The Coming of NaNoWriMo

So the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is just a few short weeks away. Last year I actually succeeded in writing 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. I'd like to try it again this year, but I have no good ideas. I thought I had the beginning of one, but I'm not convinced it's a worthwhile one. The problem is, I always think that my ideas have been done before. Every potentially compelling idea I have, I'm convinced someone's already written that story and written it better than I ever could. I have to move past that killjoy inner critic and just let an idea take flight. You never know what could come out of it. That's the beauty of NaNo... you don't have time to listen to that critic if you want to complete the challenge. You just have to start with an idea and let the story write itself. I just hope I can come up with the beginning of an idea that I want to spend time developing.

The Prompting

Every Sunday, as I sit in church, I'm inspired to write. I feel the prompting - I'm sure it's by the Holy Spirit - to immerse myself in words, both my own (to write) and others' (to read). I know this isn't a coincidence. I know that God has called me to put words on the page and to find him in the words of others. So I responded to the prompting today by pledging to not watch TV during the day this week and to do some reading and writing each day instead. I hope and pray God will give me the motivation and desire to follow through on this and I'm even more hopeful about what will come out of it.

I wrote something new!

It's been forever since I wrote something new. This poem, entitled "Once", was inspired by a lost friendship that I was contemplating today.

Once

Once we
talked, laughed, shared secrets,
fought, cried, betrayed,
forgave, supported,
and, most importantly,
loved.

Now we just don’t.
Any of it.

Which used to hurt,
much more than it does
n(N)ow(.)
I can watch your life in picture stills
as it continues without me.

Because as time unfurls
the hole in my heart
grows smaller
as others come alongside
to fill the void left by
your silence and apparent apathy
of what once was.

(It was worth fighting for, you know.)

But the bitterness subsides with time,
the pain dims,
and I can be happy that you’re happy,
even without me.

Once we shared life together.
Now we just don’t.

I wish it was different.
But it’s not.
And so I move on,
thanking God that I have friendships for today
and that
once,
I got to share a part of my life’s journey
with you.

good books

Some fantastic books I've read lately:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
The Stand by Stephen King
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (currently reading this one)

If you're looking for a great read, just pick up one of these.

bad books

I haven't been having a lot of luck with the books I've been choosing to read lately. First, The Lost Symbol was a huge disappointment; now, I'm reading The Weight of Numbers by Simon Ings. It looked so intriguing and like such a cool concept... not so much. It isn't what I expected and the gratuitous graphic content (both violent and sexual) is certainly not something I need to read. I'm all for difficult content IF it serves a purpose; after all, life is full of difficult things. But when it's just there for "entertainment" purposes, I have no use for it. That is not the mark of a good writer. I'm ALMOST inclined to put this book back on the shelf (or better yet, drop it off at a pawn shop) without finishing it, but I keep hoping it will get better and I really have a hard time not reading a whole book. It's one of these books with various plot lines, (different people, settings, and time periods) that all intertwine somehow and somewhere along the line. So I'm hoping for a brilliant connection of all of them at some point, but I'm not holding my breath. I sure hope the next book I choose is better than these last two... Any suggestions?

On another note, I can't find my signed copy of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and it's starting to stress me out. I vaguely recall lending it to someone and making her (or him?) swear to guard it with her or his life, but I have no idea who that was. Any chance it was you?

motivation: AWOL

It's a sick form of irony that I've made time for reading and writing and other enjoyable activities by cutting out tv and facebook, but now I'm completely unmotivated to do any of those things. I can't even muster up the energy to do things I have to do, like mark when assignments must be done by the next day. I want to want to do all these things, but wanting to want something is not the same as wanting it and even further from actually doing it. Perhaps if I just begin, I'll start to enjoy it. Chances are that's true... but now I need to find the motivation to just begin. See my dilemma? It's pathetic, but it's a very real struggle for me right now.

a reader's response

I'm currently reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and I have to say, I'm less than inspired. Not that I expected the book to be amazing, but I'm more disappointed in it than I thought I'd be. I actually really enjoyed both The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, not because Brown is an amazing writer, but because he knows how to tell an intriguing tale. Granted, being a good storyteller is half of what makes a great writer, but his formula for telling it is nothing new. While Angels & Demons was fresh and exciting, and The Da Vinci Code pushed the limits in terms of content, I feel that with The Lost Symbol, Brown has become a bit stagnant. I mean, the writing style and even the plot premise is virtually the same and offers nothing new or thought-provoking beyond the other two books. I feel like I'm reading the same book over again. His formula has been done and now it's just old. I've already figured out most of the novel's plot twists, and I'm only two thirds of the way through it. I'm also getting tired of him constantly ending a chapter with some big cliff-hanger or unknown piece of information only to jump to the next plot line in the following few chapters before revealing the "big secret". It's such obviously contrived suspense that I just find it annoying. Quite frankly, I'm looking forward to being done the book (and yes, I have to finish it, because I can't leave a book or a movie in the middle, no matter how bad it is). I don't think I need to read another one of Dan Brown's novels ever again. It's been done.

Similarly, this is the same reason I stopped reading Jodi Picoult. The first novel I read by her, My Sister's Keeper, was intriguing both style and plot-wise, but by the time I finished the third one, I was tired of both. All three novels followed the exact same formula - a highly controversial subject shown from multiple points of view to emphasize that a morally grey issue always has more than one side of the story. A great premise, but not when it's done over and over again. In my humble opinion, a good author is constantly finding NEW ways to tell a story and pushes the limits of his or her writing style, rather than relying on a formula that has worked in the past to bring in the big bucks. When a certain style or plot premise is successful, leave it at that. Don't try to repeat it, otherwise it becomes old and unoriginal and boring. I guess I'm just a purist and/or a literary snob. Or rather, would like to think I am. Whatever the case, these are two authors that have lost a reader because they can't or won't break out of a mold.

a season of Lent

For Lent this year, my husband and I agreed to give up television (except for the team Canada hockey games, because you can't miss those!) and facebook (except for 1/2 hour on Sundays just so I can stay connected). Since we both spend way too much time watching tv, and I spend too much time on facebook, this means we have a lot of extra time these days. Which is great - now I more have time to read, make jewellery, exercise, visit and write. At least theoretically. ;)

The original purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer for the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it is characterized by prayer and self-denial, among other things. I think Lent is a great time to refocus and reprioritize and I feel that our choices of what to give up will help us do this.

One of the things I always wish I made more time for is writing, so I thought I should actually start writing in this blog again. Ideally, I'd come back with a bang and write some inspired piece of poetry or something, but I've got nothing. I'm not even feeling creative right now. But I'm writing something, and not watching tv or playing stupid time-wasting games on facebook, so that's worth celebrating. Here's to Lent and a season of reflection and renewal.