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It seems I fell asleep for a bit.

Yes, look at this large gap in activity.

I let life get in the way, and now I’m busier now than ever. Which isn’t a total bad thing, but, I wish I had more hours in the day.

A lot has happened since November

  • I won NaNoWriMo, I never posted a celebratory message, but I did. It was insanely difficult this year, given my work schedule. Yet, it was so relieving to know that I can set my mind to an intense goal and accomplish it.
  • December was quieter, post-NaNo is pretty much catch-up-on-sleep-month. Christmas was 70 degrees here in New York and we barbecued. My dad also stood outside our house in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and an alcoholic beverage in a pineapple.
  • January was a mic of work and more work. We’re gunning down to the last few months before my brothers wedding, so it’s been crazier. Even crazier, my sister got engaged. So, now preparing for two weddings. If you would like to go to a zoo, just come over.

So that leaves us in February, which is really just filled with wedding planning and personal training. Winters are usually quite quiet for me, but it’s been the opposite. I wouldn’t say that I fell asleep, but rather just got so caught up in life ~outside~ the internet that I took a little break.

But I’m back.

Hello.

P.S. – I desperately want to see Hamilton the Musical. Help?!

 

 

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Updates

As you see below I have posted a picture of my bio. This bio is taken from the Geek Chic Elite, where I have been contributing articles to for a few weeks now. Since NaNo has been over my mind has been teeming with article and story ideas. I look forward to writing and have been getting really grumpy when I am pulled away from it.

This isn’t the only thing I have been working on. I attended NY Winter Con a week ago and made a really awesome contact there. You will be seeing updates from me soon on that front but for now I will keep it as a secret!

Hope you are all doing well during this crazy holiday season!

My GCE Bio
My GCE Bio
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NaNo is over!

NaNoWriMo concluded a few days ago and I have been sullying around my house with the equivalency to a hangover. A writing hangover.

Those kinds of hangovers are not easily cured, and time doesn’t necessarily erase the mushy feeling. When you do something like NaNo or take on any big writing project, there is an emotional bond that forms between you and your writing. You drag your soul out onto paper. And in the end you are left emotional drained, physically fatigued, and mentally a bit jumbled up.

I’m starting to get back into the swing of things. I’ve decorated the house for Christmas, baked cookies, and have only begun compiling my thoughts on the direction of my story. You see, 50,000 words is a lot, but typically it is considered a novella, not full on novel length.

It is almost time to crack open the Word document and dive back into my art. But for today at least, I will enjoy the tranquil solace of living outside of the bubble.

 

Oh, and P.S. – LOOK WHO FIXED HER LAYOUT, PICTURES ARE WORKING AGAIN!

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Happy NaNo!

It is November 1st which means it is NaNoWriMo season. I wrote a little over 300 words in the first hour and then went to bed. I just fired up my Word document to get started again. My personal goal is to reach 3,000 words today.

I’m also pantsing it. Pantsing is a term NaNoers use to describe when you didn’t pre-plan your novel. Last year I did extensive planning, and I won. This year I haven’t and I still hope to win. It looks like I will be going through a lot of coffee this month. If anyone has stocks in coffee you should look into a big payout at the end of the month.

 

So to my fellow NaNoers- Good luck!

And to all my readers – please wish me luck!

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Heads Up! It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

Participant-2014-Web-Banner

 

So, last year you may remember me talking about participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). To recap, NaNoWriMo is a month where you sit down and squeeze out a minimum 50,000 words. It’s grueling but the end is so rewarding. Last year I ‘won’ NaNo. But, I haven’t touched what I wrote since then. So this time around I am rewriting what I wrote and hoping to add on to it. I’m changing the point of view on my story.

 

I am also going to start writing my graphic novel. I better not run out of coffee for that month.

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I won NaNo!

All November I had been blathering on about NaNoWriMo, so if you’re reading this you’re likely to know the gist of it as well.

I validated my novel around 6 p.m. local time on November 30, 2013. NaNo was one of the most thrilling, stressful, and fulfilling ventures I have ever undertaken.

Some further obstacles I faced while writing to reach the 50,000 minimum were going away for a week in November to Phoenix. It was a whole week of not writing, not thinking about the story, and alas, when I came back home just a few days shy of Thanksgiving I had no motivation to write/ ideas to propel my story. I was at about 35k for the word amount around Thanksgiving, and there was such a crunch to reach the deadline. It was exhilarating.

Since it has been almost a month since the end of NaNo, I have been quite busy. I started a new job and have been training and trying to balance everything else in my life with it, so I haven’t spent any time writing or editing. I hope to give myself some extra time and come January pick it up again. I would love to start trying to get a book deal or self-publish in the spring time.

This past month has also been exhausting for the major fan in me. My beloved Doctor Who series had their 50th Anniversary special last month, and last night, on Christmas, I saw my Eleventh doctor depart from the show to welcome in the new Doctor played by Peter Capaldi. I will not get too into it but Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor, so it was very hard for me to watch him go. The sadness in his eyes as he said his last lines were incredibly tough and I definitely spent my Christmas night sobbing into my pillow and squeezing my cat. I will miss you incredibly so, Matt Smith.

Also, the new Sherlock season starts next month and we were graced with a mini episode. It definitely has me excited. I’m talking about the Sherlock series on the BBC. Gosh, I’m such an anglophile.

In addition I saw the movie Frozen last month and thought it was truly magical. I love the direction Disney went with it. The music was a glorious mix of classic Disney tunes and Broadway ballads.

I also went to an advanced screening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a few weeks ago. It was PHENOMENAL. Yes, the book purist will definitely have problems with it, but I love the story Peter Jackson has added to the classic book. I do not believe he tainted it.

So there we go, a big write-up right before the New Year.

I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and will have a joyous, prosperous, and most importantly healthy New Year!!

 

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Still excited….

I’m still excited over NaNoWriMo, so I decided I just need to share my Facebook photo/cover photo. This is on my personal account. If you’d like to follow me, please follow on my professional public page, Laura T. Cerrone.

 

fbthing

 

Look how glorious this is! I have a crown! And the infamous British wartime motivational saying fine-tuned to feed the needs of a NaNoWriMo-er (that is getting to be a doozy typing out constantly, haha).

 

And now, back to the story!!

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NaNoWriMo!

nanobanner

NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month] is changing my life. I expected it to be hard, exhausting, and consuming; and it has definitely lived up to those descriptions. But, for me, it is also cleansing and a journey of discovery. With a week under the belt I have over 21,000 words and my expected date of completion is November 19 currently.

 

On Thursday I churned out 6,000 words alone, my best to date. The task drained me and yesterday I reached a minimum. The important thing is that I wrote. And I am continuing to write.

The most interesting part is my personal interaction with the characters I’ve created. They surprise me. We have discussions and arguments about their lives. I can see a reflection of me in each of them, even the antagonist (which isn’t a person but more of the ideology of society).

‘Tortured writer,’ has a new meaning for me. It’s not just sitting at a desk, coffee or drink in hand barreling out words until one sheet of paper doesn’t become a makeshift basketball for the garbage. ‘Tortured writer’ is the emotional connection I have to my characters, to write their story with integrity, justice, continuity. For those I want to suffer, I make their suffering real, and with the hopes that the situation they are in garners the appropriate reaction of sympathy. If I’m off doing something else other than writing I’ll often have to stop to jot down a new idea or a phrase that really brings in the story to its crucial points.

The support of my friends has been fantastic. I’ve told them a bit about my story and they all have voiced their support that I can write this story. My family is a little more apprehensive, but I believe their concern is about the constant cries of back pain from me sitting at a chair all day (and night).

I can’t believe it has only been eight days in.

If I feel this much different, I wonder who I will be on December 1, when all the writing has stopped and hopefully I will have surpassed the 50,000 word minimum.

I’ll try and check in with my observations every week.

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Happy NaNo!

Good afternoon!

It is November 1st! And that means the start of National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo!

This year is the first year I’m participating, and lo and behold I’ve just written my first sentence! A breeze. Thousands more to go I’m afraid.

NaNoWriMo has participants write every day, from Nov. 1- Nov. 30 and complete 50,000 words. A novel!

So I am not going to drabble on, since my goal is to hit about 2,000 words today and I’ve got… 27.

So I’ll bid you adieu!