Another Marvelous Monday

Here is where you roll your eyes like I did.

I have another midterm looming in the horizon. Tomorrow night to be specific. I'm not sure I've spoken about this class. It's American Literature after the Civil War. I had looked forward to reading Hemingway, Twain and Fitzgerald. And not because I particularly love those authors, but in order to teach them, I wanted to learn more about them and their masterworks. But alas, it was not meant to be.

The professor specializes in poetry, so instead of classics, we are reading American Modern Poetry. I'm not a fan of poems. I am not a snob, but sometimes, I just can't stand a poem that is hard to understand, that takes way more time to read than fifteen pages of a book.

So here I am, the weekend before my midterm, trying to memorize who wrote which poem and make sure I am able to even identify the poem without the title and author. (Part of the test). Then I need to compose an essay to write during the test, comparing two poems. I really hope my head doesn't explode from this. It would be messy and I'm sure it won't feel very good.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is near. Not the semester end (which is my favorite date right now), but once I get past tests and papers and have about a month until the next wave of tests and papers.

Should I do Nanowrimo? I'm not quite sure yet. It's possible that I would find it relaxing, but it's also possible that it could put me over the edge. What about Nanoedimo? That, I might be able to handle...

There Are No Rules

I'm sure every writer goes through a non-writing phase. Okay, not every writer. Because I happen to know one writer in particular who writes like a maniac and makes me look bad. Not that it's hard to do when my word count totals for a month don't reach even 5,000. I wrote so much in November, winning Nanowrimo. After that, I lost interest (or needed a break or something) with writing. Sure, I liked my story, but I couldn't find the motivation to write. And still, several months later, it's like pulling teeth. Or any dentistry work, for that matter.

But a few days ago, I was sifting through notes and papers and happened to look at the novel I had been working on last summer. You know, that manuscript you push aside and forget about because you lost interest? Well, guess what...12K into it and I dropped it at a perfectly easy spot to pick it back up.

But wait! I told myself. I must finish my Nano book. I'm less than 5,000 away from the ending. I could do that in a night or two if I really set my heart on it. But my summer book calls to me. Why do I like it now? Who knows! I don't even understand why I lost interest. But what I figured out is that there are no rules for writing a novel. Sure, if you have a contract, you better finish the book. And it better not suck. But me? I'm free as a bird. And last time I truly listened to my heart and wrote what I wanted, I loved writing so much I couldn't be stopped from working on that novel. So what is a girl to do? Trudge through the last 5k so I can get to the other book? Or just go straight for the prize: a book I'm excited about writing? I know the correct answer, at least for me...but who knows if I'll follow my heart or my head on this one.

Happy Writing!

You Don't Know Yourself

I've come to the conclusion that the average person does not know themselves nearly as well as they think they do. Sure, this generalization is based on my experiences, but not just one experience, I'm basing it on several.

This morning, I went to work and immediately got a tension headache. That's nothing new. If you told me that the headaches were all in my head (no pun intended, Pat), I wouldn't be able to disagree with you. Who knows why it gives me headaches, but one thing I do know is that it has stopped me from writing when I get home. Spending hours at a computer and answering phone calls has taken a toll on me and I was anti-computer for quite a while. All I wanted to do was relax my poor little head. And today was no different. But was it?

Today is the first day of Nanowrimo. For those of you who don't know what it means, it's National Novel Writing Month. Thirty days to reach 50,000 words. And they don't even have to be good words, although for my own peace of mind my words will actually relate to the novel I'm trying to create.

So, on day one of Nano, what were my thoughts? Was I pumped up? Excited? No. I was thinking of quitting already. I was tired and cranky and all I wanted to do was sleep. I even have a bet going as more incentive to reach 50K and I was almost willing to throw it all away. How can I write a novel in a month when I don't even want to sit at my computer? When I have no energy to even ponder my novel?

But did I give up? No. I made it through work. I exercised and ate a good dinner and then I got down to my novel. And while I haven't yet reached the daily goal of 1,667 words, I'm only 300 shy of that goal. And I just wanted to say, to myself and to everyone else out there that doubts themselves from time to time, you can do it. You don't know you'll fail. You don't know what you'll create either. But there is one thing you can be sure of, you have no idea what you're capable of, unless you try.

Guess Who's Writing?

I was going to play a game, a game I call "Guess Who's Writing?" But alas, I am the only writer on this blog, so that makes this game a little too easy.

I had told myself that I would write this past weekend. I needed to, I could feel the story bubbling away inside me. But it suddenly was Sunday night and I hadn't even opened the file. What did I do? I got to work. Time of day didn't matter, what mattered is that I wrote down something so I could achieve my goal. And boy did I write! My first night I broke the 2,000 word barrier. I was ecstatic. It didn't matter that I have a nagging feeling in the back of my head that it was going to need major revisions, that the writing was sloppy from lack of practice. What mattered is that I had made it all the way through the first chapter.

Last night, I wrote again, much later than I had planned. But I got another 1,000 words out before bed. I've finally started my new book. So what if it's almost the end of November? Nano, while good, isn't the end all, be all, for me. But seeing all those people hard at work definitely spurred me to start my novel. December is the national novel writing month for me. Here's to a good end of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

I have returned

In more ways than one.

I am back from Chicago. It was beautiful there. The weather was calm and clear and the architecture was gorgeous. I didn't have much time to walk around, but I enjoyed what I could.

Now that I was back in Maryland (as of Sunday night), I decided I needed to get back to work (both real work and writing work). So, I made up my mind and moved out of the apartment I was staying in. I'm back home with my parents (hides head in shame), and what's left for me is to work on my grad applications and to get my butt working on my new novel. Oh, NANO how I've failed thee so far....

You want me to finish when?

I decided to do Nanowrimo this year, but already I'm not off to a good start. Yesterday, I took time to run errands and re-work my plot because I realized I had a huge plot hole right in the opening scene. So, now that it is ready to go, I have no time! I'm rushing off tomorrow morning to go to CIROBE and I won't be back until late Sunday night. I'm dying to work on it now, of course. My hopes are that I at least get some words down while away. If not, I'll be playing the biggest game of catch up ever. Hope all is well with everyone else working on a project now. I'll see you all around when I'm back in a week.

NaNo Name

For anyone participating or just perusing the forums, my user name is AwesomeCherry.

NaNoWriMo

November is fast approaching, not that any of us really need telling, right? Well, last year was the first year that I truly participated in National Novel Writing Month. I reached my goal of 50,000 words and I felt wonderful. But then I put the book down and struggled to pick it up several times this year. But that is neither here nor there.

The point I'm trying to make is that this year I will be participating again. Yes, I will be away for 5 days on a sales trip to CIROBE (Anyone else going to that?) and I have a full-time job, and need sleep eventually, but I've decided to push myself. I've used working full-time as a crutch. I've never lived on my own and worked a full-time job, and hey, I needed some adjustment time. But it's gone on long enough, and the guilt is starting to hurt me. So, I have two weeks to finish the outline of my newest novel. Deadlines, a writer's best friend and worst enemy.

Is anyone else participating in NaNo? Do you think, if I feel the inspiration, that I should start writing my book early and just count all the words I wrote in November for the contest? I'm not saying I will start writing it next week, but if I feel the urge, do I want to ignore it for the sake of NaNo? I'm thinking no. Go with my gut. What would you do?

I don't recall my user name for NaNo, but when I look it up, I'll post it here for anyone interested in meeting up there for support.