January 5th, 2010
Down to the Wire
At 17:26 CST, I emailed my chapbook submission to Robert Lee Brewer for the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge. It culminated the month-long fits and starts through this morning, to edit and revise, to make better the stuff I’d posted.
I knew what I was in for when I took this on: I had to get a handle on my doubt demons and let them know this was going to happen. That’s my usual block but I really wanted this. I had to get around my family. I don’t really spell it out for them, just try to avoid them when I need to. And, my other one is the doubt about knowing what I am doing.
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December 2nd, 2009
I finished the month only on a partially successful note. Both ventures were a great deal of fun, and brought me some valuable insights. I even learned from trying to do them in the same month. One thing I took from November’s activities is that they are do–able in the same month.
NaNoWriMo: My Incomplete Success
First the bad news: My novel remains unfinished. I didn’t meet my goal of 50,000 words by November 30. And I’m alright with that. In fact, I’ll be fine with it but not yet—hat’s coming.
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October 28th, 2009
I was all set to tell you about my new adventure when something happened! While surfing and tweeting, I came across some great tweets from someone I just started following, @inkyelbows. And I found a new adventure.
What I was going to tell you before my distraction was that I’m going to try NaNoWriMo again this year. Last year I signed up and didn’t get much further than that. Last year, I signed up on November 1, and fell apart shortly thereafter.
This year I gave myself a little more warning, little more time for self-talk, tools and ideas. Time to play around with the endeavor and sort of slide into next month like it was any other November.
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June 7th, 2009
Death in the Family
My grandmother died March 30, 2003. It was painful and breathtaking. And then…
Maybe ten days later, my father was rushed to the ER. Blood clots were killing him. By the time I got to the hospital, dad’s heart had stopped and he’d been resuscitated twice.
The doctor working with him asked if we wanted to sign DNR papers. I didn’t want that and I was certain my mom didn’t, but she was so distraught she couldn’t make the decision.
My dad died twice more and was revived without having to crack his chest, before my mom made her decision. In fact, she never made the decision.
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