Hello blog friends!
Woah, what a week it has been. Actually, I take that back. It's been a pretty bumpy ride since November 1st. Not that any of you can tell by the absence of the Nano ticker on the sideboard of my blog due to the absence of any activity whatsoever on this blog (for which I do truly apologize) that I am not - I repeat - AM NOT participating this year.
Twas a sad, sad day on October 31st (judge if you want - I will freely admit that I just looked at the calendar to make sure October and not November has 31 days...). I hadn't even noticed the date and was absolutely intending to go through November in a halfway normal fashion this year (as opposed to last year in which I holed myself up like a hermit and wore out my brain, fingers, keyboard and anything else I once had that might help. Oh, and sanity. Yeah, probably that too... Still haven't found it all either, for that matter.). I didn't have an inspiration or (like last year) even a first line that was promising enough to build on and brought along enough adrenaline and excitement to set up housekeeping.
And then out of the clear blue, the first line came and I panicked.
I looked at the calendar and something inside me screamed "TOMORROW IS NOVEMBER FIRST!! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO??"
"Umm...I'm not really sure," I replied. Last year I prepared for Nano weeks in advance. I had chocolate, tea, character outlines, plot points...I had signed up and familiarized myself with the website. I had alerted my family of my soon-to-be-reclusive lifestyle. I was pumped and nervous. I was Suzy-on-top-of-it. Could I dive in like this: fifteen hour's notice, nothing prepared, no one notified, armed with only a first line and a hazy idea of where to go?
For a wild, delirious half hour, I thought I could.
I sought wisdom - accidentally texting my cynical older brother instead of my Nano-veteran friend - and got mixed replies.
Yes! Nano is all about crazy and stupid! Go for it!
Do you want to enjoy November?? You can't put your life on hold like that again!
Perhaps I should have given that response more thought before I sent it...
Don't listen to the devil on your shoulder!
With a sigh, I gave up my Nano dream.
Thankfully, after several hours of brainstorming, I found that my "inspiration" for the year fit very nicely into one of the novels I hope to finish sometime in the near millennium.
So yes, I bitter-sweetly see the Facebook posts of wordcounts and Nano obsessions, but I wish all of you the best of luck and bountiful words as you pursue the number 50,000.
I will be chasing 15,000 on a novel I'm supposed to be finishing and trying to avoid the ever-mounting premonition that I'm destroying it by inches.
May all the forces that produce literature (whether good, bad or mediocre) be with you.
Till next time!
Woah, what a week it has been. Actually, I take that back. It's been a pretty bumpy ride since November 1st. Not that any of you can tell by the absence of the Nano ticker on the sideboard of my blog due to the absence of any activity whatsoever on this blog (for which I do truly apologize) that I am not - I repeat - AM NOT participating this year.
Twas a sad, sad day on October 31st (judge if you want - I will freely admit that I just looked at the calendar to make sure October and not November has 31 days...). I hadn't even noticed the date and was absolutely intending to go through November in a halfway normal fashion this year (as opposed to last year in which I holed myself up like a hermit and wore out my brain, fingers, keyboard and anything else I once had that might help. Oh, and sanity. Yeah, probably that too... Still haven't found it all either, for that matter.). I didn't have an inspiration or (like last year) even a first line that was promising enough to build on and brought along enough adrenaline and excitement to set up housekeeping.
And then out of the clear blue, the first line came and I panicked.
I looked at the calendar and something inside me screamed "TOMORROW IS NOVEMBER FIRST!! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO??"
"Umm...I'm not really sure," I replied. Last year I prepared for Nano weeks in advance. I had chocolate, tea, character outlines, plot points...I had signed up and familiarized myself with the website. I had alerted my family of my soon-to-be-reclusive lifestyle. I was pumped and nervous. I was Suzy-on-top-of-it. Could I dive in like this: fifteen hour's notice, nothing prepared, no one notified, armed with only a first line and a hazy idea of where to go?
For a wild, delirious half hour, I thought I could.
I sought wisdom - accidentally texting my cynical older brother instead of my Nano-veteran friend - and got mixed replies.
Yes! Nano is all about crazy and stupid! Go for it!
Do you want to enjoy November?? You can't put your life on hold like that again!
Perhaps I should have given that response more thought before I sent it...
Don't listen to the devil on your shoulder!
With a sigh, I gave up my Nano dream.
Thankfully, after several hours of brainstorming, I found that my "inspiration" for the year fit very nicely into one of the novels I hope to finish sometime in the near millennium.
So yes, I bitter-sweetly see the Facebook posts of wordcounts and Nano obsessions, but I wish all of you the best of luck and bountiful words as you pursue the number 50,000.
I will be chasing 15,000 on a novel I'm supposed to be finishing and trying to avoid the ever-mounting premonition that I'm destroying it by inches.
May all the forces that produce literature (whether good, bad or mediocre) be with you.
Till next time!
