Business and Blog Plans for 2018

MazieJanuary 23, 2018Leave a comment

It’s been a hot minute since I wrote last, and I mean literally I haven’t written anything aside from emails and facebook posts since November. NaNoWriMo kind of drained me a bit last year, and by the time I had my drive back, I got so sick, got better, then got sick again. It’s been one hell of a year so far but, never the less, happy new year friends.
I could waste your time and chatter on and on about how I spent my holiday, or where I’ve been the past two months, but I don’t really think any of it would make good content, which is a huge focus of mine this year: GOOD CONTENT.

I want to give you positive, meaningful and useful content, cohesive with my brand, among other goals I’ve set for my business and blog in 2018, which we’re going to be talking about today! So let’s just jump into the fun list part of the post that everyone will skip ahead to, shall we!

Business:

I want to create a more streamlined schedule for my freelance so that I can make time for more possible clients.
I want to zero in on my niche and find clients that fit my style better.
I want to pick up more one-off gigs, maybe go back to my roots of editing or paginating jobs.
I need to build my portfolio website, and formally list my services.
I need to draw up contracts for new clients.
I want to register my business.
I want my products to be stocked in at least 3 local store fronts.
I want to do monthly markets, and to expand my sales online (Etsy, Facebook marketplace, a shop on this site?!)

Blog:

I need a steady and reliable blog schedule.
I want to monetize, or grow my affiliate programs but only with companies that fit my brand.
I want to start a mailing list, with monthly newsletters, exclusive printables and what not.
Keep up with the rebrand, make sure all content on Instagram and this site is cohesive.
Expand my niche, but also stick to my guns and keep it simple, don’t focus on too many topics.
Build a media kit.
Be authentic, and make sure that my audience knows the blogger behind the posts. Be true to myself and don’t sacrifice what is in my heart for the brand.

Ultimately, I want my businesses, both freelance and Cozy Bones, and this blog to link up seamlessly, which is proving to be a bit more difficult since both businesses are completely different. I have contemplated with marketing myself as a Creative, and just using this as a blanket site for both projects, which would ultimately save me so much stress, but I run into the issue that maybe my freelance audience doesn’t want to see my crocheted cacti or sushi? I hope that’s not as confusing to read as it was to write, and I hope I can figure out a way to incorporate both into the site at some point, mainly because I don’t feel like building another site!

What are your goals for your business or blog this year?
Do you separate your goals into categories too or am I just insane?
Thanks for reading,

How to Win NaNoWriMo Early

MazieNovember 30, 2017Leave a comment

Originally I wrote this post for SprintShack! But with their permission, I’m bringing the article over here since it suits the occasion! Here is the original link:

6 Secrets To Winning NaNoWriMo Early

For most people, dedicating a whole month to writing 50,000 words can sound a bit shocking, and that number alone can scare a lot of newcomers out of even trying NaNoWriMo. But for the insane percentage of people who do participate in it every year, we know that 50,000 words is not that daunting once you break it down into daily goals of 1667. I know that I personally have a few people on my buddy list who stretch for 200,000 words in the month of November, which is way too intense for me, but all the power to them. It’s all just a matter of setting your daily goals a little higher than the suggested word count.

But sometimes the word count isn’t the scary part. Sometimes, it’s the time that people have to set aside to work on NaNoWriMo on a daily basis. It’s not always possible for people to work on their project for 30 days straight, and this is where finishing your 50k early comes to be most handy.

Today we are going to be talking about how I beat the clock and win NaNoWriMo early every year. Here are some of my secrets to getting ahead and staying above the suggested daily goals:

I personally write an average of 2200-3000 words a day on days that I am working, and 5000 words on days that I am not working. I tend to split up my writing sessions into 3 separate times (early morning before work, before dinner, and before bed). This helps me split up the times and helps me gather my thoughts before binge writing.
I try to do at least one write-a-thon a week. Sometimes I don’t even set big goals for them, but I don’t separate the sessions. If you want to learn more about my tips for write-a-thons, check out my post about them!
Sprints are my absolute best friend during writing sessions. I am generally a focused writer and don’t have a procrastination issue, but I do get easily distracted by the Internet, by my kitten and by all kinds of chores and things I could be doing instead of writing. So I set up a schedule for my sprints. I will write down what sprint times I want to do, and then I will also schedule my break times and what tasks I want to do during the break times. Whether those tasks are switching my laundry over, or sweeping the apartment, or anything that helps me feel more productive, they really help me justify sitting down to write for longer periods of time.
I scout out fast writers in the forums and add them as buddies on the NaNoWriMo website. I often find myself racing a lot of them or trying to keep up with them. I am very competitive by nature, so it’s really easy for me to get motivated when I see people 4000 words ahead of me. I keep a tab of my writing buddies page open at all times.
If you don’t think setting a word count goal for yourself will motivate you, try using the daily-suggested word counts on the NaNo Stats page. Usually, if I can’t get motivated to write a bunch of words, I tell myself that I am going to write ahead two days and set my goal for the one on the website accordingly. For example, if it’s Day 5, I will tell myself to write ahead to get to Day 7 on that day instead. Even if you only write ahead one day, you are still a step ahead.
When you get ahead, don’t stop writing. Even when I am 10,000 words ahead of the suggested goal I make sure I am writing at least the recommended number of words per day, because as soon as you stop writing you will start losing momentum and you will start losing progress. One day will turn into 2 days and that could and has easily turned into a week of no writing. The goal is to win early to give yourself free time at the end of the month. Obviously if you have plans on a day that you would normally be writing, don’t hesitate to take a day off if you have to, but do make sure that your reason is never lack of motivation.

I really hope that all these tips have given you some ideas on amping up your writing sessions and have given you some insight into the processes of those people who have already won. The biggest thing to remember is that while NaNoWriMo is supposed to be a challenge, it’s also supposed to be a fun experience full of writing habit-building as well as a way to meet other writers locally and around the world. Don’t rush through NaNo just to “get it over with.” With all that extra time, you could set a higher goal, you could start editing and take up some of the sponsors on their winner offers, or you could just spend the rest of the month cheering on your fellow Wrimos!

If you have any tips or tricks for getting ahead and winning NaNoWriMo early, please feel free to leave those in the comments below. I would love to hear them and maybe try a few out!

Guide to NaNoWriMo Health

MazieNovember 29, 2017Leave a comment

This post was originally meant for Preptober, but we all know how that went down! So today we will be talking about health and NaNoWriMo!

The reasons why health is so important should be nothing but obvious but if you aren’t sure it is as simple as:
No health = No you =No novel! Think of it like Legend of Zelda heart containers!

So how can you make sure to stay healthy and safe from harm during NaNoWriMo, or any other intense challenge you ask? You’ve come to the right place.

10 Tips For Being a Healthy Wrimo:

1. Don’t sacrifice your sanity for your novel : self explanatory, just make sure to take time for you and don’t stress out about word counts too much!
2. Water water water water: When you aren’t getting enough fluids, it affects activity in your brain and prevents creativity! So research how much water you should be drinking in one day, and drink that….and a half.
3. Meal planning is your friend: You may not have time to hit the kitchen and prepare meals for royalty! Get some mason jars and plan your weeks meals on one day of the week when you know you’ll have more free time!
4. Healthy snacks: It is so so easy to sit down with a bag of chips and nom-out while wrimo-ing! It is not the best for you though! Get some brain food! Have some yogurt, or some grapes, easy little things! Also prepare them ahead of time so you can just roll in and roll back out to the novel!
5. Get out more: It’s a common misconception that writers are supposed to remain in their writing quarters and to stay focused and undistracted. But sometimes it is so much better to get out and write! Its the perfect weather to go sit in the park all bundled up and write! It’s even better time to hit up a Starbucks! People will see you writing and you may even make a wrimo friend! ❤
6. Schedule time to relax: if you do yoga I RECOMMEND A LOT OF YOGA IN THE MORNINGS! If not, try some meditation, or just clearing your mind completely! Make room for more ideas to come in!
7. Pep talks: NaNoWriMo does a great job of sending out pep talks and motivational messages throughout the month, but try talking to your loved ones about it! if you need a pep talk friends are always willing to help!
8. Make realistic goals: If you are working 50 hours a week, a full time student and already blogging and being an ML then the 50,000 word goal, may not be realistic for you! its worth it to try, but maybe make a back up goal! The point of NaNoWriMo is to reach a goal, and its all up to you what that goal is!
9. Sleep your 8 hours: If you are not sleeping your brain will not work = NO NOVEL… so get to bed!
10. Treat yourself: Coffee as an all the time wrimo beverage is not actually a good idea, but every once in a while if you need that kick in the pants, don’t hesitate to indulge in some fancy fall drinks! *Pumpkin Spice My Life*

I hope this gave you some insight on staying healthy this NaNoWriMo, comment below with some tips on how you stay healthy when writing for deadline!

Canzine Toronto 2017

MazieNovember 29, 2017Leave a comment

On October 21, we were at the Art Gallery of Ontario seeing the Guillermo del Toro exhibition called At Home With Monsters, and when we were walking into the gallery we could see that they were setting up some kind of event downstairs but we weren’t sure what it was. After we were done with our paid exhibit we were walking out to go for lunch when we saw it: Canzine Toronto 2017!

If you haven’t heard of it before, its a festival of zines and underground culture! I couldn’t have planned the day any better. If we had gone to see del Toro any other day we would have missed it. Personally, I’m kind of surprised I hadn’t heard of it before that day but I’m super happy that we ended up there anyway, because I am a true lover of zine culture and that festival was my literal heaven.

I got to meet a bunch of people that I follow on Instagram, both writers, and illustrators, and it was just one of the most pleasant experience being able to be in the presence of hundreds of people that equally love art, writing, and publication as much as I do. Getting to go to that festival, even just for the short time that I was there was so inspiring. I was able to talk to likeminded creators and we talked about our processes, and how to get past that initial wall of “it’s not good enough.” I got to see both super polished zines, and super old school style as well. One of the people there even explained how he printed them all out this morning on his way there, he was folding as we were talking. I honestly want to find out how to get involved in Canzine 2018 now that I’ve been there and felt the vibe. So I’m putting it on my list of goals for next year and I’m going to start working towards it after Christmas!

Zines have always been a way for me to express my views and thoughts and though they don’t seem to be very popular in my city yet, to know that there is such a huge community just down the highway from me was really comforting! I feel like I can make these zines knowing that they will be appreciated and picked up by other makers that know what kind of work has gone into them, and that really settles all of my fear behind personal publication.

IF YOU WERE A ZINE, WHAT KIND OF ZINE WOULD YOU BE?

Combatting the NaNoWriMo Mid-Month Rut

MazieNovember 29, 2017Leave a comment

For those of you who have participated in NaNoWriMo, most of you will know about the Mid NaNo Rut.

But for those of you who haven’t witnessed it yet, here is a little bit of a dramatization:

*She sits staring into the abyss that is her Mac Book Pro, her coffee is just a little bit too bitter and her finger just can’t seem to move. Her mind is spinning in every direction except her in the direction her novel is going in, and all she can think about is crying while eating peanut butter and watching vintage horror movies. All she can do is hope that tomorrow she will hit her daily goal, but who knows what tomorrow holds.*

I refuse to admit that this was me last year (IT TOTALLY WAS)

The Mid NaNo Rut is both so easily prevented and so easily contracted, making it so much more difficult to deal with. But here are some ways to prevent it, and get rid of it!!

Preventing the RUT:

– Don’t exhaust your ideas too fast. Yes I know you’re excited but try to steadily write just your word count every day and nothing more. If you don’t give yourself a break every day, NaNoWriMo will be miserable.
– Don’t think about word counts, if you are like me, you will have that NaNo profile tab open and you will be updating that word count every 5 words. It’s not about the count until later in the month!
– If you’re a pantser you need to be super strict in that you don’t go off on too many tangents, sometimes it is so so easy to write in one direction and get lost with no way back. I mean most of the time it’s awesome, but other times you can get some overwhelmed and lose all motivation.
– Planners, don’t over plan. Simple as that. If you want to write a novel, you have to enjoy it at least a little bit!

Getting Rid of the RUT:

– word sprints!!
– twitter #Nanowrimo
– talk to people in the forums, even in your regional forums, see if anyone can talk to you about their novels so far, that’s got to be one of the most motivating things ever.
– linked to the point above, get a little bit competitive, but always friendly competitive, in the end everyone’s a winner, so don’t go sabotaging!
– take a nap! If you have a scheduled time to write for NaNo each day, and you are having trouble writing at that time because of the RUT, you need to go do something else super important during that time so that later on in the day you can go back to your novel and crank out some words!

Really hope this helps, My personal trick for the rut is doing writing prompts that could possibly tie in with my story. It will surprise you how much you can get written from a simple word prompt.

Let me know some of your experiences with the RUT, or how you get past it or prevent it! ❤

Niagara On The Lake Ghost Walk

MazieNovember 28, 2017Leave a comment

On the last Wednesday of October, Drew and I decided to go on a spooky date night! Neither of us had ever been on the Ghost Walk Tour in downtown Niagara On The Lake before, Drew had never been on a haunted tour ever so it was a new experience for both of us and it was definitely an amazing one. * NOTE: I did have a few pictures from this night but they either turned out too dark, or too blurry, I might try to filter some and put them on insta but I can’t promise that I’ll be able to fix them! *

It was a 90 minute tour and it was actually super affordable in my opinion. The tourists were split into two small groups so it was a bit more intimate and we were able to talk and participate in the tour. The tour guide, Sir Bob was delightful and super entertaining. If you ever get a chance to do these tours, try to get a tour with him, he was seriously the best.

Drew and I both loved the historical parts of the tour, learning about what happened to make Niagara On The Lake the most haunted town in all of Canada. We got to walk through the creepy dark and lonely streets full of old houses, and were able to learn a lot about the different buildings that were there before they burnt it all to ground.

During the last half of our tour we were down near a gazebo that had been used in an old horror film, and our guide informed us that there was a cat that usually joined him for the last half of our walk and sure enough, we were definitely greeted by one of the most enthusiastic cats I’ve ever met. I mentioned it to Drew, and though he didn’t notice, something seemed very strange about the cat, it didn’t walk like a normal cat, and it would literally run to keep up with us if we left without him. It was probably just my imagination but it just felt a bit spooky, and I love kitties!

Overall, 10/10 for the Niagara on the Lake Ghost Walks. If you are looking for quality tours of haunted landmarks, check out their site, they do them in a number of cities and towns and you should totally see if they do any near you. 100% worth the trip! Seriously, on our tour, there were 4 people from out of town that had come just for the ghost walk! That’s how good it was. In October they were doing them every weeknight, so I’m not sure how often they do them every other month but definitely, check it out and see! I’ve been raving about it ever since, and I’ve been trying to find the time to do one of their other tours in other cities as well! If I get to do any other ones I’ll definitely post about them!

Whats your favourite haunted landmark?

Being a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison

MazieNovember 28, 2017Leave a comment

It was a rainy afternoon in August when I received the email from the lovely staff at NaNoWriMo. The email was regarding my application to be a Municipal Liaison for my region of Niagara, an application that I sent the day after NaNoWriMo 2013. I think it was more exciting to me because it had been so long since I applied that I completely forgot about the possibilities. But now that the possibility has become the reality, there are a lot of responsibilities.

This year will be my fourth NaNoWriMo in a row, as a Municipal Liasion of the Niagara region, and many people have reached out to me to ask if I like being one, how I became one and just general ML questions, so I figured that I would round up all those questions and create a post to talk about my experiences and why I keep coming back for more.

Also, this year with all of our NaNo Swag, I also got my 3-year pin (peep that companion cube pin also! Comment if you know what that’s from!) as a gift for running events and organizing communications within the region. This is of course not a single effort though! Christine and I both received our 3-year pins this year and this is Sarah’s second year as an ML. I honestly don’t know what I would do without our team. We are super compatible when it comes to how we organize things, we’re all Bullet Journalers so we’re all super on top of the scheduling and making sure that everything is covered. I’ve even called us a dream team on occasion, and I think that’s a big contributor to why I keep coming back each year!

Another big factor that keeps me on board is our region’s participants! We have such a supportive and unique group of writers in Niagara and meeting them and spending time with them has helped me so much. I don’t know if I would have kept up with this for so long if it weren’t for our amazing members and ML Team.

Being an ML is a pretty streamline job, especially if you have done NaNoWriMo before, (which I believe is a prerequisite to being one if I’m not mistaken). It’s basically the same as being a social participant. I know our region starts planning as early as September, just to make sure that we are on top of things, but other regions might not be as excited as we are! As an ML, you need to post in the forums, check in with members of your region, and help motivate others and let them motivate you. The only different part really is scheduling events, connecting with other local write-ins, sending NaNo Mail, and making sure that everyone behaves in the forums and at events. That all being said, it can be a kind of time-consuming event, and if I didn’t work from home, I don’t think I would be able to dedicate as much time to it as I do. Creating my own schedule definitely brings the added benefit of being able to take a bit of time off to go to all the NaNo events but that’s not always a benefit that other ML’s have! I know that our other two ML’s have full-time jobs that they keep up with along with their ML duties and NaNo writing, so it definitely is doable if you’re working as well if that’s something that you are worried about.

Someone asked me why I do it if I’m already super stressed out with other things, and on top of that, not getting paid to organize the Niagara NaNo, and to that, I can only respond with the word “Love.” I truly do love the community and it has never been about money for me. I came into this position knowing that I wasn’t going to be paid, and that’s never been an issue for me. The acknowledgment and experiences alone make it sincerely worth my time and every time I go to an event and am surrounded by my writer friends I truly feel blessed.

It’s a volunteer position but at the end of the day it is a job that I hold as a high priority every year and even though it can prove to be a stressful month, I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I have on numerous accounts talked about moving out of this city and every time it boils down to the pros and cons, being a Niagara ML comes up and ultimately keeps me here. If you enjoy NaNoWriMo, and running events and making new friends you might enjoy being an ML. There are a lot of regions that are lacking liaisons or looking for second ones, depending on how big the area is, so check out your regional pages and see. I know that personally, NaNoWriMo reached out to let me know that our region didn’t have anyone at the time and that’s why I applied, and that next year Christine and I were picked to be ML’s, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Guillermo del Toro: At Home With Monsters

MazieNovember 28, 2017Leave a comment

A few weekends ago on October 21, we were able to experience one of my favourite art exhibits that I have ever been to. We got to see the Guillermo del Toro exhibition called At Home With Monsters at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Being big fans of his work, we were seriously so thrilled to be able to look at his collection of art, props, and literature. You may know him as the director of Pans Labyrinth, Crimson Peaks, Hellboy 1 and 2 and so many others. As a huge fan of gothic literature as well as prop and set design, and traditional special FX, I jumped on this exhibit as soon as it was announced.

We spent the hour, wandering through this maze of set concepts, storyboards, pieces from his personal collection as well as actual props from his movies, like the actual jacket that Hellboy wore, and all of the guns and weapons he uses in the film! I couldn’t keep my composure at all. Seeing his work up close was so inspiring to me. He is a true creative, and a lover of literature and is just constantly coming up with new and even creepier things.

He had two rooms dedicated to Edgar Allen Poe, one of my favourite gothic poets, and H.P Lovecraft, one of my all-time favourite authors. The rooms housed what I think were first editions of some of their publications and life-sized sculptures of each writer, in a setting that made sense to their history. Edgar sat reading in front of a window, looking out at the rain, and Lovecraft stood in a room where a live pianist played. It was truly such an insane day trip. I wish we could have stayed there forever.

There was a wide variety of art installations, like a huge and iconic Frankenstein head that hung from the wall, projection poetry on the dark walls in the hallways, and a strange shadow perspective box where you could either see a young boy or a creepy figure depending on which way you looked at it. At one point we turned out of a room that was dedicated to the collection of all things occult, and into a room that was completely lined in cartoons, from floor to ceiling! It really was an experience that I can imagine ever having again. I went with the perfect people, my partner and his step-dad, both really big fans and appreciators of Guillermo del Toro.

Our day was wrapped up with a walk through the Canzine Market that took place downstairs in the museum, and then lunch at Momofuku, my favourite ramen place ever.

November: small goals

MazieNovember 7, 20172 Comments

I know this post is a little bit late but I have had such a crazy start to the month with NaNoWriMo and everything I haven’t had a chance to write anything other than my novel. I also didn’t anticipate last month getting as busy as it did. Around Mid-October I got completely swamped with custom orders on Instagram, and then somehow managed to plan an entire pop up market for this month on the 19^th. I’m still in shock about how fast it happened, but I’m super excited about it and I can’t wait to see how this one goes. We have 10 amazing vendors who are all so unique and talented and the market takes place on the day of the cities Santa Claus parade so foot traffic is going to be off the charts! That being said I have so much market prep to take care of, at the same time as novel writing and keeping this blog updated at least twice a week! So let’s recap my October Goals and how I did….(spoiler it was kind of pitiful last month! I didn’t account for being as busy as I was!)

October Goals:

Inktober and Vlogtober: I started off so excited about Inktober, and did maybe the first 10 days and then completely fell off the wagon. I couldn’t get back into it at all. Vlogtober I’d like to say I did kind of well with, I never really expected myself to do daily vlogs, I more so just wanted to vlog more often.

Preptober: Though I did have more posts to include in my Preptober series, I think I did a job of posting the big and important ones. I definitely plotted my novel, and completely my preptober checklist in my bullet journal so I definitely think I won on that front!

Affiliates/PR/Sponsorships: I won’t lie, I didn’t even go on to the website that I use for my affiliations this month. I haven’t checked my stats at all. I feel like I was just too busy to keep up with that. I should probably go look at that right now….

Portfolio: Same with this one, I just didn’t have the time, October was a crazy busy month! I have a bunch of posts from some of the adventures I went on last month coming to the blog in the next couple weeks.

More Quality Time: This one I totally managed to do, and I am so happy that I did. I think that I really needed the time with my partner, I needed to recharge and I feel so much better now that I have. Its kind of magical how different I feel after spending time with him. He has this way of boosting me up in every regard and I love that about him so much.

No-Spend: I was successful on the no spend front! I didn’t buy anything on the no spend list unless it was a Christmas gift. I did get a big chunk of my Christmas purchases done, which I’m pretty excited about!

November Goals:

NaNoWriMo: Anyone who has been reading my blog the past two months will know that I am doing NaNo this month, my main goals are in my last post, but as a little update, I am only a day behind on my personal goal, but super ahead of the actual NaNo goals which is awesome! I’m still hoping to finish my 50k by the 17^th or 18^th!

Vlog NaNoWriMo: I am also trying to vlog my NaNo this year with short little videos in my Instagram story! I’ll be compiling them all together at the end of the month to make a cool little day in the life of a wrimo video! I can’t wait!

Makers Market: Obviously this market is going to need to take a bit of priority. A lot of planning and organizing goes into running an event like this. I still need to lay out a floor plan and make posters to post up everywhere downtown, never mind just stocking up my shop and getting my table set up finished!

Christmas Projects: I have a pretty big list of Christmas gifts that I need to make and I don’t want to leave them all until December so after market day I’ll be going on a short week-long hiatus to focus on nothing but the novel and my gift projects! Some of them are going to be super time-consuming!

Organize My Office: The past few months have been so completely hectic and I am really in need of some reorganization! I seriously can’t keep up with the amount of yarn that is flying off the fall, and I when I buy new skeins I can’t find the time to rewind them and put them on the wall. Don’t even get me started on my desk or the other craft cubes I have. All of them are so wildly disorganized and it’s giving me a migraine!

Stick to My Blog Schedule: I really want to stick to this goal of writing here twice a week! I added a little NaNoWriMo incentive that I talk about in my accountability post, and hopefully, the blog helps motivate me to get on top of my goals!

I think that’s it for my November goals! I can’t wait to share the next few posts I have scheduled! Going back to relive some of the super exciting things that I did last month so that I can write blog posts about them has put me in such a great mood and I can’t wait for you all to read them!

What are your small goals for November?

NaNoWriMo Accountability Announcement

MazieNovember 1, 2017Leave a comment

It’s been a week and a little bit since I posted last, and I’d like to start this post off by apologizing! I have at least 10 more Preptober posts planned, but just have had the time to post them. I’ve been far too busy just prepping my novel. In any spare time I’ve had this past week and a half I’ve been plotting out my outline and trying to flesh out characters, and though I know I have a lot of work done, I still feel unprepared. I guess that’s normal.

So anyway, I’m making this post to talk about outline my NaNo Goals, Rewards, and Personal Rules to keep me accountable throughout the month.

Goals:

This NaNo, unlike all my other past years, I’ve decided to not be a NaNo Rebel. I’m actually planning on writing a first draft of a novel. I want to be able to sit down in December and tie up loose ends and edit, and publishing will be our main 2018 goal. I’ve never felt this passionate about a story before and so I’m really feeling positive about this NaNoWriMo project.

Overall Goal: I need to reach 50,000 words by November 18th
Stretch Goal: 70,000 words by November 30th

I mathed out my daily word goal and that determines that I will be able to write 92k by November 30th, but I’ll be happy with 70k.

Rewards:

This year I’m bribing myself with an order of fresh baked goods, a special embroidery needle, pokemon go coins, a value village sweater hunt, a date night and a new desk from Ikea…. I was going to get the desk anyways, so it’s not really a NaNo thing, but I might as well put off getting it until I’m done!

Personal Rules:

I’m not letting myself count work/freelance towards my word count. I’m only working on one project. If I reach my daily goal (2800 words) I will let myself count 1 blog post towards my word count (usually spanning between 300-500 words) This acts as a kind of incentive so that I can post all of my backlog ideas! I did a lot of super exciting things in October and I can’t wait to share all the pictures and everything!

Right now, I can’t see myself having much time to post until I’m finished my 50k, its currently 40 minutes until midnight and I don’t feel confident that I’ll be able to write as fast or as much as I want to, but that’s fine. I’m just working on the finishing touches of my NaNoWriMo Survival Kit, mostly meaning that I’m creating my Spotify playlist, and making sure I have enough freezer meals. I’m feeling a way that only NaNo can make me feel; the perfect mix of excited and panicked…and caffeinated.

Are you ready for NaNo?