It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go...."

Yes, it's true, the time for Holidailies is coming upon us and soon, dear readers, you shall be innundated with more updates than you can shake a stick at. You will be amazed at the frequency of updates and marvel at the amount of drivel that can be espoused on a daily basis here on this very page. Now that NaNo is complete, I still have wordiness in abundance and need an outlet to put it all, lest it make me crazy, er, crazier.

Speaking of crazy, some people believe that I am crazy to be thinking of putting up our Christmas decorations and tree and have an issue with Christmas. More specifically, they have an issue that Christmas seems to appear earlier and earlier every year. This year, for example, stores that felt that they were too "posh" to put up Halloween decorations, decided to begin hanging Christmas ones up instead. So, Christmas in October? A bit extreme. But right now with the snow falling softly and the chill in the air feeling crisper, I am beginning to feel like it really is looking a lot like Christmas. So complete money-grabbing retailers aside, I like the idea that December=holiday season.

I am the type of person who likes to go "all out" at Christmas--decking the halls, and the walls and the windows. And if I am going to go to so much trouble to out it all up, why not have it up for a while so I can truly appreciate the spirit of the season? My husband is a very tolerant person whose only stipulation is that all decorations be put up after Remembrance Day so that there is honour in the memory of all who fell so that we could enjoy peace (although truthfully he'd prefer I wait until after November). We have a compromise that I can only put up Christmas decor early when (and if) I have completed the NaNo challenge. This usually does a few things: it guarantees that I am pushing myself to finish as soon as possible and it usually means that he has bought himself at least until the last week in November before he sees tinsel on the carpet.

The spirit of Christmas is all about compromise. Or at least it is here.

Done NaNoWriMo 2005!

I DID IT!!!!

Well NaNoWriMo is drawing to a close, and tonight, amid various word warring compatriots,

I crossed the 50,000 word challenge mark

It is amazing how much power a challenge can have. That no matter how down I felt about writing, how many days I let myself lapse, either due to sheer laziness or inability to see how to mesh the 5 story lines I had originally imagined flowing like water together, I still soldiered on. The story is a long way from complete, the threads between characters is slim and a bit more contrived than they ought to be, but nonetheless, I set out to type 50,000 words in the month of November and I achieved my goal.

Goals haven't always been enough motivation to spark such fervor in my life. In fact, every January I set goals for myself. Things I plan to accomplish, things I hope to achieve. But I think the difference here is the unbelievable network of support (and peer pressure) to never give up, to never let go, to keep on trucking even when the thought of it makes you sick with anticipation. I think that if everything had that sort of support you would always feel like you could accomplish anything.

You could, for example, write a novel in 30 days.

Soul Food

Finding a Muse is never an easy quest. Writing sometimes feels like a chore, like a thing that I am tethered to simply because i sometimes get an itch in my fingers that can only be assuaged by plonking words down. But since it takes somewhat more discipline to think that plonking words-yes, as dully and methodically as that alliterative word sounds-makes me a writer any more than twirling and falling over makes me a prima ballerina, I hesitate to think of myself as a writer.

Sure, I love doing it; sure, I cant imagine giving it up, and sure, some days it does feel like I am dying a thousand thirsty deaths as I am dragged by my daily chores further away from the oasis of writing. But since I am also a realist and know that I am not destined to live in an ivory tower scribbling deep thoughts to the stars, I content myself with this, whatever this may be.

I stumbled across the Soul Food Cafe and have been wooed back into the romance that is a writer's life. I invite you on this journey that will never be complete.

Beginnings

Blank pages, whether on screen or in real life, often pose somewhat of a dichotomy in my life.

On the one hand, they are exciting, a fresh new start, a chance to create something new and unexpected, something innovative and fun.

On the other hand, a lull, like a song that hasn't yet begun or a catastrophe waiting to happen.

And like all creative muses, this new beginning is no exception and I tingle a bit with anticipation and contemplation.