lists

Next Week Will Be Better

Well, life decided to hand me a surprise last week. While driving along a busy and fast-moving street, the hood of my car opened and smashed into my windscreen. Fortunately, I was in the curb lane, so I could pull over quickly, while praying I wouldn’t get hit from behind by a driver surprised to see a stationary car in his lane. I was fine–but didn’t stop shaking for two hours.

This beach is going to be in a story that I’m writing.

If you’ve been through something like this, you’ll know that, the day after the event, you feel weak and unfocussed and have a brain full of nasty ‘what-ifs.’ The one that stuck in my brain was that my husband and I had traded cars the day before, so he could have the newer car for a 90-minute, nighttime drive on major highways. What if this had happened to him on the highway? Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to have a good imagination.

Until Tuesday evening and Wednesday got lifted out of my normal week, I was really enjoying working through my writing list. I had used Kristi Holl’s idea of writing down a list of 20-minute writing tasks (see previous post), and came up with a pretty good list that would help me move forward on the 3 (non-billable) projects I have underway. I finally got back at it again on Friday. It has been a great motivator for me, and as projects move along, I know I’ll be adding more to the list. I really recommend giving the idea a try. I had hoped to report a lot more on the writing front, but that’s what life handed me last week. Next week can only be better, right? Hope you have a great, creative week ahead!

Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo

 Yes, I have signed up for NaNoWriMo again this year and am looking forward to a whole month of writing and creating. Last year I managed around 23,000 words before another book took over and I abandoned my nightly creative free-for-all in favour of “purposeful” writing. Though I didn’t win NaNo, I did finish the book and had it published this spring. So, for me, a win.

This year, I have no books burning to be written, in fact, I don’t even have an idea for a story. I’m not an especially good “pantser,” so I’ll be spending the rest of October looking for characters, a setting, and 50,000-words-worth of conflict. When it comes to plotting, taking a look at the Hero’s Journey is definitely on my to-do list. I wrote a blog about it last year during the run-up to NaNo.

If you’re stuck for a story idea, too, I’ve been posting a series of writing prompts at http://wrightingwords.wordpress.com/writing-starters/  for other NaNo writers and anyone else who needs a creative boost.

What are you doing to get ready for NaNoWriMo? Are you a pantser or are you going to have a detailed plan for your novel before you begin? If you have any tips for success or sites to recommend to others taking on the challenge, please share.

If you sign up for NaNo and are looking for a writing buddy, I’m “wrightwriter” and I’d love the company.

Lists and Me

I confess. I’m a list maker. I love making lists because I really enjoy crossing things off them when the jobs are done. In fact, it’s so bad that if I get part way through my day and realize that I have completed tasks that I didn’t write on the list—like making a phone call for a dentist appointment or putting a load of laundry in—I add those items to the list, just so I can cross them off.

A good time for me to write my list is just before I go to bed. It’s the best way for me to avoid lying awake worrying that some the things I have to do the next day will be forgotten over night. (I’m a worrier by nature, so anything that can short-circuit the worry reflex is good by me.)

I make lists when I’m writing, too, especially in the early stages. I make lists of possible names for characters, hobbies or special skills they might have, places they might have visited or lived, things they might carry in their pockets or purse. I write down just anything I think of. Some items on the list will get scooped up because they seem just right for my character or make me ask good questions about my character that add a needed dimension. Other things on the list might be picked up by secondary characters and the rest languish unclaimed until another story comes along. I use coloured markers and pens for these lists, too, because I find ideas at the brainstorming stage come more readily when I’m not working with black and white.

Are you a list maker, too? How do you use lists when you are writing?

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