The end of an era....

Well, it's over. NaNoWriMo 2009 officially ended last night at midnight. And you know what?

I WAS A WINNER!

That's right. Your humble bloggeress (who hasn't been blogging, I know. But I was trying to write 50,000 words in thirty days, and I was behind!) has now written 160 or so pages of....well, mess, but it's a beautiful mess that I will eventually edit. I'll write a post later about all that happened during NaNoWriMo, but for now, I'll just share a link with the, oh, three of you that actually read this blog.

66 words

Speed test

Because I am a dork, and these things appeal to me. Now I'm going to go try to improve my time again. (This actually has practical applications. The more you play, the better you get, which means you become a faster typist. Great for resumes--and last-minute term papers)

NaNo Progress

This is a depressing topic for me--I'm wicked behind this year, thanks to a sudden disinterest in my story after Day 1 and a lack of drive. Trying to catch up now--the current plan is to force myself to write 2,500 words a day for the next seventeen days (starting today) so that I finish in time. Let's hope I find my story somewhere along the way.

Not much more to say at the moment. Here's a word-count widget, for anyone who's interested in my progress.

I dropped off the face of the earth again... but I came back!

All right, I'm not even going to bother with the excuses this time. Just know that I will (hopefully) never disappear for three weeks ever again.

First, I'd like to thank the three people who left me comments, which I did not know about until I finally wrestled past the Google login thing today and saw the "comments waiting to be approved" thing. Thank you for reading my blog and actually letting me know--it was much appreciated.

Next: OH MY GOD, NANO IS IN THREE DAYS! Seriously, guys, think about signing up. It's a wild ride, and it's tons of fun, and it's never too late to join the adventure. It doesn't matter if you don't have an idea yet. Some people don't have any idea what they're writing until the month's, like, half over. You'll be fine.

On the subject of writing and ideas, I saw a most interesting suggestion on the NaNoForums today: that of using tarot cards to help propel your story. Think about it--each card means something, so they're like mini plot generators. They could even generate entire characters--there's a spread that's supposed to show you past, present, and future, after all. It's all in what you make of it.

Oh, yeah, I'm definitely trying this. I knew I bought that pretty deck for a reason all those years ago. I think I'll draw cards with a particular character in mind and see what ideas they stir up. God knows I need some stuff to fill in the large gaps in the middle of my story and to make some characters, particularly the side characters of Luce and Hunter, more dimensional. Even Rose and Kieran, my MCs, could use some filling in.

All right, time to do that homework I totally forgot I had. I promise to be back BEFORE another three weeks have passed.

Night, all.

--Marcie

In Which I Distract You From My Lengthy Absence with Excessive NaNo Chatter

So, I was gone for almost a week again. My apologies. The will just....wasn't there. And then I was sick this weekend.

/endexcuses.

Now, on to the more interesting stuff. NaNoWriMo is in less than a month! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's National Novel Writing Month. You can see my post about it if you click here.) Cue excitement! Cue endless stalking of the NaNo Forums! Cue panic!

I realized I wasn't ready--I had nothing prepared. Now, granted, in my past two Nano experiences, I came up with an idea just around the starting time of the event, so I shouldn't have been so concerned this year. But since I have no life and have been stalking the Nano Forums since July or so and kept seeing people talking about their ideas... I panicked.

So yesterday, I started an outline. It's a really detailed outline that's already over three pages that will hopefully help me reach 50,000 words this year by telling me each day what to write.

It could also have the unfortunate side effect of killing any love I have for my poor story, so it's kind of a toss-up at the moment. For now, I'll just keep working on it, and we'll see what goes down on Nov. 1.

In other news, I'm collecting online writing buddies left and right. Because the ones I got from the first writing buddy thread on the forum weren't enough, so I had to go and put myself out there again. How I will keep up with all of these people--or even keep their names straight--come November, I surely don't know. But you can never have enough writing buddies.

Though if you ever could, I guess I'm pretty darn close.

And now we reach the part where I shamelessly order you all to join me in doing NaNo.

Do it! Do it! Do it! Go to the link here and check it out. Sign up! It's tons of fun if you maintain a good attitude and try not to take yourself too seriously. (Not that I've ever been guilty of that...) I'd love to have more people I know trying alongside me this year.

And, okay, if you're really set on refusal, there is something else you can do for me: offer as much support as you possibly can. This may sound like a silly adventure, but it's very important to me, and there will be times when I feel like giving up. Any encouragement any of you provide could mean the difference between meeting my goal and missing yet again. Whether it's a kick in the pants in the form of a "Have you written your 1,667 words today?" or a simple--but appreciated--"You can do it!", I cannot begin to express how much the littlest motivation will do for me.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Off to do that schoolwork thing and stare at my outline some more, willing it to grow. Until next time!

Your anxious-excited bloggeress,

Marcie

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Okay, it's been over a week since last update...

I am a bad bloggeress. -hangs head in shame- In my defense, I would post more regularly if I had a following.... Hint, hint. Comments would be appreciated. Just something to let me know there's a reason to continue.

Now, to the continuing.

I love writing late at night. There's an energy as well as an openess that comes when darkness falls and you have some modicum of privacy. It's easier for me to speak my mind, to a degree--the words flow easier. There's an illusion of safety in the silence that says it's okay. Whatever you want to say is fine. It's not enough to break down my walls entirely--I don't think I'll ever speak without thinking or choosing my words carefully--but it thins them, so that a few more things than usual can pass my guard and slip through, onto paper or into the air.

Peanut is staring at me with thoughtful brown eyes as I type. I just read an article about a book in which a woman looks into the psyche of dogs and directly discourages anthropomorphizing, but I can't help it--maybe I want her to be regarding me thoughtfully. I like the company. I like the idea that her thoughts might be running on something akin to mine.

This is called projection--we learned about it in Psychology. Doesn't change the fact that I think my dog knows more than she's saying. Just because you really want to see something doesn't mean it isn't there.

And with that, I'll make my exit for the night, before my free-running brain spews off even more psychobabble to scare off what few readers I have. Night, all.

Your humble scribbler of thoughts, both reasonable and not,

Marcie

Bad Mood =....Productivity?

Whod've thought, right? Especially since, earlier today, the thing that upset me made it so I couldn't write. The mind is funny that way. I guess I should fill you in before I continue.

Earlier I was extremely wound up by an unpleasant encounter with someone who used to have my respect who has long since ceased to treat me with any level of consideration. Obviously, this left me with bruised feelings, and after an upsetting comment from this person, all ambitions of adding to the more lighthearted of my two current novels-in-progress this afternoon totally vanished. I couldn't focus, and in that mood, I really couldn't do right by my poor characters. So I got out of the house for a bit, sort of cheered up, and came home to watch Bones, the best television show in the universe.

Flash forward to a few hours later. My temper's jumping around again as I consider whether or not to send this person a letter in the hopes of making my feelings known and getting the last word. In an effort to calm myself after I've essentially decided, with the help of a friend, that the letter won't really get me anything and that it would be best to just let it all go, I start playing music. I click through a few songs when, bingo! I start playing "Won't Go Home Without You" by Maroon Five, which happens to be on my playlist for novel number 2. Suddenly, all the energy trapped to my system can be put to good use, because I feel like writing.

Naturally, I raced to my document and threw it open, retrieving my powerpoint outline and finding my place. I started typing like a madwoman, replaying "Won't Go Home" every time it stops. This pattern is still going.

There really wasn't much point to this entry, I guess, except to tell you all of my success--I've been terribly remiss in my noveling as of late and have frequently lacked the motivation to dive back into my story. I'm glad to have written a few paragraphs that for once came with relative ease and to have the promise of a few more--I'm determined to get at least this one scene from my outline done before I trot off to bed.

So, the moral of the story is: when stuck, play one song over and over again, and do not stop until the work has reached completion.

Okay, and something in there about channeling negative energy into positive production. Something healthy and mature like that.

Now it's back to work for me. Night all. Remember: no matter what else, keep writing!

EDIT: Wrote 703 words. Not that much, in the grand scheme of things, but it's more than I've been doing lately, and at least that scene is done. I'll do some more planning and hopefully get another one or two written tomorrow.

NaNoWriMo

It's almost November, so I thought I'd let you guys and gals know about an event I participate in every year. It's called NaNoWriMo, which is really short for "National Novel Writing Month." NaNo is a thirty-day challenge with a very simple goal: write fifty-thousand words before midnight on November thirtieth.

This sounds crazy, right? But people all over the world participate in NaNo every year, and plenty of them make it to 50K--in fact, quite a few of them go above and beyond. I've done NaNo twice, and both times I was prevented from "winning"--the first year, I was on my own and just had no motivation to reach 50,000, and the second, I was hit with two debilitating setbacks in the same week: a lengthy essay project and a serious illness. This year, I'm determined to reach 50,000 if it kills me. With support, I hope I can do so without the ultimate price of death.

The thing about NaNo is it gives you two wonderful things for a writer to have: support and a deadline. You won't believe how much difference those two simple words make. Just from year one to year two of my experience, I learned a lot about myself as a writer and about my writing process. I had a ton of fun, too. Going to meetings and writing as a group, doing word wars and receiving encouragement were some of the best things I could have done for myself. It was also nice to be surrounded by kindred spirits, to hear the people around me complaining about things like plot, character development, consistency, and character rebellion.

Check out the website for more information; I've provided a link in the title of this post. I would write more now, but it's a bit late, and unfortunately, this blogger has class in the morning. I'll tell you all more about NaNo in coming posts, but for now, I'll just leave you with this sentiment: NaNoWriMo is fun. You should do it.

Click the link. Click the link. Click the link.

(Hey, the repetitive-order thing always worked for Wishbone.)

Psyched Out

Did you know that when you watch television, there's a part of your brain that imitates what is being experienced by the person on the screen? I learned this from a science program a while back. The human mind actually puts itself in the situation it's witnessing--that's why some of us cry at sad parts of movies, why we wince when someone else gets hit, why we get ill just watching someone get sick, why some fans get really excitable when a goal is scored in their favorite sport. In a way, we're experiencing it all ourselves.

This makes me take another look at writing. I don't know about the rest of you, but part of the reason why I write is because it puts me in a different place. I get to be the heroine, the femme fatale, the martyr--whatever I want to be. And when things get exciting, my heart races, and I type a little faster. When the story turns angsty, my eyes tear up, and I have to grab a tissue. When the fate of a character's in the balance, my chest tightens in anticipation. I go through a whole range of emotions that I don't otherwise experience day to day, and that's satisfying.

Have you ever read a book just to cry? Same thing. It's that release that you're looking for. As an interesting and somewhat-related aside, I read an article last year while doing research for a Psych project, and the doctor who'd written it explained that fantasy was a healthy part of people's lives. Daydreams are a safe way for our minds to explore options without actually taking any action. When we read and write, we're doing the same thing. When I need a good cry, I could go pick a fight with my best friend... or I could just grab New Moon and let Bella's pain become my own, without any damage to myself or my existing personal relationships. (Now, don't get catty. Just because you don't like the books doesn't mean we can't be friends, or that I can't enjoy them.)

Just some food for thought, and something to consider the next time any of you get accused of escapism. Now, off with you, and go indulge in some healthy identity confusion. ;)

A Newsworthy Introduction

Yesterday, in my Editing class--I attend a community college in Florida--my professor got us all into a circle to make introductions. Being a journalism teacher, as well as the head of the VCC Journalism Department, he had an interesting way of going about this. He told us all to give our general information (name, age, place of birth, etc.), and then to think of something newsworthy. "What," he asked us, "would we write about you, if we were to feature you in the Valencia Voice?"

This got me thinking in a manner different from the one I was used to. I started to think from a journalist's angle, and found my life was more interesting than I thought it was, if told in the right way. (Otherwise, I truly am a very boring individual.)

So, here is my headline, ladies and gents. You can learn the boring stuff about me later.

GIRLS WRITE THOUSAND-PAGE MANUSCRIPT IN WORD; LONGER THAN LONGEST HARRY POTTER BOOK

Believe it or not, this is true, though I wouldn't exactly call the project a manuscript--it could never be published in its current state, nor is it worth the intense amount of editing and rewriting it would take to make it even remotely publishable. But it is longer in word count than the longest Harry Potter book, and it is a source of great pride and joy for myself and my friend Tara, the story's co-author. We've been working on what will hopefully be a never-ending story for about two years now--I'll look up the exact starting date later--and, when possible, we add to it daily. We have no delusions (nor any real desire) involving publishing, at least not for this project. We've borrowed from too many things, left too many plot holes, and grown too possessive of our characters to ever really send it out into the world. But we have fun, and that's real purpose of the exercise. We write because it's like putting our imaginations on screen. We save the document because it's like one long, vivid dream from which we ultimately refuse to wake up.

It's kind of neat, too, in a totally mortifying way, to look back at what we've written. We can both say proudly--and with great relief--that our writing has vastly improved in two, almost three years. Words are more fluid, characters are less obnoxious, and scenes are less cliche. (I am more guilty of these errors than Tara is; she is by far the superior writer of the two of us.) Even looking at the really early stuff that makes us cringe with embarrassment, we can smile with lingering affection, because while it's a big, long, winding mess, this story is our mess, and it's something we've worked really hard on without really meaning to. We put our hearts into it. We talk about the characters not only as if they're real people, but as if they're our children--albeit children that would kill us if they actually were real enough to get their hands on us. We plot and scheme and work out details to make the story make sense, even though no one will ever see it but us, because we're perfectionists and would rather die than ignore the rules of the world we've created. We can't let down those characters, even if we do have a fondness for ruining their lives.

The story is nowhere near finished. I think I'm safe in saying it will stay "nowhere near finished" for quite some time. Tara wrote in my yearbook at the end of her last year of high school that she was pretty sure we would continue to write together "until one of us dies." That sounds like a promise to me, and a reason to live as long as humanly--or inhumanly--possible.

A Seed Was Planted

Today, a classmate of mine made a grave mistake.

He told me I should start a blog.

At first, I thought I couldn't do it. What would I find to talk about every day that other people would want to read? Who would bother reading it? Where would I find the time? But even as I offered up these protests, a part of my mind was already running in the background, asking far more interesting questions: What will I write about? What should I name it? How cool would it be to have followers, if by some miracle I get any?

Really, my mind was made up before I even left the parking lot. I was already planning anecdotes, strategies, and features. (It's fortunate that my friend Devon was driving, or my split attention could have been dangerous.) When we got to Devon's house, I walked in the door with a notepad in hand, on which I'd already started a list of potential topics for future posts (that paranoia about having nothing to write about already kicking in). The list expanded while we ate hot dogs, as we watched TV, and even while I was supposed to be finishing my quiz for my Business class.

And now, here I sit, my quiz finished and filed away so I can pursue a more exciting venture. Welcome to "The Purple Pen!" I puzzled for quite a while over what to call this blog--experiencing what we call First Blog Anxiety Syndrome (FBAS), which I did not just make up on the spot--and eventually realized it should be something simple. Something that epitomized me without having my name in the title. Something easy to remember, but that would live up to the epic potential this whole blogging idea held.

Something purple.

I write all my most important notes in purple pen. It seemed logical that I should then write all my most important posts from the same source.

It helps to know that I can change my title and URL at any time if they should suddenly become lame.

Now that I've told you the story behind the blog, I should probably tell you what the blog's about, yeah? Well, here's the thing...

I don't really know yet.

Don't panic! I have a few ideas. Remember that list? It's sitting right here next to me, with my first several posts at least semi-laid out. A lot of them are anecdotes, a few are links to things I find interesting, and some are just one-word ideas that will have to be expanded upon (unless you want a microblog, in which case, well, you're obviously in the wrong place. I'm a bit verbose). I'll try to plan things ahead so that my updates are consistent. Once I get things rolling, I'd be more than grateful for suggestions. Already I'm thinking art features, book and TV show reviews, interviews, and other things you fine folks can help me out with.

For now, though, I think it's time I wrapped this up before I do something stupid, like lose my nerve.

There is something I've left out. I haven't told you anything about myself yet. I did, in fact, realize this. I just couldn't find anywhere in this post to put an introduction without ruining the flow. So we'll save that for another post, and if you're really itching to know the girl behind the keys, you can check out my "About Me" page, which I'm about to fill out right now.

But I can't fill it out till I close this post. So here we go.

Thanks for joining me on this epic literary adventure! I hope there are many more exciting things to come.

Cheers,

Miss Marcie