From Start To Finish Challenge

NEW CHALLENGE! Who is game to play? The rules are simple just write, edit and submit your novel in twelve months. That’s right, you have one year to reach your goal. This is open to everyone, whether you’re a published author, who would like that extra push to meet your dead line or get that new novel going. If you are unpublished and want that extra something to keep you on track, this maybe just what you are looking for.

Challenge starts 1st November 2008 and runs through to 31st October 2009. The word count is up to you, how many novels you write is up to you. The main thing is to have your butt in front of your computer ready to write on November 1st, to help you achieve that goal at least, we are going to have two months of plot, plan and research. Through September and October we’ll do whatever is needed to have you ready to start your challenge in November. You can sign up for the ‘National Novel Writing Month’, which runs during November, 50ks in the month.

We’ll be on the RWA NaNo loop, to encourage, cheer and hug you no matter what you decide to do. If you’re interested in taking part just head over to the loop page http://groups.google.com.au/group/rwanano/web/from-start-to-published?hl=en for the challenge and tell us, your name, word count goal, genre, and title of your novel/s (if you have one). Hope to see your name on the list.

Hugs
Sandie

Queen of The Bionic Fingers, Mistress of Editing

We have known her as Rachel Charlton, Rhain Cahill and RC. Now let me introduce you to our Queen of The Bionic Fingers, Mistress of Editing. It seems that no matter what this power house of a writer does she excels beyond the normal limits of we poor mortals.

As you know RC doubled the word count for the June challenge, 100,015 words in just 30 days, over 42,000 of those words in just four days. We had Pin-up girls through out the challenge, I felt it only right that we should acknowledge the fantastic effort put in by the talented Ms Rhain Cahill.

RC was a constant source of entertainment to us all with her quirky one liners, of course some of these one liners were aimed at her partners in crime and co-members of 'The Topless Table Dancing Tarts', Diane Curran and myself, but we love her. There is one thing about our RC and that is life is never dull when she is around.

Ladies, please select your glass.

Let us raise our glasses to this years Queen of the challenge, Rhain Cahill.

Of course now our lovely Ms Cahill has to try to keep that title, we have the

National Novel Writing Month, coming up in November, who is going to be the

person to topple our raining Queen?

The challenge is there now ladies, get ready November will be here sooner than you thing.

Badge of Honour

Well the graduation ceremony has gone off, the winners' certificates have been emailed and the badges have arrived!

Here I am wearing fifty 50ks badges, and it feels like chain mail. Not sure I'll be doing this look at the RWA conference - maybe 10 badges at the most so my fellow 50'kers can recognise me and come and get their badge.

Remember you don't have to made the 50ks to wear your badge with honour!

Now it's back to the editing, Sandie is cracking the whip.

A Page A Day Challenge

50 ks In 30 Days may have come to an end but that does not mean we can sit back and take things easy. So you've had a week off to get over such a big month, now it's time to get back into writing. Set a routine, have a new goal, reach for that gold ring. Whether it be writing or editing set your goal. So I have a new challenge for you all, write or edit 1 page a day. Now this is not a big ask 250 words, that is all I'm asking of you or edit 1 page of your manuscript. Don't go letting all that hard work you did last month go to waste.

My husband tells me this is what my office looks like. Hehehe.

Here's the link to the groups 'A Page A Day Challenge'

http://groups.google.com/group/rwanano/web/a-page-a-day-challenge

add your goal and each day come back and add your daily total. How easy is that?

Come on ladies fingers back on the key board, let's write.

Each week we will come up with a different challenge, anything that will keep you writing. Get those words down on paper. Anything that will get you to your goal of being a published author.

Happy writing.

Hugs

Sandie

The results are in!!

For our graduation I thought we ALL deserved a little fanfare. What do you think? Does it feel like a celebration now? It should. You all should be celebrating the great effort you made in June.
WE ROCK!!!!!
Look at those meters! Aren't they great? Between us we've done some serious wordage (yes I'm making up words but hey, I write fiction) and I for one am very impressed with our efforts. Now the real challenge begins. We need to keep writing, I know I've slacked off this week but hell, I'm brain dead.
So how's everyone feeling now June is over. I'm also a little overwhelmed by my own effort and I will admit to being seriously scared by the amount of writing I'm capable of when I push myself. I'm also relieved, and excited and nervous and confused and I can't tell you how many feelings are swirling around in there. After my bailout of Nano last year due to bad health I was determined to finish this challenge, so I guess I'm feeling a little triumphant too.
Today, Friday the 4th of July is for celebrating. Get out your favorite drink and food and toast yourself for a job well done. So charge your glasses because I've got a few people to thank. (you really shouldn't have given me the microphone)

First, to the person (Louise) who mentioned the idea of a challenge in June, we toast you.

Second, to Rachel B for taking her seriously and picking up the bullhorn to spread the news far and wide, we toast you.

Third, to all of those that picked up the baton and ran with it, we toast you.

And finally, to my partners in crime, the lovely Topless Table Dancing Tarts, Sandie and Diane, we toast you.

Congrats to all who came, all who conquered and all who tried. I salute you all.

RC

The finish line!!!!

Well here we are at the finish line.
There are bodies, broken fingers, puddles of sweat and lost files littering the track behind us, but that's where it is, behind us. We made it! Some of us are in better shape than others, but we're all here at the finish line looking rather dazed and pleased with ourselves. And we should be pleased with our efforts, whether they were little or a lot, we still made the effort and that's what counts.
Speaking of counts, it's time to anti-up the full figures. I'll be up-dating the word meters until late Thursday night so leave your final total in the comments and come back on Friday for the graduation ceremony. Bring you champers and wear your best writerly outfits.
Okay, now to the serious side of things, if you could all just pick up a specimen jar on your way past the front table, the toilets are out the back. Once all the drugs test come back clean the results will be official.
Great month ladies, but don't think it's over, no...... We'll be here, editing, writing, blogging, dancing on the tables topless.... oh, no dancing on the tables topless?! Too cold you say. Okay, well I guess it's not wise then.
Catch you all at the ceremony on Friday. I promise to wear a top.
RC

Monday Meter Maid

Okay, I'm here, I'm late I know but it's just one of those things. The cat can't pee! Yep, you read it right, my cat can't pee and I'm beginning to think the whole worlds against me. Every time I go to sit down to get on here or to join in over at the group something goes wrong. Any chance someone has a hideaway I could sneak off to?
So, the 50k. We're down to the last day and I hope we're all still writing, I know I am. I plan to go until midnight tonight to grab every spare minute I can. I had a quick look at the meters and girls I gotta say you all should be proud. What a great effort from everyone this month. Now we all just have to keep the momentum going. I'm sitting on 91,013 words for the challenge and I wanna hit the 100,000. No, I'm going to hit the 100k, if not you might not want to look in my closet, there could be a couple of dead bodies in there and the less you know the better.
So, here's how we're gonna play this. You have until midnight tonight to write, yep, keep those fingers moving. Tomorrow I will post the finish line. Actually, I'll post it late tonight so it'll be there first thing in the morning. This will be your final chance to get your word counts in. On Friday there will be a graduation ceremony on the blog and you'll want to be around for that, I've got a surprise for everyone.
Don't forget, we're still going to hang around here and at the group, some brave souls are planning to spend July editing, some will continue writing and others will be in forced editing. By forced I mean edits from an EDITOR!!!!
We've had such great news this month, as well as all the great effort but it's not quite over, so limber up those fingers and start sprinting down the final stretch.
RC