Life after NaNoWriMo

After my devout dedication to the task, my '30 days of Literary Abandon' - which is NaNoWriMo,I seem to have lapsed into one of those people who just can't seem to find the time to write. What happened to that person who would say, hey, if I REALLY want to write, I will find the time?

Well, I can tell you what has happened. I let real life get in the way. But I can say that I now know the bliss of actually putting my writing before anything else - except the necessity of working full time with a two and a half hour daily commute - before my writing.

So much has happened in the past week and a half since I finished NaNoWrimo:

• Two work Christmas parties

  

  Anderson and Danielle

• Day to day living with my two grandchildren, for one of whom, it is his very first Christmas
• Going to the airport at midnight to pick up our adopted 'Prodigal Daughter' who has been on walkabout around the world for nearly five years
• Catching up with friends - an annual Christmas time flurry of coffees and lunches, talk fests, and promises to not just do it once a year
• Digging through the old shed for the Christmas tree and decoration
• Christmas shopping (albeit online this year), wrapping gifts

• Spending quality time at a sleepover with my 93 year old mother and my two dogs
• Attending the Queensland Writers Centre Christmas party and rubbing shoulders with many of the best authors and writers in the country, enjoying their company, and making new writing acquaintances
• Planning a holiday for early next year to Cambodia and Thailand, accompanied by fellow author Matt T. Dillon
• and, last night, watching the moon as it turned red for the lunar eclipse.

My 93 yo Mum, Olive Dillon (nee Clark) and Karob

My life seems to be back in the 'normal' zone, whatever that is. But NaNoWriMo, whilst challenging, allowed me to see that 'normal' is chaotic, noisy, expensive, stressful, and emotionally draining. I think that, if I could, I would live in the wonderful, peaceful, self-realising world of NaNoWriMo all year long.

Hmm, maybe that should be my New Year's resolution this year?

Little Santa - Anderson 8 months old

Karob, my little Moodle

Day 24 - NaNoWriMo

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~ Anton Chekhov

Author, Matt T. Dillon, keeps saying to me, "Don't tell me, show me!".  I have heard that a hundred times.  I know it already.  It is ingrained in me.  But, I found myself in a really boring patch of my NaNoWriMo book, it seemed flat, colourless, and I was seriously losing my way.

When I went back to it the next day, I decided to have a little read of it those troublesome paragraphs, because it was worrying me, keeping me awake.  For some reason, a light bulb moment occurred and it just became so clear to me what I had neglected to do.  I was TELLING the story in an intricate and complicated narrative that was confusing even me! 

After a half hour or so, I had transformed that long and colourless piece of narrative, that was, I should add, vital to the story line, into an exciting action piece, with dialogue, colour, smells, explosions going off in a shower of white sparks.  It came alive!  I realised that I was now SHOWING my reader.  I was showing them like a movie reel was running in front of their eyes.

I am now nearing the end of my NaNoWriMo challenge, with a total of 46282 words.  I have been a bit lost lately, but during a night of not being able to sleep, I have woken up with a clear pathway, with one last hurrah of a climax that hopefully will allow me to end my book on a bang.

Thanks to all those authors out there who kept telling me to 'show, don't tell", and especially my friend Matt T. Dillon. http://www.matttdillon.com/

Day 13 - NaNoWriMo

"A writer lives, at best, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies a deeper one of wonder at it all." William Sansom

Had a wonderful day writing at the State Library of Queensland with fellow YON Writers Group members Sharon Woolich @sharonwoolich, Matt T. Dillon @matttdillon, Annette Kendall and Anthea.

Unfortunately was not able to stay for the NaNoWriMo write out but did manage to get 1500 words done, giving me a total of 27,430.

Sunday, even a NaNoWriMo Sunday, is a time for family, so visited my 93 year old Mum, who just happens to be a character in my book.  Funnily enough, we were talking about birthdays and she asked me to get her birthday book.  I opened it and, lo and behold, there was an inscription "To dear Olive from Uncle Jack and Mary" -  well today at the writing session, I happened to kill off my dear Uncle Jack's beloved wife Annie.   Now, is that a coincidence or what?  The inscription, by the way, was dated August 1938.  I live in a state of astonishment, that is for sure.

;-/

Day 12 - NaNoWriMo

"When you know what you want,and you want it badly enough,you'll find a way to get it."  Jim Rohn
A productive day, working alongside fellow NaNoWriMo-er and awesome author, Matt T. Dillon http://www.matttdillon.com/ . He is writing another blockbuster historical fantasy following on from his book from last year, Gorgonieon.

I managed 2296 words, not wonderful, but not bad, giving me a total of 25,929 for my Nano effort.

ciao for now