I’ve done the #CampNaNo multiple times but my only official #NaNoWriMo was in November of 2016. It was hard (so hard!) but I won and proudly waved my banner announcing it to the world. Woo-Hoo! I won’t have time to commit to the adventure this year, since I’m knee-deep in edits for my current manuscript. But I was inspired to join Bethany Jennings in a miniature version of Nano. This year I’ll be doing a #FlashWriMo! I’ll be writing a flash fiction story every day in November

Hey guys! Guess what time it is? You guessed it–Camp NaNoWriMo! With July 1 just around the corner, it’s time to prep for that once a year writing camping trip a la internet! The only question is: Are you joining me for camp, or is it time for you to take a vacation? If your answer is no, I totally understand! I hadn’t actually planned on doing NaNo camp this year, simply because I feel like my brain is going to explode (some days) and I was really looking forward to summer b

Just wow!! I can’t believe NaNoWriMo 2016 is finished! And did I mention I WON?! How did everyone do? Did you meet your goal? Are you still alive?? Here are my final stats for the month: Total Words Written: 54,086 (According to the NaNo site. Somehow when I verified my words with NaNo I lost 200+ words that Word says I had??) Number of Chapters Written: 43 Well, I survived my very first ‘official’ National Novel Writing Month! It was intense and there were days I doubted I w

Week #4 of NaNoWriMo–Aaannnddd I’m done! I WON NANOWRIMO! Woo Hoo! Here are my stats and what I hope to accomplish next week! (Even though I don’t have to!) Words Written This Week: 9,943 Total Words Written During NaNo: 51,070 Total Number of Chapters Written: 42 Word Goal for Next Week: 4,000 So close, guys! Just a few more days and we’ll be done! Since I’ve already won NaNo, I set my goal low for the last 4 days–just 1000 words per day! Still motivation! How did you do thi

Week #3 of NaNoWriMo is over! *cartwheel, backflip* Yippee!! Here are my stats and what I hope to accomplish next week! Words Written This Week: 11,204 Total Words Written During NaNo: 41,348 Total Number of Chapters Written: 36 Word Goal for Next Week: 10,000 How did it go? Are you ahead of your word count? What did you learn this week about your characters and the direction of your plot? Comment below! Happy writing, friends! #Fantasy #YA #AmWriting #Shimshon #NaNoWriMo #Na

Week #2 of NaNoWriMo is finished! Yay! Here are my stats and what I hope to accomplish next week! Words Written This Week: 16,666 Total Words Written During NaNo: 30,278 Total Number of Chapters Written: 27 Word Goal for Next Week: 10,000 How did it go this week for you? Did you meet your word count? What challenges do you face to hit your daily word count? Comment below! Happy writing, friends! #Fantasy #YA #AmWriting #Shimshon #NaNoWriMo #NaNoWriMo2016 #Writing

Week #1 of NaNoWriMo is finished! Phew! Here are my stats and what I hope to accomplish next week! Words Written:  13,612 Number of Chapters Written:  14 Word Goal for Next Week:  14,000 What about you? Did you meet your word count this week? How was your first week of National Novel Writing Month? Comment below! I’d love to hear your stats, too! Happy writing, friends! #Fantasy #YA #AmWriting #Shimshon #NaNoWriMo #NaNoWriMo2016 #Writing

It is here!! Finally! I’ve seriously been thinking about all things WriMo for well over a month now. And yes, I did indeed have the proverbial nightmare-where-I-missed-writing-any-words-on-day-one dream, the night before it all started. But thank God, it wasn’t reality! I actually got almost 4000 words written yesterday! *happy dance, happy dance, happy dance, and jazz hands* What has been a great motivator for me? Music, of course!! There’s nothing like a steady beat to keep

Okay, writing people. I have decided to do NaNoWriMo! My first ever ‘official’ dive into the craziness of 50,000 words in a single month! After all, the world needs my novel, right? Not gonna lie: I’m scared. Really scared. Why? Because I’m an overachiever. If I set a goal and don’t meet it, I’m more likely to spiral into a depression over it, than I am to let it roll from my shoulders and remind myself that the world won’t end if I don’t meet my goal. So, everything about th

Many of you may remember my time at Camp NaNoWriMo back in April and how much fun I had! Well, it was such a great time, I’ve decided to ‘go’ to camp one more time! Camp NaNoWriMo begins another month long session starting July 1 and runs through July 31. Once again, this is a condensed version of the official NaNoWriMo, which takes place in November and requires a word count of 50,000. For the Camp version, you set your own writing goal and get to hang out in a ‘cabin’ with

Who’s ready for camp?? Camp NaNoWriMo is a fun twist on the annual writer’s event that takes place in November. While the late fall commitment requires a word count of no less than 50,000, Camp NaNoWriMo is a bit more laid back with any word count you prefer to set for yourself! The idea is to set a goal you can reach, and to encourage one another to reach that goal. (*happy dance*) This super fun way to challenge yourself comes complete with a cabin of other writers who you

So, NaNoWriMo is officially over and I’m happy to say that it was a great encouragement to get me moving on editing my upcoming novel. Yes, I know the idea was to write a new manuscript, but I’ve already got a pile of those sitting around 😉 The book I worked on editing was actually written almost 18 months ago. The idea came to me one day, then I spent another day sitting in Starbucks banging out an outline, and three weeks later, it was written. I loved it! And my Alpha rea

One day left! One day in November. One day in NanoWriMo. One day to get my books for free! Don’t forget – today is Small Business Saturday! If you haven’t had a chance to get to some local shops, leave now! I had a great time walking through some of the local businesses of Lititz, with my oldest daughter. We enjoyed Olio, Aaron’s bookstore, The Curiosity Shoppe 2, and of course, I had to get a Raw Cap from Tomato Pie Cafe! (If you haven’t tried one, you must!) This is just a

Almost there! Tomorrow will be one full week into 2014 NaNoWriMo. How is it going? Have you begun writing yet? What are you writing about? Are you going in circles trying to even get started? Yeah, I’ve been there, too – no shame, my friends! I’m happy to say that for this NaNoWriMo, I’m well into my project of doing a major edit on my novel, “Fallen Ashes”. Each night I lie in bed and think about the story, where it’s going and how I’m inspired to make it better. Counting th

Well, it’s officially November – Time for NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month! I’ve been back and forth on whether to actually dive in with writing a brand new novel or not, when I have others I want to edit and pursue getting published. But I finally decided it doesn’t need to be an either / or decision – I’m going to participate by finishing a novel I’ve already written! 🙂 A novel I wrote over a year ago – and had returned to editing a few months back – needs more edi