A NaNo fiasco... and what I learned from failure

Ok, so... didn't even come close to hitting my word target for NaNo. I mean, yes I know there are still 4 days left and that I could probably write 6,000 words a day and reach the 50,000 word goal for the month... but I think that would be missing something.

I can think of a few REALLY good excuses for not meeting the goal this year (i.e., travel, company for the holidays...) but what it comes down to is, I got bored with my plot. I think I just hit a point around 25,000 words where all I wanted to do was end it, kill somebody off, or wrap it up nice and neatly... and so I stopped writing because I knew that attitude wasn't going to get me to 50,000 words. And even if I could have managed to pound out the word count, I would have been disappointed with the whole thing. That's not what I want!

I really like my plot/idea for this story, and I am taking this moment to acknowledge in front of my amazing writing community/followers that I want more for it than just the chance to say "I won NaNo 2012." So starting tomorrow I am going back to the drawing board and mapping out more and better scenes for my plot.

I hope you'll all hold me to finishing this project even though it'll be outside NaNo... especially BECAUSE it will be outside NaNo. I can use all the encouragement I can get!

Also, I'm jonesing for a developmental editing project. Anybody got anything they need worked on? I'll give you a deal you can't refuse! E-mail me at ekauffman (AT) writingrefinery (DOT) com.

Why yes, I do admire you...

It's so much easier to say that sort of thing on the internet than it is in person... for one thing, the odds of my being face to face with Keith Miller, author of "The Book of Flying", are pretty slim... and for another... it's less likely that, when I admit my admiration, you will be able to hear the bottom fall out of my stomach or see/feel the sweat of my palms... thus I keep my dignity, yes?

All this gushing was brought about by a post on Mr. Miller's blog recording a review he received for "The Book of Flying". One of my favorite parts of "The Book..." was the poetic rhythm of Mr. Miller's prose; his alliteration and imagery delighted me! So, when the reviewer said "beautiful writing can be an end unto itself..." I could not help but add a resounding YES!

And now I'm embarrassed... but, hidden behind a computer screen it's less likely to show... although... here I am posting about it. Oh well.

If you've never read "The Book of Flying", by Keith Miller, and if you are a fan of fantasy like I am, I highly recommend that you pick the book up right away. You will be enchanted, to say the least. Then, hop on over to Mr. Miller's blog and learn more! And tell him what an amazing writer you think he is!

Bad book reviews

No time for a long post today, but in lieu of that, I thought I'd leave you with this little gem of an article from Salon.com

All I have to say is... "COME ON, people!"

Possessing the Secret of Joy

I read Possessing the Secret of Joy, by Alice Walker, this weekend. I couldn't put it down. I was supposed to be writing a comparison paper on Italian poetry from the Renaissance. Instead I was reading a fictional account of a woman's struggle to cope with the emotional impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) or as some cultures call it "female circumcision." (FYI: I find the latter description to be too clinical to describe the ritualistic process of desexing female children)

I was mesmerized, haunted, and completely drawn into the pain of the main character. Yes, the practice is foreign to a Western white woman, and for that matter horrifying... but what amazed me was Walker's artistic weaving in of social and psychological issues to the act of FGM that come back to issues present in society today that plague even one such as myself.

FGM has taken up residence in my consciousness most recently because of my Women's Studies class I'm taking at UC Davis. I have found myself compelled to know more, to understand more, and to advocate for women where possible. What I did not expect (but I should have) was to come up against my own darkness in the process.

The next few months and the paper I hope to write about this journey should be ... interesting to say the least... enlightening, I hope... one step at a time.