writerfangirl

For the last couple of years, I have tried--sometimes more than other times-to read 100 books in a year. This year, I am more serious about it than I have been in a while. It's a valuable goal, I think. Without being in school, reading is the prime way I'm getting further education. I'm drawn to books that are written by writers about their craft and self help books, particularly ones that deal with unblocking and creative things. I really wish that bookstores had creative sections within self help sections. It would make my searching a whole lot easier. I want to be a mentor who helps to unblock others, or help people find their passion. I like helping people see aspects of themselves that they didn't even realize were there. Reading other people's approaches to this is going to be very helpful.

While my list is numbered, it is not the order I will be reading the books in. I wanted a numbered list so I could add more as I get them. I have a lot of other books that I haven't added, but I think for now the remaining 35 I will wait on. I am bound to buy more books throughout the year. It's kind of impulsive for me. I have an addiction to books and information. Even if I don't get to the book immediately, I am glad that it is still there. But I am going to give serious effort to reading what I have. I have so much love for the Amazon Marketplace. I am a fan of used books. I think I found a liking for them in college. Used always means cheaper. There's also that chance that your books will be marked, too. The history of individual books can be interesting. I also really like using Powells. I also recently picked up some books from Overstock.com. I'm not sure what compelled me to check them, but they had a good selection of what I was looking for too. Their prices also beat Amazon's. Another cool thing about Overstock: they take Paypal. That's always a great thing in my book.

This is just the start of my list. I'll be editing it with links and to be alphabetical later. All I did right now was gather up my books and start writing down titles and authors.

( Reading List for 2010 )

Despite not having posted about any of my recent writing stuffs, I am making preparations--as well as doing actions--to make 2010 a major writing year. For Christmas, my mom is giving me a book that contains 365 prompts, with prompts tailored to the specific day. I'm very excited about starting that up. In the mean time, since December 1st, I have been writing three pages a day, the Morning Pages that Julia Cameron talks about in her books, most notably The Artist's Way. I was reading The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right Size, but I have yet to finish it. I started quite a few other books that way, too. I am making January 1st be the day I start the bulk of these things. I have made some minor starts, but really throwing myself into it is going to come January 1st. After getting excited about reading The Writing Diet, I bought her The Artist's Way. I may start that up on January 1st too. I'm aiming to read 100 books through '10, like I planned a few years ago. I think I have 100 books already that I wanna read. Books that are hiding around under my bed, and in my cabinet, and a few bookshelves. I have books coming out of my ears over here.

My big plan for 2010 is taking part in the getyourwordsout comm. And they really want you to get your words out. There are multiple tiers of writing. I went for the moderate level of 250,000 words. I have a whole year to write that. 50k is strictly for NaNo, so I have 11 other months to write 200k. Doesn't seem impossible if I actually stick to writing on a daily, or near daily, basis. I've written 74 pages this month alone. At 250 words a page, that's 18,500 words for the month of December. That's well above the average number of words (18,181) I'll have to write a month in 2010. So if I were to focus and write more words a day, complete entries on a daily basis, work on new projects, I can achieve 250k without many difficulties. I'm really looking forward to attempting this project. I tried to sign at the start of 2009, but I had missed the cut-off date: Dec. 31st, 2008. If you wanna attempt it with me, you have until the 31st of this year to sign up. I hope some of you take this writing challenge up with me. I would love to compare notes with you.

I am so ready for the NaNoWriMo to start! I have characters and an opening scene. Otherwise I am just writing by the seat of my pants, like my title says. I want to write 50,000 words with days to spare. This is going to be a challenge, I think. I don't have any outline. I don't even have a rough idea for an ending. Don't even know what is going to happen in the following chapters. Even without a lot, I feel really good about completing this. The story is interesting enough to keep my attention throughout the month. The one thing that is great about not having an outline is that I'm going to be surprised. Maybe that isn't the best thing to do for writing, but during NaNoWriMo, surprise is a treasure.

I've compiled a list of ten things that I want to accomplish over the next month.

Hopes for 2009:

1.More than 50,000!
2.Writing with days to spare. Wanna have smooth sailing
3.Have a completed novel by the end of NaNoWriMo
4.Meet new people and make more friends
5.More confident about my writing/finishing tasks
6.Have a deeper understanding of the world/greater knowledge of things (places)
7.Mar journals, tea, and music!
8.The energy to keep writing
9.Will edit and try to publish at a later date—in December?
10.Be more involved with community


Though I am a bit tired now and could go to sleep, I'm staying up so I can start on my NaNo. I want to get the 1667 words before I go to sleep.

I've had this icon for a few years now. I've always liked the idea of writing in the bathtub--having previously used pen and paper on many occasion--but now, for the first time, I type to you from my bathtub! :D Maybe this will be a regularity come NaNo time. We'll see when that happens. Typically, I find that my plans I set and the actual events do not match each other. Nothing goes according to plan. Hm. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't much of a plan. My only plan this year is to meet people for write-ins twice a week. That's something. Outside of that, I imagine there will be much writing done at my house. I don't know if I will take part in sprints, or if I will simply write when I'm solitary. I really don't know. I can't wait to see what happens when I'm there.

What would I like to write about? What would make me happy to write about? What do I want to express to others?

What would really make me happy is finding something that makes me happy. Sounds like a friggin impossible task to me. Stuck in a loop. Some creative freewriting is in order. And meditating. And some really good sleep.

One of the highlights of the National Novel Writing Month is the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon Fundraiser. This is my sixth year doing NaNo and I've never been, but I've always wanted to. This is actually the first year that I'll be able to attend because I have the funds to get myself to San Francisco!

As it is a write-a-thon fundraiser, you need to get sponsors to get you there. $200 USD will get you in. I need all the help I can on this to reach the goal. Any amount would help. One dollar. Anything. The money goes to The Office of Letters and Light, the parent non-profit company behind NaNoWriMo. Their main program is the Young Writers Program.

Thank you for any help that you can give! I'm really looking forward to this NaNo. I'm trying to be a Municipal Liaison for my area and I'm anticipating winning NaNo number 4.

Please help sponsor me to attend the Night of Writing Dangerously 2009

I'm sorry to say that I follow that old cliche of being my worst enemy. I undermine my ability, my self-confidence. I give in to the anxiety I feel, that fear that sends me bending over and grabbing my knees for dear life. That's not gonna help when the anxiety is all in my head. The internal trying to affect the external. And it's not really logical. Just gotta remember to breathe and things start getting better.

I've often struggled with writing and feeling like I have the permission to write. Writing classes gave me a reason to write, but having to be responsible for my own writing, for making myself generating ideas when I do not have any specific purpose in mind, I never make myself do what I need to do. Or I let excuses settle in and just accept them.

I'm a writer who doesn't write. I'm worse at this now than I was years ago, even. Now I hardly even think about it. But I'm on the verge of changing that. I am changing that. A conversation with a customer at Borders showed me what I was doing. He asked me what I wrote and I couldn't tell him about any of the stories I had written. I told him I would get back to him and he laughed and said that my stating that I didn't even remember what I had written really showed my disinterest in the subjects. I don't really think this is the case, though. I think the case is that I was so focused on completing the NaNo that I didn't look further than that. And that's what I need to do: set out what the plan after NaNo is going to be.

On Monday, I'm going to go through my computer for my old NaNo files and see if there are stories that I want to complete. I also have plenty of other stories I want to complete, but right now I will start with NaNos. There is also my short story collection I need to get back to. That was nearly ready to be published. So that and NaNos. There. I have a plan for stuff to work on in writing between now and November. Wasn't so hard. As long as I make the time, it really isn't that hard.

a deliberation.
a way of life.
who I am and who I want to be.
my main form of expression.
the best thing in the world.
not to be taken too seriously (by me).
a way to fly.
Heaven.
an exercise where heart, mind, and soul are one.
in my blood.
a fine way to make a living.
not as hard as I make it out to be.
a way that produces mental stimulation.
spontaneous.
something that can surprise you.
fun to do in the bathtub.
a way to draw up emotions.
the only way to live.
like flying.
what I should can will do more often.
like breathing.
easy.
a magical art.
less complicated than I make it to be.
like stepping on garden stones in a light mist.
the perfect thing to do in bed, on a Sunday, when it is raining.
who I am--not what I do.
best done with pen and paper instead of a computer keyboard.
where the dead still lives.
human kind's greatest accomplishment.
a complement to tea with cream and honey.
what I'm doing right now.
a bit sneaky.
the best thing in the world.
fun!
something that never seems as hard when I'm doing it.
about community.
not as difficult as students believe it to be, either.
not about the money.
something worth fighting for.
very quirky.
really cool.
about life--whether fictitious or not.
something that helps me understand myself.
my craft.
a passion play.
always very satisfying for me, even when I don't know what I'm doing.
great without a roadmap.

50,003 / 50,000 (100.0%)

It's barely over, but yeah, that's enough for me. :D

33,346 / 50,000 (66.7%)

Didn't do anything at the write-in, but because I had done the Word Wars this morning, I kind of didn't have to. I don't have to write any words before the 21st if I don't want to. But I'm really gonna try to keep the four day lead. I rather like that. :)

25,006 / 50,000 (50.0%)

Okay, there now! Finally broke 25,000! Woot! Have a write-in on Saturday and Sunday and I think I want to try the Evening of Writing Dangerously, so that hopefully will be a lot of words. Maybe I can do 25,000 in two days. LOL That would be interesting, wouldn't it?