Who Cares?

I had every intention of writing a piece on the illusion or myth of fairness, but as I sat down and began to write this piece, it suddenly hit me...Who cares? In this world of minutia, we post pieces about anything that strikes us as important, but do we really care any more? I'm just as guilty (if not a little more). I rant and bellyache about whatever slight I feel I've incurred, dwell on it and spew out whatever spin I give on the situation. Often, after some time has passed, I can see the situation more objectively, can pick out the information I need to grow and discard the rest. Before Facebook, Twitter, and email, we had time to cool off, to gather our thoughts and sort out what we needed to say before confronted someone or something. Now, everything is instantaneous and for those of us with impulse issues and a...um...fiery personality, it can be a volatile rollercoaster ride.

I know life is not fair for in order for one person to win another must lose. I know that sometimes a person is successful for nothing more than being at the right time at the right place. Luck, fate and perseverance can be as important (if not more) as education, training and connections. People can rant "why do bad books sell?" or "why does that (fill in the blank) get a raise and I don't?" The simple answer is because they do. What right do we have to judge what is good or bad, who's deserving or not. Writing is an art and as such, success is judged primarily on what sells. In the end, hype can be more valuable than proper grammar or structure. It doesn't mean you shouldn't care about such things, it just means that you have to write for you and if you happen to tap into the vein of popular commerce then you should consider yourself blessed.

Everyone has their dark days filled with doubt. Fear shadows and doubt haunts us all. I guess you just have to get to a point where you say "F*CK EM", maybe I can't write (or paint, sing, dance...whatever) but I enjoy it and so what if I never get to be the next (fill in the blank), but that's okay because I am better at just being me. (Okay that was my Jack Handey moment). So, here I go, being me. I have gotten back to writing and will have this wip "Just Say Yes" finished by Sunday (yes, you can hold me to this) and ready to send off for a good round of edits with a professional. Ultimate goal is to have it submitted to the publisher before December. Then I will go back and pick another unfinished project and complete it (rinse/repeat).

I might suck, but at least I will no longer be digging myself any deeper into this rut I've fallen into. I've chosen my path and picked a direction. There will be thorns and hazards along the way and tons of bunnies to distract me, but I'm moving forward and however long it takes, I'm going to get there...eventually.


~Margie

NaNoWriMo

Well, it's November and that means one thing, National Novel Writing Month, better know as NaNoWriMo, or NaNo. For some it is a hectic month of a frenzy of wordage in order to have a silly little badge to display on your blog and website. Many think it's impossible to write a book in a month, but there is also a site that touts a Book in a Week. In the end, if you really sit down and ponder the concept some, you see that the real agenda is to get you to write dirty, to leave your inner critic in the dust and just put pen to paper/fingers to keyboard and write.

It helps you get in the habit of meeting daily writing goals. I have definitely been lax about writing every day. I write in spurts. But I can see that writing is like a muscle, the more you use it and exercise it, the more apt it will carry you when you need it. I recently read that the main reason for failure is the inability to take consistent action. If it takes 21 days to form a habit, then NaNo is perfect for creating a worthwhile habit.

I sincerely hope that this is true. I am the first to admit, I am skeptical. I've done and won NaNo in the past. Those projects still sit in a folder, unedited and unrevised, deemed too craptacular for public consumption. In the end, this will be a difficult task for me to overcome. One, I am riddled with self-doubt. My inner critic absolutely shreds me for every word I write. I get great ideas and think "Oh this is 'the one" and then he'll start to nit pick it til I can hardly stand to do anything more than wish about writing. The second and probably the hardest to overcome is my ADHD. It is hard for me to stick with any one project for any real length of time.

So, here I stand on the first day of NaNo and I'm one chapter in and so far feel pretty confident. For me, I have added that I must send my work to another person for verification. This hopefully will guilt/shame me into sticking with it until the end.

I do know that I need to sit down and do some plotting and character charting. I am not sure if this story will have some romantic elements or stay as a mystery thriller. I am reminded of an interview with R.L. Stine. He said that if you can figure out how the story ends first the rest will fall into place. I'm not sure if that is really true, but I am going to give it a try.

Wishing all the best of luck with your own projects, whether you were crazy enough to sign up for NaNo or not.

~Marguerite (Mags)