Pixabay compilation
Back at the beginning of March, I kicked off a Mini-WriMo, which fondly become known as a Ninny Rhino. Everyone was invited to join in. We each were free to establish their own writing-related goals.
I had high hopes, but life got in the way. So after a week of not reaching my number, I lowered my goal by half. That’s how this works. Gentle goals and being kind to ourselves – a nudge to write without getting impaled.
If you responded to the slightest nudge, wrote one word more than you would have otherwise, organized your writing space, read an ignored article on marketing, sat for an extra hour of editing, etc., YOU WON the Ninny Rhino badge! (You’re free to download the above badge).
To celebrate, please share your accomplishment in the comments as well as a link to one of your favorite posts (any post and open to all writers and poets). I encourage everyone who comments to visit a few other Ninny Rhino enthusiasts.
And if you want to do it again (or for the first time)… there’s always May. 🙂
Happy Writing!
Myths of the Mirror 
I didn’t do well with my word count goal, but I’m happy with the planning I did do 🙂 For some reason when I’m at university, even though I’m doing an MA in Creative Writing, I write far less!
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Thanks for the update, Louise. I’m sure you’re learning a lot about the craft of writing, and I’m sure it’s all worth it! I would love to take a class and hone my skill. Enjoy!
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Too true – we all need to be kind to ourselves, otherwise there won’t be any fun involved and what be the point of that? 😉
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Exactly, Sarah. One of the worst things we can do is to turn something we love doing into a painful chore. Hope you’re having a wonderful week. I’ll be home soon and back to blogging. 🙂
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*Catches up, out of breath.*
My goal has been to write two short stories per week, now that I’ve tried it, I know that it’s an ambitious goal. I wrote three for the whole month. Less than half my goal, but I did write other things – and I read. I read every word of Writing tools – 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark. Read a bunch of short stories from The Spider’s Palace by Richard Hughes.
Here’s my share: https://thestoriespeopletell.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/deferred/
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Two short stories a week was ambitious, but it sounds like you were still incredibly productive, Jackie! Way more than I was anyway. Lol. Sorry about the late reply since I’m still traveling. One more week and back home. Happy Writing!
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I love ‘gentle goals’. You are still doing well, Diana…esp with your busy schedule. 🙂
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Thank you! I haven’t written anything in 3 weeks but will get back on track shortly. ❤ Have a lovely day, my friend.
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You’ll get back in no time, I know. Have a great rest of the week.
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My accomplishment was that I figured out a major plot point – hit me like a pile of bricks.
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Don’t you love it when that happens? It’s such a great feeling when it finally gels. Congrats, Teri, and sorry about the late reply (I’m still traveling, but will be back soon). Happy Writing!
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I couldn’t comment on your review of Nabatea, Diana but left a comment on the author’s site. I have downloaded the first book of the series. And, here’s another review posting for you: https://authorkevincooper.com/2019/04/03/sunwielder/
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I’m sorry about all the closed comments, Kevin. I just couldn’t leave them open while traveling, knowing that I couldn’t get to them. I hope you enjoy Andrea’s series. I just loved it and can’t rave enough. And thank you so much for sharing your review of Sunweilder. I’ll reblog that one too, of course. (I’ll spread them out a bit). Thanks so much, my friend.
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I had a feeling that may be the case. It makes perfect sense, knowing that you would be way to busy to reply to a ton of comments. Hope mine didn’t make you feel uncomfortable. I was more concerned about how things were going for you with the move. Thanks for taking the valuable time to reply.
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You could never make me feel uncomfortable. Ha ha. Things are starting to settle with the move, so a little more time to spend on the blog. I’ll be home soon too! Yay!
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Happy to hear that, Diana. 🙂
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Hi, Diana! My goal for the month of March was to get 1/4 of my WIP done, and I did that––hooray! It wasn’t easy, so I feel like a winner. Here’s the post I’m sharing: https://wp.me/p3eYyj-1WN ❤ xo
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That’s a great goal, Vashti! Woo hoo. I wish I was that productive. Sorry about the delay in replying as I’ve been moving my parents and their cats to a new home. Have a great week and Happy Writing!
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Half your original goal is better than no words at all. Kudos!
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Thanks for the comment, Staci, and sorry for the late reply since I’ve been moving my parents cross country. Yeah, my goal was shot, but I wrote more than I would have without any goal at all, which is the point. Hope you’re having a great week. 🙂
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No need for an apology. Family first. ALWAYS.
Hope the move went smoothly.
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As Indie Authors, we have the flexibility to adjust our writing goals. I love the term, “Gentle Goals!” Life’s too short for anything less! Thank you for sharing, Diana!
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Thanks for stopping by, Jan. I had a dismal month of writing, but still wrote more than I would have without the nudge. 🙂 Gentle goals is right! Happy Writing!
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I thought at first I had not done much towards the Ninny Rhino, but I kept writing through March and posted to my blog at least once weekly which is my goal. I also started to share my work on Medium and plan to continue to explore that platform. On the day of the deadline (3/31), I entered a writing contest. Here’s a link to one of my humor pieces from March: https://www.shallowreflections.com/the-day-i-alarmed-the-firemen/. Happy moving. Take care of yourself, my friend.
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Good for you, Molly! Excellent job stretching a bit too. I love the firemen story. So funny. And good luck with the contest! We head out this morning to Salt Lake City and fly in the morning. They unpacking!
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Ha! Your March was exactly what mine turned out to be – best intentions sidelined by the real world. Sometimes the only thing we can do for ourselves is revise the plan 🙂
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I know, Joanne. And no sense in beating ourselves up about it. I actually didn’t even accomplish a quarter of my goal! Ha ha. But that’s still 1/4 accomplished! Thanks for the visit.
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That’s the spirit! I didn’t even touch my project during the month of March. On the other hand, I did a lot of other things 🙂
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Ditto! 😀
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Congratulations, Diana! And congratulations to everyone else who /wrote/, however long or short. I didn’t take part in the official attempt, but I have been writing, a little every day, and I’m happy with me too. Bravo, all!
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Thanks for stopping by, Andrea. I mostly failed at my Ninny Rhino, but that’s okay. Congrats to you on writing a little every day. It adds up!
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Writing is writing. I totally failed at Nano2018 so I understand how you feel, but that was just a deadline. Writing is a lifetime job. So long as we do a bit from day to day, we can never fail. -hugs-
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Yup. That’s the way I look at it. Every paragraph written is a paragraph written. 🙂
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Kindred spirits. 🙂
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I didn’t reach my goal but I did write, which was more than I was doing before this Rhino came knocking! Thank you, Diana, for hosting this fun exercise. I managed to squeak out a little over 2500 words. I’m not sure if I would have done that without your nudge, or the rhino’s horn. LOL
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All writing is worthwhile, Dorinda, and if you were nudged, then give yourself a pat on the back. I hope you continue to give yourself Ninny Rhino goals, and remember to be gentle with yourself. Happy Writing!
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I will, and thanks again, D! I even added the badge to my website as a gentle reminder 😉
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W00t! My writing goal was small – really, really small: Write a Poem a Day for one week – yeah, that’s like, um, 7 whole days. I figure, shoot low and you can’t lose, right? So I vastly exceeded my goal – I wrote for, um…lost count, but it was more than 7. Claiming that badge ’cause it’s all that and a bag of spicy Cheetos. Here was my personal favorite: Fins & Gills (quirky) https://zanderinprint.wordpress.com/2019/02/28/215/
Thanks Diane! Have a bag of Cheetos on me – Zander
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Small goals are just fine… because then you can exceed them! I’m heading over to read your Fins & Gills. I like quirky. 🙂
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Life’s a funny thing, but May – oh, how I love May! That’s when I’ll be back, after a few other deadlines have passed.
And how did I do?
15 days in and disaster struck, however, the words were ahead of the game and I’m very happy with the effort.
It can be done, it can also wait – and boy, did I get some stronger ideas while forced to sit it out!
All in all, I did well. got 30k words out, and a good strong bend in the road … that’s accomplishment!
See you in May.
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You started great, Cage, and you ended super strong too. And sitting out to get stronger ideas isn’t a bad thing. I hope the disaster wasn’t a read disaster. Happy Writing!
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dislocated thumb when trying to stop a fall – still fell, hurt back, recuperating; the mind doesn’t stay still though, and there are millions of ideas floating around …
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Oh, I was hoping it wasn’t something like that. But I’m glad you used the downtime productively!
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I revised two poems and wrote a new one. I also made three new illustrations.
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Excellent, my friend. I love your art – both the unique visuals and heart of your words.
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Well, I write my poems and helped a foreign language writer translate to English. Does that count. ♥️
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Yes! Of course, Holly. It all counts. What a wonderful thing to do for another writer too. Have a wonderful week, my friend. ❤
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I started two new books, one suspense, the other contemporary and managed about 10,000 words between the two.
I also read/reviewed a couple of fantastic books, one of which was your Soul Swallowers- loved it!!
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Woot Woot. You went block busters, Jacquie. Congrats on starting 2 new books and pounding out the words. And, of course, thank you so much for the lovely comment about Soul Swallowers – even a little romance in there! Ha ha. You made my day. 🙂
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I only edited, Diana. On the bright side, I did write two short stories for a writing competition so not all bad.
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Editing counts, Robbie. And two short stories on top of that is fodant on the cake. 🙂 Thanks for reporting in. Happy Editing!
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Yay! It worked for me and I’m proudly admiring my adorable Ninny Rhino badge. I set a tough goal of 60 hours of plotting and editing. Since I also work full time, it was a definite challenge. I was really happy for the extra push since I sat down and stayed in my story many extra times and for more hours. I finally solved some of the plot twists and questions I was stumped by, and I’m back to full steam ahead on my Miss Livingstone series – working on Beta version of book III, and it’s right on track at last!
Thanks for the motivation Diana. And in case anyone is interested, the official Camp NaNoWriMo http://campnanowrimo.org/ starts today for the month of April. It’s the kinder gentler NaNo where you set your own goal for words, hours, minutes and can re-adjust the goal at any point – even the last day.
Diana invited us to add a favorite link, so here’s a fun short-story I wrote for you to enjoy in Miss Livingstone’s world, but a little before she was in the picture: https://misslivadventures.com/2018/02/21/the-fickle-face-of-time/ Happy Reading…and Writing!
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That sounds wonderful, Sheri. A super-success story. And for anyone reading this comment, Sheri’s Miss Livingstone books are a great fun. I’ve never done a Camp Nanowrimo and won’t be able to this year as I’m neck deep in moving my parents, but next year…. Heading over to read your story! ❤
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Thanks for the kind endorsement for Miss Liv Adventures books too. 🙂 All the best with moving your folks.
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I did practically the opposite. I barely wrote/revised anything or accomplished much in march. Instead i mostly sat and pondered and read. Hopefully this month i’ll do some progress.
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That is perfectly okay, Jina. Sometimes the timing just isn’t right and the best thing you can do is to give yourself a break. I wish you much progress in April. 🙂
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I wish that too, haha. Hope things settle enough for you this month as well.
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I’m still moving my parents (we fly tomorrow), but I should be home by mid-month and then things will slow down. 🙂
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I’ve never cared for NaNoWriMo but this Ninny Rhino Celebration has instant appeal. First, adorable rhino, nothing else necessary. Second, set our own goals and adapt as necessary. And third, be kind to ourself. You got this one perfect, Diana.
(I met my goal writing this comment – thank you. 🙂 )
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Yay, well done, Sharon. 🙂 I fell short of my shortened goal, but I definitely don’t believe writers should beat themselves up about something they love to do. I respond well to writing goals and challenges, so I find them useful, but I never care if I miss them. 🙂 Onward!
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I love that badge! I should have done the challenge just for the pride of displaying a rhino on my blog. Sigh.
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Well you were busy with a book launch, Jacqui. I hope it was fabulous. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week. 🙂
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Well, I didn’t meet my writing goal, but I did a ton of plotting, outlining, making notes and character sheets. When it came time to write I only managed one chapter plus part of a second but I feel I’m grounded in the story now with all the behind-the-scenes planning I did.
I love the Ninny Rhino! 🙂
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Excellent, Mae. All that work counts. I’m halfway through Cusp of Night and I thought I’d finish it quickly while also packing up my parents house. LOL. What was I thinking??? I can’t wait to get them moved in and finish the book. 😀
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😀
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I too petered out before I really got started D. I had wanted to flesh out the character sketches on my Fiction Addiction project, but got sidetracked by necessary preparation for my move later this month. I fear I am going to have to put this off till I get settled in Alaska. You are juggling so much as it is, I am almost happy you didn’t saddle yourself with another project. Looking forward to Aprils prompt!!
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A move to Alaska. Good luck and don’t wear yourself out. It’s amazing how much there is to do when making a move. There won’t be an April prompt since I can’t give it the attention it needs. But there will be in May!
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And I will be better situated to write a response then too.. Take care and be good to yourself this month D.
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Might you be in the market for a cuter rhino? Cuz I’ll let’cha borrow mine!
https://mikeallegra.com/2016/04/22/some-weeks-you-write-a-blog-post-2/
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You are so kind. He’s adorable and that’s quite a trick! I’m traveling so I’ll take you up on this the next time! Happy Writing!
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Thanks, my friend!
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Gentle goals makes so mch sense. Life so often gets in the way. And to have a hard goal that will make us feel bad is unnecessary and destructive, Definitely, counter productive when it comes to being creative.
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I’m not for making anything hard that doesn’t need to be, Drew. In fact, I’m rather the opposite – content to be lazy. Lol. Thanks for the visit and have a wonderful week. :-
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Thanks. You too.
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Maybe I will catch this another time.
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No pressure, Mary. It’s all just for the fun on it. I had a lousy writing month with parents’ move in full force, but I did push myself a little in the beginning. Have a great week, my friend.
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My goal (unofficially) was to have my website up by the time my book was released 😀 Made it! Barely… Let us know how things went with the parent move.
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You had a ton of goals, Julie, and what a month for you! Ah, the move is going well. Busy, and last night I finally had a good sleep. We’re on our way to the airport tomorrow and fly out on Wednesday. 🙂
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Safe Travels!
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Perhaps I will join you in May 🙂
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Of course. You are always welcome, Rose. Have a creative and joyous week ahead. 🙂
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Here’s an example of my writing~: https://eastelmhurstagogo.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/large-kosher-food/ Thank you~
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Thanks for sharing one of your posts. It made me hungry. 🙂
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Thanks for the comment. I hope it was right for the prompt
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You could share whatever you wished, so it was just fine. 🙂
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My goal was to complete a 3 book proposal, which I sent to my agent yesterday evening…barely made it! 🙂
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Wow. Great goal, Jill, and good for you for accomplishing it! I’ve got my fingers crossed for you that it will be received with excitement. 🙂 Happy Writing!
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