To be honest, I really have not watched American Idol in a long time.



Last night, I was doing homework and flipping channels and decided to stop. I am sort of familiar with the girls in the top five so I figured I would see who was voted off. I am so happy I tuned in. Last night Fantasia sang a song that showed me with passion and artistry is all about. Is you have not seen it, please watch this…

In June of 2012 I wrote a book that was very close to my heart. 

It was a story that was outlined the previous year and worked on via Nanowrimo 2011 but the story had been brewing for many years.  I knew these characters.  They spoke to me and I spoke  to them.  When I finished the book I was ecstatic and began the process of revisions and letting others read it. 

And then I discovered it was a typical first book.  Full of mistakes and the story just needed…

That's rich like a good coffee, sumptuous chocolate or the deepest red of a velvety rose, not rich as in financially overflowing (although that one would be good too). How do you achieve and maintain the quality within your writing?

1. In the competitive world of Nanowrimo-esque word counts, it can be tempting to…

My hand hurts but I am happy for the pain.

I cannot stop writing and this is good.  The one thing that I appreciate about Nanowrimo is that it reawakens the drive to write in a lot of writers.  Sometimes we can get caught up in agent rejection, manuscript rejection or just our own personal issues - and we forget our craft.  Nanowrimo reawakens it.  Our task is to simply, keep up the momentum and finish what we started.

I have like three projects that I have…

I finished and won with around 65K in my word count.  There were good days with high word counts and words pouring out of me like skittle rainbows.  There were bad days with blurred vision, arm cramps, and my brain on the fritz.

In the end, I finished and I am happy with what I accomplished - but I'm not done.

My story is was not wrapped up.  I am still revising it.  I am still on my writing grind.  But I feel I am in a better place.  I now have a writing…

As the quest for 50K comes to an end, the big question is:  “Are you a winner?” 

Technically, I could have validated my novel days ago.  I actually hit 60K this weekend but my novel is far from finished.  Sure, I started this revision journey thinking, I would be this awesome chick that revised her novel in 30 days but that’s not going to happen.

I’m okay with this.  I predict that I will probably finish a week into December, but then again maybe I will not.  I am so enamored…

I am half-way through revisions on a book that has changed me as a writer.

This book, my first completed novel, truly showed me that I have "the goods."  Through writing this work, I proved to myself that I could craft ideas and experiences, put them on paper, and create something that I could be proud of.

This week, I have approached my manuscript with a longing.  Whenever I put it away at night, I dream about it.  Whenever I return home, I can't wait to turn…

There are many mornings, especially this week, that I question why I am still doing this.  There are so many other things I could be doing (learning to sew, prepping for Thanksgiving, watching a Dr. Who marathon).  Why am I trying to finish a 50K novel in 30 days?



Then I look at my words.  They are all beautifully printed on the page (thanks to Staples).  I won at CampNaNoWriMo this summer and am using this month to add another 50k to my novel.  My novel.  That is the most…

I am trying to put myself in position to truly be a professional writer.

I am trying to diligently blog, connect with other writers, and get my name out more in the writing community.  Writing everyday is such a great release to me and I am a little anxious right now that I have not found the time to whittle away at my NanoRevMo project.

I am working on my own personal webpage - something I thought I would never do.  I got the idea from networking with some great people…

It's going better than I expected.

Isn't that a horrible expression - almost like you expected a writer's zombie apocolypse (no coffee or chocolate and the deadline is like 10 minutes ago).

I began super excited to participate in Nano but alas, as what usually happens each year - life began to happen.  I think I get spoiled.  People leave me alone for the first week.  The kids are actually sweet. No one is calling or banging on the door.  I get so much done! …

Yesterday was an overwhelming day. Stressful and full of have-to-do's like a vast amount of laundry that I transport to the laundromat in a big red cart because I don't have a car. I long for a washer and dryer in my apartment but I live someplace. It's impossible not to feel grateful for this roof over my head because so many do not have shelter and it's getting cold at night. When you live in a neighborhood like mine you no longer think of the homeless. They have names. Sonja and Michael,…

My latest post at blog about it, October Angst, is about pre-nanowrimo considerations. Writing is always a challenge because I let many things get in the way of it. So I've written about some things I'm implementing to clear the way for writing a novel in a month — even if I don't actually participate in NaNoWriMo.

http://unintentionallybrilliant.blogspot.com/2011/02/post-its-update.html