Snow!

Look what I woke up to this morning! 

 I think I'm going to cancel my writing schedule I had planned for today to go outside and take some pictures! 

Is anyone else having this much snow? (or more) 

Xx Noortje 

Baking Bricks

Yesterday was not much of an success, but great fun.

I decided to take a day of writing (I'm on holiday, one of the perks of being a student) and spent some time with a friend doing what we almost always do when we meet up: bake.

We poured over some newly acquired baking books and decided that we would try our hands on making bread. I mean how hard could it be right?

Well our problems started when we couldn't find the right ingredients so we decided to improvise and buy the next closest thing... which was probably why after we spend a long time kneading the bread ( till our arms ached ... I'll never underestimate a baker's strength again) and even a longer time letting it rise... it... well didn't. The dough was supposed to double in size but stayed the same. 

We decided to make some bread anyway which unfortunately were a bit hard... and heavy ... both in the hand and on the stomach (We bravely tried one). 

Yet it was still great fun and fortunately we had some back-up brownies (our specialty). 

I went to bed yesterday with the great expectation of waking up early and dedicating myself to editing 20 pages or so of my first novel. 

--Instead I woke up late, spend the entire morning watching Sherlock Holmes behind the scenes and then found I had a massive headache and went back to bed. 

(On the left here our finished product from yesterday)

Fortunately I feel fine now and will wrap up this post in order to go back to my story. I find editing really hard especially because my attention span isn't that great and I tend to find a million fascinating things to do instead of editing. 

Which is why I am now holed up in the attic with strict orders on my family not to bother me for anything except maybe tea. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely week and is having more success with writing than I have at the moment! (I probably should turn of the internet as well) 

Xx Noortje 

A New Start

It has been bothering me for a while now that this blog is essentially slowly dying. The reasons for this is that I simply have nothing more to say on tips on writing ... at least for the moment. Because as writers we never stop learning and I for one still have a long way to go. So instead of giving more advice on things I've already written about or (even worse) trying to give advice on things I know nothing about, I decided to try something new.

I'm going to start by introducing myself because I believe that I have never properly done that. 

My name is Noortje de Graaff. I'm currently 19 years old and I started writing my first "novel" when I was nine years old. 

I grew up in The Netherlands in a lovely town just an hour away from Amsterdam. Last year I embarked on an exchange year to England and have very much enjoyed my time there. In fact I can't wait to go back this summer! 

Right now I'm studying English Language and Culture at the University of Amsterdam and am about to begin my second semester. University is not really what I had expected (probably because most of my expectations came from books and movies that were set in different countries) but I am enjoying myself. 

For a while now I have been working on a fantasy series, currently consisting of three books. Almost two years ago (February 21 2010) I created this blog and mentioned that I was working on book three. Well I'm still working on it.

Although I haven't been sitting still over the past two years. I've participated and won two NaNoWriMo's and am now busy re-writing my first novel! 

From now on I'll post more about my life as an unpublished writer (which might look familiar) and see if it is fascinating enough to continue. If not you will always know where to go when you have trouble sleeping! 

I've posted shamefully little in the past couple of months and will try to do better. Of course this new twist for Wribie doesn't mean that you can't still come to me with questions! On the contrary I'd love to help anyone who thinks I have something to offer them :) 

This is it for now.
For the Nerdfighters who are reading this enjoy International Nerdfighting Day!
And to the rest of you,

Keep Writing!

Xx Noortje 

New Year's Resolution

Happy Holidays everyone!! 

It's a little bit late, but I hope everyone had a great time and is enjoying this holiday season with their family and friends! 

I haven't been writing a lot here and for that I appologize but I have been very busy with my first semester at the University of Amsterdam! 

I still remember how nervous I was just a few months ago, and how I thought I would never get used to it. And now it's almost 2012 already. 

I haven't written a lot in this time, although NaNoWriMo did help as it usually does to get me into the writing mood again. Did it work for you guys? I hope you managed to reach your goal if not for the 50.000 words than your personal goal! 

The end of a year is a time to look back and see what we have done. I went to England for a year, I am writing on my thrid book in my series (and loving it) and I made some amazing friends, both here on the internet and in school and I've almost finished my first semester at uni!

My goals for next year are the same as the last few: 

• Have fun
• Grab uppertunities
• Make new friends
• WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
• Try to get an agent
• And try to get my novel published :)

I hope you guys will do great on your writing as well and if you have the dream to get published go for it! 

Leave a comment if you want to share your new year's resolutions with us :) 

I probably won't be posting a lot anymore because I have said most of what I wanted to say.

But that doesn't mean I don't check on it often.

I could write more about myself if anyone would care to read about that, but I wouldn't want to bore you too much :) 

So if you have a question, or just something to tell or maybe something writing related you want to share (like a site or an event I can post about) please let me know!

Thank you for staying with this blog for 2011 and have an amazing 2012!! 

And as always, keep writing! 

Xx LordKiwii 

NaNoWriMo 2011

NaNoWriMo has started again! 

As you might know, every year in November there is this online event called NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month. 

As the name suggests you're supposed to write a whole novel (50.000 words) in just one month! On the website you can keep track of your progress, chat on the forum and add friends. Last year was my first NaNoWriMo year and I really enjoyed it.

Somehow with everything going on, it can be very hard to find time to really write. Personally I haven't written in ages (as you can see by the date of the last blog post....sorry!) and I do find that events like this help you get back into gear again!

So forget about school, friends, work and all other stuff for a while and just write! write! write! (ok maybe you shouldn't forget about the other stuff completely). 

Here are some tips:

1. Do try and write every day. Even if you're busy try and squeeze in those 1667 words a day, and you will see it will be no problem wining this thing! 

2. Don't worry if you do miss a day or a few. you can always catch up during the weekend.

3. Don't think too much! Just enjoy and type away! The point of NaNoWriMo is to make a first draft, not a masterpiece ready for publication.

4. Make friends! Having friends who also dedicate themselves on a month of writing can be really helpful and can also motivate you to keep going.

5. Don't edit your work! Go back to your story in December or January and start editing away. But don't waste precious time! 

6. You might want to plan things out a bit. At least the big lines. Because you'll have to write fast and every day---which means there isn't all that much time for thinking about things!

7. Try to write every day at the same time if you can. Make writing a habit! 

8. Bring notebooks with you everywhere you go! Have a boring Chem. class? Start writing the next chapter of your awesome novel!

9. Keep the goal in mind when things get tough. Remember, just one month and you'll have a real novel! That's truly amazing! 

10. Don't under any circumstances forget to have FUN!! :)

I hope some of you will decide to try this year. Don't be afraid! Even if you don't make the 50K mark in time, you might still have written 10K or 20K on your novel that you wouldn't have otherwise! 

If you want to add me as a friend, my name is LordKiwii! 

So head over to nanowrimo.org and join up! It's the first day today so go write! :) 

I'll leave you with a fun nanowrimo song that was written by the well known YouTuber italktosnakes! :) 

(Here is the youtube link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78mvUeBw7MM&feature=youtu.be It's brand new so it wouldn't let me put it up here)

Keep writing!

Xx LordKiwii

Q&A #2

A while back I was asked the following questions in the comments and I thought it was about time that I answered them. Sorry for taking so long. I hope that the following post will help.

1.       Is it better to try and publish a stand-alone book or could I try with my trilogy?

Let me say first that this is pure guessing and speculation on my end; I am no editor. However you do hear of beginning authors getting two or three book deals.

Good writing = good writing.

 If an agent or publisher likes your writing and your book there should be no reason for them not to publish it. Even if it’s a part one of a series. In fact if they really fancy it they might be happy with more books on their way!

I have heard of authors who in fact got a multiple book deal for a standalone book, and they had to try and make a sequel. So having a series is by no means a handicap.

I imagine though, that if they are a bit more cautious about your novel, that they might offer you a one book deal at first, and another one for more books if the first one appears to be selling well.

For those of you who didn’t know, a book deal means that you can with almost certainty say that one of your books will be published. A two book deal means that you agreed to write two books for one publisher. It creates a sense of security but with most contracts also means that you have to use that Publisher even if a better offer comes along.

However, I can imagine that certain publishers might be more inclined to reject a three book project if they are not completely 100% sure it will sell.

 I think you have to focus on just the first novel in your query and leave the fact that it is a part one till the end, so that they’ll at least read a bit of your writing first. If anyone disagrees or knows more please let us know in the comments!

2.       Will drawings of characters & locations help sell my book to publishers?

I don’t think that publishers care much about the drawings unless you are planning to illustrate your own book. It might come in handy when deciding the cover design or the drawings of the illustrator (if you’re planning on drawings throughout your book) but it should not affect the publisher’s decision.

Though  in a way—yes it does.
Because by drawing the characters and locations they will become more real for YOU. If you draw a map of a place, it will be easier to move your characters around in at and it will prevent mistakes (like things not matching up or changing location etc.). If you draw characters they might come more alive for you, if you really have an image of them to look at.

Whenever I have trouble describing a character I usually draw them so I have a more solid image of what is in my mind. Then I start describing that image (you don’t have to be good at drawing to do this. Just as long as it helps you along).

So in short the pictures themselves probably won’t change the publishers decision (if you’re not an illustrator as well) but can improve your writing and therefore your chances.

3.       How do you come up with good character names?

If you cannot come up with a good name you might need to get to know your character first a bit more. We all know those people with names that just seem to fit their personality completely. It’s like their parents somehow knew.  Well that’s what you need to do!

I like to look at sites like babynames.com for names to choose from. I also like to carry around a little address book in which I write funny, beautiful or interesting names I come across in everyday life.

For more info on how to name your character please read my previous blog post on the subject! :-)

http://wribie.blogspot.com/2010/03/names.html

I hope this post helped some of you out there! I will try to upload a post more frequently. If anyone has more questions or suggestions about posts please email me or leave them in the comments! You’d really be helping me and everyone who reads this blog out! J

I won’t be online much the next weeks because I’m going on holiday to Germany! And we probably won’t have any internet there at all.

But please leave a comment anyway and I’ll see you all again soon! Is anyone planning something fun for their summer holiday? Let me know!

And remember to use all these free time to write and have fun!

Keep Writing!

Xx LordKiwii 

Camp NanoWriMo!

Camp NanoWriMo has started!
Time to pack your tent and your sleeping bag and head out to the lake campsite where NanoWriMo will take place this summer!
Today is the first day where many campers start with fresh courage on their novels! 

Basically Camp NanoWriMo is the same as the normal writing month, only this time in July! The goal is to write a 50.000 word novel in just one month. That's 31 day!

I really recommend this program to everyone. It's so much better writing with a deadline and a certain word count you should do a day. And the feeling you get after you've finished the camp and have your first draft completed in your hands is amazing! :) 

For those of you who don't know, it's completely free, you don't have to show your story to anyone and it's a website to use while writing your story. If you head over to the original site,  www.nanowrimo.org you can participate on the forum to make new friends, show off your work or ask questions. 

So head over to www.campnanowrimo.org you campers! :) 

I'd also like to give a quick explanation of why I haven't updated a post sooner when I said I would and give you a very good tip!

The reason I haven’t uploaded anything is because my computer crashed, together with all my data. I spend the last few days trying to get it fixed, finding a new laptop when it couldn't, and restoring all the data that I had left--which thankfully I had an backup of on an external hard drive.

I still lost some good (short) stories though which I'll never get back. I also lost some chapters of big projects I was working on. So please remember:

ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR STORY!!! 

Trust me you don't want to go through the horror of trying to rewrite lost chapters while knowing it was better before but not knowing exactly what you wrote. 

On a more happier note: It's summer people!!! Enjoy the sun and the freedom this holiday brings.

And most of all, don't forget to Keep Writing! ;-) 

Xx LordKiwii