Time for another Storyteller challenge - Write with us in November!

Well, I made the decision. I wasn't going to host this year in November, but my writing has not been going well this year. So, I decided...one last ditch effort to get at least part of my novel written by the end of the year. How about you? Are you in?

I will also be participating in Sarra Cannon at Heart Breathings' Rough Draft Challenge. You can check out her playlist on YouTube for all the details and some great Preptober videos to inspire your writing. The playlist is here. She explains the Rough Draft Challenge website where you can keep track of word counts, etc. in this video and talks about her free planner in this video. Sarra is just an inspiring person, and Heart Breathings has been a life-changer for me.

You can join us on our Discord (if you're not already there). Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/CVrqt423wC

If you would rather not do Discord, feel free to stop by and update me in the comments on this post. You can access it by clicking on Storyteller November in the blog menu. I will also be updating on my Instagram @msmwriter 

If you need a place to keep track of word counts, here are a few resources:

Pacemaker
Word Count Tool
Writer's Atelier (this is a post with a whole list of options)

If you would rather keep track of your writing in other ways besides word count, below is the cheatsheet I created to help with conversions.

One last thing...here is a quote that has really been helping me. I read it every day. I thought it would be a great pep talk graphic to share. I hope you like it.

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!

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!

Blog the Journey - Writing plans, Camp NaNoWriMo, and HB90

Wow, looks like my last post (besides the one last year informing subscribers of the new email subscription service) was in November 2018. That certainly is some kind of neglect. Well, this is my attempt to make this a thriving "writer" blog. I'm calling it Blog the Journey. I'm going to basically be blogging weekly about my progress on my novel. Perhaps it will help with accountability. I hope so. 

I have discovered a life-changing system that is really helping me better organize my time because, let's face it, my life, priorities, schedule are a mess. Since I work from home and have very flexible hours, it's difficult for me to pin down any kind of time in advance. HB90 has really helped me prioritize and plan my time to help me achieve my ultimate goal which is to get my book written. 

HB90 is a quarterly bootcamp created by author, Sarra Cannon (Heart Breathings). Learn more about her and Heart Breathings here. This quarter was my second time through the course. That's the beauty of it. Once you purchase the course, you can participate every quarter without spending another penny. Yes, you become an HB90 alumni! Sarra takes great care of her bootcamp participants, newbies and alumni alike. It's just a great community that has inspired me tremendously. Check out Sarra's Heart Breathings channel on YouTube. I love her videos. She has writing tips video series, videos about planning and planners, and a lot more. The HB90 course for this quarter is closed, but if you click my HB90 vision board in the sidebar, it will take you to the course page where you can read more about what the course entails. The next course should be open for enrollment around early September in preparation for quarter 4, October - December (I am an affiliate so if you do decide to sign-up in September via my link, I will receive a small commission. I will update the link in the sidebar in September). 

HB90 centers around task blocks inspired by the Pomodoro Technique. 30 minute task blocks (25 minutes work time, 5 minutes rest), though there is much more to HB90 than that. But I'm mentioning the task blocks to give you an idea on how I'm working using them. Of course, you can configure your task blocks however you like. 50 minutes work, 10 minutes rest, etc. Basically, I figured out I could do 230 tasks blocks this quarter which is 115 hours. I was on vacation the first part of July so I figured out 2.5 tasks blocks this past weekend when I returned, and 20 tasks blocks per week through the end of the quarter. Breaking it down further, that's 10 hours weekly - 8.5 for writing tasks (plotting, writing, etc.) and 1.5 hours for blogging and doing my HB90 plan for quarter 4 (in September). 

Yes, I am doing Camp NaNoWriMo this month, but have set a very low ball goal. 12,000 words. Hoping I will meet my goal, but if I don't, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. At the moment, I'm working on fleshing out a bare bones story, then some plotting and character development, then on with the writing. I know I'm going to have a lot of editing when I finish, but that's part of the journey.

My goals for HB90:

1. Top priority - start writing/write my novel

My Good/Better/Best goals at the end of the 90 days (end of September)...

• Good - 20 percent done (18,000 words)
• Better - 1/2 done (45,000 words)
• Best - 100 percent complete (approx. 90,000 words)

2. Blog the Journey - One blog every week 

I missed the first week (my starting week being this past weekend) so that's 11 blogs instead of 12 starting with this week as week one. 

About the novel (not set in stone):

Genre: folk horror (based on/retelling of a Hungarian fairy/folk tale)

Definition of folk horror

Hopefully, next week I will have an update for you on word count. Wish me luck...and thanks for taking this journey with me!

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An update for my followers

You may have heard that Feedburner's follow by email function is going to be discontinued next month. At first I was in panic mode, but soon found there were easy solutions to the problem. Thankfully! So, I decided to switch over to follow.it which is a free email subscription service. If you were already subscribed via Feedburner's service, you won't have to worry about missing any email updates from this blog. New visitors can now subscribe via email at any time so you won't miss any of my future posts. You can subscribe now by filling out the form below, or on the form in its regular home in the sidebar.

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Sit Down and Write 10, #NaNoWriMo, and writing during the holidays #sitdownwrite

After much contemplation, I decided to dive into the fray that is NaNoWriMo once again. I made Sit Down and Write two months this time so...

1. In the event I fail NaNoWriMo (which I usually do), I'll still have another month to work on my WIP.
2. If I finish even part of my novel during NaNoWriMo, I will have a good start to continue working in December and beyond.
3. Two months is a necessity during the holidays. They should really change it to two months and call it National Novel Writing "Months"... lol

So, why bother with Sit Down and Write? Well, I thought this would be a good place for those who are participating to interact and get support when they need it. I'm going to create a master post and pin it to the top of the blog. I will post updates there and I'll leave comments open so we can interact.

Remember, this isn't just a writing challenge for those writing a novel. If you're wanting to get some blogging done, or work on articles, or poetry...whatever you're working on in the writing department is fair game. 

Let me know if you're doing NaNoWriMo, and/or if you want to participate in Sit Down and Write, by leaving a comment below.

I hope you will join me!

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To #NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo

I've been weighing this back and forth for over a month...should I or shouldn't I? To be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure. I have never successfully "won" NaNoWriMo.

You know what? To hell with it. I'm in!

Hit me up on the NaNo site if you want to buddy up @ thetruebookaddict
I may update on Twitter (@truebookaddict), Facebook (Michelle Stockard Miller) and/or Instagram (@truebookaddict)...and here on this blog. If you don't hear from me, it's not going well. lol

Here I go, into The Further (I'm watching "Insidious.") 😵



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Sit Down and Write 9 - Extended! #SitDownWrite

Because I can...I've decided to extend Sit Down and Write through August 31. I've had a lot going on and then this happened...

Excerpt from a post at my True Book Addict blog:

You may not have heard about Photobucket screwing over a ton of people with their new third party image hosting plan. (Read more here: http://nypost.com/2017/07/05/how-photobucket-is-now-shaking-down-its-users/) Basically, it means if you have a free account, you can no longer host your images without paying $400/year! So, all those clever grab codes I make for images and buttons...they have to be fixed with a new link from wherever the images are now being hosted. Luckily, I own two domains on GoDaddy so I get free image storage up to a certain amount and then I can pay extra if I need more (only $1.99/month). But with 7+ blogs/sites, it's going to take me a bit. I hope you will bear with me.

That's right. I've had to work on fixing all the images on all my blogs. I'm still not done. Luckily, the sidebar on this blog didn't take much work, but I'm sure there are plenty of unconnected images in older blog posts. So, if you happen to visit any older posts, I apologize. It's going to take me a while to fix everything completely over all my blogs. I probably won't fix individual older posts at True Book Addict, as there are over 1700 posts. 🙀

The reality is...I haven't been able to focus on my writing plans, and then I'm hosting a two week readathon coming up on Monday. That's the reason I decided to extend this through August 31. My sons go back to school on August 7th so I'll have some alone time again during the day (in between working). I'm still planning a last ditch effort this month, as I did sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo. But it won't be surprise if I don't finish that. I usually don't. lol

Tell me how your writing is going. Did the photobucket issue affect your sites?




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Sit Down and Write 9 - June 15 through July 15 #SitDownWrite

I actually decided last week to host this, but I've been so busy, I'm just now posting the sign up. I'm hoping I can stay organized enough to do what I plan to do during this writeathon, which is work on my novel...actually mostly novel prep and research...so there will be a lot of note taking and perhaps some sort of outline prep. I'm hoping to do daily posts, or at least every other day, to hold myself accountable. 

Sit Down and Write is a writeathon for whatever you want/need to write. Catch up on book reviews (or other blog writings), you can work on your work in progress, you can journal, you can write short stories, you can prep your novel (research, take notes, etc.) or other writing project. I'm not fussy and I HATE rules. So, let's do this! Sign up below if you're in and write up a post if you want. Feel free to join in from social media if you would rather. Our hashtag is #sitdownwrite.

I'm still on the fence about Camp NaNoWriMo next month. Usually when I decide to do it, I set myself up for failure. If I get a lot accomplished by June 30, I just might do it though.

P.S. Don't forget to grab the button. There's a handy grab code in the sidebar.

Sign up! No linky...just leave a comment with your blog link or where on social media you'll be updating.

I hope you will join me!




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Sit Down and Write 8 - Finally, an update! #sitdownwrite

I had intended to post an update a lot sooner than this, and then I was hosting the High Summer Read-a-Thon this week, and time just flew by.

So, I've been sitting on my great news for over a week. I had a MAJOR breakthrough with my novel idea last week! I've been researching, which counts toward word count during Camp NaNo. I like that. I wish they would allow that during November's NaNoWriMo...but I digress. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this new directions and I even have a (perhaps) "tentative" title. Drum roll please...Beautiful Pilgrim. There's a reason behind the title, but that is yet to be revealed.

I'm hoping to get some actual words on paper for the last week of SDaW and Camp NaNo. I'm working on a creating a writing schedule that I'm hoping will keep me more on track.

I hope things are going well for you. Let me know in the comments or leave a link to your update post.

Happy writing!



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Sit Down and Write 8 - Where did June go!?

I had intended to post this yesterday, but somehow June got away from me. The next thing I knew, July 1st was upon me and I had loads to do!

I'm kicking off with my declaration that I did sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo. How about you? Did you know? They have a handy knowledge base for Camp NaNo and this is one of the questions...

How do I determine my word count for my Camp NaNoWriMo non-novel project?

This part of the answer was of interest to me: For editing and research: One hour of active editing equals 1,000 words.

...because this is what I will be doing for at least part of July. I hope to begin writing the actual book towards the end of the month. We shall see. I'm thrilled that Camp NaNo is so flexible!

I've set up a private camp so if anyone is participating and would like an invite, leave me your NaNo name in the comments. 

So, what are your writing plans this month?



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Sit Down and Write 8 - Coming July 2016! #sitdownwrite

That's it...I've waffled on about this enough. It's official. July 2016. I don't care if I'm hosting a read-a-thon in July (High Summer, 18-24) or that I'll probably be doing some Christmas in July posts at my Christmas blog. I decided I was working on my book in July and that's what I'm going to do!

How about you? Remember, Sit Down and Write is a write-a-thon for whatever you want/need to write. Catch up on book reviews (or other blog writings), you can work on your work in progress, you can journal, you can write short stories, you can prep your novel (research, take notes, etc.) or other writing project. I'm not fussy and I HATE rules. So, let's do this! Sign up below if you're in and write up a post if you want. I will post updates periodically, time permitting. If you want to update on social media, our hashtag is #sitdownwrite.

I haven't decided if I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo in July yet. If you have decided you're participating, let me know. 

P.S. Don't forget to grab the button. There's a handy grab code in the sidebar.

Sign up!

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