Christmas Music Everywhere BUT...

In Target - Christmas music.

In Walmart - Christmas music.

In Barnes & Noble - Christmas music.

In Christmas Tree Shops - Macy Gray, Rick Springfield (not that I'm complaining), and The Pretenders.

Um, what's wrong with this picture?

Let the Holidays Begin

Even though I have been bombarded with Christmas music and store decorations since Columbus day, I refuse to engage in the excitement until Thanksgiving has had its day. When I was young, Christmas decorations were never lit until the day after Thanksgiving. I like it that way. Each holiday is entitled to its own celebration and I will not let Christmas overshadow my Halloween.

It is three days past Thanksgiving and I no longer change the radio station when a Christmas song begins to play. Wrapped presents are now welcome in my home and will have to wait until December 25th to be opened.

On a drive home today I began to think about the each winter holiday in its own scenario. My husband broke my train of thought with, "I miss the smell of turkey cooking in our house." For the past few years I have not cooked Thanksgiving dinner and though the lack of prep work and clean-up was an enjoyable experience, I knew what he meant. I also missed the smell of turkey baking and the traditions that I had grown up with and brought to my own family.

Thinking of turkey brought me to an idea. If Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November then there is no reason why the fourth Saturday in January couldn't be "Free Turkey Day" (the actual holiday name is still in the works.) By setting aside a special day for the free turkey I earned from ShopRite, I could still have our family holiday and fill my house with the smell of tradition. I just hope we don't have a major snowstorm.

Is A Writing Group Necessary For Your Success?

In a word, No! Tonight I attended a writing group that was new to me. I expected the standard "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." That did not happen. What I walked into was a nice and accepting group of writers who were years into a project that I had no place in. That's not to say that I could not have joined in and found a way to fit in but it felt like I was the new kid in school and didn't know where to sit at lunch time.

I had many ideas for their project but felt that I was not entitled to offer my opinions. It wasn't that the group made me feel that way but the manners that my grandmother had instilled in me took control.

My point is: I have attended many writers groups with different formats and motives and have yet to find a group that will help me get my writing onto an editor's desk. And that may be the very problem with most groups, or the expectations of a writing group, I think the idea is good but somehow the process does not seem to hold steam. Maybe it's because writing is such a solitary process and only that individual thinks that what they are writing is the best collection of words to ever hit paper.

Proud until...

I looked at my writing buddy's word count. I promised I wouldn't do it. For so many days I refrained from checking another Nano participant's word count.

Back at the keyboard today and proud that I have broken through the 5K mark (even though that is behind by Nano standards but others have come through in the final week--I plan on being one of them) I updated my word count with a smile and then I did it. I broke down and checked my buddy's word count and found it to be well past the 50K goal and it is just going into the third week.

No matter. I still have time and a long weekend. Fingers are crossed, determination is high, and the laptop is charged...oops Chelsea is on. After all, tomorrow is another day. :)

Half-time

Half the month of November is gone and it doesn't look like I am going to make my Nano goal. I'm not giving up and will continue to write what I will because what I have is more than I had when I began.

The Truth Be Told

I began my Nano story without an outline or any thought as to what I would write about. I thought that I would just let the words flow and see what took shape. Since this is my first full length work written in first person and the direction of the story seems to be pulling me into the piece as the main character, I am uncovering a lot of things that I had forgotten about.

I doubt this story will ever be presented for public review but I am finding this to be a good exercise to purging some internal blocks that may have kept me from digging deeper into my characters in my other works.

I may not complete the 50K word goal but I will keep dumping and clearing through the clutter that has been in the way.

And I only thought that my house needed a good cleaning. :)

P.S. Why doesn't blogger have a spell check function?

Nano Update

Getting there slowly. My words are being used for Nano so I have few for my blog.

Time Management

I find that time management, or lack of, is the real obstacle in trying to sit down at the keyboard. I used to think that the lack of topics held me back but that's not really true because if I take the time to focus on a subject, something will surface. So why is it such a struggle to find the time to sit down and write?

I'm curious to know how other writers manage their time. Feel free to comment.

Still Trudging Along

The word count is not quite there but each day there are more than the last. If I could turn off the internal editor I would be doing better. I am also trying this story in first person and am finding it difficult to stay in that POV.

*Sigh*

It's a good thing I don't write to pay my bills. At this rate I would never be able to support myself. It's amazing how one day not writing sets you back. The weekend is here and my goal is to catch up. It would have been so much easier just to stay on track.

Day 4

1) I really need to stop looking at my writing buddies word count.
2) I have to believe that my word count will increase each day.
3) This laptop light is really cool.
4) I have to keep pounding out words no matter how stupid or nonsensical they are.
5) This laptop light is really cool.

Slowly Getting There

As I check the word counts of fellow Nano participants, it is easy to become discouraged and wonder why I even bother. Is the goal of this exercise in frantic writing to complete 50,000 words by the end of November worthwhile? Probably. Will my life change at all if I don't keep at it? Probably not. Is it a good vehicle to keep the words flowing? Absolutely. And to keep the words flowing will I at times find myself tapping away at the keyboard in the dark as I write myself to sleep? Yes. Which brings me to another positive point about Nano. I now have an excuse to buy the laptop light that I always wanted but never thought I had a practical need for. Thank you Nano as I have discovered one more distraction to keep me away from the keyboard as I go shopping for my light tomorrow.

It's Day Two...

of NanoWriMo mania. I started the day with anticipation of banging out a thousand words for today's goal. One thing a writer can count on is obstacles popping up throughout the day and giving one a reason to keep away from the story, after all we can always catch up later. That's not no easy. Those words that have been swarming around in my head all day, as I go about my day job, have to be typed out. Tired eyes and clumsy fingers make it difficult to transfer the words from head to keyboard. An unexpected delay today could have been a good excuse to put off the manuscript until tomorrow but a few words are better than none. So I sat down and added a few paragraphs to my story and felt good that I could add to my Nano word count today even if there were not as many words as I would have liked to have written.

Where to Begin

It's November 1st and many people are beginning to focus on the upcoming holidays. Writers ponder whether or not to commit to Nanowrimo, a month long writing pressure cooker. For the past 3 years I have entered the competition to prove I could do it and never did. So why would this year be any different? Because I found a way to get out of making Thanksgiving dinner and I really don't care if my house is clean.

I have completed 3 novels so I know I can complete a project. I have 3 more books started, mainly due to my feeble attempts at Nano. So what am I going to do now as I watch a dust ball roll across the floor? Get cracking on my manuscript for Nano, right after I finish a game of Bejeweled.