We're halfway through November, which means the Christmas hype is in full swing. Some people (like me!) valiantly try to hold off acknowledging the arrival of the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving, but its getting more difficult to do that each year as media and retailers jerk us into Christmas before Halloween is even over.
Halfway through Novemeber also means halfway through NaNoWriMo (current word count 27, 308), and here are some things I've discovered as I muddle my way through this process: I love the way everything I've read about the writing process is absolutely true...not waiting for inspiration, but just sitting before the page and letting your inner artist guide you, showing up at the page at the same time every day (and night!), just writing it down without letter your inner critic have any time to play with it...all these things work!
I love the way my characters are making me look at my own life differently...for example, the main character in my story is terminally ill, so a major focus is the way we spend time on earth. Its sobering, particularly because the basis for my story is a true situation, and also because I have some other friends who are also facing serious illness. It's forcing me to look at many aspects in my life - the way I spend my time and who I spend it with - in another light. I've been visiting a very interesting blog that speaks to this very issue, in quite touching and exciting ways.
I love the way this venture has empowered me (and lots of others!) to complete something most of us never imagined we could. Yea, encouragement for stepping outside the box!
I hate the way my creative energy is consumed with this project, so there seems to be nothing left for my other creative activities - like poetry and haiku, writing posts for the blog, and even music.
As you can see, the loves far outweigh the hates, which is always my test of whether something is a good idea or not! So, I will soldier on...more updates when time allows...