NASCAR NaNo

 

I’m at the starting line, revving my creative engine, ready to release the brake, hit the gas and take off.

I have one roadblock,

 I don’t know where I'm going.

            I have 2 ½ days to think up characters, and a plot.

            Something has to develop, I don’t want to look like this on November 30th.

 

 

 

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo do you have your story sketched out?

 

 

Reflections on National Novel Writing Month

Yesterday, November 30, NaNoWriMo wrapped up for another year. I again joined the almost 300,000 people from all over this globe, setting aside life for thirty days to challenge mind, body and spirit to a task that sounds doable at the beginning of the month. A task that takes guts, especially if you broadcast to family, friends and co-workers that you have jumped into the pool.

I hugely admire those who have full time jobs, children, marriages, volunteer jobs, and/or health issues. How have they accomplished this monumental task: by stealing hours from sleep, using lunch hours, writing while the kids are at their sporting events, dictating into a recorder while driving. I’m sure this list could be pages long, they used whatever moment they could because they had something to prove to others, maybe to themselves or perhaps there was a story in their heart that had to be put on paper. The reasons for writing a 50,000 word novel are as varied as the individuals doing the writing.

I became a NaNo winner for the fourth year in a row.

I now have four partially finished novels, one with a word count of over 83,000 words. What I have learned and how my writing has grown is the prize I focus on in this moment.

Philippians 3:12-14 in the Message translation says it so wonderfully.
I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

After this, my fourth NaNo, I will say:

• I am well on my way.
• I do not count myself an expert in all of this
• I’ve got my eye on the goal
• I’m off and running
• I’m not turning back

Not a bad vision to have in front of me as I set my goal to finish the novel I am presently working on. I don’t have a title for it but I do have the chapter titles, they are taken from Ecclesiastes 3.

There is a time for everything, and everything on earth has its special season.
There is a time to be born
and a time to die.
There is a time to plant
and a time to pull up plants.
There is a time to kill
and a time to heal.
There is a time to destroy
and a time to build.
There is a time to cry
and a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad
and a time to dance.
There is a time to throw away stones
and a time to gather them.
There is a time to hug
and a time not to hug.
There is a time to look for something
and a time to stop looking for it.
There is a time to keep things
and a time to throw things away.
There is a time to tear apart
and a time to sew together.
There is a time to be silent
and a time to speak.
There is a time to love
and a time to hate.
There is a time for war
and a time for peace.

So with the month of November behind me but much writing ahead how am I feeling today? Tired, discouraged, frantic, disappointed. Most of all fearful that I will once again end up with a partially finished novel; I count that as failure. I know that some novels don’t deserve to be finished, however, unless I am able to write The End, even to a lousy, stinking piece of garbage how will I know that I can do this. God has called and whom He calls, He equips, so it is not God’s failure but mine if I don’t press through. He gives me an answer.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 Contemporary English Version

What do we gain by all our hard work? I have seen what difficult things God demands of us. God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, because God’s gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do.

He doesn’t promise it will be easy. Contentment waits for me at The End.

Now with Christmas twenty-five days away my focus shifts to the holidays, decorating the house, sending cards, cooking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, family time.

Today I feel sad, tomorrow may be a day of dance.

NaNoWriMo Confession

Monday November 1, NaNoWriMo kicks off. For the third year I am setting aside the month of November to write a novel of 50,000 plus words.

The story that is rolling around in my spirit is going to be a difficult one to write because it will deal with heavy issues. After I had the idea I wanted to put it aside because I am so unqualified to write the story and it will require a lot of painful research, not painful to me, but for those I will seek out for the help I need.

I asked God if this was my idea or if it was the story He wanted me to write. He confirmed this was the direction He wanted to me go. Each time I think about this story the tears want to come.

It will be a story of healing and redemption but there will be much pain in getting to that place. Knowing this, I feel the weight of this project.

This morning while reading in the book of John so many scriptures spoke to me of God’s guidance over this story. I realize I need an extra heavy dose of inspiration and I should start each writing day seeking the Holy Spirit’s help.

I took the scriptures from John and made them into a personal prayer. I will lift this prayer to God at the start of each writing day to remind myself: I am not alone in this and I better not go off on my own tangents but have an ear to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to me. This will be the start of each of my writing days.

Father, your Word says to make use of the Light while there is still time, may I be the light bearer that you have called me to through my writing.

I thank you that the stories I write are not my own ideas, but the Holy Spirit will tell me what the Father says to tell me. I know His instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever He tells me to say, I say!

Father, I haven’t any idea where I am going with the story, so how can I know the way? I thank you that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and He will lead me in this. This is Your story.

“The words I say are not my own but are from my Father who lives in me. And He does His work through me.”

I pray I stay attached to You during this time of consecration to this work, for apart from You I can’t do a thing.

I remind myself Father that You chose me. You appointed me to go and produce lovely fruit always, so no matter what I ask for from the Father, using Jesus name, Father, you will give it to me.

Father, thank you the words You give me for this story will be used by the Holy Spirit to convince the world of its sin, and of the availability of God’s goodness, and of deliverance from judgment.

May love, grace and mercy ring through this work bringing healing and deliverance to the captives.

May I keep distractions to a minimum during this time but also include in my life the people You send to me.

Father, bring glory and honor to Your name.

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
       Scriptures: John 12:28, 12:36, 12:49 14:5, 14:10 15:5, 15:16, 15:26 16:8

Happy writing to all who are participating in NaNo 2010.
       My NaNo user name is Shortstuff if you would like to follow my progress.

TARGET

I’m fidgety, grumpy and my heart is racing. I’m depressed, dispirited and want to throw things.

“Oh no, what’s wrong,” you might be asking.

It’s simple, I haven’t been writing. I’ve been doing lots of reading: books, facebook, blogs, etc. but I haven’t put my fingers and mind to the task of writing.

How can I say that God has given me a burden to write when I don’t do it? If I was my boss I would fire me.

When I was participating in NaNoWriMo I wrote every day and I was in my sweet spot. I didn’t get a lot of things done in my home, and my relationships suffered, but I wrote. There is a balance between these two, writing and the rest of life, and I will unearth it.

I have always been one of those people who can escalate my work volume when under pressure, not the greatest thing for my health, but I can produce, and do it competently, when I am under deadlines.

Do you need incentives or are you so disciplined that distractions are not an issue? I am not at that place so I need tools to keep my focal point in front of me.

Recognizing that there are lots of publications looking for short stories, the end of the year is a good time for me to start a spreadsheet listing publications and upcoming deadlines for stories.

I can envision myself starting each week at my computer, spreadsheet open, my eyes scanning the list, seeking my goal for the week: Get a story written and submitted. “Isn’t that publication fortunate that I know when their deadlines are so that they aren’t missing my incredible story?” (Smile)

Since I am a target oriented person my trajectory towards the bull’s-eye is researching publications and getting the spreadsheet established. I already have a folder filled with web pages of publications who accept submissions, transferring the information to the spread sheet shouldn’t take much time.

Although writing a full length novel is my goal I am hoping that using the press of meeting deadlines for short stories will keep me writing.

Who knows maybe one of those short stories will be the jumping off point for a new novel.

Photo: Dreamstime

PURPOSE

NaNoWriMo 2009 is over, but the writing continues. I finished the month with 72,479 words. I have another 20 to 30,000 more words to write to finish the rough draft. Then the fun begins: the editing. I am looking forward to taking my novel line by line and making it the best I can, then handing it over to others. I think it is a good story that others will be able to read and say, yeah, been there, done that.


God has a purpose and plan for every person He has created, yes that means you too. When you ask God what your purpose is He doesn’t say, “oops I forgot to plan something for you, I’ll see if I can find something in this bucket of left over bolts.”

You know that bucket, the one you have, the one that contains all the leftover screws and bolts from those assembly projects you have done. God doesn’t reach down in that bucket and pull something out, hand it to you and tell you to see if it fits. "Nope, that screw is too big," you hand it back to Him and He digs in again to try something else. And, no, He never throws up His hands and says, “I just don’t know what to do with you.” I’ve heard parents say that to their children but our Father God is never at a loss.

My Main Character thinks she knows what God’s purpose is for her life, but she has never asked Him, she is pursuing her own goals. All her striving to reach HER goal brings nothing but frustration, tears, anger and ultimately the worst betrayal, the Judas kiss from her father. When everything is stripped away she finally asks God, “What do you want me to do with my life?” And surprise, He has the answer for her. It has been in front of her all along.

Do you know what your God ordained purpose is? If you do, are you pursing it and stripping away those things that are a hindrance to that goal. There is nothing that will give you greater pleasure in life than being in the center, the bull’s eye, of God’s target. Every person in their place participating in God’s plan for their life brings total life to the body of Christ and the world at large. I know that sounds grandiose but think about the individuals called to be researchers, teachers, politicians, writers, mothers, accountants, carpenters, doctors, musicians, etc., each performing their God given purpose brings the world into harmony, like a symphony.

I’m sure you have heard of, or you know people who have worked for 20-30 years at a job they hate when their real love is fixing broken lawn mowers, they just have a knack for figuring out what is wrong. That knack may be God’s purpose for their life. Just think where we would be without someone to fix our lawn mowers. That may seem like a silly example but it is fact. No position is greater than another position. If fixing lawn mowers is the right position for you than you shouldn’t stoop to be the mayor of your town.

At the end of a year and the beginning of a new year most people give at least a brief glimpse back and forward to see where their life has been and where they are going, wouldn’t this be a good time to ask God what His purpose is for your life? Once you know, it is your responsibility to begin working towards that goal. Yes, I said work, it won’t be handed to you just because it is God’s purpose.

Here is a question for you. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail and money was not an issue?

When I was asked that question five years ago my answer was, to be a writer and a speaker. I was doing neither. Now I have had a short story published and I am working on a novel. This is God’s calling for my life and I love it.

photo image:flickr

Adieu for November

Hello friends,
Today is the second day of NaNoWriMo. I did well on my writing yesterday 4,500 words. I had a great day with the Colorado Springs NaNo group. But here it is, after 1pm, and I have not touched my story. What have I been doing? Laundry, reading emails, and blogs that I follow. Since I have to leave my house a little after three to pick up my granddaughter and play with her until her mom or dad get home around 5:30 I have lost the best part of my writing day. It will be a late night tonight.

I love reading the blogs of those I am following and others that I stumble across, you all have such wonderful things to share and I feel I am friends with you. Friends don't ignore friends but for the month of November I will have to cut down, or out, my time spent reading your blogs and use that time for my writing. Don't think that I no longer care, I do.

I pray for each of you who read and follow my blog that whatever you are facing right now in your lives you will have the strength to go through and be victorious.

I will enjoy reconnecting in December.

Diane

NaNoWriMo INSPIRATION

As we begin NaNoWriMo, at midnight tonight, each of us looks within ourselves for inspiration. We are not just writing to write, we are writing with a purpose.

“Winning” is not the only goal. Chariots of Fire is my inspiration for this race. There were so many incredible lines in this movie, and for your encouragement I am quoting some here.

“You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe your dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.” Eric Liddell

One of my favorite lines, spoken by Eric Liddell, at a critical point in his life. “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

I rewrite this for all you writers who are writing for God: “I believe God made us for a purpose, but he also made us writers. And when we write we feel His pleasure.”


 May this year’s NaNo be more than a challenge to produce 50,000 words in 30 days but may you grow closer to God as He speaks through you, onto the screens of your computer, the words that would give Him pleasure, knowing that the world will someday read them.

Countdown to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Over 100,000 people around the world commit to spend the month of November tied to their chair, fingers on their keyboard, snacks and drinks close by, to put out the incredible number of 50,000 words, that’s 1667 words per day. Why you may ask? Because it is there; not, that is just a clique, something we don’t want in our writings.

“National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1st. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.” This means no editing as you go along; just get the words on paper or computer, depending on your material of choice.

I had a desire to write and had written some stories but a whole novel was something different. Could I do it? Could my mind come up with a story idea that could last for 50,000 words? Would I dump everything in my brain and find I could only come up with 10,000 words? NaNoWriMo 2008 provided me with the perfect set up to find out if I could do it. I didn’t finish my novel, but I did crank out over 80,000 words in 30 days. Of course an awful lot of it is pure junk, but there is some treasure in there too. During those 30 days I was in a world of my creation. It was hard to come out of that world to do laundry, cleaning, preparing meals, errands, etc, so it did not get done as frequently as usual.

The main reason I was able to stick with it and produce was because of the support that NaNoWriMo provides for those who sign up. They have a web page with constant updates, emails of encouragement from authors are sent on a regular basis, you have your own page for your personal data and a wonderful graph that shows your word count, which you enter daily. Most cities have support groups headed by Municipal Liaisons. These wonderful people set up “write-in” meetings. Imagine a room full of people and all you hear is a soft click, click all over the room, this is what a write in sounds like.

It’s 2009 and I am going back to my cave. So my friends, if you don’t see much of me or hear from me, know that I am in my room, locked away from civilization to create. If you want to know if there is anything you can do to help I have a couple of suggestions: come over and clean my house (but please do not disturb me), bring over meals for Bob and me, bring me candy (sugar free hard candies and chocolate).

I will try to post updates of my progress on my blog, so check back once November 1 arrives.