BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl


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10,380 Words

That’s how far behind I am in NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – is kicking my butt this year. No, that’s not true. I’m kicking my own butt this year.

I was doing great, hitting my word targets until day 13, but then, on day 14 I didn’t. I haven’t gotten back up to the target number since, falling further and further behind.

What I haven’t done, though, is give up. Every single day I’ve written SOMETHING, and every single day I’ve updated my word count. It may be going up a little more slowly than I’d like, but I’m happy with the knowledge that: 1. it’s still going up, and 2. it’s going up at a rate that is far faster than if I weren’t doing NaNoWriMo.

I have a long weekend coming up. I’m hopeful that somehow I’ll be able to crank out several thousand words, and maybe, if I’m lucky, catch up.

Whether I do or not, I’m still pleased with what I’ve accomplished so far. I’m nearly 30,000 words into a new Young Adult murder mystery set in both the present and old time New Orleans. It’s a far different story than I set out to write, but it’s the story that must be written.

Now, off to my day job, then onward toward victory!


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Found on an Old Flash Drive (2012)

It used to be easy

Sitting down at the keyboard and just letting the words come

Often I wouldn’t know what I was writing about until the words took some form

Some shape of their own

Their own direction

I could let them spill out of my fingertips into my computer

and they would appear

before my eyes

Did I write this?

Are these really my thoughts?

Do I believe all of these ideas? These sentiments?

Yes, I suppose I do.

They don’t come from my head

They come from my heart

Or my soul

My spirit

Or maybe just from my fingertips

Do my fingertips have something to say?

Some deep message that they need me to hear?

Maybe they wish to be my guide

Maybe they are in revolt

Thinking that the brain and the heart and the soul have all had their turns

at guiding me

Have all had their turns

at leading me astray

So why not their turn?

Why not let them try?

See what they say

See if they make any more or less sense than the other parts of me

who have all had a go at helping me to make decisions in my life

So here I sit

Prisoner to the thoughts and ideas

That simply flow through my fingers

Not in charge of anything

Just going along for the ride

and waiting to see

what those knowing hands

have to teach me


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My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

A while back I wrote a back-to-school blogpost that was later modified and run by Scary Mommy. Scary Mommy is a huge website full of content for moms who may sometimes feel like they’re hanging on by the skin of their teeth. I can relate.

Well, that article generated quite a buzz, and it ended up being shared several times, on several different websites internationally. It was particularly popular in Greece, for some reason. I’m not really sure why, and I wouldn’t even know whom to ask.

The reason I bring it up is that someone visited the blog recently through the Scary Mommy link. Hooray! I was able to see what they saw, and came across my author page along with the article. I was so glad, because I thought I lost that link forever.

In case you’re interested, here it is: 10 Back to School Supplies Money Can’t Buy . I know it’s the wrong time of year, but what do you think? The article generated a huge positive response, but there were a few angry comments saying I had no business telling people what to do. My intent was never to scold or come across as all knowing. I know parenting is difficult. I also know, from years of experience working with hundreds (thousands?) of kids that so often what they need most from their parents are things money can’t buy.

It was nice to see that old article again. It reminded me of my fifteen minutes in the spotlight, and it gave me hope that maybe somewhere somebody was taking my words to heart and spending a little extra time loving on their kids.