Hello Challengers!
Happy Monday. Hope you had a great weekend and I hope you’re looking forward to your May Novella in a Month challenge. It’s almost here! You’ll find a countdown in the far right column.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up on how this challenge is going to go down. It is a challenge, first of all, so go ahead and remind yourself that means you’re gonna have to work for it.:)
Challenge starts on May 1. Ends at the end of May.
We have two mandatory weekly check-ins. Mondays and Fridays. Also the first and last day of the challenge. So, be here. You’ll find a post at the top of the front page and that’s where you’ll leave your comment telling us how wonderful you’re doing.
We’ll also have a daily inspirational quote or a blog post from one of our wonderful Co-Hosts (you’ll find a list on the right.) They’ll be checking here and on your blogs (if you link to yours) to cheer you on. You are welcome to do a daily progress report on those inspirational quotes and blog posts.
So now, tell your friends. Rally the troops. Get your support team lined up. Tell them to drop by your blog and by this site to cheer you on. We are counting down to start.
Watch for Co-Host introductions later this week. But for now, leave us a comment and tell us 1) what you’re working on and 2) if you have a blog (myspace, blogger, bebo, yahoo, etc…. they all count so long as you update them throughout the challenge) leave us that address and 3) most importantly, tell us a little about yourself. We’d like to know who our Co-Challengers are.
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I’ll start the introductions, shall I?
I’m Ally. I’m the founder of CataUniversity and general busy body. You’ll see ‘Admin’ my alter ego around. And it was my idea to do a challenge this May. So if you’re here against your will you can blame me. LOL I’ll be blogging here and checking in here all next month. I have a novella, paranormal, that I’d like to complete by the end of May.
A bit about me… I live in Atlanta Ga with my wonderful hubby, and four furbabies.
We just got back from a week vacation (our first ever… well, first not attached to someones wedding), watching pro bikers cycle their way around Georgia. I’m exhausted. Who knew touring was so tiring… even when you’re not the one biking. I think we walked 50 miles, no joke. And I didn’t think much about computers or writing…. so on that front, I’m totally refreshed!
I look forward to getting to know everyone and pushing you all to write write write!
:hug Welcome back, Ally!
I’m Carol Burnside (figured I’d better include the last name since I saw another Carol signed up). I’m working on the 3rd book in a trio of connected books targeting Silhouette Special Edition. This one’s working title is His Perfect Partner.
A little bit about me, eh? :eyebrow
I’ve been writing for 5 yrs. Recently, I received a revisions request on the 1st book in this series from Susan Litman. I’ve completed those and my understanding is the book has been passed to Gail Chasan for her nod of approval. :sweat So, you can see my reason for wanting to get the 3rd book done quickly. I only have 43 pgs so far… It’s kinda hard to type with your fingers crossed. :hmm but I’ll do my best to keep up.
Oh, and my blog addy is http://carolburnside.blogspot.com
Welcome Carol. :hug So glad to have a familiar face on board. And congrats on the request!!! SSE is one of my favorite lines.
I’m gonna go ahead and start my prodding with a question. Honestly, how many words a day do you average?
For our challenge we’re looking at a daily average of 805. Everyone good with that? *yeah, a rhetorical question* :whistle
Guess we better be okay with 805/day if we’re accepting the challenge. :eyebrow
An honest assessment of how many wds/day I average? Good question. I seem to be a binge writer, so lemme consult my productivity spreadsheet. I’ll get stuck for several days and maybe write nothing more than a paragraph or two. Then I’ll work out the problem and write fairly consistently.
My goal is to become more of a steady writer and regularly produce 4-5 pgs a day. The most I’ve written (since I’ve been tracking my work habits) is 104 pgs in a month. That said, I average about 212 wds/page, so just over 22K. My personal best for one day is 20 pgs. Did it once when I first started writing, came close a second time, and have never repeated it since.
How about you? What’s your daily average?
Hi Everyone,
I’m Sandie Hudson, I’m from Australia and I’m an aspiring author. I heard about the challenge via the wonderful Nicola Marsh’s blog site. :bow
I’m going to be working on a contemporary romance, aiming either for sexy, blaze or erotica depending on how hot and heavy my hero gets. :hot I have absolutely no control over my characters, they do what they want and I have to like it.
I’m also using this for a warm up to another challenge I’m doing in June with some Aussie and NZ friends. We are having our first BIAM during our winter.
My challenge blog site is sandiehudson.wordpress.com . I was also wondering if any of you, who have blogs/web sites would mind if I add you to my blog roll. I have one for each challenge I do, so some may double-up. LOL.
Looking forward to doing this challenge.
Hugs
Sandie :write :reading
I am ready to go. I am also on a promo challenge for May so posts may get a little confusing as I cover both topics
My blog is linked above.
Have two long stories due by the end of May so I am hoping it is okay to added them together and call it a novella, the word count is about the same. I need to write a story for ‘Shifting Perspectives #2′ and ebook anthology of gay shapeshifter stories, and a story for the charity anthology ‘Dreams and Desires #3′ from Freya’s Bower–proceeds going to a womens’ shelter. Ham starting from scratch for both.
My name is Kathy Crouch. I work a full time job 40 hours a week and plan to squeeze this in. :write
I don’t have a blog I started working on a plan for this. I have a rough idea with some ideas for the story I want to write. My niece inGermany thinks I’m smoking crack to even consider this. :pound
I have a friend tha says I’m just being Kathy :halo :cool
Then there are the ones that say it is a perfect challenge for me. I have as yet to finsih a work inprogress. Well I did finish a Lord of the Rings fan fiction for fun. But i have two stories in progress that seem to go nowhere. :pound
So here goes if i complete this mayeb I can show it off and say hey I did it at last. :eyebrow
EGADS does anyone else speak “typonese”? :whistle
I found this challenge through The Pink Heart Society. My name is Barb Wallace, and I’m working on a new submission for Mills & Boon Tender. Coincidentally I’m blogging on the progress of said submission (which is only 17 pages at the moment) on my blog http://themoodymuses.blogspot.com. I’ve heard a lot about Cata University, but this is my first time participating in anything like this. I’m looking forward to meeting new writers and learning about everyone’s progress.
Hello Barbara! Hey, thanks for the tag! :crying LOL sniff, sniff
Sandie, thanks for stopping by my blog! :wave
Good luck with the challenge, everyone!
~Carol
Oh shoot, the link for my blog doesn’t work. Just type in moodymuses.com That will get you to the right spot.
And hello back Carol. And congrats on the request.
I’m having fun getting to know everyone and I’ve made a few rounds around your blogs.
Here’s a quick tip for those of you wondering about those little square images next to your names. Those are gravatars. Basically a personalized (by you) image that can follow you around the web and be updated whenever you want. If a blog has Gravatars enabled, it’ll show up. It’s just a fun way to personalize your comments and blog posts. And best of all it’s free and super easy to set up.
Just go here: http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup
How does a gravatar “follow” you? When you use your email address to leave a comment it’ll look up that email addy real quick in the gravatar database and if it finds it, it’ll send back your associated image.
Kudos to Emily for already being signed up to Gravatar. :wave
Barb, Carol, so good to see you here. Glad you’re taking the challenge.
Kathy, I speak typo. :whistle
Emily, looks like you have plenty to keep you busy. I expect lots of words from you deary. :write
Sandie, lol about your hero. He might just steal the story and run with it. I always love when that happens.
So it’s probably a good time to take a deep breath and start thinking about those stories we’ll be writing in a few days. 800 words a day. Visualize how they’ll look down the page and how fabulous you’ll feel when you type THE END! Yeah, that’s what keeps me going. LOL
Oh, and make sure you click the Home tab at the top so you’ll see the newest posts each day… like the new Co-Host introductions. Go say hello! Shoo. Go. See-ya.
Mmm… I’m away on the second Friday, second Monday (out of the country, gone away) so I can’t make those check-ins. If that’s going make me ineligible I’ll quite understand.
My project is to finish the wip (which has been a really tough write) by my end May deadline. I will be taking the Alphie with me to keep the words ticking over while I’m away, although there will a lot of distractions
Liz, just check in as often as you can, how bout it? Tough to write is well, tough. I understand that well. Your tenacity is inspiring.
I’m Janna Lee Hayes, and I’m in need of a good swift kick in the butt!
Thanks!!
I’m Sapphire Phelan, and was going to work on two novellas for Phaze anyway, so I thought why not.
Hi I’m Lisa from Southern California, and I’m so excited about this!
I’ll be working on book 2 of my novella series, SUITE SEDUCTION…Think Fantasy Island with a red hot (and sometimes paranormal) twist.
I’ll be updating my MySpace blog throughout the challenge: http://blog.myspace.com/authorlisalogan.
I’m the author of VISIONS and A GRAND SEDUCTION along with a half dozen anthologies, and the editor of MysteryAuthors.com and for Eternal Press. I also started the GREEN WRITER CHALLENGE last year to promote environmental awareness in the writing/reading communities.
Hey everyone!
I’m JM Snyder, author of gay erotic/romantic fiction and published with Aspen Mountain, Amber Quill, and Torquere Presses. My short stories have been published online at Ruthie’s Club, Tit-Elation, Amazon Shorts, and Eros Monthly, as well as in anthologies by Aspen Mountain Press, Cleis Press, and Alyson Books.
I have a lot of deadlines to meet this summer, and unexpectedly fell behind last month. I hope that this challenge will help push me to write a novella entitled “Beautiful Liar,” which I plan to submit to Amber Quill when I’m finished.
I have a website at http://jmsnyder.net and a blog at http://jmsnyder.com … and a MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/jmsnyder23 (I’m a huge fan of friend requests, hint hint).
Thanks for doing this. Hopefully it’ll be a much needed boost, since NaNoWriMo is still six months away!
Hi all. I live just outside Memphis. I work full-time (and piddle occasionally), but I’m intending to push myself to complete the challenge.
I kept meaning to sign up and one of my crit partners, Carol Burnside :waving mentioned it and I couldn’t believe May is almost here. So before I got distracted, I figured I’d should go ahead and sign up.
I’m working on the sequel to TREASURE’S PLEASURE, which was an entry that made it to the finals of the recent Brava Novella contest. My blog is http://lizfalkner.blogspot.com.
Hi, Liz! :hug Glad you decided to join us.
:write :goodluck
D’oh, already forgot the first check-in! Argh! Day job was insane yesterday.
Okay, I’m Cassandra, teacher and writer of m/m erotic romance (currently published through Red Rose and upcoming from Torquere).
Currently attempting to work on a paranormal story… :write
My blog can be found at my Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cassandragold