Personal Legend
So I won NaNo WriMo 2009!
When I tell people who aren't familiar with it, they always ask, what did you have to do?
Well, I got 50,000 words in 30 consecutive days, that's what I had to do!
I actually over-achieved. Apparently I am super competitive. And it's not like anyone in the writing group had made it a race or anything, but I needed to be the one with the most words by the end of it. *facepalm* I think that is why my story suffered. It was fun writing so much, but BORING to read over it. Long, pointless sentences constructed souly for the word count. I think the plot suffered for it.
Some positive things to say about my first NaNo experience is that it opened a flood gate. For the next month, I was still pouring words out at the same speed. Pretty amazing. It also helped me defeat my inner critic. I saw myself taking plot turns that I wouldn't have otherwise. I trusted myself. It was cool.
They also ask what did I win?
CONFIDENCE for one. A cool certificate to show off to other writers for another. But the grand prize was a free paperback of my novel, published and shipped to my house for FREE! Pretty sweet deal. It is good until June or July. They were even awesome enough to give us 6 months to edit before the publishing. The dears.
However, I am in reserve about printing mine.
The thing is, it was so bad that I had to step away from it for the month of Dec. Then when I looked at it again in Jan., I made so many changes that I don't think it is the same thing anymore. That leaves about four months to write it again. I could probably do it, but....I don't know. What if it turns out to suck as much as the first one?
And another (more sentimental) part of me wants to print the original NaNo manuscript just to have it get dusty on my shelf as "My First Finished Novel. Me and No One Else's. It Sucks, But It Was a NaNo With 70+ Thousand Words So I Am Proud of It." :)
In short, I am planning on using this deal to see my words in print. I just have to decide what I am printing.
Ignoring my NaNo Novel is pretty much all I've been up to in the writing world besides helping Hillary with her epic. She is amazing over there. This trilogy has become such an incredibly developed story of good versus evil and it is all Hill's doing. Seriously. All I do is read what she writes and geek out over it. I always think it is perfect, but then she sees something to fix that makes it twice as awesome.
I just read The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (I believe is how his name is spelled) Great book. It really made me pay attention to my own Personal Legend, as one's destiny is called in this book. What am I meant to do in this world? The greatness in this book is that it points out the path to finding out: all you have to do is strive for what your truly want, and the universe will help make it happen. Comforting thought. The world wants me to be happy.
The question is what do I want?
I think I want to be an editor. It seems like something I can do well. Read books and help guide the author to perfection. That is what I do now with Hillary. I just need to find out what it takes to be one. Business classes? English Masters?
Unless I can find a job with an on-line publishing company, I have a big feeling that I will need to move away. But I'm not going to let that stop me. My dad thought me a long time ago never to let something like that keep me from doing what I want. He grew up here but lived in Texas for a while because he didn't let it stop him. And I know Hillary is planning on becoming a teacher on army bases and living all over the world. While she is doing that, I am going to be living in some big town, maybe even a city somewhere, calling authors about deadlines and things. I can see myself doing this, and the funny thing is....I can't wait. And I'm not scared. It's like I've been having a dream my entire life but couldn't make out the faces, and then one day, I could.
I've always promised myself that I would be true and do what I wanted to no matter what. I just don't think it ever occurred to me that I would have to say what I wanted out loud. That's the first step. Start telling people. Make it happen.
School started back since last post I believe. Well it prolly ended and then started back. I'm taking all fun classes this semester. I know my Film as Lit teacher very well, this is the third class I've taken of hers. Music Appreciation is fun, reminds me of band and teaches me all about the history of music; and my Creative Writing class falls on Thursdays, which is the same night Writer's Anonymous meets. So Thursdays are Writing Days now. The ironic part is that these days it seems like I can write on any day BUT Thursday :) Typical, right?
Here's a definition that should be in medical books:
Brilliantus Blockus: n. 1. a virus that infects brilliant people and blocks the inspiration gland. 2. a lesser spawn of Satan. 3. a biatch commonly referred to as Writer's Block.
When I tell people who aren't familiar with it, they always ask, what did you have to do?
Well, I got 50,000 words in 30 consecutive days, that's what I had to do!
I actually over-achieved. Apparently I am super competitive. And it's not like anyone in the writing group had made it a race or anything, but I needed to be the one with the most words by the end of it. *facepalm* I think that is why my story suffered. It was fun writing so much, but BORING to read over it. Long, pointless sentences constructed souly for the word count. I think the plot suffered for it.
Some positive things to say about my first NaNo experience is that it opened a flood gate. For the next month, I was still pouring words out at the same speed. Pretty amazing. It also helped me defeat my inner critic. I saw myself taking plot turns that I wouldn't have otherwise. I trusted myself. It was cool.
They also ask what did I win?
CONFIDENCE for one. A cool certificate to show off to other writers for another. But the grand prize was a free paperback of my novel, published and shipped to my house for FREE! Pretty sweet deal. It is good until June or July. They were even awesome enough to give us 6 months to edit before the publishing. The dears.
However, I am in reserve about printing mine.
The thing is, it was so bad that I had to step away from it for the month of Dec. Then when I looked at it again in Jan., I made so many changes that I don't think it is the same thing anymore. That leaves about four months to write it again. I could probably do it, but....I don't know. What if it turns out to suck as much as the first one?
And another (more sentimental) part of me wants to print the original NaNo manuscript just to have it get dusty on my shelf as "My First Finished Novel. Me and No One Else's. It Sucks, But It Was a NaNo With 70+ Thousand Words So I Am Proud of It." :)
In short, I am planning on using this deal to see my words in print. I just have to decide what I am printing.
Ignoring my NaNo Novel is pretty much all I've been up to in the writing world besides helping Hillary with her epic. She is amazing over there. This trilogy has become such an incredibly developed story of good versus evil and it is all Hill's doing. Seriously. All I do is read what she writes and geek out over it. I always think it is perfect, but then she sees something to fix that makes it twice as awesome.
I just read The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (I believe is how his name is spelled) Great book. It really made me pay attention to my own Personal Legend, as one's destiny is called in this book. What am I meant to do in this world? The greatness in this book is that it points out the path to finding out: all you have to do is strive for what your truly want, and the universe will help make it happen. Comforting thought. The world wants me to be happy.
The question is what do I want?
I think I want to be an editor. It seems like something I can do well. Read books and help guide the author to perfection. That is what I do now with Hillary. I just need to find out what it takes to be one. Business classes? English Masters?
Unless I can find a job with an on-line publishing company, I have a big feeling that I will need to move away. But I'm not going to let that stop me. My dad thought me a long time ago never to let something like that keep me from doing what I want. He grew up here but lived in Texas for a while because he didn't let it stop him. And I know Hillary is planning on becoming a teacher on army bases and living all over the world. While she is doing that, I am going to be living in some big town, maybe even a city somewhere, calling authors about deadlines and things. I can see myself doing this, and the funny thing is....I can't wait. And I'm not scared. It's like I've been having a dream my entire life but couldn't make out the faces, and then one day, I could.
I've always promised myself that I would be true and do what I wanted to no matter what. I just don't think it ever occurred to me that I would have to say what I wanted out loud. That's the first step. Start telling people. Make it happen.
School started back since last post I believe. Well it prolly ended and then started back. I'm taking all fun classes this semester. I know my Film as Lit teacher very well, this is the third class I've taken of hers. Music Appreciation is fun, reminds me of band and teaches me all about the history of music; and my Creative Writing class falls on Thursdays, which is the same night Writer's Anonymous meets. So Thursdays are Writing Days now. The ironic part is that these days it seems like I can write on any day BUT Thursday :) Typical, right?
Here's a definition that should be in medical books:
Brilliantus Blockus: n. 1. a virus that infects brilliant people and blocks the inspiration gland. 2. a lesser spawn of Satan. 3. a biatch commonly referred to as Writer's Block.