Not that kind of roll. I’m on Day 12 of NaNoWriMo and have written 18,790 words. That’s better than I’ve done in the last several tries, and I am actually excited about this story. Considering the fact that I just sat down and started typing without any plan or focus, or even the glimmer of…
Category: The Writing Life
Thoughts most writers can identify with.
Exploring the Story
Writing, for me, is often like an archaeological dig. I start out delving into what I think will be, and find new discoveries along the way that change my whole perspective, teach me about the people involved, and rewrite the world’s history. I enjoy getting to know my world and its characters as much as I enjoy letting them tell me where they want to go, and how they want to get there.
Here We Go Again
Yet, my own daydream is to someday be the reclusive writer who does nothing but write, publishes enough to really earn a decent living at it, and doesn’t have to do book signings or give interviews or deal with the ups and downs of the human race on a daily basis. I would live surrounded by nature, with only my beloved immediate family close by. I’d have my dog, and my cat, and a guppy or two(hundred), and Starlings around me for conversation during my long days tapping at the keyboard and creating magic.
The Monster Under My Bed
Weird stuff happens to me. Often, that weird stuff has to do with animals. Like the time I wound up in the ER because a cow I was hand-milking jumped into my lap when a co-worker opened her stall door and her calf ran out into the aisle. Or, the day, not so long ago…
My Annual Read: A Christmas Carol
If you have yet to read Scrooge’s story in the original … please do. It is an experience that everyone needs to enjoy, if only so they can watch the next movie version and say, “That’s not how it happened in the book!”
Pantsing It
Just as I have no idea if this book will turn out even remotely acceptable. If it doesn’t, that’s okay. It’s being written because I have to write it. It is like a purge, getting the bottled up energy out of my system, while I let the story have its way. Will I finish it? Will it take me to a place where it shows me a conclusion? Will I get halfway through, and find that it has abandoned me along a roadside somewhere, with no way to continue the journey?
I guess I’ll find out.
Gayle Nastasi 