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December 1st, 2009
Teen Author Challenge, Week 20 – Celebrate!
Can you believe it’s December already? And if it’s December, you know what that means. NaNoWriMo is over! Congratulations! Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
Teen Author Challenge As all of you NaNoWriMo-ers take your first deep breath since the challenge began back on November 1st, I want to talk about something I’m a big, big believer in. Celebrating! Writing a book is a process. A long, sometimes frustrating, sometimes gratifying, always worthwhile process. NaNoWriMo is a great example of that because it’s a short-term intense burst of writing. 50,000 words in 30 days. And I’ve been delighted to see so many people celebrating their success (and each other’s success!) on Twitter, blogs and elsewhere. Awesome! The thing is, I think we should be celebrating more often. Celebrating things that may not seem as huge and momentous but are every bit as important on the road to seeing your manuscript finished. Sure, it’s easy to remember to celebrate typing The End. But what about writing the largest number of words in a single day in the history of your writing career? What about writing through an illness, yours or someone you care for? What about sending your work out to critique partners for the first time, daring to share your project with someone else who may or may not agree with your choices? All of those things… and so many more… are worthy of being celebrated. Now, that doesn’t mean champagne brunch at every turn. (Especially if you’re underage.) I like to celebrate by taking an entire day off just to spend with my family and read. I literally have stacks of books in my serenity room (aka library) just waiting for me to read, but I have a terrible time reading them because, if I’m on deadline, I feel like I should be writing. If I have time to read, I have time to write, no? But reading is part and parcel of our job as writers. Not just to refill the well and be inspired, but to explore the finer points of storytelling in the work of our favorite authors. The nice thing is, it doesn’t cost me anything. The books are already there waiting for me. (And if I couldn’t afford books of my own, I’d simply check them out of the library.) It’s an easy, affordable reward that I absolutely adore. So this week, as you’re writing, take the time to think about the milestones you’ve passed so far in your writing journey and find a way to reward yourself. You deserve to recognize your own achievements! Buzz Tip of the Week Today, I’m offering up the first of two great posts from agent Rachelle Gardner that shed a little light on some basic financial aspects of being a professional writer. If you’ve ever wanted to know how the royalties thing works, here’s your chance. cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-book-royalties-work.html Your Weekly Challenge How did you do on your writing last week? Comment below with your weekly results from last Tuesday through today so we can cheer your progress! And if you participated in NaNoWriMo, tell us how you did! Even if you didn’t meet the entire goal, I’ll bet you got far more writing done than you would have otherwise. And that’s always a win.
Go forth and be creative!
Entry Filed under: Paying It Forward,Teen Author Challenge |
Project FMGM proposalCOMPLETE! 
A 16 year old outsider gets tapped to join a secret society of good populars dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world.
On shelves now! IndieBound   I’m the author of teen fiction that I wish was based on my real life. My debut novel    
 #1 – GOOD GRIEF by Lolly Winston #2 – THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins #3 – CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins #4 – THE NAUGHTY LIST by Suzanne Young #5 – THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT by Kate DiCamillo #6 – WINGS by Aprilynne Pike #7 – EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich #8 – THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo #9 – HOW TO TRAIN A DRAGON by Cressida Cowell #10 – THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean #11 – THE SEVEN RAYS by Jessica Bendinger #12 – WHISPER by Phoebe Kitanidis #13 – SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus #14 – NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer #15 – MOLLY MOON’S INCREDIBLE BOOK OF HYPNOTISM by Georgia Byng #16 – GRACELING by Kristin Cashore (This is a second reading which is super rare for me. One of my all-time faves!) #17 – FIRE by Kristin Cashore #18 – THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff #19 – HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter #20 – NEED by Carrie Jones #21 – BRIGHTLY WOVEN by Alexandra Bracken #22 – CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones #23 – PROPHECY OF DAYS by Christy Raedeke #24 – THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN by Susan Beth Pfeffer #25 – THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown #26 – PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow #27 – THE OVERTON WINDOW – by Glenn Beck #28 – THE THIEF by Megan Whalen Turner #29 – PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White #30 – THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger #31 – MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins #32 – ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG by Ally Carter #33 – THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg |
It doesn’t happen overnight. If you’re in this for the long haul–taking the germ of an idea and seeing it through to final polished manuscript–you need to learn to reward yourself along the way.
But there are lots of different ways to celebrate. Some things cost money, other things are free. It’s all about finding ways to celebrate that make you feel good!
I finished my nano but not my book, which is awesome because I always write short. Of course, once I get rid of all the yuk, it might only be a few hundred words!
I celebrated by doing nothing for an entire day!
Teri
Awesome, Teri! LOL on the few hundred words feeling. I know that one well.
And go you on the Day of Nothing reward. That sounds like absolute bliss. *contented sigh*
I participated in NaNoWriMo, not to write a novel but to discipline myself. I want to write, but I’ve always lacked the discipline. I wanted to see if I could sit down for a few hours every day and write. It worked! I made it to the word count goal with 50,226 words, but then the NaNo counter kicked it down to 50,045 words for some reason. Still, it felt good to cross the finish line and even better to put that aside for a while and work on all the short story ideas that I came up with during the process. =)
That’s fantastic, Andrea! And absolutely, reward yourself by writing something different and fun for a bit. You’ve proven you have what it takes to be a discliplined writer – that’s a huge win on its own!