Scribbles and Scrambles ~ NaNOWriMO Will I or Won't I?

So. I have two major reasons I'm not participating in NaNoWriMo this year. 

Can you guess what they might be? 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Frying Pan Update

Since Michelle and I finished our epic tale, Out of the Frying Pan, we've begun thinking about a follow up story. Since the first one took over five years to finish I suppose I shouldn't be shouting the news from the roof tops. Right? Yeah. Right. 

Frying Pan started as a fun little collaboration and one of us, (ME!!!!) kept putting off finishing the dang thing. First was the two years of insecurity. Yeah, that was fun. Then the few years that Michelle was publishing three novels of her own and writing two of them which, of course, took the pressure off of me and I didn't have to keep telling her no. 

But, interestingly, while I was visiting her in Minnesota she got two emails from two different publishers wanting to take a look at the whole manuscript. Can I claim that I was just waiting for the perfect, ripe time to get a fire under my rear end and just do it? 

Yeah. That's the story I'm going with. 

In the meantime, until we have a contract, I'm pretty excited to have it done (pending many, many edit suggestions from critique groups and future editors) and to actually like it. And it seems fun again, to ponder what the future holds for Fern Zula, Flynn and Kathryn. I can tell you that future will be troublesome because Zula is in major matchmaking mode. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Frying Pan Nonsense...

Baby Steps...

A few years ago, I had a huge attack of insecurity. I decided that I was a mediocre writer and lost my will to write. 

I judged my ability to review books. Why on earth would my opinion account for any thing? It didn't help that I got a couple of personal attack comments and emails from people who didn't care for some of my reviews, or me for that matter. Who was I to judge when I didn't have a clue what I was even doing? Writing rules and regulations, the mechanics messed with my mind. And I honestly didn't feel like I had any thing of value to say. (This, by the way, is a theme I'm currently struggling with in music. Feel free to remind me of this if I rant and whine about music later…k?)

Of course I didn't shut up. I wrestled my thoughts and actions and kept on keeping on. I still wonder why I write my blog sometimes. I hit dry spells where I shut down and use the words of others or even better, God's Word. Other times I resort to empty humor or chatter and in hindsight I wonder at the thousands of words that have come from my mouth and off my fingertips and I hope that they aren't a cacophony of clashing cymbals. 

Occasionally, I get feedback that something I share makes a difference. And that helps me want to continue to pour out my thoughts. 

This novel has been extra challenging for me. The insecurity had me in bondage. So when I promised Michelle I would finish it I had some more wrestling to do before I could even begin. And once I started and found some enjoyment in writing it, I was pleasantly surprised. Even more so, Michelle emailed me and told me that somehow I had grown as a writer over my long hiatus. 

We are putting the final tweaks on the story. Michelle's editing skills are tight, taut and ruthless. The lady is gifted in grammar and she loves to slice and dice. Tonight, I got this comment from her. 

"Laughing Out loud. No, really. I know I've read this several times, but as I'm going over Fern & Zula for the last time before I send it off, I still freaking laugh out loud at lines like this: 

Fern knew by the glazed eyes and faraway stare that Zula had gone to the happy hostess in the sky banquet hall and might have the party already planned down to the folded napkin sculptures and number of M&M’s in each little hideous hot-glued theme-of-the-week candy cup.

You are such a freak and I love you." 

I'm pretty sure this will insulate my heart from insecurities and negative bombs that are sure to come my way. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ A Book Update...

Gotta use this picture one more time. It amuses me. 

NaNoWriMo update: One more scene to go. We are almost done. One more scene. Woot. Woot. 

There, of course, it a whole, whole lot of editing to do. A whole lot. The way we were ping ponging scenes back and forth, whew, there's definitely some clean up in aisle five in our very near future. 

But it feels so good to have my final scene written and THE final scene written. Just one more transition scene for Michelle. 

Now. The editing. This might/could be very challenging. But the book is done, Dudes. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Seriously, the Last Wrap Up Post AboutNaNoWriMo….

I never actually signed up for NaNoWriMo. And we didn't follow the directions. In NaNoWriMo you are supposed to crack out 50k words in the month of November.

That's about 1600ish words a day with a few days off. (if you are wondering what 1600 words looks like, this drivel right here, that you are reading, the whole column is probably about 400 (376 actual count) and clearly, I'm struggling…just sayin.)

That's a lotta words. Especially when you are trying to make them good ones, ya know? Our book, Out of the Frying Pan, went into NaNoWriMo with about 50k words already there with most of them spit-polished and shiny.

We need 80k for publishing purposes. (Drum roll….) We cracked out 21k in November leaving us with a mere 9000 words to go. I wrote a scene yesterday, as did Michelle, so now we are at 7.5. I also started writing a second scene. We have four more chapters to go to clean all the details up and at this point I think we are both so excited to finish we will have it cracked out very soon. We each only have five or six scenes to write. And the editing process will go pretty quick I think since we have several eyes who are offering to check it over for us once we are happy with the process.

Next? Get it published. Michelle has an agent who's shopping it. Here is my advice for any wannabe writers. Immerse yourself in the writing world for a decade or so. Learn everything you can, give away your time for free. Read a whole lot and review the work of others. Support your more talented friends who begin to publish. Then somehow attach yourself to at least one of them and weasel your way into being published by osmosis.

Sweet gig. Eh? Oh, and with the "1 Million Dollars" Michelle and I will split on the publishing of our book, we will probably be able to buy each other a fancy latte and maybe a gooey treat of some sort and if it's a really great advance, one for each of our husbands. Probably not the kids. But they will all get a copy of the book.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ December Has Arrived and What a Month November Was...

That means NaNoWriMo is no mo. Ha Ha. Sorry. 

How did I do? Did we get it done? 

I cracked out four final scenes on Saturday in an epic attempt to throw myself at the finish line tape. But. The tape didn't snap. However. Michelle and I wrote THOUSANDS of words (most of them keepers) during our marathon month of writing. We are almost done. I think 10 more scenes will finish it. Trust me when I tell you this….it feels so good to have this thing almost done. And it feels amazing to have enjoyed the process. The last time I put effort into the novel I felt like a fake writer. But plugging away at my blog, reading some good books, honing my skillz, has paid off in that I think I have now somehow incorporated the knowledge I've been chasing into something I can now instinctively do. Worth a million bucks. Not really. Writing pays peanuts, but grasping something elusive. That's a big deal. 

You have a dream? You going for something that feels like it won't ever happen, keep on keeping on. Never give up. And I'm preaching to myself. Clearly, the same will be true with the violin. BTW. I was able to write several scenes on my I-phone while in the nursing home and hospital with my mother-in-law, but I was not able to practice violin while visiting or watching and waiting. My violin took a back seat. No. Let me be honest. My violin took it's place in the trunk of my life last month. 

But, the times I played I remembered what I was supposed to do. That's a plus. And, I have made a commitment to this instrument and I can play. Like my teacher said every time I play I'm adding to the cosmic music of life (He didn't really say that, I kinda just boiled it into a ridiculous weird cheesy line for entertainment purposes. He did say every time I played I was making art.) 

November was crazy. What with my mother-in-law's fall and broken bones, to the procrastinated article and recipes I put off writing til the last minute, to a foodie holiday, to a book writing frenzy, to a effort intensive Arbonne business building activity, to a clean out the basement and take a load of stuff I'm not using and not going to use to the local mission I am glad to look behind me and then turn my face forward and take on December. One day at a time. 

The picture? Vegan German Chocolate Bars before they slid into the oven. A delicious creation. Recipe coming soon! Have an awesome Monday!  

Serials and Scenarios ~ Random Words from Our Work In Progress

Just for fun. Just because I need something to post here. I've decided to share a few snippets of what I've been writing this month. 

Out of the Frying Pan…coming soon. Editors may allow the following words…


Red and black Jackson Pollack streaks everywhere, her hair had gotten plastered to her tears. Her eyes had turned into melted Hershey's kisses and everything was wet. Flynn sucked in a deep breath almost tasting the brine from her sadness,

Fern slid on her black track jacket and zipped it all the way up to her chin. Then dug out the black stocking cap tugging it down over her hair and tucking the silver wayward strands up under the knitted band. She turned to face the other two and quirked an eyebrow at their apparent lack of readiness. "Chop. Chop. Ladies. And Zula. I am not going anywhere with you all dressed up like an entire circus act."

Serials and Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Thought of the Day...

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Drive By Thoughts

I've discovered that you can write a book on an I-Phone. Do I recommend that? Nope. Not at all. But the commitment I made does not waver in the midst of lots of hours spent elsewhere than in front of my computer. I have now written two full scenes on our Work in Progress (WIP) from a hospital room.

Yesterday I mentioned what I had learned in this process about brokenness and surgery and the inevitable pain of life.

I'd like to add to that.

My Mother-in-Law was in horrible pain before surgery. Even though drugs are good, they confused her and didn't really ease her pain. Just masked it. After surgery, whoooo baby, she was so in the land of la la. Her pain was intense and her communication skills were deadened by the anesthesia. It was rough to see. She was as white as the hospital sheets and kept saying she wanted to understand but her brain was foggy. Once again, as they added pain medication, she would fall into a blessed sleep.

But what a difference yesterday morning made. I walked into her room bright and early and was shocked at her clarity and her color. She had turned from looking like death to very much alive. Her pain level was under control. she was completely tracking with the nurses, asking appropriate questions and remembered the night before, and she even smiled. The afternoon and evening brought even more improvement.

Not only is healing pain better because life is back in the house. Healing pain is quicker. Had she waited an extra day for surgery, there would not have been improvement. Not at all. There would have been more dying. Lying flat, unable to move, the consequences on her whole body were real and a concern. The gastrointestinal system, the circulatory system, the immune system. All were at danger of worsening….

I've got to go. I'll continue this tomorrow. Blessings on your day.

Serials or Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Thought of the Day...

Not true. Some of my words were in email format. But…I was amused.

Serials and Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Adventure

 Michelle and I are cracking out this book now. Four scenes down and others mapped out. We ran into some serious road blockage trying to get the many characters to cooperate and get in the places we need them to be in to get to the ending we have charted. But I think we've got it. About 25 K more to go and all in this month. I'm glad I'm not signed up for the official challenge of 50K NaNoWriMo, though. 

Serials and Scenarios….Meet Fifi and Oh, Listen to the Music...

First day of NaNoWriMo. I didn't post anything yesterday because it was one of those days. Meeting myself coming and going. Have I mentioned anything exciting about violin lately? Oh, yeah, because NOTHING exciting is happening. I think I've entered the place where I just have to keep trudging until I get it. 

Eleven months after starting I know the main notes….know is used somewhat tongue in cheek because I "know" them but I don't. A fraction of an inch gives a completely wrong tone, and when my fingers are on all the strings flying this was and that and I can't really look at my fingers because then I get really screwed up, I'm playing by the seat-of-my-pants. Yesterday I got the lecture about enjoying the journey and how I shouldn't really give myself a goal that will tell me I've arrived. I am a violinist. I play the violin. And no matter how much I play or how much I practice, the chances are I am never going to nail, perfect or stand on a stage and have flowers thrown at me. If I do, then that's great, but the flowers aren't going to happen each and every time so then what? If I look at it as making art, making the world a more beautiful place just because I'm adding my voice in music to the world, whether I'm playing just for me or for others, then I'm going to feel more successful. 

I am a violinist. I make art. I make beauty. I am what I am. 

I'm also a writer. I create word pictures. 

Here's word picture for you. Michelle, the crazy counterpart of mine has chosen two pictures to represent Fifi, the wonder dog, from our novel, Out of the Frying Pan. 

She asked her readers to pick the picture that best represents Fifi. I should do the same. 

Here's the description (which I wrote, sigh, lovely picture is it not?) and the photos. Chime in with your thoughts. Maybe by the time the book is published I'll have created an artistic violin score. 


"We now have a dog Zula insists is “adorable.” Not a puppy, mind you, but a decrepit rat terrier who has to be lifted in order for it to fulfill its purpose in life — sitting on laps and yapping. Though other body parts fail, its barker is in perfect working order.

Fifi moved in three days ago when poor Randolph Johnson checked into Shady Rest. . . the nursing home, not to be confused with the cemetery of that same name three miles further south.

Zula walks the silly thing around the block with great drama but has to stop every few feet to let the rodent-on-a-leash catch its breath. It’s the most ridiculous sight here at Sunset Paradise. She’s sewn several doggy garments for their outings — which would look a lot less ridiculous without the bedazzling, but at least they hide the bald patches."

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Announcing a Plan for November

So. Remember that novel I've been working on forever? You may not. It's been, oh, 18 months since I touched it. The last time I did I had promised Michelle, co-author, that I'd work every day in April of 2012 on the book. 

And I did. 

She has wondered a few times when the next focused energy might occur. 

In my "wisdom" I suggested that November, the month of novel writing all over the world, i.e. NaNoWriMo, might be the perfect month to do just that. 

And guess what. I promised. And bizarrely, November is just around the corner. 

I will be writing Fern and Flynn and solving a murder this next month. I will be bouncing off of Zula scenes and creating a bit of romance, too. Expect random. Who knows what kind of bits you'll get during NaNoWriMo.