Friday, May 31, 2013

JuNoWriMo FTW!

After years of resisting NaNoWriMo (because who in their right mind attempts to write a book in a month?!), I've decided to give into peer pressure (cause I'm cool like that, you know, I'm smooth like that) and join JuNoWriMo, the summer time equivalent to NaNo.

adorbs robot is adorbs

Why am I giving in now? Whelp, it's gonna be a billion degrees outside and the kids will be stuck indoors for most of the summer, sooooo, I think the real question is: Why the heck NOT?!
All the lame jokes and rambling aside, there are some actual reasons I've decided to join in the madness.  What be they? Why thank you for asking! Let me splain:

1. The community is amazing. Writers supporting writers is something you just can't beat. 
2. The goal, while frightening, is reasonable once you do the math. 50,000 words in 30 days works out to roughly 1667 words a day. 
3. Did I mention I *heart* the community aspect? Well, I do. 
4. I *heart* book reading challenges. They encourage me, while at the same time push me toward my ultimate reading goal. So, why not try a writing one? 
5. I need to do SOMETHING. This is the SOMETHING I am choosing to do. 

In summation: 

I know the next month is going to be a roller coaster of emotions. It's gonna get ugly. Ain't no doubt. 
But I'm betting whether I reach the goal or not, the next month is gonna be filled with more good times and high-fives than tears.
And who doesn't love a good high-five? 
The end.

WAIT!
What's that?
You're a writer too?!
A writer who's got an idea brewing in the brain-brain 
dying to be put down on paper
but your nervous & a little terrified 
& you've got a million excuses as to why you haven't started it?
Whelp. 
Why not give JuNoWriMo a look-see?
Clickity click here to get all the deets on how to sign up.
And follow JuNo's fearless leaders,
A.E. Howard & Becca Campbell on the Tweeter. 
Come.
Join us on the dark side.
We've got cookies. 


Thursday, May 30, 2013

When All Else Flails Write A Blog Post?

Over the last five years (give or take), blogging has become therapeutic. When I struggled with being the mother of a newborn and three young children, I turned to the internet to fangirl and forget. When my love for books overwhelmed me, I turned to book blogging as a way of releasing all that pent up excitement. When I decided to come out of the writing closet, I started this wee blog to shared my hopes and dreams. And when my father passed away, I turned to blogging to express my grief and sorrow.

From silly to serious, brief to rambling, insane to boring, word vomiting online has provided a home for the things trapped within my brain-brain.

Is it narcissistic? Probably.

It most definitely walks a fine line between over sharing on the internet and being apart of a larger online community.

There are times when this whole blogging thing springs forth like a never ending fount of awesome. With each post, I feel more brilliant and closer to achieving the ultimate awesome. Every comment. Every blog hit. Every retweet. Pure magic.

In my heyday of blogging, (yes, there was a heyday of sorts, it was a short lived blasty blast) writing blog posts came as easy as breathing. Write 'em. Post 'em. Move on to the next big thing.

But for the most part (even mid-heyday), I've struggled with blogging, constantly doubting myself. What can I say that isn't already said? How can I be interesting? Should I ham it up, try for the laughs? Go for sappy and sickeningly sweet? Ranty and edgy? What if they don't like me? Am I too big of a dork? Shouldn't I be more professional? Is my poor grammar showing? blah. blah. blah. blah.

After five years and nearly five hundred posts (if you combined all my online endeavors), I still get nervous when I'm about to hit publish. I still feel a lump in my throat. A moment of doubt and embarrassment akin to the feeling of walking around with toilet paper stuck to the back of your pants (been there done that in high school, no less).

Looking back, my best bloggy moments have been when I didn't worry about being liked or if what I said would be popular or interesting or noteworthy or professional. When I didn't feel the glare of would be agents or publishers or professionals. When I stopped thinking about the end result and was simply me. When I've hung out with good friends and shared a few good laughs.

Blogging is like writing a novel. It's painful. It's personal. It's embarrassing. It's over thinking every step. It's living in your own little world. And it's best done along side others.

There are a multitude of motivations people have for blogging, from popularity to business to geeking out. I've seen the good, the bad, and the flat out disgusting. I've had friends come and go, some moved on to bigger and better things, others have simply disappeared.

After five years, a handful of bloggy endeavors, and a multitude of twitter handles, I can say with certainty I still don't know what I'm doing. But I know, I'm hooked.