At SF Novelists, the post author says he can’t read for pleasure without analyzing the book for writerly flaws. That makes me sad, and it obviously makes the author sad as well, since he’s vowed to read a book for fun by the end of the year. Hurrah! Although…just one book? Good Lord, if I don’t have the joy of reading once I’m a “real” writer, do I want to do it?
Perhaps the reason why I haven’t exactly gotten anything in publishable form yet is because I read too much for pleasure. I always have a book with me. You could truthfully say that I am addicted to reading. I hope I never lose the joy of marveling at an author’s ability to manipulate my emotions and show me a different world. I hope you all have that pleasure.
Kelly McCullough says the best way to write is to write. He’s right (haha, I’m punny), but there are certainly days when that doesn’t seem possible. I’m a little run down right now, what with getting ready for Wrockstock Spooktacular (which includes a heck of a lot of laundry, knitting/fringing/probably not blocking a PoA scarf, and packing) and my cousin’s wedding (which includes sewing a dress and retouching photos and dealing with all the attendant issues of putting many people in a small space) and NaNoWriMo (of which I am co-Municipal Liasion of the St. Louis Region and therefore need to get people to come to write-ins and make them fun, and I need to get a pair of knitted mitts done so my hands don’t freeze in the apartment during furious writing episodes). Oh, right. Can’t forget about Artists Boutique, the art show that has my lovely momma on committee. Whew. Wish me luck.
I hope you all are getting more sleep than me. It’s a bad thing when you’re sleep deprived before NaNo…

(via storytelling) Norman Rockwell’s summary of his work process:
1. Hey, this is looking like it’ll turn out pretty good
2. My God, I’ve ruined it. Look at this mess!
3. Wait. Maybe I could -.
Sounds like NaNo 😉 I predict that I will be listening to the PotC 3 and Elizabeth:The Golden Age soundtracks quite a bit during this November. I still haven’t gotten my NaNo ML privileges yet, but they are promised soon…
One of these days I’m going to be able to laugh at my writing insecurities.

Writers write, and it isn’t some flippant thing done in the rags of spare time. It’s identity. It’s soul.
–Kate Elliott, on Deep Genre

There are days when I feel like a writer, and days when I don’t. I know that if I want to make a dream come true and write my great novel, I have to do it, and do it lots, and do it well. There really is no excuse, even when I make one, like I never seem to be in the mood. I’ve proven to myself that I can write every day, damn the other things that need to get done, and do well in the other things even in the face of NaNo. I just don’t seem to do it well without the pressure of a deadline.
The other day, someone asked me what I really wanted to do in the future. My dad answered for me: “She’s a writer.” It made me happy, but a little sad, too. I do want to be a writer. I think I’m good enough (though I could be suffering from incompetency and unaware of it [journal article, PDF]), and I have plenty of ideas. But there’s quite a lot between the idea and a book you hold in your hands at Borders, and sometimes I don’t think I have enough to get through that. Sort of like medical school. I think I probably would make a good doctor, but medical school is not the sort of thing you play at. I see the med students walk around campus and am always a little disappointed in myself for not being good enough to join them. At least writing doesn’t cost nearly as much.
I’m very excited for November. It means that, even though I’ll be insanely busy, at the end I’ll have a wonderful (if verbose and full of continuity errors) chunk of story that I will be pleased to continue working on.
Here’s to writing. Here’s to following your dream, and finding your soul. I only hope I can.

The NaNoWriMo site officially opened for the season yesterday (or today, depending on where in the country you are), and I’m ready to write. November seems alternately too far away or way too soon. I had a nice brainstorm about this year’s story yesterday, and I think I’ve got a nice plot worked out. I keep having doubts about the originality of the story, which seems to be a trend with me, but I don’t *think* I’ve read anything like it…
I’ve noticed an annoying trend, though. Each year it seems like I have to use the ‘forgot password’ tool for the NaNo site, even though the computer has a cookie stored. And for some reason I’m not getting the email saying that I’ve requested a new one…so, blah.
I’m still catching up on missed sleep from the weekend, which I should tell you about…maybe later. Probably should do some work!