Warm Treasures to Hold

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family, moments to remember, Thanksgiving, treasured memories

I sit in my house all alone. It’s quiet. I never realize how giant my house is until these moments. My whole family came for Thanksgiving. A total of 14 people at my house for three days. It was wonderful. There was food. There was chatting. There was laughing.

And yesterday, everyone went home. Back to life. And here I sit.

Happy they all came. Happy for all the fun. But happy to have my house back, even if it feels a bit too big, a bit too silent.

The laundry is done, the sheets used by family clean and put away. The dishes are washed, sorted back into their positions. All traces of the visit tucked into the corners of my mind. Memories. Great ones.

Of cramming us all around my kitchen table for turkey and mashed potatoes. Of seeing Justice League together. Of gathering for an early Christmas for the kids. Of taking walks along my country road. Of playing with the dog and kitten. Of a basketball game to hear Ella play in the pep band. Of watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Of people filling every room with smiles. Of us being together. It doesn’t happen all the time with us spread across three states.

Treasured memories. More valuable than anything else. What I should remember when I start to stress about word counts and rejections, when I start to obsess over my weight, when I lose my mind over Christmas shopping, when I struggle to just be me.

A moment in time. One to keep, like a warm hug, when life is cold.

I hope everyone has moments like those to hold forever.

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Staring: A Great Place to Start

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getting to know your world again, going back to a manuscript, lost, staring, thoughts, writing, writing is hard

I started working on a new and exciting manuscript…a middle grade horror!

Then I was distracted by short stories.

It happens. And if it’s not other writing adventures, plain old wonderful life sucks away writing time. But after the suckage ends, it always does, after the short stories are submitted…the manuscript waits.

I went back.

And stared at it.

And went on Twitter.

And went back to staring at my ms.

And went running back to Twitter.

And realized that I was running from it cause it was looking at me funny.

I didn’t know it as well as I did. We went our separate ways for a while. Maybe it was mad at me.

Time to get to know that world. So I stared. I scribbled notes. I let my brain live with Ember again. I listened to Nowhere and all my characters. Heck, I offered it cookies and glittery stickers.

And the story began to speak to me! TA DA!

So I am back to writing my first attempt at middle grade. The words are slow at the moment, but I will not give up. Time to focus and finish this sucker.

It’s hard to leave projects…or maybe not, depending…

Possibly harder to go back. But a bit of magical determination, a little bribery to get those characters to talk to you, and POOF the words and ideas return.

So staring…is a pretty great place to start.

 

The Great Nano Experience

Tags

fun, NaNo, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, thoughts, tips, Twitter, writing

It’s that time of year again. November…or to writers, National Novel Writing Month, more affectionately known as NaNoWriMo or just Nano. Where writers everywhere set out to write 50,000 words in a month.

Cause that’s what we all look like…riiiiiiight.

There are those who participate every year, planning and plotting through October to be ready. Plotters, I admire you! There are those who jump in on November first, scrambling to plot and plan or merely crazy enough to see what happens. Pantsers, I love you!

It began yesterday with people tweeting their accomplishments, their word counts, how they procrastinated, how they were full of hope…and fear. Some start knowing they’ll hit 50K. Some know they won’t, but are happy to give it a shot. Some know they will have to rip apart what they write a few months after it’s finished. Some may never go back to what they write. Some will stay on track. Others will fall behind…only to catch up later or not. By the end of week two, determination will have replaced the fear and hope.

Maybe not the hope, not completely.

I am an observer in this. I do not Nano. The thought of word counts and reaching a certain number breaks my brain. NaNoWriMo causes too much stress for me to benefit.  But that doesn’t mean I am not writing alongside these brave and fabulous folks. I am drafting.

Right now, Twitter is full of tips, of information, of helpful words to drive people along their writing path.

I have my own thoughts about all the tips…

Don’t worry about them. Don’t clutter your brain with what others think you should or should not do.

Have fun. Enjoy your world and characters.

Don’t overthink. When the goal is word count, there is no room for thinking. There is typing, focusing on what happens next.

For the pantsers…let the story go where it likes! For the plotters…dude, you got that outline to guide you!

Perfection is boring. Who the heck cares if at the end of the month you have a brilliant piece of literature! No one cares. Revisions exist for a reason.

Write your story. This is time for you! For what you love! For what you feel is right for your art! Do it.

Write words. All words are good words. All words get you to your goal and give you something to work with later.

Don’t let the numbers break you. Sometimes the creative process is more than word count.

Do what works for you.

Don’t let others’ word counts get you down. There are people who will write over 50K…*cough*overachievers*cough* You celebrate you.

Please remember to sleep. And eat. *gives everyone a glass of water* LOVE YOURSELF! Take care of you!

I will be cheering from the sidelines. Whatever you do, be proud of you. Whatever you don’t get to…WHO CARES!

Do your best. It is enough.