wrist tattoos + writing inspiration

I have always, always wanted a tattoo on my wrist. But I have a very low pain tolerance. And I can never keep my mind made up (which is why my hair color changes all the time). Something permanent, like a tattoo, is not something I should invest in.

But I still love wrist tattoos, so I collect images of them on Pinterest to keep me satisfied. Also, the narrator of the novel-in-progress has a tattoo on each wrist. I collect these images, also, as inspiration for her.

If you couldn’t tell, I am also a very big fan of birds and feathers and the like.

(BEDA: April 13, 2013)

No NaNo for Me

This year I am not participating in NaNoWriMo.

This is the first November since I became a NaNoer in 2004 that I have not participated in this crazy, tremendous writing event. This is the first November I’m not even bothering to attempt a novel. I didn’t win ever year, but I always put in the effort to start. I always spent October planning, and getting some words down in November. I have always stretched my creative mind in November, even when it’s just a little bit, because I am a writer and that’s what I have to do.

But this year, I am not.

And a large part of me fears that I’m not participating because, for the first time since 2004, I just don’t have anything to write. I don’t have a story to tell. Or, I don’t have a story I want to tell.

I know, I know. I spend a lot of time talking, blogging, and tweeting about that novel-in-progress I have — and, I guess it still is a novel-in-progress. I still believe in and love the story I’m trying to tell. These last few months, though, I haven’t written a word. I haven’t jotted a note. I haven’t doodled an outline.

What have I done?

I’ve opened blank document after blank document. I’ve flipped through blank journal pages. Essentially, I have done nothing.

My word document is blank, and my mind is blank, and something about this scares me. For the first time since I can remember, writing — writing anything — is not just hard. It’s not possible.

In case you’ve been wondering, yes, this has definitely impacted by blogging and tweeting, as well. It’s even impacted my reading. It’s like I’ve disconnected from the written, fictional word entirely.

So here is my odd, spontaneous November confessional. I am in the worst place possible with my writing, and I have no idea how I got here, and I have no idea how to get to a different place.

A Tale of Rewriting (and other things)

For a long time I had this picture set as my profile picture across the Internet:

It’s a picture I took one day because I was so incredibly frustrated that I was pulling my hair out. And then I proved it wasn’t hyperbole by snapping this shot. See, I was pulling my hair out!

Well, this picture is incredibly relevant to my life right now and so I thought I’d just put it out here again. For today. Something about it makes me slightly less pulling-my-hair-out crazy. Only slightly.

But today is Monday, and Mondays are for NtS Updates.

Last week wasn’t exactly an unproductive writing week, but it wasn’t as productive as I would have liked, either. I was under the weather at the end of the week and that was a bummer.

I still accomplished my weekly goal of writing 10 pages or more. I wrote 11 pages. I finished revising the second chapter, and altered the ending point. This has put me in a bit of corner with how to begin the next scene, and I think I’ll be opening a craft book on scene / chapter construction late tonight in an effort to sort it out. If you don’t remember, I’m rewriting my beginning scenes / chapters because I added a new beginning to my novel. I realized the story need to start earlier in the time line, and doing that completely unraveled what was once a tangled mess of main plot and subplot and characterization. So it’s great. But I’m the type of writer who must write linearly, so when I backed up my beginning, I created the task of rewriting the 12,000 words I already had. It’s not exactly hard or complicated — as I said, the new beginning unraveled a lot for me — but it’s also not easy or simple. It’s just different, and different still takes time and concentration.

With August and Camp NaNoWriMo just around the corner, I’ve decided to adjust my August goals to be more task-oriented and specific. I write better when I have check lists (I do everything better when I have check lists), and so I’ve decided where I want to be when Camp NaNo begins and I’ve turned everything else into a task on my check list.

When August arrives, I want to be writing new material. What that means is I need to finish revising my beginning content and I need to have an updated novel outline to work from throughout August. To give you an idea of what my rewriting load is like, I had 12,000 words of beginning content before and I’ve rewritten about 5,000 words into 8,500 words. However, the further I get from the beginning, the less I have to adjust; it was mostly the scenes immediately following the new start point that needed heavy overhauling. What this means, I hope, is that I can finish the rewriting this week. As far as outlining is concerned, my new beginning unraveled a lot of the tangles in my story arc. I’ve jotted down scene notes and characterization notes, and I have a rough order of when these scenes or reveals occur, but I haven’t formally updated the outline I’m using to write. I’ve added a subplot to the novel — thereby simplifying the main conflict and adding a layer of depth — but I do need to sit down and sort out the structure of this new line. In my head, the whole novel is much clearer, but on paper it’s still a mess. I want to clean up that mess on paper, and get it all out of my head so I can get new things on my mind.

Now, a little about you; let’s chat in the comments.

Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this summer? (If you’re not, you should really check it out!) If you are, please leave your username in the comments so I can stay up-to-date on your progress; I love being a NaNo supporter and I always have extra sporks lying around. (If you don’t get the spork reference, just ask; it’s from a forum a long, long time ago.)  If you’re doing any writing during August, I’m hosting #WritersHangout on Google + during the month with my friend Justine. We’d love to have you join us! Please leave your Twitter handle in the comments so I can contact you directly with the details, if you’re interested.

And finally, whatever you’re writing, how are you doing with it? Are you having great successful or disheartening failures? I’d love to talk about your writing, too. Mondays aren’t just about me rambling into space. Blog updates are a part of NtS not only so we can keep up with each other, but so we can connect more broadly with the online writing community. I love the support you’ve given me all summer, and I’d love the opportunity to return the support.

Oh, and all week I’m over on NA Alley.

Today I featured #nalitchat, a new Twitter chat about all things New Adult that’s launching this Thursday (7.26) at 9PM EST. Just follow @NALitChat and @NAAlleyBlog to stay current on the details, and on Thursday log in and chat using the #nalitchat hashtag. I’m moderating this week along with host EJ Wesley (who runs all things #nalitchat), and you can stay current on topics and read previous chat transcripts on the NALitChat blog.

It’s my host week on NA Alley, which means I will be there all week and running the associated Twitter account, so basically you can find me absolutely everywhere on the Internet this week.