On the Way to Storyville

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-06

2009-12-06T23:32:19Z

Originally published at Geek Guide to Life. Please leave any comments there.

I haven't written for the past two days. Tomorrow I'm back on the hobby horse. #
1342 Words added to my novel today. #nanowrimo was just the beginning. #
I win #nanowrimo with 50049 words. Still more to write in the novel. My arbitrary target is 110000. I like deep dish novels. #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-06

2009-12-06T23:32:17Z

Originally published at Geek Guide to Life. Please leave any comments there.

I haven't written for the past two days. Tomorrow I'm back on the hobby horse. #
1342 Words added to my novel today. #nanowrimo was just the beginning. #
I win #nanowrimo with 50049 words. Still more to write in the novel. My arbitrary target is 110000. I like deep dish novels. #

NaNoWriMo is Just the Beginning

2009-11-30T16:34:10Z

Originally published at Geek Guide to Life. Please leave any comments there.

I slid by 50K yesterday, so I am an official winner. The novel isn't done yet, though. I'm happy about that, because the novels I like to read are considerably longer, so I hope to write something along the same lines.

So, my next goal is to get to 90,000 words by the end of December. That is a stretch goal. My fallback is 80,000 words. Do understand that I mean total words, in addition to the 50,000 I wrote this month. So I'm really aiming to write around 1333 words a day to reach that goal. My minimum daily target is 1000 words.

You may have noticed, I am goal oriented, and I also like numbers in my goals. It's just the geek in me, I suppose.

If you've been following this blog at all, you are familiar with this trend of setting numerical goals. But the problem is, I have a hard time with the follow-through. But I worked at the writing for a month. So I figure I've got a habit established now, and rather than raise the bar to something unrealistic, as is my usual pattern, I'm lowering it a little. I do have a day job, or rather an evening one. So this should be doable.

I also have the best sweetie in the whole wide world, who views my fiction endeavors as a permanent lifestyle change. Yay.

Now I just need to start exercising and eating right and meditating again. But first, I gotta go write.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:29:20Z

Originally published at Geek Guide to Life. Please leave any comments there.

Starting day 29 of #nanowrimo and I plan to finish today! #
I've fallen into my novel and i can't get out. #
Updated my livejournal with thoughts of nanowrimo and impending doom for our kitty: http://janetwain.livejournal.com #

I’ve Fallen Into My Novel

2009-11-27T23:42:13Z

Originally published at Geek Guide to Life. Please leave any comments there.

. . . and I don't want to climb out.

I feel like pieces of me are just sitting out there, waiting for me to get my butt back in the novelist's chair. Part of me holds pieces of scenes; dangling at the end of strings; stuck like floss in the folds of my brain; just waiting for me to reel them in again into the gray matter so I can squish them into shape and properly channel them through my fingertips as words.

My ability to be a retail store owner has plummeted. At this time of year, this is not a good thing. I'm planning to cross the 50,000 word NaNoWriMo barrier on Sunday, my next day off from the day job. Technically, I'm at work right now, but can't seem to convince my brain to come back online. Instead, most of that silly organ sits ensconced at a breakfast discussion with three of my characters as they try to come to grips with events which have left one of them bruised both physically and emotionally, and quite possibly made him at least a little batty. Part of it is looking for a character who's just plain gone missing, and another part is with another who has entered another realm, not unlike myself; and it's not too sure of the time-line, again, not unlike myself.

Oh, and I'm loving it. I love every skein of the threads and every turn I see in the road ahead of each of my characters; I love the settings, and the sounds; love the struggles and the emotions; and most of all, I love the wonder that writing is at least as fun as reading, now. And I want to go back. I don't want to be sitting here, writing about it as a feeble attempt to extricate myself for a few hours to do something 'useful' and hopefully profitable. I'd so much rather dive all the way back into my novel and not climb out again until it's done.

NaNoWriMo is Challenging

2009-11-25T05:45:19Z

Especially when, during the final week, your remaining feline companion has kidney shutdown. We are easing her passage tomorrow. We lost Merlin, in March. Now we say farewell to Amber, who was older, and quite a bit wiser.

I have a couple emotional scenes in the book, which I've been avoiding writing in public for fear I would get sappy at Bob's Java Hut. You are not supposed to cry at the Biker Coffee House. Maybe I can write them tomorrow, or maybe I won't be able to write at all.

I'm at 35033 words. Yay.

I will really miss Amber. She's sitting on the floor right behind this chair, lending me her support. She's not happy, barely able to eat and drink, weak, chilled . . . but we're together here for comfort, doing what we can to support each other. If the book is published in the end, when I actually finish it and revise it, etc., I'll dedicate it to her memory. She's been a fabulous kitty.

Normally I'd dedicate to my partner Thraicie who is unreasonably supportive of my writing. It's irrational, I tell you, when we have our own business to run. But she just says, Go, Jane, Go!

Or maybe I can fit Amber in as a character and immortalize her that way. It's what writers do.

Anyways, I should be going to bed, but the sooner I sleep, the sooner I wake up to a sad, sad morning.

I am grateful for the work though, for those 35K words. I am loving the journey, even when I think it would be easier to pull out my teeth with my fingers than to pull the words out to describe what I see in my head and feel in my gut.

Wax on, wax off. Philosophy. Duty. Practice. What better time than this? Grateful for the moments which teach us compassion and the value of companionship.

One Week Left.

2009-11-24T02:48:54Z

I'm up to 33,542 words on my NaNoWriMo novel. Seven days and 16,458 words to go.

Toot! Toot!

2009-11-11T19:59:28Z

Cool. The NaNoWriMo number of the day is 19,191. I didn't plan it, I swear. Well, I planned something in the vicinity, but I wasn't going for something so numerologically nummy. This universe tickles me so, sometimes.

Worst and Worster

2009-11-08T04:00:50Z

I recently made the mistake of downloading and reading the new teenage mega blockbuster novel by James Patterson (coming out in December.) Actually, I did more than read it. I broke it up and analyzed it as a Novel Writing exercise. It made me feel SO much better about my writing because, A) I've written more words than are in that novel. and B) I couldn't write that bad if I tried. In fact, I know six-year-olds who can write better, I'm sure of it.

So, at the store, we have all these sample chapbooks and a lovely display and temporary tattoos that they sent us out of the blue. What to do, what to do?

View Poll: Witch & Wizard Sample Chapbooks

I Like Novels - the Writing, not just the Reading

2009-11-05T19:06:56Z

Like so many budding writers, I spent years trying to write short stories so I could get published. What was I thinking? I read novels for fun, and only read short stories when they are by an author I love as a novelist, or for anthologies on a theme I really like. Otherwise, it's like taking pills because they are good for you.

I am finding a bit of a rhythm in my writing, or at least I'd like to believe I am. I'm over 7,000 words so far, and just getting into it. It's clear to me, that the ideas I like so much are not short story idea. I'd always been trying to squeeze them down. No wonder I found it so frustrating.

It's also kind of weird learning to write a draft without going back an polishing. Now, since this is only day 5, this might be the beginners optimism. I know there's a lot more writing to do before I get to 50,000 words, but I think it's more doable now. And I wonder why I didn't do this before. It's just plain fun. At least today, it is.

Zzzt Zzzt Working . . .

2009-11-03T19:28:20Z

Okay, so I'm up to 4557 official words so far. Not only that, but I haven't started smoking yet. I'm starting to get caught up. It's good to know I can do at least 1667 words a day. Today it was more like 1800. I'm still a little behind, but not as much.

So, yeah. The weird part is the cigarette craving. I haven't smoked for years, and when I did most of my writing output a decade or so ago, I didn't smoke. It was in-between when I went to music school that I smoked. So what's up with the craving, anyway?

NaNoWriMo Tracking

2009-11-02T19:06:32Z

Yes, I've actually started writing. I'm a little behind. I was shorted an hours writing today due to a late start. Tomorrow I'll just take the bus in so I don't have to wait for my lovely lady to make herself pretty. The widget doesn't seem to be working. I'm at 2782 words so far, so I'm a bit behind. Hopefully I can make up for it by getting an early enough start for the next couple of days.

NaNoWriMo Tools

2009-10-23T20:34:55Z

So, I followed threads from my last post and ended up at a nifty site of tools for writers by a NaNoWriMo participant. First off, he's got a form for tracking NaNoWriMo progress. But that's not what really has me excited. But the big cool thing is that he has a program for writing a Novel. If you aren't in love with Word (like me) then this might be something to take a look at. First off, it's free (though I'm sure you can donate money to the cause), and designed by someone who actually writes books. It breaks things up in chapters and scenes you can easily move around. For someone who has ideas coming that jump in and out of any clear timeline, this is a very good thing. It's called yWriter. Has anyone else out there heard of it? He has some testimonials on his site.

James Patterson is Advertising

2009-10-23T20:18:37Z

We just got a display for sample chapters for his next book. Well, at least the next book he's branded. It's called "Witch & Wizard" and has a really cool cover, and temporary tattoos in the display. There is a co-author, who I assume does all the writing, since this guy comes out with a ridiculous number of books with his name on it. Not surprisingly, the guy comes from an advertising background.

http://101reasonstostopwriting.com/2007/09/07/breaking-news-james-patterson-quits-writing-to-focus-on-ideas/

So I'm wondering if we're going to carry the actual book. Where do you draw the line? It looks like mind candy, but the display really is cool, and we got free bags, etc. etc. Typical way to manipulate us into carrying the thing . . . give a gift and we feel like we owe them something.

1667 Words A Day . . .

2009-09-25T18:03:52Z

That's all I have to do. Just write 1667 words of fiction every day in November. I'm not supposed to rewrite, just hurl myself headlong through writing a draft of a novel. 50,000 words or bust. I need to create a t-shirt which has 50,000 WORDS strategically located. That will be my official shirt for the challenge. I should do it like they do body for life . . . take a before picture and an after picture of me as proof. There's a widget tracker. I don't know if I can put that up here on LJ except in occasional posts. Does anyone know?

I need to change my header for LJ to reflect the 1667 words instead of 1500.

I'm up for a challenge

2009-09-11T17:34:18Z

So, as some of you know, my livejournal is themed around writing. I've been writing something just about every day for a couple of months now. It's become a pretty solid habit. But something is just mostly stream of consciousness crap and well, junk about my life. Which is okay, at least my fingers get some exercise.

But now that I've given up caffeine, started exercising, and am writing something every day, it's time to go for the big leap. Write a novel. I've been dancing around this for oh, around two decades. Well, I figure I've got that whole life-experiences thing figured out. I've had tons. I don't really know what I've been waiting for. Excuses always abound. So like thousands of others, I'm going to take the NaNoWriMo challenge. That's the National Novel Writing Month challenge coming up in November. You see, you write at least 50,000 words of a very rough draft and you win.

So, starting November 1, I start writing a novel. I can have plot outlines and character studies before-hand, but that's it. No pre-november prose. The trick is not to write a best-selling novel. Aim for a novel which won't make people blow chunks. Go wild, go crazy, but go, go go.

This is where you come in

I'll be posting here on LJ to let you know about my progress, or lack thereof. I need accountability, and y'all are invited to wheedle, cajole or berate me for my efforts or lack thereof. Don't worry about being too harsh if I'm slipping. If I want to be a novelist (and I do), then I need to be ready for that sort of abuse.

So, how about it? Will you be my cheering and jeering section?

August was a good Month

2009-08-30T15:09:07Z

I've listed my personal progress on Geek Guide to Life . . .

To that bit, I just need to note that although I am writing in my journal, I'm doing very little creative writing. I theoretically have time set aside for that, but often end up going back to work in the evenings. There's just so much to do, and as a business owner, it's my job to make sure it gets done. We were also short one person for a little while. Well, we've hired a new and magnificent person to fill that gap, and we'll be looking to add another person late next month. But we want the one to get settled a bit first.

Anyways. That's it for now.

Life without caffeine . . .

2009-08-18T01:35:08Z

. . . is really great. I can't believe it's already been over a month since I had anything with serious amounts of caffeine. The most caffeine I have is from decaf coffee and an occasional piece of chocolate. Combine that with eating something healthy every 2-4 hours, and I have an amazing amount of energy throughout the day, and no crashed feeling which makes me think I need a stimulant. In fact, I find I am often just naturally bouncy. I think I sleep better at night, too. But then, I've started exercising on a regular basis, as well. How weird is that?

My goal is to keep to the low/no caffeine lifestyle until at least the end of the year, and preferably, well for the rest of my life. The only time it's hard is when I don't get enough sleep. Giving up the caffeine habit was the first of a series of dominoes. Instead of focusing on bad habits, I'm working at establishing new ones, and I'm starting to make some progress on those, too. I just hope it all sticks, because I'm feeling better than I have in a long time.

New hairdo

2009-08-13T13:58:18Z

I totally love it. But I need to do something about the double-chin. But I'm working on that, too.

My Transformation

2009-08-04T02:14:21Z

I just wanted to let y'all know I'm posting my personal transformation stuff over at Geek Guide to Life. That's my general blog to do with life, the universe, and everything from a geek perspective, which is my basic general outlook. Today I wrote about my first day at the gym.

This blog is supposed to be all about story and writing and suchlike. So I guess it's okay if I say that I wrote my gym story over there.

Hopefully I'll be able to report on writing fiction or poetry soon. I've got time set aside most days just to write, and I do so love diving into a different world and all those strange possibilities.

Hairbrained

2009-08-02T19:00:54Z

I want a new look. I'm tired of being a writer/artist/musician and occult bookstore owner and looking like a soccer mom. The last place I went for a haircut was Moxie, with a newbie there with no vision. And a woman, to boot. Women are way to conservative and prefer long shit. They are afraid to shave at all. I used to have a stylist at Moxie who was great, but he left over a year ago. Gay, too, so I didn't have to be shy about how I don't want to look all girlie, and I wanted a nice short patch for my girl to play with. Fuzz is gooood.

So I was thinking about trying Hair Police. I mean, Neil Gaiman has gotten his hair cut there . . . even though it kinda looks like he takes a weedwacker to it. But the reviews are really mixed. Still, the soccer-mom from Eagan who brought her daughter in isn't my standard of style. But I want color and something seriously funky. Then one day, Thraicie calls me to the front of the store to introduce me to one of our customers. Seems he's a hair stylist just starting out at Hair Police.

So I made the appointment. I get my hair chopped on Weds Night.

Moxie doesn't have hair books anymore, and I have to assume that Hair Police doesn't either. So I've been cruizing the net looking for punk and emo styles. Nothing quite exact, but maybe something I can work with.

But I'm nervous about the whole thing, because I really want something dramatic. So dramatic I might have to start wearing eyeliner or something. Hmm. Whole new look. I guess I'm really ready for a change, because I joined a gym and have my first meeting with a Personal Trainer on Monday.

I can't decide what shakes my nerves more . . . the wild hair or going to the gym. I'm a geek. Gym class was not exactly my favorite. But I've got to do something now that I've given up caffeine. I want a power infusion of the physical kind.

Still Caffeine Free and more

2009-07-27T14:42:24Z

Thought I'd mention it here, as well. I posted a full progress report on my Geek Guide to Life site.

I've been writing a lot more lately, mostly blogs and journaling. Plus I've come up with a plan. We're losing one of our part-timers at the store next month, so Thraicie and I have to change our hours. I'll be opening the store, most every day except Sunday. But I get off in the late afternoon, between 3 and 5 pm. So I can set up time to write in the evenings. I've done that before, and it works wonderfully for me.

So now I just have to do it. But I've given up caffeine and lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks, so I have all kinds of faith in myself.

Me Jane, me strong. Uggh. Can do anything.

Bob's Java Hut is the Best

2009-07-16T23:09:18Z

Some of you may know of my addiction to Bob's Java Hut. I am writing from there now, in fact. But I've been concerned, since giving up caffeine, that I might not have sufficient reason to continue to spend my hard-earned dollars on beverages which would cost me much, much, much less if I just bought the stuff myself and brewed my own. Well, no more fear. Today I decided to try their ginger ale . . . the guy asked me if I wanted really spicy or not so spicy. I picked spicy, of course.

Wow.

Don't drink while laughing.

If you snort it, you'd blow your eyes out. This stuff is dynamite. It's Blenheim Ginger Ale. It's made by an independent bottler out in North Carolina or some such far-removed place. Of course, there's no caffeine, and there's no corn syrup in this old-fashioned beverage, either. It's sweetened with sucrose. There isn't even an official website. Just a fan site, which I linked to above. But there are 170 calories, which means I need to limit my intake.

You may think you know a good ginger ale . . . if you've tried Reed's Ginger Brew, or even the Extra . . . well, with the Extra, you're maybe halfway there. This stuff absolutely rocks. I mean, when was the last time you took a swig and said, "Ooooh . . . the back of my head is tingling" . . . now that's good ginger ale. And you can only get it at Bob's and at another coffee shop farther down Lyndale. In all of Minnesota. Thanks, Bob's. Thanks a lot. Now I guess I do have another reason to keep coming in.

CaffeiNation

2009-07-12T19:59:55Z

Caffeine is everywhere, and no one says it's really bad, unless you have a problems, like drink more than 5 cups a day; or unless you are some kind of extreme religion which says you can't have any stimulants.

But the fact is, the stuff isn't really good for you. It perks you up by triggering up your fight-or-flight juices and then, after a nice little adrenal rush, you crash a couple of hours later. Throw in the cream, sugar and bakery items that are served alongside, and you've got a heart-attack waiting to happen. Because I don't know about you, but I don't take my coffee black. I've also never seen a coffee shop without pastries.

I'm writing all this gloom and doom about caffeine, the big C, because I am trying to quit. I had nothing caffeinated on Friday or Saturday, and only decaf coffee today. This means I am in my fuzzy-ookie place. Slight headache, sleepy, a little upset stomach, difficulty focusing. Just a great blanket of blah. But this is typical of the symptoms of withdrawal, at least according to WikiPedia:

"Because adenosine, in part, serves to regulate blood pressure by causing vasodilation, the increased effects of adenosine due to caffeine withdrawal cause the blood vessels of the head to dilate, leading to an excess of blood in the head and causing a headache and nausea. Reduced catecholamine activity may cause feelings of fatigue and drowsiness. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it may cause mild depression. Together, these effects have come to be known as a "crash"."

I'm just tired of being a junkie. I want to find out what it's like to live without these heavy-duty stimulants. I gave up nicotine like 3 or 4 years ago, and that worked out okay, though I still have the odd craving. But in some ways, caffeine is worse. First off, I love coffee-shops, especially independents like Bob's Java Hut. I like to spend some time writing there on most days. Just journal stuff, really. I love the taste and smell of coffee, of course. Since Minneapolis went smokeless, the nicotine thing has been made easier in such places. But I'm kind of doubting there will be any regulations around caffeine.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's evil. It's just addictive, and has these unfortunate side-effects, like jitters. For most people, that's not a very big thing, since they aren't sensitive to it. But I have a hereditary case of the shakes, essential tremor they call it, or familial tremor, since it runs in my family. Through caffeine (and sugar) on top and it becomes a bit of a problem. I've also just been paying more attention to what my body really needs, lately. I've been trying to stick to a REAL FOOD diet. Specifically, I shop the outer-ring of the grocery store, no processed or packages foods, or if they are packaged, only ingredients you don't need a science background to understand. Basically, I'm tired of feeling tired and crappy and I want to feed my body the stuff it is adapted to for healthy living, rather than strings of chemicals and stimulants to keep going.

So I'm quitting caffeine for the most part, mostly cold-turkey, because I was down to 1 cup a day. But the stuff is everywhere, and now that there are energy drinks everywhere, you have to be careful, no matter how "all natural" a thing claims to be. Caffeine is all natural. It's just a natural pesticide. (Yup . . . that's what that's there for in the plant . . . to kill bugs). So why do I want to drink it and be addicted to it? I can't think of a good reason. The health benefits folks try to apply to caffeine are much more reliably applied to eating right an exercise. I also have to wonder about who is funding all the studies which say it's good for you.

I'm on day 3 of low/no caffeine. It will get better in a couple of days. In the meanwhile, I just think about it and whine a bit.

Ah . . . Convergence

2009-07-04T17:31:13Z

The smell of swimming pool wafts up to the consuite. The squelch of plastic covered carpet sticking to sneakers as we try to walk to the poolside party suites to see what is what. Familiar faces. Late-night panels, music, goths, nerds, pagans and everything in-between. It was good to be with the tribe. It's been a long time. Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to spend on a borrowed badge. But that's more than I had in years. Maybe next year I can actually attend, and maybe the year after I'll be able to afford a room again.

But while I was there I did realize just how much I love my job. Because I was still "on" while there, of course. Visiting the Pagan Pride booth, getting a bunch of fliers to hand out at the store (because they can never manage to get us any in advance). But talking about the upcoming events, and the great discussion, and just all the coolness that happens at the store.

Still, I need to get writing more. Fill in those missing pieces of meaning in my life. Practice, practice, practice.