Choose a Great Subject

Choice of the subject is of cardinal importance. One does by far one's best work when besotted by and absorbed in the matter at hand. -- Jessica Mitford

It's NaNoWriMo time. On Monday, those of you participating in National Novel Writing Month will embark on your journey to put 50,000 words to paper in a coherent manner in a mere 30 days. Good luck to all of you.

The subject of your writing will make all the difference. I've found if I love the topic, the writing will flow. In years past, I've started with no idea and no plot, I've had a partial outline and winged the rest, and I've had a full outline. This year, I'm trying something different. I have a topic and no outline. It's a great topic, so I hope that the quotation above will hold true and having a good subject will bring out my best work....

What are you doing on Monday, November 1st? Join us in the NaNoWriMo challenge. Visit http://www.nanowrimo.org and get involved.

Sunday Creative: Dynamic

dynamic
adj: of or relating to physical force producing motion: energetic, forceful

the wisps of the contrail are not dynamic,
but dynamic would describe the blast of the shuttle launch that created the design

Recharge Your Creative Batteries

I attended the World Wide Sketch Crawl on Saturday. This is one of the sites we sketched. Did you know about this event? I didn't either until this year. Anyway if you want to organize the event in your area, here's the main website.. http://www.sketchcrawl.com

The reason I'm blogging about this today is that I'm no artist, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process and the camaraderie of the event. I spent some of the time photographing the event, and I did try my hand at some sketching too.

About 20+ artists in this area met at the Art and Antique Studio and off we went. Throughout the day, we spent time at each of several locations within walking distance of the start.

Luckily, it was a beautiful day. And it was an interesting feeling to realize that artists all over the world were sketching also. What a nice feeling of connectedness. If you ever need to recharge your creative batteries, try participating in a group activity. It brings out great ideas and enthusiasm.

Thanks to Susan Stone for bringing this idea to Brevard.

Savor It

I try to catch every sentence, every word you and I say. ~~ Anton Checkhow

I was reminded this week that savoring life is a good thing. Taking time from the endless "to do" list to "...catch every sentence, every word you and I say," will only serve to enrich life and our expression of that life.

Too often I find myself jumping from one item to another on my list. The list only matters to make it through our lives. Creativity and the expression of creativity are what sustain us. Don't forget to take the time to catch it all.

Literacy Builder Blog Award

Something a little different today. I was given this award by Helen Ginger of Straight from Hel. Thanks very much. Helen is a freelance novel editor and blogger. If you don't follow her blog, Straight from Hel, be sure to check it out.

The rules for the award are:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Display the award logo on your blog site.
3. Tell us five of your favorite words and why you like them, (add as many as you like).
4. Pass the award on to three bloggers you feel are excellent literacy builders, and link to their sites.
5. Contact the bloggers you’ve chosen and let them know about the award.

On to the meat of the matter...

Five Favorite Words and Why:

chocolate (because I can only read about it)

finished (because it always feels good to complete a project)

yes (because I'm not fond of rejection)

propitious (because a good friend used to use that word every day and it brings back good memories)

waterfall (because it's the perfect description of what a waterfall does)

I nominate:

Mason Canyon of Thoughts in Progress a great destination for authors on book blog tours

Debi Ohi of Inky Girl a super resource for writers

and

Carole Anne Carr of Carole Anne Carr blog. She's a writer of children's historical fiction and her blog offers info and thoughts on a variety of topics of interest to writers.

Check them out.... and have a great day. Thanks again Helen!

Soar....

For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. ~~Ernest Hemingway

The craft of writing does not come easily. Don't we all know that? I love this quote because it reminds me that it's worth trying to reach what is ..."beyond attainment."

Now, I could have let this quote discourage me. After all, if Hemingway thinks of writing as trying for something that is unattainable, who am I to to think I might succeed? Well, I'm here to encourage you to reach goals that experts say we can't reach... And, have a good time doing it.

It's Fall

Some people laugh when I say Fall is in the air. In Florida, it's not the smell of crisp air and freshly raked leaves that bring Fall to mind. It's more subtle down here. Yes, it's still in the 80's and yes we just turned off the a/c on Wednesday -- and that's only because there's a breeze. Without the breeze, the a/c would still be humming away.

But, after 10 years in Florida I've learned the difference between Summer and Fall. Today, I feel that subtle difference and it brings to mind bonfires, football games and cider.

Enjoy the season.

What's in a name?

My name's Shorty, what's yours?

Names are like the wrapping on a present, offering just a hint of what may be inside the person. ~~ Brandi Reissenweber

Do you struggle with choosing names for your characters? Personally, I hate this part of writing. It should be easy. It's not.

Some writers give their characters temporary names when they start writing, then choose a permanent name when it hits them. I can't do this. Names are very important and do speak to the character's personality. So, I have to go through the process of choosing names before I start writing.

I like simple names. Some writer's choose names that are difficult to pronounce and to spell. That slows me down as a reader. When reading,I have to give those characters nicknames in order to keep from being pulled out of the story by their impossible names.

How about you? How do you go about choosing the names of your characters? Do you have a method?

Sunday Creative: Nostalgia

"nostalgia"

The Sunday Creative

One month until NANOWRIMO

Okay, a bit of a departure today, but it's October 1st.... That means there are only 31 days until National Novel Writing Month.

Are you going to take the challenge this year?

If you don't know what it is, let me explain. During the month of November, the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in those 30 days. It's a push, but it's doable. I've done it during each of the last three years.

There's a community of support out there for you. Due to the pace, it's a wonderful lesson in moving forward in your writing. There is no time to stop and edit or even correct spelling errors. The theme is to just move forward. It's okay to work up an outline before November 1st, but no actual writing is done until 12:01 on the morning of November 1st.... So what do you think?

In 2008, more than 120,000 from all over the world participated. If there's an interest, I'll post a NANO progress report post each week and you can comment on your progress, frustrations ans successes. To read more about it, go to http://www.nanowrimo.org ... If you participate, feel free to become my buddy. My online name at the NANOWRIMO site is Lou B

So, there you have it. If you say you can't do it because you don't have an idea for a 50,000 word novel, that never stopped me. In fact, I still have to settle on my book idea and outline for this year.