FOCUS - a bi-monthly writing linkup | caps + questions = i like those

*sigh* Don’t you just love answering questions? It’s like “I’M DROWNING IN CAMP NANO I NEEEEDDD TO ANSWER QUESTIONS”. I have lowered my already tiny goal to 10,000 words. And even though I did that, I am still drowning in words. AND JOSIE IS ALMOST TO HER 100,000 WORD GOAL WAAAAAAHT. *dies at the thought of writing that much* Don't you just love writing in caps? IT'S LIKE EXPRESSING ALL YOUR EMOTIONS WITHOUT HAVING TO WRITE THEM. Caps is good for anger and excitement. Yeah, it's good. :)

Thankfully, Allie saved me. She made this super cool thing called FOCUS (don’t you just love using all caps? I could do it all day).

Any who, I’ll be answering the questions that Allie has posted to save us drowning ants. Thank you, Allie. I am eternally grateful.

LE QUESTIONS

We're halfway through NaNoWriMo. How's your novel going?

Uhhh...good. I’m at, like, 8,000 words out of my 10,000 word goal so...good. I have some alpha readers reading along as I write (which is SO much fun, BTW. Like, when I decide to stop writing right at a cliffhanger and they’re like “NOOOOO PLEASE WRITE MORE” XD). I’m surviving! :)

Where are you struggling the most in your writing?

Not getting distracted. I’ll be typing away like “hm hm hm, da dee da” and then *notification sounds* “Oohh! Someone replied to my twitter post!” XD That’s pretty much life for me. It’s hard for me to stick to writing for more than twenty minutes straight. ;)

Where are you doing the best in your writing?

Ummm...uhhh...all I really know is that I’m writing and surviving. So, I guess I am doing best at not dying? :P ;)

Music helps. So, what are your writerly idyllic tunes?

I have a Spotify playlist full of my favorite Christian songs that I like to listen to (Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace, Overcomer by Mandisa, etc.).  If you want to check me out, my username is anika-joy and the playlist is titled { the favorites }.  (PS: I tried embedding the code for the playlist in this post but *distant sobbing* IT WON’T WORK. Oh, well. *sigh*)

Where are you in your word-count goal? And how do you do with word sprints?

My goal is 10,000 words and...sprints are cool. They help me get done writing because I’m like “I HAVE TO WRITE MORE THAN {enter competitor's name here} IN FIFTEEN MINUTES”. Yes, competition helps me finish.

What encourages you to keep writing?

I am a part of a super amazing chat full of some super amazing and encouraging girls (and boy -- I’m not forgetting you, Jon! :P)! Let’s see if I can name them all...there’s Abi, Autumn, Brianna, Chloe, Hann, Hannah, Jesseca, Jonathan, Julia, Mary, Soliel, Sarah, and Savannah. XD I only remember half of their URLs (sorry, guys!). You all are super duper amazing. <3

PUSH! How much will you try to write one of these days to burst forward in your word count?

Umm….*cough* I’m only 2,000 words away from my goal, so probably none. :P

What's your strategy for focusing?

I have none. I just tell myself “NO CHOCOLATE UNLESS YOU FINISH THIS” and I do it. :P

What is your favorite element of your novel?

The characters. Definitely. Gared and Blaire and the beast…*sigh* So much sarcasm in one place. Don’t you just love it? ;)

What is your plan after your first draft?

I plan to edit what the alphas told me to edit, recruit some beta readers, edit by what they said, edit by what I said, and...start on the next book in the series. SO MUCH EDITING. *dies* I really hope I am able to get this series published traditionally (I hope…). It would just be SO amazing!!!! If I can’t, though, I may or may not self publish...I’m not sure. I REALLY want to traditionally publish it, though.

Do you like answering questions? I do!! DO YOU LIKE WRITNG IN ALL CAPS??? How's your Camp NaNo going? Are you behind, ahead, right on schedule, or finished? If you're finished, that's so cool! Keep writing, my friend. :)