FRIDAY STIR FRY - My Muse Needs A Watch

http://www.morguefile.

The end of CampNaNoWriMo is near and I can guarantee you I won't make my word count. Mostly because I've deleted more words than I've written. Which is a big no no.

But . . . in my defense, if I didn't fix this thing by re-arranging and removing words, it would languish in my computer until the end of days. And nobody wants that. I know you all are anxiously awaiting this book. Right?

Back to the real reason for this post. My muse really needs to pay attention to what time zone I'm in. When I'm struggling with my story, she tends to show up at 3:00 am. Really?? You know I have to get up in a few hours and go to work. If I turn on the light and write your idea down, I'll never get back to sleep. And nobody wants to deal with a sleep deprived Wanda.

http://www.morguefile.com

Sometimes I remember what she told me. Sometimes not. This time, I retained it. Maybe because it was a perfect twist and ending to this story I've been struggling to finish.

Many people say their muse hits them in the shower. That happens to me, also. Not nearly as annoying as 3 in the morning. I usually remember those ideas until I can dry off and get a pen and paper.

When does your muse hit you up side the head?

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Where Is My Muse?

What happened to my muse? Did somebody come into my head in the middle of the night and whisk her away? Then tied her up and put a gag in her mouth? Because she has not been talking to me lately.  No middle of the night wake-ups screaming a story idea to my sleepy self. No mid-shower inspirations. No middle of traffic "oh no, I need to write this down" moments. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.




   
 

There are plenty of writer's who claim there is no such thing as a muse.  You just need to sit your butt in a chair and write. Well, that's fine and dandy and does get words on a page. But, for me anyway, forcing the writing brings dull, colorless words. Stuff that ends up on the editing room floor. True inspiration usually comes other times, when I least expect it, when I'm not at my desk, My muse brings me morsels of delicious words dripping with eloquent prose.

If you see Ethyl (yes that's her name) please tell her to come home. Her writing buddy needs her.
 
P.S. Tell her I have chocolate.












 

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Yep I'm Crazy

I'm in. And yes, son, I'm crazy. Every year my son asks me why I want to put myself through this. And honestly, I don't know. It's crazy. 50,000 words in one month. 1667 a day, every day. And, every year I find myself getting behind. I've spent many a Thanksgiving at my son's house typing away, trying to catch up on my word count, while everybody else visits. And although everyone gave me encouragement, I could tell there wasn't a single soul who understood my insanity.

What drives me into this mess? I wouldn't have a finished novel under my belt if it weren't for NaNo. And I wouldn't have three others started. That's why I do it. It's hard for me to get the writing muse to cooperate and generate new material. I'm much more interested in revisions. But, without that start of 50,000 words, I would have nothing to revise. So, I need NaNo. My plan this year is to finish one of those unfinished stories. Fifty thousand words should about do it.

I admit the last couple of years, I failed miserably. I'm going to blame it on laziness, my constant companion. These last few months, I've had some health set backs and maybe that's why I'm determined to succeed. I need something positive.

I've added a word count widget to my blog to help keep me accountable.

Who's with me!!!!