It's that time of year again! It's NANOWRIMO time!
National Novel Writing Month is fast approaching--1-30 November 2014.
It's time to gear up and write that novel in one month!
www.nanowrimo.org
Do you have an idea for a novel?
Have you already started writing a novel and then, left it?
Are you ready to write your novel and share it with the world?
Do you just want to write your story to share with family and friends and not publish it?
NANOWRIMO could be for you!
If you're like me, there have been days where I've lacked the discipline to write and keep my butt in my writing chair. This writing program was very helpful to me in that it gave me a goal and made me accountable to ME.
I began writing my second novel, Finding Gracia, in November 2012 with NANOWRIMO and I'm excited to finish it next month. I know that sounds nuts, but bear with me. I'm going for it! Again. Why not? My story is a story worth writing and sharing with the world. I do love a challenge, so I'm signing up.
Through joining NANOWRIMO, I learned to write and not worry about content. I wrote and wrote and knew that after November, I could go back and worry about the bits that weren't great. It was quite liberating and most of what I wrote wasn't bad, either!
Join me, won't you? Your story is worth getting out there! This could be your breakthrough year. I double dog dare ya :)
Ellie
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
How An Audition Helped Me Push Past My Fear
I'm all for taking on challenges that put or push me outside my comfort zone. It has been my experience that when I do this, I am able to tackle and finish projects that have me stuck or stumped at the moment. I've also found that taking a risk and doing something totally out of character builds confidence.
Writing is one such challenge. Once I finished the first draft of my novel, I had no idea how much out of my comfort zone I'd go. Writing a book is one long, lonely road which requires strength of character, persistence and patience of which I didn't have a lot of when I began. I was absent the day God handed out extra patience.
I believe that putting ourselves out there in new situations can help us in ways that we never expected or dreamed of. For example, I wrote my first novel, A Decent Woman, in six months. The first draft came quickly to me and then, years of rewriting and editing as I was new at writing novels. I learned as I went along, read books on writing and storytelling and always kept reading books by favorite and new authors. I didn't always really know what I was doing, but I plugged along and soon I had a copy of my manuscript I was happy with. I was in a great rhythm and very pleased with myself. I was proud of finishing a book!
Soon, it came time to query agents. Now, I was in a world I knew nothing about. I hemmed and hawed, read through books on the subjects of marketing and publishing books, but still I couldn't see the next concrete step. That was when I lost a bit of self-confidence. Now what? Was I stuck? Was I blocked or was it a case of never seeing my book in print? I couldn't let that happen. I had too many books to write to just lay down the manuscript and forget about it.
Right about that time, a friend called to invite me to her theatrical performance of The Vagina Monologues. I invited ten friends who were doing The Artist's Way with me at the time and we had a wonderful time. After the performance, we hung around to congratulate our friend who'd done a monologue theater piece the year before. She told me that her theater group was holding auditions for a comedy to be performed in the fall and she urged me to audition. Me? No way. I'd performed in high school and had a bit part in a college production, but I was a writer and an artist, not an actor.
My friend bugged me until I accepted the challenge. I was scared to death. As I stood there among veteran actors, I just knew I was in the wrong place. What had I been thinking? This was a joke. I had a fear of speaking in public. I'd given talks on subjects I knew a lot about in school, but this was entirely out of my comfort zone. So, I pushed past my fear and since I was already in the theater and would have looked like a baby if I walked out, I went through with the audition process. Well, the audition was a blast. We read lines in funny voices and foreign accents and at the end, my sides hurt from laughing so much. I made new friends and although I didn't get one of three parts for women, I had a great time and learned a lot about myself--I can do comedy.
I came home that night with renewed strength, pride and new-found courage. Things always look worse and harder until we actually do them. The unknown is sometimes scary, but looking back, we realize that the things we feared weren't all that bad. I began querying agents the next morning.
So, say yes to new challenges, you just might surprise yourself.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Writing is one such challenge. Once I finished the first draft of my novel, I had no idea how much out of my comfort zone I'd go. Writing a book is one long, lonely road which requires strength of character, persistence and patience of which I didn't have a lot of when I began. I was absent the day God handed out extra patience.
I believe that putting ourselves out there in new situations can help us in ways that we never expected or dreamed of. For example, I wrote my first novel, A Decent Woman, in six months. The first draft came quickly to me and then, years of rewriting and editing as I was new at writing novels. I learned as I went along, read books on writing and storytelling and always kept reading books by favorite and new authors. I didn't always really know what I was doing, but I plugged along and soon I had a copy of my manuscript I was happy with. I was in a great rhythm and very pleased with myself. I was proud of finishing a book!
Soon, it came time to query agents. Now, I was in a world I knew nothing about. I hemmed and hawed, read through books on the subjects of marketing and publishing books, but still I couldn't see the next concrete step. That was when I lost a bit of self-confidence. Now what? Was I stuck? Was I blocked or was it a case of never seeing my book in print? I couldn't let that happen. I had too many books to write to just lay down the manuscript and forget about it.
Right about that time, a friend called to invite me to her theatrical performance of The Vagina Monologues. I invited ten friends who were doing The Artist's Way with me at the time and we had a wonderful time. After the performance, we hung around to congratulate our friend who'd done a monologue theater piece the year before. She told me that her theater group was holding auditions for a comedy to be performed in the fall and she urged me to audition. Me? No way. I'd performed in high school and had a bit part in a college production, but I was a writer and an artist, not an actor.
My friend bugged me until I accepted the challenge. I was scared to death. As I stood there among veteran actors, I just knew I was in the wrong place. What had I been thinking? This was a joke. I had a fear of speaking in public. I'd given talks on subjects I knew a lot about in school, but this was entirely out of my comfort zone. So, I pushed past my fear and since I was already in the theater and would have looked like a baby if I walked out, I went through with the audition process. Well, the audition was a blast. We read lines in funny voices and foreign accents and at the end, my sides hurt from laughing so much. I made new friends and although I didn't get one of three parts for women, I had a great time and learned a lot about myself--I can do comedy.
I came home that night with renewed strength, pride and new-found courage. Things always look worse and harder until we actually do them. The unknown is sometimes scary, but looking back, we realize that the things we feared weren't all that bad. I began querying agents the next morning.
So, say yes to new challenges, you just might surprise yourself.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Do You Feel What I See?
In addition to loosening up and learning to sketch quickly, I found it interesting how creative, free and spontaneous my drawings became in a short amount of time. I learned to glance at the whole and select the most interesting angle or the part of the body that told the entire story or perhaps, told an entirely different story. I love looking back at those sketches and sometimes it feels as someone else drew them. It's like when you're in the zone and I love being in the zone creatively!
I've found that the timed gesture exercise works with writing, as well. If I'm at home, I select a photograph that is unknown to me and I write what comes out in the time I select. The Internet is useful here or a magazine at the doctor's office while I'm waiting to be seen. I always carry a notebook and a pen with me, so it works for me. I might describe the vet tech, a photograph in a newspaper left behind, or the barrista who has just made my cafe latte with half and half and two Splenda.
This gesture drawing exercise trained my eye and brain to look at a photograph, the whole if you will, and very quickly dissect the photograph. I look for interesting, subtle, the strange or the elusive bits that perhaps most people miss. I've trained myself, if you will or was I the only kid, teenager and adult who noticed(s) strange and interesting things others miss?!
When I'm writing a description of a person, place or thing I use a similar technique. I imagine and survey the scene in my mind's eye if it's not a familiar person, place or thing to me and I dissect it. I squeeze my mind's eyes into slits and I might write about the patina an object in the corner and how it got that way, the texture and color of a person's skin when they are very embarrassed or describe and wonder about the scratches on a door I'm about to push open.
I love reading books by authors who notice the small stuff, the minute, the mundane and make the uninteresting a fascinating experience. I love authors who open my eyes, teach me something new, make me smile and show me their wonderful world through their incredibly original and unique eyes.
I challenge myself not to describe the girl as pretty, the spoon handle as cold and the view of the mountains as majestic. I push myself to see beyond what's in front of me. I believe this learned behavior is what makes a writer an exceptional writer. A writer who can transport me to new places and encourage me see a known object in new ways fascinates me and encourages me to push my writing even more.
When I taught drawing for kids and adults, I'd say that it's not hard to draw - you just have to train your eyes to SEE and then, your mind and hand will follow.
Peace and love,
Ellie
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The Risky-Risque Business of Writing
Risky behavior. Get you some. I highly recommend that, too! But, not like you might think I mean...but, then again...it would depend on what risky means to you, right?
I'm talking risky - daring, venturesome, adventurous, chancy, hit or miss, uncertain risky. I'm not talking about risque behavior, just risky. (Please forgive the missing accent on the "e", mine doesn't seem to want to work today). But, wait a minute!!
Risque - off color, ribald, bawdy, racy, spicy, daring, blue. Hold the press! If you write romance novels or real life stories about real life, genuine people doing real life, genuine things, you're going to have to be risque! I have a couple of sex scenes in my novel-length manuscript, A Decent Woman, and you know what? They were hard to write. I write great romantic scenes, they come easily to me, however, a scene with lovemaking and having sex? (Yes, two different animals!) Not so much! I have two children so I'm not a nun, but when I wrote the lovemaking scenes, my brain was saying, "Oooh, that's too raunchy, Ellie!" or "Too clinical!" My writing had either TMI, had too little detail, or the writing read clinical or unbelievable.
How much is too much? And, I don't mean that in a philosophical way! Literally, how much is too much? Is there an art to writing sex scenes? Is there a right and wrong way?
It depends. No. Yes. Maybe. There seems to be an art to writing a sex scene. Actually, there has to be. I'm off to read some sexy scenes on a frigid winter day, no pun intended :) Anais Nin, here I come and I'm not reading "Fifty Shades of Gray", either. No, thanks. I've read too many bad reviews about the author's writing aka bad writing, and I don't mean bad in the "bad girl" kind of way! I mean bad writing! Sheesh! I'm signing off now :)
Stay warm wherever you are!
Peace and love,
Ellie
Thursday, December 27, 2012
2013 New Year's Resolutions
Hi all!
If my family had joined me for Christmas in my home in West Virginia, we'd have woken up to a white Christmas! I'd heard that we had gotten snow on the day and when I stepped off Amtrak last night, there were four inches and gale-force winds!
Picture this - you step off the train with your weekend-size suitcase with wheels and trudge a block to your house through slush and snow (uphill) with the wind whipping right through your puffy brown coat! That was me last night at 6 pm :) I chose to walk in the nearly snowless paths that cars had forged which, of course, meant I was walking in the road. Drivers were patient with me and one young woman stopped and rolled her window down, offering me a ride home. So sweet! I thanked her and told her that I was half a block from home; I could do this. What a work out! A much-needed workout to begin to burn all those nasty and oh, so good Holiday calories and pounds that I've most definitely put on. Ugh...
Months ago, I bought the entire Zumba series of exercise DVDs and gave two to my daughter yesterday. I am determined to lose 30 pounds. Yes, I am and I will! I love to dance and I'm Puerto Rican - what better way to lose weight dancing to merengue, salsa, cumbia, and a bit of belly dancing. It's on! I lost 30 pounds last spring and looked my best (for my age), but winter came again and so did the weight.
20 New Year's Resolutions and daily schedule - subject to change or change importance whenever I want them to!
1. Walk Ozzy shortly after waking up, drink 8 ounches of water first
2. Eat a yoghurt and drink a glass of water before coffee
3. Stretch and do not fire up the laptop just yet!
4. Warm up and do the 60 minute Zumba routine
5. Cool down with meditation and prayer and water
6. Fire up laptop, check emails, Facebook and like something or write a status update so that my kids know I'm alive :) At this time, make coffee with low fat half and half
7. Throw out all the old food in fridge and go grocery shopping for healthy foods! No more fast food until never!
8. Take Ozzy for his noon walk and eat a salad for lunch
9. Write my blog and DO NOT watch The View or CNN!
10. Do not turn on television, at all and finish that editing.
11. Write query letters and send out!
12. Delete phone numbers for Anthony's Pizza and China King!
13. Throw out all size 14 and 12 jeans and clothing!
14. Continue walking instead of starting the car and driving; do NOT stop at Habanero's for a steak burrito!
15. Continue reading and learn to review books that my friends have written!
16. Continue to keep up with other author's blogs and their book updates
17. No more painting (wall or canvas) or Pinterest projects this winter and spring!
18. Order new bathing suit instead of waiting until summer when the pickings are slim to none in my size!
19. Start wearing my size 10 shorts in the house, tight waist and all!
20. Be happy, healthy and productive this 2013! Be published and more focused next year!
Peace and love,
Ellie
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Going With the Holiday Flow
Hi all!
Christmas Day is eight days away and I'm finding it difficult to focus on my novel this week. Who am I kidding? I found it difficult to edit last week, as well. A couple of days of good work a week and other days of...distractions. That equals two and a half weeks of distractions. Is this happening to you? Maybe I should have taken December off, thereby reducing the guilts!
Okay, I did have a week vacation with my friends and family in Puerto Rico which I enjoyed immensely. I rested the week following my vacation and got my house in order. I even found time to paint my front door glossy black (after pinning dozens of black doors on Pinterest this fall) and I decorated the outside of my house for the Holidays. I visited with a sick friend, had coffee with two neighbors and caught up with girlfriends and family by email and telephone. Yesterday, I gave my neighbor and her family a little tree because I know they are hurting this year and last night, I had dinner with a new friend - our second date. Distractions? Yes!
My writing rhythm is shot. I was doing so well at the beginning of the month and had made great headway with my novel and then, the Holiday pressures were on. I suppose I put those pressures on myself, but they're valid distractions this time of year. I have ecards to put together, gifts to buy, a train ticket to Virginia to purchase, and friends I'd love to get together with. Not to mention, my bedroom looks like a hurricane passed through.
I have kept up with my blog, however. Bite-size pieces of writing. I suppose the fact that I'm writing is a good thing. My mind is jumping around and my heart is already in Northern Virginia with my kids and family. I can't wait to seem them all!
How do people write, publish and market books while working full-time, part-time and raise kids, I wonder? Am I that disorganized? I don't work outside the home, I should be able to do all this with my eyes closed, right? Priorities, I know. I know the drill, but there's something major to be said about being present. I don't know how many Holidays I'll have with both my kids and family; none of us do.
So, I've decided to enjoy my family and friends this Holiday season and when I return, I'm turning off the phone, not answering emails and I won't put the TV on! That's it. I'm not wasting time mind you, I'm simply going with the Holiday flow and choose not to feel guilty about it.
Guilt, worry, and anxiety are wasted emotions. I choose to put all my energy into enjoying my family and friends this Holiday season. For me, that is what is important - being present and enjoying the gifts that my family and friends are. True blessings.
Peace, blessings, and love to you.
Ellie
Thursday, November 29, 2012
One Way to Overcome Writer's Block
Hi all,
Yesterday I found out that my local library has a fax machine for public use. I don't mean that you can stand there and fax any ol' thing you want. First, you have to get through the tall, wiry, and might I add, stern-looking woman who will fax documents for you at one dollar per page. I don't know if this is common practice in libraries, but as a person who hasn't figured out how to install her printer at home which has fax/scanning and printing capabilities, this was awesome news. Please don't tell my local library if it's not 'normal', I love it!
After I faxed my documents (so easy!), I trudged upstairs to the computer room and decided to see what it would feel like to enter a strange room, write a new blog on a strange computer (to me) among 20 strangers.
As I waited to get assigned a computer, I scanned the room. Much like I do in a crowded restaurant while I wait for the host/hostess to seat me. I want a nice table and not in the middle of the room, thank you very much. The computer room was packed with people of all ages. The only free computers were right smack in the middle of the middle aisle of three aisles. Damn! People on all sides. I don't like sitting in the middle of any room. I've always liked my back against the walls, so that I can view YOU :)
NOTE: I've worked in residential treatment centers for kids...you don't turn your back, ever. I learned that quick and it has stuck with me.
I didn't have to stay in the computer room. I have a perfectly lovely red laptop at home. I could have left any time after faxing my documents. But something pulled me upstairs. I'm curious, intuitive and I happen to reading "The Alchemist" for the third time. (My daughter gave me her Kindle and the book happens to be on her list, so I started at 4:30 am when I couldn't sleep.) Yes, 4:30 am. Well, I love a good challenge and I wondered if I would meet anyone interesting in the computer room. Would I meet someone with a message for me about my novel? Would I meet the Alchemist? The King? The Englishman? A talking camel? Who knows, but I'm open to new experiences.
I was up for the challenge, but writing my new blog in this computer room was posing an internal challenge for me. I could do it and I would! I would accept whatever computer was offered to me and not worry that someone was looking at my screen. That was it! I was feeling 'naked' and spied upon and I hadn't even sat down.
I pushed through it, looked to my left and right several times (just because) and looked behind me because the guy was having a conversation with his rental office. Highly annoying. Someone else had their music blaring and I could hear the rap music through his head phones. Very annoying.
I pushed on! I checked Facebook, checked my two email accounts and replied so some emails and I wrote this blog :) There is ALWAYS a lesson and a lesson learned in every situation and experience that we have. I usually learn something new from a brief conversation with a neighbor or someone in line at the grocery store. I truly believe that. You have to be open to people, places and things. I usually am.
What did I learn this morning during my writing experience at my local library?
Writing at home is freakin' awesome :) I can't wait to walk home and fire that baby up and write to my heart's content. Make your writing experience crappy, challenging or just interesting enough and I guarantee you that your computer will look awesome to you when you get home.
Peace out,
Ellie
Yesterday I found out that my local library has a fax machine for public use. I don't mean that you can stand there and fax any ol' thing you want. First, you have to get through the tall, wiry, and might I add, stern-looking woman who will fax documents for you at one dollar per page. I don't know if this is common practice in libraries, but as a person who hasn't figured out how to install her printer at home which has fax/scanning and printing capabilities, this was awesome news. Please don't tell my local library if it's not 'normal', I love it!
After I faxed my documents (so easy!), I trudged upstairs to the computer room and decided to see what it would feel like to enter a strange room, write a new blog on a strange computer (to me) among 20 strangers.
As I waited to get assigned a computer, I scanned the room. Much like I do in a crowded restaurant while I wait for the host/hostess to seat me. I want a nice table and not in the middle of the room, thank you very much. The computer room was packed with people of all ages. The only free computers were right smack in the middle of the middle aisle of three aisles. Damn! People on all sides. I don't like sitting in the middle of any room. I've always liked my back against the walls, so that I can view YOU :)
NOTE: I've worked in residential treatment centers for kids...you don't turn your back, ever. I learned that quick and it has stuck with me.
I didn't have to stay in the computer room. I have a perfectly lovely red laptop at home. I could have left any time after faxing my documents. But something pulled me upstairs. I'm curious, intuitive and I happen to reading "The Alchemist" for the third time. (My daughter gave me her Kindle and the book happens to be on her list, so I started at 4:30 am when I couldn't sleep.) Yes, 4:30 am. Well, I love a good challenge and I wondered if I would meet anyone interesting in the computer room. Would I meet someone with a message for me about my novel? Would I meet the Alchemist? The King? The Englishman? A talking camel? Who knows, but I'm open to new experiences.
I was up for the challenge, but writing my new blog in this computer room was posing an internal challenge for me. I could do it and I would! I would accept whatever computer was offered to me and not worry that someone was looking at my screen. That was it! I was feeling 'naked' and spied upon and I hadn't even sat down.
I pushed through it, looked to my left and right several times (just because) and looked behind me because the guy was having a conversation with his rental office. Highly annoying. Someone else had their music blaring and I could hear the rap music through his head phones. Very annoying.
I pushed on! I checked Facebook, checked my two email accounts and replied so some emails and I wrote this blog :) There is ALWAYS a lesson and a lesson learned in every situation and experience that we have. I usually learn something new from a brief conversation with a neighbor or someone in line at the grocery store. I truly believe that. You have to be open to people, places and things. I usually am.
What did I learn this morning during my writing experience at my local library?
Writing at home is freakin' awesome :) I can't wait to walk home and fire that baby up and write to my heart's content. Make your writing experience crappy, challenging or just interesting enough and I guarantee you that your computer will look awesome to you when you get home.
Peace out,
Ellie
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