I'm going to WriMo

That's right. I decided I'm going to participate in National Novel Writing Month. All the girls in my writing group are doing it, and I don't want to feel left out. :)

I planned to participate unofficially, and start on my manuscript now instead of in three weeks, but I decided it would be better to wait a few weeks and have the support and camaraderie of thousands of other writers. I was checking out my region on the NaNoWriMo website and there are a lot of writers close by. There are events to get everyone together, and I think it might be fun to meet some writers face-to-face.

I'm going to outline a few scenes before November 1 and possibly work on one of my other projects for the rest of October. When November comes I'm going to work hard, blog little, and finish a novel!

Any of you doing NaNoWriMo?

Ode to Audiobooks

Several months ago Nathan Bransford had a post asking whether or not listening to an audiobook counts as reading. About half of the responders said yes and the other half said no. I thought it was interesting because I am a major audiobook "reader."

I think the answer to his question is "yeah, sort of."

Listening is obviously not just like reading. The reader's voice, the inflections that they use, the speed at which they read can all add to (or detract from) the words on the page. But whether you listen to or read a book the end result is the same--you know the story and can talk about it with other people who have read it.

I listen to about the same number of books that I read. I find that a few years after I consume books I can't remember which ones I listened to and which ones I read. I know the story and that is the important thing.

I love to listen to audiobooks in the car, while I do dishes, fold laundry, mop the floor, and make dinner. Sometimes my husband and I will listen to an audiobook in the evening while we play a board game or do a puzzle together (this makes us sound like old people--we're not. We're just nerds.).

Reading time has become increasingly difficult to scrounge up as I've had children. Some days I can't get three minutes together to sit down and read a book, but I can always listen to one. So, whether or not it counts as reading, I am very thankful for audiobooks and their ability to keep me connected to the outside world.

Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you hate them?

Sometimes We Need to Cut

Yesterday several sweet people decided to follow my blog and now I have more than 50 blog supporters! Yay! I am so happy to know you all. Thank you for your excellent comments and support during my first month of real blogging.

This is my dog:

He is a Britany Spanial/Border Collie Mix and we adopted him a year ago. We love him. He's excellent with kids, he has awesome frisbee catching abilities, he hardly ever barks or chews. He is almost the perfect dog... except, he sheds like crazy.

Our solution to this one thing keeping our dog from perfection is to shave him several times a year (who am I kidding, there are a few more things that keep him from being perfect--like his love of eating diapers--but we work with what we can.) He looks like a rat, instead of a cute furry dog, but he doesn't cover the house and our clothing in long white and rusty-colored hairs.

I love the way my dog looks with all his hair, but he is a better fit for our family without it.

Likewise, sometimes I love a scene in my story, but I know the story as a whole will be stronger without it. It might feel a little naked when I take the scene out, but it will be better in the long run.

I've rewritten the end of Underground many times. One of my endings featured a scene with police dogs. It was a pretty good scene--dramatic and also a little funny--but it didn't fit with the story as a whole, so I canned it and wrote another ending (and another and another) until I finally had one that was right for the story.

Do you have a scene you loved that you had to cut? That you should cut but haven't yet?

Best Laid Plans

Ah yes, well a few weeks ago I made some goals. I stuck to these goals for exactly 2 days. Then it was the weekend. The next week we were going out of town and I was kind of busy. This week they just seemed too hard.

I suck at keeping goals. I don't know why I even try.

I am, however, fairly good at meeting deadlines. So I am going to resist the urge to manage my time in any organized person sort of way, and I am just going to set a deadline for myself.

I will have a rough draft of my next novel done by November 30.

I probably won't write everyday. I will probably read blogs, and books from my massive TO READ list. I will probably take naps. I may even do a little cleaning. But I WILL finish by the 30th, even if I have to pull an all-nighter on the 29th.

Do any of you suffer from a serious lack of organizational skills? How do you get your books done (daily goals, deadlines, mad rushes of inspiration, you don't--you've been working on the same book for 20 years)?

Music That Means Something

I found all of your insights into real vs. imaginary settings so interesting yesterday. Thanks to everyone for your comments.

Okay, I got tagged to share my 7 favorite songs weeks ago by my good friend Marie and then again last week by super-blogger Jen so I figured I should try to do it.

So first a confession: I love music but I don't LOVE music. I don't buy CD's, I usually don't listen to the radio, I own an iPod but it is filled with audio books. (You may all shun me now).

I do love it when a friend turns on a great song or I hear something wonderful on one of my very rare visits to the radio (or one of my very rare visits to the grocery store).

I don't really have favorites but there are a few songs I thought of that I really, really love. Here they are:

Isreal Kamakawiwo'Ole's (IZ) "Somewhere over the rainbow"

I just realized Karen mentioned this one too, but it is a great song.

Ella Fitzgerald's "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"

Um, yeah, I love everything Ella Fitzgerald ever did. Her voice is rich and emotional.

Dixie Chicks' "Landslide"

My husband and I have argued over who does the best version of Landslide. I say Dixie Chicks, all the way.

Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune"

Both of my brothers are very accomplished pianists. They played this in high school. I've always loved it.

Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly"

Because it's fun.

Almost everything by Michael Jackson

I can't pick just one. I tried, but I love a lot of his songs.

Prayer of the Children, written by Kurt Bestor

In high school we had a men's chorus (Fifty 15-18 year-old boys) perform this. The lyrics and music are beautiful, and watching that particular group perform it was one of the most moving musical experiences I've had in my life (plus boys that sing are about the hottest thing in the world to a 16-year-old girl).

Many of you have been tagged for this already so I won't tag specific people. If you haven't done the music blog yet and you want to try, go for it! Or just tell me about a few songs you love in the comment section--that can count too.

Imaginary Places

Yesterday I was kind of amazed at how many of you have set stories in real places, and even built stories around settings. I'm impressed.

Okay, so I'm going to be very honest here. Setting a story in a real place scares me. I mean, what if I get it wrong? What if people from the place I've written about catch all of my mistakes and tell me my description sucks? What if I can't bend my story to fit around a place that's real? These are probably irrational fears (or maybe not), but they are real fears for me at least.

The setting for Underground came entirely from my imagination. It's set in a small, fictional town in the U.S. with cookie cutter neighborhoods, an abandoned steel mill, and a very small police force. I tried briefly to find an actual city that would meet the needs of the story, but I couldn't find anything that would work just right (and I was afraid of all the things I listed above).

Do any of you non-fantasy/sci-fi writers make up settings? And do those of you who write about real places let the setting dictate what can and can't be done in your story? I am so curious.

Setting the Story

I missed you all over the weekend. I need to catch up on a lot of blogs this week!

We spent the long weekend in Leavenworth, Washington and while we were there I started thinking a lot about settings.

See, Leavenworth is a Bavarian village nestled in the mountains of central Washington. Its downtown is full of little German shops and restaurants and minutes away are miles of apple orchards and untouched forest. It is a gorgeous and diverse setting and the whole time we were there I kept thinking, "I should totally write a story set in Leavenworth." Unfortunately I haven't thought of one-- yet.

So check it out. (Sorry, my cheap digital camera and lack of photography skills don't really do it justice).

Yes, those are my kid's (and husband's) backsides. Aren't they cute?

Okay, so what I'm wondering is this: do you ever write stories BASED on the setting? I've never tried it before. For me the plot always comes first and the characters and setting fall into place later, but I know it can be done.

If you haven't ever tried to write a story starting with a setting, have you considered it? Is there any place you'd love to write about?