No one has to tell me…I already know I’m crazy!

It’s hard for me not to step up to the plate and accept a challenge.  Sometimes this isn’t a good thing to do, but I do it anyway…all the time.

From NaNo Website

Right now I’m talking about November and another NaNoWriMo that is upon us.  Wasn’t it just November?  Time goes by way too fast for me to keep up.  For those of you who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s the National Novel Writing Month and it happens every November.  Those of us goofy enough to enter this competition get 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel, or the beginning of a novel, or novella.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days.  That’s only 1667 words a day so quite doable.  If you can write more than that, I suggest you go for it.  That way you can take a day off here and there if you find yourself way ahead of schedule.

For any writer out there, this competition gets you in front of your computer daily and keeps you in your chair until you reach the goal of 50,000 words.  It’s okay to outline a story first and come up with your characters and do character sketches and plot points, but the actual writing doesn’t start until November 1.  We are all on the honor system for abiding by these rules.

I’m not usually an outline writer, but I do make a few notes ahead of time.  I like to write by the seat of my pants and see where the story takes me as I go.  A lot of times it’s in an unexpected direction.  Sometimes I can really run with this using my imagination and other times it’s a struggle.

The point of this whole exercise is to get in the habit of sitting down to write everyday.  During this month, you write only.  Do not second guess yourself, go back to fix type-o’s, research things for your story, or edit as you go.  All those things can wait until later.  The main thing here is to get your 50,000 words on paper by November 30.  DO NOT GIVE UP!

This is my fifth NaNo.  I’m not sure why I can’t skip one but I’m always up for a challenge.  I usually know full well from the get-go that it’s all going to be a struggle from day one because I have little time to devote to this activity.  However, this knowledge somehow doesn’t stop me.  I doubt it ever will.  I’m too much of an optimist and always think “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”  I guess this thinking was ingrained in me as a child. 

So I’m jotting notes wherever I go and will keep a pen and paper handy all month for ideas that come to me, or for writing a few lines as I have time that I can type into my manuscript later.

If anyone else is doing this, keep yourself away from social media as much as possible or you’ll get distracted and never make it to the end.  If you haven’t signed up yet and would like to, it’s not too late.  Here’s the link:  http://nanowrimo.org/

Non-fiction is sometimes an unforgettable story

Like most of you, I prefer fiction books for my reading pleasure, but I’ve read some non-fiction books that have left a lasting impression on me.  Sometimes a true story can be unimaginable and chilling.  I want to tell you about three such books here.

Tales from a Mountain City by Quynh Dao

            The book is about growing up in Vietnam during the war when a change of government turns the life of one family upside down.  Soldiers move into their home burn their books and take over the neighborhood.  This story is about a young girl growing up under the communist regime.  The family tries to hang on to their traditions, their hometowns and provinces, but the pervasiveness of the communist value system eventually drives them to suicide or exile.

The Black Wall by Jiazhen Qi

            This story is a full account of a family in China during the rise of communism.  This powerful story is told by one of the daughters in the family who is imprisoned at the age of twenty under a charge of being a counterrevolutionary.  Her father is already serving a sentence for the same crime.  The remaining family must scrape by selling what they can to buy food to survive.  They under constant surveillance and not allowed to leave the house unless it is to go to the communist school or to buy food.  As you can imagine, prison life is no better.  Conditions are deplorable there.  At times, this book is graphic and the things these people endured are beyond imagination.  This story is one you won’t forget.

Far Outside the Ordinary by Prissy Elrod

            The book is about a family living in FL.  The father discovers he has a brain tumor at age 50.  Glioblastoma gives no warning until it’s too late.  The diagnosis leaves his wife and two daughters stunned, but they don’t let go of hope as they struggle for a cure and survival against all odds.  Southern black caregivers move into the home to aid the family around the clock.  After all avenues are exhausted, they must accept what’s coming.

            The second half of the book is about how the family copes with his loss and shows them that sometimes there are second chances at happiness.  Love can come disguised and when least expected.

Have you read any memorable books?

Raining in the Desert

A storm is afoot

It’s dreary and cold today.  We don’t get much rain in the desert.  The cats are curled up in warm places, no sun spots streaming through the windows to lie out in today.  It is 50 degrees, so not terrible compared to other parts of the country, but I’m cold and have on thermals again today.  As you can see by some of these pictures, everything is misty out and shrouded in fog.  The bright side is we’re saving on the water bill.  There always has to be a bright side to everything if you look around enough to find it.

Tootie and Raven huddled in a chair

Koki on top of the modem - her favorite place when it's cold

I should be writing on my novel today, but instead I’ve been reading the news pages on the internet.  Slap my hands!  I’ll never get this mystery finished at this rate.  It’s one of those days to grab a good book, curl up in a chair with a blanket and a cat in your lap.

Mountains behind the house shrouded in fog and mists

My intention was to go to a good-bye party for our newspaper editor this afternoon, but I didn’t want to get out in this rain with all the slick roads and the nuts out there.  Our editor has been with the paper here for twelve years.  He writes a weekly column about life that’s interesting.  I hate to see him leave because now we’ll probably get a Mormon replacement, which is the dominate faith here.  I’m really surprised that he was able to secure the job for that long.  It’s a wonderful thing he did and he’ll be missed.  As far as I can see there is no upside to this story, but I shouldn’t be so quick to make a judgment until I see what’s coming next.  To be continued…

Raindrops on the window

I’m leaving the state anyway, as soon as my house sells, so what do I really care?  And the editor is leaving the state to pursue other interests in Nebraska of all places.  I could have picked a better destination than that, but I know he has his reasons and I wish him well.

 The red mountain Ivins is famous for

 

I don’t know many people in the minority that can stay here very long.  I talked to a girl last fall that was leaving before her first year was up.  Life is different in Utah.  No bars, no dancing, discrimination against people in the minority religion, and animal neglect are the first things that come to mind.  There are many others.  Maybe someday I’ll write more about my experiences living here.

On a high note, Raven’s one-year anniversary of living with me is coming up in a week.  He’s such a good boy and so happy.  Look for stories and more pictures.

Signing off from the soggy desert…

Entering NaNo

From National Novel Writing Month Website

Well this is my first time to enter the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest, held every November. This is something I say I’m going to do every year and I’ve never gotten to it. I do have it on my “bucket list,” so I thought I’d just face the situation this year and take a shot at this.


I’m writing a mystery/thriller book this time instead of my usual fantasy and so far, it’s going petty well. I had some notes on paper here and there and on the computer. I have posted snippets from time to time. So far, things are off to a good start, and I’m ahead of schedule on word count, however this is only day three, as I’m writing this post ahead, so not sure where I’ll actually be on the 18th when this will be posted to the blog. I feel like this is a good thing, to be ahead, because you never know when those unexpected moments in life crop up. Curve balls always seem to head my way where everything derails and I’m not able to keep up my routine.

I really have no idea what to expect from this adventure, but I’m so positive with my attitude that I really think at this point that I’ll finish with my 50,000 words, time will tell. I’m sure it will have moments when I want to pull my hair out, but it will be an accomplishment to finish.

That is just the beginning of my plan. I will be taking that novel, rewriting, editing, polishing, etc to enter in the ABNA contest in January. I’ve entered everyone since its inception and I’m not about to stop now. I don’t expect to win, but it is fun and a great learning experience, also lots of camaraderie with the ABNA, not unlike what we have here on the blogs.

If anyone else here is entering the NaNo, good luck to you. Remember when it gets tough, you must keep going and not give up. We really have to put forth everything we have into everything we do.

Good luck all. Happy writing.