The Purple Bar: Nirvana

NaNoWriMo Soundtrack song that was playing when I validated the win: "Come As You Are" by Nirvana. I came with no plot. No plot? No problem! ;)

On Nov. 1st I had absolutely no idea what to write. I knew Lily's story wasn't finished, but didn't have any ideas about where it was going to go. This month has been a series of discoveries and moments of amazement as I watched her story unfold on the page before me. I started this journey last year with other writers from all around the globe. I've 'met' some wonderful people, and received so much encouragement from everyone. I can't tell you how much of a 'wannabe' writer I felt like when I started my first NaNoWriMo last year. Could I do it? Was I just fooling myself? Could I do this and dare to call myself a 'novelist' when I had yet to publish a novel? (Notice I said 'yet' to publish a novel. I'm a firm believer in mentally manifesting what you desire. The universe usually delivers. It will happen, hopefully soon.)

I'd wanted to be a novelist ever since I was fourteen years old and read "The Shining" by Stephen King. I didn't sleep for three days and was constantly nervous. I startled at the slightest noise, for certain Jack Torrance was after me with an axe.

I had my "Aha!" moment right then and there. I wanted to be a novelist. I wanted to write novels that made people lose track of time. To forget the dishes in the sink, the bills, their problems. And look up at the clock amazed that they had been reading for hours. That's the kind of writer I wanted to be. And I still want to be a writer on that level of skill. I'm not comparing myself to Stephen King. That would be insane on my part. He's the Master of Horror, and always will be in my book. But it's his level of skill and ability to take me out of my own world and put me in his that I admire. And it's a world that I don't want to leave once I'm in it. That's what I want to achieve as a novelist. To take my readers out of their world and put them in the one I've put down on paper. And make them want to stay in that world I created, and be filled with regret when they reach the last page and have to leave.

But last year when I finished "Cast the Circle Widdershins" and not only tied up the plot in the ending but also a sub-plot, I was amazed. I couldn't believe I had tied up all the loose ends without even thinking about it very much. I thought, "Maybe I can do this again. Maybe I can tell a story, and it be good."

And I must say that this story is really getting good, even if I did write it. I'm anxious to find out what happens myself. :)

"Cast the Circle Widdershins" isn't finished. And neither is "Call the Four Corners". I've yet to type "The End" on this second novel in a series of four.

Stay tuned. It's going to be a wild ride.


P.S. Happy Birthday, Toney. I miss you.

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Nanolysers are Awesome

Here's mine: Helen's Nanolyser

P.S. I'm sorry to disappoint you if you click on my profile link in the sidebar for Book Marketing Network. You won't see much there until December as I haven't had time to personalize my profile. Check back next month please. ;)

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Over the 25k Mark: It's a Downhill Ride from Here

After writing over 4,000 words in 24 hours I have finally hit the halfway mark. Final word count for tonight: 26,184. And it's all thanks to Alternate Shift at Work who as far as I know actually showed up on the job today. Don't even think about calling in tomorrow. Seriously.

The Most Honorable Mentions go to:
1. My family and friends who have unceasingly cheered me on every day this month.
2. My Fellow Scribes on Facebook and Twitter. You are an invaluable source of inspiration. And I do have quite a few cheerleaders on both networks. Thanks Tammy, Kathy L. and Kathryn on FB. And KVLong, Devon Ellington, Kippras, Nanda, JordanDrew, tamlynleigh, MoonStaress and the rest of my fellow writers and my NaNo family on Twitter.
3. My Alabama North Regional Municipal Liasons on the NaNoWriMo site. Thanks so much Amy and Brian, and everyone else in the Region!
4. Liquid Story Binder. You make writing a wonderful experience. Even the times when I have no more words left and I want to pull my hair out. You have many pretty bells and whistles that I can play with while I'm waiting for my Muse to whisper in my ear. Or for inspiration to strike. Whichever comes first.
5. My awesome heating pad that has a "Stay On" feature. It's tied to the back of my chair with shoestrings. It's been like that since last November. I've never taken it down. I think it will take up permanent residence there due to the fact that I will be living in Edit Hell in December.
6. Elvira, the most wonderful computer in the world. She has been holding up wonderfully, but I'm starting to believe she'd telling me that I have been working her way too hard for the past year. She seems very tired. Along with her, my back and my knees are telling me I really need a netbook so I can cut this invisible chain that has me tied to my chair. Then writing at work with LSB won't be a problem when Alternate Shift @ Work calls in every week on one of my off days.
7. My AlphaSmart 2000. This thing has really saved me on the word count. If not for it I would be so far behind I would probably give up. I'm grateful I have it. It was a mere $20 on eBay. But it won't run LSB, and I find myself forgetting essential plot points when I'm writing at work because I can't go back in previous chapters and check the details. Yes, I do believe it's time for the netbook. I am already saving up.

I'll have more Honorable Mentions on the 30th. This is enough for today. It's off to bed now. I have tomorrow off as well (do you hear that AS@W?) and I want to get as far ahead as possible. It's too nerve-wracking for me to be behind. It aggravates me on a physical level to the nth degree. That's not good.

It's feels so good to be coasting downhill.

On to 50k!

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Digital Life: The Exponential Growth Rate of Information

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Just Check the Sidebar

I'm behind. To check my word count, just look on the sidebar for my widget. No. Time. To. Post. Must. Write. Faster.

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NaNoWriMo Day 6: 10,276

This includes names. But I'll mix and match them so it won't be a person from real life.

I would say something about my writing process, but I don't want to jinx it.

One more day off to try to get housework and yard work done.

Alternate Night Shift Worker has turned in her notice. I'm going full-time, but probably not until next month, thank goodness.

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NaNoWriMo Day 1: 1,774 words and counting

I got up at noon yesterday. I worked last night. I stayed up until 7:30 AM working on my outline of over 700 words that don't count towards the total word count. I got up at 9:15 AM to go see Buddy, and then came home and wrote some more. I have one hour to rest before I go back to work. My wrists already hurt. Tylenol, Advil and Aleve will be three of my best friends this month. But I'm having fun. That is the insanity of which I often speak.

After tonight I am off for three days. During those three days I will be a noveling fool. I want to get a buffer on the word count just in case something happens. Getting sick last year during Thanksgiving taught me a lesson I haven't forgotten: Get Ahead Early.

Having a blast, meeting people from all over the world on Twitter, in the NaNo Forums and NaNoChat. I'm too tired to make links for these sites. You can Google it. ;)

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NaNoWriMo 2009: No Pink Cloud This Year

I wasn't as excited about doing NaNoWriMo this year as I was last year. Last October I was all excited, anticipating finally writing my first novel. I fell off that little pink cloud around the third day. Writing a novel is damn hard work. NaNoWriMo will take over your life. If you're OCD like I am, your word count will be your dominant thought for the month, nagging you constantly in the back of your mind.

Honestly, I was contemplating not doing it this year. It's insanity at it's best. It's stressful, and stress takes a toll on me physically. But then I remembered that it was also fun. Yes, it was hard, but I enjoyed it. And the feeling when I hit the 50k mark? Well, let me just say that when I remembered how that felt, I changed my mind and decided to do it.

Just like last year, it's Oct. 31 (my absolute favorite day of the year), and I have nary an idea of what to write. But that's okay. I work well under pressure. Matter of fact, that's usually when I'm at my best.

Last minute prep: sync the Palm, find some chocolate, buy more coffee, and trust myself that I can do this.

Forgotten things that I just remembered: clean the coffeepot.

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WIP Wednesday 10/28/09 & NaNo Alert: Liquid Story Binder on Sale Nov. 1!

Sorry I've been absent. My current WIP is my house. I'm trying to get it organized before NaNo starts, and I'm woefully behind schedule as I've been working more hours at the job that actually pays the bills. And the increase of hours at work took a physical toll. I don't do stairs very well for extended periods of time. So that had me thinking that I need to find another job. But I don't just want any job, I want a job that I love. Yes, I love writing. But that's not bringing in the cheese right now. And my current job isn't bringing in enough. Being happily single, all the finances are on me. I have no partner to back me up financially. So I'm contemplating starting my own business. I'm doing research in that area right now. I figure I'll keep my current job and start the business part-time until I build it up. Then it's bye-bye to climbing stairs constantly at work and wearing out what knee cartilage I have left. And the great thing is that writing can also be involved with this business. It just won't be fiction.

So far: bathroom and kitchen are done, living room is halfway there, and the bedroom will be last due to the closets and the files. I'm off work Thursday and Friday, so hopefully all will be completed before Sunday.

I'm working this weekend and I've done absolutely no planning for NaNo. I didn't plan last year, and all turned out well. Let's just hope that FBTSOMP plan (Fly By the Seat of My Pants) works this year.

But the Really Exciting News is that Liquid Story Binder is going on sale Nov. 1 at half price! Sale price is less than $25! I've been waiting months for this software to go on sale. I've tried it, and it's totally awesome. It has more features than I probably will ever use, but they are there if I need them. People who use this software rave about it. And it's portable! Yes, the learning curve is steep. But the developer of this software is so into customer service, he has a Yahoo Group dedicated to helping people to use all the features of this program. Download the free trial now, join the Yahoo Group, and when the sale starts Sunday, just purchase the half-off license.

I'm so psyched! Even though I'll be purchasing this next week (on Friday, which is payday), I don't know if I will use if for NaNo this year due to the learning curve. But I'll probably play around with it, and most likely turn into a LSB convert in December and use it exclusively for writing novels after November.

Don't forget Daylight Savings Time ends on Nov. 1st. That means an extra hour to write your novel! On to the insanity that is lovingly known as NaNoWriMo.

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Just To Avoid Any Problems

Image via Wikipedia

Because I already have enough on my plate and don't need any more, after reading this interview with the FTC's Richard Cleland on Edward Champion's site I will be removing all review posts and any product links from this blog. Yes, even though I have a disclaimer at the bottom, I'm still removing the links. And for my own protection as well as for the protection of others that I've linked to on this blog, I've updated that disclaimer accordingly.

Of all things the FTC decided to "fix" they had to pick on bloggers, book reviewers, writers and publishers. :Sigh:

The guidelines are here.

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Pick a Post Title

Let's see. It could be "How This Blog Got It's Name." Or, "How Much We Like Sweet Tea in the South." Or, "Why You Can Only Find Sweet Tea in the South."

Southerners Like Sweet Tea Most of All

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Wrangling Words on the Web

Hats off to Angel Zapata for his post exposing an internet plagiarist. Richard Ridyard has been plagiarizing many people who have posted their work on the internet. He's even plagiarized Stephen King.

If you've posted your work online and think you might be a victim of plagiarism, please go to Plagiarism Checker or to Copyscape to see if your work has been plagiarized.

The boldness of some people is just amazing. Just because someone can't think of their own words to write does not give them the right to steal someone else's work as pass it off as their own. I hate thieves, but I hate word thieves most of all.

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Snag Your NaNo Info Today

Get your Author Info off the NaNoWriMo site today. They will be archiving first, then they will wipe the forums to clear the way for NaNoWriMo 2009. If you need any info from the forums, please save it to your own computer by Monday, Sept. 28.

They will also clear the Author Info and any NaNo Mail that is over a year old. So make your back-up copies fast!

The site will be back up on Oct. 1 for November's insanity.

I'll see everyone there in November. I'm already getting ready, and it's not even October yet!

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Happy Blog Anniversary!

No post today! But do have a nice, cold glass of sweet iced tea.

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Okay, Already! I Get It!

I read a post over on my eldest's blog and she said something that really got me to thinking. Yes, I know. Thinking's dangerous for me. Anyway, she said that I work a lot and don't update my blog much. I won't lie, because you know I've got that Honest Scrap award thingy on my sidebar. But I will say this: it kinda smarted. Just a little. But it was true.

I used to blog a lot too much. At one point I had seven blogs. This was counting my MySpace blog (which I hardly post on anymore), LiveJournal, InsaneJournal, Wordpress, and I had three Blogger blogs. I think I OD'd on blogging. All was well until August last year, right about the time I started this blog. I got sick with undiagnosed (at the time) Celiac disease. I didn't feel like blogging. I didn't feel like doing anything. How I got a 50k+ novel written in November is beyond me because I had to have a heating pad on my stomach while I sat at the keyboard and typed my fingers to nubs. And out of those seven blogs, this one is the only one I even attempted to keep somewhat updated. And I think NaNoWriMo is the only thing that saved it. I looked at my blog archive and I have only one post for January when I was really, really sick. Since my diagnosis in February, posting has picked up. Slowly, but surely.

Hopefully, I've found two blogs that will help me to get back to posting on a regular basis. One is The One-Minute Writer. The other is C. Beth Blog. Both of these blogs are the creation of one person, C. Beth. She posted about Blogging With Discipline, and it was something I really needed to hear read.



Now that I have deleted all my Blogger blogs but two (yes, Flying From the Inside is no more) I have two blogs that focus on the main things in my life at this time: writing and Celiac disease. So I will be implementing discipline back into my blogging by regularly updating this blog. I can't really say that about my other blog, but I can this one. And I'll use C. Beth's The One-Minute Writer as a tool to do that.


At the same time, there must be balance in my life. So I am also implementing B.W.O. It's Blogging Without Obligation. What this means to me is that I blog regularly, but I am under no obligation to blog every freakin' day. This is freedom from guilt. If I don't post for a day, I don't beat myself up about it.

tartx has opened up her post about this to public domain and given permission to take it and run with it, or walk away. So here is my take and run, in her words:

Blogging Without Obligation:

Because you shouldn’t have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.

Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.

Because sometimes less is more.

Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.

Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.

Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be “bloggable”.

Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won’t be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .

Anyway, I feel better crappy now. I just remembered that I will probably lose my internet connection temporarily pretty soon due to financial issues. We'll see how long it takes for me to go into internet DT's. *sigh* Stupid recession.

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The Strongest Start Novel Writing Competition 2009

I got an interesting email in my inbox today. The Strongest Start Novel Competition 2009* is underway. Deadline for entries is May 16, 2009. The First Place prize is sweet with $500 cash and a self-publishing package! The prize provider is BookSurge, an Amazon company. Amazon also sponsors the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.

I am thinking about entering this competition, as I did not get to enter the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest due to having undiagnosed Celiac disease at the time. I got my diagnosis in February of this year, and I'm just now making significant progress and able to go back to work. Plus the Strongest Start competition is only requiring the first three chapters for submission and not the whole novel. I can do that. Editing the first three chapters in two weeks is a much less overwhelming task than trying to edit a 50k word manuscript in three months. I did not have time to edit my whole novel for the Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Which is a pity, because I think my novel might have had a chance. This year when I compete in NaNoWriMo I will have a better idea of what I'm looking at and what I need to have accomplished by December so that editing won't be such a daunting task.

I'm really blessed that I have a job where I can take my manuscript and edit while I am at work.

*Membership at the site is required. The yearly fee is $49.95. Maybe I can swing that? We'll see. *sigh* Stupid recession.

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The Lessons of Susan Boyle

Everyone has been talking about Susan Boyle. If you haven't heard of her, remember her name because chances are very good that you will hear a lot more about Susan Boyle in the near future. If you don't know who Susan Boyle is, or why everyone is talking about her, watch this video. Similar videos on YouTube have had over 35 million hits: Susan Boyle

The YouTube videos have gone so viral all the YouTube links have been disabled. I had to go searching for an imbed code. This one is courtesy of MySpace. The YouTube videos of Susan Boyle have reached over 100 million views so far.

I love Susan Boyle, I truly do. For a lot of reasons. I think the song she picked out was wonderful, and it spoke volumes both to her and to the audience. She's only 4 years older than I am. she had this dream of being a singer all her life. She'd never been given a chance to birth this dream. But when the chance came, she grabbed it and ran with it. She knew it was now or never. Most chances that will change your life forever don't come around more than once. Forget fear, forget embarrassment. Susan knew what was inside of her. She knew it was good because others had told her it was good. But most of all, she believed in herself.

I love what Susan Boyle teaches us, just by her very existence. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Real beauty comes from the inside. Believe in yourself even when no one else does. Never give up on your dreams. Those dreams aren't just for the young. Age is life experience, not a disqualification. Don't let life kill your dreams. Never give them up. They just might come true when you least expect it.

What lessons does Susan Boyle have for me? The first lesson she teaches me is: Feel the fear, then do it anyway. Even if you are shaking in your shoes while you are doing it. But do it. I wrote my first novel. Now I need to edit it and submit the manuscript. I can't let the fear of rejection paralyze me anymore. If it's rejected, I'll go to the Dollar General and buy a frame. I'll take that rejection slip, frame that sucker and hang it on the wall beside my computer. Then submit the manuscript somewhere else. Repeat if necessary until submission is accepted.

The second lesson is: When one dream comes true, dream another one quickly. Dream fulfillment works in steps. Susan got three "Yes" votes on "Britian's Got Talent" but she's not stopping there. She's made television appearances, and given interviews. And I'll bet that when that video hit the U.S., several music label execs were booking flights to Britain to join the British music execs who were contacting Susan. So now Susan will probably have another dream come true. She wants to be as famous as Elaine Paige. I'd say Susan is well on her way. For those who haven't heard or don't know who Elaine Paige is, check this out:
Susan's dream is a realistic one. The third lesson is: have an attainable dream. I'm a writer, so my dream isn't to win American Idol. I had a dream that I wanted to write a novel. That dream came true. I've gotten the first draft written, and I'm working on the second draft as we speak. So I had to dream a new, attainable dream. My current dream is to have a published novel.

And one lesson that I've learned on my own: Gratitude. Never take your success for granted. Life turns on a dime. Appreciate it all, the good and the bad. You cannot know joy if you don't know sorrow.

P.S. Simon, shame on you. You should have gotten off your arse and given Susan Boyle a standing ovation just like the whole audience did, and the other two judges.

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.


I can so relate to this. Can you?

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2009 Muse Online Writers Conference

Sign up while there's still time: The 2009 Muse Online Writers Conference. Use the link, and not the pic, okay? Thanks go out to Lea Schizas for all the hard work she puts into this conference every year. Lea, you are awesome!

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Currrently Reading

After NaNoWriMo 2008 was over, I treated myself for finishing my novel by reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I finished the series in about five days. Now, let me just say that I love reading vampire fiction. Ever since the quintessential Anne Rice came upon the literary scene, I have devoured any kind of vamp fiction I could find.

I discovered Ljane Smith. If you liked Twilight you will like her work in the The Vampire Diaries and the Night World series. But for those of us who are a little older and would like our apple to have a little more juice, there's Charlaine Harris. The Southern Vampire series featuring Sookie Stackhouse is wonderful. It's juicy yet very tasteful and had just a subtle hint of eroticism. I'm on book three of this series, Club Dead, and it's very good.

So maybe I will pull that NaNo novel out soon and start editing. But right now, I'm reading.

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Virgos Love Organizing Stuff

Image via Wikipedia

I'm trying to simplify my life. So I'm extending that into my digital life as well. This will be my main writing blog from now on. And I will be participating in Tricycle Magazine's The Big Sit. This is a 90-day endeavor, and I figured I might as well point the blog in that direction and just let it keep going. I'll still be writing and will plan on participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, so this blog's focus will remain intact. I know, I know. If I hadn't had too many blogs to start with, this wouldn't have happened. What can I say? I always have to have too much of any good thing. Sometimes I even have to have too much of a bad thing before I figure out it's bad. I think it's in my DNA. But I'm working on it, I promise.
Stick around. It might get a little crazy around here real soon. ;)

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2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

I am frantically trying to edit my NaNo novel to enter this contest. The fact that I am just getting started isn't helping. I have until 2PM Friday to get this done, because after that I will be going out of town until Sunday to a convention that I have been registered for since last June. Submissions close on Sunday, or when they reach 10K entries, whichever comes first. Even though I really don't feel like going, I need to go and meet new people and get out of this house! My illness has kept me cooped up in my bedroom for way too long. Luckily I will be taking my Celiac tests Monday, and after that I can clean out my kitchen and start changing my diet, and hopefully start to feel better. So wish me luck, both with the rapid edit job and at the conference, where gluten-containing food will be plentiful.

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Sorry for the Absence

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been sick for, well it seems like forever but really for about 4 years now, and very sick for the last 9 months or so. Turns out I might have Celiac Disease. So I'm going to doctors, and I will be getting tested next month.
I'll be back soon, hopefully back and better than I have been in a long, long time!
Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'll keep you posted on what's going on as soon as possible. I will probably be posting about this, and keep this blog strictly for writing. I just wanted to let you know what was going on with me.

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