Congratulations to: Carin Marinan!  Her name was randomly selected out of all of our wonderful Violet Femmes followers for the month of romance — February.  A bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate are headed your way.  Thanks to all of our followers, and be sure to check back at the end of March for another lucky winner.

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JeRoWriMo – Reflections on Writing in Unison

In February 2012, thirty brave members of the New Jersey Romance Writers took the plunge by participating in our own version of the National Novel Writing Month, fondly dubbed New Jersey Romance Writers Month—JeRoWriMo.

The goal: write 30,000 words in the month of February.

Although February 2012 was a leap year, that one extra day wasn’t enough to hold back the panic and self-doubt—was it possible to write 30K in a month or roughly 1,034 words a day?

JeRoWriMo was facilitated by published author Nancy Herkness http://www.nancyherkness.com/, who coaxed, charmed, and cheered us over every obstacle and along every milestone.

And, with great success. Our combined word count is an astonishing 383,247.  That’s about five completed novels—in a month.

The Violet Femmes word count isn’t too shabby either with 104,627 words. Together, we’ve written a novel and a half.

Yet, more impressive were the unexpected discoveries from this writing challenge.

Here are my reflections on this wonderfully satisfying experience.

Writing by the Seat of Your Pants

Working with a deadline helped my writing process. Why? I embraced the fact this was a draft—no one was going to read it. Time spent malingering over word choice or perfect phrasing was cast aside as the focus was on word count.

Not to say these issues wouldn’t be addressed. But later, during revisions.

I developed some useful tips as well. Microsoft Word’s highlighting pen was a newfound tool. Sketchy word—bright yellow.  Stumbling sequencing of scene—splash of green. For plot need-to-fix-er-uppers—blatant pink. Now, with a skeleton on paper, I could move onto dressing my manuscript up and turning my rainbow back to white.

Lesson Learned: Stop fretting and let the story unfold.

Let the Creative Juices Flow

My neighbors think I’m mad, with all the chortling and rambunctious outbursts of laughter—at various times of day, and night. Chances were taken because there was no time for self-doubt or the inner critique whispering, “Are you really writing that!” And you know what? Some of these risks still make me giggle, and might even see the light of day. Writing for a word count allowed the story to unfold in a spontaneous, natural way, and allowed the creative juices to flow.

Lesson Learned: Be fearless—even if the neighbors (or loved ones) think you’re crazy.

Prewriting Plotting

Writers can be plotters, pansters, or somewhere in between. My writing process falls with the latter. Knowing this, and foreseeing writing myself into a hole, I took the time to flex my plotter fingers, outlining scenes and story structure ahead of time.

Despite this, one bleak February evening, I bit my lip and hit the delete button, erring on the side of caution over word count. Yes, the manuscript is a draft but writing aimlessly would leave me with a draft rockier than a mountainside trail after an avalanche. And let’s face it, who wanted to dig out of that mess?

Lesson Learned: Keep awake so you don’t tumble into any rocky outcrops.

Writing in Unison

Imagine a choir of wonderfully talented women. The bass sings out in a mature, seasoned voice encouraging all to follow. A few confident altos join in, and everyone nods and smiles. A soprano lifts up the emotion from heights far above and tenors sweetly nudge from below. A harmonious blend of styles and voices unite in song, and together, their voices grow stronger, and stronger.

The most rewarding part of JeRoWriRo was the harmony within our group. Every time someone crossed the 30K finish line, a chorus of cheers sounded. Life hurdles were acknowledged, and warm hugs given. Inspiration sang out from every single participant. The nights when the world tossed a monkey wrench into the mix, daily updates refocused the direction.

Lesson Learned: Singing in harmony makes your solo performance even better.

So what began as a writing challenge became so much more. Friendships were established. The New Jersey Romance Writer’s chapter grew stronger. Published, RWA-Pro, and soon to be Pro writers joined hands, and gave a squeeze of wisdom laced with kindness and encouragement. You can do this.

Our 383,242 words completed sums it up best . . . we did.

Lesson Learned: Join a terrific organization like the New Jersey Romance Writers. You’ll be surprised by how much better you and your story will sing.

If you are interested in joining the New Jersey Romance Writers, here is our link: http://www.njromancewriters.org/