Ouch...

That dull thus you may have heard a few days back was me running directly into the dreaded Second Week slump. It's a delightful little combo platter of 'Ok...now what?!?' with my plot & my brain deciding 'what? We're not technically behind until Thursday!' Last week I was so gunning for 20k, and the closer I got, the more & faster I wrote. Since then I've done just over 1,000.

So, let that be a lesson to you; setting a big goal in NaNo is great. Reaching it feels AWESOME! But, once you climb that mountain, don't get complacent, there's another peak right behind it, so pick up you pack & move!


What's your best tip for unblocking/keeping momentum?

And the Question is....

Did anybody see Jeopardy yesterday? They're running their annual Teen Tournament atm. One of the kids does NaNo, how cool is that? Actually, I'm kinda surprised they don't get more people on there that do. Anyway, she was ahead most of the game, but got the final wrong. Still, as it's a tournament, there's still a chance for a Wild Card slot. So, Sarah, wherever you are, good show, kid. I hope you make it through the next round.

Today's word is: luminescent.

New Day, New Chapter

Yesterday was a bit of a mess, I realize. Sorry 'bout that. If you listen very, very closely when reading yesterday's last you'll realize that there's a clanging fading into the distance. That clang you hear is me deciding on something big & then running full tilt at the stretch of faultless adamantium that is the rest of reality.

I decided, I ran, I bounced off that wall hard enough to make even Wolverine's head spin for a moment or two. And, in that moment or two, dazed & spinning & half deaf from the fresh clanging reverberating in my ears...I went a li'l bats for a few. And then, I wrote about it. I promise, I shall endeavor to keep my meltdowns to a bare minimum, lol, unless they'd just make really good reading & then you may get them anyhow.

So, back to work. The last few days have made progress on the novel, though it's been slow. In the last three days I've written no more than 500 words a day on it. I'm not too upset as it's not a complete stall, but I'm not thrilled either. I'm trying to make a point of writing at least something every day. If it's 200 words instead of 2000, well at least it's 200 more than had been there before.

I think I'm also giving up my word counter. Lol, to allay all the 'no!, you can't do that!' I just heard from the room (along with a few snarky 'well, that'd be pretty stupid!') let me explain. I don't mean entirely, I just mean I'm taking it off the toolbar & leaving back where I have to actually go get it. That way, I hope, I won't be so tempted to hit it every other paragraph.

Word counting every other paragraph; rather that at the end of a session/the end of the day, may sound helpful, but to me it isn't. You type away & it feels like you've been going forever because this bit is just flying or that one drags so long. And then, all excited & knowing you've written acres of words, you check you count & find...yeah, not so much. Your mind (and sometimes your fingers) felt like you'd just put miles behind you until that little total popped up to burst your bubble. So, give
the count a rest for a bit. It'll be waiting for you at the end of the day.

Today's word is: sanguine.


Ever had a writing meltdown? What set yours off? Bad word count? RL messes? Chars that are screaming for a timeout? Conversely, any writing triumphs? Deciding to become a professional? Seeing your name in print? Just a really great bit of dialog? Let us know, we love stories here ;)

I'm a leaf on the Wind...

I was talking to a NaNo friend of mine the other day & the conversation went from comparative progress to a screeching halt.

‘Wait...’ she said, ‘you never finished before? I just thought it was the story running out before the word count got where it was supposed to go.’

Nope, I haven't. *hangs head, abashed* My name is Angela, and I was a four time NaNo loser.

In previous years, I had a pretty hefty familial commitment in Nov every year. I tried writing around it, but could never quite manage to push through the 'Omigawd, what am I doing?!? This sucks!!' phase to get to the good bits. I always figured 'eh, it's just as well, I’m tired from - & have - to do tomorrow & this isn't any good...'. I got frustrated & let my outside obligations give me an out.

I can't do that this year. Lol, for one, the 'obligation' in question is no longer a factor. And for another, this is an idea that's been rattling around my head for a few years now. I really think it's time.

And now, you all sit back & go 'Omg & -this- is the chick that's been giving -me- advice?!?!?'

I know. Sorry.

My sister was in the Army & she had been stationed in Germany, then was deployed to Iraq & later to Afghanistan. I only got to see her once a year & as she loves fall & Thanksgiving, she'd take leave in Nov. I adored seeing her (she is, afterall, my favorite person in the world) but between cleaning, shopping & phone calls before, then making dinners or going to other people's who made her dinner, usually having at least one party, having her friends all show up along with every relative in three counties, lol it was tough. Plus, occasionally, I liked trying to actually get her all to myself for five minutes. I loved having her home, but it ate up a lotta time & energy.

Now she's out. She got out last fall cuz she was pregnant with my niece, who was born this spring. She & the baby are currently waiting for my brother in law to get back from his latest deployment. Besides missing him & being a li'l far from home (she's in Kansas, most of our family's in Illinois) she's good.

Previously, all the things I felt I needed to do in November always took precedence to what I wanted to do, what was important to me. This is a terrible habit & I know *points to the audience* I am not the only one with this affliction. Everything always seemed more important because it was important to somebody else. My ‘stupid stuff’ could always wait, even if it was things I loved, because other people in my life didn’t attach any significance to them. ‘Oh, you’re just doing –‘, where – was ever so much less important than other things. I was just wasting my time anyway. I’d hear all of that & more from people around me & after long enough, from myself.

I really need to quit that. We all do.

We all need to quit letting the rest of the word dictate our priorities, our passions. Yes, of course there are certain practical matters for most people; gotta feed the kids, keep the lights on, etc. But, there has to be ways to serve both things. You shouldn’t have to lose yourself for the sake of practical expediency or other people’s opinions of what you ought to be doing instead. You shouldn’t, and I shouldn’t. I’ve known far too many people that’ve done just that & I’m tired of it. I’m tired of being so beholden to other people’s vision of where they think I should be that I do nothing but second guess where I want to be, if I think on it at all.

Last year, NaNo founder Chris Baty suggested an experiment, a dare of sorts. He proposed that we should have a Year of Doing Big, Fun, Scary Things Together. The idea was to take something you’ve always wanted to do/try/finish but let fear hold you back from & just do it. It could be anything, learn a language, get a new job, finish school, remember to return emails….lol, whatever you wanted.

If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. - Thomas Edison

I like this idea. It appeals to the gleaming, leonine part of me that yells ‘I AM AWESOME!’ but gets drowned out by all the things heaped up it that sneer & reply ‘you’re kidding, right?’ Well, that’s my Big, Scary Fun Thing; I’m gonna try like hell to ignore that voice from now on. I want to start listening to my own.

Leap, and the net will appear. – Geothe

‘What,’ you may ask, ‘does this have to do with the price of Jumja on Bajor?! Isn’t this supposed to be about writing?’ It is, yes. Therein lays the point. When I set harsh practicality & anyone else’s opinions aside & just listen to what draws me, I think it’s this. I’ve written more than 20,000 words on a single piece & while not Atlas Shrugged length prose by any means, I want to see how it ends.

I haven’t had it long, but this blog has had more frequent & longer posts than any other blog/journal or diary I’ve ever tried keeping…probably put together.

And while my conditioned, doubting responses wants to remind me that I’ve never finished a novel, I say ‘yes, but I keep coming back to try!’ Lack of completion doesn’t mean I haven’t learned things in the years I’ve failed. I keep getting asked advice on writing this year, I keep answering with some pretty solid ideas & I keep hearing how my suggestions have helped. I must be learning something!

The conditioned bit says “all” you write is “stupid game stuff”. Ok, I’ll grant you, most of my writing has been game related, but stupid? Not so much. Currently, I write for four characters out of two different universes with a minimum of around 2.000 words a week, & usually it’s more. Prior to that, I’ve been writing for close to six years now covering about 30 different main chars & a multitude of background chars on everything from modern day superheroes to far flung future covert op agents to mythic world princesses. I’ve written different jobs, social classes, religions, genders & species! I’ve been doing this initially at a couple posts a week to now it’s practically a nightly occurrence.

But, more to the point than the ‘what’ is ‘why’. Even when I fail, and some of them have been truly spectacular failures that barely even sucked in fresh oxygen before keeling, I keep going back. I keep throwing my mind against the vacant expanse of the page to see what sticks. I love when a char takes off enough on their own that they do things you never saw coming & I love writing something that makes me laugh or cry, or hearing that someone reading it laughed or cried. I love the challenge of trying to get inside this person’s head to see what makes them tick. I keep trying on new worlds & new people. Some fit, others don’t, but I keep going, keep plumbing the depths of my oldest char (she’s 3 ½ now) &looking for the next new thing to flex my literary muscles on & shouldn’t that say enough?

I’m by no means saying that I’ll be the next JK Rowling by next NaNo, but merely that I’ll be here next NaNo, and the next. And I’ll keep writing here & trying to write it better as long as I can muster up new ideas, new chars, new problems, new advice & new reads for you. And I’ll keep writing my novel, it’s still a long way to 50k & the book & I have a date with a red pen in December. Who knows, maybe some time I can post a link to where it’s published, or to a site where I’ve gotten printed. I’d like that, like to be able to point to a book in a store or an article somewhere & go “see that? That’s mine. I wrote that.”

So that’s my other Big, Fun, Scary Thing; to not give up & to keep getting better. So I’m currently unpublished & unpaid, so what?.

My name’s Angela & I am a writer.

"I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar" - Wash, Serenity

Word of the Day

I watched 'Clone Wars' last night & due to a series of convoluted mental jumps between Star Wars references that I'll spare you, today's word is: republic

Time for a TIMEOUT

A few days ago, a NaNo friend of mine was struggling a bit & I mentioned it (see: An Interlude for Talking Pep & Tips). Well recently, she had a bit more trouble:

Me: How's things?
Her: Not so good...and then again, not so bad.
Me: ok, well not so bad is...well, not so bad. Lol. What about the not so good bit? What's up?
Her: You know the way they tell potential parents that bonding can sometimes take a while and often takes place the first time they see the baby?
Me: LOL, yeah?
Her: Well, I've seen my baby and it still feels like a strange being from another planet.
Me: Oh honey....give the kid some time. Creation takes some growing room & a li'l mental readjustment. LOL, sorry...I don't mean to make light, but that's a really great analogy.
Her: I guess the biggest prolem I have is that I keep comparing this brat to the others I had before. They were so well behaved. This one is a monster
Me: Well, everybody has that one kid that makes your parents snicker & go 'ha! Retribution is mine!!' ya know? lol. Try seeing the good side to the 'kid'. Headstrong? That just means they have a story to tell you. Dragging it's little feet? More time for deeper exposition on things. Etc, etc.
Her: That's what been keeping me going. Even for all the complaining I am doing I haven't quit yet so somethign IS going right. I've even managed to keep to my minimum daily word count of 2K. I'm not writing today.... I'm making a day of being at 18,124
Me: that's ok. Sometimes a little time off is necessary.

Sometimes, even a parent needs a time out. It gives you a moment to step away from your current frustrations & gain some much needed perspective. After that, you can come back refreshed & less inclined to throttle the little darling into submission. And take it easy, on both of you. There's nothing you can write that's so bad that it can't be worked out in rewrites, which can be just as cathartic & infinitely cheaper than family counseling.

Just remember, don't step away for too long. It's much easier to fall out of a writing routine than it is to get back into one. Besides, you wouldn't want the kid to go around destroying the furniture while you weren't looking, would you? So once in a while, take a day, refresh, gain perspective, rest. And then, get back to work. These kids don't raise themselves ;)

"The pride of men, of parents as well, makes us believe that anything we create we can control. Whether from clay or metal, it is in the nature of us to create our own monsters. Our children are alloys of our own imperfect flesh. We animate them with magic & never truly know what they'll do.'' - Sarah Connor, 'Queen's Gambit - Sarah Connor Chronicles'

Got a story about when your writing behaved like an unruly little brat? Tell us about it in the Comments Section. Any favorite literary 'parenting' techniques?

Word of the Day

Well, as a RL friend of mine has been telling me about how he thinks his house may be haunted, today's word is : spectral.

Word of the Day

Well, as I and the girl I pick these words for are both happy about things atm, today's word is: Fantastic.

YAAAAAAWP!

Twenty thousand, two hundred & eight, tyvm! HA!! That is AWESOME!!! When I originally thought of it the other day, I was at like 8k or something & it was an idle, 'hey, wouldn't it be cool to hit 20k in the first week?' never thinking i could actually do it, but guess what! I DID! I wrote twenty thousand words in less than a week, I'M KING OF THE WORLD, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLE!!! Ok, so that last was a bit much, lol, but still :D This rocks.

And it occurred to me the other day (I know, totally obvious, but still) 20 isn't all that far off 25, not really anyway. And 25 is half way through omigawd!! Lol, whether the story will be through @ 50k remains to be seen, lol.

Oh, and in this last, I get the feeling two of my chars may be a li'l sweet on each other. How 'bout that? Anyway, I'm off get up from the 20k plateau & head for the 25k summit. Hope your novels are all going well. Oh, and if you don't get the title, go rent Dead Poet Society. It fits, honest, lol.

Almost There: Reprised

So after sprinting during the day, rather than sensibly sleeping, lol, & having dinner guest last night, I was beat & in bed before 10. It may not seem like much, but I assure you, that never happens to me, lol. My grandparents came over for supper last night, at which point they regaled me with tales of their little medical idiosyncrasies & anecdotes of various old people they knew over the years, including a charming side trip down 'who went to X's funeral'. Good times. All this while the TADIS was calling me from the next room....grr.....LOL. Still, I stayed, listened politely & reassured myself that this was what DVRs were for.

By the time they'd left & things got cleaned up, I was tired enough to get in about 20 minutes or so of Doctor Who before calling it night. Thus, my 17 & change hasn't cleared 20 as I'd planned for my post-supper evening, lol. But that's what today is for. So I was thinking the other day, back when 20k seemed totally pie-in-the-sky, 25 isn't that far from 20 really. And at 25, I'd be half way through! That seems astounding to me, that tonight or tomorrow, I could be halfway to 50k. My previous longest NaNo attempt was just shy of 14k & they've (I know, it sounds backwards, but it's true) gone DOWN in word count since. This is, as of some time yesterday, the longest single piece of fiction I've ever written, and that is pretty mind blowing to me.

The only aspect that gives me pause atm, is pacing. I know not everyone finishes exactly on 50 & the idea isn't to make a perfectly polished book in one go. Side trips to nonsequitors are in fact sometimes encouraged, but I'm afraid I'll run out of story before I hit my target. I've been told by a few people in the past, and most recently by someone that's been reading this year's NaNo, that I'm pretty good with description. And, generally speaking, I would agree. But I've been doing long, detailed descriptions of things in this year's & tho' it's been well recieved thus far, as i'm writing them they sometimes feel plodding & overworked. I'm not sure how to get past that feeling aside from lumping it in with the 'that was too literal' or 'that part was revealed too soon', etc things that I'm trying like hell to keep stuff in my 'You can always fix it later, but first you have to finish!!' file. Still, sometimes when I write the descriptive passages, I can't quite shake the voice going 'oh c'mon! Get to the point already!!' I guess I'll work on that.

I'll post more after today's session. Hope your novels are all going well.

Today's word is: undulate.