Friday

Why I Couldn't Complete NaNoWrimo

Hello everyone! Sad day, 5 days left in NaNo and I should have been done. Should have been done. I still have 20,000 words to go, and with only 5 days left, that's 4,000 words a day which is nearly impossible for me.

It's very sad for me to say that I will not be able to complete NaNoWrimo this year. Despite all the hype I had getting ready for it, I now realize that I wasn't ready for it.

However, that doesn't mean that I'm giving up on the novel. I plan to take it back up in January, after I finish my mourning and move on, not quite, but move on from the loss.

This loss has really helped me to see the bigger picture, how I can become more organized, how to manage my time, etcetera, etcetera. So I decided to share my findings with you all! Although I am somewhat ashamed that I only made it to 30,000, when last year, when I was a worse writer and younger I made it to 60,000, I think this will help me grow as a writer and as a person!

After all, mistakes are only part of the journey.



i didn’t prioritize or make time for writing

This was probably the major part that caused my doom. It wasn't that I didn't have time, I had a lot of it, I just didn't make time. I wouldn't set up a time for writing, I would just find a slot and fit some writing into there.

I also didn't make it a higher priority. Of course I put things like homework and violin first because I definitely needed to get those done, but for some reason, writing was pretty low on my list of priorities.



A nice thing I could do is possibly make myself a lil to-do list (because LISTS MAKE ME HAPPY and they make me want to actually DO THINGS) and order it based on importance (because ORDER MAKES ME HAPPY)

I should probably set up a time for writing, where I'd actually know when I'm going to write.. good plan.


i slacked and let myself do it

Error number two broskis. Slacking. My goal was 2k words a day, so I would write 600 and then come back and write another 400 and then just didn't write. And I knew I was supposed to be writing, but I didn't do anything?



you know what you gotta do, so do it. For me, 1000 words takes 20 minutes, 2000 would take 40, so why not? Actually by 2000 I'd probably be tired, so take a half an hour break in between.


i wasn't ready

I knew I was going to take on NaNo, and I started preparing in August, but then I slacked. I didn't truly prepare until the last weeks of October. I thought I was prepared for it, but I wasn't. 

I may have been physically prepared, my computer was ready, so was my outline, but I wasn't ready. My brain hadn't really processed that I had this dedication to write 2000 words a day. 

The funny part is, my novel was great. It wasn't a disaster. I was the disaster. I just couldn't GET myself together enough to write it more often. When I did write, it wasn't bad, I'll be honest. 


Start working in late September. Know what you have to do. Make your outline better. Just plan, even if it may not be for your novel. 


So I'm hoping to have this done by January, and then begin editing in March which means I'll maybe be having beta readers by end of March?? Look forward to that I suppose. 



how was your november? did you complete nanowrimo? do you have any tips for this loser? ahem. any tips about recovering from a loss?



Thanks for reading,
Noor

Sunday

NaNoWrimo Recap #1 - In Which Outlines Are My Best Friend

Hello everyone! Week One of NaNo is complete, how are y'all feeling? I'm TIRED, it's been such a long week, I just want to sleep for 1000 years.. goodbye..

Recaps are a little fun, I enjoy checking in with you guys and seeing how you're doing, share some tips, some word counts, some tales of treachery and dismay. cough.



goodnight


day one // 2137 words written | 2137 words total

first day!! went good, i didn't follow any crawl or sprints, but i did participate in the virtual write ins, which are always loads of fun.

day two // 1892 words written | 4029 words total

i started a harry potter word crawl, didn't get that far as i was sick, but still very fun :D

day three // 1971 words written | 6000 words total

kept going with the harry potter crawl, i was so tired that day, so i barely got anything done.

day four // 1698 words written | 7689 words total

friday blues, i relaxed today and forgot about writing until like 7 o clock.. yikes.. 

day five // 3006 words written | 10895 words total

gotta love saturdays, i was at a friend's house for the majority of the day, but managed to fit a lot of writing in. i was really hoping to double up my word count, which didn't happen, but i managed 3k, which was satisfactory. 

day six // 2689 words written | 13384 words total

grr, was really hoping to hit 15k today and make it a 5k Sunday, but didn't work out. i had a pretty good schedule up until 3 o clock, and then i began slacking. although, i started a hamilton crawl, which is fun!!

I love outlines. seriously, i thank myself and my outline for being my savior, i honestly don't know where my novel would be without it. 



I didn't follow it completely, I made some tweaks and completely changed a couple plot lines which may end up being my doom, but I kept the basic structure. I SUCCEEDED WITH MY OUTLINE. probably. 

not to toot my own horn but gosh, I adore my characters. I've been really trying to fit characterization wherever I can, and I LOVE THEM. they are my children and I must protect. they all have their own cute little personalities and they're really really cute. they're all so interesting and are really going to develop as the plot goes on. probably. 



I awarded myself with a donut today, and I gave my character a donut, which I dedicated an entire two paragraphs to. yes, I love donuts. 

Also, completely irrelevant to my novel, but I didn't find a single pumpkin muffin at the store today. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ABOMINATION. 


I have, much to surprise, not encountered that many problems yet. my biggest one is that I have not had a pumpkin muffin since Wednesday.. I am DEPRIVED. 

However, I do often feel like my writing isn't unique enough. I'll read back on a passage and harrumph because it doesn't have pizzaz. (yes i did just use harrumph and pizzaz in one sentence, and no, i do not regret it thank you also pizzaz looks a lot like pizza)



It feels so bland, I try and add imagery and sensory language but then I think that I'm trying too hard. I WILL NEVER WIN IN THE BATTLE AGAINST MYSELF. 

I also feel like it has a lot of plot holes. Like really small ones that will leave my reader thinking: "Why the heck? or "How the heck?". i thought that to myself, that's probably not a good sign.

Also one more thing, I'm only at 13k but on the 10th chapter, this is not good. i'll be stuck. AAA



do things that will motivate you to write // sometimes, if you feel a little lazy and not wanting to write, do a word war, a word crawl, do your writing in sprints. give yourself something that will make you want to write, or at least challenge you to write. 

take breaks. please. // i don't care if you're superman, don't write for 3 hours straight, it's quite strenuous and you'll be so so tired. take a 10 minute break every hour and make some tea, eat something, etc, etc. take care of yourself like you take care of your characters <3 (unless you're a murder machine who kills off every single character in the novel, then do the opposite)



the harry potter soundtrack is really great to write to // like honestly, there is a song on that soundtrack for every mood, it's literally perfect. and it's harry potter, magnificent. 


do i have to. 

- - - 

Avis was having trouble breathing herself. 5 minutes ago, there was no person in her room, just her and her angry thoughts of throwing her stepmother out of the window. And then, there’s a ghost in her room. She was ready to call up the mental asylum. 
- - - 

“You may think that now, but once you feel like you could lose it all, you get a whole new perspective. Look at the trees, each one has a different beauty to them, they’re all different in their own way. It’s like; they all hold a story in their leaves, a truth, something magical. Sometimes, once things reach the human eye, they lose their magic completely. That’s why they’re so magical, because no one does appreciate them, so they keep their secrets and hold their beauty. It’s amazing.” Sanyi shook his head, still looking at the trees. Avis gave him a soft smile.  

"You sound like my English teacher." Avis replied. 



How is NaNoWrimo going? Any problems, any wickedly amazing things? And what’s your NaNoWrimo User, so we can become buddies? Ooh, what’s your favorite album/song/soundtrack to write to? Share with me dudes.


Hope your week is lovely friends <3

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Monday

Thoughts The Night Before NaNoWrimo

Hello everyone! Today I have tracked all the thoughts that I've had relating to NaNoWrimo and written them down, they were fairly disastrous and it seemed like my brain is a bunch of people running frantically, throwing papers, and crying. scratch the seemed, it is like that. Prepare yourselves for a peek inside my brain, the night before NaNoWrimo.

(this is my Halloween post because honestly it's just as scary)



- I STILL HAVE THINGS TO PLOT

- am i plotter or panster this year i plotted stuff but i didn't.

- am i really sure i want to do this i mean is it worth it



- I STILL DON'T HAVE A WRITING BUDDY. OR A WRITING GROUP. I seriously can't do this alone.

- 2000 words a day, honestly piece of cake, 50k here i come!

- I CANNOT DO THIS WRITING IS TOO HARD FDFBGKBEFBW



- what if i have homework what if i drop my novel into an abyss what if

- *smells freshly printed outline and sighs in joy*



- HOW DOES ONE EDIT A NOVEL. especially a novel that was written in 25 days

- this novel is going to climb out of my computer and PUNCH ME IN THE FACE because it's so bad. 

- no. i'm gonna write this thing and it's going to be good and i'm going to LOVE IT. *stuffs chocolate in face*



- imagining scenes in head and getting really excited

- I want TO WRITE ALREADY *glares at calendar* maybe if i stare at this long enough, it'll change.

- watch me write like 100000 words and then my computer crashes. just my luck. 



- I need to stock up on pumpkin muffins. right now. i can't survive this without my CHILDREN. 

- goodbye world. i am deceased, you won't see me until December and if anyONE disturbs me in my writing slumber they will be murdered. in my book. 

- my characters are so perfect in their sketches and now i'm going to have to like... hurt them and stuff. my smols.

- i'm actually doing this aren't i



are you doing NaNoWrimo this year? how do you feel the day before? are you EXCITED? TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOUR EXCITEMENT OR NERVOUSNESS

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Saturday

Outlines - The Bain of My Existence

Hello everyone! I'm terribly sorry for the lack of posting, but I will try to do more than one post a week in November, October has just been horribly hectic for me.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been outlining. And planning. And not writing. Which is kind of terrible because when I'm planning what to write I want to cry. Because I just want to WRITE. 

LET'S TALK ABOUT PLANNING.

woo hoo.

But wait, why even plan if it’s the most dreadful thing in the world?

You know honestly I ask myself that same question every day. But really, if you want to go back and read any writing I've done in the past 5 years, I can answer that question for you.

It's messy, first drafts are messy but this is after a party pizza on the floor, root beer cans everywhere, pillows scattered messy.

nOT FUN.


How does one.. plan?

Yet another question I ask myself every day. Planning works differently for everyone, you can do specific planning like TOTALLY CRAZILY ANALYZE EVERY SINGLE SCENE or you can grab 3 index cards and write your beginning, middle and end. Or you can find a middle ground.

I found my middle ground, and it works quite well.



Here is a basic outline of a chapter, this is what I use for all my chapters and it helps me gather basic information, not being too general and not being too specific. MIDDLE GROUND !!

Noor, making planning easy since 2016. 


I also do weird things like CHARACTER SKETCHES because I love them and they're my children/my best friends and I need to get to know them well so my readers (who probably won't exist until I PERFECT my novel) can get to know them well. 

Also so that they're not bland and boring like chicken broth, chicken broth isn't fun without a little PIZZAZZ. does anyone still say pizzazz anymore? probably not. 




Basically I just give some basic information on my character, what she's like, her backstory, her conflicts, her education for some reason, and also other things which I didn't show because spoilers. 

IT'S FUN AND EASY AND QUICK and helps me somewhat develop my sweet loves into COOL CHARACTERS. alliterations, haven't even started writing and I'm already using literary devices HAH. 



HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PLANNING.

I scream too much SORRY, I'm just so proud of myself because organization! That being said, I only have 3 chapters planned and NaNoWrimo is in 9 DAYS GTG. 

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Things I Learned From Writing 2 Horrible Books

Hello everyone! NaNoWrimo is approaching, fast. Only 16 days left until we begin the month of 2000 words a day hopefully more if I can.

This year I'm hopefully going to try and completely reinvent my writing technique and style, I've written two other books for NaNo that haven't gone.. well. 

Mistakes were made, things were learned, and things will be fixed. To possibly help myself, and maybe others, here are a list of the many, many, things that I did wrong when writing. Let's go.


i've decided to start all writing posts with a textpost. let's laugh at ourselves



some outline/plan is probably needed 

I never planned my novels. Mistake number one. I thought, hey I can be a pantser and wing it, right? (i can't be a pantser) So I have this general idea in my head, a beginning and an end, but other than that, I got nothing. Nothing. Time to plan, as much as I despise it, I need a plan of how things are gonna go and connect. ugh

maybe this way i won't take an entire day out of nano and sit on my bed asking myself where the heck am i taking this novel

*me in November after I planned* i CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW. THE RAIN IS GONE. I CAN SEE ALL OBSTACLES IN MY WAY. IT'S GONNA BE BRIGHT. 




my characters need some sort of personality

My characters are always so flat? Or they're always the same? Just these people who are either horrible, really perky, or like depressed. And that's all there is. 

Hey Noor.. there's something called character development. Try it sometime huh? 


it's gonna be ugly. don't give up on it

It's called a "first" draft for a reason. It's ugly, it's bad, but it can be fixed. And your *wink* plan helps it to be not as ugly. It'll be a not messy ugly. And there's always editing. Not that you're supposed to like it. But it'll make everything pretty AND not messy. 

Don't focus on making a single chapter perfect, it's really okay if it's not, go back and make it perfect later in the year. Right now, we gotta focus on FINISHING this not messy ugly first draft. 

Let your hands just type type type. Give them power, not too much though, they could kill some people... or too many people. 




stop stalling

As much fun as it is, I cannot spend all of November creating beautiful aesthetic Pinterest storyboards. Hey hey don't moan, you know I'm right.

And no you can't use a whole chapter on your two favorite children getting nice things. WE CAN'T ALWAYS HAVE NICE THINGS. 

Don't hold off on those deaths either.. they're painful but people die. it happens. *sobs*



don't. compare. yourself. to. others. 

Hey look at you, all the crazy things you're balancing and writing at the same time. Yeah they finished their novel in a week but that doesn't matter! Keep doing what you're doing, that 2k words a day is amazing, especially with all those crazy things! 

give yourself a high five, reward yourself with a chapter about a dragon, you deserve it me. 


have fun with it

oh come on, did you really think writing was a serious thing that you had to put your serious face and burn your hands into the abyss to finish that chapter. i mean yeah but HAVE FUN. writing is fun, that's why you do it. 

(i probably will have other opinions on this topic come november) 

BUT dance to Hamilton, get a slice of cake, read a little bit, have fun with writing and let yourself be free. F U N. 




Are you doing NaNoWrimo this year? If so tell me about your novel and also.. email me if you want to be writing buddies, we could all be in a big group and it would be COOL BEANS.


Thanks for reading,
Noor

Sunday

autumn adventures

Hello everyone! Today I did some very f a l l things and felt very f a l l and took some very f a l l pictures so enjoy this f a l l post. F A L L




first we visited the first pumpkin farm of the day, i love those little white pumpkins, you could do so many creative things with them! i'd love to but they were kind of overpriced.. oops.. 


that corn was very beautiful, traditional f a l l. And ohmy those pumpkins, are GORGEOUS. You can't exactly see them that well but they were carved and then had little flowers stuck into them :0


stop number two! i only took one picture, but they had these pumpkin statues and I had to get a picture of the Harry Potter ones, ahh I was so happy, good for you pumpkin statue creators. 


stop three was a lil petting zoo, we didn't originally plan on stopping but it was cute so!! we saw these adorable pigs who smelled bad but there was a baby and it was the actual cutest thing ever??

this duck looked so peaceful, quiet, content with life, everything i have not been for the past week. it is a reminder of who i want to be. you go duck. you go. 


some goat buddies, they were interesting, i like their horns. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THEIR EYES THOUGH?? it's like yellow with a little black slit like that's scary but also the coolest thing ever.


some more cute animals but seriously that baby with its mother gave me warmth and hope inside. 


so. many. freakin. pumpkins. but the color of pumpkins is so nice, can we appreciate for a second?



and to end off the post, here is a very aesthetic picture of my sneakers and the leaves. enjoy 


how f a l l do you feel right now? do you feel the worlds of halloween coming into your soul? good. 

let me know some of the things you do that make you feel f a l l 

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Friday

25 Thoughts About Hamilton The Musical

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts, I've just been uber busy lately but since I have a 4 day weekend, I'm hoping to plan and schedule some posts so I can get this blog back up and running!

Lately, I've been 100% obsessed with Hamilton, which is a Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of America. I actually went and saw this musical back in March, when I was not so obsessed with it, but my friend was, so she dragged me along with her but it was AMAZING and I appreciate it so much more now.

Thus, I created this post, 25 thoughts I have while thinking, listening, or watching Hamilton. Enjoy friends.



1. The opening is so good? It sends literal chills through my body all the time I mean WOW



2. ahem. WHAT TIME IS IT Showtime, showtime yo! I'm John Laurens in the place to be. A-two pints o' Sam Adams but I'm working on three. Ha! Those redcoats don't want it with me. Cause I will pop-chicka-prrop these cops till I'm free.

I C O N I C

3. The Schulyer Sisters are so precious at the beginning? And they kick butt in their first song I mean WOW, slay Thomas Jefferson and his sexist butt, Angelica.



4. Also?? WHy didn't Peggy get a song? Like she was in the first song and then died like, PEGGY DESERVED MORE RECOGNITION !!

5. The King George songs are the funniest things ever. Jonathan Groff is a precious human being. And his accent during the songs.. A+ man. Also he was on Glee so that's a plus.

You need proof that Jonathan is great? Look up "The Schulyer Georges" on Youtube :)


this is what you're missing out on

6. Burr literally got REJECTED in Right Hand Man. Like: "BURR: hey washington i'd love to be your right hand man." "WASHINGTON: nah man Hamilton seems better lol"

7. You know, Burr and Hamilton may hate each other. But there's one thing they have in common. THEY'RE RELIABLE WITH THE LADIES!

8. HELPLESS IS SUCH A CUTE SONG. Eliza is a baby that must be protected what a CUTIE. 

Look into your eyes. And the sky’s the limit I’m Helpless! Down for the count! And I’m drownin’ in ‘em <3


9. Satisfied is a really INSANELY good song but also a really INSANELY sad song. I'm obviously Eliza x Alexander for the win but Angelica :(

10. The Story of Tonight has a special place in my heart, it just makes me warm and fun inside :D

Raise a glass to freedom! Something they can never take away. No matter what they tell you.
Raise a glass to the four of us! Tomorrow there’ll be more of us. 



11. Wait For It is such a pleasant song, probably my favorite Burr song. I love Leslie Odom Jr. 

Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep loving anyway.

12. Stay Alive is such a wild ride, it starts out with Eliza being really emotional and then everyone really mysterious and then INTENSE and then mysteriously INTENSE and it's like

woah let's just slow down for a second buds

13. Ten Duel Commandments is such an underappreciated song like it's so fun and upbeat and also really ironic. 

Alexander. Aaron Burr, sir. Can we agree that duels are dumb and immature? Sure.

a h e m

14. Meet Me Inside: "WASHINGTON: s-" "HAMILTON: call me son ONE MORE TIME"

15. Guns and Ships is such a fun song, LAFAYETTE'S RAPS WOW. and the Alexander Hamilton little bit in there is so f u n. 


when you don't know the rap in guns and ships

16. Yorktown is also so intense like references from so many songs and it's an amazing song. It makes me want to jump on my bed with the rock symbol while headbanging, imagine it. YES YES YES WHOO ALRIGHT LET's GOO. HARDCORE

all the readers right now: what a loser

17. What I'd Miss is also such an unappreciated song. It starts with Burr doing this killer catchy beat in the beginning and then Jefferson does this catchy stuff and this this AWESOME like traditional Broadway song comes in




18. The Cabinet Battles are intense, similar to the debates of our presidential candidates whOOPS

19. The whole Say No To This, Hurricane, Burn saga makes me CRY. Why Ham, WHY.

ELIZA SCHULYER DESERVED B E T T E R. Ham is so lucky that Eliza forgave him I mean wow. If I was Eliza and I heard "Say No To This" I would have packed my bags, grabbed my children that my husband neglected and move the heck away from him. 



20. The Room Where It Happens is also a really good song. Poor Burr, he just wanted to be in the room, maybe for a couple seconds or something. 

21. Washington On Your Side is so underappreciated, I don't really like what it's about but it's a fairly upbeat song, I don't usually skip it. The raps are fun. And it's always like "hey Ham! You have washington on your side haha you're so lucky, we secretly hate you :)"

22. It's Quiet Uptown may be one of my favorite songs on the album because it was so sad but Eliza and Alexander made up and that's all that matters to me <3

23. I LOVE YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT IT's ONE OF MY FAVES give it some love please it's such a wonderful song, especially Burr's part what a beautiful song. even though it's where they literally decide to try and kill each other in a duel it's still BEAUTIFUL ok

Dear Alexander:

I am slow to anger. But I toe the line. As I reckon with the effects. Of your life on mine. I look back on where I failed


well you did by agreeing to that duel


24. You wanna know the song I skip everytime? The World Was Wide Enough. THAT SONG makes me CRY every. single time. Ham literally didn't learn anything from Phillip. "ok so in a duel, my son shot up at the sky and died. you know what i'm gonna do the EXACT same thing. hopefully i won't die hah"



yeah you're gonna pay for it


25. Eliza Schulyer wanted to make sure her husband was known for the good things, despite all the bad things he did for her. And for that, she's the hero of his story honestly WHAT A WOMAN. 

 you did good eliza. 



in conclusion, i love this musical and you all should too. 


have you watched/listened to hamilton? what's your favorite song? who's your favorite? DO YOU WANT TO FANGIRL WITH ME?


Thanks for reading,
Noor

ps: if i haven't responded to your email, i am so so sorry, i will totally get to that. and also if you want to writing buddies for nano, pls pls email me as well!