Marie at 1 Write Way

Rediscovering the dictionary

May 3rd, 2013
A lovely meditation on dictionaries and how they help us write.
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Camp Award

May 1st, 2013
Had to wait until the end of my work day, but am so happy to be posting my award!
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Hecho … Fini … Gemacht … Finito … Kufanyika … Done!

April 29th, 2013
I am so done with Camp NaNoWriMo! Roughly 50,349 words completed as of last night ;) I say roughly because I used the opportunity to finish a previous novel so I had to add those words to the word count for my current novel which means I had to use a calculator because I’m a bit dyslexic with numbers and so the important thing is I made it to 50,000! And I actually have an ending with this novel. Yup, a beginning, middle and an end. That’s no small feat for me since endings are something I have always struggled with.

Now that I am thoroughly exhausted with banging at my keyboard, I have callouses on my fingertips, my fingernails are totally ruined and my butt is in the shape of a chair seat (tonight’s yoga class will take care of that, I hope), now I have to go to my day job and stare at a computer for a minimum of 8 hours. Frankly, not something I’m really in the mood for, but now at least I won’t be distracted by trying to squeeze in a few words every time I run a query that takes more than 5 minutes to process :)

I want to thank the support of all my fellow bloggers and campers out there who have urged me on. I plan to take the next month to reacquaint myself with the wonders of WordPress and add more pages to my blog, catch up with the adventures of my fellow bloggers, and not do any writing (other than blogging). I need a break and I have so many other projects that need my attention. More on those things later.

For now, many thanks to all!
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Over Forty

April 25th, 2013
Yea, I’ve made it past 40 thousand words (41,227, to be exact)! Now I can barely keep my eyes open and my throat is sore from begging my cats to just let me write a little bit more and then I will feed you! OK, maybe I wasn’t begging so much as yelling at them to leave me alone for just a few more minutes!

But I’m done for the night, and I hope this post makes sense because my brain is really fried. I admit, it will be so good to get this month behind me, and to take a break. I have to remind myself that most writers, published and otherwise, don’t try to write a novel in one month. I think it’s safe to say that most of them take more time than that :) But I know that at this point in my writing life, unless I have a deadline hanging over my head, it’s much too easy to put it off or to talk myself out of writing because, you know, that story idea really sucks anyway. I am my own worst critic, and the beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it does force me to write without thinking too hard.

I am thinking of posting my writing eventually, not just the novels I’ve been working on, but also my short stories. I actually consider myself to be more of a short story writer. Novel writing intimidates me. Perhaps that can be my break from NaNoWriMo, setting up pages within my blog for writing. We’ll see.

Anyway, a big thanks to all my followers and fellow bloggers who are participating in Camp NaNoWriMo (or not) and who continue to inspire and encourage me.

Peace to every one of you. Namaste.
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Sunshine Award

April 22nd, 2013
What’s this? Another award for moi? I was dumbstruck to receive two awards in as many days. I have to give a BIG thanks to Lissa at http://thelissachronicles.wordpress.com/. She kindly nominated me for this award, and I am truly honored. I love Lissa’s blog and I love that she’s a Supernatural fan :) Without further ado, let me proceed with the rules for this award:
- Include the award’s logo in a post or on your Blog.
- Link to the person who nominated you.
- Answer 10 questions about yourself.
- Nominate 10 Bloggers.
- Link your nominees to the post and comment on their Blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.
Since I am new to this award, I’ll answer some of the same questions that Lissa did.
1. Favorite color: Pink; but I wear a lot of black and gray and white … go figure.
2. Favorite animal: Cat (domestic)
3. Favorite number: 3; I have 3 cats and that seems like an ideal number since I’ve cared for as few as one and as many as six at one time.
4. Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Earl Grey tea with a touch of milk and a packet of Equal; it’s what gets me going in the morning.
5. Favorite alcoholic drink: dirty gin martini; I had my first one ever two years ago in New Orleans and loved it, and so far, New Orleans is the only place where I’ve had dirty gin martinis
6. Prefer Facebook or Twitter: Twitter these days; I have a Facebook account but it’s not as much as fun as it used to be.
7. My passion(s): My husband, my cats, my writing, my friends, my knitting
8. Prefer getting or giving presents: I prefer giving. I have everything I ever could need or want.
9. Favorite city: San Francisco; I only lived there 3 1/2 years, but it feels like home for me whenever I go back.
10. Favorite TV show: Supernatural; the boys just get better as they get older :)
Drum roll for my 10 nominees:

http://shareenayoub.wordpress.com/

http://vincentmars.com/

http://shannonraelynn.com/

http://thejennymacbookblog.wordpress.com/

http://myownfantasys.wordpress.com/

http://mrsfletcherscloset.wordpress.com/

http://writingsofamrs.wordpress.com/

http://iconicallyrare.com/

http://ashleyjillian.com/

http://bzebza.com/

I notified every one of the nominees. Life is good! Thanks again, Lissa, and thanks to everyone who follows my blog ;)
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Versatile Blogger Award

April 21st, 2013
Wow, I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Valeriu dg Barbu (http://valeriudgbarbu.wordpress.com/) who writes truly lovely and provocative poetry. I am honored. The rules for this award, as I’m sure many of you know, is to: (1) thank the blogger who nominated me and provide a link to his blog, which I have done; (2) nominate 15 other bloggers for the award, which I will do shortly; and (3) reveal 7 things about myself.

(1) Again, thank you to Valeriu for the kindness of nominating me.

(2) Here are 15 bloggers that I now nominate (and I will try to inform each of them of the nomination as quickly as I can ;)):

http://ericjohnbaker.wordpress.com

http://lionheartwriters.com/

http://literarylandofalysia.wordpress.com/

http://pipnewling.com/

http://culturemonk.com/

http://englishmaninitaly.org/

http://thelissachronicles.wordpress.com/

http://10mh.net/

http://rickmallery.wordpress.com/

http://sarahcradit.wordpress.com/

http://wordsforworms.com/

http://spilledxink.wordpress.com/

http://kmoonstone.wordpress.com/

http://shannonathompson.com/

http://expateyeonlatvia.wordpress.com/

(3) Finally, seven things about myself:
- I’m comfortable with making lists
- I spent the first 21 years of my life in central New York state, where there are more cows than people (at least there were before the dairy farms folded)
- I drove cross-country to Oakland, CA, in a 1966 Dodge van, in the late 70s, a truly amazing feat for a serious introvert
- I left my heart in San Francisco and eventually moved to the South, to an undisclosed location
- I have now lived in the South for more years than my original birthplace. I’m sure that means something but I don’t know what (or don’t want to know)
- I left my heart in San Francisco … oh, I said that already. OK, I want to move back to San Francisco before I die
- Yup, I’m old enough to be most of y’all’s grandmother, but I work hard at keeping my figure and staying sexy at 55 (whoops, TMI!!)
Disclaimer: At the time of this posting, I’ve managed to only notify half of my nominees because my DSL is tired and wants to go to bed … needs its beauty sleep, I guess:( Will try again tomorrow!
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
30K+ and still writing

April 20th, 2013
This is my cat Junior. He looks very innocent, doesn’t he? Very sweet, very “who me?” But right now he’s ramping up his piercingly plaintive cry for food (what else) and the other two (Maxine and Luisa) are pacing and chirping (yes, cats can make little noises that sound like chirps) because they also want … wait for it … food.

And why are they so restless? Gee, it’s been a whole five hours since they were last fed. And why is that?

Because I’ve typing my bleeding fingers off! Yep, in the past five hours, I’ve managed to type roughly 5,600 words. And my projected finish date has greatly improved to May 2. Of course, I had to write so much today because I had little time to write this week. I actually had writer’s block for a few days until I was inspired by Spilled Ink to take the time to finish a novel I had started in November, a novel which includes many of the same characters in the one I’m writing for Camp NaNoWriMo. I suppose it might make sense to write about what I’m writing about but not right now. I’m nearly brain-dead, my fingers are going spastic and the cats are circling. Hey, all three of them had been feral before we took them in so I wouldn’t put it past them to starting thinking of ways to take me down. Except I think that they much prefer Fancy Feast.
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Twenty Thousand Words and Beyond

April 14th, 2013
I am so happy to say that I’ve written over 20,000 words as of this posting. I’m still behind, but the goal of making 50,000 by end of this April seems a bit more feasible. I’m looking forward to returning to writing, that is, really writing, for my blog when Camp is over. This time around I seem to be struggling more with the idea of myself as a novelist. I’m not really plot-driven in my own writing, although I do love to read plot-driven novels. It’s the characters I fall for when I’m writing. I just want them to take over and they don’t even have to do anything. They can just sit at a kitchen table with a cup of tea and think out loud, and I’m happy with that. I just don’t know that readers would be happy with that. This would be only the third novel I’ve written in my life (and I’ve had a fairly long life now), and the first two still beg to be reread and revised.

If anyone wants to (has time to) share their own novel writing experience, I’d be very interested to know, at least, how you sustain your own interest in what you are writing. The beauty of a short story is that you can finish it before you start getting bored with the story line. With a novel, I have to at least keep myself interested in the story. At this point, I’m not even worried about readers. Sigh. That will probably be painfully obvious once I’ve met my goal :)

Namaste.
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
Paddling Away

April 13th, 2013
I’m paddling away on my novel for Camp NaNoWriMo!

Current word count is 16,239! At this rate, I’ll make 50,000 by May 11. So, I have a hell of a lot more paddling to do :(
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…
The 10,000 Word Mark

April 12th, 2013
(photo from omtimes.com; Sphinx pose)

“Take a deep breath, stretch, and sigh it all out!” I love hearing these words from my yoga teacher near the end of our yoga practice. My body by then–after a series of vinyasas, sun salutations, and (failed) attempts at crow pose, to name a few–is warm, loose, and calm. Much like my head feels now after reaching 10,000 words in my novel for Camp NaNoWriMo ;)

Of course, I’ve lost some ground and my new expected end date at this pace is May 30. But tomorrow (Saturday) is the Camp NaNoWriMo marathon and I plan to participate. In fact, I’ll be writing tonight since my husband will be out so maybe I can bump up my projections and get myself a better footing for finishing on time.

In the meantime, I’m counting my blessings for slow-running SQL queries. As millions of data records are being recoded, categorized, and/or linked, I can take the dead time to write a chapter or two on my iPad. Life is good.
Share this post:
Print
X
Facebook
Email
More
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Tumblr
Pinterest
Reddit
Pocket
Telegram
Like Loading…