Happy New Year and a TBR Extravaganza!

by Andrea Renee Cox

May many blessings and joys come your way this new year. What goals do you have for 2018? I am aiming to learn a lot more about grace (my One Word for this year), but I'm also diving back into a couple of different writing projects. Firstly, there's the fictional story I began during last November's NaNoWriMo. I want to finish the first draft this month and tackle my first round of edits during February and March. Secondly, I'm jumping back into a Bible study I began writing about a year or so ago. (The time frame eludes me, quite honestly; it's been on my heart for a long time now, I know that!)

Here's a little more about both projects (both copyrighted by me):

A Glimpse at a Rough Draft

by Andrea Renee Cox

This month is insanely busy for me, but I am remembering to take time to enjoy life and rest between my various projects. This weekend, I saw Murder on the Orient Express, which was a phenomenal story, one which I recommend studying to learn how to write complex plots that keep viewers guessing until the very end. I also saw a re-showing of Casablanca—a celebration of its 75th anniversary—an old classic I didn’t appreciate the first time I watched it. Cut me some slack, though. I was a teenager who understood nothing of politics back then. Even though I am still not a fan of politics, I understand more about them now, and I’ve learned a great deal about WWII since the last time I viewed that classic movie. 

As for rest, I’m soaking in snippets of the Word of God. I’m finding it helpful to meditate on a single verse or small section of verses these days, since I am so busy. This still keeps my mind and heart focused on God and His Word, even as chaos is pinballing around me. I love writing these verses on the white board in my room as well as on 3-by-5-inch notecards to stick in my purse, keep at my desk, and prop up on my bookcase (which I visit often, as you can imagine, my being an avid reader). At other times, I like to flip open to a favorite section in the Bible and read a full chapter. While doing this, I pay extra-special attention to any passages that I had previously highlighted, underlined, or circled—and I often end up finding hope, encouragement, and a whisper of love from the God I serve. Those moments are the most precious of my day.

These days, I need all the encouragement I can get, because I’m nearing the middle of NaNoWriMo, which is a challenge to write at least 50,000 words toward a new book during the month of November. Believe it or not, I’m past 40k already. Still going strong too. I’m at that point now where I’m doubting the quality of my work and dreading the editing. Normally when I reach this point, I hit a slump in my writing. I don’t know if it’s a dip in my confidence or a gap in my timeline (or lack of a timeline altogether). This year I have most of a timeline, and my confidence is stronger than in NaNos past. Still, I find myself struggling to find words right when I sit down.

Since I’m talking about NaNoWriMo and the story I’m working on, how would you like to see a section of my very rough first draft? Sharing something so raw and unedited makes me nervous, but I appreciate you guys so much that I want to share this tidbit with you. Here goes…

Prep Work for Another NaNo

by Andrea Renee Cox

It’s just about that time again. NaNoWriMo begins on November 1, which is barely over a week from now. In case you haven’t yet heard, NaNoWriMo is short for the National Novel Writing Month—November—during which writers come together online and try to each write 50,000 words in a new book. Some are rebels and work on screenplays, short stories, or a new draft of an old book. I’ve been one of those rebels before, but this year I’ll be starting from scratch on an entirely new story.

How does one go about preparing for NaNoWriMo?

That’s a fantastic question. I used to simply wing it. Yep, I’m serious. I’d pick the idea most prevalent in my mind and dive into it with zero prep work done. No character sketches, no timeline, no backstories… nothing. It seemed to work… for a while. Then I’d get stuck. Not just I’m-in-the-ditch-someone-tow-me-out stuck, but actual I’m-in-a-fifteen-car-pileup-and-the-rescue-team-is-behind-miles-of-traffic stuck. It would typically take three to five days of precious writing time staring at the page and maybe getting a single paragraph written during that entire span.

In recent years, though, I’ve changed from a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of their pants, or without a lot of prep work ahead of time) to a plantser (a combination or pantser and plotter), but this year I’m considering myself more of a plotter (someone who prepares ahead of time and might have at least a rough outline of their story and/or character sheets worked up).