NaNoWriMo and Beta Reading…a writing update…

It’s been a while since I posted a writing update, and with NaNoWriMo starting at the end of the week, I thought now would be a great time to post one…along with some random photos from my media library…

NaNoWriMo

I decided early on (for once!) that I was participating in NaNo this year.  It will be my eighth year joining in.  I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks, though I’m still unsure what I will focus on – yes, I leave it late every year (it’s becoming a tradition, I think) no matter how long in advanced I’ve been preparing for it. Never mind.

At the beginning of October, I had thought to allow myself to start a New Writing Project, even though I have so many unfinished WIPs awaiting my attention.  Sigh.  Yet, I have been making very good progress with one of my Wattpad novels, Oath Broken (very brief summary: the story of Oathbreaker told from Celyn’s perspective, which starts four months prior to the events of Eleri’s tale.  You can find the first 17 chapters that I’ve uploaded so far, and the original story, amongst other works, by checking out my Wattpad profile here.)

So, now I’m wondering if I might be better to just carry on with this. But…Not sure.  I’ve already drafted all the November chapter uploads for Wattpad and today I started on December’s so I could, in theory, set it aside without affecting my upload schedule…hmm…tough decision… I have a feeling I won’t have made up my mind until Friday morning…

If anyone wants to add me as a writing buddy over on the NaNo site, my profile name is… Sammi Cox.  Original, I know. 😉  You can never have too many writing buddies…well, that’s what I think.  Which is funny, because all mine seem to have been deleted when NaNoWriMo changed over to their new website this year.  Again, sigh. So, if I was buddies with you before, please add me as a buddy or send me your profile name (in a comment or email, etc) so I can add you again.  On the upside, I really do like the look of the new site.

The Winter Ghost Beta Reading

At the end of August I put out a call for beta readers for my fantasy novella, The Winter Ghost. The feedback I’ve had so far has been better than I could ever have hoped for, and I’m so grateful to those who have offered their time and effort to help me out.  When someone tells you not only that they enjoyed your story but want to read more – or hope for spin-offs with their favourite characters – well…it’s just the best feeling in the world!

I have sent out a few emails that haven’t got a response, so if you volunteered back in August but didn’t hear from me, I think something got lost out there in the interweb somewhere.  If you would still like to beta read The Winter Ghost, please let me know…

My plan (imagine me laughing maniacally as I typed that) is to dedicate December to the editing of the manuscript.  This means there is still plenty of time for more beta readers to have a read of The Winter Ghost.  If you think this is something that you would be interested in, here’s the link to my original post, The Winter Ghost – Beta Readers Wanted, where you will find all the information you might (I hope!) need, including what The Winter Ghost is about, what I am asking of you as a beta reader, and how to get in touch if you think this is something you would like to do.  As I mention in this post, I don’t expect you to do this for nothing – I’m offering to beta read in return for anyone beta reading for me.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?  What are you working on this November?  I would love to hear your plans…

Thanks for reading!