Category: NaNoWriMo

Excerpt:

My dad always had big dreams. He wanted to invent something that would not only be useful to others, but help mankind and of course, reap big rewards.

As in millions of dollars in rewards.

He was an inventor, of sorts. I remember he would spend entire weekends, for months on end, making plans, finding materials and then experimenting with various contraptions. All of them failed, but he never gave up.

I never understood that drive, that passion. To me, it seemed like so much work. Why not take the easy road and leave time for more fun things?

Like dating, or hanging with friends, or baseball.

I pretty much live for baseball.

I was never a good student. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Holly Lawson, I wouldn’t even have graduated from high school

I used her. I’ll admit it. I’m not proud of this fact, but there you have it. I knew she had a crush on me and I shamefully used that fact to manipulate her into doing what I wanted her to do.

That’s my gift, manipulating people. I’m quite good at it. I have a knack for honing in on people’s weaknesses and twisting them into something that I can use to benefit me.

At first, this bothered me. I wasn’t particularly proud of using people but it came so easy and people never had a problem trusting everything that I told them that I just sort of fell into the pattern – it was harder not to.

For the most part, I got over the guilt of using people. I mean, people come and go in our lives, in our relationships, they’re just blips on our life’s radar – meaningless really. Why waste time on them when there was so much fun to be had.

I’m not quite sure why I’m like this, maybe it has something to do with my mom, who worked two jobs to give my dad the freedom to do his experiments (that never paid off, by the way, I mentioned that part, right?) and worked herself to death.

Literally.

Her heart simply gave out when she reached 48.

I was a Sophomore in high school when my mom passed away and it was from that point on that I knew what I wanted, which was to be nothing like my mom. I didn’t want to work my entire life away; life was simply too short.

And yet, I wasn’t willing to do what my dad did either. I can’t tell you the number of times I witnessed his disappointment, his dejection, his rejection all because he had the balls to stick his neck out there and try something different.

No. I was all about taking the easy road.

And of course, taking the easy route can not only be hard, but dangerous, too.

After I graduated from high school, I wasn’t sure what to do with my life. I mean, I could work, but I kept picturing my mother, worn down and bone tired from her two jobs and I didn’t want that for my life. So I decided to put my life on hold for a bit and go to college.

College wasn’t really work, it was more of a structured party with virtually no rules.

Save for the rules I made up along the way.

I quickly discovered that I simply wasn’t smart enough to be a college student. I had relied on Holly’s help, and I use that term loosely, throughout high school so much that in essence, I didn’t learn a freaking thing.

I had cheated my way through high school, so it seemed only natural that I’d cheat my way through college.

The challenge was finding the person who would make that happen.

It started out innocently enough. About halfway through my first semester I knew I needed help. I had failed nearly everything I had tried at that point and that wasn’t much, quite frankly. I was taking a full load, about 15 hours, and every single class was kicking my butt.

But I didn’t give up. I didn’t get discouraged. I got busy working out a four-year plan on how I was going to survive my college years with the least amount of effort on my part as possible.

I knew it could be done, I just wasn’t sure how it would shake out. I needed someone vulnerable, someone who craved attention and perhaps didn’t get it very often, who was sort of a social outcast. I needed someone smart and generous. I needed someone I could string along and manipulate into doing what I needed them to do without questioning my motives or seeing through my deception.

And that person came in the form of my college advisor, Lauren McCormick.

(Click on graphic to read story – WARNING: Rated PG-13 for brief language.

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Thanks for your interest!

(Click on graphic to read story – WARNING: Rated PG-13 for brief language. Hey, this is MILD compared to the last story).

Added: I’ve had some people ask about how to subscribe to my Fiction Fix stories. You can find the RSS link here. You can also sign up for email updates here.

Thanks for your interest!

(Click on graphic to read first story – WARNING: Rated PG for content, language, and some sexuality).

This is it, we’re down to the final wire. NaNo starts at midnight tonight!

Keep an eye on the NaNo gauge in the sidebar. ➡ I also plan on posting a cute cartoon that shows my progress, too. If you don’t see it steadily inching upwards over the next few weeks, contact me and ask me why the heck not?? Tease me, torment me, goad me into finishing. You see that nifty NaNo 2009 participant graphic in the sidebar? I want one that says WINNER. And you can only get one of those IF you submit 50,000 words or more by the end of November.

As long as the weather cooperates, I plan on hanging out at the MSU library. It only costs $2.25 to park there for three hours and I can pound out 3,000 words in three hours, right? *gulp* If the weather doesn’t cooperate, then I’ll be heading toward our public library (because I won’t have to walk so far to make it indoors).

And if the family is home and won’t leave me alone, there’s always our Cub. Whew! My fingers are tired just THINKING about all of this typing ahead of me.

So, consider this “official” notice – this blog will be sporadic at best in the coming weeks. I’ll try to write a word here and there and let you know how I’m doing but really, the gauge will say it all.

And for the first time, I’m going to post my NaNoWriMo project on my Fiction blog: fictionfix.wordpress.com, if you’re interested in keeping track of what I’m actually writing. It’ll be rough and it’ll probably stink and/or not make sense, but that’s how first drafts are.

I’m really pushing myself this year. I have no idea if this collection of short stories idea will pan out, but dang it, I’m gonna give it a shot.

I’m off to mentally prepare for the next 30 days of intense writing.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE PARTICIPATING IN NANOWRIMO!!!

Boo.

---

A message from NaNoWriMo Headquarters:

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this. I really don’t have time … what do you mean, ‘make time.’ I’m not your slave. You can’t order me around ….. well, technically, I suppose you CAN order me around, but still, I’m a professional, I shouldn’t have to deal with …”

She holds up a hand, her face contorted into a mask of disgust.

“Let’s get something straight here, missy. Yes, you created me, but I have a mind of my own.”

She crosses her arms and continues to address the person behind her.

“What do you mean ‘you’re counting on that.’ I make my own decisions and nothing short of deleting me will change that.”

She tilts her head to listen for a moment.

“Fine. I’ll do it, but I won’t like ….,” her smoky, dark blue/black eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, hello.”

She notices that people are beginning to stare and she forces a strained smile.

“I didn’t see you there. How long were you…” she pauses before fluttering a hand in impatience. “Never mind. I’m glad you’re here.”

She takes a step back, suddenly feeling very much like she’s a bug stuck to a bulletin board and under close scrutiny by several pairs of eyes.

“I’m, um, not sure exactly what I’m doing here.” she says with a small laugh. “I’ve been forced, er, asked to address you so please, bear with me while I stumble through this.”

She straightens to her full 5’8 height and runs a hand through her spiky midnight-black hair.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Giselle Pratt.” She waits for the recognition to sink in but becomes discouraged when she realizes that her name apparently doesn’t ring any bells.

“I’m the main character in Karen’s upcoming NaNoWriMo project.”

She shrugs and her voice falters when she notices some of your expressions.

“You … don’t … know about NaNoWriMo? Oh, I’m sorry, let me explain,” she says with an apologetic smile. “NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month and it’s a writing project that Karen participates in every November. In essence, because quite frankly the details bore me and I’m quite sure will bore you, it’s a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. And well, that’s about the extent of what I know. I only just arrived on the scene and I’m sort of stumbling through like the rest of you so …”

She looks over her shoulder and gives a low growl. “Stop pushing me! I’m doing the best I know how given the fact that you just sort of shoved me out here.”

She turns back to the monitor.

“So. Karen is under the assumption that you all care to know more about me. I mean, honestly, I’m like the most boring person in the world,” she clasps her hands behind her back and rocks on her heels for a few seconds before succumbing to her pent-up frustration. “Ya’ll seriously don’t know who I am? Giselle Pratt,” she speaks slowly, as if the enunciation will someone help. “Well, I must say, I’m just a teensy-weensy bit disappointed.”

She gives another exasperated glance over her shoulder before addressing the readers once more. “Don’t ya’ll read the newspapers? Er, maybe not. Since you’re here, online … okay.” She snaps her fingers. “You must have read about me online somewhere, right?” Her brows lift and she produces a hopeful expression.

“Well hell’s bells, this is disappointing.” She exhales slowly before continuing. “Alrighty then, we’ll start at the beginning.”

She rubs the palm of her hand across her nose as if she has an itch that needs immediate attention before continuing.

“As I said, I’m Giselle Pratt, but everybody calls me Elle. I’m the first female NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief,” she finishes proudly. Again, she pauses for dramatic flare. “Geez, ya’ll are great for my ego,” she mumbles under her breath.

“Some say I got the position because my father, who’s a sports’ announcer for ESPN, pulled some strings, but I prefer to believe that I got the job because I’m skilled.” She puts all of her weight on her left leg and uses her right leg to scratch the back of her left calf.

“My older brother is a driver. He races for Howell / Adams. Maybe you heard of him, Parker Pratt?” Again, she raises her brows in expectation of recognition, but again is disappointed by the lack of response.

“Tap, tap,” she says with a chuckle while pretending to hit a microphone in her hand. “Is this thing on? Ya’ll awake?”

She clears her throat and continues.

“Alrighty then. I just found out I got crew chief last week. I have yet to actually DO the job, but I’m not worried about that, I’m quite good at my job. I know these race cars like a police officer knows his gun. I’ll be working with number 46, Shadow Lennox. I know, that’s a strange name, but hey, I don’t name them, I just work with them. Well, technically, I haven’t worked with him yet, but you know what I mean.”

She pauses to take a breath and rub her nose again.

“My mother passed away about three years ago, breast cancer,” she shrugs. “It was one of those freak things. As far as I know, breast cancer doesn’t run in my family but suddenly she’s got it, and it’s malignant and they can’t do anything for her. It was,” she pauses to catch her breath. “Hard.”

She scratches her temple before continuing.

“My dad has been a NASCAR sports’ announcer for about …” she tilts her head to try and remember, “geez, going on 15 years now.” She looks a little shell-shocked at that realization. “I suppose it was only natural that Parker and I would be interested in racing, considering we practically lived on the road and at the race track.”

She looks behind her.

“People are getting bored. Can I stop now?”

She heaves a sigh before turning back to face the monitor. “I have two younger brothers, but they’re trouble makers and not worth mentioning,” she says while looking vastly uncomfortable.

“I’m 27, never been married, no kids and I don’t have a lot of friends. Well, I have Allie. She’s kind of a NASCAR groupie, but I’d never say that to her face, it would hurt her feelings. She tried to get on with NASCAR, but she buckled under the pressure. She’s smart as a tack, but she doesn’t respond well to stress. And working in NASCAR? Is really stressful.”

She lifts a shoulder in a self-depreciating shrug.

“I can handle it. I’m actually really good in a stressful situation, but get me in a room full of people and I sort of freeze up. I don’t have the best people skills, which is why Allie is so good for me – we complement each other perfectly.”

She steps back and begins to unclip her microphone.

“Okay look, I’m done. I’m simply not that interesting and I have a ton of things to do to prepare for my first race on Saturday so, I’m going to gracefully exit stage right.”

Static scratches as she attempts to remove her audio piece.

“Damn it,” she mutters. “I can’t stand this tedious bull ….”

The microphone squawks and falls to the ground with a sharp thunk.

Giselle gives the readers a smart salute before exiting the area.

---

Confused? Don’t be. I’m writing up little character vignettes in preparation for the NaNoWriMo challenge next month. Stay tuned for more character introductions.

If you’ve been reading me for any length of time, then you KNOW I sort of have this unhealthy obsession with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

And it’s unhealthy in the fact that I REALLY get into it. So much so, in fact, that I splurged on this totally awesome, but totally overpriced (IMO) NaNoWriMo hoodie.

But hello?! Check out the awesome-ness!! And besides, I’m justifying the overage on the fact that it’s going to a good cause and OH MY GOSH, I’ve never run across a writing program that has blessed me more.

So, it’s totally worth it to me. 😀

I will likely wear this hoodie for many, many years — I’m the sort of person who tends to literally wear out her clothing, so I will definitely get some good use out of it. And who knows? Maybe someone will ask me what the acronym stands for and I’ll have a chance to scare tell them all about the most awesome writing program available.

Which brings me to my favorite part: talking about NaNoWriMo. 😀

For those of you that don’t know (and if not, WHERE exactly have you been these past few years?! *grin*), NaNoWriMo is:

From the NaNoWriMo website:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

And that’s exactly why this project appeals to me so much – the QUANTITY part. I spend too much time worrying about the quality. In fact, there are times it actually paralyzes me so that I either get discouraged or disgusted with myself – either way, I end up quitting my project.

But NaNoWriMo has given me permission to just write. I tie my inner critic up, shut the bugger in a closet and I’m FREE to write anything I want. It’s soooo liberating.

But instead of of continuing my random blubbering about the program, I’m going to take Benjamin Solah’s questions and answer them here. This will give you a pretty good idea of how I feel about NaNo and what my plans are. If you want to take these questions and answer them on your own blog, be sure and let Benjamin know that you participated.

When and how did you find out about NaNoWriMo? How did it go?

Ugh. I’ve been staring at this question for eons. HOW did I find out about NaNo? I can’t remember! I’m thinking I stumbled across … oh wait, yes I DO remember!! (I’m excited because it’s a big deal when I can remember things *smile*).

I was reading a chick-lit blog maintained by four really awesome writers. Three of the writers escape me at the moment, but one of them stuck out – Lani Diane Rich. I loved her voice so much that I followed her links back to her personal blog and read more about how she got started in writing.

And she got started with NaNoWriMo. In fact, she went on to PUBLISH her NaNoWriMo novel!! I thought that was sooo cool and to this day, that still inspires me.

After I researched the program a little more, I got terribly excited and immediately signed up, October 1, 2005.

I was scared out of my cotton-picking mind when it was time to start. I wrote some such crap nonsense story about a woman who travels to New York City to try and make a go of her desire to be a talk radio host.

It was truly garbage. No, really. I’m not sugar coating it, it really, really stunk. But that wasn’t the point. The fact that someone finally gave me permission to write, to just let go of my inhibitions and WRITE, was really the thing I took away from the experience. I’ll never forget that feeling – it was amazing and was quite literally what broke my literary cocoon — I emerged not necessarily a better writer, but definitely a more free writer.

How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?

This will be my fifth year. I plan on participating in NaNoWriMo until I reach the day I A. don’t remember what NaNoWriMo stands for and/or B. when I’m physically unable to.

And that includes talking. Because even if my fingers don’t work, I’ll use a tape recorder. 🙂

How many times have you won? If you haven’t won, what was your best result?

I’ve won all four years. And I will continue to win because I’m too OCD NOT to.

How did it go last year?

Really well, actually. I have settled into a groove, I suppose. I just mentally prepare myself to write 2,000 words, period. I don’t think about it too much, I just do it.

I’m usually really strong in the first two weeks, and I actually get ahead of the game (you need to write 1,667 words a day in order to make your 50,000 goal), which is good, because by the third week, I’m burned out and I rarely end up writing that week. Then, by week four, I’m panicking because time is ticking and I REALLY want that nifty winner’s badge, so I buckle down and cross the finish line with usually one or two days to spare.

Usually.

Where do you write and with what do you write?

I have to leave my house to write. I usually end up in either a study room at the public library or at the university library where it’s really, really quiet. Sometimes, if I have a full day scheduled, I’ll get up early and shut myself off in my husband’s music studio and write before everyone else gets up. It has to be really, really, and I mean REALLY stone-cold silent in order for me to write.

I usually cart my laptop around. Though there have been times I’ve taken my Neo someplace off-the-wall, like the park or the lake, simply because I need a change of scenery.

This year might be a challenge though. I work from home so have had the freedom to do all of that in the past. This year … I will likely end up getting a holiday job (hoping it turns into something more permanent after the holidays) so who knows how that will pan out this year.

How do you find time to write?

See above.

Are your partners, friends and family allies or enemies?

Yes. And no.

Kevin, my husband, is very supportive. He knows how important this is to me, even though he doesn’t fully “get” it. He’s rarely around when I’m writing, but on the weekends, he’s usually okay with me leaving and hanging out at the library for a bit AS LONG AS it doesn’t completely interfere with our time together.

I can’t ask for a more supportive spouse, quite frankly.

The boys don’t really get it either. They just roll their eyes at me, but they are interested enough to ask what my word count is and that really warms my heart.

What are you strengths and what do you use to help you get to the end?

My strengths are my beginnings. I pride myself on starting the story smack dab in the middle of the excitement. My characters are usually pretty charismatic, if not a little inconsistent, but I enjoy surprising the reader with an uncharacteristic move now and again.

I think my biggest motivation to finish is seeing that fancy-smancy YOU WON page that pops up after you submit your final word count.

That and the web badge.

It’s quite a high to me to know that I produced that much in such a short amount of time.

What are your weaknesses, obstacles and challenges that hinder you from finishing?

My biggest weakness is boredom. In addition to the doubt, I just get bored with the story. The middle kills me each and every time. Then I get discouraged because I think, “Well, this story must suck because if I’m bored, my reader is definitely going to be bored.”

My biggest obstacle is my procrastination and short attention span. I am INSANELY EASY TO DISTRACT.

Oh look! A bird!

So making myself sit down and write is my biggest challenge. (Like this entry? I think I’ve stopped and gone to go do something else about 30 times now).

Do you plot/outline/plan or do you write by the seat of your pants? How much do you plot or how unprepared are you?

Good lord, no. I WISH I had the discipline to sit down and plot out my story, I’d get so much done and I’d actually finish something, but no. I prefer to follow my characters around like an eager dog just waiting for that delicious bone. Again, I get bored. I like surprising myself because my characters inevitably take the story off in a direction I never, ever thought possible and suddenly, I’m faced with a new challenge.

So no, I don’t plot. I’m a pantser – I just write by the seat of my pants.

I go through a lot of pants. 😀

Do you participate in the real life community, go to write ins and meet ups in your area?

*sigh* I would love to. But my community seems to lean toward drama. In fact, the very first email I received for this year’s NaNo cautioned, and outlined, what to do if/when someone acted inappropriately.

No thank you. I don’t DO drama. I simply won’t put myself in a situation where I’m forced to deal with it. I’ve read enough of the online exchanges to know, they simply aren’t my crowd. They’re all college-aged kids hell-bent on being cool and drowning their livers. Again, I’m way too old for that crap and I’m simply not interested.

What are your writing aids? Special snacks, music, totems, rewards or punishments?

For some odd reason, I’m like Pavlov’s dog when it comes to writing. I MUST have some sort of caffeinated drink by my side when I write. That could be coffee, it could be an energy drink, but I always seem to write better when I’m high on caffeine.

I try really hard to stay away from the sugary snacks – I crash pretty hard – so I tend to snack on crackers, dry pancakes and flour tortilla shells.

Yes, I AM that boring.

I also have to wear my reading glasses. I technically don’t need them, but I feel smarter when I wear them … so I wear them.

Hey, I can use all the help I can get, thank you very much.

My goal, if it pans out, is to post a little something from my main character on my blog each week. Who knows if it will work out, but that’s my goal for now.

In the meantime, I have some more brainstorming to do. You’ll know it’s happening when you see the smoke plumes in the distance. 😀

Good luck if you’re participating!