Saturday, November 16, 2019

National Novel Writing Month by Catherine Bruns

JENN McKINLAY: I was recently at Bouchercon (so fun!), hanging with the Red when a familiar face stopped by the table where we were signing. It was the fabulous Catherine Bruns. Of course, I immediately invited her to come visit us and here she is! And that, my friends, is the beauty of conferences. There's always a new friend to be made!

CATHERINE BRUNS: Thank you so much, Jenn, and to the rest of the Jungle Red Writers for having me here today! 
In the writing community, November is synonymous with National Novel Writing Month, or Nano for short. The main objective is to try and complete a novel within thirty days, or at least 50,000 words. 


Learn More: NANO

The first and only time I ever did Nano was back in 2016. I had an idea for a novel that I’d been carrying around in my head for over a year and really wanted to put down on paper. I’d just published my first two cozy mysteries in 2015 with a boutique publisher and though happy with them, I wanted more. I yearned to see my books in bookstores and on library shelves, like many writers do. It was a goal that I’d had since I was eight years old and wrote my first story, a highly plagiaristic version of Cinderella. Fortunately, Disney never sued.
Now all I had to do was write the book, find an agent, and send the manuscript off on query to publishers. Piece of cake, right?
Not exactly.
Since I had already committed to two more books and was also working full-time, it was difficult to find the hours to write the new manuscript. So, I decided to set aside the month of November to complete it. 
Cozy mysteries are very formulaic, and sometimes I tend to push the boundaries a bit, so to speak. I worried that my plot might be too dark for the genre, so I decided I’d try my hand at a suspense novel instead. The main character, Tessa, would be a talented chef and recent widow whose husband had just died in a horrific car accident. But Tessa would soon discover that it wasn’t an accident. She is determined to find the person responsible and decides her talent as a chef will lead her to the guilty party. She goes “undercover” as a cook in a dumpy pizza parlor called Slice where her husband was last seen. Tessa then learns that her husband wasn’t as well liked as she’d originally surmised—in fact, every one of the employees at Slice had a different reason for wanting him dead. When Tessa starts to uncover the secrets her husband was keeping, she winds up in some scalding hot water. 
I made my goal with Nano and finished the book. Writers can track their progress on Nano’s website, locate a writing buddy there, and receive badges. They send emails to inspire your writing and want to help you achieve your goal. This is the one time that word count matters more than the actual content. Because of this, my first draft was complete but nowhere near ready for an agent to look at. 
Available Now!
I spent the next eight months editing and polishing. I asked beta readers for honest feedback. In the fall of 2017, I started to send the manuscript out and was fortunate to find an agent who liked my voice and was willing to help me complete the additional work needed. She suggested that I query the book as a cozy, not suspense, which meant even more changes to the manuscript. We went back and forth with edits for another four months until it was finally ready to query in February 2018. Sourcebooks offered me a contract and Penne Dreadful was released in July 2019.  
Let me just say that Nano isn’t for every writer. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Back in 2016, I made it my goal to get the story down on paper first, and Nano served its purpose. Goals motivate me and help me to stay focused. I’m not the most organized person (far from it, actually) so I need this in my everyday life. 
Readers and writers, what type of goals do you set for yourself?   
USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns lives in Upstate New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets. Catherine has a B.A. in English and is a former newspaper reporter and press release writer.  She currently writes four series: the Italian Chef, Cindy York, Cookies & Chance and Aloha Lagoon Mysteries. Her book, For Sale by Killer, won the 2019 Daphne du Maurier award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense. Please visit her website at catherinebruns.net.

39 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new book published, Catherine.

    I’m not particularly good at goal-setting; I’m more of a “buckle down and do it” sort of person although I sometimes find myself procrastinating if I’m not particularly motivated to do whatever it is that needs to be done . . . .

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    1. Thanks, Joan. Yes, everyone has a different approach. As for procrastination, it was my friend for twenty years before I finally wrote my first book!

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  2. It's fun to hear the story behind the novel, especially since I enjoyed that book earlier this year. Glad you stopped by and thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi, Mark. I'm so happy you enjoyed Penne Dreadful. Thanks for letting me know!

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  3. Congratulations on the novel, Catherine. I don't think I could commit to Nano as long as I'm still employed full-time, but I do recognize its value in getting writers to sit down and just do it. Right now, I can only commit to weekend trysts with my characters, which won't get it done in a month. But oh, those sweet getaways when I can sneak off and spend some uninterrupted time!

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    1. Thanks, Gigi. I could use one of those getaways right about now, lol! I agree, I have a day job and it can be tough to find uninterrupted time for writing every day. Even if you can't make the goal of 50,000 words I still think it can be a great motivator...at least it was for me.

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  4. Hi, Catherine! It was great seeing you, albeit briefly at Bouchercon (seems "brief" chats are the best anyone can hope for at Bouchercon)! Congrats on the new book.

    I've never attempted to complete a novel during Nano, but I do try to feed off the energy and get more words down that most other months. Am I successful? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

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    1. It was great seeing you as well, Annette. Bouchercon was a whirlwind for me. It was my first time attending and there was so much going on!

      I think it's hard not to feed off the energy from Nano every year. It always helps motivate me.

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  5. Catherine, you and Jenn make me feel like a very old and wobbly turtle being spun around on her shell as two hyper-speedy bunnies whizz by! Congratulations on your success with Penne Dreadful and your series--and I admire your fortitude for taking on the challenge of Nano. A great way to dive into a new project!

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    1. Thank you so much! I have visions of the Energizer bunny in my head now, lol.

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  6. Congratulations on your new release! I tried Nano summer camp one year while I was revising short stories. I enjoyed the camaraderie and late afternoon bunkhouse conversations. A few months later, I had six weeks to write the first, horrible, draft of a book for an on-line class. I did it! November has too many distractions, but I do my own Nano during January and February every year. It's a mindset.

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    1. That's wonderful, Margaret. Congratulations! All first drafts are terrible, but that's what editing is for, right? As Nora Roberts once said, you can't edit a blank page.

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  7. Shalom Reds and fans. Catherine, I love the premise of your recent book. I will look around for it. When I was younger, I used to make ‘to do’ lists. However, when I hit my 40s, I realized that the lists never changed, year upon year, decade upon decade, without ever really accomplishing anything. This year, I had the fortune of working with a social worker and we broke things down into many smaller manageable goals. We got a lot done. Many items were checked off the list.

    In my head, I still have an unwieldy ‘to do’ list, but I am really tickled by the demonstrable progress that was made this past year.

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    1. Hi, David. I really admire your progress. To-do lists works for me, but everyone's different. There's no right or wrong way - whatever you feel works best for you!

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  9. Hello, Catherine! Thanks for sharing your story with us, and congratulations.

    You can tell NANO was invented by college guys, because November is about the worst possible month for such an intense project. I can never manage more than a week before I get caught up in responsibilities that distract me from writing.

    There's a reason Disney didn't pay attention to your story: they also stole it. The tale of Cinderella is at least 2,000 years old. They co-opted a lot of ancient fairy tales.

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    1. Hi Karen. Lol! So true about Disney. And you're so right...the only month that would be worse for Nano would be December!

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  10. NoNoWriMo always makes me think of when I potty trained my eldest using the methods from "Toilet Training in Just One Day" - which turns out to be "Just one day and then three months constant follow-up." Just like a long editing process, the three months follow-up was what really got the job done. But I couldn't have gotten there if I hadn't girded my loins and crash-coursed the start.

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    1. Where was "Toilet Training in Just One Day" when I had my twins? :) Your comparison made me laugh but it's oh, so true. You have to lay the groundwork but there's a lot of follow-up!

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  11. I so admire anyone who can make NaNoRimo work... I am in awe. I'm such a slow writer. But if your goal is simply "get the story down on paper first," I totally get that. Congratulations, Catherine, on Penne Dreadful!

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    1. Thank you, Hallie. Sometimes I think my first draft is not much more than a very detailed (and long!) outline. But I eventually get there!

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  12. Hi, Catherine! Thanks so much for visiting today! I feel like every month in NaNoWriMo. I do believe getting the first draft down in the key - and clearly it worked for you. Congrats on the release of Penne Dreadful!

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    1. Hi Jenn, thank you so much for inviting me! It was lovely meeting you at Bouchercon. Yes, lately it does feel like Nano is every month. Deadlines will do that!

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  13. Hi Catherine! Hope you had a wonderful time at Bouchercon—I am still floating. And exhausted.
    My goals are small but doable—540 words a day. With a secret goal of 1000.
    Except for this week—I simply have to finish!
    Hurray for Penne Dreadful!

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    1. Hi, Hank! Bouchercon was great. It was my first time attending and I can't wait to go again. My secret goal is also 1,000 words a day. Sometimes I go over, and some days I don't even come close. Best of luck! I'm sure your book will be wonderful. :)

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  14. Catherine, welcome to Jungle Reds! And congratulations on your new book! Is that the modern VW beetle on the cover of the book? It looks like the new VW Beetle car.

    Several friends are participating in Nano this month. As much as I would have loved to, I have no time with the BIGGEST de-clutter project that I need to complete before Thanksgiving. And I do not even have time to write posts on IG either!

    This is my immediate goal - to finish de-cluttering before they bring in the new kitchen appliances and I live in small space.

    Diana

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    1. Hi Diana! Best of luck with your de-clutter project. It will be worth it to get all those new appliances,right? My desk is often my biggest de-clutter problem. I'm not sure if the car on the cover is meant to be a VW beetle. The cover artist chose that image because the husband dies in a car crash, but I never mention the type of vehicle.

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    2. Hi Catherine! Thank you. The kitchen pantry is cleared out and all of the old stuff went into the recycling! That is amazing about the cover of your book. The artist is very creative.

      Diana

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  15. Congratulations Catherine on your book. I loved Penne Dreadful. I set unrealistic goals and never make them, so now I set no goals and I achieve them all the time. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Dru. It's great to see you here today. I have to say that I love your philosophy. :)

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  16. At this point I can't even figure out what my goals are! It was lovely meeting you at the speed dating event, Catherine. This was my first Bouchercon too and much of it is a blur. I do intend to get a hold of a copy of Penne Dreadful soon.

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    1. Thank you so much, Pat. It was my first Bouchercon as well. I hope you enjoyed the speed dating event. I loved meeting everyone but I was so tired by the time it ended that I had to go upstairs and take a nap, lol.

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  17. I love your books and it was so nice to hear how you wrote this book. This book took a lot of shocking turns and I can see why you thought it could be suspense but I agree it was a perfect cozy. Your tweaks worked. Thank you for continuing to write.

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    1. I'm so happy that you enjoyed Penne Dreadful, Denise. That made my day! Thank you for stopping by.

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  18. Catherine, it sounds like NANO was a perfect solution for you to get your book written. Deadlines can be a great motivator for some. I was always a good student because I loved the organization of due dates. I have never been as organized as I was in obtaining my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I've gotten rather sloppy with goals lately, and I'm really needing to get back on track.

    Congratulations on Penne Dreadful (love the title) and thanks for sharing its journey with us.

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    1. Thank you, Kathy. I'm trying to remember back to when I was in college (it was many years ago!) The great thing about goals is that you can always make new ones for yourself. :)

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  19. Yes, I am goal-oriented but a lot are simple like making meals, reading, watching TV, doing computer stuff, etc. Being retired makes things easier.

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    1. Hi Sally, yes, I agree that retirement should make things easier. After all, you've earned it!

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  20. Congratulations, Catherine!

    I've used NaNo, and the associated camps, to get things done before, be it drafting or editing. Sticking that pin in the calendar and making a public commitment is big in getting me off my butt.

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