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 27 November, 2011
I will freely admit that I failed at keeping you posted about my progress in this space.
However--I did a *great* job with the writing. I am still working...wondering if I can actually finish the story during November this year.
Every year, at least one person contacts me and asks what the point is. "What is the point of all this writing?" they ask. "Are you publishing this right away?"
Well...the short answers are no, that I'm not publishing right away...and that the point of writing is writing. It is a clear conduit for the elevation and enlightenment of the spirit.
The longer answer is one stated, or at least begun, by National Novel Writing Month's founder, Chris Baty: the world needs my novel. It needs my self-expression and passion; my energy and hope. These things make the world a better place.
The other part of the point is that I need to show up and share my heart in a world that has my novel in it. It's a challenge to keep showing up and sharing myself. It's not easy to keep posting with my heart on my virtual sleeve...and yet, I keep doing it because I believe that it's important. It's important to keep showing up. It's important to keep participating in the world. The world needs my passion. I need to live in a world that needs my passion. It's a win-win.
Every year in November, I feel my passion for writing and living and breathing ignite. I'm not sure at the beginning, I feel the embers glowing in the middle; and by the end, I am positively aflame. I do my best to hold on to the glow of that passion and hope through the dark days of winter. Some years, I do pretty well. Otherwise, my score is abysmal. The point is to keep showing up, keep trying; keep ignoring the messages that suggest I should hide who I am from the world at large.
Here I am again, sharing my passion, my joy. I'm going to try and keep doing it, because showing up and signing on this way helps make the world a better place for me, for you, and for us all.
As we slide into the dark of the year, I will carry the lantern of hope with me...and I invite you to do it, too. Whatever sparks your passion, I hope you stay connected to it. Keep working towards your joy. The world needs our light more than ever.
  31 October, 2011
I am finally ready for the challenge.
This year, I have two ideas. I'm not sure which one I'll be working with. Frankly, I'm considering writing them both.
I know that some people do this. Of course, I'm not sure that I'm cut out to be one of those people. We'll have to see. I'm in a curiously open space...not feeling committed to any particular idea, but I'm excited about the process either way it happens to turn out.
Hmmm...what else should I tell you? I am planning to have at least a handful of write-ins at my location on Old Harford Road. Bring your laptop and some snacks to share. I'll provide a comfortable place to sit, some quiet music, and a writerly (snicker) environment.
If you would like to participate in a write-in, but you're not quite sure that my office would be the best place, then I should tell you that I'm also considering Hamilton Bakery as a writing spot. Of course, if we go there, then you should be prepared to be faced with temptation. They make some of the best goodies on the planet.
For those who have taken up the gauntlet: Look me up on the NaNo website. I'm Tanisia_Writes. Of course, I'll be keeping you posted via this space--keep an eye on this location for more madness through the month of November.
As always, I'll be available via phone or email, and I'd love to hear from you!
P.S.--What are you writing this month?
23 September, 2011 Only 39 days until NaNoWriMo! Where has the year gone?
For anyone who is just joining the party: NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Founded by Chris Baty, this is a month-long writing endeavor. The assignment is to write a novel of 50,000 words or more within the month of November. That sounds like a lot of words--but it's fewer than 1,700 words per day. That's really not so much, when you think about it. And when you win--and sooner or later, you *will* win--the feeling is incredible.
I have not started planning my novel yet. Not sure what that will be about. I enjoy the waiting. There's something really thrilling about the seat-of-my-pants writing. I love to wait until just a handful of days before NaNo (or even later), but maybe your mileage varies.
If you have any interest in a NaNoWriMo support group, then you can let me know here. I would love to have one.
My vision is that we could get together, starting in October, and discuss how to prepare, and prepare together. Then, in November, we could write together for an hour or so once a week....OR we could use the time to get away from our writing, kvetch about our characters, lament about the plot bunnies that seem to have absconded with our plots...the list is endless.
Yes, writing is a solitary pursuit...but that doesn't mean we always have to be alone. As Sam said to Frodo at the end of Fellowship of the Ring: "Of course you're going alone. And I'm going with you!"
I won! I won!I got a cool patch as one of my prizes, but I haven't figured out how to post it yet. More later, maybe. So here I am in the wee hours of Day Five:Hmmm. I think I'm doing something wrong here with the updating. The very first ticker that I put on the page this NaNo actually has my appropriate word count. I'm almost at 12,000. (Okay, *close* to 12,000.) I'll try to put in another word counter. The tricky thing with these little widgets is that they're supposed to
be live things. There is source code, but I can't quite figure out
what's happening with the source code. Inserting it makes something
unattractive. Ah! This one appears to have worked, though.So you know that I am doing ok with the word count. I am off target with the story itself, though. This happens every year. I don't know what my issue is with moving on. Hmmm. Note to self: come back to this issue later. I would write more here, but I'm saving my wordiness for the page. I'm back to my novel, folks. And now it's back to you. How is your NaNo?
So here I am at Day Two:
I am wondering if I could finish in ten days or something like that. Wouldn't it be amazing? And then, I could take the rest of the time to get all the way through my outline. (Could you imagine?)
Of course, yesterday, I was feeling impressed with myself when I ran across someone's 7200+ word count. Wow. That's just...wow.
And it begins...
National Novel Writing Month 2010 is officially underway. I was really excited about getting started, but today--of all days!--I had a lot of stuff happening. A DirecTV guy came to repair our TV, which hasn't worked properly for months now. You know how they give you that window? We chose 8:00 to noon. I was up around 7:30, to make sure there was time to do last-minute organizing (okay, so I made up the bed) and let the puppies outside...So he showed up around 12:30.
By the time he fixed everything and left, it was late, late, late. I only got in 2633 words today. It's a good start, but I should have had more words, dang it!
Boy, it seems there are a lot of distractions right now, yes? Jim Butcher just released a compilation of the Harry Dresden short stories, which I am looking forward to, but I just couldn't pick up when it was released on the 26th.
Also, AMC now has The Walking Dead. More about that in a minute--well, I might as well just rant about it now. I love the graphic novel, and have been following that for a couple of years now. The show is off to a poor start. The first ten minutes, with Rick and Shane talking in the car, did more to turn me off than an hour with any three of my exes combined. Seriously...how many times did they need to use the b***h word? And did they have to sound like such raving misogynists when they did it? Okay, Rick didn't sound as misogynistic as he did bewildered, but Shane just sounded as though he thought women were handy receptacles of lesser intelligence of his own, who are frequently annoying.
Also--I am REALLY SICK OF SEEING the Hollywood trick of putting a character's relationship in danger in order to keep the viewer more interested. It would be less irritating if the characters were struggling in the graphic novels--BUT THEY ARE NOT. That device did not work in 30 Days of Night, and it didn't work here, either.
I do have to ask: where are the women? I suppose that beginning sensitized me to the entrance of the female characters. At this point, it's feeling a little like Disney: bad things have happened to the female characters we know about in the beginning, and then as we move forward, I *really* want to meet some female characters who are strong, well-rounded, and...gee, is it too much to ask that they could be likable, too? I was not impressed with our brief glimpses of Lori and--was that Andrea?
Beyond those issues, I think they are doing a fairly good job with the series so far. The drama with the neighbor's wife is both intense and irritating, by turns. Yes, they are doing an excellent job showing us how raw he is...but there are a couple of problems with slowing down the story this much for him: 1. We don't know the woman, and so it's hard for us to feel much more than a generic pity; and 2. ALL of the survivors have suffered losses similar to his. I'm not clear what we are to extract from the closeup on his suffering. Should we think that he's the only one who really loved his wife? Or is he the only one who is grieving properly? What is it? PTSD? An explanation for his shutdown, when other people who have suffered similar losses are on the move, would be fantastic.
So far, I think I have to give it a solid C+. They have to do a better job with the characters--show us who they are, make them realistic, and help us understand their choices. Of course, I'm sure that some of my discontent with the show has to do with my enjoyment of the graphic novel, so that piece is going to be unresolved, no matter what.
Oh, well. That's enough about other people's stories for now. I know what I'm writing about this year, which is a good start. It took me a while, and I had to whittle down the list from a bunch of things to one specific thing. I'm still not sure that I narrowed it down enough. We'll see. I even made a crude outline, of sorts. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
I was feeling some excitement about maybe using my office as a space where some of us in Baltimore could write together. There hasn't been any real interest in that, and not so much in the face-to-face writing group, either. Of course, I remain open to the idea of writing together. As for the rest...I'll table the Writers' Night In idea for now, unless I hear from some of you that you're burning with anticipation and can't wait to get started. If you're feeling that way, contact me right away. Otherwise, Writers' Night In is tabled until further notice.
What about you? How is your story? What is your story? What are you excited about?
October Writing Group
In one week, I will hold the final Writers' Night In before NaNo 2010. This time, we'll talk about NaNo, NaNo, and more NaNo:
1. How to choose a project
2. What details matter
3. Why your title makes a difference
4. Making it to 50,000
5. Supporting each other
6. Writers...start your outlines.
If there is anything else, we'll try to fit it in. In the meantime, keep the date: Monday, October 4th at 6:30 p.m.
There will be snacks. You bring some, too. Also bring your enthusiasm, ideas, and interest.
Are you excited? I'm getting excited.
See you then!
A Note About NaNo 2010I would like to extend an invitation to 2010 NaNo participants. Come write in my new office space! Details are coming. In the meantime, I will check with the NaNo website to see if I can register my office as a participating friendly space.
Between now and then, keep an eye on this space. I will be offering Writers' Night In, starting in August. We'll talk, we'll snack, and we'll write, write, write. Give me a shout to sign up!
About Writing These Days
Okay, this bit isn't technically about novel writing. It's just about writing in general. I would love to say that the words have been flowing from my pen in such quantity that I can hardly get anything else done--but that would be a bold-faced lie. The truth is, despite my excellent intentions, I have hardly spent any time writing at all in 2010. I know. It's pitiful.
I do have new hope, though: I just signed up for a class at Holly Lisle's website. It's called How To Think Sideways, and it's all about connecting with your writing more clearly and purposefully. I am very hopeful about this. I just downloaded the first class. I'll write more about this soon.
I have also been thinking that the writing group I lead at Spiral Dance may be helpful. Attendance is going to pick up starting in April--you know, when the world remembers that outside doesn't always seem to have teeth, and people actually start venturing outdoors again. I went this past Saturday, and I will admit that I felt bad about having only two old poems to share with potential attendees. I looked through my book of poems, and many of them seemed vomitrocious. I am a little bit grateful that only one person saw them.
My hope for the writing group is that we become a solid group of writers who support each other in our writing endeavors, help one another with our work, and hold a creative space that encourages each one of us to nurture creativity and grow. I know it can happen. We just have to show up and keep believing.
Maybe we can focus on the long form next. Short stories, and then a little jaunt over to look at the novel. I would love for us to be in a place where we are familiar with the process of writing these by the time NaNoWriMo comes around again. We will see.
As for you, Faithful Reader: if you find yourself interested in attending a writing group, you have only to let me know. All women are welcome at the one at the Center, and if I hear from enough menfolk, then we can start a different one. There's room for everybody's words. It's a good thing.
So in the meantime, I'll be working on that writing discipline. This seems to be the month for it.
Now that I'm thinking of it: what is your writing discipline like? Click here to send me a note about that. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
More on National Novel Writing Month
It's the end of November, and I am emerging victorious. I did it. I made the word count--over 50,000 words penned within the month. I even managed to resist the lure of other words that I've written, which would have worked nicely with this story. No canned words for me--all of the ones included in my word count were fresh from my brain. Now that November is over, those words are no longer verboten, of course, and I can add them if they help the story.
Next month: National Novel FINISHING month, when I make a valiant effort to go in and complete the behemoth that I started on November 1. I will keep you posted.
Here is one of the prizes (yes, there are prizes!) that I have earned with my winning entry. I would be delighted to hear from you if you've earned one of these, too:
National Novel Writing MonthIt's November, and I really must say that my novel is coming along nicely. Well, let me rephrase: my word count is coming along nicely. The novel...well...the story is not where I thought it would be by the time I reached this word count. The main character has taken a number of detours, and I have learned some unexpected things. This process has been both exciting and nervewracking. I'm just grateful that the character seems to have so much to talk about. This year's novel is sort of a fantasy/horror hybrid titled Rise Up. For the first time in quite a while, I have not yet penned an outline. I may buckle under and do it--I feel a little lost without one. If you are in any way interested in signing up for this adventure, the website to visit is National Novel Writing Month website. It's FREE, it's fun, and it's absolutely fabulous. See you at the site!
For more information, or to sign up and write a novel of your very own, visit www.NaNoWriMo.org NaNo novelists receive a $20 discount on massage services during the month of November!
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