Writer In The Making

It’s a new month! Congrats if you made your CampNaNoWri goals, and congrats if you didn’t! I didn’t so you’re not alone lol. Not set topic here. Just an update of my goals for the month and others projects for the future. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

The first draft is only the tip of the iceberg. Your manuscript is no where close to being finished. So... how many do you need? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

With the launch around the corner, how do I feel? Well... this is dedicated to the authors that wonder is there book good enough. I hear you and I know how you feel. Here’s some motivation for you and myself. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

With only a few days left, what have I learned from participating in Camp NaNoWriMo? A lot believe it or not. Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Keeping the finish line in view as you write your story. Is the journey frustrating? Yes. Do you get stuck? Yes. Do we quit? No way. I used to play basketball so one of the things I learned was to pivot so I wouldn’t travel with the ball as the guard. Same with writing, when things happen, pivot. https://thecompletecreative.com/ is mentioned in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Another episode for my traditional writers! For the manuscripts I did query, what was my strategy? I personally invested and had my editor write my query letter since I was so new to the process. I’m so glad she was able to summarize the words that I had already written. I felt much more confident sending it out to the publisher I chose. If that’s not in the budget for you, here are a few tips based off an example I found and how I tweaked some things based off of what my editor wrote. I will add, do your research and follow the guidelines to the letter. writersdigest.com and firstediting.com are mentioned in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

As promised, this is part 2 of pacing your story. Not much different from what I shared in part 1, but I’ll share anyway. nownovel.com and well-storied.com are mentioned in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

You’re sitting in front of the laptop, and you get nothing. Perhaps you have your phone on social media? Does life get in the way? How are you supposed to finish your story? Are you distracted without even knowing it? Or could it be... procrastination? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Another Camp NaNoWriMo update. How’s it going? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

For all my authors wanting traditional publishing, this one’s for you! Though the majority of my work is self-published, I did query my most recent manuscript back in February. I hit the send button! So... what now? I’m waiting just like you. What do we do when we’re waiting. I’ll tell you what I’m doing. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Is a longer book better than a shorter one? Does it matter? Does it depend on the story? While my personal goal as a writer is to write a 100K novel, that doesn’t mean anything less is wrong. Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

So... yeah, 13,324 in four days. I’m currently at 26,456 in my work in progress. Is there a secret to this? Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Don’t move too fast but don’t drag your story. What do you do? This is my personal opinion on how I write. Part 2 will cover more research. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Christmas Therapy, a new sweet romance coming soon! Meet the main characters! My own way of doing a behind the scenes/meet the cast. I used onestopforwriters.com to create character profiles. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

So I decided to experiment with the writing sprints this week. How have they worked so far? Have I made any progress? Should you try it as a last resort? How does a little over 9K in two days sound? Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Now that you’re gaining a following, how do you keep track of readers? How do they know new works are coming out? An email list? Though social media is important, nothing can replace a good old fashioned email. Have a listen. mailchimp.com is mentioned in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

What’s a sufficient word count for your chapter? When is it over? Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

What’s a writing sprint? Time set aside where you do nothing but write with no distractions. It can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. For those of us that work outside jobs or have other responsibilities, is this helpful? Tune to hear the results of my trial with sprinting. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Here’s a typical writing session for me. Do I write so many words a day? Is there a deadline as an indie author? Music or silence? Outline or no outline? Listen in for my answers. Shout out to my listeners. I called everyone out except I forgot Canada. Thank you listeners in Canada! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

How fast do you write? Should it matter as an indie author? What steps need to be taken if you do? What if you don’t finish by the date you originally intended? Is it even worth it? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support