so...it's nanowrimo...

and i will not be writing a novel this month.

i've already committed myself to an inner check-in and a 100 day gratitude exercise beginning in december, so i'm easing into winter in a different way.

but there's a vision taking shape...

however, i did make some micromovements this evening.  might do some actual tweaking / writing / editing this weekend.

chills in the air slow me down considerably.

the island {part 3}

{part 1}
{part 2}

A breeze danced across the garden, bending the tall grasses and tickling the hibiscus bushes. The shores of a teal sea sparkled on the horizon.

The Lady fell into one of her hammocks near the garden wall. The wall itself was covered in honeysuckle vines, the hammock strung between two palm trees. She sunk into the thick, silk sling, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Golden eyeshadow flecked with emerald green glitter danced off her mahogany eyelids. The breath sent one side of her kimono sliding over her collarbone, exposing a bit of her shoulder to the sun.

Concentrate on the vision, she chided herself. There'll be time later to play with the sun. She allowed herself a smile to thank the sunbeam for its warmth, breathed again. Focused.

the island {part 2}

{part 1}

On a whim, Amil took Martine to see the ocean.

She had acquired a steady glow--nothing like the frightened, self conscious woman who'd appeared in the cottage a few mornings ago--and found comfort and beauty in the delicate fabrics and bright colors she'd been given to wear. All the fresh fruit and water had cleared her skin, and the massage oils Amil used smelled like flowers and herbs.

the island {part 1}

{a piece of a work in progress}

The kitchen wasn't clean enough. True, Martine had forgotten to dust the shelves, but she never thought Joseph would notice—when had he ever needed to go up there for anything?

He'd left after dinner, probably to play dominoes with friends. Shaking, she forced herself to stand up and begin the routine of slowly running her hands over her face, assessing the damage.

She started with her forehead—sore, but dry. Her fingers traced her right eye. Ok, but she winced as she touched her left. Another black eye. And her bottom lip was starting to swell. She ran a fingertip across it and ran into a nasty clot forming on the right side. Looking back at the corner she'd fallen into, she noticed red splotches on the tile. Must have been his ring.

She thought about crying, went numb instead. What would be the point? Still, she'd need to wash her face before dealing with the mess Joe had made...

nanowrimo notes...

well, i gave it a shot.

it's likely the 50K goal will not happen, even with a four day weekend. but i am setting a personal goal of at least 25K by november 30th, which i think is well within reach.

instead of a novel, this may wind up getting cut up into several short stories that i can serialize here.

this exercise has shown me that i am probably not a novel writer.  at minimum, novel writing demands a level of focus that my life does not allow me at the moment.  

in general, i've learned that creative writing winds up sending me down some huge highway: i know where i'm going, but there are so many interesting places to see between here and there, i get distracted. as long as i'm dealing with stretches of road, i'm good.  but some of the exits are just too tempting. opening the flow for one set of ideas brings others along for the ride.  sometimes i never finish the original trip. 

this is how i wound up with three blogs.

sigh.

nanowrimo notes...

from the latest pep talk by kristin:

Listen. Learning to write 50,000 words means learning a whole pile of skills, but they're learnable skills, and you learn them by writing. One of those skills is finding your own technique for dealing with all the voices that are constantly telling you, in one way or another, what a bonehead you are and how bad you are at this and how doomed your project is. I'm not saying don't listen to the voices. Go ahead and listen to them— if you try to ignore them, sometimes they only scream louder. I'm only saying, don't believe them— and, most importantly, don't let them decide how you spend your day. Maybe laugh and give them a hug and say to them, "Yes, you're sad and lonely and desperate for my attention, aren't you? Well, thank you for visiting; stay as long as you need to; but, by the way, I think we're going to have to agree to disagree. Because I know I can do this, and, as it happens, you can't stop me. Want to sit with me at my desk while I show you what I mean?"

they sure know what to say...

i am way, way behind by any stretch of the imagination, although i have logged more words than appear on my counter (haven't updated in some time).

ain't like i've got shit going on. so, there will likely be more writing tonight. we'll see what happens.

nanowrimo notes...

um...15K by monday?

i'm not gonna say i can't, but...that's a tall order.

upside: it's only tuesday. if i can keep kicking out content like i did yesterday afternoon/evening, i might just make it.

nanowrimo notes...

nanowrimo is really a challenge...i'm waaay behind where i'm "supposed" to be, but it was very necessary to have a full and fun weekend.

plot is inching along slowly...new possibilities come to mind like flashes of light.

i may do some freewriting today, email it to myself, and add on when i get home...i don't want to lose this idea that's been brewing the last couple of days.

nanowrimo notes...

skipped a day for nanowrimo. got a case of the blues and they really don't fit into the story...

i do have a scene i could finish up that would add at least a couple hundred words. but the story seems to be shifting itself and i'm not quite sure where its headed.

might wind up clocking some marathon hours over the weekend...