Update #5

Ten weeks ago, I came up with the biggest writing challenge I have ever attempted. (If you did not read that post, you can read it here!) For my summer project, I would write 80,000 words in only 10 weeks. That meant that I was writing approximately 1,142 words a day for 70 days straight.

Most days I hit that mark if not beyond. Some days, I struggled with only a couple hundred words. Some days I missed all together. I have learned that keeping a consistent schedule and writing first thing in the morning does wonders for my writing capabilities. I also learned that being held accountable, in person and online, is a huge motivating factor for myself.

So, finally, after ten weeks of writing nearly every day, my goal word count was 80,000 words. As of today, I have a grand total of . . .

88,298 Words

To be more precise, I am in the middle of Chapter 22, on page 295, at 88,298 words.

With that in mind, I have NOT finished my book yet! It will probably require 1-2 more chapters to provide adequate resolution and still leave my readers on a cliffhanger. I’ll be sure to post up my FINAL UPDATE next week (hopefully!) A few of you have asked me for more details about my book, and I am happy to finally share more with you!

Working Title: The Runic Saga

This will be a three-to-five book series of YA contemporary fantasy with Nordic influences. On Monday, I will be posting my book blurb/pitch! I would absolutely LOVE your feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and any advice you might have for writing a blurb that catches the reader’s attention.

I look forward to hearing your feedback on Monday!

Happy Writing Everyone

Thank you to everyone who commented on these posts with encouragement. You are so appreciated!

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

80,000 Word Challenge

80,000 Word Count Challenge Update (4)

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020 kaylaannauthor

Update #4

I can’t believe it’s already been eight weeks into this challenge! About two months ago, I started my 80,000 Word Count in 10 Weeks Challenge. (If you did not read that post, you can read it here!)

After eight weeks of writing nearly every day, my goal word count was 64,000 words. I currently have a grand total of . . .

64,368 Words

To be more precise, I am in the midst of Chapter 16. I have 216 pages and 64,368 words.

About two days ago, I was 1,500 words ahead of my daily writing goal. Then, the past two days happened, and they were not nearly as productive as I had hoped. Thanks to that extra buffering space, I still met my writing goal. It just goes to show that some days are going to be better writing days than others!

I can’t believe I only have TWO WEEKS LEFT! Supposedly in two weeks, I will hit 80,000 words and finish my contemporary fantasy fiction novel. I’ll be honest, I don’t think both of those things will happen. I have faith that I can finish strong and hit the word count goal, but my book has grown even more than I expected. It will need to go beyond the 80,000 word mark to give it the proper ending. As I head into the climax of my book, I am excited for what my characters will reveal and how this book will continue to unfold before me! Keep your eye out for the #pitch (in the coming weeks).

Happy Writing Everyone!

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

80,000 Word Challenge

80,000 Word Count Challenge Update (3)

July 10, 2020July 9, 2020 kaylaannauthor

It’s Time for Update #3!

I started this 80,000 Word Count in 10 Weeks challenge six weeks ago. (If you did not read that post, you can read it here!) As of today, I have officially passed the half way point of my 2020 Summer Challenge.

After six weeks of writing every day, (okay okay, I actually missed one day due to illness) my goal word count was 48,000 words. I currently have a grand total of . . .

48,072 Words

To be more precise, I am in the midst of Chapter 12. I have 159 pages and 48,072words.

Looking at the above graph, I can see that I had a bit of an extra lead at my last update, but I lost that lead this last week after I needed to take a personal day. But hey, at least I hit my word count goal!

There were a couple of scenes over the past two weeks that I have been looking forward to writing since the start of this challenge and wow, they evolved into so much more than they were in the original draft! (PROOF that REWRITING, NOT revising, works! I’ll have more to say about that at a later date.)

Now that I have finished those fun scenes, I have to deal with the fallout, leaving me looking something like . . .

I know the next four weeks will be the toughest as I am completely changing the original ending of my first draft! I appreciate all the encouragement you have sent my way so far and hope that all of your writing adventures are going just as well!

May Your Ink Never Run Dry &

May Your Cups of Tea Always Remain Warm

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

80,000 Word Challenge, Blogs / Life

80,000 Word Count Challenge Update (2)

June 26, 2020June 26, 2020 kaylaannauthor

It’s Time for Update #2!

Alright, so it has been one full month since I posted the start to my 80,000 Word Count in 10 Weeks Challenge! (If you did not read that post, you can read it here!) Today, I am here again keeping myself accountable!

After four weeks of writing every day, my goal word count was 32,000 words. I have a grand total of . . .

32,595 Words

To be more precise, I am at the beginning of Chapter 8. I have 107 pages and 32595 ,words.

Throughout this writing challenge, I have held to my technique of stopping after a certain point, even when I REALLY wanted to keep writing (which is why I am so close to my target goal). I really believe that this is part of the reason why I have been successful so far. I avoid burnout and block all at the same time! (You can read about how to do that HERE).

I have six weeks left of my writing challenge and I am feeling confident in reaching my goal. Part of that is because of my techniques and dedication, sure, but another part of that is the support I get in person and online! Thank you for joining me and supporting me in this challenge.

I would love to hear more about YOUR projects so that I can support you in return! In the comments below let me know what you’re working on or drop me a link to your latest project!

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

80,000 Word Challenge, Uncategorized

80,000 Word Count Challenge Update (1)

June 12, 2020June 11, 2020 kaylaannauthor

Hey Everyone!

Alright, so it has been two weeks since I posted the start to my 80,000 Word Count in 10 Weeks Challenge! (If you did not read that post, you can read it here!) Today, I am keeping myself accountable and letting you know how it’s going.

After two weeks of writing every day, (well, okay, ALMOST every day, I took one day off for my one year anniversary) my goal word count was 16,000 words. I have a grand total of . . .

16,160 Words

To be more precise, I am in my fourth chapter. I have 54 pages and 16,160 words.

I am pretty pleased with how I have been able to stay on track with this project. I sometimes believe the start of any new project/challenge is the easiest because we are filled with so much passion and energy. I can feel this ebbing as I head into my third week and I know that this project will only require more from me as I continue forward. I won’t lie, somedays, the words just flowed, and other days, well, other days I was Ron . . .

Thank you Hayley Cavanaugh for showing me this meme!

My goal is to be able to keep up this pace for the next eight weeks by continuing some tips and tricks I have been implementing along the way:

Keeping a notepad handy so that I can jot down any ideas
Try plotting out the next chapter ahead of time to refer to when I need direction
Creating character boards on Pinterest (for fun and to keep my creativity flowing!)
Stopping at a certain point (THIS ONE IS KEY)
- Once I hit my desired word count for that day, I wrap up my current thoughts and even if I have an idea for where I am going next, I jot down the general ideas (so I don’t forget them) but then I leave them for tomorrow. I’ll be explaining in an upcoming blog post why this tactic works!

Anyhow, that is it for my first update! Thank you to everyone supporting me; I hope to be able to share more about this project (plot, title, etc.) SOON!

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

Alphabet Challenge

“C” is Content

September 11, 2019August 20, 2019 kaylaannauthor

Careful caresses calm my chaotic conscience

Candescent eyes captivate my very soul

I’ve thrown away caution, craving only your company;

Content among all the commotion.

Credit: Amador Loureiro https://unsplash.com/@amadorloureiroblanco

Today’s Alphabet Challenge features the letter “A.” In the comments below, let me know what you think of today’s poem and drop a link to your own post that fulfills the “A” challenge! At the end of each month, I will be choosing my favorite Alphabet Challenge Entry and sharing it on my blog.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with. Happy Writing!

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Alphabet Challenge

“B” for Bodacious Backside

September 4, 2019August 20, 2019 kaylaannauthor

The bookish bee-keeper braced himself for the

Brackish berating he was soon to bear.

His belligerent boss, still baffled by the

Bedeviling beehive, could hardly sit

On his bodacious backside due to the

Bitter bite of the quick-flighted bees

Today’s Alphabet Challenge features the letter “A.” In the comments below, let me know what you think of today’s poem and drop a link to your own post that fulfills the “A” challenge! At the end of each month, I will be choosing my favorite Alphabet Challenge Entry and sharing it on my blog.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with. Happy Writing!

blogging tips

Blogging Tip: Challenge Yourself

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 kaylaannauthor

Today, I’m going to talk a little bit about blog scheduling, more specifically, how often you should post a week.

I know, I know, I’ve already freaked out half of you and the other half of you are staring at the screen like this:

Blog scheduling, meaning how often you post on your blog (not to be confused with scheduling your posts ahead of time–which you should do), is going to be different for every individual. Some bloggers post every single day. *Hats off to them*

Some bloggers, like me, only post on the week days. Other bloggers only post 3 times a week, some only post once and so on and so forth. Like I said before, blog scheduling is different for every blogger. However, there are some consistencies that every blogger should keep in mind.

If you want to grow your blog, you need to be posting at least once a week. If we only see you once a month, odds are, we won’t remember you all that well. (This may not be true for all circumstances but it’s a general rule).
If you want to maintain followers, you need to be reading and commenting on other blogs the same amount (if not more) than when you are posting your own content.
Lastly, (and what today’s blog is really about), you need to challenge yourself with your scheduling goals.

Blogging is hard, I know, trust me, I completely understand that. I’m getting close to approaching my one year blogging anniversary and some days, I feel burnt out too. However, if you don’t push through it, your blog will suffer for it.

While it is wise to set realistic blogging goals, it is unwise to “settle” in your goals. For instance, if you work two jobs and you’re in school or a parent, it might be a tad unrealistic to say that you are going to blog every single day. So I would suggest that you to set a realistic goal, but not a “settling” goal. What do I mean by a “settling” goal?

Story Time! I am heading back into the busiest season of the year for me and I have thought long and hard about my blogging schedule in the next coming months. I considered reducing my weekly posts to only 3 times a week so that I could lighten my load here on WordPress. However, if I was being honest with myself, I knew that I could do the 5 weekly posts, it would just require a little extra effort. For me, my unrealistic goal for a blogging schedule would be 7 weekly posts, my realistic/challenging goal would be 5 weekly posts, and my “settling” goal would be 3- weekly posts.

So, instead of settling, I am going to challenge myself to keep writing and publishing 5 weekly posts. In the successful world of blogging, we have to be realistic yes, but I think we also need to challenge ourselves and see what we are made of.

So today, I encourage you to take a look at your blogging schedule. Are you being unrealistic, realistic/challenging, or are you just settling?

What do you think? Should we challenge ourselves in our weekly blogging schedule?

Happy Blogging Everyone!

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.