denise Leora madre

Our Christmas tree... and littlest angel in germ-free times It’s Christmas Eve in our home, and all is quiet. Not because we’re waiting for Santa Claus, but because our older children are spending the holidays with their mother and my babies are sidelined with fevers and congestion. They spent most of the past two days coughing and cradled in my bed. Though I miss the noise and naughtiness their normal activities create, Mommy has had plenty of time to write and relax. Hello, silver lining. But it is Christmas Eve, and as I’ve spent the past few weeks inundated with holiday commercials and the like, one phrase keeps grabbing my attention. “The Christmas Spirit.”

Image Courtesy of thaikrit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net So I was supposed to return here December 1 st with my post-Nano post, full of anecdotes about my success and lessons I learned during the month. But I ran into a snag. Rather, a snag ran into me. Since November 30 th I have had numbness/iciness/tingling in my body, most acutely in my left arm and leg, and my energy level has been compromised. Assorted tests have revealed nothing so far, but I am not worried. I know I am healed in every respect… just waiting for my body to get the memo. Thus I was in the hospital sans laptop for three days, and as my fingers were disinclined to cooperate, I was unable to post. Had they felt differently, this is the gist of what I would have said: “I did not complete Nano this year, and failing has never felt so good.”

Image Courtesy of FreeDigitialPhotos.net Heidy-ho, all! So yesterday was the halfway point of this year’s Nano, and uh… well… The kid ain’t lookin so good. I started off strong, clocking 6,859 words the first weekend. Motivated, excited, and well-paced to follow the Reverse Nano word count guide and have but one word to write on November 30th. Over the next week, I added another 13k to that total, though in less spectacular fashion. Then life caught up with me. My four-year-old caught a random flu-like virus complete with fever, listlessness, congestion… really fun stuff. Then in her innocent generosity, she shared her bounty with me, and I was felled four days. Yay.

Image Courtesy of arztsamui / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Last week, I shared my Five Do’s for winning Nano. And with Friday’s start date a few days away, let's quickly examine some Don’ts before returning to our outlining and research. Because that's exactly what I've been doing lately...   1.       Don’t focus on the word count. I know. It’s ridiculous to suggest you not think about the 50,000 words you need to lay down by November 30 th . But when you sit down to write each day, focusing on how many words you have to go is the easiest, fastest way to cripple your progress and short-circuit your creativity. So though it might be tempting, do yourself a favor—don’t do that. And by the same token… 2.       Don’t delete anything.

On October 31, 2011 at 5:30 p.m., I made a life-changing decision. I decided to do Nano. For the uninitiated, Nano refers to “National Novel Writing Month,” a contest in which writers are challenged to write a minimum 50,000-word novel in 30 days, from midnight November 1 st to 11:59 p.m. November 30 th . I had nothing beyond a thin semblance of a story outline and no clue where I would get 50,000 words in 30 days. But I had the will to begin and a brand new laptop, and that seemed like enough. And so armed, I compiled 50,461 words in just 27 days. “Mini-wave in celebration of me. A-whoo-hoo!” Two years later, I am poised and excited to do it again. This time, I feel prepared. Not just because I gave myself more than six-and-a-half hours to prepare, but because my first experience taught me a thing or two about what to do and what not to do for a successful Nano. Let’s start with the Do’s. 1.       DO tell your housemates what ...

Special Feature on Genre: Romance (via http://writedivas.com ) …and they lived happily ever after. Trite though it may sound, according to Romance Writers of America, a happy ending or “an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending” is one of only two requirements for a story to be classified under the…

Divas on Writing: Brand Name Dropping (via http://writedivas.com ) Brand Name Dropping Are name brands necessary in fiction? Everyday name brands like Coke and Kleenex have made their way into all kinds of fiction, and most readers don’t blink an eye when one appears. The focus for today is the more exclusive name…