Dawn Groves Land

I started the outline of my NaNoWriMo project. OHMYGODITISSOBADITWILLNEVERSELLIMGOINGTODIEPENNILESS.

Got that out of my system.

Think about yourself for a minute. (Not difficult for most of us…) Every experience in life combines to create who you are today: your pain, your sins, weight gain, acne, that time you vomited on your date. Everything. Not just the pretty stuff.

Same with your novel. Everything you write — even the overwrought purple prose — puts you this much closer to the ultimate goal.

Glory comes to those who dare. But sometimes you have to dare many times before the glory can happen.

NaNo starts in a week. Do you dare?

-dawn

So I contacted Lorna and we have resumed our text message meetings. We write for 1/2 hour and then share word counts. It’s silly but the meetings keep me honest.

Our first was yesterday. And OUCH, I remembered why I’ve been avoiding this for a few months. Writing SUCKS.

I’ve written several books. I’m a pretty fair writer. I know what it takes to get something produced and published. You’d think that I could flush out some copy without feeling like a big fake.

Not so. Oh well.

At one point in my life, I decided that my purpose on this Earth was to be an example of someone who feels all the fear, insecurity, dorkiness, and ambivalence that everyone else feels, but who goes for it anyway.

So what if writing is hard? Everything easy was once hard. I can do hard.

Next week I’ll slap out a rough outline for my upcoming NaNo 50K push.

Onward. -Dawn

Howdeedoo,

I kept the podcasts up from last year because folks find them to be useful writing tools, not just during NaNoWriMo. But I’ve had requests for a few more. So I”ll be adding some new podcasts in next few weeks, once I get my ducks in a row.

Currently I’m finishing up some articles being pitched to a few mags. But i will start crafting a brief outline of the new novel a few days before NaNo actually starts.

Agh, the time is drawing near. Agh, I say.

Dawn

Howdy Folks.

Well, I’d pretty much hosed this blog until last week. I was standing around the kitchen thinking about food when suddenly (smack on the forehead), I remembered that I’m a writer!

For the maybe two people who read my blog entries last year and wondered what the hell happened, here’s the short version:

Last October I decided to write the Great American Novel. During the November NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, www.nanowrimo.com) project, I pounded out 50k.

I continued refining the book until March 3rd when I pitched a fine synopsis package at a writers conference. One editor basically blew me off; the other listened politely and told me that because the novel was a coming-of-age story (17+ readership) set in the disco era (40+ readership), Barnes and Noble wouldn’t know how to shelve it and thus it was doomed from the getgo.

So how did I, a successful nonfiction writer who produces books on goal-setting and stress management, react to this negative feedback?

I ordered cheesecake and stopped writing. I took one editor’s opinion (the woman who blew me off doesn’t count) and let it completely define my future as a novelist.

Say it with me, people: stupid.

Well, I’m not a writer who whines and sits, I’m a writer who whines and writes. Clearly it’s time to get busy again.

Anais Nin says that your world shrinks or expands according to your courage. Since my budding courage tends to flower when I strategize properly, I’ll start the new book by gathering support. First, I’ll reconnect with my best writing friend, Lorna. She stuck with me last year until I crawled under a rock. Second, I’ll teach a writing class at the college with NaNoWriMo as the guiding theme. That’ll provide plenty of courageous, energetic students writing alongside of me. And last, I’ll keep up this blog while recording a few more WriteNow sittings. Will you write with me as well? (Less the cheesecake. That’s just my thing.) See you at the keyboard. –Dawn