Cold Feet.

I'm gettin' em. In a BIG way. Massive bock-bock-chicken-itis. NaNo is in three days, and I haven't had time to get ready for it. Because Halloween is rapidly approaching, and I'm stuck with...stuff going on. AND we had swine flu at our house.

Everyone seems healthy now, but we're not doing the homemade cookies this year (because I don't think all the people who knew we had swine flu would want cookies from us, ha ha) so that will be one less thing I have to do.

BUT, I was supposed to do massive research. And I find I've been researching other things. I'm getting pulled in another direction, which is exactly what happened to me last year. Right before NaNo, the story I was set to write faded away to the background, and FAIRIES became the hot topic in my brain.

I'm sticking with my original story. It has the most potential. It's weird and different from the stuff that's out there. THAT'S why I need to write it! To get it out of my system!

UGH!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

NaNo Approacheth! Okay, that sounds weird when you say it out loud. Ahem.

ANYWAY...I am getting pumped! My whole "clean the house till it shines and organize everything" plan sort of got sidetracked by Swine Flu (not me, but my daughter) and SO FAR (Major fingers crossed here) she is the only one who has it. I'm hoping that she will be right as rain by Halloween. Tis' cold out there for a former sickie to be running around! She might have to pass out candy this year.

As far as getting ready for NaNo, my research time has been nil, too. I guess I'll have to just write and insert facts later, if I don't know them for sure. I certainly don't have the language down for 19th-century pickpockets living in England, so I am currently reading "Pickpockets, Beggars and Ratcatchers" by Kellow Chesney. I am muddling through it. Frankly, it sounds like a person with an infuriatingly large vocabulary (a.k.a. who is fond of being hard to understand) wrote their thesis paper on the subject of Victorian-era slums, and I'm having a hard time getting into it. Not exactly a smooth read. But I'm always up for a challenge. I was the weird kid in high school who LOVED reading The Iliad and Shakespeare and Jane Austen, where most of my peers were scratching their heads and asking me what it all meant. To me, it was all clear, to them, it sounded like a bunch of archaic mumbo-jumbo. (I believe one kid actually said that!)

So, I'm getting through this book, and I've printed up a lot of stuff online. But mostly, I get to make stuff up. Which is the BEST part. :-)

Five more days!!!

I'm Doing It.

I'm doing NaNo this year. I swore I wouldn't. Then I got the itch. And it full on became a rash.

50K here I come! I am psyched!!!

NaNo: A Kick in the Butt?

I'm in a writing funk lately. As I've proclaimed many a time before, I'm NOT a good balancer. If I do all the domestic stuff I'm supposed to do, I don't find time to write. When I'm "in the writing zone" the house is chaos and everything falls to the wayside.

Not a good thing. So, lately, since I still suck at juggling acts, I haven't been writing. Except in my head. Although last night I dusted off one of my stories I was gung ho about several years back. Like, about SEVEN years back. It's set in Victorian-era England, and it's like Oliver meets Harry Potter meets The Screwtape Letters. Okay, that sounds dumb, but it's close.

I have ZERO written on it, just a few paragraphs. But I have a whole filebox of research, and a plot outline. So, where is this all going?

NaNo. National Novel Writing Month. As in, in a couple of weeks. I could do it. I swore I wouldn't. But I need to get myself writing. I need a kick in the butt. Nothing like a good ol' challenge to get me going, eh?

I am considering it. I think I might NaNo this year, after all. I need to figure it out. And soon.

Would I Be A Traitor If...

...I got a Kindle?

I can see how other writers might shun e-reading devices, because it's been said the e-reader would usher in the age of "No More Paper Books" or something like that.

Folks, it's happening, whether we like it or not. And it's so much more...economical. Books take up space. Digital books...don't.

Hubby has been talking about a Kindle, and I'm going to get him one for Christmas. (There's method to my madness--he is interested in the e-reader Apple is supposedly coming out with soon, so when it does, he can get that one and the Kindle will be MINE, ha ha!)

My reasoning? I love to read, and I hate reading heavy hardbound books. Because I do like to buy them when they're first out, and those hardbound books can be cumbersome to handle. Not to mention they take up a lot of space. But a digital version, (which also COSTS less!) stored safely in my own "e-library" that I could read any time I want, and not have to search for it or worry about it attibuting to clutter or my sagging bookshelves...well...that seems worth it to me.

I've heard a lot of writers who are against the e-readers because they like the feel of a book in their hands. The smell of it. I like that too. Someday, when I get a book out there I'd like to have my own book in my hands, just to caress it and fondle it, you know?

Libraries are already almost obsolete. Because of Google and Bing and the Internet, libraries really are just places people go to "use the computers" or do things old school. Why would I drag myself to a library and spend time looking for books I might not even be able to check out (because they'd probably be reference) and copy notes down, when I can find out everything I need online, in the comfort of my own home?

So, since I'm rapidly going from "old school" to "complete digitilization," is that bad? I think my generation will feel guilt, but my kids' kids won't. They probably won't even know what a book is. So, no guilt, or lamentation over the "old school" ways.

Wow. Food for thought.

The Painful Rejection.

I got the most painful rejection yet, on Friday night. It really REALLY hurt. This was my dream agent of dream agents. I queried her back in April. Because of her fabulousness, she took four months to respond to my query with a request for a partial, and then another two months to respond to that.

It was probably one of the nicest form rejections ever. But still a form rejection, and it HURT.

It was one of those "stop and make you reconsider your direction" rejections. To the person who queries and receives answers a lot, this is no big deal. But to me, who tends to get emotionally all my "eggs in one basket" despite what I know is smart, it IS a big deal.

Sadness.

Scratching the Writing Itch.

I am a writer. That's what I am. I love to write. I love to create something out of nothing, and listen to the characters come to life in my head. Love, love LOVE it.

So, why do I let my "other hats" get in the way? I've battled the "Put off Writing" demon for years. My excuse? I'm a busy mom with four kids who are in sports and other activities, and my life is dedicated to THEM, for now.

Those of you who know me, are probably rolling your eyes. "Here she goes again." But it's a battle I haven't quite won, yet. I have lovely writing friends who provide for themselves very nicely with their full-time writing. I have part-time writing/full-time mom friends who can empathize with me. I have friends who have given up on writing completely, succumbing to the demands of their responsibilites as mothers. All sorts.

I was so excited for school to start, because it meant uninterrupted writing time for me. Then suddenly my two-year old became obsessed with me, and decided he couldn't play on his own, without engaging me in some way--every few minutes. *lara pounds head on desk*

He misses his siblings. And I'm "it" as far as people. Unless we go somewhere or have a play date. So, I get it. But now I've gotten caught up in other things, and have been researching, but not writing.

I'm mad at myself. I know better. I know, I can FIND time to write, if I really want to. I need to figure out a plan. I don't like that itch that only writing can scratch.

I need to SCRATCH IT!!