Nanowrimo

Oh, November, how I love the frantic creativity you bring every year.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, November is National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo for short. The goal is to write fifty thousand words in a month. Sounds crazy, right? It is, a little, but it's also a challenge that I can't pass up.

I work well under a deadline. The only problem is, self-imposed ones never get me anywhere. I blow them off. Nanowrimo gives me a community filled with other crazy writes that are all struggling to meet the same deadlines.

I have a good feeling about my novel this year. We're nine days into the challenge, and I've written over twenty one thousand words. I'm almost halfway there already. It's a pretty great feeling. Even better is knowing that I still have so much story percolating in my brain. I'm almost halfway through the word count goal, but my story is just getting started. I'm excited that my idea well isn't even close to dry for this novel.

I think I'm going to exceed the word goal for the first time since I started doing this competition years ago. I've "won" twice before, reaching the fifty thousand by the skin of my teeth. I think this years's going to be different. I think I might have a full rough draft by the time November 30 rolls around.

And then the edits can begin. *sigh* I'm not even done editing the first MS yet, and I'll have another one in the queue. Guess I should get back to work!

Best birthday present ever

So, I made the decision to stop entering contests or querying agents until I had polished the MS for The Farmer's Wife to a fine sheen. Everything has been going swimmingly on that front for a few weeks now.  My CPs continue to be amazing, and the MS gets better with every chapter that they rip apart.

I've killed many darlings over the past weeks, and the MS reads smoother than it ever did when I was editing on my own.

And then, today, my inbox gives me the most unexpected news. An agent wants to see the full MS.

Here's the moment I had to give myself to get my heart out of my throat.

I sent two queries out right before I decided to call it quits. It's been six weeks or more. I expected to receive rejections at some point from both of them since it had been so long since I sent the requested pages.

Needless to say, the request caught me off guard.

I'm thrilled and nervous and anxious. Who knew one little sentence could throw my afternoon into such pleasant disarray?

And on a completely different, but equally exciting note, I also found out that I'll be getting my first niece next April. Great news all around. My face hurts from all the smiles.

And now, must edit furiously!

Pity Party: Table for One

So, woke up this morning feeling great. Ready to have an awesome day.  By ten, both eyes are starting to feel gummy.  By lunchtime, they're just really gross. And red. And as irritated as I am.

So I go see the eye doctor.

Double bacterial conjunctivitis.

Both eyes are red, a little swollen, and leaking unmentionable nastiness.

Needless to say, not much writing (or anything else) accomplished today. Also, I have to wash my hands anytime I touch my eyes to avoid spreading this plague to the husband or the child.  My eyes are itching as I type this, eager to spread the contagion. *sigh*  It's been an uncomfortable day.

At least I get to take the boy to the pumpkin patch tomorrow.  Hooray for antibiotics and hand sanitizer.

Nanowrimo starts in less than a month, folks.  Am I prepared? Not even close. Am I excited? Absolutely.  Those deadlines are excellent motivation.   I'm in it to win it this year.

The New Schedule Still Needs Work

So, I have to say that I have been increasingly more productive since the little one began preschool. I did have to quit writing earlier than usual today to observe his first field trip--a walk through town to the Farmer's Market. Cutest field trip ever. Totally worth the sacrifice of precious writing time.  I'm thinking about making up for it during my mandatory staff day tomorrow.  Maybe if they see me typing furiously they'll think I'm just taking meticulous notes. It's a pretty good plan.

I've had more ideas for stories in the past two weeks than I've had in years. I credit it to some wild dreams I've been having, but also to being more observant. I have time to sit and watch people now. I see a woman with a scar on her ankle, and I create a backstory for the scar, and it evolves into a possible story idea centered around this random passerby. It's invigorating. Now, if only I could keep up with all of the ideas.

I started a google doc, and I've been dumping my random observations into it.  I'm trying to guarantee that I won't forget these snippets of story as I attempt to finish my two works in progress.

My crit partners have been amazing, by the way.  I now have two sets of fresh eyes on the MS and it has been immensely helpful.  My first two chapters have been shredded and revised, and I'm blown away by how much stronger they are. I didn't think having a crit partner was that big of a deal before, but it really can make a difference. Family doesn't count, folks. Find another writer and exchange work. Editing someone else's stuff also makes it easier to spot the mistakes in your own. Things jump out at me now that I never would have noticed before.

I've sent queries and pages to two new agents. I've decided that they will be the last I send for a while. The CP thing is going so well, that I won't send anything else out until they've read the entire MS. We're through chapter 2 at the moment. It will be a long wait, but I'll be more agent-ready. It's crazy. I wrote the first draft of this novel in 30 days. That was four years ago. I've been revising it ever since.

The Preschool Experiment

Day 2:

Actually managed to get a bit of revision done today at the library while the little one was at school. Day 1 was spent mourning the loss of the little ones with the other parents over coffee and baked goods.  Today was far more productive.  It's amazing how quickly an hour passes when you're focused on something.  I think I only added 200 or so words to the count, but my passages are less vague, my verbs stronger, and I've rearranged some scenes.  I feel like the first half of the book has really come together.

I've submitted my picks for Crit Partners, and am awaiting my match from the wonderful Lara Willard at writelarawrite.wordpress.com.  The novel I plan to send my CP will be much nearer completion, and I will be far less embarrassed about letting a stranger read it. The contests I've entered have made it much easier to accept criticism, especially since they're actually providing helpful feedback. It has been amazing.

I remain hopeful that I will be able to devote a few hours a week to writing now that preschool has entered my life.  I'm also becoming more disciplined in regard to how I spend the precious time I have to myself while little man is sleeping. As addictive as all my Kindle apps are, I've had to cut most out of my life.

Little Man is currently screaming and showing me via tantrums that it's nap time. I think I may soon get another block or writing time.  Until then, I want to share a snippet I wrote this morning that is actually inspired by a dream I had last night. A dream that involved the resurrection of ghosts that seemed real, and left the summoner unable to part with them a second time. It was intense, and I woke up with a myriad of emotions warring within my chest. I decided to write a bit down before it was forgotten.

The need is palpable, a crushing force against my chest that makes it hard to pull air into my lungs. It’s him, really him. His blonde hair is just long enough for him to tuck behind his ears. His nose has the same bump from where he caught a baseball with his face when he was five. It’s his eyes that steal the last of my labored breaths, pools of blue that threaten to swallow me completely. I’m relatively certain that I would let them take me without a fight. The corners of his mouth lift in that half-smile that always gives away his excitement when he’s trying to be serious.

It’s easy to forget he’s dead when he looks and feels so alive. He even smells the same--like fresh grass after a summer rain shower with undertones of sweat, as if he’s been cutting grass in the rain. When I bury my face in his chest, his scent wraps around me, and I inhale it as deeply as my crushed lungs will allow. I don’t even have time to mull over the fact that I don’t pass right through him, or that he feels so warm against my skin. I just savor the comfort that comes with his familiar embrace.

And then, I am kissing him. My fingers clench his hair and pull it into fists as I bring my legs up around his waist. He holds me, touch both gentle and urgent. His tongue thrusts into my mouth and I meet it with my own. He tastes like citrus and mint, fresh and powerful. I only pull my lips away when I run out of breath. They feel raw and swollen, but still hunger for another taste of him.

That smile tugs his mouth up again. “God, I’ve missed that,” he says, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against mine.

My thoughts are racing so fast that I can’t form a coherent sentence. Instead, I pull him down into another passionate kiss.

Never thought I'd be one to write a paranormal romance, but this is really leaning that way. Will be interesting to see where it takes me.

Back Into the Fray

Remember how I entered those contest and lost? Well, after a month or so of edits and wound-licking, my skin is thicker and the MS is stronger. I've actually started a second novel *gasp* and have left the first alone for a few weeks now.

I entered a wonderful Critique Partner mixer, and hope to land one or two great CP's to help me polish that first MS. It needs new sets of eyes on it. Ones that aren't so attached to every word.

I've also discovered Get off my lawn con. It's a wonderful new online forum for writer's of adult fiction. Query advice, pitch tips, contest links, and just about everything else an aspiring writer could hope for. It's run by one of the amazing minds behind QueryKombat, and I look forward to wasting away many hours staring at the various forum threads.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get more serious about writing. I even tried giving myself a daily word count goal. It didn't work. Too many distractions. I can find a million reasons to be sitting anywhere other than in front of my computer. The biggest one just turned three years old and always wants to build pillow forts and play hide and seek. I tried getting up early to write before he wakes up, but most of what I put on the page that early in the morning is rubbish. I've tried waiting for him to fall asleep before I begin to write, but the call of my bed is too strong, and I usually only last for thirty minutes before climbing beneath the covers.

The big distraction starts preschool in two short weeks. The mommy in me cries every day because she will lose him for six hours every week. The writer in me is dancing, eager to put each of those hours to work.  Using Netflix movies as "research" counts as work, right?

The Mighty Procrastinator

We've all heard the lamentations of the distractions technology can pose. The internet is an amazing thing, and an invaluable tool...most of the time.

Each time I finally find a few minutes to sit down at my computer to write, the internet calls to me. So far, I haven't managed to resist a single time.  Take this blog post, for instance. I'm trying to beef up the MS, yet again, when I realize I haven't posted to this blog in more than two weeks. Better write something up before I forget, right? There's no better time than the present.

And then there's Facebook and Twitter and Reddit. So many wonderful ways to waste away my precious writing time.

I must learn to be strong in the face of temptation. I'd disable my wifi while I was writing, but then I'd have to lug out my thesaurus and do my writing research via old newspapers. Actually, research that way would require a trip up to West Carthage to look at local maps. Ain't nobody got time for that. The internet must stay on. I just have to learn to turn a deaf ear to its call.

It's just so much more fun to browse Reddit than it is to stare at this MS.