Countdown to NaNoWriMo & some good "writing" reads

Now that we are halfway through October, it's time to think about November.  And you know what that means?  No, not turkey!  It means novel-writing.  Last November, for the first time, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  My daughter, then ten years old, also participated in the Young Writers Program of NaNoWriMo. 

According to its website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

NaNoWriMo started in 1999 with twenty-one participants.  In 2013, its fifteenth year:  310,000 adult novelists and 89,500 young writers participated.  Young writers ages 17 and under set their own word goals.  Quite a few past NaNoWriMo participants have eventually published the novels they drafted during the event.

When I decided to do NaNoWriMo last year, I knew I wouldn't come up with anything remotely publishable.  And I didn't.  It was all about challenging myself in a new way as a writer.  Writing a 50,000 word novel seemed a big goal.  I didn't think about it too much, fortunately, or I might have backed out.  Dividing 50,000 words by thirty days comes out to an average of 1,666.67 words per day.  I tried to stay on track by writing about 1,700 words per day.  Some days I didn't write at all; other days, I wrote more than double that amount.  I honestly didn't have a clear idea of my novel's plot, except that it would be realistic, contemporary fiction.  Although I enjoy reading fantasy and historical fiction, I didn't have any ambition to create a fantasy world or research a particular historical era.

Let's just say my first novel ended up being highly autobiographical.  It's not actually about me, but the plot and characters overlap in many ways with experiences I have had.  I just read my novel for the first time last week - almost a year later!  It's not as bad as I thought.  Sure, it's not exactly a cohesive and flowing novel.  It's more a series of somewhat-related short stories and essays about the same characters.  There's some good storytelling and some interesting characters.  NaNoWriMo gives a pretty loose description of what constitutes a novel for the purposes of the contest, and that allows for a lot creative license:

We define a novel as “a lengthy work of fiction.” Beyond that, we let you decide whether what you’re writing falls under the heading of “novel.” In short: If you believe you’re writing a novel, we believe you’re writing a novel, too.

Participating in NaNoWriMo last year was a fun and fulfilling experience.  My daughter and I both felt really accomplished to have completed the challenge.  We encouraged and motivated each other to finish, and we're both doing it again this year.  By the way, there is a whole NaNoWriMo community - both online and local groups that meet in person - if participants are looking for support or camaraderie.  Throughout the month, participants also receive pep talks from a variety of published writers.  To gear up for NaNoWriMo, I've been rereading those and reading other good stuff about writing. 

This week, I read the Get Serious About Writing blog series by Lisa Rivero.  I heard Rivero speak a couple of years ago, when she talked to a homeschool group about her children's historical novel Oscar's Gift, which I read with my children and highly recommend.  The short posts in her writing series are thought-provoking and motivating.  I especially love No More Excuses: Jane Austen's Writing Table.  First of all - Jane Austen!  I hope to visit Jane Austen's home and museum someday as Rivero did.  Secondly, this post provides a good dose of perspective.  I've written before about my procrastination when it comes to blogging and writing.  Seeing Jane Austen's tiny writing table where she wrote her famous novels is a good reminder to get over my excuses and just write.  Another blog I found recently is Warrior Writers by author Kristen Lamb.  I've been reading her current posts and trying to catch up on back posts too.  There's lots of good stuff there.  And she's funny!  Some of her recent posts deal with NaNoWriMo and have given me a lot to think about.  

***** 

If you've ever thought of trying your hand at novel-writing or participating in NaNoWriMo, I encourage you to give it a try!  Or, if your aspirations reside elsewhere, see if you can find or create your own challenge to help you work toward your goals.

     

September reading notes - in which I ramble about: reading & stress relief; guilty (or not) pleasures & series marathons; and letting children read what they want

In my August reading notes, I wrote that about the "heaviness" of my various selections that month.  In September, my reading was less heavy and more escapist.  I finished reading the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.  This is a series of three young adult novels in the now-popular dystopian fiction genre.  The first book was exciting and compulsively readable, but as I predicted it went somewhat downhill from there.  My daughter read the books at about the same time, and we both thought the second book was okay and the third book was a bit disappointing.  I also read two more books from the Murdoch mysteries series by Maureen Jennings.  The fourth book, Let Loose the Dogs, is my favorite in that series so far.  Mixed in with those books, I reread Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Here's the official list:

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Poor Tom is Cold (Murdoch Mysteries #3) by Maureen Jennings
Let Loose the Dogs (Murdoch Mysteries #4) by Maureen Jennings
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

My varied reading habits had me thinking about the different reasons for which we read.  Recently, I've spotted various Facebook posts about the stress-relieving benefits of reading.  I've always known that reading helped me with my own stress.  The claims of reading as a stress-reliever seem to be mostly attributed to a research study done at the University of Sussex.  In an article in The Telegraph, researcher and cognitive neuropsychologist Dr. David Lewis explains that he found reading was a more effective stress-reliever when compared with a variety of relaxation methods.  In the article, Dr. Lewis is quoted as saying:

It really doesn't matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author's imagination.

This is more than merely a distraction but an active engaging of the imagination as the words on the printed page stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness.

So then:

It makes sense to me.  It also got me thinking about the idea of guilty pleasures.  I remember reading an article not long ago that said - essentially - there's really no such thing as guilty pleasures when applied to our tastes in reading, music, theater and other forms of creative expression.  I couldn't locate the article itself, but the author's point was: if you enjoy a particular genre, embrace it and don't feel guilty.  Author Austin Kleon also writes about this in his book Show Your Work.  The excerpt from his book, No More Guilty Pleasures, is posted on his blog.  He makes several good points, including:

When you find things you genuinely enjoy, don’t let anyone else make you feel bad about it. Don’t feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy. Celebrate them.

Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things, too.    

I was reminded of this when a friend joked on Facebook about her forays into historical chick lit as her own addiction, akin to alcohol, drugs or gambling.  I'm a fan of historical chick lit myself.  I even admit to an affection for regency romance mysteries, namely The Pink Carnation Series by Lauren Willig.  Actually, I count as a pleasure (guilty or not), any series in which I can immerse myself.  Many of us have jumped on the bandwagon to read popular children's or young adult series.  I will admit that I once (maybe twice?) pre-ordered and had a newly-released Harry Potter book sent to a cottage in the north woods of Wisconsin, so that I would not have to wait until after vacation to read it.  Talk about an addiction!  But I've gotten caught up in all sorts of series.  Once I zipped through the twenty books in the Aubrey-Maturin series of nautical historical novels by Patrick O'Brian in the space of several months.  A couple of years ago, I read through the twenty or so novels in The Cadfael Chronicles, a series of historical murder mysteries by Ellis Peters.  My obsessions tend to run toward to genres that contain historical elements. 

We read for all different purposes.  When I choose to delve into a series, I may be looking more toward entertainment and escape.  When I choose a so-called classic or literary fiction, I may be looking more to challenge myself.  And yet in both cases, there is a ton of crossover.  A compelling and entertaining series of historical fiction, like the Aubrey-Maturin series, challenged me to learn a lot about the history of the British Royal Navy and the Napoleonic Wars.  And of course, a book that is considered literary fiction or a classic can be as entertaining and addicting as a bestseller.  This will all depend on the individual reader's tastes and inclinations as well.

What I discourage is the idea that we only read one type of book or another.  I really believe that when this idea is imposed upon people or somehow accepted subconsciously, it may cause them to dislike reading.  I wrote about this a bit in one of my articles for Home Education Magazine.  In that article, I mentioned how some educational philosophies or theories maintain that children should be required to only read "quality" children's literature and be steered away from things like graphic novels and popular series books.  With my own children, I have seen no evidence that it's one or the other.  It doesn't have to be "either/or" - it can be "both/and."  If, as an adult, I read different genres and for different purposes, why would I not respect my children's ability to do the same?   

And so, everyone, go forth and read!

Ideally, I'll have both my coffee and a book!

Life is sweet

Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed.  It's been a big transition having my two sons in high school this year.  They both have SO much going on with copious amounts of schoolwork, sports and other activities, volunteer and church commitments, and very full social lives.  We always seem to be running, running, running.  And I always seem to be worrying, worrying, worrying.  It's all relative, of course.  I have three children.  My own parents had seven.  I met a man last weekend who grew up in a family of seventeen children.  Seventeen children, people!  Can you imagine?  I can't - it's inconceivable.  Yes, my busyness and my anxiety are relative.  But that doesn't mean they aren't real.  The way I feel is real.  Every generation has their own challenges.  Every individual has their own darkness and light.  It doesn't help to discount any person's feelings or struggles.  However, it is true that my problems are very much first world problems.  For me, personally, gratitude and perspective are the tools that help me deal with my worries.  I'm pretty sure most of us need doses of intentional gratitude and perspective from time to time.  This morning, it was some pink-frosted chocolate cupcakes that jolted me with perspective and gratitude.  Because the more I thought about those pretty little cupcakes, the more I thought about all the beauty and goodness in my life. 

I thought about an e-mail that arrived this morning from a friend who noticed that I have talked about being overwhelmed lately and wondered if there was anything she could do to help.  Then I thought about how another friend noticed that my running shoes had holes in them.  She gave me the gift of store vouchers and cash, which enabled me to buy a new pair of shoes.  Another friend magically always finds me exactly the things I need -  an outfit for a special event, a winter jacket for my daughter, and much more than I can say here.  Yesterday, I sat at the park with two other beautiful friends.  We shared our joys and challenges.  We listened to each other, we heard each other.  This morning I noticed a chocolate bar in the cabinet.  My husband often buys me a bar of European chocolate and sneaks it into the cabinet when he wants to cheer me.  And also, this morning - those pretty little cupcakes.  As I was busy doing some volunteer work on the computer - my daughter frosted those cupcakes.  Life is sweet.

I am blessed and fortunate.  I have a house, clothing, food, access to healthcare and education or educational resources, three healthy and happy children, a good husband, caring and compassionate family and friends.  I am loved, and I love.  Life is sweet, people, life is sweet.