A Curmudgeon on Caffeine

Here in the trenches of NaNoWriMo, I'm a little busy trying to figure out a couple of things, like why a secondary character has suddenly decided she'd like to be the antagonist (I mean, seriously?!) and how many cups of coffee can I drink before I start acting like Kramer from Seinfeld.

So, as you can see, my mind is not very focused on marketing or social media at the moment. But when I saw this quote in Writer's Digest (Nov/Dec 2017), I chuckled - okay, so it was more like caffeine-tinged-maniacal laughter - because not only is it an excellent strategy for social media but also for life in general.

"EVEN IF YOU ARE A NATURALLY CRANKY,

SNARKY, SOUR-TEMPERED PAIN IN THE ASS,

FOR GOD'S SAKE,  SHARE THAT 

WITH YOUR THERAPIST OR PRIEST. 

WHEN YOU GO ONLINE TO PROMOTE YOURSELF

AND THEREFORE YOUR PRODUCTS,

TRY NOT TO ACTUALLY SCARE

PEOPLE OFF YOUR LAWN."

(Jonathan Maberry)

As someone who, in real life, straddles the line between pleasantly polite yet keeps-to-herself and curmudgeonly crazy lady who peers through the blinds absolutely certain those kids on tricycles are up to no good, I really hope I'm at least keeping my digital lawn welcoming and well-tended.

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Are you running on caffeine right about now? Is your digital lawn full of weeds? How about your real lawn? Do you chase kids off your property or do you join them in a rousing game of hide-n-seek?

Maybe More Than a Little

Last week, a local theater ran the original Psycho. In honor of Halloween and the start of another NaNoWriMo, my husband and I went. We'd seen Psycho before but not on a big screen, not in a roomful of people with their own reasons for going. Soon, we were all lost in another time, another place. 

That's pretty much what happens to me during November - I get lost in a world of my own making. I look up from my keyboard and have to blink a few times to situate myself. I walk out of my office and catch a glimpse of a character running down the hall, darting into another room. I have to ask my poor husband to repeat his question a third time because I'm busy trying to figure out how - or if! - my protagonist will manage to kill the creature lurking in the shadows.

I am not easy to live with during the best of times, but November brings its own special kind of Hell for my long-suffering, patient husband. So, while we were watching Psycho, a particular scene made me laugh out loud because I'm pretty sure it sums up what my husband thinks of me during NaNoWriMo. (Okay, maybe he feels this way all the time, but he's too nice to say it.) 

"IT'S NOT LIKE [SHE'S] A MANIAC 

OR A RAVING THING.

SHE JUST GOES A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES.

WE ALL GO A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES.

HAVEN'T YOU?"

(Norman Bates)

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Do you wig out (pun intended!) during NaNoWriMo? Or when you're deep into a creative project? How does your spouse/significant other/support team handle you? Do you do anything to thank them when - if?! - sanity returns?

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

The following quote hangs on the bulletin board in my office  -  

MY MIND IS A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD

I TRY NOT TO GO INTO ALONE.

(Anne Lamott)

Well, since I've basically moved in there already, easier said than done. Right now my neighbors are a creature I've only caught a glimpse of (and that was more than enough to induce nightmares, thank you very much) and an old man with a nice smile and a well-tended lawn who might be a really bad dude. I hope the little girl across the way has a better weapon than that manatee keychain because otherwise we are all in big trouble.    

Yes, it's NaNoWriMo time! 

And since I'm hunkering down and hiding from what I suspect is a truly hideous Welcome Wagon, I'm going to miss November's IWSG. I still plan on posting here and visiting you all throughout the month . . . unless my neighbors have other ideas . . . . Gulp.

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Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, what are you working on? Do you like scary stories? Want to recommend a favorite horror novel or author?  

IWSG: The End is Near!

Click here for more information 

This is not easy to admit but here goes: I can't remember the last time I finished a full draft of a novel. It was once as easy for me as breathing. Beginning, middle, end - no problem! Of course, the draft stunk like tortoise poop, but still, it was whole, complete, done.

Now, I'll have a beginning and an end. Or just an end. Or just a beginning. I'll write scenes that go nowhere, create characters with no home, draft dialogue that drifts off like clouds across an achingly blue sky.

Why does this keep happening? Is it that the ideas/stories aren't grabbing me? Am I too easily distracted by life? Are the writing "rules" I've learned over the years paralyzing my creativity? I still don't know.

But here's the thing: This. Ends. Now. By the end of National Novel Writing Month, I will have an entire draft of a novel. It might out-stink the tortoise poop, but it will be done.

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it.

A Rebel Learns a Lesson (Lesson #3)

Well, here it is, the end of NaNoWriMo 2011 and I am once again a winner! Whew! Doing and winning NaNo as Rebel was a different experience for me. It had its pros and cons, and I learned a lot through the process - here are the links to Lesson #1 and Lesson #2 - but I think this one is probably the most important for me -

Lesson #3 - Confidence is fleeting. Or, at least mine is.

How many times this month did I waffle back and forth on whether this was a good story or not? I've lost count.

How many times did I think, "Hey, this story is amazing but I'm mucking it up something awful!"? I've lost count. 

How many times did I think, "This is going really well and I'm a pretty good writer after all." I'd say...three. Three times.

BUT even with all that wailing and sniffling and worrying, I am still able to look at my story, my big giant mess of a women's fiction/horror hybrid of a novel and think, "Hey, look at that! Look at what I did. Look at what I accomplished."

And you know what? I'll take it.

Congratulations to all those who won NaNo 2011 AND to all those who participated! Believe me, that counts for something. It really does.

A Rebel Yell . . . The NaNoWriMo Way

It's almost November and most writers (and spouses and families of writers) know what that means - NaNoWriMo time!

I've participated in, and won, National Novel Writing Month for seven years. I've written manuscripts that ended up in the drawer. I've written novels that were revised, sent out to agents and editors, and received positive feedback. I've even written one that was revised, sent out into the world, and landed me an agent. (That was many years ago and we've since parted company.)

So, this year, my eighth doing NaNoWriMo, I decided to shake things up a bit. I am going to be a NaNo Rebel. What does this mean? Well, it depends. For me, it means I won't be starting from scratch. I'm going to finish my Camp NaNo novel and probably write some novel and/or character related stories. I will absolutely write my 50,000 (plus!) words though.

I love NaNo but I've struggled a bit in the last few years - time, ideas, writer's block, etc. This year, I'm excited again. I can't wait for November!

Any other NaNoWriMos out there? Anyone else setting themselves a challenge of some sort? What is everyone working on? Share, and then let's support each other.

Whoo hoo! (That's about as close as this transplanted New Yorker gets to an actual rebel yell.)

If It's October, It Must be Time For . . . NaNoWriMo?!

Yes, I know it's October but as of right now, you can sign up for November's National Novel Writing Month!

If you're not familiar with NaNo, all the info is on their site, but what it boils down to is challenging yourself to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  The word count is basically equal to a novella or a good chunk of a novel.  It's for people who want to try something new and different.  It's for people who say over and over again that "one day" they're going to write a book.  It's for people who are already writers but who love the camaraderie of thousands of people in what's usually a very empty and lonely writing boat.

Pep talks from writers, forums for almost every genre, and fun stuff on your profile page - all free!  Yes, free!  The folks over there would love a donation but it's not required.  I usually donate something and then I order that year's cool t-shirt.  (Even my husband has a general NaNo t-shirt!)  

Why not give it a try?  Go on over and check out the site, explore the forums, read the "rules."  November is going to come and go no matter what, so let's fill the days with words and stories and writerly angst and characters who don't do what we want them to do and plot bunnies and dares and halos and...well, you'll just have to go see the rest for yourself.