E. Menozzi's Blog, page 12

NaNoWriMo Update With BuJo Word Count Tracker

It is day four of NaNoWriMo, and so far the month is off to a great start. I decided to work on completing the first draft of a project that I had already written over 11k words on. I guess that makes me a NaNo Rebel this year. But, my first drafts are always at least 60k words. So I think this starting early strategy is going to be a really good thing for me. Instead of reaching the end of the month (and of the challenge) but not getting to write “the end” on my draft, this year I may actually ...

October Reading Wrap-up

This wasn’t an amazing reading month for me. I suffered from a big reading slump at the start of the month, then eventually read some stuff that I enjoyed, but nothing really knocked my socks off. But, hey! Look! I completed my Goodreads challenge goal!

So that’s cool! Now let’s talk about what I read in October…

Rather than make my usual “outbox” spread this month, I just put the book covers below my book list. I didn’t think three books necessitated a full two-page spread. Plus ...

November Reading Journal Set-Up

Tomorrow is a new month, and that means it’s time to make a new cover page and book list in my reading journal. This week, I was feeling the fall vibes, so I went with a cozy winter owl theme.

Once again, the drawing is from a Draw So Cute tutorial. Except she went with a brown owl and added some wind and leaves falling. I decided I preferred a grey owl and color scheme that reminds me of my dad since November was his birthday month, and I always miss him the most at this time of year.

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NaNoWriMo Prep: Manage Your Time

What’s this? A second week dedicated to planning? Sounds right to me. After all, half the battle is finding the time to get the words on the page. Even when you are absolutely not in the mood to write. Probably especially then.

As a reminder, the schedule for NaNoWriMo prep is as follows:

Develop a Story Idea (September 12-18) — Click Here to Read This PostCreate Complex Characters (September 19-25) — Click Here to Read This PostConstruct a Detailed Plot or Outline (September 26 – Octo...

NaNoWriMo Prep: Organize Your Life

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m a total planner geek. So, bust out your bullet journal or planner and let’s make our NaNo Prep checklist!

As a reminder, the schedule for NaNoWriMo prep is as follows:

Develop a Story Idea (September 12-18) — Click Here to Read This PostCreate Complex Characters (September 19-25) — Click Here to Read This PostConstruct a Detailed Plot or Outline (September 26 – October 2) — Click Here to Read This PostBuild a Strong World (Octo...

NaNoWriMo Prep: World Building

This post has been the hardest of the bunch for me to write because I don’t really have a standard process for world-building. It just sort of happens? But I do have some great resources for you, so read on.

As a reminder, the schedule for NaNoWriMo prep is as follows:

Develop a Story Idea (September 12-18) — Click Here to Read This PostCreate Complex Characters (September 19-25) — Click Here to Read This PostConstruct a Detailed Plot or Outline (September 26 – October 2) — Click Here ...

October Reading Journal Set-Up

I really leaned into the spooky season vibes with my reading journal set-up for October.

I love the way this turned out. I ended up using this video from Draw So Cute to make the haunted house and this video from Amanda Rach Lee to do the font for “October.” Then I added my usual book list summary to the facing page, and that’s it. Reading journal set-up done.

I’m not expecting this to be a big reading month for me. I know I say that almost every month, but it’s going to be hard to fin...

September Reading Wrap-up

The first part of the best Magical Readathon ever is over, and now it’s time for spooky season and writing lots of words. But first, let’s recap what I read in September.

I participated in G’s Magical Readathon and completed three of the six prompts along The Novice Path. I can not even begin to tell you how creative and fun this readathon was. I loved every minute of it, right down to the wrap-up video where we found out what the choices we’d made during The Novice Path narrative (which ...

NaNoWriMo Prep: (Pantser Friendly) Plotting and Outlining

And now for my favorite thing to talk about… plot! But don’t worry. I am not a pure “plotter” in the sense that, as many times as I’ve tried, I never managed to have my stories fully outlined before I start writing. I’m really more of a “plantser,” if I’m being honest with myself. So this will be a “pantser” friendly post, I promise.

As a reminder, the schedule for NaNoWriMo prep is as follows:

Develop a Story Idea (September 12-18) — Click Here to Read This PostCreate Complex Characte...

NaNoWriMo Prep: Creating Complex Characters

Characters are the life blood of any story. Most readers will tell you that they’ll forgive a few plot holes and less than amazing world building if you give them characters that just leap off the page and into their heart. So creating complex, compelling characters is kind of critical. No pressure, right?

As a reminder, the schedule for NaNoWriMo prep is as follows:

Develop a Story Idea (September 12-18) — Click Here to Read Last Week’s PostCreate Complex Characters (September 19-25) ...