Author of award-winning, adventurous realistic and historical fiction

things that make you go duh

On NaNo, ten days in

Nov 12, 2013 | , , , , , , ,

In the past, I’ve used the NaNo energy and camaraderie to write lots–I think last year I did about 30K in November of the project I was working on. But I’ve never done NaNo “for real” before. Truthfully, I’m not even doing that now–I had 28,000 words of the project I’m working on written before the month began. But I did decide that I wanted to NaNo to finish or hit 50K, whichever comes first. And so ever since the clock struck midnight on November 1, I’ve been working for my average of 1,667 words a day, with the 50K goal in mind. (I think finishing this project will take about that many words.)

How’s it going so far? I want to travel back in time and throw a parade for everyone who has finished NaNo in the past because WOW is this hard. When I am drafting, I typically average about 1,000 words a day–but I am not usually able to write every single day. Maybe I do 2,400 on a great Sunday and the following Monday through Wednesday I write nothing. Regardless of how often I write, the 7,000-8,000 words/week average seems to really work for me. At that pace, I’m writing fast enough that my first-draft antsiness isn’t a problem, but not so fast that I get burnt out.

Naively, I thought that upping my average to 1,667 would not be so bad. And while it isn’t terrible–I’m not crying into my pillow every night, and so far I’ve been keeping up with that pace–I’m learning a lot about what makes me a happy writer and a successful drafter, namely: This is too fast for me.* I need a little more time to think things through and to let myself recharge. Of course, there are benefits to the NaNo pace, too–when I hit the middle of my story, I didn’t have the option of muddling in it. I got creative and kept going. The choices I made in forging ahead might have created a hot plot mess, but at least I’m moving forward instead of stalling and starting to second-guess myself, which has been a problem for me in the past.

Because I’m a perfectionist type who loves goals and deadlines, I’m going to keep trying for the 50K goal (also because I want to take December off from writing to read and do holiday things). Even if I don’t make it–and some upcoming travel might derail my plans a bit–I’m proud of how much I’ve already done, and happy with what the NaNo experience is teaching me about my sweet-spot for a writing pace as well showing me how I can use goal-setting to boost creativity.

If you’re doing NaNo, how’s it going? If you’ve done it in the past, how was your experience?

*Duh, right?

On Moving and Books

Mar 19, 2013 | , , , , , ,

I’m currently packing up my apartment. In the process, I’ve determined that books comprise about 40% of what I own. (Sorry, robbers. If you don’t want paperbacks or old T-shirts or shoes with an odd wear pattern because apparently I walk funny–you’re out of luck.) Right now they are strewn across the floor of our living room/office/storage area/guest room (life in small spaces, yo) and slowly making their way into poorly packed boxes.

A poorly packed box.

I think books might actually be the Very Worst Thing to Pack. Worse than glassware. Hear me out: books are heavy, they come in wildly variant trim sizes, and they are dusty (at least if they belong to someone who hates dusting, like me). Putting them into boxes feels like the world’s most frustrating game of Tetris. There’s always ONE art book that is super long and won’t fit in the box and screws everything up, so another box full of tcotchkes that normally could live in the back of a closet in the new place (never to be unpacked–almost as good as actually dealing with the clutter) now contains a book and therefore has to get unpacked and dealt with.

Anyway. Can you tell that I’m at the point of moving at which I wish someone would hit me over the head with one of my rarely used kitchen appliances, or the copy of Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia that I haven’t opened since college, and I could wake up once we’re settled again?

I love print books. Always have, probably always will. Given the choice, I will opt to read in print form as opposed to on my iPad. But damn it if moving doesn’t make me want to bring my entire collection to the Strand and go digital. To think I could have every book in the mountain of brown boxes that currently prevents me from walking from my desk to the closet door on my 0.68-pound tablet . . .

What about you? Does moving (or dealing with piles of books in your home on a regular basis) make you want to convert to e-reading?

Requiem for a Dumbphone

Jun 13, 2012 | , , , , , , ,

You served  me well, Dumbphone. Even though you never held a charge. Even though your backplate constantly yearned to break free from the rest of the phone, rendering you unconscious (sometimes in the middle of a call). Even though you loved to butt-dial my sister and BFF Annabel. Even though your teeny tiny little QWERTY keypad made texting a grammatical nightmare.
You had some good features. CNET said your shape was reminiscent of a candy bar; that’s probably why I liked you. Mmm, chocolate phones. You had a distorted little patch of mirror on the back for incredibly lo-res selfies, I guess. Your ringtones were unintentionally hilarious. Or maybe intentionally–I have no idea who designed you. I will miss the fact that I could drop, kick, or throw you without fear. I never, not once, worried about somebody stealing you on the subway.
Perhaps we will meet again–if my iPhone breaks or gets itself stolen, or if I am feeling nostalgic for a phone that is just a phone. Until then: thanks for the four years(!) of conversation. It’s been real.
To all who preceeded me into the world of iPhones: which apps do I want? Help me figure out how to use this thing with suggestions in the comments, please!

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