Right now, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is when I feel thankful.
Thanksgiving Day? Not so much. I've been suffering through an uncharacteristically strong cold lately. Usually when I get sick it doesn't last long, but this one took a good week to slowly build up in my chest, and then my head, peaking in the days right before Thanksgiving. I'm sure there were several people at Thanksgiving dinner who would have been more comfortable had my violent cough and I stayed home for the day, or at least were happy for the peace and quiet that followed whenever we left the room. So even though dinner was great, Thanksgiving Day was not full of enjoyment for me this year. Still I was thankful it was only a bad cold, and I was still able to make it for dinner and spend the day with my family.
The Friday after was better. I spent the morning and afternoon switching between editing the new manuscript and taking power naps, one of which lasted a blessed three hours. I felt worlds better waking up from that one, and made it to the Friday Post-Thanksgiving party at my sister's house without having to show up as Scary Coughing Guy again. Tons more food, most of the same people, different dogs, shorter drive home for me. Instead of board games to keep the non-television watchers busy, one of my cousins and nephew #1 pooled their musical equipment in the basement for what has become a traditional open jam session of sorts. Not a lot of actual improvisational jamming going on (though Nephew #1 and I did have a quick bit of some cool guitar / drums 12 bar blues going), but just shuffling through the sheet music my cousin has collected during the 35 odd years of keeping his band together in some form. During the night we rotated through at least three guitarists, one bass player, three keyboardists, three drummers, and I think at least nine singers for what I think was close to three hours of playing music. It was a good time, even if it got really hot in the corner of the basement where the drumset was stashed. I think I sweated through my shirt and the shirts of the two people next to me. Friday I was thankful to be part of such a large an unusually close family.
Which brings us to Saturday. Today I sat here at the Mac and perused the rest of the manuscript, looking for any obvious edits and revisions that were needed. And even though the thing runs just over 200 pages in its final version (according to Microsoft Word), I managed to meet my ultimate goal: To write an entire book, from the first word of the story to the a solid clean-up revision, in less than a month. The whole thing took 28 days. Four weeks from beginning to end. And the thing of it is, after reading through it I can say that I'm very proud of how it turned out. So today I'm thankful that I completed that goal. Even if I almost feel like it doesn't really count since it happened so quickly. But it was a story I needed to tell, which is probably why it happened the way it did.
So having said that -- anyone who wants to read it, just give me a holler. Send me an e-mail if you have my address, or drop a note in my Facebook Inbox, now that I'm back on there occasionally (though I don't care as much about Bejeweled Blitz anymore, which is really for the best). If you're local and you want to wait for a printed copy to find its way to you, let me know so I can get your name on the list. If you'd rather I just sent you a PDF, I can do that too.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Big Five-Oh
Yesterday afternoon I forced myself to finish off surpassing the National Novel Writing Month goal of completing 50,000 words -- I actually ended for the day at 50,003. I'd feel more excitement about it if that meant that the book was going to be done, but there's still some clean-up to do before I'm ready to say I have a complete draft. I think I mentioned here once before that I don't write chronologically. The best analogy I can think of to explain where I am right now is this: Imagine you had just spent a lot of very focused time trying to complete an enormous and detailed jigsaw puzzle by a deadline. And you got all of the pieces together, but only then realized that the puzzle was a little bigger than it said it would be on a box, and for some reason the pieces that you need to finish it have been scattered throughout the room, and you have to go look for them before you can put them all together. Does that make sense?
I don't feel any more pressure. I've reached the goal, and as soon as I can get my word count verified I'll be able to upload my scrambled manuscript and will be awarded with my downloadable PDF certificate. Yay. But I'd still really like to get the rest of what I have to do knocked off in a month. But since I only have school on two of the next seven days, I think I'll have the time I need. It's kind of superficial, but my self-imposed goal at this point in the game is to have this finished so someone will eventually read it and say something like "You wrote THIS? In a MONTH?!"
It won't be an easy read. There's a little darkness in there, some pretty raw emotion, and it will make some people uncomfortable. Not because they'll recognize themselves because even if I did begin some characters with specific people in mind as models, the characters evolved along the way, and I think some became the most fully-realized characters I've ever come up with. Not that this is saying a whole bunch. But still. I'm happy with how it's turned out. Or how I know it will turn out by the time I'm done.
I don't feel any more pressure. I've reached the goal, and as soon as I can get my word count verified I'll be able to upload my scrambled manuscript and will be awarded with my downloadable PDF certificate. Yay. But I'd still really like to get the rest of what I have to do knocked off in a month. But since I only have school on two of the next seven days, I think I'll have the time I need. It's kind of superficial, but my self-imposed goal at this point in the game is to have this finished so someone will eventually read it and say something like "You wrote THIS? In a MONTH?!"
It won't be an easy read. There's a little darkness in there, some pretty raw emotion, and it will make some people uncomfortable. Not because they'll recognize themselves because even if I did begin some characters with specific people in mind as models, the characters evolved along the way, and I think some became the most fully-realized characters I've ever come up with. Not that this is saying a whole bunch. But still. I'm happy with how it's turned out. Or how I know it will turn out by the time I'm done.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Random Thoughts at 33,705 Words
Another Nanowrimo update....
**I'm well ahead of the recommended word count pace, and in a very good position to reach the 50,000 word goal by the end of this coming week even if the book itself will still require more. I plan on cracking 40,000 before Monday morning since I have arranged a weekend with few distractions. I'm reaching a point where I have to think a little harder about what scenes I want to construct for the story to play out the way it should, but the words are still coming fast and furious. My self-imposed Facebook banishment has turned out to be unnecessary, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea anyway. I might even pop on for a moment today and put up a link to this post.
**November is one of my favorite months at school, and this one is particularly nice. One month of school, sixteen days of lesson plans to write. The only full week that takes place in November starts on Monday, followed by our wonderful annual two-day week preceding Thanksgiving. It's come up in conversation a lot lately, probably with the whole Novel Writing Month going on, but as much as I love teaching, the actual teaching part of teaching, I'm pretty sure if I found myself in a position to leave it behind and write full time and be financially secure, I'd do it. Everything that called me to teaching is still there. The thrill of having a lesson go exactly the way you planned. The satisfaction of seeing an idea come together in someone who didn't understand it before and knowing you made it happen. The respect that you are occasionally paid by members of the community, and the place you have in the community that builds up around you when you teach in the same school for several years. The relationships you have with your students; the hard-nosed kids who will finally start cutting you breaks, the ones who draw pictures for you to hang up by your desk, the way their personalities are so defined and how they come together to establish a different classroom dynamic than any other class you had, and that small handful of students that you click with, those boys and girls you understand so well because they think so much like you do and they're so easy to teach. There are a couple of those every year, and they're always fun to have around.
There are a lot of things about teaching I love, but those things are static. They're always there, and they never change. Meanwhile, everything bad about teaching gets to be a little more every year. I figure there has to be a point when it will eventually becoming "going to work" instead of "going to school." And if that happens, I think I could walk pretty easily as long as there was an Option B waiting in the wings.
**Even though I said I was pulling away from Bookface completely, I will admit to sneaking on a couple of times, but only when there are reasons; I've had a few research questions I've had to talk to different people about, and BF has been the most convenient way to make sure I reach them. Having said that though, I'm happy to say that the time I've spent logged in has fallen off greatly, and it's really been a relief. I don't miss Blitz at all, and my life doesn't feel diminished by not knowing who is a fan of what or what's going on for so many people in Farmville and Mafia Wars, or whether or not someone is getting geared up for Saturday night. I think the relief is also coming from the time-management I've had to implement to make sure I have time to write. It sure makes life easier when you force yourself to get things done when you need to.
**During one of my brief Bookface excursions, I saw someone all keyed up about the new Bon Jovi album. I was on the fence about getting it because Bon Jovi has put out a decade's worth of mediocre and clichéd filler in the more recent years, but I was bored so I downloaded it. Eh. Maybe three good songs, and some of the filler is better than usual. I don't see this one having any staying power. Bon Jovi hasn't worked their way into my heavy rotation since 1995, so this isn't a big surprise. But there are a couple of songs I'm glad to have.
**I'm kind of swimming upstream through feelings of melancholy today, and I'm looking forward to finding my way out of it. I won't get all self-indulgent and describe the reasons behind it, but suffice it to say it has to do with a dream I woke from about an hour ago, and the idea of how people get older and grow apart and leave each other behind.
Okay, enough bellyaching. The 34,000 word mark awaits....
**I'm well ahead of the recommended word count pace, and in a very good position to reach the 50,000 word goal by the end of this coming week even if the book itself will still require more. I plan on cracking 40,000 before Monday morning since I have arranged a weekend with few distractions. I'm reaching a point where I have to think a little harder about what scenes I want to construct for the story to play out the way it should, but the words are still coming fast and furious. My self-imposed Facebook banishment has turned out to be unnecessary, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea anyway. I might even pop on for a moment today and put up a link to this post.
**November is one of my favorite months at school, and this one is particularly nice. One month of school, sixteen days of lesson plans to write. The only full week that takes place in November starts on Monday, followed by our wonderful annual two-day week preceding Thanksgiving. It's come up in conversation a lot lately, probably with the whole Novel Writing Month going on, but as much as I love teaching, the actual teaching part of teaching, I'm pretty sure if I found myself in a position to leave it behind and write full time and be financially secure, I'd do it. Everything that called me to teaching is still there. The thrill of having a lesson go exactly the way you planned. The satisfaction of seeing an idea come together in someone who didn't understand it before and knowing you made it happen. The respect that you are occasionally paid by members of the community, and the place you have in the community that builds up around you when you teach in the same school for several years. The relationships you have with your students; the hard-nosed kids who will finally start cutting you breaks, the ones who draw pictures for you to hang up by your desk, the way their personalities are so defined and how they come together to establish a different classroom dynamic than any other class you had, and that small handful of students that you click with, those boys and girls you understand so well because they think so much like you do and they're so easy to teach. There are a couple of those every year, and they're always fun to have around.
There are a lot of things about teaching I love, but those things are static. They're always there, and they never change. Meanwhile, everything bad about teaching gets to be a little more every year. I figure there has to be a point when it will eventually becoming "going to work" instead of "going to school." And if that happens, I think I could walk pretty easily as long as there was an Option B waiting in the wings.
**Even though I said I was pulling away from Bookface completely, I will admit to sneaking on a couple of times, but only when there are reasons; I've had a few research questions I've had to talk to different people about, and BF has been the most convenient way to make sure I reach them. Having said that though, I'm happy to say that the time I've spent logged in has fallen off greatly, and it's really been a relief. I don't miss Blitz at all, and my life doesn't feel diminished by not knowing who is a fan of what or what's going on for so many people in Farmville and Mafia Wars, or whether or not someone is getting geared up for Saturday night. I think the relief is also coming from the time-management I've had to implement to make sure I have time to write. It sure makes life easier when you force yourself to get things done when you need to.
**During one of my brief Bookface excursions, I saw someone all keyed up about the new Bon Jovi album. I was on the fence about getting it because Bon Jovi has put out a decade's worth of mediocre and clichéd filler in the more recent years, but I was bored so I downloaded it. Eh. Maybe three good songs, and some of the filler is better than usual. I don't see this one having any staying power. Bon Jovi hasn't worked their way into my heavy rotation since 1995, so this isn't a big surprise. But there are a couple of songs I'm glad to have.
**I'm kind of swimming upstream through feelings of melancholy today, and I'm looking forward to finding my way out of it. I won't get all self-indulgent and describe the reasons behind it, but suffice it to say it has to do with a dream I woke from about an hour ago, and the idea of how people get older and grow apart and leave each other behind.
Okay, enough bellyaching. The 34,000 word mark awaits....
Sunday, November 8, 2009
23,552
My word count is sailing along! I seriously thought about writing another 1500 words tonight just to say I'd reached the halfway point, but decided that doing that wasn't going to make the book any better in the end, and since I'm probably well ahead of most of the other people doing this (today's pace goal would be 13,336 words), I figured it was best to take some time off and not necessarily dry up every idea I had.
Pretty exciting weekend since over the past two days I wrote most of the ending. There's still one more scene left, one kind of character reveal, one bit of emotional tenor, before I'm at what I think is THE END, but I'm close. And knowing how it's all going to end will hopefully make the rest of the stuff in between easier to figure out.
I'm starting to narrow down songs from my writing playlist as I write, picking out the ones that are really working the best for what I need them to do so I can ultimately put together a soundtrack album to go with the book. This is usually a collection of 10-15 songs that had the biggest impact on the writing, and sometimes I'll share the list with anyone curious enough to hear the music that helped me put the book together, particularly while they read it. I think that would be kind of cool, but not many people ever take me up on it. My first REAL book, the first one I count as an actual book, was written to nothing but Bruce Hornsby. My cancer memoir was written to a mix of songs that fit the tone, which is also what's happened with this one. My book from this past summer, a ghost story, was written to Iron Maiden, and creepy Iron Maiden songs specifically. The book I did for last November? Didn't have a playlist. Maybe that's why it turned out so half-baked.
Pretty exciting weekend since over the past two days I wrote most of the ending. There's still one more scene left, one kind of character reveal, one bit of emotional tenor, before I'm at what I think is THE END, but I'm close. And knowing how it's all going to end will hopefully make the rest of the stuff in between easier to figure out.
I'm starting to narrow down songs from my writing playlist as I write, picking out the ones that are really working the best for what I need them to do so I can ultimately put together a soundtrack album to go with the book. This is usually a collection of 10-15 songs that had the biggest impact on the writing, and sometimes I'll share the list with anyone curious enough to hear the music that helped me put the book together, particularly while they read it. I think that would be kind of cool, but not many people ever take me up on it. My first REAL book, the first one I count as an actual book, was written to nothing but Bruce Hornsby. My cancer memoir was written to a mix of songs that fit the tone, which is also what's happened with this one. My book from this past summer, a ghost story, was written to Iron Maiden, and creepy Iron Maiden songs specifically. The book I did for last November? Didn't have a playlist. Maybe that's why it turned out so half-baked.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
One Week Down
November 7 has me with a total count of 20,056 words. This puts me almost at a pace twice as fast as I need to be writing at to finish my 50,000 words by the end of the month. Not sure if it means I'll have 100,000 words by the end because this non-chronological thing I'm doing makes it hard to see what kind of progress I'm making. It's not like there's some progress bar I can watch, like a fund-raising goal thermometer poster that keeps filling red. I get an idea, I write it until it resolves itself or I run out of time or energy and have to return to it later, and then I move on. I see things forming, coming together. I'm getting a clearer picture of what the final product will be like and what I will have to change about what I already have to get there. I'm toying with the idea of taking a day off next weekend to just spend editing and revising and getting everything done at that point reconciled. Not to mention that this isn't a particularly easy story to tell. I've had a couple moments that have left me kind of emotionally used up, which overall isn't great but have fueled the story. So I guess I just put up with that for a month. It will be worth it in the end.
I'm really kind of amazed I've done 20,000 words in a week. I'd love to get another 5,000 done tomorrow and start the work week at the halfway point, but there's no way to tell how that's going to go.
And then while all of this is going on, I am rapidly closing in on the time window when I should be hearing back from the agency I submitted to back in August. Hard to not daydream about the possibilities, even if I know how likely they will pan out to be nothing more than daydreams. I suppose I really should start looking at which agents I want to pursue next. Who will be smart enough to realize they can make some money off of my manuscript?
Wow. This post is so disjointed. Can you tell I'm barely thinking straight at this point?
I'm really kind of amazed I've done 20,000 words in a week. I'd love to get another 5,000 done tomorrow and start the work week at the halfway point, but there's no way to tell how that's going to go.
And then while all of this is going on, I am rapidly closing in on the time window when I should be hearing back from the agency I submitted to back in August. Hard to not daydream about the possibilities, even if I know how likely they will pan out to be nothing more than daydreams. I suppose I really should start looking at which agents I want to pursue next. Who will be smart enough to realize they can make some money off of my manuscript?
Wow. This post is so disjointed. Can you tell I'm barely thinking straight at this point?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
10,619 Update
Hey folks. A little interruption in the writing to keep you posted.
That is my word count in the subject line. I'm well ahead of the pace I need to follow, and I still have tonight's writing to do which will add at least another 2,000 words onto the total. I'm pretty happy with the progress. The first day was kind of hard because I tried to start out writing.... I'm blocking on the word I need here.... in order.... not coherently, although that's certainly a goal as well..... CHRONOLOGICALLY! There it is. Yeah, that doesn't work for me so much. I've found that I do much better if I try working on a scene that I have some level of feeling for, and I work that out instead of trying to force myself through other parts that are still in a somewhat amorphous stage of development. And that's working out for me. Of course, at the end of the month I'll still have to put all of these bits of writing together like a jigsaw puzzle, but I've done it before.
I have to get an important music update in here while I have the chance. The adults in the immediate family went to see Bruce Hornsby and his band the Noisemakers on Sunday night. My 3rd Hornsby show, and since he's one of my top 5 artists, it was a great show to see. There were times I was sitting there and would just let me eyes close so I could let all of that music just wash over me. There were a couple of times I was moved to tears, from either just the sheer beauty of the music or because he wound up playing a song that had significance for me. On that note, I did get to hear "The Road Not Taken" played live, which was incredible since that has been one of my favorite songs for more than twenty years.
Other good news -- if you happen to run into Nephew #1 sometime during the month of November, be sure to congratulate him on being the World Languages Department Student of the Month for November at his high school. As a sophomore. I'm very proud of him for doing this, but I'm actually happier that he's proud of it.
And now back to the grindstone. Let's see how successfully I can write my way through a caffeine-deprivation head ache....
That is my word count in the subject line. I'm well ahead of the pace I need to follow, and I still have tonight's writing to do which will add at least another 2,000 words onto the total. I'm pretty happy with the progress. The first day was kind of hard because I tried to start out writing.... I'm blocking on the word I need here.... in order.... not coherently, although that's certainly a goal as well..... CHRONOLOGICALLY! There it is. Yeah, that doesn't work for me so much. I've found that I do much better if I try working on a scene that I have some level of feeling for, and I work that out instead of trying to force myself through other parts that are still in a somewhat amorphous stage of development. And that's working out for me. Of course, at the end of the month I'll still have to put all of these bits of writing together like a jigsaw puzzle, but I've done it before.
I have to get an important music update in here while I have the chance. The adults in the immediate family went to see Bruce Hornsby and his band the Noisemakers on Sunday night. My 3rd Hornsby show, and since he's one of my top 5 artists, it was a great show to see. There were times I was sitting there and would just let me eyes close so I could let all of that music just wash over me. There were a couple of times I was moved to tears, from either just the sheer beauty of the music or because he wound up playing a song that had significance for me. On that note, I did get to hear "The Road Not Taken" played live, which was incredible since that has been one of my favorite songs for more than twenty years.
Other good news -- if you happen to run into Nephew #1 sometime during the month of November, be sure to congratulate him on being the World Languages Department Student of the Month for November at his high school. As a sophomore. I'm very proud of him for doing this, but I'm actually happier that he's proud of it.
And now back to the grindstone. Let's see how successfully I can write my way through a caffeine-deprivation head ache....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)