her new home, the noise startled her causing her to jump.

When Jessica set up the GPS unit, she chose a woman’s voice over a man’s. She’d never taken orders from a man before and wasn’t about to start now. Besides, this voice was the least abrasive of the available selections.

Flipping on her right signal light, she pulled her car over to the curb and shut off the engine. Climbing out from behind the wheel, Jessica stretched. It had taken her about five hours to get here and her body knew it. She raked her fingers through her short, auburn hair then turned and leaned on folded arms on the roof of the car.

The granite, Victorian mansion stood to one side of the lot. A wrought iron fence mounted on a stone wall surrounded the property. Patches of bare metal showed through the aqua green roof. Weathered plywood replaced glass in some of the upper windows. Others had gaping holes in the panes.

Paint peeled from the pillars and balusters of the sweeping verandah. Sections of the railing were missing. This once elegant home had fallen into a serious state of disrepair.

The blip of a siren startled her. She whipped around in time to see a police cruiser come to a stop behind her car. The officer emerged donning his Stetson as he approached. He was well over six feet tall and fit. Why did she have to notice his physique? She swore off men when her marriage fell apart. Now she was ogling a cop? She needed to get a grip.

“You can’t park here. Didn’t you see the no parking signs?” He pointed to one near her car.

“No. sorry, I didn’t.”

“Pull around the corner and park on the far side of the street.”

Jessica climbed back in her car. She didn’t intend on taking orders from a man but this one wore a uniform and carried a gun. She drove around the corner and pulled into the driveway. A chain stretched between two stone pillars prevented her from going any further.

Parked on the property, there would be no reason for the cop to hang around. But when she exited her vehicle, the cruiser was across the foot of her driveway.

“What’s your interest in this place?” he asked, standing with his hands on his hips.

“I own it,” she announced with pride. If he was trying to intimidate her, it wouldn’t work. She’d been through far worse. This guy, arrogant as he was, didn’t frighten her at all.

“Really. Got any proof?” he asked, folding his muscular arms across his chest.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she shot back and leaned in the window. Jessica grabbed the strap on her enormous, suede handbag and pulled it towards her and out the window. Placing it on the hood of her car, she rummaged through it until she found the envelope from the lawyer. “Here,” she bragged thrusting the envelope in his face.

He removed the papers and looked them over. “Everything seems to be in order,” the officer said handing the paperwork back.

The wind picked up making it difficult for Jessica to return the contents to the pouch. As she turned to place them in her purse, a face and hands appeared in the window over the side porch. “There’s someone in there,” she gasped pointing to the location.

 

So there you have it. Potential? Maybe. Time will tell. For now it’s keep NaNoWriMo-ing. Plenty of time for improvement in the coming months.

 

#amwriting, NaNoWriMo

Week 2 of NaNoWriMo is over… is your enthusiasm waning?

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Still feeling the enthusiasm? Or is writing your magnum opus becoming more of a chore?

enthusiasm

Are you vomiting words onto the page on a daily basis? That’s a good way to put it since to succeed at getting 50K words at the end of November, you have to write 1667 words per day.

If your project was outlined in advance, this second week may have flowed as easily as the first one. Or maybe not.

My NaNo project wasn’t outlined and for the most part the words have flowed well throughout these past fourteen days.

At the end of week 1, I had 7207 words (less the 1301 I started the month with).

Yesterday after finishing week 2, my count was up to 15,010. So I’ve added another 7803 words!

Okay, I’m not going to set any great records with my writing speed but the project I’m working on is a novella and according to word length charts, they’re between 17,500 and 40,000 words.

Yesterday, I found myself editing some of my previous work. I hear you gasp since editing isn’t supposed to happen until December 1st at the earliest. Most of said editing was cutting and pasting so the only thing that was affected was the length of time I could actually spend writing.

How are you managing at the end of a full two weeks of NaNoWriMo? Are you still ‘feeling the love’? What are your tricks for staying motivated?