Well, life is settling down into holiday mode, which is somewhat normal.

Today my good news pertains to my application for RWA. I got an email this morning with my member #. I'm on top of the world at the moment. So exciting. I'm a member of RWA...That's going to take a bit to get used to that! hehe! To most around me in my "normal" life that probably doesn't seem like much, but I've wanted to join since I was in my early 20's when I first discovered it. It wasn't until now that I've taken it more seriously...just as I'm taking my writing more seriously, that I decided this was the next logical step for me.

Now to join KYRW!

I was so tired yesterday and distracted-

I reached 33,484 total, but I was about 1800 short of 5K yesterday.

Last night I was listening to my cd of The Ben Taylor Band, James Taylor's son's band- which is WICKED AWESOME- he sounds so much like his father...Love the song Island, but the entire cd is great. The music was so soothing I found myself typing with my eyes closed, almost as if I was drifting off to sleep and yet...I was aware of what I was doing, but I was zoning.

Does that mean maybe I should take a break from writing...It was almost like going into a trance or feeling drugged by heavy medication. And yet my fingers were still moving, even without me thinking about it. It was almost like automatic writing, only I was typing. It's any wonder I didn't type the words of someone from the great beyond! LOL

I don't know if I can accomplish it, but I'm hoping to surpass my 5k today, just to make up that 1800. I went to bed exhausted and a bit aggravated, knowing I fell short after so many days of achieving more than I planned to.

As an after thought- I really need to invest in some of James Taylor's cds. I didn't like his music at all when I was a kid- My dad loved his music...Daddy was the reason I even grew to like JT's music- all because of my dad trying to reach me when I was going through my angsty teen years, he made me listen to Like Everyone She Knows. It has a beautiful guitar solo intro before the lyrics-

Like everyone she knows
She's holding out for true love
Waiting on an answer
Ready for a change
And everywhere she goes
She's just a little bit on the lookout
A day might mean tomorrow
Questions still remain
It's not that she's so sad
She always was a happy soul
But lately she gets to wonder to herself
What's the good of going on anymore

I see her in her room
Sitting at the window
Wondering if she's pretty
Feeling just a little small tonight
She thinks of going home
Giving up on the city
Maybe moving back down to Mobile
It's not that far to fall
I know she won't see me
But I might just say anyhow
If I could be right there right now
As I myself was told

Hold tight to your heart's desire
Never ever let it go
Let nobody fool you into giving it up too soon
Tend your own fire
Lay low and be strong
Wait awhile
Wait it out
Wait it on out
Wait it out
It'll come along

I know she won't see me
But I might just say anyhow
If I could be right there right now
As I myself was told

Hold tight to your heart's desire
Never ever let it go
Let nobody fool you into giving it up too soon
Tend your own fire
Lay low and be strong
Wait it out
Wait it out
Wait it on out
Wait it out
Let it come along
Oh, wait awhile
Wait awhile

In a way that song has always made me feel closer to my dad because he found something to connect with me, through music, which is one of my favorite forms of expression besides writing. My dad thought I was giving up on life, on finding love, on persuing my writing at the time, and this song speaks VOLUMES to me about his belief in me.

Ok, now that I've made myself cry this morning(blubbering mess at the keyboard), I'm going to go- get some of this writing done today.

Have a great day!

33,484K/50,000K

Last year I discovered a great outlet for writers~ National Novel Writing Month.

In September 2006 I had just finally put a finish on my 1st novel that had taken me over a decade to finish. I thought it would take me that long on EVERY novel I wrote because I hadn't been able to sit down and work on my novel continuously in all those years.  Life, work, family, and other things took precedence over my writing, even though that has been my dream since I was ten years old.

That was until I heard about National Novel Writing Month. It's been going on every year since 1999, though the first one occurred in July. I had never heard of such a thing...writing with frenzied fingers in just 30 days to complete a novel at 50,000 words in length. What a concept I thought. My heart raced, my palms got sweaty and I was inspired as I read the rules on their website- http://www.nanowrimo.org/ 

There was no entry fee and the prize was more than any material item you could hope for- it was one of the best reasons in the world- to be able to say you had written a 50k+ novel in 30 days and to be overwhelmed by that powerful sense of accomplishment. Albeit, the novel won't necessarily be perfect and you might even attempt it without even thinking of publication, but for someone who had worked for years to finish just one novel, dreaming of someday having books published, I had to attempt this.

It's a grueling challenge with yourself. Testing your ability to stick it out. To find the TRUE writer in your soul and drag her out kicking and screaming while you tie up your internal editor with rope, twine, duct tape or whatever you might have on hand and gag him with a wad of paper you'd written that he once made you throw away because HE didn't think it was good enough. You tell him, "Listen bub, I have heard enough from you, so stick it where the sun don't shine."

Then you lock him in the deepest darkest closet you can find and try to forget about him...except for maybe giving him the occasional bread and water so he doesn't die during November. You probably will need him when you begin to do edits, after all.

So I set to work. I searched through my pile of ideas and found the novel I wanted to work on. I did some plotting and outline, character investigation, etc and come November, I set to work, typing till my fingers ached and my body begged for mercy. I ate Twizzlers, found writing totems to keep me encouraged- my stone cat, my metallic butterfly hair clips. I wrote like I'd never written in my life and found strength, courage, hope and BELIEF in myself that had never been there.

I hit 50K on the 12th of November. I was ASTONISHED and proud and I'm on the verge of tears right now because it still moves me to remember that I found my true writer last November and it was because of NaNoWriMo. By the end of the month, I had a completed first draft 80k novel staring back at me from my computer screen. Never in my life had I felt more accomplished or proud of myself as the writer I know I am.

In fact, to commemorate my accomplishment- when we went to get our Christmas village in December, my husband pointed out the most beautiful tall lighted Library village piece I'd ever seen. It now adorns our village at the holidays. It's gorgeous and it will always be a wonderful reminder of my first NaNo and all that has come from that change in my life, my change in my view of myself and what I'm challenging myself to now with my life and my writing, as a result of participating.

This year my novel is Haunted Melody and I will be journaling my adventure through my 2nd NaNo here on LJ. Please feel free to come read, comment and share in this with me. And if you think you'd enjoy trying NaNo if you haven't before, be sure to let me know if you join up on the forums and I'll be more than happy to buddy you. If you're already a NaNovelist, feel free to friend me here and at NaNo.

Happy NaNoing everyone- Just 2 more weeks from today!