Holiday Cheer

The holidays are upon us and life continues to get in the way. As magical as Christmas is, there's so much to get through before we can feel the magic. The commercialization of the holiday doesn't help much in this respect. Rising prices make it even more difficult. However, it is the season of giving and a time to rejoice. If only we could do just two things. First, we should experience Christmas through the eyes of children, always. We need to feel the pleasurable anticipation of the season. We need to explore the mystery of how Santa Claus knows when we've been naughty and when we've been nice. Next, we need to carry this feeling through the rest of the year.

I always laughed at the idea of Christmas in July, but why not. If Christmas is capable of changing the scrooge into a somewhat likeable being, I've in favor of having Christmas more often. If giving a token of affection were something that we do all year long, there wouldn't be so many guilt trips and overindulgences at the end of the year when the actual holiday comes about. We are celebrating the birth of Christ, aren't we? I'm still not sure where that translated into bearing gifts for everyone, but, okay, we've come that far.

Many of us are not the people we thought we would be. My question becomes why aren't we? During the holidays, we put on our good cheer and we become generous bumpkins. Is this what we really are or is it simply a facade of goodness we don so that we appear deserving? I know that some people could take or leave this season just like they could take or leave the weather. Unfortunately, leaving it tends to become more and more difficult as time goes on.

There's much to be said about the holiday spirit and the spirit of Christmas. I just feel it is a shame that it is limited to one month, or one day, a year.

The Jolly Fat Man

Seems strange that all of the symbols in our society are heavy. I won't go so far to say they are obese because we've heard that term too much these days. Even angels are cherubs. They have round little bodies with round little faces. Do we have any symbols that resemble health?

Santa Clause is the jolly fat man with the red nose and sparkling eyes. The fatness goes hand in hand with jolliness for some reason. The redness of the face isn't necessarily a good sign. The twinkle in the eye is simply endearing. It represents magic to me. We just don't get the same feeling from a tall, skinny man with dark hair. It just doesn't happen.

Santa's white hair could symbolize age and wisdom. If you'll remember, Santa Clause is incredibly old and has been around for a long time. The Santa Clause actually makes sense when you think of it. If something happens, you put on the red suit and the reindeer will know what to do. Any way, the white beard goes back to the wise old man on the top of a mountain as well. Besides, it wouldn't make sense to have a symbol that has been around forever show up in your chimney as a young man.

So, basically, it isn't that Santa is unhealthy. Mrs. Claus might disagree with me. It just happens that when you tie all the symbols together, you come up with a package that could use some serious adjustment.

All in the Music

I spent my first day back at work listening to Christmas songs. It was wonderful. I've decided one of the things I like most about the holidays is the music. Of course, the decorations and the gifts help, but the music just does something to me. I can hear the same songs every year and never get tired of them. Of course, my favorite ones can be played over and over again. I think I hear something new in this music every time I listen to it. It doesn't matter if I've already heard it a thousand times, it is a discovery every time.

I think a lot of it has to do with the idea that Christmas Carols are "feel good" songs. They're about love and giving and being together. They rock! Now, Bing Crosby's music has been around for years. I didn't become overly interested in his Christmas album until he paired up with David Bowie. The duet they do is pure magic. I even handed my headphones to a friend today so she could hear that one song. It is gorgeous.

Even so, the movie "The Santa Clause" gives us snippets of my favorite rendition of White Christmas. I eventually got that song along with the Beach Boy's Little Saint Nick on the Dick Clark Rock 'n Roll Christmas collection from Time/Life. It is a great collection. Of course, I have had a number of occasions when I brought an album, tape or CD for one song and ended up falling in love with every song. I really like when that happens.

And, we cannot forget Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You. That song is a must have. So, go listen to some Christmas music and get yourself in the holiday spirit. Even though Christmas is being promoted before Halloween these days, we've safely passed Thanksgiving and it is okay to listen to these wonders now. Maybe grab some eggnog (not too much since it is so fattening), turn up the stereo, and dream a few minutes of a jolly fat man in a red suit.

The Stately Pine

There was a stately pine in the middle of the wood. This pine was taller than the other trees around it but it was never noticed much since the area was heavily wooded. Throughout the years, this tree has attracted many birds and other animals simply because of its height and stately demeanor.

Birds have never built their nests in this tree although they often made offerings of scraps from their nests to drape across the branches. Snow accumulates first on its descent through the branches. On a clear night, the snow reflects in the branches to make it look like the tree has lights.

From a distance, houses overlook the forest. Many children have gazed out their windows on these clear winter nights and wondered about this extraordinary Christmas tree lit just for them. The ribbons of scraps the birds leave behind gently woven through the branches offer specks of color reflected through the snow. Pine cones and holly are hung as ornaments by these loving creatures.

Were you to find this stately pine from the ground, it wouldn't look like much since the lowest branches create a seven foot ceiling over the forest floor. The magic cannot be seen from below. However, the animals know that this is a special tree and upon close inspection, you will find many gifts secreted around the trunk. These gifts are wrapped by nature and given of nature by nature. The pile of gifts has grown each year.

If you really want to experience the magic, though, look out of your window on a clear Winters night when Santa is expected. The tree, majestic in its beauty, will make you believe.

Mr. Smith is at Home

This story starts here.

From that night on, we saw each other several times a week for several months. We had a great relationship and talked about everything. Now, he wants to live together. I rather like that idea. We decided to live in my house until we could find something more suitable for us. My house has an extra bedroom that can be turned into an office. His house was very small. If we would decide to get married at some point, we would look for a four bedroom house not too far from here.

We settled into a very comfortable routine. I would greet him as "Mr. Smith." "Welcome home, Mr. Smith," I would say. After our first week together, the phone rang. When I answered it, I heard the following:

"Is Mr. Smith at home, please."

This sounded much too familiar from all those months ago with my stranger in the storm. But, this time, I answered "Why yes, he is at home."

"Very good, ma'am." and the line went dead.

I never received another phone call like that nor did I ever see my trenchcoated friend. When we first met, Bill had made a joke about him being my guardian angel. Maybe he was right. He was just a little early when he first showed up.

And the Story Continues...

This story starts here.

A few days later, I ran into Bill Smith again. He was very friendly. "Hello, Susan. I knew I'd see you again!"

"Oh, you were so sure of that, huh? How are you?" I decided to play along.

"Absolutely! If it hadn't happened soon, I would have kicked myself for not getting your number." He was almost apologetic in his response.

"Yes, I noticed that oversight and wondered about it." I was still playing along, but I was very much interested in his response.

"Well, I figured I had to run into you again. When I ran into you the first time, it was my first day in the neighborhood. I took it as an omen of sorts. A good omen, I mean." He was so sure of himself.

"I didn't realize you were new to the area. Where were you living before?" I asked tentatively.

"Why don't I give you my whole life history over dinner tonight? Shall I pick you up or would you like to meet somewhere?" He still wasn't sure if I welcomed his openness.

"Oh, I think you can pick me up. What shall I wear?" I wrote down my address and phone number for him. A few minutes later we parted ways. He would pick me up at seven for dinner.

I thought about him all afternoon and took great pains with my appearance that night. He had said we would go semi-dressy so I chose a simple summer dress to wear. It flattered me but didn't make me appear too eager. I thought it was the right combination for tonight. Even so, I was on eggshells when my doorbell rang.

"Wow, Susan, you look great! We have reservations for 7:30; shall we go?"

With that, we were off.

This story continues here.

And So We Meet Again

This story starts here.

A few days later, I decided to treat myself to dinner out. I'm not one of those who feels real comfortable dining alone, but I find if I take a good book along for companionship, I can have a pleasant outing alone. I wandered into the local diner and settled into a corner booth. The waitress brought me some coffee and a menu and made my selections. While I waited for my meal, I opened my book and started to read.

A short time later, I heard, "Oh, it's you!" and glanced up to see Bill Smith walking toward me. "And so we meet again. How are you Susan?" he asked.

"I'm good. How're you?" I replied.

"I'm good too. Tired. I just stopped in for a bite to eat before heading home. Might I join you? I mean, if you're alone, that is" he became uncertain all of a sudden.

"Please do, my book and I were just enjoying some time alone." Susan laughed.

"Well, if I join you, you won't be alone" replied Bill. "You're sure?"

I waived away his concerns. The waitress noticed a new customer at her table and brought a menu for Bill. Soon, both of our dinners came and went and we were still talking. It was finally getting late and I had to get home. Bill offered to walk me to my car.

"You know, I've had some strange coincidences with the name of Smith recently," Susan decided to tell him what had been going on. "So, when you introduced yourself as Bill Smith last week, I was a little taken aback."

"I can understand why. I think I would have been the same way. Have you seen this guy around since then?" he asked.

"From time to time, I catch a glance of him behind me. But, I don't think he means me any harm. Lord knows, he's had plenty of opportunity." Susan tried to laugh at her own comments, but she was still a little leery of being followed.

"Maybe he's your guardian angel. Have you seen him tonight?" They had been standing in the parking lot next to her car for the last five minutes.

"No, not tonight," I replied. "I really should go." I unlocked my car door and started to get in. He said how nice it was to see me again and we parted. And, he didn't even ask for my number!

This story continues here.

Mr. Smith Arrives

This story starts here.

It was Saturday again and exactly one week since the storm. There had been disturbing circumstances all week long and several instances of wrong numbers as well. Determined not to let these events get the best of me, I got up on this morning with plans to take care of a bunch of errands. I hated spending my weekends in this way, but there was never motivation to take care of errands during the week.

I stopped at the bank, dry cleaner, and grocery store. I only spotted my trenchcoated friend once during these stops. I still needed to stop at the gas station and the post office. As I was on my way back to the car with my groceries, I fished my keys out of my purse. I must not have been paying enough attention because I collided with a man coming from his car.

"Oh, I am so sorry," he said as we both bent to pick up my grocery bags that were knocked from my arms on impact.

"No, it was my fault, I'm sorry" I said. I was able to observe my crash partner without being too obvious. He was a good looking man.

"Is that everything?" he asked. "Can I help you to your car?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks for your help," I didn't want to inconvenience him any more than necessary.

"Sure, any time, sorry about the collision. By the way, my name is Bill. Bill Smith. I'm very happy to meet you."

"You've got to be kidding me." The words were out before I could stop them.

"Excuse, me?" he said.

"Nothing, sorry, hello, I'm Susan. Susan Stein. Nice to meet you."

This story continues here.

Stranger at my Door

This story starts here.

The knocking became more insistent. I looked around quickly for something I could grab to protect myself; I remembered I had a baseball bat in the hall closet. I got the bat and approached the door warily. Leaving the chain on, I cracked open the door. "May I help you?"

The stranger in the trenchcoat said, "Good Evening, ma'am, I was wondering if Mr. Smith were at home."

I relaxed only a bit, "There's no one named Smith here, sir."

The stranger didn't flinch. "My apologies, ma'am, I was sure I had the right address. Good night, then."

I said good night and closed the door making sure it was locked. I didn't release my grip on the bat until I was sure he was back to the sidewalk. I gingerly walked to the side of the window to see if my visitor had indeed gone.

In the next flash of lightning, I saw that he had taken up his post across from my house once again. What did this guy want?

The fact that he left easy enough told me I wasn't in any immediate danger. My sense of foreboding would not go away as long as he was standing guard out front. I read for a while longer and blew out my candles. It was time to turn in.

One final glance out the window relieved my tension. I didn't see my trenchcoat friend any more. Even so, I slept fitfully that night.

The next morning, the rain had stopped. Power was still out, but the day was bright and sunny. The puddles should dry in no time. I got dressed and walked out to pick up my newspaper from the front yard. I was going to circle the property and look for any large branches that were displaced by the storm.

I found several branches right off the front porch and started collecting them. As I circled the house, I found more and picked them up as well. I left these in a pile to be taken to the curb later and went in search of my newspaper. As I bent to pick up my paper, I thought I saw a shadow move across the street. I must have been mistaken. Even so, I hurried back into the house.

I took up my now familiar post at the front window and scanned the area across the street. There was no sign of any movement. The previous night had given me the jitters.

After breakfast, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few items I needed. I had a strange sense of being watched. Indeed, I thought I saw a man in a trenchcoat at the far end of the store. By the time I rounded the corner with my cart, the man had disappeared. I only shook my head.

I made a couple more stops and had similar experiences at each stop. It seemed like the trenchcoat was following me. Each time I tried to confront the man and each time he was not where I thought he would be.

I went back home and returned to my book. Just as I got up to make some dinner, the telephone rang. It was good to know that service was restored. When I answered, the caller asked if Mr. Smith was at home. I told them they had the wrong number.

This story continues here.

Stranger in the Storm

It was a dark and stormy night. The electricity had gone out over an hour ago, and the only light inside came from eerie candle flame playing hopscotch on the walls. Occasionally, a flash of lightning would add to the scary quality of the night. I happened to look out during one flash of lightning. Was that a man I saw standing in the rain staring at me? I should have taken comfort from the fact that I was inside, warm and dry, while he was outside, wet.

I was unable to see if my watcher was actually there. The night was a sturdy curtain of black and the rain battered my window with distorted patterns. I stood and waited for the next flash of light that I knew would come soon. Yes, there was someone standing across the street staring at my house. I withdrew into the shadows in case he really could see me. All I could see was a man in a dark trenchcoat, dark hat, and umbrella. The umbrella was not even opened.

I had no idea why anyone would take such interest in me or my house. It didn't bother me a great deal except that I was alone and I knew the phone was not working. That service had disappeared with the power. It simply was not a night to be out, and yet, this guy was just standing there. This knowledge mixed with the shadows cast by the candles to cause my skin to crawl. The wind had picked up and the thunder was much louder now than it had been.

The next clap of thunder was enough to make me jump and then I remembered what had drawn me to the window in the first place. I had heard a loud snap of a tree branch. When I looked out, I couldn't see to tell if a branch had come down. I only saw my stranger when the lightning came again. I would have to check the property in the morning to see if there were any branches that needed to be removed. I took one final look out the window as I saw headlights coming up the street, my stranger had disappeared.

Without realizing that I had been holding my breath, I breathed a great sigh of relief that he had gone. I headed back to my chair and my book that I was attempting to read by candlelight just as there was a knock on my door. I froze.

This story continues here.

And Then There are Days

There will be days when it doesn't seem to be worthwhile. Hopefully, these days are few and far between. Maybe we haven't gotten the readers we had hoped to get. Maybe we haven't gotten the comments we hoped. Maybe we just need a little encouragement. Unfortunately, it is up to us to find our own encouragement.

It may be that we need to share some of our earlier drafts with select people to get some feedback. Of course, when you share with friends and family, they are sometimes too easy to impress. It might be better to seek out a fellow writer and ask for some instant feedback.

As convenient as bogs are, if you don't get feedback, you don't know whether you're on the right track. All it takes is for one person to acknowledge that what you say does something for them. All it takes is one simple comments saying they enjoyed reading what you've written. It doesn't take much.

New and Fresh

We can't reinvent the wheel. We'd be stealing someone's idea if we did this and would probably land ourselves in a lot of trouble. What we need to do is learn how to say the same things in new and fresh language. After you've read a few romance novels, you realize they have a lot in common with each other. Each writer, though, tells the story a little differently. The fresher we make the story, the better off we are.

Of course, we can always add twists and turns to the story to make it different from the last one. We've always knows that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Quite frankly, though, the shortest distance is also the most boring route. We want to do the scenic route. We want to include sightseeing and some adventure along the way. We might even through in some car trouble on a deserted road.

The car trouble scene could become quite spicy if we did it right. We have a choice here, three, actually. Nothing interesting could happen while the car breaks down and they wait for a fix. Something bad happens while they wait for a tow. Maybe the cell phone doesn't work because of lack of service in that area. They need to move on to plan B. The first people they see in their secluded spot decide to take advantage of the location to create mayhem. The newcomers decide to rough up the guy and stuff him in the trunk of the car. They rape the woman and take her along with them to continue their feast at a later time. In the meantime, the broken down car is clearly visible from the road, but the road doesn't get much traffic.

Or, finally, something good could happen. How often do a man and a woman find themselves completely cut off from civilization. It turns out they have a picnic lunch in the car and decide to take advantage of the seclusion to partake of romantic meal set in the forest. They are close enough to the road to hear if any cars come by, but far enough away that they have as much privacy as they desire. The picnic basket just happens to contain a bottle of wine which goes nicely with the moment.

The possibilities are endless. If we know what points A and B are, we can travel any number of routes to get there. Make every moment count.

Formulas

Just about everything we do these days involves formulas. This is why so many old movies are remade. We take a formula that works and plug in some new faces to make a few bucks. The same is true with out writing.

We learn formulas when we write. If a murder mystery is more successful when there are three suspects and two dead bodies, we incorporate these ideas into our formula. We know they work. This doesn't mean that we should be rigid in applying our formulas, but it means that we recognize what works for us and keep doing similar things.

If we were too rigid, that would preclude the flexibility I aspire to in trying new things. There are some general rules, though. Some of us just weren't cut out to write romance novels. Others of us should stay clear of crime scene investigation works. They just don't fit with our writing styles or personalities and they seem too forced.

We should never assume that our formula cannot be changed. It most certainly can be changed. If we take those components that we know work for us and add a new twist, that new twist might become part of our formula if it proves to be successful.

We learn our formulas by trying. We aren't always successful. We all have formulas for what not to do as well as ones that we try to duplicate. We want to use those ideas that work for us and try to stay away from the ones that don't. We need to be flexible enough to dare, yet reasonable enough to admit defeat.

If you've just written an outstanding poem about loss, try another one along the same lines. Don't duplicate the first idea, but use the same general style, etc. You might find that you simply have a knack for that kind of writing. That knack becomes part of your formula.

Keep tabs on what works and try to use those ideas again. Whether the success comes from style or subject matter or something else entirely, that is what we need to figure out. Once we figure that out, we can almost guarantee our success.

Same Old

Much of what I've written since the beginning of the month has been written before. I wrote it before. What I write now is not the same as what I wrote before. The basic message might be the same, but the words are different. This is what we strive for, the difference in words.

I don't care if you write about the same subject every day for the rest of your life. Each day will be a little different from the day before. What you write at the end of the year will be vastly different from what you wrote about the same subject at the beginning of the year. This means that we can always write about a subject with a fresh perspective. This means that the same subject can have several useful lives.

Take one of these blog entries, for example. These blog entries may be slightly informative and entertaining. The same subject I write here could easily be turned into an article for a writing magazine. Refined even further and it might make its way into a literary journal. The same information, with adaptations, can be used by several sources. This is good business.

This means that we don't always have to be unique and have a fresh topic. This means that we can expand on things we've written in the past and turn them into useful articles. This is not to say they weren't useful to begin with; this is to say that we can breathe new life into our work by revisiting past topics.

Yes, it is repetitive. If you were to read my blog from beginning to end, you would find many things repeated throughout. Is repetition always a bad thing? Not necessarily. A good message can stand to be repeated. A good message might make a greater impact when stated in a different way.

We interact with our readers on many different levels. Not everyone is going to get what we have to say on the first read. If we present our arguments in a couple of different ways, we have a better chance of being got. We also have a tool for writing even went we aren't inspired to come up with new topics. And, if we can use these examples to publish a couple of articles in different places, we've done a good thing for ourselves. We have a chance to boost our own egos and to keep writing while not inspired. I think that is a double bonus.

Never Be Afraid

If what you want to write today doesn't fit into the grand scheme of things, write it anyway. Maybe we're currently working on our novel, but there's an idea for a short story that just screams to be released. Never be afraid to take a break from that major project to write a mini project. This is how some of the great pieces happen.

We do need breaks from time to time to prevent ourselves from burning out. This is true no matter what we do. Maybe we need to write a rant. Maybe a poem would help. Whatever the diversion, remember that a diversion is okay. As long as we know that we will get back to the main project, we're still on track.

It may well be that this mini project takes longer than we expect. Maybe it takes us a week before we can get back to that novel. As long as we go back, we're doing okay. That break might be just what we need to get the novel moving at a good pace. We only have to be disciplined enough not to let the diversion takes over our lives. Procrastination can use up a lot of valuable time.

I still think it is a good idea to have a list of accomplishments that we want to see. Ideally, it should be in the form of a calendar or to-do list with dates. If we keep only a half an eye on this list, with discipline, we are not going to get too far off track. Say we want to finish this chapter by the end of the week. In the meantime, a short story insists on being written. Then, we need to do the editing thing and the refining thing. We are now more than a week behind schedule.

All is not lost. Unless we have an editor breathing down our necks, our schedules are self-imposed. Be flexible enough to adjust the dates. Be flexible enough to allow for diversions. Be disciplined enough not to toss out the big project because the little ones are throwing us off. We can do it all. We can be successful in doing it all.

Not Every Day

It is not every day that we write winning words. Some days we write crap. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't write every day. We've mentioned several times that editing can come later. What is crap today can take a life of its own later and become the beautiful piece it was meant to be. The editing makes the difference.

Some days, we just don't have great ideas. Write them anyway. I have to believe that within the garbage resides a few choice morsels that make the attempt worthwhile. It is up to us to preserve those morsels along with the garbage so that they are there, ready and waiting, when we need them.

Even after we have uncovered all of our gems and set them out for display, there is still much work to do in polishing our show pieces so that they put their best sides forward. The same goes for our words. We pick out those thoughts and ideas that are valuable to us. We arrange them in some semblance of order and create a working document. Then, and only then, we go for refinement.

Even after we have spent all that time refining, there is still a chance that another look will show us something we have missed. We want to look at our work with a fresh vision. We want to see our work as our reader would see it. Can this be said so that it makes just a bit more sense? Will my reader know exactly what I'm talking about? If there is any doubt, refine the piece again.

Every day, we should make the effort to write. I offered up the twenty minute test earlier in the month. Write for twenty minutes each day. By the time the twenty minutes is done, we will normally be well into our work and continue without regard to time. If the words don't come as easy today as they did yesterday, that's okay. Keep them coming. There's plenty of time to take stock of content and value later.

For now, just write.

Context, Syntax, and More

Words will often take on different meanings depending on how they are used. If we take words out of context, the meaning changes completely. Syntax and jargon become important too. We don't want to be overly technical in our writing unless, of course, we are writing a technical paper. Most of us aren't going to that extreme.

We want to be careful that we are giving our readers enough information by putting that information in context within the story. Exploding planets might make a good piece of an Armageddon story, but not in an every day type of tale. If we're using exploding stars as an image for something else, we must view this information within the larger picture. Taken by itself, this image could be quite disturbing.

We have to remember the audience that we are writing for also. This makes much of what we write make sense. If the audience fails to get our message, we have failed in our mission as writers.

There Are Days

There are days much like today that no matter what you do, things just don't work out right. I spent many hours today straightening out computer problems that should never have happened. These days most definitely interfere with our desire to be productive. We shouldn't let them get the better of us, though.

Some days, we just can't write. We still want to get some basic ideas down on paper, however. We can always fix these ideas later. We must just make sure that we don't lose what we have on our minds at this point. At some future date, we may decide that we don't have any need for what we did today. On the other hand, though, we should never waste an idea.

If we get a basic idea down, we can always embellish the idea with fancy language later. If, for some reason, the sunset is important to me today. I might jot down a few lines about sunsets in general. When it comes time to edit, I might be able to remember what it was that caused me to write those lines enough that I can expand on them and create the effect I was looking for in the first place.

Even if we do some dumb stuff, we can write notes to ourselves. We can say things like this. At this point, character A is going to meet character B. There will be some corny bar scene where his pick up line had one in a million chance of working, but for some reason, the line did work. They arrange to meet the next day.

Later we can come back and decide exactly what the corny pick up line was and we can provide some backup as to why she allowed it to work. If we don't make these notes, though, we might never be able to move on. If we don't write these notes, we might find ourselves taking a different course during our next writing session because we didn't use our place holders today.

Even when life gets in the way, make your notes. Even when it isn't your best writing, don't let the ideas get away. Get them down. Everything else is fixable at a later date.

Every So Often

Every so often, we need to step back and take a deep breath. We need to review the direction in which we're heading to see if it is still feasible. We need to take a quick break for just a minute to get silly and not burn out. When we're writing at a frenzied pace, it is entirely possible to get caught up in the number of words we feel we need to produce that we lose sight of the message we are trying to convey.

Remember, we have an audience. The goal is to get a message to our audience in a way that makes sense and performs the objective that we seek. Are we still heading in that general direction or have the words simply taken over? If we've done everything we were supposed to do, we should not have veered too far off course.

If we have gone off course, now is the time to correct it. Writing a whole bunch of words means nothing if we don't do anything with them. We started out with something to say. Are we still saying it or has it gotten lost beyond recognition? Take a moment to check your status.

If the message is still clear, permit yourself a happy dance. If the message has gotten murky, it is time to plan our next course of action to get back on track. We do want to remember to have a good time doing what we love. Once it stops being fun, it becomes work. We don't want that.

If every piece we work on can be a challenge to ourselves, the fun continues and our writing will show it. We will have more enthusiasm for what we do. A simple challenge is to complete this one chapter over the weekend. Maybe we have an important description that we want to spend some time on. We might challenge ourselves to do an outstanding job on that description.

These little challenges also allow us to feel a sense of accomplishment once we have successfully completed them. A sense of accomplishment goes a long way to getting the task done. If we break our work down into manageable pieces and find joy in finishing each small piece, we should have no problem in motivating ourselves to complete the entire project.

Every so often, take a step back and objectively look at what we've done. Visualize what still needs to be done. Get a little silly. And, then, get back to writing.

Voices

It is almost always better to use active voice is our writing. Fortunately, most word processing programs have grammar programs built in. They help us to structure our sentences better. So, three things come to mind here. For this month, we are going to write until we drop. Grammar won't be an issue until we get to editing, but it never hurts to start good habits early. We want to use active verbs and remember that our sentence structure generally starts with subject and then verb. If we can easily identify our subject and verb, the rest of the structure tends to fall into place.

The second item involves learning to use our software properly. Do we know how the spell check works? Can we operate the grammar checker? Can we set the parameters for both? Your software can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you have an auto-save function, it is often wise to use it. If something unforeseen happens to your work, you've only lost what you've done since the last auto-save. I'm a big fan of saving often, but when we're in a crunch, saving every few pages takes away valuable time. Auto-save might slow us down for a few seconds, but the system should catch right back up to us.

The spell check and grammar programs are especially good when we want to perfect our work during editing. However, I strongly suggest that we perform both of these functions at the end of each session just so we don't get too bogged down trying to correct spelling in an entire document. Let's say, for example, that we've landed on the wrong keys and typed several lines in this manner. After typing 50,000 words, we may not remember what those lines were supposed to say. We are more likely to remember closer to when we wrote them and can fix them more easily.

I don't mean that we should go over our documents with a fine tooth comb while we're faced with the challenge of so many words. I'm simply saying that it is easier to do a cursory check on smaller, more manageable pieces. We can really rip the document to bits when we get to serious editing. That will come later.

The third thing this brings to mind to is long since forgotten. So, let's review instead. Write until you drop. Write with good habits and sentence structure. Perform a cursory check of your work after each session. Learn the software that you have available to you and how to set it up to meet your needs. Save the big re-writes for the editing phase. Hmm, I think that third thing got mixed in with some of the others.

If we write on a daily basis, these little reminders become easier with practice. After several months, your won't even think about sentence structure and grammar. Not only does our software help us when we deviate from good form, it reminds us what good form is. After several uses, we begin to know what good form is and we start to practice it. We can learn from what these tools teach us. Some of us will never learn how to spell, but that's okay. What we need to watch for is that we are using the correct words. If we've used he instead of him, the spell check won't catch it because both are spelled correctly.

This brings me to one final point. As we write, we are often too close to our own work. We see what we think we wrote and not what we actually did write. Saving the editing and revising for a later time allows us to distance ourselves from the document and enables us to really see what we wrote. This helps us to catch those words we've used incorrectly. This allows us to read what we wrote and not what we know.

Pictures

We are told that a picture is worth a thousand words. When we write, we don't always have the luxury of using pictures, so we have to write our images. The better we get at doing this, the closer we get to those thousand words. When we write poetry, a very important lesson we learn is that we need to show rather than tell. Show and tell aren't simply terms from elementary school any more. Show and tell can make or break a poem. It can make or break a story as well.

The more we can use our words to make people sense what we are writing, the more successful we will be. In a way, this makes our stories more interactive. We want to involve all of the reader's senses. We want them to smell the smoke that hangs heavy in the air and we want their eyes to smart because it is so thick that it burns the eyes as we try to make our way out of the blaze. We want them to feel the heat of the flames at they lick at our clothing. We want to involve the reader.

When we can touch the reader, we are one step closer to being successful. We want the words to pass through their eyes into their brains. We want the nose to twitch and the fingers to flex. It wouldn't be so bad to make a couple of toes curl along the way as well. We want them to see what we are writing as if the scenes were being played on a screen in front of them.

We do this by painting pictures with our words. We do this by using such vivid images that there can be no doubt about how something is supposed to look or feel. And, we do it all without using a thousand words.

Be Knowledgeable

It cannot be said too often to write what you know. When we write what we know, we do it better because we are familiar with the subject. If we know about it, we are probably interested in the subject as well. It just makes sense to write what we know about.

We know what we know. We can expand on what we know by reading and listening. We know what we experience, but we also know what others have experienced by hearing them tell their tales. We read the newspapers and stories written by other authors. We read blogs and articles on the things that interest us. Each little bit of information we pick up adds to the wealth of what we know.

Writing what we know doesn't mean that we need to have first-hand experience with the subject. If this were the case, there wouldn't be a whole lot written. Most of us don't exactly have lives filled with writable experiences. Most of us coast along in a mediocre existence. Exciting things happen from time to time, but those things aren't always worth mentioning.

As we go through our lives, we register bits and pieces of information in our brains that can be easily retrieved at some later date. The more bits and pieces that we pick up, the greater the chance that our warehouse of knowledge will contain some usable tidbits. The more we pick up, the more we are likely to produce at some future date.

In other words, the hermit does not know the ways of the world. His exposure to the world is definitely minimal. Could he possibly write about the world? Absolutely! Any one that is well read gleans knowledge about the way society works and the way the world operates. Combine knowledge with skill and some imagination and even the most inexperienced traveler can create tales that will enthrall audiences.

In order to write what we know, we must continue to learn. We learn about our world and about ourselves. We learn about the wide variety of things that interest us. Along the way, we probably learn quite a bit about things that don't interest us. The latter will most likely be forgotten more quickly than the former. Without interest, there's no need to retain the information.

Everything we do, everything we learn, involves a selective process. We are more in tune to those things we like. We may also be in tune to things we hate as well. As long as there is some extreme of feeling or notable feeling, we pay attention. Those items that are middle of the road may only catch our fancy is there's nothing else demanding our attention at that moment. Otherwise, we may miss that moment completely.

It order to expand our knowledge and expand what we may easily write about, we need to overcome some of the selective processes that are in force. We need to be more aware of who and what is around us. We need to experience more even if it means experiencing it vicariously. All of this gives us precious ammunition with which to create our masterpieces.

So, what do you know? Write it.

Go Wild

Along the same lines that we spoke of yesterday, writing allows us to use our imagination to the greatest extent. Some people talk a good line of bull every day. They get away with it simply because they throw enough truth or believability into the crap that people tolerate it without delving too deep below the surface. We can do the same in our writing.

We can write anything we want. We just have to do it convincingly. We can accomplish this by backing up what we say with facts. We can do this by using some truths stretched to fit our situation. The truths don't even need to pertain to our topic, but they lend credibility to our topic by being included.

For example, we can write about how the Bermuda Triangle is inhabited by some giant monster that swallows ships whole. We add credibility to this story because we know that the Bermuda Triangle is singled out for a number of disappearances. No one ever said there was a monster there, but that's okay. I don't think anyone ever said there definitely wasn't a monster there. The fact that there have been disappearances helps our story.

Another example might go like this...Aliens have been spotted in the vicinity of Area 51. We have some eye witness reports siting strange looking creatures and a shiny craft of sorts. The government is claiming these are parts of a weather experiment again. We could build a whole story on these lines simply because of the reputation of Area 51 and the theories of government coverup. Even the reports of alien autopsy that have been aired on television allow such stories to be believable.

We can, simply put, embellish our tales to our heart's content. If we throw in a "truth" every so often, our embellishments can be made believable. This doesn't mean that we can't write something totally off the wall. It does mean that our readers will be more receptive to our stories if they are something they can relate to or something they are familiar with.

Whether we like it or not, we write for an audience. In order to be successful, that audience has to find some redeeming value in our words. If that value is not found, we have wasted our time. There are, of course, times when total fantasy can be quite enjoyable. However, I still think that the more we can tie that fantasy to something ground in reality, the better off we'll be.

The more we can make sense of our stories, the more enjoyment we will give our readers. The "sense" that we make does not even need to hold true. It just needs to fit this particular purpose with some believability. Explore your imagination and see what you find deep within. Dig it out, dust it off, and take it for a ride. What can we do with our new idea to make it find a home in the heart of our readers?

One thing I just came up with was a description of utopia. I hardly think that most of us believe that utopia exists. The idea of utopia, though, is thoroughly attractive and leads us to dream about perfection. Hopes and dreams are very real in the world of words. If we can relate our story to these hopes and dreams, we can quite possibly have a best seller.

Think about it. If what we write can make someone feel better about themselves or the world they live in even for just a moment, we've accomplished something major. If what we write can make people think about the way things are or the way things should be, we've done a good thing. If what we write influences our reader in any way, we've succeeded.

Homework

In order to be a success at anything, we have to do our homework. In order to write a convincing story set in historical times, we need to research that time period. What did the people wear? How did they get around? How long did things take? How did they manage without modern conveniences? How long did they live?

We don't want to reiterate the same things that everyone else is saying, but we do want to know what we're talking about. I mentioned before that a telephone may not have been invented by the time of your story, so unless you're writing a science fiction story set in historical times, the telephone cannot play a part. The automobile might make a nice time machine set in this era. However, it might be difficult to explain how we fueled that automobile. If you write the story properly, though, the question might never come up.

The nice thing about science fiction is that it doesn't have to adhere to any specific timeframes or protocols. Bizarre events and props are totally acceptable. We might not have to do quite as much research in this case, however, we still want to be believable so whatever we do include, we need to know about it.

If we're dealing with alien beings, there are some preconceived notions about how these beings look. We don't have to follow them, but we might give explanations. For instance, many people believe that aliens can take the form of humans in order to be more acceptable and less threatening. This may be totally inaccurate, but it makes sense to the reader.

Unexplained events may need to be given an explanation in order to make them plausible. We need to keep these things in mind as we move forward with our work. This doesn't mean that we can't be creative. It means the opposite. Be creative and exploit your talent. Also be prepared to back up that creativity with some factual or factual-sounding text to make it more believable.

Covering All of the Bases

No matter what we are writing about, we have a duty to cover all of the bases. We need to supply the who, what, where, when, how, and why. This is where we begin to develop our story and give it substance.

When looking at who, we are looking at the cast of characters in the story. We have two components that are very important here. Introduction of the character is important. Imagine reading a story and all of a sudden there are several new characters that you have not encountered before. It becomes a bit disconcerting. It is okay to introduce characters suddenly, but we need to introduce them in such a way that they make sense.

The other important part of who is character development. As we write we expand on who our characters are. How much we divulge depends on the type of work we are producing. Character development will also depend on the character's importance to the story. A bit player does not require as much development as a main subject.

The "what" part of the formula equates to the story plot. What is the story about and what happens? While remembering to include all of the necessary elements, we need to tell the story. For more complex pieces, there may be more than one "what" to deal with.

This piece of the formula has three distinct parts. We have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning generally introduces us to the story. The middle is where most of the action takes place. The end ties up all the loose ends and provides us with a conclusion or closure. Of course, this is overly simplistic, but I think you get the general idea.

The "where" component allows us to give details about setting. If the story centers around a house, we want to take more time describing the house. We might want to tell where the house is located and what it looks like. We might provide some background on the house in how it came to be a part of this story.

For example, the house had been left to Emma by her grandmother. Emma had been very close to the old lady since here parents were both killed when she was quite young. The high ceilings used to intimidate Emma when she first came to stay with grandma because they seemed to far away. As she got older, she learned to appreciate the intricate artwork displayed on the ceilings in each room. She wouldn't change a thing.

The description we provide may or may not be important to the story. Those items that are more important should be given more verbiage, of course. We want the characters and the setting to be adequately described to enhance our story. These things don't necessarily need to be done in the beginning, but the foundation should most definitely be laid out there. Additions to character development and setting can be added along the way as well.

When might play an important part of the story. If the story takes place in the horse and buggy days, we know that things took longer back then. Mail could take months to be delivered and travel was quite an ordeal that required a lot of time. The modern conveniences just did not exist in this era and must be consciously omitted from the telling.

Another aspect of when would be whether the story is taking place in the past, present, or future. The selection of tense, so to speak, must be in keeping with the initial era of the story. Consistency is the key. If our story takes place in 1800, those items that weren't invented until much later cannot make an appearance in our work. This aspect might require some research. Can my character receive a telephone call or do I need to rely on the telegraph? These are the considerations a write must ponder.

How becomes a little fuzzier. If what we are writing is a murder mystery, how might be the method of the murder or the method used to investigate the killing. How does the "what" happen? Previously, I mentioned "how" in relation to the means used to write the story, however, today we're trying to apply the formula to the story itself.

Another aspect of this is whether we use example or expository writing to get where we're going. Is narration a tool that we want to use. Often, it is possible to include a combination of these tools when telling a story. Each writer must make these decisions when creating written masterpieces.

Finally, we come to why. Why was the story written? Some stories present a moral once the ending has been reached. Some stories have a lesson to present. Some stories are simply meant to entertain. This is the overview of the "why" component.

If we internalize this a bit more, why does the suspect commit the murder? Why does the main character get killed in the story? Why is it important to know that the house is haunted. If we can answer the why, we can justify our stories and the actions of our characters.

There's a lot to consider here. Most of us cover this formula without really even thinking about it. If we gave these items more thought, however, we might be able to make more sense of why we do what we do.

What Happens When We Write

We want to entertain our readers. We want to paint pictures for them with our words and carry them with us on a journey through our minds and our pages. In order to do that, we have a lot of work to do. As writers, we don't simply write; we create.

There are several things that come to mind right about now. We always want to remember to keep it simple. We don't want to treat our readers like children, but we do have to write with our readers in mind. Keep the story simple. Complicated plots might get your characters into a lot of trouble, but it might also get you into a tangle as well. If things get too complicated, we are likely to leave loose ends.

Keep the language simple as well. Again, we don't need to write down to our reader, but we aren't writing to show off our vocabularies either. We want to be understood regardless of who our readers happen to be. That is not to say that we don't want to provide description and narrative. We do. We just don't want to go overboard in any one department.

A lot of writing deals with maintaining a balance. We maintain that balance with the words we use and the stories we tell. We want to be compelling but not too forceful. We want to be inviting but not cloying. We want to be entertaining, but not to the point of silliness. We want to do enough.

This November, many of the writers I read are trying to do a 50,000 word book. That is a wonderful goal. However, not all subject matter lends itself to that many words. We don't want to write more than we need to simply to make some self-imposed goal. On the other hand, we don't want to leave our reader dissatisfied that we haven't given them enough either.

There are so many considerations when writing. I might be great to simply sit down and write as I do, but writing of this sort doesn't necessarily accomplish any goal. To be successful, we need to accomplish something with our writing.

Don't Look; See

We are writers and many of us are poets as well. We tend to see things differently. We don't just see a rose. We see an explosion of red velvet which seeks admiration from solar fingers of warmth. We see the imagery or the description of the item rather than just the item. We see the story and not just a thing.

This is good. This is very good. This means that we can get our ideas (yesterday's topic) from anything. We can make what we see come alive for others. Let's talk about a knotty tree for a moment. One person looks at the tree and just sees twisted bark and a disfigured tree. We look and we can make out a face in that tree. That face gives the tree a personality and possibly a beginning as well. Let's imagine this tree captured a man many years ago and refused to let him go. The face we see is that man trying to break his way through the bark.

Such a beginning could give this tree an angry personality. Maybe over the years, this tree has snatched up many people and trapped them inside its bark. Shall we check the tree for other knots? Probably not, but you get the idea. We can do this type of flash fiction about anything we see.

As a child, I used to watch clouds as they passed overhead. Many of these clouds resembled animals and faces. Children have such wonderful imaginations. This makes it possible for monster to live in the closet or under the bed. These monsters make great stories. As a matter of fact, the monsters in the closet made a fabulous movie. Children create imaginary friends when there are no other children to play with. They give personalities to their toys and dolls and can amuse themselves for hours at a time. We can do this too. I'm not suggesting that we play with toys. I'm suggesting that we apply our imagination to what we see.

So, the next time you're out and about, don't just look at everything around you, actually take the time to see it. Ask yourself how you would describe what you experience. Feel it, smell it, taste it and then come back to us and write it all down for us. Write it so that we can see, feel, smell, and taste what you did. After all, it only takes is one such spark to ignite into a major fire. If we can ignite a triple-alarm fire, it is all the better.

The Idea

When we write, we generally have some specific idea in mind. We have a topic or a subject. We may even have a story line. Depending on what outcome we wish to achieve, we need to make sure there is sufficient substance in our idea to be able to carry it through. For instance, my idea is to show how one would go about writing that novel in the month of November. I would never be able to do a novel myself, but I thought I would help others along who are traveling this path. Since I'm not aiming for the great American novel, my idea doesn't need to be accessible twelve ways from Sunday. It does, however, need to have enough depth to create several articles with some meaning. Consider this to be an article series.

A bare bone might be a treat, but it is hardly a meal. We need some real flesh, blood, bone, and brains to carry us through 50,000 words in one month. We need to have a basic idea and a destination. We need to carve some paths to that destination. It may well be that we will want to wander down several different paths before we win our prize. We've got a lot of words to cover and a lot of ground, as well.

As I mentioned before, an outline would be quite useful right about now. If you're like me, though, I write as I go along. Even so, that doesn't mean that I don't need some direction and focus. My outline might be a brief list of topics I want to cover as I go along. I wouldn't want to limit myself simply because that's not how I work.

On the other hand, if you know that you need the assistance, write out a sentence outline. Your book could easily change those sentences into paragraphs and you could be well on our way to success. Make sure that you refer to that outline from time to time in order to make sure you're including everything you felt was important in the beginning.

No matter how you work, always allow some flexibility. It is better to let that paragraph write itself than to try to force it into something that it isn't. As you work, you may find the idea changing. That's okay. Let the changes happen and then try to make your way back to the original idea. This is not always possible since some ideas take lives of their own. If this is the case and you've gone too far off the path of the original idea, review your outline to see if pieces of it are still pertinent and make changes in keeping with the new idea.

If we've only wandered from our destination a little, we might be able to smooth this over much later when we enter the editing phase. Besides, no one has to know that this is not what you originally intended to write. Only you know that. Don't worry about what fits and what doesn't. All of that can come later.

Once upon a time, we might get real lucky and find that our original idea can run parallel to the new idea and co-exist in the same work. If a happy union is impossible, we might be able to expand on both ideas and get two stories out of the same effort. Either way, we win.

If we start with an idea that has enough meat to it, all of these things are possible. Don't interrupt the writing process to adhere to some self-imposed inflexibility. Write today; editing and re-writing can come later.

Keep Motivated

Once we get our work area organized and ready, we need to find ways to keep ourselves motivated for writing. Make a regular schedule for writing. Try to write at the same time every day. Make a promise to stick to the schedule.

Some of us might write better when we have background music. Find music that works for you. If complete quiet is your thing, turn the phone off while you write so there are no distractions. We know that life is one major distraction. We need to priorities these distractions. We need to write as well.

The best advise I've heard is to just attack the project for 20 minutes. If, after 20 minutes, you honestly have no desire to continue, you may stop without guilt. Most of us will find that 20 minutes later we are smack, dab in the middle of something big and will keep going.

Getting started is the hardest part. Don't let the blank page intimidate you. A simple cure for that is to simply put words on the page. Once it is no longer blank, it is not so intimidating. I'll start you off...

Once upon a time...

not enough? Once upon a time there was a ...

You now have seven words on your page. It is no longer blank. Remember, this can always be changed later. We can always get started in this manner, though. We can always put words on a page so that the blankness is not staring back at us. Once we get started, it is up to us to make sure we keep going.

During the day when you're not writing, don't hesitate to write down that fleeting thought. Review any notes you've collected before you sit down to work. Try to spend your time allotted to writing in doing just that, writing.

Organize Your Work Area

There's much talk about writing a book in the month of November. I'm not at all sure I even have a book in me. I just spout a whole bunch of nonsense and hope that is helps someone. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, I've posted something every day since March 7. Much of what I've written has contained some useful piece of information about writing. This was more of a fact at the beginning of the blog, but I still steer myself back in that direction.

Just for the hell of it, let's concentrate on writing a bit. What's the first thing we need in order to write? You might say the first thing we need is an idea. This is true, but I was thinking more along the lines of where and how we would write. One of the first things we need to do is organize our work space. Are we using a computer or notebooks and pens. Do we have enough peace in this work space to get things done?

We might want to have a dictionary and some erasers on hand. If the idea is to write 50 some thousand words in a month, though, we can't spend too much time erasing. We need to keep moving forward. Do we have some inspirational materials handy in case we get stuck? Behind my printer, I have a metal cookie sheet with magnetic poetry words spread out all over it. Sometimes I just stare at that cookie sheet and pick out words.

We would, of course, also want easy access to any notes we've made about our idea. Hopefully, we already have something of an outline formed for what we want to cover and to keep us on track. Being prepared is sometimes the best way to keep going. The more we know our topic, the easier it is to write about it. These are simply things to thing about as we begin our month-long endeavor.

I'm not saying that I'm doing this, I'm simply saying that if I were to do it, this might be a good place to start. Some things to remember, this is rough draft work, don't be concerned about fine tuning now. You can take a couple of month after the whole work is written to do the fine tuning. You can take as long as you need to pretty up the language and images after the initial outpouring has stopped.

Write, write, write, and write some more. The editing and re-writing will come later and at a more leisurely pace. The ideas will come as we move through the process of writing. Once we have the draft of our book complete, then we can go back and highlight things we felt deserved more stress. We can cut some areas that aren't all that important. And we can rearrange to our heart's content.

Get busy guys!

At 485 words tonight, I'd never survive.