Falling Back Into Writing

This Sunday Daylight Savings Time will end and we will fall back to Standard Time. I'm going to see if I can "fall back" into writing beginning November 1, too, even if it's only for the month of November.

I have never before officially participated in NaNoWriMo, but this year I am going to do so. (If you are interested in signing up or just want more info, you can click the image on my sidebar.) I have always worked best with a deadline, so being accountable to the NaNoWriMo community, particularly my own regional group, and seeing my word count online, may speed me on to complete 50,000 words in November, and keep me from taking too much time to think but just WRITE instead.

Also to aid that I have joined NaBloPoMo for November, pledging myself to make a blog post every day for that month. (Again, clicking on the image in my sidebar will take you to that web site.) Making myself write something every day will be a good exercise for me.

I have a new idea for a book and have done no more than make a very sketchy outline for it, so it's good timing for me. I'll simply plunge into writing it on Sunday and at the end of the month we'll see what I've come up with. Forcing myself to just write and not edit or re-write until I've completed 50,000 words will be very difficult for me, I know, but it will be good for me.

For the past three nights I've been reading and commenting on blogs -- have visited about 25 in that time period, some that I hadn't visited in many months. I'm going to keep on visiting a few each day. I have really enjoyed that. So maybe the fog is lifting, and the joy of blogging and reading blogs is coming back to me.

My November "To Be Read" List

In case anyone is interested --

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. This book was written in 1983 but somehow escaped my notice. I read a review of it recently and thought it would be something I'd like to read -- a medieval abbey, famous for its library, and someone killing off the monks? How could that not be a great read!

Triangle by Katharine Weber. In 2007 this book won one literary award and was a finalist for two other awards, and was on the long list for a third literary award in 2008. Again, it somehow escaped my notice when it was published but I'll hopefully remedy that in November. This book is a fictional novel based on a real event, the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I read a review of "Sweetness" and knew that I would have to make the acquaintance of 11-year-old detective/heroine Flavia Deluce. Can't wait to read this one!

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize for History winner. This is part of The Oxford History of the United States series. I listened to an interview with the author and knew I'd enjoy reading the book.

Anyone care to read one of these along with me and discuss it?

I have a feeling the weather this winter is going to give me plenty of reading time!

My mother is reading Louis L'Amour

I called Mom recently and in the course of the conversation asked if my sister Barbara had received a book I'd sent her in the mail. She had, and I started talking about how much I'd enjoyed the books she and I had recently read by that particular author, and then Mom told me she was currently reading some Louis L'Amour books that had been my Dad's. She'd never read L'Amour before, she said.

I hope when I'm 85 I'll be making the acquaintance of new (to me) authors as well as picking up old favorites.

I made an entry in I Stand Corrected (see link in sidebar) last night, and that made me want to make an entry here this morning, but I don't really have anything to write about. We're all just "kickin' along" as Thomas would say. There has been too much rain here lately which has knocked Thomas out of work a few times, and with overtime slowing down as well we've had to re-do our budget a bit -- but who hasn't had to do that in these times! I can't believe there are parts of the country that have already had snow/ice-related deaths! I'm not looking forward to a bad winter.

I had to take my SUV to our mechanic yesterday, but the news wasn't as bad as I'd been afraid it would be. Seems a metal piece on an axle had broken off and was somehow affecting my anti-lock brakes. Less than $300 to fix it, which was better than what we'd feared -- we were afraid it could be something like a tie-rod, and the mechanic said that his first fear was that it was something else that could have run into a thousand. We'll take good news where we can get it.

Andrew and Eler Beth are fine. Yesterday Eler Beth was mixing up her words, and she told me her head was on the fritz. I liked that description. My head goes on the fritz a lot lately. And that makes me wonder where that expression came from, so I think I know what I'll be researching when I get off here.

I wrote a short story in my head last week, but when I went to put it on paper it was not at all like it had been in my mind. So I guess I was premature with it. It wasn't ready to come out yet. I'll try again later.

I hope everyone is doing well. I won't promise to get by to visit, but I will, you know -- I'm just not going to make a promise of it. I have been reading at least one blog a day since the first day of October, hoping to catch up with everyone, and I'm sure your turn is coming.

Well, the cat is sitting on my chest now and making it plain that he expects my hands to stop playing with this keyboard and start addressing his own needs, so I'll close this for now.

Take care all and have a good week.