The Night Before NaNoWriMo…The Muse Lays Down the Law
So it’s the day (technically it’s the morning…) before Nano and my writer is a little panicky.
(For those who are not familiar with Nano and who are actively pursuing some form of writing—whether it be for pure pleasure or for the goal of getting published—NaNoWriMo is a lovely program that inspires and supports writers by challenging them to write 50,000 words during the month of Nano or November; you can find more info about it and sign up for it at http://www.nanowrimo.org/.)
So back to my writer and her state of writing affairs… I’m happy to announce that my mule headed, yet lovely as peach pie on a hot summer day, writer has finally (and Lord, yes, I do mean finally) caught a clue and figured out how to work this whole writer-muse relationship. For almost two weeks now she has been able to connect to me for more than a nanosecond at a time and heard the stories I’ve been sending her. Not only that but she’s seen the scenes that I’ve been sending her. (Can we get a Hallelujah! and Praise Be! from the choir?) I have to say that this is HUGE for her. Why? Because the dear writer has been so stressed over life for the past few years—okay, I know that as a muse I can be mathematically challenged, but I’m thinking that 12 is more than a few—so for 12 years now, my dear writer has not had a clue on how to connect to me, her ultimate source of muse wisdom.
If you’ve followed the blog or read some of the psychobabble-E posts, then you’ve got a good idea of the types of things my author has worked on to break through the ‘block’ that halted her in her tracks. How did she do it? By pure meanness—if you ask me. But I’m biased and she’s stubborn as hell when it comes to not giving up on what’s important. But I can tell you that the magic mixture of what my author did to reconnect involved a lot of talk therapy, journaling, perseverance, reading, workshop taking, and the usual blood, sweat, and tears. Put all of that in a blender—in no particular order—and you have an unusual concoction guaranteed to work for this writer of mine.
So for my writer, *pop goes the champagne*. You’re awesome and I am extraordinarily proud of you! WTG!
Now after all of this, why is my writer panicky? Because the book she is working on is part of an onion. And we all know that onions have many layers and that peeling back those layers often make you cry and they, well, they kind of stink. But once that slice o’onion gets cooked up… it’s sweet and the flavor is perfect for that special dish and—do I really need to describe the world she and I have created like this anymore? Because it’s like an onion, but it’s not an onion. It doesn’t stink. And yes NaNo starts in less than 24 hours and yes she has a boat load of organization to do between now and then, but she can do it.
So to start off that bit of organization, my author has switched her emails (again) to a new and (hopefully) improved system that will allow her to stay in the loop and not waste her precious time trying to hunt down lost emails in the inbox. We wish her a lot of luck. Managing emails and whatnot when you basically have 2 full time jobs (mama-dom and the mundane job that pays the bills) and one part time one (writing) can be a wee bit difficult. She’s been pretty good at it thus far, but with added non writing pressures that she has—well, any little improvement is a huge improvement.
Next, the author and I have come to an agreement about this blog. I won the argument. (Like that’s a surprise. Muse trumps author every time in this game. And yes, that’s rule #1 in the writer’s block game.)
Effective immediately, this blog is now dedicated to all things Muse and posts about the craft. We will take guest bloggers, but only as it pertains to the craft. You have a workshop you want to talk about—bring it and let’s see what you’ve got. You got a message you want to get out about a particular craft thing that you had an epiphany on—bring it and let’s wax on and wax off. You’re interested in promoting your book—try another site.
My author does not like to take this sort of hard line approach, but there is a method to her madness. Or rather, my muse madness. Hence, psychobabble-E posts.
This venue is muse territory and it’s dedicated to detailing the particular journey that my author has made to overcome her own brand of torture—writer’s block. It is and always has been my hope that by discussing the trials and tribulations my author endured during her dry spell will encourage and quite possibly help another fellow author embrace, rediscover, or plain old discover the writer within. And keep in mind that a huge part of my author’s journey was learning the craft. Ergo, here we talk a lot about the craft. And we do it with style, panache, and usually in the form of random psychobabble-E posts.
With that in mind, it is our dearest intent to create an environment that encourages and welcomes those writers who are in search of a forum where they can and are free to share their thoughts without feeling they must—well, at this point the phrase ‘No purchase necessary’ comes to mind. You are never required to comment or follow. Just enjoy. Because, honestly, like I am going to stop posting because you don’t comment? Lol, yeah right, that’ll be the day.
That being said, please don’t think that my author and I have no desire to help out our fellow published authors. We do. But this is not the forum to do it. If you are an author who is looking to promote your book, we recommend you consider blogging on websites that attract readers more so than authors.
And now for the fun… business is almost out of the way this morning for my author (who has been up since 2AM)… and now we are off to finish one last email and then… back to cooking up onions… or rather, the author built world and the books that live within.
Until next time, take care and happy writing!
~EK
(For those who are not familiar with Nano and who are actively pursuing some form of writing—whether it be for pure pleasure or for the goal of getting published—NaNoWriMo is a lovely program that inspires and supports writers by challenging them to write 50,000 words during the month of Nano or November; you can find more info about it and sign up for it at http://www.nanowrimo.org/.)
So back to my writer and her state of writing affairs… I’m happy to announce that my mule headed, yet lovely as peach pie on a hot summer day, writer has finally (and Lord, yes, I do mean finally) caught a clue and figured out how to work this whole writer-muse relationship. For almost two weeks now she has been able to connect to me for more than a nanosecond at a time and heard the stories I’ve been sending her. Not only that but she’s seen the scenes that I’ve been sending her. (Can we get a Hallelujah! and Praise Be! from the choir?) I have to say that this is HUGE for her. Why? Because the dear writer has been so stressed over life for the past few years—okay, I know that as a muse I can be mathematically challenged, but I’m thinking that 12 is more than a few—so for 12 years now, my dear writer has not had a clue on how to connect to me, her ultimate source of muse wisdom.
If you’ve followed the blog or read some of the psychobabble-E posts, then you’ve got a good idea of the types of things my author has worked on to break through the ‘block’ that halted her in her tracks. How did she do it? By pure meanness—if you ask me. But I’m biased and she’s stubborn as hell when it comes to not giving up on what’s important. But I can tell you that the magic mixture of what my author did to reconnect involved a lot of talk therapy, journaling, perseverance, reading, workshop taking, and the usual blood, sweat, and tears. Put all of that in a blender—in no particular order—and you have an unusual concoction guaranteed to work for this writer of mine.
So for my writer, *pop goes the champagne*. You’re awesome and I am extraordinarily proud of you! WTG!
Now after all of this, why is my writer panicky? Because the book she is working on is part of an onion. And we all know that onions have many layers and that peeling back those layers often make you cry and they, well, they kind of stink. But once that slice o’onion gets cooked up… it’s sweet and the flavor is perfect for that special dish and—do I really need to describe the world she and I have created like this anymore? Because it’s like an onion, but it’s not an onion. It doesn’t stink. And yes NaNo starts in less than 24 hours and yes she has a boat load of organization to do between now and then, but she can do it.
So to start off that bit of organization, my author has switched her emails (again) to a new and (hopefully) improved system that will allow her to stay in the loop and not waste her precious time trying to hunt down lost emails in the inbox. We wish her a lot of luck. Managing emails and whatnot when you basically have 2 full time jobs (mama-dom and the mundane job that pays the bills) and one part time one (writing) can be a wee bit difficult. She’s been pretty good at it thus far, but with added non writing pressures that she has—well, any little improvement is a huge improvement.
Next, the author and I have come to an agreement about this blog. I won the argument. (Like that’s a surprise. Muse trumps author every time in this game. And yes, that’s rule #1 in the writer’s block game.)
Effective immediately, this blog is now dedicated to all things Muse and posts about the craft. We will take guest bloggers, but only as it pertains to the craft. You have a workshop you want to talk about—bring it and let’s see what you’ve got. You got a message you want to get out about a particular craft thing that you had an epiphany on—bring it and let’s wax on and wax off. You’re interested in promoting your book—try another site.
My author does not like to take this sort of hard line approach, but there is a method to her madness. Or rather, my muse madness. Hence, psychobabble-E posts.
This venue is muse territory and it’s dedicated to detailing the particular journey that my author has made to overcome her own brand of torture—writer’s block. It is and always has been my hope that by discussing the trials and tribulations my author endured during her dry spell will encourage and quite possibly help another fellow author embrace, rediscover, or plain old discover the writer within. And keep in mind that a huge part of my author’s journey was learning the craft. Ergo, here we talk a lot about the craft. And we do it with style, panache, and usually in the form of random psychobabble-E posts.
With that in mind, it is our dearest intent to create an environment that encourages and welcomes those writers who are in search of a forum where they can and are free to share their thoughts without feeling they must—well, at this point the phrase ‘No purchase necessary’ comes to mind. You are never required to comment or follow. Just enjoy. Because, honestly, like I am going to stop posting because you don’t comment? Lol, yeah right, that’ll be the day.
That being said, please don’t think that my author and I have no desire to help out our fellow published authors. We do. But this is not the forum to do it. If you are an author who is looking to promote your book, we recommend you consider blogging on websites that attract readers more so than authors.
And now for the fun… business is almost out of the way this morning for my author (who has been up since 2AM)… and now we are off to finish one last email and then… back to cooking up onions… or rather, the author built world and the books that live within.
Until next time, take care and happy writing!
~EK
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