I Self-Published a Novella!

First, let's get this out of the way: My novella, "Do Life", is now out online and available for you to purchase for Kindle (devices or the app) and Paperback!

YAY!

Now, the details.

This particular novella was the project I drafted for the very first Camp NaNoWriMo I ever participated in. Camp NaNoWriMo is a version of NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) that takes place twice a year during April and July. I wrote "Do Life" during the April 2018 session; I drafted 25,000 words in 30 days. To see this first novella I ever wrote out in the world now is pretty surreal and exciting for obvious reasons.

Here's the synopsis:

Jessica Smith has a fresh start: new town, new house, new job, new neighbors. What more could a bright-eyed twenty-something want?

With the rush of these new changes in her life, Jessica still feels like she's moving at breakneck speed through her new career and potential relationships.

But when a tall stranger barges through her door and tells her she's in danger...what will it take for Jessica to risk it all and leave her new life behind?

In this heart-pounding sci-fi thriller novella by Savannah Cottrell, join Jessica as she learns what it means to be human, and what it means to have free will in a world where it feels like all control is lost.

Now, I will say this, too: "Do Life" is very much inspired by one of my favorite video games. I would tell you which one...but you should read it to see if you can guess. ;)

Want to buy and read "Do Life?"

For the Kindle version (readable on Kindle devices, phones, tablets, and your computer), click here.
For the Paperback version (my personal favorite!), click here.

(For some reason, these are two separate listings. I've been looking into having them be combined into one listing, so please pardon this little bit of dust.)

If you read my book, please let me know through an Amazon review!

Y'all have been with me through my writing journey for years now. As always, thank you so, SO much for following along with me. You're the best. And stay tuned for more writing over the course of this year!

Brief disclaimer: the links above are Affiliate Links, so I will make a small commission if you buy my book through the links above. This is ONLY if you buy the book, though, and it's at no additional cost to you. If you use these links, thank you! 

Writing Update: Camp NaNoWriMo 2019, Revision Plans, and Self-Publishing!

Hi!

So I've been gearing up for another big writing project. Well, actually, several, if you count the revisions and the stuff I plan to FINALLY publish this year.

I guess I need to slow down a bit, huh?

In today's update, I'm going to give y'all a rundown on my upcoming writing adventures! Starting with...

CAMP NANOWRIMO 2019!

Yes, I am participating in Camp again this year! I will be partaking in both the April and July sessions. I am SO thrilled with the plot so far. 

However, this year, I'm tackling Camp a little differently than I did last year. Besides doing both sessions (which I'm already pumped for), I will be taking this opportunity to write a DUOLOGY. This will be a two-novella series!!

I have always wanted to write a series, and I figured a novella duology would be a SUPER fun jumping off point for my first one. 

I begin writing the first novella April 1, finishing on April 30. Then, I'll start drafting part 2 on July 1, finishing on July 30. 

To say I'm stoked is an understatement.

Revisions!

Okay, I'm just going to get this out there in the open: I am not a big fan of the revision process. I love drafting so much more. Also, in my experience, the revision process was glossed over in classes I took. Not to mention it's much more fun chasing new ideas and plot bunnies than having to revisit less-than-savory sentences, paragraphs, and plot points.

That being said, I've got a bunch of manuscripts (two novels and a novella) that I want to share with y'all. So, this year, I'll be working to revise these drafts and get those stories out there.

Please stay tuned for...

Self-Publishing!

I write because I love creating worlds and stories and sharing them with others. This year, I'm deep-diving into self-publishing again after a year (I missed it!) and getting some cool stuff put out for you guys! Y'all, 2019 is gonna be a great writing year for me, I can already tell.

Again, please stay tuned. I can't wait to share my words with you. :)

Camp NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up: What an April.

So I know that it's been a while since Camp NaNoWriMo ended, but I'll get straight to the point: I achieved my goal of 25k words. I wrote an entire novella. I won!

To those unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo/Camp, you don't actually "win" anything, nor is there a ranking. All "winning" means is that I achieved my goal. That's it. And, I can actually say that I wrote twenty-five thousand words in a month.

In this post, I wanted to share with y'all how the rest of my writing adventure went, and what I learned from this month of writing a novella. Also, I want to tell you about the actual novella itself and FINALLY give y'all a synopsis of this thing I've been working on. :)

How'd it go? What'd I learn?

I'll be honest, I kind of lost momentum writing this novella. And you know what? That's okay.

Writing anything in such a time crunch as a month isn't always easy anyway. I mean, when I was doing NaNoWriMo back in November, and I told people I was having to write at least 1,337 words per day, people's reactions varied from cringing to "wow, I couldn't do that." Does that mean it's easy for the person writing it?

Well, it depends.

I figured out that the secret to projects like this is heavy outlining. I heavily outlined my NaNoWriMo novel, and I found that it was way easier to meet, and even exceed, my daily writing goals. Being a little more spontaneous with this project made it a little more challenging, and I wish I would have outlined my novella more this month.

But the thing that ultimately led me to finishing this novella was the story I was trying to tell. I knew that if I didn't finish writing the first draft of this story, I would regret it, because I loved the plot I came up with. Having that goal in mind was what kept me going, and I'm so glad I was able to finish the novella and have another finished first draft in my hands...well, on my laptop, but still.

Savannah, tell us about this novella already.

...sure, okay. ;)

Jessica Smith is about to live the dream. She’s a bright-eyed twenty-something who’s just moved to a place of her own - in the suburbs! It seems like everything is falling into place. She’s hired for a great position at a great job, she meets a cute guy, and her new community is picture-perfect.

Or so she thinks.

Soon, cracks appear in the surface. Why do her personal belongings keep disappearing? Why does the guy she’s dating seem too good to be true? And who is the brooding, handsome runaway who’s stopped at her doorstep in the middle of the night, and why is he telling Jessica she’s in danger?

This is “Do Life,” a novella by Savannah Cottrell that’s a high-stakes adventure that takes place inside a video game that asks the question…what does it mean to be able to make your own choices?

And I guess y'all want a cover, too? That...will have to wait until closer to release...which is going to be this Fall, because I have my debut novel releasing this summer. Stay tuned for that!

Thank you guys so much for following along my novella-writing journey. Y'all are amazing. :)

Writing Update: Halfway Done With Camp!

Hey hey!

It's been a minute since my last update, but I come with great news. As of the middle of last week, I am officially halfway done with my novella!

I wanted to take time in this post to tell y'all how it's been going, what I've learned writing a novella as opposed to a novel, and my plan for finishing this thing.

So, how's it going?

Today's progress. TEN THOUSAND WORDS LEFT. (Insert confetti here)

Long story short (...ha!): Writing a novella is fun!

It's different from writing a novel not just in the length, but how I'm writing it. I've outlined this novella in almost the same way I outlined my novel (more on that in a little bit). And my word count per day is way shorter than what it was when I was writing my novel, too (834 words, give or take, versus 1,333 words) so I can meet my final goal of 25k words.

And, y'all, I love this story. I love where the plot is going, and I can't wait to tell you guys about it!

...I may disclose the synopsis once the novella is done. ;) But what I can tell you is that my novella is called Do Life. It'll make more sense once I tell you what it's about.

What have I learned writing a novella?

Well, here are a few things:

• Just because it's shorter doesn't immediately make it easier. I'm still having to find ways to add length to this novella because I'm finding myself reaching my main plot points super quickly. In high school, I was taught not to be so wordy, and while that's great for academia, it's not for novels (or, in my case, novellas). 
• Make your outline detailed, no matter how short your project is. My novel was detailed down to the letter, because for NaNoWriMo, I wanted to make sure I was intentional with my writing. For a novella, I've learned that I have to do the same thing, or else I just flounder and pad the chapters with text that I'm afraid might be unnecessary. But, hey, the joy is in the journey, right?
• No matter the length of a project, you still have to budget time to get it done. I set goals for myself. For example, if I write 1000 words (as opposed to my required 800-something), I can play Fallout 4. Or something like that. Also, if you only have a limited amount of time, try timing yourself to write as much as you can within ten, twenty, or thirty minutes. The NaNo Word Sprint twitter page is great for this, but if you're not able to catch their sprints in real time, check out Fighter's Block.
• Figure out what time is best for you to write and stick to it. Even with the shorter word count, some days, I've felt less motivated to write. But I've figured out that I write best in the mornings, so I do my best to write before lunch. Or, if that can't be helped, because life doesn't operate by a set schedule all the time, I do my best to either allocate time at the library or just write when I can.
• Speaking of motivation, it's okay to take a break. 
• At the same time, do not be afraid to write ahead. I took a day in the first half of my novella to write 3,000 words. I wound up getting to the halfway mark two days early, and that was the best.

How am I going to finish this novella?

I'm determined to finish this thing strong. And early!

I finished my novel a day early last year, and I feel like I can do that this year, too. What I'm going to do is make my outline way more detailed going forward, and then, just go in swinging, so to speak.

I'm excited to get this thing done, and I'm so thrilled and thankful that you guys have followed me in my writing adventures thus far. :)

Writing Update: Revisions, Camp NaNoWriMo, Etc.

So I've been on a writing steam train lately, and I've been loving it.

Speficially, writing planning. I've had to get myself back into revising - which, while fun, isn't near as fun for me as writing a first draft - and I decided spur-of-the-moment to do Camp NaNoWriMo this April.

I guess I'd better talk about this one at a time, shouldn't I?

Revisions

As stated earlier, I've been in kind of a revision rut. It's easy to be like, nah, I'm planning on releasing my book on Amazon this summer, I can wait, right? or it's easy to sink hours into Skyrim. (Whoops.)

However, as also stated earlier, ruts are some of those things that you have to jump out of. There's no easing out of a rut. You have to start somewhere.

That being said, revisions have been going well. I'm actually adding more than I'm deleting, which is kind of surprising. But, nonetheless, I'm super excited about it, and I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like. I still have to do things like design the cover, lay out the final book, etc.

Right now, expect my debut novel, Swept Off My Fins, to be out this June or July.

Here is a synopsis:

Lisette is a mermaid, the youngest of five sisters, and is a darling of the Sea Kingdom of Aquamarine, protected under the careful, watchful eye of her father the king. The only thing her family and her people wishes she’d work on is her singing voice.

But what they don’t know is that she can write like no other.

And write she does, keeping secret stories hidden in her grotto of what she imagines the world above to be like. Not only does she write stories, but there are letters from a prince just beyond her ocean home.

But when her friendship and budding romance with the prince is jeopardized, and her dreams of sharing her stories seemingly shattered, she bargains with one of the darkest powers of the sea to try to get ashore and see the world she’s been writing about for herself.

Can Lisette share her true voice, outsmart a sea witch, and find her prince? Follow a daring mermaid’s adventure in Savannah Cottrell’s debut novel, a retelling of a classic tail…er, tale…that you won’t want to miss.

My Novella?

Yes, I'm writing a Novella this April during Camp NaNoWriMo. On top of revising my first book.

What am I doing?

At the same time, why not? I mean, as a writer, you need to keep writing and honing your craft, whether that's in starting a writing project, revising, editing, or whatever.

So, why a novella? Well, the biggest difference between Camp NaNoWriMo and "regular" NaNoWriMo is that you can set the word count. Also, it's not an actual camp; it's just another opportunity to write something, big or small. Camp happens twice a year, too: April and July (I would recommend the July one to you students out there). So, I set my word count for Camp to be 25,000, which is in the sweet spot of the typical length of a Novella (about 17,500 to 40,000 words, which is actually kind of a massive range).

I don't want to divulge the details of my novella yet, but just know I'm super excited about the idea, and I'm taking risks that I haven't taken before as a writer. I am SO excited to get started on April 1st.

Speaking of getting started, I've found an app that's going to help writing this novella be so much easier. It's called Pacemaker, and it's a task management calendar website. You plug in your project length, how many words, and other specifics, and it gives you a project calendar that's customized to your specific needs and schedule. As a planner, I LOVE this. I can plug the word counts the site gives me into my paper planner and Scrivener, and I can go to town knowing I have a plan in place.

You can access Pacemaker here. You do have to make an account, but to use the best features, it's completely free.

Anyway, I'm so excited for my writing adventures coming up, and I can't wait to share how they go with you guys! And yes, I will update you guys throughout Camp NaNoWriMo. That will be a fun ride, too.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

I'm Writing a Book!

This week, October began.

I have a lot of reasons to be excited this month (like turning 26 next week). But this month finally, FINALLY begins the prep process for one of the best adventures I think I’ll ever take.

I’m writing an entire book in a month!

I mentioned that I’m doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) before, but now that it’s October, I can start planning and plotting in full force now. Traditionally, October is “Preptober”, a month of outlining and plot-building frenzy that excludes any actual novel-writing. The 50,000 words (!!!) I’ll be writing will be exclusively during November 1-30.

And while I’ve done similar projects before (see my post on my short story project here), I’ve never actually sat down to write a full-length novel in that length of time. But, this year, the timing feels right, and I feel so, so good about the novel I’m writing.

“But Sav, what’s your book about?” you might be asking me. Well…I’m going to wait to announce the plot and title of my book for the moment; one, because I really love this idea and want to keep it close to my chest for now, and two, everyone loves surprises, right? ;) The only thing I’ll tell you is that it’s a Young Adult novel, and I’m planning on publishing it once all is said and done.

All in all, I’m excited for this brand-new adventure. November is going to be an interesting, but exciting month this year, and I’m so, so ready to finally embrace and embark on probably one of the greatest adventures of my life as a writer. And, most of all, I’m thankful to my family, friends, and, most of all, the God I love for the support and strength in this grand and amazing journey. 

I Self-Publish Things (AKA What I've Been Doing Since Roughly March-April)

My name is Savannah. Y'all knew that. But what y'all probably don't know is that I'm a self-published author.

Let me tell you a little story spanning all the way back to March/early April of this year.

I've been writing short stories for a good while. In lieu of traditional NaNoWriMo, I took on the task of writing 30 short stories, one for each day of November. But even before that, I've loved creating stories, long or short, fluffy or more serious. Storytelling and crafting has been and always will be a passion of mine.

But let's talk about those November stories. Up until this point, I had been researching literary magazines to try to get my work out there. That is, until I thought about a freelance editing project I'd worked on. The author I edited for self-published his work through Amazon. He had sent me a copy of his book as a thank-you gift.

And that's when the wheels started turning.

At the time, I was working on a short story called "Turn the Town." As I was writing it, something about it just felt right. I had a gut feeling that it would be a good first work to publish after failed attempts to try to put something together as my "debut."

That's when I took the plunge.

I finished that story. I put my graphic design knowledge to use and designed a cover from scratch. I spent hours researching and fiddling with Kindle Direct Publishing until I had a product I was proud of.

And, on April 20, 2017...

...I launched "Turn the Town" on Amazon on Kindle and Paperback.

My dreams literally came true the day I held a copy of my short story for the first time. I can't accurately describe the euphoria I felt when I flipped through the book I'd put together. Even though it wasn't a full novel, it was out there. And it was mine.

And I was ready to do even more.

Speaking of even more...

I'm launching a new one! This next one is titled "The Pirate College," and it's a pirate comedy that I'm super excited to share. It will be available for Kindle and paperback on Amazon on August 15th.

If you want to learn more about and read my work, the easiest ways to access it are through my Amazon Author Central page and my author website.

I am so, so grateful and thankful to my family, friends, and everyone else in between who's picked up, read, and supported my writing and my dreams. This girl is one happy author. And I can't wait to see where God leads me on this grand adventure.

"A book is a dream that you hold in your hand." - Neil Gaiman

My November Short Story Project, AKA Why I Didn't Blog This November

Hey, dear reader! How have you been? It's definitely been awhile, and I apologize for my longer-than-intended absence from blogging. However, I've been incredibly busy, both with work and a special little project I worked on during the entire month of November.

The project was this: I completed thirty short stories, ranging anywhere from 500-1200 words, one for each day of the month. This was my second year doing this, and it was nothing short of a great time.

I've attempted NaNoWriMo (writing an entire novel in a month) before, but I was in college and I had a harder time trying to fit writing into my schedule as a student. I did this project last year as an alternative to NaNoWriMo because I wanted to 1) have a portfolio of completed short stories, and 2) I didn't want to worry about word count, but instead, I wanted to focus on creating concise, but cohesive plots. And this year, I was determined to do it again.

As a writer, this project has let me explore writing about the genres I love, as well as stretching myself to write genres I'd never written before. And it had me working towards a very specific deadline, too; I finished the project at precisely 11:59 PM on November 30th.

So, what did I use to get this project done?

• Scrivener - This software is absolutely fantastic, and is a must if you're a writer. (Seriously, I recommend this to any and all of my writer friends.) It was so easy to use this software to organize all of the stories as part of one anthology.
• Pinterest - I get a ton of my writing ideas from Pinterest, and this month, Pinterest was a valuable resource. I also used other sources to get ideas, but Pinterest was a great jumping-off point for me.
• My Bullet Journal - This year, I decided to use a bullet journal to keep track of my writing and my stories (see the image above). I was very much inspired by Kara at Boho Berry's NaNoWriMo Bullet Journal, and I collected a ton of reference material for use in my anthology. Plus, I considered it a huge help to have my short stories outlined and my plots ready before I started writing each story. It definitely helped me to focus on crafting each plot, not just coming up with one.

So, why am I blogging about this project?

I wanted to share this in case any of you readers wanted to try it next year (or for any month). If you're wanting to dip your toes in writing, this is a great way to do so, and it's a great way to expand your body of work. Plus, there are plenty of places out there where you can submit your finished works, too. And, hey, you may want to turn your short story into a full-fledged novel or series. :)

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo before? Would you want to try NaNoWriMo or a project like this? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

How I Get Ideas for Short Stories & Creative Writing

Hey, y'all! I'm back from a brief blogging break because of work. I've been busy with blogging and magazine-article writing, and it's all been fun. Hope you guys had a wonderful week last week! :)

Now, let's get down to business.

My passion is writing, plain and simple. I adore the written word, and I love being able to use the written word to create stories. I work with both non-fiction and fiction mediums, and I love both.

Sometimes, I have no problem finding story ideas...other times, it feels like I've got a bad case of writer's block and have no idea where to even start. Either way, it's becoming easier and easier to find inspiration for short stories and longer writing projects, and I love it.

So, regardless of if you're a seasoned writer, someone who writes on and off, or a curious reader stopping by, I want to share some of the ways I've been finding ideas for stories.

Real Life Experience

What would I categorize as real life experience?

• Stories and favorite moments from your childhood/growing up
• Places you've been
• Places you dream of going
• Things you've done
• Things you wish you could do or experience (for example, having some kind of superpower)
• People you know
• Things you've learned
• And so on :)

I've been able to get a ton of writing inspiration from real life, and I honestly believe it's the best place to start when I'm trying to figure out what to write next, creative or not.

Then, I usually supplement experience with...

The Internet!

The internet has a treasure trove of information anyway, so it comes as no surprise that there's quite a bit of inspiration out there for the writer, too.

I mainly use Pinterest to gather writing ideas - and tips, too! - but there's a treasure trove of resources out there. I also use Pinterest to find ways to help with the technical side of creative writing, which includes stuff like character development, setting development, descriptions, and so on.

Reading

It is said that you become a better writer when you read...and that can't be more true. Not only have I learned from the best novels, but I've also learned how not to write, handle a plot twist, develop a character, etc.

Now, I'm not saying to blatantly copy what you do like from books. We have enough copies of Twilight and Harry Potter, it seems like. I'm just suggesting that you take a second look at the books you've read as far as the writing is concerned: What did you like the best? What didn't you like? How would you handle that twist or that character arc differently?

Finally, let's talk about another medium that might be a surprisingly good help...

Video Games

Believe it or not, video games are actually another great source of inspiration as far as writing goes. The typical "guy saves the girl from the big evil dragon" storyline can fit both a book (re: Sleeping Beauty) and a video game (re: Super Mario Bros.), and well, too.

In fact, I was playing a video game recently, and I was getting frustrated with the way pacing was handled. The characters really didn't do a whole lot of showing, just a lot of telling...scenes in the game where characters just stood around and talked about what was going on or about to happen took about twenty minutes.

Doesn't that sound a lot like something you'd be frustrated with in a movie or a book?

Now, I'm not a HUGE gamer, but I do know that video games give players the chance to interact with a story as opposed to just being an observer or spectator. Sometimes, interacting with a setting or certain characters has given me ideas for how I want to handle a setting or my own characters in my own work.

So, what do you do to find inspiration, whether it's in writing or any other kind of work? Let me know down in the comments! :) Thanks for reading, y'all.