Ok, maybe it is a bit over the top to say this blog got pimped.  But, it definitely got a makeover!  Below are the top 5 reasons why I revamped this blog:

1)  I needed inspiration to write regularly.  Let's face it, my posting frequency in 2011 has been lousy.  I have a few readers (thank you for hanging in there :) who have sent texts and e-mails asking me what gives.  I know a blog is really about content.  To me, it is more like a flower garden.  If it looks pretty, chances are I will water it.

2)  I wanted to prove that the underdog had more to offer than what most people thought.  I was reading a lot of blogs about blogging better (when in fact I should have been writing).  Many of these blogs proclaimed the virtues of WordPress over Blogger.  I was thoroughly convinced that if I wanted to upgrade the aesthetic quality of my blog, I would have to convert to WordPress.  I signed up for an account and tried to get started.  There were a few obstacles that immediately came up, the first of which was I never got an account activation e-mail.  Searching for a solution to that dilemma resulted in hours of scanning forums and being frustrated.  While I was trying to solve my WordPress challenges, I started to test WordPress templates that had been adapted for Blogger.  Once I found an adapted template that made my Blogger blog look and feel more like a WordPress blog I had the solution.  Yes, I had to do some basic (challenging for me) HTML editing but I still find Blogger is more intuitive than WordPress.  "If it doesn't work at first, find a work-around" proved itself in action.

3)  I am getting a feel for what I want to write about (it only took six months of blogging).  I have organized the posts using labels, and I am limiting the number of labels.   If you are looking for posts that have a Health and Wellness focus, you can click on that label and get all the posts which are concerned with Health and Wellness.  The major topics are Health and Wellness, Living Simply, Food, Writing, and Bicycling.  Since Lucky plays a prominent role in how this blog got started, she gets a section as well.  This is a personal blog and occassionally a post won't fit into a category.  Instead of forcing a square peg in a round hole, those posts will go into Assorted (assorted may have a sub-section).  You can still read the blog in chronological order if that is your preference.

4)  I have declared myself a Freelance Writer.  The last few months, I have been taking some awesome courses in Freelance Writing and have started to network with other writers and send query letters to editors.  My blog needed to serve as a reference about myself, my writing and how to get in touch with me.

5)  I wanted to make sure my posts were making an impact.  The format of each post only has a teaser opening and then you (dear reader) get to select if it is worthwhile to continue reading.  This will challenge me to write better.

There you have it - my reasons for pimping giving the blog a face lift.  However, it is not about me - it is about you, and I hope you will like and enjoy the new look, feel and navigation!

Comments (0)

I can't believe it is mid December and several weeks have passed since completing NaNoWriMo.  The housework which suffered terribly has been caught up.  Christmas decorations adorn our home and outdoor lights cast a festive and welcoming glow.  Effectively downsizing on clutter, donations have been made and receipts await tax return preparation.  Ebay auction sales have gone favorably as our unwanted items reward holiday bargain hunters.  These are a few of the activities that have filled my days since the end of NaNoWriMo.  I would be remiss if I did not mention that I fractured my ankle as well (more on that in another post).

I have been busy but I cannot say these activities have brought about the strange sense of delight and accomplishment I got out of NaNoWriMo.  Without the challenge of a daily word count goal my writing life is lost.  I crave the flashing cursor on the page inviting creation.  My writing life is in its infancy and needs nurturing.

NaNoWriMo was a journey and an adventure.  With a blank page in front of me and an insane deadline, I simply wrote for the sake of writing.  Words flowed as my fingertips tapped the keyboard.  I did not worry about the mechanics and my inner editor was silenced.  I would say this was one of the few times in my life where I JUST DID IT.  I set myself free from an ego driven world that evaluates achievement and failure and focused only on doing.  Sure, most of what I wrote was crap, but it was glorious crap.  On a few occasions I was rewarded as an unexpected twist surfaced and wove itself neatly into the unfolding storyline.  

Music was my companion during NaNoWriMo.  Early in November, with some hesitation I plugged in my headphones and signed into my Pandora account.  Within a few sessions I found I could not write without music setting the tone.  Placebo, Muse or Clint Mansell set the tone for angst ridden and edgy internal conflict.  Film scores infused movement and energy into slow moving passages.  Fela Kuti and Djembe beats lent themselves to snappy exchanges of dialogue.  Jazz, fusion, classical, acoustic, and indie are other some of the other musical genres that visited themselves upon this 50,000 word draft.  

Many people have asked me what happens after NaNoWriMo.  This experience has provided me with a starting point to develop my writing.  I am signed up for a writing class and have ordered two writing instruction books as a Christmas gift to myself.  Essentially, I like the plot of my crappy 50,000 word rough draft and I intend to start on a revision process which incorporates writing skill improvement.  I will print out the manuscript and attempt to read it.  As I embark upon this journey, I will post excerpts and welcome reader feedback.  Maybe, one day just maybe,  a part of my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel will be published in some format.  

As Thoreau said, 

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.    ~ Henry David Thoreau 1817 - 1862

Comments (0)

It is after 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 30.  I finished writing tonight with a daily total that exceeded 3500 words.  Guess what?  I have reached the finish line!!!

I will share with you more thoughts on this experience in a future post.  My creative genius is tapped and is saying I need to sleep!

Comments (2)

Yesterday was November 15.  In the world of a Nanowrimo that translates to 25,000 words.  Half way through November, half way to completing the 50,000 word goal for Nanowrimo.

I made it.  On time.  With a word count of 25,616 words.

Today, as I sat down to further my efforts, I gave some thought to what this project means to me and how I feel about it.  Here is my current list:

1)  Achieving the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days requires a disciplined approach to writing.  Successful writers write often and most write every day.  I have been absent from the keyboard for three days this month.  I have a sense of what it is to write every day.  Some days I have wanted to, others have been a chore.
2)  Writing creatively is WAY different than writing for the business world.  In my career, I have always been considered a good writer.  Writing compelling fiction that draws a reader into the incidents of the story is a challenge and takes a lot of work.   Chapters featuring interesting characters engaged in dramatic, thrilling or humorous interaction with relevant backstory and appropriate timing along a plot line is an art.
3)  I like the concept of fiction.  While fiction is a made up story, I think elements of our own story are included.  Somewhere hidden in the plot, or a character's personality, or a location is a reference to our own experience or the human experience.
4)  The pep talk e-mails from NaNoWriMo as well my municipal leader are awesome and keep me going.  Last week, I received an e-mail from John Green (the published author, not the realtor).  It made me feel like I was part of the group that has struggled with sentence structure and fought with characters who were going places they never were meant to.  It was worth it to keep plodding along because somehow, maybe I too would overcome the obstacles and a few paragraphs would merit reading.
5)  I feel like I am using my brain again.  This is one of the biggest thrills.  Remember those writing exercises from high school and college?  Active and passive voice; compound, complex and simple sentence structure.  I actually remember this stuff!  As I sit at my keyboard and marvel about the next paragraph, I find myself using knowledge that I thought was long gone.

To all the other Nanowrimo's out there, you rock.  Keep on writing.  30,000 words is right around the corner.  35,000 words will be here before we know it.  Then 40,000 words and we are on the home stretch!  See you at the finish line.

Comments (0)

November is just around the corner and that means it is time for National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo.  Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo, first organized this event in 1999 with twenty-one participants in the San Francisco Bay area.  The basic premise is that participants write a novel in 30 days.

How many of us say to ourselves "Some day, I should write a book".  Like many of the some days in life, this dream gets put off until later.  NaNoWriMo will kick start your writing dreams.  50,000 words in 30 days is a firm deadline to get your creative juices flowing.  No more waiting until you are older and have more time, wiser or have achieved literary enlightenment.

Creative pursuits are the things all of us dream about but never find the time to engage in.  With your boss reminding you that this months sales target is not met, or the kids needing a ride after the school basketball game, or the car due for servicing -- well no wonder our creative selves get trampled by day to day basic existence.   I know this first hand - I heard about NaNoWriMo three years ago from my husband.  At that time, my life was comprised primarily of a career that kept me on the road 60% of the time as well as extensive family responsibilities.  While I appreciated my husband encouraging me to engage my creative side, I pretty much dismissed the idea of writing a novel in 30 days for variety of reasons which I now see were the usual obstacles my subconscious throws up when I'm challenged to go outside of my typical comfort zone.

So, what does 50,000 words really look like? Depending upon the font and size of the page, it's about 175 pages.  Great novels that are approximately 50,000 words include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  Now don't get me wrong -- I know that my first go around at NaNoWriMo is not going to produce a great literary work which brings anyone to tears. Having a deadline of 30 days will result in a 50,000 word rough draft.  To achieve the deadline, I won't have time to worry about the plot, character development or great dialogue.  The idea is quantity over quality; I will have to embrace a level of enthusiastic imperfection and just go with it.  My daily quota will equate to about 1667 words - the average person can type this quantity of words in a two hour period.

Very doable, right?  Wish me luck, and if you want to join in, check out www.nanowrimo.org to get started!

Comments (0)