Musings About Lack of Muse

Wow, so it’s been awhile since I’ve written on here. Note to self: must do better about updating blog. Part of the problem is that the Font o’ Ideas where my writing springs from has been alarming low of late, and I’m not sure how to go about remedying it. Obviously, waiting around for the muse to return on her own is not working, so I’m going to try a more proactive approach. I’m getting a couple of books from the library all about writing and creativity and writing exercises, and am going to try those out, see if it helps.

On the other hand, I have been creative in non-writing form. For my most awesome boyfriend, I made this nifty wood carving for Vday. He had been saying he needs art for his walls; voila, I provide.

NaNoWriMo Update

If you’ve checked in on my official NaNoWriMo page at all, you know that I am FAR behind on my quota of 50,000 words by the end of this month. In my defense, I do have a great deal of the entire novel (which will likely be more than 50,000 words) outlined, I just haven’t actually written it out yet. This is due to several factors, summarized below.

I have determined that it is practically impossible to keep up with NaNoWriMo when:

1. You run your own small business and holiday season (aka. The Gauntlet) is starting.
2. You lose a week and a half by being out sick and then having to catch up on real work before you can devote time to writing.
3. Said real work leaves you stressed out and exhausted, and all you want to do with your limited free time is relax with good books or your boyfriend, instead of writing a novel about a topic that stresses you out and is occasionally sad.

The last point is admittedly the most controllable, as I could’ve just picked a different topic to write about. But writing a book is hard work no matter the topic or angle, and sometimes my day job just doesn’t leave me with the energy to tackle that.

I may do my own version of NaNoWriMo in a less hectic time of the year – perhaps May (MayNoWriMo?). Regardless, I do plan to keep plugging away at this novel in small chunks until then, and ultimately completing it, as it’s a story that I feel is important to see told.

New Books for my Birthday!

My birthday was this past weekend (the 23rd, for those of exacting curiosity) and my geeky bookworm side was indulged to the max. Witness below:

On the left, you see 3 books that I purchased just today from Austin’s wonderful BookPeople store with a gift card from my friend Nicholas. I picked a good mix: a modern sci-fi, an epic fantasy, and of course a book all about dragons. I’m eager to dive into them, but my reading attention is currently taken up by the other half of the picture above.

On the afternoon of my birthday, the doorbell rang, a box was delivered, I near broke my back picking it up expecting something lighter, and then I open it. The ENTIRE Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Sent by none other than my awesome boyfriend, who gets bonus points for being clever and absolutely surprising me. See, I’d first stumbled on this series when I chanced to watch an episode of Legend of the Seeker and got hooked. I found out it was based on this series, which I’d been meaning to read for awhile anyway. I got the first one from the library, thoroughly enjoyed it, and requested the 2nd one, which was checked out but they could put on hold for me when it came back in. And then I waited. And waited, and waited. Longest library hold EVER. I commiserated with my boyfriend on the long wait more than once (he, too, is a fan of the series), and he decided to end my wait and make me squeal girlishly in birthday book excitement all in one fell swoop.

I’m halfway through book 2, Stone of Tears – witness the crease down the spine – and the bookworm inside me is rubbing its hands together maniacally in anticipation of tackling the rest of this haul.

A Story Is…

If you’ve checked out the sidebar, you know that I’ve recently been reading a book called Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, by David Gerrold. Well, one of the exercises in it is to figure out what a story is to you. You’re just supposed to sit down with a notepad or at your computer, write ‘A story is…’ and then finish the sentence. There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s just an exercise to help you clarify what you think a story is.

My answer took awhile to come up with, but I think it works, for both non-fiction or fiction stories:

“A story is the framework through which we teach each other about the world and about ourselves.”

What do you think? What is a story to you?

Resonance

Saw this on a Twitter post recently. Resonated a bit too strongly.

They say you shouldn’t let someone into your life who inflicts pain. Have you ever worried about someone who didn’t worry back? How to stop?

Would love to know the answer to that last one.

Vacation

Tomorrow I head to sunny (hopefully) Florida for a week to visit my sister in West Palm Beach. It’s to be a week of relaxtion, girl-time, beach-time, and ideally writing time when my sister is at work. I’m taking a bunch of books on writing, my laptop loaded with all of my current writing projects, and I’ll be in a nice lakeview apartment with a balcony and a puppy for company.

If this doesn’t kick my muse back into action, I’m not sure what will.

Lyric Love: This Losing

Ok, yes. I’m still stuck on this band, The Airborne Toxic Event. Can I help it that I appreciate musical genius? But seriously. This song of theirs I am unable to listen to just once, and in fact have to put on repeat 5 times in a row. Something about it just gets me every time.

Hear the awesomeness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka8IpzT1rZQ

See the lyrics:

This Losing

by The Airborne Toxic Event
 

Standing at your doorway
with my stomach all tangled and tight.
Have it your way,
Oh, God, where are you tonight?
‘Cause I don’t know what I’m doing here,
Where to begin?
Just take a deep breath,
and darling, don’t let me in.

A thousand times we’ve said
“I’m sorry, it’s over again.
I can’t live like this, feel like this
in my own skin.”
It all seems so degrading
in the morning, such sin.
Your face just like a child - 
Oh, darling, don’t let me in.

And we laugh just like children
and wade in the sheets on your bed
while we secretly pray
like we’re mourning the dead.
And you tell me you’re so weary,
I know, cause I’m weary, too.
You hold back the tears;
darling, what are we to do?

And the wine, and the rain
and the feel of your skin against mine:
I’m swimming, I’m flying, I’m dying.
This face, this fear
this stay with me,
oh, stay with me my dear.
This hand, this glove;
This only thing I love.

This losing, this losing
this losing, this losing
this losing, this losing