Sit Down and Write is now Storyteller!

I decided our writing challenge needed a new name and a new vibe. Welcome to Storyteller! The graphic above pretty much lays it out. Our next round is coming up in July. I hope you will join us. You can join our Discord too. Invite link: https://discord.gg/CVrqt423wC

Sarra Cannon at Heart Breathings is also hosting another Rough Draft Challenge next month. I will be participating in both. You can check out her video about next month's challenge here: https://youtu.be/zjq0qnxSM_4?si=7MamGDlHlmANGOx8

That's all for now. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Just click on the email icon in the sidebar and fill out the contact form.

The Fiction Writing Handbook by Dario Ciriello - Review

Writing beyond the rules. Most definitely. A refreshing take on writing that I will be referring to frequently. I'm a firm believer that learning is a lifelong endeavor. Books like this make it feel less like learning, more like discovering.

A quote from the author:
"Like a warrior, a writer needs courage, and plenty of it. But courage isn't the absence of fear, it's facing our fears and carrying on in spite of them."

Fitting...my word for 2025 is COURAGE.

Sit Down and Write Month - March 2025 - Join us!

It's official! Sit Down and Write Month will now be held yearly in March and July. I'm moving away from November because it's a busy time of year for me (as I'm sure it is for many others). These SDaW months will be loosely modeled after Camp NaNoWriMo. If you ever participated in those events, they were held in April and July each year. The premise...write what you want, or edit...just work on whatever it is you're writing, whether you're in the planning stage, writing stage, or editing stage, and beyond. I created a little cheatsheet (credit to Camp NaNoWriMo) so you can work out word counts for editing, time, or page goals. I hope it helps (see below). Also, with SDaW, there is no mandatory word count.

A little bit about my decision to start up this new incarnation of Sit Down and Write (from my post in October 2024):

I defected from NaNoWriMo (left, deleted account, the whole shebang). If you're a writer, you probably have already heard what has been going on starting with last year, and then this year's debacle. If you haven't heard what has been going on, you can read my post on Facebook here (it's public so you should be able to read it whether you use Facebook or not).

All this being said, there is no judgment here. If you are still planning on participating in any NaNoWriMo event, you are welcome to join us for this challenge.

Also, as I had mentioned in November, Sarra Cannon is now doing what she calls the Rough Draft Challenge and she is planning on hosting it multiple times a year (also in place of NaNoWriMo). The next one will be in April. I will probably be participating in her event as well. You can read more about it in my October post here, and in the kick-off post for our November 2024 Sit Down and Write here. There's a link to the website they have created for the challenge in the November post, and I believe her husband is working on improving it. Just sharing this again in case you might want to join in. Sarra has a very inclusive and supportive community for writers.

We have a Discord for Sit Down and Write for chatting, sharing challenge prep, and word count check-ins. Here's the invite link for that: https://discord.gg/CVrqt423wC You will notice the text channels in the sidebar once you join.

If you would prefer to just interact here, that's fine too. In the menu at the top of the blog there's a link to Sit Down and Write Month...when clicked, it will take you to all the Sit Down and Write Month posts with all the information and resources in those posts. There's also a link to our Discord. Be sure to subscribe to this blog in the sidebar to get all new posts in your email inbox.

Here are a few sites where you can keep track of word counts:
Pacemaker
Word Count Tool
Writer's Atelier (this is a post with a whole list of options)

I think that's everything! I'm so excited! If you would like to join us, just leave a comment below. No official sign-up required. And jump over and join our Discord. We would love to have you!

Here is the cheatsheet I mentioned above:

Sit Down and Write Month - Kickoff

It's November 1st...time to sit down and write! If you have decided to join us, I couldn't be more happy. Let's lift up and support each other along our writing journeys.

As I mentioned in the announcement/sign-up post, I will also be participating in Sarra Cannon's Heart Breathings Rough Draft Challenge. You can read my initial explanation of the challenge in the sign-up post here. They have created a website for the challenge and it is live for signups. I'm headed over there as soon as I publish this post. I just look at it like...what could be better than two communities supporting each other in writing? 

There's a free Rough Draft Challenge planner/plotting workbook you can get if you sign up for the Heart Breathings newsletter here. 

The initial videos for the Rough Draft Challenge are listed below. Whether you decide to join the challenge or not, Sarra's videos are very uplifting and helpful. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel and watch for free anytime. There is a wealth of helpful writing videos on her channel.

• Saying Goodbye To NaNoWriMo ✨WELCOME TO THE ROUGH DRAFT CHALLENGE
• Preptober Planner Walkthrough 2024
• 10 Steps To Start Your Novel ✨PREPTOBER 2024
• How I'm Planning My New Book
• How to Join the Rough Draft Challenge
• Last Minute Novel Prep ✨💎ROUGH DRAFT CHALLENGE

I did not have time to do much novel prep in October so during the early part of the month, I will be doing that. I'm setting my word count goal at 25,000 for the actual novel writing, which will be about a quarter of my planned word count for my novel. If I write more, that will be even more of a win...but I don't want to spread myself too thin with the holidays starting this month. The image above is a page from the Rough Draft Challenge planner/plotting workbook, and my notebook with my novel planning notes.

What is your word count goal? Writing plans? Share in the comments and/or over on our Discord. If you haven't joined it, here is the invite link: https://discord.com/invite/CVrqt423wC

If you're not joining the Rough Draft Challenge (and updating your word count on that website), here are a couple of sites where you can keep track of word counts:
Pacemaker
Word Count Tool
Writer's Atelier (this is a post with a whole list of options)

We're ready, right?! I'm excited!

Here's another pep talk quote for you...

"You'll probably always be your own worst critic, but you won't likely be a fair one—don't be afraid to seek (and apply) feedback from trusted sources, while remembering that outside of true errors, it's all subjective. Good or bad, they are all just opinions—ultimately, you have to do what best honors your voice as a writer." —Christina C. Jones from "IndieLab"

Let's do this!

via GIPHY

You're invited to join Sit Down and Write Month!

I've been posting about this on social media...I'm bringing back Sit Down and Write as a regular challenge!! The reason? I defected from NaNoWriMo (left, deleted account, the whole shebang). If you're a writer, you probably have already heard what has been going on starting with last year, and then this year's debacle. If you haven't heard what has been going on, you can read my post on Facebook here (it's public so you should be able to read it whether you use Facebook or not). 

All this being said, there is no judgment here. If you are still planning on doing NaNoWriMo, you are welcome to join us for this challenge.

So, this challenge is now Sit Down and Write Month. This year will be hosted in November, but I'm thinking of foregoing November starting in 2025. November is a busy time for so many people due to the holidays. I'm leaning toward March and July, 31 day months so we get that extra day. Weigh-in on your feelings about this in the comments.

I had mentioned on social media that I wanted to share something fun with you and so here it is. I have talked about author Sarra Cannon in previous blog posts...how I use her HB90 planning system, and follow her Heart Breathings channel (and her author channel) on YouTube. You can read those posts here and here for details. Sarra's Heart Breathings is a community for writers and for years she has hosted Preptober for NaNoWriMo, also recording her writing journey during NaNo, calling them the NaNoWriMo Diaries. Well, she has also chosen to leave NaNoWriMo and distance herself from it. She is still doing Preptober, and she has created her own writing challenge for November, the Rough Draft Challenge. I will be participating in her challenge along with this one. Watch these two videos (Video 1, Video 2) to learn more about it, and you can get your own Preptober planner (and access to the resource library she mentions) if you sign up for her newsletter (you can sign up for that here). She is going to have different word count levels, and her husband is helping her put together a website where we can update our word counts. 

If you would rather not join in on Sarra's challenge, that's fine. I have set up a Discord for us for chatting, sharing challenge prep, and word count check-ins. Here's the invite link for that: https://discord.gg/CVrqt423wC

You will notice the text channels in the sidebar once you join. 

If you would prefer to just interact here, that's fine too. I'll be creating a menu at the top of the blog and will link this post there (along with a link to our Discord). I will also be updating with new blog posts, sharing challenge prep and progress during November.

Here are a couple of sites where you can keep track of word counts:

Pacemaker

Word Count Tool

Writer's Atelier (this is a post with a whole list of options)

I think that's everything! I'm so excited! If you would like to join us, just leave a comment below. No official sign-up required. And jump over and join our Discord. We would love to have you!

Let's do this writing thing!

Oh, and here is your first pep talk. This was written by K.M. Weiland, an author who writes fiction, and craft books for writers. She has been very helpful for many writers. I have her books myself. 

Print this manifesto out and stick it up where you write, or put it on your computer as wallpaper, or as a wallpaper for your phone. Why? Because if you're writing, you're a writer. Don't let anyone convince you you're not.

My NaNoWriMo Journey 2023

That's right...I'm at it again! I'm going to try really hard to post my progress regularly here. I'm trying to establish a presence as a writer. I think it will help me with accountability and may even help my confidence. We shall see.

My goal for NaNo is 50,000 words, of course. I'm placing a Pacemaker Planner progress widget in the sidebar. I will continue writing in December because my plan is 90,000 words for my novel. So, 40,000 words in December. 

I'm a huge fan of Sarra Cannon (author). Her planning system and writing tips (and everything else) have been such a big help to me. She's doing NaNo too and she does daily vlogs called The NaNoWriMo Diaries. You can check her out on her Heart Breathings YouTube Channel here. She really is so much fun.

So, here I go. I have not started writing yet so I'm a bit behind, but hoping to start tonight or Friday at the latest. I have extra time on the weekends so I can catch up. I know I can do it! 

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? Let me know. You can also send me a buddy request on the NaNo site @MSMwriter.

A Quick Update

Hello there. Just wanted to write a quick update. I decided to change the url for this blog to better fit with what is now (and has been for a while) the title of the blog. The new url is msmwriter.blogspot.com

If you follow via follow.it, there is no need to do anything. You are still subscribed. However, if you subscribe to my feed, you will need to update the feed address in whatever feed reader you happen to use. The new feed address is http://msmwriter.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/defaults You can also subscribe to the new feed via the widget in the sidebar.

Sorry for the sudden change. Thanks for continuing to follow my writing journey. Hopefully, I will have an update on that front soon. 

Keep writing!