Are You Ready for NaNoWriMo?

I've been working on my graphic novel lately, and I actually like the work I've done. I've solved some pacing problems and have a lot of words on paper which means I am more or less done with a first draft and I am working on the second draft of the script. So this seems like the perfect time to get working on that other novel, right?

Yeah, don't worry,  it sounds crazy to me too. But here it is November 1st and I'm feeling inspired and hopeful, so after a 10 year absence I am attempting NaNoWriMo yet again.

The funny thing is that when you are faced with either wrestling your manuscript into submission or tackling a blank page, suddenly the blank page doesn't seem so intimidating. In fact, compared to my graphic novel manuscript, my NaNoWriMo novel is fresh baked cookies and warm tea in a room full of doilies and sunshine. I'm ready to move in! Oh, sure,the honeymoon will be over in just a couple of weeks, but why worry about the future now? Here, have another cookie.

Is anyone else attempting NaNoWriMo this year? Let's join forces and spur each other on. I'll bake you cookies if you brew the tea (Earl Grey, hot).

Does a Writer Need a Schedule?

This is the question I ask myself over and over: does a writer need a schedule? I mean scheduled hours to sit in front of the computer or notebook and write. Do they need to be the same hours every day?

I have the enviable position of deciding how to spend most of my days and furthermore for two days of the week I have the house completely to myself (minus a gaggle of cats). I don't have to spend fifteen minutes going through a drive-through, ten minutes cramming a deep-fried something-or-other down my gullet and five minutes of writing on a thirty-minute lunch break. I can nibble on healthy food all day and write at my leisure (chocolate dipped coconut macaroons are healthy food in this scenario). It beats my schedule when I was an construction office coordinator!

But I find if I don't have some structure, nothing gets done. I mean, if I'm honest, without a schedule my spouse is likely to come home and find dirty dishes piled in the sink, dinner not even contemplated let alone started, me unshowered and still wearing my jammies, clutching a mostly-empty notebook and muttering to myself about the "research" I did on Facebook all day.  Actually, the Facebook part is more productive than I am on some of those unstructured days.

On the other hand.... Well, let me back up. The reason I am contemplating my schedule today is that I haven't had a schedule for the last week and a half. My spouse and I went on a driving trip across the Canadian state of Ontario along Lake Erie to support my in-laws who are cycling all the way from Washington state to Connecticut this summer. When we returned to our house we found our cat-sitter had not done a very good job and three of our indoor-only cats were loose. Two were wrangled in short order, but one of our youngest, an ex-feral, remains at large. I have spent many a sleepless night since trying to lure him home. That's more personal information than I normally share in this blog, but the point is this: how do you write when your schedule is out the window?

My emotions are running high, my nerves have been shot, I'm not in my most creative place because I'm running on fumes. But the writing still needs to get done. Instead of scribbling in my notebook or editing my manuscript I've been recording voice memos on my smartphone. It's kind of nice, really. I can get those elusive ideas that flit through your head in the middle of the night down in their raw form and manipulate them later. And since I'm in such a vulnerable state, it's easier to get at the vulnerabilities of my main characters.

I'm not recommending someone put themselves through sleepless nights or an emotional ordeal in order to get at some deeper emotions in their writing. But I am saying that while a schedule and routine are useful tools... I don't think they are absolutely necessary to the creative process anymore.

I am endlessly curious about the creative process. So tell me, do you have a routine or schedule for your writing? What do you do to get back on schedule when life gets in the way?

After Long Silence...

...is the name of one of my favorite books by Sherri S. Tepper. It's also an appropriate name for a blog entry after a 2-month absence.

Here's the list of excuses:
The end of May/early June was weird with that diet (see last entry) which took over my entire life. Then I got sick. Very sick. I ended up having three secondary infections from a summer cold and it took about 5 weeks to recover. Not cool. And then it was birthday and vacationing madness.

Whew, okay, excuses out of the way, I am thrilled to be back at the computer. Just in time to gear up for the 2011 SCBWI Summer Conference in LA!

I'm currently studying this list of 71 faculty members in hopes of knowing a thing or two about my manuscript consultant before stepping into the 20 minute one-on-one session. There are some I am not so sure I'd want to get, to be honest. I mean, if I sit down with Lin Oliver, I'm going to be struck speechless. She's the Executive Director and co-founder of SCBWI, plus she writes with Henry Winkler regularly. I'm in awe. But then again, I could get Bruce Coville. I'm in awe of him too, but I've met him before and he's so easy to talk to.

I'm handwriting a list of all 71 faculty members with a few highlights from their bios. Writing things out by hand helps it to stick in my memory, plus I'll take the notebook with me for quick reference. I'm putting stars by the ones I would love to chat up and an exclamation point next to those that are heavy-hitters, like Ms. Oliver.

And of course, I continue to work on my WIP. I'd love to have a few more chapters complete in time for the conference. Other than packing and writing, what are you doing to get ready for the 2011 SCBWI Summer Conference?

The Writing Diet: 30 Minutes Alone with a Notebook

I'm dieting. It's a different sort of diet than any other I've tried. You team up with at least one other person and team up against one other team. And you get points for eating meals according to the diet, exercising, getting 7 hours of sleep and not breaking any of the rules (see the link below to the book). But here's the part that was most intriguing to me: you also get points for adding one good habit and getting rid of one bad habit.

As my new good habit, I chose to spend 30 minutes alone (no TV, no computer, no books, no iPhone) with a pen and a notebook. It's not the only way I write, but I've found it's one of the best ways for me to problem-solve in the middle of a project. I can sort of "talk things out" on paper. So I thought this would be a snap. An easy 10 points every day.

Can I tell you right now how green with envy I am that my sister-in-law chose flossing as her new good habit and gave up Starbucks for her bad habit? I mean, come on, that takes, what, 5 minutes a day and an extra k-cup in her Keurig? I've got to find 30 uninterrupted minutes each day and face a blank page. There have been a couple nights when I sat bleary eyed in the near-dark while my spouse snored softly next to me because I hadn't gotten this done during regular hours.

So, I'll admit, I haven't been perfect. I haven't gotten this done every day. But my manuscript has changed SO MUCH in the last 12 days of dieting. I found out that my main character is going through a major life change - an incredibly humiliating one - that I hadn't known about before. And I found a means of getting her arch rival there to bear witness to the entire embarrassing thing. And best of all, I found my ending (it had been a sort of vague "battle ensues, so-and-so wins" thing in my notes up to that point). And I also found out a whole lot about my villain which will never actually end up in the book (but it will be richer for my knowing it).

Try challenging yourself to 30 minutes alone with a notebook -- or your manuscript if you're at the revision stage. Just like a diet, it's harder than it sounds at first, but it's really rewarding.

5 Reasons Not to Get Married to a Writer

So you've fallen in love with a writer, and you're wondering if you ought to tie the knot. Consider whether  you can live with the following five things for the rest of your life:

1) Altered States

You saunter up to his office chair, trail your hand along his shoulder and place a few meaningful kisses in the fine hairs on the back of his neck. He pulls away from you and mumbles "What do you want?" What the heck just happened? He loved you madly a few hours ago. You have caught your lover in an altered state - the state of writing. When you read a book - a good book - you are transported to another time and place. If your lover were to walk in the room naked while you were reading, say, the penultimate chapter of Mockingjay, you might not notice. Not right away. Similarly, the writer is transported to another time and place when he writes. In fact, the writer might even be temporarily wearing the skin of a twelve year old boy who's having an intense argument with his mortal enemy.

2) Long Hours

Workaholic, schmeraholic. A writer's work is never done. Not ever. There's no nice, convenient 9-5 hours. The writer is always noticing small details to weave into her next scene, or thinking about the revising she did that morning and wondering if that one line is really strong enough for the end of a chapter. You might be having a romantic dinner, or watching reality TV or even getting frisky, but your writer is still writing. Always. And she might dart away from the dinner table (or worse, jump out of bed in the middle of the night) because she just figured out how to get those two characters into the same room at the same time.

3) Conversations With Thin Air

Both writers and psychotics hear voices. The difference is the writer responds to them. Wait, so does the psychotic. Okay, so the difference between writers and psychotics is.... Oh, I know! The writer gets paid to hear voices. And talk back to them. And then type all of it up.

4) Secrets & Lies

Your writer-spouse lies. Professionally. And she can be incredibly secretive about those lies. You might be walking past the office and hear her saying something conversationally (see #3, above). So you say, "What's going on with your characters now?" You might even add a small, patient smile. "Oh, it's complicated," she'll reply and click the power button on her monitor so you can't read what she's been writing. And getting to read a first draft? Forget about it. She'll show her motley crew of critique partners, but she won't show you, her beloved. No way. You'll be lucky if she lets you read the ARC.

5) Sharing  

You think that wedding ceremony means your writer is now all yours? Think again. Writers belong to a whole host of other people, both real and imagined. There are the characters, of course. He's madly in love with them. He has to be, considering how many hours he spends with them. And then there's the agent who really, really gets him. And then there's the editor who makes him feel like he's one in a million. Oh, and don't forget his adoring fans! The ones who tweet him and leave earnest messages on his Facebook page.

The truth is, it will all be worth it. It really will. Your writer will charm and entertain you. Your writer will be empathetic to your struggles and strife like it was an Olympic sport. Your writer will gladly listen when you want to whine, will laugh when she finds out the puppy has shredded her favorite bathrobe and will happily go on that ill-advised camping trip in the pouring rain because it will all be good fodder for the novel.

She's a Real Character

Sometimes you create a character from the ground up. You have a vague idea that you want a sidekick or a foil and you start trying on different bits and pieces until you find the mix that feels right - sorta like those board books where you can flip a third of the page at a time and mix and match different foreheads, eyes and chins until you make up some silly face.

Sometimes a character surprises you by jumping from your head onto the page, fully formed and full of attitude. Those are the ones that wake me up in the morning and tell me, "Come on, it's time to write more about my encounter with that character I loathe! Don't leave me with her. You gotta write me out of that scene!"

But then there are other characters. Ones that accost you on the street. Yesterday I ran to the store for lunch and, as usual when I go to the store hungry, ended up with four large bags of food. My trunk is full with stuff I'm donating to charity, so I went to put my groceries into my back seat. The space I had between me and the minivan next to me was cramped and I was trying very hard to get my groceries in without my door hitting their door. Then I heard the passenger window roll down and a raspy voice say "Excuse me!"

I thought, oh no, I've accidentally bumped their car. I turned around slowly, planting a grin on my face. "Yes?"

"I see you bought the green grapes. Are they any good?" Her accent was from the Old World, maybe a Mediterranean country. Her fingers were curled up like Autumn leaves.

"I dunno, I haven't had any."

"I like them when they are firm, you know? When they burst in your mouth."

I nodded.

"Can I try one of yours? If they're any good I'll ask my daughter to get me some."

"Sure," I said, wondering how often this woman scams snacks off unwary strangers. I fumbled to open the ziplocked bag, my own hands full of car keys and a cell phone.

Her daughter approached the car. "What are you doing, mom? Are you bugging this lady?"

"Nah, I'm just giving her a grape," I said, still struggling with the bag.

"Help her!" the woman demanded of her daughter, impatience driving her voice higher.

"I think this is kind of a one person job, Mom," her daughter said, shifting back and forth on her feet.

Finally I opened the bag and held it out to the woman. She plucked a grape and said "firm!" approvingly. Then she bit into it. And spit it back into her hand.

"Any good?" her daughter asked.

"Eh, so-so," the woman replied, clearly lying.

"Oh well," I said, and proceeded to put the bags in the car, and put the cart away.

As I climbed into my car to leave, I heard the woman cry out, "I hope you like sour grapes!"

Sour grapes were a small price to pay for the gift of this character.

What's in The Box?

My main character, Rose, has a cigar box - one of the larger ones - in which she keeps mementos. Mementos both of her mom and for her mom.


You see, this kid is not 100% convinced that mom is dead, even though that's what her father presumes. She disappeared on the same day that Rose was turned into a werewolf.

So some of what's in the box are things like Rose's own plastic hospital wristband from that day and the blood-stained stuffed animal she'd been holding. But some are things that Rose wishes she could have shown her mom over the years, or things she is saving to give her mom when she returns. Like the first tooth she lost -- the one she left under the pillow that the Tooth Fairy forgot to exchange for a shiny silver dollar.

I'm filling the box, bit by bit. But I thought it would be fun to hear your ideas. If I like it, it might end up in my manuscript. If I get published, I'll be sure to include you in my thank yous. So, tell me, what's in The Box?

Places to Write

I'm beginning to realize I'm a finicky writer. I love writing in coffee shops. The ambient hum of conversations, the high pitched whistle of the milk steamer, the jingle of coins into the tip jar all combine to create a song which calls my characters out from their hiding places in my brain. I don't love the jittery feeling I get after drinking two espresso drinks and eating a scone, though, so I limit these writing sessions to once a month.

Writing outside seems like such a romantic idea, but it almost never works. The sun will be too bright creating glare off the notebook. Or the breeze will keep blowing my notes in every direction. I can do it in short bursts, but it always leaves me feeling vaguely disappointed and tired.

I love writing at home in my office, or in our library/guest room. A few words trickle out with effort in most of the other rooms (save the master bathroom -- all my best ideas are born there, I just can't shower and type at the same time). But I can't seem to get a lick of work done in the family room with the siren call of the TiVo and HDTV.

Unfortunately, I absolutely can't work when anyone else is in the house, even the lovely house-cleaners who visit for a couple of hours twice a month and keep me from going completely insane surrounded by piles of cat hair and empty yogurt containers. I sit in my office chair, rock-rigid, listening to their happy chatter as they dust and mop (and, let's be honest, put things away in the weirdest places), staring at my computer screen, the voices in my head completely silent. I've been able to write with my spouse in the house, but it takes an unusual amount of effort to get started and I can get pulled out of the writing headspace with "what's for dinner?", or "did we TiVo the latest episode of Top Chef Masters?" (Duh, of course we did!)

What about you? Where do you love to write? Where can't you write one word?