Gearing up

November quickly approaches and I'm getting nervous and wondering what I've got myself into. Let me give you a sample of what I'm facing. I am currently in week 3 of a 10 week, 6 credit course, one of my last online courses to get my Bachelors in Science (Information Technology - Project Management) of which I will graduate with next Spring. I am also blessed to have a full time job. In addition there are all of life's normal distractions, house and yard work, socializing, parties etc. and I've got some crafting projects I'm committed to with deadlines as well. I am not as busy as some, even though I have activities planned for every weekend in Nov already. I don't have kids but I have 4 cats and a dog. Though caring for them takes time each day, it's time I need for myself to recoup and relax at the end of the day anyway. However, I believe one of the intentions behind NaNoWriMo is to just sit down and write. Life will always be busy and why would November be any worse than any other month?

So pushing on and gearing up! I am preparing the storyline and characters and mostly have it figured out now. There was a story I wrote ages ago for which I lost the text for and I've been meaning to re-write it for some time. As I understand the rules, this is ok. I only have a hard copy of a very early version of that story and if I do end up using any of those words it won't count toward my 50,000. At this time however, I want a completely fresh start because I have a different idea of where to take it. I'm not even reading that old text because I don't want to taint my ideas and confuse myself. If I were to give this story a genre I think it's a fantasy romance with some action. I do want to include a disclaimer and an agreement here before the whole process begins.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to withhold text from my manuscript at my discretion. I may choose not to include certain portions if I am not comfortable doing so. I say this so I don't feel pressure on myself to write what I think people will want to read. I write faster and better when I write for myself and not other people. Each post will update my word count total, but it may or may not match the word count of text I post. I would also like to make it clear that while I agree any artist puts a little something of themselves into their work I do not model characters after myself or anyone I know. If you happen to know me (and chances are if you are reading this you do,) and you think you recognize me or even yourself  in a character it is completely coincidental and unintentional.

Agreement request: If you choose to read this blog, again, you do so at your own risk (eye bleach not provided). Remember this will be a draft, unedited, and a rare opportunity to see my naked mind (gaa! my eyes!) ha ha. I am not looking for critiques of my work, good or bad. If I want or need critiques I have my ways of getting them, and it wouldn't be here. If you choose to comment, you are welcome to, and I would appreciate it, but please be kind both to me and anyone else who might be reading or commenting. I can imagine it wouldn't be easy for any writer or non-writer to do what I'm about to do, which is actually why I'm doing this little experiment of sorts. If nothing else it will prove to me why no one will ever do it again.

As for copyright stuff, maybe someone out there is wondering why I'm not worried about this? I have two answers. Firstly, way back in the day a poor man's copyright was to mail himself a manuscript and never open the envelope when it returned to him. I see publishing this on a blog about as safe as a poor mans copyright.  Secondly, I'm just an average girl who likes to write, not a career writer, so I'm just not concerned about stuff like that.

So here's to all the WriMo's out there gearing up for a month of creative abandon. My November blogs are dedicated to you. Good luck to all!

 Cheers!

NANOWRIMO

There hasn't been much in the letterboxing world for me to blog about, and I've been lazy anyway, so I'm interrupting this letterboxing theme to participate in NANOWRIMO, which I think many letterboxers would cheer to anyway.

What is NANOWRIMO? Why, National Novel Writing Month of course. Every year since about 2000 from November 1-30 writers across the globe have put their pen to the paper or their fingers to the keyboard and written like mad with a goal of creating a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I tried it myself for the first time last year and realized just how hard it was. I had to fight against laziness, procrastination, sleepy eyes, and my own OCD tendencies to push out those 50,000 words. I made it, though, barely, and I learned a lot in the process. This year I've decided on a new way to motivate myself. I won't be blogging here about my struggles in writing. Rather, I will be posting every unedited gurgitation of my brain. If you choose to read, you do so at your own risk. You will see a novel born and, hopefully, a child writer finding bliss once again.

www.nanowrimo.org

Displaying unedited words could be embarrassing. One of the ways I made it through last year was to ignore spelling, grammar, and focus on the story, just keep writing. December was my month to clean up the scattered mess I'd made. If I decided I wanted to change something in the story I did it from that point forward and didn't worry about going back to change everything prior. Writing for me is a form of expression I cannot seem to master in body language. Expressions, speaking, even displaying emotion at all has always been a challenge for me. Writing for me is like releasing the floodgates of expression and emotion that get stuck somewhere between my brain and my lips, but seem to flow more freely out my fingertips. This is not to say I regard myself as a great writer. I do my best and I try to get better, but I don't consider that in itself the point. It's not about greatness, but about what writing does for me mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. This year, I would like to share that journey here. So after November 1st, start looking for my first words, and enjoy. :)