Alicia Justice's Blog, page 10

NaNoWriMo Journal Day 1

I can’t believe the first day of NaNo is here! Alright let’s get some business out of the way real quick, I’m going to attempt to post every day, but I’m not sure that will always be possible. So expect posts at least every week. Oh, and you’ll get the daily recap the following day. That’s why it’s technically the second day of NaNo when this is being posted.

The First Day Of NaNoWriMo 2021

My main goal for the first day of NaNo is to well get a good enough cushion on my word count as I can. This is something I do every single year that I’ve participated in NaNo and it’s helped every year. This way if something comes up or happens I have that to fall back on and not stress about it.

I ended up starting NaNoWriMo this year at 12:01 AM as I have in previous years, with some writing sprints on a few Youtube streams. I ended up finding a new group to sprint with and I had a blast chatting with them. Starting out the day my main goal was to at least hit 4,000. I figured that was an extra day’s cushion and that was a great way to start out. By the end of my first few sets of sprints, I had my first 2,000 words. Which was awesome! Though I had to stop there and get some sleep. After a good night’s rest, I got out of bed and grabbed myself some coffee. (Of course, got to have that coffee right?) After coffee and something for breakfast I got right to work and sat down at my desk. Luckily for me, there were writing sprints happening throughout most of the day and I was able to hit that 4,000 mark daily quickly.

I ended up going through 12 different sets of sprints on the first day of NaNo and my end total for the day was…10,000 words. I’m pretty sure that’s what you call a cushion!

With all those words, that meant I was able to get two of my prizes! YAY. I grabbed my writing gloves as my first prize and then a set of new stickers from Procraticplanner ETC as my second prize! I love these little writing owls!!!

Where I’m at In My Book

As far as where I’m at in my outline, as most of you know I’m working on the second half of my NaNo project from last year. This book will be around 100,000 words, if not a little more. Going into day 2 of NaNo I’ll be working on the Midpoint of my story. It’s a big point in the book and something that’s going to have me crying my eyes out. So day 2’s going to be a blast! Yep, that was me using total sarcasm.

How was your NaNo Day 1?

Anyway, how did you do on your first day of NaNoWriMo2021? Let me know in the comments below. Oh, and if you want to keep up with me during my day throughout NaNo you can do so by either joining my group on Facebook or following me on Instagram. I post on both of those throughout the day! Happy NaNoWriMo everyone!!

First to Fight Playlist

Update: This post was one of the ones I lost when my website went down earlier this month. Still not sure what happened to all my posts, but I’m trying to get them posted once again. This is one of the ones I lost but hadn’t backed up. So it’s a re-do. Hope you all don’t mind.

When I write, I’m one of those authors that have to have music playing in the background. When I wrote First to Fight I was listening to a select set of songs that really reminded me of each character or a certain part of the story I was writing at the time. After I finished the book, I compiled this list of fantastic songs into a playlist.

The plan was to share this list in the back of the book as sort of an extra and I’m going to do just that, but I really wanted to share a few of the songs here on the blog as well. Again this isn’t the whole list, the full playlist will only be available in the paperback books.

The first song is one that really showed how Collin sees his girl! His true feelings for her. I listened to this song so many times while writing First to Fight. It’s one of my favorites on the playlist. It’s called She is the Sunlight by Trading Yesterday.

 The next two songs for some reason won’t show up as actual videos on here, but I’m going to at least link them. So the next song is the theme song to the whole book and it’s called Brother by Need to Breath ft. Gavin DeGraw. I love this song and it’s so fitting for the whole book, really it’s fitting for the whole series. 

The third and final song I’m going to share here on the blog is All Fall Down by One Republic. This one fits a few different scenes of the book, so I knew it had to make this list. 

There you have it, a glimpse into the First to Fight playlist.

If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, please check it out. I have a freebie for you if you sign up right now. It’s two unedited scenes from an upcoming release. It’s called Before the Fight and it’s a prequel to First to Fight! CLICK HEREto sign up today!

Hope you all have a great day and as always happy writing and happy reading!

Preptober #5…It’s almost time!

I can’t believe October is already over, can you? It’s crazy how fast time flies by, anyway, right now I’m in the stage of getting my last bit of prep finished before Monday. Wow, NaNo starts Monday. Again that’s totally crazy to me.  Let’s chat about my plan for NaNo and at the bottom of the post, I have a quick tip for you.

What I Have Left to Finish

The last few things I have to complete is to finish the setup of my plot wall, I need to add what I have for Act 2 up on the wall that way it’s ready for Act 3 to be added as I go through NaNo.

Other than my plot wall, I don’t have much more to accomplish. I do want to re-read my outline one more time and then input that into my Scrivener doc. After that, I’m pretty much ready to start writing.

I’ve also got all my trackers ready to go and have even moved some of those into Notion, which I’m really starting to love and use a lot more. If you would like to see a post about my Notion setup, please leave me a comment below and I’ll add it to my list. It’s become my hub for the blog, social media, and pretty much most of my writing life. I still use my paper planner and paper plotting notebook, but other stuff has been moved to digital. Mainly because I have access to it anywhere. That’s the best part.

My Plan For NaNoWriMo

Mainly I plan to, of course, write at least 1700 words a day. I want to try my hardest to get ahead the first week, that way if something happens I can always be ready to catch up or I won’t get too far behind. That’s what I’ve done for the past few years and so far it’s worked for me. Last year I finished/won NaNo during the third week of the month. So that’s mainly what I’m shooting for once again. But we all know life can throw us curveballs, but I’m going to give it a go.

As for this blog, I’m going to try to at least post once a week, like I’ve been doing, but if I can I would like it to be more like twice a week. I make no promises though. Like I said life and curveballs.

I will be posting daily on my Instagram, so if you’re not following me over there, you should. I’ll also try to post daily on my Facebook group, but again I make no promises. Writing will be the first priority each day.

The other main goal I’m setting for myself during NaNoWriMo this year is to participate in as many writing sprints and group activities as I can. Writing sprints are what really helped me last year, it’s what kept me going and I’m going to stick with that plan this year as well. I mean if it’s not broken you don’t need to fix it…right?

All in all, I think I have a good plan in place, so far!

Quick Tip for NaNo!

Just breathe and know you can do this! Oh and don’t forget writing sprints. There are tons on Youtube every day throughout NaNoWriMo.

Are You Participating?

Are you participating in NaNo this year? If so, tell me what you’re plan/goals are for next month. I would love to hear more about your project and plans.

It’s Cover Reveal Time: First To Fight

I’m so incredibly excited to share today’s post with all of you. I can’t believe we are so close to the release of First to Fight. It’s been in the making for so long and honestly, there were times when I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. Today is the day to show everyone the cover of First to Fight, the first book in my First to Fight series. 

This cover takes my breath away. The amazing Rachel over at Parajunkee Designs created this beauty for me and I can’t be happier. Seriously, I cried when I saw it. Like I was a total mess of happy tears. She was fantastic to work with for my covers and I can’t wait to work with her again in the future. If you’re an author and you’re looking for a cover artist, seriously you should contact her. She’s amazing!!! We’ve already worked together for the first three covers of this series and I love each and every one of the covers.

If you didn’t already know the Pre-order is already up on Amazon for First to Fight. The summary however isn’t there just yet. I’m still working on it. I’m a total perfectionist and it’s not right just yet. I’m hoping to have it posted sometime next week. Keep your fingers crossed that it happens, but I will let you know as soon as it’s live.

As you can tell by the spectacular cover though, First to Fight is a Military Romance. One that I know you will all love, at least that’s the hope right?

Oh and real quick, I’m working on the newsletter, so if you haven’t signed up for that yet. Please do, you will receive a couple of unedited scenes from another upcoming release called Before the Fight. It’s the prequel to the First to Fight series. It’s all about their father and mother and how they met.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week, and let me know your thoughts on the cover in the comments below. As always happy writing and happy reading!

Preptober #4

Hey everyone, today I want to chat about what I have in my NaNoWriMo survival kit, I also want to chat about rewards. I’m really big on giving myself rewards for reaching each milestone during NaNo. It’s something that really keeps me going. This year isn’t any different, I have purchased several smaller type rewards and one large reward. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to go out and do something huge and spend tons of money buying rewards for themselves for NaNo! Last year my rewards were really small. My favorite candy, a new candle, a sticker book from Happy Planner, and I think my larger reward was two new books from a bookstore. Rewards can be anything you want them to be. They can even be something as small as a pamper night or a night off from doing anything. (I’ve used this one before.)

As most of you already know I’m going to be publishing my first three books next year, so this year my large prize is a new L-shaped desk. It’s something I’ve been wanting and honestly when I hit that 50,000 mark it’s going to be a huge thing this year. It means I’ve completed book #2 and everything is really coming together and I’m getting closer to meeting the goals I set for myself earlier this year. The other main reason I’m grabbing a desk is that I need it. It’s not just a want it’s a need. My desk is currently very old and falling apart, but it’s done what I’ve needed it to do for now. It’s time for an upgrade, so that’s the plan.

Other prizes that I grabbed for this year’s rewards are planner stickers from several Etsy shops and a new set of writing gloves from on Etsy! The stickers came from and . I have a few other things but they haven’t arrived yet.

Let’s Talk about my Survival Kit

Now let’s talk about what I have in my survival kit for NaNo. My number one thing of course is my computer and a good desk chair. About a week ago my lovely very expensive desk chair that I have just purchased broke. Actually, it more like fell apart and fell to the floor. Anyway, I had to go pick me up a new one before NaNo because I knew I would have to have one. The next item on my list is chocolate! Yep, I’m one of those girls that have to have candy and snacks to get me through the month. During NaNo I spend a lot of my time right at my desk getting those words onto my Scrivener document. So snacks and candy are a must!

My other must-have is my candle. If you read my writing routine post a few weeks ago, you know that one of the things I do before I sit down to write is light my candle, so having a new one for this year was something I couldn’t do without. This year’s candle smells like vanilla sugar cookies, it smells so freakin good!

So, with all of that said, what are some things that you have to have during NaNo for your survival kit, or what are you using this year for your rewards? Leave me a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts and plans for this round of NaNo!

Don’t forget to sign up for my Newsletter and become one of the First to Fight bar and grill “Norms”. (Once you read the first book you’ll understand this nickname for the newsletter. Anyway, once you join the newsletter you’ll receive two full unedited scenes from an upcoming release called Before the Fight, it’s a pre-queal for the First to Fight series. CLICK HERE to join today!

First to Fight Pre-Order is Now Available!!

Is this seriously happening right now? I have to keep asking myself this question over and over today. So anyway, after I pinched myself, I wanted to get on here and let everyone know that you can now Pre-Order First to Fight on Amazon! CLICK HERE to do so.

Honestly, I can’t believe this is my life, but I’m so thankful that it is. I get to do exactly what I love and share it with all of you.

Not only is it available to Pre-Order now you can also add it to your TBR on Goodreads.

So much is happening all at once, but I’m loving each and every minute and trying to just breathe and take it all in. Just one more quick announcement as well, tomorrow is the day that I’ll be sharing the sneak peek of First to Fight’s cover over on my Facebook group, so if you haven’t joined, you really should so you can see the amazing and beautiful cover that the spectacular Parajunkee Designs created for me. I can’t wait to share it and post it here on the website/blog and well post it everywhere, but that won’t be till Monday of next week.

Join the Facebook group HERE!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great night and I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. As always happy writing and if you’re not a writer/author like me Happy Reading!!

Author Update: All My Blog Posts Disappeared!

Last night was a crazy night. I was working on my blog and all of the sudden all of my previous blog posts disappeared. Like they are nowhere to be found. My backup didn’t work and I can’t find them. Luckily the ones from the past several weeks are backed up in my Notion, so I can repost all of them and that’s the plan, but the ones before that are now all missing. I’m going to try to go back and remember what they all were about, but I’m not really sure I can redo all of the posts I had on here.

So I just wanted to give a little heads up, before I start posting a bunch of blog posts, this is the reason. I’m going to attempt to get as many posted as I can in the next couple of days.

Good news though, I did redo my whole website YAY!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day.

Preptober #3

Hey everyone! I hope you’re all doing great and if you’re participating in NaNo next month, how is your Preptober going so far? We are so close to the start of NaNoWriMo. It’s crazy how fast time flies isn’t it? Anyway, so far my month is going really well…I’ve gotten so much accomplished. My covers were completed for the first three book. All my plotting and outlines are finished. I only have my plot wall to put together and then I’m ready to write Second to Fall!

Today I wanted to jump on here and chat about plotting! Now if you’re a writer like me, are you a plotter or a pantser? For those of you that don’t understand what those things are, a plotter is someone who plots out their whole book in advance. I’m a huge plotter, I have three types of outlines I do for each book and a plotting wall. I use timelines and everything! A pantser is someone who flies by the seat of their pants so to say. They don’t usually have any plans written down but kind of know in their heads where the story is going or what it’s about, but they really don’t have a plan for it all planned out.

Like I said above, I’m a huge plotter. That’s why Preptober is very important for me. I take this whole month and plan out every detail of my book. You might be asking why in the world do you do that? Well, I like to know what I’m writing and where it’s going to go in detail. It makes it easier for me to win NaNo as well. I used to be a pantser and I couldn’t get all the words I wanted to come out of my head and onto the screen because the way I write I need that plan. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing if you can just sit down and go for it. I honestly think that’s awesome, but it’s not something I can really do anymore. (Though sometimes I wish I could again!)

Now there are downfalls to plotting so much, you can over plot and that happened to me last year. I thought I had my story all plotted out perfectly and I was just typing my little heart out and then all of the sudden, one of my characters dropped a bomb on me and I was like Oh now where do I go from here? I had to change a lot of my story, honestly, I had to take a day off writing and re-plot things out so it all made sense. Though it did still work out and I won NaNo, but you should always be ready for that just in case that happens to you.

Above I mentioned having three different types of outlines. So I have a small outline or scene list, I have a large outline that outlines my whole book in great detail and I always have outline cards that I use to rearrange scenes if I need to. I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s something I find that really helps me. Then there’s also my plotting wall, I use this so I can see the whole plot spread out and can fix any plot holes that need to be fixed. (Also I use images to work on that as well!)

This is what a plot wall looked like once it was finished for book one, now since it’s not published yet and won’t be till Jan 2022, I didn’t get too close up so you can’t see any spoilers. But you get the gist of what I was going for. I use a lot of sticky notes so I can move the scenes around.

I also use character sketches and questionnaires so I know my characters so well. I know this might sound weird to some, but I actually role play my characters on Tumblr so I can get into their heads. It’s a great way for me to get to know them and what they would do in certain circumstances. Like I said I’m a very detailed plotter!

There you have it, a glimpse into my plotting routine and what I’m really working on during the month of October for Preptober! If you’re participating in NaNo this year, are you a plotter or a pantser?

Preptober Diaries #2

(Update: This post has been reposted, due to all of my posts disappearing for some reason. Luckily I had a few drafted in my Notion. So I’m able to repost them.)

Hey everyone! I have so much to tell you, but first, off I want to chat today about writing routines when it comes to NaNoWriMo. Then I’ll tell you a few amazing things that have happened in the last couple of days.

My routine changes a bit each year but I have part of my routine that hasn’t changed in a while. Mainly when I’m sitting down to write, I have my outline next to me (Which is highly detailed..hint hint I’m a hard-core plotter!) I light my candle, start my book/writing playlist, then I open my Scrivener to the section I’m working on and sit down to start writing. Most of the time I write using sprints.

Sprints are mini sessions that I use to get as much writing completed as I can within a certain time frame. Usually, that time is about twenty-five minutes then I take about a 5-minute break isn’t between each sprint.

Normally when I write, I do this for about an hour, but most of the time it’s about two hours, at night. I’m more creative during the nighttime hours, or so I’ve figured out. During NaNo though I do this off and on throughout the whole day, I try to reach about 2000 words a day or more if I can. Later this month I’m going to be going over my NaNoWriMo survival kit and that’s when I’ll tell you my must have’s for the upcoming month but for now, just know one of those items is the candle that’s always on my desk.

This year, I am adding to my routine a few more steps. I got myself a great pair of blue light glasses because staring at my computer so long last year hurt my eyes so much. I knew this year I had to have a pair of them. I’m also adding a pair of writing gloves that I’m ordering for myself as one of my rewards. I’ll add a picture as soon as they come in, but they are so pretty and fingerless, my arms always get a little chilly when I’m typing, so I wanted to have something to keep my hands and arms warm without having to put on a hoodie or something like that.

Alright, now it’s time to chat about all the crazy stuff that’s been happening. So, in the past couple of days, several things have happened. Everything is speeding toward the release of the first book in the First to Fight series. First thing is that I was able to hire an amazing cover artist and she already sent me the first look at what the cover could look like! I made a bunch of decisions for the book itself, like size and paper color. It’s crazy how many things a self-published author has to think of. I chose the cover I really wanted, fonts, and all that jazz. Second I was able to hire my editor and she right this second has her hands on the first book in the series. Everything feels so real right now before it was I’m planning to get all this accomplished, now it’s like OMG this is really happening!

All in all, my week has been a bit of a crazy whirlwind. As far as my writing routine it all worked for me last year so I’m crossing my fingers that it will work again this year. Do you have a writing routine? If so what is it? I would love to hear more. Let me know in the comments below!

Make sure you sign up for my newsletter! When you do sign up you will receive a new freebie that is two unedited scenes from an upcoming release. This is from Before the Fight and it’s a prequel to the First to Fight series. It’s all about how their mom and dad met. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

Preptober Diaries #1

Hey everyone, I meant to have this posted yesterday but life kind of got in the way. I’m sure you all know what that’s like. Anyway, I’m excited to make this announcement, I’m officially all set up and getting ready for NaNoWriMo. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s National Novel Writing Month in November and I enjoy taking part in this every year. Well at least for the past six or seven years anyway. During the month of November to “win” NaNoWriMo you have to write 50,000 words in the month. 

As you can see November is a huge month for me when it comes to writing and last year I won NaNo with a week to spare which of course made me extremely happy. I also finished the first 50,000 words of the second book in my upcoming release Second to Fall. As you can guess that’s the second book in my First to Fight series.

This year for NaNo I’m being a bit of a rebel and finishing said book. I still have about another 50,000 or so words that need to be added to my manuscript so I figured I should go ahead and finish it in November. It also goes right along with my publishing plan so it’s perfect.

Anyway, I wanted to get on here today and chat with you about my plans for October, which authors that participate in NaNo know as Preptober! It’s the month that us plotters use to prep for NaNo. So this month I’ll be making sure my outlines are in place, my plotting wall is all set up, and my notes along with everything else I need are all here and ready to go. My plan is to update you once a week on the progress I’m making during the month of October. Figured I would bring you along for the ride so to speak! So mainly I’ll be writing my Preptober Diaries and sharing them with all of you. I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I’m looking forward to writing them. I have a lot of work to do, so I better get to it! I hope you all have a great weekend. Let me know if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I would love to hear more about your plans too.