An Encouraging Word

I met with a few other local writers on Thursday night. Mostly it was a getting to know you, getting to know what you're working on, and a general sharing of ideas. As usual when writers get together, we were gently shooed out when the place closed down and still had plenty to say in the parking lot.

In a move that was bolder than I usually credit myself for, I handed them the first two chapters of my Work in Progress. I'm trying to see if it still has legs, if there is still a voice to characters, and if it is still worth pouring my heart into.

The initial feedback was so encouraging and inspiring I just can't tell you how much it made my day. Yes, there are bits and pieces that need to polished and cleaned up, but overall I received just a huge encouragement to KEEP WRITING, and it meant so, so much.

We often don't realize how much influence we can wield over a person's day by a few well-chosen words. In Proverbs 3:27 it says, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." I think I ran across a translation of it once that used the word "encouragement" for "good." Do not withhold encouragement...

I like that idea very much.

One Wedding and a Move

I got married a month ago. For this 38-year-old-never-been-married single gal, planning the wedding was quite an adventure. I also moved to Alabama (the farthest south I've ever put down roots). I'm not sure at what point you are supposed to "feel" married. I do know that life with my husband feels like it was always supposed to be. Maybe all those years apart mean I don't take what I have for granted. I'm incredibly blessed and humbled by this precious gift I've been given.

I find myself, more than ever, thinking about my parents and the way they treat each other. Thinking about my mother and how she takes care of my father. Those kinds of things. At woman at the gym asked if I was Mrs. Lofland and it took me awhile to figure out that she was referring to me.

But now that the swirl of planning and moving and waking up in the morning trying to plan an event for 200+ people with a looming deadline is over, a bit of clarity is taking place. My manuscript is calling. It went pretty silent there for a while, patiently waiting. But it's getting louder and louder, and I need to get back to it.

To NaNo or Not to NaNo -- That Is the Question

How can you resist an endeavor that brands itself as "thirty days and nights of literary abandon"? Such is the madness of National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as Nanowrimo.

Already I see blog posts popping up that give you in-depth breakdowns on how to prepare for the month, tips on how to smash through that tough third week, the dangers of pantsing it all (usually offered by die-hard outliners), the dangers of outlining (usually giving by die-hard pantsers), and so on.

I haven't done Nano in a few years, usually because I was either already writing a novel or trying to edit it. I felt that I was "past" doing such a thing as Nano, as I already knew I had the capacity to complete a novel without the prompting of the Internet.

And yet, I think I need it this year. Not because I need to prove to myself that I can write a novel but because I need to blow out some creative cobwebs. A hectic summer gave way to an exhausting fight with mononucleosis this fall. I've barely had enough energy to wash a dish some days, let alone write.

The novel I've been working on has remained untouched, waiting for me to get back to it. Yet the allure of a 30 day writing exercise to limber up the rusted machinery of my writing side appeals to me.

Would it be a waste of time? Would I be better served getting back to my current project? Anyone else doing Nano? What do you think?