Teaser Tuesday - Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg

"We never graduate from first grade. Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking water; we don't drink a glass once and never have to drink one again. We don't finish a novel or poem and never have to write one again. Over and over, we begin." - p. 9, WILD MIND, LIVING THE WRITER'S LIFE by Natalie Goldberg 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

NaNoWriMo Encouragement: Part 2

I'm a three time National Novel Writing Month participant and finisher. I watch the film FINDING FORRESTER every year, but I especially treat myself to watching it during NaNo years. This short, powerful scene illustrates why.



Good luck, NaNo writers! Write your heart out!

See also, NaNoWriMo Encouragement, Part 1

NaNoWriMo Encouragement: Part 1

Hey, out there,

Maybe you're considering participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November?

Maybe you think it doesn't help your path as a writer? You'd be wrong. It's a great exercise in discipline. After all, you don't know IF you can write a novel until you DO.

So here, have a little encouragement from my own writing in the trenches.

LIST OF WORKS I'VE WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED FOR REPRESENTATION/PUBLICATION IN THE PAST 20 YEARS
(includes novels, short stories and screenplays)

The Mists of Glencoe (1st screenplay. Set in Scotland and based on a true story. Very bad. Very, very bad)
Going Native (1st novel - college professor used lines from this piece to illustrate what NOT to do. Ouch! Also, this was about the time in my writing "career" when people were asking about "my little hobby." Annoying people.)
The Fuhrer's Barber (1st short story submission to a major journal)
Remnants (Honorable Mention; Hemingway Short Story Contest. Hey, a little progress!)
Last Free Exit (My fave failed, overly ambitious screenplay that calls me to write in prose form. Didn't have the skills to do it back then. Maybe now?)
Corporate Casualty
The Corporate Line
Corporella (Here, we conclude a trio of scripts about the hilarity of being a corporate speechwriter. Guess I REALLY believed in this idea. Corporella, my fave of the 3, is a corporate Cinderella tale. Who doesn't like that? Oh, wait, look at these rejection letters. I guess the answer is: many)
The Burgermeister's Daughter (what a mess)
Dysfunction Junction (hilarity at a funeral/laughter through tears. I loved writing this script! My hair stylist at the time inspired a lot of this.)
Telemarketer (screenplay that came very close to acceptance, then dropped. Fun fact: I wanted Colin Farrell for the role.)
No Teddy Bears (1st NaNoWriMo novel - I really liked this story. It was inspired by an investigative news report about the foster care system from journalist Brian Ross. Thanks, Mr. Ross. My daughter wants me to finish it.)
Prodigal Son (This is the story I still think is solid no matter what others say. So there.)
Fidelity for Beginners (a fantastic experiment in co-writing a novel with another writer just to see if we could do it and dream about being interviewed by Oprah. Hey, delusions of grandeur are a necessary writer trait.)
Mrs. Boyd (3rd NaNoWriMo novel - waiting to rewrite this one. Want to do it now!!)
There's A Dog In The Doorway
Princess Rufflecuffs (written for my tiny daughter, the original Princess Rufflecuffs)
Me Without You
60 Miles To Empty
Fool The Eye
Note To Self
Not Walter McShane (Man, this rejection stung! Learned a lot, though. Also, I wanted Colin Farrell to be main character. Does that jinx the work? Nope. It's the work itself. Darn!)

I have rejection notices for most of the above 22 works. Now let's see how many I've published.

LIST OF PUBLISHED NOVELS

Janeology 

Sure Signs of Crazy (2nd NaNoWriMo novel; received FOUR STARRED REVIEWS) 

Courage For Beginners (2014)
(first review received from my daughter)

Her: Mom, I don't want to hurt your feelings.
Me: (cringing because you never completely get over your insecurities, published or not)
Oh, it's okay, honey, I want to know what you think. Tell me.
Her: Well, um.....I think it's better than your first novel.
Me: Wait. What? (dancing on the inside)
Her: Yeah. It has a little mystery.
Me: You're very observant.
Her: I know.

25 works written and submitted. 3 published.

What have I learned from the millions of words I've written? Well, I love to write. That much is clear. This is no hobby for me. It's a passion.

But the most important thing is that all of it matters. Every word counts. Everything on the first list helped me get to the second list. If not for those first efforts, I wouldn't be where I am today.

May you go forth and create your own lists!

What It Takes To Be A Writer by Elizabeth Berg

I just have to share this amazing article from one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Berg, on What It Takes To Be A Writer. 

Lucky for all of her fans, her latest book A TAPESTRY OF FORTUNES comes out this April.

On asking questions and keeping a writing notebook

I walked into my office the other day and found this notebook on my desk. One of my little curious girls wrote it. It gave me a smile. This is the start of creativity. Wondering. Being curious. Researching. And ultimately, writing. I hope she keeps writing in this notebook.

I've been sketching out a new story in a notebook of my own. The question I wrote at the top was: What are all the bad things that could happen to JW? This is how I often begin a story. I made a list of all the potential conflict I could inflict upon this poor, unsuspecting character. There were many possibilities, I tell you. Of course, I put that notebook away before they got home from school. I don't want little eyes seeing all that conflict. They already think I'm weird because I'm a writer. (Mostly because they are being schooled, nay, evangelized, on the proper uses of 'your' and 'you're.') For now, they can be content with pondering the insides of tiny animals.

Do you keep a notebook for writing or other curiosities?

Worth Reading: 3 Pieces of Writing Advice

Check out "The Only 3 pieces of writing advice you'll ever need."  Two of the three items are verbs. No surprise there, right?

Books That Comfort Like A Good Friend

A proverb says when a person hurries, the devil smiles. To make him mad, go slow, pay attention, write a page, badly, breathe, carry a pen. - Anne Lamott

--

I'm reading Bird By Bird: Some Instructions On Writing and Life by Anne Lamott now. I read it years ago in college. It is interesting how her words speak to me in a new way. Back then, I highlighted so many pages. Now, I read it and do a lot of nodding. I say "Oh, yes, I understand what you mean. I've experienced that phase. Thank God someone else understands." 

It is truly wonderful how some books can be like a good friend.

Have you read Bird by Bird? I think it is essential reading for any creative person, but especially for writers.