NaNoWriMo Madness has struck!!!!

I said I wouldn't do it. It doesn't make sense this year. I have busy days, busy evenings, travelling to do. I have no time to spare. I had no intention - believe me - no intention whatsoever of launching into the crazy madness of attempting to write a novel in 30 days, but something happened on Saturday morning. Was that 3rd November? Yes, see, I was home and there was this laptop there, and it called me. I distinctly heard it whispering "Hey, Me-e-e-el ! Remember me?... Remember why you bought me last year?... Aren't you going to even think about it?"

And suddenly there I was making coffee in my Minnie Mouse mug (that's my NaNo mug, you know), putting on snuggly socks, and heading back to bed with the electrical lead for my laptop, and there was a rush of adrenalin when I opened the folder where all last year's files were waiting. Prompt pages, wordcount spreadsheets.

I did try to tell myself that it was madness, total madness. I didn't even have an idea. I didn't even have a title. I didn't even know where to start. But I did start. So, at the end of day 4 of NaNoWriMo, I have one day's worth of writing done. I have a title. I have an idea that excited me, and I'm thinking the birthday present I want most on my 50th birthday (1st December - the day after NaNo ends) is a 50,000 word manuscript sitting on my desk. And only I can give that to me. And if that's what I want, then I think I should put the effort into doing it. So I'm going to try.

I have to suspend all judgements and considerations of quality or logic. I have to just write.

Am I doing the right thing? Am I mad? AAaaaagh!

(Oh.... and this should explain any and all absences, or cryptic comments or messages dropped in odd places. Please accept my apologies in advance for strange behaviours. I'm fairly sure I won't be myself for the remainder of November. Normal service will be resumed sometime in 2008!)

Friday stuff

It's Friday, and one of the Fridays that I don't work. In fact, it's the start of my mid-term break, which sees me free for a whole 10 days, but as for many of them, I will be away from easy Internet Access, I may not be showing up here any more than I have over the past few weeks, so I thought I'd pop along this morning to see what's happening all over my favourite blogs. Feels good just to check in and see people are still out there, busy with stuff, doing interesting things.

After my last post (written when I should have been sleeping in my bed, I was so tired!), I alarmed Julie Marie by speaking of "NaNoWriMo" and "NaBloPoMo" as thought they were really nasty things causing me distress. I forgot to link to them or explain. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, which runs through November, during which participants aim to write a 50,000 word novel. Last year was my first attempt, and as the badge in my sidebar tells you, I "won" by completig 500098 words... skin of my teeth, in other words. (oops, I notice, now that the 2007 season has started, they've actually changed my badge back to zero!) It was great fun. I wrote through trips to visit family, and a dose of shingles. I wrote while I had visitors, and when I had other responsibilities to be seen to. But this year, I just know I cannot set myself the goal of writing 1600 words a day. So I'm not going to do it. Hoping next year will feel different. When I realised I wouldn't be doing NaNoWriMo, I considered NaBloPoMo, or National Blog-Posting Month, during which participants simply post to their blog every day during the month. But, as I'm going to be away a couple of times during Novembere, and internet access is impossible when I visit family, and not always easy in other places, it's not a runner.

So, dear Julie Marie, you didn't need to worry about me being upset about these mysterious things. They both are things I'd just like to be able to get involved in, and can't! Maybe you can, though?

Yesterday was a really good day for me. You know a day where everything just fits? A day where all the bits come together, and you feel like you belong in your place, and you meet the people you're meant to meet? I think my stars must have been perfectly aligned or something, because it was one of those days... from the pinkening sky of morning to the perfect moon of night. My work, my meetings went well. I came home to a most exciting email, inviting me to join with Seena B Frost to train as a trainer of SoulCollage(R) facilitators. It's a process that will take a couple of years to complete, and I don't begin until I attend a training in June of next year, but that's wonderful. It allows plenty of time for me to run a number of workshops that I'd been planning, and to introduce as many more people as possible to the process here in Ireland. This just really affirms my "following my nose" when I decided to go for the training in 2006, and returned for a facilitators' conference this summer. I am hugely committed to SoulCollage and really thrilled to have a chance to help more and more people encounter this life-changing process.

That wasn't all! In a conversation later last night, my son enquired what I'd like as a birthday present (I enter my "Golden Years" in December, hitting the big 5-0). I didn't know, so he's offered to fund the trip my sisters and I are planning to Paris in May next year! See? I've raised a great kid!

See what I mean? One of those wonderful days, when I feel grateful for the people in my life, the paths I've been able to follow, and the places I've been able to visit and live.

It reminds me to give some thought to the many, many people in distress at the events in Southern California. It is horrifying to see pictures from the area, and my heart goes out to all affected by these terrible fires. My affection for Northern California has grown with my visits, but wherever it is happening, I find it awful to think of the devastation being wreaked on homes, land, and lives. My prayers are with you.

Hope, wherever you are, your weekend is safe and peaceful.

End of November.....

Tonight's big news is that I made it to the enf of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and achieved the goal of writing 50,000 words of a novel (50098, in fact). It's not pretty. It's not smart. It's not a lot of things, but it's 50,000 words more than I would have done had I not taken the challenge. Through home redecoration, and a bout of illness, I wrote, and I am proud of myself for coming through my first attempt at this challenge. There is nothing about it that I regret! Hurrah!

One other thing --- I am sorry that I've had to turn on comment verification, but there was too much spam appearing, and I realised it's not just a nuisance to me, but to anyone wishing to read the comments or to leave one, too.

Taking a break from the keyboard tonight, celebrating my BIRTHDAY tomorrow, and I'll be back to "normal" over the weekend! Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement and support during November. This Blogging community is just wonderful, and I count myself very lucky to have stumbled in here.

Back in BlogLand

Just a brief post to say I'm still here. It's so strange what the Universe will do in order to get you what you want. There I was... having committed to the madness of writing 50,000 words in the month of November, and right at the beginning, my house was upside-down in the aftermath of being repainted, and in preparation for new flooring coming in (next week, next week!), and what happened? My internet connection "went away", leaving me with no excuse to spend time at blogs or email. So I got off to a good word-count start, didn't I?

And then... knowing I would have a few days away last week, I'd gone to the extremes of buying myself a laptop in hopes of keeping my wordcount up. What happened? It worked. There I was, settled in my Dad's house, finding hours, half-hours, TIME, in which to get going. So I maintained my wordcount. And managed to do the poetry-reading I was there for, AND recorded some poems for national radio. THAT was a lovely surprise - the call asking would I do that, and it was arranged so quickly. Just when I'd been wondering was I going stale in the poetry area - how did I know whether my recent work had any merit - I got the call, and that said to me "Someone sees merit in it. Believe in it!"

By the time I got home Sunday, though, something strange was happening. I was feeling distinctly unwell. So, off to the doctor on Monday, and will spare you all the details, but here I am, housebound for the week, tired, but with enough energy to bash a keyboard now and then.... So, half-way through the month, here I am, half-way through my 50,000 words. Wow! I'm surprising myself! All I need to do now is keep that up!

Wish me luck!

Gone (word-)Fishing

The Universe took charge, and made sure that distractions would be minimised during these first days of NaNoWriMo - the madness that is an effort to write a 50,000 novel in the 30 days of this month. It jinxed my Internet connection. I'm taking advantage of an hour at a borrowed PC to just post this. I haven't gone off in a sulk. I'm just unconnected - and luckily, apart from internet access, now have two functioning computers, both happily sucking up words to add to my novel. Count stands at 4200 or thereabouts, and my house is awash with cloaked characters drifting about leaving bog-water on my floors! I'm enjoying these early days. Catch ye all later!

What Possessed Me?

There I was, idly browsing, minding my own business, and next thing, I've signed up to write a novel - in a month! Starting 1st November. I'm not the only one doing it, and I'm not the first, so I'm in good company, I'm sure, but it wasn't what I meant to be doing for November. There was a lot of TV to watch. There were a lot of crackers to eat. There were a lot of tail-ends of yarn to be sewn in on the squares I've been crocheting for an endless afghan. And now, in 25 days time, I'm planning to embark on something quite a bit longer than any poem I've ever written, that's for sure. Wish me luck. Oh..... It's all because of NaNoWriMo. Let's just see what happens, shall we?