NaNoWriMo - TPTBD Update and Reflections

It's been a few days since I started NaNoWriMo...  okay okay it's been only three days sinceIi started.  But I must say that I'm not going to finish the goal of 50,000 words.  I just know this.  It's my first time attempting something this big.  I started off strong on Day 1 writing 1056 words.  I thought a very respectable word total for someone completely an amateur and unprepared for this.  Day 2 I wrote a measly 656 words.  That's it...  One chapter.  And now I'm temporarily out of motivation.  That means that I know I will not be reaching 50,000 words.  Yet, I am okay with that.  My realistic goal is 20,000 words.  I also probably won't be participating in any of the online or physical events.  I view this year as testing the waters.  What does it feel like to attempt something like this?  Do I want to attempt this next year?  Should I vary my attempts and/or strategies?  This year is my trial run.

Good luck to all the other writers out there.  I know that some of them will create some wonderful pieces that actually have a future.  I don't think mine will, but that's okay.  To me it's all about the exercise. 

I will be trying to write every day.  So I will probably have fewer blog entries than usual for this month.  I am still reading (not going to give that up), but not at a frenzied pace.  Book reviews will appear sporadically.  Other posts may also appear that have nothing to do with books.  I might feel inspired some day to write about life, or crafting, or my job, or music, or food.  I also have a few reading challenge goals to accomplish this month to stay on track.  I am determined to knock out at least two challenges (only 3 books aways!).  We'll see.  And if I'm feeling less critical of myself, I might even put up some passages from my NaNoWriMo attempt: The Place that Bordered Death...

NaNoWriMo Begins!

I am crazy.  There's no other explanation.  I have committed myself to attempting NaNoWriMo this year.  Like today!  How did I get myself into this?  Short answer: I signed up.  Long answer: a bit more of a journey. I always have tons of ideas floating in my head.  As a child, I used to tell myself stories to fall asleep.  I told stories to my dolls, my dog, any and all toys.  I was constantly retelling stories I heard and making up a few of my own.  I loved it.  And then I grew up.  Writing and story telling become a thing of the past.  When I taught history, I loved telling the stories of history.  I loved giving some exposition, describing characters, creating a conflict, and sometimes pointing out a conclusion.  History of full of stories and I loved each and every one of them.  Unfortunately, I am not teaching anymore.  I don't have a good outlet for my storytelling.  So I told myself I was going to start writing more.  It started with this blog.  I began to document my life, my reading, and my stories.  I have failed at the story aspect.  I've written only a few fiction pieces.  But the stories persist. 

And so, I signed myself up to complete NaNoWriMo.  I have a short story "The Place That Bordered Death" that I wrote for a creative writing class in college.  I've always loved that story and think there's more than a few pages in there.  I'm going to attempt to expand the story.  The core of the story will stay the same, but I will be adding characters, scenes, flashbacks, descriptions to try and fill it out. 

I might be absolutely off my rocker, but I'm going to try and do it.  Fellow NaNoWriMo participants come find me.  My username is TFrances.