NaNoWriMo is Kicking My Butt

What’s new in my writerly life? By midnight tonight my word count for NaNo 2010 should teeter on the brink of 32,000. As of the time of this writing, my word count sits at a measly 11,503. I’ve misplaced two thirds of November. Has anyone see those days? If you find them, please let them know I’m looking for them. I can’t account for many hours of missed writing opportunities. What the heck have I been doing for the past 432 hours? These are some unanswered questions that haunt my dreams.

In real life, fear of the blank page rules my procrastination. My palms are sweaty messes. I can’t imbibe enough caffeine, no matter how fast I drink. I think my idea sucks a**balls. At some point I say, “screw it” and just write. Whew! <wiping sweat from face> Now that I’ve made the leap of faith, I remind myself I’ve frittered away a goodly chunk of the month. Ah, snap!

Never fear, though. I am determined to pump out 50,000 words by night’s end  on November 30. Today is November 19 – I have today and the next 11 days to hit the mark. A feat attainable only by those possessing a certain superpower. What is that superpower?

Duh – it’s WRITING. What did you think it was? Invisibility? The ability to fly? Those would be kinda cool powers, but be real – they wouldn’t help me in the writing department.

Writing an average of 3209 words today and the rest of the month will bring me to exactly 50,000 words. Exactly. I’m nothing, if not exact. I can do this. Watch and see. It may not be pretty, but it can be done. I’m kicking my “heartbrain” (a term coined by Elizabeth Sims) into high gear. Look out world, here I come! Mwahahahaaaaa.

In the words of the esteemed animated pig – Porky “Is there any insanity in your family?”

I think there might be in mine … starting with me! I’ve just written over 300 words here that don’t count for my NaNo total. What was I thinking?

Manuscript Revision – Round 1

In my last post I wrote about how I finished a rough draft – my first manuscript (MS). Now the real work begins. Remember I mentioned that I pawned my MS off on a couple of writer friends and received positive feedback? One of those friends Ms. Patty graciously offered to guide me down the primrose path aka revision. Round one is in full swing. Oh, my.

I’ve put in several hours already and the MS is still not ready to return to Ms. P for round two. So far I learned global searches are a must. How many times did I use the word “looked” in my MS? Take a guess … c’mon … okay, I’ll tell you — 151 times. (Not kidding.) And the word “well” … 142 times. I’m spending an inordinate amount of time weeding out these pesky words and wondering what was I thinking when I wrote them – over and over and over. Instead of berating myself, however, I decided to revisit an article by Lori L. Lake – the editing guru – that addresses my little overuse of word issue. A very helpful tool for blundering wordsmiths, like me.

Another friend (thanks, Chris!) recommended a great book on self-editing that’s turned out to be ever so informative. With friends like this who needs an editor? Oh, wait, a couple of them are editors! Lucky for me.

Friends. Writing group. Encouragement. Family. Discipline. Love of writing. Guidance. Reference tools. Computer. iPad. Oh, and caffeine. All points on the map directing my journey. Stay tuned for updates along the way. Bumps. Ruts. Detours. The good. The bad. The ugly. Everything included. Perhaps sharing my journey will help someone else on theirs.

The road is long and winding … and bumpy … and slick … and marked by U turns … and sharp turns … and sometimes blocked, but most of the time wide open and beckoning. The name of this road? Writing a book.

What waits at the end of the road? I hope, a story that readers will enjoy as much as I enjoyed the writing. Publication wouldn’t be bad, either.

“The first draft of anything is shit.”

— Ernest Hemingway

I’m not in full agreement with that mindset. Or maybe I am and I simply don’t care! I finished my first manuscript (MS) a couple of months ago. [The same one I mentioned in my last blog post on research.] On a whim, I passed it on to a couple of people in my writing group. I hoped to get some general feedback and tips on what not to do in my future attempts at writing.

To my surprise, two of my friends responded quite favorably on my first attempt. They both like the story and the characters (so far anyway.) What’s even more surprising is that they believe this could be a published book some day. My questions: “Seriously? Published?”

“You work your little butt off on those first round edits, but don’t be in a big rush. we have time. and I’ll make time for the project,” said my editor friend.

Well, alrighty then! I guess I have my work cut out for me. The word ‘work’ doesn’t feel right, though. To me it’s more a journey – an adventure, even. Work is that thing I do Monday-Friday so that I can pay the bills. Writing is much more than work and I don’t mind spending hours … days … weeks … months doing it – for nothing. (Well, nothing for now. At some point down the road, if I’m lucky, a publisher will cut me a break and then – who knows!) The amount of time spent on the craft may be difficult for some folks to understand –

For those of us who have the itch, though, there is nothing like working on our craft. Or talking about our craft. Or encouraging and supporting each other in our craft. Or wishing and hoping for success in our craft. For me, writing is something I love to do. I enjoy getting into my story, whichever one I’m working on. My hope is that at some point in the future someone else will get as much enjoyment out of my story as I do! And when I heard from two fellow writers that they enjoyed my story – well, it made me downright giddy!

So, is the first draft of anything really shit? I’m sure each writer has their own answer to that question. Mine is — who cares! Just keep pumping out the words and who knows what may fall outta the pile!

And maybe there’s a happy dance at the end!

“No Comment” It’s Fiction

Several months ago when I decided to novelus attemptus I thought it would be prudent to conduct a bit of research of the area I would write about as well as a few other subjects pertinent to the storyline. I am a novice at novel writing. Let me make that perfectly clear up front.

I took a day off from work. I packed my camera, laptop and other miscellany in my backpack and hit the road early one November morning. I drove north … past Duluth. The day was sunny and cool. A truly beautiful and inspiring autumn day. I really enjoyed the drive. My excitement was boundless, I was on my way to do research for a novel.

Research–a novel idea if one is going to write.

I’ve never written a novel. I’ve never done research for fiction writing. I was flying by the seat of my pants. I spent the entire day combing the area of interest for my setting. I drove around the nearby town to get a good feel for it. I bought souvenirs at the tourist shop. I watched and listened to folks around me. I soaked it all in. I wrote out some notes and devised a list of questions I felt needed answers. I took photos until the battery in my camera was drained. I felt as though I’d accomplished a lot.

I headed back south as the sun was setting. The drive home was exhilarating … I had some ideas … the stars were shining brightly … the planets were aligned. All was good. When I got home I decided to send an email to the caretaker of my chosen story setting. I hoped to garner some factual tidbits to make the story more believable. I had a list of thirteen questions, which I didn’t think delved too much into the ‘personal.’ I sent the email off and waited.

A mere three days later I was thrilled to see a response from the individual. I opened the email and began reading. In less than one minute I’d gone from excited to bummed out. Most of my efforts had been thwarted. Of the list of thirteen questions, seven received “no comment” as the response. Seriously. A couple more had only half answers. The rest of the information was helpful, but mundane in its essence.

I questioned my ability. I mean, if I couldn’t even get answers to questions how could I possibly write anything that came close to seeming real? And I know, as a reader, if something seems not believable I tend to put the book aside.

Damn. Now what do I do?

And the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae? The closing line of the email stated, “Since it is fiction I am sure that you will not need the detail of information you are asking.”

Really? You can’t tell me which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over your site? Really? That’s too detailed?

I was disappointed. Then I got a bit angry. Maybe I was misguided in thinking I could do this writing thing. Perhaps there was a super secret writer’s method for conducting valid research that I, in my authorial infancy, had not yet learned? I wondered if I should just give up or wait until I’d been properly trained (if there was any such training.)

No. I would not be stymied.

A few days later I got the answer to a couple of the questions that this particular individual wouldn’t answer on the basis of it being too personal … I contacted another resource and explained why I was asking the questions. Within a day I had clear answers. I also did some online research to get some information on law enforcement in the region. So, despite the dragonslayer taking a slash at me, I prevailed (for the most part.)

Still it rankles … “no comment.” It’s only fiction, after all. Right?

Wrong.

There is truth in fiction … at least that’s what I believe.

My First Literary Con

As a wannabe writer, I decided to take the leap and attend a writing conference. When I asked my friend, Lori Lake to recommend an appropriate conference for someone like me she didn’t hesitate to tell me that the GCLS (Golden Crown Literary Society) Conference would be perfect. She was correct, as usual.

The location? Disney World-Orlando, FL. Yes, Florida in June is HOT HOT HOT and let us not forget HUMID HUMID HUMID. Mix in a few thunder storms to top it all off! I digress …

The con was a mix of writers, readers, publishers – a welcoming and wonderful bunch of ladies! The incomparable Lee Lynch was the Keynote Speaker. I was spellbound through her entire speech. I’m honored to have heard her story. A true trailblazer.

The Con kicked off on Weds night with a “Meet and Greet” … free ice cream and toppings, sodas and water (oh, and a cash bar for those that required a little liquid courage in order to interact!) Mingling of newbies – dubbed “Con Virgins” – with all the repeat attendees was the intent of this first event.

GCLS Con was this aspiring author’s dream come true – I was surrounded by friendly, talented and awesome women from throughout the world. People traveled from Australia, Georgia, Israel, California, England, Missouri, Holland, Minnesota, Oregon and Ohio – these are only a few of the locales our sisters hailed from. A small contingent of ladies with a large geographic representation.

Hugs abounded between old friends and new. The workshops were awesome and the women amazing. We were like one big happy family. And after three days of workshops, coffee chats and panel discussions the event was capped off with the Awards Ceremony and dance afterward. Sunday morning there was a “good-bye” brunch and then the sad tearing down of the vendor tables and packing … hugging … saying good-bye to old friends and new.

I learned so much and feel so energized. A recurring theme I heard throughout the event is that we don’t write for the money … we write because we love to write. Writing is hard work – work that those of us who love it thrive on. In the end it’s not about the money. Writing is about telling a story … finding an audience who will enjoy our stories. Write what you want to read.

My summary of the Con:
The one clear message I took away with me was that no matter our level of success in writing and being published, there’s one core value that ties us all together and that is our love of writing. Words nourish, whether we’re
writing them for others to read or reading what others have written. That’s powerful stuff.

Thanks to Lori Lake and Patty Schramm and the rest of the Board for putting on an amazing wonderful conference. I’ll be back next year. Thanks, too, to all my new friends and the BABAs (you know who you are!) This was a powerful experience, interacting with so many talented women who respect each others talent and potential without question. I can’t wait for next year’s Con!

In the meantime – may the words flow …