NANOWRIMO COUNTDOWN!

To all aspiring and successful writers out there, the countdown to November's NaNoWriMo has begun. That's the National Novel Writing Month, where you are challenged to write 50,000 words in one 30 day period that is November of each year!

With just 25 days to prepare your outline or decide you will simply wing it without one, I challenge you join in on the fun! If you have ever thought you may have a novel in you, now is the time to get that sucker out of your head! (even if you never intend to share it with anyone).

I learned plenty last year, about just letting it go, letting it flow--with abandon, without regard to quality, simply writing and writing and discovering some plot twists along the way. The characters I created kind of developed themselves as I wrote the story, which made it easier for me than I had prepared for. A friend of mine stated that writing a novel was sort of like channeling. I couldn't agree more. I was channeling my imagination!

Really, the brilliance of NaNoWriMo is in not worrying about whether it will be ready for the publisher at the end of the month....even the greatest story tellers still do rewrites, and I'll do plenty. Heck, this particular story may never get rewritten. But, I guarantee that I'll improve because I wrote it!

Try the exercise, for one month and see how far you can take it. 1667 words per day, about 5 pages. You will find yourself learning a lot about your imagination, how ideas flow, how discipline like this can help you with other tasks. The benefits are great! The only downside was that at the end of the month last November, I didn't feel like writing for a while. ;) This year, I will go for it again and I am determined to show an improvement in my discipline, and maybe I'll actually share the novel this time (after some good rewrites, naturally).

You can head over to Nanowrimo.org for more information on writing your novel in November!

Have a great day,
Rebecca

NANOWRIMO COUNTDOWN!

Omg, 50,000 words in a month!

I feel a sense of relief getting to the 50,000 word goal of the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) but now, I really feel like writing!

What an incredible month this has been. I knew I could do it, I knew I could write a novel, I knew I had one in me, and now, I'm off to a good start. My story is far from complete, with lots of editing and rewriting to come. I hope that one day soon, I will have something you can hold in your hand or your electronic reader and enjoy. Moreover, I hope it doesn't suck.

Thanks everyone for being supportive and cheering me on along the way, and thanks to my good buddy Alexia for starting the book club that made me focus on making lofty goals achievable and really nailing down my daily writing routine, and mostly getting to me to commit to this project in such a busy month.

I'm a leaf on the wind! Now more than ever before, I feel unstoppable!

Action was the word I chose for the year because I needed to get moving, and a lot of wonderful progress has been made with my art career. I'll tell you though, this little accomplishment really feels like icing on the cake! I am pleased to have progress in my journey to share with others and maybe inspire, too.

Remember: Never EVER give up!

Thanks to a few awesome people who lead by example and sticktuitiveness and probably have no idea I’m referencing them here: Christy Dekoning, Curt of Keemo, Christine Kane, Carl at Cakuart.com, Alexia Petrakos.

But Scarecrow, I thank you most of all. :)

Omg, 50,000 words in a month!

Lure me with your smallness and baby breath

Bowl of Puppy
Acrylic on wood

Day 21 of Nanowrimo and 6813 words to catch up. I had a lot of painting to do this week, so I have not written in 3.79 days. Tonight may be one of those late nights that becomes a surreal writing experience likely to leave me feeling the carpal tunnel aches tomorrow.

I was thinking about smallness and the adorable quality of small. Take this little Westie puppy, for example. Don't you just want to feel his tiny tongue kissing you or smell his sweet baby puppy breath? I do. I think if I had this dog, I would simply not be able to let him down, except to pee, of course.

November is a rather large month, and it makes me wonder why the National Novel Writing Month happens in such a big month. Writing 50,000 words is momentous, at least it is the first time you do it. And in a month that also brings the preparation for the largest retail shopping days of the year, where artists and crafters alike are unbelievably busy preparing stockpiles of goodies for art and craft fairs and online sales. Then there is the added goodliness that I am also a portrait painter and I have lots of orders to fill. So, thanks Nanowrimo, just pile it on, why don't you?!!

Could be for a reason, though. If they did it in a metaphorically small month, we might not be up to the challenge. Through all of this, I have found companionship in my procrastinative obstinacy, and learned that writers are like me, they put things off and get distracted by dishes and sunshine and small animals. What I really mean is that in a small month, we would likely find no time at all to write a novel, because there is just too much 'nothing' to be done. And when there is nothing expected, you tend to go with the flow.

In November, when so much is due and the TV still has new episodes to watch (geesus, this is really painful), and everyone goes out of town or has plans for 3-4 days at Thanksgiving, why there couldn't be a better time to squeeze in a novel. Busy is what makes procrastinators move. This is the grandest time for a procrastinator who thrives on a deadline; Me.

So, bring it on, I say. You cannot discourage me! Bring on the kind of night that if I smoked, would be littered with visits to the porch in the wee hours to stare at the moon and think of new plot twists while stretching my neck. Bring on the late night pasty mouth (blech) and the dry red eyes. They will go unnoticed. For I am a nom de plum on the wind and my cup can always be refilled.

I'm off to make a French press and find a bit of ice cream.

I'll brush my teeth later.

Lure me with your smallness and baby breath

Nanowrimo or try try again!

Ink Leaves on Watercolor I

November is National Novel Writing Month. Really, it's worldwide novel writing month, or every other country's national novel writing month as well, however you want to look at it!

The goal: Write 50,000 words in a month, about 175 pages, give or take a few. My Storyist demo software says I'm on page 92. (Omigod, 92 pages! I totally rock!) That's almost better than selling a painting! Ok, it IS better than selling a painting, because it's the first time I've ever done this!

Half way day is tomorrow. I'm at around 20,000 so far. I honestly wondered if I would even get this far. I know I have a novel in me, but I didn't think I could get so much out in so little time. Each time to go to write, it just flows, and flows. Plus, I still like my story after 14 days.

I honestly thought my first writing experience would be a screenplay, and if you're into that, the same people who bring this fun contest also bring "Scriptfrenzy" in the early Spring. I have had oodles of movie ideas in my head forever so I'll be working on this one next year.

I have found this experience to be very liberating. The Nanowrimo people even come right out say that some of what you will write will suck. You aren't going to create a masterpiece with this effort, and you aren't going to publish on your first round anyway, so let it out and get it down, that's all that matters here. Why? Because some of what you will write will be brilliant! You don't have to share it with anyone. I wont even let my MF (Man Friend) read it, because I don't want any tiny iota of potential negativity to dash all my hopes and have me leave my novel career before it begins, which could happen with an eyebrow twitch. (ok, but probably not, because I am stubborn and believe I can actually do this. he he. rookie.)

So, with regard to writing the remaining 30,000 words, I have confidence I'll get through this, although tomorrow will only be week 3 and there is still so much to write and still a lot of time to get sidetracked and procrastinate. However, the Nanowrimo folks have thought of that too, with their daily blogging of motivation and the amusing "Procrastination Station" where, if you are short on words, you may find scene suggestions to add a thousand or two extra words to your story and maybe spark your story back into a flame. Daily I say my mantra: "Oh Lord, let my words flow, and help me from having to use the 'Shovel of death' scene to get an extra thousand words! (courtesy of the procrastination station).

For more information on Nanowrimo, visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/

For the rest of the month, each post will mention my current word count. The daily quota to get there is 1667 words. I chose not to write this weekend so I could work on a few other important things that actually help me get paid. The rest of month will be some early morning and some late nights, but I am driven to succeed on writing my very first novel. I have always wanted to do it, so let's see where this gig takes me!

I will remember that great quote, "Write Rebecca, write like the wind!" (or something like that)

Nanowrimo or try try again!

"You make me wanna write!"

I always feel like writing in the Fall. It's my favorite time of year. I think the slightest change in temperature makes me perky and excited, even nostalgic.

The Summer was unrelenting this year. High humidity and temps created a bad biscuit out of me. I fluffed up and got cooked, but then I just sat around all Summer and got stale. A bad biscuit is not worth eating, empty calories and a waste of time. Regardless of what food product I may have resembled, the result was a hardened floury puck which could never result (no matter how much honey I used) in any kind of creative production.

I'm an Earth sign, and I probably need some more water in my life to make my obstinate behavior a little more fluid. The stubborn me said, "Hey, this road block was my idea, so I will just stay here and break out a six pack until the road clears. I prefer not getting a damn thing done for 3 months!" Except it was my road block too, so no one else was going to clear it.

Honestly, it's not that I intended to accomplish nothing, who does that?

My argument could be that I was nourishing an idea, "You mean you can't see the novel that is inside my head? I'm just working on the plot a little more before I write it down!" When you are blocked, anything that involves much more than passive regurgitation is a struggle.

1st step: Acknowledgement. Summer is bad for my productivity. That's when I should be playing outside and dreaming and lying under the stars and forming creative ideas. I am from the Northwest and cooler weather makes me productive. So, if I am to stay in the South, I need to travel during the Summer or get a job doing something mundane, or just do house chores and go to the beach every day. As long as I don't spend another Summer depressed, beating myself up for not painting!

Why am I telling you all this? Because you probably have a season, too. It may even be a day of the week. You have a time of year of when you are better at that creative thing you do. When you are at your worst productive period, may I suggest that there is something else you could be doing that will fulfill you. Some seemingly mindless activity, even, that will give you a sense of satisfaction. Go pull weeds, or caulk, or paint baseboards, or vacuum the ceiling fan.

You know, these blocks may come when we need to refill our creative wells. So, the light tasks can help us to get some dreaming done!

If Fall is not your season, try some chores and spruce up your place. Then, go for a walk and let yourself dream. Swing on swings. Go to the movies. Go to a coffee house at midnight, see a live band, make good food and enjoy it. Discover a wine bar.

Plan ahead to do something 'else'.

The biscuit picture comes from a nice little blog I discovered today on how to make a great buttermilk biscuit! Visit Pinch My Salt for the recipe! (Don't forget the honey)

"You make me wanna write!"