hi, ho, the merry-o.
so, it's november, and we all know what that means. NANO!!!
i'm currently about 2500 words behind, but my only worry is i have no idea where this story's going. if the scenes were coming, i wouldn't care about not having a map--but for some reason, with this relatively simple plot structure i've chosen, i'm having issues with retaining linear progression. i keep hopping from character to character, writing scenes that seem to lead nowhere. ah, well. i suppose most of that is expected with this sort of project. i just feel all loose and flappity, hanging off the edge. makes me nervous. it's good for me, isn't it? i know.

watched a FUN halloween movie last night called "Trick R Treat", which is clever and unexpected in so many ways--a real surprise. the poor thing was shelved from theater distribution for some reason but released on dvd and i highly recommend it. four interwoven stories all set in a small town on halloween. solid acting (dylan baker, anna paquin, brian cox, among others), smooth transitions, and come really dark humor that had me cackling. and there's sam, the halloween mascot, who's both cute and menacing--he polices over the town on halloween, making sure the traditions are properly respected.

took the doggies in for grooming, and a follow-up appt for daisy--she's had an ear infection we've been treating her for. nasty thing, but she's on the mend. and now, sleek! she's normally so floofy with her thick black fur that when we get her trimmed she looks like a new dog. the groomers shaved about a pound of fur off of her (we weighed at vet's office on monday, and then today.) heh.

and i'm sick right now, too. can't tell if the thing's working through its course or just settling in for a nasty spell, but i've been weak as a kitten for three days, cough, aches, congestion. that floaty feeling. not good, today, i started with a low fever. i've missed four work shifts so far from both of my jobs, and i felt bad about it until i remembered my boss telling me she knows that when she gets sick it's a sign she needs to take a break and slow down. so, maybe that's it. i hate putting my obligations off, but this year's been fairly nervewracking--maybe i just need to take a break for a few days.
one good thing out of it--i should be able to make up some serious word counts for the nano. how coherent they are will depend on the current level of cold medicine coursing through my system--could get entertaining.

wish me luck, folks.
 

in my neverending search for inspiring images and writing prompts, i stumbled across this list of top ten worldwide ghost towns. some truly weird scenes, and some haunting (perhaps haunted) places. the town overtaken by sand? wow. buildings held captive by a motionless sea.

http://www.oddee.com/item_96462.aspx
 

i've been squeaking by with a pt minimum-wage job since july, and am also taking a couple of classes at the community college. i'm taking student loans to cover costs, but money's been really tight. also, no health benefits offered at my workplace, so thppt. so, i applied for another job at a chain bookstore (not the one i was employed with for so many years--the other one), and found out yesterday that i got the job! whee!!
here's the bad news: i'm classified as seasonal, so no benefits, unpredictable hours, and minimum-wage income. hm.
i decided to try keeping both jobs through the holidays. so, my work and school schedule guarantees i'll be clinically insane by dec 12th or thereabouts. stay tuned for the excitement! if i can muscle my way through AND prove how indispensable i am to the bookstore, i'll hopefully be taken on as a regular employee after the holidays, eligible for benefits and scheduled for more hours. then, i can cut back on the morning job and think about writing again. oh, yeah--i'm also taking on nanowrimo next month!! whoopah!!!!

i'm too old for this shit. i should be starting to plan for retirement--HA!!!!!!!!! i won't get to retire. ever. unless i win the lottery. sad that my chances of living out my golden years swinging in a hammock outside my rural bungalow are about 145,000,000 to 1. or so. i'm already tired and it hasn't even started yet.
 

hey, all--

i've gone and obligated myself to the fabulous

ID: 1546312   (Rated: ASR) Title: NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon  Description: Everything you need to know about the NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon. By: SoCalScribe - NaNo Black Team

as a nanowrimo writer! if you have GPs burning a hole in your wdc pocket, please consider sponsoring me in this generous activity. your donations will help fund many wonderful site groups and i understand prizes are also available. ooohh!! please take a look and let me know if you're open to sponsoring my nanoing efforts. i promise not to write much more than the 50K, in case you're worried.
the more sponsors the better--share the load, y'all. i'm not heavy. okay, i'm kinda heavy. but i'm good for hugs!
thank you and good night!

**update: i've just learned i've been assigned to Team Gamma!! i've got a super-secret, maxi-swat team name!! i gotta go get me some camo. **
 

Halloween costumes—well, any costumes to an extent—hold promise and escape and fantasy within them. The idea we could be someone else for a little while is enticing, particularly if that person is especially wicked in some way we don’t allow ourselves to be. I found this interesting tidbit regarding costumes:

“Although popular histories of Halloween claim that the practice goes back to ancient celebrations of Samhain, in fact there is little primary documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween before the twentieth century. Wearing masks and other disguises and blackening the face with soot were originally ways of hiding oneself from the spirits of the dead who might be roaming around. This is the origin of Halloween masquerading as devils, imps, ogres, and other demonic creatures.” (courtesy of http://halloween.monstrous.com/halloween_costumes.htm)

I love the idea of hiding within the monstrous. Loads of potential there for a story, don’t you think?

 

you gotta check out this site:
http://www.emailsfromcrazypeople.com

unfrickinbelievable.
 

hey, all--
i've been lackluster in my posting lately, relying mostly on writing prompts (which i find mostly for my prompt circle on another site ). i feel just terrible about it. honest. i thought today i might highlight a few offsite blogs i follow, to compensate for my limp contribution to the world of blog:

http://www.tugboatinstincts.blogspot.com --> a general-topic blog which explores current events/pop culture with a sailor's vocabulary and a poet's heart. *sniff* (full disclosure: written by the hubby. )

http://www.therejectionist.com --> an editorial assistant lets loose about submissions good and bad, and the process. blunt and fun and oddly encouraging. if you've ever wondered whether editors and their assistants work so hard for love or money, the rejectionist will clear that right up for ya.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com -->another industry insider blog, this one from a literary agent. entertaining, informative, fabulous.

http://www.fictionmatters.com --> like the tag says, "news, tips and tools for writers." can't beat that with a stick. practical information compiled in one spot. neat!

and a few sites otherwise helpful but not bloggy:

http://www.duotrope.com -->GREAT free database for writers looking for markets. all genres, all lengths, searchable database.

http://www.publishersweekly.com --> because, well, duh. also, lots of contest and grant award information to be found here. if yer lookin' for that sorta thing.

http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines --> supercool site giving away writer's secrets. fascinating!

okay, maybe that's enough for now to get me back in y'all's good graces. or close enough to purgatory i'm not feeling those flames licking at my backside anymore. hope you visit and enjoy!


 

i missed Writing Prompt Monday again. *sigh* and i HAVE a calendar. and a cell phone. this is embarrassing.

okay, well, dwelling in the past only leads to carbuncles, so let's pretend i'm not a complete shillyshallier and move on:

this week's writing prompt:
http://pixdaus.com/?sort=tag&tag=lighthouse

ah, yes. the iconic lighthouse. lighthouse legends are romantic, ghostly, and the keepers swathed in a mist of nobility and sacrifice, not to mention eccentricity. all kinds of ripe for storytelling. peruse these photos and see if you don't start musing on something with hooks and crannies--and i'm not just talking about the salty sailors. ;) (http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=73948)
 

here's what i wrote on my facebook page after a friend goosed me about neglecting my prompting duties:
"ack!! i completely forgot--it's House's fault. i blame him and his stinking 2-hour premier that had me all weepy by the end. okay, here's one: you discover that the one quality that makes you different from everyone else is actually caused by a parasitic fungus growing in your brain. it will kill you eventually--and horribly--if you don't have it eradicated through invasive chemotherapy, but if the treatment's successful, you're stuck with the possibility of brain damage on top of losing that special something about yourself.
okay, i watch too much House. :)"

yes, yes. not only did i forget to find a proper prompt for the week, i decided to cut and paste the one i pulled out of my ass. now THAT's lazy.


 

i've moved my computer back into the second bedroom, where i fudged together an office of sorts to write in a couple of years ago. i had shifted out to the living room months ago because i missed hanging wih my honey, but my productivity's for crap. i'm one of those people who can't concentrate with distractions, it seems. i feel isolated spending time in the back bedroom, but i have to choose priorities, and i keep putting writing on the back burner.

my output dribbled to a stop, and now my confidence suffers with it. i have the potential to be a strong writer, but i'm not there yet with story structure and discipline, and i'm not sure at all i'm going to beat the odds and end up a working novelist.

along with the flaccid productivity, i've enrolled in a writing class at the community college. i haven't submitted my best work, but still i hoped to find encouragement and some notice from the instructor, but that's not happening, either. i'm feeling pretty puny in the world of writing, to be honest.

what's interesting, though, is i feel no hesitation with hanging in there. quitting writing has crossed my mind, but only in a fleeting wisp--a mental fart that wafted away and good riddance to it. i'll never be satisfied as a hobby writer--i want to sell stories, to get my work out there to as many people as possible--but it's comforting to realize i'm unafraid to stick it out for the long haul. i may not publish my first novel before i finish school and find a teaching position at some small university somewhere, but i have faith enough in myself to believe i can make it happen if i really want to.

so, i'm back in my lil office--with my electric buddha, my desk fan, my lumpy footrest. back to climb back on that fiction pony and ride until it bucks me off. giddyap, motherhumper.
 

hi, all--

this month's writer's digest special issue is on writing prompts and creativity. woop! here are a few to hold you until you can get to the store and check it out for yourself:

"During his third night out of town, a traveling businessman discovers a voodoo doll in his hotel room."

"Out of curiosity, a medical student attempts to reanimate her dead cat."

"While on a camping trip, a little boy strays from his family and happens upon a carnival in the middle of nowhere."

"A little girl turns into an elephant."

i'll probably be listing more a few at a time--let me know if any of them strike you.

 

you've probably heard of (or participated in, even) the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? if not, check it out here:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

the founder and organizer, Chris Baty, also wrote a guide to writing a novel in 30 days: "No Plot? No Problem!" (isbn#0811845052): http://www.amazon.com/No-Plot-Problem-Low-Stress-High-Velocity/dp/0811845052/ref...

gimmicky, right? but it works. if you follow the guide and the spirit of the adventure, you'll have a complete story arc reaching 50K words by the end of november. it'll need a lot of work before it's a finished novel, but you'll have written down the bones of the thing--amazing. several well-known writers have completed novels this way, and even better, published them. (you'd have to visit the nano site for details on that.)

i've completed NaNo projects for the past two years, and i'd assumed i'd be working on editing the two novels i have, rather than racking up yet another unfinished novel to store away and stare at. i sigh a lot, staring at my unfinished novels. i kept telling myself that i need to buckle down, get these done before haring off on any new, exciting writing adventures.

but then, i asked myself, "why be so hard on myself, self?"

so, what? i've got two unfinished novels waiting for me. november comes around once a year, and the momentum i get from sharing the crazy with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world results in huge amounts of writing. it's stressful, and grueling, and . . . fun!

plus, professional writers often gross a higher daily word count than the nano requires (about 1700 words a day, i think--don't trust me to get the math right), and experiencing that level of output is invigorating. even if it is crap. doesn't matter!! (well, it matters in the long run, but in the first-draft stage? naw. not so much.)

so, what'd i decide for this year? i can feel november looming, its domed head breaching the calendular horizon. what should i do? splurge in another month of abandon, of creative whimsy and ludricrous plot twists? or buckle down, be responsible, trudge along on my existing novels which cry out for help in feeble whimpers from my laptop files? i think we all know which way i'm leaning right now.

and you know what? i can always buckle down eleven months of the year. that's where i need to improve my work ethics, dammit. November's for NaNoWriMo!!!! who's with me???
*picture me astride a fidgety horse with my face in war paint, a tartan draped over my shoulder*
 

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&vid=264135ad-9838-437c-a3cd-fd11a5bffe0...

working in retail most of my adult life, i haven't spent many labor days at home. it's a pity, because i believe labor day should be a holiday for every single worker in the country. i think we can last a day without gasoline, groceries, movie theaters, restaurants and shopping. the idea that labor day is a great day for blockbuster sales is insulting to me.

labor day is the one day of the year americans remember the effort and sacrifices working folks made to improve life for the common man--reasonable working hours, better wages, restricted child labor, SAFER working environments. the weekend didn't exist before the labor movement demanded one. people worked twelve+ hour days seven days a week. imagine what your life would be like now if these people hadn't stood together and demanded better from their government. hurrah, labor day!!!

i hope you're able to relax and enjoy this day of remembrance and celebration for working people all over the country. and if you're working today, i salute you, and invite you over for a nice brat when you're done.
 

one of the courses i'm taking is a beginning short story writing class. i started the same class five years ago--which resulted in the beginning inklings of my nascent novelling efforts--but dropped out before the end of the semester. i was afraid to find out i wasn't really a writer; i couldn't face the possibility of failure. i'm better at failing now, having worked hard enough and developed writing skills to the point i can accept sucking in the short term if that means i'll eventually reach competence in the long term. so, i'm taking the class again.

yesterday, we received our second assignment: the internal monologue.

so, five years ago i breezed through this one. if you goto my portfolio and look for "clean dead steve", you'll find my first effort. this time, though, i'm having trouble staying inside the character's head. i keep wanting to jump outside and set scene, or move plot forward. is that a sign i'm more or less developed as a writer? or neither? maybe i'm just more opinionated as a writer, now. hunh. we'll see how it turns out. i imagine i'll post whatever drivel falls out onto the page.
 

okay, not so much. i mean, have you seen my teachers? but damn, am i excited to be taking classes again!! i'm a little freaked, taking on 4 classes on top of my measly part-time slacker job and keeping the writing going on top of it. i haven't tried this much since, well, ever. i don't think. i've taken classes before, while working full-time, but the writing variable is the killer. how to keep enough juice in the tank to write after a long day of slogging? haven't figured it out yet. but, i'm only a week into the semester. i'll get there. i've noticed i historically respond well to a larger workload--gets me off my ass and going. color me . . . ACTION GIRL!!!!
 

i like writing that sinks me into another perspective, one that i might not experience on my own. i was trolling poetry sites, and came across this one:

"I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America."


"I, Too" by Langston Hughes


I'd forgotten about this poem, but it hits just as hard as the first time. Love it.

 

official monday prompt:

i'm a sucker for lyrics. maybe it's how they hit strung together with the music, but sometimes a certain song will just settle into me like home. i've never been to either carolina, but ryan adams makes me want to belong there:

"Oh My Sweet Carolina lyrics

I went down to Houston
And I stopped in San Antone
I passed up the station for the bus
I was trying to find me something
But I wasn't sure just what
Man I ended up with pockets full of dust
So I went on to Cleveland and I ended up insane
I bought a borrowed suit and learned to dance
I was spending money like the way it likes to rain

Man I ended up with pockets full of cane
Oh my sweet Carolina
What compels me to go
Oh my sweet disposition

May you one day carry me home
I ain't never been to Vegas but I gambled up my life
Building newsprint boats I race to sewer mains
Was trying to find me something but I wasn't sure just what

Funny how they say that some things never change
Oh my sweet Carolina
What compels me to go
Oh my sweet disposition

May you one day carry me home
Up here in the city feels like things are closing in
The sunsets just my light bulb burning out
I miss Kentucky and I miss my family

All the sweetest winds they blow across the south
Oh my sweet Carolina
What compels me to go
Oh my sweet disposition
May you one day carry me home

May you one day carry me home"

voice of an angel, that man. a foul-mouthed, pissy, egotistical angel.

here's a link, if you'd like to hear the song. a wonderful duet with emmylou harris, another singing angel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMZYRvDvgT4

so, a sense of place. we all try to set a scene, a tone, in our stories. how often do we try to place a setting so strong it becomes a character in its own right? how often do we try to create a sense of a place we've never been?

 

i woke up this morning, after several days of not sleeping so well (minor health issues), and my head was racing with ideas for my novel--i made notes, and some of them are meaty, add something important to the overall theme and foreshadowing to larger events. the cool thing is, that's never happened to me before. the waking up to automatic ideas. i wonder if maybe having this story in the back of my mind all the time is creating a subconscious flow. a trickle most of the time, but my brain's chewing on this project even when i'm not aware of it. that'd be super cool, because i've had trouble conceptualizing such a large story arc, and my brain helping rather than hindering may signal the turning point. maybe i'm beginning to wrap my head around this thing; and thank goodness. i only hope that once i finish this novel the next one moves faster, since i'll know how it all works together.
i'm curious--those of you who have finished your first novels, how did it go? what was progress like for you, and how long did it take?
 

someone on another site started a discussion thread asking why we write stories. i've always had the urge, but i've never looked for answers why; i guess i've taken it for granted, my interest in writing.
i started writing stories as a kid--as all kids are naturally creative in some way. i figured it wasn't anything special, just another game to play. in grade school, i gained attention for my stories, and the teacher would sometimes ask me to read them to the class. i took that for granted, too, not being the kind of kid who saw themselves as special.
i wrote stories in high school, took a creative writing class, contributed to the school literary magazine. still, i saw it as a side interest, a hobby. something i did for myself, which is a fine way to spend time, of course. but i never asked myself why i wrote stories. never occurred to me to do so.
i don't remember writing fiction during my college years; and afterward, when i spent my time and energy toward working, and trying to make a home with my boyfriend--who did write stories--i described myself as someone who "used to write stories."

i saw writing stories as a pipe dream; that the frustration of trying to get "somewhere" with writing wouldn't be worth it.

then, for some reason, i started up again about three or four years ago. i enrolled in a short story writing class at the community college; i ended up dropping out halfway through the semester because i was afraid of discovering i wasn't good enough. i'm a perfectionist by nature, so "good enough" for me means talented. having potential is always easier than realizing it.

but i kept writing on my own, signed up here at wdc in april 2006, and started my portfolio with the few stories i had written while taking that course. it's amazing to me when i think back, how uncertain i was, how much i wanted to be a good writer. i'm a better writer now than i was, and i still have a way to go. but i still didn't have the urge to question why i wanted so badly to write stories until i read this discussion thread.

i posted something about how i want to be published, that my main motivation is to write novels and to be successful at it. and that's true, but it's not the whole reason. i realized today, sitting and watching movies, how important storytelling is to me. how i feel most alive when i'm experiencing a truly satisfying story--one that illuminates for me the fine, the strong, the courageous, the funny, the tragic of the world. god, but i love a good story.

a good story can take us out of ourselves, can show us another's experience, can inspire us to achieve greatness--what else does this, besides love? i realized i feel most when i'm with my husband and animals, and when i'm immersed in story. so, that's why i do it, i decided. i love that connection to the world.

a long story with a short ending.

why do you write??
 

official monday prompt:

i found this link, which explains automatic writing. direct, subconscious writing that may (or may not) reach your pure self and bring out its truest expression. i bet you've got some freaky deaky in there; i'm curious about what comes out when you try this technique. go, surrealists, go!!

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