Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Nov. 14
Tomorrow as midnight turns to Friday, Nanowrimo for 2007 will meet its midpoint. I'm pounding away on Mary at the Old Railroad Trestle, trying my durndest to reach 25 K by the time I stop writing on it tomorrow. Right now (while breaking to work on an Assignment) I'm at 21,581.
I say I'm stopping to do the coursework, but I think it's also because Mary has yet again surprised me; make that "freaked me out.
Nov. 13: wc 21,581 and counting
Nov. 13
Despite a late start, the writing went well; I only worry now I've over-foreshadowed the end!
WC: 1550.
I'm feeling good about this again!
Nov. 12
Missed out on writing on Sat. Nov. 11 and Sun. Nov. 12 because of preparations for the three courses I'm teaching and one of the student courses. Also had Content segments to work up and upload. Accomplished no other writing at all (though a good deal of writing on Sat. for the Lesson prep.)
Nov. 12, Monday: word count 17,784
I now know not only the Final Death (which I knew from the moment of the story unspooling on Oct. 30) but two penultimate deaths--which I now (Nov. 13) think may become three; and I'm seeing how to drive my heroine further and further into the close trap of circumstances which embed her in conflict with herself as well as her social group.
Nov. 12, Monday: word count 17,784
I now know not only the Final Death (which I knew from the moment of the story unspooling on Oct. 30) but two penultimate deaths--which I now (Nov. 13) think may become three; and I'm seeing how to drive my heroine further and further into the close trap of circumstances which embed her in conflict with herself as well as her social group.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Nov. 9
Completely out of the blue, Little Miss Mary blindsides me and it's my own durn fault.
Thinking at the commencement of today's session, what could I think of to write about now?
Could it be even that I'd said all Miss Mary needed me to say, only 14K in?
Did I have a novella on my hands instead of a Nano Novel?
Well, Miss Mary showed me..that little 14-year-0ld girl first gave me a totally unexpected and significant passage..
and then sledgehammered me emotionally as she dropped into a Long Dark Night of the Soul..
Shades of St. John of the Cross.....
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Nov. 8: Success to Success!
BUT: adding in the 443 words of introduction to the NEW novel, a historical which has been plaguing me since May 2002, I've actually written 2570 (including the 183 of backdrop on the new).
I am pleasedDelight: I am WRITING, I am CREATING, I am INSPIRED.
November 2007 is truly being wonderful to me.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Nov. 7: What A Rollercoaster!
She's fast developing her talents at dialogue as well as description..and that wry humour of hers is becoming very apparent.
The funnel of circumstances is tightening around her, and no matter how she tries or which way she turns, the danger of her secret (Seeing the Dead) is closer and closer to immediate revelation. That pesky old Spiritualist minister, Jepthah Termather, reappears; and we find out what a tightly-wrapped, close-knit gossiping community the small town of Cameron's Crossing really is...
Poor Mary: pushed closer and closer to her ultimate choice...
WC: 12,262
Plus an additional unrelated fantasy short of word count 1,454
Nov. 6
Spiritualism, Plantations, out of state schoolteachers, prehistoric Native history, and Seeing The Dead
Nov. 5 Nano Progress
Made up for it today though, spent the entire day (8.5 hours} writing on Mary's story. We're expanding now into the Civil War, sacred Indian burial grounds, and social caste mixing lol!
Word Count: Monday Nov. 4: 8441
Monday, November 05, 2007
Nov. 4 Nano
Made up for it today though, spent the entire day (8.5 hours} writing on Mary's story. We're expanding now into the Civil War, sacred Indian burial grounds, and social caste mixing lol!
Word Count: Monday Nov. 4: 8441
Saturday, November 03, 2007
NANOWRIMO DAY 3
Mary, 14-year-old daughter of a widowed mother in very rural small-community Alabama in 1911, is a) psychic, b) a magnet for the Dead, c) wryly sarcastic, d) very very voluble. Mary does not stop telling her story any time, even when I'm trying to a) read, b) study my writing coursework, c) grade, d) write something of my own that is not Mary's story, e) sleep.
No, Our Mary moves right along with or without me. I can't turn her off and I don't think I inspired her to turn on! No, she just appeared in her little filmstrip climbing on to the southern (left-hand) railing of the Old Train Trestle (partially destroyed in the fatal flood of '08) and she and I have been on that runaway train ride ever since: two hoboes sliding back and forth inside an open boxcar, while the train clatters down the tracks to: ???
Well, clearly not oblivion, because The Dead are always very much with Mary:
her brother, her cousin, her other cousin, her despised wealthy uncle; and very probably her Daddy, although she hasn't revealed that part yet.
Oh, and the spinster adulterous schoolteacher from the next town down the river, who was choir leader at Mary's Baptist Church. Mary sees her too, and her married lover. They're deceased, of course.
Yesterday Mary introduced me to the Spiritualist minister that her Aunt has summoned from Birmingham to conduct seances. Mary doesn't like him. I don't think I do either.
Day 3 Total Word Count: 5992
Friday, November 02, 2007
Nano Nov. 2
Well, yesterday I was ahead enough at 1939 wc (word count) that my expected finish date was Nov. 26, not Nov. 30.
Today I added another scintillating 2047, so now my "due date" is Nov. 25! Yay! I've a total of 3986 at the moment, and when the 2007 Nano widgets become available, I'll install one here and it will update directly from my updating at the www.nanowrimo.org site. Too cool!
BTW, the Opus is currently (working) titled "Mary at The Old Railroad Trestle," and is a 1st-person narrative of a 14-year-old girl in small, small-town Alabama in May 1911. It's a YA haunting supernatural/mystery :)
NANOWRIMO: NOVEMBER 2007
Annually since 1999 National Novel Writing Month gives writers the opportunity to break past the Inner Critic/Inner Editor and experience the sheer joy of WRITING-WRITING-WRITING.
Montgomery's current word count:
Nov. 1-1939
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
!!!NANOWRIMO!!!
Every year since 1999, writers gather to spend a month churning out word count quantity,
Revise later, polish later: WRITE RIGHT NOW!
For a month and a half I've known my topic; this was the second choice topic because from September 1 to mid-September I had an idea.
But Monday night Oct. 29 an entirely new scenario arose and began playing like a film in my head. This one is suffusing my veins and skirling along my writing nerves and I KNOW this is the route of NANOWRIMO 2007 for this writer!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
NANOWRIMO!
Intrigued? Speed on over to the home page and read
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano
and
See the ten easy steps to Nano success at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/hownanoworks
Join me and tons of other writers as we race to an amazing finish!
http://writing.com/authors/fantasywrider
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
October 21, 2005 has been designated National Mammography Day in the United States. This marks the 13th consecutive year that Congress and the President have officially recognized Senator Joe Biden’s (D-DE) National Mammography Day resolution.
WHAT IS NATIONAL MAMMOGRAPHY DAY?
Senator Joe Biden authored the first National Mammography Day resolution in 1993 to help educate women about the importance of early breast cancer detection. On the third Friday this October (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month) mammography medical facilities nationwide will be offering free or reduced-cost screening mammograms as part of National Mammography Day. Getting a mammogram can help women detect breast cancer early when the chances for a cure are at their best.
WHO SHOULD GET A MAMMOGRAM?
The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend periodic screening mammography for women over the age of 40 or women who have a history of breast cancer in their family. Be sure to talk with your doctor to determine if this test is appropriate for you.
WHAT IS A MAMMOGRAM?
A mammogram is a special type of x-ray exam used to create detailed images of the breast. It is the only exam approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help screen for breast cancer in women with no signs of the disease (such as a breast lump). Mammograms can help detect approximately 85% of all breast cancers and can find a breast cancer tumor years before a lump can be felt by touch. In addition to mammography, monthly breast-self exams and clinical breast exams are also useful in detecting breast cancer.
WHERE CAN I GET A MAMMOGRAM?
More than 2,200 mammography facilities that are accredited by the American College of Radiology recognize National Mammography Day. To learn which mammography facilities are participating and/or offering discounted mammograms throughout October, women are encouraged to contact one of the following organizations:
American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org - phone: 1-800-227-2345
The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, Inc. (DBCC) - http://www.debreastcancer.org - phone: (302) 778-1102 or Toll Free: 1-866-312-DBCC
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - http://www.nbcam.com
To learn more about National Mammography Day, click here.
###
http://biden.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=246801
October: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Men, you might be susceptible as well. For information see
Detailed Guide to Breast Cancer in Men
at
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2_3x.asp?dt=28
*RISK FACTORS *
For Women
Increasing age
Early menarche (before age 12) or late menopause (after age 55) Never giving birth or having a first child after age 30
Use of hormone replacement therapy for more than 5 years
History of radiation exposure for Hodgkin’s disease or radiation of the thymus
Decreased level of physical activity, increased alcohol use (2-5 drinks/day), obesity, or high fat diet
History of previous abnormal *breast* biopsies
Strong family history that includes:
Two or more relatives (on the same side of the family) diagnosed with *breast* *cancer* at any age
One relative diagnosed with *breast* *cancer* before age 50 or ovarian *cancer* at any age
A male relative diagnosed with *breast* *cancer*
Being a known or suspected carrier of either BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutations
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:v7N6diqcV4QJ:www.michigancancer.org/PDFs/MDCHFactSheets/BrCAAwarenessMonthFactSheet-Oct06.pdf+October+Breast+Cancer+Awareness+Month&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us&client=netscape-pp
Readers need to be aware of the risks and dangers of this disease. Further information is available at many sites including:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_National_Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Month.asp
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_National_Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Month.asp
http://www.pinkoctober.org
Friday, October 05, 2007
PINK FOR OCTOBER
Early Detection: Do You Know The Facts?
Each year, 182,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,300 die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 400 will die this year.
If detected early, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer exceeds 95%. Mammograms are among the best early detection methods, yet 13 million U.S. women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram.
The National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that women in their forties and older have mammograms every one to two years. A complete early detection plan also includes regular clinical breast examinations by a trained medical professional. Monthly breast self-exams are suggested in addition.
Click here and here for more information about breast cancer and the issues surrounding it.
For more information, go to:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_National_Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Month.asp
http://pinkforoctober.org/
Friday, September 28, 2007
Elizabeth George on Writers vs. Authors
from Elizabeth George, Foreword to Sometimes The Magic Works: Lessons From a Writing Life by Terry Brooks p. ix, Random House 2004
Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks
Random House 2004
ISBN 0345465512
Last evening I reread this special little book. As a writer, I’m always looking out for inspiration, and following Mr. Brooks through some of the journey of writing evolution gives me a new perspective on writing, and reading, and reviewing.
Mr. Brooks offers his rules for writing, and comparing those to the foil of other writers’ comments helps me to realize which are best for me as a writer and what most awakens and channels my own creative inspiration.
This one is highly recommended.--MS--
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