A to Z 2015 - reflection post

EDIT: I just realised I didn't miss it!! Yay! :) Oh gosh, I really intended to do this on Monday - but it entirely slipped my mind. I am embroiled in kitty rescue chaos with lots of cats & kittens being adopted / still needing homes / needing new foster care, etc. Also, the A to Z totally whacked me over the head and made me a zombie this year! So there was that.

Even though I missed out on the linky list and everything, I thought I'd post for this anyway, because I do always like to participate in this reflection part of the A to Z each year. So let us reflect...

I have usually done things by the seat of my pants with the A to Z, but this year it really didn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed compiling photos, and visiting other blogs (when I got the chance), but I was spending most of each evening after work scrambling around for photos to post (and on a couple of occasions it took me most of the night to even decide on a theme for that day's letter!). This meant that I had very little time to visit other blogs and leave comments. For the first few days I was doing well, but after that it all went a bit sideways.

There was one year when I had scheduled most of my posts ahead of time, because I knew I'd be travelling most of the month of April. Obviously that year I didn't have much time for comments either, due to that whole 'travelling' thing. But I really do like the idea of having everything scheduled so I can spend April commenting.

That is my plan for next year. And I think I already have a vague idea for next year's theme, which for me is another thing that's unheard of. ;)

So I guess that sums up the A to Z 2015 for me. It's an awesome challenge, but given how busy my life is with kitty rescue now, as well as me wishing I could actually find time for other things - like writing - I really can't do the A to Z pantser thing anymore.

My A to Z History

2011 

(random things)

2012 

(books from my GoodReads "tbr")

2013 

(Aussie music)

2014 

(follow up on 2012's theme, with links to GoodReads reviews)

2015 

(photos!)

A pantser in Plottingland

I am, generally speaking, a pantser. I don't like to be tied down, or to set too much in stone when working on a project. It stifles my creativity somehow. Makes it all way less fun. I planned my 2012 NaNo novel, NAUSICAA, and while it made the writing experience a lot more smooth, I also found it a huge struggle to keep going after I'd hit 50k. I guess you could say I was bored. Even if the story isn't particularly boring (I don't think it is, anyway).

Most of my other novels have been pantsed to high heaven. And most of them have been written during November, for NaNoWriMo. Then again, most of my novels in the "SUNDOWN" series were written post-NaNo. None of them were particularly planned.

This month with my BuNoWriMo novel, IVY NIGHT, I found that missing out on a day's writing really interrupted my flow. Reluctantly I decided to write out a rough plan. It was pretty easy to do, because my book involves a prophecy that spans nine days. So basically the plot of the novel spans nine days. I was able to jot down notes about what happens on each of the days for each of my main characters. They're not hugely restrictive notes, i.e. "This happens, then this happens, then Ivy says this, then so and so does that". More like, "Ivy gets here and this happens." And as a fellow BuNo participant pointed out, just 'cause I have plotted, does not mean I must stick to the plot.

In other news, yesterday my brother and his new family arrived back home for a holiday, and I met my super cute niece in person and had my first cuddle. I also found out the meaning of her name, Mya - she's named after a beach down in the south-west of our state, Myalup Beach, not far from where my brother and his wife lived for three years. My brother being a surfer, it's only natural a beach would mean so much to him. :) Anyway, I think that is just way too cool! A Canadian baby with a Western Australian-inspired name.