Well, I have managed to win NaNoWriMo again for another year and as has been the case in each of the past three NaNo’s I learned something new about writing and about myself. I set myself a pretty ambitious goal this year. I wanted to get my 50,000 words completed by November 20th. That didn’t quite happen. The actual date of completion was November 22nd instead. Not quite what I planned but this NaNo had something others did not: days when I didn’t actually write. Yes, its true. I had a few things come up where I was on the road without time to write. I think the total non-writing days this year was three so, in theory, I actually […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Developing a Thick Skin
You know that part of the submission process where you send in your work and sit back, fingers and toes crossed, and wait and hope? If you’ve ever submitted your work, chances are pretty good you also know the part where your work comes back with a rejection. All the weeks and months of waiting and hoping come crashing down with the intensity of a kidney punch. You have two ways of dealing with such a blow. You can curl up in the fetal position and swear to never do it again. Sometimes this means you give up on writing completely and sometimes you simply refuse to send your work out again. I call this the “I will never love […]
Read moreTake a Moment to Say “Thank You”
I talk a lot about writing and the many challenges I face in doing it. Sometimes I complain about how much time it takes or how I hate waiting. Bitch, bitch, bitch. It feels like that is all I do some days. I know I celebrate some of the triumphs but I just realized that I have sorely neglected to say two words to a number of very important people. Thank you. I talk about my obligations to my family all the time but I don’t think I’ve ever said just what my family has done to allow me to pursue this dream of mine. Let me fix that (major) oversight on my part. First and foremost, let me say […]
Read moreHours in the Day
Let me begin by saying this article is not going to be Michell’s whinefest. It may seem like it (at least early on) but it really isn’t. Honest. That old saying “There’s not enough hours in the day” is certainly feeling real to me lately. I have two big writing projects going on: editing my fantasy novel for submission and NanoWriMo. I’ve also got the podcast which takes up several hours per week (interviews, editing and mixing all take time) plus I’ve got the work and home commitments. I’ve pretty much given up on television, which makes me sad. So many great shows, no time. What this time crunch has done for me is given me the appreciation of using […]
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