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| IWSG |
We feed the tortoises the same food, but they don't eat the same way. One will often chow down while the other proceeds to walk through the food dish. (I still don't know if this in protest of what is served or just because they feel like it.) Whenever we'd put mixed greens in the dish, Mrs. Larry would go after any pieces of radicchio the way I go after chocolate. Meanwhile, Larry would let it languish in the dish. So, imagine our surprise when one day, Larry nibbled a piece of radicchio . . . then continued to plow through all the other greens hunting for more. Apparently, after years of thinking he didn't care for radicchio, Larry decided to give it a try and discovered he liked it.
This is what happened to me. Not with a vegetable - pfft! - but with my writing. I recently gave a project a try - something I never thought I would do, something I never thought I could do. It was a last-minute, give-it-a-whirl, why-not kind of project for this NaNo Rebel, and I went into it with little to no expectations. But the more I worked on it, the more I was pulled in, the more I liked it. It became my radicchio.
So, as this year ends and a new one beckons, I wonder what this means - if anything - for my writing future. Maybe it's time for me, like Larry, to start digging under all those other greens and devour those spicy, crunchy, chicory leaves for myself . . . .
*****
What are your writing plans for the rest of the month? For the New Year? Are you making any big changes? Or are you staying on the course you've set for yourself?
It's funny to picture Larry plowing through the food for more radicchio and being like, dang, this is good stuff! That happened to me several years ago with mustard. For some reason I thought I hated it on sandwiches. Turns out I love it LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds to me like you should start digging around. So glad the November experiment worked out for you!
Larry is definitely a character. Too funny about the mustard! :)
DeleteRe the digging - I think I'm just kind of afraid of what I'll turn up and what it will mean....
CONGRATULATIONS! I'm glad the Na-No turned out to be such a success for you. And... to your taste. It was a great touch to tie the tortoise's new affinity for radicchio to your new outlook on writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan!
DeleteI really shouldn't take credit for the radicchio tie-in, though. The tortoises are the ones who run the show around here....
You tried something new and liked it. For years, I hated mushrooms and now they are a staple in most dishes. Sorry, that is a vegetable...
ReplyDeleteMy husband wasn't big on mushrooms either, but now he doesn't mind them so much.
DeleteTechnically, I don't think mushrooms are vegetables.
DeleteAnd now I'm dying to know what the new direction is! As for me, I did a standard novel draft, and since 50K (or even the 64K I hit by the end of November) isn't a full novel, I'm still working on it. Filling in holes, mostly.
Ah, I'm too superstitious to share just yet. :)
DeleteGood luck with filling in those holes!
That's awesome! No new veggies for me, but I definitely like to try new creative things. I'm aiming to finish off a holiday story for my pen name. It started as a short story and has grown. Must get writing! :)
ReplyDeleteI would say your new veggie - although, I know it's not super new - is your pen name. :)
DeleteGood luck with that growing story!
Whatever your new direction is, I hope you find a reliable compass along the way. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Roland!
DeleteLove this story of your turtles and your writing life!
ReplyDeleteI am contemplating a change, but I'm not ready to share it yet, which probably sounds more mysterious than it really is. :)
Hope you have a wonderful December!
I hear you about not being ready to share yet! I'm always afraid I'm going to jinx something. :o
DeleteGood luck to you!
Hi Madeline, glad that you found your writing radicchio.
ReplyDeleteI think you owe Larry a treat for helping you in that direction :)
Well, the tortoises got to munch on strawberries today so Larry's treat is covered. :)
DeleteGood for you, Larry. We should all be open to new things.
ReplyDeleteI need to get back into writing period, in any shape or form. I've let family stuff dictate my time for way, way, way too long.
It takes Larry awhile, but he usually comes around. :)
DeleteBeating yourself up is not going to help anything. Just do what you can! :)
Yay, Larry! lol And congratulations! Isn't it great to find you like something new?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb! And definitely. :)
DeleteI love reading about Mr. and Mrs. Larry. Their personality quirks are so charming. Might there be a biography about them in the future? My own writing is blessedly back on track. I just need to beat back the distractions. :-)
ReplyDeleteHmm, not sure how they'd feel about a biography. They'd have to authorize me to write it, and I'm not sure they're all that thrilled with how I write the blog.... :)
Delete"Not with a vegetable - pfft!" <---That sounds like me.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your NaNo success. It's always exciting, I find, to actually end up liking one's NaNo project.
Thanks, MJ. And you're right about liking the NaNo project - I've had years when no air freshener in the world could get rid of the stink of that year's draft.
DeleteEach story seems to want to be written differently, I've noticed. Go with the flow, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI believe that, too. Let the story say what it wants to be, what it wants to look like.
DeleteUntil recently, I'd hoped to start and finish a new creature feature for Severed Press in December. Now, I just want to finish the fourth book in my GhostWriters series. Wish I knew how it ends...
ReplyDeleteI really want to up my marketing game in 2019, and release a lot more books into the world. Excited to hear more about your new project!
It's said that the end usually circles around in some way to the beginning...if that helps. :)
DeleteGood luck with all of your 2019 plans!
Hmm...that's worth taking a look at. I'll do anything at this point.
DeleteThanks, Madeline.
I'm glad you followed your heart and tried something new. Expanded horizons are always exciting. For me, not much as changed. I keep writing and keeping my chin up. I'm hoping it will pay off one day. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
I'm not big on change, but I'm glad I tried.
DeleteKeep writing! :)
Congratulations and I am very happy that you have discovered something about yourself that is going to influence your involvement in your writing.
ReplyDeleteAll the best and wishing you a Merry Christmas
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G
At the very least, I'm proud that I tried something different for me. :)
DeleteA good lesson in trying something new!
ReplyDeleteThis time, I think it actually worked. :)
DeleteI like changing things up when I'm writing my first draft. That's when I explore new ideas for plot or new ways to write! Good luck on finishing your new project.
ReplyDeleteI liked using NaNo as more of an experiment this time around.
DeleteIf I were a tortoise, I'd walk through my food also. Just because. ;)
ReplyDeleteHa! I guess, technically, you could walk through your food now. Although, I don't think you'd want to eat it afterwards.... :o
DeleteI guess even turtles have those light bulb moments at times. Best wishes to your plans in 2019
ReplyDeleteIt really seems like they do! :)
DeleteBeing flexible is so important, in life as well as writing. Changing things up, trying something new helps us be better writers. Best wishes for a great month.
ReplyDeleteFlexibility is so not one of my strengths, but I'm working on it. :)
DeleteCongrats with Nano. Happy IWSG DAy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Juneta!
DeleteI have a couple of big writing projects which have stalled – my plan for 2019 is to get them moving again.
ReplyDeleteMaybe those projects just need a break for the holidays. I bet they'll be ready to go in 2019. :)
DeleteWoot! So glad you found that you liked being a NaNo Rebel and getting pulled in! *high five*
ReplyDeleteThanks, Loni! :)
DeleteI think it is terribly exciting for a writer to discover that you could do something you never thought you could. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing has me feeling excited but kind of nervous, too.
DeleteAmazing! I've had a few radicchio moments myself. All I wrote was fantasy until one day, a book distributor told me that my book wasn't marketable (because the market was saturated with fantasy). I was devastated but he did give me advice: to write contemporary. What? I'd never tried that but 7 years later, guess what? I rock at it!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I tried writing Steampunk for an anthology--something I've never dared dream to do--and it came out good enough that the publisher loved it.
Shall you and I squee for our radicchio moments? Ready?
...
SqUEeEeEeEeEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Congratulations!
You never know unless you try, right? And yeh on rocking new genres! :)
DeleteThis shows it's always good to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Writing should be about attempting the impossible!
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of writing being about trying the impossible!
DeleteYou're growing as a writer. *high-five*
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chrys! Unfortunately, with all the sitting I've been doing in November, my rear end is growing, too. :o
Delete