NaNoWrimo- Week 3...already?

See below on how to win a free YA book, but first we discuss NaNoWrimo!

I can't believe it's week three of NaNoWrimo already. Does that scare anyone else? I'm practically shaking in my boots...or Converse actually.

All in all, week three has been a success so far. I have yet to write today (today being Thursday afternoon) and I'm at 30,291. I was able to fill gaps and grow my characters while writing like a madwoman. I hope to come close to 35,000 today since I won't be able to write Friday-Sunday. At this point, I'm happy with my progress, despite realizing that I will have to rewrite the whole thing over again. That's what NaNo is for, right? Developing your ideas and characters before making the next draft pretty. Make sure to share how you're doing in the comments section.

Our frequent visitors may have noticed that we've placed a YAedge Follower widget in the sidebar. If you aren't following us already, please do so! Once we hit 30 followers, I will be giving away one YA book* to one lucky random follower. For every 30 followers, a new book will be available to win (one free book at 30, then 60 and so on)!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and hits their NaNoWrimo goals!

*I have yet to decide what book that will be, but will keep you updated.

1k-a-day Day 21

Tami's day 20 word count:
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank:
Music:
Mindset:

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Tracy's day 20 word count: Zero
Tracy's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank: Lots
Music: My iTunes mix
Mindset: I didn't actually write a single word of my own yesterday, but I went to the public library and wrote notes from books on world mythology, Psychology Today magazine, and an awesome book, Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them byHans Biedermann. I'm gleaning ideas for Witch's Shadow and it's sequel, Witch's Ladder. I love research, after all, I am a library technician. ;) I have lots of info to weave into the story today.

I'm feeling kinda lonely now....no Tami, no 1k-a-dayers, no chocolate (rotten diet). Where's all my peeps?!

1k-a-day Day 20

Tami's day 19 word count:
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank:
Music:
Mindset:

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Haven't heard from Tami in a few days...she must be having an awesome vacation. I bet she'll come back with incredible word counts, too. ;)

Tracy's day 19 word count: LI: nadda, WS: 1294
Tracy's July word count: 23 360
Overall word count: WS now: 19 529
Cups of coffee drank: Many. The river of java never ended.
Music: I think I have a new procrastination tool. When I'm stuck on a sentence or a scene, I go onto iTunes and shop. This is not good. This is addictive. This is expensive. But....oh well. Yesterday's acquired tunes: 21 Guns (Green Day), Everything is Alright (Motion City Soundtrack), Ain't No Rest for the Wicked (Cage the Elephant), and more. Fun stuff - until my iTunes card runs out.
Mindset: Fully charged. I've been changing up my workout schedule. I learned the hard way that writers have to make time to exercise, as well as write, or our asses grow faster than our word counts. Anyway, since I'm already up freakishly early (5:30am) I eat breakfast, write for an hour and then workout (instead of in the evening). When I return to my laptop, I'm recharged and ready to take on the world. Today, I just might even venture back into the land of Losing It.

So put on some tunes, get those bodies moving and then sit down to write your rock-the-world novel!

1k-a-day Day 19

Tami's day 18 word count:
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank:
Music:
Mindset:

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Tracy's day 18 word count: LI: nadda, WS: 1141
Tracy's July word count: 22 066
Overall word count: WS now 18 235
Cups of coffee drank: 1 pot, plus a few
Music: Out of the tunes I purchased, I think I listened to Heartless by The Fray the most.
Mindset: Revved up. I can't believe how many words we've managed to write in just 18 days! All of us have produced more than we have if left to our own devices and so the July challenge has already been worthwhile - and just think - it's not over yet! We have 13 more opportunities to reach that infamous 1k-a-day. Don't stop now, guys.

I know it can be difficult to block out time to write. But you have to. I was searching the net for ideas on time management and discovered this most excellent blog post by C. L. Wilson at Writers at Play: Making Time to Write.

Check it out. And then WRITE!

1k-a-day Day 18

Tami's day 17 word count:
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank:
Music:
Mindset:

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With Tami on vaycay, she may not get to log in her word counts everyday - so you're all stuck with me! ;)

Tracy's day 17 word count: LI: nadda, WS: 655
Tracy's July word count: 20 925
Overall word count: WS: 17 094
Cups of coffee drank: 0, it was Chai tea all the way
Music: Frustrated when I tried to work on Losing It and every idea seemed like crap, I went on a bit of an iTunes shopping spree. I got a few songs from The Frey, The Used, Modest Mouse. And in a vastly different genre, a song by the Abrams Brothers. I usually don't like covers, especially when the cover artist/band doesn't make the song their own and does a shoddy job of copying the original. But then I heard this version of Coldplay's Viva la Vida and, well, it's catchy and the guys are like 17:


Mindset: The last few chapters of Losing It are kicking my butt. Each ending I come up with seems contrived, fake and generally icky. Witch's Shadow was much more fun to work on, but I still didn't make it to 1k. Sigh. However, I took my dog to the beach, worked out, cleaned the house, watched a movie....meh, sometimes you gotta be happy with 655. ;)

How's the writing going for you guys?

1k-a-day Day 17

Tami's day 16 word count: 1,143
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank: a latte at the airport
Music:
Mindset: wrote on plane listening to screaming kids

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Hey, Tami - you managed to get in your words - and plus some! Wow. ;)

Tracy's day 16 word count: LI: 1012 WS: nadda
Tracy's July word count: 21 282
Overall word count: LI: 40 884
Cups of coffee drank: Well, the one that stood out the most was the cup I had while getting my hair cut at the salon. The last time I lifted the cup to my mouth there were clipped strands of my hair floating on the surface from when the hairdresser blowdried my new do. Ick.
Music: I had a Feist day yesterday. When it first came out, I played her CD, The Reminder, until I was sick of it. Now I'm ready to love it again. ;) "Sealion" is amazing and I'd love to see her band play it live. "Brandy Alexander" is cool, too. Oh, and "I Feel It All" is fab (best line from it, the truth lies). I don't care if it came out in 2007 - just get the CD!
Mindset: I struggled to stay focused on writing yesterday. We put up some new shelves in my office (more books=more shelves). When re-organizing the piles of books on my desk for their new official wall-mounted home, I re-read/skim read through a few of my favourites and the day flew by in a blur of other writer's words.

Alright 1k-a-dayers, keep writing those stories that will someday happily distract a reader from getting to their to-do list!

1k-a-day Day 16

Tami's day 15 word count: 545
Tami's July word count: 14,620
Overall word count:4,801 (I worked on my newer WIP Worst Days)
Cups of coffee drank: 2
Music: Jakob Dylan (love his solo album)
Mindset: Frazzled. I'm leaving to go out of town tomorrow and I had to get as many words in as I could. 545 isn't 1k, but it is something. Tonight I have to pack, do laundry and get the cats ready to be alone. Not fun, but I can't wait to be on vacation! Though I will be gone, I will be writing and hopefully updating my word count daily...even if I have to do it from my husband's iphone! We'll see what happens.


How'd it go today, Tracy? Thanks for showing us your plot board and taking care of the blog by yourself while I'm gone!!

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No worries, Tami. Have a fantastic vacation - but still write! ;)

Tracy's day 15 word count: LI: 909, WS: 165
Tracy's July word count: 20 270
Overall word count: LI now: 39 872, WS now: 16 439
Cups of coffee drank: 4 and none of them were great (I ran out of my toffee caramel creamer), so I went out for coffee around mid-day
Music: A friend of mine inspired me to wander back to my "heavy metal" days. Which is laughable, really. When I listen to those bands now, I'm like - I thought this was badass music? Damn, it's pop music! I'm talking Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Van Halen - I'm dating myself, eh? lol...
Mindset: Steadfast. This is it - I'm in the home stretch with Losing It and I'm riding an adrenaline rush. If only I could decide - do I kill the dog off - just have her injured....or does she run away, her fate unknown....hmmmm.....

Remember to save those documents. Do backups of backups. You're cranking out the numbers, we don't want to lose this stuff!

1k-a-day Day 15

Tami's day 14 word count: 1,007
Tami's week 2 word count: 7,557
Tami's July word count: 14,075
Overall word count: 3,988 (on Parlor)
Cups of coffee drank: 1 and a cup of hot chocolate :)
Music: I listened to IZ, a Hawaiian singer
Mindset: Today was tough again. I had a bit of work to do at my day job and when I got home all I wanted to do was rest and sleep. I only slept a few hours the night before and was seriously dragging. The bug bites on my feet are getting worse and it looks like I've earned a trip to the doctor tomorrow. :( These things always happen to me right before vacation.


How'd you fair, Tracy?

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Good luck with the feet, Tami. (I've got all those bug bite urban legends running through my mind...let us know if you're going to be a baby spider mommy...ewww...sorry, couldn't resist...lol..)

Tracy's day 14 word count: LI: 527, WS: nadda
Tracy's week 2 word count: LI: 3226, WS: 3126 - total: 6352
Tracy's July word count: 19 196
Overall word count: LI: 38 963
Cups of coffee drank: Zippo. I stuck with water and lemon wedges yesterday for some reason.

Music: I had a few horror movies playing in the background while I wrote - so maybe....screams? Ick. lol....
Mindset: Yesterday was a plotting day for me. I've worked my characters into a corner in Losing It and had to figure a way out for them. I ended up writing down key scenes I have left to write and shuffling the order until I found a path that is logical and yet quirky enough to be true to the characters and the story. Here's what I ended up with, an organized mess of ideas glued onto coloured paper and posted on the bulletin board that hangs beside my desk:

Does anyone else do this kind of visual organization when they're plotting? Or is it just me? :0 I've been very focused on Losing It, since it's so close to being done. I might have to put Witch's Shadow on hold for a bit.

Okay, guys - let's stun the word count gods today and write an insane amount!

And the Winners Are...

For week 3... Denise Jaden! Congrats Denise! I'll be sending your lot of books out after week 4 because I have a feeling you may win that one too! Anyone up for the challenge of trying to beat Denise on the last week?

The Big Question 2 winner is...
Okay, I'm a softy. I can't resist all of your wonderful answers. We're going to give TWO books away so the two winners are Kristin B ( I couldn't resist the water bed story...too good. And Jonathan Brandis? ::sigh:: LOL).

Winner #2 is Lauren (Shooting Stars Mag) with her great description of everything in her room! Love all the books and signed posters, Lauren!

If you're a winner, please email me with your choice of book, please email us @ YAedge@yahoo.com with your name and address. I'll be mailing the books out this weekend!

Here's the books available:

How To Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
ttyl by Lauren Myracle
Valiant by Holly Black
Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Platinum by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot
Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Congrats everyone and thanks for playing! We'll have another Big Question this coming weekend!

1k-a-day Day 21

9 more days...time flies when you're having fun. Don't forget, today is Friday so post those week end word counts to win this week's book. I'll post the books still available later today!

Also, look for a new big question this weekend!

Tami's Day 20 WC:
Tami's overall WC: 35,845
Music: Josh Rouse again
Mindset: If only I could count the word count I put toward a new idea I was working on today, as well as the blog post on critiques. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
Tami's Day 21 WC: will update later!

Were you able to write yesterday, Tracy? I know you mentioned you'll be on your way to Edmonton soon! Have a fun and safe trip!

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Wow - I worked on a booktrailer project all morning and just now came up for air. Whew! Fun, but OMG the hours fly by when you're in the computer zone.

I didn't write a thing yesterday because of the book fair. But we're leaving for Eddy in a few hours, so I've got some time to write before the road trip. Let's hope it don't snow no more!

Tracy's Day 20 WC: 0
Tracy's overall WC: 18, 078

Mindset: Distracted, but hopeful.

Tracy's Day 21 WC: will update later

Gotta keep focused, people! We're in the home stretch.

1k-a-day Day 20

10 more days...can you believe it? The time has flown WAY too fast. I've had way too many days where I haven't written anything. I've also had the days where I hit the goal, but wrote mostly crap.

But, on the other hand, I also had great days. Days I felt confident with my word count. I hope to continue on this side of things for the next 10 days! I hope you can, too!

Tami's Day 19 WC: 1,0499,966
Tami's overall WC: 35,84534,658
Music: Josh Rouse
Mindset: Did okay. Don't love the new chapter, but don't hate it. I definitely have something to work with.
Tami's Day 20 WC: will update later!

Trace, how did the book fair go? Can you believe we only have 10 days left of November!?

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Yeah, where did the month go? I'm going to be struggling to write over the next few days with us going in to Edmonton, but the goal is to push through these last few days with everything I can muster. We so have to do this more than once a year.

Tracy's Day 19 WC:1119

Tracy's overall WC: 18, 078

Mindset: I'll be skim reading a ton of books again today at the bookfair. Hopefully they will inspire me to get home and write all through the night. Or at least until 10pm. (I really do go to bed at 9:07 - sad, eh?)

Tracy's Day 20 WC: 0 - too busy living (or is that surviving) to write! ;)

1k-a-day Day 19

Wow, are we already to Wednesday? Is this seriously day 19? Where is my life going? Are you asking yourself the same questions? Don't worry...you're not alone!

Look for a new big question coming soon!

Tami's Day 18 WC: Somewhere my word count got screwy. I think I only managed around 200 today. I'm hanging my head in shame.9,966
Tami's overall WC: 34,79634,658
Music: no music :(
Mindset: So, i'm very disappointed in myself. I think the only thing that's going to keep my head above water in my goal to hit 30k is the hope of this coming weekend and Thanksgiving. Thank god for that. ;)
Tami's Day 19 WC: 1,049

Didn't make it to the exercise class, eh Tracy? Don't blame ya on that one!

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I too am hanging my head - cause I bailed on that class...but I'm going next week. Sure I am. ;)

Tracy's Day 17 WC: 587

Tracy's overall WC: 18 078

Mindset: Hopeful. I have to run a book fair for the next few nights until 6:30pm. I'll be bringing my laptop to try and write in the lulls. Also, our movie theatre is having a pre-showing of Twilight at 10pm tonight. I'm thinking I just might go - to be in the audience on opening night would be a blast. However, I usually go to bed at 9:07pm (I'm a hard core morning person - I get up between 4:30 and 5am - always have - always will). So...I might bail on that idea too. :)

Tracy's Day 18 WC: 1119 (Whohoo! And on a bookfair night, too.)

1k-a-day Day 18

Hope you all have a good writing Monday. Here comes Tuesday! The weeks are flying by!

Tami's Day 17 WC: 0
Tami's November WC: 8,9339,966
Tami's overall WC: 33,62534,658
Music: Listened to Firewater today, but unfortunately got no writing done.
Mindset: Okay, so here's the deal. The writing gods must hate me. I was busy at work today, and didn't get a chance to even put in my thumb drive and open my book. No problem, right? There's always after work!
Then my friend who is helping me with critting the book signed on and we were talking about chapter 11. Stupidly, with 10 minutes left of work, I put in the thumb drive. What happens next you ask? Well, we came up with some great ideas on how to expand the relationship between my two MCs. Of course, I would need a copy of the book to do this.
When I signed off at work, I wasn't feeling great and just wanted to get the hell out of there. I'm sure you see where this is going. I get all the way home (about 15-20 min from work) and realize my thumb drive is still hanging out in my work computer. Lovely...I didn't back it up on my computer this weekend. MUST WRITE DOUBLE TIME TOMORROW! Sadly, I was actually looking forward to coming home, laying in bed and writing, now I've lost all desire unless it's to work on THAT scene.
Tami's Day 17 WC: Will update ASAP!

How did you manage your Monday, Tracy?

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Wow - Tami - I feel your writing angst. I know that today we'll both crank out the words and they will be divine. :) I attended a graphic novel/Manga workshop offered by my local public library last night. While most of the detaily stuff was over my head, I enjoyed learning just how punny certain Manga character names are if you understand Japanese.

Tracy's Day 17 WC: 723
Tracy's overall WC: 17, 491

Mindset: Bring on the exercise class today after school! I'm predicting lots of pain, but I need my body recharged so I can sit at my laptop all night.

Tracy's Day 18 WC: 587 Sigh. And I don't have the exercise class to blame because I didn't go!

1k-a-day Day 17

We are now officially into the hard part of Week 3...the actual week. This week should be easier, because by now you know what it feels like to work through the week...pick your battles. That's my advice. The battles with co-workers, family, friends and even your characters. If your MC decides to battle aliens, even though you're writing a YA love story, let them. You never know what may come from such an adventure!

Don't forget to answer the big question before today at 6pm PST to win a free book!

Tami's Day 16 WC: 1,033
Tami's November WC: 9,966
Tami's overall WC: 34,658
Music: Again, nothing. Just silence and the whirl of my old laptop.
Mindset: I'm feeling better. Not great, but more like a human being. I actually sat down and wrote today and it went quite well. I didn't get a ton of words, but I went back and edited and added in parts I wrote previous, as well as adding new stuff to the end. I started on a new chapter which was nice. I love starting new chapters. It's always refreshing, especially in the he said/she said format (which my book is in).
Tami's Day 17 WC: Will update ASAP! (I keep forgetting to update this..hopefully I'll remember this time!)

How did you manage in your blustery weather, Tracy?

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Yesterday was a great writing day - cold and icky outside - toasty and writerly inside. I'm close to finishing my edit for UMS which is exciting - other WIPs are calling from the wings.

Tracy's Day 16 WC: 1776
Tracy's overall WC: 16, 768

Mindset: I loved reading everyone's procrastination stories (great question, Tami). Reading how everyone struggles with life and health issues, and online promotion, and distractions - well, it helps, ya know? I have to organize a bookfair at school this week and we're going to visit family in Edmonton on the weekend - so my major challenge will be writing in the down times. If there are any.

Tracy's Day 17 WC: 723 words - rats.

1k-a-day Day 16

Are we really half through? Hard to believe, isn't it? I hope you are all still enjoying the ride as much as I am. For those of you feeling a little less inspired lately, we've decided to give a book away today just for the hell of it. SO, check the blog later today for your chance to win!

Tami's Day 15 WC: 553
Tami's November WC: 8,933
Tami's overall WC: 33,625
Music: Nothing because I can't listen to music when sick for some reason.
Mindset: So I didn't get the huge word count like I wanted but there is always tomorrow. I'm feeling a little better, now manageable. I did finish two pretty good books in the last day! Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak (not his best but still good) and Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass (loved it!).
Tami's Day 16 WC: 1,033

How's it hanging in Alberta, Tracy?

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Ah, so lovely to have my blog cohort, hortting away with me again. :)

Things are a bit messy around here - our first major snowfall has started the fun melt-and-freeze process, so my dogs are either tracking in mud or sliding into the house at full speed. One good thing about winter yard duties though - frozen doggie poop is easy to bag. (Now ain't that just what you wanted to hear this morning?)

Tracy's Day 15 WC: 706

Tracy's overall WC: 16, 768

Mindset: Where has November gone? We're half way through our challenge already. I have to start producing more words...time to light the fire under my butt with the BBQ lighter.....whooooohoooooo....

Tracy's Day 16 WC: 1776! :) A good day.