NaNoWrimo in the Summer!

In November of 2011, I wrote my first NaNoWriMo novel on the YWP site. My goal was 30,000 words, and I completed it!

So, in June and August, there will be Camp NaNoWriMo. And I am going to be posting tips soon.

I Hate Plotting

Here's something about me: I don't like plotting for a novel. I prefer to do the plotting inside my head. I know that it's a good idea to write it down, to get the facts on paper so you have a stronger novel.

In November 2011, I wrote my first NaNoWriMo novel. My goal was 30,000 words. I completed it, revised it a few months later, and now I'm ready to get 5 free copies of my novel from CreateSpace. But the thing is... I thought of the story idea while cleaning out the computer room. I didn't write down any ideas for the story, I just thought of the basic storyline and started writing.

Currently, I have a cool story idea in my head, and months ago I started to plot it... until NaNoWriMo "got in the way." And then I stopped plotting it. I want to get back to it... but every time I think about doing it, I don't do it. I feel kind of pressured to have to plot it before writing it.

Do you hate plotting?

Book I Just Finished Reading: Divergent

I just finished reading Divergent, a dystopian book by Veronica Roth. I might even put up a book review on it for those of you who haven't read it. I love the dystopian genre, so I really liked Divergent. It was a really great book, and it sucked me in.

Again, I might put up a review.

Why Limit Adverbs?

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It tells how, when, where, or to what degree.

This is an important writing tip.

I've been revising my NaNoWriMo (November 2011) novel this month. I've added scenes, changed things, and made the novel better, way better, than it's first draft. All in preparation for my five free paperback novels.

Everyone knows about the adverb "suddenly." Well, I did a global search in my novel for "suddenly," and I found 28 results. Yes, 28 "suddenly" adverbs in my novel. And so I looked up each one and either deleted it or changed it to something else. Overall, I only kept 2 of them.

Including too many adverbs in your writing is one way to make your writing bad writing. I don't mean to be harsh to those who regularly use adverbs, but you'll want to use these sparingly (especially adverbs of degree). Too many adverbs can add useless words that are unnecessary.

For example: "He ran very fast toward the object."

Let's take all the adverbs out. What is the use of "very fast" in this sentence? "Very fast" tells how he ran to show the reader that he was running fast, but is unnecessary because you can change "ran very fast" to "charged," "sprinted," "darted," or another verb like that.

Another example: "In a very kind way, the woman gave her son the apples."

Now, really, do we need the adverb (prepositional) phrase? We can make a single adverb out of this adverb phrase.


Think, think, think, think, think think, think, think...


"The woman kindly gave her son the apples."

Have any questions?

First Post

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog!

Just wanted to welcome you and tell you some of the posts I'll be putting up on this blog. I'll be putting up posts that show the progress of me trying to become a bookworm. I may occasionally review some newer books. I'll be putting up writing games and contests. Overall, I'll try to post at the least two or three times a week.

I might even put up a random but really cool post as well!

Have a great spring and summer

- Gillman329