I'm kind of sick of sitting, but it's 11:51 p.m., and kind of late to take a walk. And chilly. (I do live in the mountains, after all.)

After this writing run, I'm going to have to sit on a pillow for the next six months, guaranteed.

By the way, I'm at 26,227 words, so I've written about 10,000¹ words since I started about 3:45 p.m. this afternoon. That's pretty good, I think.

Notice however, that I didn't say any of it was good writing, but it most certainly is writing. I finished a novel with a two week road trip in the middle last year and completed that novel. I will not let normal life interfere with this one.

My fiction writing record is from my 2007 novel when I wrote 10,000 words in one day. I'm guaranteed to break that record this year.

I am at fifty percent, and it feels good. I'm not worn out yet.

I took some breaks to sort music and bake¹ and chat about books with chris_reynaga and listen to nihilistic_kid 's most recent composition hot off his grimy little keyboard (it's fabulously hilarious, by the way) and generally distract myself from this year's novel in ways I could and could not justify.

Posting in this journal is one example of that.

I thought about my kids a lot.

There's a lot more writing to be done tonight, but all else being equal, it looks like I may finish my novel by my November 30th midnight deadline.

I'm bound to gain ten pounds by the end of the 30th. I may have to take some walking breaks in the middle of writing. That's the healthy, sane thing to do, right? :)

I started just under three hours ago at less than 30%, but I'm now at just over 40%. See that? My 20,000 word mark just whizzed by.

*pants*

Back to the laptop.

This may be a Mountain Dew and massive chocolate couple of days.

*notes not to forget to pay the rent*

*notes she had a fabulous time with the kids, and it's all worth it to have spent more time with them and other guests and to be writing now, as they fly back to Idaho*

Between poor judgment about how much time I would have for the last half of the month, moving activities, unexpected Thanksgiving hosting responsibilities, etc., etc., I have not quite 35,000 words to write by midnight November 30th. Watch me soar.

Dinner has been eaten, the pie has been consumed. Now it's time for the post-holiday come down and an attempt to catch up on the writing that was missed earlier in the day.

Note to self: Once again, for another year, ginger lime yams are good. So are mashed potatoes and gravy. The world needs more mashed potatoes and gravy.

Just saying.

Load two of dishes done. Pie is in the oven. Turkey is still brining, but only for a little while. Soon it will be time to roast the bird!

The pumpkin is pureed and it's about time to make a pie crust, pumpkin pie filling and then bake the pie. The turkey I'm brining has been turned.

The dishwasher was empty about thirty minutes ago. Between breakfast and all the usual Thanksgiving sort of prep, the dishwasher is now running.

The kids are cuddling on a chair.

I'm way behind on my NaNo novel; I haven't had near enough sleep.

This is why God made Mountain Dew.

It may seem like a step back, but it's not, I assure you.

***

I've gotten a lot written over the past year, and over the past month. Today I finished two (awful) short stories, am in the middle of two more and am in the middle of two novels. I'm about to take a break on one of them in order to devote more time to the one I'm supposed to be writing for NaNoWriMo.

But that's how we learn to write, isn't it? We read and read and read and we write and write and write and if we're lucky we crit and crit and crit. And then we write some more.

I wrote the two short stories today with no intention of selling them at all. Ever. One may have a chance after several rewrites. The second may have a chance at a girly market if I make it funny enough. Or at a spec-fic market if I set it in space. ;)

I wrote them to write them and to have fun. I also wrote them so that Shane Hoversten will write more stories for me to read when I get up in the morning. (But this is a story for another time.)

But I also wrote them to focus on one aspect, and one aspect only, of writing. For example, in the second one I focused on subtle character actions and behavior. The sort of elements of a story that aren't noticed unless they're done badly and come off cheesy. I hope I didn't come off cheesy. And I learned from it.

There was something about not having the added pressure of trying to get everything right right now, but just focusing on one thing I feel I need to improve on, a habit or potential habit I want to avoid. And it felt good.

I'll be doing more of this, certainly. These stories may never be salable, but these lessons are more valuable to me than any short story sale could be for me at this point.

Today is brought to you by the Santa Cruz Mountains rain and no tea, strangely enough. I may have to remedy that: I have caught a cold. (Lemon ginger sounds good.)

2009 has been remarkably healthy for me, much more healthy than I've been in years past. But I still have this cold -- I suspect I had it coming.

I attended World Fantasy Convention 2009 in nearby San Jose this weekend, my first big con. I paid for the con by writing articles about how to adjust watches.

I attended no panels, I attended only Terry Bisson's reading. Mostly I met people I've corresponded with online for years, or authors and editors I admire, some of them absolute favorites of mine. I spent time with Clarion West cohorts, old friends, new friends and Paul Park, my Clarion West Week 1 instructor, and Connie Willis, who taught Week 4. I learned about writing and being a writer in the current publishing climate. It's scary, but when I step back and think about it, it's thrilling, too.

And I caught a cold.

But that's okay; it was certainly worth it.

One of my favorite moments of the con was when Margo Lanagan won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. (Along with Jeffrey Ford, which just rocked -- I adore Jeff Ford.)

Margo Lanagan's win was a personal thing for me, proving how powerful boundary busting YA can be, and that that's okay, and can be accepted and appreciated when it's done well, when there's a point to the transgressions. This is something I've struggled with for years, that I'm finally getting over. I've consistently censored myself and my stories because of fear, fear of what people would think, react, say. How it would affect my fiction writing career. How it would affect my life in Idaho, and my family's life.

Partially this was because I had written stories in the past that bothered people, stories that people took personal offense to. I hadn't intended to hurt anyone when I wrote what I did; I thought I was writing a story I was interested in writing.

It's a process, but I'm learning not to be afraid.

I think I'm going to write Margo Lanagan a letter. Do you all remember that? When I used to write people letters? (I think I once wrote something to the effect of, "Harlan Ellison sues people; I write people letters.") I need to start writing letters again. I used to be a decent correspondent; now I'm awful.

The best part of the whole experience, however, was that I felt I was back with my tribe, something I have missed since coming home from Clarion West.

Tonight I am chilled, but it's only because I'm sick. The writing is flooding across my screen, I am surrounded by people I love, and there are a plethora of wonderful books to be read.

It's not all perfect -- I'm still trying to work on getting a big person job, for example -- but it's really, really good. It's wonderful. And if everything was perfect, what else would there be to work for?

Via Clarion West classmate, and all around awesome person, finitemonkey: I give you The Renamer-ator!

No longer do you need to use the phone book, baby name books, your friends or (heaven forbid) your imagination! Simply use The Renamer-ator for all your character building needs!

I completed the write-a-thon. YAY!

( Read more... )

By the way, my 2009 Clarion West write-a-thon status:

I said I'd write the first draft of a 200 page short novel. Today I finished page 179.

We keep trucking along.

To the Flushed anthology.

My first (and only) post-CW submission and sale.

It feels like I've taken a deep sigh and been able to say, "Okay, I can still do this."

Go here.

I am going to have my kids at the middle of this month. *much rejoicing*

We are, of course, going to have an insane amount of fun because, well, that's what we do. I have some ideas for things to do with them, but I would love to hear suggestions.

As you may recall, I am currently living in California's South Bay area, and so any ideas for options particular to this region (and even further south, down to, say, Monterey) would be especially appreciated.

My sons are four and seven and are the usual sorts of four and seven, which is, indeed, a very good thing.

*back to the daily grind, writing more sickle cell anemia articles and my write-a-thon novel*

Clarion West 2009 started this week. I'll have thoughts on that another time. Believe me, I certainly have them.

However, that's not the reason I come before you today. Today I come before you to spread word of the Clarion West Write-A-Thon, where some amazingly talented writers of all skill levels write our mad hearts out during the six weeks Clarion West is in session with the intention of raising funds for our beloved workshop.

Clarion West is a non-profit organization. Though Clarion West does charge tuition to attend, these monies only cover a certain percentage of what it takes to fund the workshop each year. Additionally, Clarion West offers scholarship funds to promising writers who would not be able to afford the workshop otherwise. The money to make up the uncovered balance of the yearly workshop and the scholarship funds have to come from somewhere. Clarion West has received grants, but a substantial portion of their funds come from donors and the Write-A-Thon.

I strongly encourage you to click the link above and check out the list of writers who are taking donations for the Write-A-Thon this year. It's for a good cause, and it's a fine investment in your reading future.

I also want to note that all involved are aware of the current economic situation affecting so many of us. Please know that small amounts add up and are greatly appreciated.

As for me, I'll be spending the six weeks writing the first draft of Paradise, the short novel I outlined with Chuck Palahniuk during Week 6 of Clarion West 2008 (the best Clarion West year ever--just saying ;)). I'm already twelve pages in. I'll write at least another three today when I'm not writing freelance articles.

3,000 / 50,000 (6.0%)

this morning while getting ready for work.

After the last year I've had, I believe it was hard earned. Frankly, I'm wondering why my hair still has as much color as it does.

Jim Van Pelt writes some of my favorite blog entries on writing. He's been kind enough to organize a list of them here.

My reading of K. Tempest Bradford's "Elf Aware" is up at Podcastle.

I'm going to be at Potlatch this weekend! Please come and say hi :).