November goals progress

Is it already the end of November? It's time for my monthly update.

1. I decided to work on a new novel during NaNoWriMo for November. I started "Dear Grace", an idea I've been thinking about off and on for over a year. While I did start, I didn't get very far. I found that having to work on it made it harder, made it a chore. So I've gotten back to writing just when I feel inspired. Yep, I'm never gonna be a full-time writer. And that's ok. I want to enjoy writing.
2. No new progress on the play.
3. I've read 36 books so far this year. Only 4 more to reach my goal of 40. I'm on track to do it.
4. November was a very busy month for us at the IU Cinema. We started the month with From Here to Eternity, followed by The Motorcycle Diaries, Cabaret and, finally, A Trip to the Moon last night. 
5. We didn't get to any of the state forests this month. One Saturday we considered it, but ended up going to an SCA archery practice instead. 
6. And the cold weather takes away any desire to run. I think this one will be on hold until the spring.

October goals progress

It's November 1st. I supposed I should post my October goals progress.

1. I worked on my novel a little. Got some good feedback. Lots of notes to apply... when I'm ready to work on it more. I'm starting a new novel in November for NaNoWriMo. 
2. Got some good feedback on the play. I need to work with Chris to add action (it's currently dialog heavy).
3. I'm on track toward my goal of 40 books. I've read 33 so far. I'm currently reading 2. 
4. We spent a lot of time at the IU Cinema in October. Casablanca on October 4th, Bride of Frankenstein/Freaks double feature followed by The Gamers: Dorkness Rising/Beverly Lane double feature on October 27th.
5. Does driving through Yellowwood State Forest count? Because we did that. We didn't get out and hike, but it was a nice drive.
6. I've fallen off the running wagon. I got out a few times, but the cold has been an issue. I picked up some warmer running clothes, so that should help... as long as I can keep from getting injured and actually get out. 

Overall, a pretty good month. I think I'll add yoga or some other exercise in place of trying to run so much. It may be the cold, but I've been more likely to hurt after running lately. November is looking to be a very productive month.

September goals progress

Time for the monthly progress report:

1. I worked a little on my story. Not as much as I should have, but some. I like where the story is. I am aware of my weaknesses. Now I need to buckle down and finish so I can move on. I've started thinking about a new story to write during this year's NaNoWriMo in November. I'm excited. This year's story isn't a fantasy piece. I'll be writing in the real world. 
2. I finished a draft of our play! There were major problems with the penultimate scene, but I've even rewritten that and fixed what I knew was wrong. I've sure this will need revising, but I'm happy with where it's at right now. Chris needs to go through it and help with action. He's already pointed out a line that was unintentionally creepy, so I fixed that.
3. I've read 30 books toward my goal of 40. I'm 75% of the way to my goal, 75% of the way through the year. Right on track. I think next year I'll lower my goal a little. Even though it looks like I can do 40, I almost feel like I'm reading just to meet the goal sometimes. (Usually I just get lost in the book, but ones that take a bit longer to read... I feel pressure to finish them quickly.)
4. The fall season at the IU Cinema is fantastic. This month we saw Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, with Herzog in attendance, no less; Treasure of the Sierra Madre; and Two Years at Sea, an experimental film. Fitzcarraldo was interesting - a little long and slow, but interesting. For the record, I liked the ending. The whole point was about bringing opera to the town, and he did. Two Years at Sea wasn't really our cup of tea, but it's good to get out of our comfort zone and try something different.
5. We didn't get to any of the state parks this month. Between weather, other commitments and a surprise visit to the grandparents, it just didn't happen.
6. Running. What can I say about running? I read a book this month about interval training. While I have no desire to run a half marathon, the principles in the book can still be applied to my own running. And I did try to implement them once my leg felt better and I recovered from a cold. I had my best run (2 minutes jogging, 1 minute walking). Then I had a couple of bad runs trying to keep to that schedule. I was trying to time it so I would hit the hill at a walk, but that backfired on me. I decided to change my interval to 1:1... and then I got hit with another cold and it rained all week. I haven't had a chance to get back out and run. Honestly, I still don't like running, so running when I don't feel good or when the weather is crappy is just enough incentive to give it up, so I take those days off. If the weather holds out, I should be able to get back into the swing of things this Tuesday.

All in all, not a bad month. I feel like I'm getting back in the groove now that the boys are in school. Of course, I'm also looking forward another 2 years, making plans for grad school, which means I should pick up a GRE study/practice book because I'll need to take the GRE and apply to grad school next year if I want to start in 2014. It never ends, does it?

How I write

With NaNoWriMo almost upon us, I thought I would share how I write.

It's not complicated: I fly by the seat of my pants.

At least, that's how I've worked on my first novel (tentatively titled "The Dragonlords"). When I started, I had the first scene, the prologue, stuck in my mind. And I just went from there. I let the story tell me where to go. And when I got lost, I would talk to Chris. He would ask great questions (sometimes as simple as "why?") and of course I knew the answers. And those answers were usually where the story needed to go next.

I only had ~25K words after last November, so I've been fleshing it out for the last year, with the help of my writing group. I had some good bones when I started. I have almost 36K words now and plan to use this November to reach 50K (or, ideally, 60K). It needs filling in, but I know a lot of the places that need work, thanks to the lovely ladies in my writing group.

I also have the start of a stageplay/screenplay("Life is a Journey") that runs about 8 minutes so far. After I'm done with my novel, it is next on the list. Chris and I came up with the idea on a car ride a year and a half ago. We actually did outline the scenes before starting. I've done most of the work on the stageplay version, but want to switch it to a screenplay, since that is Chris's forte. Since Chris and I are working on this together (I write most of the dialog; he helps with the general story idea), this one needs to wait until we have time to work together. That means January at the soonest.

And I even have a story idea for next year's NaNoWriMo, when I will be ready for something new. I just can't juggle multiple projects without dropping them, so I need to concentrate on one at a time.

That's what I'm writing.

I actually do some of my writing in longhand and then type it up later. Sometimes I type directly. It really depends on what mood I'm in and what resources I have available. When I'm revising, I tend to do a lot of longhand, in red pen, on the printed pages. I can arrow stuff around and do insertions (I know, I can do that on the computer too, but it isn't the same as seeing what I've done).

I sometimes wear a writing outfit of cozy pajama pants, a shirt, my big black sweater, slippers.

I read recently a nice blog article about writer's block that really resonated. The gist is that no one gets talker's block, so why do they get writer's block. If you are a writer, go read it. I'll wait.

What did you think? Eye opening? He makes sense. I'll even add to his cure for writer's block: talk. When I get stuck, I bounce my story off Chris and he helps me get to the next scene (or the one after that). Just by listening and letting me talk about it. I probably don't even need to talk TO him. I bet a voice recorder would do just as well.

An example: at the last Bloomington Screenwriter's Community meeting, a writer was explaining how she didn't know where to start, then told us what her story was about. She does know where to start, she just has trouble writing it down. We suggested she record herself talking about it and she'll have the whole thing down in no time.

That's pretty much how I write.

So why do I write? Because I have these stories inside me and I want to share them. Finding the right words and being able to express these characters who inhabit these incredible worlds and do amazing things? What could be better than that?