A New Leaf

A quick post today:

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, so I imagine most of you have read the book I'm reading now--No Plot? No Problem by Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWrMo. You know how I like motivational books and talks so this one really speaks to me. Why did I wait so long to read it? Baty says so much I can identify with:

Example: A rough draft is best written in the steam-cooker of an already busy life.

I know this from experience. I wrote and sold my novel when my daughter was little and I was shuffling her from school to soccer to Sylvan, plus getting up at 5 a.m. to pack hubby's lunch for work, not to mention moving every year. You might remember me saying I wrote my book in Luling, LA, sold it in Port Neches, TX and did rewrites in Sugar Land, TX. Busy is a good thing because we recognize time is precious. We seem to make better use of our time when we have less of it.

Example: The key to writing a novel is to realize that you are in the greatest hands possible: your own.

I love this. I'm going to try harder to tune out all those voices that beat me down. My hands are very capable. When did I forget that?

Example: No matter what your talent level, novel writing is a low-stress, high-rewards hobby.

Really, there's nothing more enjoyable than creating fiction or writing poetry. I've forgotten just how much fun writing is for me. That sense of accomplishment/enjoyment/satisfaction is coming back.

Example: The single best thing you can do to improve your writing is to write. Copiously.

How many times have I told my daughter that 'you learn by doing' and not to worry about the experience she doesn't have? We can learn anything, can't we? And the best way to learn something is to just do it...again and again and again.

Example: What you need to write a novel, of course, is a deadline.

We all know deadlines rule. I'm used to writing with a deadline and during the past year--ever since the magazine folded--I've been whining for a deadline. I wonder why I think my own self-imposed deadline isn't as good as an editor's deadline?

I'm devouring No Plot? No Problem and will probably have more quotes from Chris Baty. Needless to say, a new leaf for me?

A Few Thoughts and More Treasures

A lot of writing going on with my NaNo project but as you see in the right hand corner, only a little more than 6,000 words. Still, that's pretty good for me. I stayed up way too late last night.

Still browsing through boxes in the garage. I'm keeping much more than I'm throwing away. Amazing, the treasures I'm finding. A long letter from Redbook--a rejection, yes--but a rejection defining the why of it. I'm amazed that the Redbook editor traded three long, detailed letters with me. Looking back, I can see how close I was and can't help but feel I've squandered so many opportunities.

The first five pages of a novel (and short synopsis) of an idea for a romantic suspense. And I still like it. :) A completed romantic short story. I don't remember it but the characters have their own novel so maybe this short story was the beginning.

All these findings make me want to race to the BWG meeting on Saturday and tell everyone to find encouragement in every critique, in every rejection they receive; it's there if they look for it. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't recognize the good stuff until 20, 30, 40 years later.

I haven't found what I'm searching for: a huge folder of poems written when I fancied myself a poet. Where can it be? Garage boxes? Office boxes? One of the three file cabinets? Arggg, too much paper!

Good News! Saturday I have another Louisiana Saturday Night for you. An interview with a Louisiana novelist of crime fiction. And it's a good one. See you then.

Introspection

NaNoWriMo is amazing. When I imagine writers all over the world pounding keys, working toward the same goal—a completed manuscript—I get chills. We’re more united than the Republicans or the Democrats, that’s for sure. Well, I guess that’s not saying much, is it?

Aren't you glad we're not using the old Underwoods or Royals? I am!

I’m excited about my NaNo novel but I realized almost immediately that it’s garbage. It would take years to make a real novel out of it. The thing is I like it. I like what it’s saying, what it's trying to say, but especially what it could be if I invested years to fixing it. Yes, years. That’s no exaggeration. I love the few nice things in it. The very few sentences that sing—quite by accident, I might add. And I like that those sentences that sing happened by accident. Is that weird? That I didn't purposely construct them makes me think wow! there's a little bit of talent embedded down deep that rears it's creative head. Harness it!

As I pound these HP keys, I’m asking myself if I should be doing something more productive. Probably. Cleaning house, sorting laundry, organizing genealogy, revising one of my other completed novels, even completing one of the other NaNo attempts. There are lots of things I could/should be doing, but none of them give me this kind of pleasure. Racing toward a finish line—whether I make it or not. It doesn't even have to be November for us to get this kind of rush, does it? Any time we have an idea, plot it, write that first chapter, we feel excited, don't we?

I read a really wonderful, wonderful essay this morning, and I want you to read it too. Go HERE.
What you would do if you didn't write? How many novels or short stories do you write a month or a year? Do you have to force yourself to sit down and do it?

Just wondering why I need November.

A Whole Lot of Busy Going On

Way too much going on. We're still going through boxes in the garage (most of which are making their way into the house), and trying to prepare for the move to Mississippi. On top of all that, our young worker is installing new doors, new windows, painting, putting up lights and ceiling fans.

Enter 2010 BWG conference, Gator Bites, Swamp Lily Review, NaNoWriMo, and a host of other things.

Our conference is November 13th. You can go HERE to learn more about it.

Gator Bites is a neat little brochure I'm putting together to promote our Bayou Writers. I have to give credit to Peter Cole out of Nashville and his Keyhole Digest for this idea. Brilliant! I hope you'll check out Keyhole Fiction and order some of their work--or even submit something to them. I'm excited about Gator Bites and thrilled that so many of our members contributed. I think it will be a great sampling of the talent we have in BWG. I can see how this tri-fold of micro-fiction and poems could be used to promote authors and writers' groups everywhere. Take a look at Keyhole Digest and what they have going and devise a way to use their ideas to promote yourself.

Now, let me tell you about SLR. Swamp Lily Review is an online literary journal I've started with my friend, Jan Rider Newman. I feel guilty including myself in the "started" thing because Jan is doing all the work. Every now and then I hear a loud boom and I know it's her banging her head against the wall as she works on our website. Who said building websites was easy? You can learn more about Swamp Lily Review HERE. Even though the website is still under construction, you can read our mission statement and our submission guidelines. One day, very soon I hope, we'll have a picture of a Swamp Lily. By the way, read those guidelines carefully. SLR is a lit journal celebrating Louisiana writers and artists who live and breathe in Louisiana.

Add to all of this, National Novel Writing Month. I love it. I look forward to it every year, but I never make 50,000 words. I only make it to 25,000 and stack those unfinished manuscript pages with the rest of my efforts. {deep, heart-rending sigh} I wanna finish--I really do. :-/ I'm honestly giving it my best shot this year. You're my accountability partners. :) Since I totally despise making a fool of myself, maybe I'll try harder if I know you're watching. This year I printed out a calendar and outlined the novel in each square of the entire month so if I follow it and write about 6 1/2 pages a day ... Yeah, sounds easy, doesn't it ... if I just follow it and WRITE only 6 1/2 PAGES A DAY ...

I just finished teaching my NF course for Lamar, and also taking two online courses through RWA: one on the ins and outs of self-publishing and one on short story writing.

Okay. That's what's going on in my life and what I'm doing during the month of November. And you can even add these few things: Need to compose a BWG Voting Ballot since we're voting for new officers on Nov. 6th. Need to create a President's Notebook for the new Prez. And ...Yikes! I need to finish the Prez's Message for the newsletter and get it to VP Jan right now. And hop over to the Bayou Writers' Group blog to post something new.

No wonder my husband says, "When we get to Mississippi, why don't you taker a breather and just read and write."

Sounds good to me--until I'm sitting all alone in an apartment, staring at a blank screen and wondering what my peeps back home are doing. :)

Here's a quote for busy people:

You never saw a very busy person who was unhappy. ~Dorothy Dix

Tell me what you'll be doing during the month of November.

999 Ways to Write A Book

Here I am talking about back story again. I know you're sick of it. I am too, but I'm still alittle confused. I'm reading two books and both of them are so sparse that I'm having a difficult time staying interested. There's an art to dropping tidbits of info into our stories. These two authors aren't dropping anything anywhere and I'm finding it annoying.

I don't require a lot of back story to stay interested in a good book, but geeze-louise, give me enough that the chapters make sense!

It's suddenly dawned on me that these days--this modern world of publishing technology, the ebooks/POD publishers/self-pubbing/short story apps, etc ... anything goes.

ANYTHING!

There must be 999 ways to write a book. With back story or without. With one character or twenty-one. All dialogue or ... all narrative. Or graphics only.

The most important thing we have to do is find an editor that likes our writing. That's the key. That's the answer. Put that on a little yellow sticky note and slap it on your computer. Write your book the way you want to write it then find an editor who loves it. They'll tell you what's wrong and if there's too much back story. Ultimately, the editor is the last word.

Next month I'm going to NaNoWrMo with the rest of the world. My novel is outlined and I plan to sit down and follow that outline. I'll get my usual 100 pages before I experience the Thanksgiving Crash. I'd love to make the 50,000 words goal but it hasn't happened yet. Turkey day always gets in the way. At least I'll have 100 pages of something new.

So, just out of curiosity, are you planning to Nano this year? If so, I'm registered as Jessy. Look me up and let's encourage each other.

BTW, do you know Jane Friedman? She's a columnist for Writer's Digest. Now go HERE and read the dirty secret behind writing advice.

Words and Pages = NaNoWriMo

And the race is on! NaNoWriMo, 2008!
I wanted to stay up until midnight last night and start my book. I felt anxious, knowing today would be a busy one, and somewhat stressful. I hated getting a late start with the writing but all went well. My detailed outline paid off. I sat down at six o'clock, and turned out 3,041 words by 9:30. They came so easily I had to wonder why I don't force myself to do this on a daily basis. After all, that's what professional writers do--they write.
Professional writer?
I still have a hard time thinking of myself as a professional writer. One book, numerous articles, even a few poems published, even an agent! and I still don't feel like the professional. What's it gonna take?

Maybe I need to go to the dictionary and read what professional really means.

NaNoWriMo with Me

I'm excited about participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) again this year. We start November 1st and write like crazy until the 30Th. Last year I got 100 pages before I had to stop and think about Thanksgiving. I just sat down and started writing. No planning whatsoever. This year I have my entire novel planned out, chapter by chapter. My characters have names and I've done my research. I even have a plotting board so I can try to stay organized. If there's one thing I've learned it's that I'm not real good at cleaning up messy projects.

I enjoy browsing the NaNoWriMo discussion board. Reading how different writers approach their stories is interesting. I guess there's a thousand different ways to approach a novel. It's not too late to sign up to participate in NaNoWriMo. Determine how many words you need to write a day to complete a 50,000 word novel. If I write three pages during the early morning, then hit it again in the late evening for four more pages, I might be able to complete my NaNoWriMo novel this year. That’s my plan. We'll see what happens.

Join me. Sign up right here.