NaNoWriMo: Writing at Home & Away

In case you missed the announcement, November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, and this November is no exception. Writers everywhere, from novices to old pros, will try to slam 50,000 words onto paper or the computer screen before the first of December. It’s a lofty goal, and one that brings equal parts frustration and elation. 

Of course, not everyone embraces this particular challenge, and even if you’re not a novelist, November brings other writing tasks to complete like addressing those holiday cards, making out the checks that pay the bills, and penning that long Thanksgiving shopping list. These tasks can be much more enjoyable, and can go much more quickly, if you set-up your nest for success. Here’s how:

 1. Cut the clutter to carve out a place just for writing. 

That’s a tough one, no matter your writing goal. Even if you earmark a spot at the kitchen table that shall remain clear, this means you can get in, get done, and get on to your next task. 

2. Stash some supplies.

·      If your nest is like mine, drawer space is precious, but devote one to scratch pads, pen, pencils, envelopes, and postage stamps so you can get those must-do writing chores done quickly, or you can also get down to brass tacks whenever your creative writing muse appears.

·       If you can’t sacrifice an entire drawer, try a shoebox covered in pretty paper and keep it close at hand in the top of the hall closet. Your To-Do List and your creative side will thank you. 

3. Make it moveable.

·       Rather than worrying about being shackled to your seat, invest in a good lap desk. I love mine. If the family’s watching a movie, I can keep them company and get some work done by taking my lap desk to the sofa. If it’s a gorgeous day outside, I can use it to take my work with me into the wild, too. And I do!

·       Load up a messenger bag and keep it ready to add your laptop so you can dash out the door for a writing date, or to enjoy a change of scene. Mine’s always packed with pens, Post-Its, and even snack bars. A fresh perspective might just increase your productivity, whether you’re addressing invitations or crafting your latest novel.

            So, there you have it. If November means NaNoWriMo or getting those holiday greetings into the mail, you can reach your writing goals with these tips for home and away. But our conversation doesn’t have to end here. What are the must-do tasks you’re working on this November? How will explore your creative side this month? We at the R8 would love to know!

A Change Is As Good As a Rest

A change is as good as a rest. At least, that’s how the saying goes. I certainly hope it’s true, because really, now we're halfway through September and that means we're on a downhill slide to the end of the year. Who has time to take a vacation now? The kids might be back in school, but there’s still plenty to do.

If your shorts and sandals are blocking your closet’s sweater shelf, you’ll have to switch out your wardrobe. There’s fall cleaning, fallen leaves to clean up, and the fall furnace check. Your professor is expecting your thesis, your editor is expecting your manuscript, and your mother is expecting you for dinner. All in all, there’s no rest for the wicked and very little for the righteous no matter what time of year it is.

When life starts to wear you out, maybe that’s where change can come in handy. Now, I’m not talking big, momentous change. I’m talking about a small, occasional change in the things you have to do anyway. Just such a change can freshen your outlook and bring a bit of fun back to your life. Best of all, you control it which is more than we can say for that spring storm that ripped the shingles off your roof or the stray dog that dug up your dahlias.

To that end, here are my Top Five Ways A Change Can Be As Good As a Rest:

5. Don’t let the daily drive to work or school grind you down. Instead of sticking with those familiar roads—and the rut you’re in—take an alternate route tomorrow and don’t forget to enjoy the view.

4. Exchange your evening glass of chardonnay for pinot noir—or better yet, a Manhattan—and perk up those taste buds.

3. Switch that standard shower gel for something fruity-tootie or excitingly exotic. Just make sure it’s definitely different.

2. Pick a spice, any spice. Try adding it to a serving of your favorite dinner dish tonight.

1. Spend the night someplace else, whether that’s a B&B in Boston or a tent in your own backyard. You’ll wake up with a whole new frame of mind.

So what do you think? What life issues get you down? When they do, have you ever tried a fast, fun way to perk yourself up? What's your quick change?

Writing Away

I wonder if you are like me. As a child, I believed it was my shoes that would make me run fast. Only I didn’t have those shoes. So I didn’t run fast. If I just had the right work out outfit, I’d be at the gym everyday. Or at the very least, jogging. Of course that called for the correct sports bra (one that gave support but wouldn’t garrote me when I tried to take it on or off). With writing (or being creative in any way) it was work space. If only I had a desk. If only my desk were cleared off. If only I had the right jar/mug/vintage planter to hold my pencils and pens. And finally, if only I had the right computer. Fast enough, comfortable enough, new enough, with extended battery life. Oh, the list goes on.

And my critique partners would be the first to remind me that I often write long hand first. Barefoot. On the couch.

But I have discovered something. It is another secret that I am telling from the R8 blog.

Even in the perfect bra, at a hot springs spa, with a fox in a box, on a train in the rain, with my new MacBook Air, I still sit and stare at a blank page. Because the damn words won’t write themselves.

I know, I know. When you tune into Marjanna day at the R8, you often read about how writing is hard work and how I am forever surprized by that. Completely. I mean, I am totally and completely convinced that there are words out there, floating around, like the flotsam the Little Prince fell through on his way to earth, just waiting to be plucked out and strung together into sentences and paragraphs and etc. I’ve read things that are meant to be written. I’ve talked about this before, whether it is Stevie Smith or JD Salinger or Loretta Chase. They used the words as they are meant to be used.

And of course, I think in my head (as opposed to thinking in your head that would seem to imply), it must have been effortless for them. It must have been a noble moment of yes. And like Hemingway who stood at his desk to write, they must have had their perfect spot to write. Maybe like one of Wilbur Robinson’s relatives, they had on their Brain Augmenter to help them Think Deep Thoughts.

(Or maybe they just sat down and wrote, either plotting it out ahead of time or not. It doesn’t matter. Really, when you plot doesn’t matter. Having a plot is what matters. Unless you write Post Modern novels; then you might as well not even bind the pages but shuffle them about every morning and read a new book every day.)

So, getting back to me. Because I don’t write Post Modern anything, I was surprized to come up to Berkeley Springs, open up my new MacBook Air, and discover that Mac does NOT have an app for Writing Fairies. Quelle surprise! You can imagine my surprise because I just exclaimed in French, what a surprise! (I still want to put a z in that word.) Anyhoo, much to my shock, I found that even on a MacBook Air, I am the one expected to write my stories. At least on my MacBook Air. I don’t think others would truly expect me to write my stories on their MacBook Airs. Quelle surprise to them to!

So, the interesting thing is, getting away, with my MBA, with a few authors I don’t generally spend time away writing with, with very loud cicadas and the occasional squirrel, I actually did write. Not long hand, but barefoot and on my Mac.

Now, why why why couldn’t I do this in my own flat, on my own couch, with my own music playing in the background instead of the cicadas? Why do I have to join with other writers in a cabin in the woods of West Virginia in order to get my novella started?

Because being with other writers, motivated writers, writers with goals, with revision deadlines, makes me sit down and write. There is an energy that says, write. Not watch tv. Not read. And only take a very short nap. Twice. I know my writing ethic is not what it could be. But I also know I want to write. Somewhere, the twain must meet, or I may as well have bought this flipping expensive computer to download other people’s ebooks, stream television, and order my next sports bra to join the others in a drawer.