Friday, July 10, 2015

Celebrate: Swim Fins & Lots of Giveaways!


This week I'm celebrating:
1)  Since last Friday, I got 3 chapters (6500 words) written and 2200 of it revised.  Yay!
2)  Unfortunately, since I have to finish 11 chapters by the end of the month, that means I must write and revise  (can't give my CPs un-revised doo-doo) 3 chapters per week.  Piece of cake ... IF the weeks were 9 days long. Which they aren't...
3)  Rather than freaking out over my daily totals and beating myself up with the math stick, I'm pretending it's doable.
4)  I'm strapping on my Swim Fins, and like Dory, I'm going to "Just Keep Swimming..."

How do you NaNo-ers write 50k in a month?? Are you super-human??

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:



 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit)



Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for July 10, 2015:

Free $5 Amazon Card and 5 Free Novels – The awesome T.B.Markinson has done it again! She’s put together a super giveaway for July featuring an Amazon gift card and these great books: The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear by M. Pax, Immaterial Evidence by Milo James Fowler, Twisted Earths anthology from Untethered Realms, Ocean of Dust by Graeme Ing, and Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade by Susan Flett Swiderski. Enter via The Rafflecopter. (ends July 30)

Free Contemporary Memoir Novel – Five copies of The Drummond Girls by Mardi Jo Link are being given away via rafflecopter on A Bookworm’s World blog. (ends July 18)


Free Regency Romance NovelA Relative Matter by Karen Cogan is free on Amazon. Go to Free Book Friday blog for the link to Amazon. (ends ?)


Free Romance NovelToxic by Kim Karr is being given away via rafflecopter on the Socrates Book Reviews blog. Few entries so far = good chance to win! (ends July 16)

Free YA Fantasy Novel – Win Wolfskin by W.R. Gingell being given away via rafflecopter on the CBY Book Club blog. (ends July 16)



Free $50 Amazon Gift Card and 2 Signed Novels – To celebrate the release of A Summer Like No Other (YA Contemporary Romance) by Elodie Nowodazkij, she’s giving away a $50 Amazon card plus the novels One, Two, Three and One Dream Only via rafflecopter on the CBY Book Club blog (ends July 23)

Free $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card – To celebrate the release of The Summer Diary by Elyse Douglas she’s giving away a $50 Amazon or B&N gift card via rafflecopter on the CBY Book Club blog. (ends July 31)


For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

42 comments:

Sue Bursztynski said...

I am lost in admiration for anyone who can get 50,000 words done in a month. But they do. There are some NaNoers who do it every year! Whether they also manage to get their works edited and ready for publication may be another matter, but if you don't write, you can't edit, can you? :-)

Cherdo said...

I suspect Medeia Sharif of being super human or a Terminator-type author. She whips out the pages at a phenomenal speed.

Have a great weekend, Lexa!

Kate Larkindale said...

Writing 50K in a month isn't (or wasn't) such a problem, but the words don't tend to be great. And yours usually are, so you shouldn't beat yourself up about being slow. You just write in a different way…. Good on you for getting through 3 chapters in a week! I know you can get through the rest of them by the end of the month. Just keep at it!

Suzanne Furness said...

Well done on the writing this week. Hope the words continue to flow.
Just keep swimming, Lexa :)

PlanetKimberly said...

Omigosh, good luck on meeting your deadlines! I've done NaNoWriMo more than once and it's stressful. You just plow on ahead until you fall asleep. It's the revisions that are the most time consuming, though. It's great that you got so much done in a short amount of time.

Cathy Keaton said...

That's great that you got some writing and revising done. I find I get stressed out by big word count goals, or chapter goals, as in your case. Just keep on writing until you're done. You will be, someday!

Unknown said...

You're working hard, Lexa. If I wrote 50,000 words in 1 month, I'd be crazy and the words would probably be nonsense.

JeffO said...

When I did NaNo I put my head down and wrote, really didn't do a whole lot of revising until it was all over and done with. And don't sweat the word count too much. Have fun!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It is do-able! It certainly won't be if you don't try, right?

Cathy Kennedy said...

I'm confident that you'll reach your deadline. You seem like a focused gal and that's what it takes to get the job done. I'm in awe of anyone who can write lots and lots of words say like in a novel. I wish I could give myself permission to write freely, but my brain stirs too much causing me to feeble over itself. The end results NOTHING. I don't write anything. Oh well...maybe one day I will just relax and go with it. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy pecking out a few paragraphs 3 (sometimes 5) times a week on my blog. Have an awesome weekend, Lexa!

Cathrina Constantine said...

Sounds like you're on a roll Lexa! Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

I've done 50K a month, but not for NaNo. I can do that when I have the summer off or if I'm really pushing myself on weekends, and no edits due. Keep going. You can do it.

Unknown said...

I will never ever know how anyone does 50K in a month...I can get a lot of words down but it's so hard to polish them. I'm one of those who likes to polish as I go (I know that may not be best since I can't get a clear grip on my story till I draft) but yeah, speed and writing and me don't mix lol :)

Linda Kay said...

I'm into the editing and rewriting phase of getting my next book written, so I can relate. Have a wonderful weekend!

shelly said...

Little by little, progress is sweet.

Tonja Drecker said...

You can do it! Yes, you can! Great. Now, Bob the Builder and Little Engine that Could are going to be in my head all day. But I'm pulling out my pompoms for you!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

That's fantastic wordage! Don't fret over what still needs to be written. You'll get it done, somehow. I believe in you. :) I'm not sure I'd like 9 day weeks, because I'm sure I'd just find more obligations to stuff in my week.

Anonymous said...

Wow, three chapters in a week. I don't think I've ever written that much. I'm lucky if I can write just one. I tend to be a slooow writer. Keep plugging away at it! But if you don't get there, don't beat yourself up and go ahead and celebrate what you did accomplish!

Laura Clipson said...

Good luck getting your chapters written! You can do it :)

L.G. Keltner said...

I could convene a committee to look at making weeks 9 days long, but given that committees take forever to decide anything anyway, I doubt it'll happen soon enough to do you any good. Just keep swimming! You can do it!

Karla Gomez said...

Indeed, they *are* super humans.
Dory's advice is amazing. Sometimes we might not know which direction to swim, or which shark to trust, but it's all part of our story.
To us and our swimming abilities!

Melissa Ann said...

Dory's advice is the best as sometimes when it comes to writing that's all we can do. :)

Anonymous said...

Yay progress! Any progress is better than none.
How can we make 9-day weeks happen? Especially if the work-week remains 5-days long... then I'd REALLY be able to make progress.
Most of what I write during NaNo is fluff, finding my way to the story. The NaNo story I wrote over 2 different Novembers (many years apart) is the one that I'm not working with to form into a novel. I've been slogging through it, rewriting, revising, chopping and adding, for almost a year now.

Bish Denham said...

Sounds like you're on a roll! Keep up the good work and remember to have fun. I'm struggling with revisions... not my favorite thing to do.

Looks like Foxy has been busy nosing out the free things! Lots of good stuff.

kimlajevardi.com said...

Three chapters in a week is awesome! Speaking as a slow writer, major kudos to you. As to the rest, you'll get it done. And when you do, I will be ready to read it. Happy Friday!

Diana Wilder said...

50K? Just spit it out. The thing is, you then have to clean them up!

I'm wishing you strength, speed and skill with the sheer number of chapters you have to work with. I know you can do it!

cheerfuloptimistic said...

Good luck finishing.

stephen Hayes said...

I don't think I could write 50K words in a month. But I should probably try to sometime.

messymimi said...

You never know what you can do until you try!

mshatch said...

The only way I might be able to write 50K in one month is if I didn't have a day job. Even then it's a maybe.

Denise Covey said...

You keep those swim fins on. You're going great. What a goal. I look forward to NaNo every year, but once a year is enough. And what a lot of freebies! :-)

dolorah said...

Enjoy the accomplishments :)

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne said...

I'll bet you'll surprise yourself with how much you get done, Lexa. You're doing great. We're all cheering for you.

Kimberly said...

Wow, that's some good writing and revising you got in for the week!

I like Dory's motto - I just watched this movie a couple of weeks or so ago (again). So cute. :)

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Sorry, Lexa! I can get you a week with 8 days. ;)
But 9 is right out.

Kelley said...

I hear you on the nine days thing. I was supposed to have a proposal in months ago, and between health problems and, well, being sick, I finally got it in about three weeks ago.
Go you, and I hope time folds in your favor!

Catherine Stine said...

Good luck with writing and editing up a storm. I just got back from a writing retreat, where I not only finished a novel, but I started another. I realize that I can get more done than I figured.

cleemckenzie said...

Swimming is a great exercise. It builds long lean muscles and keeps you heading in a direction. With fins you'll be at the 80,000 word buoy before you know it.

Sharon Himsl said...

Hi Lexa. It's taken forever to get back to your blog...I'm so behind. I love your just keep swimming approach. It works. Those daily totals and fixed goals can be tough. I make goals too, but when things don't add up (which is bound to happen) the Dory approach works. Stay the course, you'll get there. Funny thing is I just met a goal of under 80,000, which YA pubs want. I cut almost 20k.

Yolanda Renée said...

Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing = cause if I were in the water, I'd be drowning! LOL

You'll do it - I've no doubt!

Crystal Collier said...

LOL! I did NaNo once. It was a wreck. Total wreck. Never again.

T.F. Walsh said...

You are doing fantastic in pumping out those chps...I'm the one behind on reading them. But I have my mac back now... yay:)

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