Kate Warren

I'm writing tonight with a headache.  I get them frequently.  Sometimes I get mild migraines.  Not the curled up in a ball screaming in pain kind, hence my use of the word mild.  Life's been a little crazy since I posted last.  I'd like to be able to blame the weather, or the full moon, but the fact is life just gets this way some times.

A few days ago my youngest son, who will be turning eight soon had a mishap with some applesauce.  I happened to be upstairs reading to his brothers and came down to find him slipping and sliding on the kitchen floor--mostly slipping.  In fact, he couldn't stand up because his feet kept going out from under him.  Who knew applesauce would be so slippery on linoleum?  We got him cleaned up and wiped up the applesauce, which took a while, and then the floor was really sticky so a mopping was in order.  The things that come up when you are raising children!

Today the same boy found the powdered sugar I bought for frosting for his birthday cake.  I don't usually make my own frosting but he requested German Chocolate Cake (not actually German, by the way) and I happen to loathe coconut, which is in the traditional German Chocolate Cake frosting.  So I searched online for over an hour looking for a German Chocolate frosting recipe that was coconut-less.  I finally found one and it was attributed to a cookbook that was sitting in my kitchen the whole time (I really must include this in a book one day). 

At any rate, I bought all the necessary ingredients and the powdered sugar went in a standard cupboard rather than the lockdown cabinet where all things powdery usually go.  Apologies for the rambling, I have a point, I swear!  Those things have to be locked up because my darling red-headed angel loves to watch stuff fall, usually white or chocolate stuff. 

This time he refrained from making a very sweet mess in the kitchen.  Instead he saw the picture of cookies on the bag and wanted the cookies.  He used to think that boxes with pictures of brownies and cakes actually had ready-made brownies and cakes in them.  Luckily he is past that, but he does think that bag of powdered sugar is a cookie mix.  He keeps trying to get me to make the cookies he knows are in that bag.  Poor kid.  I told him we'll make cookies tomorrow.  Then I started singing the lullaby I wrote for him.  He likes that. 

Well, readers...I'm going to put my kids to bed, take some more medicine for my headache, and go to bed.  I wish you all a pleasant and restful night.

Kate

Many of you already know what this week's topic is all about.  For those who are new to the idea, I shall explain.

Every November is dedicated as National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo.  During this event hundreds of thousands of people all over the world challenge themselves to write 50,000 words in just 30 days.  Why 50,000 words?  Because that is the minimum wordcount required for a work of fiction to be considered a novel.  Why 30 days?  Because you have to have some kind of deadline and there are 30 days in November, which leads us to...  Why November?  

The first ever NaNoWriMo event was actually held in July.  The participants found that July is a difficult month in which to lock yourself to your computer because summer weather frequently uses its siren song to distract you from your novel writing goal.  The weather isn't nearly as enjoyable in November.  Depending on where you live it could be cold, snowing, rainy, certainly cloudy.  Good month to stay indoors and write, right?

Now, you may be asking, "what does this have to do with me?"  If you have always wanted to write, the answer to that question is: everything.  Have you been waiting for the right time to start your writing?   Why put it off any longer?  In just one month you can write your very own novel.  Don't write fiction?  No problem.  NaNo Rebels are writing non-fiction, memoirs, collections of poetry or short stories, cookbooks, graphic novels, and everything you can think of.

In anticipation of your next question I shall tell you why I'm recommending NaNoWriMo.  Two years ago I was in a writing funk.  I hadn't written anything in months.  I'd sit down and stare at the screen and the words just would not come to me.  After months of this some friends (who are also writers) suggested that I give NaNo a shot.  I'd looked at it in the past and thought "there's no way I can write that much in a month" but I was getting desperate.  Story upon story piled on my hard drive with no middles, let alone endings.  So that year I decided to try.  What could it hurt? 

Now, having all those stories I'd started I was having a lot of trouble deciding what to write.  Should I pick one of my starters and work to finish it, or try something new?  I went back and forth until it was finally November 1st.  The first day of NaNo.  I sat down at the computer ready to start typing and just go with whatever came out.  I started a new story that day.   Twenty nine days later I had slightly more than 50,000 words, and a book that was only half done.

Fast forward 11 months.  I've written about two paragraphs to continue my 2009 NaNo.  It's getting close to November.  It worked last time so I thought "why not?"  I wasn't trying to win so much as trying to finish the novel.  I ended up doing both.  The result will be available for purchase next year.  Bridging The Gaps is a NaNoWriMo novel.

If NaNo could help me with my crazy, complicated, chaotic life to get my writing done, what could it do for you?  1,667 words each day.  Think it over. 

National Novel Writing Month

Kate

Greetings fellow readers.  I am posting from my new writing desk.  So far so good.

My fourth grade son has an interesting writing assignment this week that requires imagination.  The prompt is that there is a secret door in the bathroom (Lost in Austen, anyone?) and the students are supposed to write about where it leads. 

This got me thinking about where I'd like a secret door to take me. 

Personally there are places I'd like to visit: Ireland; Hawaii; Williamsburg, VA.  Professionally, a secret door would be a huge research bonus.  Would I want my door to take me back in time to the middle ages?  Perhaps to Regency England?  Or the old American west?  Maybe I'd have it lead to a huge library, which would be awesome not only as a writer but also as a reader.  Also as a reader, the possibility of going into a book would be hard to resist. 

Back to the point...which is that inspiration can really come from anywhere.  A news story.  A history book.  A fourth grade writing assignment.  Pay attention to the little things that resonate with you.  You made find a story there.

A question for my readers:  where would your secret door lead?

   Kate

It has now been about a month since school started.  The first round of illness has gone through.  We are all back into the routine, and I will be resuming a normal (for me) blogging schedule.  Tuesday is going to be blog day, for the most part.

My precious little girl is taking a nap.  I have approximately one half hour before the first boy gets home and I shall use it to do a number of things, first of which is talk about something dear to me...my new writing desk.

Last Friday I went to my favorite secondhand shop looking for two things: books and a desk that locks.  Ended up not getting any books but I found the desk for which I have been longing.  It's a secretary (also called a drop-front) that has a lock not only on the main portion but also the large drawer underneath.  A removable shelf with one tiny drawer and dividers sits inside, and two small drawers are on top of the desk.  It is functional yet elegant in an understated way.  I believe Jane Austen would approve.

When the desk surface is opened, the original red-brown finish is visible as whoever painted the desk black only covered the exterior.  There are no marks to indicate a manufacturer, but there may have been on the back at one time.  There is evidence that the back panel has been replaced.  Given that I prefer the original color over the black, I'm thinking of refinishing the desk, but that project must wait.  For now I am content to have this lovely little piece of furniture that is perfect for my purposes: a place where I can not only work, but also secure my work from my children.

Now I just need the right chair...

Kate