Wednesday On Writing - Writing With "Dragon"

I'm trying out this Dragon Naturally Speaking speech-recognition dictation program again. I haven't used it since Ian got his new computer, but just before New Year’s, he hooked it up for me and helped me with the set up. He also loaded it into my laptop, so ideally, I should be able to write anywhere and not just at this desktop computer. I hope it will help me to be more productive with my writing, especially since I've been having recurring pain and numbness with my shoulder, arm and hand. It figures that of all places for me to have pain it would have to be my writing arm.

It's definitely a little weird using this program. I have to train it to understand and interpret my voice and that's not easy because I tend to talk fast, and, with my long-time sinus problem, my voice is nasally. The last time I used the program, to type Michelle's first draft of her Blackboard book a few years back, there were all kinds of odd little typos and misinterpretations. It was pretty funny!

And it's also a little strange dictating my words into a microphone rather than writing them out in longhand or typing them. When I think of dictation, I picture some kind of retro-era businessman or professor or pompous autobiographer walking around his office, telling his secretary what to write in a business letter, classroom plan, or memoir., And the secretary furiously scribbling in shorthand or speed typing at over hundred words per minute.

But, with the recent developments in voice activation technology, anyone should be able to use it for any form of writing, as shown in the Dragon commercials currently on cable TV. And in many cases it can be easier to use Dragon, rather than traditional methods of writing.

After all, what is writing anyway but a form of communication? I guess I have to get over the idea that writing must be done with a pen or a computer keyboard. There have been some amazing works written with nontraditional methods, by authors who have been disabled in some way. Stephen Hawking has written many science books by twitching his facial muscle at letters on a computer screen until those letters make up words and sentences. The Irish author Christy Brown, who had severe cerebral palsy, wrote several books using just his left foot – as depicted in the biographical movie, My Left Foot. And Helen Keller wrote her many essays and books on a Braille typewriter and also used a manual alphabet to dictate her words into the hands of her editor.

I would never think to compare myself in any way to these remarkable and renowned people – I’m just mentioning them to back up the fact that writing can be done in many different forms. And I’m very grateful that my pain condition is not a serious disability.

But at the same time, I’m also glad there’s a program like Dragon, to make writing a bit more manageable and less frustrating, when I’m not able to use the pen or keyboard. And I hope I can become adept in using it, and that it will help me to be more successful in accomplishing my writing goals this year, and in the future.

New Year's Writing Goals for 2012

January 1, 2012 - 9:30 pm

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”

My friend Michelle e-mailed this quote as a New Year’s greeting to me and her other friends. I related to it right away, and wrote back to her, saying that I’m making this my mantra for the New Year.

The quote was sent to her as a New Year’s newsletter from Infinity Publishing, a self-publishing house. It wasn’t ascribed to anyone, so I did a Google search on it. Renowned self-improvement author Napoleon Hill said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” But the actual wording of the Infinity Publishing quote is attributed to Diana Scharf Hunt, the author of some study guides for students, and a book that sounds really interesting to me – The Tao of Time.

The description of the book says, "Drawing on the timeless wisdom of the East, The Tao of Time provides a whole new approach to time management that gives the reader productivity as well as freedom and fulfillment. With visualizations, awareness exercises, and examples from executives and time-study experts, this book will help readers manage and enjoy their entire life."

It seems to be out-of-print, but I think I want to try to find a used copy to order. Time management is always an issue for me, and I think the Eastern approach would be good for my right-brained, ADD way of thinking.

And I have the quote in mind, as I’m once again creating a list of writing goals for the New Year. Many are the same ones that I’ve made and written in my past blog posts each January 1^st. I feel like the proverbial resolution-makers and breakers, who each year promise themselves they’ll lose weight or quit smoking or save more money, only to find themselves back to start at the beginning of the next year.

But today, on the first day of 2012, I’m feeling more committed to my writing goals, as well as my general goals of each New Year, like taking better care of my health and spending more quality time with my family and friends. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been feeling well lately, so I’m more aware that I’m getting older and am not physically as young as I mentally and emotionally feel. Or maybe it’s because I can remember past New Year’s Eves and Days from years ago, as clearly as if they were just last year. I feel like time moves by faster than I can measure or keep up, and I can’t get it back again. So I want to actually make some progress this year – with my writing goals especially.

As always, I want to finish at least one of my book projects. Last year, I did pretty well with my teen novel, disAPPEAR, especially during “March Madness – Writer’s Style,” the novel-in-a-month writing challenge I took on with my writing friends Michelle, Lisa and Janine. But I ended up putting that project on the back-burner, because it seemed way too close to my real-life teen years for comfort.

I’ve thought about getting back to What Luck, my tween novel – I was more than halfway through the first draft before shelving it a couple of years ago. So I might take a look at it and see what I can do to finish it.

I also have a teen time-travel novel, inspired by the Dover Stone Church, in mind, and a different time-travel scenario for a small series of teen books. I’ve done some early research and made notes on each of them, but don’t know yet which one to start first.

But the story that’s held my attention and interest the most lately is my adult time-travel novel, about the woman who meets up with her 20-years-younger self, and inadvertently switches places with her. I haven’t had much time for actual writing in the past few months, mostly because of the hectic retail holiday season at work, but I have done some online research and I’ve written some plot notes and character sketches. So for now, that’s the story I’ll focus on the most. And I’ll do my best to see it through to the end of at least a first draft, this year.

I also plan to keep up with my journal writing, as often as possible. Ideally, I’d like to write Morning Pages every day, based on Julia Cameron’s program in her book, The Artist’s Way. But it will be fine if I can write in my journal at least 4 – 5 mornings or nights a week.

And then there’s this blog. In past years, I started a brand new blog each January 1^st. But I kept the same blog from 2009 – 2010, and this year, I’m continuing this one. I think the consistency will help my writing. But I want to post much more frequently, so I think I want to try a posting schedule, like I’ve seen in many other blogs.

Several blogs use alliterative post titles, like “Tuesday’s Thoughts” and “Wordless Wednesdays.” So I’m going to try something like that. I’ll start off with three posts a week: “Monday’s Muse” – about something that inspires my writing, or the time-travel themes of some of my books. And “Wednesday on Writing” – an update on my writing projects, or something I’ve read or found out about an author, book trends, or publishing in general. And “Flashback Friday” – a memory of something that happened during the same week in my past. I’ll probably write some other posts too, any time there’s something significant going on that pertains to writing or creativity. So I’ll see how that works out.

And my deadline for accomplishing these writing goals will be by this time, next year. So hopefully, my post for that New Year's Day will be about these dreams becoming a reality.

Happy 2012 New Year, everyone!

Time For a Blog Reboot

November 24, 2011 - 3:40 am

Today was a double-holiday for me – Thanksgiving, as well as my birthday. Since holidays – especially birthdays – tend to be significant time markers, it seems to be a good time to resume my blog again. A kind of reboot: Writing On Time, Version 2.0.

Looking back over my previous blog posts, I realized that I haven’t kept up with the blog since June, when I wrote a memorial to my aunt. That’s about five months. Between work and personal issues, I let the time get away from me, and I wasn’t as creatively productive as I want to be.

But birthdays can be a chance for renewal, so I’m renewing my writing goals, but this time, it’s with a realistic framework, given the current circumstances in this life.

It’s a demanding time at work – tomorrow is Black Friday, and Christmas is just a month away. A lot of my physical and mental energy will be spent on making it through the frenzied retail holiday season – “without being taken out of the bookstore in handcuffs, or a straightjacket, or a body bag,” as I always say! And I’ll spend my hours away from the store trying to catch up on rest, and trying to see my family and some friends.

I know I won’t have much time or mental clarity to focus on any long writing projects, at least until the New Year. But I’ll try to keep my thoughts connected to my two novel projects that have been on the front-burner in my mind, and I’ll make notes, work on character profiles and plot points, and write scenes as often as I can. I’ll also write in my journal every day that I can, and I’ll try to post a lot more often in this blog.

And, since it’s Thanksgiving, I’m thinking of all the things that I’m grateful for in this life: My family, and the fact that they’re all here and healthy enough to celebrate this Thanksgiving together. Ian and my friends and extended family – I never get to spend enough time with many of them ( if Ian and I didn’t live together, we would never get to see each other!) but I really appreciate them all. All of my favorite books, music, movies and television shows – they are so creatively inspiring, and also provide a great distraction from the stresses of day to day life. And most of all, my writing ability – I could never imagine this life and everything in this world (and beyond) without being able to see it all through a writer’s eyes and with a writer's mind.

So I think I need to honor this writing ability by renewing my commitment to writing. I will try my best to stay motivated, despite the time constraints and the ups and downs that may occur in the coming year. And, hopefully, it will be a much more productive time for me.

One of my birthday presents this year was from my sister, who’s a very creative and artistic multi-media craftsperson. She gave me some beautiful hand-beaded jewelry, and some pretty and cozy hand-crocheted accessories. But the best thing was this simple and inspiring framed print –

I’ve put it near my desk and Ian’s computer, so every time I sit down to write I can see it, and all of the components that make up a book and my writer’s life. I’ll work my way through my Fiction Stories, and bring my Characters to life, in Plots that I hope will be interesting. I’ll write Page by Page, until the Chapters build up, and one day (soon, I hope) I’ll type The End, and I’ll be the Author of a finished Book.

And hopefully, one day soon, I’ll be able to ask my sister to make up a new, revised print and add a word that will show my ultimate writing goal fulfilled – Published.

My Aunt's Inspiration

Yesterday I went with my parents to the funeral of my father’s sister – and my favorite aunt – Regina (Jean) DeMaroney. She passed away on Sunday, June 12^th, at the age of 83, in Madison, Wisconsin, where she and my uncle had moved several years ago, to be close to their only daughter; and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But the service was held in her hometown area of Standfordville, New York, at a picturesque country church filled with many relatives, love and memories.

My cousin Heather, Aunt Jean’s granddaughter, gave a heartfelt eulogy, emphasizing Aunt Jean’s love of family, and also her sense of fun and humor. Heather said that some of her best memories were of summers spent here in New York, and told of shopping trips and drives that were always adventures with Aunt Jean at the wheel! I remember many of them myself – when my sister and I were kids, she’d take my mom and us out, in her blue ‘60s Camaro convertible. My sister and I would sit in the back and beg her to put the top down. She always did, just for us, at the end of the drive, when it wouldn’t matter so much if her hair got windblown.

Then, other family members were invited to share their memories. At first, I thought I wouldn’t, because I’m not comfortable speaking in front of an audience. But, as I heard relatives remembering Aunt Jean’s great fashion sense; the pride she took in having a beautiful home; and how she was so helpful with renovating a cousin’s fixer-upper house, I felt that I wanted to talk about the love of books and writing that Aunt Jean and I shared. So, despite my discomfort and heightened emotion, I did. And I’m glad that I was able to honor my aunt’s creative side that was so inspiring to me.

I’ve been an avid reader since I first learned to read, and I’ve aspired to be a writer since I first learned to make up and write down stories in school. Aunt Jean was always interested in my stories, and encouraged me with my writing and reading. When she and my Uncle Lanny visited, I’d write little stories with pictures and give them to her. One story, that I wrote when I was in second grade, was about my cat Blackie. Many years later, when she hosted a family picnic, Aunt Jean brought out that little story and read it aloud to all of the relatives, to my chagrin and amusement! But she wanted everyone to know that she always believed in my writing talent. She was always interested to hear about my latest class paper, story idea or work-in-progress, and was proud of my high grades in English.

Whenever my family and I visited my aunt and uncle, they encouraged me to peruse their bookshelves, full of bestselling novels, interesting biographies and history titles. I borrowed and read many of their books, from Stephen King’s Carrie to Jessamyn West’s The Friendly Persuasion to Antonia Fraser’s Mary, Queen of Scots. And my aunt and I have had many great discussions about books over the years.

And sometimes, Aunt Jean would share poems that she’d written with me. She liked to write them, as an expression of her thoughts and feelings about the world around her, and she appreciated my feedback. But it seemed like writing was mostly an enjoyable hobby for her.

Until one day when she called and told me that she’d written a children’s picture book, and she wanted me to illustrate it. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I told her that I’m not an artist – I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush or even crayon since my school days (I was in my mid-twenties then). But she said she’d always loved my drawings, and she was sure I could bring her book to life. So how could I say no? Especially when she came over with the story – it was a sweet tale of an ant named Beauregard, and the adventures he had on a journey to visit his relatives in the big city. She’d also brought me some drawing paper and colored pencils, so I gave it a try. Over the next several months, she described the details of the story’s scenes that she envisioned, and I did my best to create drawings that matched, with her encouragement. The pictures turned out pretty well, and I was glad that she was pleased with them. It was an enjoyable and memorable collaboration.

She dreamed of sharing her book with children. My sister typed and proofread the manuscript, and Aunt Jean created a model copy of her book. She showed it to a local children’s book author once, and called me, enthused with the feedback. The author had said that the story was charming, and advised my aunt to take some courses to further develop her writing. I was so glad for her – I know how valuable positive professional feedback can be. And I encouraged her keep pursuing her goals, just as she always encouraged me.

When my aunt and uncle moved to Wisconsin, she enrolled in a creative writing class at the local college. At nearly sixty, she was one of the older students, but that didn’t deter her. She’d call me with the news of her latest assignment, excited that she’d shared her work with the teacher and students of all ages and backgrounds, and happy to hear their comments. She wrote poems in several different poetic forms; short stories; and a non-fiction piece about an unsolved murder that had happened decades ago in the area where she grew up and had fascinated her since she was young.

But her Beauregard story was still her favorite. And she had the opportunity to read it to the kids in the class that her daughter taught, and called to excitedly tell me about her experience. The children were delighted with the story, even drew their own pictures of their favorite scenes. It meant a lot to her to see and hear the natural reactions of the audience that the story was intended for, and even more, that they responded to it by creating artwork of their own. She was thrilled that she’d realized her dream of sharing her story with children; she was truly a children’s writer.

Aunt Jean has inspired me with her creative pursuits – she never let her age or lack of a literary college degree keep her from working toward her goals. And she always found enjoyment in her creativity, as much as in her finished works and her accomplishments.

So I’ll keep my aunt’s inspiration with me always, as I continue working on my own writing projects. And whenever I feel that my goals are a long-shot, or that I’m getting too old to keep it up, or I start to wonder why I’m still doing this, I’ll remember – Aunt Jean always kept reaching for her dreams. And I’ll be inspired to keep reaching for mine.

Thanks, Aunt Jean… with love.

March Madness Writer Style - The End of the Beginning

It’s March 31^st – the last day of the “March Madness – Writer Style” Novel-in-a-month challenge. And, unfortunately, I didn’t finish my first rough draft of disAppear. I fell pretty short of reaching the 50,000 words / 200 pages goal.

And I admit that I am a bit disappointed. I always seem to make goals and resolutions but then end up unable to reach them. But it’s OK. This writing challenge has been a good experience, despite how it’s turned out. And this is just the end of the beginning.

I also just finished reading No Plot? No Problem! – the NaNoWriMo writing guide by its founder, Chris Baty. At the end, he congratulates everyone who reached 50,000 words, but he also gives a still-congratulatory pep talk to those (like me) who fell short.

Here’s some of what he says (edited a bit):

“… if you fell a little short of 50,000 but still wrote your heart out, I have a little secret to share: In the course of this great experiment… the goal of 50,000 words has been, shall we say, overemphasized. … If you ‘only’ wrote 15,000 words over the past four weeks, you invented fifty… book pages of fiction. Those of you who made it to the 25,000-word point wrote eighty-three pages. In a month. … you chose to try. … You put your name out there for the world to see. You risked failure. And just by risking failure, you avoided it entirely. … You could have spent this month living your normal life. … Instead you agreed… to try and write more fiction than you ever have in a month. … You stepped up to the plate. And there is nothing more admirable… than someone willing to set for themselves the fearsome task of trying something big. So be proud, writer. You’ve done something fantastic this month, and I salute you for it.”

So, if the NaNoWriMo founder says it’s OK, then it will be OK with me. Because there are several things that I accomplished this past month –

*I wrote more words and pages in this month than I have in any other month, ever. Ian reminded me of this when I was lamenting to him last week that I probably wouldn’t make it to 50,000 words. He said, So what if you don’t? Just keep on writing – maybe it will take you five weeks instead of four, or maybe a little longer. The important thing is that you’ve written more than you ever have in a short timeframe like this. And he’s right. I worked on my previous work-in-progress, What Luck, on and off for two years, and got to about the same point that I’ve reached in disAppear, after just a month of working on it. So I think that’s pretty good!

*I struggled to break my habit of writing a scene and then re-writing it before moving on to the next scene. I kept my self-editing to a minimum, and only re-wrote three times. There were two different scenes that were difficult to write, and they turned out to be so stilted and dull that I had to re-write just to put some life into them so the story could move forward. And I also re-wrote the first 15 pages of the book, so it can be ready to send in for the manuscript critique at the June SCBWI conference. So I think I’m winning the re-writing battle!

*I also wrestled with my writing ADD – to mitigate my habit of constantly shifting my commitment and attention on my current work-in-progress in favor of new story ideas that seem fresher and more interesting. Although I did think about some of my other stories, I focused only on disAppear and didn’t work on any other novel or short story projects all month. I did write in my Morning Pages journal frequently, and I also wrote three blog posts – two of the blogs were about this challenge. So I think I tamed my writing ADD pretty well – hopefully I can keep it in check!

And I’ve learned some things about my writing, too –

*I’m not really an on-the-fly kind of writer. I really admire those who can leap right into a writing project with abandon and can keep the momentum going, even if they’re not quite sure where the story is headed or how it will turn out; and even if they run into obstacles along the way – they firmly believe they will get there in the end, until they do. I wish I could write with that kind of conviction. But I need to have a sense of where my story is going, and some kind of path to follow from the beginning to the end – even if it gets dark and winding through the middle, I need to know the path is still there. I’ve had the story idea for disAppear for several years, so I had a general sense of the main characters and what would happen to them, and how it reflects the theme of the story. So I did pretty well with the beginning. But I hit a wall in the middle, and struggled to write through it. This past weekend, I had a clear vision of the ending, so I sketched it out and also told Ian about it. But then I had to get back to the middle of the story, and I got bogged down in trying to figure out how it would get to the end. I just couldn’t see the path. I’ve never been into formal outlines, but I do think I need to work out the different plot points and their place in the story. So I got a pack of index cards, so I can write out a different card for all the plot points, and other story details. And then I can lay them out and move them around, until hopefully, they’ll help create a path for the story to follow until the end.

*I’m not too good at faking knowledge. I also admire writers who can write around an unknown topic and keep the pace going – they save any research for later. But I don’t think I can write convincingly about a topic if I don’t know anything about it. I’d rather get some kind of grasp of a subject so I can write about it with enough knowledge to make it clear and realistic. So I sometimes turned to research, online and in books, when I came upon unfamiliar subjects. I’ve learned some things about adolescent psychology, small-town police forces, school codes of conduct, and even bowling – just enough for me to be able to write those topics into the story and then keep moving it forward.

*This story is turning out to be longer and more complex than I could write in just a month’s time. Because I haven’t yet written a complete novel from beginning to end, I’m learning more and more about writing as I go along – things like how develop well-rounded, realistic characters who grow and change throughout the story; how to work a subplot into the main plot; and how to pace the ups and downs of the story arcs while building the novel toward the climax. I’ve been figuring it out, with the help of some of the many writing books that I have. And also by thinking about books that I’ve read and paying attention to the book I’m currently reading. I think that reading is as important as writing, and can help improve it.

*I can’t write for many long hours at a time. My attention span begins to wander (an ADD symptom, I think!); I start to feel sore and tired, and sometimes I need to step away from the computer and do something else. I did go out a few times, and also spent some time with Ian and my family. And I worked full-time all month, too. But that’s OK. Chris Baty also says, “Despite what you may have learned last month, sustained writing is best accomplished as part of a balanced lifestyle.” So I’ll keep trying to find the balance of my writing with day-to-day life.

As of tonight, I’ve written just 20,457 words – only 66 pages. But this isn’t the end; it’s just the end of the beginning. I’m going to continue to work on disAppear tomorrow, as well as the next day and the day after that, and every day until I get to the end. I’ll still keep track of my word count, and resist the urge to go back and do a lot of re-writing – at least until the first draft is finished. And I’ll focus on the goal of having a completed manuscript by the time of the June 11^th SCBWI conference.

After the experience of this “March Madness” writing challenge, I feel pretty confident that Spring will be a time of creative and productive writing. And I’ll keep posting about my book’s progress, until the time that I can say that I’ve made it to the end!

The "Madness" of This March 30-Day Novel Writing Challenge

It’s March 16 – just over the 2-week mark of the 30-day novel writing challenge that I embarked on at the beginning of the month with my writing friends Michelle, Lisa and Janine.

And at this point I have to admit that taking on a venture like this is easier said than done.

There have been a lot of starts and stops; ups and downs; and feelings of resolve and uncertainty along the way so far.

But I expected this – I knew it was going to be a crazy experience from the start. And it’s been interesting, too. A crash course in writing, but in so much more.

I’m so glad that Janine created the “March Madness – Writer Style” Facebook group for us. It’s been great to check in with everyone each day to see how it’s been going with them. We post comments about our progress and frustrations and give each other encouragement. And I’m glad to know that we’re all going through this together, and that we seem to share some similar feelings and situations with our writing. I really appreciate having this awesome support group!

I saw Michelle tonight – she and her mom had me and Ian over for dinner. Michelle has had several hard days physically – her fibromyalgia symptoms have been heightened with the changeable weather; day-to-day errands and responsibilities; and late writing nights. But she perseveres, and even when she’s not able to write, bits of her daily life have been inspiring her. The history shows that she watches on TV help to add authentic details to the early-20^th century setting of her middle-grade book. And Makai, the little boy that she and her mom babysit, inspires some of her characters with his funny and wise sayings; his energy and his observations of the world around him. And her faith and outlook on life help to give a meaningful theme to her story. She’s upbeat about the challenge, and is matter-of-fact about the 30-day time frame. She said she’s a bit behind on her page count, but she’s confident that she’ll catch up before the end. I think she will, too.

I saw Lisa briefly last week, when she and Michelle stopped into the store. We talked for a few minutes, and agreed that it’s a great experience to be able to do this writing challenge as a group. She has been so helpful and encouraging – when I asked if it’s normal to feel tired and frustrated during the second week, she said that week 2 seems to be notorious for such feelings and reminded me that it’s an exhausting undertaking, but so worth it in the end. She’s also posted links to the NaNoWriMo website, featuring pep talks by authors Aimee Bender and Sara Gruen, as well as the creator of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty. It’s been interesting to get the perspective of published authors on the 30-day novel challenge. Lisa said she’s also behind on her word count, but is playing catch-up, and her story is beginning to come together.

Janine has been writing weekly blog posts about her writing experience on her “Mindful Wanderings” LiveJournal (www.lucas7261.livejournal.com). I really enjoy reading her conversational and insightful pieces. She uses descriptive metaphors, like comparing the writing challenge to going on a blind date – meeting her story, trying to pay attention and learn all she can about it, and then thinking about it all the time. And, to extend her Spring Training sports analogy, she said that she was thrown a curveball this week – an assignment to go to a work conference in California. She planned to work on her story during the flight out there, in an attempt to keep her interest in it – she said that she’s fallen behind while struggling to flesh out her story idea, and has been thinking of her previous work-in-progress that she shelved in order to have a fresh idea for this challenge. She was determined to balance out work on her current story with some work on her other story – I hope she’ll have some productive writing time among her work time. I can really relate to Janine’s struggle with her “writing ADD” and I admire her statement, “I refuse to give up.” That’s a great attitude!

I also feel like I have writing ADD – it’s been so hard to stay focused on this novel-on-progress and the 30-day timeframe for these past couple of weeks. I’ve had several ups and downs – bursts of inspiration and productivity, followed by feelings of uncertainty and a halt in my writing.

The first few days were great – I re-worked my previous prologue for disAPPEAR, and wrote the first couple of chapters with little problem or hesitancy. My main character’s voice and personality were pretty strong in my mind, and I had a good grasp of the supporting characters. I set up the story, about a high-school girl who’s bored at the start of summer vacation and wishes for a dramatic kind of life. And I had a good idea of the story’s arc – things happen among her family, but the incidents are harmful and devastating, rather than interesting and exciting. And my character has to struggle with her family’s growing dysfunction. I even figured out how the story will end.

But then I hit a wall. I needed to show a gradual decline, over the summer and into the school year. So I had to give my character and her friends some things to do during their vacation and during school, rather than have them wait from plot point to plot point. I didn’t want to just borrow from my own teen years, so I started to research different activities for teens and students online. And ended up spending a lot of non-writing time before coming up with the details I needed.

Then it was the first weekend, and Ian and I had plans for each night after work. We saw a friend’s band play on Friday, and attended an art and music opening at our neighborhood café on Saturday. I had no extra time for writing. But I reasoned that I rarely get any nights off from work, and I need to have some kind of social life, too!

By Monday, I was back on track, and back to working nights and staying up very late writing. I had some productive days, and felt like the story was moving along. Last Thursday, I wrote 2,060 words, and my word count for Friday was 3,327. That was the most I’d done in a day. I felt like I was making up for the non-writing weekend, and that it was actually possible to finish a rough first draft in a month.

But then I hit an even bigger wall – of exhaustion – on Saturday. I had to work from 12-8pm, so I thought I’d go in early and spend about an hour writing in the café. But I was so tired and my mind was so foggy that I could barely string together words into a coherent sentence. I wondered – if I felt like this only a third of the way through the month, how awful will I feel by the end of it all? It felt like a crazy thing to do, and I wondered – why am I putting myself through this?

I had to remind myself that it’s to actually FINISH writing a book, so I can feel like I can accomplish what I’ve always wanted to do in this life. And then it made sense again.

I posted my frustrations on the “March Madness” page, and Lisa replied with her wise words and encouraging article links. I felt better, but I still couldn’t fit any writing time into last weekend. I couldn’t keep my usual vampire hours on Saturday night – I had to get to sleep early because setting the clocks ahead for daylight savings time made the night an hour shorter, and I had to work at 9am on Sunday.

So by Sunday night, I was so burned out that I was distracted, and couldn’t focus on my story. I kept switching back and forth from writing to going online to read reports and look at pictures and videos of a weekend media event for my favorite TV show, Supernatural. That was fun, but not too productive. But I still managed to write 1,297 more words, and I was able to add some much-needed conflict into my story. So I guess it was a semi-productive night.

But for the past few days I’ve felt like my novel has stalled again. On Monday night, I wrote a short, 919-word transitioning scene. But now I’m not exactly sure what happens next. I feel like I’m wandering around in the darkness of the middle of the book, and I’m looking for a light and a path that will lead in a forward direction. But I haven’t found it yet.

And for the past couple of days, while I’ve been at work, I’ve found myself thinking of my character Madalyn. But that’s not a good thing – because Madalyn is a character in another book project that I’ve sketched out but put aside so I could try this challenge. I really need to stop feeling tempted by how much more interesting the other book seems to be, even as it appears to be trying to get and keep my attention. That will be my next book project, I promise!

But for now, I need to stay focused on Alannah, my main character in disAPPEAR, and her story. I think I might need to do a sort of outline, to figure out each plot point and when it will happen in the book. And I also might have to just jump right into writing the next incident, without trying to figure out how to get from where the story is now to there. I guess I can worry about the transition later on, in my rewrite.

So tonight was another night spent without writing for the 30-day challenge. But I feel better now that I’ve let out all of my frustrations and uncertainties, and have written about all the small accomplishments I’ve made despite it all.

This has been a wildly unpredictable experience so far. Sort of like a rollercoaster. And I only went on a rollercoaster once – it was enough for me to get to say that I tried it. Maybe I should think of this novel challenge the same way. At the end, at least I’ll be able to say that I tried it. And hopefully, I’ll even have a finished first draft to show for it.

And that would be an amazing accomplishment – one that’s worth all this March Madness!

March Madness - Writer Style is Off To a Good Start!

So far, the "March Madness - Writer Style" 30 -day novel challenge is off to a good start! Last night, after work and a very late writing session, I checked in with the Facebook page that Janine set up for us. It was great to see that we all posted that we had a productive first day.

Our NaNoWriMo veteran, Lisa, said she had been spinning her wheels over how to begin her new story, but then she "embraced the badness" of what she was writing and settled for a beginning, that might not even make it into the book eventually. "But who cares really," she said. "It's moving forward!" I'm so glad she's got the experience and wisdom that we can turn to, as we go through this challenge. She's proven time and time again that with perseverance, even a seemingly-crazy goal like this can be accomplished!

Michelle is using the challenge to continue her book about the little girl whose father owns a boarding house in the 1930s. She's written about 34 pages of it already, so she's got a good head start on it. Because of her fibromyalgia, Michelle can't write for long periods of time - if she sits in one place for too long, her pain and fatigue settle deep into her body, and if she holds a pen or types for too long, her hands cramp. I suggested that she subtract the 34 pages she already has from the estimated NaNoWriMo word goal of 50,000 words, or approximately 185 - 200 pages. That would give her about 150 pages to write by the end of the month, which works out to about 4 1/2 pages instead of 6 - 6 1/2 pages. I think that as long as she can do her writing time in short spurts, with a lot of rest in between, she'll be able to do it. Her health comes first, but despite her disability, she's still a very creative person and has been very prolific with her writing. And I admire her for that a lot!

Janine said she wrote about 1,600 words in about two hours. She had started her novel before we decided to take the challenge, too, so she's already about 1,500 words into it. She also is blogging about her experience with "March Madness." In her first post, she compared it to Spring Training, for a sport like soccer or marathon running. I like that analogy - even though I've never been into sports, writing does take the same kind of dedication. And it requires practice for mental and creative fitness, much like sports require practice for physical fitness. In yesterday's post, she admitted to going online to look things up and listen to music when she found herself hitting a wall - many times it does affect her story, so she counts it as "research." I can relate to this so much! I always find myself hitting the internet whenever I hit a writing wall, and sometimes I can find exactly the information I need so I can keep writing instead of getting stuck. But sometimes I end up doing more "research" than actual writing. So I have to learn to balance it all! I told Janine that I'm glad to know someone who seems to have the same kind of writing "techniques" as I have! I'm looking forward to reading more of Janine's posts - her blog is "Mindful Wanderings" and it's on LiveJournal, at www.lucas7261.livejournal.com.

As for me, I stayed up until 2:20 am, working on the beginning of disAPPEAR, and I wrote 1,612 words. I had already written a prologue some time ago, but I re-worked it so that much of it is new. I'm still trying to break my habit of re-writing as I write - I found myself rambling, and then going back and editing myself, just to make the passages clearer. I can't help myself - it's a compulsion! But I did keep going, so that's good. And if I can keep moving my writing forward, and keep my self-editing to a minimum, that might be the best way I can finish my project.

Today, I continued from where I left off, but I didn't get too far yet. There are still some things I'm working out in my mind about the story. So I'm going to mull it over while I'm at work tonight, and then I'll hit the keyboard when I get home. Another night of burning the midnight oil. But with my mostly-nights work schedule, this seems to work best for me, so far.

So, that's the report for Day 1 - I'm so glad to see that we all had a successful first day!