Today I found the following on an old, faded index card:

William- not Bill & certainly not "Dick"

I often find bits of paper around the house with scribbled notes on them. Sometimes it's a corner of an envelope or a grocery receipt. Other times it's the back of an old postcard or half a Post-It note. Whatever it is, it is often unclear what I was trying to remember. If it has the name of some food item, than it could be part of a grocery list (or not), but more often than not, the paper has a short phrase or one word underlined several times.

I find these bits of memory in old purses, shoved in my checkbook, sticking out of books I've read, or am in the middle of reading, in my shower caddy, my side table, lying on the floor and sometimes, even stuck to my clothes. I'll share a few of them here:

Letter with bits of sand in the envelope.

Boston's south side

Miss Hargreaves frank baket (at least that's what it looks like)

Ribbon for Anne's jar

Discombobulated

Tap the clock at top

It's a beard

It's hard to see why I'm not a member of Mensa, isn't it?

Looking through my posts list today I noticed there were several unpublished drafts. They go back a couple of years and sit here and there in the post timeline. I started to look through each of them and they are all unfinished. The majority of them are also about procrastination. Hmm, imagine that- unfinished blog drafts gathering dust for several years without being finished, published or simply deleted.

I made a decision to go through each one and either complete or delete. Hey, wait. Did I just stumble upon my new writing mantra? Complete or Delete, Complete or Delete. It has a nice ring to it.

I hear from writers all the time who say you have to purge unfinished projects every once in a while. Stories you may have started and set aside, but never could get the inspiration to finish, should be dropped in your recycle bin. That's a hard thing for me to do. I always think there has to be merit to it if I once thought it would make a great story. In my heart, I know I am better off without all that poorly thought out baggage dragging me down. That doesn't make it any easier to trash something you created.

As I complete my spring cleaning in my house I am also going to do some spring cleaning in my writing life. I plan on going through all the papers tucked away in the desk drawers and all the electronic writing files I have to see if there are any forgotten gems or any useless pieces that need to lighten my load.

I am feeling very positive about this now, but we'll see how my mood is once I actually start my purge.

I finally decided it was time to make the leap into NaNoWriMo. Many of you will read this and, with quizzical looks, say 'huh?' at your computer screens. It's not from Mork and Mindy. Wow, that just really dated me. November is National Novel Writing Month- see the connection now?

Each year, people all over the country spend 30 days and nights completing a novel. The goal is to reach 50,000 words. After two days I am only at 1671, but it's better than nothing. I am planning on spending the rest of my weekend (after I finish this post) writing at least 5,000 more.

I'm not gonna lie. It has occurred to me if I got really stuck I could just write words — any words — in any order. I know it's been done because I have ready several novels that had to have been written this way. But I am better than that. I can do this. At least that is what the girl in the mirror keeps telling me. To be honest, it's getting kind of old. I think it's time she look up some new affirmations.

In a few minutes I will head over to a downtown coffee shop and set myself down. I will take my time  getting my space ready, order some sort of pastry (or two, or three) and stare at my computer for an uncomfortable amount of time while I wait for the words to come. During this staring contest I will see, out of the corner of my eyes, people watching my odd behavior and then whispering to their companions, but I predict I will also see several individuals doing the same exact thing — letting the creativity build up until it explodes through words in black and white.

Here's to a wonderful NaNo weekend, and I hope you all sit down and write thousands of amazing words!

I hate waiting. I don't mean waiting for the bus to come or waiting in line at the grocery store (after all, at least I have some smutty reading material or can gawk at the weird people who take public transportation). No, I mean waiting to get feedback for your work. It is hard enough to put yourself out there and allow others to critique your writing, but it is equally as hard, if not worse, waiting for their response.

I recently submitted some of my fiction for a writing contest. I think I have a pretty good shot — as good as any other 30-something, aspiring novelist. I mean, really, how many could there be? Anyway, the contest winners are going to be announced on Friday and I am having a hard time concentrating on anything else. Now would be a good time for me to win something. I'm depressed about not finding a new job, work has become repetitive and I miss my family. At this point in time, I would be happy to win just about anything. I would even settle for a World's Best Golfer award (in the form of a coffee mug) and I don't golf. Do you have one, anyone?

I have been so busy working and looking for new jobs I have not taken the time to do what I love — write. Last night, after I had just gotten settled and comfortable in bed (isn't that when ideas always come?) I got an idea for this month's First Line Fiction contest. I stayed in bed for awhile weighing the pros and cons of interrupting my slumber and finally got up and started to write. It's funny how freeing it is to just write like that with no interruptions. It's the best I've felt in a long time. So, I am about halfway there, loving my main character and the way he views the world. I think I'll sit down and write some more tonight and see what happens.
                                                                 

If you are so inclined, check out the First Line Fiction contest for July. Entries must be submitted by July 27th and the first sentence is by Stuart Nadler — "He brought in his shirt pocket the last photograph he'd taken of his son."

These contests are a great way to get motivated again. When mine is done I will post it here.

I blogged yesterday about the First Sentence Contest being held by A No. 2 Pencil Stat! . This is the entry I submitted today:

"It was not the first, or the last, house I had looked at that day — just the first with a double-bagged hand in the deli drawer of the refrigerator."

Here's another one from Goddess of the Corn - Wendy Swore

100 Word Contest — A Drabble

I am really looking forward to this contest. Make sure you read all the rules before you enter. 

I am determined to get a crapload of writing done this summer. To help me out I am entering a bunch of different writing contests to get my creative juices flowing. You can join too. Here's a great contest from A No. 2 Pencil Stat!

First Sentence Contest

If you enter, I want to see what you've got. Post a comment to this post with your first sentence so I can enjoy your creativity too. I promise to only steal the good ones.

I am currently working on a thesis paper. It is not yet titled, but will sound very academic and possibly be something like, The Rhetorical Implications of Horton Hears a Who. (No, really, it is about Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who) Blah, blah blah. After what seems like years, but is merely months, of research, I have begun to write. It is a painstaking process and leaves me close to tears even before I have banged my head against the wall.

I am currently taking a break, something I am afraid will become a bad habit over the next few days, months, years etc. Here is a picture from my iPhone of my office. Okay, it is really my bed, but the chair at my desk isn't nearly as comfortable.

It looks like progress right?