Encouragement came in a number of different forms on this last day of the first week of National Novel Writing Month. For the first time I didn’t reach my daily writing goal by late morning, a habit I knew I’d have to maintain if I were to successfully write 45,000 – 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo.… Read More
On this 15th day of National Novel Writing Month, I’m sending myself a pictorial bouquet of flowers. Why? First, because I’ve met my goal of writing 22,500 words in 15 days! Second, I’m celebrating the fact that I’ve been accepted as a visiting scholar at the St. Benedict Monastery Studium Program in St. Joseph, MN.… Read More
Day #16 of National Novel Writing Month actually began shortly after my NaNoWriMo class at The Loft on Thursday. After allowing myself the freedom to essentially free-write by hand for fifteen days, I decided It would be best to pause and regroup at this midpoint. I needed go back to my original, typewritten drafts of… Read More
Today, Day #17 of National Novel Writing Month, I’ve given myself a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. I did a recount of my word count to date. Currently 22,811 words on my work in progress. If I add in the words I’ve written in these “special edition” NaNoWriMo Facebook posts, total words written since… Read More
I began Day 18 of National Novel Writing Month having a Skype call with my 3.5 year-old granddaughter, Ofelia. She wanted to show Ralph and me two things. First, her substantial collection of bird feathers, which she would be taking for “Show and Tell” to preschool on Monday. The second was what she called, “My… Read More
On Day #19 of National Novel Writing Month, I decided to work on a scene that I knew would probably end up as one of my favorites in my children’s-book-to-be. In this dramatic and game-changing scene, Nettie Rabbit will face humiliation and rejection by her potential buck rabbit suitors. In order for the scene to… Read More
Sometimes, when I think of all that’s stored in my brain, I imagine this intricate organ resembling a keepsake box, filled with personal artifacts; experiences fraught with memories, with no pattern nor order at all. If you were to sit down with me someday, I could explain the significance of each of these seemingly insignificant… Read More
In a post earlier this week I encouraged myself and other writers to “play,” in a more childlike way, in order to break open the imagination. What I have liked to do, ever since I was a child myself, was to play with words. And nothing serves that purpose better than my Webster’s New Universal… Read More
Day #22 of National Novel Writing Month fell on Thanksgiving Day. I went in search of my Eastern cottontail rabbit characters so I could write more of my tale, but they were busy attending a Thanksgiving feast with their rabbit cousins. So, word count was ZERO, but a good time with family and friends was… Read More
In the words of Kermit the Frog, “It’s not easy bein’ green.” How wise that little guy was. But what IS easy is to be green with envy, and this is something I’ve discovered about myself since becoming a “published author.” When you’re an author in this age of rampant social media, it is both… Read More