Today's the Day - Nanowrimo 2017 Begins!

I am so excited to begin National November Writing Month (Nanowrimo) today. I've had my novel ideas circulating in my head for weeks now, and it is finally time to start putting pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard as the case may be.

This will be my fifth consecutive year participating in Nanowrimo. I won it once, two years ago. There are all of these tips and tricks out there to help you complete the seemingly overwhelming 50,000 words. But honestly, it all comes down to one question. Do you want it?

I'm serious. Of all the years I have done Nanowrimo, the only year I won was the year I really wanted it. The first year, I had no idea what I was doing, so I didn't really write much. The second and fourth year, I was distracted by activities and social commitments. The third year, the year I won, I really wanted it and wrote constantly, making my writing a priority, until I made it to the end.

From my experience, if you want it, you will do it.

And that's it. Just do it. Write everyday. Write as often as you can. Write as much as you can.

When you hit writer's block, keep writing. Write the descriptions of your characters. Write descriptions of the setting. Write about why you can't figure out what happens next.

I entered in my first Nanowrimo update today. I'm so excited to begin.
Cheers to all who are participating with me! #Nanowrimo2017

One reason I love Nanowrimo is because it creates habit. The trick with writing, as well as other creative aspiration, is the more you do it, the easier it is to keep up the momentum. When life gets in the way, like during summer for example, it takes me a while to get started again. Nanowrimo is a jump start for me to get into the writing mode just in time for those cold winter months. I always want to hibernate during this time of year, so it works out well to be able to spend more time writing and editing my work.

Developing new ideas for novels is one of the easiest and hardest things for me. Usually, a small idea comes from something I read or experience. Then I build on it, continuously adding more details as I go.

I really like creating new content, but tend to have a really hard time editing. Thus, Nanowrimo is one of my favorite times a year.

This year, a series of events led up to my novel's subject matter. I recently helped a friend's grandmother write down her life's story to pass down to future generations. Her family was very comfortable in the outdoors and spent lots of time in the mountains hunting and fishing. In addition, I participated in a benefit run with another friend for pancreatic cancer awareness. These two influences blended together in my mind to come up with my Nanowrimo project.

I wanted to do a story beginning at the trail head of a backpacking journey. I decided to make the protagonist a female because that perspective is what I know. Write what you know, right? I tried to figure out why she would be going on this journey and decided it would be to overcome a loss. I wanted to use the stages of grief and the healing power of nature to lead her into self-discovery. Due to my recent interaction with pancreatic cancer awareness, I decided the trigger would be her mother dying of this deadly disease. It sort of all builds from there. Who she is, where her relationship stands with her family and so on and so forth.

The beauty is that a lot of the little decisions come out during the writing process. As I have discovered when writing previous novel ventures, the characters have a story of their own and they will let you know as you go if you just keep writing.

Today is only the beginning and I'm excited for this year's adventure. This year I really want it again, so I think I will win. I know I will win.

I'd love to hear from other who are participating in Nanowrimo this year! See you in the winner's circle!

Time for Reform

Photo by Nine Köpfer on Unsplash

It is interesting how life changes so slowly that sometimes you can hardly see the difference. This happens with good habits, also with bad. After a wake up call that involved me getting really sick for a few days, I finally woke up, realizing it is time to reform.

Last weekend I went out with some friends and had a great time. But I drank a little too much wine, and ate something that didn't agree with me and ended up sick for just over three days. It was a very unpleasant experience, but it also set off an alarm that alerted me of some bad habits I'd been very slowly gaining. This particular bad habit was using alcohol as a crutch to get through the good, the bad, and the mundane.

I've never really been addicted to anything, nor do I believe I was really addicted to alcohol, but now I understand how the dependence happens. It materializes slowly, without you ever really realizing it is a problem.

I do really like wine, beer and spirits. I would drink with my friends and often times with meals as well, just because I could. I slowly began to drink more often and faster, which meant I would have two glasses in the time I once would have one. Then I would not pay attention to my body and have another.

In the moment, it felt good and freeing. I did't really get bad hangovers either, so I didn't even realize anything was wrong. Except, that I started feeling really fatigued and unmotivated. I thought I was just because I was busy. Or that I was having a hard time kick starting myself after the carefree summer months to being being productive again. I'm sure those things contributed to it, but now I realize my habits did not help me either.

It wasn't until I got sick to the point that even the thought of alcohol repelled me that I realized exactly how much I came to covet the substance. Again, I don't believe I was addicted because I could give it up. However, I had to change and I did.

Once I became able to think and function again, I made a pact with myself to stop using alcohol as a crutch. I want to be able to experience life, the good and the bad.

I am thankful that I do not have to quit drinking completely, but I did for a week to let myself recover. Now I can simply moderate my consumption. Having a drink during social situation or while watching a football game is a pleasure. I need to keep it that way, an enjoyable activity, not an everyday indulgence.

This was not a severe case, thankfully it didn't get that far. But this is a serious subject. Simply becoming aware of my situation was enough for me to turn my habit around. I have an accountability partner and write consistently in a journal to help me catch the pattern if it does ever become an issue again.

It was also during this week that I recommitted myself to my writing. I've been writing, but it has been floundering and inconsistent. It was while I felt sick that I started asking myself what I want in life. I want to be a published writer. I want to be able to write with a clear mind. I want to finish these projects I'm working on and then start more. Writing is what I love and who I am. I want to be the best version of myself.

This week, once I could function again, I wrote everyday and made significant progress on one of my projects and created a good foundation for a second. All in only four days. I forgot how much writing means to me, when I find myself in the grind and when I float along feeling inspired. I'm thankful to find that elated feeling once again, one that was muted before.

By confessing this here, I share something very personal to me. However, it is a very significant occurrence for me and I feel a freedom in my heart to be able to write more openly. I'm still embarrassed and frustrated about getting so sick, but I am thankful for the wake up call to turn myself around and choose a new direction.

I want to be healthy, happy and free, just as I want those things for you. I am not proud of my previous actions, but I am pleased to turn it around before I became completely self-destructive. If you or someone you know has trouble letting go of bad habits and need help turning away from them, get it, you and your loved ones with thank you. It is worth the struggle to be free.

Last weekend, I felt confined to the choices I was making, not realizing how they were negatively affecting me. This weekend, I feel free and able to start fresh and see my world in a new light. Finding the good in the bad, I am thankful to be able to turn myself around and begin anew. That has already happened in my heart and now I declared publicly. 

Don't Limit Your Dreams

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

When I was in college, I had this dream. I wanted to be a writer or a journalist and live in a city above a storefront. I wanted to be able to write in coffee shops and meet cool people. It was an idle dream because I didn't think it would ever happen; nonetheless, it was my dream and it made me happy just thinking about it.

We lived in Seattle for about two years before I looked up from my day to day scramble and remembered this dream from another lifetime. Here I was living in the heart of Seattle, a pretty big city by anyone's standards, and finally realized this is exactly where I want to be.

I write in coffee shops and know some pretty cool people. We didn't live over a storefront, but we did live in an apartment right across from a park that stretched along the Puget Sound. I didn't even know to wish for that part of it. Additionally, the bar on the corner was a hot spot for locals and had some pretty good pizza to boot.

It makes me think that we spend so much time wishing and hoping for things to happen, and then when they do, we don't appreciate it. Sometimes, we don't even notice.

My dream of living and writing in the city came from a different life than I ended up living. I thought that I would be single and move to New York. Once I met my husband and we settled down to have kids, I put those silly dreams away.

Only to find out, that even when circumstances change, there is something inside of us that still yearns for that simple dream. I had put limits on my dream so I no longer believed it could come true. Instead, it was I was married with a daughter that we moved to Seattle. Turns out, there is no time limit on dreams, nor is there only one way for them to come true.

I was so busy looking at my current dream of publishing a novel that I forgot the dream that got me here. To live and write in the city is a wonderful experience. I am thankful that I finally looked up to appreciate it. Now I will always know that my dreams can come true - because many already have.

You are never to old to dream. You are never to late to start something new. Time keeps moving forward whether you are ready or not. Don't close yourself off to new opportunities or fresh ideas.

Take some time to think about the dreams you have had in the past. Does anything you thought you wanted look familiar around you? Don't stop at the obvious, but the subtle as well.

Think about the dreams you have now. How can you bring those dreams alive around you?

You Can Always Begin Again

It's been a couple years since I've blogged consistently. I have to admit, I really missed it.

I stopped for a myriad of reasons. The biggest one being our move from South Carolina to Seattle. It was a great change for us and we are still here in Washington and loving it. Nonetheless, a lot of things changed during that time including our daily routine and my perceptive on life.

Once I stopped blogging, I had a really hard time getting started again. Even though I really enjoyed the process, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say anymore. The majority of my subject matter changed greatly, and I couldn't really figure out where to go next or what I wanted to say anymore. I started to develop a different style of blog, but it never really got off the ground. I got so frustrated, I just stopped.

I realize now that I put way too much pressure on myself. For something that was supposed to be inspiring and enjoyable, it became stressful and draining. Still, I missed it.

It was time to regroup and focus on why I enjoy writing to begin with. At the end of the day words inspire me. I write to understand and make sense of what is happening around me. No wonder I've felt so our of sync the last year or so.

I decided it is not too late, I can begin again.

The more I think about what I love to do and what I want to say, I realize that all I really want is a conversation. I don't need the intensity of having it all planned out, I just want to be able freely express myself.

I really enjoy learning and studying new ideas. I like to explore my surroundings and try to understand a little bit more about myself, others and the world around me. I want to be able to share thoughts and ideas see where they take me.

I am currently writing a book, piecing together a memoir project with a friend's grandmother, practicing yoga, learning to cook with fresh and seasonal ingredients, continuously crafting and studying all kinds of random elements and still doing that whole wife and mother thing too. Life is busy and crazy all the time. writing in its own way helps me keep what little sanity I have left. It also helps to organize my thoughts and respond to those around me more confidently.

I'm not sure exactly where this new adventure is going to go, but I'm excited to get started.