50,000 words - here I come!

Ok everyone - raid your kid's candy bag and get on a sugar high! The start of the 50K word novel is just a few short hours away! Are you ready? And if you don't write every day, don't despair - you have the whole month to achieve the goal. Besides even if you get 35K words - well that's of a heck of a lot of words. So relax, have fun and start typing in 1...2...3 hours!

NaNoWriMo Countdown!

I met a group of people on Thursday night who are all planning to participate in the NaNoWriMo challenge. Besdies the fact that it was so very exciting to be in a group of writers, I got the opportunity to discuss and answer questions about my approach to writing. There were 3 of us on the panel and I just wanted to say thank you to the other two for orchestrating it, participating, and inviting me to be a part of something incredible. It was a great night and I loved feeling the enthusiasm of the participants. Only a few days left until the starting gun fires for writers everywhere to emerse themselves into a writing frenzy for the month of November! Can't wait. And good luck to all of you, but most importantly - have a blast!!!

more on NaNoWriMo

In an attempt to accomplish many things with a limited amount of time, I have only glanced through the NaNoWriMo.org website. What I gather from it is that the novel writing to take place in November is a fresh story - not some book you are already working on. However, I am considering that I may take the opportunity to commit myself to write 50,000 words for ABR - a book already in the making. Obviously if the rules state that the 50K words are supposed to be a new story, then I will not submit my words in ABR for a word count and thus forfeiting my opportunity to achieve this accomplishment. Although I want very much to do this cool NaNoWriMo thing, I need to stay focused on ABR. So it would hopefully inspire me to do that - knowing that I am amongst a group all attempting to achieve a common goal, and if I work on some other story, then my attention is taken away from ABR. Decisions, decisions. Sometimes I wish someone could just tell me what to do and I just do it. Like, "Cathy, today you have to submit 10 pages to me before you go to bed." Someone to hold me accountable. Preferably someone who pays me. But since I don't like being told what to do, that would be disastrous. I'm such a PITA to myself. I chuckle when I say this - so don't worry that I am discouraged. Humored by myself perhaps, but not discouraged.
Not that I want to get into details, but I do want to share a bit so as to explain my prolonged absence and my lack of writing these past few weeks. I could write for an hour on this topic but really don't want to. The long and short of it is that I have been dealing with some unknown "illness" for weeks - perhaps a couple of months now. If I had to suggest a cause, I would say it mimics Lyme disease - muscle fatigue, general all over fatigue, joint aches, back pain (lower and mid), stomach issues that feel like all my internal organs in my stomach area have been whipped thru a blender and then put back into my body. You get the drift. Per one doctor's recommendation, I started taking vitamin B-12 since my numbers were low for that. It actually is helping with the overall fatigue so I don't constantly feel like I am fighting to get through the day. Not a day has gone by in about 6 weeks that I have not at the least been uncomfortable - for the entire day. At its worst, I reach an acute level of pain usually in my mid back or just an overall ache that brings tears to my eyes. And for those of you who are like me and get curious about this stuff - this all started with a rash around my torso that was diagnosed (although tentatively) as shingles. Anyway, the point of me telling you this is to explain why I have not been focused much on writing, including blog writing. I have had little energy but have continued to work everyday. So I have almost no reserves. Hope I don't sound all whiney (is that how you spell it? - I wish I knew an author so she could help me with my spelling!). I didn't even want to bring all of this up but since I know some people are wondering where the heck I am, I figured this was an opportunity to explain.
And there I go again...rambling on.
It's time to refocus the brain cells and see what the characters in ABR are up.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month thus the NaNoWriMo (try saying it - it's fun to pronounce!)
If you are unfamiliar with it - here is the jist. Write a novel in a month. Haha! Wise guy! More specifically - write 50,000+ words between November 1st - November 30th. If you get approximately 250 words per pages that works out to about 200 pages total. So it's more like National Novella Writing Month, so be it.
I invite all aspiring novelists to join me in the fight against novel-writing angst (it's a real, horrible condition - and for all of you who are wound too tight, I'm only joking so get over yourselves) by participating in the fun. You can either register at the below link...tada...
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

or if you want to just do it through me, that's cool too. But if you participate with just me, you don't get any cool accolades like you would through the org site. Oh, I suppose I would congratulate you. On a serious note, I would love to communicate with other participants, so please feel free to do so. I have already registered but will most likely deliver my updates through my blog rather than the NaNoWriMo site.
So who's with me?
If you want more details, just ask me or visit the link.

Response to Previous Comment

First - thank you for the kind words, but second - I found her comment that there was no action as of page 60 a constructive comment. I have received many comments over these past few months, mostly very positive ones that are generic such as "I really enjoyed the book." I have had several readers provide me with real constructive comments - such as "you have a good sense of imagery" and then proceed to provide me with specifics. You personally have provided me with lots of constructive comments - all positive. I actually really like that I have a comment that can be perceived as negative. As I said, I may consider that perhaps I need to take the action up a notch because I do ramble on (mostly in real life - not in my novels), but I also am aware that I am not going to change my writing style to accomodate my readers. I like the way I write but like many artists/writers, I will continue to critique my style to consider improvements.
In regards to my "self-justification" - I do that with or without comments from my readers. In a time when every minute counts in the American life, I feel the need to justify the time I take to write - not my writing style, etc. My novels do not at this point produce revenue. It does not do the housework. It does not exercise my body. It does not pay the bills. It does not decrease the paperload. Not only does it not accomplish any of these things, but it takes away from them. And don't get me wrong - I am completely aware that by allowing myself to write and honor my true self, I am a better person all around thus improving the quality of my life and those directly connected to me and who rely on me on a regular basis. But all it really boils down to is that it is an emotional struggle for me - not every minute of the day, not every day - more like an underlying shield. I know where the struggle and guilt stems from - I understand the psychological intricacies of it. I am also completely aware that I am responsible for dismissing the struggle and the guilt. The only person who can give me permission to be a writer is me, but it sure as shit is helpful that I have some great readers.
See what I mean - I ramble on...haha!!! Boy, a psychologist would have a field day with me. Do you think people who enter the psychology fields do so to better understand themselves, to get answers to their own questions? It is a rhetorical question - if you are not self-fascinated, you are avoiding. The obvious answer coming from one who is fascinated by people in general.
Good Lord, I love the use of words!
Carry on, then...

October Greetings from C.L.LeMay

Happy October! A couple of things to go over. First, Blurb has increased the price of my books which really stinks because they are expensive enough as it is. You are still better off contacting me directly for a paperback rather than going through them. I still would appreciate everyone's continued efforts to check the blog out and then hit the link to THREE CROSSES. It keeps my numbers up which has a positive affect on goggle searches.
Next, I have recently heard from several people who have read or are reading THREE CROSSES currently. Overall, still some really great responses but got an interesting one last night. This reader is currently reading THREE CROSSES and said that although she likes my writing style and my details are good, nothing has happened so far. She was at page sixty. Not good from a publishing point of view to be at page 60 and there is no action. I don't think she's necessarily wrong - I was worried about lack of action before publishing THREE CROSSES. In her opinion, the book still works though. I am curious to hear other people's opinions on this. And please, do not feel obligated to stroke my ego. I am aware that I ramble on, both on the page and out of the mouth. I don't want to change my writing style, but am still wondering how my writing style affects the movement of the story. I consistently get messages from readers that state it is a fast moving story - which is usually an indication that there is action.
And the word on ABR is very similiar - easy to read, fast moving, intriguing, and so forth.
So I guess the question is this - does THREE CROSSES have enough action? I don't want to reformat THREE CROSSES or ABR, but I wonder now as I was just sitting down to work on ABR if I need to take it up a notch. I am character driven in my writing, but what can I say, I find people fascinating.
I can feel myself slipping into that mode where I question the validity of my skills, my talent, my writing ability. But I also feel myself pulling away from that mode. No matter how many years of trying to self-justify my writing and the time I put into and now more than ever, the time I want to put into it, it all boils down to the fact that I am a writer. Good or bad. And I believe more good than bad. I love words. I love reading. I love creating characters and situations. I love the feel of a pen in my hand or the keys tapping away under my fingers. I love a good movie with great characters and interesting story lines. And I love that when time allows, I can do this for hours and hours and be transported to wherever the story is. Nothing else exist during that time. It's like when you read a book that transports you somewhere else - it's an escape. An escape that unfolds as I write it.
Another piece of interesting news - a woman that I work with was in her local library recently, as she often is being an avid reader. She had a copy of THREE CROSSES with her and presented it to one of the employees there who happens to be in charge of the adult services. The librarian provided my friend with her business card and requested that I contact her because she would like to have a local author for the book club. I will let you know how that pans out. But isn't that wicked cool? (I really wanted to use the word wicked - I like it, besides, it's October). And many thanks to my friend who obviously wants to see me succeed:)