It's day nine! How time flies! Didn't we just start last week? Another thank-you to my friends. You guys are the greatest. Today I hit the 20,000 mark, reaching 20,001 words! I'm ecstatic! I hope everybody else is doing equally well!

I was reading through some inspirational writing quotes today and came across a few to share. One is a very good analogy about novel writing:

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

-E.L. Doctorow


I found the next one thought provoking:

"The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense."

-Tom Clancy

For my NaNoWriMo Buddies: I hope the words flow well for you. May they come alive in your writing!

And to all my friends: May the weekend be full of all things positive so that you find success in all that you do!

Write on! Write on! Write on!



Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

Well it’s the 8th day of NaNoWriMo and the first week of NaNoWrimo has come and gone. I want to send another big word of “THANKS” to my friends whose encouraging comments helped keep me going. Yesterday was extremely busy, and I barely reached 2,000 words before other obligations took precedence.

My strategy for NaNoWriMo has been 2,000 words a day…and sometimes 3,000, although today I only reached 1,000. But the day isn’t over yet and I hope to get some more writing done before I go to sleep tonight. Right now my word count stands at 17,019.

A word of inspiration for all who are facing the NaNoWriMo challenge comes from Joyce Carol Oates in her preface for “The Writer’s Digest Handbook of Short Story Writing”. I high-lighted a couple of passages that I found to be particularly inspiring. (Okay…I know technically we are talking about writing a novel which is considerably longer than a short story, but the same concept applies.)

She wrote:

“The artist is a kind of priest, or a kind of magician, or even a kind of scientist, fascinated by the meanings that lie beneath the surface of the world. To explore these meanings is a noble task…We write because we are ordained to a noble task, that of making clear mysteries, or pointing out mysteries where a numbing and inaccurate simplicity has held power.”

We are pressing on toward the goal of producing a 50,000 word…or more…novel by the end of the month, and day by day we are getting closer to success.

So for now I am off to more writing, and I will wish you great success in your endeavors, my friends!

Write on! Write on! Write on!



Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

It's day six of NaNoWriMo, and I have some of the greatest friends! I thank you all for your encouragement! It helps me press forward to my goal and not give up even when my words don't come as easily.

In his book "On Writing", Stephen King came up with an analogy. He said: "Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction, can be a difficult, lonely job; it's like crossing the Atlantic in a bathtub."

I've had some difficulty these past few days getting the words to flow together, but today that wasn't a problem. Today my word count stands at 14,020!

A bright thought! A word of encouragement! They can carry someone a long way! So with one more word of "THANKS", I want to send a shout out to all my buddies in this NaNoWriMo adventure:

"WRITE ON! WRITE ON! WRITE ON! PRESSS FORWARD, MY FRIENDS, AND WRITE ON!"

Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

It's day five of NaNoWriMo already! Sometimes the words flow freely, but sometimes I have to depend wholey on dedication to my writing. My mind is focused on the novel, making new connections to weave my plot-lines together. Today I reached 11,037 words! Only 38,963 more words to go!

And to all my friends who are on the NaNoWriMo journey to 50,000: "WRITE ON, MY FRIENDS! WRITE ON! WRITE ON!"

Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

Apparently the NaNoWriMo site was having technical problems yesterday, so I entered yesterdays word count first thing this morning. I just finished today's word count at 8,028.

The words flowed easier today. I carry a little notebook around with me so I can jot down ideas when I'm not at my writing desk. I have a couple of plot-lines going and I'm going to have to weave them together later.

When the story doesn't seem to flow like I want it to I just remember what Stephen King relates in his book "On Writing". When he first wrote his novel "Carrie" he wasn't happy with it so he tossed it in the garbage. It was his wife that found it, read it, and pushed him to finish it. That novel was a milestone in his career. So what would have happened had he never finished it?


Surround yourself with things that inspire you: a statuette of Abraham Lincoln; the three monkeys that see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil; a copy of the Bill of Rights, an inspirational newspaper column about writers (Those are the things on my desk. Choose whatever suits you and keep it close by when you write!)

If you need encouragement find somebody who will encourage you in your writing. If there is nobody else around and you need encouragement right now let me send ou an encouraging word: Write on! Write on! Write on!

May you find joy in your writing, my friends!

Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

It's day two of NaNoWriMo! I did have those same battles with distraction today. I would try to shut them out only to have them force their way back in. I usually like finishing my writing earlier in the day, usually before noon, but today the words didn't flow as freely as they did yesterday. It took me a little longer, but I did reach my goal and stopped today at 4,083 words and still counting. The story-lines are coming together, and once they get flowing I will weave them together.

I pray the words are flowing freely for all my friends as they embark on the NaNoWriMo adventure.

An encouraging quote for the day comes from writer Kate Braverman:

"Writing is like hunting. There are brutally cold afternoons with nothing in sight, only the wind and your breaking heart. Then the moment when you bag something big. The entire process is intoxicating."

May your hunt for the right words that come to life and flow freely be met with success!

Write on, my friends!
 

TWO MORE HOURS UNTIL NANOWRIMO BEGINS!

I JUST WANT TO SAY THANKS TO THOSE WHO SENT THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT! I WAS FEELING A LITTLE BIT OF ANXIETY EARLIER! NANOWRIMO IS A CHALLENGE THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF FOCUS! BUT I'M CONFIDENT AND READY TO GET STARTED! FOR ANY ONE ELSE TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE LET ME TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHEER YOU ON AND SAY, "WRITE ON, MY FRIENDS!"

 

I'M WATCHING THE CLOCK TICKING DOWN TO THURSDAY'S BEGINNING OF NANOWRIMO 2007! AM I FOCUSED? I THINK SO. I HAVE ALL MY CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING AND I'VE EVEN TAPPED INTO MY RESERVES! AM I NERVOUS? MAYBE A LITTLE. AM I CONFIDENT? MOST DEFINITELY! I'M READY TO START MY NEXT NOVEL, AND I'LL BE CHEERING FOR MY FELLOW NANOWRIMO BUDDIES WHO HAVE UNDERTAKEN THE CHALLENGE AS WELL, BECAUSE LIFE HAS TAUGHT ME THAT YOU CAN'T ENCOURAGE OTHERS WITHOUT FEELING ENCOURAGED YOURSELF!

NEED THAT LITTLE EXTRA SHOT OF CREATIVE INSPIRATION? I FIND STEPHEN KING'S BOOK "ON WRITING" TO BE INVALUABLE. I READ IT JUST BEFORE NANOWRIMO LAST YEAR, AND I'M READING IT AGAIN. I FIND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNTS OF OTHER WRITERS WHO HAVE EMBARKED ON THEIR OWN JOURNEYS ENERGIZING!.

STEPHEN KING WROTE IN HIS BOOK: "WORDS CREATE SENTENCES; SENTENCES CREATE PARAGRAPHS; SOMETIMES PARAGRAPHS QUICKEN AND BEGIN TO BREATHE."

MAY YOUR WORDS BE EMBUED WITH LIFE!

WRITE ON, MY FRIENDS!

WRITE ON! WRITE ON! WRITE ON!


Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world. ~Joseph Conrad

Someone came up with an ingenious way to save the family farm. Whereas many local farmers are pressured into selling their land for commercial development a family in Donna, Texas turned their farm into an amusement park. A maze runs through their corn field, a maze in which I was lost for a few ours today. They have a pumpkin patch and towers of hay. They have farm animals, go-carts, hay rides and slides. Children were playing in a sand-box, but instead of sand it was full of corn kernels.

They turned a farm into a place for family fun and education. Did I already say that I think the person who thought it up was a genius? It was crowded today. Parents and children flocked to the corn maze today. It’s in operation from October to January.

Is there some reason that as I’m wandering through a corn field that I come up with a few new ideas for thrillers? Stephen King’s Children of the Corn comes to mind! Lol!

 

My high school reunion is tomorrow, so I've spent the day getting ready: hair cut, new clothes, hair color etc. I was going to get my mustache colored where I got my hair cut. That's where I always had it done before for $25. I know...that price is insane just for a mustache! So I went and bought some hair color to put in myself for only $7. It's supposed to take only 5 minutes.

I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends and see where life has taken them.