Its the Little Accomplishments

Ten Thousand Words

10,348 to be exact

For my first novel I have to say, this is pretty exciting. I've had the idea floating around and worked on it sporadically in more of an outline sense for a quite a few months but was always afraid to take that leap to sit and just start writing. 

Never has a keyboard become more intimidating.

Then along came NaNoWriMo and little did I know, it would be just the push I needed to let my writing juices flow freely and quit judging myself and just get it all out there. Ten thousand might be a beginner's triumphant landmark in the lofty goal that is Fifty Thousand Words, but having five days of writing with over two thousand words written each day after a summer of nothing but outlines, that means something. It might seem silly to some that the NaNoWriMo website awards badges to your profile when you hit goals such as these, but right now I am wearing that badge with pride. I can go to sleep tonight knowing I'm just that much closer toward achieving my dream. Maybe the whole thing is silly, but when you have a community of support for what you're doing you figure, you know what? why not! 

So now its your turn. What fairy tales do you have lying in wait inside of you?

"There is nothing to writing. 

All you do is sit down to a typewriter 

and bleed."

- Ernest Hemingway

Writing Battle: Depressing vs. Happy ... GO!

Today I have found that writing happiness is oddly more difficult than writing murky depressive, emotional scenes. 

You have to wonder if that says anything about you as a person. 

     When the happiness comes, it is inspired by real past life experiences, but those moments are fleeting. The emotions of deep despair, of self depreciation, of confusion, disorientation, and loneliness; those are more readily accessible. These lie in wait just below the surface, clawing and pulling their way through the thin layer of happiness that coats the top.
     It's difficult to write when you're feeling happy, because you fear your writing may become too distant and un-relatable in its fairytale likeness.

And so, I break to learn the guitar for the Sunday School Christmas Program.

And attempt to reach my previous depressive state. 

Writer's Block

Taking a break from my novel writing for NaNoWriMo...

That's a lie.

Writer's block has officially stuck. 

Writing my first novel is a bit daunting. I was very excited about it at first and went gung-ho and was incredibly excited when I had 1,000 words written...until I realized how little 1,000 words is in the grand scheme of things. And I began to get un-excited. And then daunted. And frightened.

And then came Cole. 

She's basically the best. She is always there. I mean ALWAYS. She's like the Alfred to Bruce Wayne. She has all the solutions tucked away in her sleeves and imparts all of her knowledge upon this lowly grasshopper at precisely the moment it is needed. I don't think there will ever be a time I don't look up to her. In fact, you should probably check her out at www.nicoleatone.com. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be reviewing books for Alternating Current, which you should also check out, I wouldn't be pursuing my art further...heck, without her I wouldn't be pursuing any of my passions or believing I could actually do them.

Today's lesson: Know your support, and love and appreciate them with everything you've got. They probably need it more than you know, and after all, you need them more than they know.